#like geez the pilgrims all had a lot of things happen to them even before they got together

[sketching-shark]

Do you think its funny that the fandom treats the Monk kinda the same way he treated Wukong, he kinda deserve it but can we at least something different about him (like I don't see anyone make bug jokes or about all the poetry)

AUGH well anon as I've said before I'm well aware that the internet is were nuance goes to die & while yes I know fandom is a place were people often just want to have fun & not think to hard, I do find it funny but also increasingly frustrating how even though fandom often purports itself as a place of massive diversity more and more it seems to be structured around creating an Official Version of characters' personalities & relationships rather than trying out many different things, or even considering the implications of the source material.

Now of course it has to be acknowledged that a lot of this is often due to what's in the canon work itself (like Wu Cheng'en himself seems to have deliberately written Tang Sanzang in large part as a caricature of fussy Confucian scholars), but in addition I feel like the popular understanding of a character as one extreme or another goes double for stories where the only easy access that an audience may have to it is from translated works or from cartoony retellings. Speaking for myself for example it's been pretty wild having gotten into Journey to the West before Monkie Kid came out & now it often seems like the lego show version of the story (well that and the sarcastic youtube retelling) is the only version of Xiyouji that people in the western internet audience primarily know/care about. But I'm coming from a position where I had the time & access to both read through the entirety of the Anthony C. Yu English translation (which as per usual I need to remind people you can access for free in PDF format on multiple posts on this hellsite) as well as was able to access some of the scant few scholarly works in English about the story. And that's just not something that a lot of people know about or have access to.

As such, it's pretty understandable why many people wouldn't know about all the poetry because well that's never even been brought up in the versions of Journey to the West that they've encountered, or wouldn't make bug jokes because there's little mention of Tang Sanzang having been Golden Cicada in any retelling that they've seen, or if it is it's just presented like fun trivia rather than one of the primary reasons why Tang Sanzang was even chosen to be on the journey in the first place (or what the religious significance of the cicada was in China). Add everything that can easily get lost in translation to the further simplification that cartoony retellings demand, and you can see why many people's understanding of the Tang monk would just be "whiny idiot who's constantly getting himself kidnapped, falling off his dragon horse, & torturing the monkey," especially since between Sun Wukong and Tang Sanzang the monk is by far the more static character (although a lot of Chinese retellings add scenes of him actually recognizing he was wrong & apologizing to the monkey in a reversal of the simplification trend afeawsdf).

Plus, well, I mean it's not like a cartoon is going to include all those scenes of Tang Sanzang tied up & sobbing his eyes out because he's literally in a gore-bespattered cave surrounded by yaoguai who plan to eat him, and they're especially not going to include the times when he's sexually assaulted. In a different approach than usual these things and the resulting trauma could be presented as explanations (but not excuses) for Tang Sanzang's ongoing hostility towards Sun Wukong (who lest we forget is the first yaoguai to try to kill him), but doing that well takes a level of nuance and care that's vanishingly rare in both big budget & fanon retellings of Xiyouji. Hell, in retrospect it's not even handled that well in Xiyouji itself, as if memory serves correctly the kidnappings & near death/consumption are mainly just framed as things that the monk needs to endure to get to the next stage in the journey, and Sun Wukong even makes fun of Tang Sanzang after he was molested by a female yaoguai for an entire night.

So YEAH I often do wish that Tang Sanzang was treated with more nuance (like I would LOVE to see a retelling of Xiyouji where he's more of an intelligent rule-breaker like the historical Xuanzang), but between how he was written in canon & the tendencies towards tropes & simplification in both big-budget retellings and fanon tendencies you can see how he would end up Journey to the West's Most Hate-able Character.

[osakaso5]

The Observant Celestial Pilgrim - Throne Of The Stellar

Chapter 2 - Eterno, The Star Of Fiery Sands

Chapter Index

Hope: Done locking up! I've got herbs in case my stomach starts to hurt, and I grabbed what little savings I have.

Hope: And my protective amulet... All set!

Hope: I haven't forgotten anything! I'll be on my way now, Master!

Master Blacksmith: Hold on now... Hope, you're not seriously going to leave, are you? Not with all that luggage.

Hope: ...I'm sorry that I can't keep working at your smithy.

Master Blacksmith: Stop pretending to be all grown up, apprentice. What I wanna know is if a brat like you really has the guts to travel the universe.

