#my cousin had given it to me as a souvenir of her trip

[r-0-x-4-s]

today i broke a magnet…

i thought of Jean Yves Moreau

[casspurrjoybell-21]

Pirate Chains - Volume 2 - Against Tides

*Warning Adult Content*

Chapter 2 - I'm a Pirate too - Part 5

Nyx

"Agenor, did I do something wrong? If I did just tell me already, I'm sure it's a misunderstanding..."

"My order is final. You are not going..."

"NO."

His glare intensified at my sudden outburst but I'm not the one at fault, am I?

"I have worked hard for this. I followed all the rules and I even won my right to go on land."

I showed him the straw.

"I did so by the pirate code. I'm part of the crew and I deserve..."

He closed the distance between glaring at me dangerously and I just noticed how angrier he had gotten in just few seconds.

"Are you fucking disobeying my direct order, Nyx?"

"No. I just..."

I took a step back but he caught my arm and dragged me to the cabin. Once inside, he whirled me around so I was facing him and I almost lost my balance if not for his tight grip.

"Now listen to me Nyx. YOU ARE TO OBEY ME. If I hear that you did as much as step outside this room, I'll make sure you regret it, is that clear?"

I blinked in confusion to his unjustified anger towards me.

"So what will it be Nyx? Will you obey or should I get the chain?"

My eyes widened at the threat and I shook my head pleadingly.

'My God, not the chain. Not again...'

"Good."

He released me by pushing me back. I fell back and when I managed to look back at him I could swear I saw sadness in his eyes. But I couldn't be sure of it because he immediately grabbed his sword and left after shutting the door behind him with a loud thud. It wasn't long before the commotion disappeared. The crew left the ship except for the few unlucky ones.

Time went by very slowly. Agonizingly slowly. So much for 'mate' or 'friend' or 'crewmember'. When it was time for the truth, I am nothing but an outsider. An ex-rich man who owns nothing anymore. I'm not even sure I'm still worth something back home. 

'What if my uncle took over our business and did better than I? '

I felt horrible as I yearned to hope for my family's business to go bad without me. Maybe that would make people forget me less. I'm certain my family misses me. If there were guards searching for me, I'm sure they would have given up already. They think I left willingly, leaving nothing but a letter behind. 

'Who would look for such a thoughtless person?' 

And my cousin Haven, he sure got back from his last trip to find me gone. I wonder what he brought me this time? He always got me presents, at least two. It was a tradition he followed since he started helping his father in business and going to trade trips. Always two presents, a souvenir and a book.   I had two shelves full of Haven's books. A couple were in a foreign language, a joke he made to show me that I wasn't the smartest. He seemed to think I was, I never did. He just looked up to me since I am almost a year older than him.  

Since I'm not there, would he keep the book? Or maybe gift it to someone else. I love books.I miss books. I sat on the floor by the wall. The silence around me felt like the worst punishment. As much as I like to believe that I liked privacy, I got used to those pirate's ranting. But I guess I didn't make much impression on them, as soon as 'luck left my side' they were avoiding me and I was left behind without as much as a small goodbye.

What the hell was I expecting? They can't go against their Captain. And why would they defend me, it's not like they actually considered me one of theirs. So after all, I am still the pathetic useless me. Either on the top of the business or the bottom, I still find myself alone in the end. But this time it was different that before. It didn't feel the same as when my father passed away. This wasn't like the time my mother got married saying that we 'needed a man to stand by the family' as if I wasn't enough. This is different than the time I sent Raya in the decorated carriage to start a new life with her husband.

This is far more than when Haven, my best friend, left for the first time to sail with his father, my uncle and learn about their business. No matter how many times he insisted I'd go with him and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't just leave my responsibilities behind and sail. This time was different because loving someone makes you think less about unhappiness. Just being there with the one who fills the void in your heart, it sedates your mind to anything. Anything but love. It makes you stronger and gives you a reason to be. I sincerely thought the winds had changed for me.

I looked at my right to were the door was and the scene of Agenor leaving tore through me. Of course, I tried to rationalize this and the only explanation I came up with was the most hurtful.

'He didn't want me on land with him.'

The thought of the only person that I truly loved with all my being, casting me away so easily. My mind started suggesting a thousand reasons. From him wanting to protect me seeing how scared I was from Esme, all to the fact that he was bored of my company. 

'And guess which one stuck more to my head?'

My heart ached as I realized that since two days ago, he hadn't kissed me not even once. He was always lost in thought about something. Maybe he was just like everyone else, thinking about the women on the island. The more that single thought replayed in my head, the more I felt stinginess at the back of my eyes. Women. Such beautiful creatures. Who would have thought that someday I'd feel threatened by them. I started shaking as images of Agenor smiling at another woman tore my heart.

And as if I could handle more torment, my mind suggested the image of several beautiful ladies I knew back home, in their colorful party gowns, attractive looks and shining lipsticks. My sick mind showed Agenor, standing charmingly in beautiful clothes, extending his hand to one of them for a dance. My hands clenched in my hair and I buried my head down between my elbows, trying to just stop my brain from functioning. No wonder he got bored of me. He said repeatedly how beautiful I was but maybe that was only because he didn't have real beauty at reach. But now... My God, please no. I can't do this. I can't live like this

[unstable-sapphic-hoe]

The Ultimatum

AN: I cast Nadia Hilker as Artemis, but y’all can use anyone you want. I just kinda took reference from her look as Luna from The 100. Also I know Artemis has green eyes, I just changed it a little. Also in this chapter Diana and Kara are starting to form that Mother/Daughter bond cause they’re gonna need that shit in the future chapters. Also feel free to give suggestions for the story and I’d love to her your feedback. 

1,560+ words (lmao)

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Chapter 3

Masterlist

A few days later and Diana, accompanied by the 3 Kryptonians were in a jet, graciously offered by Bruce, headed to Paris after Diana offered to take them in. Kal and Y/K/N, now named Clarke Calvin Prince and Y/N M/N Prince respectively, according to the fake documents Bruce made for them, were both given window seats and were marveling at the sight with big curious eyes, their faces pressed up against the glass. 

“We’ll be landing in a few minutes so make sure you have all your things” Diana called out from the cockpit.

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 As soon as the jet landed, they were escorted into Diana’s car where they were taken to a nice duplex apartment. Though when Kara hesitated before stepping into the elevator, Diana quickly took action and lead them to the stairs. It wasn’t like they would get tired easily from it. So with that in mind, Kara insisted on carrying what little luggage they had, as well as the box they had filled with things from their pod. While Diana had Kal in her arms, while Y/N was perched on her shoulders as she happily babbled on with Kal whilst playing with Diana’s hair. 

 When they reached Diana’s floor, they were then directed to one of the doors there where they waited on Diana to unlock the door. As soon as they entered, they were engulfed in a welcoming atmosphere that brought comfort to Kara despite being in an unfamiliar environment. Unlike Wayne Manor, which felt dark and gloomy, whereas Diana’s apartment was light and gave her a feeling of a home filled with joy and love.

 She was brought out of her musings by a woman emerging from around a corner. She had curly copper hair that went down her shoulders, playful hazel-brown eyes, slightly tanned skin, and like Diana, she was tall and had a slim, yet muscular physique. She was wearing a white tank top with dark grey sweatpants. Though as soon as her eyes landed on Diana, the playful glint in her eyes disappeared and was replaced with fury.

“Diana” The woman said with a stern glare, crossing her arms together, which made Diana gently place Y/N on her feet and passing a sleeping Kal in Kara’s arms.

“Hello, my love” Diana answered with a sheepish smile on her face as she crossed the space between them to embrace the other woman, only for her to step away.

“Don’t ‘Hello, my love’ me Diana. You disappear for almost a week without telling me. Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

“I know and I’m sorry, my love” Diana said with a pout. Meanwhile, Kara was watching them amusedly and was occasionally taking in the place that would now be their home. She was interrupted by Diana calling her name and beckoning her over. “Love, this is Kara, the children are Y/N and Kal, Kara’s sister and cousin. They were the ones I told you about. Kara this is my wife, Artemis of Bana-Maghdall” she said. Artemis’s eyes softened as she looked at Kara, though as Kara studied her closer, she noticed that those eyes weren’t filled with pity like she thought, instead they showed understanding, much like J’onn and Diana, which Kara was thankful for. 

Just then they noticed Y/N walking over to them, well, mostly Kara, hiding behind her with her head peeking out. Artemis bent down to her height and smiled invitingly at her.

“Y/N say ‘hi’, her name’s Artemis” Kara whispered over to her. Y/N stepped out from behind Kara and smiled that charming little smile of hers before greeting her. 

“Aren’t you just adorable?” Artemis cooed, and though Y/N couldn’t understand much yet, her smile only widened at the attention she was receiving which made them all chuckle. 

 “Why don’t we show you your rooms” Diana offered with a smile. With a nod from Kara, they lead the 3 Kryptonians to each of their rooms. “You can decorate them any way you want, if you’d like we can make a trip to the store tomorrow”. They lead Kara to her room last.

“Thank you, Diana, Artemis. Goodnight” she said with a small smile and a nod before closing the door.

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 Diana was awoken by sobs sounding from down the hall. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and carefully pushed Artemis’ arm off her, silently praying that she wouldn’t wake up as she got up off the bed. She grabbed a robe and wrapped it around herself before making her way down to where the sobs were coming from, which turned out to be Kara’s room.

She couldn’t really be surprised as she was expecting this. During their stay at the Wayne Manor, she noticed Kara mostly focusing on getting a hold of her powers to distract her. She remembered how often she found her in Bruce’s lab in the middle of the night and in early mornings. 

She walked up to the door and knocked softly before slowly pushing the door open and peeking her head through. She found Kara curled up her bed, one of the pillows clutched in her embrace. She immediately made her way to her and sat by Kara, trying to coax her into sitting up. When she did, she brought her into a hug. In an attempt to bring the girl more comfort, she hummed the song her mother always used to sing to her as a child. 

When Kara’s sobs subsided into hiccups and sniffles she pulled her away from her softly. She laid her down onto the bed and brushed the hair away from her face with a sad smile. She knew that this was just the beginning of a long journey of healing for the poor girl. She vowed that she’d be there every step of the way for her.

“Thank you, Diana” Kara whispered in a broken voice, her voice hoarse from crying.

“Anything for you, little one” Diana whispered back. This only brought on a new wave of tears for Kara as her lips wobbled. Diana panicked, not understanding what she did wrong. She tried shushing the girl and whispering her comforting things. 

“My aunt Astra used to call me that” she confessed.

“Oh sweetheart” 

 “It’s fine. I just miss her so much” she answered.

 “Do you want to tell me about her?” Diana asked, receiving a nod in reply as Kara sat up, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them.

“Her name was Astra Ze. She became head of house when her father, my grandfather, stepped down from the position, and since she was the older twin, the title went to her. She was my mother’s twin, the only way you could tell them apart was by the white streak in aunt Astra’s hair.” Kara said with a sad smile, “She was a high general. I have always admired her. I remember rushing from school to the training grounds each day and watching them train. Eventually, I started bugging her to train me, and I must have eventually wore her down as she started training me on my tenth name day. Oh I remember mother’s exasperation and father’s amusement when I told them she had begun training me” she chuckled, reminiscing. This caused Diana to smile as well, noticing how similar Kara’s aunt was to her aunt Antiope.

 “I used to get so upset whenever she left with her army, so she gave me a spy beacon. It allowed us to send messages to each other, no matter where she was. And when she could, she’d always come when I called for her. And every time she came back home from her travels, she always had something to give me, a souvenir, and she’d tell me all about her trip.” This time Kara’s smile was filled with less sadness and more nostalgia, although the sadness was still lingering.

Diana hummed, “I knew someone like her. Her name was Antiope. Like your aunt Astra, she was a high general.”

“Really?” Kara asked curiously, tilting her head to one side, which Diana noticed she did a lot. It was cute. 

 Diana nodded, a fond, nostalgic smile on her face. “She was my aunt too. She was the one who taught me to fight to. She is one of the reasons I am who I am today. My mother never wanted me to learn how to fight, you see, so she was furious when she found me and Antiope training in one of the gardens that no one visited much” she chuckled.

“But were you people not warrior women?” Kara inquired, both confused and curious.

“They were. But that is a story for another time, sweet one” Diana said. She smiled, tucking Kara into bed. Before she left, she placed a kiss on her forehead after whispering a soft “Goodnight”. She exited the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

She was met in the hallway by Artemis, who had a soft smile on her face. She walked up to her and embraced her, Artemis returning. 

“Is Kara alright, love?” 

“She’s healing.”

“Then we’ll help her, in whatever way she needs us to” Artemis smiled. And there Diana’s heart melted, the woman never ceasing to amaze her as she fell even more in love with her. She gave her a quick kiss before leading her back to their bedroom for the night.

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 Taglist:

@madamevirgo , @black-dragon1998 , @marrymemcgrath 

[quarterfromcanon]

Huzzah!

for @imunbreakabledude

Thank you for the wonderful idea generators you listed in your request; every single one served to spark some element of this piece and I had such a great time putting it together. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! <3 Happy Valentine’s Day!

Word count: 3,820

Rating/content warnings: G. Mild swearing. No violence and nothing really sexual. Unless you count #archeryarms. They are quite powerful.

Relationships: Mostly general Gurl Group and co. in nature, but there may or may not be a little Rethaniel kernel planted here somewhere... ;)

Summary: Our beloved residents of West Covina take a trip north to engage in some Renaissance merriment.

Rebecca stood before the wall-length mirror and ran her fingers along the feather tucked above the brim of her hat. She adjusted the small tambourine tied to her waist and planted both hands on her hips. 

"Well, fair ladies... or, should I say, RenFaire ladies, are we ready?"

A row of restroom stall latches slid aside and their doors swung wide to reveal the rest of the Gurl Group, all clad in their carefully selected costumes for the day. Rebecca bounced in place and clasped her hands under her chin.

A net beaded snood held all of Paula's beautiful red hair. An ornamental ruby brooch was fastened to the bodice of her ornate raspberry gown. She smoothed the fabric and held her head high, striking a pose.

Valencia repurposed the faux leather portion of her Bride of the Pirate King costume and fashioned it to be part of her falconer garb, complete with a Velcro wrist attachment featuring a tiny plush merlin fitted with a hood. A simple plait kept her field of vision clear with the added bonus of helping combat overheating. She twisted sideways and nodded approval at her reflection, pleased with the silhouette.

Heather had happily seized the opportunity to go as an archer, a set of garments she'd been assembling piece by piece ever since she started her continuing education class. Her hair was braided and bound together to reduce the risk of distracting strays. Many of her beloved camo greens were present in this ensemble, albeit separated into individual components of her attire. She moved to tuck her hands into her pockets, remembered that there weren't any, and instead hooked both thumbs through the belt.

The bridge of Rebecca's nose scrunched as she grinned. "Crushin' it. Fresno, here we come." 

"Play us out, Cookie," Paula urged.

Rebecca scooped her lute - easily the most expensive item for her look since she had been adamant about carrying a functional instrument rather than a prop - off the countertop and strummed. Her gaze turned skyward as she left the rest stop bathroom attempting to generate lyrics on the spot. 

"The countess doth my song request, I go at her courtly behest, and now I introduce four: there were none quite so resplendent, connected yet independent, trust me I'm the troubadour..."

Scott and Tommy were already waiting outside dressed as an earl and a squire, respectively. Tommy gave them all an appreciative thumbs up and Scott applauded. The latter strode over to Paula when she emerged. Scott bowed and then held out his hand. "My lady?" He gestured in the direction of their waiting minivan in an unspoken offer to escort her.

Paula smiled and accepted his outstretched palm. "Milord."

While they walked, Scott called over his shoulder. "I like the new ditty, Rebecca. Lotta info in a little time. Nice and snappy."

Rebecca waved an 'oh, stop' gesture, but she was unable to hide her delight in receiving positive feedback. "Thank you. I couldn't resist a little Danny Kaye tribute. I think it could work better if I ramp up the speed of my delivery, now that I've worked out the words."

Valencia flanked Paula on her other side and leaned in close to whisper, "What musical was she talking about?"

"No idea. It must've been before my time."

They loaded back into the vehicle, though with considerably greater difficulty given the added layers of their new outfits. Paula now had to sit in the middle with Rebecca to have room for her voluminous skirts. Scott took the driver seat in her stead, and Tommy sat beside him. Valencia detached the falcon from its perch and buckled it into the rear middle seat to keep it from sliding around on the drive. Heather observed this with quiet amusement. She patted the fake bird on the head. "Safety first." 

The wardrobe-swapping pit stop in Tulare was only about forty minutes away from their final destination, a span of time which seemed to fly by after the previous three hours on the road. Eagerness for the festivities ahead reached a renewed high as the park finally came into view. Scott pulled up to the waiting staff member and exchanged pleasantries. He passed the young worker a bag of canned goods they'd brought to contribute to the faire's donation drive and then fished out his wallet to pay the parking and admission fee. 

As soon as they exited the van, all the sights and sounds swept them into the action. There were myriad tents on either side of the path that wove through the trees. Bakers, potters, and weavers sold their wares; blacksmiths hammered hot metal atop anvils, and a cheerful tune drifted from a shelter housing a trio of professional musicians. The food court beckoned with the scent of cakes, pies, meats, and sandwiches. Their first quarter of an hour passed simply drifting from one table of offerings to the next, admiring everything and strategizing how they would spend their money later. 

Once they'd gotten a general sense of the lay of the land, Rebecca began walking backward to face the group at large and clapped her hands together. "Okay, time to get the party started. Where to first? Birthday girls' choice. Heather? Paula?"

Heather pulled a face. "That's not gonna be how you introduce us all day, is it? You're gonna confuse everybody since it's not, like, actually either of our birthdays. Not even close."

"Okay, true," Rebecca conceded, "but 'a November day that happens to fall almost squarely in the middle between the two and on a weekend we could all ask off work' is a mouthful to explain to strangers."

"Or we could just try, y'know, not sharing any details of our personal life with the RenFaire performers?" Heather suggested with a sarcastic shrug.

"But then none of them will sing you a period-appropriate song or raise a celebratory cheer." Rebecca pouted. 

