#seen it or gone to restaurants that sell it etc.

[neverdoingmuch]

the issue with what-about-ism is that it should have been an excellent opportunity to challenge someone's stance by introducing another point of view and expanding the bubble that people live in, and instead it's become an opportunity to suggest extreme edge cases that are treated as a joke rather than an additional voice in the matter (and yeah, most of the time it does feel like a joke if not just a sign of someone missing the point).

[no-passaran]

can you explain the post about catalan self-hatred

Centuries of occupation and being told we are useless, ignorant, and cringy and thus for our own good we should abandon our culture, language, accent, identity, everything that shows what our culture is (or was, if they succeed) except for very few isolated items that can be folklorized (isolated from our very alive culture, which give them sense, and shown as a curiosity or a relic of an old gone past, or simply as one isolated "fun" addition to Spanish culture, which didn't originate it and which doesn't understand it) and monetized to be sold as Spanish (see: Madrid restaurants selling something they call "paella" and which is really an "arròs de mar" but they have re-made it to suit the taste of tourists and that they will advertise with Spanish flags and sevillana drawings and commercialise as "typical Spanish", completely separating it from its roots and without even knowing what the word "paella" means, so that tourists can consume it without even knowing what culture it's from and what language that word is in), hearing how cringy we Catalans are vs how cool we would look like if we became fully Spanish (and fully Spanish means abandoning Catalanity), all of these happening for generations and permeating literature, TV, popular jokes, pop culture, laws, even church leaders speaking it in mass) etc. well, it does end up affecting you.

Generation after generation of this means that we have a very deeply rooted self-hatred. And it's so normalized that we don't even realise it. Self-hatred is a term used in sociolinguistics that means precisely that, having interiorized the bigotry against your own group. In our case, it means Catalan people who are Catalanophobic, often without realising it, or thinking that it's justified because it would be ridiculous to think otherwise. For example, when Catalans say that it's true that our existence is useless and it's a shame that we were born in Catalonia and that Catalan is still alive because everything would be easier if we spoke only Spanish, which they see as a superior and international language, or say that we shouldn't have Catalan written in public where tourists can see it. As you can see, this is very connected with imperialism. All of us are Catalanophobic. I don't think there is even one Catalan person who is not Catalanophobic, because we are raised in a deeply Catalanophobic legal, political, and social system. The difference relies on how aware of it are we and how much we are willing to rethink it. For most people, they're not willing to rethink it because they believe it's right, and that it would be nonsensical to imagine that we are equal to Spanish speakers or deserve the same rights.

That post was a screenshot I took of a comment on Instagram. It's a video of some Catalan people talking and joking around, everything very innocent and nice, and someone left this comment (in Catalan) saying "why do you speak in such a strong Catalan accent? It makes my blood boil, and I am Catalan, so imagine..." (implying that "if it bothers me, a Catalan, that you are so visibly Catalan, imagine how much it must bother someone who isn't Catalan. Thus you should correct it").

This is something that I have been told countless times in my life. In high school, my best friend always used to make fun of me when I said something in Spanish because I have a strong Catalan accent. She would repeat my words after me exaggerating the accent to make it ridiculous and laughable, and would laugh at how bad it is and how "rural" it makes me sound (note: I am not from a rural accent nor speak an accent of Catalan from a rural area, it's that having a Catalan accent in Spanish is seen as being uneducated and "from the provinces"). The thing is tho: she had the same accent. She does not speak any better than me. She also had told me many times about how much she dislikes going to visit her dad's family in southern Spain because the whole town laughs at her for having a Catalan accent and that some kids have insulted her for being from Catalonia, and even her dad (born and raised in that town of southern Spain but who has been living in Catalonia for decades) gets made fun of and receives hate speech for being Catalan now. But so many people always look for someone else, someone who is more visibly Catalan for whatever reason, and give them the same bigotry that they have received. As if that will redeem them somehow, or distract from their own "faults"— and I'm not using the word "fault" just because, that's what we feel but don't say out loud, except when someone slips like that Valencian politician who started a speech by apologizing in case she "slips and says a word in Valencian" because "sadly it's my mother tongue, I have this defect". (note: Valencian and Catalan are two names for the same language). Some people on the internet complained because she said the quiet part out loud, but how many of those people don't act like that in their everyday lives, simply refusing to state it so clearly that that's how they see it?

It's to be expected to get these comments from Spanish people. When I was 15, I was part of a programme for students and we had to go to Madrid for a meeting of all the students in the state of Spain who were being given this scholarship, and I was the only Catalan and the rest of teens spent most of the time making fun of me and my accent. But what I remember the most is that one of them was nice to me, and he talked to me having normal conversations (the others only said bigoted things against Catalonia and against Barça team and tried to get me to talk about bullfighting, knowing that it's illegal in Catalonia, to make me feel excluded), but even this nice boy at one point said out of the blue "you really can't hide that you're Catalan!". It would be nice to answer "so? Why do I have to hide it?" but the thing is that I had tried my best, not to hide it 100% maybe, but to not make it easy to see. For example, when we introduced ourselves, everyone said our name and where we're from, I was aware that I should say Barcelona (even though I'm not from the city itself) instead of Catalonia. After that, I tried taking some online lessons I found on YouTube on how to have a Castilian accent, but I never managed. It would be useless anyway, just a few years later I was on Erasmus and when I introduced myself to the other students (I had literally only said "hello my name is Elna") the two Spanish students laughed and one of them said while laughing "that's a very Catalan name, like very very very Catalan, isn't it?", like it was a funny joke.

So yeah, it's whatever to get it from Spanish people and Spanish-speakers in Catalonia (I mean, to be fair, it's not whatever when it means you can get a harsher sentence for the same trial if you spoke Catalan in the court, that you might get arrested or mistreated by the police if you spoke to them in Catalan, that you can get kicked out of the doctor's office for speaking in Catalan, etc and believe me I have had my share of discrimination from doctors for this very reason) but it is so much more insidious when it comes from ourselves. And it's painted not as bigotry but as "common sense" or just "not being cringy". I'm tired of my existence being considered cringe! I'm tired that if I speak about what happens to us it's seen as cringe and "distracting from things that are actually important" (because we are useless to the world!)! Or if I say more autochthonous expressions that don't have a direct translation to Spanish to get told I'm like a grandma and I'm cringe! I'm even tired of the well meaning ones, some time ago a friend's Spanish-speaker friend heard me talk to another friend and said "aw that's cute, you speak Catalan, it's like you're grandmas". Or that children will get bullied for celebrating the Castanyada instead of Halloween because it's cringe. I love the Castanyada and I will say it now, I spent my whole high school years pretending like I don't celebrate it. I do! I eat panellets that my aunt makes, and sometimes I make them too, and I go with my family friends in front of the fireplace, and we roast chestnuts and we sing Marrameu torra castanyes, and we like it! And I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. And if that means everyone laughs at me and says I'm cringe and elderly, then so be it. I spent long enough hiding from my own people. I am so so so so tired.

I heard this sentence once: "what Franco couldn't manage to finish, we will do it ourselves". They couldn't eliminate us with violent force, but the long route of psychological war makes us be our own enemies and our own executioner. As has already happened so much more in the part of Catalonia under French rule, and all other nations still nowadays under French rule.

Here's what I did and helped me very much. Every time I have a Catalanophobic thought or I think as myself as lesser than for something related to being Catalan, I imagine a tiny Franco inside my head and I shoot him. This makes me take a moment to pay attention to what I had thought and that I don't want it, and do better in the future. Being conscious is the only way to learn self-respect.

[fahrni]

Saturday Morning Coffee

Good morning from Charlottesville, Virginia! ☕️

Just poured my first cup, letting it sit a spell while I get started. Kolby and Gracie are chillin’ at the moment, which is nice. It means I don’t have to get them to leave the cats alone. Even though Flynn usually starts the loud morning play fest.

The leaves have started falling off the trees and early mornings have been extremely cool. It’s really nice and is a signal to me fall is coming. 🍁

However, Charlottesville weather is unkind and likes to play mind games. This is fake fall. Next week daytime highs are forecast to be in the 90’s. Ugh. 🥵

I hope you enjoy the links.

Rolling Stone

Jimmy Buffett, the singer-songwriter known for his enduring anthem “Margaritaville” and businessman who transformed the 1977 song into an empire that encompassed restaurants, resorts, and more, has died at the age of 76.

RIP Jimmy.

amo

One interesting choice we’ve decided to stick to throughout the years and on to this new project is to have the app infrastructure (networking, authentication, data synchronization and persistence, feature data backends, etc.) done using the same technology as the backend (in Rust, see more in Production Environment) and shared across iOS and Android.

I like this choice. I’ve tried to sell this idea inside WillowTree but I think we’ll be doing more React Native going forward. Look, if your primary business is not shipping applications it makes sense to use cross platform tooling. From what I’ve seen of our React Native work it’s quite good and you can’t tell the difference.

If you are an application developer and want to get some shared code across native platforms, Rust is a good alternative to languages like C and C++ — even though I still really love C++. 😁

Using Rust for all that common code just feels right to me.

Jennifer Sandlin • Boing Boing

According to Pizzagate conspiracy theorists, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Pizza Hut boxes are encouraging Satanic ritual abuse

I watched the YouTube video linked from the piece and boy do these folks have to do a bunch of mental gymnastics to make this stuff up. It is crazy. If the entire Q phenomenon did anything it was to create a legion of complete nut jobs.

Heck we all thought al-Qaeda was a threat to our nation. We’ve been able to screw things up from the inside with things like the Orange Menace, the GOP, and Q. No outside help necessary.

Denise Yu

Your job title says “software engineer”, but you seem to spend most of your time in meetings. You’d like to have time to code, but nobody else is onboarding the junior engineers, updating the roadmap, talking to the users, noticing the things that got dropped, asking questions on design documents, and making sure that everyone’s going roughly in the same direction. If you stop doing those things, the team won’t be as successful. But now someone’s suggesting that you might be happier in a less technical role. If this describes you, congratulations: you’re the glue. If it’s not, have you thought about who is filling this role on your team?

This is why I wanted to become an Engineering Director at WillowTree. Turns out I was good at team building but horrible at all the management stuff, like reviews.

Now that I’ve gone back to an engineering role I can focus more on team building from a technical perspective, which I love. Sure, I do day-to-day coding, but I also help other grow and do whatever needs doing.

Keri Blakinger • The New York Times

The first time Tony Ford played Dungeons & Dragons, he was a wiry Black kid who had never seen the inside of a prison. His mother, a police officer in Detroit, had quit the force and moved the family to West Texas. To Ford, it seemed like a different world. Strangers talked funny, and El Paso was half desert. But he could skateboard in all that open space, and he eventually befriended a nerdy white kid with a passion for Dungeons & Dragons. Ford fell in love with the role-playing game right away; it was complex and cerebral, a saga you could lose yourself in. And in the 1980s, everyone seemed to be playing it.

My brothers, their friends, and I were part of that nerdy set who played D&D in the 80s. I have wonderful memories of that time in my life. An easier time. The 80s was a great time to be a teenager and D&D contributed heavily to that greatness.

Tim Hardwick • MacRumors

Apple will receive all of TSMC’s first-generation 3-nanometer process chips this year for upcoming iPhones, Macs, and iPads, according to industry sources cited by DigiTimes.

Isn’t it wild to think Apple will take the entire capacity of a chip manufacturer? Heck, I think Intel is finally at 10-nanometer and is expected to move to 7-nanometer this year — maybe they already have, I’m not sure.

It makes me wonder if Intel could get to the point that they’re manufacturing chips for Apple?

Thomas Ricouard

I’ve seen countless of tweets and stories lately about modern iOS architecture. I’ve been a huge fan of trying new architecture on iOS, and in the past I have worked with Redux / TCA like architecture because I believe unidirectional data flow is the only way to have a good & robust architecture.

Thomas is a super smart fella and is worth a read. He’s the author of the excellent iOS Mastodon client, Ice Cubes. He’s done an amazing amount to work in the area of SwiftUI performance tuning. Give his piece a read.

George Wright • BBC

Canada has issued a new travel warning to its LGBT citizens planning to visit the United States.

This doesn’t surprise me. Our nation, as a whole, has taken so many steps backwards. Most of the nation wants to move forward but the GOP wants to take us back. They hate women and want them to stay home and be baby making machines, they want to exterminate trans folks, they’re racist, and they’d like to destroy the planet in the name of capitalism.

Meanwhile the sane people want healthcare for all, would like to see an educated America, let the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities exist and be first class citizens, amongst other things.

The choice has always been easy for me. I believe in people and want the best for everyone. We’re all so much better off being a diverse nation.

Sam Gold • lickability.com

SwiftUI is really good. (Stop booing me, I’m right.) However, there comes a time when you may look at your app and think, “this reeks of SwiftUI.” System-provided list layouts, the same typography, the same colors as every other app.

It’s always been a bit hacky to do a good job of theming an iOS App. Especially if you want to support dynamic text in your app, which you most definitely should.

I’m always on the lookout for articles that try to solve this problem.

This article isn’t about that as much as it’s about how to make your app shine in multiple ways.

Yahoo

Managers should not use the budget cuts as an “explanation” for compensation decisions for individual employees and instead should emphasize that the employee’s own “impact” determines “rewards.”

This guidance feels so scummy. Just say you had to do because of budget cuts. Sure, folks will be pissed off they’re missing their raise because of the cuts but do you think allowing them to believe they didn’t get a raise because of their lack of performance is better?

Maybe the goal is to get people to quit? If that is the goal, I think this is a good way to do it. Nice work.

Xe Iaso

WebAssembly is a compiler target for an imaginary CPU that your phones, tablets, laptops, gaming towers and even watches can run. It’s intended to be a level below JavaScript to allow us to ship code in maintainable languages.

I love they this article uses the term imaginary CPU. That imaginary CPU is a computer program that interprets the WebAssembly and executes it on your particular platform. Yes, in almost all cases, it’s going to be a JavaScript runtime.

If you’d like to learn more about WebAssembly you should read the official docs but I’d also encourage you to read my colleagues work on the subject. I’ve mentioned Nish Tahir before. The man’s pretty much a genius and can make a computer do anything he wants with any language. Oh, he can also handle DevOps as well as anyone. A real glue engineer if ever there was one. WillowTree is really lucky to have him.

[hikari-kaitou]

Capcom’s Official AA Fanclub Surveys - Main Series Edition

Naturally, Capcom’s official AA fanclub site didn't only post surveys about the DGS characters; they published far more of them about the main series characters. It makes sense, as they started the trend before the DGS series had even been conceived.

Back in the old days, they used to hold a survey on Capcom’s official AA fansite every few months where they’d write about the seasonal activities of a handful of characters and ask fans to vote for the funniest/most pleasant/strangest/etc answer.

They stopped doing them in like… 2016? 2017? The original text is lost for good as far as I can tell. Even the wayback machine couldn’t help because the content was password locked and you can’t get past the password wall while remaining in the archived version.

Fortunately, I saved some of my translations of them so I thought I’d share them. Unfortunately, I was doing these translations very casually and only intended to share them with two of my close friends at the time when I did them, so some of them are just summaries rather than proper translations, and I tended to only focus on characters that we personally were interested in or scenarios that we thought were funny or interesting. That means there are parts missing, and because I didn't expect the original text to be wiped off the site I didn't save it so I could go back and fill in the blanks. Sorry about that...

Cut for length!

"Spring is on its way and each of the AA cast members spent their day off in different ways. Who's way of spending their day off sounds the most pleasant?"

Phoenix- he finished unpacking his moving boxes and sorting his seasonal clothing. While he was packing away his ugly pink sweater and such, he happened across the complete works of Shakespeare at the bottom of one of the boxes, got completely absorbed in reading, and ended up abandoning his unpacking.

Mia- She went shopping at a department store for a new summer suit. On her way, she coincidentally ran into Maya, who was on her way to the agency to hang out, but then at some point Maya vanished. Mia tried calling her cell phone but she didn't answer. "Don't tell me she's lost at her age," Mia thought, and began to search for her. She found Maya transfixed by a rooftop Steel Samurai show. It seems that she was both exasperated and relieved.

Maya- she tagged along on Mia's shopping trip, but the second she spied a poster for a rooftop Steel Samurai show, she made a beeline for the roof. She got into a cheering battle with a mean-looking elementary school boy and really enjoyed the show. When the show was over, she reunited with an exasperated looking Mia. She gleefully led Mia to a burger restaurant so they could eat some burgers together.

Edgeworth- he treated himself to a drive along the coast in his red sports car... Well, that was the plan, but then he was pushed by his mentor Von Karma into being the driver for his shopping trip. As a reward for his service, he received a brand new Von Karma style, stylish and flashy summer suit.

Then there's Larry, who dragged Phoenix to a café to hit on its hot owner, and the judge who bought a wig.

"Apollo, Fulbright, Edgeworth, Klavier and Kristoph made visits to a nursery school near the courthouse. Which of them did the most pleasant activity with the children?"

Apollo acted out the story of the “Crying Red Ogre” for the children. Phoenix played the part of the blue ogre, and Apollo was the red ogre, and Apollo’s wailing moved the children to tears too. In a panic over all the crying, they got Trucy to cheer them up with a magic trick in which she made Apollo disappear.

Fulbright: He came dressed in a blinding white costume to teach the children about justice and put on a play. The children gave him thunderous applause... But when Jinxie, who had been forced to play the part of the heroine, saw Fulbright, she thought he was the ghost of an army general, got scared, and slapped a charm on his face.

Edgeworth and Gumshoe: He and Gumshoe were going to reenact the story of Kintarou (an old Japanese fairytale). Franziska handed Edgeworth the Kintarou costume she’d designed (If you've seen Ghibli's Spirited Away, recall what Bou, the giant baby, wears. That's what we're talking about here). Edgeworth fearfully asked “You... expect me to wear this...?” Gumshoe, who had painted his whole body black to play the role of a bear, told him “Of course, sir! It doesn’t fit me!” and shoved Edgeworth out on stage in it. Edgeworth quickly began to reconsider Gumshoe’s salary for next month.

Klavier and Kristoph: Kristoph started giving a boring lecture on the importance of law, and the kids were getting antsy. Seeing this, Klavier came over with his guitar to liven things up, performing a rock style arrangement of the “The Bear Went Over The Mountain". But then he threw in the unnecessary comment of “If any of you scratch the frets of my guitar, I’ll be suing for damage of property, ok?” And they both ended up getting kicked out.

"This survey is about who knows how to enjoy a sunny day at Gourd Lake the best"

Simon: To give Taka some exercise, Blackquill took him and Fulbright (who was on guard duty) out for some falconry. Things were going well until Taka heard something about this mysterious creature “Gourdy,” freaked out, flew into the little shop selling Gourdy merchandise and started making a huge mess. Blackquill and Fulbright gathered Taka up in a panic and hightailed it out of there as fast as they could.

Edgeworth had seen Phoenix home and on his way back passed by Gourd Lake. Just as he was starting to get bad flashbacks... he happened to hear Larry in the middle of a flirting attempt and got dragged in. The woman he was trying to put the moves on was a foreigner, and she and Edgeworth started chatting in her native language. Larry couldn’t understand and was annoyed that Edgeworth was apparently moving in on his target, so he sulked and blew up at Edgeworth.

Athena tried to play matchmaker for Apollo and Juniper, so she told them to meet her in the forest near Gourd Lake so that they would run into each other there and hopefully hit it off. Juniper got there first, expecting to find Athena, but when Apollo showed up, she panicked and hid behind a tree. While she was trying to gather her nerve to go talk to him, he wandered off and she lost sight of him.

