Soooo, my boyfriend and I met through a chatting app. We both started out just wanting friendship. We both have been single for nearly half a year. We hung out and conversed for a few days when he told me that he was developing romantic feelings for me. We hung out for 6-8 hours every night. We just talked, laughed and enjoyed each other's company. I did not accept his feelings right away because I was uncertain if it was real or not. It could have been lust and temporary infatuation. I also did not want to rush into anything.
He asked if he could still pursue me and agreed. I remember the way he smirked and said he was going to charm and prove himself to me. We kept hanging out and got to know each other on a deeper level. A cute thing he did was that he couldn't look at me in the eyes longer than a few seconds LMAO. He would immediately turn away and become red when I would catch him. He took me on a movie date. We watched Cocaine Bear (funny af film). He was a little shy at first lol. I took the initiative to hold his hand and lay my head on his shoulder. I remember his little fist pump of victory. There was a group of girls behind us and they cheered him on.
As we got to know each other, unbeknownst to both of us, we attended the same high school. We also had the same circles of friends. We were both shocked that we never met each other. I remember us screaming and laughing from excitement because of the friends we mentioned that we knew. We both showed each other pictures of ourselves from high school. I had no recollection of him at all. However, he remembered my dress at prom. It stood out due to its color and volume.
He is by far the most romantic guy I ever dated. We were in a parking lot. He put on music and taught me how to dance cumbia (a mexican dance), the waltz, and a four-step. Constantly, serenade me (he was a mariachi when he was younger). He has cooked for me. He made me birria tacos, homemade pizza, and orange chicken. He loves to cook. I love his little skip when he brings out his food. I love how passionate he is when talks about his cooking process.
When he gets tipsy, he turns even more loving and clingy. He loves having physical contact with me. It could be a hug, holding hands, constant kisses on the head, forehead and back of my hand. He just has to be next to me. I like how expressive he is with his affections. I'm not used to it. I deny that I love it but he knows.
Not gonna lie, there was a lot of sexual tension LMAO. The constant back and forth flirting, the intimate gestures and sexual jokes and teasing. I'll make it short- we did do it. It was hot, passionate and explosive to say the least. It wasn't once. It was a few rounds lol. A few days later, he brings me a bouquet of my favorite flowers: peonies and tulips. He asked me if he could be my boyfriend.
He confessed that he has already gushed to his family and friends about me. They're all so excited to meet me. He almost got in trouble with his mother because of our conversation: babies. His mother thought that he impregnated someone and was about to go off on him. This was before she knew about me. He explained and she was happy that he has taken a liking to a girl.
He took me to a party of his friend on the weekend. Throughout the whole night, his friends were coming up to me one by one to tell me about him LOL. They were telling me that he's such a good guy. That I seemed perfect for him. They were asking when I fell in love with him LMAO. They were so excited for him because he has been hurt a lot in the past. They're his biggest cheerleaders and I'm so happy he has those friends.
Everything was going well, until two months into dating we received a health concern. He was down in Mexico for a trip. He wasn't feeling great and got checked out.
The doctors concluded and confirmed that he had cancer. This all happened a month ago.

How did you do for the month of May? Did you just start?

HALFWAY PAID OFF for my non-school debt! I started with $6,128.93. I have paid about 15.8% of my monthly spending towards debt this year.

Your own self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world! I have been able to see so much about my actual spending and values by writing things out most weeks, and every month, and I am thankful to myself for taking the time to do so. I have realized and acknowledged that I spend a lot more on family and friends that I always justify, than I ever initially expected.
Its hard to split June and July up in my mind. I have a 2 week long camping trip where I am taking one of my cats followed immediately by the cruise. It will be kinda interesting to see my budget for these two months. Because on one hand that's 3 weeks straight where my actual living expenses are higher, but I can't impulse shop to the same extent.
I am finally done shopping for clothes for trips. All of my weight gain the past few years has been rough on my closet and my budget. I used to be so fashionable, in college I couldn't go a day on campus without getting compliments. I am not there again yet, but it feels so good to feel confident in my clothes again. I'll reuse my clothes for my trips at the end of the year. So hopefully it won't be so easy for me to convince myself to budge on beauty needs XD

Financial Breakdown	Accomplishments
Total Income: $2,933.74	Reached halfway point of paying down my debt!
Total Expenses: $2409.61	Birthday gifts for my sister + niece
Total NOT spent: $524.14	Got all of my cruise wear - done clothes shopping for trips - exception shoes
Total debt starting: $6,128.93	Made progress on a recycling/sewing project
Total debt ending: $2,978	Decluttered jewelry and clothes

Goals for Next Month (June)	Goals for the Rest of the Year
Start reevaluating the 6 month Budget	Pay off car by Sept or Aug ($150/mo. min)
Medical Testing/Medications	Pay credit card debt by end of Jan '24
Possibly a kitty vet visit	Camp-June, Cruise-July, National Park - Sept, DC-Oct,
Get camp equipment (water jug, car tent for my cats)	Have a clean, empty space

Thoughts:

I spent over $200 on family/friends
I didn't eat out a lot, but got expensive food, so want to keep progressing on bringing cost down as well
- I want to set the goal of only eating out 1 day a week for the entire month
- I want to only eat the value menus, so $10 max when I go out.
- If I can do this, I will reward myself with new tweezers and a pair of shoes for the cruise/barbie movie
I want to only buy 4 material items all month. Cat friendly tent, my water jug Ive put off for about 4 months, batteries, new car seat covers, folding table
I need to focus on finishing this quilt, and making window covers by June 22nd. I cannot have these projects sitting unfinished any longer than that.
During my camping trip I will work on one of my started projects to get them off my shelf/declutter instead of starting a new project
- Repairing my duffelbag with patches (7)
- Repairing my beaded dress
I hope that everyone had a good month! And for anyone that wasn't able to, I hope you can still look forward to trying again!

This is the third of a four-part story.
---------------
There was a glimmer in the distance, a slight twinkle against the silhouette or a person approaching. Could this be it? Would the Wanderer have to wander no more? He mustered up his strength and stumbled hurriedly to the silhouette. The sand and dirt felt lighter and seemed to flow outward through smooth kicks and shuffles. He squinted through the haze, trying to assess whether the person in the distance was friend or foe.
What is that glimmer? Is it a gun? Is it a knife? Is it a watch? Too hard to tell…
The person just stood there, staring at him. No movement, no flinching, not even beckoning to others to signal a trap. The person in the distance was disciplined and stoic. The Wanderer kept moving. He had no other option.
He started to see more of the person. What looked like a dark shadow became something horrific. Their skin was gray, which was more apparent against a bright blue dress with white polka dots and a white satin ribbon around the waist. It was a woman! He mustered more strength to rush to her.
She could be injured. She could be in distress. Why did she look like that? Is she dead?
The sun was getting hotter and the air was getting thicker. He felt his lungs becoming more dense as the sand kicked up. He was the architect of his own suffocation, but he had to push through if it meant finding one more person to join. The woman’s skin was grayer and drier than he suspected, and she was missing her hair. Her features did not come through, so he could not tell how she held up. He could only follow that bright blue dress.
Where have I seen that dress before? Do I know this woman?
Soon he was upon her. As he neared her, a gust of wind knocked the woman down, her body sliding toward a small sand dune. He thought he heard her head slam against something hard, like a rock, so he pushed through with all of his strength. At last, he made it close to her and grabbed her bare foot. Stiff as a board. She was dead. He shuffled slowly toward her to see who she was when he saw that her skin had the look of plastic, dull and cracked. He then realized that it did not just look like plastic… it was plastic. He had found a mannequin.
The Wanderer let out an exasperated sigh. All this time he had chased hope only to be disappointed by a fashionable lump. He stood the mannequin up to observe anything that could give him information. It was then that he remembered where he had seen this dress. He and his wife had seen it in a small independent shop. They were talking about plans for an upcoming summer vacation. The dress could have been used for a wide range of events – cocktail parties, wedding receptions, cruises, bar crawls, anything where they would spend their time outside with friends. She remarked how lovely the dress would look on her. It was true, she would have been beautiful against her long, dark, curly hair and curvy frame. It made him sad thinking about that memory. He missed his wife so much.
But this gave him an opportunity, bigger than he was expecting. The store where the mannequin was located had been in the central hub of Springfield, and there was only one location for that particular store. Also, they used a mannequin, unlike the standalone stores that were nearby, where they dressed special T-shaped poles to show their merchandise without taking a lot of space. He now knew where he was – he was near the mall. He gathered his thoughts and whatever breath he had left and searched for ways to get into that mall.

Hi Gamesale! Some consoles for sale today.
First up is a very rare 3DS LL model, the Loveplus Rinko Deluxe. Japan-exclusive and one of the harder to find models (Manaka was the most popular so hers is easier to find) this console is a lovely grey, white, and teal colour scheme. It is in immaculate condition, completely clean; not a single scratch on this thing and it already has screen protectors on it to boot! I believe the screens are dual TN (I provided photos of it from the side) but it does not have CFW on it so I cannot confirm and I'm honestly not very good at distinguishing IPS and TN. If you want more photos I can try to take some. Comes with box, stylus, AR cards/documentation, its OEM 4GB SD card, and screen protectors installed (though there are dust specks under them, sorry!). Asking for $360 + shipping since it comes in a larger box and will need to be priced a bit differently.
Next is a 3DS LL in blue/black. The shells have some scuffing, the circle pad is a little rough, and the screens have minor scratches but they are not noticeable/visible when the unit is powered on. Unit will be cleaned before shipping. Asking $150 shipped to the continental US.
Last for the consoles is a mint condition 3DS LL in mint/white. It is pristine with screen protectors already installed. The unit looks great and and is a Japanese exclusive model. Comes with a (Japanese 100v) AC adapter. Asking $200 shipped.
Of course, what you came for: pictures! https://imgur.com/a/E2c9aFZ
Also, I have a collector's item or maybe a replacement if you have a console needing a box. A Tobidase Doubutsu no Mori / Animal Crossing 2DS LL box. Complete with all items: AR cards, amiibo pack-in, and documentation, cardboard insert, and of course the box itself. Box is in great shape, but it does not include the console. Looking for $150 + shipping. Photo.
All the JP region consoles are stock with their OEM 4GB SD cards but I can install CFW on them and region change them with eShop access intact if you desire. I can also provide your sysnand backups if you wish to reverse the CFW at any time. Happy to do so with a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions or want extra photos, happy to take any extra pictures you may want.

