#BON VOYAGE On Board!

[btshoseong]

👣. !!: HOW WELL DO BTS KNOW EACH OTHER ‧₊˚

↺ 💌 ࣪ ˖ ∿ author’s note , @ me over here lowkey copy pasting from my jeonggeun blog like it’s nobody’s business cause it AIN’T. lol nah jk enjoy 🫶🏼

AFTER ALL MEMBERS HAVE HAD THEIR GO; SE3OUL IS THE LAST ONE UP.

J-HOPE: “Huh? Wait, did we ever have this guy in our group? Who is this?” *clearly enjoying teasing his bestie, a cheeky smile on his face*

SE3OUL: *just sat down on the chair opposite to the members as he smirks at hoseok* “Hope you get all these answers wrong.”

J-HOPE: “Never, friend.” *wink + shooting hearts*

JIN: “Yah, yah. Back down, will you? Are you forgetting who’s here? Kim Seokjin knows everything.” *tsking as he brings the attention to himself*

V: “Eh? Hyung, are you suddenly losing your memory? Who do you think I am to Hoseong hyung?”

RM: *cue joon staring into the camera, clearly wishing to be saved* “I’m sorry. This is just a daily occurrence with these guys. Please introduce the question.”

QUESTION: What is the one thing that you always forget to pack when you travel?

ALL MEMBERS: *immediately yelling over one another thinking they know the answer, even before hoseong has written it down on his board*

SE3OUL: *literally shook at the chaos rn* “Yah! I haven’t written my answer down. How could you already know it?!”

JIMIN: *raising his hand aggressively* “I know, I know! His underwear. Whenever we’re filming for Bon Voyage, or even going on tours, you’ll see him searching through his bag for like an hour until he realises he forgot to pack underwear.”

JUNGKOOK: “Oh, true! You can even see hyung’s face of realisation clear as day. He smiles all embarrassed, but his face looks cheeky.”

SUGA: “No. You know what I think? He does it on purpose so that we buy him new underwear for free during each trip. He’s basically got a colossal sized amount of underwear from all of us.”

ALL MEMBERS: *turning their heads to stare at hoseong in sync, accusatory*

SE3OUL: *feeling flustered* “Huh? No! Suga hyung is creating conspiracies about me and you’re all just believing him blindly! Hyung!” *pouting at suga rn*

J-HOPE: “Nope.” *raising his hand to answer* “There’s one item he’s even more forgetful about than underwear.”

A MOMENT OF SILENCE AS EVERYONE WAITS FOR HOSEOK TO ANSWER.

J-HOPE: “I regret to inform you guys… but it’s me.” *cue tearful and dramatic acting here*

SE3OUL: *embarrassed face calm*

JIN: “Oh? Wait! He’s not lying, he’s not lying! Yah, didn’t Hoseong-ah leave J-Hope at that gas station in New Zealand during Bon Voyage?”

JUNGKOOK: “Oh? No, Jin hyung is right! Hoseong hyung left him there when he’d ran off to the toilets.”

SE3OUL: “Yah! Is that my fault, huh? Who runs off to the restroom without informing the driver beforehand? I didn’t have time to do a head count.”

J-HOPE: *continuing to display an emotional scene rn*

RM: “Okay, okay. Let’s get a little serious now. Does anyone actually know the answer before we reveal it?”

V: *raising his hand with a confident yet humble expression* “Sunscreen.”

SE3OUL: “Oh?” *shocked park hoseong as he looks at the crew behind the camera*

JIMIN: *curious at hoseong’s expression* “Why? Did he get it right?”

ANSWER: Sunscreen.

V: *trying to hide his smile rn as he slouches in his seat comfortably*

RM: “Really? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you ask for sunscreen on our trips.” *looking at hoseong for an answer, curious*

SE3OUL: “Taehyungie brings an extra bottle for me because he knows I forget it every time. That’s why he knew the answer.” *soft smile directed at v*

SUGA: “Wow, so the initial shock was just for bonus screen time points, huh? You’re sly.” *tsking*

RM: “Alright, alright. Next question!”

QUESTION: What is your biggest dream for the future?

J-HOPE: “Oh, oh! I definitely know this one!” *raising his hand as he speaks* “Marriage and children.” *super smug jung hoseok*

SE3OUL: *giving this man a deadpan look* “Are you serious? I will bite you.”

J-HOPE: “Oh? Kin-”

RM: *literally ready to reach back and tape his mouth shut* “No. Please.”

JUNGKOOK: *giggling at his hyungs’ childishness before raising his hand* “Number one singer?”

JIMIN: *cue face of slow realisation before he��s raising his hand aggressively again* “No, it’s more specific! Hyung-nim, didn’t you say you wanted to dominate all American charts? He wants to be the main pop boy.”

SUGA: “Number one billboard singer.” *nodding in respect*

JIN: “Ohhh, our Hoseongie number one Korean artist in the world. Worldwide Pop Boy.”

SE3OUL: *watching his members with pure adoration tbh*

STAFF: *trying to snap him out of it by asking him to reveal the answer*

SE3OUL: “Ah, right. Sorry!”

ANSWER: Number One Pop Sensation.

V: “We’ll support you on your way to making history.” *lil cheer fist*

RM: “Well, Seong-ah’s already pretty famous in the West, right? I think he’s the most popular in our group amongst Americans.”

SUGA: “I heard he’s on his way to being a Grammy nominee again?” *dramatic face of shock*

SE3OUL: *can’t hold back the laughter* “You guys better start lining up now to get my autographs. I think the line might get too long in a few years’ time.” *jokingly smug king*

JIMIN: “Don’t forget us when you’re famous~” *can’t help but tease*

AFTER ALL MEMBERS HAVE HAD A GO, IT IS TIME FOR THE RESULTS!

SE3OUL: “You guys should really be grateful to me. I only ended up in the bottom half because I wanted to give everyone else a chance.” *pretending to be a saint*

ALL MEMBERS: *cue chaotic disagreements + everyone attacking hoseong*

RM: *no idea what he is witnessing rn but ignores it* “There you go guys. That was us on Vanity Fair and we are BTS!”

💬 — HOSEONG’S TAGLIST.

@pandorasword , @ateezsora , @bts-dream , @fairiepoems , @kaitieskidmore1

#( 🩻 ) ───── hoseong’s interviews ! #bts 8th member #bts 8th male member #kpop added member #kpop added male member #kpop addition #kpop male addition #kpop additional member #kpop additional male member #bts additional member #bts additional male member #bts added member #bts added male member #kpop member au #kpop male member au #kpop oc #kpop male oc #bts oc #bts male oc #bts addition #bts male addition

[jasminedragonart]

We all know that I think Brother Bear is the Magnum Opus of Disney and I've elaborated on that in a previous post. This one will therefore be dedicated to Pixar's Magnum Opus.

Moana, I hear you ask? Inside Out? Up?

No.

The Incredibles.

In order for it to be an amazing film there has to be layers to it. Inside Out, to me, is pretty one dimensional. I didn't get a lot out of it. Moana was okay, but nothing special, like I didn't hate it but I didn't love it.

But the Incredibles? It was amazing.

To start off with, this came out in 2004. Do you know what other superhero films were out in this era? Spider Man. Tobey McGuire's Spiderman. Other than that, the superhero franchise hadn't really hit off. It would be years until Iron Man, Captain America or even the Dark Knight would have the impact it would have on cinema. (The Dark Knight trilogy is great btw. I love and accept it as canon way more readily than I do the Snyder verse. That verse can go away and never see the light of day)

the point is, for this movie to have survived, nay, thrive, in a superhero-less world is astounding and I think that's just down to good writing, characterisation and the story itself.

To start off with, I didn't know this was set in the 60's until like, a month ago. But now I do know I love it. It fits so well and answers so many questions. The 60's were like the golden age of heros, or, what we call the golden age. You had the batman show in the 60's, you had the golden age of comics. It's just right that the Incredibles is set in the 60's too.

In terms of storytelling this is good too. We see that they still have phones and computers and tv's but they're limited. No smart phones, the technology that we would see in present day is high tech to them. I love it because it isolates the characters so well. The reason why a lot of shows these days die is because they set it in our modern world. The convenience we have in being able to send messages to each other is just ridiculous. In order to create a good story you need a way to isolate your characters. There needs to be mystery. By limiting the Incredibles to what was available in the 60's Brad Bird eliminated the questions on why Mr Incredible didn't just send a text to his wife or Edna that he was in danger. Why the other heros didn't ask for help. Their technology is limited, their data plan is nonexistent, they can't contact people across the world and this is great for creating an interesting story.

