#i am the worlds leading most expert on the little mermaid
Text
now listen ik stede was shown as a mermaid in the actual show but lets not get it twisted, ed is ariel if we're actually doing comparisons
#i am the worlds leading most expert on the little mermaid#<- liar#thanks for coming to my ted talk#watched the live action little mermaid and then the animated right after and am now listening to the broadway soundtrack can u tell#ofmd#little mermaid
3 notes
·
View notes
Note
Never read a hybrid fic before.. im curious what is it about? Is it about animals? Half animals?? like something in "furry" community fetish?? doesnt people found it uncomfortable reading something like that?? just curious bec i don't think i can read a hybrid fic but i want to know what is it about?? 😅
Hello! I'm going to assume good intentions with your ask and answer a few questions in here. This is long so I'll put it behind the cut.
I'm not sure if you're using a very focused definition of furry community (as in, people who have personas and dress and roleplay in those personas, although your understanding of that community as being just a fetish is incorrect) or more broad (people who like art that includes human-animal chimeras, etc.) but I do want to point out that 1. these interests and communities are not always sexual (but can be!) and 2. the spectrum of things that could be considered hybrid media are ancient through modern, and very broad. Netflix has a literal hybrid show. Many cultures have hybrid figures in their religions and mythos. Werewolves are hybrids. Mermaids are hybrids. Lots of animated movies, cartoons, and even non-animated movies have hybrid chracters. You could even argue that anthropomorphism is a type of hybrid (animals who move, think, speak, sing, etc. like humans.)
So this as a whole is a very broad spectrum of media where I guess the baseline thread is just "human + animal/alien components" (as oppoosed to cyborg, which would be "human + machine/robot components.) Clearly the people who read hybrid stories don't find the concept uncomfortable because it's a type of media they choose to consume --and it's a very, very large audience consuming things along that spectrum. I'm sure others have done much better analysis and writing on this and the psychology and history behind it, but basically, this is not really a niche thing. People have been combining humans and animals since forever. I'm not saying everyone likes catboys, but that most people have probably seen the Little Mermaid. What an individual likes along that is just an individual preference. You could like the Little Mermaid or have a crush on the fox in Zootopia but not find it interesting/appealing to think of a human with bear ears or behaviors.
I'll narrow the focus to "BTS Hybrid stories" of which I have written some and read some. I don't think there are rules, or at least I don't follow them and am not an expert in them, though some common themes come up, which can lead to general reader expectations of the genre. The two main groupings you tend to see are either "have some physical animal traits on an otherwise mainly human form" or "shifters/people who can turn into an animal", but there's a whole range of what that means in practice. I've written stories where people have some phyisical characteristics of their animal, stories where they look just like normal humans but have some behavioral tendancies from their animals, and stories where people look like people but can transform into animals. I personally also tend to really enjoy writing about how society has shaped itself around the existence of hybrids or species, as a way to deconstruct and analyze our real world systems and relationships.
People's individual tastes range as with anything else. Some of my stories lean more into the animal portion of hybrids than others, so some readers might only be interested in certair iterations. I think tastes change over time too. When I wrote Sea of Indigo, I couldn't figure out how I felt about a romantic lead with dog ears, so I actually left the story vague about whether JK has dog ears or human ears or both. Now after writing these stories for two years, doesn't phase me at all to write about how comforting it is to stroke JK's soft bunny ear when you're stresed out from a bad day. 😎
Anyway, hope that lends some insight!
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
Out of the Water - Chapter IV
Synopsis: You were very proud to be a mermaid, thank you very much. You didn't want to be where the people were. Actually, you'd rather avoid it. Defending the merfolk was the biggest goal in your life... well, it was until you meet a certain pirate... it seems that your family really had a thing for humans, after all. Not that you'd ever admit it...
Pairing: Harry x reader
Warnings: none? Possibly grammar mistakes?
Part 4 of ?
Word Count: 2975
A/N: English isn't my first language, so I'll probably mess up some tenses, grammar and stuff. Go easy on me, please. Feedback is always appreciated
_________________________________________
You weren't an expert, but you had already seen that tree twenty minutes ago, and that rock, and that berry bush. Either Dude had no idea where he was leading the group or Ben was moving around really fast. Maybe, you should go after Fairy Godmother's wand instead, it was the most powerful magical object in Auradon, after all. If it had turned a pumpkin into a golden carriage, it would help an angst teenager to overcome her evil phase.
Gil stopped to eat some berries, and he was completelty mesmerized by them. The blonde boy even suggested that you played the icebreaker, praising Jay right after. The compliment took Jafar's son by surprise but he went on with it, and, in a matter of instants, he and Gil started chatting like childhood friends. Someone didn't seem very thrilled with the boys new found connection, though. Harry, whose attitude showed that he couldn't bare being left out, didn't waste time on making a scoff comment about the conversation.
As for you, it was gold to see the Harry's expression when Jay and Gil kept talking like they didn't hear the pirate's bitter words.
"They completely ignored you" you glanced over him just to see his smirk fading away from his face and turning into a scowl. Harry Hook didn't like to be overlooked, you could tell for sure, and you'd take advantage of that to bother him a little.
He deserved it, anyway.
"They are not even paying attention to you, how sad" you added, just to push his buttons a bit further.
It worked, he glared at you in such a way that made you glad that looks couldn't kill, otherwise you would have burst into flames. You took no notice of him, evil faces didn't scare you.
Hary catched a berry with his hook and ate it in a very dramatic way, drawing all attention to him. That guy was all about aesthetic, wasn't he?
"PS, your mutt went that way" he told Carlos and it was only then that everybody noticed that Dude wasn't around anymore. The boys followed to where Harry had motioned, leaving you and Jay, who grabbed a few more berries, behind.
"Look at you, all sociable and making friends" you teased him.
"Weren't you talking to Harry like, a second minute ago?" he threw your little chitchat with the pirate right in your face.
"I only want to get to know Uma's friends" you defended yourself, shrugging your shoulders.
"Why?" he questioned, intrigued by your answer.
Damn, you forgot you weren't supposed to know Uma at all.
"Well... you said it yourself and I quote, 'I have this thing about protecting every mermaid of the world', so if Mal keeps her promise and really let the VKs off the Isle, it means Uma will be staying in Auradon, and she is the daughter of Ursula, therefore, she is part of the merpeople who are under the protection of Atlantica and..."
"Okay, okay! I get it" he put his hand over your mouth, knowing very well that when you started talking about this subject, nothing could stop you.
In other situation that, wouldn't have stopped you to adduce your speech about the Isle and the rules of the sea, but since this was exacttly the reaction you expected to draw from him, you just pushed his hand aside.
You went after Dude, who finally seemed to be on the trail of Ben's whereabouts. Or it was what you thought, because all you could see were trees and more trees, and...
You heard a loud growl and out of nowhere a buffalo monster jumped from behind a tree, pouncing on the little squad. Good thing you all had good reflexes, because with the size of the claws of this over-grown furry ball, he would have ripped your guts out in the blink of an eye.
Now, more than ever, you regretted not going back to Atlantica.
What the hell was this thing?
Oh wait...
The blue and yellow combinantion...
The clothes...
Oh...
That thing was Ben.
Gosh, Audrey didn't take easily their break up, did she? You made a mental note of never ever dating her if this was how she treated her exes.
"Use your magic " Carlos cried out, urging you to do something about your beasty friend.
"My magic won't do any good. He needs true love kiss or something like that, and I am defenitely not a furry" you pratically shouted the last part, getting ready to defend yourself in case Ben decided to attack you again.
It was Gil who noticed something was wrong with the beast's hand.
"He's got a boo-boo that's why he is so cranky... My dad said his dad did not handle pain well, at all" he talked about his father's murder attempt on King Beast as if he was talking about the weather.
How precious was this boy?
Ben snarled at you again, and Carlos stepped in. Carefully, he approached the cursed boy, soothing him. You expected Ben to pluck out Carlos eyes or something, but the VK managed to pull the thorn out of Ben's furry hand with mastery, instead.
Nice...
Now what?
Out of nowhere, a blast of water flew right past your head and splashed all over Ben's beasty body. Slowly, he started to look less like a beast and more like an ordinary human being. You looked over your shoulder and saw Jane, who was holding a water blaster, it became quite clear that the Fairy Godmother's daughter was the one responsible for undoing partially Ben's curse. Who needed a magical wand when you had enchanted lake water, right?
You and Jay rushed to help Ben, holding him up and taking him to sit down on a rock nearby. The poor boy seemed to just have woken up from a nightmare. However, not even the enchanted water was strong enought to lift the spell completely, but it was funny to watch Jane splashing another blast of water on Ben's face in hopes of making his new grown beard and fangs to disappear.
"Don't worry" you reassured him "I'm sure Mal won't mind"
"Do you like it?" Ben grinned cheerfully and ran his hand over his beard, expecting your approval.
You hummed, not sure if he wanted to hear the truth. You looked away from your friend and saw Harry hitting on Jane and a jealous and protective Carlos interceding on her behalf.
You rolled your eyes. Being in Auradon was always like entering into some cheesy soap opera. The drama, the angst, the musical numbers that came out of nowhere...
While Jay and Carlos explained to Jane and a very confused Ben everything that had happened up to that point, you decide to stay away from the conversation to avoid questions that could lead them to realize you had helped Uma. Not that you were afraid of them, but if your grandfather knew about that, he would have a fit and King Triton's rage was feared in all seven seas and beyond. So, there you were again, left to talk to the villain kids who, although you weren't sure why, appeared to be a little apprehensive since Ben joined the group. Then again, it could be just your impression.
"Are you enjoying Auradon so far?" you asked the boys.
Gil went on a rant about what he liked so far, giving examples and detalied descriptions of flowers, grapes, threes, berries and all the things that you had in Auaradon and they didn't have back on the Isle, which was basically everything. He also said something about penguins and going on a jungle cruise with Jay, but you didn't pay attention because Harry leaned over you with that stupid smug grin of his.
"It's not as boring as I thought it would be" did he really have to come this close just to say that? You were pretty sure that his life's mission was to be as annoying as he could.
"Really? Everybody is cursed..." you replied, but it only made his grin to grow wider.
"Exactly"
You shook your head, what a weirdo.
"Hey" Gil called your name, making both you and Harry to turn your heads in his direction at the same time "Do you think Ben will kick us back to the Isle?"
Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Harry stiffen up and his confident expression fade away.
Was it possible that they were worried that Ben wouldn't allow the kids to come off the Isle as Mal had promised?
