#i’ve been in such a graceland too mood today
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graceland too by phoebe bridgers coming on right after delicate by taylor swift is actually so sickening
#i’ve been in such a graceland too mood today#whatever she wants!#……#fr#me and#……….#blank#…………#i’m gonna frow up#ari screams into the void
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Forbidden Love pt. 2 💔❣️
Fandom: Elvis - Elvis (2022)
Prompt: Reuniting with Elvis was supposed to be the highlight of your summer, but with unresolved tensions between you two, things aren't what they seem. [Fem!Reader]
TW: Cussing, TENSION, kissing, grinding, fingering
Rating: Explicit
Word Count: 5.3k
A/N: Hello everyone! I had originally wrote all of this part out a few months ago because this is where the idea sprang from! There’s so much more to uncover and this part definitely needs to be in Elvis’ perspective later on so be on the lookout for that. 🤭
Here are the songs I included in this part too! Listen if you haven’t heard “I’ll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin’)” It’s so sweet and I just pictured Elvis singing this soft and low on the piano. 🥹
If you'd like to read any of my other fics, start here or Ao3!
Hope you enjoy and message and comment what you think.
September 21, 1958
Your heart was heavy as you walked up the driveway. The house was illuminated by the lawn lights and the hum of people inside grew the closer you got to it. Graceland was always so beautiful, especially at night. The large Corinthian columns were so stunning and made the whole house stand out. It was made for Elvis you thought. No ordinary man could live here. It had to be someone as grand and special as Elvis Presley was.
You walk up the steps to the front door and take a deep breath. Emotions were flowing through you today. You were going to say goodbye to one of your favorite people. Elvis was always there for you, in good times and bad, he would always listen. He was supposed to be gone for two years in the army. It couldn’t have been a worse time to be drafted. He was at the top of all the charts and his career was just taking off. You two had gotten close the last two years or so. You think it was a way to ground Elvis and keep him connected with the real world. You both loved to hang out with each other's family and have barbecues together.
Now all of that was going to change. He was leaving and you knew you’d be a wreck without him. You don’t have a lot of friends as it is. But Elvis was special. There was no replacing him. You promised yourself you wouldn’t cry at this party. Elvis wanted everyone to have a good time and not think of it as his goodbye party. You took a deep breath before you decided to go in the house. You smoothed out your pale pink dress and opened the front door.
The entire house was lively and some of the people that were standing by the stairs greeted you. Your eyes frantically search for Elvis. You wanted to spend as much time with him as possible before he left. Walking to the kitchen, you set down the bottle of champagne you brought. One of Elvis's housekeepers hugs you and tells you she’ll open the bottle for you. Someone hands you a flute already filled with champagne and you graciously take it.
The bubbly drink danced on your tongue and went down smoothly. You squeeze your way through the sea of people and continue to search for Elvis. There had to be over fifty people crammed into the first floor of the house. You accidentally bump into a taller man and apologize for that. You decide to ask him if he knew where Elvis was. He has this awe-struck look in his eyes as he looks at you. You silently roll your eyes at him, you didn’t want to talk to him, all you wanted to do was spend time with Elvis.
“I uhh… I don’t know. But you can hang out with me. I’m John, you’re y/n right?” He asks. You don’t have the patience to be making small talk with anyone tonight but you fear this guy won’t get the message.
“Yeah, I am,” you say as you keep looking for Elvis and taking another sip of champagne.
“Yeah, I’ve seen you around here. How long have you known Elvis?” He asks. You sigh unamused, you weren’t in the mood to have another one of Elvis’ friends hitting you. Maybe you would have actually given it a shot if it was another night but it was not the right time at all. Your mind was so focused on getting to Elvis.
“Quite a while. He’s my best friend,” you say flatly.
“Well, that’s something you and I have in common. He and I go way back. Can I get you another glass of champagne?” He asks pointing to your glass.
To get through this conversation with you, I’m going to need ten, you think annoyed.
“Yeah sure,” you say flatly, creeping your way in slowly to the living room. You stretch on your tippy toes to see if you can spot Elvis. He was almost always the tallest one in a crowd and you hoped you’d get a glimpse of his dark black hair. It was useless because all you see are other people’s heads and couldn’t see anything else. You huffed annoyed, time was ticking by and you hadn’t even greeted Elvis yet.
You get tapped on your shoulder and you look up to find John with another champagne glass in his hand.
“Thanks, see you around,” you say as you quickly push your way into the crowd and make your escape from the annoying man.
The sound of the piano fills the living room and you just know that Elvis is the one playing on it. He did that so often at parties. He played so beautifully and loved to entertain even though it was his party. You finally squeeze yourself to the very front and see him. He looked so happy with all his friends around the piano waiting for him to burst out in song. He wore a white short-sleeved button-up that was ruffled on the chest and tucked into white pants. He cut his hair the shortest you’d ever seen it for boot camp but he still looks so handsome.
His attention gets torn from his friends and he catches a glimpse of you. His face lights up when he sees you and instantly gets up from the piano bench.
“There’s my favorite girl! Where have you been?” He asks excitedly, scooping you up in his arms and squeezing you tight. You can’t help but smile and giggle softly as you feel how happy he was to have you here.
“I’ve been looking all over for you! You’re impossible to find in your own house,” you giggle.
He gently sets you down and looks at your outfit, taking your hand in his. “And you look like a million bucks too!” He says twirling you around. “Thank you for coming. I’m so glad you’re here!” He says gleefully.
“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it!” You say with a smile.
“Perfect timing too. I was just about to play some songs, and you get to sing with me,” he says cheekily, pulling you onto the piano bench with him. You get extremely nervous, you do not like to be in a crowd of people and have the main focus on you.
“Oh no no no Elvis please I cannot sing,” you say nervously, trying to scoot away from him.
He wraps his arm around your waist and keeps you right next to him.
“Oh no, you’re not running away from me. You just got here! Come on, please sing with me. I love it when you do,” he pleads. He looks at you with soft eyes and a cute cheeky smile. God, you couldn’t say no to this man even if you tried.
You sigh defeated, “Okay fine. Only for a few songs, and then I’m hiding in the corner again,” you say jokingly, taking another sip of champagne. He lets out a big boisterous laugh, bringing his hands to the piano’s keys, and plays a few chords to warm up. He plays so effortlessly, stretching his long fingers across the ivories.
