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copias-thrall · 4 years

Text

Worth

Things have been Not Great, so I wrote an angsty Mary fic to cope.

FYI: this is not a lighthearted, heart-of-gold Mary fic. He’s kind of an asshole, and there are some heavy themes.

*brief domestic abuse (not Mary); angst; recreational drug use*

It happened after an impromptu party at her place.

The bars had closed, but no one was ready to stop—so everyone had grabbed some beers and snacks from the all-nighter and headed back to her place. Friends of friends were called, and suddenly at 4am there were maybe 30 people in the cramped 3 bedroom in a run-down house she shared, complete with a DJ and speakers. They'd partied even after the sun came up, too drunk or high to give a shit.

When she passed out around 11am, there were still 10 or so people grinding on each other or playing a slapped-together game of beer pong in the living room.

Waking up at 4pm had been a disconcerting experience, but at least she wasn't too hungover. She’d shuffled out to the living room to assess the damage (lots of trash, but fortunately no irreparable damage)—and that's when she heard noises in the kitchen.

She’d made her way there and saw a skinny punk boy with floppy hair and smeared makeup making eggs on her stove. Upon her arrival, he’d turned and said,

“Oh, hey. You want some?”

And that’s how she became friends with Mary.

***

He was suddenly around all the time.

Sometimes he’d show up early evening with a 6-pack, and the two of them would smoke weed, or play video games, or she’d listen to him pontificate about the musical artist of the week he was mainlining before he left to troll the bars.

Sometimes he’d show up on her couch in the morning, sleeping off the night before, and she’d have to coax him up with coffee and the promise of bacon before he stumbled back out into the world to do whatever it was that Marys do during the daytime.

For a while he became something of an unofficial roommate to everyone—sometimes bringing supplies, other times eating what wasn’t his; sometimes leaving a mess of dishes in the sink, other times taking out the trash—but always her friend first.

That all changed the night one of her roommates gave the couch to a friend from out-of-town. There’d been a soft knocking at her door, and then Mary was slipping into her room.

“Hey.”

“You mind if I sleep on your floor?”

She’d looked down at the space rug that she hadn’t vacuumed in months.

“I don’t mind scooting over. But you have to lose some layers. I don’t want your denim pressing into me all night.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

He’d hesitantly stripped down to a t-shirt and boxers before sliding into the space she’d made for him. There’d been some jostling, but Mary had kept his hands to himself.

The friend had finally left the couch, but Mary never left her bed.

Now when he needed a place to crash, he crawled in through her window in the middle of the night to slip into bed with her. (And maybe there was some snuggling—but two friends sharing a twin was perfectly normal, right?) He suddenly seemed to prefer hanging out in her room—chilling cross legged on her mattress as he packed a bowl or they cued up a movie on Netflix—only showing his face in the common rooms anymore when there was food to be had.

Her other roommates even remarked on his lack of presence, to which she’d shrugged. He was her friend, after all.

One morning changed everything.

She’d woken up from a steamy sex dream still unsatisfied—still wet and throbbing between her legs. Half awake, she’d mewled in frustration and rolled onto her stomach, hand reaching down between her body and the bed so she could rock into it.

“Um.”

At the sound of Mary’s voice, she’d frozen. Suddenly fully awake, she’d snatched her hand back up, scrambled to the other side of the bed, and plastered herself against the wall.

“I was just! It wasn’t! I didn’t know …”

Mary was lying stock still, face flushed and very obviously affected. Seeing where her gaze had landed, his hands had flown to cover his erection.

“Uh. Sorry. But you were … you know.”

She’d quickly gone from mortified to fascinated.

“That … turned you on?”

His blush deepened.

“Well … yeah.”

“Why?”

He’d gone to gesture, remembered his predicament, didn’t.

“You were touching yourself. I mean. I thought maybe you were having a nightmare and then …” He’d shrugged. “Kinda hot.”

“You thought it was hot? Even though it’s me?” She didn’t think someone like Mary could find someone like her attractive. That’s why he’d never hit on her, right?

“Even though you’re my friend?”

“Because I’m. Me.” She’d swept her hands up and down her body.

He’d rolled onto his side and carefully arranged the sheets to cover him. She’d watched as his hand reached out to rest on her knee.

“You’re very attractive.”

She’d scoffed at him. “I have a mirror. You don’t need to patronize me.”

His hand had scooted up to her thigh, and he’d looked up at her. Her heart had begun to pound just as all the blood that wasn’t already between her legs rushed through her ears.

“Do you … want me … to show you how attractive I find you?”

His hand had slowly traveled up the leg, and was now resting on her sweaty inner thigh. Adrenaline was coursing through her—making it hard to verbalize her need for him to keep going—so when she’d opened her mouth, all that had come out was a whimper. Still looking up at her, Mary had pressed his thumb with unnerving accuracy into her clit.

Like it had been a release valve, she’d let out a long whine as her body opened up. His thumb had continued to pet at her clit through her dampening panties, and she’d rocked into his touch, legs splaying wide.

And maybe it was because she’d been so worked up already. Or maybe it was because it had been so long since someone else had touched her. Maybe it was the dangerous expression on Mary’s face … but she’d cum in no time—her clit bubbling as she twitched and groaned to each pulsing wave.

Before she’d had time to come down—or feel embarrassed—Mary was on her, all previous attempts at modesty gone as he’d pressed his hard-on into her thigh.

“Can I fuck you?” he’d mouthed into her neck.

Her first instinct had been to tell him “yes” … but it had been so long since anything bigger than a finger had been in her, and she’d hesitated. Feeling her tense, Mary had backed off.

“Or, I could just jack off.”

“No—I …” she’d wiggled around and kicked off her sticky panties. “Thighs ok?”

Mary had eagerly pressed into her back. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s great. Wanna feel how wet you are.”

There had been some wiggling around on his part—to divest himself of his boxers, she’d supposed—and then she’d felt as his dick eased between her closed thighs. He’d grunted, and then his arms came around her: one held her hips steady while he thrust, the other grazed and pinched at her nipples through her nightshirt.

“So hot,” he’d said as his lips smeared down her neck. “Wanted you for a while.” They came back up to press behind her ear.

All she’d been able to manage in return was a gasp as his clever fingers worked at her body—his free hand grazing her nipples and his steadying hand slipping down to rub at her clit again. Panting, he’d brought her to climax once more before clutching her tightly to him so he could finally pump himself to release as well.

Wheezing into her shoulder, Mary’s hips had finally stuttered, and he’d let out a breathy moan right before she’d felt the wetness of his cum start to drip down her thighs. Languidly, he’d rocked his hips as he worked himself through the aftershocks; then,his arms had loosened their hold, and he’d sighed before placing a quick kiss to the back of her neck.

“Good?”

Her head was spinning, and she’d murmured out a “Yeah.”

He’d shifted around, his arms withdrawing from her space.

“C’mon, let’s go back to sleep. Still early.”

“But the mess …” she’d begun, but he’d just pulled her onto his chest.

“Later.”

Mary had fallen asleep immediately, but she’d lain awake wondering what whatever the fuck had just happened meant.

***

Neither of them really talked about it later, but Mary had stopped showing up just to hang. Instead, she’d leave her window open, and most nights he’d crawl through her window in the AM and stick around for breakfast. A fresh box of condoms (since the existing ones in her underwear drawer were 5yrs old) and a few solo practice sessions later had her back on the horse. Mary had relished the full access to her body, delighting in fucking her lazily while he played her body—his mouth sucking on all the right spots while his hands and fingers teased at her other erogenous zones.

He always made sure she came before he did—often multiple times—before finally letting loose and using her body to get off. He always seemed so desperate for it, and she was happy to let him use her—afterward contently sighing into his chest while basking in the afterglow as his arms wrapped around her. It was nice to be wanted, to be touched—even if she missed the part where the two of them drank shitty beer and talked shit while gaming.

When she voiced her regret to her roommate, they had just rolled their eyes at her.

“Have you been out of the game that long? He was courting you then. That’s just how men are. Don’t worry about it.”

So, she tried not to.

***

It’s one of those nights she feels the stirring to go out. She tries to coax one of her roomies to come with her, but they all beg off with the excuse of work in the morning.

“I do too! We don’t have to stay super late!”

But they remain unmoved.

So, she shimmies into the dress that makes her feel the best about herself, pust her face on, and goes out for a drink.

The bar is moderately crowded when she gets there, and she makes a beeline for the electronic jukebox, determined to get some of her bops into the queue so maybe she’ll even get to hear them before she leaves.

Satisfied, she approaches the bar to order a chocolate porter. And hey, wait!—she recognizes that shape across the bar! As her eyes adjust, she's even more certain that it’s Mary. A smile breaks out on her face—she can’t wait to surprise him after she gets her beer.

Pint glass in hand, she makes her way through the bodies to the other side of the bar to where Mary is talking to the pink-haired woman next to him. He’s so engrossed that he doesn’t notice her standing in front of him. In fact, it’s the woman he’s talking to who notices her first.

“Um, hello?” says Pink Hair.

“Oh. I … just wanted to say hi to Mary.”

Mary looks over at her, but his expression is guarded.

“Oh, hey.”

“Hey!”

Pink Her takes an exaggerated sip of her cocktail.

“Did you need something? Because I’m kinda busy here,” he says.

She can feel her smile fall. “Oh. O-ok. I just thought …”

“Look, I’ll catch you later or something, ok?”

Her stomach turns to ice. “Oh, um. Ok, sure.” She starts to say that she’ll be here for a bit, but he’s already turning back around, a smile breaking on his face just for Pink Hair as his hand goes to res on the woman’s knee.

As she stiffly walks away, she hears Pink Hair say, “Who was that?” and Mary respond, “Just some girl who follows me around. You know how it is.”

On autopilot—heart making a rapid tattoo against her ribs—she makes her way to an open high-top. Her good mood has evaporated like water during a scorcher. The sensible thing to do would be to go home—but she hates herself, so she stands there, nursing her beer and trying to make it look like she’s not zeroed in on Mary and his … friend? No need to think the worst. Maybe Pink Hair’s having a rough day and Mary’s listening to her. He’s good like that.

Her bubble of delusion pops when she sees him lean in to kiss Pink Hair’s neck. When his mouth meets the woman’s, her heart officially drops into her stomach … but for some reason she can’t seem to look away. She feels an almost destructive need to make herself see this.

The two of them make out for a bit before Mary puts a bill on the bar and they start to make their way to the exit. For half a second Mary’s eyes catch hers across the bar … and then they slide away, his hand on the small of Pink Hair’s back as they leave together.

She watches the door for a long time after they disappear. She wonders if she’s going to be sick.

Beer unfinished, she sluggishly makes her way to the door, no longer interested in a night out. As she walks home in a daze, she keeps replaying the entire thing over and over in her head to the extent that she walks half a block past her apartment.

Her roommates are still up when she makes it inside, but she just mumbles out a “Hey” and goes straight to her room. For several minutes she just stands there, unsure of the next action to take: change clothes? smash things? brush her teeth? cry?

She ends up walking over to her window. Instead of lifting the pane open, she makes sure it’s closed all the way before thumbing the latch to locked. To make a further statement, she pulls her curtains shut. Mechanically, she undresses and crawls into bed—she'll brush her teeth in the morning.

It’s only because she's still awake—her brain unable to shut off—that she hears it: little plinks. At first she wonders if it’s raining, and then she realizes something is hitting the window pane. A glance at her clock tells her it’s 3:56am.

Even though she already knows what she'll find, she sloughs over to the window and parts the curtains. There’s Mary in his leather jacket, arm raised as if to throw another pebble. He grimaces at her, then motions for her to open the window.

But she's just some girl, so she closes the curtains again and gets back into bed.

As she lays there, a horrible thought passes through her brain: Is this how it always is? He always shows up around the same time every night. Has … has he been coming to her after he’s had his way with his stunning girl du jour? Is she just a warm bed to sleep in after they kick him out? How many times has she been sloppy seconds? Was he even attracted to her, or were those just pretty words to keep him in her bed?

Rolling over for the hundredth time, she thinks about how he always fucks her with her back pressed into him. She'd always thought it was nice—cuddled up close to Mary, his hands free to touch her everywhere … but now she wonders if it was so he didn’t have to look at her, so he could pretend she was the girl he’d just left.

Well. No more.

The next several days crawl. Her roommates give her a wide berth, waiting for her to say something … or not. Every night around 4am, she hears the telltale plink of detritus hitting her window, but she doesn't show her face again.

She wishes he’d just go away.

And then he does, and she wishes she knew what she wanted.

***

She never does say anything to her roommates, but with her mood and the lack of a Mary Goore, they put two-and-two together. They arrange movie nights with vodka and popcorn; they drag her out to clubs that play booty music; they snarl at any man who dares approach her.

She'd never met Mary before her house party, and now it’s like she can’t go to a bar without running into him. The first couple of times, her friends and roommates had barred him from interacting with her with hissed words and thinly-veiled threats, and he’d backed off. But as the leeway around The Event wears off, she eventually has to tell him to fuck off herself.

“But I just want to …”

“No. We’re done, Mary.”

“But—”

“Go away. Or I’m gonna grab a bouncer.”

She feels like she already knows what he’s going to say, anyway, and she’s already exhausted. While she never assumed he was her boyfriend, she had assumed they were exclusive. But: it’s not like the two of them ever talked about what they were, so he has her there … and she can’t help feel like he got away on a technicality on that point. Even before he started sharing her bed and then fucking her, Mary was crashing at her place on the reg. Was it so outlandish to think he wasn’t working his way through half the scene before crawling into bed with her?

And what good can he say about the cruel way he’d dismissed her? Perhaps even going out of his way to show her exactly what she meant to him?

As if she were nothing.

Some. Girl.

No. She has nothing more to say to Mary Goore.

***

Mary finally takes the hint. Now when she sees him out, he sends her looks, but doesn’t attempt to talk to her anymore. She knows all she needs to know anyway when she sees him still consistently leaving with a hottie on his arm.

So it’s with some surprise to her that he tries again in a way that takes her completely off guard.

It’s late in the evening, and for once she doesn't see Mary skulking about the bar she's at. A woman approaches her table and asks if she can talk to her. She thinks maybe the woman needs help, or likes her shoes or something—If she'd known what the woman was about, she'd have never agreed.

“What’s up?” she asks when the two of them are alone at a free high-top in the corner.

“I’m one of Mary’s friends, and—”

She scoffs and makes to go, but the woman rests a hand on her arm.

“No! Wait, hear me out.”

The woman’s eyes plead, and—against her better judgement—she stays.

“You’re not going to convince me of anything.”

“Just listen, ok?”

She folds her arms.

“Look, Mary’s really sorry. He’s really torn up about it. You don’t even—”

“I don’t give a shit about how he feels.”

The woman swallows. “He really does feel awful about the misunderstanding, and—”

“No,” she hisses, making a cut off motion with her arm. The woman’s mouth clicks shut. “Fine, I get it—I shouldn’t have assumed I was the only one he was fucking. That’s on me, I guess. But there was no misunderstanding. He wasn’t confused when he pretended I was just some sad little girl mooning after him. And I don’t know if he saw sex with me as repayment for giving him a place to crash or if my spreading my legs for him just an added bonus.” She's pretty sure her face is purple at this point. "But I seriously doubt he didn’t understand that fucking one person and then leaving to fuck another in the same night is not acceptable—especially without telling them.”

“I … he—”

“So I don’t care how many sympathetic friends he gets to do his dirty work, I’m fucking done with him. He can find another warm body to dupe. He certainly doesn’t lack options.” She starts to walk away and then turns back. “This isn’t some version of hard to get. I want him to leave me alone.”

***

She meets Benny at a friend of a friend’s house party. He’s … ok. Kind of pompous and into himself—but charismatic and funny. And if she wasn’t looking to fill the Mary-Shaped void (instead of waiting for it to close on its own) she probably would have just tossed his number. But he focuses his wattage on her, and his eyes take in her body like it’s a treat, so she thinks: what the hell?

As a boyfriend he’s … ok. He takes her out on dates and buys her small trinkets—so she purposefully overlooks that he has to have his own way. And when she’d been upfront about looking for exclusivity, he’d said they both were both on the same page. So what if he has the tendency to talk over her? It’s not like it’s forever.

In bed he’s … ok. Not exactly a thoughtful dynamo, but he touches her body and meets her eyes during sex—and that’s more than she's had in a while. So what if he sometimes makes little comments about what a catch he is and how lucky she is? It’s not like anyone else is asking to be put on her dance card.

He’s not Mary—but what had Mary been, really? Some guy who’d trespassed on her hospitality because she’d been so starved for contact that she confused gratitude for affection.

It’s inevitable that they run into Mary at a bar—she’s surprised it hadn’t happened sooner—but that doesn’t mean she has to like it.

She and Benny are at the bar eating rubbery burgers and decent fried pickle chips with a pitcher of beer to wash it all down when she looks across the bar and catches Mary glowering at her. She ignores him, and she resolves to put him out of her mind.

Her resolution is blown to shit when she comes back from the bathroom and she sees Mary on a stool next to Benny.

“… you hardly have to do anything. Oh hey, babe.”

“Hey.” She climbs back up onto her stool.

He turns to her. “This is—wait for it—Mary.”

Mary’s eyes bore into hers. She sticks her hand across Benny.

“Hi, Mary. Nice to meet you.”

He limply takes her hand, gives it a shake, then lets go.

“I’m gonna hit the head. Try not to talk about me,” says Benny with a wink.

When he’s well out of earshot, Mary lays into her.

“Are you fucking serious with this guy?”

“What’s it to you?” She pops a pickle chip into her mouth.

“He’s an asshole. He was just telling me he dates girls like you because you’re so grateful for the attention that you’ll accept anything.”

She's a little stung that Mary thinks of her as ugly too—some part of her had been holding onto the scrap that maybe Mary hadn’t been lying about finding her attractive.

She continues to graze the pickles.