"No!" you set their minds at rest "Ben may seem a bit innocent, but he is compassionate and very smart. The VK Program was idealized by him and even if people didn't agree with it, he put his foot down. I know Ben and I've annoyed him long enough about this matter, so I am sure he won't abandon the Isle. Also, Evie will kill him if he shuts down the program... Thus, I think you're good"
More than that, you would never let him put Uma back on the Isle and if he did that, it would become your personal goal to make him regret every decision he ever made in his life. Actually, if Ben dared to back down, you'd raise hell.
Finally, you arrived at Evie's home and in the right time! You've been walking on land for too long and starting to feel a little dehydrated. All you wanted to do was to come in and have a glass of water. Luckily, the girls were already waiting for you at the door and, as you got closer, they greeted the group, glad that everyone was alive and safe. Uma even teased Mal about Ben's fangs. Funny how a few hours earlier they were at each other's throats and now it was like they had always been friends.
"You okay?" you felt Uma's hand on your shoulder and looked at her, smiling.
"Yes, of course. Just feeling a bit dried. Have I mentioned how much I hate being ashore?"
"I don't know. Maybe a thousand times, just every single day since we met. 'Uma, the human world is a nightmare. Humans are so annoying and stinky, swimming with dolphings is so much better than anything else they have up there' " she made an impression of you, putting her hand on her forehead dramatically.
You groaned.
"Don't mock my pain, and I never said that. You know I much rather swim with rays, they're way more friendly than dolphins. Also, I do not speak like that".
"But the attitude is on point" she winked.
Then, it was decided that Jane, Gil and Doug would go after Fairy Godmother, who surely had become a stone statue like everybody else, otherwise she'd have appeared by now. Or maybe not, after a 16 years old boy was crowned King of Auradon you stopped believing adults had any idea what to do. Therefore, Fairy Godmother could very well be drinking tea while expecting that a bunch of teenagers would solve all the problems.
As soon as you entered Evie's cottage, you went straight to the kitchen. Getting the biggest cup you found, you filled it with water and, to give it an extra punch, you added some salt. It was the closest thing you had to ocean's water, anyway. The glass was almost touching your lips; unfortunately, everything went wrong.
Harry Hook literally came out of nowhere and took the glass from your hands, you tried to warn him against it but it was too late, the next moment he had already drunk all its content. You'd have laughed when his carefree expression changed into one of utter disgust as he swallowed the water, if he hadnt spitted out all of it on your face soon after.
You did what any sane person would have done: you started yelling at him.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?" Harry screamed as loud as you "What kind of person drink salt water?" his pained expression showed that the taste still didn't have left his mouth.
"A mermaid, you barbarian!!" you shouted, doing your best to dry your face off.
"Were you trying to poison me?"
You scoffed at the pirate's words. Was he really accusing you? You had to give him kudos for his guts, because he lacked any commom sense.
"YOU STOLE MY FUCKING WATER!!" you shouted at the top of your lungs. If everyone in Auradon wasn't sleeping or a statue, they would have been able to hear all the nasty things you said to Harry, to which he replied accordingly.
It took you both a while to notice a third voice joining the riot, it was Uma's. Upon hearing the shouts and death threats, the girl entered the kitchen to find her best friends acting like angry sharks. It was almost amusing to see how fast Harry went quiet when he saw Uma there, asking if you two had gone mad.
"She tried to poison me, Uma!" he pointed at you accusingly.
"Excuse me!" you look at your friend, who couldn't be any less impressed by your petty explanations "He spit water on my face. MY WATER. I WAS GOING TO DRINK IT"
The sea witch's daughter rolled her eyes so hard that you could swear she saw her own brain.
"You know what, lass?" Harry got dangerously close to you, leaning slightly on the kitchen's table "I'm used to rotten food and sea water, but I have never tasted anything as dreadful as this. If this is what mermaids have to drink, I understand why so many of you want to leave the ocean".
You gasped and he grimmed, thinking he had finally gotten you. That pirate had just crossed the line and he had no idea who he was dealing with. You could put up with him stealing your drink and spitting it all over you, but talking bullshit about your beloved kin was something you weren't able to ignore. Uma would have to settle for having Gil as her first mate because you were about to kill Harry.
"You know what Hook" you said in your sweetest-sounding voice "You have the accent, the jacket, the hook, the smokey eyes... but you're still missing one thing... Better saying, you are not missing it..."
As quick as one could blink, you grabbed a small knife from the counter and stabbed it into the table close to where Harry's hand was lying.
"A FUCKING HAND!".
Okay, you wanted the knife to land close to Harry's hand, but it was a little too close... Actually, you failed to hit it for a couple of inches, had you done it a little bit to the left, Harry Hook would be lacking a finger.
Maybe you were kind of moody, after all.
Harry Hook had big blue eyes that usually sparkled with a boyish malice (and a bit of insanity), but, right now, he was looking at you with bulging eyes, one part of him didn't believe in what you just had done and the other was a little bit impressed by it. Of course all these emotions washed off from his face in seconds.
"DID YOU SEE IT, UMA? SHE IS CRAZY!"
"So, you can walk around spitting on people and threatening to hook them and that's okay? YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO JUDGE ME"
And the yelling started again, but Uma was having none of it and she knew both of you enough to understand that if someone did not step in, you wouldn't stop until one of you were dead.
"Stop both of you, right now!" she didn't even have to shout, just the look on her face was enough to make you shut up "We are on a very dangerous mission and we don't have time to deal with this silliness!"
"She started!"
"He started!"
You both cried out at the same time.
Uma took a deep breath, her patience running thin.
"I don't want to hear it. If you want to act like children, I'll treat you as such. Now, apologize to each other.
Harry and you exchanged looks of pure and sincere disgust.
"I won't do it" you threw your hands up.
"Neither will I" Harry declared, folding his arms.
"Great, so I'll call Evie and Gil and they can talk to you about the importance of friendship. I will personally ask them to sing about it"
Uma's threat was enough to make Harry turn to you and apologize.
Uma had real power over him. A true goddess, indeed.
"Okay, I'm sorry" the words that left his mouth were bitter and you knew he was dying inside for having to say them out loud, and that's why you enjoyed every single second of it.
In this moment, Mal called all of you to hurry up because they were about to go to Fairy Cottage, Uma gave you and Harry a warning look before leaving the kitchen and you went to fetch another glass of water. You were almost finishing to drink it when you notice Harry staring.
You took the last gulp and smiled innocently at him.
"I'm sorry, did you want some?" you asked.
"You didn't apologize" he raised an eyebrow and you put the glass down. Walking closer to him, you looked the pirate right in the eye.
"I just said I'm sorry, didn't I?"
"It doesn't count!"
"Yes, it does"
"No, it doesn't"
You hated to admit, but you were taking quite a liking to teasing him. Fortunately for you, Jay came into the kitchen to fetch you and Harry who were delaying the rest of the group. You couldn't help but notice the despleased look in the pirate's face.
Victory.
#harry hook x reader#harry hook x you#harry hook imagine#harry hook#descendants x reader#descendants imagine#descendants fanfiction#disney descendants#out of the water
144 notes
·
View notes
Photo
In the Game of Socks, You Win or You Unravel
The armies are gathering. Sides have been chosen, small victories won, and the lives of all our favorite characters hang in the balance. As we enter possibly the deadliest era in Game of Thrones history, we wanted to take a moment and celebrate some of the houses that have risen and fallen so far.
Some of these players have already faded away, and some are just coming into their own. Who will survive? Well, “when you play the game of thrones…” oh, you know the rest.
House Targaryen of Dragonstone
Colors: Black and Red
“Fire and Blood”
Conquerors of the Seven Kingdoms and ruling house on the Iron Throne for 200 years. This silver haired family had a talent for raising dragons and an odd idea of marrying their children to each other. Say what you will about their matchmaking abilities, but these fire fanatics made a cool throne that despite being super uncomfortable – a lot of people want to sit on.
Dragons are the name of the game, and the Mermaid Lace Tights provide an excellent scale texture that can be layered over colored tights, for whatever type of dragon you prefer to be (although these sold out fast, you can sign up from their page to be notified when we restock). We've also got a nod to classic fantasy adventure in the Beware of Dragons Midcalf. Perhaps not as gritty as the Fire & Ice world, but these dragons are ready to slay.
We also have a fun little tutorial for stocking adornments, if you'd like to take your dragon motif to the next level.
DIY: Stocking Adornments
House Stark of Winterfell
Colors: Grey and White
“Winter is Coming”
Brooding wardens of the North, House Stark has resided in Winterfell for thousands of years. Obviously, these guys know their politics and can do no wrong. Putting honor over duty or tact certainly never hurt them.
We've got some fine representations of wolves on the Wolf Midcalf, and the fuzzy tops of the Skye Furry Topped Crew socks definitely feel appropriate for the cold climate of the North.
House Lannister of Casterly Rock
Colors: Red and Gold
“Hear Me Roar!”
The descendants of Lan the Clever still reside at Casterly Rock and have a reputation for being the richest family in Westeros. They enjoy lording over others and keeping a tight grip on their control of the Iron Throne. Rumors say behind the scenes some members of this impressive and domineering family can be quite close.
You can prance like the royalty you deserve to be in the gold Lurex Tights (so shimmery; so pretty), and the Boss Lion Knee High socks need no explanation.
House Arryn of the Eyrie
Colors: Blue and White
“As High as Honor”
These anti-social recluses love to hold up in their impregnable Eyrie and let the lesser people fight amongst themselves while they watch from a distance. They pride themselves on a more refined way of life in the mountains, and making sure their sons are properly fed.
Take to the wind with the Barn Owl Knee High socks, and soar a sky as blue as these We Love Colors Microfiber Tights. Just uh, watch out for moon doors.
House Tully of Riverrun
Colors: Red and Blue
“Family, Duty, Honor”
House Tully is full of fish-eating gingers. This house loves to put family first even when it leads to their own foils. Their stubbornness can almost rival the Starks'.
The colorful fish of the Fish Knee High socks are a real send-up to this house, where rivers run as deep as the Dreamer Tidal Swirl Thigh Highs.
House Greyjoy of Pyke
Colors: Black and Gold
“We Do Not Sow"
House Greyjoy are a rebellious lot residing on the isles of Pyke. They like their lives full of hardship and suffering on the sea. They’ve fought for independence from Westeros on multiple occasions but have failed thus far. Maybe what is dead should die?
You can adorn yourself in the Greyjoy colors with the Soft Lurex Marl Knee High socks, or dress in fisherman finery with the Wet Look Lace Up Thigh High Leg Warmers.
House Baratheon of Storm’s End
Color: Gold and Black
“Ours is the Fury”
An ancient house created by bastard BFF of Aegon the Conquer, Orys Baratheon. Once he retired as Aegon’s General he claimed the Stormlands by marrying the daughter of the family that once ruled there. Orys proved that you can rise from your station not by what you know, but who you know [and marry].
