#Walk took longer then usual because I kept stopping to take pictures of clouds lol

[princeofheartsss]

hey, don’t be sad, look how pretty clouds are

[hwrryscherry]

The one where Y/N is from a very famous family.

blurb: Harry is going to meet  Famous Y/N’s family for the first time on a family trip to their holiday house in Monaco. He’s very nervous about meeting your highly successful in Hollywood family and you’d try to give him the best weekend getaway ever.

word count: 2.9K

warnings: Y/B/N= your brother’s name   -  Y/S/N= your sister’s name.   Y/L/N= your last name.

author’s note: This was a request and I just gotta say that I loved this concept, and even though it took me a while to write because I had so many ideas and I had to organize my thoughts I loved it. And I’m actually thinking about making this a serie, what do you guys think???? Also it’s crazy but I spent so much time deciding on face claims to Y/N’s family lol i’m weird and this is the request which Y/N’s face claim is Romee Strijd, BUT ANYWAY I hope you like it as much as I do!!!

   The weather was really hot in Monaco, and you felt it on your skin when you left the private jet that just landed at Monaco Airport (MCM). The warm rays of the sun were in contact with your skin immediately as you raised your head to direct your gaze to the sky. It was an open sky with almost, no clouds and the sun shining more than ever. Your eyes ached from the sunlight making you lower your head again feeling your long strands of hair fall to the front of your shoulders covered in the little baby pink blazer as you both waited for your car to come to take you to your family's vacation house.

   Harry was sweating, and it wasn't because of the heat. Well, not entirely.You two have been dating for the past 9 months, and this is the first time that Harry will ever meet your family as you wanted to be completely sure that you were doing the right thing. Yes, it was the first time that he would meet your extremely famous, rich and adored family in Hollywood. He would finally meet your father, who has been one of his favorite actors since he was 12 years old. He would meet your mother, who besides being one of his fashion icons, was one of his first celebrity crushes. All right, you thought this part was a little weird but that wouldn’t stop you from making fun of him about this. Anyway, he would know your older brother, in whom he loved the music and was very anxious to be able to talk about music with him. Harry never felt insecure about his music but today he did. He did because he was afraid that your musician brother would hate his job and decide that he just wasn't suitable for dating you. And believe me, he didn't get it out of his head even though you told him how silly it was. He would also meet your older sister who is one of the most talented models and actress of nowadays and all of this made him very anxious.

   To summarize, Harry never thought he could be so nervous just by the thought of meeting the family of one of his girlfriends, but you were different. He didn't think of you as just ''one of his girlfriends'', he thought of you as the right one. Like that person he wants to have a future with, even if he's precocious, that's how he felt. And he didn’t really think of how hard it would be to date the youngest member of one of the most adored celebrity families.

   You ran your hand through your hair, tossing it behind your shoulders, so you could get a better look at your boyfriend's face. You turned your back on him and gave a little shrug as you put your arms back and hinted that he would help you take off your blazer, and so he did.

—You know it's bullshit, right? They’ll love you! — The words came out of your mouth gently as you felt Harry's fingers covered in cold rings slide over the skin of your warm arms as he helped you take off your blazer. You could hear a loud sigh coming from him, which makes you turn around to face him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders as he positioned his hands on your waist causing a slight shiver as you felt his icy rings against your skin.

— Will they? — Harry asked lowering his head to rest it on your exposed neck breathing in the scent of your sweetened perfume thinking to himself how much he loves this scent. He felt pressured, and you actually felt bad for him about feeling like this. You knew your family and you knew they would never in a million years downplay him of you or anything in his life. You gave him a tight hug caressing his back as a form of comforting him.

— They will! They’re not demogorgons, it’s not like they’ll eat you alive! — You’d say in a mocking tone making him break the embrace and look at you with a mocking gaze eliciting a small laugh from you. 

— They can! — He’d argue back.

— But they won’t! — You’d say fastly. Looking away from the boy's green eyes to the black SUV that approached both of you. Particularly, you didn't notice if you had any paparazzi intentionally hidden in there. You and Harry were still keeping things low key, because as long as no one knew, it would always be better and easier because there would be no haters and no judgment. This is the point of life; no matter how nice and lovable you are, there will always be someone who will not like you and that’s okay. Later that day, you would find out that there were some paparazzi there when some pictures of you and Harry talking and getting in a car together were published in the media.

   The drive to your family's private house was fun. You sang some familiar songs that played on the local radio, captured some lovely pictures of each other which is something that you do frequently; you both usually fill your galleries with photos never before seen, so you can remember incredible moments lived between you. It was a weightless moment, where the two of you were genuinely happy. For a few precious minutes, Harry forgot his nervousness and let him go, let himself go in the sound of you laughter, in the smell of your hair, by the temperature of your covered body near to his body, and he no longer thought about how difficult he thought it would be to meet your family, but those feelings came back hitting him as he felt the car stop on the driveway in front of the immense door of this immense house, which you didn't see the need. It was quite common for you and your family to vacation here but you didn't see the specific need for a massive house like this for five people.

   You got out of the car and walked instantly towards the trunk of the car that opened at the driver's command. Harry took the two heavier suitcases out of the trunk while you took out the small suitcase, more like a necessaire you used to bring in your makeup and cosmetic products. You looked at Harry and sighed, sighed in awe as you observed how the muscles in his arms looked extremely more prominent at this point. The way this man has the power to amaze you at any time was different, and he knew it, he knew it very well!

    He stands up looking behind you where he could see your mother and your father coming to both of you with big smiles on their faces. He observed how much you looked like your father and just a little bit of your mom, but he also observed that the three of you had the same eye color and the same hair color, actually, all of your family was exactly like this. Almost like twins.

— Darling! — You hear your mother's loud voice and turn around to see her. She was acting like you hadn't seen her two days ago when she invited you to come on this trip and you said you were going to take your boyfriend with you. But anyway, she quickened her pace and when she got close enough to you, she wrapped her arms around you giving you a tight hug. Your father went directly to Harry. He kept a straight and ineligible countenance. Harry wondered if he was about to hug him or if he was about to shoot him for the simple fact that he was dating his youngest daughter. But then, his father smiled and held out his right hand to Harry, who did not hesitate to shake it.

— Mr. Y/L/N, it’s a pleasure to meet you! — His hand was sweaty, that cold sweat of nervousness that made his father laugh out loud. You closed your eyes for a moment remembering precisely that you specifically told Harry to don’t call neither of your parents as ‘’Mr. And Mrs., ’’because as they typically say: ‘’It makes them feel old.’’

— Relax, boy! — He said as he set one of his long arms around Harry's shoulders getting ou a chuckle from Harry as he saw your mother's sweet gaze on him.She then smiled at the boy who was definitely a lot taller than her and then back at you.

— He's as handsome in person as in the pictures you showed me, dear! — She said winking at you, causing you to widen your eyes at her while Harry laughed out loud.

— Mom! — You would say scolding.

— It's okay, Y/N! I know you go around saying I'm handsome and everything! — Harry risked the joke, which made you roll her eyes in a playful way to him.

— Come on, what are you waiting for? Let's take your stuff up there! — Your father said lugging the small suitcase you carried without hesitation.

— Okay, you two take things up there while Y/N and I will go straight to the pool area. — Your mother said and your father just nodded in agreement with her and immediately started walking into the house. Harry widened his eyes at you as a cry for help and you just shrugged your shoulders being practically dragged by your mother's small figure, since you were basically six inches taller than her.

    You walked through the extensive pool area with crossed arms. You both walked to a covered part where a broad, round white wooden table was located surrounded by beautiful yellow chairs, not the vibrant yellow but the yellow at sunrise, that calm and serene.

   You two sat on the chair and you used your hand to support your face on the table, thus letting your long strands of hair fall to the left side of your shoulder. Your mother took one of her hands to hold the strands of hair in her hands and looked at your face with a tender smile.

— You look happy! You have that happiness glow — She said admiring your face that instantly started to smile just to remember the reason you were so happy, and to remember your happiness had a name, appearance, voice and age.

— I genuinely am! — You said softly trying to contain the smile.

— I'm happy! He looks like a lovely guy, after the last one, I confess that I was worried about it! — Your mother said in a more deep tone and you just tried to expel all thoughts about your ex-boyfriend, it was not even worth remembering that human being, if he can be considered a human being.

— He's... He's the best, mom. — You said softly bringing your hands to your face and then placing your palms on your cheeks holding your smile, even though it seemed impossible — He really is! Harry is so clever, kind, respectful. He's hilarious, you know? Time goes by so fast, I feel light. I forget about worries and focus only on him and I, and at that moment it seems that the rest of the world ceases existing and by god, he was so nervous about coming here today. He was terrified you guys would detest him, and I would just stop liking him.

— Why? But this is so silly! — She said snorting a little, it was even a little bit funny because this has been exactly the same thing that you have been saying to Harry. — You need to make your own choices and we recognize it, we don't always support it, but we know it!

    You chuckled a little with the older woman's words. God, how you idolized her. You were always grateful to have such a good relationship with her. This type of relationship that you can arrive and spend hours telling things and will feel unjudged. Everyone should have something like that.

— But where are Y/S/N and Y/B/N? I thought they would come too — You asked about your older siblings as you straightened up in your chair.

—They arrived! They said something about buying some things on the market. I have no idea!— She said taking the glass she held in her hand and taking a sip of the drink. —These children are like this, you know, you generate them, give birth to them, raise them, spend thousands of dollars in schools and then they go out and don't even tell you where they are going. — She said being the usual drama queen and you cannot avoid the laugh that escaped your lips, this woman was simply everything for you.

— All very dramatic, I bet they went to buy things that you should have bought and forgot! — You said raising your eyebrows in a mocking way.

— Okay, okay! You don't value me. I understand! — This was probably one of the most dramatic phrases she had ever said in her life. You then feel a pair of firm hands on your shoulders and automatically tilt your head to look and come across Harry's face. Harry's beautiful, perfectly structured face.

— Hi! — Harry said to bend down to give a light kiss on your forehead. You then looked ahead and saw your father behind your mother.

— We left things in your room. Everything is in there! — Your father said looking at you two. You then got up and stood next to Harry and looked at the older couple.

— I'll go up and take a shower then! I'm dying of heat! — You said — And Hazz, could you come along and take things out of the suitcase? — You said taking your gaze to him who agreed with a soft "sure." You then smiled at your parents, and you walked into the house. You both went up the stairs. 

                                          ...

   It was about 2pm now and you were all reunited att the pool area. Or siblings and their current partners were there too. You two had already showered and switched to more tropical clothes. You were wearing a beige bikini with white polka dots while Harry was wearing a navy blue swim trunks with a single wine red stripe, and believe me, it wasn't long before the two of you were in the pool. You both had dark glasses on your faces to protect you from the sunlight. You and Harry leaned against the edge of the pool without leaving the water. Harry had his back against the edge while you stood in front of him, with your arms around his neck and his hands on your waist while the Carpenters song "Top of the world" played in the background.

   You could feel Harry touching the tips of your wet hair on your back as he didn't really listen to the things you said.

— Harry? — You called him trying to get his attention that seemed far away at the moment. Harry put his thoughts aside and stared at you looking a little far away. —You weren't even listening to what I was saying, right? — You said raise your hands to stroke the taller boy's wet hair.

— Sorry, what were you saying? — Harry asked taking off his sunglasses and then bringing his tattooed hand to your face so that he could remove your glasses as well so he could have a clear view of your eyes.

— What did you think? — You asked showing interest in the boy's thoughts.

