#those pictures reminded me of the last pic I included of the statue

[timidkitten]

„in a room full of art I’d still stare at you.“

#those pictures reminded me of the last pic I included of the statue #me #myself #princessunknown #wet tshirt #natural body #skiny girl #girls with piercings #girls who like girls #girls on tumblr #girls of tumblr #tumblr girls #a literal piece of art #body posi art #my art shit #art #body art

[ryoskuna]

⭑ promised eternity | hades!sukuna x persephone!reader au headcanons (PT 1).

A/N: ... yo... i would like to say whoever threatened to send me toe pics, a-plus, bc you made me release this into the wild. * insert megumi meme face here * but this is just HEADCANONS for a hades!sukuna and persephone!reader-esque universe, and because y’all are as thirsty as I am, it includes some SFW and NSFW headcanons. grab your water bottles, and I apologize for my subconscious now. (cause it’s always on auto-pilot and giving me wild af ideas.) We shall all thirst... over OG form sukuna as well, because ,, well, big daddy, do i need to say more???  also this is some seriously fantasy like au , sort of, it takes place during sukuna’s original time as a curse, when gojo’s ancestor was after him, and hints wildly on that, and also will hit moments where the sorcerers are of course, hunting him. feel free to give me your thoughts and ask questions, because i love you all.  onward to the THIRST! ( also side note, promised eternity is the name of the potential series that may come from this. ) 

this is part one of the headcanons, and they’re all SFW.

being married to the king of curses is not easy. it’s awkward at first, and then later on, comforting at best. to have someone who believes in you, roots you on (even if he’s kind of mean about it at first), is better than having nothing. you’ve been looked at for so long as a “curse” for your untrained cursed energy, that to have someone who sees potential in your “god” given gifts instead of spite (or only useful in preventing a raid) is refreshing. and unsettling at first.

speaking of that, sukuna basically rescued you from your village. for the entirety of your life before him, your cursed energy has gone unchecked, untrained.  so it fluctuates with your emotions. it’s useful when you summon your wrath to defend your village or when your untrained reverse cursed techniques help the crops grow— but any other time, you are known as a curse. your emotions grow sad or you grow angry, and people die accidentally. ( hence your harbinger of death nickname. )  sukuna, during his many trips to your village for taxes and the occasional “recruitment” of healthy women and me, he has noticed you. and he has noticed your vast amount of cursed energy. it’s all but too easy for him to command the head of your village to hand you over — your parent(s) have no say. 

sukuna is generous enough to compensate them, and the head of village. it’s one of few kindnesses he’ll show, besides eventually to you. sukuna will never tell, not till much later on, that he noticed you in every visit he’s ever made. that you deserved better than the mockery and scorn of your people. he offers to burn them all for you, but your mercy says otherwise.

speaking of when he came to get you, he was 10 feet tall, dressed in a black montsuki kimono and hakama. all four of his arms are on display, and all four of his eyes are on you.

you, are in a shiromuku, complete with a wataboshi — you and your mother (or a village woman) made it, but it will not be the last of your “bridal” gowns as you travel through at least five villages before arriving at sukuna’s fortress-like palace. sukuna has prepared you both a uchikake style kimono (adorned with pinks and reds), a hikifurisode style kimono (black, but also adorned with whites and golds and reds)— lastly is the Tomesode, which you arrive to your new home in, adorned in pins and signs of your new status. it’s here you discover you are not meant to be a mistress, you are meant to be a wife. his wife. his first, and his only (or at least he’ll try to keep it that way).

sukuna does not make time for much. rumors of him are notorious of his over-indulgence, guided by only his pleasure and displeasure, which is slightly true.  but he makes time for you. you aren’t like the others he’s taken in his time, whether for his entertainment or to be in his service (you are not his toy as he has a habit of disposing of his playthings once they bore him); you’re his wife, but you are also this powerful being, who if trained, will become even more powerful. if you were a sorcerer, you’d rival him — but you are his equal. 

he tries to make you feel that way by shrinking down to your size. he drops his 10 ft height (even through he can grow larger), to 6′8 or 7ft (pick your preference). it helps him watch the way you fight him, and he’ll change his height to help you train to fight enemies of different sizes.

sukuna’s loyalty to you forms in the midst of gifts. he’s lavish and again, over-indulgent. before your lips ask for it, somehow you already have whatever you desire. however, he also realizes, the more that he’s around you that gifts don’t make you happy (as pleasing as they are). being in his company is what makes you happy. oh, and sukuna’s very careful to touch you. his strength knows no bounds, until you touch him. you have to be the one that touches him first. it’s a brush over the knuckles, your tiny hand wrapping around his big one.

the way you manipulate plants to your advantage as a defense will never not amaze him. the way you use vines to wrap around him to capture him is genius, and the sneak attack you give has gotten better. he’ll still tease you ask “is that the best you can do” with your hits to provoke more of your strength, and he’ll give praise at the end, in his own way. (more touches.)

sukuna’s untouched garden becomes yours as one of your wedding gifts. it’s yours, and all the servants know it. everyone on his grounds knows it is yours. 

you haven’t realized it since your arrival, but there are female servants that are your handmaidens, but for the harem that sukuna supposedly keeps — you have no idea where they are. it isn’t till one of your handmaidens inform you that he freed them with compensation. it’s not an uncommon practice for him, you’re told. he does not keep anyone against their will, and he never forced the girls he kept to do anything. for him, war and fighting made his blood rush just as much as sex could.

you and sukuna’s cursed energy manages to mingle to create a rare flower, one that turns from a gold color to red at the tips of the petals. he later tells you that beautiful things can come from destruction, and it makes you think of yourself, and who you’ve become with his guidance as you look into his eyes.

the first time you sleep in his bed with him, he lays still on one side of the bed (which is unusual for him) until you beckon him closer. he meets you halfway in the middle, where you lay your head on his chest and listen to the sound of him breathing. he’ll never admit it at first, but the comfort you give to him is startling, but welcomed. he wraps two arms around you, but it isn’t until you’re sleep that all four hold you gently against him, as if those four arms are shields to keep you safe.

He admires your strength and the various ways it shows itself. He has since your “wedding day”, when you shed no tears at being taken from your family. When you told him “do what you will”, but also in your rage he tapped into when you wrapped thorny vines around him when he provoked you by calling you “a murderous curse of a girl”.  He apologizes for this comment at some point, while you two lay together in the garden.

he presents to you a crown, shaped after the marks on his forehead (preserved through a picture painted on a fan). it is two horns towards the ceiling, made of black metal the color of obsidian. 

sukuna enjoys towering over you. and more importantly, once it no longer startles you, you enjoy the safety that his height reminds you of.

the form of trust sukuna has with you is seen by the servants when assigns advisors to you, as well as teaches you how to deal with trials when they come forth. you are his rose with thorns now, and you know how to use them.

someone speaks ill of sukuna? you are reminding them of their place: “speak ill of your king again with that tongue of yours and i’ll take it”

OKAY BADASS, and sukuna is all for it, just “that’s my s/o”

and lord, the pet names this man has for you: “my dove” “my love” “my moon” and you with: “my sun and stars” (thank u got)... he’s got a lot of pet names.

he likes to hold you on his side for some reason, whenever he can. honestly, he just likes you close.

basically, you’re tough as hell and powerful as hell and you grow into your added strength and he loves it.

can you say POWER COUPLE OF THE AGES

#persephone & hades au ft. sukuna. #persephone and hades au ft. sukuna #sukuna x reader #sukuna. #jujutsu kaisen fanfiction #jujutsu kaisen headcanons #jujutsu kaisen imagines #jjk hcs #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen x y/n #jujutsu kaisen x you #sukuna x y/n #sukuna x you #jjk. #ryomen sukuna x reader #ryomen sukuna x you #sukuna #ryomen sukuna

[the-bjd-community-confess]

More Divaz confos

Mod: Round two of these, previously: link. There’s some interesting customer reviews in this batch (5 and 8) which may be useful to readers.

1.Vic3mage "the secret bjdivaz vip group is just pictures of boxes coming in and going out". Yeah, between the bitching about d0llshe, asking people to post on doa for them, dunking on ex-customers, posting pics of random doll parts that they can't identify which doll they're supposed to go with, whining about how little money they make, whining when ppl e-mail them, whining. Yeah, other than that it's just boxes, and alpacas u can buy off amazon anyway lol.

~Anonymous

2.The butthurt users crying and guilttripping under every Divaz confession who have never been seen before elsewhere on this blog are extremely unsuspicious and unproblematic and definitely unconnected to Divaz and unbiased in every possible way

/s

~Anonymous

3.idk shit abt bjd1vas but v1cemage i can absolutely tell you the shit about ch0o is 100% accurate, fucker's got a long, long history of being an awful little man that stretches well beyond his involvement in the doll community. between the two i'd still trust bjd1vas over ch00 ch00 the fool any day!

~Anonymous

4.The Z3st and Div4s thing is really silly and both entities were being shady but did they really have to take the DZ waiting room down with them? :( He had even made a separate thread about it......

~Anonymous 

5. RE: BJD Divaz

I’ve been a customer of BJD Divaz since they first started, when it was only run by Chart3rline. I even contacted other BJD companies trying to persuade them to work with Divaz as their US representative. Most declined because they didnt like D's commission fee, but I was able to persuade a few of them.

I asked them to purchase a doll off DOA because I couldnt afford the asking price, and while they did, I found out later that instead of agreeing to purchase the seller's price, they negotiated the price to be lower. This significantly cheaper price was not passed down to me. I paid the full price +the commission fee based on that full price. I am disappointed I was not told this. This is when I stopped viewing them as a "friend" and instead, as a business. I dont hold this against them, it’s context to what Im going to say later.

I’ve stopped purchasing from D after my recent order from them. This company usually takes 3 or less months to make a doll. I’ve ordered the doll from D and it took 11 months. They let me know it arrived to them in March and that it will be shipped soon, except it only shipped on July, and only after I sent them several "reminder" emails. Before people in the comments try to put the blame on me for not sending a reminder soon, please keep in mind that I acknowledged the email in March and confirmed everything and they keep stressing to not send them emails because they are busy, I’ve emailed once every month since. I’ve since switched to ACBJD and Ive been happy with communication and the dolls ordered. I imagine ACBJD gets the same amount of emails, but they dont berate their customers if they email more than once.

I regret when people wanted a D0llshe, but not deal with him, I always recommended D. I would warn people of ordering directly and instead go through D. They assured buyers they would be handling communication and all the efforts so they wouldnt worry, except they didn’t. A person that I’ve recommended D to, who surpassed 2 years, keeps messaging me for help because D wouldnt reply to their emails. She is respectful, sweet and a timid person, not a Karen. This person, emailed D without a reply so would email a week later, only to be told that their email would be pushed down to the bottom if emailed again. No response, so she goes to FB and IG, who both tell her to email because they arent the person running orders. Finally got a response that they would get their refund, after D0llshe sends D's payment, but minus the PP fees. 3 months later and theres no refund, only a promise of them getting it later. Why is the customer missing out on fees when they have no doll? Customer emails d0llshe and he says he cant offer refund, because they didn’t order through them, which is understandable, but when all options are out for a customer, do you blame them for chargebacks?

If anyone files a chargeback, D will be blacklisting them from every company they rep, as in blacklisting you from buying direct from those companies. I urge everyone who has negative experiences with D to email the companies they rep instead of venting on confession blogs, and writing your experiences on social media. Make it count and send letters to the companies they represent, and please provide proof because they will try to make you out to be a liar.

Speaking of, they made vague posts on cl0ver singing for charging paypal fees, and that they offer guarantees as an official dealer, except when offering refunds, to non delivered products I might add, they are keeping the fees, and offered no help with d0llshe, even before they ended their dealership with them. Someone on DOA was told to not email them unless the wait time surpassed 1.5 years. They are even so petty that they post screenshots with the full name and address (dox) of the customer on purpose and then delete it out a day later as if they just realized their "mistake".

Before you try to make excuses for them about the fires, keep in mind, I am dealing with a business. The lower price negotiation with the DOA sale, I am in no way obligated to give them a pass or treat them as a friend when they made it clear that our relationship is strictly business. Their issues, are not my issues. D0lk got dragged for not shipping in time, others, including artisans, got dragged for being so late with communication and sending back refunds for cancelled orders. Why does D get to be exempt?

The supporters are the worst part of this, because of instead of being honest so D can improve, they support them for being "real". For example, look how micemage words it, to make it seem like this criticism is from one person, when there are people on addicts who didn’t have good experience. Check the bjd dealers tag here, you will see the supporters in the comments going off on any and all criticism of D. Some have sane comments, but the majority are cult like and try to identify the person venting as if it’s one person. Addicts deletes threads with criticism asking people to instead direct it to their feedback group; which lets be honest, no one is going to do because its "not that bad", and most dont want to join a new group, which is mostly dead.

This is my first and last confession on D, I’ve emailed each company they rep and told them my experience as well as contacting the 3 month wait company, with screenshots of my order, how they handled it, and the excuse they used to put blame on the company for being so late (package arrived march to D, 4 months to be shipped is on D, not the company). I’m not using company or order details because I know they are petty enough to try to identify me and publicly shame me like they have to others. This and the threat of suing is why not many people like to go public with their experience. They just keep feedback neutral, move on and never deal with again.

~Anonymous

6. Listen, I can't take you seriously in regards to BJD!vas because you're posting on a confession blog. If you were serious, you would have posted in buyer beware groups, DoA reviews or the board to get things resolved, or you would have made a complaint to the BBB. And your language makes you come off more as someone with an agenda rather than someone who is trying to warn people. If shipping is the issue, stop buying with standard shipping and pay the extra price for express shipping. I saw one of you complain that it sat with them for 20 days; that's probably because you're not the only one and they more than likely have a queue to check and then ship out. Do mistakes happen? Yes, because we're human. I've been in this hobby for a few years now and it seems like most people know you're going to have to wait, sometimes even outside the expected wait time. And shipping something as big as a doll is a timely endeavor. I shouldn't have to say that.

My point is simply to stop complaining on an confession board and either take it to the places previously mentioned. Posting here behind the anonymous mask makes you sound like a petulant child who didn't get their way right away.

~Anonymous

7.My only issue with BJD Divaz is how I never get any updates. Every email, they tell me to join their facebook page for status updates. I dont have a FB and I dont want to create one. I bought my doll through their website, updates should be posted on their website, or they could send me an email. That isnt asking much.

~Anonymous

8. Since there seems to be a lot of either "completely negative everything sucks" or "everything was sunshine and rainbows" confessions about bjd!vaz I thought I'd chime in with a neutral review.

PROS

-They were always polite and professional in their emails, and gave me very detailed answers to my questions.

-I got exactly what I ordered, so no mix ups or missing parts or anything like that.

-I think them being forthcoming about personal issues (only one person on staff, illness, the flooding isue etc.) on social media is good, since it keeps customers updated as to why there might be delays.

-If you live in the US their shipping is very reasonable.

CONS

-Reply times were varied. Sometimes it could take over a week, sometimes a couple hours.

-My order took about 10mo which, when comparing to other people who ordered through the same company around the same time, was about 3x as long as if I bought it direct and 2x as long if I had gone through a different dealer. I get some of the waiting time is out of their control, but it was kind of ridiculous.

-They dont necessarily ship the same day they send you a tracking number. I wish they said something like, "Here's your tracking number, our pickup is Xday so it should start moving after that" just so I could be aware.

All in all no major complaints. I got my doll and all that. Their lone employee is clearly overwhelmed. I hope they hire another person, if only to give the one a break.

Truthfully, I most likely won't buy through them again. I'd rather pay the international shipping and go direct, than deal with the extensive wait time. I'd still recommend them to someone looking for a very long layaway, though. I paid in full, but if I had a 12mo layaway I would've never known they weren't ready to ship my doll until month 10.

~Anonymous

#BJD #ABJD #BJD Confessions #TrueBJDConfessions #BJD Dealers

[thelightofthingshopedfor]

Goddamn it Kyra I wasn't even interested in the Lego Lokis before, but now that you've so rudely posted pics of the options I'm probably going to have to buy some. So, couple questions: I'm not familiar with the website you linked to (it doesn't help that I'm on my phone lol) - do you get them from that site or just Aliexpress? I've kind of poked around there but I don't think I've ever actually bought anything - do you have links to those ones you bought or any tips for finding them on the site? (or like. using the site in general without getting scammed or something? Idk much about it other than stuff being low priced lol).