Starting back at the beginning, I think it's really interesting how we're introduced to Buddy. A lot of superhero sidekicks are literally found like Buddy was hoping to be found. He has the intelligence too. He basically did a Tim Drake. He tracked Mr Incredible down, he made himself available and he showed that he had the skills to at least be a good hero. The only difference here is that Mr Incredible's world isn't Batman's world. Buddy didn't persevere like Tim Drake did, he took his knowledge and he twisted it for evil which, again is such a good analysis or interpretation of what Tim Drake could have been if he didn't put on those Robin colours and force Batman to take him on board.

Then we get to the lawsuit. So, if you didn't get it, the Incredibles kind of honoured marvel here. I think X Men was out by now. It should have been. Yes. It was out in 2000. So the concept of mutants being second class citizens was known to those who watched the beginning of the MCU. The Incredibles is paying homage to this by making supers illegal. The supers are creating too much damage, they're doing more harm than good. Therefore the common people are fighting back and making them retreat back into the shadows. Again, an interesting concept because what happened to all these villains? What happened when Bon Voyage escaped prison again? How many people did he kill without Mr Incredible there to help catch him? We don't know but it's always been a wonder of mine as to how the world is as peaceful as it is when we catch up with the Incredibles in present day. How did they get to that point?

I'll never know.

Mr Incredible and Elastigirl, I think are Batman and Catwoman. I think. Meta Batman and Catwoman. They have the same feel, the same banter of Batman and Catoman but they could be another superhero couple. Either way, they have their happy ending by getting married and having kids

There's an interesting post out there explaining the kids names and the connection to their powers which I loved. So, yeah, dash- superspeed. He's the Flash, he's quicksilver. He's basically kid flash right now, or impulse since, is impulse born with his powers? Whatever the case, he doesn't quite know the extent of his powers just yet because he grew up in a world where supers are in hiding. Which, again, makes me question what happens to those heros who don't hide. There had to be a penalty for them beyond being sued. Back to the kids. Violet- ultraviolet light that can be invisible. There's also something about her being a teenager and keeping everyone out which is why she has her forcefields. She's also Susan Storm, that's the inspiration for her character's powers. Jack Jack is jack of all trades. His inspiration, I think, is Legion. I'm not too sure. Either way, I love their names and how they tie into their characters and powers.

Helen and Bob are aliases. People know that right? I'm pretty sure they got different identities through the years after their covers were blown. They would have to. Even in the 60's people could be tracked down, that's why they have this rehoming program for supers. It makes me wonder what Bob and Helen's real names are. I think they're alias's anyway. Either way, their last name would have to have changed over the years. At the beginning of the movie it's Parr which means average.

Which is what they're trying to be. They're trying to be average. But they aren't, that's the whole point of the movie. They're the only ones who are capable of doing what the government, what ordinary people, can't. They're the only ones who can adapt and put themselves in danger to stop Syndrome who spent his entire teenage and adult life trying to destroy supers. The whole message of the movie is there at the beginning. Violet and Dash can't help but use their powers because it's a part of them. They aren't normal, they're never going to be normal and they shouldn't have to be.

Mirage is an interesting character to look at. She's very Bond esque. It felt like they were mixing genres by introducing her but it works. She's a powerful woman at the head of an organisation. But then there are layers to her. Her name is literally Mirage, she's not what she seems. She looks good but is secretly working for Syndrome. But the real message is that she's on the bad guy's team but she's not a bad person. She does what's right for Mr Incredible, she lets him and his family go. She also suffers the Bond girl trope where she's either killed off or injured but her character arc is kind of over at this point so it works. That's the point with some tropes, they're not necessarily good but they work because they serve a purpose. Mirage doesn't need to be in the picture anymore so she needs an excuse to not be there. She's injured, easy, she's out of the picture now. It's not bad writing, it's just practical writing. Otherwise we'd be asking where she was.

I think I want to dedicate this part of why the Incredibles is amazing to focus on the super's graveyard. Not only the one Syndrome made, but the ways the supers have died over the years. Edna describes so many supers dying from such mundane things like a costume malfunction. How many of them perished before Edna refused to give them a cape? How many funerals were there over the years?

I think it's also important we focus on the supers graveyard for another reason too. Bob isn't the only super out there that feels like his purpose in life was taken away. The reason why these people take such mundane jobs as covers is because they have something else in their lives that makes them feel fulfilled. By not being allowed to fulfill that purpose they're only left with the mundane, and for us it's okay because this is the only thing we know, but for them? With their powers? It must feel so... disheartening or another word I can't think of right now. But to be talked down to, to not be recognised. It's not narcissism that has them out there helping people. They're good people trying to do good in the world because they can. It's sad that they can't, and it's horrible that this good nature is took advantage of by Syndrome. He murdered them horrifically. He turned their strengths against them, he made a murder bot, isolated them on an island, and had them hunted down just because he was told to go home as a child. To not be put in danger like kids shouldn't be put in.

It begs the question again, what happened to the other villains? Where are they? Why is Syndrome the only one we see appear in this gap of superhero history? I was expecting the 2nd Incredibles to focus on more villains that had cropped up in the shadows while they were gone but it didn't. Not really. the 2nd one wasn't as good as the 1st one. It was good, but it was lacking the layers the 1st one has. The questions on why and where. A lot of the new one was focused more on the family than the plot where as the first one had a good balance of the two.

Anyway, back to the analysis. This is such a good origin movie for Violet, Dash and Jack Jack. You have the mentors in Mr and Mrs Incredible, the ones who are experienced and handling a lot of the action. Then you have the young ones finding their powers and discovering what they can do, what they're capable of. You feel happy when you see Violet protect her brother with her shield. You're elated when Dash can run on water. They're little things that an experienced hero isn't able to elicit because they're used to their powers and we see this in the ease Mr Incredible has in himself and his capabilities, same as Mrs Incredible when she's worming her way into the compound. This movie is both an origin movie as well as kind of like a comeback. Mr and Mrs Incredible are out of retirement and the kids are stepping up into roles they never dreamed they could have.

The colour story is good too. Mr Incredible's old suit is blue. It's the suit he wore as a standalone hero. It's the suit he wears when he goes out with Frozone and the suit he wears on the island for the first time. It's the suit he wears where he's separated from his family. He's blue, he's alone. Red is a danger colour, it's passion, it's what groups this family together. They are the danger to Syndrome. They also have the yellow there to lesson the impact of the red. It's a happy colour, very soothing and lets us know that they're on the good team. It's also Elastigirl's old colour, or one of them. It's Bob finally including Helen in his life

There's a lot more to this movie I can't think of it right now.

Pixar peaked with this movie though.

#the incredibles #pixar #disney

[merchsims]

Bon Voyage Collection feat. Bergdorfverse

Hey everyone, here is the Bon Voyage Collection in collaboration with Bergdorfverse. This collection comes with a matching top & skirt set by MERCH and bag, heels & sunglasses by Bergdorfverse. We hope you will enjoy these pieces as much as we do 🧡

You can get the bag, shoes & sunglasses by Bergdorfverse HERE

Ariana Top

27 Swatches

Top Category

Ariana Skirt

27 Swatches

Bottom Category

Ariana Set for Blender

HQ Textures

Linked Nodes & Materials

Rigged for Sims 4 Female Body

All LODs // Custom Thumbnails // Disallowed for Random // HQ Mod Compatible

Conversion // Do not recolor or convert // Do not re-upload

DOWNLOAD

Connect with us at: Instagram I Pinterest Board I Tumblr

RC: @saint.wei

#sims 4 #sims 4 cc #ts4 cc finds #simblr #ts4 cc #merchsims #ts4 #ts4 clothes #sims #sims 4 custom content #the sims cc #the sims 4 #sims 4 cas #the sims 4 cc #ts4 custom content #ts4 cas #ts4cc #ts4 simblr

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Surprise Getaway

Epilogue for Sweet Treats AU: by character | chronological | epilogues

Warnings: these drabbles will include dark elements such as noncon, control, intimidation, violence, abortion, and other stuff that may not be specified. Take this as you chance to scroll by.

Please let me know what you think <3

🍓🍓🍓

You stare out the window. At nothing really. You can only see clouds. The endless void of the sky. So far up, you should feel lighter but you’re still weighed down by the worries you left on solid ground.

Tony sits across from you, quietly sipping from a glass of scotch as he drags his finger along his tablet screen. You’re restless but not for the destination.

