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fairyqueenofthedragons · 4 years

Text

Key to Knowledge

Fablekingdom chapter 3

Glad you all seem to like the story :D I'm having fun writing it. Sorry for the slight delay, life happens. Finals are coming up and I have a bunch of projects so I might be a bit slow on updates for the next few weeks.

(Find Chapter One with a server of “Fk ch 1″)

Come chat with me on discord: https://discord.gg/nwwcSQSUjh

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Breakfast the next morning was good. Lena had called it “cream of wheat”, mixed with berries and homemade raspberry preserves. There was also toast and butter, and orange juice.

Seth had his tongue poking out as he angled his butter knife to bounce sun rays in Kendra’s eyes. She was not close enough to the window to retaliate, so she settled for kicking his foot.

“Don’t blind your sister, Seth,” Grandpa said.

Seth put his butter knife down with a sigh, turning to Grandpa, “Where’s Dale?”

Kendra wondered the same thing, she hadn’t seen him today, was he still asleep? It was almost nine.

“Dale and I got up a few hours ago, finished most of the morning chores. He’s still out working, I’m just here to keep you company since it’s your first morning.”

“Will you guys be back for lunch?” Kendra asked.

“No, today I’m going to the North fields, I’ll be bringing lunch with me.” He studied the wall above them, looking uncomfortable. “I’ll likely be back for dinner.”

“Oh...” Kendra murmured, nibbling on some toast. She supposed he hadn’t particularly wanted them here anyways. He wasn’t required to spend all his time with them.

“You kids remember my rules?” Grandpa asked.

Seth nodded, shoving some cream of wheat in his mouth, “This is good.”

“Stay out of the woods and the barn,” Kendra answered her Grandpa. “And keep things neat and try not to break anything.”

“Good girl,” Grandpa said with a small smile. “There’s a swimming pool out back, it’s all set up so feel free to swim in it. If you don’t feel like swimming there are gardens as well, plus the yard as a whole to run around in. You might even find some surprises if you look around.”

He stood, folding his napkin.

“You’re also welcome to play in your room. Any questions?”

Kendra nodded, “When is Grandma coming back?”

Grandpa faltered, gaze darting to the clock.

“That depends on your Aunt Edna. If she recovers quickly than Ruth could be back next week, or it could be a couple of months.”

“Good thing Grandma’s not sick anymore,” Seth said, putting some jam on his toast.

“Sick?” Grandpa asked.

“You know,” Kendra said with a frown. “The illness that kept her from the funeral.”

“Oh yes,” He nodded. “That one. Well, she was still a little under the weather when she left but was feeling much better.”

“I’m sad we missed her,” Kendra said.

“Yeah, we haven’t seen her in years,” Seth added.

“She was sorry to miss you too,” Grandpa assured them as he pushed his chair in. “I’d best be off. Don’t forget sunblock if you swim and keep your video games inside.”

“Yes Grandpa,” Seth said.

“We’ll be good,” Kendra promised.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Kendra was dressed in her blue swimsuit, a towel over one shoulder, as she stepped onto the back porch. She had a water bottle under one arm and a very pretty handheld mirror she’d found in the nightstand by her bed in her hand.

She paused to admire the gardens that covered a good portion of the backyard. There were paths of white stones meandering through the flower beds and hedgerows. She could see the edge of a vegetable patch peeking out behind some hedges to the right of her, and some dry fountains over there too.

Just in front of the porch seemed to be an herb garden and around the pool were more flower beds and a ring of fruit trees. She didn’t recognize all the fruit there, only the two apple trees and cherry tree. Maybe that one was a peach tree?

She wondered if it was okay for them to eat any of them.

The flowers were really beautiful though, Kendra had never seen such brilliant blossoms.

Seth was already swimming, throwing some sinking toys and diving after them.

The pool looked really cool, with a black bottom and rocks surrounding it you could almost mistake it for a pond.

Kendra grinned and headed down the steps, following the short path to the pool side.

The garden around her was filled with birds and insects.

There were quick moving hummingbirds, wings nearly invisible as they moved from flower to flower.

Huge bumblebees buzzed around, two coming very close to her. She stilled for a moment, remembering the rule her dad taught her. As long as you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you. They drifted past.

Kendra paused again as two butterflies alighted on some flowers by her, wings brilliant hues of blue and red. She’d never seen such brilliant butterflies. Then again, she’d never visited a garden this incredible either, it’s no wonder Grandpa Sorenson had so many chores.

“Beautiful,” she murmured.

The butterflies fluttered back up, flying around her for a moment before drifting away.

“Wow,” she whispered as she arrived at the pool. This really was an amazing backyard.

The poolside was paved, with some recliners and a circular glass table with a big umbrella in the center.

Seth climbed out of the pool as she arrived, waving as he leapt from a stone outcropping with a whoop. He hit the water with a big splash.

Kendra set her towel and mirror on the table and grabbed a bottle of sunblock. She took a few minutes to smear it on her skin, rubbing it in until it disappeared.

While Seth dove under water for another one of the sinking toys, Kendra picked up the mirror, carefully angling it so it reflected the sunlight. When Seth came up she aimed a big splotch of sunlight right in his eyes.

“Hey!”

Seth ducked back under water, coming back up in another spot. Kendra pointed the light right back at him.

“Cut it out!” Seth called.

“But I thought you liked playing with sunlight,” Kendra said.

Seth turned to glare but had to look away with the light in his eyes.

“I only did it a little! And Grandpa already told me to stop.”

Because that always stops him from doing something, but Kendra put the mirror down anyways.

“Don’t try to blind me again,” she said.

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled, swimming over to the side of the pool.

“How’s the water?” Kendra asked, walking over to the edge.

Seth grinned, and shoved the water forward to splash her.

She shrieked, surprised by the cold, before her eyes narrowed and she leapt over him into the water.

It took a moment to adjust to the temperature but then she quickly swam away from Seth, ducking under the water to avoid his splashing.

It ended in a splash fight, Seth swinging his arms in wide arcs and doing big but weak splashes. Kendra pushed to water in focused waves, hitting Seth head on more, though he dodged more than she did.

She ducked under water after a few minutes, when the fight was slowing, yanking Seth under water.

The fight began anew, Seth and her wrestling in the water until they were both tired.

“I definitely won,” Seth said.

Kendra rolled her eyes.

The two of them played some games with the sinking toys, racing for them and seeing who could get the most. Then they tried different dives into the deep end.

Kendra was the best at the clean dives, making only a small splash. Seth was great at doing big splashes though.

Kendra grew bored after a bit, getting out of the pool to rest on the edge.

Seth had her judge his dives.

“Watch this can opener!” He yelled as he jumped with one leg straight and the other bent.

“Eight and a half,” Kendra called back when he surfaced.

“That was definitely a nine,” he said as he swam back to the edge to jump again.

“You bent your leg when you hit the water,” she countered.

“Oh, come on!”

Kendra grinned, standing to grab her towel, but stopped when she saw the mirror.