— In almost everything and in everything. I was thinking that this place is amazing, that your family is really nice and that you are wonderful! — He said in a charming tone with a smirk on his lips as he leaned down to peck your lips.

— So you admit that I was right, and you were wrong? — You asked raising your eyebrows teasing him for his nervousness that had already passed by this time, since he got along so well with his entire family.

— I would say a little bit! — He would speak reluctantly in the form of a joke causing you to snort and slap his shoulder lightly as a joke basically demanding that he tell the truth — Ok, ok I admit! It was stupid nervousness! Do you feel better now, Miss Y/L/N?

— Well... I feel adorable! — You say smiling convincingly.

   The rest of the trip was incredible, and you guys agreed on that. You guys did so many fun things. You went on a Jet Ski in Cap-d'Ail which is very close to Monaco. You took a whole day to go from Monaco to Nice by helicopter where you spent the whole day there. You went canyoning and went to the casino. There were days where you just went shopping in Monaco and spent the day enjoying at home, but surely one of your favorite nights was the night where you had a game night where you played UNO, and poker, in general the whole trip it was so much fun and Harry would like every day of his life to be like this, and preferably, for you to be by his side.

[everythingoesnk]

Good man

summary; you’re an angel (literally an angel) and the world needs you. what for? to babysit mclennon. spoiler: you cannot resist john.

word count; 3 248

disclaimers; i’m SO proud of this but give me feedback lol you just can’t imagine how much it helps and motivates to keep writing

warnings; cannot think of one.

********

Too many of yours had been killed. Many others were still held in custody, tortured for the sole purpose of unleashing a war your community had been avoiding.

The smartest decision would’ve been to end the nonsense and face the enemy head-on, but again, you were angels. Dialogue always came first.

You learned the lesson.

This last year you’d been training and developing physical skills that initially don’t belong to your committee. What you didn’t know was the irrefutable decision the Parliament imposed in one of their meetings that they later would communicate to the nation: put into practice, only if necessary, the fighting tactics that you acquired. Not here, but on Earth. Long story short, become guardians. A large number of people understand that as angels that’s what you are. They’re not wrong, in a way.

On a final note, the Parliament concluded that its best pupils would descend to protect humans from the vehemence of the Evil.

Each angel has two people assigned.

Yours are Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

//

18th of June 1967, 15:18 pm

“Today marks six months since we met, and on top of that, it’s my birthday. Have you bought me anything?” Paul inquired from the sofa, straightening his neck to get a better view of your face.

It was difficult with you staring out the window, scanning every inch of the street and skyline, never turning to show any interest in what he was saying.

Dropping his head backwards, he added quietly, “And nothing happened”

“Is that disappointment in your tone?” you asked impassively, still not turning.

“Disappointment is not the word”

“What’s the word then?”

Your eyes travelled to a different point. No longer on the clouds that ventured the signs of a storm but on your partner and one of the other three funky insects.

Matt was near the metal gate, keeping an eye on the vicinities and probably rolling his eyes at the fans’ screeches coming from behind the entry, crying for any sort of interaction with their idols.

Not far from there John was sitting on the hood of his car.

Something must have told him he was being watched because he put down the hand with the cigarette and looked up to the same window you were at almost instantly.

An uneasy feeling that you couldn’t quite describe expanded around your heart after his inquisitive stare settled on you.

Flustered, you looked coyly to the left and right, because maybe Paul shifted to your side and you didn’t notice.

That got a small laugh from John.

Paul wasn’t in the room anymore but on the bathroom taking a pee, you could hear him. Regaining your usual erect composure, your brows pinched in a frown.

John got off the hood and put out the cigarette on the sole of his shoe before heading towards the building, looking in your direction once more with hands in his pockets and a sinful smirk tickling his lips.

“No,” you told Paul, observing John until he couldn’t be seen no more.

He shot you a confused glance as he finished pulling up the zipper.

“Babe, be more specific”

“I didn’t buy you anything” you concretized, facing him, “but I’m here to save your life in case you need to be saved. And if the moment comes I will, I’m a good warrior”

Paul blushed. He flapped his hand at you.

“It was a joke”

“I hope you were joking too about ‘nothing’ happening. You should be grateful you weren’t in any danger just yet”

You swore you could boil an egg in his face.

//

18th June 1967, 15:39 pm

“We’ll be back before dinner” Matt informed, putting on a jacket.

“Do the wings break through the clothes when you… invoke them?” Ringo asked.

George and John didn’t make any witty remarks, wondering the same secretly.

You and Matt exchanged looks. He shrugged and you thought it wasn’t worth your time answering.

“We do not invoke them. They appear when we need them”

Ringo kept asking questions but you didn’t focus on them, after all he was Matt’s responsibility. He was taking them –George and Ringo– to pay a visit to their wives. Matt missed driving so they didn’t mind him taking the wheel.

In Paul’s case it was Linda and her guardian who dropped by every now and then.

Due to the first impression of them, you thought Paul and John would be more demanding, however, they didn’t bother you and mostly stuck to doing their own thing.

Paul was taking a nap in the room next door; John’s whereabouts were unknown. You had to find him for his safety.

Gliding down the corridor you bumped into him.

You folded your arms across the chest.

“Where were you?”

“A fan dodged security and was waiting for me in the lobby. We talked for a bit and snapped a picture”

“For the thousandth time,” you groaned, annoyance streaming through your body like lava, “do not speak to anyone if I’m not around! Why do you keep disobeying my instructions?”

“She looked regular” he justified.

You looked at him as you might a cockroach.

“Demons disguise themselves accurately to fool jerks like you” you spat out.

Pulling a theatrical painful face, he brought a hand down to hold on to his dick and testicles, simulating that your words kicked him just there.

“Lennon, do not make it harder than it needs to be. I didn’t choose to have to follow you around like a puppy”

“Alright, can you take a moment to try and understand how overwhelming the situation is for us as well?” he argued, putting on hold his reckless demeanour.

Rubbing your eyes you sighed, “Yes, I can, but—”

“Forgive me”

“I forgive you, but don’t do it again”

A tender grin formed on his face, content that you didn’t put up much of a fight.

“Before I got interrupted I was actually on my way to get you. I wanna show you something”

You rolled your eyes. He’s so random.

Back in the room, he went straight to the piano. After tuning it his eyes wandered to the empty space he had next to him on the bench, waiting for you to take it.

Your expression switched from curious to stupefied.

Following his command you sat down.

Your gaze flickered from his eyes to his lips and from lips to his fingers. He played so carefully and delicately in the beginning, introducing the prologue of his piece, that you lost yourself somewhere in the middle of it. Recalling the day you entered Heaven you shivered.

Music filled the air, hijacking every part of your mind.

The melody began to change, more macabre and haunting. It reminded you of everything beginning to fall apart, when the enemy showed no mercy and without guilt slayed the innocent.

You weren’t aware of how you were digging your fingernails in his leg, the shrieks of the victims ringing in your ear.

John stopped playing, placed his hand on top of yours and clasped it firmly, looking concerned.

You shook your head and instead walked away, needing space.

John squared his shoulders as he took a deep breath and sauntered up to you. Brows together, you shrank back.

“I didn’t want to upset you,” he said, respecting the distance.

You remained quiet, head buzzing.

He squinted at you and tilted his head.

“Talking about it might help you”

“Have you taken it on yourself to be my personal psychologist?”

He held your gaze. It was the pain talking, not you. He knew and he was going to be patient.

“It’s not your fault this is happening. Any of this”

“Stop”

“You need to hear it. You have this vast weight on your shoulders—”

“I could’ve done something!” you hollered, saturated with the remorse you’d been accumulating. You knew you weren’t responsible for the cataclysm. He didn’t… he didn’t understand. “Those monsters killed them in front of me! Marta, Norman, Charlie! I can still feel how my body jarred after witnessing every stab and poisoned bite. Blood was gushing out of their mouths and I did nothing!”

The image of you petifried watching them die and not being able to help repulsed you.

How could you have been so cruel?

John held his breath. That was what was torturing you.

“You aren’t responsible for their deaths”

“Aren’t I?” you fumed, the void in the middle of your heart widening. “You know nothing”

The bitterness in your voice made his nostrils flare.

Through his bones echoed the determination to cure your scars. However, he understood it wasn’t his job to heal you.

“And I’ll never get to apologize”

You could sense John’s question without him actually asking.

“Demons get to exist thanks to the souls they rip from their owners. The bodies vanished after that” you explained, feeling dizzy.

Throat dry, you brought a hand to your forehead.

Beneath your typical mask of coldness never would have John imagined you were battling against yourself.

It brought him back to when he felt like he could have prevented his mum from leaving the house, saving her life. He was seventeen. Seventeen, not three or four. He could have warned her about the insanity of driving under those conditions. The wind was brutal that day, and it rained cats and dogs. Instead, he kissed her cheek good-bye and went to his room.

He blamed himself too at first. It was a long and tormenting process, but he comprehended he wasn’t guilty. You’d get to that point eventually, he thought, you’d have only gotten yourself killed too if you’d have intervened.

The breeze that came through the window dried your tears and moved the hair away from your notable cheekbones. He attempted to reach out to you for the second time. You just stared at him, biting your quivering lower lip. He stood before you, eyes boring into your mournful ones.

Wrapping his arms around you, he pulled you slowly against him. You sobbed into his chest as you snuggled closer for shelter.

John pressed his cheek onto the top of your head.

“It’s not your fault” he repeated, emotion palpable in his tone.

It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault.

//

2nd of February 1968, 12:13 pm

Matt dug his elbow into your ribs.

“He fell for you,” he said with a huge smirk, and imitated your pose: hands laced behind the back, eyes closed and body toward the sun taking in its pleasant rays.

“Shouldn’t have” you muttered after a pause, forcing the letters out of your mouth.

“That card you keep playing of apathy is ridiculous”

“I’m not playing any apathy card”

“Pretending you have no feelings for John won’t make it easier tomorrow”

You blinked and turned to him. He opened his and fixed them on you.

“I’m simply prioritizing other things”

“What other things are those?”

He knew already.

He knew that the things you just claimed to prioritize over your damn feelings were nonexistent. Like always, he was right. You didn’t want to triple the suffering that implied separating from John by confessing.

War was over. Angels defeated the beasts and freed themselves and humanity; home awaited your kind.

“My dear (Y/N),” Matt laughed dreamily, “you have all the time in the world to wait for him. Find out if he will still love you then”

//

3th of February 1968, 18:21 pm

John lost track of the number of times he rehearsed the torrent of words he planned on telling you.

He raised his hand and put it in a fist. Up in the air, he couldn’t seem to bring himself to knock on the door. Explicit terms and a deep groan escaped his lips. He dropped it and inhaled deeply, heart pounding frantically.

When he thought he was ready to finally do it Paul emerged from the closest corner, sprinted and knocked four times, running afterwards to the room that George and Ringo shared before John could catch him. And he did try.

“Ay! You want a fuckin’ hole in your face, you punk?!” he banged on their door, getting angrier with their laughs.

He almost lost it when Ringo hummed ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’.

Nonplussed, you crossed your arms and stood watching John from your spot after opening the door.

Just like before, his sensor did not fail him. He stopped his actions shortly and whirled around. Reddening abruptly, for a second he was sure his face was on fire.

You cleared your throat.

“Well?”

Cautiously, his brain stuttering, he glided the necessary steps to be in front of you.

He opened his mouth but didn’t get to say anything because Matt appeared from behind you.

“Who is—”

Immediately after seeing John his eyes widened.

“Oh God! I’m sorry! Were you- Oh my God, I’m sorry! Shit, go on” he gasped, and literally hurried inside.

That only aggravated the layer of crimson sprayed in John’s complexion.

