#was considering getting an airbnb and going into the mountains for a couple days but a) didn't want to spend the money and b) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

blvejeanbaby · 4 years ago

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The Farmhouse (m)

Pairing: Wooyoung x reader, San x reader, Yeosang x reader + multiple Ateez members x OC characters + boy x boy action Word count: 14.9k Warning: sex (though mostly foreplay), threesome, mentions of sex, alcohol use, some Ateez members are gay

disclaimer: I am not trying to assume anyone’s sexuality with this story, that was not what this was meant for! This is all a work of fiction and what I write in this story doesn’t necessarily reflect my thoughts in real life.

A/N: I had originally planned for this story to end up very, very differently but I like to write wherever my mind goes. That’s why I had originally planned to split this up into four parts, with a different ending in my mind. You’ll find out part of what that different ending was in the extra scene at the end n.n

Day 1 On a trip, the last mile is always the longest - it’s not so much the truth as the truth of a feeling. Yunho made sure the last mile wouldn’t come for a while. Even though he had proclaimed himself to be an excellent driver, perfectly capable of following up instructions while driving safely, he hadn’t been too successful in making that statement come true. With Jongho screaming different directions at him, increasingly getting more frustrated with Yunho’s inability to follow these, Yechan from the back attempting to give directions without really knowing where all of you were, you were more so focused on what was outside of the car. Over the course of your journey to the countryside, the landscape had gradually changed; from the tall buildings of the busy city, you got closer and closer to the national park, where you would be staying nearby. “This must be it!” Daemi said excitedly. She had been quiet while the others had been arguing, but when you looked out of the front window, you noticed she was right. The building, a large two-storey farmhouse, concealing an even bigger backyard, with a vineyard next to it, matched the AirBnB advertisement perfectly. “Oh, that’s Seonghwa’s car,” Yunho said, unable to keep the relief out of his voice. He steered the car onto the driveway and parked it right next to Seonghwa’s. When you got out of the car, you were instantly greeted by a voice from higher up: “Hey, look up!” You shielded your eyes from the sun as you looked up to find a half-naked Wooyoung hanging out of an open window. “You’re the last ones to arrive.” “It’s because Yunho can’t drive,” Jongho said, at the same time Daemi said: “It’s because Jongho doesn’t know how to read a map.” “Well, you’d better come up and get yourselves a room,” Wooyoung said. “The others have already started drinking and none of the groceries have been done yet.” To that, everyone nearly fell over each other to collect their bags from the trunk of the car. The house had enough rooms to accommodate 16 people, but because of some being less comfortable sleeping in rooms with certain others, everyone had more or less divided up the rooms beforehand, and mattresses were dragged around to make sure everyone had a bed to sleep in at night. Or during the day, considering the objective of this trip was not to have a wholesome trip to escape from your usual busy lives in the city. Of course it was that too, but there was also the idea that you would just get away to party and get drunk, the way you couldn’t so easily in the city, where there was always some authority to monitor you. You shared a room with Daemi and Yechan, your best girl friends. To accommodate Yechan, you got an extra mattress from the room opposite yours, which was one with an in-room shower. “…so that’s our bathroom,” Yechan concluded as she flopped down onto her unmade mattress and closed her eyes. “I’m going to take a nap.” “A nap? We have to make our beds first. And the groceries still need to be done,” Daemi said. “Why didn’t anybody else go while we were gone?” you sighed. “Well, if Wooyoung’s right and they already started drinking…” Daemi shrugged. “Maybe we should do the groceries. Before everyone gets too drunk.” When you got downstairs, you saw that Daemi had been right; a lot of people were already quite drunk. Seonghwa was one of them, pressing his car keys into your hands, despite you not having a drivers’ license. “Take them,” he said. “Take them. Take more beer with you too. The good ones.” “Hwa, I don’t drink beer-“ you started, but Seonghwa kept rambling about the beer you needed to get. “I’ll come with you,” San said, jumping up from his seat next to Alice and pushing Seonghwa into it. “I know which brand of beer he likes.” He smiled at you and you smiled back thankfully. You were glad to find that it wasn’t just going to be you and San doing the groceries – as he had been drinking and you didn’t have your license, there was no one who could even legally drive the car off the property if you had wanted to. You were glad to find it wasn’t just going to be the two of you. That would’ve probably made for some awkward moments between you. You had been alone with just San before, and it had been normal, until it wasn’t anymore. Something snuck into your relationship that could only be described as attraction. Perhaps it was just plain physical attraction, as your heart always beat slightly quicker when you saw him, or perhaps it ran deeper, but what you did know was that your friendship was good and you didn’t want to ruin it with a crush. The dynamic in the friend group had always been amazing. The traditional idea about boys and girls not being able to be friends without romantic feelings involved, was completely destroyed by you guys’ friendships. Only Seonghwa and Sooyoung were officially dating, following a set-up Hongjoong had cooked up by himself. Sooyoung had never been part of the friend group before, and the same went for Soojin, her best friend. The friend group dynamics had actually improved upon Sooyoung and Soojin’s introductions to the group nearly two years ago. It was for that reason you didn’t feel uncomfortable while in the car with only boys: Yunho drove again, Jongho navigating once more. You were squished in between Hongjoong and San in the backseat of Yunho’s car, which was roomier than Seonghwa’s, with the latter’s car keys pressing into your leg through your jeans. While Jongho and Yunho already started arguing about which way to go and which supermarket to choose, you turned to Hongjoong as he talked about the plans for the next couple of days: “…sauna, so maybe we can hop in there tonight. And tomorrow Anna and I want to do a barbecue by the lakeside. It’s not that far a drive but if we want to take beer there, we can walk too.” “Of course we’ll want to take beer,” San said. “Maybe even wine and stuff. Hey, Y/N, we have your favourite drink too. It’s cheaper in cities than in the countryside, we figured out.” “My favourite drink?” you turned to him. “That soju-yogurt cocktail you like so much. Wooyoung and Yeosang made it for you.” You felt your heart swell at San remembering you liking soju-yogurt cocktails. It had been a while since you told him about loving it the first time you tried it and it becoming your signature drink when going out. You weren’t big on alcohol the way other people could be, but sometimes you found yourself casually wanting to make your own soju-yogurt cocktail at home. “I hope there’s still left when we get back.” Once at the grocery store – which was tucked away behind a scary-looking church that, according to Yunho’s limited amount of information about the surrounding area, once belonged to a cult – Hongjoong was in charge of listing off the grocery list and checking the boxes corresponding with what the others put into the cart. You were staying close to San’s side, as you always did when he was around. Yes, you found him physically attractive, which made you want to look at him all the time, but there was also something absolutely magnetic about his personality that made you want to be talking to him always. And it seemed like San was really into your conversation as you wandered off from Hongjoong and Jongho to find a certain brand of pasta sauce. Despite the simplicity of the topics you were talking about, which ranged from Yunho not being able to drive and Yechan karate chopping you in the head when she saw a mosquito flying past that she wanted to kill, you felt a little nervous around San. Once you had told Daemi about it, hoping she would come with valuable advice, but instead she had laughed at you and just declared you were crushing on San, hard. And perhaps she was right. When you got back to the farmhouse, needless to say, the soju-yogurt cocktail was gone. Feeling robbed of the one thing you were looking forward to about returning, you opted to drink water instead. You’d start drinking alcohol after dinner, you told yourself, so you wouldn’t get sick. Finally, when it was clear there were little to no sober people you could strike up conversation with, you excused yourself to go upstairs and shower. The summer heat made everything hot and sticky, including your body. You grabbed a towel and some clean clothes as well as your toiletry bag before going to the single room with the shower. The room was small and simple, with a window overlooking the backyard and the mountains in the distance. You cracked the window open, quickly glancing down to see the back patio, only accessible through the kitchen. As you put on the shower, you enjoyed the smell of freshly cut grass and summer drafting in through the window, as well as the sound of the water cascading on your body mixing with the sounds of a chirping bird outside and the sounds of cows in the distance. Until your attention was caught by a sudden yelp: “Wooyoung!” Your eyes shot wide open when you recognized that voice. Rose. Along with Alice and Anna, they were in your friend group because Daemi liked them a lot. Your personality didn’t match well with Rose and although you didn’t hate each other or anything, you weren’t very fond of Rose and you were sure the sentiment was shared by her. As far as you knew, Wooyoung, however, thought she was amazing. “Don’t tell me you don’t like it,” Wooyoung’s voice sounded, loud, as if he was right there in the room with you. It immediately gave you goose bumps. “Hm, I like it,” Rose’s voice came again. You could just about imagine her shaking her blonde hair out of her face, over her shoulder… You had always thought she looked closest to an angel as was humanly possible. Perhaps your dislike of her had something to do with how you were jealous of her always getting the guys she wanted, how she managed to get every single boy to ever lay eyes on her to fall in love with her and how she could effortlessly keep and make friends… “You like this?” “Hm, Rose…” That was a groan. A groan from Wooyoung. You had never heard something so utterly sexual. You shivered. Saying you were feeling increasingly uncomfortable was nearly an understatement. They continued to make sounds that made you want to throw up in your mouth. Had they been drinking this much already? Or were they just that into each other that it didn’t bother them it was broad daylight outside? Did they not hear your shower running too? Or were they not aware how perfectly audible they were? You felt like you weren’t supposed to be naked while you could hear them so clearly; it felt weird. You quickly turned off the shower and wrapped your towel around yourself. Even though you had taken your clothes and toiletry bag into the single room, you didn’t want to hear a single sound anymore, so you made your way back to your room where you took your time getting ready, trying to shake off the nasty feeling Wooyoung and Rose’s acts had left behind. While putting on clothes and jewellery and smearing light makeup on your face, you felt the urge to dress the best you could, despite the fact you were just going to be cooking and eating and drinking with your group of best friends. There was something inside of you screaming that you wanted to prove to everyone that you, too, were worthy of getting fingered and giving handjobs on the patio as well – there was no other explanation for what they had been doing and no need to lie to yourself about it. More importantly, you felt the need to prove to specifically Wooyoung you could handle whatever he would give you on that patio. More so than Rose. But that was ridiculous. You wouldn’t really want Wooyoung to touch you like that. As you finished the perfect winged eyeliner, you decided that was enough makeup. You made your way downstairs, collecting Anna, Daemi and Hongjoong for dinner. “Let’s get going,” you said. “Seems like you already got going,” Daemi chuckled, following you closely into the kitchen. “Who is that outfit for?” “For you, of course.” You sent her a wink. “San is one lucky boy,” Daemi said quietly, so no one else could hear, before getting to work on cutting up onions. If only she knew, you thought to yourself, taking it upon yourself to cut up the potatoes. It took a surprisingly long time to cook for 16 people, despite the extra hands pitching in to slice up vegetables and do the washing up. You realized how much you’d been underappreciating the restaurant people who churn out dishes at an insane speed, compared to how you’re cooking a relatively simple dish with little ingredients while needing all the help you can get. “Ah,” you hear a voice, “can I taste?” Before getting confirmation, the spoon is already in the pasta sauce and before you can scold him, the spoon is already in his mouth. “Hm, needs a little more spice, I think.” “Yeah? Well, you think wrong.” “What? You haven’t even tasted yet,” Wooyoung said, putting the spoon back on the counter. There’s a smirk on his face that your hands are itching to wipe off with a slap, and a blush on his cheeks that you know is not the effect of the hot weather. “The recipe doesn’t call for extra spices, thank you very much.” “What’s got you all upset?” “I’m not upset,” you bite back, proving the opposite. “Ah, it must be the period,” Wooyoung said, with an air of superiority. “Fuck you, Wooyoung.” You threw your own wooden spoon down into the pasta mixture, splattering both yourself and Wooyoung with the red sauce, before storming out onto the patio – only to find Rose standing, a gleeful smile on her face and a cigarette between her lips. She looked up instantly. “You look a little upset.” Her smile faded away as she stuck out her hand to you. “Need a drag?” You didn’t even bother responding, instead dealing with the embarrassment of having to go back through the kitchen to escape. When dinner is served, you can’t even muster up the faintest of smiles or feign happiness. At least what got you so upset wasn’t your period. And quite frankly, you were even angrier that Wooyoung thought it was okay to make such a joke, whilst normally being so attuned to girls’ feelings, especially yours. You hated the pasta, but you ate it anyway. You glanced over to where Wooyoung was seated, chatting excitedly to Seonghwa and Mingi, the left-overs of the splattered sauce staining his white shirt. You didn’t even feel remotely guilty. You were glad when dinner was finished, so you could commit yourself to working on another batch of soju-yogurt cocktail, this time without Wooyoung, since he was too busy in the sauna. Probably flirting with Rose, you thought to yourself as you grumpily got to work on the ingredients. San and Yeosang were right there with you; Yeosang because he knew how to make it and San because he evidently wanted to cheer you up. He kept saying cheesy jokes and poking your cheeks and then his own ‘to see if he could give you his dimples’. Every time you gave him an annoyed look, his smile made your heart flutter and your mouth shut. As the night progressed, you were aware you were drinking a bit too much of the mixture. Maybe a bit too much of any liquor, really, because by the time the clock struck 11 o’clock, you were already very close to quitting alcohol for the night, while Soojin was only on her second drink of the evening. “I’m going to get some air,” you said to no one in particular, before getting up and stepping outside, sliding the door closed behind you. Away from the stifling heat inside, the cool mountain air managed to cool you down enough to not sway on your feet as you threw your head back to look at the night sky. It was dotted with stars, only visible because you were so far away from cities and their light pollution. You were in the middle of deep contemplations about the universe, when you heard a noise. Oh no, not again, you thought to yourself, your head snapping down to look over the balustrade, down at the swimming pool. On the edge of it you could see two figures, barely visible in the darkness. But from what little light the porchlight shone on them, you could make out that it’s San – it’s unmistakably him. But who is with him? It takes a little more squinting and a moan before you make yourself rip away from the sight, stomping back into the house. You don’t even tell anyone that you’re heading up to bed. Only when you’re finally underneath the covers, you allow yourself to think about what you saw. Your long-time crush, Choi San, shoving his tongue down the throat of Kim Alice, someone you had always figured was rather harmless a person to have around. She didn’t speak much in big groups – kind of like you – but when she did, she was funny. She was a joy to be around, seemed to have a life devoid of problems, she was conventionally attractive… With a sigh you turned on your side, closing your eyes, willing yourself to fall asleep. But all you saw with eyes closed was San and Alice, kissing as if their lives depended on it.

