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Post by Charlotte Hundt-Rivero on Oct 29, 2022 15:03:00 GMT -5
top . overalls . underwear . shoes . braceletIt had taken a lot - a lot - of convincing on Charlotte's part for her mom to allow her to travel Europe. The amount of times she had suggested she bring a gun for protection had actually starting wearing her down, but at least she hadn't been the only one who'd taken a turn explaining to her that not every country was as cavalier as the US when it came to gun control, and she couldn't just waltz across various borders and travel through multiple cities with a literal lethal weapon in her backpack. In the end, and with much support from her mama, they had come to a compromise. Firstly, she'd not been able to just take off on her own after her eighteenth birthday, as she had hoped - she had instead had to wait until closer to summer time, at which point they'd traveled to their second home in Barcelona. From there, she had also had to spend a bit of time with the family, as was tradition - which meant she'd had to wait for Sebastien and Gabby to join them a few weeks after their own arrival. One thing her mother had been absolutely relentless on was that she should stay in reputable hotels wherever she went. That was a bit of a bummer, seeing as part of the appeal of traveling through the continent was to meet with people from all walks of life, and one of the easiest way to do that was generally by staying in hostels. Seeing as her mom had had a near meltdown from that suggestion though, there had been no moving her on that front. It had made for slightly less spontaneous moving about than she had hoped, as she had to pre-book her accommodations every time she meant to travel to a new city, but she couldn't quite deny the fact that it was at the very least a lot more comfortable. Finally, communication was the big factor in all of this - she was to send texts every day to confirm her location and that she was still doing fine, and she had to have bi-weekly phone conversations with each of her moms. She was also obviously keeping in touch with both Sebastien and Eliza, but that was less out of obligation and more because she wanted to. Not that she wouldn't have wanted to keep in touch with her moms even if it'd been left up to her - maybe just not to the frequency that had thus far been imposed on her. It was a little over three months now since she had left Barcelona in June, and she'd made her way through several cities and countries - sometimes stopping in briefly, other times sticking around for a little bit longer. Her first stop had been Portugal, which was logical due to the proximity to Spain, but from there she'd boarded a flight to Italy, which she'd explored thoroughly by bus, train and ferry. In Greece she had allowed herself time to take it a bit more easy, taking in some of the sights but also giving herself time to relax, before hitting a few western European countries on her way back north. Those stops had been a bit quicker, mostly stopping in the bigger cities to see the better known attractions, and by the time she'd reached Germany, she'd been ready to slow down a bit again rather than rush through the sights. Mid September had found her boarding a flight to London, and there she had made a decision - although she had booked a hotel that her mother would approve of, as was agreed upon, she had also gone and paid cash for a few nights at a hostel. Granted, it was a private room, but the common areas were still shared, and that was how she had found herself mingling each evening with a crowd of twenty something travelers from all over the world, watching bad reality tv and sharing travel stories over cheap alcohol and shitty microwavable food.
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Post by Dean Foster on Oct 30, 2022 9:36:34 GMT -5
Dean was loving his time in Europe so far. It'd been only a little over a month since he'd first gotten here, having chosen to leave toward the end of the summer so that he could take advantage of the cheaper flights. All the hours he'd put in working at Target and all the birthday money set aside had been work it to be able to explore and meet new people and just get the experience of being elsewhere. He'd started in Ireland , then headed to Scotland and was now in London where he was able to understand people a little better (some of the accents he'd run into during his time thus far had been intense and made him feel like a stupid American when he had no clue what they were saying). The hostel that he was staying at was nice too, a bit busier than the others that he'd stayed at thus far which was nice because there was no shortage of people to hang out with when he wanted to go somewhere and didn't feel like going alone to do more traditionally touristy things. Plus, they'd all gotten him hooked on some trashy reality show that he was sure his mom would love. In fact, he'd mentioned it by name to her the last time that they'd talked and she promised to look into it. His dad probably wasn't going to be thrilled at him for that but it was what it was.
