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tessmontyart · 3 years

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2020 year in review

It’s funny, last year I never actually got around to doing one of these. I didn’t think it was overly interesting. Oh 2019, how I miss you so 😭Such an innocent time ....

I’ll do a quick recap, cause hey no-one but me reads these anyway. 2019 was a glorious time. I went to Italy for the first time, went on an awesome Hunter Valley trip with my friends, had a 100th birthday celebration for my pop, I got to see the show I worked on air on TV, we saw the Lano and Woodley apartment in Melbourne .... Good times!

I didn’t give a rats about being unemployed and took matters into my own hands by making loads of new merch and selling at the most conventions I’ve ever been to. I tabled at Sydney Supanova, Adelaide Avcon, Sydney SMASH, Coffs Nexus Con, Sydney Oz Comic Con and Brisbane Supanova! I did so much travelling and events, it became my full time job. It was exhausting, but it was loads of fun, it paid the bills nicely, and it was wonderful to meet followers and mutuals in person.

My partner was very invested in counting up the numbers of what was selling and what wasn’t, and taking note of what was inconvenient with my setup and how to make it better. He even made a powerpoint presentation on what I could focus on for 2020, what kind of merch I could focus on and adding more conventions to my list. We were both excited about the idea of trying out Armageddon in New Zealand, which would have been my first overseas convention!

Cue 2020.

It started off uneasy. There were still bushfires everywhere and smoke hanging around, but I was optimistic they would die soon and the rest of the year would be fine. I booked a bunch of conventions early as usual. Got a whole bunch of new things made and ordered for the first convention of the year, Melbourne Supanova in early April. Some Acrylic charms didn’t make it in time because of COVID, but I thought that’s ok I still have a whole years worth of conventions to sell them at!

COVID-19 was just a spooky mysterious thing that was happening overseas at that point. I think there might have been 1 case in Australia, so all the toilet paper and hand sanitizer was sold out, but we were still able to do our usual travelling for the event. Little did I know, Melbourne Supanova was the first and last event I could do in 2020.

COVID hit Australia hard, Melbourne especially. There were lockdowns, quarantines, planes were grounded, airmail was halted, the cases kept multiplying, rules kept changing and changing and it was all so new and such a headache. Seeing every single convention I had booked cancel one after the other was hard to process. This was my main source of income in 2019 and now it’s up and vanished. Everyone were losing their jobs too, so the idea of getting a new job was completely out the window.

I tried to cheer myself up by drawing ‘Toilet Paper Chan’, my new magical girl character who has the ability to summon toilet paper in a time of need 😅

I made it into a Draw This In Your Style challenge, seeing as everyone was bored out of their minds in quarantine I hoped it was something people could pass the time and have fun making.

(here’s a handful of my favourites) I had a few entries which were all very adorable, but I admit not as many people joined as I expected. I don’t blame them though, this whole pandemic was very soul sucking and demotivating, especially hearing the constant stream of bad news when it all started.

I also made some lineart of a cute Easter girl, encouraging people to colour her in if they are bored in quarantine.

That was really fun, and I planned to do more, perhaps whole colouring books for a small price to download.

Then, out of nowhere, my friend from the last animation studio I worked at in 2018 contacted me. “Hey Tess, are you looking for work?”

“Um .... yes?”

Work? In 2020? What?

It turns out the animation industry is one of the only industries that are doing fine in the pandemic. Literally the only change is that animators have to work from home instead of at a studio. If you have the animation software and an internet connection you have everything you need.

So my good friend had recently scored this job for a studio which outsources all their animation for their animated TV series. The role is just fixing up any animation errors inhouse to minimize the amount of back-and-fourth between studios. It doesn’t sound like much but it became too big a job for just one dude to handle, so he contacted me and 2 of my other animation friends to help out. We had a ball!

It was loads of fun, and the contract lasted the whole year!

It wasn’t just fixing up errors either, I got to animate walking/ running / jumping / flying cycles for the overseas animators to use, which was great practice for me, and we even had a whole episode to ourselves to animate from scratch which I really enjoyed.

And then ... the year just flew by, because I was busy working the whole time. It was really quite surreal!

There were a few highlights, such as being a bridesmaid for my best friend’s wedding and organising her hens party, which is one of those once-in-a-lifetime things.

(Hens Party - it was yellow themed (her favourite colour) and High Tea.. it was adorable!)

(The bridesmaids and the bride on the Wedding Day)

Unfortunately there were some lowlights too ... This was the last year I got to see my aunt.

She was the craziest, funniest aunt, and still far too young to go. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be the same without her.

As always, drawing is the only way I cope with anything. My family chose a plain wooden casket, encouraging everybody to write a message or draw something on it, before it would be sent to the crematorium. I drew Spotty, her awesome horse I remember from my childhood, surrounded by her favourite flowers. Monty draw Mingus, her awesome ferret we also remember from our childhood.

That wasn’t the only bad news either. Pat’s Grandpa passed away later in the year, and a handful of my friends had relatives who either passed away or were diagnosed with cancer or some other horrible life threatening disease. A musician who collaborated with favourite artist collaborated passed as well, and even though I didn’t know him personally, it was still horribly devastating. Not to mention all my friends/relatives pets who didn’t make it through 2020. There was just so much loss this year, and I’m still grieving my cousin and my friend’s mum who both passed last year, it’s getting harder and harder to cope. It’s gotten to the point where I’m paranoid about who the next person will be because I haven’t finished grieving the last ...

All I can say is I hope 2021 is a little kinder when it comes to my loved ones. The small light at the end of the tunnel is; any suicidal thoughts I used to have frequently have all completely vanished, because I’ve been faced with the reality of it all. You really don’t realise how many people love you, people you don’t even know.

...

That was very dark, but it’s definitely something I needed to get off my chest.

Lets go back to a much lighter note.

More highlights:

🌻Animal Crossing New Horizons came out this year! I used to play Wild World back in the day so it was wonderfully nostalgic, and me and Pat have made the cutest little town with all our favourite villagers. It’s a nice way to escape from it all ^_^

(Monty’s island when we started)

🌻Speaking of games, the brand new Crash Bandicoot came out this year too! It was actually jaw droppingly amazing seeing all the awesome new ideas and mechanics they came up with while still keeping it classicly Crash. I loved it and I’m so excited to see if they give Spyro the same treatment!

🌻2020 brought about new and interesting ways to still enjoy Live entertainment. Lano and Woodley did a Zoom show which was absolutely hilarious, and Lights did an amazing online Dead End show which had me so pumped!

🌻Pat and I continued our anniversary High Tea tradition, this time trying it out at the Hydro Majestic hotel in the Blue Mountains!

🌻Speaking of Pat, his sister got married this year too, despite the pandemic. Congratulations!

🌻Pat randomly bought a Miku figure for himself, out of the blue, completely unravelling years of unnecessary ‘shame’ I’ve inherited caused by a pushy mother and a crappy ex. I used to love figure collecting but was convinced by certain judgy people that it was stupid and I needed to sell them all. I kept my very favourites in a cupboard ‘just incase they increase in value’. But now I can finally display them all again knowing Pat loves them just as much as I do!

We also added a ton more to the collection to make up for lost time (and because there’s SO MANY CUTE MIKUS NOWADAYS)

It’s a bit messy because we recently got new ones and need to make more space for them. The shelf with the Vocaloid nendoroids were my original ones hidden away in the cupboard, the rest we got this year ^_^ They make me so happy!

🌻Speaking of Pat unlocking things I’ve always wanted to do in the past: I am now planning to revive my old OCs Yui and Lotto! They were just characters of mine back in the day, but since I’m not good writing I never really came up with a story for them. But with Pat’s writer wisdom and my kawaii art style, I’m now planning a webcomic featuring the two cuties ^_^ It’s still in the very early planning stages but I’m super excited, and forever grateful for Pat, for believing in me ;w;

🌻This year I drew 31 more Owl City songs in copic markers, to go towards my ongoing project to draw every song! I’m actually getting quite close to my goal now which is exciting!

🌻This year I went to a Drive-In movie theatre for the first time to see the new Bill and Tedd movie, it was glorious and now I wanted to try more drive-ins. Going out to see a movie on a big screen *without* being able to hear smart-asses or screaming babies? Yes please!!

🌻How could I forget, this was the year my idol noticed me!! Lights shared and retweeted my Deadend fanart! Life = made.

What to to look forward to in 2021:

This is the first New Year where I actually have an idea of how 2021 will go! I managed to secure another animation job at a new studio starting January, ending January 2022 😊So thats the financial security for this year sorted! :P

As for general goals for 2021;

I’m hoping to have a decent plan, concept art, chapter ideas and hopefully even a script done for my new webcomic! I also wanted to make some cute simple animations of the characters just because c:

I’d also like to just do more of my own animation in general ... I animate every day for work but I never get to do my own animated projects. It will be hard with a full time job, so maybe this can be a 2022 goal ... but hopefully I can do at least one little animation of my own!

I suppose another goal is to make a social media accounts for my animation, too. Even if I don’t fulfil my goal, I still would like a page to showcase everything I’ve done so far.

And if all else fails .... Another goal is to draw more Miku. It’s crazy that I love her this much and haven’t drawn any fanart!

I think I’ll leave it there because I’m babbling now. 😅

I’ve done so many of these now o_o

[2018] [2017] [2016] [2015] [2014] [2013] [2012]

#2020 #year review #cw: death #cw: pet death #cw: suicide

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kristallioness · 3 years

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2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019

*arrives a month late*... Happy 2021 to all of you, my dear followers! *raises a glass* It seems that my tendency to finish my artwork or personal posts on time has only gotten worse over time (I blame work *lol*). Oh well, better late than never, since there are things I would still like to take with me from this extraordinary year of 2020.

It is cringeworthy that I have two huge red X-s this year. But after I'd put these puzzle pieces together, I remembered far too well what was going on in my (work) life at the time, so it's completely understandable why I didn't have the time nor the energy to draw at all during those two months.

What were those typical statistics that I wrote about again to compare the years? *goes to read last year's post*.. Oh, right! In 2020, I managed to finish 3 full digital drawings (from the months of April, July and December) as well as work on several sketches. I wrote 28,154 words worth of fanfiction (oohh, that's a lot better than previous year), plus 3,126 words in English (I dare say I wrote an equal amount in Estonian) for the prompts I got during UYLD (making the total 31,280 words, which is quite impressive!).

I finished reading the 1st Kyoshi novel in the evening of the 20th and slightly past midnight on the 21st December (barely before the holidays, but I set this goal for myself and I did it!). Am already looking forward to starting with the 2nd part some time this year. Besides that, I ordered and received all the other new Avatar books that came out (3rd part of "Ruins of the Empire", "Katara and the Pirate's Silver", "Legacy of the Fire Nation") as well as BOTH Avatar series DVD sets (I still can't believe I found these on sale on some random online store in Estonia, but these are now among my most prized possessions!).

I finally started my Avatar rewatch last January, but merely got to the Ba Sing Se episodes in Book 2 (I need to continue with "The Earth King") and now it's been 5 YEARS since I last saw Korra. Reading through my journal personal posts from last year, I know far too well that it's not about rushing through it as fast as possible. Instead, I should enjoy the ride and continue watching the episodes when I'm well rested and in the right mood. That way I'll end up feeling much more at peace.

As for the entire year as a whole? I don't think anyone in this world of ours was prepared for the way this decade would begin - with an uncontrollable pandemic, the virus of which is randomly attacking and threatening to wipe out the weakest amongst us. If any of you (or even if you know someone who) have lost a loved one to this plague, there is not much else I can offer but my sincerest condolences! Me, my family, friends and colleagues seem to have managed to avoid catching it so far. *spits 3 x over her shoulder*

I had such high hopes for this year in so many ways. Event-wise I was looking forward to watching the Eurovision Song Contest in May (where Uku Suviste was supposed to represent Estonia for the 1st time ever after so many unfortunate failures to get selected as the winner of our local competition), the European Football Championships in June (asking my colleagues which countries they support, perhaps make fun bets / guesses with them to see whose team would win the matches), the Tokyo Olympic Games in July-August, the President of Estonia (Mrs. Kersti Kaljulaid) coming to visit my hometown to celebrate our Victory Day by taking part in the parade together with the Defence Forces (after 15 years *sigh*)...

I will always remember my last big event, which took place when life used to be "normal", so to say. It was the 102nd anniversary of Estonia on the 24th of February, when I took part of all the most important celebrations in Tallinn on our Independence Day, FULL-TIME (whenever I scroll through my Facebook timeline, I see the photos I uploaded of that day, my heart melts and I smile fondly). But the day after that.. utter hell broke loose. We had our first infected person in the country.

I will also remember the last day I went to work in "normal" conditions. Friday, the 13th of March (typically my lucky day-number combination): I missed the tram I wanted to get on in the morning, at work my team received great news that one of our colleague's family had grown bigger by a new tiny member the day before, we had our last team lunch together, we discussed the safety measures that we should take and joked about what might happen next week, I took the bus home instead of the tram (as the tram's route came from the airport and that place was considered to be more dangerous and with a higher risk of catching this virus).. It was another 2.5 weeks later by then (since the 25th of February) - Estonia (along with the rest of Europe) went into full lockdown.

The beginning was frightening and people were on edge, nobody really knew what to do nor what was gonna happen next. But in time, things began to shake into place and everybody developed a comfortable routine for remote work, including figuring out how to get everyday things done (such as grocery shopping). I found solace in taking photographs of various beautiful bird species, who began to fly around and serenaded me during spring, visiting the trees around my "nest" i.e. rented apartment (with a pair of them ACTUALLY building a nest in the chestnut tree right beside my window, thus turning me into a protective godmother of their chicks).

To be honest, I was awestruck by the positive / surprising aftermath of this lockdown: how the world / environment began to heal itself from the pollution that was normally caused by humans. I was taken aback by how dead silent our usually loud capital became in my neighbourhood (I could only hear trams passing by my house according to their schedules, practically no cars whatsoever, streets were empty of people.. absolute silence).

By May-June, things started to look up in Estonia (as well as the rest of Europe) and people were allowed to start travelling / moving around more freely. During my vacation in July, I managed to go to my last (open air) event (for the rest of the year) under these new "corona" conditions and ended up having a blast at the Open Farm Days in my home county for the first time.

Our country's shining moment came during the first week of September, when we hosted the first ever Rally Estonia of the World Rally Championship (WRC), where our very own Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja won. The event was so well organized and successful that nobody caught the virus nor did the spectators / participants spread it to others, which surely must've helped in ensuring us a spot in the WRC calendar for 2021 as well.

The remainder of the year was rather dull, with the exception of the US Presidential elections in November, when we were all holding our breaths that Joe Biden would win (congratulations, my American friends!). This eventually led to the painful downfall of THE WORST government the Republic of Estonia has ever had, and to the rise of our first female Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas (both happening in January 2021, I couldn't believe it all spiralled so soon, ha-ha!).

Anyways, during the last 4 months, work was very stressful and driving me nuts, so badly that when I eventually went on vacation before Christmas, I had a slight anxiety disorder that wouldn't let me relax for several days (luckily it went away just as quickly once I began to take it easy and managed to get some proper rest / sleep).

In hindsight, I kind of get this weird feeling as if I saw this whole thing coming, given how actively I was living my life throughout 2019. My final year of the 2010's was so full of important events and personal achievements. It's almost as if something mysterious inside was driving me, telling me to visit all the places and do all the things I wanted to do, cause I wouldn't have this sort of a chance again for a very long time.

This must be the main reason why I am thankful for 2020 for going the way it did. Sure, I'm disappointed that a lot of events were cancelled, that so many people have had to leave this world so soon due to this unpredictable disease.. But I think there are so many lessons to take from what came out of all of this. I believe the world needed some sort of a restart or break, given in what direction we were headed (politically, economically, environmentally, socially etc.). I'm just sorry it's had to come with such a high price of innocent lives.