You wanted to laugh but didn’t, obviously he was there to make the first move. You flashed him a small smile for support. He smiled at you too in return.

“Follow me”

Imperceptible in his voice, he succeeded in hiding elsewhere he feared rejection.

You raised an eyebrow teasingly. He frowned then chuckled in realization.

“Please?”

You giggled, which sounded way too girly for your liking, and took his hand in yours.

John led the way to the rooftop of the hotel.

Garlands of white and pink roses decorated the space, and since the sun was setting, you got to see how the orangy golden lights ghosted over John’s skin which made him look not handsome but celestial. At the distance, a trail of a plain crossed the horizon. You admired the view for a few more seconds and then drifted your eyes back to him.

The kindness and love reflected in his felt as warm as a kiss on the forehead of your favourite person in the world.

“I have to be quick, you don’t have much time”

He wasn’t wrong. You had to leave soon.

“Here, take this” he handed you a paper folded in half. “Open it when you’re there”

You averted the gaze towards the sheet and nodded. His eyes desperately searched yours again. Every second counted.

“I love you” he blurted out, a bizarre combination of panic and hope evident on his face. Like a child who just confessed that he broke granny’s vase, praying not to be grounded. “And I really, really want to kiss you”

The longing in his request melted your heart.

When you were about to let him know that you wanted it too you felt it in your back. You felt the muscles pulling the skin, pushing to make their way through to the outside.

One moment they weren’t there the other your wings were now displayed broadly for him to see.

They raised themselves, ready for departure.

John’s mouth fell open.

Unable to stop staring at their grandiosity and splendour, heartbeat wildly pumping, he ran a hand through his hair.

“You’re fucking gorgeous,” he said breathlessly.

With tears in your eyes, you cupped his head in your hands and laid your mouth on his mouth without prior notice.

In that very instant, right there, the world stopped spinning.

He moved his silky wet lips against yours, pressing you further in until there was no space in between when the saltiness of your teardrops mixed with the saliva.

Your wings started aching awfully by now, and you knew what that meant.

Not wanting to, you pulled back from the kiss, lips burning.

“No” he purred, holding you in place, fingers gripping so tight around your upper arms that the skin beneath them turned white.

“John, it’s time”

Brokenhearted, you withdrew fully after rubbing your noses in an affectionate eskimo kiss.

You nudged intimately his chin up with your thumb.

John didn’t want to miss the opportunity to absorb your dazzling beauty thus he forced his eyes open.

“Part of my heart will stay with you. Remain a good man, Lennon, and return it to me. I trust that we’ll meet again in due course”

3th February 1968, 23:33 pm

Excitement throbbed in you. Seating cross-legged, you created walls with your wings to avoid snoopers and unfolded the paper.

It was a piano score. At the bottom of it, written in his handwriting, was a small note:

“I changed the ending. Now it’s about finding peace and picking up your broken bits to build a stronger armour. You’re a fierce woman, (Y/N), but whenever that feeling tightens and saddens your heart, play this”

Tangled in a mix of joy and sorrow, you half smiled as a tear rolled down your cheek and chin, landing in John’s signature.

//

8th December 1980, 22:50 pm

Everyone fell silent.

You noticed that all of your fellow companions and friends had their gazes bonded to the same spot. Slowly, you turned to check what they were looking at, and you nearly passed out.

He rarely visited. Only when he had good reasons to.

Gait steady, knowing very well what he was doing, he gave a quick look around as he paced.

His eyes found you.

Saint Peter offered you a reassuring smile, causing everyone to snap their heads at you.

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N)”

You swallowed.

“Y-yes?” you sputtered.

“I believe you’ll want to see this”

Uncertain, you joined him, not before sending Matt a doubtful look.

In any case, all your questions were answered when you reached the Gates and saw who was waiting for you. His wings were even more impressive, glittering and elegant than anyone else’s.

He was touching their feathers, inspecting them.

You ran to embrace him. Off guard as you took him, his arms were trapped under yours, preventing him from being able to hug you back.

“You shouldn’t be here. What happened, John?” you said, a million thoughts rushing through your mind.

“(Y/N)…” Saint Peter warned.

Under no circumstances it was allowed to ask for the reason behind someone’s death nor tell yours. It was the rules; the subject was forbidden.

You squeezed your eyes shut and nodded.

Taking a couple of steps back, you looked up to him. John bored his eyes into yours, lips stretching into a dainty smile.

“Hello, love. I took great care of the piece of your heart that you borrowed me” he said, twirling a strand of your hair between his fingers. “The time has come, I can give it back”

“It was for you, dummy” you answered with a laugh, voice cracking.

He dropped his head shyly to the floor, smile growing larger.

You followed where his eyes were pointing at, only to see his bare toes scrunching into the delicacy and softness of the cloud, getting familiar with it.

“I’m sorry you’re here” you whispered, honestly horrified that he didn’t get the chance to grow old.

“I was never scared of dying,” he spoke, slowly raising his head, “because I knew I’d be with you”

Staring at each other, none spoke for a moment.

“I love you too, by the way,” you admitted, pink arising in your cheeks. “I realized after I left that I didn’t say it back”

John smirked. He caressed your face and you felt the butterflies in your tummy flutter.

Love danced in the brightness of his eyes.

“Show me Heaven, (Y/N)”

[heartshapedcowboy]

bored teens & bubble rings (lucas + max)

word count: 1.3k

a/n: my neighborhood corner stores happen to have lots of random things so just roll with it lol, this took me so long and is a little boring in a few parts to me but ️️please let me know what you think! 🖤

warnings: max is baby, lucas is a sweetheart, and lumax being soft

  (part one to the lumax summer series)

                                        _____________________

                                             summer of ‘85

                                        _____________________

“I’m bored.”

Lucas looks over at Max where she’s laying upside down on the steps of his porch as he balls up the dirty rag in his hands, throwing it on the ground. 

They had spent a good half hour of being in each other’s company, only sharing a few words here and there-definitely still winding down from their rigorous race of skateboard vs. bicycle-as Lucas wiped down his bike.

“What do you wanna do?”

It takes longer than a moment for her to think of something than it usually does, the quiet slowly returning between them. She was stumped, not knowing what they could do, and she kept racking her brain for some idea-wanting to spend as much time with Lucas while she could for the day. On the other hand, she was itching to leave fingerprints on the metal of his freshly polished bike-knowing it would bug him with how meticulous he could be. 

But she decides against it, air pushing out from her mouth in a defeated sigh. “I don’t know, what do you wanna do?”

Wiping some sweat from his brow is a knee jerk reaction when he feels it begin to drip, and it has him walking over to be under the shade that the shadow of his house provides. He takes a deep breath once he’s there, sitting down next to her and leaning back on his elbows with his eyes to the sky-Max still thinks absentmindedly as she fiddles with the fraying ends of her dangling shoelaces.

Suddenly her legs are swinging around until she’s back to being right-side up, her head spinning just a little as she turns to Lucas. “Why don’t we go to the corner store? I think I want to spend my allowance.”

“The new one?” Lucas questions her with an almost uncertain look spreading across his face, but Max ignores it as she nods, “Yep, that’s the one.” 

Uncertainty turns into confusion as he squints his eyes, the sun continuing to play an annoying game of hide and seek behind the clouds. “What’s at the grocery store?”

“Groceries.” Max playfully deadpans, halfheartedly shoving him as she sucks her teeth. He still stares, unconvinced as she rests her elbows on her knees, “Oh just- come on, let’s find out.”

Lucas sighs but-of course-gives in, preparing to mount his bike before Max speaks up to stop him. “Wait, no bike today, let’s just walk.”

“Really?” Lucas turns to look at her, brows furrowing, “It’s like, a mile and a half away.” To which she immediately frowns and shakes her head, “Yep, never mind.”

Minutes later Hawkins’ newest big business stands tall before them and Max’s grin is wide and genuine as she pulls Lucas inside the store before he even finishes chaining up his bike.

Lucas’ facial muscles relax-not knowing it had been screwed up into a frown because of the heat- as he reaches toward her to tap her on the arm, “Max... do you feel that?” She nods, and they sigh in unison, “Air Conditioner.”

“Ok, come on, there’s no time to waste.”

Max excitedly pulled Lucas down nearly every aisle, the both of them picking up things then changing their mind and putting them back-sometimes not in their proper place.

“This is it!” She cheers, her ponytail swinging as she turns, smiling down at a bottle with a brightly wrapped picture label .

Lucas raises a questioning eyebrow, his face slowly scrunching up as he turns it away from the rubix cube he was eyeing. “Bubbles?”

“Of all the things in this store, that’s what you want to spend your allowance on?” Max nods, the grip her hand has on the bottle tightening with a certainty as Lucas continued, “Why don’t we just go half-and-half on one of those huge sundaes?”

“Oh come on, Lucas. Where’s your summer spirit?” At this statement, he folds his arms across his chest. “Alive and fully present. Where’s yours?”

Max rolls her eyes, “I’m bored, ok? Let me have this.”

Still a little reluctant, Lucas follows Max to the cash registers-after having grabbed two fudge bombs from the freezer aisle.

She’d wasted no time in ripping the safety seal off the bottle once they get outside-even spilling a little on herself in the process. Lucas watches her as he carefully unwraps his popsicle, that, of course, already started melting, and chucks the wrapper in a nearby trash can. 

Several bubbles fly from the small ring, staying mid-air for only a few seconds before popping.

She does it again and again, blowing multiple bubbles and reaching her hand out to pop a few of them herself. Moving to sit an angle towards Lucas, the cement burns the back of her thighs causing her to jump and yelp-the soapy substance sloshing around and spilling onto her hand.

Frowning and wiping her hand on her shorts, she addresses Lucas as she’s sitting on the edge of the curb, avoiding the cement so it wouldn’t touch her skin. “You wanna try it?” She nudges him excitedly, already moving to hand him the ring. 

“I’m good, thanks.” He declines politely.

Max pouts, sticking her tongue out at him while she decidedly lets her next set of bubbles blow right in his direction. He takes a while to notice what’s happening, so no longer able to wait patiently for him to catch up, she calls him. “Lucas.”

The moment his head turns he’s immediately met with a bunch of bubbles, all of them popping once they hit his face. And Max erupts into a fit of giggles, pointing at him and wheezing, “Y-Your face!”

Pure joy and amusement overpowers her face, her smile so big that her eyes are almost squinted shut by her cheeks, pinking from her laughter and the sweltering heat. 

It’s a sight that makes Lucas soft even when she blows another flurry of bubbles in his direction-laughing again as his reaction plays in her mind over and over again-even while he rolls his eyes and groans halfheartedly at her, something tugs in his heart, making his stomach churn in a feeling that’s not entirely unpleasant. So he lets her keep going, taking mental images of her smile as he hides his absolutely enamored grin behind his ice cream. 

Eventually the bubbles stop coming, and Lucas is almost done with his ice cream when he takes a glance at Max-who’s all but pouting at the now empty bottle in her hand. She doesn’t notice him counting his change that he’d stuffed in the pocket of his cargo shorts. 

Stuffing the extra bit of melted ice cream in his mouth, he tells Max that he’ll be right back as he gets up off the concrete, all but running back into the store.

When he gets back to the curb outside, Max is fiddling with her ponytail, the empty bottle of bubbles nowhere in sight as she braids and then unbraids her hair. 

She gasps when Lucas comes into view, her eyes landing on the brand new bottle of bubbles in his hand, as he sits back down. 

“Oh thank you, thank you!” She’s smiling as she reaches for the bottle with eager hands, scowling playfully when he snatches his hand back from her reach, a smile of his own on his face. 

