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pacoc-a · 4 years ago

Text

Half In Love

Rating: T

Characters: Five/Vanya

Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Five never leaves, Vanya doesn’t have powers, Fluff and Angst, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Pining, Other Additional Tags to be Added

Five is not Vanya's soulmate.

[Read on Ao3]

One day a fever comes over Five’s arm . He thinks it's a rash. He picks and scratches the itch on his wrist until his skin is raw. By the end of the week, his skin has peeled off in scabs.

It was then that he realised this might be his soulmate mark.

The mark settles itself permanently over the umbrella academy tattoo. It coils over it like a dark, ugly ‘s’ snaking a trail from his wrist down the middle of his forearm. It’s red and bumpy and stings like a brand.

It’s hideous, he thinks.

‘Looks like a snake.’ Klaus says, peering over his shoulder.

Five scowls and chases him off.

——

When Vanya learns she is happy for him.

Even when her arm is nothing but bare she is happy for him.

‘Someone out there is going to love you with their whole heart.’ She places her fingers on his wrist. ‘Someone with this mark. And you better let me meet them when you do.’

Her fingertips are rough from the violin, but her touch is soft. He wants to kiss them. Feel the calluses on his lips. Five swallows.

‘I don’t think that would be necessary.’ He pulls his wrist away.

The truth is, he could care less about soulmates. The very idea of a ‘predestined’ other half was bogus, designed to put a make-believe ‘constant’ in an ever-evolving state. It was like throwing a screwdriver at a network of cogs that are constantly changing shape.

But Five cares about Vanya and she cares about this, so he says nothing. Instead, he watches her look at the empty space of skin on her wrist. He already knows exactly what she’s thinking about.

‘It’ll appear.’ He says, ‘Klaus doesn’t have his yet either. Probably comes in faster for others.’

She nods, ‘I hope so. I can’t wait to see it.’

There is so much hope in her eyes. A part of him hurts because it’s not for him.

He wonders if she’s hurting too, that a piece of him has been marked by someone thats not her.

She smiles to herself and he hopes in the cruelest, darkest part of his mind that she is.

——

‘Did you know Luther got Allison.’ Ben tells them one day between pushups. ‘Diego got his too.’

Klaus is on the floor with Ben, while Five works a sweat on the treadmill. They are the only three in one of Reginald’s endurance training sessions, Five, Six and Four. With the Monocle himself preoccupied with overseeing a mission led by the other three, Pogo is tasked with keeping them on course with the session. It means a blissful couple of hours without Reginald’s iron-clad glare scanning over the rest of the mansion like a hawk.

‘Don’t you mean Allison got Luther. Don’t be sexist Ben.' Klaus says. He is laying on the floor on his belly, his legs and arms sprawled out around him like a starfish. He spots Pogo passing by and he quickly lifts himself up and counts his pushups to two hundred and seven.

‘You know, this training session will pass by much more quickly without your inane rambling.’ Five says. They’ve been at it for the better part of the session. It's irritating. He knows the sooner he can finish this session, the sooner he can spend his free time however he wants. But he can't concentrate without these two morons distracting him every two seconds.

‘Oh lighten up Dad , we’re just talking.’

He glares at him.

‘I got mine too.’ Ben adds. He looks over his shoulder, decides the coast is clear and quickly raises his shirt to reveal a tiny scar near his belly button. It’s still raw, but the mark is clearly formed to the shape of a tiny squid.

‘Nice.’

‘What do you think it means?’

Klaus shrugs.

‘It means you two need to shut the hell up or Pogo’s gonna come and give us all double the work again.’

They shut up.

There’s a couple of minutes of blissful silence where the only sound is Five’s sneakers stomping on the treadmill.

‘I hope she’s hot.’ Ben says finally.

He thinks about Vanya in her room and wonders how in the hell he got stuck with the two biggest idiots in the Academy.

‘What if she’s a hag. Would you still kiss her?’ Klaus looks over to him.

Ben shrugs, ‘Probably. If she’s got a nice personality.’ He pauses, then adds, ‘Or a nice butt.’

‘That’s enlightening . Really.’

Klaus flips over his belly and looks over at Five, ‘Well what about you. You’ve got yours too. What do you think yours will look like?’

‘It doesn’t matter.’

‘Why not? Aren’t you curious.’

Five stops and turns to face him. They are both lounging across their training mats, flopped over to their bellies. He scoffs, ‘Because this whole thing is bullshit. It’s just a mark. Most people don’t even meet their soulmates till they’re 50, if they even meet them.’

‘So?’

‘ So .’ He sneers, ‘It means it doesn’t matter. We’re not destined for shit. People choose to drink a cup of coffee one day when they could’ve had tea. Life is just one big, impossible equation because the numbers keep changing. It’s chaos. It’s stupid. It’s just— life. This mark’s not gonna change anything about it. ‘

They stare at him.

‘Vanya still hasn’t gotten hers.’ Ben says.

This time, the silence is from him.

Klaus lets out a small sound. ‘That’s too bad huh. Poor Vanya.’

Ben nods, then turns to Five knowingly. ‘At least she’s got you. Stupid life, huh?’

——

Five hates the noise of the Academy. They're loud and arrogant, and they make a point to grate on his nerves on a daily basis.

But they're the only family he's got so he tolerates them.

Vanya is different.

He likes their quiet. The kind that keeps you warm without saying. He likes the way her hair would fall across her eyes when she reads. He likes her even without the Academy and he'd like her still even if their father never brought them together.

But most of all, he likes that Vanya is kind.

When he limps over, and she grabs the bandages, she winces every time she sees the pain on his arm and tries her best to apply the medicine as gently as she can.

'Are you okay?' She asks him. It's a question that leaves him reeling.

He's never sure what to do with her kindness, with that honest, open way of hers that leaves him bare.

In a house like this she's the only one who ever felt real.

‘It's nothing.’ He tells her.

'It looks really bad…' She frowns, 'If you need anything else…. I can make you coffee or...?'

'I'm fine. Thanks.'

He watches while she works. When they were 10, Vanya caught a fever that kept her bed-ridden for a week.

It was the longest week of his life.

Most of it was a blur. He can recall her pale skin and the sweat that's stuck on her bed sheets like grime. He can remember the dreadful, swirling pit in his stomach as he holds her hands inside his fists and thinks that if they’d ever let her die then he will never forgive them.

Now, he watches the way the sunlight streaks through her hair like quiet gold. There’s a warmth in his belly when they’re sitting like this, sharing in each other’s quiet.

Vanya is different. Even in the Academy. Even with the mark burning on his skin like a brand.

——

Vanya waits a long time for her soulmate mark to appear.

It never does.

By the time she turns 18 she stops waiting.

It was unusual for one to never have a mark, but not impossible. For Vanya Hargreeves it's just another sign of the universe’s divine plan to constantly screw her over.

‘Figures the only thing special about me is that I’ll never be special to someone else.’ She laughs bitterly.

——

Adulthood brings in change the way a tide sweeps over a dusty shore. After Ben’s death, the halls of the Academy become hollow, the umbrella academy stripped down to what it truly was, an old man’s paranoia and a lifetime of servitude to a ‘father’ that never really cared about them past what he could use.

The organisation, restless and jaded after so many years, pulls away one by one, guided by their own compass and a healthy dose of misdirection.

Five and Vanya separate. His work is his life now. He's built a sort of prestige when he was in the Academy and he figures it's time to cash in, now that he's out and Reginald's constant disapproval matters as much as the gum on his boot when he steps out on the way to MIT.

He’s a sort of teacher, occasionally organising lectures for those brain-dead kids at university, but his real work is his research and it's thrilling to be recognised like this, to have colleagues who could keep up with him intellectually. His research grant makes life easy and Five drowns himself in work and in his papers. He doesn't think about his past life in the Academy. He doesn't talk to any of his siblings.

The only exception is Vanya.

He sets aside time in his busy schedule for her weekly calls. He'll lose his mind if he doesn't. He tells her as much over the phone while he's nursing a large mug of dark coffee. His paperwork is piled up to his head, it’s almost comically grim the amount of work he needs to do. Vanya would’ve teased him about it if she was here.

'That moron, Bill is hanging around again.' He twirls his pen, agitated. 'He keeps hanging around outside the door, asking me if I want to have lunch with the others.’

‘Maybe he just wants to be friends?’

Five scoffs, ‘Well, I’m about five minutes away from stabbing a pencil through his skull.

She chuckles to herself. The sound is a raspy, jumpy static behind the line and it calms him a little though he can’t understand what she finds so utterly hilarious with the situation.

‘Well, I can’t talk long. I’ve got to take care of this… thing, I’m doing.’

There’s a large pop and Vanya’s resounding shit! that echoes behind the line.

He frowns, 'Are you cooking?'.

‘Uh, yeah, sorry about that, I was just um— shit… I’m trying out the cookbook you sent me.’

‘Well, how’s that working out for you.’ He says. He lays back on his seat, feeling the soft leather pressing on his back.

‘Horribly.’ She sighs, ‘God. I think I’m just gonna stick to um, noodles or something. Not sure if this is going to work out.’

‘You know, you have to make sure you don’t turn it up too high or it’s gonna go everywhere. I can help you, just keep me on the phone.’

‘No you don’t have to, honestly, you’re probably really busy, and I don’t want to impose or anything.’

He’s irritated, ‘You’re not imposing if I’m offering.’

‘It’s fine, Five. Really.’ She says, though he can hear the smile behind her voice, ‘I’ll figure this out. Thanks, though. I’ll just whip something up for when you get here.’

He sighs. It’s frustrating that he can’t be there for her in times like these. Now, they’re no longer kids, and the distance that separates them is an hour plane ride away, instead of just a couple of metres walk down a hallway.

But what could he do? He wanted to pursue his career and she wanted to stay in the same city.

‘I’ll see you tonight then?’

‘Course.’ He says. ‘See you.’

He waits before she hangs up and the dial closes and leaves behind its familiar tone.

That’s when Bill comes in and promptly gets kicked out along with his tray of christmas cupcakes.

——

Five makes up for the distance by spending his holidays with her. Thats why, tonight, he is flying over for Christmas so they can enjoy hot cocoa and cheap whiskey in her shitty apartment, and then talk about the past month and everything else in between. She hates Jonathan, that cellist in her orchestra. And Mr. Kowalski’s cat that leaves cat poop near the sill. The stink always wafts inside during a windy day and makes the apartment smell like cat poop.

He tells her about Bill from the office and his incessant need to ask about his day, like it’s the most interesting topic he’s ever heard.

Vanya is the only one who he celebrates these holidays with. She’s never flown to his and that’s fine, he prefers her apartment anyway. It’s bright and sunny in the afternoon in a way that doesn’t make his head ache. The couch isn’t hard on his back, and her scent lingers on the blankets and it feels at home here, more than he’s ever felt anywhere else.

Tonight though, they leave the empty wine glasses on the table, and then they drag her mattress on the living room together. She takes a couple of spare blankets and her pillows, and he pitches up the blankets with some pegs on a coat rack and a couple of lamps until the living room is transformed into their own pillow fortress.

Vanya lays flat on the mattress, ‘I think this is the best pillow fortress ever made.’ She says, matter-of-fact.

Her cheeks and nose are flushed from the wine, and her eyes glassy. Vanya could never handle her alcohol very well. The sight of it makes his stomach twist tight though, and he doesn’t want to think about that now when she’s only a couple of inches away from him and the alcohol is making everything swim like a dream.

Vanya rolls over and he looks at him with a silly grin that makes it hard to repress his own, so he doesn’t.

‘Not that you’re wrong, but care to explain how you came to that conclusion?’

‘Cause we made it.’ She grins, smug.

He grins too.

‘And cause you’re here.’ Her eyes don't leave his, ‘I’m glad you came over. You always do.’

‘Why would I want to miss this?’ The wine is making his head spin, but her hair is splayed out around her head, and the dim light makes her eyes shine like two pairs of chocolate stars. She’s beautiful, even when she’s drunk and she’s trying her best to get under his skin.

‘Go to sleep.’ He says.

She giggles.

Five sighs, and pulls the blankets over her, ‘Go to sleep, Vanya.’

‘I don’t want to.’ But he watches as she buries herself under the covers anyway.

‘Goodnight.’ He says.

‘Yeah, yeah.’

He laughs.

‘I hope you meet your soulmate and they take good care of you.’ Vanya yawns, and turns over, ‘You deserve to be happy, Five.’

Her voice is barely comprehensible under the sheets. But it’s like time has stopped for him. He looks at her, and his heart is beating loud behind his eardrums. He thinks about what he feels about her, and how much he wants to say.

And he thinks about her laugh, her red, drunken nose and the slow, steady rise and fall of her breathing and falls just a little bit more in love with her than before.

‘I’m happy now.’ Five mumbles against the kiss he plants on her forehead. He knows this, even when the feeling in his chest is twisting, and the words are sinking down his throat like a stone.

And maybe if he said it long enough he can start to believe it.

#fiveya #five x vanya #its actually more hopeful than what it seems rn lol #I promise this would all make sense in the end!#happy valentines day!

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toneofdarkness · 4 years ago

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GENERAL !

NAME . Rei Sakuma NICKNAME . Vampire Bastard // Rei Sakuma of the Three/Five Oddballs // Anija // Useless/Annoying Bug // the Demon King // various honorifics attached AGE . 18-19 (!) // 19-20 (!!) SPECIES . Human(?)/Vampire

PERSONAL !

MORALITY . lawful / chaotic / good / neutral / evil / grey RELIGION . Catholic (non-practicing) SINS . greed / gluttony / sloth / lust / pride / envy / wrath VIRTUES . chastity / charity / diligence / humility / kindness / patience / justice PRIMARY GOALS . try to live life as much as he can KNOWN LANGUAGES . Japanese // English // Arabic // Swedish // Italian // Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) // Korean // German // Russian // Spanish SECRETS . “Kukuku~”

PHYSICAL !

