#best ramen in north York

[derridoid]

Hetalia Food/Drink Headcanons: Main Ensemble Edition

We all know North Italy has a love for pasta. One might imagine that he has a love for the "fancier" or more "complex" pasta dishes his home has to offer - and he does! - his absolute favorite dish is cacio e pepe. It reminds him of what Grandpa Rome would make for him when he was younger and needed a pick-me-up. Nobody makes it as good as Grandpa Rome, of course.

Germany has been coming around to IPA's over the last few centuries. If a world meeting is held at America's house, and if he and some of the other nations will go out for drinks afterward, he'll order one. He'd rather have a lager any day, but given that he's not a huge fan of America's take on lagers, he'll take the lesser of two evils. You might even get him to admit he kinda-sorta-almost likes them if he's tipsy enough - yes, even the hipster-y ones.

Japan has gone to every Ramen Jiro in Japan dozens of times over. He'd consider himself a Jirorian, doing his best to blend in with the students and salarymen who frequent the shops, and he likes to invite Greece and Prussia to accompany him on his trips to the "sacred" shop in Mita. (ie, the original Ramen Jiro) His go-to is the tonkatsu.

(more under the cut)

While America is and always be a fan of a good all-beef patty, he's become a fan of the "impossible," plant-based meats that are growing in popularity. He says eating plant-based burgers and hot dogs make him feel like he's living in a sci-fi movie - "in the future, people will GROW their meat!" - and appreciates the fact that most plant-based meat companies' environmental footprints are much smaller.

England is, of course, something of a tea aficionado, at least in the Western world. His "usual" is a nice Earl Grey, usually the Twinings brand - a fan since the beginning! - but he's been known to drink green or oolong, with China giving him suggestions on which blends he'd like best. Canada has been trying to get him to come around to the London fog variant of Earl Grey, but England is staunchly against trying it.

It actually took France a few decades to get his recipe for macarons right - they're finnicky little pastries! - but now that he's got it down, he loves making them. Watching him make these confections is like watching an artist at the easel or the marble block. In the last century or so, he's also gotten really creative with the flavors he uses for each batch, both successfully and unsuccessfully. He's gotten into the practice of making a batch of two dozen with unique flavors for each nation on their "birthday" - his favorite to date are the cherry blossom ones he made for Japan some time ago.

Russia has a tendency to over-season his food. If he's following a recipe with specific measurements provided - half a teaspoon of celery seed, a teaspoon of tarragon - it's not a problem. However, if he's going off of sight and feel alone, he puts in way too much, because "it never looks like there's enough!" By the time he gets around to tasting the food to check the seasoning, it's often too late. The worst offender is usually pepper, but most people are too intimidated? nice to complain.

There's a long-standing agreement that the nation whose house a World Meeting is held at is the nation who decides where everyone goes out for dinner - if the meeting is hosted in New York, America usually takes the nations to a steakhouse; if the meeting is hosted in Rome, North and South usually take people to a local pizza place; so on and so forth. When meetings are hosted at China's house, he, almost without fail, takes everyone out for hot pot. Everybody loves it, and they look forward to when meetings are hosted in Beijing. China is personally is a huge fan of the mutton, and has been for centuries.

South Italy makes the most unbelievable pizza ever known to man or nation. His favorite is the Pizza Margherita, which he perfected with Rafaele Esposito (the father of modern pizza) and has been eating since it first dropped at the Risorgimento in the 1860s, thank you very much. In fact, he used to work at Esposito's tavern Pizzeria di Pietro e basta così when he wasn't engaged with nation-y activities. In recent history, he grows his own San Marzano tomatoes and basil for the Margherita pizzas he makes, and he still uses the original dough recipe he picked up from Esposito. He could share it with you, but he'd have to kill you.

Prussia has swapped recipes with Poland for like, the past few hundred years, and much of the food he ate was influenced by Poland and, to some extent, Russia. His favorite thing to make, even after all these years, is Königsberger Klopse. He does tend to go a little heavy on the capers. Unrelated - one time, he accidentally ate some of Gilbird's gourmet seed blend, thinking it was snack seed mix, and didn't notice until about three handfuls in that it was not human/nation-grade product. Germany was there to see it, and is the only person that knows. He's been sworn to secrecy on the matter under the threat of blackmail.

Canada, as we know, is a fiend for ice cream, and he'll eat just about any brand of it that you offer to him. His favorite for "binging" is Chapman's, mostly because it comes in a cardboard box that can be deconstructed and laid out near-flat - no spoonfuls lost in the corners! He's also a fan of some of his brother's brands of ice cream, particularly Ben & Jerry's. He's been known to make the near 5-hour trek from his place to the factory in Waterbury, Vermont for a tour and free samples...multiple times a year, even...don't tell America this, or he'll get teased.

[kintonnorthcitations]

[kintonbaldwincitations]

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[kintonkennedy]

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[kintonramenqueenonline]

Established in May 2012, KINTON RAMEN is the first authentic Japanese ramen bar in Toronto. Focusing deeply on the ramen in the kitchen, executive chef Aki Urata is uncompromising in his pursuit to serve the best quality noodles and broth. Our chefs prepare each and every topping, using only the freshest and highest quality ingredients. At KINTON RAMEN we invite you to experience a variety of exceptional ramen bowls, right down to the last drop.

[narhinafan]

For manga fans, Masashi Kishimoto and Naruto needs no introduction. It is simply one of the most popular manga series ever created, not just in Japan, but throughout the world.

Masashi Kishimoto first drew Naruto as a one-shot manga in 1997, then it was added as a weekly series to Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999. Kishimoto's story of a plucky young ninja orphan who has the power of a nine-tailed fox god locked in his body and his path from being a brat to a powerful ninja leader. It is an epic tale that spans over 72 volumes and 700 chapters, has been adapted as an anime TV series and movies, video games, and novels, and is one of the best-selling books (not just comics or manga) ever.

For Masashi Kishimoto's first visit to North America, much less New York City for New York Comic-Con, Viz Media arranged several special opportunities for fans to meet and listen to the creator of Naruto speak about his comics, his creations, and his future plans. ANN's coverage is in 2 parts:

On Wednesday night, before the start of New York Comic-Con, Kishimoto was a special guest at the Apple Store in downtown NYC. This was a ticketed, intimate event that less than 100 people were able to attend and see in person. The audio of the event will be available as a podcast from Apple's iTunes Apple Store podcasts page.

The moderator for this event was Christopher Butcher, the Director of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF). He was joined on stage by Jo Otsuki, the editor for Naruto from Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, and Mari Morimoto, the translator for this event, and also the translator for Viz Media's English editions of the Naruto manga.

While no photos were allowed for these events, Kishimoto is a slim man who just recently turned 40. He initially seems a bit quiet, but is friendly and easy-going. He cracked a few jokes with fans, and seems to take his great fame and success in stride.

Butcher began by asked Kishimoto whether he was aware of the impact that Naruto has had upon fans worldwide, and his role as an "ambassador of Japan" to North America. Kishimoto laughed, saying that he thought it was kind of amazing that fans in North America were interested in Japanese manga and culture, and that he thought most people would be more familiar with "Naruto" (spiral fishcake) as an ingredient in ramen rather than Naruto the boy ninja.

