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soulmate-game · 4 years

Text

I was feeling angsty. Read at your own risk, there is very little comfort in this and a whole shit ton of hurt. Probably a bunch of emotional triggers, so seriously be careful guys.

—*—*—*—*—*

Liquid pain ran down her arm like poison, the slash in it burning hot and spreading it’s agony like an invisible waterfall inside her flesh. But she did not grip her bicep where the wound had been inflicted, her gaze blank as she forced herself to hide her turmoil behind glass eyes. Her brother’s snarling face was only inches in front of her own, his katana moving from her arm to her throat.

“Useless! To think we share any blood relation is humiliating!” He growled at her. She did not move, did not emote. Her blades fans, the weapon she was loved most, lay half-opened on the ground beside her. Abandoned. But she knew Damian’s sword would not kill her. Blood family was a bond that was not to be severed by murder unless ordered by Ra’s or justified by the murdered family member in question betraying the League. She had done nothing to betray the Shadows, and Ra’s would not waste time and energy, or the breath it would require, to order her death. Just as he would not waste the precious waters of the Pit to bring her back again. She would not die today, and she knew it.

Sure enough, it was only a few more insults in various languages before Damian Al-Ghul stepped back and scowled down at the blood on his blade. Her blood. “If you don’t even have the stomach for real combat, you do not belong here,” he spat.

“That is where we agree, Grandson,” Ra’s sharp voice echoed through the room, his beady eyes never once bothering to glance at his granddaughter. “Maria, you are hereby stripped of the name Al-Ghul. Banishment from the League is the only mercy you shall be granted for your dishonor on our blood. Be useful and use whatever is left of your mistake of a life to stay out of the League’s way. Shall I, Damian, or your mother ever see your face again, your burial will follow shortly after. Am I understood?”

“Yes Gr— yes, Ra’s Al-Ghul.”

—*—*—*—*—*

Maria Al-Ghul was seven years old when she was disowned and sent away from the League of Shadows without so much as a penny to her name. She was only allowed to take the change of clothes she carried, and one small backpack’s worth of items. Her mother— Talia— had watched vigilantly as she packed those items, assuring that Maria did not take anything of worth.

The girl traveled by foot, too small to get away with driving a vehicle. Unless she could manage to steal a motorbike— she knew how to adjust the seats and pedals on most models to accommodate her size. But she was far too far away from civilization for that.

She knew that most of the League expected her to die in the jungles that surrounded the temple. After all, there were ninjas scattered throughout it with strict orders to kill anyone who was not one of them. And Maria now fit that description.

But if there was one thing Maria knew better than anything else, it was how to hide. How to hide feelings, intentions, involuntary movements, or her whole body in almost any setting. She covered herself in mud, matted her hair with dirt and took off her shoes. Barefoot was always quieter, and her feet would be more sensitive to any change in terrain. She would have to move more slowly and be on the lookout for traps, ground litter that could harm her, or dangerous wildlife, but she would be much harder to track.

It took her a month, but she made it to her first Tibetan city alive and decently healthy. She begged for food for a day before snatching a child’s outfit off of some hanging laundry lines and stealing the first decent vehicle she found. It was an old moped, but it beat walking and was already built small. She made it work.

That was how she spent the majority of the next year. She traveled from town to town, stealing what she needed until she could earn money normally. She used that money to buy herself a fake identity, even if she had to use the skills she had hoped to never need again in order to afford it.

Marinette Shiwang was born when she was already eight years old.

It was only a year after her new identity was created when she bumped into a woman in a street market. That was nothing new, those places could get crowded. But when Marinette looked up and saw valuable bracelets and necklaces of gold and jade, she knew she needed at least one. The money she would get for it would have her living comfortably for a short while. So Marinette’s theft-experienced fingers darted out and unclasped one bracelet in a fluid movement. It took less than a second. She barely had the piece of jewelry in her hand before she started to take off, hoping to lose herself in the crowd.

But a small hand clamped around her shoulder, a sturdy thumb pressing against a very vulnerable spot right at the back of Marinette’s neck, at the base of her skull. A clear threat from somebody with experience.

The sweet voice that followed didn’t match the gesture at all.

“Oh, I need that back dear. It was a gift from my husband, you understand.”

Marinette did. She cared about survival more. The small girl twisted, knocking the hand away from her before it could do damage and darting down a side street. The woman followed. It took three hours, but Marinette decided she had finally lost her pursuer before slumping down in the tiny, closet-sized bedroom of her cheap apartment. Her eyes closed for only a second before the window opened, and the smell of newly-baked sesame buns filtered through.

It was the woman and a much taller, much more masculine man. He was practically a giant, reminding Marinette of a certain member of the League that she used to know. They were both smiling.

“My wife figured you would be more open to an exchange than just giving up the bracelet for free,” the man’s voice was deep and inviting. “You can eat as many buns as your stomach can handle, if you give it back.”

Marinette accepted. Mostly because of her fear for people who could track her to her home so easily, when she had been certain she had not been followed. The League has tuned her senses well, there was no way the couple had been close enough to see her when she made it to her apartment. Yet they were still there somehow. Then, it also had to do with the promise of food, and the heavenly smell of the food itself. And then, lastly, Marinette was tired. She didn’t like stealing, it was just a necessity. She would not hurt these people over a mere bracelet that she wished she didn’t have to take in the first place.

Useless, she thought. So much of a bleeding heart that she just gave up what could have paid for two months rent. Too soft to even protect herself. The Al-Ghuls has been right. She was a waste of space and time.

Marinette was ten years old when she became a Dupain-Cheng. Somehow, that strange, dangerous couple had become her new family. Not even she knew how. But she was grateful— they took her back to Paris with them and she didn’t have to worry about rent, or food, or money anymore.

She vowed, that day that she received her spacious attic bedroom, that she would repay them. She would make herself useful, for the first time in her life. She would stay out of their way, be the perfect most unobtrusive daughter ever. She would help in the bakery, keep a smile on her face so that they never doubted that they were doing a good job. So that they never wasted time worrying about her. She smiled, and laughed, and became successful for them. Competent and reliable even though her memories would sink into her dreams every day and make it near impossible to drag herself out of bed in the mornings.

And then, when Marinette Dupain-Cheng was thirteen, she was given a pair of magical earrings and a tiny fairy-god. And Tikki was thorough, at least. Diligent in her explanation. Marinette listened to every word, dread seeping in as she doubted her ability to carry out such an important task. Save a city? Defeat someone much more experienced and magically powerful than her?

Useless little Maria could never. Slightly less useless Marinette could never.

She was only ever meant to play a support role. Stay on the background and make everyone else shine, without ever succeeding in anything worth noting. That was who she was.

But then Tikki gave her the Warning. The catch that came with the Ladybug abilities, and Marinette felt the long-rusted determination in her begin to fire up again. Maybe she could be Ladybug. Maybe she could be useful, at least this once. At least for just this one scenario. She could fight and win the war against Hawkmoth, and that achievement alone could make her happy. Let her die knowing she did something worthwhile.

—*—*—*—*—*

Damian Wayne was seventeen when he and his family found out about the Paris Situation, and immediately went over to offer help. Damian Wayne was seventeen when he watched Ladybug stumble at the sight of him, and immediately run away. But the two of them were twins, and though twin telepathy might be a myth they always did have a certain instinct when it came to one another.

Damian Wayne was Seventeen when he said, aloud on the top of a random Parisian building and surrounded by his family—

“My sister is Ladybug.”

Damian didn’t wait for their reactions, having entirely forgotten about the existence of his father and brothers, before taking off after his spotted sibling.

—*—*—*—*—*

“I knew you were alive.”

In hindsight, those probably weren’t the best words for him to say when Maria clearly thought he was still an assassin.

Damian watched as Marinette spun to face him, her face so much more expressive than he remembered. He could actually see the resignation in the slump in her shoulders, he could feel the fear in her bluebell eyes. The eyes she was lucky enough to get from their father while he was cursed with their mother’s green irises. He used to envy that about her, especially after joining the BatClan. But now he only felt comfort when he looked into her eyes. Comfort that she was different than him, and always had been. In the best of ways.

He watched as his sister was enveloped by a bright flash of pink light, detransforming right in front of him. And without the mask, it was impossible to ignore the relation between them. She had their father’s eyes and nose where he had their mother’s, but other than that they were almost carbon copies of one another. Her blue-black hair was pulled back into twin braids though, something he noted distantly as oddly fitting. They suited her, he thought.

But all those thoughts instantly turned to dust as she dropped to her knees in front of him, head bowed in complete submission.

“Tom and Sabine are innocent,” she told him. “They adopted me out of nothing but goodwill, and they have been nothing but good to me. I never told them a single word about my origin, I swear it on our blood. They think I am just an orphan that was abandoned in Hong Kong—“

“Maria—“

“—so please, don’t harm them. I’m begging you. And there is no need for you to waste energy killing me. You are welcome to stay in Paris as long as no harm comes to Tom and Sabine, but just wait and watch. I know who Hawkmoth is, and our final plan is almost ready. I’ll have him taken down by next week. Just— wait until then, please. My death will take care of itself afterwards, but Paris deserves to be free, and killing me now will set this entire war against Hawkmoth back by at least a year. And I also need that time to pick my successor—“

“Maria! I am not here to kill you!” Damian had to yell to get her to stop babbling and begging. She froze, but didn’t dare to sit up or even raise her head. So Damian took the initiative and sat down on the ground with her, though he kept his distance so that he didn’t scare her too badly. He couldn’t blame her for her reaction, it had been ten years since they had seen one another and their parting hadn’t exactly been pleasant.

But he had changed a lot since then, matured a lot.

“I am completely disconnected from the League,” he admitted. Of the blurry memories he had of her, he did remember that being blunt was the best way to handle information with her. Beating around the bush had always done nothing but make her exceptionally nervous and jittery. Sure enough, his admission was enough to make her look up at him with disbelieving eyes. He risked a small grin. “I didn’t come in my old uniform, did I?” He gestured to himself in the bright Robin colors. Sure enough, Marinette’s rapid blinking proved his theory that she hadn’t even registered his clothing at all to be true. She had run as soon as she recognized his face.

But Marinette did not speak. She sat up a little, still eyeing him cautiously. But her silence helped him finally realize where they were— where she had led him.

The sounds of traffic and other big city noises were all muted, as if muffled by several layers of cloth. Shadows fell over them abundantly, and they were surrounded by dilapidated concrete walls.

She had brought him to an abandoned area far from any activity, where a body would take ages to find. She had then disarmed herself of her only weapon, her magic suit, and had gotten on the ground in total submission.

She had purposely given him the perfect setting to kill her, where there would be no witnesses and plenty of time before her body would be found for him to escape. That realization hit Damian square the chest, leaving him breathless for a moment.

“I am not here to kill anybody,” he reiterated, his voice noticeably much gentler than before. “Not you, not you adoptive parents, nobody. I left the league when I was eleven. Mother—“ he took a breath, but Maria deserved to know. “— she cloned me. Her clone killed me. He no longer exists, but that is of no consequence. She killed me, she and Grandfather disowned me when I made it clear I was not returning. Father— our father,” he was insistent as he leaned forward, not continuing until she met his gaze. “You remember who our father is, right? Bruce Wayne? Mother had dropped me off to be raised with him when I was ten, but of course it was all just one of her plots. It was her miscalculation though, because I ended up growing close to them. To Father and his adopted children. You would get along with Gra— with Dick, the best I think. Although T— Jason would also be a prime contender as your favorite brother, I think. He shares your love of motor bikes, if that hasn’t changed?” She just stared at him, clearly confused and experiencing a lot of feelings at once. He stayed silent for a moment to allow her to sort through them a little.

“I’m Robin now,” he made his voice quieter, but still easy for her to hear. “I’m a member of the Bats. I’m sure they would all welcome you, if you chose to meet them. Though be warned, they can be quite in—“

“Why are you doing this?” Marinette’s voice was barely above a whisper, Damian almost didn’t hear her. But he did, and fell silent. He watched as his sister licked her lips and tried to find the right words to say. “If what you say is true… you have a perfectly good family. Brothers, Father, a comfortable life. Why follow me then? Why offer me… any of that?”

Damian frowned. He didn’t remember Maria being so gloomy, but then again she had been raised to never show her emotions. Maybe, after years away from the temple like him, her true feelings were just easier for him to see now. Closer to the surface.

“I want to get to know you— to get to know my sister, again,” he told her. “Don’t tell them, but Father and the others have taught me to appreciate family. The way I treated you when we were children was not right, and though it was heavily influenced by Mother and Grandfather, I want to make up for it nonetheless. Maybe we can get to know the new us, together?”

Marinette’s eyes went wide with disbelief, but then she clenched her jaw and shook her head.

“We can’t.”

“... right, I understand if you do not forgive me. I didn’t even consider—“

“It isn’t that,” Marinette was quick to correct him. “When I said that my death will handle itself, I mean it, Damian. The Ladybug… the earrings that give me my powers, come with a price,” she absently ran her fingertips over the unassuming black studs in her ears. “If a Ladybug uses the miraculous for more than three years, the powers of Creation will demand to be balanced. Already, the Miraculous is powering itself on nothing but my life force now. Once I defeat Hawkmoth, there will be no need for Ladybug anymore. The moment I take the earrings off, they will cease keeping me alive.”

Damian’s face fell. No— no, that wasn’t right. He was finally able to find her, finally able to apologize and try to fix his past mistakes. This couldn’t be how the reunion went. This couldn’t—

“Not even the Lazarus Pits can bring me back from a Miraculous death,” Marinette went on. “So you and your family should go. You don’t need to be here when I—“ Marinette paused, gasping. “Damian, why are you crying?! Stop that!” Her voice became desperate, Marinette crawling over to him as quickly as she could and wiping away his tears as if they were something terrifying. Damian wasn’t sobbing or making any noise, it was just a silent stream of tears running down both cheeks as he stared at her wordlessly.

“I…” he finally managed to choke out. “I wanted to make up for everything. I wanted for us to be twins again, together.”

Marinette paused, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “I know a magic user who can erase your memories of me,” she offered. “But you don’t have to feel guilty for anything. You never said anything that wasn’t true.”

Damian’s green eyes widened. He had said nothing but cruel things to her, that last year they spent together as children. Did she really believe all of that? Did he and their childhood really affect her self worth this severely and irreversibly?

“Maria—“

“My name is Marinette, actually,” she corrected him with a small smile. “I’m not Maria Al-Ghul anymore. Marinette Dupain-Cheng is actually useful, Damian. I can actually do things right— I’m doing something right right now. Beating Hawkmoth will be the first worthwhile thing I’ve ever done, don’t you see? Once it’s all over, I will have brought honor back to our blood. I’ll have proved to you that I really am your twin, that I wasn’t a mistake. That I was born for a reason,” Marinette’s eyes got dreamy even as Damian just felt like he was impaled again, this time by a spike of ice rather than a sword. “And I’ll be able to die before I ruin it. It’s a perfect scenario.”

“A perfect scenario implies that nothing important is going to be lost,” Damian breathed. Marinette just blinked.

“Yeah, I know. That’s the plan. Defeat Hawkmoth, save Paris, and nobody dies.”

“But you’re going to die!” He growled. Marinette leaned back, bewildered by his violent reaction.

“Yeah, but it’s not like I actually matter. Nobody needs me. Tom and Sabine might be hurt for a while, but they will recover just fine. And it’s not like I have friends or any—“

“Stop worrying about other people, damnit!” Damian surged forward, grabbing her shoulders hard enough to bruise and shaking her a little. “Even back then! Even when we were seven, you threw down your blades because you were more worried about hurting me than you were about how Grandfather would react, even though you knew he would be tempted to kill you for what he thought was cowardice! You never put yourself first, and it’s finally starting to piss me off!”