Heather nodded with satisfaction. "Exactly."

"Verily, thou art a most obstinate addle-plot," Rebecca remarked with a sigh.

"Oooh, are we doing the olde timey talk now?" Paula brightened. "I've been practicing for this."

"Aye, good lady," Rebecca confirmed and linked their arms. "I believe the hour is upon us!"

Just like that, all lighthearted squabbling was forgotten. Rebecca and Paula joyfully riffed off one another using every medieval and Renaissance vocab word they could recall. They even dusted off their questionable English accents for an added layer of "authenticity." Tommy and Heather exchanged glances at some of the inventive word choices, having acquired a passing familiarity with the correct terms on their individual visits to similar faires, but they let the giggling duo indulge in their antics.

A short while later, they stumbled upon another tent of interest, which appeared to be dedicated to wood carving. There were wall hangings, placards, canes, birdhouses, and countless other novelty handcrafted objects. One rather simple looking cube with hinges on the corner of a table caught Rebecca's attention. She plucked it up for closer inspection. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips when she saw the lion rampant carved into the surface of the lid. She pried the box open with her thumb and gasped. 

"Aww, there's a little compass inside! I wonder how much this would cost to send to Na--" Rebecca dragged out the first syllable of the name, realizing too late that she'd spoken the thought aloud. "--antucket. I've got a cousin out there who might enjoy it for... scout hikes."

She nodded perhaps a little too emphatically at the end of this improvised statement. Her eyes flicked from one companion's face to the next to see if they bought the cover story. The reactions were unanimously not in her favor. 

"You were about to say Nathaniel." Paula gave Rebecca a reassuring nudge. "Sweetheart, you don't have to hide it from us. We've known for weeks that you two have been writing back and forth to each other. I accidentally used one of his envelopes as a coaster when you invited me over to hear a few works in progress."

"Yeah, and you stowed another letter behind Estrella's tank," Heather added. "Which is literally transparent so..."

"Having a pen pal is actually kind of perfect for you," Valencia said. "You're the only person I've ever known who bought stationery as a souvenir."

"It has been nice, keeping in touch," Rebecca admitted. "We're in different countries, both staying introspective and working on ourselves, but I think we've gotten to a place where we can check in on each other without undoing all the positive growth." She turned the compass over between her fingers and then held it out for the other women to inspect. "Do you think he'd like it?"

Heather's head tilted to the side. "Exclusive product ... a little pretentious but still practical... prominently features an animal you could find in a zoo... Sounds like a match from what I remember about him." 

"Plus, it's kinda symbolic, y'know? Like he can use it because he's surrounded by wilderness but he's also finding his way," Rebecca explained. "This could be a memento to commemorate that."  

She removed the wad of bills from the change purse on her belt and separated the necessary amount listed on the sticker. Once the compass was officially in her possession, Rebecca swung the bag back and forth, considering what a nuisance it would be to have that hanging from her wrist for the rest of the day. She nonchalantly turned a sharp corner as they left the tent. There, she discretely tucked the remaining dollars into her bra and stashed Nathaniel's gift in her former cash pouch.

The others were gathered around the pamphlet guide now open in Paula's hands when she returned.

"Looks like a lot of the big events are in the afternoon," Heather noticed.

"Count me in for the show where the guy swallows fire." Tommy tapped the corresponding spot on the park map.

"And we're getting funnel cake later, right?" Rebecca pointed to Paula and then back at herself. 

"Oh, of course," Paula readily agreed. "It's quintessential fairground food." 

"Don't forget the giant turkey legs!" Scott added, already scanning the large painted menus in the distance so he could make a beeline to that station once they were ready to eat. 

Valencia looked ill at the mention and returned her attention to the accessory booth she'd drifted toward while the others spoke. She held up two pieces she might purchase and frowned thoughtfully. Heather plucked a small standing mirror off the display table and held it for her while she considered each necklace in the sunlight.

A faint buzz sounded from Valencia's satchel. She angled her body so the jewelry could rest against her chest without sliding off and then rummaged for her phone. "Ah, crap." 

"Who is it?" Heather prompted. 

"Darryl with the five thousandth Pinterest idea for his Blended Family Unity Ceremony. I thought the point was to do something simple and sentimental, once they decided they didn't want all the hassle and planning of another wedding in their lifetime. April seemed in favor of that. But Darryl's gone down an Internet-ing rabbit hole and can't be stopped. I thought the ceremony itself might clock in at twenty minutes at most, when they first brought it to me."

"Oh, my sweet summer child." Rebecca shook her head as she tuned in to the conversation.

Valencia’s shoulders sagged and she grimaced. "I know. Joke's on me. At this point, I'd recommend the guests just clear their schedule for the whole day. This latest concept involved a giant canvas and finger painting so... wear something you don't care about."

A collective groan rippled through the group. It was confessed, however, that they all expected at least one genuinely tear-jerking moment, given Darryl's fierce and unwavering attachment to each person who would be in attendance. 

The six of them then followed the map to briefly observe a staged sword fight and a live joust. Paula and Rebecca reminisced over A Knight's Tale and lamented the fact that more stories depicting the era did not include extended dance and/or musical numbers. 

"With the obvious exception of The Court Jester, of course," Rebecca said.

Paula gave a vague nod, smile locked in place but eyes blinking rapidly. "Right. Sure bet it does." 

"You've never seen it, have you?" 

"I'm not even sure if it's a play or a movie." Paula offered an apologetic wince. "You're sorta my primary go-to when I need to understand these kinds of references. I don't have the head space for it."

"I mean, a first watch is definitely something we need to remedy on a weekend soon but, given that I have three decades of passionate devotion to the art form, I get what you mean." Rebecca patted her lute fondly.

They stopped by the wooden ship stationed on the grass where actors dressed as pirates interacted with the crowd and set off small cannons. Then the group advanced toward the last thing on their list of pre-meal activities, which was to watch one of the live shows. The uproarious energy there sparked a sudden idea. Rebecca took extensive notes on her phone, deciding to flesh out her earlier improvised song into a full number to capture the vibe of the faire.

Afterward, they all left the seating in front of the stage and headed toward the food court. The sound of drums diverted their attention along the way and they searched for its source. A small gathering of belly dancers circled on a stretch of open lawn. Rebecca began nodding her head in time with the drum beat, but the motion stilled as she studied the trained and toned muscles undulating beneath the nearest dancer's skin. The woman stood out among her peers as not only being adept at the style but possessing a kind of theatrical charisma. She noticed her new audience and winked. 

Rebecca tugged off her troubadour's hat and fanned herself. "Damn, that level of confidence is sexy."

Eventually, watching half a dozen stomachs reminded them of their rumbling own. With some reluctance, they finally moved along. At last, it was time for their much-anticipated lunch. Scott immediately purchased his coveted turkey leg and ale, both of which he enjoyed while the others mulled over their dining options. As they scanned the stands, the girls spied a large kiln not far away and recognized a familiar dish in the shadows. 

Rebecca pressed a hand to her middle. "Okay, I know it's not the kind of thing you can only get at the faire, but I need that pizza in me."

"Seconded." Tommy joined his honorary sister in staring at the melting cheese.

Once everyone had a plate, they found a place to sit at one of the wooden tables. Paula dusted some of the powdered sugar from the funnel cake off her fingers with a napkin and leaned toward Heather, who was stationed diagonally across from her.

"So, I haven't seen you much since fall break ended. How's grad school going?"

"The marine biology coursework combined with the kind of work that gives me money is kicking my ass but, like, in a good way. Especially since so much of it involves trips to the beach."

"I really admire you for going back, and for finding an area of study that would let you take so many fun field trips," Paula praised. 

Valencia caught Heather's eye and beamed. "Well-played, professor."

While everyone ate, they unfolded the map again atop their table. They scanned the times for where each person wanted to go between noon and dusk when the event would close. A second-half schedule was established and they prepared to seek out the first stop. Before doing so, however, Paula opened her phone's camera for a picture. Rebecca rounded everyone else up for the photo. 

"Prithee, gather ye round the magic picture box. Lady Proctor wouldst appreciate the opportunity to capture our likeness and preserve the memory."

They wrapped their arms around each other and leaned into frame, looking respectably at home before a backdrop of other costumed faire-goers. Paula showed them all the end result before turning it back to herself and grinning at the image. "Perfect."

First on the listed activities was the archery contest. Heather rarely had an occasion to utilize her champion level skills as a bowman, so this chance was too good to skip. The competitors formed a line before their targets.

"Make ye ready!" the announcer cried. "Draw! Aim! Loose!"

Heather's shot found its mark and embedded in the bullseye. Her companions clapped and whooped. 

Rebecca watched her nock the following arrow and line it up for release. "She's got a whole Keira Knightley in Princess of Thieves look going for her today."

The second arrowhead pierced a hair's breadth from the first.

"I think it's kinda doing it for me."

Valencia nodded. Her eyelids crinkled at the corners while she regarded Rebecca with curiosity. "Are you having some sort of Renaissance awakening?" 

"TBD. Check back in with me later. Kinsey scale rating may need an update."

Heather’s final arrow was dead center. The announcer declared her the winner and the visitors from West Covina alarmed everyone nearby with the shouts that erupted from them. They surged forward to embrace and congratulate her. Heather awkwardly allowed herself to be jostled by her circle of friends. She exuded discomfort but, when they all formed a group hug, she did not squirm away. 

After that landslide victory, next up was a demonstration with a trebuchet. The impressively tall apparatus cut through the air and launched pumpkins at a makeshift castle wall. Tommy was ecstatic. He fished out his phone to record a video. "Brendan would love this. I've gotta send it to him."

At the mention of her eldest son, Paula's lower lip protruded sympathetically. "Do you miss your big brother knight, squire?"

Tommy tried to feign indifference, but the shift of his shoulders couldn't hide the expression that flickered across his face. "A little, I guess."

"Aww, pumpkin," Paula cooed. She hooked him toward her with one arm and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Me, too."

"Hey, careful with the mom smooches," Tommy cautioned. "Girls might not talk to me if they see I've already got a lipstick mark on my face."

Paula licked her finger and wiped off the traces. The boy allowed the assistance with resignation. "Okay, yeah, I did sorta set myself up for that one," Tommy muttered. 

Somewhere in the crowd, a recognizable voice caught their attention. 

"Just a minute, Amari. It's Agila's turn. Baba can't hold both of you on his shoulders at the same time. Somebody might fall... most likely me."

Paula stood on tiptoe and waved. "Sunil! Sunil, over here!"

Rebecca heard the name and slumped. "Great. This guy."

Sunil wove his way toward them, holding one of his daughters’ hands on each side. "Why, hello! Fancy meeting you here!"

He drew up short when he spotted Rebecca. "Bunch."

Rebecca arched her eyebrows. "Odhav."

"So, how are you liking the RenFaire so far?" Paula asked, interrupting the showdown.

"We're having a blast. The girls rode the giant unicorn. They said it would've been better if it were a pegasus but, hey, next best thing, right? We've caught three shows already. Really resurrects the old acting bug. And I'm still on a shopper's hunt for a crystal chalice with a palace. As we all know, it 'holds the brew that is true,' and I could really use the pick-me-up after four hours of bickering toddlers." Sunil chuckled at his own humor. Paula weakly attempted to do the same, lost.

Rebecca snapped to attention at the reference. Unable to help herself, she interjected, "Yeah, those can be pretty fragile. You might be better off getting a vessel with a pestle."

Surprised, but pleasantly so, Sunil's expression warmed. "You've seen The Court Jester."

"Oh my gosh, yes!" Rebecca's eyes went comically wide with fervor. "I've been talking about it all day. I must've watched that at least twenty times as a kid."

"How could you not? It's a classic."

Sunil gleefully launched into another quote. "'What are you loo-loo-looing about?’”

Rebecca was ready with the rejoinder. "'Oh, I'm not loo-loo-looing, sire, I'm willow-willow-wailing.'"

Sunil responded with a kingly wave of dismissal. "'All right, all right. Willow away, willow away.'"

They cackled.  

"Dear God," Paula murmured, but she was visibly grateful her usually adversarial friends were getting along.

"There are two of them," Valencia joked affectionately.

Sunil rubbed his hands together. "Listen, we were about to track down that lesson on how to do a courtly dance. Would all of you like to join us?"

This proposal was met with general agreement (although Heather required a little additional convincing to accept the prospect of participation). They reached the designated area just as instructions began. Most of the dance took part in a large group but, for the small section where those involved were expected to break off into pairs, they planned ahead for who would dance with whom. The combinations ultimately turned out to be Paula and Scott, Heather and Valencia, Tommy with both Amari and Agila, and - in a truce that would've been inconceivable prior to that instant - Rebecca and Sunil. 

As all the gathered dancers moved in a great circle, Rebecca took the opportunity to look at each of her loved ones in turn. The chances to enjoy hours with everyone like this sometimes proved rare and difficult to orchestrate, but shared moments of laughter and fun such as these made it infinitely worth the effort.

She turned to Heather on her left and gave the other woman's hand a teasing squeeze. "Having a good time after all?"

"I'll live," Heather answered simply, but Rebecca knew her well enough to detect the truth beneath her nonchalance. "What about you? You've been sending us a pre-trip countdown for, like, a full month leading up to this. Is it holding up to the hype?"

"Hundo P," Rebecca replied. "Ugh, it works when Maya says it but I think there might be too much of a generational divide for me to pull that off. In other news, I might be bi?"

Heather's laugh huffed out on an exhale. "Congrats on figuring that out. Welcome to the club. Darryl will make you a t-shirt."

"Thanks. I'm gonna need your out-and-proud advice later to sift through this brand new information, but it feels like I'm onto something."

"Anytime." 

"So, calendar date notwithstanding, has this been a good birthday?" Rebecca asked hopefully.  

Heather's lips twitched. "I'd let you talk me into it again."

In time with the music, Rebecca twirled in a circle and her friends all blurred together in her vision. A soft smile spread across her face. She thought she could safely declare this day a win.

[thewolfprince]

An Animorphs Pride

Animorphs AU: An Animorphs Pride

Modern, Pride month, no powers, LGBT, school

[Written for @theandxlitebandits for the @the--abomination ‘s Animorphs Fic Exchange.

Characters: Animorphs (Jake, Cassie, Rachel, Tobias, Marco, Aximili)]

/////////////////////////////////////

My name is Jake. Jake Berenson. I’m bisexual.

Today was the day of our town’s Pride event. A parade, booths and games.

This is the first year my little ragtag group of LGBT+ people went. There’s me, a bisexual and cis male. There’s Marco, who’s bisexual and a demiboy. There’s Marco’s boyfriend Aximili, who we all call Ax. Ax just calls himself queer.

There’s my girlfriend, Cassie. She’s non-binary and pansexual. Then there’s Tobias, who’s a transgender male and polysexual. Lastly, my cousin Rachel, who’s cis female and asexual. Rachel and Tobias are dating—although if you asked either of them, they’ll deny it.

“So,” Marco swung his arm over Ax’s shoulders. “What’s the plan, cap?”

“Yes. Plan. Pl. laaaaan. Nn. Plaaaaan.” Ax grinned.

The three of us had just picked Ax up and were heading towards Tobias’s house. Tobias was still in the closet—literally. As I pulled up, I could see through the broken window in Tobias’s room that he was putting on his binder.

Marco wolf-whistled, giving me a grin as Tobias looked out the window. His hair was messy and he had one arm at his side. The other one was in the air like it was gonna give the closet a high-five.

“Put on a shirt!” Ax yelled helpfully. I facepalmed. I heard Tobias squeak above us before vanishing. Footsteps ran down the stairs. The door opened and Tobias slid in the back, a MCR shirt over his binder, now properly hidden.

Then we would go to Pride and meet Cassie and Rachel there. They had gotten a ride from Cassie’s mom, who thought we were going to an art museum then getting lunch.

I turned down the road, smiling as I saw people decked out in rainbow attire. Some held balloons, some wore crazy socks.

“Hey Tob,” I pointed at a teen wearing a trans flag as a cape.

“Awesome.” He whispered.

I parked the car and turned off the engine. We all hopped out. Marco wore a backpack that held sunscreen, water, food, and the very few Pride items we owned.

Cassie and Rachel jogged towards us. Rachel—unsurprisingly—held a camera in her hands. “Come on,” she urged. “Let’s go take some pictures by that statue!”

We took a few pictures by this statue of an old war general. Someone had given it rainbow shades and a gay flag draped over it’s horse.

I took out my bisexual pin, pinning it to my shirt. I handed Tobias his ‘he/him/his’ pronoun button. Cassie grabbed her ‘she/her’ and ‘they/them’ buttons. Marco grabbed his hat with the bisexual flag sewen onto it. Rachel took her flannel shirt off, revealing a “While you were busy experiencing sexual attraction, I studied the blade” tank top, which Marco had given her. Ax wore a small pride armband.

“Look!” Ax pointed to a float that was shaped like a giant Cinnamon bun. Marco grabbed his hand and dragged him over to a spot where they could see it better.

We all walked around, enjoying this chance to be out and proud.

Even though we lived in a “progressive” state, there were still things that happened here. A nasty look. Deliberate misgendering. A sharp remark.

I pulled Cassie closer as we all started walking across the street to get pizza. Once we passed through the gates, the air felt hostile. I opened the door to the pizza place as Marco cracked a joke, grinning as I stuck my foot out to try and trip him.

He hopped over my foot and I let the door close behind me. A woman walked over to us, holding a clipboard. “Welcome to Tony’s Pizzeria, may I take your order please?”

We told her our drink orders and Tobias pulled out his souvenir water bottle from The Gardens that Cassie had given to him for his birthday.

“May I have water, please?” He asked the waitress, who nodded but didn’t move to take it. He stared at her for a few seconds before she said, “Sir, I can’t take it until you take the cap off.”

“Oh.” Tobias said, ducking his head down in embarrassment. “Okay. Sorry.” He unscrewed the kid and handed the bottle to her.

“Be right back.” She walked off.

We chatted for a few moments. Cassie was telling a story of how she saved a baby goose when suddenly I heard a man behind me.

“Queer kids.”

My chest constricted and a cold wave washed down my body. Rachel snapped her gaze up, opening her mouth. Marco and Cassie both grabbed her arms. Tobias sunk into his seat a bit.