Adorned with sweet blossoms, the Antler Blossoms Knee High certainly calls back to a happier time. If you wish to channel a little Baratheon into your day, you can wear their colors with the Lurex Industrial Net Tights.
House Tyrell of Highgarden
Colors: Green and Gold
“Growing Strong”
Highgarden houses the beautiful golden roses known as House Tyrell. This Growing Strong house supplies the best wine, food, and curly haired Knights to the Seven Kingdoms.
The Tyrell's signature rose is adorned on the Bloomes Anklets, while the twisting vines of the Ferns and Fiddleheads Knee High socks are certainly growing strong.
House Martell of Sunspear
Colors: Orange and Gold
“Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken”
These sun loving people who are fond of throwing spears reside in the southern most point of Westeros. Their lands are mostly desert, and the quality of their wine reflects that, as a reliable source confirms.
Luxuriate in the hot sands of Dorne with the Marled Scrunchable Socks, but be careful handling the Snake Net Tights...they've been known to bite.
House Mormont of Bear Island
Colors: White and Black
“Here We Stand”
Nobel and loyal bannerman to House Stark. Members are known to be outspoken and hairy.
We have two different takes on the Mormont's favorite beasty, with the Black Bear Tights and the Bear Walker Midcalf.
Night’s Watch
Color: Black
"I am the watcher on the walls."
A varying array of men in all black guarding the realms of the Seven Kingdoms from whatever lies beyond The Wall. They get the fun tasks of serving for life, taking no wives, holding no lands or titles, and having no children. Despite that, they are the only faction that gets to vote for their leader, so you win some, you lose some.
These Curious Crows Knee High socks are perfect for the "crows" of the Night's Watch, and while they're dressed in black, we recommend they try out the Elevation Compression Knee High socks, to keep them on their toes during those long watches.
Wildlings
Colors: whatever color, as long as it's warm
"Free folk don't follow names, or little cloth animals sewn on a tunic..."
Wildlings, or Free Folk as they call themselves, live beyond The Wall and got up to some fun adventures fighting the Night’s Watch for a few hundred years before uniting and heading south to avoid some rather unpleasantness with the White Walkers.
The free folk beyond the wall have always known of the dangers lurking so close to them. They need warm clothing like the Camel Hair Thermal Socks to help them survive, and, like our models of the Log Crew socks, are prepared for anything.
Followers of the Red God
Color: Red
"The night is dark and full of terrors."
These pyromancing wannabes hail from the East in Asshai and search the world over for the reborn form of their great god, R’hllor. They believe he alone can save the world from darkness with his flaming sword, Lightbringer.
Obviously red is a prominent color among followers of the Lord of Light, whose flames are depicted in the stripes of the Extraordinary Elemental Stripes. The red of the We Love Colors Plus Size Tights is almost worthy of a true believer.
White Walkers
Color: White (surprise!)
"Demons made of snow and ice and cold. The ancient enemy. The only enemy that matters."
Chilly AF humanoid necromancer folks with the brightest blue eyes you've ever seen. They hail from The Land of Always Winter and built their armies with the dead marching South to Westeros. They have one leader, determined to bring an eternal winter to the Seven Kingdoms. One Night King to rule them all…
This is it. The enemy we've been building to over the last six seasons. Their eerie, icy white skin can be approximated with the Glitter Fishnet Tights, and the Winter Midcalf socks offer a great view of the land they hail from. Winter is definitely here, with a vengeance. And for now, no one is safe.
~
This post was a collaboration between Dreamer Lucy and resident-Game-of-Thrones-expert Dreamer Ash.
♥Lucy
Socks by Sock Dreams • Free Shipping in the US • $5 International Shipping
Find us on facebook | twitter | pinterest | instagram | sock journal
#game of thrones#a song of ice and fire#game of socks#George r. r. martin#socks#we had fun with this one
23 notes
·
View notes
Text
Who Wants to Meet My OCs? (Part 2 - Gyateara)
First and foremost, I meant to have this whole series to be sort of churned out the same day/week as Part 1. Life.... didn’t let that happen. I then figured “okay, I’ll update the series every Sunday” and then yesterday came and went...
Regardless, from the NEXT POST onward, I’m aiming to update every Sunday. Now, back to the series itself.
Ever since at least November, I’ve wanted to do individual posts for each of my OCs so you could meet them all. Well, I’m finally getting off my butt and working on this massive project (we’ll ignore that I’m spending hours working on this instead of my ML fanfic.... >_>).
In Part 1, I gave a broad overview of this whole Meet My OCs series, as well as gave some generic IRL background to the two main worlds my OCs hail from:
1) Gyateara
2) Glitches
Well, in this part of the series, I’m going to stay IRL as I explain where each individual OC within the Gyateara universe came from. If this is interesting to you, feel free to check below the break.
If you’d rather just skip ahead to the character bios themselves, my first one about my Glitches character Willow should be up in two weeks (sorry for the wait).
If I’m talking about Gyateara characters, I should probably talk about the one that first birthed the world:
Amara Yori
Amara was my first-ever D&D character. I had known of the game for ages since my father used to play it frequently (and apparently roped my mother into at least running the monsters so she’d be included; ignoring that she’d rather not be included XD).
I really got interested in D&D when I was a teen and saw the gorgeously stylized covers for AD&D ver 3.5. My father had passed away before officially introducing me to the game (although we did used to play Dungeon all the time, so that was a start...), and none of my friends were going to touch that “nerd culture” with a 10ft pole, so I simply admired the books, but never actually played. Then I went to college and managed to Nerd Out.
Hubby (then boyfriend) offered to help me build my first-ever character, but in 2004 the D&D 3.5 expansions were so massive I had far too many choices to choose from.
So Hubby had me go through some of his extra minis, and let me pick out one that I really liked. With his help, I ended up with the 2003 version of the Wood Elf Skirmisher.
Based solely on this mini, I started building Amara.
Hubby suggested that I try out the Scout class for my first one, since I couldn’t choose between a Rogue, Ranger, or Druid, and Scout is sort of in between at least the Rogue and Ranger classes. For whatever reason - I can’t remember it now - I also decided I wanted to play a half-elf.
Upon reading the generic backstory description the D&D books had for the Scout class, I figured my character needed some sort of Tragic BackstoryTM that would explain her scouting skills. Things like trap finding and dismantling, masterful rope use skills, hiding and tracking skills, and connection to animals.
I was in a big The Vision of Escaflowne kick at the time - which shows up in a couple other characters’ backstories - and was fascinated with the history between Van Fanel’s parents. Van’s human father Goau stumbled upon Varie, a Draconian woman, in the woods one day. Draconians have the ability to manifest feathered wings which allow them flight. It was rare to see a Draconian, and her beauty - with her wings shimmering in the moonlight as she waded in a small pool of water - mesmerized Goau. He instantly fell in love and brought Varie home to be his wife. The duo seemed to love each other deeply. Amara’s parents, on the other hand....
I’ll get into more when I break down their actual bios, but I took the idea of “Human stumbles upon exotic non-human in the woods and instantly marries her” and twisted it slightly. Amara’s mother was very much emotionally, and possibly even physically (I haven’t confirmed this yet), abused by Amara’s father. Amara, being a half-elf, also had to deal with abuse at the hands of many of her fellow clansmen - both the human and the elven clans; pretty much exclusively because she was a “half-breed” (Yes, I was really into InuYasha then too).
As I kept building Amara, I kept adding more and more tragedy to her backstory. I do enjoy what I created, but, especially after reading a lot of posts here on Tumblr, I’m afraid her history is nothing but a giant knotted ball of cliches and tropes. For now, though, I’m running with it. Perhaps I can figure out work-arounds later....
I never did get to play more than a session or two with Amara before the game disbanded (which seems to be a repeat thing with my gaming group), but she still lives on in my mind, and eventually in Gyateara.
Natalie
As I mentioned above, The Vision of Escaflowne very much inspired me while I was working on the earliest bits of Gyateara. Therefore, Natalie is your basic Isekai protagonist.
For those who don’t know the term (I didn’t know an official genre term existed until about a year ago), Isekai refers to a subgenre of fantasy/speculative fiction where the main character is abruptly teleported from their world to a new one; usually one with a fantasy setting.
It’s a massive subgenre and includes most of the fantasy animes I’ve watched:
InuYasha
The Vision of Escaflowne
Fushigi Yuugi
The Devil is a Part-Timer
The Rise of the Shield-hero
The Saga of Tanya the Evil
The Familiar of Zero
How to NOT Summon a Demon Lord
Sword Art Online (technically)
.Hack//Sign (technically)
Digimon (first season, specifically)
Psyren (manga)
The list can go on, but that’s not the point of this post. Getting back to the actual point, I clearly enjoyed this genre without even realizing there was a term for it, and created my own Isekai story. Natalie is from our world, but is abruptly teleported to Gyateara’s main Northern Isle, where she must save the country from being destroyed by a power-hungry, put painfully charismatic, villain.
I had taken elements from Kagome (InuYasha), Hitomi (The Vision of Escaflowne), Miaka (Fushigi Yuugi), and I think I had Ariel (The Little Mermaid) in there as well at one point. She was - and still kind of is - just “Generic Isekai Female Protagonist”, which is one of the main reasons the story she was in failed so soon into NaNoWriMo back in... 2014, I think. Almost a solid decade after I started dreaming up her Isekai story. She definitely needs to go back to the drawing board a bit to be properly fleshed out.
Connor
He was from the same story as Natalie. Connor was a denizen of Gyateara’s Northern Isles, and became Natalie’s traveling companion as he helped her try to find a way home. Ya know, that old Isekai chestnut. I even leaned heavily into the cliche and had the two of them fall in love throughout their journey. Which would lead to a third-act twist of “Okay, we can defeat the villain, but then what? Could they stay together? Would Natalie stay on Gyateara? Will Connor instead try to go home to Earth with her?”
Real original. I know. Add in that Connor was a sort of Frankenstein’s monster of a character. Grab a snack, this is going to take a minute...
Connor’s traits included:
The basic backstory and drive of the player character in the video game Fable, in which his father was killed, his mother and sister tortured (and presumed dead, only to be proven still alive and captured), his home village burnt down, and he was taken in by the local guild so the guild master could train Connor to become the hero the GM believed Connor was prophesied to be.
The half-demon traits of InuYasha (InuYasha), which transformed him into a sort of were-cat. His mother, a full-demon, could become a 15ft (4.57m) tall panther with split tails. Connor’s half-demon heritage was hidden from him, and he only transformed under extreme moments of stress.
