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jorvikwildhorse · 1 year

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Thoughts on Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch

Hey horse game blog. I played another horse game recently and had some Thoughts, so i decided to share just in case anyone else was still on the fence about picking this one up. I personally couldn’t find a lot of reviews on this game other than “Heyyy, this is coming out soon and it’s a horse game!!” so uhhhh here’s mine, i guess!

[I’m very certain this cute, tiny gazebo isn’t supposed to be here and is actually a bug]

Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch is a game where you can tame, breed, and race horses. Alongside your horse companion you can explore an island and rebuild your disused estate into prime equestrian property.

Right off the bat, I would caution anyone looking to purchase Horse Tales for the Nintendo Switch. I don’t know what it’s like on other consoles, I’ve heard it is an overall more stable experience, pardon the pun. On the Switch, the game is poorly optimized. It chugs when loading into just about any area, pop-in is ever-present and in handheld mode it degenerates to a blurry, pixelated mess. The game is quite buggy, and I’m not sure if this is just on the Switch or if the other platforms suffer in this way. Entire quest-lines can be bugged with certain features like genetic testing for your horses being locked behind them waiting for developers to patch the game. Even though building and crafting are one of the core gameplay aspects, sometimes the game will straight up forget where you placed an entire structure or tree and you’ll have to expend the materials to rebuild them.

[Behold: an athlete]

Beyond the bugs and performance issues, the game itself is a bit half-baked. I understand this is a smaller game from a smaller studio and even sports a smaller price tag, but questionable design choices really dragged down my experience overall. Once you finish your main quests, there isn’t much to do other than collect material to build decorations or expand stable capacity on your estate, breed horses and run around the environment. In most other games, I am happy to do these activities (really, I am not very hard to please! Gamers hate how little it takes for horsefolk to be happy.), but that really is all there is to offer once you’ve completed the handful of story quests.

The explorable world is vast, but not sprawling. You’ll find many winding, yet restrictive and narrow paths to traverse, but you’ll be retreading that same ground often. There’s no fast travel beyond a reset to your centrally located estate, so if you need to go very far to talk to a character or collect some material for your next building then you could be in for a long trek. While I don’t mind meandering around these paths on a nice trail ride or even testing out the speed of a new horse, it can be frustrating that there’s never going to be such a thing as a ‘quick trip’ to fetch some wood or other material. You’ll always be making that long trip out of the valley that surrounds your estate no matter which shortcut you open up. There’s also no minimap or direct button for your map. It’s always: open menu, tab over, wait for the map to eventually load, and then plan out what route you’re going to take. You can only have one waymarker at a time and it does nothing for path-finding, it only shows you the distance remaining between you and your objective.

Towns are eerily depopulated no matter how big they are or how many houses they have in them. I’m pretty sure there are only like, 6 people that live on the island, giving it a weirdly abandoned vibe, which I’m very sure was unintentional. The design of the world is almost entirely horse-centric, which is fine! And good! considering the theming of the game. But sometimes you’ll come across a random parking lot in a forest surrounded by wilderness and think, who is this for? Who actually lives here and needs this? (It reminds me of the paved suburban streets of New Hillcrest in Star Stable Online. Like, who needs this in an almost entirely rural horse-based infrastructure? lol) The cast of interactive characters that reside on the peninsula are less characters than they are quest-givers, their dialogue is bland and almost entirely to inform you about certain game mechanics making for quite an isolating experience.

An unintuitive and stilted quest progression often leaves you in the dark about how to access useful features quickly. Basic features like washing your filthy, stinky horse (who will acquire grime every time you flub a jump, which for me was, uh, often) or building a house so your player character can stop living in a tent when your horses live in luxurious barns are often hidden down not-so obvious side-quests.

[This was one of the first horses I bred. No, I didn’t get to choose her name. No, for some reason the “press Y to rename horse” button doesn’t work. No, her genetics and coat coloration aren’t even displaying correctly, they belong to her dam. Yes, it is really funny that she hates stallions. Butch horse daddy.]

But I digress, the horses! That’s what this game is about! This is why we’re here. So far there is only one breed of horse that can be found in the base game, the Selle Français, with the Irish Cob being available as DLC. The animation of the horses’ gaits are fairly accurate and the animations that play when you pet and scratch your horse are super cute and endearing. I like that I could make little notes about each horse’s favorite snacks or places they liked to be scratched, but I could never fully enjoy looking them in the face as I found them quite hideous (lol). The games style is minimal and less focused on realism so less emphasis is placed on the conformation of the horses as bold coat coloration is, which I think is a shame, but I won’t fault them on it considering the scope of the game.

Breeding horses and playing with their genetic traits is a big draw of Horse Tales, and I did get a kick out of seeing a neat coat color crop up on my own homebred projects. I did think it was weird there was no horse raising or training aspect, however. Foals pop out as fully grown horses overnight and if you didn’t get the specific combinations of genes you were hoping for there’s really no incentive to bond with that horse anyway. There is a neat feature to train specific behavioral traits into your horse, but it serves only to make them hate water less, or be less afraid of the dark or heights. If your horse is born with sub-par stats there’s no way to train them to make them speedier or boost their endurance unless they were already born with a personality trait that makes them faster on certain terrain.

There are races for you to compete in, of course, but there’s no real intensive for you to breed your own horses with perfect stats when you can just capture wild horses with just as serviceable stats as you progress and explore more areas. Any wild horses with high endurance will win you races just fine and with the narrow pathways and tight corners of the racetracks (and compounded with the willful and shaky camera that fights you at every turn), super fast horses will just have you careening wildly into walls and jumps. Other than these races, there’s really no specific “jobs” you can breed for. It’s either cross country champion or, if your horse isn’t fast, pretty trail pony. I felt a bit cruel selling off my breedject horses that didn’t make the cut, but I really had no reason to keep them around, so it was off to market they went.

OVERALL, Despite what I’ve written sounding overwhelmingly negative, I did enjoy my time with this game! But between poor design choices and the copious amounts of bugs I found little reason to continue playing it. The game feels unfinished at worst and unpolished at best. If $40 is a lot of money for you, I wouldn’t pick it up just yet. That amount of money, while better than a full $60 AAA game price tag, has been a lot for me to swing in the past and I would be majorly disappointed to have used my hard-earned money on a game of this quality, even if it does have horses. I would wait until it goes down in price or if the devs fix it up and add anything worthwhile to it in future patches. If $40 isn’t a big deal to you and just desperately need a new horsey-game fix, then perhaps pick it up on a console that isn’t the Switch.

#Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch #horse tales emerald valley ranch #horse tales #jwhtext #other horse games

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sashi-ya · 3 years

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{+18} – Cherry Blossom & Tangerines – Trafalgar Law x Y/n – Part 3

Modern AU. Living in Seoul, SK. Everybody is alive. No spoilers.

Female reader. No physical descriptions. Everybody is +18, canon ages. Chopper is human.

Tw: Mostly SFW. ZoSan. Fluff. A/N: I haven’t had the chance to visit South Korea due to Covid, so everything included is pure research. Excuse me in advance if there is something that’s not 100% accurate! Keep in mind is purely inspired ♥

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31059467

» List of parts: {P1} {P2} {P3} {P4} {P5} {P6}«

Word Count: 4.9K

Law’s slender, soft, skilled fingers played over the silky material of my pyjama shorts. I wrapped my arms around his neck, softly brushing my fingers through his black hair. Our lips still pressed, our senses getting lost on the burning sexual tension that was finally being released.

The soon to be surgeon, slid a hand inside my satin blouse, and grabbed one of my breasts. Caressing it softly at first, but then searching for my nipple to press it firmly in between two fingers. I moaned his name, almost whispering, after all we were in the kitchen of a house living with ten more people.

Law began to trace a path from my mouth to my neck with sweet wet smooches, mixed with little bites, and I was slowly being taken to heaven, until I heard “Saaaaanjiii, foood!”. I whipped my head to the side and saw Luffy entering the kitchen.

Law and I remained still for a moment, until we realized that this was one of Luffy’s sleepwalks for food. He was technically asleep so he wasn’t aware of us, but the minimum sound could wake him up. So, we gently detached our bodies in silence, until Law had to shout to Luffy to stop. My somnambulist friend was about to hit his face with the fridge door, and Law had to catch him in order to avoid him getting hurt.

I was arranging my clothes quickly when I saw Sanji coming downstairs running and screaming, “Damn Luffy, I heard you shouting my name, what happened?”. The blond cook was covered in sweat and had a little red spot on his neck. I giggled a little looking how annoyed he seemed, but hey, at least Law and I weren’t the only ones who were interrupted.

Luffy finally returned to reality after a few slaps from Sanji and apologized laughing. I couldn’t get mad at him; he is just too sweet. Sanji agreed on cooking something fast for him and began with his work.

“So, guys, what were you doing here?”, asked Luffy pointing at Law and I with his mouth full. I widened my eyes, while thinking for an excuse, but Law spoke first, “I couldn’t sleep, so I came to the kitchen to have some water. Y/n-ya was here having tea, and she offered to prepare some for me, that’s it”. “Uhum, I couldn’t sleep either”, I said.

Luffy looked at us for a moment, but he quickly believed in our words.

Suddenly, we heard from the stairs Zoro’s sleepy voice, “Oi, nosebleed-kun I’m waiting…”. Law, Luffy and I turned our faces to Sanji, who instantly turned red. I bit my lips trying to stop myself from laughing, but when my eyes met Law’s face, we began to laugh out loud. This was the first time I saw Law laughing, my heart skipped a beat on how gorgeous he looked.

Luffy didn’t catch it at first, but after Zoro entered the kitchen with nothing more than his boxers on, the bell rang on his brain, “oh… hahahaha”.

“Marimo…”, said Sanji mumbling, “Go back to sleep…”. The one-eyed man was now standing still in front of us, probably unable to move, and blushed in his entirety. He simply said “We… we were playing with the Nintendo… uhm it was this idiot cook turn, so…. Uhm, whatever, I’m going back to sleep”. He turned around and almost ran upstairs.

We remained silent and the only sound we could hear was the sizzling sound of the eggs Sanji was cooking.

He turned his back at us and focused on the pan, he was clearly embarrassed, maybe a little sad because of us laughing.

Law stood up, told Luffy to go back to sleep and placed his hand over my shoulder, “Thanks for the tea, Y/n. We can continue our conversation tomorrow”. He said and smirked.

Those words made my body react instantly, a strike of pleasure stung my insides, and the idea of continuing what we’ve started that night installed on me, almost as a necessity.

“Sanji, go back to sleep, I’m sleeping with Luffy and the guys tonight, don’t worry”, said Law and left the room. Luffy followed him.

I waited for them to be upstairs and approached Sanji. “Oi, babe, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to laugh. I’m happy for you two, go back to him. Don’t worry, I’m not saying anything, nor Law, or even Luffy. I’m sure Law is now addressing Luffy at this point. If Zoro or you want to tell us, we will let you do it. Ok?”. I said to my favourite chef, placing my head over his shoulder.

Sanji caressed my hair and finally smiled back at me. “Thanks, Y/n-chan…”. He went upstairs and I put the dirty dishes on the dishwasher. Eventually I went back to bed, and the exhaustion won the fight between my insomnia.

The smell of breakfast made my stomach growl as I was waking up. “Mmm Sanji’s french toasts…”, I mumbled while opening my eyes and stretching my arms. “Good morning, Robin-chan”, I told my friend who had already woken up and was reading a book on her bed. “Good morning, sweetie, did you sleep well?”, she asked, and I nodded back.

Some sun rays were filtering through the big window of our room, we could see the beach and some sailboats on the distance. The sky showed no clouds, it was warm, some sakura petals danced with the breeze and fell to the ground. It was the perfect spring day.

We quickly got dressed and I didn’t even care much about my face. After breakfast I was taking a shower so, I didn’t put too much effort on my image. Robin and I went downstairs and met with the other ones in the kitchen.

Luffy was fighting with Usopp and Chopper for the food, as always. Law was drinking coffee and smiled at me when he saw me enter. Zoro was almost falling asleep over his plate, I guess he had a sleepless night after all… fufufu. Franky and Brook were outside having cola and milk, respectively.

Nami and Vivi come downstairs a few minutes after. Vivi hugged me from behind and scared me, and as she did, my hair uncovered my neck. “Oi, Y/n… what is that on your neck?”, she asked. “What? what do I have?” I started touching my neck in order to feel maybe something. “Is that a hickey?” inquired Nami, almost whispering. Luckily, no one else heard due to the guys fighting. “Nami, shut the hell up…” I sentenced my friend, with my index over my mouth.

“Damn Law, he must have bit me so hard yesterday that now I have a mark…” I thought while covering back my neck with my hair. Suddenly I received a message on my phone. @DrHeartStealer > I’m sorry ;). I looked up to Law and he was looking at me with puppy eyes, that by the way, were fake as hell. He was enjoying this… And I… well… I was kind of too.

“I think last night was a little bit turbulent, right Sanji? Law? Zoro?” Nami, who didn’t want to stop, and that obviously knew everything that happened the night before without even being told, mocked the guys.

