#i have great vibes so far and i’ve really bonded with my roommate but still

[lamentablesbian]

moving out (take 2) tomorrow 💃💃💃 let’s go!

[lululawrence]

hello!! i was wondering if u had a werewolf tag for fics? i would search it but not sure how to use tumblr that well :)) if not do u have recs? LOVE U HAVE A NICE DAY<333

hi babes! i don't have one here... damn that's a fucking great idea. hahaha i'm HORRIBLY unorganized when it comes to tags for fics on tumblr. i mostly use ao3 for the organization of fics. so! that said, i defo DO have recs for you!

you didn't specify pairing, which makes me smile because i get to rec rare pairs in addition to larry and hope you read them hehe okay, here we go!

He Carries The Key by me (8k, NR, niall/louis) - this fic is the only one of mine i'll include, okay? promise haha but it is also one i wrote for wordplay just a week or two ago and it's werewolves and a pack fic and i just had a lot of fun. very soft. much fluff. many feels. i hope you enjoy. lol

There's Fur Everywhere by @londonfoginacup / LadyLondonderry (4k, G, Harry/Louis) - this is a 5 times fic, and it's HYSTERICAL. it feels slightly spoilery for me to even be including it on this list, but also... it's still fucking hilarious. emmu is queen of the crack fic that makes you feel all the soft and wonderful things, and she doesn't disappoint with this one.

I Hear Them Calling for You by @jaerie / jaerie (6k, E, Harry/Louis) - this fic is... not for everyone. like at all. please please please read the tags and the summary and if you don't like it or it makes you uncomfortable, then close right out of it. as for ME i loved what she explored with it, all the emotions and the story and worldbuilding of it all. i thought it was fantastic and incredibly interesting. it is A/B/O, pack fic with claiming and... yeah. it's amazing.

Campus Creatures by @kingsofeverything / kingsofeverything and @louandhazaf / YesIsAWorld (25k, E, Harry/Louis) - werewolves! vampires! fae! university! frat houses! science research positions being vied for! enemies to lovers! like... not sure what more you could ASK for, but there's also a fuck ton of humor and nudity and sexual tension and... it's just a lot of fun. can't go wrong, really. haha

From What I've Tasted of Desire by @evilovesyou / 4ureyesonly28 (72k, T, Harry/Louis) - okay so i'm including this one even though like... harry and louis aren't werewolves. but it's a twilight au, so there ARE werewolves and i'm ASSUMING you know twilight and therefore know that means you know they're pretty involved and... that's true for this fic too. ahha for real, though, i love evi's writing and this fic was one of my first introductions to it and it was a fun read, so i wanted to include it in case it had enough of the werewolf flair to entice you haha

Compete Against the Stars by @daggerandrose / amomentoflove (31k, M, Harry/Louis) - omg okay so this one is like ANGSTY AF and i FUCKING LOVE IT because it's one of those fics that you HOPE you have figured out, and you probably do, but also there's SO many twists and turns to it all that you just have NO idea how it's all gonna work out and omg are they gonna just ruin it all for themselves by being stupid and ahhhhh the tension of just FIGURING OUT HOW THEY GET IT ALL TO WORK OUT!!! and of course it does. hahaha but HOW??? this is a RIDE and in my mind feels like a longer fic than 31k in the best of ways, they did an amazing job of packing a LOT of world building and storytelling into those 31k.

the straight for your heart (wolfpack au) series by foreverkneeld and foundfamilyvevo (96k, T/G, Multiple or No pairings including Niall/Louis, Zayn/Liam, OT5, and Shawn/Niall) - This series is the ultimate hurt/comfort and healing pack fic series omg. it was recommended to me when i was in a super hard time and my anxiety was so bad i couldn't focus on anything. These short fics that all focused so much on healing and found family were exactly what i needed. so so soft, so lovely. I still haven't read them all because i'm saving them for when i need them. they're glorious.

when the air ran out and we both started running wild by darlingjustdont (48k, M, Nick/Louis) - OMG OKAY LISTEN THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVS. a tomlinshaw werewolf pack fic?! ahhhhhhhhh i was SO happy when i discovered this one. louis is alpha of the pack and things are... shaky, shall we say. there's a lot going on that he's worried about and then he meets nick and it's kind of enemies to lovers? okay, more than kind of. but omg the FEELS. SO. MANY. FEELS. but also danger and a;lsdgkhas;ldfkja just please read this and rave with me because i don't have many i can talk about this one with and i LOVE IT.

You Smell Like by mystic_believexx (185k, M, Harry/Louis) - i had no idea this fic was so long hahahaha wow ANYWAY louis is human, but he's always been close with harry and therefore basically a part of his pack. but then one day harry leaves and louis kind of accidentally becomes the pack alpha. even though he's human. but there's SO much more to it. there's just sooooo much with the friendship and the pack bond as well as the danger and trying to figure out what the hell is going on... it's just a LOT and one of those epic fics that i still think about even though i read it...a year and a half ago i guess. but it's amazing and i highly recommend it if the word count doesn't scare you away haha

Canyon Moon by @eeveelou / delsicle (41k, E, Harry/Louis) - this is a lion king au, made a/b/o werewolves! i really enjoyed this one a lot, actually, because i could absolutely see the parallels, but also the way it was adapted made it so it wasn't always obvious how it would all play out. it was a really interesting and cool world building as well.

The Truth I Can't Explain (Smoke and Mirrors) by @fallinglikethis / FallingLikeThis (9k, M, Harry/Louis) - ohhhhh this one is SO cool cause it's by tabby so she made it incredibly fun and fascinating to try to figure out. there's magic and mages and werewolves and feuds and they're basically on the eve of battle and holy cow it's just SO cool.

One Touch Is Never Enough by @kingsofeverything / kingsofeverything (4k, E, Harry/Louis) - once again lauren delivers and there's just so much i keep giggling about with this because it is SO fun. there's a lot that louis is dealing with in this fic hahaha and the way she writes it all is so funny. the poor man just wants a fucking massage! lololol it's lighthearted, humorous, and basically filled with fluff, crack, and smut. hahaha

Knot Safe For Work by @jaerie / jaerie (6k, E, Harry/Louis) - a;sldkgha;lfdkjas listen i forgot about this fic until i found it in my bookmarks for werewolves because jenna writes so many fucking amazing fics that when i think of werewolves, i think of at least two others first, but i could NOT do this rec without this fic because now that i remember it exists i am going to have to go and read it again! hahaha harry's a werewolf, louis is a wizard, there's knotting dildos and table sex and... just read it. lolol

Saving's What I Need by @jaerie / jaerie (17k, M, Harry/Louis) - writer louis is out for a drive one day and he hits a dog. THIS POOR DOG! he takes it to the vet and tries his best to take care of it... but things are not as they seem. because yeah, harry is defo not a dog. lollllll this fic was hilarious and sweet and omg there's just so much to love about it. there were so many more emotions in it than i expected. loooove!

Out of the Wild by @jaerie / jaerie (22k, E, Harry/Louis) - this fic has such fun world building, which is actually a huge strength of jenna's fics and you'll hear me rave about it with all 50 of her fics that will end up on this rec list (not really 50, but ya know lol). louis is a fairly wild and undomesticated wolf and harry's from the city and they end up as roommates during the x factor process. oh my word this fic is so fun because of all the challenges they're going through PLUS the wolf side of things and just... the way they work together and navigate it all as well as falling for each other is pure gold.

Out With The Old, In With The New by, you guessed it, @jaerie / jaerie (7k, E, Harry/Louis) - listen, just. this one is smutty as hell and it's gonna take you some places that some people will be uncomfortable with, which is totally valid and fair. please be sure to read the tags and make your decision on whether or not to read accordingly, but also know that its written in a super interesting way that is also pretty amazing if you do decide to give it a shot. lol

Instincts by @marastarfar / StarFar ( 100k so far - it's a WIP!, T, Harry/Louis) - omg listen. i LOVE mara's fics so much and when this first posted it was a one shot little thing that was FASCINATING. i loved it! and then i was happily surprised when i learned more was added to it. and then it was turned into a wip and omg i am so far behind now but i trust mara with my life because i love everything i've read by them and what i've read of this so far is INCREDIBLE so just. yeah. lollll

There's a Power in What You Do by @londonfoginacup / LadyLondonderry (7k, T, Harry/Louis) - i just read my comment i left on this one and it was just mainly me begging for time stamps because there wasn't any way for her to improve upon the perfection of this fic (nesting! softness! even a silly comment in her endnotes to perfectly cap it all!), but i still wanted to remain in the story just a bit longer and learn more about them. hahaha anyway, those time stamps aren't happening, but this fic is still complete perfection.

amaryllis by @hattalove / hattalove (147k, E, Harry/Louis) - for a long time this was thought of as THE werewolf fic. if anyone was talking about a werewolf fic, it was probably this one. is that still the case? probably. i'm not sure. ANYWAY. there's a REASON it was THE werewolf fic and that's because this is amazing. it sucks you in and you feel like you're truly a part of the action. it's filled with the vibe of found family and wanting to figure out what happened while also adjusting to your new life and just... so many feelings. so much angst. SO fantastically epic.

[azenkii]

 ATLA Fic Rec 

because I've been spending way too much time reading it. Btw, this is a rec for gen fics and zukka fics.

Note: an asterisk after the description means that the fic or series is incomplete. (Sadly, this is a lot of them, but I'm pretty sure most of these fics are still currently updating.)

GEN:

Anything by MuffinLance is a must-read. my personal favourites are Salvage (where Hakoda ends up with one (1) grumpy new prisoner/crewmate/adopted son) and Little Zuko v the World (where Zuko is 12, and it's adorable).

The Family You Choose by TunaFishChris is a god-tier platonic soulmate au about zuko and the gaang, so like...go read that right now

The kintsugi series by discordiansamba is an AU where Toph's parents hire Zuko-as-Lee to be a bodyguard for her, and I love it so much. It has some of the best Toph-and-Zuko sibling bonding I've ever seen. *

Dragon Moon by Satirrian is a Dragon! Zuko AU and it's incredible. It also features Bounty Hunter Zuko, so do with that what you will. *

The What We're Given series by Haicrescendo is *chef's kiss*. It's an AU where Zuko flipped his father off early on into his banishment and started living his best life with Iroh. Enter the Gaang. Shenanigans ensue. *

The Internment series by Hannahmayski is another Zuko breaks free from his dad early AU, and it's also really good. Basically, Zuko was never given the option to capture the Avatar, making his banishment indefinite. He sails around with his crew fighting the Fire Nation and it's great. *

The best way to solve your problems (is to help someone else) by hewwodarkness is an AU where kids start disappearing in Ba Sing Se during Book 2, and Zuko takes it upon himself to do a little vigilantism. It's fantastic. *

The Blue Spirit AU series by H_Faith_Marr is an AU starting from, surprise surprise, the Blue Spirit episode. The Gaang takes in Zuko without knowing who he is, and the Power of Friendship™ goes to work on Zuko. *

The the first rule of earth kingdom fight club... series by ohmygodwhy is an AU where Zuko, among other things, fights in underground cage matches, meets Toph early, and realises that his dad might be wrong. It’s pretty funny and really good. *

The The Non-Existent Twin series by FoiblePNoteworthy is hilarious. It's an AU where Zuko poses as his own twin, Li, and the Gaang buys it hook line and sinker. *

The Guilt (The Jet Adopts Zuko AU) series by FoiblePNoteworthy is also really good. Like the title says, it’s a Zuko joins the Freedom Fighters AU. *

The new ways series by blueseam is just a Zuko and the Gaang bonding fic, mostly set in the Western Air Temple, with a side of Zuko not taking care of himself and the Gaang stepping up to the job. If you’re like me and am an absolute sucker for Zuko and the Gaang, go read this.

The Family Matters series by WinterSky101 is a really good fic if you’re looking for Hakoda and Zuko. That’s all I have to say: Hakoda and Zuko.

a nation, held by snowdarkred is a GREAT Fire Nation & Zuko fic - set before and during canon, not after it. Go read it, right now.

Notable mentions: a lot of works by naggeluide are gen and pretty funny, though if you don't headcanon any of the characters as LGBT+ you might not like some of them.