“Well, I am grateful, Mary. I’m not like you; I don’t have people lined up around the block waiting to fuck me. I was grateful you were willing to fuck me, and I’m grateful he likes touching me.” She locks her gaze with his. “At least he isn’t ashamed to be seen with me in public.”

Mary’s mouth opens and closes like a fish. Benny’s reappearance interrupts his attempt to form a coherent retort.

"Getting acquainted, I see.”

“Sure,” she says.

“No, that’s good.” He turns to grin at her. “See, Mary here came over to express his …” Benny sucks his teeth and gives her a once over. “Interest in what a … healthy-looking girl you are.”

She squints in confusion as Mary’s face shows open shock.

“That’s not what I …” Mary sputters.

Benny puts his hand over hers.

“Do you think we could accommodate him, babe?”

“What?” she spits out as Mary tries to back away as much as he can while still sitting.

Benny looks at Mary and then at her with a knowing glance. His hand comes up to brush at her cheekbone.

“What would you think about me watching him fuck you?”

If it were any other guy, she might have thrown her drink on Benny—but any disgust she feels toward him seems to be overridden by the opportunity to get in a jab at Mary. Glancing over, she pretends to assess him.

“No,” she says with as much haughtiness as she can muster. “He looks like a hobo. I don’t want to catch fleas.”

Mary actually has the audacity to look hurt.

“Well, let it never be said I couldn’t take a hint.”

He slides off the stool and walks away.

“Hey, wait—she didn’t mean …” sputters Benny.

They watch in silence as he exits the bar.

Benny turns to her. “Why the fuck would you say something like that?”

“Why would you?” she retorts as she crams the last of the burger into her maw.

The mood effectively killed, they pay and head out.

The walk back to his place is a quiet one, both of them annoyed at the other for very different reasons. Once in his apartment, she's barely hung up her coat before Benny is laying into her.

“What that fuck was that back there, huh? Do you know how embarrassing that was for me?”

She rolls her eyes at him.

“My ‘gratitude’ has limits, Benny.”

The slap comes out of nowhere. More of an open-handed punch, really. She goes stumbling backwards, momentarily stunned. When her hand touches her face, it comes away with blood from a split lip. When she looks up, Benny is looking at her coldly, but calmly.

“You hit me,” she says, incredulous.

“I think I’ve been really good about restraining myself until now. You know how you are.”

It should say something that she's more annoyed that Mary was right about wasting her time on an asshole like Benny than she is in fear of him.

She grits her teeth.

“We’re fucking done, Benny.”

His face contorts in a journey of annoyance, disbelief, and irritation.

“You think anyone else is going to want you? Just look at you. You’re lucky to have me.”

“Mary wanted me,” she says.

“What?”

“The guy at the bar. For the record, I’ve already fucked him, and he might have bedbugs, but he’s a much better lay.”

Benny, face red, crowds into her space. “Are you really trying to provoke me right now?”

“You’re right. I’m actually leaving.”

“Bitch, you think—” he moves to grab her wrists, but she pushes him, hard.

He stumbles back and trips over his rug, landing on his ass. It would be comical except for the dark look he gives her. Feeling a sudden lance of fear, she goes for the door, knocking the end table over as an extra obstacle for him. She wastes precious seconds yanking hard at her coat as she flees—hearing it tear somewhere as it pulls free—since her phone and her wallet are in the pockets.

She catches a glimpse of him just getting to his feet yelling, “You fucking cunt,” as she slams the door behind her. Heart pounding, she runs up a flight of stairs, hoping to fake him out—but his door slams open just in time for him to see her.

“You never had it so good!” he screams as he climbs after her.

She chances running down the hall on the next floor to get to the back stairwell, but she’s not quick enough. “If you leave don’t expect me to take you back,” she hears as she practically vaults down the next flight. Instead of continuing or booking it back to the main stairwell, she sprints to the turn in the hall and stops—back pressed against the wall, hand across her mouth as she pants.

Benny’s footfalls stop as he reaches the landing to his floor then pause. She can hear him let out a Fuck, and she tenses—ready to claw if he comes around the corner—but he continues on down the hall. It sounds like he searches the main stairwell again, but it’s hard to tell.

She remains there, getting her breathing back under control and listening intently for the telltale sounds he’s checking the back stairs again … but so far: nothing. As she waits to make sure Benny isn’t going to chase after her, she has time to think about what she'd said to goad him. Part of her wonders if she didn’t have it good with Mary after all; the more reasonable part reminds herself that she deserves better than either of them—even if that means no one.

Finally, she hears him stomping and cursing, and then the slam of his door. Even so, she still waits—playing repeating songs over in her head—before craning her head around the L of the hall. Seeing nothing suspicious, she carefully slinks to the back stairs, lightly tiptoeing down them until she reaches the emergency exit. Uncaring about an alarm, she slams it open, making her way into the cooling night air.

She runs all the way home, never stopping to even put on her coat.

***

For months she’d kept her bedroom window closed and locked—not wanting to give Mary the impression that an open window was an invitation—but after his attempts had stopped with his friend’s plea, she'd felt comfortable cracking it open again.

Which is why several days after the incident with Benny, Mary can once again climb through her window. He scares the bejesus out of her—part of her half-asleep brain convinced it’s Benny here to enact retribution.

Something in her eyes must convey her alarm because he blurts out, “Hey, hey—it’s just me.”

She's relieved until she remembers how pissed at him she is.

“What the fuck, Mary.”

“Sorry.”

She sits up in bed and turns on her bedside lamp.

“Are you fucking kidding me? What about my memo didn’t you get?”

He rubs the back of his neck.

“I know—I’m sorry. I just. I wanted to make sure you were ok.”

“Because I obviously must be wasting away without a dick to fill me?”

He gives her a strange look.

“No. Because of …” He makes a flapping gesture with his hand.

“Because of … what? First word? Sounds like?”

His brows furrow.

“Shit. You don’t know.”

She rubs at her eyes. “It’s fucking late, Mary. Help me out.”

“May I?” he asks as he goes to sit on the edge of her bed.

“No,” she hisses, and he pops back up.

He teeters awkwardly before turning it into a lean against her dresser.

“Benny’s been around. Saying shit.”

“Lemme guess: he’s been talking shit about putting me in my place with a firm hand or something? Maybe that he broke up with me because I’m pathetic? Neither of which are true, by the way.”

Mary actually looks nervous.

“Um. Kinda. But it’s …”

“What?” she snaps.

He takes a deep breath.

“He’s been saying that he found out you were cheating on him so he ‘taught you a lesson’ by ‘destroying your ass’ before kicking you to the curb. He, um. Described it in great detail.”

She stares at Mary, stunned.

“What?”

He rubs his neck again, unable to meet her eyes.

“It’s just. His accuracy … I had to make sure you were ok.”

She realizes she’s balling her fists in her sheet, so she unclenches.

“Oh,” she says. “Well, thanks. I guess.”

“So you are? Ok?”

She rubs her face with her hands.

“I mean, he hit me, but—”

“What?” barks Mary as he looks up at her sharply.

“Yeah. He was pissed I declined to let you fuck me in front of him, so he slapped me. I told him to fuck off and left.”

Mary goes to examine her face before he remembers she's no longer his to touch.

“Sorry,” he mumbles as he backs away again.

“I’m fine, Mary. Just a split lip. Practically healed. You didn’t even notice it.”

“Well, you’re light’s fucking dim. You didn’t even notice …” He trails off.

“Notice what, Mary?”

“Nothing.”

“Notice. What?”

He sighs and holds out his hands. She sees immediately that his knuckles are bruised and bloody.

“Mary! Your hands!”

Before she can stop herself, she shoots up and grabs his hands to examine the damage.

“What happened?”

“Do you really want to know?”

She squints up at him, feeling like she already knows the answer.

“Tell me.”

He sighs.

“True or not, I just couldn’t let that douche talk shit about you in public. I wasn’t the only one, either, you know—you have more friends that you think you do. A couple of us … drove home that he needed to shut the fuck up and move on.”

She hates that she feels thankful, but she is.

And then he has to go and ruin the moment by saying, “I’m not really boyfriend material, you know.”

She lets his hands go.

“That’s such a fucking cop out, Mary. An excuse to keep you from responsibility.”

He makes a frustrated noise.

“I have friends and I have people I fuck. I’m not …. I don’t have friends I fuck.”

The old feelings of righteous indignation flare up.

“Then why? We could have written off that first morning as a one off. Laughed about it as half-asleep shenanigans. Why keep fucking me?”

His head thunks back against the wall.

“Because I was fucking selfish, ok? Sleeping next to you for weeks without touching you was a special kind of torture. I didn’t think I could go back to that. And I wanted … I wanted you to feel good. That’s what I’m good at: making people feel good. You think that you’re this troll who’s lucky if someone looks at you, and I needed to show you that you’re not. Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean you aren’t hot, ok? Your problem isn’t that you’re ‘ugly’—it’s that you refuse to believe anyone could be into you. You miss what’s right in front of you—and I don’t even mean me.”

Her lather gets up.

“Well, congrats: you did, you asshole. You made me feel like I could be worth something. You came by and talked to me about shit and slept in my bed and touched me like I wasn’t a gross beach ball. And then you,” tears suddenly well in her eyes, “and then you treated me like trash. You tell me you wanted to show me I was worth something, but then you treated me like I was some delusional fangirl—like you weren’t coming here and fucking me every night—so you could go home with a fucking goth model. You made sure you weren’t even subtle. Was I ever more than just the after party, Mary? Some place to slink to after the main event so you didn’t have to go home?”

Piece said, she scrubs her eyes and sniffles at Mary. He only stares back at her as the minutes start to tick by uncomfortably.

Just when she's given up on getting a response from him, he says,

“I just assumed you understood who I was.”

She waits for more. Anything else.

But that’s it. That’s all he has to say.

“I didn’t, but I do now,” she says tiredly. “And I deserve better than your paltry offering.”

Again, he has the audacity to look hurt.

She settles herself back into her covers.

“I appreciate you beating the shit out of Benny, but I really do wish you’d leave me alone. My open window just means I’d like some fresh air.”

“I—”

“Leave,” she hisses as she drapes her arm over her eyes.

It takes a moment, but then she hears Mary shuffle over to the window and scramble out of it.

And then all she hears is the wind blowing through the trees.

Epilogue

And that could be the end of it.

It certainly feels like the end of the 2yr entanglement with Mary Goore. He seems to disappear from her life just as suddenly as he arrived. Everyone around her vows to hate him on principle even if she suspects a few of them still smoke with him.

One of her roommates moves out, and one that she ends up hating moves in.

She gets a new job, and has a brief affair with a colleague that ends in tears when he realizes he actually is ready to marry his ex.

Once or twice she Googles Mary, but he has zero social media presence—just a few blurry, red-eyed pics of him with other people from the scene.

She moves into a place with another girl from work.

Two of her friends get married to each other.

She pays off her student debt and buys a modest place.

Occasionally she hears mention of one of his shenanigans, but never anything substantial. Never anything about his lovers.

More of her friends get married.

She finds herself missing the days when she could do casual shots with roommates and still be fresh for work the next day.

She dates every asshole her dating app has to offer before deleting them all and buying some very nice toys.

Sometimes she goes out to her old haunts and watches the social shit show with fondness.

Mary becomes like that song: someone she used to know.

Until …

He isn’t.

It’s in that Japanese coffee shop of all places that she finally sees him—the man behind the myth—again. She’s tapping away at her laptop, latte in hand, when she sees him in line. At first, she doesn’t even think it’s him.

She thinks, “Huh. That dude looks like Mary Goore.” But the longer she stares, the more she realizes that it is Mary Goore.

Mary used to be a skinny-ass noodle boy. His hair was always greasy and flaky with product. Even when clean, his clothes were covered in stains and holes. His leather jacket was dull with half the lining ripped away, and his Docs were covered in black duct tape. Under his makeup, his face was handsome, but covered in acne.

This … man is still very slender, but his shoulders have broadened, and she thinks she can detect a little potbelly. His hair is still styled, but it looks clean. He looks clean. His leather jacket looks lived in, but is still shiny. The black jeans are still molded onto his legs … but the only rips are at his knees and—unlike the only pair she ever saw him wear—don’t look like they’d ooze oil if you pressed hard. The ends are tucked into boots that—while scuffed—aren’t cracked or peeling. When he turns to stare absently at the wall, she can see that his face has filled out a bit, but the makeup is more subtle—still white in pallor, but instead of clunky skull accents, his eyes and cheeks are sleek and contoured.

The old feeling of longing stirs in her gut.

It’s why, stupidly, instead of being satisfied with just this glimpse, she says (in a hesitant, wavering voice), “Mary?” after he gets his order. She doesn't know why she does this to herself. It’s not like she wants to hear about his marriage or his kids. Or worse—how he’s still giving it away for free like that’s all he’s worth.

Despite various diets and exercise regimes, she's only grown more womanly—but she's learned that what Mary told her all those years ago was truth: she was the only thing cockblocking herself.

To-go cup in hand, he swivels his head this way and that, trying to find the source of his name. His gaze glosses right over her, and she doesn't quite have the courage to call out to him again. But then his eyes land on her and focus—and then he breaks out in a huge grin that opens up his whole face, that shows the fine lines his placid look was hiding.

“Oh my god. Is that you?”

She blushes and nods. He saunters over and half sits against the opposite stool. His eyes travel her up and down. She’s only a little self-conscious that he’s managed to glow-up while she's merely discovered the miracle of a tailor and Vaseline.

“You look great,” he says in a soft voice.

She waves away the compliment. “Look at you! Did you go into modeling or something?”

He snorts at her. “I—well … I guess there’s a lot of shit you wouldn’t know; a lot of shit I didn’t want to tell you. Anyway—long, boring story—after I got kicked out of my living situation, I ended up rooming with a bunch of drag queens.” He shrugs, but there’s a half smile on his face. “I was kind of their pet project for a while.”

She mirrors his expression. “That would only happen to you.”

“So how’s—” “Are you—”

Both of them chuckle nervously. Mary makes a “go on” motion.

As she wet her lips, her eyes flick to where his left hand is wrapped around his cup. No ring.

“I believe this is the part where I inquire after the health of a … uh … girlfriend?”

Subtle.

Mary’s half smile becomes whole.

“Oh, ah. Not one of those. Or the other kind. Not for a while, anyway.” He shrugs. “And … you?” he says carefully. “Husband? Kids?”

She feels her face flush, and she looks down.

“No, nothing like that.”

There’s what feels like a tense pause, but when she looks up, Mary is worrying at his bottom lip.

“I, uh. I looked for you, you know.”

Her eyes go wide “Y-you—you did?”

He nods. “But you … moved.”

She mirrors his nodding. “And changed jobs. Twice.”

He taps the tabletop between them. She rubs her palms down her jeans.

“That was kinda a fucked up time for me. I’m afraid I was really shitty to you.”

“Oh no, Mare—”

He holds his hand up. “No, I was. And I’m really fucking sorry about it. If this is it, if I never see you again, you have to know that. That, and you were just about the only good thing in my life for a while. I think I spent years chasing what I gave away with you.”

“Oh, Mare …” she says, too overcome to verbalize anything further.

“Except beating the shit out of Benny. He deserved that, and I’d do it again.”

She laughs, as was his intention.

“Maybe you should have knocked his head harder. He went away for trying to run over his girlfriend, you know?”

Mary’s brow furrows. “No shit?”

“No shit. She survived but ended up in traction.”

His face seems to darken.

“Did I push you into his arms?”

She sighs. “No, Mary. That was my own shitty decision. It’s not like I was at my best either.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he says almost under his breath.

The two of them stare at each, the conversation seemingly having run its course. Then Mary jumps, and fumbles to get his phone out of his pocket. His eyes scan the screen, then he locks it.

“So … I, uh. Have to go.”

Her blood turns into ice in her veins, and she plasters a smile on her face. “Oh, ok. I understand.”

He slides off the stool, his phone scraping across the table in tandem. He goes to put it in his pocket, then raises it, then half lowers it, then grimaces at her.

“You wouldn’t want to get coffee sometime, would you? I mean, again. Not here. Or here is fine, but as a date.” His faces screw up. “Not like a date date—but like, a get together. To … talk.” His eyebrows form a triangle and he sucks his lips into his mouth, as if that’ll stop him from his verbal diarrhea.

She smiles at him. “I actually would like that very much, Mary.” She holds out her hand, and he hands her his phone.

#angst #mary goore #ficlet #brief #domestic abuse #not by mary #but mary is a dick #female reader 3rd person #n/sfw #longfic #my writing #original content

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twinkleallnight · 4 years

Text

Marshmallow

(Part-5) Frozen heart

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Liam x MC, Drake x ??

For previous chapters: catch up here

Thank you @bbrandy2002 for prereading and listening to my blabbering last two weeks. Blessed to have you here.

A/N: This is my first attempt at wacky drabbles. It's wacky drabbles #58. "Where are you going? It's not safe out there." It will appear in bold.

Tags: @ao719 @bbrandy2002 @choiceskatie @drakewalker04 @gkittylove99 @glaimtruelovealways @hopefulmoonobject @jovialyouthmusic @mrswalkers-blog @mom2000aggie @speedyoperarascalparty @texaskitten30 @wackydrabbles

I stand frozen at the door steps of the Nevrakis’ chateau till a soft voice calls out my name. I see Hana queueing up behind me. She is holding my forearm in both her slender hands and shaking vigorously. I give her a questioning look.

She lets go of my arm suddenly realising, and says, “My apologies! I called you out few times but you were lost in your thoughts.”

“I am sorry for blocking the way.” I reply, shaking my head in an attempt to clear it of any thoughts of what I saw moments ago.

I start dragging myself ahead to my room. My mind is replacing previous thoughts with new ones. ‘Why am I here? My job is back at the palace, taking care of their farms and horses. I don’t have any part to play here besides, maybe, to play the role of Prince’s best friend or to look out for his favourite suitor, as he has asked me to.’

A beep on my phone brings me back. It’s Max's text message calling me out for ice skating.

I text him that I will join later; Max is always full of energy. After this long drive, he has not wasted a minute and is already out on the frozen lake with Riley.

