Part II

 Ah, Autumn. God, I swear if I ever win the lottery, after everything else is taken care of, I'm getting a property in like Maine, or New Hampshire, or Massachusetts, just to go stay there for the Fall season. Perhaps throughout the Winter. Actually, no that sounds good. I'd go Northeast for the latter portion of the year... and... keep fighting Melania until Spring.

It really is the most wonderful time of the year. I feel the most excited to do stuff around this time. But lets get cozy and get back into Part II.

 

EVO 2023 | Las Vegas

This was my first year attending EVO. Actually, this was my first out of state thing. We usually go to Vegas to become magnificent flailing worms. We were still to become magnificent flailing worms, but with slightly higher poise stats.

Since Mr. Chicken and Lifa had already been in Vegas for FanFest, Homdray, Koos and myself made the car ride there to meet them. I was a musubi machine. I made like 19. Some were eaten before we left but figured they'd be good for the trip.

The ride went pretty quickly. We arrived early without hassle or much traffic. Mr Chicken greeted me at our hotel. As we were on our way to our room, someone was coming towards us down the hall that I quickly glanced at and glanced away because I'm afraid of eye contact with strangers. From our distance, his style looked familiar but I didn't think much of it and kept going. As our distance closed, we both slowed to an awkward pause like two confused dogs at a dog park. He looks at me, I awkward look at him and we're staring at each other for what felt like 3 years (it was a millisecond) until I go JESSE??

We were on the same floor, lolz. He was there with his lady for work, it was so nice to see them throughout the weekend! Gotta get food again. Imma bug him for another commission. D*Con is gonna be dope.

When we got to the room, Mr. Chicken set out some bath bombs he surprised me with. :3

They smelled so yummy and were so glittery.
HUEHUEHUEHUE

We rested for a bit before going back to the spot. Irish coffees welcoming us back. And I had to get my shepherd's pie.

Then we wanted to get our badges. It wasn't too bad of a wait. The whole Chipotle thing was weird, though. So random.

And since it was the night before the show began, we had some fun.

Mr. Chicken was tired from the day and stayed behind to rest. Since he'd been there since the week before, he was kinda meh and not feeling up for stuff before the event. So we were gremlins at Lifa's salty suite until some wee hours of the night.

Lifa was at EVO for work. A project he'd been working on for forever was finally being showcased and the hype was real. He invited some of his work peeps up. I remembered someone I know was gonna be there so I nagged him to come through.

After Koos kept wrecking me in GGST, they went at it in SF6 for probably eons.

Just some goofs gaming, man. This the good life.

Was cool having different peeps come through throughout the night. Was so chill. Oh god, I'm getting flashbacks to this one heckler guy. Oh- oh god. I'm imagining him being there. Oh no. Ugh.
As you can imagine, there was this one guy..

Don't misunderstand. Support for the homies in pools is great. I just draw the line at roidy heckling. There's like, tasteful, confident encouragement, right. And then there's just the one aggressive personality roidy type screaming in a crowd of chill people trying to focus on the match.

Still, was an awesome night. Lifa was gonna be busy all weekend so this was a nice thingie before it got nutso.

GG.

The next morning, I forget what woke us but we watched the sunrise from our room.

:)

We slept in a little to wait out the line to get in. It's a good thing we did. By the time we got there, we could just walk in.

First stop was to go see if we could see Lifa!

First round was a miss. So we wandered a bit to check out the floor.

CYOOOOOT
Ahhhh, she was the first Faust I saw. So adorable!

We found him!! He was running around like a madman all weekend. Man, they're so lucky to have him. I'm not gonna aggro into it like I did with Homdray last time lmao, but Lifa is seriously keeping shit organized lmao. Like. That's all I'm gonna say. He's such a good person that cares about his work and... they're really damn lucky he's looking out as hard as he does.

But look at this Leeroy.

He was like "lets take a picture together ^_^"
I couldn't say no lol.

Ahhh they looked so cyooot! Honestly wasn't expecting to see much of Bedman anything so this was pretty cool. I was gonna lowkey wear my Delilah outfit but had a change of heart last minute. :3

WHY IS HE SO CYOOT

Tis a mystery darker than the deepest wormhole.

Literally wormholes are just phat gravity docking. TELL ME I'M WRONG DO IT

TKoos needed our support. So we supported him.

Didn't make it out of pools but was still dope to see him there doing the thing.
After that, there wasn't much going on, so we went to get dinner at the spot again. One of our friends gave a Cosmopolitan a try and he liked it. Fcukin yes.