ZUKKA:

anything by Haicrescendo and dickpuncher420. For Haicrescendo, my personal favourite is the Carry On For You series, and for dickpuncher420, it’s love language.

sirens & sleepless nights by Satirrian is a modern AU that just borders on dystopian. Ba Sing Se has been overtaken by the Fire Nation, Zuko is a soldier who broke away from the Fire Nation and got shot for it, and Sokka finds Zuko on the street and brings him inside. It’s amazing, go read it!

do you take this jerk to be (your one and only) by jatersade is a fic that I’m 90% sure is on every zukka fic rec list, and it deserves to be. It’s an arranged marriage AU where Zuko is engaged to Yue, and Sokka is his cultural guide. *

midnight runs and other things by isamagicdragon is a modern AU where Zuko keeps sleepwalking into Sokka’s apartment. Shenanigans ensue. Also, top-tier Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee interactions. *

Unchained Melody by avocadolove is another fic that I see a lot on rec lists, and it 100% deserves it. It’s a long fic (as of now, it’s at 63.8k) and is an AU where Sokka, after getting taken to the Spirit World by Heibai, ends up as a ghost that only Zuko can see. Ft. great enemies-to-friends-to-lovers and an incredible plot. *

Ozymandias, King of Kings by Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought is SO good. It’s an AU where, instead of being banished, Zuko was sent to work in a coal mine/prison, which eventually becomes the target of a Water Tribe raid after Aang’s return. It can get pretty dark, so watch out for that, and it’s really long (as of now, 168.8k). But trust me, it’s worth it. *

Heart Beat Here by thefangirlingdead is an adorable Modern AU oneshot where Zuko, while shopping for engagement rings with Katara, freaks out when Sokka lies about where he is. It’s a happy ending, don’t worry. One of my favourite fics.

feels like we only go backwards by oldpotatoe and A Certain Slant of Light by JustGettingBy are both amnesia fics where Sokka loses his memory several years after the war. They’re both so, so good. A Certain Slant of Light is finished, but feels like we only go backwards is not.

reality strikes, so bring back the night by zukkababey is a time-travel oneshot where Western-Air-Temple Sokka wakes up in the future to find his older self married to one (1) Fire Lord Zuko. Fluffy and funny. 

maybe i just see you (in everything) by epicbubbles is a really cute Modern AU oneshot with love confessions and just fluff all around. 10/10 go read it!!

it’s the illusion of separation by argentoswan is a fic that has legendary status and it absolutely deserves it. God-tier Modern AU where Sokka ends up working at the Jasmine Dragon alongside his former high school bully, Zuko. (Kind of) enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, and it’s just...SO good. *

say you like your shirt soggy by crosspin is a reallyyy nice 5+1 fic. It’s Modern AU, and it’s pretty short (3.7k), but the amount of yearning that gets packed into that 3.7k,,,,*chef’s kiss*

and they were roommates by flydunes is another Modern AU where sokka puts up an ad for a roommate. Zuko moves in, and Sokka gets a crush. It’s just good vibes all around :) *

like blood from a stone by catalinacat is a Soulmate AU that took a completely different direction with the soulmate trope. The summary does a better job of explaining it than I can. *

absence of heat, excess of destiny by theycallmesuperboy is one of the best soulmate AUs out there. it’s not too long, only 4.3k words, but it covers the entire series and then some. Seriously, go read this.

it isn’t strange, but it’s true by theholyterror is a 5+1 post-canon fic with some of the best pining I’ve ever seen, ft. Ambassador Sokka and Fire Lord Zuko. The 5+1 is times Zuko went out of his way to touch Sokka.  *

like the sun inside of you by ofherlionheart is another post-canon fic, and it’s incredible so far. the first chapter alone is 23k, so it’s already a decently long read. *

the stemverse: earth science zuko au series by acezukos is a REALLY good Modern/University AU. So far, it only has one work (earth system history) but that work is already *chef’s kiss*. The series is incomplete, but earth system history is complete!

rebellion’s such a hushed affair by zeitgeistofnow is a fantastic Modern AU that, like sirens & sleepless nights, borders on dystopian. Actually, I think it is dystopian, but it hasn’t been tagged as such. Anyway, 10/10, go read it right now immediately

Mark Time by foil is a Modern AU where Sokka ghosted Zuko years ago, and they get brought back together by Aang and Katara’s wedding. It’s really good, but the fic has some pretty heavy content, so make sure you read the warnings. *

That birds would sing and think it were not night by HisMomoness is a Modern AU that has Zuko tutoring Sokka, with absolute top-tier pining. Like, seriously, the pining is insane. Superr good

this love burns so yellow (becoming orange and in its time, exploding) by meliebee is one of the best post-canon fics I’ve ever read. It features a civil war in the Fire Nation (that gets resolved about halfway through) and some great Toph and Zuko interactions, as well as some Grade A pining. 

boy problems by burnt_oranges is FANTASTIC post-canon and has sokka and zuko in an accidental arranged marriage, plus some attempted assassinations. It’s great.

zuko vs the homie sexual agenda by parmigiano has Zuko and Sokka pining for each other in Ikea. Do I need to say more?

Friendship Bracelets by peachcitt is a Modern AU best friends to lovers. Pretty short (4.9k), but the pining is immaculate.

isn’t this the vision that you wanted by nebulastucky is INCREDIBLE, I read it recently because it just got completed and it’s *chef’s kiss*. It’s post-canon ft. mutual pining and some reallyyy good ‘and there was only one bed’ scenes.

Real Slow and no one knows anything but us by surveycorpsjean and quidhitch respectively are two of my favourite post-canon Ambassador Sokka and Fire Lord Zuko fics. Go check them out!

The Duke’s a Hazard by naggeluide is a really nice AU starting from the Western Air Temple, where the Duke decides that Sokka and Zuko are now his new parents. They bond over coparenting, and the (kind of) enemies-to-friends-to-lovers is really good. Plus, it’s funny.

Those Who Favor Fire by CSHfic and VSfic is a really good fic of the Spymaster Sokka AU. If you don’t know what that is, it’s an AU where Sokka fakes his death and goes undercover in an organisation that wants to kill Zuko.

Fics I added after posting (so far, all Zukka):

The Road Between Action and Inaction by Donvex is a fic that I can't believe I left out the first time?? It's a modern hitchhiking AU and it's great.

Rituals of the Ocean Floor by Donvex is a nice one too. It's only around 2.2k words, but it's a Fox Spirit!Zuko and Sharkman!Sokka AU, and I just really like the writing style.

by the stars above, i knew we were in love by theycallmesuperboy and The Fate of Nations in Our Hands by sapphic_ambitions are both top-tier post-canon fics. Be warned: by the stars above is a liiiittle bit angsty.

blue's clues by parmigiano is a really good Modern AU where Sokka, a university student journalist, gets ahold of the phone number of the Blue Spirit, a new campus vigilante. He ends up talking to the Blue Spirit to get an interview out of him, and it's really cute!

Honourable mention: the Avatar Zuko series by the_cloud_whisperer is one of the best series I've ever read, and it's really long - it got completed about a month ago, with 493.6k words in total (415k if you ignore the extra work made up of author's notes). It develops all the characters really well, especially Lu Ten, but the main ship is Zukaang. Personally, my biggest problem with Zukaang is the age difference, and Aang is aged up to be Zuko's age (or older, I think? I don't really remember) in this. I kept reading it because the plot was too good to give up, and I do highly recommend it, but yeah.

I’ll add more fics if I remember them, but this is what I had bookmarked. Also, shameless self plug here because I also write ATLA fic @ azenki on ao3

[saoirsetm]

hey y’all ! i’m kat and we’re FINALLY opening ?!? i’m so hyped, you don’t even know. i’m a double leo Trying to survive video lectures in a noisy house who loves dark chocolate and 80% of the kpop releases so far this year ( stream feel good by fromis_9, it’s such a cute bop ! ) i’m also a cat mom to my almost fourteen year old babies who are still like energetic kittens, so ask for pics and you shall receive DSLKGJ but without further ado, here’s my girl who’s gonna prove that hindsight is INDEED 20/20, so this is gonna be fun:

✧ ˖ * ° ><> ╱  abigail cowen,  cis female,  she/her  —  look  who’s  fresh  from  the  ferry,  aren’t  you  SAOIRSE LEARY  ?  your  eroda  brochure  says  you’re  TWENTY-THREE  and  that  you’re  currently  residing  in  MARMOTON  .  your  favourite  tourist  attraction  to  hang  around  is  ERODIAN BEACH  ,  and  the  locals  around  these  ports  would  describe  you  as  INQUISITIVE  &  INTREPID,  STUBBORN  &  IMPULSIVE  .  your  resting  fish  face  really  gives  off  LONG HAIR BLOWN BACK BY THE OCEAN BREEZE, LATE NIGHTS SPENT PLOTTING THE NEXT GREAT VOYAGE, RED LIPSTICK IMPRINTED ON A MUG OF TEA  ,  and  i’m  a  big  fan  of  the  VINTAGE CELTIC KNOT NECKLACE  you  seem  to  always  be  attached  to.  well,  if  you  see  the  minister  this  morning;  make  sure  you  head  on  home  as  quick  as  possible,  you  never  know  what  bad  luck  he  could  bring.  ╱  ooc;  kat,  23,  she/her,  ast.

tw: needles ( tattoo mention ), cancer mention, death mention

miss saoirse...... oof

GDFLSJL where do i begin with her honestly ??

full name is saoirse eve leary, affectionately called cece by her family since she was young and runs with it as her nickname !

born and raised in cork, ireland with two siblings, a working class father and Slightly upper middle class mother

her childhood wasn’t like, Majorly eventful; she was considered a bit of a tomboy which isn’t a surprise bc she’s always been a bit of a spirited, adventurous girl, has the odd nomadic moment strike her and loves to travel

had a SUPER close relationship with her maternal grandmother before she passed a few years back, still has a close one with her grandfather and paternal grandmother as they’re still living

is a big family girl overall, so much so that she’s eagerly awaiting the day she gets to be the cool aunt

had a decent cluster of pals over the years that’s likely dwindled due to everyone going their separate ways after high school

saoirse Did go to uni between her travels — and graduated — and has aspirations of becoming an anthropologist to explore other cultures and meet new people/understand them

which.. obviously ain’t happening now LFSGJGF rip

came to eroda partially bc it seems like such a pretty and quaint place, partially to explore its “ myth ” that you can never leave; her naturally curious ass questions the whole thing, at least in the sense that there’s no way to challenge your supposed fate on the island and won’t deny entertaining some conspiracy theories around the mystery

she still doesn’t understand that.. yeah, she Literally is stuck here for the rest of her life now, probably because she hasn’t made a Real attempt to put that to the test, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it FDSLKJDS

anyways she came here solo ( more than likely ) and has enjoyed her time getting to know the locals and other visitors, taking in the scenery, etc

probably took up a part-time job at sally’s tavern to cover her expenses since she lives in marmoton and it ought to be close enough for her to get to gfjlsdg

personality and everything else

a sociable, ( relatively ) fearless ginger with an eclectic taste in music and a profound appreciation for pastries.. 

despite being all about cleaner eating habits and lowering her sugar intake, she takes a cheat day or week wherever she can LSDGFJK

parties, game nights, etc, you name it ?? she’s there !

kinda competitive while we’re bringing up games and such, but she’s not about the whole sore winner/loser thing — rather she’ll groan and sulk a little before moving on

like i said before, loves to travel, loves pretty places in general so prepare yourself for an abundance of pictures on her insta feed of where she’s been or where she wants to go

loyal as hell, but she has her limit if you misuse the trust that comes with it

she’s just v wholesome and has a mix of small town city/endlessly curious energy with a sprinkle of being the life of the party……. kinda

however, she’s the most ?? hard to place person all the same

that feeling of freedom that comes with her exploring and all makes her a little hard to tie down; she doesn’t plan on staying in eroda ( which is unfortunate for her considering.... fglsdk ) as she has more to accomplish and see

very much does her own thing and doesn’t wanna hear any criticism for it

as if she’s that out of line DLJGDSLK but still

always wants to try new things, no matter how dumb they might be; except for anything that’s a Legitimate death sentence or is.. a GENUINELY dumb idea, she has enough common sense to know what Not to do KSGFDJDS

has little tattoos on her wrist and behind her left ear for her Favourite trips/symbols/whatever and her family, will let y’all know what they’d be whenever i figure them out since i’m so damn picky with these things

a Big supporter for buying/investing locally, has little trinkets and such to prove it

in fact, she has a collection of thrifted or vintage clothes from her travels and back home, and a chest full of cute jewelry she switches between daily

one piece she wears all the time — only parts with it when she sleeps — is the celtic knot pendant mentioned in her app that’s become something of an heirloom on her mom’s side of the family !

she has the cutest irish lilt in my mind, kinda the same as miss ronan’s and aisling bea’s

really loves her freckles, partially bc i love her freckles and my own :(

tea > coffee, but she loves coffee-flavoured things; bring her a peppermint or camomile tea as her shift winds down or.. idk, just because, and she’ll be forever indebted to you fldjgs

loves to hang out by the water in her free time — she loves the scent and sounds that comes with it, it’s one of the few places where she can put her mind to rest for a bit

the sound of rain hitting a rooftop is her perfect sleep soundtrack

kinda wants to adopt a pet, but doesn’t wanna leave them if she goes on an excursion where they can’t come with her :(

baths with epsom salts, candles that smell like lavender or something just as pleasant and calming, etc during a night in soothes the hell out of her soul

top three products she has in her bag at all times, besides personal info and her phone ? lip balm, a powder spf and mints FGLGKSD

btw.. miss ginger hair and freckles will probably gasp at anyone going out with no spf on them and scold tf out of them bc ‘ hello, melanoma ?? sunburn ?!? ’

wanted connections

childhood pal(s) she’s bumped into: reunited by chance, cece’s glad she has a couple of people she knows to keep her grounded when her mind runs wild at what Might happen when she decides to try her hand at leaving

cousin(s), other relatives: idk, figured it’d be fun for her to have a family member or two running around and not realizing the other relative is the Only one they’ll see in person from here on out

best pal(s) in eroda: someone she’s taken to since arriving, likely spending their free-time eating pastries on the beach, talking shit over tea, little market dates, going to the rainzone half-drunk and trying to rope each other into new things

opposites attract.. of sorts sfdlgkj: basically just a traveler meeting a local who’s never been off eroda, telling all about their ( quite limited ) excursions and bonding in other areas over time !

hook-ups, fwbs.... ENEMIES with benefits?? idk, point is the girl’s probably gotten laid since arriving, it’s all a matter of the situation that fits your muse(s) best FHGSDKJ

roommate: she lives in marmoton, likely in a rental of sorts, and i can’t see her living alone given the situation on the island ( though i’ve viewed her as the type to live alone in a space for one and a half people any other time tbh ). so she has just One and they make the arrangement work ! depending on their personalities and such, we’ll figure out how well they get along Exactly, if at all

ex ??: the girl’s bi so y’all can toss anyone at her for this one as well ! question marks bc i was thinking it’d be an on-and-off thing but maybe not come the time i post this intro LSGKD. basically they were seeing each other for a few months, she fell hard Quick/they moved kinda fast bc they were vibing and they would distance themselves upon realizing this — though i see cece giving them distance bc she knows they need it rather than needing it herself. if it IS on-and-off, they’re definitely off rn and treading lightly ( though she finds it hard to stray and hates things not being fully resolved no matter what happens ?? ), so all it’s a bit angsty regardless of how it goes dfgkljsdg

fellow mystery fiend: someone please fuel her curiosity to the max and try to crack the impossible case of eroda’s captive capabilities with her.. and proceed to watch true crime shows with her when that clearly goes to shit SDFKLJ

older sibling or mentor dynamic: someone to look out for her/teach her some things to help fully support herself/give her advice when she probably needs it most.. idk, i just like the idea of someone becoming a stand-in relative type of friend to her 

just give her someone to confide in, to swim at night with, stargaze and all that cute shit, be it platonically or otherwise !

she’s not gonna click with everyone and that’s fine, BUT maybe they run in the same social circles and cece thinks they seem nice enough, but they never really talk amongst themselves ?? just a case of awkwardly starting from scratch and seeing where it takes us !