Hummingbirds, bumblebees, and butterflies swirled in the air around the mirror. Several more butterflies and a couple of large dragonflies were actually sitting on the mirror face.

“Seth,” Kendra called quietly. “Come look at this.”

“What?”

“Come here.”

Seth sighed, walking around to reach Kendra and doing a double take at the insects and birds around the mirror.

“What’s up with them? They’re acting like the fairies from Grandpa’s stories.”

“I’m not sure,” Kendra said. “Do insects like mirrors?”

“Ones that are secretly fairies do,” Seth joked.

Kendra rolled her eyes, “This isn’t Grandpa’s fairytales, Seth, what are they doing?”

“Admiring their lovely wings?”

“Well they are pretty wings.”

They stared for a moment.

“I dare you to grab the mirror,” Kendra said.

“Sure.”

He moved forward carefully, before snatching up the mirror and bolting to the pool, diving in.

Some of the insects and birds scattered, but most drifted after him for a moment.

“How strange,” Kendra muttered before shaking her head. “Seth, get the mirror out of the pool, the chemicals will ruin it!”

“Chill, it’s fine,” he said, stroking over to the side.

“Here, let me see it,” Kendra took the mirror from him and wiped it dry with her towel. It didn’t seem damaged.

She paused, eyeing the assorted insects around the pool.

“Want to try something?” Kendra said as she placed the mirror face up on a lounge chair and backed away.

“Do you think they’ll come back?” Seth asked.

“We’ll see.”

Kendra and Seth sat down at the table, not too far away from the lounge chair. Kendra sipped her water as they watched a hummingbird glide over to the mirror. Soon it was joined by a few butterflies, and then some bumblebees, and then some dragonflies.

“Go turn the mirror face down,” Kendra suggested. “I wanna see if they like their reflections or the mirror itself.”

Seth crept forward slowly, the animals taking no notice of his approach. He reached forward carefully, then quickly flipped the mirror and bolted back to the table.

The ones that had landed on the mirror took flight when it was overturned, but only a few of the creatures flew away. A pair of butterflies and a dragonfly landed on the lounge chair at the edge of the mirror.

Kendra gasped as they took flight and flipped the mirror over, nearly sliding it off the chair in the process.

“Is that even possible?” Kendra muttered.

“That was so weird,” Seth agreed as the swarm pressed close to the mirror again.

“How are they strong enough to lift it?”

“There were a few of them,” Seth pointed out. “Want me to flip it again?”

“No, it might break… I don’t think butterflies are strong enough to flip that, it’s too heavy.”

“I dunno,” Seth said, draping his towel over his shoulder. “I’m gonna go change.”

“Take the mirror with you?”

“Sure, but if I get stung I’m telling Grandpa it was your fault.”

Seth moved to towards the mirror slowly, then snatched it up and rushed to the path back to the house. Part of the swarm drifted after him but didn’t follow far before scattering.

Kendra stared after them for a moment, frowning as she tried to figure out what was up with them. Seth was right, it really did remind her of the stories Grandpa told them about fairies.

How strange.

Kendra sighed and wrapped her towel around her waist, grabbing the sunblock and her water. She headed back to the house.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Kendra found Seth dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved camo shirt. He was checking through the cereal box that served as his emergency kit.

“What are you doing?”

“Just checking if I need anything else,” he said innocently.

“How about some water?” Kendra said, eyes narrowed.

Seth brightened, “Good idea! I’ll grab some on my way out.”

He scooped up the kit and headed to the door.

“Where are you going?”

Seth paused, sending her a sly smile, “Promise you won’t tell?”

She huffed, “You’re going into the woods.”

He shrugged, “Wanna come?”

“You heard Grandpa, there are ticks in there, you’ll get Lyme disease.”

“Ticks are everywhere, so’s poison ivy. If people let possible dangers stop them then no one would ever go anywhere.”

“Grandpa will be mad, you’ll get in trouble.”

“Grandpa isn’t here. As long as you don’t tell, nobody will know.”

Kendra frowned, “Grandpa has been really nice. He didn’t want to have us here, but he opened his home to us. We should follow his rules, he only gave us like three of them.”

Seth rolled his eyes, “There’s no adventure in the garden.”

“Have you explored the whole yard yet?”

“How about this. If I don’t find anything interesting or weird or anything like that in the woods today, I’ll spend the next week only in the yard.”

Kendra considered, that sounded fair. What were the chances the forest had much in it?

“Grandpa’s livestock or whatever he has here doesn’t count.”

“Sure, but if I find a satyr or evil witch in the woods-“

“If you find an evil witch in the woods I’m not letting you back in the woods or you’ll get cursed.”

“But then how is Kendra the fairy princess gonna save me?” He asked, batting his eyelashes.

“Fight me.”

He laughed, “It’ll be fine, are you coming?”

Kendra hesitated, it did sound interesting but…

“No, not this time.”

“Will you tell on me?”

“If they ask I won’t lie.”

“I won’t be long,” Seth promised, hurrying out of the room.

Kendra sighed and stared around the room for a moment, what was there to do?

Oh yeah, she’d almost forgotten.

Kendra hurried to the nightstand, the mirror was resting on it. Beside the mirror was the key ring Grandpa had given her.

She’d already figured out what the biggest key opened, a jewelry box on the dresser that was full of costume jewelry, and a few pieces that looked real.

There were some fake necklaces and earrings and pendants and rings and bracelets, but also some that looked real. She was pretty sure the hair clip was real silver, and the bracelet looked like real rubies. She’d put them all back in the jewelry box, not sure if they were allowed to use it despite what Grandpa had said.

Did he mean for her to keep them in giving her the keys? Or was there a different purpose?

She wasn’t sure.

There had also been gold wrapped chocolates, only three of them, she’d had one and it was undoubtably the best chocolate she’d ever had.

She decided to check out the rest of the room for more key holes. She had two more keys, both smaller than the first. The smallest was no longer than a thumbtack. Where would she find such tiny keyholes?

The night before she’d tried all the drawers and toy chest, but none were small enough, and most unlocked anyways.

Her eyes scanned the room, trying to figure out what might have a small enough keyhole. They landed on the Victorian dollhouse.

Of course, if anything would have tiny keyholes, it would be a tiny house.

She unlatched the clasps of the house and opened it, revealing three stories and many rooms full of miniature furniture. Five doll people lived in the house—a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, and a baby.

The detail was incredible, the dolls had individual hairs on their heads and the clothing had patterns. The rooms themselves had just as much detail, with the beds having quilts, blankets, sheets, and pillows, and the couches having removable cushions. The bathtub even had movable knobs and the sinks had tiny cosmetic supplies on them.

The dollhouse’s master bedroom had an intricate armoire, with a large keyhole in the center, or well, large for the size of it.

Kendra inserted the tiniest key and turned it, smiling when the doors sprung open.

Inside were more of the gold wrapped chocolates, along with a small golden key. It was larger than the one that opened the armoire, but smaller than the one that opened the jewelry box.