I stand at my window, looking out toward the lake and watch the small group gathered at the lake. I can see Liam is with Riley now while Max is skating to the other end with Livy. They are all enjoying themselves. Then there are others whom I don’t know much or care about.

I get back and settle my things in my room. As I relax down, my phone beeps again. This time, Liam asks to join the group for skiing with a special request, 'watch her back.’

I meet Riley soon and we decide to race. As we ski down, we cross Liam and Livy. Riley distracts them and I catch a glimpse of Livy’s annoyed expression. I don’t understand if that look is for me or Riley?

I get up with a sigh. This guy is going crazy. What wrong can happen while skiing unless she is trying it for the first time? I gear up and walk out.

I land at the base a few seconds after Riley. “ Yay! I win!” She exclaims.

“ Okay! Point granted. Sadly, the happy part ends here today. From tomorrow we will be all back to the balls and the gowns. Hope u are as smooth at waltzing too.”

“Not at all. I need lot of lessons.”

“I am surprised. House Beaumont is sponsoring you. As cool as Max may be, I don’t think the elder Beaumont will leave any stone unturned in your grooming.”

“Bingo. Bertrand is very strict, I must say, unlike his younger brother, Max. But he was busy with some official work and left it to Max to teach me Cordonian waltz. But five minutes into training, all we did was Max's favourite breakdance moves.”

“So how do you plan to impress tomorrow?”

“Oh, I have Hana.”

“Don’t tell me, Hana is going to teach you. How does she know it so well?”

“Oh, yes, she is. That girl can handle anything from a needle to a sword.”

“Wow!” I must admit, Hana surprises me with her treasure chest full of talent.

“You wanna join?”

“Not my cup of tea”

“Come on. You can at least watch.”

“Okay.”

Shortly the party moves to the lodge. I join Max, Riley and Hana, sipping hot chocolate.

We sit there planning Riley’s dance lessons when Max suddenly straightens up. I follow his eyes and see Livy walking towards us. Unknowingly, even my back tightens up.

Livy’s sharp eyes catch the change in our demeanour and her lips curl up in a smirk.

“Hello everyone I hope you are enjoying the Lythikos hospitality. Max that’s your favourite flavour. You must be loving it,”

“As always!” He replies, raising his glass.

She ignores my presence, turns to the girls, and starts talking. I make myself scarce and walk out of the lodge. It’s cold outside, but I take few steps into the woods. I stand there for sometime, looking up at the sky.

“Where are you going? It’s not safe out there.” Max calls out.

As he comes closer, I quote C.S. Lewis from our childhood,

“If belated drops yet fall,

From heaven, on these her plastic power…”

I pause and shift my gaze to look at Max. Now he stares up at the evening light and completes the verse.

“ Still works as once it worked on all,

The glad rush of the golden shower.”

He looks at me and suddenly realises the hint. As if on a cue, we both start running, trampling over the snow cover, in a rush to reach our favourite spot. We always came here to see the meteor shower as kids.

I fall back, and I see him lying flat on his back, when I reach the spot. I huff, bending over, “you win again!”

Without a word, he kicks behind my knee making me topple, and I land on my back next to him. We both peer at the sky quietly for sometime when he speaks, “ I miss it.”

“What?” I ask knowingly.

“ The carefree days. Our vacation here when it was four of us. I hate to see you guys growing up.”

“You never grew up?”

“ Not quite like you. I am living, enjoying not dragging myself.”

“ You mean by keeping your joker mask on? Showing others that you are happy? Is that what you call enjoying?” I question him.

“ If you can’t change it, at least learn to drive some happiness out of it.”

“I am happy for Liam and Riley.”

“And what about Livy?”

“What about her?”

“ Have you looked into the mirror lately? That long drawn face of yours? Even today, when she was laughing and enjoying, you couldn’t reciprocate with a smile?”

“I .. I hurt her.” I fluster.

“ It doesn’t matter what you did then. What matters is, what is here now. Live in the moment.”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm.” He hums after me.

We lie down, gazing at the sky until the meteor showers ends.

As Max starts, I join in.

“Among the hills, a meteorite

Lies huge and moss has overgrown,

And wind and rain with touches light

Made soft, the contours of the stone.

Thus easily can Earth digest

A cylinder of sidereal fire,

And make her translunary guest

The native of an English shire.”

I will digest and will make the changes, my native - part of my life. I resolve as we walk back to the chateau.

The next day, I spend most of my time in my room catching up with some reading and calls from the palace, managing the administrative work until it’s Showtime.

Reluctantly, I make my way to the ball room of the chateau. I search through the name plates on the tables to find my place. A big smile of relief spreads across my face when I see it on the last table in the corner, away from the crowd. I make a note to thank Livy. She remembered to keep me away from all the hullabaloo. Complacent, I take my seat and wait for the rest to join.

I wonder why Riley and Hana are sitting with me or why Livy has not chosen a place closer to Liam for Riley. Soon both the girls find there way to the table.

When the dishes are served, it becomes evident that this table was the chosen one; to be left out. The service remains poor at our table throughout. The food served is cold. There is a stark difference in the staff's attitude towards us, as if they are trained specially to ignore us.

I understand it might be her grudge against me, but why Livy is putting Riley and Hana through this?

Next I see, Livy is up there on the dance floor announcing the commencement of Cordonian waltz. Riley and Hana both get up while I remain seated.

Hana asks, “ Are you not coming?”

“Sorry, I am not comfortable with the dance. I will enjoy watching it. Thank you.” They leave me alone.

Livy being the host, starts the dance with Liam. A loose circle forms around them but my eyes keep following her. The partners keep changing. Now she is dancing with Max. They exchange small talks, and she is bubbling until she changes partner and is in Liam’s arms again.

Her expressions seem different. What is she up to? I am trying to decipher, and then it happens. No, maybe I am dreaming, but I hear gasps and loud whispers around me. Livy is kissing Liam! On the dance floor! In front of the whole court?

Liam moves away a bit from her politely and gestures at her to follow him outside. He is the typical stoic self. He won’t let it show. He has been trained to hide his emotions well.

I don’t know what to do, where to go. I keep sitting there till the crowd fades away into the night. The ballroom is vacant. A staff shakes me out of my thoughts.

I get up and walk to the foyer. The flickering light in the east wing catches my attention. But I don’t know where is everyone.

I walk to the wine cellar with heavy steps in a hope to find some solace. That’s been my hiding place here since teenage. I slowly climb down the spiralling stairs, but a sound stops me. There is already some one there.

And then I hear a male voice.

“Livy… Livy? …. Livs!…. What happened… come here..”

“I..I..I can’t..” I hear her trying to speak between the sobs.

I bend down to see someone curling his arms around her. “Hey…. Shhh.. it’s ok.. it will be fine.. we will be fine..”

“No.. it will never be the same again. We will never be same again.” She cries harder.

“I know dear. This is all we have now. But I am here . I will always be.”

She hold his arms. Her face digs in his chest, and she wails out. He holds her tight.

I quietly step back and walk out into the foyer.

The words resonate in my mind. “ I am here. I will always be.”

Now it’s not just my mind or thoughts. I feel I have a frozen heart.

#liam x riley #king liam #hana lee #choices the royal romance #the royal romance #twinkleallnight #drake walker #choices fanfic

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nobody-knose--archive · 3 years

Text

so guess who bought complete demos today on a whim

yeah i wasn’t expecting this one to be over as quickly as it was either. have your liveblog

-complete demos. i bought it today & already forgot the tracklist. listening to it on the mp3 player i got for hmcrmshcidshdamsth because why not. makes pausing/typing easier that's why

-who the heck just coughed

-good lord the mixing is. and boy that's steve drumming isn't it. wow

-i mean we've got the stereo panning just like ever but this is incredibly rough. they are true babies aren't they

-oh those flutes are amazing what the hell. can people stop yelling in my individual ears

-and there's the rough megaphone. it's so incredibly clear that these aren't studio recordings but like. still tally hall!

-i think i'm finding many of these a little too funny but gotdam you're pitchbending your own voice do you really expect that to not sound so goofy at such a high pitch

-oh we're not slowing down at all, this is the same tempo as before for sure

-the flipping around audio channels is very not good at all when it comes to disguising the cuts between takes

-a sculptor you say? (is that one in the later versions? i don't remember it at all)

-nothing but rob's voices in the background and maybe 1 or two from red. no ross bits whatsoever. that's wild

-quick move into the greener intro and even quicker movement into greener itself

-well those are extra harmonies. interesting that they removed them for later versions because they're not bad, maybe a little out of place though

-honestly the biggest difference in steve vs ross drumming seems to be more a difference in the quality of the drums themselves. or the recording software but that applies to everything in this album

-it's painfully obvious that everything was recorded in really different circumstances & not mixed professionally and yep. complete demos alright. not inaccurately named in the slightest

-reminds me of the beta versions of g&e songs we heard live before they appeared on the album, makes me wonder if we could've gotten an admittedly complete demos for g&e somehow

-anyway these little different synths-

-hello there rob. alternate bridge. i have remembered this is a thing. something about tissues? a shoulder to cry on? cool

-yeah the little different synths do capture my attention from time to time

-and a basic piano for the outro? huh. sure gives it a different tone alright

-hm? who's that right at the end there- ooh! wtth time! and this still has steve in it doesn't it?

-generally more enthusiasm when it comes to that T, wonder what lost him attention in later years

-boy is that beatboxing weirdly mixed.

-lawn

-well this chorus is actually rather snazzy. the vocals seem better mixed than anything else i've heard in this album

-"who's to blame?" that's like the 4th time now i've heard someone's random voice that i can't recognize. ...it couldn't be steve, could it? i am now aware i have absolutely no clue what his voice sounds like but that seems like it could fit. hm

-zubin sounds really unenthusiastic here. just faintly unenthusiastic all over the place. still sounds more like "badiggle" than anything else

-oh shit they're falling down a well

-red's bit is hella unchanged other than the direct invasion of my individual ears & extra megaphone useage (i really wish the megaphone became more of a tally icon than it did but that's neither here nor there)

-it's rather more barebones though. less andrew keys in general. the calliope-reminiscent synth he uses is different i suppose.

-they did more stuff with funny crowd voices i think i've noticed. playing around with falsetto, as a college band dude might do

-ok yeah steve is a worse drummer. don't ask me what made me change my mind but i did

-wow a crowd that can consistently clap on the 1-2-3-4? how utterly unrealistic

-no wonky wild & weird intro to taken for a ride because i don't think it's on this album. understandable, i can't imagine what sort of wild hell the vocoder would be if it was attempted this early in its lifespan

-1st 2 piano chords of just apathy has me thinking of i know your name (deporitaz ver.) which is certainly as good a start to a song as any

-extended piano intro has me thinking of the ending of mold en mono but nope here's rob's voice to completely knock that impression out of the water

-ohoho? rob cantor swearing momence? i hadn't realized there'd be this many lyric changes

-interestingly enough this track doesn't seem horrendously mixed so far- nevermind that guitar/piano together is way too loud

-the guitar itself does have a pretty cool unique sound. obviously they hadn't had any access to string instruments at this point so given that those're the main thing separating this song from your average sade rock ballad there aren't a whole lot of notable differences here other than said guitar

-very different tone to this lil bridge. faintly reminiscent of weezer but it's not like i know anything about weezer

-sounds like the same synth from wtth being used in the bg there. what, did they have just that limited a selection so as to need repetition that frequently, or did they really like how it sounds? hard to tell with 200 (uhhhh) 4 college band dudes

-and right into two wuv. yes i had heard there's no haiku in this one but i forget what else will be missing. not sure if anything else will other than hidden in the sand. they would have ruler of everything, right? and a track that appears here but not any other albums? something like that i think

-more of that piano in the bg and more of mildly unenthusiastic zubin singing. different melody for said singing but it's not much of a secret that these guys were more untrained vocalists at this time

- .subsides?

-this chorus sounds significantly more laid-back than the later version

-the extra piano part sure moves this piece way further away from "rock love song" & way closer to "andrew horowitz song", especially that lil flourish where a bee buzzing might otherwise be

-ooh! andrew! he speaks! so does zubin! this song's two olsen boys coming in for a weird bridge bit! hell yeah oh this is adorable

-"because there's 2 of them :}"

-hm. are they actually just removing various parts because they don't have the technological capabilities to do a straight fadeout here? got dam

-i suppose letting zubin do a final solo-ish cadence works too

-uh- say it ain't so‽ w. no this is stationary love, the song that appeared here & nowhere else. cool, cool. strange but cool i guess

-i guess that can explain the multitude of weezer comparisons made for these lads. it's certainly there. honestly andrew was the only thing keeping them from being true weezer successors

-pure acoustic guitar thus far. this is my first time hearing this song of course & it seems like a pretty typical rob "homophonic heterophobic" cantor song

-nothing but acoustic guitar. nothing but rob vocals. nothing but alloromanticism. guess what! it's not my cup of tea! however i can't help but think if this song was worked on more, fixed up a la either mmmm release, with some more andrew/red touches, i could enjoy it some more

-not even any drumming. the simplicity could easily explain why it wasn't played live very often at all

-so the next thing i expect is some very funky & very weird spring and a storm which should highlight steve's (worse) drumming more than anything else i'm sure

-nevermind banana man's just getting slapped directly in here out of order compared to the later mmmm releases. this version i have indeed heard before because it's the version used in the music video

-therefore i have very little to say about it i haven't said on any of the other banana men. or other tracks on this album. the intrusions of vocal harmonies seem jarring because they're not mixed professionally, an effect that's only enhanced by the stereo panning & intense reverb

-this song really didn't change all that much over its lifespan, did it? vocal flairs were redone, but relatively few harmonies were added/removed, i don't think things like the bridge(s) were modified severely. not as noticeably as any of the other songs, at the very least

-i'm pretty sure i can hear andrew's voice in there but beyond that this is severely unsettling

-back to the chorus wahoo. relievingly familiar territory

-get out of my left ear hawaiian guitar- wait a minute are my earbuds on wrong

-no i'm good

-oh holy shit i forgot this had to be somewhere didn't it‽ i know it's just the same! ok ok

-i've heard this one but only because i had no idea it was from complete demos, it's like rather polished too so i had never considered it would be on an unpolished album like this. i also had no idea that was goddam steve drumming in there too hot damn

-and this is the only recording of it‽ that's wild i always thought it was redone at some point & just kinda. manifested in one of the vague ways miscellaneous high quality tally hall songs do

-it's another romance one but the guitar arpeggios and extra layers give it a pass in my book. man i should watch the music video for it shouldn't i

-i still think it's utterly wild how tally hall played this at an actual high school's homecoming once. wouldn't that just blow your mind

-there's not a major difference between how it's performed here & what i've heard of it in from the occasional live performance, which is making me realize i should watch more live performances of this song

-angstier prequel to hidden in the sand

-or sidequel maybe. depends really. we can tell whatever stories we like

-did my hidden in the sand sotry come out of the queue yet? i feel like i queued it a while ago but also like y'all would've said something if you'd seen it

-bit slow paced innit. much like everything else in this album, it would have gained much from a professional studio treatment, but its mixing & general quality is still surely the best out of everything i've heard so far

-working your falsetto there aren't you my dude? ooh boy

-ruler of everything.... so no spring & a storm? >{

-yeah. ok. weird glockenspiel. almost sounds like a music box

-no vocoding either! i just realized that's a thing here! curious. and... those are some heavily wonky sfx in the background

-who's singing those aaaaas anyway? it's not a chorus which i thought could surely be handled and there's really minimal reverb too; strange considering not only is reverb a jh trademark but easily doable here

-the piano synth used is mostly identical to the 05 mmmm- oh holy shit there's different lyrics & they're being beamed directly into my skull

-even more nonsensical & it's because you can hear them hella easily too. that backwards segment did not need to go on as long as it did. also

-so no zubin vocals? >{

-slapping 5 billion vocal effects on doesn't make up for a lack of the best singer in this damn band

-especially because he sounds reminiscent of goddam fred. being fred before fred was even a thing. oh how accursed

-quiet down your guitars when you're singing shouting through a megaphone if you please

-and there's the earstrain-ass reverb + vocoding on the flibbity jibber jabber reprise. i feared as much would happen. doesn't sound horrible i just need to turn down the volume on my mp3 player

-honestly thing whole thing isn't bad at all in the sense that it's mostly just strongly different from the later versions & lacks zubin

-lease stop yelling though my dude schwiggling your voice like that isn't always a good thing at high volumes

-is that the end? are we.... at the end? i heard that's the name of some song from like sketches or something

-no. how silly of me to assume as much. anyway my dude needs to fix up his ukulele this one sounds like shit

-no vocal effects makes me realize how few times we got this one live-

-now what would you call a wonky little transition like that? puts a smile on my face, even if it does take me by surprise at the same time

-but at least one of the times this was done live featured casey shea

-now for the love of god i already hate the ending of something glowing (view-monster) for its weird-ass asmr finale don't reverse someone's cough & twiddle your ukulele strings directly into my right ear to end an otherwise really nice version of hidden in the sand if you please. oh mama mia. good night

#tally hall #loolin liveblogs #joe is mentioned sometimes but not by name fyi #tis i #as usual it's recommended that you listen to the album in question as you read to get a better idea of the context #because 9 times out of 10 i won't tell you it #i feel like i come off as slightly negative for much of this. what can i say complete demos is an album of amateur demos #the songs aren't as good as their later counterparts by nature & that's all i ever have to say #to the world and back again

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preface2adreamplay · 4 years

Text

Under Your Spell (Part 20) - A Thorn of Wisdom

Summary: A Jared Padalecki/OFC /Oscar Isaac fiction.

Stef and Claire try to enjoy themselves at the con.

Chapter warnings: Flirting, swearing, infidelity, smut.

Chapter WC: 3,617

I risk a kiss. One kiss

One kiss!

I knew from then my life had died

Stef sat alone pushing food around her plate.