Yes. The “love interest is the only one who can snap the protag back from a monstrous rage” trope was heavily evident throughout the story.
His overall look was inspired by Link (Legend of Zelda video game franchise). His basic fighting style - swordsmanship and expert archery - was a sort of tag-teamed “thieving” from Link as well as Van (The Vision of Escaflowne).
A highly resistant, and begrudging submission to become the Hero of Prophecy lifted off of Tamahome (Fushigi Yuugi).
I know he was much more influenced by Van from Escaflowne when I was first making him. I even used Van as a reference guide when I tried to create character head shots of him. I just can’t recall now what else I swiped from that character.
I feel like there are also other male anime/video game protags I swiped traits from, but I can’t recall them anymore. Regardless, I threw them in a blender, and poured out the mixture that became Connor.
Jolene Crisslebalm
Ah, the character whose last name I always have to look up, because I can’t recall how I spelled it. Good starting point, right?
I am a very reserved person. In particular, a very sexually reserved person. But I do enjoy sex, and I love the act of flirting, and the “thrill of the chase” when it comes to dating, so a part of me always wonders what I would be like if I had let go of my reservations and just enjoyed the carnal pleasures of life.
So, two characters in particular - Willow (from Glitches) and Jolene - are my exploration of that Path Not Traveled.
A friend of mine was hosting a D&D campaign via Roll20.net, and wondered if I wanted in. I hadn’t been involved in a D&D game in a year or so at that point, and I’ve enjoyed playing a couple of one-offs with him DMing, so I leapt at the chance to join. I had almost always played a form of Rogue class (hence the internet persona) in previous D&D campaigns, so I decided to stay the course, but with a twist I hadn’t tried before.
I wanted Jolene to be a sort of reluctant adventurer, preferring instead to be a cat burgler, but I also wanted that sexual/sensual exploration of character. So, she was a traveling prostitute (not exactly legal without proper ties to a brothel; much like a Sex Trade Guild sort of thing), but she also used her “alone time with clients” to scope out the place to see if it’s worth robbing.
Fast forward about 3 years, and I end up watching the first episode of the Freeform Marvel series Cloak and Dagger... where I saw Tandy doing the same thing, but roofying her targets instead of sleeping with them first... Great minds, and all that?
Eh, Jolene figures “might as well make money off of them before coming back and robbing the rest... less to carry later...”
In the end, while Jolene had an.... interesting run... and one I actually did enjoy role playing, even if it did leave me a bit frustrated afterwards (a good frustrated?)... Jolene just didn’t fit the world the DM created, nor did she fit in quite as well as I would have hoped with the other players.
They were all AMAZING players, by the way. Some of the best role players I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, and such fantastic writers as well. BTW, we wrote out everything in the Roll20 chat log instead of verbally playing or using video-chat. I must admit, I was quite envious of their skills. It was just a tighter knit group, and I wasn’t able to feel out their play-style well enough to continue with the group. Eventually they all had to go their separate ways anyway when their schedules no longer lined up.
Still, I LOVED Jolene, and she was the D&D character I had the joy of running the longest, so she NEEDED to live on. She did, in my first NaNoWriMo “win”. I managed to hit those 50,000 words, but I still had about 3/5ths of her story to write.
See, while coming up with Jolene’s jaded attitude towards love and her pull towards a more hedonistic lifestyle, I went with the good old cliche of Heartbreak Was The Culprit. (With so many cliches in my character builds, is it a wonder why I just stick with fanfiction... the characters are already created...)
Jolene had her heart broken five times between the ages of 13 and 21. She was the type who fell quick into love, and fell HARD into it, and always felt intensely betrayed by her lovers when they left her. To be fair... they did routinely leave her for a woman of better social standing, or - in her youth - someone more willing to put out, or just straight up abandon her without so much as a farewell note. Eventually, she gave up on trying to find love, and joined a brothel, and then the thieves guild, and then headed out on her own from there.
The DM thought it unlikely that she was a prostitute for the better part of 5 years without a single pregnancy, so he rolled for it, and Jolene had one miscarriage, one still born, and one healthy child she gave up for adoption. I was not expecting to include that in her backstory, but it actually worked fairly well.
And all of that was the subject of my NaNo project: Lost Loves and Paramours. Jolene’s full biography leading up to the campaign: every man she fell in love with, every person she slept with, the one client who tried to murder her to avoid a scandal of his lust getting the better of him, the pain of her miscarry, the devastation of her stillborn, the heart break of giving up her surviving child, the struggles against a stalker, and her over-all YOLO attitude.
(Bitmoji is a beautiful thing...)
Well, second long post of this series is now complete. Next week, I’ll talk about the IRL inspiration for my Glitches characters. Thank you so much for indulging me on these epic ramblings.
#writing#LycoRogue writing#OCs#Meet My OCs#character creation#IRL character inspiration#writing process#cliches#long post#Gyateara#Amara Yori#Jolene Crisslebalm#Natalie#Connor#series post#2 of 17?#LycoRogue original
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
AU YEAH August - 11 - Mermaid
@auyeahaugust
Whoot! A three-part story! Because I have no shame.
Of Sun and Sea – Part One
Adrien plastered a fake smile on his face as he stared through his spyglass.
“Land, ho!” one of the men had called out a moment ago. Never had anything felt more like a death sentence.
So, this was it. His destiny was now in sight. Shut up in some stupid castle, with a stupid princess, and doomed to live out the rest of his life catering to her whims. Yay, him.
He sighed and lowered the handheld telescope. No escaping it now. Even if he could swim (which he couldn’t), and was brave enough to jump overboard (he wasn’t), these waters were reportedly home to mermaids.
They’d drag him down to the depths and feast on his flesh.
Adrien grimaced. Eww, what a thought.
No, at least with a spoiled little princess he had a chance. His father had drilled gentlemanly behavior into his brain since childhood, so he should be able to make her happy. He hoped.
A lot was riding on this marriage, or so his father had said. It was his job to make her happy. Forge a strong alliance. Then maybe the rich king would see fit to help his poor, poor in-laws—
“Welp, there she be, my royal pain in the neck. Your future kingdom.”
Adrien frowned and turned to face the ship’s captain. He’d tried to be nice to this man, he really had. He’d been polite, and hadn’t asked for any extras that his father would’ve insisted were his right by rank. Still, for some reason, this man hated him.
Adrien paled when he saw the captain was accompanied by several of his biggest men. The captain’s grin grew.
“O’ course, I wasn’t talkin’ ‘bout the land, me laddie. This bay’ll do quite nicely. Chien here says you told him you couldn’t swim.”
Adrien’s eyes sought out the tall sailor named Kim Chien. He’d thought they were friends! Kim didn’t meet his eyes, looking ashamed of himself.
“Gentlemen,” he said shakily, “there’s no need to do this. I’m sure we can come to some sort of agreement….”
“Aye,” the captain said, pondering. “I think the agreement’ll be that we keep all your things—and you go overboard!”
He pulled out his sword and brandished it in Adrien’s direction. Instinctively, Adrien shied away from it, his back hitting the railing of the ship. It took the captain’s men two seconds to grab his legs and lift him over the railing.
Adrien screamed as the water rushed up to meet him.
……….
Marinette was having a good day. The sun was bright, the tide was in, the dolphins were feeling playful and were willing to race her from one end of the bay to the other, and—hey, look! A ship! How exciting!
She swam over for a closer look, careful not to get too close to the surface. The last thing she wanted was to be seen and hunted down for her scales. Ugh, humans.
So barbaric.
Suddenly, a large object fell into the water right beside her. Marinette cried out in alarm and fled. They’d seen her! They’d seen her! She’d never see Mama or Papa ever again and they’d never know what’d happened to her—wait, was that a body???
She turned back, her curiosity getting the best of her. Not just a body! A LIVE body! It was thrashing around desperately, but—yeah, there was no way it was getting back to the surface like that.
Should she go help?
It might be a trick to get her scales!
She’d go over to help him and he’d grab her and never let her go and then they’d put her on a hook like a prize catch!!
His thrashing was getting slower… she swam closer.
“Bye, bye, me royal pain!” she heard a voice shout above them. “Enjoy yer undersea kingdom!”
Frowning, she turned back to the body that had obviously been thrown overboard. So, she couldn’t just help him to the surface and get him back to his ship. If she truly wanted to help him….
She blinked as he made one last attempt to make it to the surface, his body spasming more than actually swimming. He threw back his head, and for a moment, his eyes met hers.
She blinked.
Even underwater, they were the most lovely shade of green she’d ever seen. Framed by blond hair… he looked like sunlight.
Marinette loved sunlight.
Decision made, she swam up to him and pulled him to her. Cupping his face, she fastened her lips onto his and breathed air into his lungs. He clutched her like—well, like a dying man.
He tasted like cheese.
She wanted to laugh, but was more determined to get her new charge to safety first. She took firm hold of him and headed for shore, her tail and fins making much better progress than any human ever could.
………
Adrien was in heaven. He was sure of it. He’d been rescued from his watery grave by an angel, and now they were flying off to live in the heavens together—
His knee hit a rock. He jerked, crying out, and his head broke the surface. Instinctively, his lungs sucked in the fresh air. It was the most glorious thing in the world.
He felt something push him in the direction of the rock and suddenly realized he’d somehow made it to shore. Knees weak and shaking, he dragged himself up onto the beach, collapsing as soon as he was out of reach of the tide.
He just lay there for a moment, reveling in the ability to breathe—and the fact that he was alive—and had he been hallucinating? He could’ve sworn there was an angel….
“Are you gonna be all right?” a voice asked.
He laughed, and looked over to where it came from. “I am now, mi—AHHHHH!!” he screamed, scrambling to get further away from the water. There, swimming right next to him, was a—a—“You’re a mermaid!!” he screeched.
The mermaid gave him a droll stare. “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”
He froze at her dry tone. He didn’t know mermaids could have such a… a sense of humor? Weren’t they supposed to be monsters? Shouldn’t she be trying to lure him underwater??
“Are—Are you gonna eat me?” he asked, unable to stop cringing at the sight of her red tail behind her, dripping water.
She gave a short laugh, covering her mouth to hide a smile.
“No,” she assured him. “You’re far too skinny for me.”
“I beg your pardon?” Adrien asked, his pride rearing its head at her teasing tone. “I’ll have you know I have been told I’m one of the most handsome men in the Seven Kingdoms!”
To his dismay, she laughed again, cocking her head at him curiously.
“Are you trying to convince me to eat you?” she asked, grinning.
“N-no!” Adrien said quickly. “It’s just—I just—” He paused, taking in her teasing tone and easy manner. She certainly didn’t look like the sea monster from his storybooks. “You… don’t eat men?”