“Damian—“

“No, listen to me!” He shook her again, his tear stained cheeks only making his glare all the more potent as he stared right into her eyes. “You are alive, and your life matters! You were never worthless or useless, you just didn’t fit what our abusive situation wanted of you. They wanted a cold hearted killer, a tool they could use, and you were always too warm hearted and clever to fit either of those goals. But I did, I was the killer they were looking for and the pawn they wanted. If anything, that makes you better than I ever was! I was too young and naive to see it back then, but I’m trying to make up for it now. You are my sister, whether you go by Maria or Marinette, Al-Ghul or Wayne or Dupain-Cheng, I don’t give a damn! And so help me, even if I have to surgically attach those earrings to your skin, I am not letting you die before you gain at least a modicum of respect for yourself. Do you understand me?”

A wet sniffle met his ears, and he pulled Marinette in for a hug. She returned it weakly, sniveling and sobbing into his cape.

“D-d-Damian?”

“Yes, Shaqiqa?”

Another sniffle.

“I-is it really o-okay for me to stay with you?”

“Of course.”

“I-is… is it really oka-ay for… for me to live?”

Damian’s arms tightened around her. “Always. Always, always.”

Marinette buried her face into his shoulder, taking a deep shuddering breath.

“Th-then… I wanna try.”

—*—*—*—*—*

Not sorry. Ha 😎

#mlb x dc #maribat #platonic daminette #bio!dad au #Bio!Dad Bruce Wayne #sibling Daminette #angst #heavy angst #hurt no comfort #or very little comfort anyway #ml x dc #platonic brucinette #twin AU

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nctsiren · 3 years

Note

🌹🍒 🔥 🍑 🧡🌳🌠🔮💜🌸🌺 for Evie sorry again for how many there are

madam do NOT apologize!! i def went overboard w answers but!! hope u like guysss~~

🌹: evie is charismatic asf and finds it super easy to befriend people!! that doesn't mean she tries to befriend everybody, though- in fact, she's picky with friends (that sounds bad i promise it isn't) because The Vibe Needs To Be Right. people can piss her off but she never makes enemies- however, she'll speak up if someone is bein ridiculous or annoying, so people will get mad with HER. she doesn't have anyone she hates, she's chill. nd she can talk to anyone at a party- but if she isn't into it, she'll vibe on her own or do what she wants.

🍒: evie doesn't really expect things from people persay- she just wants to be treated kindly, fairly, and she wants people to show her respect. and the people she's friends with/in romantic relationships with are the same way, because the people she surrounds herself with are also of that mindset. in friendships, she wants a friend, y'know? healthy friendships, fun, vibing, etc. in romantic relationships, she doesn't have a type, really, and she likes to mesh with people depending on the situation. she is versatile in many senses and can get with all the love languages. she just wants either fun (she doesn't strictly date to marry or anything) or love (again depending on the person). she isn't demanding, nor is she a doormat.

🔥: (am answering the likes nd dislikes from the prompt only cuz brain is mush today) evie wears dark colors (like 80% of the time) but loves all colors- she's an artist, after all. she hates the way gravel and sidewalks feel on her bare feet, but she loves being barefoot, so she'll overlook it. socks make her feet feel too restricted. she likes feeling free, and although she will wear anything as long as she's feeling it, she likes loose things when she's relaxing. she likes to walk around with minimal clothing- but, like, i mean underwear and a big shirt, or loose pants and a sports bra. she likes feeling air on her skin. she listens to ALL music, but she's really into indie, britpop, 70s, and other shit i can't think of words for. mainstream bops & also really obscure shit- putting her music on shuffle is like whiplash tbh. nd she LOVES snowy weather oh my god she thinks all weather is gorgeous (she will see beauty in literally anything, she LOVES nature) but cold weather smells good and something about snow awakens this beautiful wonder in people- evie ADORES that

🍑: her room. listen evie isn't a homebody or anything, but her room is her creative space. and london, of course, where she grew up, but that's a bit more... broad. hmm... another is this little meadow she found (in england) where sh would go to sketch, nap, meditate, listen to music, and just lay in the sun. she feels a little bad about it, but that's what she misses most from home- tied w her missing her little brother and sister (they're nine and twins). her meadow, to her, was like. the freedom to just exist and observe and enjoy. sometimes she's confused why she chose idol life- it's restrictive, and not really her style- but tbh she enjoys it and wouldn't change it. anyway on the flip side, evie HATES being in really tall buildings. she isn't even afraid of heights!! i mean she can handle it, it's not too big of a deal, she just hates it for some reason.

🧡: honestly, evie doesn't have a singular favorite person... she loves all of her family, her members, her friends. but it is worth noting that mila is her best friend. she's close to all the girls, and a lot of the guys (hyuck, lucas, ten, yuta, taeil, taeyong, johnny, hendery, yangyang in particular) OH AND KRIS (as in kris wu, her cousin) SHE LOVES HIM. but mila is just. basically her other half LMAO their bond is crazy and they're truly bff's, ride-or-dies, despite their differences. they bring out the best in each other. nd she doesn't hate anyone- the people she actually dislikes tho are certain members and people in the industry/company that are like. the corporate ones ig

🌳: T/W- TOXIC PARENTS, MENTAL/EMOTIONAL ABUSE, MENTIONS OF WEED

evie has always had a strong self identity (for the most part) and has def gone through some shit (gifted kid burnout too omfg she was in advanced EVERYTHING but that shit kinda wears you out and her parents were horrible with school & her career). her biggest issues growing up? the pressure from her parents and basically just them shitting on her. they were mentally/emotionally abusive and she was really depressed during her adolescence. she doesn't have clinical depression or mental illness tho. she also didn't have MANY friends because her parents were horrible and wanted her to study nd not be a disappointment- which they said a lot. she started going out regardless when she was a lil older- not even sneaking out, just straight up walking out. her parents literally DRUG TESTED HER. but she is a social, bold person by nature so she wasn't having it. she has a higher sense of self worth now because of how far she has come and she doesn't bat an eye at her parents- in fact, she's mostly cut off from them. she's in SUCH a better place in her adulthood, in korea. her parents still don't support her career choice and do NOT stream ddd >:( she just worries about her little brother and sister... if they get the same treatment as she did, she WILL go batshit. she calls her siblings a lot, facetimes them, sends gifts and money- they love her and she is ITCHING to see them again. she was always close to them. anyway, she'd tell her younger self to not give a fuck about what her parents said, as much as it hurt. you can CHOOSE your family. she'd tell little evie to pursue her passions, and that she was gonna be doing great things one day. nd she'd tell teenage evie to smoke more weed 😌

🌠: evie's first friend was this kid from first grade who she doessn't remember anything about, she just remembers that they were her friend for a bit, and their face LMAO. she hasn't really lost contact with people persay? like during her nine months of training she couldn’t talk to them HEH and then apologized and it picked right back up. her girls in london MISS HERRRR and she misses them too :(

🔮: star gazing or cloud watching? hand-holding or snuggles? early mornings or late nights?

💜: music or silence? swords or spells? cities or nature?

🌸: her voice sounds like yuqi's (her face claim, if no one knew) in terms of singing and speaking! deep and charming and lovely. she's also... pretty loud. her laugh is also like yuqi's, but the specific laugh that's like BIG and it's like a barking(?) laugh. she laughs with her whole ass body too. OH YEAh BUT her speaking voice is yuqi's, like i said, but with a british accent. the london accent.

🌺: she doesn't have any birthmarks, and she only has little scars from various stupid shit she has done (idk if anyone remembers but in her profile i said she loves adrenaline, is kinda reckless, and will do any dare). she doesn't have any tattoos YET but is planning some (just wait omfg lily is a BIG tattoo/piercing person- her stuff is coming soon, evie is HYPED ASF to get her tattoos, and hyeyoung has a few- getting more too)

TAGLIST: @aqueenieme @moonbeamsung @atinygracie @jinsoulorbitzen12 @btshook @1-800-enhypenbibi

#nct siren #evie wu #just evie things #nct siren;; misc #nct addition #nct oc #kpop addition #kpop oc #nct female addition #kpop oc girl group #exo female addition #exo oc #oc girl group

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r6s-imagines · 5 years

Note

For the prompt request can you do 34 & 36 for Goyo & a female reader? I love you work too btw, you are doing amazing! 💞

i can officially say this is one hell of a unique post! i’ve never seen anyone genuinely interested in goyo before, i hope this satisfies you!

goyo x reader >> a day in the city

•••

requested: yessir, thanks again!

warnings: cursing

prompts:

#34: “you should probably shut up.”

#36: “you’re cute when you’re horribly pissed.”

you can find the prompt list here

MASTERLIST!

•••

summary: a vacation into puerto vallarta turned into a life or death encounter.

•••

it took weeks to convince your family to take a month off of your bustling life in southern texas. between the political chaos and personal bearings, you just wanted to go somewhere and take photos with a smile. your closest friends lived in the area of your destination and you picked up just enough context to situate yourself into the culture.

puerto vallarta was breathtaking. many times you separated from your family to observe the everyday life of the locals, selling their homegrown fruit or creating homemade clothing. your favorite activity was to sit on the pier and feel the mist meet your dewy skin, tasting the salt and sketching out the landscape.

your legs dangled into the water, watching the boats rock in place and licking a mamey ice cream. your phone buzzed in your pocket.

mom: took a tram out of the city but there’s a delay. stay by the pier, we’ll be there soon! xx

you grinned, hoisting yourself up and locating los mercados to browse, barefooted. you enjoyed the pressure and liberty from the absence of shoes and you took every step gladly. you patted your black shorts pocket for you cash, confirming its presence. you disposed of your treat and picked at some vegetables, effectively dodging vendors looking to make a sale. you rubbed your shoulders through your translucent white shirt and felt a hot burn blended into your growing tan. your eyes caught a brown sun hat. you approached an older man, waving to his products.

“¿cuánto cuesta este sombrero?” you asked, thankful for passing your spanish exams in year eleven.

“200,” the man responded. you nodded and handed him the adequate money, swapping for the hat and placing it atop your head. you nodded and continued on your way, pausing.

what’s that noise? you asked yourself. rumbling met your toes and you wiggled them, looking down. the rumbling turned into a bursting explosion, radiating from what felt like miles away. everyone jumped and bailed, assuming cover or protection from the blast. you whipped out your phone to text your mom. a flurry of people ran by, one knocking your phone straight from your hands and sent to the floor with a crack.

“debes ir!” someone shouted, looking back only once.

determined to locate your family, you made you way towards the commotion, into the city not far from where you stood.

•••

the city streets burned your feet as you padded through the loud city, cars only going one direction; out.

you recalled the destination mentioned to you by your family earlier that day: a local gallery. located near a major landmark, you made your way to the center of the city, fighting against the current of people.

boom!

another explosion was set off, this time closer and ear-bursting. you closed your ears and yelled in pain. helicopter blades whooshed through the air and sirens became gradually greater in volume. people dropped down and you took cover behind a building, careful to avoid authority confrontation. once the clear was assumed, you made your way into a large, professional seeming building marked with what looked like gallería.

the main entrance as well as the side and back ones were closed off with metal panels, but your determination sent you looking for more entrances.

a window was barricaded with a green set of planks and you punched it, feeling just how soft the wood was. you punched it again, feeling it give way from a few hefty smacks. you swung a leg in, then two, and walked your way through the seemingly empty building.

“hello?” you mindlessly called out, each step echoing into nothingness. “mom?” no response.

“¡pon las manos en el aire!” someone shouted at you, a laser sight blinding you. you reached up to cover your eyes, earning another displeased shout from the voice. “¡ahora!” the frantic commands went past your head and you were unable to translate them.

“what?” you called back, bewildered. “i—i’m sorry, i don’t—“

“you speak english?” he asked, lowering his gun. you slowly nodded. he sighed and placed his hand on his neck. “you’re not supposed to be here, this is a very dangerous operation.”

“i’m just trying to find my damn family. said they were going here.”

“you need to keep quiet,” he mumbled, grabbing your arm. his grip was strong but not painful.

“i don’t see a need to be quiet, dude, nobody’s here and i’m the least of your problems! can you just let me—“

a rush of heavy footsteps filled your ears following the clink of weapons. the man wrapped his arm around your waist and took off, nearly sending you on your ass as he pulled you into cover. your hat flew into the air, landing silently. you exclaimed again, and this time the man held you close with his hand over your mouth. the stranger peered past the corner and slammed his back against the wall. the beating footsteps thundered past your location. once the coast was clear, he removed his hands. you crossed your arms.

“you should probably shut up,” he said, stern. you pouted, now considering minimal movement. “césar.”

“y/n,” you whispered back, unamused. “is there any way i can get out of here? i don’t wanna be swatted.”

césar chuckled, eyeing you up.

“not on your own,” he answered. “and for the record, you look cute when you’re horribly pissed.” you froze, arms unfolding and you looked away, wishing you could cover yourself with your hat. césar began to explain the situation.

“these high profile guys planned an attack on the joyería, jewelry store. i’m here to hold down the fort, make sure nobody takes anything.”

“wait, this isn’t the gallery?” you inquired. he shook his head. “damn. i need to work on my spanish.”

“that shouldn’t be your concern right now,” he replied. “i’m gonna get you out of here.”

“can i at least get my hat?” you begged, noting the absence of potential threats. “i just bought it.”

“stay here,” césar commanded, taking off to the possession. he snatched it, bringing it to you with a flourish. “for the lovely lady.” you took it with a smile, placing it atop your head once more. the walkie talkie on his chest beeped.

“necesitamos ayuda, goyo,” someone said. he leaned down and replied with a phrase you had not learned.

“you’re gonna take these stairs and run as fast as you can where you came from,” he explained. “i’ll watch your six.” you nodded.

“goyo?” you said.

“hm.”

“your name.”

“oh, yes. it’s my code name. i’m a specialist. explosives.”

“well that makes your whole ‘stay quiet’ thing out of character,” you replied, giggling. “i’ll get out of your hair.”

“it’s a shame we haven’t met before, and in the worst possible circumstance. i hope we meet again soon.” he took your hand and kissed it.

you turned, checking the corner before finding the window you entered through. turning around one last time, you saw goyo, giving a half-wave-half-salute gesture with a wink.

•••

your family was kept safe from the acts of terrorism in a military containment just outside of the gallery. they’d been huddled around a tv, and you joined them in their seats. your eyes trailed across the english subtitles.

“reports say 31 year old, codename goyo, was most helpful in aiding the friendlies for the threat.

in an audio interview with the hero, he had this to say:

‘in a city like this, people need someone to look up to. in a state of loss and confusion, everyone needs help. if it means you earn the gratitude knowing another beautiful life was saved, then risking your own was worth it.’”

#r6s #rainbow six siege #siege #r6s imagine #r6s x reader #siege imagine #siege x reader #goyo #goyo imagine #goyo x reader

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loki-and-cuddles · 5 years

Text

Your Loki

Pairing: Loki x reader

Genre: Angst but also fluff

Warnings: Very light mention of a food disorder, some self-doubt

Summary: Loki doesn’t think he deserves you.

A/N: My very first posted story, I’m very excited but VERY nervous. This was inspired by the songs: Alejate de mi by Camila and Estoy Enamorado by Thalia and Pedro Capo (words in italics are the songs). Also, English is not my first language, so apologies for any mistakes. Hope you enjoy!

He was acting different. All week he had been too busy to spend time with you. He no longer invited you to sleep in his room, or spend time in yours. He was kissing you less, hugging you less, and avoiding contact in general. You felt lonely and frustrated, but most of all scared. Had he changed his mind, did he no longer desire you, was a mortal not good enough. Of course not, how could you ever think you’d be good enough for a god, a prince, a king. You hadn’t slept well in the last week and it was beginning to show. The bags under your eyes were now slightly purple, your complexion was pale and no longer had it’s usual flush, and you were constantly zoning out, no longer paying attention to anything going on around you.

