#Handing these out at Anime Expo for the next four days <3 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sophcaro · 5 years

Text

Destiny | WMatsui - Chapter 40 Part 2

“First time in Paris?”

“Oh no, it’s my second time,” Rena, mustering her best English, replied to the male taxi driver. “But the first time was for work.”

“You’ll love it here,” the French taxi driver glanced back at her through the rearview car mirror. “Many, many monuments to see. Paris est une si belle ville! Beautiful Paris! Paris is a romantic city!”

“Yes,” Rena replied, entertained by the driver’s enthusiasm and his mixture of French and broken English. “I’m sure I’ll enjoy it here.”

“You will! Trust me!”

The taxi driver fell quiet, listening to the animated Sport talk show on radio. Rena observed the traffic outside the window. By the time their plane arrived at the French airport and they retrieved their suitcases, it was 6:30 p.m. when each couple hopped in a taxi. The airport crowded exit mingled with the peak time had led them straight into traffic, the slow progress of the car not failing to put Jurina asleep.

Fifteen minutes later, they managed to get out of the traffic jam, Rena amazed at the scenery unfolding in front of her as they drove through the center of Paris. Rena marveled at the view of the Arc de Triomphe, then the endless line of characteristic 19th century bourgeois apartments and buildings, until arriving at the Seine River as they crossed the Alma Bridge. For a while, the taxi drove along the river, the actress taking in the Iena Bridge on their right, until the view of the ‘Iron Lady,’ the emblematic Eiffel Tower on her left, made her understand that they were approaching their final destination.

A few times along the way, Rena couldn’t help thinking it was a real shame that Jurina was sleeping. She should be enjoying with her such a beautiful view. At some point, she had considered waking her up. In the end, Rena had refrained from doing it and let the younger girl continue her peaceful nap. They would have plenty opportunities to appreciate the city during their week holiday.

It was the second time Rena came to Paris, but she couldn’t say she had visited much of it. In 2009, she had been part of the trip with other AKB48 members when the idol group had been invited to perform in Paris at the Japan Expo, a French convention popular for celebrating Japanese’s culture, animation and music. It had been a short trip, most of the girls merely having the occasion to see the city, while dozing off from the long, tiring flight, through the window of a bus.

The least Rena could say, it’s that none of them truly had the chance to appreciate to its fullest the beauty and charms of the French capital. Despite the distant memory, Paris had left quite an impression on her, and Rena promised herself to return one day. To be perfectly sincere, this trip came at the right moment. These last years, she had been so swamped with work, that she never had been able to afford more than a couple of days off. For those holidays abroad, Rena had succeeded in clearing her schedule for a full week and was accompanied not simply by wonderful friends, but also the person she loved and shared her daily life. To add it up, those vacations were taking place just after Rena’s 30th birthday, making this trip to Paris all the more special to her.

While Rena and Yuki approached the hotel counter to check in, Jurina was desperately trying to stay awake. The long 12-hour flight, coupled with the jetlag, were getting the best of her, and she had to clench the handle of the suitcase to not collapse in the hallway. Blinking the sleep away for the umpteenth time, a flash of lucidity reminded her of an important task she was supposed to take care of, one she had utterly forgotten at their arrival at the French airport. Not wasting another minute, Jurina quickly retrieved her phone from her vest.

“Who are you texting?” Mayu, who was standing by her side, and passing time by playing a game on her phone, asked in confusion.

“My mom,” Jurina answered sleepily, gathering her last remnant of energy to concentrate on the content of the message. “To tell her that we’ve arrived.”

“At that time?” Mayu leaned closer, checking the text she was typing. “Wait. You actually are! You do realize it’s 3 a.m. in Japan?”

“Yes,” Jurina sighed, stealing a peek at their respective partners. They were still occupied with the receptionist, and she resumed her text. “If I don’t do it now, I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep and forget. She could have stayed awake to receive the confirmation that I arrived. I don’t want to take the risk of her texting Rena.”

“She would do that?” Mayu asked, astounded.

Jurina cringed. “Oh, she could.” She read the message, making sure it contained all the necessary information and was as coherent as possible, then pressed the button Send. “If you knew how many times she texted Rena these last months… you would be surprised.”

“Careful,” Mayu grinned. “Next thing you know, she will stop texting you and only go through Rena. I don’t blame her. Your girlfriend is obviously more reliable when it comes to getting info.”

Jurina glared at her. “Very funny.”

“You know it’s true,” Mayu quipped. “Last time you both came to our place for dinner, I had to text Rena to know when you would arrive. You had omitted to warn me that you had an interview in the evening.”

“Oh, that…” Jurina flushed. “But for my defense, this interview was a last-minute thing! It wasn’t planned. I meant to text you, but I got distracted and completely forgot.” Reflecting upon Mayu’s words, Jurina gazed at her in a mixture of worry and guilt. “I don’t do that often, do I? Forget, I mean.”

“No, you don’t,” Mayu replied impishly. “I just wanted to see your reaction.”

“Mayu,” Jurina growled. “How come you are so full of energy? I barely have the strength to stand up.”

“I slept on the plane,” Mayu explained. She frowned at the bags under Jurina’s eyes. “Why didn’t you?”

“I couldn’t find sleep, so I listened to music and watched movies,” Jurina confessed sheepishly.

“You were too excited,” Mayu stated matter-of-factly. “It’s fine. Tomorrow morning is program free.”

“Right…” Jurina murmured, relief sweeping through her at the reminder. “Don’t worry about me. I need one good night sleep, and I’ll be in top form.”

“I have no doubt,” Mayu said amusingly.

“We’ve got them!” The sight of Yuki waving the keycards in front of them brought both friends out of their discussion. “We’re all on the second floor. Let’s go to our rooms. God, I’m so exhausted. How did you manage to sleep so well on the plane?” Yuki asked Mayu, her expression changing to one of incredulity. “I don’t believe I have the strength to go out for dinner. What do you think if we order room service?”

“I don’t mind,” Mayu answered.

Rena, witnessing her girlfriend’s sleepiness, chimed in. “Yes. I think we’ll probably do the same.”

The four friends took the direction of the elevator, getting down at floor 2, splitting up in the corridor after agreeing to meet the next day for breakfast. From her peripheral vision, Jurina saw the other couple disappearing in room 26, before hearing the distinctive sound of the keycard opening the room she shared with Rena. She followed the older girl as she progressed inside room 22.

The decoration of the room stole Jurina’s breath away. From the wallpaper, to the curtains, cushions, bedside lamp and armchair, the room followed an impeccable pattern of red and black warm colors. Large paintings on the walls, representing popular views and monuments of Paris, and underlined by quotes from French writers, perfected the romantic atmosphere. But what caught the most Jurina’s attention, were the hundreds of red petals of rose spread all over the bed.

“Did you... Did you book a special room?” Jurina gasped.

“No, I didn’t,” Rena replied innocently. “But I have to admit it’s a very nice room. Don’t you think?”

“It’s not just nice,” Jurina corrected, sweeping around the place in amazement. “It’s… It’s so beautiful.”

Jurina left her suitcase aside and approached the king-size bed, her palm grazing over the soft, silky surface of the red colored bed scarf. She laid down on the bed, resting on the red square cushion, marveling at the sight of the bed of roses. Her fingers brushed the red petals, letting them slip through her fingers. She glanced back at Rena with awe. “I can’t believe we got such a beautiful room.”

“We are in Paris,” Rena came to lay by her side on the bed. She wrapped her arm around Jurina’s back, holding her snugly. “Maybe this hotel wants to live up to the city’s romantic image?”

“I guess,” Jurina murmured, her sleepy state of mind preventing her from elaborating any other possible explanation. “I’m not… I’m not really hungry.”

“I figured,” Rena’s tone was kind and understanding. “If you don’t want to eat, you should at least change clothes before going to sleep.”

Jurina didn’t reply, losing herself in the lulling sensation of Rena’s hand stroking the length of her back. Jurina closed the distance between them, Rena meeting her halfway as their lips connected in a short kiss. Jurina studied her, warmth in her eyes, fighting hard to stay conscious. Against her will, Rena’s image slowly blurred, Jurina’s heavy pupils closing without her consent as her body surrendered to exhaustion.

When Jurina woke up, the first thing she noticed was the bright, sunny light filtering underneath the double curtains, clear indication that the morning was well-advanced. Relieved to feel quite rested, she took pleasure in watching her girlfriend’s peacefully sleeping form, before stiffening when she discovered what she was wearing. Why was she in her daily clothes? Jurina searched her mind for an explanation, retracing the events of the previous evening. She remembered entering the hotel room and laying down on the comfy bed but the rest was a complete blur. Confused by the gaps in her memory, Jurina turned to the side when she felt the body next to her stirring up.

“Morning…” Rena whispered; she planted a gentle kiss on Jurina’s forehead. “Did you sleep well?”

Jurina lit up at the affectionate gesture, completing the morning routine by lacing their hands together. Jurina’s attention fell upon her own ring finger, the silver band another reminder that something had definitely gone wrong the previous night. “I did,” she replied, gazing back and forth questioningly between her own appearance and her slowly awakening girlfriend. “What happened? Why did I… Why did you let me go to sleep like this?”

“I see someone has a bad recollection of yesterday,” Rena said with a slight giggle. “I suggested you to change into your pajamas, but you didn’t listen. You fell asleep soon after your head touched the pillow.”

“Really?” Jurina blinked, destabilized that she couldn’t remember any of it. “I guess… I guess I was exhausted.”

“Yes, you were.” A flicker of amusement crossed Rena’s features. “Let’s not mention how complicated it was to get you out of the taxi without you stumbling, or the fact that you confused our suitcases and entered the hotel with mine.”

Jurina was stunned by the revelation. “No, I didn’t… I didn’t do that.”

“You did,” Rena laughed. “So, now that you’re fully rested…” She stroked Jurina’s face, tracing her cheekbones, and gently kissed her on the cheek. “Are you ready to start our visit of Paris?”

“Isn’t this morning supposed to be program free?” Jurina asked for confirmation, receiving a nod in reply. “We can join Mayu and Yuki for breakfast, then decide what to do? But first, I need a shower. I can’t believe I fell asleep fully-clothed. I don’t even remember the last time that happened.”

“And I couldn’t do anything about it,” Rena added jokingly, watching her troubled girlfriend getting out of bed and approaching her suitcase. “You were sleeping like a log.”

Jurina, who was working on the lock combination, felt the color in her cheeks rising at the embarrassing reminder. “Dammit…” she muttered to herself after a second failed attempt. “W-What’s my code again?”

Rena was ready to laugh, but smiled widely instead. “8 0 3. If I remember correctly, it has never changed in 10 years.”

“Thanks,” Jurina said gratefully, despite being conscious of the blatant teasing she was being subjected to. Without further delay, she opened her suitcase and grabbed a pair of flesh clothes. “I’m going to take a shower. I won’t be long.”

Jurina vanished inside the bathroom and Rena slowly straightened up in bed, allowing herself to relax. In the background, water was falling in the shower, and Rena took time to appreciate the warm red and black colors of the hotel room decoration, reminding her that they definitely were in the city of love and romance. Her gaze fell upon the rose petals spread all over the bedsheet, amused by Jurina’s reaction the previous evening. She glanced around the place, lingering on the French quote underlining a painting of Montmartre.

La vie c’est des étapes… La plus douce c’est l’amour… La plus dure c’est la séparation… La plus pénible c’est les adieux… La plus belle c’est les retrouvailles.

Rena read it carefully, using her French lessons and vocabulary knowledge of the foreign language to decipher it. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the opportunity to decrypt its meaning to its fullest that she got distracted by the bathroom door opening, witnessing in mild-amusement a Jurina clad in her underwear rummaging frenetically through her suitcase. Most visibly, someone was not satisfied with the clothes she had previously chosen.

As their gazes suddenly met across the room, the corners of Jurina’s mouth turned up into a mischievous expression. “What are you staring at?”

“The girl walking half-naked in my hotel room,” Rena shot back playfully.

“Your hotel room?”

“Yes, mine,” Rena answered, in a fake shocked tone. “I booked it. Please don’t tell me you forgot about that too.”

Jurina, her previous goal all forgotten, left her suitcase aside and got up on her feet, progressing towards the bed. When Rena laid down from her previous seated position, Jurina understood the message conveyed and didn’t hesitate to climb on top of her. “I’m not so sure I should get dressed now,” Jurina claimed her lips in a slow, lingering kiss, pretending to think. “Do you think I need to?”

“Well…” Rena’s fingers ran up Jurina’s sides, stopping under the swell of her breasts and the fabric of her bra, then sliding down her heaving ribs and over her belly. “Eventually, you will need to get dressed if you want to go outside. But that depends entirely on you. I don’t know what you had in mind for this morning.”

Jurina studied her with a mixture of love and fascination, not missing the seductive glint in the depth of Rena’s dark brown orbs. Jurina was spellbound by her eyes, ensnared in her gaze, and her mouth swooped down to capture hers once more. The kiss was passionate and hungry, filled with all the feelings for her coursing through her veins. As it was returned with equal want and passion, Jurina felt a rush of warm emotion, Rena’s dexterous fingers traveling around to her back and prompt to unhook her bra.

Yuki was humming a cheery melody as she turned at the corner of the corridor, Mayu’s steps following closely behind as they approached room 22. This morning, Yuki was in a wonderful mood. Not only had she recovered from her lack of sleep, she was impatient to start their visit of the French capital. The last time she had visited the city of love was four years ago and she always hoped to come back, this time not for work purposes but for pleasure.

“I’ll see if they are up,” Yuki said, getting a brief nod from Mayu who was busy checking her phone. Yuki halted in front of the hotel door and raised her arm, stopping in mid-air when she perceived explicit noises coming from the other side. “M-Maybe…” She froze, and had to stop and work out her words. “Maybe we should go to breakfast without them.”

Mayu raised from the screen. “What? Why? Yesterday, we all agreed to meet for breakfast, remember?”

“I-I do,” Yuki spoke lamely. “This morning is supposed to be program free, right?” She added with an attempt at lightness. “So, why don’t we let them enjoy their morning as they wish? We’ll meet them later.”

“You’re not making any sense,” Mayu said with a frown. “It’s past 9 a.m. Maybe they forgot to check the time, or didn’t hear their alarm-clock.”

When Mayu took a decided step forward to knock, Yuki grabbed her arm urgently. “No, Mayuyu, we really shouldn’t interrupt.”

“Interrupt what?” A pregnant silence stretched out between them. When Mayu caught the sounds coming from inside the room, her mouth twitched with amusement. “Oh, I see. Yes, it’s best to go downstairs. They’ll join us later. Maybe.”

“Yes. Maybe,” Yuki said awkwardly.

Turning on their heels, they walked towards the elevator, Mayu taking the initiative to press the button to call it when the girl by her side seemed completely lost in her thoughts. “I can’t blame them. It’s Paris. They got affected by the romantic atmosphere and couldn’t help themselves.”

Yuki stared back at her in bafflement. “On the first day?!”

“Why not?” Mayu shrugged. “Anyway. What did you have in mind for this morning? We’re supposed to visit the Eiffel Tower, no?”

“Y-Yes,” Yuki cleared her throat, trying to recollect herself. “I mean, I don’t remember our program. We were supposed to visit The Eiffel Tower this morning? Are you sure? Or was it tomorrow?”

Surprise, then disbelief, crossed Mayu’s features. “It’s been a while I’ve seen my Yukirin so flustered.”

“Of course, I am!” Yuki exclaimed dramatically. “It’s our friends we’re talking about! It was way too embarrassing to hear… that!”

The elevator opened and they entered. “But why? What do you think they usually do in bed?” Mayu asked cheekily. “Play chess? Conjugate Latin verbs?”

“Mayuyu! Will you stop it?!” Yuki groaned, burying her face in her hands. “I had finally managed to erase the image from my mind, and you had to put it back!”

Mayu’s lips quirked in a twisted smile. “You haven’t answered my questi-”

“That’s enough,” Yuki glared at her, slapping her arm. “Promise me we’ll never talk about that anymore. Promise me!”

“Fine, fine,” Mayu stifled a laugh. When she noted Yuki’s disapprobation, she quickly pecked her cheek. “I promise. I won’t mention it.”

Yuki breathed a sigh of relief, failing to catch the lie hidden behind Mayu’s mask of innocence and the fingers crossed behind her back.

Buffet was closed when Jurina and Rena considered their morning program, deciding it was a shame to order room service when the city had plenty to offer. After a short stroll in the neighborhood of their hotel, they stopped in front of the characteristic red storefront of a French Café, and settled down at the terrace. They didn’t have to wait long to be served, a hearty breakfast composed of croissants, buttered toasts, jam, fresh orange juice, and café crème soon being placed between them.

Jurina took in every single detail surrounding her, from listening to the locals speaking the language of Molière, to the black vests and long white aprons worn by the male waiters serving them, without forgetting the breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower. Being her first time in Paris, it was too easy to fall prey to the irresistibly charming romantic atmosphere. Her observation seemed to reach no end, until her gaze landed at last on the quiet older girl sitting opposite her.

“How do you like Paris so far?” Rena took a sip of her cup of coffee, the fresh brew delighting her nostrils with the mocha aroma.

“It’s…” Jurina sighed dreamily, relaxing back in her chair. “It’s beautiful. What about you? Is Paris faithful to the memory you had of it?”

Rena settled down her drink on the small round table separating them, pondering over her question. “It’s hard to say. I was 17 when I came to Paris for the first time. My main concern was to not mess up the choreography, and remember the lyrics of the songs I had to perform, especially in French. I was so stressed and sleep-deprived, that the rest of the trip is a blur. We barely had any free time to visit the city, and I was too exhausted to remember much of it anyway.”

“You had to sing in French?!” Jurina gasped in shock.

“Yes, when I did a duet with Kasai Tomomi,” Rena laughed, reminiscently. “You should have seen her: she exulted such confidence on stage. Me? I was a bundle of nerves. I didn’t understand a single word I was saying; I had to learn everything phonetically. I rehearsed the song countless of times the previous evening in my hotel room, and even again before the performance. I did my best, but I’m not convinced the audience managed to understand my terrible pronunciation.”

“Your pronunciation sounded very good to me when you spoke to the waiter,” Jurina said confidently. “I would be incapable of saying more than a few words.”

“I should lend you some of my books then, if you’re interested in learning new languages,” Rena offered. “After all, I know you’ve always been fascinated by Le Petit Prince. Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you stare at me each time I’m reading it.”

“Rena…” Jurina chuckled softly at her girlfriend’s teasing tone. Rena’s almost obsessive passion for this particular story was one she still couldn’t fully comprehend. How many times had she discovered the book slipped in the actress’ suitcase, or witnessed her girlfriend reading it for the umpteenth time before going to bed? Too many to count, assuredly. “I don’t think it’s wise of me to learn another language when I already struggle with English. Besides, I know the essential when it comes to French.”

“You do?” Rena’s brow furrowed. “Like what?”

“Bonjour, ça va, pain, au revoir, and of course, last but not the least,” Jurina’s voice took on a sensuous undertone as she slid her hand across the table, catching Rena’s inside hers. “Je t’aime.”

Rena suppressed a laugh at Jurina’s cheesiness. “Yes, you know the essential. What else could you possibly need to learn?”

The moment was broken by the sound of Rena’s phone beeping. “It’s a text from Yuki. They reached the top of the Eiffel Tower. She sent a picture. She says the view is beautiful.”

“Oh, they went to visit it this morning? I can’t wait to visit it too,” Jurina said enthusiastically, checking the attached picture Rena was showing her. “When are we visiting it?”

“On the last day,” Rena replied without the slight hesitation. “I thought it would be a great idea to finish our vacations with Paris’s most emblematic monument.”

Jurina was caught off guard by the sudden glint in Rena’s eyes. It reminded her of a similar reaction her girlfriend had harbored at Haneda Airport. Rena had been the one to plan their holidays up to the finest detail, a task Jurina had been happy to let her take care of when she had witnessed the determination and pleasure Rena was having in taking matters in hand. Jurina couldn’t shake off the feeling that her girlfriend seemed to have a hidden agenda, but she chose not to interrogate her. Nevermind what it might be, she trusted her to have elaborated the best program to make their vacations to the city of love as memorable as possible.

Notre-Dame de Paris, one of the most emblematic monuments of Paris, had suffered from a dreadful fire. In April 2019, Rena had been shocked by the devastating news, one that hadn’t failed to make the world news headlines. The wave of solidarity following the incident had been impressive: in barely three days, 1 billion euros of donations managed to be raised. The emotional response to the tragedy had transcended borders, languages and cultures, and donations to help support the reconstruction had poured from all around the globe.

During nine long hours, the flames had threatened to destroy and burn down Notre-Dame to ashes. It was past 8 p.m. when the relentless fight of the 400 firefighters had paid off, and they succeeded in putting a definitive end to the fire. When all prognostics imagined the worst outcome, Notre-Dame had survived. Its foundations had remained intact, proving its remarkable solidity. The cathedral, admired by 14 million of visitors every year, and fruit of the technical feat of past architects and builders, had been designed to cross time.

As she and Jurina were walking through the parvis of the Cathedral, it was inconceivable not to pause. From the doors closed to the public during the reconstruction period, to the workers repairing stone by stone what had been lost in the fire, it was too soon to oversee what the final cathedral would look like. Its construction had begun in the 12s century and overgone through many phases of restoration over time, especially in the 19s century when it took its final radiant Gothic form.

From aside, Rena observed Jurina’s sadness. She squeezed her hand in comfort, Jurina leaning upon her shoulder in return. Under such circumstances, no words needed to be exchanged to realize that they were both equally moved by the devastating sight. Just as them, dozens of bystanders, locals and tourists, were stopping by and observing the damage done to the majestic monument.

During the course of the 21s century, the cathedral would be going through another major phase of restoration: it would need a few more years to reopen and regain its splendor. That day of April 15, Notre-Dame had been severely hit, but had not fallen. Nevermind how long it would take, Rena had no doubt it would be contemplated and praised once more for its powerful symbol and architectural magnificence.

The sun was high in the sky when Jurina and Rena walked amongst the secondhand booksellers of the quays of the Seine, pausing every now and then to check the numerous book stalls. The Bouquinistes of Paris, booksellers of used and antiquarians’ books, was an obliged passage for any first visitor. It was a national treasure and a worldwide renown institution, one that lead millions of tourists every year to stop by and take a stroll, from the Quai de la Tournelle to Quai Voltaire on the left bank, to Pont Marie to Quai du Louvre on the right side.

At the invitation of a bookseller, Rena took a step forward, her fascination for old books having never wavered over the years. It was one of the ambivalences that existed within her: much as she enjoyed the modern technology of Tokyo, there was nothing like smelling and turning the pages of an old book. As anticipated, most of them were written in French and Rena had no difficulty recognizing illustrious authors, from Victor Hugo and Maupassant, to Alexandre Dumas and Baudelaire.

By her side, Jurina was admiring a series of postcards and drawings, depicting notorious places and monuments of the capital, as well as more simple scenes of everyday life in the 19th century. It was a return to the past, the cobblestone streets, horse carriages, and steam-engine testimony of what Paris had once looked like. It represented an age that didn’t exist anymore, but could still be witnessed in the old and preserved districts of the city.