Hope: Curse is missing! I've searched all over Eterno, and I can't find him anywhere...

Hope: If he's not on Eterno, he should be on one of the other planets. I need to find him quickly!

Hope: He might be in trouble..!

Master Blacksmith: I get that you're worried because your foster father disappeared suddenly.

Master Blacksmith: But Curse is away on work travels all the time.

Hope: But I haven't heard from him in a whole month, and that's never happened before...

Master Blacksmith: Maybe he just got tired of looking after you?

Hope: ......!

Master Blacksmith: A sagely scholar like him isn't suited for a place like Eterno, right? He probably got fed up with this rough lifestyle and left.

Hope: Curse would never be so heartless!

Hope: He took me in because I had no parents, and we've been together ever since! The Curse I know would never..!

Master Blacksmith: I got it, calm down.

Master Blacksmith: ...Geez, you're always like this when it comes to Curse.

Hope: I'll make sure to find Curse and bring him back! I won't return to this house until I do.

Hope: Now, I'll finally be on my way!!!

Master Blacksmith: Ah, hey, Hope!

Master Blacksmith: Even if you go, you won't be able to afford the ship fares! Nobody's going to give a penniless kid like you a ride!

Master Blacksmith: Come back as soon as something happens to you! For Pete's sake... 

- - - -

Whooooosh....

Hope: Phew... The sandstorms are worse than usual today. It's really hot, too...

Hope: But there's so many spaceships! And lots of people!

Hope: I came here on a whim, but it looks like I was right to choose the biggest port on Eterno.

Hope: There's so many ships that at least one of them has got to let me come on board. Maybe, if I tell them they can use me for any manual labour...

Hope: No, not "maybe"! I have to find one.

Hope: Wait for me, Curse..!

Hope: Alright! I'll do my best! 

- - - -

Ship Crew: You're in our way! Scram!

Hope: Whoa..! 

Thud

Hope: Owie...

Ship Crew: You've got some nerve kiddo, trying to get on our ship without pay.

Hope: Ah! Wait..!

Hope: ...And they're gone.

Hope: I just can't find a ship that'll take me. I've already tried most of the ones around here.

Hope: I won't find another harbour this big, but I guess I'll try my luck somewhere else... 

Loud commotion...

Hope: ...Hmm?

Youngster: Thief! Someone stop him!

Hope: Thief!?

Youngster: Hey, wait! ...Make way..!

Thief: Hah, as if I'll letcha catch me, ya dunce!

Whoosh..!

Youngster: Ugh, I can't see anything in this sand cloud...

Youngster: Crap, where'd he go!? At this rate, the transaction fee will... Ah!!!

Passerby A: Huh, dog ears!? Or are they cat ears?

Passerby B: They suddenly grew out of his head!

Thief: Oh, so you're a beast-eared Bestian. Why dontcha go back to whatever circus cage ya crawled out of, beast! 

Youngster: .......

Thief: Animals don't need money, anyhow. Us humans will put it to good use, hahaha...

Hope: Take this!!!

Thief: Uaaargh!

Thud

Thief: Lemme go!

Hope: No way! Give him back what you stole..!

Thief: Shit..!

Hope: Hey, you!

Hope: Look, I caught the criminal!

Youngster: .....!

- - - -

Youngster: Thanks for catching him. You really saved my hide.

Hope: Don't worry about it! It was all just good timing. I was in the right place at the right time.

Hope: Besides, I always make sure to do at least one thing to help my people everyday!

Youngster: But I'm not one of your people...

Hope: Doesn't matter, as long as you're on Eterno!

Youngster: ...I see. But I still want to thank you somehow. I'm really grateful for what you did.

Hope: Hehehe!

Youngster: I knew public order is bad on Eterno... But I wasn't expecting to deal with it right on arrival.

Youngster: It was shocking to find that there weren't even guards to hand that thief over to. Luckily there were those vigilantes, though.

Hope: All the outsiders who come here say the same thing. It's been like this ever since I was a kid, so I don't really get it.

Youngster: I see...

Hope: Our king died because of the war that happened a long time ago, too.

Hope: Apparently this planet wasn't as tough to live on before that. There wasn't nearly as much violence back then.

Youngster: But even in a place like this, there's still good guys like you.

Hope: Well, duh! There's lots of nice people here.