[thanx-idonttry]

Wolf Queen.

King!Bakugou x WareWolf!Reader.

Neither of you two liked it, infact, you two hated it. King Enji, and both yours and his parents just saw it as an opportunity to make themselves happy. The King saw it as an opportunity to get rid of you, he saw you as a monstrous abomination. He didn't much care for Bakugou either, hoping this arrangement would be a way to keep him and his dragons out of his kingdom. Prince Todoroki was mad, he and his friends loved hanging out with. They didn't think you were a monstrous beast, but they knew you weren't completely human either. A kind, funny, beautiful, creature that has thoughts and feelings too.

Your parents saw it as an upgrade to you guys' old life, they got to live in a castle, and their daughter is a queen, it's a win win. You didn't think so, at the time you barely knew Bakugou. You knew Kirishima more than you knew Bakugou. Everytime you were around each other, he was yelling, you could hear him approaching the city from far away. He made your ears hurt, and he wasn't really a nice person to anyone, you barely saw him be nice to his best friend. You wanted this to be some kind of sick joke, but it wasn't.

His parents wanted their only son to take his place on the throne before he could get himself hurt and/or killed. They don't mind that their son wanted to be a warrior, but they wanted him to also realized he was their heir, their only heir. They know their son is fearless and he can act first, think later. They needed a queen just in case something does happen. They know that he has... Let's say he has a hard time making friends. You definitely wasn't his friend, fuck anyone who pulls your tail when you hand them a grade A insult when they deserved it.

Bakugou didn't have time for marriage, and if he did, he wouldn't have chosen your mangy ass. Your wolf ears, fangs, tail, and claws reminded him that you weren't human, why you? He wondered, and you wondered the same thing. When the wedding day came, you two mostly pouted and mumble complaints about everything. At the reception, he was sitting with his friends, and you sat with yours. It was obvious that this is not a happy couple.

After the first month of being married, you became Queen, and King. Living here wasn't as bad as you thought, during the day, you have plenty of convenient ways to ignore him. It's the sleeping part that bugs you two. In the agreement, it says you two need to truly act like a married couple. At first, it was awkward, sleeping as far as you two could from each other. It took a few weeks for the awkwardness to subside, but one night changed you two Dynamic. You had suddenly disappeared for 3 nights and 4 days because of the full moon.

You had snuck away in the middle of the, so he was confused waking up to an empty bed. When he couldn't find you, he lost his shit. "WHERE IS SHE?!" He would constantly yell around the castle, sending people to try and look around and bring you back, and looking out the window for you. Your parents had to explain how you react to the moon, it still didn't give him peace at mind. On the fourth day, you had returned. Bakugou was in you two bedroom when you, in your wolf form, elegantly jumped through the window. You landed on the bed and curled up, expecting to sleep.

Bakugou marched right over to you and snatched the sheet you were sleeping on from under you, causing you to fall with a yelp. "DON'T YOU EVER DISAPPEAR ON ME LIKE THAT AGAIN YOU MANGY MUTT!!" You shifted back into your human phase, "What the hell Katsuki?!" "THANKS TO YOU, IM SLEEP DEPRIVED! I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY!" "WHAT DOES ANY OF-" You paused, sensing his worried vibe. Your ears flattened, you never intended on worrying him. Your whole demeanor changed, you hugged him. "I'm sorry, I never meant to worry you." Bakugou, who was surprised, but relieved that you were back quietly grumbled: "Don't do it again."

"I'll give a heads up next time, oh and Katsuki?"

"What?"

"Get me out of bed like that again, and I'll chew your fucking arm off."

From then on, Bakugou sleeps with an arm around you. It surprised both of you how much you care about each other, neither of you don't know when you two started to care, but it's too late now. You two started to actually get to know each other, eventually forming a genuine bond.

Your parents were weary at first because of his brash attitude, but they soon realized that you two might be great for each other. Of course they felt bad for basically selling you off, but they knew that they wouldn't do this if they thought this was a terrible idea. His parents seems to like you, especially his mom. She demands her son to stop yelling at you, and you two love talking and relaxing in the garden. It didn't take long for this family of strangers to become one big family.

---

Eventually, he started inviting you on his adventures, one of the adventures was camping. You, him, and Kirishima needed a break from the castle and Bakugou brought them here. The camp site was deep in some woods in the mountains. Bakugou knew that you and Kirishima would like it, a lot of land and it's quiet. When night fall came, Kirishima was setting up sleeping areas, you wanted to show Bakugou something you discovered while exploring in your wolf form.

"Ta-da!" You said as you presented a medium sized hot springs. "I figured you could relax, you're always so tense. Plus no one can bother you, it's what a King deserves, right?" You looked at him to see his reaction, he wore a smirk "When you put it like that, that sounds fucking amazing. I didn't even know about this, how did you find it?" "Hey, don't worry about how, be happy that I did." Bakugou removed his cape, and you blushed as you stared at his upper body. "Like what you see?" He commented. You blushed furiously and turned away from embarrassment. "Im your fucking husband, you don't have to shy away." "But, we never actually... Did marital things..." "We never fucked is what you're saying?" "Don't be so blunt!" "Do you want to?" "W-what?!" "Do you want to fuck? I know it crossed your mind, it crossed mine." Your entire body was on fire, of course sex with Bakugou crossed your mind, but you felt that you always turned him off. "I-I well.. It did, it just that... I thought you always find me disgusting. Considering that I'm half wolf." Bakugou looked at you, he looked at you with a look you've never seen before.

He walked up to you, his hands ghosted your body for a few seconds before his hand landed on your right boob. His hand was on top of your clothing, but he could feel your nipples through it. His thumb started to lightly graze it. Then his lips came up to your ear. "You're my Queen, I find everything about you sexy. Especially your fangs, and your ears." He pinched your nipple, and bit down on your neck. A sinful sound came out your mouth, it riled him up more. "I've been watching you closely (Y.N), and I've learned a few things about you. Specifically your heating cycle." You gasped, you thought that you kept that concealed from him. You assumed that he was going to make fun of you during those moments. "It starts tonight, that's why I planned this camping trip." He pulled you closer to him, then he started to remove your clothing. "Bathe with me." "Katsuki!" "You're my wife! And believe it or not... I love you. I love everything about you, and I'm tired of acting like roommates. I want to bathe with you, and I want to make love to you. And I know you feel the same way.

You pulled away from him, you were feeling too many things, and your mind was running a million miles a minute. He wasn't wrong, you've been feeling this a month after your marriage, but you two never really kissed, or anything beyond that. So, to have him do a 360 like this was befuddling. "(Y.N)" he called out to you, he looked worried, feeling maybe he went too far. "Katsuki. Kiss me." He damn near ran to you and crashed his lips on to you. That's when you felt that meant everything he just said, the way he kissed you was like lightning. You pulled away from him and looked at him, "Okay." He pulled you into another kiss, then started to remove your clothing, you decided to do the same. He began to lead you into the water with him, without breaking the kiss. The hot water felt great, his hands on your body made it better. He made you wrap your legs around him. He kissed from your lips to your chest, feeling him grow harder. You whimpered and rubbed against him, he groaned pulling you closer onto his body, he wanted to feel you, and this wasn't enough. "You're making it hard to take things slow." He told you, you bit your lip and grinded against him. "Fuck taking it slow. I want you now."

He was surprised, but respected your decision. One of his hands left your hips and gently squeezed your neck. He then started to adjust you, anticipation on both of your faces as he rubbed his tip against your core. "Remember." He said once he got you in the desired position. "You asked for this." He slid inside you, both of you letting out breathy moans/groans. His hand never left your neck, even when your body arched from pleasure. "Fuck, I've been missing out. You feel so fucking amazing." His strokes started off deep, and hard. Losing control for a moment, but then he just sat there, feeling all of you, pushing as deep as he can. You clenched your walls around him, causing his dick to twitch inside you. "Fucking hell!" He groaned. Your moans were in different pitches, each one is more delectable than the last, "You were a virgin, weren't you." You couldn't answer verbally, you were too busy trying to catch your soul from leaving your body. He pulled out slowly then quickly slid into you roughly. Your moan was so loud, your claws left marks on his back, and you bit down on him so hard, your fangs left marks. You licked up the blood, he felt all of that, and didn't care. His adrenaline was up, and everything you were doing felt great to him.

"Answer me." He demanded, he had lost control of himself again. "Y-yes. Is that bad?" You had asked, his strokes got insane. "That means I'm the first, and only one to deflower you like this." He growled in your ear, gripping your hair, it made your body shudder from pleasure. He was getting off on everything that he was doing to you, and how you were reacting. He gripped your chin and brought you face to face with him. "Look at me." Your eyes, which you didn't even realize were closed tightly, slowly found his eyes. You nearly came when those Red irises stared into your soul, they were filled with lust, and power. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head, trying to prolong this moment. "I said look at me." You shook your head 'No.' "Oh really?" He smirked. This was supposed to be a bath, a bath to clean yourselves. And here you two are, having hot, filthy, sex. Oh the irony, you two didn't care. His lips and tongue found your nipple, his hand that was gripping your hair, found your nub and started to massage it. "Look at me. I know you're close, I want you to look at me when you cum."

He was close too, he was debating impregnating you. You had a child bearing body, plus your pussy felt great to him. When your eyes found his again, you came, and you came hard. Feeling, hearing, and watching you cum helped him make up his mind. He was gonna truly make you his, right here, right now. He wrapped his arms around you, strokes getting slower, but rougher. He knew he couldn't hold his climax any longer, he bit down on your neck as he filled you with his cum. "Did-did you just cum in me?" "I hope it's a boy." He smirked as he pulled out. You were so shook from everything he did to you, but you loved it as well. "Come on, let's clean off." He said. He started to clean you off, smiling down at you. "Oh my goodness, Kirishima is probably worried!" "Don't worry about that Shitty dragon."

When you two finally got back to the camp ground, Kirishima was by the fire with a huge smirk on his face. "Had fun?" Kirishima asked. "Shut the fuck up, I know you heard!" "But I didn't want to! Dragon ears are sensitive!" Your face was mortified hearing this, "h-how much did you hear?" "Enough to know that it might be a little Bakugou is gonna be running around soon." You died from embarrassment, you went into the tent, not facing no one. "Oh my goodness, I can't! Stop talking about it!" You yelled from inside. Even though they couldn't see it, you had the biggest smile on your face and held your stomach.

"And By The Way! I Hope It's A Girl!" You shouted back.

[firesfelt]

hiya ! ya girl pace is back with another of her questionable creations. i should be around to get writing & reply to messages today as things are looking nice and quiet for me today, but i just wanna get some info up on my gals before i get goin’ ! so without any further ado, here’s gwennie !

( antonia thomas, 28, cis woman, she/her ) GWENDOLINE JEFFERSON was seen listening to LET THE RAIN BY SARA BAREILLES on their way to MIDWIFE. GWEN is known to be NURTURING & STUBBORN.

➜ born and raised in huntsville, gwen’s never been able to call anywhere else home -- and if you ask her, she never will. whether she wants to see the great, big world is a different question, but she proudly claims herself to be a realist. she just doesn’t think seeing greater things is an option for her. 

➜ the first few years of gwen’s life were full of change ( and a lot of the time, sadness ) as her mother sadly passed away a few days after giving birth to her, leaving gwen’s father, michael, alone to raise gwen and her two older brothers without any warning. the following four years were filled with michael trying his damn best ( and succeeding for the most part ) but gwen’s life took another tragic turn when her father, too, passed away after being involved in a car accident. gwen and her two brothers were then taken in by their aunt and uncle, who went on to raise them. 