I have even higher hopes for 2021, given how amazingly January has already passed for me and my country, and what is to come in my hometown in February. Let's take the lessons learned from 2020 with us and keep on heading back towards the "normal" lifestyle we used to know. Except this time, let's improve our ways, put all the hatred behind us, be more considerate, keep a distance, stay safe, but still try to make the world a better place for everyone. Thank you so much for reading, for remaining by my side, and for your support and love throughout the years, my friends! I hope to see you all alive and healthy at the end of the white metal ox year of 2021! *virtual hugs*

#personal #shards of Kristal

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cryinginthebackseat · 4 years

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ɪ ʙᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀɴᴄᴇꜰʟᴏᴏʀ

Fandom: It Lives In The Woods

Pairing: MC x Noah, MC x Connor

Words: 3.134

Summary: She rolled her eyes. "You heard me the first time, Marshall. Pretty please? Come on, consider this as our way to celebrate Redfield's defeat!"

Jesus, since when did he celebrate something in general? And now to dance? Amongst the crowd and with her no less? Noah's head said hard no, he already had a myriad of thoughts in his mind right now, he couldn't afford getting distracted and when there were feelings in the way, he feared if he couldn't trust himself to keep his emotion in check.

Yet his heart said otherwise. This was Zoey, Noah could never deny her. He would never deny her anything, especially when this could be their last moment on good terms together.

Warnings: nothing much, just swearing and some sexual tension

Author’s note: this headcanon is purely the brainchild of the amazing @noahmrshall where she requested me to write it down for her. after 84 years and a pandemic later, finally, frickking finally I manage to finish it LMAO I’M SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG, GIRL.

Anyway, make sure you tune in to feel real by deptford goth while reading, cause this is the song these are dancing to. And for those who haven’t read my first Noah x MC story, you can find it here on my main blog. Finally you know the drill, if you’re digging it or simply detest it, let me know, yeah? thanks!

Mamihlapinatapei (n.) the wordless, yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start

Prom was a montage of lipstick stains on paper cups, rap music with devastating bass drops, multicolored balloons at everyone’s feet, and the strobe lights that flickered above, turning the entirety of the gym into a one flashy, neon show.

And then there was Noah, the reluctant cinematographer of this pandemonium of pubescents making rounds on the dancefloor, buzzing in excitement while he resided in the corner, sulking, contemplating, a punch in his hand-- spiked, courtesy of King Kang himself in which he’d passed the cup at Noah earlier.

Noah didn't have any idea just how many types of liquor he'd mixed into the beverage, nor did he have the capacity to ask. He simply drank in the corner, restless, alone, hand fidgeting with his jacket and beanie. He thought with the alcohol in his system, it would be enough to make him feel better, lighter. Made him forget, god forgive him, for the atrocities he was about to commit to the ones he called friends.

Friends who'd abandoned him in his time of needs, friends who barely recognised him, friends who made him laugh at one of their antics, friends who gave him an apron for his 18th birthda--

Wait. Noah shook his head, conflicted, internally berating himself. No, no, no, there should be no room for pity for them. Jane was his number one priority here, not… Not them.

And especially not Zoey.

His internal conflict somehow was aggravated when he saw a speck of galaxy's dust of hair on the dancefloor, twirling, cavorting, in the arms of another. Zoey. Her face painfully close to his, lips hovering over Connor's cupid's bow, not quite kissing him, but enough for Noah to look the other way. Suddenly, the bottom of the half-emptied cup seemed a lot more interesting.

He had no right to feel what he felt. He knew that. Especially considering how he was about to turn her whole life upside down. But feelings are feelings, it could creep up to anyone at any time, any place. It was beyond anyone's control.

And seeing her with Connor like this, laughing and dancing and kissing like fools in love they were, made his insides twist. Jealousy contributed a lot for the matter, obviously, but what hurt the most was because he knew that in all of his jadedness, hopelessness, miserable at the age of eighteen he could never give all of those to her. Zoey deserved someone who’d sit and sing to her about the stars, whom she could turn to when the chips were down, she deserved the world.

And the world was something he was about to take from her.

Jesus, could things just be fucking simple for once?

Zoey and Connor only parted once the song was finished. He kissed her cheek, a privilege that he was lucky enough to obtain and made a beeline out of the gym for a call. Leaving her alone, silver-haired amidst the sea of browns and blondes.

She craned her head to the side, her gaze finding Noah's across the room and smiled that smile of hers that lit up her entire face.

When Zoey made her way towards his position, Noah immediately straightened his posture, feigning nonchalance as if he hadn't been spending the last minutes yearning for her lips, her touch, her attention and his betrayal to her simultaneously.

“Enjoying the party, Kelmeckis?” Zoey sidled up to him, snatched the cup from his hand and sipped. Which floored Noah at how casually she handled her alcohol.

“No.” Noah eyed her confusedly then. “And Kelmeckis?”

“You know, Charlie Kelmeckis?” Noah gave her a look as if “who the fuck???” to which she simply groaned. “From the Perks of Being A Wallflower?”

“Jesus, Uttley, only you would throw a pop culture reference at someone as a greeting.”

“And only you would be the only one who don’t get it,” she countered, and then she laughed, matching his own.

He regarded her for what if felt like the first time tonight and thought to himself how lucky Connor was to have her.

"You, uh..." You look beautiful, it hurts my feelings. "You clean up nice, by the way."

Zoey looked at him oddly. "Damn, Marshall, did this come from?"

He shrugged. "I'd say the punch, but I guess 'cause I've never seen you in a dress since we were eight, so, yeah…" Tell her the truth, said the alcohol. Stop this fucking nonsense now, said the better parts of his head. "Yeah…"

He thought he saw her cheeks blushed, but wasn't sure given to the lighting. "Thanks, Noah."

His eyes found hers, hers found his. For a long moment, it was as if they were going to initiate something. Anything.

She was the first to look away and blinked, as if she had just looked at the sun for too long and now she was seeing double vision. Noah also tore his gaze from her, finding himself, unsurprisingly, unfortunately, disappointed.

“I thought you'd left. Or worse, on your sixteenth cigarette of the hour or something," she broke the silence first, eyes still not meeting his.

Noah squinted at her, mouth crooked. "So smoking is worse than leaving, huh?"

"Hell yeah. I don't want you to get lung cancer by 40-"

"Live fast, die young, Z," he interrupted, a sarcastic, lazy drawl to his voice that made Zoey shoot him a withering look.

"Not on my watch, Marshall. And I absolutely won't let those cancer sticks turn your mouth into," Zoey gesticulated, shrugging altogether. "An oral ashtray or something."

Noah chuckled, again-- God, it was so easy to laugh when she was around-- mid-eye-roll, his hand rifling through his blazer pocket for a pack of mint. Took one out and raised it to his mouth.

"That's what these mints are for."

With a small shake of her head, Zoey muttered, "Bastard." Though not without a great deal of kindness.

Ah, shit, he was going to miss this, bantering with her, laughing along with her-- just being around her in general. The thought rendered a profound pang in his heart, and he hadn’t got the chance to say he l--

No, his head said, internally berating himself. The moment had passed now. Zoey had Connor, someone who loved her unconditionally. His prime focus should be on what other scenarios should he reside so that his friends would follow him to the ruins? Or what should he do once Andy realized his phone was missing? So many things he should be ruminating, yet Zoey was where his head begged him to refer to.

Noah didn’t realize the smile on his face dropped into a frown until it was too late, until Zoey’s own also disappeared.

"Hey?" her voice so soft it could have been a caress for all he knew, taking a step closer. "You okay?" She asked, concern etched in that ocean eyes of hers.

“What? Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” Was his answer, but he tore his gaze away from her, the red balloon near his foot seemed like the only haven that could ward her off from delving into his soul.

Zoey cocked her head to the side, as if unconvinced. “You sure? Noah, you know you can tell me anything.”

I know. But not this.

“I know. I’m… I guess I'm still kinda tired from what happened. That’s all,” he lied, and it felt like he was slowly slicing his own heart.

“Hey.” Zoey stepped closer, craning her neck to see him due to their heights. Her hands on his arms, comforting. “It's over now, Noah. We defeated him and kicked his ghostly ass back where he came from. We did that. You did that- against all odds. I know it's bound to leave some scars, but I want you to remember that from now on, you don’t have to shoulder all of the world by yourself anymore. Do you hear me?” she asked again, more insistent this time. "I'm not going anywhere. The others aren't going anywhere either. We're all here for you, for better or worse."

Noah sighed, and made the mistake of looking into her eyes. All the while holding onto whatever strength he had to not to crumble completely before her and cry as he scrambled for a response.

I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it.

“I...” he stuttered, his voice tight.

God, I can’t hurt her. Not her.

“Zoey, there's something I-"

But the DJ suddenly began to play a different tune, interrupting him whereas her whole face lit up.

"Oh my god, I love this song!"

Noah frowned, whatever he wanted to say to her, forgotten. "Never heard of it."

"That's because you never care to broaden your taste, doofus! You're missing out a lot." Zoey laughed. She offered her hands to him. "Dance with me?" She asked, her eyes glowed hopeful.

Noah looked at her as if she'd grown a second head. "What?"

She rolled her eyes. "You heard me the first time, Marshall. Pretty please? Come on, consider this as our way to celebrate Redfield's defeat!"

Yet his heart said otherwise. This was Zoey, Noah could never deny her. He would never deny her anything, especially when this could be their last moment on good terms together.

He accepted her hand. She grinned, like a molten California's sunset and tugged on his hand, soft against his callousness, dragging him towards the dancefloor.

Surreptitiously, Noah stole a glance at his phone when she was not looking. 9:47 pm. 13 minutes to 10. 13 minutes before Jane came barging in. 13 minutes before the final showdown.

13 minutes left to bask in her presence.

The dance floor was jammed packed with some of his classmates, mind lost in the music. And Noah was nervous.

As if she could tell, Zoey stepped toward him. On the dance floor, her gown shimmered like a glittering, silver moon and held his hands, giving them a comforting squeeze.

I'm here.

He squeezed back, I know. And felt his nervousness simmered.

Noah, tongue-tied, feet still rooted the ground, simply swallowed as he watched her before him, magnetising. He gulped, his cheeks flared when Zoey began to sway her hips lightly to the music. Her movements were innocent, but there was something in her eyes that commanded his attention. That girl had a flair in everything she did, alright, dancing being no exception.

"You sure you don't want to wait for Connor for this?" He asked over the music, making sure, eyes darting back and forth just in case Connor came back.

"Nah. He probably won't come back for the next 10 minutes and I'm not going to miss this song just to wait for him," she exclaimed back, flashed her widest set of a smirk. "Come on, bust out some moves, man!"

"I'd embarrassed you," he pointed out. "I'll look worse than Shepard from Mass Effect, I'm telling you."

"I wouldn't laugh." But she was smiling when she said that. "I promise! And do you think anyone would notice even if you move like a feral ghoul? And in this crowd?"

That made Noah laugh, reconsidering.

"Don't think about them," she said in his ear as she could still sense his hesitation. "But most of all, don't think when you dance, Noah. Just let the music flow through you."

"I don't think I know how."

"Let me show you," she told him, sing-song.

Feel real Now Forever meant nothing when we had nothing

As the music picked up its beat, so did Zoey's moves. Guiding them to the rhythm of the music, prompting him to mirror her, to let loose. He followed his instincts and began to actually dance, albeit still stiffly, but making sure to move in time with her. His pulse was racing, being so close to her for the first time. Sweat began to form on his forehead from heat, both from the crowd and their proximity.

The way she moved her hips, the way the music pulsing through his veins blurred everything; what was wrong and right, what was his and what's not as he gradually began to give in to the music, to the feeling. In hindsight, he'd like to think it had been the alcohol that drove him but he knew it wasn't true. He just needed an excuse for all of this.

As if moving in autopilot, Noah twirled her around. Earning her a laugh as she did so, the edges of her silver hair fluttering like a halo. She then pressed her back against his chest. His arms immediately snaked their way around her waist before he could stop himself. Pulling her closer until there was no distance between them. She leaned back into him, her head on his shoulder.

Noah met her eyes. She met his back.

Everything felt electric. Everything felt so wrong, yet the alarms were actually blaring like crazy sounded dim in his head, so he kept going.

The next thing he knew, Zoey spun around again to face him. Two hands reached up to wring her arms around his neck. Noah placed his hands on her waist, feeling the curve of her body for the very first time and he couldn't exactly make out what to feel right now.

A lover come back, I wanna dance like her, Like nobody's watching

The upswing of her warm breath against his cheek, her gaze kept on flickering between his eyes and lips, licking her lower lip. Noah's breath nearly stopped. Nearly toppled over at how intense they were; all-consuming, once again he felt her ocean eyes pulling him in, threatening to drown him. The muscle in his jaw clenched.

The moment stretched. Zoey inched closer until their foreheads nearly touched, the tip of his nose brushed against hers. Noah searched her eyes, his calloused thumb dragging down Zoey's cheek, torn between closing the distance between them, to finally taste her lips after all these years- improprieties being the last damned thing on his mind- or to push her away and wonder if she felt the same.

All too soon, the song ended. And all too soon, the spell broke.

As if someone had dumped a bucket of ice-cold water on his face, Noah shook himself back to reality. Realizing what they had done and almost done and took a wide step back from her like he had stabbed her or something, looking into her flushed face. Her eyes widened by a fraction, her mouth slightly ajar.

They only stared at each other, speechless, even as the DJ played a different tune. An unspeakable terror passed between them and a single question that circled around their heads like a vulture:

What in the sweet fuck just happened?

"Hey babe, sorry for making you wait." The two craned their heads to the side to see Connor approaching them, placing his phone back in his breast pocket and kissed her cheek.

"The manager called, saying there's going to be new items coming in next week and he wants me to make the draft for the inventory list."

Once he realized she wasn't responding to his advance, he regarded her then Noah, wondering what on earth the two were doing that left the tension in the room.

"Is… everything okay?" Connor asked, creases appearing in his brows.

"Yeah." Zoey managed to say, shaking off of her trance and feigned a smile. But Connor didn’t seem convinced. "Yeah. We were just playing around-- I mean, we were playing-"

"Staring contest. On the dance floor" Noah nearly winced at how stupid it sounded. "It was her idea."

"Yeah, I saw a bunch of people do it on my IG feed and thought, why not? Though now that we did it, it does seem stupid, isn't it?"

"Yeah, probably, uh, shouldn't do that again." And bunched his pants between his fingers and wondered if Zoey caught the double meaning.

"Took the words right off my mouth," she concurred with a chuckle, but it sounded forced. She even avoided his gaze when Noah tried to look at her, focusing her attention on the floor instead.

He wondered if Connor could pick up on that? Could sense there was more than between the eyes, but he chuckled instead, shaking his head kindly at his girlfriend's antics and kissed her cheek. Again.

Noah looked the other way, feeling his cheeks pink either from what had transpired or jealousy or embarrassment for god knows what or the combination of the three until he remembered the time. He checked his phone again. 5 minutes until 10.

It was time.

He rubbed at the back of his neck and cleared his throat, noncommittal. "Yeah, I'm going to get out and smoke. Catch you guys later."

Noah pivoted around, shoved his hands into his pockets. He didn't smile, didn't even spare her a final glance. He felt her eyes on her, expectant, but how could one look at her again after what they'd almost done? How could he look at her again without thinking of her lips, her touch and knowing that not only he wouldn't be able to feel them, but she would never want to see him ever again? It was too much.

"Noah?"

Noah turned at the sound of her voice. His heart broke a little seeing her, just within reach but a million light years away at the same time.

"Yeah?" And nearly winced at how hoarse he sounded.

She was silent for a moment, conflict rose in her face. "See you later."

All too soon, Zoey and Connor made their way deeper into the belly of the dance floor. He stood there, his limbs felt heavy, as if there was a chain holding him down.

Suddenly, he felt a nudge on his ribs. It was Ava.

"So when are you going to tell her about it, loverboy?" She asked, an eyebrow migrated to her hairline. He should have known that even amid the crowd, someone must have noticed him and Zoey on the dance floor.

Noah took a deep breath, his heart felt jagged. "Someday."

Someday. But even he knew that was just another lie he told.

#playchoices #it lives anthology #it lives in the woods #it lives choices #noah marshall #noah x mc #choices #choices story you play #choices fic #choices it lives in the woods #ilitw noah #ilitw #ilitw mc #ava cunningham #connor green #andy kang #pixelberry #my writing ye #mine

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kainumbernine009 · 3 years

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I literally cannot do anything else until I get this out.

I’m... really not okay.

And when I say that, I’m not mentally unstable. I say that because I’m tired of waiting on empty promises, I’m tired of never having money in our account, I’m tired of living in a fucking city where half of the white people fucking worship the ground Trump walks on, and where most of the gay community has so much messy drama that it’s worse than middle school. And I went to a rough middle school.

