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pirunika · 6 years ago

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Old Ghosts

‘’Are you okay?’’

Nino jumped on her stool upon this sudden question, pulling herself from her daydreams reluctantly to glance around - the worst cantina she had ever seen. Hoth. Nighttime. Reneget...something.

Right.

She wondered how long she had been staring at the empty bottle - bottles - on the bar, this Torian had to be more patient than any human she had encountered. It didn’t lessen the embarrassment, but she didn’t apologise...not again - this time she thought it’d annoy him into leaving her alone in this frozen wasteland. The whole mission had been a disaster already. Not technically perhaps - no, if anything Nino would always, always finish a mission but she found it difficult to feel her survival instincts. It made her recall her early days in the Imperial space, fighting to the death in the front lines.

The longer they stayed on this blasted ice planet, she noticed, more and more she was being pulled into her thoughts, retiring into her shell - armour - in order to ignore everything - everyone, any stinging remark thrown at her way or any seemingly concealed glance that’d cause her to snap back into memories she had done everything in her hand to forget for almost a decade - all for nothing. However she was not alone, and her cheeks warmed with embarrassment when she thought what he could be thinking about her unseemly, ridiculous behaviours. Some dignity. He must be disappointed, she thought blearily, I’m acting like a madwoman.

But she nodded confidently nonetheless, her actions exaggerated with slight inebriation, turning to her side to give Torian what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Oddly enough he didn’t smile back like he’d usually do but sighed deeply without bothering to hide it, turning back to his drink instead, downing the rest and for some humiliating reason, Nino felt her insides knot into even a tighter mess. She stared at his profile - he didn’t look disappointed, not really, frozen more like - rigid, maybe he’s cold, she thought again, Hoth is hardly an ideal world for humans.

She cleared her throat, and shook her head instead of smiling that fake frozen smile - it didn't fool anyone - ‘’You can go if you like, Torian. We’ll be staying just upstairs you know?‘’ she gestured the ceiling of the space station, ‘’Get some rest.’’

He shook his head, ‘’Not without you - and his face became pinker before he continued hurriedly ‘’I mean, you need to rest too. Can’t leave you alone here.’’

‘’Torian - ’’

‘’Do you want to talk?’’ he asked before she could protest, ‘’I’ll listen. Either way - we should go.’’

Despite the haziness that came from the numerous drinks, she felt a pang of irritation, ‘’I said you can go! I’m speaking Basic right?’’ she tried in Mando’a, although very clumsily, <<‘’Just go!’’>>

<<’’No!’’>> he exclaimed as well to her annoyed reply, <<‘’Never!’’>>

‘’Err..-’’

He sighed again, ‘’I said I’m not going.’’ then he leaned back a little, staring at her face intently as if he was surveying whether she could walk on her own or not - of course, she could. The only time she couldn’t walk on her own would be the day she died. ‘’Didn’t know chiss could get drunk.’’

‘’I’m not drunk.’’

‘’Of course...- Well I am.’’

‘’You are?’’ Nino looked at him closely as well, he was standing rather straight and focused, soldiers at-ease position, hands clamped behind his back for some reason, as if he were being very careful about where he put them,

‘’Yes. Should probably help me up.’’

‘’Well...That makes sense.’’ Nino glanced at the bar again, then to Torian and then to the bar, ‘’Fine. Let’s go - whoa’’

‘’Careful.’’ he boldly wrapped one arm around her - which was the first sign he was indeed drunk and not just faking it just to get her out of the cantina - before she could trip over her own feet. He felt distractingly warm through the armour and despite the coldness of their environment - or maybe she just imagined it with her brain desperate for some sort of sensation that wasn't misery and then suddenly, instinctively wound both her arms around him. This would be a perfect moment to break into sobs, she thought distantly, if it were a holodrama this would be the exact moment - but her eyes remained uncomfortably dry, not even giving her an excuse to explain her sudden clinginess.

Her arms were so tight around him she could feel pain from where his armour dug into unarmored parts of her and all the sharp edges - from the small grunt, he couldn’t contain he was suffering the same thing. He didn’t push her away though, much to her surprise, merely tightening his hold and bringing his other hand to her head, lightly stroking her hair where it lay tangled, still half-wet from the snow and the below zero temperature of the cantina.

‘’I’m so sorry.’’ Nino heard herself speaking, voice muffled against his shoulder, ‘’I’m...-’’

‘’Don’t be.’’ he said simply but not unkind, firmly squeezing her waist - the only place not covered in heavy plates, ‘’Just need to sleep this off.’’

‘’Do I?’’

‘’Well..-’’ he turned to her and Nino suddenly realized how close their faces were, with their arms tangled around each other, barely standing straight, his hot breath brushing her face when he spoke quietly right against her, making her heart wake up from its sluggish beat, ‘I’m not gonna force you to speak. So the other option is sleeping.’

‘’Let’s go then.’’ Nino trotted them both more forcefully now, towards the lift, ‘’I’m done with this self-pity.’’

***

‘’You don’t mind sharing a room, right?’‘

‘’Huh?’’ he snapped from the staring contest he seemed to be having with the beds, ‘’Nope.’’

‘’Well it’s not a twin bed, at least.’’ she shrugged, ‘’You really don’t want to share a bed with me - I move about a lot.’’

To that he gave her a rare smile, glancing around the room and the various vulnerable spots, her pathetic attempt at clearing the awkward air worked but only partly, ‘’Doesn’t matter - I mean...Not that I want.’’ he took a deep breath, looking at anywhere but Nino who was silently smiling, ‘’I’d let you have the bed’’ he countered.

‘’How gentlemanly of you.’’

‘’I know.’’ with that he flopped down on one of them, grunting under his breath and Nino sat down beside him, the bed creaking with their combined weight.

‘’Are you injured?’’ she asked her hands going to his armour clasps without really thinking and he didn't stop her, poofing out a heavy breath instead and trying to roll his shoulders, ‘’Just stiff.’’ he shook his head, blond hair almost as messy as Nino’s curls if not more, having been frozen with ice and melted numerous times through the day, ‘’Feels like I’m just defrosting.’’

She laughed for the first time during their trip into Hoth, a light tinkling sound, loud in the otherwise quiet room and Torian perked up, half turning around to peer at her face with big bright eyes - like he just had to see it no matter the cost, a matter of life and death. Nino felt her breath hitch at his look - he had such an intense stare sometimes, making her wonder just what could be going over his head. She continued helping him with his armour when he didn’t protest, as careful as she can be - as if she could accidentally puncture metal. When he was down to his suit, he took her hands both in thanks, squeezing them and Nino wished she had taken off her gloves before but even with them on, the warmth she felt gently spread over her nearly frozen limbs. He stopped awkwardly then, obviously thinking about something before he blurted it out, ‘This always how you treat your crew?’

‘Not really.’ Nino replied honestly.