😇😇😇

putting the rest behind a cut because oops this got long

OKAY SO the cool thing about knockoff Lego figures is that a) there are a ton of them, so you can probably find multiple versions of most characters, and b) they're super cheap, so if you do end up getting ripped off, you're probably only out a few bucks. plus if you don't get ripped off, you feel like a genius, because authentic Lego minifigs tend to cost way more than they should (and if you get them online, you probably don't have a good way to know that they're authentic) and here you are getting something just as good or better for way less.

the site I was getting pictures from is HeroBloks, which I only just discovered myself a couple days ago; it looks like mostly it's good for tracking your collection (and learning more about bootleg Lego minifigs in general, maybe--I didn't really realize until now how many different companies there are making Lego-like minifigs) rather than buying, with individual pages including sale links that are only mildly useful. like, the extremely sad TVA Loki has an AliExpress search link that apparently just searches for "blocks," which is the least helpful search term imaginable; the eBay link uses "xinh+xh1745+loki (tva)" as the search term and that's definitely better, although it doesn't actually turn up anything. maybe that one's too new to be widely available yet, I don't know. (I hope that's the case. I need him and his sad little face to come and live with me.)

anyway--eBay is a possible source. searching for "loki minifigure" gets me results for several of the new ones I’ve been seeing, and they all seem to be shipping from Japan or South Korea. the problem is they're all selling for $4.99 plus $7.49 shipping each, which is...more than I want to spend on something I know is a knockoff of some kind when I don't know anything about the quality control and I'm not guaranteed to get what's in the picture. (here's another listing asking $40 total for all 8 figures I bought yesterday, which is actually a better price, and I'd probably end up doing that if I hadn't found them elsewhere, but that's because I have a problem.)

this is why I like AliExpress, because the risks are slightly higher but the prices tend to be much lower, even with shipping prices having gone up a bit over the last couple years. as I understand it, the site is basically just a huge marketplace for tons of different sellers in Asia, like if eBay only allowed fixed-price listings and it was based in China. the vast majority of the site reads like it went through Google Translate, because it probably did. you can find...basically anything there. I have no idea if any of it's authentic. (I also don't know anything about how or where any of the knockoff stuff is made, so...there is that.) I would not, for instance, drop $300 on a Hot Toys Loki from here, even though I absolutely would have the option to do so, for the obvious reason that I'm not going to risk that much money on an item that might be a cheap knockoff or could arrive broken. there is, in general, a solid possibility of breakable things arriving broken, because decent packaging costs more. cheap shipping will be slow (by which I mean like...up to 90 days), and most purchases either won't have tracking at all or won't have accurate tracking, so this is absolutely not a place to buy anything you want to get quickly. you also don't want to just buy something and forget about it, because there are (variable but generous) time limits past which you can't get a refund if you don't receive your items. the site's UI is...mostly functional. you often have to get a little creative with your search terms to find what you want (and sometimes you won’t find what you want through searching, but through looking at related items on the pages of things that aren’t quite what you want or are what you want but aren’t a good price). you will, absolutely, come across a lot of stolen art on things like pins, t-shirts, stickers, and phone cases, which you might not realize until you see something you recognize from a fanartist you like, and obviously that sucks. listing photos are nearly always stock photos, so in many cases they won't tell you anything about the item you're actually getting. you know the Wish app, and all the crazy things people get from that? you can find all the same stuff on AliExpress, at similar levels of quality.

however, if you approach it keeping all that in mind, it can be a great resource. I can't make any guarantees about the site's safety, but to the best of my knowledge it's secure and I've never had any weird charges show up after buying something. it's also my understanding that Alibaba, the parent company, is more or less the Chinese equivalent of Amazon in terms of the amount of business it does, which would probably be pretty tough if customer data were routinely being exposed to thieves, you know? I've also successfully gotten several refunds for items that never arrived, which actually hasn't happened all that often--but knowing that it can happen and that the return period expires, I’ll check back on the site if it seems like it’s been an unusually long time and I’ll make a reminder for myself of the deadline so I can contact the seller in time if necessary.

so the way I shop there is, I don't buy expensive or fragile things in general, because I recognize there's a nonzero chance I'll get a cheap knockoff, or something that was broken in transit because the seller tossed it in a box with no padding and called it good, or sometimes nothing at all. but like eBay, the sellers and items have ratings and reviews from customers, so that helps avoid some risk. items with lots of reviews tend to include at least a few customer photos, which are great for getting a better idea of what the thing you're buying actually looks like. I took a bit of a risk last year buying a Hot Toys (or the equivalent, I actually have no idea) Steve Rogers head for about $20, for instance, but I wasn't super worried about it because the customer photos looked good, the seller I used had a lot of sales and a lot of good ratings, and it was still a lot less than I would've paid for an authentic Hot Toys Steve Rogers head--and in fact he got here just fine and he looked fantastic. I also spent about $20 for a knockoff Iron Studios Loki statue, because in that case it was like...yep I’d love the real thing, nope I’m not willing to spend hundreds of dollars on it, yep I am willing to spend $20 on something that doesn’t look quite as nice but still looks good enough for me in the customer photos. well, and I’ve also bought knockoffs I knew would look bad, because they were cheap and I want all the Lokis and I have enough of an addiction that all the Lokis does in fact sometimes mean “even ones that look really bad” to me.

anyway, uh, Lego-type minifigs. this is an especially good area to go knockoff, because--okay, apparently I can’t link to a page of HeroBloks search results for some reason, but it’s the best resource I’ve found for this type of thing that isn’t just authentic Lego figures. but if you go there and do a search for “loki” you’ll get a bunch of results and you’ll see that they come from like...9 or 10 different brands. Lego specifically has only four Loki options: Avengers Loki in black, Avengers Loki in gray for some reason (which, frankly, looks like a cheap knockoff but isn’t), movie-inaccurate Ragnarok Loki with the blue outfit and the full helmet, an ugly Classic Loki, and a mostly green Loki from I guess the first Thor movie (and then I think they’re going to release a TVA Loki, a Sylvie, and a Throg). all those other results--all those different outfits from every single Loki appearance, and different variations on those outfits, nearly all of them more screen-accurate and/or detailed than the Lego versions--are technically knockoffs. they’re better and you can buy them for way less. (I mean, a lot of them are new so I don’t have them yet, but I do have frost giant Loki, better Ragnarok Loki, better Avengers Loki, opera Loki who actually has another face that’s half-Jotun, and at least one chrome-helmet option, and they all look basically like the photos. so I think I can reasonably expect most of the new ones to look basically like their photos too.) 

for reasons that I don’t understand aside from a vague guess that it’s copyright-related, AliExpress pretty much no longer shows full pictures of Lego-type figures in their listings--instead, you have to pick just based on the heads. this is a problem when lots of heads look very similar to each other! luckily, the listings also typically have the actual serial numbers for each figure, as do the HeroBloks listings, so you can cross-reference them to see what you’re really getting. for instance let’s take this listing because it’s cheap and it offers most of the Loki figures that are currently available. say you’re interested in one of the horn-less Lokis. there are...let’s see, five of them, but you have no idea what they actually look like aside from slightly different facial expressions and maybe weapons. however, the first one listed says XH1359 for its color...and what do you know, 1359 is the serial number for this Loki by a company called Xinh. okay cool, how about the last one? the “color” is listed as WM2182--and yes, HeroBloks has a listing for a Ragnarok Loki from World Minifigures with the serial number 2182. (I just ordered all 8 of the new World Minifigures ones yesterday, so again, I can’t personally guarantee yet that they’ll look as good in person as in the pictures--but I think they probably will, and more importantly they cost a whole dollar each.) and if HeroBloks doesn’t have a particular figure, you can probably find something useful just by googling the serial number.

I specifically bought from this listing yesterday because they currently have a bit of a sale going and a deal for free shipping if you buy 10 figures, and I wanted a couple duplicates, so it worked out to be the cheapest option. the same store has another listing for a bunch more Marvel characters, including a couple more Lokis I already had, so it should be pretty easy to get the free shipping so the figures are less than a dollar each and you’re only risking about $10. if you’d rather try one or two and see how it goes, it looks like this listing is probably the cheapest, with figures currently going for a little over a dollar each once you add shipping (although it’s totally possible shipping is more for me because Alaska).

that’s...probably already way more information than you really wanted, but I hope at least some of it makes sense. feel free to ask other specific questions if they come up--I might not be able to give answers exactly, but I can probably tell you what my experience has been, which is better than nothing.

#loki #action figures #lego #marvel cinematic universe #conversations #scintillatingshortgirl19

[annakie]

-----------

We're back for part two!  Remember the last time how I said....

And after that game... I parted ways with my friends once again.  Because I had tickets... to Critical Role.

Well... not only that, but I was finally meeting @thievinghippo​ IRL to see it!

CRITICAL ROLE (aka Friday Night)

I took off right after the previous game had ended and headed for the show.  My one big frustration was that it took 30 minutes for my Lyft driver to arrive from AROUND THE BLOCK (ok, about a quarter of a mile, but still).  In retrospect, I think he was hoping I'd cancel so he could get a bigger fare or something.  I think he just fucked himself over because he could have done that route twice in the time it took him to come get me.  So I got there with just a few minutes to spare and no time to get in the merch line.  But hey, I found Hippo and met a few other people from Tumblr whose names I recognized!  

It was so great to finally meet her, but we had almost no time to talk beforehand (but when we did, it was all about how mad we still are about Jaime / Brienne and also I tried to catch her up to what's happening in CR since she's pretty far behind.)

The show was AWESOME.  It was so fun to see live!  It was particularly awesome when the entire audience sang along with the theme song (See this video if you haven't yet for those of you not there: https://twitter.com/PhoenixHeart815/status/1157446225223962624 ).  It reminded me a lot of singing along with the Sparks Nevada theme the last few TAH shows, I got a little misty-eyed.

The bad?  It was really really hot in the theater.  At intermission I bolted out to the bathroom and buy cold waters.  I was about to get in the merch line but the lights already started flashing.  SIGH.  I gave Hippo a water and before we could settle in much, the show started again.  I told her my plan for the end of the show, though.

I will admit, my lack of sleep from the previous two nights was starting to catch up with me, and I had no caffeine available to combat it with.  I almost ducked out of the show early because I felt myself nodding off with the heat in the theater masked with the dark of the theater and that the second half of the show was less exciting (but still fun!) than the first.  Seeing the show live was amazing!

Just as Matt said they were ending the show there, I hopped out of my chair (I was in an aisle) and went into the lobby.  I was dying to get a set of the metal dice... and they were sold out of EVERYTHING except the big blue d20 and some pins.  ARGHGHGHGHGH.  So I got the d20, and watched the rest of the show including Liam's very surprising win, on the monitors.  (I'd voted for Liam because I assumed Sam would win.  I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. :)  Though I love Sam to bits.)

Hippo joined me outside in the lobby early, and we left the theater just ahead of everyone else and she waited and we chatted while I called a Lyft.  She wanted to get out before traffic got too crazy, too, so she took off.  I am VERY MAD I didn't get a pic with the two of us at all.  Next year?!  

Then of course my Lyft driver didn't come to where I was exactly (literally at the Lyft pickup/dropoff designated location) and I had to walk around and look for him and by the time I found him, he'd gotten boxed in so we had to wait in traffic anyway.  Ah well.

At least the freeway was re-opened that night heading back to the airport, and thus, my hotel, for a shorter ride.  I ended up not falling asleep til close to 2.

I loved my evening and would do it all again but that Jeremy and Marcus told me that the Starfinder game they played in that night was AH-FUCKING-MAZING and was literally one of their favorite games of their entire lives, both of them.  It was a multi-table megagame that had a pass-fail condition and would shape the next season of the Society, and I'm sad I missed it while being really glad I did what I did.  Sometimes it's feast or feast, and you gotta pick which awesome meal you want.

I didn’t take many pics, just one as they were settling in after Sam came out in his costume, and one during intermission.  It’s all on Twitch, anyway!

SATURDAY

Oh man, for some really dumb reason we'd scheduled our Saturday morning for 8AM... but it was Starfinder!!  Uh, I will say I consumed more caffeine on that Saturday than maybe any other day of my life.  But it was needed.

What also helped keep me awake that it was FUCKING FREEZING IN THE ROOM.  The game itself was an absolute blast, though.  It was a brutal slog through a dead planet with hostile aliens everywhere and we had to stealth through, collect information and get out.  This was the game I felt the closest to death in all weekend, I'll say that for sure.  But we did it!

The very kind Felice(sp?) who was at the table decided she didn't want to carry her hoodie through the dealer hall, where she was going next, and her husband was working the main table at the Pathfinder room, so she told me to leave it there with him when I was done with it.  Since our next game was also in the Paizo room, I took her up on this offer and was warm and comfy the next few hours.

Our DM, an Operative, and Felice, plus the Hoodie of Warmth +2.

A very rare picture of me, on the internet, along with the guys.

And our next game was our first Pathfinder 2 game!  We were very excited to try out the system, and were put at a table with a father and son duo.  Jeremy and Marcus were excited because the DM was the same guy who'd DM'd their Starfinder game while I was at Critical Role.  

The only bad thing that happened here was that the El Paso Cielo Vista shooting news broke.  I grew up in El Paso, from when I was 12 to 22... it's Middle School through college for me.  Even though I've now lived in Dallas twice as long as I lived in El Paso and I haven't been there in like ten years, it's still... a little bit home.  So I left the table for a little bit to get on Facebook and make sure my friends there were all okay (they are), and text with my mom to make sure a family member who still lives there is okay (she is, though she took awhile to answer mom so we were worried.)  I have a lot of thoughts though, which belong in another post, and I'm still angry and upset about the shooting, even though it didn't affect me personally.  But for now, that's the end of talk of that terribleness.

At our table were a father and ~10 y/o son, who I'm cutting out of the pics because posting pics of minors without getting permission is not OK.  Also, the game was SHORT.  It turns out it was designed as an intro to Pathfinder 2 or maybe even RPGs in general so we knocked it out pretty quick, like 2.5 hours.

One very cool thing that Pazio was doing was that when you played in a game, you got a wooden token that you took up to the prize table, and rolled a d20 + d10.  No matter what you rolled, you got a prize, though most of them were cool little boons for your official characters.  However, if you critted, you got to pick a physical prize from the table.  Well, we played so much that Jeremy and Marcus both critted twice.  They ended up getting ALL THREE Token boxes (like cardboard minis, very nice quality) for Starfinder, plus the Starfinder Beginner's Box.  Pretty sure those four things together retailed for over $100.  Score!

So after the short game, with time to spare before our next game, the gang decided it was Dealer Hall time, literally the first time Jeremy or Marcus had time to go AT ALL.  I volunteered to be the stuff-holder.  After dropping off Felice's hoodie, I found a comfy seat near an outlet that was near the dealer hall and let everyone dump the stuff they didn't want to carry with me.  They came back and left stuff with me, and then after a couple of hours, also brought me dinner from the food trucks.  It was a fair trade.

I also asked Jeremy to stop by one particular booth and pick me up a set of dice I'd decided on, Blue Turquiose stone dice from Metallic Dice Games.  I took some pics of the dice below, though the next day I did have Jeremy swap out the d20 at the booth because I didn't like how some of the faces looked (by far the angle in the pic is the best side, there was too much solid color on the other sides of the die.)  These are going to be my official dice for my 4e character, who is a storm sorcerer reskinned as a druid.

LOVE THESE DICE, can’t wait to roll ‘em.

DM, Dad and blurred-out son.

A blurred-out boy and my guys.

Our final game of the day was the Cypher system, which is made by Monte Cook (one of the original D&D designers).  Cypher is a fairly simple system which mostly just uses a d20 and d6, and the DM never rolls dice.  The original system was made for a game called Numenera, which we'd played the beginner's box adventure for a few years ago but didn't feel like we got a good feel for the system, so we wanted to give it a go with a DM who knew the system well.

Overall, we enjoyed the game, it definitely wasn't "bad"!  But the problem was, we all agreed later, that the module that was being run was the kickoff module for a much longer campaign, there was a huge lore dump near the end and we also didn't really "get" everything that was going on.  

It also had the most memorable ending, though.  We ended the game by trying to escape from a base while being chased by some guys who greatly outmatched us.  My character was a pilot, and we needed to leave via a shuttlecraft.  One of the players who we didn't know was on the "get the door open and provide covering fire so everyone else can get to the shuttle" team.  And then he needed to make a roll in order to also GTFO and get to the shuttle.

He rolled.  Got a 5.  There's a mechanic where you can spend a card that you've collected in order to re-roll.  So he did that, got a 2.  Someone else gave him a card to re-roll.  He rolled a 3.  Someone else did.  He rolled a 5.  I was the last one with a card on the table, so I slapped it down.  He rolled a 4.

It was amazing.  Amazingly terrible rolling.

My pilot already had the craft powered up and was waiting for only him to get on.  I sighed, looked the player in the eye and said...

"I'm so sorry, but my character sheet says that I have a personality flaw.  I'm impulsive and impatient and have a setback to anything that requires patience, concentration or willpower.  I'm not waiting for you."  I looked at the DM and said "I decide that he's sacrificing himself to save us, and take off."

So I left him behind.  

The player was 100% cool with it, we had a laugh about it, and he agreed it was what my character would have done.  So it was kind of a tragic and funny way to end the game.  Also Brian needed to get some sleep that night so he hadn't come to that game, and Marcus left a little early to tend to the family, so just Jeremy and I closed out the night.

DM on the left, players I didn’t know in the center, and one on the right.  The guy in the bright blue shirt in the center?  I killed his character.  Sorry not sorry.

SUNDAY

The next morning, sadly, was the last day of GenCon.  We only had one game scheduled that morning, our second Pathfinder 2 game.  And EVERYONE was gonna be at the game!  

