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kale-theteaqueen · 6 months

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The Humble Art of Gift Giving

SO Thrilled to participate in my first ACOTAR Secret Santa with @acotargiftexchange! I absolutely loved writing this piece for @danikamariewrites. Everyone check out her work if you haven't already, it's amazing! I hope you enjoy this piece of Nessian Christmas Fluff! Merry Christmas, TTQ <3

Summary: Nesta loves giving gifts. Takes pride in it, actually. Especially at Christmas. She's had her list of potential options for her family ready for months now, and all that she needs to do now is actually buy them. And therein lies the problem. What if they aren't good enough? What if they're cheesy or off the mark? Nesta's gifts are always perfect, and this year will be no exception. Cassian knows this, and loves her for it. But her biggest challenge this year isn't shopping for family. It's getting a gift for him. Especially when she makes it her personal mission to top the previous year's presence. Luckily, all it takes is a quick trip to the local Christmas Market to give her the inspiration she needs.

Read Below or on A03!

Feyre.

Elain.

Cassian.

Gwyn.

Emerie.

Azriel.

Rhysand.

Lucien.

Amren

Morrigan??

Nesta scowled at the Excel sheet in front of her, at the blank squares that needed filling. It was December 16th, and there were still too many open-ended questions. Feyre was getting new paints, ones she specifically asked for, and were linked accordingly in her designated row, highlighted in a soft green to indicate she’d purchased them. Elain was receiving a set of earrings and a necklace made of pressed flowers, also highlighted in green.

And Cassian, well…

There were many, many links in his row. Options upon options. But nothing felt good enough.

Nothing felt good enough for Gwyn either, nor Emerie or Azriel. Links to Etsy shops, indie bookstores, and, regrettably, even Amazon filled the sheet, but they were all white, the category marked ‘Purchased?” painfully blank. And she hadn’t even begun to consider what she should purchase her extended family of sorts.

They always did this holiday together, making a big bash out of it, and every year since Feyre and Rhysand got married, and especially since she and Cassian had gotten engaged, she was presented with the same dilemma.

What did she get them? Would they even bother to get her anything?

Apparently, they were, or at least that’s what Feyre had claimed, when she asked. Her sister jumped on any chance to have a big happy family, and though it took significant effort and trial and error, she more or less had it. Nesta just didn’t know quite where she fit in.

“Sweetheart, your food is going to get cold.”

Nesta raised her eyes from her laptop, frowning at her fiancé, who was smiling knowingly at her from the other end of the couch, a bowl of pasta in his hand. She should have been working on the next book in her series, the manuscript open in a separate tab. Her last book may have only been out for about a week, but even still, deadlines were deadlines. If only Nesta had actually written anything in the past two hours.

“I gave you twenty more minutes, as promised.”

With a sigh, Nesta sat up straight, closing her laptop and evaluating his latest creation in front of her. Pesto, with fresh pine nuts and fusilli pasta. Gods, she didn’t deserve him when he made dishes like this. Especially when he had to pry her away from her writing. Or at least, what was supposed to be writing.

“How’s the Christmas list coming?”

Ah, he knew her too well.

“I just don’t know what to do,” She said, taking her first bite and practically melting at the taste in her mouth.

Cassian hummed knowingly, more than aware of how meticulously she planned Christmas presents. She collected links for months, bookmarking random Instagram ads or TikTok promos. But when it came to actually purchasing them, to deciding on what was good enough, she often lamented for weeks.

“We’re going to the market tomorrow, right?” He asked. “I’m sure we’ll turn a few more of those lines green.”

“I suppose,” Nesta said quietly, lifting a hand to push her glasses farther up her nose. A new development, one she still wasn’t quite happy about. But spending time reading in the dark had its consequences, apparently.

“We won’t leave until we’ve got at least the rest of the family knocked off.”

“Maybe it’s stupid, and I should just get them all gift cards or something.”

“You hate giving people gift cards, Nes.”

Nesta sighed, leaning back against the cushions. “But if they don’t even like me, then why would they want a gift from me?”

Cassian stretched out his leg so his foot could nudge her calf affectionately. “They like you, sweetheart. All that tension has been resolved, yeah? Mor was just telling me that she was excited to see you and hear about your latest book.”

Nesta frowned, stirring her fork around her bowl of pasta. It was true, the animosity that defined a lot of her relationship with Feyre’s found family was largely gone after months of working out past traumas or grief. Now, a year and a half later, Nesta was three books into a successful series, and happily engaged to the man beside her, who continued to look at her with nothing short of affection in his eyes, despite her anxiety.

“You’re right,” She replied. “I just…”

“Want it to be good enough?” Cassian supplied, scooting closer.

She nodded as his arm slid around her shoulders, pulling her comfortably against his chest.

“Your gifts are always so thoughtful, you know,” He replied. “Mor wears that charm bracelet you got her, with all of our initials, almost every day. I think the only competition you have is yourself, baby.”

Nesta huffed out a soft laugh, nestling into his shoulder. “I just want everything to be right.”

Cassian tipped her head up, kissing her softly. “I know. Tomorrow, Nes. We’ll get it all wrapped up, tomorrow.”

---

The Christmas Market was crowded, families and individuals alike scouring the stalls for the perfect, unique gift for their loved ones. Nesta watched them from her spot near the entrance, a cup of hot chocolate in one hand and a map in the other. In her pocket, her phone sat ready with her meticulous list of gift recipients.

“Alright,” Cassian said, looking over the page listing all the vendors. “Should we start from the right and snake our way through?”

Nesta nodded, her eyes scanning intently over the seemingly endless number of shops. There were at least twenty candlemakers, local artists, even a bonsai tree shop. The wheels in her head began turning, and she began making mental notes of who would be most interested in which items.

But before she could delve too deeply into her analysis, Cassian slid his arm around her waist, squeezing just enough that she looked up at him.

“Try not to look so serious, sweetheart. We’re supposed to be merry.”

Nesta huffed, but took a step forward towards the shops, holding out a hand for him to take. “I am perfectly merry.”

Cassian laughed, a bright and melodic sound that often was the only thing to pull her out of dreary moods. “Of course. The most festive woman I know.”

Rolling her eyes, she couldn’t help the smile that tugged on her lips. Pulling him forward, she entered the first aisle, taking in the first few shops. On careful steps, she approached a woodworking tent, eyeing the various cutting boards, cheese platters, and handcrafted pens. They were all beautiful, but nothing caught her interest or fulfilled the basic requirement of what she considered to be a perfectly tailored gift.

That is, until her eyes caught on the end of the table, at the line of puzzle boxes. She smiled, running her fingers over a medium sized one, assessing the various cogs and gears within.

Amren did mention needing something new to fidget with.

Pulling out her phone, Nesta filled in the tiny woman’s row, and flagged down the shop owner.

With one gift down, her confidence boosted, and she strode down the path towards the next few stalls with a small smile, eyes scanning over the various handmade jewelry, knitwear, and blown glass. Cassian wasn’t too far behind, though his attention was typically scattered in these kinds of environments. More often than not, she’d turn and find him gone entirely, entranced by a tent in a different aisle.

He grinned at her when she caught his eye, holding up a knitted flower hat, small and definitely intended for a pet. Immediately, her mind drifted to Azriel’s beloved twin black cats. And, more acutely, how horrified they’d be at the prospect of being dressed. Rolling her eyes, she smiled amusedly at him and shook her head before continuing on her way, knowing full well her fiancé would try and convince his brother to put them on anyway.

As she looked through each row, the time seemed to fly by, with her list slowly but surely getting smaller and smaller. As she reached the center of the market, she finally looked down at her phone to take stock of what she’d thus far acquired:

A set of blown glass flowerpots for Elain.

A cocktail smoker set for Azriel, paired with a bottle of locally distilled whiskey.

An old map of the city for Rhysand.

A set of handmade wooden ballpoint pens for Lucien.

Which left Gwyn, Emerie, Morrigan, and, of course, Cassian.

She hadn’t found anything remotely good enough for him. Everything was either something she’d already done, or found too tacky, or cliché. It had to be personal, thoughtful. Something no one else would think of.

The closer she got to reaching the end of the market, the more anxious she became about the prospect.

Luckily, all it took was a brilliant antique book stand to occupy her thoughts.

It was by far her favorite tent so far, with shelves lined with antique copies of some of her favorites, of bags made from the bindings of repurposed books, prints and posters, and everything a bookworm could dream of. Smiling at the shop owner as she entered, Nesta made her way to the collection of old novels, perusing the selections.

There was nothing particularly rare or beautiful, but as Nesta scanned her eyes over the titles, there were at least several options to satisfy Gwyn, who loved collecting old and special edition copies of her favorites. But, to her surprise, it wasn’t her lovely friend she had in mind when she found the final book in the row, larger than the others. Taking care to pull it free gently, she observed the title.

Landscape Painting Through the Ages: A Definitive Guide

Flipping through, she smiled at the depictions of various flora and fauna, of the various instructions on perspective and shading. It was old, perhaps 40 or 50 years, but it was perfect for her youngest sister, who was always looking for new references to paint from.

Even better, as she turned around to approach the counter, she spotted a gorgeous Pride and Prejudice handbag made of a re-purposed binding. Gwyn would be head over heels. The shopkeeper smiled broadly at her as she approached, and said, with a thick accent,

“That one’s been sitting on the shelf for ages. I’m glad she’s found a home.”

Nesta smiled at the kind man.

“It will be well loved.”

Arms full, she stepped back out into the path, scanning for Cassian who was, unsurprisingly, nowhere to be found. She’d thought he’d have been easier to spot, with his height. But it seemed everyone had their own tall significant other to drag around.

Retracing her steps, she scanned through the rows, tent after tent. Rounding the corner, she contemplated texting him, telling him to meet her at the entrance to save her the anxiety, but then she caught sight of his curls, the red scarf around his neck, and her tension eased.

He stood at what was unmistakably a jewelry stand, and Nesta quirked a brow as she approached. The old woman behind the counter spoke animatedly to him, and in his hands was a tiny box, wrapped simply with a satin bow. Her interest piqued, she tried to assess what it was, listening for any clues. But just as she approached his side, he spun on his heel, grinning down at her, the box disappearing into his pocket.

“There she is,” He said. “How are we doing, sweetheart?”

Nesta looked up at him quizzically, and the amusement in his eyes told her he already knew what she wanted to know. But he didn’t budge, even after several seconds of staring him down. So, she relented,

“Fairly well. Just Emerie and Morrigan left.”