‘Good to know.’ he said, hands reaching for her armour, trembling of his fingers not missing her eyes, ‘Same.’ he continued to the unspoken question lingered about her but his hands were dexterous enough that Nino wondered if this could be an innocent lie. Or maybe it was a natural Mandalorian skill to be able to divest their partners from armour. Overall, she was stripped from it in less than fifteen minutes and found herself feeling bereft, as embarrassing as it was.

‘Can I tell something?’

Nino nervously clasped her now bare hands together, looking at the chest plates on the ground, leaning against each other - a strange mirror of them sitting on the bed. Before she could say anything, once again he boldly extended an arm to wrap around her and this time she put her head against his shoulder, suddenly feeling very tired, he backed until they were both leaning against the wall,

‘’I don’t know what happened. No need. Unless you want to -’’ he leaned down a little to see her face and Nino felt her eyes well up at the thoughtful gesture, shaking her head slightly, ‘No then. I’d say it doesn’t matter - whatever happened. You know about...how becoming a Mandalorian means -’’ Nino nodded once, ‘- Yes. Well. Doesn't work just as well in practice, I guess. And if it pains you like this - can't really say it’s not important. It’s very important, even. It’s just...I don't know what to say... - It’s...I..- I’d be honoured to fight whatever it is. For you. Just give me the word.’’

‘’Thank you.’‘

‘’Don’t thank me!’’ he straightened abruptly taking her up with him, firmly holding her shoulders and she was surprised by the intent expression on his face,

‘I mean it, Nino. Whatever it is - you don’t want to face it. I can!’‘ he seemed at a total loss at words then, opening his mouth only to close it again without saying anything, ‘And if it can’t be fought...then you till have my support- for what it’s worth. Whatever it is, count me in. Just never fight like this - It’s like you want to die!’

Even though his brief, impressively passionate speech and the mere notion of Torian tackling the Great Chiss Ascendancy Politics physically - or maybe hunting down her father - and her years trauma was touching enough she couldn’t help but pry, completely disregarding his remark about her reckless fighting; ‘’You heard what people say about me here, for weeks, even tomorrow isn’t certain I could be jailed anytime. How come you not believe a world full of claims against me?’’

‘‘I don't.’‘ he shrugged.

‘’This doesn’t really explain your naive faith in me.’‘

‘‘Doesn’t have to.’‘

‘‘Is it because I won the Great Hunt?’‘

He briefly chuckled, shaking his head, ‘’Nope.’’

‘‘It’s very impossible to take the words out of your mouth, Torian.’‘

‘‘So I heard.’‘

This is going nowhere, she thought, ‘You trust too blindly.’ she chided, ‘’Why would so many people blame if it wasn’t the truth.’’

‘‘Happens,’‘ he replied, voice suddenly down and removed his hands from her shoulders but Nino reached out and held them in her lap before he could withdraw completely, I’m an idiot. A complete idiot.

‘’I’m sorry - for asking so many dumb questions. I...I’m sure you’d know. With..the whole thing.’’ and Jicoln, she completed in her head, he was blamed with being a traitor for all his life, by his own people nonetheless, not so dissimilar from Nino’s situation - so she held his hands even tighter, the skin of them rough and clammy in her grasp and she also all of a sudden noticed they’ve been holding hands, sitting on bed and holding hands. Alone. She tried to disregard it for the moment being, as much as her heart would allow, already beating a wild tattoo in her throat,

‘’I’m very grateful for your support. I am really. This planet - it’s awful to me. I don't think anything short of leaving and never coming help would help.’’

‘‘They can’t do anything to you.’’ he said firmly, ‘’Promise.’‘

She had to smile at the childish sincerity of the statement. Courageous and direct - just like the man who said it...If only he knew.

Not the time and not the place, she thought, not now. She allowed herself to find comfort in the reliable nature of the promise without delving into the most complicated issues, for some reason trusting his words more than she had ever trusted anyone before.

‘’I’ll take your word for it.’‘

He kept looking at her expectantly and Nino raised a brow, ‘’Yes?’’

‘Your turn. Promise?’

Ah. ‘’I’ll be more careful. Promise.’’

‘‘Good.’ he nodded, ‘’I don’t want you to die.’‘

‘‘That’s almost like a proposal, coming from you.’’

He laughed boyishly at that, flopping down on the bed and Nino too put her head beside him without thinking about it much, the action almost reminding her of her much younger days where she sometimes shared a bed with her brother. Sweet and familiar. Perhaps the very only memory about her past that didn’t cause her pain. Just as she was about to close her eyes she heard him speak,

‘’Not yet.’‘

#ahhhhh this took too much time and its too long but please comment pls #swtor #torian cadera #bounty hunter #chiss #mandalorians #swtor fanfiction #oc: nino #my writing #torian #im lowkey proud of this but its 11pma nd you re proud of everything at 11pm #lets see wat the daylight will show #afsdfsdfdgdfg

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realityhelixcreates · 4 years ago

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Beta Theta and Me Chapter 6: Land of Inequality

Chapters: 6/?

Fandom: Thor (Movies), Avengers (Movies) Marvel Cinematic Universe

Rating: PG

Warnings: Relationships: Loki x Reader (But not right now),

Characters: Loki(Marvel) Additional Tags: A/B/O, Sorta, More Of An Exploration Of Life And Self Expression Within An A/B/O Framework, Loki Does What He Wants, But Loki Does Not Actually Do What He Wants, Antagonistic Bosses, Loki Has A Throne Now, But It’s Not What He Wanted

Summary: You and Loki discuss what brought you to your current situation. Promises are made, but they are not fully understood.

Your egg sandwiches seemed to pass Loki's test, as he didn't complain once throughout breakfast. He granted you permission to use the washing machine, and put you to work in what you felt would become your new routine. Dishes needed to be done, sweeping and vacuuming, basic home maintenance. He even bid you do his laundry, since it seemed that, even though he could change his clothes magically, cleaning them with magic would cost him too much energy.

Now that you understood, you'd try not to make him use magic too much. Not until he'd healed. You weren't willing to, as he had put it, wipe his royal ass, but you could do laundry. It was easy.

After cleaning the restroom, you returned to him for more orders, finding him next to the big fireplace again, reading his book. You still couldn't make out the writing; it was in an unfamiliar language, but it used a human alphabet.

“What are you reading, anyway?” You asked, craning your neck to try and read the spine.

“Over de Zich Uitbreidende Menselijke Wereld en de Vervanging Van het Spirituele Door het Materiële, wat Leidt tot het Verlies van het Zelf en tot Slavernij aan het Kapitaal.” He answered easily.

“Uh...”

“It's a text about the surrendering of the self to ever emptier pursuits, until every institution is given over to the production of capital for ruling elite, leaving every aspect of life nothing more than a shell.”

“Oh.”

You stood awkwardly for a few moments.

“You are still standing here?” Loki asked.

“I finished the bathroom.” You said. “I just needed to know what to do next.”

Loki sighed. “Can you not think for yourself? Perhaps I should make a checklist for you to consult, so you do not have to interrupt me at every turn. But for now...” He gestured to the carpet next to him. “Sit here.”

You did, though you couldn't fathom why he wanted you to.

“Now...Hmmm. Sing.” He commanded.