At first no one really noticed, you had always been shy and quiet. The first to notice was Nat, you would only smile to her good morning and hellos, and would no longer sit with her and Rogers to listen to their stories. Tony noticed when you stopped making sassy comebacks to his teasing, you were quiet, but had an attitude. It was after Tony noticed that they decided to corner you in the common room, asking what was going on.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Do you need to see a doctor?”

“You know I can afford one”

“You just have to ask”

“Are you doing it again”

“You said you had stopped”

“Did Loki cause you to start again”

“No!” You took a deep breath and lowered your voice. “No, stop. I’m eating just fine.”

“Then what’s wrong?” You were looking at the ground, but looked up when Nat asked. Scanning the room, you felt tiny surrounded by such intense and powerful people. There was one missing. Loki.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” You ran out of the room before they could say anything else or stop you.

You wanted to go to Loki’s room. You wanted to talk to him. Figure out what was wrong. But the idea of being told that you weren’t enough to your face, by the person you loved the most was too scary. So you headed to your room, sleeping to avoid your problems, had always worked. Somewhat.

There on your bed you found a single green rose with a note. All your fears were confirmed. If he had to leave a note instead of talking to you, it was bad. And bad meant he didn’t want you anymore. Sitting on the edge of the bed you debated on whether to open it or not. It would be devastating to see that you weren’t enough in Loki’s words. Those words would be burned into your mind for the rest of your life. But could you live without knowing what he had written for you? No, definitely not.

You slid your finger under the flap of the envelope and ripped it open. The note inside has perfect handwriting, not surprising. The ink was black, but had a glimmer to it. Your name looked beautiful at the top of the paper. Your vision blurred with tears in your eyes, you were gonna miss the sound of your name when he said it. His low husky voice that made your knees weak. The way his chest vibrated against you, his breath on your neck. You loved hearing his voice before falling asleep. Sometimes it was the only thing that put you to sleep, calming your racing thoughts before bed.

Blinking away the tears, you forced yourself to look down from your name, and read the rest of the note.

You need to get away from me, do it soon before I lie to you. Your skies turn grey, I now walk under the storm. Escape, leave. I shouldn’t see you any longer. Understand that even though I ask you to leave I don’t want to lose you. The light is no longer enough. You don’t want to walk on pain, barefoot. I know you’re still on time, I’m not who you really think I am. I didn’t fall from heaven. If you still don’t believe me, and wish to take the risk, you’ll see that I only deceive and cause harm and cause tears. Who else do I love? You know well I don’t deserve you, and I wish I could regret it and not tell you this. But an angel watches over you, and gave me the truth, so that I could show you the way out.

Tears were streaming down your face. He hadn’t signed it, it just ended there. Abruptly, much like you and him. How were you supposed to get away from him, if he gave you the reasons to live. Showed you the beauty in life. The many things that were worth living for, sitting right in front of you. He helped you see them. Yes, he has lied, and harmed others. But everyone does. And you were evidence that that’s not the only thing he was capable of.

None of this made sense, There was no way either of you could leave each other. You were stuck here. The tower was your only home. He was stuck here, on house arrest. He was to stay in the tower or go back to the dungeons of Asgard. Oh God-

You ran out of your room without a second thought and sprinted to Loki’s room. Not waiting to knock, you burst in, your breath raged from running. His room was empty. Everything was back to how it was before he moved in. A generic room, like any other in the building, for any other person to occupy. It was too late, he didn’t let you choose. He chose for you, and left. Your breathing started to pick up even more.

“No,” you whispered.

It was then that Loki walked out from the bathroom. He was wearing his leather attire, and his hair was combed back away from his face. He looked gorgeous, strong and regal, despite the tension in his shoulders and bags under his eyes. You let out a deep sigh, he was here, he hadn’t left. Yet.

Loki stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide. He was just about to leave, just checking his appearance in the mirror one last time. And here you were, making his decision that much harder. But he wasn’t going to back down, he had to do this for you. You deserve the whole world, no, all nine realms. He couldn’t give you that.

“Y/n” it didn’t sound like you remembered it, his voice. It was cold and distant. Indifferent. It hurt, that one word uttered through his lips, hurt. Making your chest clench. But you had to believe that he was just trying to push you away. Succeed in his deranged plan to save you from him.

You lifted your arm and showed him the note, a few tears still slipping down your face. He had no reaction. Nothing. His eyes dropped to the paper you were holding out before him, and back up to your eyes. His stern face never faltered, not a single emotion slipped through.

“It’s not true”

“What is?” His voice was still indifferent, but there was something else, a little sliver of hope maybe. Or that could just be your imagination, your hope that none of this was actually true. You shook your head and dropped your arm.

“I wrote you something too, a while ago. Before you started avoiding me. Before this,” you motioned to the paper in your hand. More tears began to fall, “can I tell you before you leave?” There it was the tiniest change in his eyes, but it was there. It hurt him, to know you accepted his choice, his words.

“I hadn’t told you because I wanted to memorize it. I wanted to be able to look at you when saying every single word.

I want to drink the kisses from your lips

and in the air draw your name next to mine

To the sweet melody of a guitar

take a walk through passionate feelings

in the subtle embrace of the night

you will know what I feel

I'm in love

and your love makes me special

I'm in love

and it does me good, so good

to be in love with you

To feed only from our memories

and wake up from deep sleep

just to see you.”

As you say the words, tears still falling down your cheeks, you slowly see the mask fall. Little by little you see your Loki. The Loki only you get to see. Loki that enjoys his hair being braided, and watching rom coms with you. Loki that loves cuddles, and secretly enjoys being the small spoon, to be held and loved. Loki that will hush away your tears, and chase away your nightmares. Loki that was hurt over and over again, but finds strength in you, the same way you find strength in him. Loki that is vulnerable and selflessly loves, with every inch of his being.

You stare at his teary eyes, trying to tell him everything you feel, everything you fear. Waiting for an answer physically hurts your chest. You know he loves you, you can see it in his eyes. Your fear is that his fear of hurting you will be bigger than his love. That after all of this, he will still walk around you, out the door and leave.

He takes a step closer, never breaking eye contact. You are no longer aware of anything else but him. Another step. You start to feel dizzy, are you even breathing. Another step. You can feel his warm breath on your face. You glance down at his lips before looking back up. His eyes never left yours. You want to kiss him, you really do. But you're frozen in place. You've lost complete control of your body and all you can do is stand there and wait.

“I love you.” and then he bends down, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you into a kiss. You gasp into the kiss and wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him closer. The kiss was soft but eager, and you melted into him. All your fears and worries erased by his lips. When he pulled away to let you breathe you chased after his lips, your breathing not a priority to you. You hear him chuckle and you open your eyes to see him smiling down at you. His entire face was relaxed again, and his smile showed the genuine happiness and love he felt. Unable to stop yourself, you giggle. It makes you unimaginably happy to see him smile like that. At that moment you know that that's all you need. To be able to wake up to that smile everyday, and that smile to be the last thing you see before drifting off to sleep. He quirks a brow.

“What is so funny to you?” you shake your head.

“I love you too.”

#loki fluff #loki x you #loki/reader #loki angst #loki fanfic #loki fanfiction #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #loki friggason #marvel fanfic #marvel fanfiction #your loki #loki and cuddles

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chyna9 · 5 years

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Chyna’s Valentine Day Fantasy

The guy: He's 6-foot-5 and has a build like Billy Gunn. He has tan, smooth skin and no body hair. He's Latin looking with dark brown thick hair that's groomed -- a short, military-type haircut. Light blue eyes. He has a sexy face with exceptional bone structure, and he wears fragrances like Hugo Boss and Chanel. The date: At one of her many events, she meets a man and hits it off with right away. However, because she's so busy and meets thousands of people every day, she forgets about him. However, he doesn't forget about her. When he gets in touch with her a few weeks later, she lets him do all the talking. She has to be completely convinced that he's worth fitting into to her fanatical schedule. Plus, she's not interested in dating, so he had better be very entertaining. When he gets the feeling that hes won her over enough to earn a date, he describes the plan: a limousine will pick her up at 10 a.m. tomorrow; she doesn't have to bring anything. It'll all be taken care of. With that, he hangs up the phone. She's left feeling intrigued and she thinks, "Is this guy a mobster?" The limo arrives on time and takes her to the Plaza Hotel in New York City. She's escorted to her $10,000-per-night suite, which is entirely filled with red roses. There's candy and chocolates, as well as several personal servants that are there to indulge her -- a masseuse, make-up artist, hair-stylist, manicurist, pedicurist. While she's getting pampered, a box arrives with a glamorous dress inside -- seafoam green silk with a low back and straps made of diamonds. There's a note inside: "Wear this tonight. Your car will be ready at 8 p.m. I'll will call you today to see how you're doing." But he never calls. She's loving her day, but she can't help but feel a little out of control. Who is this guy? And perhaps even scarier: She may end up liking him too much. It's time to go and she's looking and feeling better than ever. She's escorted to the car and is met by a throng of paparazzi outside. Somehow word has leaked that Chyna was at the Plaza. Photographers are flashing away, and that's OK because everything's perfect. The reporters are eager to know, "Chyna, Where are you going? Is there a special event? An awards show?" She says, "Frankly, I don't know where I'm going." She gets in the car, which is a little chilly (its always cold in a limo). She looks next to her and there's a full-length chinchilla coat. Another note: "Since I'm not there to keep you warm, maybe this will." She thinks perhaps she's going to a restaurant, but is instead taken to a private airstrip. Normally she would be tentative to get on an airplane with someone she doesn't know very well. However, the red carpet had been rolled out and theres welcoming glow coming from the jet, so she steps on board, and there he is. He's wearing head to toe Prada -- black slacks, a black blazers, Prada shoes with no socks and a white silk T-shirt with a crew neck. He welcomes her onboard, hands her some champagne, takes her jacket and is just memorized by how beautiful she is. He can't take his eyes off her. He asks her if she likes the jacket and the dress, and she responds that she does, of course. He says, "I want you to relax. I've contacted your place of employment and you have been granted a week away from work." Immediately she thinks, "I didn't pack anything!" Then she sees three big pieces of Hermes luggage and is assured that this man has gone shopping for her needs. They make themselves comfortable, the jet takes off and he says, "You must be hungry. What's your favorite kind of food?" She answers Italian. He says, "Great, because I'm taking you there for dinner." During the seven-hour trip to Italy, he makes her laugh, asks her lots of questions and is just glued to her every word. When she asks about him, he swerves the conversation back to her, which makes him seem mysterious, yet intriguing. He pulls out a cello because he knows that she plays it, and he asks her to do so. She obliges, playing for him "The Swan" from "Carnival of the Animals." He loves it. They land in Rome and he takes her to the yacht, welcomes her aboard and leads her to her quarters, where she finds tons of new clothes hanging in the closets. She can't decide what to put on. She comes out on deck in a bathing suit. He is wearing casual cotton/gauze drawstring pants. She gets her first glance at his upper body, which is very impressive. He's barefoot, and he's gazing at her like shes beautiful. She feels like, "I'm ready for this guy to kiss me right now!" Instead, he says, "Make yourself at home. My servants will get you anything you need." And he roars off in his Lamborghini. She's so excited that she doesn't feel tired, but after she showers and explores the yacht a bit, she falls asleep in her bed. She awakes to a soft kiss and Mr. Right says, "You're so beautiful when you're sleeping. I've been watching you." She's totally seduced by him -- not intimidated. She wants to get intimate right then and there. Instead, he whispers to her with a smile, "Come with me. I want to show you something." They go into this other room, where there's this beautiful ballroom gown. He hands her a blue velvet box, and inside are Bvlgari earnings and a necklace -- jewelry that even Princess Diana had never worn. He says, "We're going to a party." The Bentley limo brings them to an enormous, opulent palace. The party is already in full swing. There are rows of fancy cars outside. He takes her hand and they walk up the marble staircase. They come to a gigantic landing, and below them is a sea of people. A chime indicates they've arrived. The people look up, and then bow. Now she's thinking, "This guy must be the man! He's not a mobster, he's royalty!" He turns out to be a prince. While she can hardly catch her breath, she has an ear-to-ear grin. He takes her hand and escorts her through the parting crowd and the Waltz begins. (In this dream, Chyna knows how to do the Waltz.) They circle around the dance floor to the delight of the guests. The "oohs" and "aahs" are all in Italian, so it's very fantastico. The dance ends and this man, to whom hundreds have bowed, goes down on one knee before Chyna, holds her hand in his and asks, "Will you be my princess?" She says yes. On a velvet pillow comes a diamond tiara, which is placed on her head. And he kisses her with a wonderful, passionate kiss. There's a huge celebration, the party's in high gear. Without a word, they slip off to his grand bedroom. There's a fireplace, a marble, four-post bed with the velvet canopy and animal-skin rugs. He slams the door shut, pushes her against the wall and tears the dress off, leaving her bare with only gems and tiara. They ensue in a harmonious evening of passionate lovemaking.

#wishlist #articles #interviews

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smokeybrand · 3 years

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Exodus

Listening to church people talk about why so many people are leaving the church is kind of amazing. I can only speak from my experience as to why i bailed, but I've spoken to other people who decided to walk away and there's no one answer. Losing one's faith is as personal as finding it but there is a common thruway among all of our journeys away from Christ; The answers weren't there. No one just wakes up and decides "F*ck Jesus from now on." Like with anything you devote yourself to, there is a period of extreme crisis when face with it's end. If you leave a job after twenty years, there's apprehension of what comes next. Now, imagine what that's like for someone who is questioning a core piece of themselves which they use a defining aspect. People interchange who they are with their faith all the time. It's as automatic as breathing in a lot of cases. But then, all of a sudden, you are aware of your breath and you have no idea if you're doing it right or if you're doing it at all. That's what it's like to have a spiritual crisis. You don't want to question these things that literally give you life but you can't stop once you start. You search for reasons to maintain, to stay. You want, so desperately, for that one thing to flip the switch again but it never comes. This period of searching can last years. For me, it was watching my grandma pass. That took around a year. By the time she breathed her last, i was out. A cat i went to school with started questioning his own faith around the same time i did, probably about eleven or twelve years old, but it took him a decade to actually feel comfortable enough to walk away, all the while doing what i did when i was a teenager; searching for answers that made sense, that made faith, worth.

No one just bails on their faith without a strong period of study, introspection, or inward journey. It's never taken lightly but, once you start down that road, you rarely deviate from the path. Once the scales fall from your eyes, you can't put them back. It's been about twenty-five years since i stopped believing and never once have i wanted to come back to the church or regretted my decision to walk away. In that time, I've learned so much more about my former faith, the context of it's construction, it's historical merit, and the way it's weaponized by bad actors as a means of domination or control. The more i learned, the more problematic faith became. The better i understand the motivations behind the Word, the less i could hear it. The thing that really solidified my defection came in a philosophy book I read my sophomore year of high school. It wasn't something difficult to understand or an unknowable theory. When i was fifteen, i came across the Epicurus God Paradox. You can google that to find out the exact wording but reading those eight simple lines, really put into perspective what i had felt for about three years up to that point. I went from questioning myself, to questioning the religion, itself. I didn't get any answers. The questions weren't hard and the answers given made more sense than anything I read in the Bible, but no one else who championed the Good Book, had a satisfactory rebuttal. No one could give me the answers i needed to sate my curiosity which led me to believe there are no answers to be had. There is no endgame, there is no wisdom to be had, there is nothing but the promise. It's a carrot on the end of a stick. We were being lead around in circles by men two thousand years in the grave.

