#taffy writes ⁂ bts.

[st1llwthyou]

POPPIN’ CHERRY.

fandom ꕀ bts

pairing ꕀ jungkook x f!reader

applicable aus & genre ꕀ roommate au, smut

synopsis ꕀ those were the last words he ever expected to come out of your mouth. but heck, jungkook would be lying if he said that he didn’t fucking love it.

word count ꕀ 2,322

warnings & tags ꕀ language, inexperienced reader, dom/sub dynamics, biting, pet names (fem! – baby, angel etc.), nipple play, dacryphilia, corruption kink (implied), dirty talk, cunnilingus, pussy drunk!jk, fingering — RATED E for explicit content.

notes ꕀ hello! i’m a newbie lskjdikdj and this is my tumblr debut 🫣! i’m so, very nervous and scared, but i hope you enjoy <3!

“You want me to… what?!” Jungkook looks at you wide-eyed, clearly flabbergasted by your proposition. You swallow nervously, hoping with all your might that your little plan works out. 

“Make me orgasm… can you not?” You whisper with bated breath. It’s uncertain where your boldness is coming from, but you’ve come a bit too far to back out now. 

He shakes his head a few times, getting up from his bed to approach you. “It’s not about if I can or not, ____. Do you not understand how fucking abrupt this is? I’m sort of weirded out, where is this coming from, huh?” 

You lean against the door frame to his room, heaving out a sigh. Of course, you know how out of the blue this is, to him. It almost makes you sad that he’s never picked up on any of the hints you’ve dropped before. That you like him. 

“I… um, heard you.” You murmur. It won’t hurt to tell a bit of truth.

“... Heard what exactly?” Jungkook quirks an eyebrow at you, skeptical. 

“You… and the girls you bring back sometimes.” That sentence stings to even utter, but you manage somehow. 

A sigh escapes his pretty lips. “Fuck… I thought you’d be sleeping. And the walls seem pretty darn thick so I assumed not a lot of noise will travel.” 

“I was sleeping, I just… woke up again to the sounds of, y’know…” 

A heavy silence falls between you two. You wait for him to say something, anything, but he doesn’t. Jungkook just regards you silently, those magnetic pools of honey trailing over your figure with no prominent emotions visible. 

“Hey… you can decline, by the way. If it wasn’t clear. I’ll go back and we can just, um, pretend that nothing happened and go back to being normal roommates.” Tears burn in the back of your eyes, but you still try to appear brave and strong in front him. 

“I know I can decline. But I’m not sure if I want to.” Jungkook takes a few more steps forward, reaching for you. As his warm, big hand finds your jaw, you lean into the comforting touch instinctively. “You’re so sweet and adorable, I never thought I’d hear those words out of your mouth.” 

“Can you just—” 

“But I liked it. Say it again.” He disrupts your complaint even before you could start. It takes you a few moments to properly register what he said. But once you do, your whole body thrums from excitement, heartbeat going crazy.

“Mm–make me come, Jungkook.” Your voice is barely audible, but just enough for his blood to rush south. His strong arms wrap around your smaller frame to hoist you up, carrying you to his bed. 

“I might just not survive this, fuck.” Jungkook hisses under his breath, gently dropping you on his mattress. He’s over aware of every little thing about you now, from the outline of your pebbled nipples on your pajama, to your glossy eyes that are locked on him. 

“Can I call you ‘baby’? And other nicknames?” He enquires hopefully, his hands eagerly exploring your curves. You tremble under his touch, vigorously shaking your head in an assertive manner. Jungkook chuckles.

“Aww, you’re so cute and eager, baby.” He hovers over you, his eyes searching for yours. “You want me to make you come, hm?” 

Even though your heart feels like it’ll burst out of your chest, you lock your eyes with him. “Yea… I– I’ve never orgasmed in my life.” Your voice is small, heat rising to your cheeks as you confess, embarrassed. Jungkook leans down to nuzzle your face, dropping a butterfly kiss right beneath your eye.

“Is that so? Not even by yourself?” One of his hands slips beneath your pajama, gently stroking your tummy. He smiles when you nod, his other hand cupping your face. “It’s okay, we can try it out today and see what happens.” 

Jungkook is so close, studying you and everything you do — almost enamored by your nuances. “May I kiss you?” He rests his forehead against yours, waiting for your confirmation. 

“Yes please.” He doesn’t waste a second, soft lips finding yours in a sweet kiss. The simple touch alone gets you exhilarated, hands gripping onto his t-shirt. He lets his tongue run over your lower lip, making you twitch under him. 

That snaps something in Jungkook, his hand firmly grasping your jaw while he coaxes your mouth open to him. You gasp when he teases your tongue with his, taking control of the kiss from the get go. The way he moves his tongue against yours makes you dizzy, strange sensations flooding your body. It feels like he’s unraveling you. 

Your little moans and whimpers egg him on, his teeth nibbling at your lower lip. Jungkook is feeling partially intoxicated by you, his mind hazy from lust. Although, he pulls away from the mind-numbing kiss a while later to give you some space to breathe. “Fuck,” he curses, enticed by your teary eyes and swollen lips. 

It takes you a while to gather yourself, but you soon realize how much effect that single kiss had on you. Your underwear has soaked through with your arousal, uncomfortably sticking to your skin. Your nipples are also rock hard, aching to be touched. 

“Jungkook,” you whine weakly, thrashing a bit to show your distress. His mouth returns to yours, right hand swifty unbuttoning your pajama. Jungkook trails down wet kisses down your neck, suckling on the soft skin in places. A moan escapes you when he tweaks your clothed nipple between his fingers. 

“I haven’t started anything yet, princess.” His whisper is hot against your cleavage, right hand slipping beneath your back to unhook your bra. “So pretty,” he coos, throwing it away somewhere in the room. A sudden wave of embarrassment hits you as you realize that this is the most bare you’ve ever been to anyone. So, you try to cover yourself, but he’s faster to stop you, narrowing his eyes. “Don’t. Did I not mention how fucking pretty you are?”

Face flushed, you avoid eye contact. “Sorry… it’s just– um, the first time someone saw me like this.” 

Jungkook lets go of your wrists, the weight of your words sinking in. “Good fucking lord, ____.” His eyes darken, breathing uneven. “Let me take care of you, angel.” He captures your lips in a searing kiss, strong, calloused hand massaging your breast. His other hand is at the small of your back, supporting both of you. 