➜ in terms of demeanour, and the overall vibe she gives off, i’m very much thinking of jill from it’s a sin as a reference ? nurturing, kind, and that friend who looks after everybody ---- whether it’s good for her or not. but she’s far more stubborn and no-nonsense, which comes in handy at work. 

➜ gwen’s always been a caring soul, and wanted to be a nurse from as long as she could remember. however, the more she looked into it, and the more she thought on it, she knows that there was no good reason her mother should’ve passed away when she did, and gwen wanted to make a difference. she wanted women and their babies to be safer than she and her own mother were, to look after them and make them feel secure at the scariest moment of their lives. 

➜ as i said, she’s very caring, and has a great bedside manner, but when it comes down to it, she can really put her foot down and give the tough love that is sometimes needed. she takes zero shit. 

➜ in her personal life, she’s always chasing contentedness. with a job like her’s, it can be hard to focus on much else, so it becomes very easy for her to fake a grin and pull up a mask when needed --- which, sadly, is often. there’s always something going wrong in her life, whether it’s a broken boiler or being shat on by a bird before work, and it makes her day-to-day a little chaotic. the problem is, she’ll never admit defeat. she’ll never ask for help, never let her guard down, never agree that maybe she needs a break, or a lie down, or to let someone cook her dinner for once, instead of depending on whatever’s quick and available after a long shift. 

➜ i feel like she’s always having to rearrange things with friends, and her time management is pretty poor, making her quite difficult to catch up with. i think that’s an interesting point of conflict, y’know ? gwen constantly rearranging things, flaking on plans, forgetting to meet with someone, all that stuff ? it makes romance hard, of course, and i feel like that’d be a good lil’ plot for gwen ? both of them trying really hard to make something work, as they’re really into eachother, but working wild shifts and being so busy/unorganised making it really hard ? maybe even something that does,,,, sort of never really work out ? also might keep her brothers vague other than what i already have in mind and submit wcs for ‘em ? OOH, and a roommate would be good for her !! 

➜ speaking of her brothers, they’re all very close. the two of them are closer to eachother than they are to her, but she’s always pinned that on ‘brothers having a stronger bond than brothers and sisters’ and the fact they’re quite close in age, and gwen’s a few years behind. while their upbringing could’ve driven them apart, it only brought them closer together. their aunt and uncle went on to have three children of their own a few years after welcoming gwen and co. into their home, so the house was always busy, and there was always someone around to chat to. her aunt and uncle remain an important part of her life, too, and she’s very grateful for them. when she can ( which isn’t as often as any of them would like, nor as often as she plans to ) she still goes over on sundays for family dinner. 

➜ she’s never been a woman of religion, but she has a lot of faith in things like healing crystals, and relies a lot on her spirituality for comfort. for a medial woman, too, she’s not opposed to more holistic methods of healing, either; she just accepts that different things work for different people.

➜ again, i have such bad timing, as i’m very aware i’ve got a work zoom thing soon and am on a time limit as a type this lmao, but i really want to get it up --- it might end up being a bit vaguer than emika’s intro ( but tbh, i haven’t read that since posting it so it could entirely be nonsense ) 

➜ fun fact: when i was brainstorming gwen, her fc was actually nicolette robinson. but nic’s resources are pretty limited ( i should know, i made them ! ) and i’m,,, lazy and busy and definitely plan on making gifs of her in more things but Not Right Now, so went with my sweet gal antonia, who i also love ! 

➜ for the future, gwen just wants to feel sort of,,, free ? she’s a bit too tied up and burdened at the moment, and probably has some stuff to work through. i’d love for someone to open her eyes to all the possibilities of life, and that her lil goals are achievable and it’s not a bad thing to want,,, more ? she’s not like emika in that she can switch off from work when she’s not in it, and doesn’t work any more than she needs to ( well, maybe she’ll extend her shift sometimes if a lady’s thiiiiiis close to having her baby as gwen’s supposed to clock off and leave her, but all the gals on the ward do that ) but because of the shift work, it really turns her life upside down and sometimes she needs encouragement that there is so much MORE outside of the hospital. 

➜ i’ll be on discord in a bit to plot and chat, so if you wanna plot with gwennie or anything, i’m happy for y’all to message me ! and i’ll get to my other messages then too !! 

[ofcloudsandstars]

It is Gemini New Moon and I am back! (for now) My life is still a maelstrom but the dust is starting to settle.

I’ve been getting more into different forms of divining and I bought a pendulum while I was in Amsterdam that I would like to try out. I will probably give more info on that later. 

Some highlights from when I was away:

Aries Season: New Moon I had to leave the apartment cause my roommate was being extremely noisy again. I went to a gallery where some witches and artists had their things and a witch I met at Treadwells when I first moved here remembered me and we made friends. She offered me some free sound healing sessions at her place since she wanted to practice. I also met a wild aries witch who is an aries poster child in everyway, she also has short white hair and paints red markings on her face (I thought it was for tonight its an everyday look) and has futuristic tribal blade runner vibes. When I got home at 1pm I exploded on my roommates who wanted to have a party (They knew I had to get up at 5am for work) and declared I was moving out. Did a million find a new home spells and started hunting

Learned how to make bioplastics and bonded with the teacher at the design museum over alchemy. Making bioplastics is so similar to what alchemists were doing in their hunt for stripping down something to it's core elemental material and reshaping it to whatever they like. It also sparked my potential new interest for diving into industrial design as a career.

Went to see my sister in Paris and saw the Notre dame burn. The night air smelled like fire and brimstone

ended Aries season with a bang when my sagittarian witch friend was going through a breakup and bought me to an easter/spring inspired fetish party where everyone was dressed either as catholic gay kings, floral nymphs in pastel bondage or frisky rabbits. They had berlin DJs and the top floor was flooded with red lighting. I ran into the Aries witch there near some ritual of people in pig masks rubbing paper on someone's latex to cause some friction. I got home at 2 and had to get up at 8am for work.

Taurus Season After intense pressure hunting I found a new home though I knew I wouldn't be satisfied there. The woman who owns the house turned out to be pretty christian and doesn't want anyone bought over without her permission. So the house hunt continues.

Beltane was spent with some nice witch friends in the Heaths (of course) we found a nice clearing in the woods that was super secluded with bluebells growing everywhere. We had a blanket and bought everything from floral incense, to crystals (I got a jade crystal ring for everyone to charge and wear) to flowers (we each bought so many that we ended up casting a circle with flowers like roses, bluebells, carnations etc), and foods! I made truffle oil melted cheese sandwhiches and beetroot pea and spinach sandwhiches and sandwhich cookies with rose buttercream and matcha with gold dust and lemon curd lavender with silver dust. I also bought grass vodka to be mixed with elderflower soda. My friends bought a lot of things from blueberries to flower wines to weed to scented oils and candles. I also finished the last of my shrooms with them and the trees felt very much like sentinels though in the sense that they seemed to be watching us in our witchy shenanigans instead of a sense that they were protecting us. We each lead part in a ritual and told stories but I bought black heart candles to purify us from any attachments we had from former relationships to bring clarity or a fresh start. A new witch friend I made who was invited made us do some estatic dancing in the circle (in truth she was cold cause it was cold) but it was a great way to get the energy going and moved our sacral energy upwards when she made us twerk to attract love to ourselves lol. Then my sagittarian witch friend anointed us with oils for clarity and love and we all smelled really nice like nectary flowers. We stayed until it got so dark that the distant city lights were the only thing giving us light. We packed everything up and didn't leave a trace.

Eros moving into virgo amongst other aspects has made my sexual frusterations intense plus that venus mars square was really painful to go through. I got closer to my work crush who seems to like me too but it wouldn't work out as a FWB unless we kept it really secret because of our work position. So I decided to do a lust spell to attract another lover with a lust candle I made back when I lived in NJ. I gathered it when I was taking some stuff back during christmas and realized the love spell candles I made during last valentines day magic fair still had a lot of energy. There was only 1 lust spell candle left cause they all sold (The candles were all heart shaped and the size of your hand. The black was for cleansing relationships and was ylang ylang scented with added charcoal, the violet was for new friendships with lavender, the pink was for romance with rose oil and the red was for lust and hookups with red rose and cinnamon.) The history with the lust spell candle came from a previous successful lust spell when I used a huge red dick shaped hoodoo candle to attract a FWB on the taurus full moon and it was very successful but I still had a lot of the candle left over so I recycled the successful spell into the red wax for the new lust candles. Anyway I was going into this back story because I burned this on the full moon and it burned bright and strong the whole night into the next day for 13 hours straight. When it reached the end no wax was left, it instead grew into a massive flame which split into 3. I was mesmerized watching it, it seemed like the middle flame was me or someone having to make a decision. It went for a smaller flame on the left and they grew into a bigger flame as the little one died down then BANG!! the disk it was on E X P L O D E D and shards of glass flew Everywhere... There were pieces of dried rose petal which was the last fragment of the candle the fire had to burn on that scattered in the air like a mini meteor shower and lit little fires on the carpet of my bedroom floor. As I was cleaning I wasn't sure how to process the meaning. It was supposed to be a road opening spell to attract a FWB my way but the aggression seemed like an intense conclusion. So far I will see how it unfolds. My official Eros Return is the 10th of this month.

While I found a really cool dream apartment by the heaths I wasn't sure if it felt like the right place. I found a magical tree that was like it's own altar or temple in the woods. It had blood red leaves and the light underneath it shown like autumn. Stepping under it's cavernous-like red canopy felt like entering another realm. Underneath the ground was littered with shells from some dead seeds and the trunk of the huge tree had a large open mouth with thick saucer-sized brown mushrooms growing out. It looked like an altar so I prayed to it to help find me a home. A week later I found a nicer apartment on the east side to the park.

Gemini Season

Gemini season started off aggressively and with a lot of confusion.

I went to Amsterdam this past weekend! It's a beautiful city with big fairy energy. They are obsessed with flowers, you can buy bulbs everywhere and flowers are growing from every corner, there is nature everywhere, you can get shrooms and weed everywhere, the homes are old and beautiful with details that remind of you fairytales or iced gingerbread houses, the air is filled with sounds of chimes and bells from everyone's bikes, you have alluring enchantresses ensnaring dumb tourist men into their lairs as men glue themselves to the windows peering eagerly into their other worlds, you have shops with no clocks with the most comfortable seating to sell you joints for 4 euros while you sit there for god knows how long in a perpetual high as you eat snack after snack. Also since its the lighter half of the year the sun sets at 9:30PM and the sky isn't completely dark until 10:15. I tried to look into their urban planning and architecture centers to learn more about the city's design. It's so harmonious with nature its inspiring. I took home some shrooms (One I am excited to try is called Roaring Dragon which would be appropriate for Litha lol), some wizard like long wooden pipes, a mini mermaid tarot deck, a crystal pendulum, some goblin incense I was enticed to buy cause I was dumb high in this fairy themed shop (and in truth I wanted to buy everything cause I was dumb high and thought everything was GREAT) and a love attraction candle.

Now here I am ready to start a new moon cycle. I am really overwhelmed but I want to get my feet back on the ground lol.

[monsterleadmehome]

Reylo Fic Rec Masterpost

Since I’ve been asked a couple times for fic recommendations, I decided to create a master list, which I’ll (hopefully) come back to and update. This is by no means comprehensive, but they are works I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and wanted to share. You can also always check out my bookmarks page on AO3.

I have updated these with ratings, but be warned they are mostly M or E. Smut not your thing? Check my smut-free recs here! Remember to mind the tags! 

*Indicates WIP

Let’s start with some little known fics. These are all under 100 kudos as of June 19, 2018. Make sure to leave a comment and/or give kudos if you read!

Ties That Bind* by @phoenixsolo -- Rated M. This fic is wonderfully written and jumps between multiple POVs. Also some great Poe and Wedge Antilles interaction which is fun. 

Holonet Mail by MelodeeKS99 (not sure of tumblr) -- Rated T. This is the cutest You’ve Got Mail AU one-shot but still takes place in universe. Ben and Rey are both smugglers. Guys, it’s adorable.

A Veil of Smoke* by @binarysvnrise -- Rated M. ASOIAF AU that is just masterfully thought out and so well-written. NO LONGER ON HIATUS. 

come and knock on my door* by jadeddiva -- Rated T. This is a really cute modern AU where Ben is a programmer at a startup and Rey is his college student neighbor. They meet because both their roommates have kicked them out to have sex.

every inch between us becomes light years by @spookykingdomstarlight -- Rated M. A beautiful one-shot that is both super sexy and sad. It hurts, but in a good way.

Cloudbusting by @bratanimus -- Rated T. Beautifully written and short. Just read it.

In-Universe Fics:

Sword of the Jedi series by @kylorenvevo -- Part 1 Rated T, Part 2 Rated M. Are you even a real Reylo if you haven’t read this? J/K, but seriously this was one of the earliest fics I read when I fell into the Reylo trash bin, and it is a masterpiece. AU where Rey and Ben grew up together at the Jedi Academy. It reads like canon novels. Not kidding.