Phoenix was at the park and he got caught by Larry who was doing his part time job of selling Samurai Dogs. Larry saw a pretty lady that he wanted to flirt with so he asked Phoenix to mind the shop while he was gone. Business was slow, so he called in all the WAA members to put their full range of skills to use. They seem to have managed to sell them all!

Gumshoe took Missile for a walk in the park. They stopped for a rest and Gumshoe fell asleep, so Missile slipped out of his collar and ran over to where the Samurai Dogs were being sold. He ate them all without Phoenix noticing. Phoenix handed things back over to Larry when he got back and Larry got in huge trouble for losing so much product.

"This survey is talking about how the cast spent their Valentines Day"

Trucy gave Polly chocolate for himself and some for Klavier and asked Apollo to give it to him for her. Klavier wasn’t in court when Apollo went to look for him, though, so he and Phoenix went to the prosecutors’ office together with their chocolate. On their way, though, Apollo found himself getting a lot of strange looks from Themis Legal Academy students.

Ema gave some chocolates to Phoenix to give to Edgeworth because she suddenly got called to a crime scene. Phoenix headed over to the prosecutors’ office but Edgeworth was in court and wasn’t there, so Phoenix waited out in front of the prosecutors’ office with this flashy, girly looking bag of chocolates. Edgeworth’s trial ended up going a long time and Phoenix got a lot of stares as he waited.

Edgeworth was hit by a pollen-filled spring breeze on his way back to the office and suddenly his eyes got all red and itchy and he was left sneezing and sniffling. Phoenix came to talk to him and got quite a surprise when he saw the state Edgeworth’s face was in. The chocolates Ema gave him were in the shape of the Steel Samurai and they made Edgeworth so pleased that it seemed to ease his suffering a little.

Flower Viewing:

Phoenix and Apollo go to the park early to hold flower viewing spots for the WAA members. They see some people from around town that they know who ask them to hold their spots while they go and grab this or that. Phoenix and Apollo do their best to hold those people’s spots and in the process lose their own. They end up begging Edgeworth to let them share his and Klavier’s spot.

White Day:

Because of his painful memories about Valentine’s Day from elementary school, he doesn’t like Valentine’s Day or White Day that much. As a return gift to his beloved daughter, he gave her painstakingly handmade magic panty shaped chocolates. Apparently he forced the ones that didn’t turn out on Edgeworth...

Klavier was holding a ladies only concert, which he invited Trucy to. Phoenix was worried about letting Trucy be out at night by herself, so he sent Apollo along in disguise (as a woman!!). But Klavier saw through Apollo’s disguise easily and to Apollo’s horror, called him up on stage.

Autumn/Moon Viewing:

Phoenix, Edgeworth and Larry went to collect chestnuts together. Larry was too focused on looking for chestnuts and not watching where he was going and fell down the mountain slope. Phoenix had tried to catch Larry but he ended up falling too and spraining his ankle slightly. Edgeworth had to carry Phoenix on his back down the mountain.

Apollo went moon viewing with the rest of the WAA. It turned out into kind of an office party and Apollo had drink after drink while assuring everyone that “I’m fine!” but ended up getting pretty hammered. He proceeded to pass out and Phoenix took care of him.

Obon Festival:

Klavier performed a bonfire festival dance version of the Guitar’s Serenade at the summer festival and Apollo provided the taiko drum backup. He filled the gaps in the taiko drumming with his chords of steel, and it was a very energetic bonfire dance.

Edgeworth noticed the festival going on on his way home from work and decided to have a look. He saw Phoenix selling Samurai Dogs and desperately wanted one, but couldn’t bear the thought of Phoenix finding out that he was a Steel Samurai fan. He hemmed and hawed in front of the festival stall, trying to decide whether to buy one, but they sold out before he could make up his mind.

Phoenix went to the festival with Maya. Larry, who was working the Samurai Dog stand, called them over and forced them to watch the stand while he made a booty call. Phoenix and Maya’s manzai comedy duo style vocal advertising was so successful that they quickly sold out.

Christmas:

Phoenix, Trucy, Athena, Apollo and Pearl all spent the night at the office after their party wrapped up. Phoenix put presents next to the kids' pillows during the night.

Edgeworth grumbled about having to play Santa but dressed up anyway and snuck in at night to bring the younger ones at Phoenix's office some presents. He accidentally ends up sneaking into Phoenix’s room instead.

Apollo wanted to be a good big brother to Trucy and Pearl, so he snuck into their rooms to leave gifts but tripped over something, let out a Chords of Steel volume shout as he fell and ruined the surprise/

Klavier, as a favor to Trucy, snuck in dressed as a Visual Kei style Santa, but he announced his arrival with a rock arrangement of Santa Claus is Coming to Town and got caught and kicked out.

Blackquill had to make a jailbreak in order to play Santa, was chased down and Phoenix woke to find the police surrounding his office.

DGS Edition

[dootdootwriting]

CONGRATS FOR 600+!!! I SAW UR EVENT SO IF I HAVE THE CHANCE, IM TAKING IT

The whole alphabet for Thoma. (Gn reader)

PLEASE dont overwork yourself though. You dont have to do it all if youre tired or something. Thank you and congrats!

600+ writing event

ty for ur request anon!! also you're funny. overwork myself? how could i possibly do that when i'm already avoiding all of my schoolwork? entire alphabet for thoma coming right up! (under the cut for length)

fluff alphabet with thoma; gn reader; no warnings apply

A-Activities (what do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?)

- thoma enjoys pretty much any type of shared activities with you, but ultimately his favorite kind is any that involves food. he'll go on tours of inazuma city with you to find the best places to get ice cream, or he'll buy a whole bunch of food and see what kind of dishes you can make together! nine times out of ten it ends up being really weird and a little gross, but it's fun and he loves spending time with you.

B-Beauty (what do they admire about their s/o? what do they think is beautiful about them?)

- he admires your ambition, your humor, and your own personal flair. he loves the person you are, and almost everything that goes into that, but he specifically loves the unique little traits that make you you.

C-Comfort (how would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?)

- his first instinct is to give you a big hug or rub your back, but only if he knows you're okay with it and that it would actually help. his first goal is to make sure you're okay, and then his second goal is to cheer you up: with bad jokes and kisses, usually

D-Dreams (how do they picture the future with their s/o?)

- thoma isn't super picky with how you two end up in the future, as long as you're together and happy. he wants to grow old with you, ideally, though however you do that will decide itself.

E-Equal (are they the dominant one in the relationship or rather passive?)

- thoma is used to taking the lead in your relationship, but he's not necessarily more dominant or anything - he's just excited to be with you and wants to make sure you're just as happy as he is. your relationship is pretty balanced!

F-Fun (what do they do for fun with their s/o? what's their idea of a fun day out?)

- he loves loves loves going out on walks, especially in the city, and just finding random things that seem fun to do. there are a bunch of people playing cornhole over there, how about you guys join in for a game? they're selling a new kind of hotpot at that restaurant, better give it a try!

G-Gratitude (how grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?)

- he's definitely aware of everything you do for him, and he's also very grateful that you're with him. he makes sure to let you know that every day.

H-Honesty (do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?)

- i think the only time thoma would ever keep something from you on purpose is if it would be somehow dangerous for you to know. other than that, he likes to make sure you're aware of everything you need to be. he likes his privacy like anyone else, but he also values communication.

I-Inspiration (did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?)

- being with you hasn't necessarily changed him (aside from the fact that you two are almost always seen together now) but it's definitely improved his mood a lot, not that it was ever really bad. he also likes to show off more now that you're around...

J-Jealousy (do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?)

- thoma gets jealous relatively easily but is also not one to step in unless it's a situation in which you seem uncomfortable. he trusts you wholeheartedly, which sometimes means he has to keep himself from getting overly worried.

K-Kisses (are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?).

- he's a very good kisser. thoma's kisses are playful and sweet, or alternatively full of reassurance and love. your first kiss was a little rushed and he was a little nervous (not that he'd ever admit that) but he knew it was the right time.

L-Love confession (how would they confess to their s/o?)

- confesses accidentally while watching you do something that's actually pretty normal. you tap him on the shoulder and ask where he wants to go for lunch and he just kinda stares at you and then says "man i love you" and you're like. what. but he plays it off like he TOTALLY MEANT to say that and definitely didn't slip up.

M-Mornings (what's it like waking up with them? do they sleep late or wake up before the sun rises?)

- lazy lazy lazy. thoma knows he has to go to work but why would he do that when you're next to him all curled up into him? he can't just abandon you like that! fortunately the kamisatos are very forgiving, so when he shows up late they don't give him an earful.

N-Nicknames (what do they call their s/o?)

- babe/baby, sunshine, and occasionally sweetheart but usually just to tease you

O-On cloud nine (what are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?)

- when thoma first realizes he's in love with you it hits him like a truck and he has to sit down for a second to process it. after that he hangs around you a lot more often, and it's pretty obvious to anyone watching that he's in love.

P-PDA (how are they with PDA? is it fun to them or are they more reserved with their affection?)

- thoma's comfortable with pda and likes to tease you with it sometimes, unless you're someone who absolutely hates it, in which case he'll settle with handholding. otherwise, he'll give you random light kisses on the cheek or will grab you and pull you into him at random points throughout the day.

Q-Quirk (some random thing they do when they're with you for no reason in particular)

- his nose scrunches when he's trying not to laugh at you, which makes you laugh at him, which makes him laugh at you. congratulations! you have achieved pile of laughter.

R-Romance (how romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?)

- thoma is very romantic and also values friendship with his partner as well. he's sort of a mix between cliché and creative - while he will definitely take you out for a fancy dinner and lend you his jacket, he will also take you out to the lake and push you in or make a date out of who can spot the most dogs on a day out.

S-Support (are they helping their s/o achieve their goals do they believe in them?)

- one hundred percent he believes in you and will do his best to help you achieve any goals you have. ok thats the end of this headcanon i have nothing else to say GHCCN

T-Thrill (do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship or do they prefer certain routine?)

- thoma loves trying new things! he doesn't need things to change constantly (and also that might be very tiring for him) but he does like to switch things up a little.

U-Understanding (how good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?)

- forgot to change it from "good" to "well." WHOOPS. anyway

- thoma is very empathetic, so he's quick to understand how you're feeling, though it'll take him a little longer to understand why it is you're feeling like that. once you explain to him, he knows just what to do, whether it be celebrate with you on a big win or comfort you or give you some space.

V-Value (how important is the relationship to them? What is its worth in comparison to other things in their life?)

- it's SO important to him. having you in his life is one of the most important things to him. he's also been with the kamisatos for a really long time though, so thoma will need a little bit to sort out where his priorities are. rest assured that you're definitely up there.

W-Wild card (a random fluff headcanon?)

- thoma really likes the feeling of you running your fingers through his hair. bonus points if you wash it for him (he'll return the favor)

X-XOXO (Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?)

- if you're ever available for affection, thoma will take advantage of it. he loves being close to you and generally just the feeling of loving and being loved in return, especially when that incorporates physical affection. listen he just really likes being kissed.

Y- Yearning (how will they cope when they are missing their partner?)

- when you're gone thoma will surround himself with things that remind him of you. he'll also occasionally call your name or say things to you absentmindedly before remembering you're not there at present. poor guy... he'll be very happy once you're home.

Z-Zeal (are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind?)

- it depends on the lengths. the worst case scenario for thoma would be if he somehow had to choose between you and his work - that would terrify him, even though there's no way it would ever happen. other than that, since you're way up on his priority list, there's not much that he wouldn't do for you.

[pokeexehasstoppedworking]

Love Doesn’t Do Encores Ch10 Battle Gym Leader Nessa

(Will have a reference to Pokemon Twilight Wings Series.)

You slept well that night. The hotel wasn't too far from the Hulbury stadium so it wasn't a very long walk from where you four left the light house and stationed yourselves for the night. Not before dishing out the rations between the four of you. You were a lot lower on food than you thought and surprised you hadn't noticed earlier. A month's walk drained almost all of the food you had aside from a few packets of dried fruits. Thank goodness for restocking. The next morning wasn't anything too different. Gloria and Hop of course wanted to stop by the stadium and get one of them that spot to battle Nessa before another trainer took it. Huh. You wonder how the battle between her and Bede went the other day? Victor mentioned wanting to go back towards the Hulbury Aquarium and offered for you to come with them but you had other plans for the day.

"Hey, Y/n. Since Glory and Hop's going to be busy all day considering would you like to come with me to the aquarium?, Victor offered after the two of you had dug through your rations for breakfast. Your Sobble tiredly yawning on your shoulder rubbing at his eyes.

You shook your head. "No thanks. I actually wanted to check out that market down by the docks. I heard they sell all kinds of trinkets and stuff and it's been a while since I was able to go somewhere by myself and have some me time."

He nodded in understanding before smiling. "Alright then. You guys know where I'll be if you change your minds."

The two of you parted ways outside the hotel before you headed back up the road towards the docks. Already in the morning the place was all a buzz with ship horns blaring off in the distance and a few people walking around. It was a nice day with the salty smell of the ocean, the gently breeze, not being too hot but nice and warm, etc. It was a very nice day that filled your tired body with a happy feeling as you inhaled deeply. The small market place was past the restaurant and just across the docks past the convenience store you had visited the other day for supplies. It wasn't really big. There was only about five stalls set up alongside a concrete wall with one or two picnic tables a little bit a ways from them. A few people were already there looking at the stalls or sitting at the tables to eat or just to sit. Walking over you strolled up to the first stall that sold a few random things like flowers, dishes, and a couple clothes hanging up. The man handling it was talking up some of the flower pots but you weren't too interested in those so shortly after moved on. The other four were a fruit stand, someone selling records, another one selling random objects, but the last one had you notice something. Sweet smells of perfumes and spices wafted from it the closer you gotten to it. And it didn't take too long for you to find out why. A young lady was there surrounded by a bunch of incense. She smiled as you stopped to admire all the sweet smells and gave a greeting.

"Get a whiff of that fragrance! Doesn't it smell sweet?," she asked holding out some sweet smelling sticks that smelt of lilacs, "How about some incense for you, Girl? Good for meditation, yoga, relaxing, or just making a room smell nice. And it all natural so it's safe for pokemon too and helps them destress....As long as they don't eat it. Non edible."

"Destress huh?,'' you pondered looking at your sobble who seemed more interested in staring at the food stand with hungry eyes despite just eating breakfast a while ago. Considering how spooked this lil guy could be, it might be a good idea. "....What scents to you have exactly?"

You ended up using the twenty dollar bill you had saved forever now to buy some of the sea and rose scented incense and then later one or two apples at the fruit stand since your sobble kept jumping on your shoulder and chirping in it's directed until you finally did so. All of it costing almost half your money leaving you from twenty dollars to twelve dollars and some change. You found yourself wondering over until you sat down at one of the picnic tables so your sobble could sit and eat and give your poor shoulders a break from carrying it all the time. Granted Sobble wasn't really that heavy, about half the weight of a small cat, but it was nice to be able to stretch your shoulders and neck out without worrying about accidentally knocking him off. Lazily you watched it make happy noises as it greedily ate as if you didn't already give it a big breakfast about an hour ago. It was still pretty early in the morning so it you really hadn't anything to do other than just sit here and watch your sobble. But it was refreshing. With a sigh you closed your eyes and slowly put your head down on the table. The only problem with having a bunch of free time is that your brain slowly fills itself with thoughts you might not want. Like now. You had been gone for what must've been a little over a month now. How worried was your mom? She must've been worrying herself sick if you were gone for this long without any notice or clues or anything. And(tho you were HIGHLY doubtful now-) if this all IS some kind of dream universe it was certainly the longest one you ever experienced. Not only that, but you were SURELY not going to be able to start college just like you wanted. You'd have to wait another year just to start it and that's only if considering you'd be able to go home after this whole journey has finished. It was the only way you could think of that you could go back, once this is over. If it'll ever be-

"I can NOT believe this!," an angry woman's voice piped up. Startled you jumped up and blinked light rushing back into your vision.

"Calm down, Ness. Don't make a big scene in public." ....That voice sounded familiar.

"I AM calm. I'm just restocking my incense before I head back!" Now that you think about it, that angry voice sounded familiar too.

Blinking you turned around to look behind you, and your eyes widened at what you saw. Two ladies were at the incense stand with their backs towards you, one with bright orange hair and a coat you recognized and the other wore a black cap and shirt.

"First he said I should stop modeling and now he's breathing down my neck because I just happened to lose to his endorsed challenger!,'' Cap Lady growled out as she waved her hand. "I mean yeah, usually I'm busy so I cut back to one challenger a day! That doesn't mean I lost my touch as a gym leader!" She paused as the lady manning the stall held out a small paper bag of incense to her similar to the one you had. "Oh..Thank you. It just drives me up a wall just thinking about it!"

"Then don't think about it," Orange hair replied patting her friend on the back, "It'll only stress you out before your other gym match today."

Cap Lady sighed. "You're right, Sonia...As usual. It just ticks me off knowing he's in town just to see you too no less and buddy up with the crowd!! It makes me angry!"

"Sonia?"

The orange haired woman turned to you immediately as you stared back, her friend turning too and that's when you recognized the other woman too. She smiled. "Hey, Y/n! Fancy meeting you here! Haven't seen you in a while." She fully turned to you now and walked over her friend following.

You casually waved where you sat and gave a tired smile. "Yeah. Honestly wasn't expecting to see you here either. What are you doing here?"

She gestured to none other than Nessa next to her. "I was chatting with an old friend before she needed to go. Since you're here I assume Gloria can only be here as well."

You nodded. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure she's at the stadium right now." Your gaze slowly shifted over to nessa as you spoke and you waved again. "Hello again. Nice weather you guys have here."

Nessa smiled. "Yeah. It's usually warm and sunny here all year round being the coast and all. You should visit the beach if you ever get the chance."

You shrugged. "I might. I mean I guess my sobble could use the chance to swim."

"Well, that all depends. Is your sobble a freshwater or saltwater sobble?"

"There's a difference?"

"Hey wait a minute!" Both of you turned to Sonia who was looking between the two of you with a confused look on her face. "You two know each other?"

"Sort of. She helped me out with some stuff yesterday, I didn't even know she was the gym leader until someone told me," you explained with a shrug, "I just appreciate anyone who helps carry groceries."

"Oh. I see. What are you doing here if Gloria is I assume at the stadium?," she asked.

You gestured to your sobble as it spat out an apple seed. "Someone wanted more food. I'm telling you he's worse than a kid hyped up on sugar once he sees the stuff." Both of you jumped at a ....snort? Blinking you looked at Nessa and noticed her holding her mouth and chuckling.

"I-I'm so sorry," she giggled out, "That's just the funniest thing that I've heard all day while stressing out. U-U-Usually people don't say that about s-s-sobble care."

You blinked. "Oh yeah?"

Sonia nodded as Nessa's giggles slowly fizzled out. "Usually sobbles are....how do you say it?...Massive cry babies that'll cry at the tiniest things like a baby would. It happened ALL the time with my Granny gave a trainer their first pokemon." She groaned closing her eyes as if the memory gave her instant annoyance and headaches. "They don't get an extra snack? BOOM! Crying! They trip the littlest, I mean tiniest bit. Crying! You're too busy to pet them? Crying! Forget playtime? CRYING! And don't get me started on the amount of times I had to buy Sobble Eye Drops for all the stinging and headaches. It's like walking on eggshells until they evolve into a drizzile! It's why a bunch of trainers rather chose scorbunny or grookey than a sobble." She pointed towards yours who had finished eating and began crawling it's way over to you. "In fact, the sobble Granny gave Leon for the trainers he endorsed was the pokemon who stayed in our care the longest. She must've had it for at least since it hatched and was given to her. It was such a little wimp clinging to her all the time...I never really had mush patience for them."