That didn't make any sense to me so i began to dig deeper. If the faith, itself couldn't answer my query, then maybe the historical evidence they tout as proof, would hold at least some answers. Once again, all I got was ore questions. studied the genesis of Jewish faith, i looked into how the creation myths tied to other, non-Christian, religions. I learned about the apocryphal texts like The Book of Judas, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, the Book of Enoch, and The Book of Thomas. The Dead Sea scrolls are apocryphal texts, too, so why are those accepted and these others denied? Who chose to canonize these books and why? That led me to the Council of Nicaea which immediately, in my mind, invalidated every interpretation of the Word from that moment on. The Council convened in 325 AD, two hundred and ninety-two years after Christ died. Everything in that bible was decided upon, by a bunch of rich, learned, white dudes, headed by Constantine I, three hundred years a after Jesus died as a tool to consolidate his power. The Bible is a propaganda tool created to pacify the ignorant masses. That really wasn't the answer I was looking for and definitely something no one taught when I was in the Church. More than any that, i saw the building blocks of the Jesus figure, going as far back as the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians. Those civilizations are thousands of years older than Jesus so how could he exists back then? If you're messiah is a facsimile, an amalgamation of other Chosen, what does that make his Word? All of these things, coincidences or not, informed my understanding that it's all just kind of made up. It's an interpretation of sh*t that came long before. It's all a game of telephone so who's to say what we're hearing at the end of that millennia upon millennia long line of whispers, is what was actually said in the first place?

How do we know the Word is actually the Word? The only answer i ever got was faith. You can't understand the word if you don't have faith. You need faith to paste over the glaring inaccuracy or logical fallacies that riddle the holy tenets. That's not enough for me, not when there is this overwhelming evidence otherwise. I can read about The Tower of Babel and cross check that information with historical fact, which repudiates the Biblical narrative. I can read the story of Noah's Flood and then point out the similarities between that and the Babylonian myth of The Great Deluge, which was written centuries before. I can even go a step further and note that, at the time time the Deluge myth was being told in Babylon, that the people who would become the Jews as we know them today, were a serf class among the Babylonians. Who's to say that Noah's Flood wasn't simply an appropriation from the higher social caste? There's even evidence that the Deluge myth was being told long before Babylon. I learned all of this after stumbling across Epicurus' paradox so long ago. How can you stay faithful to a religion that can be dismantled so simply by four questions asked by a man who lived thousands of years ago? How do you have no rebuttal for the tangible and factual evidence that can deconstruct the fulcrum of your entire belief system, and expect people to just ignore that? That's why people leave the church. The catalyst is always different but the resolution is always the same. It's not that we want to sin or that youth programs are too fun or that college leads the way to secularism, or whatever else. No, it's that faith isn't enough to cover those glaring holes in religious narrative. We are not afraid of the dark or eclipses or sacrificing maidens to sate the rage of a f*cking volcano anymore. We understand why those things are. We know that an earthquake isn’t a giant catfish throwing a tantrum or that the Oracles in Delphi weren’t having visions but were probably just really f*cking high. We got the answers we needed. Religion doesn't have tangible, rational, answers. It's all faith and belief, smoke and mirrors. It's all a big game of telephone and we all know how those games ended, right?

That said, I do find it hilarious that church folk think college is a primary issue for the exodus of faith among the youth. Like, you get to college, get around other opinions or perspectives, have a dialogue with people from completely different backgrounds or experiences, have access to a plethora of information you'd never had before and, all of a sudden, you question your faith? Really? That's the line of logic we really want to follow because it gets real problematic, bud. Kind of sounds a little bit like education is the antithesis to faith. Kind of makes it sound like you have to be ignorant and gullible to be buy into the Word. Kind of sounds like God wants to keep you barefoot and naked in the kitchen, so to speak which, interestingly enough, is kind of the the theme to Genesis? I don't know, man. It's said we got kicked out of Paradise for eating the Fruit of Knowledge, not for f*cking so... I'm not saying I believe that, I know folks who are super-religious and are incredibly intelligent, I'm saying that other church people seem to imply that with their aggressive biases toward higher education. “Keep your faith by not asking questions or learning yourself good” isn't the best pitch for people grasping at straws for a reason to continue believing. Like, it's really f*cking weird to me that Christians refer to themselves as sheep when, in any other context, that sh*t is not something in which to be proud.

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smokeybrandcompositions · 3 years

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Exodus

That said, I do find it hilarious that church folk think college is a primary issue for the exodus of faith among the youth. Like, you get to college, get around other opinions or perspectives, have a dialogue with people from completely different backgrounds or experiences, have access to a plethora of information you'd never had before and, all of a sudden, you question your faith? Really? That's the line of logic we really want to follow because it gets real problematic, bud. Kind of sounds a little bit like education is the antithesis to faith. Kind of makes it sound like you have to be ignorant and gullible to buy into the Word. Kind of sounds like God wants to keep you barefoot and naked in the kitchen, so to speak which, interestingly enough, is kind of the the theme to Genesis? I don't know, man. It's said we got kicked out of Paradise for eating the Fruit of Knowledge, not for f*cking so... I'm not saying I believe that, I know folks who are super-religious and are incredibly intelligent, I'm saying that other church people seem to imply that with their aggressive biases toward higher education. “Keep your faith by not asking questions or learning yourself good” isn't the best pitch for people grasping at straws for a reason to continue believing. Like, it's really f*cking weird to me that Christians refer to themselves as sheep when, in any other context, that sh*t is not something in which to be proud.

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runfromthemedic · 6 years

Text

Star of the Circus

Chapter 3

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Never make your home in a place. Make a home for yourself inside your own head. You’ll find what you need to furnish it – memory, friends you can trust, love of learning, and other such things. That way it will go with you wherever you journey.

-Tad Williams

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Leora woke to a pounding headache and a mouth that felt like it was coated in grit.

Scrubbing the roof of her mouth with her tongue a few times, the carney decided that water could wait and snuggled farther into the bed to sleep off the dregs of what felt like a really bad hangover.

Then she remembered where she was.

Bolting upright turned out to be a bad idea as she over balanced, tumbling off the bed and onto a sleeping Tsuna. She had no idea why he was on the floor in the first place but his startled screech did nothing to help ease her headache. Or panic.

Because she was in an anime.

An anime that she had watched in her free time. An anime where the underworld was everywhere, people could burst into Flame, and cursed babies kept the world from ending while their dead counterparts policed the criminally inclined. An anime where the main character’s life would go to hell when he was thirteen. A main character who had run her over and dragged her home with him before presenting Leora up to his mother like she was a puppy he wanted to keep.

A main character who had stopped screaming and was now looking at her in concern.

It was hard to move once the initial adrenaline spike wore off. Everything just felt so heavy; her arms, her legs, her head. Like the blood had frozen in her veins, making each numbed movement stiff and awkward.

Her vision narrowed down to a point, focusing only on Tsuna. His spiky hair and concerned, too big eyes. He was talking, probably to ask her a question, but the words were distorted, barely heard over the pounding in her ears as it fully sank in that this was real.

Leora wasn’t sure how she managed to get to her feet and stay upright. She wasn’t sure she actually garbled out the strangled sounding I have to go, or how she made it down the stairs without breaking her neck. One second she was staring at Tsuna, the next she was out of the house and running.

The cold was still in her blood, creeping its way from her chest, inching its way in waves down her limbs in time with the pounding in her ears. But she kept running. She tore through the residential area, making lefts and rights in a mad dash to get away. When the scenery gave way to something familiar she sprinted by the warehouses, covertness abandoned.

Leora tore over the bridge, Home Base her supplied somewhat hysterically, and kept going into the woods. She ran until she couldn’t see the buildings anymore. She ran until her legs, cramped with bare feet that were scratched and bleeding, gave out.

Unable to get back up, to keep going, to run away, Leora curled into a ball and screamed.

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It was dark, she noted absently. The ground was cold too, mist curling around the edges of trees and shrubs, but Leora kept her eyes firmly on the small gap between the trees and the few stars that were peeking through. She didn’t try to get up.

Her whole body ached again, like when she first woke up into this nightmare. And it was a nightmare. She’d lost the only place she’d ever called home, the only people she’d ever called family, and for what? Some fucked up fanfiction plot that she’d never truly wanted to experience.

A small part of her whispered that they hadn’t abandoned her. That they really, truly wanted her and hadn’t abandoned her like she meant nothing.

That small relief was drowned out by the larger part of her, the more practical side, which pointed out that she was never going to see them again.

It hurt.

God, did it hurt.

Leora knew she needed to get up soon, needed to get warm and find shelter. Probably needed to eat. She never did make it to dinner at Tsuna’s house, and she had done her panic-run-freak out before getting any breakfast. She should be hungry.

She wasn’t.

All she really felt was numb, empty, and kind of broken, like a shattered cup that someone had glued the pieces of back together wrong.

What was she supposed to do now?

She didn’t have any money. No clothes, no shoes, no place to stay. No real reason to get up every day.

That last one made the broken feeling worse. Her whole life from the age of six had revolved around the circus, doing her part, making them realize that she was worth the investment they put in her. She had found her place, her niche, something she was good at, enjoyed doing.

That didn’t exist anymore.

She didn’t choose to jump dimension, didn’t want to be in an anime. She had no reason to change the plot. The only reason she’d met Tsuna was because he bowled her over. Everything worked out in the end so she wasn’t needed.

Leora entertained the thought of just lying there, not moving, until everything just stopped. Until she stopped.

Not two seconds later she was hauling herself up onto unsteady feet, stumbling back the way she came, being careful not to twist her ankle on one of the many roots hidden in the dark.

Sifu Yaozu and Amma Eva always said she had good eyes. They probably wouldn’t be happy a trek through an unfamiliar forest, barefoot, and at night was what she was using them for, but they would understand.

Her family would never forgive her if she just gave up. Right now she only needed to live. She’d find a reason later.

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Leora ended up sleeping in the woods that night, despite making it out of the trees. The numbness was still there, making it harder to grab things, and climbing back up the rope to her bridge would become more suicidal than safe.

There were also groups of men standing between the warehouses, smoking, drinking, and being altogether intimidating. So she slept under a bush for the few hours it took for the sun to rise and the gang to clear out.

Then she went back into town to find a more secure place to call Home Base.

No one was glaring at her this time. She got a few odd looks for being barefoot, but for the most part she was invisible to all the people around her.

It was kind of amazing what a change of clothes could do, but the few stares that she did get made her skin crawl. She didn’t want these people looking at her.

So she kept to the roof tops.

She made a short detour into an alley behind a restaurant to scrounge up the breakfast she didn’t really want but knew she needed – the burger tasted like ash – and Leora was back to hobo house hunting. Joy.

Sarcasm fully intended.

There really wasn’t much to work with, if she was being honest. After hours of jumping roofs and ducking in and out of alleys Leora didn’t have much to show for it, besides being more comfortable in her smaller frame.

Namimori was severely lacking abandoned buildings and rundown apartment complexes. When it started getting dark again, Leora settled for sleeping on top of a small antique shop until the next day. Not that she slept much. After the first nightmare of the big top burning down she resigned herself for staring at the night sky until morning.

As soon as the sun came up, she was off again.

She was back on the antique store roof come nightfall, frustrated, and chilled from a surprise shower sometime around lunch time. She had dried off, but she was still colds.

She had managed to snag several water bottles and a few apples that she hadn’t eaten yet from the market district during the chaos that apparently was a special sale day. Leora didn’t see what was so special about it. To her it looked like a horde of starving hyenas masquerading as housewives attacking each other for a pack of toilet paper.

It must be a culture thing.

Either way, the hoard had been too preoccupied to notice their wallets getting lighter so that worked for her. She was now the proud owner of ¥22,000. An actual apartment might actually be possible, albeit a really cheap one, if she could make off with at least another ¥10,000 from the market district.

Hopefully.

Leora really had no clue how much apartments should cost. She’d never needed one before, least of all in Japan.

So, apartment hunting. One that would be decent enough to not be falling apart around her, but questionable enough that they wouldn’t call the police on the 112 cm brat trying to rent an apartment on her own with no parents, no papers, and no shoes.

She really needed to find some shoes, but all the kids size ones where sold in the department store. She wasn’t a good enough thief to make it past all the clerks and video cameras. Plus she was still barefoot. A kid walking into a department store barefoot and dirty was pretty much the same as wearing a blinking neon sign that screamed Desperate: Keep In Sight!

Why the hell did she have to turn into a kid on top of falling into another dimension? It just made things so much harder. And cliché. She wasn’t even going to start about how cliché this whole clusterfuck was.

Day three of hobo house hunting actually paid off.

The building itself was tiny, only two stories with eight apartments to the whole building and on the edge of Namimori near the warehouse district. The bricks were a grey streaked brown in some places, black in others while the stair case and railing were badly rusted. Paint was peeling in thick stripes off most of the doors and what she could see of the tiny, barred windows was coated in grim. Most of the lightbulbs by the doors were busted out and the glass left where it landed. A small vacancy sign was propped up by the only door that looked like somebody cared enough to wash it.

The place looked like a drug den in the making, and any sensible person would have instantly said ‘nope’ and kept hunting.

Leora knocked on the door with the sign.

Someone inside dropped something, cursed, then dropped something else. There was a lot of clattering, more mumbled curses, then the door was yanked open by the scariest woman Leora had ever seen.

She wasn’t that much taller than Leora’s small stature, maybe another thirty centimeters or so, with a rail thin body the carney had only seen on the starving or really, really old. A towel was pinned haphazardly over greasy hair that fell into a sagging face that looked like it had been smashed with a frying pan. When she sneered Leora could see that she was missing teeth.

“Wha’ da yah want, brat.” Her breath reeked of sour food and alcohol, and made Leora’s eyes water. It took considerable more will power than should be necessary not to step back to breathe easier.

“An apartment.” The woman spat on the ground and pointed a cracked fingernail in Leora’s face.

“This ain’t no toy house brat. Go home an’ play with yur dolls.”

“I don’t have dolls.” Leora said with a calm she didn’t feel. “Or a home. You gonna rent me one or not?”

“Wha’d you do? Got mad at mummy and daddy? Run away?” the crotchety old bitch spat, pulling a cigarette out of a pocket and lighting up with the lighter she’d pulled out the other.

“No. The place went up in flames with everyone in it.” Leora spat back bitterly, watching with a curl of satisfaction as the old bitch jerked in shock. “How much for an apartment?”

It was less a question and more of a demand, and they both knew it. The landlady eyed her for a bit, dragging on her cigarette before blowing a lungful of smoke in Leora’s face.

“¥39,000.” Leora snorted.

“¥20,000”

“This ain’t no charity, girl.” The landlady growled, jabbing her lit cigarette in Leora’s face.

“The place is a wreck and I doubt the rooms are much better.” Leora countered, crossing her arms. “You want me to pay more, fix the place up. ¥20,000.”

“¥35,000.”

“¥21,500.”

“¥34,500.”

“¥22,000.” The lady looked murderous.

“¥34,000.” She grit out around her cigarette. “Apartments ain’t cheap, brat.”

“They are when they’re run down and don’t have any tenants.” Leora tossed back, “¥24,000.”

“¥33,000.”

“¥28,000 and I’ll throw in two bottles of sake with a carton of cigarettes once a month with the rent.” The landlady looked dubious.

“How’re yah gonna get that you brat?”

“Do you really care as long as you get it?”

The lady squinted at her through a haze of smoke, trying to find any cracks in Leora’s utterly bored expression. Finding none, she took one last drag on her cigarette before dropping it and grinding it under the toe of her fuzzy pink slippers.

“If da cops come by, Ah’m tellin’ them yah broke in.” she announced before pulling out another cigarette. “You can have 2B.”

Stamping back inside her apartment, the old lady slammed things around for a bit before returning with a battered looking key. She stomped up the stair with more force than Leora thought they could hold before stopping at a door and unlocking it.

Pocketing the key that was tossed at her head Leora pulled out ¥22,000 and handed it over. The woman snatched it greedily before starting to count. She scowled when she realized it was short.

“This ain’t ¥28,000 girl.”

“You’ll get the rest tomorrow. Your booze and cigarettes at the end of the month. I’ll pay rent every first of the month.”

