#avwm

He pauses at your choice- wait.. you're actually picking the coaster? The horrible terrifying

DEATH COASTER?!?

He looks back and forth between you and it and then forces a smile from behind the giant duck plushie "Ah aha- r-right Thrill and adventure and-... uh- " He awkwardly moves the giant duck plushie around trying to keep in your view. "Well uh- if you're sure! Ah- Might have to get another seat for our friend here!" The giant ducks head flops over. You give him a smile and wave off his concerns, eagerly getting in line for the coaster. A little shuffle here and little shuffle there and you're soon boarding the horrible death trap! After securing the giant duck plushie into the seat next to him, Mark takes the seat beside you and you all get strapped and buckled in. "Is now a good time to mention I'm really not a fan of- oh we're going already" "HANG ON TIGHT- or don't~ ye won't be comin back anyway gyuhhuhuh" The Ride attendant laughs waving you and the others in your train farewell. With a glance to Mark you see he's pale, hands gripping tight to the harness and as you begin to scale the 100ft drop, the view of your wonderful day sprawls out far beneath. The pretty flower garden, the roses, the icecream truck and the duc- oh they've made trenches and there's an explosion going on over there now. That duck war is really raging for that last pea-.... Well, at least its nice up here- The Coaster lurches as it crests the peak, Mark giving a bit of a squeak and squirming in his seat. "Don't look down don't look down don't look down don't look down"

Poor guy... You rest your hand on his and his eyes fix on you with a scared smile, he breaths. Everything will be ok if he's with y- "uuuuUUUUEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

WEeeeeeee!!!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUOOUGGHH-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Peaks and falls, loops and twists and turns! You lift your arms in the air!

"--AAAAOUHGHUHRHUGHHGH HURK- BLU-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOUGGHGOUGHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

It's like youre flying!

"--AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--"

As you sail towards the end of the track, you stretch your arms wide. The ducks head flops over into Mark's face

"-- MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMDDPGFTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

The train sails off the end of the track, soaring through the air and landing right in the middle of the duck war zone, blowing them all up and ending the war.... and..well.. you and Mark as well

Still... At least this date was a fun one! One to be remembered for the rest of the eternity you and Mark share! One tha-

-Bone cracking sounds, the screen goes black-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"OI! Enough of that! What in the hell were you thinking!? A DEATH COASTER? What part of the DEATH did you not GET THERE!? Ugh honestly.. Where you even TRYING to have a nice romantic date or where you just out to punish me... AGAIN? -sighh....- No its finneee I get it... Immortality has its ups and downs... might as well have fun with it once in a while. Reminds me of that wormhole we canon balled into a few times-STILL! That DOESNT MEAN we should be doing it ON PURPOSE! hmph.... Well.. anyway... spose that's the end of that one... At least you got a giant duck out of it- speaking of which. HERE

Take this ridiculous thing with you! Oh and next time? Next time? Maybe lets NOT cause an all out DUCK WAR hm???? -sighh- ... welp.. back to the drawing board... Go on, get gone, I got work to do.... and a shower... and a hot chocolate... BECAUSE I DESERVE IT! BECAUSE I LOVE MYSELF!"

You eagerly point over to the Hook a Duck game and Mark grins nodding "Yeah I agree! ahaha Who needs that mushy crap anyway ahaha" He does sound a little bit disappointed there wont be any smooching, but hey at least you're having fun! "Ya know back when I was a kid we were too poor to afford playing these games so I'd just watch instead but it gave me a keeeeen eye for finding the biggest ducks in the pond!" His tone is boastful, smug, his gestures full of waffling and grandiose disillusion. "The trick is alll in the swing!" He takes one of the rods from the stand, prepping the hook and then reeling back like it were a legitimate fishing pole, swinging back then slamming forward with a line unravelling sound There's a very sudden cacophony of noise as the line goes back towards the rubber ducks, loud squawking, a scream in the distance "MY EYES" and a ripping noise before a set of underpants goes flying through the air on the end of his hook to settle in the water like bait. Mark seems blissfully unaware as he hums to himself, about to reel in a rubber duck when what sounds like a plane flies by over hea- no its getting closer.. closer Suddenly there's a crash of brown and white feathers as a duck- a real one- crash lands into the water, and effectively on the end of Mark's hook. He's startled, as are you, but as he lifts the tiny fishing pole from the water to see the dead duck, the stall master wanders over with an appreciative whistle

"WooooWEE That is a BEAUT of a catch! Ye catch her all by yerself Sport? Well am damn proud o ya! Dats top prize right dere! Go ahead Son! Ye earned it!" "ah oh- uh" The Stall Master shoves an ENORMOUS white duck plushie into Mark's arms and he stumbles back a bit.