I moved a grand total of 6 times during this time period. Some by choice, others by — well — not by choice.
So, after finishing University in my hometown, Florida, I became very bored of the mundane "work, eat, sleep" life. So, I sporadically booked a flight to the sunniest place in Germany — Freiburg im Breisgau. I took a German class in highschool, so I thought why not learn another language while I'm out and about in a place I've never been before. I enrolled in a language school, where they would provide me a visa that lasted 1 year. Now here's where things get juicy.
I arrived by plane (obviously) and was escorted by the language school to my 'family'. I chose to live with a host family because I wanted to learn about German culture, and I wanted to really get into the whole "language speaking" thing. When I arrived, a woman greeted me at the door. She was in her mid 50s, and very tiny. I greeted her and quickly found out that she didn't speak any English. Like, at all. But that was okay with me because that means that I'd be forced to speak German. The issue is that she didn't really speak much German either. Well, somewhere between A2 and B1. Better than me, but... you know. I made myself comfortable in my room and went downstairs for dinner.
Two other students joined us. I asked through Google translate why they were here, because I was informed that I would be the only student. She said that Turkish would be better for her because she didn't understand the question when it was presented in german. It turns out that I was the only student from MY language school. She was working with other language schools, and hosted up to 6 students at a time. Okay, cool. I respect the grind!
I quickly befriended a few people at the language school. These students also had host families, and rambled on about how wonderful they were. Evidently, these hosts made breakfast for the students. It was in the contract, but I assumed that it was optional for the host to provide breakfast. I asked my host 'mom' why I didn't have breakfast and she replied that she didn't want to get up that early, because work for her starts at 10am. ( I leave the house at 8am) I asked if it would be possible for her to provide me with some sort of salami or cheese for breakfast every now and then. She begrudgingly agreed, and the next day I was provided with the worst quality salami I've ever seen in my life. (No offence to Netto) Keep in mind I'm paying this woman 990 euros a month for an 8m² room that includes breakfast and dinner. Yikes.
I offered for her to pay me back a few euros so I could make my own breakfast. She told me that she wasn't able to do that, because she needed the money. So, I had to buy my own things for breakfast. One day, she told me that I was taking up too much fridge space. I didn't understand exactly what she meant because her Turkish accent was very hard to understand, so I nodded my head and moved all of my things to the corner of the fridge. (It was 4 items: salami, cheese, mayo, and mustard) She raised an eyebrow at me, sighed, and left the room. One of the students who was sitting in the kitchen at the time told me that she told me to remove my things from the fridge altogether because they were taking up space and it was disrespectful. Oh man. Okay. I just threw everything away because I was so frustrated.
She also had these weird "rules" I had to follow.
- Doing laundry was 5 euros per load.
- I was not to open the window at night. It was SO hot at night and I would wake up at 4am with my bedsheets drenched in sweat. She said that if I wanted to wash my bedsheets more than once very other week, I would be charged accordingly.
- If I had a friend come over, it was 30 euros if they stayed past 9pm.
- No meat was to be eaten unless it was a Friday.
- No alcohol (I'm 23 years old???)
But I sucked up these rules becuase at the end of the day, it was HER house. I just thought that because I was paying a large sum for so little, I'd be allowed a little more control.
Anyway, a week or two after me moving in, my host mom asked me to come with her to meet her friends. I felt like we got off on the wrong foot so I thought I'd tag along. Keep in mind this is August, so it's about 28C outside. I wore a tank top and some pants. When I greeted her outside, she looked me up and down and told me to change. Politely, though. I changed into one of my sleeveless turtlenecks. When she saw this, she sighed and handed me her jacket. Weird, I thought, but it was a friendly gesture — right? Hmm. We drove to a park nearby our village and there was a large group of people waiting for us. They were all dressed rather modestly for the weather, but I thought nothing of it. She then explains to me that she's a Jehovah's Witness, and that this is a Jehovah's Witness meeting. Oh, okay. I have no issues with religion, but MAN. I'll spare you the details. Everyone at the meeting was incredibly kind, but they kept on trying to talk to me about God and the Bible.
They added me to a groupchat and told me to meet with them every Friday. If I wasn't able to make it in person, then I could join on Zoom. I didn't know what to say. It was around this time that I got a message from the school saying that they were going to move me to a new host family. Just my luck! This was because she was going to see her mother for 3 months in Turkey.
A few days after I got the notice, I was scheduled to be picked up and driven across the village by my new host 'dad'. He was a German man in his late 60s. He seemed to be kind although kinda' standoff-ish. My room was above his. Great! It was nearly 28m², and I had tons of light flowing into my room. He told me the rules of the house. Pretty basic and very understandable. However, there was something that stuck out to me. I had to ring the doorbell every time I wanted to use the kitchen.
I asked him why. He said "I'm a nudist, so I must make myself presentable when you come down." Oh god, okay. It's HIS house, ya know? I asked him about midnight snacks, because I occasionally come home late (over the weekend) and during the week I generally eat later. He said that it wouldn't be possible for me to use the kitchen past 10pm. He added that no snacks were allowed in my room. Sternly, he told me that my "late nights" would have to come to an end. Hah! I asked my German friends if this was normal and they said he was "just being German".
There was a butcher shop about a 4 minute walk from the house, so I thought I'd get him a "welcome" gift. I knew he ate meat, because for dinner we ate weinerschnitzel. I picked out a nice link of salami and handed it to him the next time we sat down for dinner. He seemed to be pleased. He asked where I bought it from, and I told him it was from the nearby butcher shop. When I say the atmosphere changed, it CHANGED. He looked down on me with a slight glare and said "I do not want such a thing. Do you know where this meat is from? I do not know. That shop probably treats the animals horribly. I do not support that." Well, the rest of dinner was awkward.
There was an instance where two Italian students were staying with us, and we had dinner with them. They spoke B2 German, and I was still at A1 (if that, honestly). They were chatting up a storm and I sat quietly and tried to listen. One of the Italian girls asked me in German if I was shy and I told her that I wasn't but I just couldn't keep up with the conversation. The host 'dad' laughed and told them in English that I "refused to speak German" because "[my] German was embarassingly bad." Hmm, that didn't feel too good. I didn't speak to him in German ever again and till this very day I struggle with speaking because I keep hearing him in my head. Ah!
Now, around this time (about 2.5 months in) I've been making more local friends and they've been telling me that I can easily rent my own apartment for the amount of money I'm paying the school. The thought of independance got me excited, so I called up the school and said HEY, refund me all the money for the host families — I'm moving into my OWN place! I hopped on WG Gesucht and found a room with a guy right in the city center of Freiburg. Hell yeah! 350 Euros a month, too. The lease was limited to about 3 months, though.
The man was in his early 30s and he told me that he preferred to keep a quiet household. Totally fair, as I literally lived in the livingroom and there wasn't much space for guests. Throughout my whole stay, he probably spoke a good 30 combined minutes to me. Like, in total. These 30 minutes consisted of him telling me to limit my bath time to 5 minutes. I'm not saying he would stand outside the bathroom and count the seconds I was in the tub, but he would coincidentally knock on the door and tell me that my 5 minutes was up whenever he was home. When I told him that I wouldn't mind sending him extra money for the water usage, he said "Oh, would you like to support the Russian government?" Uh, what? I gave up on showering/bathing when he was around. He charged me 70 euros extra anyway, and said that he didn't have the water bill on paper but that these costs were correct.
While all of this was taking place, my language school friends convinced me to download Tinder. Sure, why not. After a few dates with some kind men, I met this German guy "Steve" and we clicked pretty well. He unfortunately had a ski trip planned for when I moved out, so I wasn't able to stay with him in his apartment while I searched for my own.
Anyway, I went back on WG Gesucht in an effort to find another room/flat to stay in. And I did! Oh, it was lovely. A 1 bed 1 bath, 70m right next to the Alt Stadt. I could finally have privacy! I spoke with the landlord and she gave me the greenlight to rent till August of 2023. Perfect! I was to sign a contract 2 weeks before the move-in date. When the sign-date arrived, I got a call from her saying "actually we decided to give this to a different tenant. Thank you for your time!" Ooookay, so I'm basically homeless in 2 weeks. I spoke with my current landlord, and he told me I could stay an extra 2 weeks till I found a place. Great! I went back on the WG-Gesucht grind again. I found an even BETTER apartment closer to the city center, and the landlord seemed to be lovely. Just 3 days before I moved in, I got a text from the current landlord saying that they were unable to offer me the apartment due to an "unforseen circumstance". Bro. What? I'm going to be homeless in 3 days. Are you serious? I signed a contract and everything.
Well, it turns out that the contract wasn't valid because they weren't the landlords. They're tenants. And their "landlord" IS ALSO A TENANT. Apparently the actual landlord found out that they were subleasing illegally, so they were being evicted. How fun!
So at this point, I'm pretty desperate. The friends I made were gone, because guess what. It's almost December, and everyone flew back home. My German friends are all students so they went back to their little German villages in the middle of nowhere and couldn't take me. I desperately put ads up on Kleinanzeigen and WG Gesucht, but to no avail. Everyone is on vacation! Hotels were 100+ Euros a night, but it seemed that that was the only option. I found an Airbnb that charged only 650 euros for 15 nights, which should give me enough time to find another room. So I booked my stay. Just a day before I moved out, I recieved a message on Kleinanzeigen. A room in Waldkirch — a village about a 25 minute train ride away. Fine. I'll take it. When I tell you I RAN into that apartment, I was literally shaking the landlords hand with teary eyes telling her how much I appreciated it.
I canceled my AirBnB, but they didn't give any refunds. Yeah, it was in the description before I made the purchase, but I'd rather live in my own little room in the mountains than some 12m room shared with absolute strangers. So, I'm out 650 bucks — BUT I HAVE A PLACE! My current landlord charged me 45 euros because I begged for one extra night. He didn't even have anyone moving in my room for another 2 weeks, but oh well.
Back to Waldkirch. Now, this cute little place was in an Altbau tucked between the mountains. It was wonderful. The kitchen was all cute and old, Edeka was a 1 minute walk away, there was a local market that was open every Saturday and Sunday... the people around me were all 60+ and smiled when I attempted to speak German to them. God, I loved it. My landlord also would cook for me when she had free time. I had my own little bathroom and I had a castle view from my window. My room was also nearly 30m²!
Unfortunately, the landlord told me that I had to be out by Feburary. However, I was becoming closer with Steve, the Tinder guy. He had a temporary job in Freiburg and because it was coming to an end and he was going to start Med school in Berlin, things seemed pretty gloomy. But I had this crazy thought. Because my language school was in two locations, Freiburg and Berlin, I could just switch schools and still legally reside in Germany. I could just... live with him. Crazy? Crazy. My parents and friends threw a fit. Anyway, I packed my bags and moved in with him to Frankfurt, where his parents stayed. Best month of my life. I made sure everything was okay at my language school, and we made the switch.
So, now we had to hunt for an apartment in Berlin. And man, let me tell you guys. That's HARD. After a while of searching, we finally landed a place in Moabit. March, April, and May have passed. Unfortunately for us, our lease ends in August. So guess who's moving again! Me! At least now I have someone with me to hold my hand through this stressful process. (If anyone has any long-term flats for rent... help!)
I've fallen too in love with this man because I'm now about to apply for the self employment visa so I can stay in germany until his med school finishes. It's been a crazy ride, but I'm so glad I came to Germany. Maybe I'll make a post about all of the other crazy non-housing related German stories!