I hadn't even SEEN Gwen or Laura the entire con, and when they arrived at just about the same time Jeremy and I did, we joked that we hadn't believed the others were at the convention.  

We'd hoped that they'd let us put all 7 people at the table (Kirstyn had left late Saturday night to fly home and be at a concert she was playing in.)  They did not.  So we split up "Kids" and "Adults".

Sadly, this didn't work out super well for either table.  Gwen/Brian/Ally's table had a DM they did not enjoy and also a married couple who actually fought with each other uncomfortably at the table(!!).  

We had a good DM, but also an old guy who... I did not like.  At all.  He talked over the DM, even when the DM was explicitly trying to answer a question we'd asked him, things like rules questions on how game mechanics in PF2 had changed from PF1, since, you know, it was a system that had released THREE DAYS AGO.  Also, he was very... helpful... in telling me how skill checks worked and also questioning my decisions on how I was playing my character.  (YES, thanks I did consider carefully before casting Sanctuary on myself, and yes, it WAS THE RIGHT CALL.  I was the only healer in the party and had gargoyles flanking me, THANKS.)

I literally told the guy (as nicely as possible) "Sir, I've been playing RPGs for over twenty years, I'm well aware of how RPGs work, thank you" the second time he told me how skill checks worked as I was adding up my die roll with my skill modifier and took two seconds to do the math. And sure he'd probably been playing for thirty or more but um... I know how to roll a skill check.

After a short break, I told my friends I might need to leave the table.  Instead, Marcus and I switched seats so I wasn't sitting next to him anymore and the DM tried to refocus the game a bit.  It helped me at least.  I just did my best to ignore the guy.  I'm pretty sure he just didn't have the greatest social skills in the world but sometimes my tolerance for people like this can be... low.  His brother was also at the table and seemed okay, at least.  

The game itself was pretty good, ignoring everything having to do with that guy.  After the game the DM thanked me for sticking around and basically empathized that he was getting pretty annoyed, too.  

Not the greatest way to end gaming at the con, but hey, it also could have been worse.  I took pics of that game but decided not to put pics of someone I didn’t like on the internet.

Gwen, Brian and Ally's game ended like 45 minutes before ours (sadly, much to their relief) and they'd left to do one more run through the vendor hall and then left the con to start their drive home.  I had Gwen pick me up a set of dice that... I haven't even seen yet... and they were hella expensive.  I'm kinda feeling buyer's remorse about them right now, I didn't need to spend that much on dice this con but... well, we'll see how I feel when I see them in person.  If I hate 'em, I'll resell 'em.

All weekend long I'd been texting with my BFF from High School's husband, who is also my friend.  He was at the Con as well but doing his own thing and we'd been trying to arrange a meetup.  Well, we finally did it!  He came and saw me, and we hung out for about 45 minutes, just talking about the con, and old times and what we're doing now and the family etc. etc.  So that was great!  I was really glad to see him and catch up.

It’s Richard!

After he left because he had to go help tear down the booth he'd been working at, like the day before, I set up "basecamp" in the same place as before.  I had thought about going back to the vendor hall where Jeremy, Marcus and Laura were, but I'd already sent Jeremy off to ask him to pick me up the one last thing I wanted (the official GenCon dice tray.  I have a Wyrmwood Lacewood dice tray for home use, but wanted a nice travel dice tray.  I had a leather one for Kraken, but I'm real unhappy with Kraken Dice now and wanted something else.  I don’t plan on buying from them ever again in the future.  The official 2019 Gencon tray is very nice, and Jeremy had gotten one the day before, so he picked me up one as well.)

POST-CON

I only had to wait about an hour for the end of the con, and by that time the only ones from our group left were "the adults."  So once we were all gathered back up, the four of us headed out and walked a couple of blocks to a restaurant, which we couldn't get into, so we went to the restaurant next door, the Yard House.  

Wherein we had comically bad service, but they were very nice about it, and also WE were really nice about it, and ended up getting about half our meal comped.  Like our waiter had put in all the drink orders for all his tables to our table, so we had the wrong drinks delivered about five times.  We never got water refills.  Marcus had half a beer spilled on his leg (not even his beer, just another wrongly brought to our table), Laura's Appetizer-as-entree came out as an appetizer.  We asked for more chips for the chips and guac and queso we'd gotten as an app and never got it, etc.  Also while the manager was there assuring us we wouldn't have any more drinks brought to our table we didn't ask for... drinks were brought to our table we didn't ask for.  It was actually hilarious by that point.  

The waiter was brand new (his second day) so we got it.  It was just one of those things.  But they took care of us, we tipped well, it was all OK.

So that was the end of Gencon.  Back at my hotel, which Jeremy and I had long decided we wouldn't stay at again, I'd taken a shower very early Saturday morning after Critical Role.  Sunday morning when I showered again, the water still hadn't drained from the tub(!!) but I was in a hurry and just showered in gross cold water at my feet.  Then told the front desk.

They hadn't even been in my room all day to even clean up the room at all, much less do anything about the bathtub when I got back to my room Sunday night, so I switched rooms.  And then the room next to me had left the alarm clock on, and it went off at 9pm.  And my phone in that room didn't work, so I had to go downstairs a second time to get someone to go shut it off.  Also the AC in that room never turned off, the controls seemed to do nothing, so it was like 60 degrees in there the entire night.  It was actually a relief to leave the hotel the next day.  Next year... we'll pay a little more for a bit nicer hotel.

Annnd.. the next morning Jeremy and I got to the airport early enough, flight was full but not delayed, and had no problems getting home.  Spent most of the day from getting on the plane to going to sleep that night with a massive migraine so I spent the afternoon at home sleeping and drinking lots of water.. but yay... no con crud!

I miss the con, but being back in my own bed with my kitties is all worth it.  Still, I can't wait for Gencon again next year. :D

#gencon #gencon 2019 #critical role #critical role live #starfinder #pathfinder 2 #gaming #tabletop games #annakie's misc stuff

[dancal13]

Day 2 – So Much Music, So Much Wine

Quick Disclaimer:  Suzy and I both love live music, which is awesome as music has always meant a lot to me. And now Jack, Bailey and Megan are all into music - so I am still learning about and loving new music, while keeping up with past favorites.  But I have grown to hate large crowds (might even be a phobia for the small-minded person - meaning me).  So, we pay attention to all the small venues in Seattle and see a lot of up and coming bands as well as lot of bands that are past their prime.  Pretty cool on the whole, but what we miss out on is the big tours, the bands in the their prime, for example U2’s most recent stadium tour. Not a chance that I would go to that even though I love U2.  But Susan is clever and not one to give up on something she wants to do.  As I mentioned in the Prologue a couple of years ago our friends the Wilbur’s mentioned BottleRock and Susan had her in. Combining and weaving my love for music with my addiction and love for red wine into her sales pitch. The opportunity to see the Red Hot Chile Peppers (never seen by me) and hang in Napa Valley. I was low hanging fruit. (Sorry not such quick disclaimer after all)

And here we are…

We woke up Sunday morning to a chill and the threat of rain and thunder (could be song lyrics).  Much different than our previous visits, where our fears mostly included sunburn and 100-degree weather.  No rain gear, no worries – Susan doesn’t believe in General Admission, that is so bourgeois.  We are VIP Baby and VIP gets you shelter, nice bathrooms, shorter food and drink lines and an obvious sense of superiority.  This of course could easily be disproved, but it’s our story, so stick it. Our friends the Robbs (Jill and John) flew in early that morning and met us for breakfast prior to rocking out.  As true festival goers our breakfast included eggs benedict, smoked salmon-arugula-egg flatbread, Belgium waffles with fresh a bananas and a ham-gruyere omelet, obviously the breakfast of music rebels everywhere.

From there we dropped off the muscle car, its head banging purpose complete and left for the festival.  As we arrived the clouds opened, and we again questioned our attire. We watched in utter horror as umbrellas were collected at the gate and tossed into waiting garbage cans - NOT ALLOWED.  But we were quickly reminded who we were. 

We were VIP and loving every minute of it.  First Stop, I know hard to guess, the bar and wait, you guessed it a covered area looking over the main stage. We would never be anything but damp again as each big stage had a covered area waiting for us.

We had been here before, the covered area previously acted as shade, apparently it can serve two purposes. With wine and cocktails in hand we quickly worked our strategy.  In the two years since we had last attended there were some improvements to VIP. The first being that they had set aside a huge portion of the field in front of the stage for those of us who wanted to see the performers up close.  More on that later.

We headed back to the food and drink areas set aside for our elite status, which included some pretty awesome restaurants and drink options and an acoustic lounge, that featured performers who were finished with their sets or still yet to perform.  These quick and intimate performances lasted about 4 to 6 songs, with a much smaller crowd, maybe a 150 people at its largest. Pretty cool. Just a quick note: though we didn’t take advantage of this (or get taken advantage of by this) there was a booth selling very high-end CUPS of wines.  I wish I would have taken a picture of the menu for posterity.  You could get a small “plastic cup” of Joseph Phelps Insignia for a mere $72. It is here where we were quickly reminded that though we were VIP Special, we were way, way less special than the VIP Platinum attendees.

After some food and drink and an acoustic set or two, we ventured out to the main stage to see Skylar Grey. My only knowledge of her was when we received the first set of promotional materials and I was scrolling through the various artists; I was stopped by the picture of her legs.  See the accompanying picture 😊. Apparently, she is a singer songwriter known more for songs that she has written for more famous artists, she is also currently a local of Napa and a big fan of wine, maybe we will hangout some time.  The first song performed was a song she wrote for Puff Daddy, P Diddy or whatever his current name is.  She had a fantastic voice, tons of tats, and yes great legs.

We stayed for 4 or 5 songs, grabbed some fun pictures, and text-taunted our friends the Wilbur’s who went for multiple days and did GA, while hosting one of their daughter, a nephew and other young friends (as mentioned, VIP access got us pretty close to the stage)

Next stop the Firefox stage to see Gang of Youths.  If you have been to a music festival, typically you will come across a band you do not know, know only one song, or maybe know a few and their performance far exceeds your expectations - You are now a fan!  In the past I have had that reaction to Coleman Hell, New Politics, Odesza – this year it was Gang of Youths, sorry for the bad pic, I have video, but not quite sure how to embed.  They were rockers from Australia, and the lead singer and guitarist looked like Jon Snow from Game of Thrones, so Suzy enjoyed them as well. Hmmmm… GoY vs GoT coincidence?  I think not.

I was also able to capture this image during GoY, of the GA crowd behind me and my cup of cabernet.  I almost felt sad for their existence. Then I took another sip of cabernet, enjoyed the music and all was forgotten.

We headed to the third of four stages to see the Teskey Bros, a blues band that Susan had become a fan of, but finally bumped into our friends Brian and Anne, pictured below drinking Frozés (yup rosé slushies) 

and then stopped nearby for a quick visit to the Silent Disco.  A huge dance floor where everyone is provided a set of headphones that are channeling 2 or 3 different DJs.  Pretty funny to watch a bunch of people dancing together but to different music. On a channel that I wasn’t on, Don’t Stop Believing, by Journey was playing.  Half of the audience/dancers were singing along and singing so loud that I couldn’t hear my headphones, it was time to go.

The Teskey brothers were good and we stayed for most of their set.  We then made our way back to the main stage, the acoustic lounge and the food and beverage area in time for the evening set.  This is where my funny wife stepped up.  After getting an unsatisfactory pour of bubbles while I was receiving an abundant one, she decided to watch me during my next order.  Again, I received above the line pours for both our drinks.  Susan screamed; you are flirting with the guy working the bar.  And then again yelled that I was flirting with the girl during our next stop. Obviously these days I don’t believe in gender labeling (thanks Megan for you guidance), so I just went about my business of flirting, I know right – I AM SO WOKE.  The entertainment ensued from there as Suzy started making friends with people who had arrived early enough for seats, or spaces at the rails or just looked fun. After hanging a while with Suz, they would then offer their spaces to her as they left – by the end of the day we each had a role… Flirty WOKE Guy and Friendly “Who’s Your Buddy” Girl a match made in rock and roll festival heaven

Evening set: First up was Michael Franti and Spearhead.  Seems like he performs every year at Bottlerock, and I’m not sure anyone has a better time doing so.  We were near the stage, but when Michael Franti performs, that means you only get to see him up close for half the time.  He is a bare foot performer who likes to wander out and sing in the crowd, and he does it well. This was the first performance we stayed at for the entire set.

It was nearly 8:30 now and our backs and legs were nearly spent, but the headliner “Mumford and Sons” took the stage.  I’m a big fan of their music but was still surprised and awed by their performance. It was a bit harder than I expected, and they performed with so much energy it was great.  I will find a way to see them again, probably multiple times.

It was a long day, and I was sore for a few days after standing and dancing for nearly ten hours. I’m am not interested in attending other festivals like Coachella, likely because they are not in Wine Country. I know snobbery right?

One insight I would like to share. If you are attending something like this and using a bankcard for drinks, check ahead of time with your bank, as we found out the hard way, that it looks suspicious if you make a bunch of small purchases in a day (food and drinks), in another state. The bank can and will freeze your card until the next day, or until you call them. The good news or easy solution is to carry cash or a second card.  Learn from our mistakes.  

[ximca]

Evidence.ZIP: Nami's slow descent into love

Before we start I want to make clear a few things. This is not paid work which means it's substandard trash, all of the scans used are unofficial, but all the interpretations are mine.

Ready? Set. Go.

This first panel is not a shipping panel. LuNa or SaNa, it's not. However because it's been some days since Sanji took off, that means between that day and the day Luffy and company arrived, he's been on her mind. Again I stress, this is not a romantic sign or symbol of any note. Her tears are of worry and relief because she's been worried sick for her nakama and relief because finally, Luffy's here, let's get the rescue rolling.

The next two pictures are about Nami being eager to get off their butts and go after Sanji right away. But Luffy and Zoro are in no hurry, and even Chopper and Brook in other panels are just sad that Sanji is gone but they're not like Nami who's gung ho about chasing him right away. Does that mean they’re not worried about Sanji? No, of course they are, but Nami obviously is the most worried here.

Right before everything happened, Nami was pretty belligerent towards Sanji. She's used to everything he does, including his antics. But by no means does that mean she's apathetic to him. After all, even as early as FI our guy Sanji put in the work. In PH even if he didn't like it, he followed Nami's wish to save the kids and his body serendipitously saved Nami from Caesar's explosion. Nami knows that Sanji would save any other of his nakama, but it was only during the time skip that she began to see how much special attention Sanji actually paid her. And she doesn't even know yet, that Sanji gave her body respect when he dived that lake to get Kinemon's torso, when just a few minutes ago he was cupping her breasts like a madlad for a punchline.

Nami also remembers quite clearly what little Sanji told them about his family. It doesn't seem anything special until you realize that when this happened, Nami asked Chopper right before to dig a spot up for gold, and forgot all about it entirely when Sanji was telling them about Liar Norland.

So then Sanji and co. got captured. This is what I think triggered Nami, the "I'll be back but not really" smile she's seen twice in her life now: Sanji's and Bellemere's. She never really knew what she had until he was gone.

In this panel Nami is mad at Zoro for victim blaming Sanji. Both sides have a point, but take note of Luffy. He noticed, as well as I did (and a few others), that Nami was being a teensy bit overreacting at this point. Why I judged that to be his action instead of Luffy observing the back and forth, is because he’s of the same opinion as Zoro...marriages are no big deal, it’s not like somebody won’t return from a marriage. But Nami’s uncomfortable with it, so in order to remedy the problem, he decides to go up to Sanji and ask him to come back, because their navigator was being cranky when he wasn’t around. Also because he didn’t want to be a Big Mom subordinate, but if it was really the basis of his decision then he should have decided the chase before Nami’s overreaction.

The other two victims, Brook and Chopper, had very different stances. Brook was the calm and mature narrator while Chopper just kept apologizing.

See again Luffy in this panel. But, in addition to noticing Nami's vehement objection to Sanji's Vinsmoke lineage, there's also what I call the "wait a minute!" graphic. It's those small lines that form a semicircle near a character when something catches their attention during someone else's monologue. So now he knows something's definitely up with Nami, if he wasn't sure before.

That face isn't a "wait a minute, what are Vinsmokes?" but rather a "wait a minute, why are you objecting?"

For comparison, this is Nami’s “wait a minute, I know who you’re talking about” panel.

After the Jack ownage, Luffy was open to another banquet like he wasn't done with one the night before. Nami feels once is enough, let's get going, and gives her usual excuse of "you can't go anywhere without a navigator" spiel like Luffy doesn't know what she does. Go back to when Luffy visited Pekoms, he was still saying no to her because the fewer the members the higher the chance of stealth. But now all he says is OK. He knows that somebody on his crew can't wait to see Sanji again, and he's all too happy to oblige.

Even in this catfight prelude, Nami wants to hurry up, giddy up. But when Pudding elaborates on her situation...

THIS is where I think Nami caught herself slippin'. Luffy's just happy with someone complimenting his cook, Chopper is concerned with fact checking, but Nami...is concerned about Sanji's emotional well-being? If she really didn't give him the time of day then why the hell does she care whether Sanji marries for love and not just for political reasons? Just Nami well-wishing? Can't be, because well-wishers would not question whether or not the bride loves her groom in a political marriage.