Day 2 After you and Anna had put away the dirty plates and cutlery into the dishwasher and turned it on, everyone was about ready to leave for the lake. The morning had been off to a slow start but with the sun beaming down on everyone, scorching hot, they were all suddenly up and running. Their sudden energy was not the reason you left the cars at the house and instead walked through the significantly cooler forest to get to the lake. After all, according to Hongjoong, it’s not a far walk. The reason was solely to be able to drink. Jongho and Yeosang carried the cool box filled to the brim with drinks and meat, which was undoubtedly the heaviest thing to carry, while Daemi and Alice offered to carry the blankets to sit on. Everyone else was assigned their own towels and clothes to carry. You stayed at the back of the group with Mingi, who was positively hungover from the night before and had to stop every few minutes or so to clutch at his stomach and complain about how nauseous he felt. Needless to say, the two of you arrived only when Seonghwa had already started to set up ‘camp’, as he called it, and the others were already half-undressed and in the water. Soojin was in the midst of stripping off her sundress, convincing Alice to do the same. Both were trying to get Yunho to abandon his duties of helping Seonghwa lay down the blankets, for him to come swimming with them. Jongho and Yeosang, who had been in the front with Hongjoong, setting the pace and navigating, had already put the cool box down, Jongho in the process of taking off his pants. “Y/N,” Sooyoung appeared in front of you suddenly. “Do you want to come with us to the village? It’s just a ten minute walk, Hongjoong said, and it’s apparently really pretty. Maybe you can take some photos.” She gestured toward your film camera, a gift from Wooyoung for your last birthday. You had taken it with you to the lake, thinking you could get a lot of use out of it to capture the memories of the trip. “Sure, seems like fun,” you said. “Who’s coming?” You felt torn as Sooyoung told you it was just going to be you, Seonghwa, Hongjoong and Yeosang. On the one hand you were glad that San and Wooyoung were staying behind, as you weren’t sure you could handle having to deal with them for too long. On the other hand, you were a little torn on leaving them behind with Alice and Rose. You had to remind yourself they were nothing to you but your friends as you shrugged your heavy backpack off and gave Mingi a pat on the head before he threw himself down on the blankets. Even though he was groaning and being apologetic, no one believed he found it really terrible he could not come with. Hongjoong and Seonghwa were completely attached to Sooyoung, which caused you to stay with Yeosang. He was typically a very observant but quiet person; he noticed a lot but never said a thing about it. Imagine your surprise when he asked: “So, you were not having a great time last night?” “Was it that obvious?” you groaned. “Wooyoung told me you cursed at him. You know, he was joking about the period thing.” “I know. Doesn’t make it okay.” Yeosang turned semi-serious. “He hates it when you two fight.” “Has he told you that as well?” You were starting to lose your temper, which you did not want. After all, Yeosang had nothing to say about what Wooyoung was feeling, saying or doing. “No,” Yeosang said. “I just know. You’re his best friend, even though it might not seem like it sometimes. What were you mad about anyway?” You gnawed at your lip. The fact was, you weren’t entirely sure what you were particularly mad about. That he was fingering Rose on the patio while everyone could notice? That he was fingering Rose on the patio of all places? That he was fingering Rose to begin with? That it was Rose, of all people? And what reason did you have anyway to care about what Wooyoung was doing romantically or sexually? You were only friends. But if there was someone you could talk to this about, it would surely be Yeosang, right? Apart from you, he had known Wooyoung the longest. Before it was you and Yechan and Daemi, it had been you and Wooyoung and Yeosang. And even before that, it had been Wooyoung and Yeosang. That was before San had come in and essentially stolen Wooyoung away. It was before a lot of things. You sighed. “Well, when I was showering last night? Before dinner?” You mentally cringed at what you were about to say: “I heard some noises outside. I’m pretty sure – No, I’m 100 percent confident that it was Wooyoung and Rose going at it. If you know what I mean.” “I can guess,” Yeosang said. “And that bothered you, why?” “I never said it bothered me,” you said. Too defensive. “I don’t like Rose,” you admitted, knowing damn well it was not just that. From the look on Yeosang’s face, you could see he was thinking the same thing. And there was something else too... You were grateful and relieved when he left it at that, though. Instead, Hongjoong pointed you to a small café. Although it might be small, it was not characterless. There were few people inside that afternoon, leaving a lot of different cakes and pies for you and your friends to try out. As you waited for your order, you glanced around the café. It was covered in pink flowers, even the walls were painted pink. You saw what Hongjoong liked about it – it had a certain charm. One that apparently made Sooyoung feel like she had to excessively comment on everything in a squealy voice. You liked her, but her excitement was giving you headaches. Honestly, you were still feeling kind of miserable and sorry for yourself. Yeosang cheered you up by sharing the remainder of his chocolate-cherry cake with you when you had finished your own, knowing the best remedy for what you were feeling was food. While on your way back to the lakeside, Yeosang kept to your side, purposefully bringing up things you had done together where Wooyoung hadn’t been involved. The happy memories you had shared with Yeosang were plenty enough to make you smile again and by the time you arrived back to camp, you were genuinely in a good mood. “Y/N!” Yechan exclaimed as she saw you. “Come jump in! The water’s so good.” “Gotta set up the barbecue,” you said. “Sorry!” All of that was a lie. After all, you didn’t really have to set up the barbecue and there was Hongjoong already getting started on it. In all honesty, you just didn’t feel like joining the happy couples in the water. As soon as Seonghwa and Sooyoung had raced each other to the campsite, they had discarded their clothes and jumped in the water, engaging in a splash war against Jongho and Soojin. Alice was seated on San’s shoulders, battling Rose, who was on Wooyoung’s shoulders. You didn’t want anything to do with them. Instead you chose a soft spot on the blankets next to Mingi, who was sound asleep, Rose’s straw sunhat shading his eyes from the sun, relentlessly beating down. Yunho and Daemi were on his other side, playing a game of cards that Yeosang immediately joined, claiming it as his favourite game, although he then proceeded to ask what the rules were. You watched Hongjoong struggle with the barbecue for a while until you decided it was time to help him out of his misery. As he noticed you helping him, his face immediately brightened up. “What did you think? Of the café?” “It was great, Joongie,” you said, giving him your brightest smile. You actually meant it. “Thanks for taking us.” “Oh, don’t worry about it,” he said. “I just wanted you to have some fun.” With a sigh you leaned back to sit. “Is everyone just a mind reader now?” “No, I just overheard your conversation with Yeo on the way to town. Sorry about that. If you allow me to give you some advice – I think you should just be having fun and not letting something like that bother you. And anyway, I always thought you had a crush on San, not Wooyoung.” You looked at him, shocked. “What?” “You heard what I said. Hand me the coals, please.” You did as he said. “What do you mean I have a crush on San?” Joong shrugged. “It’s pretty clear from the way you behave around him that you do. Or maybe did?” He winked at you playfully. “I mean, why else would you be angry at Wooyoung for finally approaching Rose? You know he’s been talking about her for years now.” You didn’t know. Perhaps your friendship with Wooyoung was not as unconditional and carefree and honest as you always thought it had been. “Joongie, you’re not making me feel any better right now,” you said, your mind wandering off to his previous comment about you crushing on San. It was true that you liked him, there was nearly no denying it. But if Hongjoong knew, then did the others as well? “I don’t know, Y/N. I think you should just let loose and have some fun.” When the fire beneath the barbecue was finally going and Daemi took your place at it to grill chicken satay, you took her place at the card game. When the first batch of food was served, you woke Mingi to call for the others, still in the water. They were quick to join at the mention of food. Everyone gathered in a circle, smiling and laughing, but all you could do was stab at your food as you looked around the group, wondering who out of all of them knew of your crush on San, who, by the way, looked absolutely stunning with the water droplets on his naked chest glimmering in the afternoon sunlight, like little diamonds. You hated it. “Say ‘ah’.” You turned to look at Wooyoung, an apologetic smile on his face. “Ah?” “No, like this.” He widened his mouth and stuck out his tongue a little, dragging out the ‘ah’ longer. You rolled your eyes but followed his example, which was followed by Wooyoung putting a piece of meat on your tongue. You chewed on it, watching him as he sat down next to you. “Here. Have some more.” “My favourite,” you said, grabbing the plate from him. “Is this your version of a white flag?” “Yes,” Wooyoung said. “I’m sorry about the joke I made. Yeosang might have mentioned you really didn’t like it and I guess it’s a pretty assholey thing to say anyway. I don’t want to fight with you.” “I guess I have to apologize as well,” you said. “I’m not in the best mood and I’m taking it out on you. Among others.” You glanced over at San before focusing back on Woo. “I don’t want to fight with you either.” “Good.” Wooyoung stuck out his pinkie finger to you, as if you were kindergartners still. “Promise me that we won’t fight during this trip again.” “Just this trip?” you joked, curling your own pinkie around his. You’re just about to say something else, when a girl plops down on Wooyoung’s other side. You would recognize that blonde hair anywhere. “Got you pork belly, like you asked.” Rose handed a new plate to Wooyoung. “Hi, Y/N. Why didn’t you go swimming?” “I might swim after dinner,” you said, surprised she even talked to you. You were not so surprised to find out this was the only thing she was going to say to you, instead looking at Wooyoung, totally transfixed by him. You sighed, going back to stabbing at your food. At least there was no fighting with your best friend now. You’re glad when the drinking begins and you have an excuse to chug down liquor. You even go swimming for a bit, hanging around Yechan and Yeosang the most. It’s not long after evening falls that Soojin calls out for everyone to return to the farmhouse. You’re clinging onto your beer bottle on the way back, walking next to Yeosang, your arm linked through his. After all, he managed to majorly cheer you up and perhaps he could perform that same magic trick again. Back at the farmhouse, Mingi perked up enough from his massive hangover to call everyone to him for a beer pong match. With a little help of Anna, he set up teams of two to compete against each other. “Y/N and Yeosang, you begin! Against Yechan and Daemi.” As you took your place next to Yeosang, you realized it was obvious either Mingi or Anna had picked up on the tension in the house. You kind of wanted to convince Yeosang to cheat and purposefully lose the game, but when you saw his fanatism at landing the first ball in Daemi’s cup, you didn’t have the heart to tell him you didn’t want to play. He was just so smiley and happy… You convinced yourself that a) you wanted to win this game just as badly as he did and b) that you’re not absolutely shit at beer pong. The first opponents were luckily nearly as bad as you are at the game. Although the ball takes awfully long to land in the last cup, you and Yeosang still manage to defeat Yechan and Daemi. While the two of you are not up against anyone yet, you vow to yourself to get even more tipsy. It won’t help with aim but you were sure it would help your mood. It’s a fine line between tipsy and drunk and you were walking it with little care in the world. Your next opponents were Hongjoong and Jongho, who already proclaimed themselves Kings of Beer Pong. Only to be beat by you and Yeosang; turns out Hongjoong just had extreme luck playing against Seonghwa and Sooyoung, for his aim is honestly worse than yours, and Jongho can’t keep up against Yeosang, who deserves to officially be crowned King of Beer Pong. Yeosang’s so surprisingly good at the game that you’re not surprised when you win the finale round against Wooyoung and San. Overcome with emotions that you can’t properly explain and do not want to face and will probably never address ever again, you reached for Yeosang’s face, cupping it in your hands and pressing your lips against his. You felt a shock of surprise run through his body, but his hands effortlessly found your hips to steady you and kiss back. Despite the absence of butterflies or fireworks or any of the sorts, you become aware of how unaware you are of the sounds around you two. The only sound that’s coming through is Yeosang’s small moans and the sounds kisses tend to make. It doesn’t help that you’re both using an obscene amount of tongue, but you might be drunk and you don’t care – especially not that anyone or everyone is watching and cheering. When you pull away, you smile at Yeosang, who looks a little stunned but not unhappy about your actions. “Congratulations, King of Beer Pong,” you tell him. “Thanks, Queen.” He even has the liberty of squeezing your ass, earning him a yelp that broadens his smile. Take that, Woosan, you think to yourself. “Let’s get you another drink.” With his arm still around you, Yeosang guides you to the kitchen, away from prying eyes, both unaware that Mingi was ready to crown you both winners and offer you a prize. You couldn’t care less about what the prize was. The kitchen is completely empty except for a collection of trash and dirty plates and glasses. After clearing a space on the countertop, Yeosang picked you up with a surprising amount of strength and sat you down on it, then going to fix you a glass of water. “There you go.” “Water?” you complain. “Yeo-“ “No, you need to sober up a little,” he spoke in a tone of amusement. “I think you’re an amazing kisser and I really enjoyed that, but I also know that kiss wasn’t meant for me.” “Oh, are you going to tell me who the kiss was meant for then? Because, last I checked, my lips were on yours and not on anyone else’s. I think that was meant for you, Yeosang.” “Maybe,” he said, “but then with the intent of hurting someone else. Or whatever you thought you were doing back there. You’re not attracted to me.” “Says who?” you pull Yeosang closer to you by his shirt collar, capturing him between your legs. He looks profoundly comfortable in between them, but you know what he means when he says: “I do. You do, with your body language.” You rolled your eyes at him, setting the glass of water down next to you. “I’m not going to endure another talk about how in love I am with San and how everyone can tell.” “I wasn’t going to say you’re in love with San.” “Okay, Wooyoung then. Only because I was jealous he fingered Rose on the patio. The patio! That one over there!” You pointed at it for emphasis. “All of those feelings are not yours to comment on, Yeosang. Hongjoong.” You narrowed your eyes at him as he entered the kitchen rather innocently. “Wh-“ Hongjoong locked eyes with Yeosang and immediately his eyes widened. “I’m out of here right now. Sorry.” “Drink your water,” Yeosang said, giving you a little pat on the knee before following Hongjoong out of the kitchen. You sighed in frustration, grabbing the glass and bringing it to your lips. It actually tasted pretty nice to be drinking something as pure as water after all of the alcohol you had been consuming. Perhaps Yeosang was right and the kiss hadn’t been meant for him at all, not even a little bit. Perhaps you were just trying to make him jealous. And you weren’t quite sure which him you meant with that. Perhaps the him that came walking into the kitchen right at that moment, empty bottle of beer in hand. “Oh, have you come to lecture me too?” you said before he could even open his mouth – just one look was enough. “I’m sick of it.” “Well,” San said, “now that you mention it. Why did you kiss Yeosang?” “Why wouldn’t I? You have been all over Alice too, haven’t you?” “You really don’t understand, do you?” “Understand what?” There was a viciousness to your voice that made San shake his head. “I’m not going to argue with you while you’re still drunk.” “Yeah? Well-“ But you didn’t get a chance to say anything hurtful to him as he had already left the kitchen. With a sigh you chugged down the water, slid off the countertop and walked to your room. You could faintly hear all the noises in the living room, the partiers, but you were glad you weren’t there with them. This was not the fun trip you had planned for it to be.