Kishimoto's humble perspective perhaps comes from his early efforts to create a manga for Jump. He explained that he had tried several times to create a hit manga, exploring everything from sci-fi to action to sports manga. After many misses, Kishimoto said his editor encouraged him to give it one more try. That last try was the one-shot manga that eventually became the weekly series Naruto that we know and love today.

Butcher also marveled at Kishimoto's cinematic style of drawing. Kishimoto explained that his style was influenced by manga masters, including Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball), Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) and Hiroaki Samura (Blade of the Immortal). Kishimoto  expressed admiration for Star Wars, and American comics movies like Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Batman.

He also talked about his friendly rivalry with Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece.

"One Piece debuted about a year earlier than Naruto did, even though we're the same age. He beat me to it. I was very envious in the beginning and yet, at the same time, I wanted to not only be like him, but I wanted to surpass him. In some ways I feel like the reason Naruto was able to be published and was able to succeed was because of One Piece." He continued, "Perhaps we both kind of supported and bolstered each other over the years and lead to both of our successes because we had that rivalry. When one of us did something, the other one had to out do the other, and that kept both series going."

Kishimoto then described his creative process, and revealed that the entire process, from sketches and rough storyboards to finished artwork is all done by hand, not digital processes.

"I'm actually quite analog. I don't draw manga digital yet at all. We do get these sticker sheets with different tone and shades. It's not just me doing it; my assistants and I will get together and we have fun putting on the tones manually."

ut Kishimoto had this bit of advice for up and coming comics creators:

"I don't recommend the manual method anymore. It's quite costly and it's quite a lot of work and takes a lot of time. I definitely recommend, for those of you who are just getting started or are not yet started, to go digital."

However, he also warned of the limits of digital tools for comics creation.

"There's no software out there, no digital technology is going to help you make a better story," he said.

Bakuman., the manga about making manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata was also mentioned in conversation. When asked if Bakuman. was an accurate representation of what it's like to be a Shonen Jump manga creator, Kishimoto replied, 'I definitely had the experience of having an editor yell at me, about deadlines especially. I guess about 99% of it might be true." So what's the 1% that's not true? "I really don't think it's feasible for high school students to really make it professionally and still go to school at the same time! But certainly I had to work even while I was sick."

So what is Kishimoto doing during his well-deserved break from the weekly manga-making grind? For one thing, he's minding his health, by taking up jogging and weight training. He's also been spending time reconnecting with his family. He mentioned that the Boruto movie is inspired in part by his relationship with his sons.  Kishimoto confirmed that his next manga project will probably be a sci-fi story, but opted to not share more details because he didn't want anyone else to take his idea and run with it before him.

After a lively Q and A with audience members, the evening came to an end. Kishimoto was whisked away. The following exclusive interview happened the day after the first event at the Apple Store in SoHo, but before his appearance before a packed house of over 2,000 fans at New York Comic-Con.

With the help of translator Mari Morimoto (who also translated the Viz Media edition of Naruto), and Jo Otsuki, Kishimoto's editor from Weekly Shonen Jump, we talked about Kishimoto's reactions to his first encounters with his overseas fans, what does and doesn't exist in Naruto's world, how Boruto was influenced by his relationship with his sons, and he offers a few hints at his next series in the works.

I know this is your first trip to an overseas comics event -- How did it feel to get a taste of your overseas fans' enthusiasm for your work at the Apple Store yesterday, and so far today at New York Comic-Con? Masashi Kishimoto: It was a very mystical experience, a very interesting experience!

I know you must know that Naruto is very popular all over the world – but as I listened to you talk at the Apple Store last night, I got the sense that this didn't really feel real to you. What do you think now that you've met some of your fans? Of course, I have been told that it's popular overseas, but it really hasn't felt real to me until now. Even now, it's still hasn't quite hit me yet. I feel like even the people telling me that there's this many people wanting to see me, I feel like it might've been a setup?

(laughs) What do you mean by that? Kind of like when there's a studio audience when you're filming a sitcom?

You mean like a fake audience? A planted audience, yes.

Oh my goodness! (laughs) When I told people that I would be doing this interview, I got so many comments like, "I'm so jealous that you get to even be in the same atmosphere as Kishimoto-sensei!" I really don't feel like it's sunk in yet, even now.

Wow. Well, you'll definitely get a taste of it today at your afternoon event today at NYCC!  So I wanted to follow up with some of the things you said about your artistic influences from your chat at the Apple Store last night. You especially mentioned Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama, Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo, and Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura. What do you take from their work? What do you love about their work?

 I would say I've probably picked up a little bit from each of them, and perhaps a little bit different thing from each of them. For example, with Dragon Ball, I was reading that when I was in grade school. What Dragon Ball taught me is what was fun about manga, what makes a fun story in manga. In fact, I was reading it as it was coming out in weekly installments in Weekly Shonen Jump, so it really taught me what entertainment is and how to keep an audience captivated—and of course the art influenced me as well.

What did you learn from reading Hiroaki Samura-sensei's work? I think Samura-sensei really taught me about the craft of manga making, in terms of what's cool. Especially in terms of splash scenes, he really taught me the importance of splash scenes. In his splash page scenes, a lot of times he doesn't focus on the faces of the characters – he usually focuses on their hands. He taught me how one can focus on the hands and how important expressions using just hands can be.

Oh, that's fascinating. This also brings up an interesting question about the world of Naruto -- Blade of the Immortal is a very traditional Japanese samurai story, while your ninja world is very fantastical. How did you come up with that? So of course, a realistic ninja is someone who wears all black with only the eyes visible, kind of lurks in the shadows, and they are assassins. That's cool in its own way, but it's not necessarily appropriate or really makes up for a shonen manga series. That kind of story, it would be a different genre. So I was thinking about what would be appropriate for not only a shonen manga series, but a Jump shonen manga series. I figured I wanted to take a polar opposite approach, and portray this character who wears orange.

(laughs) Yeah! I was gonna say that Naruto's bright orange outfit isn't very stealthy for a ninja assassin! It's an orange jumpsuit, and Naruto goes 'Hey, I'm here!' Which is totally opposite of how a ninja should behave! It's a paradox. But I figured, 'Why not make this another type of real ninja?' Of course, I had some hardcore ninja fans who were like, 'Dude, get lost.' (laughs) They were really upset because this is not how ninjas are supposed to be!

Another thing that's interesting about Naruto's world is that there's technology, like ways to view videos, communicate over long distances – it's definitely not something that exists in traditional samurai-era Japan, but it's not a typical 'modern' Japan either. What definitely does NOT exist in Naruto's world? It would actually take too long to really go nitty-gritty into details, but for example: one of the things I focused on was that anything that's NOT possible to recreate, or to do, using ninjustu, ninja skills, I would not develop for Naruto's world. So no cars. Because they have shuriken, the throwing stars, there's no guns either. So there were certain things I had clearly in my head that I didn't want to have available in their worldview.

Mari Morimoto (translator): So I brought up the fact that in the Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring sequel story, there's that one line when Naruto complains about how Sasuke's so analog, and Shikamaru's says, "Oh, but he goes to areas where you can't charge anything."I asked Kishimoto-sensei about that and he said, 'Well, you know, I wanted to show that time had passed. So some things may have developed in the intervening time between the last chapter of Naruto and fifteen years later when the Seventh Hokage story happens. Also, there's the fact that the story is set during a time of peace, so there's now more money available, because the funds that were being pushed into the war can now be used for things like developing technology.