ANYBODY else would give the happy bride-to-be a congratulations but only a "former-gf-who-has-accepted-the-reality-of-the-situation-who-still-has-residual-feelings-of-love" would confirm for herself if the man she left/who left her is being loved by his bride-to-be.

And before someone says “But family members and to an extent nakama would ask that too!”, they won’t question the bride’s/groom’s feelings, but whether or not he/she is ready to take care of their partner for the rest of their life. Nami isn’t asking “Will you take care of Sanji for the rest of his life?”

Also I think this conversation makes One Piece finally fail the Bechdel Test after all these years.

Fast forward to when they caught up with the Germa, that's Nami's face of relief from being worried about not being able to see each other again. If Sanji were his normal self this is probably where he'd ask her Do you love me now, Nami-san? or something. And after Nami fighting about quarter/half of 11 hours vs Cracker (this dude could take several G4 punches too), she'd probably reply to him in kind at that point.

I have no doubt in my mind that this Nami was one who already recognized her feelings and had no problem acting on them.

But reality is cruel...Sanji wasn't taking any chances. Even going as far as mock Luffy for his dream...and she believed it...despite hearing about a week ago from his own mouth that Luffy was going to be PK!

Luffy never believed the cockbull Sanji was cranking out, so why did Nami? Well for starters, Nami never experienced Sanji lying to her. Ever. You can even search the whole manga for a panel up to that point where Sanji lied to her, you won't find it. That's why she believed Sanji's lies so easily.

Do you remember the Usopp vs Luffy fight? The stated reason is because Usopp doesn't want to leave the Merry behind, due to his own insecurity about being weak and his projection onto the boat being useless and needing replacement which snowballed into him cracking. But was that really all it was? Of course not, Usopp wasn't selfish enough to fight for himself. Flee for himself maybe. He wasn't just fighting for the Merry Go, he was also fighting for Kaya because Merry was his reminder of her.

Scour the manga, all of Usopp's most emotional fight moments are because he was fighting for someone else.

Back to Nami, what did the slap mean? Was it anger at beating Luffy up and spitting on his dream? Yes. Was it because of all the stress and worry for him being useless at that point? Yes. But as a natural opposite of Usopp, Nami's most emotional fight moments are about herself.

Nami decided to fight Arlong because of his continued tyranny towards Cocoyashi Village despite her doing her best to pay up their freedom, but the bulk of her anger was about how much Arlong fucked her life up. Thanks to him she never grew up with a normal childhood.

With Nami vs Ms. Doublefinger, I think Nami even decided to leave her to Zoro. However because she was being labeled a weakling (and underestimated), she decided to stay and fight. Nami vs Kalifa was a similar case of underestimation despite her taking the fight because Sanji was useless against Kalifa.

I think Nami was also mad that Sanji wasn't the same man she realized she fell in love with. Gone was the kind, humble, and goofy man who would stick up for his nakama and their dreams. In his place was a snotty brat who acted superior to everything and believed status gave them the right to shit on other people's dreams. Nami thinks Sanji has changed for the worse because of his newfound status, and drops the endearment term “-kun” which she only used for him.

It's framed like in TV dramas where the lady slaps the man out of passion. Yonji even lampshades it: "She's the fiery type!"

The last pic is just Nami’s “oh shit no” look compared to Luffy’s “oh shit” one.

I’m too tired to continue so I’m stopping this here.

Better researchers than I can spot where Nami first got infatuated by Sanji.

All I’m saying is, they don’t really care about us Sanami shippers should not worry about the character development Oda gave Nami in the Year of Sanji. It’s been a long time coming for us but it’s the last stretch before the game ends.

Don’t expect Oda to give them a flashy confession or an extraordinary action to validate the ship.

But if I read Oda right and this is where he wants Sanji and Nami to take the next step into their relationship, we’re in the green.

Naysayers will say things like “but Nami would do the same for the other nakama” or “so and so would act like that too” but take heed and remember, Oda does not write without reason. He MADE Nami overreact because he wants US to care that Sanji was taken from the crew. He WROTE Sanji into catching Nami with both of them sharing a brief smile because he wants US to feel the relief of both parties safe in each other’s hold.

And he DREW Pudding being jealous because that’s how some other ships feel about this arc. jk ilu guise this is just banter

Thanks for reading.

#sanami #sannami #sanji x nami #sanjixnami

[womenofcolor15]

Lupita Nyong’o Pens Painfully Beautiful Tribute To Chadwick Boseman + Funeral Service To Be Held In S. Carolina + 'The Wire' Star Clarke Peters' Regretful Comments About Chadwick

Lupita Nyong’o penned a heartfelt tribute to her Black Panther co-star Chadwick Boseman that will have you wiping your face after you read it. Get into her painfully beautiful tribute to her friend, plus details on Chadwick’s funeral services and more inside….

It’s been almost two weeks since we learned we lost an icon in the making. On August 28th, Chadwick Boseman passed away after a long battle with colon cancer. He was 43.

After news broke about his passing a slew of celebs – including his Black Panther co-stars, former co-stars, athletes, politicians, entertainers – you name it – posted touching tributes to honor his legacy. Everyone felt it. It hit hard. It was unexpected. And the shocking news was too much for Black Panther star Lupita Nyong’o as it took her while to gather her thoughts in order to honor her co-star/friend in the most eloquent way possible.

The Oscar winning actress took to her Instagram to share a touching tribute to the real-life superhero. And we can’t get over how painfully beautiful it is.

"I write these words from a place of hopelessness, to honor a man who had great hope,” Lupita wrote on Instagram attached to a picture of them laughing. “I am struggling to think and speak about my friend, Chadwick Boseman, in the past tense. It doesn't make sense. The news of his passing is a punch to my gut every morning."

If you didn’t know, Lupita played King T'Challa's love interest, Nakia, in the blockbuster film. While she said she hadn’t known him a long time, he will always be in her heart.

"Chadwick was a man who made the most of his time, and somehow also managed to take his time," she wrote. "I didn't know him for long, but he had a profound effect on me in the time that I did. When we came together to make Black Panther, I remember being struck by his quiet, powerful presence. He had no airs about him, but there was a higher frequency that he seemed to operate from. You got the sense that he was fully present and also somehow fully aware of things in the distant future. As a result, I noticed that Chadwick never seemed rushed! He commanded his time with ease."

        View this post on Instagram

                  Happy belated birthday to the King. May the Sun continue to shine upon you that you may continue to brighten our lives! #betterlatethannever #sometimesvacationmakesoneforgetful

A post shared by Lupita Nyong'o (@lupitanyongo) on Nov 30, 2018 at 5:29pm PST

  Although Chadwick had been battling cancer for about two years before Black Panther came out, Lupita said he made sure to show up to "every rehearsal and training and shoot day with his game face on."

"He was absorbent. Agile. He set the bar high by working with a generosity of spirit, creating an ego-free environment by sheer example, and he always had a warm gaze and a strong embrace to share. His large hands would descend on my shoulders and give them a squeeze that relieved me of the tensions I did not realize I was holding. Chadwick's hands were strong enough to carry the weight of the film and free enough to clasp mine when I needed it."

"He cared so deeply about humanity, about Black people, about his people,” she wrote. “He activated our pride. By pushing through and working with such high purpose in the films he chose to commit to, Chadwick has made the infinite his home.” And in a poignant statement she said, “His power lives on and will reverberate for generations to come.”

*tears*

Read her touching tribute in full below:

        View this post on Instagram

                  For the beloved #ChadwickBoseman. #TakeYourTimeButDontWasteYourTime

A post shared by Lupita Nyong'o (@lupitanyongo) on Sep 8, 2020 at 6:07am PDT

  Beautifully written.

Speaking of his co-stars...

Actor Clarke Peters reminds us why we should always be concious about how we judge others because you never fully know what a person is going through. After the Oscars last year, Clarke went to work with Chadwick on Spike Lee's "Da 5 Bloods." During an interview with "Good Morning Britan," the esteemed actor shared he made some comments about Chadwick that he now regrets.

"I have to say with a little bit of regret that I probably wasn’t the most altruistic in that environment, but hindsight teaches us a lot of things,” he said. "What I'm addressing is, basically, my wife asked what Chadwick was like. I was really excited to work with him. I said, 'I think he's a little bit precious.' And she said, 'Why?' And I said, 'Because he's surrounded by people who are fawning over him.'"

He talked about how Chadwick had a Chinese practitioner, who is massaging his back when he walked off set, he had a makeup lady massaging his feet and his (then) girlfriend was there holding his hand.

"And I'm thinking maybe the Black Panther thing went to his head," Clarke said.

After learning what the treatment was REALLY for, he has regrets.

"I regret even having those thoughts because they were really looking after him,” he said before getting super emotional.

Peep the clip above.

Whew! That def hit home. We all could learn a lesson from that.

While we're all still coming to terms with his untimely death, funeral arrangement have been announced to bury the real-life superhero. The MARSHALL star will be laid to rest in his hometown of Anderson, South Carolina. The actual date has yet to be determined, but it's reported it'll be private.

The "Get On Up" star's funeral arrangements were overseen by the Marcus D. Brown Funeral Home in Chadwick's hometown.

“It’s an honor to make arrangements with this family,” Marcus Brown told WYFF-TV. “I’ve known them for many years, so it’s an honor but it humbles me as well.”

Also, his hometown has begun working on a major statue and murals throughout the city to honor their hometown hero. Before the official funeral, a special tribute was held for the actor in his hometown:

A special memorial service was held Thursday in Anderson at the Anderson Sports & Entertainment Complex. The event, which was free and open to the public, featured speakers including the daughter of James Brown, Deanna Brown-Thomas, and Boseman’s pastor, Samuel Neely.

During the service, Brown-Thomas called Boseman “the epitome of black excellence” and recounted a story in which Boseman visited her family in Augusta, Georgia, ahead of his filming of her father’s biopic.

The mayor of Anderson, Terence Roberts, and Brown-Thomas both described Boseman as humble.

“He wasn’t Hollywood, and that’s what I loved about him,” Brown-Thomas said.

Over the weekend...

Black Panther co-stars Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, and Winston Duke jetted to Malibu for a private memorial to pay their respects to the late actor. The cast hugged one another and also Chadwick's grieving wife Taylor Simone Ledward.

    Michael B Jordan and Black Panther co-stars join Chadwick Boseman's wife and family at Malibu memorial for brave actor https://t.co/fhYDmJGlZ4

— Penelope Nankunda (@NankundaPenny) September 6, 2020

You can see pics from the memorial here.

Rest in Power, King!

  Photos: Lupita's IG/Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock

  [Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2020/09/09/lupita-nyong%E2%80%99o-pens-painfully-beautiful-tribute-to-chadwick-boseman-funeral-service-to-be

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Houseki no Kuni 3 - 6 | Girls’ Last Tour 3 - 6 | Boueibu OVA | Netjuu no Susume 6 | Juuni Taisen 7 | Mahoutsukai no Yome 6

Apparently there’s a bonus if you watch until the end of the 5th ep of Netjuu no Susume…I’ve seen it, or else I wouldn’t be telling you it exists.

I’ve rolled out the simulcast commentary tags for the seasonal shows that don’t have tags yet (aside from Netjuu no Susume’s replacement when that time comes).

Plus, as you can see in the title…there’s the Boueibu OVA in this bundle of notes, for completion’s sake.

Houseki no Kuni 3

That snail sure is a lively thing.

Really? A poop joke? Well, that’s one way to rub Phos’s new state into Dia’s face.

…welp, not much to talk about this time, I guess.

Houseki no Kuni 4

What the heck? The snail has a type???

This OP is lovely. Its best aspect is the visuals, though. It sounds kind of plain compared to even Saturday Night Question (Netjuu no Susume).

That snail makes a nice wig for Master Kongo, doesn’t it?

I’m listening to this show for the first time, and Phos uses “boku”, interestingly enough.

The snail's urge to go back to its home in the sea reminds me that lots of Chinese people go back to their country for Chinese New Year. I wonder if the same sentiment is involved in both instances?

The ED is nice, but not as good as the OP.

Houseki no Kuni  5

Watermelon? I feel sorry for the gem which has that name.

Ahh! These jellyfish are cute (and practical)!

“No getting all weak-kneed now!” – Says Phos, who’s got legs potentially harder than their body.

Houseki no Kuni 6

Trust exercises. I did some with some members of my anime club once. (Haha.)

I noticed the spikes were blue, so they might be Sapphire. It’s kind of like Rabbit’s necromantistry (Juuni Taisen), but…in a slightly different form.

Girls’ Last Tour 3

Kanazawa???? *thinks about King’s Game, where the protag and the author share the surname Kanazawa*

There’s some extremely glaring CGI during this episode. For a moment, you can discern Chi’s made of CGI while in her Kettenkrad.

Please don’t ship the grown man with the loli.

That’s some grim humour they attempted with Kanazawa. Kinda like Zetsubou-sensei (Nozomu Itoshiki).

Boueibu OVA

I almost wasn’t going to cover this, because it’s an OVA, but hey, why not make an exception? This may be the last time we Boueibu fans can talk about this stuff again…(Plus I think I’ll have volume for the entire thing if I hurry.)

Haha, the volleyball scene. Notice En talks first.

Yumoto’s being basic as always. *sighs happily*

Trump, eh? The word for playing cards is trump, but…y’know?

(about “graduating in a storm of cherry blossoms” and En saying it sounds lonely) I was just about to say that, En. However, that may just be OVA feels speaking.

Itsumo Ichiban? Rememer that guy? Well, there’s Itsumo’s brother on Kin-chan’s list. You can tell because he’s literally Itsumo Nisan. Geddit?

(about Zundar’s meeting with Kin-chan) The manga! It was correct after all!

Yep, that’s exactly how it went 2 years ago. In fact, I think it might be recycled content…(?)

Wombat speaks very formally. I learnt about keigo in the past year so I only picked up on that this time around.

The word used by Aki is “sad” according to the subs, but hazukashii means “embarrassing”, which puts a new spin on it.

They’re literally just using montages of s1, which is why I want Pony Canyon to bundle the OVA with s2. It’s more money, but for the consumer, it’s more worth it. However…having Bi…Egoism in an anime segment at all is new.

Akoya must be popular in the fandom. Either that or the staff are acknowledging how unloved he is.

Yay! It’s Star the VEPPer!

It’s good that each of these side characters is getting their own montage. Plus we’re getting official translations of the character songs, which is the best thing you can get for free when character songs aren’t distributed normally in most cases.

4th wall breaking! I guess you never expected that, eh? (Actually, you probably did, considering it’s been a montage for almost everyone now.)

(I love En’s little snarks in the middle of the song.) The only one left after this is Atsushi, right? Update: Oops, forgot Kin-chan. Sorry Kin-chan.

I never really realised Atsushi’s song was so hard rock compared to En’s more pop-like one.

“But do I really have that fire inside of me?” – I think I heard the song go atsui which is a real funky (in a good way) pun on Atsushi’s name.

Aww, they missed out in such a good pun! Haru went haru and Aki went aki. The translator didn’t pick up on that though…aww.

Whoa! Yumoto got all scary! Botan Yuzuru though…gotta look into that later for magicalgirlsandcerulean.

This (Spanish?) guitar reminds me of this track from The Dog Island.

A-ha! This is what you get when you translate the Japanese in the ads too.I was quite right indeed, although it really is the dang 132nd graduation ceremond.

It’s literally a button monster. Don’t wanna mash his buttons! (I bet you’re all groaning from my jokes, ahaha…)

Dadacha’s voice sounds kinda ridiculous now because Yasumoto is clearly using the deeper voice he normally uses for Zundar.

Notice the monster’s face is made from the character 高 (the first character in the Japanese word for “high school”).

Salty Sol is still salty after all this time…sad life.

That train station is the same one from the beach episode!

I’ve seen enough spoilers so I know where this is going…I already identified in the spoiler chat what Wombat is going to catch as a reference to a Kenji Miyazawa work.

This train is somewhat obviously CGI…

Spinach curry? When’d Wombat eat that?

Ths slideshow appears to be all the clean art for everything they’ve ever produced in the Boueibu canon! Even events and collabs!

“So wipe away your tears.” – I’m not crying, you are…*tear leaks from corner of eye*

I don’t recognise two of those pictures…(EnAtsu beach pic and a yukata one with the Defence Club on the roof.)

Oh…my…it’s over? Well, frankly I was expecting the fandom’s end in 2015…so, here’s to the future. Farewell, and remember: love is forever! Separations are only a new beginning!

Netjuu no Susume 6

That was a really bad Glico man in the back (of Koiwai)…

I think something’s wrong with my eye. It just gave off a few tears…(kidding tone)

Whose car is this that Morimori-chan is sitting in??? Update: It’s a taxi. Whoops.

I think Morimori-chan used the word douryou (colleagues, coworkers) instead of employees. The word for employees would probably be very different.

Nikunokiya??? (thinks about Kinokuniya)

(Koiwai goes Ai no chikara ne…) Boueibu reference…kind of.