Eventually, he trails downward, pressing open-mouthed kisses until he reaches your unoccupied breast. With his eyes locked on you, Jungkook licks at your stiffened bud, earning a whimper from you. “Look at me, princess.” He encourages, almost losing it when your droopy eyes fixate on his face. 

With his cock throbbing inside his boxer-briefs, he wraps his lips around your nipple, earning him a lewd whine. You place your arm over your mouth quickly, head falling back as he runs his teeth and tongue over the sensitive bundle of nerves. It feels unbelievably good, you had no idea having your nipples sucked would be like this.

“Oh my god,” you cry out, overwhelmed by the sensation when Jungkook also starts tweaking and teasing your other nipple with his finger. More arousal has leaked from your sopping hole, a tight feeling inside your lower belly coiling. The pleasure is almost blinding, making you twitch and tremble under him.

Soon, he impatiently moves to ravish the unattended breast, adding more to your devastation. You’re just barely hanging in there, extremely unsure of what’s happening with your body, feeling like you might explode any minute. Jungkook, on the other hand, bites and suckles on your tits like his life depends on it, frenzied by your sweet taste and reactions. 

But he stops short when he notices your hips bucking up, eyes teary, ready to spill the diamond drops. “My baby,” he murmurs, letting his right hand slip inside your pajama bottoms. You moan out of relief when he presses down on your clit, inner walls clenching around nothing. Jungkook is almost surprised when he finally feels the damp cloth of your cotton panties. “Fuck, can’t believe you.” 

He quickly gets rid of your bottoms, eyes falling upon the massive wet patch on your panties. “No– it’s embarrassing—” You try to cross your legs shut. Quite genuinely, you had no idea that it’s possible to produce that much liquid down there. Unfortunately, he’s way too strong, spreading your legs apart with bare-minimum effort. 

“Shh, nothing is embarrassing, angel. You’re a fucking goddess, out of the world, even.” Jungkook sounds so sincere that your heart skips a beat. “I’ll make you feel so good, baby.” He pulls at the waistband of your panties, slowly taking the offending material off. An expletive rumbles in his throat when he sees the strings of your arousal attaching you to your underwear. 

“You’re gonna drive me crazy.” He hisses, struggling to keep his urges on check. Blindly throwing away the panties somewhere, Jungkook eagerly settles down between your legs, already feeling his cock twitch at the sight of your drenched pussy. “Goddamn…” He gingerly parts your nether lips, exposing your dripping hole to his hungry gaze. 

“Don’t stare at it like that,” your voice is small, heart doing backflips in your chest. It makes you feel so shy, the way his eyes are trained on your lady bits. His short laugh makes you wanna rub your thighs together. 

“Awe, is my princess feeling embarrassed? Don’t be, you have the prettiest pussy, all swollen and wet for me~” Jungkook rubs his middle finger along your slit, letting it coat into your nectar. New to the feeling of his thick, calloused finger, you whimper out of sensitivity. Oh, the way he’s absolutely adored by you. 

He tilts his head as if he’s contemplating something. Then all of a sudden, he starts lowering himself until he is face to face with your core. “Wan’ a taste of your cute, little pussy.” Goosebumps spread over your skin as you clench at the thought. Jungkook lazily thumbs your swollen clit, enamored by your responses. “You’re so fucking responsive, makes me wanna play with you forever.” 

“Nngh— Jungkook!” you squeal as he licks a fat stroke along your pussy, covering the whole area with his saliva. It’s weird — the way it feels, but you’d be lying if you said you didn’t like it. He moans at the initial taste, putting your legs on his shoulder to really get in there. 

Jungkook laps at your cunt hungrily, his thumb diligently rubbing your clit. His tongue teasingly rims around your entrance, before plunging into the depths of your core. You jolt, crying out of despair, hypersensitive to his ministrations. The flexible muscle strokes at your gummy walls, increasing the weird feeling inside your stomach. Now, you feel certain that you will burst at any moment, clenching on his tongue helplessly. 

But he doesn’t stop, his little groans going straight through your core. Jungkook is in a frenzy, his whole mouth buried in your pussy as he greedily devours every single drop of your nectar. With his movements getting quicker and rougher, the knots in your lower stomach start to feel like they’ll snap. “Oh my god,” you cry out loud, “Jungkook, it– ugh, feels so weird— wait— Aah!” 

Your body goes rigid as soon as he pinches your clit between his fingers, a flooding sensation spreading throughout you. White spots appear in your vision while your body breaks out in exhilarating shivers, a string of incoherent words leaving you. Jungkook, on the other hand, slurps at your juices, his heart swelling in his chest. This is the first time you experienced a release. And he’s the first person to taste your sweet cherry pop. 

Your body loosens up soon after, leaving you all mushy. He holds you close, slowly retracting his tongue from your pussy, making you whine weakly. It makes an embarrassingly loud popping sound when he finally pulls away, his whole mouth covered with your slick, glistening under the dim lighting of his bedroom. 

“Baby,” Jungkook coos at you, noticing the tear streaks on your temples. He never thought he’d be seeing you like this, but he’s loving every second of it. You look messed up in the best way possible, all for him. “Did I make you feel good, hm? You came all over my face, look at me, c’mon~” 

His voice is cocky, eyes twinkling with mischief. When you finally meet his eyes, Jungkook reaches for your with his left hand, wiping away the stray tears. You’re unsure what to say, still processing everything that just happened. But still, you clear your throat, starting, “Um… Thank you…” 

“Oh? For what?” He can’t help his chuckle. You’re just so freaking cute.

“For… for making me come, like I asked, Jungkook.” you whisper, nuzzling his hand affectionately. 

“Trust me, it was my pleasure. But you’re welcome! Care to receive my other services regarding this?” 

You flush at his words, immediately realizing what he means exactly.

“Well…?” Jungkook raises an eyebrow, quite impatient.

“Mmm… I’d love to.” He doesn’t waste a single second upon your confirmation, his tattooed right hand cupping your pussy in a rough manner. 

“God—” you moan as he pushes his middle finger inside, overwhelmed by how thick and long it is compared to your own, familiar one. Jungkook leans down to press a sweet kiss on your lips.

“I’m really sorry, but I don’t think you’ll be getting any sleep tonight.” His big, brown eyes look into yours, full of lust and something softer that you can’t really place. 