Sir David
Far across the Capital city from the impromptu Sarkin wedding feast Sir David and Ariane were walking around the Imperial district, hand in hand, lazily enjoying the light breeze and the warm sun as they played tourist.
Sir David couldn't help but glance over at Ariane constantly, both to enjoy her, and to listen to her next piece of interesting information.
One place he had some mutual hobbies with Ariane was in history, and Ariane had devoured human history and mythology by the truck load once she'd gotten access to the Tear's internal comm net. Her reading speed and retention rate was truly something you had to see to believe.
She'd also proved she was quite crafty in the arts and crafts sense. After she'd found out about the minotaur of Greek myth, she'd set herself to work designing some new outfits that mixes ancient Greek and traditional Agela fashion, then partnered with Mama-san the Pavorus tailor aboard the Tear to produce them.
The result in this particular case was a stunning white dress that was just sheer enough in some places to be more than a little distracting, while not being at all lewd or erotic. Or anything but conservative by galactic standards.
Sure, with a slit in the skirt to her upper mid thigh, and some actual cleavage, she was showing off more skin than an Apuk girl might on average, but anything more than a micro bikini could be considered 'conservative' by galactic standards. Paired with her usual concealed shifter belt which showed off her waist and the sheer intensity of her curves in a delightfully subtle way, she'd then left her bountiful golden hair curly and put it up with a pair of pins.
The total effect between the colors of her body, her rich caramel skin, the blue of her eyes, her shining golden hair, and the various whites and creams of her not quite toga made her look the part of an actual goddess of Greek myth. Ari was an absolute gem of a woman, and was just as beautiful in sweat pants as she was all done up... but Sir David certainly appreciated the results when Ariane took the time to get all gussied up.
It was only due to David's sheer force of will and decades of self discipline that he wasn't all over her like a teenage boy on his prom date to use an American idiom. The temptation alone was... intense. The desire was strong.
Yet.
Sir David wanted to hold back. For his own sake. For Ariane's sake. He wanted to build a bond in more than mutual physical desire... and he had to remember what being... touched... was like. How to touch. How to accomplish the physical parts of being a lover.
He could hear Mary scolding him for ignoring her when she'd told him to seek out someone else to help keep his life fulfilled and happy... letting what were once well developed skills in how to be a partner, how to be a lover, how to be a friend in a context outside the military, atrophy deeply. Then again, could Mary have known just how badly her death was going to hurt him? She'd have likely scolded him for that too, but still. He just couldn't give the old girl up... and with Ariane around to stand next to the ghostly love of his life, and not in place of... well. Maybe Mary would forgive him for waiting just a little bit longer to find the right woman.
That more women could quite easily follow was... something that was becoming somewhat intriguing to David. There was, after all, near limitless potential in the galaxy.
Perhaps he was talking to Jerry too much about such things in the Ward Room after the female officers had mostly left for the evening, but the man made a persuasive, if somewhat self-serving argument in the name of plural marriage in the galaxy. Sir David himself didn't have a religious or moral objection to such things, and considering he already had more or less agreed with his... girlfriend for lack of a better term. Fiancée perhaps. That she would be his second wife per galactic terms, to respect the mother of his first children made the question of a third or fourth wife seem... much easier than simply considering a second. If the right woman showed up... why not?
"Oh! David! Look!"
Before David can be completely shaken from his thoughts he's been dragged through an ornate gate set into a stone wall into a garden. David's eyes wander the place and automatically map out the details. They're just passed through a stone wall onto a platform resting on what appeared to mostly be a natural hill, with a small set of steps leading down to the actual ground level and the stone path that ran through the grass.
The garden itself is quite large, and beautifully crafted with paths, not just of stone but within the plants themselves winding naturally through the stunning blooms and leading towards what appeared to be an altar at one end of the garden and a large set of stairs at the other.
The stairs lead up to a balcony, over which loomed a fortified building some distance behind it. David recognized it as an old fort, in a style endemic to older Apuk architecture that David had seen a few times with Ariane so far this morning while touring the Imperial district.
David makes his second sweep of the area, now looking for even more fine details this time around. Looking up a bit higher finds ten statues lining the area, each paying homage to a larger statue of a woman in armor behind the altar.
She was posed with a warblade that was nearly as long as she was tall, and she appeared to have been very tall in life, regardless of how the sculptor had scaled her up. Still, the detail in the sculpture was remarkable. The warrior woman's smile warmed the garden that was clearly a memorial like she was standing there with them that moment, no matter how long it had been since her death.
Ariane sighs with pleasure at both the exquisite sculptures around them, but also the skillful display of horticulture, taking a brief moment to sniff a vibrant blue bloom before pulling up her guide book.
"Let's see... Yes, this is the Memorial Garden of the First Battle Princess. Hmm. Some warning in the Apuk language I can't read, where's the... ah! Here we are!"
Ariane grins at her success at finding what she was looking for and starts to read the contents of the page to David.
"Princess Mira'Tok Crownborn was the title that she ended her life under many thousands of Centris standard years ago at the dawn of pre-space flight modern Apuk history. Mira'Tok was the first to receive a crown directly from the hand of the woman who would become the first Empress of Serbow, and is the predecessor of every battle princess to ever wear a crown."
The Agela woman's eyes glimmer as she continues to read, clearly excited by both the history and the craftsmanship around them.
"The statues displayed around her are her ten companions, her battle sisters... and there's a twelfth statue behind her, of the Sorcerer Dus'Kvun, her husband. Not to deemphasize him, but rather their display rotates with the Princess being displayed forward by day, and her husband by night when bioluminescent plants from the dark forest naturally light the garden up! Seems the statues automatically rotate into their different positions after sunset and at dawn. The guide suggests this was a commentary on the two halves of martial supremacy on Serbow... and a more traditional depiction of both male and female."
David arches an eyebrow and leans over to read over Ariane's shoulder a bit. "Really, she was the first? Interesting... How old is the statue then? It's incredible. Almost like she's about to start laughing and tell us a story about her adventures."
Ariane nods. "She was famous for doing just that. This garden is a few thousand years old, commissioned early in the current Imperial family's reign. Mira'Tok was named a... it's hard to pronounce it, so I'll just translate, a sword saint. So like the kensei from Japan on Earth that we discussed the other day. So Mira'Tok is a religious figure as well as a historical and martial figure. So this memorial garden was dedicated as an official war shrine of the Apuk Imperial military. What's the mean though?"
Ariane flicks through a few more screens, focused entirely on learning something new about the place they'd found themselves in.
"Here we go! As an Imperial War Shrine, the garden of the mausoleum plays host to a variety of ceremonies annually including the Empress praying for the Imperial military, officers being commissioned or promoted, and senior enlisted swearing fresh oaths of enlistment. To be offered or granted permission to swear your oaths in the garden is a significant honor and marks out either a highly distinguished, or extremely loyal individual with many years or service... or the type of fresh face who's on the fast track to bigger and better things. It's not automatic even for battle princesses who take up Imperial military service."
Ariane pushes her communicator towards David, pointing to a specific paragraph. "Ooh, look! Apparently it's not uncommon for the Empress to turn up unannounced and receive the oaths of those permitted to make their oaths in Mira'Tok's mausoleum personally."
Sir David raises an eyebrow at that. "Dear God, I don't think her majesty ever surprised anyone to take their oaths of service personally... though she did knight me and award me my Victoria cross personally, as was the standard of the age. To take an oath of service personally like that from her warriors. That's truly special for those Imperial officers and enlisted who are privileged to offer their oaths like that I'm sure. To make oaths of loyalty and service personally to your liege. Ye gods and little fishes, it's right out of a fairy tale!"
"I know! Isn't it great?" Ariane clearly suppresses a squeal, doing her best to remain respectfully calm in this sacred space.
Suddenly however, a concerning thought struck Sir David.
"Say, Ari, are there any issues with us being here as outsiders? This is, as you say, sacred ground."
Ariane puts her nose back in her communicator and reads through a few pages quickly.
"Well it says this shrine isn't considered super popular to visit because it's small and somewhat out of the way, though many warriors make pilgrimage here to entreat Mira'Tok's blessing and invoke her courage, so this part of the war shrine is proudly open to the public. Though offworld visitors are of course asked to be respectful to the gardens and the spirits of the Princess, her husband and her shield sisters. In fact... as a warrior yourself you should be able to access the inner shrine if you'd like. There's apparently some rare artifacts related to Mira'Tok, and there's usually a few Wardens, retired senior members of the Apuk Imperial forces, around who are always happy to chat with a fellow warrior. While they nominally guard the shrine, apparently they also give regular discussions and talks about the history of this place, the Imperial military, and Mira'Tok. It's by appointment only, but they also only need like thirty minutes notice."
David nods, looking around again and admiring some more of the sheer effort that had gone into this beautiful little slice of serenity in the capital.
"Sounds like we should register for one of their talks if they wouldn't mind an audience of two. Heh, registering for a tour from wardens of a tower in the capital city of an Empire. It's so familiar it's almost a touch nostalgic."
David gestures upwards at the tower that was clearly the inner shrine.
"It's just like the Tower of London back home in some ways, right down to the wardens. The Yeoman Warders of the Tower back on Earth are all retired senior enlisted military personnel. Next you'll tell me they keep a local species of black bird here. Still, this other part of the shrine, the inner shrine, I can gain access to it? But you made it sound like you couldn't? Why's that?"
David gazes over at the now blushing Ariane.
"No such luck on the black birds. As to the inner shrine... It. Ah. Access to the inner shrine is limited to warriors and their... well. It says husbands but considering you're the warrior I'm sure they'd make exception for your spouse but we aren't married and I-"
Sir David leans over, cups Ariane's cheek and chastely kisses her on the lips, a mark of affection Ariane eagerly returns with a loving sigh.
"Ooh..."
"Maybe I'm not so worried about that any more. Forgive an old man his foibles my dear... besides. I'd say you're at least my fiancée, and I. Well I don't want to presume, but I'd be. It."
David feels his tongue tangle a bit as he remembers he hadn't expressed a lot of his feelings on this subject to Ariane yet.
"I... Ari. I'd be a fool not to marry you. I think I might have done you a great disservice in not being more clear about that. I ah. Yes. It's. You're to be my wife. If you'll have me of course... Bollocks that came out wrong."
Ari looks back at David, her long lashes fluttering as she gives him a coy smile.
"You're impossible sometimes you know that?"
"I'm unfortunately aware."
"I love that about you. I suspect Mary did too. Yes David. I'm going to be your wife. You're going to be my husband. There's no need to ask, it's set in the stars and has been from the moment we first made eye contact when you came to rescue me. Because for all your desire to take it slow, I've utterly failed to honor your desires and I fall more and more in love with you with every passing minute of every passing day. How can I not? I'm a girl who loves fairy tales after all, and here at last is my gallant knight to carry me away. I do prefer the human style role swap honestly. Much more fun to be carried off on horseback by you instead of carrying you off. Makes me feel all delicate."
The first kiss was nice. The second kiss was like nothing else David had ever experienced in his life apart from kisses with Mary, and in that second kiss he wasn't worried about having to remember how to be a lover to someone anymore.
Ari's lips warmed him from the tips of his ears down to his toes, making him melt just slightly as they embrace among the flowers, which seem to bloom all the more brightly in the face of such a passionate act of mutual affection, turning up to the couple ever so slightly as if they were the sun itself.
Then the spell is broken by a sharp wolf whistle and a leering cackle from nearby.
"Hey sister, care to share some sugar?"
Three well dressed Apuk, with what David recognized as gang markings peeking over their collars or out of their sleeves saunter through the gate, slowly spreading out.
"Told you girls I smelled a man. Cute too... So what's the slice sister, you the first wife?"
"S-Second. I'm his second wife." Ariane stutters for a second but quickly gets more confident in her tone, her powerful body tensing.
One of the toughs, a woman with poorly maintained reddish purple locks, looks at the senior tough, a woman with vibrant green hair that's clearly much better taken care of.
"...Why are you asking? We just want to have a little fun right? Make this trip up to the Imperial district worth it?"
"Yep, and all the better if sister here is willing to share. Might even make some easy credits girlie."
Ariane tenses a bit more, as her cheeks color with what David recognizes as anger. Then he notices Ariane's hand subtly going towards the controls for her shifter belt.
"Did you seriously just ask me to whore my husband out to you dirtbags?"
"Hey now, dirt bag's a mean way to put it!" The gang leader's tone takes on an oily, play acting hurt tone as the three women begin to spread out a bit more. "Might just hurt my feelings, and you know girls, when my feelings are hurt there's just about only one thing that'll really quench the fire it starts in me."
"...Bout a liter of this bitch's blood boss?" Says the redhead again, leering at Ariane as she speaks.
The gang leader's smile gets extra toothy, making her look like she was part Cannidor for a moment.
"Yep, and a couple rounds with old boy over there while she bleeds out on the stone. Hey. Call some more of the girls over, I think this might end up being a grand old time."
First Last

My “best” friend has ghosted me and I feel really upset about it
I have no idea what I did wrong. But one of my “best” friends, who I used to be REALLY close to (like talk on the phone for 3 hours close) ghosted me. She became distant after she started getting serious with her now fiance. 2 years ago, I forgot to say happy bday to her until 9pm and she ghosted me for a week and then told me she was really upset. At the time, I had a severe eating disorder and was in a drug relapse (we lived far apart so she never saw this up close or anything) so I wasn’t in my right state of mind But since then she’s been distant and I think held it against me. My (other, and closest) best friend of 15 years and I constantly forget the date of each other’s birthdays and laugh about it.
Anyway, she later asked me to be a bridesmaid. I have friends who spent thousands on being bridesmaids and since she is having a lavish wedding, I asked about the financial cost. She told me it’d be a lot and I told her that I loved her but couldn’t afford it so didn’t want to commit, but still wanted to attend things or go dress shopping with her and support her in the process. She said it was fine with her. But since then she’s pulled away again.
She’s been ignoring me for fucking months. And yesterday was her birthday and I said happy birthday and… nothing. I asked her questions about if I needed to RSVP for her wedding or if I missed a step (never been to a wedding) and she’s been ignoring me. I’d like to call and ask her if she even wants me there but I don’t want to make it all about me. But, why show up to her wedding 2+ hours away and it be the first time I ever talk to her for like a year? She’s an immature communicator and I feel like something is up.
Luckily I’ve made a lot of new friends and have great old friends as well. Advice please. Feeling hurt.

I have no idea what I did wrong. But one of my “best” friends, who I used to be REALLY close to (like talk on the phone for 3 hours close) ghosted me. She became distant after she started getting serious with her now fiance. 2 years ago, I forgot to say happy bday to her until 9pm and she ghosted me for a week and then told me she was really upset. At the time, I had a severe eating disorder and was in a drug relapse (we lived far apart so she never saw this up close or anything) so I wasn’t in my right state of mine. But since then she’s been distant honestly and I think held it against me. My (other, and closest) best friend of 15 years and I constantly forget the date of each other’s birthdays and laugh about it.
Anyway, she later asked me to be a bridesmaid. I have friends who spent thousands on being bridesmaids and since she is having a lavish wedding, I asked about the financial cost. She told me it’d be a lot and I told her that I loved her but couldn’t afford it so didn’t want to commit, but still wanted to attend things or go dress shopping with her and support her in the process. She said it was fine with her. But since then she’s pulled away again.
She’s been ignoring me for fucking months. And yesterday was her birthday and I said happy birthday and… nothing. I asked her questions about if I needed to RSVP for her wedding or if I missed a step (never been to a wedding) and she’s been ignoring me. I’d like to call and ask her if she even wants me there but I don’t want to make it all about me. But, why show up to her wedding 2+ hours away and it be the first time I ever talk to her for like a year? She’s an immature communicator and I feel like something is up.
Luckily I’ve made a lot of new friends and have great old friends as well. Advice please. Feeling hurt.