“You don get ta call the shots, brat.” Leora’s new landlady sneered. It apparently was her default expression. Leora glared right back.

“Do you want my money or not?”

The old bitch scowled some more, spat at Leora’s bare feet, and stomped her way back down the stairs. Waiting a minute longer to hear the door the floor below her slam shut, Leora closed and locked her own door.

Then she turned around to see her new living space.

There was a short hallway leading into the main living space just past that weird little step thing all Japanese households seemed to have that held a small sink, a burner, an ancient looking washing machine, and an equally ancient looking mini fridge. Across from that was the bathroom.

It didn’t have much of a bath. The tub looked more like an oversized bucket that could easily be spanned by her smaller arm reach. The toilet was crammed right next to it in a corner. There wasn’t a sink – she figured that she was going to have to use the one in the hallway – but there was a mirror on the opposite wall. The water ran and the toilet worked, so Leora overlooked how dirty it was.

The main room wasn’t much. Small, square little room with a scratched wooden floor, a small window, and a single bare light bulb that was starting to flicker. Leora scrunched up her nose at the gritty feeling the floor had. She didn’t want to know what the grey stuff on the walls was.

A closet took up some of the available space. A dusty futon was crammed in the bottom half of it and Leora did a mental happy dance at the find. Once she managed to beat the dust out and wash it, she would have a halfway decent – if somewhat threadbare – bed.

All in all, her filthy little shoebox place wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. It definitely beat sleeping in the woods or on somebody’s roof again. And no roaches. She couldn’t stand roaches.

Taking one last look around Leora left her new apartment, careful to pick her way around the glass that could embed itself into her already abused feet.

She needed to get her hands on the remaining ¥6,000 and some cleaning supplies. And shoes. She really, really needed to find a pair of shoes.

Her feet couldn’t take much more of this.

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Getting the remaining money turned out to be harder than she thought. There weren’t any more sales going on currently at the shopping district to distract people from the lightening on their purses. There also weren’t that many people out shopping this close to dinner time. So Leora did something that was probably stupid.

She helped herself to the pockets of a group of high school aged delinquents who were smoking and well on their way to being drunk off their asses.

She had to pretend to be lost, stumble a bit, act afraid, and bolt almost immediately after, but she now had ¥9,000 and enough cartons of cigarettes to cover her bitch of a landlady for the next two months.

She probably shouldn’t have promised sake as part of her rental agreement. That would be a lot harder to get her hands on than cigarettes.

Stopping at the park from her first day walking around Namimori, Leora went through a mental to do list.

She needed to get her stuff from the bridge. No one should’ve seen the rope, but there was still a chance someone might. The stuff might not be very useful, but it was from Home. She wasn’t going to risk losing it.

Cleaning supplies was still high on her list. The whole apartment needed a good scrubbing, and she wanted to be able to fall asleep there without waking up covered in dust.

Laundry detergent was another one. Tsuna’s clothes were starting to smell after her mad dash through the woods, sleeping on rooftops, and more dumpster diving. The futon needed a good wash too.

Wincing as one of the many cuts on her feet stung, Leora shifted her priority list around to put shoes at the very top. Which made it tied with a first aid kit.

…Probably should get the first aid kit first. The cuts really needed to be cleaned.

Standing on her much abused feet she started to leave the park, intent on making use of the last few hours of daylight she had left.

“Wait!”

Jerking around, Leora came face to face with a running main character who promptly tripped, falling into the carney and sending them both sprawling. Again.

Leora wheezed as Tsuna’s elbow jabbed into her stomach in his mad scramble to get off of her.

“Hieee, I’m s-sorry!”

“Ss fine.” She managed after she took a minute to get her breath back and levered herself back upright. “We need to stop meeting like this. You’re heavy.”

Tsuna’s already distressed face when bright red. Averting his eyes, he twisted his hands together, fiddling with his fingers in a nervous way that she had done when she was a kid herself.

Standing up and dusting herself off, Leora held out a hand to help him up. He looked shocked, and a tad bit wary, but he still took it after a moments deliberations. He went bright red again when she started dusting him off.

“I’m sorry I ran out like that.” Leora said after an awkward moment where the two of them just stared at each other. “I just really…needed to go.” Get away get away her mind supplied, the semi-hysterical chant that had been pushed into a corner since she’d broken out of her panic, but not completely silenced.

It was easier to push aside the more she focused on other things. Like talking to Tsuna, oddly enough. This was the quietest it had been yet. She thought being near one of the main sources of her big breakdown would make it worse.

“Um, it’s going to be a while before I can return your clothes.” Leora added as an afterthought, more than a little sheepish, and ashamed, of the fact. “All of mine are gone, so…yeah.”

“I-it’s fine!” Tsuna hurried to assure, arms flailing around a bit. “You can k-keep them as long as you l-like.”

Tangling his fingers together again, Tsuna took a deep breath before squaring his shoulders and looking her directly in the eyes.

“D-do you want to come over for d-dinner? You m-missed it last time.” Almost immediately after the words left his mouth his determined face crumbled, turned bright red, and his eyes went straight to the ground. He fidgeted even more than before.

Meanwhile Leora was seriously weighing the options.

On one hand it would be wasting what few hours of daylight she had left. She wasn’t stupid enough to walk around the warehouse district at night, but she really wanted her few possessions to be in a safe and secure location. Her apartment might be a step or two up from a hovel, but the lock was surprisingly sturdy.

On the other, free food. She didn’t have anything but the two apples she’d stolen from the market…which she forgot to eat. She hadn’t really gotten her appetite back once most of the numbness wore off. This not being hungry thing was going to be dangerous if she wasn’t careful.

They also might have a first aid kit that she wouldn’t have to steal or spend money on.

She was also feeling just a teensy, tiny build guilty for probably scaring a kid with her run-away-freak out after he’d taken her home as an apology for running her over.

“If your mom doesn’t mind, sure. I need to apologize to her too.”

The smile Tsuna shot her was blinding. Literally. Leora had to fight the urge to shade her eyes from the sparkles that were popping to life around his head.

Holy shit, it’s genetic.

Feeling a bit theatric – probably because of the sparkles, the circus master would’ve killed for those kind of illusions – Leora swept out her hand as she bowed from the waste.

“Lead the way Sawada-san.”

Flustered, but still grinning, Tsuna started off down the street, Leora falling into step beside him which seemed to make him smile even more.

The grin stayed in place until they had made it back to Tsuna’s house, when he caught sight of her scratched up feet while taking off his shoe and screeched.

“Hieeee, what happened to your feet?!”

“I lost my shoes. Does your mom have a first aid kit I can borrow?”

Bodily hauling her across the floor to the kitchen in a mad dash to get to his mother, and the first aid kit, was completely unnecessary, and equally unappreciated. He ended up tripping halfway there and making them both face plant into the floor.

#my ocs #fanfiction #katekyo hitman reborn

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randyk1m-blog · 5 years

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Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is a great place to visit if you are looking for multiple vacations in one! You can visit the beach in the morning and then head out to all of the attractions in the afternoon. There are so many fun and exciting things to do in Myrtle Beach, SC. You’ll find amusement parks, beaches, state parks, golf courses and more!

Myrtle Beach does a great job of keeping the historic Myrtle Beach feel to it. It isn’t over run with chain stores or hotels, but instead has a really local vibe to it and can feel like you are stepping back in time!

Map

Here is a map of the overall area along with hotels:

Click here for an interactive map.

Attractions

Ripley’s Aquarium Of Myrtle Beach

The aquarium is on the smaller size, but it is well worth a visit. The Shark tunnel is amazing!! You walk through a tunnel with sharks swimming over you and next to you. It is a little scary, but also really, really cool. We went through it multiple times.

They also have a touch tank which are kids always enjoy along with a variety of other hands on activities that the kids could do.

The rest of the aquarium has a variety of different fish to look at and a huge tank filled with hundreds of fish to just stare at. One of our favorite places was the sting ray tank. We could have sat for hours and just watched them swim around.

The last thing we did was feed the manta rays. You pay a couple dollars and get a few pieces of fish that you can feed the manta rays with on a stick in you put into the tank.

If you take your time walking around and really taking everything in you can spend a good 2 hours here exploring.

Ripley’s Believe It Not

The name says it all. You will be amazed and shocked by what you find in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. Lots of hands on things to do and interesting things to look at. It will be an interesting day when you explore this odditorium.

Legends In Concert

An amazing show where you can see imitations of some of the best in the music industry. The show is very upbeat and entertaining and would work out well for kids too.

Hollywood Wax

Are you or your kids into celebrities? Then the Hollywood Wax museum should be on your list! Take your pictures with all sorts of “celebrities”.

Buy the combo ticket and you can head over to the Mirror Maze and interactive Zombie apocalypse challenge located in the same building.

Sky Wheel

Take a ferris wheel ride and look out over Myrtle Beach and the ocean inside your own private gondola reaching up to 20 stories high. If you want to upgrade your seat you can even get a gondola with a glass-bottom floor and leather seats.

WonderWorks

When you look at this building from the outside you are not sure what to expect . . .then you go inside and WOW! There are so many cool things to do and a lot of things you wouldn’t even think of. It is an indoor amusement park with hands on exhibits.

They have a ropes course, an entire floor dedicated to sports, thrilling rides (our kids were too short), a TON of hands on things. We really didn’t know what to expect and thought this might just be a quick walkthrough, but we were wrong.

They have a bubble area where you can make HUGE bubbles. A giant Wonder Brite wall, a bed of nails you lay on, a celebrity look alike machine. And all sorts of optical illusion things to try.

If you visit Myrtle Beach when it is cooler out or raining, this is the place to be. Or if you are looking to get out of the heat of summer, head to WonderWorks and spend the day playing!

Myrtle Waves Water Park

Head to the water park to cool off and enjoy the beautiful weather. This is the largest waterpark in South Carolina and has 22 water slides! Plus a wave pool and lazy river. A water park in the summer is a great family activity.

Family Kingdom Amusement Park

A beach front amusement park that has more than 38 thrilling rides including roller coasters. With rides that are good for younger kids and older kids. Plus entertainment and arcade games.

Splashes Oceanfront Water Park

If it is a hot day in the Myrtle Beach area then head out to a water park. Splashes is located right across the street from the Family Kingdom Amusement Park with views of the beach. It has water slides and a lazy river. Your kids will thank you for taking them here!

Map Of Attractions:

Activities

Party Boat Deep Sea Fishing

Spend 8 hours on the Inlet Princess fishing in the deep water where the big fish are! Fishing gear and fishing licenses are included. Get ready for a fun and exciting fishing experience!

Note the ship only goes out on Wednesdays so book now so you get a spot.

Mini Golf

If you are a mini golfer then you have found your vacation place. Myrtle Beach is filled with mini golf courses from Jungle theme to Pirate theme and several in between. You could spend all day hitting all of the mini golf courses!

Jet Skiing

Have a need for speed?! Rent Jet Ski’s by the hour for 1-8 hours of fun. If you have kids with you then have them ride on a Jet Ski with you. They have 3 person jet ski’s available for rent.

Dolphin Cruise

Looking to get out on the water and see some dolphins?! Myrtle Beach has you covered with a variety of different Dolphin Cruise options:

Sea Thunder Dolphin Cruise – take a speedboat out to find Dolphins! They are so sure you will see dolphins that if you don’t, they give you a free ride in the future to try again.

Dolphin Adventure Cruise – Get on a 90 foot boat that takes you out to find dolphins and more. You will follow a fishing boat that helps to attract dolphins and even sharks, so be on the look out.

Parasailing

Parasailing is such a fun way to get up high out over the water and take in the views all around you. 3 people can go up at a time, which is perfect if you have younger kids that have never done it before. But note you must be 42 inches to participate.

Pontoon Boat Rental

Want to spend the day on the water? A Pontoon boat is the perfect option. We love taking a boat out with our family to check out the area from the water. Pack a cooler and have a picnic lunch while you hang out in the Pontoon. Then anchor it and enjoy jumping from the boat and going for a swim.

Broadway at the Beach

If you are looking for somewhere to walk around and do some shopping and restaurant hopping, this is the place for you. Broadway at the Beach has a variety of restaurants from the Hard Rock to Margaritaville to Joe’s Crab Shake and Paula Deen’s.

When you are here be sure to stop at River Street Sweets for a FREE Praline sample – yummy!

Broadway at the Beach is also where you are going to find a lot of the attractions in Myrtle Beach that we listed above. It really is a one stop shop for tons of fun while you are here.

Barefoot Landing

A waterfront mall with shops, restaurants, entertainment and attractions. It is located in the North Myrtle Beach area.

Looking for more attraction ideas Ranger Led Program

Check the schedule at the State Park to see if they have any Ranger Led Programs going on. We visited the Bee class to learn about the local honey bees and it was super interesting and well run.

Nature Center and Activity Center

Part of the state park where you can come to learn more about the area. The buildings are not always open so be sure to ask when you come into the park or check online to see when they are open.

Myrtle Beach State Park

You have to set at least one day aside to just hang out at the beach! The Myrtle Beach State Park is a great place to hang out at the beach. They also have a nice pier that you can walk out onto or fish from.

The beach is part of the Grand Strand – which is a large stretch of beach on the east coast that runs uninterrupted for more than 60 miles.

Murrells Inlet

If you are ready to get away from all the craziness of amusement parks and attractions in Myrtle Beach then Murrells Inlet is the place to go. There is a half-mile-long Marsh Walk and places to watch the fishing boats come in.

This area was once the lair of the pirate Blackbeard! And there are pirate-theme boat tours available that bring this history and adventure to life.

2nd Avenue Pier

A historic Pier in Myrtle Beach that has been a centerpiece of historic downtown Myrtle beach since the 1930’s. You can fish from the pier or eat at the Pier House and enjoy the views.

Looking for more ideas on things to do in Myrtle Beach with kids check out these posts:

16 Fun Things To Do In Myrtle Beach With Kids (Or Without)

33 Crazy Fun Things To Do In Myrtle Beach For Family Fun

Restaurants

The Donut Man

When you are here do yourself a favor and go to The Donut Man for super delicious donuts. Actually go two or maybe three times. Yes, they are that good and aren’t super expensive.

River City Cafe

A great restaurant to go to with kids. The prices are right and the atmosphere is super laid back with peanuts to snack on while you wait and fun bright colors and decorations everywhere.

Campgrounds

Myrtle Beach State Park

We stayed at the beautiful Myrtle Beach State Park campground. It was well treed and there were sites that had a lot of room around them. We always like the vibe of the State Parks so if you are looking to include nature in your stay this is the place to go. There are plenty of sites with water and electric as well as several with full hookups. They also have a very well stocked convenience store/gift shop.

Pirate Land Family Camping Resort

Friends of ours love staying at the Pirate Land Family Camping Resort. Located on the beach with a large pool and wave pool it definitely seems like a fun place to stay!

Hotels

The majority of the hotels are located along Ocean Boulevard. There is a large selection of hotels with the older hotels being located in the historic Myrtle Beach area and the newer chain hotels are located further north.

Double Tree Resort By Hilton

This hotel is located closer to the Myrtle Beach State Park so it is south of most of the attractions in town. It is a 4 star hotel on the beach.

Paradise Resort

A 3 star hotel located in the middle of downtown Myrtle Beach. Family friendly with indoor and outdoor pools. Including a lazy river.

Hampton Inn Myrtle Beach

If you want to be in the middle of shopping and the attractions (and not right by the beach) then this is the place for you. It is located right at Broadway At The Beach. It is a 3 star hotel.

Marriott’s Ocean Watch Villas at Grand Dunes

Located north of downtown Myrtle Beach. This beautiful 4 star resort is where you want to go if you are looking for more luxury and relaxation.

What more hotel options check out all of the Myrtle Beach hotel options here.