“Shut up, baka”, Zoro told her, grabbing his forehead with no energy at all and perhaps affected by the lack of sleep and the hangover. Sanji was more blushed than last night, and Law didn’t show a single emotion, he seemed as if he didn’t give a single fuck about it.

Usopp who had now stopped fighting with Luffy, said “Oi… wait a minute, Sanji, what’s that on your neck?”. I realized Zoro was about to throw a plate at the big nose nosy guy, so I told Usopp to stop only using my expressions.

We finished eating breakfast and decided that today was the perfect day to visit Shinhwa Theme Park. I loved roller coasters and theme parks, so I was super excited to visit the place.

We went to our rooms to get ready when suddenly Nami and Vivi entered mine like a hurricane pouncing on me and demanding me to tell them why I had a hickey on my neck. I couldn’t refuse, so I accepted my destiny and told them of my encounter with Law last night.

Even Robin seemed excited, the girls were jumping and giggling. They were really happy for me, not only because Law seemed like a good catch, but also because it’d been so long since I dated someone.

My girlfriends decided to help me get ready for the park, so they brushed my hair, chose my outfit and even my makeup. I knew I didn’t need all of that, but frankly I enjoyed it, so I didn’t complain at all.

When we arrived at the park, the employees gave us little plastic bracelets and we headed to the first attractions.

I ran to the biggest roller coaster and insisted everyone to come with me, but almost all of my friends refused my invitation right away. “Are you kidding me, Y/n? there is no way I’m riding that huge thing, forget it”, said Usopp.

Luckily, Luffy, who loves new experiences and doesn’t know about fear, agreed on coming with me, as well as Franky. We headed to the short queue and waited for our turn. A few minutes after, Law, who was buying some water bottles when I asked the guys to join the ride with me, approached us saying, “Oi, can I join?”. “Of course, Torao!!” said Luffy, jumping with excitement.

When it was finally our turn, Franky sat with Luffy smirking at Law. “May I sit with you, Y/n-ya?", asked the sexy doctor. "Of course, if you are afraid, you can hug me …", I said, with a defiance expression. "Tsk.. we'll see who gets frightened first…".

“Welcome to the Dancing Oscar! Are you ready to experience extreme fun?! But first, let’s watch the safety rules!”, the safety video began to play on the little screens in front of us. Law and I were sitting behind Luffy and Franky, and as the video finished, he turned to me. “Well, let’s keep you safe…”, he said, coming even closer to my face. Law grabbed the safety restraints that were in between my legs first, caressing the inside of my thighs -that the girls insisted on me showing by using a cute short-, then the ones that were over my hips. He ably fastened them together in the buckle and pulled the belts in order to tighten them real hard. Finally, he tightened the ones over my breasts. I gasped, the pressure, the soft touch of his hands over my skin, the feeling of being taken care of, maybe… even being dominated by him… He was teasing me, and my body was reacting to it. “There, now you are safe”, he said patting my left thigh and smirking.

I closed my legs, pressing my core against the tight straps, mumbling something similar to a thank you. I was desperate to feel some type of release, and the pressure over my pleasure point was the fastest way. Even though it wasn’t enough.

He secured himself and soon after the ride started.

When the cart slowly approached the highest point took about a minute to finally be released gaining speed faster that I was expecting. Not only me, but also Law, got so scared that we grabbed each other's arms and started shouting. Something flashed my eyes, but I was so scared that I didn’t even think of what it was.

After experiencing the adrenaline of the loops and the ups and downs of the track, it finally came to an end. When the cart finally stopped on the starting point, my heart was pumping harder than ever, my blood pressure was a mess, and my head was spinning. I began to laugh really hard, grabbing my stomach. “Oh, dear Lord, it was amazing!!!” I screamed, Luffy and Franky followed me, while Law looked at me regretting the moment he decided on hopping on. He was pale and seemed as if he were about to throw up.

“Law, are you ok?” I said chuckling. “I am…”. He answered and began to untie the belts.

When we were getting off the ride our friends came to us laughing. “Oi, Y/n, Torao, what is it with your faces? “said Usopp, showing us a photo with the theme park frame of Law and I looking at each other in fear, almost hugging, seconds after the cart began the falling action. “Oh… so that was the flash I saw”, I said while my cheeks turned to fire. Law snickered, grabbing the photo, and said “I’m keeping this one, your face is just too funny”. I looked at him frowning, but I couldn’t deny he was right, after all. Plus, him wanting to keep a photo of us made me feel all bubbly inside.

The day went by with us having fun, riding attractions, buying souvenirs, taking photos. Our cheeks were really sunkissed, as well as our shoulders. The night came, and we were ready to enjoy the firework show the park offered every night.

Everybody gathered in the centre of the park and the brilliant lights drew pretty images over the sky, the soft sea breeze refreshed my cheeks. My friends were smiling, having fun. I could see Zoro and Sanji looking at each other with a love expression on their eyes, Vivi and Nami holding hands, Robin placing her head over Franky’s shoulder. Love was in the air, and it felt wonderful.

I kept enjoying the light show, when suddenly Law approached me from in between the crowd and subtly grabbed my pinkie finger with his. Softly, without taking our sight from the fireworks, I grabbed his whole hand. And we remained like this, holding hands, with a smile on our faces. My heart beating quickly, and soon the feeling of butterflies in my stomach followed. “Is this… more than sexual attraction?” I thought, but quickly decided to stop thinking and simply indulge on the moment.

The show ended and we let go of our hands. Our friends and we walked to the parking lot and headed back home.

We were so exhausted that we went right to our bedrooms and threw our bodies into our beds. Soon I had the idea of texting Law, and so I did. I grabbed my phone and sent him, “@SunflowerDr > have a good night, sleep well. Remember we got a “conversation” pending…xoxo.” A few minutes after he answered, “@DrHeartStealer > have a good night, doll. I got an idea for tomorrow, we could continue our conversation there…, sleep well”.

“Did he just call me “doll”?” I bit my lower lip wondering about his idea and my body burned in anticipation for the next day.

I passed out soon after until next morning.

The day seemed a little cloudier than the day before, and Nami, who was about to get her degree in meteorologic science, told us that probably a storm was coming to the island at night. So, we thought about a good plan for the day, and Robin suggested visiting “Manjanggul Lava Cave”. Jeju is a volcanic island and the lava flow from the volcanoes had created caves or “lava tubes” on certain places of the island that now are solidified. Who else could suggest visiting a cave more than our archaeologist friend?. We agreed on visiting the place and after breakfast, we quickly drove there.

We all submerged on the underground cold dark caverns. A little train inside the cave took us to the deepest point. Blue, purple, pink lights illuminated the stone pillars and stalactites that were widely spread through the tunnels.

“God, I’m kinda cold, aren’t you?” I said to Chopper who was walking next to me. “Yeah, that’s why I told you to bring a jacket, dummy”, he said to me and was about to give me his jacket when Law appeared from behind saying “Don’t worry Tony-ya, I’m a little hot. Here, take my jacket Y/n-ya”. He took off his black coat and put it on over my shoulders.

Chopper giggled a little and told us that he would be going ahead to take some pictures of a specific rock called the “Stone Turtle”.

We were left alone once again. The ambrosial scent of his coat invaded my senses, a sweet perfume with notes of tangerine, ginger and perhaps a little amber mixed with some marine breeze was the perfume Law probably used every day. I revelled on the smell and kept walking in silence next to him.

Suddenly a few bats appeared flying from a dark spot and I got scared as hell, so I jumped over Law. He held me tight to avoid us falling. “Don’t worry, they won't hurt you, I read at the entrance that some rare animals live in the tunnel, such as these bats”, he said to me with a calming voice while grabbing me tight in between his arms.

I looked up to him with a pouty face and he smiled at me with cuteness. I wished we could have stayed like that a long, long time, but sadly Usopp, Brook and Chopper came running, escaping from more bats chasing them. “Ahhh get away!!!”, “Ruuuuuun for your liiiiveeees”, “Robin where the hell did you bring us?, yohohoho”. (The bats were obviously being chased by Luffy…).

We separated as my terrorized friends passed in between us. And began to laugh as they kept running to where Nami was. That only meant one thing… a few bumps on their head.

A few minutes after, Sanji started asking us if we had seen Zoro. Of course, we haven’t, he was lost once again. On a big cave, full of tunnels that were almost a kilometre long each.

We spent almost half an hour searching for Zoro, until Robin found him. “Marimo, you have no sense of direction!! I told you not to separate from us!!”, shouted Sanji to the green hair boy, trying to cover how worried he was for him. “Oi, idiot cook, I didn’t get lost, you did!”.

We finally left the cave and returned to the surface. Outside it was warmer enough for us to head to our next destiny, the Sanbangsan mountain hot springs. We only had to drive a few kilometres to get there.

The girls and I were pretty much excited because we could show off our new bikinis, so we got changed into them and headed to the natural pools of thermal water. The boys were already inside, enjoying the warm bubbly water.

“Look at these sexy ladies!, wanna be our friends?” said Franky joking around while helping Robin to enter the pool.

A few beads of sweat ran through my back, but I didn’t know if I was feeling hot due to the steamy water or because of the image of Law half naked, exposing his whole tattooed chest, with his head thrown back, eyes closed and his hair wet.

I fixed my eyes on his anatomy, the well-defined abs, the tattoos on his arms, how his fingers played with the water around him. I dreamt with open eyes of how I wanted to travel with my tongue all over his tanned skin, every little mark he had, any spot.

Law opened his eyes, and still with his head thrown back, gave me the sexiest look accompanied with a little laugh, “heh”.

If we were alone I might have jumped over his lap and fucked him right there. “Oi, Y/n!!”. A voice pulled me out of my dreaminess. “What is it Nami?” I asked my friend who was flailing me by my arm. “You two should go and fuck right now, we are getting a little bit uncomfortable with all of that sexual tension you both have”, reprimanded me my redhaired friend. “Shut up…”.

We stayed there chatting and relaxing more than two hours, the sun was setting, and the cloudy sky showed precious colours.

I decided that I should go take a shower to rinse the sodium out of my skin on the community showers of the complex. I had planned the way I was going to stand up, trying to show my “sexy ass” to Law, for the last half hour. So, I executed my plan almost perfectly… and said almost because when I decided to walk looking at Law over my shoulder I slipped with some sort of slippery substance on the rocks. I almost felt but while trying to keep balance I got a sprained ankle.

Law and Chopper ran to save me, as the good future doctors they were, but I wished I had killed myself. The embarrassment invaded my body… damn.

“You only have a sprained ankle, Y/n-ya, don’t worry with some ice and ibuprofen you’ll be good in no time”, said Law softly examining my ankle. My eyes were teary, my cheeks red and everyone was trying to hold their laughter. Vivi approached us and told Torao to bring me home first, so I could put some ice there, and as she said so she winked an eye at me. Damn Vivi, she knew me more than anyone there. I realized that I have created unintentionally the perfect excuse to be alone at last with Law, and she was helping me.

Robin brought me a towel and I tried to stand up, but my foot hurt more than I thought, “Auch, auch, auch…”. Law didn’t hesitate and carried me in his arms bridal style to his car.

“Be careful, don’t hit your head”, Law said while helping me sit on the front seat of the yellow car. I wasn’t speaking, I was too embarrassed to even say thank you.

He started the car and began to drive down the mountains through the winding road. Ahead, a breath-taking landscape was shown. The sun slowly disappeared in between the mountains, and the lights of the city defined the coast. The sky was now fully covered in stormy clouds, and a few lightings began to show in between the menacing cumulonimbus above us.

“Finally, alone”, said Law breaking the silence. I looked how focused on the road he was, worshiping his profile, the piercings on her ear, the muscles on his neck. I plucked up courage and asked, “do you still have the idea you told me yesterday over text?”. “I do, plans might have changed a little, but I think we could still make it, do you trust me?”, he said.

I wanted to know about what was going to happen, but the thrill of it being a surprise, letting him lead the way made me accept right away, “I do, lead the way doctor”.

We finally arrived at the city and the surgeon parked the car without turning the engine off. He grabbed his phone and searched something. The GPS immediately began to give directions to a specific address, so he got back to driving. “Wait a second, do you want something special?, I’m buying you some anti-inflammatories for your ankle”. “Oh thanks, uhm nothing else” I told him while he unfastened his seat belt and got out of the car.

Some minutes later, he handed me the analgesics and a bottle of water. While drinking from the bottle I could see from the corner of my eye how he quickly put away something on the glove box.

I was still using my bikini and a towel to cover me, so I asked Law if he could help me reach my bag from the back seat to put on a dress. He agreed and passed me the backpack, and then helped me put the dress. He also put on a clean shirt over his swim shorts.

“Are you hungry? What about a spontaneous dinner date?”, he said rubbing his thumb over my cheek. I smiled, satisfied, because after all his plans weren’t simply fucking. “Do you prefer something fancy or something more private?, I’m not trying to be cheap, it’s just that if we decide to go somewhere fancy we should come back home to get dressed properly”. Even if I were dressed like a princess I wouldn’t have chosen the “fancy” restaurant. Truth was that I didn’t want to waste any time, I didn’t want more interruptions, I wanted to be alone with him.