Kendra carefully tucked the two wrapped chocolates away, they were two good to eat all at once.

She checked the rest of the tiny house, under every couch, bed, and carpet, behind every painting and dresser, in every closet and cabinet, but there were no more keyholes.

She closed up the dollhouse once more, determined to play with it later, this really was the dream dollhouse, she wished she’d had one at home.

Looking around the room, Kendra debated what to check next. There was one key left of the originals, plus the new one… was there a key in the jewelry box too?

She went back over to it, shifting through the real and fake jewelry to see. On a charm bracelet she found another little golden key, about the size of the one she’d found in the armoire. She took it off the bracelet and slipped it onto the keyring.

So that’s two new keys, and one of the originals.

She looked around again. Kendra had already checked all the dressers and toy chests and wardrobes (they were filled with fascinating stuff, the wardrobes had some of the softest fur coats and scarves and gloves she was jealous) but she could always double check. It was possible a key hole could be behind something, or under something, but she didn’t think it would be that crazy, the first two weren’t.

She decided to check the telescope, it seemed reasonable enough with all the knobs and different sections.

A thorough check later led her to be sure that there were no key holes.

Maybe she could see Seth through it though.

She opened the window, noticing Dale walking along the lawn at the outskirts of the woods. Kendra thought that he was out doing chores, why was he at the yard?

He stooped, putting something that he’d been carrying behind a low hedge, making her unable to see it. He set off at a brisk pace, glancing around as if worried someone would see.

Kendra considered for a moment, that seemed strange, but not bad. Her curiosity got the best of her though and she headed down the stairs.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Reaching outside, Dale was nowhere in sight. She headed over to the low hedge beneath the attic window, weaving through the beautiful gardens and past a few lovely fountains.

The hedge was about six feet before the edge of the forest and laying on the ground just behind it was a large pie tin full of milk.

Kendra crouched down, staring in fascination at the assorted animals hovering around it and drinking the milk.

An iridescent hummingbird hung suspended over the pie tin, along with several butterflies. One swooped down and splashed in the milk, before fluttering back up.

The hummingbird flew away after a moment and a dragonfly approached.

All the animals were very pretty. The butterflies wings the brightest colors and the dragonflies large and almost sparkling in the light.

“You’re all so pretty,” she murmured to the winged animals. “But why are you all drinking the milk?”

She gasped as a butterfly landed on her hand, wings fluttering delicately.

“Hello,” she whispered, staying still so as not to scare it away.

It’s wings fluttered, and after a moment it drifted back into the air.

She glanced back at the pie tin, surprised by how much the milk level had fallen.

Who knew that butterflies, dragonflies, hummingbirds, and bees liked milk?

She carefully straightened, grinning at the winged animals that drifted around her.

“I’ve got to go, enjoy your milk.”

She walked back towards the house, then paused partway. She studied the attic window for a moment. The house was pretty big, but the attic was fairly long.

Studying the window, she visualized the room. It only took up half the space that should be there.

She walked around to the opposite side of the house, distracted slightly by the many beautiful flowers, and the assorted fruit trees that dotted the lawn.

Arriving on the far side, she studied the top of the house. There were another set of attic windows, window that the room Seth and she were staying in couldn’t see. So, there was another side to the attic.

Maybe there was a secret passage to it in the playroom! Maybe that’s what the keys were for.

She was just about to head back to the attic to check when she noticed Dale coming from the barn with another pie tin.

She could always check the attic later.

She hurried over to Dale, frowning when he suddenly looked uncomfortable.

He pasted a smile on his face as she reached him, “Hey Kendra.”

“Hi, what are you doing?”

“Just taking some milk to the house,” he said, changing direction to head towards the house. He had been heading towards the woods.

“Why’s it in a pie tin? And why’d you leave the other tin behind the hedge?”

“Hedge?” he said innocently, looking incredibly guilty.

“There were a lot of butterflies there, drinking it.”

Dale stopped, studying Kendra intently. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Of course.”

He glanced around as if there were spies nearby. “We have a few milking cows, and they make a lot of milk. We sell some of it, and use some, but there’s a bit excess. I put it out for the insects, seems to make them happy.”

“Why’s it a secret?” Kendra asked.

“Well, I never really asked if it was alright. Your grandfather might not be happy about me doing it when I could be trying to sell it.”

“It seems nice,” Kendra offered. “The animals seemed to like it.”

He nodded, “Yeah, they seem happy with it.”

“So you weren’t taking that tin to the house.”

He coughed, “No, no. This milk hasn’t been pasteurized. It’s full of bacteria, you could catch all sorts of diseases. People should not drink it, but the insects seem to like it best like this. You’ll keep my secret?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks,” he winked at her.

“Where are you putting that one?”

“Over there,” he jerked his chin towards the woods. “I set a few on the border of the yard every day.”

“Does it go bad? Or attract anything dangerous?”

“I don’t leave it out long. And some days they’re empty when I collect the pans, haha, they’re thirsty little critters.”

Kendra nodded, “Cool.”

“I’d best get back to work, I’ll see you around Kendra.”

“Yeah, see you later.”

She turned to head back inside.

“Oh yeah, you seen your brother around?” Dale asked.

“I think he’s in the house,” Kendra said. “He wanted some water last I checked.”

“Kay, just checking.”

Kendra waved, heading back in the house.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to reblog and leave a review, they feed my soul.

lmk if you’d like to be tagged.

#fablehaven #dragonwatch #fh #dw #fhdw #kendra sorenson #seth sorenson #fh fanfic #fh fanfiction #fablehaven fanfic #fablehaven fanfiction #fablekingdom ch 3 #fablekingdom ch. 3 #FK ch 3 #grandpa sorenson #Dale Burgess #fh dale #fablekingdom

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foxydodo · 6 years

Note

Wow I used to ship style but I have been straying away but I saw your art and wow my old otp is coming back to life, any Style headcanons?

WELCOME BACK! *flails arms* I have quite a bit! I was going to post them eventually but since you asked:

Kyle carries an extra inhaler in case Stan gets an asthma attack.

They take turns choosing songs from Stan’s iPod on commute. Kyle still teases him for selling them out all over an iPod. Stan does use his phone more often for other music but the iPod has a lot of old songs he can’t bear to delete which they both used to like.

Kyle writes and doodles silly things on paper napkins at diners for Stan just to annoy him but Stan keeps them. He has about 5 now and 1 with coffee stains.

They are the kids who share a pad of writing paper folding shuriken stars.

Stan is the one that comes to class with ONE pen and it doesn’t even work so Kyle always lends him his. There’s at least 6 of Kyle’s pens scattered in different areas of Stan’s bag. Sometimes Stan will be fidgeting his hands in his pockets and finds another one. Kyle is of course annoyed and starts clearing and packing Stan’s bag. WHY DO YOU STILL HAVE CANDY WRAPPERS??? Are you going to eat them, Stan?!?! (He still struggles with hoarding problems..)