She shook her head at him, still grinning.
Adrien wet his lips, his curiosity piqued.
“So, you eat… fish?”
She looked disgusted. “Fish are friends. Not food.”
“Then… what do you like to eat?”
“Hmm, I love bread,” she said with a happy sigh.
Adrien stared at her, dumbfounded, as his mind took him back to the time he’d visited a koi pond with his mother. The way all those spotted fish had fought for the tiny pieces of bread he’d tossed in for them….
“You have spots,” he realized.
The mermaid blinked at him and looked back at her tail, which did indeed have black speckles all over its deep-red color. “Yeah, so?”
“Are you a koi mermaid?”
“Uh, no?” she said, obviously confused. “You’re a very strange human, did you know that?”
“Well, you’re a strange mermaid!” Adrien shot back.
She looked amused again. “And just how many mermaids have you met?” she asked slyly.
He scowled and looked away. “Counting today… one.”
“Quite the expert then, aren’t you,” she said drolly. Then she nodded behind him. “There’s a road back there that leads to the city. I’m sure you can find help there.” She turned, looking like she was going to head back out to sea.
“Wait!” Adrien cried. “Did you—Are you the one who saved me? What’s your name?”
She opened her mouth to answer him, then hesitated, looking away. Her gaze fell on her tail.
“I’m—Ladybug,” she said.
It was Adrien’s turn to give her a droll stare. “Ladybug,” he repeated. “A fish who’s a bug?”
“I am not a fish!” she exclaimed, sounding scandalized and splashing a bit of water at him.
“But you can’t even give me your real name? Sounds fishy.”
Her mouth twisted as she tried to fight a smile at his joke. Adrien mentally cheered.
“It’s complicated,” she finally said. “If anyone asks, just tell them you were saved by Lady Luck!”
With that, she dove into the waves before Adrien could get another word out. He stood up, watching her disappear.
“Saved by a mermaid,” he said quietly to himself, turning towards the road. “And a ladybug to boot. Maybe my luck’s beginning to turn.”
He set off on his journey.
To be continued...
#au yeah august#mermaid#of sun and sea#adrien agreste#marinette dupain cheng#spot the disney reference!
116 notes
·
View notes
Photo
Confession: I’m afraid of dying. Or I used to be. Maybe it’s because I used to wonder if I was. It all started when I was in my early 20s and I’d have these episodes while sleeping- an alarm bell would go off in my head and I would suddenly jolt up out of bed, gasping for breath, my body half numb, my heart pounding.
Doctors told me it was just anxiety, which in some cases, it is. But I knew in my heart that it wasn’t normal for me. I was the most laid-back, ce la vie person that I knew. I never had a panic attack in my life. But just in case, they convinced me to take antidepressants. Needless to say, they didn’t work.
For several years, I was able to ignore the symptoms. They were vague and would come and go. I told myself I was just out of shape. After all, I used to be a competitive swimmer who swam for hours every day and now I was so busy with work that I only worked out a few times a week. I might feel dizzy and short of breath after a workout one day and feel fine the next. Dehydration, maybe? But I drank water like a mermaid. Weeks later, I would feel weak in my left arm. I went to the neurologist. Then, it was my left jaw. I saw a dentist. I had lung tests for shortness of breath. The pulmonologist said my lungs were clear and my lung capacity was higher than average, probably due to being an athlete.
However, in my 30s, when I started feeling dizzy and faint after lifting a heavy object or leisurely walking around Target for thirty minutes, I started to get scared. I made a few trips to the ER, but the doctors and nurses did not seem worried. My EKG was normal. My blood pressure and heart rate were optimal. X-ray and blood work were stellar. I was just another healthy young woman who worried too much about her health. But just to alleviate my fears and to be prudent, they conducted a plethora of tests: a holtor monitor for palpitations, a tilt test for dizziness, echocardiogram, nuclear stress echo on a treadmill. I passed them all with flying colors. “Good news!” they would say. “It can’t possibly be your heart!” I tried to feel relieved, but the symptoms never went away. And since no one believed me, I suffered in silence.
As a woman, I am NOT alone in my experiences with the healthcare system. It turns out, women really are from Venus. We are just as unique chemically as we are in every other way and we have been historically misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed. There are many more of us out there doubting ourselves. I’ve read too many documented cases and verified studies about women who died too soon or too young because their symptoms were dismissed or misdiagnosed as anxiety or stress by their doctors. Why? It isn’t because doctors don’t care about women. It’s because medicine is not a perfect science. There are still so many things that we still don’t know about our bodies and most diagnostic tests have been tested on men. Therefore, women have to be the experts of their own bodies. We have to be own advocates.
Finally, last year, at the of 36, I could not ignore my symptoms any longer. I was a high school English as a Second Language teacher and I had to walk up 3 flights of stairs every day to get to my classroom, leaving me exhausted, nauseous and dizzy all day long. I would have to fake normalcy with my coworkers and students when secretly I felt like I was a ticking time bomb. I would spend my lunch breaks crying, checking my pulse and obsessively googling my symptoms. I eventually had to quit my job and dedicate myself full time to finding a diagnosis. Now, I can finally say that I’m on the right track.
The greatest relief came when I realized I wasn’t going crazy. All of my independent research finally led me to find more patient stories like mine. I found a support group of (mostly) women, some my age or even younger, with negative tests, no risk factors or family history, but persisting symptoms. It turns out that our main arteries are clear, but we have a dysfunction in our tiniest vessels, which can lead to a chronic lack of blood flow to the heart, a condition now known as microvascular disease. Unfortunately, it is difficult to diagnose as it is difficult to detect with conventional to test. Not only is it difficult to diagnose, but also difficult to treat. However, as more and more is becoming understood about the mechanisms behind it, (some experts believe it is an autoimmune or inflammatory response or genetic disorder), doctors are able to help us manage our symptoms to prevent future problems like heart attack, stroke, or heart failure.
Contrary to popular belief, heart disease is the leading killer of women of all ages. Women are more likely than men to have heart symptoms or even a heart attack despite having clear main arteries. Women are also more likely to die before, during, and after their first heart attacks. I’m not saying this to scare you. Knowledge is power and women are the best experts of their own bodies. If your doctor says you’re fine, but that little voice tells you that something just isn’t right, seek a second opinion. And a third. If it weren’t for the women in my Facebook support group, I would never have found a specialist for microvascular disease. He is one of only a few in the country. I am crossing my fingers for a definitive diagnosis in February.
But even without one, I know I’ll be okay. I have good days and bad days. I have a support system of friends all over the world. I’ll keep on living and searching for answers and ways to adjust to my evolving situation. I am more in tune with my body and I know my limits. I’m now more comfortable living in a state of “unknown”, which has helped me cope with living and the idea of dying. Life is precious. I don’t put off my dreams, but I also take one day at a time. I listen to my body instead of the advice of others. I allow myself to be lazy some days. I try not to feel guilty when I have to cancel plans. I try not to care what other people think. I’m kind to myself.
As a teacher and life long learner, my experience has become more intriguing to me than depressing. I’ve chosen to make lemonade from these lemons. I feel like a living, breathing science experiment. I do have some control over what I choose to do from now on. And although this condition limits me in physical ways, it has also put me on the path I am today. It’s made me love science and medicine. Made me live more deliberately and choose a healthier lifestyle. It’s made me more creative. Adaptable. Resourceful. Determined. I’m now teaching English online to kids all over the world. I’ve also started my own blog, something that’s been a goal of mine for years, but I never had the time when I was teaching in the classroom full-time.
I am not very religious, or even very spiritual (although I try to be), but this experience has made me consider the existence of fate and a higher power. Maybe I was meant to be struck with this. Quit my classroom job. Write this article. Have you read it. Save a life.
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
Miraculous Ladybug: Trip to Disney World AU
i’ve seen this AU a ton but I wanna put my own Disney World experiences into this AU. Also I know it’s more logical for this to take place in Disneyland Paris but i don’t know anything about it so they’re going to Disney World let’s do this
*disclaimer: this is extremely long
So Marinette is a total Disney fanatic.
She has all the movies from Snow White all the way to the end of the Disney renaissance period on VHS and the rest on DVD.
Her family goes to Disney World every three years and they go all out.
I’m talking Disney bounding. i’m talking enormous collections of hats, Mickey ears, and pins. 5 filled autograph books. scrapbooks of pictures of Marinette meeting the characters. they are experts when it comes to planning a trip to Disney World.
So one year her parents suggest that she invites her whole class to go with them.
Marinette’s like “hell yeah” and the class is like “hell yeah” which means Marinette gets to be in her favorite place in the world with her friends and ADRIEN. so now Marinette is panicking because this trip needs to be absolutely perfect.
Marinette plans the entire trip from the resort to the dining reservations to the fast passes. She is completely on top of everything, making a schedule around the dining, fast passes, and park events. It all must be perfect.
Trip day arrives, and after they’ve landed and settled in the hotel (the Contemporary), the class takes a bus to Disney Springs to do a little shopping before they go to the parks in the upcoming days.
Everyone goes off to find some sweet apparel and other merch.
Adrien is like a kid in a candy shop since he’s never been to Disney World, but he adores all the merchandise, and Marinette is just so happy because he’s so happy??
Marinette helps everyone pick out their headgear.
Juleka gets Maleficent ears, Rose gets Sleeping Beauty ones #girlfriends
Max, Kim, and Nino get Star Wars ones.
Ivan and Mylene get matching Minnie and Mickey ears
Chloe refuses to listen to Marinette’s suggestions and instead buys Rapunzel’s tiara
Alya gets the rose gold Minnie Mouse ears cause they are fabulous
Alix buys the Pluto cap
Adrien gets a simple Mickey hat with his name embroidered on it. Alya “Wingman” Cesaire tries to convince Marinette to get a Minnie hat with her name embroidered on it
Marinette freaks out and says no
Alya buys it for her (for the sake of love)
Marinette gives Alya the death stare as Alya places the hat on her head
Adrien is so happy to match Marinette
Next, they visit the art gallery which Marinette loves
Nathaniel admires every painting and even thinks of spending $600 on one of The Little Mermaid
Yes, it is that beautiful
They grab some dinner at The Boathouse which is amazing
Max suggests they all go to Disney Quest.
Marinette reluctantly tells him that it just closed down. They share a moment of silence
Next day is the first park day: Animal Kingdom.
Marinette does not fuck around.
She wakes everyone up at 6 am sharp because they need to get to Animal Kingdom before the park opens at 8 am so they can get to Pandora.
Marinette physically breaking into everyone’s room and ripping off their blankets
Even Chloe isn’t willing to test Marinette right now that’s how serious she is.
They take the bus to the park and head over to Flight of Passage (Best. Ride. Ever.).