BUILD . scrawny / bony / slender / fit / athletic / curvy / herculean / pudgy / average HEIGHT . 179cm // 5′10 WEIGHT . 134lbs. // 61 kg. SCARS / BIRTHMARKS . none, his skin is smooth and unblemished like marble ABILITIES / POWERS *. superstar-level stage performance // magic spells/curses // higher-than-human strength, speed and agility // genius-level intelligence // persuasion and charm // energy drain // paralyzing glare // political and business influence *these are more effective at night; daylight weakens him, but not to the point of total ineptness

FAVORITES !

FOOD . tomatoes // dry-cured ham // breaded pork cutlets // vegetable tempura // seafood // dark chocolate (80%-90% cacao) // tomato ketchup // absurd amounts of cheese on toast DRINK . tomato juice // tea PIZZA TOPPING . ham and pineapple // plenty of tomatoes and all the cheese COLOR . black // violet // red // silver // gold MUSIC GENRE . rock // jazz // classical BOOK GENRE . manga // mystery-suspense thrillers // horror MOVIE GENRE . horror // animal friends SEASON . autumn // early spring CURSE WORD . [*gasp*] “Language!” SCENTS . flowers (roses) // freshly fried meat // baked goods // fresh grass

FUN STUFF !

BOTTOM OR TOP . …Changes according to mood. SINGS IN THE SHOWER . Yes. And in the bath too. LIKES PUNS . Once he gets it.

TAGGED BY . snatched from @awesomeuchuu TAGGING . Anyone?

-----

GENERAL !

NAME . Eichi Tenshouin NICKNAME . Emperor // Tyrant // Ecchan // Tenshi // Eichi-sama / -oniichan AGE . 11-18 (!) // 18-19 (!!) SPECIES . Human (unlike some people)

PERSONAL !

MORALITY . lawful / chaotic / good / neutral / evil / grey RELIGION . unbelieving twat SINS . greed / gluttony / sloth / lust / pride / envy / wrath VIRTUES . chastity / charity / diligence / humility / kindness / patience / justice PRIMARY GOALS . make a really lasting mark upon this world KNOWN LANGUAGES . Japanese // English // he can just hire a translator SECRETS . “Don’t we all~”

PHYSICAL !

BUILD . scrawny / bony / slender / fit / athletic / curvy / herculean / pudgy / average HEIGHT . 179cm // 5′10 WEIGHT . 130lbs. // 59 kg. SCARS / BIRTHMARKS . surgical and medical needle scars here and there ABILITIES / POWERS . infinite (haha no but still too much) amount of funds // mimicry by sight // can tell if one is sick at a glance // political and business influence

FAVORITES !

FOOD . veal steaks // hamburgers (sandwiches or steaks) // bacon // curious (junk) food DRINK . all sorts of tea PIZZA TOPPING . bacon // sausages // cheeseburger COLOR . white // blue // gold // beige MUSIC GENRE . any, really, so long as they’re no heart-stoppingly loud BOOK GENRE . any that aren’t boring MOVIE GENRE . any, comedy maybe SEASON . spring CURSE WORD . 'Damn.’ SCENTS . cooked meat // fruity scents // fresh baked goods

FUN STUFF !

BOTTOM OR TOP . he’ll die, you know... SINGS IN THE SHOWER . Yes. But not for too long. LIKES PUNS . He loves them, just as much as he loves SHAMELESSLY DISHING them

-----

GENERAL !

NAME . Madara Mikejima NICKNAME . Mama // Mikejimama // Mikejimaman // Mama-chan // Mike-chan-senpai // Miike (as a child) AGE . 17-18 (!) // 18-19 (!!) SPECIES . Human // Super Mama

PERSONAL !

MORALITY . lawful / chaotic / good / neutral / evil / grey RELIGION . Mama’s faith died a loooooong time ago SINS . greed / gluttony / sloth / lust / pride / envy / wrath VIRTUES . chastity / charity / diligence / humility / kindness / patience / justice PRIMARY GOALS . crush anything and everything that comes in the way of his loved ones KNOWN LANGUAGES . Japanese // English // Arabic // Italian // Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) // Korean // German // Spanish SECRETS . “Nope, nope! Mama can’t tell you~”

PHYSICAL !

BUILD . scrawny / bony / slender / fit / athletic / curvy / herculean / pudgy / average HEIGHT . 180cm // 5′11 WEIGHT . 141lbs. // 64 kg. SCARS / BIRTHMARKS . some faded ones on his back ABILITIES / POWERS . too energetic // too strong // too crafty // too adaptive // too resourceful // too cheerful // too affectionate // too good at acting // too persuasive // too much of a presence yet can have NO PRESENCE AT ALL like a cat // is there nothing he can’t do // too done with everything to care for most things that are not in his interest

FAVORITES !

FOOD . soba // onigiri // okonomiyaki // takoyaki // squid on a stick // kakigori with anmitsu // mochi // taiyaki with anko // home-cooked traditional Japanese meals DRINK . tea // ramune PIZZA TOPPING . squid + nori + salmon/tuna + mayonnaise + corn + potatoes + ramen noodles COLOR . gray // green // sepia MUSIC GENRE . Japanese folk songs BOOK GENRE . action thriller MOVIE GENRE . superheroes (but not aaanymore) SEASON . summer CURSE WORD . Mama doesn’t curse, and neither should yoooouuuuuu~ SCENTS . fireworks // broiled food // coffee // roses

FUN STUFF !

BOTTOM OR TOP . …Top. But he’ll switch if you ask him to. SINGS IN THE SHOWER . Yes. And in the bath as well. AND LOUDLY. LIKES PUNS . Yes.

#lazy tomato #as rei #and a buncha others #hymnofheaven #yourmarkofambition

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nrsranger · 3 years ago

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1.7

Ord Mantell

Ord Utellian (pop 10,003)

The Mantellian Sepritist

1904 hrs

The Mantellian Sepritist was a large bar on the outskirts of the City of Ord Utellian, which served as the host city for the New Republic Fleet, it was a three walled establishment with a low brick fence extending out, then comprised the fourth wall leaving 12 meter by 12 meter section in the open air. The walls of the bar were decorated with art and artficats from the days of the Old Republic, Old Mantellian battle helmets, the most prized artifact was an Old Republic Trooper SpecForce armor from the famed Spec Ops Unit known as Havoc Squad. Several dozen tables sprinkled the large floor space. Currently all the tables and the bar space were filled out with uniformed officers from the New Republic Navy. The noise was kept to a modest level with occasional outbursts of laughter, that's what Dorman thought when he, Yarn and L.T Commander Maldoza walked in. The three of them crossed the room and found a table with five people gatherd around it. The Light Blue uniform identifyed them as pilots in the Star Fighter Corps. Glancing at the rank insignia on the shoulder and chest they were identified as three Squad leaders, a Flight L.T and the highest ranking officer, a Flight Captian. The moment Dorman saw the Squad leader insgnia he instantly snapped a salute, Yarn was a bit slower as he went to attention. Then men seated at the table turned toward the out of place display of promt millitary protocol.

“Who’s on watch at this table?” L.t Commander Maldoza demanded crisply

“I am” Flight Captian Alek Mauz said getting up and facing the two men and the Bothan as if they were in a standoff. “At ease Ensigns”

“Do I even need to ask?” Maldoza said all formalily and hostility dropping.

“I don’t know why you still do?” Alek said then added as they shook hands in a way only old friends can shake hands “These are my two new pilots?”

“Yes, they are, enjoy them!” L.T Commander Maldoza said “I have to go immedatly” he added

“Your not going to stay, Ralrost?” Alek siad

“I wish I could but things are in motion things that require my attention” Ralrost said “or is that to vuage” throwing a glace toward Dorman and Yarn

“Anything I should know about?” Alek said

“Not yet, but make sure none of your pilots are” Ralrost stammed a bit as if trying to remeber a coiloqual saying “K.O, we might have work tommorrow”

Alek starred into his friends face susspisouly, “yeah, sure thing” he said hessitently, but then continuing he said “Joker, get the L.T Commander somthing for the road!”

As Joker stood up and hopped over the bar “Does he want some Bothan concocktion or a cup of Jawa juice?”

“Careful! I’m the guy who can get you a date with every Todarian drag queen from here to Naboo” Ralrost said drawing “oooooOOOO’s” from the whole crowd

Tinged with a bit of embarssement but with a playful smile “It was one time! Howd you know about that?,” Joker said

“What can I say, I’m Bothan…..and the fact that you talk when your K.O’ed drunk” Ralrost said smiling ear to ear

“Well you just earned yourself a Bothan Protein Martini” Joker said as he assembled the drink.

Ralrost then felt a buzzing in his pocket and grabbed out his commlink, listened for a bit shut it down and looked up just as Joker was finishing with the drink and was looking for a to go container he found a hydro-cylinder took off the cap took a wif then made a face as he poured it out into the sink, he then refiled the container with Ralrost’s Bothan Protein Martini, he then put the cap back on. The bartender starred not caring, so long as he got paid he then shrugged his shoulders and went about his business.

“Alright Commander here you go” Joker said as he tossed it to Ralrost,

L.T Commander Maldoza caught it, thanked Joker and exited the bar in a rush.

“What was that all about?” Yarn said

“Ralrost Maldoza so so high in the Bothan interllignce network even I don’t know how much he is informed about, if he is worried, somthing is big is happening” the Flight L.T said

“Trippers right, Everyone lets go light on the drinks!” Alek said

The bar erupted in low grummbles put deep down they all knew that Maldoza information has saved their lives more time than they could count, and thats all the ones they knew off. Alek Mauz then turned his attention to the two new Ensigns that are now under his command

“So what are your names Ensigns?” Alek Mauz said

“Ensgin Yarn Belmic! Sir!”

“Ensign Dorman Tarn!,Sir!”

“Congratulations, Belmic your Firebird 11 your temparory Call Sign is 11, Tarn your Firebird 12 your temparory Call Sign is 12, now 11, 12 take a seat and lets make some introductions” Alek Mauz stood up and said “Fire Birds introduce your selfs to your new squad mates”

From behind them came “I’m Derci Alpine but you will refere to me as Joker, Squad leader, or the King of Naboo”

“Names Taus Maic I’m your new Flight L.T Callsigns Tripper” said one of the men sitting at the same table as them

“Call Sign Squid” Said a Quarren sitting at a circular table with three other pilots playing a friendly game of Sabbac with table snacks making up most of the winnings “but my name is Talllos Quarn”

The person the human to his right said in a deep voice “Mac Ran callsign Brawl”

The Sabbac dealer was a Rodian who said “Ives Derven, Sabbac”

The final person at the table was a human who said “Sir, Magnolian Vardeenios 5th lord to the thrown of Varlelos call sign Drip”

The next voice sat a table with three Rodians belonging to a Weequay “Call sign is Mob, thats all you need to know right now”

“Mash Ric Callsign Root” said a human sitting at the bar alone “thats Utapa Tarples grandson of the Great General Tarples from the Clone Wars, his Callsign is Gungan he dose not like to talk infront of most people” Mash said indicating a Gungan sitting on a chair leaning aginst the wall with his uniform cover covering his face appering to be taking a nap.

“This is Squad Leader of the Night Owls Natalia Gee callsign Vine” Alek said indicating the Theelin Female “This is the A-Wing Squad Leader Otis Tik or Noodles” indicting the two squad leaders sitting at their table “and last but not least my name is Flight Captian Alek Mauz, Callsign Firebird and I am your CAG” said the ageing man that gave them their call signs ”You probaly have alot of questions, and so long it does not interfere with the enjoyableness of the evening, you may ask”

“Umm ok,my first question is, what kinda Jedi esc stunt did you pull to get a whole X-Wing squadron named after you?” Yarn Belmic said

“Oh ho ho ho! Now thats a story!” Tripper exclaimed leaning in revealing how much he enjoyed telling this story “You don't know that your sitting in the mists of a galaxy wide celebrity, Alek Mauz is credited with the last confirmed kill of the Galactic Civil War”

“And the Call Sign Firebird?” Yarn said

“If you stick around for a while you might learn why” Alek said with a hint of reluctance.

“I have a question” Dorman said talking twoard Tripper “what did Commander Maldoza mean by asking whos on watch?”

“Now, that is a practice that dates back to the founding of the Rebellion, whenever the Rebels needed to blow off steam and went into a cantina or bar they would always pick out someone to be on watch incase Imperials came in or if any of his comrades wanted to pick a fight there would always be a sober man to break up the fight or to get his men out of there, when Captian Namin who was in the Rebelion from the early days was put in command of the Ranger he instituted this practice” Alek said

“And why are you always on watch?” Dorman asked

“Amoung my people, our gods have promised us in what we call the Palaidin Promise, that who ever swears off Alcohol, additicve substance, sexual relations, and who lives their life as moral as they can, they will be blessed by the Gods that we will be faster, stronger and better than our enemies.” Alek said slowly and cautioly as if this was something very important to him and he did not want anyone to misunderstand.

“This is all fascinating but Captain can we return to the topic at hand? I need to prepare my squad for the next threat” Noodles, the A-Wing Squad leader butted in impatiently.