That would be interesting to read! With Naruto, you've created a very rich universe with many characters, and you just did a Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring side story, the Boruto movie, which you wrote the screenplay for, and there's also the Kakashi Hiden side-story novel that Viz Media is also publishing. That's a lot to enjoy, but are these sequel stories the last of your Naruto stories, or do you think there's more stories left to tell? Or after 15 years, are you just DONE with Naruto? (laughs)

There are infinite possibilities right now. If I decide that I want to do more Naruto stories, perhaps I will, perhaps I won't. That said, there is nothing firmly in the works at this time. Just that there is always the possibility…

I see! So I guess Naruto fans can keep their hopes alive to see more someday, maybe. As I mentioned, Naruto has many, many wonderful characters. But were there characters in Naruto that surprised you that were very popular with fans? Rock Lee.

Ah, right! So did you decide to include Rock Lee in the story more because he became so popular? No necessarily. It's just what I heard. It kind of surprised me how popular he was, but it didn't necessarily lead to more plotlines with him in it, or anything like that. That's not to say that I didn't consider writing him in more or creating more stories about him, but the timing was never right, so I never had the opportunity.

Speaking of new characters, I also noticed as the story evolved, there were more multi-cultural characters introduced to the story, like Killer Bee. Can you talk a little bit about why you decided to do that? When I started expanding on the world, especially through introducing other ninja villages, the very nature of doing that kind of forced me to widen the perspective. I wouldn't say it was necessarily a deliberate decision, but I was definitely conscious of the fact that if I wanted to have my Naruto world reflect actual society more, then it might be easier for fans to accept, to see, other cultures or races as well. So while it wasn't necessarily an outright deliberate decision, I think I was conscious of the fact that I wanted Naruto's world to reflect, at least a little bit, the world at large.

As these characters appeared in Naruto, I noticed that lot of black and Latino cosplayers were very excited to see these characters, to have characters that they could dress up as that they could relate to.

(big smile) That makes me happy to hear that as well!

Did you expect such a divided reaction (in the U.S. at least) when you revealed whom Naruto marries in the future?

I actually didn't realize I caused such controversy.

Really? You had no idea?

Mari Morimoto:  So the fans wanted Naruto to get together with Sakura?

Well, there's definitely camps of fans who felt that way, and there were also those that were very happy he ended up with Hinata. But there were quite passionate opinions on both sides! I almost caused a rift in my own household too, because my wife was very upset also that Naruto didn't get together with Sakura. In fact, she complained quite vehemently to me!

Jo Otsuki: Quite few of the female staff at Studio Pierrot that produces the anime, apparently were also upset.

Whoah. So how did you handle that, especially with your wife? I tried to defuse the situation by assuring my wife that SHE was actually the model for Hinata. (laughs)

As you were saying that, I thought, I wonder if your family life was more like Hinata and Naruto's family or Sasuke and Sakura's? (everyone laughs)

Masashi Kishiimoto: Well… it might not actually be like either. My wife is quite strong as well, she's a strong character.

Oh, so kind of like Sakura! So I think my wife might secretly realize that Hinata wasn't really the model for her… (laughs)

Did you decide this early on, that Hinata and Naruto would get together in the end, or when…?

From the middle, actually.

Aw, that's nice. So you obviously care a lot about these characters and this story. It took up over 15 years of your life! Was it difficult to decide to end Naruto? It was kind of decided—not necessarily early on, but I knew that it was going to be concluded soon. So it's not like that decision was unexpected. However, it took a while to smooth out the story to let it conclude the way that I want it to.

It was a slightly bumpy road, mainly because I wanted one of the themes of the end to be Naruto forgiving Sasuke. I wanted to make sure the intervening story lead naturally to that in a realistic way to make it plausible. Because if one minute they're fighting and then 'Oh, I forgive you!' would be weird. So definitely there were little bumps on the way to getting there.

Deb Aoki: Can you share an example of a bump that you ran into along the way toward the ending?

It would be the Pain Arc. It was difficult, because it was the very first time Naruto truly forgives his enemy. I didn't want the conclusion of their confrontation to be in battle, but through talking, so to bring that all about was quite difficult.

So now that Naruto has ended, you've hinted in other interviews that you're considering creating a sci-fi series next. You've mentioned that you like Star Wars, but are there other sci-fi series that you like? It's hard for me to narrow it down to one or two. I actually like quite a bit of sci-fi movies, for example, Elysium and Chappie, two films directed by South African Neill Blomkamp.

Oh, what do you like about these movies? Just the sense of this director, Blomkamp's cinematic view. I think what I like about it is there's still elements of real society within the movie and it's kind of merged with the fantastic elements -- it's really meshed. It picks up on current issues we're facing and expands further on it.

You definitely deserve some time off after so many years of drawing a weekly manga series, but when can we expect to see your next manga series debut? Perhaps after my children finally acknowledge what I'm doing and acknowledge me… acknowledge the work I've done!

What? Really? They don't now?

Naruto took up so much of my time that I didn't really get to spend quality time with my kids. It's only recently that they really accepted my presence. So I think I might have to wait until my children give me permission to work on my next series.

Wow. Well, that's very important too, so I totally understand. I know that fans who'll get to see you at your New York appearances are very fortunate to have this chance to be here for your first overseas trip to a comics event. That said, you have so many fans around the world who are hoping to meet you some day, see you visit their cities or countries. Because these fans would have loved to have met you but didn't have a chance to be here this weekend, do you have any messages for them?

First and foremost, I wanted to thank all my fans out there for reading Naruto and for loving Naruto so much. It really is gratifying for me too. But despite how I answered the last one, I wanted to say it might not be so long until my next series to appear as my answer implied! After I spend enough time with my kids, they might be like typical kids and say stuff like, 'Okay Dad, you can go away now.' (laughs) So you might see my next series in the not-too-distant future!

Thank you – and I hope we will see you again soon at another event in the near future!

is true?

To start off, for god sakes don't post the whole thing, take an extract or just give me the link, but this is way to long for an ask. I don't even know which bit you are on about.

Yes it is true, but lacks some details that Kishimoto in later interviews. For example Kishimoto definitely always planned NaruHina from the start, but he intentionally made NaruSaku a red herring.

Kishimoto's response

Now if you consider the timeframe of when Kishimoto did the red herrings you would realise that mainly happen during and around the Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission which covers chapters 282 to 310 of the manga which is roughly the half way point of the whole series and the half way point of the plot since it happens in the second arc of part 2.

As you can tell after that arc there isn't anymore serious NaruSaku red herrings. Kishimoto did them planning to do a love tringle, though he did briefly consider NaruSaku you can tell his end game was always NaruHina from start. Hence why he said the middle in that interview cause it was period where he did consider other options even though he originally already planned NaruHina, hence he made the final say to stick to that original decision at that point of the manga.

Even the bits about there being parallels between Kushina and Sakura while a red herring weren't meant to be taken seriously as in the Pain arc when Hinata confesses was when NaruHina got truly cemented and following that was the final nail in the coffin for NaruSaku with Sakura's fake confession being rejected.

Further proof of this is that in the same interview Kishimoto brings up that Hinata always supported and acknowledged Naruto. From the start it was obvious Hinata liked Naruto for who he really is Kishimoto made her that exact way. It is impossible for him to have made Hinata like that unless he originally intended for her to be the love interest.