Tom and Sabine go off and do their own thing (and do so the rest of the park days)
They hang around Pandora for a while, trying the food and watching the drum ceremony until their fast pass for the Na'vi River Journey is ready.
Alya strategically sits Adrien next to Marinette.
Adrien is in awe because he loves Avatar and he remembers every detail
Marinette continues to be so happy for him.
They ride the other rides
Adrien crying a little on Dinosaur as he flashes back to when Ladybug was almost eaten by Animan
Nino: “Adrien, dude, you know that ride was all animatronics, right?”
Adrien, traumatized: “Y-yeah I know.”
Rose holding onto Juleka during Expedition Everest
Kim holding onto Max during Expedition Everest
They do a little shopping, Marinette buying an Animal Kingdom pin just like every trip
Alix insisting they ride Flight of Passage one more time
Checking the wait time for it
It’s 225 minutes
Cue disappointed classmates
They watch the Rivers of Light show together, and head back to the resort
Next day: Epcot
Because the fast pass system sucks for Epcot, the class SPRINTS to Test Track before it gets crowded (or breaks down) because they had to choose between getting a fast pass for that, Soarin, or Frozen Ever After (and Marinette did NOT wanna wait on line for that so thus chooses Frozen Ever After for the fast pass slot)
Alya and Marinette bet Nino and Adrien that their car design will beat theirs and Nino and Adrien are all about it.
Alya and Marinette's car exceeds in all the tests and they brag about it for the rest of the day cause power girlfriends™
Next is Soarin which is Marinette's favorite ride in the park.
She literally cries from how beautiful it is
Adrien is kind of taken by how much she loves the ride and Disney World in general
He finds her passion inspiring
Time for world showcase!
Marinette's favorite pavilion is Italy because the food is delicious and the Venetian Carnival Masks in the store are her favorite
She traditionally buys a new one every trip
When Adrien visits the store in Japan, he is in literal tears
Anime products everywhere.
He spends $200 there on merch include a Sailor Moon keychain, a giant Pikachu plushie, and a Goku onesie
He also gets 6 different flavors of Pocky
Nino loves the Morocco pavilion (for obvious reasons) and he insists on snacking on the Moroccan food which turns out to be soo good.
Frozen Ever After time!
Adrien sings “Let It Go” with Elsa and everyone giggles but it's honestly adorable and he's pretty good at singing too??
They visit the other pavilions, including France where they all have a mini photo shoot together
Cue the class posing like Ladybug and Chat Noir in front of a fountain
Marinette and Alya posing as Ladybug and Chat Noir respectively
Adrien, seeing them pose, and asking Marinette to take pics with him in LB and CN poses
Why are these kids so clueless: a novel by me
They also meet Belle and Adrien cries a little because she’s such a believable Belle and he feels unworthy to be in the presence of a real Disney Princess
Marinette buys her Epcot pin, following tradition
They finish the night watching Illuminations in the Canada pavilion
Adrien lowkey watching Marinette watch the show because wow she loves it so much?
Marinette glancing at Adrien
Adrien quickly looking away and blushing (these kids I can’t with them)
NEXT: Hollywood Studios
Nino is SO HYPE. A park about film. It's everything he could want
Chloe insists on taking solo pics in front of Hollywood Boulevard
Everyone actually agrees
Adrien being the diva he is and Marinette close to fainting
First stop: Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster
Quick photoshoot in front of the guitar, posing like Jagged Stone
Second stop: Toy Story Mania
Marinette and Max going all out
Max surprisingly winning the game
Marinette claims her cannon was broken and therefore was the leading cause of her loss
Third stop: Tower of Terror
Everyone is lowkey scared to ride, even Marinette who has ridden it hundreds of times
Alix suggests that they all dab when the photo is taken
No one knows when the photo is taken on the ride, so they all dab like 5 times
The picture actually turns out super funny, and they buy it
Fourth stop: Star Tours
Nino, Max, and Kim fangirl so hard
Kim tries to join the Jedi Training show, but is #rejected for being too old
Alix steals a pair of 3D glasses from the ride
Fifth stop: The Great Movie Ride
Marinette ADORES this ride because it’s a tribute to classic movies
She loves everything about it from the cheesy tour guide to the montage of movies at the end
She ends up crying after the ride is over because she remembers that it’s closing in the upcoming weeks
Classmates comfort Marinette
Marinette buys a Hollywood Studios pin
They watch the Star Wars firework show and head home
Time for the most important park day of all: Magic Kingdom
Marinette does not hesitate, bitch
She needs this day to be the best of the best
Marinette wears her Minnie Mouse Disney bound which makes all the classmates’ hearts skip a beat
like she is so pretty in her red dress with white polka dots, yellow converse, block stockings, space buns, and bow in her hair
They get to the park and Alya insists on taking pics of Marinette in front of the castle
Marinette is a little embarrassed but she does it anyway
Adrien can not get over how cute she is like wow???
Alya catches Adrien staring at Marinette
Alya: “hey Mickey Mouse, why don’t you take a few pictures with Minnie?”
Adrien, caught off guard: “Wh-huh yeah sure!”
Marinette, using telepathy: “Alya, I will get you back for this.”
The pictures actually turning out amazing and Adrien makes one his phone wallpaper
Marinette once again almost passing out
They head to Space Mountain aka the best ride (before Flight of Passage was built that is)
Adrien loves it sooooo much he wants to ride it all day
but alas, the line is 110 minutes long after they exit the ride
They spend about an hour and a half in Tomorrowland
Next stop: Fantasyland, Marinette’s favorite area
Adrien finds the Princess Fairytale Hall and demands they get on line to meet Rapunzel, his favorite princess.
the line is 45 minutes, a bit much, but they let him
Adrien running up to Rapunzel and hugging her like a 5 year old child
He tells her how much he loved Tangled and that she is his idol
Rapunzel kisses his cheek and Adrien almost dies right there
Marinette gets a little jealous
Because it’s Florida, there’s a thunderstorm
The class quickly finding a place to take cover
Adrien trying to block the rain from Marinette so her outfit doesn’t get ruined
Marinette slipping on the wet ground and Adrien catching her
Cue insane blushing
They take this opportunity to see Philharmagic
Alix steals 3 pairs of the 3D glasses
Rose tells her to return them
Alix gives her a pair to keep her quiet
The storm clears out
3:00 pm: time for the Festival of Fantasy Parade!
Marinette singing the parade music because she knows it by heart
Flynn Rider winks at Sabrina
Sabrina actually fainting due to a mixture of heat, dehydration, and Eugene Fitzherbert
The paramedics come to take Sabrina to the infirmary
Sabine offers to stay with her
The whole class in awe when Dragon!Maleficent breathes fire
After the parade, the class proceeds to go on the rest of the rides
They dab during the Splash Mountain photo
Ivan comforts Mylene during the Haunted Mansion
Everyone sings “Heigh-Ho” on the Dwarf Mine Coaster
Also singing during Pirates of the Caribbean
Snack Break!
Marinette buys everyone Dole Whips because they are amazing
More rides, more photos, more fun
8:00 pm: 1 hour until the fireworks
Marinette insists that they must get their spot now
They play Heads-Up on Alya’s phone to help pass the time
Sabrina and Sabine rejoin the group
9:00 pm: time for Happily Ever After
Marinette has never actually seen this show because it’s fairly new
The whole class is in awe
Halfway through the show, Marinette bursts out into tears because the show is just so well done
The music, the fireworks, the projections on the castle, it just brings back all her memories watching Disney movies
Adrien sees this and puts his hand on her shoulder
Marinette panics, but Adrien gives her a soft smile and she’s smiles back
The show ends, being the perfect finale to a perfect trip
On their way out of the park, Adrien realizes that Marinette never bought her pin from Magic Kingdom yet and decides to buy one for her on Main Street
They head back to their hotel and begin packing for their departure in the morning
Adrien knocks on the door to Marinette and Alya’s room
He thanks her for making the trip so amazing and magical
He then pulls out the Magic Kingdom pin from his pocket and gives it to her as a thank you
Marinette, face as red as a tomato, freezes for a moment
Alya is eating this up
Marinette takes a breath and hugs Adrien, thanking him for also making this trip amazing for her
I definitely would like to go into more detail about each individual day, but here’s a summary of basically all the points I wanted to hit! If you have any ideas/headcanons please send them my way I’d love to hear them :D
#miraculous ladybug#disney au#ml disney au#adrienette#stella writes#jsdknkd i love disney trip aus save me#this is so long wow i'm sorry
328 notes
·
View notes
Text
cake by the ocean - ficlet
Fandom: The Adventure Zone
Pairing: Lup/Lucretia
Summary: Pirate AU. Takes place during The Stolen Century. The Starblaster crashes into the sea and gets taken hostage by mermaids. To meet their demands and get the spaceship back from the depths of the ocean, the gang have to take down the mermaids’ enemies above the water. Lup decides some changes are in order.
Co-written with @moonlit-trash | on ao3.
Taako wakes up with his face in the beach. Sand flutters away from his mouth as he groans into it. “Ugh… Lup?”
She’s shaking sand out of her hair as she watches him sit up.
“Taako…” His twin reaches down to peel a piece of seaweed off her brother’s chest. “What the fuck?”
The last thing she remembers is the Starblaster crashing real bad, the ship flooding—At least they cast breathing spells on everyone in time. Taako’s looking around the long stretch of beach they washed up in, not another person in sight.
“Guess we got separated in the water,” he mumbles to himself.
He blinks up at Lup, pale white sand still clinging to the half of of his face that was crushed into the shore. She tells him, “You look like a half-moon cookie.”
The corner of his lip twitches upward. “Mm. At least that.”
He holds both hands up, wiggling his fingers in the air, and she catches them.
“Well, we gotta find ‘em. Even with water breathing, I don’t trust that half of them will make it,” she says as she tugs him up, their feet splashing the water where it spreads across the sand each time a wave sweeps ashore. “I mean, c’mon. You’ve seen Merle.”
“They’re hella drowned if they didn’t wash up somewhere around here.”
Lup gave him a Look™. “Nah. We're the ones who casted shit on them to make sure they hella wouldn't drown. And we're… us. No way they fucked up that badly. The Starblaster's probably Starbusted, though.” She kicks some sand into the ocean, sadly. “Pour one out for our pimp ass spaceship.”
“Moment of silence.” Taako plucks a brown string of kelp out of his hair and plops it into the water. After a pause, he adds, “But we should go find it anyway. Fixing it's the only way to get out of here, and—more importantly—all my clothes are on it.”