Well it’s one for the money
Two for the show
Three to get ready now go cat go
But don’t you step on my Blue Suede Shoes…
He radiates so much energy when he sings. There’s no way anyone could have a straight face while he performs. A huge smile forms on your face and you start clapping along to the beat. He bumps your shoulder to join in and you sing along with him softly. His mood is contagious and you can’t say no to him and join in.
The longer he plays, the less nervous you become. You don’t pay attention to any of the surrounding people in the living room. Song after song, it felt like it was just you and Elvis singing to each other. Or he was just singing to you. You honestly lost track of time as he continued to play more songs and you kept drinking your champagne. And come to think of it, you lost track of how many drinks you had too. But you didn’t care, you were having too much fun singing with Elvis. He was handed a few drinks and he was drinking them too. It surprised you because he normally never drank but the mood in here was so joyful and fun, you were sure he didn’t care tonight.
Before you knew it, the living room was slowly clearing out and the house was getting increasingly quieter. People were saying their goodbyes to Elvis and telling him how much they’d miss him. Some of the guys were going to go out driving and invited you both to join them, but Elvis wanted to stay here. You didn’t want to leave either, every second you had with him was precious.
It was past 1 am and Elvis started playing slower ballads while humming the tune. You could sit next to him for hours listening to him play. You were entranced by the way he played, how his fingers almost danced over the keys and the most melodious sounds rang out. You put down the last glass of champagne down and felt your head spin a bit. You tried not to focus on it too much and tried to draw your attention back to Elvis.
I’ll never let you go little darlin’
I’m so sorry, ‘cause I made you cry
I’ll never let you go because I love you
So please don’t ever say goodbye…
He plays the song so beautifully, letting the chords ring out fully before he sings the next line. You wish you could snap a picture of this moment and never let it fade away in your memory. Sitting here, listening to him sing a ballad as it pulls at your heartstrings. You were going to miss him so much. He wasn’t going to be down the street from you anymore. You couldn’t just stop by to see how he was. He was going to be thousands of miles away, in a different country, on a different continent. You promised yourself you weren’t going to cry, but you feel the tears well in your eyes as he finishes the song. Damn, the alcohol getting the best of you and your emotions.
Because I love you, pretty baby
I’m so sorry ‘cause I made you cry
I made you cry
Yeah, I’ll never let you go
“Cause I love you, little baby
So please don’t ever say good-bye
He finishes the song so beautifully and you both sit there in silence. A few tears were rolling down your cheeks and you don’t bother to wipe them away. He looks over at you and sees your tear-filled eyes.
“Aww y/n, what’s wrong? Why you cryin’?” He asks as he gently turns your head towards him. His thumbs gently wipe the rolling tears off of your face but that only makes it worse. You take a deep breath before speaking and try to hold it together.
“I’m just… I’m just going to miss you,” you say weakly. He instantly pulls you into his arms, your head resting in the crook of his neck. He rubs your back, trying to soothe you through your cries.
“I know, I am too. It’s going to be so different,” he admits.
“I don’t want you to go. You’re my best friend. Who am I going to talk to now?” You sob, holding onto his shirt.
“You’ll still have me. Write to me any time you want or put on one of my records when you’re lonely. Think of it as though I’m singin’ to you and only you. I love singin’ for you,” He coos. Your tears continue to pour down your face. That thought was too much. You couldn’t fathom the idea that the only way you were going to be able to hear his voice was on a record. You didn’t realize how spoiled you were that you could hear him sing right next to you any time you wanted.
You lift your head up off of him and nod your head. You look into his own tear-filled eyes and somehow his eyes look more blue and mesmerizing. Your head felt light after all the champagne but you didn’t care. Nothing could tear your focus away from Elvis right now. He wipes your tears away once more as his own fall down his cheeks.
“And what do I do if I find myself missin’ you?” He asks through sniffles.
You search for the right thing to say, not exactly sure what to say in a moment like this. You had nothing to offer Elvis. He was the man who had everything even though you both were so young. You look down at your hands, unsure what to do, and see your heart-shaped ring on your ring finger. It was something you found at a little boutique downtown. The band was gold with a black heart that had a sun and a small little diamond in the center. You thought it was cute and a nice find. You slide it off and lift it up for Elvis to see.
“Then you take this with you. I’ll always be with you if you have this,” you say softly. He carefully takes it out of your hand and looks at it closely. He looks up at you in disbelief.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to take something so valuable to you,” you waivers.
“No please, I insist. It’s the least I could give,” you sniffle.
He pulls you in for another hug, squeezing you tighter than he ever has before. You so desperately wanted to freeze time so you could live in this moment forever. You didn’t want to let go of him. You were terrified he would come back from the Army and become a totally different person. But you had to stop thinking that, just enjoy these last few moments with him.
“I’m gonna miss you so much,” he murmurs.
“Me too,” you say weakly.
“Don’t forget about me,” he whispers into your ear.
“Oh God I could never,” you tell him.
He breaks away from you, looking deeply into your eyes and placing his hand on your cheek. His thumb glides back and forth along your cheek and sighs to himself. You aren’t normally so close to him like this and can see so clearly how gorgeous he is. You swore his eyes sparkled when they looked at you. His nose was perfect and his skin was flawless. You watch as his eyes drift down to your lips and you do the same. Maybe you never consciously thought about it, but his lips were beautiful like the rest of him. They were full and plump with a soft pink color to them. They looked soft and pillowy almost.
You can feel your breathing hitch in your throat the longer you stare at him. His hands tighten around your body but are still very gentle as though he’s afraid he’s going to break you. He leans in ever so slowly, biting his lower lips as he does so.
“Good, me too…I can’t forget you even if I tried,” he murmurs sensually.
The tension he is giving off makes your head spin more and you can’t wait any longer. You lean into him and crash your lips into his.
He felt like heaven. Each kiss was tender and soft and yet there was so much urgency behind it. You were right, his lips were softer than you could have ever imagined, and felt like you were kissing pillows. You can’t catch your breath as you both kiss each other with more passion. His hands roamed up and down your back, clutching onto the material of your dress. Oh, those hands, they felt so good on you. They were addictive and you wished you could feel them on your skin instead. You had no idea you needed his attention like this.