“I prefer something more private. We can go to this place on the beach, it isn’t luxurious, but I saw some photos on my phone”, I said to him while searching for the place web page on my phone. He smiled while looking at the screen of my cell phone. He seemed happy with my choice, and I could see why. He was a quiet and reserved man, so this place was perfect for our “first date”.

We drove to the location and left the car on the parking lot next to the pretty little restó. The intensity of the pain in my ankle was now pretty low so I was able to walk normally. Law, though, told me he would help me and grabbed my arm, so we walked together at the entrance. I don’t know if it was because of my sprained ankle or simply just an excuse for physical contact. In any case I was happy about it.

A maître that reminded me of Sanji welcomed us inside and took us to a little table next to the sand over a wooden deck with warm yellow lights strips, garnishing the also wooden roof. In the distance, over the horizon, the moon was vaguely peeping through the stormy clouds. Nami’s predictions for tonight seemed to be a few hours away to come true.

A tall, slim waitress came to us and asked if we had already chosen our food, without taking her eyes off Law. She was clearly trying to flirt with him, and I was burning inside… I got jealous, really jealous. Yet I couldn’t say anything, after all this was our first date. Law calmly gazed at me and told the maiden “My beautiful girlfriend and I will have two bowls of bulgogi”. Wait, what?... beautiful girlfriend?...

The waitress gave me a dirty look and walked away. “Ha, suck it, he is mine!”. I thought and giggled. I preferred not to ask about him calling me “his girlfriend”, but instead I changed the topic. We chatted a little bit about our careers, specialities and about surgery. Despite the unfriendly appearance he radiates, talking to him was easy, I felt as if I have known him for years.

We finished our plates and decided to leave the place. He opened the car door for me and helped me to get inside. To be honest I had forgotten about my injured ankle at that point, but he was still taking care of me in a chivalrous way. Mr. Donquixote raised him well…

“Let’s go to the beach”, he said in an adventurous tone. The storm was then over us and at any moment the rain could start, so I told him, a little confused, “It’s about to rain, are you sure?”. “I am, trust me. You won’t get wet… at least not for the rain”, he said smirking. I squirmed a little with those words, he sounded so sexy…

He drove along the boulevard next to the beach. Suddenly, he parked the car. “We are here, let’s go”, he said. He held my hand and softly pulled me leading the way through a little path over the sand made out of wood.

The path led to the entrance of an old lighthouse. A few raindrops began to wet my cheeks when we got to the entrance of the beacon. “What is this place, Law?” I asked him, curious. “My grandfather was in charge of this lighthouse some years ago, then the government built a more modern beacon on the port of Jeju, so my grandfather retired. Yet the commune decided to maintain it as part of the city, and also because I guess my grandad was appreciated by the people of Jeju.” I saw a copper commemorative plaque with the name “In loving memory of Mr. Trafalgar Law”. “You have the same name, how cute…” I told him as he opened the door, and we entered the place to take shelter from the cold rain that started pouring over us.

He asked me to wait at the entrance and headed to the back part of the place. He turned on the lights and I could see how the place had been decorated with string lights, pillows on the floor, some blankets, and a few candles that he began to light one by one. He did this just for me?...

“I… I hope you like it. I don’t know if you are really into romantic stuff. The guys helped me yesterday, while you went to sleep”. My eyes got somehow a little bit watery, no one has ever made anything remotely similar to this for me, it was just perfect. “I love it, Law. This is so perfect…”, I said and ran to him -my ankle did hurt a little, but I didn’t really care -. “Careful…” he said, receiving me with open arms.

I softly planted a kiss on his lips, and slowly we sat over the pillows. He grabbed my face with his hands and stopped kissing me just to look into my eyes. My back slowly approached the pillows and now I was laying there with Law settled over me...

Part 4

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ink-stained-words-inactive · 3 years

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Six [Pride] Flags

Description: Field trip becomes double date for group of friends

Word count: 834

Warnings: None

Four friends were at an amusement park for a school trip. They were on a ride, excitedly waiting. "Here we go!" said Amber as the seat shot up into the air. This was Amber's favorite ride. She was screaming and whooping as loud as she could. Casey, sitting on the far left, was admiring the view of the theme park. Luke, in between the girls, was laughing at how tiny everyone looked. Todd, on the far right however, looked like his soul left his body. He wasn't a fan of big rides but didn't want to look like a wimp in front of everyone, especially Luke.

The seat came down as the ride was over. The group stumbled out. Amber, pumping with adrenaline, rushed to the next ride. Casey went along with her as the boys stayed behind, needing a break from the thrills. Amber told them she would text them after the ride and ran off. Luke and Todd found a bench in the shade across from a Dippin' Dots cart.

"The drop was pretty fun, yeah?" Luke said with that brilliant smile of his.

"'Y-yeah, I've never been on that one before," Todd stumbled over his words, not used to being alone with Luke. They were always with the girls, even then Todd tended to sit next to Amber since they've known each other for a while. Luke noticed Todd's face turned red and thought he was overheating

"You want some ice cream? You look a little warm," Luke asked, already getting up. "Is there a flavor you like?" Todd was flustered and just shook his head. Luke ran over to the line while Todd stayed on the bench, blushing immensely. He developed feelings for Luke fairly quickly, but was still in the closet, except to Casey.

Meanwhile, the line Casey and Amber were in stretched on for a while. It was the park's biggest attraction, a humongous roller coaster with all kinds of special effects! Amber has been dying to go on it ever since it opened last month. She was chattering on excitedly to Casey who was listening very closely.

She could listen to Amber talk for days, especially when she's passionate about something which isn't rare for Amber. She and Todd have a pact to confess their feelings today at the park. They were the only ones who knew about each other's secret. Casey had planned to confess before the big drop. In the case of Amber rejecting her; Casey could play it off as Amber misheard her.

Luke finally got through the Dippin' Dots line and ran back to Todd. "I just got cookies and cream for you, it's my favorite," Luke handed Todd one of the containers.

"It's my favorite too!" Todd smiled, less nervous about confessing. Now wasn't the right moment though. They laughed and talked about their other favorite foods, which they have a lot in common.

When they were done they decided to go around to the games. The boys were huge fans of Pokémon and the park had tons of them as prizes. Todd's favorite was Jigglypuff while Luke was fond of Charmander. They sometimes played together on their Nintendo consoles.

After winning a few Pokémon plushies, the boys decided to get a snack. They agreed on fried dough, extra powdered sugar. As they sat down, Todd felt the moment was right

"Hey Luke," he started. He had to clear his throat while Luke looked at him questioningly. "I have something to say," Todd took a deep breath then Luke interjected.

"I want to say something to you too! I've wanted to say it for a while. Should we say it at the same time?" Luke started to get nervous, a rare feeling for him. Todd agreed to this and they both counted down.

"Three, two, one... I have feelings for you!" They said in unison, neither one registering for a few seconds.

On the other side of the park, Casey and Amber were finally on the roller coaster, front car too. Casey started out by saying "We've been friends for a while, and I've been thinking." They were at the top, Casey was sure Amber wasn't listening. She timed it right with the cart "I LOVE YOU AMBER!" She yelled among the other riders screaming.

The boys went over to the ride and were looking at the pictures. As soon as a particular one came up, the girls caught up to them, smiling and holding hands. Amber saw the picture and pointed it out. "Aw we look so cute!" she squealed. The picture was of Amber kissing Casey on the cheek after her confession. She noticed the boys also holding hands. Todd gave her a subtle nod. They smiled at each other, knowing neither would have gone back on their word.

Back on the bus, students saw the newly formed couples. They could hear kids whispering about bets they had. "You owe me 10 bucks," one said. They just laughed it off.

#writeblr #writing #original writing #creative writing #short story #my writing #fluff #lgbtq #mlm #wlw #wholesome #wtwcommunity

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dishabanerjee · 3 years

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STILL GOTTA CATCH ‘EM ALL: Pokémon 25

I want to be the very best,

Like no one ever was.

To catch them is my real test,

To train them is my cause!

The opening lines of a theme song that's still stuck in our brains. A fictional multiverse from our childhood that we even now connect is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the franchise release. The franchise is non-other than Pocket Monsters or better known as Pokémon.

Started by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori, the roots of the franchise came from a gaming magazine known as Game Freak in the early 1980s. At that time, the arcade scene wasn't doing well, and so Pokémon made its debut in Japan's Game Boy as well as Nintendo, the largest known electronics and video game Company in early 1996. Pocket Monsters: Red and Green the very first Pokémon game was a basic Japanese role-playing game that became the baseline for games that were released over time. Pokémon released a number of core games that not only changed the gaming experience but also introduced us to new and profound Pokémon characters from every generation. Pokémon: Sword & Shield (Gen 8) has recently been released, with a total of about 900 Pokémon’s filling up Pokédex from every region. Along with core games, there are a few side and spin-off games they've been a resounding hit.

Pokémon world is not just about video games but has developed over the years to such an extent that it has become a social and media phenomenon. A very successful and long-running anime with more than 1000 episodes was released because of its video game success in 1997. The anime had its own spin-offs, such as Pokémon Chronicles, Pikachu's Vacations, Pokémon Origins, and more. Outside the TV, there were 24 animated movies that were filmed parallel to the original series. The protagonist of the series, a 10-year-old boy named Ash Ketchum, and his partner, Pikachu, are working on a quest to become a Pokémon Master. So he's working his way up the ranks in the Pokémon Leagues across different regions. Starting from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Karlos, Alola and now his journey continues to Galar now.

In the year 2019, even a live-action Detective Pikachu was released, which also bought a decent success for the franchise. Outside the franchise Pokémon is referred to a number of TV shows like The Simpsons and The Big Bang Theory to video games like Civilization V, Grand Theft Auto V, and even Minecraft.

Outside the screens, it even boasts a long-running trading card game and seemingly endless numbers of toys and other merchandise. Pokémon theme parks or Poképarks have also been constructed in Japan and Taiwan. It's hard to find someone who hasn't at least heard of the franchise in some form.

In 2016, the franchise launched a new mobile game for both Android and IOS known as Pokémon GO. It soon became the biggest mobile game in the history of the world with more than millions active daily users. Unlike the video games of Game Boy and Nintendo, players need to go outside and roam around to capture Pokémon and fight with multiple players and gym leaders. The game's theme held true to its origins, but new spins were introduced. In essence, Pokémon Go called out both young and old’s inner Ash Ketchum.

The most remarkable thing about the Pokémon world is that it's really as large as ever, even today, 25 years since the series started. The unbridled popularity of this role-playing game series has remained high, arguably without a single mistake, even after 2 decades. When it started, Pokémon knew exactly what it wanted to be, and since then it has only gotten bigger, better, and more adventurous while staying true to the cornerstone laid 25 years prior. Celebrating the silver jubilee this year, the franchise promises that 2021 will be a Poke-filled year for the fans. With new and exciting experience coming on the way it only states that the Pokémon series will continue to entertain and inspire for generations to come who will want to catch ‘em all.

#pokemon #pokemon25 #new blog #anime #90s anime #nostalgia

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anettrolikova · 3 years

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Disney’s brand new direct-to-consumer platform acquired 30MM subscribers.

Disney has many of the franchises that best lend themselves to this model. Many of those they don’t own, such as Harry Potter, have their rights fragmented.

Disney’s Parks & Attractions segment generates nearly 100% more revenue and 60% more profit than Disney’s studio division (which already generates nearly three times the revenue AND three times the gross margins as its primary competitors). By turning hit films into theme park attractions, not only does Disney generate more “upside” from a hit than its competitors do, Disney’s breakeven point for these films is also much lower.

There is nothing that can compare to the impact of a child being hugged by her heroes. The ability to enjoy your favorite IP as “you” is unique and lasts a lifetime. Consider, for example, how many families have Disneyland photos of their kids with Mickey or Woody on the fridge.

because of real estate scarcity, lengthy build times, enormous capital requirements (exacerbated by Baumol’s Cost Disease), Disney’s theme parks, resorts, and cruises are incredibly difficult to replicate by another Western media company

It is incredibly profitable and will continue to grow as new mobile technology/personalization enhance the park-going experience. The barriers to replication are incredibly high and span both fixed investment (land and infrastructure) and skillset (e.g. design and boots-on-the-ground operations).

“Disneyland is an experience involving many moving parts in harmony, like an orchestra. Everything has to be tuned, what you hear, what you smell, what you see, how you see it, the speed at which you assimilate all of that, just like a film, is choreographed. But how do you choreograph that if you don't control the camera, because the camera is you — it's you when you come to Disneyland".

Games have been on the cusp of these experiences for years, but in 2020, they’re well under way. These are “games” like Minecraft, Fortnite, Roblox, to a lesser extent GTA Online, and Pokémon Go.

These titles offer many unique advantages compared to their analogue analogues. For example, they are always “open”, “everywhere”, “full of your friends”, and impervious to COVID-19. These games also boast an even larger (i.e. infinite) number of attractions and rides, none of which need be bound by the laws of physics or the need for physical safety, and all of which can be rapidly updated and personalized.