“It‘s yours on one condition.” “Yeah? What’s that?” He knows giving it to her immediately subjects himself to more bubbles flying into his face but can’t bring himself to care about his own annoyance. 

The look of pure and utter joy she gives at Lucas’ annoyance makes it more than bearable, no matter how frustrating it actually is. 

“You blow them into Mike’s face more than mine.” Max snorts, “Ha! Deal,” and wastes no time in taking the bottle from Lucas’ hand when he puts it back in her reach. His skin is still cool from the AC of the grocery store when she presses her lips against his cheek as a thank you, and his heart thumps excitedly in his chest.

“Can I have your other fudge bomb?” 

Lucas nods, “Sure, I got it for you anyway.”

[ahmeddocuments]

Day 1, (Cairo/Amman/Paris), 25-9-2019

Written by Ahmed Hassan, edited and corrected by Aya Ashraf

Well, this is finally it. The moment I've always procrastinated to do. I'm finally documenting my biggest trip to Europe to date!

The trip started from September, 2019 from France passing by Italy, Vatican, Austria, Prague and ending in Germany. The trip raised my travel achievements from 5 cities, 4 countries to 15 cities, 8 countries in a total of 13 months, with a total number of 33 traveling days.

When I'm documenting my trip, I'm documenting personal experience, personal observations and opinions. it also might reflect my passion for Architecture, Art and beauty of how I see things, and how it reflects from my perspective. And to be honest, I've thought a lot about ideas of how I can show my trip well, and blogging somehow was a winner. Blogging sounds like a classic idea of how things should be documented, and I'm someone who's always nostalgic and feels classic about the present and the future.

Well, Where do I start. it's 9:00 PM on a Tuesday, On 24th of September 2019. i just had a haircut and heading home after one of the strangest days of my life. it's the day i had an emotional roller coaster; I'm getting ready to travel a the biggest planned trip ever, just a few hours after knowing I've took a hit in my career. Or at least that’s what i thought at the time. but after a few hours of Anxiety, I've decided to let all of such thoughts stop, I'm going to travel! I'm literally a few hours away from doing my most favorite thing in the whole world! I started double checking my belongings; Passport and tickets, Cash money, devices and luggage.

My plane takes off at 6:45 AM. I made sure i had arrived earlier for documentation. I finished everything around 3 hours before the flight and I'm sitting there at the airport bored and bored waiting for the time to pass, still having glimpses of anxiety from time to time.

The moment has come, I hear the call for my flight. Unlike the past year, that wasn't a direct gate to the plane, but it's a shuttle bus taking us directly to the plane near the runway. It’s my first time on Royal Jordanian airlines, I gotta say the plane looks decently vintage from outside, I liked the color pattern of the fleet because you don’t see darker planes every day. as below, the plane appeared mostly black with mixed colors of blood red and gold yellow.

i picked royal Jordanian because of two factors; their cheap economy tickets (Cairo/Amman/Paris and Berlin/Amman/Cairo for 6900 L.E), their luggage policy  (two 23 Kg pieces + the carry on). But I gotta say, you get what you pay for. As someone who’s been on Air France's Joon last year, all I could do is compare the seats’ quality, friendliness level of the staff and the quality of food. The three weren’t that bad at all on the RJ planes, but yeah, that was something to mention.

So the plane is prepared to take off, flight attendants are giving us instructions about safety and emergency, then we’re taxiing the runway. When people usually describe their point of life when they feel absolutely free of any restrictions, I always think about the moment when the plane is on the runway accelerating, leaving anything behind -even if temporary- and rising above the clouds, above anything that previously caused any kind of insecurity. It’s me feeling superior and feeling good about myself.

That was my first time passing over Sinai by plane, I’ve seen a lot of beautiful scenery, like the gulf of Suez and the Suez canal and its ships lining up one after the other.

Also scenes of Sinai mountains, that looks small but great from above as well

I’m now entering the airspace of Jordan. And I got to see the river of Jordan and glimpses of the dead sea.

Just a few minutes after capturing the above picture, we were approaching Queen Aliaa International Airport in Amman for my transit. The plane was landing, and that was my first time to set foot in another Arab country. My transit was almost two hours long so it wasn’t that big of a deal, the airport was extremely clean with very fast free WiFi service, I didn’t feel bothered at all by the waiting time cause I kept exploring the airport. I wanted to buy a snack or a small meal but it was weird because of my zero understanding about the Jordanian currency in terms of what's reasonable and what's expensive. Minutes passed fast and I boarded the plane for a longer flight to Paris.

Passing over the occupied lands of Palestine gave me a special scene I won't forget, a glimpse of the dome rock mosque and the Aqsa mosque. It’s that glowing gold item in the middle of the below picture.

The flight to Paris lasted about 6 hours, passing over the Mediterranean, central Europe and then finally entering the French air field. It was a matter of time before hearing the announcement that we’re reaching Charles de Gaulle Airport, I’m landing again in my favorite city in the world, one year after saying goodbye back in 2018. Took my luggage and stayed in the airport for a few hours till Islem, the Algerian friend I’m staying with, finishes his work at 6 PM, so that left me in the airport for about 4 full hours.

First things first, I had to top up my French mobile line package so that I can communicate during my trip, then had a McDonalds sandwich at the airport. Also had time for a drink till I received a call from Islem to move to Aulnay-sous-Bois. Meeting Islem became one of Paris’s landmarks for me now, he’s a very nice Algerian, 2 years younger and shows a great hospitality each time I request to stay over. After my arrival at the platform, I found him right there. He guided me to the house, which was like 1 minute walking distance from the station which is a GREAT plus for a tourist. The neighborhood was actually built around the 1940s, and it's all about classic villas and buildings. My building is a great example of how the neighborhood looked.

I was actually staying on the fifth - and last - floor. Anyway it was almost 7.30 and I put my stuff at Islem’s, we're going to have an outing together. Islem suggested I should have like a metro pass to all the 5 Paris districts, which came in really handy for my whole stay, and it included Versailles and Disney which were planned items.

We decided to go over the downtown and launched that plan from Châtelet, stepped out of the station to Rue de Rivoli, passed by Tour Saint Jaques.

Then we passed by Paris's official city center, Hôtel de Ville. The place looked amazing as that was my first time to see it at night all lit

Also had my first look at the seine by crossing Pomt d'Arcole and its beautiful scenery over the river.

I also wanted to check on Notre Dame, as I was really devastated when the fire took place in April 2019, but it looked better than expected. But still it's a great loss to France and Europe.

For those who don't know, Notre Dame was my favorite place to visit in Paris, and it was the place that I've seen first in Paris during my first visit in 2018. I will never forget that feeling of seeing this building in person. Now it is in a really bad condition, only hoping for it to restore its previous glory soon.

I made sure to check the building as much as possible, passed by it from almost all sides. A very important funny part though: it was raining before my arrival and I didn’t notice a small water puddle behind Notre Dame, which resulted my socks and shoes all soaked with water, making me walk like i’m walking on hot rocks for a while till it started to dry out. We later reached Saint Michelle Fountain.

Had the opportunity to see one of the best seine river scenes in Paris, with Notre Dame looking so fine like it was untouched.

We Also passed by Pont Neuf, Paris’s oldest bridge with a construction date back to 1578. The term “Pont Neuf” means the new bridge, because of all the modernity that it embodied in the Middle Ages back then. The building, which spans the Seine at Ile de la Cité, was built during the reign of Henry III but was inaugurated in the early 17th century.  At that time, it was the very first stone bridge in Paris and also the first in the capital to have sidewalks to protect pedestrians from the mud projected by horses and carts.

After crossing Pont Neuf to the other bank of the seine, we’re right in front of the back side of the Louvre museum. Islem thankfully made me enter the Louvre from the back entrance, allowing me to see the famous modern pyramid centering the 18th century old Château from a new angle.

And now with the main stream angle, which I really love by the way because there’s no enough of how beautiful this place looks! I was actually surprised to see that much of people still hanging out there, later i realized the place is open till 9:45 PM on Wednesdays, and it was just 9:15 PM the moment I took the picture.

We were really starving afterwards, and we couldn’t pick a place to have our dinner. So we decided to eat in the first affordable thing we see in our way. We walked down Avenue de l'Opéra heading to the Palais Garnier (Paris’s grand opera house). and as much as it always looked fantastic with its golden statues, it never looked as beautiful as I saw it that night.

We were right in front of the opera when Islem suggested we go for pizza hut since it’s just around the corner, there was no space for me to say no as the last meal I had was almost 8-9 hours earlier. We went inside and we picked a chicken pizza that we shared with a drink and appetizers. and I gotta say there was no much of a difference comparing to the pizza hut we have in Egypt, only cleaner place and more expensive lol.

We were finally full and we decided that I should welcome Paris in the best cliché way possible: watching the Eiffel tower at night. We moved via metro from  Opéra to Trocadéro. For those of you who don’t know, Trocadéro is the best place in Paris where you can actually view the landmark and remain absolutely speechless till you realize you spent a lot of time there and should leave.

It was the most crowded place I visited that night. Needless to say how worthy it was, I’ll just let the below pictures speak for themselves.

After spending some time there, we decided to go home and rest, as Islem is working the next day, and I have to visit Chateau Versailles which I’m really excited about. Using both Metro and RER, we reached home and I was getting ready to sleep before it started raining outside.

I was sleeping right under a roof window which allowed me to see the sky and the rain hitting that window and I instantly started thinking about how lucky I am that:

- It started raining right after I’m back home and right before I arrived, I really felt welcomed :)

- I’m visiting the city I love the most twice in one year! Spending so much time there while having a very good trip planned ahead.

To the next day tomorrow, I’m visiting Chateau Versailles ,La Defance and Arc de Triumph. can’t wait to start going into details about that.

Bonne nuit!

[furederiko]

A Random-News-Digest to cap off September! Yes, the last one for the last day of the month...

Akira

A few days ago, the anime community was sent into a polarizing frenzy, when a live action Hollywood remake for Makoto Shinkai's masterpiece "Kimi no Na wa." was announced. Following "Ghost in the Shell", and "Death Note", it's a vindicative sign that Hollywood is actively turning towards Japanese titles to make their own versions. One that would usually come in one package with whitewashing controversy.

I'm not here to talk about "Your name." though, but about Katsuhiro Otomo's "Akira". Because yes, "Akira" is also one of that classic anime title that Hollywood has been itching to adapt... for soooo many years. Guess what, the title has resurfaced into the spotlight once again. After several directors have come in to develop this project, and then walked out to do other things instead, now Warner Bros is said to be in talks with the one and only... Taika Waititi. The upcoming Thor sequel has certainly put Waititi's name into every studio's attention, so it's not even surprising that WB is trying to hire him as well. After all, WB has been actively snatching Marvel Studios' directors and actors, right?

Of course, Waititi is still 'in talks', so things can always go sideway. He already has a project with Fox Searchlight that's about to enter production early next year, as well as that stop-motion animated movie about Michael Jackson's chimpanzee. If WB really wants to rush this movie into creation, I doubt Waititi will be the man to do the job. I personally would have preferred to see Hollywood simply forgeting about "Akira" all together, but that's just me and my selfish desire of not wanting another anime gets 'ruined' by American hands. Hold on, Waititi is not from US, eh! Oh well...

Tomb Raider

Having been an avid fan of this game franchise, of course I'm curious about its movie adaptations. The Angelina Jolie movies were... likeable (oh, how I was still sooo innocent when the first one came out), but they've also failed in capturing the charm of the series. Will a new version with recently crowned Oscar Winner Alicia Vikander work better?