You haven’t been able to settle since that day. Well, you suppose that will take time, though you’ve never found much peace since this man strode into your life.

You cradle your chin as you think. Kitty sent a nice bon voyage. Some chocolate truffles from scratch. You haven’t touched the box as your stomach churns with anxiety. You don’t like flying, more so, it’s been a while since it’s just been you and Tony. He’s been elusive and now the safety of your solace is shattered by this impromptu vacation.

Tony flips his glasses off his nose as he raises his head. He shifts in the white leather seat and looks at you. You offer a sheepish smile as he winks. He taps a finger against the screen as he slides to the edge of his seat.

“Here, sweetheart, have a look over the itinerary,” he says, “don’t worry, I still got a few surprises up my sleeve.”

“Oh, okay,” you lean forward and take the tablet. 

As you turn it to face you, you pause. You stare at the image, wispy white on solid black. An ultrasound. You swallow and lower the tablet as you raise your head.

“Tony, I–”

You cry out as he lunges across the space between you. His hands are around your neck in an instant. A vice you can’t break as you kick out around his legs. You whimper and couch, clawing at his fingers as you lurch in the seat.

“You can explain?” He snarls, “there’s nothing to fucking explain.”  He stands straight, forcing you to your feet, “I should fucking kill you just like you did my child.”

“N-n-nggh,” you gag as his grip grows tighter and tighter.

You hear the rings of the curtain behind him. He snarls without looking back at the attendant, “go the fuck away! This is a private conversation.”

The curtain falls back as you slap against his shoulders and chest. Your tongue lolls out as your face speckles with fiery heat and your head bulges dangerously. You can’t breathe. He’s going to do it. He’s really going to kill you.

“I should!” He hollers in your face. Your hands slip down his body as you dangle from his grasp, “I should snap your fucking neck, you ungrateful little—”

He snarls and swings you away from him. You flail as you stumble and hit the next seat, bouncing off it to sprawl over the floor. You heave and couch as you bring your hand to your throat. You writhe as you suck in air desperately, your skull throbbing and throat alight.

He steps over you, kicking you onto your back. He falls to his knees, straddling you beneath him as he grabs a chunk of your hair. He pulls your head down and makes you look at him, your vision hazy as your adrenaline spikes once more.

“You won’t make me the monster, sweetheart,” he bends over you, his forehead against yours, “you don’t get to do that.”

“S-s-sorry,” you gulp out, “Tony, please, I was scared–”

“Shut the fuck up,” he shoves your head down, rising over you on his knees, “I don’t want your fucking excuses. All you do is fucking lie.” He reaches to the front of his pants and pops the button. “So you’re going to fix this.”

“Please,” you beg, not daring to move or resist, “please, I’m sorry–”

“One more word and I break that mouth like you broke my fucking heart,” he snarls as he tears down his zipper, “here’s the fucking deal, sweetheart, we don’t go home til we got a third passenger on board. Understood?”

You close your eyes and sniffle. You give a nod as tears slip out beneath your lashes and trickle down your temples. You lay prone as he jostles above him. He frames your jaw suddenly and turns your head straight.

“Open your fucking eyes,” he demands.

You obey, a new swell of horror leaks down from your eyes. His lip curls and his cheek twitches. He scoffs and lifts himself on his knees.

“I can’t fucking look at you. Turn over,” he lets you go meanly, your head knocking against the floor.

You roll over weakly, hiding your face against your arm as your stomach meets the floor. He pushes up your skirt, tugging it from under his knees. He gathers it at your waist as he feels along your ass. He shoves aside your panties as he jams his hand between your thighs. 

You whimper as he angles himself over you, quickly lining himself up. He rams inside cruelly, jolting you as he impales you. You cry out and he thrusts again. Again, again, again. Each dip of his hips rougher than the last.

You sink into rattling sobs, resigning yourself to his torture. Did you really think you could outsmart Tony Stark?

#tony stark #dark tony stark #dark!tony stark #tony stark x princess #tony stark x reader #sweet treats #au #series #drabble #dark!fic #marvel #mcu #iron man #avengers

[nedison]

Sparkstember Day 4:

I dunno about you, but Labor Day is prime board game season for my family. Here's one that may be of interest from that brief moment in late '74 when the Mael bros fancied themselves the Parker Bros and released several tie-in board games to promote the Propaganda LP.

This one is tons of fun to play, but the other limited runs of Thanks But No Thanks, Achoo, and the travel game Bon Voyage are worth tracking down too!

#sparkstember #sparkstember 2023 #sparks band #sparks #ron mael #russell mael #1974 #propaganda

[thisbetternotawakenanything]

Quick and delulu costume observations for the finale preview, Roman only edition:

Tropical grief holiday Roman’s back in light blue - his colour of self.

He’s also waving bye bye (to Mummy?) in Barbados, laughing in Connor’s (new to him) house seemingly post board meeting where I’m sure they all got booted, and wearing his spotty tie from his last great office flirt with Gerri (season 3 episode 4).

And let’s end on the most delulu thought of all - that could be a ‘looking at Gerri’ face there in the last one? Head ducked, eyes a bit soft, the impression somebody just said something he’s vaguely into?

And with that’s I say RIP to this tumblr. It’s been cool to think about clothes together! Bon voyage, Brain Rot Enthusiasts.

#succession #gerri x roman #succession hbo #costume design #succession spoilers #roman roy

[jaybot-hotdogfingers]

asking you about your red string board

YES HELLO HI. timeline of reasons i think the reader is megan ito

season 14: reader makes wyatt quitter and moses mason into receivers. (on its own this would be more of a "reader is wyatt" thing, but the reader showed up before wyatt, and also see below.) and yknow who's the only non-wyatt player known to have staticked,

season 17: reader gives baby doyle an Uncertain Necklace of Entanglement and orville manco a Force Field of Observation. force field, obviously, is associated with parker (though we didn't know that yet at the time). the necklace? alternates its wearer. which, on its own, wouldn't be much for the redstringing, but paired with the force field i absolutely read it as a reference to the megans. reader also does a lot of alternating players in general. (also, somewhat more tenuously: force field's observation = p4rker. necklace's elsewhere mods = reader?)

season 18: in addition to turntables, reader adds four blessings to the election. Graphene and Open Floor Plan are just their usual m.o. of reducing edensity. but Cape of Containment and Bon Voyage? another reference to the force field, and a mod that procs when a player roams away from your team? absolutely deliberate references to prehistory.

season 19: another four blessings from reader: Moderation, Underhanded, Subtractor, and Go Big? Go Home. all of them have an edensity-reducing effect – but take another look at the latter two. Subtractor and Go Big? Go Home both give a negative mod to a player on another team. THEY'RE FUCKING HEXES.

there's also, in general, the fact that reader was working against the coin, which combined with all the references to prehistory suggest that they have some particular reasons to dislike her.

a lot of this could also be evidence for "reader is parker ii", now i think about it, but imo the wyatt associations point more strongly towards megan. (it doesn't hurt that og megan's pgr is solitaire, either)

#mic.txt #megan ito #the reader #blaseball

[brigitttt]

📚 for the book asks, how about 27 & 47? (bon voyage!)

ahh thank you lttrs! from this ask game:

27. What was the first book you remember reading as a kid?

Okay so I only remembered vibes (sprouts? dogs?) but thankfully my mum let me know the actual book series name: Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant. I thought it might have been one of my brother's books that he took home from school that I stole to read because I was 3 and a maniac, but apparently it was a gift from my grandmother. Young boy and his dog, admiring flowers in the yard, but the dog eats them instead, "causing great consternation". The lessons I learned from this book as a child is that if you pretend you are a dog illegally eating flowers then it's much more satisfying to eat your alfalfa and bean sprouts etc.

The other answer is probably something that started out being read to me until I grabbed the book and read aloud (instead of falling asleep): Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome, a series from the 1930s about children's sailing adventures in the Lake District.

47. What are the last three books you read?

First is Thud! by Terry Pratchett; a re-read of a beloved story, so excellent as are all of his books. Particularly good for thinking about history, and who is telling it, and board games that connect us.

Second is Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton; of course I've seen the movie but I've never actually read the book before! And I really liked it! It has much more detail into the science and technology, such as it was at the time, than the movie ever goes into. And also a lot more people become dinosaur food.

Third is Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh; a classic murder mystery from 1945 Aotearoa/New Zealand about small-town personalities and also maybe wartime weapons secrets. This was an author (one of many) that my mum recommended, and I enjoyed it so much that I got another one of her books for my to-read pile. Apparently Marsh is very into the theatre, and it really comes out in some of her other books.