You boldly slip your hand into his shirt, feeling the soft chest hairs that resided there. He responds with a soft pleased groan into your mouth. Your heart races in your chest, not believing that this is happening right now. You felt on fire with the way he was kissing you. He was so needy and desperate for your attention as his hands kept moving along your body. He slips his tongue into your mouth and you both groan when he does so. You had never thought you needed him like this, you were always so adamant about staying friends. Maybe things could be different…
There was a throbbing developing in between your legs and was only growing worse by the second. It was so different than other times you’ve felt this way. You had felt this way in private moments by yourself but with Elvis, it was amplified to a whole other degree. Your chest heaves and you feel yourself become more needy. You slowly stand up and try to get Elvis to do the same thing. He breaks the kiss and looks at you a little perplexed. You push him backward to the couch that is right behind the piano. He quickly sits and stares up at you wide-eyed. He smooths out his pants and spreads his legs apart slightly. Your eyes drift to his long legs and how good he looks like this. He just exuded sensuality and temptation without even trying.
You notice how his length was hard and pushing up against his pants. Oh God, you’ve never felt more needy in your life. You wanted to feel what he was like underneath you. You quickly straddle his hips and scrunch up your dress before sitting down on him. Your core rests on top of his length and the heat from him makes it hard to breathe. You let out a small groan as you feel him underneath you. The straps of your dress slide off your shoulders and you’re left looking at Elvis’ luring eyes.
You both don’t say anything, just the sounds of your labored breaths fill the room. His hands drift from your back to the front of your body, gently cupping your breasts in his hands. You whimper softly, loving the way his hands feel on you. You look down as he does this, watching how his hands consume your soft breasts and have you reeling for more. He sighs as he continues to touch you, looking up at you with an awed gaze. You needed his lips once more and leaned in to kiss him again. The kisses somehow got even better with his hands on you like this. Your arms wrap around his neck and feel his soft hair with your fingertips.
Something instinctual takes over your body and your hips begin to move on him, grinding your core onto his hardened length. A bolt of electricity runs through you as you begin to move. You had no idea something like this could feel so satisfying. You break the kiss and gasp out, needing breath more than ever. Elvis lets out a deep groan and lets his head fall back with his eyes closed. Another wave of pleasure runs through you seeing him like this. He looked so attractive with satisfaction running through both you and him. His eyes pop back open with his mouth falling open slightly.
“Oh God honey… that feels so good,” he moans.
Honey.
Oh God he had never called you that before. Hearing that come from his lips made you feel like the actual word; a sweet sticky mess.
You nod your head at him and whimper in agreement as your breathing hitches. You keep eye contact with him as your core continues to throb with every movement of your hips.
“Elvis,” you whine.
He nods his head at you, his hands slithering to your back and grabbing handfuls of your ass. He helps you grind into him harder, his hands helping your hips move back and forth onto him. You gasp loudly, loving how this feels.
“I know honey, I know,” he groans, “You feel so good on my cock,” he whimpers into your ear.
You helplessly moan at just his words. You hold onto him tighter and move more as he helps you. The friction of your panties against his slacks made a coil in your belly form and it tightens with every move. You couldn’t get enough of him. You didn’t want to stop having him make you feel this way. He stills you and you look at him with needy eyes.
He takes one of his hands and moves it to the front of your body. He scrunches the material of your dress in his hand and looks up a you with pleading eyes.
“Can I touch you?” He asks softly. You nod your head quickly and help him lift up your dress. His fingertips graze your mound and move down to your folds. Wetness had pooled in your panties and you squirmed underneath him. Elvis moves his fingers slowly, taking his time exploring you.
“Jesus honey you’re soaked,” he groans. Your hips move with his curious fingers and moan in agreement. You feel his finger pull your panties to the side and continue to slide them through your wet folds. You cuss softly, loving how he’s making you feel. He pulls you in for a kiss again and you both moan when you feel each other’s lips. He puts more pressure on your clit, rubbing it in soft circles. Your body jolts forward with each touch and you are more breathless than you thought possible. You stare at him in awe as your pleasure builds and builds. He has a pleased smirk on his face as he watches you grind on his hand. You couldn’t imagine you could feel this good but it’s somehow possible with Elvis.
Your hands quickly work the buttons of his shirt and spread it open. You then work your way down to his pants and fidget with the button and slide down the zipper. Elvis stills you, not letting you go any further.
“Honey, wait,” Elvis sighs.
“Please, I want you,” you whimper.
“I know, so do I,” he grumbles into your neck.
“Please… please make me feel good. I want you,” you plead, grinding your hips onto him again. He lets out a loud groan, unable to denounce how good you feel. You move back a bit and your hand finds his length. You rub it softly, feeling how much heat is coming off of him and how it is throbbing from your touch. Your head spun when you felt him, you needed him more than anything.
“Please honey, please. Make love to me,” you beg, looking up at him with needy eyes, your hands scratching down his arms. He looks at you in awe. He reacts to you like he’s never heard such beautiful words in his life. He looks like he’s feeling just as weak as you and his hand slowly comes out from underneath your dress.
His demeanor suddenly becomes sorrowful and melancholy. He lowers his gaze and shakes his head somberly.
“I can’t honey. We can’t right now,” he says low.
You can’t help but feel like you’ve been punched in the gut. Being rejected by him hurt. You could have sworn he wanted you just the same.
He can see how you’re a bit hurt and taken aback by his words.
“It’s not that I don’t want to honey. Trust me, I would love to as you can see,” he says as he glances down at his hard length. “It’s just not the right time. I don’t want you regretting this kind of thing. I don’t want it to be because I’m leavin’ tomorrow,” he explains.
“It’s not because of that I just-,” you try to insist but end up stopping yourself, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked for sucha thing,” you say embarrassed. You quickly get off of him and stand wobbly. Your head spins more than you were prepared for and almost stumble sideways. Elvis thankfully grabs you and holds you upright.
“I gotcha, it’s okay. I don’t mean to make you feel bad honey. You need to know I loved every second of that,” he says sweetly, taking your face in his hands and placing a soft, tender kiss on your lips. You sigh at the feeling once more, not wanting to forget how this feels. You gently pull away and take a deep breath.
“I guess I should be going,” you tell him.
“Oh no, you should not be driving like this. Just stay the night,” he insists.
You didn’t have any fight left in you and you just nodded your head. He keeps his arm around your waist and leads you up the stairs with him. It was a challenge walking up those stairs while the whole world was spinning. He opens his bedroom door and helps you in.
His bedroom was warm and inviting. It smelled like him and made you want to put that scent into a candle. He turns on the lamp by his bed and you get a better view of the room. Most of his furnishings were black and there were piles of books on his dresser and on his nightstand.
He’s such a little bookworm.
You glance at the clock on the wall and it is past two. You feel his arms go around your waist again and he steps in front of you.
“Did you want to go to the bathroom or anything? Or would you rather lie down?” He asks you.