Go ahead and check out the first official trailer (as well as its... odd accompaniment poster, both released 10 days ago LOL) to get your answer. My spontaneous response? "HUH?". Which was then followed by a frown and a "Meh...". Look, I know this one is more inspired by the 2013 game reboot, yet somehow... I don't think it gets it either. In the end, it feels like it's circling back into an Angeline Jolie's version redux. Particularly through Walton Goggins' character, who just had to be there as the evil super-villain stereotype. Had the movie followed the 2013 game's storyline more... faithfully, perhaps I would've seen it in a better light.

Much like "Assassin's Creed" that couldn't flesh out the game premise into a movie event, I seriously doubt this will do better. The video game adaptation curse is still looming large, and is already clouding this movie. But that's just me. Probably it'll work better for you? Roar Uthaug's "Tomb Raider" arrives on March 16th, 2018. So please stop expecting WB to release "The Flash" on that date...

Charlie's Angels

I did NOT see this coming. According to Deadline, Kristen Stewart is said to be one of two actresses being eyed for the "Charlie's Angels" reboot movie. The other one? Lupita Nyong'o. Before you complaint about Stewart, do remember that she's no longer the expressionless actress we saw in the "Twilight" series. She has made a better name of herself through the indie root lately. And Nyong'o is obviously that famous Oscar Winner, who's been involved with the "Star Wars" franchise and soon to hit the action genre with her upcoming Marvel Studios movie.

The fact that these two names are even attracted to the Elizabeth Banks' project is what intrigued me. I actually enjoyed those two Angels movies in the 90s, when everyone else was crying foul. It was campy and over-the-top, but it was fun and well... sexy. LOL. Hearing Stewart and Nyong'o names totally took this reboot to another level. I mean, could we be seeing a... darker and grittier (as much as I despised on using that word) version of the 70s TV show? I'd be down for that. Perhaps they can add more color with... I don't know, Asian actress Pom Klementieff, Elodie Yung, or Claudia Kim to the fray? I hope we'll be hearing more about the casting real soon, because this movie has officially gotten my attention. "Charlie's Angels" will arrive on June 7th, 2019.

Disney Animation

Disney Pixar released the latest trailer for "COCO" and accompanying poster around two weeks ago. The company also released short previews for three songs from the movie: "Remember Me", "Un Poco Loco", and "The World Es Mi Familia". Admittedly, due to my internet fiasco last week, I haven't been able to check out any of these clips. "Coco" arrives just in time for Thanksgiving, so I'm sure by then I would have seen these trailers. LOL. Of course, if you don't want any part of the movie to be spoiled in advance, then you might want to refrain from these new footages and just wait for the movie to arrive. It's your choice!

Star Wars

Despite various reports suggesting/speculating that Rian Johnson would take over Colin Trevorrow's directorial seat for "Star Wars: Episode IX", Lucasfilm hired a far more reasonable and 'safer' choice instead. Yep, I'm sure you have heard by now that J. J. Abrams is back for his second "Star Wars" movie. He's set to write, and direct the third and final movie in the modern era's trilogy. Sure, Abrams doesn't have a great reputation in dealing with sequels, but he's also responsible for the success of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". Problem is, the official announcement also revealed that Chris Terrio has also been hired to write. In case the name doesn't right a bell, that's the guy who wrote Academy Award's Best Picture Winner "Argo". That's good, right? Hold on... he's also the writer to WB's infamous "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice", and the early draft of "Justice League" back when it had those unpleasant behind the scene reports. YIKES!!!

Speaking of WB, it's also another game of chicken with that company. This much-anticipated movie has been delayed to December 20th, 2019, meaning it will open just a week after WB's recently announced "Wonder Woman 2". Oh NO!!! After re-hiring the director with an exceptionally huge raise, I have a feeling WB will be forced to move their sequel away to ensure a big box office turnout. Because seriously, confronting the final entry of a "Star Wars" trilogy, one with a female lead protagonist as well, would be nothing short of a massive risk.

Hellboy

Two first looks of David Harbour's version of Hellboy has been released via the movie's official Twitter account, and also the actor's very own social media. And well... it looks, Hellboy-ish enough, I guess? I'm curious though, since this reboot will apply more conventional prothetics instead of CG, does that mean, we're looking at Harbour's very own physique here? I could've sworn his beer-belly he did NOT look like that in "Stranger Things". LOL.

The bigger news of this movie however, was the song of praises to Daniel Dae Kim taking on the whitewashed role that was supposed to go to Ed Skrein. Kim even took a photo with Skrein to make this announcement credible. Ain't this the way it should've been, casting a Korean-American actor for a Japanese-American charact... wait, hold on? Seriously?! Feel free to call me a naysayer, but while I'm grateful for Kim, didn't this simply mean that Hollywood still do NOT have a clue about the whole whitewashing issue? It's a nice gesture and all to cast an Asian actor for an Asian character. But I beg to question... why not hire someone who is not just Asian, but also ethnically approriate? Do we even have a shortage of Japanese-American actor they could hire? Names like Brian Tee (who is both Japanese and Korean), Tadanobu Asano, Hiroyuki Sanada, Paul Nakauchi (who recently appeared in Netflix's "Death Note"), and even Masi Oka (who is Kim's very own fellow cast member in "Hawai Five-O" TV Series)... all easily come to mind.

I can't help but wonder now, is Hollywood still thinking that all Asians look the same? That's STILL a problem, if you ask me. Oh well, let's just scoff this off by saying that... "It's progress". Just for the record, I don't have ANY beef with Kim, and sincerely think that he deserves a big role in the movies. But seriously though, this situation COULD have been solved in a much better way...

DC Films

WB has recruited another writer to work on "Wonder Woman 2". Dave Callaham was brought on board by director Patty Jenkins, to work on the script with DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns. His portofolio includes the 2014 "Godzilla", "The Expendables", and also Universal's "The Wolfman" (assuming the Dark Universe project is still on-the-go despite the result of "The Mummy"). Details about the script is still kept under wraps, but it is expected to take place several decades from the first movie. Jenkins has already teased a Cold War setting for the sequel, along with the debut of Gal Gadot's Diana Prince's invisible jet. As I've stated above, it's currently unclear whether WB will keep this movie on the December 2019 schedule or not. If past moves by the studio is any indication (like how WB sped up BvS' release to avoid the third "Captain America" movie), then highly likely we could be seeing a shift of release date sooner or later. How the sequel will change James Cameron's very-public (and annoying, albeit logical, I should add) criticism about the first movie, is a different challenge on its own.

On a side note, DC Entertainment's President Diane Nelson has confirmed that there WILL INDEED be movies outside of DCEU continuity. It seems the initial plan is changing at WB, as Nelson is now singing a somewhat different tune. "Our intention, certainly, moving forward is using the continuity to help make sure nothing is diverging in a way that doesn’t make sense, but there’s no insistence upon an overall story line or interconnectivity in that universe", she stated. I certainly smell 'Plan B' here, in that if ever the DCEU (which already refers to DC Films and the various TV series, right?) gets out of control again, they could use "The Flash: Flashpoint" to basically erase it and create a whole new one. You know, "New-52" and/or "Rebirth"-style. Movies like "The Joker" origin movie, and probably "Justice League: Dark" and "Shazam" will definitely exist in their very own 'LABEL', which will be named and announced in the near future. Will this approach be better or worse for WB and DC? As I said before, this is basically another one of WB's attempt to copy Marvel (that already had multiple Universes on their own, see the next FIVE categories for direct proof), but for now, let's not judge anything too soon and see how this pans out...

X-Men Universe

Wow, it seems FOX has been infected by the braggish fever of WB. Thanks to a recent success with "Logan", the studio can now talk BIG about their next project. Someone's clearly forgetting how the studio ALMOST dropped "Deadpool", had Ryan Reynolds wasn't persistent enough to create it in R-rated format. Not just that, had the studio forced that movie to be toned down to PG-13, it wouldn't have inspired James Mangold to make "Logan" the way it is now. Thus we would only be getting another round of "The Wolverine".

Anyways, FOX Chief Stacey Snider had a really interesting comment to Dark Horizons regarding Josh Boone's "The New Mutants". She stated, "When you look at films like Deadpool or Logan or the upcoming New Mutants, you’ll see they have their own personality. Great effort has been put into making sure they’re differentiated". A peculiar statement, because one, is she trying to throw a shade towards Marvel Studios? And two, is FOX forgetting about the ultra-mediocre "X-Men: Apocalypse" ALREADY?

She then continued with a more 'shocking' remarks, "New Mutants is about these teenagers who are just coming into their powers. It’s like watching mutants go through adolescence and they have no impulse control, so they’re dangerous. The only solution is to put them in a Breakfast Club detention/Cuckoo’s Nest institutional setting. It protects the people on the outside, but it’s strange and combustible inside. The genre is like a haunted-house movie with a bunch of hormonal teenagers. We haven’t seen it as a superhero movie whose genre is more like The Shining than ‘we’re teenagers let’s save the world". Yikes!!! Okay, not only the recent Spider-Man movie was ALREADY a "Breakfast Club"-inspired movie (so... differentiated how?), comparing the movie to Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" is a really ballsy and gutsy if not downright over-confident move. I personally shook my head upon reading this news, because the studio is setting the bar VERY high eventhough the movie is still in production. Meaning none of the bigwigs have even seen a finished product! One thing for sure, I'm going to bookmark her comment and actually judge the movie against it when it arrives. Can it actually hold up? I doubt, but we'll see...

SONY Marvel Universe

Another studio, another Marvel movie. This one's VERY interesting though, because no matter how confused people has been about Ruben Fleischer's "Venom", the fact that it's attracting big names to the project, might suggest something big. We know that Oscar Nominee Tom Hardy is onboard to play Eddie Brock, but care to guess who else is being eyed and/or in talks? The super talented Riz Ahmed who might (offensively tbh) and might not become the serial killer Carnage, and another Oscar Nominee in... Michelle Williams. Yes, Williams is currently in talks to play the female-lead and potential love interest to Hardy's Brock. It's still unclear if she will take the job or not, but if it ends up becoming real, then it gives me another good reason to actually check it out when it arrives on October 5th, 2018.

Marvel Studios

Let's start with the upcoming "Thor: Ragnarok"! As the release date of November 3rd, 2017 is rapidly approaching (with some international markets set to open in just a few weeks from now), marketing is also ramping up. We got a special Behind the Scene featurette, neat-looking IMAX poster, and also a Chinese one that came alongside an exclusive Chinese trailer containing new footages. Marvel Studios Visual Development Supervisor Andy Park also debuted the cover for "Art of Thor: Ragnarok" online, to encourage fans to pre-order their copy. This artbook will no doubt contains visual spoilers (like that particular creature from Muspelheim), so do consider that before you purchase one.

The movie also hit a somewhat negative hurdle recently. The issue however, wasn't caused by Marvel Studios, but surprisingly by the Writers Guild of America. Turns out, writer Stephany Folsom's name has been denied by the WGA to be attached to the film, eventhough Marvel Studios already gave her a "Story by" credit. A curious case to be honest, because it's usually the studio who refused to give a writer credit, not the other way around. Folsom openly expressed her dissatisfaction to the Guild that was supposed to be the one protecting her rights. On the other hand, does this mean Folsom's work was so minimum, that WGA thought it's unnecessary to add her name? Let's just hope this won't affect the movie's reception.

***The following could be considered spoilers for movies releasing in 2018 and 2019. If you're avoiding one, please skip the next paragraphs and jump over to the next category instead***

From the set of "Ant-Man and the Wasp", we got a new look for Evangeline Lilly's Wasp, Walton Goggins' Sonny Burch, as well as Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost. Burch looks pretty much like a normal human being, while Ghost has the signature white-suit design as can be seen in the comics.