“Yes, Yes as I explained before, both the First Order and the Resistnace pose threats to the New Republic, and we need to be prepared to deal with both of them” Alek said

“I don’t buy that Captain, the Resistance was formed as a result of the First Order making several threatening moves” said Vine The Y-Wing Squad leader

“Senator Organa only formed the Resistance as a result of a psychological need to fight someone somewhere and when she runs out of enemies who will she fight. I am just saying, look at our training exercise today, we went up against three light cruisers, one grand cruiser and several dozen fighter craft. The carrier jumped out when we destroyed most of the fighters who had 4 cruisers and fighter crafts?” Noodles said

“I met the Senator! she is not a person who is addicted to violence!” Vine exclaimed

“No, she does not seem like a violent person but look when the Empire fell she stayed in the fight to the very end until all the Remnants no matter how small were ratted out and crushed them. She has been fighting her whole life then when Alderan...um, blew up something snapped and she has been a loose cannon, fighting anyone who raised a blaster in her general direction.” Noodles said getting more heated as he’s speech went on

“Your beginning to sound like an Imperial, because Senator Organa has done nothing but sacrifice anything and everything to keep our galaxy safe and all your doing is complaining” Vine said getting just as heated

“No, no you miss understand me, Natalia. I am very grateful for what all she has done she sacrificed everything for the benefit of the Rebellion so that today I don't have to live in a tyrannical empire, but when there is finally peace, what would warriors do, they find another war to fight and when there are none, they start one” Noodles escalating his voice

“I don’t know but the First Order is clearly the bigger threat, and the Resistance is ill maned and ill equipped to take on the First Order or anyone for that matter” Vine said

“You won’t hear an argument from me on that one” Noodles said “But that won't stop them growing”

Yarn was following the conversation very closely but his concentration was interrupted as Joker walked back from the bar, grabbed a seat flipped it backwards and sat down resting his hands on the head rest and looked at Tripper, and Alek who at this point have stayed out of the conversation letting the The squad leaders duke it out verbally. At this point in the argument it turned to how the Resistance is “only made up of Old War Heros like Acbar and Organa, people with nowhere left to go and academy washouts”

This is where Yarn jumped in “I had a classmate in the Academy who got his first posting as an X-Wing pilot before deserting to the resistance” That was like throwing Coaxium off a clift as the argument turned into a three way argument with Noodles saying how the Resistance is a dangerous enemy causing desertion to fill their ranks with Military personal, Vine defended the Resistance recruitment practices by justifying how most of the Navy would leave to fight the real enemy and Yarn was somewhere in the middle.

“Oh Shut up and kiss already!!” Joker said over the clamor drawing the attention of a few other pilots. Noodles and Vine looked at Joker with a stare that could kill, then looked at eachother as they begian to laugh as they stood up faced eachother then boom! They were kissing, and kissing, and kissing either passionatly or viloently, drawing laugh cheers and whoops from the other pilots this went on for few minutes.

Trapper looked accross the table at Yarns face contorted in shock

“Oh, no we broke the new guy” Joker said

“Eleven?, Eleven? You there, Ord Mantel to Eleven come in Eleven” Tripper said waving his hand toward Yarn.

“Huh!!, WHAT THE CRIFT JUST HAPPEND” Yarn said in shock

Chuckling Joker said “Oh that? They have been together for the last few weeks, they argue like this just to throw us off their scent, but IT DIDN'T WORK” he directed the last portion toward the kissing couple.

“Hey, Hey it's Elvens first day here, let's not scare him too bad, ok?” Tripper said nugging Joker.

Throughout this whole ordeal Dorman sat back minding his own business and read the one book he always carried with him in his right thigh’s pants pocket

Alek noticed what Dorman was reading and with a roll of his eyes he realized just how much work his old Bothan friend cut out for him.

“What your reading there, Twelve?” Alek asked

“Just refreshing myself on whatThe New Republic StarFighter Regulation Manual says about improvisational combat plans” Dorman said

“Let me set a few things straight” Alek said then asked “let me see your book”

“Sure, “ Dorman said as he handed it to his Captian

“Look you see this book? Who wrote it?” Alek said displaying the front of the manuel

“Senator Trayis Malcor of Russan?” Dorman said puzzled

“Exactly, this book is useless! It is a military manuel written by a politician, a politician who does not even have a lick of military service” Alek said demeaningly

“Well, sir, uhhh” Dorman stammed

“Look Bookworm there is only one book that matters here in the field” Alek said slamming the manuel down reaching in and holding up a little black book that contained the names of people who should be notified in the event of his death or capture, it also contained personal notes and the last will and testament of Alek “Firebird” Mauz, every pilot filled out two, one he or she carried and one left in their lockers. “The only thing that matters” Alek continued is returning to the people who are in this book and making sure they never hear what I wrote inside it, the manuel only hinders that goal” Alek said with the most stearn voice anyone ever heard him use

A few seconds passed then “Joker?” Tripper said, shouting over low tumult of the crowd trying to lighten the increasingly darking mood “Did you hear that?”

“Yeaah, it sounds like a Callsign” Joker said, jumping on top of the table drawing all the pilot's attention.

“As your Squad leader” Joker said “and Flight L.T” Tripper joined, “we now crisan you Ensing-” they said together “what’s your name” Joker ask “Droman Tarn” Tarn filled in,

“We now Crisan you Ensign Dorman Bookworm Tarn!” they said together

“That's too on the nose Joker!” Root said “Get more creative!”

“Ok! Just Dorman Worm Tarn”

“But that’s my call sign!” Waldmir Vardom a Rodian A-Wing pilot said

“You're not making it easy, Worm!” Joker then said “Ok, ok fine If nobody else has any other exueses you are now Ensign Dorman Book Tarn!!!!”

No body interupted

“Alrighty” Tripper shouted “Let's give Book a Ranger Carrier Air Group Welcome!!!”

“WELCOME TO THE RANGER, BOOK” the whole bar erupted, even Noodles and Vine stopped kissing for a moment to join in the shout.

#star wars #fanfic #writing

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japandiary · 6 years ago

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south korea (day 5)

on my fifth day in seoul, i spent the entire day in hongdae. since i was traveling by myself, i decided to browse airbnb’s ‘experience’ option. instead of listing homes, experiences list different things to explore, which include: nightlife, nature, history, concerts, music, art, workshops, cooking classes, and more. i decided to book my first experience: a kimchi-making class.

our host, grace, welcomed me into her beautiful home with her husband nathan. grace told me it was her very first class. i was quite shocked, no wonder it was such a good deal at only $35. we waited for one other guest named austin from australia. as we waited, i noticed the table was prepared with kimchi ingredients that were labeled to perfection. her home was nicely decorated with a black, gray, and white theme. the table also had a bottle of cold water (labeled with our names), apron, table napkin, and brochure. when austin arrived, the four of us (grace, nathan, austin, and i) introduced ourselves and got ready to start the class.

while introducing ourselves, we chatted over sikhye, a traditional rice milk drink. grace then started off with a video/powerpoint on a tv wheeled out to us explaining the history of kimchi. she then explained that all the ingredients today were from her parent’s farm in taean, south of seoul. her pride for korean cuisine showed in how she expressed her presentation and it inspired me to try my hardest once we started making the kimchi hands-on.

after her presentation, we started the kimchi making process. grace told us how to prepare, step by step, and was very patient with us. since the vegetables needed time to correctly salt, we made our way to a large supermarket nearby to purchase some bossam (pork) to have with our finished kimchi later for dinner.

at the supermarket, grace pointed out some recommendations for korean snack souvenirs and what was worth trying. these included her favorites: chocopie, shin ramyun, instant jjigae, instant jajangmyeon, and dried squid. it was very helpful for my next grocery trip.

once we bought bossam, we went back to her apartment and checked on the kimchi after its salting process. we had prepared yeolmu-kimchi (young radish) and baechu-kimchi (cabbage). after we decided it was time to mix the red paste, we added the paste to the salted vegetables and finished off our kimchi by combining the two types into airtight jars! we put a few off to the side for a blind comparison contest between austin & i’s makings.

my happy results shown above. right after we finished our kimchi, grace prepared us a beautiful dinner consisting of boiled pork, japchae (noodles), and jeon (korean pancake). she also set aside some lettuce, seaweed, and two different types of sauce. she had us try her parent’s unique seaweed (below, on the left vs. the regular seaweed on the right), which had a fuzzy-like texture that melted in your mouth with a strong seaweed flavor that was much saltier than a regular seaweed sheet. it elevated our dinner’s experience with the fresh ingredients from her family’s farm. the entire class and dinner made me feel right at home and my whole trip to korea alone worth it. we shared dinner over stories of ourselves and our travels, our aspirations, and our pasts. it was a heartwarming and learning experience that i wont forget.

in the end, austin won the blind-kimchi taste test and won a small cute souvenir drink coaster. grace then surprised me with one also, since she said it was a gift for having us on her first night teaching the class. austin and i left with a full stomach and a full heart from grace and nathan having us over that night.

since we made new friends through that class, austin and i decided to spend a couple hours walking around hongdae by stopping by some stores, watching some buskers perform, and ending the night with the $1 waffles once again. i had to show a new friend this great treat! the next morning, i had a big american breakfast at travel maker. i prepared for something i’ve been anticipating for a very long time: my first tattoo.

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ourimpavidheroine · 6 years ago

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Wei and Sitiak at an Aquarium (For my dearest queenie)

“That’s a lot of racket.” He blinked at the bellicose roaring that filled the entire hall with its noise. The male, surrounded by mostly underwhelmed females, was one big, obnoxious beast.

“Turtle seals,” Sitiak replied, idly reading the placard in front of the tank. “Native to the North Pole. You ought to hear them in mating season.”

“I bet everyone hears them in the mating season.” Wei’s grin got even bigger as Sitiak returned it.

“You’re not wrong about that.” He backed up politely so a woman and her children could read the placard as well.

Varrick Global Industries Aquarium had been built several years back; he’d never visited although he knew all of his various nieces and nephews loved the place. Museums of any stripe had never really been his thing. Too much looking, not enough doing. Sitiak had suggested it, though, and he was up for going wherever he recommended. Was it a date? A date-date? He wasn’t sure. The man had given him a kitten! He frequently just showed up at his flat, always bringing some sort of gift, food or flowers or even a little toy for Blossom. He wasn’t really sure what was going on. A few nights ago he’d been over to Mako’s place for dinner and had asked Korra, back in town for a time, for her thoughts. She was Southern Water Tribe instead of Northern like Sitiak, but her father was Northern and if anyone might have a clue he figured it’d be her. He’d told her what was going on; she’d just stared at him and smirked before giving him a good, hard punch in the arm. What can I say, we’re polite guests, was all she’d told him, but he’d heard her laughing her ass off when she walked away from him to say something to Mako, who’d gone on to give him the hairy eyeball the way only Mako could.

Right. Korra: Not helpful.

He wasn’t sure who else to ask. Wu knew a lot about pretty much everything (and had a Northern Water Tribe grandmother to boot) but if he asked Wu then he’d immediately turn around and tell Nuo, who would run straight to his mother, and all he needed was his mother and Nuo sticking their noses into his business any more than they already were. Which they would, no doubt about it. Everyone was up in his business lately. He got it, he did. He knew they were worried about him, and Qi was so busy with all their wedding business that everyone else was trying to make up for their absence, keeping him occupied. On the one hand he appreciated it; it really brought it home how much people cared about him. On the other hand, he couldn’t tell what was going on with Sitiak. Was he just being friendly, keeping him from hitting the nearest bar? Or was there something more?

“The next room’s my favorite,” Sitiak said, breaking into his thoughts. He was smiling again. Fuck, but the man was handsome. He had his dark brown hair long and loose today, held back with a single beaded clasp, falling to his waist in soft waves and curls the way little Meili’s did. He’d never seen it that way before. Usually he had it done up in several braids with beads in them, all gathered together at the base of his skull into a single thick braid that was covered with a long beaded leather wrap. It kept it back and out of the way when he was healing, he guessed. He’d never, in his life, paid that much attention to someone’s hair before. Wing had talked about how much he loved Nuo’s hair and he’d always dismissed it; he wasn’t dismissing it now, however. And those eyes! The bright blue of a summer sky, striking against that cool bronze skin. He’d already asked him about his tribal tattoos, which he found wildly attractive; Sitiak had shown him how they incorporated both of his parents’ clans, a tradition up north. It wasn’t like in the former Earth Kingdom, where children took on the name of the parent who was higher up along the nobility chain. They’d always be Beifongs. Well, unless you were Qi and marrying the former prince, that is. Not that he was thinking about marriage or anything.

Shit. He had it bad, he knew it. He couldn’t even explain it to himself. Normally, he’d find a man he thought was attractive, exert a little charm, enjoy him for a night or even a few nights, and move on. It’s who he’d always been, and he’d been happy with that life.

No. He hadn’t been happy with that life. Not really. He needed to quit trying to pretend that he was.

Qi had told him, in those terrible months before he’d been kicked off the team, that fucking shitshow of a time that he didn’t want to remember, that he’d never been in love with Bolin, not really. Fuck, but he’d been furious with Qi for saying it. He got it now, though. Bolin had just been a crush; nothing more than thwarted lust. He finally understood what people had always been trying to say, that Bolin was never the right man for him. He wasn’t. Oh, he’d always liked Bolin; he enjoyed his company, thought he was the best thing in the world for Opal. But now that he’d started looking at him with his head instead of his dick it had all clicked into place. Bolin wanted nothing more than to be taken care of and he wasn’t the man to do it.

If he was honest with himself - deeply honest, truly honest - then he’d have to acknowledge that he’d always, in the hidden part of his heart, hoped that someone would take care of him as well. He didn’t know what to think about that, didn’t know how to build back whatever remained of himself and his career on top of that uneasy revelation. So as usual, he tucked it away into the part of his brain where things that made him uncomfortable went to hide.

There was so much he didn’t know right now. Sometimes it exhausted him, all of the thinking, all of the contemplating of his fucked up life. He was, when it came down to it, a simple man. He’d never been one to overthink things, and even now it was wearying him, spoiling the joy and brightness of the day. He took a deep breath and let it go before turning back to Sitiak.

“What’s in the next room, then?”

“Come and see,” he replied, and put his hand to his lower back, guiding him along. They went through an archway into a large, airy room, the center of it dominated by a low, c-shaped tank, open on top. People were standing around it, sleeves for the most part rolled up, reaching their hands in with varying expressions of delight or disgust.

“Can we...do we get to touch things?” He couldn’t stop grinning, and he looked up at Sitiak, those blue eyes twinkling at him.

“We do indeed. Come on.” Sitiak started to roll up his own sleeves and he quickly yanked up his own, feeling his face heat up a bit as Sitiak clucked his tongue at him and pulled them back down, rolling them back up properly. “You’ll get soaking wet,” he scolded lightly.

“Are you a waterbender or aren’t you?” he sassed right back, and that got him a low chuckle.

“Just stand still for a moment.” He finished his sleeves and gave him a nudge. “Go on then. Careful when you touch the thing that looks like a mop of purple and orange noodles. It has barbs on it if you rub it the wrong way.”

He immediately plunged his hands in, gasping. “Hey! It’s cold!”

“The ocean’s like that, yes.” Sitiak put his own hand in, running a gentle finger across the back of a sea sponge.