The durability and scalability of these experiences are connected to why they’re so hard to define. To consider them a “game” is to consider iOS a phone, or Disneyland a specific Pirates of the Caribbean roller coaster.

these parks were designed to (or have since been converted to) allow for anyone to be an “Imagineer”. The developers of these titles aren’t trying to make a “game” but a “game engine” that allows everyone to create and share their own attraction.

nearly every game that could be recreated in Minecraft has been (e.g. Metroid). Corporations have built in-game cellphones capable of making live video calls to the real world using real world physics, users have built enormous explorable worlds based on existing IP (e.g. Game of Thrones' King's Landing, which is the size of Los Angeles) and new ones (one player spent 16 hours a day for a year building a 370 million block cyberpunk city).

In this sense, these “digital theme parks” are really “digital theme park platforms”. Last year, Roblox paid out $100MM to developers (i.e. 1-20 person teams) against more than $500MM in UGC-based revenue. And in September, the company launched a “Marketplace” that allows developers to monetize not just their games, but also any assets, plug-ins, vehicles, 3D models, terrains, and items they made for it. This means developers can both reduce the time/effort required to create on Roblox, and receive additional revenue from the time/effort they invest.

the billions of hours American children spent imagining and acting out the adventures of Luke Skywalker and the Jedi with the 1970s and 1980s with figurines, robes, and lightsabers. However, this expansive imagination was forever trapped in brainwaves, backyards, and basements. It was hard enough to share these imaginary stories and world with close, in-person friends, let alone to faraway and unknown ones.

Today, it’s possible for the average fan to actually translate their imagination into a real, virtual space and then share it and play in it with their friends and world at large. And not only is it cool to do so, there are many companies designed around facilitating, promoting, and financially rewarding this behavior

most people don’t need or want to “make” a website or app. Billions, however, do dream of fictional worlds and wish they could share them with their friends. Just as tens of millions spent decades wishing they could build their own Super Mario levels — and now millions do via Super Mario Maker, which is one of the ten best-selling “games” on the Nintendo Switch.

Nearly every one of the underlying drivers behind these digital theme park platforms is growing: (1) their user bases; (2) the per user engagement; (3) the number and diversity of the experiences created by the community; (4) the ease with which a “player” can discover and jump from one experience to another; (5) the ease of creating an experience; (6) the technical and experiential capabilities of these engines/tools/experiences; (7) the ease and extent to which you can monetization individual creations (from individual assets to games); and (8) the importance of virtual worlds to the overall future of the Internet.

these digital theme park platforms own the overall customer relationship, billing, and all engagement data. But the core game engines are the most defensible; like the land and physical infrastructure of a park, they are built up over decades and impossible to fully short-cut. This includes not just enormous codebases, but years of enhancements to the end-to-end platform (e.g. core tech, tutorials, UI/X, community services) based on billions of hours of developer and consumer-side usage.

It’s likely that soon we’ll see D2C consumer product companies begin building their own bespoke experiences inside digital theme park platforms; the age of growth-hacking via referral codes, native podcast ads, SEO, and social is over.

The good news is more digital theme park platforms are likely to emerge.

although a new digital theme park platform is inevitable, the odds are low, the total opportunities are few, and the timelines long. In addition, it’s unclear how many platforms for UGC world creation are needed — just as most creators and consumers rely only YouTube or Twitch. Runners-up exist but are much, much smaller.

Disney could have ended up with one of these platforms with its multi-franchise “open world” sandbox-style video game, “Disney Infinity”. The game first released in 2013, received widespread acclaim, and generated a reported $200-300MM in revenue over the first three years. Despite this topline, the game’s performance nevertheless fell short of Disney’s $1B internal target and, with that in mind, presumably well short of breakeven, too. It was cancelled in 2016.

At Disneyland, attractions don’t open until they’re both complete, “perfect”, and predictable. There’s no real test, learn, change, repeat approach — especially compared to live, public experiments such as the Fortnite blackout. Hugs must be perfectly executed.

Every IP owner will need to figure out how to participate in digital theme parks and platforms — to figure out how to execute a digital version of the physical “hug”. This is especially true for those that don’t even have physical theme parks and for which the alternative — building one — would take more than a decade and $20B+ in capital.

“Detail level one is when you are standing out in the countryside and see the church steeple sticking up above the trees. Detail level two is when you enter town and are looking down the street. You can see the street, the median, the parkway strips, sidewalks, and trees. Detail level three is when you are standing on the sidewalk looking at one of the houses. You can see the character of the house, walls, roof, windows, trim, and doors. Detail level four is when you have actually walked up to the front door, grabbed the door knocker, see its detail, finish, and feel its temperature and weight as you knock on the door… most architects are pretty good at getting to level three, but here at Disney we must always get to the detail level four so we can maintain our immersive environments that our stories create”.

It is easy to say, “we can’t do it”, “we’ve tried and failed”, or “what even is the roadmap here”. These are fair and important rejoinders. However, as the “Imagineering Story” frequently reiterates, nobody at Disney had built a theme park, or had any relevant experience (other than narrative) before Walt insisted they do it. And it was messy, and uncertain, and chaotic, with the business folks (which I say with love as I am one) who were terrified of the cost, skeptical of the demand and long-term interest, and rattled by the lack of a clear business case. Note, too, that today’s leading platforms will, themselves admit they hardly know what they’re doing — and how can they? But of course, it helps when you can grow by letting your most imaginative and obsessive fans chip in.

#essay #long read #disney #disney parks #disney pixar #metaverse #future #vision #digital #theme park #mattball

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lemonietrinket · 4 years

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rules: answer the ten question, write your own, and tag ten people

tagged by @lucas-wongs

1. would you classify yourself as prep, geek, or jock? why? — geek bc i dont do trends like preps, i dont do sports like jocks, and im not at all popular sksksk. i guess im kinda smart so geek makes more sense imo

2. hogwarts house? — Ravenclaw and proud, we need more Ravenclaw pride and discourse on here

3. do you believe in astrology? — not a bit lmao. i do find it interesting to see how vague they are, what the signs say people like and how an actual person really is, and if im at a loss for making a small background character using the astrology memes and characteristics websites really helps, ill be honest

4. name one good thing that you did or happened to you today — uhhh... i played hollow knight and defeated a boss first try, that on my first play through a year ago whooped my ass about 30 times before i finally beat her, and i still havent died once yet either guess you can say im a little something that they call a pRO gAmER

5. what model phone do you have? — iphone 6....... i think

6. favorite NCT unit (127 / Dream / WayV)? — uHHHHHHHHH i love them all?!?!?!?!? but i guess it has to be 127 bc thats the only one with my ult in it :((

7. first NCT bias and current NCT bias? — well... usually i never have any problems with biases winner and day6 have entered the chat so johnny was my first nct bias and he still is. however since i have biases for each unit too, my bias for dream was chenle and is now jeno, and for wayv it was and still is lucas (tho i feel yangyang creeping up on me)

8. ideal first date location and why? — a funfair/theme park. yes im that basic bitch because throughout my entire childhood i only went to like three (two of which was bc of my grandparents making an intervention) even though i really really love them. i just love the ride and the food and the happy vibes if not the theme park, then the beach (for the same reason) and camping (for again the same reason, but i suppose thats a higher-tier-dating-level date isnt it)

9. what is something new you’ve been doing because of quarantine? if you haven’t done anything new, then what is one thing you’d like to learn? — ive just been doing the stuff i always do so... i want to learn to cook which i will be doing soon-ish

10. something you’d like to say to someone but you haven’t told them? — that theyre really emotionally manipulative and how much it hurt when they didnt support me bc my emotional and mental health couldnt be fixed with a hug and pretty words like they wanted. wow that god edgy quick

i’m tagging literally the first people that come up when i press @: @idontknowapil @ptg-runaway @minervaaaaaaaa @ethereal-lix @doesthismakemelookhuman @harvest-witch @johnnysuhs @mingiibabieee

here are my questions for you!

1. nintendo, sony (playstation) or microsoft (xbox)? why?

2. whats a song that you really like but you know that you really, really shouldnt?

3. whats the first word you would ‘write’ if you were served a bowl of alphabetti spaghetti?

4. whats the dumbest thing you believed for the longest time?

5. what language are the majority of the songs you listen to sung in?

6. fluff, angst or crack/humour?

7. which kid were/are you: the kid that runs into the classroom and demands the windows be opened after charging around outside and refusing to take their coat off, or the kid sitting right next to the window shivering after stupidly only bringing two extra layers and begging the teacher to not open them?

8. if you had to listen to (only) one kpop group for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

9. you are given the chance to erase one movie from the face of the earth—no traces will be left and no one will remember it except you. what film would you delete and why?

10. and the classic question: would you rather fight 1 horse sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?

#tag game #i spent way too long cultivating these questions

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thatshankcallednewt · 5 years

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Gally: Farewell - Epilogue

In case you missed it... Part One//Part Two

WARNING: Themes of death and suicide.

It had rained all night but the morning was sunny and crisp, cooler than usual but you knew that the warmth would come soon over the next few days. You liked the rain, it settled your nerves and helped you sleep at night. Gally liked the rain, too, because he had fallen asleep quicker than you which is rare. Most nights he’d toss and turn beside you restlessly, sometimes he’d still have his nightmares and you would be thrown back into your teen years of trying to calm him down, sometimes they were so bad that you would have to keep at it for a few hours, on and off, but you didn’t mind, you never minded caring for him.

“Are you… okay?” Gally questioned beside you as he steered the car around another corner.

You smiled, “You’re observant today.”

“I’m always observant.”

You peered out the passenger window on your side, “Well, you know…”

“Doesn’t get any easier, does it?”

You looked over at him, nodding, “Exactly right,” you laughed, “I remember thinking about where I would be a year later, even three. I wondered if we’d even still be friends, all of us. If we’d still visit.”

“Well, it’s been three years, how good was your prediction?”

You looked at Gally beside you in his dark hoodie and jeans, suddenly realising that the pair of you looked a little older than three summers ago, “Doesn’t matter what I predicted, I’ve got you, haven’t I? That’s all I’ll ever need.”

He smiled.

The car was soon parked downhill, Gally had a little trouble with his parallel-parking but you were soon out of his car in no time. You waited for him to lock the car before beginning the mini hike up the round hill where the cemetery entrance stood firmly. From below, you could already see some familiar faces.

You waved up at Newt and Thomas who stood by the opened gate. When you both finally caught up with them, they nodded over up at the hill, “The others are already there but we saw your car coming ‘round the corner,” Newt said, and he looked over to Gally, “good to see you got rid of that shit-box you used to drive.”

Gally cracked a grin, “Looks like you’re still driving Thomas around everywhere, aren’t ya?”

Newt laughed and Thomas only pouted, and you all began to make your way up to Alby’s gravestone, in the distance, you could already see the others standing around it.

You shoved your hands into your coat pockets against the cool breeze and stood beside Gally as you all crowded around Alby’s gravestone. It was well-maintained despite the amount of wind and rain recently. You watched as Teresa and Brenda put down some flowers and everyone was quiet, thinking about the good times had with him.

“Four years now, right?” Newt said, staring at Alby’s engravened name. His blond hair ruffled in the breeze.

Minho nodded, “Four years…” He scratched the back of his head uncomfortably, maybe he was nervous, “still feels like yesterday… like, as if it were only last night that we squished around his shitty TV and played Mario Kart or even Super Smash Bros on his Nintendo 64.”

“Remember the storm?” Teresa said, her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders and she was huddled up in her knit jumper.

“How could I forget,” Minho said, and he chuckled, “I didn’t go back until you guys came with me. Couldn’t even begin to explain it to my mom when she wanted to do a family trip up there…”

“Nothing like that has happened since, though, right?” Brenda asked, confirming by glancing at everyone, while everyone nodded and mumbled back. It was true, each summer that you’ve gone back to the house with the others, nothing ever even came close to that one weekend. Sometimes you think you might feel something watching you over your shoulder or hear something in the night, but you don’t think anything of it, because even if it was Alby, you know that he was just checking in to see how everyone was going.

Minho touched the gravestone carefully, and Thomas and Gally followed lead but neither of them said anything more.

Newt opened up a flask that he took from his coat pocket and splashed a little on the soil near his gravestone, “Still drinking your favourite whiskey, even though it’s the cheapest kind,” he swallowed a mouthful and rose it in cheers, before adding, “still tastes best in the morning.”

When Newt was finished, you took your hand out of your pocket and placed a small brooch on the stone near the flowers. He was as much of a nerd as you were and loved a lot of the same things that you did, you would always exchange stupid things like brooches or bracelets, necklaces or thrifted tops that celebrated the comics or video games or movies you both enjoyed. This brooch was one of the last ones you bought, only a couple of days before he died, and only three days ago did you find it again.

“I meant to give this to you… when you died, I couldn’t find it, I spent hours looking for it before your funeral,” you kept crouched beside the gravestone, “trust me to lose it.” You smiled sadly, “Wish I could have given it to you sooner." You stood up from the dirt and didn’t say anything else, instead, you stepped back into the circle, thankful for the hand that Gally gave as he slid his into yours.

Everyone crowded into the booth of the diner that was not far from the cemetery. It became a tradition, each year since the first summer without Alby, to visit his grave and go to the diner and plan the next trip. Even in death, Alby brought you altogether.

“So, where was it?” Gally asked, having remembered your almost emotional breakdown when you couldn’t find it before the funeral. You were curled up amongst the mess of your room, clothes and shoes and things strewn across the floor, sobbing, and Gally tried to help but you could only scream angrily at him. It wasn’t a memory you liked to think about, but you were reminded how Gally was always there for you, even in the darker times.