I spend all of my daylight hours scared and alone in this musty old cellar.
It’s woeful, and I bet it smelled this bad even before everything around here turned to crap. Great. My second sentence and I’ve already resorted to swearing. When I decided I’d start this diary (five minutes ago when I got a tiny sliver of signal) I thought it would be my poetic and deeply-moving goodbye to the world. Maybe I’d write about love and loss, or maybe the splendour of nature. Then, when all is done and dusted, I’d have left something to be remembered by. As well as my corpse, of course.
This was a bad idea.
*
Okay, I’m an idiot. There’s nothing else I can do down here. I’ve rooted through every cardboard box a hundred times, organised and reorganised my supplies, I’ve even built a fort. So, I’m back. Hello. Again. God, this diary is going badly.
But there’s just enough light coming through the boards I nailed over the cellar’s tiny window to type by. So I may as well type. Stops me staring up at the window just waiting for a shadow to pass by.
Maybe I'll just write and not hit Submit. Right, where to start? Well, my name is – actually, I think I’m going to refer to myself as ‘X’. That sounds mysterious. If you’re reading this and want to know my real name, I still carry my purse. My railcard is in there and, if you really want to know who I am, go find me and fish it out. I won’t bite...
So, my name is X. I live in a little English village in the middle of nowhere. Before all this happened, I had a mum, a dad, a sister and there was a boy I liked, his name was Jonah.
*
I couldn’t think of anything else to write so I waited until I came back from my rounds. That’s the stupid name I have for when I go outside at night scrounging for stuff. Drinks are the hardest. I only trust bottles or cans, or did, and I was running out of places to search for them. But I guess that doesn’t matter now.
My leg is doing alright actually; didn’t hold me up at all. I saw Jonah too. He’s looked better, I have to say. It’s strange because this is only the second time I’ve seen him since we came here. Maybe his ears were burning.
Anyway, I found some tinned pineapple in a creepy old caravan I hadn’t searched yet. Had to bust the door open with Old Trusty – which I thought might attract some unwanted attention – but it was fine. I’m actually eating the pineapple right now, tastes good. I also found a radio in there. I already have three down here, but none of them work. Not that the caravan radio works either, all you get is static. It’s just nice to collect something. You know, to have a hobby.
*
I can tell the sun is rising. I managed to sleep for a couple of hours, but I woke up after a bad dream. I know some people can remember their dreams, but I never do. I wake up and grasp at them, but I never manage a hold before they fade away. It’s like trying to pinch the corner of a wisp of smoke; the harder you try, the quicker it fades to nothing. I’m just left with a sensation, a kind of imprint which sums up the most intense part of the dream.
And a cold sweat. That’s new.
*
I’ve been through the box of photo albums I found at the back of the cellar again. I’ve looked through them a few times now, but I always notice something new.
There’s a photo of this little girl playing with a pretend guitar. I can tell it’s pretend because it doesn’t have strings, only brightly-coloured plastic dials. Kind of like My First Guitar Hero or something. The girl has dark hair and she looks a tiny bit like my sister did a million years ago. I don’t have a picture of my sister. I suppose I could go and get one from my old house, but it’s right in the middle of the village. I’m lucky I wasn’t torn to shreds the last time I went back. So, what I’ve done is put this girl’s photo in my back pocket as a substitute.
I guess I should probably write something about my real sister now. But I don’t think that’s a good idea just yet.
*
Daylight is starting to fade and I’m getting ready to go out on my rounds. I always take my satchel with me, packed with useful objects. I have Old Trusty (a crowbar) which sticks out of the top for easy access, a small toolbox, a pair of heavy-duty gloves (there’s a good story about how I got those, I might write that one down later) and a hammer. I carry a penknife I found down here in my pocket, my purse and phone, and a torch in my hand.
I don’t like to use the torch because its battery is running out and there’s always the chance it might attract them. I probably shouldn’t have used it last night when I got back. Maybe I’m starting to enjoy this writing malarkey? I need to be careful with luxuries.
*
Okay, that could have gone better.
Picture the scene: I’m using Old Trusty to try and lever a kitchen window open, when one of them just walks right through the garden hedge. Seriously, straight through it. It’s not the mightiest of hedges but, still, it just appeared like it was walking through one of those Japanese paper walls. My satchel was on the ground, but I legged it anyway. I’m not stupid. I know I can go back for it tomorrow. I felt strangely naked without it on the way back here though.
Like I said before, I need to be careful with the torch so I think I’ll try and get some sleep now.
*
I slept pretty well last night; no nightmares or cold sweats. Maybe a midnight chase was just what I needed to blow away the cobwebs.
I actually woke up wondering about you. If you’re reading this, who are you? If you’re like me, living through this village nightmare, how have you managed to go this long without being killed or whatever? Maybe you’re Army or some such. Maybe you’re just some kid who’s played so many videogames that surviving all of this was already second nature to you. Or maybe you’re like me; living on borrowed time and searching for a good place to die. Maybe Future Me was brave enough to tap Submit on my diary and you're currently reading this on your phone or computer.
Here’s an idea. Maybe you can carry on this diary from wherever I left it at. God, I really hope this isn’t my last entry, although I suppose any entry might be. If you do carry the diary forwards, and I'm a corpse, maybe it will become cursed. Spooky.
*
I’ve been preparing for my next excursion.
If I know I’m going somewhere I’ll likely run into an ugly, I like to take extra precautions. And I want my satchel back. It was a present from my dad, and I know it cost him a lot of money.
So, I’m taking a pair of shears from the shelf of old tools down here. That way, if I lose Old Trusty, I’ll have a backup weapon.
If you are local, I wonder how you like to kill them? Pretty morbid question I know, but everyone around here seems to have their preferred method. The last villager I saw alive carried a pair of mini cricket bats and seemed to have bludgeoning down to an art form. He never saw me though, I was watching from a grove of trees as he killed his way along the main road near the village.
That was before I decided to stay inside during the daylight hours. We can at least see a little bit at night; ambient light and everything. They can’t though. I’ve seen them, they bump into things. It’s pretty funny to be honest. If they hear a noise, they walk in the direction of the sound, never trying to avoid any object in their path. They either bash said object out of the way, or, like that hedge, blunder right through it. Obviously bigger things stop them dead (ha!) though. If that happens, they sort of shuffle backwards and then try again a few times. Eventually – and I’ve seen this too – they just give up and stand there, waiting for something else to attract their attention.
That’s not how it works in the daytime though.
*
I think it’s about an hour before the sun sets so it’s nearly time to head out. I’m going to change my bandage. One minute.
Okay, it didn’t look that bad really. The original scratch wasn’t too deep and now the wound seems to be doing that scabbing thing I remember from normal injuries. It just doesn’t smell very good. A bit like when you walk past a bin that needs emptying.
Anyway, I’ve applied more antiseptic and redressed it. Time to go.
*
That was fun. I’m glad I had those shears with me.
I got my satchel back you’ll be happy to know. And I got inside that house I’d been trying to break into as well. More through necessity than choice in the end, but I’m pleased I did. I found more batteries! That means I can justify writing at night a bit more. In fact, the people who used to live there (I think the husband owned the local garage) were pretty well kitted out. There were a lot of tins in their cupboards, and they’d even left a shotgun. It wasn’t loaded though.
Not that I need a shotgun. I didn’t tell you this before, but I have my grandpa’s old service revolver. He always told me and my sister that it was decommissioned, but my dad apparently knew otherwise. I keep it tucked into the back of my jeans at all times. It had three bullets, one of them is gone, so only two left.
I’ll only be needing the one of course.
*
Morning. I’m feeling pretty low today. I think concentrating on getting my satchel back took my mind off things, but now I feel pretty deflated.
Surely that’s understandable? The village I knew and loved has been replaced with this sodding hell. I miss my family, my friends, TV and hot dinners and Instagram. Before all of this I was a pretty positive person. Sure, I had a bit of trouble getting up in the morning, but, once I was up, that was it. I’d meet the day’s challenges head on, try to enjoy myself as much as I could. Not today though.
Maybe if I write about Jonah I’ll cheer up. Not Jonah as he is now of course, Jonah when he was all smooth-skinned, curly-haired and bright-eyed. Now he’s like the anti-Jonah or something. His face looks like it lost a fight with an angry lobster. No, wait, I’m supposed to be writing about Jonah version one here.
He’s one of those people that I can’t remember meeting. My family has always lived around here and so there are lots of people who have just always been, if you get me. I always thought we would drunkenly get it together at a party – that’s what I’d usually do if there was a boy I liked. Classy.
*
I’ve perked up a bit. Out of sheer frustration I went upstairs (naughty, I know) and looked out of a window. Sure, I saw an ugly, wandering aimlessly as they always do, but I saw that the trees are starting to turn too. That means it’s nearly autumn, and I love autumn!
My sister and I always used to go out and kick leaves at each other in the autumn. I don’t know if it was because of her low centre of gravity, but my sister was amazing at it. She could somehow whip up a blazing whirlwind of golden-yellow and fire-red, surrounding us both in a leaf storm that I couldn’t help but flail my arms madly at. Then we’d both fall backwards into the leaves laughing, me wondering how on earth what had happened was possible. She was that good.
God, I let her down in the end.
*
I think I’ll stay away from the house with the shotgun tonight. It usually takes a day or two for a group of uglies to disperse once they’re all riled up. I could use the rest of that tinned food I suppose, but I’ve got plenty to be getting on with for now.
Instead, I think I’ll swing by another farmhouse I was scoping out before I decided to turn nocturnal. I never met the people who used to live there, but I remember Mum telling me they liked their privacy. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind me visiting now though.
Also, there’s a woodland between here and there and I might be able to find some leaves to kick about a bit. I think that would make me feel close to my sister again.
I’ll check back in later.
*
I’m still alive, but only just.
I made it through the woods just fine (only the odd leaf on the forest floor at the moment though, sadly), the trouble started at the farmhouse. I couldn’t get in – the doors and windows were barricaded – so I tried one of the outbuildings. Locked. It had a cat flap though.
My first instinct was to leave it, but then I wondered if there might be something useful inside. Lord knows what thinking about it now. I lifted the cat flap with one hand and shone the torch beam through with my other. That’s when an ugly dived at my pinkies. Luckily, it misjudged its leap and got a mouthful of plastic cat flap instead. As for me, I fell backwards onto my bum.
Next, the damn thing started bashing on the door from the inside. I don’t think it could ever have got out, but the noise attracted more uglies from out of nowhere. I only just managed to outmanoeuvre them and hightail it back into the woods.
That’s not the worst of it though. On the way back my leg started to hurt. A lot.
*
I woke up this morning and I’m walking with a limp. It’s funny, Dad had a limp when he and Mum died. He was nailing planks of wood across our windows and doors because there was no signal (as per bloody usual) and we thought that what was happening here was probably happening everywhere. It's only recently that I realised this was an isolated, local outbreak. Anyway, Dad dropped the hammer onto his toe, he always was useless at DIY. I think it was only a couple of hours after that when he and Mum were taken.
It was like a wave of death. No, not like, that’s exactly what it was. A hoard of uglies swept through the village, probably originating from the secret research facility in the woods we're not supposed to know about. My sister and I wouldn’t have had a prayer if Mum and Dad hadn’t charged down the first few that got into our house. They gave us just enough time to escape, to run away and leave them to die. My sister was screaming all the way and I had to drag her like she was four again.
She wouldn’t speak to me for a few days after that. I didn’t blame her, I hated myself too. But I would have hated myself even more if I hadn’t done what I did next. On my own, I snuck back into our house with the crowbar I found here. Then I dispatched my parents. I can’t bring myself to type it any other way. It wasn’t like in the movies, I didn’t pound their skulls into mush whilst sobbing, ‘Why?’ over and over again. I just found them, or what was left of them, forced the crowbar through each of their eye sockets, and came straight back here.
Then came the crying.
*
I haven’t told you about the heavy-duty gloves yet, have I?
After I got back from our old house, my sister started speaking to me again. A shared, day-long cry will do that for sisters. Once we felt up to it, we decided to explore the parts of the farmhouse we hadn’t searched yet. All the bedrooms were empty, only a few belongings flung about the place (I suspect the previous tenants left in a hurry). The problem came when we investigated the attic. Once we’d opened the ceiling panel in the upstairs hallway, once we’d pulled the compact staircase down, I went up. My sister stood at the top of the hatchway shining the torch beam over my shoulder. And that’s when it touched me. Terrified, I fell to my left, screaming as the thing came crashing down on top of me. I was yelling things like, ‘Shoot it!’ and, ‘Run!’ but my sister was just laughing her head off. I soon realised that my attacker was in fact a shop-window mannequin.
I think the people who previously lived here must have been arty (or into some seriously freaky stuff) because the mannequin was dressed in scarves, bandannas, ties, watches – loads of things. The rest of the attic was pretty empty but at least we got the mannequin’s gloves.
*
I’m not feeling good at the moment. I’ve got a sore throat and I’ve coughed up blood a couple of times. My leg pain is getting worse too.
I don’t think I’ll go out tonight. I have enough tins left and one of them is a Full English In A Can. Sounds pretty disgusting, but intriguing at the same time. I’ve been saving it for near the end. A sort of consolation prize.
*
There are two mattresses down here. Obviously one is mine, and the other one was my sister’s. After she died, I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it. I don’t have a photo of her, only Guitar Girl’s. Her bed is the only thing of hers I have left. And she didn’t even sleep in it that many times.
*
The tinned Full English was vile! You’ve got to laugh though, what else can you do?
*
I’m crying as I write this. Tears of sorrow, shame and regret.
It happened as we were searching a cottage just off of the main road. We’d used Old Trusty to get inside, and I’d rushed straight into the kitchen to find the food. We’d run out more than a day before and I was famished. My sister followed me into the kitchen, a wide grin on her pretty little face because I was sitting there with an open can of beans. Then one of them came at her from behind. I must have walked right past it on my stupid way to the cupboards. It bit into her neck and blood gushed over the tiles in a torrent. As she yelled out in agony, I leapt up and implanted the crowbar right into the thing’s skull. It crumpled to the floor, but the damage was done.
‘Don’t let me lose myself.’ That was the last thing my sister whispered to me before she passed out. Her wound was much more severe than mine is, and much closer to the brain. That seems to make it quicker. I took grandpa’s revolver from behind my back and blew her brains out.
I buried her in the back garden.
*
After my sister died I went kind of crazy. I took Old Trusty out across the fields and pulverised every ugly I could find. I don’t even remember it that well, it was just, find, kill, find, kill…
We’d only been going out in daylight before then but, in my anger, I carried on through the nights. That’s how I learned about their inability to evade in darkness. Eventually, though, one got me. I found three munching on a dead cow and ran straight at them. Took out the first two easily enough, but the third managed to scratch my leg with a bloody fingernail just before I clobbered it into oblivion. Once I realised its nail had broken the skin, it was like a switch had been flicked inside me. That’s it, I’m dead too. I lost my bloodlust and came back here.
*
If none of this had happened, I think my sister would have eventually gone into medicine. I was doing okay at College but she was top of her class at school. And she had a really kind nature too. She’d never squish any bugs that got trapped in our house; she’d get a glass, scoop the little critter up and seal it inside with a book. Then she’d take it outside and release it, even if it was a wasp.
*
I’ve decided that here’s not the place. I'll hit Submit and then I’m going to do it in those woods I wrote about; consider this diary as my Note. I’ll be able to find a nice spot to sit and look at the trees, some place that's calm and peaceful. I’m going to leave the picture of Guitar Girl in this cellar, she belongs in this house. The tree leaves will remind me of my sister more than any photo ever could anyway.
I guess all that’s left to say is thank you for listening.
I know it’s possible that no one will ever read this, but that’s not really the point is it?
Love,
X