“I’ll just lay down,” you say sleepily. He nods his head and turns to pull back the sheets for you. You reach your hand at the back of your dress as he does this and struggle to find the zipper. You let out frustrated little sighs and he turns back to face you, concerned with what you’re doing.
“Help me unzip this dress please,” you say defeated as you turn around and lift up your hair. Elvis doesn’t say anything, all you can feel is his fingers gently pull on the zipper and drag it down to the small of your back. He turns you around and he has that needy look in his eye. You reach up on your tippy toes to give him a small peck on the lips. You can feel the smile forming on his face as you do this. You step around him and go to the bed. Before stepping in, you let your dress fall at your feet and quickly get underneath the sheets. They were soft and silky and the heavy comforter made it feel extra cozy.
“I’ll sleep on the floor, honey. You let me know if you need anything,” Elvis tells you. You slowly roll over and give him a pouty face.
“No please, stay with me. You can sleep with me,” you insist. He looks like he’s going to denounce this request but you don’t let him. You hold the sheets across your chest and pull at his hand.
“Please, Elvis. I want you to sleep in your own bed before you leave,” you plead.
He lets out a frustrated sigh and nods his head.
“Okay, let me change real quick,” he says. You smile sweetly at him and close your eyes as you wait for him. The room still felt wobbly but lying down did feel better. You hear Elvis sift through his closet and walk back into the room fully changed. The shift of weight in the bed made your eyes pop back open to watch him get into bed. He was shirtless with only his underwear on. He was still hard and could clearly see the outline of his cock in these. You tried to subside the needy feeling you had for him and just focus on sleep.
He lays down and gets underneath the sheet with you but leaves plenty of space between the two of you. You grumble annoyed, wanting him to get comfortable in his own bed.
You scoot closer to him, laying your head on his chest.
“You can get closer to me, I don’t bite,” you giggle.
He chuckles softly to himself, “oh good I was worried about that,” he teases.
You feel his arms wrap around you as you start to close your eyes again. You had never felt so safe and comforted in someone’s arms before.
“I’m gonna miss you,” he whispers.
“Mhmm, me too,” you slur sleepily.
“Don’t forget about me,” he says softly.
“Never,” you hum as you let the dark blanket of sleep take over.
*
The crack of sunlight shone in through the curtains making your eyes flutter open. You stretch your limbs and feel the soft silky sheets wrapped around you. Your eyes instantly pop open when you realize these do not feel like your sheets at home.
“Shit,” you say as you sit up quickly in the bed.
You look around and realize you’re in Elvis’ bedroom. You clutch the sheets around your chest and look down to realize you’re practically naked underneath them. Your heart hammers away, trying to scramble to remember what happened last night.
Did we? No, we couldn’t have… you think to yourself. You feel you still have your panties on and see your dress crinkled on the floor next to the bed. You try to recollect last night’s events as best you can. You remember singing with Elvis on the piano, smiling and laughing at him. Then you remember those eyes. Those beautiful, seductive blue eyes peering into yours with an intense blazing heat… how good he felt underneath you as he moaned your name. The need that grew inside of you to have him take care of you in a way you didn’t know existed.
But he stopped you… telling you that it wasn’t the right time. Your heart drops. That’s right, he stopped you from going any further. You sat there wishing he took care of you. Fulfilled the need he created inside of you. It still lingered in you as you sat there.
“Elvis?” You say out loud, seeing if he was still in the bedroom.
You frantically search for the clock and see it’s ten past ten. Your heart sinks again. Did he already leave? No, he couldn’t have, he would have said goodbye to you. You quickly put your dress back on and rush down the stairs.
Peeking into the dining room, the table was empty with not a trace anyone has been there. You go into the kitchen to see if you can find anyone there who might know where Elvis went to. You see one of his housekeepers at the sink rinsing off dishes. She hears you enter the kitchen and has a surprised look on her face.
“Oh hey darlin’! I didn’t know you were here!” She says excitedly.
“Yeah I stayed the night,” you say a bit timidly. “Where’s Elvis?” You ask.
She looks at you somberly, turning off the faucet and wiping her hands dry with a dish towel.
“Aww honey I’m sorry, you missed him. He left at dawn for New York. I’m sure he didn’t want to wake you. But you probably said your goodbyes last night right?” She tries to say positively.
You look down at the floor, trying to hide your flushing cheeks. Yeah, that was one hell of a way to say goodbye…
“Yes we did. I better get going. I’ll see you soon,” you tell her.
You make your way to the front door and stop dead in your tracks as you see an envelope on the side table with your name on it. You quickly grab it and make your way out the door. Your heart beats uncontrollably in your chest as you walk to your car. You quickly open the door and lock it as you stare at your name written in Elvis’ handwriting.
You hesitated to open it for some reason. A part of you thought he was going to confess how he regrets last night’s events. It scared you to see if that was the truth but had to see for yourself. You carefully tore the envelope open and pull the letter out. Your hands shook as you unfolded the paper.
My Girl,
I didn’t want to wake you this morning. You looked too peaceful. I had a wonderful night with you.
I’ll carry your ring with me wherever I go. It’s the greatest gift you could’ve ever given me.
I will be
With love,
Ep.
Tears roll down your cheeks as you stare at the words he wrote to you. You couldn’t help but feel like this was more than a goodbye letter. It was an end of an era for you two and he just put the nail in the coffin.
•
•
•
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Case Closed ~ Chpt 10
Previous Story Catch Up Masterlist
AN: So let's just say I'll never actually be on a schedule because clearly no matter my intentions, it doesn't work out that way. I've got two more chapters written after this one and a third possibly halfway through. We'll see cause we are truly into following along with the Braindead episodes now. So without further ado, enjoy this next chapter!
Bex traipsed down her stairs, making her way to her car so she could head into work. She had lunch plans with Rochelle to get the evidence later and the morning was hers besides the quick briefing with the team working the case on the inside of the bureau. Dinner with Mike had been amazing. Just reminiscing about it had put her in a good mood once she woke up.
They had decided on something a little more casual which meant they both left their blazers in the car. Mike also ditched the tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons on his shirt before rolling up the sleeves. Bex honestly could have just dragged him home right then. Instead, she placed a kiss to his cheek before looping her arm with his as they walked into the restaurant.
It was one of the places he frequented before he went back to Graceland. According to Mike, it was the best pizza in the DC area. The moment Bex took a bite, she wholeheartedly agreed. "How did I not know of this place before?" She asked in the middle of her second bite.