And him, of course, but that was for her knowledge only.

“See, I told you this market would be a good one.”

“What about you?” Nesta asked, shifting her arms as he reached to take some of her bags from her.

“A master of gift giving never tells his secrets, Nes.”

Nesta scoffed, even as she looped her arm through his and they meandered down to the remaining tents.

“How many of those ridiculous cat hats did you buy?”

“They had powdered wigs. Do you know how amazing Shadow and Smokey will look in those?”

Nesta shook her head, unable to hide her grin. “Azriel will kill you.”

Cassian shrugged, unbothered by the prospect. “I just want one picture of my nephews. Then they can rip them up for all I care.”

“I still don’t know what to get Morrigan. I have no idea what she likes other than wine.”

Cassian tilted his head in contemplation. “There’s that distillery that makes social justice themed alcohol, their booth is back towards the front. That would be right up her alley.”

Nesta’s brows rose, the idea scratching her itch for something unique yet appropriate for the still superficial friendship they had.

“That’s perfect,” She said quietly, pulling out her phone, anxious to fill in her spreadsheet. “Let me just-”

“Take your time, baby. We’ve got plenty of it.”

Nesta stared down at the screen, satisfied by the solid block green rows. Just two left now, which seemed so much more manageable than this morning when they started. A weight lifted off her shoulders, and she let out a long, satisfied breath.

“Just Emerie then.”

Cassian hummed in acknowledgement, offering his arm to her again.

They made it to the front of the market, and Nesta turned to assess the stands again, deciding on where to look again for her friend. Slowly, she wandered to one of the first jewelry booths, assessing the various bracelets. It was intricate metalwork on gorgeous cuffs. Cuffs that would make incredible friendship bracelets.

“Your ring is gorgeous.”

Nesta lifted her eyes, meeting the soft brown ones of the girl behind the counter. Looking back down at her hand, she assessed her engagement ring, the ruby set among tiny white diamonds. Cassian was by no means a poor man, but still, she’d protested that she didn’t need something so exquisite. He disagreed.

“Thank you,” she replied. “My fiancé has good taste, or so I think.”

“Excellent taste,” the girl replied. “The gold band will match those cuffs nicely.”

A smile tugged on her lips as she ran her fingers over the metal. “I think you’re right,” she said. “I’ll take three.”

The girl grinned at her, moving away to wrap them. All the while, Nesta continued to try and come up with various ideas for Cassian. But still, nothing seemed like enough. He had an engraved watch, one she’d gotten him for their first Christmas, and he had plenty of other sentimental gifts, ones she’d all but planned out years in advance.

And now, it seemed like nothing could top it. Except perhaps his wedding band, which they’d just selected only a few weeks ago.

“Wait, are you Nesta Archeron?”

Nesta returned her attention to the girl, who had her bag of goods in her hands. Her brows were in her hairline, her mouth dropped open.

“I… Yes, I am.” Nesta replied, still unaccustomed to being recognized in public.

“I thought you looked familiar. You’re my favorite author!” The girl gushed, her entire face brightening. “Would you… Would you sign my book? I got the last copy on release day. I absolutely adore the love interest. How he accepts Aurelia even with all her quirks and dark days? To die for! Did you base him off your fiancé?”

Nesta couldn’t hide her smile this time, knowing full well that most of his description did indeed from the man waiting just a few feet behind her. And with that thought came a new idea, one that seemed so simple, yet hadn’t before crossed her mind.

“Perhaps. And I’d love to,” She replied, reaching out to accept the copy and a pen. It was still so surreal, even after all this time, to see her own work in person.

Quickly, she signed her name, wishing the girl a happy holiday season, before shutting the book and handing it back.

“Thank you so much!” The girl said, looking so unequivocally happy it made Nesta’s throat tight. It was remarkable that someone was this happy about her writing.

“And…I’m really glad you found your person. I hope one day I find mine.”

“You will,” Nesta said, accepting her jewelry with a larger smile. “I know it.”

---

Over the course of the next week, Nesta’s nerves about what to buy eased.

Only to be immediately replaced by her nerves about if each recipient would like the gifts she got them.

It was December 23, less than a day remaining before the entire family would gather for Christmas Eve dinner. Nesta was always nervous to meet with them all at once, it was a feeling that would likely never quite go away. But now, at least, it was more anticipatory. Would Elain and Feyre like their gifts? Would Mor and Amren? Rhysand and Azriel?

As she looked down at the wrapping paper in her lap, the boxes strewn out in front of her in the living room, she ran through her gift checklist one more time. A warm glow was cast over the living room, the Christmas tree lights twinkling. Cassian had lit a fire a few minutes ago, and the heat of it soothed something deep in her soul.

It would be fine. These were good gifts. She’d wrap them, and everything would be perfect.

“Nes, sweetheart, I found the rest of the scotch tape.”

Nesta lifted her eyes, smiling gratefully at Cassian as he padded back into the living room, settling down on the floor, his back against the couch. Nesta shifted down to join him, reaching for Azriel’s gifts to place into a box. With meticulous precision, she taped it up, wrapping it in navy-blue paper with silver stripes.

“You’re so good at this,” Cassian murmured. “You should make it a paid service.”

Huffing a laugh, Nesta reached for his finger, using it to hold a satin ribbon in place as she tied it off.

“I don’t think my skill is quite that impressive. Gwyn’s, perhaps. Or Elain’s. They'd probably make thousands.”

Cassian hummed, leaning forward to press a kiss to her head.

“Feeling better now that you got Emerie a slot in that coveted yoga class she’s been trying so desperately to get into?”

“Much,” Nesta replied. “Though, you know how nervous I’ll be tomorrow, anyway.”

His laugh was soft, and he shifted, his arm sliding behind her, pulling her close once she set Azriel’s wrapped package aside.

“Nervous about whether they will like your gifts or nervous about having attention on you while you open yours?”

Nesta swatted him lightheartedly, hating and loving how well he knew her.

“They’re good gifts, right?”

“Amazing gifts, sweetheart. You put Santa Claus out of business every year, and we all know it.”

“I do, don’t I?”

There was one thing, at least, she wasn’t nervous about anymore. And it was his own gift, which she’d finished only a few days ago. The idea had struck that moment at the jewelry stand, and every day since she’d worked to put it together.

He pressed a kiss to her temple, a proper smile on his face. “Does that make me Mrs. Claus?”

Nesta lifted her head, assessing with a raised brow. “I’m not sure. You can’t exactly bake cookies very well.”

Cassian reared back in mock offense. “That was one time, Nes. I could make a successful batch of cookies right this minute if you wished.”

Nesta shook her head, shifting to settle more comfortably against his chest. “I think I prefer you staying right here.”

His chest vibrated in contentment, almost a purr. His arm was a comforting weight around her, and not for the first time did she marvel at how her life had turned out. How she was spending her evenings with this man, in their house. It was all pretty perfect, if you had to ask her. And Nesta had been raised never to believe in perfect things.

“But yes, you know I love attention.” Nesta said with a sigh. “It’s always fine, I know. I’m not sure why I always get nervous.”

“You want everything to be perfect, my love. And it always is.”

Nesta hummed, though couldn’t say she was convinced. Still, she adored him for how soothed he could make her with just a few words.

“You know, I was thinking,” He added after a moment. “I know you don’t like all the attention on you when you get gifts. So, what if we start our own tradition of exchanging the night before? Just us?”

Nesta’s lips parted, and she sat up, assessing him. Her gift to him was wrapped delicately, sitting under the tree next to the one he’d placed for her, just hours ago.

“You want to?” She asked, something within her very much approving of the idea.

“Well, you’ve been very secretive about my gift. Maybe I can’t wait anymore.”

Nesta couldn’t help the smile that tugged on her lips.

“Alright.”

Before he could smile back at her, she was moving, pushing out of his arms, and crawling the few feet over to the base of the tree. Reaching, she grabbed her own package, turning back to face him.

“You sure? You like being the center of attention when there are gifts involved.”

Cassian smirked. “Because I always get the best ones from my lovely fiancé. I can brag about it all night tomorrow.”

Her cheeks heated, despite herself, but she smiled back, shifting back over to him. Holding out the package, she said,

“Well then, be my guest.”

“You’re excited,” Cassian replied, intrigue in his voice. Lifting the gift, he shook it lightly by his ear. “Should I be worried?”

“Just open it, you brute.”

His smirk softened into a gentle smile. With deft fingers, he untied the ribbon around the box and undid the paper along the taped points, not tearing. He truly knew her too well. She sat back on her haunches, watching closely, wondering only at the last minute if it was too stupid, too cheesy.

Cassian’s brows rose as he unveiled his gift, the title of her latest book staring up at him.

“This is… your book.”

Nesta bit her cheek, controlling her nerves. “Open it.”

His interest was clear in the focus that settled over his face, and he opened the cover. His eyes scanned over the note she’d penned there, an extra dedication to him and him only. Carefully, his fingers brushed over the various tabs throughout the pages.

“What is this?” He asked softly, opening up to the first one.

“We weren’t together when my first book came out,” Nesta explained. “And we were just getting started when the second came out. In this one, the main character, Aurelia, she-”

“Leaves the first love interest for the one she ends up with, I know,” He said softly, flipping to the next tab.

Nesta nodded, folding her hands in her lap. He had read the entire thing before publication, after all.

“This is…Sweetheart.”

Nesta shifted closer, evaluating which line he was looking at.

“Aurelia scowled as Ramin brushed a bead of sweat off his brow, the jagged mountain path looking nothing short of ominous. “I thought you said you liked the outdoors,” He said. “This is the outdoors.”

“I like sitting outdoors. Not hiking for thirteen miles.”

“We have to get up this hill, sweetheart. We need to get a better sense of our position.”

There, in the margins, was her script, slightly messy yet coherent to those who knew her best.

“October 4th, 2019. We went camping as a family, to Rhysand’s cabin. We got lost trying to find the campground’s maintenance buildings. We hiked six miles, because you wanted to get to higher ground, to ‘evaluate our position.’”

Each tab had a memory associated. Something Cassian did or said that Nesta had taken and put into this character, the manifestation of what love meant to her. From their petty arguments to the ways in which he understood her unlike anyone else. To how she knew it was him, from the moment they met, and no one else.

“Nesta, this is incredible.”

“I know it’s not much,” She said. “But I couldn’t figure out what to get you that you didn’t already have.”

“Sweetheart, it’s everything.”

Cassian looked up at her with genuine tears in his eyes, an expression that was almost reverence on his face. It filled Nesta with intense warmth, with love.