Giving up, she pushed it away. The restaurant was empty, Claire had never showed. Dropping as good a tip as she could on the table, Stef gathered her things and stepped out into the crisp autumn afternoon. It was warmer than yesterday, which was lucky as she had only brought a light jacket.

Shades down over her eyes, she wandered the streets for a bit. Everyone was bustling around, enjoying themselves, convention goers were easy to spot; most of them were wearing some kind of geek-tastic garments.

Stef’s phone had been pinging in her purse the last half hour, but she didn’t bother checking it, if it were really important, they’d call.

Deciding to do something she hadn’t done in at least a decade, Stef found a bench in the local park and slipped on her headphones. The familiar sounds of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ filled her ears. Elbows on her knees, she put her chin into her hands and watched the world go by.

There was couple not too far away, both looking at something on a phone and laughing and another in the distance being very, very handsy.

She thought of Jared’s hands, how they made every part of her feel small.

Can we stop thinking about Jared for five minutes? Stef scolded herself.

Turning up the song, she ignored her inner thoughts.

The sun was dipping lower in the sky and she was utterly alone in the park now.

Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she scrolled through the messages.

Claire: Shit, sorry about lunch I went to the restaurant but you were gone.

Claire: Where are you?

Claire: You ok?

Darius: Hope you’re having fun, buy me something with dads face on it

Jared: Sorry about earlier, what you up to?

There was a missed call from Claire.

‘Hey bitch, whats up?’

‘Where are you?’

‘I’m walking out of the park right now, on my way back to the hotel.’

‘Are you on your own?’

Stef looked around, checking over her shoulder. ‘Yep.’

‘Where is it, we will come get you.’

‘It’s only, like, four blocks away.’

‘Hot young woman alone in a park, bitch, we are coming to get you before someone else does.’

‘Fine, I’ll wait by the hot dog stand.’

As Claire was hanging up, she could hear Richard getting an earful of abuse. Stef chuckled, Claire never put the crazy on a slow boil.

The hot dog stand seller was determined to sell a hot dog to Stef, trying to lure her in with the promise of the best mustard she’s ever had.

Telling him she was a vegetarian who hated mustard didn’t deter him.

She sighed with relief as an S.U.V. pulled up next to her, Claire’s hand beckoning her from the open window. Stef climbed into the back. She shook off the chill and the hot dog stink.

‘You ok, why did you just disappear? I was so worried.’

Claire had twisted around in her seat, a crease between her eyebrows as she scowled.

‘You didn’t show up for lunch, so I went for a walk.’

‘But you were gone for hours!’ She screeched.

‘Chill the fuck out, Claire.’

Richard was watching her in the rear view mirror.

‘Everyone was starting to freak out.’

Stef rolled her eyes, feeling like a teenager who had been caught breaking the law by a very disappointed parent.

‘What were you doing that you missed the dinner?’

‘I’ll tell you later,’ Claire huffed, back into her bad mood.

Stef pulled out her phone, desperate to ignore the tension.

Stef: I’m heading back to the hotel now, been out enjoying the sights.

Jared saw the message straight away, typing back quick as a shot.

Jared: I’m free for a half hour, can I come to your room?

Stef: ok, but no funny business.

Pulling into the underground, Richard parked up and put a hand on Claire’s knee.

‘I’m calm. I’m sorry, I just got worried about her.’

Richard nodded quietly.

‘Sorry, I got snappy, Stef.’

Stef grabbed her friend as they walked to the elevator, pulling her into a crushing hug. ‘I know you love me, sorry I didn’t contact you. I just needed a bit of head space.’

Claire took her hand, the other already in Richard’s. The three of them stood in the elevator in silence. Breaking apart when the doors slid open on Stef’s floor.

‘I’ll meet up with you guys in a bit.’

Claire wiggled in her fingers in farewell as Stef made her way down the hall.

Jared was leaning against the wall, ankles crossed.

So goddamn cute, Stef thought.

He stood to his full height when he saw her coming toward him, leaning in for a quick kiss on the cheek. ‘You good?’ He asked, pinching her chin between his thumb and forefinger.

‘Yeah, I’m good. Wanna come in?’ It was a useless question, he was on her heels as she opened the door.

She plonked herself onto the bed, taking off her boots. Jared sat on the edge of the desk, his arms folded across his chest, brows furrowed.

‘If you have something to say, please say it.’ Stef huffed.

Jared raised his eyebrows in surprise, ‘yeah so I understand you’re not happy with how this weekend worked out and I get it, I’m not either.’

‘It’s one thing of many that has me unhappy right now, let’s not lay all the blame on you.’

Jared blew hard through his nose, Stef wasn’t sure if he was mirthless laugh or one of those noises her father would make when he was about to say something sarcastic.

‘They come first, Stef, I’m sorry.’ Jared shook his head, looking down at the floor.

‘I know, Jared.’ Her voice was steady, this conversation had happened more than once, on her side at least. Her son was always more important than any person she dated. A lot of them hated it.

‘I have my own family, I get it.’

He still wasn’t looking at her. Stef moved toward him, their height difference more obvious now that she was barefoot, she just reached his shoulder.

Placing her hands on either side of his face, the stubble scrubbing against her palms as he put on a smile for her.

‘I don’t like that you’re unhappy, but I can’t do anything about it right now.’

Jared leaned his forehead against hers, still holding himself.

‘You can make it up to me another time,’ Stef stroked his face gently.

His hazel eyes finally met hers. He was sad. It wasn’t just this. Something else was eating at him.

‘What is it?’

She felt his hands reaching under her blouse, lifting it slightly so he could rest them against her hips. His skin was hot. Always so hot.

‘I wanted a weekend with just you and me, somewhere not hidden away and I think....I think my wife knew that and that’s why she came.’

Stef kissed his dimples, each in turn. She kissed his eyelids and his brow, holding him against her shoulder. They held each other in silence.

‘If your smell could rub off on me, that would be great.’ Stef placed a kiss on his hairline.

Jared chuckled, ‘I’ll rub off you like a cat, I can leave some hair if you want.’

‘Oh, your hair is already on the sheets. I found one inside the sleeve of my jacket earlier.’

Jared hummed against her neck, kissing down to her collarbone. ‘Are you coming to the Q&A?’

‘I promised I would.’

‘That was before,’ his voice came from her bosom, his nose nudging at her cleavage.

‘I’m still going. Claire missed lunch so I think I will make her buy the drinks for the night.’

‘You flying back tomorrow with a hangover?’

‘Fuck yes!’ Stef groaned, knowing it was going to be hellish going back home with Claire and no Richard.

‘Damn, that’s a long flight, that makes me feel worse now I couldn’t spend more time with you.’

‘Ah, I can hang with my friends, don’t worry, I’m a big girl, I don’t need that much entertaining.’

Jared sighed, checking his watch. ‘I gotta go before I start getting panicked phone calls from Jensen. See you down there?’

Stef pressed her lips into a tight smile, scrunching her face. ‘I’ll see you but uh, probably not a great idea to be hanging around you!’

Jared, who was half way to kissing her face, paused, peering at her with one eye closed. ‘You’re right. So, kiss me quick.’

Stef obeyed, an open mouth kiss with a flick of tongue before pulling away.

‘Nuh-uh,’ Jared responded by putting a hand into her hair and holding her; his mouth on hers for a deeper kiss. She knew he hadn’t had his fill but had to detach himself. His phone started to ring.

‘Fuck me, leave me alone for five minutes.’

Answering the call, he gave Stef a wink, hugging her quick with one arm.

And just like that he was gone again.

***

The hall was packed tight. A queue wound its way from the stage all the way down to the back of the room and around the other side. Stef stood next to Claire who was craning her neck constantly to get a view of Richard on stage. There was no use in telling her to stop, Stef knew she wouldn’t.

Everyone on stage was in great spirits, livening up the crowd easily. Some dancing, some singing. Then the questions came, Jensen as usual, played a serious version of himself, mostly to make Jared look like more of a goof than he already was.

It was the first time Stef got to see him as the adored person he was, his personality really was perfect for it. Throwing his legs over the back of the chair, his hands running through his hair every few minutes.

Jared chewed his gum with his mouth open, Stef remembered telling Darius not to do that; her mother would yell at her for doing it.

‘Can you believe I’m fucking that guy,’ Stef whispered to Claire.

Claire bit her lip, looking from Jared to Stef. ‘Lucky bitch.’

I am, Stef figured. Massive shoulders, strong arms, abs you could wash your clothes on, a cute ass and dimples? Not to mention a great sense of humor, Stef could never resist a guy who could make her laugh.

He was an impressive totem. And he was entertaining this crowd, screaming like a bunch of girls at a boy band every time they did, well, anything!

Stef made a note to try watch all of Supernatural, it was a show she had dipped in and out of through the years. She was terrible at keeping up with tv, making an exception for anything Oscar was in. Sometimes when Darius was younger, they would curl up on the sofa and watch him with bowls of popcorn, ready to call Oscar and rate his performance, a call Oscar said he always looked forward to.

Somehow, she thought, Jared may not feel the same way about that situation.

After the screams and laughter died down, a girl stepped up to the microphone.

‘My question is for Jared. Since starring in a music video, do you think you’ll do it again? Coz it was so sexy.’

Jared put a hand to his brow, Jensen was looking at his friend, doing his best to stifle a laugh.

Eventually Jared put the microphone to his mouth, ’No!’

‘Why not?!’ The girl squeaked.

‘Because that was special!’ Jared swung around in his chair, doing a 360 turn. Jensen continued looking at him, no expression on his face, microphone poised to say something.

‘Aww c’mon,’ the girl teased.

Stef could feel the heat rising in her cheeks, Claire was giggling next to her.

‘It was fun and yeah, I dig the music. But if I do it all the time, it won’t be special anymore.’

There was a wave of disappointed noises from the crowd.

‘They’re hungry for you, buddy.’ Jensen’s voice rippled across the room, followed by loud cheers.

Stef wished she could slip out of the room, unseen. But if she were noticed now, it would be awkward. So she sat still. At least Claire was here.

Claire seemed to feel her friends discomfort, sliding a hand into hers, she held on tight, not taking her eyes off stage.

Richard was at the side of the stage chatting a little to someone next to him, laughing at Jensen who was now making fun of Jared.

Jared was sweating more than usual, Stef could see it glistening on his neck. He was shaking his head, hair falling into his face.

‘Two videos wasn’t enough for you guys?’ Jared held his hands up.

The answer was predictable. ‘Ok, ok. I can ask to be in another one. But you guys have to be nice, maybe it’ll happen.’

After the cacophony of excited noises died down, more questions were asked. Then the hour was up.

Claire was scrolling through her messages.

‘Hey,’ she whispered, ‘Rich just text me, he says he has a pass for you to go backstage.’

‘Isn’t his wife backstage?’ Stef huffed.

Claire shrugged, ‘Jared says he has a few minutes spare and he wants to show you something.’

’What the fuck does he want to show me?’

‘I don’t know, bitch. Rich says go see him at the side door.’

‘When?’

‘Now!’ Claire waved her away, replying to Rich’s wall of text.

‘There she is.’ Rich waited until Stef was close enough to pass a lanyard to her. ‘Keep hold of that and follow me.’

Stef stayed behind him, walking through a hallway, past closed doors. Finally, stopping by a room that had chairs piled up outside. ‘Wait in there.’

Rich closed the door behind her, there wasn’t much in this room. It looked like storage for just about everything they had forgotten about. Stef for a moment thought this was a trick and that Jared was going to jump out and frighten her.

A door opened on the far side of the room and Jared stuck his head in. ‘Hey,’ he whispered.

‘Hey, yourself. What’s with the cloak and dagger?’

Jared turned and looked behind his shoulder, quickly moving into the room and closing the door softly.

‘C’mere,’ raising to fingers at her, curling them in beckoning motion.

‘Why are we whispering?’

‘Coz my family are in the next room, but I needed to see you.’

His thumb landed on her jaw as she made it across the room to him. ‘I knew they would ask about you but it still got me feelin’ like a kid, I was a little embarrassed.’

‘I got that,’ Stef gave him a half smile.

Jared ducked his head and kissed her softly. ‘What’s up?’

‘Sneaking around.’ She said simply.

‘I know, it’s not ideal, but I’ll take what I can get.’ Grabbing her waist he pulled her closer to him. Smothering her mouth with kisses, she hardly had time to draw breath before he was dipping in for more, holding her face tight in his hands.

He was groping down her her ass, cupping her flesh under her skirt, closing the distance between them. ‘Do you want to do this here?’ Stef gasped.

He answered by turning her around, twirling her hair in his hand and moving it over her shoulder. Running his mouth along the exposed flesh of her neck.

Feeling Jared press against her, she leaned into him. He was breathing her in, smelling her hair, her skin. Causing her to tingle all over.

‘What are you doing?’ she murmured, wishing he wouldn’t stop but aware that there were people in the next room. If someone were to come out and see them...

‘Shhhh,’ Jared brought a large hand to her mouth, keeping it there as he pushed her further into the corner, it was darker there at least, a little out of the way of the door.

‘Do you want me to take you right here?’ He whispered, taking her ear gently between his teeth. The sensation weakened her, he felt her losing control, regaining it almost straight away, worried they would be caught.

The way Jared was feeling right now, it would be over quick.

‘Jared, don’t.’ Stef whispered, placing her hands against the wall to steady herself, all the while bucking her hips back to grind her ass into his crotch.

‘Don’t?’ He teased, ‘coz your body is telling me you want it. You want me to fuck you right now?’ His hands ran down the front of her blouse, slipping his fingers inside her bra, pinching her nipples until she cried out, Jared put a hand over her mouth, a little rougher this time. ‘I won’t tell you again, keep it down.’ He warned.

Stef could feel her wetness moving down to her thighs now. The feel of his hands on her, forcing her to do what he wanted, it made her so hot.

Jared took his hands from her breasts, giving the nipples final hard tug before bringing his hand to her skirt, lifting it and pulling her panties down past her ass cheeks, just enough room for him to slip his hands between her legs to her sex. Dipping his fingers in to feel how wet she was, he licked his fingers, moaning softly. ‘I wish we had time to do more, baby. Maybe later,’ he pulled her head back so it was resting on his chest. ‘Stick your ass out for me a little more,’ he commanded, his voice barely above a whisper. But she read his tone, he was not to be disobeyed.

Putting his hands between her legs again he pushed at her thighs, ‘Open.’

‘Open!’ he said through gritted teeth when she didn’t immediately move her legs apart for him.

Stef heard the clink of his belt before feeling the heat of him. He was pushing into her already. The feel of him filling her up without warning made her groan, nipping as his fingers.

‘You feel amazing, baby.’ He bit at her neck, trying to hold back his own wanton moans.

Keeping one hand on the wall for support, Stef brought her hand to her pussy, placing a finger on either side of his cock as he rutted into her. She managed to brush against his balls, which made him thrust harder. Both of them trying not to make a sound.

‘Stop it,’ Jared said, but made no move to push her hand away, he let her continue to touch herself.

There was movement from the other room, running footsteps nearing the door before a voice called them back.

Jared pushed Stef up so she was crushed against the wall with no room to move. With her head still resting on his chest, he could look down at her and see her eyes fluttering, a sure sign she was close.

‘You want to cum, baby?’

Stef muttered something he couldn’t hear, so he grabbed her ass and dug his fingers into the flesh, knowing she loved the feeling of it.

‘You can’t make a sound, do you hear me? If I let you cum, you’ll have to be real quiet.’

Stef looked up at him as tears were beginning to fill up her eyes from the brutal thrusts he was laying into her. She could have come several times over but she was too afraid someone would hear her. If he touched her clit, she’d be done.

But he didn’t. Instead he bit down onto her neck, hard. She cried out with the pain and bit into his hand, without thinking. Jared cursed and pulled his hand away from her face, grabbing her ponytail. Clenching her teeth, she came. He watched her face scrunch up and relax, her mouth slack and falling into an o shape.

Placing a hand against her neck, he continued pounding into her, loving the feeling of her clenching around his cock.

He followed close behind, there was no possibility of him pulling out, the orgasm was too intense. Pushing his hips right up against her ass, he stopped moving. One hand on her throat, the other on her ass, he tried to steady his breathing, she was gasping for air along with him.

There were voices coming towards them. Jared pulled out and pushed her skirt down, quickly redoing his buttons and belt.

Cheeks flushed and breathing hard, they both stood to wait for the voices to pass them.

Jared sighed with relief and checked Stef, giving her a look that asked if she was ok. He could see she was shaking a little bit.

‘Sit down,’ he pulled a chair towards her.

‘Fuck,’ Stef tried to fix her hair a little. ‘Do I look ok?’

‘You look beautiful.’ Jared smiled at her, running his hands along her thighs.

‘Do I?’ Stef began fixing her blouse, finding that her nipple was still freed from her bra.

‘You look like a woman who just got fucked the way she likes it.’ Jared stilled her hands. ‘Stop fixing yourself, you’re perfect.’

‘I need a bathroom.’ Stef sat back into the chair, motioning towards her ruined panties.

Jared grimaced, ‘Sorry.’

‘It’s ok, it was hot.’ Stef crushed his face playfully with one hand and placed a kiss on his mouth.

When she left the room, she heard children running across the floor towards him.

‘Daddy, where you been?’

Stef giggled, hearing Jared grumbling an excuse, he had gotten stuck into something and had lost track of time.

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ellana-ravenwood · 6 years

Text

Wild Child - Bruce Wayne x Reader

PART 2

Oh man, this deserves an entire fic, and not just a little answer I write in thirty seconds…And so here it is, hope you’ll like it :-) :

My master list blog : @ella-ravenwood-archives

________________________________________________

It happened during one of your daily lunch time date with Bruce.

You tried, as much as possible, to eat with your husband come down noon everyday, and managed to do so most of the time.

Wether you brought him some delicious food prepared by Alfred to his office at Wayne inc, or went out for an hour to grab something in a cafe...it was a ritual of yours.

And a rather important one at that, as it was one of the only time you could enjoy each others without one of your children bargain in...Usually, even paparazzis would leave you alone, as you always let them snape a few quality pictures before.