Naruto is a long manga series and like with all long series the author will at times have to or need to consider making changes from their original plan. So yes while the interview is true it isn't the whole truth as in later interviews Kishimoto expands on the answer and we can tell by the context which time frame he is on about, Kishimoto did decide on NaruHina early on, he did however also consider changing that in the middle which led to him deciding to commit with his original plan for NaruHina.

[lillian-nator]

Lilliannn I'm boreddddd

Do you have anything you wanna share?? From your aus or something new? -a(no)n [I'm missing my friends party bc covid rates are way too high :/ ]

this was actually written by me and eyemotif

so give them TONS of the credit for this, they're fucking genius man

OKAY THE AU

OKAY

its about starving artists Tommy and Wilbur

they live in NYC

in like this tiny fucking gross ass apartment

they have two very small bedrooms, and one bath, and a kitchen / livingroom in one room

Tommy is a writer

Wilbur is a musician

they're both composing their masterpeices

I dont have background for Wilbur yet

but I know that he didnt come from much

he isnt in contact with his parents really, they dont support the starving artist lifestyle

and I think he probably moved far from like, not the south, but further north

like massachusettes or new hampshire or something

Tommy however? an interesting backstory

but all of Tommy's funds are frozen until he's 21 as most trust funds are

so, he has to make due with what he has

selling all of his flashy watches and too-big suits for rent money

he meets wilbur when he sees Wilbur's ad for a roommate wanted

but instead of using his dads connections

Tommy does what he always did

write.

he writes and writes and writes and hopes that something is good enough

because knowing tommy nothing was ever good enough

but ever since he learned how to write, its all that he did

He writes until his back aches from his horrible posture and eyes burn from the blue light in a dark room

and he can hear wilbru writing in the otehr room

writing and writing and playing and making a masterpeice

and all that Tommy can think is "how did he ever function without these beautiful symphonies playing the soundtrack to his life"

And Tommy will never stifle Wilbur’s creativity

He tries not

But god dammit Wilbur it is 3am and he has just found the resolution he was looking for

Shut up man

Wilbur just laugh back at the angry thumps through the wall

I think Tommy works at retail

I think retail is good

I think retail is great actually, because it gives him enough boredom and monotony to hate it a lot

and to make him write even more feverently

he keeps a notebook on him at all times

writes little stories about every person he sees

Tommy is the kind of guy to speak really poetically

eloquently if you will

everything is shakesperian, he's a big romantic, TommyInnit is

big guy for the dramatics

and he hates the silence

hates it so much

he feels like he always has this static in his brain

the like fucking macy's he works at, the music there makes his head ache

but it provides background sound, which is what he needs

now WIlbur's music

the wonderful concert to his frantic composition

just to get every word down onto the paper

Prose and poetry

Tommy is Prose

Wilbur is Poetry

Dichotomy y’know

and their small dirty ass apartment is just filled with notebooks and papers and pens and shit

And what Tommy hates most is that there are people like wilbur, with unimaginable talent, who cant afford to pay rent, and who just have to waste their lives away doing stuffy business jobs like his dad, and they're out in the world and they could be making the next fucking revolutionary musical or work of literature - THEYRE ARTISTS, and they cant do shit with the talent that god gave them

and they're eating cornflakes for 2 out of 3 meals a day

and the apartment is a mess

and they barely payed rent

but god

Just thinking about Tommy moving in

And it’s this apartment and it’s so shitt

And that night, over ramen, Wilbur asks “so what’re you doing here? Like, why New York, what’s the dream?”

And Tommy goes “well, I’d like to survive, but more so, I’d like to write”

“Music?”

“Fuck no, the - the next greatest piece of literature”

“Ah - big man”

And I think Wilbur gets really excited for being like, the elder artist, like he gets to show Tommy the best spots in New York

Sharing all of his inspiration tips

What he does to get out of writer’s block

Wilbur calling Tommy Rich boy even though Tommy doesn’t have access to all his money

“Oh come on Rich Boy, up you go, mandatory break!”

Tommy hits a writer’s block and suddenly it is Wilbur’s problem

Wilbur he wants to go feed the ducks Wil

Willllllll

Come onnnnnn

And Wilbur’s hair is stuck up from rubbing his hands through it

And his eyes are watery from staring at his sheet music did so long

“Insufferable child, do I look like I am fit for the public eye?”

“Look as ugly as usual! Duck time!”

Wilbur’s a little off his rocker

It comes with being a starving musician for 4 years

He is willing to do anything for his at

Art*

He never sleeps

He sacrifices himself for his art

He could’ve survived death and the first thing he did would be to write some lyrics down

Tommy sees that shit and while he respects it he also goes “I think the fuck not, sleep time you pretentious motherfucker”

Wilbur hasn’t slept for 72 hours, and goes “no no no no no I just got this vocal part, please”

“You have half an hour.”

And then half an hour, he goes “no Tommy please” and Tommy goes “You’re delirious you duck”

And push him face down onto his bed

Wilbur is kind of pretentious though

His art is sacred

But also Wilbur’s the type of guy to pull Tommy up onto the roof, both of them still in their thin work uniforms, and it’s like a crisp January air, snow on the ducking ground, and Wilbur’s just laughing his ass off

And Tommy goes “it’s fucking frigid up here you insane man!”

Be Wilbur’s just still laughing, running his hands through his hair

And going “ITS BEAUTIFUL ISNT IT?”

And Tommy just

Exasperatedly sighs

Fondly even

Cause his insane, unhinged, BEST friend, is showing him the New York sunset, and hes looking at his best friends muse

And it’s beautiful

Wilbur is brilliant

And there’s no way that Wilbur doesn’t get inspired by Tommy

This kid who is so desperately brilliant and empathetic

In a way that so many people Are Not

Wilbur is up with Tommy after two days of writing benders to see the boy frazzled and frantic

Ranting and raving about the shame of their society

How so many artists will remain undiscovered and repressed by the societal need for conformity

And Wilbur sees the fire in his eyes

The frantic anger on behalf of people he’s never met

He’s inspired

Nothing specific but he takes the fire Tommy hands him and guards it with his heart

Fuels it

AND The idea ofa writing bender is something I never knew I needed

Because as much as they make the other take care of themself they also enable each other

Throwing unwrapped granola bars at the other so they don’t have to get up

They don’t sleep for days at a time

Ordering Taco Bell they can’t really afford right now

When they hit a wall they use each other as sounding boards

Even if the other isn’t listening

They’ll rant and rave and plot and plan

Tommy will suggest things to Wilbur “could you play something a little sadder? I think it may help.”