“You like it?” She asked, her voice a soft whisper.

He moved, quickly, closing the book with care and setting it aside, before he was crowding into her space, pressing kisses all over her face until he caught her lips, where he stayed for one, two, three, four more, until she was practically breathless.

Nesta’s hands rested against his own, which cupped her face, and laughed, just a little.

“I love it, Nesta,” He replied. “I love it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes, sweetheart. I will treasure this always.”

She pressed her forehead against his, relishing the affection she felt from him.

“I wanted the world to have a piece of how wonderful you are,” She murmured. “But the specific reasons as to why can be just for us.”

“What did I tell you,” He replied, dipping her head to press another kiss to her lips. “The best gift giver.”

Pulling back, he stroked his thumb over her cheek affectionately before moving towards the tree.

“I’m afraid mine may look quite small in comparison.”

Nesta shook her head, watching as he pulled the tiny box from its place atop the tree skirt. The man could bring her a rock, and she'd likely cherish it until she died.

“You know I don’t need anything special.”

“So you tell me every time I get you a gift, baby.”

He approached her again, settling down beside her and placing the box in her hands. It was the one she’d seen briefly at the Market, the one he’d hidden from her.

“I know you got me something that’s not sentimental, and I got you a gift like that too, for tomorrow night. But these, I think, can stay between us.”

Nesta couldn’t shake the smile from her face as she nodded her agreement. For several seconds, she stared down at the box, the gold foil of it glinting in the light. Cassian nudged her with his nose, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“Open it, Nes.”

“Be patient.”

But even as she said the words, she was pulling the ribbon free and lifting the cover off. Her eyes roved over the necklace that sat nestled on a pillow of velvet, and she went still, her throat tightening.

“Cass…”

It was a simple pendant, one that held two stones – their birthstones, to be exact, bound together by metal that had been shaped to look like a single golden thread. Lifting it out of the box, she assessed it closer, lips parted in shock.

“Turn it over.”

She obeyed him, surprised at the small engraving that had somehow fit on the back. Their initials were there, with a year. Next year, the one they were getting married in.

“It’s beautiful,” She said quietly, running her finger over the gems. "Where did you-?"

“I had it custom made from the woman you saw me speaking to. I was picking it up when you so sneakily almost caught me.”

Huffing a laugh, she smiled down at the piece. Simple, yet elegant. Exactly her taste.

“Put it on me?” She asked.

“Of course, sweetheart.”

His hands were soft. They always were, when he touched her. In one gentle movement, he swept her hair over her shoulder, and in the next, he brought the necklace around her throat, the pendant resting perfectly between her collarbones. He clasped it easily, letting his hands slide over her shoulders, his head dipping to kiss her neck.

“I knew it would look beautiful on you,” He murmured. “But I still wasn’t prepared. You’re so stunning, Nes.”

Nesta leaned back into his arms, which wrapped tightly around her, the warm spices and cedar she associated with his scent enveloping her senses. Tilting her head up, she caught his jaw in a kiss, grinning as he dipped his chin to meet her lips properly.

“Merry Christmas,” She whispered, lacing their fingers together where they rested on her stomach. "I love you."

Cassian all but melted at the words, squeezing her tight and settling back against the couch, just holding her.

“Merry Christmas, sweetheart. I love you too.”

---

The next evening, when Nesta and Cassian arrived at Feyre and Rhysand’s house to celebrate, arms full of gifts, her family’s eyes caught immediately on the gold pendant around her neck. Mor and Feyre pestered Cassian for hours, wanting to know where, exactly, it had come from. Azriel had kissed her on the cheek, complimenting her politely as he always did, warm and protective of her as he was. Elain gushed, and Amren smiled approvingly, always appreciative of fine taste. Even Rhysand complimented it, clapping Cassian on the shoulder.

It was a soothing experience, a welcoming one. It filled her with the confidence she didn’t know she needed, to say without hesitation that she belonged here.

And as the family settled around the tree, anxious to pass out gifts, any lingering anxieties faded away to nothing. Nesta couldn’t deny it to herself any longer, nor to those around her. In that moment, she felt entirely complete, entirely content. Entirely sure that this was the life she was meant to live, here with these people.

Just as Cassian had promised, everything was entirely perfect.

--- End ---

#nessian #acotar fanfiction #acotar #nesta archeron #cassian #archive of our own #acotargiftexchange2023 #acotarsecretsanta2023 #nesta x cassian #Modern AU #Writer!Nesta

56 notes · View notes

themedialmercurial · 2 years

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🔭🪐Astro Observations🪐🔭

P.S. these notes are based on personal observations and experiences and yours may be similar or drastically different💜💗

Cancer mars tends to experience extremes in emotion. When they're happy, it's just as contagious as when they're mad. They tend to frustrate easily and are passive aggressive. When confronted about their behaviour, they aren't willing to hear it and would rather indadvertedly hint that they're mad at you. They take confrontation as disrespect and are defensive. I feel like you have to feel them out and walk on eggshells to see how they're feeling. On a brighter note, when they love you, you'll always know. They are the type to always go out and get your favourite foods or instinctively buy that shirt you've always wanted. They're very loving and kind yet particular and precise.

Leo suns, ily. You love with every fiber of your being and your affection does not go unnoticed. You guys also don't play around when someone you love gets hurt. On so many occasions, I can remember you guys dropping whatever you're doing and ready to stand up for me and for that, I'm forever grateful🥺

Side note though, when you're mad don't forget to say I love you or something bc you guys get scaryyyyy (I be forgetting you get so mad BECAUSE you love me but geez go easy on my cancerian self) And I noticed that they love to toy around with warm-coloured highlights in their hair (namely reds and blondes)

Virgo placements, namely sun, are not the "neat freaks" everyone makes them out to be and by no means am I saying that they're not. Rather than having a spotless environment, virgoans have a special means of product placement that suits their needs and no one else is supposed to understand it. Me for example, as a virgo rising I can say that my room is a complete mess for those who don't understand the way my mind works. However, if you were to ask me where a particular item is stored, I could find it almost immediately. "Methodical mess" is the name of the game.

Secondly, I notice that virgos, regardless of the person they're interacting with (in-person), tend to almost "size up" the other person they're speaking with, gradually warming up and interacting once they've taken note of the individual regardless of how long they've been known.

As a virgo rising, I can openly admit that I have a rbf problem, sadly. My whole life I've been asked if I'm ok all the while my rbf is a sign that I'm focused and alert, actively scanning my surroundings. I promise I'll converse if initiated😔 also, the whole thing about this placement appearing younger is so true in my case. People always assume I'm at least 2-3 years younger

Libra suns, as a libra moon, you guys just get me. Whenever I speak with you, I feel like I don't even have to finish my sentences, you know how I feel. You guys are down to earth and understand my absolute need to play devil's advocate when it comes to pretty much any decision I have to make in my life. What I will say in contrast though is that you guys know what you're doing when you try to guilt trip me. It hurts me when you guys play the victim, genuinely like can we just talk all level-headed and calmly?

Aries suns give off child-like energy in the best way possible. When hanging out with them, you'll always find yourself somewhere you never thought you'd be. As fun as it can be, they are also very stubborn with seemingly all the wrong things like I wouldn't suggest a heavy coat if it weren't -20°C outside???

6H Uranus is prone to have a routine that is perceived as unusual/unconventional to others. People may outwardly express their confusion and try to make them conform to their method (i.e sporadic cleaning over the course of a couple days).

Taurus suns and honestly earth suns altogether are such a vibe. You guys are almost down for whatever, especially taking a liking to anything outdoors. I love walking around and chatting about life with you guys.

Cancer suns I feel can be a hit or miss. I find that the majority of those I've met, tend to exhibit introverted traits whether they are or not. They're very timid individuals that is until they're not and they're great friends to just walk in silence with. As for those who never did "warm up", they seem very sweet but it just ends up as me feeling like I'm talking too much and just going quiet abruptly 🧍🏽‍♀️

2H moon 🫱🏽‍🫲🏾 shopping spree to release stress, sadness

Scorpio suns are such sweethearts, so kind and so giving. You guys are the type of friends who will patiently listen as you pour your heart out to them. So patient and gentle

Water sun, air moon can be a dangerous combo. The native is sensitive and harbours many emotions though the air moon prevents them from truly being able to feel them out. This makes them more inclined to have a breakdown which, from others perspectives may appear random. Try journalling or even video diaries to candidly speak about your emotions (at least that's what helps me cope since I struggle so deeply with speaking).

#astrovations #astrology #astro #astro community #astro observations #astro notes #themedialmercurial #zodiac #cancer #leo

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andreaphobia · 2 years

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P5R Pilgrimage: I ❤️ Akechi Goro

Finding out the jazz club really exists was the highlight of this trip :)

As usual, more pics and screenshot comparisons under the cut!

First, a quick detour to talk about Penguin Sniper...

There’s actually a number of darts bars in Kichijoji, but I didn’t manage to find any that gave me Penguin Sniper vibes (do message me if you know of one, though!). In the first place, I’d always wondered why a bunch of high schoolers were allowed into a darts bar at all -- you’d expect it to have an older clientele and probably serve alcohol, fr’instance.

Then, after scrolling around the map for a bit, I noticed there’s actually a ROUND1 on the Kichijoji SUNROAD main strip. ROUND1 is an amusement store chain, kind of like an arcade that offers activities like bowling, karaoke, billiards, and darts. Since it’s an amusement center, even elementary schoolers are allowed, though I think there’s some kind of curfew for kids.

So in this particular ROUND1, the darts machines and pool tables are on the same floor...

The layout of the room is pretty close, I’d say, although the RL “bar” is actually a cashier, not a place to eat. The machines in front of the bar let you sign up for play sessions.

I thought about playing a game of darts but decided against it. x) Next time I’ll bring a friend!

Fun note: some of the dart machines make the exact same sound effects that are used in the minigame in P5R. I had a mild out of body experience hearing them go beep boop IRL xd

Anyway back to the jazz bar. XD Even the stairs down to the bar are reproduced faithfully.

The lunch menu, for interest! (I had a lunch set of an anchovy and olive tomato sauce spaghetti with a latte au lait, a slice of cheesecake, and a lime soda. Yeah ok I pigged out. I blame Akechi)

I got lucky, arriving about half an hour before the first show was scheduled, so the place was pretty empty and I got a seat at the bar. The cover charge was 1500 yen; I stayed and watched for an hour. :D

youtube

Satou Tatsuya on sax and Michishita Kazuhiko on guitar -- hopefully I didn’t butcher the romanization of their names!