Youngster: Right. I guess where you're born doesn't really matter.

Hope: Exactly!

Youngster: By the way, I've been thinking for a while now...

Hope: Hmm?

Youngster: Could you stop staring at my ears?

Hope: Huh?

Youngster: Are Bestian beast ears really that rare?

Hope: Sorry! I couldn't help it... So you're from planet Bestia!

Youngster: ...Couldn't you tell?

Hope: I've never left Eterno, so it's my first time meeting a Bestian. And I've never seen those kind of ears, either...

Youngster: I'm thankful for your help, but I'm gonna have to ask you to stop staring so much.

Youngster: ...When people stare, I can't focus enough to hide them.

Hope: What? You're going to hide them? That's such a shame!

Youngster: Shame?

Momo: I mean, they're so cool.

Youngster: ...Cool? You mean these ears?

Hope: They're so silky and pretty, and the way they're kinda drooping looks neat!

Hope: They really suit you. So I couldn't help staring!

Youngster: .........

Youngster: Not everyone feels the way you do.

Hope: Really? Then they must be pretty weird.

Youngster: You're the weird one here.

Hope: Whaaat!?

Youngster: .........

Hope and the Youngster: Pfft.

Hope and the Youngster: Ahahahaha!

Coda: My name is Coda. Mind if I ask what yours is?

Hope: I'm Hope! Nice to meet you.

Coda: Hope, thanks a lot for earlier. I was just about to go gloat to our leader about today's profits.

Hope: ...Leader?

Man: Yeah, that's right. We're part of a caravan called Burst Roar. We travel around the galaxy.

Hope: ....!

Coda: Fang!

Fang: Hey, Coda. Looks like you got completely wrecked.

Coda: You're always popping in out of nowhere. How long have you been watching me, anyway? If you saw everything, then you could've helped.

Fang: I was going to. But a certain brave young boy got ahead of me.

Hope: ....!

Fang: Thank you, Hope. You've done a great favor to our caravan.

Fang: I'm Burst Roar's leader and ship captain, Fang.

Hope: Burst Roar... Captain..!

Coda: We travel around the planets, trading. Though we rarely come to Eterno.

Coda: It's not like Eterno has any particularly valuable materials to import... Ah, sorry.

Hope: .......

Coda: Hope? You're not mad... are you?

Hope: Um!

Coda: Whaagh!?

Fang: What is it, Hope?

Hope: I need to ask you guys something... No wait, I mean, I have a request!!

Hope: Please, let me come aboard your ship... Let me on Burst Roar!! 

To be continued...

[happyraptorr-blog]

I just finished Punisher S2 and Holy Hell

lots of spoilers ahead. you’ve been warned

- Okay first off

DAD👏FRANK👏

it’s the content I didn’t know I needed and honestly a highlight of this season for me. like at the end where he’s saying goodbye to Amy and they hug tHERE IS NO HESITATION FOR HIM HE GRABS ONTO HER SO TIGHT OH MY GOD. did I replay that scene multiple times before moving on? yes. how many times? not. enough. times.

“I would do anything for her.” hear that? that’s the sound of my stone cold heart cracking a little.

also, as always, Jon Bernthal gave an incredible performance as Frank. but I mean that goes without saying. you already know he did a great job. I really like the insight that Frank gave about what’s going on in his head. One thing that really stuck with me is (and I’m not gonna get this completely right) “I can live with it, but there is no peace in here.” and he taps his head. that really just struck me. as well as the personal turmoil he goes through when thinks that he killed those three girls. you could see it on his face, in his eyes, he thought that he was a terrible monster and that he deserved to die. it was so painful to watch.

- I don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but I really, really liked the John Pilgrim character. 1) Josh Stewart is an incredible actor. He did a phenomenal job with this character. 2) when he was first introduced I thought “oh here’s the creepy religious bad guy whoopdeedoo whatever” and I thought he was going to be really static. but I was so pleased when they made him so much more dynamic when they showed his kids and his wife and gave him a real reason to be doing the things he was doing besides just being this season’s villain.

- okay and now I’m addressing Billy Russo and his character and his demise:

What the hell

that kind of specifically addresses his death.

so just like.... after all of that. after everything.... Castle just..... POW POW..... and it’s over? idk, I guess that’s just Castle being completely

~Over this bullshit~

but like..... come on. there was no closure there for either of them. I mean, not that billy deserved closure. he is literally one of the worst people. ever. but Frank needed it. or at least I thought that he did but I guess not. the only person who knows what Frank needs is Frank and that’s just how it is.