#ask games #thank you so much! I would recommend everything named but also adding to TBR piles is dangerous #gpoy

[bulgariansumo]

Back at it again, editing Episode 1 of Galactiquest. Version 3.0 patch notes:

-Removed all unnecessary epithets (Hopefully. I found one instance of brunet that I thought I deleted the last time around)

-Toned down the amount of exclamation points

-I think I slightly pared down a scene in Chapter 4? But I added a new one over it, so that probably cancels out

-Gave other characters a little more dialogue, especially Leon

-Changed descriptions around to be more concise, less repetitive, and less verbose (For these being Leon's chapters, I got weirdly fancy with some of the prose)

-New scene 1: In Chapter 1, a girl talks to Leon while he's waiting in the spaceport, eventually leading to him realizing he's late. This finally gave me a chance to explain why the Interstellar Forces is called that and set up that it is struggling somewhat. I think this also the first time I've gotten to mention that the IF was banned from having weapons.

-New scene 2: In Chapter 4, Jun questions why the IF would let such an inexperienced group go to Neptune (in nicer wording, but still). It sets the tone for the trip in a way that was lacking before.

As much as it stung to realize those chapters were a little rougher than I thought, I'm glad I did this. It's not a complete overhaul, but it brought the quality a little closer to my current stuff. I'm grateful some people were still able enjoy them despite rough edges.

In the times that I've asked for feedback, a few people mentioned Chapters 3 and 4 being a bit of a slog. I... did not trim them down as much as I intended. Every time I tried, it went something like this:

Hopefully, adding that section to Chapter 4 will help it feel a little more worthwhile. That being said, if I'm compelled to edit again, I know there's a few scenes in Chapter 4 that probably should go.

For people who want to see the new scenes without reading the whole episode again, I'll post them down below. If you do want to read the full thing, here's a link.

---

New Scene 1 [Bon Voyage, Celestion-5] Ch 1. Boarding for Takeoff

A monitor nearby played an informational video about Earth’s one and only moon colony: Lunaria, the city of his dreams. Though so far away, he felt like it lay within his grasp for the first time. What choice did he have but to be captivated by it?

“Are you heading to your first deployment?” The girl a few seats over might as well have appeared from thin air.

“Hm? How’d you know?” He shook his head out of a daze. Only now did he realize his mouth had been hanging open for who knew how long.

“You seemed pretty enthralled by that video for a star ranger.”

“Oh yeah. Some nights, I spent so long looking at the dome through my telescope, I’d dream about it.” He sighed. “Even now, I can almost breathe that artificial air.”

“I’ve heard it’s cool. My aunt’s paying my way. I bet you’re glad you don’t have to pay those ticket prices either, huh?” She had a pretty laugh.

“Gosh, I thought I’d have to spend my life savings just for a visit. Thank goodness for the IF.”

“You know,” she tilted her head, “I’ve always wondered, why’s it called the Interstellar Forces when we haven’t gone past Mars yet?”

“We’re supposed to dream big now and grow into it later. It worked for me, so…!” he ended with a shrug. “And who knows,” he knew, “we might be going past Mars soon.”

“That’s cute. Sorry about the budget cuts, though. No more weapons, I get, but you guys don’t even have your own ships anymore? They’re just deploying you with us civilians?”

“My ship’s kind of a special case.” Out of curiosity he decided to check his phone. “But I guess it wouldn’t hurt to che–”

His eyes widened in horror at what time it displayed. It was 25 minutes past when he should have boarded.

“Is something wrong?” asked the girl.

“Sorry, I gotta go.” He gathered his bags and hurried over to the receptionist. “Excuse me. This is the boarding area for the Celestion ships, right?” Maybe everyone else was just late. “I was supposed to be boarding a ship 25 minutes ago.”

“Oh, no sir. Are you with the Interstellar Forces? All military spacecraft are located on the opposite end.” The receptionist motioned directly behind him.

“Thank you, thank you so much,” He shook the receptionist’s hand vigorously. “Seriously, my career is in your hands. And yours too,” he sped past the girl, “have a nice trip, bye!”

New Scene 2 [Bon Voyage, Celestion-5] Ch 4. Tour's End

“Quick question.” The oddly familiar one smoothed dark, wavy bangs out of her face… or his face? Leon couldn’t tell at this angle. The androgynous voice didn’t help. “The Celestion crews were chosen by chance, yeah?”

“There’s a coupla exceptions as you’re no doubt aware,” Emil winked, “not to mention the captains, but yeah, most of us are random picks.”

“Right, cool. So, like, not to harsh the vibes, but I noticed that none of us except you and the captain are ranked higher than rangers.”

“I almost ascended to corporal~” Allen spoke up.

“I know, Rox.” The familiar one addressed Emil again. “I dunno, I kinda assumed we’d get stationed on each ship based on our experience and ability level.”

That did surprise Leon when he first heard about the opportunity. Described by his old warrant officer as ‘remarkably average in all abilities,’ he never dreamed he’d be offered the chance to go to Neptune. No one from his base deployed to space in years. He hadn’t even earned the star on his uniform yet. No way would he let such good luck pass him by.

“Huh,” Emil pinched one of his curls, “that does make sense.”

A click from the ceiling brought with it Captain Galhardo’s voice. “Randomized crews are a key element of the Celestion Project. Though each captain, including myself, went through a series of tests to ensure our capability.”

“Well, there you have it. Besides, as long as my brother’s piloting, we’ll make it back a-ok. Nothin’ to worry about.” In only a few strides, Emil made his way to the cooking area. “Over here we have a microwave, an oven, dishes, other kitchen-y stuff–Oooh, guys, I gotta show you something!”

He stuck his arm over the stove, to the confusion of Leon and most of the others, and to their horror, turned it on.

#bsumo's creator blog #galactiquest

[catandsusim]

Hiiii catandsusim 👋

I just started following you because your TSS/IKEA/M&G on Mac post finally popped up on my feed, and as a former-PC-simmer-turned-Mac-simmer, I haven’t been this excited in a while!!

I’m sure you get asked about this all the time, but do you know if there are any mods that are Mac-friendly??

I just reentered another one of my Sims 2 phases, and while I’m trying to be really careful about what I download, I would love to add some mods that hopefully won’t cause damage. I tried Pregnant Wear Any Outfit, and unfortunately, it didn’t work.

Thanks for your recommendations, and I’m so appreciative again for your sharing that info about downloading those SPs!

Most mods will work, but sometimes you need to be careful to get an older version of them. The Bon Voyage version, specifically. I regret to inform you that I seem to have not yet discovered the correct location for the TSS/K&B (not M&G!) bodyshop files. Or the clothes are there but don’t display their icon. I don’t know, I am a builder.

ACR by TwoJeffs, archived on SimsFileShare, is very popular. You need the 1.1 version.

Cyjon’s mods on his website,

and of course the hacks by Pescado at More Awesome Than You. Some of his are fixes to bad Maxis code. http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?PHPSESSID=d04239f1e38f95206d43730b522953fb&board=5.0

You will need the Bon Voyage version from the thread “all hacks.” It is helpful to get the description of what each one does in the thread “updated hack descriptions.”

You will need the CEPv9, by Numenor on MTS, and to manually install it, if you want to use most custom content. Like furniture recolors.

I too am incredibly grateful to Huge Lunatic for those 3 Stuff Packs.

[papermoonloveslucy]

TOUR DE LUCY!

Lucy & Cycling

Pedal Power!  When not motorized or on foot power, Lucy biked!  Here’s a look at bikes, trikes, and other likes. 

Ben Mankiewicz’s podcast relates that Lucille Ball, as a young Hollywood hopeful, biked to work. 

Broadway Thru a Keyhole (1933) ~  A bevy of costumed chorines - including an uncredited Lucille Ball, Susan Fleming and Ann Sothern - wheel around a giant nightclub stage to the tune of “When You Were a Girl on a Scooter (And I Was the Boy on the Bike)”. This was Lucille Ball’s second film. It also featured Charles Lane and Walter Winchell. 

Palm Springs Weekend (1942) ~ An RKO short in which newlyweds Lucy and Desi rent a tandem bike to tour Palm Canyon, stopping to take snapshots. 

“The Lost Pilot” (1951) ~ Pepito the Clown (Pepito Perez) was a good friend of Desi Arnaz. In the long-unaired pilot episode for “I Love Lucy” Pepito rides the world’s smallest bicycle, a routine that was part of his stage act.  