The seats depicted in the game give the best view of the live performances, and are reservation only...although for reasons of needing to face the in-game camera, you will notice that they are looking at a wall instead of the actual performance. XD

(Also, in my head this means that Akechi reserved seats for them on their date there, ahead of time. It’s how it works in real life, so it must be true!)

I took a couple of photos after customers cleared out between shows. You can see the grand piano as well as the raised seated area behind the stage, and the additional restaurant seating on the right -- there’s stairs leading both up and down to more tables.

Just a close-up of the “stage”.

A funny aside that has little to do with Akechi -- while I was sitting there enjoying my food and the music, I noticed that several other customers had with them what looked an AWFUL lot like a single American dollar. Obviously the bar is in Japan so I was wondering wtf was going on; genuinely thought I was losing my mind. Or maybe it was like some kind of secret code that I wasn’t aware of...???? IDK, I was spiraling lmao

It turns out it’s actually your check. (A dollar “bill,” I suppose.............)

Even with the cover charge, the bill came to like $30. Pretty worth for the semi-religious experience of watching a jazz performance at Akechi’s favorite place.

Ending things off with an evening shot of the place lit up :)

That’s it!

I’ve actually got more photos and videos from a couple of other places like Akihabara and the cafe that possibly inspired Leblanc, but...I’m getting tired of doing these xd So this may or may not be the last one, at least for now!

Hope y’all enjoyed the posts :D

#persona 5 #persona 5 royal #p5r #akechi goro #shuake #akeshu #p5 pilgrimage #my stuff

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lucifitzgerald · 1 year

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flirtare

It’s taken Luci a full week to completely settle in, which she supposes makes sense. She’s unpacked all her things, gone wandering, gotten lost, checked in with her father a handful of times, and starts making frequent trips to the bakery near her and Ryan’s apartment so that she can...maybe get a job there at some point. Her room is starting to feel like home even though she’s slightly on edge sometimes.

She still has nightmares and maybe those will never fully go away.

Her and Ryan make plans to go to the bar tonight, which is fun, it’s becoming one of her favorite places to hang out. Being around Daisy, Aiden and August make her feel like she’s in a friend group--like she matters, like people actually want to get to know her. It’s how she felt at home, so she’s hoping this quickly becomes the case here as well.

She pulls on a denim dress and some white wedges that are easy to walk in, pairs it with maroon lipstick and gold hoops and grabs a crossbody to walk down to the bar with Ryan, smiling as she pushes the bar door open.

“Think I’m gonna get some food tonight for a change.” Her eyes scan the bar for...well, Aiden and she locks eyes on him, grazing over the simple jeans and t-shirt he has on but...it really highlights the niceness of his arms, the tattoos especially. She definitely likes looking at them, wouldn’t hate to touch either.

#escapepara3: flirtare #//to flirt

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mylovley · 2 years

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I wish I could've told you.

WARNING: angsty, death, sad, you die and bakugou finds you.

Bakugou could almost never express his emotions unless it was in anger format. So, when he realized he loved you all he could do was show it through cuss words and death threats.

You didn't mind though, or at least you thought you didn't. "That's just how he is." you'd tell yourself. But it still hurt.

This day in particular had been excruciatingly long. First school, then training. You decided to train with bakugou today since you wanted to observe him more. He was so beautiful. You accidentally stumbled and tripped both you and him in the process. The 'villain' robot now escaping.

"what the fuck was that!?" Bakugou barks at you.

"Ugh sorry I guess I got my footing wro-"

"Yeah you better be fucking sorry! Now the shitty robot got away!"you cast your gaze to the floor, feeling weak and useless after today's horrible events so far, and now? Now your crush, someone whom you would take a bullet for, is yelling at you. But he didn't feel the same so it was fine, right?

you go to speak up, voice slightly shaky when he interrupts you "How the fuck are you supposed to be a fucking hero if you cant even get a fucking grip and catch one shitty fucking robot!?"

"I-"

'Is she about to cry?' he thinks. He wants to comfort you but doesn't know how, so what comes out of his mouth is "Stop being so fucking pathetic and pull yourself together. Or get out." he didn't want to see you cry.

"okay, im sorry." you say, voice vibrating. Light tears spilling down your cheeks. 'why am I such a fucking baby' you think 'he does this every day why is today different'

this day had been horrible, and now as you walk to the dorms, the orange street lights highlighting your wet cheeks and tiered eyes, the containers for the food you had bought for your friends as a surprise slipped out of your hands and fell to the ground in a soupy pile.

You stare at the pile of now spilled miso soup and soba noodles, and everything just broke.

the pent up frustration with you, bakugou, past stresses, helplessness, and others crashed down on you at once.

"why cant I do anything right?" you cry in your hands, knees slowly buckling from the exhaustion mixed with the intense emotions of your own shitty life. "hes right. I would be a shitty hero." you say to yourself through muffled cries.

getting up, you run to the dorms. Whipping off your tears with your sleve while doing so. Sweater slightly smelling of the spilled miso soup. You open the door to see your classmates gathered around the shared TV, laughing, having fun with a box of pizza. All without you.

This only made it worse.

You run up to your dorm, the footsteps catching the attention of a certain red eyed blond on the way.

You reach your room and close the door behind, falling against it in your teary state. The world felt like it was crashing. Were you being over dramatic? you thought. You didn't know. But one thing you did know is that you couldn't let the feeling continue. This pain had been enough. Today was only the breaking point. The past years had been the build up.

in this moment you decided you had enough. Spotting the full bottle of Ibuprofen sitting neatly on your desk, homework still scattered around from the night before. The only light on being your lamp. You get up and grab the bottle, and without anymore thought you take all of them. body slowly going limp. within your last minutes alive you think of bakugou. His hair, his power, is faults which he refused to show but you noticed anyway, his beautiful ruby eyes, his warm, scarred, calloused skin that you imagined touching so many nights before, his lovely lips, broad shoulders, and strong arms that you wished could just hold you. You loved him, and you would miss him, so much. But he didn't feel the same.

Truth is, he did. And you would never know.

That morning, Mina had come to check on you because you hadn't come out of your room at all that day. When she didn't get a reply, she asked Deku, Ochako, Tenya, and todoroki to check, hoping that maybe you would answer to one of them. You didn't. Eventually everyone had gotten so concerned and caused such a fuss that even bakugou went to investigate.

almost an hour passed and no response. Thats when bakugou went insane. After being kidnapped by the LOV fears of the same happening to you started arising.

He pounded on the door, yelling empty threats for if you didn't open the door. Classmates gathered behind him.

"FUCK IT" he yells as he breaks down your door. He begins to shout threats until he pauses, silence.

Your classmates begin to pool into the room each one confused by bakugous sudden silence until each one saw what it was about. mina gasps.

Bakugous eyes had widened, tears fighting to spill out, mouth agape. "Y/N..?" he says, voice surprisingly soft yet with a hurt, rough tone. "FUCKING ANSWER ME YOU SHITTY WOMAN" he says starting to cry.

He scatters over to you falling on his knees and shaking you, checking your puls in the process. When he felt none, his tears only pooled out faster. "WAKE UP" he cries "PLEASE" he pleads with your limp form now in his arms. "I FUCKING LOVE YOU WAKE UP"he sobs, head falling down. "I love you..FUCK". "WAKE UP DAMMIT!!!!!" his hands grip your cold form"you cant do this... YOU CANT LEAVE ME."

thats when the realization hit him. Everything he's said to you.

"You'll never be a hero!"

"your so fucking weak..."

"Yeah right! As if I would ever want to hang out with YOU!"

and then last night "Stop being so fucking pathetic and pull yourself together. Or get out." His voice echos throughout his head. he really said that to you. He was the reason.

He pushed you because he loved you. He scolded you because he wanted you to be strong, so that nothing bad could happen to you, he didn't know what he would do if something bad happened to you. But it did. And it was his fault.

at this point your classmates had left the room, crying, vomiting, or running to find help.

but bakugou stayed, your body being cradled in his arms, him leaving kisses all over your face a shoulders, pleading for you to come back in between sobs. "come back to me.." he whispers, tears spilling down onto your motionless face. when he gets no response, he hugs you close to him.

"I love you so much" he says but it comes out more like a whimper. Big arms wrapped around your cold body

"I just wish I could've told you."

I know this kinda sucks but this is my first fanfic so.... ANYWAY i plan on posting fluff too for bakugou, as well as 707 and Gojo content today, sooo yeah :)

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aspiringtrashpanda · 2 years

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🫀LAW x LUFFY👒

For my spontaneous event, which can be found here! Always a pleasure to write LawLu 💕

*Using Law’s anime eyes for this one*

No C/W apply.

Grey.

It was everywhere Luffy looked. Grey boulders framing grey steam next to the grey brick wall. Grey hair popping out of fluffy grey robes, the elderly patrons resembling grey monkeys. Grey clouds rolling over grey mountains and...

Well, the trees were green.

But there weren’t many of them.

“Torao,” Luffy whined, kicking a (grey) pebble as he marched behind Law. “Why are we here?”

“I told you, Mugiwara-ya,” Law huffed, bouncing Kikoku absently on his shoulder, “This island is famous for their hot springs.”

Pursing his lips, Luffy asked, “Why get in a bunch of water when we’ve eaten Devil Fruits?”

“Because the heat is good for muscle pain,” Law sounded exasperated. Had he already answered that question? Luffy grinned to himself – Law always got so grouchy when Luffy didn’t listen to his every word.

“But I don’t have any muscle pain?” Luffy leapt over a (grey) rock. He matched Law’s long strides, elongating his legs to bring himself to the other captain’s height. “See? I can stretch just fine.”

“Has it ever occurred to you,” Law pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut as he hissed through clenched teeth, “That other people may have muscle pain?”

Luffy tripped over a crack in the (grey) pavement. His legs snapped back to their normal length, eyes widening as he peered up at Law, concern flashing over his features. “Torao, are you hurt?”

“I’m not hurt,” He grumbled, climbing up a series of stairs to one of the vacant pools nestled into the mountainside. “We just fought 2 Yonkou. Forgive me if I’m a little sore.”

His stare oozed sarcasm, clashing with an unspoken challenge as he rested his sword against a boulder, tattooed fingers unbuttoning his shirt. His bronze skin burst into gooseflesh as the garment was removed, the swirls of ink over his arms and chest puckering in the brisk air, yet he made no move to acknowledge the chill. Instead, he glared at Luffy expectantly.