A little boy was standing next to him, on his tiptoes, trying desperately to reach for something that looked like a star with twelve long arms. Without thinking he took his hands out of the water, wiped them down on his trousers and hoisted him up, holding him securely over the tank so he could reach. “There you go, you’ve got it now.”

“It feels funny!” the little boy crowed, giggling.

“Yeah? What’s it called?”

“A star squid,” the boy replied immediately. “We have a book at home.”

“You do, huh? What’s that thing, then?” He jerked his chin at it.

“Sea cucumber.”

“Naw, now you’re just funnin’ me!”

The boy giggled. “Nuh-uh! It really is!” The boy’s father joined them then, and with a smile took his son into his arms, leaving him to stick his own hands back in the water. He touched the sea cucumber - it was cold and fairly slimy, and he shuddered with it - and then stretched out his fingers to touch the purple and orange noodles. “Ouch!”

“What did I say?” Sitiak was shaking his head at him, clearly amused. “You’re one of those that simply must touch the hot stove after your mother tells you not to, aren’t you?”

“That’s me alright.” He slid a tentative hand over the edge of the star squid, wrinkling up his nose as it grasped at his fingers. “Ooooh, kind of squishy. But strong, at the same time.” He shot him a look. “So let me guess, you were one of those good boys who never touched the stove after Mommy said no.”

He watched him for a long moment before raising his hand out of the water, fingers outstretched. “Ouch.”

“Are you trying to tell me you were a bad boy?” He snorted. “I don’t buy it. I’m the bad boy here.”

“You, Wei Beifong, have never been a bad boy. Just an impulsive one with very little self-control.” A small, direct surge washed over his submerged arms, pushing insistently at him. “I, on the other hand, broke the rules to prove that I could.”

“Get the f--uuuuhmm…” he quickly swallowed it, kids being present “...naw. Get out.”

“How was it that you put it the other day?” He thought for a moment. “Ah. A hot mess. I was a hot mess.”

“You.” His eyebrows went up on their own accord. “You were a hot mess. You.”

Sitiak nodded soberly. “To the point where I nearly drowned myself and some friends.” He drew his hands through the water, shaping them into a large wave before letting it settle down with barely a ripple. “I was angry and I had been drinking quite heavily; because of that I was unable to bend properly and control the storm when it hit the skiff we were on. I nearly killed all four of us. It was not a good point in my life.” He met his eyes. “That’s when my sister told me I had to leave the North Pole.”

“I didn’t know.” He couldn’t wrap his mind around it. Sitiak? The guy was right up there with Mako for being Mister Upstanding. Then again, he knew Mako had some pretty dark corners of his own. Maybe they all did.

“I don’t exactly discuss it,” he replied, and then sighed. “But I think you deserve to know.” He smiled down at very tiny girl and carefully moved a sea cucumber to where she could get to it, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. “Can you reach?” he asked, in that deep voice of his, and the little girl splashed as she grasped for it. “Gently, now, you don’t want to hurt it.” The girl obeyed, her face lighting up as she touched it. “Yes, that’s funny, isn’t it?”

“Yeah!” she giggled, and Sitiak spoke quietly as he guided her fingers into the tank.

“I’ve spent the past fifteen years taking it day by day. It’s the only way, Wei.” The little girl asked him to get her a sea slug; with another smile he obeyed, and within a few minutes had a crowd of children surrounding him, speaking to them in that calm, measured way he had about him, answering their questions and asking them questions of his own, a natural born teacher. Was there anything he couldn’t do? Wei made his slow way around the tank, examining the treasures within with his hands and his eyes, his fingers shriveling and wrinkling, starting to ache a bit with the cold. Every once in awhile Sitiak would glance across the room and meet his eyes, smiling at him and his dumbass heart would get all excitable with it. Shit, he was so gone. Maybe, if he was lucky, someone would come and put him out of his lovestruck misery.

They finally finished with the touch tank, moving through the rest of the aquarium, Sitiak telling him some particularly gruesome stories about piranha dolphins, much to his delighted horror. Outside they got in his car and he drove Sitiak over to the ferry to the Island, coming in under the wire due to some unexpected traffic. Sitiak briefly clasped his shoulder as he opened the door, ducking out to wave at the ferry’s first mate, who returned his wave.

“I’m sorry, I need to go.”

“Yeah, of course! Don’t want you to miss your boat. Hey, thanks for the day. I actually enjoyed it.”

“You don’t need to sound so surprised,” he said, his eyes crinkling up again.

“I...I really appreciate it.”

“Appreciate it?” Sitiak gave him one of those long, measured looks he hadn’t quite figured out yet.

“You taking the time to, you know, keep me out of trouble. It’s good of you.”

Sitiak nodded. “Well, I know how difficult these first few months sober can be.”

“Right. So, thanks. For that.”

The boat honked its horn and Sitiak sent another wave, stepping back. “Do you think that’s the only reason I’m doing this?” He sent a quick look over his shoulder; the mate was starting to haul up the gangplank. “That’s it’s just about helping you?”

“Isn’t it?” He really wasn’t sure.

Sitiak’s grin was slow, and just a little bit wicked. “Well, it was about helping you, of course. But also?” He shot another look at the ferry; the gangplank was settling onto the deck. He leaned in through the window, whispering into his ear. “I was also hoping that pulling shrapnel out of your ass wasn’t the only time I’d ever get to put my hands on it.” He pulled back out of the window and spun to sprint towards the boat, gathering himself into a powerful leap off the edge of the dock, hurtling through the air, his hair streaming out behind him before he hit the deck with a thud he heard all the way over in the car. He turned back and smirked, acknowledging Wei with a two-fingered salute.

He sat there for a moment, brain catching up with what he’d just been told. With a curse he jumped out of the car and ran to the edge of the dock, watching him as the boat made its way across the bay, both of them, over the water, grinning their damn fool heads off at each other.

#date prompts #wei #sitiak #I hope this is romantic enough for you Queenie!

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batsort93-blog · 5 years ago

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What Can You Eat on a Keto Diet? Meals, Snacks & Recipes - New Idea

What can I eat on a Ketogenic diet?

Let's put together a food list for your next grocery shopping trip!

1. Low-carb, non-starchy vegetables

While all vegetables contain life enhancing nutrients, not all vegetables are made equal - which means some of them are not allowed within the Keto meal plan.

Non-starchy vegetables - scientifically known as cruciferous vegetables - like kale, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, brussel sprouts and cauliflower are excellent Keto foods thanks to their low calories, high nutrient content.

Cruciferous veggies are rich in Vitamin C, fibre and antioxidants, and have long been linked to a reduction in the risk of heart disease and many cancers.

Keto diet recipes often use low-carb vegetables as a substitute for starchy carbohydrates.

For example, cauliflower is now widely used instead of rice; zucchini is also used in place of potatoes and pasta to create zoodles, a great natural substitute for noodles or spaghetti.

2. Avocado

Avocados are arguably the best source of Keto-friendly healthy fat for the human body, with 100 grams - the equivalent of half a medium avocado - containing just 9 grams of carbohydrates, 7 of which are fibre!

Avocados are also naturally rich in potassium which is an excellent metabolic booster making it ideal for Keto dieters.

Avocados have also been found to reduce cholesterol and improve heart health.

3. Eggs

Eggs are a Keto dieters best friend thanks to their taste, versatility and low-carb content.

According to Healthline, one large egg contains less than a single gram of carbohydrate and just under 6 grams of protein making it perfect for Ketogenic adherents.

Eggs help you to feel fuller for longer, and also regulate blood sugar in a natural way.

Ketogenic meal plans must include the whole egg - including the yolk - as this part contains the most antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin which help protect eye health.

KETO RECIPE: KETO BREAD

Try this Diet Doctor recipe for Keto-friendly bread, and smear it with lashings of full fat butter for ultimate effect.

You will need:

- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

- 5 tablespoons ground psyllium husk powder

- 1 and a quarter cups of almond flour

- 2 teaspoons of baking powder

- 1 teaspoon sea salt

- 1 cup of boiling water

- 3 egg whites

4. Cheese

Made in hundreds of different forms, cheese is high in fat and low in carbs which makes the vast majority of types suitable for the Ketogenic lifestyle.

While cheese is high saturated fat it hasn't been linked to an increase in the risk of heart disease in any way, and also contains conjugated linoleic acid which is connected to rapid fat loss and improvements in muscle mass.

Great news for cheese loves, cottage and ricotta cheese are both highly recommended for inclusion on your Keto shopping list.

KETO RECIPE: KETO-FRIENDLY PIZZA

This Diet Doctor Keto meal is delicious and will satisfy your junk food cravings, without the extra calories!

You will need:

CRUST

- 5 and a half oz shredded mozzarella cheese

- Three quarters of a cup of almond flour

- 2 tablespoons of cream cheese

- 1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar

- 1 egg

- Half a teaspoon of salt

- Olive oil to grease your hands

KETO TOPPINGS

- 8 oz fresh Italian sausage

- 1 tablespoon full fat butter

- Half a cup of unsweetened tomato sauce

- Half a teaspoon of dried oregano

- 4 and a half oz shredded mozzarella cheese

5. Meat and Poultry (aka Chicken)

While more and more people are turning towards vegetarian and vegan diets, meat and chicken are considered core components of the Keto diet and are present in almost all Keto recipes.

Fresh, unprocessed meat and poultry contains zero carbohydrates and plenty of vitamins and minerals such as potassium - the excellent metabolic booster we mentioned above - selenium, and zinc.

Eating large volumes of meat helps to build muscle mass and trim down body fat.

Grass-fed meat is he preferred choice on the Keto shopping list for a healthy diet.

6. Fish and Seafood

Shellfish and fish are both fantastic foods for the Keto diet.

Salmon, sardines, clams, oysters, crab, prawns, mackerel, octopus and squid are all excellent sources of vitamins and minerals such as omega-3, while also being low-carb or virtually carbohydrate-free!

Shellfish consumption has been linked to improvements in mental health and concentration.

Numerous health publications recommend consuming at least two servings of seafood per week.

7. Coconut and Olive Oil

Olive oil has been proven to improve overall heart health and contains many antioxidants - known as phenols - which work to reduce inflammation with the body.

Inflammation is linked to myriad diseases from cancer to multiple sclerosis.

Olive oil is a pure source of fat, which means it is completely carbohydrate free so next time you're frying bacon or eggs, no need to spare the olive oil!

Likewise, coconut oil is an excellent addition to the Keto diet as it is made up of a fatty substance called lauric acid which has been suggested to boost the speed of ketosis.

Coconut has been linked to rapid reduction in belly fat, the trickiest area of the adult body to shed weight from.

8. Berries and Dark Chocolate

While most fruit is out of bounds on a Keto meal plan, berries are the exception to the rule thanks to their high fibre, low-carb content.

Raspberries and blackberries are particularly Keto-friendly and are jam packed with anti-inflammatories and antioxidants which protect against chronic disease.

Blueberries contain the highest net carbs (12 grams for every 100 grams of berries) while blackberries contain the least (5 grams per 100 grams).

Add strawberries, blackberries, acai berries and raspberries to your Keto shopping list and incorporate them into Keto-friendly desserts along with dark chocolate and cocoa powder, other Keto suitable treats!

Just be sure the chocolate contains at least 70 percent cocoa solids - preferably more.

9. Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds are both excellent high-fat, low-carb food stuffs.

Scientific studies have linked high and frequent nut consumption with a reduced risk of cancer, heart disease and depression.

Nuts and seeds are both rich in fibre which helps keep you fuller for longer thereby reducing hunger cravings and the likelihood of bingeing.

Brazil nuts, pecans, chia seeds and flaxseeds are all excellent Keto-friendly ingredients to add to your shopping list.

10. Butter and Cream

While most traditional diets tell you to steer clear of butter and full fat milk the Ketogenic meal plan turns this belief on its head.

Butter and cream contain only trace amounts of carbs and are extremely high in saturated fat.

High fat dairy products are also rich in conjugated linoleic acid, which - as we mentioned - boosts fat loss rapidly.

What can I drink on a Keto diet?

Plain coffee and tea are carb-free drinks meaning they are permitted on the Keto diet.

Both contain caffeine which increases your metabolism and temporarily improves mental clarity, alertness, stamina and performance.

Black coffee drinkers have also shown a significantly reduced risk of diabetes.

However, it's important to remember that while unsweetened, black coffee or tea is perfectly acceptable as part of a Keto meal plan, drinking "light" or flavoured versions of either will add a lot of carbs to your intake and throw your diet off track.

Water can be consumed in any quantity on the Keto diet, while diet soft drinks and red or white wine can be drunk in small amounts.

KETO RECIPE: BULLETPROOF COFFEE

Try making this butter and oil rich coffee from Diet Doctor which will fill you up for hours and set you up nicely for the day ahead!

Simply combine all ingredients in a blender and serve piping hot.

You will need:

- 1 cup of coffee, freshly brewed

- 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil

What can you NOT eat on a Keto diet?

Foods full of starch and sugar are extremely high in carbs making them unsuitable for Keto meals.

Major danger foods which should be avoided at all costs include fizzy drinks, processed fruit juices, milk and white chocolate, candy and jellies, donuts, rice, pasta, potatoes, beer and most fruits (except berries).

According to Diet Doctor, full sugar sodas and frappuccinos are the the worst beverages you can drink on the Keto diet.

Source: https://www.newidea.com.au/keto-diet-what-can-you-eat-ketogenic-meal-plan-recipes-snacks

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victakestaipei · 7 years ago

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WEEK 2 RECAP: “Gua Bao?” More like “Gua BOMB.”

So I have come to realize that during the weeks, my blog posts about my classes are going to be pretty repetitive. So to save you the few minutes of your life you’ll spend reading, I’ll just shorten it a bit...and skip to the food. We always do the same things in class. We take quizzes, read the text book, practice writing characters, and talk alot about a wide array of topics... (we actually get off topic alot... In one of the classes this week I ended up playing the song “Mr. Roboto” on my iphone because I made a reference about it... we have a new classmate and he’s from Japan and everyone wanted to hear the “Domo Arigato” part... ugh.. it’s a long story.)