“What?”

“Sing. Humans have songs, do they not? Sing one.”

“But...” What song? Of all the millions of songs, which one would be appropriate to sing in the presence of an alien prince? And it wasn't as if you were a musician; you had no training, no practice.

You thought back to the music your parents used to listen to, that you listened to with them when you were a kid. Protest songs from the time of the Civil Rights movement, anti-war songs, hippie songs. You knew those by heart, even now. So you picked one that had a lovely melody and many simple verses, and began to sing.

He let you go all the way through it twice before stopping you, and he at least didn't insult your untrained voice, or seem to hate the song. He had closed his book, and closed his eyes, but now he reached down to gently fondle your makeshift scarf.

“An unapproved uniform change?” He asked.

“It's only temporary.” You said.

“It almost wasn't.” He rejoined. You both went quiet. The fire crackled in its gigantic hearth. Even though it was still daylight out, Loki had had you draw those thick blackout curtains, plunging this little section of the building into artificial twilight. The fire lit the area instead, lit Loki's book, lit his nearly inscrutable face. It was cozy, and you wondered if it reminded him of someplace he used to spend his time. A roaring fireplace, in a palace, somewhere in Asgard? His private room? A favorite lodging, somewhere in the Asgardian countryside?

You had no idea what Asgard had been like. You couldn't help but to picture equal parts rugged and sophisticated: Monumental architecture, and wide wilderness. Loki in the middle of it all, sitting in front of a fire, reading an overly complicated book.

“What do my hands look like to you?” He asked abruptly. You paused for a moment. “If you simply say 'hands', I will be cross.”

He held one hand out to you, for observation. You didn't know what he was going for, but you took his hand and studied it closely. Long fingers. Healthy skin, though extremely pale, still somehow you couldn't see the veins through it like you would have expected. Perfectly manicured nails. Little scars, and calluses here and there. A contradiction.

“They seem...Deft. Like someone who needs a lot of dexterity to do their thing, like a pianist. They've got the signs of being pampered, but they also show evidence of hard work.”

“Is that all?” He pressed. “Not drenched with the red of life? Not grasping? Not clutching, or corpse-fed, or wielding the hidden blade?”

“Um...Not really?” You said. “Were you looking for metaphor? I was just observing what was physically there.”

“My fingerprints are imprinted onto your throat!” He said heatedly. “How can you look upon these hands and not think of the merciless grip of a conqueror?”

“Dude, look. When I was out there, do you know how people treated me? I was kicked. I was shoved. People slapped me, spat on me, threw things at me. Mugged me, pulled my hair, full on tried to kidnap me into human trafficking once. What you did to me was bad; but you didn't do it on purpose. You aren't the first person to leave bruises on me.” You tightened your hold on his hands. “But you are the first to seem like you care.”

His expression went opaque again.

“You need not worry about that.” He said dismissively. “You are my retainer. My maid, my chef, my...everything else. No one shall harm you, for I am your ultimate authority, and they will have to go through me first.”

He flicked his hand, and a knife appeared. You jerked back, startled.

“I always wield the hidden blade.”

You swallowed. It made the bruises on your neck ache.

“Where were you?” He asked. “While I was in the sky, laying waste to your homeland, where were you?”

“Loki, are you sure you want to...” He seemed determined to talk about uncomfortable subjects. Maybe he just wanted to get them out of the way quickly.

“Dodging falling rubble and laser blasts?” He pressed on. “Trapped inside a ruined building? Chased by a Chitauri death squad?”

“No, no. I was underground.” You said. He seemed to be imagining it all as he said it, his expression growing sour. “I wasn't homeless then, but I was in the subway tunnels, heading to Central Park before work. Your soldiers never got down there so the drivers started taking whichever routes took them farthest from the city center. I wasn't hurt at all.”

“No? But your place of employment was? Your home?”

“Well, not really. There was some damage, but nothing that couldn't be fixed.”

“Where did you work?”

“Oh...just a bodega...you wouldn't know it.” You didn't like where this was going. It only led to bad memories.

“Then I am not the cause of your homelessness?” He sounded mildly disbelieving. You scoffed.

“Believe it or not, you actually aren't the cause of every misfortune in New York.”

“Then what happened? What is the chain of events that brought you to me?”

“Eh...that's mostly Mr. Stark's doing, you know?”

“You are deflecting. I am more than an expert in such things, I can tell. Why are you here, and no longer a bodegrkonur? If not myself, then what caused you this misfortune?”

“What does it matter? I'm here now.”

“And here you shall stay. But it matters because I asked you.”

“Geez, all right, it's just a boring story about petty bullshit, and I don't like thinking about it. My old roommate was an Omega, and her dad ran the shop, so we both worked there. Then she got herself hooked up with an Alpha, and he was an aggressive, controlling prick who wanted to cut her off from everyone else, so he kicked me out without letting me find another place first, and intimidated her dad into firing me. Didn't even let me get any of my stuff. I haven't heard from her since. I don't know if she's okay, I don't even know if she's still alive. And I don't want to try to contact her dad, because I don't want to cause trouble for her family. Dude was unhinged, seriously.”

“That is...Distressing.” He said.

“It's not uncommon. Alphas run the show, and they're never held accountable, so this shit happens sometimes. Anyway, you happy? You like the answer? It wasn't you, it was some other overbearing douche. Hooray.”

“No, that does not please me at all.” He said, in response to your bitterness. “I cannot help but to think of how this situation could be improved. Or at least mitigated. If I were in charge...Oh come now, do not look at me like that.” He said defensively at your side-eyed glance. “I was raised to rule, and cannot help but to think like this.”

“Is that what you're gonna do when your neck heals?” You asked. “Go back to Nova Scotia and help Thor with New Asgard?”

“Possibly.” He said. “Probably. My esteemed brother does want me to, but it might not be allowed. The land was bestowed on us in exchange for several promises from us, but the Canadian government hasn't decided what to do with me. For now, I am not allowed there unless incarcerated. They are taking the period of my convalescence as time to deliberate.”

Someday he would be healed, and he would go home. Well, to his new home anyway. What awaited him there? Jail? Or perhaps a high office, with a whole array of actually competent servants. One to cook, one to sing, one to clean, one to warm up his bed. Whatever he might need, there would be someone to do it. Heck, he was a prince no matter what; he might be stuck in a dungeon and still have all that help.

And you? After Loki healed and went wherever he was going to go, you would...do something. Could you put something like 'personal help to royalty' on your resume, if no one was supposed to know he was here? Surely his presence couldn't be kept secret forever.

Beyond that, there was the Stark name that you could plaster everywhere. He might not even dismiss you after Loki left, he might just send you to another section of the company, to clean up whatever messes might be there. You were finding that you didn't mind cleaning. There was a satisfaction in seeing it all come together, seeing actual progress. It was the disrespect heaped on the so-called 'servant class', the perception of being lesser, even if the whole world would fall apart without them.

“Are you shocked speechless, feral thing, or simply too far away?” Loki asked, and you realized he'd been talking while you had ruminated.