Waiting.

“Why am I here?” Luffy ventured, mirroring Law’s motions and removing his shirt.

Law ducked his head, fixing a towel around his bare waist before sliding into the heated bath, hiding his face from view as he responded. “There’s a risk to visiting hot springs as a Devil Fruit user. You just acknowledged that. It’s better to go in pairs.”

He paused, a splash interrupting his answer as Luffy gracelessly landed himself in the basin. Sighing contentedly, he rested his arms on the rocky edge of the pool, savoring the way the heat seeped into the marrow of his bones.

“My crew has work to do, and, well,” Law turned away from Luffy, eyes scanning their surroundings, as if he wasn’t sure how to relax. Luffy caught sight of a large, yellowing bruise stretching along the left side of his rib cage. “I suppose I’m most comfortable around you.”

The admission was little more than a mutter.

Luffy pointed to the bruise, water rippling around him as he moved closer, fingers grazing the discolored skin over taut muscle. “This is why you’ve been so grumpy!”

“I’m not grumpy,” Law argued, though did not move away from Luffy’s touch.

“Are too!”

“Maybe if you weren’t constantly yelling,” He rolled his eyes, and Luffy held back a gasp at the realization that Law’s eyes were grey. Smokey silver and dark ash danced within his irises, highlighted by wisps of the pearl and cloud, reined in by a ring of charcoal almost as dark as his thick eyelashes. They were grey and they were beautiful.

“...And getting us into trouble all the time and eating all the gluten-free food Black Leg-ya makes for me and giving me a never-ending headache, then–”

“Pretty,” Luffy blurted, silencing Law with a single word.

Law narrowed his eyes, shying away from where Luffy’s fingers had been idly petting his bruise. “What’s pretty, Mugiwara-ya?”

“You,” Luffy beamed, “Torao has pretty eyes, even though they’re grey. And pretty hair, even though it’s hidden. And pretty lips, even though they’re always frowning.”

“They’re not... I’m not... I mean...” Fumbling over his words, Law gazed at Luffy in disbelief, an unreadable emotion in the strain of his lips, the crease of his brow. “I’m not pretty...?”

Luffy hummed an affirmation, lifting his hand to Law’s cheek, this time. There was something haunted in his startled stare, as if he thought so lowly of himself, as if he could never fathom the idea of someone finding him pleasing in any way, shape or form. Had no one ever told him just how wonderful he was?

Brushing his thumb over the ridge of Law’s cheekbone, Luffy spoke softly, “Come here, pretty.”

And Law melted into Luffy’s embrace as rubbery arms wound around him, three times over, securing Law flush against him. If Luffy heard the way Law’s breath hitch, the awkward hiccup tumbling from his lips as a quiet sob wracked his chest, well, he would never tell.

Leaning against Law’s chest, Luffy admired the steam curling around their entwined bodies, the crystalline water hazy through the fog. He noticed that the ripples on the surface of the bath were not grey, but silver, sparkling in the soft light of the overcast sky.

He missed the darkness of Law’s eyes immediately.

Maybe grey wasn’t so bad after all.

#LawLu #Law X Luffy #lawlu drabble #lawluffy #one piece fanfiction #drabble request #aspiringtrashpanda

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berestweys · 2 years

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Kinnporsche Rewatch - Episode 11

Summary: Boy discovers to his horror that honesty actually IS real, bitch.

Disclaimer: Just so those of you who’ve been reading along are fully informed, from here on out, these are definitely tl;dr any time Pete, Vegas, or VegasPete is made mention. I tried editing myself for the sake of length but I’m incapable. And fuck it, they're the ones who made me too insane to move on from this show. Everything about them is important data for this study. EVERYTHING. So I’m going to yell about it. ... Enjoy?

Favorite Line: “You know, I raised my two brothers and they turned out well. Next it’s you I’ll be raising.”

Porsche’s Wacky Antics: Chooses the the weirdest hodgepodge of candidates to replace him as Kinn’s bodyguard (The miniature Taekwondo champion makes me snort-laugh). Blows Kinn in a helicopter. A helicopter. There’s no privacy in a fucking helicopter, but that’s where Porsche chooses to join the mile high club. I support it.

Why is Chay crying? Two reasons. First, how could Porsche do this job? He and Chay only have each other! If something happened to Porsche, what’s Chay supposed to do? Second, Kim knew he was Porsche’s brother all along. How could he??? Did he ever love Chay? (Kid, he told you he wanted breakfast when you confessed your love.) He’s losing it and he’s doing it in Valet Parking again, in front of the security guard’s salad.

Woe is Big: Big is dead and I have spotted zero mourners. Poor Big.

Tankhun Highlight: Play-slaps and kicks Kinn over his announcement that he loves Porsche and wants to be his boyfriend & Tankhun is so cute.

A Woman Speaks: Hula-hooping Female Taekwondo Champion says “Hai! Hai! Hai!” I love her I want a show about her. Yok calls Porsche her baby and teases Kinn about making Porsche his love slave. Kinn calls her his mother-in-law.

What’s Pete eating, and who prepared it for him? Well. He refuses to eat some kind of soup in a pet food bowl and gets his face shoved in it by Vegas as a result. Gets told he should “eat what his owner gives him.” Listen, he’s not Choosing not to eat. He’s just Not Eating, okay. Later he continues to refuse to eat a salad Vegas prepared because Vegas “made it too long ago and it doesn’t look fresh.” This exchange happens after their talk about abuse and I am losing my mind at how everything they say to each other is in code. Pete’s very excited when Vegas responds to his complaint by making him fresh noodles. They’ve Talked and Learned and Know each other better. He eagerly digs in, after Vegas takes a big bite to prove it’s not poisoned, of course. Pete goes from demanding death to remarkably ready to stay alive in the span of one episode. Too bad about the noodles on the bedspread though.

Vegas Report: He’s entertained by Pete’s screaming until Gun shows up and ruins things. First all his plans are spoiled and now Dad’s mad at him AND wants to take away his new toy. Vegas will not have it! He texts Kinn on Pete’s phone to secure him a vacation, but the really fun part is when he calls Grandma and makes Pete tell her they’re taking a trip together and not to worry. He’s absolutely gleeful at his great luck taking Pete away & breaking him all in one go. He actually giggles. He thinks he’s won, boy howdy, and off they go to one of the coolest houses I’ve ever seen and no joke I want to live in the safehouse. Too many chains in the guest bungalow for my tastes, but otherwise this place is my dream. Vegas gets upbraided repeatedly by Gun who is apparently driving out to the country every day just so he can yell at Vegas and smack him around. Such a peach, Gun is – he even insults Macau. Vegas just wants to read his little books and hang out with his little pets, why can’t he have a moment’s peace? By the end of the episode he’s feeling mysteriously better about enduring his father’s treatment. Gee, wonder what changed?

Shipping Activities

KinnPorsche: Oh no! Kinn remembered what he forgot: Pete! Porsche says no no don’t worry about Pete I’m sure he’s fine come back to bed and cuddle me. I cannot wait for Tankhun to yell at these idiots. Kinn calls a special family meeting to announce he loves Porsche and Porsche loves him and they’re in love. Korn has Chan loom over Porsche, gun drawn, as he begrudgingly assents to Porsche taking up the position of Beloved. I enjoy it. Kinn is smug at Porsche’s jealousy of anyone who has the nerve to guard Kinn’s body besides him. Porsche dries Kinn’s hair and it’s so sweet and nice. I hear this hair drying thing is a common BL trope and I can see why.

VegasPete: My memory did not account for the fact that SO MUCH happens in the SAME episode. Vegas whacks Pete with a bat, thinks Pete is “interesting” when he suffers and is a lot of fun to play with. He makes Pete crack open by threatening the only thing that matters to him: his family. Pete gives up, he gives up, Vegas! Vegas smiles his biggest smile to date, and Pete... goes feral. His smile is gone. At the safehouse Pete’s unsure whether Vegas is talking to him or the hedgehog and I am amused. Vegas asks him if he really thinks he gets to choose and Pete informs him he’s not choosing. He’s simply. not. eating. (He’s not making a choice because Vegas hasn’t offered him one! He hasn’t granted Pete any space to make a choice! akfffgffhjjjjgkjk) This earns him a strapping for being “an untamed pet.” (Is this where I start waxing poetic about VP and The Little Prince or is it too soon? Too much blood still? Too many pus-filled lacerations? Fine. We’ll revisit my fever dreams at a later date.) There’s a pattern of violence following visits from Gun, Pete’s wounds fester, Vegas panics and delivers tender wound treatment and gives medicine straight from his mouth to Pete’s. “You must suffer until I’m satisfied,” he says gently after gently tending to Pete. They have a shockingly calm discussion about Vegas’ need to compete with Kinn, and Pete’s history of paternal abuse. Pete tells him their dads hurt them not because Vegas or Pete are fuckups, but because their dads are. Pete accepts food once Vegas has listened to him and Pete’s listened in turn. Vegas grins, pleased, once Pete starts eating comfortably.

Do I care about KimChay yet? No. Kim sucks and Chay is crying on the sidewalk.

# of KimChay scenes in this episode: 1

# of KimChay scenes I watched without skipping through: 1

Kisses: Porsche kisses Kinn on top of his sweet head. Kinn kisses Porsche’s cheek when Tay and Time wake them up in the morning. Kinn and Porsche kiss in a helicopter. Vegas gives Pete mouth to mouth antibiotics. (Mouths touched means it’s a kiss, okay.)

Tits Out: Porsche & Kinn in bed. Pete strung up from the ceiling in the safehouse. Porsche in the pool talking with Chay about his future career path, & later while drying Kinn’s hair.

What’s Gun wearing? He’s still in his suit from his visit to Korn when he arrives to knock Vegas around in the torture basement. The shoulders of his jacket have what’s almost a bloused-out little ruffle at the shoulder. Lovely. When he comes to the safehouse the first time, he’s sporting a sage green and red plaid suit, green and red diamond checked shirt, red vest, black & white patterned scarf, and dark loafers no socks. What a man.

Serious Observations of Various Sorts: The bodyguards all watching Porsche from the door as he goes to face the family and declare his love for Kinn is simply the bestest. We all yell together when Korn announces Porsche is released from bodyguard duty and drafted into boyfriend duty. Yay! Also why are Tay and Time only in a few scenes I want so much more of them.

Have I calmed down? I am frothing at the mouth. I am a small, furry, growling woodland creature. I took a page and a half of tightly-spaced, neatly written notes about everything VegasPete that matters to me in this episode.