Yes. It happened during one of your little moment with your Broosh...

-(Y/N) ? (Y/N) (Y/L/N) ?! Is it really you ?

-...Oh my God, Alex ?!

As soon as you felt a hand on your arm, turned around to see that it was your childhood best friend that you hadn’t seen in twenty years...You knew two things were now going to happen.

1. Your husband was going t leave his seat on the terrace of the cafe you were both having lunch in to come see who dared to touch his wife.

2. You just knew you were going to have to invite your dear from over for dinner...Twenty years was such a long time, how could you not ?!

And, sure enough, not even ten seconds after your turned around and hug enthusiastically Alex, you felt another hand snake around your waist and, still holding onto your friend’s arms, you turned to Bruce (who of course had his brow furrowed and was glaring at “the man who dared to touch you”) as his huge shadow was casted upon you and Alex.

Bruce notices the fact that your hands do not let go off that stranger’s own hands, he notices that you don’t snuggle against him as you are used to whenever he puts an arm around your waist...and the green monster of jealousy takes over him.

Who the Hell was that guy ?!

But as you turn around, the large and genuine smile you have on your face makes his heart tighten and melt at the same time.

Tighten because this smile isn’t just for him, but also for that man your still holding, and melt because...you really have the most beautiful smile he’ve ever seen.

The mixed feelings inside him leave him a bit confuse, and it takes him a few seconds to register that you’re talking to him :

-Bruce ! Oh my God you won’t believe what just happened ! Ok so Bruce, this is Alexandar, my best childhood friend ! He moved to California when we were seventeen and I haven’t seen him since ! This is crazy !

You know your husband is jealous (even though there’s a reason to, you and Alex ? There has never been anything ambiguous between the two of you), but you’re too happy to really pay any attention to it (besides, it happens way too often and you’ve gotten quite good at ignoring him when he’s like that...you’ll make it up to him later in the day..maybe quickly visit his office or something ? Or just wait for him to come back home after patrol...).

You hug Alex again (ignoring Bruce’s little outraged cry) and say :

-This is Bruce by the way, my husband.

-Oh, so it’s (Y/N) Wayne now eh ? Well, you’ve always kinda had a thing for him...I remember you drooling over his pictures in magazines...

You blush a bit and shift awkwardly, knowing that Bruce was never going to let that go but...Strangely, he doesn’t take notice of it and say :

-You know who I am ?

Your friend looks up at your husband (Alex wasn’t really short, no, he was 1m80, but Bruce...Oh Bruce was a giant) and, with an infuriating (for Bruce) smirk he says :

-Haha, who doesn’t ?

Alex winks at Bruce and...could it be ? You were pretty sure your Broosh almost smiled ! Against his own will of course, Alex natural friendly aura always worked on everyone (he got you out of tons of trouble thanks to that particular aura).

You take this almost-friendliness from Bruce as your queue to do the second thing you were sure that was going to happen and say :

-Oh and I have kids ! A bunch of them ! Shit because right now we have to go back to work and such but we just got to catch up ! What about you come over for dinner soon ?

Your friend chuckle at the way you just phrased things...A “bunch” of kids ? And oh how missed you and your antics.

He takes a quick look at your husband and...that man does not look happy. However, not in the least taken aback, Alex says :

-I mean, I’d love to come over for dinner ! If that’s OK with you ?

He turns to Bruce (and you just know he’s teasing him on purpose...you think it’s hilarious) who grumpily just nods a bit. You elbow him slightly in the ribs and he groans before saying :

-We’d love to have you over.

It sounds so fake that you wince and give an apologetic look to Alex. Your friend just smiles knowingly as you say :

-What about next Friday ? We should all be free...right Bruce ?

It seems like Alex doesn’t notice the little tension in your voice as you say that, but oh he sees how Bruce’s head turns to you and how his harsh facial expression (seriously, was that guy able to smile ?) soften by just looking at you, and when he answers you :

-Yes.

It’s in a sweet and voice that Alex would never had pegged a guy like Bruce Wayne to have. Hell, the great and always in control Bruce Wayne had to refrain himself from adding “my Love” to that, remembering you were in public...but you know better.

And it seems Alex does too because he gives you another knowing look and smiles a bit smugly (he always knew you were a hopeless romantic, despite what you used to say) before saying :

-Alright then, see you Friday ! Oh God we got lots to catch up ! I can’t believe you married the famous Bruce Wayne - he gives an appreciative look to your stoic husband - and that you got kids ! All the way to California, you guys aren’t really in tabloids...I should’ve known...

-Haha it’s alright Alex, I see my face in said tabloids enough, I’m glad it’s not nation wide ! And yes we do have lots to catch up ! See you later Al’ !

With yet another wink to Bruce, your friends leaves and disappears in the crowded streets. You don’t move for a few seconds, a dreamy smile still on your lips. You can’t believe you he’s back ! You can’t believe Alexandar McMillan, the only really good friend you had when you were a kid, is back in Gotham City !

You turn to Bruce and...Oh, your husband does NOT share your smile. You roll your eyes and say :

-Don’t make that face Honey, he’s probably more interested in you than he is in me.

Bruce comes out of his sort of jealous-transe he was in and, with a confused look on his face that is so unlike him, he says :

-...What ?

You chuckle and wrap your arms around his torso, squeezing him against you lovingly. He return your embrace of course (you can even feel his tense muscles relax a bit under your touch) and you add :

-Alex is gay. Very very gay. I wasn’t the only one drooling over your pictures in those magazines, when we were younger.

Immediately reassured that “Alex” isn’t going to steal you away from him (he felt how close you both were just by seeing you two interacting for not even fifteen minutes...he was so damn scared he was going to loose you !), your husband smirk and...Oh no, no he wouldn’t dare...Would he ?

-So...Drooling over pictures of me eh ? How does it feel to actually sleep with your idol ?

You roll your eyes as hard as you can and smack him on the chest...but you can’t hide the small blush on your cheeks as the man you love discovers one of your childhood secret.

Yes. You used to have a massive crush on the very handsome Bruce Wayne when you were fourteen (he was already in his twenties at that time).

And yes, you tried to hide this from him because you knew he’d tease you endlessly about it (after all, not only was he your lover, the love of your life, but also your best friend, and so the teasing was non-stop).

Little did you know that, by dinner time next Friday, many more of your childhood secrets would be out...To your greatest displeasure.

************

It was about half-way through the main course that it all started.

You had try to avoid those topics since Alex first set foot in the mansion but...well, it had been a huge part of your childhood so...

It didn't help that your children were so damn curious about how you were as a child ! As soon as they heard that your best childhood friend was coming over, they had trouble hiding their curiosity.

They never met one of your childhood friend (probably because you had only one, and he moved to California all those years ago...you were a pretty lonely person after Alex’s departure, up until you met Bruce in your early twenties and found a new best friends...Found new friends in general, all of them part of the Justice League of course...Oh, and who could forget Alfred ? Your confident ?), and they were excited to.

************

When Alex rung the doorbell, he heard a raucous behind the door, wondering what the Hell was happening...It was your boys, all running to the door, from different part of the mansion, and fighting to open it first...

Jason, being the tallest and strongest of them all, was the one to open...A very surprised Alex stared at Jason pushing away his other brothers with his thigh, struggling to keep the door open, and groaning incoherent words at them.

You arrived not even a minute later, accompanied by Alfred and Bruce, and you couldn’t help but facepalm yourself as you witnessed your children just being an indistinct ball of legs and arms, groaning, snarling and growling at each others.

You only had to clear your throat for them to let go of each other and to try and stand up straight as you came towards them, glaring a little bit (you were quite amused really) at them. You turned to a stunned Alex and said :

-Well, welcome to my “humble” home, and yes I’m being sarcastic and a bit of a show off, fight me. I see you met my...Boys. The one who opened the door is Jason, the one that was trying to tear his hair off of his skull is my eldest, Richard, but everyone calls him Dick. The one that was biting his leg is my youngest, Damian. And the one who was doing both of that with a cup of coffee in his free hand ? That’s Timothy, Tim. Welcome welcome, now come on, dinner’s ready, Alfred made something great. Oh this is Alfred by the way, our wonderful butler. Now come on Al’, let’s go.

All your friend could utter, in front of this all spectacle, was a weak and confused :

-You...you have a butler ?

This started the night off with all of you bursting out in laughter (even Bruce), and it was just perfect.

************

It didn’t stay perfect though as, half-way through dinner, the subject was raised, sprawled by a comment Alex made.

Jason was talking about how he loved to drive motorcycles and how he’d go to Gotham’s tracks at least once a week to practice when Alex said :

-Oh, your mother used to love dirt bikes too. Best “get away car” she used to say. Which was pretty stupid really, since a dirt bike isn’t a car...but hey, no offense to you guys but sometimes, your mom wasn't the brightest one haha !

Alex laughs and your sons...Oh damn. Yup. They’re onto it. You wince a bit, waiting for their inevitable question, but Bruce beats them to it :

-Best “get away car” ?

-Yup. But then again, stupid, a dirt bike ain’t a “car”.

-Yes no I got that part but...Why would she need a “get away car” ? Or bike ? Or whatever ?

Alex freezes as his forks is half-way to his mouth and turns to you, a mischievous smile on his face. You don’t say a thing, afraid to incriminate you further, but give him a look that clearly means : “don’t you dare”. But oh, oh he’s your best friend since you were a tiny kid and your glare doesn’t work on him, and so...he does dare.

-What ? She never told you ?

Damian narrows his eyes at that “Alex” (he wouldn’t admit it just yet, but he already loved the guy...he kinda reminded him of you really, he definitely understood why you were friends) and say, pointing at him with his fork :

-Don’t you tell lies about my mother.

Your friend turns to your son and give you an amused look. Oh that one has your glare, and the threat in his words is definitely no joke. Good.

-I’m not about to tell any lies. Must admit though, I’m surprised she never talked about it...

-About what ?

Asks Tim, eager to know (always so curious).

-Her childhood.

Damian raises a bit more in his chair, interested, and says :

-She did tell us about it. About how she grew up in The Narrows, one of the poorest neighborhood in Gotham. About how tough it was. How we should never think we’re better than anyone because we have money because some people are great and do not. She told us all sort of things about her childhood and the Narrows and all of that.

-Well, it’s nice of her to teach you good principles. But...Hasn’t she taught you not to lie ?

You roll your eyes and say :

-I never lied, I just...never talked about it. It wasn’t really important alright ? And it was so long ago.

-A lie by omission is still a lie.

-No it’s not Alex, and you damn well know it. Now let’s move on and...

But Bruce raises his arm and gestures to you to stop talking..something he would have never dared to do if he wasn’t so engrossed in what was happening. You hated being shushed, but in this instance, you can understand why he did it.

You’ve always been evasive about your childhood.

He knew you had abusive parents who died when you were young, and were mostly raised by your older brothers (who were unfortunately also dead now...Drug bust lead by corrupted police officers...there were a reason, after all, why you were so supportive of his nightly activities). He knew you didn’t had the greatest and easiest childhood. He knew...enough. But whenever you talked about it, he also knew that you were omitting some details.

And now, he was about to know them all.

After “shushing you” a bit rudely (he’d apologize later), he turned to your friend and, captivated, he said :

-Go on Alexandar. Please. We all want to know.

You sighed, defeated (you didn’t fight much but you knew that, since they were all so stubborn, you had no chance of winning that said fight so...might as well end it quick eh ?), and sunk down a bit in your chair.

Alex looked at you and, knowing damn well he had won easily, smiled and turned to his captivated audience (even Alfred was listening intently, acting as if he wasn’t) :

-Well...Your mother, boys. Your wife, Bruce...She wasn’t exactly...A well behaved kid. Oh no. Actually, at Gotham precinct, they used to refer to her as a “wild child”.

************

Growing up in the Narrows was tough. People had nothing to loose there, and could kill someone for a can of beans.

Growing up in the Narrows was tough but...When you knew nothing else, you just had to deal with it.

You were one of the few teenagers of the block that wasn’t involved with the local mafia (though your very first job was a summer seasonal one, when you were thirteen, and it was to stock the ice machine at a pub known to be the headquarters of the Irish mafia...eh, they used to tip really well), that wasn’t dealing or anything...

But still, you weren’t exactly a perfect child.

Your mom had died of an overdosed when you were six, while your dad was in prison, and your oldest brother had taken you in. He was barely eighteen and had to work lots to take care of you and your two other brothers (unfortunately, to do so he had to involve himself in the mafia...which lead to his untimely demise, years later, in that terrible drug bust that left you without any family, but that’s another story...your brother was the reason you never got involved with the mafia. You were the youngest, and though he couldn’t save his other two sibling from this life, he could you, since you were so much younger than all of them...you often thought about how your life could have been very different if your brother never sacrificed himself to save you from being involved with the mafia).

This particular family setting gave you the mean to...run wild and free.

When you were seven, you and Alex sneaked into one of those utterly rich country club from the outskirt of Gotham (not too far from The Narrows...all you had to do was climbing the high wall they put up to not see the misery they acted liked it didn’t exist), and “borrowed” a golf cart.

Neither of you knew how to drive and you crashed pretty quickly in a nearby pond...You ran away, fortunately unscathed, laughing and yelling profanities, chased by angry rich old men who definitely would have beaten you with their golf club if they had been able to catch up with you two. You were from the Narrows after all, you had to know how to run fast.

When you were nine, you skipped school for the first time...It was so easy. All you had to do really, was to go left instead of right when you got out of the school bus. Alex followed you of course, his parents weren’t really much better than yours so...no one ever even told you anything.

When you turned thirteen, you and Alex had the absolutely stupid and dangerous idea to steal some weed from a local small time dealer...It was your birthday and Alex just couldn’t resist you, and so he went to talk to the dealer, causing a diversion while you were robbing him.

Coincidently, this was also the first time you actually smoke weed...You were quite “baked” and got taken to Gotham police station by a certain officer James Gordon when you and Alex started to run down the street (on a school day, at school hours) laughing way too loudly.

Jim Gordon never told you nor Alex that what you stole from that “drug dealer” was oregano, and that said “drug dealer” was ripping people off (which definitely was a bad idea in a neighborhood like The Narrows). He laughed way to much seeing you completely “baked” while you didn’t actually smoke (later on you would though).

He let you two go with a warning (you didn’t even find it odd) and that was the first time you’d deal with future commissioner James Gordon.

When you were fifteen, you stole the school bully’s dirt bike (by that time, your brother had forced you to promise you’d go to school and you were only skipping really boring classes nowadays...like maths and sports, going to smoke in a corner with Alex), and engaged in a crazy chase all around Gotham with it.

This spurred you to call dirt bikes “the perfect get away car” as you lost tons of cops car (evidently, those guys had nothing better to do than to chase a kid who had stolen a fucking dirt bike...), running up and down narrow streets, stairs, hills, and even parks ! You lost the last cops’ car in the forrest surrounding Gotham East, as you were climbing up the mountain with “your” dirt bike...Perfect “get-away-car-which-wasn't-really-a-car”.

When you came home with it, your brothers weren’t really happy with you but...They still help you re-paint it and one of your brother sold it for a few hundred buck...to the bully you had stolen it from !

When you were seventeen, you received the worst news ever since your mom’s passing...Alex was leaving. His abusive father had been send to prison and his mother, who was finally freed of his grasp, had decided to move to the literal other side of the country, in California.

You were devastated...But also very decided to give Alex a memorable last day in Gotham.

You stole a sport car (by pure coincidence, or maybe it was destiny...it was Bruce’s, he never knew, until now, what had happened to his brand new lambho) from high town and picked Alex up from his home. You spend the day racing around town, and ended up dumping the car in a nearby lake, where you then proceed to smoke a last joint together, before the awful separation...

Yes.

Your childhood, your young years, had been a bit..”wild”.

James Gordon is the one that called you a “Wild Child” first, when he “arrested” you for the thousand times. It’s funny how, for some reasons, he never gave up on you though...When your brothers got killed, he’s the one that gave you the news, the one that helped you go to college, the one that...got you out of the Narrows really (but that was another story).

But when Alex left (you kept in contact by letter the first few years, as it was before internet but...life got in the way as it often does, and ultimately, you kinda lost contact...yet today, as you see each other again after years, it’s as if not even a day has passed since he left), you didn’t have anyone to do things with you anymore. It wasn’t as fun. And when, right after your eighteenth birthday, your brothers got killed by corrupted cops...you stop that lifestyle completely.

Shortly after that, you met Bruce for the first time, and the rest was history.

************

-Oh and don’t get me started on that time she managed to get a herd of goats up the school’s roof ! Like, where did she even find goats in Gotham ?!

You smiled mysteriously as your children and husband turned to you, expecting you to say something, and you do, it’s just not the answer they were expecting :

-Well, I gotta have a few secrets still no ?

They pout, a bit disappointed, but turn to Alex again, waiting for him to keep going. By now, dinner was over and the clock was indicating one am (it was your husband and children’s night off of patrol, Batwoman and Batgirl, as well as Gotham Girl and Boy were on it).

Your friend raises his hand and say :

-That’s it guys, I’m pretty sure I didn’t forget any “crime” your mother did. Of course nothing was ever really...big...

-Except for when she stole a car.

-And the weed.

-And everything really.

-Well I think it’s cool.

-Oh yes, yes it is.

-Most definitely

You smile at your boys and oh you’re so relieve that all those stories didn’t change their opinions of you (on the contrary, they think you’re even more badass than they already knew you were).

At first, when Alex started telling all those stories, you blushed a lot and hid yourself behind your hands. You had almost forgotten how much of a brat you used to be...

But as you heard Dick laugh a lot, as you saw Jason looking at you with a “Oh this is why you don’t ground me nearly as much as I should be” look on his face, when you looked at Tim and his “I know now where all your good excuses to skip school you give me come from”, when you glimpsed at Damian who was completely entranced by your friend’s stories...Hell, even as you saw Bruce slightly amused expression and mischievous look to you (he knew this life was long over anyway), and Alfred small shake of his head and smiles, you realized that really, there wasn’t anything to be ashamed off and started to comment your friends’ stories, and even add to it, laughing and saying “oh the good old days” way too much.