Ax looked at us. “What’s wr-wr-rrrrrrrrrrrong?” He asked. “Ong. On on on.”

“That guy just called us ‘queer’.” I muttered, watching him out of the corner of my eye. He looked like one of the cooks.

“Yeah. He said, ‘who’s gonna take the queer kids’.” Rachel growled. “Let go of me, Marco.”

Marco let go, but whispered. “We need a plan. Just Incase.”

“We run. We split then meet back up at that statue.” I said.

The others nodded. Tobias pulled his trans flag off and stuffed it into his backpack.

We ate silently once the pizza came, then stood up and left right when a group of adults came in adorning make up and pride flags and a lot of glitter.

Tobias turned back. “Shit!”

“What?” We looked at him.

“I left my water bottle in there.” His left hand started flapping. “The one Cassie got me!” I took his other hand. “Hey. I’ll go in with you, yeah? We’ll see if it’s still there.” Tobias looked distressed, but nodded, hand still flapping.

We entered and walked back to the booth we had sat in. There was no sign of the water bottle. “Excuse me,” I tapped on the waitress’s shoulder. She looked at me. “My friend left his water bottle in here—do you guys have a place where you keep things, like a lost-and-found?”

“I can check. Give me a minute.” She walked to the back. I rubbed circles on Tobias’s hand as he continued moving his other one, albeit more subtly.

“Sorry guys. It’s not there.” The lady frowned a gave a tiny shrug.

“Thank you.” Tobias gripped my hand and led me outside.

“Did you get it?” Rachel asked. Tobias shook his head. “We can go back and ask to look ourselves.” Marco suggested.

Tobias shook his head. “It’s fine.” He mumbled. He let go of my hand as Ax reached into his backpack and grabbed a fidget cube, handing it to Tobias without a word.

“The next time I go back, I’ll get you another one. Promise.” Cassie smiled at Tobias, who shrugged. “You don’t have to.” He said.

Rachel just shook her head and wrapped an arm around Tobias. “Let’s go and beat the crowds.”

Ax grinned. “Truck! Ruck. Tr. Tr. Ruck. Uck uck uck.”

I led the way back to my truck, turned on the engine, and everyone piled into the cab.

I drove as Cassie finished her story in the passenger side. Marco launched into more rounds of jokes. Tobias stimmed, mouthing words as he looked down into his lap. Rachel sat next to him, occasionally saying something. Ax was in the bed of the truck, just lying down.

My name is Jake. I have wonderful friends, who are all pretty cool. I’m just an average teenager. And I’m bisexual.

//////////////

I’m so sorry if this is late! I’ve been busy helping my friend and just got the motivation to finish this!

[reifromrfa]

Home: Mysme Travel Zine piece

Hey guys! Here’s my piece for Bon Voyage: A Mysme Travel Zine, @mysmetravelzine​ ! :D I hope you like it, it’s really special to me because the entire zine was a fun and awesome experience <3 Thank you so much to everyone who supported it! 

For this piece, I collaborated with the amazing @aehruh​! :D She did the mind-blowing art for my fic ;A; Please do check it out...

>> HERE <<

It’s awesome, I swear <3 Anyway! I hope you guys like the fic! Thank you <3

 MC gazes out the plane window, her face bathed in the orange and purple hues of the sky. It seems fitting to be flying home as morning turns into night, signaling the end of another day; the end of their adventure. She turns back to her table, taking in the scattered photographs and the album. On their last day, they were able to pass by a stationery store called Tokyu Hands, where MC was able to get photos printed.

“Oh, those are lovely, MC!” Jaehee exclaims. MC turns around and smiles at her sheepishly.

“I wanted to remember my first trip with you guys,” MC replies shyly. “What do you have there?” she continues, eyeing the overflowing basket of Jaehee. The woman lets out an embarrassed laugh.

“Oh, I just couldn’t help myself. I saw the wonderful notebooks and pens and folders…ehem, well. I got a little too excited. But I saw some cute albums in the shelves there. Perhaps you should buy one, for the photos.”

A wave of nostalgia washes over her as MC scans the photos. Though the memories are still fresh in her mind, her heart flutters in anticipation of going through the past few days once more.

A smile graces her face as she gazes at the photos. The first one is all of them at the airport, waiting for their private plane. It was a selfie by Zen, and they had all crammed into the frame, their faces filled with excitement. It was the first trip of the RFA together, and their first time to go to Japan; all of them were restless balls of energy before the flight.

She turns the page and the next photo shows Zen, a peaceful look on his face as he held a music box in his hands. It was during their second day in Otaru, Hokkaido, when they walked along Sakaimachi Street and entered the large shop selling music boxes. MC had taken the photo sneakily, the peacefulness of Zen as he held a delicate music box in his hands, completely lost in the soft melody, capturing her heart as well.

“Zen, you’ve been listening to that music box for quite some time now,” Jumin comments, coming up behind Zen.

Zen jumps and nearly drops the music box. “YA! You don’t just creep up behind people like that, you jerk!”

“Why don’t you purchase it? As a souvenir?”

“Not everyone is as rich as you, Mr. C&R. I’m saving my money for the food!”

Zen had put down the music box, but MC saw Jumin pick it up and buy it for the silver-haired actor. The corporate heir hadn’t given it to Zen yet, but MC can’t wait for Zen’s reaction when Jumin gives him the music box.

The next photo made MC giggle as she looks at Jumin, a jean apron on top of his winter clothes and a focused look on his face. He held a metal stick in one hand, and a long glass stick in the other. In the picture, his gray eyes are zeroed in on the melted glass as it drips onto the end of the metal stick. V had managed to convince him to try out glass-blowing together.

"Always the perfectionist, Jumin.” V said when the woman behind the cashier hands Jumin his finished bracelet. The blue sphere glinted under the lights and Jumin lets out a soft laugh.

“Of course. Unlike you, I’m not gifted in the arts, but I’m still able to make a decent accessory.”

“I don’t doubt it,” V replies, taking his own finished bracelet then extending his hand towards Jumin. The purple orb was beautiful, and Jumin’s face softens. “To my best friend in the entire universe, know that our friendship will always come first from now on.”

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing,” Jumin says, handing V the bracelet he made and accepting V’s gift to him.

“I’ll cherish this, Jihyun, like I cherish our friendship."

The next photo made her want to cry, the emotions overwhelming her. It's an image of Saeran and Saeyoung, both of them holding onto Hokkaido's popular seven-layered ice creams. Each layer had a different flavor and despite the cold weather, Saeyoung still insisted on getting some.

“You don’t have to, Saeyoung. I’m fine to eat ice cream by myself,” Saeran says, fishing out his wallet from his pockets.

“Nooooo but I want to eat ice cream with my little brother!!!” Saeyoung cries, grabbing random coins and bills from his pockets and shoving it to the cashier. “Two please!”

“Saeyoung. You already have a cold. You don’t have to—”

“Nonsense! God Seven doesn’t get sick!”

Saeyoung’s cold got worse, of course. But MC traces his smile on the photo. Saeran is looking happily at the camera, ice cream in hand. Saeyoung had an arm slung around Saeran’s shoulders and he was grinning at his brother, pure joy visible on his face. After everything they’ve been through, MC is glad this trip gave them the chance to spend time with each other.

They deserve happiness.

Reaching for an upturned image, MC takes it and flips it around before covering her mouth to stifle her laugh. Vanderwood —the newest addition to the RFA —is standing in Maruyama Park, the bare trees and snowy grounds surrounding him. Only…the man has snow on his face. 

Saeyoung is crouched in front of him, tears in his eyes as he laughed, while Yoosung has a panic-stricken look on his face, his entire body frozen in fear.

“Yoosung, you better run!!!!” Saeyoung exclaims, scrambling to his feet. Vanderwood runs a hand down his face, brushing off the snow. He glares at the two younger boys and bends down, scooping snow into his hands.

“Yeah, you better run!! You’re lucky I didn’t bring my taser!” he bellows after them, hurling snowballs at the two boys. Saeyoung gets hit by a snowball and he falls dramatically to the ground, groaning in pain. “Yoosung…ack…it hurts...save…yourself!..”

“Noooo!!! Vanderwood-hyung, I’m sorry!!! Don’t kill me!” Yoosung says, running as fast as his legs would take him, looking distressed.

“MC, want some cookies~? I bought these from the Chocolate Factory!” Yoosung asks, his head appearing from the side of his chair and his arm holding onto a house-shaped cookie box. The roof of the house is pulled back to reveal an array of different-colored cookies and MC nods, reaching out for a strawberry-flavored cookie.

“Oh! Wow! Are those photos from the trip? Can I see them?” The young vet unbuckles his seatbelt and moves to sit beside MC, peering over the photos. He laughs when he sees a candid picture of Zen and Vanderwood, both of them too busy slurping their noodles to notice Jaehee taking a shot of them. Then Yoosung picks up another photo of V and himself, standing together under a cherry blossom tree, both of them grinning. Yoosung’s eyes glaze over a little, and MC remembers the moment the shot was taken.

“You know…” Yoosung says, looking up at the falling petals. V looks at him expectantly. Their relationship is held together by a band-aid, and Jihyun knows the boy needs time and space to cope with what happened to his cousin. Being Rika's previous lover strained Jihyun’s relationship with the vet, but he hopes to someday make peace again with Yoosung. “Rika liked looking at the falling petals. I never did understand it. But…now I think I do. Starting over a new leaf, right? Getting rid of the past and starting over?”

Jihyun smiles.

“You don’t need to forget the past. It will always be a part of us. Instead, we learn from it and gather the courage to move forward; to allow ourselves to bloom once more.”

Yoosung looks at the older man…at his friend. And he smiles back.

It was a small gesture, but it gave MC hope that things will be alright between them, as well.

Having realized that he’s been staring at the image for awhile, Yoosung clears his throat and hands it back to MC, sheepishly scratching his cheek. “That’s…you took a great photo, MC!”

Then he shuffles to the rest of the cabin, offering the cookies in his hands. At that moment, MC catches sight of a photo stuck under the album and she carefully retrieves it. A full-blown grin appears on her face as she stares at the picture —9 smiling faces looking back at her. It was the timed group shot Jihyun took from the top of Mt. Moiwa. All of them stood in front of the vast purple and blue sky, the setting sun behind them and glistening white snow under their boots. MC remembers the freezing temperature, but despite their rosy cheeks and chattering teeth, they stood closely to each other, smiling for the camera.

“Jihyun, hurry up!” Saeyoung calls out, linking his arm around Saeran’s while watching Jihyun walk briskly toward them after setting the timer. Saeran, instead of his usual annoyed remark, just smiles.

“Ah, sorry!” Jihyun exclaims, standing next to Jumin. Zen slings an arm around Jaehee and MC, who are at the center of the picture, and he laughs.

“Say ‘cheese’, everyone!” Zen says enthusiastically. Vanderwood stands awkwardly next to Yoosung, but the blonde kid nudges him and grins, forming a peace sign with his hand and screaming ‘Cheese!'. The former agent chuckles and smiles just as the timer goes off.

The best photo of the trip. MC looks at the picture wistfully before looking at the cabin that’s suddenly filled with noise and activity again. Jumin has called for refreshments and snacks for everyone, and Saeyoung has taken it upon himself to gather everyone to the big table in the private plane.

“Is anybody interested in wine?” Jumin asks, looking around the table, to which Zen and Vanderwood both say, “I’ll have a beer."

“Oh~ Could it be? The start of a new pair? My new ship?? My OTP!” Saeyoung exclaims, laughing.

“I have no idea what he just said,” Jaehee says, shaking her head. MC gathers the photos and places them in between the pages, making sure to keep the album properly before joining the group. MC can’t help but look around at all of them, heart overflowing with emotions.

Yes, it’s bittersweet that their adventure has come to an end. But now, she’s looking forward to new travels with her new friends —her family. They may be leaving behind the Land of the Rising Sun, but they’re headed towards a more beautiful place: home. But being here, being surrounded by her loved ones…MC realizes that maybe it isn’t really a destination.

“Are you excited to go home, MC?” Jihyun asks her gently, handing her a glass of wine.

She takes it gratefully and grins.

“I’m already home.”

Check out my other Mysme writings here!

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I’d be honored to write your story <3

Become a Patron for previews of my original work, Into the Shadows! :)

[maypalserrup]

Do You Know What Doves Symbolize? -- Ajay x MC

“Do You Know What Doves Symbolize?”

Ajay x Gender Neutral!Reader

Word count: 1270 words

MC has been gone for two weeks on a trip to Greece, and decides to barge in during the middle of rehearsal to announce their return. Fluff ensues.

I wrote a little thing I’ve been thinking about for the past few days. I didn’t beta read it, and I don’t know how to conclude essays (my apologies). This is very cheesy and could be better, but I sat and banged it out in one sitting so my expectations weren’t toooooo high. Hope you all enjoy! (Excuse my syntax.)

“I’ve told you all multiple times before, and I’ll say it again!” Ajay shouted, hearing the heavy-set double doors to the theater heave open and slam shut, echoing around the room, “If you’re going to show up late to rehearsal, at LEAST be quiet about coming in!”

The director slammed his portfolio shut on his lap (yes, the dark brown leather one with his initials monogrammed on it), and turned around in his seat to see who could possibly be interrupting his rehears-

Ajay locked eyes with you cringing at the loud noise the doors closing made, and his face lit up, and he called out your pet name before he could stop himself. The actors on stage completely stopped the scene they were rehearsing, all beginning to clamber off the stage to welcome you back. You had been gone for two weeks in the Greek Isles for your cousin’s destination wedding and a family reunion/vacation, and Ajay had almost burst with all the pent-up longing for his significant other. Your family’s trip had been planned almost a year in advance, and you knew that you wouldn’t be able to participate in the spring play because of scheduling conflicts. You had been sad about it, but also more than happy to dedicate your time helping otherwise, such as painting and building sets, or maybe even designing costumes with Sydney.

“Did Ajay just call somebody a nickname?” Rory gasped, “That wasn’t backhanded or an insult? And a pet name nonetheless?”

Erin laughed and slapped them on the arm. "Let him be happy and in love, Rory.”

Ajay registered the comments and made a mental note to chide Rory later. He didn’t have it in him to be upset, not when you were practically skipping down the aisle towards the cast–towards him–clutching a small canvas bag in one hand, waving with the other.

“I’m back!” You cried, “And I brought gifts!”

The promise of gifts made everyone’s excitement rise, but Ajay couldn’t care less about a souvenir. You had been gone for two weeks, and Ajay never thought he would miss someone as much as he missed you. Only two weeks! he would tell himself every time he looked at his phone screen and saw that photo of the two of you at the art gallery, but damn, did those two weeks feel like an eternity.

Ajay shuffled out of the row of chairs, meeting you in the aisle, and despite his hate of PDA, when you threw your arms around his neck, he couldn’t help but wrap his own arms tightly around your waist and bury his face down into your neck, and he wasn’t upset about the public affection in the slightest. He could’ve stayed there–wrapped tightly in your arms–forever, but he pulled back, giving a firm, ardent kiss on your cheek and let go, allowing you to get swarmed by the rest of the cast, who, as much as he hated to admit it, probably wanted to welcome you back as well.

“How was Greece?” Erin all but shouted, her face alight with mirth as she hugged you in a warm “welcome-back” gesture.

“It was beautiful!” You grinned, pulling back. “The wedding was on Mykonos, with the windmills off in the distance. Heather was the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen!”

“You have to tell us all about it!” Rory grinned, “After gifts, of course.”

You snorted, and reached into the canvas bag to begin to divvy out souvenirs from the island. “I bought a handful of evil-eye talismans in a bunch of different forms because I didn’t know what everyone would like! I have necklaces, bracelets, and stuff like that. But I’m sure you could hang the necklaces up or from your rearview mirror…”

While you played Santa Claus, Ajay’s hand wandered to the small of your back, resting gently. He often kept his hand there, a sweet reminder that he was there and present. In the chaos of everyone getting their gifts, he delicately rubbed circles where his hand lay, and caught your eye as you turned to look at him. You gave a soft smile, and he smiled in return, the kind of smile that showed up more in the eyes than on the lips. The purest kind of smile, and Ajay reserved those smiles for you only.

After the chaos of doling out gifts and telling stories about your vacation, rehearsal was technically over. Everyone expected Ajay to continue anyway, picking up where they left off before you arrived, but it was a pleasant surprise when he dismissed everyone for the day under the promise that they all work extra hard tomorrow. When the cast had all collected their things, said goodbye and left for the evening, Ajay made his way back to his seat in the middle of the third row–his favorite spot to direct and watch a show from–to gather his things.

You sauntered over, and sat in the seat beside his. “Not leaving so soon without giving me a proper welcome back, are you?”

He snorted at your boldness, but his eyes were full of mirth and adoration. “Of course not. Come here.”

You grinned as he leant down to where you sat in your seat and his lips met yours in a gentle kiss. Your arms snaked around his neck and you applied more pressure, wanting more of him, always wanting more. He laughed as he pulled away, “You really are insatiable. At least wait until we aren’t in public, (Y/N).”

“How could I wait after not seeing you for two weeks?” You whispered, pulling him in back for a kiss. At this point, he sat down in the seat beside yours, and brought his left hand to cup your cheek and ran the pad of his thumb across your cheekbone.

“I missed you,” he whispered. “Greece is too far. The time zone is messed up. I could barely ever catch you.” You hummed in response, and ran a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, but I’m here now.” You smiled, the tips of your noses brushing. “Speaking of Greece, I didn’t get to give you your gift.”

“Oh?” Ajay quirked an eyebrow. “I get something special?”

“Of course you do. You are my boyfriend, after all.” You stuck your hand in your front jeans pocket to dig it out. “It’s nothing special, and kind of cheesy.”

You pulled out a small dove keychain, and it laid flat in your palm. “It’s a dove. Doves are symbolic with Aphrodite, and she’s the Greek goddess of love, and I thought of it during Heather’s wedding when they released doves, and I know it’s small, and cheesy, but–”

Ajay leaned forward to kiss you tenderly. “Yes, it’s incredibly cheesy. But I love it, and I love you.”