Meanwhile, more and more cast members are confirmed for the UNTITLED "Avengers 4", which as I've said before, somehow serves as massive spoilers for "Avengers: Infinity War". Paul Bettany was pretty much confirmed to be in the movie thanks to a photo of him as Vision, while Mark Ruffalo was spotted alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson. Sebastian Stan and Don Cheadle have also been confirmed through interviews with several outlets. Aside from possibly hinting the possible plot of the movie, Atlanta Filming also spotted two actors on set with Johansson. The first was Captain America's Chris Evans, and the second one was... surprise, surprise... "Captain Marvel"'s Brie Larson. I know it has been common sense among fans, that from the time she was cast, she would take part in this movie. But it's always good to know that it's now confirmed.

The movie also has other intriguing parts of production that might hint further at the storyline. A recent casting call notice for extras, revealed that there will be a 1960s setting in the movie. This was inline with a photo by actress Hayley Atwell, who's dressed up as Peggy Carter with a mo-cap makeup on her face. Bearing in mind her quick cameo in the intro of "Ant-Man", could we be seeing a particular flashback to Peggy and John Slattery's Howard Stark in their early years at S.H.I.E.L.D.? A new actor has also been confirmed to become part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada, has joined the movie in an unknown role. This was strongly coincidental to that Japanese-esque setting we've seen before, so clearly the two facts are probably related somehow.

As for "Infinity War", actor Benedict Cumberbatch teased to Digital Spy that the movie will be huge, considering it's a massive storyline of ten years in the making, involving various sides of the MCU. He's also excited for the project to finally be seen by the world. Now about that, a recent rumor claimed that the D23 and San Diego Comic Con' trailer would be officially released on September 29th, along with the premiere of "Inhumans". It's a little unlikely, considering the growing gap between Marvel Studios and Marvel TV. Moreso, it's more possible that Marvel Studios will release this alongside "Thor: Ragnarok" sometime around October. That will certainly boost attention to the third "Thor" movie. Let's just wait and see.

"Captain Marvel" won't start filming until early next year, but pre-production has already begun. Andy Nicholson has joined the movie as its production designer. Nicholson was involved in "Captain America: The First Avenger" which, similar to this movie, took place in an 'earlier' era. Considering he also earned an Oscar nomination for "Gravity", his inclusion only signaled/confirmed a more interstellar aspect of the story. Here's hoping Nicholson will imbue his Academy Award charm to this movie as well!

Last but not least, That Hashtag Show reported that Marvel Studios is developing a movie for "Power Pack" as part of their next 'Phase'. Jonathan Schwartz is said to be overseeing the project, like he has done with "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2". To be honest, this source isn't particularly credible for this type of news, as their scoops VERY rarely panned out. Still, this is a somewhat plausible thing, considering "Runaways" (that have had a script since the early Phases), have since been converted into a TV series at Hulu. I won't be surprised if the Power siblings became one of the contenders to replace that now-obsolete project. Of course, do take this news with a HUUUGE grain of salt for now. It's best to just wait for an official announcement before getting too excited over something unconfirmed. Am I right?

Marvel TV

When this post goes up, Marvel's "Inhumans" should have debuted ON TV. If you're still unconvinced to see this mini-series, then perhaps the recent trailer would be able to sway you to the dark-si... er, I mean, to see and follow it. Showrunner Scott Buck Almighty apparently has envisioned this show to be at least 3 SEASONS, so you might want to put that into considerations before making one of the biggest life choices in your life. The general consensus however (including a pessimistic-sounding James Gunn), thinks that it won't even get a 2nd season. Then again, his "Iron Fist" somehow miraculously gets one, while a critically-received Marvel's "Agent Carter" did NOT. And don't forget about Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." that apparently was ALMOST cancelled by ABC, had Disney not interfe... er, I mean stepped in as savior and paved way for the upcoming Season 5. Nothing is really certain anymore when it comes to Marvel TV, huh?

There's good on the other side though. To be precise, the Hulu side. Marvel's "Runaways" has only been getting positive responses until now, and comics creator Brian K. Vaughn has added even more excitement with his recent statement. During a book signing in New York, Vaughn revealed that not only Old Lace the Deinonychus is part of the show, showrunners Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage actually did her justice. Of course, him being an official consultant to the series can mean two things: one, his words is NOT objective; and two, the show will indeed be as faithful as possible to the source materials... which he wrote. Duh? Then again, the official images that debuted via Entertainment Weekly earlier this week, already felt and looked LEAGUES BETTER than "Inhumans". So I'm inclined to believe the good buzz might be true after all...

Netflix

Marvel's "The Defenders" burnt me out sooo bad, that I've pretty much lost any interest to see more Marvel Netflix series. Not just me though, because as it turns out, the crossover mini-series is also the lowest rating and/or least viewed of the entire Netflix Universe so far. GREAT GOODNESS!!! Regardless of the reason behind this result, a clear fatigue for a cookie-cutter Marvel TV show can easily be felt.

That's where Jon Bernthal's Marvel's "The Punisher" turned the table and broke the wall instead. Literally. The brutal and violent Rambo-esque official teaser, which was followed by a full trailer later on, seemed to be changing people's negative perception about the Netflix Universe. But is it a good indication that the series itself will be as good? Not really. If there's one positive thing I could openly praise about all Marvel Netflix series, is that they all have GREAT trailers. However, a great trailer doesn't immediately assure a great show, as proven by Marvel's "Luke Cage", Marvel's "Iron Fist", and Marvel's "The Defenders".

I admit, this was indeed a good trailer for Frank Castle's solo story. But did I like it as much as every other people? NOPE. I think it looked okay, and well... I'm still giving this show a pass. I have an odd tinkling feeling that it's going to end up as another carbon-copy of the previous shows. That it will also be a few episodes too long... but with amped-up violence to compensate. Of course, don't let this get you down, because what might not work for me, could very well be your treasure. One thing for sure, the series will be arriving pretty soon (if not November, probably earlier). So we'll definitely be reading the first reactions to it in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the 4th season of "Voltron Legendary Defenders" is set for October 13th debut. You can even already watch the official trailer, that teases more action for both Prince Lotor and Princess Allura. It's unclear how many episodes we'll be getting though. If I had to guess, we'll probably get around 6 to 7, just like what happened to Season 3. After all, there's a possibility that both Seasons were initially intended to be one.

DC Television

I actually don't know where to put this, but since "Watchmen" is part of DC's property, I'll put it here instead. Forget about that Zack Snyder movie! Damon Lindelof is set to produce a new TV series adaptation for HBO. The network has ordered a pilot script from him (who announced it himself), so things are definitely moving forward. I'm personally not looking forward to this, as much as I disliked the Snyder's movie. But I can already sense the divide between the avid fans who are rejoicing, and the other side who thinks this is a bad idea. I have no right to give an opinion here, so let's just see how this pans out, okay!

Super Sentai

Trademark for the 2018 Super Sentai series has been registered on September 25th, and suffice to say, it brought its own twist to the fanbase. Contrary to previous rumor about fairy-tale time traveler, TOEI submitted not one, but TWO titles at the same time: "Keisatsu Sentai Patoranger", and "Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger". Nope, this wasn't April's Fool prank or a baseless rumor, because these copyrights are REAL.

There aren't any details about the two titles yet, so many fans and Tokusatsu enthusiasts have been talking and speculating about what this means. Does this mean, we will have two separate shows on the same year, perhaps separated as 25 episodes each? Could it be, one of them is the full yearly show, while the other one is a Web-Series or some sort, much like how "Kamen Rider Amazons" worked for Amazon Japan? There's also another possibility, in that both of them are part of one show. Which makes super sense, because the obvious titles alone pretty much work to 'rival' each other: Police Taskforce and Phantom Thief Squad. Get it? It's the game of cat and mouse between cops and thieves. Something like what would happen if "Persona 4" and "Persona 5" has a crossover.

Recent rumor claimed, that the two teams will indeed be regarded as the 42nd Sentai teams. Patoranger is rumored to consist of Red, Black, and White members, while Lupinranger will be Gold, Silver, and Bronze. They will start out as separate shows that will supposedly air alternately week after week, but when both shows reach episode 20, they will eventually become one solidified story. Not only that, one Lupinranger member is said to be a Patoranger spy (with Red being the most possible candidate), thus serving as the catalyst to combine both teams into one. This means the two shows will exist/intersect in the same world, so crossovers between both titles should be expected to happen more often than later on the 4th quarter.

Again, this idea makes good sense, that it's not even a surprise for me. TOEI has been doing the Versus Movies on a yearly basis ever since "Chouriki Sentai Ohranger vs Ninja Sentai Kakuranger", so this would only be their way to turn that concept into a full-blown series. This year's "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" has even implemented this twist, by breaking its 12-members team into two units in its latest parallel arcs. Besides, don't forget one thing! TOEI seems to show high interest with what's happening in US entertainment business. And what's the current rage in Hollywood? Cinematic Universe, like the one famously built by Marvel Studios. Think of it this way, Patoranger and Lupinranger would be their own separate thing, similar to the Marvel Netflix series, or the CW "Arrow"-verse shows. But somewhere along the line, they team up into one crossover, as proven by Marvel's "The Defenders". It's highly likely, TOEI is intent on trying out this route as well, which could be a good or bad thing. Ignoring the fact that "Kaizoku Sentai Go-kaiger" have already, and very successfully I might add, served as a giant crossover show on its own.

To be honest, I've never been a fan of a Police-themed Sentai series. But this report definitely intrigued me to the core. If it is indeed valid, then I would totally check it out. It's an arguably brave and risky albeit not entirely new (remember the Versus Movies!) concept, so I'm dying to see if TOEI can pull it off. I think if TOEI is able to give both shows their own different tone, it would be even much better. I'm sure we'll be hearing more information about these shows pretty soon, so let's just wait and see...

ARIKA

It's a little baffling to think that ARIKA still hasn't made up their mind about their "Mysterious Fighting" game. Why? Because they showed up in Tokyo Game Show 2017, and actually released a new trailer for the event. Hmmmmm. Not long after, the company also expanded the game's roster with a returning fighter, in Doctrine Dark. At this point, I'm pretty sure EVERY original character from "Street Fighter EX" would be included... so why not just call the game, "EX Fighters" or some sort? *sigh*

Pocket Monsters

The Pokemon Company released a new trailer for "Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon" last week, and well... it offered some of its new content. Aside from confirming that the cover Pokemon is none other than 'Ultra Beast' Necrozma in his Dusk Mane/Dusk Wings forms (it's unclear how it will possess the powers to resemble Solgaleo or Lunala), several mini games like "Mantine Surf" and "Alola Photo Club" have been added to the game. Characters like Hau, Lillie, and the Trial Captains are confirmed to be returning. In the case of the last, some will even be bringing new Island Challenges. You can read the details on Gematsu. Both games will be launched worldwide on November 17th, 2017.

Dynasty Warriors

KOEI Tecmo was present at the Tokyo Game Show 2017, and of course they delivered a new trailer for "Dynasty Warriors 9" while confirming that it will be released in early 2018. So far, this new iteration has been creating conflicting reactions from the franchise's fanbase. Many, including yours truly, is feeling rather mixed about the game in general. Mainly due to the redesign and additional changes (weapons, costumes) given to the returning characters. While it's commendable that the game is trying to be more realistic and historically accurate, unfortunately, it comes at the expense of some of the title's bizarre but fun elements. On the bright side, the open world concept is still an intriguing aspect that I would totally love to try out. Even if to see whether KOEI Tecmo can pull it off or not. LOL.