We went back to watch the MK1 stuff. Right before it was Killer Instinct stuff and it tripped me out. Killer Instinct is getting updated after like 50 years lmao. That was a cool surprise.

We were pooped by the end of the first day. So much happening. So much stimulation. Bren fog. I got to go back to our hotel room and melt in a tub of glittery, yummy scented water.

Remember, I said no tissue builder in my hands after I die! :D
They're perfectly ugly.

The next morning we sought out a Lifa. And we found him!

Couldn't really say hi to him but we were there supporting him from a distance. Was really cool to see everything come together finally. People really seemed to enjoy the demo and the hype felt great. I like how fluidly it plays. Doesn't feel as heavy as other fighters. I think that's my biggest thingie... why I like GGST and KI more than SF or Tekken. When movements have a weight to them I like, can't. Or something lol. Idk. But! Yeah, Project L was fun. He got us lanyards. Tangks mayne. ^_^

Ahh, this Hsien-Ko was amazing! A decadent palette cleanser among the, like 90 Morrigans. She looked seriously fantastic. Anji is cute uwu.

Homdray and I wandered most of the second day. I saw JunkFood had this really cute SWORL prototype out and wanted to try it. I think I returned to this booth like 10 times to play Elden Ring on it lol.

I kept telling Homdray to try it. He wouldn't. Stubborn! But I was determined to try and down Margit so I kept coming back. This was funny because shortly after I did a few attempts and bought a micro because they were about to sell out, the booth announced that anyone who could defeat Margit would win a free micro lmao.

NOW he tries it! We didn't get it, obviously. The line got loooooooooooong though. And I got spicy. They kept changing the rules and I got fucked out of more attempts to fight him. I got him down to half health both tries. They said at first everyone got 1 attempt and had to get him in under 5 minutes. Then they changed it to 3 attempts. Then back to 2 by the time it was my turn again. And they started my timer when I spawned at the site of grace, but when Homdray started they started his timer after he entered the fight. And then everyone else got multiple attempts. Inconsistency is... maddening.

Despite that, I really liked how the SWORL felt. I stupidly only used it on Elden Ring, but I can tell from the analog and just how it felt (I have small hands) that it's gonna do well. It's nice for people like me who like keyboard and mouse over pads and feel like this is like... the missing link or something. Idk. It's nice. I'm definitely getting it when it comes out.

Meow meow.

MK1 was fun! And all the new stuff that's been announced recently is awesome. I'm not huge on MK anymore but gotta admit, it was fun. We hosting a thing when it releases. :3

That evening was cuckoo. Mr. Chicken was back in our room hiding but we all met up for One Piece. They were excited to catch the new episode lol. Some stuff went down and with all the excitement I think our brains blew a fuse. We had reservations that night to go be fancy binches but wasn't sure if it was gonna happen and it was late, but we ended up going anyway!

Everyone was so giggly and exhausted lol.

You can tell Dylan had been working about 56 hours in the last 2 days but he a dedicated trooper.

Also Homdray had just flown in from Italy. He learned how to say ** **** ******** in Italian and passed the knowledge on all weekend.

A pagliacci and her handsome Chi

photogenic goof

LOOK AT HOW HE POURED HIS BEER
Mr. Chicken almost fainted lmao

I was kinda annoyed that they closed the kitchen so early on a weekend, but at least we got some snackies and cute yummy drinkies.

Still my favorite spot in Vegas. ^_^

 

Gonna go back to Vegas soon for a thingie. If we have time I may go back hopefully much earlier to enjoy the full menu.

We had a good time. It was nice to decompress. Could've done that honestly anywhere but I'm a slut for cute stuff so. THEENKS GUYS.

EXQUISITE. ELEGANCE. MYSTERY. DIVINE. SMOL. GRACE. BEAUTY. CRUNCHY.

Arena day was chill. It was hype but also like, omg.

So much happening. It's all out there now, but damn. Feels.

Man. Ngl, felt kinda bummed watching GGST finals lmao. It is what it is.

We were done by the time SF finals started. I think the thunderous roars from the crowds every time a chiptole commercial came on expedited our exit. Could only take so much of it until it became irritating. Started watching it in our hotel room until I knocked out. Mr. Chicken said it was awesome.

What an amazing weekend. I didn't know what to expect -but this was so, so much fun. It was also great running into people I haven't seen since I worked at blizz. And like, everyone knew each other in one way or another. Super small world. The salty suite was my favorite. I wanna do that like, every weekend lmao.

The cherry on top was that Hisako shirt. I've had that shirt bookmarked for years lmao, but it was always sold out in my size. I couldn't believe it when I walked by the booth and saw it there. Was meant to be. I gotta dye it black though, that blue and red don't do it for me.