Mike chuckled. "Clearly I'm more of a pizza connoisseur than you are." He teased her.
She smiled at the memory and at how before they went their separate ways, he gave her a kiss goodbye that left her both breathless and wanting more. She didn't mind taking things at a slow pace. She enjoyed truly getting to know Mike. Sure the kissing was nice and she'd be more than happy to share a bed with him but her past relationships had been solely for work or purely physical. She hadn't explored a relationship where she had more than that type of connection in a long time and it thrilled her.
Just as she unlocked her car door, her phone began to ring. Seeing that it was Mike, a smile lit up her face before she answered it. "Good morning."
"Good morning." He replied. "I know we just had dinner last night and if we lived lives outside of the Bureau my friends would tell me it's far too soon to call and ask you on a coffee date and your friends would call me a clinger but I would call you anyway like I'm doing now and I'm hoping that you'll still say yes."
Bex giggled. "I still say yes. Where do you want to meet? I'm about to head in, now."
"Well, here's the thing, I'm turning on your street now and I've already picked up the coffee." He sounded sheepish.
That caused her to laugh as she locked her car. "You know, this is getting into stalker territory." She teased him.
"Would you accept that I'm trying to look out for you?" He asked as he pulled into her apartment complex parking lot.
"I would but I thought we had covered how I'm quite capable of taking care of myself." She waved when she saw his car before hanging up.
Once she was situated in the passenger seat, Mike drove off and continued their conversation. "I know. It's just I've heard some chatter and if Onofrio talked to his people about your involvement, I'm just worried about some measures they could potentially take since they can get pretty extreme."
Bex had picked up the coffee cup and took a sip, smiling at how it was her regular order. "Then I guess I can allow it." She reached over and gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. "Thanks for the mocha, by the way."
"You're welcome." He smiled over at her. "So, what do you have planned for today?"
"Briefing this morning and then lunch with Rochelle then my afternoon is open. How about you?"
"I will probably be dealing with the aftermath of yesterday. If you feel compelled to come save me after your lunch I would greatly appreciate it." He chuckled.
She laughed as well, nodding her agreement. "You got it."
Once they reached the Bureau's office building, Bex leaned over and gave him a quick kiss goodbye. "Thanks for the ride."
Mike smiled. "Don't mention it. I'll see ya later."
"Bye." She gave him another kiss before making her way into the office.
She headed to her desk first, putting all of her things down. She then grabbed what she would need for the briefing and her coffee cup before making her way to Marchant's office. "Morning, Director." She greeted as she stepped inside, taking a seat from across his desk.
"Morning, Morris. Let's talk about yesterday, shall we?" He asked, leaning back in his seat, hands folded over his stomach.
"Which part, sir? The one where we nearly used torture on an innocent woman or the fact that high frequency signals can cause senators to run into walls or raise both of their arms?" She raised an eyebrow in a 'don't think I forgot' fashion.
Marchant let out a sigh. "You say innocent but she's been linked to so many incidents."
"Important to the investigation, does not mean guilty and you know it. Miss Healy has some rotten luck but she's further along in the investigation you first sent Warren to look into."
"So what happened at the hearing? And how does that prove our Area 51 case?"
"I honestly think you should just call in one of their agents, director. I'm going to meet with Rochelle at lunch to get all of their evidence. I also need to speak with the doctor they contacted at the CDC. Because what happened yesterday was practically the icing on the cake. They recorded some of the infected persons communication and played it back in parts which caused the running into walls and hand raising. The creatures inside the infected communicate via high frequencies that human ears can't normally detect."
The director pinched the bridge of his nose. "The guys out in Nevada are going to have a field day. So what she said about bug people..." He trailed off, not really wanting to believe it.
"Bugs have eaten people's brains, yeah, and they're causing the head explosions. The bugs were in the meteor and they're infecting people but no one's really sure as to why."
"That's your new objective then. Find out why they're doing this and then I'll reach out to my contact out in Nevada. Keep me updated, Morris. That'll be all."
Bex stood with a nod and made her way to her desk. She didn't want to focus on the craziness that Mike's case was at the moment. She had a few things she knew she needed to wrap up with the case involving her sister's killer. Mostly paperwork so she put on a coffee shop playlist and started typing things up in her report while sipping on the rest of her mocha.
Just as she was about to go to her next page, her phone started ringing. She briefly looked over to see that it was a name on the caller id instead of a random number so she answered it. "This is Bex."
"Hey Bex! Can we reschedule lunch?" Rochelle asked.
"Yeah, sure. Is everything alright?"
"Laurel stopped by and told us that Senator Wheatus saw us leaving the hearing yesterday and Gareth isn't sure what he's going to do."
Bex saved her report and started packing up. Sure, she could probably easily take Onofrio but she would rather not have to deal with HR. "What if I came to you instead? Strength in numbers and all that."
"I'd like that. I'll send you my address. See you soon."
With that they both hung up and Bex closed everything down. As she waited for her Uber ride, she called Mike. "Is my cover blown? Do I need to be on alert too?"
"I would just in case. Oh, I gotta go, mom. I'll talk to you later." Mike hung up practically as soon as Red stepped back into his office.
It didn't exactly put Bex at ease but she was a trained professional. She knew how to defend herself and how to fight. When the Uber arrived, she slid into the backseat, confirming the address and was soon being let out at the First District Apartments.
She went to knock on Rochelle's door when she noticed that it was open a crack. Bex pulled her gun and slipped inside. When she came to the spot where the floor plan opened up, she looked over to the kitchen where she saw Rochelle give the ending blow with a frozen turkey leg to some guy.
The other woman looked up, seeing Bex just as she was lowering her gun. "Call the others and I'll help you get everything sorted. Nice moves by the way." The agent said with a smile, going back to lock the door.
"I don't know if Laurel will be available." Rochelle said as she dragged the intruder over to one of the support poles in her apartment.
"Why not?" Bex hurried over and helped stand the man up and prop him against the pole.
There was a knock on the door then and Rochelle answered as she went to open it. "Because there's a possibility her dad is infected."
Bex shook her head, her heart heavy for the woman. She really was having the worst luck when it came to this whole situation.
The trio soon had the intruder taped to the pole. Gustav placed a helmet on top of the intruder's head to keep him from sending out any communication. Bex was in the kitchen with Rochelle, helping her clean up and tend to the box cutter wound that had been left on her arm. It luckily wasn't deep enough to warrant stitches but with the help of Rochelle's direction things would turn out okay and hopefully not scar.