You jolted when something tugged on your arm, calming yourself once you noticed it was just your pokemon. "...Really?"

With a frown Nessa sighed. "She's right. Sobbles are much better suited for older more patient people. They aren't exactly really popular pokemon among starting trainers who are eager to start their journey. Most end up for adoption to pokemon centers or abandoned to the wild because the person decides it's not worth it to have their eyes burning after every battle or basically raise what could essentially be a child in their eyes." Her eyes suddenly narrowed. "I remember once Raihan came all the way to Hulbury just to give me a sobble someone carelessly discarded at his gym after they lost. The poor thing was so confused and scared. It was a miracle I found someone who loved it. Much more than the thoughtless trainer who never gave it a second thought. Pokemon aren't just toys you can give away or leave lying around after you decided you outgrew them."

"THAT'S AWFUL!!,'' you shouted feeling an anger grow in you as one hand instinctly came up to grab your sobble who chirped in confusion at your actions, both women giving you looks of surprise at your shout. How could anyone DO such a horrible thing!? That's like the equivilant of someone getting a brand new puppy and then not wanting to deal with the work and attention that goes into it and then straight up abandoning it to the streets in your world!! "How could anyone do such a thing?! That's like...So not ok!"

"Well....That is very true. Its not ok. But it seems to be you and your sobble have a very special connection," Nessa said gesturing towards your sobble making Sonia take a double take at you as well.

"Huh. Now that you mention it he does looked rather relaxed. He usually never looked so comfortable before Granny gave him to Leon."

"Really?,'' you asked, "He seemed pretty ok so far. Cried like...only one time but that might be cuz he was pushed over by these rockstar wannabes."

To that the ladies seemed lightly surprised. "Really now? Well then you must have lots of patience then. Sobbles usually tend to work better with people who have lots of patience or a motherly personality."

"And considering you mentioned never having a pokemon before I'm kinda impressed too. You must be a natural babysitter!," Sonia joked. You huffed and rolled your eyes at her joke. Yeah. You sure felt like one sometimes during your journey so far.

"Oh, Scales!" You blinked backed towards Nessa as she now held up her phone to her face with a frown before looking back towards you and Sonia. "Hey. Sorry but I have to bounce. I have to stop by home then head to the gym really quick if I'm going to make it to that match on time." Turning with a smile she waved. "I'll see you later Sonia. It was nice seeing you again too, Miss. good luck with that sobble of yours."

As she walked away, the both of you waved as you watched her go before Sonia turned back to you. "Hey. If you're not really busy, would you like to come to the docks with me?" She held up a small clear plastic bag with, what looked like to you at least, dog kibble with a smile. "There's always a small school of chinchou everyone likes to feed there. I always like to visit whenever I come to Hulbury."

You paused considering her words for a moment. It would be nice to have more time with another person around your age before you had to go back for a bit and they wouldn't be expecting you for a while. So it should be fine. With a shrug you stood up. "Sure! I don't think I've ever seen a chinchou anyways."

Smiling she gestured for you to follow. "C'mon. We're pretty close anyways. I think you'd really like them."

She was right. The small market area was right across from the docks anyways, so it took less than five minutes to reach the docks. You followed her onto the pathways on the water and looked over the edge. The crystal blue water acting like a mirror letting you see your reflection and your sobble's as it blinked big innocent eyes at the water. You nearly bumped into her when she stopped and already had the bag open with her hand inside rummaging around until she pulled out a small handful of the kibble. With a toss they all went into the clear water sending small ripples as they floated and bobbed on the mirror water. That was until almost instantly bubbles appeared from under them and in a flurry of lightbulb antennas and blue skin tons of tiny little creatures swam to the surface and the floating kibble was devoured by the pokemon. You blinked as you watched them swim around. There must've been around ten of them all swimming about here. You blinked as the bag was suddenly held out to you with a smile from Sonia.

"Do you wanna feed them a little? This pokemon food is specifically made for water type pokemons' tastes," she offered.

"Yeah! Thanks!" You happily took some from her and a small blue hand tried to reach out for it too as you pulled away and gave your sobble a look. It stared at you for a moment before chirping and grabbing your nose. "*sigh* Fine." With a sigh and roll of your eyes, you silently held one piece of the kibble up to him and watched as he grabbed it from you and popped it into his mouth. Before tossing more kibble at the peeping lanturn fish like pokemon still swimming around. As before they began devouring it. "They sure are hungry huh?"

"Always are," Sonia replied tossing some more kibble to them. "It's a really popular thing to do around here if you aren't visiting the stadium or Aquarium or eating at the famous cafe up the road. Since there's a battle later today with Nessa I suspect that's why it's so vacant."

You smiled. "Yeah. I just hope everything goes well for them later today. Hop and her seemed pretty excited to go battling Nessa."

Sonia nodded. "I can't blame them. When Leon and I were they're age we were excited over battling the gym leaders too." She smiled at some distant long memory. "In fact, it seemed like it was just yesterday I was right here feeding some Chinchou and then Leon came out of no where and fell in the water! S-Said he d-d-didn't even know how he got there looking for the stadium." She giggled and you couldn't help but smile back.

"Oh. Is that anything like the time I heard he somehow ended up on top of a barn?" Sonia snorted. "Or the time he went out to catch a train and somehow ended up back in front of his house?"

"That happened?"

You nodded. "Oh yeah. He ended up waiting for me to thank me for the two's Slumbering Weild field trip after it happened. I have no idea how."

She chuckled. "Neither do I. Lee's always had a bad sense of direction just like his Da-" She froze. The once smile and cheery attitude replaced by a look of mild panic before she coughed and tossed some more kibble towards the chinchou. "Hey. Look at how cute they are today. They look like such healthy wild chinchou. Don't you think?"

It was her attempting to deflect away from what she already said. You knew that and personally you wouldn't really bother looking into it as 1. It was really none of your business and you hated budding into someone else's business and 2. you didn't feel up to making Sonia more uncomfortable than she already looked...But you couldn't help yourself since this was the second time this has happened. ...That's right. She did a similar thing at the Opening Ceremony when she asked you not to mention what she said to anyone. By now you had completely forgotten about that moment with everything that's been going on and at the time just brushed it off having more important things to worry about. But now....You looked at her and by the look in her eyes she knew what you were about to ask.

"That's right. I spent a few days between their houses and I saw their families. And I met their mothers. And Hop's grandparents." You fully turned to her with a raised brow. "And Hop's older brother. And Gloria's brother. But not have I ever once seen any of their dads nor had they even mentioned them. So that's begging the question of where's the missing link then isn't it?"

There was a pregnant silence between the two of you as you stared at her expectantly and Sonia stared back down at the water, seemingly trying to process the situation she found herself in. The only sounds was the boat horns from the docks, and the splashing around and noises of the chinchou as they still begged for more of the kibble Sonia held. And after more silence your expression softened and a guilty feeling bubbled up. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to ask. Even if you were traveling with them it was none of your business really. So you went to apologize.

With a sigh, Sonia finally seemed to find her words and turned to you with a sad but serious look. "I...understand if you're concerned or curious. I'd be too all things considering. But I really CANT tell you anything since it's not my place to say....By now you obviously noticed they just..aren't there and let's leave it as that."

You nodded. "Hey. I'm..I-I'm sorry. I know it's none of my business. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

She shook her head. "No. To be honest you wouldn't be the first one to ask that question to Leon or anyone else and you probably won't be the last. But if you could do us both a solid and not tell anyone about this it'd be great."

"Believe me, I was about to ask you the same thing." You smiled. "Trust me. I won't tell us a soul."

"Thank you, Y/n. I'm glad you understand."

"Hey. Of course!"

So.....No fathers in the picture huh? A strange feeling settled into your guts that was something akin to feeling extremely guilty. And a....strange feeling of familiarity of it all for your own reasons...Then the reality hit you. In a memory of what happened back at the inn back in Motostoke. In the very slip up Sonia had made before that you had passed off until now-

"And thanks for taggin' along with the kids this far. I know we're practically strangers but there's just....I don't know....really good aura about you. I'm sure Lee appreciates it too. He's always so worried about Hop. He practically raised him after all-" All of a sudden it was like a switch flipped off in her mind and her happy smile went to a sudden shocked face. "Oh no. I didn't mean to mention that. Please forget I even said that."

You had pretty much pieced it together right after remembering that. For some reason, in one way or another, Hop and the twins had no fathers and Leon as Sonia said must've practically filled the role in which a father figure would fill. This would sum up a lot of the things you've bared witness too. Hop and Gloria's infatuation with Leon(especially on Hop's end), they're desire to climb their way up the ranks and make him proud-..Heck. Leon's behavior know that you think about it could've been summed up as brotherly...or fatherly. Sponsoring two (although it was VERY clear he was full on ready to just endorse Victor as well no questions asked if he hadn't made the choice of not competing in the Gym Challenge) kids for the challenge which as you came to know wasn't typical of a Galar Champion, buying you and them all those supplies and stuff, and with what Sonia said just set that fact in concrete. And....While that did make you feel guilty and sad for them...At the end of the day it really was none of your business. Any moment or day now you could wake up back home and none of this would have mattered, and you shouldn't really butt in between their business. Especially since you weren't planning on staying in the long run. Plus...you were trying NOT to uproot the game's progress as much as possible or no more than you might've already had done if at all with your actions. You might've not remembered how the game went entirely but you knew you were on the right track. For now at least. You continued to make small talk with Sonia about how her research was going and your trip over before deciding it was best to part ways there and bid her farewell before heading back towards the stadium. Nessa mentioned leaving to make sure she arrived on time. You wondered if Gloria was battling her right now?...Well you soon found out the answer to that question.

when you were just making your way up to the resturaunt your stomach grumbled. Making you wince a bit. Huh. Guess you were out for longer than you thought if you got hungry. Glancing up to the cafe you wondered how much a simple meal would cost? It was supposed to be famous for their food after all. With a shrug you decided on entering and seeing if they had anything your measly twelve dollars could buy. Fancy was the first word that came to mind when you entered through the double doors and a bell rung off. A woman at a front desk was the first thing to greet you along with some kind of pokemon you didn't recognize. It seemed the theme of the whole place was blue and white, giant tables lined the area with table setting and napkins fancily folded into boat like shapes, a MASSIVE window looking over the stadium, and a bar like area near the far right walls with another pair of double doors you assumed lead to the kitchen. The only other people there besides you and the lady was a man behind the bar counter who was talking on the phone with someone.

The woman smiled at you. "Greetings and welcome to the Hulbury Seafood Restaurant!" She greeted with a bow. "Do you happen to have a reservation or would like to make one?"

"Uh-..." You shook your head. Oh man. Was this one of those places where you HAD to make a reservation in order to eat? "Not exactly. I just heard your food was pretty good."

The woman still smiled. "Oh. Well then I'd be more than happy to seat you by the-"

"AHH!" Both of you jumped when a thud rang out which turned out to be the man in the chef hat slamming down the phone he was previously talking to.

"Chef, what on earth is the matter?," the woman asked.

The chef pointed to the phone scowl on his face. "My delivery boy just called. Apparently he's caught a cold and can't make it today! Out of all the days I need him most." The old man grabbed at his grey hair. "I have all these orders and no one to take them. The Chairman could show up any minute for his reservation but instead he's going to be present with angry customers calling for their orders and our reputation as Hulbury's greatest restaurant will be tarnished!!"

"Well...I could run out and deliver a few," the woman suggested.

"And leave your post!? OH no no no! That'd look even more bad if no one was here to greet them in while I cook!" He slumped forward. "This is an utter disaster! What am I to do?"

You looked between the two of them before slowly holding up your hand. "Um...If you'd like, I'd like to help."

Immediately the chef snapped his head up and blinked at you. Before a suspicious look came over his face as he looked you over. "You, Young Lady? You would please help us deliver some food?"

You nodded. "I mean..Yeah. It looks like you guys are pretty.." You gave a glance at the empty place. "-busy at the moment and I'd like to help."

After looking you up and down a few more moments the chef sighed before shrugging. "Why not? I have nothing else to lose in this moment anyhow." He reached under a counter and beckoned you to come over to which you complied before placing a small take out box onto the counter. "Thank you. I truly appreciate it. Tell you what. If you manage to deliver all the take out orders then I'll prepare you my famous 'Lucky Egg' dish as thanks. How does that sound?"

You mouth watered just thinking about free food. This just might be your lucky day after all. You nodded with a smile and took the box from him. "Sure! Sounds fair enough. Where do I deliver this one?"

He paused for a moment...before he rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh uh. Well as for where to deliver the food.....Sorry. We've been so stressed out for the Chairman's visit I forgot to ask for an address." You stared at him. .....WHAT!? "B-But I heard a clickity clack sound from the phone when I took the first order. Maybe that's a clue as to where to go?"

..........You sighed. "Yeah..Don't worry about it. I'll figure it out somehow."

"That's the spirit! Come back as soon as you're done delivering that one! And hurry please. Oh! And here. Take this notepad with you. They'll have to sign off on it so I can send the bill."

You had no idea what you had gotten yourself into this time. With a groan you exited the restaurant and spotted a peculiar sight to behold. There was Gloria standing just outside the restaurant as you approuched with her back to you and you soon saw what she was staring at. A little ways from her standing in the middle of the road was HIM. Mareep Head-..Er. I mean Bede who looked bored and in front of him was....It was her. The same woman from your dream and the Opening Ceremony as well. And in front of her was...No. It COULDN'T be!! In front of them was a group of about six to eight people, but with that group was none other than the CHAIRMAN himself!!...Tho he looked a little different than the other times you've seen him. You didn't expect to see Nessa outside of her gym leader suit, but you hadn't been caught too much off guard. The chairman however was a different story. Instead of that professional slim fitting suit he wore a baseball cap, slip on white shoes, sunglasses, .....a sweater that showed how chubby he was actually under his suit, and blue shorts with white polka dots to top it all off. You could only star at the man...Was this-....This COULDN'T have been the same professional high standing man that ran the whole Galar Region! He looked like someone's Dad on a lazy day. ...You chuckled which startled Gloria into giving a yelp and whipping around to see you and the box you held.

"Holy Magikarp, Y/n! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry....Hey. What are you doing all the way over here? I thought you were having a battle today."

She sighed. "We got hungry just waiting for Nessa so Hop suggested I go grab us something while he holds our place. What are you doing?" She noticed the box you held and pointed at it. "And what's that?"

"Long story short is that I agreed to be the fill in delivery boy for a bit." You nodded past her towards the group. "Hey uh...Gloria, is that who I think it is?"

She turned around and with a huff she crossed her arms and frowned. "Yeah. The Cottonee so full of himself he needs a garden hose to wash the ego from his brain!"

".....Uh..Actually I was talking about the chairman over there, but I guess Bede's here too yes."

"Oh...Well yeah. It's weird just walking around the corner and seeing him right that. Like..what the bloody heck are those shorts?"

"Y'know I was thinking the same thing." You two continued to watch in bewilderment as the chairman smiled and spoke with the small group of people, before the woman suddenly stepped in front of him as he was about to shake another person's hand.

She held up a hand. "Our sincerest apologies," she spoke with a calm and professional tone, "The chairman is quite busy at the moment. Everyone please disperse. Please leave now."

The crowd murmered but eventually slowly parted ways, one woman saying. "Ok. See you later, Chairman."

"Oh h-hey! No need to rush off! I can still do autographs!," the chairman called after them raising a hand, "I'll even give you my pokemon league card!" To your surprise no one really paid attention and kept walking besides you and Gloria...And you rose a brow. With a sigh he turned back to the woman. "we need the support of our fans to keep doing what we're doing. Chasing them off like that. Aren't you being a little too harsh, Oleana?"

"Fans are very important of course," the woman, who must've been Oleana explained, "That's why you need to keep doing your work for their sake."

"I promise to do everything in my power to assist you too, Chairman!," Bede butted in proud of himself. Huh. Maybe Gloria had a point.

The chairman gave him a look for a moment before raising a brow. "Oh. And you were?"

Maybe it was just your imagination most likely, but you could've sworn you saw Bede frown for a moment before he answered, "Bede, Sir."

"AH! That's right! Bede! I daresay I'm impressed how fair you've come since I gave you that pokemon all those years ago. Will you be the one to win the Gym Challenge? Or perhaps it will be one of the Trainers endorsed by the Champion."

"I will prove your faith in me was well placed, Chairman," Bede assured, "I won't lose to anyone. Anyway speaking of which, I'll be on my way now." He turned and began walking away, but completely froze upon seeing you and Gloria..Well more Gloria than you as the two of them made eye contact...And he suddenly pointed. "YOU!?"

"Hey Mareep Head. How's your Hatenna?"

"WHY YOU-....YOU- ..LITTLE-"

"AH! You!" Bede practically jumped out of his skin as the chairman was quick to push past him and walk up to Gloria with a smile, Oleana right behind him. Gloria practically just stood and stared as he approuched and you rose an eye brow. "Your name was...." He thought for a moment before pointing to her. "Gloria right? We were just talking about you!" Your brow rose more. That was a complete and utter lie. They were standing right there entire time in front of you but you shrugged it off as an awkward ice breaker.

.....Gloria exchanged a look with you before pointing at herself. "....Me?"

he nodded. "Yes! I admit I'm curious about Leon's reasons for endorsing you. Ah! I just had a good idea, as I tend to do!" Brag much? "You're going to face Gym Leader Nessa soon, yes?"

"Um...Y-Yeah. I was on my way back to the stadium actually-"

"Well if you get a gym badge from her I'll hold a celebration! I'd like to get to know you a little better after all." He smiled and you felt ....odd about it all.

"Um..Y-Yeah..I guess so??"

"Chairman, we should really be going if you want to keep that dinner reservation," Oleana stated.

The chairman nodded to her before turning back to Gloria. "Alright. Please do your best, for the sake of Galar's future."

"I Uh...Y-YES SIR!!" Gloria gave her best smile under the situation.

With a smile and nod he turned and walked past her and you not sparing you a glance and you followed him with your gaze brow raised...You weren't sure, but you had a funny feeling about him and it wasn't a good funny. When you turned back around you nearly jumped the box in surprise. The woman-!! Oleana was standing right in front of Gloria so close her shadow was literally blocking the sunlight from her. The poor girl frozen under the woman's studying gaze.

"The Chairman will be heading to this town's seafood restaurant." She stated monotonely, "Win the gym badge and join him there at once. Do not keep him waiting. Am I clear, Young Lady?" Gloria didn't say anything..and you looked at her. Eyes shooting to the size of plates. She was more frozen than a glacier. ...All that came out of her was a small squeak noise making the woman's eyes narrow. "Perhaps I wasn't clear. Do not keep the chairman waiting. Head to the seafood restaurant. The Captain's Table. Do you need me to repeat myself once more, Child? Or do you understand-"

"Too skinny."

Gloria jumped having probably completely forgotten you were there for a moment as she snapped to you and Oleana followed her piercing gaze to meet your glare. ....She slowly blinked. "I beg your pardon, Miss?"

"I said you're too skinny for that," you explained as they both stared at her.

Her brow flicked up as she studied you. "And I happen to be too thin for what purpose, Ma'am?"

"Well you're certainly not fat enough to be throwing your weight around not to notice you're being a jerk," you explained raising a brow back, "Obviously she heard you with how close you are. Maybe she'd answer if you weren't so close making her feel uncomfortable like that."