“Far away.” You admitted. “Sorry.”

“I asked if you would come with me. Tidy up my jail cell, bring me my prisoners meals. Polish my chains. It might make the whole dreary thing worthwhile.”

“You sound pretty sure that you're going to prison.”

“Am I not already in one? My recent life has been little more than one type of prison after another. Your philosopher Foucault seemed to grasp the concept.” He gestured a series of hardback books on the shelf, each in French. “That every social construct is a prison of our own making and maintenance. Even a being such as myself must exist in relation to these constructs, either within or against, but never free from.

And you, little thing, exist in relation to me now. You can continue to do that, if you wish, wherever I am bound.”

“What if you don't go to prison though? If your brother gets his way, and you get to be his right hand guy? Won't you have enough servants then? “

“Oh, there is always room for more.” Loki assured. “Worry not, anxious thing. There would be a place for you.”

“Not sure I want that.” You said. “I've only had this job for two days. I only had my prior job for a week. I want a little stability before I agree to go anywhere else.”

“A prison and a facade.” He pointed out.

“But it's mine to choose.” You replied.

He nodded sagely. You got the feeling that he knew that sentiment well.

#betathetaandme #loki (marvel)#loki x reader

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sablelab · 6 years ago

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Covert Operations - Chapter 52

DISCLAIMER: This is a modern AU crossover story with Outlander and La Femme Nikita. LFN and its characters do not belong to me nor do those from Outlander.

SYNOPSIS: Later that afternoon an opportunity arises for Jamie and Claire’s to capture Madame Cheung unawares at her club where his team is on standby to put the profile into action.

The Madame Cheung storyline is nearing an end and there will be THREE more chapters that bring this arc to a conclusion. My THANKS for reading my work in progress and I appreciate your support of my story in the plethora of so many talented writers. xox

Chapters 1 - 51 can be found at …https://sablelab.tumblr.com/covertoperations

CHAPTER 52

Later that afternoon James Fraser made his way to Madame Cheung’s new nightclub premises in Patpong. The street in which it was located was hardly recognizable in the daylight and was vastly different this time of day and it was hard to believe that it was the same one they had come down last night. There was nothing to distinguish this area as a red-light district in the day time. There were no spruikers enticing people into their establishments, no night time hawkers bartering with people and certainly no neon lights advertising the night time entertainment available. It was as if these businesses didn’t exist. Instead a farmers’ market had been set up in the lane where its overhead covering provided much needed relief from the heat and humidity of the day. Locals mingled with tourists as they bought their fruit and vegetables from the produce stalls set up by the vendors selling their wares along the pavement. Jamie, however, moved determinedly through the throng of people as he walked towards the club at the end of the lane. On entering the building by the same side door as last night he was once again met by Mali, the petite Thai woman who had welcomed them the previous evening. Madame Cheung’s assistant cordially greeted him. “Ah ... Monsieur Le Comte ... we meet again. Madame is expecting you but she will be delayed for a short time and has asked that you be taken care of in the best possible way.” “Thank you.” “Please follow me.” They made their way slowly up the stairs until they came to the lounge and bar on the second floor. There were a few people gathered there and when Jamie glanced to the other end of the bar, he recognised the beautiful Thai girl with ebony hair who had been their escort last night standing between two Asian men. It appeared that these people were in the employ of Madame Cheung in some capacity more than likely body guards. They exchanged a nod in acknowledgement and Jamie watched as she spoke to one of the men who glanced over towards him. As Mali and Jamie approached the bar, she pointed to the end where the three people were gathered. “I’ll leave you here Monsieur Le Comte. Suchin and Chatu will look after anything that you need. Madame Cheung should be along presently.” When Mali left, Jamie ordered some green tea. As he poured and drank from the small oriental cup one of the Asian men approached him at the bar. Walking over he stood beside him and trailed his hand across Jamie's shoulder as he did so. Although the gesture appeared friendly Jamie’s suspicions were raised by the presence of these men here at Madame Cheung’s premises at this time of the day. “Sawatdee Khrap,” He said as they exchanged a greeting in Thai. “Sabai dee reu?” “Phoot Thai mai dai,” Jamie replied indicating the he did not speak the Thai language. “Kor thoad ... Ah ... Sorry Monsieur Le Comte I will speak English. My name is Chatu Shinawatra. I am an associate of Madame Cheung’s. Suchin was just talking about you. Madame said you would be here this afternoon. We are very happy that you have the opportunity to do business with us.” “Thank you.” “It is a pleasure to finally meet the Monsieur Le Comte that Madame has spoken about so admirably. But ... please enlighten me ... How did you meet my boss?” “She didn't tell you?” The man had a closed look on his face despite the friendly manner he presented. There was a coldness behind his eyes that Jamie knew only too well.

“She did ... but I want you to tell me.” He smiled at Jamie as if he was bantering in jest but in fact, he was deadly serious. The smile he exhibited didn’t reach his eyes.

Jamie realised that the man was testing him as to his association with Madame Cheung and if he was indeed who he said he was. He had seen the likes of this man’s type many times and knew just how to thwart Chatu with his reply.

“Through my connection with Sun Yee Lok.” “He does a lot of business in Vietnam, doesn't he?” He asked trying to catch Jamie out if he did not have a legitimate connection with the triad’s Dragon Head. “He's never been to Vietnam. He works out of Hong Kong.” Jamie replied aware of his ploy as he returned a look equally as menacing. “Quite right,” he stated as if the standoff tension between them was nothing more than cautious banter. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As they were talking Suchin joined the two men at the bar. On seeing her approach Chatu Shinawatra stated, “Ah, Monsieur Le Comte, I believe you have met Madame’s assistant already.” “Yes we met last night.” With a nod of the head Jamie acknowledged her presence.

“Sa-wat-dee Monsieur.” She smiled at him, but Suchin turned and spoke in quiet undertones to Chatu whispering in his ear. Looking up at Jamie he relayed what she’d said to him. “Monsieur Le Comte, Madame Cheung knows of your arrival but unfortunately she will be longer than she first anticipated.” “I see. I hope it is nothing serious?” Jamie asked wondering what it was that was causing a delay.

“No, she is caught up with paper work that is all. There is nothing to be concerned about Monsieur Le Comte,” Suchin answered politely. “She has asked if you could please wait, but if not, Madame will see you back at the house this evening.”

“Certainly. I am prepared to wait until she has concluded her business.”

“Good ... Madame will be pleased. I will relay your message.” Stumbling forward in order to thank her, Jamie accidentally spilt some of his drink on the woman. “Je suis vraiment désolé, “he mumbled in French then repeated in English. “I’m so sorry ... my apologies.”

While their attention was diverted by his clumsiness, Jamie took the opportunity to scatter minuscule tracking devices onto the floor one of the many small stalking tools Murtagh had given him that would stick to the shoes of unsuspecting victims.

“No problem Monsieur Le Comte,” she replied brushing at her wet clothing where the tea had spilt. “I will let Madame Cheung know of your decision.”