“I don’t mind.” Your smile turns into a broken moan when he hits a specific spot deep inside you, your gummy walls squeezing his finger appreciatively. 

Being stupidly bold isn’t so bad all the time, maybe. 

˗ˏˋ ★ extended notes ˎˊ˗

thanks so much for reading 🥺! i hope this was okay >.< (pls ignore typos or other mistakes, english is not my 1st language) ; i’d love to hear your thoughts about this! please reblog, comment, or even send me asks, feedback is very much appreciated!

[researcher-serif]

Masterlist

for me and you cause I like reading back on my works. I'll try my best to put this all in order

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Introductions!

Call me Ree or by my full url! I also go by Sweden.

Im an aroace masc nonbinary that uses mainly they/them pronouns followed by he/him. I also use other ones like xey/xer/xem, we/us, and hai/hir/hoi.

I like cats, pasta, flufy and shiny shit, reading fanfics, and trying to info dump ideas at a fast rate. Hate em wronguns who thinks fucked up shit like child abuse or pedophilia is ok and caramel. Fuck caramel. And taffy.

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Here's my art side blog @cat-and-fox-hub

Here's my NSFW (art & writing) blog @grandfather-of-sin

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Currently in the following fandoms in interest order:

Skibidi Toilet

Yu-Gi-Oh (Arc-V an' Zexal mostly with GX & s0 on the side)

Titanfall (BT-7274 is so fuckin CUTE!!)

Twisted Wonderland (Yuu angst or comedy with x reader slides)

Cookie Run

Dream SMP (TommyInnit-centic shit)

Madness Combat

Transformers (time travelin Sam Witwicky & great, albeit rare, x reader content)

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Miscellaneous

Existence AU

Existence- The Starter Post

How do you Know you Exist?- A question for @sad-boy-hank

How do you Know I Exist?- What do you Perceive me to Be?

Authority- We do not have Authority and the cost is much, much, too high.

Writing Prompts

Your Reward: The No Harm List- You live in a city where crime runs rampant. One day, you save a young boy's life, not knowing that he is the crime lord's son, and you have just joined the no harm list.

Last Words- "Choose your last word's carefully," the villain sneered. The hero shakily lifted their head, "I love you"

A Short Aggressive Excerpt of My Day- Describe an average day as aggressively and violently as possible.

Series

The Little Green Bunny- Madness Combat x BNHA

Dream SMP

Loop Excerpt #479: Of Music And Ballet- Dream & Tommy in a time loop; funny shenanigans ensue after they put their shit aside and become friends

Spinel Heart- Tommy-centric AU where Tommy is left at his childhood cottage all alone by the SBI, Spinel inspired, and left to take care of the home and farms all by himself for 7 years until they come back when Tommy turns 17.

TRANSFORMERS

Multiverse Shenanigans- Merfolk Reader & Human Megatron get thrown in a traveling the multiverse trope

Monster in Human Disguise- Humans are Scary Reader in a Humans are Cute TFA universe

Unintentional Cupid- Megatron but everyone secretly wants to kills him and he and their very beloved liaison are in love with each other

Gen Z Humans & Madagascar Penguins- Thread chain about Gen Z Humans in G1 scenarios & the human equivalent Madagascar Penguins

MADNESS COMBAT

Miscellaneous

Human Reader planning a vacation

Reader in a nurse outfit as 2B's 'assistant'- small imagine off of @yansoftie's response to an ask for 'nice dress' AU

Rapunzel reader, Pascal 2Bitty, and Hank Ryder- Rapunzel AU

Integrity AU

Shower Thought- The Starter Post

Poor Word Choice Gets Grunts Horny AF- suggestive one shot with Dom Sheriff

Just Sheriff or Everyone Else?- @gonergoat's ask whether or not breeding kink is for him only or expendable to everyone else.

Soft Ara AU

Beginning- The Starter Post(will be updated)

Perfect- @gonergoat's short ask about how funny SA Reader's situation is

Affection Battle- Church & Gorge meeting Reader

"I need to survive"- Internal monologue of Reader during Tricky Boss Fight

SIX Musical AU

SIX Catherine Reader- Character Intro

SIX Anne Reader- Character Intro

SIX Jane Seymour Reader- Character Intro

SIX Anna Reader- Character Intro

SIX Katherine Reader- Character Intro

SIX Parr Reader- Character Intro

PAWSG Reader AU

Nephalem in Madness- My PAWSG Reader gets yeeted into Madcom

Clay God AU

Accidentally Became Zeus lmao- The Starter Post

The Nameless- One of CG Reader’s more terrifying creations

The Overseer

Madcom x FNF Story Idea with Auditor Reader & Dimension Traveling- Starter Post

SKIBIDI TOILET

Skip & Solo- A prompt with AIL Reader saving a moot's silly duo from a pickle

TWISTED WONDERLAND

Once 4 Stood, Only 2 Now Remain- The Dwarves Mines goes terribly wrong.

Yuu AU Ideas- Somewhat obscure Yuu crossover ideas

[sweetwritertanya]

The Most Memorable Halloween

A/N: HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Here it is, my last story for this special month, the thirteenth story I promised you guys! And… it’s a OT7 fanfic! I usually prefer to write only for one member at a time, but for this story I wanted something special so I included all of them. The relationship with the reader can be read however you like, be it romantic, platonic or just as a friend! Up to you! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this series and that you like this story for the finale. Love you guys and let me know what you think!

Summary: You take all the members of BTS to go out camping during the Halloween weekend. Just the eight of you. What could possibly go wrong?

Warnings: HORROR! But not quite, just a spooky idea I had and wanted to share! Hope you all like it!

Word Count: 4769

There was a particular difficult issue that you always knew would come up when you first got to know the seven boys of BTS. Getting close to them, befriend them, caring for them would end up being incredibly frustrating during special days, like birthdays or Christmas or Valentine’s Day. And the reason why was simple: they were rich and already had any and everything you could envision them wanting for themselves.

Coming up with gift ideas became so stressful to you, that the boys had to put on an intervention one day and make you promise that you would never buy any of them a present ever again. So, since then, special days were celebrated with kind words and long messages to each other, lots of food and drinks if you could all be together and an overall good time in each other’s company.