“The Audition” (1951) ~ When the unaired pilot’s script was recycled into the regular series, Pepito was replaced by Buffo the Clown (Pat Moran) who injures himself trying to do a handstand on the handlebars of a (full-sized) bicycle. Resting at the Ricardo’s apartment, he tries the stunt again and careens through the kitchen door. His replacement is Lucy as ‘The Professor’, although she doesn’t ride the bike! 

“Lucy’s Show-Biz Swan Song” (1952) ~ When the episode was running short, Desi Arnaz invited Pepito to do some of his act from the unaired pilot, including the world’s smallest bicycle routine.  

The tiny bike (one of two) is six inches wide by ten inches high, manufactured by Anderson, Melbourne, Australia, in 1928. It was at one time entered into Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Pepito was in Australia in 1928 for an extended vaudeville tour, and he must have ordered this bicycle at that time. It is now one of the artifacts in the Lucy-Desi Museum’s collection. A special case was been constructed to exhibit it.

“Lucy Fakes Illness” (1953) ~ To convince Ricky she is going through her second childhood, Lucy rides a tricycle through the living room! 

“The Ricardo’s Change Apartments” (1953) ~ Lucy fills the apartment to the brim with toys and baby items to convince Ricky they need a bigger apartment. Among the explosion of tot props is a tricycle and a bicycle! 

“Bon Voyage” (1956) ~ A bicycle is Lucy’s undoing when boarding the S.S. Constitution for Europe. Saying one last farewell to Little Ricky on the dock, her skirt gets caught in the chain of a messenger bike, delaying her timely boarding. She even tries to board with the bicycle!

“Lucy’s Bicycle Trip” (1956) ~ When leaving Italy for France, Lucy has her heart set on biking across the border, but meets some resistance from Ricky and the Mertzes. 

LUCY: “You wouldn’t climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower. You wouldn’t ride the ski lift in Switzerland. You won’t swim in the Mediterranean and now you don’t want to bicycle along the Italian Riviera.”

The bicycles used in the episode were provided by Arnold Schwinn and Company in return for a screen credit.

“The I Love Lucy Christmas Show” (1956) ~ Little Ricky gets a new bike for Christmas! 

“Lucy is a Kangaroo for a Day” (1962) ~ To buy her son a new bicycle for his birthday, Lucy takes a job at a law office - until things ‘unravel’.  Her knit dress becomes entangled in the spokes of the bicycle and unravels, causing her to have to wear a kangaroo costume to complete the job. 

A carefree Jerry (Jimmy Garrett) rides his new bicycle through the living room! 

A receipt from a Hollywood bicycle shop for the purchase of a bicycle basket and bike rack. Dated December 22, 1962, it was signed by Lucy. It is not known if the items turned up on screen or in what show / episode. 

“Together for Christmas” (1962) ~ Combining their family holiday traditions, Lucy holds her favorite ornament, a Santa on a three-wheeled bike. Viv’s expression betrays her feelings about the ornament. 

“Bob Hope’s Leading Ladies” (1966) ~ In the special, Lucy makes her grand entrance riding a large tricycle with her chauffeur (Jerry Colonna) on the back. 

“Lucy in London” (1966) ~ Lucy and singer / songwriter Anthony Newley tour London town on a tandem bicycle. 

Yours, Mine and Ours (1968) ~ In the film, Helen (Lucille Ball) and Frank (Henry Fonda) are the parents of 19 kids!  On Christmas morning, more than a couple of them get bicycles. 

“Lucy Helps Craig Get a Drivers License” (1969) ~ Lucy tags along on Craig’s road test. Needless to say the back seat driver frustrates and angers the instructor (Jack Gilford). When he learns that her license has expired, he says that after he's through with her she'll be lucky to drive a tricycle in Griffith Park!

“Lucy and Wally Cox” (1970) ~ Wally and Lucy are security guards at a toy warehouse that is robbed at gunpoint. There is a tricycle on the shelf behind the robbers (Gil Perkins and X Brands).  

“Lucy and Lawrence Welk” (1970) ~ Lucy sends her visiting friend Viv on the  Universal Studios tour, where she is excited to have seen Doris Day’s bicycle!  All this is reported by Viv and neither Day nor her bicycle appear on screen. In real life, Doris Day was an avid bike rider. She rode to the studio on many occasions and pedaled around Beverly Hills until the police finally told her they couldn’t guarantee her safety.  

Mame (1974) ~ Auntie Mame (Lucy) and her nephew Patrick (Kirby Furlong) bike through central park in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical.  

EXERCISE BIKES

“The Charm School” (1954) ~ At Phoebe Emerson’s salon, Lucy and Ethel work out on stationary bikes. If you don’t remember this moment, it is because it was cut before broadcast. The press photos, however, survive. 

“Lucy and the Countess Lose Weight” (1965) ~ At a health farm managed by Mr. Mooney, Lucy and Rosie (Ann Sothern) pedal away the pounds! 

“Happy Anniversary and Goodbye” (1974) ~ Norma and Fay (Nanette Fabray) keep fit for their husbands in Ball’s first post-series TV special. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a masseur. 

SONG CYCLE

“Lucy and the Generation Gap” (1969) ~ Includes the song “Daisy Bell” aka “Bicycle Built for Two” written in 1892 by British songwriter Harry Dacre.  

The song is heard again in “Lucy’s Lucky Day” (1971). 

You’ll look sweet Upon the seat Of a bicycle built for two!

CALL ME MR. BIKE

“Tennessee Ernie Hangs On” (1954) ~ featured Richard Reeves as Ernie’s old pal Lester Bike, host of “Milliken’s Chicken Mash Hour”.  “Lucy Saves Milton Berle” (1964) ~ featured Milton Frome as Jerry Bike, Berle’s agent. The agent’s name is never spoken aloud, but is listed in the end credits. 

A Lucille Ball impersonator takes a carefree trike ride at Disney Studios. [photo by Lori Mundy].  

#Lucille Ball #Bicycles #Bike #Bikes #Tricycle #Tricycles #Tandem Bikes #Bicycle Built for Two #I Love Lucy #The Lucy Show #Here's Lucy #Vivian Vance #Desi Arnaz #Richard Reeves #Milton Frome #Gale Gordon #Lucie Arnaz #Nanette Fabray #Ann Sothern #Kirby Furlong #Mame #Doris Day #Anthony Newley #Bob Hope #Jerry Colonna #Jimmy Garrett #Pepito Perez #Broadway Thru a Keyhole

[kenovele]

Salut la compagnie, Je m’attaque au blog plus tôt cette semaine et j’ai bon espoir de le sortir à temps ! Je suis de retour dans un état d’esprit proactif et ça commence par sortir mon blog à temps. Je reprends là ou Kate vous a laissé avec notre séparation le lundi matin. Elle partait pour Te Aroha avec un mal de tête carabiné pendant que je me dirigeais vers Mount Ruapehu en bus. J’avais un petit pincement au coeur de laisser ma Choupette sans son chauffeur dans ces conditions sur une route qu’elle ne connaissait pas. Je savais que d’une certaine manière, quelques jours de séparation seraient bénéfique à notre couple. On y a réfléchi et la dernière fois qu’on a été séparé pour plus de 24 h était pendant mon weekend à Fontainebleau avec Paul en avril 2022. Nous sommes passé d’un couple longue distance à un couple très très courte distance (temps et espace) Le voyage en bus a été un sacré périple. J’étais à l’arrêt de bus à 8h20 et je suis arrivé à Ohakune (petit village de skieurs au pied de la montagne) à 16h. J’ai dormi tout du long ou presque. Jane m’a gentiment pick up à l’arrêt et puis est allé prendre l’apéro chez une amie. J’ai mis mon temps à profit pour faire une balade jusqu’au supermarché et préparer notre souper. En l’absence de mon assistante en chef (Kate) et suite à mon refus de toute aide de la part de Jane, ça m’a pris une plombe de préparer à souper. J’ai fait des Poke Bowl. ça a été notre nourriture de prédilection les dernières semaines avec Kate. Je me suis dit que Jane devrait y goûter. J’ai assez mal dormi cette nuit-là à cause d’un cauchemar, un excès de sommeil dans les dernières 24h et le fait que j’avais un appel avec Paul à 6h du matin. Je devais avoir un peu peur de le rater. Une heure de discussion est une fenêtre de temps bien trop courte pour aborder les innombrables nouvelles. Je n’ai pas eu le temps de parler de sa copine/à sa copine (étant donné qu’elle était dans la pièce). J’aurais dû réclamer un petit coucou. Dans tous les cas, une très chouette façon de commencer la journée. Il s’avère que Jane écrit également un blog quand elle est à la montagne et que j’ai eu le privilège de pouvoir y écrire quelques lignes sur la journée de Mercredi. J’ai donc copié-coller son blog de mardi et le mien de mercredi. C’est en anglais donc accrochez vous mais n’oubliez pas de profiter de cette collab exceptionnelle.