I never talk about my past, because I don’t like to. It sucked. HARD. Being and only child in my family was nothing less than torture, especially as a closeted queer person. We grew up in the white Christian part of Nashville that dominated Music Row in the 90′s and early 2000′s. I played basketball with Alan Jackson’s daughter, and being around famous people was just no big deal. But, my parents decided to leave Nashville after my dad lost his job at TPAC, and we moved down south an hour to the town where the KKK got started (Pulaski, TN).

I had maybe two non-white people in my private Christian school growing up. I was never afraid of Black people, but my parents showed their racist asses quick when we moved there. The KKK has never left America, guys, no matter how many articles you read or studies you do. From 2005 to 2009 I saw a white town show its very worst to the Black community. I’ll never forget the first time I saw a march for “White Christians for Purity” the summer before Obama got elected. The disgust I felt inside was palpable. I had all kinds of friends in school, and I didn’t give TWO SHITS who they were or what they looked like... but I saw children my age, being brainwashed by their parents, that “white” is “right.”

Ever since then, I have been learning and growing about the issues of race. I remember my white classmates using the N word and getting away with it. I remember hearing about the principal at the high school punishing all the Black kids but not the white kids. I remember being invited to a church south of town that was a historically Black church, and how nice the ladies were to me for coming.

But I’ll never forget the racism that the religious groups promoted there, especially First Baptist Church and the 12 Tribes. I’ll never forget how FBC told me that my friend was going to Hell because she killed herself. I’ll never forget my mom telling me not to marry a Black man because of “impure genes.” I WILL NEVER FORGET THE INJUSTICES I SAW WHITE PEOPLE DOING TO BLACK PEOPLE THERE. NEVER.

And thank God, I have shaken the burden of religious guilt, but I still fight against this mentality. I live in a place that’s usually not even 10 minutes away from Trump-humping, sister-fucking, meth-addicted Confederate cunts in any direction. And we’re even closer to the rich white people who silently supported him, upset that their taxes would go up because of Biden.

And in the past four years since Trump got elected, I’ve gotten married, graduated college with honors, started my own photography business, and was making more than my husband there for a minute. I did my own taxes, marketing, editing, and everything. And then I came out as trans.

I lost everything.

I lost my studio. I lost friends. I had rumors started about me. I had people post hate messages on my wall. I had people at my drag shows tell others not to tip me, for whatever fucking reasons. I’ve had bosses give cis people jobs over me, and I’ve had government workers give me second looks when I hand them my license.

It. Fucking. Sucks. To. Live. Here. Like. This.

Oh yeah, did I mention I’m also a witch/medium? I’ve talked to dead people before and have told their relatives things I shouldn’t have known otherwise about their grandparents. Like, this information doesn’t even exist on Google. And I’m attuned to reiki. I’m always aware of what’s happening on at least SOME metaphysical level. This is a gift that I’ve had to go through life developing and learning about myself, with no one’s help but me.

I didn’t even know until I was an adult that I have autism and ADHD.

I’ve taken bullets from people who were about to kill themselves. I’ve yelled at 5th grade music classrooms for doing racist dance moves and appropriating Native Americans (I have a degree in Music Education K-12). I’ve consoled kids in classrooms who suddenly have panic attacks. AND I’ve told horny teenagers to stay in their fucking lane and respect the girls around them. I’ve apparently been an inspiration to those around me, but inspiration NOR exposure pays the bills. I’ve already had COVID, and so has my husband, but I knew that after graduating college that I would never have a fulfilling life being a music teacher in Tennessee’s public schools.

And now that we have COVID, and an orange, small-dicked, pedophilic, rape apologizing, dirty, crusty white president who STILL REFUSES TO CONCEDE, who is DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR HAVING HIS FOLLOWERS SEND DEATH THREATS TO MY FAMILY, I really don’t know what the fuck else to do other than go burn down all the houses I know of in North Georgia that belong to these Christian sex cult pedophiles and call it a day. My girlfriend unfortunately was born into one of those families, and I know just how bad it can get. In fact, her dad’s lawyer threatened me with blackmail earlier in November, so that was fun!

And now, on December 11, 2020, I’m still sitting here in the same fucking house, doing the same fucking things I’ve been doing all year - trying to get a job and failing horribly. I’M SICK AND TIRED OF THIS COVID BULLSHIT AND OUR INCOMPOTENT CUNT OF A PRESIDENT! And there’s only ever one other person I’ve ever called a cunt... my own mother.

I’ve lived in many places. I’ve met many different people. I’ve made mistakes, and have grown, but there’s one thing for damn sure that I always make sure to do, every single fucking day.

I ALWAYS try to do better.

In addition to this, I treat everyone with the same amount of respect, unless they have done something directly to me to negate that. If I know that someone believes in something that directly harms me or my family, I don’t even associate with them. I don’t spend my energy on things that don’t need it. And everyone else should, too.

The problem with some of y’all is that you care about the wrong things. Like will Becky text me back or did I get front row seats to that concert, or did I slave my life away to capitalism just so that I can own a Mercedes and have my friends jealous. I’ve had way too many dear death experiences to know that EVERY single fucking day is a gift. EVERY day.

I don’t want to be remembered first for the art I create. I want to be remembered for my character. I want to be remembered as the courageous person who never backed down in the face of adversity. But when you live in a place that already hates you and that is against you, that’s really fucking hard. Trust me. My marriage went from a cis straight passing couple to a white gay passing couple. I’ve seen how people’s attitudes changed around me as I transitioned. I know what it feels like to slowly lose a piece of your privilege you were born with.

So yeah, I kinda get a little fucking upset when I see people saying All Lives Matter, or when I see doctors refusing to treat trans patients in pandemics, or when I see cops YET AGAIN harassing Black people only a few blocks away from my house for no other reason than racism. And at this point, anyone who thinks they know me but only knows what people think they know about me can suck my entire ass and eat ten dicks. I don’t give a FUCK about who you are or what you’ve done. If you treat me or other people with no respect for no reason other than to be an asshole, you’re just plain shit. If you SERIOUSLY believe every little rumor and lie that someone tells about me before meeting me, fuck you AND the horse you rode in on.

What I can’t stand is people doing or saying things just to get a rise out of me or others. I thought we left petty shit in high school. Some of the people that “know” me really need to fucking grow up and grow a pair and either say what they want to my face, or stay mad. I’m tired of playing fucking petty games with y’all. We have a whole ass pandemic to solve.

So here’s the ultimatum... if you agree that Black Lives Matter and that queer people deserve basic human rights, EVEN THE ONES YOU HATE, then that’s the bare minimum to even be a decent person. If you can’t even do those things, then I don’t fucking know what else to say to you.

So NBC, maybe not have John Mulaney joke about my license debacle with my gold van on SNL, and Seth Meyers... maybe HIRE ME INSTEAD of Mulaney because clearly y’all don’t know about the south as much as I do? Oh, and that gazeebo joke with Lee University... I caught that. I may have autism, but I’m not a fucking idiot. I mean. I’m funny when I’m given the chance. And yeah, I’m on a watchlist, but who the fuck isn’t these days? At least all my secrets are out for the world to see, and I have a bangin’ tattoo.

I’m tired of everyone being like “omg, I’ve seen what he can do, it’s fantastic!” or “omg you’re so funny haha” and bragging on me and then NOT FUCKING HIRING ME. I’m TIRED of waiting on something that’s clearly at this point never coming.

I don’t even have testicles, and my balls are bigger than most of the cis men I have EVER met.

So, if you want to help me, or hire me, or get me out to an audition... I’ll be there. But until then, I’m so fucking MAD at some of these producers. Yeah, my mom is a cunt, but she worked in various forms of digital production from the 1980′s until she retired this year. She taught me SO MUCH about directing, writing, shooting, and more. I know how these things are supposed to run behind the scenes. I know what the fuck I’m doing, and I don’t take constructive criticism like a bitch. I actually WANT to be criticized, so I can do even better.

So PLEASE, for the love of Christ... y’all need to get your priorities together AND PLEASE STOP LEAVING ME OUT OF THE LOOP WITH THIS BULLSHIT. Grow a fucking pair and either call me, email me, or leave me alone. It’s really not that fucking hard. Looking at you, Lorne Michaels.

Oh and someone tell my husband what the fuck’s been going on because I’m tired of him gaslighting me about it.

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lanformant · 3 years

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Going Viral in Los Angeles

Written by Dante Augello. COVID 19, or Coronavirus. Probably the most excitement over being forced to do nothing I have ever seen. From the start of the outbreak, all I saw was a new flu virus coming out of China. I didn’t pay any mind to it, because as most of us know, that’s not actually very new at all. The last one, which I think was swine flu, wasn’t very notable, and neither was bird flu. Not many people around me got sick, no country wide shut-down, and no wide spread toilet paper hoarding that I can remember either. However, there are always those who over react to any new flu outbreak, and I think I see why after experiencing this first hand. I don’t think it is so much the fear of getting sick. I wasn’t around when SARS ripped through some of the world, which was containable because it was less virulent as coronavirus. I have no experience with any other pandemics. but I see that most of the panic comes from an ingrained desire not to have to stand in line at a grocery store that may not have what you need and still need to search for everyday essentials. Things that we take for granted and unknowingly increase our quality of life. After realizing this painfully obvious reason for panic I felt almost childish for not coming to the thought of it earlier. I tried not to beat myself up too much though, because who could know really? How could we have known it would get this bad so fast? Or that this was the one sickness that would break the world again? Maybe some did, but most of us didn’t.“I had no idea that grocery stores could just RUN OUT of stuff, there’s always so much stuff in there.”

First of all, after regretfully treating this outbreak as a passing incident, I understand that it is no joke. Not just because the symptoms of coronavirus are horrible, or because the death toll rising, but mostly because I completely underestimated the reaction to it.

Not to say sickness and death are not important, but that part of it hasn’t affected most of us… yet. What has, however affected everyone is; no more toilet paper, medicine, food, a line to the grocery store with nothing you need left inside it, and worst of all for a lot of people, no more work or school.

How, are we supposed to make money? Kids aren’t in school. Who takes care of them when we actually do have work? And how do we take care of them or ourselves with no money still? These things cause mountains of stress and anxiety for the everyday person.

It definitely does for me. I paid no attention until it was too late. All the sudden I was in the grocery store and there was a frenzy of crazed shoppers. some tried to take my cart right as I was filling it. I thought, “All I want is to do my shopping everyone!

I’m not trying to do what you are doing, don’t involve me in your stress and panic.” I found out fast that we are all in this together. For better or for worse, whether we like it or not, we have no toilet paper, because the Hollywood Blvd. Spiderman just punched out Superman to get the last pack. I had no idea that grocery stores could just RUN OUT of stuff, there’s always so much stuff in there.

I was dumbfounded and unfortunately had to just suck it up and leave. Its ok though, there will be more stuff next week right, when it all dies down? How could everyone buy everything and then need another WHOLE grocery store worth of products? NOPE. It’s still all gone. Then the coup de gras, the gnarliest most grotesque part of all this shutdown bullshit starts. The lines to the grocery store. I truly was not expecting any of this.

Maybe I’m naïve. maybe I just didn’t do my research, but it’s too late now. We’re in it and we can’t get out. not any time soon anyways. We have arrived at the deepest level of the abyss. So, what if anything can we do?

Well it seems some people have it all figured out, not so surprisingly. There were obviously thousands if not millions of people who got to the grocery stores before me. Few people are working and the kids aren’t in school. It doesn’t seem like anyone is out partying. There are much fewer tourists, however surprisingly I have seen a few. There are scores of misinformed people with masks on smugly walking through the city, wrongly believing that it will help keep them 100% virus free. I even saw a few improvised disaster ready vans speeding around Hollywood, and out in some driveways. Showing off their end of days style.

Unfortunately, everything we are doing will only work temporarily and a lot of it isn’t helping at all. Staying indoors can help a little, and so can shutting down businesses and schools, but in the long run, it isn’t practical. Eventually we will need to work and we will need our kids in schools to do that. This need will come long before coronavirus is out of the country. eventually we will all need toilet paper, food, and medicine, or there will be riots in the streets. Not to say that riots are a high probability. Everyone will probably get what they need from the grocery stores eventually.

“It feels like a big city sized trap, and it’s hard to relate to anyone because they are all hiding.“

Wearing face masks and definitely putting a scarf over your face does not help keep you safe from viruses enough to make it a priority. On the bright side it seems like everyone is pretty much following the rules. It’s actually awe inspiring to experience this kind of human cooperation, and I am happy to have seen it in my lifetime. However, when we realize that the virus isn’t going away any time soon, I predict that it will all fade away slowly. Especially if this lasts for more than two months.

Who has that much savings to make it through two months? Not me. Especially in my neighborhood where drug dealers make a killing off of tourists. Now there are none. These criminals can’t collect unemployment. What will they do to supplement their income? Eventually there will be more rule breakers, and that could be bad news for us. It may bring the virus back. It could mean political issues that were not seen as important becoming unprecedented problems. Until then we will see how well it is handled with the current restrictions.

Living in the midst of all this, I don’t know how long I can stay sane. I would love to go to the gym or the park and get some exercise, but I’m not allowed to. I would love to enjoy a hiking trail, but they are mostly closed. It would be great to see a movie maybe, considering I have all this time off, but I can’t do that either. Some of my favorite bars and restaurants are closed. It feels like a big city sized trap, and it’s hard to relate to anyone because they are all hiding.

One of the hardest things about this was getting used to a different routine without work, which even though I don’t particular like work, it has left me depressed, lost, feeling purposeless and useless. I look at my bank account and the anxiety creeps in. I don’t know what to do, and I assume many of you feel the same.

Thankfully, there are some new rules put in place for late payments on rent and utilities, but we most likely have to pay it eventually. If that debt adds up for too long… how will I pay it? What about everything else we pay for monthly? will they be as lenient? It’s hard to say where all this will leave us, but I think staying positive is important. At least to keep me from spending all this time hiding in a bottle of despair and uncertainty.

#covid #coronavirus #losangeles #lockdown #restrictions #irritable #social

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aalt-ctrl-del · 3 years

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there is a certain map that people are trying to pass around. I do want to talk about the material involved, without directing peoples attention to the map in question. I follow closely the numbers and data, and I believe in the integrity of the election - I also don’t want donald joke to get ahold of the map, because can you imagine this dumbass? With a map? He can’t read?

And rudy gilligan getting lost and not finding the friends he made along the journey? It’s such a shit storm.

ANYWAY. This map has to deal with tracking human behavior, and trends. Stuff that I love to get involved with. The problem though, the map is being misused. I did read a few articles about the application and I watched a tutorial on youtube, UNFORTUNATELY the individual explaining the map left out some very crucial details.

This algorithm that was being paraded around like a game changer, has a potential for failure. I wasn’t even testing for that. But this failure that can devalue the algorithm of the map, is telling. To indirectly paraphrase a segment, an external factor can deviate the data. In other words, this map which is based on human behavior and determining not great factors, can be disrupted by a force that was not anticipated. A deviation from the norm. I wonder what sort of deviation from the norm could have driven millions of people to vote in the 2020 election? It’s a mystery.

But I am not studying this material because I am looking for faults in its use, I am exploring the claims for the sake of validation. Also, it is very interesting. Also, very creepy that we follow patterns like this, and they can be used to track behavior. This isn’t news to me, as I use similar tools to track human behavior for my marketing studies.

This is a point of reference to review, and I talk a lot about how out of the ordinary this election is. How it has pressed people beyond their comfort zone, and how we have charts on our computers nearly every day to calculate cases and deaths. And the coping sites. They don’t help, but that’s a resource that is there.

But lemme go ahead and rant more about this map trump supporters have fallen in love with. One factor that does support it, is the fact that trump supporters are very easy to read. We know their behavior types, their VALs, and we know the colors they wear - literally. We knew from the beginning that despite a pandemic, trump supporters would go out on that day Nov 3, to vote for a racist, homophobe, that has no interest in assisting states with a national crisis. The numbers hold true, and outline who they are in a nice bow. There is no dispute here, that this map can follow the behavior patterns of a like minded group of people. No shock, sherlock.