It upsets Kyle whenever he gets a whiff of Stan’s clothes and they mildly smell of alcohol. He starts getting Stan new shirts from his favourite bands or the Broncos whenever he can as a way of trying to fix things without realising he’s doing it. Stan does feel better slightly and almost never drinks when he wears the shirts Kyle picked out.

Stan is the first to realise his feelings for Kyle. Kyle on the other hand just best friend zones Stan so it takes them forever to actually get together. Everyone else around them gave up a long time ago over how oblivious they are.

They get angry/jealous after helping the other get ready for a date. They think they’re just selfish and should be happy for their best friend instead of being upset for being left out on a friday night. Boy..did they misunderstand.

Goes prom shopping together and when the other steps out of the changing room they blush REALLY hard and wonder wtf is wrong with them.

Asks each other “Who would you rather kiss in our class?” type of questions which leads to “You ever thought of kissing another guy?” and ultimately becomes “Yeah. We could try it. Just between the two of us, nobody needs to know. It’s just an experiment.” Then they kiss and realise they like it more than they’re supposed to.

They sleep next to each other but no hugging or anything during a sleepover. By the time they’re awake, they’re usually snuggled up and cuddling. It’s too cozy to move so they pretend they’re still asleep until one of their parents knock on the door to tell them breakfast is ready.

Shelly and Ike roll their eyes too often to be healthy at how Stan and Kyle’s relationship is purely platonic.

Sometimes Skype/Discord/Facetime each other but doesn’t speak. They just leave it in the background to feel each other’s presence while doing their own things. Also applies when they are hanging out where they will have together alone time.

Calls each other ‘best friend’ ironically as a pet name while in a relationship. “So best friend, where do you wanna go for lunch?” ‘Dude’ is another one that sticks.

They adopt so many dogs..SO MANY. Includes other animals but they refer to everything as a different type of puppy.

Sends each other memes and animal videos. Kyle takes a lot of pictures but Stan is the one with the printed versions.

They sneak into each other’s rooms (through the window) when they like.

Stan is usually the big spoon but they swap. Kyle gets upset the blanket gets hogged.

When Stan gets jealous, he is cold and mopes around while Kyle starts getting angry at why he’s acting like a child all of a sudden. Kyle eventually realises and apologizes and assures that everything is ok. When Kyle is jealous, he is incredibly passive aggressive and petty and will drop hints at why he’s being that way. Stan wouldn’t understand and Kyle would have to yell and explain. He’s usually ok after a hug and soft kisses on the forehead.

THEY SWAP IN BED OK..everyone keeps asking ;-; thirsty peeps

#sp style #Stan x Kyle #south park #hcs #headcanons #asks #stan marsh #kyle broflovski

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the-mf-bread-babies · 4 years

Text

20/6/20

× REBUILD III ×

+ RUNAWAY RENEGADES +

[ COLLECTION I ]

“backstories”

∆ VOLUME TWO ∆

“Odd Beginnings”

· PART ONE ·

———————————————————

CHAPTER ONE

DINER DATE

It was a rainy night. The clock inside the diner probably hadn't been fixed in decades, which only made time pass more slower for Jason. Jason Aronowitz Watanabe, 16 years old, was waiting for his first date to arrive at the restaurant. His mother and father were sitting in front of him, eagerly awaiting for her too. Among all the excuses the two had speculated, the son had grown tired and realized that maybe he didn't want to do this in the first place.

Jason stared at the unmoving clock, the sound of rain pattering filling his ears. God, it would be such a good time to sleep right now. “Honey, she's probably stuck in traffic,” said Judy, his mother. She spent hours to do her hair, makeup, and outfit. This might have been her son's date, but her and her husband's was going to take place as soon as the girl had arrived, and it was ten times more grand than Jason's. They had a reservation at Chili's.

Hisashi Watanabe, Jason's father, kept his eyes focused on the road outside. Maybe this was her. No, then that one. Also no. Well, hopefully Jason's not getting pranked or whatever. Oh, that's a cool truck. Bye, cool truck. Damn, that reservation's probably busted by now. So long, paradise pie. Two hours to get here and both dates are probably cancelled by now. Jason looks sad. Actually, he always does, it's understandable, but this time's sadder than usual.

“Jason, look outside!” The father whispered excitedly, pointing out the window. “Whatever. I wanna go home.” Jason grumbled angrily, his voice slightly cracking either from crying or just puberty. “Sorry, just… a limo,” Hisashi uttered quietly. “We can order something if you want,” Judy suggested, awkwardly smiling, her big sunglasses shielding the intense mix of emotions she was feeling– anger, disappointment, sadness. Also, hunger.

“Mm,” Jason replied cryptically. “Waiter! Can I get a menu, please?” Judy yelled out, startling the two men. She ordered something, her voice being reduced to mumbles by Jason zoning out, eyes fixated on the table. “Sweetie, do you want a milkshake? They have cookies and cream,” His mother asked, gaining back his attention. “Um, okay, sure.” Jason answered, giving his mother and the waiter a polite smile. “Thank you.” He went back to zoning out.

His parents were having a conversation about something unimportant, and the restaurant was awfully ambient. There was a jukebox, but that, too, was broken. This seemed like an appropriate situation for the boy to get distracted from everything and daydream. Damn, it would be so cool if he could play the drums. Ah, to be a transformer. Imagine going to have a heart transplant surgery, and Gerard says, “Babe, it's okay,” and then when it's done you ask the nurse who gave you the heart and she replies, “Frank Iero,” and you and the other three remaining members go get pizza or whatever. Poor Frank. Was that a bell ringing. Oh, to be a lamb in a field, eating grass. Ew, imagine eating grass…

HELLO.

A shadowy figure towered over Jason threateningly, katakana surrounding her. Who the hell is this?

“Do you need money?” Judy asked quietly, counting some dollar bills, thinking this was some random person. “Yeah!” She shouted excitedly. “Gimme five hundred thousand dollars, stat!” Jason's face turned to the girl. Her shirt read “TACO,” with an image of a cartoon taco below it. Cloaking the ugly t-shirt was a blue jacket that seemed quite old and vintage. Well, at least her outfit is matching. “Um… are you…” he asked the girl.