Your eyes lit up, and he reached in his blazer pocket to pull out his key ring. The only things on it were his car key, his house key, and a small, second key you didn’t know the purpose of. A padlock, maybe. “You get the distinct honor of having given me the first keychain I put on my keys.”

“I could think of no greater honor.”

“You can’t. This is like winning a Tony.”

“Don’t get too cocky, or I’ll take it back.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Yes I most definitely would. Maybe I could give it to Casey to give to someone…”

Ajay rolled his eyes, pressing a firm kiss to your cheek and then beginning to fix the keychain on his ring. “I only tease because I love you.”

“Mhm. I love you, too.”

[dommomdeals-blog]

Christmás

Each year we spend more and more during the holidays. The month of December hits our wallets hard not only in the heating bills but also through parties, events, and of course the gifts. It seems the perfect time to start a 2019 resolution just a little early. A new blog on the art of thriftiness. Soon Christmás becomes Christmas again and our wallets fatten up instead of our waistlines. (results not guaranteed- those cookies will get ya Santa.)

This year we bought for 20 people. This includes all the trimmings for our preschooler who wholeheartedly believes in the magic of Santa. The total cost was just under $250. Here are are a few of my tips*

Combine Vacation Souvenirs and Gifting: Each year we go to a few new spots. This year was Florida and with a child this is almost a given that we spent a day at Disney. Every year part of our tradition is to get ornaments for each other and for our son. These often come from gift shops on our travels and this year is no different. the roughly $10 an ornament we spend allows us to have a memory to share and keep the house uncluttered. Plus it’s fantastic reminiscing while putting up the tree. If you have kids small memorable toys or clothing from your trips is another way to maximize. This year he is getting a monorail toy from Disney that plays to his love of trains and a memory of his mindblowing trip. I always enjoy the travel souvineer myself and have received ornaments and things from my family’s travels over the years. Thus if you see a scarf or a token that is perfect for so and so on your list you can pick it up and save it for this end of year madness. Which brings me to my next tip.

Buy Year Round: We buy on our trips but also through clearance sales and buy sell trade boards.(see below) By spending a little year round we end up getting the most bang for our buck. I keep a dresser in the basement to store the items I find. I will note though that I sometimes find I overbuy because of this so I end up selling a handfull of items at most at the end of the year at the same cost to me. This year’s examples include a Thomas Karaoke machine and a box of playdoh.

Shop clearance: This year we hit it big since Toys R US pranked us all with going out of business sales (They are bringing Geoffrey back if you haven’t heard) We looked for deals on the things you can’t often find 2nd hand or on sale. I.e. Lego, Thomas the train wooden trains, Coloring sheets, playdoh, and more. We spent about $30 here and I admit I over bought a bit, but because of the great deals I got I was able to resell the items on local BSTs for what I spent or more.Which would be the next tip.

Buy 2nd hand when you can: BSTs, Craigslist, Ebay etc. can allow you to get a wanted item for a fraction of the cost. This is something I do year round not only for Christmas and Birthday gifts but also for clothing and other needs (especially for the kids!) An example of such a find might be the Thomas puzzle from Ebay or the Paw Patrol toys in his stocking this year. I personally use the BSTs so much that I now admin a few. There are free groups as well which is where I sourced the items I filled both hubby and my stockings with. (Got to keep the magic alive folks) Then of course there are thrift stores which are fantastic for kids items or the random houseware item your MIL wants. Many items are donated still in original packaging unused! I can also promise you that kids care about the item not the package it comes in so it’s a great spot to update their wardrobe or find a gently used toy. My wonderful wool winter coat cost me $2 this year at the thrift! I personally like the local thrifts or Volunteers of America here. While you may not have a VOA there are often city/ state local stores like it. We personally find that some larger branded thrifts no longer compete in the pricing to the others nor do we feel the money is doing the most good in comparison. That’s a story for another day though. At the end of the day I always remind people to donate to charity where they wish and regard thrifts like you do any other business rather than a charity. The savvy shopper cares more about the benefit to them in this regard. Where are the best prices and selection?   

Bargain Stores: Outside the thrift store, (which is honestly where I shop most) the Dollar Tree, Five Below and I are the 3 shopeteers. These are the best spots for stocking stuffers. With young kids it’s even possible to get them items for under the tree. This year a few PJ Masks puzzles made their way under the tree as Five Below gets closeout deals on things. The Dollar store is great for things like close out books, washcloths that grow in water, treats, and more. They have character lines of most major kids shows that make it easy to fill a stocking and match your child’s interests. While on this topic this is also the best spot to get your gift wrapping. This year he has PJ Masks paper which is easily $3 to $6 in other stores. Reusing bags and tissues is always the way to go but also having a cheap source is handy. They will discount their paper the day after Christmas if you are like me and want a bigger discount. While I don’t shop them often myself I think it’s worth mentioning stores like TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning, and Ollies. I suspect as he gets older I may end up at these spots more for their close out deals. Ollies had the remaining Toys R Us stock this year at steep discounts!

Black Friday: Lets get a few things out of the way. The only reason you should go out on Thanksgiving is because you haven’t had any other human interaction. I am 100% for companies moving back to 4,5,6 am Black Friday start times instead of starting some crazy hour on Thanksgiving. Now obviously I am talking shopping here in the States but for others I believe this is the equivalent of Boxing Day (Though I am all for some after Christmas shopping too.) A few tips to maximizing your deal. Shop Online- Most stores offer free shipping or they offer free in store pick up. It is also easier to Google the item and see who has the best deal. This is how I buy for most of the extended family. The best deals this year were a cardigan for my MIL and a set of monogrammed hand towels for my mother at Kohl's. Total cost for both was about $7 (originally $50.) I waited in no lines and was able to quickly pick up the items I ordered when the stores didn’t offer free shipping.

Get Crafting: What is your talent? I am definitely creative so there is always some sort of craft to be done. One that we do annually with our son is an ornament. We make one for each family so about 12 total. This year it was glitter glue (dollar tree) and Pine-cones to make Christmas trees. Age appropriate and cheap! I also bake lots of goodies so that there is enough to take a tin to each preschool teacher and some to fill whatever I find for the mailman (typically a thermal mug of some sort etc) using your creativity goes a long way in the savings game.

HAND ME DOWNS: My favorite. While we don’t really use this method yet ourselves (our son is the youngest of the cousins) we do benefit from it. Great example: Thomas Wooden railway (now known as Wood) is a timeless classic that many boys enjoy and that my son is obsessed with. Last year he received several special pieces of track and a few trains that were hand me downs. HE WAS THRILLED. The year before he received a hand me down Trackmaster set. I don’t think I can say it enough. KIDS DON’T NEED A PACKAGE!!!! This is a win win win because it costs you nothing, purges outgrown things out of the house, and the recipient gets a great gift! Which brings us to the next tip.

Santa Swap: I love this for so many reasons. 1- It costs me nothing. 2- It purges things before more stuff comes into the house. Here is how it works (there are several versions online) At the beginning of December I get a trash bag out. My son and I work together to fill a sack for Santa. We put these unwanted, outgrown but usable toys and clothing under the tree for his elf to pick up (no we aren’t a Elf on the Shelf family but there is a version of this if you are) I then host a meetup with other moms who bring their sacks and we swap stuff. Leftovers are donated to local charities who use the items for the less fortunate. This year Santa will be bringing him a Green Toys Fire truck which I got free from this type of swap. I also got the gifts for the cousins we don’t see often nor have a list for through this. I purged about 3 boxes this way and only brought in a handful of items. That is a mom win folks.

White Elephant: Have you thought about how hard it is to buy for Uncle so and so or even how hard it is to come up with a list for yourself? My husband’s family found the perfect solution years ago. Find like new items you aren’t using around the house and the adults can enjoy a fun game of White Elephant after the kids have opened their gifts. The game is a blast and we save on buying for about 5 people. This means that I can re-gift or purge and it costs me nothing! This is also great for work where I often re-gift something for our holiday exchange. There are many ways to play, a quick google search will give you tons of options. Another idea related to this is a Secret Santa. Everyone draws a name and you buy for that 1 person. A Secret Santa is a great way to cover lots of kids too by each child pulling a name. A friend does this so they buy 4 gifts and each of her 4 kids receive 1.

SELL: BSTs aren’t just for buying, it’s also a great way to purge and make a little cash for your holiday shopping! This year I brought in just under $100 from old housewares, clothing, and TOYS that we had outgrown or no longer used. That’s almost half of what we spent!!! I do sell year round as I purge and while I don’t keep track it brings in $15 to $100 a month for stuff I no longer need. It’s easier than a garage sale! Ebay, Poshmark, and other sites are also great for this.

So that’s our holiday saving habits. What things do you do to save?

*I do not own nor am I affiliated with any of the characters or companies mentioned in this post. None of these companies have sponsored or paid for this post. This is a personal post referencing companies I have personally used. This is not an advertisement or endorsement of any brand or company.

[chrysaliseuro2018]

In-Side

When my brother Dougal married Genevieve in 1982 who would have thought it would indirectly lead us to the Turkish beach city of Side (pronounced Sidday) on the Mediterranean 36 years later.

The link? Genevieve’s sister Barbara and her friend Penny when travelling in Turkey during the late ‘70’s met and went on to marry Turkish men. While Barbara and her husband Hasan spend time in both Tasmania and Side, Penny and Ali live permanently in Turkey.

As luck would have it Dougal and Gene’s house renovations, yes they are crazy enough to embark on two, are currently affected by the usual permit delays. So being opportunistic travellers they decided to squeeze in a month’s worth of travel while the local council bureaucrats twiddle their thumbs. As luck would have it their dates in Turkey coincided with ours so a rendezvous in Side was planned.

Doug and Gene stayed in Side a few years ago but for Chris and me it was a wonderful opportunity to share the experience. Side, while not exactly your quiet beach getaway, is a tale of two cities.

Firstly there is the new section cluttered with over development of the worst kind. Not unlike our charmless Surfers Paradise, it’s dominated by huge monolithic hotels. In a laughable attempt at authenticity some have been topped with faux Mosque-like domes. They are the palaces of package tours. Apparently Russians in particular subscribe to all-in resort packages which apparently suffered during recent years of unrest and the odd terrorist incident in Turkey. Now the tourists are returning and in our mind’s eye we could only imagine the morning bun fight for pool lounges.

Secondly there is the quaintly named ‘Antique Side’ which is where Penny and Ali run their little beach front hotel The Beach House. In contrast to the vast new developmental expansion of modern Side, Antique Side is perhaps realising what an unrealised gem it has right under its nose. It occupies an entire small peninsula which was clearly Roman given all the artefacts, pillars, foundations and mosaics to be found there. In recent years developments which were built on the ruins have either been compulsory removed and replaced with glass flooring over the ruins, or glass flooring has been installed in shop floors to expose the ruins. Further excavation is still underway and with some cooperation and planning the entire peninsula could be a major Roman site for visitors.

Apart from the hotel Penny and Ali also have traditional stone house and an apartment on the other side of the peninsular to the hotel. This is only a 5 minute walk through streets dense with shops selling t-shirts, soccer shirts of every variety, jewellery, bags, Turkish delight, nuts and all kinds of souvenir dross. First two nights were spent at the hotel followed by another 2 at the apartment. Originally we all planned to stay at the house but with a disco not 100 metres away pumping out door doof until the wee hours we all, even our resident disco king Chris, thought better of it.

The hotel offers a certain quaintness with a location right on the little beach. It has particular appeal to Poms of a certain age demographic - Chris had no trouble striking up conversation. Many have been returning for a number of years enjoying a relaxed and familiar environment. Penny and Ali were congenial and generous hosts who let Chris and me ride on the familial coattails of Doug and Gene offering us free accommodation. We were very fortunate indeed.

So how did we spend our 4 days at Side......

# The weather was hot so many an hour was spent on the hotel sun lounges or bobbing in the warm Mediterranean. We took to the beach umbrellas unlike the Poms who thought nothing of laying out all day in the blazing sun (judging by the brown leathery skin this has been their habit through the decades).

Generally in the morning the sea was flat but as the day went on the choppier it got. Making the most of the calm sea were several party boats in the guise of faux pirate ships complete with artificial rigging, a sliver of cloth purporting to be sails, a statue of a captain with eye glass at the bow and a plank to walk off at the stern. Amusingly on closer inspection one was a catamaran - a very modern take on a pirate ship indeed. Dougal thought they looked so unsturdy that it would only take one decent wave to capsize the whole contraption sending 100% pirates overboard. I confess to spending 4 days secretly wishing for that rogue wave.

# Gene, Barbara and I went to Manavgat the neighbouring town to do some shopping at the warehouses with Hasan as our driver. Unfortunately it was a Sunday meaning many were closed. Still we found a few open and got a few odds and ends. Highlight was a visit to a shop selling spices, grains, dried fruit, nuts, pastries and Turkish Delight of all colours and flavours. Generously they encouraged us to sample whatever we wanted and even some things we didn’t even know we wanted. If only weight and customs restrictions didn’t limit overseas purchases. But when a whole box of Turkish Delight (well over a kilo) costs 8.30 Turkish Lira, about A$2.50 which is less than the cost of one piece in Melbourne, it became a must-have even if i can’t get through it all.

Finally we paid a brief visit to Hasan’s 80+ year old mother. Mum sat quietly in the corner chatting to her sister and niece until Barb put her son Michael on FaceTime to speak to his grandmother. The transformation from quiet little old lady to excited and animated little old lady had to be seen to be believed.

# Penny’s husband Ali has a farm at Akseki just over one hour’s drive north east of Side. Fortunately Ali frequents the farm regularly so we all joined him for a day. Took 2 cars as Ali was staying overnight (we considered it but decided to make it a one day trip) so we had Dougal at the wheel. Turkish drivers have scant regard for road rules....step out on to a pedestrian crossings if you dare, stopping at red lights is optional and double white lines on the road are treated as decorations. Needless to say the drive was a little hairy at times.

First stop, the local market at Akseki. If one were looking to buy fresh market veggies, fruit, grains, nuts and pulses of all varieties, undies, clothes circa 1970, pots and pans, oversized wooden spoons, little sewing kits or even nail clippers this was the place to visit. A few nuts were purchase along with some strawberries which while tasty were a little over the hill and disappointing.

Next stop lunch. Nothing like a local to take you to a restaurant. Feasted on meat pides and like their Italian cousin the pizza, the serves looked enormous. But what you think at the outset you’ll never finish, somehow seems to go down a treat. Add to this a simple but delicious salad and a view over the valley....perfection.

Then onto Ali’s house in the town to admire his menagerie. A summary: 2 English setters, a cat, dozens of laying chooks, a couple of roosters, pheasants, bantams, hatching eggs, chicks, budgies, two quails and a partridge in a pear tree! Then the mini orchard of apricots, cherries and sour cherries. Not done with yet we then drove to their farm. Largely it has been planted out with walnut trees as a crop. Along with those was Ali’s veggie garden of onions, melons, beans, garlic and more fruit trees. It has to be said he is a man in touch and in love with nature.

Headed back towards Side but stopped at Sarihacilar a sleepy one horse town. The old if-you-blink-you-miss-it sort of place. It’s unlikely many tourists make their way to this town but Doug and Gene had recommended the museum. Totally overpriced in the scheme of things but actually worth every penny in a weird and wonderful way. Exhibits were largely routine; lots of butter churns, cooking pots, rusty old tins and a random collection of firearms, musical instruments, clocks and of all things, radios ranging through the decades. The two highlights were (1) the ‘curator/guide’, himself a rusty old relic, who escorted us around trying embellish the tour by bringing his artefacts to life with his several words of English. (2) the wooden baby’s cot complete with inbuilt potty. This worked by strapping on one of two funnels to baby, ingeniously designed to accommodate genitalia differences of males and females, so the pee was funnelled into the potty. Only design fault was baby had to always be asleep on its back. Otherwise genius and a big saving on sleep time Huggies.

Museum done, complementary chi enjoyed we were then given a tour by the proud owner of the renovated hotel. There are some walking trails around here one of which Doug and Gene had previously walked. (Mid 30 degree temperatures discouraged us.) In the heat and dryness the Nordic feel of the pine lined lodge-like hotel seemed totally incongruous. But apparently it gets bitterly cold in winter which would make this an ideal bolthole to bunker down in with a pack of cards and a few bottles of wine.

Having seen the ‘major’ sites and heading back to the car, the Mosque caught our eye. Well more accurately we caught the imam’s eye. With the help of his young son’s schoolboy English, of which the imam was glowingly proud, we did a little tour of the Mosque. It was unremarkable yet lovely. As always a beautiful chandelier, modest decorations but some lovely framed versus of the Q’uran. Chris formed the strongest connection with the imam who gifted him a copy of the Q’uran Abridged. (Conversation rate 0 to date). Just as we were leaving the call to prayer started so Chris and I whipped off out shoes, I re fitted the supplied headgear and we ducked back inside....was it the imam calling live or a recording? Happy to report it was the former.

All in all a wonderful day out.

# Hasan generously invited us all to the Turkish night at his cousin’s multi storeyed hotel (everyone seems to be everyone else’s cousin in Side). It was a glorious night on the open air rooftop and Hasan secured a table in the corner to take advantage of the view. Dinner was a buffet and advice was to get into it before the locals arrived at 8.10 starving after a day of Ramadan fasting. So we all ate well and lots, a particular highlight of the savoury spread was the smoked trout, while those with a sweet tooth, rated the Baklava highly.

After dark the belly dancer appeared shimmying and shaking her way though a routine to more contemporary music than we were used to hearing nightly when we lived at York Place. When it became time for audience participation I was grateful to be so blocked in as to be unavailable. Chris was the most likely candidate but Miss Nubile had enough willing participants before getting to our table. We all enjoyed watching the various efforts of tight shoulder and tight hipped conscripts however I suspect Chris was just an incy wincy bit disappointed he wasn’t up there strutting his stuff.

So after 4 days of hanging with the locals it was time to move on making sure not to overstay our welcome. We had been thoroughly spoilt and indulged. As we left for for our next adventure we couldn’t help but think sometimes you just get lucky!

[kwananntan]

Steamboat

The weekend my cousin got into the University of Edinburgh, our entire family was invited to Big Uncle and Aunt’s house for a steamboat dinner. This invitation was met with joy and excitement (on the part of my two younger twin brothers), but also dismay and dread (in the secret, but perhaps not innermost thoughts of Ma and I).