- Ben Barnes’ performance was amazing. he did a brilliant job with his character and I really enjoyed watching him.

- okay and the Beth character, I am so happy she was just in two episodes in the beginning honestly I would’ve been so upset if the end of the last episode was him driving to her house like no please thank you. like it was good to show that Frank is open to romantic relationships in the future (Kastle Kastle Kastle Kastle) but like. just stay in Michigan pls.

- SPEAKING OF KASTLE

that needs to happen. that’s all I have to say on that it’s pretty straightforward

“You can’t keep loving people in your dreams!” I think about that line at least once a day. it was just a really, really good line.

THE HOSPITAL SCENE BETWEEN KAREN AND CASTLE

art

the chemistry is absolutely amazing

the emotions they both convey through their facial expressions, the most subtle things, during that scene,,, like,,, I don’t even know how to describe it, but it was absolutely incredible

- at first, I didn’t really mind the whole manipulative religious homophobic maniac storyline because it gave us John Pilgrim (and Amy too and thus dad Frank) but looking back on it it would’ve been a lot better if the series had solely focused on the relationship and dynamic between Billy and Castle and Jigsaw/Punisher. I don’t know, I feel like a lot more could’ve been done with that.

- Krista DuMont (Dumont?) can go burn for all I care and that’s str8 facts.

- I don’t really mind Madani I think that she’s an okay character but geez okay just cALM DOWN

- Curtis is the only one legged black man for me. and he is probably the best thing to ever happen to Frank and to this series so from now on he has been christened as Saint Curtis by me. yes I have the authority to do that.

okay I think that’s it for now. if you read this, thanks! I know this is super long, but mostly I’m just writing this because I have no one else to talk to about it so this post is just me organizing my thoughts.

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

All the way to the Other Cup, I was pretty quiet. Knives kissed me. Or I kissed Knives, or whatever. AGAIN! This was getting pretty ridiculous by now. I mean, it was one thing when we were shitfaced and making out because we weren't sober enough to know better, but what excuse did I have now? None. Yeah, I could have tried saying "I was worried about her falling and the emotions were running high," but the truth is that wouldn't happen if we didn't both think about it before the moment came. So nah, I won't hide behind that.

Until we had a table, we chatted about small things. Then Knives dove right back in.

"Soooo, can I be totally honest? Like, it's making me want to crawl under the table, but…"

"Yeah, fine. Go for it." I wanted to say "No, please stop." But maybe if we got it out of the way, we could move on a little faster and I could spend less time wanting the same thing Knives wanted: to hide.

"Okay. So, um… that was a great kiss." When I groaned and slumped lower in my seat, she went on, "Seriously! Like, I've only ever kissed you and Neil in a way that was… y'know, more than just a peck like with Scott. But for serious, it's so much better when you're sober."

"Ugh… I feel so gross that it happened when I was wasted." When her smile slipped a notch, I held up a hand. "Not because it's you! Just, that's a crappy way for a kiss to happen, even if it's the first or last kiss, or whatever. Probably a really normal thing, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah," she half-laughed, scratching her cheek. "First kiss, huh?" Then she perked up slightly, saying "Washroom, be right back!" That came out of nowhere. But when I only shrugged, she went skipping off with her purse swinging back and forth.

While she was gone, I sipped at my espresso and tried to take stock. Maybe Knives really didn't mind. Anything: that I was a girl, that I was a real asshole of one… that we both slobbered all over each other while intoxicated instead of this being our first kiss, under the monkey bars after I caught her from falling like any normal couple.

And those thoughts only made me feel more panic rising. A normal couple. Parts of my brain sure had hopped on the Pinechau bandwagon in a fucking hurry! But whenever I tried to think of real, legitimate reasons not to try going out with her — at least try it once, I failed. She was sweet, and earnest, and already seemed pretty open to the idea. Probably was holding back her interest level because she could see me hitting the roof the way I was.

What about sex? Was I ready to bang a chick?! Maybe not. But then again, Knives never spent any time talking about anything sexual. She would if I brought it up, but otherwise she seemed more interested in other subjects, like martial arts, music, talking about old times… kissing me. Bedroom stuff could probably wait a while.