Upon leaving the bar to go downstairs to talk with her boss, Suchin walked through the tiny self-adhesive gizmos that Jamie had dropped onto the floor would invariably be instrumental in tracing her whereabouts and the location and number of hostiles that may also be there. Clandestinely, he watched her descend the stairs knowing that back at Section One Fergus was tracking her every move.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In true Section mode, Fergus and Operations were indeed listening in on the conversation as Jamie and the Thai talked while waiting for the right moment to give the word to commence sequencing. Once Jamie had tagged the gofer and the devices attached to her shoes, Fergus was able to monitor her exact movements and he immediately set the wheels in motion. "Jamie’s tagged Madame Cheung’s assistant sir. She's heading in." “Good ... keep me informed.” The tags on her shoes gave Fergus all the information Section needed. He watched her movements on his computer screen tracking Suchin as she crossed the room below and entered a guarded hallway. Heat thermals appeared on his monitor as the woman joined Madame Cheung in her office. Looking at his computer screen he relayed the Intel to Operations. “Here we go.” “Fergus, what does your sat-thermo say?” “Thermo is hot. It looks like Madame Cheung’s got two bodies with her. Small ..., probably female. Right inside the door there's four more ..., larger ..., probably bodyguards.” “And Madame Cheung’s egress?” “Only one way out.” “Good. Download the game plan to the onsite ops.” “It’s done sir.” “Start sequencing.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Two of Madame Cheung’s girls had been watching the handsome stranger at the bar and once Suchin had disappeared downstairs they seized their opportunity to make his acquaintance. The winsome, beautifully attired women approached him and joined Jamie as he waited for Teams One and Two to get on mark. “Is there anything we can do for you?” One of the girls remarked capturing Jamie’s eye. “Two for one. Very good price,” replied the other vying for his attention also. The first woman started to flirt with Jamie brushing up against his side provocatively. “We will show you a very good time,” she whispered in his ear. Jamie in turn leaned closer to her in reply ignoring Chatu Shinawatra who was still standing next to him. Downstairs, Claire, Geillis Duncan and Rupert Mackenzie quietly headed for the guarded hallway that led to Madame Cheung’s office. As the women occupied Jamie’s attention Chatu glanced around. He saw trouble walk in the door as armed Section One operatives came up the stairs. Abernathy’s team members were poised to make an assault on any hostiles in this room upstairs. Realising that something was amiss, Chatu was about to raise the alarm, but was unable to do so, and when he attempted to grab for his gun, Jamie casually whipped out his hand snapping him in the throat throttling him, all the while giving his undivided attention to the woman beside him. Before he knew what had happened Chatu bent over gasping for air then dropped to the floor unconscious as Abernathy took out the other target who was about to fire his weapon.

With their backs to the action, the Thai women were oblivious to any ruckus and continued to flirt with the handsome man at the bar. “We can show you a very good time,” they purred in unison.

"Jamie ... Thirty seconds." “Sorry ladies but some other time perhaps,” he stated as he left the two despondent women standing at the bar pondering what might have been and joined his team downstairs before they even had time to realise what was going on behind them. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ When First team got to the hallway entrance, they took cover and pulled out their weapons. In front of Jamie was a lone guard. Signalling his intentions to the other operatives to follow he entered the corridor. Caught off guard by the appearance of unauthorised assailants who had surprised him with their stealth, the guard had tried to fire his gun but was quickly taken out before he could raise a whimper. As Jamie slipped down the hallway towards Madame Cheung’s inner sanctum, they took care of two more of her other bodyguards who had wandered into the passageway. Meanwhile, more of her guards descended from an adjoining corridor and from her office to investigate the commotion. On seeing several black clad attackers, the guards started shooting at anything that moved. “We’ve got shooters, everybody down.” Ricocheting bullets went flying every which way. The operatives immediately took cover from the melee then returned fire. The guards continued shooting and a hail of bullets was rapidly exchanged. Unfortunately, in the crossfire, Rupert Mackenzie was winged by a wayward shot to his shoulder. “Are ye all right?” Jamie asked. He slumped down the wall holding his arm as sticky, wet blood oozed through his fingers. “I’m fine,” Mackenzie replied taking his hand away from his wound. “Nothing too serious it’s just a superficial wound. I can still function.” “Good.” Madame Cheung’s bodyguards were dogged in their defence of their employer and they held the operatives at bay for a while. Nevertheless, the tenacity, quick thinking and precision accuracy of the team overpowered them and systematically all of her men were taken out of play. “All clear Fergus,” Jamie declared knowing that their main target Madame Cheung was now their main objective and within reach. “Proceed with Phase 2 Jamie.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

James Fraser continued down the winding corridor then stopped next to the closed door of Madame Cheung’s office. Pulling his gun out, he checked the ammo clip, reloaded his firearm and leant against the wall for a brief moment before bursting through the door with his weapon poised at the ready. Madame Cheung’s two assistants, Mali and Suchin were cowering on the floor in fright with their hands covering their heads. Jamie ignored them as he quickly glanced around the room to ascertain the situation. Unfortunately, it was not as he would like. “Fergus she’s not here.” Turning to the two frightened women he demanded, “Where is she?” “We ... don’t ... know,” the women fearfully replied as they huddled together on the floor terrified that he would hurt them. This menacing man was the complete opposite of Monsieur Le Comte who had walked into the club not so long ago. It was hard for them to comprehend the change in his demeanour. “Yes you do!” Jamie repeated more forcibly. “There must be some secret wall panel in her office.” Fergus interrupted in his comm. unit. Turning away from the two women, Jamie ran his gloved hand over the book case behind Madame Cheung’s desk searching for the mechanism that would open a hidden panel in the wall. Finding none, he walked over to the furthest bookcase. “Jamie, we’re running out of time. Madame Cheung will be long gone by now.” However, Operations interjected ordering, “Continue to search.” Pulling a homing device from his pocket, Jamie continued to search, and ran the device over the books along each shelf. The two women watched terrified that Monsieur Le Comte may discover the secret getaway button that Madame Cheung only used in cases of emergency and if he did, then what would happen to them. Suchin and Mali began to panic as they knew he was getting closer to discovering the secret passage, but they were too frightened to do anything but cower on the floor. Casting a terrified glance towards each other uncertain of their fate they huddled even closer together. “You've got to get out of there Jamie.” Fergus relayed. Jamie ignored Fergus’s warning and Operations outburst, and continued to search for the secret passageway anyway. Although he heard another commotion going on outside, he quickly scanned the lower shelves meticulously running his device over the surface once more. A red light soon lit up indicating that the secret opening was located in the book case. “I’ve found it.” “Good ... Proceed!” Haphazardly pulling out books from the shelves the hidden button was eventually revealed. Jamie depressed it and the bookcase rotated revealing a secret door that opened to some stairs and an alleyway at the back of the building. He made his way through the opening just as Geillis, Rupert and Claire, joined him. Making their way through the secret door, together they all headed in the direction of the alleyway and into the bright afternoon sunlight in pursuit of their elusive target Madame Cheung who had managed to escape the pandemonium that had ensued at her establishment.