Day 3 Even though Anna had planned something to do the day after, everyone was so hungover that no one really felt like going anywhere. You woke up first, quietly stepping over a snoring Yechan and trying not to wake a sleep-talking Daemi as you went to the single room across the floor to have a shower. This time without opening the window, even though you knew it was highly unlikely you would hear Wooyoung and Rose again. You went downstairs, made yourself breakfast, and by the time you had finished, the first people started coming down. The first was Jongho, followed by Soojin and Anna. Soon thereafter, Yunho and Daemi appeared as well, looking different states of dishevelled. There was still dried up spit in the corner of Yunho’s mouth. “Who’s up for a walk?” he excitedly said. No one felt like going, but you jumped up at the opportunity to be away from the farmhouse for a bit. Accompanying Yunho on his walk was quite peaceful. You never had a really close relationship with him as you did Wooyoung or Yeosang, but you were happy to be around him. It certainly helped that your surroundings were breath-taking, with views you could barely get enough of. It was so vastly different from what you were used to living in the city, that being at the farmhouse felt all the more special. You were reminded that this was partially why you had agreed to come on this trip; to see the beauty of the nature park. Not to get wound up in drama you yourself created by being… Well, was there a word for the way you were feeling? The way you were acting? It gave you some peace of mind walking with Yunho and realizing that he wasn’t going to break out in a lecture about not kissing Yeosang if you don’t like him, your everlasting crush on San, or whatever was going on with your friendship with Wooyoung. You had no desire to talk about any of that, but as you walked alongside Yunho, basking in the warm morning sunlight, it was the only thing you were thinking about. By the time you guys circled back to the farmhouse, the others were up already. Most were still yawning and staring at their untouched plates of eggs and bacon with sleep in their eyes, but Yeosang perked up as you came in. He nodded with his head to get you outside on the patio from which you had seen San and Alice kissing the first night. “I think I know what this is about,” you started. “Yeo, I was very drunk. It didn’t mean anything between us, at least not to me. I hope you understand.” “I-“ Yeosang started, but he was interrupted by someone you really didn’t want to see at this particular moment. “If you don’t like him, then why would you kiss him?” Wooyoung said, his arms crossing over one another in front of his chest. He stood leaning against the closed sliding door, obviously not understanding that this was a private conversation. Obviously not understanding that this was the last straw. “Okay, I’m done with this,” you said. “Normally I feel like I can be honest with you both but for the past few days-“ You sighed, not fully comfortable with sharing every thought you had, the things that had drove you to go bed so early in the night to mull over by yourself. “You know, I did it because I had something to prove. And besides, why is everyone so upset over this? San is always face sucking Alice whenever he can and you!” You had subconsciously moved closer to Wooyoung, now pricking his chest with your finger. “You did whatever with Rose out there and you didn’t even know that everything you did, I could perfectly hear. You’re both having so much fun with the girls here, but are so quick to scold me for wanting to do the same with Yeosang?” “That’s really not the same thing,” Wooyoung started. “Oh, and what makes it different?” “You’ve known Yeosang for years!” “You’ve known Rose for years. San has known Alice for years.” “It’s all not the same thing.” “Do I get a say in this?” Yeosang said, finally intercepting. Perhaps he had got quite uncomfortable with seeing Wooyoung and you so close to each other, staring each other down. You both broke away from each others’ gaze at the same time and spoke simultaneously: “No!” There was a silence and finally a sigh from Wooyoung. “Come find me when you think you can talk like a grown-up, yeah?” He didn’t even really sound mad, perhaps somewhere between defeated and disappointed. He tugged open the door and slammed it shut behind him. You waited for a second, not daring to look at Yeosang, before you followed Wooyoung inside. Instead of heading up the stairs behind him, you went into the kitchen and out onto the patio. There was no one out. You hoped for Yeosang that he was inside, since clouds had gathered above and there was a light drizzle coming down now. You let it cool your temper as well as your skin, thinking of the trip. You had looked forward to it for so long but it really wasn’t going as you had planned. Yes, you had joked with Daemi and Yechan that some crazy things would happen, claiming that Mingi would be the first one to throw up because of all of the alcohol (you were right about that) and that someone would accidentally throw someone in the pool while they still had their phones on them (hadn’t happened yet, but the trip wasn’t over). Daemi had bet that she would get into an argument with Yechan, Yechan had bet that she would catch Seonghwa and Sooyoung in a compromising position. The bet made about yourself had been that you would drunkenly act upon your crush on San. You had known when placing the bets with your friends that there was a very slim chance you would ever dare to approach San in that way and as you stood outside, overlooking the mountain area, you realised you didn’t want San anymore. Not the way you had always wanted him, at least. You used to think San was relationship material, the only guy you wanted to fulfil the need of having a boyfriend. But he wasn’t. He was perhaps too flirty, perhaps too much a person you could only look at from a distance and admire. He wasn’t boyfriend material. Just a friend. So what about Yeosang? Was that you drunkenly acting upon your hidden crush for him? Was that kiss because you liked him? Was he even boyfriend material to you? No. The answer was simple and clear, you didn’t even have to think about it. Yeosang was just one of your closest friends. He was sweet, really, and you would be lying if you said you had never thought about how it would have been if you were to date him. You were sure he harboured fond feelings for you as well, but those were probably along the same line as what you felt for him. Nothing romantic. After all, it was Yeosang, and you two had known each other for forever. You’d seen each others’ good and bad sides and you thought you knew what he would be like in a relationship. You’d seen his failed relationships play out in the past. You thought you had that figured out. So then that kiss… Who were you trying to prove something to? What were you even trying to prove? It was true what you had said, however. You were trying to prove to yourself that... Your mind flicked to the first night, when you had heard Wooyoung and Rose’s escapades. You were bothered about it, in a different way than what you had felt when you caught San and Alice. You replayed the fight you just had with Wooyoung in your head. What did he care what you were up to? You sat down on the small bench. It was wet now, washed clean by the rain; there was no way you otherwise would have sat down on it, considering what had happened a few days before. You rested your head against the wall of the farmhouse. Closing your eyes, you saw the look in Wooyoung’s eyes. You felt how close you had been standing to him. A knock on the patio door startled you. When you opened your eyes you saw Yeosang, eyes big and with two mugs on a tray. “Hey, Y/N… Can we talk? I brought hot chocolate.” “Sure,” you said, patting the spot next to you. Yeosang came outside, handing you the tray as he closed the door behind him. “What did you want to talk about?” “Well… I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea. About anything.” This was clearly something that had been bothering him for a while, longer than everything that has gone on in the farmhouse. “Yesterday when you kissed me… I know why you did it and I know why you’ve been so upset these past couple of days. But I just wanted to clear things up so there’s no misunderstandings between us. And besides, I feel like I have lied to you all these years I’ve known you.” He took a deep breath, his hands wrapping around the mug. You saw he was shaking and his nails were bitten down. Maybe you hadn’t paid enough attention to his feelings, instead only rambling on about yours. “I guess I got a little upset this morning too. I hate seeing you and Wooyoung fight, for many reasons. But also because… because I am in love with Wooyoung.” “W-what?” “I like Wooyoung. Y/N… I’m gay.” “But, Yeo…” You bit your lip, wrapping your own hands around the mug. From everything he could’ve said, this was the least of what you had expected. “Wooyoung is… straight.” “I know, I know!” Yeosang quickly said. “I’ve always known I don’t have a chance with him. Not romantically. I’m fine being his friend, just his friend. You have to believe me.” He was still shaking however. “I also know that no matter what, I want to see him happy. And knowing what I know, you would realize that the Wooyoung he is around Rose? That’s not him being truly happy.” You frowned. “What are you trying to say?” “I mean that he’s more into you than he’s into Rose.” “What?” You shook your head. “Yeo, that’s not right. Wooyoung doesn’t like me like that. I mean, it’s pretty clear-“ “Why do you think that everyone is so upset with you kissing me?” Yeosang chuckled. “They might’ve thought you were into San, or now that you’re into me. But they know for sure that Wooyoung is into you. He’s told San and I that much before. And I think you like him back.” “How does everyone know that better than I do myself?” He shrugged. “I can’t speak for everyone, but… All these years of being in love with Wooyoung means I look at him more or less the same way he looks at you. And when you look at him? I see the same thing. You two are just oblivious to each other.” You finally took a sip of the hot chocolate, your thoughts aligning in your head to form a question: “So what does this thing with Rose mean? Why did he… finger her?” You realized how pathetic it sounded to ask. “I don’t know. That’s something you have to ask him yourself.” You nodded and then you turned to Yeosang again. “Yeo, thanks for telling me. I appreciate knowing that you trust me enough to.” You put your arm around him, pulling him into a side-hug like you used to do when you two were younger. “Who else knows?” “Only Hongjoong does.” “Of course,” you said. Joong had come out of the closet as bisexual about two years ago. It made sense Yeosang would want to go to him, knowing Hongjoong wouldn’t judge him. “Nothing changes, Yeo.” You hope Yeosang feels relieved, finally having that burden off his shoulders. You talk a little about how long he’s known and eventually Yeosang asks to leave the subject alone for now and go swimming instead. You are not one to deny him, so you head upstairs to get changed and meet him at the swimming pool. It’s empty except for Yechan and Seonghwa. Sooyoung and Soojin are on sunbeds on the side, but it’s clear the girls were fast asleep. The drizzle of before has stopped but the clouds have remained, however the temperature is climbing upwards as you’re in the pool. When you and Yeosang join, it breaks up the conversation between Yechan and Seonghwa, the latter of them suggesting to play a game instead. You team up with Seonghwa to even out the playing field and through multiple rounds of a handball-resembling game, you realise that it was futile because you and Seonghwa were bound to lose the second you agreed to teaming up together. The sun started going down while you were still hanging by the pool, wrinkled out like a raisin but enjoying the contrast between the cool water of the pool and the stifling heat of the overcast summer weather. You and Yeosang didn’t get out of the pool until Anna came to collect everyone for dinnertime. You’re happy sitting in between Yeosang and Mingi – who had remained in his room for the better part of the day, insanely hungover again and having emptied his stomach multiple times – as they talk over your head about this TV show they figured out they both had been watching. Having not changed out of your bikini for dinner, you are the first to get back into the water afterwards. It’s still warm outside, although it’s pretty much pitch black except for the porchlight. It’s bound to rain and you guess there will probably be thunder and lightning involved. After a moment, you’re joined in the water with Daemi and Yechan, and then Yunho and Mingi, and then San and Alice. As you float around, trying to avoid getting caught in the middle of Daemi-Mingi against Yechan-Yunho, you glance over at San and Alice. They were laughing at whatever joke they told each other, genuine happiness in their eyes, and you knew it didn’t matter that you thought you had a crush on San. He was obviously very happy with Alice. It didn’t matter. That feeling was amplified when you noticed Wooyoung, just a small distance behind San and Alice, kicking around a ball with Jongho. You were about to look away when you saw him glance over and shoot you a smile. Despite your fight, you smiled back. Maybe this was the right time to make up. You nodded your head in the direction of the trampoline, farther our into the field behind the farmhouse. It was too dark to see out by the trampoline, even with the porchlight, so no one went there at night. It was the perfect spot. Wooyoung nodded, kicked the ball back to Jongho and said: “I’ll be right back. Go annoy Hongjoong, he looks bored.” You both laid down on the trampoline in silence, staring up at the sky. Clouds were chasing each other and there was a low rumble in the distance. Thunder. “I’m sorry about how I reacted,” you said, knowing to speed this up. You had known Wooyoung since you two were little and he was still scared of thunder and lightning. By now he had grown up more and also matured – he had told you he still was a little scared, but at least he saw the beauty in the violence of Mother Nature. “Me too.” “I just didn’t want to see Yeosang get hurt.” You were hit suddenly with the realisation that Wooyoung had no idea about Yeosang’s sexuality, or his crush on him. You wouldn’t tell him, because it was up to Yeosang to tell, and that meant that you couldn’t say that it didn’t matter you had kissed Yeosang, because of obvious reasons. Instead you said: “Yeo and I discussed it earlier today. We’re not mad at each other or anything. And I figured this was the best possible time to be honest with you.” “About what?” “About…” you sighed lightly. “About that I might… like you?” “You like me?” Wooyoung sounded no longer like himself, but a little more choked up, his tone of voice very serious. Was he angry at you for sharing this? For fucking up your friendship? You hadn’t even considered the consequences to your friendship, or what any of this would do to your dynamic between you two and Yeosang. “I guess?” “You guess or you know?” “I don’t know. I think I do. Everyone tells me I do.” “Well, if you don’t know, then I cannot tell you that I like you too.” Now it was your turn to feel stunned. “What?” You had been told by Yeosang, of course, but that was different. Now you heard it right from the source, from Wooyoung himself. “I like you too.” “But I thought you were more into Rose,” you said. “I mean, you two… out on the patio… I thought you were more into her.” Wooyoung shrugged, making the whole trampoline wiggle. “She’s pretty. I- Okay, I have shared so much with you before but it feels so weird saying it now.” He let out an awkward laugh before he said: “I just felt horny. You know? And Rose was there and she was horny too and she’s not a sight for sore eyes, so I thought: what’s so bad about this? I didn’t know you were showering right above us, or that you had the window open. Otherwise I would’ve probably taken her somewhere else. Or not done it at all.” “You were just horny?” you repeated. Wooyoung nodded, the trampoline shaking again. “So no feelings for Rose then?” “Nope,” he said, letting the p pop. “Nothing serious. Not like the way I feel for you.” You moved over closer to him, shakily reaching out for his hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t realise it sooner. Then we wouldn’t have had to fight.” “I should’ve told you the second I knew,” he said, taking your hand in his and squeezing it lightly. “So what made you realise? I knew you liked San-“ You blushed, which fortunately, he could not see. “Can we not talk about San right now? I mean, yes, I had a crush on him, but it was silly. I mean, I liked him when we were still in high school, you know? He was the guy every girl had a crush on and I guess I just jumped on the bandwagon. And I always thought it would be easier to hook up with him because we were already friends, but that just makes it more difficult. And I don’t know him as well as I know you. I just don’t feel what I think you’re supposed to feel when you’re in love – with him. I never noticed the way I feel about you, though, until I compared my feelings for you to what I feel for San or Yeosang.” “Well, you’d best believe it was torture to see you kissing Yeosang, not knowing what you were truly feeling.” “Would it be better if I kissed you instead?” And with no further words, you bridged the distance between the two of you, softly kissing his lips. Where your kiss with Yeosang had primarily taken place because you were drunk and trying to make whoever else jealous, the way you had been jealous all throughout the trip, this kiss served an entirely different purpose. It was strange too, kissing Wooyoung, whom you had known for so long and never imagined you would harbour romantic feelings for. But there was a spark, a spark that caught and ignited a flame inside of you. A flame that apparently burned inside of Wooyoung as well, for he pulled you infinitely closer, until you were on his lap. It was very uncomfortable on that trampoline, and you were glad when a dizzyingly bright flash of lightning followed by deafening thunder caused Wooyoung to yelp. “Let’s go inside,” you said, hopping off the trampoline and pulling Wooyoung with you. As you walked back, your hand in his, he bent down a little to whisper in your ear: “Come to my room tonight, yeah? Take your film camera.” And so you did. After everyone had gone to bed, you sneaked out of yours to cross the floor to the room Wooyoung shared with San.

Day 4 The room smelled of boy. And not just any boy. You glanced around in the darkness, the first thing that stuck out to you being Shiber. San had brought his cuddle toy to this trip? You wondered for a second what Alice would think of her having to share the bed and San with Shiber, until you realized that she wasn’t there. You shut the door after yourself, blocking out the light from the hallway to prevent San from waking up, instead going over to Wooyoung. You set your film camera down on the night stand and when you turned to look at Woo, he was already sitting up in the bed. “There you are,” he said. He sounded surprisingly relieved. “Did you think I wasn’t going to show up?” Wooyoung didn’t answer but instead pulled you onto the bed, blindly placing his hands on your cheeks and pulling you in for a kiss. Instantly, it clouded your mind with desire for him. Your head spun as he pulled you on top of him. You gasped as he let himself fall backwards onto the bed, allowing him to slip his tongue inside of your mouth. It was almost obscene – how good of a kisser Wooyoung was, how his tongue softly tapped against yours, how his hands slid down from your face to the hem of your pyjama shorts, slipping his hands under the fabric and onto your ass. You groaned into his mouth as his hands knead your ass, pulling you closer to him. Wooyoung pulled back only a little bit, but you hated the moment, his voice slightly breathless as he said: “Don’t be too loud. San might wake.” You glanced over to the other bed and yelped to find San already sitting upright, Shiber wrapped in his arms, just staring at you. “What the fuck!” you exclaimed. “I’m already awake,” San said. Wooyoung pushed himself up on his elbows. “Have you just been… listening to us? Watching us? The whole time?” San shrugged. “It was kind of hot. Maybe next time you’ll allow me to join in.” You looked at Wooyoung for a second, exchanging a glance. There was an unspoken conversation within that glance, a result of many years of friendship in which you had been a unit, had had an unbreakable bond. And now all of that was transforming into whatever this was, and someone was asking to partake in this same adventure with you? You gulped as you realized what you were seeing in Wooyoung’s eyes. “Fuck,” you muttered. And you nodded. “San, come here,” Wooyoung said, his voice an octave deeper. San was quick to throw Shiber aside and make his way over to you. You don’t think you’ve ever seen him move this fast, although he was as quick to come to a halt at the side of the bed. You felt your breath hitch as Wooyoung grabbed San’s shirt in his hand and pulled him closer, essentially making San topple over on the bed as he lost his balance. “I think Y/N hasn’t had enough love this trip. If you know what I mean.” You gulped, not entirely knowing what to say. The boy you were currently into and the boy you had always been harbouring a crush on were on the bed together with you and it was pretty clear what was going to happen now. You felt a familiar wetness, synchronic with San nodding to Wooyoung’s statement. “I think we should give her whatever she wants, don’t you agree?” San nodded again. Wooyoung then turned to you: “Tell us what you want us to do.” For a moment you were about to ask for what you had always lusted after, which was a filthy, intense make out session with San. But right now, looking at him – his shirt crumpled in the place Wooyoung had pulled him in, his hair messy from having been in bed earlier, his plump lips slightly parted and with a small tent visible through his pyjama pants – you knew what you wanted to see. And still it even surprised you a little when you said: “Kiss each other.” San’s head shot around to look at Wooyoung, physically below the both of you but in some other way he was dominating you both. “Is that okay?” Wooyoung leaned up only a little bit to put his hand on the back of San’s head and pull him in, their lips locking. Right off the bat there was tongue involved. You were well aware that you were staring, and well aware that there was no one to catch you staring as San increasingly got more comfortable and seemed more into the kiss. “Slowly,” you instructed. “Slowly.” They listened as if they were puppets, entirely under your control. The kiss was somehow more heated now that they weren’t hungrily clawing at each other. You thought to yourself how this couldn’t be real life. Just a couple of days ago you had been wanting San as badly as ever, then you had thought him to belong to Alice, and now he was here. Let alone the entire situation with Wooyoung – how just a few hours ago you had still been angry with him for fingering Rose on the patio. But that was something you didn’t want to think about at that moment. “Woo, strip San for me, please.” Wooyoung listened well – he helped San lift his arms above his head and proceeded to take off his shirt for him, tossing it aside. Next were San’s pants. It took a bit more effort to strip those and then get rid of his boxers too. “San, your turn,” you said. There was no shame visible in Wooyoung, who seemed utterly comfortable with stripping as well. They were still kissing, albeit a little bit more clumsy now San was trying to take Wooyoung’s pyjama’s off. It had never occurred to you that perhaps San wasn’t all that confident and experienced as you had taken him to be. Perhaps he had only been truly intimate with a handful of people. Perhaps this was a first for him – the first time he had a threesome. You couldn’t say you had any experience in this department either. “Woo-“ you started, but the instructions you were about to give him stuck in your throat as Wooyoung ripped himself free off San and said: “Aren’t you going to get undressed, baby?” Your mouth almost fell open in an o-shape at the pet name. You had never heard Wooyoung call anyone by a pet name. Let alone be the one to be called one by him. “Sorry.” You felt like you had to say sorry. Why? You weren’t sure. “San?” San, who visibly wasn’t entirely sure what was going on but was along for the ride regardless, scooted over so he could reach for you. He was less clumsy with you, but you weren’t sure if you had to attribute that to past experiences with girls or to not being engaged in a wild make out session with you. Which quickly changed as your lips smashed together. Now the three of you were all fully naked, everything that was uncomfortable or awkward about the situation seemed to ebb away. You wrapped your arms around San’s neck, pulling yourself up a little bit so you could rub yourself on him. You couldn’t remember how long it had been since you had started crushing on him, but you had had some fantasies and wet dreams about San before. Admittedly, you’d had them about Wooyoung too. You felt his hands sneak in between San and you and jumped a little from the sudden sensation of Wooyoung’s thumb against your clit. You were sure his other hand was wrapped around San’s shaft – there was no other explanation for the sudden noise that erupted from the boy, your kiss temporaily stopping. “What do you want me to do, baby?” Wooyoung’s soft voice sounded. “Hm-“ You didn’t trust yourself to be able to properly tell him what you wanted, so instead you let go of San to kiss Wooyoung instead. San chased after you, attaching his lips to your neck. The confidence he gained made you groan into Wooyoung’s mouth as San nibbled and licked and sucked, sure to leave marks behind. There were noises from San as well, noises that were only explainable by Wooyoung moving his hand on San. It occurred to you that this was every girls’ dirtiest fantasy and you weren’t taking one second for granted. You let Wooyoung push you back onto the bed, which was in no way able to fit three people in it, but you somehow made it work. You were glad Wooyoung didn’t need any verbal instructions; softly pushing his head down, in the direction of where you needed him most, was enough. He went to work, expertly licking and sucking. It nearly made you fold in on yourself from the sheer pleasure he was giving you, but you were too busy tending to San’s proud erection, oozing precum from Wooyoung’s earlier ministrations. You wrapped your lips around him, working your mouth in a way that was sure to earn San’s approval – it was audible in his moans and groans, ones you gave back to him from Wooyoung’s actions. San was the first to succumb. The pleasure rendered him nearly unable to speak, but you understood the little taps on your cheek well enough. You didn’t pull away however, allowing San’s cum to fill your mouth. And you swallowed. San seemed just about spent, but he didn’t leave you hanging. Instead, he went to work on your neck again, his hands coming up to cup your boobs. San didn’t have to do much for Wooyoung had done most of the work on getting you to your high. You came with a high-pitched moan; there was a certain shyness overtaking you at the sound you hadn’t previously thought you could make. You were panting, admiring Wooyoung and your glistening juices on his lips as he came up. There was very little to no talking as you motioned for him to come closer. The sudden urge overcame you – you couldn’t explain what had triggered it. You pushed yourself up just a little bit, in a way that wouldn’t disturb San, as you pulled Wooyoung just a little bit closer, your tongue darting out to lick Wooyoung’s lips, getting a taste of yourself. “What about you?” you asked tracing your hand down Wooyoung’s chest, down his happy trail, to his cock. “What do you want? Tell me.” “San-ie,” he said. San looked up from his work on your neck, his eyes slightly hazy. “I want you… to suck me.” That was the first time you saw Wooyoung seem even just a little bit fazed by the situation, instead of looking like he had everything under control. “And Y/N, baby… kiss me.” You gave San a quick kiss on his lips before coming up onto your knees so you could reach Wooyoung better. There was equal part of kissing and moaning from Wooyoung’s side – he was a lot more vocal than you had expected. The part of Wooyoung that was moaning mirrored the part of you that wanted him inside of you, but tonight was not the night. Instead, tonight was the night Wooyoung grabbed your film camera from his night stand and, in the dark, figured out how to take photos of you and San, coated in Woo’s cum. Yes, tonight was the night Wooyoung coated both you and San in cum – and then went to clean it up himself with San’s T-shirt from the floor. “Woo,” San complained, but you both heard quite clearly that his heart wasn’t in it. “Ssh.” Wooyoung pressed a kiss against San’s forehead and then to yours. “Let’s go to sleep.”