And finally, finally the end of it all was coming, and you were all laughing and talking about it all.

-So..This is why you and Commissioner Gordon seemed to know each other so well when I thought you first met at that Gala on one of our first date.

Bruce said, nudging you a little in the ribs. You smile and say :

-Well, he wasn’t a commissioner at the time but..yup, this is why.

And soon, it was already 3 am and Alfred was taking Alex to one of the guest room (there was no way you were going to let him go home alone that late in the night) as your boys were cleaning up the table.

You were putting away some dishes when you felt your Bruce’s arms snake around your waist from behind, and his chest pressing against your back. You smile, and raise your head, giving him a small kiss on the lips.

He grazes your neck with his mouth and says :

-So...you’ve been a bad girl uh ? Should I handcuff you and punish you properly ?

You back yourself fully against him, and take a please expression at his sudden sharp intake of breath before saying, in a sexy voice :

-Oh no please sir, be merciful.

-I’m afraid I can’t m’am, you broke too many laws. I’ll have to sp...

-OH MY GODS PARENTS !! ENOUGH !! WE’RE RIGHT HERE !!

You and Bruce both jump in the air, startled, and turn around to be faced with an outraged Tim who just spoke, and three other boys, mouth opened, a disgusted look on their face, and dirty dishes in their hands (they didn’t even think about putting them down, too shocked and grossed out by what they just heard you say).

You can’t help but chuckle, and that pure sound make your husband’s feature soften. Ignoring his sons, he turns you around and catches your lips with his, kissing you passionately...You barely register the clatter of dishes thrown on the kitchen counters, and your sons’ hurried footsteps slowly fading away.

The End.

______________________________________

As usual, it’s all over the fucking place, such a mess really... Sorry, I often get carried away as I start writing...Like, this is why this is fucking long, sorry again...Hope you still liked it.

As always, feedbacks are very welcome (your opinion means a lot to me). Thank you for reading. And boom.

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theepitomeofsimplicite · 6 years

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Dear New York City,

You are incredible! I love your busy streets and young energetic crowd. You are simply vibrant of life just how I had imagined you (from the movies, Sex & the City shows, and the songs about you)! So many reasons to have a crush on you so where shall I start?

Butcher’s Daughter

Driving through Chinatown

Ok, here are some of my first impressions of you, NYC:

It is said of you that you are the entire world into one city. Could it be real? You have a platter full of food options! As you are being the hub of internationals and a known place for storied history, you satisfy anyone’s taste bud, I can’t make up my mind. How can I decide between a casual French bistro (Bagatelle, 1 Little West 12th St.), delicious house-made Italian pasta (La Sirena, 88 9th Ave.), Exotic Moroccan (Cafe Mogador, 101 Saint Marks Pl #1), spicy Korean (Kori Tribeca, 253 Church St.), fun cocktails and Mexican food (La Palapa, 77 St Marks Pl.), Barcelona-style tapas (Toro, 85 10th Ave.), German’s pretzels and beer (The Standard Biergarten, 848 Washington St. just outside of the Standard High Line Hotel and I’ll tell more later), Green Juice (Yep that’s also food trust me!) and far more as if I was in the mood for a health conscious Californian style (not just green juice) there is Dime (49 Canal St.). And let’s not omit American sandwiches (Tiny’s & the Bar Upstairs, 135 W Broadway), and comfort food made of shakes, fries and burgers (Bill’s Bar & Burgers, 16 W 51st St.). There is also the Michelin starred Chef Gunter Seeger at Gunter Seerger NY (641 Hudson St.) and for the gluten free folks there is Friedman’s Lunch (75 9th Ave. at the Chelsea Market which I’ll speak more about in this post). Alas, due to my devoted ramen international tour mission, my friend and I set our minds towards Ippudo Ramen (65 Fourth Ave.) as soon as we set our feet on you.

Ippudo NYC

Ippudo Tonkotsu Ramen

Shook off the night away at Le Bain (848 Washington St.), the penthouse club and roof top bar with an outstanding sweeping city and river view located at the Standard High Line hotel. You blew us away! The vibe was electric between the sparkly giant disco ball, the Afro kinetics music, the sweaty dance moves, with the sticky cranberry vodka on my hand. I’ll remember this moment for a while 🙂 Not to mention our pre-game with gin-based drinks at this speakeasy bar Bathtub Gin that is disguised with a front panel as a regular coffee shop. How dare you tricked us!! Fortunately a friendly local had mercy and pointed the place out to us. Piouf don’t you know I have the fear of missing out syndromes!!

Le Bain with a sweeping view of the river and the city

Some cool walls at the Standard High Line

Bathtub Gin is behind the facade of this coffee shop

The Maritime Hotel (363 W 16th St.) is one of your best places to spend the night in my opinion; friendly, quirky (how I personally like it) and cozy. Located right in the center of the Meatpacking District. This 24-hour neighborhood is found on the far west side of Manhattan and is bordered by Chelsea to the north and the West Village towards downtown. It’s a formidable plant for fashion and graphic designers, architects, artists, restaurateurs, stylists and even corporate headquarters. I enjoyed staying at this hotel in that unique style, it has a nautical-themed landmark with the signature view porthole windows and how I love the white and blue tiles at the restaurant bar and the outdoor terraces seemed just perfect for spring time. In the morning a modest continental breakfast was served at the hotel restaurant so I grabbed myself a quick bite of the bagel with some flavorful orange spread, a mini pain au chocolat, a hard boiled egg, a cup of black coffee and a fresh squeeze glass of OJ. I love the serene atmosphere there with plenty of sun rays through the large windows illuminating the brass surfaced pending lamps.

The Maritime Hotel Restaurant

Ice Wine from Montreal

My Instragram (non worthy) messy bed at the Maritime Hotel

The view port over Manhattan from the Maritime Hotel

Map printed furniture at the Maritime Hotel

Petit dej at the Maritime Hotel Restaurant

You are so walkable in lower Manhattan and it was a great way to see your beauty (your wall graffitis, your modern architectures, your red bricked walls, your apartment stair cases, your lively people, and your multi-culture). But if I didn’t care for strolling around in the cold, then there was the world known yellow cab which was very affordable too! Besides the hotel’s cool white-tiled exterior, I can find within a short walking distance anything ranging from roof top night clubs around the corner, espresso bars, bakeries, as well as street food stands (one in the front of the hotel), yummy late night pizzas (Brunetti Pizza, 626 Hudson St.) (especially required after too much drinks at 4 am), and have I already mentioned great restaurants and bars?!

Cool wall art

Greenwich Village street crossing

The signature NYC staircases

And more wall graffitis

Chelsea Market and the well known yellow cab

The Chelsea Market (75 9th Ave.) to me is where anything can happen and is only a block away from the hotel. You are spontaneous like that! If I ever get too lazy to walk out there into town and/or there is a snow storm alert coming, this covered venue is very special! One is expected to find anything ranging from espresso bar, pastries and freshly baked bread. A crave for fresh oysters there is The Lobster Place!! There, it’s a retail fish market with omakase sushi bar but also a raw bar where people can order and eat at the counter nearby the living seashells. There is even a German wurst place!! There are plenty of cool shops for gifts giving. I love this market!

Chelsea Market

Seafood Bar

Oyster Platter

The Lobster Place

Sight seeing to me is so boring but we strolled around town and set our sight towards The Flatiron Building then marched towards the Empire State Building. I got remotely distracted by the Museum of Sex and ought to call out Grant on this! Our last Vegas trip during thanksgiving holiday failed on us in finding adult shows for some sort of sex Ed haha I’ll skip the details there 😉 but anyone can read this post here! The Empire State Building was incredibly crowded (uncool!!) so we evidently ditched the queue and headed out towards the world known Times Square. Bright lights, giant billboards and honking everywhere! It was to say the least chaotic. Gotta get away now! Who really hangs out in Times Square aside from catching a Broadway show or… yeah tourists!!

The Flatiron Building

The Empire State Building

The chaotic Times Square

The Museum of Sex, was it really a distraction?! or an attraction? Can you tell me 😉

If anyone needed a breath of fresh air when the concrete walk way and the stinging sound of sirens and honking felt suffocating and exhausting, there is fun and relaxation in strolling in your parks. Aside from the obvious green area of Central Park, I loved the Brooklyn Bridge Park where my friend and I got to have a humble picnic; with the magical view over Manhattan in the dark contrast of what you do best which is to gleam lights and inspire us with your beauty. We hopped on a yellow cab and asked to go to Pier 11. I had the idea of getting on a ferry to have a good gaze at the scintillant Brooklyn Bridge by the night. My friend and I cheered with red wine in plastic cups (lack of sophistication here, not me!) set ourselves up on a butt- frozen stairwell of the Brooklyn Bridge Park. We had some crackers dipped in olive paste and some (unidentifiable) cheese. Despite the blazing cold where my fingers and toes stopped responding to my commands, I very much enjoyed taking you in for a brief and calm sudden moment.

View of the Brooklyn Bridge on the Jumbo Ferry

Sweeping view of lower Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge Park

A view of the Brooklyn Bridge from the Pier 11

After filling our stomach at Mr. Tuka Ramen (170 Allen St.), we needed to walk it off a bit right so we headed towards world renown Comedy Cellar to test your sense of humor. Are you that funny? Unfortunately you are ever so crowded so we again ditched the queue and got some late drinks at the hotel. I served my friend some of the ice wine I got from my trip to Montreal the weekend before. It was so sweet but so tasty.

Mr. Tuka Ramen

Tonkotsu Ramen

More sight seeing followed on our last day photographing the one World Trade Center and the memorial site, stopped by Wall Street to find the Charging Bull and the Fearless Girl. Finally walked towards the Battery Park to have a peak at the Statue of Liberty from a far distance. But on our way to Sunday Brunch, not Egg Shop,151 Elizabeth St.), not the Butcher’s Daughter (19 Kenmare St.) (the queue estimated to be 1 hour waiting time so no thanks!!) got a green juice (must have Matcha Fizz made of matcha, fresh lime, honey and rosemary ) at the Cafe Integral (149 Elizabeth St.) and amazing classic Persian food instead (Ravagh Persian Grill, 125 1st Ave.). On our way there, I got to see life through Greenwich village. Kids playing at the playground and youngsters shooting hoops. And other people brunching too. The Persian grill was phenomenal! I’d recommend to anyone! And finally time was up!

Greenwich Village strolling

Life in Greenwich Village

The Egg Shop for Brunch

Awkward me as a tourist

A ride towards the World Trade Center

Cafe Integral Matcha Fitz Juice

Classic Persian Food

Until next time darling, we’ll have another date! I promise 😉

New York City Dear New York City, You are incredible! I love your busy streets and young energetic crowd. You are simply vibrant of life just how I had imagined you (from the movies, Sex & the City shows, and the songs about you)!

#City Guide #Life #Lifestyle Blog #Lower Manhattan #Manhattan #New York #New York City #NYC #NYC City Guide #Travel

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wannawrite · 7 years

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Don’t I Know You From Somewhere?

PD 101 / YH's Justin X Reader [ fem ]

part two Fluff Word count: 2571 • you're an idol, Justin is your #1 fan • you meet him at a fansign and tbh he's adorbs so you're hella heart eyes for him ;) • soMehow you land the spot as a guest mentor for PD101 S2 even tho ur like young ( okay I'm sorry anon I had to, it isn't part of the original request but...a bit more of Justin fluff never hurts anyone....right? ) omfg, I love love love love love Justin ?? And my Yuehua boys ?? Yes ?? Bless them ?? Freaking adorable Euiwoong and Hyungseob and Jonghyun was a judge hoW CUTE gOD BLESS anyways, hope you like this anon, even if I modified it a little ok but am i the only one who goes soft for China line im so soft for Jung Jung. I love Jung Jung so much. might make a part two for this as well as • Crushing On You - Kang Daniel drop me feedback - admin L __________ Justin could barely contain his excitement as he clutched tightly onto his copy of your second mini album, shuffling in his spot in the queue. The entire venue was packed, fans buzzed with joy and the energy in the atmosphere was insane. Today was the day that Justin had waited for his entire life as a fan of yours. Today was the day of your fansign. When your fansign was announced, he screamed so loudly the whole Yuehua building trembled. Then, he proceeded to beg his manager to allow him to go. It was tough since he was set to participate in the survival show, Produce 101 a few weeks after but he sweet talked his way through. Once he got the 'okay' from his company, he managed to wrangle his best friend and fellow trainee, Zheng Ting to accompany him. Zheng Ting now stood behind Justin with pink cheeks, mildly embarrassed by his best friend's enthusiasm. I suppose it shows how dedicated of a fan he is.....He spent ages picking out his outfit today. I bet that's his $500 Star Wars shirt he was going to save for Produce 101. Justin even visited the salon to re-dye his hair for today. Oh my god. Zheng Ting was downplaying his own elation for his own sanity's benefit. Sure, he wanted to meet such a great inspiration to him but he wasn't a super die hard fan like Justin. Zheng Ting knew that Justin could practically chemically combust from all his zest, his grin was so wide it was sure to hurt. Oblivious to all the judgmental glares from Zheng Ting, Justin continued to keep his exhilaration levels high. His legs couldn't seem to stay still or root him to the floor properly. Even with his height, he still tip-toed to get a better look at you above the crowd. He sighed dreamily when he caught sight of your hair. Oh my god, Y/N looks so pretty today. She's the perfect idol. There's so much to learn from her. I wish she would look at me. Is this love? The expression on his face was so sheepish and dreamy, Zheng Ting nearly slapped him. "Yah, Justin! Wake up! The line is moving," he hissed. It was entertaining to see the maknae so incredibly spellbound by someone.