As I saw her emerge from the restroom, looking relieved and satisfied with her "mission" in there, I smiled to myself before she could catch me doing it. Knives Chau… about the same height as me, but a little shorter. Did that make me the guy? I mean, I know they say that's not really how lesbians work, but I'd never been one before. Or whatever I was turning into. I didn't know if I could handle that. Bossing her around was kind of fun because she "played along", but the minute she gave a hint she was upset, I crumpled like a cheap suit. Well, that was fine; I hated those kind of He-Man neanderthal dudes, anyway. Sure as fuck didn't want to be one.

How naturally all these thoughts came to me was a little scary. One kiss in the park, and I was already picking out china patterns. No pun intended.

"Sorry," she whispered with an apologetic smile as she sank back into her chair. "What'd I miss?"

"An existential quandary." Sighing, I sat forward again. "So."

"So?"

"Um, if I tell you that… I don't want to kiss you again, what would you say?"

Her answer came a lot faster than I expected; only a second or two of her looking up and away, before she focused on me again. "I'd say that's cool. We tried it, and just because I liked it doesn't mean you had to."

"You liked it!" I breathed in shock, and she grinned. Then I rubbed at my face with both hands. "Fine, fine. Hypothetically, let's say it's the opposite; that I did like it and that I might want to do it again. What would you say?"

"I'd say… we could do it later tonight. At your place?" When my face began to feel cold, and my hands shook, she reached out and laid one of hers on top of mine. "Or not. Probably smarter to like, let this chill overnight and see how we feel in the morning, huh?"

"Y-yeah. Yeah, that's… let's do that."

White teeth flashed in the light as she grinned. "You're too cute, Kim. I mean it, and not just because of the kissing. I always thought you were both cute and cool."

"A rare combination indeed. Geeze… it's not freaking you out at all that a girl kissed you? An older girl?"

"Not that much older," she scoffed. "What, twenty-two?"

"Twenty-four." Another shrug, so I let that drop. "Okay, so yeah, we're both… young-ish, it's not like I'm a cougar. But you're a teenager so it's kind of…"

"I'm not in high school, though. Don't forget that." She took a sip of green milktea, which Julie had made without complaint this time. Probably got chewed out by her manager. "But nah, I don't mind. Scott's the same age as you. And Neil was my age, but he was so not ready to date, so that's… like, yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm alright with it if you are."

Those were all fine points, and I couldn't argue against any of them. "Well, maybe I don't even want to do that. Maybe I just want to be friends with benefits." Then I facepalmed. "Like kissing. Not jumping straight into the sack. God, why can't I talk today?"

Of course, the only effect that had was making Knives blush. "Y-yeah, I'm… really not sure how that should work. Even if we were a normal boy and a girl, or whatever, I'm still pretty… um, virginal."

"Really? You and Neil didn't…?" She shook her head. "That's right, I think you said."

"Anyway, I'm cool with, um, taking it slow. Or not taking it anywhere! All up to you."

My face fell into my hands again and I groaned, "Someone kill me. I didn't sign up for this when I became your friend. It was supposed to be easy, because you're so nice… and now look where we are. Will-They-Or-Won't-They-opolis."

That seemed to take Knives' breath away for a few moments. I didn't know why until she found her voice again. "Well, there is one good thing about this freaking you out."

"Oh yeah? What?"

"Too many distractions to keep pretending you aren't a good person."

"Yeah? Well, I say I'm terrible. Are you saying I'm lying?"

"To yourself," she countered, which I couldn't pretend to disagree with. This little smirk of hers might have been the very first time I ever saw Knives looking smug about anything, and even then, it was way less than most people I know are capable of. "I knew you were good under all that grump. Just… didn't like people to know for some reason? I guess? But you just told me I'm nice."

Blinking, I had to sit back in mild confusion. Did I really say that? Guess so. My face was trying to turn red again, so I lowered myself down into the seat and grumbled, "Shut up."

"Okay, just to make sure: when you say 'shut up' to me, you really just mean that I'm probably right and you don't want me to make you admit it, right? Because if you really want me to stop talking… I could."

The little thrill of guilt that shot through me kept me from saying, "Yes, stop talking forever." Instead, all I did was reach across the table and hold her hand.

"Omigosh," she breathed very softly, eyes widening as she stared down at our unified fingers.