The bed really was too small for three people. You had thought it the night before and you were proven right the next morning, when you woke up to a yelp from a distraught San – he had fallen off the bed. He was disgustingly handsome, but your heart didn’t flutter the way it had before. What had remained the same, however, was the heat in your cheeks at the memory of what you got up to the night before, the evidence right there on San’s T-shirt, which he had picked up off the floor with a disgusted expression. “I probably won’t be able to wear this ever again. Damn you, Wooyoung.” You were surprised to find Wooyoung awake already too, one of his arms folded behind his head. His eyes had been closed before, which lead you to believe he was still asleep, but the smile that played on his lips was unmistakably one of someone who was awake and heard every word of what San had just said. You watched as San strode across the room and threw his T-shirt in the trash can behind the door. “I’m taking a shower,” he announced, leaving you and Wooyoung in the bed by yourselves as he closed the door behind him. Wooyoung’s eyes stayed closed, his smile having slightly faded. You pushed yourself up on one elbow and looked at Wooyoung, really looked at him. You had known him for so many years, had gone on so many adventures with him… This was the next big adventure. You reached out, doing something you had always thought of doing but never felt confident enough to. You traced his finely shaped eyebrows, the curve of his eyes… You trailed your finger down his cheeks to rest at the corner of his lips. You were about to carefully trace his lips, full and relaxed, when Wooyoung suddenly snapped his teeth at your finger. “Woo!” you complained, pouting at him. His eyes were open now, the brown highlighted to several shades of gold in the narrow stroke of sunlight from the window. By the way the sun shone into the room, you could see it was nearing noon. Although in that case, it wasn’t exactly morning anymore, this was by far the best morning you had spent at the farmhouse. “Why did you do that?” You let your finger fall back to his lips and this time he let you trace them, his warm breath hitting your skin. When you let his lips alone, opting to crawl into his embrace instead, you said: “San joined us last night…” Stating the obvious. Great. “Was it good?” Wooyoung asked, his hand coming up to play with your hair. “Yeah. I liked it.” “Me too.” You could hear from his tone of voice – delicious, delicious morning voice – that he was smiling. “I hope San had a good time too. But next time I want you all to myself.” You felt your heart flutter at his words. There was a next time and that next time would consist of you and Wooyoung exploring each other. You were absolutely certain that this was the best morning at the farmhouse – you felt like the happiest girl on earth. You didn’t know what to say, so instead you just hummed in agreement. “Would you like me to bring you breakfast?” Wooyoung asked after a while. “Eggs and sausages,” you said. “Ooh, making demands now? Actually using your words?” He chuckled and tapped your shoulder, signalling you to get up so he could move. You pushed yourself up and watched as Wooyoung got out of bed. With his back toward you, you saw his muscles stand out as he bend to pick up his shirt off the floor. The room was a mess. “Any preferences for your breakfast beverage, milady?” You grinned. “The finest tea you serve, milord.” “Of course.” He bowed before making his way out of the room. As you were left alone in Wooyoung’s bed you tried to wrap your head around the events of the night before. Coming to the farmhouse you had never expected that this was the way you would end the trip. You hadn’t even suspected anything remotely like this would happen. You got out of bed, dressing yourself in the clothes from the night before, before crossing the room to open up the window. You had just crawled back into bed, sitting up with your back against the wall, when San came back, his hair wet and a towel hung lowly around his waist. He closed the door behind him and got to getting dressed as you watched him. The silence between the two of you was palpable but nonetheless quite comfortable. You wouldn’t know what to say anyway. “I didn’t mean to insert myself,” San suddenly spoke up, sitting down on the edge of his bed, clutching Shiber to his chest, “in between you and Woo. I know it was all quite new to you both.” You shrugged, leaning your head against the wall. “We both wanted it. You didn’t insert yourself in at all. Was it good?” you couldn’t help yourself asking. San nodded, his cheeks turning pink. “I hadn’t expected it.” “Believe me, me neither.” You looked at the way San was playing with Shiber’s tail. “It was really new to us,” you then said, surprising the both of you. “I mean, we were friends. And now we’re more.” “I think everyone saw it coming.” “I don’t think so,” you said, shaking your head. “You know, I was always crushing on you.” “You were?” San looked up, stopping his playful antics with Shiber. “I didn’t notice.” You nodded. “It was a long time crush. But there’s a difference between crushing on someone and loving someone. I realised that because I watched you and Alice.” There was no response to the mention of Alice. You found you didn’t really care. San resumed playing with Shiber, but his eyes stayed trained on you. “So why Yeosang?” “Vengeance.” You knew how terrible that sounded but there was no other word for it. “He was… there. I know it’s wrong. But I needed to know why I felt so jealous of Rose.” With a sigh you let yourself fall sideways onto the bed. “Now I do. And now I know why I don’t love you. Not in that way.” The door opened to reveal Wooyoung carrying a tray, a literal mountain of food on the plate that he carried, a tea pot and three cups next to it. “Breakfast!” He set the tray down on the floor, and despite the mess that was the room, the three of you crowded around the tray to eat the breakfast Wooyoung had prepared. The idyllic bubble of Woosan’s room had to be broken some time. You regretted stepping foot out of the room the second you did it, but you felt dirty so you wanted to shower, and besides that, you had to pack up the rest of your belongings to return home. You got into the shower, the same one you had been in the first day. The window was cracked open, letting in the sounds of nature and summer. You shut your eyes, enjoying the feeling of the water scorching your body. Yechan was waiting for you in your bedroom when you got back to pack up. “I know where you went last night. I’m glad I didn’t have to hear it. I know Seonghwa and Sooyoung had a front row seat though.” She smiled. “So, you have to tell me all the details. How was your first threesome?” “Yechan!” you covered your face with your hands. “I’m not going to talk about this with you.” “Okay, maybe without details, then,” she said. “At least tell me you had a good time.” You lowered your hands a little bit to look at her. Your best friend, with you through everything… “It was really good.” You bit your lip at the excitement that erupted from Yechan. Her happiness rubbed off on you, though, and soon enough you were, despite yourself, telling her just a few details. Like San having to throw out his shirt afterwards. You left out the pictures Wooyoung took of you and San. Those were private. “Are you in a polyamorous relationship now?” she asked, her eyes wide and genuine. You shook your head. “I don’t think so. I think it’s just me and Woo.” Yechan nodded. “That’s good too.” She took your hand and softly squeezed, her smile saying more than words ever could.

The next person you had to talk to was Yeosang. You were carrying your bags out to the car when he popped up beside you. “Let’s go on the trampoline,” he said. You nodded, following him across the backyard to the trampoline, overlooking the vineyard. It was better in the day than it was last night. The little kids in you jumped out by the way you nearly toppled over each other to get onto the trampoline, performing tricks as you jumped. After a bit you let yourself fall down, out of breath. “Yeo, I need to tell you something,” you said and he stopped jumping as well. “I had s-“ “Sex with Wooyoung. I know,” he said. “You do?” Okay, perhaps you weren’t right to be surprised he knew. If you had to believe Yechan, the three of you hadn’t been very quiet. “I mean- San was there with us too.” “I know. I heard everything,” Yeosang sat down on the trampoline now too. “The walls are pretty thin, you know.” “I’m sorry.” “You’re sorry that I heard?” You chuckled. “Yes, that too. But also that I did that. Now that I know you like him-“ “It doesn’t matter,” Yeosang said, turning his head to look up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand. “He’s not into guys anyway and I know how much you two like each other. I haven’t been completely blind over the last couple of years, you know? I’ll find someone that likes me like that and that I’ll like back. I’m fine with what happened. Don’t worry about me.” “If you’re so sure,” you said, looking up at the sky too. “I just feel guilty.” “Don’t.” Yeosang reached over and grabbed your hand in his, giving it a squeeze. “Just know that Rose also heard and she’s crazy upset with you two.” You sat up, looking over at him. “Just about how many people have heard every single second of last night?” “How many people are with us on the trip?” Yeosang started counting on his fingers. “So 13. Except maybe Mingi. He was out cold. That makes 12.” “Jesus Christ,” you swear. And you do so again when you return to the farmhouse to find Rose already storming out to find you. Apparently someone had told her you and Yeosang were hanging out on the trampoline. There’s a look in her eyes that you’re not sure you ever want to see in anyone’s eyes ever again. It speaks of all-consuming anger. “Rose-“ you start. And that’s also where you end. She didn’t even take the time or effort to talk it out. Her first reaction was violence. You had always jealously compared Rose’s visuals to that of an angel, but the way she lashed out at you proved she was all but that. “You slut!” she shrieked, her nails finding a hold in your skin. You barely felt the pain as she raked her nails down your face. You had never thought of yourself as a violent person, but you also weren’t the person to back down from someone attacking you like this. Your pent up frustrations were threatening to spill out of you in a violent manner, but before you could do much damage to her, Mingi’s strong arms wrapped around you, picking you up as if you weighed absolutely nothing, carrying you away as Jongho did the same to Rose, who was now clawing at him. Mingi set you down on the countertop of the downstairs bathroom, checking you for injuries like the worried big brother he always acts like towards you. “You’re bleeding.” He grabbed tissues for you to hold against the wound, as if that would help much. Silly, hungover Mingi. “She has sharp nails,” you said, wincing as you pressed the tissues against the marks. Wooyoung came storming in, carrying a white box with a red cross on it. “First aid!” he said, to which Mingi nodded and left. You bet he knew why Rose had got violent with you too. “I didn’t know she was going to do that,” Wooyoung said, opening up the first aid kit. “It’s fine,” you said. “Did I at least fight her off a little bit?” He laughed. “God, that that’s the first thing you’re thinking about… Here, you’re bleeding.” He got to work, cleaning up the scratches Rose’s nails left behind on your face and arm. His fingers were soft on your skin, leaving behind a trail of heat. Even though you hadn’t known him to be very skilled with cleaning up wounds and bandaging up injuries, he was doing quite a good job. Better than Mingi would have done, had this been his job to do. “And the way you stood your ground was pretty hot, Y/N.” You chuckled. “You’re just saying that.” You looked at Wooyoung as he took expert care of you, the tip of his tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration, a habit you had always loved about him. You realized suddenly how blind you had been all along not to notice him, or his love for you. You had never actively fantasized about Wooyoung in a sexual way, although you had sometimes wondered what it would be like to have a romantic relationship with him. In your mind it had never worked out, whereas a relationship with San would seem the most plausible. He had always been the one boy you thought you would end up with, if it was going to be anyone out of the friend group. Everyone had known each other for varying lengths and with different intensities, something which had never lead you to believe that you and Wooyoung would be a good match. “What are you looking at?” Wooyoung asked, chuckling, throwing away the stuff he had used to clean and bandage your wound. “You,” you said, no trace of shyness. “Like what you see?” Wooyoung wiggled his eyebrows, his classic playfulness erasing what you had felt over the past couple of days, leaving only behind what you had always thought to be simple, platonic feelings for your best friend. But now you knew it was more. You shrugged. “I think you could do better, but this’ll have to do.” You stuck out your feet, wrapping your legs around him and pulling him closer. “Thanks for stitching me up.” “I’m sorry about Rose,” he said, his arms coming to rest around your waist. “Take the same car as me back?” “So you can finger me in the backseat while no one notices?” You chuckled at the surprise on his face. Must be due to your sudden dirty mouth. “No, thanks. I’ll ride with Yunho and Jongho. But maybe we can see each other when we get back? Get lunch, or dinner… Go out on a real date…” “A real date.” Wooyoung nodded. “Sounds wonderful.”

Alternative scene How the ‘morning after’ would have had gone, had I decided to stick with the shower Woosan x reader threesome I had originally planned to happen after the initial Wooyoung x reader sex scene

The room smells. Of what you’re not entirely sure, but it’s sour and makes your nose crunch up as you slowly open your eyes, only to find Wooyoung next to you. His dark brown hair was curling up at the ends and his mouth was slightly open, his chest bare. You had managed to wrap most of the blankets around yourself, leaving Wooyoung uncovered. Not just his chest was bare. You draped the blankets over him and in the process, noticed you were only wearing a T-shirt. That’s it. Just a T-shirt. When you glance underneath the covers, you see it’s Woo’s, one you got together while he was shopping for his First Date T-Shirt, nearly 4 years ago now. You smiled to yourself at the memory and turned onto your back. That’s when you realize that it wasn’t just you and Wooyoung in the room. “San!” You pull up the covers again to cover yourself, even though there’s no bit of you left uncovered. He’s casually resting on his bed, eyes trained on you and Wooyoung in the bed. “Good morning. What a coincidence I catch you here. Morning, Woo.” “San,” Wooyoung groans out from next to you. He seems utterly unfazed to see you laying next to him. He must know you’re wearing nothing but his T-shirt. You also reckon San must know what has happened between you and Wooyoung. “Aren’t you supposed to complain about your headache?” “I think throwing up prevented my headache,” San said, pointing at a bucket at his side of the room, standing half under half next to his bed. You guessed that was what the sour smell was all about. “Aren’t you two supposed to be even a little bit ashamed that you two had steamy, hot sex while I was literally in the same room with you?” “I just seized the opportunity,” Wooyoung said, wrapping his arm around you and pulling you against him. “And you were asleep.” “Apparently not,” San said. “I was miserable, though. Maybe next time you decide to fuck each other again, you could invite me.” “Oh, shut up,” you said, hiding your face in Woo’s chest. This is really just way worse than seeing San and Alice kissing on the edge of the swimming pool or Wooyoung fingering Rose while you’re in the shower. This is humiliation of a different kind. “Why were you actually listening to us?” Wooyoung said. San shrugged. “Like I said, I was miserable. Couldn’t sleep, especially not with those sounds. Disgusting. What would Rose say?” That remark landed him with Wooyoung’s pillow in his face. “Okay, yes, that was slightly mean. Sorry. Will it make you feel better if I say it was kind of hot though? Like, I don’t know what you did that made Y/N go like-“ He made a noise that landed him with your pillow in his face. “Okay, yes, shouldn’t have said that. But! Promise me next time you won’t let me get so drunk I won’t be able to join in, yeah?” “Would you actually want to join?” you said. You weren’t sure if you were completely disgusted by this morning conversation with San, or if you were getting turned on again. You also weren’t entirely sure if you would have had Wooyoung pin you down underneath him if you had known San was in the bed opposite. “Could be hot,” Woo said. “Honestly, it’s been on my to-do list,” San said. “A threesome with someone who claims himself to be a sex god and also the hottest girl from high school? I wouldn’t say no to that.” “You tell others you’re a sex god?” you laughed at Wooyoung who turned a suspicious shade of pink.

#wooyoung x reader #wooyoung imagine #wooyoung smut #yeosang x reader #yeosang imagine #yeosang smut #san x reader #san imagine #san smut #kpop x reader #kpop imagine #kpop smut #ateez x reader #ateez imagine #ateez smut #my writing

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ourplaceinthecosmosphff · 4 years ago

Text

Chapter 29. Borrowed Time

‘Harder days are coming. The loan of borrowed time will be due on the horizon. (...)’ - Ingeborg Bachmann

The most northern village in Savoy was Valois-Narcisse, so small that it wasn’t actually reachable by any form of public transportation. Not a lot of people in Savoy even knew Valois-Narcisse by name; Bayona, on the East Coast, was the closest reference point, a beach village considered an under-rated touristic spot. Historically, Valois-Narcisse was populated by sheep and eggplant farmers, not a very sexy niche, and it was still how the village’s only export to local and regional farmer’s markets.

For the following few weeks after Ascot, every time Harry tried to talk about it, his phone corrected the name to ‘value narcissism’, so by the time I drove past the small, rusted iron sign that read its name, I couldn’t help but smile.

One of the reasons Valois-Narcisse was so abandoned was that it was mostly situated up a mountain. Not at the top of the mountain, exactly, although parts of it were. The village just stretched along the mountain, with most of its commerce and eateries, however scarce, down below, and the houses built towards the top, including a couple of small hostels and, lucky for us, one very odd Airbnb.

The houses, bridges and streets were all built of stone and wood, with wildflowers and weeds growing in between, and across the mountain, beyond the village, stood the vast, beautiful Celtic Sea. On days of low tide, locals swore they could see the outline of the Irish coast on the horizon, at least according to the description on Airbnb.

But even if that was an exaggeration, we wouldn’t have cared, because what drew Harry and I to Valois-Narcisse that weekend was how desolate and empty it was. Paparazzi wouldn’t dream of finding us there, so it was there that we scheduled our first getaway. Our first secret rendezvous. Or, as Harry kept reminding me, our first date.

We had been texting non-stop since I left his house after Ascot, about what happened, and also about all things around us, what we were doing or not, and a lot of nothing. It was over text that we made the plans to meet in Vallois-Narcisse for the first time since getting together, it was over text that we discussed the latest of the Adrien saga (he’d been seen out in a club with the singer-girlfriend and their friends), and it was over text that he informed me that since we never got to go on our date the previous year, during our weekend in Vallois-Narcisse, he was going to pull all the stops to ‘take me out’’.

“Are we going out for dinner?” I asked, in our Airbnb, while I got ready in the middle of the afternoon.

“Not really.” He replied, from the small sitting room right outside our suite. “And stop trying to guess, just get ready.”

He had refused to tell me anything about the date, claiming it was supposed to be as real as the real one would have been and in the real one, it would have been a surprise.

“It’s very hard to get ready when I don’t know what we’re doing.” I sighed. “How casual am I supposed to look?”

“Casual.” He replied, unhelpful. “Maybe wear sneakers.”

“Well, that’s one decision off my conscience.” I mumbled to myself, staring at my options laid out in the bed, my small suitcase open on the floor.

I had chosen a preppy, plaid short skirt in shades of white and blue, and I had all the tops I had brought in the bed as possible options. For shoes, I removed the flats from the lineup, and put on my white Nike’s, turning around to look at the tops again.

“Are you ready? It’s time.” Harry called from the other room.

“Just–! Just give me ten minutes!” I shouted back, nervously.

I realized how ridiculous it was. It was just a gesture – a sweet, romantic, gesture – to have a first date when we had already slept together more than once. More than twice. The previous night, for instance. It made no sense, it was just sweet. So there was no reason to be nervous, and I knew that. Rationally, I knew that.

Still, as I looked at the clothes I brought, I hated every single one. I threw the Jurassic Park tee back into the suitcase – too casual –, and looked at the Kimono top, a greenish blue shade, long, loose sleeves, a nice, laidback fit to contrast with the skirt. The other two options, a tight, square neckline, navy blue, crop top, and a loose, green, blouse with spaghetti sleeves, both matched the skirt and were casual enough, but seemed more appropriate for the weather.

“…It’s been ten minutes.” Harry’s voice came back from the other room, patiently cautious.

“Coming!”

In one panicked move, I grabbed the green, strappy blouse and put it on. I rushed to the bathroom and quickly applied some tinted sunblock to my face. I wanted to apply actual makeup, but convinced myself it was silly. He’d seen me without makeup many times already. It wasn’t a real first date, no matter how big the knot on my stomach was, so I just grabbed a pair of earrings, my every-day necklace, and sunglasses, and burst through the door in a hurry, ready to run as if we had an actual reservation, even though I was perfectly aware that no restaurant in this village town worked like that.

“Okay, I’m ready, let’s go!” I said, looking at him, who startled up from the couch and looked me up and down, appreciatively.

“Mary, wow.” He smiled, slowly, approaching me with careful steps. “You look…”

“What are you doing?!” I laughed, blushing. “You saw me five minutes ago. I look the same. I just put on a different, very casual, outfit.”

“Will you just pretend with me? Please?” He sighed, rolling his eyes. “We never got to have our first date, just… let’s just pretend we’re a normal couple today.”

I shook my head, grinning. “…Fine.”

He took another step towards me and, from seemingly thin air, produced a white daisy.

I sighed. I wanted to say ‘really?’, but I bit down my sarcasm, and took my flower.

“Thank you. It’s beautiful!” I said, adding a little more emotion than necessary.

He sighed heavily, making me laugh. “Come on, ma’am, we have a date.”

“Yes, sir.”