Notice Koiwai said he was low on health in the text but he said zombie in the Japanese. That’s where Fruits de Mer comes in for Morimori-chan.

“There’s no way I’d say something like that!”

I think the cup this ED is new. Plus the headphones.

Oh! I spotted Morimori-chan with the medium length hair in the background of Sakurai’s bit of the ED.

There are some blurry pictures of Koiwai in the ED and they’re so hilarious!!!

So the ED actually evolves along with the show. Interesting.

Juuni Taisen 7

Rabbit stores his blades in his tail. That’s weird, but funny.

Literally, the episode title is “Dragon Head, Snake Tail”.

Dragon and Snake really are like the Beppus! I keep thinking that. I want a crossover fic now…

Tatsu = dragon.

I only just realised but…a naga is a snake. Nagayuki is the younger bro, isn’t he? Dangit, Nisio Isin! You bested me again.

150 doesn’t have any significance in regards to the number 12 now does it?

It’s Rabbit! Who’s not wearing his trademark booty shorts or high heels! Rabbit in a waiter’s outfit is really something, though.

“Hot guy”? Not by most people’s standards Tora/Kanae, considering he’s currently missing his head.

It’s tiger versus…aww. It’s not tiger vs dragon…

How can Ushii still talk after being strangled by Snake’s arm???

Whoa! Incendiary components are cool in Bond movies, but fiery liquid? That’s a step up!

Mahoutsukai no Yome 6

Admit it. You saw it in the next ep preview (unless you skipped it or read the manga)…It’s TITania time!

“She touched me for the first time.” – Elias, what a dork you are…

The birbs around Chise are so fluffy and adorable! It’s cute.

Geez, it really is TITania…these fanservice wiggles are destroying my Mahoutsukai no Yome experience…

Seing the Faerie Queen facepalm…is something else. *sweatdrops*

In the same way I want a koala sheep from Avatar the Last Airbender, I want one of those sheep bug things.

“Every creature of the night, including she and you, are my adorable little children.” – No wonder you have such big hooters, TITania…

A wild SIMON appeared!…Thought we’d forgotten about him for the rest of the episode. He would’ve made a better brick joke if his return were prolonged, y’know.

Strange question, but do priests wear pants?

Girls’ Last Tour 4

I’m listening to Ugoku Ugoku for the first time and it’s…strangely catchy…

That thing with the face is really creepy…

That thing is a stone statue???

“What IS cheese?” – Considering sometimes cheese tastes pretty bad, I don’t blame you for not knowing what cheese is.

Couldn’t they check the camera for what Kanazawa was doing with it?

I just saw the number 3230 on the camera’s inside frame for taking pictures (whatever you call it). That might be the year this show is set…

Notice the word for temple that’s used is jiin, a Buddhist temple. A Shinto version of that might be jinja.

Kanazawa was voiced by Akira Ishida? The guy who did Kiku (SGRS)??? NOOOOOOO! I missed a prime opportunity! I’ll have to go back for it later.

The ED is even more catchy than the OP. Is that even possible???

The camera breaks in the ED…that’s so ominous…

That post-ED scene was cute. A little bit.

Girls’ Last Tour 5

The slightly-electronic-sounding OP doesn’t quite fit the show, does it?

The phrase used was definitely ie dake ni. I’m not quite sure what that means, but…okay. I’ll just believe the subs on that one.

I wonder if Sentai is planning to dub these…I can imagine this show being dubbed.They wouldn’t need to pay too many VAs for it, for one thing.

Akogare is the word for desire or longing. It would be no surprise f there was an akogaru or akogarareru made from it as well.

Notice it’s “Yay!”, but with the word for house (ie) emphasised.

What is this fish dream, a metaphor for lesbians…?

The soundtrack guys must’ve had lots of fun striking cans or whatever.

I think this ED is different to the one last ep…Its name appears to be Amadare no Uta and it’s sung by the main VAs.

I bet the soundtrack guys hit a bell or two there…

Girls’ Last Tour 6

Oh no! It’s an Anime Scientist! Last time we had one, it was Shinawa (Kado), and you know how badly that went…

Interesting that the word for “takeoff” is “separation [from the] ground” literally.

Okay! I’m caught up to the weekly episodes now!

#simulcast commentary #girls' last tour #boueibu ova #boueibu #binan koukou chikyuu boueibu love! #binan koukou chikyuu boueibu love! love! love! #mahoutsukai no yome #ancient magus bride #juuni taisen #netjuu no susume #recovery of an mmo junkie #houseki no kuni #land of the lustrous #chesarka watches juuni taisen #chesarka watches netjuu no susume #chesarka watches shoujo shuumatsu ryokou #chesarka watches houseki no kuni #chesarka watches mahoyome #battle lover simulcast

[tarantula-hawk-wasp]

Bat Paladin Chapter 3

Voltron / batfam /dc comics crossover

chapter 1

chapter 2 Shiro is Bruce Wayne’s adopted son and part of the batfam AU created by me (I was the anon) and @newtsckamander Chapter 3/ ~10 Word count 3.8k I’m sorry formatting is messy, I posted from mobile

******* In general, things get easier with repetition. Stage actors recite lines over and over until they’re engrained in memory. Athletes develop muscles through use. Accuracy is learned by doing the same shot a thousand times.

Bruce wished grief and loss operated by this principle.

He was no stranger to death. From that fateful night in his childhood when he lost his parents, to friends and young partners, he had buried many people. He had mourned and struggled to move on and coped with so much loss.

And yet, a vast majority of those people he had grieved for had come back. Jason had come back. Stephanie had actually survived. Clark and perhaps half the league had been considered dead at some point. Statistically, Bruce should be skeptical of the validity of any presumed death.

Experience now left him in a rather precarious position. A bit like schrodinger’s cat, Shiro was presumed dead but had a chance of being alive. The question now was which did Bruce focus on. Mourning him under the assumption he was dead like his parents and most of the population, while harbouring the slight and fated-to-be-slowly-crushed hope that presumptions were wrong and he was alive? Or to expect him to be alive and have reality wear down on him with each day of uncertain absence? Either one could destroy him in the long run.

And how long did he search? How far into space until Shiro was truly beyond any hope of finding? Did he continue like a one-track record while his friends agreed to search to his face and then plotted interventions behind his back? And what approach did he take with the rest of the family? Would it be healthier for them to mourn without doubt? Or to harbour hope that he would be found?

Instead of lessening his conundrum, investigation only exacerbated it.

A Justice League investigation of the icy moon had found no evidence of the spaceship crashing. In fact, the vehicle was completely intact. Shiro and the Holts had made it safely to Kerberos and had left their ship in their excursion suits with all the planned equipment.

The first experiment site however, told a darker tale.

Every part of the Kerberos mission was expertly planned. GPS and previous probes had plotted down to the meter where the work was to be conducted.

That exact location was decimated. Something powerful had wrought a swath of destruction that had shredded the ice and rock surface and left only mangled fragments of the metal drill tripod.

The part that left the most questions was the lack of evidence of the crew. No fragments of spacesuits. No helmet shards. No fabric fibers. No bodies. No charred carbon. They were simply gone.

The worst case scenario was that they were dead in some way that left no evidence, but no other matter was missing from the area. Re-arranged, yes, but unaccounted for? No.

Until the Green Lanterns returned from meeting with the Guardians, there was no way to identify any residual alien energy or microparticles they might have found.

Bruce’s desperate hope for his son was alien abduction.

****** A telescope was added to the memorial case.

It looked as out of place as it felt - a mundane object flanked by costume-clad mannequin torsos and propped weaponry. It had been the first gift Bruce had given Shiro. A settling-in present after he’d lived with him for a month and offhandedly mentioned over dinner how many more stars he could see from the Wayne property than the city. So Bruce had bought him a telescope.

It was moderately sized, nothing huge but big enough that Shiro could see some of the fainter and more delicate nebulae.

Shiro had been enamored with it. Astronomy became his nightly activity when he wasn’t helping man the batcomputer, allowing him to be on a schedule more compatible with the family.

Bruce remembered many times when he’d come up from the batcave after patrol to find Shiro clothed but asleep in a chair with a star chart open in his lap, and when woken, he’d drag Bruce to the telescope he’d left outside to show him some Messier object.

It became accepted fact that if there was any sort of high profile event at an observatory or space exhibit, Bruce Wayne would be accompanying his middle son there.

Recently, the observatory had invited Bruce for the first use of a new lens the Wayne family had donated money for a year ago. Bruce declined to attend. The observatory said they understood and expressed their empathy. The tabloids understood his absence too.

One of the truly worst things about a civilian identity was the public relations of when things like this happened. Even if he had a search underway for what really happened to Shiro’s, he still had to deal with the civilian side of things.

When Jason had died it had been easier to keep things low key and although the family had celebrity status then, not there was a whole decade more of notoriety. Shiro had been a public figure as an adult in his own right. And the mere fact he was an adult added levels of complexity.

Like lawyers, and wills.

Shiro’s last will and testament was a harsh, physical reminder that his son was a decade older than Jason had been. Shiro had an impeccable will, drawn up by a Wayne recommended firm.

He left a few sums to various funds, plans for a new charity, and items for his brothers and sisters and for his oft-spoken-of friend Keith.

***

Shiro’s death was public knowledge and scandal, on the news for weeks and then months as the Garrison investigation into the incident continued.

There were three memorials Bruce had felt obligated to attend.

The private one that the Justice League attended, with friends whose raw glances of sympathy were the only ones Bruce found tolerable. They had known Shiro for the decade since his adoption and were also feeling his loss keenly.

There was the public memorial held in Gotham where a crowd turned out and lay flowers and ribbons for one of the city’s famous sons. Gotham had been proud to have famously from her embark on a historic space mission. Shiro’s publicity tour before the mission had been well received. Bruce hadn’t minded saying a few words to the crowd there as much as he feared he would.

Then there was the Garrison memorial attended by both those graduated and attending there.

Shiro’s training team and close friends were sitting in their own section next to the one for families of the team. There was a variety of twenty-somethings and one younger teen that Bruce recognized as Keith.

Bruce had never actually meet Keith. He had heard much about Keith. Shiro had called and told him many stories about Keith, including on the day they had met. Bruce had seen many photos and short videos of Keith. But Bruce had never met Keith in person.

And a memorial was a hard place to start.

After the Garrison speech that waxed poetic on his son’s talents and love of his job and a touching note about how his contributions to science would not be forgotten, Bruce exchanged sympathy with the Holts and intended to introduce himself to the boy. But by then Keith had left. ****** Hal Jordan was standing in his usual civilian clothes and jacket in front of the memorial case staring at the telescope with wet tracks on his face.

Bruce put his coffee mug down on the nearest flat surface.

“I just got back from Oa… Diana told me…” he didn’t turn to look at Bruce. Bruce grunted noncommittally. “I didn’t know… I waved at Pluto as I passed…”

“He would have appreciated that.” Bruce eventually said.

“I’m heading back out. I’ll scan everything. I just- I needed to come here first.” Hal finally faced Bruce, eyes searching. “I keep picturing when he was a kid and he’d follow me around the watchtower asking questions. Every flight back to Earth I’d spend preparing what stories I’d tell him. I was so proud when he aced piloting and when he was selected for this mission, but now I can’t help but fear this was all somehow because of my influence. Piloting… space…”

“Hal… Shiro loved space since long before even I knew him. As much as you’re his favorite Uncle, he was determined on this path since childhood. You can’t blame yourself any more than I can for letting him go to that school.” They were standing next to each other, shoulder to shoulder facing the case again. Hal nodded silently but grateful.

“I’m going to search Kerberos for any clues. Then I’ll go back to Oa to research. If he’s out there, I won’t give up until I’ve found him or the truth.” Hal declared, voice heavy, and then flew out the cave entrance.

* * * * * In the past decade or so, Bruce’s social persona had become more bearable. “Brucie” had transitioned from “ditzy but well-meaning playboy” to “ditzy but well-meaning playboy and father”. His public persona had to appear responsible enough for no one to question his custody of half a dozen youths.

Bruce had found the easiest way to accomplish this was to cultivate a new hobby of showing off his kids at any opportunity. He had a wallet packed with school photos, albums of pics and videos on his phone, and a wealth of stories he could share in any conversation.

Instead of having to convince people that “Brucie” had suddenly become an extremely responsible adult, he could simply start bragging.

“My Cassie is doing triple pirouettes in ballet, I have a video of it right here that you simply must see”

“Look at Damian and his science project! I don’t think our carpets will ever be the same.”

“Shiro sent me this pic from the flight simulator at his astronaut school. He’s top of his class and set a school record for highest score”

It was far more satisfying than bumbling and flirting had been in his younger years. He still winked at the ladies and broke a few wine glasses every now and then, but mostly he blathered about his brood. This had the added benefit of boring and discouraging gold-diggers and those arrogant people who disapproved of the bloodlines of most of his family. Bruce was proud that there was so much to boast about.

Of course now his public reputation as a family-man and celebrity status meant that he had to address what happened on multiple television shows, and magazine interviews, and online forums.

It was a seemingly unending slur of similar statements.

“Shiro knew the risks, it’s like I said in the Kent interview for the Daily Planet, Shiro talked it over with the family, he felt that any danger was worth it and even in his will he reminded us that this was what he wanted to dedicate his life to, however much time that would be.”

“I think - and I’d hope I’d know as his adoptive father - that what Shiro would want for the future of space exploration would be for it to continue. Learn from his mission, make it so the next one is a success. Go beyond Kerberos someday. Meet some aliens.”

“It’s hard on all of us, but we’re trying to get through it as a family, to remember the better times.”

“No, I don’t blame the Garrison, like I’ve said, Shiro accepted the risks and chose that job. Now we have to accept what Shiro wanted. I’ve always said I encourage the kids’ interests and respect their decisions, I can’t stop doing that just because I don’t like the outcome.”

“What do I have to say to the parents of kids who want to be astronauts? Encourage them. Buy them a telescope, watch their eyes light up at night. In fact, that’s why I’m creating the Shiro Space Foundation, to help fund and organize the formation of astronomy clubs in schools. Because that’s what my son would want.”

Slowly the media ran out of similar questions and sympathy statements to use the Wayne name with, but Bruce knew that each release of new info about the mission would only restart the onslaught.

***** Dick and Cass went to collect a few of Shiro’s things and some gifts and cards from the Garrison.

They also were checking in on Keith, something requested in Shiro’s will.

Dick reported back that he was seeing the facilities counselor for required visits and that a few upperclassmen who had been friends with Shiro were keeping an eye on him.

Cass told Bruce that she read the boy as taking it hard and blaming authority.

Jason came back from a second visit laughing bitterly. Apparently Keith knew of him from stories as “Jay”, Shiro’s brother who hated the media and therefore hid from it. Jason then made a bittersweet observation.

“He’s an angry at the world black haired orphan. Apparently your taste in trainee is a family trait. That’s probably why he never brought him home here, Alfred would have given him a room thinking he was one of yours.”

Bruce tried to focus on how proud he was of Shiro for taking someone under his wing. That kind of compassion was an excellent trait to have.

*******

Batman hesitated before emerging from the shadows on the rooftop. Around the corner of the structure housing the roof-exit access Spoiler and Red Hood were supposed to be waiting for him. But he heard a third, female voice that was not Black Bat. It was Catwoman, but her tone was serious.

“-y’know him, he’s getting a little antsy,definitely plotting, but the rest of us can keep him distracted for a few more weeks at least.”

“Even the time you’ve given us so far has helped. I don’t know if he’s noticed but-” Red Hood was the one to reply.

“-Not that we couldn’t have handled it without him, but he’d take control of everything.” Spoiler interjected with a hint of defensiveness. Batman could picture her crossed arms and cocked jaw.

“I know. And if something does happen, I’m not the only one willing to help you this time.” Catwoman reassured. “The Rogues respect Batman enough to give him time to mourn, plus, you heroes hit harder when you’re upset.”

Batman felt a cold wash percolate down his spine at the vague reminder of what had happened. He aggressively ignored that to digest the new information. Retrospectively, the past few weeks had been quiet, with no capers by the usual miscreants, only mundane petty criminal violence.

The past month had left him so busy with his civilian life that he hadn’t had time to dwell on why things had been so quiet after hours. Suddenly a number of recent events made far more sense in the lense of the Rogues knowing something.

The flowers on his patrol route being unseasonably lush with their blooms open a little longer past dusk than natural.

Harleen Quinzel saluting him with a solemn expression while walking her hyenas in pajamas at five in the morning.

Bank robbers found trying to thaw out their getaway car’s frozen engine.

Batman was brought back to the conversation by Red Hood speaking again.

“What exactly did you tell them? Because it’s not like they ever saw-… It’s not like when it was me and they noticed the lack of Robin.”

“I kept it vague,” Catwoman paused, voice tired, “Just that Batman had an adult civilian son and he…”Her voice choked off. “That was enough for them to understand. Enough of them have civilian relatives themselves.”

“Thank you.” Spoiler reiterated.

“Of course. And how are you kids handling it. I know I’m no counselor but Batman is an emotional brick. If you need to talk…” Catwoman offered.