Jane’s blog : 10cm of fresh snow overnight brought the base to 247cm for the 2023 season and it’s only the 15th of August. This year the change to an El Nino weather pattern has brought almost weekly top ups of fresh snow to Turoa making for some awesome skiing. (sorry Craig)

Today was no exception and with only 500 or so folks on the hill, the skiing until lunch was some of the best Turoa can provide. Clear skies, great visibility and nice powder provided some whoop whoop moments. The Movenpick had a bit of a delay opening with the Giant not opening until around 12 and the Hight Noon not opening at all due to Avalanche risk. We had some amazing runs before noon. Benoit our Belgian guest had his 1st board for almost 4yrs and thoroughly enjoyed some great Turoa turns. He thinks he’s a lucky charm but I reckon timing is everything and around here you’ve just gotta roll with the weather. Snow arrived around 12.30 on the lower Mountain and this meant that it was very hard to see much at all let alone snow conditions, and where you were going. I had the worst run of the season today off the top of the Giant and over onto the bottom of bread run where there was sheet ice making doing turns impossible on the ridges and the small gullies when you could see/find them provided some respite. Truly traumatic it was. Luckly I had Benoit waiting for me at the bottom of the treacherous run just in case I needed rescuing. What was I thinking

My blog: The day started well because I had my first chat with my godson since I left. I called for his 12th birthday. It wasn’t that easy to find the subject of conversation but I made it work. His mum told me he was delighted to hear he was getting a call from New-Zealand. I went for an early stroll to the supermarket afterward in order to pick up wraps to accommodate the leftovers for our lunch. We have been living off them for the last four meals and we are not complaining because it’s pretty tasty. Crispy asian chicken with a salad of veggies, a homemade eggplant chutney and all that wrapped in a tortilla is something to make you wish lunch comes faster, even on a day skiing. We made it up to the ski field after solving the usual dilemma imposed by the forecast, is it worth going up there? Well I’m glad we did. Even tho the chairlifts opened gradually throughout the day and the overnight wind had created big snowdrifts, the morning conditions were as good as you can hope for on Mount Ruapehu. As long as you avoided the spot exposed to the wind where a crust of blue ice was the only thing that managed to stick to the mountain, you would have a delightful ride. I found a little parkour made of mostly good powder and tried to improve my turns and speed by doing it over and over. The run started with a tiny half pipe made of snowdrift on one side and icyish snow on the other. Then I was dropping/jumping from the track in a pile of fresh snow. I was picking up speed and trying to jump the little ridge created by the mucking machine. I won’t detail it all down here but you got the picture. Jane on the other hand rode with a friend all morning. The weather was average at first so they went to change their ski goggles and ended up sitting down for a little bit and sip on a hot chocolate. I guess there is no place where hot chocolates taste better than in a high altitude restaurant. Snowfall arrived with the afternoon like yesterday. During lunch break, feeling pretty lazy after my two wraps and peanuts, I was battling inside to decide if I was motivated enough to fight the cold. I did end up letting Jane drive down while returning to my snowboard. The first chairlift after the breal is the hardest because you don’t have the body warmth brought by your previous run. It quickly appeared to me that I didn’t make the best decision as the weather was really packing up. By my fourth run of the afternoon snowy ice was sticking to my goggles, the snow was wiping any part of my face that I couldn’t cover and I was surrounded by white. On my way down, I didn’t see the half pipe where I skied a dozen time the same morning. It felt like somebody pulled the ground from under me. I ended up on my butt laughing at the situation. It was time to wrap up and go. I hitchhiked my way down and got picked up by a local fella that is in the importing ski gears business. He offered me a beer as I was climbing in the car covered in snow, which I accepted (it would have been rude not to). There was heavy snowfall almost all the way down. When I arrived, Jane told me that there had been a crash on the road to Turoa skifield which was now closed and they also decided to close the chairlifts. It made me more at peace with my decision of an early bail out. Now the day is about relaxing with a potential walk depending on the forecast. I’m not going to lie, chances are low. I’m lying in front of the fire, the cat is sleeping by my side, a grey rainy cloud turned the luminosity right down in the room and Jane opened the wine. Je dois ajouter que je suis finalement aller pour une balade le long de la rivière où j’ai pris une photo d’un arbre sur un éperon rocheux voir en description.

Jeudi, la montagne était fermée à cause de fortes chutes de neige pendant la nuit (et tout ce que ça représente comme travail d'entretien) et des conditions météorologiques très moyennes dans la matinée. ça avait peu d’importance au final parce que je suis allé à un cours de wool spinning que Jane organisait en milieu de journée avant de reprendre la route vers le nord. Le but du wool spinning consiste à travailler la laine pour qu’elle passe du stade “fraîchement coupé du dos du mouton” à “prêt à faire un pull”. Il y a plusieurs étapes dans ce processus mais celle qui demande le plus de coordination est l’utilisation de la roue. Basiquement la roue tourne à l’aide d’un bras de levier actionné avec une pédale à pied. Ce qui dans le même temps entraîne une bobine qui enroule les poils sur eux-même ce qui leur donne de la résistance. La difficulté réside dans le fait de garder le rythme avec le pied tout en employant la bonne gestuelle manuelle afin de créer une corde avec une épaisseur homogène. C’était une chouette introduction à un de mes potentiels choix de vie : “homme au foyer”. Sur le chemin du retour pour Pukekohe, on a écouté à 3 heures d’interview de Michael Pollen. Je pense que le podcast à généré un brin de curiosité vis-à-vis des psychédéliques chez Jane. On a vraiment passé 4 belles journées ensemble et j’espère pouvoir remettre ça au plus vite. Je suis à un score d’une semaine de méditation consécutive et 47 jours en tout. Ils disent que ça prend un mois pour créer une habitude. Je pense pas l’avoir fait avec assez d’assiduité pour que l’amorce de la tâche se fasse sans friction.

Marie Lebouc est en Nouvelle-Zélande. Marie est une ancienne étudiante d’échange des Robinson et aussi la famille d’accueil d’Alex Norvill (mon frère d’accueil). On était donc tous invité à souper chez les parents (Jamie inclus) pour l’occasion. L’ambiance était bonne et tout le monde avait des choses à se raconter. Vendredi matin, je suis allé à la piscine avec Marie. La natation, c’est encore plus difficile de s’y mettre que la course à pied. Si tu démarres un peu rapidement, tu as l’impression d’étouffer et les bras qui lâchent. Après une dizaine de minutes j’ai trouvé mon flow et éteint mon cerveau. La sensation de relaxation à la sortie de l’eau est incomparable avec n’importe quel autre sport, et en tellement peu de temps. J’étais prêt pour la sieste mais malheureusement je me suis forcé à retourner au bureau de Kate pour chercher du boulot et faire d'autres brols (comme écrire mon blog). Marie est descendue à Hamilton avec sa maman d’accueil pour regarder un van qu’elle espérait fermement acheter mais il s’est avéré qu’il n’y avait pas d’eau dans le radiateur pour des raisons inconnues ce qui l’a complètement refroidie. Le soir après avoir tapé la balle une demi heure sur le terrain de tennis, on a reçu Marie et Lauren à la tiny house. On s’est bien marré. Les sujets de conversation tournaient un peu girly de temps en temps mais j’ai quand trouvé ma place dans cette petite soirée entre filles. Laren nous a bien fait rire parce qu’elle nous a dit qu’elle avait vu sa maman le jour même et que sa maman lui avait annoncé qu’elle voulait faire un trip psychédélique pour ses 60 ans. Je remets le contexte. Sur le chemin du retour de la montagne on a écouté 3 heures de podcast de Michael Pollen (le gars qui a écrit le livre que je viens de lire sur les psychédélique). On dirait que ça a suffit pour susciter sa curiosité. J’ai dit à Jane que je lui offrirai le livre. Il faudra que je follow up sur ma promesse. On a fait des pâtes fraîches carbonara qui étaient délicieuses.