Now let’s look at president-elect Biden, and his people. We are not all the same, we are not data that can be measured easily - we have conflicting views, many of us don’t even like President-elect Biden. We have varied ideals and interests, some of us even vote third party every election just to do it. Yet this time, we made a compromise, in large numbers. Thousands of young voters made certain to register for the first time in their lives, thousands of middle aged voters said, “too heck” and registered to vote, for the first time in their lives. Hundreds of us voted early, some of us voted absentee because there is a deadly pandemic on the loose, while others didn’t feel like risk losing their vote, and went out to vote that night November 3 despite fears.

There is also the Senate seats, that people always seem to forget. Yuck.

Alas, I am not saying that my rational is not indisputable, I am merely indicating a flaw in the mindset that the data is immovable or static. I went through the politico website scrutinizing the data for Pennsylvania there, the differences to President-elect Biden and trump. The statistics are very promising and within the margin of reason - I predominately check the results with Biden’s wins because those are the areas of.... distrust. How dare Biden get voters. How unsightly.

Anyway, I ran calculations between the votes both candidates (primarily in Pennsylvania because everyone hates that state rn for some reason) accumulated, and subtracted that from a population count of the county area. You know what I found? The differences between Biden and trump appear accurate and within the realm of belief - given that some people were minors and couldn’t register to vote, and others may have been non-citizens or didn’t register at all to vote. In some areas of Pennsylvania, there didn’t appear to be a great urgency to vote or no one gave a damn.

I thought to myself, “well, the census is outdated, maybe a lot of people... died?” Morbid as that is, it’s not an unrealistic mindset in 2020, is it? But no, I went back and checked the covid maps and evaluated the cases to death ratio here’s the link. Not a lot of cases given the documented population of 269K, from an estimated 68K and 66K between the two candidates - a rough 135K didn’t go out to vote. So that does describe an area of low morale for voting, no urgency.

However, there is a distinct trend in areas of high population, and the areas where covid has done harsh damage to the population. In these areas, the typical trend did see more vote turnout for President-elect Biden. It’s not always-always the case, but it does occur with high frequency. Metropolitan areas especially, saw a high turnout of voters supporting Biden. People that believe the virus is real, and acknowledge we need to do something other than wait for it to “go away.”

But the data supplemented to the map, are not conclusive or easy to support. The map has potential to fail, and it does so when there is an outside intervention which alters the typical behavior of a person or group of people. Yes, it can be used to detect crimes, and to follow the typical trends and patterns in human behavior, but it is difficult if not impossible to correlate the typical trends to a historic event which has affected millions at this point. How are we able to use malicious information and call our current climate natural? Nothing currently is natural, many of us are barely surviving, many of our people are unemployed, many of us have lost loved ones or have been isolated from family due to safety concerns.

Why is it people who support trump seem to come down to the mindset, everything is totally normal today? How are they able to function in normal society, and how many people have they slain in their negligence?

It is horrendous that people try to latch onto a data calculating map, and call it “very telling”, while the rest of the normal people are trying to decipher if todays a safe day to go shopping for groceries. It’s outlandish that people are out here insisting that the covid does not exist, and btw, why the hell did everyone decide to go out and vote this time? It’s weird. Nothing is right.

#maps #corona virus #coronavirus #rant below cut #map #trump #maga #the data shook me #then I read more about its purpose and use and went (why.... is this a big discovery?)#yes the map can tell a story) but someone stole the context from the map and everybody went nuts #im merely explaining why the data didnt match up I could be wrong #but i tend to trust that the people appointed by the county courts are not going to fucking dunk their job in the river #and i trust that the general population is struggling at this time and does not want to die due to horrible blood disease #this whole thing took two hours to go through #im sure the polling and software analysists already went through this but I didnt feel good

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theaspiringwanderess · 3 years

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Booking WCT Parks Reservations and Transportation

Return to My WCT Story | Packing: Food/Clothes/Essentials | What to Expect, Fees, Travel Plan + Emergency Contact, Registration Process, Registration Day Key Take-Aways, Transportation Options

Booking A WCT Reservation Through Parks Canada

To book a hike on the West Coast Trail you have to make a reservation through the Parks Canada Reservation website. Parks Canada opens online reservations at the beginning of each year. Normally this opening date is in January, however due to the covid-19 pandemic the trail was closed in 2020 and opened later than usual for reservations on April 30, 2021. This allowed Parks Canada to make important and informed decisions about how to proceed with orientation practices, trail maintenance and ensure that vaccine/infection rates were at acceptable levels to keep safe the at risk indigenous communities who live in the remote areas along the trail.

Also due to covid-19 and increased down time for many people, hiking has become an insanely popular newfound pass time and this has dramatically increased the number of people clamouring for the more elusive bookings. when I logged into the Parks Canada website April 30, 2021, I was greeted with an anticipated [second] round of what I’ve dubbed the ‘Parks Canada Hunger Games’. Luckily because the official grand opening of the Parks website for all other bookings was April 16 (2021), I had a tasted of what to expect. It took almost 8 hours to get through online waiting periods and make my reservation and I actually didn’t get my first pick of dates, but it worked out in the end and frankly I know so many people that didn’t get through so I felt extremely lucky. I expect as things return to normal this will phase out and return to more normal waiting periods, so don’t be deterred.

The online booking process through Parks Canada includes almost all your fees with the possible exception of the water taxi required to cross at Nitinaht Narrows. In my experience both times the Parks Canada website says this fee is not included in the registration process. However, on both occasions once at Nitinaht our party was told the fee was paid. I still recommend bringing the $62.50 fee with you in cash because if for some reason your booking doesn't include the fee there is no other way to cross the narrows and complete the trail.

WCT Fees paid through the online booking process include: *more info can be found here on the Parks Canada website

West Coast Trail Overnight Use Permit (per trip, per person): $130.31

Reservation Fee: (per person): $24.50

Additional ferry fees (if applicable)

Gordon River Ferry: $22.00 (needed to complete the full hike end to end)

Nitinaht Ferry: $2.00 (if you enter or exit at Nitinaht Narrows ie- half the hike)

Fees (*potentially) not included in the online booking process:

National Park Entry Fee (this can be purchased at a daily rate, an annual rate, or you can purchase a Parks Discovery Pass)

Water Taxi Fee (Nitinaht Village – Nitinaht Narrows, one way): $62.50

Travel Plan + Emergency Contact

You will need to have a travel plan prepared in advance in order to make your reservation with Parks Canada. A travel plan includes what day you will start the trail, what day you plan to finish, and how many nights you expect to spend on the trail.

As a precaution, you also are expected to provide this information to an emergency contact of your choosing who will not be hiking with you. This can be a friend, family member, etc. I also personally recommend having a contact plan in place for your departure and return times. This means, text your contact the day you leave BEFORE you lose cell reception and text them the day you arrive back in town as soon as you get back into a reception area. Often times situations occur such as hikers finishing the trail a day early or a day late or they might miss the bus and run a day behind. Be sure to have this discussion with your emergency contact and prepare them for this possibility.

Registration Process

The person making the reservation will need to need to provide their name, address, phone number and email. If you can, I recommend hoping onto the Parks Canada website a few days in advance to create an account (GCKey) so that you just sign in quickly rather than risk delays during the registration. If you have an account already, freshen up on your login and password details and have them ready for the big day!

For each guest you are booking you will need their full first and last legal name and an emergency contact’s name and phone number. This information can also change year to year so it’s a good idea to have your guests on standby for the day incase you need anything else last minute.

Key Booking Process Take-Aways

Give yourself lots of time to make bookings. Set aside the day, be prepared to spend many hours online on the phone on hold.

Have your travel plan and emergency contact information ready (entry point, exit point, how many days you expect to be on the trail for, emergency contact name and number and having had a chat about timelines).

Have the information for each hiker ready in advance. Have each party member send you their info prior to the day and have it ready and waiting. Ask your party members to be on standby incase you need any additional info last minute.

Know your fees in advance. This will help you prepare, especially if you are booking multiple hikers and will avoid any cost shocks.

Have a payment method ready and waiting. Credit Cards are usually the easiest way to go, but if you know what your fees will be you can use pre-paid cards or visa debit as long as you have the appropriate amount of funds available.

Transportation To And From The Trailhead

When I first did the WCT, only 5 years ago, there were far less options and ways to communicate with other parties to make alternative transportation arrangements. This time around I learned about so many other cool options to tell you about!

West Coast Trail Shuttle Bus

Driving

Bus + Driving Combo

Ride Sharing

West Coast Trail Express Bus

My choice of transportation to and from our entry (start) point for most my Vancouver Island hikes thus far has been the West Coast Trail Express Bus. These guys are so amazing and I cant speak highly enough of the service they provide. You must book your fare in advance, online is the easiest way and its best to book parties all together to ensure everyone gets a seat. The rates are varied based on the distance you travel and if you book a round trip fare (there and back at the end of your hike) you receive a 20% discount! For my 2021 WCT trip I originally booked 3 adult fares, Victoria to Gordon River (heading to the trail) and Pacheena Bay to Victoria (leaving the trail) and it cost $143 per person. They also have a pretty fair cancelation policy; cancel more than 10 days in advance and receive a refund minus a $5 admin fee. After 10 days they will charge a 10% fee per day (ex. 9 days notice receives 90% refund return).

The shuttle bus essentially does one big loop, depending on travel length it may offer a restroom stop or sometimes an opportunity, time and route allowing, to grab a quick refreshment. You are travelling on some rough logging roads though and the ride can be at the very least described as bumpy... but with some great scenary! It leaves Victoria once daily at 6:30 am from the Capital City Station and heads up island. They stop along the way at trailheads for the Juan de Fuca as well as the WCT. It usually takes a couple hours to reach the Gordon River WCT trailhead in Port Renfrew. The bus stops directly in front of the information station where you can unload your pack and head inside to register and attend an orientation. In 2021 we saw a lot of construction though and this did cause us delays, arriving at 10:30am (next orientation was then at 11:30). It did give us lots of time though to read the important info, grab a snack and use the luxurious flush toilets one last time!

From Port Renfrew the bus continues northwards to Pacheena Bay, potentially making stops at Nitinaht along the way if they have a registered passenger. It does a round into the small town of Bamfield (roughly around 1:15pm) and then heads to the Pacheena Bay Trailhead Information Station for about 1:45pm. At this time it picks up any passengers heading south back to Gordon River, Port Renfrew or Victoria. If you have finished the trail at Pacheena Bay and are hungry or in need of a shower you can take a taxi from the Info Station to Bamfield and catch the bus there also, just be aware of your timelines. Leaving Pacheena Bay at 1:45pm we were the only passengers going back to Victoria and normally would arrive back in Victoria at 5-6pm but unfortunately with construction again we actually rolled back into town at 8pm (! ... lots of delays and one-way traffic lanes). This is no fault of the bus service, I have to say our driver Jeff was absolutely the best company and filled us in on all the news we’d missed and the ferry creek protests going on at the time. He was AWESOME!

Driving

In case you’re rather particular about buses or maybe you prefer to travel solo, you can indeed drive up to either WCT trailhead / Information Stations. However, if you plan to go this route there are some things you should be aware of.

First, before anything else, it must be said that many of the roads are rough. Like backwoods, gravel, logging road rough, and thus are rough on your vehicle.

Plan your route. Map out in advance the roads you will take, and note where service stations are if you need one, or even if you just need a break and opportunity to stretch those legs!

You might also want to consider staying at a halfway point overnight to breakup the drive. A friend’s house maybe, or, there are some really amazing B&B’s or hotels along the way or in the area. Or you could even plan to camp the night at either end if that’s appealing! Of course rates do apply so consult the Parks Canada website.

There is paid parking at each trailhead / information station. Look up the rates in advance per day and I’d advise even calling ahead to see how much parking they typically have available and if they’ve been busy lately. Space is limited.

If you are driving/parking, what is your plan to get back to your vehicle once you come out the other end of the trail? ... If you’re unsure, consider one of the following combo options! Or, if you are fairly confident about your finish date and that you wont be delayed you could consider having a friend or family member pick you up. If you opt for this, maybe stash a set of clean clothes in the vehicle and consider treating them to lunch for the effort ;)

Bus + Driving Combo

If you have no local friends or family on the island to pick you up (or at least none willing to make the drive!) one option is to leave your vehicle at one of the trailhead lots and book a one way bus shuttle fare back once you finish. For example, if you start at the southern Gordon River entrance, you’d park there and finish at Pacheena Bay where you’d catch the bus back to Gordon River. The trip between the two is only about 3(-ish) hours normally. Though again in 2021 construction made this closer to 4 hours for anyone opting for this. But rather than arrive back in Victoria at 8pm, they probably beat us by a few hours at least! One last thing to consider is that the bus only stops at Pacheena Bay once per day, and if, say, you started from this end and left your vehicle there, the bus will arrive at Gordon River much earlier and only go northwards once. So you’d need to be off the trail and waiting by roughly 10am if you finished at Gordon River. This makes starting at the southern point and finishing at Pacheena much more appealing if you are opting for this combo since the north end is a much faster end hike.

Ride Sharing

Consider that there are tons of people wanting to drive their own cars each year. Why not consider making arrangements to swap vehicles? For this to work you will need someone with a similar (or close to) start/finish date and who is starting at the opposite end from you. You will also need to decide where to meet up with the vehicles (ideally, most likely at Gordon River so only one vehicle is driving furthest northwards). You also will need to feel confident they will care appropriately for your vehicle. Consider some vetting questions like, age, perhaps confirm they have personal vehicle insurance, are they traveling with a family or friends, etc.

How do I find someone who might want to ride share? A great place to start is the super cool WCT Facebook Page! This is not a Parks Canada page, however, it is a very neat place to find others with WCT reservations, swap info, ask questions from recent hikers and more!

Also, since cell reception is very unreliable on the WCT, many who choose this option also make advanced arrangements to meet at a specific campsite on a certain day so they can swap keys. Though, some people choose to hide a key on the vehicle itself. If you are considering hiding the key, keep in mind that while Pacheena Bay is a bit quieter, Port Renfrew is a bustling tourist town in the summer and the parking lot isn’t patrolled.

Return to My WCT Story | Packing: Food/Clothes/Essentials |

#wct #wct packing #west coast trail booking #travelbc #vancouver island #hike #hike2021 #hiking #hikelife

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raineangelikareyes · 3 years

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OUTPUTS IN CREATIVE NON-FICTION

a narratives essay

It was Intramurals day and I’m with my friend and classmate Regine, we also went to a booth a lot so we were tired and hungry.

“Let’s go to horror booth!” Regine said

“Oh, please no. I’m tired and I’m really hungry. Let’s eat instead.” I replied

“You are just scared hahaha” Regine said while laughing at me.

We were both panting when we got there because she was so excited , we ran it until we got here.

“The tickets are on me, it’s my treat for today.” She said the excitement was very evident to her.

“Go, Make it fast, please hahaha” I joked her

“Yes, Ma’am!” she replied while saluting on me

I opened my Facebook and popped up the post that made me sad. It's a picture of my classmates who really want to be my friends but they don't want to because of my behavior. I don't know what's wrong with me, we're almost the same, the only difference is that I'm quieter with them. I stared at the picture for a long time, I couldn't help but feel envious because their smile was beautiful and they were obviously happy together. I'm happy that Regine is one my friend she's the type of friend who is there for me when I need a shoulder. Whenever I'm sad, she won't ask me why I'm sad instead she'll just laugh at me or sometimes she invites me to eat at McDo, we both like fries and sundae.

“Angelika! I here.” It was Regine

But I was surprised when I saw that she was upset.

“Ange, sorry but I think I can’t accompany you to go to horror booth my grandmother is in hospital right now and I need to be there on her side.”

“I understand. Go for now, your grandma’s life is more important than this. Take care and I’ll pray for your lola to be okay.” I held her hand because she is shaking and very worried.

“Thank you, I’ll call you later. Okay? Take care too.”

She still gave me the ticket and told me to continue going to the booth because it was a waste of the ticket. If I had the choice, I'd rather just go home to eat but I also don't want to waste the ticket that Regine bought.

While queuing, I saw my classmates who I would love to be friends with. They are lined up near the one in front of me. There is a part of me that I want to come and join them because I don't have anyone with me anymore but I'm afraid they might not want to be with me. I don't know but I just saw myself approaching their place, they immediately noticed the approach so they all looked at me. I haven't said anything yet but it's obvious on Joseph's face that he doesn't want me with him.