“You're right. How am I supposed to borrow them if they're at the bottom of the ocean?” She smiles at him, before getting real. “Okay, yeah, but I am super not into the idea of going back into the water after it almost goddamn drowned us. Do you remember that scroll we saw—Jaws, Taako?”
He’s already talking over her—“Because it wants to keep my closet, shit, I'd kill for it too.”
“All right. I'll let you do the honors, since your bag is transmutation.” She stares down into the water, waiting for Taako to cast the spell. The water is clear enough that she can see their reflections. “Can I just say that we are definitely pulling off this beached look?”
“Fucking nailing it. All this sand on my face? Exfoliating the hell out of it.”
Finding the Starblaster was…
Well, they found it.
They also found that there’s mermaids in this world. And they talk. And they’re kind of mean.
“I want to go on record now—Where's Lucretia when you need her? I want this written down in both her journals,” Lup ranted. “Swimming fucking sucks. I move to demote Cap'nport for crashing our ship and almost killing us all permanently.”
Weighed down by soaked clothes, they trudged back out to the same beach they started on.
“Yeah, I can't believe they wouldn't let you at least take the clothes out of the ship.”
She gave him a Look™ again. “I sort of meant the destroying ten ships to get our ship back deal.”
“Ohhh. Yeah. Unfortunate,” he said, very unconvincingly. “But they're the bad guys harpooning cute whales, so who cares, right?”
That was the deal they had to strike with the mermaids, who wouldn’t let them go near the Starblaster.
“Yeah, you're right.”
Then she’s quiet for a bit. After walking long enough down the uneven shoreline, a town and some docks starts coming into sight.
“You think the others will be cool with it?” Lup asks. “If we find them?”
Taako laughs to himself. “Considering most of them were down to end a civilization before you slapped us with that wisdom... I don't think it's gonna be a big deal. Not if you’re in.”
“Yeah, remind me never to let you guys do missions on your own, all right?”
“Lup!”
Lup’s head jerks up at the sound of her name, coming from somewhere within the bustle of the town market they stumbled across.
“Taako!” the same voice shouts.
And they see a familiar face bobbing through the crowd, rushing toward them.
“You’re alright!” Lucretia says. Then her brows knit together when she gets a good look at them. “And... you're... still wet?”
It had been an entire day since the crash. Lucretia looked cleaned up, prim and proper as always. As if she found this town and got situated right away. That’s probably what the rest of the crew were up to while Lup and Taako’s first move was diving right back into the ocean that spat them out.
“Yeah,” Lup answers flatly. “We found the ship.”
“Oh.” Lucretia’s eyes pop open and her mouth forms a perfect tiny ‘o’ the way it always does when she says Oh. “That, that's great. We've been negotiating getting a different ship here, to use it to, to dig the Starblaster out.”
Lup elbows her gently and smiles. “I'm glad you're okay, too, you know.”
“I am! I am glad. I was looking for you before I found this place.”
“Mhm. Did you manage to salvage your journals? I need you to write something down for me…”
Lucretia visibly deflates at the question. Lup is taken aback, as that is the complete opposite reaction she normally had to being asked to jot something down.
“No, I couldn't bring my journals with me,” Lucretia says, “The ocean would destroy them so I, just, thought it safer to leave them. It sucked.”
“Oh, dear,” Taako chimed in. “Do you need a hug? Hug her, Lup.”
He wasn’t a hugger.
She wonders if Lucretia is a hugger.
“Well, I wanted to look for you guys, too,” Lup says, opting to test the waters by placing a consoling hand on Lucretia’s shoulder, “But Taako wanted to find the ship. Which... We did. But some mermaids are holding it hostage until we kill some whalers. It's a long story.”
Lucretia’s eyes dart up to meet hers, startlingly intent. “Did you say mermaids?”
“Yeeeeeeah,” Lup’s face scrunches into a grimace at the thought of them. She hears Taako make a little “eugh” sound over her shoulder and assumes he’s making a similar face. “They were pretty though,” Lup adds.
“Wow.” Lucretia sighs the word more than she says it.
Then she’s reaching into her satchel and whipping out a new journal and quill that she has already bought somehow. She’s an expert at writing while standing with a book in the crook of her elbow. Lup cranes over the page to see what she’s scrawling: Mermaids are real and they are pretty.
“Oh—This is important,” Lup tells her. “Probably deserves its own page.”
Lucretia actually instantly flips to a new page and holds her quill over it excitedly.
Lup smiles. “Swimming fucking sucks.”
The quill doesn’t touch the page. Lucretia looks up and meets her eyes. “Pardon?”
Once more, with conviction, Lup says, “Swimming. Fucking. Sucks.”
She doesn’t break eye contact. Lucretia blinks at her.
“You know how hard it was to find our ship in the entirety of the bullshit ocean? Swimming sucks. Jot that the fuck down.” Lup’s fingertip creeps over the top of Lucretia’s journal to tap the blank page. “Also,” she adds, quickly and as if it's not important, “They said there's some asshole whaling ships killing their friends and we can have the Starblaster back if we take ten of them out.”
“Oh, wow. I. Okay.” Lucretia’s eyes dart down and she writes ‘swimming sucks’ in tiny letters on its own page, then flips back to write the other stuff. “We can't actually do that, though. That would get us in, uh, deep trouble. With the human people here.” (By the way, Lucretia is talking at the same time that she’s writing down what Lup just told her, and it is mindblowing. Lup can’t even prepare spells and listen to music with lyrics at the same time. Lucretia keeps talking without looking up, unaware of how gone with the wind Lup’s dome is right now.) “We would basically be... I think we'd be pirates.”
Taako leans in and whispers, "That's so fucking sexy."
Yep.
“It's either that or murder a bunch of mermaids who just wanna protect their friends,” Lup says. “Which isn't something I'm willing to do.”
Lucretia is quiet for a minute, reading over what she wrote, thinking it over. Eventually, she concedes, “Yeah, that's worse.” She tucks her fresh journal under her arm and asks, “Do you... You wanna see the new ship?”
“Hell yeah, I wanna see the ship,” Taako says. “What'd you cook up for us, Lucretia?”
With a jerk of her head in the direction of the docks, she spins around and starts leading them to it. Along the way she explains how they got it. “Well, we found an ad for someone who wanted to commission a crew, and I... kind of told him the opening act of Treasure Island. He bought it and gave us a ship in return for following a treasure map I drew twenty minutes beforehand, and supposedly bringing back the treasure.”
Lup high fives her first, because that’s definitely worthy of it, then shoots a look at Taako and mouths, Did you read Treasure Island?
No!, he mouths back, looking incredulous that she even asked.
She turns back to Lucretia. “Nice job. Were you able to find the others?”
“Uh, most of them. I washed up with Merle, we found Magnus and Davenport nearby. Still no Barry. Merle and Magnus are combing the beaches for him.”
“Fuck. I knew he couldn't swim,” Lup mutters darkly.
She doesn’t have much time to linger on that worry, since they approach a super badass-looking pirate ship that Taako flips over.
“Is that our ride? Is that it? Hell yes, fuckin dope.” He rushes up the gangway and poses on the ship. From up there, he calls out, “Tell me how cool I look!”
“You look like a nerd!” Lup shouts back while flashing him a grin and two enthusiastic thumbs up. She turns to Lucretia to ask, “What’s her name?”
“Who?”
“The ship. Obviously. It needs a name.”
“Oh,” her eyes and mouth do that little perfect round ‘o’ thing again, “Right. Hm. What's a good ship name?”
“LUPCRETIA,” Taako shouts from the deck.
Lup waves her hand and the letters Lupcretia appear on the side of the ship. On her face right now would be the world’s largest shit-eating grin. The current world record holder for most shits eaten in a minute. Lucretia is gaping, either horrified or delighted.
“You like it? I think you ought to Captain the fuck outta this thing.”
Lup thinks she sees a blush creeping over Lucretia’s face before she covers her face with her book. “Ohh my god, no.”
“Why not?” Lup prods, eyes glittering with mischief. “You're smart and good with both your hands, Captain.”
“I—Thank—?” Lucretia stammers, words muffled by the book over her face.
Lup is persistent. “Besides, there's no way the rest of us wouldn't steer this shit directly into an iceberg or something, like in that scroll, Titanic.”
Lucretia’s book comes down, and her face looks surprisingly composed. “No, I'm pretty sure Captain Davenport should handle it. We’re in the tropics, anyway.”
“Come on, he literally just crashed our other ship. You're gonna trust him with another one?” Lup’s eyes veer skyward in exasperation.
“You—You can't just make me captain, the spot's been taken.”
“MUTINY,” Taako yells down at them, leaning over the ship’s railing.
“Yeah, Taako and I already decided, and you think anyone's gonna argue with us? We're pretty insufferable as a team.”
As if on cue, Lup hears two familiar voices shout her name simultaneously behind her back. Her friends came back at just the right time.
“Merle! Magnus!” She greets them with relieved high fives. “We're going to be pirates now and Lucretia's gonna captain our ship, you down with that?”
“Hell yeah,” Merle says, without taking any time to think about it.
“Super down,” Magnus agrees before bounding up the gangway to reunite with Taako.
Lucretia’s careful composure melts into an expression of utter disbelief.
Lup slides a smug look over to her. “You've been overruled. We need to get you a cool hat. Merle, let her borrow your eye patch, she's gotta get the look right.”
Merle doesn’t hesitate to pull it off his head.
“No! Put, Put that back on, I don't want it. That's gross.” Lucretia scrambles to swat away his offering.
“God, fine,” he scoffs, deeply offended, before storming off into the ship.
Lucretia’s eyes flit from the ship, to Lup, to her own feet. After a moment of consideration, her good old composure comes back.
She gives in. “I'll take a cool hat.”
Lup’s grin is nothing short of beaming as she conjures the single dopest captain’s hat of all time. She hears Taako make an inarticulate noise of intense jealousy in the distance.
“I want to do the honors,” Lup insists.
Like a real chill coronation, she lifts the hat over Lucretia and places it on her head. She spends a few seconds carefully shifting the hat to the coolest possible position. Lucretia is looking at her the entire time, only giving a hesitant smile. Lup conjures up an eyepatch too, just for shits and gigs. She dangles it in front of Lucretia.
“Look, this patch is, it's cool, but, I kind of need both eyes. I use them a lot.”
Lup sighs theatrically. But she’s not actually all that disappointed. This is still a win. “As long as you recognize that it is, indeed, cool as hell—” She slips the patch over her own eye for aesthetic.
Lucretia’s eyes widen and her lips part in the shape of a neat little circle, but she doesn’t say anything. Lup is 100% sure that she is very visibly thinking Oh shit, that’s so hot. Lup is definitely like, I know, and tries to wink, but her winking eye is covered behind the eyepatch. It still kinda works out though. She’s pretty sure she’s just that fuckin’ cute.