“It was in a box of college stuff I packed away ages ago, in a jacket pocket…” You shook your head almost incredulous, “The amount of times I wore that jacket and never noticed…”

Teresa drank a mouthful of her milkshake before catching onto something, she was always pretty good at reading people, “What were you doing with a box of college things?”

You grinned sheepishly and glanced at Gally who only shrugged, causing your friends’ stares to grow confused. You stared at your hands as they fidgeted with your napkin, “I was going through some things… donating clothes, ‘coz I need to get rid of a lot of my stuff,” you looked up at them, “Gally and I are moving in together.”

Your friends’ eyes lit up at your news and they congratulated you and you were reminded of the time when you told them that Gally and you were official.

“Remember when you two just ignored your feelings for each other?” Newt started with a smile on his face, “and I had to bloody nudge you both closer and closer… such a simpler time, that was.”

You rolled your eyes at Newt but laughed at his joke, “I guess, to your credit, Newt, you probably helped us along.”

“Helped you along?” he started, almost baffled, “I practically got you two together! If it weren’t for me on that stormy night—”

“I remember you pissing me off, that��s it,” Gally remarked which Newt only grinned at.

“Exactly,” he stated, “the only way to get Gally on the move is to piss him off—”

“Oh, so you planned it all along, huh?”

Newt went to argue with him some more, but you cut them both off by saying, “Slim it, both of you, it’s been a long day and I would rather not argue about my love life so openly.”

Newt smiled softly, his hair still a wild mess from the wind outside, “I’m just glad, for the both of you.”

You smiled at him and felt Gally’s hand on yours underneath the table.

“So,” Minho said as he rested his arms on top of the table, “where are we off to next?”

The group then proceeded to argue about holiday visits, it indeed had become tradition to visit Minho’s holiday home but something about this year set off a different vibe, a new place was on the table.

Thomas suddenly interrupted everybody’s arguing as he slammed his hands down onto the diner’s table, causing the few customers around to glance over their shoulders at the group, “If we don’t come to any kind of agreement, I’m flying off on my own to Fiji.”

“As if you even have the money to,” Newt remarked at which everyone giggled or laughed at.

You let them argue about where they wanted to go and stared out of the window beside you, it was drizzling again but only barely, there were water marks dripping down the glass and it blurred to blue and grey colours. You thought about the summer ahead of you and smiled to yourself and an overwhelming sense of thankfulness came over you: these friends you had, they were the best to come. And even though you were pulled apart by loss and grief, you found each other again, and you always would.

#thatshankcallednewtimagines #tmr imagine #tmr #tmr gally #gally #gally x reader #gally/reader #tmr fanfic #tst #tdc

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mushroomhedgehog · 5 years

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Update on Universal Orlando’s potential third park.

One of the big things I love is theme parks, especially those with heavy themes based on some really great films and TV shows. So it’s no surprise that I’m heavily anticipating the potential third park (fourth if you include the Volcano Bay water park) at Universal Orlando Resort. This has been rumored ever since Universal Parks and Resorts was reported to have acquired some more land near the resort not too long ago. Orlando Park Stop has been providing multiple leaks, which began with this first one last month at the end of January. It’s an image featuring a prominent character and confirms that Super Nintendo World is coming to this third park:

Of course, the image also shows that the third park will be called Universal’s Fantastic Worlds. Based on the name, it sounds like this park will take a similar approach to Islands of Adventure, with a focus of immersing guests within the worlds of various characters and franchises. A second leak was recently revealed earlier today, and claims that the Universal Monsters, specifically those from the 1930s such as Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Wolfman, and The Mummy, will be featured in their own themed area. The leak supporting this is the image below, which features what appears to be Dracula’s castle:

Having found this report from Orlando Park Stop as well, I looked back at the article of the previous leak, which had a few more images. OPS was even kind enough to combine the photos the best they could to piece together as much information as they could. Here’s what they came up with:

Take note of the copyrights section at the very bottom of this image. A lot of notable franchises are mentioned, including Jurassic World, Scooby-Doo, Beetlejuice, Fantastic Beasts (indicated by a fragment of the word “Grindelwald”), and as the previous leaks have mentioned, Nintendo and the Universal Monsters. It’s very possible that these could be hints of what is planned for Fantastic Worlds. However, it’s also possible they were merely mentioned in the document and had to be credited to their respective owners, and nothing more. However, there’s some factors I’d like to point out in regards to each of them.

First off, Beetlejuice and the main characters of Scooby-Doo are featured at Universal Studios Florida (the resort’s primary park) as meet-and-greet characters. They were featured in previous attractions that have since been closed, but unlike Beetlejuice, Scooby-Doo was not in a starring role in said attraction. I highly doubt those franchises were mentioned merely for the photo opportunities associated with them. Another major argument to consider is that Beetlejuice used to be the star of the Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue stage show, which featured the Universal Monsters. In short, I think it’s possible this show could return at the Universal Monsters area of Fantastic Worlds. As for Scooby-Doo, there’s a lot of possibilities for what could happen with that franchise. Maybe the meet-and-greet will also be moved over to the same area, as Scooby-Doo is heavily involved with monsters and supernatural much like Beetlejuice is, despite both being owned by Warner Bros. rather than Universal. Personally, I would love if Scooby-Doo recieved a new shooting ride similar to Men in Black: Alien Attack at the Fantastic Worlds. Various shooting rides themed to Scooby-Doo previously existed at numerous Six Flags and Paramount Parks, the latter of which are now owned by Cedar Fair. Following Cedar Fair’s acquisition, Scooby-Doo was removed from those rides, while the Six Flags parks later replaced their rides with new ones. If Universal were to make their own version of this ride with better tech due to a larger budget, it would be amazing.

In regards to Jurassic World, elements of those films are already featured at Universal Orlando. In the Jurassic Park area of Islands of Adventure, Owen Grady’s raptor Blue is featured as the star of the Raptor Encounter attraction, where she meets guests and poses for photos with them. That’s the only attraction with emphasis on the Jurassic World films though. It’s possible that Universal was aware that fans would be upset at Universal Studios Hollywood retheming Jurassic Park: The Ride to a Jurassic World update, and expected similar backlash would occur if the area at Islands of Adventure would receive a similar update. Building a separate area at Fantastic Worlds would not only allow for different kinds of attractions, but also keep the existing Jurassic Park open without a long wait to refurbish it. For instance, I would love a ride based on the geospheres, hopefully with animatronic dinosaurs rather than projected images of them. Furthermore, once this park is complete, perhaps Universal could still allow guests to experience the Jurassic Park franchise at Fantastic Worlds while they perform some maintenance on the Islands of Adventure area. Some of the animatronics could use a technical upgrade, and having a separate area themed to Jurassic World would be a great way to provide guests that happen to visit when the other area is down. Finally, much like the Hogwarts Express connected Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley at the two current parks, perhaps a monorail based on that in the first JW film could be featured to connect the Jurassic World area of Fantastic Worlds to the Jurassic Park area of Islands of Adventure.

Finally, we have Fantastic Beasts. As of right now, Fantastic Beasts has not been featured much even in the gift shops of either Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley. That is, until recently. In addition to the replica wands of Harry, Dumbledore, and other characters, replica wands of Newt, Tina, and Grindelwald have been available for purchase. But other than that, there’s been little presence of the franchise, compared to how much attention to Jurassic World was given in the Jurassic Park area of Islands of Adventure. This may be due to Jurassic Park being one of Universal’s own properties, as Harry Potter is a franchise licensed from Warner Bros, and the agreement did not include Fantastic Beasts. I would imagine this area would feature at least one thrill ride similar to those at the current areas based on The Wizarding World but with Newt, Tina, and others facing off against Grindelwald. I’d also expect a gentle ride involving a tour through Newt Scamander’s suitcase of creatures, complete with animatronics of various wacky characters.

At the end of the day though, all of this is speculation. Universal hasn’t even officially announced the park, so all we can go off of is speculation and any leaked information if we’re lucky. I would expect this park to open sometime before 2025 at the very least. But based on the fact that it took Universal two and a half years after announcing they would be building Hogsmeade back in 2007, and it opened in 2010, that means this park could take possibly more than twice than that long to build. And with other projects like Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure set to replace the Dragon Challenge later this year at Hogsmeade in Islands of Adventure, and another unannounced (but teased on social media) coaster for the Jurassic Park area of the same park, it’s not clear when construction will begin or an announcement will be made on this park. Hopefully one of those two will be soon, as we’ve already had a bit of a wait for Super Nintendo World after that was announced, and the first incarnation of that is scheduled to open next year at Universal Studios Japan. Either way, we’ll probably be waiting a while before we hear more information, especially if said information is confirming anything, rather than being speculation or rumors.

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bangtan · 6 years

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Inside BTS-mania: A Day in the Life of the K-Pop Superstars