“Hi!” I smiled at Cherry, Jenny, Kim, Alyssandra, Joseph, Rocel, and Joy. I’m that they wondered why I was there. They didn't say anything but I felt that they were uncomfortable in my presence, they were talking but I couldn't keep up because I couldn't understand what they were talking about.

I removed the shame from my body and the courage and say, “You know, I really want to be friends with all of you.” they just looked

“Uhm, hello. But I think you should ask Jenny", Cherry said.

They just looked at their other friends who just shrugged at the same time. I hold back my tears because I think I’m shallow. I am hurt by the way they look at me; their eyes tell me they don’t want me to be their friend. I was so desperate to be friends with them that I asked them one by one if it was okay to be friends but all they always said was "Just ask Jenny or Cherry." I looked at her and asked why they didn’t want me to be their friend, the rest of them just nodded as Cherry and Joseph looked at me.

"It's not that we don't want you to be friends, we're just not really comfortable with you." That was the first time Cherry testified in front of me, and the words she left out were painful, very painful.

After that incident, I left the school immediately and the weather seemed to be with me because it suddenly got dark and the rain came, unfortunately I didn't have an umbrella. The rain poured out as well as my tears down to my cheeks. How many times have I asked myself what I have and they don’t want me to be their friend or what I lack why they don’t want me to be with them.

“Hey! What happen to you? You are soaking wet!” my sister immediately towards me when I got home.

I couldn't help but cry and tell her what had happened. She just listened while I was talking.

“We can't force everyone to like us, it doesn’t mean that you like them, they like you too. You don’t need to please anyone to like you because there is someone who will accept you for what or who you are.” She said and it really hits big time.

an autobiography

I am Raine Angelika M. Reyes, eighteen years of age, born on December 18, 2002 and currently residing in Barcelona 3, Buhay Na Tubig, City of Imus Cavite. I am now a graduating grade 12 senior high school student belongs to the strand of Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS). I am planning to take up the course of Bachelor of Science in Psychology in college. I become interested on this course because I noticed that here in our country; mental health doesn’t receive enough attention and haven’t been discussed extensively. Also those people who are now suffering mental disorders are deprived of proper care that they need to receive.

I was just an elementary Grade 2 student when our mother went abroad to work to sustain our financial and educational needs. That’s was the reason why we are now living in the same house with our grandmother. On the other hand, our father used to be a government employee and worked in Manila City Hall, he lived there together with his mother who’s also our grandmother too. During weekends and holidays, I used to go there together with my sister to visit the both of them, we cherished every moment that we spent together with them. But on April 9 year 2019, 8:00 PM in the evening, we got a sudden call that made us crumbled that time, my father’s auntie called to tell us that our father already passed away. He was diagnosed by having a stroke and had several attacks but unfortunately that time, our father couldn’t make it to survive. It was difficult for me to accept that fact but I stayed strong for myself and for my family. It didn’t make my life stop but instead I made it my inspiration to keep on fighting because that was my father’s dream for us to finish our studies and to be successful in life.

Aside from that, I like to take photographs, dancing, waching Korean dramas and movies and read fictional stories in Wattpad. In fact, because of my fondness on reading stories there, I and my sister started collecting books. One of those stories is written by one of the famous Filipino wattpad author named Maxine Lat also known as “Maxinejiji”. Her stories have great impact in my life and indeed a great source of moral lessons in life. She’s also one of my inspirations in life since the day that I got a chance to talked to her, she told me this “Kaya mo ‘yan. Lahat ng mga paghihirap mo ay may kapalit sa dulo.”

I also have a small business with my sister. Due to this pandemic that we are now experiencing, we strive to start a small business. We are creating keychains, and cat and dog tags made out of air-dry clay. Also, it becomes our bonding every time we create these stuffs for our clients. At my age, I can say that I went through so much in life. Family problem, financial struggle, school difficulties and many more but I know that I wouldn’t make it if weren’t from our Almighty God.

a biography

Raine Angelika Manuba Reyes or Gie to her family and Angelika to her friends is an eighteen year old lady, residing in her humble home in Imus City, Cavite together with her sister and grandmother; is a graduating senior high school student of Gen. Pantaleon Garcia Senior High School. She is aiming to be a Psychology student in Cavite State University -Imus Campus. Angelika has two lovely pet cats named Bingots and Niña whom she really loves more than herself sometimes. She loves dancing, so much. She's able to dance the steps of a certain song in a short period of time by just watching it repeatedly and without anyone leading her. She loves to read fictional stories on wattpad and her favorite author there is Maxine Lat also known as Maxinejiji. According to her, this author gave her alot of impact in her perspectives in life and now she's applying it on her own and sometimes share it to others who needs advice. She's also fond of watching Korean dramas and movies and in fact, this is one of her bonding with her sister. She has a small claying business named "Raine.na Creations" wherein she created different items using air-dry clay. She initiated this business with the support of her sister and is now known not only to her family and friends but also to those who chose to trust her creative works. Just like many of us, she also wants to have a successful and stable life. Although she's still on the process of reaching it, she's optimistic about it that one day she will fulfill her dreams and goals in this lifetime.

a reaction to a personal narrative

On the first part of Pamela’s personal narrative, I got confused on how she overthinks. On just a simple message for her, she thinks a lot of it like what is the meaning of that message and also it got her bothered on what will people think and look at her. But then I realized that I am not different from Pamela.

As Pamela’s classmate and friend, I want to know what the possibilities on why she thinks like that are. Why does she think and feel that she is hard to love because on the way on how she sees things and think about it. I think that there’s nothing wrong about that, where in fact there are good effects on overthinking because you will be able to come up on ideas on what will be possible to happen in your surroundings or what will be the results of the things happen and also the people around you.

I am not allowed to interfere and I am in no position to judge her base on how she thinks. Because that is the way she is; but still I just want her to know that it is not good for her mental health if she still continue to think that way. There are people who are just more sensitive or soft-hearted. A little amount of yelling to them is enough for them to cry. Saying words that are a bit hurtful for them will be able to make them offended. Words are indeed powerful. One insulting word can crush someone’s confidence that they built.

On my perspective, our worst enemy is ourselves because there’s no one you can blame but yourself when things gone wrong because of our decisions

On the part where Pamela always got suspicious when good things happen to her because she thinks that right after that short-term happiness, something terrible will happen next. Like Pamela, it stays on my mind that I shouldn’t be too much happy because sadness will come next. Sometimes, I am thinking that what if I am extremely sad is there anything that will make me happy will come right after?

There is always a hesitance to trust on people too much regardless of how good and strong your bond is. You don’t know what are the things he or she do when you’re not around. What he or she says to others about you behind your back. What if that person is planning on leaving you all alone and in the end of the day, you will be left behind. Again. This is what I perceive while reading Pamela’s narrative work

This is one of the reasons on why I want to become a Psychologist; I want to know why there are people who think on such way and once I learn it, I will find a way to extend a help for them. But how can I help other when I can’t even help myself? How can I give something I do not have?

I will just leave my realization here as my conclusion. People will treat you the way they feel about you. If they love you, you’ll feel it and if not, you will feel it even more.

a reflection essay

As a student, there are a lot of experiences happened to us inside the campus. These experiences give us happiness, joy, sadness, and even nervousness. How about you? What is your remarkable experience as a student?

Me as a student, here is my remarkable experience. It is when our principal told me that I am the top student in our class that time. I didn’t know how to react or what would be my reaction on what she said to me. I was stuck between the feeling of joy, shock and I even want to cry on that moment. But one thing I was sure of that time, I felt all of those emotions. It was a shocking news for me because since I finished my Nursery years, I never got to be on top of the class that’s why I got shocked like that since it was so unexpected for me. I admit that I am not the smarty type of student but I can say that by giving a lot of effort on my performance tasks and extracurricular activities, I was still able to get good grades. I felt like I was on cloud nine during that time and I was extremely excited to tell it to my grandmother and sister because for sure they will be both happy because of this.

I learned on that experience that you don’t need to be so extra smart to be considered as a good student. For me, you will just need to be extra determine and have perseverance because that is for your own dreams to become true. Before we get our success, we need to go through hardships, failures, and struggles because that is how we learn in life.

I can say that the effect of this experience to me is that I get more determined on my studies and I will give extra efforts to all the things that I do because it is best to feel your success if you know that you really worked hard for it.

a memoir

It was a typical night after we had our dinner, me, washing all the dishes, a sudden phone call broke in that made that night a no-typical that I thought on that time. That call brought a bad news, a nightmare; my father who had been a servant of the killer cardiac disease and been lied down a couple of days in the hospital bed, just left this Earth without leaving us any last talks, laugh and tears with him until his last breath. My world crumbled on that moment, leaving me broken inside with the pain, grieving in silent cries, tears fell down and dried up until morning. Just like the others, on that night, my first love just broke my heart, a heartbreak that will never be mended by anything but binded by acceptance.

a facial recognition

This is Raine Nicole. She sees herself a quite simple lady. She has a black wavy hair, the hair that she has a love-hate relationship with; not-so thick eyebrows with a pair of edgy and sharp-looking eyes as others told to her. These observant eyes that sees the unnoticeable things around her that nobody can ever notice. Her nose may not be the pointed one that many of us like but still it perfectly suits her face together with her pinkish lips, the lips that sealed almost every time even though she notices something around her. Her body is just enough to fit with her height, the body that she used to wished to be change once. She have a lot of flaws and imperfections physically just like the others and had been struggled to accept these insecurities but she learned and continuously learning to fully accept these flaws. And most importantly, she knows that she was perfectly and wonderfully created.

a travelogue

One of the unforgettable places that I went was the Oriental Mindoro, our province. It was my cousin’s eighteenth birthday that’s why we went there. We were so excited that time because aside from the fact that I rode again a ferry, I went also to beach and swim again to sea which I truly missed. From our journey, I took already a lot of photos of wonderful sceneries that we passed by; and of course we didn’t forget to take selfies. When we reached the port, we sat first and bought ourselves a cup noodles while waiting for our ferry. A couple of minutes had passed, chitchatting, laughing, eating, and taking good photos were took place until the ferry arrived.

When the time that we went inside the ship, we sat on our designated seats; while my sister and my other cousins were resting that time, my cousin Angela and I went to the deck to took some fresh air and also to see the crystal clear and blue sea. I feel so relaxed that time because I think that was my time to unwind again on the last 10 months of school year. We are both K-pop fan and that time we were so happy to know that we were the only persons there on that area that time so we took the opportunity to dance our favourite K-pop songs and when we got tired, we went back inside to rest until we reached our destination.

I woke up because of the continuous poking of my sister on my shoulder because finally, we reached our destination; the Calapan Port. So we got prepared for our boarding. My excitement got extreme that time when I learned that we will ride a small boat to go to Puerto Galera. I got a bit scared right after since the boat was shaking while we were riding on it. I was smiling while staring at the beautiful sea and different islands that we passed by. The peacefulness of the sea matching with the calmness of the fair weather that time made me so giddy. I got a huge relief when we finally reached Puerto Galera because that’s it, we were already there! The hotel staffs escorted us to our rooms and got changed immediately with our swim wears. We ran near the seashore, the water was a bit cold and I didn’t expect that. I laid my body, stared at the sky, only trees and calm sea with a nice weather were the things that gave me relaxation and peace that time.

When the night came, we went outside of the hotel for the dinner. We got really entertained because there were performers there to sing and dance for the tourists to entertain them. It was sleeping time but I couldn’t sleep yet because I was still remembering the breath-taking sceneries we went earlier that time. I suddenly mumbled to myself that I wished I was with my parents there so that they could also feel relaxed and enjoy this trip.

Until we went back here in Cavite, I still have those memories that I probably never forget because that place has a special part in my mind and heart. I will surely go back to Puerto Galera when the time and everything will be fine again.

a self-obituary

Hi there everyone, Angelika here. So as you all know, we are all passing in this world, we have our own timeline and deadlines and mine's today. I just left this crazy world during my peaceful sleep without me knowing this one will be go eternally. My family and friends knows me well that I really love dancing. This is one of the things that I really love and lived for. I know y'all now grieving because I know you all gonna miss me but please just move-on quickly on this inevitable stage of our lives and instead be happy and glad that you know I am here in this place wherein I can dance more freely and unceasingly, without getting tired and haggard, looking fresh all day while dancing in joy. I will always miss and love you all. Until we all meet again folks.

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larrykrakow · 3 years

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2020: A Year Of Turmoil And Struggle

New Post has been published on https://theprogressivemind.org/2020-a-year-of-turmoil-and-struggle/

2020: A Year Of Turmoil And Struggle

For some of us, 2020 was worse than it was for others. We faced one of the worst health crises in our history and it still rages on today as people start receiving vaccinations. It also represented the worst of our cultural divide, something extremely troubling to someone like myself. I was always proud of my simple life without having a need for extravagant attire or fancy cars. I can find happiness within myself and with my wife, but this year was different. The events of 2020 were bound to hit all of us no matter how immune or isolated from the danger that we felt we were.

The 2020 clock could not run out soon enough.

In my personal life, I started out by suffering from a nearly deadly case of Covid19. My 96-year-old grandmother succumbed in a nursing home to the disease and my father passed away from cancer. In many ways, this year seemed to find ways to slap all of us in the face, but it also highlights our resilience as a species. It was quite tough when my wife had to watch me pass out in our bathroom. That was the moment of fear for her, all alone in our house during a quarantine period. Had I not pulled through, she would have been left all alone in an apartment with all of my personal effects. Just imagining how tough it would have been on her is something I cannot quantify.

2020 was a tough year for many of us. Although we can highlight many ills of our political dysfunction, we have to be mindful of personal stories. Pictured here are my parents, my wife, my in-laws, my sister, and my nephew. Unfortunately for us, there is now an empty chair. It would have been nice for many families to have the ability to say goodbye to family members as their end came near.

When my grandmother passed, it was just a disappointment, but by that point, she had lived a long and fulfilling life. In a way, it is better that she went first because my father who also happened to be her oldest son was nearing the end. No parent should ever have to hear of the death of one of their children, no matter how old.

When my father was nearing the end, it was tough to be able to come and see him. The pandemic stoked a lot of fear even though I had already been through it. In the final year of his life, I saw him on three separate days. The final one would be in November as cancer was eating him from within. He had a lot of pride and did not want to be seen in his condition. When he was told by his doctors that there was no further treatment that could have saved him, he had told my mother that he would have liked to see my wife and me. Sadly, about an hour after saying that to my mother, he had severe pain and had to be rushed to the hospital. He was put on heavy-duty medications that knocked him out and he never woke again. Although 2020 was near the end, it continued to ravage the Krakow family.

This was the year of turmoil.

With every passing day, we would become more and more numb to the suffering of others. It was as if it was expected. Nobody had the will or desire to change the system that caused so much pain. As my personal life went on and life in the world went on, it was easy to draw a parallel. It was easy to feel that a terrible curse had been cast upon us.

There was no Thanksgiving, something that had occurred in my family since before I had even become a thought. In retrospect, we all know that we could have controlled this pandemic if everyone in the country had agreed to wear a mask for a few months. It would have meant that even if my mother did not cook dinner on Thanksgiving, we could have all met and had one more time with my ailing father. In a way, I feel that the anti-maskers robbed us of our final days.

2020 was built on history.

Sure, I had an abrasive father that was tough to handle at times, but he always came through for us and I believe that he loved all of us in his own way. As he grew older, I felt that we grew closer, especially after introducing my soon to be wife. Going back over five years now, I was in a hospital bed with my then-girlfriend at my side. I had a major illness that had taken over 20 pounds off of my thin frame. My parents came down for a visit. I think at that moment, my relationship with my father had changed for the positive in a way that I could never comprehend.

Now, only to find out that the final year of deterioration for my father was upon us, we also faced the politics of hate and division that created circumstances for us to be apart. In fact, my wife and I from the time we got together until the start of the pandemic would take a drive up to visit my parents a few times every year. I was particularly taken by the fact that my wife and father would be able to sit and talk for quite some time.

Politics impact our lives.

Now that we lost much of that time towards the end, I realized that the divisions in America have put us in this position. The politicization of masks and shutdowns took away the last few chances my father had to see his only son. It took away the ability for my wife and me to come and spend a day with people that had been with me all of my life. Our society is infected with a lack of trust in the basic things that sustain us and a view that anyone asking for a little bit of self-sacrifice is oppressive. Is it really oppressive to wear a mask when thumbing through merchandise at Walmart? Is it really oppressive to be asked to eat at home? Is it oppressive to be asked to do takeout for a few months? I think that would have given people like me more of a chance to enjoy the things that are important in life.