They both stared at you stunned. Gloria jaw dropped and Oleana had the same face but her eyes much more widened as she stared at you. It was so quiet you could've heard a pin drop as you joined this little three way stare down. HECK. It felt like an entire hour just staring at her before her face slowly contorted back to her original bored/professional looking one and she took a step back, spooking Gloria in process as the poor girl blinked.

"Do you happen to know who I am, Miss?," she asked like you should already know this.

"Somebody who's heels makes them so tall their head's in the clouds obviously."

This time her brows furrowed, her mouth frowned, and you noticed the way her hands gripped each other. As if she was physically holding back her anger. But before she could reply a chuckle seemed to interrupt you. Blinking you turned around only to find that the Chairman guy was looking right at you. Raising a brow and humming. You rose a brow and frowned right back.

....He waved a hand off. "Oleana, you're right. We'll be late for that reservation. Give the young trainer my League card and let's be on our way."

It's amazing how fast her aura and face changed at a moment's dime. "Of course. So you will not forget the Chairman's face, I will give you one of his League Cards." She suddenly held something out to Gloria who blinked but after a moment took it. "Chairman Rose is the kind of man who gets downhearted if he doesn't take care of things he needs to right away. Go to the seafood restaurant as soon as possible so as to not keep the chairman waiting." She glanced back to you and your eyes narrowed more. "...Good luck in your battle." With that she stepped around Gloria who followed her as she went and so did you with your frown. And after the Chairman gave another look to you, also turned and walked away.

....You sighed and turned back to Gloria, only to blink when she was staring right back at you. "....Uh...H-Hey. Are you ok there? You looked spooked." Shaking. Your eyes widened noticing her hands shaking. "WHOA! Hey! Are you ok!? She didn't scare you too bad did she?"

"Y-Y-Y/n..," She stuttered. Her hands slowly clenched into fists. "T-T-That..was..." Her face snapped up to you in a smile. "AWESOME!! SERIOUSLY!! Like! Yeah she gave off major scare vibes I swear she's worse than a gengar in the darkest room! My heart was pounding so fast! Then you were all well slayin' 'ere like a beast!!...Omg." She looked down for a moment realization settling in. "....My traveling partner talked BACK to the Chairman's right hand!! What's he going to think when I show up!? I mean it was amazing to watch don't get me wrong. But STILL!!''

"Hey, hey, hey!!" You caught her attention by grabbing her shoulder making her blink at your face. "Hey. Look at me." Once you knew you had her full attention you smiled. "That woman was making you feel scared, and that's not ok. So I did what I had to do. If anything I'll get in trouble. Besides, Im a girl standing on the sidewalk holding a delivery box. They'd probably think I was just a stranger going to delivery a pizza or something. Right now you should just worry about your gym battle."

It was like a record scratch went off in her mind as she suddenly paused, face going blank for a moment before her hands suddenly snatched the top of her head. "AH!! MY GYM BATTLE!! I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THAT!! BUT THE CHAIRMAN SAID IF I WIN TO SEE HIM!! IF!! IF!! WHAT IF I DON'T WIN!? OMG!! CAN I STILL MEET WITH HIM IF I DON'T-"

You shook her with the hand still on her shoulder. "Gloria! Get a grip on yourself! Of course you're going to win!'' You smiled. "If you could beat Milo you can beat Nessa too! And if you lose it's fine. I'm sure he'll understand, you can't let all of that overthinking stop you ok? Be more confident in yourself, and if you lose..." You shrugged. "Then it's ok. You can always try again tomorrow or any other day. You are going to be ok....Ok?"

She stared at you for a long moment before taking a deep breath and sighing. A determined look now plastered on her face. "You're right! I'm just overthinking this! I just need to remain calm and everything's going to be fine!"

You smiled. "That's the spirit...Hey. Isn't it gonna start like..right now?"

"GAH! Y-You're right! I gotta go!" With a wave she quickly turned on her heel and ran off towards the stadium. "Thanks, Y/n! You're the best!"

You sighed before shaking your head watching her go. Well...glad that went well at least, she was a brave girl so she should be ok..But then why did you still feel eyes on you? As you turned your f/c eyes met purple ones and Bede jumped having noticed you spotted him. With a jerk of his head the other way, he quickly sped walked away from you in the opposite direction leaving you lightly confused. But you shrugged it off. Right now you had bigger fish to fry like getting this fish you were currently holding to the person who ordered it. Who ever it was. That was the thing you had to figure out as you stood there in the middle of the sidewalk staring at the box in your hands like someone staring off into space. Good gosh the guy couldn't think to ask for an address? What were you supposed to do with a click clack sound? That could mean anything....Well what kind of click clack sounds were loud enough to be heard over a phone. ....Your head turned towards the train station back towards the stadium. Didn't trains usually make a noise like that? A train would certainly be loud enough to hear over a phone. With a shrug you started off down towards the train station and right up to the first house right by it since there was two. Knocked and waited patiently as footsteps approuched.

The first one was answered by a middle aged looking man and you smiled. "Hey! Uh...Did you order seafood?"

"No. I don't like fish."

"Oh..Sorry about tha-" You flinched as the door was slammed back shut in front of your face..before you frowned. "Well he was pretty rude wasn't he?" Your sobble chirped in agreement. "Couldn't have said it better myself," you mumbled as you turned away from the door and away from the first house to go to the second. The Stadium not too far away roaring alive now with cheers. Must be Hop or Gloria having a battle with Nessa. Shame you couldn't attend but you were a bit busy right now. Walking up to the second home, you knocked on the door and waited. After a moment footsteps approuched and a sweet elderly woman answered. You smiled. "Hey! Good afternoon! Did someone here order some seafood?"

To your delight, she smiled. "Oh, are you the one delivering my food?" She happily reached out and took the box from you. "Thank you for your trouble! This restaurant's dishes are full of seafood and it's so delicious if I say so myself. They are pretty well known after all."

"Your welcome! ..Oh wait!" You reached into your pocket to quickly pull out your notebook. "I need you to-''

"Oh of course! Your tip. "

"Actually I-" You blinked when a small bag of what looked like small jaw breakers was placed into your hand tied off by a cute little red ribbon.

"I've already paid the restaurant over the phone, so I'll give you candy as a tip. There's nothing like sweets to go along with a beautiful day. You have a nice day now."

You blinked looking at the small bag. "Hey wait! I need you-" The door closed leaving you staring at it. "..to sign this. *sigh*" You held up the overly cute bag and your sobble gave it a curious look over. "Well, it's not money but it's better than nothing I guess. Wouldn't you say?"

Your trip back to the restaurant wasn't anything unusual, still faintly hearing the cheers from the gym on your way there. The only thing that was a little strange was a small group of three or four people standing outside the place trying to peep into the windows. Your brow rose but you shrugged it off and just stepped inside seeing the same woman as before.

"Sorry. We're closed at the mome-..OH! It's you young lady,'' she greeted.

"Back again?!" You looked over towards the chef and he smiled seeing you. "Excellent! I wanted to ask you to deliver some food again. Is that ok? I suspect that the package was delivered?"

....You held up the bag of candy. "Yeah. Sorry I couldn't get her to sign it. But she tipped me in candy."

"Oh. That must've been Mrs. Wesley. Don't worry about her, she has a habit of doing that." Again he reached under the counter and brought up another box. "But right now I need you to deliver this next one as soon as possible!'' You walked over and he held it out to you before slightly nodding over towards the right. You glanced over and your eyes widened seeing the chairman and Oleana looking out of the window over the stadium, not seeming to notice you thankfully. "Since the Chairman's here we're doing our best to try and not upset the atmosphere. Since you're taking care of this for us it's really taking one less thing off our shoulders to worry about."

You sighed with a smile before taking the second box from him. The fresh smell of fish and chips wafting from it making your mouth water. "Hey. It's no problem. Where do I take this one?"

He paused. "Well....I uh...Haha. D-Didn't quite get the address for this one either?" You stared. "...B-but I don't know if this helps, but I think I heard a pokemon cry over the phone this time. Like....Swiirl...Or something like that."

"....I'll...figure it out I'm sure."

Figure it out indeed! How in the HECK were you just supposed to deliver a dang food order based off a pokemon's cry?? Whelp! There was only one way to solve this! ...Visit all the houses here until you came across the right one. So that's exactly what you did. You already delivered to the lady up by the train station and the guy next to her rudely stated he didn't so that was two houses you could cross off your list. So there you went starting from one end of the long, LONG street of houses one after another smiling and asking if they ordered a take out. Every. Single. One. Said. No. Or just didn't answer at all, and to be honest you were feeling justifiably annoyed at this point. What was the POINT of having someone deliver food if you didn't know where to send them!? It must've taken you at least fifthteen minutes of walking and asking until you FINALLY caught a break coming to the very last house on the block before the road split off between the train station and stadium. You knocked and waited patiently as footsteps approuched, and you smiled when a blonde man who looked to be in his early thirties opened the door.

"Hey. Sorry to bother you, but did you order some seafood takeout?"

"Oh, I can smell the ocean. You're from the restaurant aren't you?" You nodded and held the box up to him as he took it with a hum. "Ah! I'm starving! I've been drooling while waiting for the food! Than you for delivering the food!"

"Oh hey. Before you go." You held up the notepad. "Could you please sign for this?"

"Oh sure thing. Wait right here." He turned and walked back inside leaving you standing there able to see the inside of the home as the man handed off the food to two little girls who looked so much alike that they must've been twins. A pink pokemon looking like cotton candy swirling around them. "Stacy, Lacy. Food's here. And this time don't let Pinkie eat my share of it." You stood there awkwardly until he finally came back grabbing the note pad. "Sorry about that. You know how kids can be."

"Heh. Yeah. Sorry if it took so long. Had to go the long way around to get here."

"Well you get energy from food. If you need energy you should eat balanced meals." He handed you back the notepad with a smile. "Thanks again!''

With a sigh you turned on your heel and began trudging off back towards the restaurant. Your stomach rumbled again and by this point you were seriously wondering if this was even worth any free food for? If you had half a mind you would've just quite, returned the notepad, and then just go back to the hotel to just eat some of your rations or order the cheapest thing on the room service menu. But then again, you already promised to help and free food does sound better than spending your remanding money. Plus their food was supposed to be really good. So..You made the choice to go back to the very cafe you came from and waltzed back through the doors and up to the counter this time. The chef seemed very pleased to have you back as he had already placed the last box on the counter he explained. Only one more? Oh THANK goodness. You weren't sure how much of this mumbo jumbo you could handle. You took the last box from him not sparing a glance over your shoulder in the chairman's way.

"As for the address-"

"Let me guess. You forgot?"

"Actually. No. I remembered to ask." Your eyes widened. Was this finally gonna be easy? "Unfortunately I have no idea where it is.".....WHAT?! "The customer told me to look for a green roof, but I wonder if there is such a house in Hulbury. I've certainly never seen a house like this before but Im sure you're smart enough to figure it out like the other two!"

".......Right."

Of course it wasn't going to be that easy. It never was going to be easy for you was it? It seemed simple enough tho. Just look for a house with a green roof and that should be it right? Except..none of the houses you had asked previously had ordered anything and the ones that did couldn't have possibly ordered a second time in such short notice right after getting the first. Oh well. Green roof. That's all you had to go on......and the amount of time you had spent walking up and down these streets looking for any building with a green roof was exhausting. NONE of the homes here had green roofs and when you checked the few buildings around here that weren't homes (like the light house and pokemon center-) discovered surprise, surprise. No green roof either. Oh you hoped whoever ordered this didn't live outside Hulbury. Not having any luck where you currently were, you decided to go ahead and go back down to the docks where you first went that morning. You didn't remember seeing any buildings there but it wouldn't hurt to cover all bases before giving up. Your body ended up wondering back to the market place you were once in...And you were about ready to give up. There wasn't anything around here with a green-

"HEY! Young Lady with the sobble on your shoulder!," a male voice shouted. Blinking, you turned around to one of the stalls. the one with the green and white top. A man with brown hair waved at you. "You're delivering food?" You nodded. "Well hey! I'm the one who ordered it!" He was!?...You glanced towards the striped roof of his stall.....Oh. A green roof. Whelp! Might as well get this over with. he smiled wider as you approuched. "You got here earlier than I expected! It was easy to spot the green roof wasn't it?"

No. Not really. In fact it would've been a LOT easier if he just said he was in a stall in this marketplace but instead you forced a smile and handed him the box and notepad. "Please sign here."

He gladly signed it. "The tail curry of this restaurant has a unique flavor. I love it! Say hi to the manager for me!"

You quickly grabbed the notebook. "Have a nice day!" And then you quickly retreated. A groan leaving your tired body as you dragged yourself back the way you came for a second time that day. By the time you had gotten back close to the restaurant you were sore, tired, but most of all you were hungry! OH! The food had better be worth it or else you were going straight back to the hotel to-

"Y/N!!" Hey. You knew that voice! Sure enough Gloria was waving her arm at you with a smile as you proceeded to walk towards her. Despite wanting time to yourself today you were absolutely glad to see her. "What are you doing by the docks?"

"Finishing my role as a replacement delivery boy," you answered when you got close enough and pointed at her white uniform. "Why are you still wearing your gym challenge uniform?"

"Oh uh.." She sheepishly smiled with a chuckle. "It's a long story. On the bright side I managed to defeat Nessa! LOOK!" A flash of bronze went in your face and you blinked before leaning back. A badge with some kind of blue water pattern shown before you. No doubt the water gum badge. "Feast yer eyes! I thought I was a gonna when I lost the second round, but I managed to pull a turn around and win enough rounds to pass! Ain't it great?!"

You smiled. "Hey! That is great! I'm so happy for you! But where's Hop? I thought he was with you."

"He stayed behind to set up his own battle with Nessa tomorrow. Don't worry. He already knows where I am. Said he'll meet back up with us when we're done having dinner with the Chairman."

"...We?"

"Oh.." She slowly lowered her had back down to her side. "I just...thought you'd be coming too since you were there with me when he invited me.I-...I just thought since y'know...B-But that's fine! I won't force ya to come with me. Yer probably tired from running around all day anyways."

You paused. Yes, you were tired but you were heading back inside the restaurant anyways. And if Oleana was there...You smiled. "Hey! I'd love to come!"

Her eyes lit up. "REALLY!?"

"Yeah. I gotta go in to let 'em know I'm done delivering all these confusing orders anyways." You turned and nodded towards the doors. "C'mon. Let's go eat and see what he wants. Ok?"

With a smile of relief she nodded and the two of you went up towards the doors and went inside. The woman from before was there and upon seeing the both of you greeted you both with a smile. "Welcome to the Hulbury Seafood Resturaunt. Unfortunately we're not accepting any reservations or walk ins today but if you'd like to schedule one for a later or order take out you're more than welcome-....Oh! It's you again, Young Lady."

"Uh. Yeah." You held out the notepad. "Actually I was promised free food if I delivered everything and we were both invited to eat with the Chairman over there."

"Oh." She glanced to Gloria who looked nervous, seeming to realize she was a trainer. "Yes. I recall he said something about an extra guest trainer with his party today. Chairman Rose comes here incognito, but the word always gets out when he's here." She grabbed the notepad from you. "You both may go ahead to the Captain's Table in the back. I'll notify the chef you completed your tasks."

With a thanks you both took off towards the back where you saw the Chairman, Oleana, and..HEY! It was Sonia. Relief flooding in seeing another familiar face. This might be more tolerable then...Maybe you should take this time to apologize? You glanced to Gloria who still looked nervous. If this was someone very high up and important it wouldn't hurt to swallow your pride and just apologize, if nothing else but to keep the peace and show you're willing to be the bigger person. After all you don't want to cause trouble. The first to notice you two was the chairman himself as he turned his head from Sonia to you two and smiled.

"Ah! If it isn't the young trainer I met earlier today," he greeted with a smile and raised brow, "If you're here then I suppose it's safe to say you won against Nessa?"

You didn't miss her gulp before forcing a smile. "Uh..Y-Yeah. Piece of cake!"

He nodded. "I'm so glad! Gloria, come. Let's celebrate your recent victory! On me!" ...You felt eyes on you and you turned from the Chairman's face to Oleana's who was staring right at you. ...You frowned back at her- "And I believe I've seen you before as well, Young Lady." You blinked back to the Chairman's face as he was looking at you too now with a raised brow. ...AH CRAP!! "You were the lady back there who gave my assistant quite a 'roasting' as the young kinds call it nowadays."

...You blinked. Forcing up a smile. Here we go. "Uh. hehe. Yeah. Actually I wanted to apologize to you.." You gave Oleana a glance. "-and her for that. I just thought things were getting a bit scary back there."

To your surprise he chuckled it off with a wave. "Not at all. In all honestly Oleana can be quite intimidating to others. It's one of the reasons she's so good at her job. But there's no hard feelings. Right Oleana?"

The woman next to him inhaled before breathing it back out. "Of course, Sir. Apologies accepted and all's forgiven."

"Excellent! I don't suppose you know Sonia here? She's a wonderful person to have on the research team."

"Yeah. We do actually. Hi, Sonia."

"Oh. Were you invited too?," she asked surprised.

Before you could reply the chairman interrupted you. "You two know each other? That's great! Come now." He gestured to the table directly behind him. "Please be seated." And the three of you followed him and did so after you and Gloria exchanged a glance. She still looked nervous. The order of which you sat was Gloria sat across from the Chairman, Sonia next to Gloria, and you next to the Chairman. Naturally you would've preferred to sit next to either one of the other girls but you weren't about to let Gloria sit right next to a guy you had a funny feeling over. Strangely enough Oleana didn't seem like she was eating with you four and instead opted to stand silently next to the Chairman. How odd. You watched as he oh so casually picked the napkin off his own plate. Hmm...Guess he's been here more than once. "Now that we're all together. Gloria was it? Tell us how did your battle go?"

She shrugged. "Oh. Um. I-It was pretty good. Very thrilling. It was really nice to get ta meet Nessa. She's very nice." Sonia smiled at her.

"That's all very good. If you're as talented as Leon mentioned you then you should have no problem defeating the other gym leaders."

"Well I wouldn't say that. I-It was really hard to beat her. She's a tough gym leader."

"Hey. What were you talking about with Sonia?," you asked successfully steering the topic off Gloria for the moment as the Chairman smiled.

"Oh nothing really worth talking about. How her trip was so far studying around with the legends and the Geoglph in Turffield. The theory is that the two are somehow connected but I digress. AH! Our food has arrived." You looked over to what he was gesturing at and perked up at the lady from before who greeted you carrying two plates. One obviously being some kind of fish as it was placed before the chairman who happily accepted. "Ah! My usual. You always remember." And you were surprised when the other plate was sat in front of you. It was curry, smelt sweet, and had an egg smack dab in the middle of it. "Oh. It looks like you're a regular here too I presume."

"The chef asked me to give you his 'Lucky Egg' dish as a token of his appreciation, Miss," she explained, "I hope you're ok with sweet boiled egg curry. Are the rest of you ready to order?"

"Go ahead ladies. It's on me today."

"Mm. Just a salad. I'm not very hungry today."

"...I mean. The tropical curry sounds good," Gloria guessed.

You were too busy studying the dish in front of you to notice the lady leave. Instead staring at the massive egg just sitting in the middle of the darn plate. ...You weren't up to eating something that might've been a pokemon egg no matter how much your stomach rumbled at the sight and your mouth watered at the smell. Luckily it seemed like you had a back up plan because your sobble was crawling down your arm already on his way towards your food. You extended your hand to allow the small pokemon to sit on the table next to you and without really thinking grabbed the egg off your plate and held it out to it. He smiled and happily accepted your gift with a loud chirp before grabbing it and you watched as it bit it nearly in half with one bite. Goodness. Guess you weren't the only one hungry.