Our Airbnb was in a secluded property at the end of a dead-end granite driveway off of the main road. Instead of taking that direction, however, we walked towards the hike trail in the opposite direction. I wanted to ask what was on the huge backpack he’d brought, but I knew he was just waiting for the opportunity to tell me it was a surprise, so I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

He announced we had arrived when we reached a clearing amongst the trees. The grass and weeds were a little high, but nothing that made it impossible for us to sit down and enjoy ourselves. Especially because, as I soon discovered, Harry had a picnic blanket in his backpack. Because Harry had a whole picnic in his backpack.

“A picnic?!” I asked, excited.

“You like picnics?” He smiled, setting the blanket down.

“I love picnics!” I said, excitedly. “Don’t go to many, because… you know, outside, not very safe.”

“Yes, I do know.” He nodded, going through his bag, “Fortunately this place has enough privacy for us.”

“How did you even know to come here?”

“I googled it.” He replied, simply.

From his bag, he took out a bottle of sparkly wine and two ceramic looking plastic plates, which he sat down at opposite ends of the blanket. He then placed two linen napkins, folded, on top, with a set of cutlery over each.

“You thought this through.” I noticed.

“Of course I did.” He shrugged, removing a piece of paper from his pocket and reading it quickly. “I do have visual aids, though.”

In his bag, he also had acrylic Tupperware with a number of cheeses, which he then laid out on a wooden board. In another container, he had brought an assortment of cut veggies with a smaller cup inside, with ranch, which he remembered was my favorite. For our main course, he dramatically revealed large sandwiches from his favorite London restaurant, perfectly packaged and cut, for easier consumption. And for dessert, there were also a number of fruits and two small pots with what looked like cheesecakes.

“This is… incredible.”

He seemed the most flattered I had ever seen him.

“Thank you!” He said, folding his note quickly.

“Can I see that?”

“What? Oh, no, it’s just a little reminder of where things go–Oh–okay.”

I walked over to him and grabbed the paper before he could return it to his pocket; it was a list of instructions on how to set up the picnic, in his own handwriting. It even said ‘transfer cheese to wooden board’ and included a drawing of how to set up the napkins on top of the plates, with the cutlery on top of the napkins.

“This is… so sweet.” I gushed, watching him blush. “Where did you get this from?”

“I googled picnics.” He shrugged. “Well, first I googled first date ideas. Then saw the picnic idea and went on google street view to see if this place would be good for one. Then googled how to do a picnic.” He shrugged, grabbing the paper back and folding it. “Not a big deal.”

It was the way he blushed slightly and still made it sound like it wasn’t a big deal that he put in that much effort into giving us one afternoon where we could pretend we were a normal couple, untouched by tragedy. That’s what made my heart swoon for him.

I didn’t even have time to kiss him, though. He was so adamant to continue as if nothing was the problem that he just held my hand and sat down, pulling me with him.

“So…” He started, smiling. “So good that we are finally able to do this.”

“It is.” I agreed, amused.

“Wine?”

“Yes, please.”

“So, tell me, what is it that you do?” I laughed so loudly he reluctantly joined me.

“I’m sorry, it’s just too weird.”

“Come on!” He complained. “Like a normal first date, just go with it.”

“Okay, okay…” I sighed, still smiling. “What I do for a living… I… I am a lawyer.” He gave me an annoyed look. “What? If I’m talking to someone who doesn’t know what I do for a living, I’m not gonna tell them.”

“Fair. But be honest.”

I sighed. “Alright. I have a law degree from Harvard, which I’m really proud of, and I mostly have experience with copyright law… But I am not practicing right now.”

“Really? How so?”

I gave him an annoyed look this time. “I… I made a career change last year towards working on my… family business.”

He grinned. “How interesting.”

“Thank you. It’s been very rewarding.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t an easy choice to make.”

My smile faltered slightly. “It wasn’t fully my choice… But I’m happy with it, regardless.” I added, to assuage his reaction.

He nodded, silently. After a while, he added, “Are you?”

I shifted the position of my legs under me, using the time it took to think it through.

“Yes. Yes? I think so.” I shrugged. “Honestly, I haven’t really stopped to figure that out… Not exactly a priority.”

“It should be.”

I smiled. Not knowing how to change the subject, I reached out to the platter next to me and grabbed a piece of cheese.

“This is really good.” I added.

He smiled, accepting of the change of subject.

“Alright, time for you to ask something.”

“Oh. Okay… Uhm.” I finished chewing slowly as I thought about it. “Where… are you from? Originally?”

He rolled his eyes, smiling. “I’m from England.”

“Oh, really? Interesting.” I said, overly impressed. “Where in England?”

“London.” He added, grinning. “I was born and raised in Central London.”

“Fancy.” I added, appreciatively, making him chuckle. “Do you like living there?”

He considered this. “…not particularly.”

I stopped chewing. “Really?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know… I mean, I liked it, yes, in that… generic, mandatory way you always feel you must like the place you are from. Like, I will defend it if I must. But… if I had a choice, would I want to spend the rest of my life there? I’m not sure I would.”

“Huh.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” I shook my head. “Well.”

“Go on.” He said, grinning.

“Oh, I just mean… I love New York, it was one of the best experiences of my life living there for a year after law school, even if those memories are tainted with the presence of my ex… But as much as I love New York, and a lot of other places I’ve been to… coming home to Savoy is just…” I shrugged. “I don’t know, I couldn’t imagine staying away forever, you know? It’s home.”

He nodded. “I don’t know, I just don’t have that sense of attachment to England. To my family and friends, sure. But to the place? I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

We were silent for a while, eating cheese and drinking wine, and pondering over the words said. Then he perked up again, cheerily, and said,

“Tell me about your family.”

I gave the sky an eye roll. “…Fine.”

“Wow. So aggressive.” He noted, chuckling.

“Shut up.” I said. “Okay. Well, I’m the oldest of three. My brother was the middle child, but he passed away last year. He was three years younger than me and we got along really well. My sister is about eleven years younger than me, so we are not as close, though we’ve gotten a lot closer recently.”

“That’s nice to hear.” He smiled.

“My mother was born in Northern Savoy, her father is French, her mother is Savoyen. My grandfather has a property management and consultancy business, and my grandmother was always a stay-at-home mother. My mother only has one sister, Aunt Katherine, who’s now taken over my grandfather’s business, though her husband, Merlin, who is a Lord, seems to be making most of the calls. That is the root of most of the disagreements between my mother and Aunt, currently.”

“Tough.” He noted.

“Aunt Katherine has two children, Camille is the eldest, she’s been married to Hamilton Costeau for a few years, he’s a hotshot nightclub owner from the capital, and they’re expecting their first child currently. Her brother, Adam, is a freelance graphic designer, he’s married to a writer named Marcia. They’re probably my most normal relatives except that they’re wild, crazy hippies.”

He laughed. “How so?”

“They had a fully vegan wedding in a bowling alley and they live in a boat.”

He almost spit out his wine laughing. “What?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m gonna need more information.”

“There’s not really that much more to it. To be fair, the vegan menu was actually pretty good and bowling is fun. Haven’t been bowling since, so it’s a good memory. We don’t see them a lot, because of the boat.”

“When you say boat…?”

“Not a yatch or anything like that. It’s one of those small, house boats, like in Amsterdam? Except they actually use it to sail around since they’re both freelance and can work from anywhere.”

“Honestly… that sounds great.”

“They’re cool.” I nodded. “Let’s see… on my father’s side, he has two older sisters. Marilou Bondy is in her sixties, her husband is a Vice Admiral in the navy, and they have two kids in their mid-thirties. Zaccharie, married to Amber, they have two kids who are three and five years-old. Zacc is a business manager in a shipping company, his wife has a graduate degree in Psychology, but now is a stay-at-home mom. Zacc’s sister, Heloise, is CEO of a multinational company, and her husband is a doctor. They’re by far my relatives who’ve got it together the most.”

“Sounds like it, those are some big jobs. They have kids?”

“A two year old, adorable. All my cousin’s children are. We have good genes.” He laughed. “Let me see, what else? My father’s second oldest sister, Stephanie, married a Lord of Luxembourg, uncle Ellis, so they live there. They have three kids, Josephine, Klaus, and Catarina.”

“Klaus! I know Klaus!” He said, happily, “Love Klaus. He’s fun!”

“Yes, he’s… very you.” I noted, amused. “How did you two meet, anyway?”

“Oh, he met a friend of mine during gap year, so my friend introduced us at a festival later on.”

“Of course.” I nodded. “As you know, he works for an investment firm. His youngest sister, Catarina, is twenty-three, she took a few years after school to figure it out, so she’s still finishing her degree. And the oldest, Josephine, is an interior designer, and she’s actually getting married next month, to Marius Allard, who owns a network of gyms in Luxembourg.”

“Royal wedding?” He asked.

“A small one, but yes.”

“You going?”

“Yes.” I smiled. “Anyway. Then, there’s my father, the middle child, oldest brother, and they also have two youngest brothers. Or, had. Adrien’s father died many years ago of lymphoma, so now Adrien is next in line for the throne after Lourdes. You know him, so no need to go into it.”

“How is he doing in New York, by the way?” He asked, pouring us more wine. “I read he and the singer were seen partying in a boat?”

“For the fourth of July, yes.” I nodded. “My father and the advisors are… how can I say it? Pissed.” He chuckled. “Celebrating an American holiday, half naked, in a boat, with a bunch of celebrities, including his pink-haired girlfriend… they want him to come back.”

“Of course they do.”

“Adrien has a younger sister, Natalie, who’s my favorite.” I said, gushing. “She’s awesome, sweet, positive, always down for a good chat, though not big into parties or crowds–”

“So, the opposite of Adrien?”

“Yes.” I laughed. “Nat is getting her masters in Sorbonne, she studies literature and communications. Their mom, Princess Annette, has been a working royal for many years. Finally, my youngest uncle, Prince Albert, is also a working royal. He divorced his wife about five years ago, which was a huge scandal at the time, but we’ve managed to ride it out, and now everyone gets along fine. His ex-wife is even still a working royal, as well.”

“Woah.” He said, brows raised. “We could learn a thing or two from about how to handle divorce in a healthy way.”

“Agreed.” I said, teasing. “They have three kids. Maryanne is eighteen, currently serving her minimum military course post-graduation. Her brother James is sixteen, he’s in boarding school in Switzerland, and Sarah, who’s ten, attends the same boarding school as Lourdes… and that’s it. Unless you want to hear about my extended family, in which case we might be here a while.”

He nodded. While he digested the info-dump I’d just given him, I took the time to finish my wine and have some veggies and ranch.

“Question.” He said, unwrapping our sandwiches, “Why did you only mention two or three working royals?”

“My father’s oldest sisters lost their title upon marriage, and Aunt Stephanie lives in Luxembourg. Aunt Marilou and her husband do work sometimes, but that’s mostly because of her husband’s Admiral job. So, it’s mostly my father and his brothers who work for the Crown. Since Uncle James died, Adrien and his mom work, too, although he’s in New York now. His sister is still in school, so she’s excused. And that leaves uncle Albert and his ex-wife, and their kids are too young. There’s also some cousins of my father who are working royals, though they also have private careers.”

He nodded. “So that’s why you said you would have to become a working royal eventually.”

“Yep. That’s why a lot of the burden was already mine before, and also why I knew it would eventually be mine again. I just… I had hoped I’d have some time in-between.”

“Well,” he took the cheese platter and moved it to the side, leaning in closer to me. “You have time now.”

“I do, don’t I?” I smiled. “What should I do with it?”

“I have an idea.” He grinned, leaning in the rest of the way to touch his lips to mine.

His hand cupped my jaw as we kissed, my skin warm either from the sun or his touch. I put my glass down, mindlessly, not caring when I felt it fall to the grass. I slid my hand across his hair and laid back down, pulling him on top of me.

It was just one afternoon of borrowed time, but it was ours.

— ---- —

It was a cloudy summey day, not great weather for a royal wedding, but it would have to do because Princess Josephine Anne-Marie Elyse of Luxembourg was ready to become Mrs. Marius Allard.

Normally, we wouldn’t all go to a royal wedding just because we were royals, but we were family this time, so we arrived, my family and I, in Luxembourg two nights before. The rehearsal dinner went without a hitch, and so the following morning we got ready in our hotel and waited with other foreign family members for the shutles that would drive us to the church.

I had changed Harry’s contact on my phone to Hedwig – a name I took from Harry Potter – just in case someone saw me texting him, which was bound to happen as were texting so much more often. This didn’t stop my heart from nearly freezing when I received a photo from him. It was a mirror selfie showcasing him in his ceremony military uniform, black and red, with medals to his chest. The text read: ‘beautiful day for a wedding’.

I sighed; A few weeks prior to this, Harry had excitedly informed me during a late-night facetime call, that his family had assigned him to represent them to Josephine’s wedding.

“Why?!” I asked then, astonished.

“Ouch.” He said, sarcastic. “I’m great at weddings.”

“I’m not saying you’re not.” I said, rolling my eyes. “And of course I want to see you! But… my whole family is going to be there! Isn’t your father supposed to do these things? Or your uncle?”

“My father will be busy, my uncle was going to go, yes, but turns out his son has pneumonia so he’s staying put.” He shrugged. “And since I know Klaus, they figured I would be more familiar to the bride and groom than my brother.”

I was quiet, biting my lower lip nervously.

“What? This is good! I’m excited I get to see you all dolled up so soon!”

But I couldn’t get my excitement to match his – and I tried. It was just too risky, not to mention it felt like the day would be torture. To be near him again and have to pretend I didn’t want to hold his hand? Kiss his lips? Rip the clothes right off his body? It was too much.

Sighing, I went to the bathroom and discreetly took my own mirror selfie showcasing my light pink dress with a darker pink on a slit falling from my hips, and my large disc fascinator, and texted it to him.

‘It is unfair how perfect you look’, he replied. It made me smile, and I tried to hold on to that feeling as we rode to the church.

As family, we were close to the last group to arrive, so when I walked down the red carpeted entrance towards the church behind my parents, all I could think was that Harry must already be inside.

We trotted behind, stopping to salute the military battalion in formation under the country’s flag – a Luxembourg tradition. Military personnel saluted, civilians lowered their heads or curtsied. Since mandatory minimum service was still considered service, I saluted with my father, as mom and Lourdes curtsied.

Inside, we were ushered to the front of the church by a palace aide. Because of the odd number of seats, our parents and I were seated one row in front of Lourdes, who found herself sitting between, of all people, Adrien and Harry.

My parents greeted Adrien, who was there fresh from a plane from New York, and then looked at Harry, who received from then a curt nod before they turned to the front.

"How's...? Uhm?" I started, as my cousin kissed my cheeks.

"Sienna?" He asked, sighing. "Her name is Sienna."

"Right. Sienna."

"She's good. She's recording a new album." He replied.

"How... fortuitous." I nodded, as he took his seat again.

Before I sat down, Harry managed to give me a sneaky wink. I blushed, and turned to the front.

We seemed to be the last frontier between family and important guests, as next to Harry sat other royals and in front of us, were mostly empty seats that filled quickly after we arrived.

Just as the music started, Lourdes, who'd been chatting excitedly between Adrien and Harry, sighed loudly and stage-whispered,

"Ah, damn, I'll barely be able to see Josephine from here." She complained. “Margueritte’s hat is too big.”

As calm as I could, I turned to her, taking the care to make myself sound annoyed. "Do you want to trade seats?"

"Really?" She asked, "Is that allowed?"

I looked at my parents, who were already discreetly looking at us.

"Is it?" I asked.

"I believe so." My father said.

Mom leaned closer to me. "Are you sure you don't mind, chérie?"

I smiled, already getting to my feet. "It's fine. At least this way she'll be quiet."

"I heard that." Lourdes said as she passed me by.

I took her seat and crossed my legs at my ankles, holding my head high facing forward, pretending I didn't see the grin on Harry's face.

Josephine looked breathtaking; lace bodice, three quarter sleeves, flowy, tulle, ball gown skirt, hair pinned back in a low hairdo, a long veil falling down from her family’s tiara – a Luxembourg tiara –, matching diamond earrings. It was difficult to take my eyes from her, except from one thing.

Harry was touching my hand. His fingers very gently grazed mine, slowly stretching until our middle fingers were enlaced. It was such a simple gesture. Such a light touch. But so many people around who were not meant to know about us. My heart beat faster on my chest and I felt my skin warmer as I remembered all the other ways in which that hand had touched me. I risked a look at him, who stared ahead determinedly.

As the song came to a slow end, I pulled my hand from his, startled, thinking for some reason the silence would make us more visible.

The priest began to speak in a monotone, calm voice up front. By my side, Harry adjusted himself in his seat, leaving his left knee to lightly, but very deliberately, touch mine.

I bit down a grin, sighing. Thinking two could play this game, I reached for the neckline of my dress with my hand, adjusting it slightly as if to fix something, but ‘accidentally’ pulling it down sligthly. As it was V shaped, this enlarged my cleavage only slightly, especially as I crossed my arms over my lap, pulling my breasts together.

I stared ahead, ignoring Harry, but I felt his leg press harder against mine.

“Beautiful wedding, isn’t it?” I whispered to him, pointing my chest in his direction.

“Is this another catholic tradition?” He whispered very lightly leaning closer to me. I smiled, blushing.

I looked down at my lap, fiddling with the program. I had no idea where we were on it, which is why I startled again as suddenly everyone rose from their seats to sing another hymn. I followed, pulling my dress up nervously, but I did leave my arm down hoping Harry would touch my hand again.

It took him what felt like the whole song, but then he finally did. I allowed my own fingers to caress his this time, missing being able to touch him, feeling my palms sweating as the thought.

When we sat down again, and someone else started speaking, he leaned down slowly and asked, whispery:

“Truth or dare?”

I sighed dramatically, and gave him a stern look, hiding my amusement.

“Truth.” I mouthed.

He grinned, and leaned down again. “What were you thinking about during the song?”

What he was asking was, of course, ‘what were you thinking about while our hands touched secretly in the middle of this very full church?’

I leaned to him, but starting ahead, said, “About how good it felt last time you fingered me–”

He sighed, heavily, leaning away from me, adjusting his tie as if it was the most important thing in the world.

He didn’t allow me to ask it back, his eyes stared firmly and frustratingly ahead for the rest of the – very long – service.

When Josephine and Marius walked out as husband and wife, we all waited for their close families to follow and then to the aides to guide us away at the right time. Harry continued to deliberately look away from me at all times.