Our politics are denying us basic things in life, the basics of seeing people in our families. Our politics are denying us access to the treasures of our country. We have been so divided up along racial and cultural lines that we are unable to process how bad things have gotten for us on the ground. In the waning days of my father’s life, we all were asking people to wear masks including in the butcher shop where I work. We asked people to be ready for the vaccine yet some nut jobs believe that the government will use the vaccine as an excuse to implant some tracking chip.

To me, put it plain and simple, masks, vaccines, and shutdowns are measures that we as the most advanced species on Earth have at our disposal to make sure that we live on. They are not something that should be used by any politician. In fact, I believe that many Republican governors are responsible for the virus resurging in my state. My wife and I had to forego seeing my father in his dying days. We had to forego seeing close friends for way too long.

Who is to blame for making 2020 tougher than needed?

We have to stop for one second and think if it is the people that hold twisted views of our world. I don’t like to blame the so-called deplorables. They are not the leaders of our society. They are the working-class stiffs who hold values that were taught over generations. As their children become more educated and in tune with technology, they will start to dwindle in numbers. Society has a way of fixing long-term problems. It may never completely be fixed, but it will get better. There will be more mixed families and hopefully more educational opportunities. Maybe there will eventually be a greater appreciation of what is important because we live finite lives. Whatever we leave behind as we pass will be our own choosing. Hopefully, this pandemic has taught us some lessons.

I would like to close this post with a request. I want to help any of you bring healing to yourselves. Please share your story in the Facebook Comments section below. This is where you are allowed to vent your feelings. Your struggle matters.

#2020

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speaknowslut13 · 3 years

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Hi honey bunches!

I really appreciate that! I’ve always kind of thought no kids/no marriage, and then I went through an identity crisis and finally came to terms with my sexuality in my early 20s and then I was like “yeah definitely no” haha. So many people are like “you’ll definitely change your mind” and I find it rather obnoxious. And while I’m pretty sure I don’t want biological children, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about becoming a foster parent, and would love to get to a place in my life where I could do that.

Feel free to talk about the complicated family situation if you want! (Or not, totally no pressure, but I definitely understand having a complicated family.) my parents also did a courthouse wedding and I honestly love their wedding photos, they’re so cute! Do you have any pictures of your dress that you can/want to share?

Gosh that sounds awful! I’m glad you were okay though. Out of my sibling/cousins (there’s 5 of us and all pretty close!) I’m actually the only one who *hasn’t* been in a major wreck. I still vividly remember getting a phone call from my sister after she rolled her pickup (she was thankfully okay, somehow walked away without a scratch even though the car was totaled, and this happened like one week after she’d gotten her drivers license.) but on to happier things!

I love that though, I think it’s so important to actually *like* your partner haha. What kind of video games do you like to play? And what’s your go to movie for movie night? And that’s literally the sweetest thing that you do his nails and makeup 🥺 how are things with the pandemic in your area?

Panic! puts on a great show, I saw them in Seattle during their death of a bachelor tour in 2017 and it was so much fun. I hope you get the chance to go! Who else is on your concert bucket list?

Omggg okay I will have to add Rijeka to my list of stops 👀 if everything goes according to plan, I want to do a road trip down the Croatian coast starting in Zagreb and ending up in Dubrovnik. My birthday is mid august, so it would be end of august to be a birthday trip! I love Munich, it’s only a couple hours from me by train so I’ve been there several times since I moved here! Because of travel restrictions, I haven’t been able to visit some of the places like Dachau yet, but I really want to. That history is heavy but so so important.

I adore the PNW, and I was originally planning on moving to Oregon for grad school before I ended up in Europe haha. I have a lot of good friends in that area and I can’t wait to be able to visit them in again! Where in Canada would you like to end up? The polar express thing sounds soso cool, honestly might book a seat for myself hahaha.

I think a lot of writing poetry is just accepting that a lot of it is going to be bad and then going from there haha. Like one of my professors told me, it’s always easier to work with something than it is with nothing so I have years and pages worth of bad poems and then some that I’ve turned into really good ones. Ohhh those all sound really interesting! I especially like the idea of a paranormal mystery. Do you have a particular tag that you post your writing under?

That sounds like an excellent weekend! What kind of project? And do you have your own pool or do you go somewhere? What a crazy coincidence for us to be paired together!! I actually didn’t start marching until college, my high school wasn’t big enough to have a marching band, just a pep band, and then I got involved with the music program for fun when I started college and ended up marching my sophomore through senior years. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of hard work!! I can definitely understand how that could cause burn out. Mono sounds horrendous in the best case scenario, let alone what you were dealing with. Oh the EMT thing sounds like a cool program though!

Hahahaha yeah my sister is an amazing singer but it just missed me. I do perform well in the shower, when I’m out hiking in the woods, or alone in the car. Well I think you’d do well even without knowing everything single instrument ahdjshs i believe in you! ✨

Hope your week is off to a great start! 💖 Drew

Let's get the family stuff out of the way. Chase and I met in September of 2013, got engaged in January of 2014, and then married February of 2014. His brother was not pleased with that. There was a massive fight and its the only time I've seen Chase really truly angry. They were living together at the time and when we told him we decided to get engaged and that I was essentially moving in he flipped out. He was also drunk that night. We were excited, our parents were excited for us. We hadn't planned on getting married until May of 2015 but that didn't matter. He said some pretty horrendous things to Chase and then to my face. So Chase kind of snapped. After that, Chase wasn't sure he wanted to tell his family about the ceremony. He didn't want to rock the boat any more than he already did. My BIL moved out quickly after that fight. Chase and I always planned on having a ceremony with everyone later. That never worked out. Its something we regret, not inviting his parents. His Dad passed in 2016 after I found out I was pregnant. So he'll never get to have that. Even though we all moved past that, in that last year things have gotten tense between them again. I try not to get involved. My BIL eventually apologized and we all got really close especially when my FIL got sick. Even though we've both forgiven him, I don't know if Chase will ever really forget the hurt that situation caused me and him. It didn't stop us though. We knew our minds. We're both Taurus signs. So there really was no stopping us.

We didn't mean to get married on Valentines day. I had just been fired from Express for the stupidest reason, partly because of my relationship. We just decided on a Monday to get married that following Friday. When we went to get the license, that's when we realized it was going to be Valentines Day. We laughed pretty hard about it. We still do. I joke that because I always had such a rough time on Valentines Day, the universe made up for it.

Even though we jumped head first into commitment, we waited on expanding our family. And it wasn't an easy journey for us. Now, its a completely unrealistic option for me to carry another pregnancy. So, if we ever change our minds about having another kid, we'll adopt. I grew up with a messy extended family and so my tolerance for the behavior I've seen of late is non existent. I don't need that negativity. I don't have enough spoons! So, we keep our head down and mow our own lawn, so to speak.

I will make a post of pictures under my tag themodren . All of my personal posts are under that tag because I reblog a lot. However, the story excerpt is also under the tag brownandgreenandgold because it corrresponds to a poem I wrote. I'll put that one up for you too. Some of my other tags are: renreacts , folklorethemusical , and relativelyricalanalysis . I've started these tags hoping to follow up on them with more content but I haven't yet. You can find them all under themodren though. I'm trying to talk myself into sharing more.

Chase was really into WOW. I prefer games that are RPG in nature. I've played Castle Crashers, Baulder's gate, Torchlight, and currently Portal. I like Pokemon. Chase really grew up around video games. I didn't. He's so good at them. He's great at figuring out how things work whereas I'm the player that spins in circles.

I'd like to move to Vancouver or anywhere around that area. It looks so pretty.

The EMT program was amazing and I had a real knack for it. I was originally going to go pre-med. I wanted to be a Doctor. But I was thrown some curve balls and ended up in a Fashion Design program that no longer exists. Didn't finish that one either because I got pregnant and my postpartum period is where my autoimmune disease really jumped out. If I thought I could handle it, I'd go back and finish the nursing program I was going to go through, too. Or ideally I'd just go do pre-med again. Unfortunately I don't think that's in the cards. I'm still struggling to get my body under control and stress has a tendency to deplete my spoons quickly. The pandemic really hit me hard because I wanted to help but couldn't.

I try to focus on the good in my life. I try to remember to honor my limitations. I tell my husband that I feel like a ten cylinder engine that's being forced to only use four. It can be frustrating. So I laugh at myself and try to focus on other things. Like the recent succulent collection I've started. I might have a problem. We have a pool in our backyard. It was out of order until recently. I'm enjoying it a lot since that last few years I haven't been able to. Despite my struggles, my life is incredibly blessed. I always feel weird talking about the pain and disappointments of my life because I feel ungrateful.

The pandemic feels stale here. I'm sure the numbers are going down because there are so many people being vaccinated now, but unfortunately there is still too large a number of vaccine resistant or hesitant people. That frustrates me. Both my husband and I are vaccinated now, but we still wear our masks. We also avoid interacting with others outside our circle because our daughter hasn't been vaccinated yet. Hopefully come September that will change. Our state lifted mask mandates too soon, I think. We're a mostly republican state. I wish that didn't matter but it does. People are starting to act like the virus isn't still an issue even though it definitely is. Its been especially rough on my kid. She's been in virtual preschool for a year. She goes back in person in August, which I'm very nervous about. She has an IEP for speech therapy, so she needs to go, otherwise I'd find another solution. She doesn't get to go out much either. Its been tough on her. Her safety is of utmost importance though. I've heard too many horror stories of mom's acting like this virus isn't just as potentially life altering for children as it is for adults. At the beginning, parents were even hosting "covid parties" so all their kids would catch the virus. Horrified would be an understatement in describing my reaction to those articles.

The project is a memorial for my grandma. She passed recently. Its okay. She was old and we were expecting it.

Chase and I will watch things that we've wanted to watch for awhile. I haven't seen all the Marvel movies yet and there are a slew of older movies he's seen that he wants me to see. So, we typically pick something we haven't seen.

Lorde announced music today! So once she starts touring, I'd like to see her. Honestly, I'd like to see Twenty One Pilots. Halsey is another. I like Halsey. My best friend likes Marianas Trench, so it'd be fun to see them with her. If N'Sync ever toured again, I'd go see it. I would have loved to see Prince in concert. There's just so many different musicians I like that I'd love to see.

Are things getting any better where you're at, Drew? I hope your week goes well!

#inthaf anon #themodrenreplies

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thebandcampdiaries · 3 years

Video

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Ty Bru is back on the scene with a new, exciting album: Triple Bypass: Under Anesthesia.

June 2021 - Ty Bru is an artist with a focus on pushing deeper, creating diverse and groundbreaking songs that will make a big splash on the music scene. Recently, the artist dropped a brand new album release titled Triple Bypass: Under Anesthesia. This album is more than just entertainment: each song is produced really well, but more importantly, the artist has a very strong focus on crafting meaningful lyrics that connect with the listeners on a deeper level. Of the 11 songs featured on this album, each listener is most definitely going to be able to connect with a track in particular at least. The songwriting is so insightful and diverse that I have no doubt that there is a song for everyone out there, and Ty is able to really channel so much realness and intelligence with his lyrics.

Take the song “Give Me Wings,” for example. This is a powerful and personal story that deals with the story of how a friend of the artist himself help him become more free on a personal level. In addition to that, the track also deals with the aftermath and side effects of using drugs and alcohol, something that many people struggle with to this day.

This album of work flows smoothly, as its production has a diverse background. The all-encompassing nature of the arrangement makes for a thick and organic sound, as opposed to a texture that could be considered more grainy and fragmented. As a result, Ty Bru really produced something that’s big and larger-than-life, and Triple Bypass: Under Anesthesia stands out as a massive achievement on his part. The sound of this release feels like a perfect introduction to the sound of Ty Bru, and it stands out from the herd due to its world-class sound. Fans of conscious hip-hop music are definitely going to enjoy Triple Bypass: Under Anesthesia, and if this is any indication, we are on track for something truly amazing coming from Ty Bru in the near future! Stay tuned, because this one is going to make its way into your heavy rotation!

This full-lenght album will be released on the 12th of June, exclusively on Bandcamp. It’s already possible to pre-order from the following link!

https://mightierthantheswordrecords.bandcamp.com/album/triple-bypass-under-anesthesia

From the July 16th, the album will be available on all other streaming sites as well.https://youtu.be/RnGns2RD8i4

We also had the chance to ask the artist a few questions! Keep reading for more:

- On the album, it feels like each song has something special to offer, not only when it comes to the lyrics, but also the production. Was it a conscious choice to make this album so diverse?

It certainly was intentional to diversify as much as possible when it came to content, subject matter and when choosing the production for each song. I wanted a seamless feel for the most part but also a few songs that would jolt the listener into something different enough to remind them that this is more than music, it’s comprehensive art and most times that can turn into something sporadic, and that fits the theme I have for the album as well.

- Do you have a favorite track? And if so, which is it and why?

Without any hesitation, my favorite song is ‘Advice’. That was the third song I recorded and it felt so good to get that all out. Shot out to Brain Staples at Livewire Studio for his guidance on how I ended on the hooks, because it really helps bring it back down to a personal level, the first time my wife heard it, she asked if I wrote it specifically for her because it resonated with her so well.

The song is an attempt at suicide prevention along with saying that it’s ok to use certain vices in times of distress and anxiety. Too often are these things shunned and that type of behavior can lead to over indulgence. We are all human and we all like to feel good, when someone makes you feel bad about using these vices, of course you are going to want to go toward that substance because it can help fill the void of good and understanding friend. After performing that song for the first time at a live streaming concert with the Iconoclast Crew (Ed E. Ruger, Stitchy C, DJ Phillie Phresh & guests DJ Kyng Rash & Marshall Alexander) in February, that same night I ended up getting in a bad car accident, then within a few days contracting COVID-19. Depression hit me harder than it had in recent memory and I started feeling like the song was a lie, like what right did I have to try and help other people when I couldn’t help myself? I felt weak, then I started listening to it as it was someone else’s song and it clicked and help strengthen me up, I stand by that song with all I am.

- Do you approach lyrics first, or do the instrumentals come first, inspiring you to write?

In this case, as in most cases the instrumentals come first. I met the producer of the entire project, Poe Mack in Roanoke, Virginia in 2007 and we hit it off immediately. His background and my background aligned on some pretty specific levels. About 2011 I spent a few weekends with him in Salem and we began working on a project, he made about ten beats and I wrote to about half of them off gate, then after I moved to China for 5 years it got abandoned, like so many of my projects, unfortunately. Then we picked the conversation back up when the pandemic hit in 2020, he was making several beats a day and I picked out ten of them, and wrote the whole album within a month and recorded them in three sessions. I did end up deciding to use one of the beats from 2011 because I loved the evolution of that song and it fit with the concept.

- Is there an underlying theme or concept that ties the songs of the album together?

Yes there is, this is my fourth solo album and all of them relate to the heart and is symbolic to the stages of a heart attack both before, during and after. ‘Triple Bypass: Under Anesthesia’ begins as I find myself confused in an ambulance and then it goes through the steps someone might take after that. I’ll go through the tracklisting with you, for instance.

1- OUT OF THE AMBULANCE: is the confusing feeling and sort of “out of touch with reality” I might feel as I am getting out of the ambulance, getting ready to go into the hospital. 2- BEAUTIFUL FIGHT: they say your life flashes before your eyes as you are about to pass away or during near death experiences and this is a song about my wife, my son and myself which is currently the highest priorities of my life, so of course that’s what I might see

3- GIVE ME WINGS: is when they administer the anesthesia, the feeling I would get

4- BURIED ALIVE: explains the reasons behind the condition of me as a patient, mixed with hallucinations of death and actual feelings I have had in the past

5- ELM STREET: is a continuation of life flashing before my eyes, which began on Elm Street, so what better place to start than at the beginning

6- CANT SIR: is deep in the dream state of anesthesia, where I can’t really tell if it’s real or not, however even though it shouldn’t me, it is very real and shows how the neglect of certain races, overlooking an area of a city or someone blocking your path due to nepotism or racism can stop your heart, a symbolic form of cancer.