"Hulbury is a seafood town. Naturally if one is going to eat here the obvious choice is the local cuisine," the chairman said already digging in, "Everything on the menu is delicious. Oh, Sonia. By the way how is Professor Magnolia getting on? I'm quite indebted to her you know. She was the one who figured out how to unleash the power of Wishing Stars and use that power to dynamax pokemon. We would never have been able to create dynamax bands without her."

Sonia sighed. "*sigh* She was saying that there's still so much we don't know about dynamaxing. It's causing her some worry. She even made me take a power spot detector with me when I started traveling."

"A power spot detector?," he asked interested, "That's the device that allowed me to discover power spots. Locations that emit galar particles and allow pokemon to dynamax. I don't like hearing that Professor Magnolia is worried though. If only there was something I could do." You glanced at him again out the corner of your eye and rose a brow. Why were you getting a weird feeling in your gut from this guy?

Sonia shrugged. "Unless you can suddenly provide more intel on the phenominon then I'm afraid there isn't much, Sir."

He hummed.".....Sonia. It may be good for you to visit the vault in Hammerlocke. I believe the key to unlocking the secrets of the dynamax phenomenon lies in the history preserved there."

Sonia blinked. "Oh. You really think so?"

"We usually study history based on what was left on it from the past. Although mostly legends at this point you know they always say that every legend has truth to it. Who knows? It might even help tie in with the lengend you've been studying currently. Oleana can arrange a meeting I'm sure. Can't you?"

"Understood, Sir," Oleana replied monotonly, "I will arrange a meeting with Ms. Sonia."

"Very good. See? Nothing to worry yourself over about. Now shall we dig in?"

The rest of that dinner get together was a blur. Honestly you were too busy stuffing your face to talk but you didn't mind. You only watched and listened to the small talk. Gloria and Sonia's food arrived a short while after and by this point they were mostly done eating as well. His other questions didn't seem too out of the ordinary. Asking how their day was? How they were enjoying the challenge so far? Talking about some of his recent appointments involving some kind of arrangement with a Prince from the Pasio Region?? You weren't sure. But the sun was starting to set soon.

"So then I figured the best way to solve the matter was to set up individual warnings for the two of them and move one to a different department under Oleana. *sigh* Both are hard workers so it'd be a shame to just fire one or both. Don't you agree Oleana?"

"Yes, Sir. However I believe it is about time we get going, Chairman."

"Hm?" He looked at her. "But I've hardly had a chance to speak with Gloria." You rose a brow. You had literally been sitting her an entire hour.

"With all do respect, Sir. It's getting rather late. I'm sure the young lady is quite tired from her day."

...He sighed. "It's regrettable but I guess it can't be helped. If something needs to get done there's no time like the present after all!" He slowly stood from his seat as the three of you watched and smiled. "Truly though I'm glad to have had a chance to speak with you ladies today. So sorry if we couldn't have spent more time together. In any case I bid you farewell."

"OH! Uh..G-Good bye, M-Mr. Chairman. Sir."

You remained silent as the two left. Narrowed eyes watching as they went...Something about those two just felt...Off. Like it didn't sit right in your gut, but you had no idea why? Was there some kind of plot in the game with those two you couldn't remember?...Hm. In any case you were glad they were gone now so you and Gloria could rela- Your head perked up with at a sigh as Sonia rubbed her face.

"Hey. You good there?"

"Does he think he's doing me a favor? He's right that the vault would be a good place to look for the legends but..." She paused suddenly looking up and noticing the two of you staring at her confused. "UH!...Nevermind! You got the water badge right? Defeating Nessa is no easy feat!"

"Uh..Yeah. What are-"

"Nessa's a good friend! Perhaps I should drop in on her!," her chair screeched as she stood up all of a sudden giving a nervous smile, "Ahaha! Yes! She'll be so happy to see me! Until next time, Gym Challenger! Nice seeing you again, Y/n!"

Both of you stared as Sonia quickly sped walked away from you two and then out of the restaurant as if she was escaping something...

Gloria blinked. "What the world just happened?"

"Believe me I have learnt in this point of my life to just go with things. C'mon. It's free food. Let's finish eating and meet the others back at the hotel."

[lifeofroos]

Part 34: Ever seen a god in IKEA?

In short: Nico gets therapy from Dionysus. In this chapter, Nico goes to IKEA to fix something, with a special guest. The rest can be found on AO3 and FanFiction.net! Also in Tumblr tags like Nico di Angelo, Trials of Apollo, Pjo, etc.  This might be crazy: Chapter 34: Coffee in a cardboard cup ‘Is this sort of like Hephaestus’ workshop?’ My dad looked up at the big, glowing IKEA logo over our heads. 

‘Let’s say it sells you the parts to start your own Hephaestus’ workshop at home.’

‘Then why are we here when we could have gone to Hephaestus?’

‘There is a restaurant. Also, most mortals cannot go to Hephaestus’ workshop.’ 

‘They could in the old days!’ 

‘These aren’t the old days anymore.’

‘That is no reason to go to a dump like this.’

I sighed. ‘Let's just get inside.’ 

‘So, what do you need? Let’s be quick, I don’t want to be here any longer than necessary.’

‘We’ll have to follow the route through the entire store. That might take a while.’

Hades threw his hands in the air, which made his robes flutter. I wondered what the mortals saw through the mist. ‘Why?’

‘Store design. Probably a tactic to generate money.’

‘How stupid.’ 

‘Let’s just go, dad. I know what I want, so we can quickly walk past the bedroom- and kitchendisplays.’

Even though Hades speed walked through the IKEA, pulling me along, it took about fifteen minutes to get to cupboard display. My dad was walking so fast we almost skipped them. 

‘How big is this store?’ Hades yelled when I told him to stop. A few people looked at us. 

‘Big. Okay, I am going to choose one of these cabinets.’

‘Yes, you will. Why, again?’

I stared at the cabinets in front of me. It needed to be thin and about a metre high. For a second, I wondered whether I should just lie about dads’ question. 

‘I wanted to make a memorial for mom. And for Bianca.’ Also Bianca, although I might have mentioned that to soften my intent. 

‘...ah.’ He ruffled with his sleeves. ‘Did you already tell me that?’ 

‘Only in passing,’ I muttered. Not with so many words. It was difficult, okay?

‘Okay, eh, but, I think it is a good idea.’

I looked up and gave him an awkward smile. ‘Yes. Thanks.’ I turned back to the cabinets. 

‘I think I want the black one. With the glass window.’

‘Not the white one?’

‘No, that one is thicker, I don’t want that if I can have the other one.’

‘Oh.’ He looked a little confused. ‘Than we’ll take the black one. Can you carry it?’

I turned around. ‘We don’t have to, not yet anyway.’ I looked around. ‘Do you see a dispenser with pencils and paper somewhere?’

‘Paper and pencils? What do you need those for?’

‘We need to write down the number and unpronouncable Swedish name of this cabinet...’

‘Nico, we can just get out of this store. I’ll ask Hephaestus to make you a cabinet.’

I shook my head. ‘I wanted to get it here. Then it feels like I made the cabinet myself without having to cut wood or something.’ 

‘This is a pre-made cabinet!’

‘It only looks like that.’ Oh, dad, if only you knew. I noticed a pencil dispenser close by and walked towards it. Like a good citizen, I took only four pencils when I could have totally gotten five. 

After I had written down the product information, I looked back at my dad, who looked very confused by everything. ‘Now let’s go to the storage room before we buy a bunch of useless stuff.’

‘How long are we going to be in here?’

‘I don’t know, maybe twenty minutes?’ 

‘I want to get out. And I don’t feel tempted to buy anything at all here, I don’t know why you are afraid we’ll buy useless stuff.’

I was tempted. I wanted to have the fancy black lamp, for example. I had to admit, my father was a good IKEA partner. He stopped me from caving. ‘We’re almost there.’ 

My father nervously looked around. ‘What even is the storage room?’

‘It is like the Underworld of IKEA. We pick up a box with everything we need to built the cabinet ourselves.’ 

‘What an...’ He took a pause. ‘...unique concept.’ I looked over my shoulder. 

‘Yes, it is.’

‘This is it?’

‘it is.’

‘Also, Nico, I think it is a very good idea.’ I looked up from taking the box of the shelf. Dad was looking at the ground. ‘To make a memorial. I could not do such a thing. It would hurt too much to remember my past.’

I took a second to reply. ‘Yes, I get that.’ He looked like he wanted to say something, but it did not come. Not now, at least. 

‘Okay, now we got this… this.’ Hades looked at the box. ‘And now? Somehow it feels like we are still stuck in this prison of interior design.’

‘We can get something to eat at the restaurant. Or something to drink.’

‘Yes, yes, let’s do that. Eh, where do we keep the…’ He narrowed his eyes, while trying to read the Swedish on the side of the box. 

‘We’ll just carry the you-know. Come, I want a cup of something.’

The restaurant amazed him even more than the store itself. We sat down at a table next to the window, each with a cardboard cup of coffee.  He took a deep breath. ‘I want to say that I might have something you want to put into your shrine,’ he mumbeld. 

‘Memorial cabinet.’ I didn’t like to call it a shrine.

‘...Memorial cabinet.’ He shifted into a different position.

I took a sip of my coffee. It tasted like sludge, but it was better than what I had drank at Hephaestus’ place. ‘What then?’

My father snapped his fingers. A picture of my mother appeared out of thin air. ‘This. I kept it for quite some time, but I think...’ He swallowed. ‘...you know, I also learn things from the things you tell me. And I think keeping something like this around isn’t healthy for me? But it might help you.’

I looked at the picture. It was a black-and-white photo of my mother as a young woman. She was wearing a hat, a waistcoat, gloves and a string of pearls. She was smiling widely at whoever was holding the camera. 

I smiled back at her. Hades put a and around his cup. He knew he should get rid of it, he just could not get himself to destroy it for good. 

I looked up at him. ‘Thanks. I’ll put it into my cabinet.’

‘I know you will.’ He looked out the window, to the people in the parking lot. ‘I still have a locket as well, and a picture of Bianca. You can have those too.’ 

‘Maybe it can be our memorial.’

‘I think I  it has to be your memorial.’

I slowly nodded, while taking a sip of my sludge and trying not to gag.

While we were carrying the cardboard box into the parking lot, I looked up at my dad. My heartrate increased. ‘You said it should be my memorial.’

He immediately knew what I was getting at, probably because he had been thinking about since I told him I wanted to make a memorial. ‘Nico, eh, about Alecto, and the Lethe.’ He lowered the box to the ground. ‘In hindsight...’ he pulled on his sleeve. ‘In hindsight I think that is one of the worst things I have done.’ He looked like he was about to cry. ‘When you and your sister were small, it seemed like a good idea. I wanted to free you two of the weight of being demigods, or at least the weight of having a dead mother. I should have known...’ He moved his hands to the side. ‘...I should have known it does not work that way. That it was absurdly stupid to even think of it.’ He held a hand in front of his eyes. ‘Sorry, Nico. Sorry. If it means absolutely anything, sorry.’ 

I looked at him. ‘It doesn’t bring my memories back,’ I muttered, ‘But now that I see that you…’ I looked at the ground. ‘It does mean something to me, dad.’

‘Not everything.’

‘Not everything. But something.’ 

He took a deep breath. ‘Something is good,’ he said. Slowly, he picked up the box again. ‘Let’s get this to...’

‘To camp?’

‘To camp. But next time, you are going to get it made by Hephaestus. Maybe you can even ask Dionysus to request it. Those two go way back.’ 

Yes, they did. ‘Is that very well known?’

‘Of course it is. You could even say Hephaestus was the first person Dionysus ever helped with his mental issues.’ He sighed. 

We brought the box to my cabin via teleportation. Hades forgot to say goodbye. He just left me alone with my box, a few posters for the mental health action me and the Apollo campers had been working on, and Will, who was asleep on my bed. 

I laid down next to him. He groaned. ‘Nico?’

‘Who else.’ 

‘Everything okay?’

‘Yes. I think I might go to Hephaestus in a few days, to talk and to let him make my cabinet more beautiful.’ 

‘Nice.’ He drifted off to sleep again. Not soon after, so did I. 

A/N: the trouble with the world today beyond a doubt, is coffee, in a cardboard cup. 

It might be more than just Coffee In A Cardboard cup LMAO. But go listen to that song, it was in the musical ‘And the world goes ‘round.’ I love it, it is my happy song. 

Nico and Hades managed to avoid all the ghosts of people who went into IKEA and never got out this time. Be safe, people, don’t let IKEA take your soul. Don’t sell it for meatballs. 

Sorry to any Swedish readers. I am sure the words on the side mean something, but I imagine that to an American they look like nothing, that is why I wrote it this way. 

[purplesurveys]

1256

surveys by taco-tuesdays

What steps would you take in order to track down a thief? Not too far, honestly. I accept things pretty easily so if I’ve processed that I’ve been robbed, I am most likely to just let it go. I’ll feel like shit, of course, but I would just let it go and scold myself for failing to be attentive.

What is something that one of your family member collects? My mom used to collect printed table napkins from different restaurants, but obivously she hasn’t been able to continue that for the past year and a half. My dad and brother used to collect magazines but both stopped a few years ago.

What would you do if you were able to have lunch with the queen? The journalist in me will probably just ask her questions about her everyday life, how she spends it, what she’s into and what she’s not into these days.

If you got to create a new flavor of ice cream, what would it be? This is a little hard considering there are a lot of small businesses out there already getting creative and quirky with ice cream flavors so it’s just hard to tell if a certain flavor has already been invented or not. One thing I haven’t seen, though, is curry. I’d buy a pint of that in an instant.

What are some questions that you would ask your favorite celebrity? His latest vlog finds. He once shared a video of this smaller content creator, so I’m guessing that’s what he likes doing in his spare time and I’m sure he would have a bunch of other just as interesting recommendations.

If you were able to set up a stand, what would you sell? Street food.

Would you like to go deep sea diving? Why or why not? Yeah. I’m always willing to try daring, not-the-safest-thing-in-the-world activities haha.

What would life be like if you lived on a cloud? The realist in me just wants to say I’d plummet straight to the ground.

What would you find at the top of a magic beanstalk? Idk, my creativity can’t be bothered to be challenged.

What is one food you would not want to have rain down from the sky? Durian. It would hurt and stink like shit.

Which animal's characteristics are similar to your own personality? I don’t really assign sets of personalities to animals.

If you were in a department store, which aisle would you check out first? I personally still go for the toys/video games section first HAHAHA

What are some of your hobbies? They include going to museums, exploring new food and restaurants, traveling to different cities and countries, and reading about history.

You've opened a store that only sells purple items - what do you sell? BTS merch hahahahah duhhhh

What is something important that you've lost, and did you ever find it? I lost a rosary that came straight from the Vatican. No, I never found it again. I feel bad about it not because it’s a religious object, but because it came from my grandma.

Have you ever moved to a new school before? If so, how did it feel? I mean, I had to change schools when I was moving up from high school to college, but I’ve never changed schools within the same chapter of my studies, like in the middle of elementary or high school. But to answer the question, it had been a very liberating and empowering experience. I hated the rules in my Catholic school and there were so many elements from that place that made me hide so much about myself. The fact that I could wear shorts and curse and attend rallies and cut class and make my own class schedules in college felt incredibly freeing and satisfying.

What would've happened if Cinderella never went to the ball? See magic beanstalk question.

If you had one day to do anything at all, what would you choose? I would drive to Tagaytay and find a cozy restaurant and eaaaaatttt awaaaayyyy.

What are a few of your favorite songs? I really really like Singularity by V, Over the Hills by Hayley Williams, and So Far Away by Agust D and Suran.

Have you ever legitimately forgotten to do homework? All the time. I never wrote down homework.

--

If you were a witch, what kind of a spell would you cast? On who? I don’t care about casting spells on people. I just want my cravings to show up in the snap of a finger hahaha. Can that be part of a witch’s scope of work? Kjdgfhsdfskjfhs

Do you enjoy autumn leaves or spring flowers more? Why? I wouldn’t know. I experience neither over here.

What is your favorite sport to play? What about watch? Table tennis. Favorite to watch would be either tennis or pro wrestling.

Have you ever gone on a cruise before? To where? Yeah. It was an East Asian cruise so I traveled to Shanghai, Jeju, and Fukuoka.

What would you do if you were invisible for a day? Probably go to the bigger houses in the village and see how fancy they get.

Depending on where you live, why might a day of school get canceled? Typhoon, floods. A lot of places are incredibly prone to flooding, so as long as it’s been raining super hard the chances for a class suspension will get high.

What types of transportation do you think we will see in the future? I dunno. It seems like we’re at that point where everything is in the process of being invented or perfected already. 

What were some of your toys you always played with when you were little? I liked kitchen sets and anything with lots of buttons, so like toy telephones or cash registers.

If you were a movie star, what would a day in your life be like? I have no clue apart from the fact that I’m just glad I would assumedly have more than enough money to buy whatever I’m craving whenever I want hahaha.

If you invented a time machine, what year would you like to go to, and why? Realistically I wouldn’t change a thing; but if I had to answer this question I’d go back to 2016 and never ask out Gab a second time, so that the next four years wouldn’t end up being such a waste of my time.

What is your favorite holiday and why? I don’t have one. I’m not a big holiday ~celebrator.

What is something that you like to do while on vacation? Try food I’ve never tried before. The more unconventional or obscure, the better.

If you could meet any fictional character from a book, who would it be? Eh, don’t really have anyone in mind.

What are some common places that people tour when they come to your city? There’s the waterfalls in the upper part of the city – I’m just not sure if it’s still a popular spot but it certainly was when I was a kid. There’s also an art museum that I’m certain is a lot more frequented now.

What's one food that you did not enjoy as a child, but do as an adult? Curry.

How would having no electricity affect your daily routine? I wouldn’t be able to attend work, at least not for the whole day. It would also feel a lot warmer without the electric fan, which would in turn make me cranky.

If you had one wish, what would it be? A renovated room with a dedicated corner for all my merch.

Say someone gives you a magic sweater. What happens when you wear it? Idk.

If you built a new city, how would you convince people to move there? I wouldn’t.

What is one of your favorite movies? Why is it one of your favorites? Two for the Road. It has Audrey Hepburn, it’s a realistic rom-com, and the chemistry between the two leads is superb.

--

If you were given a certain amount of time to live, would you want to know? Yeah for sure, I would want to know in a heartbeat.

What would you do if you were able to stop time? I don’t know what I would do, but that would be a nice...opportunity, I guess? to experiment with or try out certain decisions and see how well or unwell they would work out to be. So that when time resumes, I’d know better on how to best handle a situation.

Do you think that long distance relationships would be for you? I wouldn’t actively go for it, but I’m not shutting down the possibility either.

Is there a popular social media platform that you don't have an account for? I have one for all the main ones, I think. Even Instagram, I made an account not too long ago to finally join the platform.

How old were you when you found out about Santa, the Easter Bunny, etc? I never knew the Easter Bunny was a thing until I started taking these surveys at like 14. I never really believed in Santa either, and the only figure I was super disappointed to learn that it didn’t exist was the tooth fairy.

Who is your favorite Disney Princess? Rapunzel.

Which freaks you out more - clowns or porcelain dolls? Porcelain dolls. They look more innocent, which somehow makes them creepier.

What was the last mistake that you learned from? Hm, just a minor work thing that would be too complicated to explain here.