There’s always two responses

Well three

Silence - He’s too absorbed

And “of course Tom”

And then “piss off im onto something”

The living room is just the writing room at this point

They have Liek three friends outside of each, put together but they never go to their apartment

It’s frankly a wreck

it’s such a wreck

Wilbur’s keyboard is in the middle of the room

And Tommy writes on this like little love seat that has so many holes

And there’s papers all over the floor

And wires everywhere

And when Tommy’s eyes get big

And his hair shakes with his head

And he’s sending up on the couch

And he’s asking “Wilbur Wilbur so listen to me hear -“

And Wilbur continues playing the piano

Now a theme to Tommy’s frantic rambling

And I feel as though Wilbur has like this obsession

About fulfilling something while he’s young

To make it while he’s still young and thin and good looking

And while he can still hold his liquor

He wants to make it while he’s still in his youth

He doesn’t want to keep doing this starving artist shit through his 30s

Like he has this fire under his ass, and he feels like time is running out and he has to do it now

He’s like terrified of getting looser

Older*

Taking a quote from Tick Tick Boom, Wilbur wants to be a writer who waits tables, not a waiter with a hobby

If he doesn’t do this now, then he’ll never get to

Wilbur has this flame under his ass that Tommy has in his heart and they fuel each other magnificently

And maybe they’ll go out in a blaze of glory

But they most definitely will Not Die Out

That’s Wilbur’s like saying

Like he wants to go out in a blaze of glory

He wants to set fire to everything around him

Cause mass destruction

Which is,, a little dramatic Wilbur

I just love the idea of Wilbur lik running on the fear of getting older

The fear of getting irrelevant and shit

Like he has to do something great NOW or it’s never gonna happen

Which is why he’s so frantic about it

Gives him a little spice

And then there’s Tommy

Who’s full of energy and passion and youth

And Wilbur just FEEDS off that energy

And Wilbur’s like 22 man

Like he’s still so young

But he’s so adamant about getting more time

So much so that Tommy asks once like “are you fucking dying or something man?”

And Wilbur’s answer is “well we’re all dying, and it’s poetic sure, but it’s what makes everything beautiful, knowing that you won’t always be here to experience it”

and Tommy’s like “my brilliant, so so mentally ill, wilbru”

Wilbur snorts

“ like you’re not just as mentally ill”

“I’m angry sure, but I’m also young. As far as I’m aware, I’ll live forever.”

Wilbur just pushes Tommy’s head and ruffles his hair

“You lovely, lovely idiot.”

“Oi! Who’re you calling an idiot! I’m brilliant, asshole!

Bro I just okay

So like for the first six months of Wilbur and Tommy living together Tommy never told Wilbur his age

At first it was caution

And then it was like an inside joke

And so like Wilbur always assumed Tommy was like 20

And then like 6ish months into them staying together, Wilbur comes home with a 6 pack, as he does during their little writing sessions sometimes

And Tommy grabs one, and immediately like uncaps it with a little bottle opener keychain thing

And starts drinking it, and Wilbur’s laughing and gets his own

And Wilbur goes “so how illegal has this been, just give me a range?”

And Tommy goes “I’m 18”

And Wilbur like chokes on his beer, “IVE BEEN GIVING BEER TO A TEENAGER-“

“I would’ve gotten it myself dumbass. You’re just my en-ay-buh-ler”

Wilbur like doesn’t care after like another 20 minutes when he’s struck with inspiration

It’s not like he would’ve denied Tommy a drink even if he knew the kid was 18

Just enhances how young Tommy is

And how wilbur’s not that young anymore

How he’s still running out of time

Which Tommy will never quite understand

And Wilbur always goes “that’s because you’re so young Tom, you’ll understand soon I swear you will”

And Tommy goes “okay grandpa, okay”

Then Tubbo and Ranboo are Tommy’s “friends his age”, they're his coworkers at like macys, they make Tommy get out of his head and push Tubbo ina. Shopping cart,

“why?” He asks

“because Ranboo says it’s “unsafe” and “irresponsible””

“It is.”

“Shut up Boob boy, we’re doing this.”

I could imagine Tommy writing one of his first major pieces about the teenage experience

With moments between BT

After everyday he just writes and writes and writes

And somehow Tubbo and Ranboo make it into the page

Tommy does writing work shops and he wins awards ocassionally

The short story about childish experiences he didn’t get and gets now, missing things he never had

It’s one of his best pieces yet

It also helps that the contest it won’t had a cash prize

Paid rent for a few weeks yknow

He gets so happy about it

Buys drinks for him and Wilbur

Gives Wil the money

Bc he’s still underaged

He also goes and buys Ranboo a journal, the boys a writer Tommy can tell, and every writer deserves a good journal

Tubbo gets candy or some shit

Tubbo gets trinkets

Tommy goes to these workshops and is like

The youngest one there

That contest is what field Tommy’s fire for a bit

and Technoblade is a regular in the diner that Wilbur and Phil work at -

[kintonnorthcitations]

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[lovelyirony]

dsjhfjkdj winteriron with that fight prompt would be god tier please give us that gift

Here’s something that most know about Tony Stark: he doesn’t keep his mouth shut, and he likes to know everything. It took many deals to make sure he didn’t tell the US people exactly what was in Area 51. 

(He made the sure the deal expires two years from now, there’s no way in fuck he’s not telling people about the whole North Dakota thing.) 

Tony has grown up with power. He knows how to manipulate it, how others manipulate it, and he’s not afraid of it. That’s a dangerous thing, to not be afraid of power. But when you run an influential company that can make or break people at an alarming rate, but not that alarming because he doesn’t use it for evil, then it’s...well. 

You’re not scared of threats. And if the people threatening you are smart, they’ll realize why. 

This is why when Alexander Pierce walks into his office and charmingly tells him all about his plan to threaten Tony Stark with death and blackmail of the sexual kind involving two men, Tony snorts. 

“Pierce, fire whoever the fuck got you that little blackmail. Half of America has seen my asshole before, it’s not anything new. It’ll just be more material that people see, and to be quite frank, I don’t think my sleeping with men will hurt literally anything besides some conservatives with children or community or whatever, but I couldn’t give less of a shit. Tell me, does my ass look good in that video? I wasn’t sure that time around...” 

Pierce turns red with rage. Tony’s used to it. 

“As for death,” he steamrolls on. “Go for it. I assume since I stopped creating weapons you have Hammer weapons now or some incredibly old Stark weaponry, which is hard to find given the fact that there’s an order to destroy all of it or donate it to a museum. And if it’s neither and you’re planning on a knife or anything, go right ahead. Try and kill me. I guarantee you won’t.” 

“You have no idea who you’re going up against,” Pierce warns, voice turning low and gravelly. 

Tony laughs. “I’m going up against an old leader of a mob named Hydra who had to hide because of my Aunt Peggy being the most terrifying leader around. You couldn’t make a move. And now you’re recruiting people, but you think you’re being so slick about it. I can and will make sure that you are burned along with the rest of your little game. That sound nice?” 

“And how will you do that?” Pierce asks. “You think you can find all of us?” 

“Yes,” Tony says easily. (He doesn’t know this, but like. It’s Hydra. How hard can it be?) “Because if you’re so reliant on your own power status, then how easily will it be for your organization to crumble?” 

Pierce is sent away, and Tony tweets out that he got threatened. Casual Wednesday stuff. Then he says he’s flying away for safety. 

This is a flat-out lie. Pepper knows it. Rhodey knows it. Maybe someone reading the tweet in the middle of Wisconsin knows it, hell if Tony can guess. 

But the point is, no one else will think it’s a lie, especially when he sends a plane over somewhere tropical. 

He’s staying put in New York. The best lie is one that is grand, multiple small holes in this lie, and one that doesn’t involve not going out in public. Everyone else will be looking for Pierce. Not Tony Stark. 

Tony is looking for someone else--or rather, a group. 

They call themselves the Avengers. A group of people that rival Pierce in power, although their group is smaller and more concentrated at getting people out of positions of power. 

It’s understandable. 