Just imagine this scene, it can happen if you choose to:
"You felt it, you felt the sex being parted by my long's fingers, as your thighs are being forced to widen to accommodate me being lodged beneath you. My tongue slippery and warm; it glided to you from opening up to your clit, which I nipped at with my teeth. Your gasp filled the empty room. I repeated the same action again, and again. Eventually, your thighs are already quivering, and I continue sucking your clit while momentarily rocking your world as your eyes squeezed shut."
Yes, I'm quite a gentleman and would want to get you off first before me. Did that get your attention? If so, below is the {insert boring generic fact sheet here} details about me, what I'm looking for:
Male, 25 years old (as you guessed from the title lol)
I hope you love a tall guy because I'm 6'5! (200 cm). I'm probably going to need to put some effort into kissing you (I'm sure you're worth it) . I'm in decent shape, not quite fat or obese.
White, Hispanic, Euro mixed. Quite a bit of a hybrid.
Clean, clean, and did I say clean? You won't have to worry about any STD'S/STI'S around me, I can assure you that.
Located on east San Jose, near east ridge mall. I normally can’t host but since my landlords are out of the country for a couple of weeks, I’ll be able to sneak you in and host you no problem at the moment. (:
Let's meet up for some drinks at Starbucks or a movie perhaps? A little window-shopping? For sure, you like to get to know you a bit more before the NSFW part of our story happens. Your hobbies, interests, goals, your life story, etc. If we vibe and hit it off well, I could get you a cute dress while we're at it. (: Then we can head back to your place or mine(temporarily) , where the action begins.
I'm open to any age and ethnic/career backgrounds, as well as if you're single or in an open relationship/marriage.
Message me so we can fulfill your pleasures today. (: Please no dudes. I'm straight.

I’m looking for some recommendations for a good pair of jean shorts for the summer. I have always struggled with jorts in the past and actually swore all shorts (of any kind) off completely for the past two summers. After enjoying this much needed time apart, I am ready to be hurt again and would appreciate your help/suggestions.

About me:

Ya girl has large thighs/hips and a small waist. This always complicated pants shopping (gap in the back!) but shorts shopping in particular.
I’ve tried Madewell shorts in the past and they’re the ones that I had in mind when writing the “what I don’t want” section below
Still learning how to dress for petite, but I know that generally high waisted/tucked in is better. I don't want anything too high waisted or constricting of my belly though.

What I want:

Long enough to cover chub rub areas but still cute. Not long enough that they enter Bermuda shorts territory
I once saw someone with jeans that looked kind of like this (loose, not skin tight) and I really loved the look of them but I think hers were vintage. (is Pac Sun even a good brand for jeans?)
Medium wash
Wide-ish at the hem, meaning not skin tight (see above pic)
Cuffed edge, I think I’ve outgrown the cut off and scraggly edge look.
I'd love for these shorts to be well-made/high quality and last me a few seasons. (ex. I linked to Pac Sun jorts above, but I don't know if they're typically good quality jeans? I associate that store with 2000 mall clothes that I didn't even buy/wear the first time around) If I do end up finding the perfect pair of jorts, I will want to hold onto them for a while as they are hard to come by.

What I’ve hated about jeans in the past:

Too tight/stiff/constricting and thick/hot/heavy generally uncomfortable
Too short (see also: chub rub)
Cut edge/hem just rolls and rolls and rolls up, effectively making it look like I’m wearing a denim diaper

Chapter LXXXIV

Somewhere, West Virginia, USA.

"Oaf! You couldn't have stated it in a less vulgar manner?!" The head butler snapped up at the Colonel.

"If you had just gotten to the point I wouldn't have!" The Colonel snapped back. The two goblinoids glared at one another as Morty choked on his drink.

"Wha *cough\* what was it you *wheeze\* wanted again?!" Morty tried to speak as he coughed up burning liquor from his lungs.

The Colonel turned away from the head butler with a snarl before looked at Morty.
"As I said. I desire to mate."

Morty caught a breath and spoke.
"Yeah I got that much! Look, I know it's a common trope to be a little curious and experiment when you go to college or uni. But I wasn't one of those types... Though Archie from Chem DID brush up against me once and I wasn't ENTIRELY against it-"

The Colonel looked red and aghast.
"N-n-n-no General! I didn't mean with you!"

The head butler snickered.
"Maybe if you had pointed that out before-"

"And maybe if you hadn't wasted so many words-"

"SHUT UP!!!" Morty snapped.

The two goblinoids ceased speaking, though they continued to glare at one another. Morty sighed as he collected his thoughts. The sisters trying, and failing, to hold in their laughter didn't help.
"So... YOU desire to HAVE A mate?"

The Colonel nodded. Morty pointed to the head butler.
"And you want the same I presume?"

The head butler just shrugged his shoulders.
"Not me personally no, Master. However, many of the staff, as well as other intellectually minded goblins, have been feeling new needs and wants. I have no doubt that those same feelings are what have affected the Colonel here as well as the Red Caps."

"So you both have been getting the itch? If so then what does that mean for our future workforce?" Morty asked.

Both goblinoids shuffled uncomfortably. It was the Colonel that spoke first though.
"The training of new Red Caps has had... decreasing results as of late General."

"As has the serving staff, and those that have higher intellectual capacity. The number of us able to become as advanced as we are is decreasing with every spawn. Where the number of us that have grown certain organs has risen. I'm sure you can link the two."

"You'll no longer be able to just spawn and train others anymore. You're going to have to do it the old fashioned way." Morty stated. He assumed as much when he first saw the female goblin maid. But now this just confirms it. But something was still worrying him.

"What about the other goblins? Or the dragues?"

"They remain the same. They haven't the mental capacity nor proper conditioning to advance biologically as we. They are still the same goblins they were many weeks ago." The head butler stated, with the Colonel agreeing with an affirmative grunt.

That's one problem he didn't have to deal with, Morty thought. His Goblin Wave tactic could still work then. Though his already limited number of Red Caps just got more limited. Though they've been fortunate that their deaths were pretty rare, only a handful have died since they first "ascended".

Same could be said for the smart goblins/house goblins. He should really come up with a proper name for them one of these days. Fatalities were practically non-existent among them!

Though that probably also has to do with their new "tools" and mental conditioning rewiring their brain chemistry. Can't be so quick to death and violence when you can't just pop out of a mint green puddle.
"Then it's not a complete change of plans, we'll just have to be extra careful when it comes to your assignments. But first, what was this about wanting a mate?"

The Colonel's tannish colored skin turned a reddish hue as the topic returned to his personal request turned faux pas.
"Yes, uhm. As I mentioned-"

"Poorly." The head butler pointed out.

"AS I MENTIONED, I desire a mate and am currently courting a young woman in town, and I desire that should the time come. That I may be allowed to engage in..." The Colonel paused as his face turned redder.

"Coitus? Sexual Intercourse? Baby Making? Fucking?" Morty asked with a creeping smile, each word turning the Colonel redder and redder until his face was more red than tan.

"Y-y-y-yes General."

Morty stared at the Colonel for an uncomfortably long moment. After feeling he embarrassed him enough, Morty spoke.
"Sure have at it."

The Colonel looked both relieved and shocked.
"Truly, General?!"

"Sure! Who am I to get in-between true love! Go have fun you crazy kids! And don't do anything I wouldn't!" Morty replied glibly.

The Colonel eagerly saluted Morty and fumbled a few more words of thanks before turning away and leaving Morty alone with the head butler, and the two sisters who still waited outside the room.
"So now what Jeeves?" Morty asked.

"Well Master. That was all that was both of note and pressing to inform you about." The goblin head butler, now dubbed Jeeves, stated.

"If that's all then, get back to work." Morty dismissed Jeeves with a wave of his hand as he turned to focus on paperwork.

Jeeves bowed and left. Leaving Morty alone to go over finances and logistics for when his mining, foresting, and masonry gets up and running. He was debating on if he should send the resources into town and get them worked on, thus giving the town a boost in greatly needed income. Or to keep it in-house.

Sure the former would be great for the town that he wished to control. BUT the latter was ALREADY in his control. Not only that but the current population of Somewhere weren't exactly loyal to him. The goblins on the other hand were.

The Noble Goblins, that could work, were actually pretty good tinkerers. He could get them to work the iron, lead and stone themselves. With the confirmation that they can now breed like normal creatures, he could start having them making babies with the locals! The Red Caps seem to already be doing that. But he could also send some pretty little maid goblins to start intermingling with the local population!

It would tie the locals closer to him by blood, sorta, and the future generations would be loyal to him! Then again this is all assuming that a goblin and a human can have kids. If not, then he could just outright repopulate the town with Noble Goblins and Red Caps. With their eagerness for violence lessened they would make a decent general population to rule over. Hell, he does it already.

Well, he had time. All he had to do was wait for nature, and biology, to take its course and he'll have confirmation in a few weeks, or months. Then he can go from there.

Though that thought process got him thinking about something else.
"Orga. Urga. Can you get pregnant from me?"

The two sisters looked at one another then back at Morty and shrugged their thick shoulders.
"We don't know. We never mated with a human before."

"What about other ogre tribes?"

"We haven't heard anything from anywhere else either."

"Well, if you can. How, or when, will you know?"

"We'll know." Was the infuriatingly simple answer.

"What do you mean you'll know?"

"We'll know if we are or if we aren't." Orga stated to which her sister nodded.

"That's not helpful."

"Like we said. We never mated with a human before. We don't know if or when any more than you do."

That actually made him nervous. He had kinda been shoving it to the back of his mind for some time now. But now the idea was front and center. There was a possibility that he'll be a father now. He was careful before with other women he brought home. Probably for the same reason that his father probably resented him for.

Morty got bits and pieces over the years. He assumed that the reason his father hated him was because when his mother, and soon himself, came along. His grandfather forced him to "man up" and become a family man. No more parties and boozy evenings, no more string of ladies of the night following him along to his bed to take his money, among other things.

That all, mostly, stopped when he married. His grandfather put the boot down. Either he would settle down and become a proper family man befitting the Duval name, or he wouldn't see a penny ever again.

So that's what his father did. He married and Morty came into the world soon after, and hated and resented him, his mother, and grandfather since. The anger and resentment bled into the staff. They held their tongues when in the presence of his grandfather, but when his mother passed and he got sick they made no secret how little they thought of both him and his mother. She was an opportunistic whore that snagged a higher class family scion, and he was the offspring that just barely avoided being born out of wedlock.

Now the idea that he was possibly in the same situation as his father was years ago came to his mind. Only this time, he didn't have HIS father around to browbeat him into being a decent dad.

Morty might be a lot of things, but there was one thing he would be hellbent on being. A better father than his own. He smiled at the thought of seeing his kids running and screaming through the halls. Then that smile faded. If they were even half as big as their mothers they were going to need some heavy-duty diapers!
-----
As night neared, the Colonel marched briskly towards the pawnshop. His uniform was freshly pressed and his boots were shined. They were always shined but he made sure they sparkled a little more for tonight.