The snaking queue moved listlessly and Justin's patience was running thin. To fuel his energy into something else so that he won't be all jittery, he combed through your photo cards that were included in your mini album, taking them out and reassembling them multiple times. People around him stared at him like he was a lunatic but really, he couldn't care less. Justin clamped a hand over his mouth to cover his yawn, he secretly regretted waking up at the crack of dawn, forcing Zheng Ting to drive them an hour out to the venue at five am and sitting in the queue since seven am. He was lucky he managed to sneak in breakfast and breath mints. Dedications of a fan. He huffed and shuffled along as the line gradually started to move. At least he was getting close to you. ... "Hello, Y/N. How was today's fansign? Everything okay?" Your manager asked, scribbling whatever feedback there was from other staff on her notepad. "Hmm, it went well. Thank you for arranging it. I was happy to be there. But right now, I want to sleep," you admitted with a small groan. Thankfully, your manager was an understanding and kind one, you two got along super well much to everyone's surprise. She laughed and nodded, telling the driver to speed up a little. "Go ahead and sleep. I'll wake you when we reach." Truthfully, you were exhausted but your mind was plagued with thoughts of that handsome blonde fanboy at the fansign. His happiness was infectious, it put a smile on your face when you admired how his curls bounced with that skip in his step. You managed to catch his name, Justin, and you remembered exactly what had happened. It was rare you remembered everything word for word but something compelled you to. He had politely waited until the previous fan had stepped off the stage then, practically dashed up the stairs two at a time. He had run a hand through his curls before blurting out an excited 'Hello!' and bowing, nearly bumping his head on the table. As if he was ashamed, he used his right hand to cover his mouth and the other to pass you his bag of gifts and album. You had asked for his name which he gladly revealed. "I'm Justin." He beamed, revealing perfect pearly whites. "Well, thank you for the letter and the gifts Justin," you had said, shooting him your best cover-worthy smile. Justin couldn't be that much older than you. "You're very handsome." His face had turned beet red and he managed to stammer out a reply before nearly tripping on his way down from the stage. He was the most put together mess of a boy you had ever seen and somehow, you were attracted. It was rare you had male fans your age, cute ones at that. But, he was just fan, a face in the crowd you would have to force yourself to forget. You let out an irritated sigh, wishing it didn't need to be limited by its circumstances. Oh why, why couldn't I have gotten Justin's number or something? All I have is a name and a face I would hate to let go. It was safe to say sleep didn't come easy that night despite how worn out you were by the day's activities. You tossed and turned in your blanket, unable to block that blonde boy from your mind. Maybe it did you a favour by lulling you into a deep sleep and as creepy as it sounds, a dream of him. ... Justin was partially gone from your mind a month later but this morning, you could barely keep your eyes open as stylists bustled about, brushing your hair and whatnot, so once again, you found yourself thinking about him. You wondered what he was up to. Perhaps he was leading a normal teenage life. Going to school. Hanging out at the mall with his friends. All the regular, domestic things. A part of you was envious if he indeed had that kind of lifestyle. Today is going to be sooooo tiring. I just hope nothing terrible happens. Today was the day you were guesting on the survival show, Produce 101 Season 2. A few of your friends had participated in season 1 but so far, you hadn't heard from anyone about the second season. It was only the first week anyway, only one episode had aired but you were too busy to even watch teasers of it. Your role was simple, throughout the next week, you were going to support and supposedly mentor a couple of lower ranked teams as they prepared for their stages. It was a good opportunity for exposure and to make new friends. From what you had seen - or lack of since your van had pulled up to the location at six in the morning - all the contestants seemed to be pleasant. The plan was that you were surprising them with a wakeup call and a special buffet breakfast. ( bc i must feed my boys that's why let me live ) You hoped the directors knew what they were doing. "Y/N? Y/N." Manager unnie's voice shook you from your nap, you blinked bleary-eyed at her. She patted your head and helped you to your feet. "Go wash your face or something. Filming will begin soon." You complied, glad that the long-lasting stage makeup was sealed with a waterproof spray. After refreshing, you swiftly changed into your shooting outfit and followed a bunch of crew members to the dining hall. There, another team was busily preparing the surprise breakfast, probably the most the boys were allowed to eat. ( let them eat properly pls ) You stifled laughs when your mini album blasted through the speakers as an alarm. It could become pretty hilarious to hear your own music in public. When the main director signalled your cue, you raised the microphone - which was connected to the speakers - to your lips and delivered the message in a sickeningly sugary voice. "Good morning to all the gorgeous Produce 101 Season 2 contestants. This is not a drill. Please assemble in the dining hall in half an hour. Failure to comply will result in elimination. I repeat this is not a drill. Please assemble in the dining hall in half an hour. Failure to comply will result in elimination." The last part was a lie. No one would be going home on your watch. ... Oh my god. Is that Y/N's voice? Is that her album? How sweet of her to appear in my dreams. "Justin! Justin! Wake up!" What? Why is she calling me? A pillow smacked his face. "Yah! Justin! Wake up!" Justin shot up, rubbing the sleepiness away from his eyes. He blinked at his roommates. "Why? What is it?" They didn't need to reply as the announcement sounded again. "Attention all Produce 101 Season 2 contestants, good morning! This is not a drill, please assemble in the dining hall in twenty minutes. Failure to comply will result in elimination." His jaw dropped, almost hitting the bottom bunk. "Is-is-is that Y-Y/N sunbaenim?" He stuttered out his question. "Yes! So that is why we need to hurry!" That was all it took. He washed up in a matter of twenty seconds and changed into his best outfit in five. Justin grabbed his training things out of his suitcase and bolted to the dining hall as fast as his legs would carry him, his roommates trailing behind. He needed to see with his own two eyes that it was really you. It was so crowded he was already pushed back to the end of the crowd. Somehow, Euiwoong and Seunghyuk found him, they called for Hyungseob and Zheng Ting to come over. "Is it her? Is it really Y/N?" He asked, lips trembling. Zheng Ting nodded, star-struck. Euiwoong had to hold Justin up to prevent his legs from giving way. He almost started sobbing. Does she remember me? I hope she does. He thought hopefully before sighing in realisation. No, there's no way she would have remembered someone as insignificant as me. Once everyone had arrived, you introduced yourself and explained your arrival. There were yells of jubilation and cheers. Some of the boy's jaws hung open and they had a hand over their mouths. It made you smile and amp up. Justin listened in awe to your motivational speech, he was in a daze the whole time as his friends led him to their usual table. Then, he noticed you were walking around and greeting some of the other boys. He scrambled to grab Euiwoong's arm across the table, almost making his hyung topple his tray of food. "Yah! Justin, are you okay?" Euiwoong was puzzled by his sudden behaviour. Justin frantically shot questions at him. "Is my hair okay?" "Do I smell good?" "How does my sweater look? Cute enough?" Euiwoong rolled his eyes and spooned some rice into Justin's mouth to make him shut up. "You look fine. I bet everyone else is worried about their appearance too. Full offence, these uniforms look awful," he said in a hushed tone. Justin fussed with his hair even more. Meanwhile, you too grabbed a tray and marched around the dining hall with your manager by your side, scanning for a place to sit. Suddenly, you spotted a familiar tuft of blonde hair. Justin? Oh my god, Y/N! Stop being delusional. Stop relating everything back to that......... fan. But your pace quickened as you approached his table, partially because he reminded you a lot of your long time crush who you would most likely never see again. As you neared, his face became more clear and you gasped. Even though the first and supposedly last time you saw him was a month ago, you still could recall what his face looked like. There was no mistaking that this trainee was Justin. Is the boy sitting next to him Zheng Ting? I met him too. It was cute to see Justin brushing his hair repeatedly with his hands. He whined when it still stuck out in different directions, the other participants sitting next to him only made fun of him. Should I address them formally? Are we friends? What if he is older than me? How do I call him? Oh my god, I don't want to be rude. These thoughts filled your head as you drew closer, palms growing all the more clammy. 'Oppa' isn't rude right? ( lmao guys this is such a koreaboo thing for me to add in my works but tbh i just didn't want to sound rude ??? and more realistic, not so Americanised but pls tell me what I should do. I don't want to offend anyone out here ) Should I call him that? I bet Zheng Ting is older though? What if I offend them? Do you want to sit with them or not? Another voice piped up. Yes, but- Just go! It gave you a push which pulled yourself together. Like the confident idol you are, you strutted up to the Yuehua boy's table, showing off your perfectly sculpted legs in the process, and tapped Justin on the shoulder. He spun round to face you and when he realised it was you, his jaw hung open and large eyes grew bigger. "Hi, Justin oppa, do you remember me?" You asked, beaming brightly. Justin was so shocked he couldn't form a coherent sentence. "The world would end if Justin forgot who Y/N is. He is your number one fan. Believe me, his wall in our dorm back at the company is filled with your posters. If-" Seunghyuk was abruptly cut off with a desperate yell from Justin. Zheng Ting shoved another spoonful of rice into his maknae's mouth. "You haven't eaten a thing on your tray." "Hello, Jung Jung oppa, I believe we met too." You bowed out of respect and Justin nearly fell on his knees. "Ahh, it's okay! Sunbaenim!" Gesturing to your tray, you asked if you could sit with them for breakfast. Seunghyuk moved over to sit next to Hyungseob which created a space next to Justin. The boy went red when you slid into the seat next to him, accidentally bumping his arm. "Sorry! I'm sorry!" You exclaimed but he assured you he was fine. Regardless, you grabbed his arm and ran your hand over it. "Are you sure? You can't get hurt!" He couldn't even utter words. Should I? Whatever, I should. You took his arm and slung it over your shoulders before turning back to him, a sultry ( keep it PG you're both kids ) smile on your lips. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" Justin cleared his throat and suddenly adopted a blank expression. "My girlfriend is here today." No...... He held up his - well Euiwoong's pocket mirror - to your face. You burst into a fit of giggles. "Nice one, Justin. I knew I could recognise you." Sigh, let's see what happens during this short time of filming. ( this is so bittersweet i’m sorry )

#yuehua #yuehua trainees #yuehua entertainment #justin huang #zhu zheng ting #jung jung #lee euiwoong #ahn hyungseob #choi seunghyuk #produce 101 #produce 101 scenarios

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mandssisters · 7 years

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Laditude - GOTR takeover Latitude 15th July 2017

The road to Latitude was a long road, the 8 hour drive made me feel like I should have been in the states travelling to a local gig! Whereas in the UK…… a LONG DRIVE!

Arriving Thursday for the weekend, we set up basecamp amongst Waitrose shoppers! (Personally I am more Lidls) (more Waitrose later) A great pitch location within short walking distance for the Sausage Pork Shack (that’s breakfast sorted) and loo’s…. close but not too close! Despite packing lite the load was indeed heavy!

Off to the main festival site for the afternoon evening. Latitude had a character all of its own. Delightful wooded areas, the river, the waterfront stage, comedy arena, lake stage, theatre and other music zones. The main stage Obelisk Arena was set at the bottom of a natural hill so made a great arena, unlike other festivals at the back was a GA set of tiered seats. Great idea.

Lots of quirky stalls to spend one’s hard earned cash. Merchandise purchased. Finally I get my hands on a Garratt Tee shirt. Can you ever have too many t-shirts? We found a tasty food stall making great Tibetan cuisine, a real treat.

The lockers. When booking we selected the option of a secure locker, in the mind you see a gym locker, the reality was quite different. All very organised and secure, but only the size of first edition Harry Potter! The struggle was real to get all the newly purchased merch inside! At the cost of the camera, latitude pint glass and knitted cactus…… cannot have everything in life.

Being a tad tired we head back to camp and attempt to sleep……….. The hours between midnight and 7 am can be long can’t they!!!!! At least I rested!!!! Such a relief the Scousers next door had a great time……festival life.

Friday, exploring day. Pink Sheep, Lakes, river banks, gondola rides, comedy, ballet, music. We saw and heard it all. Went to see Charlie Fink in the theatre a very touching play. Another highlight being the BalletBoyz.

Demonstrating the high end nature of this festival, we browse a “living jewellery gemstone stall” tempted by the lapis necklace should or shouldn’t I spend money…. the lady next to me spots an amethyst lazer cut silver ring, the stall holder points out that it is indeed to most expensive item on the stand, her friend, what £200…. errrr no £2000. Lady next to me, places it on the hand stares at it for around 30 seconds and says, I’ll take it. The stall holder close to tears of joy can’t quite #believe. She pays on her credit card saying I’ll tell the husband later he just bought me a pressie. When in Rome the Lapis is indeed purchased! Bargain.

The 1975 were headlining so we decided to sit on the back row, what a great view and great set. This was the last date of the current tour, hardcore fans had been barriering it all day. An emotional good bye until October 2018! We’ve all been there. It was a chilly evening many layers were on, I was as usual rocking the homeless look. Back to basecamp to “warm up”. #fail.

A much better nights sleep, the ear plugs working their magic. Must have got at least a 6 hour snooze. The weather looked ok for the day, warm, but not hot, sunny but not on fire, but maybe light showers in the afternoon.

Pack a sweater and poncho, don the wellies.

Mixing up the day with a cheese and baked bean toastie for breakfast. Every night the festival ground itself is vacated and you camped off site. Festival Gates open around 10am, so we head back down and wander to the Obelisk Arena. The arena is taped off until the site is declared ready. It is has been transformed overnight into a GOTR stopover/takeover. With Willis flags flying proudly around the arena and new stage surround added. We meet a Nanny that is paid to sit on site over the weekend to make sure her crew are behaving! This was her 10th year! Tempted by the offer of a £70k a year job in Dubai we refused!

B, G, S, and F arrive! Yay! The gang are here. A very causal dropping on the tape and the cruise to the barrier is easy. Wot no bag search, hole punching of tickets, queueing for wrist bands, and steps, front row and never had been such a breeze!

The stage is very high, I guess because of the hill, also down the front there is an uneven layer of sand/gravel which makes for a messy seat! Hiding cables I guess but ruining the arse of the trouser!

The very best sound check for a good 30 mins prior to their opening set. Seye is working with Gorillaz on the Humanz tour. I think his absence was definitely noted. Wot no WE OK in Sight! They had a tough crowd, first up, early in the afternoon and to a bit of a lame crowd. Maybe the Waitrose crowd don’t wake up until after the sun passes the yard arm. Good set none the less.

Ben appears on stage to announce Lucy Rose, this was indeed the largest audience she had ever played in front of. I can’t remember much of her set as I was “struggling”, all I can say is thank god for Tang Tastics. Never have I needed you more! Lucy I am sure did a great acoustic set. #tired.com

It suddenly gets really crushed and tightly packed down the front, all exit plans are now waived from the mind. Milky chance, nope I hadn’t heard of them, but clearly Waitrose Kid shoppers had. It was rammed down there with mosh pit circle dances gaps and barrier ramming being undertaken. Oh it was fun! They were very good. Just what the soul need post L.R.

Glass Animals next, again, crush fest, the stage dressing was a large golden pineapple, this brought a smile to my face…… party like a 🍍 #fondmemories they were really good, a great tonic. Bashing out tune after tune. Clearly they were having a great time as well. The fan base of course bringing inflatable pineapples and pineapple sunglasses, said pair live on in DDD thanks to the careless actions of a fan! But the careful squirrelling of said DDD fan!

More peeps than ever now down the front for Two Door Cinema club. Great stage graphics, great tunes, saw them at Glastonbury last month and they never disappoint. Surviving all three of the last acts was a bit of a feat of endurance, but we did it.

The teenage Waitrose shoppers had now dispersed by around 20% so we now had room to dance around again. Leon Bridges was totally awesome and oh so talented, he had all the moves, very 50s rockabilly but with a modern twist. Great soul in his voice. It’s not every one who can carry off the cricket whites look! He did a blinding set.

By now it was 2045 hours and only 45 mins until Mumford!

Throughout the day the stopover was old Skool and used linen fabric backdrops to showcase the artist. Mumford indeed went old skool and had the same stylish graphic set up. I don’t think we will see the May pyro stage set again.

2130 and OMG the boys were right on the button. They blew me away from the start. Opening with Snake Eyes, I’m not sure where the bounce came from, (hula hoops) (Capri sun) (Tang tastics) (sesame bars), but it was there from the first chord. Loved this show.

The tunes flowed, the chaps clearly having a blast and enjoying it as well. Very much a festival set, mixing it up. Hearing the songs from Johannesburg again, Baaba Maal throwing his shapes and the beauty that is Si tu Veux, Marcus taking lead on Wona, it was a real carnival set. I will never tire of hearing those songs. Love love love.

Up and coming artist Maggie Rogers and fellow takeover artist joined them for Awake My soul. Sounding beautiful.

Too soon it was Ditmas, will he or won’t he risk the Waitrose run…. of course he did! We did worry about the quantity of inflatable sofas, picnic blankets, camping chairs in the arena! NO one got hurt! He made it back to the stage!

Encore to Blind Leading the blind. Then the gathering of friends and fellow performers for “With a little help from my friends”. Another classic, spotting JQ, Leon Bridges, Maggie Rogers, The Very Best, Gill Landry. Marcus shaking the life out of a tambourine never fails to make one smile. What a great takeover. Latitude loves the Sons.

As per Marcus’s instructions we took the aftershow party to Jack Garratt. That boy was at the top of his game. It’s not many that can pull of a matching shirt and shorts combo, but he wore it with pride. We sang, we laughed, we dance the sole out of our wellies. What an atmosphere. Epic. Blinding. Outstanding! Can’t wait for his formal return with album two. I think it’s fair to say Jack loved it as well, doing his mini “celebratory Ditmas” run around the front pit hi fiving everyone.

Still buzzing from Mumford and Jack, we head onwards to the GOTR bar and the Sunset Arena for a spot of chilling and lounging with HBOV. It’s a lovely area to chill on a log and to reflect on a great weekend, well done chaps, you pulled off another blinder. High five. 🍹😎🌲🌳

Now nearly 3am we decide to call it quits for the day and head back to the comfort of the tent……. nope we didn’t find it.

Sunday… sorry to have missed you Fleet Foxes 🦊 but homelands beckons. Thanks to the person who donated the freecycle tent ⛺️ other people’s waste! 🤓

#mumford and sons #mumford & sons #marcus mumford #Ben Lovett #ted dwane #Winston Marshall #GOTR #gotr stopover #latitude

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yvonnezoe · 5 years

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Woohoo! New post! Sorry for the wait again!

So this is the day you had a good night sleep after one whole afternoon of indulging in Penang’s great food and lots of walking under the hot sun. Not forgetting the partying after the Broadway show.

Here’s a recap of what happened in Day 2: Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 3/5: Day 2

Day 1 is here: Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 2/5: Day 1

If you are unsure what to pack or expect at all, check this out: Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 1/5: Getting Ready

Then, when you sense a shimmer shining through the curtain and you open your eyes, you feel the world (the ship) is swaying. But just wake up la. Enjoy the sunrise from your window if your room window is facing the East. Otherwise, go to the viewing deck. You may check the sunrise time on the first page of the Cruise Compass.

Ahoy! We are leaving Malacca Straits. The waves are rougher now…

That’s where we were.

7:00 am Breakfast at Windjammer

The day should start early as we were scheduled to arrive at Phuket, Thailand at 9am. We were all excited about going ashore. However, the breakfast area at Windjammer was so crowded when we arrived around 7am. There wasn’t a lot of seats available. My mom didn’t feel very well as she got sea sick so we didn’t take a lot of food.

We found the utensils were not very clean as you could see many obvious stains of oil and food residues on them. The napkins had a greasy smell too. So, it is advisable to bring your own wet tissue to clean the utensils if you mind!

Upon sighting such uncleanliness plus the waves of the sea, we all started to feel nauseous. My mom couldn’t contain it anymore and we had to rush to find the nearest washroom. To our surprise, the washroom was full of people throwing up! Luckily there was an empty cubicle for mom to relieve just in time.

I guess the seasick got worse after food. So if you have symptoms of seasick, know your way to the nearest washroom before starting your meal and eat light. You may pack some bread for later.

8:30 am Get Ready and Adjust your Clock

As Thailand is one hour later than Singapore, make sure you adjust your watches and clocks accordingly, i.e. 8am SGT is 7am Thailand time. (You get to sleep one hour more!)

Time to get changed and prepare to go ashore using tender boats. You will need to get a complimentary tender ticket for each person on that day at Royal Promenade, Deck 5. Your ticket will state the meeting time and location. If you have booked a Royal Caribbean Shore Excursion, there is no need to get the tender ticket and you will board the boat first. The meeting time and location are stated in your tour ticket.

What to pack in your bag:

Sunblock, even if you are not going to the beach

Thai Baht – it is advisable to change it before even going up the cruise. The rate on board is usually not very good. When you first landed in Phuket, you have to already spend $$ and they may charge you more if you are holding foreign currency.

Water – No need to bring a lot as you can easily get mineral water (or even coconut) as long as you are going to the rural area.

Some food – just in case you are hungry when you are on the road.

Towel (if you are going to the beach) – just get from your hotel room or it can be borrowed with your SeaPass card, just note that there is a $25 replacement fee for all unreturned towels.

Masking tape if you are going shopping… I will tell you why later.

SeaPass card – this act as your passport.

Umbrella – be it rain or shine, this comes in handy.

9:00 am Arrival at Phuket

Although the ship arrived at 9:00am at the port, the ship’s clearance was done only at about 9:30am. There were announcements made in the Public Areas to call out the tendering sequence and stating the tender loading area.

Collection of the complimentary tender tickets can be done at the Royal Promenade starting at 9am. You may collect for others. Bring along the SeaPass cards of your group. You need not to queue or rush to get the ticket. It will be distributed throughout the day. Get it only when you need it. Watch out for the announcement and refer to your Cruise Compass.

After collecting the tickets, we headed back to the room for a little rest after the seasick this morning. As people were crowding at the public areas to wait for their turn to get on tender boats, it was really not necessary to rush if you are not on the Shore Excursion tour. However, based on the experience at Phuket which I will share in details later, I strongly recommend you to book a shore excursion for Phuket. You may do so online before going on the cruise. Otherwise, you may go to the Shore Excursions Desk at Deck 5 to inquire.