We were ushered back into the shuttles with the rest of the family, everyone talking excitedly about their favorite moments of the ceremony. I kept my comments to the dress, the only part I remembered in detail.

The reception was held in the palace; I didn’t see Harry again for a very long time. No one seemed to have noticed anything out of the ordinary, other than Lourdes who asked if I was mad at him because we seemed to have ‘barely spoken’.

As all the guests were in their seats, I finally found Harry in a distant table with other foreign royals who weren’t family. There were speeches, there were dances, there were entrées and champagne, and Harry’s eyes continued to find mine whenever I looked at him. Luckily, I was able to distract myself by my family grilling Adrien about his inappropriate girlfriend.

Conversation was the sound of the night in between courses when I decided to find a bathroom to re-apply my lipstick.

“If you pass by a waiter, would you ask for someone to bring me more water?” Lourdes asked as I left.

“I’m not your maid.”

“Really? It’ll cost nothing–”

“Shut up, of course I’ll do it.”

She rolled her eyes in response.

I was distracted, looking around for a waiter, when my eyes found Harry’s again. This time, too intense to look away. He put his hands in his pocket and pointedly walked out of the hall.

I sighed. It was too idiotic a choice to follow him. Yet, there I was. My feet moving of their own accord.

He walked off down the hallway, calm as can be, stopping only to ask an aide for directions. Down another hallway, he turned to the right, before confidently opening a door, turning back to lock his eyes on mine, and walk inside.

I bit my lower lip and looked around. There was a staff member walking off in the distance, but no one around other than that. I didn’t know if that would last. I walked to the door, and casually looked around one more time. No one was watching. No one around. I took in a deep breath, and walked inside.

I quickly closed the door behind me, but I had no time to notice anything else. Harry’s lips were on mine, strongly, arms framing me in place against the door. One hand turned the lock, the other traveled up and down my side, his heavy breath on my skin.

“That was not okay.” He said, voice low, anguished, against my neck. “Back there.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I said, innocently. “All I remember is a lovely ceremony.”

He grinned against my neck in between kisses. “Fuck you.”

"It's true.”

“You liked when I fingered you, right?” He asked, lightly biting my earlobe. “Maybe I should do it again, then.”

My whole body trembled at the thought of going back outside, pretending nothing had happened, still pulsating with his touch on me.

“…maybe you should.” I said, weakly, feeling his large hand grasp my breast. “Right here. Right now.”

“…that would be really stupid, now, wouldn’t it?” He asked, reaching down for the hem of my dress, pulling it upwards. “We wouldn’t want to be caught… what would they think?”

“It would be such a scandal.” I agreed, feeling his hands now grip my thighs, pulling me up in one quick move.

He pinned against the wall, legs around his waist, leaving me in the perfect position to feel him thrusting his hardened dick against my crotch.

He touched his forehead to mine, and grinned.

“You’re fucking torture, Your Royal Highness.”

I grinned, happily, wrapping my legs tighter around him.

“You like it.”

He smiled in response, his hands rounded my thighs to reach below in between my legs, finding a path under my wet underwear.

“I do.” He confessed, touching me like it was the very first time. “I like it a lot.”

--- ---- ---

[A/N: Well. This was a lot. LOL what do you think??? A lot of...stuff coming so I wanted to take a chapter for happiness only. Also, I promise all that family tree stuff is important. THANK YOU FOR READING AND SORRY I’M LATE! Have a grat week! Next chapter: invictus games! harry’s birthday! MM and Harry get careless... tune in to find out what happens ;) ]

#Princeharryff #prince harry fanfic #prince harry fanfiction #princeharryfanfiction #Princeharryfanfic #prince harry #brf #modern royalty au #modern royalty fanfic #fanfiction #OPITCphff #chapters

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jeannereames · 4 years ago

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One day in my life I'd love to go on Alexander inspired epic journey. I'm wondering if there's any google maps trip plan? Somebody should publish this printed tour guide with photos of Alexander related locations and with informations which museums hold significant antics :) Do you plan some kind of Alexander expedition? Which places are a must see!?

There aren’t (to my knowledge) such maps. That said, I’ve been to Greece and Macedonia several times, and I can offer you at least some advice on where to go there (and in Bulgaria). So consider this a “Young Alexander Tour.” 😊 One difficulty with doing a full tour is that many of the areas Alexander went through are not currently safe (especially if you happen to be white, female, look it, or are non-binary). Not everywhere, but it’s critical to be hip to current politics.

So, let’s look at a tour of Greece and Bulgaria, at least. Let me say, first, that on my website for the novels, I’ve got several vlogs of areas in Greece and Thrace that you’ll want to visit. I was not allowed to make such videos in Greek museums, but at least you can watch the vlogs and get a sense of some places well worth a trip.

So… Young Alexander Tour… first up, you want to focus on the north. That means you may want to fly into Thessaloniki, not Athens. One reason is that the airport is smaller, easier to navigate, and outside the city. The latter matters as you’re going to want to…

RENT A CAR. (That’s Bucephalas. Yes, we named our rental.)

Seriously. Driving in Greece isn’t hard, outside of Athens and downtown Thessaloniki (get an international driver’s license). And the only way to REALLY see where Alexander went is via car. Otherwise you’re stuck with a bus tour that won’t give you adequate time in museums, as they’re made for “general interest,” not crazy Alexander people. They’ll also be curating WHAT you see and how it’s described to you. That matters in Macedonia due to the modern conflict with Northern Macedonia over the ethnicity of the Macedonians, and who’s buried in “Philip’s Tomb.”

Siri can help with the maps, but sometimes she leads you REALLY WEIRD paths to your destination. You’ll quickly note that the major highways, such as the A1 and A2 are in GREAT shape, but other highways, not so much. We went from what would be a perfectly acceptable interstate in the US to…county roads. These sometimes faded into gravel, and even dirt. I’ve seen roadsigns spray-painted on the road itself. Assume you’ll have some adventures, and allot yourself extra time. By contrast, most parking is free, just pay attention to the “No Park” signs (like those in front of people’s garages, etc.). Also, the freeways have tolls, so you’ll want to have coins on hand, most ranted from half a drachma to shy of 3 or 4. (Below: one of the nice tunnels on the freeway through the Pindos, and then one of the “goat tracks” Siri took us down.)

Cities in North Greece to visit:

Pella (obviously—Great museum AND site, you can spend a whole day there)

Vergina (with the royal tombs and palace of Aigai): welcome sign below

Mieza (absolute must—my favorite place in Macedonia)

Veroia (under-appreciated museum and important ancient town on the piedmont)

Dion & Olympos (site and museum, sacred city of Macedonia, and of course see the mountain!)

Florina (optional, but you can see upper Macedonia, it’s on the line between ancient Orestis and Lynkestis)

Edessa (I’m mostly listing this because it’s super cool to see the waterfalls, but doesn’t have a museum there), and it’s on the way back from Florina.

Ioannina (site of Dodona and Ioannina museum, where Olympias was born)

Aiani (beautiful stuff, kinda hard to find but modern museum, ancient Eordia)

Amphipolis site + Drama (little museum, but worth seeing the area of Eastern Macedonia/Thrace). Drama has some interesting Dionysiac stuff.

If you want to explore further east, I recommend the northern islands of Thasos and Samothrace. Problem: the ferries to them come from different cities. Thasos is out of Kavala (a lovely city with a great Norman fort), while for Samothrace you need to go the easternmost city of Alexandroupoli (NOT the one he founded in Thrace!). It’s a pretty modern place with a big port, but it’s only interest for Macedoniasts is the fact you can catch the ferry there to Samothrace, where you’ll find the site of the Mysteries and the Temple to the Great Gods, where Philip first “met” Olympias (e.g., their families nailed down a betrothal when Perdikkas was still king).

Thessaloniki (the main museum is there, “Gold of Macedonia” is gorgeous. But I recommend picking up your car when you fly in, see everywhere else first, then drop it off and hire a taxi to the city, where I recommend staying somewhere near Aristoteles Square, on the harbor. Also—go and see the Jewish Museum: it’s a secret gem. I really love Thessaloniki. Below is the statue of Manolis Andronikos, who found the royal tombs at Aigai.)

THEN…two options.

Option One: Take a bus to Sofia (Bulgaria), rent another car and drive to Kasanlak and the Valley of the Kings, to see Thracian goods in the museum and also the Thracian Royal Tombs. Stop at the museum in Plovdiv, too. Cool stuff. Driving in Bulgaria, like driving in North Greece, is pretty easy, although you’ll need a handy chart to read Cyrillic. And many, many fewer people (outside Sofia) speak English. But it’s beautiful. The Valley of the Kings is the heart of ancient Thrace be sure to see not only the museum and Kasanlak, but also the royal tombs nearby. Drive back and spend 2 nights in Sofia to see the museum and beautiful city. I really enjoyed my stay in Bulgaria; beautiful country, under-appreciated. Catch a bus back to Thessaloniki. Btw, the bus-route goes right along the Strymon River, which was the big “highway” between Thrace and Macedonia. (From the window of the bus to Sofia.)

Option Two (or could follow after option one): Take a bus to Athens, and/or, drive to Delphi and spend a day and a couple nights (Alexander went there), then drive and/or catch a bus to Athens. The airport (and car rental place) is outside the main city, so it’s not terrible to drop it off. Just avoid driving in Athens unless you read Greek well. It’s kinda crazy. The subway goes from the airport right into the old city. WATCH YOUR BAGS. Pickpockets are notorious on that subway route. Put your passport in your underwear. I’m not kidding.

I will confess, I am not a huge fan of Athens (ancient or modern, sorry); it’s busy, dirty, and not that Macedonia-focused. But you should go there. While there’s not a lot of Alexander in the National Museum, go and see it anyway. Go to the Akropolis and the lovely Akropolis Museum to see the Young-Alex bust there. Go to the Kerameikos and Aristotle’s School right near by. Go to the agora. If you’re already in Greece, you really should see those things. Alexander walked those same areas. But after seeing the glory of northern Macedonia (including the gorgeous countryside), Athens may be a bit of a let-down, especially if your focus is All Things Alexander and Macedonian.

Last, you can catch a bus and cross the Isthmus to Corinth, where Philip spent some time hammering out his Corinthian League. There’s really not a lot there of interest for Macedoniasts, but if you want to travel where Alexander went in the south, it’s on the itinerary.

Personally, if I were to choose between Corinth and Bulgaria? Bulgaria! The absolutely amazing Thracian artifacts show just HOW much of a “shared culture” we see between Macedonia and Thrace. But I strongly suggest going to Thrace after seeing material in Macedonia, so you can appreciate the corollaries.

In terms of driving around, it’s probably best to find yourself a “launch place” outside of Thessaloniki. Don’t try to rent hotels in all these places (except Ioannina, which is far enough from the lowlands it’s worth an overnight). Some are just a couple hours visit. Veroia, while not to be missed, is … an hour? More if you like taking pictures; you can do it the same day you see Vergina. They’re not that far apart. Florina is the same. Ioannina isn’t big either, but the site of Dodona is v. cool and that’s going to take your day, but on the way back, you could swing by Aiani; that’s an afternoon.

There are a number of AirBnBs in the lowland area around Vergina, Katerini, Veroia, Nea Pella, We stayed in a lovely one not far off the A1 out of Thessaloniki in Nea Malgara/Kymina. It was pretty ideal as Pella is just north, and a little west the A2 splits from the A1, and the A2 takes you towards Vergina, while the A1 takes you to Dion and Olympos. IN Thessaloniki are lots of AirBnBs, but I’ll put in a plug for the Electra Palace (hotel). It ain’t cheap, but it’s great for location/walking distance of most things. That’s why I suggest Aristoteles Square to orient yourself.

So those are my suggestions, info up-to-date as of May/June 2018. I hope to go back again this summer, Corona virus permitting.

#Visiting Macedonia #Young Alexander tour #Touring Greece with Alexander on your mind #Alexander the Great #Macedonia #Bulgaria #ancient Thrace #ancient Macedonia #asks

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cosmotographer · 4 years ago

Text

Introduction

Something that I had missed this year was going on an annual trip with Amy and to say that we had cabin fever would be an understatement as most of our travel plans this year were cancelled due to COVID, but that didn’t stop us to plan and scheme a safe trip somewhere. While Amy and I had made plans in the past, most of our trips were canceled at the last minute due to COVID (I’m looking at you Rehoboth Beach), therefore we never really had a chance to go anywhere other than little day trips.

The same thing almost happened to our trip to Asheville, North Carolina.

I’ve been researching a good amount on the current state of affairs in this small mountain town through Reddit and their official website. Apparently the locals were pretty vocal about their displeasure of tourists that completely ignored wearing their face masks around town and after seeing it in person over the weekend, I have to agree that Asheville has issues with people following safety protocols and I’ll get to that later in the essay. Despite the negative feedbacks I’ve received from the locals, Amy and I decided against canceling another trip and we were fully committed as we drove for seven hours deep inside the Blue Ridge Mountains. After spending a couple of days in town, I’m happy to say that it was worth the trip.

Asheville, North Carolina

I vividly remember visiting the little mountain town back in August 2015 during a bachelor’s party trip and it was one of most underrated trips I’ve ever been on. The gorgeous scenery deep within the Blue Ridge Mountains, the amazing food and the hole in the wall shops bring life and charm to this mostly touristy town (services industry). Downtown is a comparatively small town with only a population of just over 90,000 people, but the region itself has over 424,000 residents as of 2010 and currently the third largest city in the state, behind Wilmington and Charlotte.

Downtown Asheville

Downtown

Most of the energy and vibes is of course, downtown, but the interesting thing about downtown Asheville was that everything was within 1-2 mile from the center of town, therefore everything was relatively easy to walk to. From the shops to the bustling micro-breweries all over the perimeter of downtown, you could leave your hotel room or AirBNB and you could find something within a stone throw away. We strategically stayed at the famous Cambria hotel in the middle of downtown, which proved to be a wise choice as there were several occasions when Amy and I had to go back to our hotel room to either use the restroom, take a break and recharge before our next adventure.

Cambria Hotel Lobby

One of many tourists

One of many street vendors. This one was outside our hotel.

What their official site and travel brochures do not tell you, however, is that there is a large number of poverty in the town as small as Asheville. You can walk for blocks and every block has a homeless person sitting in front of an empty store that was hit hard due to the lack of foot traffic from tourists as COVID had hit this town pretty hard.

Public benches were mostly occupied

Despite the hardships of the town folks, their attitude showed anything but negativity as the natives of the town were some of the nicest people we’ve ever met. We were always greeted with a friendly smile and hospitality that you would expect in the South.

A friendly stranger we had met during breakfast at our hotel.

One of many street performers

The Food Scene

It wouldn’t be much of a Amy and Tae adventure if we didn’t talk about the food and drinks of every place that we visit, and if you love both, then Asheville has your covered as the town is absolutely loaded with independent restaurants and breweries to keep you (and your stomach) busy. From small coffee shops, donut, bagels, biscuits and gravy to candy stores, there is no shortage of weight gaining opportunities that await.

Vortex Donuts

This small street alone has 8 restaurants like a little European town

Detour: Twin Leaf Brewery

After a seven hour drive from home, Amy and I were famished and thirsty for drinks. We walked down toward the Southern Slope of downtown Asheville and noticed that there were no shortages of breweries within half a miles from our hotel. Unfortunately due to COVID, all the breweries were at half capacity, therefore there were long lines for those thirsty customers that need to sip on some delicious sweet nectar from the gods.

The first one that we had visited was Twin Leaf Brewery, located…well pretty much next to all the other breweries on the street that span for several blocks.

The thing about breweries in general, is that they all do the same thing, but you go in for what makes them original. Otherwise, they’re just glorified bars with overpriced beers. I’m please to say that Asheville had some of the best beers I’ve ever had and if you’re a beer lover, a couple of days in town is not enough to visit every brewery that the town has to offer.

Twin Leaf Brewery

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Twin Leaf Brewery was actually a our “holding pattern” brewery as Amy and I had reservations at the Wicked Weed Funkatorium across the street for dinner, but we do plan on return to Twin Leaf Brewery again.

Wicked Weed Brewery

Our neighbors at our dinner table

A great way to celebrate the end Day One of our trip

He loved to hang with us

Looking Glass Falls

Looking Glass Falls is one numerous waterfalls you can visit in the Blue Ridge Mountains and it also happens to be one of the most popular in North Carolina. As it’s less than an hour drive from downtown Asheville, it’s also one of the most accessible since it doesn’t require a long hike to reach the falls. Located deep inside the Pigsah National Forest, the name “Looking Glass” comes from Looking Glass Rock, where water freezes on its sides in the winter and then glistens in the sunlight like a mirror or looking glass, which I’ve only seen in photos but I don’t doubt that it’s beautiful to see during the winter season.

Looking Glass Falls

Unfortunately, not a single person was practicing social distancing and some weren’t even wearing masks.

Being the designated photographer, this was a tricky shot to pull off

Behind the Scenes

To take advantage of the drive out here and to take photos of this beautiful scenery, I took a lot of risk carrying my [eafl id=”6182″ name=”Leica M10-P” text=”Leica M10-P”] paired with the [eafl id=”5270″ name=”Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH FLE” text=”Summilux-M 35mm FLE”] through the slippery rocks. I eventually took my shoes off completely and left them on one of the river rocks while I stowed Amy’s hiking shoes securely onto my backpack. I then trekked barefoot through the shallow (albeit cold) waters to find a composition that didn’t have random people in the frame.

This was quite nerve wracking when you have over $14,000 worth of camera gear slung across your neck with a 30 pound backpack loaded with miscellaneous travel gear.

I know Leica cameras are legendary for their robust gear, but I would still take the fall (pun intended) and sacrifice getting wet over dunking my camera in the water, or worse, fall on the rocks.

Amy was able to take this shot after precariously handing my camera to her – very rarely do I get my photo taken

The part of the falls was very packed with tourists and locals alike and if I had to do it all over again, I would go earlier in the day when there are less people because the one wooden staircase leading down to the waterfall was very narrow. This made it a little tricky to navigate between the crowd, whom were completely not aware of their surrounding and most were not wearing masks.

Food and Shopping

I was actually pretty impressed that we didn’t do a lot of shopping as I had expected during our stay, but then again, food and beer takes precedence over anything else – that is something both Amy and I agree on when we visit new places. What was charming about the food scene was that while the food and beer were excellent (I don’t think we actually had less than ‘excellent’ dishes), but the people at these establishments mimic what I said earlier about the culture in this town and how everyone is so friendly.