He slowed as he neared the door to the shop. He took a moment to calm himself and make sure he looked presentable for the evening. Once done, he went to enter the shop. Only to find it locked up and closed. Being informed by one of the guards nearby, he ascended the stairs to Molly's apartment above her shop.

Once there, he knocked on the sturdy metal door. He heard a muffled call from inside answer. A moment later it opened to reveal the pawnbroker. She wasn't wearing the prom dress from the night before. Instead, she wore some comfortable jeans and a thick coat and hat to ward off the chill of the night.
"Sorry! I forgot the time!"

"I-i-i-it's quite alright! I would've waited longer if I had to." The Colonel said with a pinch of nerves in his voice.

Her face blushed a little.
"Well, aren't you a gentlemen! Would you have waited all night, even if it meant that you might've been stood up?"

He nodded.
"Even if it meant waiting here for days or even weeks, I would have done so without a second thought!"

"Aw! It's words like that that'll make a girl swoon! But that's for later when we're not near a set of stairs." She said and the Colonel led her down said stairs. Getting to the bottom and holding out a hand to help her off the last steps, as is proper.

Her smile reached her eyes at how far he was going to be a proper gentleman. A great improvement over her usual suiters. The two walked slowly along the lit streets. Just looking around at the town as it had changed over the few weeks. Some places were boarded up and vacated. Some looked more than a little run down because of the economic collapse the town was in.

The only decent part of town was closer to City Hall and the parts under Morty's control. Though Morty's part of town had more to do that they were well protected from the ferals that seemed to infest the town worse than rats or cockroaches!

Molly's heard that City Council put a freeze on bills for the time being. Can't be ruling a town that didn't exist anymore. So they decided and the Mayor, grudgingly, agreed to put a hold on bills until they could come up with a solution to the economic problems.

While they walked the Colonel was making an effort to distract her from the nearby signs of his men at work. He didn't think that her seeing a feral goblin getting its brains bashed in would be very romantic, nor proper for a woman like her to witness.

Though it was hard as even though he tried to talk a bit louder, the cries and sickening crunches still bled out into the night air. If she noticed, she didn't say anything.

The Colonel could only hope that it didn't put a damper on the mood. Though from her smile he didn't think it did. But he still led her to the less active parts. They would greet goblins on patrol, and they even spotted a couple of other Red Caps that had similar ideas and were either on walks of their own with their chosen dates or were dining with them in one of the local establishments.

Eventually their walk came to an end though. It was getting late and the Colonel didn't want to keep the young woman out too late. She turned around and faced him with a bright smile.
"I had a lovely evenin'! Thank you for the nightly stroll!"

"It was my pleasure to do so!"

"How about next time you come over and stay for dinner? My treat?" She asked a little nervously.

"I would enjoy that. Though it would be more proper for I to treat you."

"It may be more proper, but just wait until you try my tuna casserole!"

The Colonel chuckled and assented. She bit her lip a little before kissing the Colonel. It was a long, romantic kiss. One that he returned with eagerness and that ended with the two parting a little out of breath. Both more than a little red from the exchange. She smiled and went into her apartment while the Colonel marched back to the manor with a smile of his own on his face.

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Hello everyone! It's been a week since my last post on how Sapphire logic makes my outfits feel inauthentic. I've gotten some good advice on that post and I have been able to reflect and play around with the different style logics. After my last post I thought for a while that I might be a Ruby afterall because of that need for authenticity. But I think that is something that all the quadrants need and want but they get there differently. So I decided to stop overthinking and instead go back to the basic style logic differences.
After writing down the differences for myself and actually trying to apply them in my shopping process and my daily outfit selection I quickly realized that the left is not where it's at for me. Asking myself what internal qualities, moods or landscapes I want to connect with is like staring into the abyss: there is not much there 😅 By that I mean my main answers to these questions are "I don't know" or "I feel neutral", aka not very inspiring. But even when I try really hard to come up with something internal to connect to it never really feels good. I need that outside starting point as an anchor, otherwise I feel completely lost. Also, what I noticed when I asked myself what qualities within me I want to connect with or what mood I was in is that my brain constantly tried to connect the answer to the situation, so for me it's not about how I feel today despite of the situation but rather how I want to feel in my situation.
So I settled on the right quadrants. But I still wasn't sure about RU vs. RD. I have always considered myself a person that enjoys visual interest and bold looks. And when I had my talk with Rita 2 years ago one theme was definitely how the visual interest was missing from my clothes and how boring and bland they felt (I mean, I think anyone would feel bland in a basic black t-shirt with basic black pants and no details what so ever). That was probably another reason why she placed me in the RU, but again that was before style logics existed. I decided not to cling to the idea that I have to be a Sapphire because Rita suggested it to me but rather to try out the different logics and see which one brings me more joy and is more efficient for me. The main difference between Moonstone and Sapphire is that Moonstone asks herself "What do I need in my outfit to feel good in this situation? How do I want to feel?" while Sapphire asks herself "What's my intention in this situation? What impression or contribution do I want to make here? How do I want to come across?".
I decided to incorporate both of these approaches in my process of shopping for summer clothes since I'm in desperate need for a few new pieces. And what I noticed is that the Sapphire approach feels a lot more negative for me than the Moonstone approach does. I don't want to focus on the impression I'm making on others, I have been doing that for the past few years and it never got me anywhere. It's not helpful for me to ask myself "How do I want to come across during this uni presentation", it just feels wrong and inauthentic and makes me feel quite insecure. BUT when I turn the question to the inside and ask myself instead "How can my clothes support me during this uni presentation, how do I want to feel?" it's like coming home! For me, it's so much more rewarding to focus on my needs instead of creating a certain impression on the outside world. I don't care if other people see me a certain way, I care about feeling a certain way.
So the Moonstone logic is really the most rewarding and efficient way to get dressed for me and to enjoy the process. It's like everything just clicked into place! I was hesitant to claim this quadrant because I suspect my best friend is a RD Moonstone and I have a tendency to negatively compare myself to other people and find myself lacking as in "I'm not delicate and refined enough to be a Moonstone" or something like that. I was also unsure if I was "allowed" to claim a different quadrant for myself than the one Rita suggested for me, even though I know Rita is fine with that 😅 But that's just my internal critic being a mean girl. And instead of listening to that negative inner voice telling me I'm not "graceful" and "delicate" enough to be a Moonstone, I will just trust the style logic. So Moonstone it is! 😊

Since this sub was so helpful in planning, I wanted to share my itinerary and trip report! We had an incredible first time in Japan and I can't wait to go back.
Couldn't fit our (very detailed) itinerary in this post, but if you'd like to download it's here.
Medium article version with photos + itinerary is here.
And our shareable Google map is here.
About us:

We’re New Yorkers in our 30s who have been planning this trip for about 6 months.
My bf has been learning Japanese for about a year, and I’ve been learning for about 5 months (a mix of Pimsleur and Duolingo).
Boyfriend is into history and baseball, I'm into skincare and nature, but we’re both big on food so that was our number one priority.
He has a peanut allergy and avoids all nuts. He learned to say that in Japanese (私はピーナッツアレルギーがあります - "Watashi wa piinattsu arerugī ga arimasu”), and every restaurant and hotel was understanding and careful. Luckily most cuisine is nut-free anyway, but we managed not to have any close calls in 2 weeks which is amazing.

Some overall learnings:

If I were planning this trip again, I think I would skip Kanazawa. It was a lovely town and the food was amazing, but we wished we had spent that time with a night or two in Osaka instead of just making it a day trip from Kyoto.
Even if you’re not a baseball fan, Japanese baseball games are so much fun. I’ve never experienced anything like it.
I packed a suitcase and brought a fold-up duffel bag, and halfway through the trip I moved my clothes to the duffel and just used the suitcase for souvenirs. It was a great idea but we ended up buying an extra suitcase at Donki our last day anyway.
We both felt a bit underdressed compared to locals, especially in Tokyo. I wish I’d packed more dresses, skirts and trousers and fewer jeans and tees - the only people I saw wearing sweats, athletic wear or cutoffs were other tourists. Obviously you can wear what you want, just be aware you’ll stick out! Also, women are generally more covered up, even on warmer days, to protect their skin from the sun.
If you go clothes shopping, take your shoes off in dressing rooms. I made a right fool of myself.
Clothes sizing is wildly different in Japan. Know your cm measurements! Your size here may be hurtful to your ego.
People line up to get on the train (check the ground for a guide of where to stand) and let everyone off before they get on. This seems obvious, but I’ve been living in New York so long that I wanted to weep tears of joy every time.
If you’re new to sitting showers: there are two buttons. One is to fill up a bowl of water, and the other is to turn on the handheld shower head. Both automatically turn off a minute after you turn them on, but you can also turn them off manually. You sit on the little stool and there’s usually a mirror in front of you, which is… a humbling experience. There are usually also scrubbing washcloths.
The worst train station toilet was still nicer than a goddamn Nordstrom bathroom. It was a pleasure to have IBS in Japan.
At many European and American historical sites, you pay a hefty flat fee to see everything. In Japan, you can usually get into the temple grounds for free, then pay for each individual building you go into. Most were 400-700y/person, which felt really reasonable.
We came at an almost perfect time (mid-May) weather-wise. Most days it was clear or sunny with a high in the mid-seventies. We definitely got some rain, but less than we were expecting (maybe 3-4 rainy days and 5-6 rainy nights).

Hotel Reviews:
Tokyu Stay Shinjuku Eastside (Tokyo): This was a great basic hotel, close to plenty of transportation and right on the edge of Kabukicho. The buffet breakfast was the highlight - a great mix of Western and Japanese breakfast options, including a great miso soup.Hakone Airu (Hakone): Mixed review here. On the one hand, the in-room onsen and public onsen were both wonderful, and the service was extraordinary. On the other hand, the mix of Balinese and Japanese didn’t quite work, and dinner and breakfast were more confusing than enjoyable.Hotel Alza (Kyoto): By far our favorite stay. I can’t recommend this place enough, and it was definitely worth paying a little extra. They brought us an amazing bento breakfast in our rooms every morning, they had every amenity we could need (they even re-upped the free sheet masks every day), and the micro-bubble bath at the end of a long day of walking was amazing.Koyasan Syukubo Ekoin Temple (Mt Koya): This was a great temple experience. Koyasan in general is obviously pretty tourist-y, but Eko-in still made it feel authentic, and dinner and breakfast were both amazing. Your stay includes a meditation class, morning prayers and a morning fire ritual, and you can pay to attend a cemetery tour, all of which were great.Utaimachi (Kanazawa): We were only here for two nights, but this place was pretty good. Very close to the Higashi Chaya area, where we didn’t actually end up spending much time. Always love tatami mat flooring, and the washedryer was a nice bonus, but we were also right next to the lobby and right under another room so there was some noise.The Gate Asakusa (Tokyo): A great and very Westernized hotel with amazing views of Shinso-ji and the surrounding area. It’s on the top floors of a building right in the middle of all things Asakusa, but is still pretty quiet. And has a wonderful, deep soaking tub with free bath salts.

Tuesday: Arrival, Shinjuku

1 PM: Arrival at Haneda
We got customs and immigration forms to fill out on the plane and everything went fairly quickly. Picked up some cash and Suica cards, went to see about taking the Airport Limousine bus ($10/each) but we should have booked in advance because there wasn’t one for another hour. We ended up taking a taxi (about $50) to our hotel in Shinjuku.
4 PM: Arrival at hotel - Tokyu Stay Shinjuku East Side
We dropped our luggage and went to a nearby eel restaurant, Shinjuku Unatetsu. The eel was incredible and not too filling. Wandered Kabuki-cho for a bit, I dragged my bf through all 4 floors of Don Quijote (I had a list of beauty items to pick up), then rested at the hotel.
7 PM: Dinner in Shinjuku (Tsunahachi)
We went to Tsunahachi for dinner and got some amazing tempura (I wish we had sat at the bar to watch it being made!) and then crashed by 9 pm, because we are young and cool.