Madame Cheung was convinced that she had outwitted any assailants who might try and find a way to follow her given that she had escaped through a secret passageway. Any attempt would be hindered by this very fact and thus would give her crucial time to disappear into a crowd of people and become incognito.

However, little did she realise that the very individuals she had trusted were now hot on her tail.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* to be continued

Sawatdee Khrap – hello spoken by a male

“Sabai dee reu? – How are you

Pood Thai Mai Dai - I cannot speak Thai

Kor thoad - sorry/excuse me

Sa-wat-dee - hello

#JamieandClaire #jamie and claire fanfic #James Fraser #claire beauchamp #covert operations

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scifimagpie · 7 years ago

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Diversity Isn't Enough: The Importance of Radical Inclusion

Hello hello! Well, a friend of mine has now been to 78 agents and gotten as many rejections. Surely, this indicates that the book is simply Not Good Enough, right? That's the thing. I've read it, and the book is excellent. Featuring a character with PTSD, who is both gay and from a mixed heritage background, it's full of funny moments, intelligent thought experiments about robotic consciousness, and has a very solid mystery through the core. The cast is populated by well-rounded and differentiated characters - of mixed abilities, genders, ethnic heritages, and sexualities. And in this setting, their societal and work crew composition is pretty normal. So in addition to featuring a robot love story and a murder mystery, there are plenty of moments where the night crew assembles, and a deaf character sits at a table with a young hijabi clinic worker and her mechanic girlfriend, and two divorced people who remain friends, as well as the main character - all so they can play cards in the park, out of the sight of a nearly omniscient AI. The thing is, while audio-visual projects - which often spring from book series these days - such as A Wrinkle in Time, American Horror Story, Sense-8, American Gods, The Adventure Zone, Welcome to Night Vale, Penumbra, Who Fears Death (Nnendi Okorafor), Steven Universe, Blackish, Dear White People, Master of None, Switched at Birth, Fresh off the Boat, Luke Cage, Dark Matter, The Expanse, and Westworld include cast members of many shades, there's still a focus on able, attractive, mostly straight people - not to mention that in more than a couple of these, white characters still end up dominating front and centre roles. Yes, this is getting better, but there seems to be a genuine fear of addressing the (surprisingly large) populations of trans and genderqueer, aromantic or asexual, Deaf, visually impaired/blind, and visibly and invisibly disabled people. Not to mention that a lot of these populations intersect. I personally know plenty of people who are people of colour, genderqueer, and disabled. I've read articles by a surprising number of genderqueer, mentally ill people of colour. Add present and former sex workers to the mix, and you have a pretty good sampling of humanity.

So what's the problem?

The problem is that these diverse shows, which are not radically inclusive yet, are only the tip of the iceburg. Producers and studios and publishing houses tend to hire just one or two people to demonstrate their wokeness, and keep the rest their content steaming along as though it's business as usual - teen YA love triangles, stubble-covered male power-fantasy thrillers, gritty sex murder mysteries, soft and juicy chick lit, spicy supernatural sex romps, and tooth-gritting fast ship space porn. I've edited these books, read them, and enjoyed them - but the fact remains that the market's determiners keep orienting themselves to what they think is a safe bet, an easy seller. We still live in a world where an alternate history series where the South won was greenlit by HBO. So yeah, Nnedi Okorafor's series is getting a production deal, but so is a slavery fantasyland series. So is Ready Player One, too. A Minecraft book by Max Brooks is at the top of the bestsellers right now. So yes, diversity's making inroads, but The Problem Is Not Fixed. Radical inclusion, i.e. just treating people like people, and writing stories where non-white, non-able, non-cisgender, non-heterosexual, non-Christian people are allowed to exist and be in starring roles is absolutely revolutionary.

Ready Player What, now?

For those not familiar with RPO, it's basically a pop culture slurry of references; another Teenage White Boy Saves The World book, with virtual reality, and somehow he's the only one who knows Stuff About the Eighties - and Steven Spielberg is attached. You'd think he'd pick a more challenging project or have better taste, but no, fanboy fantasy it is. The biggest problem is that people think Ready Player One is like, subversive somehow? Or self-aware? But it absolutely isn't. It's sincere. Max Brooks is one of the guys who launched the zombie craze--he's very good at commercial writing, to the extent that he's actually a Name, but yeah, he's not exactly known for challenging or artistically mold-breaking projects. And all of this would be fine, except that it, and the dozens of imitators who crop up to try and skim that flavour, crowd out the more innovative and interesting projects.

Is this another Commerce vs Art rant?

Absolutely not. It's not that Commerce and Art are Enemies. Heck, it's *fine* to monetize the daylights out of something. Art's relied on Commerce for basically all of modern history. If it wasn't Commerce, it was religion. But - the problem is *how* those selections are done, and the way people trust their preferences to be free of bias. Which just isn't the case. It's OKAY to have biases. The problem is that we treat a certain kind of bias as objective, and it gets far, far more sway over the stories that get told than anything else. To the point where just including people is considered revolutionary and gamechanging. Simultaneously, there are so *few* of these inclusive stories that individual properties are often torn apart for being 'not good enough'. Yet meanwhile, mainstream stories with sparkling white casts somehow get a break. But including people is how you GET different kinds of stories. Now, to be clear, I LOVE the Hunger Games. A lot. But we have a market where agents are like, 'eh, this sold, let's get ten more that are basically variations of this flavour'. There's very little willingness to risk the core of the market, and it becomes a self-fulfilling cycle of, well, crap. Like, if you go to a corner store you can buy some chips. And chips are good, I like chips, but even if you put zesty spice or cool ranch or sour cream on them, they're *still* chips. they're not zucchini chips, or sweet potato crisps, or whatever, ya know? The problem is that the market tends to focus on chips, and assume nothing else will sell...

Wat do?

The solution is simple. Readers have to step outside their comfort zones - unfortunately, the readers who might not even read this blog are the ones I'm addressing - and writers and publishers have to band together. There is definitely a need and an audience for diversity, and moreso, radical inclusion. People often talk about 'not seeing colour', which is an issue I won't even get into right now, and complain that they want stories that are 'normal', and aren't focused on 'identity politics'. That's the most bitter irony of all - these stories exist, and they're fun and delightful. And yes, inequality issues do crop up in some of them, because of how those issues affect people's lived experiences - but a lot of the time, people across the ability, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality spectrum just want to have fun. A transgender plus-sized psychic lady who talks with the dead to solve murder mysteries? Yes. A deaf Chinese-American engineer who discovers the secret to time travel and accidentally changes the course of history? Definitely. A love story featuring an asexual mobility-impaired Indian woman and a Zulu warrior king from an alternate world? Why not? *** Thanks for returning to the nest. Leave a comment and say hi! I want to hear from you. Keep up with the new releases by getting on the mailing list. Buy my books on Amazon, and keep up with me on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and the original blog. This is the one and only SciFiMagpie, over and out!