10:30 am Going Ashore

As the announcement of the ticket number was made at the public area and we were in our room, the sound can be quite soft. We would open the door to listen more clearly and at last just left the door open slightly.

It wasn’t too long till our turn. We proceeded to the gangway and went past the security check counter where we were to display our SeaPass card. The sky was quite gloomy when we board the tender boat. As the ship had docked, it didn’t sway much so boarding the tender boat was not very scary. The boat could probably take around 50 pax.

The boat ride was only about 20 mins. From the boat, you can have a nice view and shots of the Voyager of the Seas.

The Tender Boat

The gangway

Arriving at the port (Phuket Marine Customs Pier) was a huge disappointment… This was never pre-empted by the tour agency. They didn’t even mention the name of the port. Telling you it’s Phuket would only make you imagine the beautiful beach there which you could immediately get into your swimwear right after going ashore right?

It is so different from what I have researched. All my planned “walking” itinerary from the Patong beach to shopping mall was useless because we were at the different part of Phuket altogether! 😦 I even use Google Street view to research what to expect at Phuket and how to walk around… I happily told my mom and sis about the excitement of Phuket. Urgh.

11:00 am Welcome to … Phuket?

Yes, welcome to the eastern part of Phuket where the sea is calmer and suitable for the cruise ship to dock. But going to the western part where all the nice beach and fun is, it’s taking at least 1 hour by car ride… or more by tuk-tuk. 😦

We had a shock when we arrived. It was our first time to Phuket. Groups of locals are touting at us, selling their local day tours at 3000-10,000 Baht per pax. Seriously? That’s probably all Baht I had! Their local tours include visiting temples, Elephant or Tiger “sanctuary” (please, don’t go there! You must have seen how the elephants and tigers were mistreated and drugged in order to look calm for tourists to pet), Cabaret show, massage, some shopping… The price does not include tips and your own food.

Some tourists already know where they wanted to go and were comfortable in negotiating the taxi and tuk-tuk fare.

Some tips here:

Research where you want to go and how much is the standard taxi fare.

If you would like to go for a massage, either you can research which massage place or shopping centre you want to drop by. Alternatively, you have to feel comfortable by their recommendations (which is always bias towards those that pay them a commission).

Pick your tour, get other tourists to go together. Negotiate for a group price instead of per pax.

Share a taxi or tuk-tuk with another group if going to the same locations.

Pretend to go away and engage another driver if the previous one is reluctant to decrease their price. The further inland you go, the cheaper the price would be.

Be reasonable. This is their living hood. Once you negotiate to a price which you are comfortable, just go with it and don’t squeeze them dry.

We almost wanted to go back to the ship after strolling around the little street market for 10 mins. Most of the stall owners were Muslims.

Some drivers were still touting at us. So we thought since we were already here, may as well just give it a try. We didn’t want to go too far as the travelling time is easily 1 hour. So I told the driver we just want to go to a shopping mall, preferably Big C (because I want to buy the Big C seaweed!!). I don’t remember how much we paid exactly but it was less than $50 for a back-seat tuk-tuk.

It started to rain heavily half-way and the driver had to stop by the road to help us “wind down” the window screen made of plastic sheets. Hahaha. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience! Just make sure you hold on to the window rail when the vehicle is moving as there is no door to keep you safe.

The driver had to do a detour to a tourist attraction as part of his “company policy”. So he brought us to Siam Multi Gems and Pearl. We walked one round and came out. Sorry, we didn’t bring enough cash to buy anything there. The driver was kind and say it’s ok to not buy anything as he just needed to show them he did try to bring tourists there.

We proceeded to Big C. We set a meeting time and location with the driver and off we go exploring the 3 levels shopping mall.

We had our lunch first at a food court in the mall. Nothing fantastic. We shopped for some snacks and souvenirs. But if you shop a lot, do consider picking up an empty box near the cashier counter or ask the cashier for one. It’s usually free. Then you can pack your stuff in the box and yes, now you get to use the masking tape! Otherwise, they have the tape sold at 100Baht also la. :p

You can also find tour recommendation in The Cruise Compass. The one recommended is Phang Nga Bay – where the James Bond island is. I’m not so sure how long it takes for the motorboat to reach there though. Probably it’s one of the shore excursions offered by Royal Caribbean.

3:00 pm Back to the ship

The tender boats run approximately every 20 minutes throughout the day and the last tender back to the ship leaves the dock at 8:30 pm.

We were back just in time for tea time. We feel so relieved to come back early. The ship is rather empty so we could have more peace and fun for ourselves. We helped ourselves with the food at Windjammer and it was good – much better than our lunch for sure. There was also free flow soft-serve!

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After the afternoon snacks, we proceeded to explore the ship and try out things we had not done before such as the FlowRider!

Walking around the ship – finding treasures…

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2. Go to the library. You may also do books exchange here – where you leave a used book and take another one to read in your room or bring home.

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3. FlowRider!! The FlowRider simulates a real surfing and body boarding experience. Riders must be at least 1.47 meter tall to surf and 1.32 meter to Boogie Board. Check the operating times for the FlowRider on Deck 13 in Open Hours.

Here’s a video of someone with body boarding experience. Looks fun eh?

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4. Play golf!

6:00 pm Fine Dining at Sapphire Dining Room

The food was good as usual. Here’s a sneak peek to the menu and what I had.

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7:30 pm Rest or Movie

After dinner, we went back to our room to find another cute animal (elephant?) made of a towel. There was an outdoor movie at 7:30pm so we went up to Deck 11 for a quick peek. It was The Legend of Tarzan.

9:30 pm Headliner Showtime Starring “Aussie Boys”

We headed to La Scala Theatre at around 9:15pm to secure the front seats. Trust me, it’s really worth to go a bit earlier to get good seats! By Day 3, others would have figured that out and everyone tried to be earlier.

This was a very nice and charming show by three handsome young singers from Australia. They could also sing some Chinese and Cantonese song such as 朋友 by the 周華健！The crowd went so high and they started to strip off their shirts, leaving just black singlets. Hahaha! Enjoy some photos!

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The ship started to move again during the show as you could hear the engine startup sound for a while.

At the end of the show, there was a distribution of lottery tickets at Royal Promenade which I didn’t know what we could win. We just went there for supper and go to sleep.

Time to sail back to Singapore!

Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 4/5: Day 3 Woohoo! New post! Sorry for the wait again! So this is the day you had a good night sleep after one whole afternoon of indulging in Penang's great food and lots of walking under the hot sun.

#Cruise #review #royal caribbean #travel tips #voyager of the seas

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datslifepodcast · 6 years

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On my 29th Birthday I set myself a goal of completing 30 challenges before I turn 30 in January 2019.

As I complete each item (and I intend to tick all 30) I will blog about them. This is the third item off my list and easily the most difficult so far.

Every year hundreds of people take on the Jersey Island Walk, or to give it it’s proper name; ‘The State Street Island Walk’. Starting at 3 am (yes that’s right, 3 in the morning), the route takes you all the way around the island on a combination of roads, cliff paths and beach, totaling a mere 48 miles.

Piece of cake, right?

I started “properly” training for the walk about two months ago, and the furthest I walked in one go was 6 hours over the north coast cliff paths – arguably the most difficult section of the walk.

Could I have trained more? Yes

Had I trained enough? Debatable…

Was I going to to let that stop me? No chance!

However, I had a worrying moment three nights before the walk when I thought I had injured myself. Every Wednesday my work takes part in a mixed Netball league and I had intended to sit this one out, but the team were a player short – so I stepped up!

I had almost made it through the game when I lept up high to intercept the ball (think King Kong swiping at planes) and landed awkwardly on my foot, rolling over on my ankle. I expected everyone to gasp in shock, but it seemed nobody even noticed. It sounds strange, but it really scared me. It had all the makings of a broken ankle and for the final few minutes of the match I was all over the place. Thankfully it was ok, and although the next day my ankle was a bit sore, by the day of the walk I had forgotten about it.

In preparation for getting up at 1-30 am (to be there for the start at 3 am), I started going to bed a little earlier on the days leading up to the walk, but I had come to terms with the fact that I wouldn’t get much sleep, whatever I did. I took the afternoon off work so I could eat dinner early and get my bags packed for the following day, before finally settling in to bed at 9 pm. I didn’t sleep the whole time, but I certainly felt relaxed and got some rest.

Then it happened. My alarm went off! In some ways this was the hardest part!

My girlfriend was very kind and gave me a lift to the Harbour, where the walk begins. I was a bit envious of her being able to go back home to bed, whilst I was off to essentially walk ALL DAY!

Once at the start line, I gave in my bag which would be transported to each checkpoint in a lorry. I also had a smaller bag which I would keep with me to carry drinks and snacks.

As I had a bit of time before we were allowed to start, I took some pictures of the crowds. I thought to myself; I wonder how many of these people will finish? I wonder if I will be one of them!?

Now is probably a good time to tell you that I have done this Island Walk before. Twice. But only on the second occasion, exactly 10 years ago, did I make it to the very end. So I knew I could do it. I wasn’t here to see how far I could get, I wanted the glory of finishing!

After a short wait at the start line, we set off a little early at about 2-50 am! The first stretch of the walk is on road that leads to St Catherine’s Breakwater (the second checkpoint, but the first major one with a bag drop). This is a little over 10 miles and took me just under three hours to reach. I very rarely get to see the sun rise, and even in my half-zombie state I admired the stunning views. We really are privileged to live on a such a beautiful island, something I really don’t take advantage of enough. The mood was upbeat as we made our way through the streets, and as the sun slowly appeared it became clear quite early on that is was going to be a hot day!

As you get closer to St Catherine’s Breakwater the smell of bacon draws you in. Unfortunately I found myself in the queue for a Veggie Burger… really not the same!

Nonetheless, breakfast was served and after a short rest I was off to tackle the cliff paths!

They say the cliff paths are the most difficult part, but honestly for me, it is the roads. There is something about the flat tarmac that make the soles of my feet ache beyond belief. However, I’m not taking anything away from the cliff paths, they are difficult. Some parts are very open, so the sun is beating down on you the whole time. Other parts are well covered, meaning the air isn’t as fresh or cooling. There are lots of steps. LOTS OF STEPS. And where there aren’t steps there are steep inclines and descents. There is no let up, and covering over 20 miles of the walk it claims many victims every year.

One of the checkpoints on the north coast is in a car park across from Les Fontaines Pub. This is about 22 miles in to the walk – almost half way! It’s nice when people encourage and congratulate you at each checkpoint, but this one was a bit over the top for me. Maybe I’m just that kind of person.

As I approached the car park I could hear a live band blaring out; “AIN’T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH…” as people enthusiastically cheered me in, “AIN’T NO VALLEY LOW ENOUGH…” I tried to put on a brave face, smile back… “AIN’T NO RIVER WIDE ENOUGH…”

Shut up now please! I am not in the mood to dance, wave or even pretend to be happy. I am focused and determined, and concentrating on ignoring the ever increasing pain my feet are in, so please excuse me if I don’t match your extreme levels of joy!

Like I said, maybe i’m just that kind of person.

I quickly moved on from this checkpoint and continued along the next section of cliff paths. One thing I found difficult is the number of people that end up bunched together on the cliff paths. It means that passing people can be difficult, and in some cases dangerous, and I ended up at the back of long trains of people on several occasions. It can’t be helped when the walk is so popular these days.

The later into the morning we got, the hotter it became. I kept topping up my sun cream – Factor 50 for ultimate protection – and wore a cap and shades for even more protection! I’m glad that I did, and can say that I didn’t suffer at all from the sun.

As I passed halfway, with the end of the cliff paths in sight, I met up with my girlfriend who brought me some snacks and drinks. I then arranged to meet my Mum at Le Braye – the checkpoint, 34 miles in, that I had stopped at on my first attempt at the walk many years ago. However, before Le Braye comes the 5 mile road, a long stretch of road adjacent to a beach that covers the west coast. Most people choose to walk on the beach as it cuts a bit of a corner, dependent on the tide of course, but having by this point walked about 30 miles, it is so demoralising! You can see Le Braye in the distance, but as you trot along it never seems to get any closer!

Once I made it to Le Braye I met my Mum and I stopped for a break. My feet were beginning to feel sore, but my plan was to maintain a good pace and push on. After walking a small section with my Mum I then met my Dad at Corbiere (a little over 10 miles from the end) and set off. But now the soles of my feet were hurting. Really hurting. The best way for me to describe the pain is that it feels like the bone hurts.

It was exactly the same 10 years ago, and was the reason I pulled out on my first attempt a few years before that. But I knew I was getting close to the finish now and, remembering that pain is only temporary, I focused on just getting closer and closer to the end.

Despite only starting three quarters of the way into the walk, my Dad was still getting congratulated along with the rest of us! Not that he minded.

Every step was more painful, and as I got to the final checkpoint I was having to stop every half a mile or so to take a break from the pain. Everyone tells me the worst thing you can do is stop. I disagree. I was much faster when I was walking and ultimately in less pain. Either way, I was never going to give up. Even if it took me all night, I was going to finish.

Just after 9 pm, I caught sight of the finish line, and as I walked up the finish straight I found myself feeling a little emotional. What a day it had been! What a journey! 18 hours of walking and now I had done it. I was in pain from my feet, exhausted from my efforts but felt amazing regardless. One person shouted ‘well done’ to me as I was approaching the finish line, but I could only manage a wave. To quote Murray Walker; I had a lump in my throat.

I quickly got over that nonsense, pulled myself together and strode towards the line! People cheered and I raised both my arms as I crossed the line. What a sweet moment.

I had officially made it!

Now to have a well earned rest. Wait, whats that? We have to walk back to the car now? Another 10 minutes!? Oh man…

I was given my medal, stood for a picture with the timer (although a couple of minutes over my actual time) and totally forgot all about my bag that had been transported around in a lorry for me! Yes, that’s right, it wasn’t until I got home that I realised I had left my bag at the finish line. Not to worry, I could collect it on Monday.

So there you are, I managed to walk 48 miles in a day and tick off another item on my 30 by 30 list. Once back at home I slowly took off my shoes and socks (what a feeling by the way), revealing a fairly normal looking pair of feet (on the outside at least), and jumped in the shower. I say jumped in…

After a well earned meal I could feel myself falling asleep in front of the TV. I would like to say I slept all night and all morning, but I was awoken at 5-30 am by my girlfriend who was going away on a work trip and had to catch an early flight. This time however it was me who could go back to sleep after saying goodbye. (Please note I had agreed to drive her to the airport before I realised it was the morning after the walk).

I got out of bed at 11 am, and as expected my legs were stiff, and my feet were sore, and with nothing planned except staying off my feet as much as possible I just needed some good TV to keep me occupied. How about England V Panama in the World Cup, immediately followed by the French Grand Prix? Yes please! And I didn’t feel like I should be making the most of a sunny Sunday either, because I had earned a day at home having spent literally every minute of sunshine outside the day before.

I later assessed my bag (the one I carried with me, not the one I forgot) for any left over snacks and drinks…

…that should last me the rest of the day!

My Dad made a good point during the walk. I have nothing left to prove now. I had been thinking of doing this walk for the next few years in a row, but having completed it for the second time I have proven I can do it. I can dig deep and fight through the pain. Maybe it’s time for another challenge?

That being said, I would like to do it faster. My time of 18 hours is fairly slow, despite the fact I was trying to walk fast, but I know I can do it quicker. I actually think I could run some parts of it to cut down the time even more. The final 10 miles were very slow – due to the pain I was in from my feet. But if I finish 3-4 hours earlier, I would not reach that length of time on my feet so would presumably not be in as much pain.

Maybe it can go on my 31 BY 31 list…

Before I sign off, I would like to thank Mum and Dad for joining me on the walk and pushing me on to the finish line, along with my girlfriend who not only joined me on parts of the walk but gave me a lift at 2 am, went to the shop for snacks and drinks and then drove me home at the end, and that is all when she had a work trip of her own to prepare for!

Also, thank you to everyone who sponsored me. There are some really great causes that benefit from this walk and I am so pleased to have been a part of that. I raised a grand total of £95.00 – but if you would like to bump that up to a nice round £100, you can do so here: https://race-nation.com/sponsor/e/180409/

Also, well done to everyone who completed the walk, and also those he didn’t quite make it. I know just how hard you worked to get there and you can be feel very proud to have taken on the challenge! See you all next year…

A quick word on my list… I am 5 months into my 30th year, and 3 items completed. I get asked every now and again how I am doing, and the general consensus is… is that all you’ve done?

Don’t fear, plenty are ongoing, and plenty more are short enough to do in a day or so. Nonetheless, I know I need to keep on top of it or it will soon be Christmas and I’ll have half of them left to do!

Still no decision on the WILDCARD – let me know if you have an idea!

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my blog. Hopefully it won’t be long until the next one! As a reminder, here is my list:

1 Go Indoor Sky Diving

2 Gain a qualification

3 Volunteer

4 Go on the Starfish Course

5 Complete the Jersey Round the Island Walk

6 Learn to play the Spoons

7 Go Scuba Diving

8 Finish writing my novel

9 Join a sports club/league

10 Go to a Music Festival

11 Learn to make (and then make) Jam

12 Watch a Trilogy of films in one go – back to back

13 Learn to play a famous song on piano

14 Finish reading the Harry Potter Series (Books 6 and 7)

15 Challenge my fear of heights at the Valley Adventure Centre

16 Make a YouTube video that gets at least 1,000 views

17 Learn how to wire a plug

18 Attend a major sporting event

19 Build a model of Old Trafford

20 Learn to sew on a button

21 Learn about the history of Jersey

22 Do a live podcast

23 Research my family tree

24 Grow vegetables (that are edible)

25 Try yoga / pilates

26 Swim a mile in one go

27 Create (and make) my own signature dish

28 Design my own boardgame

29 WILDCARD

30 Throw a 30th Birthday Party

30 BY 30 – #5 Complete the Jersey Round the Island Walk On my 29th Birthday I set myself a goal of completing 30 challenges before I turn 30 in January 2019.

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