“Your date for tonight, partner!” Oh, she has braces. Yeah, seemed like a braces person. “Awesome! Now you two don't do any funny business, okay?” Jason's dad stated, pointing. “Dad, what.” “Well, off to visit your mother!” He added, his arm around Judy, the two scooting out of the seat to make room for the girl. “Cool! Your dad knows TF2?” The girl said, her face sparking up in joy. “I was an animator for the shorts,” Hisashi revealed, much to the girl's excitement. “HOLY SHIT!!! CAN I GET AN AUTOGRAPH?!” She yelled out, turning the heads of some people in the diner. “Sure thing,” he answered, signing a napkin. “Okay, bye, you two,”

Jason's eyes met the girl's, realising he forgot what her name was. Um… well, her brother's a senior, right? Tony… Tony Blenderson… Bender… Flanders… Uh… “Hi! You're Jason, right? From History?” She asked, raising his fear more. How did he even agree to this in the first place? Oh, right, their moms are friends. “Um, yeah, and you're…” Oh God. Grave mistake. “Man, I don't know! Most people just call me by my last name. First names are boring, you get me?” She confessed, calming him down slightly. “Oh, uh… yeah! Uh, so I can call you…” “Anytime!” She added confidently. “Huh?” Jason said, confused. “Henderson, man! Hendersonville is actually an actual place, by the way! Could you BELIEVE IT?!” Jason awkwardly agreed, not knowing what to do. “Yeah… like Disneyland or something…”

The conversation went on, with the occasional text from Jason's parents. “So then I was all like, I know karate, you dumbass,” she started, Jason trying his best to understand what the hell she was talking about. “And this stupid little goat starts headbutting me, and I'm bleeding and stuff, obviously, keep in mind I had a hamburger, that's important, okay,” The boy nodded his head along. “So, yeah, that was how gender equality is. Yeah, zoos are dumb, they're bad,” “Yeah, like, it's not good for them and stuff,” Jason said, finally having some material for the conversation.

He paused for a bit, unsure if the other was going to add anything. “So, uh, what do you do? Like, um, in general, yeah,” he asked, sipping his milkshake. “Kill people.” She blurted. “Okay. I like collecting stamps.” He replied jokingly. “HAH! God, what a riot you are! Oh boy, STAMPS!!!” Henderson laughed exaggeratedly, thinking it sounded natural, and possibly cute. “Yeah…?” “Yeah, not real people, but like, I play video games a lot. You ever play Slime Rancher? I've got six thousand days on that guy.” She confessed seriously, crossing her arms. “Also, used to play Overwatch, but that was so last rebuild. Now, in this one, I prefer Garden Warfare. You know, the FPS Plants vs. Zombies game?” She casually added, Jason sending his usual confused nodding and raised eyebrows with a slightly opened mouth as a reply.

Jason thought for a bit. “I play Apex,” He said disappointedly. “Oh, didn't it end because of that big rapper guy? Marshmello? Yeah. Sorry, dude.” Henderson comforted. “Um. I guess?” Jason ate the Oreo on top of the milkshake. “Yeah, and I also listen to emo stuff. I was born in the wrong generation.” He said, stirring the drink. “Oh, like PSY? Yeah, my old neighbor listened to him.” .. huh. “Um… yeah, and like, MGR and stuff…” “Cool! What's that stand for, again? My cousin listens to Chaos! in the Gathering, Nuclear Lad, thirty three tailors, so I know emo.” Henderson bragged. “Oh, it stands for My Geological Rocks! It's because they're pretty rock, and one of them saw this book where the title was ‘Geological Rocks’ or whatever, so they named the band that.” He explained truthfully. “ Oh ! That's Dumb ! ” She blatantly said, her hand loosely swinging a spoon.

“Oh, shit, you don't have food. Um, do you want some?” Jason realized, offering Henderson the scraps of his milkshake. “Nope! Lactose intolerance, baby!” She confessed, a hint of sadness present in her face. “Oh. Sorry,” He said as he slurped up the remains quite loudly. “Should I ask them for a menu?” Jason asked, clearly not wanting to do so. “I ate a toasted toast sandwich earlier, so I'm not really hungry.” “A toasted toast sandwich is a piece of toast slotted between two other pieces of toasted bread. With butter spread on some of them.” Henderson explained in detail. “Is it good?” Jason asked fearfully. “Duh,” she said. “Oh, okay,”

The two sat in silence. The room was quiet, even the chattering of the other customers were gone. Henderson waited patiently for a waiter to come by, her face staring at the table. “That's a weird stain.” She uttered, poking hesitantly at it. “Probably tea.” Jason added, looking at the stain. “Yeah,” Henderson agreed, resting her head on the table. They stared at the stain for some time. “So, uh, you like Jar-Jar’s Odd Journey?” Henderson asked, looking up at the other. “No, I don't watch anime,” he replied, prying at the stain with his fingernail. “Oh, okay. But like, do you like Jar-Jar’s?” Jason paused, looking at her and squinting his eyes, thinking what she was meaning to hint, then slowly realising it. “Well, do you like Power Princesses? With the cat lady and the other lady?” He asked slyly, smiling from ear to ear. “Yeah… literally and…” Henderson inspected Jason's jeans. “metaphorically… you know…” Jason inspected hers too. They both cuffed them, even though Henderson's were already a good length, now a bit too short, resulting in a very prominent hint. “So yes, I do watch Jar-Jar, then,” he replied. They nodded, smiling in Mystery.

“So, why'd you even agree to this?” Jason asked, facing her. “I dunno. Felt rebellious to steal my sister's date, I guess.” Jason leaned back in his seat, blinking interestedly. “So, if it weren't for you meddling fool, I would've gone on a date with a CRSCO girl, huh?” “Sksksksks and I oop,” Jason questioned dramatically. “Yes. That's actually why I'm late; I drove here by myself.” Henderson confessed, smirking. “And I knew I wouldn't like this date if it was at some fancy restaurant, so I picked somewhere I could eat, hence why the location is so unsuitable.” “The distance, especially. That was so my family couldn't track me down.” “As if they'd care.” Henderson folded her hands together on the table and put her head down and stared at them, her hair swinging dramatically in front of her.

“Well that's bad. And bad… ass,” Jake stated, tilting his head awkwardly. “Like, your family, that's bad, like, your brother's a… he's not nice, necessarily, but you stealing a date from your sister and driving to some random-ass diner in the middle of nowhere, that's some Gone Girl shit.” he explained, eyes burning with awe.

“I mean, I've had some friends from band that met your sister, and from what I've heard, and I'm sorry for being nosy, but, I mean, it really justifies this whole… thing. So, uh, yeah. Sorry,” Jason continued as Henderson moved her Orbs to meet his.

“So, how'd it feel to set her room on fire? Were the firefighters and shit? Again, sorry for being nosy.” Jason asked casually, doing his first attempt at the three-paragraph thing. Henderson giggled uncontrollably, wiping tears off of her Orbs. “Wha– FIRE?! Who told you that? I only just threw some of her stuff out the window, but SETTING IT ON FIRE WAS NOT PART OF THE PLAN, JASON!!” Jason sat up, stammering in response. “B-But, um, like, uh, Tristan, from band, the school band, said that– you, uh, like, it was midnight, and he woke up because of all the sirens, and– yeah.” Jason explained, his voice nervously loud, and his hands gesturing wildly. “Oh!” she yelled out, remembering the experience.