Episode 1/ Episode 2/ Episode 3/ Episode 4/ Episode 5/ Episode 6/ Episode 7/ Episode 8/ Episode 9/ Episode 10/ Episode 12

#kinnporsche rewatch #kinnporsche #spoilers

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duhragonball · 1 year

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Dragon Ball Super 025

YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO ME!

I AM INVINCIBLE!

I AM BANE!

This episode sucks rotten eggs. In the movie, Goku turned Super Saiyan Blue to show Frieza his full power, and then Frieza responded by transforming into his new ultimate form. In Dragon Ball Super, that moment is spread across two episodes. Goku turns Blue in Episode 24, and the ““cliffhanger”“ is him asking Frieza to show his stuff.

So you’d think Frieza would open the episiode with his transformation, but he doesn’t. He talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and then he finally transforms in to Golden Frieza. While this is going on, Jaco tries to take some photos, and he insists that this is for his report to the Galactic Patrol. Bulma asks what will happen when he submits the report, and he says the Earth will likely be designated a hazardous zone and the GP will destroy it with a missile. So Bulma stomps on his camera.

Then we see Jaco with another camera. This is the “highlight” of this half of the episode, because at least something is happening here.

Now that we’ve finally got Golden Frieza on the board, let me take a moment to critique his design. In this scene, he actually looks.... pretty cool! Honestly, this might be better than he looked in the Resurrection F movie. I think the trick is to stick closely to the Fourth Form Freiza design, and to add plenty of highlights.

Also, he looks pretty fucking sweet when he’s got the aura effects. They put some red into it and it’s very pleasing. He actually looks like he’s made out of gold. When he’s powered up, he looks like hot gold.

The problem is that, most of the time, Golden Frieza winds up looking like this. Without the shiny highlights, without the fiery aura effects, he looks like a bootleg Frieza action figure that got the wrong color scheme. All the yellows are pale and brown. He looks like he’s made of mustard, or baby food, or Super Saiyan 4 Goku’s pants. He looks like shit, figuratively and literally.

Anyway, they fight for a little bit, and then we cut to Beerus and Whis heading for Earth to collect Bulma’s sundae, but they run into Champa and Vados first. Beerus gripes about him trespassing in Universe 7, when Champa belongs in Universe 6, but they end up going their separate ways.

When Beerus arrives, Jaco asks Bulma to take a picture of them together, and she realizes that he was lying about using the photos for his official report. He just wants these for his personal scrapbook. Okay, but if that’s so, then why did he say all that crap about the GP destroying the Earth? I’m pretty sure he has two cameras because he uses one for work photos and one for personal photos.

Also, now that I’ve read the Jaco manga, I’m finding all these Bulma/Jaco scenes really irritating. Isn’t Jaco really powerful? Like, not on the level of the Z-Fighters, obviously, but he dropkicked a rocket away from a city. Yet he allows Bulma to just manhandle him throughout this arc.

What sucks is that this whole Res F business is supposed to be a nostalgia trip to the fight on Namek, and the one (1) thing they managed to successfully carry over from those days was all the pointless filler scenes where Bulma complains a lot to fill time.

Back to the fight. Oh, wait, this fight looks like diarrhea.

They did a great job re-debuting Golden Frieza, then immediately backslid in to the same shoddy visuals. So much of this show looks like a bad flash animation. It’s pathetic. You can accuse me of cherry-picking the uglier screenshots from the episode, and to be fair, I am kind of doing that. There are some more on-model screenshots in my folder.

The point is that it keeps switching back and forth, and the ugliest stills always come from action sequences, or when a bunch of characters are standing around, which is like 80% of this show. When it’s characters standing in a group, you’re given plenty of time to stare at the crappy drawing and notice how crapy it is. When it’s Frieza hitting Goku in the A-plot, the crappy drawings all work together to make a really weak animation that detracts from the story that they’re trying to tell.

The one sequence I’ll praise here is when Frieza descends upon Goku as he lies in a crater. It’s a pretty simple shot. They just to a bird’s-eye image of Frieza and shrank it to make it look like he’s floating down to the ground. They make it a little blurry as he goes, to imitate the way he’d be out of focus in a real-life camera.

The reason I’m impressed with this is because usually Dragon Ball Super will do a shot like this by drawing the character smaller across multiple cels, and each one will get crappier as the character gets smaller and smaller. It’s like someone at Toei finally realized it was 2016, and they can use computers to solve these kinds of logistical challenges.

#dragon ball #dragon ball super #2023dbapocryphaliveblog #goku #frieza #bulma #jaco teirimentenpibosshi #beerus #whis #champa #vados

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dianalolihikki · 2 months

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Hey!💜

Today for the most part was really great you could even say that it was 95 percent amazing!⭐

Let's start with the fact that I had my hair tied in two braids today,and that's always a good sign. On top of that, today for my physiotherapy session with E's, I wore an unbuttoned wool sweater in light pink. I felt a bit like a fourteen-year-old delicate fairy. 🎀 I imagined I could star in a movie with a similar theme to Lolita, only without the erotic themes. 🩷

I know,I'm a crazy person. I'm not proud of it. On top of that, I'm constantly obsessed with the fact that I'm going to start overly controlling what I write here and there will be no sincerity in it. This isn't the first time I've had such thoughts. I've had this with every diary I've written, even one written only in Word, unpublished.

💮💮💮💮

Today I found out that K. was at my family doctor's yesterday and got all the paperwork done. Only my mother will call my doctor tomorrow for some code that she needs to give to K. I am still surprised by E's reaction to the fact that I will have physical therapy with K.

Yesterday, however, while walking and talking with B, I remembered that after all, when I mentioned K to E the first time, she asked if K wasn't looking for additional job,because E wants to move her office to another place and expand it, so also hire employees. Today she confirmed the offer.

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Today I spent an amazing day with E. As I posted yesterday, today's physical therapy session lasted three hours and we spent it all outside the office.

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The first stop on our "trip" today was the library. It had been a very long time since we had been there. The library is located in the village where E lives, and it was thanks to E that I signed up for this library. There is a really large selection of books there, although sometimes I get tired of the fact that these books are mostly war romances. Well, but one of the librarians loves them.

Today I borrowed four books. I didn't pay too much attention to what I choose,because, after all, I haven't finished reading the book I'm currently reading about the teacherxstudent relationship. All I remember is that I chose the first book because it had a girl with pigtails on the cover,and the second was a book of the young adult genre. I chose one because it had been a long time since I had read anything in that genre.

The librarian was very nice, by the way, as usual. She also complimented my sweater.🎀🩷

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The second stop was a local ice cream shop, close to the railroad tracks.

We were supposed to go to the mall for Thai ice cream, but on the way we saw that the ice cream shop was open. We've always liked this place, it's a lot cheaper than anything in the mall. To get from the parking lot to the ice cream shop I had to walk a short but challenging path with rocks, uphill. I bought myself a tiramisu-flavored shake, although the taste of tiramisu was practically indistinguishable, so I was disappointed. In addition, the prices went up.

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The highlight of my physiotherapy session, however, came at the end.

Again, we were in a park on a mountainous area,this one near the church. Today we were actually right in front of the church. Why? Because there are only benches with a backrest in that place. And only on such a bench I am not afraid to sit without the presence of another person nearby. In the sense, before getting there I still didn't know if I could do it.

We finally ordered this Chinese food, although this restaurant only accepts take-out orders, so I had to wait for E while he brought our food.

On our way out of the car we saw a handsome young priest. I even thought it was a shame that someone like that was a priest. E also said that he was a very nice priest. E is very religious and is in church every Sunday.

There was some time left to pick up the food we had ordered, so we did a short walk near the church, mostly uphill. After that my legs totally needed a rest.

The whole wait for E was not as scary as I thought. I WAS PRACTICALLY NOT SCARED AT ALL. This would have been unattainable just a few years ago. Maybe because the bench is low and bolted to concrete slabs? Or maybe because I wasn't quite so alone? The church is apparently being renovated because there were some construction workers there. Well, the nice priest must have forgotten that he saw me today because he said hello a second time.⭐

The food was some of the best I've ever eaten. I ordered chicken in coconut batter in a sweet chili sauce with rice and sauerkraut. IT WAS DELICIOUS!🎀🩷

And yes, we ate in front of the church xD

On the way home, my mom also bought me an ice cream, so it was totally great.

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B sent my mom the number to this suspicious herbalist. I'm still scared that my mom will want to take me there too. I don't trust such people. I texted N today and she shares my opinion on this.

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Okay, I'm done for the day. I am already terribly tired of writing today's post,because with breaks to eat and talk to my brother, I wrote this post for two hours.

As a reward I will eat one Kinder chocolate 🎀🩷.

#cerebral palsy #neurodivergent #neurodiverse stuff #physically disabled #hikikomori #actually neurodivergent #physical therapist #physical therapy #diary #long post

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thisislizheather · 5 months

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2023 Resolutions Revisited

Above Photo: The view from Nubeluz, NYC

Time to revisit the resolutions that I made in 2023! This is definitely my favourite post of the year because I will forever love accountability. The best part about making resolutions is going back and seeing how they went in reality. Why are people so anti-resolution? My guess is because most of us think that resolutions are supposed to be serious and not at all fun. Well, news flash - I’m here to tell you that you’re allowed to make fun ones. Also I’m bringing back “news flash.”

Throughout the year, I kept making my seasonal lists (spring, summer, autumn, winter). I got really into making reels, Nathan did his second Tonight Show, I got to visit the abandoned City Hall subway station, I toured the gorgeous Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, went to a tulip farm in New Jersey, we celebrated my dad’s 100th birthday with a giant party and a family trip to Scotland, I saw a ton of shows on Broadway (Death of a Salesman, Moulin Rouge, Shucked, Pictures From Home, Bad Cinderella, Hamlet at Shakespeare in the Park, Six, The Shark is Broken). I started the Summer Saturdays series, as well as Fall Fridays. I saw the Lagerfeld costume exhibit at The Met, I got to see this incredible private rehearsal of a play with Michael McKean, I flew in a Harvard plane, I continued my domination of Halloween, Nathan had three pretty significant pieces written about him in The New York Times, I compiled my favourites of 2023, and I found my favourite summer photos as well as my favourite photos of the year. And here’s how my 2023 resolutions went.