As we ascended the glass elevator that led to my uncle and aunt’s fancy apartment in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, Ma lamented the fact that she had such an incapable daughter, and warned my brothers not to follow my example, but to instead make sure that they looked up to and learned from my cousin. As usual, I pretended not to listen, while my younger brothers were too busy arguing about who had better aim and was more likely to hit a passerby on the ground with a mouthful of spit. It wasn’t that I didn’t care, but I had long learned to block my ears off from the words that spilled from Ma’s mouth like heavy rain during a period of haze. They left their oily-grey smoke trails on my skin, and I was so saturated with them I could sometimes tell what she was going to say before she said it.

Not for the first time that day, I wondered how different things would have been at these family gatherings if Ba had not abandoned us nearly ten years ago, and left Ma to bend over backwards to please her stuck-up family. We were so afraid of any shame that some of my more distant relatives did not even know that Ma was divorced—or pretended not to know. They assumed our father was always on a badly-timed business trip whenever we had to meet them. You must be so lucky to have a father that works so hard for you! They would say, while I would only grit my teeth and smile sheepishly, resenting my mother for putting us in this position. For all we knew, Ba was very well dead by now, or raising a mirror image of our family, one that was smarter and prettier and richer than ours.

‘Ah John, congratulations! We are all so proud of you. First in the family to go to university!’ Ma said, without a trace of resentment.

When my cousin opened the door, Ma handed him an ang pao and smiled sweetly, a rare event that would only occur five times across my lifetime, and directed to me only once, on the day I got married. She seemed to have conveniently forgotten the fact that I was already in a local university, having started on the January-December calendar rather than the Western one. Still, it didn’t count, since it was just a polytechnic. For many people, this didn’t seem like something to be proud of––it was a useful degree, but not as glamorous as the degrees from the exotic West. Never mind that we didn’t have the money for me to go overseas—it still somehow counted as a failing on my part.

For all his parents’ money, I was thankful that at least my cousin had some manners, and never rubbed anything in my face while we were growing up. The ang pao disappeared into his back pocket, and was tucked underneath his chequered shirt.

‘Come in, come in!’ Big Uncle boomed in Mandarin, face already red from early celebration, a sweating bottle of Tiger beer in his hand. ‘Why still standing in the doorway? No need to be polite!’

We crowded in and dutifully recited a roll call of greetings, from eldest to youngest relative. My Po Po was still in the living room catching the last few minutes of a Hokkien drama that never seemed to end. She was a small, bird-boned lady that always had her silver hair pulled back in a severe bun. Po Po also had perfect posture, regardless of whatever situation she was in––a trait that unfortunately not a single one of her children and grandchildren had. When I glanced at the screen, three characters were lost in an intense but circular argument about the identity of a child, eyes wide and earnest, as if this was the first time in the drama this had happened. Anyone who was able to maintain such dedication to their character over the course of five hundred or more episodes truly deserved an Oscar.

Po Po smiled when she saw us approach, flashing a full set of false teeth. I got a polite nod, while the twins got warmer hugs and head pats, my grandmother asking why they seemed to get thinner and thinner every time she saw them. She shook her head disappointingly at Ma, whose own lips thinned in response as she struggled to hold back a rude response to her mother.

Big Uncle and Aunt’s house had always seemed so big when I was a child. It was certainly expensive—Big Uncle was a businessman who had gotten lucky in the property development market, and was the more successful sibling on Ma’s side of the family. Their family could afford expensive trips to Europe, good international schools, and luxury cars. Meanwhile, it was a treat for our family if we occasionally got to take a road trip down to Penang or Melaka, local haunts which were more food adventures than life-changing cultural experiences. Big Aunt had once given me a small souvenir from Paris, a camera obscura with a tiny pinhole that gave me a panoramic view of the courtyards of the Louvre. That whole year, I nearly ruined my eyesight by squinting through the tiny thing to capture every detail, dreaming endlessly of walking those halls, escaping the moist heat of the tropics.  

My Big Aunt was busy in the kitchen, preparing the cooked and raw ingredients that would make up our family steamboat. Every inch of the kitchen counter was covered in dishes, and my stomach grumbled at the sight. She was the perfect stay at home mum and wife. Every time we visited, I couldn’t help but marvel at how immaculate the kitchen was, or how artfully yet another room renovation had been done. While my mother used Big Aunt’s life of leisure as the reason everything she did looked so perfectly put together all the time, I secretly thought that my Big Aunt had just never known bitterness, and so she couldn’t imagine any bitterness in the lives of others.

‘Mei-ah, how’s school?’ She asked, while arranging cloud-coloured, deveined prawns on a plate. They were so large that she was able to build them up into a small Jenga tower, black eyes spilling out of their heads. I replied that everything was fine, and nothing was too hard yet.

She turned off the bubbling pot of broth on the stove. ‘Your mother must be so happy that you’re living close by,’ she continued. ‘Xin tong ah, when I think about John going to Edinburgh. My big boy, all grown up now! I don’t know how I’m going to cope when the youngest will have to go too.’

I was handed a plate of fish bladders and beancurd to bring to the dining room, as she followed behind with four stacks of thinly cut shabu-shabu meat. In a matter of minutes, the spread was transferred from kitchen to table, with the huge steamboat pot taking the place of pride atop a portable electric hot plate.

‘Lai chi ah!’ Big Aunt called out loudly to everyone.

Steamboat is a meal that both embodies unity while promoting bitter divisiveness. The order of ingredients that go in are a hotly contested topic, and there is only as much space as the pot allows, so for hungry stomachs, it’s important that the things they like most go in first.

Meat first—for Ma and Big Uncle, who were rarely in accord on anything. Big Aunt and Po Po protested, saying that the vegetables cooked slower, and were needed to counteract the heatiness of the steamboat’s pork broth. The twins and our younger cousin tore their eyes away from their computer games and came over to add their noisy voices to the fray, calling out for meatballs stuffed with cheese and crab-sticks to be thrown in. Big Aunt lamented the fact that they didn’t have a pot with a divider in the center, so that we could have different soups and broths.

Eventually, all eyes turned to John who had already started on the side dish of fried dumplings while the adults bickered.

‘I like both meat and vegetables,’ he said. ‘But the vegetables do take longer to cook, so we should just leave them in while the broth boils. When everything is hot enough we can just dip the meat in and cook it instantly, so no one has to wait for anything.’

It was the obvious solution, but no one ever wanted to compromise in the beginning. The ingredients went in: huge leaves of Chinese cabbage that would shrink down as they were boiled, local Kai Lan that Big Aunt swore was a hundred percent organic, then some meat and fish balls to please the children. Ma and Big Uncle dipped in meat with their chopsticks directly into the boiling broth, and then into the mixture of soy sauce and chilli flakes in the smaller dishes in front of them.

We ate peacefully, as the talk turned to politics. Big Uncle laughed about another Malaysian politician’s alleged sex tape, while Big Aunt scolded him and said there were children at the table. Another corruption scandal. One of our relatives working in the government civil service had mentioned something or other to Big Uncle, ensuring that the rumours would spread further and further through the country until even primary school children had worked the words into their schoolyard games. Ma asked John about university—where was he going to live, and who was going to help him move all his things? Then to our younger cousin—would he miss his older brother? He shrugged in response, mouth full of food.

John hadn’t just gotten into a university overseas, but he was going to be the first doctor in our family. Big Uncle often boasted that if Po Po and Gong Gong had been rich enough to send him overseas, he would have been able to be a doctor too, and wouldn’t have had to start working at such a young age. I couldn’t think of a worse profession for him—with his red face and furrowed brows, staring down a patient as they tried to explain their symptoms. He was a much better businessman, with the courage to strong arm people into giving him what he wanted. John would probably be a good doctor. Luckily, he had inherited Big Aunt’s patience and thoughtful eyes, and I had never seen him frustrated or upset before.

Continue reading at Joyland

[bitletsanddrabbles]

Lady in the Wardrobe

This is a short piece that was originally done to go in my Lord of Brancaster AU, where Peter Pelham does not die and Thomas winds up working for him. I wanted something with Lady Mary learning a secret and this was all I could think of to make it work and....well, at first I simply thought to switch the PoV to match the rest of the works-in-progress, but the more I look at it, the more I realize that it simply doesn’t work. There are too many things I failed to take into account and there’s no real way to adjust for them without losing the good points of the piece.

I’d rather come up with something else.

That said, I still like it rather a lot. It was fun to write and fun to read, so rather than post it to Ao3, I will stick it here for posterity sake. If you ever need a laugh, it will be here.

Fandom: Downton Abbey - AU, Canon Divergence

Relationships: Thomas Barrow/Peter Pelham

Characters: Lady Mary, Thomas Barrow, Peter Pelham, Original Maids

Warnings: Fluff, Nose Cola, No Socially Redeeming Value, Thomas’s Humor, Some Suggestive Bits

Lady Mary Talbot was lost.  

She was not very lost, mind. There were only so many ways one could be lost in the gallery of a castle, especially if one was an aristocrat who had grown up in such buildings.  She'd even been to Brancaster before, so she had a very good idea how to get any number of places from where she stood. She knew how to get to her room, for instance, and also the library and the salon. She could probably find her way to the kitchen without too much difficulty.

No, she was not very lost. However, she couldn't for the life of her remember which of the many doors led to the nursery. The last time she had come her son had stayed at home, and now, having been in the castle for less than a full day, she found she didn't have the location as firmly in her mind as she thought she had. A maid could have told her easily enough, of course, but the staff all seemed to be occupied elsewhere. She was almost tempted to hunt down Barrow, even if it meant seeing that too-polite smile that said he was privately laughing at her.

Then again, that seemed like so much work, especially at seven months pregnant, and she wouldn't be able to look the valet in the eye for the rest of the visit without him smirking. As much as she rather missed the man at Downton, he really was insufferable sometimes.

With her memory failing her and no other guide, she was relegated to knocking on random doors, peeking in when there was no answer, and hoping that she would either get lucky, or one of the children would start crying.

She was beginning to suspect she had gotten turned around somehow and was in the wrong wing entirely when she opened a door into what first seemed to be another world, but turned out to only be a bedroom. It had to be Lord Hexham's bedroom. No other room in the house would feel so absolutely foreign.

Momentarily forgetting that she was trying to find her son, she stepped, somewhat awe struck, into the room.

Everything in the room was lavish and covered with delicate, geometric designs. The carpet, the bed spread, the tapestry on the wall, even the wardrobe were a riot of colours that left Mary's decidedly English sensibilities reeling. It even smelled different, everything scented with a rich, almost spicy tone. Of course, pregnancy had made her nose sensitive, but it wouldn't surprise her to discover that Lord Hexham burned incense. He was certainly hedonistic enough for it, although he was perfectly proper at the dinner table.  

She briefly wondered if he'd bought all of the furnishings at once, or if every item was a souvenir from a different trip. They were undoubtedly all from Tangiers, if nothing else.

She was standing in front of the tapestry, trying to trace all of the minute designs, when voices in the hallway brought her to herself. There were the maids, now she could ask where the nursery was. Of course, if she did that they would see her stepping out of Lord Hexham's bedroom and that would be awkward.

She sighed and decided it would be better to let them pass, then continue her search. Maybe she'd even be able to catch up to them in a proper looking manner. Of course, if they came into the bedroom, that would be a problem. To be caught standing in the middle of her now-cousin's private chamber would be even more awkward than to be seen leaving it. Frowning, she looked around the room and did the first thing that popped into her mind.

She opened the wardrobe and climbed inside, pulling the door shut behind her.

She immediately regretted the decision. While her stomach was small enough and the wardrobe large enough that it wasn't insufferably cramped, it was filled with Peter's clothes and therefore smelled distinctly of whatever spiced oil Lord Hexham continually wore. Her overly sensitive nose did not approve.

She was berating herself for being an idiot and reaching for the wardrobe door when the sound of the bedroom door opening and female voices entering stopped her. Of course the maids would come in now. She crossed her arms over the bulge in her stomach and glared into the darkness. While the smell was not pleasing, and she was even willing to admit to herself that she'd been foolish to get herself into the predicament to start with, there was no way on earth she was explaining to a pair of maids what she was doing in Peter's wardrobe.

"You're certain you forgot it in here?" one voice asked.

"Yes, just set it down for a minute, then I got called out when Nettie needed help with the fire in the other room," the second voice answered. "See? It's right here, next to chest of drawers."

"Good then, let's get on. Mrs. Burns will have our hides if we don't get the laundry washed and pressed before supper."

"Can't we wait just a moment? I do so love this room. I wish he'd decorate the rest of the house like this."

"What, like we lived in Tangiers?" the first voice scoffed. "Really, Gladys, can you imagine what all of the visiting lords and ladies would think? His lordship might prefer that country to his own, but most of the aristocracy thinks the sun always shines on England, forget the rest of the Empire."

"I don't," Gladys sighed. "I envy Mr. Barrow, you know, being able to look forward to going with his Lordship the next time he leaves.  Golly, I envy him for being able to spend the night in this room!"

"Gladys!"

In the wardrobe, Mary choked back a laugh. The maid's forwardness might have surprised her a little, but the knowledge that Thomas Barrow had been known to spend the night in Lord Hexham's room did not.

"Oh come on, Martha, everyone knows. And for my part as long as I get my wage, I don't care. Let the politicians and the priests fuss about it. It's not as if he'd marry me anyway."

Apparently Martha was a bit more concerned than all of that. "It's still not proper to talk about! And not everyone knows. No one knows for sure. Really, no one suspected such things of old Mr. Adams."

"Old Mr. Adams were old, weren't he?" Gladys retorted. "And mousey and married. Mr. Barrow is young and good looking and you can't deny he's a bit delicate."

And if Barrow is delicate, Mary thought to herself, then Peter is downright fragile.

"I can deny anything I like," Martha hissed. "And if anyone asks, I will deny that this wholly inappropriate conversation ever happened. Now come, let's get on before we're missed."

Mary suppressed a sigh of relief as she heard the door open and close, indicating that the two maids were leaving. She waited to the count of three, for safety sake, and pushed the wardrobe door open. It was just far enough for her to see the surrounding room when the main door started to open again. With a muffled squeak, she quickly pulled the door closed again and prayed she hadn't been seen.

Really, what did the maids want now?

"They probably just forgot something," a voice that definitely did not belong to any maid said. "And came back to pick it up. Really, are you always so suspicious?"

That would be Peter Pelham, Marquess of Hexham.

"Not always, m'lord," a smooth, collected voice replied. "Just frequently. A bad habit, I'm afraid, born of years of being up to no good myself."

And Thomas Barrow. Mary suppressed a groan and cursed herself as the world's biggest idiot. She fervently hoped that Peter just wanted to change his cuff-links and the two men would soon be on their way.

"You, up to no good?" Peter chuckled. "I can't imagine such a thing."

"Oh, I was quite the trouble maker, when I was younger," his valet assured him. "I've gotten better on that front now though."

"Meaning you get in trouble less or that you're better at getting into trouble?"

"Both, actually, if you get right down to it."

Despite her situation, Mary couldn't help but smile a little bit at the admittance, and the memory of her last trip to Brancaster. Yes, Barrow was very good at getting into trouble these days, and even better at getting other people into it. She thought she might have to warn Lord Hexham at some point.

"However, your lordship has my sincerest word that I won't cause you any difficulty," the valet promised.

"What if I want you to cause me difficulty?" Peter replied, a low purr that was only a half step away from an invitation. Maybe only a quarter step.

"Well, that would be different, wouldn't it?"

Mary's heart sank. Goodness, Peter, she thought, it's not even dinner time. Do you have to be an impossible flirt right now? Of course, given the number of times she had sneaked off for a mid-day dalliance with her husband, either of them, it was a rather uncharitable thought, but she was starting to feel a bit faint and if she hadn't wanted to explain being in the wardrobe to the maids, she really didn't want to explain to the room's owner.

Or Barrow.

Especially Barrow.

She could imagine the smirks she would get for the rest of the visit.

"I know the dinner gong isn't scheduled to ring for hours yet, but I thought I might take my time getting dressed tonight," Peter suggested, apparently changing the subject, although Mary suspected it wasn't a change at all. "The guests are busy touring the grounds with Bertie anyway."

"I can see how getting dressed might take hours, m'lord," Barrow replied, his tone quite serious. Too serious. Barrow was never that serious, at least not without being angry and he didn't sound angry. "Especially with relatives in the house. Choosing a dinner jacket alone could take an hour."

Mary rolled her eyes and unceremoniously gave up. No two ways around it, she was going to have to announce, and explain, her presence. The question was how to do so with proper decorum. Inadvisable as it was to be in a wardrobe to start with, a lady did not simply get caught doing something questionable in a manner that looked shady.

After a moment’s thought, Lady Mary took a deep breath and carefully, deliberately sneezed as loudly as she could manage.

There was a pause on the other side of the door, a break in whatever was being said (and Mary had stopped paying attention, so she didn't know what that was), and then Peter's voice asked, "Was that in the wardrobe?"

Clearing her throat lightly, Mary answered. "Yes, yes it was." She then composed herself as best she could, pushed the wardrobe doors open, and stepped out with an affected air of indifference, as if there was not a thing strange about an Earl's daughter emerging from a Marquess's wardrobe.

Lord Hexham and his valet stood at the end of the Marquess's bed, Peter leaning against the frame and Barrow standing a bit back from him. They were dressed in the day uniform of their respective stations, which meant they both looked as out of place in their surroundings as Mary felt. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that Barrow's tie was undone and Peter's jacket and waistcoat both unbuttoned, Mary might have thought she'd misinterpreted what they'd been up to.

They both looked suitably confused, which Mary found strangely gratifying.

"Lady Mary?" Barrow asked, as if he doubted his own eyes.

"Yes," Mary smiled primly, giving him a nod by way of greeting. "Hello, Barrow."

Peter's head tipped slowly to the side, as if observing the scene before him at a bit of an angle might make more sense. "Is there a reason you were in my wardrobe?"

"Yes," Mary replied, tone still bright even though she was struggling to keep her composure and rather hoped her cheeks weren't turning red. "A perfectly reasonable one, as it turns out."