About a week after arriving he'd realized that he was going to have to cook his own meals, glad that the hostels he was staying at had access to kitchens because living on ready meals or fast food was just not cutting it for him, too used to the healthier alternatives that he'd grown up with. So he'd reached out to his mom for recipes that he could use to make food that he'd actually enjoy eating. Sometimes, like tonight, that meant cleaning up other people's messes in the kitchen to access it properly but as he put the finishing touches on his garlic spaghetti squash noodles he couldn't care less because he knew that he had a delicious meal ahead of him. He also had quite a bit more than he'd expected because he'd gotten bigger spaghetti squashes than the recipe had called for (what kind of measurement was 'large squash' anyway?) so he decided that he'd see if anyone else wanted to share. "Hey everyone, I've got extra food if you want," he said, walking into the space where everyone was already gathered around to watch said trashy tv.
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Post by Charlotte Hundt-Rivero on Oct 30, 2022 13:11:10 GMT -5
Over the past couple evenings that Charlotte had found herself mingling with a small crowd in the common area, there had been a few people who were now familiar faces, even if she hadn't necessarily interacted with them. Granted, it was rare that anyone stuck around for the whole evening anyway, herself included - there was obviously many more interesting things to do while visiting a foreign city than sitting around in a cramped lounge, watching low production value tv shows. Nevertheless, she could already tell some of these moments would turn out to be favorite memories once she returned home. Currently, they were in the middle of a debate about who their respective favorite for the final three contestants was when a guy she'd seen around a couple of nights ago popped in with a bowl of steaming food, offering up his leftovers for any takers. As she had just spent the last hour or so snacking on popcorn and a couple of candy bars, she had no hesitation as she stood up, thanking him for the offer and heading to the kitchen to grab some of whatever it was he had made.
She hadn't even taken much notice of what kind of food he had been holding when he'd entered the room, but considering the fact that she'd been living on less than appetizing food for the past few days - out of her own decision and laziness, to be fair - she was all but ready to get in on something that hadn't come out of the freezer, so long as it didn't look and smell terrible. As it was, it looked decent enough, and so after she'd gotten herself a serving she made her way back to the common area, giving a light huff when she saw that her spot on the couch had been taken up, leaving no more room except the floor. "You're a dick, Ivan," she informed the guy who'd wasted no time in stealing her seat, shaking her head as he gave a light chuckle and gestured to the floor. "You're just bitter because you know I'm right, Miguel and Antonietta are making it to the end, and Pedro has no chance whatsoever," she added, sinking to the floor and blowing on her food before taking a bite.
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Post by Dean Foster on Dec 27, 2022 15:31:08 GMT -5
If no one wanted the extras that Dean had he'd simply put them away to reheat and have more than planned for later, but as it turned out a couple of people were immediate takers - as was often the case with free food, he'd found. His own sensitive stomach was the only thing keeping him from taking more people up on their offers and even then he usually tried. He grabbed a seat on the floor with his bowl as he let others serve themselves, listening to one of the girls that had taken some of the leftovers chastise Ivan (one of the guys he was sharing a room with) for stealing her spot. He didn't agree with her answer about who was going to make it to the end though. "Hey, don't put down Pedro, I think he's got a way better shot than Miguel. Did you see last episode?" Antonietta though, he could agree upon. And she was who he wanted to win if he was being honest. Still, it was nice to debate the outcome with others who actually knew what the hell was going on. A weird sort of group bonding activity for those staying at the hostel together.
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Post by Charlotte Hundt-Rivero on Jan 21, 2023 9:38:51 GMT -5
Charlotte glanced over at the guy who had offered up his food leftovers, who was also sitting on the floor at this point, and shook her head as he told her not to put down Pedro. "Sure I did," she said with a light shrug as he questioned if she'd seen the last episode, which was actually probably a bit sad considering the fact that she was traveling across Europe and had still somehow gotten suckered into some weird ass Spanish survival tv reality series that was broadcasted with bad dubbing on an obscure tv chanel. "I saw Pedro make half a dozen stupid decisions and get ahead out of sheer dumb luck," she went on, taking another bite of her food. "Miguel has been showing good critical thinking since the start, he has more endurance, and he doesn't whine nearly as much," she added, ignoring protests from a few of the people around the room. "They've basically pushed Pedro through because he looks good on the screen, and like, I'm not arguing that, he is way hotter than Miguel, but there's only so far they can get him before he needs to rely on his own non existent skill set," she concluded, going back to eating her food.