“That was the time I tried modifying the hell outta french fries and I set the kitchen on fire! Like, I was pouring the fries in, then the fire just shot up, like, ten feet, and my hair almost caught on fire, the smoke alarm was ringing, it was hell, man, hell,” Henderson explained excitedly. “So, yeah, someone called the fire station, next thing I know, I'm getting yelled at severely, and I can't play video games or go on my phone for three weeks!” Jason nodded in awe. “How did you… mod… fries?” He asked in confusion, rubbing his chin. “Oh, I put olive oil, safflower oil, cooking oil, and corn oil, also I used a flat frying pan, put in two brands of fries, made sure it wasn't overcrowded, also put a thick layer of seasoning on the pan and I folded it like scrambled eggs.”

“So yeah, a literal recipe for disaster. Never doing that again.” Henderson stated, although she was most definitely going to make the same mistake in a few years with Rachel. “Ah. I see. Why the flat frying pan?” Jason asked. “Oh, the other pans were in the sink and I was lazy.” She replied, making a disappointed face. “also i'm pretty sure that it caused the oil to like. yknow. vooooshhhhh” Henderson added, sinking her face into her hands.

Jason thought of a more embarrassing moment. “Wanna know that time I went to the ER because I was too goth?” “Wait, two times! One, I ate black lipstick, the other, I got choked by a…” Jason sunk his head down. “homemade e-boy necklace…” Henderson cackled loudly, slapping the table. “How the hell do you get choked by that?!” Jason pursed his lips sadly. “I was wearing the necklace first and put it on backwards, big mistake, it had a really heavy padlock, then my binder, which was way too tight, so it was choking me, but I was wearing my turtleneck, and my arms were stuck, so I just smacked the dresser violently.” “And that's how I came out to my parents.” Jason said, smirking and crossing his arms together. “Thankfully, they let me buy a better one that didn't, like, kill me.” He added.

Henderson's jaw was hanging open in surprise. “You're trans too?!” Jason pogged in response, “TOO?!” The two shared a very intense and complicated series of high-fives and fistbumps, screaming in joy. “Man, so this is why you stole that dumbass’ date!” “Solidarity!” Jason stated, smiling. “Thanks for saving me, uh…” He paused, waiting for a confirmation. “Uh… I dunno. Girl?” Henderson replied, shrugging. “Girl! I am Dude!” Jason shouted, giving her a thumbs-up. “Cool! Hi Dude!” She yelled out, earning a very strong high-five from Jason. “Hell Yeah !!!!!!!!”

“Man, you want something to celebrate? This shit's nice as hell.” Jason asked, visibly in a better mood than before. “To hell with it! Cheesy Frickin’ Fries for the lady!” Henderson shouted in joy. “And for the man?” Jason thought for a bit. “Truck” he uttered, giving her an emotional gaze. Get it? Gaze? “Ah, okay. Truck it is, then,” Henderson confirmed before raising her head to get the waiter's attention.

“Waiter ain't here. Should I? Go to the counter?” She asked, pointing to the front of the diner. Jason nodded in response. Henderson approached the counter, her hands in her pockets, her eyes looking around. There was not a single person to be seen, the pies sitting on the rack softly, asking to be stolen and devoured. “Be… do…” she whispered softly, her hand reaching to the pies, only to be stopped by the other one. Disappointed, she went back to Jason, frowning.

“God hates us.” She uttered, her head pointing up. “No one at the counter, no one near the entrance, so no friggin’ cheese fries.” She grumbled, “Drove five friggin’ hours in the friggin’ rain just for this dumbass shit. Can't even have the friggin’ pies, that's illegal,” Jason looked at her sadly. “Hey, it's okay, I brought snacks,” He pulled out a packet of chips from his hoodie pocket. “Here's the fries…” Jason placed a slightly melted cheese slice onto the table. “And here's the cheese!” “Hipster, innit? All deconstructed an’ stuff,” He said happily, swinging his arm a la Grunkle Stan.

“What a gentleman. Thank you, Jarnathan Jarstar, my brother,” Henderson said gratefully, unwrapping the cheese slice packet. “Good job, uh, Catra,” Jason commented, opening the chips packet. As they dined happily, a tall, scary figure approached them slowly and murderously.

“Ya can't bring outside food in here.”

“It's against the rules, kiddos.”

“Might getcha banned fer life if yer not careful enough.”

“Aah!!” Jason screamed quietly. The figure revealed itself under the illumination of the ceiling lights— a man, presumably middle-aged, dressed in a cheap chicken costume, donning a knight helmet. “You wouldn't make the cut. Ya just wouldn't.” The man uttered cryptically, confusing the two. Was this weirdo the mascot or just some guy? “I have pepper spray, creep.” Henderson threatened, pointing the self-defence tool at the costumed man. “Like that'll do anythin’.” He pointed out, glaring at the girl.

In response, Jason pushed the man, Henderson following suit by vigorously kicking the life out of him. Blood oozed out of the now-stained costume as he begged for help, trying his best to explain the current situation. “Stop! Please stop!” He yelled out, only for the helmet to be removed by Henderson, who was ready to punch the hell outta him.

Some balding white guy sporting bad facial hair had been the culprit all along. Jason pulled the remains of his hair and threw him to the floor, yelling. Out of the blue, a group of people showed up, coming to the rescue and pulling them apart from each other. “Whose idea was to be threatening again?!” The man in the chicken costume yelled out, clearly angry at all of them. “Run!” Henderson shouted, grabbing the snacks and dragging Jason out of the diner, only to be chased down by the others.

“Who the hell was that guy?!” Jason yelled, running. “I may be weird, but I definitely don't know that guy, and definitely not enough for him to just show up like that!” Henderson shouted back, confused. “Guess it's some weird kidnapper, then? Or a really odd mascot.” Jason said, dashing around the street corner. “Probably!” Henderson ran past Jason. “Hey, wait up! I was kicked outta the track team for a reason, Henderson!” The boy yelled, running out of breath. The girl went back to him, feeling a bit guilty.

“I, uh, have asthma.” Jason said, pulling out his inhaler. “Oh, um, I'm, uh, really, really, sorry.” Henderson nervously apologized, her mind wondering what would happen if Jason died right then and there. Oh, she'd definitely have to go to court. Maybe it'll be like Legally Blonde. Jason stood back up, gesturing to Henderson to keep going. “Hey, I'm okay, go ahead.” “You can leave me here if you want. Death isn't a big concern for me; I'll meet all the MGR members, then when I go to hell I can punch Brendon Urie in the face…” Jason struggled out. “… because he's like, racist,” “Bob Bryar too, man,” Henderson nodded slowly, not knowing what the hell kinda emo thing he was referencing.

Jason looked behind Henderson, surprised. “Hhhh… they're not killing us…” he tried out, pointing to her back. “Oh, hey, yeah. Let's go hide somewhere.” Henderson suggested, looking around for a good shelter. “I'm gonna tell this to my parents first…” Jason said, moving down to sit on the ground. “Oh, man. There's no reception here.” He revealed, getting more and more scared with every second they stayed there, the possibility of them being caught and killed or whatever growing steadily.