Amy’s sexy Lavender Lemonade Cocktail

One specific restaurant of note is Tupelo Honey, located downtown (I wasn’t kidding when everything was within walking distance downtown). They consider themselves a revival of southern food with food made from scratch using simple ingredients sourced from local farms that is in season.

Simply put: the food was incredible.

Right away we ordered the Crispy Brussel, an appetizer topped with topped with fresh herbs, lemon zest & chopped bacon, served with garlic buttermilk ranch dipping sauce. After my first bite, I was floored that it wasn’t seasoned with truffle oil because it tasted just like it. We then continued our fat-assery by ordering their famous fried chicken, which were brined for over 18 hours with honey sprinkled with their signature “bee dust”.

It was also quite incredible and probably the best fried chicken I’ve ever had.

Unfortunately I didn’t take photos of the food, but I did share them on my Instagram stories (I was distracted from shoveling my face). There are additional photos and videos on there not mentioned in this blog, so be sure to follow.

Asheville had some beautiful small shops

Rabbit Rabbit Brewery

Zen Ink

One of many coffee shops

Most shops were dog friendly

The Biltmore Estate

One of the major cornerstones in Asheville’s history is the old country home of the Vanderbilt family, built by George Vanderbilt. George Vanderbilt first visits Asheville in 1887, where he considered the area as a possible location for his future country home. A second visit to the Blue Ridge Mountains with his mother in 1888 sealed the deal for him, therefore he begins purchasing land for what will become Biltmore.

In 1889, the construction of the Biltmore House begins and Vanderbilt’s construction of the 250-room French Renaissance chateau is a true marvel, the largest undertaking in residential architecture. Over a six-year period, an entire community of craftsmen comes together to create what was known as the largest privately owned estate in the country.

The Biltmore House

It wasn’t until 1895 when George Vanderbilt officially opens the house to friends and family. The finished home contains over four acres of floor space, including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces.

After George Vanderbilt passed away in 1914 at the age of 51, his wife Edith continued his husband’s love for philanthropy and sold approximately 87,000 acres of the estate to the United States Forest Service for less than $5 an acre.

The Front Lawn

It wasn’t until 1930 when both George Vanderbilt’s daughter, Cornelia and her husband John Cecil, opened the Biltmore House to the public to help increase tourism during the Great Depression, therefore generating income to preserve the estate.

The “Backyard” that the Vanderbilt family owned

Trivia

1942 – During World War II, the house stored priceless works from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

1971 – William Cecil (son of Cornelia and John Cecil), plants his first vines at the Biltmore and creates his first successful wine. It wasn’t until 1983, that the Biltmore Estate Wine Company was established and opened to the public in 1985.

One of many priceless marble busts on the estate

Gorgeous overgrown vines in the Italian Garden

Amy taking in the scenery

Underground Wine Cellar

More marble statues around the estate

On one of the balconies of the house

Traveling During COVID

It doesn’t take a genius to know that it can be risky to travel during COVID, but what we’ve witnessed in Asheville gave us a new perspective that there are people that seriously just doesn’t care to protect themselves or others. I’ve lost count on how many people on the streets of downtown Asheville would completely ignore their face masks and I’m going to assume that most of them are tourists, therefore I feel that the anger the locals have against tourists are justified as they not only endanger themselves, but the economy that depends on tourism. The town itself was hit pretty hard as unemployment and shop were shutdown due to the reduction of tourism. All it takes is another spike in cases for the town to shut down again and we as individuals need to take responsibility of our safety and others.

Despite these issues, it didn’t deter us from enjoying ourselves and wearing face masks or social distancing was not an inconvenience for us as we were still able to enjoy most of what the town had to offer. If you readers are close to the East Coast and want to take a weekend trip somewhere, I highly recommend this beautiful town known as the “Paris of the South” and take in what Asheville has to offer.

Equipment Used (Affiliate Links)

[eafl id=”6182″ name=”Leica M10-P” text=”Leica M10-P”]

Leica M-D (Typ 262)

[eafl id=”5270″ name=”Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH FLE” text=”Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH FLE”]

[eafl id=”5634″ name=”Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH” text=”Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH”]

[eafl id=”6200″ name=”Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2 APSH II” text=”Leica Summicron-M 28mm F/2 ASPH II”]

Asheville, North Carolina – Traveling Socially Distant Introduction Something that I had missed this year was going on an annual trip with Amy and to say that we had cabin fever would be an understatement as most of our travel plans this year were cancelled due to COVID, but that didn't stop us to plan and scheme a safe trip somewhere.

#asheville #leica #north carolina #travel

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artificialqueens · 6 years ago

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interlude 1.1 (Branjie) - PinkGrapefruit

A/N - before i say anything i’ve just got to say a massive thank you to Evan (formercongressman) for beta-ing this for me and Alexandria (alexandriabelle1) for pointing out i should probably get one. They’re absolute godsends.

This is a 5 time fic prompted by an anon and tbh i loved writing it so if anyone has anymore they want to send me, i’d love to hear them. As usual, Brooke is ‘him’ and Vanjie is ‘her’ just for clarity of reading and this is my interpretation and in no way supposed to be accurate or anything. Enjoy!

The 5 times Brooke kissed Vanjie to calm her down, and the one-time Vanjie kissed Brooke.

[episode one]

She’s ecstatic and god he can see why. Between the two of them, they collectively slayed the first challenge and she looks on the verge of tears. Her chest glitter is mixing with the sweat from awful studio lighting and her eyebrow might be slipping but she’s just so happy. None of it matters now.

He pauses for a moment to watch her, and he knows that this might not continue but it’s such a beautiful sight and to never see it again would hurt. He vows to commit the contours of her face in this face at this moment to memory, so he can flick back through them like a scrapbook, discerning the good from the bad.

She looks over to him, the twinkle in her eye a congratulation on his success, but more so, a challenge. Like she knows he’s been staring. In truth, he knows she’s been staring too. He’s sure that the producers will make them voice over these moments in sugary anecdotes and play their blossoming whatever like a fiddle for views, but he just can’t bring himself to care. Because she’s so happy.

He takes her challenge, later in the werkroom when it’s quiet and colder and the glitter and the makeup have all washed away. They’re pseudo-alone on their couch in the corner - everyone else crowded at the other end of the room, obscured by tables or out in the smoking area absorbing the fresh air into their clogged pores. She looks at him the same way she did in Untucked, stares with her glistening eyes and starts to cry because ‘I never thought I’d get this far, I don’t know how I’m still here’. He leans in and savours the feeling of her stuttering breaths on his chin, the scent of powder and strong makeup remover that cloud her from his vision. He hyper-focuses on the crease above her lip that looks so good. He knows there are tears rolling freely down her cheeks as he places one hand to steady himself and takes another deep breath of her.

When their lips touch it’s warm and soft and nothing like he’s ever felt before. In an instant he feels like he can see their future, he can watch like a spectator in his own life, and he lets himself melt into her as they become one to fit the contours of the couch and each other. Her breathing instantly calms, because nothing about this kiss is passion or fury or anger. It’s just sweet and reassuring and everything she needs; he’s everything she needs.

[january twenty nineteen]

The trailer just went up and she’s terrified. He heart is pounding and her head is spinning and god she needs everyone to shut up but no one is talking. She’s locked herself in a bathroom stall somewhere in the World of Wonder building where everyone is getting set up to film their Meet the Queens live stream, and honestly she’s just praying no one finds her. She’d gotten about ⅔ through her makeup before the panic overtook her in its entirety, but it’s swallowing her whole and it’s terrifying.

She’s uncertain still as to why this is affecting her the way that it is. It shouldn’t, of course, because she’s done it all before, but this time is just so different. The first time around she had nothing but a legacy to uphold and a quick wit. She came out of it a broken person but damn she learned. She took everything she got from 30 seconds on television and built herself a career out of it. This time, she’s come out of it with solace, dignity, and a fine looking Canadian. She has a life now, pets, and a man who takes her as she is and she loves him for it. Plain and simple, she loves him like she’s never loved another person, and the fear of losing that to the global tours and shows and flashing lights… it scares her.

She hears the door open before she sees his shadow. It looms over the stall door and fragments like shattered glass when it hits the light. She can’t find the stability to talk, though, so her breathing carries on in its brutal staccato, harshly shallow and burning.

He taps quietly on the door, knowing she needs space but just wanting to help her. God knows they’ve been doing this long enough now that he knows just what to do. He momentarily wonders why she didn’t just come to him, but he remembers his own excitement towards the day and knows that she didn’t want to ruin it for him. Briefly forgetting the current situation, it warms his heart to know that she thought of that.

She doesn’t have to speak when she slowly opens the stall. He knows her well enough to be able to tell what’s going on, and she knows he wouldn’t push anyway. Instead, he just pulls her into his arms in a tight hug, tells her he loves her in actions, not words. His nose grazes her fade, breath tickling the stubble. She leans into him willingly, her own nose nuzzling at his chin. He smells like always, like cigarettes and coffee and Fenty lipsticks, and it soothes her soul like menthol and tea.

When their lips meet it’s not for show, for anyone but themselves. Even though they’re in the same environment that’s always exploited them, they take this moment for them. She knows that no matter what happens, they’ve still got this.

[august twenty eighteen]

It’s 3am on a warm and windy night in New York as he walks into the AirBnB they’re sharing for the week. He’s so glad that for once since they’ve returned from Drag Race they can share the same four walls for longer than a night, can let themselves be a couple again. His gig had run long and he’s angry that he’d missed her going to bed but he’s here now. As quietly as he can without waking her, he places the keys on the counter by the door, snakes into the kitchen and pours a glass of water. Sneaking back through to the lounge he rummages for a second in her rucksack to find the Advils she always keeps. He pops two out and places them next to the glass on the table. Contemplating writing himself a note (because he always questions the Advil in the mornings) he remembers that for once, he’s not alone. Tonight there doesn’t have to be a note.

‘Crap’ he mutters to himself as he crosses the wooden floor with a creak. He pauses. Listens.

As he strains though, he can hear soft whimpers coming from their closed room. All attempts at silence are abandoned as he rushed to the door, pushing it open as quietly yet quick as simultaneously possible. He wants so desperately to be imagining things. He knows, quite quickly, that he isn’t.

Brooke moves around the bed. It’s roomy when you consider the size of the apartment but they both knew the second they saw it that they wouldn’t need that much. Not when they sleep like koalas, clinging to each other til morning.

When he realises she’s still asleep he can’t tell if he’s glad or not, but hearing her soft cries in the night breaks him. He just wishes this wasn’t her bren to carry alone. Wishes he could split the anxiety and the panicking and walk up the mountain together. Luckily he’d had the wherewithal to shower and de-drag at the venue and he’s dressed for comfort. All of this is good news to him as he drops the last of his bags at the end of the bed and slowly, carefully, sits on the edge. Swinging his legs on, he leans back so his chest is level with her head and draws her into him. She goes quiet as she burrows into his chest, so small in that moment and, as he presses a long, protective kiss to the top of her head - he promises to never let her go again.

[episode four]

He follows her over in Untucked as she panics to herself. It’s the least he could do, he muses, as she frets over something he feels is trivial. But even less than a fortnight in, he knows not to argue or point it out. He’s all to aware that she’s experiencing this differently to everyone else, he’ll just have to accept that.

The tension is seeping out of her and he can feel it, hot on his skin. Her body has a quiet shake to it as if she’s vibrating softly, but he knows that the sweetness of that imagery is nothing compared to what is happening. He’s seen it before in his friends. In Courtney before her first drag coven show. In Nina the first time they met. He’s seen it in himself before every performance since he was 7. But despite his exposure to it, he hates it on her. The twisted look on her face pains him as she tries to sort what she’s doing and all he can give her is encouragement, full of conviction and maybe the naivety of someone falling in love.

‘Out of the three of them I know you were, I feel like you were given the least harsh critiques’

He’s hoping he said it with enough persuasion that she’ll believe him. She needs to believe him because he can’t keep watching her tear herself apart like this without knowing that he did everything in his power to stop it.

‘Fuck that shit’

Her reply is short but definitive and frankly, he’d be laughing at her bluntness if he didn’t know that it was a defence mechanism. He brushed the blonde hairs from her chin, takes a moment to admire the wig on him and notes that it’s a fantastic look. The orange is, too. The whole thing is something he’ll bring up later.

‘Honestly they gave you like almost no negative critiques… and you were killing it with the dancing’

He feels it necessary to equivocate on his beliefs. He won’t allow her for a second to believe that he’s not 100% supportive and confident in her abilities. She just makes soft humming noises and he can hear ‘Living in America’ booming from the Apple headphones that she’d haphazardly shoved into her ears. It’s at this moment he realises that he’s not going to get anything else out of her and so he just pulls her into his arms, laying a gentle peck at the corner of his mouth, not letting his lipstick mar her cheek. She turns her head and he can see the pain in her eyes as she puckers her lips at him. He leans down and captures them, knowing that when he pulls away his lips will be tacky with gloss and glittering a pleasant gold. It looks good on her but it’s not the most subtle thing.

As the producers call cut on the conversation they weren’t even directing, Brooke smiles to himself. He knows that they’ve just secured her safety, knowingly or not, and he’s just grateful that they will have more time.

[march twenty nineteen]

He’s in the cab back from his gig with Nina when she calls him. It’s late there but not too late in comparison to the pitch black 4 am they can see out of the windows. Their seven-seater taxi feels too crowded, full of sweat and drag queens and he feels like this conversation will need privacy. He knows that even if it does he won’t get any.

She’s drunk in a t-shirt dress and a yellow waist length wig muttering about instagram stories or love and he knows she misses him. It’s evident purely from the fact she’s facetiming him on the break between her sets, in a storage closet. If that wasn’t enough, she’s spilling secrets left right and centre and if he was sober he’d be terrified, but honestly it’s so good to see her face and it feels good to laugh with her again. She holds off on the sobbing til he gets into his own room (although she isn’t shy on imitating him, screeching ‘I have two kitties’ at an ungodly pitch for Brooke’s own waning drunkenness).

When he’s alone though, she begins to cry, it’s hard to make out on the grainy facetime that will never do her face justice for him. They use it too often to truly dislike it, but it’s not a substitute for holding each other on cold nights like these when they’re both too lonely to be alone. If he were to write a list of things he misses, he would list her at the very top, leave a few lines blank, and then write poutine. But even that was hard to miss in Canada, so really she is all he longs for and fuck it hurts. The incomparable yearning he feels burns into his very soul, and he wonders how cruel the world must be to have found him someone so perfect when they’re both required to be everywhere but together all the time.

She brings him back to the present as she tries to blot her running foundation with a receipt she found in her pocket. He wants to reach through the screen and brush them off her soft skin himself. Even though they’ll both be together by the end of the day, it hurts that they’re so far apart now.

They cry together, when he’s taken off his makeup and hung his outfits up nicely on the back of the door. They cry for the naivety they had when he thought they would be okay doing this. Before they’d spent weeks on opposite sides of the country. They knew it would get worse but god they hoped it would get better first because she can’t stand this anymore, and he isn’t far behind her.

Later, when her show’s done and she’s home and it’s almost the afternoon in Canada where he is, he talks her to sleep and maybe in his fantasy he kisses the tears off her cheeks till she calms down. He places a meaningful kiss to her forehead and turns off facetime, knowing that when she wakes up he’ll be next to her.

[march twenty nineteen]

She rolls over to the sound of her alarm going off. It’s almost 3 in the afternoon, which means she has about an hour to get her ass out of bed and pick him up from the airport. She realises she may be cutting it close. In the shower, she uses up the remainders of his favourite shampoo, knows he loves how it smells when he presses his nose deep into the unruly mop of hair she keeps trying to maintain. She puts ice compresses under her eyes as she eats what can only be described as a pseudo-breakfast (because it is neither eaten at the time of breakfast nor does it contain any real breakfast foods, but it does the same job), and she almost forgets to take them off as she leaves the house. The hope is that they removed the last remnants of her crying herself to sleep but frankly, the hangover might have done that too.

The drive is mostly uneventful, although she flips off an unusual amount of drivers in the baking Los Angeles heat. She’s bouncing in the driver’s seat by the time she arrives and she rushes into arrivals with less dignity than she afforded herself going home first because she’s so excited she might burst and her man is coming home.

He’s hard to miss, a 6’3 Canadian ballerina in a crowded airport and his thousand bags help her to spot him almost immediately. She does a quick once over of what she’s wearing as she fiddles with the bandana around her neck, knowing it will make Brooke happy (and also so mad). It takes the very little restraint she posses not to scream when he runs over to her. Suddenly all his bags are on the ground and she’s up in the air, feet dangling, and they’re both crying again because the feeling of each other will never get old.

She’s engulfed in the smell of that one time that he made seafood at 3am and they laid on the street til dawn. The time she pulled him into the Florida ocean when all he wanted to do was get Panda Express and watch TV. The smell of airports and long nights and coffee and menthol and shit red wine and good red wine and everything all at once. He smells like love and he smells like home and she kisses the tear tracks on his face because she fucking can.

#rpdr fanfiction #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #branjie #angst #fluff #hurt/comfort #pinkgrapefruit #interlude #concrit welcome #submission #canon compliant #on set fic #s11

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riding-alpacas · 5 years ago

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Tierra del Fuego

My route through Patagonia leads me from south to north - starting in the southernmost city of the world: Ushuaia. As usual in South America there are some debates if this is really the southernmost city, given that there are a few more towns and villages further south in Chile. Population wise it certainly is one of the bigger southernmost places.

I didn't have the highest expectations when I came here. Ushuaia is clearly a very busy, touristy place in summer. Lots of cruise ships stop here and it is also the starting point for Antarctica expeditions. I considered doing one of those as well, but when I researched the cost and what kind of trip it would be, I backed off. They are ridiculously expensive and pretty much all of them are targeting a more senior audience. If Antartica still exists when I'm 60, I might consider it again at that age.

Closer to Straya than to Canada

On my first day there was only a limited amount of people in the hostel. Well, that's what I thought. It turned out that during the day almost nobody was in the hostel ever. In the mornings and evenings though the place was buzzing. In one of the Backpacker groups on Facebook I found Corinna who also just arrived in Ushuaia and was looking for hiking buddies. During the following days we spent the majority of our time together as we got along really well. It's a shame that we have very different plans for our time after Ushuaia, but we figured that we might meet again in Central America.