#diversity #trans #lgbtq #hbo #stories #radical inclusion #ableism #sizeism #prejudice #science fiction #fantasy #nnedi okorafor

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sailingbrisa · 7 years ago

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Friendly sharks, crocodiles, jaguars, whales... and incredible waves. Kiwis, Venezuelan and Cuban crew!

We had a few more guests. Mark VanAdelberg, one of the guys I used to work with at Red Bull showed up and scored a great week worth of waves with us. His surfing had improved a lot since the last time I saw him and he was loving the un-crowded waves and long rights. We had the place pretty much to ourselves again, at least early and late in the day…. Words really don’t express what it was like. Just seems a dream looking back at it now. I guess the two highlights with Mark onboard. 1/ he gets an amazing barrel and tons of great rides and then looses my go pro with all the footage on it as he wiped out in the beach break. OUCH! Second was a crocodile swimming through the lineup.. and not a little one. Everyone got out of the water pretty fast. Marks time came and went and again we found ourselves dropping of our guest in Playa Del Coco as he headed back to Panama.

The next week Elwin and I were on it .. alone again and again as good as it gets. Just the two of us surfing our asses off every day! Our next guests were very important people. Tania, my girlfriend, left her job at Red Bull and was becoming full time crew or should that read full time captain? OMG. Also, all the way from New Zealand I have the daughter and boyfriend of one of my closest family friends growing up, neither of whom I had met or really talked to before, but I was certain that they would be of the same grain as the rest of their awesome family!

Emma and Nick had already spent time living on a little boat, living and sailing around the east coast of NZ and now they were on a surf adventure through Central America after graduating college in NZ.

The 28th arrives and Elwin and I surfed the morning hard, motored back to Playa Del Coco ( about 18 miles ) and hit the supermarket, bumping into Emma and Nick at the beach. Strong kiwi accents and tanned young, happy people jumped aboard Brisa and filled the pantry and surfboard storage rooms to capacity. We waited a little while and Tania shows up from the Liberia airport and we had our reunion on the beach in front of the tourists.

Cummon Tani, lets go before that huge thunder storm gets us!

I have to take another second or two here and say that we are in the rainy season ( the Hurricane zone this time of year, is from 10.5 North lat) which is just literally 100 yards into the beach in Ollies Point Bay, but means for the most part we don’t have to worry about tropical storms or hurricanes, however almost daily there are massive, massive, localized thunder storms. It is hard to describe exactly what it is like to be sitting on a boat in the middle of one of these things and basically if you take a hit from lightening on a boat, all your electronics are possibly fried….We had met very few cruisers on this trip and the ones we did meet were basically stuck in a marina looking for spare parts after being hit by lightening…. SCARY.

We pulled anchor and zoomed off towards Ollies again at about 4pm, just in front of another MASSIVE thunderstorm. It is only 18 miles more or less up there, so we expected to pull into the bay as night fell. The storm was indeed impressive with fork lightening from cloud to cloud and to the ocean within two or three miles of us… we had full sail and both motors pushing us at 10 knots + and we were literally just in front of this thing the whole way. The darkness following us was ominous and the wind picked up in front of it to about 25 knots…however, as was often the case, we pulled into Ollie’s Bay just in front of the beast behind us and it was beautiful… calm and protected. We anchored, ate, repaired surfboards and went to bed nice and early in preparation for our big surf day.

The forecast looked awesome, however when we got there it was small. Maybe waist to shoulder in the biggest sets, but it was clean and offshore and nice shape, so we jumped on it. Nick and Emma getting tons of waves and Elwin and I praying for bigger sets! Even when its bad its good and we had a great time until the charter boats showed up. We pulled anchor on the dingy and went back to Brisa for breakfast and to see if Tania had woken up yet.

Emma was an amazing cook, banana pancakes, crispy pizza, smoothies etc. We felt spoiled to have her onboard with us. We passed the days hiking and looking for crocodiles… the only one we found swam past us and chassed Nick and Emma into the dingy one morning.. of course leaving Elwin and I alone to enjoy the sets… We both figuring that if we hadn’t been eaten after the hundreds of hours surfing there before, that we probably wouldn’t get chomped now… After half an hour or so Emma and nick came back. Hehehheheh.

We surfed a lot, even though it wasn’t as good as it gets, or really big enough to get off of my grovelers, but it was super fun. We had to go back to Playa Del Coco in the middle of the week to get our park passes and on the way back we saw humpback whales and they put on an amazing show for us. Baby whales jumping a couple of hundred yards away from the beach while big momma supervised and flapped her tail. We saw dolphins and tons of turtles ( most of them happily making love.. slowly, they are turtles ) and fortunately this time no thunder-storms racing us back. The next days passed pretty uneventfully with happy surfers, card games, great food and the odd animal passing by. One of the highlights was all the stingrays jumping just outside the surf… they looked like they were trying to learn to fly.. not too sure why the do that.. anyone have any ideas?

Tania and I went looking for crocodiles in the estuary one day… and found three sets of jaguar footprints on the beach.. very fresh footprints I might add and four new turtle nests laid overnight. Parrots squawked at us and I thought it would be a great idea to go look for the jaguars…so Tania walking a bit behind me just in case I did actually manage to find them and not too sure why, but she didn’t think it was such a good idea to go following them, at least not without an automatic weapon, an over watch and a garrison of Ollies troops, possibly with air support… Anyways, the tracks disappeared into the jungle by the beach. I did pick up a stick just in case they wanted to play fetch.. but eventually the jungle was too dense and we couldn’t chase them further. We pulled the dingy back into the water and went back to Brisa.

After four or five days of great, but small surf, we decided to head back to civilization, but not before visiting the rangers station and doing some snorkeling.

It was about an hour motor over and right when we anchored we saw what we thought were dolphins right by the boat. We jumped in Noisy Taco ( that’s the name of the dingy ) and zoomed over to them… but when we got there we discovered they were a bit too big for dolphins.. we are not too sure what they were, possibly pilot whales, but they were big and loved to play right by us and the dingy. Literally splashing us as the jumped and frolicked beside us. I wanted to go swim with them… but they looked a but hungry… I am a wuss!

Elwin, Nick and Emma went for a hike to the very top of the island.. a bit further than they thought it would be I think and on a very hot and humid day in bare feet…. I picked them up at the beach after with a cold jug of water and they looked very happy to see that as they lounged in the water by the beach.

Later we grabbed our snorkels and went around a little corner and jumped in to see what we could see. This area is heavily protected and fishing is not permitted at all, so needless to say there were tons and tons and tons of fish. We saw schools and schools of them.

I have big free diving flippers and was towing the dingy and Emma was swimming beside me about three feet to my left, both of us just in front of the dingy…. I looked over my shoulder to see how she is doing and I see a very large, very friendly nurse shark swimming right at her leg about 5 feet way…. I’m glad Emma didn’t see my eyes… she might have had a heart attack. I have swum with many sharks… played with some.. been terrified by a couple…. but I had never seen a nurse shark looking like it wanted to eat someone…. I grabbed her arm and pulled past her to push the shark away with my hand… the thing had to be at least 8 or 9 feet long and very round. It took off towards the shallows to munch on some poor little fish and I was stunned by both how close it was to Emma and how quickly it took off… incredibly fast!