Anyway, let’s start from Tuesday I suppose:

So in class we had another one of those written dialogue quizzes, I got an A ((of course HEH)) and on the test from last week, I got a 94%! Feelin’ good. In the gym it was leg day, and I’m starting to incorporate more cardio daily, so I’ve been running on the treadmill at the end of my workouts. I want to drop weight and tone up while I’m out here so I figured this will help give me the extra kick that I need. I ran a mile in 7 minutes and 30 seconds... Or so I thought. I was super happy about the amount of time it took and how it didn’t even feel hard and how my knee actually wasn’t hurting for once in my life. BUT, I soon realized that I am a headass. I didn’t realize until later in the week that everything here is in kilometers, not miles. Meaning, that I didn’t actually run a mile in 7 minutes and 30 seconds, I ran 1 kilometer. Which is less than a mile... it’s actually 0.62 miles to be exact. What A BUZZ KILL!!!! I was on this “high” the whole rest of the day because I thought I was really wrecking shit, but really I’m just an idiot. A slow running idiot. lol.

For dinner Bunny and I went to this popular joint that she had heard about from a friend. I actually have heard of this place too, but didn’t realize it until after we had arrived and ordered our food. We went to this small hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the Gongguan night market where they serve the “Traditional Taiwanese Snack.” It’s called “Gua Bao.” It’s basically a pulled pork hamburger with veggies, pickles, grated peanuts in a peanut sauce, and cilantro... all in a steamed bun... you hold it and eat it like a hamburger, and it’s delicious!! It was only 55 NT (about $1.80 US). You could choose between lean meat, fatty meat, or a mix of the two. I went with the lean meat, and I’m glad that I did. The restaurant also offered an array of soups, but a lot of them featured pork intestines, and that's not really my type of party.

Wednesday:

I did back day at the gym today and ran another “mile”... SMH. That still gets me man. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

For lunch, Jeannie, Bunny and I went to this potsticker place right across the street from campus. We’ve been there before and it was really good the first time, with each potsticker being 5 NT! (or about 17 cents). We each ordered 10 potstickers and a bowl of warm noodles, totalling to only 90 NT ($3 US). I chose 5 curry potstickers and 5 garden vegetable. The Curry flavored potstickers were by far the best potstickers I’ve had since I’ve been here (and that’s saying something). And for dinner, Bunny and I went BACK to the Gua Bao place (it was that good) but this time brought Nick along! We had a good time.

Thursday:

I had another dictation quiz and got another low A. Today was leg day yet again. Starting to see a pattern here? I’m proud to say that I’ve kept the routine/schedule that I talked about in my recap blog post from last week..

For our post-gym lunch, Bunny, Jeannie and I went to this Soy Sauce-Braised place. I can’t remember the name. *eyeroll*. But basically it’s a food stand on the street market by our university, and they lay out all the meats, and veggies and noodles on display, and you choose which ones you want, and they mix them all together and cook them in this super hot soy sauce soup... It’s pretty good. I was super excited about this food stand because they actually had VEGETABLES!!! You know how often I see vegetables here in Taiwan??? Never. I don’t think I’ve had a vegetarian semi-healthy meal since I’ve been here. And I’ve looked!!!!! Anyway, for my dish, I chose tofu, broccoli, cabbage, mushrooms, and udon noodles. I paid about $7.50 US which is a bit steeper than my usual meal, but I think that’s because I doubled up on the tofu. (hehe). Either way though that’s still what I spend on average at Cane’s back in the US, and it’s wayyyyy more food. I do have to say that I went a bit over the top. My food was a MOUNTAIN!!!! We also bought this watermelon slush drink to share that came in an actual watermelon! Presentation get’s an A+, and it was pretty refreshing.

After we ate we went to this store called “Jin Xin Fa” and bought tons of stationary (everything here is so cute and I desperately wanted to buy some cute planners for the upcoming school year). I also bought an extra long ethernet cord so that I could use my laptop in bed and have better internet, as well as a new phone charger...

For dinner I ended up cooking (reheating) left over lunch... but I made rice and added scrambled egg to it... As it turns out, my $7.50 lunch fed me and Bunny for dinner. As I mentioned in my blog post about my dorm a few weeks ago, we have a small kitchen area at the end of the hall. Bunny and I wanted to use the rice cooker, and we struggled at first. We had to put water between the bowl where the rice goes and the outer bowl?? Strange. Either way thought the rice came out perfectly. Bomb.com.

Friday:

For lunch, the three of us tried this Malaysian Curry place on the street market. It was on the second floor, and the interior looked like someone's home at first... My dish was 100 NT ( around 3-4$), and I ordered the Malaysian chicken curry and rice. It’s basically a filleted chicken cutlet fried in batter and served with a mound of rice, both covered in curry. And topped with potato wedges... THIS PLACE WAS SUPER GOOD I WILL BE BACK EVERY WEEK OH MY GOD. There is only one lady who works here, and she cooks all the dishes. I also think she lives here...? Not so sure. We spoke to her a bit after finishing our food, and she told us how 22 years ago she came to Taiwan, and she asked us where we're from and told us she's been to both Florida and New York before. She also showed us pictures of her 8 month old grandson who lives in Florida. Her daughter was born in Malaysia and currently lives in America as she's married to an American guy. She was the sweetest lady ever, gushing about her grandson and showing us all these videos. Such a lovely lady.

After lunch we did some shopping in the street market (clothing), I bought a shirt... and not much else because everything looked so small. When shopping one lady didn't let Jeannie use the dressing room to try on this outfit.... it seemed odd, and the lady didn’t seem to have a reason to not let her use the dressing room which was clearly there with the open curtain and no one inside. I think the lady who worked there was just a bitch. She was rude, and possibly racist?? I can’t tell you how many times I would walk into a shop (during the hour or so that we were walking around) and the ladies who work there would hover over me constantly. *eyeroll*. Figures.

We went home and I took a shower and relaxed before heading to Shilin Night market. I’ve been here before and posted a video, but in case you all forgot, it’s the biggest night market in Taipei and is pretty poppin on the weekends. Jeannie and I love to shop, so we had a ball!! Four of us went, it was Ada, Jeannie, Bunny and I. We spent a few hours shopping and walking around and eating the street food. I ate this pork bun sandwich, some French fries with a bunch of sauces on them (like mustard sauce, salt, pepper, etc), and tried the popular chicken fried steak.

squid on a stick^

We stayed at Shilin a few hours before parting ways... Jeannie and I went to meet up with some others at a bar and Bunny and Ada went home. This is around maybe 11:15pm... Jeannie and I met up with Nick at this open patio bar/hookah lounge. It was $20 (US) all you can drink. The bar was called K House and was located smack dab in the middle of the gay district off of Ximen station. Ximen station is also a very popular shopping area for the younger crowd, with a 5 story H&M and other popular stores. It took a while for Jeannie and I to find the bar, we put it in google maps and it took us to a completely different location. By the time we found it a lot of the people we were meeting up with were loose off the goose. Which makes sense since it was all you can drink and they'd been there a few hours already. We left the bar around 1, and headed to 7/11 and walked around town a bit after that. I was pretty lit. I slammed about 5 drinks in 30 minutes and was just chillen after that. I had two jack/cokes, 1 vodka/sprite, and 3 peach flavored drinks but I don't know what alcohol was in those..?? They were super good though!! My favorite, definitely. We were walking to another bar when I got super tired and decided to take an Uber home with Jeannie and another guy we met that night, his name is Collin. Collin goes to school at Carnegie Melon *ooooooooo snap*. I got into my dorm around 2:30-3am, and went to bed around 3:30. When Jeannie and I were walking with the group, Collin was telling us about how he had plans to go snorkeling the next day and he invited us to join the group on Facebook. I knocked out after showering when I got home, since I had to be up by 7:15 to make it to the meeting spot at 8am to go snorkel. I was exhAUSTED. Snorkeling should be worth the lack of sleep though.

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lagycart · 7 years ago

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relaxing trip at ko lanta, krabi, thailand.

with a few messages via whatsapp, this trip was decided and booked quite spontaneously with the four of us, and then went on with searching for a place to stay.. without any itinerary, we boarded the plane three weekend ago.. and ended up at krabi!

day 1

going through the immigration was a nightmare, the place is a mess without proper queuing system and there’s so many tourists yet so little officers. took us more than an hour to come out of the tiny airport, met with our driver and finally start our trip with a long journey to our villa.

as the sky was turning dark already, there’s nothing much to be seen, the driver took us to a jetty, then we switched van and went onto a car ferry, as ko lanta is on a separate island. the ferry journey is short but quite interesting, the ferry was run by kinda small engine powdered by diesel, lots of smoke when the ferry started to move, but it was interesting to see how the operator navigate in the dark at his room up high.

after reaching the other island, it took us quite a while to reach our accommodation - kulraya villas.. and it was breathtaking! our villa has two rooms, a living room, dining room, small kitchen, two bathrooms and a private pool! all the walls facing the pool are ceiling to floor glass, which makes the view soooo nice. it was so comforting to step into the villa after such a long and tiring journey.

we then went out for a late dinner, soooo hungry since the last we ate were during noon before boarding the plane. most of the places in town is already closed, and after checking a few places, our friendly driver brought us to this small local thai restaurant named rung ruang thai food. we ordered seafood tomyam soup, green curry chicken, thai omelette, stir fried minced pork with basil and thai fried rice, and not to forget.. chang beer.

after taking our orders, we saw the uncle went across the street, into tesco lotus express, a supermarket, and came out with a few bottle of beers! and then the beers were served to us. all of us is pretty surprised to see that.. and then noticed that the fridge at the restaurant is pretty empty. as the food was served, we saw the uncle went across the street again, and brought some eggs with him this time.. and after awhile, we got our thai omelette! hahaha.. it was really nice to see that the food ingredients are fresh. XD

and the food was unbelievably delicious! all four of us finished everything in no time.. yes, we were hungry, but seriously, the food was the best thai food i have ever eaten in my life. it was the most satisfying meal ever, and the best part is.. it was rather cheap! before we left the place, we asked the friendly uncle if the fish dishes will be available tomorrow, so that we could visit again to try and the uncle told us that the fish would be waiting for us. =)

went across the street to tesco lotus express to get ourselves a box of beer, lots of snacks and then went back to the villa for a night swim! my first time having cold beer inside a pool, with a sky full of stars, facing the sea. it was truly peaceful, relaxing and beautiful. we even play music from the outdoor speakers to enhance this romantic and serene atmosphere, could totally do this every day, all day..

day 2

after a night of peaceful sleep, woke up in the morning naturally to another breathtaking view.. morning sun, swimming pool, blue sky, some fluffy clouds, blue sea, lots of tress around. what more could a person ask for... friend cooked tomyam instant noodles and we had that for breakfast, with beer. XD and then it’s time for morning swim!!

we spend a lot of time taking photos, really funny underwater shots and just playing around, until the sun was really hot... then we lounge at the sun bed to rest before cleaning up and visiting the uncle at rung ruang thai food again.

this time, we ordered the three taste deep fried tilapia, massaman curry, tom kha, thai omelette (again!) and pad thai. the fish is fried till crispy, but the meat is so fresh and yummy, like the taste of sea! haha.. the sauce is also very appetizing. massaman curry is pretty good as well, it’s perfect with the fluffy thai rice. tom kha is tom yam with coconut milk, the spiciness is milder but the fragrance is super appetizing. i can’t remember the last time i finish a full bowl of rice, but i this time, i had two.. another super satisfying meal, washed down with thai iced tea, and concluded that the food in this restaurant is the best in the world. =D

we went shopping at tesco lotus express again.. for more snacks, and then went to 7 eleven as well.. and went back to our villa as the sun is scotching hot and all we can think about is our private pool. spent the entire afternoon until evening snacking and reading novel by the poolside, resting at the sunbed and playing inside the pool.

for dinner, we went to a seafood restaurant by the sea recommended by our taxi driver, reaun mai restaurant, and we were totally let down by the food quality and price here, it was clearly a tourist trap.

we ordered deep fried squid, steamed fish in lemon sauce, clear seafood tomyum soup, fried fish cake and pineapple rice. the squid was over fried and it’s too rubbery, the texture and taste was completely ruined. the batter wasn’t fragrant or anything. steamed fish was fresh, the fish texture is very mushy and the sauce is not appetizing at all. tomyum soup is pretty mediocre and the seafood in it is not fresh at all. fish cake was alright. and the pineapple fried rice was really horrible, overly sweet and the rice was mushy and wet.

we were super sad and disappointed, yet have to pay quite a hefty price tag for such subpar quality food. we noticed that all the other diners were mainly foreign tourists as well. end up with quite a lot of leftover, and went to the nearby 7 eleven for more snacks shopping lol.. why are convenient stores in other countries so much better than those in my country?

before going back to our villa, we stopped by tesco lotus express again, to pick up some stuff for breakfast and more drinks and snacks for the night. XD it’s our most frequent place during the entire trip.

we did another night swim with beer and snacks again, but the sky was cloudy and we didn’t manage to see any stars. i really really love night swim though, the water is warm and there’s no sun. the lighting also makes the place kinda romantic.

day 3

woke up to the same serene and breathtaking view after a restful sleep, i could totally live here forever lol.. this morning’s breakfast is western style with sunny side up, bacon, ham and beer. XD thanks to my friend who cooks for us again! and then back to the pool again, ehehehe.. and the sun wasn’t as hot since the sky is cloudy.

because of the disappointing meal previous night, we went back to visit the uncle for lunch, ehehe.. and he was really happy to see us! we ordered deep fried tilapia with red chili sauce, paneng red curry, stir fried vegetables, thai laab (minced pork salad) and thai omelette (it’s too good not to order!).

uncle and aunty (wife) taught us how to call each dish in thai and we had to repeat the word correctly before they serve this dish to us, it was really fun. and uncle did make a few trips across the street to tesco lotus express to pick up various ingredients, ahaha.. besides the time at the villa, spending time eating in rung ruang thai food restaurant is the best during the whole trip.