While Jurina addressed the French bookseller in a tentative English, and bought a couples of posters and pictures to her liking, Rena opted for an old edition of Zola’s Germinal and one of The Petit Prince that she didn’t have in her collection: a purchase she was certain Jurina wouldn’t fail to tease her about later on. Following that, they continued their walk to cross Pont Marie, pausing over the bridge to observe the endless passage of boats on the Seine. Rena didn’t know how long they remained standing there, relishing in the sight and relaxing atmosphere enveloping them, until she got distracted by the feeling of Jurina gently tugging at her hand.

Rena glanced back at her in curiosity, following her when Jurina lead them further across the bridge, until they stopped in front of an impressive display of locks. A young couple was standing in front of them, hanging a lock with their names written on it, and exchanging words of affection. Once they departed, Jurina slipped away from Rena’s grasp to open her own backpack, a small orange heart-shaped lock appearing inside her palm.

Rena’s mouth dropped. “A lock? When did you buy it?”

“In Tokyo, before leaving,” Jurina brightened with pride. “When I learned about this tradition of love bridges, there was no way I couldn’t do it.”

Following her own words, Jurina didn’t hesitate to step forward and, searching for an adequate place, carefully attached the lock to the grid. The flashy orange color made it stand out amongst the hundreds of other lovers’ locks. Rena studied the lock more closely, noticing that their names had been personally handwritten by Jurina, along with the cute drawing of a heart.

“I don’t… I don’t remember seeing you putting it in your suitcase,” Rena, warmth spreading through her chest, laced their fingers together when the younger girl came back to stand by her side.

“Of course, you didn’t,” Jurina replied with playful assurance. “I didn’t want the surprise to be ruined, so I made sure you weren’t looking.”

Rena laughed at Jurina’s sneaky action. For a while, they quietly remained standing in front of the impressive display of locks, lost in the romantic atmosphere created by the place. “It’s really beautiful,” Rena murmured, and couldn’t resist the urge to kiss her cheek. “There’s no rush, but when you’re ready, we can progress onto our next activity.”

Jurina let out a blissful sigh. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Following a short pleasant walk under the sun along the river bank, they waited in line for their turn to get aboard the pleasure boat. Rena prepared their booked tickets, listening as her girlfriend showed great eagerness for the upcoming excursion on the Seine. After taking their seats and putting on their audio guides, Rena couldn’t help but reflect once more upon Jurina’s last touching romantic gesture, knowing that the city of love was about to reserve them many more surprises.

It was past 4 p.m. when they returned to their hotel, Jurina thankful that today had been program free. Even though she had recovered from her lack of sleep, there was no denying that she remained partly jetlag from the important time difference. Their last activity for the day, a cruise on an open excursion boat that had provided them with a view of the city and emblematic monuments of Paris from along the river Seine, had been absolutely enjoyable.

Jurina was the one to pass the doorstep of the hotel room first, her feet soon halting on the carpet when she stared at their made-up bed: a red square box, along with a white envelope, had been carefully disposed on the red colored bed scarf. Dropping her backpack on the floor, curiosity got the best of her and she reduced the distance, pleasantly surprised when she opened the letter and discovered a message wishing them a nice stay in Paris, entirely written in Japanese by the hotel staff.

“Rena, look,” Jurina took a seat on the bed, studying the red square box at the effigy of Pierre Hermé. “The hotel prepared again something for us.”

“Oh, you’re right.” Rena came to sit by her side, reading the letter she was handing her. She drew her attention to the unopened box decorated with a yellow ribbon. “That’s really nice of them. Why don’t you open it?”

Jurina didn’t need to be asked twice and proceeded, discovering 12 round biscuits neatly disposed inside the box. “Macaroons,” she murmured in awe.

“It looks like an assortment of fruits rouges. Why don’t you taste one?” Rena said encouragingly.

“I really want to, but…” Jurina hesitated. “But it’s already late. Maybe it’s best to wait after dinner.”

“It’s alright, dinner with Mayu and Yuki isn’t until 8,” Rena replied, reassuring her. When the girl opposite her seemed still caught in a dilemma, Rena removed one macaroon from the box and brought it to Jurina’s mouth. “Come on, you know you want it.”

Jurina couldn’t resist the temptation and welcomed the French patisserie, relishing the sweet strawberry taste lingering on her tongue.

So, how is it?” Rena asked.

Jurina beamed. “Delicious. You should try one.”

“I’m not very hungry, but go on,” Rena politely declined.

“What are you saying?” Jurina shook her head in protest. “I can taste them, but you won’t? Absolutely not.”

Jurina took out a macaroon from the box and, mimicking Rena’s previous action, held it up in front of her. Rena didn’t try to resist, surrendering to her girlfriend’s stubbornness. She appreciated the sweet and delicate raspberry taste, meeting Jurina’s expectant look. “Yes, it’s delicious. You want another one?”

“You shouldn’t tempt me,” Jurina whispered, chastising herself when her tone sounded far less reproachful than intended. Her gaze dropped to the box with uncertainty, itching to taste another macaroon. When she raised her eyes to meet Rena’s, she felt herself shiver. There was now a perceptible difference in Rena’s expression: she harbored a smile no longer sweet, but suggestive.

“Why not?” Rena fetched a third macaroon from the box and approached the biscuit to Jurina’s mouth, only to stop a few inches away. “What’s wrong with a little… temptation?”

Jurina’s heart skipped a beat, and she opened her mouth. While she slowly ate the macaroon, Rena appeared satisfied, her thumb grazing her lower lip again and again, then sliding to her chin as her eyes danced with wicked lust and amusement. Jurina’s stare latched onto her sensuous lips, swallowing hard, not hesitating any longer to succumb to the provocation and greedily seize Rena’s mouth with her own.

Disneyland. If there was one place on earth that always succeeded in bringing out so effortlessly Rena’s childish side, it certainly was the Disney park. Of course, it was beyond question that a visit of Paris wouldn’t be complete without a stop at Rena’s all-time favorite park. The latter had even made sure all four of them didn’t leave the hotel too late to make it right on time for the opening.

It was impossible to miss the way Rena glowed as a child entering a candy store. They walked down the main street, the Sleeping Beauty Castle appearing in the background as they discovered the French version of the theme park. Jurina couldn’t count the number of times Rena had been to the park in Tokyo, mostly with Airi, also managing to drag her along on a couple of occasions. Nevermind the fact Rena knew each and every attraction by heart, her enjoyment never seemed to cease.

It was an unexpected yet fascinating sight to observe the usually so composed and eloquent 30-year-old actress turn into a kid, her persona changing drastically as if a switch had been turned on. Jurina never was as fond of the park as her girlfriend - or of any entertainment park in general - yet she was convinced a great time awaited the four of them on this sunny, beautiful day of August.

They spent the morning going through Adventureland, admiring the sets of the Pirate Galleon and Pirate’s Beach. They explored the mysterious land of Adventure Isle and the Pirates of Caribbean attraction. Their image was immortalized on picture, giving free rein to their imagination and making goofy poses in front of the camera with the notorious characters of the iconic movie.

The morning was well-advanced when Rena decided to raise the stakes by progressing down Frontierland and queuing up at the Big Thunder Mountain. Jurina didn’t see the immediate danger, the morning having been anything but entertaining. Little did she know that she was about to regret her recklessness. Thirty minutes later, when they exited the train and went to check their pictures on the screens, Jurina’s heart was beating wildly, having not entirely recovered from the ride.

The three other girls were delighted about the experience, sharing between them their favorite moments. Jurina could not quite say the same. With the train rattling around the haunting mountain at high speed, or the moments they happened to be in the complete dark, she had been pushed to her limits. Since she was a child, Jurina had never been comfortable with two things: heights and big thrills. With that last attraction, that she naively believed inoffensive, she could tell she had reached her quota of big thrills for the day.

Or for the year.

When Yuki suggested to join the line for the Indiana Jones Temple of Peril, Jurina shuddered at the idea. Today, for some strange reason, Yuki appeared to be on the same page as Rena when it came to the concept of fun. Jurina didn’t need to be given more information to realize that her poor fragile heart wouldn’t handle this next attraction. The title said enough on the terrifying experience that awaited her.

“Great idea!” Jurina heard Rena approving all too easily Yuki’s suggestion. They began making their way towards the designated attraction, Rena leading the group after checking the location and direction on the phone app. “There’s also the Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain and the Phantom Manor I really can’t wait to do.” The high pitch in Rena’s voice betrayed her enthusiasm.

“That sounds… scary,” Yuki winced.

A wave of relief swept through Jurina’s chest: at last, someone was voicing out loud her précised concerns.

A short moment of silence followed suit, until Yuki exclaimed. “Count me in! I don’t care! I’m up for the challenge!”

Jurina blanched at Yuki’s radical change of heart.

Undoubtedly, she was pleased that Yuki and Rena got along, and they had developed a closer friendship over the past eight months. However, she wasn’t particularly at ease with this new diabolic alliance. Giving a quick side glance to Mayu, she secretly prayed for support, only to notice in dismay the latter nodding in approval to the suggestion. In a split second, Jurina’s apprehension grew a notch: she was outnumbered.

Jurina followed the three girls in silence, repeating to herself again and again that she was 24 years old and it was time to stop being so afraid. She wasn’t a kid anymore. If others could do it, why couldn’t she? As they approached their final destination, the view of the infamous attraction coupled with the screams reaching her, ended up getting the best of her resolve. Her steps slowed down, almost as if she was unconsciously trying to delay the inevitable.

An action that caught Rena’s attention. “I’m so sorry. I completely forgot,” Rena murmured apologetically. “Let’s skip it. We’ll do another one.”

“N-No, I’m fine,” Jurina protested, putting up a brave front. “It’s probably not as frightening as it sounds. I’m not afraid. I’ll do it.”

“Are you sure?” Rena asked skeptically. “Be honest with me. You don’t have to force yourself for my sake.”

Jurina’s chest warmed up. She could tell her girlfriend truly meant every word, and she wouldn’t hold it against her if they changed their plans. Nevertheless, a part of her refused to deprive her of a fun day only because she had always been a scary cat.

“I’ll do another attraction with Jurina while you both do that one,” Mayu chimed in the conversation. “We’ll meet after you finished.”

Jurina found herself speechless. “Wait, no, you don’t have to do that. I can really… I can really do it.”

“It’s a great idea,” Rena agreed. “No one said we all had to do the same attractions.”

Jurina opened her mouth to retort, but stopped when Rena gently pressed her lips to her cheek. “Enjoy yourself with Mayu. We’ll meet later for lunch.”

“What about Rustler Roundup Shootin’ Gallery?” Mayu suggested, when both Rena and Yuki turned on their heels. “It sounds fun, and it’s a 5 min walk from here.”

Jurina glanced back hesitantly in the direction of Yuki and Rena, as they disappeared in the dense crowd. “Mayu… You really didn’t want to go with them?”

“To Indiana Jones Temple of Peril? No, I don’t care that much about that one,” Mayu replied nonchalantly. “Besides, this shooting one seems much more fun. Wanna bet on who’s going to hit more targets?”

Jurina’s ears perked: she could recognize a challenge when she saw one. “What? Don’t be so sure of yourself. I progressed a lot lately at shooting games! Remember last time we went to the arcades in Shibuya?”

“Yes, I do. And you lost,” Mayu smirked. “But you’re right.” She patted Jurina’s arm. “It’s always good to have faith.”

Jurina groaned at her friend’s overflowing confidence. Their previous conversation falling at the back of her mind, she followed her, determined to wipe off that silly smug expression of hers.

It was past 1 p.m. when they checked the restaurants and settled down at Colonel Hathi’s Pizza Outpost. Sending a quick text to Rena to inform her of their choice of restaurant, Jurina went through the menu full of Italian specialties, making up her mind on the Neapolitan Rigatoni Pasta. While waiting for their respective partners to arrive, the scorching sun had led them to order cold drinks, Jurina appreciating the sensation of the fresh citronade easing her dry throat. Jurina observed Mayu who was enjoying her Coca Cola, trying hard not to be affected by her self-satisfied expression.

Alright, Mayu had managed to beat her, but there was nothing to gloat about: it was solely by a small margin!

“Stop it,” Jurina grumbled.

“What? I didn’t do anything,” Mayu, sipping her soda through the straw, very innocently answered.

Jurina squinted at her, before noticing the last empty seats of the restaurant being taken by a family. Taking another good sip of her citronade, she watched the impressive crowd of visitors roaming through the park. If there’s something that this morning had taught her, it was that the French park was as popular as its Japanese version. Less than 10 minutes went by, until Rena and Yuki joined them at their table.

“So how was it?” Jurina asked. “Did you enjoy it?”

“I did!” Rena stated, with barely contained enthusiasm. “It’s a shame we don’t have that attraction in Tokyo. The level of thrills is unique.”

By Yuki’s small grimace, it wasn’t hard to guess that someone else had been excessively adventurous, and was regretting taking up Rena’s challenge.

Rena’s anticipated meeting with Mickey and Minnie was a moment not to miss as the group ventured in Fantasyland. Considering the countless pictures Rena had taken with her Disney idols during the day, Jurina was positively certain her girlfriend would easily find a place to expose a couple of them at their apartment. The nearby souvenir shop seemed an obligatory stop, Jurina realizing Rena had something on her mind when she exited the shop and decidedly walked towards her.

From her shopping bag, Rena retrieved two pairs of Mickey Mouse ears, not hesitating in placing a pair on her head. Rena’s intentions were more than obvious when she stared at her maliciously, Rena positioning the second on hers with a barely dissimulated enthusiasm. Her girlfriend was ready to immortalize the glorious moment with a selfie, when they were interrupted by a French girl in her thirties with shoulder length brown hair. The latter kindly offered to take the picture, to which Rena accepted gratefully, pulling Jurina closer to take the pause in front of the camera.

The rest of the day went by in the speed of light, as they continued their thorough exploration of the park. They enjoyed popular attractions, Alice’s Curious Labyrinth, Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups, without forgetting of course Rena’s all-time favorite, the eternally enchanting It’s a small world. Those were attractions initially designed for little ones but that still managed to appeal to adults, awakening the child within each visitor.

At 5 p.m., they lined in the main street for the daily Disney Stars on Parade. If there’s one thing Jurina couldn’t deny as she observed the delight of the crowd following the colorful parade, it was that the entertainment park appealed to everyone. From kids and adults, to couples, families and friends, each fringe of the population was represented. Beside her, Rena’s eyes sparkled with undeniable happiness, and Jurina felt herself falling for her each day even more.

The following days were spent enjoying the cultural delights of the French capital. In group or by pairs, depending on their convergence of interests, they visited Orsay and the Louvre, a must-see in the cultural world. They took a stroll through the streets of emblematic districts, such as Pigalle, historical district of musical scene famous for Moulin Rouge, or the Latin Quarter, with its Pantheon, National Museum of Natural History and the garden of plants, without forgetting the worldwide renown university of the Sorbonne.

Every evening, when Jurina would go back to her hotel for a well needed rest after a tiring yet enriching day, one constant never changed. On top of their bed, she would discover a gift from the hotel. Each time different and carefully presented, Jurina’s astonishment never ceased when she opened the present, making a mental note to thank the staff for their consideration.

On this particular day, they had all reunited for a full day of shopping on the most popular avenue in the world: The Champs Elysées. After making a long stop at the Galeries Lafayette, and leaving with their arms full of plastic bags, their entered a few others clothing and shoe stores, Jurina not bothering to hide her amusement when Rena found two more pairs of Adidas that she visibly didn’t have in her collection.

The afternoon was well advanced when they entered an entirely different store, dedicated to the sale of media products. On four spacious floors, you could practically find everything, from books and videogames, to CDs and DVDs.

“There are so many…” Mayu stood on the spot, staring in awe at the endless line of shelves under the Mangas section. Rapidly, her feet moved forward and she grabbed the first manga within reach, turning the pages, replacing it back on the shelf and seizing a second with eagerness.

“All in French,” Jurina, checking a manga, specified, her observation not appearing to diminish Mayu’s enthusiasm for all that.

Jurina studied her in bewilderment, her best friend not paying the slightest care in what she was saying and going through each and every shelf conscientiously. Mayu didn’t understand French any more than her but her undivided passion for mangas had taken the upper hand, shutting down any common sense. Earlier too, when they had wandered around the game section, Mayu had monopolized the area for 30 min straight, nevermind if none of the games were compatible with Japanese consoles.

Jurina had a good feeling their exploration of this new section was going to take a while. As a new shelf, full of figurines on sale, had now piqued Mayu’s interest, Jurina briefly averted her gaze and swept over the floor, in search of their two others companions. Much in vain, as she had long ago lost sight of Rena and Yuki when the group decided to split up on the second floor of the store.

“I know I already said it but,” Jurina spoke up, reflecting upon the realization that more than half of their week holiday had passed in the blink of an eye. “I’m so happy we were able to go on holidays all four together. I had missed it.”

The statement prompted Mayu to lower the figurine in her hands. “Me too,” She replied sincerely. “And yes, the timing was perfect. In September, Yuki is touring to promote her new album, and I’ll be busy shooting a movie. And you and Rena are playing in a drama together. It was now or never.”

Jurina lit up at the latest mention. “You can’t imagine how long I dreamed of such an opportunity. When we both got offered a role in the same drama, there was no way I could refuse. I was afraid it might be in conflict with Rena’s busy schedule, but when she told me she didn’t have anything planned, I was so, so happy.”

“I can almost imagine the fireworks in your head,” Mayu joked, then added. “Isn’t it her third TV show set in Feudal Japan, though? Isn’t she tired of doing period dramas?”

“Yes, but this time, we’re shooting it together,” Jurina raised an eyebrow challengingly. “Are you suggesting that she could get bored with me?”

“Oh right. Stupid question,” Mayu chuckled, acknowledging her mistake. If there’s one quality Mayu could grant her best friend, it was that Jurina always succeeded in making everyday life the opposite of dull and monotonous.

On the other side of the floor, Yuki was venturing in the CD section. The number of shelves was imposing, all diligently divided in specific categories: French songs, R&B, pop, jazz, but also classical music, world music and soundtracks. The store also offered the possibility to listen to the recently released albums. Checking some artists, Yuki felt deterred by the realization that she didn’t know half of them.

“Either I have terrible taste in music, either we don’t listen to the same thing,” Yuki voiced out loud her concern. “The choice is impressive and diversified, but I don’t even know most of those artists. I don’t think I’ve even seen a single Japanese or Korean artist. Have you?!”

“No, I haven’t,” Rena, who was flipping over the CD of Mylene Farmer’s latest album, the French artist currently n°1 in the charts, concurred by her side. “I don’t think it has anything to do with having good or bad taste. It’s only that people in France don’t listen to the same music style as us.”

“Thank God,” Yuki breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “I was getting paranoid and beginning to question my taste in music.”

Rena chuckled in response.

They resumed their exploration, listening now and then to a few CDs, Yuki catching Rena peeking more and more frequently at her yellow gold wedding band. These last couple of months, it wasn’t the first time she had caught her friend in the act. She hadn’t thought too much about it, passing it as simple admiration for the jewelry. Nonetheless, she couldn’t ignore that Rena’s interest in her ring had been more insistent since their arrival in the French capital.

Yuki pressed the button Stop of the CD she was listening, and removed the headphones. “Did I ever tell you how Mayu proposed?”

The question caught her female companion off guard, Rena replacing on the shelf the CD she was studying. “No. No, you didn’t.”

“One evening, Mayuyu invited me to the movies,” Yuki began reminiscently. “We had both been so swamped with work, that I believed it was only her being kind and thoughtful. Later on, we had a pleasant dinner at a romantic Italian restaurant, before Mayu asked if it was okay if we made a stop at the arcades. When she placed in my hands all the prices she had won, and let me finish first at every other game, I could sense something was off. When does Mayuyu let anyone beat her?”

Rena bit her lip to suppress a smile.

“I held my tongue, believing I was imagining things and she was probably in a bad day. After that, we went to buy an ice cream crepe,” Yuki continued, lowering her voice mysteriously. “We were walking back to the train station, enjoying our desserts, when she popped up the question out of nowhere! I was so shocked, that I almost dropped everything I was holding right in the middle of the street.”

Rena laughed heartily. “I see. But you still said yes.”

“I couldn’t say no to my Mayuyu,” Yuki sighed happily. “Besides, she made it up for her clumsy proposal by booking this wonderful weekend in Hawaii for our honeymoon. You should have seen our room. We had a lovely view on the sea, and the beach was only 5 min away by foot. And the jacuzzi. Don’t let me start on the jacuzzi.”

Rena grinned sweetly in response. “You two make a beautiful couple.”

“Thank you,” Yuki’s cheeks turned pink at the compliment. “It was a small, private wedding with only our families and closest friends, but it will always be the best day of my life. I’m so glad that both you and Jurina were able to come.”

“I couldn’t not be present for such an important event,” Rena shook her head softly. “Do you think you’ll ever make the news of your union public? Or you prefer that it remains private?”

“Mayuyu and I discussed it for a while before making a decision. Our families and friends know the truth; it’s all that matters to us. We’re happy as things are for now,” Yuki replied confidently.

Yuki took in Rena’s pensiveness, dying to broach a particular subject with her. She opened her mouth a few times to speak, before stopping herself. These past eight months, she and Rena had grown closer than ever. However, there was no denying that her friend had always been a rather private person. In all good conscience, she couldn’t take the risk of putting her ill-at-ease only to satisfy her overriding curiosity.

When the group met up outside the store, Jurina was unsettled to see her girlfriend missing by Yuki’s side. “Rena is not with you?”

“No, she said she needed to make a stop at another shop,” Yuki replied, wincing in unease at the view of the large boxes in Mayu’s plastic shopping bags. “Don’t tell me… you found more figurines?”

“Yes, and I already know where I’m going to put them,” Mayu answered proudly.

“Another shop? Did she say which one?” Jurina was genuinely puzzled.

“She didn’t,” Yuki conceded, then added in a gentle tone. “But she asked me to tell you not to worry, and she’ll meet you later on at the hotel.”

“That’s strange. It doesn’t sound like her to disappear like that without tell-” The sound of her phone beeping made Jurina pause.

Mayu flashed a grin. “Let me guess. She sent you a text.”

“She… did,” Jurina felt so awkward.

“All right!” Yuki clapped her hands together. “Who wants an ice cream? I don’t know about you, but the heat is killing me.”

Jurina put her phone away and nodded positively, her mouth already watering in delicious anticipation.

It was almost 6 p.m. when Jurina returned to the hotel with Mayu and Yuki, quite proud to not having let herself get carried away. Oh yes, she had an absolute fun time shopping, yet her amount of purchases could in no way match Yuki’s frenzy: her friend had literally cleaned out the luxury shops of the avenue.

After parting ways in the corridor with the other couple, Jurina slid her magnetic keycard and entered room 22, her gaze immediately landing on the familiar girl admiring the view from the balcony. Putting her shopping bags away, Jurina carefully removed her shoes and progressed inside. She briefly observed Rena’s purchases lined up next to her suitcase and she came up behind her, her arms locking around her waist. “Where did you disappear early on? I was worried.”

Rena placed her hand atop of hers, brushing the silver band on Jurina’s ring finger. “I’m sorry,” She brought Jurina’s hand to her lips, gently kissing her knuckles. “I remembered that I forgot to buy something.”

“What was it?” Jurina burned with curiosity. “Did you manage to find it? Why didn’t you tell me? I could have gone with you.”