7- SYMPHONY OF A HEARTBREAK: is an extension of the previous song, going more into detail of everyday heartaches that could be through the fault of no one or the fault of oneself. Things I might think of while in the dream state of anesthesia

8- 4TIMES: still under anesthesia, this is an actual recollection of the four times I personally saw death so very close and nearly crossed over.

the first was the first steps of drowning in an icy pond when I was 7, the second while I was in London during an attempted bombing on the underground train I was on, the third was when my blood count was all out of whack, numbers that were extremely close to death, due to h1n1, but I neglected it thinking it was a hangover and the fourth, very recently when I totaled my wife’s car in a snowstorm. I was a few feet from a ravine and a few inches from a guardrail splitting me in two.

9- GETS IN THE WAY OF LOVE: is kind of the end of the anesthesia, right before I wake back up, showing the evolution of my courtship with my wife, a good and familiar dream, giving me a reason to wake back up

10- ADVICE: is what someone is giving to me when I am awake, right after anesthesia

11- HATE IS USELESS: is what I have decided that needs to be done after receiving that advice to avoid any further complications to my heart.

- Can you tell us a bit more about the album’s title and what it means for you?

Like I said previously, all of my albums have related to a symbolic heart attack.

ON THE BRINK (2007) was like my habits were leading me on the brink of a heart attack.

HEART CORE HIP HOP (2009) was like a heart exam, to see how the old ticker was doing

TRIPLE BYPASS: IN THE AMBULANCE (2011) was when something went terribly wrong with me and the mixture of habits and health lead me to be taken into the hospital for

TRIPLE BYPASS: UNDER ANESTHESIA (2021)

- Any touring or live performance plan?

Touring is still out of the question for me at this point. I’m not ready for that quite yet in the newly re-opened world. But we are having an album release party performance that I am very excited about at Four Saints Brewing Company in my hometown of Asheboro on July 17, 2021 8pm-10pm. After that we are having a birthday bash performance at The Flat Iron in Greensboro, NC on August 27, 2021. Other than that, I plan on one performance a month until the end of the year, then reassessing the situation then.

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bigtinyworldtravel · 4 years

Text

Judging by picture-perfect, colorful squares on Instagram, the freedom of a travel lifestyle is presented as paradise – an endless parade of tropical breezes and fruity drinks, interspersed with exciting adventures that would make anyone envious. While travel is, indeed, amazing and life-changing and exhilarating and rewarding, social media paints an incomplete picture.

We have learned firsthand what living the life of travel entails. If you’re wondering if full-time travel is right for you – and if you’re ready for what actually awaits – here is what you can expect.

You will be out of your comfort zone

Whether you travel across the country or around the globe, the environment will be very different from what you’re used to. You won’t have the comfort of your own bed, the convenience of your familiar beauty products, or the nostalgia of your favorite foods. Kitchens won’t have the same appliances to which you’re accustomed, you might need to suffer cold showers, and depending on where you go, you’ll have to break the habit of flushing toilet paper.

Your phone won’t work the same way – if it works at all – and you’ll learn how much you’ve taken simple phone number dialing for granted. And good luck if you need to print anything (boarding passes, visas, tickets, etc.).

People will likely speak differently, even if they are fluent in your native language. Words with which you’re familiar could get buried in thick accents and local idioms. You might offend someone without even realizing it. I know we have on more than one occasion.

You will grow in ways you never expected

People so beautifully different from you will teach you things you never knew you never knew. You will learn new was to use your own language, and your communication skills will expand exponentially. You will learn bits and pieces of other languages. Stay long enough and apply yourself, and you could become fluent.

You will grow to love brand new ideas and gadgets from around the world, and you will adopt some of them into your own life and later wonder how you ever lived without them.

You will be come a problem solving master, and you will become stronger than you ever were before, having survived any number of unanticipated mishaps. This will make you a natural leader, as you’ll have the confidence of experience and the compassion of wanting to protect others from the worst of it.

You will learn how little you actually need, and you’ll grow to appreciate the freedom of minimalism.

The actual traveling can kind of suck

Buses and ferries and planes, oh my! Oh, and tuk tuks and cars and trains and rickshaws and scooters and bikes and taxis and good ‘ole fashioned walking! If you travel long enough, you’ll experience all of these (and more).

Travel days can be long and miserable, and they don’t always go smoothly. We saw cancelled flights (sometimes the morning of), and our barely touching Scotland consisted of a bus on windy roads with a pair of puking kids (trust me: not fun). We experienced long layovers, missed buses, wrong train stations, and even standing in the pouring rain at a bus door with insufficient fare in the correct currency – all with 50 lbs of carry-on luggage strapped to our front and back.

Even when the travel is uneventful, it’s exhausting, which is why we try to limit it or break it up as much as we can.

Nothing can compare to the thrill of stepping foot in a new place

But when we finally get there? I have the word, “strikhedonia” engraved into my travel ring for a reason. It means, “the love of striking out for a new destination,” and I certainly have that – bad.

When you stay in one place for long enough, you’ll find it begins to feel a bit like home. The longer you stay, the harder it’ll be to leave. But if you love travel as much as we do, then you know there’s no joy quite like the excitement of planning for and arriving in a new destination. So, much as we might sometimes dread the actual traveling, there are far too many new and enticing places to remain stationary for long.

You will long for your favorite foods

Aaron called this dish “kitty litter”

Do you love fresh veggies? Good luck getting those in the desert of Namibia. Addicted to bacon? You won’t find that in Muslim countries. And don’t expect to find much dairy in Southeast Asia (sorry, cheese lovers!).

We naturally couldn’t eat as healthily as we were used to (especially when tempted by local dishes), and we got very tired of rice with every meal (but it was easy and cheap wherever we went!). I had an absolute devil of a time trying to find dark chocolate anywhere in South America (though milk chocolate was readily available), and sorry, Europeans… you could use a lesson in what hot sauce actually is (hint: not slightly spicy ketchup). But I think I was most surprised by my cravings for kombucha on the road (which probably explains why I drank about a gallon of it upon our arrival back home).

Each country has its limitations, and it was a (not-so-)fun exercise to figure out what our meals would look like upon each relocation.

You will discover new tantalizing cuisines

But once you figure out what that exotic fruit actually is (and how to eat it), you won’t be able to stop! You will find spice combinations you can’t even identify, and the flavors will dance on your tastebuds and haunt your dreams as soon as you leave.

We absolutely love to eat, so we were excited to try all the local delicacies (though I don’t think I’d be brave enough to try bugs or scorpions or 100-year-old eggs). I couldn’t get enough of Turkish meatballs, and we had more Croatian fritule (fritters) than I’d care to admit. Italian lasagna, British fish ‘n chips, Argentinian empanadas, Namibian oryx steak….. my stomach is grumbling just thinking of it all!

And you can bring some of these recipes home with you to expand your own meal plans, letting the exotic tastes bring you back to your favorite countries without even leaving your kitchen.

Not everything will be as you expect

Tourism boards put every location in its best light to attract more visitors. The truth is you’re very unlikely to see that temple without a horde of screaming kids or that famous palace with the jaw-dropping sunset colors.

Everyone always raved about Amsterdam (they still do). But we just weren’t that impressed. It was crowded and just not as charming as Rotterdam or Delft.

We were excited to spend the holidays in Switzerland (c’mon.. Christmas and snow with that gorgeous scenery??), only to find out we miscalculated how far from the mountains the town of Basel really is.

The spires of Torres Del Paine is arguably THE reason we were determined to visit Patagonia. However, after a grueling hike, we arrived at a crowded glacial lake with dreary clouds obscuring the peaks. The lack of clear weather put a literal damper on the otherwise beautiful location.

If you set your expectations too high, some places are simply bound to disappoint.

Other moments will completely blow you away

Sure, Dublin was a rainy mess the entire time we were there, but the Irish pubs were exactly what we wanted, and we had far more fun than we expected! I simply couldn’t get enough of the Zadar sea organ – something I didn’t even know existed until we arrived. Omis was insanely beautiful, and it wasn’t even on our itinerary.

We had a sick kitty during a housesit in Montenegro, but we were thrilled to find the Kotor fortress was completely free of charge during our visit (yay, off-season!). We got the most incredible leopard encounter in Namibia. And we were left speechless with the sheer beauty of Fitz Roy after the somewhat lackluster Torres.

We live for these moments, and with time, they will be the ones you ultimately remember.

Something will go wrong

Word to the wise: do not attempt to plan out every detail of your travels. That is a recipe for disaster, as something will stray from your plans, derailing everything else you had lined up.

Aaron cataloging his stolen gear replacements

A park you want to visit might be closed the one day you’re in town. A strap of your pack could break. Lodging could fall through. Your bus might never show up.

We began our travels by being robbed, and we ended them amidst a pandemic. We certainly never planned for those things to happen. The robbery almost stopped our travels before they truly began, and the virus almost kept us abroad unwillingly.

In the end, flexibility is paramount; it’s the only thing that kept us sane.

You will accrue the most fascinating stories

We’ve obviously been through a lot, but it sure makes for some amazing conversation! While we were stressed and afraid and miserable in those situations as they were happening, we love to regale our battles to our friends (and you!) in the hopes that they find a lesson in them and avoid them, themselves.

These hardships will inevitably make you stronger, but they’ll also make you more interesting. We were always drawn to those who possessed epic tales; now we’re finding others are drawn to us.

You will miss your friends and family

I hate to be the one to break it to you: life goes on without you. Babies are born, people get married, barbecues and birthdays and holidays all keep happening. You will miss some milestones, and you will miss those closest to you.

We had to skip our favorite anime convention (yeah, we’re geeks). We missed countless hikes with our photo friends. And for the first time ever, I missed Christmas with my family.

But we also dearly missed our kitties. I’m so attached to them that I have crocheted tiny replicas to travel with us. And with an 18-year-old cat, we ran the very real risk of never seeing her again. Unfortunately, Skype just doesn’t replace purrs and nighttime cuddles.

You will meet incredible new friends

Fortunately, the world is a very large place, full of seven billion people – seven billion opportunities to make new friends. And leaving those with whom you are familiar will force you to fill that void with exciting new personalities, and you’ll never be lonely.

Some will barely touch your life – someone who’s there for only an instant and is quickly forgotten. Others will become the new best friend you never knew you were missing. You will influence and inspire those you meet, and those ripples will have a profound effect not only on those they know but also back on you.

A bartender in Chile. A tour guide in Germany. A pair of travel bloggers in Montenegro. A reader in the UK. A couple in the Netherlands. A family in Namibia. A couchsurfer in Ireland. A dog owner in Italy. We are forever changed because of them and so many others.

You will internalize in a way you never thought possible the fact that we are all human at heart. You will embrace the unique, and you will realize that those who have the least tend to be the most giving. You will never forget their kindness, and you will become a better person because of it.

You will get sick

Chances are, you’ve already experienced getting sick while on vacation. We don’t let ourselves fall ill when we have so much to do, so we sometimes crash as soon as we hop a plane and let our defenses down. Traveling longer only stacks the odds against you.

And let’s face it… You will be exposed to so many new environments so quickly, it’s only a matter of time before some new bug takes you down. Unless you were a military brat and/or ate Cheerios off the dining room floor as a kid (guilty), you probably don’t have an ironclad immune system. And if an airborne bug doesn’t do it, just wait until you meet Dehli Belly!

It will force you to slow down

If you travel anything like us, you want to pack as much as you possibly can into every moment. It’s so difficult to justify taking a break, because: when’s the next time you’ll be there?

But rest is just as important as adventure.

Slowing down lets you take in elements of a place you might otherwise miss entirely. Besides, longterm travel is a marathon – not a sprint!

You will get tired of traveling

The old adage says, “everything in moderation; too much of a good thing is bad.” No matter how much you love it, you will find days when you’re simply tired of traveling. You’ll long for the stability and comfort of your own bed and home, and you’ll want to just be done for a bit.

Slowing down and resting certainly helps in this department (see above), but every so often, even that won’t be enough. Try to maintain routines when you can, and work in “vacations” back home.

It will all be worth it

Travel is exciting, and it will forever change you. Sure, it might be uncomfortable sometimes, but you will look back on the memories and know you’ve truly lived. Perhaps you’ll go crazy being deprived of your favorite caramel lattes and bacon burgers, but the photos will remind you how incredible your life is. You will build unforgettable relationships, and you’ll be able to tackle so many more hurdles life throws at you in the future with ease.

You’ll know you’ve lived your best life, and you’d never want it any other way.

What harsh realities have you learned while traveling?

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Are You Prepared to be a Full-time Traveler? - #Fulltimetravel isn't all cocktails on the beach and exciting adventures. Sometimes it sucks. If you're considering it, know the truth before you dive in. #bigtinyworld #honesttruth Judging by picture-perfect, colorful squares on Instagram, the freedom of a travel lifestyle is presented as paradise - an endless parade of tropical breezes and fruity drinks, interspersed with exciting adventures that would make anyone envious.

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celebritylive · 4 years

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Days before Ashley Cooper’s father Phillip Cooper died of COVID-19, she was told by hospital staff he was in stable condition and would be ready to return home.

Unfortunately, the pair never got to see that day — and Ashley, a location coordinator for NBC’s Chicago Fire, is now left wondering what she’s going to do without the man whom she called her “best friend.”

“He really believed in me. There was nothing like that encouragement my dad gave me,” she tells PEOPLE. “What hurts me most is, when the quarantine is up and we all get back to our lives, not having that. That scares me.”

“What the hell am I gonna do without his words and his love as a father?” she continues. “I feel vulnerable and unprotected, and I’m 33, almost 34, and that might sound crazy, but that’s how I feel.”

Though Phillip passed away at age 73 on April 2, Ashley says her father — who was a healthy man and worked out six times per week — initially started feeling ill around Thanksgiving.

RELATED: California Mother and Daughter Die Just Hours Apart from Coronavirus: ‘It Happened So Quickly’

At the time, the retired physical education teacher assumed that he had the flu, but his family grew concerned when he wasn’t feeling any better by mid-February.

“My mom took him to the hospital and they said he had a bacterial infection and pneumonia because he had a bad cough,” Ashley recalls. “He didn’t look himself, he wasn’t working out. He felt confused. It was all very sudden.”

After close to 10 days in the hospital, Phillip was released and returned home, where Ashley says he seemed to be doing “okay,” but was still dealing with a bad cough along with pre-existing kidney issues.

Within a few weeks, the coronavirus began to rapidly spread throughout the United States. Still, Ashley was convinced whatever illness he was fighting wasn’t COVID-19, recalling a conversation with her cousin where she said, “He’s had this cough awhile. He’s fine, I don’t know why he has a cough but he does … and he’s never had a fever.”

By March 23, her perspective had changed and Ashley became worried about the rising coronavirus case numbers. For peace of mind, she encouraged her father to get tested, which he eventually did on March 27.

On his way to the hospital that day, Ashley says her uncle, who was driving the car, noticed Phillip was “so weak he could barely walk” and that his condition “scared him so bad that he was running through red lights to get to the hospital.”

When they arrived, Phillip went inside alone due to the hospital’s safety restrictions, while Ashley later spoke to a doctor on the phone who said her father had pneumonia and was going to be tested for COVID-19, since that illness was a symptom of the virus.

His results came back positive on March 30, but doctors reassured Ashley that her father would be okay and could return home the following day, so long as he took antibiotics and quarantined himself for the next two weeks.

However, on March 31, Phillip was transferred to the ICU after experiencing trouble breathing. His oxygen levels continued to fluctuate over the next two days — with doctors, at one point, recommending that he be put on a ventilator, despite Phillip’s wishes — until Thursday morning when he passed away at 10:55 a.m.

Ashley, who says she last saw her dad in person on March 3 and only got to FaceTime him once while he was in the hospital, was left heartbroken by the news.

“The thing that hurts the most is how he died,” she explains. “I think about people in these hospitals, they’re not with their families, they’re not around their loved ones. It’s scary. It’s a horrible way to die… and I was not prepared for this.”

Even worse, social distancing mandates have prevented Ashley from grieving with her family and holding a funeral service for her father, whom she has since had cremated.

“There’s no closure this way. It’s like he was plucked out of my life, and it feels like it could’ve been prevented,” she says. “It’s beautiful when someone passes, that you can come together and celebrate them. Not having that feels like a slap in the face.”