Other great places to visit with your family near Myrtle Beach include:

Destin, Florida

St. Augustine, Florida

Asheville, North Carolina

Or check out these top East Coast Family Vacation spots!

**Thank you to TripShock for providing tickets for some of our activities. And this post does contain affiliate links – thank you for supporting our site!**

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duncanbarker-blog · 5 years

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We loved our stay on the beautiful Hawaiian island of Kauai, but it did take some planning. It was confusing trying to decide which side of the island we should stay on, whether or not to divide our time between two areas, and which accommodation was worth the high price tag.

Hawaii was a dream trip for us, as it is for many people, and we wanted it to be perfect.

Happily, my research paid off and our plan for the island was ideal. In this post I share what I learned about where to stay in Kauai including a comparison of the different areas, reviews of the accommodation we stayed in, and suggestions for alternative places to stay in Kauai.

Choosing The Best Area to Stay in Kauai

The first decision to make when planning your trip is deciding what side of Kauai is the best to stay on. Here’s a comparison of each area from (roughly) the most to least popular:

South Shore (Poipu)

Sunnier and drier most of the year

Calmer, swimmable ocean in winter

Easily accessible beaches

Wide range of accommodation including resorts and condos

Convenient for helicopter tours from Lihue, boat trips from Port Allen, and Waimea Canyon

Expensive

As we were visiting in winter (January), the South Shore was the area that was most recommended as it receives less rain than the North Shore. In practice, we didn’t find a difference in the weather between the two coasts and had little rain throughout our stay (just some cloudy days on both sides), but perhaps we were lucky.

The ocean was better for swimming on the South Shore, though, (some days were calmer than others and we still had waves), and we loved staying right on the beach (which wouldn’t have been affordable for us in the north).

Sunset from Kiahuna Plantation Resort in Poipu

North Shore (Hanalei, Princeville)

Green and mountainous

Beaches have stunning mountain backdrops

Rainier in winter

Big waves in winter so most beaches aren’t safe for swimming

Convenient for Napali Coast hiking (when open: the Kalalau Trail is currently closed)

Boat trips do not run from the north in winter

Many beautiful beaches to explore

Hanalei is the best town on the island

Expensive (especially Hanalei)

The North Shore is the most beautiful part of the island and one of the best places to stay in Kauai. We loved the mountain scenery, string of beautiful beaches, and cool town of Hanalei. Even though the road past Hanalei was closed in early 2019 so we couldn’t visit many of the popular beaches or Napali Coast, we still had plenty to explore.

Accommodation choices are more limited and expensive in the north, though, and it was further from many of our favourite activities (helicopter tour, boat trip, Waimea Canyon).

See our post on the best things to do in Kauai for all our favourite activities and restaurants.

The stunning Napali Coast on the North Shore from our helicopter trip

East Side (Kapaa, Wailua, Lihue)

Most populated area

Budget accommodation available

Convenient for North and South Shores

Wide range of restaurants and shopping

Close to historic sites, hikes, river kayaking, and waterfalls

Beaches not as attractive as in the north and south (but still nice!)

Traffic can be bad

We didn’t spend much time in the east as it didn’t feel as appealing to us as the north or south coasts. But many people love to stay here as it’s more affordable and convenient, especially if you can only choose one area as a base.

Wailua Falls on the East Side

West Side (Waimea Canyon)

Remote and less developed

Quiet

Drier and more barren than the rest of the island

Beautiful canyon scenery

Limited accommodation

Convenient access to hiking

Most people visit the west on a day trip rather than staying here, but if you are a keen hiker you might enjoy camping or staying in a rustic cabin in Kokee State Park (just beyond Waimea Canyon). Advance reservations are necessary.

Waimea Canyon

Should You Split Your Time Between Two Locations?

Kauai isn’t a huge island and you can drive from one side to another in about two hours, so you could choose to stay in one place and visit all the main attractions on day trips.

We wanted to avoid long drives, though, so we chose to divide our 11 days on Kauai between Poipu on the south shore (6 nights) and Princeville on the north shore (5 nights).

This plan worked out really well for us. We got to experience the best of both worlds and all our day trips were a manageable distance (the longest was an hour from Poipu to Waimea Canyon).

It is a bit inconvenient changing hotels, especially when there can be a six-hour gap between check out and check in times. I recommend requesting late check out and early check in times when possible, buying a cheap cool bag from Longs to store any food, and exploring the east coast on the way. You might also be able to use the hotel pool and facilities before or after checking in/out.

Despite the inconvenience, we felt we made the right decision and it would be hard to choose which coast we preferred. If we’d stayed on the South Shore, we’d probably only have made one day trip to the North Shore, and it was worth having much longer to explore. If the North Shore had been our one base, we’d have had to make multiple long day trips to some of our favourite activities.

If you have a week or more on Kauai, I recommend splitting your time between two locations, unless you are planning to spend most of your time relaxing at your resort rather than exploring the island.

Types and Prices of Kauai Hotels and Rentals

The most common types of Kauai accommodation are resorts (large hotels with pools, restaurants, and other facilities) and condo complexes (self-catering apartments, often with pools but fewer facilities). You can also find budget hotels, B&Bs, and house rentals, but these are less common.

If you want the full luxury Hawaii experience, perhaps for a honeymoon or anniversary, you’ll probably want to stay in a Kauai beach resort where everything is provided onsite and service is excellent.

The best resorts on Kauai are Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort in Poipu in the south and Princeville Resort (previously called St Regis) in Princeville in the north, but you can expect to pay over $500 a night (and possibly over $800 in high season).

View from the Seaview Terrace cafe in the Grand Hyatt

If you are on more of a budget (Kauai is not cheap!), condos are usually more affordable than resorts, and you’ll be able to save money on eating out, even if you only cook some of your own meals. We also liked having more space with a separate bedroom and living room.

We stayed in two great condos, Kiahuna Plantation in the south and Hanalei Bay Resort in the north, and have written detailed reviews of them below. For a beachfront condo expect to pay $300–400 a night including extra fees in high season, but in low season you can find better deals.

Kiahuna Plantation condos have a great beachfront location in Poipu

The cheapest accommodation is on the East Coast where you can find budget hotels such as Kauai Palms Hotel near the airport for around $100 a night. A budget beachfront option with pool is Kauai Shores in Kapaa with rooms for under $150. Airbnbs in Kapaa are also great value.

Note that you’ll pay higher rates for beachfront properties and even more for ocean views. It was important to us to be in short walking distance of a beach, so we paid the premium for this, but chose units further back from the ocean.

How to find accommodation on Kauai

You can search Booking.com for resorts, budget hotels, and condos on Kauai. For condos and house rentals look on Airbnb, VRBO, or contact a local agent. If you haven’t tried Airbnb before you can get $38 off your first stay here.

Make sure to check the final price when comparing accommodation. Tax and sometimes resort fees, cleaning fees, and car parking may be added as extra charges to the quoted rates.

Prices vary widely depending on the time of year and how far in advance you book. The cheapest months to travel are mid-April to early June and September to mid-December. Make sure you book as far in advance as possible in the high season.

Where to Stay on the South Shore of Kauai

Poipu is the most popular area in south Kauai. There’s a lovely beach, wide range of accommodation (although limited budget options), and plenty of restaurants and shops.

Kiahuna Plantation Resort, Poipu Review

We stayed in a condo at Kiahuna Plantation which is right on beautiful Kiahuna Beach (a quieter extension of Poipu Beach).

Of everywhere we stayed in Hawaii, Kiahuna Plantation is the place we most want to return to for an extended stay. We loved the location, beautiful grounds, and our comfortable condo with ocean view.

Sunbeds overlooking the beach at Kiahuna Plantation

Condos

Kiahuna Plantation is a large complex of one and two bedroom condos in cottage-style buildings spread over 35 acres of lush lawns that reach to the beach.

Condos have different owners and agents, so they are all decorated differently, and it’s a bit of a lottery which unit you’ll get. To avoid this we booked a specific unit (106) with the agent Great Vacation Retreats.

You pay more to be closer to the beach, but we were in the last row (on the 2nd floor of building 17) and still had an ocean view. We did have some traffic noise as we were closer to the road, but mostly we found it a very peaceful place. It took a couple of minutes to walk to the beach, but we could go barefoot over the lovely lawns.

Living area of our condo at Kiahuna Plantation

Our one bedroom condo was comfortable and well-equipped with good WiFi, a dishwasher, blender, rice cooker, beach chairs, and boogie board. There’s no A/C (which is common in Hawaii) but we didn’t miss it as the condo stayed cool and there are fans and screened doors to the lanai (balcony) that let in the breeze.

The bedroom is at the back and doesn’t have much natural light or view, but the bed was comfy and there was plenty of storage. The bathroom was simple but fine. The kitchen overlooks the living room which has a couch, dining table and chairs, and simple but homely tropical decor.

Sliding doors lead onto the lanai where there are another table and chairs and a couple of loungers for enjoying the ocean view. While you can’t see the sun sink below the horizon, the sky is beautiful when it lights up in shades of orange at sunset (see top photo). We often saw birds and even a few whales jumping out of the ocean.

Our lanai

Facilities

Kiahuna Plantation grounds

There’s no swimming pool on site, but guests can use the resort style pool, gym and tennis courts at the Athletic Club across the road for free. We never ended up using it as it was so convenient to head to the beach.

There was no washing machine in our unit, but the Kiahuna laundry room has plenty of machines and they take credit cards ($3 per wash or dry).

You can borrow beach towels and chairs from the hut by the beach.

There are a number of BBQs on the grounds. The beachfront ones are popular at sunset when everyone gathers at the loungers on the lawn overlooking the ocean.

Sunset at Kiahuna

The Plantations Garden restaurant is on site, but the menu didn’t look very exciting for vegetarians and we mostly self-catered.

Location

We loved the location right on Kiahuna (aka Sheraton) Beach. The beach is fairly narrow but has golden sand and is quieter than Poipu Beach around the corner. We always found a quiet spot just outside our resort. Sunrises and sunsets are beautiful.

Kiahuna Beach

On some days the ocean was calm and on others, the waves were up and beginner surfers were out, but we still managed to swim.

There are some lovely coastal walks from here. Head left to Poipu Beach where you’ll see monk seals and turtles and you can continue all the way to Shipwreck Beach and the beautiful Maha’ulepu Heritage Trail. To the right I loved to run on the sea path in front of the Sheraton resort and on to the Spouting Horn Blowhole about 3 miles away.

Poipu Shopping Village is across the road, so there are plenty of shops and restaurants in walking distance. For a bigger grocery shop we went to Big Save in Koloa, less than 10 minutes drive away.

The location was convenient for many of our favourite Kauai activities.

Details

We highly recommend Kiahuna if you are looking for a beachfront condo in a convenient location.

Confusingly, the resort is run by two different management companies, but I don’t think it matters which one you stay with. Check the latest prices of Kiahuna Plantation Castle and Kiahuna Plantation Outrigger here.

Other Poipu Hotels

If you’d prefer a classic resort experience, the Sheraton Resort is right next to Kiahuna on the same beautiful beach as our condo. Views are great (we had a cocktail at their beachfront bar), but the pool isn’t as impressive as the Grand Hyatt’s and gets crowded (but rates are more affordable). Check the prices here.

The Sheraton at sunset

The Grand Hyatt Resort is one of the best Kauai resorts. We had breakfast here after our coastal hike and it looked stunning, especially the extensive pools including a lazy river, saltwater lagoon, and waterslide. It wasn’t busy either.

The beach here isn’t swimmable, and it’s further from shops and restaurants, but you have seven onsite restaurants. There’s also a spa, golf course, tennis courts, and horse riding stables.

For a special occasion, the Grand Hyatt is a top pick. Check the prices here.

One of the pools at the Grand Hyatt Resort

Another stylish boutique resort with an oceanfront location between Kiahuna and Poipu beaches is Koa Kea Hotel & Resort. We often walked through here and it looked lovely.

If you are on a budget, options are limited but try searching for condos on Airbnb.

Where to Stay on the North Shore of Kauai

Hanalei Bay

Hanalei is the most desirable place to stay on the North Shore as the small surfer town has a relaxed vibe, beautiful beach, and some delicious food trucks and restaurants. Accommodation is limited, though, and there are no large hotels or resorts.

If you can afford and find availability for one of the vacation rentals there (especially right on the beach!), go for it, but most of us will end up in nearby Princeville (a 15-minute drive away).

Princeville is a planned community of upscale homes, a golf course, and a couple of resorts. It felt rather soulless and overly manicured to us, but there are beautiful views from the cliffside location, a few small but lovely beaches, and it’s convenient for exploring the North Shore.

Hanalei Bay Resort, Princeville Review

Accommodation at Hanalei Bay Resort is in studio, one or two bedroom self-catering condos, but it feels more like a typical resort with a large pool and many activities, and it was fun to have that experience for part of our stay. The mountain views are stunning and you pay much less than at the famous Princeville Resort next door.

Pool at Hanalei Bay Resort

Condos

Our biggest disappointment at Hanalei Bay Resort was on arrival. Despite requesting an early check-in twice in advance, our room not only wasn’t available before the 4 pm check-in time (which was fine), it was not fully ready until 5 pm.

We also found the decor of our one bedroom condo dated, and more like a hotel room than a home. This depends on which unit you get (we had no choice when we booked) as some have been updated.

Despite not getting off to the best start, we ended up really enjoying our stay.

While our condo was nothing fancy, it was spacious, comfortable enough, and fairly well equipped. It must have been a hotel previously as we had two connecting rooms—on one side was a large bedroom and bathroom and on the other was a living room, kitchen, and bathroom.

The living area of our condo at Hanalei Bay Resort

Unusually for Hawaii, we had air conditioning, although we never needed it and rarely used the ceiling fan either. The screened doors onto the lanai let in a breeze. There are a table and chairs outside both the bedroom and living room but no sun loungers.

The view from our balcony at Hanalei Bay Resort

Our ground floor room in Bougainvillea was just a few minutes from the main pool. We could see the mountains from our lanai, but the higher floor condos nearer the ocean would have much better views. We could also hear the live music from the pool every afternoon and in the evenings from the main bar (but it stopped at 9 pm).

Facilities

Hanalei Bay Resort pool

While our condo was nothing special, the grounds at Hanalei Bay Resort are gorgeous. Facilities include:

Beautiful large lagoon pool (chilly water in January but I still enjoyed swimming)

Ukulele swim-up bar where we enjoyed delicious cocktails every day! (Basic snacks are available)

Large hot tub under a waterfall

Live music every afternoon by the pool from 4–6 pm

Happy Talk Bar that serves food from 3 pm and has live music from 6–9 pm

Fire pit where you can watch the sunset

Small second pool

Gym

8 tennis courts

Beach gear rental

Daily activities including free Mai Tais on Mondays, free wine tasting, yoga, tennis clinics, hula lessons, and more.

Golf cart transport back from the beach if you don’t want to walk up the hill

Laundry room (coins needed)

Small shop selling toiletries, soft drinks, and souvenirs (no real food)

Some of the tennis courts at Hanalei Bay Resort

Location

The location of Hanalei Bay Resort is excellent, just a five-minute walk downhill to lovely Pua Poa Beach and a short drive to Hanalei.

Pua Poa Beach

The walk down to the beach is steep, but you can call for a golf cart back if necessary (we didn’t need it). It’s the same beach that the Princeville Resort is on and we headed up to their bar for a sunset cocktail one night.

The main bay is quite small and can be a little busy, but if you continue around you can find quiet but shadier spots. You can almost walk to Hanalei, but you get stuck by a river. There’s a reef here so the water is calm (experienced surfers head further out) and there’s a sandy channel where you can swim.

It’s also walking distance to the beautiful Hideaways Beach which has calm turquoise water and snorkelling. To get here, we walked down to Pua Poa Beach, up two elevators to the Princeville Resort reception, and out to the narrow path by their tennis courts. It’s a short but very steep muddy trail down to the beach, but it’s worth it.