“So many questions,” Rena chuckled softly. Swinging around, she folded her arms around Jurina’s neck and kissed the tip of her nose. “Didn’t you have fun with Yuki and Mayu?”

“I did,” Jurina replied, then added jokingly. “Even though I had to prevent Mayu from buying the whole manga section, and Yuki went on a shopping spree.”

“That would have been interesting to watch,” Rena laughed.

Jurina brought their lips together. “I really missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Rena caressed her hair, then added teasingly. “But you do realize we were only separated for two hours, right?”

“It doesn’t change the fact that I missed you,” Jurina pouted sulkily, extricating herself from the embrace. “So, what did you buy? Clothes? More shoes? Show me!”

Jurina didn’t have the opportunity to walk away, that Rena had pulled her back into her arms. “Nothing that important. Just some clothes I really liked.”

Jurina studied her closely, suspicious arising. For some reason, she couldn’t shake off the strange feeling that her girlfriend looked a bit too innocent and sweet. “Are you hiding something?”

“Why would I ever do that? And why does it seem that you are more interested in what I bought, than by your girlfriend who’s standing right in front of you?” Rena teased with a fake offended tone.

“No, I’m sure you’re hiding something from me,” Jurina narrowed her eyes at her. Leaning closer, she nibbled Rena’s earlobe, playfully biting on the pink tip. “And trust me when I say I will discover what it is.”

“Mmm,” Rena purred. Her fingers pressed in Jurina’s back, as she got possessively pinned against the nearest wall. “You seem so determined. I’m very curious to discover what you have in mind.”

Jurina’s heart pounded at her provocative gaze. The sensual stroking of Rena’s hands exploring the hollows of her back sent pleasant jolts through her, and she wondered just how cunning Rena could sometimes be. Her lips drifted to the side of Rena’s neck, grazing, teasing more than kissing it. When she managed to elicit a moan from her partner, Jurina felt a warm glow of satisfaction. Clasping her lips to Rena’s, she fiercely covered her mouth, well decided to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Two short days.

It was all that remained left of their magical stay in Paris.

As she and Rena exited the Basilica of the Sacré Coeur in Montmartre, Jurina tried her best to ignore her growing melancholy. If only the week hadn’t passed so incredibly fast. After such an amazing and authentic experience, it was going to take some time to re-adapt to her daily life in Japan. They hopped down the funicular, Jurina stealing discreet glances at the older girl walking by her side. Somehow, her girlfriend didn’t seem to share similar feelings. On the contrary, she appeared even more delighted than the first day, as if the approach of their departure wasn’t affecting her. When Rena casually slipped her hand inside hers, Jurina didn’t hesitate to intertwine their fingers together, soon falling deep in her thoughts.

If there’s one thing she had picked up on, it was that Rena had been behaving unusually mysterious. It had begun a few weeks ago, when Rena had showed great insistence in taking care of their holidays planning. It had continued at the airport, when a few declarations from Rena had caught her off guard, the occurrences increasing once in Paris. It was of apparent no consequence, Rena remaining nothing but sweet and affectionate, that Jurina hadn’t thought too much about it.

The previous evening, when Jurina had asked to see what Rena had bought in her absence, her simple request was met with a refusal. Nevermind how persuasive she tried to be, Rena had dodged the question with a disconcerting naturalness. Jurina didn’t believe to have a paranoid nature. However, this strange secrecy and those subtle changes in her attitude were beginning to unsettle her.

Was she making a big deal out of nothing, or Rena had something on her mind that she refused to share?

They were taking a stroll in the lively Place du Tertre, where many painters, portraitists and caricaturists exposed their work, when Rena stopped by the stall of a street artist. “These are amazing.”

“They are,” Jurina said, impressed by the quality and variety of the art exposed. From landscapes and portraits, to watercolor and pencil sketches, the male artist in his thirties who was quietly working on a sketch in front of the bystanders, had more than one string to this bow. “His portraits are so realistic.”

“Why don’t you ask him to do yours?” Rena suggested, reading the sign indicating in English that the artist offered to draw portraits. “We have plenty of free time this afternoon. There’s no rush.”

After a short moment’s reflection, Jurina gladly acquiesced. Rena stepped forward and exchanged a few words with the male artist, the latter inviting Jurina to sit down on the stool. Jurina patiently took the pause while he was preparing his pencils, following from her peripheral vision Rena who was going through his paintings. Somehow, this arrangement didn’t quite feel right.

“I have a better idea,” Jurina flipped around, decidedly catching Rena’s hand. “I want a drawing of the both of us.”

“You do?” Rena looked pleasantly surprised. “Alright. Let me check if it’s something he agrees to do.”

Jurina waited in anticipation, understanding the request had been accepted when a second stool was placed next to hers.

A light wind was blowing across her face, agreeably freshening the air from the scorching heat of August. On a few occasions, she couldn’t resist playing with Rena’s fingers or whisper to her ear a few jokes, an act that didn’t fail to earn her to be gently chastised. According to the older girl, you weren’t supposed to move during the process. Jurina frowned and decided she didn’t care, planting a quick kiss on Rena’s cheek in retaliation. The mischievous gesture was received with another warning and a small giggle.

When the artist put his pencil down at last, Jurina was eager to discover the result. The least she could say, it was that it went far beyond her expectations. In a short amount of time, he had drawn their facial features with a striking accuracy. But what impressed her the most, was the way he had transcribed their body language. He had made the decision to portray them face to face, their mutual fondness evident to anyone who could have taken a peek at the drawing. Jurina found herself deeply moved and thanked him wholeheartedly, determined to find a place at home to hang this piece of art.

“Wait for me here,” Rena paused in the hotel hallway, and gave Jurina’s shoulder a brief, light squeeze. “I need to go to the reception.”

“Alright.” Jurina gathered at her feet their shopping bags full of French delicacies from the bakeries of Montmartre, and stole a peek at her watch.

When she noted that it was 6 p.m., she let out a short, sad sigh. The day had flown by so fast, that she wished she had the ability to freeze time. Much as she tried her best to forget about it, she got reminded of the imminence of their departure on far too many occasions. No, she wasn’t ready to go back. If only she could extend their stay: visit more monuments, test more French bakeries, and wander around the cobblestone streets of Paris a little longer with her friends and her precious partner.

Glancing back in Rena’s direction, she suddenly caught sight of Mayu’s familiar silhouette entering the hotel. This morning, both couples had split up, having organized their program for the day differently. Jurina waved at her, impatient to learn what their friends had been up to, only to be startled by the large colorful bouquet of flowers Mayu was holding. “What are those for?”

“It’s for Yuki. Today is our 10-year anniversary,” Mayu said.

Jurina was rendered almost speechless by the news. “10 years? I never realized you had been together for so long...”

“We have, and that’s why tonight we’re having a special dinner to celebrate it,” Mayu explained. “I wanted to surprise her with these flowers.”

Jurina found herself touched, and also slightly entertained by her best friend’s love gesture. “My best friend is a romantic after all.”

“Of course I am,” Mayu scoffed, pretending to be offended. “Anyway, what are you doing here? Are you waiting for something?”

“Rena,” Jurina replied, gesturing to the older girl standing by the reception. “You know, I will miss this place.” She swept around the majestic and luxurious marble decoration of the hotel hallway. “The direct view on the Eiffel Tower. The romantic decoration of the room. The gifts every day. If I ever have the chance to come back to Paris, I will definitely stay here.”

“What are you talking about?” Mayu asked, puzzled. “The room is cozy and spacious, but it wouldn’t say it was specifically romantic? And aside from a welcoming letter, we didn’t get any gifts.”

It took Jurina several seconds to shake off the resulting stupefaction. “You didn’t have rose petals spread all over the bed at your arrival?”

Her question was received with a negative nod.

“No gifts?” Jurina insisted. “No cakes? No chocolates? No offered dinners in big restaurants? No free wine tasting? No private visits? Nothing?”

“Eh no,” Mayu replied again. “Trust me, I would have remembered.”

Jurina was beyond confused. “I don’t understand…”

Mayu stared back at her skeptically. “Are you sure you didn’t book a special room or something?”

“I didn’t book it, Rena did,” Jurina clarified. “And she told me that she didn’t-” she stopped mid-way, realization hitting her.

Mayu grinned, and clapped her amiably on the shoulder. “It seems your girlfriend hasn’t been entirely honest with you. Anyway, I have to go. Yuki is waiting for me. Dinner is at 7, and I don’t want to be late!”

Jurina nodded, unable to speak when her best friend drew away, her eyes soon flying up in shock to Rena at the unforeseen revelation.

Rena was describing how lovely their day had been in Montmartre, but Jurina was anything but attentive. All the way leading to their hotel room, she felt like a naive fool. Rena had assured her that she hadn’t booked a special room, and she had fell for it. The beautiful romantic decoration, the everyday gifts: now everything made sense. It wasn’t due at all to the hotel’s signature as she initially believed.

“Is everything alright?” The sound of Rena’s voice brought her back to reality. “You haven’t listened to a word I’ve been saying,” Rena remarked worriedly, closing the hotel door behind them. “What’s on your mind?”

Jurina flashed a big smile before she answered. “I know everything. The room. The rose petals. The everyday gifts. You’re responsible for all those things.”

Rena stood there briefly, stunned. “How do you… How do you know?”

“I had an interesting talk with Mayu,” Jurina went on, proud to have caught her off guard. “Their room is nothing like ours. They didn’t get all those gifts from the hotel staff. No rose petals, no chocolates, no invitations, nothing. So, there’s no point of hiding the truth from me anymore.”

“I guess you were bound to know about it,” Rena carefully processed her words, then added cheekily. “Well done, you discovered my secret.”

“Why?” Jurina asked, with a mixture of disbelief and happiness. “Why did you do all this for me?”

“I wanted our vacations to be special,” Rena said with unconcealed affection. She placed a hand upon Jurina’s cheek, gently caressing it with her thumb. “To make sure our stay in Paris remained imprinted in our minds and in our hearts forever.”

“But it’s already special,” Jurina whispered, warming from inside. She gathered her into her arms and held her close. “I’m here, with you, in Paris. What more could I ask for?”

“Yukirin, are you here?” Mayu called, dissimulating the flower bouquet behind her as she entered their hotel room.

“In here!” Yuki shouted inside of the bathroom. “I’ll be ready in 5 min!”

“Take your time,” Mayu replied, trying not to sound too giddy. She examined once more her bouquet of flowers, quite pleased with her selection. Controlling her excitement, she had to stop herself from pacing the room. She could already predict Yuki’s shock when she would discover her present.

A couple of minutes later, the bathroom door flew open. “I know, I’m so sorry I’m late. For some weird reason, the keycard refused to open the door when I arrived, then it’s the hairdryer that wouldn’t work. And finally, when I put my dress on, the zipper refused to close! I was about to lose my mind! Can you imagine? How can someone be so unlucky on their wedding anniversary?!”

“It’s only 6:30 p.m.,” Mayu reassured her.

“It is?!” Yuki asked in disbelief, checking the time. “My God, you’re right. I thought it was much later than that,” she heaved a deep sigh of relief. “Are you…” she leaned to the side, trying to catch a glimpse of Mayu’s back. “Are you hiding something?”

“Those are for you,” Mayu announced proudly, bringing the flowers out of their hideout. “Happy anniversary.”

Yuki stared at her in wonder.

“For me?” Yuki took a step nearer, contemplating them. “They are… so beautiful.” Her eyes glowed with happiness. “Thank you, my Mayuyu.” She brought their lips together in a kiss. “You always manage to surprise me in the most unexpected way. Do you know how much I love you?”

“I love you too,” Mayu’s face brightened.

Yuki cupped her chin, pressing another kiss to her cheek. “Let me finish applying makeup, and we can leave, alright?”

“Alright,” Mayu nodded, smiling. As Yuki reentered the bathroom, she studied her wife in appreciation, then casually leaned against the doorframe. “By the way, you won’t imagine what I discovered. It looks like Rena booked a special romantic room for their stay, and planned gifts and surprises for Jurina every day.”

“She did?” Yuki faced her back in astonishment. “That’s so sweet of her.”

“And you know what’s the funniest thing?” Mayu added wryly. “Jurina didn’t even realize she was behind it all this time.”

“Really?!” Yuki laughed merrily. “You know, I’m beginning to suspect this trip will hold many more surprises.”

“More surprises? What do you mean?” Mayu asked, bewildered.

Yuki gave a conspirational smile. “I don’t know. Just a hunch.”

“You look…” Jurina paused for a breath, her mouth curving with infinite fondness. “You look so beautiful tonight.”

A telltale blush crept into Rena’s cheeks, giving away her embarrassment. “Will you please stop complimenting me tonight? You haven’t stopped ever since we left the hotel.”

“I can’t help it. This red dress looks so beautiful on you. Everything tonight is just…” she tore her eyes away from her attractive partner, to once more enjoy the view outside the window. “Perfect.”

Yes, this Friday evening was a dream come true. After learning about Rena’s thoughtful tokens of affection, Jurina quickly discovered it was far from the only surprise her girlfriend had been planning for their trip in Paris. Following that, Rena had informed her that they would be having dinner in a new lovely place. Jurina did try to find out more, but Rena had refused to divulge the tiniest bit of information, using her most appealing charms to convince her to wait and be a little more patient.

Jurina could do nothing else but surrender and, choosing her nicest blue evening dress, had followed her without questioning, not believing her eyes when the taxi had stopped them in front of an enchanting Parisian boat on the Seine. The small tables decorated by candle lights. The spectacular view on the Eiffel Tower. The smooth music playing in the air. The waiters attentive to their every need. Every single detail contributed to create the perfect romantic mood.

It was a chic restaurant, but not too uptight, enabling them to remain laidback and casual. The male waiter had barely removed the main dish that the Eiffel Tower began to shine, marking its characteristic nightly illuminations. The sight was so mesmerizing that Jurina was unable to look away, the other customers of the restaurant having also momentarily stopped eating to appreciate the view.

A few evenings ago, she and Rena had been granted with such a breathtaking sight when they had gone on a late stroll to admire the illuminated city by night. Nevertheless, Jurina found herself as equally amazed, never getting tired of admiring the Iron Lady in all its glory and magnificence.

“We’re visiting the Eiffel Tower tomorrow, right?” Jurina asked, recalling how adamant her girlfriend had been on keeping that specific visit for their final day in the French capital.

When she received no immediate reply, she glanced back in her direction, only to distinguish a hint of nervousness in Rena’s brown orbs.

“Is everything alright?” Jurina extended her arm across the table, only to feel Rena’s fingers lightly trembling inside her hand. As she tried to take a grasp of the situation, she was forced to admit that she had noted a subtle shift in her girlfriend’s attitude during the course of dinner. From engaging and smiling, Rena had turned a little quieter and more tense as the evening had progressed.

“Yes, of course.”

The response did nothing to reassure her, not fooled by her girlfriend’s apparent calm. Jurina opened her mouth to speak, but didn’t have the opportunity to say a word that they were interrupted by the arrival of the waiter. “Chocolate-passion sphere, bursts of brownies and crunchy streusel,” he announced, meticulously placing both their desserts in front of each of them.

“Thank you,” Jurina politely replied.

The male waiter bowed courteously and left, Rena’s previous behavior momentarily falling at the back of her head as Jurina contemplated the chocolate dessert that had been served. A few months ago, she had followed the elaboration of that specific dessert on a cooking show, but never had she had the possibility to taste it. On the right side of the plate, was disposed a white jar filled with hot chocolate. Jurina seized it, dexterously pouring the hot liquid over the top of the sphere. At the contact, the sphere slowly melted, reveling a small square red box hidden inside.

Jurina stared, complete surprise on her face.

She glanced over the other side of the table, only to note that Rena’s dessert remained untouched. When their eyes locked, Rena had a knowing smile mixed with a little bit of apprehension. “Don’t tell me… Don’t tell me you bought me another gift. Really, this is too much. I didn’t even buy you anything.”

“This one is special.”

Jurina felt torn between happiness at the generous displays of affection, and a sense of unease that she didn’t deserve so much. “The romantic hotel room, the everyday gifts, the wonderful restaurants. I’m so touched you did all this for me. But Rena, it wasn’t necessary. Being with you, here in Paris, already makes me the happiest person alive. You do know that, right?”

“Please… Please open it. I promise everything will make sense once you do.”

Jurina didn’t know what to make of her cryptic words. She lowered her gaze to the box, literately feeling the anticipation emanating from the other side of the table as she popped it open. When its content appeared to her, Jurina’s eyes opened wide in shocked disbelief. Inside the red velvet box was a white gold sapphire and diamond ring, along with a message written in gold letters.

Will you marry me?

Jurina’s heart stopped. How long did she stare at the inscription and at the ring, she didn’t know. It was only the feeling of Rena’s fingers gently touching hers that managed to snap her out of her daze. Progressively, she brought her attention back to her, only to see Rena gazing at her with a tender, slightly nervous look.

“Jurina Matsui, will you spend the rest of your life with me?”

Jurina was rendered utterly and completely speechless. If Rena wasn’t currently holding her hand, she would be convinced to be imagining the whole scene. Despite understanding the words loud and clear, Jurina had a hard time processing what just happened. Was Rena really proposing to her? “No…”

“No? No… to what?”

Rena’s face displayed apprehension.

“No, I mean,” Jurina quickly came back on her words when she realized what she had uttered without thinking. “I don’t… I don’t understand.”

“What don’t you understand?” Rena was confused.

“I thought…” Jurina paused and maneuvered her thoughts, trying to ignore her heart now beating uncontrollably against her ribs. “I thought you didn’t want to get married. I remember you saying it so many times. You seemed so sure of yourself. So why…”

There was a moment of silence.

“It’s true, I did say it,” Rena said lucidly. “But if there’s one thing that life taught me, it’s that it’s senseless to try so hard to not stray away from a path we strongly believe to be the only correct one.”

Rena thought for a moment, before continuing.

“For so long, I only wanted to focus on my career. Nothing else mattered than to fulfill my biggest dreams and to have a successful professional life. I never planned to share my life with anyone, even less to fall in love. But it happened, with you. When I the least expected it, you awoke feelings within me that I didn’t know existed. For the first time, I realized I didn’t want to do all those things only for myself. I wanted to share them with someone, and that person is you.”

Rena tightened her hold around Jurina’s hand.

“I don’t want us to ever be separated again. When we met each other in last December, and you granted me your unconditional forgiveness, I got back the other half of my heart. The following months we spent together were so blissful. When I asked you to move in together and you said yes, I couldn’t be any happier. But soon enough, I couldn’t shake off the sensation that something was missing to make my life more complete. I was frustrated at myself for failing to put a word on what I was feeling. I could tell you were happy too, so I didn’t understand why a part of me remained unfulfilled. The day Mayu and Yuki announced their engagement, a switch flipped inside me. For the first time, I could see with such vivid clarity.”

Rena’s eyes shone with determination.

“When I witnessed them so delightfully happy at their wedding, surrounded by their loved ones, I knew I wanted to experience such a significant moment with you. My feelings for you have never changed, and they will always remain intact. I want to show you how entirely committed I am to you, and for all the years to come.”

There was a short pause as they looked intently at each other.

“Is it what you went to buy on the Champs Elysées?” Jurina whispered in breathless amazement, her voice thick with emotion. “What you didn’t want me to see?”

“It is,” Rena confessed. “A few weeks ago, I called the shop from Tokyo to choose the design, and had it personally handmade. The difficult part was to retrieve it without you discovering about it.”

Jurina could hear nothing else but the wild thumping of her heart, holding back the tears threatening to come to her eyes. It was too easy to get lost in the way Rena looked at her, with a love and dedication that almost flipped her heart over. “I love you,” Jurina leaned forward across the table, quickly pressing her lips against hers. “I love you, Rena. I love you so much.”

They shared a long, slow, tender kiss.

“I love you too,” Rena whispered, affectionately caressing her cheek. “But…” There was a momentary hesitation before she added. “You haven’t answered. Are you ready to take this next step in our relationship? Will you marry me?”

“There’s no one I love more than you,” Jurina felt as if her heart would burst with joy. “You are not just my soulmate; you are the love of my life. I can’t imagine my life without you. Yes, I will. I will marry you.”

Elation suffused Rena’s whole being.

This time, Rena was the one to smash their lips together, kissing her passionately. In that précised instant, it was as if the world had evaporated around them, none of them caring about the curious, amused looks directed at her. All that mattered was the two of them, their hearts beating in unison with the promise of an eternal future together.

#wmatsui #matsui jurina #matsui rena #wmatsui fanfic #Watanabe Mayu #Kashiwagi Yuki #SKE48 #AKB48 #destiny #Heartbeat trilogy #chapter 40 part 2 #penultimate chapter

38 notes · View notes

cardcaptorcoconut · 7 years

Text

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc Chapter 14 Translation

Hi everyone. :) Here is the full translation for Chapter 14 of Clear Card Arc. The color spread in the chapter was particularly lovely this time! Also there was a blurb in the beginning about the OAD screening that happened at Anime Expo last month and it was really nice to see that shout out in Nakayoshi.

As I mentioned before in the preview post, there is a line in this chapter that could cause some confusion meaning-wise for the arc further on, so I left it as a more vague translation. The word is 違う (chigau), a commonly used word meaning “wrong” or “different” depending on the context it’s used in. Please see the note in my text for further details.

☆★Translations Notes Reminder★☆

Disclaimer: These are just fan translations. Please support the official release.

Color Spread: Just wait Akiho-chan! Sakura races through the sky chasing the mysterious "fluff"!!

P1 Kero: That (thing) is really fast! Sakura: Y-yeah! Sakura: <quietly worrying> I'm going to lose sight of it... Flight: ...... <Flight starts to take off very fast with Sakura in tow> Sakura: Hoe!?

P2 Sakura: HOEEEE! Kero: It seems to be really eager, doesn't it? Sakura: Th-that makes me happy, but... Sakura: Umyaa- Sakura: Fwah-

P3 Sakura: ◎××△××〒 <Sakura is being jostled about so much that she's speaking incoherently> Kero: Hey... wait... Sakura: Se-

P4 Sakura: Secure! <Sakura secures the card> Sakura: "Snooze"...

P5 Kero: It's just as it says, huh? Sakura: We have to hurry back home or else! Sakura: <to Flight> We've gotta hurry, but "drive safely" okay? <The card nods at her and they fly home; At home Akiho wakes up>

P6 Akiho: W-was I-!? Akiho: Don't tell me I fell asleep!? Sakura: Just a little bit. Akiho: <embarrassed> Falling asleep at a friend's house (in the middle of a visit)... Sakura: Don't worry about it! Kero: <quietly from the other room> It was the card's fault... Sakura: Really, don't worry about it. Akiho: But... Sakura: If you're worried, then just come visit again! Akiho: Huh...? Sakura: My father loves books too. We have a library.

P7 Sakura: I'll ask if it's okay for us to go in next time. So please come again! <Doorbell rings> Sakura: Yes? Who is it? Yuna: It's Kaito.

P8 Akiho: I'm sorry to make you come pick me up. Yuna: Please do not worry about it. Yuna: Kinomoto-sama, thank you very much for today.

[Note: "-sama: (様) is a very formal suffix]

Sakura: There's no need to call me "-sama". Yuna: But... Sakura: Just "Sakura" is fine. Yuna: Then would it be alright if I call you "Sakura-san"?