Tony walks right into their office building. 

There’s a guy who he thinks is Clint? He spills his ramen. 

“Oh fuck, my ramen,” he whines. “What the fuck are you doing here, Stark?” 

“I have a favor to ask,” Tony says with a shrug. “Who do I talk to about favors? And your security? It lacks, to be completely honest. I expected more from you all.” 

“Security is me,” comes a voice from behind. Tony side-steps a charge from a woman who was lunging for him. 

“Ms. Romanov, I expected more from someone who worked for my company for six months.” 

“You remember?” Natasha asks, surprised. 

“Natasha I do love my scotch, but not enough to black out anymore,” Tony says. “Honestly, who do you take me for? A floozy?” 

She smiles. 

“Good to have you here, Stark. Wish the circumstances could be better. Let me take you to Barnes.” 

Well. Tony Stark was not expecting Barnes to look like that. He wasn’t expecting any of them, to be completely honest. 

“Is the expectation to be attractive and a model?” Tony asks. “Is this your interview process for new candidates? Wow. Okay.” 

James Barnes stares at him. 

“Why are you here?” 

“Alexander Pierce,” Tony says. “He tried to threaten me in my own offices, and I’d like to destroy him. A bit of an impulsive project, but I bet he’s going to infest more things if we’re not careful. I want your help.” 

“Consider it done,” Barnes says. No thought needed. Natasha looks at him. “What did you have in mind?” 

“I am technologically gifted,” Tony says. “I already have gotten into some files that definitely are not for the public and I’ve found a lot of people that are Hydra. We need to round them up, encircle Pierce, and get him to break. Preferably on national television, but that’s just my own flair for the dramatic coming up.” 

James nods. He reaches out his hand. The metal one. 

It’s meant to intimidate people, tell them that that’s their fate if they fuck up the deal. 

Tony stares at it almost with reverence, a bit of confusion, and then understanding. 

“Your fingers need to be re-calibrated soon. And I’m going to replace something in your arm.” 

“What?” 

Tony laughs. 

“Barnes, you’re wearing an arm I created. I know it as well as you do, maybe better. I want you to come down to my shop some time this week and have it worked on, if you’re comfortable with that.” 

And so the deal starts. 

“Do we think this is a good idea?” Steve asks cautiously. “Is this seriously just something he decides on a whim?” 

“Steve, I’m going to pretend like you questioning the most famous billionaire of all time but not for shitty reasons is asking us for help,” Bruce says. “I am planning on taking full advantage of this and breaking into his labs for science reasons since I’m not trusted with a Bunsen burner here.” 

“You used it to make soup and it ended horribly,” Clint reminds him. “And I know, because I supported you.” 

“You’re the only one on this team who does,” Bruce says. 

- 

Bucky does bring Bruce along. He’s figuring that part of the deal can be that Bruce can actually use a real lab. 

Tony’s focus zeroes in on Bruce, actually. 

“So, this is where Dr. Banner’s been hiding,” Tony says. “I’ve been looking around for you for quite some time, Bruce.” 

Bruce blushes. 

“Well, thank you Dr. Stark.” 

Bucky raises an eyebrow. 

“Bruce here is a legend in the scientific community for two reasons,” Tony says. “He was the first to call Richard Reed a little bitch, and his scientific papers are the stuff of legend. I presume you want a lab?” 

“If it’s not too much.” 

“Nope, not at all. After everything is done, you’ll have a lab here.” Bruce gapes, and Bucky clears his throat.

Tony’s gaze returns to Bucky. 

“So, what can I help you out with?” 

“Strategy. And I’m wondering what kind of help you have.” 

Tony nods, flipping a picture of a man on his desk. 

“Thor. And his brother, but his brother is kind of...temperamental. I think he’ll most likely help because I told him that he could use crazy straws and shaving cream for unknown purposes.” 

Bucky raises an eyebrow. 

“Trust me, it’ll be worth it. But Thor is good at being discreet, also using an incredible amount of force.” 

“His name is Thor,” Bucky states. “For real?” 

“As far as I’ve found,” Tony mentions. “I’ve connected him to Rogers and Romanov, they’re already planning together tonight.” 

“Then why have us here?” Bucky asks. 

“Because I’m getting Bruce’s lab set up with input, and I’m fixing your arm,” Tony says. “So both of you, follow me to my home.” 

Bruce is giddy. Beyond giddy. It’s the first time Bucky’s seen a smile on his face for longer than a minute. 

(Okay well, a second time. The first time was when Steve tripped over three socks.) 

Tony leads Bucky to his “garage” which is full of cars worth more than Bucky’s entire life, and they sit at two chairs as Tony gets out his tools. 

“When’s the last time you had a maintenance check?” 

“Uh...when I got the arm?” Bucky asks. “Wasn’t exactly aware of maintenance checks.” 

“I bet you had Ted as your person,” Tony grumbles. “Hated that dude. Well you can always come and get it tuned up, no charge. They didn’t tell you that. I’ll have to remind them.” 

Bucky’s surprised at Tony’s easy confidence, the way his shop is laid out. 

He smiles at the robots that curiously come up to investigate. 

“Dad has a couple of new friends,” Tony explains. “U and Dum-E, please don’t poke Bucky in the side, he might--” 

Bucky laughs, flinching away as the screwdriver drops from Tony’s hand. 

“Do that,” Tony says, bending down to pick up the screwdriver. He gets a random bolt, one of the larger ones. 

“Go see if you can pick this up with your claws,” Tony says, throwing it in the opposite direction. The bots squeal after it. Tony sends a look to Bucky. 

“Kids. They’re a mess.” 

“You named them...that?” Bucky says. 

“Yup,” Tony says. “The one that’s anxiously looking behind the couch is U, like the letter. He really liked pointing when he was first born and the first word he learned was ‘you.’ He’s a cutie. The charmer there who’s spinning and trying to show off his new tape that Pepper decorated him with is Dum-E. He’s a drama queen. I have no idea where he gets it from, honestly.” 

Bucky laughs. 

- 

From then, Bucky and Tony work in close quarters together. It’s nice, honestly. They’ve been cracking down on Hydra, driving them into a smaller and smaller circle. 

“You think after all this is over, you want to get dinner some time?” Tony asks. 

Bucky smiles. “I’d love that. Where do you want to go?” 

“Your choice,” Tony says. “As a thank you for helping.” 

“Anything for you, doll.” 

And then Tony gets kidnapped. By all accounts he’s not sure why he wasn’t expecting it. Maybe because it was a Sunday night, and you shouldn’t kidnap people on Sunday nights. It’s rude is what it is. 

They also punch his mouth, which ugh. That just ruined his good days of not having any chapped lips. He was working hard on that particular aspect. 

- 

Bucky goes into overdrive. He didn’t think this would happen because Tony is a very central figure to the city, a figure to the US. To be this ballsy? It’s a death sentence. 

He knows death sentences quite well. Been on a few himself. 

Hydra should be quaking, because he’s getting his knives strapped. 

Hydra is not quaking. Or in fear. It’s because they have quite the large ego, which no organization should have. But powerful men who have another powerful man in their grasp tend to think the world is bowing to them, when in fact the world does not give a shit but their enemies do. 

This is why Bucky breaks into the building in two minutes (personal best), throat-punches six people, and finds Tony singing “Turn Back Time” as loudly as possible. 