“It’s hard but we’re all working through it together.” Spoiler answered slowly.

“Yeah, helps that there’s no hard feelings and no blame… just grief. He was… he was close to each of us in a different way and that’s something we all have in common.”

“There are a lot of good times to remember and talk about.”

“I’m rather relieved you’re coping well. I didn’t know him as well as you, but from our limited encounters, I am grateful I knew him.”

Catwoman was gone when Batman showed up on the rooftop to confer with his silently waiting partners. *****

Bruce had loved the night for years. He spent most of his time out in the dark and, in between the moments of staccato sensation of fighting, there was the peace and calm. The lights of Gotham danced in the streets below him, a distant world of nightly reverie he watched and protected.

Thirty years ago, before the ordinances and bulb replacement projects he had heavily backed, the light pollution from the street lights and skyscrapers had drowned out all but the brightest of stars from the sky. Now it was greatly lessened and entire constellations were visible in the breaks in the clouds.

Bruce could remember driving out to the countryside with his parents as a small boy, lying out on a blanket on a grassy hill, and marvelling at the constellations while his parents spun the tales of the myths that those celestial patterns told.

Now, the stars were mocking points of light - too literal spots of hope on the inky darkness of reality. The night sky held Bruce’s hopes and fears.

If he felt embittered by the sky from Gotham, it was nothing to time on the Watchtower. He did not let himself shirk monitor duties there, no matter how many offers of coverage he was given by every other member of the League. Instead he would carry out his shift, sitting in a silence more stony than previous, resolutely focusing on the computers and monitors, not the expansive viewports.

He still freshly remembered the first time Shiro had come to the watchtower. He had left Gotham to Dick, Jason, and Barbara and taken Shiro to the nearly empty space station. Shiro hadn’t asked to see the Watchtower after he had found out that the league had a headquarters in orbit, he had still been too hesitant with his role in his new family and afraid of pushing a limit to request that. He had, however, asked a slew of questions about the station and the brightness in his eyes had allayed any reservations Bruce may have had about taking a “civilian” there.

Shiro had been fourteen and a set of long, coltish limbs restraining trembles of excitement. His arms had been clinging to a stack of books - homework and an astronomy book - and his eyes had been wide behind the rudimentary domino mask Bruce had deemed necessary.

Diana had smiled at his enthusiasm on her way out.

Bruce had picked a night where the only league members present were ones who already knew his identity, Shiro’s wasn’t one he was willing to risk haphazardly. The less people who knew about his connection to Batman, the safer both the family’s identities and Shiro himself were.

He had given Shiro a tour, showing and explaining much of the systems that ran the watchtower and lingering at viewports on each side. Then they had returned to the monitors and Shiro had spent the rest of the evening staring out the windows and telling Bruce his observations.

In his early teen years Shiro became a fixture of Bruce’s shifts there. He went with him every opportunity he was allowed. Bruce also liked that it let Shiro meet his “coworkers” without having Shiro anywhere near real combat or inviting more people to the batcave.

Even as he aged, Bruce had given him clearance to come to the watchtower to visit during weekends off from the school campus.

He associated the watchtower nearly as much with Shiro as associated it with the Justice League. It was a hard place to be.

**** It was the middle of the afternoon when Bruce’s phone pinged. His personal cellphone that was linked with the bat computer.

Damian was at work with him today, rocking in a swivel chair with a textbook balanced on his knees, and he lunged for the device before Bruce could.

“I know what phone this is. Is there some attack or something happening?” He read the notification with a furrowed brow, textbook readily abandoned and shoved to the floor.

Bruce reached over and snatched the device out of his hands. It was a series of symbols and code words sent to him by an automated monitoring system linked to the batcomputer. He opened his laptop, inserted a black bat-logo’d flash drive, and interfaced with the cave computer.

“Someone’s hacking a specific part of the Garrison computer.” Bruce said to fill Damian in. His son had moved to hover around his right side to watch the screen over his shoulder.

“Why would they do that? Is someone trying to launch a rocket?”

“No, they’re accessing probe and transmission records from a secure file. What I’m trying to figure out is who’s doing it.” Bruce explained, fingers moving quickly and gaze focused.

“Is it foreign? Wasn’t Luthor mad that space exploration privatized?” Damian speculated. Bruce grunted and frowned, pausing. He was secretly keeping tabs on anything related to the Garrison Kerberos mission. He had minor alerts for new or changed information in them, copies of all deleted files, and notifications when certain people accessed them. This was the first time a compromise alert had come in.

“The hacking coming from inside an office at the Garrison headquarters. But the computer is marking it as an intrusion.”

“Maybe the guy just forgot his password.” Damian was obviously disappointed at the anticlimactic answer.

“Ah. Whomever is doing this is using outdated security passwords for minor things. Passwords that weren’t flagged immediately as incorrect.” Bruce’s brow uncreased.

“Why? Shouldn’t a facility like that have at least some cyber security?”

“They do. Their computer didn’t automatically classify this as an attack because the codes used were those of Sam Holt.”

“Oh.” Damian became quiet, almost cautious, the way that was becoming typical with anything regarding Shiro. Bruce appreciated that Damian, who often frankly expressed his opinions of people, had been keeping quiet about Shiro and what happened around his siblings. Damian was very hit or miss for his interactions with people and only then in the long run. Bruce, despite mental efforts otherwise, found himself wondering at the lost potential of what Shiro and Damian’s relationship would have been.

The results of a cursory look at the Garrison indoor security cameras proved Bruce’s hypothesis of the identity of the hacker correct. He closed his laptop. It would be hypocritical to deny access to her when she had as much right to those files and the truth as he did and for the same reasons.

#Shiro #Bruce Wayne #voltron #batfam #shiro is a batkid au

[frethorentden-blog]

10 online dating mistakes

The 10 Online Dating Mistakes You're Probably Making • EBONY Yes, you bought the six-month package, but you stopped updating your profile, visiting the site, and replying to messages after four weeks.  Why would you not have a profile photo of yourself? Check out the venue in advance and know your route and the parking situation.  Adding group pictures Why should we even mention this? Don't just believe them, though — try out their suggestions, which are all based on data, and see what happens.  Images of you tell lots of valuable information about yourself.  I once showed up to a coffee shop to see that my date had arrived in his pajamas with a book to read in case he got bored.  And finally keep yourself healthy and get entertained with SmuggBugg.  Don't miss a single article by Daisy and Cosmo.

10 Online Dating Mistakes you should stop doing right now To become too attached suggests that you are projecting a fantasy onto the other person.  They surround us wherever we go — in the street, at work, while studying, etc.  Hoping that she will get interested in you by just reading about your merits and hobbies is just unreliable.  How great of a swimmer can you become if you just keep one foot in the shallow end of the pool? What makes this even worse is that dating sites give you the ability to use search functions to rip through this process even quicker.  How would you like it if you went out with someone only to find out later that everything you read about them online was fake? Using bad profile photos Make sure that your photo is up to date, good quality and one that shows you at your best.  Luckily, he quickly realized early in the game — and before meeting me — how narrow and foolish his thinking was.

Guys’ top 10 online dating mistakes Make sure you have a completely updated profile and every detail is filled accurately.  Here are some tips to keep in mind as you peruse the seemingly endless stream of profiles from prospective partners.  In fact, this only makes your potential match guess who is who in the picture.  So if you find her attractive, but there's something superficial you don't like about her, or if you find him interesting, but a little dorky, swipe right.  Wearing a fancy costume Yes, your Halloween costume won the cake at the party.

10 GIANT Mistakes the Best Online Dating Profiles for Men Avoid Typically these men had been in the dating game too long, or were too picky, or were too jaded to be open to accommodating a new person in their lives.  Since this is online, do not be carried away, take your time as you know the person well.  We live in the epoch of pictures.  Their ego is extremely sensitive to respect.  To be honest, there really is not one specific way of doing things that is going to guarantee you online dating success.  When you date in person, you do this all the time without a problem.  If you compound the stress and high expectations by meeting at a romantic spot, you may be building up for an awful letdown.

The 10 Online Dating Mistakes You're Probably Making • EBONY Your resume should include something other than trips to Mardi Gras, booze-fueled tales of debauchery, and all the hot girls you dated.  Are your messages more than just a few words? What do you like about your job? On Hinge, people messaged with an average of 16 people before their partner came along.  Make it clear that you are single or you might risk some left swipes from the more suspicious guys.  Do not be available to him at all times, say no, do not compliment him and build his ego.  Even if the current crop feels stale, you never know when your future special someone might log on, so be sure to supplement your offline dating activities with an active online dating life for as long as you are single and looking.  Think of this as step one in smart dating over 60.

The Top 10 Online Dating Mistakes Men Are Making You must come up with some pick-up lines to catch the attention of your partner.  You want to try and get a sense of what the person is like, which can be truly difficult.  You need your guy to be attached to you emotionally before you are intimate.  Worse, don't ever use that word in your first message to someone.  And what actually makes Russian and Ukrainian girls get curious about a man they see on the Internet? Posting Pictures Alongside Taller Friends Even if a guy is tall, his taller friends can make him look short.

It Is What It Isn't: Top 10 Online Dating Mistakes Selfies are bad, but in other countries you can get away with them.  This is true even if you are best friends and you know him and feel close to him.  The pic of you with your friends can be added to your profile later.  But this is exactly what lots of people do with online dating.  Holding out for someone who sounds great, but keeps avoiding meeting in person.  Did you match with a Penelope or a Dashiell? To meet someone you actually want to be in a relationship with, you have to try out a bunch of duds well — matches that are wrong for you personally.  For example, men can bend the rules when they possess exotic value in a foreign country or if they have a great body.

Common Online Dating Profile Mistakes: 10 To Avoid James Bauer explains all about it and how you turn any man from distant and cold to adoring, loving and ready for commitment — using the.  He used to text and call me all the time, but suddenly he stopped.  Just make sure you take it slow and take your time to evaluate and assess a potential partner before jumping into something serious.  Guys who tack on manipulative messages at the last moment are bad news, as are those who have to keep reminding you how much of a catch they are or who send you sleazy, unsolicited messages.  Are you looking for a tennis buddy? When messaging people, reference something in their profile, and share something interesting but not too interesting about yourself.

Common Online Dating Profile Mistakes: 10 To Avoid What are top online dating profile mistakes to avoid? But when such a photo depicts your reflection in the mirror, this is simply distasteful and childish.  People tend to fake their traits and pretend to be of high status, where in reality they are residents of a down market community.  Make sure you check out our guide on.  If you will only consider dating people who fit a highly specific list of criteria, you may never find someone.  Make sure that you can be honest with your real feelings, interest, likes and dislikes.  Mistake 3: Your profile is generic.  With apps like Tinder, you snap-judge users as if you were scrolling for the best pair of speakers.

#The #Top #10 #Online #Dating #Mistakes #Men #Are #Making

[travelsbeyondbehind]

After a few days off, her are some pics from #Manchester – All Saints Square. Image 182 of #365TravelPics

‪This is near my work in #Manchester – a man contemplating in All Saints Square. Image 183 of #365TravelPics‬

‪This is Manchester School of Art, part of Manchester Met Uni on a foggy #Manchester morning. Image 184 of #365TravelPics‬

‪All Saints Square #Manchester in snow this autumn. Image 185 of #365TravelPics‬

‪This is the old Palace Hotel in #Manchester – a big, old red brick building which used to be an insurance company building and is typical of the city. Image 186 of #365TravelPics‬

‪There’s great detail in the brick work in the old Palace Hotel in #Manchester – evidence of the wealth, creativity & civic pride when the building was constructed. Image 187 of #365TravelPics‬

‪The first place I stayed in #Manchester was the Midland Hotel. A former railway hotel with its decoration showing the wealth of a different age. Image 188 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Throughout #Manchester are these big blocks which served as the trading quarters for businesses across the world & have evolved as technology meant business needs less space. Image 189 of #365TravelPics‬

‪At the centre of #Manchester is St Peter’s Square. Site of the Peterloo massacre & now location for many civic buildings. Image 190 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Manchester Town Hall is one of the great Nep-gothic buildings in the UK from the late 19th century. #Manchester Image 191 of #365TravelPics‬

‪The 1938 extension of #Manchester Town Hall has some lovely shapes & design features. Image 192 of #365TravelPics‬

‪A final exterior shot of #Manchester Town Hall with its elegant shapes and design. Image 193 of #365TravelPics‬

‪The decoration inside the civic buildings in #Manchester is equally impressive. This is the Town Hall with its colourful tiles. Image 194 of #365TravelPics‬

‪This is inside the #Manchester Central Library and reminiscent of many great libraries like those in our great universities. Image 195 of #365TravelPics‬

‪And talking of universities, these are the windows at the Whitworth Hall at the University of #Manchester with its fine glass work. Image 196 of #365TravelPics‬

‪For me tiles are a distinctly #Manchester part of building interiors. These are my stairs at work, the former Water Board HQ. Image 197 of #365TravelPics‬

‪These tiles have created a regional train map at #Manchester Victoria station. Image 198 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Some more tiles from #Manchester Victoria station – memories of a golden age of travel. Image 199 of #365TravelPics‬

‪As well as heritage buildings, #Manchester has some more modern « classics » like this concrete piece at Manchester Met. Image 200 of #365TravelPics‬

‪This is a new building in St Peters Square #Manchester with its decorations reminding me of the tiles of the older buildings. Image 201 of #365TravelPics‬

‪And old and new continue to be built side by side in #Manchester – here is the Manchester Art School from the 19th Century with a new wing being built next door. Image 202 of #365TravelPics‬

Canals cross cross #Manchester bringing goods and money into the region. Image 203 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Today some of the bridges over the canals in #Manchester have padlocks on them – adding memories of a new sort. Day 204 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Music can be heard throughout #Manchester – from the hits of local bands in past decades to the gigs it welcomes today. This is Ed Sheeran Man City. Day 205 of #365TravelPics‬

‪‪There is some great street art in #Manchester like this in Wakefield Street. Day 206 of #365TravelPics‬

‪And some more industrial street art in #Manchester – a city full of creativity. Day 207 of #365TravelPics‬

‪At the centre of #Manchester is Albert Square and here’s a pint of local beer with the same name (almost). Day 208 of #365TravelPics ‬

‪And the people of #Manchester have a sense of humour: where does beer go after it is drunk? Back in the barrel at the Northern Crafhouse in the north of the city. Day 209 of #365TravelPics‬

‪This is the demolition of an old cinema in central #Manchester and is like a cut through the city’s history with different layers revealed behind the skin of the building. Day 210 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Every construction site in #Manchester reveals something about its history: when installing a new cycle lane on Oxford Road l, the old tram lines were revealed. Day 211 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Last day of pictures from #Manchester & now the iconic symbol of the city: the worker bee. From the bins to the town hall, bees can be seen everywhere including these statues installed for the summer. #BeeInTheCity Day 212 of #365TravelPics‬

365 Travel Pics: July – Manchester

#Manchester #UK

[thelazyperfection-blog]

<strong>United NYC Half Marathon Race Recap</strong>

My newest post has been published on http://thelazy.me/2018/05/16/united-nyc-half-marathon-race-recap/

United NYC Half Marathon Race Recap

It has been almost two months since I ran the United NYC Half Marathon and I have been avoiding writing this post. I think I was sitting around waiting for the perfect words to come to me to describe this race. I’ve decided that that will never happen so I better just write my thoughts– eloquent or not! Prepare yourself– this is a long one!

I entered the lottery for this race two years in a row and got a place last December. It turned into a road trip with a few friends and a couple of strangers (who turned into friends!). I began my training on a high note in January before attempting to fight off some shin splints in February, going on vacation in March and forgetting to exercise at all, and then just kind of not caring about running after returning home from said vacation.

I was still so excited to run this race regardless of the outcome because I truly love New York City. I’ve been there many times and the city holds so many unforgettable memories including so many of my dad. I never actually went to NYC with him, but I remember texting him a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge on my old flip phone when I was there with my mom. He loved the hustle and bustle of people everywhere and every time I visit NYC I think of him.

Before the race, I started to get a little panicky as I thought about how slow I might be, but thanks to my friends reminding me that I needed to look around and enjoy it and stop stressing, I was able to change my mindset.

Saturday morning we headed to the race expo where they had volunteers ready to take your pictures. How awesome is that right?! It would’ve been more awesome if any of the pictures had been in focus but then what kind of memory would that be? There are probably 20 blurry group shots… 0 clear ones!

Race pickup was mostly a breeze as we got our bibs and shirts. Somehow my bib scanned that I already picked up my shirt and I got a little annoyed as I told the guy, “I literally just came from there 10 seconds ago. How could I have gotten a shirt?!” I love that Cathy captured this exact moment.

The night before the race ended up as a slight disaster as I realized that it was going to be really cold and I only brought shorts and a tank to wear. Don’t worry though, I brought a backup outfit of a second tank and another pair of shorts–lol! Saturday night at 8PM had me trying on everyone’s clothes– and I mean everyone’s! I ended up wearing one of the guy’s long sleeve shirts over my tank top and Cathy’s headband because I didn’t even pack one of those. I am usually an excellent packer and this was the first time in as long as I can remember that I didn’t make a list. That will never, ever happen again. I was a hot mess, I tell you!