And yet, when a friend of yours got a job as park ranger at a beautiful national park with amazing views, you got an idea. That particular park was closed down as they were redoing some of the roads and adding trails for hikers, being safer to just close off access to any pedestrians or campers for the month of October. So, if your friend could get you and the boys into the park, no one would be there to recognize them or bother them. And they had the weekend of Halloween off just in time.

It took a bit of persuading, but it’s not something Taffy hadn’t done before for her friend’s or something you had done for her back in the day. It would be just for the weekend, when no one would be working in construction either way, and she would be at the station in case anything went wrong.

In your eyes, it was the perfect gift you could give them. The boys liked camping, but they only ever did it with a bunch of cameras, never really just by themselves. They have been talking about a trip like this for months. And you could offer them just that.

“Have a good stay up there, babe” Taffy’s voice came in through the walkie talkie she gave you as you met her at the station to come in.

“Thanks, I owe you big time, queen” you radio back at her, a smile on your lips as you look out the van’s window while you continue up the path.

“Yeah, you do. Just watch out for wildlife and new forks in the roads. They haven’t put up the new signs yet” she warns.

“Will do. See you tomorrow.”

With that you decide to keep the walkie in your backpack before you ended up losing it.

“I still can’t believe we are actually doing this!” an excited Taehyung next to you says, a boxy smile and sparkling eyes thrown at you.

“It’s going to be fun. We’ll put up the tents, make a fire and eat some s’mores…” Hoseok chips in, sitting across the table from you with that usual cheery smile of his. “We’ll drink some beers and dance under the stars!”

“Yeah, I don’t know about the smores” Yoongi warns, on the other side of the moving van, body leaning against the window on his side, but looking your way. “We didn’t buy any marshmallows, so unless you packed some, no can do.”

“What?!” Hoseok turns around in his seat to talk to Namjoon, who was currently on the passenger side upfront, next to a driving Jungkook. “Say, Namjoon, did you buy the marshmallows like I asked?”

“Hum? What?” He does his best to turn around in his seat and look at us, but you can only see half of his square jaw and one of his slim eyes as he stretches, short hair covered by a cap.

“The s’mores for tonight” Hoseok persists.

“Oh, crap. Sorry, totally forgot about it!” Hoseok sighs in disappointment, and Namjoon feels guilty about it. “Should I go back and buy some?”

“No, of course not. It’s okay, another time we’ll have some” Hoseok remains positive and smiles brightly again, much to the leader’s relief.

“Yeah, this won’t be the last time we go camping, surely” Jimin, sitting next to Hoseok across from you and Taehyung, comforts him although he didn’t seem to need it any longer. “If I remember next time, I’ll buy you some myself, hyung.”

“How’s it going, JK? Is it much longer?” Jin yells as he leans to try and see the driver from his seat across from Yoongi.

“What?” Jungkook asks back, turning his head towards us slightly but keeping his eyes on the road and hands steady on the wheel.

“How much longer?” Jin repeats.

“The last sign I saw said two miles to the camping ground” he answered.

“Okay, good job!” Jin compliments the youngest.

Soon enough you arrived at the camping site, some bathroom facilities nearby that your friend gave you the keys to use as well some wooden tables and benches. There were tall colorful trees surrounding the clearing where you would all be staying tonight, with a beautiful view to the peak of the mountain, high on the sky, so much further away.

The boys all jump out of the van even before Jungkook managed to shut the engine off, screaming and stretching their legs as they walk outside into the grass and fresh air. Jin and Namjoon both ask you for the keys to the bathroom since they had to go for a while, only for Taehyung to steal them out of your hands and go first, with a shouting angry Jin and an annoyed resigned Namjoon following after.

You help Yoongi and Hoseok taking out all the necessaries in terms of food preparing, while Jimin and Jungkook tried to set the two tents up. When the rest of the members joined, things picked up quickly and you, Jin and Yoongi got a station ready for cooking while the rest of them took care of everything else.

It was early afternoon when you all arrived, but the night was commencing by the time you all sat down to eat. The hours felt like minutes, not a moment passing by in boredom with these boys around. Be it Jin telling you his silly jokes as he sliced the ingredients next to you, Yoongi asking you to taste every dish he prepared multiple times to know if it was good, Namjoon trying his best to help only to look at you with guilty eyes as he holds in his hands a broken part of the chair he and Hoseok were assembling. Hobi laughing about it in disbelief with you. The three younger members all struggling to put up the tents at first, calling you to help them but you only end up stuck under the fabric of the tent when they let it fall on you.

Not a dull moment with them. And so, hours went by like minutes.

By the end of dinner, you are all sited in chairs around the fireplace – Namjoon siting on one that was missing an arm, since he broke it – all watching the starry sky in comfortable silent, interrupted occasionally by a remark or two.

“Thank you for bringing us out here, Y/N. You’re the sweetest” Jimin murmurs in a chair next to you, his hands moving from his lap to brush at the skin of your fluffy arm in a gentle manner.

“Oh, you are welcome, ChimChim. Anything for you guys” you assure him, patting his hand that stays placed on top of your wrist.

“I didn’t think we’d ever get to be out and about like this ever again, just us without cameras, without causing trouble” Yoongi confesses, with a bit of a slur and his accent coming out due to the few beers he had to drink.

“Yeah, me neither. It’s all thanks to you, sweetheart” Namjoon agrees, throwing you a dimpled smile that had you smiling right back at him.

“Guys, please, stop it” you say as you grow a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable.

“Ohh, I think she is blushing! Look at Y/N’s cute chubby cheeks going red!” Taehyung points out, a long index finger pointing playfully your way, a mischievous look in his eyes.

“Maybe the beer is getting to her head only now” Jin proposes in a chuckle, leaning forward to look at you with puffy lips tugging up.

“Shut up! It was only one beer, how lightweight to you think I am?” you try and defend yourself.

“Pretty lightweight if I recall from that night at the karaoke…” Jungkook chips in.

Knowing exactly the night he was referring to, and mortified that he would spill all the embarrassing bits to everyone, you end up taking your slipper and throwing at him. But he just catches it and giggles, throwing it back at you with measured strength.  

“Wait, guys, shush!” Hoseok suddenly gasps from the opposite side from you, turning in his chair to look at the woods behind him. “Did… Did anyone hear that?”

“Is your mind already playing tricks on you, hyung?” Jimin questions.

“No, no, I heard something. Like a branch snapping” Hoseok persists, on edge. “A-Are there bears in this mountain or something?”