Crossroads series by @gizkasparadise -- Part 1 T, Part 2 E, Part 3 T. This is an emotional rollercoaster in 3 parts. It’s got angst, it’s got the pre-TLJ Force Bond, it’s got memory loss, and some really kickass supporting characters. I just love it so much.

You’ll Be the One to Turn by @postedbygaslight -- Rated M. This is THE post-TLJ fic you need to be reading. It’s still a WIP at this point, but it’s sure to be completed soon, and like I told Posted before, if EP IX winds up totally letting me down, this will be the only version of events I accept. It is insanely well-written, gripping, and emotional. Just read it. 

Infectious by @dvrkrey -- Rated E. Also known as the sick!fic. It’s a poignant hurt/comfort post-TLJ imagining with a beautiful first time love scene. This one has a special place in my heart.

In The Early Dawn of Happiness by @corseque -- Rated E. GAH! This is beautiful and touching and even though it’s a reylohardkinks fill, it’s so much more than that. It is profoundly sweet, and if we’re lucky, there will be another chapter. 

landscape with a blur of conquerors* by @kylorenvevo -- Rated E. I’m assuming if you haven’t heard of this fic, you’ve been trapped on Ahch-To with Luke for too long. The arranged marriage AU with plenty of Hapan couture fashion to keep poor Kylo occupied.

Across the Stars* by @nite0wl29 -- Rated E. A Beauty and the Beast AU set in-universe (on Chandrila!). Rey falls for Kylo without him ever taking the mask off, and I think that’s beautiful. It’s got all the best elements of TFA, TLJ, and BatB. This one also should be wrapping up soon.

Songs of Innocence, Songs of Wisdom* by @cosmo-gonika -- Rated E. Another post-TLJ fic that has been blowing my mind. It has some mystical Force elements and some steamy scenes with Rey and Kylo. It does a really great job of showing where our star-crossed lovers are still not on the same page (but hopefully they’ll be there by the end!). 

The Descent of Ishtar by @assortedfruitsnacks212 -- Rated M. This is a trippy post-TLJ fic that is super mystical and really intriguing. It’s so well-written, and I might have to light a fire under the author to get her to update this because I NEED MORE.

Id by @dreamsdescent -- Rated E. A smutty one-shot where Rey fulfills Ben’s darkest fantasy. It’s hot. Do yourself a favor and read it.

Mood Lighting by @raven-maiden -- Rated E. This is based on the closeup of the MF captain’s quarters in Solo. It is a beautiful one shot with humor, soul, and (yes!) smut. Can’t believe it’s her first fic! 

World In My Eyes by @mygrandmathinksimsassy -- Rated M. Apparently I had been sleeping on this post-TLJ gem? It’s 96k words and recently completed, so you can settle down with this on a rainy day. Beautifully written, really sexy, and has a happy ending! I loved it.

AU Fics:

Blades Crossed by @the-reylo-void -- Rated M. A really amazing figure skating modern AU a la The Cutting Edge.

Stranger Than Fiction by @daxwashere -- Rated E. Seriously? Probably my favorite modern AU ever. Ben Solo is an author who needs to give his main character a love interest; enter Rey, his muse. It deals with some pretty real shit while also being incredibly full of heart (and some hot smut!).

Left Handed Kisses by @ever-so-reylo -- Rated E. The fuck buddies to lovers AU I never knew I needed. Rey is an Assistant District Attorney and Ben is a criminal defense lawyer. It’s hot, it’s sweet, it’s got lots of emotional constipation - you won’t be disappointed.

In the Name of Magic series by @waterlilyrose -- Part 1 E, Part 2 E, Part 3 T. The Hogwarts AU of my dreams! Kylo is a Snape-ish professor in Slytherin and Rey is a Gryffindor professor (of course). It’s great because it incorporates everything you love about Hogwarts, but focuses on the teachers instead of the students. Luke is Headmaster and Leia is Minister for Magic and there’s a very special painting of a snarky muggle that steals quite a few scenes. I absolutely adore this fic.

Dark Horse by @womp-rat-fever -- Rated T. This was a gift to me that I won in a tumblr giveaway. It is the Outlaw!Ben / Sheriff!Rey AU you never knew you always wanted! It’s a one-shot but it’s packed with action and pretty hot, too. I also made a playlist for it here.

The Promise by @nerdherderette -- Rated E. Wow. This is the most enthralled I think I’ve been with a one-shot. It’s 13k words, but reads like a 500 page historical fiction novel. If you like The Count of Monte Cristo, this is the fic for you.

Bedroom Hymns* by @drnucleus -- Rated E. Modern AU where Rey is a psychologist and Ben is an architect. Healthy BDSM where Rey is the Dom and Ben is the sub (although they haven’t quite gotten that far in the relationship yet). This is just really smart and eloquent. I’m a fan.

Fire Away* by @reylolujah -- Not rated. Disclaimer: I’ve only read the first chapter of this, but it’s SO GOOD. Laser tag AU with a really funny and great set up. Excited to see where it’s going! (I have it on good authority that we’re getting a half-naked Ben in a forthcoming chapter.)

A/B/O Dynamics:

Yes, I finally needed to add a section just for a/b/o. Sorry not sorry because I love it now. These are all E, for obvious reasons.

Your Pretty Little Heart by @ever-so-reylo -- modern AU where Ben and Rey are both doctors. And both terrible at admitting their feelings. It’s hot and super-well written. A good starter a/b/o fic!

Hunger* by @benperor-ren -- a canonverse a/b/o that picks up after Crait but with Rey in heat and Kylo coming to her aid, *wink wink nod nod*

Algorithms* by @grey-orchids -- the only first person POV fic I’ve ever enjoyed. This one is done so well it almost subverts the trope? Rey is a feminist and an IT person at a tech company run by Kylo. She goes into heat and things get interesting. *waggles eyebrows*

Summer Heat* by @isharan -- slow burn a/b/o you say? Yeah, and it hella works. Rey goes to spend the summer at her granfather’s cabin in Canada and is drawn to the outcast alpha Ben. It’s soooo good.

the thick of it* by @dvrkrey -- so steamy. It’s got hunter!Rey and lead alpha of the pack Kylo and Dothraki vibes for sure. Just check it out, you’ll like it. ;)

No One But You* by @faequeentitania -- a canonverse a/b/o started for Reylo week that started as mostly smut and now has plot! It’s really engaging and I’m excited for the last few chapters!

Hawthorne House by @strawberrycupcakehuckleberrypie -- I recently binged this and it is sweet/hot/amazing. Rey works at a B&B in Savannah, Ben Solo is a guest during a hurricane.

Oh and since people have also mentioned it, I will link to my works here at the bottom:

Dawn of the Rebellion series -- Rated T parts 1 & 2. This started as a one-shot I couldn’t get out of my head, then got a multi-chapter second part added on by popular demand. It’s my EP IX imaginings and it’s full of soft Reylo. There is a smutty epilogue in the works.

Truth Be Told* -- Rated M. The Alias AU I started for the RFFA exchange and am now taking too long to finish. If you like espionage and UST, I’ve got you covered!

smutty one-shots (all E): Chariot (modern AU) | Training Day (canon-verse) | Code 288 (Brooklyn 99 inspired) | Careless Whisper (80′s AU)

That’s about it for now, but I’ve got about 5 pages of “marked for later” fics I need to dig into, so keep an eye out for this list to be updated!

[not-in-the-box]

Army Of Invisibles

A/n: This was written for @sharingwritingprompts contest and uses the two prompts from that.

Trigger warning: there is a homophobic and trans-phobic character, I do not in anyways support her views.

“Kiera, I want you to meet my roommate, Addison.” Dean gestured towards a mid toned woman with long, brown hair in a high ponytail. The woman’s clothes were smothered in a variety of colours of chalk and old paint stains. “Addy, this is Kiera from work.”

“Kiera who brings in muffins on fridays?” Addy shook the other woman’s hand. “Dean only turns up on fridays for the muffins. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Dean laughed slightly before leaving to greet more guests.

“I found cops prefer muffins to donuts here,” Kiera chuckled. “And I had to do something to get accepted by them.”

“Why’s that then? Cause they’re sexist dickheads?” Addy asked, a slight hint of confusion reaching her pretty blue eyes. “I bet you could do the job in heels, they probably can’t say the same.”

“I dunno about doing it in heels, but it’s not sexism usually anyway.” Kiera laughed some more, letting it reach her green eyes. “Usually it’s trans-phobia I gotta be careful of.”

“You’re trans? I had, like, no idea.” Addy had never been good at hiding her surprise. “We’re both LGBTQ! That’s fab, I've never met a cop who’s not cis and straight.”

“That’s why I decided to be one, there aren’t enough of us so we don’t get protected often.” Kiera revealed.

“Don’t I know it. Us women get enough from misogynistic douchebags, without adding homophobia or transphobia.” Addy responded. The conversation continued from there into a sharing of coming out stories and how they realised.

“So your mother disowned you?” Kiera responded. “That’s harsh. She has no idea what she’s missing, you seem pretty cool to me.” “Thanks. My dad still sends me birthday cards though.” Addy beamed from the compliment. “He messages me every time Amedeus shares a new prophecy with jokes about how he’s about to save the world, along with everyone else in town.”

“Except us, the prophecies are never vague enough to include us.” Kiera pointed out. “We get left to be Damsels in distress.”

“I reckon you’d rock the princess in a tower life style.” Addy joked. “I don’t think a prince would be ready for me though.”

“I already found my prince, he keeps telling me to tell Amedeus how stupid his prophecies are.” The woman revealed. “He probably wouldn’t listen though, because we don’t exist in his eyes.”

“We’ll make him listen.” Addy flashed her perfect teeth in a mischievous grin. “Men don’t often pick up on my massive gay vibes, if I switch on the charm, he may listen to us.”

“You realise he’s like 80, right?”

“He’s still a straight man though.”

“Sounds like we have a plan then.” Kiera agreed. By the time Dean returned to their conversation, they already had their quest for equality planned.

The duo found the location Amedeus was supposed to talk with the Gods from, where his prophecies were dreamt up. His influence was large and extensive, due to his blessing, and it was common knowledge that the Gods favoured him. No one dared upset or contradict him, lest the Gods send a prophecy of punishment for them.

It wasn’t too far a journey to the mountain and they assumed he would live in one of the towns nearby. So, with a van packed ready for the road trip ahead, they set off on their adventure.

The conversation drifted from the latest prophecy (‘a man will defeat a great evil in his life and change his fate forever’), to the rumours of new shopping centres in their town. They discussed music - each hearing at least one song on the radio they loved over the course of the morning - and about why they’d chosen art or policing as careers. It was the most simplistic and easy form of bonding that either woman had ever experienced. It was with a slight pang of disappointment, that they parked up in the first of the three towns.

They decided the easiest way to find their stories villain, was to ask the locals. They were met with various reactions to the news that they were searching for the elderly man: shock, laughter, even anger. How dare these strange women dare search for the great Amedeus! Had they no shame? That was what seemed to be going through each of their minds.

“Hi, hey, um...“ Addy tried to get the attention of a small group walking past. “Could you answer one quick question please?”

“Is that the question?” One of the men mocked, eliciting a laugh from the majority of the group.

“Don’t be a douche, Matt.” A woman in black skinny jeans slapped his arm. “What’s up?”

“You’re just annoyed the pretty woman noticed me before you.” The same guy taunted, before Kiera could ask.

“Unlike you, I don’t think about someone as a potential romance before being nice to them.” The girl responded, before turning fully towards Addy. “Anyway, what was your question?”

“We were wondering if you could point us in the direction of Amedeus?” Kiera answered, whilst Addy tried to deflate her big head after the compliments on her appearance.

“Amedeus? Why?” The woman asked. “That old fool doesn’t deserve the attention of gorgeous women like yourselves.”

“Thanks,” Addy finally regained her composure. “We wanted to talk to him about how stupid his prophecies are.”

“You don’t argue with Amedeus.” One of the others in the group interjected. The others seemed to all nod or mutter in agreement. “And you should be careful calling him a fool, Reyne. We all know what happened to the last person who did that.” More nods of agreement.

“You’ve got to exist to receive prophesied punishments, so I think i’m safe.” Reyne joked. “Anyway, Amedeus isn’t in town at the moment. He doesn’t spend long her, but he does visit sometimes. I think he’s in the next town over. I can show you a shortcut there, if you want.”

“That would be absolutely brilliant!” Addy got excited, seeming to confirm the growing suspicion in Kiera that she liked this girl.

“Then it’s settled, I’ll go join you on your quest to defeat Amedeus. I can be both of you’s trusty sidekick.” Reyne decided. “It’s only an hours journey in a car, which’ll give us time to get to know each other.” She winked at Addy, making her dark cheeks warm.

“Reyne…” The group tried to stop her, but she was already following Addy down the road to the van. Kiera was moments behind them, having to process what just happened and the probable thoughts about how dodgy it looked that Reyne was now climbing into two strangers van.

Reyne’s estimation of an hour turned out to be pretty accurate and - with Kiera driving - gave the other two time to get acquainted, as promised. The time flew by, and Kiera seemed to wake them from a trance when they arrived. They took a similar approach as in the last town, of asking anyone who’d stop to listen. Reyne’s presence seemed to somehow increase their luck though, maybe it was that she seemed to know literally everyone. She’d explain how she went to school with this one, and that guy was her ex, and that was her aunt’s best-friend, and that was her cousin, or her nephew, or her half-brother. Addy and Kiera were completely dumbfounded by the amount of people she knew.