The two men exchanged somewhat dubious looks, then turned their attention back to their unexpected guest.

"...you're both all ears, aren't you?" Mary sighed.

She was answered with a chorused, "Yes."

"It's actually quite silly," Mary informed them, as if she could brush off her embarrassment if only they didn't take her seriously. "But I'd forgotten where the nursery was, you see, and while I was looking I found this room. It's quite interesting, Peter. I assume all of the furnishings are from Tangiers?"  She knew perfectly well they were, but she asked anyway, to see if she could derail the conversation.

"Naturally," Peter replied. He did not elaborate.

Barrow was still watching her with an expression that was perfectly ready to be offended, if the situation warranted it.

No, they were not going to be distracted. "I'd thought so," Mary nodded, her smile starting to feel frozen in place. "Anyway, it was so interesting I just had to step in and take a closer look and while I was looking, two maids happened past. It would have looked strange if they found me here, or even if they found me leaving, so..." she shrugged a helpless, exaggerated shrug.

Peter's face cleared, "Ah, so you hid in my wardrobe!" The corners of his blue eyes crinkled, his lips turning up in a brilliant smile.

As predicted, Barrow smirked.

"It seemed perfectly logical at the time," Mary defended her decision. "Of course, once I was in there it was stuffy and my nose is so sensitive that whatever you wear for cologne was absolutely overwhelming and confound it all, Barrow, stop smirking." She glared.

"Sorry, m'lady," Barrow smirked at her. "I don't think that's possible just at present."

"You'd have done the same thing."

Barrow thought about it for a second. "No, actually, the wardrobe is a bit short for me, and people are too likely to look into it. I'd have hidden under the bed."

"Thomas Barrow, you impossible man, I am seven months pregnant. I am not hiding under a bed!" Once more crossing her arms over her stomach, Mary gave him her best glare.

"I never suggested you should, m'lady."

Mary huffed. "At any rate, if you gentlemen would kindly point me the direction of the nursery, I will go see to my son and let you get on with your day."

"To the end of the hall, take a right, three doors down," Barrow pointed, still smirking, damn him.

"Thank you."

Peter, who had settled for looking deeply amused over the whole situation, but who had the good grace to properly smile rather than smirking at his cousin's discomfort, pushed away from the bed and crossed to unlock the door. "I'm sorry to have been neglecting you, Lady Mary," he bowed as he opened the door. "I thought you'd gone with the others. I will, of course, be out shortly."

"Oh," the offer caught Mary off guard and she instinctively looked at the valet. His smirk faded, leaving behind something that was just a hair too poker-faced to be called wounded and just a hair too wounded to be called poker-faced. It made Mary decidedly nervous. "Thank you, Lord Hexham, but there's no need to change your plans. I don't need entertaining, and I think Barrow would murder me in my sleep."

Peter laughed. Unlike the rest of his appearance, his laugh was perfectly in keeping with the rich, riot of colour around him. "Don't worry, he wouldn't do such a thing. Would you, Barrow?"

"I might have to at least think about it," Barrow replied. His posture, always properly ramrod straight, had gained a particular tension about it, and while it was apparently beneath his dignity to pout, well. His voice pouted, even if his face did not.

"See? I told you," Mary informed her cousin, walking over to kiss him on the cheek.

Both of Peter's eyebrows arched. "Oh dear. Well then, we can't have that," he smiled at Mary, then returned the kiss. "Enjoy your afternoon. I will see you at dinner."

"Absolutely," Mary nodded, unconsciously checking for staff in the hall before exiting the room. "And you enjoy yourself as well." She paused, then added with a smirk, "Both of you."

Head high, determined to put the whole incident behind her, Mary turned and headed toward the nursery.

She made it to the corner before she realized that Barrow was, in fact, going to smirk at her for the rest of the visit.

Oh well. She could simply smirk back. She certainly had plenty of reason.

[3monthsineurope]

January 15, 2020

Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands, was on Wednesday! Emily and I slept in until 9ish and got ready in the room. This was our last port of the trip. We had breakfast at the buffet on the Lido deck, then headed out for the day.

St. Kitts the day before had a huge port with tons of shops. Tortola on the other hand was smaller, but then as still developed nicely. Martinique was much smaller than Tortola. There just wasn’t many souvenir shops—it was more high end jewelry. We went through the few shops there, then left the port area. We found a “craft village” and explored those shops for a bit. A lot of the shops had similar things, and they weren’t made super well. All the shops were vibrantly colored, which I did really like. It started raining again! We took shelter in a shop, then wandered around, trying to find a cafe.

We found one and had some yummy coffee. This island was definitely one of the more expensive ones: my small iced mocha was $6! I haven’t mentioned but everyone on the ship thinks Emily and I are sisters! Seriously, we get asked all the time by the staff. We had our coffee and used the WiFi, then decided to head back to the port area.

We ran into Kurt and Carol (the one bitten by a shark that we met in Grand Turk!), which was nice. We’ve met so many nice people this cruise! Earlier that morning we ran into Cynthia and her husband. Her husband had really badly stubbed his toe on the pier, what a bummer! We went back into the port and got some things shopping. We decided to have a drink, so we sat down at a bar. I chatted with some super nice cousins who were on the boat next to us, the Celebrity Edge. They have this cut out of one of their family members, Tony. They gave me one to bring on my trip to India, which is super funny! They were really nice and encouraged me to keep on traveling! Emily was chatting to two guys next to us, who actually worked for the cruise. Dariel plays guitar and Martin plays the piano. They both are solo acts. Dariel has seen us around the ship but hadn’t got up the nerve to say hi to us. He was definitely crushing on Emily. Coincidentally, I had seen Martin the night before for the first time.

We hung out with the boys for a few hours. It was really interesting hearing some “crew secrets”. Dariel actually bought Emily and I a couple drinks, which was really nice. We hung out with the guy who did our caricature, too. After a bit, the four of us wandered over to this one store, where Emily and I bought some hibiscus infused gin. We had had a few drinks made with it at the bar and they were sooooo tasty! We decided to call it a day in Tortola, so all four of us headed to the ship. I wanted to take a nap, but once we got to our room I realized we were missing our souvenirs bag.

Oh gosh! Emily had put the bag by our feet at the bar and we had left without it. We were supposed to be back in the boat in fifteen minutes. I wanted to try to get it, so we ran down to the disembarking area. They told me not to run, but I was frantic. Emily stayed near the boat, in case they tried to leave without me and I ran down the pier. I made it to the bar, but the bag was gone. The bartender hadn’t seen it. I went to where we bought the gin, the police, the information area, and the security for getting back on the ship. No one had it. I was so sad that someone had stolen my bag. I had postcards, a magnet, a really pretty Christmas ornament for Mom, and mug for Haley, and a hot sauce for Ingvar in it. I was just so bummed. I never put things by my feet like that, because I’ll forget it. I was frustrated that Emily had put it there, but obviously it wasn’t her fault. It was just such a bummer because this island was expensive, so I spent the most there, compared to the other islands.

I was crying, walking back to the ship—I just couldn’t help it. Emily tried to console me, but I was really upset. I video called Ingvar after I bought WiFi, back in our room. It was so nice to see him! I really do miss him. It made me feel a lot better to talk with him. There was a lot of snow at home! I calmed down after chatting with him and called Mom and Haley in LA. They both said it was okay that their gifts were stolen, but I was still sad about it.

Around five, it was time to get ready for my Chef’s Table experience! I was actually so excited! My make up didn’t run off when I had cried, so I just had to do my hair. I straightened it and dressed in a dress with wedges. I met Holly and Betty (from our dinner table) in the Atrium and checked with guest services. No one had turned in my bag, sadly.

The Chef’s Table was absolutely amazing! It started out with the sous chef of the entire cruise boat taking us into the kitchen for a champagne toast and three amus busches ____. We saw Ari, one of our waiters, and waved at him. We had a two little bites and some mushroom tea. It sounds weird, but it was like really flavorful broth. It was so good! A woman named Francine helped the chef make the batter for the famous Carnival melting cake, which we would have later.

The chef then took us to our table. It was situated in the Beauties nightclub, where we had danced just the night before! Hahah! I sat next to Betty and Holly, and Francine and her husband Joseph. They were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. Have I mentioned that Emily had cancelled her ticket to the chef’s table? She decided she didn’t want to spend the money. I was fine doing it without her. I was really looking forward to it! The chef had nine cooks and servers for the thirteen of us eating that night. It was the fanciest meal I’d ever had in my life! The chef would come to the head of the table for each course and explain what was in front of us.

Our first course at the table was a fresh parmesan bread with honey butter. They served us each water, a red wine, and a white wine. Betty got her and I some of my favorite wine, Riesling from Chateau St. Michelle! The next course was a three parter: yogurt, raspberry, and green apple, an olive oil sponge with foam, and pork belly with kimchi. Dang, I was gonna have to pace myself! I tried everything, but if I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t eat it all, because there was a lot more coming for us!

Next up was probably my favorite course, duck! It was so tasty, I ate every bite. It was served with plum and a parsnip purée. Next is was the “surf and turf”. It was a super fancy, flavorful soup. I really enjoyed the soup. A lot of the courses were interactive. For example, for the soup, we were given some additional spices and we stirred that into the soup with our vegetable spoon, and “popped” the lobster cream at the bottom of the bowl and mixing it into the soup.

Next up was sea bass. I don’t know if I’d had sea bass before, but it was a nice and mild fish. Everything was plated so perfectly! For a break, a magician came around and did a few tricks for us. I’ll never know how they do their tricks, haha! Lamb was next. It was served three ways. I tried it all three ways, but definitely couldn’t finish this course! Our final savory course was veal. I don’t think I’d had veal before. When I think about veal it makes me a little sad, with veal being from baby cows. The veal was served with sweet potato mash and milk chips. The milk chips was like nothing I’d had before! It was tasty, but I was ready for dessert.

They served us tea and port wine with dessert. The first dessert course was a trio. There was a peanut brittle, oat cookie, dark chocolate ganache, parmesan cream, and a coffee custard. It was amazing! The next dessert was another trio. This one had a small creme brûlée, a raspberry jelly, and a dark chocolate cake, served on coffee beans. And finally, was the melting cake dessert that we had helped make in the beginning. We sang happy birthday to two of the attendees and heard a speech from the chef about the team who had helped us that night. It was an amazing experience that lasted more than three hours! I am not kidding when I say that it was one of the best meals of my life. They gave us a photo of the group, which I thought was a nice extra touch.

After the Chef’s Table, I went up to the Alchemy Bar. Emily was there with Keke and David, watching Dariel and Martin do a set together. It’s really nice to listen to live music. Their music was nice, but I was basically in a food coma, so I decided to call it a night. I wasn’t feeling like socializing. I went up to the room and relaxed. I watched some Food Network and wished I could take a bath, but alas, I showered instead. Emily came back to the room around midnight, she was shocked that I was awake, hahah. We watched a bit of TV, then headed to bed. It was a pretty eventful day, and I was ready for bed. :]

[180abroad]

Day 163: Neuschwanstein (and the story of Mad King Ludwig)

Today, we head back to Radius Tours for a visit to the famous Bavarian castle of Neuschwanstein.

I knew a little bit about Neuschwanstein from stories my dad had told me after he visited years ago. I knew that it was the inspiration for Disney’s iconic castles from Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. I also knew that it was built in the late 1800s by the eccentric King Ludwig II, also known as King Ludwig the Mad. So it isn't a "real" castle in the sense of having any deep historical or strategic significance. So while we were expecting to see a very pretty building, our expectations didn’t really extend beyond that.

But as is so often the case when you go into things with low expectations, we were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed it.

The tour started with one pleasant surprise right at the beginning--we'd be traveling to and from Neuschwanstein on a private bus that Radius had booked for us. Neuschwanstein is mainly just a tourist attraction, so there aren't a ton of buses and trains that go there every day.

Our first important lesson during the ride over was how to pronounce the castle's name. Neuschwanstein means New Swan Stone and should be pronounced “noy-shvahn-stine.” “New-shvahn-steen” is also acceptable. But it’s never ever “new-shwine-stine,” which would mean New Pork Stone.

After about an hour and a half of driving through idyllic rolling farmland, the Bavarian Alps hove into view. And nestled amongst their foothills was Neuschwanstein.

After arriving in the town of Schwangau, we were let loose to explore, use the restroom at a nearby wine shop, and get a bit to eat before meeting up again to make the hike to the castle, which loomed above us in the distance.

Jessica and I made sure to check out the wine shop, where we found a bottle of German Fume Blanc (a style of Sauvignon Blanc that we are both particularly fond of). Not wanting to lug a bottle of wine around all day, we made a note to come back after the tour if we had time.

We messed around in the local souvenir shops for a bit, then got a bite to eat at a sausage stand that was infested with garden gnomes.

Having regrouped at the meeting point, our guide took us on a short side trip before starting the hike up to the castle.

From the banks of the town's picturesque lake, we could turn around and look up to see the brightly painted yellow walls of Hohenschwangau Castle.

Unlike Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau (or Schwanstein, as it was called before the construction of Neuschwanstein) is an actual medieval castle dating back to the 12th century. In the 16th century, the castle was sold to the Wittelsbachs, Bavaria's ruling family, who turned it into a hunting lodge.

It was here that Ludwig II and his brother Otto spent their formative years, and it was here that we learned about them.

Ludwig's grandfather and namesake King Ludwig I was a legendary eccentric in his own right. His wedding was a massive, month-long celebration of drinking and festivities. It was such a smash hit with the people that they did it again to mark the couple's one-year anniversary. And their second, and so on. It still happens every year, and it is known throughout the world as Oktoberfest.

Ludwig had a romantic fascination for medieval Germany, and he redrew the administrative map of the country to make it look more like it did in the Middle Ages.

Ludwig also had a romantic fascination for the ladies. He had dozens of mistresses, which was excessive but not entirely unacceptable. What wasn't acceptable was when he fell genuinely in love with one of them. Her name was Lola Montez, and she was a Spanish dancer that Ludwig had met in Munich. Actually, her name was Marie Gilbert and she was born in Ireland, and Lola Montez was just her stage persona.

Lola used her influence over Ludwig to guide his political decisions, and everyone in Ludwig's court quickly came to hate her. Eventually, Ludwig was forced to choose between his throne and his mistress. He chose his mistress and abdicated the throne to his son Maximilian II, whereupon Lola promptly left Ludwig for greener pastures.

As if to distance himself from his father's shame, Maximilian II took the opposite tack. He was militant, austere, and devoted to governing above all else. Even his children. He showed no tenderness to young Ludwig and Otto. They lived in the servants' quarters of Hohenschwangau and were largely ignored when they weren't being lectured.

Finally, it was time to start the hike up. Cars and buses aren't allowed to drive up the road, so the only options are to hire an overpriced horse cart or use your own two feet. Our group included a number of older tourists, but slow and steady did the job.

As we hiked, our guide told us the next chapter of Ludwig's story. As a boy, he was obsessed with fairytales of medieval knights and star-crossed lovers, and he preferred reading and daydreaming to preparing for his future role as king. After moving to Munich as a teenager, Ludwig became obsessed with theater--especially the epic German fantasies of Richard Wagner, who was a rising star at the time. Ludwig became a devout patron of Wagner and came to revere as a substitute father figure.

Ludwig was in many ways a modern man. He preferred tailored suits to royal robes. He loved the arts, despised war, and his brooding demeanor was as trendy as it was un-kinglike. Ludwig had no interest in being king, and he looked forward to many carefree years as a prince about town.

But when his father died unexpectedly from a sudden illness, Ludwig had the throne of Bavaria thrust upon him at the age of 19. And just a few years later, this young idealist, pacifist king was caught up in a war between the neighboring Prussian and Austrian empires, both of which demanded Ludwig's loyalty.

Ludwig's mother was from the Prussian royal family, but the Bavarian Wittelsbach dynasty had ancient ties to Austria. Moreover, Ludwig’s beloved cousin and close friend Elizabeth--or Sisi, whom we had just learned about in Vienna--was the Empress of Austria. After postponing as long as he could, Ludwig declared his allegiance with Austria.

Having no aptitude for military strategy or leadership, Ludwig relied on his younger brother Otto to lead their army. Otto was athletic, outgoing, and charismatic--in every way the natural leader that Ludwig just wasn't. Ludwig's decision to not lead the army himself would have been seen as an act of cowardice, and after much agonizing Ludwig decided that it would be better for everyone if he abdicated the throne to Otto upon his return.

The war was a disaster. Austria lost in less than two months, and Otto returned a broken man. Today, he almost certainly would have been diagnosed with PTSD. Instead, he was shunned as a madman and eventually locked away after deteriorating into a state of total incoherence.

Ludwig no longer had any choice but to maintain his position as king.

But having just lost a war to Prussia, his powers as king were greatly reduced. Although still king in name, he ended up being little more than a puppet of the Prussian empire. And despite his many modern sensibilities, Ludwig was still in many ways a staunch conservative. He idolized Louis XIV, the 17th-century Sun King of France, and he believed like Louis that he was ordained by God as the rightful absolute monarch of his people.

Chafed by the irksome limitations to his power, Ludwig increasingly indulged in his penchant for fantasy and seclusion. Like his cousin Sisi, he withdrew from courtly life. But whereas Sisi traveled the world, Ludwig built himself a world of his own.

And the crown jewel of that world was Neuschwanstein.

Neuschwanstein is not so much a castle as it is a monument to Ludwig's idealized vision of the bygone of the medieval period. With the aid of 19th-century concrete, he was able to create a towering turreted palace rivaling anything that the most imaginative Romantic painter could conceive. But it was all just for himself. An escapist fantasy made real with the kind of money and power that only a 19th-century monarch could wield.

He filled it with ornately decorated rooms for himself alone to enjoy. There were lofty spiraling staircases, a throne room fit for God himself, and a full-size theater not for shows to be performed in but for Ludwig to sit alone in and imagine himself at a show. He even had one of the castle's side-passages made up to look like a cave so that he could imagine himself walking through one of his favorite Wagnerian opera scenes.

I think it really says everything that Ludwig's chief designer for the castle was not an architect but rather an operatic set designer.