“You hear a branch cracking and your first thought goes immediately to bear?” Yoongi wonders, not sounding amused. “How about a rabbit, a fox or even a coyote before you think of something like a bear?”

Yoongi did have a point, and nobody heard anything except for Hoseok, but seeing how concern he was, you decide to appease him.

“I’ll call Taffy and ask her about what wildlife we are dealing with, okay, Hobi?”

“Thanks, Y/N, you’re a real angel. Unlike you guys!” He pouts at the rest of the group after throwing you an appreciative look of relief.

“Hey, Taffy, you there?” you say into the walkie-talkie you took out of your bag.

It takes her a minute or two, but she does respond.

“Hello there, gang. What’s up? Already bored?” she jokes.

“Nothing like that. Just wandering, what kind of animals are there in the mountain? We won’t be seeing any bears or anything like that, right?”

“Oh, we had some bears alright” she says through the static and Hoseok yelps while the rest of them widen their eyes at the walkie in your hands. You heart skips a bit in unexpected fright, but then she continues. “But since we are closed, there won’t be any large hairy gay men around any time soon, sorry to disappoint!”

A collective sigh of relief and a chuckle or two are heard around the fireplace and you pursue your lips as you close your eyes, imagining just smacking the back of her head if she was there with you for scaring you like that.

“Very funny, thanks for that” you sarcastically reply.

“No problem, anytime. But yeah, there’s only like foxes and wild cats to watch out for in here.”

“Good to know, we’ll be careful.”

“I see the smoke. You guys around a fireplace?”

“Yeah, we finished eating and we’re just relaxing before hitting the sack. Don’t worry, we’ll set it out before going to sleep” you promise her.

“Alright. Make sure the nine of you cuddle up for warmth, it will be cold tonight” she teases.

You know she is trying to tease and embarrass you, but you frown at what she says with a strange feeling instead. The boys don’t seem to pay it much attention apart from Namjoon and Jungkook, who look at you frowning as well.

“You mean eight. There is eight of us, me and the seven guys” you correct her.

The static goes silent for longer than it should and you realize that you have a bad feeling. Hoseok must have sensed it, cause his expression seems to mimic yours.

“She must have just counted wrong” Namjoon tries to calm you down.

“Hey” Taffy’s voice returns from the walkie and you don’t even realize you are now leaning in the chair, holding the device in front of you for everyone to hear it. “You guys all went down to the fountain to gather water, didn’t you?”

It was Jin who answered, a bit more serious now than he was before.

“Yeah, the buckets would be heavy to carry back to the camping site so we all went to help.”

“There are cameras every ten miles up the path and I saw you in one of them” she explains. “I’m looking at the recording right now and I count nine people walking by.”

A chill runs up your spine and your throat closes in on itself as you feel nauseated. This was not right; something was not right.

“Y/N, get everyone out. Come back to the station, there is someone else in the park!” your friend’s voice commands with assertiveness.

“OH MY GOD! I knew it, I knew it! There is A KILLER in here!” Hoseok starts to panic and, as much as you feel on the verge of terror yourself, you try to remain calm the best you can.

“Hobi, calm down” you say, running to him and placing your hands on his arms, rubbing them up and down through the sweater he had to try and keep him steady.

“Everyone on the van. NOW!” Namjoon orders and it takes less than thirty seconds for everyone to run inside the vehicle and leave all the stuff you had outside behind.

Instead of sitting, everyone seems to be looking out the windows with suspicion, into the dark distrustful woods, all the vehicle’s door locking as the sound of the motor roars to life. Only to stutter and crumble. Seven the heads suddenly snap to the driver’s seat, where Jungkook was again turning the key on the ignition. And the same happened.

“What the hell Jungkook! Get us out of here!” Jimin cries out, showcasing he was just as scared as Hoseok was looking right then.

“I’m trying! The van won’t start!” you can hear the guilt in his voice as he continues to try and try again to start the motor, but it just won’t work.

“We’re sitting prey! WE ARE SITTING PREY!” Hoseok is shaking profusely next to you and you hug him for support. His arms wrap around you as he leans his head against yours and breathes.

“No, we’re not. There was a ranger’s jeep on the side of that cabin next to the toilets, remember?” Namjoon starts, sounding a lot more confident than the clumsy man looked. “If we can get inside that cabin and find the keys, we can drive back to Taffy and wait for the police.”

“That’s IF we can even get to the cabin without encountering whoever is out there and IF we can get in and IF we can find the keys and IF the jeep even works!” Jin points out in a very matter of fact speedy speech that is difficult to keep up with. His nervousness was beginning to show. “How about we just lock ourselves here? Lock the van and wait for rescue? Y/N’s friend must have already called the police by now, we can wait here for them.”

“And be sitting ducks? Hell no!” Yoongi disagrees, biting at his nails before he speaks again. “I’m with Namjoon on this one. Whoever it’s out there, is just one person and there’s eight of us. And we don’t even know if they mean us any harm, they haven’t done anything yet.”

“Except messing with our van” Jungkook sighs irritated, giving up on starting the vehicle. “It worked perfectly before, someone must have messed with the engine.”

“Exactly, which means they wanted us here. They planned for us to stay here so, I say let’s get out there and try our luck with the jeep” Yoongi perseveres.

“You’re assuming they didn’t think we would wander off on our own, hyung! You don’t know! At least here we have four walls between us and whoever is out there, they wouldn’t get in” Jimin objects, sitting down and hugging his knees to his chest.

“Y-Yeah! S-so what if they shut the engine? We s-still have power so we can stay warm all night while they freeze outside!” Taehyung sides with Jimin, speaking for the first time in a while with evident fright in his voice but putting on a stoic front.

“What do you think, Y/N?” Jin asks you, coming to your side and taking your free hand into his while your other one was still around a terrified Hoseok’s back.

“I… I�� I don’t know” you confess, completely undecisive. “Both ideas have their pros and cons. I don’t know which would be best, honestly.”

“Well, we do need your keys to try and get into the cabin. You still have the set of keys Taffy gave you, don’t you?” Namjoon asks.

“Oh, yeah, in my pocket” you say as you take them out. There were two other keys besides the ones for the toilets. “You think one of them is for the cabin?”

“Must be, right? It would make sense to have them all in one set if they’re next to each other.”

“I say let’s split up” Yoongi suddenly declares.