You both back away awkwardly and while its hard to see him from the giant plushie in the way you catch him grinning a little triumphantly "Mfhm-mfmf" .....what?

"Mmfhm- pff..blfhlhef- Aha Ah.. here ya go!" He tries to pawn it off onto you and you quickly shake your head. "Oh right! You need me to carry it!? I can- I can do that.. I guess- uhm.. Ahhaa... Well uh.. where to now? I'm thinking we should maybe uh.. move away from the lake- I think I've seen enough ducks today personally-"

Mark jostles the giant duck plushie back and forth as he looks around "Oh how about the roller coaster!? A little thrill and excitement!? Or we could get some food? You hungry?"

> Death Coaster Of Certain Death! > The Mega MEGA Burger of Mega Burgers!

"Uh.. also maybe we can.. uh.. take turns carrying this thing.. or uh.. ya know.. see if we can..find a smaller one maybe- no? right right.. won this one fair and..square? I think? Just.. kinda.. kinda hard to see now-"

"Ah the Faire! Of course! What a fun way to spend a date! Well cmon lets go!" He's clearly excited about the choice and as you get closer to the Faire, the music comes into your hearing range. It's a horrible mix of everything but one stands out more than the others.

AMBIENCE

Other people mull around, playing games, eating cotton candy and you see one person with a giant stuffed dinosaur! Your eyes scan over the games until passing one in particular and you can't help but grab Mark's shoulder to show it to him! "Wow isn't this fantastic! Look all this! Oh it's gonna be a great time! What should we do first! Ride the big coaster? The swings? Oh what about our pictures at the silly boo- hm? Wh- OH! Wow! That thing is huge! You want a prize?" You nod eagerly! He grins wide- Perfect! A chance to show his skills, win your heart by being your hero and winning you a big stuffed prize! "Alright! Oh but they have no line at the Tunnel of Love right now! That's.... actually kinda surprising... it's Valentines day... hm..- ah we might miss our chance after?! Alright quick decision time! Do you wanna ride the Tunnel Of Love~ Or should we go for the prize!?"

> Big Friend > Big Smooch

"I mean, we might not get another chance to get to the tunnel of love being what day it is, could be reaaaally romantic~ Course uh, if you really want the prize now I can give it a go! I got an EYE for Ripe Duck!- uh.. picking.. Duck picking.. "

You gesture towards the pond and Mark grins excitedly "Ah yes of course! What's more Romantic than natures beauty!" He begins leading you along, walking backwards while he talks, narrowly missing bumping into people along the way. There's a person with balloons handing one to a child who accidentally lets go, Mark manages to catch it and bring it back down handed to the kid with a smile. Then there's a baby carriage rolling away towards a hill and he catches it, setting it back with the mother. As you both pass under a tree a baby bird falls from a branch and he catches it, sets it back in the nest and you both carry on your way... all while he talks. You'd be swooning at how much of a hero he is... if it wasn't obvious how staged it was- But you know he's just trying to impress you. It's endearing in his weird little way.

"I also got us some peas! I'd bring bread but it's incredibly bad for ducks! And I met this white duck once that tried to peck me to death when I was bringing frozen peas in from grocery shopping so I always bring peas to feed the ducks now! Did you know ducks mate for life? Some birds even offer their mates a shiny rock! Ahahaha- imagine that! One day your mate shows up with a shiny rock and then you're bonded for life! How romantic!" He's waffling but hey, at least he's entertaining with all of this. You're used to his shenanigans by now.

As you both settle by the ducks, he pulls a bag of partially defrosted peas from his inner suit pocket, some of them spilling everywhere with the bag split. You both enjoy some time tossing peas at the ducks, one of yours lands on a mallard's back and it gets stuck in an attempt trying to reach it- oops.