When Gustav started questioning him and Rochelle checked his ears, Bex stayed back and watched, looking for any signs that he could be lying. Then again she was unsure if the intruder would have any of the same tells if it was true that half his brain was gone. Either way, he was very convincing.
"What do you think?" Rochelle asked as the trio huddled together.
"He's really convincing. I can't say for sure but I can call in my police contact if you'd like to press charges." Bex said. "That's the one thing he's been right about, they probably should get involved. This is starting to go against everything I signed up for when I joined the Bureau."
"Can we try a couple more things?" Gustav asked. "If we let him go and he is a bug person then we might be in more trouble than before."
Rochelle looked at Bex with a look that said what harm could be done. Bex let out a sigh and agreed. Soon "You Might Think" was playing but they put it on backwards. A knock was heard and Rochelle called out that the door was open. Laurel walked in, confused about what was happening.
"What are you doing?" She finally asked.
"It's "You Might Think" played backwards." Rochelle answered.
The intruder looked to Laurel, hoping that she would be sensible enough to help him. "Gustav is seeing what will work on him." She continued to explain.
Laurel looked to Bex. "You seriously can't be okay with this?"
"It's not one of my best decisions, but honestly I think we should call this thing off. It's clearly not working."
Gustav shook his head at Bex's answer, disagreeing completely. "No, we need to figure out what the bug people want!"
"And I agree, it's what I've been tasked to do but this isn't the way to do it." Bex argued.
Laurel sighed and turned to Gustav. "He's denying he's infected, right?"
"Yes, but he would." Gustav answered.
"So how are you gonna get him to talk?" Laurel asked.
"Can we put on some better music?" The intruder spoke up which caused Gustav to jump into action with the box cutter the intruder used before.
All three women raced over to pull Gustav away as he threatened to cut the intruder's fingers off if he didn't give them the answers they wanted. Rochelle and Laurel were on either side of him and Bex came around to get the box cutter out of his hand.
"We need to call this now. I'm going to let him go." She said, stepping back towards the intruder.
"Bex, no, he's not gonna talk to us unless we threaten him." Gustav argued.
"I think you should listen to your friend." The intruder commented.
Bex turned to look at him with a pointed look. "We don't need comments from the peanut gallery."
"Why don't we just find out who this guy is instead? You would need that for a report, right?" Laurel turned to Bex.
"Yeah and there's nothing wrong with doing a little extra research."
"So, see, there we go. Now, about my dad." Laurel said, informing the group what she had witnessed. When Rochelle mentioned him stopping sex, Laurel gathered her things and set out to find her dad's mistress.
Gustav set to digging around in the bag that he had brought over and pulled out a small bottle of three year old whiskey. "Bex, you might want to go somewhere else for this next bit."
"You know I can get you arrested also, don't do it."
"Listen to her please. I'm in AA. I'm two years sober." The intruder pleaded.
"Where's your chip?" Rochelle asked.
"Oh, my sobriety chip, I must have left it in my other clothes." He quipped.
Bex just shook her head. How stupid could he be to answer in such a way? The moment Bex wasn't watching Gustav and Rochelle poured the whiskey down the intruder's throat. Her phone began to ring then. Seeing that it was Mike, she stepped away and answered it.
"Please tell me you're having a better day than I am." He said as soon as she picked up.
"I actually don't know if I can properly answer that question." Bex replied. "What's going on?"
Mike let out a small sigh. "I think Red is up to something. His latest witness for this committee meeting is lying. And I'm beginning to really hate that this is taking so long."
"Have we entered into an alien bug version of Independence Day?" She asked with a small laugh.
Her question got the reaction she was looking for and she smiled when she heard Mike laugh as well. "It certainly seems that way. What have you got going on?"
"A not so legal questioning. I don't know if I'm aiding in it or stopping it because no one seems to be listening to me."
Mike took a deep breath. He had done plenty of not so legal things while out in California but to hear Bex admit it he wasn't sure if he was relieved someone was finally telling him the truth or be worried.
"The person did attack Rochelle and is possibly infected so, I'm not really sure if that helps or hurts my case." She had continued until she realized that Mike was silent on the other end. "Mike? You okay? Should I have not told you?"
That pulled him out of his thoughts. "No, no. I'm glad you told me. I would rather you tell me than keep it hidden honestly." His thoughts drifted to Paige and Briggs. "Should I come over?"
Bex shook her head even if he couldn't see her. "No. Gareth can't really help because he doesn't know yet. Why don't I come see you instead? You should also probably contact Laurel so she can let her brother know about the witness."
"Yeah, I'd like that. See you soon then?"
"See you soon." Bex promised before hanging up.
#mike warren fic#mike warren imagine#gareth ritter fic#gareth ritter imagine#braindead fic#graceland fic#criminal minds fic#crossover fic#mike warren#gareth ritter#case closed#moving on series#mike x bex#kim writes things
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Das Body Interview
Das Body
Photo by Hsiang Hsiang Wang
Out of the greyer climes of Oslo - particularly East Oslo with its drizzly expanse of apartment blocks and gas stations stocked with Kent cigs and smut mags - has suddenly come a burst of colour by the name of Das Body. Das Body has emerged with plenty of buzz from local fests and press and a debut EP release is finally here. Their synths and rhythms enter with a rather classic 80s familiarity but quickly take a turn for a sort of new-new-wave. Elsewhere, the melodies melt at places and wrinkle at the edges. The vocals warble and waver, and occasionally reach into higher, alien pitches. Das Body is writing pop music without the sentimentality that oversweetens so much currently on radio rotation. Instead, to their vulnerability, they mix in a little vulgarity, or a little light-heartedness. Now, with their hat in the ring, Das Body brings a uniquely Nordic odd-pop that is, nonetheless, destined for charts the world over… We talk to Ellie Linden about songwriting styles, cooking and YouTube binges…
TSH: When you guys formed Das Body, what sort of ideas and ambitions did you initially have in mind for the band’s vision?
Ellie: Das Body started with me and Kim years ago, and at that point we didn’t really have a set vision. I just knew I wanted to make music, and Kim did too. We obviously wanted it to get somewhere, but we weren’t really thinking about that during those early stages. I just thought it was fun and I wanted to learn more. It was creative in a very intense way, and I started looking at music differently. For me the beginning was a growth period where I had to learn more about my voice and find my character, once I did that the music started flowing. Things started falling into place. I guess Das Body the band didn’t really form in full until we got all members of the band in, which was barely a year ago now.