She finally managed to gather information from enough people to conclude that he’d left town to head back to his home that morning. They’d missed him by a few hours. From the directions of a group of teens, they found the quickest route would take them only two and a half hours if they kept going.

It was, however, in this town that they gained the support of a group who decided to travel with them, deeming their cause worthy of the journey. By the time they left town, there was fifteen people traveling in the van and a car following behind, all of them driven by rage at the different discrimination they faced at Amedeus hands - if he even acknowledged their existence at all.

The two and a half hours were filled by debates and excitement over the coming confrontation with the great Amedeus. Mutters of fear were occasionally heard briefly, before being quashed by the reminder that if not them, then who would stand up to him. Reyne had repeated the phrase “He’s an elderly man, what’s he gonna do?” and Addy had reiterated multiple times “The Gods wouldn’t let us exist if they really hated us for who we are.” Both seemed to reassure the uncertainties of the group in the van.

When they arrived in town, it was decided that they should split into three smaller groups and talk to locals for an hour before meeting in the square. Each group headed in different directions with the mission of finding out as much about Amedeus as possible. “Any information’s useful.” Kiera reminded them repeatedly.

Reyne didn’t know as many locals in this town, and her charms didn’t seem to work now that her attention was focussed more on reading Addy’s reaction to her. Addy’s charms had taken a hit to, much for a similar reason. That left Kiera and the other two in their group to do the real work, while the lovebirds were oblivious to the fact they just needed to kiss already. By the end of the hour, they’d managed to find out that Amedeus had passed through town that afternoon. No one seemed to know where - or at least they weren’t willing to say.

They arrived at the meeting point to find that the other groups had found much the same information - along with a few new members - except for one addition to a group who revealed there may be a village nearby that wouldn’t be on any maps.

“He passes through here often, saying he’s going home.” The man explained. “Locals call it God’s Village, because only those who are chosen know where it is.”

“Being chosen by who? Amedeus?” Kiera asked what the majority of them had been thinking. “Who can we ask to lead us there?”

“A friend’s mother went there once, but I don’t know if she’d help. She’s pretty judgemental and rude.” He replied, hesitating before continuing. “She wouldn’t let me attend her son’s birthdays for three years when she found out I was gay. Scared it was contagious or something.”

“Let us talk to her, please.” One of the men flashed him a winning smile. “For me?”

“Your funerals…” He muttered, before leading them towards an expensive looking row of houses.

He rapped on the door and waited for the answer.  When the door opened, a snooty looking woman opened the door and almost immediately closed it upon seeing the man, except for Addy’s foot in the way.

“We just need you to answer one question, please.” Addy spoke up, having momentarily switched her attention to the task at hand. “It’s about the God’s Village.”

“We need directions so the Gods can smite our gay asses.” Yelled a voice from the back, before being shushed by three others near them.

“You’re correct in what they’ll do to you.” The woman glared at them all. “Why should I direct sinners to a sacred place.” No one responded, for a moment, all trying to think of how to convince this woman.

“We need curing, ma’am.” Reyne finally decided to try this route. “I’ve had lots of therapies, but none have worked. I hoped the Gods could correct me.” She put a solemn look on her face, almost looking like she might cry. Her case seemed to be helped by the satanic looking symbolism on her band tee and the dark makeup threatening to run around her eyes.

“It’s too late in the day, it’ll be dark by the time we get there.” She responded after a moment of thought. “Sorry, you’ll have to wait.”

“We’ll just camp out here until morning then.” Kiera moved as if to sit on the doorstep.

“Trans and gay scum, camping in your garden. Maybe you’ll even catch it from us and we can all be cured together.” Someone called, joyfully, as more started to sit on the ground.

“No!” The woman cried, looking panicked. “I’ll give you directions, but I won’t be going with you. I cannot be seen around riffraff and freaks.”

“Thank you so much, ma’am.” Kiera spoke up.

“Wait here and i’ll get the sheet of directions Amedeus gave me.” The woman disappeared for a moment, allowing them all to congratulate Reyne and Kiera on their quick thinking - without them, they’d have failed at what they hoped was their quests final hurdle. “If the Gods decide you are beyond saving, please do not say you weren’t warned.” The woman practically threw the piece of paper at them and slammed the door loudly in their faces. Addy was sure her foot would be broken if she hadn’t moved it while the woman was gone.

This journey took longer and, with the additions to the group, there were now three vehicles in the procession. About halfway they had to ditch the vehicles and proceed on foot due to the lack of an actual road in the direction they needed to go. They felt like a small army marching into battle; the ‘Army of Invisibles’ had been coined as their name somewhere along the way. An army willing to fight the injustices, rather than lay down to oppression.

Their feet were sore and their hearts were heavy by the time they saw the glow of fires shining in the darkness. Turning back had been suggested more than once, and a few had almost left. Addy had reminded them all multiple times of what they’d had to do, though whether it was them or her was unclear even to herself. At least now they had reached the village, the actual home of Amedeus.

They decided to stay as a group and ask about Amedeus, hopefully they’d have luck finding him now. They approached an older woman and allowed one group member to nervously ask if Amedeus was in town. The woman threw back her head and laughed, before assuring them that he rarely left for long. She directed them towards the biggest cottage, in the centre of the village because what egocentric douche doesn’t have a village centred around his home? The crowd of Gay avengers marched towards the cottage with regained enthusiasm for their mission. Kiera and Addy both stepped forward to knock on the large door, feeling as though they truly had a massive army behind them. A young woman answered the door, and almost passed out in shock when she saw the crowd outside her door.

“We need to see Amedeus.” Kiera insisted immediately. “It’s urgent.”

“He’s… Well he’s gone to pray, in the clearing on the outskirts of the village. Over-there.” She pointed, still attempting to overcome the shock of the group arriving on her doorstep. “Is there nothing I can do? Pass on a message, daughter to dad?”

“It’s better we do this ourselves, we traveled all day for this.” Addy politely informed her.

“All day, you must all be exhausted.” The woman exclaimed. “You talk to my dad, and I’ll make sure there’s places for each of you to sleep tonight before going home tomorrow.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Kiera shook the woman’s hand. “Thank you for your help.”

The group proceeded to the clearing, ready to rage war on the elderly fool who the Gods supposedly favoured. They’d soon see how long being favoured would do him good if he refused to listen to them.

Upon reaching the clearing, they found an Elderly man rising from the floor, with his back to them. He still seemed slightly in a trance as he turned to head back towards the town. Seeing the crowd of roughly twenty people, nearly knocked him back to the floor. He took a moment to process them all.

“We’ve got a bone to pick with you.” Called out Reyne, before Addy gave her a warning look.

“What she means is, we want to talk to you about your prophecies.” Addy rephrased it.

“My prophecies… why?” Amedeus seemed a little scared. “Is there a… um… problem with them?”

“Nothing major, just that we all seem to be completely forgotten by them.” A man sarcastically called out.

“I’m surprised you can see us, normally we’re invisible to people like you.” Another woman jumped in.

“A secret power of our community is our invisibility.” Someone else laughed.

“Do the Gods actually not care about us enough to always leave us out of prophecies?” Kiera asked. “Or maybe you hate us enough to just not tell the ones that include us?” Everyone waited in silent trepidation for his response.

“Hate?.... I…. Well….” He stumbled on his words. “They’re….” He sighed, and seemed to make a sudden resigned decision. “They’re fake. The prophecies, I mean.” He sighed again before explaining how he’d come to make up hundreds of prophecies over time, all vague enough that he could twist things to seem like they’d come true. Chosen ones were whoever happened to tell their story first, or who told it best. He didn’t seem overly guilty now that he’d started explaining how clever he was - a true egocentric if ever there was one.

[ts-2020-olympics]

Episode 8 - “I’m the Clown” - Beck

:)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) i’m not mad :)))))))))))) I mean yeah literally every ally I have in the game is on the other fucking tribe, i was force-picked last, and i’m here with fucking JACOB AND NICOLE who seem to be sitting fucking pretty as hell. i don’t understand why they’re getting rewarded for shit gameplay whereas i’ve actually been trying to look trustworthy to people and now i’m getting fucked. My only chance is to talk to Emma, Kevin, and Darcy and maybe possibly form a 4 there. I’d place a pricy bet I’m the next out the door though.

So we finally got our swap tribes! And mine is GREAT!!! Thank the lord jesus christ, thank the HEAVENS above! This tribe is like... Basically my dream tribe at this stage in the game. I have Caeleb, who I love! I have Eve, who I finally made solid grounds with, and got as an ally. I have Sammy, who things are still... Pretty BUMPY with him, but I'm basically his only option here, so he has to work with me if he wants to survive. I have Jordan who I'm super close with. Sarah and Chris, I don't know super well, but Jordan has been telling them good things and I'm going to make a big effort to get them both to get to know me and to like me as well.  There also seems to be an organization of a 5-person alliance floating around, consisting of myself, Eve, Jordan, Sarah, and Chris. You know, this alliance works out great for me as even though Jordan Sarah and Chris would have the majority, I have a pretty good security blanket with Jordan and, before it even gets to that, I could probably team up with Caeleb and Sammy to do some damage if I wanted to. That being said I might just want Sammy out second, because our game relationship is pretty much dead. Sucks, but. It's just rough. But of course, after reading all that, there's one question on everyone's mind!! Only one missing person I mentioned like nothing about... *sigh* Beck. I like him so far, and I feel like we actually had potential to work together at one point, but unfortunately, he voted out Juls. And I just can't forgive that, she was my #1 in this game and the only person I actually felt close to on a person-to-person level, not just game. I really trusted and vibed with her and I understand people like that have to go at some point, but that was way too early and that betrayal just hurt everyone in the game. Watching Juls lose the arena was like setting a fire to my heart and I can't just let myself go out early or let the people who took her out thrive. So for me, unfortunately, Beck needs to go home. I am thinking maybe putting a backup plan in place to take out Sammy in case of idols, which... ugh mess. This is all a mess, and we're probably losing this darned endurance challenge, but with Pete in lots of danger on the other tribe, that's probably a good thing since my allies are all well-protected here, and I want Pete to have a chance to get in and get SAFE before things go to hell at some kind of merge. Speaking of, I wonder when the merge will be. I imagine it's going to be at 11 or 12, hopefully 12 because even though I don't like big merges, 5 rounds in this swap would be TOUGH. So yeah, that's where I'm at right now.... Fun!

Alright, so once again this round, found nothing at the Olympic Village, maybe next round I'll have better luck and find something?  Anyways, regards to last round, Ben got voted out 5-1 over myself, in which I am grateful that I stayed!!!   However, did not expect Ben to bow out at the arena like he did.  Then after the whole arena ordeal, we had another tribe swap, so I am now on a tribe with Nicole, Emma, Tommy, Pete, Kevin, Karen, and Jacob C.    Which, honestly I love my tribe, and what makes me even happier is we won the 99 bottles of beer immunity, so no tribal this round, and I can officially say I made the final 15!

i'm so nervous after this tribe swap OOOOOOOOOO boy! i could be dead at tribal! the fact that i did not speak to ANYONE on this tribe before the swap except for caeleb? not a good sign. however i put in major work for that challenge so if they vote me out i'm the clown for trying so hard and they're clowns for voting out someone who cares about challenges that much. we'll see! (pls give me an idol?)

I’m so nervous for this tribal. I’m trying to see if the tribe that I hand picked will actually vote me out? Beck seems to be on the bottom of the tribe. Just because he was picked last. Plus I don’t see him being able to give his 100% since bbpokemon has started. So I think that’s where my vote is going 

Tribe Swap! AHHH! Dude I thought I was going to get so screwed because of this swap but I think as of right now I'm not too shabby. My plan for my tribe is to try and stay connected to Darcy and Karen but also rekindle this relationship with Kevin and I heard from Beck he is in a duo with Jacob C, so I might build a new bridge with Jacob C as well. Then we got the 4 winners of Myself, Nicole, Karen, and Kevin to keep a majority. The only thing that sucks now is that after I picked Jacob C., Jordan picked Landen and then Landen picked Stoner. This made it Jacob C's pick again and he had to decide between either Darcy or Beck. Beck told me in pm to make sure Jacob doesn't pick him so I told Jacob C. to pick Darcy and he agreed to it. After that Pete was the last member of the Sonkei tribe and Beck the last member of Miraitowa. However, now I think Beck is going to go home tonight :/ and I'm so sad because if I knew he was going to be in trouble on the new Miraitowa tribe I woulda told Jacob to pick Beck to be on our tribe because Beck is a much bigger target than Darcy, and we have bonded more. Although I'm really close to Darcy too. So I'm hoping Beck is able to avoid being the next person voted out because him leaving during the swap puts a HUGE damper on my game and I will be losing a major ally I thought I could try to rule the merge with. This also makes the "other side" consisting of (Sammy, Evelyn, Landen, Jordan, and Sarah.... give or take a few others) WAY more powerful which is horrendous for my merge/long-term game and I feel the person on the tribe I'm on now that is closest to them is Pete. This further confirms if Sonkei loses and immunity before a merge or another swap, Pete has to go. I like Pete but he has TOO many friends on the other side and he will flip to them. My plan for now is to call with Kevin and try to see if going into the merge with a 7 person majority would be possible, because I think if we are able to get (Myself, Kevin, Nicole, Karen, Darcy, Jacob C., and Emma) on the same boat we can start to knock out people on the other side. I don't even know if us 7 would all be comfortable with this but I think it's all of our best shots for the nearby future. 