“I mean, we are in Ohio, Jason. There's a bigger chance of us stumbling into a big-ass cornfield than us getting reception in some super rural town like this.” Henderson sighed. “This place is called Van Wert, Jay. How friggin’ hillbilly is that? Van Wurrrtt, yee-haw,” She commented angrily. Jason took a deep breath and stood back up, scanning the horizon.

“Well, hard to find a place where we won't get shot immediately when entering, especially at this hour. I mean, gun store, bar, creepy pharmacy, another gun store, mom and pop, mom and pop's gun store, shooting range, farmer's market, café (with a rifle under the counter), barbershop, ranch–” Henderson smiled from ear to ear as she heard what Jason just said. “RANCH?! WITH HORSES?!”

tob e fucketh continue

a uhhh Notes by Rocco Wulfram North

oh that names so epic omg

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tripstations · 5 years

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Review: ANA First Class 777-300ER

We arrived at O’Hare Airport at around 9AM for our 11:20AM flight to Tokyo Narita. We had already checked in online, so we headed straight through security and to the United Polaris Lounge, which ANA uses for their first and business class passengers in Chicago.

Chicago O’Hare Terminal

I’ve already reviewed the Polaris Lounge Chicago in great detail. The only thing I’d add is that since I last visited they expanded the lounge a bit, by adding a dining section and a bit more seating at the far end of the lounge.

United Polaris Lounge Chicago dining

United Polaris Lounge Chicago seating

We had breakfast in the lounge before our flight.

United Polaris Lounge Chicago breakfast

Polaris Lounges continue to blow me away, especially when you consider that they’re from a US airline. These really are some of the best business class lounges in the world.

Our ANA flight to Tokyo Narita was departing from gate C10, just a short walk from the lounge. Boarding was scheduled for 10:50AM, so we headed to the counter at around 10:40AM to have our passports verified.

You’ve gotta love how consistently Japanese airlines try to apply their service standards, even at outstations. The guy checking our passports was caucasian, but gave us a proper bow when he handed us back our boarding passes and passports. Hah.

ANA has a separate line for first class passengers, which was at the far left of the gate.

ANA departure gate Chicago

As you’d expect, boarding started exactly on time. One awesome thing was that I noticed we were flying ANA’s Star Wars 777. Unfortunately they don’t brand it quite to the level of EVA Air’s Hello Kitty flights, though it’s cool nonetheless.

All Nippon Airways 11 Chicago (ORD) – Tokyo (NRT) Tuesday, May 28 Depart: 11:20AM Arrive: 2:20PM (+1 day) Duration: 13hr Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER Seat: 2G (First Class)

We boarded through the forward door, where we were greeted by no fewer than three bowing flight attendants, and escorted to our seats. ANA’s first class cabin consists of eight seats, spread across two rows in a 1-2-1 configuration.

ANA 777-300ER first class cabin

ANA first class cabin 777-300ER

The cabin only takes up a bit over half the space between doors one and two on the 777-300ER as there are also two rows of business class immediately behind it. ANA’s business class features staggered seats with direct aisle access.

ANA business class cabin 777-300ER

ANA 777-300ER business class cabin

While I don’t like to complain about international first class seats — obviously they were incredibly comfortable — I find that ANA’s are among the most poorly designed out there. They box in the seats, and this simply makes no sense. It’s one thing to have the option of extending a door for privacy, but these seats don’t have doors yet feel like cubicles.

This means that if you’re in a window seat you can’t really look outside, while if you’re in one of the center seats you can’t even talk to your travel companion.

ANA first class seat

I selected seats 2D & 2G for Ford and me, though in retrospect we might as well have just both selected window seats, since we couldn’t practically communicate with one another.

All Nippon Airways first class seats

The seats themselves are comfortable and there’s lots of personal space, it’s just that they’re boxed in.

All Nippon Airways first class seats

All Nippon Airways first class seat

There’s an ottoman, counter, and TV at the far end of the seat. Since they decided to make the seats so private you’d think they would have at least designed the seats so that you had a “buddy seat” option, but even that isn’t the case, so there’s no way you can dine with someone.

All Nippon Airways first class seat

The tray table folded out from the very front of the seat. Rather annoyingly you couldn’t “lock” the table in any position other than completely extended.

ANA first class tray table

All the seat controls were on the center console, including the entertainment controllers, seat controllers, power outlets, reading lights, and even some small cabinets where you could store things.

ANA first class seat controls

Then along the aisle-side wall was another small compartment where you could store reading glasses or a phone.

ANA first class seat storage

While there was a small open space between seats, there was also a panel you could extend for more privacy. Then again, you can’t really talk to the person across from you anyway, so it doesn’t matter that much.

ANA first class seat privacy

Along the outside of the seat was a small closet where you could hang a jacket or two.

ANA first class seat closet

The seats don’t have individual air nozzles, which might be problematic for those who tend to get warm on planes.

Waiting at my seat upon boarding were a pillow and blanket. These were just intended while relaxing at your seat, and then there was separate bedding when it was time to sleep.

ANA first class pillow & blanket

There were also a pair of Sony headphones, which were reasonably good quality.

ANA first class headphones

Once settled in, the nonstop, fabulous service began. First both of the flight attendants working first class, as well as the chief purser, came by our seats to introduce themselves and inform us of the flight time of 12hr15min. They couldn’t have been kinder and more adorable. For example, the chief purser said “Is there anything I can do for you? I hope you enjoy the yummy food and good sleep.” While saying “yummy food” she rubbed her tummy, and while saying “good sleep” she put her hands to the side of her head as if she was sleeping.

They asked if we wanted something to drink, with the choice between water, champagne, and orange juice.

Until several years ago Japanese airlines weren’t even allowed to serve pre-departure drinks, so I guess I shouldn’t complain, but the champagne was room temperature and somewhat flat. I get how it could be room temperature, but flat already?!

ANA first class pre-departure champagne

A few minutes later we were brought Samsonite amenity kits with excellent “The Ginza” toiletries.

ANA first class amenity kit

Then we were offered vouchers for 100MB of free wifi per person, which is a nice feature for first class passengers.

Free wifi for ANA first class

We were also offered socks, shoe horns, and shoe bags.

ANA first class slippers

Then we were offered cardigans.

ANA first class cardigan

Lastly we were offered pajamas. These felt high quality, though were also quite thick and felt warm.

ANA first class pajamas

We were also offered immigration cards for Japan, as well as fast track forms.

Landing cards for Japan

In addition to the amenity kit, the crew came around with a basket of goodies to choose from.

ANA first class amenities

I’ve always wanted to try the “leg refreshing sheet,” though I’ve never quite been sure what to do with it…

ANA first class amenities

Since this was an ANA Star Wars plane, the boarding music was from Star Wars, which is a cute touch. Suddenly a flight attendant appeared from behind us with this huge Yoda stuffed animal, and tried to scare us. It was hilarious, because it caught me off guard and I may or may not have screamed.

The crew asked if we wanted to change into pajamas, which we agreed to. They set up the two lavatories at the front of the cabin, and then stood outside so they could hang our clothes when we emerged.