The screaming begins just beyond baggage claim, when the first bob of purple-gray hair peeks up over the security wall separating the biggest Korean pop band in the world, in history, from its fans. Amid shrill hysteria, the seven soft-faced men of BTS stride through Los Angeles International Airport flanked by human trains of burly people in yellow “Event Staff” shirts. The boys smile, wave and, with the efficiency of British royals, slip past a few hundred young women and teen girls into black Escalades, their portal to the heart of the American mainstream. It’s mid-November and BTS have flown here from South Korea, propelled by the fervor of their admirers, a diverse group that calls itself ARMY (short for “Adorable Representative M.C for Youth”). The band is here for a string of high-profile TV appearances: They go from the airport to James Corden; Jimmy Kimmel the next day; then they’ll meet Ellen Degeneres, who’ll compare their U.S. arrival to that of the Beatles in 1964. But BTS are mainly in town to perform their hit song “DNA” at the American Music Awards – a performance that will make them Google’s top trending topic and set a Guinness record for Twitter engagement. Group leader RM (short for “Rap Monster”), 23 and palpably ambitious, compares the whirlwind trip to being “like surfers on a big wave.” But at 9 a.m. the day after BTS land, the vibe is more like “showing up for work.” We’re at a rehearsal studio when AMA reps arrive to shoot promo photos in the parking lot. Bubbly ham J-Hope, 23, an MC and onetime street-dance champ, walks out with his arms up, shouting, “Hello! AMA! Whoa!” The others trickle out with less ado and take turns getting primped, on the asphalt, by a team of stylists also in from Seoul. There’s Jimin, 22, the prettiest yet most puckish, a former top modern-dance student who’s currently shaving his chin while a woman holds a mirror. The perpetually wide-eyed singer V, 21, another art-school kid, who made his screen debut in a Korean historical drama last year, gets his purple-gray bob brushed and parted. A man uses a pick to dislodge something from the teeth of Suga, who like RM started his career as an underground rapper. Lead singer Jungkook, 20, a devout Belieber who joined BTS at 15, gets a streak of eyeliner. Meanwhile, singer Jin, 25, an aspiring actor so handsome he was recruited by a boy-band casting agent while walking down the street, shuffles quietly through the flurry. Their entourage is massive; I lose count in the mid-thirties. There are managers, publicists, a choreographer, a masseur, the interpreter, groomers, folks with cameras, unsmiling guards and several drivers with earpieces. Back home, BTS are pretty much only breaking their own records at this point – for video views, album pre-sales and chart placement – and it’s spilling over to other countries. Their recent EP, Love Yourself: Her, which features a song written with Andrew Taggart of the Chainsmokers, topped iTunes’ album chart in 73 countries, and BTS have become the first Korean-pop group to crack the American mainstream, with a Steve Aoki remix of their “MIC Drop” recently crashing the Top 40. ‪"We are so lucky that we’re living in this time, in 2017,“ says RM, the only one who can carry on a conversation in English. “When we post a tweet, it becomes translated to more than 30 languages.” The group’s lyrics – which are almost entirely Korean but close-captioned on YouTube and translated for sites like Genius – are a big part of its international success. BTS songs tackle issues like depression and anxiety. They promote progressive social ideals like female empowerment and accepting people from different backgrounds. They even address the internal unease of ditching less commercial career paths to become “idols,” as K-pop stars are called. BTS fans appreciate the band’s empathy, honesty, and independence—themes that are particularly in-demand amongst Western pop audiences these days. Plus, BTS set their message to canny hyper-modern production (frequently done by the members themselves) that devours all manner of EDM- rap- and R&B-leaning pop – think Major Lazer, Justin Bieber, DNCE, Logic, the Chainsmokers, Nick Jonas – and spits out a deeply catchy, slightly askew pastiche. After the photoshoot, the guys go in to practice their AMAs routine. From the opening whistle of “DNA,” they are a single-minded, many-limbed organism. Jin, who normally seems like he’s brooding, deploys pouty looks and precise hand jives. They goof around a bit – Jimin grabs Jungkook’s ass after the latter executes a balletic twirl – but are in the zone. An hour later, at 10:40 a.m., they’re chugging water and getting cooled off by women who use their entire bodies to swing paper fans emblazoned with the boys’ own faces. Jin quickly nods off in a rolling chair but is soon awoken by the masseur, who wants to jam an elbow into his shoulder; Jin winces as he does. Minutes later, V is yowling in pain, mouth wide as a handler treats a canker sore inside his cheek. Later, RM will dance with a bloody tissue in his nose – the wages of jet lag and constant hustle add up. An early lunch of cold burgers and fries seems meager compensation, but they eat with abandon. BTS, an acronym for Bangtan Boys (“Bulletproof Boy Scouts” in Korean), was built around RM and finalized via auditions. The group was assembled by a small company – Big Hit, run by songwriter “Hitman” Bang Si Hyuk, who co-founded one of the so-called Big Three agencies, JYP, before leaving it behind – which gives them underdog appeal. And while BTS came through the famously rigorous K-pop system, living in dorms together and training constantly, RM says Big Hit offers relative artistic freedom. To wit, in a unique spin on K-pop fan service, BTS build mythologies around their albums, like last year's Wings, whose theme comes from Hermann Hesse’s 1919 bildungsroman Demian. The concept appears in the lyrics, art and videos. Exactly how these subplots take shape is unclear, but it’s feasible that RM, who reads heady authors like Haruki Murakami and Albert Camus, is involved. “We try to make our own BTS context,” he says. “Maybe it’s risky to bring some inspiration from novels from so long ago, but I think it paid off more. It comes through like a gift box for our fans. That’s something you can’t find easily from American artists.” Instead, he likens it to Star Wars. “The big thing about creating our universe is expandability,” adds Suga, the most contemplative of the group, via interpreter. “Because it draws from our personal lives and interests, we can expand it as much as we want and it’s not alien for us. Having that allows us more diversity in the stories we can tell and the music we can make.” Do they feel free enough to write about Korean politics? RM says they’re working on a song that does so subtly, but Suga cautions that the subject “is fraught with danger, not in a literal way, but because of the risk of being misunderstood by young people who may not have fully developed sensibilities.” He’d rather focus on fostering understanding than “inciting conflict.” The rest of the group stays silent for our midday interview except to shout out ARMY and admit they’re eager for more crossover opportunities. As J-Hope puts it, “It’d be an honor for us to work with anyone.” RM says that, instead of breaking more records, the band’s mission is to promote individuality, which isn’t always encouraged back home. “Especially in Korea, there are all these standards: Get married, go to a nice university.” How will they spread that message? He smiles. “Better music and doper performances.” After selling out arenas in California, Chicago and New Jersey, BTS are planning a bigger U.S. run in 2018. They’re in unprecedented territory. Unlike PSY, their success here didn’t spring from a novelty hit – their rise up American charts was gradual and shows no sign of slowing. While they’ve brushed off the idea of an English-language album in the past, RM dropped English verses on a Fall Out Boy remix and Wale collab this year. At 1:30 p.m., it’s time to get ready for Kimmel. I follow BTS from the dance studio into the hall near their dressing room. There’s a folding table covered with silver rings, flashy necklaces and dangly earrings for the choosing. On the floor is an outsize ziplock full of identical Puma slides. After hair is redone and outfits adjusted, they load into the four Escalades with no fuss at all. As our caravan passes Hollywood Boulevard and turns onto the small street leading to Kimmel’s backlot and outdoor stage, we see them: more than a thousand BTS zealots who explode when they see us. They’d been waiting for hours. Kimmel music producer Mac Burrus later tells me a group of five teens spent two nights out there, on the street, in sleeping bags. In the green room, there is finally downtime. Suga and RM eat bananas. Jin plays his Nintendo Switch. Jungkook and J-Hope sleepily lean into one another on the couch. V lays on the floor to get his neck adjusted by the masseur’s bone-crunching assassin-twist before settling into a sofa to stream “Carpool Karaoke.” Around 4 p.m., producers bring in a couple ARMY moms for a skit where they taunt their girls, who are still in the line, via FaceTime from BTS’ inner sanctum. The daughters eventually come back and I steal them for a chat. Both discovered BTS on YouTube. Adriana, 24, is teaching herself Korean “slowly but surely” so she can hear the boys in their own tongue. Rosa, 18, insists, “Language isn’t a barrier when it comes to music.” At 6:20 p.m., BTS head to the stage. From the back, it sounds like there’s a roller coaster full of shrieking riders on the other side. A grizzled staffer walks by with a kooky grin, muttering, “This is nuts.” From the wings I watch the band rip into a six-song set that inspires face-clutching and tears. For “Save Me,” a “Where Are Ü Now” soundalike, the crowd deploys a coordinated K-pop “fanchant,” roaring each member’s birth name in perfect rhythmic succession. I can barely hear the music, so it doesn’t occur to me until the end that BTS don’t seem to be using vocal backing tracks, as a U.S. or U.K. group might – they rap and sing every last part while doing constant choreography. When it ends just after 7 p.m., an exhausted J-Hope flops onto the asphalt out of view of the crowd and his team, chest heaving, eyes wide. After 30 seconds, he picks himself up and rushes to join the other members of BTS disappearing into the hall leading to the green room. As he turns the last corner, a voice squeals, “Oh, my God! J-Hope looked back at me!”

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#bangtan #bts #v #suga #rm #jhope #jin #jungkook #jimin #t:article #171220 #rolling stone

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kiwiparallels · 6 years

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Townhouse, part III

(Part I, Part II) Music had never been a big part of Harry’s life. Not when he was little and Dudley was the one in charge of everything that played around the house, and not at Hogwarts as being chased down by a madman didn’t really have a soundtrack. He told the girls about his lack of knowledge in the musical department and they decided to school him. Each night, they would play different things on the pub’s stereo, showing him CD’s and tapes and records they had collected throughout the years.

The proximity with them was also what made him realize he soon needed to get up to date with muggle technology. As the house filled in with furniture, it also started filling in with cables and a brand new computer and even a cellphone. The right next day, one of them asked him for his number. Saved by the bell. He also bought a telly, a VHS player and a DVD player, even if it didn’t sound as the most fun thing to do, it was part of the deal. Most of the shows were uninteresting, or talked about sappy love stories he couldn’t relate to or great war tales he was fed up of. His life already seemed like the stuff that was made up to be on TV too much for him to appreciate it properly. On the other hand, Harry thought he had to ask Mr. Weasley to come by sometime. The house would be a theme park for him.

Eventually, it started to look like something that belonged to him. He separated a room for Teddy, in which he could grow. The small bed could turn into something bigger, and there was room for a desk so he could do homework when needed. He put one of his favorite pictures of Remus and Tonks in a portrait by the bedside table. Remus grinned slowly as Tonks started to make faces to the camera. One of the walls had a big mirror, as he thought it would be a quite important thing for a little metamorphmagus.

There were details in gryffindor colors here and there, but overall everything was clear and simple, with bright details around in every color you could think of. There was a big blue side table on the hall, for his keys and cellphone - hah! It was a great acquisition. The kitchen had dark green cupboards, and the couches in the living room had colorful striped blankets that reminded him a lot of the Burrow.

The bookshelf now mixed up quidditch, charms, PCs for dummies, and some muggle classics. It also started to take hold of Harry’s muggle music collection. He was clearly not really fond of pop music - specially that byebyebye song, but he could give Chiara’s what a girl wants song some consideration. The Nirvana band that started the whole conversation wasn’t his cup of tea either. It was okay, but not one of his favorites. He really liked the Oasis and their Standing On The Shoulders of Giants album was right next to Blink 182’s Enema of the State. Ellie described his new musical taste as “random brit teenager who thinks he’s too cool for school”, which he couldn’t really argue with, could he? They introduced him to some rock classics too - John Lennon and Queen went straight into his collection, even if he wondered if the latter was really a muggle band. It sure didn’t sound like one.

Their friendship started making him talk to different people everyday. He even had them notice he actually liked girls too, as they talked about the people going around the bar each night. No one there had the same effect as the guy who reminded him of Sirius. And he hadn’t appeared again. Not that he was looking - why would he look for a random muggle guy who he had seen once, someone who could never be fully part of his life? Because that was bothering him everyday. He always thought about inviting his new friends to his place, but weird things kept happening. Everytime he left clothes pilling up on the bathroom floor, they ended up somehow clean and properly hanged in his closet. The dishes in the sink would wash themselves and he felt that even some of the kitchen appliances were starting to do things on their own, as his toast would be done way too fast in the morning, or the milk that wouldn’t spoil even if he forgot it open for days.

He wondered if Kreacher was sneaking in and out and keep things together, even though it didn’t seem likely. He couldn’t find a better explanation, so he settled with that. But as his sociability was improving everyday, he decided to occupy his mind with more important matters, as owling Mr. Argus to inform him how well his recovery has been. He even met Jack the other day, who was overall polite, but didn’t really seem interested in making the friendship grow. He dressed like most of the guys Harry saw on the telly, his hair streaked by highlights. Sometimes he wondered if his polished Harry Potter look would ever compare to a guy like this, but he shook the thoughts away. He could do with plain tees, some jackets or even cargo pants, but trying to lighten his hair could have disastrous results.

He didn’t think it mattered, though. He was never one to befriend everyone around, to make an effort on getting people’s attention. Maybe he was just used to being lonely, after all. Or it was the fact that entitled blokes were never his fancy. He did hate Malfoy from day one, and he had heard what the girls said about Jack: the guy had grown with money. He should have thought about that when he made his back up story - now everyone was going to expect him to be as spoiled as Jack and Malfoy. Just great. Just as the thought hit him, his fireplace burnt bright green, and Ron’s face appeared on the ashes.

“Harry? Hullo?”

“Ron! You’re back! How was the honeymoon?” he asked, approaching the floo connection.

“It was great, mate. I got to visit Egypt finally! How is the new place?”

“Coming together, why don’t you two come through and check it out?”

Not long after that, Ron and Hermione were sitting in his living room, and cups of tea flew to their hands. They told all about their trip, that extended to innumerous magical cities and a couple muggle ones. They avoided Australia altogether. Hermione hadn’t found a way to revert the spell on her parents memory, and not poking into their lives was too much of a challenge. Harry told them about his new friends and the pizzeria, and the couple was eager to compare the food with the one they tasted in Rome. Harry showed them some music, Ron was surprising really into the one Nsync CD Ellie gave him to listen to, and Hermione was absolutely horrified with the dancing scene that accompanied it. The conversation flow was comfortable and warming, as always. Absentmindedly, he mentioned Kreacher coming in and out of the house on his own will.

“Kreacher? The house-elf?” Hermione asked, with a suspicious face.

“Yes, he came to ask me to say goodbye to Grimmauld Place, and since then, he keeps organizing things and washing dishes and what not.”

“I can’t feel any house-elf magic here. Really, nothing. I don’t know how he’s done it” she said, getting up and looking around, especially at his well dusted tables and the animated utensils in the kitchen. “Have you seen him here after he came to talk to you?”

“Hm, no.” He said, a knot forming on his stomach. Maybe he should have worried before. “That’s weird. Do you think someone else has been coming here?”

“They might. I can poke around, open an investigation. Would you like me to?”

“Yes, please.” With furrowed brows and worried goodbyes, that put an end to any conversation about muggle food they could have. They were not used to being threatened anymore. They shouldn’t be. The war was over, and the worries now should all be inside their own heads - the memories, the shadows, the losses. Not walking around his bloody house.

Soon enough, Hermione had several wards and spells surrounding the house. The floo was disconnected, no one could apparate inside. He even tried to stay in more the next weeks, to keep an eye on things. But his routine going to the bar, discussing people and music and having a good time outside was too precious to let go. They asked the Auror department to send in a team, that sent detectable spells here and there, went in and out with objects that clicked and buzzed, but found absolutely nothing but his own magical print. Once, they brought a specialist from the netherlands, that shrugged and went away. After an entire month, the Ministry decided to call it off. Every object in the house had been looked into. They told him there was nothing suspicious going on, that everything would turn out fine. Paranoid, he overheard some of the Aurors saying when they thought he wasn’t listening. And then he was alone again. He had been called that before, and it was why Hermione assured him she was still researching, going through her library on how to go into a house incognitus in every possible way. But so far, there was nothing to be done.

He tried to distract himself, tried to put things on his mind that wouldn’t race his heart and make every intake of breath feel like he was underwater, drowning. He pushed away the anxiety, bought some novels to read, watched a bunch of uninteresting TV - why did Dudley like this thing so much, anyways? - and listened to more music he had in his research period. He even bought himself a Nintendo 64, and played until he fell asleep on the roughest night.

He kept going to the bar, talking to his friends, drinking a pint or two, but as the anxiety kept kicking in, and then he had to go back. There was no telling them why he felt like he did. There was no muggle worrying about potential criminal magic occurrences inside of ones house. They worried about things he wouldn’t ever - paying rents, going home in the dark, and avoiding letting people know who their actual partners were.

After a particular rough night, he went home not past eleven, and tried to shower his worries away. As he pulled his ever-clean black tee over his head, he heard the doorbell ring. Shit. Did one of the girls follow him? Could any other muggle want something with him? At least, he knew, it was hardly a wizard. Not even Hermione would ever ring a doorbell, and she was a muggleborn. Some of the spells should have ringed if it was a trap too.