Sadly, photos were strictly prohibited inside most of the castle. Tours were given on a tightly timed schedule by stern, soft-spoken guides. I would have much preferred to be lead by our guide from Radius, but given the thousands of visitors the castle sees each day, I can't really fault the staff for their efficiency.

And "efficient" is really the appropriate word. Despite the castle's massive size, it only takes a little over half an hour to tour it. That's because only a handful of the rooms were ever finished. Or, to be more specific, Ludwig could only afford to finish a handful of the rooms. But we'll get back to Ludwig's story a little later.

Past the gift shop, we were able to take some pictures of the castle kitchens, as well as the spectacular views from some of the windows.

After leaving the castle, took a scenic walk around to the hills behind the castle. There is a small bridge that was originally built for Ludwig's mother, an avid hiker. Today, it is highly recommended as the best place to get a picture of the castle.

Unsurprisingly, there was a line to get onto the bridge. What was surprising, however, was just how absurdly long it was. After an agonizingly long wait, we finally made it to the bridge, and my cortisol levels started to spike.

There was no crowd control at all. People were pushing and shoving shoulder to shoulder, phones outstretched to take their perfect picture. And unlike at Blarney Castle in Ireland, there wasn't even a slight hope that a dropped phone might survive.

Throughout the trip, Jessica has been affected by claustrophobia more often than me, but this time it was my turn to be triggered. Not-so-quietly cursing under my breath, I pushed my way out just long enough for us to get obligatory shots before immediately turning around and pushing my way back.

Apparently, the crowds at Neuschwanstein have been exploding in recent years. Even a few years ago the bridge wouldn't have been nearly as crowded. A lot of it has to do with tourists from Asia and Africa who are more and more able to afford and acquire visas to travel abroad.

Of course, it's their right to visit just as much as it is ours, but it struck a chord with a recurring thought I've had over the course of the trip. Like at the stone circles by Inverness, which are deteriorating at a perilous pace due to recent explosions in tourism. At some point, there are simply going to be too many people trying to go to too few places. And then what? Will the prices skyrocket until only the rich can afford to travel, the way things used to be? Or will there be ever-lengthening wait lists, like there already are in places like the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam?

At one point does the preservation of historical locations become incompatible with allowing people to visit them? And how much value do these places continue to hold if they are held off-limits from the visitors who want to see them? Is historical tourism inherently classist and/or unsustainable?

I know these are very pessimistic questions, but after waiting for half an hour in line with a crowd of whining tourists just to get shoved around on a tiny Victorian bridge spanning a drop to certain death, I wasn't in the most generous of spirits.

Anyway, as we walked back down, we decided to take the advice of our Radius guide and stop at a small stand where a man was selling fresh-made doughnut holes (or schmalzkuchen). Our guide had told us that they were the best doughnuts we would ever eat in our entire lives, and she may have been right. We each took a bite, and the next thing we knew, they were all gone. We hadn't even remembered to take a picture to taunt our families with.

Back in town, we had a little time left before we had to meet back up with our group. We revisited the wine shop and purchased the bottle of Fume Blanc we'd seen earlier.

It was while we were in the shop that I committed one of my most memorable faux pas of the trip. In one of the shop's display cases of premium wines, I noticed a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Upon closer inspection, however, I noticed that the name said something slightly different, and I had only mistaken it at first glance because it had a similar-looking name used a font very much like those used on bottles of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

That was not the faux pas.

A little while later, I noticed Jessica inspecting the same case. She pointed out the same bottle and noted that they had a Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

"Actually," I replied, in what in retrospect must have seemed like an insufferably smug tone while pointing at the label, "if you look closely, you'll notice that it actually isn't a Châteauneuf-du-Pape."

After a confused second, Jessica pointed out that, yes, it actually was a Châteauneuf-du-Pape, as the label clearly stated just below the name of the winery, which had a similar-looking name to Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Realizing my mistake, I immediately crumbled, apologizing and backpedaling as quickly as I could. Of course, it was only then that Jessica realized I had been serious and not making some sort of weird joke.

She wasn't offended, but there's no way she'll ever let me live it down, either.

Having gathered back at the bus, it was time for the end of Ludwig's story. The official guide at the castle had already given it to us, of course, but our Radius guide's painted a grittier, less whitewashed version of events.

Over the next two decades of his reign, Ludwig never married, barely attended court, and racked up massive debts over the construction of Neuschwanstein. He became addicted to alcohol, opium, and food–gaining weight and losing most of his teeth along with his looks. He grew paranoid, refusing to sleep in case someone came in the middle of the night to seize his crown.

Ultimately, his fears became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Eventually, Ludwig's cabinet ministers and his uncle–who were much more favorably disposed toward the Prussian Empire–conspired to have Ludwig declared mentally unfit to rule. They convinced a psychiatrist that had never even met Ludwig to certify him as insane, and a gang of constables arrived at Neuschwanstein in the middle of the night to arrest him.

Less than two days later, Ludwig and the psychiatrist were found dead in a lake outside the castle where Ludwig was being held prisoner. It was officially ruled a murder-suicide, but the investigation was performed by the government under Ludwig's uncle, who had every reason to want Ludwig out of the picture and under the rug.

Some people believe that the two got into a fight and killed each other, either because Ludwig tried to escape or because the psychiatrist tried to assassinate him. Some think that they were ambushed by people lying in wait.

One of the many curious pieces of the puzzle is the fact of the two men's pocket watches. Both men were found floating in the lake, and the lake water would have stopped their watches dead the moment it touched them. So why is it, then, that Ludwig's watch stopped at 6:53 pm while the psychiatrist's watch stopped over an hour later at 8:06 pm?

Whatever the truth is, we’ll never know for sure.

Neuschwanstein was left incomplete, with most of the interior unfinished. And six weeks later, Ludwig’s most private retreat became a showpiece for people from around the world to see.

So while it doesn’t have the history of a medieval castle, it does have another kind of history. It is a tragic monument to the end of a romantic ideal of knights and chivalry and the beginning of the ruthless modern era. Except that era never really existed. Life in the middle ages sucked, and chivalry was largely just a classist, chauvinist façade for rich men to go around killing and oppressing whoever they could.

So instead, perhaps Neuschwanstein is actually a monument to the end of eccentric, archaic monarchy and the rise of modern industrial society.

Or maybe it's just a pretty building.

Next Post: Nuremberg

Last Post: Munich

[francetaste]

So much to do, so little time. My cousin came to visit recently. Just a short side trip to say hi during a work trip on this side of the Atlantic. We wanted to put on a good show.

L arrived late Wednesday afternoon. We strolled through la Cité of Carcassonne while waiting to pick up the kid from sports practice nearby. We skipped the museum, but stopped to admire the rope marks dug into the lip of the big well, and the stone steps to the Basilique Saint Nazaire et Saint Celse, which slope from the wear of 800 years of the faithful’s steps. Little details like that make time real, for me at least.

That’s the basilique’s steeple.

We came home to a dinner of coq au vin that I had prepared in advance. Dinner was all about catching up, though. L was a pure joy. The difference in our ages meant I was out of the house—out of the country—by the time L was starting school. We barely know each other. But we know the same people, the same houses, the same neighborhoods. Stories about our shared grandmother were more vivid because when L talked about Grandma’s kitchen, I could picture every detail–the green linoleum table that was her only counter space for her incessant and abundant cooking, the pies cooling in the pantry, the celadon bowl of salt (she measured with her fingers, always).

  The next day was a little crazy. I let our kid stay home from school. Good grades, rarely absent, why not. First we did a tour of our little village, then L asked what the garrigue is. So we set off past the vineyards to get a taste—a whiff—of the tangle of brush and pines and wild herbs that make the garrigue special.We had asparagus omelettes for lunch, then headed to Caunes-Minervois to see a really pretty village. We went into the abbey and down to the 8th century crypt. Since it was a gorgeous day, we moved on to Lastours, about a 12-minute drive away. There, we were perhaps overambitious. The lady at the reception told us it would take at least two hours to go up and come back. I was thinking, oh, the castles are right above us—it’s no problem. I had been there when our kid was small and got tired and had to be carried. I had taken my mother-in-law, who was not a walker. I had been there with a former colleague in his late 70s. No sweat.

We were there for an hour and 52 minutes—I can see it on my Fitbit. We didn’t stop. It’s up and up and up, then down and up and up and up. As I’ve noted before, no guard rails. At least we were alone and didn’t have to share the narrow trail.

And yes, we were alone. It is utterly glorious to have four medieval ruins to oneself, to look out over the rugged mountains and on over the plain until you see the other mountains, the Pyrénées, snowcapped on the horizon. The mountain air is sweet and clear. Only occasionally the rumble of a car on the winding road far below reminds us of which century we’re in.

Having descended, which entailed a surprising amount of climbing, we were surprised to discover the exit roped off, a sign pointing to a gate. It was unlocked and put us directly on the single road, a two-way thoroughfare with room for one car most of the time and no shoulders. In fact, it was at the bottom of a cliff on one side and a river on the other.

On our way down we had spied a group of hikers and now we caught up to them. They were a tough lot. All retirees. Considering how tired we were from our hike, we were impressed. The hikers spread out like a flock of cats all over the road. A car came and had to slow to a crawl as the retired hikers stayed planted in the middle of the tarmac, giving it no heed. Finally the car came to a wide spot and maneuvered around them, but not quite enough for one hiker.

“Attention aux mémés!” she yelled. “Look out for the grannies!”

 We got home in time for a short nap and shower before going to our favorite restaurant, le Clos des Framboisiers. I promise to go interview the chef sometime. The food was as wonderful as always, the service impeccable as always, the parking lot full of 11 license plates (locals), except for one car, as always. L was astounded. The menu is fixed price—€32 per person—and includes an apéritif (on this visit it was sangria), appetizer, main course, cheese and dessert.

L’s first steak tartare, a starter.

Followed by fish.

The Carnivore had meat. Duh.

Strawberry soup.

Chocolate ganache. The little meringue was lavender-flavored.

On Friday, we took it easy. (The day before we covered 10 miles, or 24,635 steps and 135 floors, according to Fitbit.) First, we went to Montolieu, to poke around some bookstores and admire the views, no climbing or hiking involved.

Then we returned to Carcassonne. We went to les halles to buy a cassoulet from a butcher for dinner. It’s a great deal. They have different sizes, depending on how many people you’re serving, and it comes out to about €7 per person. It comes in the cassole, the earthenware pot that gives the dish its name. You pay a €7 deposit for the cassole that you get back when you return the dish, or you can keep it (and €7 is a very reasonable price). It was all ready to pop into the oven—for an hour, at 220 C (425 F).  The Carnivore prepared foie gras as a starter.

We also looked in a few shops, checking out la Ferme in particular for food-related souvenirs. That store is heaven. Food downstairs; kitchen and dining accessories upstairs. The store itself is beautiful.

We had lunch en terrace at Place Carnot. Simple, but good. Then we checked out the French beauty supplies at the Grande Pharmacie de la Gare. The staff there are very helpful in explaining and finding just the right thing. 

L wanted to see a supermarket, so we went to SuperU in Trèbes, which is just a supermarket and not a hypermarket (they don’t sell refrigerators or TVs or baby car seats). I agree that a supermarket reveals a lot about local culture. Milk and eggs in the same aisle, not refrigerated! An entire aisle, on both sides, of yogurt! Octopus in the fresh fish section! 

On Saturday, we of course went to the market. We also stopped for cheese at Bousquet; I should have given more thought in advance to my order because just looking around is overwhelming—I want some of everything. Cheese and some good baguettes from the Papineau boulangerie across the street, plus some charcuterie, would be our lunch. And fresh strawberries. 

After lunch we went back to la Cité to take in the museum in the château (la Cité is a fortified city with a château inside it). We braved the wind to walk the ramparts.

  Wavy glass!

The detail on a knight’s sarcophagus…

A close-up of the hinge on the boot/leg covering. I love details like that!

Then we cooked. I dragooned L into making cheese soufflé. Our kid made strawberry-mushroom risotto. I made a mustard-crusted pork roast and leeks. And we had pineapple-mascarpone parfait for dessert, which L also assisted in. 

And that was it. A full trip, I think. Not many photos of the visit–we enjoyed the moment. Thanks to L for coming and bringing such wonderful conversation. We miss you!

Itinerary in Action So much to do, so little time. My cousin came to visit recently. Just a short side trip to say hi during a work trip on this side of the Atlantic.

[mm-society-women]

n3sh3r0x : HC!!! RFA + V reaction to Mc's fam being a bag of nutcases? Like they're 24/7 being lame and joking around and really inquisitive of MCs BF/GF

So my friend, @n3sh3r0x asked for this hc. SHE’S AMAZING GUYS!! Please follow her!!!

AND I’M SORRY but i really couldn’t imagine all of the families being a bag of nutcases. SO I DECIDED TO WRITE A “RFA+V+ SAERAN REACTING TO MC’S FAMILY”

Yoosung

- Sweet, sweet yoosung was pretty nervous when you told him that you wanted him to meet your family

-I mean.... who wouldn’t ??

-You father worked at this huge pharmaceutical company,  you mother was a cardiologist and to top it all off your sister was a lawyer at a big firm.

-Even you scared the living crap outta him when he first met you

-So when he first met your parents, he was shaking. Actually he was shaking for all the right reasons. Let me explain.

-Your father was immaculately dressed in his most expensive suit like show off much?, your mother wore a simple but beautiful gown and your sister??? Let’s just say that she wore a pair of sweatpants just to piss you off.

- Yoosung couldn’t stop laughing at this contrast. 

-As your father gracefully gave out his hand for a handshake, he was still laughing cause your sister was sticking her tongue out at you?? And you were being all cute, pinching her and making faces at her?

- Gosh ! Even the intellectuals weren’t any different , were they?

- “GOD DAMMIT! STOP IT GIRLS YOU ALWAYS EMBARRASS ME LIKE THIS!! I just wanted MC’s boyfriend to have a good impression on our family,” your father screamed.

- Your mum giggled, “Pay no mind to them yoosung!! We doctors must stay away from this lot at all times.”

- You mum really liked yoosung as they were both in the medical profession. She was a really chatty person. She blabbered on about how hard it was being a doctor. “I dunno how you did it yoosung,” she said, “I could barely learn how to treat the heart and you’ve learnt about how to treat the entire animal kingdom?” She sighed dramatically. 

- “HEY YOOSUNG!! Did you know that MC peed her pants in the sixth grade?” Your sister chimed in. “NO I DIDN’T,” you screamed and the two of you got into a cat fight. 

-Your dad sighed and apologized to him, “Welcome to the family, son.”

-Yoosung really did love your unique and wonderful family. And your family loved him more. 

Bonus: Your sister kept making passes at yoosung, vowing to steal him away from you when the two of you break up. She was just kidding! Or was she? Yoosung never knew about this. 

Zen

-Zen was really excited when you told him you wanted him to meet your family

- You used to tell him a lot about your family and he loved to hear about your two moms and you baby sister

- The whole day he was all like, “MC !! Should I wear this?? OR SHould I wear that??? Will you mom like this better.” 

- “JUST WEAR SOMETHING, ZEN,” you screamed.

-But it was so cute seeing him all excited.

- When you finally got to your house, he was so excited that he hugged both your mums. 

- “Nice to finally meet you,” He beamed, “I’m Zen.”

- “Wow I didn’t know my daughter was hiding such a handsome man,” Your mum giggled. “OH, MC~~” she sang. 

- You blushed so hard, it made Zen laugh.

- Your other mum laughed and kissed her on the cheek. “Oh and Zen,” she said, “We have this really BIG fan, just dying to meet you.”

- Your little sister was clinging to your mum’s leg. 

- “Come on, sweetie,” you called her out ,”Zen has a little gift for you.”

- But she still wouldn’t budge

- Zen knelt down and took her hands. “Looks like there are two very beautiful princesses in this house,” he smiled. He placed a little crown on her head. 

- She gave a tiny little smile. “Lift me !!” she ordered.

- “The shining knight Zen at your service, milady,” he laughed as he picked her up 

-He refused to put your little sister down for the whole day. Your lil sis had such radical fun,  getting a piggy back ride from Zen.

- Your parents loved Zen!! He was so sweet. He always was so well mannered and complimented them on little things.  

-At the end of the day, Zen ended up wanting to create a family like that with you. 

Bonus: Zen calls both your mums as ‘mum’ and ‘mama’, the way you call them. They love it. And they were so happy when zen first called them that

Jaehee

-You pure beautiful Jaehee was only second to Yoosung on the nervousness level when she first met your family 

- “But MC,” she dragged, “Is your family really ok with this? Me being a..... girl and all.”

- “Hush, my dear,” you kissed her on the nose, “I should be asking you if you’re ok with meeting my crazy family.”

- This reassured her a lot. But she was still nervous about making first impressions.

- Your family was a big one.

-I mean a reaaaaalllly big one. With cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.

-So when you first got to the door, a flurry of kids surrounded you and Jaehee. 

- “OMG it’s MC!” 

- “IS that MC’s Girlfriend?”

-” MC AND JAEHEE, come play with us!!” 

-The kids were really noisy but Jaehee enjoyed the racket. The kids started introducing themselves and Jaehee was trying to memorize all of their names. 

-”Ok!! YOu twerps !! We’ll come back to you later!! We are going to meet the adults so LEAVE MY GIRLFRIEND ALONE,” you grabbed her hand pulled her out.

- “awwww MC you’re such a spoil sport.” You could hear all the groans and sighs. 

- Immediately after a group of adults surrounded you two. 

- “Is this the Jaehee??? “ your aunt literally screamed. 

- She pulled Jaehee closer, took a good and long look at her.

- “Tell me, Jaehee,” she said, “HOW THE HELL DO YOU PUT UP WITH A WHINY CHILD LIKE MC. We still don’t know.”

-All the others nodded in agreement. 

- “STOP embarrassing me in front of my Girlfriend,” you stomped your foot.

- All of Jaehee’s nervousness dissipated. And she laughed. “Oh no!” she said and looked at you, “It has always been the other way around.”

-You blushed so hard. What did you do to deserve her? 

- Everyone from the teenagers, to the kids , to the adults and the elders took their turns with Jaehee.