The lavatories themselves were well appointed, thanks to the bidets and the number of amenities they had. As you’d expect, toilets were absolutely spotless the entire flight, down to constant toilet paper triangle art.

ANA first class lavatory

ANA first class lavatory bidet

ANA first class lavatory amenities

By the time boarding was complete there were a total of four first class passengers — we were the only ones in row two, and then in 1A was a Japanese guy and in 1K was an American lady who was going on a two week group tour of Japan.

At 11:20AM the door closed, and a couple of minutes later we commenced our pushback. At that point the safety video was screened, and then a few minutes later we began our taxi.

youtube

Usually I’d switch to a window seat for takeoff, but given that you can’t really easily look out of the windows either way, I just stayed in the center seat.

During the taxi out, there was a PA from R2-D2 and C-3PO.

Our taxi was fairly quick, and by 11:40AM we were cleared for takeoff. The seatbelt sign was turned off just a few minutes after takeoff.

15 minutes after takeoff the crew distributed the menus and wine list for the flight, which were presented in a binder. We were also given warm towels.

ANA first class menu

ANA offers a dine on demand concept in first class. The menu read as follows:

The drink list read as follows:

We were given a bit of time to look over the menu, and then 30 minutes after takeoff our meal and drink order was taken.

35 minutes after takeoff we were served our first drink — we both had a glass of 2004 Krug to drink. For a limited time ANA was serving the 2004 Krug (rather than Grande Cuvee) in first class, which was a treat.

ANA first class 2004 Krug

Continuing the Star Wars theme, the napkins were even Star Wars branded!

ANA Star Wars branded napkin

We were offered an amuse bouche to go along with the champagne, consisting of apricot and goat cheese, rosette of smoked salmon, foie gras mousse canapé, and cheese pepper bar.

ANA first class lunch — amuse bouche and champagne

For the actual meal we both had the cauliflower mousse with caviar to start.

ANA first class lunch — caviar

Next up I had a garden salad with horseradish dressing, which was excellent.

ANA first class lunch — starter

Ford instead had the corn soup, which I skipped.

ANA first class lunch — soup

Suffice to say that the crew kept our glasses very full. At this point we decided to switch to sake.

ANA first class lunch — sake, champagne, and water

For my main course I selected the sautéed chilean seabass with raisins and herb brown butter sauce.

ANA first class lunch — main course

Ford had the vegetable cannelloni with dried tomato polenta.

ANA first class lunch — main course

For dessert I had the cappuccino mousse cake, while Ford had the warm blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream.

ANA first class lunch — dessert

To finish off the meal there were some petit fours (after all, one dessert is never enough).

ANA first class lunch — petit fours

I thought the meal was excellent all around. The meal service was finished about 1hr40min after takeoff and was perfectly paced. The crew was attentive without being overbearing, and as is the norm on ANA, couldn’t have been kinder. It was bumpy throughout the first meal service, which made it fun to try and take pictures of the meal.

We were quite tired after the meal, so decided it was time to nap. We had them set up the beds in the window seats in row two so that we could switch between beds and regular seats without having to disturb them going forward. At this point we were a bit over two hours into the flight.

Moving map enroute to Tokyo

The bed in ANA first class is quite comfortable. The sleeping surface is nice and wide, and the bedding is good, though I do wish they had bigger pillows and blankets.

ANA first class bed

Much to my surprise I got a solid four hours of sleep, and woke up with about six hours remaining to Tokyo, meaning we were just past the halfway point of the flight. At this point we were just leaving Alaska.

Moving map enroute to Tokyo

Once awake I decided to browse the entertainment selection.

ANA entertainment system

ANA’s entertainment selection is pretty lackluster, so I’d recommend bringing your own entertainment, personally. The selection is quite limited, especially when it comes to western movies and sitcoms.

ANA entertainment system

Fortunately some of the entertainment was amazing, at least in an ironic way. There was a video about crime prevention for tourists in Tokyo, and it was so hilariously bad that I watched it twice.

ANA entertainment selection

It featured two caucasian guys who communicate exclusively in Japanese, but one of them has never been to Japan before and knows nothing about the culture. So when he lands in Japan the first thing he wants to do is buy a knife so he can defend himself, he talks loudly on the bus on his phone, etc. If anyone can find this video online I’d sure love to watch it again.

ANA entertainment

While watching the show I also ordered a cappuccino. Unfortunately it was watery, so that was the only one I ordered.

ANA first class cappuccino

ANA has wifi on their 777-300ERs, and the pricing is ordinarily as follows:

30 minute plan costs $4.95 (up to 15MB) One hour plan costs $8.95 (up to 30MB) Full flight plan costs $19.95 (up to 100MB)

ANA wifi pricing

Fortunately because I was in first class I received 100MB of free wifi.

ANA wifi complimentary wifi

While I appreciate that ANA has wifi and that it’s even free for first class passengers, it’s provided by OnAir, and is excruciatingly slow. Nonetheless I managed to get a bit of work done for a few hours.

About three hours before landing I decided to order a pre-arrival snack, consisting of curry with steamed rice. The curry is one of my favorite staple dishes on ANA.

ANA first class curry

Ford had the cheeseburger, since he has never had a burger on a plane before.

ANA first class cheeseburger

To finish off the meal I ordered a cheese plate.

ANA first class cheese plate

After the meal I changed out of pajamas, and before I knew it we were just about an hour from our arrival in Tokyo.

At 1:05PM Tokyo time the captain announced that we would be descending in about 20 minutes, and thanked everyone for flying ANA.

Moving map enroute to Tokyo

30 minutes out the crew offered everyone in first class iced green tea, and thanked us for flying with ANA.

Pre-landing drinks

After that the three crew taking care of us each stopped by our seats to thank us for flying with ANA. At this point I switched to the window seat, though I did have to briefly unbuckle my seatbelt every time I tried to take a picture out of the window.

View approaching Narita

We touched down at Narita Airport at 2PM. There was another Star Wars announcement at this point, saying “may the force be with you.” We also taxied past an ANA 787 in Star Wars livery at this point — how cool!

Star Wars 787 Narita Airport

We arrived at gate 58A in Terminal 1 at around 2:10PM.

Star Wars 777 upon arrival

We cleared immigration and headed towards the domestic part of the terminal for our flight to Nagoya.

ANA first class bottom line

All things considered ANA first class is excellent, especially when you consider the deal we got on miles. The crew was incredibly kind and professional, the food and drinks were excellent, and the amenities were endless.

However, I maintain that I have a strong preference for Japan Airlines first class over All Nippon Airways first class. This comes down to the better seat design and the much faster wifi.

It’s sort of frustrating when you’re traveling with someone and literally can’t talk to them unless you’re either standing or leaning way forward.

Fortunately many of these problems will be solved with ANA’s new first class, which debuts in a few weeks. That should be an exceptional product.

If you’ve flown ANA first class, what was your experience like?

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