Samedi on a eu l’occasion de faire de la poterie dans l’atelier de Mark avec ses deux roues de poterie. C’était une chouette nouvelle expérience. Tout le monde à eu l’occasion de tourner quelques pots. Il y a de la marge pour le progrès ça c’est certain. Je pense qu’on se fera de petites sessions de temps en temps à l’avenir avec Kate. Dernière nouvelle excitante (pour nous) est qu’on a passé notre certificat de grimpe en tête aujourd’hui (dimanche) à la salle d’esca. On peut maintenant exploré toutes les voies. Kate était stressée mais elle s’est très bien débrouillée. Sa chute en tête était belle! (obligatoire dans le cadre du test). Le reste du weekend se résume à : film, tea au lit, méditation, dîner chez Cathy, coucou au grand-parent et tâches ménagères. Voili voilou les ptits gars. Ce sera tout pour moi. Profitez des photos. J’ai fait l’effort pour la première fois de prendre des photos avec mon téléphone. Elles sont de moins bonne qualité mais ont leur charme quand même. Bisousss.

[asrisgratitudejournal]

Malta pt. 1

(Ini di draft udah dari jaman kapan tau dan nulisnya nggak sekali duduk jadi mohon maaf kalau flow dan tone-nya berubah-ubah yes)

Wadaw belum rekap cerita Malta yes. Jadi sepertinya akan cerita sekarang.

Ok, jadi awalnya adalah Nadia dan saya randomly nonton Bon Voyage season Malta pas Christmas break dan tahun baru kemarin Januari 2022. Terus yaudah Nadia ngomong aja sekedar “I think we should go to Malta this summer!” terus I replied “Let’s go!” dan akhirnya Feb kemarin kami ngeplan dong beli tiket pesawat plus Airbnb. Kenapa se-impulsif itu adalah karena pas ngecek tiket pesawat dan Airbnb… super murah tiketnya (relatif terhadap harga pesawat dan penginapan ke negara-negara Eropa lainnya ya – lagi-lagi murah mahal kan sangat relatif terhadap tax bracket tiap orang). Kami sengaja milih Juni karena belum terlalu panas (masih early summer) dan pasti juga belum yang peak holiday banget sehingga tidak terlalu banyak orang. Belajar dari pengalaman: planning 4 bulan sebelum ini ternyata enak banget ya, barusan juga akhirnya beli tiket pesawat ke Indo 4 bulan sebelum keberangkatan. Lesson learned: nge-plan trip jauh-jauh paling enak minus 4 bulan ges! Masih dapat harga murah tapi juga ga yang kejauhan banget buat predict what’s going on in our lives.

Terus tiba-tiba kan udah Juni aja ye. Berangkat lah kita. Oh iya, detailsnya adalah kami berangkat naik Easyjet dan pulang ke LHR naik British Airways. Sebetulnya in April apa May gitu, kita sempat beli luggage dulu juga sih karena di tiket yang awal dibeli pas Feb kemarin itu betul-betul cuma boleh carry-on hand baggage aja, jadi harus tetap beli luggage allowance lah kita.

Itinerary semua diatur Nadia. Entah kenapa Mei kemarin hidup per-research-an lagi riweuh banget jadi gabisa contribute ke nyusun itin trip ini. Kurang lebih susunan plannya seperti ini:

Tentu saja kenyataannya tidak se-smooth rencana yang sudah dibuat sodara-sodara. Tapi at least the fact that we have a (rough) plan cukup membuat hatiku tenang. Awalnya sempat mikir kelamaan nggak ya 5 hari 4 malam… tapi ternyata sangat pas menurutku sih. Kalau lebih sebentar dari itu mungkin jadinya nggak relaxed dan sangat riweuh tripnya.

Halang rintang yang ditemui antara lain: flight berangkat dari Gatwicknya delayed, yang harusnya jam 13.45pm take-off jadi baru take-off jam 15-an… Terus udah paling pinter kan, bukannya ngambil cash Euro dulu di Gatwick, jadinya kebingungan bayar taxi dari Luca airport ke Airbnb. Untung si supir taxinya baik jadi kami naroh uang nitip sama manajer Airbnb-nya si Franco pas hari terakhir sebelum kami pulang.

Gara-gara Easyjet delayed, akhirnya kami mayan gabut di Gatwick. Berujung beli kartu uno di WHSmith terus main sebentar dan nonton Tomorrow-nya Rowoon SF9 di iPad Nadia. Sebetulnya ku sendiri sudah mendownload 2 episod terakhir Stranger Things tapi ribet mayan kalau buka-buka laptop di airport.

Sebelum boarding juga si Easyjet dan Gatwick sempat menimbulkan kepanikan karena di board yang gede itu katanya suruh cek lagi buat tahu gate mana tempat boarding jam 14:30pm apa ya. Eh terus tiba-tiba jam 14:20-an berubah jadi gate closed… untung banget Nadia install app Easyjet jadi kita tahu harus ke gate 103… terus yaudah sih sisanya Alhamdulillah mayan smooth.

Sampai di Malta langsung ke Airbnb, wash up, terus jalan ke luar cari makan. Beli pizza takeaway dan makan sambil nonton Tomorrow lagi. Ku suka banget sama Airbnb kami huhu. Dapat 1 studio lengkap ada living room, kitchen, kamar mandi, dan bedroom. Di bedroomnya ada AC sangat happy! Ada mesin cuci juga jadi kami juga nyuci dan pas pulang nggak harus nyuci semua baju kotor se-koper-koper.

View jalan depan Airbnb from our balcony

Hari ke-dua (Selasa) karena sangat panas (31C), akhirnya kami memutuskan untuk ngadem di mall di Sliema. Ini mall yang dikunjungi oleh Joon dan Hosok di BV mereka (yang belanjaannya Hosok ketinggalan di toko mainan, KAMI KE TOKO MAINAN ITU!). Anyway, jadi intinya kami sampai di mall sebelum mall-nya buka lolz. Jalan ke tempat ferry, terus naik ferry cuma 5 menit lalu jalan ke mall-nya. Sebelum ke mall, pagi-pagi kami jalan dulu mayan nanjak pas balik buat beli groceries: cereal dan milk buat breakfast + detergent capsule juga. Apparently di Valletta nggak ada supermarket yang gede banget gitu (apa kami gak nemu aja ya), tapi kami jadinya belanja di toko lokal gitu tapi mayan gede sih, namanya Gigi’s. Terus habis sarapan dsb, kami jalan-lah ke mall.

Di mall Sliema makan siang, I got 2 cups of coffee -__- terus makan traditional sandwichnya Malta namanya Ftira. Terus jujur sampe jam 1-an pm udah gatau lagi mau ke mana dan ngapain. Akhirnya kayanya balik ke Valletta terus jalan PANAS-PANASAN ke Upper Barakka Garden (naik lift sih ke sininya setelah randomly naik minivan gitu di tempat turun Ferry), terus sempat ngadem di Lascaris Was Room (si Hosok dan Joon juga ke sini), lalu foto-foto di fountain PANAS-PANASAN.  Sebelumnya sangat senang karena tiba-tiba kami menemukan Burger King dan bisa ngadem di dalam situ pas lagi mau jalan ke Fountain. Jam 3 pm-an memutuskan buat balik ke bnb dan nonton netflix. WE LOVE THE AC IN OUR BNB… Memutuskan buat keluar jalan lagi pas mataharinya udah lumayan low, jam 6.30 pm-an. Udah booking Cockneys juga jam 7 pm. Cockneys ini tempat makannya BTS yang paling deket dari bnb mereka. The food in Cockneys was ok, I got fettucine muscles gitu dan porsinya sangat BUANYAK. Dari situ ke Fountain, ngeliat fountain pas udah malem yang lebih cantik dengan lampu-lampunya, lalu balik ke bnb buat resume nonton si series Tomorrow lalu tidur.

Di ferry mau nyebrang ke Sliema dari Valletta

Hari ke-tiga (Rabu) adalah full ikut Boat Tour! Kami berangkat pagi sebelum jam 8 karena si boatnya jalan dari port jam 9 am. Terus dari bnb ke port itu butuh waktu 30menit-an pake taksi. Di Malta, uber yang bekerja namanya Bolt. Jam 8.12-an udah sampai sana. Nah pas mau naik sebetulnya udah ngerasa kalau boat crewnya tu physically kelihatan seperti orang Indonesia sih, tapi yaudah nggak mau assume dulu kan. Eh ternyata tapi selagi nunggu boatnya berangkat, I heard these crew talked in Bahasa Jawa lolz. Long story short, intinya ternyata memang awak kapal ini adalah orang-orang dari Tegal. Ada salah satu kru-nya yang tak ajak ngomong Bahasa Indonesia eh nyaut hehe. Berkat mas ini (dia ga bilang namanya siapa, cuma minta dipanggil Jefri Nichol), kami dikasih 2 botol Aqua dan 2 can of Cola gratis. Sebetulnya mayan random sih, belum pernah dengar ada TKI kerja di Malta dan jadi awak kapal tourist juga… Hmm menarik...