I couldn’t believe it had been that close to us. I was wondering if it used us a camouflage to hunt the other fish, if it was just curious, or maybe it really was a bit hungry and thought Emma looked tasty and wanted to give Nick a run for his money. Anyways.. definitely woke me up very fast!!!! Glad to say we did not see him again. After I grabbed her, Emma launched into the dingy and stuck her masked face back in the water off the side. It took her about ten minutes to get back in the water… after which she was glued to my arm.

We made it back to Playa del Coco after a little stop off in Witches Rock. Anchored and fell fast asleep.

The following day Nick and Emma wanted to go paddle boarding. We loaded up the dingy and we left to drop them about 4 miles away at a beautiful beach. On the way there we nearly ran into a humpback and her calf. We stopped and they sat there about thirty feet away from the dingy and looked at us looking at them. The little one came right beside us, within ten feet or so and popped up to breathe scaring the daylights out of all of us I think. Nick got in the water with the gopro, but visibility was almost 0 so no good in the water photos. He then jumped on the paddleboard and got super close to them. We stayed with them for half an hour or so, right in the bay in about 40 feet of water. They were the friendliest most chilled whales I have seen yet.

We went to Zi for food that night and to watch Costa Rica win a football game against the USA. Was great food and very cold beer. We staggered back to Brisa tired little campers.

The next morning Emma and Nick were leaving. Nick back to NZ and Emma to meet her friends in Mexico to go diving. Elwin wanted to go up north to Mexico to look around and with absolutely no surf in the forecast on the way south… I think he made the right decision, jumping a bus to Puerto Escondido, where he promptly broke his favorite board in half. OHHH NOOOOO! And got some barrels so I guess it’s a payoff.

Next episode, Tania and I head back down the coast of Costa Rica to get ourselves back to Panama.

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rehnro · 7 years ago

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Pretty eventful the time in Thailand so far. Looking forward to spending another month here and improve fitness and my Muay Thai skills.

NYE in Bangkok: Given the late arrival from Bahrain (9pm) things had to work out should I want to make it to my NYE party. They did, with immigration and luggage picked up swiftly as well as a speedy new SIM card (still can’t believe that BT mobile is allowed to charge clients GBP5/MB roaming … thieves!). My hotel was in the area Sukhumvit, as recommended by friend & DJ of the night Tim. By 11pm and freshly showered (what a pleasure after this long journey) I made it to ‘Mango Tree on the river’ restaurant on which rooftop we would meet the new year.

It didn’t take long for me meet up with Jan & his friends. I met Jan briefly in London some years back, but we had our last night out many years ago in HK. Facebook helped to discover that we are both in BKK for NYE. Much to talk about! The party was good and the location offered some great views over Bangkok and its rivers though I understand last year there was more fireworks visible. Once we had all greeted 2018, Jan’s girlfriend left … giving us the time to go out for a walk and talk on the way. It didn’t take long until we stumbled into a Buddhist celebration, enjoyed a ride on the Tuk-Tuk and a last beer before Jan called it quits. I continued to explore the city for a while after though was surprised that just few bars (other than the infamous go-go bars) were open late on NYE.

Not having slept in a proper bed since my last night in London meant that I didn’t see much of the daylight on new years day, but finally made it into the buzzing streets of Bangkok in the afternoon. I stayed mainly in the Sukhumvit area (expat dominated & expensive) and enjoyed some good banter with a few lads outside an Irish pub (the toilet of which boast with really funny scriptures, see below). There was Al (a 51y resident of Bangkok, originally from the US, brought mass mailings to Thailand) and there was John (working in BKK for 6mth, also US) and a bit later was a Scottish guy (professional caddy as it was). Al was the funniest of them all. He could not only do the Michael Jackson dance, but also perform the Superman (happy to show to anyone as & when we meet ;o). Over a few beers we discussed quite a range of things from running styles to (very strange) sexual preferences of Japanese girls as reported by our Scottish caddy. Proper boys round I guess. Later at night we hit the Nana area with plenty of bars and life music. Needless to say … it got pretty late again. On the way home I even managed to enjoy some Thai strreetfood with one of the many ladyboys …

Getting to Koh Phangan: Initially I wanted to go to the island by night train to Surat Thani and then a ferry. However, tickets were sold out and hence I got myself a late flight into Surat Thani. The night in the airport hostel was lets say practicable be it not overly nice and very disorganised. Thai people can take a lot of time to do their things. Early morning back to the airport and onto a bus for 90mins after which a speed ferry takes you to Koh Samui (2h) and then Koh Phangan (30min). All in for 500THB, not bad.

May Thai Training begins: At the pier it was pretty busy, as many partygoers returned from the monthly full moon party (for which the island is known). The Diamond Muay Thai gym and camp is only a 10-15min walk away from the pier. I skipped the taxi option and carried my stuff the short way … which under the blazing sun turned into my first training session I guess. At the camp some private training was in progress and the check in to my bungalow very straightforward. My new home for four weeks. Basic as can be without toilet, shower or A/C (and with a funky, pink moquito net ;o). Next to the camp is the kitchen with its fruit bar and laundry service.

Bamboo hut

Bamboo resting place

My hut inside

Dining area

Fruit bar

Saturday BBQ

Muay Thai sessions are held twice a day (except Sundays) at 8-10am & 4-6pm and you can opt for additional yoga and fitness classes each day (if you can manage). I joined the afternoon session and despite my preparation in Colombia it was a tough one, but so rewarding once you are done. Fitness will come through step by step over the coming weeks. Altogether I managed to squeeze in 5 sessions this week (and one yoga) before taking Saturday and Sunday off nursing some smaller injuries on both feet and my knee.

New friends & training partners: There loads of people coming and going here all the time. Many stay for a month and so time will overlap for a bit longer. So far I had some deeper conversations with Stefan (Germany) & Jason (AUS) – both conspiracy guys as well as with Frits from Holland who joined me on my Sunday temple tour. In general you find many German, Dutch, Russian, Swedish, Australian and British folks in our camp. I really enjoy the positive atmosphere – be it during training or over post training meals.

Exploring the island: Last week I managed to see a few places. Having a scooter really helps and is good fun to take a ride around. First up Mae Haad beach with its land bridge to Ko Ma island, then a temple tour with Frits on Sunday (Chinese temple, Wat Phu Khao Noi, Wat Pho) and the Phaeng waterfall. Many places offer great views over the island. I also visited the food market several times (there are actually a few, but one is more permanent in the centre and offers great food at low prices). On Saturday Stefan had a go at the insects offered at the food market near the pier. I tried some sort of bug – not that bad, but nothing to get too excited about either. We rounded up the week with a visit to one of the sunset bars – Stone Rock bar – on Sunday. Great vibes, great views, great time.

Hello Thailand & Koh Phangan: Muay Thai training begins Pretty eventful the time in Thailand so far. Looking forward to spending another month here and improve fitness and my Muay Thai skills.

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