"NOW you have to shut up, before I run away from this café."

                                                       ~ o ~

Not long after that, we made our way back to my place. Just when I had started to get used to having her over, it not being a weird thing, this happens. Now she's… what, my girlfriend? I don't know, but it's weird and I don't like weird. There's enough of that in my life already.

"It's kinda cool that we can just be… whatever," she glowed with a big smile, clasping my hand and swinging it back and forth as we got closer to my building. "Friends with just kissing."

"Right." Then, because I can't keep my giant mouth shut, I say, "What if I decide I want that, instead, though? The whole 'dating' experience."

"What do you mean? Like… picking you up and giving you flowers?"

"Yeah. I mean, just because I'm taller doesn't mean I should be 'the boy'. You can have that dubious honour."

Knives didn't look very happy about that. "Oh… no thanks. I didn't think you were the boy before, though…"

"Well, most people would. And I'm barely taller, so you can be the boy sometimes, right? Just… I don't know, this isn't really my thing."

"I don't want to be the boy," she repeated… and there was something new in her tone. Bitterness. Not a lot, and it might just have been anger that came out sounding different because she was not a person who was used to being angry at her friends. But it certainly sounded like that. Either way, any idiot could tell she was dead serious in a way I was not used to hearing Knives be serious.

"Uhhh, yeah, forget it," I said, still blinking and trying to get my brain and my mouth to sync up. "Sorry."

"Good," she sighed, then walked a little closer so that she nudged me. "And it's okay, just not really interested. Anyway, isn't the whole point of us being friends and, um, making out that we can both be girls? Since the whole reason we kissed the first time was we got drunk and started talking about how terrible guys can be sometimes."

"That's true." But I still felt like I should be apologising even more than I already did. And had no idea why. But she got her next words out before I could find my courage; was probably hiding down in my liver or something.

"Dooooo you wanna make out a little tonight?"

My immediate response was "NO!" But when Knives only blinked at me, I squirmed. "Ugh. Fine, we'll see how I feel when we get there."

And once I got there, I did feel like it. Not at first, because my heart was pounding and my forehead sweating, even just while talking to Knives about some guy who tried to get her to buy him a bag of chips in exchange for a "rare" American nickel. It was stupid; I was trying to convince myself that we could just be friends, and yet all I could focus on was the kiss from the playground, how nice her weight had felt in my arms, how soft and perfect she was. Like a druggie getting that first hit.

"...and nobody ever saw her again," she sighed. "But stray cats are pretty common, I guess. Still feel bad."

"Yeah," I sighed, lounging back against the chair, legs dangling off the side. Knives was on the couch, but still curled up very neatly in the corner closest to me, legs tucked under her. Most of her glass of juice was gone, and my water. It had been a while.

Seemed she had either run out of stuff to talk about, or she noticed I was having trouble focusing on her random stories, because her arm lifted until she could poke the freckle on my toe. "Cute."

"Right," I laughed, kicking at her. She grinned and looked down at her knees. "Like there's any part of you that's not cute."

A half-second later, I was slapping my hand over my mouth. Knives blinked at me, obviously flattered, and I wanted to turn into goo and seep down into the chair seat and disappear… but before my embarrassment could make my cheeks more than a shade or two darker, her smile came over bittersweet.

"Oh… there's at least one, right? Nobody's perfect."

"Never said that. You're a pain in the ass. But… a cute one."

Again, the bashful look. "So are you." We both kind of looked into each other's eyes. She swallowed, I sat up a little straighter.

"Knives?"

"Yeah?"

"Go home. It's pretty late, and we both have work in the morning."

A little disappointed, she sighed and got up from the couch. I walked her over, leaned against the door jamb while she put her shoes back on and grabbed her bag. Then she shouldered it and smiled up at me.

And I kissed her. Sober me, this time knowing full well that it wasn't a dream, without adrenaline from a near-fall, pulled Knives Chau in for a lip-lock, running my fingers through her hair, and feeling her turn into putty in my hands. It didn't last for more than a minute, maybe two, but by the end of it we were both gasping for air and smiling.

"Wooooow," she breathed.

"Yeah, wow. Get out."

That only made her smile, leaning up to leave a tiny peck on my chin. Then she whispered, "Text you when I get there" before heading out into the night.

                                                        To Be Continued…