“So when people are talking about COVID being a lie, it is insulting to every person who has lost their life, every family member or friend who has lost someone because of it,” she adds. “People want to open up their states and get a hair cut? Well, I wanna talk to my dad. … If your only trouble is that you are bored at home, you are blessed. I wish that was my case.”

RELATED: Son Shares Heartbreaking Reality of COVID-19 Crisis for Those in Nursing Homes After Father Dies

When it is safe to do so, Ashley says she intends on giving her father the memorial he deserves, which she expects to hold outdoors near Lake Michigan, where Phillip lived and adored.

“I will wait so we can have a memorial service that represents him because he had so many people who loved him,” she explains. “He loved going out and celebrating. … He just loved life and he really did live it like every day was his last.”

Until then, she is doing her best to cope with the loss, in part by remembering all the things about her father that made him so beloved.

“My dad showed up for everything — everyone’s event, everyone’s party. If you invited him, he was gonna show up,” she recalls. “He didn’t drink or smoke, but he kept a case of wine or champagne in the car because he would always go to people’s houses … and didn’t want to show up empty-handed.”

RELATED VIDEO: Coronavirus Myths Debunked: Special Pathogens Expert Says ‘The Fact Speaks For Itself’

“He was a proud Chicagoan and a proud educator,” Ashley adds. “He was my best friend. He was a great father and really supported me and my dreams. You can’t ask for a better parent than that.”

As of Wednesday, there have been at least 832,325 cases and 42,353 deaths attributed to coronavirus in the United States, according to the New York Times. In Illinois, at least 35,108 cases and 1,577 deaths have been reported, according to the Times.

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.

from PEOPLE.com https://ift.tt/2VsDEv6

#Celebrity

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setsunatama3 · 4 years

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chapter 21: a glimpse into the past

An/ for those who care I Am doing well and things are working out at my new job. i also hope that you all are doing well and staying safe during this covid-19 pandemic. don't forget to wash your hands and practice social follow me on twitter for any updates.

don't forget to check me out on twitter at /setsunatama3 for any announcements from now on.

notice i also post on the following sites

Wattpad at 773701195-the-maelstrom-of-remnant-chapter-one-exile

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deviant art at: setsunatama3/gallery

fanfiction.net at: s/13280840/1/the-Maelstrom-of-remnant

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ficwad at /story/279918

due note that i post on my patreon first and they get early access to my work.

Chapter 21: a glimpse into the past

When the world before the two faded to black. Cinder did not know what to expect.

Then it slowly came back into focus. Then the two were underground, looking at a blonde man that could only be Naruto's father. Aided by a pair of medics help a heavily pregnant woman with locks of crimson like blood.

They were at the woman's feet, aiding in the delivery. While the man had his hands over her stomach.

"This is where my story begins, but to understand what is about to happen, then you need a bit of background information," Naruto said with almost a dead tone.

Naruto knew that to explain what was to happen, then she needed to truly understand his people.

The people froze as Naruto began his explanation. "Unlike in remnant, the world I come from is one without the creatures of Grimm. One forged in the blood and violence. My people called ourselves Shinobi. And at the beginning of our history, there was a woman who came from the skies. And for a time, she lived with the people of the land. In the era before Shinobi."

As he continued his tale. A rift opened in front of them, giving Cinder a glimpse of what was going on.

She had witnessed the woman claim the power of the shinju to end wars and bring peace. Have two children. Who would be named Hagoromo and Hamura. And as the two grew, she watched as their mother slowly went mad. And her subsequent sealing as the Jūbi.

The next memory she saw was of the boy now an old man. Hagoromo separates the power of the Jūbi into nine separate beings of transcendent power. Calling his creations Bijū. And soon, he died, leaving his clan to his youngest son, Ashura. This one act would anger his eldest Indra. And spark a bloody conflict that would span generations.

She witnessed the founding of his village by two men, once boys and enemies. One from the line of Ashura by the name of Hashirama. The other, a man from Indra's lineage by the name of Madara.

Then the climactic battle between the two that would create the first Jinchūriki. After that battle, time moved on, and they too witnessed more of his history, the first, second, and third shinobi world wars.

She shuddered at witnessing destruction and devastation on a scale that only hoards of Grimm had produced until recently. Then she saw the havoc a person with the title of Kage could wreak upon their enemies. As that same blonde man slaughtered an entire battlefield of enemy Shinobi, killing at least a thousand shinobi.

Then, like it was never there, the rift closed, and the scene resumed. As Cinder watched as the woman she now knew to be Kushina, delivered her baby, and her husband Minato managed to keep the glowing red seal on her abdomen closed.

Cinder briefly looked at the fox in Naruto's lap, now knowing just what it was. And what it meant for the people they were watching. When the first body fell to the floor and Minato pleaded for the life of his son. Only for the masked man to throw the infant into the air. It was only the beginning, she knew. As the night played out and the tragedy of Naruto's birth that night ended with half of his home destroyed by the very being he held within himself. And the death of his parents. Kurama's sealing making him a Jinchūriki and thus a weapon for his village.

Her only solace was because of the man who took over for Naruto's father. Was the third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The year's speed by as Cinder listened to his tale of isolation and discrimination. That shaped Naruto into the man she was sitting next to. A man that swore to never give up or go back on his word. Despite his many disadvantages, she watched as he eked out victories. Even if sometimes he failed, he always got back up.

Witnessing his first mission was rather funny. So much Cinder giggled a bit.

"You know I did not think the great Naruto Uzumaki would have been bested by a cat." Cinder teased.

"That goddamned cat is still alive, you know..." Naruto snarked

...

"How?"

"Sheer determination and rage."

Cinder blinked blankly and turned back to watch as he went on his first C-rank mission. And the utter nightmare that was fighting Zabuza Momochi. Then the sad death of who they had thought was an enemy. Haku, the girl who had been Zabuza's partner. She had sacrificed herself to save Zabuza. Who died soon after her. That was where Naruto learned what it truly meant to be a shinobi. And the code he lived his life by.

Time sped up once more as she witnessed the chunin exams. The journey into the forest of death. The chunin exam finals.

And so many more points in his past until it came to the most prominent period in his life. The second battle with the man that would be his best friend.

It was more a battle of ideas than anything else, and in the end, the two young men ended the fight with Naruto as the victor. And there was peace for a time he grew older, yet it did not last. It was then the Shinobi before her was made.

It was during a battle that had ravaged the village. And to win, they paid a price. And the price was a steep one.

To restore Naruto to his prime. Now whole and with the chakras of Indra and Ashura within him, it was a simple matter to best those enemies. But it came with a cost.

Immortality had set him apart from everyone, yet he was not the only one with this gift. Not long after, they won the battle. And with his daughter, who lay dying, knowing of only one way to save her with the last of his chakra, he restored her aided by Naruto. Thus making the second immortal.

It was ironic that the actions taken would mark the slow decline of the shinobi era. And the dawn of the use of ninja-tech.

As the years passed them by Cinder came across the moment in time that would mark the end of his time in his own world.

With a flash of light, they were back in the shrine, sitting next to a tree.

"So, now you know everything about me," Naruto said.

"Yes, and now it's my turn." Cinder said, now getting the hang of how this world works.

]|[

Concentrating on her earliest memories, the world slowly faded around them.

"My name is Cinder Fall. I know it was not the name I was given at birth, but it is the one thing that I can claim I chose for myself ever since I set out on this path. And this is my story."

As the world came into focus, they looked upon a moonlit sky in a settlement outside of the protection of the kingdoms.

"The earliest memory that I can remember is of my mother and I gazing at the moon outside of our home. I also know that while we were not wealthy, I know we did not need money. Even if my mother did not work."

As the pair sat and watched Cinder's mother and her younger self gaze at the moon In the comfort of her home.

"What I remember most about my mother is her crimson locks with hints of black at the tips and soft amber eyes. Her eyes were so bright they seemed to glow in the dark. And her name, her name is something I cherish above all else, Cristel, that was her name." Cinder said as the scenes began to pick up in pace. As the sands of time rapidly flowed ever forwards.

"For years in this little town of Gaoling. Life was so peaceful that even if my father had to work far, far away, we were still happy. At least until the Grimm came."

As time slowed to a particular day, Cinder continued her tale. Even as tears flowed.

"It was a hot summer day when they came.it was why I remember I wore my favorite summer dress. I remember it being especially hot, and the first signs that something was wrong was the sudden quiet that filled the air. Unlike a normal day, there was no background noise that you would expect. No birds, no insects, and the animals were acting restless. Then, from the forest, they came in droves. In a matter of minutes, the Grimm swarmed the village. Killing everything they came across. I remember running panicked home as fast as I could."

During the pandemonium, the younger Cinder ran as fast as she could home. Holding on to the small hope that her mother was at least safe.

Unfortunately, by the time she had made it home, the house was on fire. She collapsed in front of the burning house. Tears flowing down her cheeks from despair. Not noticing the Beowulf stalking up behind her.

It raised its claws high into the air. Letting out a menacing growl as it prepared to maul the small girl to death as she turned her head to face it.

To her shock, a fist burst through its chest. And it flung the beast into a pack of its fellows where it exploded into dust. Its life force extinguished. Her mother, Cristel, had just dispatched the Grimm.

To her great shock, her mother quickly scooped her up and ran. Unfortunately, this had caught the attention of the more avian of the Grimm.

As a large Nevermore shot its barb-like feathers in their direction. Pinning them down as more came at them. A feather struck her mother in the back, and to her amazement, it merely bounced off her now blackened skin as she ran clutching her child.

Naruto observed the fall of this city. The struggle of Cinder's mother knowing that with the child in her arms, it was only a matter of time before the end.

"It was only a matter of time, and the Grimm seemed driven. To kill the two of us, no matter what my mother did. She fought her way with me in tow for six hours, trying to make our way out of the city. We headed to the northern gate. As more and more of the monsters flooded into the city. Eventually, exhausted and with her aura fading, we came across a drake."

It was a massive bipedal grim with a lizard-like appearance. Rows of razor-sharp teeth and claws.

Cristel set the young girl down as her hands turned black. Determined to make this a quick fight against this beast. As she rushed in, her foe charged her as well with a roar of its own. It lunged at her neck only to be met with a fist of diamond-like quality. As she bashed away, its maw with strength belying her frame. She traded blows with the creature, and just as she was about to subdue it, a shot rang out.

Blood pooled from her torso as the Grimm did not hesitate to latch onto her arm. About to rip into her with its claws.it only paused in this action as someone called out. "wait!"

A young man with dark skin and glowing red eyes stepped from the shadows.

Oddly, he pulled out a scroll and nodded his head, pocketing the device. He withdrew his gun and shot the pinned woman repeatedly.

Hidden and watching the scene, Cinder saw red. Letting out a scream of agony and despair, her powers were let loose for the first time, and I turned the city of Gaoling into a tomb as the very earth responded to my chaotic will.

"The next thing I knew, I woke up with Salem. I was told I was the only survivor. Nothing other than me made it out of Gaoling alive. It was the only solace I could take. The next few years were a fuzzy blur. But what I know is that I found a new purpose to live. Even if I knew nothing else, I knew her enemies were mine..." Cinder trailed off as they were taken back to the shrine, her story done.

It was something that struck Naruto as strange because of this loyalty to the very woman who could control Grimm. Naruto felt it odd she was not hiding anything or lying, that much he could tell. "Cinder, if you'll let me, I would like to check something out."

With a nod of approval, Naruto deepened their current bond using his chakra. And he delved deep into her mind and her very soul.

The moment their bond was deepened, he knew that there was something wrong. He was getting flashes of repressed memories.

A sense of deep-rooted fear and pain. A man with red eyes and a sadistic smile. Then he found a block on her power that acted similarly to a suppression seal.

It was forged with an ancient old power. Not only did it act to stem Cinder's abilities, but it also served as an anchor for the fall maiden power.

Through the bond, Naruto could feel her shock and horror. He made his best effort to send positive emotions through the link. Along with his intent to remove this barrier.

He knew it was doing more than just blocking her power; it was likely manipulating her.

With a careful application of his chakra to form a counter seal of his own. Naruto began the tiring process of overlaying his seal over the existing one.

As he was laying out his own seal, Naruto had to remark that it was odd. Whoever placed this seal on the girl to have gone through all that trouble. Just to let her die.

Once his work was finished, he primed his seal and watched as the seal slowly broke down before his eyes.

And as the world around them faded. The maiden power Naruto had been trying to absorb all this time was finally freed. With the seal anchoring the power no longer functioning, it responded to Cinder's will as she let it go.

]|[

After making it back to Beacon, Sarada knew she was not looking forward to all the questions. All she wanted to do was shower and go to sleep. However, the Headmaster was waiting for them at the airship docks with a somewhat miffed Naruto clone at his side.

Taking a sip of his coffee, Ozpin let a smile grace his face.

"I see that you all have had a rather eventful night. So I will keep this brief. For your extracurricular activities, I expect a detailed after-action report and an incident report from each of you. On my desk by tomorrow evening." Ozpin said.

With a few groans of disapproval and sighs, the girls let out a chorus of, "yes, sir."

The group then made their way to their dorms as the Headmaster headed back to his office with Glinda in tow.

His aloof air of the Headmaster of beacon only faded once he and Glynda had entered his office. Pulling out his scroll and placing it on the console in his desk, he pulled up a video of the docks in question.

As it appeared on the screens in front of the pair, Glynda spoke up.

"So, what do you think?"

Taking a sip of his ever-present coffee, Ozpin pondered that exact question. As he watched, the mystery fighters wielded the elements as if they were maidens. It was troubling if these masked huntsmen were with Salem. Even if the four differently dressed masked figures. Where clearly against the lone warrior. For the first time in a long time, he was at a loss on what to do next.

"I don't know. I will let the others know. But I think we will have to see how this plays out..."

It was rather easy for the Naruto clone and Sarada to make a pair of shadow clones and slip away.

After making their way to Naruto's room, Sarada immediately locked down the hall.

Rubbing his head in frustration, Naruto let out a sigh. Before relaying his message. "Well, the boss is pissed. Whoever these people are. They are apparently Shinobi, who bear the crest of the Uzumaki."

It came to no surprise when Sarada heard about Naruto's current temperament. It was rare that he ever got mad. And it was likely that it was the interference from the Shinobi that angered him.

"I see, I had a bit of a problem on my end," Sarada said as she paced the room. "Whoever I was fighting, they were definitely not recruits, and they coated their weapons in a poison that reacted with the venom they injected me with. I would hate to think of what would happen if that had happened to anyone else. From the symptoms I experienced it acted like a paralytic with all the properties of an anticoagulant and neurotoxin. I would like to bet it also suppressed a person's aura."

Despite her speculations, they both knew it paled compared to the Anbu Naruto faced. Even if it was information that had to be noted.

"Right, I will dispel and let the boss know we will let you know if anything happens." the clone said.

With a puff of smoke, it was gone, and Sarada slipped out of his room and seamlessly rejoined her friends.

]|[

Soaring through the air, Raven watched the Uzu Anbu race across the rooftops. Knowing that they let her trail them until they made it to a small commercial building.

They waited there on the roof. It was apparent who the Anbu were waiting for. As raven made her landing. Shifting into a human form, she approached the group with a bit of caution.

"Well?" raven asked.

With a sigh, Bakeneko took the lead. "Well, you were right, and we will hold up our end."

With a single ram seal and a pulse of chakra, she freed Raven of her seal.

Without hesitation, Raven turned and opened a portal to leave.

With their deal with the Brawen leader done, they left for their safe house.

Once inside, a message popped up on Bakeneko's scroll.

~tenko: report.~

~bakeneko: mission successful, left a detailed description and sample in a dead drop."

~tenko: understood. Begin the next phase of the mission.~

~bakeneko: understood.~

end notes/ i hope everyone liked this chapter and dont forget to follow me on twitter. if you like my work please feel free to donate to me on (p) atreon. don't forget to drop a reveiw favorate and follow.And follow me on twitter for any updates.don't forget to check me out on twitter at /setsunatama3 for any announcements from now on.notice i also post on the following sitesWattpadd at 773701195-the-maelstrom-of-remnant-chapter-one-exilearchive of our own at /works/20596958?view_full_work=truedeviant art at: setsunatama3/galleryat: s/13280840/1/the-Maelstrom-of-remnanttumblr at blog/setsunatama3ficwad at /story/279918

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