P9 Sakura: <shyly> Y-yes… Akiho: I'll be awake next time, so can I join you again? Sakura: Of course! Sakura: <looks at Yuna> Yuna: <smiling> ?? Sakura: <to Akiho> Let's practice our cooking and have (him / them [i.e. the people they like]) eat something delicious. Akiko: Yes!

P10 <Sakura waves goodbye to Akiho & Yuna> Yuna: Kinomoto Sakura-san is a wonderul person. Akiho: She really is! Akiho: She's cute, kind, and always worries about others. Yuna: And about you too?

P11 Akiho: Yes! Yuna: ...That's good.

P12 <Scene changes to at school> Tomoyo: So you got another new card? Sakura: Yes. Syaoran: At your house? Sakura: When I was with Akiho-chan. My dad and onii-chan weren't there. Syaoran: At that time, (did) Shinomoto-san... Sakura: She fell asleep because of this.

P13 Syaoran: I see... Kero: I didn't feel anything either. Tomoyo: How about you, Sakura-chan? Sakura: It was very faint, but... Sakura: It felt off.

[Note: As I mentioned above, the word Sakura uses in Japanese is 違う (chigau). This word has two functional meanings based on context: "wrong" and "different". Either of them can fit here and Sakura may be saying that either she or the situation "felt wrong" or "felt different". I chose "It felt off" here to keep things a bit more vague, so please keep this nuance in mind.]

P14 Syaoran: Off? <Sakura nods> <Scene changes to the classroom; Blackboard reads "= Equal sign"> Teacher: Equations are something you will continue to use from now on, so let's be sure to memorize this. Sakura: I don't even know what's off...

P15 Sakura: But… I know that (something) is off… Kero: <talking in his sleep> No, I still have room for cake... Sakura: Wah! Teacher: What's the matter? Sakura: I- I was dozing a little bit... Teacher: I can understand being sleepy during fine weather like this, but please do your best to stay awake.

P16 Sakura: Y-yes... <Scene changes to after school> Students: One, two, three, four! One, two, three, four!

P17 Upperclassman: Yes! You synced up beautifully. And... Upperclassman: It will probably be easier to do the final pose if you speed up your steps just a little bit more. But don't over do it. Sakura & Chiharu: Okay! <Later the school bell rings> Upperclassman: The bell rang at a good time. We'll call it a day here. Cheerleaders: Okay! Chiharu: What's up? Sakura: I was just thinking how happy I am (to have) these new uniforms.

P18 Chiharu: It looks really good on you, Sakura-chan! Sakura: You too, Chiharu-chan! <They hear singing> Sakura: This voice... Sakura: It's Tomoyo-chan and Akiho-chan. Chiharu: It is. I wonder if the chorus club is practicing... Sakura: Those two sound so lovely singing together.

P19 Chiharu: That's true, isn't it, Chiharu: Are you going home with Tomoyo-chan today too? Sakura: No, there's somewhere I need to stop by, so I'm leaving first. <quietly> The chorus club has a recital coming up soon, so it looks like they will be a little late today. Sakura: Yamazaki-kun will be late today too, right? Chiharu: You know about that? Sakura: Syaoran-kun said he and Yamazaki-kun are helping a teacher with a task. Chiharu: You two are so close!

P20 Chiharu: You're always cheerful, Sakura-chan. But as expected, since Li-kun came here, you're even more cheerful so (that makes me) happy too. Sakura: <blushes> <Scene changes to Sakura going to the shop> Sakura: Tonight's dinner will be Napolitan pasta! Kero: Add a "hamburger steak" to it too!

[Note: Kero is referring to this, and not to a hamburger.]

Kero: <makes a muffled sound as Sakura puts her hand over his mouth> Mo-GU!

P21 Kero: I thought I was gunna be crushed! Sakura: Jeez, please be careful... I was really anxious during class! Kero: Well, even I can't control my sleep talking. Sakura: Then (you should) wake up! Sakura: Ah!

P22 Yukito: Sakura-chan! Yukito: Are you shopping in the market area? Sakura: There's that too... But I'm here to deliver something to Onii-chan. Yukito: He's out handing out flyers right now. In a character costume.

P23 <Scene changes to Touya in a lamb costume unable to hand out flyers because he's covered in happy children> Sakura: Ah, then could I ask you give this to him? Sakura: He put the documents he's using for his presentation on this. He said he forgot it at home. Yukito: Of course! Yukito: It seems like both Touya and Fujitaka-san stay over at the university pretty often. Yukito: Do you have trouble with anything, Sakura-chan?

P24 Sakura: Yes! (But) the number of things I can cook has increased too!

[Lit: My cooking repertoire has increased too!]

Kero: She burns things occasionally though. Sakura: Kero-chan! Yukito: Oh, that's right... I got some baked goods from the shop. Yukito: Would you like to have some too, Sakura-chan?

P25 Kero: I'll have some! Yukito: Well, I've already finished up (work). Let's go around the back to the staff room. Sakura: Is that alright? Yukito: Of course. Yukito: If you respond with some feedback [Lit: impressions], the pastry chef will be happy.

P26 & 27 <Sakura turns the corner but instead of the back of the shop, she sees a strange area with many stairs> Narration: There were supposed to be delicious baked goods waiting, but... what in the world is this scene (appearing) before her eyes?? The special edition of Volume 3 with the OAD will be on sale Wednesday, September 13th.

#cardcaptor sakura #card captor sakura #cardcaptor sakura clear card arc #card captor sakura clear card arc #clear card arc #ccs #translations: clear card arc

57 notes · View notes

ramajmedia · 5 years

Text

All Of The MCU's Upcoming Disney+ Series, Explained | ScreenRant

While Netflix’s Marvel series claimed to tie into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the upcoming series on Disney’s own streaming service Disney+ actually will. They’ll have direct ties to the events of the movies and the movies will have direct ties to the events of the Disney+ series. Marvel Studios’ panel at this year’s Comic-Con brought us more information about the shows that we already knew were coming to Disney+, while Disney’s D23 Expo over the past few days has brought us even more exciting announcements about the shows we didn’t know were coming to Disney+.

RELATED: Every Confirmed Upcoming MCU Project, Ranked By Fans' Excitement

Here are all of the MCU’s upcoming Disney+ series, explained.

8 The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

They began as adversaries in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but Steve Rogers’ two sidekicks, Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, are now teaming up for their own Disney+ series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. We’ll see Sam as he adjusts to life as the new Captain America and Bucky as he continues to shake his Hydra brainwashing and strive to do the right thing.

A handful of cast members from Captain America: Civil War – including Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter (Peggy’s niece who dated Steve for a while) and Daniel Brühl as Helmut Zemo – have signed on to reprise their roles in the show. This one will premiere first, in late 2020, and it’ll have six episodes.

7 WandaVision

Wanda Maximoff and the Vision have, until now, been one of the most boring couples in the MCU. However, their Disney+ series WandaVision looks set to fix that. Captain Marvel co-writer Jac Schaeffer has been brought on as the series’ showrunner and it’s been described as a 50/50 split of Dick Van Dyke Show-style sitcom (complete with a nosy neighbor character) and typical Marvel spectacle.

The show will tie in directly with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which will be a horror movie that sees Scarlet Witch join the Sorcerer Supreme, and it will also somehow have to explain how Vision comes back to life after he was killed for the Mind Stone in Avengers: Infinity War.

6 Ms. Marvel

Most of the characters that get adapted for the MCU have been around for decades, like Captain America or Iron Man, but Ms. Marvel – or, rather, Kamala Khan, the version of Ms. Marvel that’s getting a series on Disney+ – has only been around since 2013. That’s a testament to how quickly this character struck a chord with comic book readers – even Barack Obama is a fan!

RELATED: Disney+: 10 Things You Should Know About Ms. Marvel

Kamala is notable for being the first Muslim superhero to get their own Marvel Comics series. She lives in New Jersey, she idolizes Carol Danvers, and she gets shapeshifting powers from her Inhuman genes (proving the MCU will still acknowledge the Inhumans and possibly reboot them following that dreadful Hulu series).

5 What If...?

So far, the Disney+ shows in the MCU (at least the ones that have announced their episode orders) will all consist of six episodes, except for What If...?, which will include a relatively whopping 23 episodes. Taken from the comic series of the same name, What If...? will explore hypothetical scenarios and see them play out.

Whereas the comics could take a concept as random as “What if Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four?,” the Disney+ adaptation – which will be animated, by the way – will explore scenarios specifically drawn from the movies of the Infinity Saga (that’s why there’s 23 episodes: one episode per movie), and most of the A-list actors from the films are set to reprise their roles. A Watcher played by Jeffrey Wright will act as the sort of Rod Serling narrator of this anthology series.

4 Moon Knight

Kevin Feige has been promising to find a place for Moon Knight in the MCU for a while, so Marvel fans were ecstatic when this series was announced. Moon Knight is the superhero alter ego of Marc Spector, a mercenary who got possessed by the Egyptian moon god after being left for dead in a temple containing his spirit.

He gave up being a mercenary, invested his money, got rich, and adopted various personas (a chauvinistic millionaire persona to keep up appearances, a cab driver persona to keep an eye on street crime etc.), all the while moonlighting as the masked vigilante Moon Knight.

3 Hawkeye

When it was first announced that Hawkeye would be getting his own show on Disney+, some fans were skeptical. Kevin Smith, in particular, was vocal about his disdain for the idea. However, it won’t be what it sounds like. This isn’t just a show about a guy with a bow and arrow and a family out in the countryside. Instead, it’ll tell the story of Clint Barton training Kate Bishop to take on the “Hawkeye” mantle and replace him.

When the Endgame trailers showed Clint training a young girl, some fans suspected it was Kate. It turned out to be his daughter Lila, but Kate is still on the way to the MCU.

2 She-Hulk

Some fans have criticized the announcement of the She-Hulk series, with some calling it “pandering” to female viewers or an attempt to “squeeze out” the male heroes. But those fans fail to realize that the She-Hulk has been around in the comics for decades, and also, just because she’s getting her own series, it doesn’t mean Bruce Banner is getting squeezed out.

RELATED: 10 Storylines Disney+'s She-Hulk Series Could Use

They co-exist. In fact, She-Hulk is Bruce Banner’s cousin. She’s a lawyer named Jen Walters who gets involved in a near-fatal shooting incident, necessitating a blood transfusion. Bruce provides the blood, but since it’s infected with gamma radiation, she assumes his Hulk-out powers.

1 Loki

Although Loki was “permanently” killed in Avengers: Infinity War, he managed to sneak back into the fold in Avengers: Endgame, because Earth’s mightiest heroes went back in time to the Battle of New York to steal three Infinity Stones, Tony Stark dropped one (the Space Stone), and Loki grabbed it and disappeared into an alternate timeline. His Disney+ series, which will consist of six episodes and premiere in early 2021, will follow this version of Loki and what he gets up to.

This won’t be the heroic version of Loki who redeemed himself in Thor: Ragnarok; this is the villainous version under Thanos’ thumb.

NEXT: 10 Most Exciting Upcoming MCU Streaming Projects

source https://screenrant.com/mcus-upcoming-disney-series-explained/

#screenrant

0 notes

yumeka36 · 5 years

Text

Anime Expo 2019

I was only at Anime Expo for two days this year, commuting to downtown each day (unlike last year where I stayed at a hotel for all four days). As such, I didn’t take nearly as many photos as usual. But I still wanted to make a quick post about my time there:

First of all, I’m sure everyone will agree that the line to get in the convention on Day 1 was ridiculously long. I arrived really early around 6am to try and get an autograph voucher for Rica Matsumoto’s session later that day, but unfortunately even arriving two hours before opening time wasn’t enough and they were out before it was even my turn. So then when I wanted to line up to go into the convention, it took me nearly 20 minutes just to find the end of the line! It was zigzagging all over the place and no AX staff were around to control it. After waiting for nearly 3 hours, I saw that the problem was because they only had 6 people checking bags for each of the (supposed) two lines to go inside – definitely not an acceptable number for the amount of people attending. I got in line around 9:30 that morning and didn’t get inside until nearly 1pm! Thankfully the only event I had planned for Day 1 didn’t start until the afternoon. The event was the exclusive premiere of Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution, a 3D remake of the very first Pokemon movie, Mewtwo Strikes Back.

The reason this event was such a big deal for Pokemon fans is because it’s the very first time the Japanese version of the Pokemon anime has had any official acknowledgement in the US: in the 20+ years of Pokemon’s history, there has never been any official access to the Japanese version through subtitled movie screenings, video releases, or the like – everything has always been “dub only.” Plus we got to see the movie a week before it premieres in Japan, something that has also never happened! As for the movie itself, it was exactly as I expected: the same movie as the first pretty much, except with CGI animation and a handful of minor changes. The pokemon looked good in CG, the human characters were kind of hit or miss to me. Stuff like the environment and effects looked cool, but for someone who watches a lot of Disney and Pixar films, I can’t say the movie animation looked that great XD Still a very nice nostalgia trip and I even teared up at Pikachu’s crying scene~ PokeBeach has a very detailed article here about the movie both in how this first official Japanese subtitled Pokemon release was handled and how the movie itself compares to the original.

After the screening, director Kunihiko Yuyama, producer Motonori Sakakibara, and Ash/Satoshi’s voice actress Rica Matsumoto did a Q&A, took a group photo with us, and Rica sang Mezase Pokemon Master, the very first opening song for Pokemon, which has been remixed many times over the years. As someone who has been watching Pokemon in Japanese for a long time, this event was a real treat for me and it was so cool seeing a live performance by the talented Rica Matsumoto! FYI, she’s been the voice of Ash in the Japanese version since the very first episode in 1997, she’s an accomplished singer, and has done Japanese dubs of other properties like The Wizard of Oz and Beverly Hills 90210.

~Click here for my Day 1 photos posted on my Tumblr~

I didn’t attend the convention on Day 2, though I heard the line to get in was better. On Day 3, all I had planned was shopping around the Exhibit Hall and Artist Alley. After that, I spent a couple hours in the Entertainment Hall playing Weiss Schwarz with friends.

~Click here for my Day 2 photos posted on my Tumblr~

So yeah, just two days this year and didn’t take many photos since I was either in line, in an event, or running around from here to there. But we’ll see what next year brings~

*Crossposted from my main blog, Yume Dimension*

#anime expo #conventions #photos #pokemon

0 notes

adorkablephil · 7 years

Text

Phan Timeline

For a while now, I’ve been wanting a concise and up-to-date phan timeline to help make my fics as chronologically accurate as possible, but I couldn’t find one, so I decided to make one! I hope other people find it useful, too!

Also, I have linked to relevant YouTube videos wherever possible, so you can check out Dan and Phil looking like cute little babies in Jamaica in 2010, goofing off with PJ and Chris in Italy in 2011, or appearing at various conventions over the years, that sort of thing.

(It’s a bit heavy on the 2009-2010 stuff, because that’s what’s hardest to find & it’s so useful for fetus!phan fics.)

1/30/87 - Phil born in the town of Rawtenstall, in the district (or borough) of Rossendale, in the county of Lancashire, England (17 miles from Manchester)

6/11/91 - Dan born in the town of Wokingham, a historic market town in the county of Berkshire, England (7 miles from Reading)

3/26/06 - Phil uploaded his first video to AmazingPhil on YouTube

??/??/07 - Dan started watching Phil’s videos (probably approximate but mentioned in Dan’s 3/21/17 liveshow)

5/??/08 - Phil created his Twitter account

7/??/08 - Phil received his B.A. in English Language and Linguistics from the University of York (per University of York website)

1/27/09 - first documented tweet between Phil and PJ

2/??/09 - Dan first commented on an AmazingPhil video (I’ve found no actual documentation of this)

5/??/09 - Dan created his Twitter account

5/28/09 - first documented time Dan tweeted Phil (now deleted)

6/2/09 - first documented time Phil replied to Dan on Twitter (now deleted)

6/11/09 - Dan turned 18

6/21/09 - DnP became Facebook friends

6/??/09 - Dan finished school and began his gap year

7/8/09 - Dan tweeted “Just arrived back from a week in Cyprus…” (now deleted)

8/28/09 - Phil finished his final project at the University of York and left university (date estimated based on things he said in his “Burning Walrus” video on 8/24/09)

9/16/09 - Dan created a Dailybooth account and Phil followed it

9/25/09 - Dan posted his first nakedbooth photo (strategically covered in several stuffed animals) to celebrate 100 followers

10/4/09 - Dan posted his second nakedbooth photo with the number 200 (his number of followers) strategically placed

10/7/09 - Phil tweeted “woahh just talked to Dan for 5 hours” (now deleted)

10/10/09 - Dan posted his third nakedbooth photo with a video game controller strategically placed (to celebrate 300 followers)

10/16/09 - Dan posted his first danisnotonfire YouTube video, “Hello Internet.”

10/18/09 - Dan posted his second YouTube video, “Butterfingers”

10/19/09 - DnP first met in Manchester (met at Manchester Piccadilly Station, then went to Starbucks, Apple Store, and the Hilton’s Sky Bar)

10/19/09-10/21/19 - Dan stayed at Phil’s house while his parents were away (including filming of first PINOF on the 20th)

10/23/09 - Dan posted a nakedbooth photo with a lava lamp strategically placed

10/25/09 - first PINOF video posted

10/27/09 - Dan posted his third YouTube video, “Procrastination”

10/31/09 - YouTube Halloween Gathering in London (Dan had posted only 3 videos at this point, starting just a bit more than 2 weeks before the gathering)

11/1/09 - both Dan and Phil headed home after spending the night at an unknown location in London

11/2/09 - Dan uploaded a video which apparently included some of his nakedbooth pics, but it was almost immediately reported and taken down. He replaced it with a “new and improved version” the following day (as mentioned in this tweet), which is clearly this deleted video someone re-uploaded.

11/3/09 - Dan tweeted “just had a biblical-scale arguement with the father. pah, ill find sanctuary on the internet.”

11/6/09-11/9/09 - Dan stayed with Phil (whose parents were home)

11/7/09 - Dan and Phil spent the day with Phil’s friend Stephen Byrne (3sixty5days on Twitter) visiting from Ireland

11/10/09 - Dan posted a nakedbooth photo taken at Phil’s house with Lion strategically placed in the foreground

11/22/09 - Dan tweeted “I wonder how biology can explain the physical pain you feel in your chest when all you want to do is be with someone D:” (now deleted)

11/25/09 - Phil tweeted two photos from a Skype call with Dan. In one of them, Dan’s hand is pulling up his shirt, revealing much of his bare torso. Phil tweeted in response to the pic “woof.” (Phil’s tweet remains, but the photos have been deleted.) Dan tweeted, “four and a half hour skype calls are the best,” which Phil retweeted.

11/26/09 - Dan tweeted “wow 5 hours and 42 minutes on skype xD that’s a new record. the best thing before you fall asleep though :) goodnight guys <3″

11/29/09 - on his way to visit Phil, Dan tweeted “on 3 ½ hour train journey with my laptop xD happy times”

11/29/09 - Dan arrived at Phil’s house to stay while Phil’s parents were away & they went to the Sky Bar in Manchester again (full visit 11/29/09-12/4/09)

12/1/09 - Dan mentioned on Dailybooth that he and Phil had watched “Wall-E” together. Both Dan and Phil tweeted (this and this, but Phil’s tweets seem to be deleted) requesting inappropriate questions for a Q+A video for Dan’s channel (but none was uploaded anytime soon after this?) Dan tweeted, “All I can taste is cherry, all I can smell is cherry, all I can hear is cherry and all I can feel is cherry. Can’t really see much though” (no time stamp, tweet now deleted)

12/2/09 - at 2:16 a.m., while staying at Phil’s house, Dan tweeted “Uma Thurman just watched me have sex” (along with a photo of an Uma Thurman “Kill Bill” poster like the one in Phil’s bedroom, tweet now deleted). Later in the day, they went to see “Paranormal Activity” together.

12/3/09 - Dan and Phil both wrote tweets describing a day of “new mario wii + coke” and “watching ‘the cube’”

12/4/09 - Dan returned home from visiting Phil

12/8/09 - Phil tweeted “awake!! o_O fell asleep on skype to dan” (now deleted)

12/10/09-12/12/09 - Dan stayed with Phil (including another visit to the Sky Bar on the 10th)

12/13/09 - DnP traveled together to the YouTube Festive Gathering in London (including a visit to the Apple Store with various friends)—they stayed overnight on the “giant airbed” at the home of Tom Howes (wtftomcoolio on Twitter), one of Dan’s flirty Twitter friends (who is the same age as Dan)

12/14/09 - Dan and Phil visited the Natural History Museum in London before they each headed home

12/21/09 - Phil tweeted “longest skype call ever :]”

12/22/09-12/24/09 - Dan stayed with Phil (including filming for the Interactive Christmas Adventure video)

12/27/09 - Interactive Christmas Adventure video posted

12/30/09 - Dan tweeted that he was recognized by “a gang of hysterical fans” while waiting to meet Phil at the train station (in Reading—Phil was staying overnight with him so they could travel to London together the next day)

12/31/09 - New Years party at the home of Tom Bacon (tom_bacon on Twitter, SuperBaconNation on YouTube) in London (where Dan drank Malibu and looked really drunk in some pictures)

1/??/10 - Phil received his M.A. in Video Postproduction with Specialisation in Visual Effects from the University of York (per University of York website)

1/1/10 - Phil stayed overnight with Dan in Wokingham

¼/10 - Dan started his internship at a London law firm (during his gap year)

1/6/10 - Dan tweeted that he had become a “YouTube Partner”

1/7/10 - Dan tweeted excitedly that Phil had “over 90,000 subscribers”

1/15/10-1/17/10 - Dan stayed with Phil (went to see “Avatar” in 3D at IMAX, failed attempt to go to Sheffield Gathering due to bad weather)

1/23/10 - Dan tweeted “i strongly dislike the video i made earlier this week, but phil keeps telling me its good and wants me to upload it x] itll be up l8r 2night” (in reference to “New Years Resolution Fail”)

1/24/10 - Dan tweeted “coming home from manchester…” (so had been visiting Phil again)—got stranded in London along the way due to train issues

1/29/10 - Dan’s London law firm internship ended (during his gap year)

2/2/10 - Dan tweeted “this is so traumatic ;_; i don’t care how much i fail i just want the pressure to be behind me. i just want to move on” (in reference to revising for exam)

2/3/10 - some big exam for Dan (but this was during his gap year?)