Do you prefer "regular pencils" or mechanical ones? Why? Regular. I always break off the tips of mechanical pencils.

What is one little-known music artist you'd recommend? Andi made me listen to The Drums recently and I’ve been loving their sound so far; they would be perfect on a road trip. I’ve only listened to one album, though.

What is your favorite Pixar film? Toy Story!

Who was the last person to send you any sort of message on social media? Angela sent me a video meme.

Where were you on September 11th, 2001? I don’t know...probably already being put to bed. Either way I wasn’t fully conscious yet as I had only been 3 and living on the other side of the planet.

Name your favorite green vegetable. Broccoli, spinach, bell peppers, or asparagus. IDK I love veggies hahahaha

Could you handle a friends with benefits type of situation? Not for me. I’m not even into sex. 

Do you prefer using a brush or a comb on your hair? Comb. 

What's your favorite flavor of potato chips? SALTED EGG. I’m obsessed; I had like five bags this week alone.

Would you rather build a snowman or a snow fort? Why? I dunno; I’ve never tried making either.

At what age do you believe children should begin having screen time? I’m not too sure at this point, but I do know I don’t plan on being too strict with my kids. I’d let them watch stuff on an iPad from like age 3 or 4, but one thing I would change from how I was raised is putting a limit on their screen time, maybe half an hour to an hour a day.

If you had to give a speech, what would it be on? I’d be down for any topic as long as I was given ample time to research, honestly. I like public speaking.

[yaz-the-spaz]

Hi ! I really want to know about the bullying happened to Liam? I’ve been listening to Zayn’s MOM and some lyric (know what you’ve been through etc) remind me of this.... I just thought it would really help me understand Ziam’s relationship better? Also if you know anything about Zayn’s early life I would die to know! Thanks! Hope it’s not too much to ask(btw I watched the videos that Liam’s high school girlfriend Shannon posted in 2010, he was so cute, that kind of triggered me to know more too

hey nonnie, i don’t really have much concrete information on this unfortunately other than what little liam’s shared himself. i’m not sure how much of that you’ve seen though so this may or may not be new info for you at all but i guess i’ll just sum up what i can remember of what he’s said which is pretty much just general stuff: 

he was bullied in school as a teen (not sure about before his teen years but it also wouldn’t surprise me) and didn’t have really have many close friends...there’s possibly also a point where he didn’t have any just based on what’s known about his 16th birthday which is that literally not a single person showed up after he invited (i think??) his whole class or at least a good portion of it and his family went all out with getting a big fancy cake and lots of decorations and i think even rented out a little venue space or something like that to host the party and it just ended up being the 5 of them...i can’t seem to find it at the moment but there’s a pic of him somewhere where he’s literally just sitting there at the table all by himself with this big cake (that was obviously meant for way more than 5 people) and it’s absolutely heart-breaking. idk if you’ve seen any of the backstory of sophiam but supposedly there was a girl in high school that liam really liked and he tried a few times to ask her out and every time she turned him down. sophia is rumored to be that girl (though how true that is, or how much it was just a convenient way to sell the narrative of them as some sort of super messed-up version of high school sweethearts i ofc have no real idea). but anyway that, combined with kind of off-hand comments i feel like i remember him making along the lines of being sort of unlucky in love growing up, i think also says a lot of how he was treated and perceived in school. there’s also the fact that at one point the bullying got so bad his dad enrolled him in boxing as a way to help boost his self-esteem and help him feel more confident about defending and sticking up for himself. and after he went on txf in 2008 things only got worse cause, despite whatever brief fame/notoriety and positive-ish attention he might have gotten shortly following his run on the show, after about a year or so of things with his music career not really progressing (and people around town recognizing him and noticing that he hadn’t “done” anything else or really “gone anywhere” in his career) he started getting publicly ridiculed. random people would literally yell cruel stuff at him in the street or in fast food restaurants about him basically being a has-been and stuff like that...

as for zayn i don’t really know much of his early life either other than little bit i’ve shared that i recall seeing. i know it was circulated that he was out as bi as young as 15/16 and that ppl from his school and from the bradford area (esp the areas close to his neighborhood) knew. he was also bullied in his early years (more around elementary school/primary school age) b/c his school at the time was primarily full of white and kids apparently they would literally call him “funny-looking” and stuff like that and make fun of him for being brown and muslim, but he eventually switched schools and things got a lot better. that’s about all i know for him though

[captain-aralias]

Creators: give a “behind the scenes” look at one of your works. This could be things that got removed or changed, the origins of ideas/details, whatever you like!

oh hey - it’s trivia tuesday already (i guess it’s been a long two days back at work this week). i know everyone is still working their way through the remixes that are finished and posted - and i say, do this! some cracking stuff. i’m over half way through now, and i want to write up some thoughts about how these 26 stories approached remix - because it’s super inventive. i think people benefited from not being familiar with the format.

but i also wanted to share my thinking around why i picked the fic to remix that i did - and what else i was considering from @bazzybelle‘s ficlist, because i think the thought process around remix is interesting. AND i wanted to show you the 500 words i wrote almost immediately of a completely different remix that i definitely won’t finish. it would have been... a publishing AU, fake relationship with too-early-in-the-relationship sex. all good things in a fic, right?

so - read on for deleted scenes, and discussion of thought process. and don’t read on, if that’s not your jam. 

(in general remember - i’m keen to leave stuff in the original that’s good, rather than just thieve everything. so that’s my thought process here.) 

first idea: 

I Just Want Your Extra Time And Your .....

(texting, sex chat). i already really liked this fic, and i have IRL experience of working in publishing (which you’ll see to some extent in the fic - i worked very near people who worked on celebrity cookbooks, which is what baz works on in the fic) (the launch party is not revealed to be at the groucho club in the bit i wrote, but would have been - and i’ve been there/i know soho, so ... that was all appealing)

my idea was: the original is a text fic, mine isn’t, although they still only know each other through the sex chat set-up. so instead of simon and baz having text-sex (as in the fic), baz asks simon [who he's never met] to come and be his fake date at a publishing launch party where he sees lamb, his former boyfriend. 

the trigger for simon and baz progressing with their relationship/having sex (Because they were going to have sex but IRL) would be the same - baz seeing lamb and freaking out. and some of the texts would be literally copied and pasted in my fic as backstory. 

here were my original notes:

in the original fic there's a bit where baz sees lamb, his ex boyfriend, and then is like - hey, simon distract me and they have phone sex

my fic will essentially start there - baz is at a launch party for one of his books, lamb is there - dating the author. it is awful. baz wants to leave, but can't. also, it's time for the text slot with simon - he goes and hides in a cloakroom

and is texting simon, it's terrible - i am so drunk and it's still terrible. and i think simon offers (rather than baz asks) to come and pretend to be his boyfriend

for some sort of plausible denial reason like baz will text him a lot over hte next few days so he'll get a lot of extra money or some shit, but also because simon thinks lamb is a dick even through teh messages

simon shows up - they both drink a lot. they like each other, simon punches lamb (probably). baz asks if he can take simon to a restaurant, they talk more - they kiss. they go back to a hotel together. they discuss whether or not this means that simon is a prostitute (no). they have sex IRL

baz wakes up - and leaves immediately, obviously.

they text again the next day - it's awkward. simon thinks about how he could track baz down if he wanted to - but he feels like baz doesn't want him to, so he doesn't

simon gets out of his horrible job - baz probably tries to get in touch with him, but can't because he's gone. simon gets a message from baz ....... this is still to be determined

anyway - i will probably steal the meet cute in the elevator, it's nice.

why i stopped writing it: 

i knew it was going to take ages to write - i didn’t have the time or brainspace to write 20k of fic. i’d assumed going in that i could lean on the original fic to provide the meetcute, but realised that since it was an AU, i still needed to sell the relationship - particularly given that they were meeting in real life for the first time in my fic. 

also, it would have been my first mundane AU for the fandom, and my first thing where they weren’t enemies first. (so i was trying to think about how i could get them not to like each other a bit WHILE STILL doing fake dating - and it was throwing me off). it was all just too much.

everything i’ve written is pasted for you at the bottom.

other ideas: 

a month passed. i didn’t write any more on my original remix, but went back to greener grass instead. i sent out the month warning email to remixees and thought - i am not going to finish this fic. 

so, i went back to the list of bazzybelle’s fic and thought what can i write that i can definitely write in a month? 

1. You're F***in' Perfect to Me - daphne POV

i thought, i could write this from malcolm's POV.  in the fic daphne talks a lot about how she and malcolm are just friends, rather than true love, and it's baz she has real (motherly) feelings for, not malcolm. so i thought i could write 'the courtship of mrs grimm' where malcolm gets a wake-up call from this argument, and thinks, i actually do love daphne but she likes my son more than me. he's been hiding behind not wanting to sully natasha's memory, etc, etc. fiona would probably be in it. 

2. bat baz

i also had a bit of a naff idea where instead of baz turning into a bat, in bat baz, he would turn into bat man... 

(interestingly one of the remixes was about baz turning into a cat) 

3. If I Fell In Love With You - which i eventually chose

i took the dancing and the music, the set up, and the theme of communication - also some dialogue. pushed some of the focus onto baz’s relationship with niall, pushed the action back in time towards wayward son, added a truth spell (based on a spell in the original) to force communication.

i think this is one of the most interesting remixes i’ve ever done, btw. i’m really pleased with my take on it. 

i chose this to remix because i thought - it’s only a few scenes, rather than a whole get-together arc, and it felt achievable in the timespan. i also had a strong idea about what i could do that was different - the relationship with niall and the spell, and what i would leave for people to discover in the original (simon’s POV - including the warmth he feels when baz cooks for him, the two of the resolving the initial fight when simon comes home in a bad mood). 

the title is a combination of - another line from ‘if i fell’ but one that is about not talking to each other/not putting yourself out there... and ‘where words fail’ - which is the spell i used, and also picks up on what baz says to niall - that telling simon wasn’t enough. even if he’d had the right words, they wouldn’t have been believable. but - through the music/magic, they were able to communicate. 

i also considered using a line from ‘into my arms’ instead (I believe in some kind of path), since that was the song that the magic is cast on - but it didn’t work as well thematically. 

here’s the fic i wrote: Don’t Run and Hide (The ‘Where Words Fail’ Remix’)

and here’s the remix i didn’t write. i think i almost wanted to finish it just for the elvis gag. alas, alas.

I Just Want your Extra Time: remix, not written

BAZ

I don’t smoke as much as my father thinks I do. And I don’t drink – not usually. This evening, though, I’ve already had several glasses of champagne and I’m on my fourth cigarette, the second this smoke break. Because it’s that or go back inside. And I definitely don’t want to go back inside.

I should have known he’d be here.

Not that he was invited. Not that he’s on the guest list. Not that there’s any reason at all, in fact, for him to be here, except that my life is an absolute disaster. Today definitely not an exception.

If anything, it’s worse than usual. I thought I’d already hit bottom when Dev told me I had to ring our printers – in China – and get them to promise to ship one of our new titles three weeks early, as some idiot had sent the press release out with the wrong date. That was excruciating, but things seemed to be improving.

It’s a launch party night. I’m not sure why, but I always look forward to them, even though I hate crowds. (Niall would probably say, other people in general. And he wouldn’t be far wrong.)

But I get to wear a suit. (Tonight’s is Spencer Hart. Dark grey. Green tie.) And I know Snow is going to text after the first hour. And even though no one ever remembers to thank the editor – not unprompted, anyway – I do enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that I’m responsible for turning whatever dross we’ve been told to sell into something that could loosely be called a book.

This one is a cookbook by an actor (not a chef, in other words. I had to hire someone else to write the recipes and then we just photographed him next to the result.) It should be a triumph. It is – we’ve already sold several thousand copies. I should be enjoying myself. But then I heard a voice next to my ear.

“Baz.” And someone put a hand on my waist. “Don’t you look rosy?”

Not someone. Lambert. (I never called him Francois, even when we were intimate.) As irritatingly handsome as ever. And just as confident I’ll do whatever he wants.

I haven’t seen him for months. Not since he left me Las Vegas to go off with one of the better-looking Elvis impersonators. (And if that isn’t the most humiliating break-up story you’ve ever heard, then I really don’t want to know what is. Dumped. And for Elvis.) (Not even the real Elvis - not that it makes a difference.)

“I hoped I’d see you here,” he – Lambert – told me. “It’s been far too long.”

“Since you left me.”

He gave me a hurt look. “Baz. We said Auf Wiedersehen, not goodbye.”

“Who are you really here with?”

The author, of course. I watched their eyes meet across the room and Lambert smiling, before he told me it wasn’t serious. And that he’d be interested in taking me to dinner.

“Unless you’re seeing someone?”

I raised an eyebrow – even though I know Lambert knows I only do that when I can’t think of anything to say. Which means he probably knows the truth, which is that there isn’t anyone else. Not anyone else real, anyway.  

Which reminds me …

I check my watch – it’s later than I thought.

[chipcoffeyblog]

Looking for something fun and totally outside the (candy) box for you and your special someone to do for Valentine's Day? Something totally different and a little bit off-the-wall? Then keep reading! Most of us enjoy spooky TV shows and movies, right? We love that delicious adrenaline rush of being creeped out just a bit by thoughts of ghosts and the paranormal! If that sounds like you - and/or your special Valentine - then keep reading! Wouldn't it be big fun for you and your Valentine to spend a night (or weekend) at a haunted hotel? Just imagine what you might experience! And think of the bragging rights you'll have when recounting your ghostly adventures to family and friends! As part of my work as a psychic and medium, I have traveled extensively and stayed at some of the most interesting - and haunted - hotels in the United States. I like to stay at places that have a rich history, combined with stories about the spirits that reportedly roam throughout the properties. I have seen and heard otherworldly things that would send delicious little goose bumps up and down the spines of most people! Below is a list of some of the haunted hotels that I have enjoyed visiting and predict that you will enjoy visiting, too. New York City: The Jane Hotel - Some of the survivors of the sinking of the Titanic stayed in the building that is now the Jane Hotel in NYC's Greenwich Village. Guests report seeing ghostly apparitions and hearing the sound of sobbing . And the elevator often appears to have a mind of its own, traveling up at down between floors randomly. Guest rooms are inspired by luxury ship and train cabins and tend to be on the small side, many with shared baths. If you desire an en suite bathroom, choose to stay in one of the Captain's Cabins. Added bonus: You're in NYC! There is so much to see and do! Visit all the sites and see a Broadway show!

New York State - Catskills area: Burn Brae Mansion in Glen Spey, NY - Spectral apparitions and ghostly sounds are often heard by guests at this lovely bed and breakfast that was once the elaborate Victorian home of the widow of George Ross MacKenzie, third president of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. Other unexplained occurrences include doors opening and slamming shut; the sound of children playing; the sound of animals when no animals are present; and the sound of an organ playing, although there is no organ in the house. During my visit there, I distinctly smelled cookies baking in the downstairs area, but no one was baking cookies. Added bonus: The surrounding area is beautiful! Go for a hike, horseback riding, rafting, etc. Los Angeles, California: Millennium Biltmore Hotel - The ghost of Elizabeth Short is said to haunt the Biltmore. Ms. Short was last seen alive at the Biltmore shortly before her gruesome demise in 1947 and that still unsolved case has been dubbed "The Black Dahlia Murder." Soldiers who stayed in the building during and after World War II and young children are also said to roam around the hotel. Perhaps iconic stars from bygone Hollywood days pay post mortem visits to The Biltmore? Added bonus: Hollywood, with all its star studded sites, is close by...and so are California beaches! Atlanta, Georgia: Georgian Terrace - In December of 1939, this hotel hosted the "Gone With the Wind" Gala after the movie's premiere in downtown Atlanta. Clark Gable (and wife, Carole Lombard), Vivien Leigh (and future husband, Laurence Olivier) and other stars of the movie were in attendance. Some say that a gangland-style murder and other deaths have occurred here and there are frequent reports of ghostly activity occurring within the hotel. Added bonus: The haunted Fox Theatre is across the street from the hotel...and you're close to downtown ATL.   Austin, Texas Driskill Hotel - This lavish hotel, located in downtown Austin and completed in 1882, was built by Colonel Jesse Driskill, a cattleman who spent his entire fortune to build "the finest hotel south of St. Louis." He is said to haunt the hotel, along with a little girl who fell down the grand staircase while chasing her runaway ball and two brides who allegedly took their own lives in the bathtub of room 525, exactly 20 years apart. Added bonus: There are great places to eat, drink and be merry nearby. Do your part to help "Keep Austin Weird"! Denver, Colorado Brown Palace - One of the spirits that is said to haunt the Brown Palace is a young boy, dressed in Victorian era clothing, who has been seen rifling through the luggage of hotel guests. During one of my stays there, I returned to my room to discover that little intruder looking inside my backpack that was sitting on a chair! When we saw each other, we both gasped and he instantaneously vanished, leaving me startled and wide-eyed! Added bonus: The hella haunted Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado is about an hour drive from downtown Denver. The stately hotel was the inspiration for author Stephen King's best selling novel, "The Shining," which he wrote after he and his wife were guests there. The hotel has been featured on numerous paranormal TV shows. Kansas City, Missouri area Belvoir Winery and Inn - This cozy and comfortable, yet quite elegant, 9 room bed and breakfast, with its 1,500 square feet bridal suite, is located in Liberty, Missouri on the site of a huge former Odd Fellows complex. The inn was once an orphanage, so the sights and sounds of children who once called this building their home are regularly seen and heard by Belvoir guests. Numerous television shows have filmed at the inn and on the property, including Kindred Spirits, Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters and American Pickers. Added bonus: Have a glass or two of Belvoir's wines or your favorite cocktail at the inn's lovely bar located on the main level. And visit George, the inn's "mascot," who just happens to be a real skeleton! New Hampshire Omni Mount Washington Hotel - Located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, this property is simply spectacular! The most prominent spirit that is said to haunt the hotel is Princess Carolyn, former owner of the hotel, whose lovely suite is now available for guests to occupy. The hotel's dining room has a permanently set up table for Princess Carolyn in case she happens to stop in for lunch or dinner.  Added bonus: Sightings of the elusive Bigfoot have been reported in the area! Soak up the gorgeous scenery! Take the cog railway to the top of Mt. Washington. Go skiing on the nearby slopes during winter months. Boston, Massachusetts Omni Parker House Hotel - Rich in history and hauntings, the Parker house is the birthplace of Boston Cream Pie and Parker House Rolls! The Kennedy family, arguably America's "royal family," often visited this hotel. It is said that future president John F. Kennedy proposed to Jacqueline Bouvier at a table in the hotel's restaurant. At one time, civil rights activist Malcolm X, Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh and celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse were employees of the hotel. While staying there, I was confused when I encountered the spirit of John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. My encounter finally made sense when the hotel's historian told me that Booth had frequently stayed at the hotel and had even practiced firing his gun nearby. Added bonus: Granary Burying Ground (cemetery), final resting place of numerous Revolutionary War patriots, including Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, is nearby    Tampa, Florida area The Don Cesar - Affectionately known as "The Pink Palace" and located in St. Pete Beach, not far from Tampa on Florida's west coast, this hotel, like others on my list, is said to be haunted by its original owner. Wealthy New Englander Thomas Rowe built the hotel in 1925 in remembrance of his unrequited love for a lovely Spanish opera singer. The star crossed lovers are said to haunt "The Don," as are members of the New York Yankees baseball team, including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, due to the fact members of the team once stayed at the hotel during spring training. Other reported spectral guests include gangster Al Capone and World War II era soldiers who may have stayed (and died) there while the building was being used as a convalescent hospital for aviators and pilots. Added bonus: The hotel has a lovely Gulf of Mexico beach.  San Francisco, California Queen Anne Hotel - A charming Victorian era boutique hotel located in the Pacific Heights neighborhood. Both the public areas and guests rooms are furnished in an eclectic style. The hotel was once an exclusive boarding school for young ladies, as well as a brothel that housed "ladies of the night." The headmistress of the girl's school, Miss Mary Lake, reportedly haunts the hotel, sometimes unpacking suitcases, tucking guests in at night and singing to them while they fall asleep. The most haunted room is said to be room 410, which was once Miss Mary Lake's office. Voodoo queen Mary Ellen Pleasant lived across the street from the hotel in the 1800's and it is thought that perhaps her spirit also roams the halls of the Queen Anne. Added bonus: Enjoy all that The Golden Gate City has to offer! Ride a cable car; eat some great seafood at a waterfront restaurant; visit Fisherman's Wharf and the spectacular Palace of Fine Arts, built for the 1915 World's Fair. Portland, Oregon The Benson - A world class luxury hotel that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built by Simon Benson and opening its doors in 1913, it is believed that Mr. Benson is the primary spirit who haunts the hotel. He is frequently seen on the grand staircase, in the hotel bar and dining room, and on the 7th, 9th and 12th floors of the hotel. A small and mischievous little boy, whom people assume is the ghost of one of Benson's sons, often appears and plays pranks on hotel guests. The ghost of a former porter who worked at The Benson is also sometimes seems, as well as the spectral images of a lady in white (doesn't every haunted property have a lady in white? LOL) and a lady in blue. Added bonus: Take a trip to see the nearby and spectacularly beautiful Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls! New Orleans, Louisiana Bourbon Orleans Hotel - Once the location of the Sisters of the Holy Family's convent, girl's school, medical ward and orphanage, the Bourbon Orleans is reportedly haunted by the spirits of those who resided there during that earlier time. A Confederate soldier has also been seen at the hotel, as well as a lonely ghost dancer, seen dancing solo in the hotel's ballroom. The 3rd and 6th floors are said to be some of the most haunted areas. Added bonus: Laissez les bon temps rouler and enjoy all of the delicious and decadent delights that The Big Easy readily serves up! Savannah, Georgia East Bay Inn - This stately old building was built in the mid-1800's and once housed the offices of cotton merchants, as well as warehouses for cotton. In the mid-1980's, the property opened as a charming inn with 28 guest rooms. The rooms are spacious, with wooden floors, exposed brick establishing walls and high ceilings. A friendly ghost named Charley, a former worker in the building, allegedly haunts the inn. It is claimed that he is heard walking the halls late and night and sometimes will jiggle the doorknobs. Witnesses have said that lights flicker and some of their personal belongings mysteriously disappear. Room 325, known as "Charley's Room," is said to be the most haunted. Added bonus: Is there really anyplace in Savannah that isn't haunted? Visit them all! Walk along River Street. Take a ride on the riverboat. Put on your walking shoes and visit Savannah's numerous squares. And don't miss a visit to the magnificently beautiful Bonaventure Cemetery. San Antonio, Texas The Menger Hotel - The land on which the Menger sits is part of the historic site of the Battle of the Alamo. It is said that between 32 and 45 ghosts haunt the Menger. (Who came up with that number?!?) Among those ghosts are Teddy Roosevelt; Sallie White, a former chambermaid at the hotel who was shot nearby by her common law husband and died on the hotel's 2nd floor; and Richard King, a cattle baron who often stayed at the Menger and died in his suite on the 3rd floor. If you are brave enough, you can stay in the King Ranch Suite where Richard King died and sleep in the same bed where he took his last breath! Added bonus: Visit The Alamo. Walk along the River Walk. Dine in some of San Antonio's fabulous eateries. San Diego, California (Coronado Island) Hotel del Coronado - The elegant hotel, located on Coronado Island, has a resident ghost named Kate Morgan. Kate was a guest at the hotel in 1892 and killed herself with a gun a few days after an ugly break-up with her male lover. Guests at the hotel have reported seeing Kate's ghost walking in the hallways and along the hotel's lovely beach. During my visits to the hotel, I always hope to encounter the spirit of Marilyn Monroe, who shot the film, "Some Like It Hot," on the property back in 1958. Added bonus: While in the San Diego area, pay a visit to the haunted Whaley House in Old Town San Diego, where you can also shop at some of the area's charming stores. Washington, DC Hay-Adams Hotel - Washington socialite Marian Adams, known by the nickname Clover, reportedly haunts the Hay-Adams. Clover was an amateur photographer who died after ingesting some of the potassium cyanide that she used while developing her photographs. Her death was ruled a suicide, but some believed that she had been murdered. The ghost of Clover Adams haunts the hotel's 4th floor. Maids have told stories of hearing a woman sobbing, calling out their names and asking "What do you want?" in unoccupied rooms. Some guests say that visits by Clover's spirit are accompanied by the scent of almonds. Potassium cyanide, which caused Clover's death, is extracted from almonds! Added bonus: Visit the many beautiful monuments in DC, as well as The Smithsonian and nearby Arlington Cemetery. 