He took a settling deep breath and stuffed his wand on the right pocket of his trousers, going down the stairs quickly. Heart pounding in his chest, he opened the door just enough so he could see. Leaning on the wall right by the side of his door was something he would never expect. He recognized the long blond hair, a trucker hat positioned on top of it, and gasped. It was the guy from the bar, the one he had never talked to, let alone gave his address to.

When he turned to look at the opening door, the shock was even bigger. Bright grey eyes stared at him, expressionless, while his thins lips crisped in such a familiar way, it made him nauseated. Memories flew through Harry’s head in a second, flooding him with the obviety of the face he kept seeing on the back of his mind as he looked around the crowded bar, the hair that was the only thing he remembered when he woke up at night from some dreams, the posture that made the hair on his neck stand up with a hinge of arousal. Of course, he had the Black features. Of course he had the kind of beauty you only expected to see in wizard people.

“Potter” he only said.

Outside of his door, was standing Draco sodding Malfoy.

[to be continued: part IV]

#Harry Potter #harry potter fic #angst!harry #flangsty #fic #fanfiction #drarry #drarry fic #drarry ficlet #post war #townhouse #part iii #draco has finally arrived #harry's life is always f up

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alexcutlersblog · 3 years

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10/3: Japanese Theme Parks Look so Cool

For those who haven’t read my previous blog on the Simpsons area at Universal check it out here: https://bit.ly/3Fe1HCP

At risk of not sounding like a total dork, I will try to keep my gushing to a minimum. Anyways, as of late I have began the very early stage of planning a trip to Japan with my siblings sometime in 2023. That process got me thinking about all the cool places the country has to visit.

Including a lot of amazing theme parks.

These theme parks go beyond your typical Disney and Universal (which both have amazing theme parks that I will be talking about) but you also have parks like Nagashima Spa Land and Fuji-Q Highland with these amazing attractions that make me want to buy a ticket and leave right now. These parks more geared towards thrill seekers with some of the craziest roller coasters on the planet (I woud, specifically like to shout out mention the absolute insanity that is Eejanaika). While I will be focusing mainly on more “themed” parks, I thought it necessary to shout these ones out too.

Let us start with Disney, and man what a way to start. The Tokyo Disneyland resort is lauded as being one of the best. Tokyo Disneyland is split into two main parks, Tokyo Disneyland itself and Tokyo DisneySea. The original park is fairly similar to the Magic Kingdom down in Florida with s few notable exceptions. The one I would like to single out is The Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast. This ride, based on the film, is probably the attraction I want to be brought over to America the most. It looks amazing, not like a lot of the screen based attractions I’ve complained about on this blog. It harkens back to Disney Rides of old by you know, being good. Okay the Star Wars rides look pretty cool, but this ride is honestly on a whole other level.

Moving over to Tokyo DisneySea, you might be surprised by something. That something being that the park looks almost nothing like the other Disney parks. DisneySea has a lot of it’s own unique theming, giving it an almost unmatched atmosphere that we rarely see in the states. Exclusive attractions here include Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage and Journey to the Center of the Earth. I think part of me is infatuated by this park so much because it harkens back to the original idea for Disneyland Paris’ Space Mountain land, which is a topic for another time (Or you could watch Defunctland’s excellent video on the topic.)

Okay, let’s talk about Universal. Universal Studios Japan almost feels like a combination of the best parts of Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. The parks has a lot of the USF’s iconic attractions, but it also has Marvel Super Hero Island and Hogwarts from ISL. This means that Universal Studios Japan is like a “best of” for both parks, with it’s own flair. For one, this park is the only Universal park that still has Jaws: The Ride, one the several iconic original USF rides that were removed too soon (another topic for another day.)

Another major, if temporary, get for USJ is Super Nintendo World, which just opened this year. As a lifelong Mario fan, this area looks simply breathtaking and I can’t believe we have to wait a few more years to get it in the United States. Universal Studios Japan also has a ton more temporary attractions and events than we do in the states, especially when it comes to video game and anime crossovers. Here is just a sample of some of the anime and video games that have had limited-time attractions at Universal Studios Japan:

1. Final Fantasy

2. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

3. Demon Slayer: Kimestu No Yaiba

4. Attack On Titan

5. Dragon Quest

6. Neon: Genesis Evangelion (Standalone and in a Godzilla Crossover)

7. Monster Hunter World

8. Resident Evil

9. Sailor Moon

10. Dragon Ball

Okay you get the idea. While most of these are just limited-time 4-D theater rides, it’s crazy to me that none of these have been brought over as I think a lot of them would be pretty successful over here.

And just when you thought I was done talking about anime, soon there will be a whole theme park dedicated to one of the most beloved anime studios, Studio Ghibli. Yes, the creators of such films as Spirited Away, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and Howl’s Moving Castle (my personal favorite) are going to be the center of a theme park set to open next year. It will feature a ton of areas themed around Ghibli movies, and I couldn’t be more excited for it.

I think it’s safe to say that I am a fan of Japanese theme parks. As much as love American theme parks, European and Asian theme parks can have some truly revolutionary and gorgeous experiences that you just don’t see over here.

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wamhouse-column · 6 years

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Event Report: FUDAN10KU LIVE 10th Anniversary Special ~Summer! Water! Live Band! A Music Festival Under the Blue Sky’s Light in Osaka~ 7.21.18

Having entered their 10th year of activities in September of 2017, danso (girls dressed as boys) idol group Fudanjuku have missed no chance celebrate the occasion, starting the year off with an outdoor concert at Hibiya’s Yaon concert hall followed by a three-part countrywide tour. This third leg of their concert series included something special-- a big outdoor concert supported by a live band and including… water?? With only the concert title to go off of, I and others had a lot of questions leading up to the actual performance, but with Fudanjuku as the headliners, we knew we were in for a good time.

On a broiling hot summer day a half hour north of Osaka, we trekked to the enormous Hattori Ryokuchi park, passing massive modern art fountains and huge patches of green until we reached the entrance to the open air concert hall.

Doors to the venue opened at noon even though the live itself was scheduled for 4pm. We arrived around 2pm in an effort to not fully liquify due to heat by the time the concert started. We were told that no re-entry was allowed and offered salty candy, a staple during Japanese summers, on the way in. The concert hall was surrounded by concrete walls on all sides which trapped heat and somehow made it even hotter within the venue than it was outside of it. As fans milled around chatting with each other, a massive screen hanging above the stage played Fudanjuku concert DVDs, first of their 2017 Nakano Sun Plaza concert and later of the 10th anniversary concert in Hibiya Yaon.

At the top of the seating area was a stretch of grass that included the goods table, a place to reserve CDs, a booth for participating in the chuusenkai (lottery raffle, using tickets you received from goods and CD purchases) and a tent spraying mist onto the several people who were camping out around it. On the opposite side of the venue from the entrance was a food truck serving various Fudanjuku-themed items like shaved ice in member colors and yakisoba named after one of their singles. We grabbed some snacks and settled in to wait.

Shortly after 3pm, The Hoopers took the stage as the opening act. Originally established as Fudanjuku’s “little brother” group, The Hoopers made their major debut on a different label than their predecessors and the two have only managed to collaborate a handful of times, so it was wonderful to be able to see them at the same event again! The members were wearing airy white blouses and started off their set with energetic songs “Go! Go! Dance ga Tomaranai” and “New World.” Next up was “Romeo,” performed by The Hoopers’ subunit, Four Roses. All members came back on stage to perform their newest single, “Jewel no Kodou ga Kikoeru ka?” and Fudanjuku fans were happy to join in with the song’s furicopy (copying the members’ arm movements.) The Hoopers thanked the audience for welcoming them so warmly, and generously plugged their concert the following day, also taking place in Osaka. (I’m pleased to report that several Fudanjuku fans bought day-of tickets and attended!)

There was a bit of a break for everyone to rehydrate, and then it was time for the main act. One by one, members of the live band took the stage… all of them, women in danso. It suited all of them so well I wouldn’t have been shocked if you told me that they always perform like that. As the opening riffs of the first song started, Fudanjuku took the stage dressed in red and white striped outfits like Osaka’s famous clown mascot, Kuidaore Taro. Fudanjuku are always wonderfully goofy and silly so these outfits were super cute, even if maybe not the most flattering.

The first few songs started off with a burst of energy, with “Taiyou Mitai na Kimi ga Suki” and Fudanjuku’s quintessential summer song “Muteki Natsu Yasumi.” We didn’t have to wait long to find out what the “water” aspect of the live would be, as four massive cannons attached to the stage began periodically blasting in time with the music, firing arcs of water high above the audience.

From where I was sitting, the sun passing through the mist in the air painted an incredible rainbow over the members from one end of the stage to the other. At the group’s outdoor concerts in Hibiya’s Yaon in both 2012 and 2017, fans made an enormous rainbow in the audience for the members, so getting to see a completely real rainbow over the group as they performed their first outdoor concert in Osaka made me super emotional! It really felt like a scene out of a movie. Former Fudanjuku member Kyan Chiaki (FKA Bukiya Momotaro) managed to snap some photos from where she was seated:

In addition to blasts of water from four cannons attached to the stage, members took turns running two at a time into the audience and spraying everyone with big water guns several times. Next up was towel-swinging seasonal song “Cocktail on the Beach” followed by upbeat “Ore no Sora,” “Kazamidori” and “This Is Love.”

There was a quick MC where one of the group’s newest members, Kuryu Masaki, was suspiciously absent. The others left the stage to prepare for the next song, and Masaki reappeared first in a flattering and handsome white and black outfit-- holding an electric violin. He lifted it to his chin and began playing the intro to “Moshimo Kore ga Koi Nara,” much to the audience’s delight. The other members joined him in the same cool outfits for the rest of the song, and continued into “Danso Revolution,” “Welcome to my Familia” and “Shunkan Tourai Future.”

After every few songs, the members would pause to rehydrate and encourage everyone to do the same, which prompted Fujimori Leo to initiate a venue-wide kanpai (cheers) among everyone’s water bottles, sports drinks, and the occasional alcohol. The setlist had a lot of similarities to what they’ve been using at other stops on their current tour, but between the water effects, members periodically running into the audience, and really creative visuals tailored specifically to each song being projected on the screen above the stage, it was a totally unique and immersive concert.

The guitarist switched out her electric for an acoustic for some relaxing versions of down-tempo “Hoshikuzu no Namida” and “Bokura no Arukumichi.” Around this time was another costume change, this time into cute and fun baseball uniform-style shirts in member colors with their names on the back. Energy ramped up again for “Daikoukai Boy,” “Eye of the Typhoon,” “Galileo ~Procyon wo Koete~,” and “Onaji Jidai ni Umareta Wakamonotachi.” The group’s most recent single, “Kimi Iroiro Utsuri,” suited the live band and summer energy especially well.

Water effects had also been in full effect during these few songs but I thought we’d already received the worst of it, until Seto Kouki was given control a high-powered water hose during the last song, “Arata naru Makuake no tame no Makuake ni yoru Kyoushikyoku ~Kimi ga Ireba Oretachi mo Egao Mugendai~.” As Fudanjuku fans may know, Kouki loves the ink-spraying Nintendo game series, Splatoon. Kouki really, really loves Splatoon. Kouki did not hold back as he used his acquired Splatoon skills and accuracy to thoroughly, completely drench several hundred audience members. Something about being soaked to the core by a member of one’s favorite group manning a firehouse makes it difficult to contain one’s laughter, and I found myself in hysterics as members did a last lap of the audience, taking GoPro selfies with soggy fans all the while.

I managed to find a dry corner of t-shirt to dry my glasses on before the encore, which included a cover of the permanent-hiatus female idol version of Fudanjuku, Nakano Fujoshi Sisters’ “tomorrow” and upbeat but bittersweet “Jaa, ne.” The members left the stage but were soon called back on for a double encore, inviting The Hoopers members to join them for another performance of the groups’ collaboration song made for their tour together last summer, “Kiratto Love.” After everyone left the stage, a final announcement on screen revealed that it wouldn’t be long before Fudanjuku’s next outdoor concert-- the final performance in the group’s 10th anniversary tours will be held at Hibiya Yaon on September 24th, with the setlist decided by fans!

Fans began streaming out of the venue, and in my sweaty, soggy state I felt immense relief I’d be able to head back to my hotel room and shower instead of boarding a bullet train as-is to head back to Tokyo. I’ve seen more Fudanjuku concerts than I can count at this point, but this one was easily in the top 5. It was absolutely one of their most creative performances, and really next-level fun for both fans and members alike. I’ve laughed through a lot of Fudanjuku concerts but never because I was being pelted with rocket-powered water. I’m looking forward to the DVD, but I sure have my fingers crossed that me looking like a drowned rat and beaming like an idiot doesn’t show up in the recording.

#Liz

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dandelliongirl · 4 years

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New year

And a new decade!

Wow, what an original title.