2/4/10 - Dan received his unconditional acceptance to Manchester University

2/13/10 - infamous Valentine’s Day (v-day) video posted privately to LessAmazingPhil while Dan was in India with his family

2/14/10 - Dan tweeted “I’m fed up of India.. there is somewhere else I want to be right now :[ <3″

2/20/10-2/23/10 - Dan visited Phil (directly after his trip to India and before returning home)

3/5/10-3/9/10 - Phil visited Dan

3/16/10-3/21/10 - Phil visited Dan

4/17/10-4/26/10 - trip to Blackpool and filming of PINOF 2

5/19/10-5/21/10 - London and Thorpe Amusement Park together

5/27/10 - AmazingDan video posted

5/27/10-6/3/10 - trip to Portugal (Phil mentions it briefly with some photos in his “World’s Biggest Chip?!” video, showing that they visited the Zoomarine in Guia, drank sangria, and spent time exploring the rocky coastline)

5/28/10 - PINOF 2 video posted (from Portugal, as Phil tweeted “thank you portugal internet ;_; Q+A upload failed after 6 hrs. Video will be up in.. 6hrs 46. x____x sorry”)

6/11/10-6/18/10 - E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) in Los Angeles (with Bryony, PJ, and others)

6/27/10-7/6/10?? - Dan visited Phil

7/26/10-8/2/10 - YouTuber Jamaica trip

8/6/10-8/8/10 - Summer in the City convention in London (only Dan attended because Phil was apartment hunting)

8/13/10-8/21/10?? - Dan visited and helped Phil move into his own apartment in Manchester

8/31/10-9/12/10 - at Phil’s place, StickAID collabs (1 & 2), zoo (on the 5th), and Muse concert (on the 11th)

9/16/10 - Dan arrived at Manchester University

11/16/10 - Dan hospitalized in Manchester with Phil’s help

12/23/10 - AmazingDan 2 video posted

2/10/11 - Phil was with Dan in Wokingham on Dan’s mum’s birthday

6/6/11 - Dan’s withdrawal from Manchester University effective (though the letter from the university to that effect was not sent until 10/24/12, so it’s unclear precisely when Dan actually made the decision and officially informed them of his wish to withdraw)

7/27/11 - Phil moved to their new apartment in Manchester

8/10/11?? - Dan moved in with Phil in Manchester

8/12/11-8/14/11 - Summer in the City convention (in London)

8/28/11 - DnP went to a Muse concert together

8/30/11-9/13/11 - DnP went to Italy with PJ & crabstickz

9/17/11 - infamous Valentine’s Day (v-day) video unprivated by YouTube glitch (didn’t circulate widely)

10/17/11 - DnP started The Super Amazing Project

11/1/11 - PINOF 3 video posted

12/22/11 - first baking video posted (“How to make Christmas cookies!”) (Phil says he has never baked anything before and that this will be his first time.)

12/25/11 - first Dan and Phil Christmas Special on BBC Radio 1

2/14/12 - (Valentine’s Day) Phil tweeted “I want someone to spend the day playing bubble bobble with me! I have reached level 100 but never finished it! ._.”

3/17/12 - DitL in Manchester video posted

3/23/12-3/25/12 - Playlist Live convention (in Orlando, Florida)

4/4/12 - Phil tweeted “At the coolest Thai restaurant ever with @danisnotonfire and family! http://twitpic.com/95mbjx”

5/5/12 - Phil’s first live show on YouNow

6/22/12-6/27/12 - week in Vegas for Dan’s 21st birthday

6/28/12-6/30/12 - VidCon (in southern California)

7/10/12 - Dan’s first live show on YouNow (while flat-hunting in London with Phil)

7/11/12 - Dan’s infamous “fyi i like vagina” tweet in response to @Doctor_Swift’s question about whether he identified as homosexual (I’ve been unable to verify this)

7/23/12 - DnP moved to London

8/17/12-8/19/12 - Summer in the City convention (in London)

9/12/12 - PINOF 4 video posted

10/12/12 - Dan posted his FANDOMS video during a time when he was having difficulty/conflict with ... well ... fans

10/24/12 - Manchester University sent Dan a letter stating that his withdrawal was effective 6/6/11

10/31/12 - infamous Valentine’s Day (v-day) video leaked again and spread wildly on Tumblr (much fan freakage, much Dan freakage)

12/24/12 - DnP ended The Super Amazing Project (though it eventually continued without them)

12/25/12 - second Dan and Phil Christmas Special on BBC Radio 1

1/13/13 - DnP started weekly BBC Radio 1 request show

2/4/13 - Dan hit 1 mil subscribers

3/22/13-3/24/13 - Playlist Live convention (in Orlando, Florida)

5/18/13 - (kinda) DitL in New York video posted

7/6/13 - Phil hit 1 mil subscribers

7/30/13 - Dan hit 2 mil subscribers

8/1/13-8/3/13 - VidCon (in southern California)

8/17/13-8/18/13 - Summer in the City convention (in London)

8/27/13 - DitL in London video posted

11/22/13 - PINOF 5 video posted

12/22/13 - Phil won Sugarscape’s “Hottest Lad 2013” (Dan came in second place, ahead of various members of One Direction, among others)

12/29/13 - Dan hit 3 mil subscribers

2/19/14 - Dan and Phil presented the YouTube livestream of the Brits

3/21/14-3/23/14 - Playlist Live convention (in Orlando, Florida)

6/26/14-6/28/14 - VidCon (in southern California) (when others talked over Phil on the “Guide to Vlogging” panel, Dan grabbed a microphone and asked, “Can Phil express an opinion?”)

8/1/14-8/3/14 - Summer in the City convention (in London)

8/24/14 - DnP ended weekly BBC Radio 1 request show

8/29/14 - Phil hit 2 mil subscribers

9/1/14 - DnP started monthly Internet Takeover on BBC Radio 1

9/11/14 - Dan hit 4 mil subscribers

9/12/14 - DanandPhilGames YouTube channel was created

11/6/14 - PINOF 6 video posted

12/20/14 - Festive DitL video posted

2/6/15-2/8/15 - Playlist Live convention (in Orlando, Florida)

2/13/15 - Dan hosted #NicerInternet special on BBC Radio 1 called “Anti-Social Media Live” featuring various other YouTubers (including Phil)

2/25/15 - Dan and Phil presented the YouTube livestream of the Brits

3/26/15 - TABINOF/TATINOF announced in YouTube trailer

4/9/15-4/20/15 - DnP trip to Japan

4/22/15 - DitL in Japan video posted

7/23/15-7/25/15 - VidCon (in southern California)

8/14/15-8/16/15 - Summer in the City convention (in London)

8/20/15 - Dan hit 5 mil subscribers

10/8/15-11/15/15 - TATINOF UK

10/12/15 - Phil hit 3 mil subscribers

10/13/15 - TABINOF published

11/29/15 - PINOF 7 video posted

2/12/16 - Dan tweeted “i’m off on the family holiday my mum planned for us to spend some quality time with my grandma before she gets too old to travel!”

2/14/16 - Phil tweeted (from his family’s home) “Ahoy! No live show tonight as I’m with family but there will be a rather romantic episode of undertale later!” (So they spent Valentine's Day 2016 apart.)

2/24/16 - Dan and Phil presented the YouTube livestream of the Brits

4/25/16 - last DnP Internet Takeover on BBC1 Radio 1 (pre-recorded episode which aired while they were in the US)

4/22/16-6/23/16 - TATINOF US/Canada

6/23/16-6/25/16 - VidCon (in southern California)

7/29/16 - Dan tweeted “finally @AmazingPhil exposed” along with photo of Phil eating Crunchy Nut out of the box

8/10/16 - Dan hit 6 mil subscribers

8/14/16-8/26/16 - TATINOF Australia (visited Hong Kong on their way there [possibly 8/7/16-8/8/16] and again on their way home [possibly 8/28/16-8/29/16])

8/21/16 - DitL in Australia video posted

8/22/16 - Dan painted his fingernails black

8/28/16?? - went to Ozone sky bar in Hong Kong (on way to Australia)

10/5/16 - TATINOF documentaries released on YouTube Red

10/23/16 - DnP jointly won “Best Vlogger” at the BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards

10/31/16 - “Monster Pops” video posted to danisnotonfire, spawning the “Post-Baking Universe”

11/3/16 - DAPGO published

11/21/16 - TATINOF in Dublin

11/22/16 - BONCAs (TATINOF won Film of the Year, PINOF 7 won Collaboration of the Year, and Phil won British Creator of the Year—Phil called Dan up onstage to share his individual Creator of the Year award)

11/27/16 - TATINOF in Berlin

11/29/16 - PINOF 8 video posted

12/5/16-12/6/16 - TATINOF in Stockholm

1/17/17 - Dan officially stopped straightening his hair, saying in his live show (which he titled “I have ‘Hobbit hair’ now!’), “Wavey Dan is rising.”

1/30/17 - Phil’s 30th birthday

1/30/17 - while on holiday with Phil’s family on the Isle of Man, Dan tweeted “happy birthday to @AmazingPhil you may be on the road to death but the light and warmth you bring to our lives is as everlasting as the sun”

3/14/17 - Phil hit 4 million subscribers

3/21/17 - Dan mentioned the mysterious “that week in March” in his live show, spawning a million phan theories and constant harassment of him to explain (he later explained that it was about running out of anti-depressants and suffering terrible withdrawal effects for the previous 10 days or so)

3/30/17 - “the pantsless live show” (when Dan and Phil both moved their blanket and camera around in such a way as to hide their lower bodies throughout)

4/10/17 - visited 1-Altitude sky bar in Singapore (on way to Australia)

4/15/17-4/17/17 - Cool for Summer Festival in Australia (visited Singapore on their way there and again on their way home)

4/16/17 - Dan painted his nails sparkly

4/26/17 - moved to second London apartment

5/1/17 - Dan rebranded from danisnotonfire to Daniel Howell, changing the names on all his social media accounts but keeping his YouTube channel name the same

5/5/17-5/7/17 - Playlist Live convention (in Orlando, Florida) (after which they vacationed in Florida with Phil’s family, including a visit to Miami)

6/21/17-6/24/17 - Vidcon (in southern California)

8/26/17 - first livestreamed video from DanAndPhilGAMES, “THE PHAN-PRIX”

9/9/17-9/18/17 - vacation at “an island in the Mediterranean” with friends (most likely Bryony and Wirrow)

9/25/17-9/27/17 - YouTube Creator Summit in Madrid, Spain

10/10/17 - Dan widely publicized World Mental Health Day in his live show, on Instagram, and on Twitter

10/11/17 - Dan posted his widely-praised “Daniel and Depression” video

10/17/17 - Dan was named an official Ambassador for the UK youth mental health charity YoungMinds

10/17/17 - Dan explained “that week in March” in his live show, explaining that it was 2 weeks that he went through withdrawal symptoms from running out of anti-depressants (Note: many phans then extremely contrite for having built up so many conspiracy theories and harassing him over and over again to explain since he first mentioned it in his live show on 3/21/17)

10/19/17 - the release of “Truth Bombs,” Dan and Phil’s party game (on the 8th anniversary of their first meeting), including the upload of a video of them playing the game with Tomska and Hazel Hayes

10/30/17 - the conjoined Halloween baking video basically broke the phandom and trended at #7 on YouTube, despite the amount of swearing and innuendo

11/10/17 - the 2018 Interactive Introverts world tour was announced

11/16/17 - Dan participated (with Prince William) in the announcement of the StopSpeakSupport anti-cyberbullying campaign

11/24/17 - PINOF9 video uploaded

12/??/17-12/??/17 - Dan spent time with the Lesters on the Isle of Man before going home to spend the actual holiday with his family

1/30/18 - Dan posted Phil’s birthday tweet with a photo of a cake that said, “Show me your birthday philussy,” which Phil then had to explain to his parents

2/14/18 - Dan and Phil went out to Valentine’s Day lunch with Martyn and Cornelia to celebrate Cornelia’s birthday

4/28/18 - Interactive Introverts world tour began in Brighton, England

Notes: I tried to include only events and dates that are clearly and readily documented online (mostly on Twitter or YouTube, but also occasionally Instagram, Wikipedia, or news articles), but I did also consult @thephandirectory and danie & felucca’s Dan & Phil Timeline of Early IRL Meetings), both of which include archived social media posts (tweets, Dailybooths, etc.) from 2009 and early 2010, since both Dan and Phil (but especially Dan) have deleted a lot of stuff from the early days (which Dan even jokes about in his Diss Track).

This is not intended to be a comprehensive timeline of everything they’ve done, because that would be ridiculous. I was just trying to include events that are most commonly discussed in the phandom, events that seemed important to their relationship, and events that seemed most important to their careers.

If I list just the name of an event (such as a convention or YouTuber gathering) with no other details, that means that Dan and Phil both attended.

In a few places, I wasn’t sure of exact dates or found conflicting information (such as exactly what date Dan moved into the apartment with Phil in Manchester), and I’ve gone with the source that seemed more reliable and/or included question marks. Also, there may occasionally be a one-day error where I had difficulty translating US time to UK time on an existing Twitter post. I researched long and hard, so I hope I haven’t made any stupid mistakes! If anyone wants to help refine or correct this timeline, feel free to message me with any additional information.

Also, tons and tons of thanks to @alittledizzy for her invaluable help with the early stuff!

Disclaimer: While I do ship phan, I’ve tried to just state facts throughout without adding any speculation.

#phan #phandom #dan and phil #phan timeline project #phan timeline

773 notes · View notes

eli-reviewsthings · 7 years

Text

10 Ten movies of 2016

Hey everybody. That hellish year is over, and now we can spend some time looking back at all the shit things were made that we were forced to sit through, and appreciate the great ones!

10. The Lobster: Not gonna lie, I was tempted to not put this and number 9 even on this list, but god. So many bad movies came out I kinda didnt have much else to put on here. Not saying the Lobster is a bad movie, it is not, just. Difficult. This movie was difficult to watch, and probably the second most uncomfortable movie I saw this year. There were a plethora of scenes that were made me squirm in my very uncomfortable seat. The most notable of which is a woman viying for the affection of the main character botches a suicide attempt and sits, dying slowly on the ground screaming while the main character attempts to flirt with a hot sociopath. And thats kinda a lot of the movie; violent and awkward. Much to my surprise, the movie ended up being an amazing look at love and relationships, and actually had some scenes that were genuinely touching, partly because of how cold, sterile, and viscous the rest of the movie was. The biggest problem that I have with this movie however, comes from my frustration with the ending. It goes in line with movies like Birdman, that just dont seem to know how to end. Note to future directors and writers: Ambiguity is a fine tool, but understand that not having a satisfying ending is not always a good thing.

9. The Neon Demon: Whatever about the actual movie, its NWR (as he’s calling himself nowadays, groan) and I liked it, but. But. I must tell you all about the most stressful day I’ve ever had, and how it made this movie the most nerve racking experience of my life. I was staying at a hotel for anime expo with four other friends, when we were woken up at 4am by three things all happening at once: 1, the fire alarm went off, prompting 2, one of the guys woke up screaming from a nightmare while 3, one of the other guys decided to start screaming FIRE and both took off running down the hall. Later we learned it was a false alarm but I thought we were being murdered. After that I couldn’t sleep so I watched Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared which was disturbing and then the fire alarm went off 4 more times prompting one of the guys to scream every time. The I saw the Neon Demon. And honestly, it was such a stressful experience I have a hard time actually thinking about the movie because all I remember is being on my very last nerve and on the brink of a panic attack.

8. 10 Cloverfield Lane: You spend a lot of time looking at Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s ass and she is the most resourceful protagonist I’ve ever seen. It’s also a Cloverfield sequel which I love and John Goodman is a villain. Literally what more could you want.

7. Rouge One: One of the best Star Wars films by far, I actually really enjoyed Rouge One, much more than I thought I would. It did a good job developing it’s character over the course of the movie, something Star Wars has literally never done without being either extremely cliched or just plain bad. My only complaints were that a, its still way too easy to just beat Stormtroopers with sticks, though I did appreciate the breaking glass, and b, the final fight was almost impossible to follow who was where and where the enemies were coming from. Besides that, fun action movie with some really solid performances and Alan Turdyk which is all you could want from a sci fi film.

6. The Nice Guys: Listening to Ryan Gosling scream after getting his ass kicked by Russel Crowe was one of the funniest things I got to see this year. Honestly though, this was a wonderful little gem of a movie and I really enjoyed every second of it. Not the best plot, and some kinda lame character development but hey, it was the best example of slapstick humor done well I’ve seen in years. Really, just such a fun film to watch.

5. Sing: I’m really surprised myself to see this movie so high on my list but the more I thought about the movie the more I enjoyed it. I’m a theater guy, I have a degree in theater and I’ve been doing musicals since 5th grade, so a movie about the magic of theater was really lovely to sit through. It did an amazing job of taking an incredibly broad array of music and bringing it together, and then making a white kid basically be a British Weekend, but hey besides that I loved the film. Sure it had tons and tons and tons of flaws but, I’m willing to forgive a lot because films are about enjoyment and sometimes you just have to find a film, acknowledge its not the best, and love it all the same.

4. Magnificent 7: Speaking of films that aren’t the best but I loved, this is easily the best action movie to come out in years. Also, one of the few movies to do a large ensemble cast, give all the characters equal development and, almost, equal screen time and have them all feel unique. Top it off with a diverse cast, some amazing shoot outs and you the perfect recipe for a great western.

3. Deadpool: Just go and watch the title sequence. Thats why I love this movie. Deadpool as a character has a tendency to annoy me but damn Ryan Reynolds did a great job walking that thin line and delivered the best iteration of Deadpool I’ve ever seen. The movie is was the only superhero movie to come out this year, that I saw, that wasn’t the exact same garbage nonsense we’ve seen what feels like a thousand times by now. Yeah, I’m looking at you, you piece of utter shit Civil War. Or, as it should be called: We didn’t have a good fight choreographer and uh Bucky can block a shotgun blast with his hand and somehow Caps team which is basically just a bunch of normal dudes and scarlet witch, and somehow they beat iron mans team cause the writers are lazy and just churning out these pieces of shit at this point, no I’m not just angry about Cap making out with that blonde bitch after Peggy died, fuck you that movie was a complete mess and you know it. That felt good, glad I got that off my chest, lets get back to Deadpool, because it has the camera guy from Cloverfield in it and I love him and this movie was a beautiful breath of fresh air and left me very excited about the next guardians of the galaxy because hopefully it wont fall into the same traps the rest of marvel has.

2. Your Name/ Kimi no na Wa: Mokoto Shinkai could animate himself taking a shit and I’d probably love every second of it. Seriously though, I love his work, and this film was the best he’s done since Voices From a Distant Star. It has heart, gorgeous animation, great characters, and a nice dose of humor that is usually absent in his films. It’s an amazing film and if it doesn’t win best animated film at the oscar’s then they’re racist and they have no taste.

1. Arrival: When me and my mom got into the car after seeing this she started bawling. Just sobbing uncontrollably. Normally when my mom gets emotional its over things I consider dumb or just not worth crying over but this time I understood it. This movie might be one of the more moving things I’ve seen in awhile. Way back in the day, I read a book called My Name is Asher Lev, and the book starts with a quote from Kafka: “A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.” This has always been something of my compass for what separates a good thing from a great one. And by god this movie was great. Sure, it is a little cheesy, I’ll be the first to admit that, but I just don’t care. Cheesy or not this film spoke to me in ways a movie hasn’t in too long. I choking back tears so many times during the film and Amy Adams performance was masterful. This is easily the best film I’ve seen this year, and will make my list of best films of all times. I’ve seen almost all of Dennis Villenvue’s films up to Arrival, and his films have a tendency of being very dispassionate and emotionally sterile and it was truly wonderful to see him make a movie that was bursting at the seems with feeling. I could sing the praises of this film forever so I’ll end it there.

So there we have it, 10 films I saw this year and left the theater going, “Man that wasn’t as shitty as some of the other films I saw this year that was nice!” Now theres some films that just didn’t make the cut so heres some honorable mentions:

Finding Dory, Train to Busan, Kubo and the Two Strings, Star Trek Beyond and Girl on the Train.

And now some of the Shittiest movies I had the complete displeasure sitting through: Civil War (huge surprise), Don’t Breathe, Ghostbusters, Jason Bourne, and I’m sure theyre some I’m forgetting cause I don’t want to remember them.

Allin in all there were a lot of films I wanted to see that I didn’t get to, but hopefully this year I can make a list of 10 films that I enjoyed seeing! Let me know what y’all thought and I’ll see you all later with some other list in the coming days!

3 notes · View notes

crimsonblackrose · 4 years

Text

This was our longest time at any place on our tour. We had three hours. One would think that’s plenty of time to enjoy an aquarium. But oh, there is so much more to it then that.

The aquarium is built upon the grounds of the Ocean Expo Park. The Ocean Expo Park has many different attractions on it. Let’s say you want to visit the Tropical Arboretum on the Southern part of the park. From the aquarium that’s an over 20 minute walk, that’s if you don’t get lost or turned around on your way. Depending on the route you take it could be 30 minutes.

Let’s start with the aquarium. The tickets to the aquarium were included in our tour. Our tour conductor wanted us to hurry to the Expo Park so that we could see the dolphin show. But first she had to get us from the parking to the aquarium entrance so we had our tickets first. Our tickets were included in our tour but if you go on your own generally tickets to the aquarium are 1,880 yen. To get there it was a twenty minute walk from the parking.

Our tour guide highly suggested we see the dolphin show which wasn’t inside the aquarium. I followed her suggestions went to the theater to see them which I will write about in the next section of this post. When the show was over and I headed back to the aquarium there was a huge rush of people, so many people, heading to the entrancement of the aquarium.

The maps we were given were a bit confusing. They talked about the aquarium being four floors which made it feel huge and I honestly walked back and forth along the path several times trying to figure out how to get up and see more, expecting the aquarium to be similar to the one in Osaka. It was not that big. Or at least it didn’t feel as big as the one in Osaka which is 8 floors in a spiral.

The Okinawa aquarium moves horizontally and rather gently. So you don’t notice moving between floors, especially with the size of the crowd. I feel like their route map found on their website for download here makes more sense then the one in the brochure I was given.

I was convinced that I didn’t have enough time to see everything in the aquarium so I sped past a lot of the stuff at the beginning like the touch pool called Life in Inoh. Inoh is a word in the Okinawan language used to describe “shallow water surrounded by coral reef”. While it’s a bit of a bummer that I missed out on seeing what they had —mostly starfish and sea cucumbers— eating and seeing the stars of the aquarium, the whale sharks, were the priority. So I sped through past the 4th floor straight down to the 2nd floor to eat at the Ocean Blue Cafe.

Because the aquarium is actually a lot smaller than I thought it was the crowds and congestion with getting around made sense. But if you have the time I highly suggest taking a break in the Ocean Blue Cafe, even if it’s just for a drink.

The Ocean Blue Cafe is located right next to the Kuroshio Sea. This is the star of the aquarium. It’s one of the world’s largest tanks and contains several whale sharks and many many manta rays just going about their business. The Ocean Blue cafe is located off to the side of it and allows, depending on your seat, you’ll have a stunning view to enjoy while you enjoy your drink or snack.

If you’re planning to spend your whole day at the Ocean Park here’s what you need to do. Before enjoying the touch pool, before checking out the whale sharks or anything else go straight to the Ocean Blue Cafe and make a reservation.

There are reserved seats and non-reserved seats available. The reserved seats require putting your name on a list as soon as possible and give you the best seats in the cafe, aka seats right up next to the tank. I think if you’ve got the time it’d be absolutely worth it to do. The wait, depending on how busy it is should be about thirty minutes.

If you don’t have the time then you need to watch the seats like a hawk before ordering and then put something down or have someone in your party jump on an available table as soon as possible. After you have a table claimed then and only then get in line to order.