as the weather is bearable, we decided to visit lanta old town to do some sightseeing. (be a tourist for a bit! XD) the journey was pretty long, i fell asleep halfway even though the car is open air, the breeze is kinda nice and it was after a satisfying lunch, ehehe..

the town is pretty small, there’s a street with buildings from long long time ago.. the buildings are now cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops, guesthouses, etc. it was pretty fun to see the different handiwork and crafty things there and some artsy decoration here and there. the street is also facing the ocean and there’s a pier. since it’s monsoon season, there isn’t much activity going on. just a few boats on the sea, some people spreading net by the pier.. it was peaceful.

went back to the villa after our short exploration.. and enjoyed another dip in the pool as the sun sets. it was a tiny regret that we did not managed to catch the beautiful sunset during our stay as the sky was too cloudy. maybe next time~ ehehe..

and for the last night, we did some research to find a better seafood place and ended up in kaw kwang seafood. this place is also by the sea and there are tourist around, but the food is sooooo much better. we picked clams and squid from the fresh seafood area and my friend told the waitress that we do not want any western style cooking, only thai style. XD we ordered stir fried clams in chili paste, tom kha seafood, thai style steamed squid and pineapple curry chicken (was supposed to be duck, but duck meat wasn’t available).

the clams was huge, juicy meat and was really fresh, the chili paste is flavorful and so fragrant, goes extremely well with rice. tom kha is awesome too, the style has less coconut milk compared to rung ruang thai food, it’s super light and appetizing. the steamed squid is surprisingly fresh and bouncy, the cook have timed the steaming temperature and timing perfectly to maintain the texture while the chili and line sauce brings out the freshness. the curry was yummylicious as well, so so so appetizing and i enjoyed the fruity taste a lot. pineapple is fresh and not overly sweet, the after taste is rather refreshing.

even though rung ruang thai food is still the best, kaw kwang seafood restaurant is highly recommended for some yummy fresh seafood with rather reasonable pricing. the environment here is also better, more spacious and peaceful and the staff here is so much more friendlier.

on the way back to the villa, we did not forget to stop by tesco lotus express again, lol.. picked up some snacks to bring home as souvenirs, and food for next morning’s breakfast. and one last night at the pool.. i totally miss the place~

day 4

another sunny day (even though it was supposed to be the monsoon season), the morning view is so breathtaking, would never get tired of that at all. another western style breakfast, basically just finished everything we bought from the store. and one last dip in the pool before we shower and pack our luggage.

went to visit our favorite uncle and family for one last lunch, and the uncle gave us a drawing with heartful message as souvenir. this time, we ordered stir fried pork curry with long beans, green curry chicken, seafood tomyum soup and thai omelette.

we took a photo with the uncle and family before we left, thanking them for serving us great food over the past few days, hoping to return and visit again soon. we felt really content that we found such a gem in such an unplanned way, fate always has its way.

going back to the airport via the van is pretty much uneventful, but we did get to see a lot of the scenery we missed when we came. checking in at the airport is less painful this time, but we waited for quite a while at the airport for boarding, without wifi.. lol. and the tiny airport did not have much for us to sight see either.

finally on the journey home, didn’t want to leave this place though.. even though it’s a touristy place, small town like ko lanta does have its charms and it’s really nice to getaway from all the hustle and bustle and relaxing for a few days without needing to think or stress much. the breathtaking scenery and yummy food certainly makes me miss this town very much.

more travel photos can be found in my facebook album and my friend’s album.

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spootles · 8 years ago

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somebody wanted me to spend like 3-4 hours of my time filling this character sheet out for PJ so here we go

disclaimer: stuffs subject to change because i’m very uncertain and indecisive

FULL NAME: Pascal Jervis MEANING: makes pj NICKNAME: PJ MEANING: PJ stands for Professional Jerk (also pajama) AGE APPEARANCE: He’s like 21 and is pretty big for a pajama squid (that means average height) BIRTHDAY: December 21, 1995 ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: sag? SPECIES: guess GENDER: Male ALLERGIES: None so far SEXUAL PREFERENCE: doesn’t have a preference, but he is noromo THEME SONG(S): Kyatchii o kagaku suru by Arukara (I GUESS)

APPEARANCE

HAIR COLOR: white with colored stripes (default color is green) HAIR STYLE AND LENGTH: Long hair(TENTACLES) pulled back into a ponytail and bangs that look like they were cut with a weedwhacker EYES COLOR: dark green EYESIGHT: kind of poor HEIGHT: 5′5 about WEIGHT: super light OUTFIT/CLOTHING STYLE: p a j a m a s (bobble hat n snowy down boots) ABNORMALITIES(TAIL): weird fuzzy eyes? DISTINGUISHING MARKS(SCARS,MOLES): stripes? SELF CARE(MAKE UP): mascara FIRST IMPRESSION ON PEOPLE: “Is he okay...?” SKIN COLOR: Actually White. #ffffff BODY TYPE/BUILD: thin noodle DEFAULT EXPRESSION: tired POSTURE: hunched over PIERCINGS: none DESCRIBE THEIR VOICE: lowkey and nasally

RELATIONSHIPS

MOM: Pfeffer Jervis HOW WELL DO THEY GET ALONG: he was Booted Out of his family home but he doesn’t necessarily blame his family for that DAD: Percival Jervis HOW WELL DO THEY GET ALONG: he gets along OK with his family in general as long as they don’t pry into his Personal Life SIBLINGS: He has a few Hard Working siblings HOW WELL DO THEY GET ALONG: vaguely well. I would also like to mention that everyone in his family is Very Short. OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS: PAST LOVER(S): CURRENT LOVER: i mean he might have a few but i’m not sure if they count REACTION TO MEETING SOMEONE NEW: Immediately zero in on something and make a snide comment about it. ABILITY TO WORK WITH OTHERS: Ridiculously low. HOW SOCIABLE(LONER,ETC): He’s very lonely. FRIENDS: I mean he certainly does know people. PETS: Kags LEAST FAVORITE TYPE OF PERSON: the piff kind people who Touch His Things PARENTAL TYPE(PROTECTIVE,ETC): Not at all, he’s only protective over the things he owns. AFFINITY WITH…: Pillows FAVORITE PEOPLE: Tetro????? LEAST FAVORITE PEOPLE: Piff

PERSONALITY

..WHEN YOU FIRST MEET THEM: “Excuse me?” ..AS YOU KNOW THEM BETTER(AND THEY LIKE YOU): The sass never stops and there’s not a lot of perks to make up for it. Might treat you as Property. ..AS YOU KNOW THEM BETTER(AND THEY DISLIKE YOU): The sass still never stops, and even worse, he’ll be excited to see you. FAVORITE COLOR: Green FAVORITE FOOD: Marshmallows, sweet stuff in general. LEAST FAVORITE COLOR: Purple LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Doesn’t like crunchy stuff or spicy stuff HOBBIES: Collects pillows and things with a similar striped pattern USUAL MOOD: TIRED DRINK/SMOKE/DRUGS: he does drink sometimes but he really shouldnt HOW SERIOUS ARE THEY: not very CLASS IN AN RPG: a very terrible cleric (IN)DEPENDANT: he’s very dependent on the HOSPITAL, independent otherwise SOFT SPOT/VULNERABILITY: His Earthly Possessions and his apathetic demeanor. OPINION ON SWEARING: He has no problem with vulgar language. DAREDEVIL VS CAUTIOUS: PJ would just Rather Not. But he’ll talk shit about ANYBODY. MUSIC TYPE: weather-channel-type-music that you can fall asleep to MOVIE TYPE: he’s not really a movie person BOOK TYPE: or a book person GAME TYPE: ... or a game person COMFORTABLE TEMPERATURE: warm and snug SLEEPING PATTERN: 12 hours is his BARE MINIMUM, sleeps around 8 wakes up some time after noon CLEANLINESS/NEATNESS: He’s pretty messy since he doesn’t care to clean HOW DO THEY PASS TIME: sleeping BIGGEST SECRET: his real name and that he deeply wishes he cared more about things HERO/WHO THEY LOOK UP TO: himself??? WHAT ANIMAL WOULD THEY BE: a sloth maybe FEARS: people genuinely caring about him (plus some other sad stuff, do not be distracted he is a real asshole) COMFORTS: sleeping, being physically comfortable helps too

HOW DO THEY ACT WHEN THEY ARE…

SAD: mopey, isolates himself but makes sure everyone KNOWS he’s sad HAPPY: more out and about than usual, snappier with his sass ANGRY: he doesn’t usually get angry but he shuts right up when he does because it’s harder to think of something clever AFRAID: isolates himself, makes sure NOBODY knows LOVE SOMEONE: he doesn’t HATE SOMEONE: spends his free time thinking of things to say just for them, how nice WANT SOMETHING: he’ll be sneaky as fuck about it CONFUSED: take longer to come up with good lines

HOW DO THEY REACT TO…

DANGER: He usually doesn’t, but he will at least try to remove himself from the situation sometimes SOMEONE THEY HATE WHO HAS A CRUSH ON THEM: treat them as property (after initially freaking out) PROPOSAL TO MARRY: die, probably DEATH OF LOVED ONE: he’d be really upset that he didn’t care more DIFFICULT GAME/MATH/ETC: give up instantly INJURY: he doesn’t, but he will call the hospital if necessary SOMETHING IRRESISTABLY CUTE: buy it immediately LOSS OF HOURS OF WORK: GIVE UP INSTANTLY

HISTORY

BIOGRAPHY: Grew up in a family of hard workers, was kicked out because he was lazy and they couldn’t support him. Some Notes: He’s a bully He gets beat up a lot but he never ever fights back physically. If he gets tired during a match he’ll just afk to nap. (which is part of the reason he gets beat up so much.) He thoroughly enjoys being mean.

KNOWLEDGE

LANGUAGES: English with bits of german SCHOOLING LEVEL: home schooled (highschool level) INTERESTED CAREERS: an Emperor PUZZLES: too much effort HOW GOOD ARE THEY AT PLANNING AHEAD: Super Not Good IMPULSIVE/STRATEGY: assert dominance over the situation

ROMANCE

DO THEY TAKE INITIATIVE: Mostly HOW DO THEY ACT(SHY,ETC): Smug/Haughty GENTLEMAN/LADYLIKE VS KLUTZY: Somewhere in between GO SLOW VS JUMP INTO: Jump right in, he’s just messing around anyways PROTECTIVE: he’s... possesive? ACT LIKE FRIENDS OR LOVERS: Sure doesn’t MAKE GOOD OR BAD DECISIONS: The Worst ARE THEY ROMANTIC: Nope HOW ARE THEY IN BED: eh GET JEALOUS EASY: absolutely, he hates it when people Touch his Things

#pj

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desiredtastes · 5 years ago

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Hey everyone! It’s been almost a month since I left New Jersey for my “big solo trip” and I already have tons of photos and incredible experiences to share! So get ready for some long pic-heavy posts! Be sure to check out my Instagram for the latest stories!

My first stop was Taipei, Taiwan where I stayed in the hip, energetic neighborhood of Ximending. Following a 16-hour flight from NYC, I arrived in Taipei before 6am. It was all about trying a local breakfast of milk tea and dan bing (Taiwanese egg crepe) and walking around until I could check in.

I never drink bubble tea at home, but I had to enjoy at least one in the country that invented it! The popular choice is the brown sugar milk tea. You can even watch them make the tapioca pearls from scratch at some places.

I loved the fun, young vibe of the neighborhood. After checking into my room, it wasn’t long before I was back out just wandering the area and exploring all the street food options like massive pieces of fried chicken, torched beef, and fried squid with various seasonings.

The jetlag hit me fairly hard the first couple of days. I would suddenly become drowsy by 8pm and couldn’t stay asleep past 3am. But that’s okay, time for breakfast!

I spent most of the afternoon walking around the city to see various markets, temples, and the 228 Peace Park.

You know what else hit me hard? The humidity. I’m just not use to the humidity that lingers year round in Southeast Asia. It’s not even bad this time of the year, but it still had me sweating quite a bit after walking for a while. So it was nice and refreshing to cool down with an ice dessert of some sort, like mango shaved ice with mango ice cream topped with mango pieces. Holy mango!

So many cool little shops and capsule toy vending machines. I first fell in love with these things when I was in Japan. They’re filled with the cutest, funniest, most random toys and collectibles. Take my money!

Dinner that night was beef noodle soup. It’s considered the National Dish of Taipei. I stopped by a nice little noodle restaurant and ordered mine half meat and half tendon. Good stuff.

I stopped by a small craft beer bar and met a cool guy from Sydney. He mentioned a bar his friend told him about, so we went soon after finishing our beers. It was the most random bar…VR welcome videos, funky decor, a calligraphy lesson, and a Polaroid on the wall to remember the night. Love it! Plus, they had a solid selection of bottled local brews.

The next morning began with a couple popular dishes like braised pork rice and an oyster omelet before I met up with a local guide for a tour of Taipei.

After lunch, it was time for a city highlights tour. More pics from the tour and the next couple of nights are up next.

Trip Recap: Taipei Hey everyone! It's been almost a month since I left New Jersey for my "big solo trip…

#asia #foodie #solo travel #street food #Taipei #taipei restaurants #taiwan #taiwanese food #travel #ximending

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hochiminhcitytravelguidedot-blog · 6 years ago

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14 Vietnamese food should try for foreign tourists

Vietnamese cuisine from ancient times contains so many quintessential things. The following 14 delicacies make even the tourists unable to refuse. Do you know those dishes yet?

if you have come to this country with famous cuisine, you will surely not forget the typical taste of regional dishes. Foreign tourists around the world not only love the dishes in luxurious restaurants but also enchanted with delicious street food delicacies.

The cuisine here has a distinct feature of simplicity, not fussy in the way of processing, as well as the nature of the Vietnamese people who are honest, chaste and hospitable. Perhaps the best, most famous dishes are also dishes derived from people’s lives. The culinary quintessence of Vietnam is also the cultural quintessence that the foreign tourists have all praised. Here are 14 favorite dishes of foreign tourists coming to Vietnam.