“What? That’s the worst idea, have you ever seen a horror movie?” Jungkook refutes. “We should all stick together, keep each other safe.”

“Well, we can’t seem to reach an agreement on what to do and we’re just wasting time. And this is not a horror movie, Jungkook, this is real life. We need to make our move and fast” Yoongi counters back.

“Let’s vote. Who wants to stay on the van?” Namjoon questions.

Jimin, Hoseok and Taehyung immediately raise their hands.

“Okay, who wants to try and get to the jeep?”

Namjoon and Yoongi raise their hands. Both Jin, Jungkook and you stay neutral, unsure of what to pick. But Yoongi was right, you had to make your move sooner rather than later. So, with a deep breath, you go and stand between Namjoon and Yoongi, your decision made.

“I want to try and get out of here. Siting here, doing nothing, just creeps me out. I’ll go with them.”

“No, Y/N!” Jimin pouts with worry and stretches his arm to pull on yours, but you shake your head. Seeing his sad expression, you take his face in between your hands and peck at his forehead.

“If we get to the jeep, we’ll come back for you so we can all leave this place together. No one gets left behind” you promise them.

“I’ll go with them too” Jungkook decides, getting up from his driver’s seat and joining the group. A protective hand lands on your shoulder and you feel a little bit better.

“Then I’ll stay on the van. Keep an eye on them” Jin decides.

“Okay, that’s settled. Everyone, we’ll open the door, gather our things and we’re running” Namjoon says.

“I bet Yoongi is wishing he stayed in the van right now” Jin teases to which Yoongi just scrunches up his small nose. He wasn’t much of a fan of running and neither were you, but you both would have to for now.

“Stay safe, all of you” Taehyung wishes, coming in for a hug. You hug him back and try not to let negative thoughts go over your mind.

“I better hear the motor of the jeep coming soon, okay?” Hoseok asks, obviously nervous for you all.

“We’ll be right back” you promise again, rubbing his arm up and down before leaving.

Jimin holds your hand again, not wanting to let you go, but giving up once you move out of reach. Jin opens the door for all of you to step out and kisses the top of your head before you descend from the van.

You grab your backpack and it’s on.

All of you run towards the cabin, staying close to one another and away from the edges of the woods where there was no light. It was like any shadow could be someone, hiding, ready to strike. But there were four of you. People used to say there is strength in numbers. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to testing that.

The cabin was not particularly far, but in the context of the situation you were in, it felt like a continent away. The seven hundred feet distance took much too long for comfort, with the night sky darkening with each step. The running footsteps of the four of you were so loud you couldn’t tell if someone was following you. You just kept going, trying not to slow down the group with your poor running speed, especially with Jungkook staying right behind you.

When the cabin was just a few feet away, when you struggled to get the keys out of your pants’ pockets while you ran, that’s when you all heard it. A faint noise of glass being broken. And screams.

“Oh my God, oh my God…” you whisper with a trembling voice.

All of you stopped in your tracks as you look back at where the screams were coming from. From the van. Something happened in the van.

“Fuck! Jungkook, stay with Y/N and get to the cabin! Find that key and meet us by the van, we have to go back and help them” Namjoon orders in an almost shouting command, those dark and bushy eyebrows pulled so closely together in apprehension and fear that they almost meet at the bridge of his nose. He was trying to remain brave, but he was just as scared as you all were.

“N-No! I need to go to! We need to help them!” you refuse, already trying to walk back to the van, but Jungkook’s arms come around your shoulders and he keeps you pressed to him while you struggled.

“Focus, Y/N! Me and Yoongi are going back, you two go get the car. NOW!”

They were already running back as he speaks, decision already made despite your aching heart. The youngest members pulls you along with him to the cabin, even as your head remains looking back, heart at your throat and praying to any God out there that they were all fine. That everything would be all fine.

“C’mon, Y/N… I’m sorry but we need to get the car and fast.” Jungkook presses, one hand around your back keeping you running forward to the cabin.

“T-They are okay, r-right?” you force yourself to speak despite the lump on your throat. “They can’t b-be… be hurt…”

Your voice ends up dying in your mouth as he looks away with clenched jaws, not able to give you the response you wanted. Not having a response to give, probably being just as terrified as you were. All of his hyungs were back there in danger, relying on him and you to go and get them out. With that in mind, you force yourself to focus on your tasks again.

You try the first key on the lock and it doesn’t fit. Hands shaking, you try the second key. It goes in. You turn it on the lock and a nervous and relieving chuckle escapes you as the mechanism of the latch opens.

“Okay, okay!” you utter as you open the door and get in.

“Right, search for the key of the jeep! Quick!”

Letting go of him, you start searching the small cabin. Every drawer, cabinet, even under the rug gets searched. The plan was cemented around finding this key and getting to the jeep. The key had to be here, it just had to be. You went into the bathroom, even rummaging through the med kits in hopes it was somehow lost in there. It came to you then, that you still had the walkie talkie with you in the bag.

“Kook! I’ll try to ask Taffy on the radio again” you yell out to him, already taking the walkie out of your bag. “Taffy, can you hear me? Taffy, are you there?”

There’s only static. And silence.

The back of your neck breaks into goosebumps. It was silent. The cabin had gone absolutely dead silent. Not a single step, not a single breath, not a single movement was heard.

“Kook?” You step out of the bathroom slowly, wide restless eyes searching around the hallway and peering into the bedroom next to the restroom. Much to your terror, no one’s there. “��� J-Jungkook?”

No one answers. You voice cracks as you call for him when walking into the dark living room, tears of distress gathering at your eyes that strained to see with only the moonlight coming in through the windows. The white light bounced off the furniture, the sofa and cabinets and the table. But no Jungkook. There was no one at the cabin. You were suddenly all alone.

“Oh no… oh no…” you whisper into the darkness, completely frozen as you don’t know what to do anymore.

Your body crumbles beneath you and you feel at a complete lost. So, you just do what you’ve been avoiding all this time: you break down and cry. It starts in small sobs but soon you are drenching your hands as they hide your face, crying your heart out.

“CODE RED! CODE RED!”

It all happens so fast you can barely keep up. Eight figures jump out from behind the large sofa on the other side of the room, a loud bang releases a bunch of confetti suddenly into the hair and someone crunches down in front of you with a hand on your shoulder. Through your tears, it takes you a while to realize it’s Jungkook.