They offer food, drinks, snacks and a few alcoholic beverages. If you want to know what their general menu or prices are check out their online menu here. The menu is in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. It’s fairly simple since they have the menu plastered onto the counter so you can just point to what you want. I was very hungry so I ordered the one Okinawan special I’d seen often but hadn’t tried yet: taco rice. I also ordered a melon soda. While normally I would’ve jumped on one of their ice creams I had already had pineapple ice cream for essentially a mid-morning snack. (And I still had plans to have more ice cream at Blue Seal)

While I wouldn’t say the taco rice was the best available on the island it was still good in my opinion. I miss salty foods so much living in Korea where most things are sweet and having non-spicy taco fillings on a bed of rice was so nice, even if it had liquid cheese on top. The taco rice was 610 yen and the melon soda was 310 yen. Items like forks, water, napkins and wet tissues are available as self serve next to where you pick up your food. This space is small and can get crowded. If you’re with a group I suggest having someone get all of that while someone else gets the food. Since I was on my own I just waited patiently with my tray and then balanced it all on the way to my seat.

I liked sitting there and enjoying the view. There were a lot of people however and not really any single person seating options, meaning I had a whole table to myself. I did however move all my stuff in case anyone wanted to join me, but no one seemed interested. I also think everyone was nervous about so many people being in such a close space shortly after the announcement of a big virus outbreak. So I also get it. (This was in late January before things became a pandemic.)

The reason why eating became such a rushed goal was that for our tour this 3 hour stop was where we were on our own for lunch. We had to eat here, there was no where else with time for a break to eat an actual meal. Snacks? Yes. Ice cream? Always. But an actual meal? Not really possible.

After my meal I finally relaxed a little. There was so much I wanted to do that there wasn’t time for so I focused on taking in the beauty of the whale sharks and seeing if it was possible to speed walk through the other floors not realizing I’d already traversed through them.

The tank with the whale sharks, aka Kuroshio sea, is made of acrylic that is 8.2 meters high (~27 feet) by 22.5 meters (~74 feet) wide and is 60cm thick. (nearly 2 feet thick!) The goal of this tank is to try and unlock the mysteries of the whale shark, several are housed in this space with the goal of breeding.

The other part of the aquarium that I enjoyed was the Journey into the Deep Sea. There is so much of the ocean that we don’t know or rarely get to see and they’ve managed to replicate that pressure, temperature and depth in order to display a lot of creatures we rarely ever get to see, especially alive. It was really cool to see them and learn more about animals I’d never heard of before.

Another part that was within this section that I enjoyed was the Ocean Planetarium which was about bio-luminescent fish and pretty much anything that glowed as if the stars had fallen in the ocean.

When I finally left the aquarium there wasn’t much time left. I still had to save myself about 20 minutes to get back to the bus because our tour coordinator had promised to leave people behind if we were not on time. (Getting back to Naha on my own would’ve included nearly two and a half hours of public transit or a very expensive hour and a half long taxi) So I bought myself a mango bubble tea and explored the outdoor free pools.

The aquarium is generally open from October through February from 8:30am until 6:30pm. The last admission is at 5:30pm. From March through September the aquarium is open at 8:30-8pm with the last admission at 7pm.

The aquarium is closed on the first Wednesday of December and the following Thursday.

The aquarium however does host The Night Aquarium. The Night Aquarium is from around January 12th through February 28th. Except for February 8th, 14th, 21st and 22nd. The Aquarium closes during the Night Aquarium at 9pm with the last admission at 8pm. Note that this is the information for 2020. If you want to go to the aquarium at night double check the dates it’s available.

Marine pools- Dolphins, Sea Turtles, Manatees oh my!

The first and last thing I did at the ocean Expo Park was visit the free sections related to marine animals. One was to see the dolphin show, which our tour guide had stressed out about making sure we got there in time to see it and the other was to wander past the sea turtles before leaving the park.

First off I don’t know how I feel about these pools. On the one hand I feel like the aquarium talked about how much of it’s effort was put into research and studying animals. On the other hand the ethics of a dolphin show is much: no, don’t do it. Yet if they were going to do it anyway whether I was there or not, for free, without charging admission I wanted to see it for myself.

Because I can’t speak Japanese and I don’t have a degree in marine biology or a deep understanding of dolphins and their needs I can’t say one way or another that the dolphin show or the places the aquariums kept their animals in were good or bad. I don’t know if these were all rescued dolphins who can’t live in the wild or if they were captured and were healthy. Not a clue. But what I do know is that I’ve never seen so many different types of dolphins before, like the false killer whale.

I’m use to the bottle nose dolphins that we see often enough when you look them up online. But these weren’t all bottle nose dolphins. There were so many different kinds that I hadn’t realized existed. Also all the kids and families around me and just the people in general seemed utterly delighted by the show. The show I watched took place at the Okichan Theater but there is also a dolphin lagoon where you can go and see the dolphins.

If the dolphin show is happening while you visit and you want to see it then what our tour conductor suggested was to buy lunch nearby and then take it to your seat so you can eat and watch the show, it’s one of the few spaces where bringing food and drink is allowed.

The other space I visited on my way out was the Sea Turtle Pool which just felt very very sad. The goal seemed once again to be breeding. There were lots of different turtles but with open air pools so you could look down on them which seemed unsafe for the turtles. There was nothing interesting in their pools and the pools themselves seemed rather small. Which is something I felt as well with the dolphins that the space seemed rather small for so many dolphins. But again, I’m not an expert. There were eight types of turtles: hawksbill, loggerhead, green, Olive ridely and black turtles

You do not need to buy a ticket to the aquarium to see the dolphin show, or visit the pools to see the sea turtles, dolphins or manatees. These are free.

Trolley

To save some time and energy if you’re planning to be the Expo Park for awhile or if there’s a lot to see you can take a trolley. If you want to take it once it’s 100 yen. If you want to take it more than once and get a day pass it’s 200 yen. It comes once every 5-30 minutes and has 13 stops though out the park. There are two different types of trolleys, one which includes a lift and three different routes. You can check out the map and the routes here.

Ocean Expo Park

The land the aquarium is on is the Ocean Expo Park. It was built in 1976 where the 1975 Okinawa International Ocean Exposition had been held. The park itself is huge at “70 hectares (170 acres) and stretches almost 4 km along the coast”. It houses a lot of things to do.

The Tropical Dream Center which costs 760 yen to visit and houses over 2,000 types of orchids as well as other types of flowers and fruit trees. It’s hours vary depending on season but it always opens at 8am. Last admission is at 5:00pm (It closes at 5:30pm) unless it’s summer (March-September) at which point it’s open until 7pm with last admission at 6:30pm. It’s a fifteen minute walk from the aquarium.

Tropical & Subtropical Arboretum is a space that its title says all. It’s a space full of tropical and subtropical plants. There’s also various services to learn about plants from books to tours to a Green Consultation Desk or even some plant crafting.

Banko Forest- I’m not sure if you’ve heard of the phrase “forest bathing”. It’s a term that comes from Japan, a phrase called shinrin-yoku and it essentially means to take in nature. Just going into a forest and enjoying it with all your senses. Not hiking, exercises or pushing yourself but just resting and enjoying it. I mean you don’t hike in your shower, right? Banko is a word that comes from Hatoma Island, one of the islands that makes up Okinawa, specifically part of the Yaeyama Islands. It means “describing a place where people take a nap or exchange information under the shade of a tree or on a platform set up in the tree, enjoying a pleasant breeze in summer.” It is essentially made for shinrin-yoku. It’s suggested as the spot to go for a picnic or moment of rest or to do some crafting.

The Tropical and Subtropical Arboretum and Banko Forest are about a 35 minute walk from the aquarium.

Native Okinawan Village and Omoro Arboretum – Almost every country has their own “step into the past” place for you to visit. This one is for Okinawa. The Native Okinawan Village is a “re-creation of an old community of the 17th to 19th centuries, during the Ryukyu Kingdom era.” The nearby Omoro Arboretum showcases plants from a famous old songbook called Omorosoushi. In this space you can take a lesson on how to play the sanshin (the snake skin three stringed banjo) as well as some dances, and learn about historical Okinawan life as well as get some free candy. It’s about a ten minute walk from the aquarium. It’s free to visit.

Oceanic Culture Museum and Planetarium – The theme of this place is “People traveled the ocean for a new world – culture developed in concert with the ocean,” and it showcases not just Okinawa’s travel and the cultural exchange among the Pacific ocean but also how they traveled and what they used and how they used the stars to navigate. It has a fee of 190 yen to visit and opens at 8:30am. It closes depending on season with Last admission is at 5:00pm (It closes at 5:30pm) unless it’s summer (March-September) at which point it’s open until 7pm with last admission at 6:30pm.

There’s also lots of beautiful green spaces and beaches to visit.

The Expo Park is open from October through February from 8:30am until 6:30pm. The last admission is at 5:30pm. From March through September the park is open at 8:30-8pm with the last admission at 7pm.

The Expo Park is closed on the first Wednesday of December and the following Thursday. There’s so much to do at this park I suggest giving yourself a full day.

Ocean Expo Park/ Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium 海洋博公園・沖縄美ら海水族館 This was our longest time at any place on our tour. We had three hours. One would think that's plenty of time to enjoy an aquarium.

#aquarium #culture #history #japan #Ocean Expo Park #okinawa #Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium #parks #travel #traveling with kids #沖縄美ら海水族館 #海洋博公園

0 notes

1310miles · 6 years

Text

Thirty One

Just days before the Baltimore Marathon, I was considering not doing it. We had such a busy fall season. I was exhausted from my volunteer work, previous marathon in Wyoming, and all the activities my family was part of. My head hurt thinking about coordinating and preparing my parents to take over for me and manage the lives of my over-scheduled kids while Brett and I traveled to Maryland.

On the other hand, taking a little vacation with Brett seemed like a good break and I had paid for everything already. Plus, I would be visiting my cousin and her family, and my aunt and uncle, so that was important.

Whereas most marathons are on Sundays, Baltimore’s race was scheduled for Saturday. Brett and I arrived on Friday and did the typically quick and uninspired expo visit to get my materials and then we relaxed in our hotel for the rest of the day.

Leading up to the race I had been so busy that I hadn’t put a lot of thought into my strategy or plan for the run. The hill profile was daunting: a long ascent over the first five miles, then back down for five, flat for eight, and then another gradual ascent for six. It’s very hard to anticipate how bad I will feel after a five mile hill, and equally difficult to know the toll a five mile descent will take. Also, a major long hill after mile 18 is very dubious. I could either feel great and storm up it or it could be so bad that it kills me.

In the morning I got up and put on my gear. I also drew the hill profile on my arm like I did in Seattle. Brett and I worked out his plan for spectating, and although it would be easy because he would be solo, we didn’t have a rental car, so transportation could be a challenge. He briefly woke up to tell me good luck, and in the dark hours of the morning I headed to the race. I had been warned that although it was only a mile to the starting line, Baltimore isn’t very safe, so I took a taxi. The poor driver had no idea that there was a marathon that day, so I felt bad telling him how messed up traffic was going to be for the next eight hours.

The starting line was outside of Camden Yards. I wanted the driver to get me as close as possible, but I was getting nervous seeing lots of runners going the opposite direction from where I thought we were supposed to go. I finally told him just to pull over, and I got out and asked where a group of people were headed. They looked at me like an idiot and said “the starting line of course.” I was very confused and concerned, but then a nice person said, “They are going to the 5k. You might be looking for the marathon start, which is around the corner by Camden Yards.” Thank you!

I was there pretty early, and not a lot of runners had gathered yet. The ballpark was open in one area for the use of the bathrooms, which was a welcome change from portapotties. Interesting to see inside the famous stadium too. The sun started to come up and after the announcements and anthem, we lined up and the race began.

To get out of the downtown area, we encountered our first hill. Then we headed straight for a long stretch up to the furthest west point of the course. Along this road I saw the neighborhoods that The Wire was based on. They must have filmed them on location because it looked just as it had on tv.

At mile three we turned into the zoo. The path got more narrow and went downhill a bit. This area was very scary for the wheelchair athletes who were trying to wind their way among the runners. Without space and with too much momentum, they were dangerously close of crashing. It was very unfortunate that many runners were wearing headphones and couldn’t hear the LOUD shouting of all the rest of us telling them to get over or to make room. It was very frustrating and could have been a terrible accident many times over.

Down in the zoo, we had a great group of spectators. A few zookeepers had escorted animals onto the course for us to see. Two penguins stood watching us, as well as a bunny, badger and kookaburra. It was so cute, but all I kept thinking was that those animals must think humans are crazy.

Out of the zoo and we begin the downhill segment of the race. It was a steep downhill, steep enough for me to really gain some speed. I had also run the first five miles fast, keeping a pace around 8:30 minute miles, so with the downhills I really started making my time look amazing. I was feeling great, and was starting to think this would be my day to possibly get a personal record. The weather was perfect- mild temperatures and the sun behind clouds. I had to keep in mind however, that the end was going to have a long hill and I would need to save some energy for that.

Again I had broken the race mentally into three segments of 8 miles. Around the end of the first segment, I saw Brett for the first time. Then we ran a little south of the city, around the harbor, and doubled back. As my loyal readers know, I like doubling back so I can watch the other runners. I was still feeling great and was pretty far ahead of the 3:45 pace group, which had me on pace to get my Boston marathon qualifying time. I came around back toward our hotel and saw Brett again at mile 13. At this point I told him that I was running too fast and would be slowing down soon. Also, I told him to have a shirt and hat ready for my change at the next spot I would be seeing him at mile 18.

I did start to slow down, both intentionally and because the end segment of the hills was upon me. They were really brutal, mostly because of the trauma of already running 16 miles and from the up and down hills in the beginning. Weeks before while I was volunteering at the Chicago marathon, I saw a few runners with cramps in their legs that prevented them from finishing the race, and I know some runners that this has happened to as well. I’ve always thought “no way that would happen to me, I would be able to finish any race.” But this time I was starting to worry. My hamstrings did start cramping and I had a moment of doubt. At that point I slowed my speed and I started accepting Gatorade at every aid station in hopes of replenishing whatever I could.

Mile 18 came and went and no Brett. I wasn’t completely heartbroken, as I would have been in other races when the kids were with him. And I wasn’t worried about him because I could tell that this race had traffic in Baltimore completely destroyed. There were back ups at every intersection I passed, and I saw a line of cars that went about two miles along one of the major streets. Also, one driver was laying on his horn for so long that I didn’t hear him stop, I only ran far enough away that I couldn’t hear the horn anymore.

The only issue with not seeing Brett was that I couldn’t change my shirt and hat. I will say the temperature had started to rise and the sun had come out. I wasn’t miserable but I would have benefited from the fresh outfit.

Around mile 20 we got to the northeast point of the course and we ran around a small lake. This was a good moment for me because I could see where I was starting and where I would be finishing for this mile. I realize now that at the end of the marathon, one of the biggest challenges is just not being able to conceptualize the distance. You lose perspective because six miles doesn’t seem like much compared to how much you’ve already run, but it is a lot. You expect the miles to go along faster, but they don’t. They are the same length as any other mile. By actually seeing the entire mile laid out in front of me, it made it much easier to get through.

But as soon as that was over, we were hit with another steep hill. This time I just had to walk it. I was exhausted and having a hard time making progress on the flat parts of the course. These end hills were just insulting.

By mile 23 and 24 excitement was building on the course. There was a lot of spectator support throughout the whole race, but these last few miles were very enthusiastically attended. The neighborhoods were really nice and it made the time go faster. I really get a lot of inspiration during the end of the race when people tell me I can do it or that they are impressed. I know they are strangers and they say it to everyone, but when you make eye contact with a spectator and they tell you something encouraging, it really can improve your outlook.

Running along at this point I also had a moment when I realized I was going to be done with 31 marathons! It really hit me that it’s such a huge accomplishment and that I’m getting so close to my goal.

Brett did find me again on the course, just when I thought I probably wouldn’t see him until the end. Turns out that he did have traffic problems with his cab and he literally missed me by one minute at the last stop. At this point, I didn’t see the benefit of changing clothes. I was trying like heck to get to the finish line by 4:00 and I didn’t want to waste any time.

Again, those last two miles are not easy. You think you can just gut it out but time stands still. I wanted to get in at four hours, and it hurt, but I did speed up as best as I could. A nice downhill into the city was also very helpful. I crossed the finish line and was so very pleased to be done, regardless of my time. In the end, my time was excellent as well, so that made for an amazing race day. I was so very happy that I decided to do the race and of course that I also got to see my Maryland family.

0 notes

twentysomethinginorlando · 6 years

Text

Wine & Dine Weekend Part Two: The Half Marathon

New Post has been published on https://twentysomethinginorlando.com/wine-dine-weekend-part-two-half-marathon/

Wine & Dine Weekend Part Two: The Half Marathon

Part One of the Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend covered Jay’s last minute sign up for the Half Marathon at the Expo and my running of the Wine and Dine 10K. Now for the fun part, the grueling 13.1 mile race that Jay didn’t know he was running until two and a half days prior.

I have long said the hardest part of doing the Challenges, where you run the 10K on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday, is getting up that early two days in a row. Thankfully the Half Marathon happened to fall on Day Light Savings Time so we gained an extra hour of sleep so the 2:20 a.m. alarm felt like a 3:20 a.m. alarm. It’s the little things in life.

Jay and I had attempted to figure out matching costumes we could piece together in time, but ultimately decided it wasn’t going to be worth the effort because it still wouldn’t be what we wanted. I busted out our Team Rocket shirts from the Color Run 5K. While not ideal, at least they would match. I gave Jay the Running Buddy I used the day before, and planned on wearing the new running belt I had just ordered. (My one complaint is that even at the smallest setting it’s too big for me. I’m going to get another one and give this one to Jay, it fits him perfectly!)

We left around 3:10 a.m. and arrived at Epcot just after four. This time I didn’t bother with going through the bag check, but security wanted to check the towel and space blanket I had for warmth. (At least I found the silly space blanket this time.) We jumped on the bus and this trip seemed to take twice as long as the one the previous day. They weren’t running the air or the heat, and it was just humid and stifling.

As soon as we got off the bus, we headed straight for the Start Corrals. Since we were in the last one, I wanted to make sure we were as close to the front of the corral as possible so we could hopefully get a few mini waves between us and the Balloon Ladies. (The Balloon Ladies are the unofficial timers of the RunDisney races. They are the last to start and run at exactly at a sixteen-minute mile. The sweepers tend to pick up anyone who falls behind them.) I’ve never been in the last corral before and it scared me. I dropped Jay off in the corral and went to use the bathroom, planning on letting him go after me. Good grief, I had never seen the line for the Port-a-Potties so long. I got in line just after 5 a.m. and they were on Corral B by the time I actually got to go. It was actually semi-hilarious listening to the announcers from the line, and during the national anthem, the only sound was the slamming of doors. I hurried back to my corral to find that it had shifted up, and Jay had obviously moved. I called him and asked him to hold his hat straight up in the air. Thankfully, I spotted him quickly and had to “pardon me, excuse me,” all the way through the crowd. There wasn’t time for him to go to the bathroom, and it wasn’t long before we were moving.

I missed this part, but apparently there was a conversation with one of the announcers with a newlywed in Corral A, whose wife was in Corral D. “She said it was fine! She didn’t want to slow me down!” “You’re new at this! That was a test and you failed!”

I don’t know who was more nervous, Jay or me. He kept saying, “You set the pace and I’ll follow you,” over and over again. My concern wasn’t actually his endurance, but how much longer his legs are than mine. This was not only Jay’s first Half marathon, but my first Half Marathon with another person. I have always run alone until the Color Run. Normally Jay just chases me around the course at the spectator points. I’m not used to having to accommodate for someone else, but my plan was the same as it always is: the harder you run at the start, the slower you can go later.

We crossed the Start Line at 6:10 a.m. I do my own version of run-walk intervals without a timer, and my “walk” is a power walk that’s almost as fast as some people’s run. Jay’s run is much faster than mine and I can’t hold a run as long as he can, but he can’t walk as fast as I can. It was a struggle through most of the course and I am determined to teach him to shorten his stride before we do one of these things again. Most distance runners take short steps, but his swallow the ground.

“I thought you were a treadmill runner before you met me!”

“I was!”

“HOW DO YOU DO TAKE THOSE STRIDES ON A TREADMILL!?”

“It’s easy if you set it fast enough!”

Well, that explains a lot. Currently the only use the treadmill really gets is when the cat sleeps on it.

Racing through Hollywood Studios.

The 10K course went past the first turn and then made a left down World Drive. The Half Marathon made the first turn and the marching band was in the same spot, but the course continued back towards Magic Kingdom to turn onto Bear Island Road. We had the pleasure of running past the Walt Disney World water treatment plant, but at least it was early enough in the day that the smell wasn’t too bad.

Just past the first mile marker we saw Tinkerbelle and a Fairy Friend. No idea who it was, I didn’t stop long enough to look. Just before mile two was a group of people and a camel wearing a fez. Not a real camel. I would have stopped if it had been. I couldn’t see them well enough to get any more detail, and I thought they were just random themed commentators like they sometimes have on the course. Spoiler alert, I was wrong but I wouldn’t learn that for another fifteen or so hours at the Post Race Party. Right before the third mile marker was Captain Jack Sparrow and Barbossa, and I asked Jay if he wanted to stop. I’ve met them both before, but he’s only met Jack and he loves Barbossa. He said to keep going.

Apparently, I shouldn’t have told him about the Balloon Ladies. He wanted to stop but was too worried about time to do so.

We hit the 5K marker and I stared at my Fitbit waiting for the text to come in. My mouth almost dropped open. Somehow, we were averaging thirteen-minute miles. That’s just about the fastest I’ve ever gone in a race. I knew we wouldn’t be able to keep it up however, and we dropped to a walk until we reached Animal Kingdom. Even then we didn’t start running until we made it out of backstage and into the park itself. We passed King Louie from the Jungle Book and kept going, then Rafiki followed by the dancers from Festival of the Lion King. Jay couldn’t believe I didn’t want to stop for them, and I would have if the singers had been out, but it was only the stilt walkers and a couple of the dancers.

The next portion of the course was a first for RunDisney as it turned out of Africa and took us into Pandora: The World of Avatar. I’ve been a handful of times now, but it has yet to get less impressive. Lots of people were stopping for photos, and I realized a lot of them were seeing it for the first time. That’s one of the things I forget about a lot during these races, I know every inch of these parks, but for a lot of these people it’s something they seldom get to experience. They had one of the drummers out instead of the usual trio, but it was still awesome. The course turned back towards the Tree of Life and then towards Dinoland U.S.A. We made a pit stop so Jay could use the restroom, and I insisted he use one in the parks because they’re so much easier than the Port-a-Potties. I waited for him and seized the opportunity to switch my eggs on Pokémon Go. Then we headed out towards the Animal Kingdom parking lot and Mile Marker Six. There was a whole slew of cheering volunteers stretching to the roadway and the 10K marker. I pointed the marker out to Jay and asked him if he could hold a fast run that far. He said yes so we took off. We hit the 10K with a pace of 15:36 per mile, much slower but we were basically half way there! There was another water stop just after that and more members of the Hogwarts Running Club with their “I’m not at the wrong park!” signs.

Then began the long, boring stretch of road between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. It’s about three miles with next to nothing in them. Just after the 8 Mile Marker was the food station, and it broke my heart. It’s usually the Cliff Bar gel packs, and this year it was jelly beans. I was so looking forward to the gel pack! Jay seemed happy enough with the jelly beans and I just kept going sadly. I guess I’ll buy my own for the next race.