Wednesday: Harajuku, Meiji, and Shibuya

7 AM: Hotel breakfast
Up early for hotel breakfast, which has convinced bf to start making miso soup every morning.
9 AM: Shinjuku Station - Pick up JR Passes
We went to Shinjuku station to pick up our JR passes, then spent 30 minutes finding the place where we could get them before 10 AM. There was a long line (staff shortage) so we waited about an hour but we got them and headed to Harajuku.
11 AM: Meiji Shrine & Yoyogi Park
We walked to Meiji Shrine, stopping at the gardens along the way (well worth the 500y entrance fee, especially on a beautiful day). We were lucky to come across a wedding at the shrine. Then we walked around Yoyogi Park a bit.
1 PM: Lunch (Gyoza Lou)
Walked into Gyoza Lou and were seated right away. Incredible gyoza as well as beer and bean sprouts with meat sauce - maybe 10 bucks total for 2 people.
1:30 PM: Shopping/museums in Harajuku
We split up so I could do some shopping in vintage stores - Flamingo, TAGTAG and Kinji (my favorite), and bf could go to the Ota Memorial Museum for their Cats in Ukiyo-e exhibit (which he loved). I walked down Takeshita street to meet him and managed to get a green tea, strawberry and red bean paste crepe from Marion Crepes.
3 PM: Shibuya Scramble & Hachinko Statue
We grabbed the train to Shibuya, saw the scramble and the Hachinko statue, then entered the maze that is Tokyu Hands. I got some onsen powders for gifts and some more cosmetics. My boyfriend checked out the Bic camera store and I went to Gu, which is like the love child of Uniqlo and Primark. I immediately undid all the “light packing” I did with new clothes.
7 PM: Dinner Reservation - Shinjuku Kappu Nakajima
I got us a reservation a few months ago at Shinjuku Kappu Nakajima. It was probably one of the best meals of my life. The omakase came out to less than $100usd each, which felt like a steal.
9 PM: Golden Gai bar (Bar Araku)
We wandered Golden Gai and went into a bar where the entrance fee was waived for foreigners called Bar Araku. It was very small but had great vibes, highly recommend. I drank too much sake, which will be a theme.

Thursday: Shinjuku

4 AM: Earthquake
The phone alerts are insanely loud! We rushed down to the hotel lobby and the only other people there were fellow foreigners - apparently Japanese people at the hotel knew a 5.1 is okay to sleep through.
9 AM: Shinjuku Gyoen
We strolled around in the sun taking photos for about 3 hours. Today is a lot less planned than yesterday - I kind of wish I’d switched the itineraries after how long getting the JR Pass took. We did go to the fancy Starbucks, of course.
12 PM: Lunch (Kaiten Sushi Numazuto)
We tried to go to a nearby sushi place but it was full, so we walked up to Kaiten Sushi Numazuto. We were a little disappointed it wasn’t actually conveyor belt sushi (the conveyor belt was for show and you ordered from the staff). Stopped in Bic camera afterwards for a bit.
2 PM: Ninja Trick House
We tried to go to the Samurai museum but learned it closed a few weeks ago. A good excuse to go to the Ninja Trick House instead. You’re thinking: “Isn’t that place for children?” Yes. Yes it is. And we loved every minute. I now have a camera roll full of myself being terrible at throwing stars. The dream.
3 PM: Don Quijote
More Don Quijote, mostly to get out of the rain. Got my last few beauty products I really wanted and a few souvenirs. An overstimulating heaven.
6 PM: 3-hour Shinjuku Foodie Tour
We signed up for a 3-hour “foodie tour” of Shinjuku that stopped at a sushi place, a Japanese bbq spot with insane wagyu beef, and a sake tasting spot. It was great, and we loved our guide, but wished it had stopped at a few more spots to try more things.
9 PM: Walk around Shinjuku
We attempted to play pachinko, got very confused and lost $7. Tourism!

Friday: Hakone

7 AM: Set up luggage forwarding to Kyoto with hotel
Luggage forwarding is brilliant. We did it twice and it went so smoothly, for about $10 USD per bag. Highly recommend.
9 AM: Transit to Hakone
We got to experience Japanese transit at rush hour. I can’t believe I have to go back to the MTA after this. We took the subway to Tokyo station and then the Shinkansen to Odawara, then a train to Hakone-Yumoto. The hotel was only a 20-minute walk away, so we decided to take a more scenic route - which turned out to be a forest hike straight up switchbacks most of the way.
11 AM: Lunch in Hakone (Hatsuhana)
We stopped in a soba place called Hatsuhana with a system of writing your name down and waiting outside to be called in. They skipped our names because they weren’t in Japanese, but let us in when they realized their mistake. The soba was made and served by old aunties so of course it was insanely good and well worth it.
1 PM: Hakone Open Air Museum
We took the train down to the Hakone Open Air Museum, which lived up to the hype. I’m not normally into sculpture, but seeing it in nature, and the way the museum is laid out, made it incredible. And obviously the Picasso exhibit was amazing.
3 PM: Owakudani, Pirate Ship, Hakone Checkpoint
We took the train to the cable car to Owakudani, then the ropeway to Togendai, then the pirate ship ferry to Motohakone. We were running behind so unfortunately had to rush through the Hakone Checkpoint, which was empty but very cool.
6 PM: Dinner at hotel
Back to our hotel for our kaiseki meal. The staff spoke very little English and Google struggled with the menu, so we had no idea what we were eating half the time, but overall it was pretty good.
9 PM: Onsen time
Experienced my first public onsen, followed by the private onsen in our room. The tatami sleep did wonders for my back.

Saturday: Travel to Kyoto, Philosopher’s Path, Gion

8 AM: Breakfast, travel to Kyoto
Took the train to Odawara and then the Shinkansen to Kyoto station. We booked all of our Shinkansen seats about a week in advance but you can also book them on the day, I believe.
1 PM: Lunch in Gion
Our Kyoto hotel let us check in early, and then we went looking for lunch. Quickly learned that most every place in the Gion area has a line outside and closes at 2! We eventually found a tiny spot with insanely good ramen. It also had chicken sashimi on the menu but we weren’t brave enough.
2 PM: Philosopher’s Path, Ginkaku-ji
We took a bus over to the Philosopher’s Path, which was not busy at all because of the rain. It was pretty, and I could see how great it would look in cherry blossom season. We had to kind of rush to Ginkaku-ji, which was gorgeous nonetheless.
4 PM: Honen-in, Nanzen-ji
Stopped by Honen-in (which we had completely to ourselves, thanks rain!) and then Nanzen-ji. My bf is a big history guy and he went feral for the Hojo rock garden. It was very pretty and I’d love to see it in better weather.
6 PM: Food Tour of Gion & Pontocho
This food tour stopped at two places (an izakaya and a standing bar) with a walking tour of Gion and Pontocho in between. We also stopped at Yasaka shrine and caught a rehearsal of a traditional Japanese performance.
10 PM: Pain
My feet hurt so bad. Bring waterproof shoes, but make sure they don’t have 5 year old insoles. I tried some stick-on cooling acupuncture foot pads I picked up at Donki and they were bliss.

Sunday: Arashiyama, The Golden Pavilion and Tea Ceremony

8 AM: Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
The forecast was for heavy rain all day, but we lucked out and only got a few drizzles here and there. We headed to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest in the morning and it wasn’t too crowded. We did have an amazing bamboo dish at dinner last night so now bamboo makes me hungry.
10 AM: Tenryu-ji, Iwatayama Monkey Park
Headed over to Tenryu-ji, which was very nice but very crowded, and then to one of the things I looked forward to most on the trip, the Iwatayama Monkey Park. It’s a 20 minute hike up there but it is worth it. Oh my god. Getting to feed a baby monkey made my whole week.
12 PM: Lunch near Arashiyama (Udon Arashiyama-tei)
Headed back down to the main road and got duck udon at a little place called Udon Arashiyama-tei. I know I keep calling everything incredible but… yes.
1 PM: Ginkaku-ji
Ran into some bus issues (the first time we experienced anything public transit-wise not running as expected!) but eventually got over to Ginkaku-ji. It was also very crowded (seems like Japanese schools are big on field trips, which I’m jealous of) and not my favorite temple, but beautiful nonetheless.
3 PM: Daitoku-ji
We were ahead of schedule so we got to spend some time at our meeting place for the tea ceremony, Daitoku-ji. It ended up being our favorite temple, especially Daisen-in, a small and very quiet spot with a great self-guided tour. The monks showed us a section normally closed to non-Japanese tourists with beautiful calligraphy.
4 PM: Tea Ceremony (90 mins)
The tea ceremony we booked said it was in groups of up to ten, but it ended up being just us. It was very nice and relaxing, plus we got a little meal.
6 PM: Dinner (Gion Kappa), Pontocho Alley
We both nearly fell asleep on the bus back so we took it easy for the night. Went to an izakaya called Gion Kappa which had the best tuna belly we’d ever eaten, then did a quick walk around Pontocho Alley, got treats at 7-11 and went to bed early.

Monday: Fushimi Inari, Nishiki Market, Kyoto Imperial Palace (kinda)

9 AM: Fushimi Inari
Our plans to get up super early to beat the crowds to Fushimi Imari were hampered by the fact that we are no longer in our 20s. It was packed by the time we got there, and the amount of littering and defacing done by tourists was a bummer.
11 AM: Tofuku-ji
We had planned to go to the Imperial Palace at 10:30 for the Aoi Parade, but decided instead to get away from crowds by hiking from Fushimi Inari to Tofuku-ji, which was beautiful (I’d love to see it in the fall).
12 PM: Nishiki Market, lunch (Gyukatsu)
Grabbed lunch first at Gyukatsu (wagyu katsu - delicious) then wandered Nishiki a bit. It’s touristy, but fun.
2 PM: Kyoto Gyoen, Kyoto Handicraft Center
It was supposed to rain all day but ended up sunny, so we went back to the hotel to drop off our rain jackets and umbrellas. Stepped back outside and within ten minutes it was raining. We went to Kyoto Gyoen and saw the outside of the imperial palace; it was closed because of the parade earlier and half the garden was blocked off because the former emperor was visiting. Without the palace, Kyoto Gyoen is kind of meh. We walked over to Kyoto Handicraft Center which was also meh, but we picked up some nice lacquerware.
7:30 PM: Dinner at Roan Kiku Noi
We had a reservation at Roan Kiku Noi where we had maybe the best meal of our lives. Amazing that it only has two Michelin stars, honestly. Had fun trying to decipher the pain meds aisle at a Japanese pharmacy afterwards and then called it a night.

Tuesday: Day Trip to Nara

8 AM: Travel to Nara
We took the subway to the JR and were there in about an hour.
9 AM: Nara Deer Park
Two things about the Nara deer. One: if you bow to them, they bow back, and it’s very cute. And two, if you buy the 200y rice crackers to feed to them, do it somewhere where there aren’t very many of them. I got mobbed by like 15 deer and bitten 3 times. My fault for having skin approximately the shade of a rice cracker.
10 AM: Kofuku-ji, Nara National Museum
We saw Kofuku-ji and then the Nara National Museum, then stopped at a random little cafe for rice bowls with some kind of regional sauce (I can’t find it now!).
12 PM: Isetan Garden
We spent a long time finding the entrance to the Isetan garden only for it to be closed on Tuesdays.
2 PM: Giant Buddha
Saw Nandaimon Gate and the Daibutsu (giant Buddha), which are both every bit as enormous and glorious as advertised, as well as very crowded.
3 PM: Kasuga-taisha Shrine
Wandered over to Kasuga-taisha shrine, which is famous for its hundreds of lanterns and thousand-year-old trees. There’s a special inner area (paid) where you can see the lanterns lit up in the dark.
4 PM: Wait for the emperor
We got held up by a procession for, guess who, the former emperor again. Stalker.
5 PM: Nara shopping and snacks
Walked around Higashimuki Shopping Street and Mochiidono Shopping Arcade, bought a nice sake set and an amazing little hand-painted cat, ate some red bean paste pancakes and headed back to Kyoto.
7 PM: Dinner in Kyoto
Walked around Pontocho searching for dinner and landed on Yoshina, where we got even more kaiseki. Finished the night at Hello Dolly, a gorgeous jazz bar overlooking the river.

Wednesday: Day Trip to Osaka

7 AM: Depart hotel
Started by taking the subway to the JR. Took us about an hour altogether, though it would have been faster if we’d caught the express.
9 AM: Osaka Castle
We got to Osaka Castle in time for it to hit 85 degrees out. The outside of the castle is gorgeous, but the line to get in was long and I don’t know if the museum parts were worth the wait, especially with the crowds. The view from the top is nice, though.
12 PM: Okonomiyaki lunch (Abeton)
We went to an okonomiyaki spot in Avetica station called Abeton that was full of locals and absolutely bomb as hell.
1 PM: Shitteno-ji, Keitakuen Gardens
We headed to Shitteno-ji (our oldest temple yet) which was nice, though the climb to the top of then 5 story pagoda wasn’t worth the sweat. Then we walked over to Keitakuen Gardens, a small but gorgeous garden in Tennoji Park. Had a nice sit in the shade to digest and plan our next moves.
3 PM: Ebisuhigasbi, Mega Don Quijote
I am a crazy person, so I had to go to the Mega Don Quijote. We walked around Ebisuhigasbi for a while first, and while I was buying gifts in Donki, my boyfriend entered a sushi challenge for westerners (which turned out to just be “can a white boy handle wasabi”) and won a bunch of random crap! Now we own Japanese furniture wipes.
5 PM: Dotonbori & America-mura
We took the Osaka Loop to the Dotonbori area, which was super crowded as expected. We walked around America-mura and enjoyed seeing what they think of us. There are great designer vintage clothing shops here if that’s your thing.
6 PM: Dinner (Jiyuken)
We tried to get into Koni Doraku, a crab restaurant, but they were booked up, so we went to a tiny spot called Jiyuken for curry instead. I would do things for this curry. It was the platonic ideal of curry. It was served by old Japanese aunties from a very old recipe, so we knew it was going to be good, but it exceeded our wildest expectations… for <1000y each.
7 PM: Return to Kyoto
My feet were feeling real bad (the Nikes may look cool but they cannot support 25k steps a day) so we headed back to Kyoto and packed for our early morning tomorrow.