[coconutseaways]

Sept 22 -2017 - 91 days in The Azores!

Sept 11 We planned on leaving...but we figured we should go back to the grocery store and buy a few more things. We also checked out the place where I'm supposed to go to get an extension. That took like an hour and a half of waiting, but they told me what I needed and to come back on the 21st with the papers. After everything was said and done, it was almost 6 and the marina office closed before we could get there to pay, get fuel and check out. So we spent another night in Ponta Delgada. The next day we had everything pretty much ready to go, went to the fuel dock, paid up our bill and set off heading east along the southern coast of Sao Miguel.

Sept 12 We didn't leave until later in the afternoon, so we decided not to go too far out before anchoring for the night. Unfortunately, the wind was right in the nose, and we were stuck motoring our way. So we anchored in Logoa, and it was a pretty rolly night, but we managed to get some sleep. I've started using ear plugs, but after a few nights my ears are sore, and they fall out lol.

Sept 13 Anyways we pulled anchor in the morning and continued motoring along the coast until we found a BEAUTIFUL little bay with side by side sandy beaches, with a big cave right on the shore. It was absolutely picturesque. The town was called Agua do Pau. Mostly sandy bottom, a few rocks but the water is so clear it was pretty easy to spot them. We snorkelled around once anchored to check out the hazards and it was such a lovely swim. The water was quite warm and so blue and clear. We arrived in the early morning and I started the process of making cinnamon buns for us. I made the dough and let it rise while Mike and I hiked to the grocery store. I needed parchment paper and a couple things we had forgotten to buy in Ponta Delgada. I did my first beach launch with the dinghy with a swell coming in. It required some quick rowing and good timing, pushing into the water trying to get past the waves. But we did it on the first try and Mike only got a little wet haha. I finished making the cinnamon buns, drizzled glazing over them and impatiently counted 10 minutes to let them set. Mike and I were in them pretty quickly and before I thought to take a picture we had eaten 5 (2 and a half each...cause a half doesn't seem as bad as 3, that's what we thought anyways) I made them in the frying pan, on top of the stove and and it worked so well! They didn't puff up maybe as much as I would of liked but they turned out super great for the first try. I'm going to tweak the recipe a bit and soon they will be perfect!!! Anyways we enjoyed cinnamon buns and relaxing on the boat. But the south swell was pretty strong and windfinder said it would change to the north the next day, so we figured just tough it out for one more night and then the next day it will be flat. So we toughed out a very rolly night, with little sleep, but we kept joking about it since we had known what we would be in for. The next day I was checking windfinder and now they are saying west swell back to south. So we decided we need to find a different place that's more protected.

Sept 14 We continue motoring...because the wind was very uncooperative, and before you knew it we were at Vila Franca Island. A popular site to visit: an eruption formed island just off the coast of the main island. With a shallow swimming area inside the crater. The town, Villa Franca do Campo, has a boat that does hourly trips from the marina to the island for people to go swimming. There's even lifeguards. Mike and I anchored our boat just to the side of the entrance and swam in. There was a lot of swell and it was a good swim to the wall of the island. They also do a lot of diving around it because the wall just drops vertically down. We were able to anchor in 20 feet with a sandy bottom and two anchors holding us put. The CQR is useless in sand, it really is. But it's heavy. The Danforth was doing all the work though, made to really dig in and bury itself. So we swam in and it was only a couple feet deep but the amount and variety of fish inside was amazing. And big fish too. They were everywhere and it was quite a sight to see. We walked around the edge of the island and then decided to swim back. We had long cressi fins and snorkel masks with us, so the swim was not hard. We could see the masts in the marina and without going further down the coast we wouldn't be able to find a good place to anchor nearby, out of the swell. So we decided to go into the marina and shell out some cash for a decent sleep. As we were coming in, we saw Silver Cloud was there. Our friends we met in Horta and then again in Terceira. We tied up and it was so CALM... oh man it was nice to stop rocking for a bit. Usually it's not that bad but the last couple nights had been a little rough. We cracked open a couple of beers and enjoyed the stillness of being tied to a dock.

Sept 15 Our friends from the other boat rented a car off a local, and asked if we wanted to go with them to the north side of the island and do some tourist stuff. We were eager to go, since we haven't done very much and we have the safety of being tied to the dock. We had a great day of driving around and exploring different places, including Lagoa do Fogo, but only from up high by the road. A beautiful fresh water lake inside a crater, north of the town we were in. It is super blue water with green lush vegetation all around it. I was looking it up before we had gone and apparently the hike to Logoa do Fogo, is one you should "put on your bucket list", and one "the best hiking trail in Sao Miguel". Once we checked it out, down the road we came upon a monument park. It is a hot spring and waterfall that are heated by the volcano. We decided to come back the next day, do the Lagoa do Fogo hike, then spend the rest of the day soaking in the hot spring and make a whole day out of it. So we continued our driving tour and went to a city called Riberra Grande on the north shore of the island . We walked around and checked out some beaches and harbours that we could possibly pull into. Stopped in a chocolate shop (oh yeah baby 🍫) and tried some different fancy chocolates. The best one had maracuja cream inside milk chocolate. The flavour was so delicious!!!! We drove all the way west past Ponta Delgada checking out some small towns and then back south to the southern shore and then east back to Villa Franca do Campo. What a day. We didn't get back until 8 PM, made dinner, confirmed plans of hiking to the lake the next day, set the alarm for 7:30 and went to bed.

Sept 16 So we actually had to get up to an alarm...it's been a while. But we had breakfast, packed our backpack, loaded in the car and drove to the starting point of the hike. It was a little tough to find because we were on the main highway, but you can't get to it from the main highway. So we doubled back but ended up finding it. We picked blackberries along the side of the road, took a before picture and started walking. 12 kms there and back. Not a bad distance, quite a bit of uphill (both ways, in a snowstorm haha) but a lot of the trail was shaded by trees and it was a slightly overcast morning. We had a great hike and when we were only a short way from the lake, we stopped for some bread and cheese. We made it to the lake and all 4 of us ended up going for a swim in the beautiful blue water. It was almost strange to swim in fresh water again!! No salt!! It was really nice. And the water was so refreshing. We hiked back to the car and then drove back to the monument park with the hot spring. At the place they had three pools. The one pool is called a fumarole and is 60-100 degrees Celsius (no swimming lol). Boiling water and smelly sulphur gas. But from that streams warm water to a pool you can go in that is like a hot tub. Up the road is a waterfall also heated by the volcano, but it's only about 25 degrees right under the waterfall. The rest of the pool is about 22 degrees. We did the guided tour and learned about some of the trees and vegetation as well as the volcano and the islands power supply, which is 40-60% geothermal: using the steam from the underground volcano 🌋 . It was absolutely worth the €2 each. Mike and I went under the waterfall first, it was slightly warmer than lukewarm. Then we briskly walked down the hill in our swim suits, and got into the hot pool. Oh it was so nice. Once we had showered off and changed back into our hiking clothes, our friends had found out about another waterfall just down the road. So we went and checked that one out too. Mike and I didn't go swim under it, but the guy from the other boat did. It was a nice waterfall, kind of hidden in the rock wall but beautiful. We came back to the marina and it was dark again haha. Two super busy days but we loved every minute of it. I feel like we have actually done some touristy stuff and checked out more than the harbours and the marinas lol.

Sept 17 Sunday mornings! Oh we love them. While Mike and I were lazing in bed we started talking about my extension. Rather than staying in Portugal longer I'd rather get an extension in the Canary Islands. It's only a 5 day sail and we can always change the shipping address of our self steering since it still hasn't shipped yet!!!! One day we will get this unit I swear. So we decide let's do it! We are leaving Tuesday morning and heading south east for the Canaries, which belong to Spain. I will get my extension there and we will have 2 months of new islands to explore. Then mid November we will cross over to the Caribbean. This discussion of leaving gave us both some invigoration and we got to work preparing the boat for voyaging. Mike did some winch maintenance and I did laundry. We prepped the foredeck toerails to put a bead of caulking down to help seal it. Taking the rails right off and doing every screw is a big job that one day will get done...but today is not that day. The caulking will help. We expect a pretty calm sail with wind from the back quarter or behind so it should be a dry foredeck the whole way. It rained off and on all day Sunday so we weren't able to put the caulking down, but I did manage to get most of the laundry dried hanging under an awning.

Sept 18 We taped the fore deck and laid the bead of caulking. It didn't take much time at all and it looks good. Then we went to the grocery store and stocked up on snacks, produce and cheese before we take off. Tomorrow morning we will fill up our water tank, fuel tank and a couple Jerrycans so we are full. Then we will pay our marina fees and say so long Portugal! I'm so excited to be going! It's gonna be so cool going somewhere new!! Life is good! I will be activating our inreach gps again and will have our route mapped out so you guys can follow along! It's a much shorter trip but you can still see our progress and messages sent out along the way!!! We are going to hang out with our friends from Silver Cloud, get a good sleep and tomorrow we set sail! The Azores Chapter has ended! Psych! So we are gearing up to leave and getting everything ready to set sail. And then we get an email from the guy saying he can ship the bloody self steering...finally!! So we tossed around the idea of having it shipped to the Canaries but it's a private courier and should only take 5 days to get here, so in the end we figured we should keep the shipping address to here in Sao Miguel. So now we are not leaving haha.

Sept 19 Since we are staying in the Azores a little longer, our friends from Silver Cloud asked if we wanted to go to Sete Cidades, which is the big tourist destination because of the beautiful landscape. It is two lakes in a crater with lush green forest all around it. One lake is Lagoa Azul (Blue lake) and the other is Lagoa Verde (Green lake). We did a 12 km hike to get to the lakes, walking all the way around the rim of the crater and then down. Then our friends went and got the car by taxi and picked us up, while we enjoyed a beer haha. They said they had another place they wanted to go, "Ferraria" which is an ocean pool that at low tide is 40 degrees Celsius! I didn't really believe it, but when we got there oh my it was magnificent. They had ropes going across the pool for people to hold onto, cause each wave pushed you in and then out as it ebbed. Lots of smooth rocks to go over or around but the heat was amazing. At the lowest tide, the back of the pool was actually too hot and you could see steam rising over the water, everyone made their way forward to the opening of the pool where cool seawater would mix in. We ended up being there 2.5 hours haha. It was an awesome end to a long day of hiking. Sept 20 We hung around the boat for the day, letting our muscles relax. The hike left us a little sore and we enjoyed not having to do to much. I got all my paperwork together to apply for my extension tomorrow, since we are staying past my 90 day allowance. Tomorrow morning we will take the bus to Ponta Delgada and hopefully I will be allowed to stay haha.

Sept 21 We got up at 6 AM and made it to the bus stop just before the bus arrived. Perfect timing. We had a nice ride to the city, but we were pretty early so we just hung around a cafe. Mike was looking at Hurricane Maria news and it's brutal what the Caribbean are going through right now. Then we went to my appointment and the guy said I was missing a paper, so we went to the marina and asked for a copy. After a little bit of walking back and forth I had it! An extension visa for Portugal until November 10. I don't know if we will actually stay that long but at least we have the choice. Because today is my 90 days and I would need to be leaving immediately. We caught the bus back to Vila Franca and celebrated with some Irish Whiskey we received from another boat for returning their fender, beer and my guitar. A few shots later and we were feeling pretty happy. Mike is similar to me that when we start drinking, we get sleepy. Him and I fell asleep around 7 PM, woke up around 10 to bring stuff inside, then slept again until 9 AM. It was a fun time and a LONG sleep. Sept 22 Today we take the bus the other way to Furnas, which has hot pools and beautiful gardens. The bus is cheap and today is not the nicest day, so we will spend our day soaking in the warmth and enjoying all the beautiful flowers. Thanks so much for following and reading this and showing support. I even got an email from an old boss wondering if I was ok and if we were anywhere near the hurricanes. Of course we weren't, but it was really nice to know they were concerned. I hadn't really expected it and it gives a good feeling. Anyways all is great. We are keeping our booking in St Martin, because the town will need tourism to help rebuild. Come stay with us and help rebuild such a beautiful city. Mike will get boat repair work no doubt and I can host out the boat to anyone who needs! Until next time!!