Above Photo: Family in Edinburgh, Scotland

1. Read at least one book per season.

Spring: Keep Moving by Dick Van Dyke

Oh my god, that’s it. I read one book last year. Nobody tell my dad because that’s embarrassing as hell. That’s the worst I’ve ever done with my reading goals. Definitely aiming to better about that this year.

2. Take Baby Dog on an adventure at least twice a season.

Done! She went to Canada a total of three separate times this year, and I took her on Central Park walks each season. She also did her pet volunteering a few times and I also took her to the air field where my brother and I got to fly in those planes.

Above Photo: Baby Dog in Central Park, NYC

3. Try at least one new restaurant each month.

January: Carne Mare (such a beautiful space, it’s perfect for a special occasion, caviar mozzarella sticks were slightly overrated but everything else was good), Little Ruby’s Cafe (so great for lunch) & Bistro Eloise (had the best onion soup in all of NYC, that broth was unreal, escargots was fantastic)

Above Photo: Carne Mare, NYC

February: The Bar Room (the grilled chicken on top of their caesar salad was unparalleled), Nubeluz by Jose Andres at The Ritz-Carlton (everything was great, view is perfect), Golden Unicorn (suck city, don’t go) & Olio E Piu (so terrible, begging you to never go)

March: The now-closed Quality Eats (that short rib hash was great), Wayan (best dishes: the corn fritters, the spring rolls, the lamb kebabs and the chocolate chip cookie with cheddar ice cream) & The Grill (the MP pasta appetizer was the most incredible thing we ate - they used this crank-type machine table-side to make the broth for the pasta sauce out of MEAT BONES and I’m still thinking about it, other highlight was the gluten-free zucchini cornbread)

April: Hawksmoor (flashy and beautiful inside, but no real substance), Pete’s Tavern (space is great, food is fine and service was attentive but odd) & Figlia (best Italian in Astoria, by far)

Above Photo: Figlia in Astoria, Queens

May: Spirit Tree Estate Cidery (so wonderful, can’t wait to go again)

June: S& P (fine, absolutely nothing special) & Sojourn (the duck spring rolls are insanely good)

July: Superiority Burger (veggie burger was great, everything else was just average), Modern Bread and Bagel (the gluten free latkes and french toast sticks were unreal) & Rubirosa (great space, great food)

August: 111 by Modou in Glasgow (fantastic!)

September: Shukette (truly special), Margaritaville in Times Square (the key lime pie is legit here) & Shopsin’s (great chicken sandwich)

October: Beetle House (too fun) & Oscar Wilde (so seasonally perfect)

November: Kaia Wine Bar (insanely good birria tacos and a great happy hour)

Above Photo: Birria tacos at Kaia Wine Bar, NYC

December: Mel’s (good, but never need to go again)

4. Properly go on a date with Nathan at least once a month.

Did it! Some of the dates included: going to see Death of a Salesman on Broadway, which depressed us so much that we silently went home and immediately to sleep. He made me see Scream VI against my will, we got drinks at Sunken Harbor Club, went bowling in Astoria, had a night at Rec Room in Square One, saw Talk To Me in theatres, went to Shot of Art together, devoted each Sunday in October to horror movies, we saw The Shark is Broken AND LIFE WAS CHANGED FOREVER (we loved it) and then we went to Maryland for New Year’s Eve.

Above Photo: Nathan in Baltimore, Maryland

5. Every month, cook something I’ve never cooked before.

January: penne alla vodka (this recipe sucked, but I want to try it again) and lasagna soup (wonderful, definitely would make again)

February: greek chicken meatballs (hard pass, too bland)

March: chicken marsala (I’ve made this at least ten times since March, favourite recipe of the year) & tres leche cake (heavenly)

Above Photo: Tres leche cake

April: steak Diane (really, really good) & asparagus soup (phenomenal)

May: lemon almond pudding cake (pretty boring, wouldn’t make again) & a classic bread pudding (simple and great recipe)

June: strawberry cobbler bars (good, but nothing to make again) & this dark chocolate cake with this icing (unbelievably tasty)

Above Photo: Strawberry cobbler bars

July: nothing this month (I’ll blame it on traveling)

August: stuffed summer shells (so, so good) & homemade pizza (which I promise to shut up about after this post)

Above Photo: Stuffed summer shells

September: tomato tart (good, but a ready-made puff pastry would’ve tasted better here) & pecan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (meh, don’t need to make again) & pumpkin spice syrup for iced coffee (wow)

October: apple cider doughnut cookies (good!) & a coconut chicken tikka masala (good but I never need to do it again)

Above Photo: Apple cider doughnut cookies

November: a rice krispies pumpkin pie (hilarious)

Above Photo: Rice Krispies pumpkin pie

December: espresso martini cookies (good!) & a mushroom loaf (truly great) & chocolate pistachio shortbread cookies (the worst! I think I just messed up the recipe though so this is on me)

6. Go on a solo, alone trip.

Biggest regret on this whole list. I’ve wanted to do this for years, so I might just keep it on the 2024 list.

7. Have at least one advertiser on this site.

Not yet! But I’ll keep trying.

8. On the first of each month, try something new.

Jesus, these resolutions were lofty! Big nope on this one.

9. Buy a keyboard and start playing piano again.

Hahahah, not even kinda. Great idea in theory. I did play piano each time I visited my parent’s house, though, so that’s something. A pathetic something, but a something. Don’t worry, I won’t try to take a half point here.

10. Have my book in at least one bookstore by the end of the year. Even if I have to self-publish and then physically put it on a shelf myself.

Okay, truthfully I didn’t even remember this was a resolution, so I didn’t even submit it anywhere for at least half of the year. But this is exactly why I need to revisit my resolutions list at least once a month. (It’s not lame if that itself is one of my resolutions, yeah?)

One thing that I’m so happy that I kept doing throughout the year? My monthly roundup posts. They’re basically little monthly journal entries that make me realize how good I have it sometimes, and I’m so grateful that anyone wants to read them. Here are the links to the last twelve months of them: December 2023, November 2023, October 2023, September 2023, August 2023, July 2023, June 2023, May 2023, April 2023, March 2023, February 2023 & January 2023.

And here are all the best tweets posts from 2023 as well: January, February, the best Valentine tweets, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, the best Halloween tweets, November, December and the best Christmas tweets.

So if we’re keeping score (we are), I did 4/10 on my resolutions (dear god). But see the thing is - this was one of the best years I’ve had in a very long time, so that’s important to note. You can brutally fail at resolutions and still make some progress because this felt like a very full year with a lot of things that went in the right direction.

2024 resolutions coming tomorrow!

#resolutions #2023 resolutions #2024 resolutions #this is liz heather #Liz Heather #resolution #resolution idea #NYC #best of NYC

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yihrae · 5 months

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2/1/24

I went to JB with a group of friends today. I had a BLAST this one is a solid contender for one of the best if not the best days of my life!! It started from me being unable to fall asleep until around 5am (we were meeting at 9am) and then sending a message begging someone to call me to make sure I awoke. Luckily I did. Honestly don't know I dragged myself out but I managed. Seven of us met at Toast Box at Hillview while the other three met at Causeway point. I had an Amy Yip pau for breakfast which is GARGANTUAN. You can't really see it in the picture but it's around the size of two palms placed together.

We rented a driver and a van for the day. The van picked the Hillview group first and then united all of us at Causeway point. Then we headed to the checkpoint! There was a slight jam so we were in the van for quite some time but god bless Zheng Long because he brought a speaker (and shades) so we had a small party. Even though I was on 2 hours and 45 minutes of sleep I think the music AWOKE me or something idk. I was very energetic for the songs I knew and liked at least. Setlist include Taylor swift and other 2000s throwbacks like Poker Face, I Gotta Feeling, On The Floor and various others.

We started off with the Mok Mok cafe. It was quite a pretty place and was honestly quite relaxing. I wasn't very hungry because of that pau I had earlier so I only ordered a drink. Celeste went off to take a couple pictures and Chris assisted her. Mostly small talk and trying food. My drink was okay. Zheng Long told me to eat the dried pineapple on the side of my drink. I'm going to be honest I'm not sure if it was edible nor if it was supposed to be eaten but whatever I just dipped it in my drink and had a go.

Afterwards we headed to Teppan place (was that what it was called?) We did a lil shopping and then headed to this theme park. It had all sorts of things. There was this slide that I burned my back going down because of the friction. There was also a little trampoline park. The highlight was probably the bumper bubble soccer section. Two people would be encased within these plastic bubbles and play football against each other. It was quite hilarious seeing everyone get knocked over. Sometimes it a male vs a female which wasn't really fair because the male is heavier but I suppose friendly bullying has its comedic value too HAHAHA.

We finished up, got Chagee and headed back into the van. Every time we went back to the van we played music. I'm not going to lie being in the van was probably my favourite part of the trip. Something about good music and good company in a van and listening and vibing together is something very, very special. We got off at Midvalley just as the best part of my song request "About You" was going to play :(

I spent the first half of Midvalley with Celeste, Zheng Long and Vann speed-walking around. Celeste and Vann did a bit of shopping while Zheng Long and I walked and talked about an assortment of things ranging from life to the shops we saw in the malls. Zheng Long had to eventually go off to find Eliora so I was left waiting for both of them. We shopped a bit more before linking up with everyone else where we eventually headed for hotpot.

Hotpot was pleasant. I sat with Celeste, Vann and Leon and the four of us shared various platters of Cod, pork, chicken, mushrooms and other assorted vegetables. It was great! I mean hotpot is always great but this one felt very relaxed and very natural.

There was one moment in particular that I shall now recount:

*Rapheal says he wants to go ask the waiter for something* Vann: "Ralph while you're at it could you ask the waiter for a new straw too? Mine is broken." *Rapheal glances at the Straw* Rapheal: "I think the straw is supposed to bend bro." *laughter erupts* Vann: "No as in it's got a HOLE in it." Leon: "Of course it's got a hole how else will you drink from the straw"

I'm sorry this moment was just so funny to me. Also Chris and Rapheal were having some romantic date I have no idea what that was about HAHAHA

There were several other highlights of the day: Bonding with Celeste over Taylor Swift and other music, having an insightful talk with Leon and Zheng Long over going to the U.S. and doing what makes me happy, getting to know everyone just a bit better in general. Oh YEAH WAIT lemme recap another moment:

For context: The van has 3 three rows of 3 seats. The 10th person sits in the front with the driver. Zheng Long and Eliora (a couple) sat at the back with one other person. Near the start of the trip it was me sitting with them but afterwards I said I don't want to anymore. So Sudikshaa took my place.