There’s a Foodland supermarket a short drive away in Princeville, but for restaurants you are better off heading to Hanalei. There are no restaurants or shops in easy walking distance except for the onsite bar/restaurant and the pricey Princeville Resort next door.

Sunset at Hanalei Bay Resort

Details

Hanalei Bay Resort is ideal if you want a resort experience with the convenience of self-catering accommodation. Try to get an ocean view and updated unit if you can!

Check the latest prices of Hanalei Bay Resort here.

Other Hanalei and Princeville Hotels

The Princeville Resort is one of the best resorts on Kauai for a luxury experience. It cascades down the side of a cliff and the views of Hanalei Bay are unbeatable. There’s a nice pool down by the beach, but it’s not as impressive as the Grand Hyatt’s extensive pools.

We enjoyed a sunset cocktail at the Princeville Bar high up in the resort and it is beautiful. There are a number of other restaurants and bars onsite.

Check the latest prices at Princeville Resort here.

Sunset drink at the Princeville Resort bar

View from the upper levels of the Princeville Resort

For more condos in Princeville, check out Makai Club Resort or search on Airbnb where you can find a few budget options.

Accommodation in Hanalei Bay is very limited and pricey, but you can find a few vacation rentals on Airbnb such as this Hanalei Waterfalls apartment or beautiful three-bedroom cottage close to the beach.

See all the Airbnb options on this map:

Map of Where to Stay in Kauai

Here’s a map of the Kauai accommodation mentioned in this post. The green pins are for the places we stayed (detailed reviews above) and the blue pins are for others that look like great options.

For a more detailed map of recommended activities and restaurants, see our guide to the top things to do in Kauai.

Summary

When you are planning where to stay on Kauai the important thing is to decide what’s important to you. Hawaii is not cheap so unless money is no object, you’ll have to decide what to prioritise: ocean views, beach access, fantastic pool, kitchen, onsite restaurants, access to sights or whatever you decide.

On the East Side, you’ll get the best value for money, but you won’t have the views of the North Shore or as easy access to sights as in the South. You might also consider splitting your time between two areas to avoid long day trips as we did.

Wherever you stay in Kauai, you will have a wonderful time—it’s a beautiful island and stunning beaches and scenic attractions are always only a short drive away.

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#kauai #hawaii"

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cgpsimpromptu-blog · 7 years

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Psychick (Pt. 1)

By Ben Togut

Snow sugarcoated the towering evergreens. The man lay sprawled on the cool pavement, his limbs twisted beyond recognition, forming an ironic snow angel in the dusted fluff, a pained expression on his ghostly face. The Shell gas station sign flickered above the words “never forget” spelled out in a gasoline rainbow semicircle around the body.

I never expected him to come. I never expected the friendly creaking of the bright orange door to awaken me from my morning daze. I thought I’d sit on a coy, oak stool near the window, my pale face pressed against the frozen glass, the dark clouds forming an eerie halo over the sleeping city. I had just started unpacking after returning from my three month tour of India, teaching ESL and making underprivileged children feel like they’re worth something. A wispy voice whispers my name Vera in my ear like a distant lullaby I had once known. I spin around but no one is there. Must be the wind, I think. Must be the soft welcoming of the tiger we call morning, purring, inviting you into that indigo crescent of silence known as peace. I continue nibbling at my bland, lumpy oatmeal, unperturbed. Hughes, an Abyssinian cat I’d adopted from Chennai, purrs, curling his velvety body against my bare leg. I haven’t taken the poison in ten days. I’m ready. I pace to the bathroom, and flinging open my medicine cabinet, slam down the remaining three bottles of Zyprexa onto the countertop. Opening the lid to the toilet, I waterfall the pills into the bowl, each falling with a soft thunking sound. “Bye bye,” I wave as the toilet swallows my last remaining chance at sanity. I grab the wrinkled note off of the coffee table and find Hughes’ favorite blue-tinged magenta pashmina underneath the expensive meerkat rug in the living room, wrapping it around his shivering skin. I can feel his walnut sized heart beat through the thin fabric as I walk out the door, leaving Hughes ensconced in his little nook where the wall meets the forest green Steinway piano before tapering into the claret walls of the hallway.

I live in the beating heart of Seattle, where the brisk ocean breezes fuse with musky pine cones, making a mélange of salty, wasted tears that fall in the unrelenting torrents of mid-October rain. Leaves of many colors, crimson, pumpkin, purple, casually coast to the ground, making a crunch squeak crunch against my beige UGGs as I clumsily fumble with my oversized velvet purse for the heck of it. Something my psychiatrist suggested was to keep myself occupied. Then again, my psychiatrist is a bald, oval headed man named Carl who always wears hideous maroon sweaters from the Gap. He thinks that “kick-ass brunette, schizophrenic, aspiring playwright, ” is an “unwise and detrimental personal description on your résumé,” but I disagree. I think it’s brilliant.

The rusted brick building is hugged by dead ribs of ivy and moss. Above the rotting rainbow wood door hangs an askew, pipe-cleaner sign that reads Saving Yourself from Yourself. I stare at the man who calls himself Devon, with the misshapen, closely cropped cherry mohawk. He leads me into the mismatched corridor of aubergine and peach and into the room of bleached concrete. People of varying degrees of chaos sit on dark bean bag chairs, sipping steaming beverages out of styrofoam cups. The calm one, Orion, sits in the center, raven hair elegantly framing his piercing emerald eyes.

“Welcome, welcome,” Orion projects. He then goes into a recap of last week, hands whirling around each other, a clumsy windmill. “Janice,” gesturing to a wrinkled women with dirty, blond hair, “overcame her fear of… Goldfish?”

“No, no, NO ya silly! Trail mix,” she screams; “TRAIL MIX!” she shrieks with more intensity, a witch burning at the stake.

“Chill out,” Orion responds, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Chill out…? Chill out…! Ok, ok. I’ll chill out when you stop patronizing me. You’re not my dad. I run the show, mister! I don’t need some teddy bear to cuddle…” With a crazed but collected look in her deep, sea blue eyes she jerks her head to the left, a glass doll with a broken neck, and begins talking as if to a small child. “I don’t need some low-class, wannabe therapist to tell me how to live my life. My psychosis is a beautiful thing, and who do you think you are, in your right mind, to try to take that away from me. Huh? HUH?!” Janice clutches a fistful of his shirt, squeezing with such intensity her inflamed knuckles turn a ghastly shade of white. With the other hand, she traces the outline of Orion’s olive features, gliding in circles around his prominent jawbone, where the hints of dark stubble have begun to creep along his face like a spider.

Orion maintains a serene expression, and staring straight into her poisonous glare, retorts, “Take your paws off of me and get out.”

“Fine. FINE! Henry,” she shouts into space, “you can come out now. It’s time to go.” A prickly silence envelops the room.

“Leave now.”

“I’m looking for my son. I’m looking for my son. I’M LOOKING FOR MY SON!”

“Well, keep looking. The door is that way.”

Janice briskly strides across the room in four paces before whipping her head around from behind the door. She opens her mouth, but is silent. The look of a puzzled monkey comes across her face and she deftly shapes her fingers into small circles over her eyes, before ducking out of the room.

Silence is a funny thing. Not the absence of noise, but the stillness of being: when thought thins out into a fine layer of steam, reducing to the nervous grinding of gears, before ceasing to exist. Silence haunts you, a specter caressing your face with the back of its hand, invisible, but you almost shiver from its presence. Not me. Never. Silence is my soul mate, as I drape myself across my white-feathered ottoman, holding my hand as I stare at the peeling navy paint of my ceiling. A leak in one of its corners has caused a single drop of water to continuously drip, turning the carpet soggy. Its constant, pendulous motion almost hypnotizes me. Drip. Drop. Drip. My eyes become heavy and start to flutter.

Flashes of black and white blur before me, rapid at first, animated cartoonish legs pinwheeling across a blinding surface, slowing down to the clicking of a film reel in an antique projector. Click. Click. Vera. The voice nears me, encroaching on the most distant corners of my mind. I try to move away from this devil, this monster, but my legs are suspending in time, swimming in syrup. My eyelids soar open, eyes transfixed on my rusting red alarm clock, registering 4:15 , before locking shut. Vera. Open. 4:28. Shut. Vera. Open. 5:00. Shut. Vera. Click click click. Open. Shut. Open. Shut. Click click click click click. My body is paralyzed in an awkward fetal position, only my fingers in motion skittering across the couch, whose once soft fabric pricks my skin. A cool sweat breaks out across my body. I jerk my head against the solid arm of the couch, pain blossoming from my head as I feel it smack into a substance with the metallic consistency of monkey bars. Finally, after what feels like centuries, I wake up. The alarm clock reads 9:00. Shit, I’m already an hour late for work.

I’ve worked at Dripping Hand Candles for six months now, named after our logo, a hand holding a candle with wax that drips down from the bottom and envelopes the hand. Approaching the store, I can already spot the manager, Phil, a man with faded paper white skin and stringy blond hair, glaring at me. The bell fixed to the top of the door jingles as I enter. Phil sets down a dark blue candle before coming towards me.

“Vera-”

“Chuck, I’m sorry-”

“It’s Phil.”

“Right, Phil, I’m sorry. This won’t happen again. I think my alarm clock is broken or something-”

“Vera, I am tired of you making excuses. It’s the third time this week that you’re more than an hour late.”

“I-”

“Sorry won’t cut it. Go in the back and help Regine with the candle puns.”

I step out of the aromatic store and into the brisk night air, my light, maroon sweater doing nothing to shelter me from the wind-chill. Vera. I turn around, but nobody is there. I keep walking, thinking my mind is just playing tricks on me like it always does. Vera, you know I’m here. Don’t deny it. I start walking faster, covering my ears with the palms of my hands to stop the noise. Vera. Don’t be silly. You know you can’t shut me up. I start screaming, screaming for him to stop talking, but he won’t, he never will. I frantically take my boots off, leaving them on the ground, and barefoot, I start to run. I don’t know where I’m going, and I don’t care, as long as it’s away from him. I run from bright yellow taxis and angry mobs that don’t exist. I run from dirty old men and beech trees and shrieking babies and black cats, but it’s no use. You can’t run away from me. My head smacks into a black telephone pole, and my body violently jerks backward towards the ground.

#btogut #serial #psychick

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japanesestudies172 · 6 years

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Earthquakes and Disasters: How Ready is Japan?

(Photo credit: Daily Express)

Japan is one of the countries that is most struck by earthquakes. In fact, there is a quake every 5 minutes and consequently, tsunamis. Fortunately for them, they are also one of the best prepared nations in the world in terms of disaster preventions. I want to investigate how they implement these measures and analyze them for effectiveness. How effective are these measures? Are most of the masses aware of the necessary steps to follow in case of an emergency? As I travelled around Japan, I looked for answers.

(Photo credit: ICCROM)

(Photo credit: World Monuments Fund)

Japan has many heritage buildings. After the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, the number of damaged heritage buildings were a shocking 554, including 116 Important Cultural Property buildings and 438 Registered Cultural Property buildings (Nishikawa 36). Some of these buildings were completely teared down by the earthquakes and tsunamis. As these buildings are considered important in generating tourism revenues for the country, Japan has decided to enforce earthquake countermeasures on them. The government hired some experts to evaluate the earthquake resistance of these buildings, and to reinforce them accordingly. The more people that are expected to enter a certain building, the higher the resistance must be. However, it is not only these cultural buildings that are supposed to be earthquake resistant. Japan has worked hard to ensure that most buildings and structures are built with earthquake resistant materials, especially new ones. As a result, over 75% of buildings in Japan are earthquake resistant.

(Photo credit: Surviving in Japan)

From my observations during my time in Japan, the Japanese people are very aware and prepared on the possibility of an earthquake striking. When I visited the Bousai Center, which every prefecture has at least one of, I was surprised that it was free for everyone, even for foreigners such as myself. I signed up for the earthquake-only experience, but had I done the others (including fire drills, smoke drills, etc.) it would have still been completely free. I think that this is a great step by the Japanese government because giving the public free education on matters relating to safety is of utmost importance.

(Photo credit: Web Japan)

At the time I went there, there were also a lot of little kids who were about to leave, they were presumably grade school kids who went there on a field trip or maybe even a required educational trip. This is important because I think these earthquake safety drills should be drilled into us, starting from pre-school all the way to high school, and even while we are already working. I felt like the drills really help in being able to survive an earthquake, especially with the panic. A lot of people panicked when they hear that there is an earthquake ongoing, especially when they did not have any sort of disaster training.

(Photo credit: Twitter)

This was especially true when a random earthquake struck us while we were in the dorms, and a lot of the foreign exchange students were extremely panicked and called their parents immediately. The quake was only 4-5 magnitude in strength, so it could be felt but it is not so extreme that it would tear apart our dormitory. However, if a strong quake did hit us, a panicked mindset would be a deterrent to surviving. That is why having experienced these drills can help us keep our focus during crucial moments and ultimately lead us to survival.

(Photo credit: Disaster Preparedness Tokyo)

While in Japan, I also read some of the Bousai comics and books that I was able to procure. Most of them just emphasized what one had to during an earthquake in many different situations. Also, one of the things I found interesting was fastening the furniture, TV, and cabinets to the wall securely. I did not ever think that one had to do that, because in my own house back in the Philippines, none of our furniture are fastened.

The handbook that the government gives to every household is also a very informative 300-page book. Since it is meant for Japanese people, the Japanese they use is not as easy as it is in the manga. There was no furigana, so it was a little difficult for me to read. I should note that this handbook is only given to residents in the Tokyo area, I am not sure if they give similar ones to everyone across the country.

(Photo credit: Spoon & Tamago)

The book was very thorough in illustrating literally every possible scenario that one could be doing during an earthquake. This includes being in the airport, on the streets, in the classroom, in a movie theater, in the office, on a road intersection, on a bridge, in a tunnel, in the bathroom (showering and using the toilet are different scenarios), climbing down stairs, and more.

The book also tells us of the NG (Not Good) things to do during an earthquake. Most of them are obvious like don’t light match so that you don’t cause a fire, don’t touch electricity, and don’t walk barefooted. Some of the less obvious ones were to not carry out a rescue operation by yourself and to hold back from calling on the phone because the lines are cut. I think that some of the obvious ones should not be mentioned by the book, such as walking barefooted to avoid injuries, but other than that this information is useful, to both kids and adults alike.

(Photo credit: 絵本ナビ)

On the other hand, the manga that I’ve read was more targeted towards younger people, so they used relatively easy words which also made it easier for me (and presumably Japanese kids) to understand. The manga had most of the information that was written in the Bousai handbook.

Since it was targeted towards kids, the author made it sort of interactive with the reader. One of the adults in the book would constantly ask the crew of kids questions about disaster prevention, and it does feel as though that the reader is one of those kids. There would also be personalities for each kid, for example, there would be the smart one, the not-so-smart one, the one who would ask a lot of question, and more. It makes it even more relatable to the reader, and I would recommend it to children who want to learn more about disasters in general. This is because the manga does not only contain information on earthquakes, it also covers a variety of disasters that may inevitably strike Japan one day.

As for ICU’s earthquake procedures, they did not exactly brief us about the safety precautions to take during an earthquake. However, they gave people from the University of California (UC) a pamphlet that briefly outlines that to do during an earthquake. This was held as a separate orientation for them, so the rest of the people who were not from UC were not given this orientation. I think this is one part that ICU should work on. They should give everyone the same information especially when it concerns the safety of their students.

(Photo credit: Time Out)

While browsing through stores such as Tokyo Hands, I found that they don’t really have a big area for bousai goods. It is always just one section set aside for disaster prevention goods. Some of the goods they sell in there are quite questionable. I was not exactly sure on what a cap should be used for during times of disaster. The cap was not really anything special and even had no brand name. It was just wrapped in a regular plastic wrap and under the item name “work cap”.