I stole parmesan cheese from my roommate the other day because I needed some for my pasta. Oh is this not that kind of confessional? Well, everyone seems to be making a billion different alliances. Which also means I'm in on at least most of those. Which makes me wonder. Do I trust...everybody? Or....nobody? Because I don't want to lie to anybody when the ask who I'm voting for 👀

I hate going to tribal. I think beck is going which like makes sense. I think my idol is gonna expire cause I don’t see myself having to play it tonight but I’ll be at tribal to check it out just to be safe.

WHAT I LEARNED IN BOATING SCHOOL IS

I’m freakin out. Barely anyone’s talked to me til the last hour. Everyone is saying beck, pines told me beck is voting me. Hoping he doesn’t have an idol, and hoping no one flips. Got an alliance of me Sarah Jordan eve and landen tho I haven’t talked much with eve and landen. I do trust Sarah and Jordan tho Sarah is throwing her vote, she doesn’t wanna vote beck. Wish me luck !!

[hallsp]

Jordan Diary

What follows is a somewhat lacklustre chronicle of my trip to Jordan, taking in Amman, Aqaba, Petra, and Wadi Rum:

Wednesday, 26th December, 2018

Jordan has a strange, haunting beauty, and a sense of timelessness. Dotted with the ruins of empires once great, it is the last resort of yesterday in the world of tomorrow. – King Hussein bin Talal

I’ve just been woken by a God-awful thud. “Jesus, what fresh hell is this?” I remember thinking. I had a stone-splitting headache but came to my senses quickly enough. The airport, I suddenly remembered! We must have landed at Queen Alia, in Amman. That was where I was supposed to be, after all. I just couldn’t remember how I got here. I didn’t remember the flight. I didn’t really remember boarding. How on God’s green Earth did I get to the airport?

The last thing I can properly recall was ordering a doo-doo shot in a bar on Armenia Street, after my fourth or fifth vodka-redbull. This, on top of a bottle or two of red wine and some beers earlier in the day.

Christmas Day had started out nice and quiet, just like normal: a gathering of friends, lots of cooking and eating food, some pleasant conversation over a few glasses of dinner wine. I hadn’t planned on going out. I hadn’t actually banked on the bars being open. At home, in Ireland, everything is closed for the holiday. It was all Shadi’s fault. And Maryam’s. And Jodey’s.

Now I was hopelessly hungover, possibly still drunk, and I had to navigate a new country through the colourful medium of Arabic, but it didn’t matter, I was here: the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

It was really cold, something close to freezing, far colder than Beirut. I hadn’t anticipated this, and I’d packed in a stupour at 2 in the morning. Clothes-wise, I was woefully unprepared.

I left the airport and tried walking, but it turned out to be a seven hour walk from the airport to Amman city centre. I managed to gauge this almost immediately and turned back in search of shelter. I eventually found a taxi into the city. It cost 20 JD, but I paid him 30 out of sheer gratitude. I had no sense of the conversion rate. I would later discover that a 10 JD tip is outrageous, something like $15. It was like some terrible inversion of Wilde: I knew the value of everything, but the price of nothing.

The hostel, Nomads, on Jabal Amman, is amazing. The staff are friendly, the rooms are nice, the location is central, and the WiFi is excellent. It’s got a good vibe, too, lots of wall paintings and the like:

I joined a free walking tour — recommended price: 5 JD — almost straight away, which left a lot to be desired in the end. The guy walked us around a bunch of shops and souks, for which I’m sure he received some kind of commission. It did give me a sense of the city, though, so I found my bearings fairly easily afterward.

I decided to go for some food. The falafel served at Al-Quds is supposed to be the best, an old Palestinian place named for the city of Jerusalem, and it certainly was. I still have dreams about that falafel sandwich in a crispy sesame bun. It might be the nicest falafel I’ve ever had. I then went for the equally famous kanafeh dessert at Habibah, also a solid recommendation.

Since I hadn’t slept for very long last night, I decided to call it quits early, around about 7ish, but not before buying a wrist watch I had seen earlier in the day — one with Arabic numerals. I’ve been looking for one of these for months.

Thursday, 27th December, 2018

I was up early, about 7 am, to beat the crowds and the impending storm, so off I went to the citadel high above the city. Jabal al-Qala’a it’s called. Somehow, I managed to follow a road up towards the citadel from the wrong side, but I was able to clamber up some rocks and over the wall, accidentally bypassing the ticket office. I had a Jordan Pass, so it didn’t really matter.

Occupied since the early Bronze Age, the citadel has been re-fortified countless times, most recently by the Romans, the Byzantines, and the Umayyads.

Two pillars remain from the Temple of Hercules, built by wise old Emperor Marcus Aurelius in the 2nd century. Also remaining is the entrance hall of the Umayyad Palace, a once-spectacular complex of royal buildings from the 8th century.

Unfortunately, the storm arrived sooner than expected and it started pouring so I went for shelter. When the weather improved a bit, I made my way down to the Roman theatre, a short distance away.

Constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century under Antonius Pius, the theatre can hold up to 6,000 people, and is an iconic building in Amman. Amazingly, it’s still used for concerts and performances.

On my way out of the theatre, some local kids started joking with me in Arabic. I hadn’t a clue what they were saying but they were stunned when I replied in kind, also in Arabic. This was when I met Qusai, a Palestinian-Jordanian who saw the whole thing and came over to talk. He was eager to explain that things were bleak for Palestinians in Jordan. The majority of the 2 million Palestinians in Jordan — including Qusai — have citizenship, but this doesn’t mean much when it comes to prospects for employment. There’s rampant discrimination. This is true for Qusai also, in spite of his qualification in accounting. He’s been attending the recent protests outside the King Hussein Mosque.

At this stage, I desperately needed some food, so I headed to Hashami restaurant, famous in Amman for their hummus and falafel. Pictures of the royal family and other dignitaries adorn the walls, but it’s not a well-to-do place. It’s simple, wholesome food.

It started raining heavily at about midday, and never stopped. I spent the remainder of the day at the Jordan Museum (a steal at 5 JD, no Jordan Pass accepted) to explore the depth of history in this country and, frankly, to get out of the rain.

The museum is impressive. The whole top floor is given over to an expensive exhibition of inventions and discoveries from the Islamic Golden Age, called 1001 Inventions, and featuring a video with Ben Kingsley as the polymath Ismail al-Jazari. The most interesting part, for me at least, was the exhibit on al-Jahiz, who is credited in his Book of Animals with evolutionary ideas which pre-date Darwin. Evolution, as a concept, is generally opposed in the Islamic world, so I was happy to see some accommodation being made on official levels.

I had dinner at Shahrazad, named for the storyteller in One Thousand and One Nights, and recommended by the guide yesterday, where I tried ara’yes, meaning bride, a kind of pita bread filled with minced lamb, onions, parsley, and allspice. It’s then brushed with olive oil, and grilled over hot charcoals. It was tasty, but very filling!

Friday, 28th December, 2018

The desert route to Akaba was so long and so difficult that we could take neither guns nor machine-guns, nor stores, nor regular soldiers. – T. E. Lawrence

Amman is smothered in cloud, raining heavily. The roads have become rivers, torrents of water flowing to God-knows-where.

I decided to catch the 7 am JETT bus from Amman to Aqaba, with my roommate Ryan. It’s a four hour drive, and costs 8.60 JD. They showed an Egyptian movie, which I could follow in parts, and played some Arabic music, featuring my old favourites: Mohamed Mounir and Fairouz.

Jordan is serviced by a highway which runs north-south, known as the Desert Highway, al-Thari2 as-Sahara. The cloud began lifting the further we traveled south, green farmland soon gave way to desert, and flat land became mountainous. You enter the world of the Bedouin.

It’s truly amazing what happens to the weather as you descend into Aqaba, though. As we moved south and descended towards the Red Sea, the temperature rose dramatically, from 8 to 18 degrees. It has its own little micro-climate here.

I like Aqaba. It’s small, but full of history. The British and the Arabs, along with Lawrence of Arabia, famously took Aqaba from the Ottomans in July, 1917. Instead of coming by the sea, as was expected, the Arabs came across the open desert and won a decisive battle.

It’s a frontier city. It’s from here that you can see four countries: Jordan, of course, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt:

Ryan, my English roommate, wanted to buy some souvenirs so we shopped around for a little while. He eventually bought a few things at one place owned and operated by Mohammad, an Egyptian guy, who gave us a good price. I love Egyptians, and there are loads of them in Aqaba; we bonded over our shared love for Mohamed Mounir.

Ryan and I decided to go for a pint — there’s a Jordanian beer called Petra I wanted to sample — in the Rover’s Return, an English pub near the city centre. It’s beside an Irish pub, but this was closed. We had to cross into a tourist-only area, and show our passports. While passing, I said jokingly: Ana ajnaby. I’m a foreigner. Surprised at my Arabic, the bowab, or doorman, apologised for not speaking English and asked me to go over to the duty-free shop and buy cigarettes for him. I wouldn’t have to pay tax, you see. I agreed. I glided in and asked for his brand. The uniformed customs official just laughed and called over his two colleagues. This wasn’t the first time he’d had this specific request, clearly. He asked for my passport and asked who it was for. “Me,” I said. More laughs. This obviously wasn’t going to work. One of the other men asked if it was for the bowab outside. “Tab3an,” I replied, caving under the pressure of the interrogation, “of course.” There were laughs all around this time. The official denied my request, but after much pleading in my best (or worst) Arabic, he finally agreed and stamped my passport.

The beer was really nice, and the weather was gorgeous, so it was nice to sit outside. Just as we were sipping our drinks, an air show started in the skies over Aqaba, right over the border with Israel. Four planes performed synchronized displays, and then each would perform its own crazy manoeuvre.

I had a good look around the old ruins of Ayla, the ancient city known to the Hebrews as Elath, and to the Romans as Aela, before boarding the bus back to Amman.

Saturday, 29th December, 2018

The hues of youth upon a brow of woe, which Man deemed old two thousand years ago, match me such marvel save in Eastern clime, a rose-red city half as old as time. – John William Burgon

I woke early again, this time to get the JETT bus to Petra at 6.30 am, which cost me 11 JD. There were loads of people vying for a seat so I was glad I had reserved the night before, though a second bus was quick to arrive.

We arrived at Petra about 11.30 am, after some delays. I left my backpack in one of the souvenir shops in the car park, and went straight inside. I had come to Jordan especially to see Petra, one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World, so I wasn’t going to waste any time.

Petra was the capital city of Nabataea, one of the so-called “incense-states,” wealthy kingdoms which prospered in the Red Sea region, largely because of trade between Arabia and the Mediterranean. In 100 BC, when the kingdom was at its height, about 30,000 people lived in Petra. The city was eventually captured by the Romans in AD 106.

I trekked all the way down to the canyon, and began the long walk through the narrow gorge known in Arabic as: al-Siq, the Shaft. It’s a gorgeous sandstone chasm with huge rock-faces either side of the passageway.

After some time, you reach the famous Treasury, al-Khazneh in Arabic, the most beautiful and elaborate building in all of Petra. Its name derives from folktales about treasure hidden at the site. Constructed by the Nabataeans as a royal mausoleum in the first century of the common era, it’s an astonishing achievement. It’s simply breathtaking to behold.

I walked the entire complex, following the route from the entrance all the way to the Monastery, past the Treasury, the Royal Tombs, the Theatre, and the Colonnaded Street. It takes about three hours, all in all, walking at a leisurely pace. The path up to the Monastery, the final hour of the walk, is all up hill and very steep, so it takes some doing. The view at the end is worth it, though:

The Monastery, larger but less ornate than the Treasury, also gets its name from an Arabic nickname, al-Deir. In reality, it was probably a temple dedicated to the Nabataean King Obodas I.

The poet John William Burgon referred to Petra as: “a rose-red city half as old as time.” It does feel timeless, but it’s the colour of the stone city which really grabs you. There are so many shades of red: rose, crimson, garnet, but also purples. The sun works magic with the rock in this place.

Eventually, I made it up to my hostel, Rafiki, just up the hill in the nearby town of Wadi Musa, getting there for about 5 pm. This place was a bit of a dive, I thought, but soon realised how much of a gem it really was. The staff were a bunch of legends, for a start.

Later that evening, I overheard a guy speaking with an Eastern European accent but with Irish overtones, so I quizzed him. It turned out that he was Slovakian but he’s been living in Ireland for fifteen years, in Dalkey no less, just down the road from me. We drink in the same bars. “That’s funny, what a small world,” I thought.

A little while later, I bumped into a Japanese girl, Kurumi, who I had seen on the bus and at Petra that morning. We got chatting. “I’m living in Dublin,” she said at one point. “Sorry,” I said in shock, “is that somewhere near Tokyo?” “No,” she laughed, “I’m learning English in Ireland.” Well, jumping Jesus. It certainly is a small world, and getting smaller.