[glee-dsm-events2]

The Headmistress has graciously (and through a lot of teeth pulling, several threats to her trophy case and lack of additional options) allowed the school use of her private island and paradise resort (which is often for Cheerio retreats and was purchased after selling interviews to news reporters and syphoning of Glee funds and donations) for the Winter trip! As it is a private island, it will be left to the school to be on with staff coming in by boat to assist. There will also be daily trips/boat shuttles to Costa Rica a mere 30 minute boat ride away! We will be gone January 15th - January 20th.

RULES:

All students must be in their assigned rooms between 1am-6am daily.

There will be no drug use of any kind tolerated.

Alcohol can be consumed at the resort and on the mainland by all students who are 21 years in age. Any underage drinking is strictly prohibited.

Be respectful to all guards, staff, and other met on the mainland. You will represent the school on this trip - use your manners.

No one can go to the mainland alone - groups of 2 or more only with following the escort rule of the school. Boats will leave and return on the hour to go to the main land the students can use during free times.

ACCOMODATIONS

Students will be placed in groups in different cabins which are equipped with: a living area, 3 bedrooms (with a King bed, two queens, and two twins), 2 bathrooms, a patio to the beach, fire pit, and kitchenette. The cabins are furnished with TV, Bluray (with rentals available) streaming devices, and all major appliances.

Assignments:

Cabin 1 - 

Grace Motta

Remy Hudson

Lucas Smythe

Elliott Anderson

Layla Schuester

Cabin 2 - 

Nathan Lynn

Adam Sylvester

Jackson Schuester

Malakai Sylvester

Ryan Fabray-Lynn

Silas Lynn

Cabin 3 - 

Sam Evans

Hunter Clarington

Blaine Evans

Sawyer Cohen-Chang

Lisette Gilbert

Cabin 4 - 

Eric Anderson

Landon Corcoran

Jeff Sterling

Caleb Duval

Maverick Lynn

Shea Flanagan

Cabin 5 - 

Mateo Lopez

Nick Duval

Jamie Beiste

Tobias Karofsky

Buchanan Wilde

Cabin 6 - 

Gunner Clarington

Frankie Wilde

Noelle Adams

Jaelan Puckerman

Franco Hart

Cabin 7 - 

Noah Duval

Bentley Jones

Ferdinand Abrams

Oliver Smythe

Lennon Corcoran

Quinn Fabray

Cabin 8 - 

Esther Fabray

Deni Sterling

Catalina Lopez

Summer Evans

Clark Abrams

Cabin 9 - 

Sebastian Smythe

Ryder Lynn

Archer Clarington

Beau Adams

Devon Chang

Cabin 10 - 

Daniel Schuester

Kirin Rhodes

Eli Hummel

Skylar Evans

ITINIRARY -

The resort and island are filled with things to do! Swimming, snorkeling, parasailing, surfing, fishing, tennis courts, basketball courts, sandcastles, full workout center, indoor arcade, restaurant, bar, swim up bar, and horseback riding.

As stated before, there will be regular trips via boat to Costa Rico as well as scheduled outings. Things to do on the main land are tattoo shops, hair dressers, street shops/vendors, food vendors, D/s club, dance clubs, bars, restaurants, ziplines, waterfalls, parks, whitewater rafting, biking, golf, hot springs, kayaking and canoeing.

January 15th

Leave Ohio at 5am, arrive in Costa Rica at 1pm.

Resort day

January 16th

Resort Day

January 17th

1pm - Suspended Bridges of Monteverde and ziplining

5pm - return at resort

January 18th 

9am - Tram across the Rainforest

11pm - Lunch at nearby restaurant

1pm - Canyoning

5pm - return to resort

January 19th - 

Resort Day

January 20th - 

Leave resort at 5am, arrive in Ohio at 1pm.

OOC - 

So, same as always, if there are any plots to occur PLEASE run it by the admins first. Remember that there will be guards and staff will be around so if your character breaks a rule, a punishment will occur. Keep in mind, most of this will be F2F interactions, so there’s always a chance people will be seen/noticed/overheard etc. Any questions, hit us up. Also, those strike outs in the beginning are not IC knowledge but a fun HC J and I came up with that Sue absolutely has her own island that she bought from her own fundraising and skimming off the top of the Glee Club budget and that she usually only allows Cheerios there. She probably named it something mean towards Will, but we haven’t come up with it yet.  

[szopenhauer]

How was your day?: it wasn’t good.

Would you ever try to count to 5,000 for $5,000?: I’d try

When is the last time you took a picture of yourself?: last days

When did you last take a shower?: I’m going to take a bath soon

What song are you listening to?: The Weeknd - Blinding Lights

Last sentence you said aloud?: not sure what was last

What is the point of scented pens/pencils/erasers? ppl like to smell stuff I guess Do you buy/wear band-aids with cartoon characters on them? they’re usually not sticking well enough  What do you think your reaction would be upon entering the White House? meh, they could spend those money better by helping ppl, nobody needs such a big house - president or not, we’re not in medieval times and guards would have less to do 

Do you buy and wear crazy looking socks? I would like to Would you run down the street wearing a tutu, fishnets, & flippers? topless? for how much tho  Have you ever grown your own sea monkeys or dinosaurs? nope

Did you ever own an Etch-a-Sketch? yes, I loved it so much, I miss it Do/did you ever have glow-in-the-dark stars on your ceiling? on my wall and furniture, I still have some left Does your house have an attic? it does Have you ever gone white-water rafting? no and don’t want to Does your grandma wear an apron when she cooks? she did How often do you need “me” time? all the time? :x Does it bother you that almost everything is done on computers now? sometimes, a little bit Have you ever gotten stuck in a revolving door? I haven’t What animal do you most resemble while eating? dunno but it reminds me of that yt video - how animals eat their food lmfao Would you play Jumanji, if given the chance? someone already plays it this year

Do you text/call while going to the bathroom?  I might but prefer not to Do you always make sure your cell phone is charged before going somewhere? and powerbank too Did you get Happy Meals just for the toys as a kid? only once, I got Eeyore that I still own Have you ever seen your parents cry?  of course

Do you often shift blame towards others? usually it’s other way around? Do you ever feel like you’re smarter than your boss? I don’t have a job Your very first best friend: Is he/she STILL your best friend? not counting my family - no Have you ever witnessed a crime? minor What’s the coolest personalized license plate you’ve ever seen? I saw a bunch :D Do you write grey or gray? grey, it doesn’t have 50 shades

If you make surveys, how do you decide about its title? I don’t add titles as you can see, that’s stupid

When are you going back to school? never?

What do you do when you tell a really bad joke? my jokes are so bad that they’re good if you know what I mean ;)

Do you like having a huge group of friends or would you rather have few close friends? few close

Do you watch the TV Show Skins? If so, who’s your favorite character? fragments

Can you get a strike at bowling? I never tried bowling but would like to

Do you swallow chewing gum? wtf

Were you into the Beanie Baby craze? nah Would you ever wish to ride a dolphin? nope, I’m not fond of dolphins Do you ever watch the news just for the weather forecast? my parents did and that was dumb, I don’t like/believe in weather forecats If your remote was missing, where is the most likely place you’d find it? in dad’s stuff Ever considered the thought that kangaroos technically have fanny packs? hehe

When was the last time you blew bubbles? not that long time ago from what I remember Did the last doctor’s office you were in have a crappy magazine selection? it did indeed  Have you been to a restaurant where they cook the food in front of you? bakery only The last ball you threw was a… (baseball, basketball, etc.) childish ball for my niece Have you seen how much candidates for president are willing to spend for their campaign? it’s insane  Have you ever caught a friend snooping in your room? I have and that’s why I am afraid of leaving ppl alone in my room  Quick! Name the longest word starting with the letter ‘J’ you can think of: jurisdiction was the first that came to my mind  Do you still write letters to people, even though there’s e-mail now? no longer but not because of e-mail’s existence

Have you ever taken a survey with a friend, listing both answers?: I tagged my friends in the past 

Do you know a guy who has hair longer than yours?: not currently

What color was the last cup you drank out of?: it’s a llama mug (minty color)

If you’re in school, what do you do to fill in time between classes?: there was never enough time for me

Where was the last place you got lost?: mall or park

When was the last time you had cheesecake?: this year

When you last shed tears, was it because of a person?: partially

Other than yours, whose house did you last fall asleep at?: John and P

Have you ever had a significant other whose parents didn’t like you?: looks like it

What’s so unique about your computer?: what’s on it - pictures/memes/documents

What’s one thing you have never done? I didn’t do lots of stuff and don’t want to many of them actually

What is one trend you wish you have been a part of? I’m not into trends in general

Do you enjoy reading fanfictions? About who? Or do you write fanfictions, too? nah

What is something you own that you wish was in your favorite color? it’s not that important

Is there someone from your past that you wish you had dated? used to think that way, no longer

Can you snap with both your hands? If not, which hand can you snap with? both but not every single time

Do you like cosplays? I tried cosplays but it’s not for me and I’m a bit traumatised by it due to experiences from the past, they remind me of someone and not only so I prefer not to follow/look at those related to anime mostly

If you were to participate in one, what/who would you dress up as? I’d dress up as characters I relate to

Do you sometimes answer surveys with “Idk”/“Idr” because you’re too lazy? I just realized that I don’t, wow, I used to do that all the damn time

Are you usually open to trying a new food that you aren’t familiar with? am not

Have you ever acted like a bitch and used PMS as an excuse? I don’t use PMS nor period as an excuse as it’s actually a stereotype and shouldn’t be an argument besides painful/uncomfy/annoying physical sensations and being unable to do some stuff due to that fact 

Do you know someone who brushes their teeth in the shower all the time? *shrug*

Have you ever tried doing that? Did you like it? Why or why not? tried and it’s not that good

Are you patient when it comes to instructing others? I’m not, sorry...

Do you listen to Panic At The Disco? nah

Name a band/artist you like that isn’t that popular.: I like many bands/artists that seem not very popular

Can you lift your significant other (your best friend if you’re single)?: can’t :(

Have you ever lost a pet you were attached to?: we had to give away

You can read minds; Whose mind do you snoop around in first?: hmm...

Do you ever talk to inanimate objects?: stuffed animals, kettle and fridge 

Have you ever tried to fold a piece of paper more than 7 times?: possibly

Your best friend needs a kidney to survive; Do you give them one of your’s?: oh my...

Your brother breaks into your house; Do you press charges?: ... ghost?

Would you rather have a huge cat or a tiny dog?: tiny dog <3

Do you use your hands when you talk to emphasize what you are saying?: do I?

Are you afraid to ask for help when you know that you need it?: depends

Should adopted kids be allowed to find their birth parents if they want to?: I guess

You’re writing a novel; Is it horror, mystery, romance, etc.?: sci-fi/fantasy

Will you usually admit it when you’ve made a mistake? would say so

Does your name begin with a B, L, R, or T?: Z

Could you go a day without texting?: but she couldn’t and we don’t want to

Do you have a step-parent?: I don’t

If so, do you get along with them?: -

Do you have any nieces or nephews?: one

Does your current/last job require that you wear a uniform?: one of jobs that I had

Who is your 23rd phone contact and how do you know them?: I don’t have this many

If the last person you kissed proposed to you what would you say?: try me

Where is your dad right now?: sleeping 

Are there any writing utensils close to you? several

Look up, what do you see? ceiling

Do you have a bigger upper or lower lip? lower

Do you have any screen names with spelling errors? luckily not

Open the nearest drawer and tell me what’s inside it: I know it’s empty, don’t have to open it

How many other rooms can you currently see into? my door is closed

Do you need to take the trash out? already done

Do you need to clean out a litter box right now? we don’t have a cat anymore

Are these questions reminding you of things you put off to do this survey? nah

How many days have you been wearing those clothes? 1

Do you like listening to 60’s music? some songs

Can you move your nose? many ways

Can you wiggle your ears? my dad can

How many songs have you downloaded this week? I don’t download songs

Would you rather be a pirate or robot? robot, can’t robot be a pirate tho?