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Post by Dean Foster on Aug 26, 2023 12:58:43 GMT -5
Dean made a noise of protest as the anti-Pedro girl made her points, happy to see that he wasn't alone in his thoughts because others went to argue back. "Sounds like you're a hater," he said, shaking his head sadly. Though he grinned when someone threw in their support, but it wasn't long before another person spoke up about Miguel. It all delved into a group debate about who was going to win, with shushing from those actually trying to watch thrown in as the show continued to play. Each new action only providing fodder for one camp or another as the episode went on. At some point, someone else ran out and got some things to make poorly made mixed drinks, which Dean did not turn his nose up at. Free drinks were free drinks and he was never going to say no to them, no matter the quality of the alcohol in them. Besides, a little heaviness with the pours might have made the drinks go down harder but did make it much easier to start feeling the effects. Even with a stomach full of actual food, it was very easy to start feeling drunk.
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Post by Charlotte Hundt-Rivero on Aug 26, 2023 15:41:41 GMT -5
In spite of the fact that Charlotte had grown up in a very non confrontational household, she was certainly the type to stick to her guns when she believed to be right, and this instance was no exception. As it was, she felt most of what followed on the show just went to prove her points even more as Pedro fumbled through a couple of tasks with no clear skill displayed other than sheer dumb luck, whereas Miguel shone in almost everything he did. Of course, she wasn't about to get in any real fights over television, and she didn't bother interjecting every time people spoke out their own opinion, regardless if it aligned with hers or not. She also had to admit that, as the evening went on and drinks started getting passed around, her own thought process got a lot less coherent and her points became a bit more illogical. Somehow, the show itself was a lot more enjoyable from the perspective of a drunk mind though, and the general ambiance just kept getting more festive and boisterous, encouraging her to keep accepting drinks. It went on until a news anchor popped up on the screen, indicating that the marathon of whatever show they'd been watching was effectively done for the night, causing a chorus of booing and laughter as people started gathering their things and stumbling toward their rooms. Meanwhile, Charlotte grabbed the remote and started flipping through the channels, finding that she wasn't quite ready for the evening to end.
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Post by Dean Foster on Aug 26, 2023 18:19:13 GMT -5
The evening was a good one, with the alcohol continuing to flow and the show on a marathon that seemed to just draw everyone in. Most likely his memory was going to be a bit hazy from how much they were drinking but no one else was stopping so he wasn't either. Some people dipped out to go out for the night or do something else but many stayed until the marathon was over and then made their way toward their rooms. Although Dean wasn't tired yet, he was going to do the same until he noticed that Charlotte had grabbed the remote and was flipping through channels. She was attractive and despite their differing view on Pedro and Miguel, he found interacting with her to be enjoyable. "Trying to find something else to binge?" he asked, finishing off what was left in his glass and idly wondering if there was anything still left to drink. Not that he really needed it at this point, since he was definitely drunk but after a while the taste of the mixed drink had grown on him and he found himself wanting more just to have it.
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Post by Charlotte Hundt-Rivero on Aug 26, 2023 20:17:06 GMT -5
Charlotte didn't really pay attention to who left and who stayed as she tried to find something worth watching, figuring that if no one was complaining about her usage of the remote then she could keep going until she made a choice. It was only when Dean spoke up and she looked at him that she realized they were the only two left in the small communal space where the tv was set, and she found that she didn't actually mind it. Even though he was apparently a poor judge of character when it came to televised competition, he had been entertaining enough throughout the evening, and he had saved her the hassle of fending for herself as far as dinner was concerned, which was another plus in her book. "Maybe, if I can find something decent," she said with a light shrug. "I just don't feel ready to settle down for the night, but I'm not really in the mood for heading out either," she went on with a shake of her head. Even though her mom was nowhere near London right now, there was slight that slight awareness that she had already made a decision that would get her into heaps of trouble by staying at a youth hostel, and she couldn't bring herself to chance fate even more by wandering the city alone late at night. It was probably irrational, but it didn't stop it from being what it was.
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