I opted to stay at the hostel for dinner, and I was glad I did. I’ve never seen such a good spread: a chicken dish with rice, alongside vegetable curry, bread, hummus, falafel, salads, and pasta, with dessert to follow. It was a feast for 5 JD. I went to bed early again, as Kurumi and I have agreed to go to Petra first thing in the morning, as soon as it opens at 6 am.

Sunday, 30th December, 2018

Wow! Getting to Petra early has really paid off. There’s almost nobody here. It’s a much more imposing site in the quiet of the morning without all the hustle and bustle of tourists coming and going. It’s really peaceful, more majestic even.

Today, I have one goal: walking the trail known in Arabic as al-Kubtha. It’s a long walk up through the mountains, but it promises breathtaking views of the Treasury. It took us about an hour, with Kurumi and I arriving around 7 am. The early wake-up and the steep climb together turned out to be a very small price to pay:

We had the view over the Treasury almost to ourselves, though people started arriving very soon afterward. What a view, though!

We spent about an hour overlooking everything and watching the world go by, before descending down the mountain for lunch at a Bedouin restaurant near to the entrance. I had chicken galayet, a local favourite, which was chicken with tomato and onion, stewed until soft, and seasoned with garlic, olive oil, and salt. I noticed some David Roberts lithographs on the walls. You see these all over the Levant.

Finally, we went back to Petra for one last look around. I opted for some horsepower in making the journey from the site entrance to the canyon, which helped after all the walking. We walked up to take a look at an old 6th century Byzantine church near the Royal Tombs, almost opposite the Theatre.

I bought a couple of fake antique coins from an old Bedouin man who pointed at one set of coins and announced: “Made in Taiwan.” He had a good sense of humour, and I wanted cheap fakes rather than real coins, which were available but came at a price.

It was about 4 pm when we decided to say goodbye to Petra. I thought that was it, until we got back to the hostel. I had a shower and opted for dinner in the hostel again, which was even better than yesterday. After dinner, there was a big commotion. Emil, the Slovakian guy, had met an Italian girl named Rosa, who had it on good authority that Petra By Night, which is exactly what you think it is, was running tonight. I had read somewhere that it ran only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and had resigned myself to missing it. However, the New Year had altered the schedule.

Suddenly, a guy came through the door with tickets (17 JD), and we were all immediately climbing into a taxi. We had to rush so not to miss it, but we arrived just in time, and got decent seats. It was cold, and dark, but the whole path up to the Treasury was lined with candles. It was really beautiful. We were given Arabic tea, which is to say sugary tea, on arrival and then it began. There was music, beautiful, haunting Arabic music, and then some storytelling, and then — it was over! Just as soon as it started, or so it seemed, it was finished. It was worth it, though, to see the place one last time and in the stillness of the night.

When we returned to the hostel, I told the others of my plan to visit Wadi Rum the next day, and to spend New Year’s Eve in the desert with the Bedouin. I sent a flurry of emails to my contact and arranged for all of us to go together: Myself, Kurumi, Emil, and Rosa. It would be another early night.

Monday, 31st December, 2018

Fly to the desert, fly with me, Our Arab’s tents are rude for thee; But oh! the choice what heart can doubt, Of tents with love or thrones without? Our rocks are rough, but smiling there The acacia waves her yellow hair, Lonely and sweet nor loved the less For flowering in a wilderness – Thomas Moore

We got the 6.15 minibus — all four of us — from Petra to Wadi Rum for 8 JD each, and it collected us from the hostel, so that made things much easier.

We arrived about 8.30, and found Salem, our Bedouin guide. We threw all of our luggage into a 4X4 and started our tour of Wadi Rum. This place is stunning:

It was used to film much of Lawrence of Arabia, and, unsurprisingly, it’s often used as a stand-in for the surface of Mars, most recently in the movie The Martian, with Matt Damon.

We got to see lots of different locations, including the Seven Pillars, so-named after Lawrence of Arabia’s book of the same name, and Lawrence’s Spring, which is still used to water the camels. A type of wild sage grows around the water, which gives a lovely smell.

One of the most glorious locations was the Khaz’ali Canyon, which contained ancient inscriptions, some from pre-history, some in Nabataean, and still others in old Arabic. There was a fig tree at the entrance to the canyon which caught the light so splendidly:

We made it back to our camp to watch the last sunset of 2018 from high up on a mountain. When we climbed down, and made it back to camp, tea was served around a fire in the main tent. Salem’s uncle played the oud. Now, in the darkness, around the camp fire, I really got a sense for what it must be like to live with the elements here. It was an amazing experience.

The family cooked a huge amount of food, chicken and vegetables, in a pit in the sand, not unlike a fualacht fiadh at home in Ireland, though here the food is predominantly steamed. They also served various salads, along with staple dishes like hummus, and their speciality, moutabal.  

We all went star-gazing for the last couple of hours. I’ve never seen so many stars in my life, the sky was ablaze with distant suns. You could clearly see the band of the Milky Way. It was astounding. What stories must have been told of these wandering lights! We returned to camp for the countdown, and afterwards, in the far-flung distance, we could see fireworks exploding in the dark.

Tuesday, 1st January, 2019

We returned to Wadi Rum village for about 8.30 am, to go our separate ways. My flight home to Beirut was at 3 pm, so I had to get a bit of a move on. There are no buses to Amman from Wadi Rum, so my only options were a bus to Petra, then another bus, or a taxi to Aqaba, and a bus from there, but both options left me with little time. I had no real option but to get a taxi straight to the airport. Luckily, with some cajoling, Salem arranged for a taxi all the way from Wadi Rum to Queen Alia, with a detour to see the ancient mosaics in Madaba, for the low price of 100 JD. It was a four hour drive all the way north. It would be tight.

My driver turned out to be the greatest human being on Earth. Ali, the man, the legend. We spoke only Arabic for the entire trip, which occasionally (often, actually) strained my meagre abilities almost to breaking point, but I loved him. He was enthusiastic about everything. First, he tried to tell me all about Islam, but gave up that venture pretty quickly. Next, we moved on to music. He introduced me to Mehad Hamad from the UAE, Mashael from Saudi Arabia, Shaima Al Shayeb, and Sabah. I had the good fortune of introducing him to — who else? — Mohamed Mounir. We sang the whole way from Wadi Rum to Queen Alia International.

We parted as true friends, with promises to see each other again.

[thebookofdave]

On Group Travel

Technically speaking the whole of our Australia trip when we were nineteen was group travel.  The company was called something like Oz Experience and mostly consisted of transporting fifty twenty year olds around the country via famous landmarks, bars, sexual experiences (not a lot of that for us sadly, I blame the haircuts from the sheep shearing farm) and in one memorable incident, a crashed 4x4.

In practice because there were so many people and because it was step on and step off there was seldom much of a group vibe.  There were exceptions to this, 4x4 driving on Fraser Island (including wrecking the car) was a lot of fun, we had to cook our own food and camp each night so we all got to know each other pretty well and since we had an unexpected extra night we ended up quite close by the end of it.   In the main however, we tended to meet people in the stopovers rather than on the bus journey's, the loss of 24 hours of our lives in Cheeky Monkey's in Byron Bay for example was a combination of random people in our hostel, extremely attractive bar staff, party games and Bundaburg Overproof rum.  

Still, I didn't do any group travel for a long time after that, I'd enjoyed traveling alone for all the reasons outlined in the last blog and I strongly disliked the concept of being on a routine.  I did short trips here and there as a way to see places, Canada for instance is a pain to get to some areas unless you undertake an organised tour but in the main I avoided it.

I ended up on a proper group tour the first time around because I couldn't really work out how to get to see everything I wanted to in the time period I had.  I'd always fancied seeing Morocco, it had had a certain feeling of mystery to it but it was also clear with my innate sense of direction and navigation combined with a really poor public transport system I was asking to end up in all the wrong places.  

The company I picked was called something like Explore Adventure travel, it doesn't exist anymore but it was catered towards 18-39 year olds who wanted a more cultured experience and who were in reasonably good shape.  The trip itself was only for a couple of weeks but it remains one of the best travel experiences of my life.  We saw a huge amount of the country including the Sahara and we had an excellent local tour guide.  I think it also benefited greatly from only having us staying in many of the locales, so we all ended up bonding quite quickly.  We even managed a local night club for an evening out which was... interesting.

The follow up trip to that was South America which I chose because languages are not really my forte.  I was for instance; the only man not allowed to take French GCSE as I'd bring the average school mark down.  South America was fantastic as a trip although slightly less successful as a group experience, it was three tours welded into one so some people had already been on a tour when we joined them and some people had to leave early, I particularly gelled well with an English couple so when they left it was me, one other guy in a couple and seventeen girls which sounds good on paper but in reality...  Later on however we were joined by a couple of Aussie guys who were great to hang out with and things returned to some normality but it has left me with the view that some balance in numbers is helpful.  

It was also my first experience (sadly not my last) of group illness which rocketed in Bolivia and meant a lot of people missed out on some parts of the trip.  Still the positives far outweighed the negatives and the experiences I remember were things that will stay with me, playing football with the locals in Lake Titicaca; albeit at high altitude so my pace was even worse than usual, the Inca trail and playing around on the Salt Flats.  

Interestingly when I did Central America with a group, apart from some food poisoning most people were fine.  I got ill for the first time in my life but I suspect that was due to swallowing half the water in El Salvador during the gravity falls, I should have stuck with the Irish plan of killing anything via the local rum.  

Since then I've done plenty of further travel in groups but in the vein of the previous blog here's a few things I enjoy about it and a couple of things I don't.

It's easy:

You have an itinerary, you get instructions every day of where you have to be, what time and there's little stress about missing a bus or being in the wrong place.  It also means you don't need to plan, everything is taken care of for you so it's pretty relaxing as an experience, you can just watch the world go by (or realistically read a book in my case).

You see a lot:

It's easy to mock being on a routine but tours are planned around the main sights of a country, if you're on a short time scale it's a really good way to view the highlights of a country.  You can always decide you want to come back at a later point.  They really cram the activities in; the downside is this means early starts and a lot of driving but I would struggle to argue I'd have seen more in the same timescales if I'd done it myself.

It's sociable:

You have a group of people, mostly around the mid twenties to mid thirties age and you'll be spending a lot of time together.  When it clicks, it really works and most of the time I've had some awesome groups of people on my tours.  It's particularly important if you're doing a long group tour and I'm fortunate that the last long tour I did, Central America, had a great group of people but NZ South Island was also excellent.  It makes evenings much more enjoyable when you have a group of people to sit around, share drinks with and play games.  Oh and people hook up of course which is always entertaining, alcohol plus spending a lot of time sharing rooms tends to mean there's a fair bit tension.  

There's a safety net:

I luckily very rarely get ill aside from coughs and colds, I suspect a lifetime of adventurous and questionable food choices abroad has helped my constitution somewhat but I've certainly seen people get pretty sick, parasites, fevers, complete collapse.  Having someone who knows the country well, has access to a group doctor and can speak the language is always a reassuring thing to have.  

It's *generally* cheaper than doing the same stuff yourself:

If the route looks to take in most of the things you wanted to see anyway at the same standard, chances are it's cheaper to do it as part of a group.  You'll have all your transport and accommodation included with the addition of a guide. There are two massive caveats with this, firstly it's all based on sharing a room so there's a premium if you're not and the second is there are always a ton of add on extras.  They're always optional but honestly, for some of the evening activities you're going to feel pretty bored if you don't go.  The backup free option for daytime is usually a hike or walk or some sort though so I guess you'd get pretty fit?

On the downsides...

When the plague hits the group...:

When I did Egypt seventeen out of twenty-one people got sick, Bolivia was about roughly the same number, China had something nasty going around which everyone got to a lesser or greater extent.  You're all in close proximity to each other so there'll probably be a bit of freshers flu anyway but any kind of illness gets exacerbated.  

There's not a lot of flexibility:

If there's anything you want to see that's not on the list it's highly unlikely you'll get a chance to see it unless it coincides with a free day.  The problem with the tight timetables is that there's rarely time to head off the beaten path:

There will be a falling out:

Most of the time it's because someone got drunk and was a bit of arse.  They're usually over the quickest and you've only got half a day or so of awkward bus ride to wait it out.  Relationship arguments are pretty bad depending how feisty the couple is but they're also mostly limited to frosty stares and stony silence.  The worst ones tend to be when someone's slept with someone else they shouldn't have, particularly if their bf/gf is also in the group and then you just need to turn up the headphones and take an interest in a book for the next few days until it all blows over.

Timekeeping can get annoying:

I appreciate the hypocrisy of saying this as a man who was an hour and a half late returning from Petra but consistently missing the return time for trips creates two issues.  Firstly, everyone will start coming back later on the basis they don't want to sit on the bus for the guilty party, secondly it starts to throw the whole timetable out of sync which means other visits get curtailed or cancelled altogether.  Most of the time in my experience people are pretty good about coming back at the appointed hour but there are some people who just seem to consistently be late for everything.

The snoring:

If you are unlucky enough to share a room with an Irishman with a broken nose, just bump him off, don't do the polite thing of believing that it's his allergies, just kill him at the start of the trip, it'll make the rest of your time so much happier.  The sole reason I now always pay the premium to have my own room.  

The sex:  

You're not paying for the Hilton, these are thin walls most of the time; headphones/ earplugs are your friend.  Unless it's you of course, in which case, just try and keep it down and hope you have a roommate who enjoys late night strolls.