“W-What?” is all you manage to say as you sob.

“Damn it, guys! I told you this would make her cry!” a voice you recognized too well says. It was Taffy, standing among the boys with a tray of food in her hand.

“Hey, Y/N, it’s okay, you’re okay” Jimin, who came to squat down next to Jungkook and took your hand into his, says in a calming sweet voice.  

“But… the van and the screams…” you whisper back, your brain trying to make sense of the mess you found yourself in.

“Sorry, sunshine! We didn’t mean to scare you this much!” Hoseok apologizes. “Someone dropped a glass cup while we waited and it scared me, so I may have screamed a bit too loud.”

Hoseok shoots a look at Jimin, who whispers another ‘sorry’ to you. Your eyes wonder around all of them and you find yourself staring blankly at Jin, who just shrugs.

“Happy Halloween?” he expresses.  

“We may have gone a bit overboard. But we were also trying to prove a point! We agreed to not get each other gifts anymore and you went ahead and planned all of this for us. So, we planned something for you too” Namjoon starts explaining.

“We definitely over did it. She’s crying, hyung!” Taehyung points out, with a guilty expression.

“Yeah, we’re not the best at coming up with a plan at the last minute like this. All of this was just supposed to spook her, not terrify Y/N like this. And there should have been a lot less running!” Yoongi complains.

That brings a chuckle from everyone except you, as you are still processing it all.

“S-So… So, this was all fake? To scare me for Halloween?” you sum up their explanation the best your jumbled brain could.

The guys and your friend all share a look, before answering you in unison.

“Yes.”

Slowly, you stand up, your bulky legs no longer shaking, eyes closed as you inhale deeply and exhale soundly. When you open your eyes again, there are eight pair of worried ones staring at you. And you only had one thing to say.

“I hate all of your stupid faces!”

It’s a lie and they all know it. To apologize and earn your forgiveness, you are suddenly pulled into a group hug by the boys while your friend turns on the lights of the cabin and prepares the fireplace.

You spend the rest of the Halloween night hearing all about their malicious plan, the preparations and outrageous ideas they came up with before settling on this one. You never thought you would be grateful to only have gone through this situation until you heard some of their ‘spookier’ concepts they had. And, although you wouldn’t admit it to them, this would be the Halloween you would tell everyone about until your old years to come. It would be the most memorable Halloween of your life.

[mykrokosmos]

interview tag :-)

thank you to @taehynugs @dumplinjin and @vminkoook for tagging me!! you’re all angels❣️

name/nickname:  tiffany (people call me tiff, taff, taffy, todd, etc)

pronouns: she/her

star sign: scorpio sun, capricorn moon, gemini rising

height: 5′5″

time currently: 9:39pm

when is your birthday: november 7

favourite band/groups: bts lol, but i also love arizona

favourite solo artist: lorde probably? maybe billie eilish

song stuck in your head: falling by harry styles (lmao don’t look @ me i’m obviously going through it)

last show you binged: normal people

when you created your (main) blog: i guess my main blog is my rp inspo blog, which i made in july 2017 after remaking it from january 2014 i think

last thing you googled: time in seoul — checking if I was going to be up if joonie did his live, but probably not :’(

other blogs: i used to have a personal/fandom and studyblr, but now it’s just my writing inspo

why i chose my url: mikrokosmos really gets me, yknow

how many people are you following: 210

how many followers do you have: i can’t believe i have more than 1!!! i don’t deserve any of you 🥺

average hours of sleep: probably 5

lucky number: 7 (before bts, i swear)

instruments: i fucking wish

what i’m currently wearing: a t-shirt from the hotel i used to work for and biker shorts

dream job: travel blogger, or like met gala co-chair or event management for music festivals 

dream trip: UGH anywhere. i’m so close to buying a ticket to tulum rn but i really want to see iceland but also bali hello?

favourite food: pizza

favourite song: dark blue by jack’s mannequin

top three fictional universes you’d like to live in: any studio ghibili film, harry potter, and maybe like percy jackson universe

i think i always avoided doing these because i’m v bad at tagging people!! so i’m sorry if you’ve already been tagged or done it or don’t want to do it!! you totally don’t have to!! 💓

tagging: @yoongilicious @rainbepourin @taehyungsupremacy @staygguks @luvsjoon @blueandtaes @filterjimins  and anyone else that wants to do it!! just tag me and i would love to read it :’)

[calmgrove]

Sydney Hotel and pleasure gardens, Bath

Dido Twite has been doing a lot of travelling, first on a British naval ship from Nantucket to Tenby, and then by riverboat and railway to Bath Regis. Why Joan Aiken chose to bring her young heroine here is complex — I’ve discussed some of the background elsewhere — but as this is the most involved part of the story in The Stolen Lake where geography is concerned it’s only right that I outline, in greater detail and in a separate post, how matters stand.

When Dido, Captain Hughes, Mr Holystone and the others arrive late evening in the capital of New Cumbria it soon becomes apparent that Bath Regis has a sinister air about it: after alighting from the train Dido finds herself “on an icy, windswept stone pavement, inadequately sheltered by a thatched canopy. The air was bitter.” They take a pair of hackney carriages from the paved forecourt of the station (despite the allure of a sedan chair for Dido) and the impression she gets is that “for a capital city [Bath Regis] seemed very quiet and glum”; the captain deems it “a devilish dismal place, and … cold as a coffin.” A ten-minute trot takes them over “a covered bridge with closed market-stalls on either side, and along an extremely wide street” to Sydney Hotel, where Dido manages to catch some sleep in a damp and freezing bed.

Late 18th-century plan of Bath with Bath Regis locations superimposed

All these descriptions of this South American Bath will put readers in mind of Jane Austen’s Bath in the Regency period. In Northanger Abbey the young heroine Catherine is “all eager delight; her eyes were here, there, and everywhere,” and you may remember the cri de coeur “Oh, who can ever be tired of Bath?” On the other hand, when we come to the posthumously published Persuasion, Anne Elliot is described as disliking Bath, “and did not think it agreed with her.” Similarly, the young Dido has great hopes for Bath Regis — she’s been told the streets are paved with silver — but like the mature Jane she soon finds herself no longer so enamoured of the place.