Would you rather be a ghost or a zombie? ghost 

Have you ever considered living in a bomb shelter? I’d be scared to live underground

If I gave you a piano and told you hit middle c, could you? nooo

do you think it’s weird for someone to have never tried soda?   not really

which floor of your house/building are you on now? there’s basement under me and attic above me

would you ride a motorcycle if given the chance? (or have you?) I would, haven’t yet

what are your thoughts on reincarnation? (have you ever read up about it?) it’s possible

does your home have a balcony/deck/porch? balcony

how would you feel about traveling abroad alone? anxious

do you have an interesting passport? I don’t have a passport

what happens to your old clothes? I donate them, give them to ppl I know, reuse them, sell them etc.

who supports you financially? my parents 

if you wanted to go to the movie cinema, how would you get there? walking then by bus then walk again

have you ever had a crush on a sibling’s friend or a friend’s sibling? minor

do you know much about feng shui? (do you use it?) not much, I don’t use it

what’s your favorite spot to read? librocubicularist

did you know that buddha is not considered a god to buddhists? ok

do you save tickets from movies, etc.?   saved some

without looking him up, who was jim morrison? vocalist

do you have a nervous habit? several

would you be/are you a good role model to a younger sibling? nah

[lauren-nabors]

day ??? of quarantine

today is easter sunday, april 12th. 

we’ve been quarantined for 26 days. our restaurant’s dining room’s have been closed for 25 days. tensions are high, emotions are flowing, people are feeling all the feels. everyone except me, that is...

i have felt nothing this entire month. i haven’t cried once. i haven’t been all that angry. sure, i’ve been tired and i haven’t slept well and i’ve been bored and frustrated that there isn’t more to do. i was disappointed when our foster care class was canceled. but honestly, i haven’t felt much emotion at all. my anxiety hasn’t skyrocketed. i don’t feel scared. i am not paranoid of the virus or of getting sick (i’ve never been a germaphone anyway so i don’t feel panicky in the way that other people do). i told clif the other day, i keep waiting to cry or to just lose it on someone. i know those emotions are there somewhere under the surface...surely? i don’t know what’s going on. i guess because i feel anxiety all the time in normal life and i always feel like i’m waiting for something bad to happen or for “the other shoe to drop” so to say -- and this is the bad thing, at least for now. so it’s here and maybe it’s not so bad after all for me at least (that feels like a horrible thing to say because it is bad for so many people and so many have lost their lives or their loved ones and in cities like nyc it’s horrendous beyond belief) i’m also a pretty adaptable person so maybe it’s more that this feels like something i can adapt to for the time being and so my role in this is to be that person that keeps moving... and when it’s all over perhaps i’ll crash and burn?

as for other, non-mental-health-related things, since i last posted things changed in our world even more. everything is different as we know it. all non-essential businesses are closed (gyms, spas, clothing stores, etc) and restaurants can still only do carry-out and curbside. our team has continued to adapt well, i am proud of how we’ve handled things. we cut our hours from 7am to 6pm, and then about two weeks ago we cut them even further back to 3pm. it just didn’t make sense to stay open and run the labor clock out when we were so slow. for the most part our customers have been supportive and understanding. we’ve had the occasional angry customer that said “well google says you’re open until 8pm” and it’s like, ‘well sure but this is also a pandemic and everyone is closing early so maybe stop trusting google so much and just expect that things might be different.’ 

church has been online for us since i last posted. we’ve been doing Redeemer west side live streams, which honestly has been encouraging for my soul to sing old hymns with Tom Jennings and hear our friend Kate from our old community group lead the prayers of the people and to see David Bisgrove’s face each week and have him lead us in the Lord’s Prayer. there’s so much we miss about Redeemer so this is both a source of comfort to us but also creating a longing and an ache that will have consequences for us when this is all over...

we’ve seen very few friends in person but we’ve facetimed with so many that we wouldn’t have ordinarily. brendon & theresa, my college girls, jen & matt a lot, my mom and dad almost everyday. it’s funny but i think i miss my mom more than anything, this is the longest i’ve not seen her since we moved back to this area after nyc. the other night we played a game online with Boyd and Sarah while on Zoom with them. it was lots of fun. Zoom is a thing now... it’s not that important. 

of course our president has handled this poorly. he is the absolute worst person you want leading your country in a time like this. he isn’t a leader at all, he’s a petty child who wants all the credit for things he should’ve done anyway. instead of leading, he takes to twitter or tv every chance he can get to say “look what i did! look what i did!” Dr. Fauci, head of infectious diseases for the CDC is leading our country through this. Gov. Andrew Cuomo of NYC has also had a profound impact not just on his state but on our country through his leadership. the situation in the city is so much worse and scarier and more real than it is here. maybe my feelings would be different (emotion-wise) if we still lived in nyc. obviously because of the denseness, the death count is so much higher there. they are building pop-up tent hospitals in central park, and facing real challenges of how to bury all the bodies of those who have passed away from the virus. KFed is a nurse at Mt. Sinai and it’s crazy seeing her photos of her in her protective gear. Brendon told us that no one is taking the subways in the city. he needed some things from his office so he walked from their apartment on 158th to his work in the 20′s. it took him all day. but he didn’t want to risk any contamination and Theresa is now high-risk because she’s pregnant (what the what?!?!?! omg so exciting! praise the Lord!) 

people are wearing masks everywhere. there are lines outside of grocery stores because they can only have a certain amount of people in the building at one time. our unemployment count in our country is higher than it’s ever been, higher than during the great depression. the economic fall-out from this will last for years to come. the senate did finally pass a 2T stimulus package called the CARES act. it has some provisions for small businesses to get money that could be forgivable if used on certain things. we applied and got accepted for both restaurants -- we will get money to spend mostly on payroll and some other overhead expenses in 8 weeks once the money is funded. they are also sending a check to every american who made under $130K last year -- so we’re supposedly getting a check sometime for $2400 ($1200 per person and $500 per kid for those families who qualify). hopefully we’ll get some of our staff back to work and extended our hours back to 6, since we won’t have to be as worried about our labor costs being high. 

i guess that’s about all i can think to update for now. as for what clif and i have been up to, well... we’ve taken a “cocktail walk” almost everyday. around 4pm we’ve made cocktails and taken them with us as we walk Lenny around the park and say hello to those of our neighbors who are outside, too. the weather has been great so we’ve been very lucky in that regard. we’ve done some yard work and clif has been doing some drawing and lots of bread baking. we’re trying to eat at home 5 nights/week and eat out the other 2. to spread the local love around, we’ve enjoyed Progress burgers, Farmer’s Gastropub, Everyday Thai, Craft Sushi and I think tonight we’ll get either Bambino’s or Los Cabos. i haven’t been doing too much because i’m not a “hobby” person so I don’t do well with stuff like this where you have to stay inside and pass the time. i’ve been reading a lot, that’s about it. here are some photos from the past few weeks: 

feeding healthcare workers in partnership with local organizations has been a highlight for us! this is Cox Hospital staff here. 

we’ve been selling both bread and flour like crazy. there has been a flour shortage in grocery stores so we’ve sold probably more flour in the last 3 weeks than in the 20 year history of neighbor’s mill. 

hot cross buns for easter -- didn’t do hardly what we would’ve normally for a holiday weekend baking-wise but we still had to do these gorgeous buns and some festive cookies and cupcakes. 

we were on the front page of the Newsleader as a “small business adapting during the time of COVID” -- we had some blowback from the photo of our bakers shaping dough without gloves on, but all ended well as we took the time to educate and had positive responses from most of our customers 

our bread at Price Cutter -- i feel like the poor stock workers were like “screw up, it’s gonna be gone in three hours anyway, let’s just leave it on the dolly” 

boredom leads clif to many funny and creative things, though not always useful -- here he made a concrete cup mold 

my dad on KY3 for a story about local support of restaurants in Harrison 

a quarantine meal when food was low -- let’s see what’s in the fridge! 

said game we played with Boyd and Sarah where we had to draw different prompts -- i am a terrible drawer! 

afternoon rose and popcorn while Lenny plays and wanders -- we began sitting on the front porch just so we could see anyone walking by on the street and have the chance to chat and be social from a distance 

not much has changed with the animals 

chalk art outside Cox South main entrance 

lol...”i thought you said CLAMdemic” card from Donita 

sign we purchased to put in front of our restaurant -- strange times 

[escapistcatontheinternet]

Crime Crew: Buddy, Vespa, and Jet

I don’t really have a snappy title or really any sort of aim on this one besides organizing my thoughts, so I’m just going to start blathering on. 

When we talk about the Juno Steel series Crime Crew, we really only talk about Juno, Peter, and of course our lord and savior Rita. I’m not saying that the other three members are entirely ignored, no, but let’s be honest. They were barely introduced before Juno was whisked back away to Ramses Dystopia Bullshit. So, having just listened to The Time Gone By, I’m going to just blab about everything I’ve gathered about these three in light of Season Three fast approaching.

Let’s start with Vespa. We know the least about Vespa by far. Nearly everything we know about her is from snapshot flashbacks by Buddy, and the little bit we did see of her was while she was a desperate indentured servant thinking everyone was a radiation hallucination. But, besides the whole hallucinating thing (which has the potential for some juicy plot and character stuff), she is very interesting. Oe note is that she is not only a master in assassination, but also field medicine, which can be seen as two opposing skills. Life-taking, life-giving, etc. And her personality matches this opposition, in a way. While she appears rough at first, it seems out of the Buddy-and-Vespa pair that she is the sensitive one, and far more able to emote and communicate than Buddy. I suppose she is blunt, straightforward, to compliment Buddy’s smooth manipulations. And we saw that, while she has convinced herself some things are just hallucinations, she isn’t jaded yet and has the ability to hope, seen when she meets Buddy on the lighthouse.

Speaking of the woman herself, Buddy Aurinko. She is the sweet-talker of the pair, of the crime crew, maybe, but from what I heard, not really a conventional one. One trait that her and Vespa share is straightforwardness. (Is that a word? Who cares.) While Vespa is verbally straightforward, emotionally blunt, Buddy is straightforward in her actions, and in getting to goals. She doesn't have to time to dally, or fret over small hiccups, or ponder morals, or to humor others. She has a goal. She has a plan. She gets it done. It’s fascinating how she dominates every conversation she’s in, takes the rein and steers bodily into whatever direction she wishes. That’s another interesting point about Buddy, her manipulation tactics. Pretty woman in a pretty dress running a con isn’t a new concept, but Buddy doesn’t manipulate in the fluttering way one expects her to. I have retained two prominent details about how she manipulates. The first being how she corrects herself, or rather, how she doesn’t. She slips up a lot more than you’d think for someone in the business of talking right, but she doesn’t let that stop her. She doesn’t let the person linger on her mistakes. She brushes them off with a ridiculous excuse and moves on to more important matters, where another would flip back and waste a few minutes explaining away their mistake. Buddy doesn’t let them think it’s a mistake, and she doesn’t waste time. It’s a tactic I don’t often see and appears to be very effective. The other thing I noted is a more conventional tactic, which is how she is aware of the setting and what is expected of her and uses that to her advantage. Tact shouldn’t be noteworthy, but considering the rest of the crime crew (besides Peter), it really is. On the subject of Peter, she has one trait that reminds me of him. However effortlessly cool she is, she cares, and cares deeply. It wasn’t even an option to not give away her life savings and ship to get Vespa back. To kill herself slowly waiting for her. She doesn’t kill the man that forced her to pay him her life-savings for her girlfriend. Also, what the fuck does she eat?

Last, but by far not the least, is my main man Jet. At first glance, he’s the muscle. The Big Guy. He’s here to be blunt and not laugh at Juno Steel’s jokes. And then later we find out that he’s one of The Great Outlaws, Jet Siquliak. Going into The Time Gone By, I found myself wondering how the dumb muscle semi-comic-relief character was a master criminal. And then I actually listened to the episode and I saw the light. Notes about Jet: he’s intuitive, he’s analytical, and most of all, he’s ruthless. I’ll elaborate. Going into the episode, you’re tricked with his refusal to get sarcasm and blunt replies. But listening back, he just verbalizes whatever the most logical choice of the moment is. He is reasonable taken to an extreme, most of his actions being driven entirely by logic. Why would Juno Steel not follow him? The alternative is that he dies by radiation in the desert. He is also ruthless. As much as I adore the gentle giant trope, Jet isn’t it. He blows up a restaurant to get rid of a tail. And yes, he cares too. He makes sure Buddy doesn’t die and sells his car to do so, but it seems that he only allows that sort of behavior for important people in his life. TLDR: Jet is just really, really cool. 

So yeah, those are just some rants about some of the greatest space criminals of all time. I’m fucking stoked for next season.

[purplesurveys]

921

LOL was gone for a while to attempt doing that ridiculous 5000 survey myself again and I really thought I was going to breeze through it this time. 2 1/2 weeks and 2500 questions later, I need a fucking break. Need normal surveys plz.

What was the best thing to happen to you this week? Got to visit Gabie today! I brought Cooper as well so that she, her sisters, and their puppy Tofu could finally meet him. Fun day, but I am beat. The blackout yesterday also made me revisit painting, and that felt so good too.

Where do you put your keys when you get home? It always differs, idk why I never picked up a routine. Sometimes I set it on the dining table, other times on the decorative table in the living room, and other times I bring it up with me to my room.

Do you prefer hot coffee or iced coffee? I preferred hot (warm would be more accurate) for the longest time but once I went iced, I never wanted to go back. 

What's your phone background picture? I recently changed my lock screen to one of Audrey Hepburn. My home screen is still Hayley Williams.

If you could move to any country, what would it be? Anywhere with a clean and honest government sounds like heaven.

Have you ever seen a snake in the wild? No. Can’t say there’s a lot of them here in the city, and I’ve never seen any in my trip to provinces either.

What's your favourite movie from the 80s? Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Do you have any posters, paintings or other artwork on your walls? I have at least one of each of these, yes.

What would your dream wedding be like? Huge. I’d want a long guest list, expansive food choices, and acts that can provide good music throughout the evening. I never really throw parties for myself, so I would want at least my own wedding to be big.

Would you ever take a trip to space if given the chance? Yesssssss.

How do you cope with anxiety? I'm lucky to have found different outlets, so that said I usually choose from taking surveys, watching a favorite channel on YouTube, turning to my dogs, going to social media to see dumb memes, or taking a nap altogether. Of course there’ll always be those days where none of these work out and I’ll have to just cry through the anxiety attacks until they’re over.

Are you expecting any phone calls or emails? I’m expecting an email from my college, yes. I’m currently applying for civil service eligibility and they’re asking for documents that only the college can provide, so I emailed them a couple of days ago asking for assistance, and that’s considering we’re still under a lockdown and most offices are still under skeleton staffing.

What's the weather like in your part of the world right now? LOVELY. I actually wear oversized sweaters to bed now and I even managed to wear a thick denim jacket out today. The rainy weather has settled beautifully, and I’m perfectly fine with 24ºC-28ºC everyday.

What was the last takeout food you ate? My mom bought me and my siblings a chicken sandwich and chicken nuggets each from McDonald’s last week.

Who makes you laugh the most? Definitely someone from my college barkada. I can’t decide whether it’s Aya, Kate, JM, or Jum; they’re all equally hilarious as fuck.

Do you know anyone with the same middle name as you? See these questions are always weird to me because my country has its own naming customs; it’s basically a mix of American and Spanish customs. We have two first names (where Westerners would understand their second ‘first’ name to be their middle name) and our actual legal middle name is our mother’s maiden surname (which I think doesn’t apply at all in the Western world). So to answer this I’ll go with our own customs and say that no, I don’t know of anyone who has the same middle name as me. It’s not a very common surname anyway.

What did you have done the last time you saw a dentist? Had a tooth removed. I don’t think it was a wisdom tooth; it was just a tooth at the back of my mouth that had been in pretty bad shape for years but was only discovered at that time.

What does a successful relationship look like to you? I believe the formula is different for every couple. Like I value constant communication and checkups, but others might not feel the need to be clingy or update their significant others all the time.

What do you like to put on your baked potato? Don’t really have these a lot, but I remember when my mom used to make baked potatoes with bacon and cheese and those were unbelievably good.

What field of science interests you the most? Biology. <3 I’m sure I would’ve taken up medicine if I only wasn’t so bad in the rest of the sciences.

What's the closest shop or restaurant to your house? There aren’t any nearby shops since I live in a gated community, but once you get out of the village’s main gate, the first thing to the left is a McDonald’s. To the right is a small complex with a hair salon, burger place, music school, and one of those boujee stores that sell hype clothing.

Do you have any family that live in another country? So many relatives. We’re Filipinos, man. We migrate everyfuckingwhere. As far as I know I have family living in the US, Canada, Vietnam, Japan, China, Australia, and New Zealand.

What colour is your couch? Gray.

Do you know how to care for plants and keep them alive? Not at all. Every single plant that I’ve been given as a gift or party giveaway has died on me.

What was the most memorable birthday you've had? 18th was awesome. Cruise trip, hotel stay with friends, Tiendesitas + noodle date with Gab. How I got away with three separate celebrations without my parents saying anything about it I’ll never know.

Would you rather go to the beach or the mountains? Beach. The area where I live is mountainous as it is; as someone who’s always lived and studied in the city, a trip to the beach in the province never gets old.

What do you do for work? I don’t have any yet but I’m waiting for openings for our national agency for either history, or culture and the arts. My plans have shifted recently and I’m now eyeing to work for either instead of rotting away while underpaid at a corporate agency.

Have you ever been to see the circus? No. I wouldn’t be interested either; they all just seem so harsh and unethical. 

Are there any words that you hate or make you cringe? Sure.

What is the best house you've ever lived in? The one we live in today has been the most comfortable; but I also hold a lot of nostalgia for my dad’s parents’ house in Tondo because of how raw Manila life was there. Life wasn’t pretty, but it did feel real.

What was the first CD you ever bought? The first CD I actively wanted my parents to buy for me was probably the High School Musical soundtrack, heheh.

Do you look in the mirror before you leave the house? Yeah, always. Wanna make sure my shirt is tucked in properly (if it is), or that my jeans aren’t cuffed funny or whatever else.

What's the most unusual thing you've ever eaten? I’ve mentioned this before but it was the Indian dessert gulab jamun. Really did not expect the flavor that came in when it hit my mouth.

Have you ever seen someone quit their job in a dramatic way? I’ve never had a legit job, but when Jeuel quit the org a couple of years ago because of ~irreconcilable differences~ between him and us officers in the executive board it did feel a tad bit dramatic and passive-aggressive.

What movie reminds you of your childhood? Shrek 2 or The Game Plan.

Do you know why your parents named you what they did? The singer named Robyn was really big then and they ended up being fans of the name.

Do you have any bills that need to be paid? None of my own. My parents usually pay the family bills immediately, so I don’t think we have any pending payments for now.

What do you like to dip your fries in? Mayonnaise.

Is your house clean or messy right now? It’s always clean as my mom is extremely tidy.

What was the last email you received? It’s one of the job-hunting websites I’ve signed up for, giving me job alerts for new openings in my chosen industries.

Do you know someone who speaks without a filter? Yeah and I know people who do it responsibly and those who just come off as tactless.

Are you in any social groups? We call our college group the Daydrinkers, since our friendship began when we started constantly hanging out at nearby bars at like 2 PM, during our breaks lol. I used to be in a barkada in high school but Angela and I broke apart from that since we couldn’t deal with Athenna’s toxicity anymore, though I still keep in touch with most of them, like Chelsea and Kaira. Since then Angela and I have formed our own group consisting mostly of Angela’s friends from architecture and Hans’ friends from Ateneo.

How many hours of sleep did you get last night? Sigh, around 4. I don’t know why it was so few, but it also means that I’m currently drowsy as all hell at 9:03 PM. I will most likely turn in for bed after this.

What's your favourite kind of museum? Those that cover history, so museums that have artifacts and fossils and shit.

Do you believe in alternate universes? I like the idea, and I love literature that explores the idea of alternate realities, multiple universes, pocket universes, etc. Whether or not I believe they exist...idk. I don’t think about it that much in literal terms. < Yeah pretty much. Gaby Dunn wrote an amazing piece on multiverses and that was what got me to find comfort in the idea.

Whose house did you last visit? I was at Gabie’s place this afternoon. We had burritos, talked about career prospects, and puppy-sat our babies.

What games do you play on your smart phone? I turn to 1010 when I’m bored or anxious. I have like 30 other games but I never touch them lol, but I do keep them should the time be right to whip them out.

Have you ever been to Los Angeles? I have not.

What was the first concert you ever went to? Paramore, February 2013. I was a late bloomer; kids my age started going to concerts at least three years before that.

Do you know anyone who is colourblind? I don’t think so.

What's your favourite season and why? The wet season, because it’s colder and I hate the heat during the dry season.

Are you the youngest, middle or eldest child in your family? I’m the eldest.

If you had to make something for a potluck, what would you make? I recently watched this phenomenal recipe for 48-hour chocolate chip cookies that looked absolutely bonkers when they were done baking. I’d for sure give those a try for dessert. If that fails I’d just buy the food so that what I bring is more guaranteed to be good.

What kinds of decorations do you put up at Halloween? My family has never cared much for Halloween. It’s not even a legit holiday, so as much as I love Halloween I don’t think I would spend for decorations myself to decorate my own place. The only instance I imagine doing so would be if I have kids of my own who may want to get into the Halloween ~spirit.

How many tabs do you have open right now? In my current window, eight.

What's something you've been meaning to do but keep putting off? Taking another online course, just because it’s great to learn new things and earn free certifications while at it. I haven’t been doing a good job at being consistent with them, though.

What's the first thing you check on your phone at the start of the day? Facebook since it’s my primary social media now. Literally never thought this day would come.

Have you ever flown a kite? Yeah but it’s been a while.

Who was your favourite music artist when you were 16? This was the time I was slowly moving away from my punk phase and inching closer to Athenna’s music tastes, so I was into acts like Hozier, Banks, Daya, Twenty One Pilots, etc.

What are three things you usually always have in your fridge? Water, bread, eggs.