Lucretia doesn't know how to handle this. She just sort of walks away, quietly screaming with her mouth closed. Lup follows behind her new captain, smiling to herself.
24 notes
·
View notes
Text
Travel Secrets by Hanli Prinsloo: You’ll Never Travel The Same Again
(Bloomberg) — At Bloomberg Pursuits, we love to travel. And we always want to make sure we’re doing it right. So we’re talking to globe-trotters in all of our luxury fields—food, wine, fashion, cars, real estate—to learn about their high-end hacks, tips, and off-the-wall experiences. These are the Distinguished Travel Hackers.
Hanli Prinsloo grew up on a horse farm outside Johannesburg, where she dreamed of being a mermaid. This led to her passion for free diving and a decade-long competitive career in the sport, breaking 11 national records in South Africa.
Her love for the marine world inspired her to found the nonprofit I AM WATER Ocean Conservation in 2010, which works to protect aquatic environments and educate young people in underserved communities.
The organization hosts workshops for middle-school students, in which they spend two days at the beach, snorkeling and learning about marine ecosystems.
She also leads free-diving trips through her I AM WATER Ocean Travel organization with her partner Peter Marshall, a former American competitive swimmer who’s broken eight world records.
Prinsloo’s career has taken her around the world to such places as Madagascar, Mexico, and Mozambique. She currently lives in South Africa with Marshall.
Here are her travel secrets.
A sarong is the ultimate multitasker
It started with always taking one because it’s so comfortable to have on the beach, just as a towel of sorts, to cover up. And then I started realizing on layovers in cities just how practical they are. Your sarong can work as a scarf, or one time a dog was lost on a mountain, and we were able to use a sarong as a leash to bring it down.
While hiking Table Mountain in Cape Town, we found a dog just running around frantically, and it was going to overheat. We managed to catch it, and we first used the sarong to create a bit of shade for it to rest in, and then were able to tie it onto the collar of the dog to lead it down the mountain.
Sometimes, all you want is to cover the ground and feel like you have a space you can make your own. Earlier this year, [my partner] Peter had a back injury, and we were using the sarong as a way for him to lay down on the floor. Also, if you’re in a Mediterranean country during fig season, you can use it to put bunch of figs into and use it as a basket.
I have one that I love from Bali, then I have one very bright one from Madagascar, and right now, I’m very much in love with a linen one from Istanbul. I love supporting local artisans wherever I travel.
Don’t pack anything you don’t wear in everyday life at home.
What often happens when we travel is we pull out clothes and think: “Ooh, I’m going to wear this pretty skirt,” or “This is my chance to wear this dress.” But if you don’t wear it in your everyday life, don’t take it with you, because you’re not going to end up suddenly having the opportunity to wear something you don’t like at home. I ended up realizing the staples I like when I’m at home are probably going to be what I want to wear [when I’m traveling.]
Read: Use These Tricks While Travelling to Protect Your Clothes
Take care of your ears to avoid pain while flying.
As a free diver, your ears are your most valuable commodity, because if you have issues with your ears, you can’t dive. So now I’m always traveling with a sunhat and a beanie, in case it’s going to be windy. Anytime I’ve been anywhere in salt water, I rinse my ears. If I think that a hotel or a public pool looks like a busy place, I make sure not to dip my head under. And never in hot tubs—ugh. When I was a kid, my mom told me a story that everyone who dips their head under in hot tubs, their earwax was melting out.
We all have to equalize our ears when we’re flying, and if your ears are not in a good state or if you have congestion, you can really get pain in your ears when you’re traveling.
Read: How to Survive the World’s Longest Flights in Style
There’s more to Africa than safaris. The surfing and diving are often overlooked.
With Africa, I wish people would just understand there’s so much more to it than safaris and the private islands. For example, if you’re into surfing, you can get some of the best surfing in the world on Angola on the west coast of Africa. And it’s so much more affordable and a completely uncrowded lineup. I really love the South African coastline, I feel like people come to Cape Town for the mountain and the wine and the food, but diving around the Cape Peninsula, for me, is some of the best diving in the world. Along the South African coastline is just phenomenal surfing and diving, and once you hit Mozambique, you’re in a tropical paradise.
Even places like northern Sudan, on the border to Egypt—for diving—is phenomenal. And Egypt has taken a bit of a bad rap lately for people not wanting to travel there for safety reasons. The media reports on a few bad things happening, and the whole country gets written off, and the local people are really suffering from that.
Read: 5 Offbeat Honeymoon Ideas According to Travel Experts
I love a small village on the Sinai Peninsula called Dahab; that’s where I do some of my best free diving. I would really love to see if one could get to do some diving somewhere around the Somali coast. You would probably need to make some friends with pirates, but can you imagine how absolutely pristine the coast must be, because nobody has been there, because the pirates are there!
Do a vinyasa flow at 30,000 feet.
I have this rule with myself that I have to empty my water bottle on the plane, and then I have to go pee, and as soon as I go to the toilet, I do some yoga in the passage. So I’ve designed this whole little sequence of stretches that are easy to do on the plane and don’t require [your hands] to touch the ground.
It’s a series of standing poses and stretches that really work into your glutes, your hamstrings, your quads, into your shoulders, open up your chest. Everything is getting compressed when you’re sitting for that long. And your hips: I hate sitting at 90 degrees for so long.
I literally just do it in the back of the planes, where the loos are. People don’t care, people are asleep or watching movies. You bend your knees and go into chair pose and then lift your right ankle up and put it on your left knee. Then I put my hands up over my head and come into a standing tree. And then I take a big step back and go into a low lunge and drop my knee on the floor. And then I bring my arms up into a stretch while my one knee is still on the ground.
I have a whole little standing vinyasa flow without doing a chaturanga, so I don’t have to put my hands on the ground. It’s this little flow I developed to teach people how to do yoga on the beach without getting your hands sandy.
Take a swim in between your flights at Qatar without leaving the airport.
The airport in Qatar [Hamad International Airport] has a 25-meter (82-foot) swimming pool in the roof. They have an airport hotel, and if you’re staying in the airport hotel, then you have access to the swimming pool. But even if you’re not staying in the hotel, you can pay $50 to use the swimming pool and the adjacent steam room and showers, and they have a whole spa up there. If you’re getting an $80 massage, the pool is free, and then I’ll go for a shower and feel like a whole new person.
Let your Uber driver know that you’re being followed.
When I’m in an Uber, I make sure that my driver has done a lot of trips, that he has a really good rating. When get in the Uber, I share my ETA with Peter, so that he can track where I am. I even send Peter a voice note on my phone saying, “Hi, I’m on my way, I’m in the Uber, I’m passing this place, I shared my ETA with you, and everything’s fine.” Then the Uber driver knows that someone is tracking my drive.
Create a “shelf of inspiration” with your travel souvenirs.
We often end up buying beautiful—whether it’s carved or made out of ceramic or porcelain—small ocean creatures. I have a bohemian one from the Indonesian islands, a manta ray from Mexico. We have various kinds of whale sharks, a humpback whale, a sea turtle, a dolphin. Peter and I have a shelf in our office with all of these creatures on it, and we call it our shelf of inspiration so that whenever we get tired or fed up [with our conservation work], we look up and say, “it’s for you guys, it’s for you!”
The post Travel Secrets by Hanli Prinsloo: You’ll Never Travel The Same Again appeared first on Businessliveme.com.
from WordPress https://ift.tt/2Lubfi4
via IFTTT
0 notes
Text
Madison Square Garden's (MSG) CEO Doctor O'Connor On Q4 2017 Results.
I had actually been pointing out the slice for a long time in posts, saying exactly what I increased as well as just what problems and enjoyments I had, as well as a few of the viewers inquired me to present them photos of my part. To finish you simply need to fix the canvass roofing system back onto the landscape rotunda as well as secure this link in location making use of bungee wires from an identical different colors and the steel grommets. The university holidays are actually looming so our company hope the landscape is going to be actually appreciated by loved ones even more.
Perhaps that is actually why our experts keep the Miracle Garden thus ferociously - not to wax nostalgic regarding the miracle of childhood, however to keep the miracle of childhood along with our team through maturity. Ensure to inspect exactly what dirt depth each vegetation species you select for your garden is going to require.
The firm has offered its stake in Reddish Lobster and also put an importance on responding to rudiments at Olive Yard. Our company resided in that residence for 5 years, and our backyard gave pride and joy for us both. At that point a yard gnome sitting next to your pool will most definitely invite the backyard mermaids in, if you are actually into fantasy. Of course you ought to recognize that garden gnomes are company caring fellows.
The business has actually progressed with time, steered by +40 accomplishments and also has become a mid-sized production gamer available for household pet and garden items. Challenging landscape design is actually every aspect of a completed garden concept that doesn't expand - in other words all the pathways and borders, the fencings, patio areas and walls.
Remember what your mama or even daddy ased if or what your moms and dad told you of, as well as include it to your landscape. The yard has progressed in to a traveler location that pulls countless visitors each year. Also in 2014 (2015), you may go through messages on social media sites (e.g. twitter and facebook) and discuss various short articles that revealed this dramatization.
Last night our experts made a decision to obtain yard house intends done, you know provide our lawn a little enthusiasm! When you have loaded your yard along with a range from nontoxic plants as well as traits have actually started to flower, you might discover that a handful of bugs might possess transferred and also made your brand-new garden their residence.
As an example: if you have an outdoor patio region, which ends in a yard wall surface and also some improve to your yard as well as flower gardens, then you possess extremely precisely indicated the intention you eat the various portion of your outside area.
Here's manure advise on the leading three kinds-- cow, chick, and steed-- and also effective ways to utilize that in your veggie landscape. The final however not the least is the MBC drama My Unfavorable Man, which to begin with broadcast on March 2015. The additional comprehensive the extent of the yard shed plannings, the much more effectively you may create the job.
In the short-term, SolarEdge has a remarkable opponent in Enphase, as each try to take a greater reveal of the 2 gigawatts of MLPE shipments counted on around the world in 2015. Suggestion: Line the backyard with papers to help keep weeds coming from growing up therefore quickly.
I am trying to navigate Garden PA's computer system (as well as newly proposed cordless keyboard and also computer mouse) while he carries out relatively the very same on his brand-new tablet computer (enthusiastically offered me his aged one. With a well paved course, you may take away the danger and mess while you appreciate because your garden is receiving the much required rain.
0 notes
Last Seen Blogs
crxuniverse-blog
crxuniverse
greenteakaros
lets pretend i said something smart here
maronkumanomi7
K-POP_PV_お気に入り
moo93stuff
Bored, Bored, Bored