1. Pho

Pho is a traditional Vietnamese dish, also considered one of the typical dishes for Vietnamese cuisine. In pho, the process of preparing broth, also known as broth, is the most important stage. The broth of traditional noodle soup must be simmered from the cow’s bones along with some spices. However, the formula of each specific broth for each pho brand is kept quite secret.

2. Bun Bo Hue

Hue beef bun has become a private brand of the ancient capital. Like many typical dishes of Hue, how to make beef noodles very picky. First, considered the “soul” of beef noodle dish is the soup. The water is stewed from beef bones with a few tubers, delicious broth must be in and when tasted only see the sweetness of the bone bone meat. In order to achieve these two requirements, it is difficult, and in addition to allowing diners to nod with the dish they are enjoying, the cook must have a secret of spice, in particular the art of flavoring the right dose. to create a subtle aroma and a sweet sweetness for the dish. The essential oils of lemongrass have a strong aroma, strong enough to neutralize the smell of fish sauce and help the smell of cooked boiled pork sausage, the beef flavor mixed with the smell of fish sauce, pepper, onion, and soothing fish sauce and fragrant sweetness. .

3. Bun cha Ha Noi

Bun cha ho noi, a dish with a strong traditional art, makes a unique characteristic of the cuisine of Ha Thanh … A plate of white and soft bun noodles, with a dish of green vegetables, a bowl of dipping sauce match characteristic …

The idea is simple, but to make a delicious rice ball vermicelli depends much on the ingenuity and know-how, especially important for how to mix sauces. The same sauce has created the essence of Hanoi bun noodles. It is also simple, fish sauce, sugar, vinegar, garlic, chili, pepper … but it becomes a strange attractive water.

4. Banh Xeo

Banh Xeo are a familiar and famous dish of people in the South and Central. Simple cake with rice flour, shrimp paste, meat … served with raw vegetables and dipping sauce has long been a casual dish of rural people. While Southern banh xeo is quite big and many people, banh xeo of the Central people are about the size of an adult’s hand, few people and usually just a small shrimp, or a few slices of meat, squid … more a little fresh price.

5. Goi cuon (Roll salad)

Roll salad is a play dish close and familiar, familiar aromatic and delicious. The rich and diverse nature of the southern land with forest mountains, sea and water creates many sources of seafood, poultry, vegetables, and seafood materials as a basis for the development of the dish. The book is rolled with raw materials from common foods: meat, fish, shrimp, eggs, raw vegetables, herbs … using rice paper as an outer roll. When eating with a bowl of well-prepared dipping sauce.

The package is rolling, tight, eye-catching. Raw materials of shrimp and meat are clearly visible under thin layers of cake. The delicious aroma of the soy sauce and the combination of spices makes the salad when dotted with a sweet taste, slightly salty. The book of Sai Gon book, a medium-sized delicacy, is both luxurious and popular with many customers and especially international guests.

6. Cao Lau

The name “Cao Lau” is always a question mark for tourists far away when experiencing the ancient features of Hoi street. Cao Lau are not from the United States, nor are they from Japan. It can be said that this is a summed up dish of many ethnic groups, this strange name is probably derived from Chinese, only “fine sago” dishes.

Cao Lau does not need soup, but instead of the meat, water, fat. In order to make the meat smelly, lean pork thighs, spices are selected. And the fat clove is also a strange, previous auxiliary material made of fried pork skin, now replaced by high fiber making floor. In addition to high-aromatic extra-rich dishes, processors often add a small amount of roasted roasted peanuts.

7. Banh khot

Banh khot is served on a plate with various herbs, lettuce, cucumber and a cup of sweet and sour sauce to create an appetite for everyone, even if only looked at. Banh khot appears in many places and in each region is slightly modified to create unique features. Also from milled rice flour, but Banh khot at Chau Doc is mixed with turmeric, on top of each cake is added one shrimp to make the cake become “high-class” and when eaten without being bored. Banh Khot Vung Tau is the same white color of flour, without fresh shrimp, but sprinkled with prawns (deep fried) similar to the cake of Da Nang.

8. Bun Dau Mam Tom (Vermicelli with bean curd and shrimp sauce)

The name of Bun Dau Mam Tom also indicates that this dish is an indispensable combination of vermicelli, tofu and sauce is shrimp paste. In addition, vermicelli and shrimp paste are also served with herbs such as marjoram, mint, and dog baskets … Only in Vietnam, can you enjoy shrimp sauce because this is the “specialty” of Vietnamese cuisine. . For foreign tourists when they first enjoy shrimp sauce, it will be uncomfortable, but enjoy it before seeing it in this street-style dish.

9. Banh Mi (Bread)

The concept of bread is becoming more and more familiar and it is not surprising to go to a food store, even if you do not understand the local language, but you will hear very well the customers who request bread for their menu. The bread here is a traditional long sandwich with some fresh vegetables, mixed with gravy, can add pâté and mayonaise. Vietnamese bread is usually made from wheat flour and rice flour with hard bread crust. The boss of the big shop said, this is the “identity” of bread that will appear in front of many people in cities across the United States.

10. Chè

Grapefruit tea, black bean tea, mixed tea, green bean tea … are one of the many popular drinks. With the smell of green beans, peanuts and sweet jelly jelly and many other ingredients, many delicious dishes make everyone enjoy.

11. Com Tam (Rice plate)

Rice plate is a very popular breakfast dish in South Vietnam and has ingredients including rice, ribs, veggies, egg rolls and vegetables, pickles served with sauce (sauce) or soy sauce. The name rice is derived from the type of rice to be cooked into rice, which is broken rice, falling out when the rice floor. But today, the rice dish is less of a grain, but it uses a better kind of rice, so the quality of the rice is better than before and since then the name of broken rice is also used instead of “rib rice”, “pork rice ball”.

The way to prepare a plate of broken rice is not too fussy but a delicious plate of rice plate usually has a good and soft rice grain without being dry or pasty. Meat must be cut into medium and marinated, baked well. In the packaging, the shops often remove the market, so the quality is often the same. Vegetables and pickles are different depending on the shop. But the sauce (sauce), the Southern people like to eat sweet, so the sauce often has a sweet taste more than the sour combination with garlic. Finally, there will be added onion fat that looks very eye-catching.

12. Xôi (Types of sticky rice)

Some sweet sticky rice dishes must be mentioned as black bean sticky rice, peanuts, cam leaves, … Each kind has sticky rice and different ingredients to create its own flavor but still bold the sweet and sweet characteristic of Southern sticky rice.

For delicious sticky rice, glutinous rice grains have a very important role and must be followed by the way of cooking sticky rice for sticky rice grains which is firm and soft without being crushed. Sticky rice can be cooked with coconut milk or soaked in pineapple juice to make it more pliable and fragrant.

13. Bo la lop

Grilled beef with lettuce leaves is a blend of delicious, attractive, fat flavor of marinated beef which is cleverly combined with the characteristic aroma of guise leaves that has contributed to this dish becoming more and more Popular and popular. When eating, must give all things: vermicelli, vegetables, rolled beef into rice paper and rolled up, dipping with seasoning fish sauce. Fish sauce must mix medium, not too salty nor too light and must have sweet and sour taste of minced minced. This is a dish that should not be eaten alone, it is necessary to invite more friends, the more happy you are, the more you eat and enjoy yourself.

14. Hot pot

Hot, delicious, delicious hot pot dishes with unique flavors such as Thai hotpot, Korean kimchi hot pot prepared with Vietnamese ingredients are very attractive to customers. The characteristic of hotpot is hot and plenty of ingredients, very suitable for enjoying in winter. With a variety of spices, vegetables, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, taro, meat, seafood and specialized forms of broth, hot pot is favored by Vietnamese people and growing more diverse. Over time, it is still the original style of processing and taste, but the hot pot has gradually become more diverse in taste as well as ingredients for processing each dish. Vietnam is a country with a lot of delicacies, each region bringing its own attraction difficult to resist. Please bring your backpack and go to experience the above specialties.

14 Vietnamese foods should try for foreign tourists 14 Vietnamese food should try for foreign tourists Vietnamese cuisine from ancient times contains so many quintessential things.

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kaitlinmcandrews · 7 years ago

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If you were to ask anyone when the best time to visit Japan, I bet you anything that many people will say spring. Spring is probably the best know for the cherry blossoms.

I’m kind of torn on what I think about spring. As you probably know, I love love love cherry blossoms. Each year, I take way too many photos of these flowers. I also love the festivals that happen around this time. I also loooove festivals. I love food tents, I love eating outside, I love looking at all the different foods that are offered, and I love that I can just walk around with a beer and it’s no big deal…. hmmm I only named things to do with food didn’t I? Festivals are more than just food! … Or are they….?

Okay, as I said, I’m a bit torn. The biggest reason I think spring is a bit overrated is just because of the weather.

Now, this is totally perspective.

I like being warm. Spring is just not warm enough for me. For a normal Canadian, yeah, it’s warm. I think it was in the teens or low twenties. The biggest issue for me was the huge drop in temperature at night. If you know me and Pat at all, you’d know that we are night owls. I love festivals and would 100% prefer to go to them in the evening. Problem is, not only does the temperature drop as soon as the sun goes down, but the sun goes down so freaking early! I don’t know if a mistake was made when deciding what time zone Japan belongs to, but the sun goes down way too early (and comes up way too early in the morning).

Goodness, that was a heck of a tangent. Let’s just get on with it. I’ll try to separate this like I did with the other blogs in this ‘series’.

Tokyo

Koishikawa Botanical Garden (小石川植物園 // こいしかわ　しょくぶつえん)

On one of our days off, we headed up to Tokyo since I heard that the cherry blossoms were starting to bloom. Well, I guess the key word was “starting” haha. Oh well, the botanical garden was still quite beautiful. It was a bit out of the way, but it wasn’t too bad.We walked from Hakusan station on the meguro line.

It cost about 400 yen I believe so it was actually quite cheap. I’m not sure if the prices change in different seasons. We were kind of in an off season. I think that going while the blossoms are out would be absolutely stunning. Even going in the summer would be nice when all the trees and grass would be green. When we went, it was a bit grey haha.

Not too much to really say about our day. I really tried to take artsy photos of flowers haha. Enjoy~

un-bloomed sakura trees

I was a bit dissapointed, but I swear that I heard the cherry blossoms were blooming in Tokyo. Since we were already in Tokyo, we decided to walk to Ueno from the garden. Ueno is known for its cherry blossoms. It’s a pretty long walk already, but we made it even longer. On the way, we noticed quite a few tourists heading in the same direction. we decided to check out whatever they were headed to. It was a pretty neat cemetery called Yanaka Cemetery.

Yanaka Cemetery （谷中霊園 // やなかれいえん)

It was actually pretty cool. I’m glad that we took this detour, even if it added another 20 min to our already long walk. It probably took us over an hour to get from the gardens to Ueno. Pat seems to love walking….

Ueno Park (上野公園 // うえのこえん）

Anyways, we had been to Ueno once before, but only at night. It was really cool to see it in the daylight. I’d looooove to see it during the full bloom of the cherry blossoms. Anyways, again, not too much to say.

Just IMAGINE this in full bloom!

It was a nice little day trip. So, if your in Tokyo in the spring, especially during the cherry blossom season, I think these 3 places would be absolutely breathtaking. My only issue with Ueno is how crowded it is. I can’t even imagine how it would be during peak season.

~Cherry Blossoms (sakura // 桜 // さくら)~

So, like I mentioned earlier, I really really like the cherry blossoms. Unlike last year at the private school, we actually had time off to go places. We were actually in the middle of our spring break. We had basically all of March off. I was so upset last year because of our awful time off schedule. We were in a place known for cherry blossoms and could barely see any of it! This time, we had a lot more time to look around. Although I wouldn’t say Kawasaki and Yokohama are necessarily famous for cherry blossoms, I knew I would be able to find some hidden gems. Tokyo, on the other hand, does have some pretty well-known places.

Unfortunately, this year was a bit weird. The cherry blossoms almost did things in 2 parts. They seemed to blossom about halfway and then we got some bad weather. The wind and cold weather seemed to halt the blossoms. After a couple of days they rest of the blossoms started, but the other half was dying or had fallen off from the wind. Ultimately, the trees never seemed to be 100% in bloom at any time. They were still really great, just not their best I suppose. Also because of the weird timing, we weren’t able to see much during our spring break, but we had to see a lot of them during our weekends off. Oh well, still better than last year!

If you want to see the posts I’ve made in the past, check them out: 2016 Kansai, 2015 Korea festival, 2015 Korea random

Koganecho Sakura Festival

Pat and I don’t live in Yokohama, but that’s where all the great stuff happens. To be fair, Yokohama is like the 2nd largest city in Japan or something crazy. Kawasaki, where we live, is not too high up on that list. Where was I going with this?

During cherry blossom season, there are sooooo many cherry blossom festivals. Of course. They are scattered in every season at varying times. I highly recommend attending at least one if you are in Japan at the right time. We decided to go to this one in particular was just because our friends lived in that area. Luckily, this area has a large river running through it, so it is so beautiful during the spring. There are cherry blossoms along this almost the entire river and is absolutely stunning. From Hinodecho to Gumyoji is a fantastic walk if you happened to be in the area.

The festival itself was close to hindecho and koganecho station. (I know this means nothing to most of you…. it’s mostly just in case people are on my blog for potential cherry blossom spots).

As I mentioned before, the cherry blossoms this year were a bit strange.

As you can see, they aren’t too impressive. Like, at all….We did find ONE fully bloomed tree, though! (so, I took 234039843 photos of that single tree….)

The first thing I personally like to do at a festival is seek out festival food. I have a soft spot for food tents, eating and drinking outside, and just eating interesting things. It is definitely a thing I will immensely miss when we go back home to Canada. Here is some food we got!

yakiika (grilled squid)

yakiika (grilled squid) // left is the body, right is the legs

dango (rice cakes with red bean paste)

sakura umeshu and sake

We got other types of food as well, but it was too hard is to photograph and eat at the same thing. I’d say the most common types of food at any Japanese festivals are takoyaki (deep fried octopus balls), okonomiyaki (cabbage pancake with different sauces), yakisoba (grilled soba noodles), and assorted meat on sticks. They are all so good. None of them are healthy. I highly recommend.