My Christmas vacation was amazingly cozy. I spent the 23rd-27th of December at home with mum and dad. On the 23rd me and mum went to the flea market to buy yarn and thin knitting needles for my bunny plushie project. We also found an adorable winter themed PowerPuff Girls duvet cover that I got to have in my bed for the holidays.♥

On Christmas Eve I got to watch morning cartoons on mum’s new sofa in my soft Oodie. We spent Christmas Eve traditionally having rice porrige for breakfast, going to take candles to the graves, going to the sauna and having a delicious dinner of smoked fish, salads, roast, mashed sweet potato, fried carrot and parsnip, and a dessert of home made gingerbread ice cream. Then we watched From all of us to all of you and handed out presents. My photo book was a big hit and made both mum and dad tear up. They both loved their moomin themed presents as well. I got Jamie Oliver’s VEG cook book, a radio for my summer house, a face wash from the Body Shop, and some gloves that got mixed up with dad’s at some point. Now mine are pink and mum has a purple pair. My dad also got me a 100 square meters of protected forest that will by law be kept in its natural state forever, which is an incredibly magical and special gift. ♥

On Christmas morning we woke up to the most beautiful snowy landscape and a calm little snowfall. Me and mum shovelled the driveway and went for a really long magical walk to the beach and around our area. The beach was full of little lanterns and candles burning in the snow. In the evening I started knitting my bunny plushie with the instructions found on the book I got at grandmum’s place. Mum helped me get started but I made her entirely by myself. By January 19th she already has a face too, with only a few details missing.

On Boxing Day me and dad drove to see the cousins and mum went to see granny and grandpa. It was really good seeing my cousins again for the first time since I think last Christmas (?), and dad’s cousin visited my aunt that day as well, so dad and his sister got to see their cousin as well. Me and my twin cousins finally made a Whatsapp group, which will make keeping in touch a lot easier.

On the 27th I came back to the apartment to spend some time working on my projects (and play some Sims..). My guy came back home on the 28th and we opened the rest of our presents. We got some cute kitty mugs and some (less cute) moomin pillowcases. I got new socks from my guy’s grandpa and my guy got me the brick oven bakery and the pizza delivery set of Sylvanian Families! ♥ My guy loved his Otamatone and we’ve had a lot of fun with it. ♫

We spent the day before New Years with my twin cousins who came over. We went to a trampoline park and Burger King, and played some Smash Bros Ultimate and Mario Kart. Then we spent about 4 hours until 2 am playing Overcooked. One of the twins works at a fast food restaurant so he was really damn good at coordinating our team. We decided that we would only accept 3 stars and had to spend a lot of time on some of the stages, but it was a blast. My guy is really bad at communication and team work though (heh, sorry) so it sucked for whoever was on his side. My cousins left on the morning of New Years Eve, and our friends came over around 6 pm. We made pizza, talked, went to see the mayor’s speech and watched the fireworks. For once the weather was completely clear and comfortably warm so the fireworks were a lot of fun. After midnight we spent the rest of the night until 6 am playing a quiz game, cards against humanity and Overcooked. I’m so glad I went back to work on the 7th and not on the 2nd.

My New Year’s resolutions this time are to continue working on my crafts and finish at least 2 of them, to only buy recycled items (apart from a couple things that I’ve planned on and needed to buy for a while), trying to spend a plastic free July (no single use plastics or plastic packaging), continuing my photo project with at least 3 photoshoots, working on my grimoire and finishing at least 12 pages, continuing to play the piano and get better at reading sheet music, spending the coziest and witchiest summer at my cottage/summer house, reading/listening to books and stretching/body care. A lot of these are things that are already habits and a part of my life so they aren’t that big of a deal even though the list is long. Mainly my resolutions are there just to push me to continue creating. I have set a date around midsummer/Litha to check my progress. So far piano has definitely already fallen behind so I need to try and pick that back up real soon. I have my new pile of sheet music books to start with.

So my winter has been filled with cottage visits nearly every weekend. At Christmas we went for a bonfire and carols. We have been feeding lots of little birds, walking in the nature and even went ice skating last weekend. This winter has been almost entirely snowless and very warm, and the birds are already singing and starting to nest even though it’s only January. There is no snow on the lake ice so last weekend my mum, dad and I had a perfect private skating rink with some magical sunshine and beautifully frosted trees. These are the moments that make winter worth it even though the lack of snow makes everything so dark, which makes me so incredibly sleepy. Luckily the days get about 7 minutes longer every day. It’s already almost light out when I leave work. Only 3-4 more months until we get to spend more time at the summer house, and soon I’ll be out there on that lake on my SUP board. That place truly heals me and helps me remember what's important in life. Nature is always beautiful no matter the weather, and everything over there has a purpose, unlike in the city.

Almost all of my apple seeds sprouted, and every one of my first saplings has already died from what I suspect is the lack of light. Some of the second batch are still alive, and I’ve got a third batch to plant. Hopefully those will make it to be planted outside. I even picked up a board from our cottage shed to make a windowsill in the kitchen for the saplings.

My guy and I have been enjoying our second playthrough of the Witcher 3, this time on the Switch. I love laying on the sofa all warm and cozy in my Oodie and working on my crafts, or putting photos in an album while he plays. Our PC playthrough was tedious because I had to sit down and do nothing through hours of gwent or side quests. Now I get to lie down and work on my own projects during the side quests. The PS2 era graphics do bother me a bit, but the story is immersive enough and the cutscene quality is not reduced too bad.

The first 2 weeks of work have been pretty decent. I’ve even had a couple of good days. ☼ I’m about to start a rough spring of trainings for both staff and teachers, which will be mentally exhausting, but I will try to keep myself busy with hobbies, and enjoy the coming spring to the fullest. January has already flown by, which is both exciting and scary. As for working out, this spring I’ve got a lineup of body combat, the occasional 45 minute guided meditation class (which I love because last week we had a body scan meditation and that’s my favourite type), HIIT ‘45 whenever I can leave work early to go to class, and ballet.

Yesterday we celebrated grandad's 90th birthday. Lately I’ve been really sad thinking about my aging grandparents. I recently went through my old post cards because I’m planning on making some crafts with them, and while doing that I found all of granny and grandpa’s letters and post cards and got some very emotional flashbacks to my childhood and the stories grandmum used to tell me. After a few glasses of cognac grandpa gave me a really emotional and sweet speech about how proud he is of me and how he remembers the time the swing in their yard broke down from under me and the times he taught me how to ski. He has truly taught me to never give up and be resilient in everything I do. I love my grandparents so much and I want to try and spend as much time with them as possible. It is so unfair that we never get enough time to spend with all the loved ones... Regardless, happy 90th birthday to the best grandpa. ♥ ♥ I love you so much.

Speaking of family and celebrations, I was asked to be a bridesmaid to my friend whom I've known since kindergarten. It is an incredible honor and I really can’t put into words how special it is to have someone who’s known me since I was 4 years old - and now she’s getting married! I will do my best to make her day special, but it is a lot of stress and pressure on me - especially as I’ve never planned a wedding and I’ve only been to 2 in very recent years. Her other bridesmaid got engaged the same week as she did so they are both planning on getting married the same month. We’ll see how that goes, and if one of them has to postpone their wedding or not, but regardless the other bridesmaid won’t have as much time and focus for my friend as I will since she’ll be planning her own wedding at the same time.

I think we only have 61 or 62 days until Animal Crossing New Horizons, and still no AC direct. Instead we’ve had a Pokémon direct and a Smash Bros direct.. If preordering seems worth it and/or there is a Switch console bundle I’ll take the 20th of March off work to go get it in the morning. We were planning on taking a trip to Japan this spring but we’ve postponed it until the autumn since the Super Nintendo World will be opening in the summer, and my guy can earn some money at his summer job.

Me and my friend were going to have a photoshoot today but the weather isn’t great (it’s very windy) and she had a weird stomach bug last night so we postponed. Instead I’m trying to finish up some odd to-do list jobs so that I can start preparing for Imbolc. It’s coming up so fast, but that’s also very exciting. ☼

#personal #diary #January2020 #memorial

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riiroo · 4 years

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What To Teach Your Kids This July 2019

Yay!

Summer is officially here and it’s now time to dust off everything summery, get out there and have some fun!!

This is the time when staying in the house just isn’t an option and gives you every excuse to spend as much time outside enjoying the sun as possible.

I really can’t believe a month has passed already since our last post.

Each month at RiiRoo we focus on different interesting topics to teach your kids in addition to what they would normally learn at school.

If you missed last month’s May article - What To Teach Your Kids This June 2019 then you can read it here.

Last month (June) we looked at World environment day, Anniversary of D-Day, World Oceans Day, Juneteenth/Freedom Day, Summer Solstice, Meteor Day.

This month we’re going look at, International Joke Day, Independence Day, Battle of the Boyne, First Boeing 707, Apollo 11, Disneyland Opening, Amelia Earhart Day, National Cheesecake Day.

July 1st - International Joke Day

Now before you start Googling to see if this is an actual day. I can assure you it is. Even I wasn’t that sure when I started researching this infamous day ;)

This day is quite fitting really since we are at the start of summer and everyone has that “feel good feeling.” Since this is the case, why not share a few jokes on the first day of the month? After all, laughter is universal isn’t it and is actually a good tonic for life!

International Joke Day is perfect for telling your very best jokes and even play a few practical jokes.

Thought to have originated in the United States, jokes have been around for millennia and it’s not clear when this day was made into a “thing.”

If you don’t know any jokes and want to share some great ones with family and friends, then check these links out:

Hilarious Jokes for Your Kids

Jokes to Quack You Up

Funny Clean Jokes For Kids

4th July - Independence Day

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Independence Day is probably one of the most famous of the special days on this list.

What is it?

Independence Day is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776.

In essence, this day was declared by the then thirteen American colonies that they were no longer subject or under rule from Britain.

Resources:

The Story of the Fourth of July

The History of the Fourth of July

18 Interesting Facts About American Independence Day

12th July - Battle of the Boyne

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The Battle of the Boyne was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James VII and II of Scotland.

The battle took place across the River Boyne close to the town of Drogheda in the Kingdom of Ireland, modern-day Republic of Ireland, and resulted in a victory for William.

So every year on 12th July the Battle of the Boyne is commemorated by Orange Men walking through the streets of Northern Ireland.

Resources:

What was the Battle of the Boyne? Everything you need to know

10 Facts About the Battle of the Boyne

Battle of the Boyne

15th July - First Boeing 707

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We kind of take large passenger planes for granted these days, don’t we? However, they haven’t been around as long as you might think.

On the 15th July 1954 the new “Jet Age” began in the city of Seattle with their maiden flight of Dash-80 from Boeing Field. This was Boeing's prototype for the commercial airliner Boeing 707.

The 707 was the first jet transport to win broad public and commercial acceptance. This significant event kicked off the commercial airline industry we see today.

Resources:

July 15th, 1954: Boeing 707 Makes First Flight

Boeing 707 Jetliner

Boeing 707 Makes First Flight

16th July - Apollo 11

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One of the most significant events that happened in the month of July was the Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two people on the Moon. More specifically, it landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17.

Since there weren’t millions of TV channels around at the time, the vast majority of the western population were huddled around a TV to see this astonishing event.

It was a case of “do you remember where you were when they landed on the moon.”

This is truly an event that you would want to teach your kids about. With the number of technological devices, we have around the home these days you could be forgiven for forgetting just how significant this event was.

In fact, the Nintendo devices your kids play on is far more powerful than the computers that were onboard the Apollo 11.

Here are a few resources for you:

Apollo 11 Flight Log

50th anniversary of Apollo 11 - NASA

Apollo 11 Mission Overview | NASA

17th July - Disneyland Opens In 1955

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One of the most iconic theme parks in the world was originally opened on July 17, 1955. Yes, you read right, “1955.”

Did you know it is the only park that was designed, built and supervised by the late Walt Disney?

Mr. Disney came up with the concept of the park after visiting various other amusement parks with his daughters in the 1930s and 1940s.

He originally thought of building the attraction adjacent to the famous studios in Burbank, but soon realised that the proposed site would be too small.

He then decided to hire a consultant to help decide where to build the now famous attraction. So he decided on a new 160-acre site near Anaheim.

Construction began in 1954 and the park was unveiled to a fanfare which was even televised by ABC Television Network on 17th July 1955.

Resources:

The history of Disneyland in pictures – from 1955 to today

Disneyland's History

Disneyland History (2)

24th July Amelia Earhart Day

Amelia Mary Earhart who was born 24th July 1897 and disappeared 2nd July 1937 was an American superwoman. She was basically an aviation pioneer and author who was at the forefront of liberalising female empowerment.

Amelia was the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic ocean. For this fantastic achievement, she received the United States Distinguished Flying Cross.

She set so many records and led such a fulfilled life, she decided to write best selling books about her achievements. She was also a member of the National Woman's Party and an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Resources:

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart - HISTORY

Amelia Earhart | Biography, Disappearance, & Facts

30th July - National Cheesecake Day

This one is just for fun really and is probably geared more to our American cousins really. However, who doesn’t like cheesecake?

National Cheesecake Day is celebrated every 30th July and you are probably wondering how you celebrate it?

With a BIG slice of cheesecake of course. Feel free to add some fruits if you want to be healthy. You can either bake your own cheesecake from home or buy one from the store.

The good thing is, there are plenty of different variations to choose from now.

Here’s a few a brief history and recipe ideas:

The Rich History of a Favorite Dessert

The History of Cheesecake and Cream Cheese

Cheesecake recipes | BBC Good Food

25 Best Cheesecake Recipes

So that’s it for another month. If you would like more interesting information like this, please sign up for the RiiRoo newsletter.

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