Sudikshaa: "Now I finally understand why Alex doesn't wanna sit at the back" (in the context of her being single and the Zheng Long and Eliora couple sitting next to her) Someone else: "It's okay Sudikshaa someday we will go on this trip and all of us will bring +1s" *moments later Cupid by FIFTY FIFTY plays* As the chorus plays, where the line "I'm feeling lonely" is sang. I shout the line, turn around my seat and point at Sudikshaa as I say the word "lonely" HAHAHAH DONT ASK ME WHY I DID THAT I swear I don't usually do it but it felt so apt at that moment that I just had to do it. Anyway Sudikshaa said afterwards I need to watch out or she'll become my #1 hater.

ANYWAY in summary it was an extremely enjoyable trip. I must thank Chris for settling and administrative side of things and everyone else for coming and making this very very memorable!! <3

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musicisforthesoul · 5 months

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The "YEG" Experience (Summer 2023)

This is Part 1 of my 2023 Year-End Blog Series. Hope you enjoy the read! :)

Having visited Edmonton in the Winter of 2022, I was very eager to go back simply for the fact that there were just so many fond memories made the first time I was there. From all food adventures and starting a shared food IG account (which really needs to be updated since it be lacking food posts lately…), to the super fun (but often painful) attempts at learning how to downhill ski, cross-country ski, and skate, and everything else in-between, it was the definitive highlight of 2022 for me. While it was an eventual goal of mine to one-day come back, career goals and aspirations took precedence over planning a trip to Alberta. Since starting a Master of Financial Economics at the University of Western Ontario in the Fall of 2022, it has been a constant grind of studying, completing assignments, writing exams, preparing job application documents, applying for (co-op) jobs, networking, preparing for interviews… all for the hard work and preparation to end with a ‘thank you for your interest in this role, but we have moved on with other candidates… don’t forget to fill out this survey about your application experience!”. As futile as it felt to painstakingly rinse and repeat the job application process, only to have 9 out of 10 of your applications get rejected, there will always be an opportunity out there. Even if it may be 1 interview out of 99 rejection letters, that 1 chance can be the golden ticket for you to achieve great things… so take the opportunities you get and prepare for them as if its your last.

Aside: Although this blog post was not meant to be some sort of inspirational TED Talk, may this small little tangent be a light of inspiration for those who are dealing with similar circumstances. Please remember to never give up and keep giving it your all! Your hard work and dedication will be rewarded 😊

The ‘one’ opportunity I had led me to a summer internship at a company based in Edmonton. Killing two birds with one stone, not only was this an opportunity to build my career, but it also gave me the opportunity to visit Alberta… this time, in the Summer. And so, this began my 4-week Alberta Adventure: Summer 2023 Edition.

Week 1: Calgary Stampede

The first week in Alberta started with a visit to Calgary to experience the Calgary Stampede. It definitely felt like a bigger, better, more extravagant version of the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). The shows were quite nice to watch (such as the motorcross, dogs how, and miniature horse show) but I suppose the most interesting thing was seeing an EDM concert in the evening. I guess I can check-off seeing a bunch of attendees wearing cowboy/cowgirl attire vibing to techno music from my bucket list.

Week 2: Banff

One thing to note whenever you plan to visit Banff National Park is to plan ahead, especially during peak times when kids are out of school or when families are booking their vacations. Case in point? Not having the foresight to book the reservations needed to visit Lake Louise and Moraine Lake… since personal vehicles are no longer allowed to visit Moraine Lake and parking is now super limited at Lake Louise (to preserve and protect the surrounding wildlife). Major major major shoutout to Jenny and Stephen (who will be mentioned a lot in this blog because they are the most amazing people ever) for dealing with my shenanigans and be willing to wake up at 3am to drive all the way from Calgary to Lake Louise so that I can at least see Lake Louise. You guys are truly the best <3

Day 1 was spent in Banff Town (or the Town of Banff), since we could not go to Lake Louise or Moraine Lake (since a reservation was needed and everything was already fully booked the day-of when checking for availability while trying to get into the national park). Nonetheless, it was still a fun experience to hike around Bow Falls, bask in the surroundings of Tunnel and Sulphur Mountain, and feeling like a tourist by buying good deals at the now-liquidated Hudson’s Bay in the town. The highlight of the day had to be relaxing in the Banff Upper Hot Springs after a day of hiking… Nothing feels better than relaxing in a natural hot spring after a tiring day. Definitely wished I could have experienced the hot spring in the Winter, but I guess all the more reason to come back again in the Winter!

Day 2 was action-packed, starting at 3am with the hopes of getting one of the limited parking spots at Lake Louise. Despite arriving as early as 6am, we probably nabbed the 3rd or 4th available spot… so, if you ever decide to drive to Lake Louise, go early! (otherwise, you might be waiting a while for people to leave) Our efforts to beat the crowd was rewarded with a stunning view of Lake Louise during sunrise.

In an attempt to find better views (and to enjoy the area while we were there), we decided to embark on a hike that was supposed to be somewhat quick, not too difficult, and would end with nice scenery to take pictures of. Instead, my small brain decided to take the trail that said “Louise” not knowing that it went the OPPOSITE DIRECTION of where Lake Louise was.

A 3-hour, 6km hike in the wet marshes without hiking boots later… we were back to where we parked the car filled with as much regret as the amount of water that seeped through our shoes. Despite this blunder, we still ended up hiking the short but nice Fairview Lookout trail, where it gave a beautiful view of Lake Louise and the historic Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.

Overall, ‘twas fun and rewarding visit to Banff National Park. Though the absence of snow may take away from the magical atmosphere of the Canadian Rockies, experiencing Banff in the Summer has its own unique charms filled with gorgeous sunsets and a plethora of fun and rewarding hikes.

Week 3: Chasing Summer

When Jenny had asked me a few months before my Alberta trip, whether I was interested in going to Chasing Summer, I didn’t even hesitate in my response. I simply said “Sure, I’m down” without even realizing what I was actually signing up for. Only after I got confirmation that tickets were bought and plans were being made, did I realize that I agreed to going to a 2-day EDM festival. Had I ever gone to rave before? Nope. Was I nervous about the experience? Not going to lie, yeah, I was a bit anxious. Do I have any regrets? Absolutely not. Would I do it all over again? Definitely.

Before the weekend of Chasing Summer, the rave crew got together to make kandi. Honestly, it was a fun night of making really unique and well-designed bracelets while also having the chance to get to know the people I would be raving with in a few days time. I really should’ve made more generic bracelets to actually give out since I swear, I put too much thought and effort that I felt obliged to keep most of the ones I made… the ‘SOJU’ one especially.

At this point, I was still a little nervous leading up to the weekend of the rave, but at least I knew who I would be going with… and knowing that they’re super chill and quite fun to be around, I felt quite at ease.

No blog is complete without some food pics. Here are some pictures of sushi taken from Ari Sushi the evening before the festival:

Day 1 of the festival arrives, and we all made our preparations. The theme of the day? Neon and black. After an hour or two of pre-drinking baijiu and vodka, we were ready to attend the festival.

The lineup for Day 1 included the likes of ARMNHMR, Gryffin, James Hype and Tiësto (the headliner). From when the sun was up to when it set, the atmosphere was electric. It really felt like how I imagined an EDM festival would be: people screaming, dancing, vibing to each and ever single beat and bass drop. The pre-drinking really did help as I don’t know if I would’ve felt the same vibes if I didn’t feel some sort of buzz. It definitely helped that we somehow ended up near the stage which made it all the more intense to be vibing while being blasted by the music in full force. I feel like the amount of cardio I achieved from one day of raving was equivalent to the amount I would normally get in a week… just pure jumping and dancing in sea of ravers who were looking for a good time. With the completion of Chasing Summer Day 1, I felt thrilled to do it all-over again the second day.

The theme for day 2 was Pastel and White. Compared to Day 1, I turned up my drinking game (since I opted out of doing weed or molly). In a 7-hour span, I left no opportunity to sober up as every chance I got, I chugged soju, Smirnoff Ice, or vodka, as if I was drinking water. It was probably smart not to chug the Baijiu since that thing burns you like any hard liquor would.

The second day was definitely a bigger blur for me given how particularly drunk and tipsy I was the entire time. Nonetheless, I know for sure that the vibes were at an all-time high with nobody slowing down even after an intense day 1. I probably can’t describe in words how amazing the experience was, but luckily the photos that were taken will hopefully suffice. As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

To cap off a weekend of raving, we visited an alpaca farm before heading home!

What made this experience so incredibly memorable were the people I had the privilege of going with. To Jeremy, Amy, Josh, Jasmine, Johhny, Jenny, and Chuulie, thank you all for making my first-ever rave experience one that I’ll never forget. Feeding off all your energy and vibes, I had the time of my life dancing, screaming, and shouting to the electric lineup of ARMNHMR, Gryffin, Tiësto, and Zedd. Thank you for also being so kind and super fun. I know that I was simply a guy from Ontario who was ‘just visiting’ but you all made me feel included and for that, I’m eternally grateful. I hope that one day we can reunite, and you would allow me to join you guys again to dance and scream the night away at another rave/EDM festival. Miss you all <3

Week 4: Drumheller

The final week of my Alberta Adventures took me to Drumheller, the Dinosaur Capital of the World! Visiting the Royal Tyrrell Museum and the Hoodoos, it was stunning to see how pretty the landscape was despite being considered an area where things scarcely grow.

As 2023 comes to a close and I reflect on the many great memories made this year (particularly during my trip to Alberta), I want to thank all the great friends that I was able to spend time with. To LJ, thank you for many sports talks and the one time we were able to play tennis… in the rain. To Jeremy and Amy, it was super nice to see you two again and thank you oh so much for the many fun memories! From being able to help out for the Delish Cup, to making kandi, to Chasing Summer and of course, the weeks of playing ultimate frisbee, a huge part of why my Alberta trip was amazing was because of you two! To Josh and Jasmine, thank you for being such kind-hearted souls and super fun people to be around! Playing ultimate frisbee and going to Chasing Summer will always be something I’ll cherish! To Johhny, thank you for your loveable energy and vibes and for making my first-ever rave experience one I’ll never forget (also thank you for keeping me alive when I was drunk out of my mind). Last but not least, to Jenny and Stephen, thank you so much for your amazing hospitality and the many great adventures we went on while I was in Alberta. Through all the good and sometimes not-so-good times, thank you for being such amazing amazing people. I hope to visit your new house one day!

With that, looking forward to what adventures await in 2024!

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