TSH: How would you assess and summarise the band dynamic when new music is coming together?
Ellie: When it comes to songwriting it has mostly been Kim and I. It’s been like that for years, but once Patrik and Didrik came into the picture we of course wanted them to become a part of the writing. The EP consists of older songs, but for the next album I’m really looking to switching it up and having it sound more like the other boys as well. It’s important to have the music you’re playing feeling like it’s your own, I certainly believe that anyways. We could choose to be a band that just hands out sheet music to musicians for concerts, but I absolutely prefer having a band. One where everybody gets to play something that feels a bit like them. I mean, the band already feels like a family, but I’m always up for getting even tighter.
TSH: What sort of motivations do you primarily draw upon when you’re writing lyrics?
Ellie: You know how it is when you start learning a lot about something, and you start to dissect and analyse everything related to it? That happened to me when I started writing lyrics. I realised I was bored of lyrics always having to mean so much, and being packed with metaphors and declarations of love or hate. And I thought about how all my favourite lyrics weren’t lines that were incredibly poetic or had some deeper meaning. They were lines that made a vibe that added something to the song as an element with all the other components. I don’t want to add a poem on top of my song, I want something that’s very much part of the song, just like a guitar or synth riff. Another thing is the musicality of the words. If I’ve made a killer vocal line, I’m not gonna ruin that just because I want to have a certain lyric there. The sound of it is way more important to me, so if I record a really great line with improvised lyrics, there’s a chance I’m going to keep the amount of syllables and possibly even the vowels. Which vowels and consonants you use can be very defining for the character of the vocals, and certain vowels are easier to sing when you’re singing really high notes, and different ones for lower notes. Sometimes I even keep the entire improvised line because I fall in love with exactly how it sounds, and it won’t matter if it makes sense or not. They often fit the song well though, as I get inspired by the song and its vibe when I record, and I blend it with my current state of mind or what I’ve been thinking of that day. But I’ve been told people can’t make out what I’m singing anyway so maybe none of this matters, haha!
TSH: When you overlook your self-titled EP, what does it convey to you overall?
Ellie: To me, it really conveys the journey through the past few years, though that sounds cheesy and loads of artists say it. But it’s true though, isn’t it? Any piece of art will always sum up the time it took to make it in one way or another. We’ve had all of the EP tunes for a long time, pretty much since the beginning. Back then they sounded quite different though. I pretty much used these four songs to experiment, try and fail, and eventually they were the ones I found my answers through. These are also the only four songs we kept from those early days before we started Das Body.
TSH: With the track ‘Graceland’, were you looking to evoke a certain mood?
Ellie: The very first idea for ‘Graceland’ evoked a certain mood in us and it felt right to keep going with that feeling. So right in fact, that even after years of working on it, it ended up giving off the same vibe as that very first idea. With the balance between the hard, repetitive drum beat, the comforting synths and the slightly alien, daydreamy vocals, it strikes us the same way today as it did when we started. I’d say the mood of the song is dark and cold, but not uninviting. It’s driving at full speed at night with a backdrop of neon lights. I love the sense of urgency and panic created by holding back, before releasing it all in the outro.
TSH: Also, what sort of memories come to mind when you think about the song ‘Know My Name’?
Ellie: In ‘Know My Name’ there are a lot of different experiences described in the lyrics. When I think of ‘Know My Name’, there’s immediately a montage playing in my head of all these memories. It’s me as a kid in the summer breeze sitting on the grass behind the gas station while my dad was getting the car washed, because I was too afraid to go through the wash tunnel. It’s me falling in love with a person I just met. It’s me as a teen at a concert with my favourite band crying my heart out, as happy and as sad as I’ve ever been at the same time, so much that it felt like my insides hurt. That ache is what ‘Know My Name’ makes me feel each time I hear it. But in a good way. Mostly!
TSH: When it comes to the band’s synth influences – do you look to incorporate certain styles of instrumentation?
Ellie: I think at this point we all have enough musical experience to have developed our own styles. We have different instruments we prefer and different ways of making those instruments sound like we prefer. So we try to just do what the four of us want, and whatever feels right. I think artists have to be careful with being too much in their head about their music and inspirations. We create in the way that we consume. Considering we today have basically got all the music in the world at our fingertips, we’re able to consume very different types of music and lots of it. So it makes sense that we’re all going to absorb the different things we like and learn from them.
TSH: In what ways do your Oslo surroundings impact your music?
Ellie: Thinking about it, ‘Graceland’ is probably the song that is the most “Oslo” to me, like sitting in that car driving at night speeding through the streets, those are the streets of Oslo for me. In fact, the general vibe in ‘Graceland’ is very much like Oslo at night. It feels almost desolate at times; around any corner you can suddenly be faced with complete darkness, no street lights, no window lights and no people. It’s that hint of fear and loneliness, but you still feel at home. That’s very much ‘Graceland’ to me. I’m sure the culture and the scenery has made our music sound reminiscent of Oslo in some way, but it’s difficult for me to hear how. This is just base camp for me, this is what’s normal. It’s fun to imagine though, how our EP would’ve sounded had we all been born in Portugal or Arizona instead.
TSH: Which factors do you bear in mind most when you perform live?
Ellie: My performance onstage is very much a natural thing that just happens. I listen to our music as we play, and if it makes me feel like shaking from head to toe I’ll shake, and if it makes me want to stare ominously into the crowd then I’ll do that. I want to convey the music as well as I can, to be an extension of the songs. If I were to sit on a bar stool through the whole set or have Britney Spears-style choreographed dancing, that would be a complete mismatch and take people out of the experience (though I would be down for the latter example and some backup dancers!). Instead I decided to just not give a shit and do whatever I wanted to onstage, and that is what works for our live show.
TSH: What are you mostly passionate about outside of music?
Ellie: I dabble in a lot of different hobbies, but what I love to do the most is cooking. I don’t have a lot of time for most of my hobbies as I want to spend my creative energy on the music, but I still have to eat, right? So when I get a free evening I love to make unnecessarily complicated dishes in my tiny, one meter long kitchen with two cooktop burners and no oven.
TSH: Also, what gets viewed most on your Netflix and YouTube binges?