Thursday: Travel to Koyasan, Temple Stay

8 AM: Bus from Kyoto to Koyasan
The transit from Kyoto to Mt Koya is complicated, so we ended up just booking a bus directly from Kyoto Station to Koyasan (which barely cost more than public transit!). We got there bright and early for the 3 hour trip - if you take a bus out of Kyoto Station I definitely recommend giving yourself extra time to navigate to the right bus.
11 AM: Arrive at Eko-in, lunch
We arrived in Mt Koya and checked in to our temple, Eko-in. The quiet and the beauty hit me hard and I fell asleep for a few hours. We got a nice lunch at Hanabishi in town.
4 PM: Meditation class, dinner
The temple offered a meditation class, which was lovely, followed by a vegan dinner in our rooms. I can’t explain how peaceful this place was.
7 PM: Okuno-in Cemetery
We signed up for a monk-led tour of Okuno-in, which was definitely worth it. Came back for some public baths and fell asleep to the sound of rainfall.

Friday: Travel to Kanazawa, Higashi Chaya District

7 AM: Service & ritual at Eko-in
The day started with a religious service and a fire ritual at the temple. Both were stunning. I did wish that my fellow tourists had been a bit more respectful by showing up on time and following directions, but luckily, no one has more patience than a Buddhist monk.
9 AM: Travel to Kanazawa
We took a taxi through some sketchy mountain roads to Gokurakubashi Station, took two trains to Osaka Station, and then the JR Thunderbird to Kanazawa.
1 PM: Arrive at Kanazawa, Lunch (Maimon)
We got into Kanazawa station and went straight for a sushi spot called Maimon, which was delicious. Struggled a bit with the bus system and eventually got to our hotel, Utaimachi.
4 PM: Higashi Chaya District
Wandered the Higashi Chaya district a bit. It seemed kind of dead, but maybe we are just used to the hustle and bustle of Tokyo/Kyoto.
7 PM: Korinbo, dinner (Uguisu)
Walked down to the Korinbo area southwest of the park and found a tiny ramen spot called Uguisu. Incredible. Some of the best broth I’ve ever tasted plus amazing sous vide meats.
9 PM: Bar in Korinbo (Kohaku)
Went to a little upstairs whiskey bar called Kohaku. Boyfriend got Japanese whiskey and they made me a custom cocktail with sake, pineapple and passion fruit that was just insane. They were very nice and talked baseball with us for a while.

Saturday: Omicho Market, Kanazawa Castle, 21st Century Museum

9 AM: Kenroku-en Garden
We walked over to Kenroku-en Gardens, which were as beautiful as advertised. I was hurting pretty bad (crampy ladies, just know Japanese OTC painkillers are much weaker than ours, BYO Advil) so we’re moving slowly today.
12 PM: Omicho Market, lunch (Iki-Iki Sushi)
Walked to Omicho Market and ate little bits from different stalls, then waited about an hour to get into Iki-Iki Sushi. It was worth it. Some of the best, freshest sushi of my life.
2 PM: Kanazawa Castle, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
We walked around Kanazawa Castle a bit, then walked over to the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. It was packed and the line to get tickets to the special exhibits was crazy, so we looked at the free ones and then headed back. Along the way we stopped in a few little stores and bought some handcrafted lacquerware from a local artist.
6 PM: Onnagawa Festival, dinner (Huni)
As we walked towards the restaurant, we came upon the Onnagawa Festival on the Plum Bridge, which included a beautiful dancing ceremony and lantern lighting. We went to Huni for dinner, our first “westernized Japanese” restaurant, and it was fantastic. 9 dishes served slowly over 3 hours at a table overlooking the river. Highly recommend if you’re in Kanazawa.
10 PM: Why does the bathtub have a phone
We went back to our hotel, struggled with the automated bathtub, and enjoyed our last night on tatami floors.

Sunday: Travel to Tokyo, Tokyo Giants Game, Ueno Park

7 AM: Travel to Tokyo
Grabbed a taxi we arranged the night before to Kanazawa Station - it would have been an easy bus journey but our number of bags has increased - and boarded the Shinkansen for Tokyo.
12 PM: Travel to Tokyo Dome and Tokyo Dome Park
Dropped our bags at our hotel in Asakusa, then headed for Tokyo Dome. We got there a little early to look around - there’s basically a full mall and food court and amusement park there. We grabbed some beers and some chicken katsu curry that was delicious.
2 PM: Tokyo Giants vs Chunichi Dragons
Japanese baseball games are so. much. fun. This was a random mid season game, and the stadium was full and people were amped. I’ve been to many American baseball games and never seen fans this excited. We also scored some fried cheese-wrapped hot dogs on a stick and a few more beers and had the time of our lives cheering for the Giants.
5 PM: Ueno Park
After trying and failing to find the jersey we were looking for, we walked to Ueno Park and looked around a bit. It was lovely, but we were exhausted and full of too many beers, so we headed back to Asakusa.
7 PM: Dinner in Asakusa
There was a festival all day around Shinso-ji and there were a ton of street vendors and day-drunk people when we arrived in the afternoon (as a native Louisianan, I approve) and it seemed like the partiers were going on into the night. We ducked into a restaurant for some buckwheat soba (never got the name, but it was only okay) and tucked in early.

Monday: Tsukiji Food Tour, Kapabashi Dougu, Akihabara

8 AM: 3-hour Tsukiji Food Tour + lunch
We started the day with a Tsukiji food tour, which ended up being my favorite food tour of the 3 by far. The guide was great, and we stopped by a dozen food stalls and sampled everything from mochi to fresh tuna to octopus cakes. We finished with lunch at Sushi Katsura, where our chef prepared everything in front of us.
12 PM: Imperial Palace, Don Quijote
We were planning to spend the afternoon exploring the Imperial Palace and Edo Castle Ruins, but it was hot and the palace was closed, so we walked to Taira no Masakado's Grave, then headed back to Asakusa for, you guessed it, Don Quijote. I did not intend for this trip to be “guess how many Don Quijotes I can visit” but here we are. We bought another suitcase and I filled it with food and gifts to bring home.
3 PM: Kappabashi Dougu
We walked Kappabashi Dougu and browsed kitchenwares while wishing we had a bigger kitchen, an unlimited budget and a way to get a hundred pounds of porcelain home in one piece.
6 PM: Akihabara dinner + games + drinks
We took the train to Akihabara, got dinner at Tsukada Nojo, then played games in a few arcades and ended the night at Game Bar A-button, which lets you play vintage handheld games while you drink.

Tuesday: Senso-ji, Flight

9 AM: Breakfast, Senso-ji
We got breakfast pancakes at Kohikan, then walked around Senso-ji and the surrounding shopping streets for a while.
12 PM: McDonald’s
Look, I couldn’t leave Japan without doing it, okay? I got the Teriyaki Chicken Burger (too sloppy and sweet) and bf got the Ebi Filet-O (he said it tasted exactly like a Filet-O-Fish). It was not great but I deserve that!
3 PM: Cab to the airport
I caught the flu on the flight home and have now been in bed for a week! Welcome back to America, baby.

Husband and I go on a date night where I can rock my fave outfits maybe…4-6 times a year. I don’t have too many girlfriends where I’m living right now to go out to “dress up brunches” and all that.
Do you feel like you have to save your trendy/fashion forward/fancy outfit for a special occasion or do you rock it while grocery shopping/getting gas/trip to target?
Edit: also debating if i get my husband to be my photographer and punch out multiple face outfits in a day lol

“For instance, you decide you want to go on an exciting and enjoyable trip, but then your perfectionist brain goes to work and it immediately becomes a stressful prospect. You will have to find a lovely place to stay, with all the right amenities, in the most centrally-located spot, at the best price, during the time of year offering the most ideal weather, with the most convenient and affordable travel to and from the place. And all of that is just to get you there, so those stresses are only the tip of the iceberg. Once you work out all those details, you realize you need the perfect clothes to wear or the trip will be ruined. Your stress spikes again as you judge your closet, and later, as you judge yourself in the harsh florescent department store lights as you look in the dressing room mirror. And on and on it goes. The trip is an analogy for every aspect of your life—college, a party, a date, buying a home, planning a wedding, creating an exercise routine, finding a job, and even grocery shopping.”
What does the description get right, or wrong? What is it missing?
Source: https://affinitypsych.com/perfectionists/

"3 for me d, how many for you?"- Madhu asked Sandy
"2" she replied
"5 for me" -Tharini replied
"We really need to focus on studies, at least during the first periodicals I passed in all subjects, I focuses too much on the club and I've failed in 3 subs. I need to write optional tests to boost internal now, I am lagging in assignments, record works , GOD I have so much to do"-Madhu was so worried about her studies , though she was not that much into studies she always wanted to maintain the average atleast'
"At least you focused on the club and failed, we didn't even do anything but we failed too "- Sandy shrugged
"Okay d pathukalam, we will write optional tests, assignment ku 5 marks la? and than if we take a seminar we will get 5 marks I guess? pathukalam we will be okay"
"107, Jilllu call for you"- Sathya was shouting from the landline table
"Hello"
"Hey didn't know your name is Jillu, suits you"- she can hear him giggle on the other side
"Sathya always calls me that, so what's up?"
"You have to say, you haven't said anything after that day? you went home without even saying bye and did you give any thought about it?"
Yeah she had given a lot of thought about it especially during the weekend , she was home being pampered by everyone, attending family gatherings , shopping around and visiting temples. she was so happy in home and she hugged and teared when appa and amma dropped her back in college, she was waving till the car left the entrance, she cant risk to lose all this love and support and pampering she receives now.
"Actually I need to focus a lot on studies now Selva , I am so behind, I've failed in three subjects, I have assignments to complete. seminars to prepare for, records to be submitted. I cant focus on anything else right now!"
"Hey here you go, like you always do, go and hide behind something, family, studies , this and that,tell me a solid reason why you cant love me and if it is reasonable I will leave. I am in love with you since day one and guess what I didn't fail in any subjects"
"I don't have to justify anything Selva. please lets have this conversation some other day, I have to go"
"Why do you do this? If you are not interested why did you give signals like you are into it? Like with all those glances and smiles? why? I need an answer "
"Sorry, I wont do that anymore. My mistake"
"Come on Madhu! please stop acting so cold. I am not asking you to stop ,but I need more, I need to know that you will be here for me"
"I will be there always as a friend"
"Shut up!! don't fucking friendzone me, you are actually destroying the purity of friendship, I don't think what I think about you with my friends, cut that shit "
"Selva , you are being harsh and rude, I am hanging up"
"Yeah go ahead , I am a fool , un pinadi suthunenla, I deserve this"
He hung up
She put a pin to that conversation for now , she grabbed her writing pad and continued writing her assignments .
"Hey we will go to mess? "- Indhu was ready
"Yeah let me change my dress"
All the 8 girls left to have dinner, they always sit together and chit chat and gossip about everything. Its hard to get eight people that think alike and act alike.
'"Hey did you hear, mech and civil have this huge clash going on"- Sathya is the pro gossiper of the gang
"Why?"
"That's a long story d, goes 2 years back"
"It all started with civil seniors ragging a mech junior, and of course mech seniors confronted civil apram, civil seniors booed mech's RC car race event and all mech seniors went to a civil akka, you know Keerthi akka right ? our senior?? "
"yeah " they all nodded
"She has a boyfriend , same civil different section. All mech seniors went to that akka and proposed one by one , like all of them , to stir up things "
"what?, that so cheap. what did she have anything to do with this stupid fight, men and their super inflated ego!! they should learn from us, how to be happy and peaceful"
"yeah, now our seniors are furious right? so they retaliated in the play ground, departments started to take sides and now looks like mech, eie, cs and it are on one side all the others are on the other side"
"And there are lot of tensions going on here and there, did you notice staffs standing in the hall way to keep an eye"
"Didn't notice in our block"- Gowri
Sathya paused for a second and continued,
"Mech seniors destroyed all the first year tennis court and gym, I saw few mech seniors in front of the disciplinary committee room d"
"Madhu, Selva was one of them"
Madhu stopped eating, after all she took a wise decision
"Our seniors asked us not to go near mech block or anything, They might boo us or tell something to provoke nu" - mess was way less crowded by now, the clock showed 8.20PM
"Hey hurry up d, time to go , study hour"
They all hurried up to their rooms .
To be continued...

Prom dress shops in kingsport tn

I just want to gush about my boyfriend. An IRL Wattpad story is what it feels like. I want to leave a little digital print of him and who he is.