Sydney Gardens labyrinth: image credit Bath in Time, http://www.bathintime.co.uk/image/195230/the-labyrinth-in-sydney-gardens-bath

The Sydney Hotel of The Stolen Lake is based on the original 18th-century building in England’s Bath now known as the Holburne Museum. The Austen family would eventually take rooms at nearby No 4 Sydney Place, but even before that, as Jane writes in a letter dated 21st January 1801 to her sister Cassandra, “It would be very pleasant to be near Sydney Gardens; we might go into the labyrinth every day.” The Pleasure Gardens were a popular public place in this period: 19th-century plans show a spiral pattern on the lower south side of the open space (later encroached on by the railway) which indicates the labyrinth that Austen refers to and which clearly gave the 25-year-old author great pleasure. However, the labyrinth — whether or not Joan Aiken intended it or not — is a splendid metaphor for The Stolen Lake‘s convoluted plot as well as a prefiguring of the maze-like paths that Dido has faced and will face, from the secret steps down from the White Hart Inn to the wharves in Tenby, to the passages in the silver mines served by an underground railway that lead to the Royal Palace.

It will not have escaped your notice that Bath Regis shares its epithet with our own Bognor Regis and Lyme Regis, two seaside resorts favoured by Georgian royalty (and in fact Lyme Regis, where the Austen family holidayed, famously features in Persuasion). Regis means ‘of the King’ and is therefore appropriate for this city where Queen Ginevra awaits her Rex Quondam, the King Who Once Was.

From a balcony in the Sydney Hotel Dido sees the whole of Bath Regis laid out in its hilly basin. She looks down the silver-cobbled Pulteney Street to the covered bridge (our Pulteney Bridge, here in New Cumbria named after Venice’s Rialto Bridge). On her left is a high wooded hill crowned with a tall slender tower (the equivalent of Bathampton’s Sham Castle of the mid-18th century, though the latter is a many-tower’d façade).

The Sham Castle, Bathampton, Bath from an old postcard

The bridge spanning the River Severn is covered in booths advertising meat, milk, flowers, vegetable and fruit as well as bread. Across the bridge is Orange Grove, “a small street of superior dwellings,” where a sign saying Mme Ettarde, Modiste indicates the classical villa from which the witch — variously titled Court Dressmaker, Mistress of the Queen’s Robes and First Lady of the Bedchamber — plies her business. Adjacent to Orange Grove is what Lieutenant Windward notes is a very ‘singular’ building: Bath Palace is large, circular and surrounded by a moat fed by the Severn. Five or six storeys high and covered in reflective metal it revolves on itself, like the BT Tower in London, though the forthright Dido declares it looks more like “an outsize milk-churn”. Entry is through a revolving door, accessible only when the palace returns to a position facing a narrow bridge over the moat. (In our world Bath Abbey is found in the self-same location, its façade revealing angels ascending to heaven by means of ladders.)

The Palace’s alternate name is Caer Sisi, the second word perhaps taken by the Spanish for ‘yes’ and which Mr Holystone occasionally mutters. It derives from the medieval Welsh poem The Spoils of Annwn. As Caer Sidi it is one epithet amongst many for the Celtic Otherworld — Caer Rigor is another, meaning Royal Castle — which King Arthur and his men raid. The expedition seek for treasures like a giant cauldron rimmed with pearls, and rescue prisoners incarcerated within (we’re told that “except seven, none returned from Caer Sidi”). Sidi is variously translated as ‘revolving’ or ‘faery’.

Detail of 1810 plan of Bath showing Orange Grove, Pulteney Bridge spanning the river and Great Pulteney Street; in Bath Regis the circular Palace is found just off Orange Grove.

Nearby is the Museum, another ancient Roman building, its entrance sporting a Medusa head. (This first appeared on the pediment of Bath’s Roman temple, copied in 1909 for the temple erected in Sydney Gardens.) The Museum features the Thirteen Treasures of Britain, while the Zoological Garden displays the Four Oldest Creatures; both these legendary collections of course derive from medieval Welsh traditions, such as the Mabinogion. The Roman Baths are here too, the waters heated by means of the nearest volcano, Mount Damyake, and the Pump Room, the mineral water tasting “like unwashed duck’s feet,” as Dido has it.

Captain Hughes, Ludovic Brandywinde and Silver Taffy are later incarcerated on Beechen Cliff in the Wen Pendragon tower, a residence built by the Queen in anticipation of the return of King Arthur. Joan Aiken may have in mind the descriptions of the heights overlooking Bath from the south which she knew from Austen’s Northanger Abbey. (Maybe the suspense built up in this Gothick story inspired Aiken to do the same for this present narrative.)

They determined on walking round Beechen Cliff, that noble hill, whose beautiful verdure and hanging coppice render it so striking an object from almost every opening in Bath. “I never look at it,” said Catherine, as they walked along the side of the river, “without thinking of the south of France.”‘

It now remains to furnish the final details of Dido’s perambulations around Bath Regis. When Dido, King Arthur and the army from Lyonesse approach the city from the south, they march over Odd Down (“one of the foothills of Mount Damyake”), naturally arriving at the South Gate (now commemorated by Southgate Street). They then proceed north up Damask Street (a thinly disguised Stall Street) and lastly east, turning right into Ertayne Street (Cheap Street) before approaching the Palace and the confrontation with the White Queen.

Whence these names — Ertayne, Damask, Damyake — and what is their significance? Our investigation of these will require us to abandon Jane Austen and instead seek enlightenment with Sir Thomas Malory and his ilk, examining as we go the themes that Joan Aiken has interwoven in The Stolen Lake and which pattern to a greater or lesser extent all the Wolves Chronicles. Bear with me as we finally near the end of luxuriating in the rich texture of this particular narrative. I promise you’ll find a reading (and subsequent re-readings) so much more comprehensible, and even more enjoyable!

• I’ve consulted a number of sources, both from my shelves and online, for this series of posts. I shall be listing some Arthurian references in the next post; here are a couple of online links I found useful for quick consultation on Jane Austen’s time in Bath: https://austenonly.com/2010/03/06/jane-austen-in-bath-sydney-place/ https://austenonly.com/2010/03/12/jane-austen-in-bath-the-sydney-garden-galas-1-music/ http://www.seekingjaneausten.com/bath.html http://www.bathboutiquestays.co.uk/luxury-apartment-rental-bath/

New Cumbria (3) Dido Twite has been doing a lot of travelling, first on a British naval ship from…