Ellie: I’m not on Netflix that much anymore; I’ve gone back to how it was before Netflix, the good old downloading days (legally ofc!). I do love to watch the same shows several times though, and recently I’ve been rewatching This Is England, which is one of my favourite shows. I also recently noticed that people online everywhere were talking about binge watching Chopped like their life depended on it, so I downloaded it and before I knew it I had watched 4 seasons. Now I finally get the memes. I’m not on YouTube anymore either, but when I do I always fall down the rabbit hole. I’ll start with a simple let’s play and suddenly I’ve learned how to make a bento box and then I’ll end up at this vocal coach reviewing the best and worst performances of famous singers. The last one taught me a few tips and tricks actually, so sometimes you get something out of a night of YouTube and then sometimes you get a depraved craving to watch Vine compilations for three hours. You know how that goes. Honestly, Vine shutting down would’ve been some Library of Alexandria business if it hadn’t been for people saving every single Vine and posting them back online.
TSH: Tell us more about members of the band going for an H&M catalogue look on your Instagram?
Ellie: Haha! One day I noticed that Patrik and I were dressed very alike, and we looked very phresh so we posed and took a picture. Immediately upon seeing that top notch commercial modelling, I had to slap a mild sepia filter on there and I wrote the caption “hit us up, H&M catalogue, we ready”. Still waiting to hear from them though...
TSH: You’ve stated previously that this choice of career ‘is all for fun’, with this in mind, what makes you feel most content about taking this journey?
Ellie: Well, when you phrase it like that, what I’m most happy with is that is has really been a lot of fun! It’s a lot of work, way more than you think as a kid when you glamorise the life of a pop star. I’ve been saying lately that it feels like I have two full-time jobs, one by day and one by night. They are very different though, as the music is super rewarding and worth every minute spent working. Can’t really complain when I’m doing what I want to do! Seriously though, I love my boys, I’m really proud of how far we’ve gotten and I can’t wait to keep doing this for years and years to come.
Das Body - EP
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Chicago Trip Journal number 2
It's around 4 AM again and I'm sitting up in our hotel room that we haven't relocated from just yet. There are arrangements though, so we'll be in a new spot for the next installment. Lots to cover. After the last journal entry I slept and woke a couple hours later, we sat around for a bit deciding to find a new place to stay for the weekend and then we did a very long walk around the area before hopping back on the L and a short bus ride aside to deposit us at St Mary of the Angel cathedral. Like almost all of such buildings this one was huge and beautiful, especially the pipe organ which I could have gotten a closer look at but the temptation would have been to play it and that wouldn't have gone well. We did get a good opportunity to experience the acoustics of the place, one of the cleaners had a baby that....well it didn't exactly cry but almost sang for us atonally, I made a recording but I'm not sure it came out very well. After that we called another rideshare and went to Wrigley field, which was closed but giving tours. Too expensive, but the gift shop is always a good stop. It was still electric to see what they call Wrigleyville, thrums and aftershocks of the series win are everywhere, and on the face of every fan we saw like a glow. We ate at a nearby sports bar, had my first authentic Chicago style hotdog and confirmed it is the best way to hotdog. Something about the combination of tomato and relish with celery salt on processed meat just brings it all together so nicely, the peppers provide a good enough kick, onions ‘cause everything needs onions, though the poppyseed bun is optional in my mind, they're hard enough to find at home and expensive to boot, a good fresh bun is all you need. From the Sports Corner bar we walked to Graceland Cemetery, which is where I disclose one official reason for this whole journey, the Jim Butcher series of books about a wizard named Dresden who supposedly had a grave in this place. Naturally Joe is into these books and I was supposed to listen to them before going but I got lost in other things. Thankfully Joe also thought to check if he had any of his own blood in the place and I would have done the same had I thought it would be here, but I know different. Still, I saw the tomb of a Martin Ryerson, once the richest man in all of Chicago. His tomb had an egyptian design courtesy of architect Louis Sullivan. I know all of this because that's the exact point where my physical limit for walking was reached, my feet felt like they were falling off, Joe was feeling about the same. So we Uber'd back to our hotel and tumbled in for a nap until around dinnertime, and oh what a dinner! The day had been quite amenable weather wise, around 70 degrees for a high, very little wind. After napping and checking that nothing was showing any permanent damage we decided to venture another walk and made it down to La Salle North bridge and the Chicago Cut steakhouse that sits nearby, with seating overlooking the water. I was worried that we weren't dressed up enough, this being the sort of place 'power lunch' kind of defines. Important looking people in important looking clothes, kids feeling awkward in their Sunday best and it isn't Sunday, that kind of thing. They were surprisingly accommodating and even understanding when we changed our minds and elected to sit outside on the patio, even if the weather had taken a small turn for the worse during our walk over, since inside was way, way too noisy. This is where I, if not we, finally experienced a small piece of that dance I mentioned before. We sat at the edge of the river surrounded by gigantic buildings, the sun setting, the wind showing up but not getting in the way. We were served like any other big shot, drinking Moscato wine and eating finely aged steaks, gourmet sides, coffee and creme brulee for dessert and absolutely the best carrot cake anyone has ever had. This all while the buildings glowed and glittered and people went about their lives and we observed. All in all quite the eventful first full day, full of exploration and good food, positive moods, all that fun stuff. According to fitness tracking I walked 14,000 steps! My feet still hurt a little, 11km and almost 6000 calories burnt, I think I earned that full and fancy meal at the end, ha! This first day crammed in a lot of our unstructured itinerary, with plans coming and going during the bulk of events. Most notably our attempt at seeing some sort of sports thing has morphed from a basketball game to now possibly a baseball game instead, trading Bulls for White Sox, though we may also see the Blackhawks play some hockey depending on the state of things after their latest game. I’ve been booted from my lobby table due to carpet cleaning so now I sit in the lobby proper typing between glances at the growing activity outside, this rhythm not so foreign to me anymore. I think immersing myself with that long exploratory jaunt did some good, I have accepted Chicago exists and is this huge and densely packed, but it still shocks me sometimes. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the random peppering of architectural designs, old to new to old looking new to new looking old and back and forth, there is a definitive aesthetic, in that it is desired to have one, but otherwise there are obviously no sort of grandiose citywide HOA analogues that bitch and moan incessantly because windows aren’t some particular way or the wrong sort of plant adorns your front facade. Today's goal is to relax after such whirlwind walks, hopefully my feet uncurl from the clubs they’ve become and another exploration can happen, but not today. There is talk of a three hour tour on a boat, scarily, but we aren’t anywhere near a tropical ocean and instead will be hearing about the same differing building designs that confuse me so.
#chicago#walking#vacation#travel#wrigleyfield#graceland cemetery#wrigleyville#jim butcher#harry dresden#chicago cut steakhouse
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