“Oh! You’re here!” Tony says. “I was beginning to think I’d have to drive the guards to insanity.” 

“Who did this to you,” Bucky asks, tilting Tony’s chin up in his grasp. He can see dried blood on the corners. He hates that Tony had to go through with that. 

“Bucky, it was Hydra, who else?” Tony says. “Pierce if we’re being specific. But you might want to stop doing that or I’m gonna get hot and bothered under the collar, which isn’t my style. You wanna break out of here or stay with me? I’m not fond of the last option.” 

“Then why give it as an option?” 

“I don’t know!” Tony yelps, grabbing one of Bucky’s knives and throwing it at a man’s leg. “But let’s get out of here. Or at least, to their file room. They keep files. What losers.” 

Bucky laughs. 

“Got it doll. Let’s go.” 

For the record, it’s a huge success. Pierce gets taken away in handcuffs for roughly about life in prison, unless their prison system decides he’s been good after about ten years, and then he might get released. Who knows. Point is, Bucky and Tony will both be alive in ten years, prepared to make sure he goes to jail again or they’ve reformed the jail system by then. It’s all up in the air, really. 

But they’re doing it together. Which is all the more important. 

[pcttrailsidereader]

Four Months Alone of the PCT

I posted this on this website about six years ago and just recently re-read this interview from a blog called ‘The Hairpin’.  The interview, with Myla Fay, a 25-year old thru hiker, is a good read and I thought worth re-posting.  My favorite story was her account of the hiker who found chapstick on the ground and used it to counter crotch chafing. A few minutes later a woman walked by and asked if anyone had seen her pina colada chapstick. From that point forward his trail name was “Penis Colada.”

Myla attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota as did my daughter … which came to light when I forwarded this interview to my daughter as part of my desire to have her hike a section of the PCT several summers ago (which she did join me for a lengthy stretch).

By Jia Tolentino

How did you get into long-distance hiking? I grew up in Maine and spent a lot of time outside, and when I was a kid, we went up to Blue Hill every summer to hike and swim, camping in Baxter State Park and backpacking in the White Mountains. And in high school I did some incredible trips with the Chewonki Foundation: one was a 400-mile white-water canoe trip that ended in the tiny Inuit village of Kangiqsualujjuaq in northern Quebec. I always liked the outdoors, and backpacking felt like a good fit. I was also always interested in long-distance hiking as a more structured way of traveling. I spent a summer alone in India once and felt overwhelmed by all the decisions and planning involved in traveling. With hiking, your trip is organized around managing food and water and covering distance, and there’s less of an expectation for fun and relaxation. I like the part of backpacking that’s monotonous and challenging. How long had you been thinking about hiking the PCT before doing it? I heard about the PCT my senior year in college, but during and after college I was focusing on school and work: I worked as a designer in Minneapolis and New York, which I liked. Then I wanted to work on my own projects, so I moved back to Maine and set up a printmaking studio in the basement of a rural Zen Center. But it’s difficult to make any money from printmaking and it’s also difficult to live and work in isolation. I felt unsure about what I wanted to do, so I made a list of things I never regret doing. I realized that I never regret spending time outside, traveling, and challenging myself, so I decided to hike. I don’t think any 90-year-old would look back on life and regret hiking the PCT. Did you know you wanted to go alone? I might have considered it if I had known someone willing to drop everything and go hiking for four months. But I liked the idea of hiking alone anyway. Being alone is wonderful because you never have to compromise. If I felt like swimming all day, that’s what I did.

How long did it take to get ready? I only had about three months to prepare. Most people spend around six to 12 months getting in shape, dehydrating food, and planning. For me, I bought gear and read “Yogi’s Guide,“ which has advice for thru hiking—tips for hitchhiking, choosing campsites, resupplying, etc. It also outlines motel and grocery options for each town. I bought my food in towns and mailed food ahead when the next town was too small to resupply.

Do you have to be in good shape before you start a hike like this? Or could you just tough it out and get better as you go? You don’t have to be in good shape to start a hike, but it helps. It also helps to be young. No matter what shape you are in, hiking 10 to 12 hours a day is going to be hard. I thought that after hiking for a week or two I would just be “in shape,” but I was surprised that my fitness continued to improve.

I also never stopped having some degree of pain.

What was the gear you started with and the gear you ended with? Anything you packed that you realized was useless? I started hiking in desert heat and ended my trip snowshoeing through six feet of snow, but surprisingly I used most of my gear in all situations. After a month I bought a solar charger on trail to charge my iPhone, which was a real luxury. I also bought a dress from Goodwill along the way. It was comfortable to wear hiking and convenient for peeing outside modestly. I added various warm layers as I went north—a rain skirt (which is lighter, more breathable, and easier to put on than rain pants), an emergency blanket, snowshoes, long underwear, and bread bags to wear on my feet for warmth. I eventually ditched my mace, bug spray, and a mouse-proof food bag because I felt they were unnecessary, but not everyone would agree. Now that I have a better idea of what I need, I revamped my gear for my upcoming trip on the CDT. I have a post on my blog about the new gear, and also have my gear list on my website, if anyone wants to read.

What about trail food? How’d you deal with it? Did you filter your water the whole time? What are the worst and best things you’ve tried on the trail? Food was hard to plan for because my preferences and hunger changed constantly. Sometimes I had five extra pounds of food when I arrived in town and other times I ran out. One of the benefits of buying food as you go (rather than mailing it) is that you can easily make adjustments. I hiked with a girl who mailed all her food and by the end, she literally gagged every time she ate a Clif bar or oatmeal. I think having a variety of food on trail is important. I cooked ramen with PBR once when I arrived at a road crossing where someone had left a few beers for hikers. I was out of water, so I used the beer, and it was surprisingly delicious. At the end of trail, I ate snickers dipped in cream cheese and I thought it tasted like chocolate cheesecake! One of the worst things I tried was cold instant coffee mixed with oats. I was trying to pack up quickly in the morning and didn’t want to heat water. Needless to say, it was disgusting. I also once ate a spoonful of dry protein powder at night because I was starving and low on food. It felt similar to the cinnamon challenge. How much more do you end up eating than normal? What are the cravings you develop after long hikes? I ate a TON of food. Granola bars, mini pies, peanut butter, Nutella, tortillas, ramen, Cheezits, candy, muffins (squished), pop tarts, nuts, and anything else that caught my eye in the grocery store. All hikers fantasize about food, mostly about fresh fruits, vegetables, pizza, and ice cream. I daydreamed about Slurpees a lot. There is no food guilt on trail. All notions of what, when, and how much is appropriate to eat disappear. Instead of cutting calories and dieting, hikers worry about not eating enough. I ate 3,000 to 6,000 calories a day, and it was incredibly refreshing. The downside of eating so much was the stomach aches. Sometimes I would eat a whole sleeve of Oreos, which tasted delicious, then I would feel awful for a while. It’s a lot to ask of your body, to process all that food.