- They really loved her. And really couldn’t understand why such a sweet angel like her chose you. You really couldn’t understand that either   

-Although she was drained by the end of the day, she was really looking forward to the next trip.

Jumin

-Jumin was always so curious about your family

- Whenever he asked about your family, you would brush him off saying that you would tell him when you were ready.

-He also never really got why you were working, when he was there to provide for you?

-Although he was really curious, he respected your wishes and never delved into that matter again.

- Then one day you decided it was time he met you family.

- You were actually from another town. You were from a really poor family, with your father dying when you were only 16 years old. Being the eldest, you had to help your mother raise your younger sister and brother. 

- Jumin now understood why you had to work.

- “But I can provide for your family, Mc,” he protested. 

- But you flat out refused cause you didn’t marry him for the money. 

-So you took the weekend off from work to visit your family with Jumin. 

- “Jumin, just don’t offer my mother any money,” you tell him, “We are doing very well now! And my mother would refuse cause she’s such a hard worker.”

- Jumin nodded. But you were not sure about what his stubborn ass was actually going to do.

-When you got home, you little sister and brother excitedly hugged you. 

- “MC!! YOU’RE HOME,” they shouted. 

- “Mc, look!! I got the first place in my class this year,” you little brother beamed. 

- Your sister got annoyed. “But MC! I got first place on both my tests and my relay,” you sister stuck her tongue out.

- Your brother was about to retaliate when you mother intervened, “Mc and her boyfriend traveled a long way, kids.Let them rest.”

-They went back sighing. You laughed and hugged your mum. 

- “And you must be Jumin,” your mum said breaking the hug. 

-Jumin was so fixated at your house. It was so small. But it really was so warm and wonderful. 

- “Yes mam. I’m Jumin Han,” he said as he took your mother’s hand, “Pleasure to meet you.”

- You and your mum burst into laughter. 

- “You really dont have to be so formal, Mr. Han~~,” you teased. 

- The kids tugged at Jumin’s trousers. 

-They were really curious about this royal looking stranger

-Jumin was really surprised by the kids. They were so well mannered, smart and hard working just like MC.

-He really loved them a lot. And they liked him too.

-And MC’s mother had so much dignity and integrity. He respected her deeply. And your mother loved Jumin for his honesty and manners. And she knew how much he loved and respected you. 

- And the food your mother cooked for him?? Never had he eaten anything so delicious his entire life.

- Just sitting around with your family and eating with them, made him realise that money really wasn’t everything 

-After that, he never did complain about you having to go to work. But he insisted on helping out a little.

- He always did send your family little extravagant gifts and souvenirs. And demanded a monthly visit to see you mum and the kids

-He took you guys on a lot of trips. And the kids really enjoyed their time with him.

707 

-Given his past, Seven really wanted a to be a part of a family

- So when you wanted to introduce him to your parents, HE WAS SO EXCITED, OVERJOYED, ELATED *add any synonym of your choice*

-You were from a middle class family

-Nothing special really

-You were the only kid.

- “Ok 7,” you warn him, “No funny business at my home... My dad is really strict.”

- “You betcha,” he sticks his tongue out.

-You sigh.... This was bad......... Really bad

-So when you get home, your father growls, “And what is the name of this boy MC? What does he do?”

- “Dad, this is Se-.. I mean Saeyoung and hes a hac-.. I mean a computer programmer.”

- “Why hello~~ sir,” 7 sang and let out his hand for a handshake.

- You dad looked at him from his head to his toe and sighed. 

- “I’ll be at my room if you need me,” he frowned. 

- 7 looked a little upset. Your mum sensed this too. 

- “Oh don’t mind that grumpy old man, Saeyoung, my dear,” you mum chimed, “I really dont know how I put up with him for so many years.”

-You giggled and held 7′s hand.

- “Don;t take it to heart, hon,” you laughed, “He’s what I call a Tsundere dad.”

- “TSUNDERE DAD??” he screamed. WTH MC 

- “The more he likes a person, the ruder he is to them,” your mum explained.

- Saeyoung couldn’t stop laughing, “I’m starting to like your dad.”

-So 7 like usual, kept making his lousy jokes. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes while your mother laughed. 

-Your dad crept in. “OH, You all are making a lot of noise. KEEP IT DOWN,” he said as he sat across you guys with a newspaper.

-You all could not help but chuckle. Oh, the things your dad did just to spend time with you, without actually admitting it.

- “So saeyoung,” your dad started, “How much is it that you earn.”

- 7 sat up straight. “See Sir, it actually depends.....”

- “He earns a lot, dad,” you cut in, “Have you seen his car?” You showed him a picture of his car.

-You dad was impressed and interested but he wouldnt admit it. 

- “It’s a decent car,” he frowned

- The three of you were internally screaming. 

- All throughout the evening 7 made small talk with your dad. He followed him everywhere. Your dad actually showed him his precious stamp collection and LET HIM TOUCH IT.

- Saeyoung started called your mother as mum. AND YOUR MUM LOVED IT

- “Don;t call her that,” you father growled. 

- “But DAD~~~” 7 sang

- “DONT CALL ME THAT,” he shouted. But he was very happy, internally. Tsundere dad strikes again

-He really had taken a liking towards your dad.

- You dad called him annoying a lot but deep inside... lets face it! He loved Saeyoung a lot.

- When it was time to leave, your dad gave you a peck on you cheek as he said , “Saeyoung is good guy, mc. I like him.”

- You werent gonna tell saeyoung this but you had a feeling he already knew.  

- Saeyoung sometimes liked to visit your parents alone and spend time with them

ps...... If you;ve seen Saiki Kusuo then you’ll know about the tsundere grandpa.... that episode literally changed my life

V

- “V!” you proclaimed one day, “I want you to meet my family.”

- V was surprisingly very cool about this, “Ok mc” he said as he kissed you on the forehead.

-The only family you had left was your two brothers. They practically raised you. Everything they ever did was for you. You didn’t have one complaint in your life. One brother was a professional wrestler and the other worked for the government.

- The two of your brothers were dying to meet V. They planned on how they were going to freak MC’s boyfriend out cause they were both so muscular and buff. And not to mention tall. They were both wrestlers in high school and had so many medals, that you learnt how to count with them

-So anyways, they were really planning to freak your boyfriend out. 

-They wanted to make sure that your boyfriend was man enough. You were their precious baby sister after all. 

- Well, jokes on them.... V was blind. 

- There was no way V was gonna be intimidated my their looks.

- Their jaws fell to the floor when they saw V

- “Mc... is he....”

- “Yes, Im blind,” V interjected, “ But I can see a little with one eye”

- They regained their composure. But they still had to make sure that he would treat their precious little sister well

- “Well Jihyun,” you brother firmly held V’s shoulder, “If you ever do something to our sister then God help you.” 

-You were angered my your brothers’ rude behavior towards V. Before you could protest, V said calmly, “Sir, I wouldnt hurt a hair on her head. She is the love of my life.”

- Commence Jaw Drop

-You blushed hard..... as did your brothers. The line was delivered so cooly and calmly.

-”V~~” you hit his hand playfully.

- Your brothers laughed. 

- “I’ve been married for 5 years and never once have I said such a thing to my wife. We should learn a lot from you V”

- You brothers loved him. They were so boisterous and playful... so unlike V. They considered V as a part of their gang

-V loved it! He had so much fun with your brothers. All three of them got drunk in the end and you were left to take a drunken V home

- “CURSE YOU, YOU TWO DEVILS AND DONT TOUCH MY BOYFRIEND AGAIN”

Saeran

- Your parents died when you were really young

-You were raised by your grandparents. 

-So when you asked Saeran if he wanted to meet your wonderful grandparents, saeran wasnt exactly excited. But he knew how much they meant to you so he decided to accompany you

-The minute you entered the house, there was the lovely smell of freshly baked goods.

-Your grandma and grandpa were so excited to see you.

-They were standing outside for nearly an hour just to see you.

-You were so happy to see them. Saeran saw immediately how your expression changed. Could you get any cuter? chandler voice

-You hugged them both and kissed them

-Your grandparents were equally excited to see saeran.

- They huddled around him.

- “MC told me that you really like ice cream, saeran,” your Grandma said, “So I made a lil cake to go along with it.”

- “Oh and dont forget about the sweater we got him dear,” your grandpa added.

- As you helped your grandma out in the kitchen, saeran and your grandpa took to talking

- You grandpa told him stories about the army. Saeran seemed very interested and excited.

-You could see them talking about random things under the sun

-He absolutely adored the food your grandma made and even wore the sweater they got for him

-He really enjoyed his time with your grandparents.

-He ended up wishing he could stay there more.

- When you went to sleep, your grandpa and saeran talked throughout the night.

-”Saeran.... in case something happens to me... the mc and her grandma...”

- “Nothing will happen to you and if it does... I’m always here for them. MC means the world to me”

[marcusssanderson]

120 Adventure Quotes To Inspire World Travel

Looking for inspirational adventure quotes about traveling around the world? These quotes about adventure and travel will stir the wanderlust in you.

Are you tired of the same old, day to day? Are you looking for more adventure in your life? Do you have a whispering voice that encourages you to go, see and do!

Yes, it’s easy to silence that voice. It’s easy to get distracted by the day and just get right back into your routine. But, what’s really holding you back from traveling? Why can’t you buy the plane ticket? If you’re being honest with yourself: have you just settled? Have you talked yourself out of it? Think about that.

Travel is undeniably the one constant item you’ll find in everybody’s bucket list. It doesn’t matter if you plan on venturing out nationally or internationally. Travel is being done for the sake of experience and memories, not just to escape. It’s more than just a trend; it has become a lifestyle.

According to Trip Barometer, travelers are likely to spend more on sightseeing than on shopping, souvenirs and nightlife combined. So don’t just lounge for hours on a local beach. Splurge on that trip instead of material acquisitions.

Below you’ll find our collection of inspirational, wise, and cool adventure quotes, adventure sayings, and adventure proverbs, collected from a variety of sources over the years.

Best Adventure Quotes For A Journey Around The World

1.) “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” ― Anita Desai

2.) “Travel far enough, you meet yourself.”  ― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

3.) “Actually, the best gift you could have given her was a lifetime of adventures.” – Lewis Carroll

4.) “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” ― Gustave Flaubert

5.) “Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.”  – Jennifer Lee

6.) “To travel is worth any cost or sacrifice.”  ― Elizabeth Gilbert

7.) “Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta

8.) “Better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times.”  – Asian  proverb

9.) “It’s funny. When you leave your home and wander really far, you always think, ‘I want to go home.’ But then you come home, and of course it’s not the same. You can’t live with it, you can’t live away from it. And it seems like from then on there’s always this yearning for someplace that doesn’t exist. I felt that. Still do. I’m never completely at home anywhere.” ― Danzy Senna

  10.) “Travel is never a matter of money, but of courage.” – Paulo Coelho

11.) “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” ― Terry Pratchett

12.) “Travel makes you realize that no matter how much you know, there’s always more to learn.” – Nyssa P. Chopra

13.) “I heard an airplane passing overhead. I wished I was on it.” ― Charles Bukowski

14.) “When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” – Clifton Fadiman

  Adventure Quotes about Exploration and Fun

15.) “If you think adventure us dangerous, try routine; it’s lethal.” – Paulo Coelho

16.) “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” – Unknown

17.) “It is not down in any map; true places never are.” – Herman Melville

18.) “The journey, not the arrival matters.” – T.S. Eliot

19.) “For an occurrence to become an adventure, it is necessary and sufficient for one to recount it.”  ― Jean-Paul Sartre

20.) “A ship is safe in the harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for.”  – Gael Attal

21.) “Not I, not anyone else, can travel that road for you. You must travel it for yourself.”  – Walt Whitman

22.) “We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.” – Hilaire Belloc

23.) “Please understand, I have been waiting to leave ever since I figured out there were roads willing to take me anywhere I wanted to go.”  – Unknown

24.) “Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you’d drop dead in 10 seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.”  – Ray Bradbury

25.) “Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” — T.S Eliot

Inspirational Travel Adventure Quotes about Life

26.) “If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home.” – James Michener

27.) “Adventure, yeah. I guess that’s what you call it when everybody comes back alive.” ― Mercedes Lackey

28.) “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” –  Aldous Huxley

29.) “…adventures don’t come calling like unexpected cousins calling from out of town. You have to go looking for them.” — Unknown

30.) “Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you’ve traveled.” – Mohammed

31.) “If you can’t live longer, live deeper.”  – Italian proverb

  32.) “My heart swings back and forth between the need for routine and the urge to run.” – Unknown

  33.) “Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s life.” – Mark Twain

  34.) “Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.” – Peter Hoeg

  35.) “I do not want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” – Diane Ackerman

  36.) “Traveling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, ‘I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.’” – Lisa St. Aubin de Teran

Best Adventure quotes about seeing the world

37.)  “Always there has been an adventure just around the corner–and the world is still full of corners.” ― Roy Chapman Andrews

38.)  “Maybe you had to leave in order to miss a place; maybe you had to travel to figure out how beloved your starting point was.” ― Jodi Picoult

  39.)  “And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” — Kahlil Gibran

40.)  “If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.” – Seth Godin

41.) “I would rather own a little and see the world than own the world and see a little.”  – Alexander Sattler

  42.)  “Jobs fill your pocket, adventures fill your soul.”  – Jaime Lyn Beatty

43.) “No reason to stay is a good reason to go.” – Unknown

44.) “Let your boys test their wings. They may not be eagles, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t soar free.” ― C.J. Milbrandt

45.) “Every man can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure.” – Irving Wallace

46.)  “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by.” – Robert Frost

47.)  “The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

48.) “One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure.” – William Feather

49.) “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

Adventure quotes for couples

50.) “Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.” – Ernest Hemingway

51.) I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them. — Mark Twain

52.) “Love is the food of life, travel is dessert.” – Annonymous

53.) “As soon as I saw you, I knew you would be an adventure of a lifetime.” – Winnie the Pooh

54.) “I would like to travel the world with you twice. Once to see the world. Twice, to see the way you see the world.” – Anon

55.) “A couple who travel together grow together.” – Ahmad Fuadi

56.) “It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves – in finding themselves.” – Andre Gide

57.) “He who does not travel does not know the value of men.” – Moorish proverb

58.) “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” – Oprah Winfrey

59.) “If happiness is the goal – and it should be, then adventure should be top priority.” – Richard Branson

60.) ”Don’t die without embracing the daring adventure your life was meant to be.” – Steve Pavlina

Adventure quotes that inspire you to tackle the world

61.) “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” ~ Susan Sontag

62.) “And into the forest I go to lose my mind and find my soul.” – Unknown

63.) “Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” – Ernest Hemingway

64.) ‘’Adventure isn’t hanging on a rope off the side of a mountain. Adventure is an attitude that we must apply to the day to day obstacles in life.’’ – John Amatt

65.) “Instead of trying to make your life perfect, give yourself the freedom to make it an adventure and go ever upward.” – Drew Houston

66.) “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller

67.)  “Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.” – J.K. Rowling

68.) “I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” –Rosalia de Castro

69.) “An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.” – G. K. Chesterton

70.) “I’ll look back on this and smile because it was life and I decided to live it.” – Unknown

Motivational quotes about adventure and living life to the fullest

71.) “I do not have the slightest clue what I am doing…that’s the adventure…I stopped worrying about it…that’s the beauty.” – Jason King

72.)“Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” – Amelia Earhart

73.) “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

74.) ”Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure” – Bob Bitchin

75.) ” If we do not find anything very pleasant, at least we shall find something new. ” – Johann Friedrick von Schiller

76.) ”Fill your life with adventures, not things. Have stories to tell not stuff to show.” – Unknown

77.) “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discoverthat I had not lived.” – Henry David Thoreau

78.) “Life is full of adventure. There’s no such thing as a clear pathway.” – Guy Laliberte

79.) “There is no certainty; there is only adventure.” – Roberto Assagioli

80.) ’The only question in life is whether or not you are going to answer a hearty ‘YES!’ to your adventure.’’ – Joseph Campbell

Adventure quotes to inspire you to live the life of your dreams

81.) “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning to sail my ship.” ~ Louisa May Alcott 

82.) “If it’s both terrifying and amazing then you should definitely pursue it.” –Erada

83.) ‘’Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don’t be sorry.’’ – Jack Kerouac

84.) “Anytime I feel lost, I pull out a map and stare. I stare until I have reminded myself that life is a giant adventure, so much to do, to see.” – Angelina Jolie

85.) “I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I’ll go to it laughing.” – Herman Melville

86.) “It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.” – Alan Cohen

87.) ” We’re not home-and-hearth people. We’re the adventurers, the buccaneers, the blockade runners. Without challenge, we’re only alive.” – Alexander Eliot

88.) “If you don’t take risks, you’ll have a wasted soul.” – Drew Barrymore

89.) “Until you step into the unknown, you don’t know what you’re made of.” – Roy T. Bennett

Inspirational adventure quotes

90.) “Life is a blank canvas, and you need to throw all the paint on it you can.” – Danny Kaye

91.) “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”- Michael Althsuler

92.) ‘’A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints.’’ – Willfred Peterson

93.) “Adventure is not outside man; it is within.” – George Eliot

94.) “We love because it’s the only true adventure.” – Nikki Giovanni

95.) “People don’t take trips, trips take people.” – John Steinbeck

96.) “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine

97.) “Here’s to freedom, cheers to art. Here’s to having an excellent adventure and may the stopping never start.” – Jason Mraz

98.) “Never forget that life can only be nobly inspired and rightly lived if you take it bravely and gallantly, as a splendid adventure in which you are setting out into an unknown country, to face many a danger, to meet many a joy, to find many a comrade, to win and lose many a battle.” – Annie Besant

99.) “Make your life a mission – not an intermission.” – Unknown

100.) “May your adventures bring you closer together, even as they take you far away from home.” – Trenton Lee Stewart

Adventure quotes to ignite your wanderlust

101.) “You know you are truly alive when you’re living among lions.” – Karen Blixen

102.) “I’m still a kid inside, and adventure is adventure wherever you find it.” – Jim Dale

103.) “One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” ― André Gide

104.) “Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aesop

105.) “Life is an adventure, it’s not a package tour.” – Eckhart Tolle

106.) “A man on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motori