And lastly, a revisit to yester-year!

These escalators in Mandalay Bay between it and the Luxor are forever cursed to us. In early October of last year during our bachelor/bachelorette escapades, we, as in Mr. Chicken, myself, Lifa, and Homdray, caught the tail end of a moment when an older gentleman fell down this very escalator, landing on his head at the bottom. I still remember the sound from the impact of his skull on the metal. I could see the blood pooling around him. We were maybe 30 feet away when it happened. His skull had split open, he was unconscious. There was a delay in action as people looked on, 2 people were with him and nothing was happening so I panicked and called 911. About a minute or two later, hotel officers showed up and cleared the area. Then EMTs showed up shortly thereafter. He was alive, but barely.

When future us arrived to the hotel on Thursday, the blood stains were still on the escalator. There was no mistaking it. Like, Cynthia are you sure that's what it was it could be anything it could even be- no just TRUST ME when I say it was blood. When we stepped on there and saw it we both recognized it immediately

Someone was finally cleaning it as we were leaving on Monday. Sheesh. Took them long enough.
I just want it on the record that Mandalay Bay had human blood on their escalator from a fall resulting in a skull injury that happened in early October of 2022, that wasn't cleaned until early August 2023.
Also, I would've told him to wear gloves. Not even from the blood but the gross stuff people track their feet in. But that's just me.

It was so good to be home!! I like leaving for a few days but coming home to Ophelia and our cozy home is unlike any other kind of cozy welcome.

DISNEYLAND | A g a i n G i r l W a t

When I say going through this program had me allotting myself quarterly meltdowns, there's a reason for that. V hit me up one night. She had to use up one of her meltdowns. And with good reason. It's one of those things where only people who've gone through it can understand the weight of that metric ton of defeat on your shoulders.

Classes were starting and I told her we need a day for her to breathe, relax, and just be heard before she went back to it. She's almost done! So we had booze for breakfast.

She got the hard cider, I got the stout float. Cheers to scream-running towards our goals.

We went at the very beginning when Halloween stuff was slowly being brought in.

The self control almost collapsed. I told myself I was coming back, it was the only way to keep myself from buying these.

Our first stop was California Adventure. It was essential. And we couldn't be there without paying this fabulous mollusc a visit.

 

OBSERVE.

V spotted someone ahead of us with this tattoo! I had to approach and awkwardly express my adoration. He was there with his partner, they were on vacation from Europe. I was so happy for them, they looked cute. And then he told me the tattoo was how he found out he's allergic to an ingredient in blue tattoo ink. Womp womp. I reassured him that it's still a great tattoo and thanked him for letting me get a photo of it.

SO. Since both our spouses are not fans of anti-gravity enjoyment mechanisms, we went on the ferris wheel. The WOOSHY car, especially!

Oh man, did it woosh. The couple next to us were like OH NO, it was great. If it did flips at mach 3 speed I'd be so happy lmao. Gimme all of it. Equilibrium be damned, I say!

And the view was awesome!
Looked like an RTS structure lolz.

The parks are doing some remodeling. I'm suuuuper excited about them. California Adventure opened San Fransokyo from Big Hero 6. Disneyland opened Tiana's Palace! And the remodeling of Splash Mountain to be like a bayou from Princess and the Frog. I'm stoked to see it. I hope it has voodoo stuff lol. Or have like a voodoo themed area somewhere. I saw that Dr. Facillier is walking around now! So cool. Honestly... lol.. I don't remember the movie lmaoooo. I watched it ages ago and remembered nothing except for Dr. Facillier's song. And I remember virtually nothing from Big Hero 6 other than whats his face dying. We talked about this, if it doesn't grab me in the first 10 seconds... brain cells find something else to do lol.

ANYWAYYYYS, I bring this up because we went to Lucky Fortune Cookery for food, and they had some stuff there that was already a little themed.

Strawberry lychee cocktails, birria ramen, chicken katsu curry sammich. Some other stuff, I forget lol. Dude, I never knew what birria meant until V told me. It's that Mexican meat stewthat you dip like, tacos in. And they incorporated that into their ramen! And it was decent! I was like damn, okay. I see. I liked it. It's cool that they change their menu cuz that's the first I've seen that. And the lychee drinks were new too.

When we walked over to Disney it was walk and chill. I think we got on like 2 rides, but most of it was just hangs. To end the day I told her she had to try the grey stuff because it's delicious. Honestly, I didn't know. I was just trusting the song. So we went to Gaston's tavern thing and ordered it.