[methedreamer]

Coachella

Day 0:

I get to the campsite and I’m nervous. I’m nervous that Courtney’s on her way to the campsite. It’s inevitable that I’m going to see her this weekend... 

She arrives. I’m afraid to walk Andy over to their campsite because I’m not ready to see her... 

I then go with Andy to the restroom and there she is. Walking over to use the restroom with Sharon. She waves cheerfully from a distance. My heart drops. Why did she wave so cheerfully? Is she not nervous to see me? Is it just me? Am I being overly dramatic and immature by being so afraid?

I go back to my campsite. We drink and smoke a little and go explore. 

The rest of the night, she’s the only thing on my mind. I dream of her all night.

Day 1: 

Wake up hazy and sad from dreaming about her all night... 

I head over to their campsite. Say hi to everyone. Shes on the floor doing her makeup. I go to her and get down to hug her. “Hiya..” 

“...Hiya..” she responds softly, as we hug. 

I head over to Edward’s tent. I’m having a freakin’ blast and I get destroyed. Eventually, Courtney’s group shows up. From that moment on, shes the only thing on my mind yet again. Emily comes up to me and gets a little too close. I tell her “no. stop. my ex is here”. She backs off...

Things get hazy, but I recall speaking to Courtney here and there. Giving her shots. Smoking with her. I recall getting to a point where we were both intoxicated and I talk to her about her about a few things. 

1) Asking her about the Miata. And how she sent that snapchat to Rave Fam so that I’d see it... And then her telling me that it could end up being hers. And I remember telling Andy that she has a Miata now and it was even faster than mine because it’s turbo!!! 2) I asked her how living at home has been... And she said its been rough. And how her parents got really upset at her for getting tattoos. My heart stopped for a second. “You got tattoos..?” She showed me. An “X” on one wrist and a “I I” on the other. I asked her what they meant. She hesitated. And at that moment I knew it had to do with me so I told her nevermind... The rest of the day (and weekend actually, every time I remembered her tattoo, I’d get slightly sad. How much I must have scarred her for her to get those tattoos... The thought killed me more and more... 

Eventually, I get so high I don’t remember much. Just that I really wanted to speak to her and ask her how shes doing. Especially since I was intoxicated then, it should’ve been easy to talk to her. But I was just so high that I couldn’t talk to anyone. 

Next thing I remember, we’re back at their campsite and I nap. They go back to the festival a bit later. 

I go back a few hours later with Andy. 

See her briefly but no conversation. That was that. 

Day 2:

Wake up, head to their campsite again. Drink a lot. Start interacting with her a little more. I recall answering for her for things. Like, “Yes, she wants a drink.” “Nah she can’t drink that much”. Lol. 

We go to Edwards campsite. I feed her a multiple shots. She feeds me water... We’re slightly awkward but interacting. She does a line. Enjoys it for a while then crashes. Falls asleep back at her campsite. 

Wakes up. We drink more. And we do addy + drink together. 

It gets hazy from here. But I remember we spend the entire day together. We text each other. “WHERE ARE YOUUU” “OMG ADDY + DRINK FEELS EXACTLY LIKE ROLLING” “YEAH OMG WHERE ARE YOU”

Hahaha... Gryffin was lit. I don’t think we were dancing or anything though. 

I think we go and get more to drink because we are supposed to drink a lot on addy. Then we head to Martin Garrix. Slowly we start to get closer. I mean the crowd already has is packed like sardines. But a few feelsy songs come on and I recall us starting to hold each other... Scared to be Lonely...

Memory is hazy again. But we were definitely holding each other. My phone died so I used her phone to record videos. 

After that, I think we went to Gaga. I start to sober up. And at the end, I realize I lost my car keys. I go to the lost and found. And I signal for the group to go home without me. 

It seemed like she was going to stay. But then suddenly remembered that we weren’t together anymore. And waved goodbye and went back with the group...

Day 3:

I stress out about my keys. Get them from Mom and Jordan. Get ready, then head to their campsite. We chill, drink some beers. Go to my campsite, take a shot. Then kenny’s tent. Drink more. 

We go in. Then everyone gets food. Courtney and I go off to get food together... We have our usual session of trying to decide what to eat because everything looks good. We settle on a rice bowl and ooey gooey fries. She tries to pay but I don’t let her. We eat, then check out an artist. 

The rest of the group wants to go see another artist while Courtney wants to see another. I choose to stay with her. We see Honne and Jack Garrett. I cry slightly while watching Honne... Every time they sing about two people who can’t be together... We go and get water. Then head over to the treehouse where we meet the rest of the group.

We take our favors. Head on over to Porteon.

The set starts and I’m already sad before I even take my actual favor. I look up at the sky, with sun setting, few clouds, and birds flying above in the distance. I ask her to look. She looks, with those big eyes I remember so well... She keeps looking, in awe. I get even more sad. A few more songs in and I shed a few tears. No one notices. 

I feel the come up. I consider taking more because I’m afraid the set will end before I feel anything. But the come up comes again, even stronger so I rationalize that I should probably wait. 

“Miiiiissing you. Miiiiiiissing you.”

About 30 min in, Divinity played and I broke down crying. Got on my knees and cried a waterfall. It wouldn’t stop. Never cried that hard before. I didn’t know if Courtney was noticing. But a few moments later, she came down, wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me. Half missed my lips and definitely got a bunch of my tears. “It’s okay”, she said. “It’s okay...” 

I wanted to let her enjoy herself. I didn’t want to come in like that and interject myself into yet another one of her memories... But I couldn’t help it. She had been on my mind the entire weekend. Even before the favors. 

We listened to the rest of the set. I don’t remember too much. It was a blast. Hanging with everyone. Everyone having feels together. I still had tears coming down here and there. 

Eventually they stopped though. And I think Courtney is the one who kept dropping a tear here and there. 

I also remember this one moment where I was sitting on the ground right next to her leg. And I sat as close to it as possible. Maybe I was tired and needed to sit. But just needed her there with me still... I was almost hugging it. 

Next thing I know, it’s a full on rave. 

I’m tripping on 2, and its just like old times. We’re all sitting there on the grass, pauline on the floor. I’m seeing crazy things. Courtney tells me to just enjoy it. I lay down on her thigh and look at the stars. 

We make our way to Jai Wolf. He destroys us all. I’m half holding Courtney. Half dancing and making memories with the group. Indian Summer comes on. We hold each other tightly. Again, things are hazy. But we definitely enjoyed the set together and each others company... And pictured good times we’ve had with each other in the past. I’m certain we both did that...

Pretty sure after that, we went to Kendrick. Which we weren’t feeling. I was hoping for more feels. Also, at some point I told Courtney to redose. And she took another half. Which I regret... Because thats 1 total... As if coming to Coachella and spending all 3 days and doing favors with me all weekend wasn’t enough... now she’d have to get through a severe comedown too... sigh.

We left Kendrick to go see What So Not. And he was interesting. A few feelsy songs here and there. Then we went to Arctic. While we were waiting in line, I took the opportunity to finally start asking her all the questions I’ve been wanting to ask her. Questions that I may have asked her already but perhaps forgot the answers to because we were so destroyed. 

How are you doing? How’s living at home? How’s studying? The internship? Are you happy? Sad? Do you hang out with friends a lot? What do you do every day? When’s the MCAT? When are you applying to school? 

She was doing “okay...”. Living at home sucked. No freedom. Her Mom cried when she found out about the tattoos. And her Dad told her that she was no longer his “innocent flower”. And then apparently that argument turned into another thing about Trump and feminism. Sigh what the fuck. I caused all this. I said “Sorry”. She said, “Why are you sorry??? It’s not your fault...”. I didn’t respond. But I wanted to say that it was my fault. All of this happened because of me. And I wanted to tell her that I’m sorry that her Dad treats her that way. But the words didn’t come out. 

Continuing on: The internship was great actually. She has really been enjoying it. It’s tiring through, driving to SD every time. Especially since shes taking a double shift so she could get her time all in on one day instead of having to drive back two times a week. She definitely isn’t happy. She doesn’t really see friends. Only when she goes to the gym with them. Her day consists of taking her MCAT course which is online. Then studying. Then picking up her little cousin from school. And going to the gym with her friends. 

Anyways, no point in going on about these tiny little details. Point is, she doesn’t sound happy. And its killing me. 

She asks me similar questions. About what I’ve been up to and if I’ve been doing well. I mainly shrug my shoulders. Tell her about how I’ve been running more because I have a half coming up. Been reading a book about making the most of my 20s. She’s surprised. “Wow, you’ve been reading?” Hahaha. 

We talk about the usual... How I feel like I’ve been feeling like I’m still behind. 

We go watch the show at the arctic. Then slowly make our way back to the campsite. At one point she asked me how it was being single. I kind of shrugged again. Told her that I guess I’ve been working a lot on my own stuff and figuring stuff out. And how if I were still with her, I probably wouldn’t have gone to Boston/NY. I think that kind of hurt her. But I didn’t mean it like that... I meant it in the sense where if I hadn’t gone, I wouldn’t have been able to take in all the sights and sounds. And get a taste of how all my friends were doing out there. Ultimately pushing me to consider moving out there. 

We get back to their campsite and we’re all pretty beat. I eventually fall asleep on the grass and she puts her towel over me a a blanket... Sigh. I sleep some more and when I wake up I don’t see her around. I assumed she went to bed. So I get up and start walking back to my campsite. I run into her as I am leaving. Turns out she just went to use the restroom. I ask her if shes going to shower. She says yes. So I wait for her to grab her shower stuff. We go get mine and we go to the showers together. Afterwards, we walk back to my campsite where we head into my tent. I only intended for us to get to talk some more. But she ends up asking me to lay down with her. I comply. 

We lay there. I’m on the left, shes on the right. I’m laying flat and shes laying on her left side, facing me. Our arms and legs intertwined slightly. Holding hands. Stroking her arm with my thumb softly... We just kind of lay there. I don’t really remember talking too much. A few times I think she shed a tear or two... We make eye contact from time to time. A while later, she drifts off to sleep. She groans as if shes having a nightmare. Twitching over and over. It half scares me and half makes me smile. I look at her closed eyes and sleeping face. Oh wow... I miss this... It’s been a while since shes slept by my side... Definitely my favorite moment of the night... Eventually she wakes up. She uses the restroom. Comes back and closes the tent fully. We get back into position. I’m big spoon, shes little spoon. Just like old times... I try and fit us both into the sleeping back but she can barely fit since I’m taking up most of it. I try my best to keep her warm. I ask her if shes cold and she says no. We fall asleep. I wake up a few times. Readjust. Try and put her into the sleeping bag a few more times. I recall even sleeping facing each other. Something we rarely do... 

Boy was that a beautiful night. Just us two in a tent. After a night of reconnecting... Talking about old times. The present times... How we’ve been doing... The wind was blowing. Keeping each other warm. 

We wake up. I walk her back to her campsite. And we pack to go.