Near the ninth mile marker were the penguins from Mary Poppins. They’re common on RunDisney courses, but Jay had never seen them before so we stopped. Their line was probably only five minutes long and they were so excited! It was hilarious because the character attendant was switching penguins, so there were four out at once and one of the ones that was leaving stopped to fuss over a Bert and Mary Poppins in line behind us. The character attendant stopped halfway back to the RV with this sort of, “Wait, I lost a penguin.” look on his face. It was our turn and we posed super quick, just relying on Photopass since I get all the downloads anyway.

Then we kept going and made our way to the Death Turn. This is where the course began to repeat and I was essentially looking at doing the second part of the 10K again. The Green Army Man was once again at the top of the hill barking orders. All that mattered to me was that meant I should see another repeat once we got to Hollywood Studios.

I managed to coax Jay into running down the hill. He had pretty much reached the point where all he wanted to do was walk. We hit the backstage water stop behind Tower of Terror and then climbed the hill to the Fantasmic amphitheater. Jay stopped off to use the restroom again, and I headed down the hill to see if a certain Lucky Rabbit was there again.

I was so happy when I saw those ears! I jumped in line figuring Jay would come join me. His line was about ten minutes long, compared to the probable twenty-five I had seen during the 10K. The previous day his backdrop had been the prop of a train and now it was a plane. I’m not familiar enough with Oswald cartoons to know if either is significant. A moment later I got a text from Jay that said he was in line for Oswald, and I looked behind me to see him about four people back. I laughed at him, “I’m up here, goof ball!” He joined me, and in no time at all it was our turn to see Oswald. I wasn’t taking any chances this time and we took pictures on both my phone and the Photopass camera. I wanted to hug him so bad, but I was soaked with sweat and didn’t want to do that to him.

We left Oswald and entered the park beside Tower to see several Bellhops taking photos and guests coming out of the gift shop. I checked my watch and realized Extra Magic Hours were going on, and the rides were operating. It took a little bit of prodding but I managed to get Jay to run through the park so our Photopass photos would turn out great. No one wants to see you walking in photos!

Genie was the only repeat character in a different spot. He was backstage at Hollywood Studios, but we pressed on, passing the long lines of guests waiting for the park to officially open.

We made our way through the tight areas of the Boardwalk where a DJ under the bridge was playing music so loud we had to cover our ears. By Atlantic City Dance Hall, they once again had the strange Italian women that were supposed to be a vineyard of some sort. I made Jay stop for a photo there because I thought it was hilarious. (Jay was born and raised in San Vito, Italy, for those who are unaware.) He found it much less funny than I did, and called it offensive afterwards. Admittedly, all I could think was about those Halloween memes about “I’m a culture, not a costume.” I don’t think I would have found it funny at all if it had been anything but Italians.

We rounded the corner heading to Epcot and I promised Jay, “We enter World Showcase between the U.K. and Canada and we go left and straight to the front of the park!”

No, Chelsea, that’s not what you do. He glared at me as we made a right and found ourselves running the length of World Showcase. They had a ton of characters out here, but they were all ones scheduled for the party. We passed Remy and Emile in France, Dopey in Germany, and Mushu in China. I’ve met them all before, and Jay just wanted to be done.

Here we have a happy Chelsea and a Jay questioning his life choices.

We made it to Spaceship Earth and Jay wanted to stop in for the restroom again, since he’d been drinking two to three cups of Powerade or Water at each water stop.

“We’re like a minute and a half from the Finish Line. Can you wait?”

“Oh really?”

“Soon as we go around this corner, there’s going to be a Gospel Choir and the thirteenth mile marker.”

Well, there was a marching band instead of the Gospel Choir but there was the marker for Mile Thirteen! We came around the bend and could see the Finish Line.

“I’m going to go when we hit the straight away. Are you good?”

“Go, I’ll follow.”

I tore off for the Finish Line, running as hard as I could. There weren’t any characters waiting to pose with you, like there were on the Princess Half, so I just booked it. He must have kept up with me, because by the time I stopped and looked back, he was across the Finish Line too, but according to the runner tracking, I was a full four seconds ahead of him.

We made our way to the medals and once again, they were handing them out instead of presenting them. I resisted the urge to huff, and we put them around our own necks. We continued down to the cooling towels, snack boxes and water bottles. For some reason, we kept getting handed drinks and wound up with three waters and two Powerades. I told Jay we’d have to split up so I could get my Challenge medal and he would have to just wait for me. At least that medal was presented correctly and the volunteer put it around my neck.

It was a long, slow shuffle out of the reunion area to the characters, where we got in line for Mickey and Minnie. Everyone else was a five-minute wait, but of course, they were half an hour. I didn’t care. We spent most of our time in line watching Goofy, who was dancing his heart out next to them since he didn’t have many people. We wound up going to meet him afterwards because he had so much energy.

I was literally bouncing while we were in line, trying to keep my legs loose, and Jay was just staring at me.

“How do you have so much energy?”

“You slowed me down just enough to not use it all!”

It’s true. It was one of my slowest times ever for a Half Marathon, and Jay honestly saved me from being a total wreck the rest of the day, because I never pushed myself to my limit.

Mickey and Minnie were super proud of us, but Goofy was the real hit.

We headed back to the car and headed home so we could try to rest up for the Post Race Party that will be featured in Part 3, where I finally encounter the famed Adventurers Club!

Stay up to date on all things Twenty Something in Orlando by subscribing to our newsletter or joining the Fan Club on Patreon! You can also find us on Twitter and Instagram!

#characters #disney #epcot #race #rundisney #Adventure Report #Running

0 notes

wordsmittenmedia · 7 years

Text

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO BOOK EXPO AMERICA AND BOOK CON

By Amy Edwards Assisant Editor WordSmitten Media, Inc.

New York City, New York – For three weeks, my life was nothing but an adventure.

This is my first summer free from college and I’ve traveled up and down the east coast, both for business and pleasure. Of all my summer experiences, this one rates highest and I’d like to dive into my first big city adventure: Book Expo America and BookCon 2017 in Manhattan.

Since I am new into the professional writing world, I was completely unaware of the BEA and BookCon. An annual spring event that usually happens at the Javits Convention Center in New York City, it is a rite of passage for authors (the expo might be considered the Super Bowl for many in publishing).

Despite occasionally moving to other big cities such as Chicago, Illinois, BEA tends to keep to its home in the Big Apple. No matter where the conferences is held, the Book Expo America and BookCon are major hot spots for publishers, acquisition editors, book executives, librarians (yes, they buy and review books), authors, literary agents, and book sellers promoting thousands of books that are tackling topics about the current trends.

Many attend BEA and Book Con to network with other professionals from all over the country as well as from a few other places around the world. And, like everything else in New York City, this event is massive. The number of attendees at the Book Expo every year can be anywhere from 17,000 to 29,000, so chances of finding a plastic seat in the food court to lounge in during down-times were slim to none.

I’m a simple person with simple dreams and in my 21 years, the biggest building I encountered is the SunTrust Financial Centre in Tampa before New York. If you believe I was quite terrified of the constant rushing atmosphere of not only the Book Expo, but of the city in general, you are correct. I would have loved to have a guide, you know, campers, here’s where your tent is, here’s where the kayaks are, and don’t forget to wear bug spray.

For all of my other writers and readers who have just gotten their feet wet in the literary world, here is a quick guide. You’ll discover how to navigate the Big Apple’s BEA, and how to turn this mountain of a marvel into an adventure that may not be an anthill but an enjoyable and memorable journey nonetheless.

Before we get to the actual Expo and Con, there’s definitely some preliminary planning involved. Here are important tips:

1. Buy your tickets early.

Although this is good for every event, this is especially important for the Book Expo and Book Con due to everything selling out so quickly. Without registering, you can’t exactly do anything at either event, so your ticket is—quite literally--your key to getting in through any of the doors at Javits.

And yes, I do mean tickets (plural), especially if you’re planning to go to both the Expo and the BookCon.

These events are run by the same team, but Book Expo and BookCon are presented for staggeringly different target audiences (and one ticket doesn’t assure access to both), so there are two separate passes to get.

For those of you who have press credentials—those who are my dear media friends out there—don’t procrastinate—apply early to get a press badge for Book Expo. With a press badge, you gain access and are able to get into the BookCon without a problem.

If you plan on going to any major events (such as any of the author’s breakfasts during the Expo), those require special separate tickets. You might be thinking, “Hold on, Ms. Amy: this is starting to hurt my wallet a little bit!” I won’t tell you that it’s not that expensive, but it certainly is worth it for all of the free books that are waiting to join the ones in your bookcases at home. Not only are these books free, but they are often times Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs), so you get to read them before the general public! Ten ARCs, at retail, range from $24.95 to $34.95. If you capture ten to 15 books, and if your math skills are current, you’ll realize you’ve covered the cost of entry to the event. Not to mention getting a selfie with “Barney” a.k.a. Neil Patrick Harris (older folks know him as Doogie Howser).

And just to sweeten the pot, the special events that cost extra feature celebrities. I had to still my beating heart when I read on the Expo’s website that Stephen King and Hillary Clinton were two of the many big name guests coming to the Expo.

I also had to dry many tears when I woke up on the second day of the Expo realizing that I had completely forgotten about buying the tickets in the first place! Regardless of my scatterbrained nature, I’m sure that I would have had to scramble to buy them anyway (since tickets like these do sell quickly), but as a wise woman once told me, “Do what I say, not as I do.” Do purchase your tickets early. Did I mention that?

Which brings me to my next point:

2. Know where you’re going.

I know it sounds simple, but for those who are not experienced with the boroughs of New York City (or another city like Chicago in the event that it moves again), I highly advise that you figure out how you’re getting there. Fortunately, I had some friends that were going to the event with me, so I followed them until I memorized where to go, but even then I still took some wrong turns every now and then. Even with the numbered streets and avenues, New York City is a labyrinth, so it’s quite easy to get lost in it.

If the BEA returns to New York’s Javits Center again next year--instead of Chicago’s McCormick Place--I have some wonderful news about the West Side of Manhattan. Line 7 opened up in 2015. It runs from midtown to the convention center, and it’s incredibly convenient. The subway line is new, as is the station, so it was pleasant—and swift—to ride from Times Square to the BEA’s front door.

The know-where-you-go tip could also apply to the Expo itself. The Expo (as well as the BookCon) is football-field large (three or more--almost an endless room) filled with publishers and exhibitors, so getting a map from the event staff is a must. Above some of the publishers’ booths, you’ll see signs for HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and PRH. For some of the exhibitors (small and unique presses like McSweeney’s), it’s still useful to learn of all the different publishers and authors that are participating. You might find some people that you recognize that you didn’t know were there! Like McSweeney’s.

3. Make a plan, but it’s okay to not stick to it.

Whenever I attend any kind of expo or convention, I like to make sure that I have a rough draft of an itinerary since there’s so many different events happening all at once. On the Book Expo site, there’s a complete schedule that’s up and available, so I combed through it again and again trying to figure out what panels and events were hot and which ones were not. For example, I had to wait an hour in advance to go see Neil Patrick Harris and Lemony Snicket (which was worth it, because I was one and a half round tables away from the men of the hour!), but later that afternoon, one of the publishing software panels nearly rocked me asleep. Next year, when the adrenaline from anticipation keeps me up at night before BEA, I’ll have to find a recording of executives spouting inventory jargon.

[Caption: From left to right, Neil Patrick Harris, Chris Harris, and Lemony Snicket]

Fortunately, with BEA’s thick teal program open in my hands, I quickly realized that this Book Expo was vastly different from the comic conventions that I’m so familiar with. Thanks to the color coded schedule of events, I figured out that some of the events were targeted to certain professions or specific aspects about the business of writing. I didn’t come to this conclusion smoothly either. Much to my innocent confusion, I didn’t quite grasp that the Edelweiss panels were for booksellers and publishers until I went to the second one.

I’m sure for the publishers and booksellers out there, Edelweiss is an organizational gift, but as a new player to the writing game, I was pretty lost half the time and couldn’t keep up with the bookselling terminology. I really regret not recording this lullaby track.

For the first few hours (or days), I was stuck in a predicament of not knowing what to do for decent stretches of the Expo. During these downtimes, I found myself roaming around the Expo floor or networking with other people. I realized that I enjoyed this wayward part of the Expo much more once I put myself out into the excitement.

For those of you who are sitting in your office chairs thinking the Book Expo is full of attendees wearing nice business suits sitting in cavernous professional meetings, I’m going to remind you that this is the Olympics for creative minds. There are plenty of different characters on and off the page at this event, but all of them are gathered there to celebrate books. There are no medals or anything like that, so there’s no point in not stepping out into the buzz, and I know that I would have regretted sticking to my usual wallflower routine.

Even when I was sitting off to the side trying to figure out my schedule for the day, I was able to strike up a conversation with an editor who I quickly learned loved the anime Yuri on Ice!!! as much as I did, and still do.

You’re going to meet wonderful people there, and not a single person I met over the four days I spent at both the Expo and the Con is boring. I even met a wonderful Belle cosplayer who had constructed Belle’s classic golden ball gown herself. If you’re going to try and make friends, I’m going to repeat this until my last days: never be afraid to say “Hello,” first.

If trying to make new friends isn’t quite your goal, the Expo floor is filled to the brim with all kinds of different authors and publishers just itching to pass out copies of upcoming books. A couple of the most memorable encounters for me included meeting Emily Rose Ross, the 13 year old author of The Canis Chronicles, as well as J.H. Sanderson, the author of the seven-part novel series Roadhouse Sons. Both were so kind as to give me copies of their first parts of each series, Blue’s Prophecy and Dangerous Gambles respectively.

From personal experience, I’m going to emphasize the importance of keeping your schedule open because of these friends that you may potentially make, or books you will potentially stuff into your tote. When I’m nervous, I tend to stick to my schedule like cooked cheese to a pizza pan, so I ended up missing out to grab a few beers at a party in Time Square. The best thing about New York is that you never have to drive, so as soon as I got the invite text on the late afternoon subway ride back to 191st, I immediately regretted sticking to the plan of retiring for the night. I could have been chatting up some literary agents and sipping on a cosmopolitan in the atmosphere of a New York bar on a Friday night, but I was stuck on the Red Line 1 with a woman who couldn’t understand that there is one track going Uptown. I held back the urge to grab onto her frizzy bun and state plainly that no, we can’t just back up and go around the police investigation going on three stops ahead so please stop shrieking every five minutes that this is inconveniencing you and making you late to meet with your boyfriend’s parents .I felt so sorry for her young boyfriend curled up in the seat next to her, face hidden in his blue cardigan. His ears were still red thirty minutes later when they were finally able to get off at the stop before mine.

For those of you who aren’t so socially inclined, this is also a great opportunity to observe and write. People watching is an excellent way to brainstorm ideas for your newest story, so I highly encourage time to sit and observe all the different people. Although I don’t recommend getting the pizza from the Javits, there’s two different Starbucks stores that you can hover around and people-watch. Why are they at the Expo? How do they feel about it? The possibilities for the amount of people that go to this event are endless, as are the backstories that you can make for them.

4. Learn how to say, “No.”

During the many escapades of the Expo floor, I have learned that people really want you to read their work. That should be obvious- if I worked on a book for so long, I would hope that people would take a look! However, the authors and publishing houses are there for the sake of spreading the word about their newest works. It’s honestly thrilling to receive free books from new authors as well as seasoned veterans, but it’s all fun and games until you have to leave the Expo. I’m pretty sure the strings on my canvas tote rubbed my shoulder raw from the weight of all the books I received, and whatever I had on my person was only a fraction of the 28 pounds of books I accumulated over the 3 day expo.

During Editor’s Buzzes, the staff hands out around 5 or 6 different up and coming books. There are books for sale in preparation for the Book Con in order to get them signed by YA authors. Authors and Publishers toss books for free left and right on the Expo floor. I even had the mother of an author hunt me down like a wolf because she saw that my badge said “Media.” If I had realized sooner that exhibitors translate “Media” to “I do free book reviews!” I probably wouldn’t have 28 pounds of books waiting for me to carry up to my third floor apartment—and no, we don’t have an elevator.

Someone even wrote on my box in black, bold Sharpie, “HEAVY.”

A major part of the reason I ended up with so many was that I also didn’t know how to say “No” to these people. Certainly, my own interest in some of the titles didn’t help, but that’s beside the point.. I’ll confess: if I know that it’s incredibly unlikely that I’ll meet the person again and they recommend that I do something, I’ll gladly agree but completely forget about that recommendation within the following five minutes. It’s not that I don’t want to read all of these books that I’ve been given, it’s just that I don’t know if I actually will. I’ve decided that next year, before I slip my book into my C-SPAN tote, I’m going to ask myself:

Will I read this book?

No— will I really read this book?

If I can’t genuinely say yes, I’ll refuse to take it. There are thousands of people that go to the Book Expo, so I’m sure that the books will find homes where they will be happily read over and over again.

Also, Freeman provides a shipping service on the bottom concourse, since they know we attendees are book lovers that can’t say no to all these free, wonderful books. Although the books are free, getting them home isn’t. For me, the cost of shipping my 28 pound library back home was more than $60, and my box was light in comparison to some others. Standing in line in front of me was a librarian with thick, black-rimmed glasses who told me, “Well, if you’re able to lift your box, you’re a lot better off than a lot of people.”

When I looked behind me, a short woman with wispy, white hair pulled three boxes behind her on a cart. My wallet could only cringe at the thought of having to pay the flat $40 fee three times, and then some for the weight.

Lesson learned: say “No,” and your back and your bank account will surely thank you.

5. If you’re going for the Expo floor, skip the first day.

Day one of the Expo is much more quiet than usual, which had surprised me. When I walked in, I thought that I had gotten there too early since the area outside of the Expo floor was on the empty side. I had expected thick crowds of people, but I only saw a few people wandering around. I thought, “Why is it that this place looks like a toy store on a school day? Much to my dismay, I quickly discovered that this is because the Expo floor isn’t open on the first day.

I was quite eager to get to the Expo floor; walking in the front glass doors and seeing the huge posters hanging from the ceiling for books and authors I loved (Rick Riordan, Cassandra Claire, to name a couple) made my heart race from excitement. However, when I approached the main entrance to the Expo floor, it was roped off and full of plywood. My afternoon was suddenly way more open than I needed it to be, and the only panel I really needed to go to was the Adult Fiction Editor’s Buzz.

Now I’ve come to the conclusion that the first day of the Expo is really only worth going if you’re going to the panels for that day, which even then there are very few. As me and twenty other attendees were shooed away, I could hear the many complaints in hushed, annoyed whispers. “I can’t believe I took a day off of work for this,” one disgruntled woman grumbled behind me.

Thus, I made a mental note to myself to dodge the Expo floor all together, go to an Author’s Buzz (if there is one that day), and head home.

6. Go to both events.

This is especially important for those going for the first time because the Expo and the Con are entirely separate entities. They’re aimed for different audiences, so the atmosphere around the Javits changes literally overnight.

The Book Expo is an event aimed at book sellers. Publishers and authors are trying to advertise their books to the book sellers or to the media in order to gain popularity and get a place in the market, so the crowd is much older and much more professional. While I was at the Expo, I believe the youngest person (after me) was at least five or six years older with much more professional experience. It’s quite fun and energetic, but the air is a lot more mature and business-oriented.

I would describe the BookCon as the Book Expo’s either younger sibling or inner-child. The BookCon is an event open to the public, so the crowd is much more casual than at the Expo (with my nice purple blouse and black slacks, I felt a little overdressed). Most of the authors at the BookCon are Young Adult authors (such as Joseph Fink, Rainbow Rowell, etc.) so I noticed a lot of teenagers were there, eager to meet their favorite authors. This was where I met the Belle cosplayer, Cait Jacobs, and I even saw a few other people dressed as Wonder Woman to celebrate the new movie coming out. Also, the books that are discussed at BookCon are ones that have already been published and released to the public, so sadly, the free books are also few and far between.

Therefore, I believe it’s almost necessary for people to go to each event at least once if they can. You may learn more about what you’re interested in or may learn what you’re particularly not interested in. If anything, I believe more exposure to the different genres can make readers and writers alike much better-rounded. At the very least, you can earn the experience and have an even better argument as to why you don’t like either event because you now have that first-hand experience under your belt.

7. Go back.

Of all of the things I’ve learned from traveling up to New York City, getting lost in the subway, shouting out my order at Pizza Suprema, and getting heckled by authors begging me to read their books about dogs and the history of the universe, I’ve learned that I love it. I absolutely love the energy in the air: the people in New York are just like people everywhere else. With the Book Expo, there’s book talk from one end of the Javits to the otherand everyone else seems to be enjoying what they’re doing too.

It reminds me of when I went to a comic convention for the first time, except instead of elaborate, home-made costumes, everyone wore nice clothes and had at least one canvas bag with “I’m a readaholic” printed on the front. Everyone was so passionate about what they were doing and even more so about learning what was happening in the literary world.

Even outside of the BEA, I found myself having a wonderful time. I was able to meet with Diana Finch of Diana Finch literary in order to discuss all the aspects of life as a literary agent (a goal that I may strive for in the future). I was also able to have a night out with Holly Brady, discussing the self-publishing industry over grilled chicken ceasar salad at the Hard Rock Café. We even got to go see Bandstand on Broadway, with seats that were not only cheap, but were in the center on the first floor of the theatre.

The Book Expo and BookCon have become two of my favorite summer events; I feel like my eyes have been opened to the huge world of writing, and I’m quite floored by everyone who made it all possible.

Thus my last piece of advice is to go back. This event is amazing and huge, and I know I couldn’t drink it all in by only going once. There’s so much to it that I want to go back so I know every piece of this event inside and out.

I missed a lot due to my own nervousness; I feel like I spent most of the week testing the water and by the time I jumped into the pool it was already time to leave. I want to go back so I don’t regret missing anything, and I hope that I can return again next year.

#BEA #Book Expo America #Book Expo #BEA 2017 #Book Expo America 2017 #BookCon #BookCon 2017 #New York City #New York #Neil Patrick Harris #Lemony Snicket #Chris Harris #Belle #Beauty and the Beast #Writing Conference #Bandstand #Bandstand musical #musicals #broadway

0 notes

eggutamaplz · 7 years

Text

Operation Klance Con: Day 1

So hey guys, if you’ve been following me for a bit, I have been hinting about this for a bit by now!

My friend Megan, AKA dis_lazy_otaku on Wattpad and I decided to collaborate together and write a Klance/Laith fanfic together as Team Voltron and a few buddies of theirs get to stay on Earth for a couple days and attend that year’s Anime Expo! (This is post-canon, by the way.)

If you decide to read this, be sure to click “read more”!

You can also find it over on Wattpad and Ao3!

Chapters 1 and 2 are ready for release. Chapter 2 will be out shortly!

Chapters 1 & 4 were written by Megan. Chapters 2 & 3 are written by me!

Enjoy Day 1!

Summary: Hunk and Pidge know of Lance and Keith's feelings towards each other, but the Yellow and Green Paladins couldn't do anything to get them to confess to each other. But then, after they defeated Zarkon and came back to Earth for a visit, the paladins got Anime Expo tickets for all four days for the whole team and decided to give their friends a little push.

Or, Team Voltron and and a few friends embrace their inner otaku and cry/ screech about their fandoms. It's better than it sounds.