Did you see a lot of other solo hikers? Did traveling alone made you more open to meeting random people? Travelling alone does make it easy to meet people. Most hikers start alone, and many hike in groups for various lengths of time. When I started, I wanted to hike alone to challenge myself and rely on my own decisions. I became more open to meeting people over time, and by the end of trail I found a balance between independence and community. Who were the coolest people you met along the way? Everyone I met had an interesting back story—one couple worked in Antarctica, one girl sold her house to live out of a backpack, there were Marines who hiked to deal with PTSD, and people who left their high-paying jobs because they didn’t want to devote their lives to work. One of my favorite characters on trail was a retired guy from New Jersey. He lived years without health insurance or hot water, and took ice-cold hose showers every day at home, even in the winter. He told only one person he was hiking the PCT and always camped alone far off trail. He didn’t own a phone, but carried a small radio to listen to baseball games. Every time he went into town to buy food, he bought a glass, because he only drank beer out of a glass. He was also a scavenger. Once in town I gave him part of a cookie and he just packed it away for later. Another time he told me that he carried a cube of bouillon for an emergency meal. I told him it didn’t have any calories, and he said, “But it sure does fill you up!” I should mention that there are more men than women on trail, and most people I met were white and middle class, so unfortunately trail culture is not too diverse. How many times were you ever truly scared, and why? Most of the time trail felt very safe, but I had a couple moments of being spooked. I almost stepped on a rattlesnake. I once got lost looking for a spring at night without my pack. I got dangerously cold during a snowstorm. These situations were all preventable had I been paying better attention. Some hikers do end up in truly scary situations. One girl had a mountain lion stalk her at night, and another guy ended up lost on a snowy cliff where he couldn’t go forward or backward. Oh my god. A lot of people on trail carry a SPOT device with an emergency button that activates a search and rescue response team. They are expensive and I personally felt safe without one, but a few people did use them on trail.

What about weather conditions? You had to hike at night sometimes because of the heat, right? The PCT covers a diverse range of terrains and temperatures. In the desert, it reaches 110 degrees, and water sources are sometimes 30 miles apart. I carried 1.5 gallons of water at a time. Hiking at night is much cooler and requires less water, so many people hike early and late (resting midday). Night hiking is beautiful but spooky. Some huge bugs and rodents that come out at night. And then there was the extreme cold: I’m reading a blog post where you did sit-ups in the middle of the night to stay warm. What’s your least favorite and most favorite weather to hike in? I still prefer hiking in desert heat over the cold Northwestern weather. In Oregon and Washington, I dealt with rain, hail and snow, which is dangerous without adequate food and gear. Most people carry down jackets and sleeping bags, but down is useless when wet. When it is cold, taking breaks is not an option. I knew one couple who hiked over 24 hours without stopping because all their gear was wet and it was snowing. They would have become hypothermic if they stopped. Can you tell me some hiker code? What’s the jargon like? There are lots of phrases specific to thru hiking. Some are practical (“slackpacking” is hiking a section without a full pack, “hiker hunger” describes the extreme hunger after hiking, “vortex” is when you spend longer than expected in town). A lot of them are meant to be funny (“Vitamin I” for ibuprofen). “Cowboy camping,” sleeping under the stars, is one of my favorite terms. It’s basically a fancy way of saying “I am too lazy to pitch my tent and I doubt it is going to rain tonight.” My friend “Scrub” has a more extensive list of hiking terms on his blog.

That’s his trail name: does everyone have one? Everyone gets a trail name, usually given by another hiker. Part of the idea is that you can leave your other life behind and be someone new on trail. And there’s other stuff like this: trail angels, trail magic, what does that mean? A “trail angel” is anyone who helps you by offering “trail magic.” It could be a day hiker who gives you an apple or someone who drives you to town. There are established trail angels who help hikers each year by leaving food or sodas on trail or even opening their homes to hikers. There are also some trail magic events, where angels make burgers or pancakes on trail for a day or two. It is hard to overstate how incredible it is to come upon fresh hot food or cold sodas after being out in the woods for a few days. The terms seem right. How was your emotional state going into the hike, and during it? What was the default state of each day? I was much happier on trail than I was prior to trail. Some of that may have had to do with the endorphins released from exercise. I also gained a lot of confidence in my body and my ability to troubleshoot difficult situations. By the end of the trail, I felt I could do anything. I certainly had moments of frustration, crankiness, and misery, but I always preferred trail to home.

Wow. What did you do to pass the time? It wasn’t too different from regular life. Sometimes I listened to music or books, sometimes I worried about logistics, sometimes I wondered what to do with my life. I thought about family and friends and remembered things I had forgotten. Sometimes I played games with other hikers, sometimes I counted my steps, sometimes I brushed my teeth for an hour. What are some good stories you heard on the trail from other people? There was a huge snowstorm in Washington that coincided with the government shutdown, and some hikers decided to road walk the last 60 miles to Canada to avoid deep snow. Rangers stopped them because it was illegal to be in the park during the shutdown. So after hiking 2600 miles, they quit because of a triviality. I also heard a story about a girl who saw a mountain lion sitting next to the trail. She roared at it, like you are supposed to (you never want to let a mountain lion know you are scared), then kept walking past it only to realize that there was a switchback in the trail and she had to pass it again. And then, there was a funny story about a hiker I never met who found chapstick on the ground and used it for crotch chafing. A few minutes later a woman walked by and asked if anyone had seen her pina colada chapstick. From that point forward his trail name was “Penis Colada.” That is a great story. What was your favorite part of the trail?

The last four days on trail were my favorite. I snowshoed on fresh snow through the most spectacular scenery on trail with a boy who I like very much. It was new and exciting and beautiful and romantic. What about the least? Southern Oregon was my least favorite part. Everyone talks about how Oregon is flat and easy, but my feet were hurting so it didn’t feel easy. In my opinion, it was also the least spectacular part of trail, just woods and ponds.

What was your favorite pit stop? One of my favorite stops was Buck’s Lake, a small town in northern California. I got off trail to apply for a job. I didn’t end up getting the job, but I stayed with the most incredible trail angels. They were welcoming and made burgers with heirloom tomatoes and peach cobbler and fruit salad. They also took me out on their pontoon for sunset to drink white wine and listen to the Beach Boys.

What did you miss most while you were hiking? Fresh fruits and vegetables, and my friends and family. How did this hike physically affect your body? I lost about 5 to 10 pounds by the end, despite gaining muscle. My breasts mostly disappeared and my feet grew a full size. Women usually lose less weight than men, which is an advantage on trail. What about your hair? My hair was crazy on trail. I was trying to grow it out, but it was a bad length for hiking: long enough to tangle and too short to pull back. I had dyed it before trail and wanted to let the dyed part grow out. I also decided to stop using shampoo, in part thanks to articles like this. Needless to say, my hair was a bleachy, greasy, tangled mess. I cut it off when returned home. Before or after, did you have a lot of people telling you that they wanted to hike the PCT too? Or were people more like, "You’re nuts!” A lot of people say something along the lines of, “Wow, that’s amazing! I could never do that!” But hiking is kind of like drawing. People say they can’t draw, as if it’s a mysterious talent, but both drawing and hiking are just a set of skills anyone could learn. If you are interested in hiking the PCT or another trail, I would encourage you to go ahead and do it. I think it is almost always a positive experience, although returning to regular life is difficult. People sometimes romanticize long-distance hiking, but I was just walking. Some people work 8 or 10 hours a day on spreadsheets or washing floors and few people say that is amazing. What’s your favorite picture from your PCT hike?

This is a campsite on an exposed ridge in northern California. The sky was smoky from a nearby fire, but I could see well enough to watch a meteor shower. It’s hard to choose one photo, but that was a good night.

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