You both watch as several of the ducks start fighting over a large wad of still slightly frozen stuck together peas that Mark tossed in, feathers everywhere- "Ah... uh... " He tries breaking the fight up by tossing the rest of the peas at the ducks... it just makes it worse and now there's an outright Pea war-...... You both back up as several more ducks fly in to join in on the Pea carnage- "Uhmm... we should-... " He gestures with a thumb and you both quickly scurry away from the battle zone. You can practically hear the gunfire and air drop as another swoops in and explodes-

He sniffs, straightens himself up and smiles. That could have..gone better but hey! "Ah- Lets just..forget that happened- ahaha- How about a walk?" You nod and agree, wandering along side him. "I'm so glad we got to meet up again.. and on Valentines day of all days! I've so many things planned for us~ I know our last date didn't go so well, but I promise this one to be full of romance and unforgettable memories~"

As you both wander along, the gazebo nearby has a band playing, the smooth jazz is nice and it looks like folks are dancing there. "Ah smoooth jazz~ Fancy a dance?" He wiggles his shoulders invitingly, gesturing with his head. huh huh ? you wanna? Your eyes draw to something else across the water, looks like there's a valentines faire going on over there. Lots of colors, lights, music.

"Hm? Oh! Looks like the pop up faire is in town! You wanna go over there instead? Or we could go dancing? What would you like?"

> Dancing > Faire

"How about it? Lil dancing? hm? Or we could ride the swan boat? Get a pretzel? Looks like they're serving popcorn at the stage though~"

AMBIENCE

The sound of birds chatter all around as you make your way through the lush garden of flowers, the sun warm in a wide open blue sky. It may be February but it's been a warm winter this year, there's hardly a drop of snow around and you're quite comfortable in the outfit you chose. Valentines day is such a special occasion and with a date awaiting you, you pulled out all the stocks to wear the most handsome and/or beautiful outfit you could find! And boy does it show! Practically every head at the garden turns to admire just how gorgeous you look, but then you're used to that already!

As you pass a sparkling fountain, a Blue Jay lands on the edge to take a drink, offering a chirp of greeting as you pass. Just up ahead along the path you see your date awaiting you. A slim gray suit and his usual red tie saved for dates, his hair trimmed and neatly groomed, and that dorky look on his face you just somehow find charming.

He turns as you approach, eyes going wide as he looks over his date for the day still wondering how he got so lucky! "Ah! You made it- and wow.. I- you.. You look amazing! Well, you always do but, wow!" Mark grins wide already eager to get rolling on your date! "Oh! For you! A Roooose!" It looks like he might have picked it straight from the bush to your right. It still has thorns on- "There's so much we can do today! I have so many things prepared! It's gonna be the best Valentines date ever! We can go for a walk in the flowers, watch a band play, get icecream and hold hands! Maybe later we'll catch a movie and dinner! Or a nice relaxing sit by a campfire! We can make smores!- Oh but I'm getting ahead of myself!" He pauses with a flourished hand gesture, holding your hand in his, partially awkwardly juggling the rose between fingers in his other hand to avoid the thorns. "What would you like to do first? We could go for a walk and get ice cream or we could go feed the ducks over there?"

> ICE CREAM > FEED DUCKS

"You look great by the way- did I say that already... Cos you do! Just-wow!"

Oh such a sweetheart~ Still remember my favorite cookie~ Hopefully your plans dont overlap, Luv~

I'd hate to miss you on such a romantic day~

#Sangimignano è stata la seconda tappa del nostro mini giro dello scorso weekend. Ci ha lasciati a bocca aperta per tutto il soggiorno. Il borgo medievale è fantastico! 🏰 Qui non ho resistito a tirare fuori la sfera e immortalare Piazza del Duomo. 🔮 Nel 1300 questo borgo era circondato da oltre 72 torri, residenze di famiglie benestanti. Le torri di San Gimignano erano veri e propri alloggi, piccoli ma confortevoli con camere da letto, cucina e bottega. Generalmente quando una famiglia prendeva il sopravvento su un’altra, si provvedeva a tagliarle. ⚔️🛡 Insomma se non la avete ancora visitata andateci! Ve la consiglio!

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Una volta all'anno ci ricaschiamo. La toscana mi ha rapito completamente il cuore e mi è difficile stargli lontano più di tanto.😍 In questo viaggio di un paio di giorni io e la mia ragazza abbiamo visitato la fantastica #Volterra e #SanGimignano. Qui vi mostrerò qualche scorcio di questi paesini e magari, chissà 😇, vi farò venire voglia di visitarli. Abbiate pazienza! "Chi ha furia, ha un bel cavallo". 🐎

(Presso Volterra)

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