Race morning began with some instant oatmeal, coffee and a banana at the literal crack of dawn. Maria, Michael & I were running and needed to check our bags by 6:50 and get into our corrals by 7. Taking off my sweatpants and passing in my bag was a really sad moment because I couldn’t believe how cold it was! (My face is just ridiculous in this pic…I have no words)

I’ve run some decent size races, but nothing like this one. Only the runners were allowed near bag check and then we had to go through security including metal detectors surrounded by police officers. There were helicopters circling above and honestly, I was really impressed with how seriously they took the runners safety.

I lost Michael and Maria and headed to my corral where I stood shaking like a leaf for an entire hour. I waited in line for the porta potty and wanted to hide from the wind until the start, but thought the rest of the line wouldn’t approve of that choice. I stood as close to the strangers around me as I could without seeming like a creep as I tried to warm up. Time inched by slower than I knew possible as every part of me went numb. I was pretty sure I shook all my energy out before the race even started!

In true form, I was in a porta potty when the gun went off for my corral which made me laugh. I took my time and headed out across the line down the streets of Brooklyn. (I’m to the left centre with the shorts and bright knee socks!)

It didn’t take me even one kilometre to realize that I changed all my settings on my watch to something really weird. I had turned off the elapsed time apparently and instead had it beeping every 1.4kms and then beeping again after 3 minutes but never showing how long I had been running. The buildings instantly interfered with my pace so my hot mess standing was still going strong!

I knew my pace wasn’t going to be awesome anyhow, so I laughed and stuck to my plan to enjoy the race.

And boy, did I enjoy it.

As we ran over the Manhattan Bridge,  I looked to my right at the Queensboro Bridge and to my left at the Brooklyn Bridge with the Statue of Liberty off in the distance. In the centre of the bridge there were police officers high fiving runners and cheering us on while keeping their eyes moving as they watched everything around us. It was such a beautiful picture to me that my eyes welled up with tears for the first time that day.

As we ran down the other side of the bridge and into Manhattan I couldn’t believe I was running here. It felt like such a privilege and I found myself saying aloud, “This is the best thing I’ve ever decided to do!” (I realize it’s probably actually not, but in that moment it really felt like it!)

I tossed my gloves somewhere in Chinatown and regretted it not too long after as the momentary sun decided to hide again. We ran along the water for awhile before making a left turn toward Times Square.

When we made that turn in my head I could hear my friend, Lisa, reminding me to really look around and enjoy every moment so I did the opposite of what you’re supposed to do in a race: I stopped. I put my head up and did a full circle taking in the skyscrapers, the water, and the sky before looking straight ahead and starting to run again.

The crowds grew even larger the closer we got to Times Square and then we got to run through Times Square on our way to Central Park where a huge screen was displayed showing us running by.

Central Park was as hilly as I remembered but I love Central Park so I tried to enjoy the beauty of it since it was my only chance to see it this trip! The volunteers in the park were my favourite because they were ridiculously encouraging. They weren’t half-hearted in their cheers as they told you exactly how far you had and that they knew you could do it. (I hate those people who say “You’re almost there!” when you have like 8k to go! Liars, I tell ya!)

As we got close to the finish the sides were lined with flags and throngs of people! There was no arch for the finish so it felt a little strange as I wondered if it was really the end, but I spotted the President of the New York Road Runners across the line so I figured the race had to be over. I gave him a high five as I headed to collect my medal, mylar blanket and snack bag.

I dug out my phone which had been on airplane mode and facetimed Anson for a few minutes. I was on the phone for five minutes as I walked when it suddenly shut off. I knew I had a terrible battery but since it said I had 80% I thought it would be okay. I left it for a few minutes as I collected my bag from bag check and then turned it back on again. I needed to try to find everyone else and knew my phone was a necessity!

My phone turned back on and had a mere 10% battery left. I saw a ton of messages flowing in as I walked as fast as I could out of the park. It was at least a kilometre to get out of the exit chute from the race and I still couldn’t feel my legs from the cold, so it took a little while. I headed for the Starbucks across from Columbus Circle but as soon as I got there I knew there was no way any of my friends would bother trying to get in with the hoards of people crammed inside! I saw a text come in from Cathy saying they were in the mall so I went in the closest entrance to see if I saw them. I didn’t and decided to head back to Starbucks and stand outside. I sent a text to Cathy that said, “I am outside Starbucks,” but as soon as I hit send, my phone shut off for good. I had no idea if the text went through. I remembered seeing another text that said something about being near a statue so I headed back across the street to see if they were by those statues. My texts had been coming in fast and furiously in random order with some messages from days earlier appearing so I really wasn’t sure what was actually relevant!

I made my way over to the statues near the Park and stood on the curb to try and get a little taller so I could see. There were tons of people and it wasn’t long before I realized I was never going to find them even if they were there! I asked a couple near me if they had an iPhone I could borrow so I could text one of my friends. As soon as I asked, it dawned on me that I know about one phone number total and texting my husband in Canada wasn’t going to be super helpful. Then I realized that for the first time ever I had written an emergency contact on the back of my race bib and I had chosen Cathy’s number to write down. I unpinned my bib, turned it over and used the borrowed phone to text Cathy. She told me that my Starbucks text had gone through miraculously so I headed that way to meet her. I might have done everything wrong for that race, but writing someone’s (who was actually with me!) number on my race bib was one of the smartest things I’ve ever done!

I went to greet Cathy with a huge smile on my face and I’m pretty sure shocked her with how much I loved the race. We headed over to the mall to meet the rest of the group where we snapped some pics and I put on some warmer clothes.

Then we all headed out on the longest journey ever to find brunch. We mistakenly went into an extremely healthy restaurant for a few moments. I was not thrilled with what I was I was seeing as I looked around. Thankfully, we left and found a diner with what I consider to be real brunch food.

The NYC half marathon was my second slowest half time ever, but my favourite race by a huge margin. I appreciated each moment and the fact that I was able to be there! I looked around and truly took in my surroundings and for the first time in a race, I did not have one negative thought about myself while running. My only regret is that I neglected to bring warmer clothes but hey, it all worked out!

P.S. I would recommend this race to anyone. Everything was so well organized, the volunteers were amazing, the hydration stations were well marked and plentiful on course and while it was rather hilly–the course was fantastic! Huge thanks to the New York Road Runners for putting on a fantastic event. Thank you also to Cathy and Erik for all these pictures! I really do get by with a little help from my friends!

#NYC half marathon #race recap #race recaps #Running

[cartzypage]

A Few of My Favorite Things to See in Kuala Lumpur When You Only Have A Day

Fred. Olsen Cruise Line’s Black Watch docked in Port Klang, Malaysia

Today Fred. Olsen Cruise Line’s Black Watch is docked in Malaysia and we were able to get out and explore so much in Kuala Lumpur. Kuala Lumpur is the largest city and the capital of Malaysia. We only had one jam packed day of exploring planned in Kuala Lumpur so we hired a driver and tour guide for the day Kernail Singh. Continue reading to see how you can visit some of my favorite places in Kuala Lumpur like I did when you only have one day to visit. 

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Batu Caves

Batu Caves

High on my list of places to visit while in Kuala Lumpur is Batu Caves. The limestone hill is over 400 million years old and the temple within the caves is approximately 100 years old. Dedicated to Lord Murugan, Batu Caves is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India.

Batu Caves

Before climbing up the stairs to the temple inside the cave itself, it was time for a selfie.

TSG Tip: Did you know that this 140 foot high statue of the Hindu deity, Murugan, is also the world’s tallest statue? Made with 300 litres of gold, it cost about 24 million rupees or $6+million USD when brought from Thailand to Malaysia. That’s a lot of gold!

The Stairs

Walking up to the temple at Batu Caves

To arrive at the temple inside Batu Caves, you’ll need to walk up the 272 concrete steps. I freely admit that I’m not a fan of taking the stairs, but I wanted to power through and just get it done. I’m happy to report that I did it without stopping at all and it was totally worth it as I passed everyone on the way up.

Signage inside Batu Caves

I’m a huge fan of interesting signage and the one at Batu Caves didn’t disappoint.

Temple Cave

Panorama view inside Batu Caves

Temple Cave is the largest and most well known of the temples inside Batu Caves. Here you’ll find several Hindu shrines located within the temple.

Batu Caves

It’s hard to describe the enormity of this temple until you’re actually there and can see it for yourself.  Look at the size of the people at the bottom of this picture and how high up the opening to the cave to the outside world is.

View from inside Batu Caves

While the temple is overrun with tourists, visitors can still find a quiet place for themselves to worship or for reflective contemplation.

The view from Batu Caves

The walk down is far easier for most visitors and the view is one that can’t be missed. Where else can you see views of Kuala Lumpur like this?

Monkeys at Batu Caves

Probably the most unexpected part of Batu Caves for me was all of the wild monkeys that roam free. They’re literally everywhere and will jump on you if they have the chance. I saw old ones, babies, and well — gangs of monkeys willing to jump on the unsuspecting tourist.

TSG Tip: Avoid feeding wild monkeys unless you want pics of you getting well, attacked.

Posing at Batu Caves

Since you’re visiting a temple, you should dress with your shoulders and knees covered. As it was crazy hot that day, I was wearing a tank top and shorts, but was able to get a wrap to cover my legs before heading up the steps. What you pay is refunded when you return the wrap at the bottom of the steps.

Ramayana Cave

Hanuman at Ramayana Cave

If you’re not up for the massive climb up the steps at Batu Caves, check out the smaller cave in the same complex called Ramayana Cave. Then stare up at the immense 50 foot tall statue of Hanuman outside the cave, a devotee and aide to Lord Rama.

Ramayana Cave

Ramayana Cave is easy to navigate and tells the story of Rama inside the cave. If you have difficulty walking or have children in tow, this would be the cave to go to instead of Temple Cave.

Istana Negara

Istana Negara – National Palace

For something completely different and unexpected, we visited Istana Negara, which is the Malaysian National Palace.

Gate at Istana Negara – National Palace

As I had misplaced my royal invitation to go inside the palace, I was only able to get as far as the gate, just like every other tourist visiting Kuala Lumpur.

Istana Negara – National Palace

Opened in 2011, it’s the official residence of the monarch of Malaysia. The design of the new palace includes Malay and Islamic elements, reflecting the country itself. If you’re looking for a photo op while in Kuala Lumpur, then you definitely need to stop at Istana Negara.

Tugu Negara

Tugu Negara – National Monument

Our next stop on our Kuala Lumpur was to Tugu Negara or the National Monument, a monument to honor those lost during Malaysia’s struggle for freedom. The monument was designed by Austrian sculptor, Felix de Weldon, who also designed the Marine Corps Memorial in Virginia.

Tugu Negara – National Monument

The sculpture is of a group of soldiers, two of which are down at the base and one is holding the Malaysian national flag. No item in the monument is accidental as each bronze figure is there to depict leadership, suffering, unity, vigilance, strength, courage and sacrifice.

TSG Tip: Did you know that Tugu Negara is the world’s tallest bronze freestanding sculpture grouping?

Merdeka Square

Sultan Abdul Samad Building at Merdeka Square

Independence Square or Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur was a quick stop for us for a photo op as the heat was unbearable on the day we visited. It was here in 1957 that the British flag was lowered and the Malaysian flag was raised to signify independence. History buffs will enjoy visiting this area to take in the fresh smell of independence of a relatively new independent country like Malaysia.

Menara Kuala Lumpur

Menara Kuala Lumpur

The KL Tower or the Menara KL is the seventh tallest freestanding structure in the world at 421 metres tall. Construction was completed in 1995, it’s an easily recognizable Kuala Lumpur landmark.

TSG Tip: Did you know that you can jump from KL Tower? Oh I think I’ll have to do that the next time I’m in Kuala Lumpur.

Petronas Towers

Selfie at Petronas Towers with Danielle

Did you know that the Petronas Towers are the world’s tallest twin towers? Standing 88 floors high, the steel and chrome towers are connected at floors 41 and 42.  I was shocked at the height of these buildings, but more so by Danielle photobombing my selfie for a pic of her own.

Pavilion KL

Before we could do any major shopping, Kernail knew we needed lunch and so he took us to the Pavilion KL. This major shopping center, the Pavilion KL or Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, opened in 2007 and has over 500 stores. Their food court, as you can see from the image above from my Instagram story, is one of the largest I’ve ever seen. I was able to find a one restaurant that offered veggie options complete with spicy soya prawn, green beans, and brown rice. So yummy!

Central Market

Central Market

No trip for Danielle and I would be complete without shopping. Kernail made our last stop for the day the famous Central Market in Kuala Lumpur and is located at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Foch Avenue) only a few minutes away from Petaling Street. Originally a wet market that opened in 1888, it still stands today in its beautiful Art Deco building.

Inside Central Market

Tourists can find just about anything inside Central Market like clothing. I bought a dress and jumpsuit for all of $23 total.

Inside Central Market

There are souvenirs of all kinds inside and haggling is not only normal, but expected at Central Market. The second floor features a food court in case you get hungry while shopping.

Maneki Neko cats at Central Market

I was ecstatic to find a store that sells one of my favorite things, Maneki Neko cats. I’ve never seen so many in one place.

Maneki neko cats

While I could’ve bought them all, I knew I still had to check my luggage at the airport. Therefore, I limited my purchase to one roly poly Maneki Neko cat to remind me of my time in Kuala Lumpur.

If you’re looking for great bargains of all kinds while in Kuala Lumpur as well as souvenirs, then definitely make a stop at Central Market. My day wouldn’t have been complete  without some last minute shopping here before heading back to the ship.

Saying Goodbye to Kernail

Kernail Singh

Then it was time to pack things up and return to our home at sea. Kernail wasn’t just an excellent driver through the busy traffic of Kuala Lumpur, he was an excellent tour guide as well. If you’re looking for someone who can provide you with everything you need to know during your stay, then consider contacting Kernail.

Kernail Singh MPV Executive Taxi Services [email protected]

Last Minute Shopping in The Port

Snacks with babies on them or in them?

There were a few shops inside the port where you could buy souvenirs and such, but we were all about buying some snacks to take with us on board. I couldn’t help but snap a few pics of these crisps with a baby on them. Does having a baby on the bag make them taste better?

Final Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Kuala Lumpur and my only regret is that we only had one day to visit. Having a private driver to take you around a port instead of piling into a crowded coach is not only ideal, but affordable. Don’t think it is? Compare prices and see for yourself. I always say time is money and even if it’s slightly more expensive, you won’t have to wait around for everyone else and you can travel at your own speed. That to me is worth every penny.

Our next port of call is Yangon, Myanmar. Until then — let me know if you’ve ever visited Kuala Lumpur. Maybe you can suggest other destinations in Malaysia that you found equally exciting. Leave your comments below. Discover some other great destinations and travel ideas here on the Travel Shop Girl website.

On my new SPONTANEOUS TRAVEL SCALE of 1-5, with 1 being super easy and spontaneous and 5 being you better plan far in advance, Kuala Lumpur scores a 1 for spontaneous travel as this large city offers so much to do that you’d be crazy not to visit and enjoy yourself while there.

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A Few of My Favorite Things to See in Kuala Lumpur When You Only Have A Day published first on https://medium.com/@GoShopSingapore

[fixerupperchic]

I’ve moved in to the cottage!

…and here I sit, among the barrage of boxes…

Seriously, this hasn’t been the smoothest move of my life, but that’s usually the case when DOWNSIZING is involved!  I DO like “my stuff”……

(interesting side note….it’s not unusual for clients to come to me, planning to downsize….but I’d estimate that 90% of the time, they reject EVERY house we see that would fulfill those wishes….people (including yours truly) do NOT like to go backwards in most things in life, including square footage, storage & stuff!)

So, for the last 3 weeks our wonderful crew has been in a race to the finish, pending my moving day!    They all worked so hard to get the messiest, ickiest, and stinkiest jobs handled before I had to spend the night here……and by stinkiest, I mean the oil-based paint we had to use on all the woodwork!

By way of explanation for those not ‘in the know’, the world of paint finishes is now blessed to have perfectly good  water-based (latex or acrylic) finishes for wood; however, if one is painting OVER existing woodwork that was originally painted with oil-based paint, one must use oil-based paint again.  (and many of us old-timers swear it’s a superior finish anyway)  WHAT IF YOU DON’T??  Well, I can speak from first-house experience on that subject:  back in the 80’s my young and energetic self painstakingly painted the kitchen cabinets in our first home a lovely white; since I had little children, I was concerned about the fumes (off-gassing) from oil -based paint, so I used the new latex enamel!  Oh, I was so  proud of myself….until the paint started peeling off in sheets a few months later.

So here’s the rule:  you can paint over water-based paint with oil-based paint, but NEVER the reverse!  You might say that ” oil trumps water” when it comes to paint.   