It was pretty hard to get around, so I really didn’t get many photos. It was pretty busy:

This area was an interesting location for a festival. There were tents along the river so there wasn’t anywhere to sit. The roads on either side of the river were closed for traffic, and absolutely packed with people. On the other side of the road were a whole bunch of small izakayas (Japanese pub). Our fiends happen to go to a few of those izakayas on a regular basis, so we have met some of the shop owners. It is a pretty neat experience to be able to drink with the locals and support their businesses. If we didn’t know them, we may have not gone to any of the izakayas. We probably would have not even noticed that they were open.

As you can see, these izakayas are really tiny. It is a pretty neat experience.

Looking through my photos, it is just us drinking haha. Well, here are the few cherry blossom photos that I managed to take.

Mitsuike Park (三ッ池公園 // みついけこうえん)

Not too long after this festival, the cherry blossoms were really starting to bloom. I have always wanted to have a hanami (flower viewing) since I heard about it. I mentioned in my last year’s spring blog how I wanted to go, but Pat didn’t know what I wanted and we didn’t really get to have one. Even if we did, since we didn’t have friends in Kyoto, it might not have been that fun.

Well, this year, we have friends!!

Can you believe it?!

Haha, okay, that is a bit dramatic. Well, anyways, we were lucky enough to have a hanami. We went to a park that is kind of in the middle of Kawasaki and Yokohama. We are the only ones that live in Kawasaki, so usually we have to travel to Yokohama if we want to do anything with them. When I was looking for the best place to have a hanami, the results I got were mostly in Tokyo. Tokyo has too many tourists so I try to avoid going there if possible haha.

I really couldn’t find a good place. The best place for a hanami is usually a park. So, I looked at parks in the area that had a lot of cherry blossoms. I decided to check out this park that is near my workplace. I was doing research like 2 weeks before cherry blossom season. Luckily, this was the first place I checked out and instantly thought that it would be perfect.

Here is where the park is on Google Maps:

It obviously much closer to Kawasaki, but it’s technically part of Yokohama…. so….. I was able to convince some people to come ^-^.

I packed a bag with beer, umeshu and chips and we set off to our hanami. If you want to go to this park, unfortunately it is only accesible by bus. It isn’t near any train stations. You could walk, but it’s an uphill walk. We took a bus at Tsurumi station (near the JR side, not the keikyu side). The park wasn’t too busy

There are actually quite a few busses that go there. They are all on the same side of the bus depot. Google maps is pretty useful in Japan, so you can just google the bus routes and numbers. (Google was useless in Korea so I always want to give the bus numbers haha).

We were able to find a spot fairly easily. We set up our picnic as soon as we arrived and took turns going out for photos and such.

The weather was …okay… I personally prefer to be warm so a nice spring day is still too cold for me haha. Luckily for us, it wasn’t too crowded. Unluckily for us, we were still a few days too early. I think if we had gone 2 days later, it would have been perfect. I’d say the trees were at 75% bloomed. I think they only had the potential to bloom to 90% because of the strange weather this year.

There isn’t really much to talk about. We just hung out, talked, drank and enjoyed our day. It’s so nice to be able to drink outside. Another thing I will miss when we go back to Canada haha.

There were quite a few different types of sakura at this park. I could only tell the difference between the dark ones and light ones haha.

Okay, photo time. As always, there are a lot.

Hello~

The nice thing about this park is the nice lake in the middle. It really add to the cherry blossom photos, in my opinion. There were also a whole bunch of ducks there!

Maybe I just like water, haha, I don’t know…

It started to get really windy, which was a pain. It kept blowing our food and empty drink cans all over the place. Our picnic mat also had to be held down. The wind was frustrating and also made the weather a lot colder than it already was (it wasn’t cold… I’m just a wuss).

It was a really nice day and I’m glad that I can check hanami off of my Japan bucket list.

Meguro River, Tokyo (目黒川, 東京 // めぐろがわ, とうきょう)

So, because I obviously have an unhealthy obsession, I needed to venture out on my own so I could take 2034983 photos and not annoy everyone. Once the sakura were basically a full bloom, I ventured out to Tokyo once again. I know, I just said that I hate it because of all the tourists….. but….. I really wanted to see this place.

Meguro river essentially runs from shimbamba station to naka-meguro station, but the cherry blossoms are the most heavily concentrated between meguro shinbashi and nakameguro.

I got off at gotanda station and walked along the river and was pretty dissapointed until I got to meguro shinbashi. As soon as I saw the sakura, I started a trail save thing on google maps on my phone.

So, if you are planning on visiting this famous river, just be aware that the entire river is not as fabulous as it is between the two points shown above.

It’s not a bad walk by any means. From above, you can see that there weren’t many people so I was able to get some nice shots without people in them.

Hmmm… how do I wanna do this…? Do I wanna just spam you with 2304983098 photos? Do I want to seperate them a bit? Ugh, the decisions I have to make for this blog.

I’ll seperate them a bit.

As soon as I got to Meguro-shinbashi, I knew that I was where I wanted to be. I have seen so many photos from this exact spot. I wiiiish that I could photograph them as well, but I’m not so skilled haha. Sorry. I took four of the same photo with different camera settings, but they all kind of look the same haha.

Surprisingly, there aren’t too many bridges along this river so there aren’t too many chances to get photos from this angle. For the majority of the walk (which was stunning by the way), I was walking along the river on a road or sidewalk.

Recently, I bought a small tripod and a remote timer for my camera so I was happy to test them out~

I definitely got some funny looks while taking those photos. I had to put my camera across the street and zoom in, so I don’t think people even saw my camera. Just me standing by myself haha.

Since I suck at waking up, I had actually gone to Tokyo around 4pm or so. I wish I went earlier so that I could see the sun shining on all the sakura. oh well. I think I missed the rush a bit and I was able to get some nice close-up photos of the blossoms.

Companies definitely take advantage of touristy spots though. I mean, the lanterns do look really cool, but each lantern has a different advertiser on it.

camera setting made it way to light…

As soon as I arrived at the next bridge, I did the same thing as last time: take 012349238 photos of the same thing with different settings.

As I mentioned earlier, I had left pretty late. The one advantage was that I was able to get some day and night shots. The lanterns looked really cool in the darkness, but it was pretty hard to capture it. I swear, I played with my camera’s settings like crazy. I suck.

On that note, does anyone else notice that cameras tend to make it look a lot lighter than it actually is? I mean, those were taken at dusk I’m fairly sure and it looks like the afternoon….

Oh, hey! Did I ever talk about my second obsession: tree caves? I’m100% positive I have. I love them sooooo much. I wish so badly that I could photograph them and show the depth. They are so freaking cool. Here are my attempts:

My best attempt?

It went on for quite awhile. Around this time, it started getting really busy. I quickly found out why. My guess is that people come either in midday or at night. Both times are beautiful and have their own charm.

Once I got to the last bridge (basically), I was stunned. It was actually sooooo beautiful. I stayed there for about 45 minutes waiting for the sun to completely set. Here is, again, 24-30943 photos of the same thing!

side 1

side 2

side 1

side 2

Both sides of the bride had a great view. I really enjoyed it. I took some photos here and there on my way back.

I left feeling satisfied about my day trip. If you are a sakura fanatic like I am, I highly recommend this river. Even if you just go to the first and last bridge on the route I shared.

Nikaryo Yosui Canal, Kawasaki ( 二ヶ領用水と大石橋, 川崎 // にかりょうようすい, かわさき)

This is a bit of a weird one… It is in the middle of a residential area of Kawasaki. It isn’t close to where I live, at all. How did I learn of this place, you ask? Well, I take Japanese lessons in that area and they gave me a guide book of things to do/see in Kawasaki. When I saw the photo of the sakura hanging over the water, I knew I had to go. They listed some other spots that looked amazing as well, but I just didn’t have the time.

I went to this place AFTER the prime bloom time. I was hoping that it wouldn’t have been too late, but it was. Most of the blossoms are wilted. But, at least I know that if I went in prime season, it would be absolutely beautiful.

oooh, the hanging type

wow, so pink!

The blossoms were pretty unique. They were the type that hang down, and they were also very pink! It was really pretty. If I am still in Japan during next sakura season, I would definitely go again.

Phew, finally done with the cherry blossoms.

Almost done, guys, almost done. One last activity that we did in spring.

Ashikaga Flower Park (あしかがフラワーパーク)

I hope this one doesn’t get too long. This could probably have its own blog post, but I figured it would fit in this series….

Every once in a while, I look up what festivals and events are happening around me. I figure that since I’ll probably only be in Asia once, I should do/see as much as I can. So, while I was looking around, I found a pretty cool ‘event’. It isn’t a festival or event really, but a flower park that is famous for a flower called wysteria (the Japanese name is fuji // 藤 // ふじ). Wysteria have a bit of a longer blooming period than cherry blossoms. They basically start to bloom as the cherry blossoms start to wilt. I have never heard of this flower until I found this post. As far as I know, they aren’t native to Canada.

I really want to improve my photography skills, and for some reason, I’m really into flower photography. You may think I only like cherry blossoms, but I swear I like other flowers as well.

Now, as soon as I knew about these cool flowers, I naturally looked at where is the best place to see them. They bloom in various places in Tokyo, but I found a flower park that is kinda infamous for them. It is a place called Ashikaga Flower Park in Tochigi prefecture (NNW of Tokyo). Here is the website if your interested: https://www.ashikaga.co.jp/english/index.html .

As soon as you leave the main metropolis areas, the trains become infinitly more difficult to use. You may have noticed from all my navigation problems we seem to have haha. So, it’s my fault for always wanting to explore outside of Tokyo, but Japan has a LOT to see that is outside Tokyo. I wish more people talked about them. That’s why I do these blogs ^^.

Okay, so lets start with how to get there.

I’ve mentioned before that the best way to find directions in Japan is to go to the website and find a tab that says “access”. They don’t always provide times and such, but it is a good place to start. For example, this website gives this information:

The access pages aren’t necessarily in English, but this one was, luckily. I mostly used Google Maps to get us there, but it was nice to have this as a reference. I especially like to use these pages when Google maps suggests taking the shinkansen. It took us probably 9months of being in Japan to realize that there is usually a way to get somewhere without the shinkansen (which is way too expensive…). Here is what Google map suggests:

Unfortunately, I don’t remember what route we actually took, but we definitely didn’t take the shinkansen. We had a weird situation at, I assume, kitasenju station (I really don’t remember where we were, but that must have been it….). There were actually signs for what train to take to get to this flower park, but the train was full! It must be that nikko-kinugawa line. It seemed that you couldn’t use your rail pass (the card that you beep in and out with) and had to buy tickets for this particular train separately. I was a bit confused as to what we were supposed to do, so I asked, in Japanese, “Does this train go to Tochigi?” and he dismissed me by saying in broken English “ticket first” over and over. Like, fuck, what the hell dude? So does it or not? like, you want me to buy a ticket for a train that may not even go where I want to go??

Annoyed, I went to the ticketing area and asked a different train attendant the same question and he luckily answered (nicely) that it was full. Again, fuck you first guy. So, the new attendant showed us which train we could take instead and said that it is cheaper, but next one comes in 40 min. So, we waited. The next train was pretty full, but we got a seat. It took a bit longer than the sold out train, and added that 40 min of waiting time onto our trip. That meant that the already long (almost 3hrs) ride up there was extended by an hour.

Ugh.

Oh well, we got there. It was just a long journey. The local train from Tochigi to the park was crazy packed. Everyone was going to the flower park! It was so packed that I got off before Pat and had to wait like 5 min until he came out as well. We were not standing together and people just push and shove their way off the trains (whoever says that Japanese people are oh so polite have never had to navigate the trains during rush hour or an event….). I tried to take a photo of how many people there were, but it was kinda hard…

As that website mentions, there is a bit of a walk from the station to the park. It was easy to find just by how many people were walking in that direction. We basically just followed the crowds.

This was another place that changed their price depending on what is in season and how fully bloomed the flowers are. We went at prime time for their most famous flower so it was the most expensive price that it could’ve been. It was like 1300 yen (~$15) each or something like that.

Despite how busy it was, this park is actually really big so it was easy to walk around and take photos without it feeling to crowded. Well, once you got out of the entrance way that is…

Surprisingly, this park had more than just wysteria. It was a really diverse flower park!

Another thing that I didn’t expect was there is more than one type of wysteria. Not only are there essentially 2 distinct colours, but different type of trees. Some hang it bunches, some are seperated. They did some interesting things with them for sure. Here are the white ones in tree form:

They had some in hanging-above form:

They also had some sparsely on a wall:

I have a feeling the wall one is fairly new, since the ones in the pink/purple variety were much fuller:

Of course, these ones came in regular tree form:

And lastly, the star attraction, the hanging above form:

Do you see the tree?

It’s hiding in there

Sorry, I couldn’t capture how cool the ones that hang from above look…. We noticed later, that those ones that are hanging down all come from one tree! Isn’t that crazy? So, there is one tree in the middle (if you look closely, you might be able to see it) and the bamboo structure supports the branches above you so it can continue to grow. There were actually 2 overhead ones in the purple variety.

I’ll be honest guys, I actually think the white ones are so much prettier.

Anyways, this was a really great place to go if you love flowers. The whole park smelled amaaazing. They sold flower flavoured ice-cream that we didn’t try. One random thing I noticed, this place was very mobility-impaired friendly. I saw a few people in wheelchairs that were able to enjoy the flowers. I think that as a mobile person, I often forget how difficult it would be to go to some of these places.

Okay, with that, I think I’m done talking about spring.

This is definitely the longest post in this series. Part of it is because I have an obsession with flowers, and part of it is that we had a lot of time off during spring and were able to do more things.

The 4 Seasons of Japan – Spring If you were to ask anyone when the best time to visit Japan, I bet you anything that many people will say spring.

#cherry blossom festival #cherry blossoms #Japan #kawasaki #koganecho #koishikawa botanical garden #meguro river #mituike park #Nikaryo Yosui Canal #sakura #tokyo #ueno park #yanaka cemetery #yokohama

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