I also was not very sure on the use of a toilet bowl cover in the context of disaster prevention. Apparently, that toilet bowl cover is the number one best seller last year. However, after reading the labels for the product, I realized that if water supply was cut, then there would be no flush for toilets. I guess Japanese people really find this item to be a necessity. I did not expect that this would be the number one selling item of all the disaster prevention goods. I expected the bousai bag to sell more than the toilet bowl cover since that is presumably more useful.

The bousai bag that was sold in the stores included 18 different things that might be useful for survival during a disaster, all for the price of 5000 yen. I guess if one were lazy, then 5000 yen might be worth paying to save one’s life during a disaster.

What I found was the most interesting item sold in the store was the Izameshi Carry Box. It is basically food supply that would last a long time, ideal for times of disaster where electricity might be cut. For 11 packs of food, one would have to pay 8000 yen. This would come out to around 700 yen per meal, which isn’t that bad. However, according to my Japanese friend, these kinds of food don’t really taste that great. They are essentially just for last resort because they generally taste very bad because of all the preservatives added to make sure they last during a disaster.

(Photo credit: CNN)

Japan has put a lot of work into the preparations for earthquake prevention. They have a lot of countermeasures in place in order to secure the safety of their people. The government knows exactly what the threat is and is trying their hardest to educate the people about the proper safety procedures. From the bousai centers to books about disaster prevention to their educational curriculum, Japan is a nation well-prepared for the disasters nature has in store for them. The worst has yet to come, but I think Japan will endure just fine. In a nation that takes disaster prevention very seriously, I have no doubt that they will be able to withstand just about any kind of earthquake. They are after all one of the most innovative leaders in disaster prevention in the world.

Bibliography:

Eisuke, Nishikawa. "Development in Earthquake Countermeasures for Heritage Buildings in Japan." Archeomatica, Vol 8, Iss 1 (2017), no. 1, 2017. EBSCOhost, rizal.lib.admu.edu.ph:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsdoj&AN=edsdoj.5589eac1b8bb497db904da98945cdcb9&scope=site.

Haraoka, T, et al. "Prevention of Injuries and Diseases in Non-Professional Disaster Volunteer Activities in the Great East Japan Earthquake Areas: A Preliminary Study." Public Health, vol. 127, no. 1, Jan. 2013, pp. 72-75. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2012.09.005.

Moriyama, Karin and Makiko Kaga. "Mental Healthcare Efforts for the Public After the Great East Japan Earthquake: "Guide to Good Mental Health for Those Affected by Natural Disasters" Published by the Cabinet Office." Brain & Development, vol. 35, no. 3, Mar. 2013, pp. 201-208. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.braindev.2012.11.003.

Nakaya, Naoki, et al. "Effect of Tsunami Drill Experience on Evacuation Behavior After the Onset of the Great East Japan Earthquake." International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, vol. 28, June 2018, p. 206. EBSCOhost, rizal.lib.admu.edu.ph:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edo&AN=129095664&scope=site.

Raby, Alison, et al. "Implications of the 2011 Great East Japan Tsunami on Sea Defence Design." International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, vol. 14, no. Part 4, 01 Dec. 2015, pp. 332-346. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2015.08.009.

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Walking the National Forest Way: a stroll amid a transformed Midlands

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Walking the National Forest Way: a stroll amid a transformed Midlands

Walking holidays

It’s the time of year to check out the bluebell woods of England’s National Forest, which stretches over the former mining fields of Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. We take it stage by stage, with stops for food and sleep

Into the woods … walkers enter the forest, close to Foremark Reservoir, near Ticknall.

Walking holidays

Walking the National Forest Way: a stroll amid a transformed Midlands

The National Forest, now more than a quarter of a century old, is the result of a need for regeneration after the end of mining, and the desire to transform one of the UK’s least-wooded areas into a wild and wonderful expanse for exploration. In a sense it is an effort to reconnect with the past, a past before men and machinery extracted coal and clay from this land in the Midlands – 200 square miles of it – in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire.

When the first tree was planted in 1991 this became the country’s first new forest in more than a thousand years. At that time only 6% of the area had forest cover; 26 years on and that figure is 20%. Eight and a half million trees and 16,500 acres later and the National Forest links the ancient forests of Needwood in Staffordshire and Charnwood in Leicestershire. It also offers an array of activities and attractions, plus accommodation at hotels, farms, cabins and campsites.

Jackson’s Bank, Burrough Woods and Swithland Woods are all great places to spot bluebells in bloom. Photograph: Alamy

It’s possible to see the forest’s evolution close-up along the National Forest Way, a 12-stage 75-mile walk that takes in bucolic villages, market towns, restored wildlife habitats and disused coalfields. The stages, between four and seven-and-a-half miles long, can be completed as day walks or as part of a long-distance trail with overnight stays. My walk went west to east, from stage 12 to stage one, ending at the summit of Beacon Hill.

The National Forest Way map.

Spring represents a great opportunity to see bluebells along the National Forest Way, and areas to take note of include Jackson’s Bank, Needwood, the Woodland Trust’s Burrough Woods in the south-east corner of the forest, Swithland Wood in Charnwood, and Lodge Hill, near Yoxall, a short walk off the route. The National Forest will also be holding its 10th annual walking festival from 13-25 May.

Stage 12: National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, to Yoxall (5.14 miles)

The Shot at Dawn Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum near Alrewas in Staffordshire. Photograph: Alamy

Marking the route’s start or end, the National Memorial Arboretum near Alrewas (admission free) honours the military, emergency services, charities and individuals who have served the country, with 30,000 trees and more than 300 memorials across 150 acres of meadow, river and woodland. The striking glass panels of the Naval Service memorial are hard to miss, but it’s worth exploring the grounds to find others, such as the moving Christmas Truce memorial. Daily talks and tours include the Far East Prisoners of War Talk, and the Remembrance Centre, open since October 2016, which has three galleries and an interactive exhibit on the importance of remembrance. One-and-a-half miles away is the village of Alrewas, home to England’s first commercial canal, the Trent and Mersey, and post-walk pints at the Crown Inn.

Stage 11: Yoxall to Rangemore (7.46 miles)

Sculptor David Nash by one of his True Noon pieces, part of the National Forest’s LANDshapes project. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian

Along or near this route are six “True Noon Columns” – wooden sculptures carved from sustainable English oak by artist David Nash, each representing a different forest landscape. They are carved so that at noon, (around 1.06pm summertime, 12.06pm winter), a stream of sunlight shines through a vertical slot. At Sence valley the blackened oak column references the area’s mining history, and Trent Valley’s floodmarker design represents the surrounding wetlands.

Stage 10: Rangemore to Branston (4.1 miles)

With a serene setting, Lock House is an 18th-century lock keeper’s house-turned-B&B with two double bedrooms (£60 a night) overlooking the Trent and Mersey canal. Breakfast is vegetarian/vegan, and expect homemade jam, free-range eggs any style, and a super-size fruit salad. Lock House is a few minutes’ walk from Branston water park, formed by the flooding of a disused gravel pit. The one-mile lake path takes in wetland, woodland, meadows and birdlife.

Bridge Inn, Branston, Staffordshire

Bridge Inn, Branston

It’s not every day you stumble across a gourmet Italian restaurant on the Trent and Mersey canal. Fast becoming known for its homemade pizzas (from £8.95), pastas (from £7.95) and risottos, seasonal menu, and a specially selected 100% Italian wine list, the pub uses local suppliers, and fresh fish is delivered daily. Dishes are beautifully presented by chef Mariusz Wójtowicz, often using home-grown herbs and edible flowers. The pub’s 200-year-old building used to operate as an inn and stables, and is a short walk from Lock House B&B. • thebridgeinnbranston.com

Stage 9: Branston to Rosliston (5.5 miles)

Rosliston Forestry Centre, Derbyshire Rosliston was the first visitor centre in the National Forest, with 120,000 trees planted to create new woodland, while the Rolls-Royce Greenheart Lake emphasises the support from local businesses. The walking and biking trails are the best way to explore the grounds; the bike path is easy or there are more challenging off-road tracks. Those short on time could take a quick look at the Monument to South Derbyshire Mining, and grab a coffee and cake in the Hub Cafe. • Trails and gardens free, activity prices vary, roslistonforestrycentre.co.uk

Stage 8: Rosliston to Moira (7.66 miles)

Conkers Waterside, Derbyshire.

YHA National Forest, Swadlincote, Derbyshire This modern, four-star, eco-friendly YHA property has all the essentials: well-stocked bar, free wifi, hot breakfasts and three-course supper club dinners. Some of the 23 en suite rooms have double beds, and can be booked privately for up to five people. The food is good, too; it was pizza night on my visit. Non-residents are also welcome at both the cafe and supper club. Within walking distance is Conkers family adventure centre (YHA guests get free child tickets), the four-mile Ashby Woulds Heritage Trail along a disused railway line, and Moira Furnace Museum on the site of a 19th-century blast furnace. • Three-bed private room from £39 a night, dorm beds from £11pp, supper club £8.50 (under-10s free with paying adult), yha.org.uk

Conkers Discovery and Conkers Waterside, Derbyshire This family adventure centre in 120 acres of woodland, ponds and lake on a former deep coalmine was one of the first attractions when the National Forest project began. There’s an array of activities, many included in the entry price – such as the 18-stage activity trail, barefoot walk and mining museum. The Hi and Lo Ropes Adventure is extra. The indoor interactive exhibit exploring British woodland through the seasons is excellent and a 4D cinema is scheduled to open on 14 April 2017. • Adult £9.05, child £8.14, family (2+2) £35.95, visitconkers.com

Stage 7: Moira to Hartshorne (5.67 miles)

Bull’s Head pub, Hartshorne, Swadlincote, Derbyshire Stage 7 passes Feanedock Wood, where active landfill sites are being transformed into wildlife habitats, an example of the “black-to-green” transformation. The stage ends at Hartshorne, where the family-run Bull’s Head is a good lunch stop, serving filling portions of lasagne, Derbyshire steak, lamb and mint suet pudding, and 15 desserts a day. It’s got plenty of character with timber beams, memorabilia and some sections dating to the 16th century. In the village, St Peter’s church contains the tomb of the Dethic family; one of whose members went to Cleves to find a fourth wife for Henry VIII. • Soup of the day £4.50, sausage and mash £10.95, mixed grill from £15.95, bullsheadhartshorne.co.uk

Stage 6: Hartshorne to Ticknall (4.93 miles)

Calke Abbey. Photograph: Alamy

Calke Abbey, Ticknall, Derbyshire After passing Hangman’s Stone, the route’s most northerly point, Ticknall village beckons. Refuel in Ticknall Tea Room, The Wheel Inn or The Staff of Life pub, where the accommodation (doubles from £105) includes two decadently designed boutique suites. The big attraction is the National Trust’s Calke Abbey, the “un-stately home”. It’s deliberately in a bit of a state, recalling a time in the 20th century when many estates fell into decline. The hoarding habits of the eccentric Harpur-Crewe family include stuffed birds and an unpacked state bed. In the grounds is a 1,200-year-old oak tree, Old Man of Calke. • Various admission prices for whole property (adult £13.50, child £6.95, family £33.70), house and garden, and park only, nationaltrust.org.uk/calke-abbey

Stage 5: Ticknall to Ashby-de-la-Zouch (7.65 miles)

Staunton Harold hall and church. Photograph: Alamy

Ferrers Centre for Arts and Crafts, Staunton Harold, Leicestershire Walking from Calke Abbey past Staunton Harold reservoir, it’s worth veering half a mile off the National Forest Way, for the Ferrers Centre for Arts and Craft. Artists have been working in the studios around this Georgian stable block since 1974, and now 16 workshops produce fine art, ceramics, silverware and more. Ferrers is a handy lunch stop too. Pick up takeaway sandwiches and cakes at Breadfirst bakery and deli, or Staunton Stables Tea Rooms does tasty homemade quiches, pies and sandwiches. • ferrerscentre.co.uk

Ashby Castle, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire

Ashby Castle. Photograph: Alamy

The Ivanhoe Way section of the National Forest Way – named after Walter Scott’s novel, set in and around Ashby Castle – leads walkers into Ashby-de-la-Zouch. Its 15th-century castle was the seat of Lord Hastings, a powerful figure in the 15th century, but much was destroyed in the civil war and the free audio guide takes a lively, witty approach to its fascinating history. It is still possible to explore the underground passage between the kitchen basement and Hastings Tower and climb up for the views. In town, the Royal hotel (doubles from £60 B&B) is a comfortable stop in a grade II-listed building. • Adult £5.60, child 5-15 £3.40, family (2 adults, 3 children) £14.60, english-heritage.org.uk

Stage 4: Ashby de la Zouch to Sence valley (5.72 miles)

Sence valley forest park, Leicestershire This stretch takes walkers into King Coal country, where “black gold” was mined for centuries. Sence valley forest park was an opencast colliery until 1996 and its transformation into a wildlife habitat is remarkable. As many as 150 bird species have been recorded since, and my quiet stint in the bird hide resulted in a few sightings. Some 100,000 trees have been planted, and three lakes link to the river Sence, where otters are making a comeback. A mile and a half away is Ibstock, where the Post House B&B (doubles from £70) offers four en suite bedrooms. • forestry.gov.uk

Stage 3: Sence valley to Thornton reservoir (7.82 miles)

The Reservoir Inn, Thornton, Leicestershire A popular pitstop at the end of this stage, this inviting pub welcomes both muddy boots and wet dogs. The set lunch is very good, with homemade pies, asparagus risotto and a homemade Indian thali among the options, and it offers steak nights, Sunday lunch and a changing dessert menu. Thornton reservoir itself is owned by Severn Trent Water and opened to the public in 1997 with help from the National Forest Company. The two-and-half-mile circuit takes in woodland and waterside settings, popular with walkers, cyclists, birdwatchers and fly-fishers. • Soup £4, two-course lunch £12.50, two-course evening menu £15, thereservoirinnthornton.co.uk

Stage 2: Thornton reservoir to Bradgate Park (5.85 miles)

The Stables at Stoneywell. Photograph: Alamy

Stoneywell, Ulverscroft, Leicestershire Four miles off the National Forest Way but still within Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire’s first National Trust property is worth the detour. This intentionally wonky-looking heritage cottage, which resembles something from a children’s adventure tale, was built in 1898 by designer-architect Ernest Gimson. A leading figure in the arts and crafts movement, he designed it as a summer house for his brother Sydney but it became home for generations of Gimsons until Sydney’s grandson Donald approached the Trust in 2012. It has been restored to its 1950s look, and expert guides take you through the warren-like interior. • Guided tours only. Booking essential (closed Dec-Jan). Adult £8.60, child £4.25, family £21.80, nationaltrust.org.uk/stoneywell

Stage 1: Bradgate Park to Beacon Hill (7.23 miles)

Old John Tower, Bradgate Park. Photograph: Alamy

Horseshoe Cottage Farm Expect Aga-baked cakes, homemade bread, free-range eggs from the Horseshoe’s own hens, and local cheeses at this green-thinking, three-room guesthouse converted from a 200-year-old farmhouse. Owners Tim and Linda Jee grow vegetables in their kitchen garden, and even press their own apple juice. It’s around the corner from Bradgate Park, home to deer herds, 500-year-old oak trees, Old John Tower and the ruins of the family home of Britain’s nine-day queen, Lady Jane Grey. The end of this stage is rewarded with views from Beacon Hill, Leicestershire’s second-highest point. • Doubles £100. Supper £22.50/dinner £30 (BYOB), horseshoecottagefarm.com

For more information visit The National Forest (nationalforest.org) and the National Forest Way (nationalforestway.co.uk). The National Forest website has downloadable step-by-step directions, complete with OS maps. Leaflets and waymarkers are colour-coded; purple for westbound walkers, orange for eastbound

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