OK, one more woodwork detail, then I’ll show you some pictures….I’m aware that’s why you’re still here!  When we started this  fixer upper. my wonderful carpenter/builder extraordinaire, Jose Chavarrio,  quietly made the decision to  save and reuse all of the original workwork, to the extent that was possible.  Since we were doing such extensive work, that meant he had to REMOVE most of the base and  facings (the crown had been sprayed along with the ceiling when some earlier remodeler decided that popcorn ceilings would be nice !)  So he removed and stored  trim….and later removed all the old nails in the trim.  And when the day came to finally trim out the newly-remodeled rooms, he re-installled the old woodwork in all the main rooms, leaving new woodwork for the entirely new master bedroom only.   What a heroic effort that was…..and the payoff is that most of my little cottage has original woodwork, recoated with fresh oil-based paint!    (OK, just ONE MORE detail; for those inquiring minds in the crowd, we DID NOT remove the previously-popcorned crown mouldings….we simply installed a larger crown over them!)

So…disclaimers first!  None of the pictures you’re about to see are true “after” pics!  I am still solidly stuck in the unpacking phase.  But little by little, the beauty of this cottage is being revealed, and I know many of you are eager to SEE!  So that’s why I’m calling these “Sneak Peeks!”  Just know you’ll see more completely finished-out rooms soon!

Many of you saw this on Facebook….it was night, I was  too tired to unpack another box….and I just couldn’t resist!  Behind those counter stools is a MOUNTAIN of UHaul and Home Depot boxes!

As a reminder, the chandelier was originally in the living room

What’s missing?  The swinging old-door-from-Canton (had to move in the  washer/dryer first)

I had just  FINALLY removed the  plastic covering from the quartz countertops for the first time minutes before…this lovely 7′ island had been a handy horizontal surface for tools, caulk, sandpaper, stray mouldings, etc….for weeks!

The flowers?  YES, I DID move on my 60th birthday!  Thanks, my friend!

And just a quick reminder of where this view started…

          Here’s a current view of the hall bath…

And a reminder of what we started with…

I’m loving my new home office!  And look!  I haven’t even had time to mess up the desk yet!

(Something tells me Ballard Designs didn’t have a dog bed in mind for that particular cabinet, but Kobe claimed it long ago; he keeps watch while I work!)

  A few scenes from the new Master Bath….

     And once again, a reminder from whence it came:

The window was removed; the walk-in shower is now in that corner

The door was moved to the left a few feet; the tub-to-die-for now sits there

Everything….EVERYTHING else about this room….changed!

Now I want to share a detail that is hard to illustrate (due to the difficulty of photographing a light fixture while it’s ON!)

This hall light fixture is original to the house; we changed nothing about it, unless you want to count using LED bulbs so I never ever have to bother changing them:

When you look down the hall from the living room towards the master bedroom….

….you see a consistency of light…but it’s not until you enter the master bath that you see why…..I LOVE this new fixture mirroring the old!

OK, so…about that old blue door I love so so much….first, would you even believe me if I told you that I bought the interior paint WEEKS before I finally found “the door” to use between the master bath and bedroom?!  It’s true!  (I can hardly wait to show you the bedroom side of this door, and another synchronicity of design that was totally unplanned!)

So, here is the door in the form it came to us:

I would be embarrassed to say how much I pored and pondered over what to actually DO to clean and preserve this, as well as the 2 other old doors I bought for the house.  My goal was to clean off the dirt, but preserve as much as possible of  the peely-paint, patina, and patchiness of the old doors.  After all, if I destroyed the character, what would be the point of using them in the first place?  But most treatments would, indeed, destroy what I loved about these re-purposed beauties.  Entirely true to my personality, I came up with the solution literally the night before the day I HAD to do something to the doors.   (if any of my old teachers were reading this, they’d be seriously rolling their eyes right now; I have ALWAYS tackled important projects just prior to the deadline! )

Harsh detergents would wash off the paint; a wire brush or sandpaper would remove the crazing and certainly any about-to-peel patches; sandpaper would leave fine particles in the ridges created by old joints and slight peels; any ‘clear coat’ would yellow or buckle, and shine too much (even if matte finish).

 So here are the 3 doors AFTER treatment (wish I’d thought to photograph the reverse sides too!)  And here is what I did:

I brushed down each door, both sides, with a lint-free soft mop-like hand brush (think feather duster with fat dust-resistant soft fabric loops)  That removed loose dust.

Then I gently washed each with a soft sponge and a solution of mild dish detergent in a bucket of water.  I was super-pleased with how much dirt I was able to remove without harming the finishes!)

Next I used a soft white cloth to rub in a mixture of orange oil and beeswax; it was painstaking work, as I had to be sure every inch of each door was “nourished” with the mixture.  The oil soaked into the dry, thirsty wood, then the soft beeswax sealed in the moisture.  The difference was subtle, but certainly noticeable!  There is a natural sheen now that the wood is nourished.

Now, the door in the middle is a little different.  There is obviously much more peeling paint on this one; given the age, it is likely to be lead-based paint chipping off.  I don’t have little ones toddling around, eager to eat cute little paint chips….but nonetheless I don’t want that door regularly ‘raining chips’.  I removed all that were loose, but since this will be the sliding door on my pantry, it’s going to be moved daily.  I am therefore going to spray a coat of clear matte sealer on this door.  I was so opposed to this, but having faced the fact that more chips are inevitable, I have decided it’s the best coarse of action.  To remind you, Jose is going to slice this door vertically, and hang ‘barn door’ style as pantry doors.  That should happen this week, and I’ll spray the finish afterwards.  

That brings me to the status of the project, which you may be wondering about:  we are all weary of the work and in need of a break in the action!  And now that I live here, I’m not crazy about having guys show up in the morning and throughout the day to “fix” something.  So all but Jose are off to other projects for now; he is staying with me this week to finish up details on the inside, such as hanging the barn doors, hanging curtain rods, installing new door hardware & keying the locks alike, finishing up the shelves for the living room built-ins, and building the 2′ “box” for the base of the black bathroom cabinet.  There are many little  details he and I will handle this week…..then Jose, too, will move on to other projects for awhile.

It is now too cool and damp to paint the exterior brick and siding; this is so disappointing, as I’m eager to have it sporting it’s new white finish!  But we really need a consistent week of warm, dry weather, and it’s just not predictably going to happen for awhile.  So, we will regroup and attack the exterior of the house in February or March, including landscaping.  The new garage door should be arriving any time now, so we’ll get that done, but otherwise we’re all ready for a renovation rest!

I’ll be back with more blog posts, though, as the interior gets photo-ready!  There are so many details, how-to’s and hints I’d like to share with you, so keep watching for posts!  In the meantime, please leave comments letting me know what type of posts/info/pictures you enjoy the most:  I aim to please!  

Now, as we all turn our thoughts to family, friends, food & fellowship, I want to thank each of you for sharing in my fixer upper journey; many of you have touched my life in ways you do not know….I wish for you all the happiness you can stand in the coming holidays & afterwards into 2018! 

    please don’t forget to leave me your comments below…and remember…….I’m never too busy to help your real estate referrals; I will treat each with the highest level of service!

Sneak Peeks Week! I've moved in to the cottage! ...and here I sit, among the barrage of boxes... Seriously, this hasn't been the smoothest move of my life, but that's usually the case when…

#old doors #renovation #urban cottage #adaptive reuse #cottage #fixer upper #Sneak Peek

[travelsbeyondbehind]

A couple of months of pictures from France – the place I have travelled in most. My love started with family holidays, including to the # Dordogne – this was the gîte we stayed in for 7 years in the 90s. Image 121 of #365travelpics‬

Across the Dordogne are small fortified towns, Bastides, built by the French & English as they fought over this part of France in the 13th & 14th centuries. This is Monpazier with its typical arcades, market hall & café! Image 122 of #365travelpics

One of the classic views of the Dordogne from another Bastide: Domme, high above the river which gives this area its name. #France Image 123 of #365travelpics

Whilst the English & French fought over the Dordogne in the Hundred Years War, they built castles. This is Beynac, one of five castles built at this point of the river. #France Image 124 of #365travelpics

Sarlat is one of the bigger towns in the Dordogne – it’s manic with tourists in the summer but off season its squares come to life as locals re-emerge. #France Image 125 of #365travelpics‬

Full of small alleys & sandstone buildings, Sarlat is one of the gems of the Dordogne – renovated by the new ministry of culture in 60s, it’s since become a polished tourist centre. #France Day 126 of #365travelpics‬

My first school trip to #France was to the World War 1 trenches. This image is at Vimy Ridge where Canadians remember 3598 died trying to take the ridge in April 1917. Image 127 of #365travelpics‬

‪My school trip to World War 1 sites in #France went to Thiepval Memorial which names 72000 British & South African troops who died. Image 128 of #365travelpics

Whilst in northern #France it’s worth spending time in the regional capital #Lille – famous for its clock tower and red brick buildings. Day 129 of #365travelpics‬

Another fun day out in northern #France for Penguin & other sea life fans is the excellent Nausicaa aquarium in Boulogne. Day 130 of #365travelpics‬

Aged 18, when I finished school & before heading to university, I toured the #Loire in #France with its spectacular chateau. This is the iconic Chenonceau reflected in the river below. Day 131 of #365travelpics‬

‪In summer 2001 I spent time in Burgundy. This is the Abbey of Fontenay. Dating from the 12th Century, it is set in a quiet green valley but at its peak would have been a busy religious hub. #France Image 132 of #365TravelPics‬

‪The regional capital of Burgundy is #Dijon – this is it’s Hôtel de Ville and new fountains in 2001 in Place de la Liberation. #France Image 133 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Burgundy is famed for its decorative roofs with their intricate designs. This is the Hospice de Beaune dating from the 15th century. #France Image 134 of #365TravelPics‬

‪I spent a month in 2002 studying in #Lyon – a huge city with its old town, 19th century squares and modern suburbs. #France Image 135 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Whilst in Lyon in 2002 I visited Albertville, host of the 1992 Winter Olympics. This is what remains of the Olympic cauldron & ceremonies arena. #France Day 136 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Age 20, moved to the French #Alps & #Grenoble for a year. One of the best years of my life & has encouraged me to keep on travelling since. This is Place Grenette with its cafes & mountain views. #France Day 137 of #365TravelPics‬

‪One of the top attractions in #Grenoble is the cable car taking you up to the top of the Bastille. Great views of the city & #Alps – romantic at sunset for a date too 😉 #France Day 138 of #365TravelPics‬

‪I celebrated my 21st Birthday in #Grenoble surrounded by my twin & friends from my #Eramus year. Friendships through travel & a life changing time in #France Day 139 of #365TravelPics‬

‪This is where I lived in #Grenoble during my year in #France – halls of residence on the university campus with great views of the mountains. Image 140 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Despite great view of the #Alps the halls I lived in #Grenoble #France the kitchen was really basic: no oven, broken fridges, no cupboards and no furniture. Day 141 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Spring 2003 was 35 years since Mai 68 & students had a new reason to protest: reforms to degree structures. This was the main hall at the Université Stendhal in #Grenoble – a reminder of student political engagement in #France in 68, 03 & 18. Day 142 of #365TravelPics ‬

‪One of the benefits of living in Grenoble, France was easy access to the mountains. This is the view from the top of the aiguille du midi in Chamonix. Unforgettable views. Day 143 of #365TravelPics‬

‪This is a pic of Mont Blanc from the Aiguille de Midi. Beautiful in the mid morning sun. Still want to return & get the cable car to Italy past these valleys. #France Day 144 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Surrounding #Grenoble are 3 mountain ranges: Chartreuse, Belledonne & Vercors. Loved driving across each of them with their distinct personality. #France Day 145 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Near to Grenoble is the Venice of the Alps – Annecy – with canals & a lake with mountains seeking to its edge, it’s a lovely place for walking & relaxng. #France Day 146 of #365TravelPics‬

‪From Grenoble #France we crossed the Alps to Turin, stopping in the town of Briançon. Covered in snow, its walls & church felt like an alpine refuge. Image 147 of #365TravelPics‬

‪One summer day we took the Route des Grandes Alpes from near #Grenoble to #Nice #France – the winding roads took us over many snow-capped peaks & green valleys. Day 148 of #365TravelPics‬

‪So at the end of the Route des Grandes Alpes was #Nice #France – with the Baie des Anges and Promenade des Anglais along its edge. Day 149 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Heading to Eastern #France and Strasbourg near Alsace is a mix of France & Germany with some canals thrown in. The town is capped by its cathedral. Day 150 of #365TravelPics ‬

La Petite France in Strasbourg to my mind is misnamed: seems more like Germany than #France – whatever, it is very pretty. Image 151 of #365TravelPics

‪At a cross road in Europe, Strasbourg is one of the seats of the EU parliament. They visit once a month to pass legislation. I was there in May 2004 when 10 new members joined the EU. #France Day 152 of #365TravelPics‬

‪A few kilometres from Strasbourg is the Alsace wine region & this is th lovely village of Ribeauvillé. #France Day 153 of #365TravelPics‬

‪It is sometimes forgotten that there were work camps in #France during World War 2: this is in Alsace at Natzweiler-Struthof, a painful but important visit. Day 154 of #365TravelPics‬

‪There was experimental use of gas to kill those unable to work at the camp at Natzweiler-Struthof – dreadful history in this mountain location. #France Day 155 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Lorraine is the slightly overlooked & under appreciated sister of eastern #France. This is Cours Stanislas in Nancy, evidence of why a visit throws up some hidden gems. Day 156 of #365TravelPics‬

‪The history of #France can be traced back to where the first king (Clovis) was baptised & went on to rule the French by St Rémi in modern day Reims. Day 157 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Of course modern day Reims is more famous for Champagne and these are the cellars at Taitinger. #France Day 158 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Heading to the South West of #France & one of the top tourist sights is Carcassonne – a walled town but remember it was made to look this pretty by a 19th century restoration. Day 159 of #365TravelPics‬

‪In the Pyrenees foothills are Cathar castles whose views offered protection to its builders & great photos for today’s tourists. This is Queribus, one of the finer examples. Day 160 of #365TravelPics‬

‪For my 30th Birthday I went to Bordeaux #France & spent the mornings writing my thesis in a stone walled vineyard cottage. And the afternoons drinking the local produce! Day 161 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Over last 3 years, I’ve been lucky to get to know #Burgundy in #France – this is St Aubin with its distinctive church tower & golden stone buildings. Image 162 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Each wall with its marks, holes & shadows reveals a little of the story of the wine village of St Aubin in #Burgundy & #France Image 163 of #365TravelPics‬

‪St Aubin in #Burgundy is most famous for the fine wines its produces. Its vines sit in a protective, pleasing valley. #France Image 164 of #365TravelPics‬

‪I spent a lot of time recently admiring this view of St Aubin in #Burgundy with lighting showing its church, houses and history at its best. #France Day 165 of #365TravelPics‬

‪This is Puligny-Montrachet – producing some of the finest wines in #Burgundy but also a pretty village with its central square & Mairie. #France Day 166 of #365TravelPics‬

‪One of the roundabouts in Puligny-Montrachet has a statue of vineyard workers showing their back breaking but specialist work in the #Burgundy fields. #France Image 167 of #365TravelPics‬

‪A final picture from Puligny-Montrachet and the beautiful #Burgundy vines which will produce the region’s golden wines. #France Day 168 of #365TravelPics‬

‪My tour of #France now turns to #Paris and the entry point for many arriving either by train or from the airports: Gare du Nord. Day 169 of #365TravelPics‬

For me, #Paris is at its best in its quiet back streets with its 19th Century Buildings which could only be found in the French capital. This is in the 10th Arrondisement. #France Day 170 of #365TravelPics‬

On so many corners in #Paris you find the local café where people get their fix of coffee, news & gossip. #France Day 171 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Over the next few days some iconic locations in #Paris – first the Arc de Triomphe unusually with no cars in front of it. #France Day 172 of #365TravelPics‬

‪In the last 20 years the Flamme de la Liberté has become an icon in #Paris. Originally a copy of the Statue of Liberty’s flame, its location remembers the spot near Place de l’Alma where Princess Diana died. #France Day 173 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Another icon of #Paris : Notre Dame – inspiring from all sides. #France Image 174 of #365TravelPics‬

‪All roads in #France lead to this point in #Paris in front of Notre Dame Cathedral: Point Zero. Image 175 of #365TravelPics‬

‪A backstreet on Île de la Cité – metres from Notre Dame and the original heart of #Paris #France Day 176 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Over the next 3 days: my favourite #Paris museums: this is the view from the bar at the top of the Centre Pompidou – after some great art, a great sunset view of the French capital awaits. #France Day 177 of #365TravelPics‬

‪Another favourite #Paris museum: the Louvre. I find the inside too busy & vast, despite the great works. But the outside, with its mix of old & moden, for me summarises the history of contemporary #France Day 178 of #365TravelPics‬

‪My third museum in #Paris is the Musée d’Orsay – a former station & I love it as much for its architecture as its impressionist paintings. #France Day 179 of #365TravelPics‬

‪At the heart of #Paris is Place de la République which marks the revolution & it’s values. #France Day 180 of #365TravelPics‬

‪A final photo of #Paris and #France – and one of the most iconic images of the beautiful French capital. Day 181 of #365TravelPics‬

365 Travel Pics: May & June – France

#France