Chapter 1: Day 1

The hot sun shining over them. All paladins exhausted. Princess Allura and Coran desperately try to assist the paladins in any way they could but whatever they did, they were still losing. Shay tries to find a way to help them but even their allies could not save them. They needed to form Voltron but the lions were separated from them. Keith could not find a way to contact Red and even if he did, Red wouldn't be able to reach him. Their last fight had put Green and Yellow under terrible condition so they wouldn't even be able fly more than 2 miles to them. Blue was captured and Black didn't have a paladin to fly them. their only hope was to form Voltron, but without it- "Coran, I don't think we need to form Voltron just to stand in line for our badges." Pidge states. "Even if Red didn't have a way to reach me.. Red would always find a way.. Always." Keith says fanning himself. "And there is no way in hell would I ever let Blue get captured by anyone other than me!" Lance says crossing his arms. "I'm sure Yellow would be okay, he just has a few scratches here and there. And he probably would like some food to eat. I know I would." Hunk says. "I'm still alive, Coran.." Shiro says awkwardly. Allura sighs and pats shiro on the back.

"Can I get back to the hotel? It's really hot out and a soak in the pool would be nice." Lance says. "Unless you want to lose your spot in line for the badges then sure but since we have to stick together as a group, we can't just leave." Pidge says. Lance groans and takes another sip of water from his water bottle. Pidge groans too because her feet was starting to get sore from all the standing around in line. Eventually Pidge looks at Hunk and give him a look. She soon texts him her idea and Hunk agrees to cooperate. "You know what, Coran? How about we do form Voltron?" Hunk says with a smile as he puts Pidge up on his shoulders. "Look who's short now!" Pidge says with a smirk as she looked down on Keith and lance. "Oh no you didn't Number 5," Lance says, "Keith! Get on my shoulders!" "What?" Keith says, confused. "You know what, who cares?" Lance says. Lance soon scoops up Keith in his arms and manages to get Keith up on his shoulders. Shiro, being too heavy for Pidge and Keith to carry by themselves and Hunk and Lance to carry all of them decided to try something else. "You know what, how about Coran be the head of Voltron for now?" He asks. "Wait, what?" Pidge says. Soon, Coran was now on Shiro's shoulders. "If only king Alfor could see me now." He says, glowing with happiness. Allura laughs at the sight and gets out a camera that Pidge gave her. She gets in front of them and then takes a picture of the six. As they continued moving forward in line, Hunk and Coran went to the food trucks nearby to get something for them all to eat. Soon they got into separate teams and started playing charades. As they got closer to the entrance, they could hear the dj making remixes and Hunk, Keith, and Lance decided to try a little dance routine as Pidge recorded the whole thing. After moving further ahead, Pidge, Lance, Keith, and Hunk decided to rest by the stairs while Allura, Coran, and Shiro kept their spot in line. "Hey Pidge, what should we do to pass the time?" Lance asked. "I dunno, maybe help Keith out with the cheer?" Pidge suggested. "Nah, it's pointless. Besides, the way we do the cheer with Keith is official now." Lance says. They think for a moment. "Maybe we should do some sort of bonding exercise?" Hunk suggests. "Like what?" Pidge asks. "How about some sort of imaginary laser tag?" Keith says. They all think for a moment. "Yes, that is genius." Pidge says. "SHIRO! COUNT US OFF FROM TEN!" Lance shouts as he ran off. Shiro chuckles and then counts. "TEN!" Pidge hides in a corner. "NINE!" Keith desperately tries to find a spot that is safe. "EIGHT!" Hunk hides on the other side of the stairs. "SEVEN!" Lance hides behind a wall. "SIX!" Keith think of what he should say when he's supposed to 'shoot' someone. "NUMBER FIVE" Coran shouts. Pidge cringed at the ridiculous nickname. "FOUR!" Allura take out her camera. "THREE!" Keith is running out of time. "TWO!" At one point, Pidge made modifications to her glasses to help her aim better. So she turns them on. "ONE" QUIZNAK! And the games began. Lance gets out from behind the wall and shoots Hunk. "POW POW POW!" "OH NO! YOU'VE GOT ME! GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD!" Hunk says dramatically. "Dude, you still have like 7 lives in this game." Lance says. "Oh right. My bad." Hunk says. "hey! Pay attention to the game!" Pidge shouts. "BACHOO BACHOO BACHOO!" She shouts "Awe come on Pidge!" Lance says as he continues the bad gun sound effects while aiming at Pidge. Pidge laughs as she runs around and gets Hunk next. Soon, the people around them start to stare. Hunk soon goes after Lance but then Lance notices something. "Wait, where's Keith?" He asks. "VOOOOLLTRROOOOOONNNN!!" The Red Paladin screams as he sneaks up from behind Lance and points his finger guns in his back. He takes out his phone and then presses play to a recording which happens to be one of the videos of Zarkon's screaming but in a high pitched, chipmunk voice. The 2 Alteans and 4 paladins stared at the space emo and people around them just stared with pure confusion or amusement. Eventually everyone starts bursting with laughter and Lance places a hand on Keith's shoulder, still laughing. "Oh my god Mullet. That was the best thing ever!" He laughs. Pidge comes down and slaps him on the back, "What the quiznak was that, Keith? AHAHAHA!" Pidge laughs. Hunk comes down and swoops them all up for a big old groups hug. "I just love how we're all bonding together and having a great time." He says. Space Dad looks at them, proud of his little kittens for getting along so well. Eventually the line moves up and Coran calls them back. When they got inside, they got many things like free Crunchyroll bags, posters, magazines, and fans. Eventually they even took pictures of or with some really cool cosplayers. When they got to the exhibit hall, they decided to walk around and buy things. At one point they lost Shiro again so Allura and Coran went looking for him. Pidge was interested in the cosplay or art tech there was for sale, Keith was interested in the cosplay swords and weapons, Hunk took a liking to the food plushies, Lance found some very nice beauty products, Coran stayed at a booth to learn how to draw manga and learn about it, Allura found Shiro and luckily bought a leash to keep him on. They took photos with the props or sets that were around the area, they got posters signed by the creator of the anime or manga that was on the poster, Pidge and Lance almost spent all their money on the games they had for sale but Shiro found a way to stop them. Eventually they passed a photo booth and Keith kinda got drawn to it. "Hey Pidge, what does that thing do?" He asks. Pidge adjusts her glasses and then says, "It's a photo booth. Except this one can take pictures of you in a scene of an anime or manga of your choice. Like there's some Dragon Ball Z scenes, and Fairy Tail scenes, and Yuri on Ice scenes, and-" "I think we get it Pidge." Lance says, "Now let's step inside that booth!" They all stood in line for the booth and Pidge kept on rambling about what scene or anime they should be in when taking pictures in the booth. It's a good thing Shiro knows how to handle his kittens or else it would take years for them to choose what scene they should be in for the photos. "Quiznak, I'm wearing green and there's a green screen all around us." Pidge says. "Who cares, Pidge? Now what scene or anime should we choose." Lance asks. Coran and Allura seemed confused about this strange earth pod, it takes pictures instead of healing people. It was very different from Altea. "Hmmm, let's see... Hunk, blindfold me." Lance said. Hunk took his headband and wrapped it around Lance's eyes so he couldn't see a thing. Lance soon hovers his fingers in front of the screen to choose an anime randomly and then the finger of fate told them they were taking pictures in a Yuri on Ice scene. "Sweet! Yuri on ice!" Pidge says. "I should try cooking some katsudon when we get back to the castle." Hunk says. "What is a Yuri on Ice?" Keith asks. Lance hands back Hunk's headband and he wrapped it around his head again. "Everybody say Voltron!" Lance says as the photo booth was counting off when it would start taking pictures. "VOLTRON!" Everyone says. "Vol..tron?" Keith says after. The first scene was in the hot springs when Yuuri and Victor first met. Lance let his jacket slide off one of his shoulders and gave the camera a seductive look. Allura and Coran got confused and stared at the camera with a small smile. Keith gave Lance a disappointed and disgusted look. Hunk looked around like a lost child. Shiro shielded Pidge's eyes from the Yuuri and naked Victor that was edited at the side of the photo. Allura stepped out of the booth to get some fresh air, it was quite crowded in the booth. The second scene was of Yurio performing Agape. Lance posed like Yurio at the beginning of the choreography. Keith posed like Yuuri performing Eros. Coran, now getting the idea of what he was supposed to do, posed like Makkachin. Hunk and Shiro gave the camera a pose of them smiling like Victor's heart smile. Pidge got to the front of them all and put her hands together as if she was worshipping or praying to the Yurio being edited in the corner of the photo. Coran and Shiro stepped out to find Allura and give the other paladins some time to themselves for pictures. The third scene was when Yuuri got drunk and started having a dance battle or pole dancing with everyone. Lance put his arms around Hunk and Keith while acting drunk and posing a sexy pose. Pidge got some of her money and started throwing it at them like it was some sort of strip club. Keith got pushed to the back where he was giving everyone a wtq (what the quiznak) look. While Yurio was right next to him, making the same face. After that, Hunk decided to leave, giving the others their space and letting Pidge handle the Klance. The fourth scene was of Phichit taking a selfie with the others. The background showed most of the Yuri on Ice characters posing for the selfie so they decided to pretend they were a part of the selfie themselves. Pidge did the glasses thing most anime characters with glasses do, Keith stood next to Yurio who had cat ears and quickly transformed into a galra so it looked like he had cat ears, Lance stood next to Phichit and also made peace sings with him. After that, Keith changed back to a human and Pidge left but before leaving the booth, she pushed Lance onto Keith and then ran out of the booth as fast as she could. At that moment, the picture was taken and the scene that was there was when Victor and Yuuri kissed. Their faces were red and surprised. Their lips only a few inches apart. Keith found himself so lost in Lance's eyes that he didn't even notice when Lance got off of him and apologized. "Uh, sorry for that." Lance says looking away while scratching the back of his neck. Keith looked down with his face all red and said, "Well, it wasn't completely your fault." They stood there for a moment until Allura came in to check on them. "Keith, Lance? Are you going to come out to see the photos this earth pod took?" She asks. Keith and Lance calmed down and then went outside to get their own copy of the photos. Pidge and Hunk gave each other a high five while looking at the last photo. Shiro wasn't too happy to see the photo they took when he left the booth. But since it was their first time back on earth ever since they found the Blue Lion, he decided that he'll keep quiet until after Anime Expo. "Hunk, Princess? Is that you?" A familiar voice said. "Shay! I didn't know that you were here on Earth too!" Hunk says. Pidge and Lance looked at the two with very mischievous faces. They were happy to see that their best friend is finally going to have time to spend alone with his "girlfriend". It turns out that Matt brought Rax and Shay to Anime Expo since Shay wanted to know what other planets were like. They soon joined the groups together and were on their way. Matt and Pidge, being the ones with a Crunchyroll account; demanded that they go get the free Crunchyroll merch. When they got into the room, there was the line for the free bags, the line for the free posters and wristbands, the dj playing music from the soundtracks of many different animes, TV's showing trailers and teasers of different animes, and some props and sets from different animes to take pictures with. Matt and Pidge went in line to get the bags, Shay, Hunk, Shiro, Allura, and Coran took pictures with the sets, Keith, Lance, and Rax looked around the entire room. When Rax saw the Colossal Titan's head he was very confused and surprised. "How could you skin and decapitated a giant creature like this?" he asks. "Don't worry Rax, it's a fake. Besides, the anime this head is from is bad. He like, eats earthlings and breaks down the walls that the earthlings made for protection?" Lance says with an arm wrapped around Rax's shoulder. When they walked over to the dj, a very depressing and familiar song started playing and the paladins fell to the ground, sobbing and making a scene. "Katie?! What's wrong?!" Matt says worried that his little sister has collapsed. "It's just so sad!" she says. Matt listened to the music for a little longer until he realized what anime it came from and then fell to the ground with Katie too. Keith cradled Lance in his arms as they sob while watching the TV. Hunk hugs Shay and she holds him close while patting him on the back. Shiro just stared at the ground intensely like as if he was at a funeral. "Why did she have to die?!" Lance cries. Keith handed him a tissue and just held him closer as they watched the trailer for Your Lie in April. Rax just sat next to them and watched the TV, trying to understand what was wrong. When the trailer was over, Matt, Pidge, and Hunk stood back up. Keith and Lance sighed. 'Finally, it's over,' they thought. "Oh my, who knew that the paladins of Voltron were such cry babies?" an unwanted voice said. Lance looked to the side and glared at the prince. "Lotor?! What the quiznak are you doing here?" he says angrily. Lotor ignored him and faced the Red Paladin who was glaring daggers into Lotor. "It was about time you came out to the universe." He says looking at them. Lance and Keith looked at him for a moment and then themselves to realize what position they were in. They soon went apart, focusing their glares on each other. "Shut your quiznak.." Keith mumbled, with a blush. "You still didn't answer my question!" Lance exclaimed. "Ah yes, after you defeated my father, I decided to travel from planet to planet. My father did conquer most of the known universe but he forbid me from seeing most of it. So I decided to be a traveler and visit earth first!" Lotor says. "Okay but what are you wearing?" Keith asks. "Oh this cosplay? Don't you know the character?" He asks, striking a pose. Lance, Rax, and Keith shook their heads no. Lotor, who was now frowning, face-palmed and said, "I am a Roman general. Or Germania from Hetalia dressed as a Roman general." "Hentai what?" They say at the same time. "Not hentai! It's not Hentai, it's He-ta-li- okay you know what? forget it, My cosplay is far more fabulous than you bitches' cosplay." Lotor says as he storms out with his cape flying behind him. "Lance! Keith! We got our stuff so let's go now. Wait, was that Lotor?" Pidge says looking at Lotor leave the room with his Galra generals making his cape fly with fans and a blow dryer. Allura shook her head at the sight and they soon decided to leave Anime Expo and head back to their hotel. Shay, Rax, and Matt left in their car while the paladins and Alteans went in a van back to the Hotel. Shiro was the driver, Allura sat next to Shiro, Keith and Pidge took the middle seats, Hunk, Coran, and Lance sat in the very back. "Which station should we play?" Shiro asks. "Can we play 106.7?" Keith asks. "Sure" Shiro says. Shiro switched to that radio station and the first song that popped up got Shiro saying, "Oh no" and Keith's Galra ears popping out and perking up. Pidge and Lance smirked and Hunk gave one of his angelic smiles. Pidge took out her phone and started recording. The future is bulletproof The aftermath is secondary It's time to do it now and do it loud "KILLJOYS, MAKE SOME NOISE!" Keith shouts. Keith loudly sings and opens the window of the van and intensely head bangs. Pidge, Lance, and Hunk finds this very amusing and Shiro looks like he's been through hell and back. Much to Shiro's dismay, the three other paladins sang along to the song with Keith. Allura found it strange but since they were bonding and having a good time, she didn't mind. Coran, on the other hand was terrified because during his emo stage, he listened to Altean classical music rather than this music which happens to be very different, loud, and upbeat. "DRUGS, GIMME DRUGS, GIMME DRUGS! I DON'T NEED IT, BUT I'LL SELL WHAT YOU GOT!" Keith screams out the window. "TAKE THE CASH AND I'LL KEEP IT! EIGHT LEGS TO THE WALL!" Lance sings after. "HIT THE GAS, KILL THEM ALL!" Pidge continues. "AND WE CRAWL, AND WE CRAWL, AND WE CRAWL!" The Four paladins sing together. "YOU BE MY DETONATOR!!" Hunk says after. "LOVE, GIMME LOVE, GIMME LOVE! I DON'T NEED IT BUT I'LL TAKE WHAT I WANT FROM YOUR HEART!" Lance sings. "AND I'LL KEEP IT IN A BAG" Hunk sings. "IN A BOX" Keith continues. "PUT AN X ON THE FLOOR!" Pidge sings loudly with Keith. "GIMME MORE, GIMME MORE, GIMME MORE!" They all sing together. Keith sticks his head out the window and shouts, "SHUT UP AND SING IT WITH ME!" "NA NANA NA NANA NA" "FROM MALL SECURITY!" Hunk sings "NA NANA NA NANA NA!" "TO EVERY ENEMY!" Keith continues to head bang while playing an imaginary guitar. "NA NANA NA NANA NA!" Suddenly Matt drives by next to them and opens his window and screams, "WE'RE ON YOUR PROPERTY!" They laugh and then sing, "STANDING IN! VOLTRON FORMATION!!" "NA NANA NA NANA NA" "LET'S BLOW AN ARTERY!" Keith shouts. "NA NANA NA NANA NA" "EAT PLASTIC SURGERY!" Pidge shouts and points at Shiro's arm. "NA NANA NA NANA NA!" "KEEP YOUR APOLOGY!" Lance shouts after "GIVE US MORE DETONATION!" They all shout after. "MORE GIMME MORE, GIMME MORE!" "Oh, let me tell you 'bout the sad man" Pidge sings with her arm on Keith's shoulder, pointing at Shiro. "Shut up and let me see your jazz hands" Lance pops up behind them and shows off his jazz hands "Remember when you were a madman" Hunk says. "Thought you was Batman" Keith replies. "AND HIT THE PARTY WITH A GAS CAN!" Matt screams. "KISS ME YOU ANIMAL!" Keith sings. "NA NANA NA NANA NA!" "YOU RUN THE COMPANY!" Keith says pointing at Allura "NA NANA NA NANA NA!" "QUIZNAK LIKE A KENNEDY!" Lance and Keith sings. "NA NANA NA NANA NA!" "I THINK WE'D RATHER BE!" Lance and Hunk sings "BURNING YOUR INFORMATION!" Keith shouts after. "NA NANA NA NANA NA!" "LET'S BLOW AN ARTERY!" Lance shouts while making little guns with his fingers. "NA NANA NA NANA NA!" "EAT PLASTIC SURGERY!" Hunk shouts while passing some chili cheese fries he bought at Anime Expo. "NA NANA NA NANA NA!" "KEEP YOUR APOLOGY!" Pidge yells. "GIVE US MORE DETONATION!!" Keith, Lance and Hunk sings. "Come on Shiro! Join us!" Pidge tells Shiro. Shiro sighs, "Fine." The team screams with delight and then Shiro clears his throat and says, "And right here, right now. All the way in Battery City. Little children raise their open, filthy palms. Like tiny daggers up to heaven." Keith pretends that his ceremonial Blade was a guitar and while also singing the notes in the background. "And all the juvee halls, and the Ritalin rats. Ask angels made from neon and quiznaking garbage scream out, 'What will save us?' And the sky opened up." "Everybody wants to change the world" Lance sings. "Everybody wants to change the world" Hunk continues. "But no one, no one wants to die" Keith sings "Wanna try, wanna try, wanna try, WANNA TRY, WANNA TRY, NOW!" They all sing. "I'LL BE YOUR DETONATOR!" Shiro shouts. They all decided to bang their heads with Keith strumming his blade and Lance's bad sound effects. Coran and Allura, finally getting the idea tried to sing what they knew. "NA NANA NA NANA NA NANA NA NA!" "MAKE NO APOLOGY!" Shiro sings and bangs his head as his white hair flies all over the place. "NA NANA NA NANA NA!" "IT'S DEATH OR VICTORY!" Keith shouts with his blade in the air. "NA NANA NA NANA NA!" "ON MY AUTHORITY!" Hunk sings. "CRASH AND BURN!" Lance sings after. "YOUNG AND LOADED!" Pidge continues. "NA NANA NA NANA NA!" "DROP LIKE A BULLET SHELL!" Lance shouts. "NA NANA NA NANA NA!" "DRESS LIKE A SLEEPER CELL!" Hunk, Lance, Pidge, and Keith yell out the window. "NA NANA NA NANA NA" "I'D RATHER GO TO KEITH!" Lance sings. "THAN BE IN ZARKON'S PRISON!" They all sing. "CUT MY HAIR!" Pidge shouts. "GAG AND BORE ME!" Hunk sings! "PULL THIS PIN!" They all sing. "LET THIS WORLD EXPLODE!!" Keith finishes off. After the song was over it switched over to the commercials and everyone in the car started bursting with laughter. It was nice being back on your home planet without having to worry about any aliens coming to ruin the moment by trying to destroy planets. They continued to sing along to other songs and jam out to it as if they were the performers at a concert. When they got to the hotel, Shiro parked the car and they walked in. They got into the elevator and noticed that their room was on one of the higher floors so to pass the time they recreated the elevator scene from the live action of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They had 3 rooms booked for the 7 of them. Pidge and Keith were in one room, Lance and Hunk in another, and Shiro, Coran, and Allura in another. They refused to let Shiro have his own room because they don't want him to disappear again. After they got settled in, they decided to go eat in the buffet. Hunk liked that very much. Pidge liked that there were peanut butter cookies. Keith liked the spicy foods they were serving. Lance flirted with some girls from across the room and ate lots of cake and fruit. Coran and Allura tried everything Hunk recommended and now Coran understands why they didn't like the paladin lunch he would make them. After eating, they went to the spa that was in there and get foot massages. Standing in line for 5 hours is a pain. Pidge, Allura, and Lance liked it very much cause they styled their hair and gave them facials. Pidge's hair had grown quite a bit so she got a trim. Allura got her hair styled with braids and curls. Lance got his hair styled with some gel (similar style like Jeremy Shada). Shiro just came for the massages. Keith and Hunk liked the treatment very much. It helped relax them a lot. Coran got to try out new styles for his mustache. After the spa, they went back to their rooms but instead of going to their separate rooms they went to Shiro, Allura, and Coran's room. Since there was a couple of more hours left of the day, they decided to binge watch Netflix. Keith wanted to watch The Walking Dead, Allura didn't want to watch Netflix and wanted to see what Steven Universe was, Lance agreed with Allura but he wanted to watch Adventure Time, Pidge wanted to watch Scream, Hunk wanted to watch Monsters University, Shiro wanted to watch Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, and Coran wanted to watch Trolls. They fought for a bit about which show or movie to watch but eventually Pidge won that battle because of her sassy comebacks. She is the Space Sassmaster of the group. They all watched Scream intensely, trying to figure out who the heck is the killer. "Come on Keith, the killer is obviously Keiran!" Lance argues. "No Lance, it has to be that perverted teacher." Keith says. "Wait, what if the killer is Noah?" Hunk asks. "What?! No Hunk, the killer isn't Noah. Why would he kill Riley then? They liked each other a lot! And they were so cute together why the heck did she have to die?! Besides, he was video chatting with Riley as she was dying and wasn't he in that little shop or something?" Pidge says. "How about Brandon James? Wouldn't he be the killer? I mean lots of horror movies and shows deal with ghosts and stuff so maybe Brandon James actually did come back." Hunk says. "No, this show is way too realistic for that so I don't Brandon James came back." Shiro says. "Wait, come to think of it, they never did find the body so it could be Brandon James but doesn't Keiran give you that weird killer vibe or something? He is the killer, there's no doubt about it." Lance says. "How about you all stay quiet and just keep watching to see who the killer is." Allura says. They all agreed and then continued watching. They never got to finish though because things got too scary and gory. Since they were too spooked to go to sleep, Pidge put on a few Disney movies to help. It seems to have worked because soon, Allura and Hunk fell asleep right on the spot. Soon Coran and Pidge fell asleep. Keith and Lance tried to have a contest to see who would fall asleep first but they never knew who won because they fell asleep at the same time. Shiro, being the last one awake turned off the TV and put blankets over them all. Goodnight little paladins of Voltron.

#voltron #voltron legendary defender #vld #fanfiction #klance #laith #anime expo #operation klance con #fic: okc #egg fics #egg's random rambles #i just love my children okay

0 notes