Anyway, si boat trip ini seharian pokoknya, dari jam 9 pagi sampe jam 4 sore. Murah lho cuma 30EUR. Tujuan destinasinya adalah pulau-pulau kecil di Malta: Comino dan Gozo. Di pinggir pulau-pulau itu banyak lagoon-nya. Awalnya kami di-drop di Blue Lagoon Comino island for an hour (?). Bagus banget sih emang. Dan airnya dingin! Jadi seger banget buat berenang-berenang di matahari yang super terik. Setelah itu ke Gozo island. Di sini ada 2 opsi sebetulnya: ke Victoria (semacam ibukotanya Gozo) atau ke pantai di Xlendi. Kami memutuskan untuk ke Xlendi karena di sini BTS get trained buat diving dan si Jin dan V main jetski (plus Jin loncat dari platform sampe ketagihan). Mereka makan juga sih di sini, tapi kami memutuskan buat ga makan karena waktunya terbatas.

Bagus banget Xlendi tapi… beneran yang secara nature tuh batunya bagus banget, airnya biru banget juga. Pas kami mau naik jetski, di-briefing sama masnya: “kalau kamu lurus terus ke arah sini, ini Afrika” lolz. Tapi bagus sih jetskinya dia somehow speednya udah keprogram otomatis gitu buat slow down kalau udah dekat cliff (jadi kita harusnya gaakan bisa nabrak cliff) dan kalau sudah keluar dari designated area. Kemarin berapa ya bayar jetskinya… 70EUR gitu? Buat 30 menit, yang bisa naik boncengan ber2. Beres dari Xlendi lanjut ke Crystal Lagoon terus habis itu pulang sih. Habis bersih-bersih mandi, keluar sebentar buat beli Gelato dan takeaway Pizza buat dimakan sambil nonton Netflix dan Stray Kids. Udah deh terus tidur~

Xlendi

[nimbasa-hideaways]

bon voyage!

... Is Ollie on board yet?

#trembling tracks

[lifeluxetravel]

Packing Tips for Travel: A Stress-Free Experience

Preparing for a trip can be both exhilarating and overwhelming, especially when it comes to packing. However, with the right strategies, you can streamline the process and ensure a hassle-free travel experience.

In this guide, we’ll delve into expert packing tips for travel to make your journeys with Life Luxe Travel smooth and enjoyable.

1. Start with a Packing List:

Begin by jotting down all the essentials you’ll need for your trip, including clothing, toiletries, gadgets, and documents.

Use a travel packing checklist app or template to stay organized and avoid overlooking crucial items.

Tailor your packing list to your destination and activities planned, considering factors like weather, cultural norms, and any special events.

2. Optimize Your Luggage:

Choose the right suitcase or travel bag that suits your needs, considering factors like size, weight, durability, and ease of maneuverability.

Invest in packing cubes or compression bags to maximize space and keep your belongings organized.

Prioritize versatile clothing pieces that can be mixed and matched to create multiple outfits, minimizing the need for bulky luggage.

3. Pack Smart, Pack Light:

Stick to a minimalist approach when packing, focusing on versatile items that serve multiple purposes.

Roll your clothes instead of folding them to save space and prevent wrinkles.

Pack travel-sized toiletries or opt for solid alternatives to comply with TSA regulations and save luggage space.

4. Layer and Protect Your Valuables:

Use layers of clothing to protect fragile items like electronics or souvenirs.

Invest in a quality travel wallet or organizer to keep important documents like passports, boarding passes, and currency secure and easily accessible.

Consider using a portable safe or lockable luggage to deter theft and safeguard your belongings during transit.

5. Mindful Packing for Electronics:

Pack electronic devices like laptops, cameras, and chargers in your carry-on bag to prevent damage or loss.

Use padded cases or protective sleeves to shield your gadgets from impact and moisture.

Invest in a universal travel adapter to ensure compatibility with different power outlets worldwide.

6. Leave Room for Souvenirs:

Allocate extra space in your luggage for souvenirs and gifts you may acquire during your travels.

Consider shipping bulky or fragile souvenirs home to lighten your load and avoid potential damage.

Conclusion:

By following these packing tips for travel with Life Luxe Travel, you can streamline the process and embark on your journey with confidence. Remember to pack smart, pack light, and prioritize versatility to make the most of your travel experience. Bon voyage!

About Life Luxe Travel:

Life Luxe Travel is a premier travel agency dedicated to curating unforgettable luxury experiences for discerning travelers. Whether you’re seeking a relaxing beach getaway, a thrilling adventure, or a cultural immersion.

Our team of experts is committed to crafting personalized itineraries that exceed your expectations. Discover the world in style with Life Luxe Travel.

#Packing tips for travel #Packing tips #Packing tip #Travel Packing Tips #Life Luxe Travel

[katherinemacy1]

How to check-in process of Allegiant Air?

Welcome aboard! Whether you're a seasoned traveler or embarking on your first flight with Allegiant Air, mastering the check-in process is essential for a smooth journey. In this guide, we'll walk you through the ins and outs of checking in with Allegiant Air Check-in, ensuring you're prepared and confident every step of the way.

Understanding Allegiant Air's Check-in Options:

Allegiant Air offers several convenient ways to check in for your flight, catering to diverse preferences and travel situations:

Online Check-in: Simplify your pre-flight routine by checking in online via Allegiant Air's website or mobile app. Online check-in typically opens 24 hours before departure and remains available up to 45 minutes prior to your scheduled flight time.

Airport Kiosk Check-in: For travelers who prefer a self-service approach, Allegiant Air provides airport kiosks at select locations. These kiosks allow you to check in, select seats, and print boarding passes, streamlining your airport experience.

Counter Check-in: If you prefer personalized assistance or have special requirements, Allegiant Air's airport counters are staffed with friendly agents ready to assist you with the check-in process. Whether you need to check baggage or have questions about your reservation, the counter is a convenient option.

Mobile App Check-in: Download Allegiant Air's mobile app for added convenience and flexibility. The app enables you to check in, access your boarding pass digitally, receive important flight updates, and manage your trip on the go.

Preparing for Check-in:

Before initiating the check-in process, ensure you have the following information readily available:

Confirmation Number: Retrieve your Allegiant Air booking confirmation number from your email or reservation details.

Personal Identification: Have a valid government-issued photo ID, passport (for international travel), or any other required travel documents.

Flight Details: Familiarize yourself with your flight's departure time, gate information, and any applicable baggage policies.

Step-by-Step Check-in Guide:

Follow these simple steps to breeze through the Allegiant Air check-in process:

Access Allegiant Air's Check-in Platform: Visit the airline's official website or launch the mobile app to begin the check-in process.

Enter Booking Information: Input your confirmation number and personal details as prompted by the check-in interface.

Select Seats (if applicable): Depending on your fare type and preferences, you may have the option to choose specific seats during the check-in process.

Review and Confirm: Double-check all entered information for accuracy, including flight details and passenger names.

Retrieve Boarding Pass: Upon successful check-in, retrieve your boarding pass digitally via email, the mobile app, or print it if using an airport kiosk.

Baggage Check (if applicable): If you have checked baggage, proceed to Allegiant Air's designated bag drop area at the airport to complete the process.

Arrive at the Airport: Arrive at the airport well in advance of your flight's departure time to allow for security screening and boarding procedures.

Tips for a Smooth Check-in Experience:

Check-in Early: Aim to check in as early as possible to secure preferred seating and minimize potential delays.

Review Baggage Policies: Familiarize yourself with Allegiant Air's baggage allowances and restrictions to avoid surprises at the airport.

Stay Informed: Keep abreast of any updates or changes to your flight schedule by opting in for notifications via email or the mobile app.

Conclusion:

Mastering the check-in process with Allegiant Air is key to starting your journey on the right foot. By leveraging the airline's diverse check-in options and following our comprehensive guide, you can navigate the process with ease and confidence, ensuring a seamless travel experience from start to finish. Bon voyage!

#Allegiant Air Check-in