Dude, it's pretty good lol. Lumiere was right. I don't even need to ask the dishes. Because he was right. It was delicious. Best way to describe it is like... a tart, lemony meringue with tart little chocolate thingies, all on a softish vanilla cookie crust, with red velvet stuff in the middle. You'd think wtf, why that looks gross and sweet as shit. Okay maybe not you, but I would think that. 100%. But you know what.... it was good LOL. I don't like super sweet stuff but yeah- moving on!
We had a good day. She's strongk, she's got it. December will be here in no time and she'll put it all behind her. 

PROUD OF YOU, V!

A couple months ago, Mr. Chicken made reservations for us to go walk around Huntington Library for their little twilight walk thingie. :3

We got there around 5:30ish and grabbed some quick din din. And then it was more chill hangs with a quiet evening stroll through labyrinths of striking foliage.

It was a gross, hot evening. Pretty, but the heat was rude.

They frickin kicked us out 30 minutes before it was advertised to conclude lol. We got to this area and a dude was like THE EXIT IS THAT WAY, and we're like oh we're fine thanks we're just passing through. And then he tells us again what direction to go and we so confused but move along. And as we're walking through the garden he's like WE'RE CLOSING.

???

So we head towards the other side of the garden with the road towards the exit and this other worker is like FOLKS WE'RE CLOSED MAKE YOUR WAY UP THE STAIRS and then another lady starts shouting at other people who just got there and it's like wtf happened to you today?? Mr. Chicken asks the one chick what time the event was over and she said 7:30. The flyer said 8. BUT OKAY. [REDACTED OBSERVATION]. It was brief but cute. We weren't sure whether to renew our passes there but nevermind! :3
 

Also please have a gander at these wonderful works of art that arrived!

This is Noir. Best smol mao. Makes all of the bread and muffins. He is a creation of Nao. What best way to support an artist whose work is too cute to ignore than to adopt their babies?

Now Pepper has a fren just in time for Fall.

 

I only hope that pumpkin isn't on the menu at Noir's bakery, as I fear that Pepper may develop mild PTSD.

Let us pray for my wallet that if there's another seasonal release this year, it isn't to my liking. And it if is...  guess I have to  GET IT.

 

Another exciting arrival was the physical copy of Suzaku's SENSE/s: Midnight! 

It's their second game that I had the pleasure of being asked to test super early on. I'd love to do it again now that I have actual free time, but we'll see! These are easily going to become collectables for me. Same with Nao's stuff.

MOOD AS OF LATE

It's the best time of the year. Everything is perfect, except for the residual summer heat.

Ah, to be a cat lounging on a window perch with a dangly leg.

But how have I been, truly? Well, my foot has healed. There are only slight remnants of pain from a bygone era, millions of milliseconds past. A kind reminder that I can walk again! Good shit.
Remember that post where I was like, BaLaNcE. I frickin called it. That was in January, after my first work injury. I was out for a month and then things fell back into place. I was passing all my exams, I got my funeral director's license, I was getting ready to graduate. Life was slowing down and things felt great. And I was like yo man balance is coming. And woosh. Fractured my foot at work 2 weeks before graduation. But that's neither here nor there, I made the best of it. Now it's leveled out again. So things feel good. They HAVE been good. I'm making sure of that.

When my sister in law was in Seattle she was like [from the og Starbucks] "they have espresso and pumpkin spice martinis!" And I was like OH NO.

So here we are, today.

Don't ask how we acquired the golden sauce. That reserve coffee bean roast was a gift from her last time she went. It's stroooongk, and pairing it well is essential. Otherwise you get your ass kicked with the flavors lol. But OH MAN this was smoooooth. She said they used vanilla, and that was all I needed to know. Everything else fell into place flawlessly and the result was an afternoon of sipping on overzealous beverages out of pretentiously small martini glasses.
This led us down the road of buying even more pretentious drink...ware. Behold:

You can't even see it that well LOL. But we got the silly symphonies skeleton dance decanter set. I'm trying to learn how to make Old Fashioned..s. It's tricky. Mr. Chicken almost didn't survive the first round of testing. AND recently we found the matching shot glasses in Downtown Disney.

Tis the season! We're getting ready for a lot of stuff coming up. It's exciting! And on that note, Part II reaches its conclusion. This weekend is unreal and I don't even know if I'm ready for it but hoo boy. I hope everyone is having a great pumpky season! And if not... go treat yourself to a nice drink and noodles or something. Because why not?

Time to go cry while Malenia endlessly bodies me bc my build is garbage and I'm too stubborn to change it. ^-^