The first hike we attempted was the one to Laguna Esmeralda. It gave me a first taste of the landscape so far south on our wonderful planet. If I'd have to describe it with one word it would definitely be rugged. There is something quite harsh but beautiful about the environment here - which makes sense, given that we had hardly more than 15 degrees during the day and it's basically winter down here most of the time. The tree line is super low (500m or so), the brownish colour above it is quite unique and the mountain peaks are just spectacular. And best of all, it's all pretty much untouched.

Felt a bit like Lord of the Rings

The hike itself was a lot of fun but not only due to the beautiful surroundings. It was muddy like hell. Parts of it led through peat bogs which I never hiked through before. First we both tried to avoid getting into the mud as much as possible by doing ridiculous detours (we actually almost got lost on the first 500m in) but for me at least the tolerance limit got lower pretty quick. My boots were waterproof and in my hostel they had boot brush cleaners anyway. Walking through peat bogs was pretty weird at first. They have a spongy, springy texture and no matter how dry they look, once you step on it you basically press out a lot of water. The lake itself was pretty nice. Many of the lakes I saw in Canada had the same blue, milky colour but that doesn't make it any less beautiful. Unfortunately I wasn't super lucky with the weather during the whole week but again: It's still just beautiful being out there in the spectacular outdoors of the Land of Fire.

A little bit of mud

Mystic

Next day was rest day. And rest day usually means checking out town and its museums. The first museum I tried was an old prison that Ushuaia is famous for. They've split it up into multiple sections, grouped by topic. I was very disappointed. Firstly, it was totally overpriced and secondly it was just... random. I expected some sort of golden thread when walking through the different prison cells but it felt just like a random collection of stuff. And it wasn't even good stuff. I was hoping to learn a little bit about the history of Ushuaia, the indigenous people who lived here etc. but it was very underwhelming. On the way to the city I had a quick look at a "museum" about the Islas Malvinas which was a huge flop, too so I almost skipped the last museum I had in mind. But thankfully I didn't because that one was finally a good one. Historia Fueguina tells four storylines that are related to Ushuaia’s history:

The indigenous people

One of the first European expeditions

The prison

An unbelievable rescue story about Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance

You wander from section to section, each one consisting of life-sized historic figures while listening to the story on the free audio guides. Most of the exhibits can be entered and you can pose for pictures. It was quite quirky but very educational and a lot of fun. Spoiler: Most indigenous people are now eradicated because the Europeans brought diseases and bullets when they discovered gold in the area. Same shit, different country.

Almost as comfy as my hostel beds

Next thing I did was a little hike up to the local glacier in town: Glaciar Martial. I did this one by myself because I really wanted to start it early and Corinna didn't want to pay for the taxi. It's very popular and I wanted to avoid the crowds. Surprisingly life generally starts late here, mostly around 10am. For this one I left the hostel at 8 and was on my way up at 8:30. And I am very happy about my decision because I had the whole trek for myself. Initially I felt a bit meh about this hike. Most photos in the web are quite underwhelming and the start of the hike is basically just walking along a ski slope. Luckily one of my room mates told me about some side trails and that the hike generally is actually quite nice. I'm glad I listened to him. At the beginning I walked along a beautiful creek with some of the clearest water on earth. After getting to a little viewing area, I continued up to the actual glacier. It became quite steep here, but it also wasn't a particularly long section. At the top I had a wonderful view of Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel. I found a beautiful section where lots of small streams of water merged and just rested here for about 45 mins to soak in the view and some of the sun when it showed itself for a few seconds.

If I remember correctly this was also the very first time that I was making full use of my layering system. I started with my insulated jacket as it was pretty cold in the morning. Halfway through I added my windbreaker as it became quite windy above the tree line. On the way down it gradually became warmer but it also started raining, so I removed both jackets and changed into my rain jacket. Yes, you truly need a good layering system when in Patagonia.

Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel

More Lord of the Rings

The next day was the highlight of my time in Ushuaia. Corinna, the couple that she shared her Airbnb with and I rented a car and we made our way to the Tierra del Fuego National Park. Corinna and I had a crack at the Cerro Guanaco Trail which literally took our breath away. The hike starts at a glacial lake, then turns into a forrest and climbs up pretty steeply. After a while we reached a little viewpoint before going through some muddy terrain again. With the tree line behind us, we were now in pretty exposed and rugged territory and the trail became extremely steep. But we continued, slowly and steadily until we reached the top and a jaw-dropping view to all sides. We could see Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel in the distance, the glacial lake with some impressive mountains below us, ragged cliffs right next to us. It was just spectacular and very close to what I had in mind when thinking about Patagonia.

Ragged

My favourite view so far

Corinna and I

Beagle Channel

After our return we continued to explore the southern part of the National Park, took some dorky pictures at some touristy signs and returned back to Ushuaia. By the way: If I wouldn't know that the water is freezing cold down here I would just love to jump into all the little lakes and inlets here. The water is crystal clear and when the sun comes out and you actually feel a bit warm it is just too inviting...

The end of the road

Second best thing to do with these water conditions

Jump in!

What stroke us the most during our time down here was the very limited amount of wildlife on land. We saw a couple of brumbies (or whatever they call them here), some birds and a few flies, but that was basically it. No guanacos, no armadillos, not even a bloody worm or ant. I actually digged a little hole at one point to see if there is anything hidden in the soil but there wasn't anything. Corinna and I started building a theory that everything we saw was just fake and we were actually in some sort of TV show. I hope you are all very entertained by now!

The last activity I did was a rather disappointing one. Corinna had now left town and I decided to do a little trip to an island full of penguins and a cruise along the beagle channel on my last day. Little Penguins are quite common in Australia and I already saw a lot of them in Melbourne and on Phillip Island. I was hoping that the species they have here in Ushuaia would be a bit more different, but it turned out that the Magellanic Penguins (by far the biggest group of penguins here) are very, very similar. I also saw Gentoo Penguins and a King Penguin though, which was pretty cool. After spending about an hour on the island and some other random stuff on the way there (trees that were shaped by the wind, a museum about marine mammal skeletons (creepy (especially when they showed us the fresh carcasses (let's just add more brackets because I can)))) we started our cruise. And the cruise was just 100% meh. Towards the end we stopped at the famous lighthouse and at a few rocks with sea lion colonies but I guess I'm just too used to these animals so that in hindsights I'm a little angry with myself spending so much money on that activity.

Looks like it's a bit windy out here

The lady was very excited about skinning this skull

Gentoo Penguins

Spot the king!

Look at this ugly fella

That was my adventure at the end of the world. I started making some good friends and it was a great start to get to know Patagonia. Next up is El Chalten, the hiking capital of Argentina. Apparently they have really bad internet there, so it might get a little quiet here. Apart from that I also managed to get sick (Coronavirus?), so I'll probably have to rest a bit in the next few days.

I might meet Jean (who I met in the hostel) again in Bariloche

#argentina #ushuaia #tierra del fuego

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makefrancehappen-blog · 5 years ago

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The most romantic non-date

June 25 2019, retrospective

There’s a lot of things I want to remember about my day with Sèbastien. He was older than I expected, it turned out he was 46. And he was in incredible shape, much better than me, the kind of toned body from a person who actually uses their body every day, not at the gym but just through living life. He was so, so tan. Everybody was in the south. By the time I left, I was almost one of them. The hat was funny, it was one of those flat brimmed DC caps that gave him such a youthful touch and would be cliché or look dirt baggy on a younger guy. I remember thinking that his face seemed super French with his bone structure and mouth especially, but now I can’t even paint a mental picture of him. I remember a little greyness but I can’t remember if it was in his hair or whether I might have noticed it in a beard, or whether he even had one. I regret not looking at his hands.

As he puttered around on the boat, getting us where we needed to go, he would sing and hum softly to himself. It absolutely caught me by surprise, almost every time. I still forget that he did that and then I remember all over again and think it’s a wonderful trait for a person to have. The one thing he did that I didn’t like was pull a starfish out of the water to show me... “she” was beautiful but I felt so uncomfortable knowing she was wrenched from her perch, and I just wanted him to put her back. In that moment though, there was a youthful and boyish fascination. He wanted me to see her little suction cups, and explain that her short legs were probably the result of an attack by birds. I like the enthusiasm, even though I already know or guessed most of these things.

Our first stop was the beach of Port Cros, where there’s a small dock to tie up. As he secured the boat he would murmur in French, English, or a combination. Several times I heard the word, “Alors,” not knowing what it meant. I asked, but he was confused, he didn’t know what word I was asking about. Then again he said it. “Aha!” I pointed at his face (bad manners). “There it is again!” “Which?” “The last one. Alore?” “Ahhh, Alors.” “Yeah that, what’s it mean?” Bafflement in attempting to explain. “Is it like how we use “okay” in English? It kind of fills lots of gaps?” Yes, kind of.

From there we snorkeled and eventually went ashore because the waters were still pretty cold except for in the shallows. On shore we went without shoes, and he checked with me twice to make sure that I was sure I was comfortable (I was). I said I prefer living life barefoot, which is obviously not possible in the city. He said he kicks off his shoes in March and doesn’t put them back on until September, but that a few weeks ago he’d been touring with a German couple who insisted they didn’t need shoes, only to have to cut the hike short because of their sensitive feet. He took me to the top of a lookout point by an abandoned building that I think had a green door. Made a joke about it being a nice little house if you could fix it up. On the way back down I stopped on the trail to take a deep breath and he turned around, mistaking my inhale for a gasp. I was just taking in the piney, jasmine, mineral and dusty scent of the island that smelled so much like summer. On the walk back to the dock we stopped to people watch a minute at the beach, and for some reason on the dock I wound up explaining that next year I would be returning to go to Bordeaux for my sister’s wedding (”No, she’s not French, it’s just that you have a destination wedding when you want to be polite and invite people but you don’t want them to accept or actually come.” “That seems like a good solution.”) Had a small snack on the boat. I don’t remember in what order or when we got to talking, but the similarities were so striking - at least to me:

- On Mexican cenotes, both having been. His experience was to stop and listen. “What did you hear?” “My heart.” There was a thoughtfulness and a pause, there seemed to be more that couldn’t be expressed in English.

- On liveaboarding, both having done. He crossed the Atlantic in 11 days, 5 days of prep, on a catamaran with 3 or 4 friends, going from Africa to Brazil. God if that isn’t just the sexiest thing ever. I wonder if that was before the kids.

- On camping. Every year at the peak of tourist season in August he “disappears into the mountains” for a week. He mentions the calanques to me, and asserts that I know them, which I think is funny or flattering maybe that he assumes I know.

- On environmentalism. He tries to avoid plastic and brings his reusable bags to the weekly market, stepping into a grocery store only once or twice a month. Trying to teach environmentalism to his 3 kids.

- On adventure. “Would you ever live on a boat and sail around the Mediterranean?” Absolutely. But there’s the kids to consider (2 teens, 1 around 9) and the several small businesses. (He seems to be a “guy I know” kind of guy). But someday.

Maybe that’s when he asked my age, which surprised me mildly. I think that was when he mentioned I was young enough still to have those adventures. I regret noting out loud how he had his first kid when he was my age, because it put a space between us that I don’t think needed to be there.

There’s a word he used, a great one. I can’t remember what it was but it floored me that a non-native speaker knew it. I told him this, that I know many English speakers who don’t even know that word. He either didn't understand or didn’t have a response. I wish I could remember the word.

It’s funny to me that he thinks Italy’s food is better than France’s, on account of it being simple ingredients of the highest quality. That’s what I thought France did so well. His expression towards the ocean seems wistful, longing for the larger and wilder waves.

I tell him about Arizona when he mentions the vast wildernesses of America being so alluring. I could live there if it weren’t so far from the sea, and he seems to nod agreement.

I have a rant about rich people, their yachts, and the weird and annoying things they do with their money. I think he’s probably just humoring me or being polite and I mention that my friends tell me I talk about depressing things, which makes him laugh. I grimace and apologize.

At a little cove where we stop again to snorkel, I wander ashore to look at the schist folds more closely and then I notice plastic, and the more I look the more of it I see. I already found a plastic bag and tucked it into my bikini side, to dispose of after swimming. I start collecting bits of plastic, rubber wine corks, and mostly styrofoam. When I turn around, Sèbastien had paddle boarded over and produced a half torn garbage bag from the ground and was filling it, so we worked silently, picking up pieces until the bag was full. I noticed moments before he said aloud that the more pieces we picked the smaller the remaining ones got. I made a comment about micro plastics. It was depressing, realizing in a moment of pause that there was still so much rubbish around. That’s when he unwittingly gifted me the mantra I didn’t know I needed:

“Alors. It’s not everything, but it’s important.” It washes over me like cold water, jarring and refreshing all at once. I never believed in love at first sight until this day.

There’s a seagull back by the boat that’s cautiously optimistic about our picnic lunch. Sèbastien tries to lure it with various treats (it doesn’t care for watermelon). Is it true that we both think these common birds are beautiful, or is he just being agreeable so I have a good tour experience?

After about 5 hours in the sun I’m getting drowsy and the boat motion is lulling me to sleep as I nod off while he’s driving, and he offers me a towel for my head. I get the impression that this is someone used to caring for other people, and realize that’s what I need.

I need to be able to relax, but to relax I need to trust that somebody else has their hands on the wheel. And I could cry with relief at this realization and with frustration that the person who gave it to me is probably completely unattainable.

Coming into the final harbor we talk about the Levant and he admits he never spends any time there but he isn’t sure why, other than that the kids are emphatic about not wanting to go. I laugh because of course that makes perfect sense.

I want to see him again. The kids are going to NYC next week with their mother, but he’s never been. I say I have an AirBnB and he’s welcome to stay if he ever decides to go, and that I hope he does. It’s 5pm and it feels abrupt when he says he should leave. I’m left wondering if I came on too strong or made him uncomfortable with the overture of invitation. Then I wonder too if maybe I didn’t come on strongly enough.

It’s a cruel coincidence that the house I stay at in Hyères is steps away from the one he rents out to vacationers. It’s even crueler that the day after our day I see the same yellow boat on the dock and have to convince myself it’s not his. I could have talked to him for many, many more hours than we had. I so want to see him again and have no idea if this is me being limerent again or whether there was some mutual connection.

When’s the last time I had so much in common with a person? It feels like never. But maybe I am living in the wrong places, maybe for him it’s common and the people around here are often outdoorsy, adventurous environmentalists. This might be the (possibly misleading) lynchpin that convinces me to make the move.

3 days later I ask if he has a website for the environmentalist friend who runs the NGO and a week after that there’s still no response. I don’t have any recourse except to chalk it up to one-sided attraction, which makes me deeply sad and I’m not ready to let it go yet.

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basshouse · 6 years ago

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Donkeys Down Under Part 2

Make sure you start with this blog post, its the first in the series and this is a serial!

In the first post, I started with How We Got Here. Next up:

Where we are.

We live on Centaurus Road in Hillsborough, Christchurch (not-so-subliminal hint: sending a package will cost you an arm and a leg, but it’ll be worth it to see the smiles on our faces if you include a few packets of Hidden Valley Ranch mix).

Christchurch is the biggest city on the South Island, with a whopping 375,000 people or so – pretty big considering the whole country is just under 5 million people, and only about 30% of them live on the South Island at all. You can do your own research on the city’s history and geography if you like. The city is big enough to have good restaurants, bars, craft beer, and various forms of mild entertainment like tennis clubs, live music from time to time, exercise options...more cosmopolitan than we expected but super easy navigate and access to surfing beaches, mountains, rivers, lakes, coasts, bike trails.

Our house is perched on the Port Hills, a short walk from the renowned Rapaki Track and a 10 minute drive to Sumner Beach (our regular surfing spot). The house has great views, an extra room for guests, and a lot of character – including:

A bathroom with handmade cat tiles and a shower with a strong homemade underwater motif.

A crazy garden full of roses, really loud birds, the odd hedgehog, and a zillion fruit trees that we don’t know how to manage. Seriously, you should have seen me and Jason and Anily trying to shake down a tree full of plums without any useful protective gear – next time we’ll get out the ski goggles and helmets.

A small plant growing up through the living room floor.

A bathroom sink that’s even smaller than the one in our house in Seattle – really!

Checkerboard linoleum floors.

Sailboat wallpaper in one room and the ugliest damn curtains you’ve ever seen in others. Like, mauve. And flowered. Sometimes at the same time.

A fantastic sunroom that is the home of our new ping pong table and our surfboard rack. Thankfully we did not have to get rid of the college dude vibe we had so carefully cultivated with our basement kegerator, Pacman machine and discarded drum set in the last house; we just evolved it a little -- the NZ version has a slightly more active characteristic. At this point Jason and I won’t be the ones playing the drinking games, but as I like to say, the best thing about being a grown up is giving yourself the permission to buy the toys that let you be the grown up you want to be. Actually, I will probably never say that again because it’s a lot of words, but I’m committed to the philosophy behind it. More on toys and activities and drinking later.

The house has a fat deck with views of the Southern Alps

A super steep driveway and very slippery stairs (consider this your warning and legal disclaimer).

You can’t see all the awesome details of the house in the satellite picture, but you can click and then zoom around if you want to see where we’re situated:

Our house is in a great spot. It’s an easy bike ride to school and work and a short trip to the best grocery store in town, where you can buy a box of Gorilla Munch cereal for $8 and a small bag of Cheetos for $5 – in the international aisle, of course. I refuse to document what else is in the American section. I haven’t broken down and paid for the Cheetos yet, but Anily really likes to eat Gorilla Munch before school, so, yes, this blog DOES contain a shopping list for things you should put in your extra suitcase when you come to visit (see if you can spot them all).

We feel really lucky to have this house, and there are a few good lessons wrapped up in how we got this place with its weathered wood and tiny sinks and toilets. One, surely, is not to lean too far for the toilet paper, especially if you can’t count on your core strength. For not only are the toilets tiny, the seats on them are weak, and butt cheeks can be slippery. Let’s just say the quality of the toilet seats has been a topic of more than one conversation among the American crew here, and one of us (not saying who) has a story that ends with a minor injury and a full bathroom clean up before coffee.

Anyway, for the real estate buffs out there, here’s how we won the rental house lottery: we landed in CHCH with ZERO idea of where to live and not much of a plan. We’d never been to this city, and luckily we had the sense not to commit to anything in advance. That’s lesson #2 : it’s just too hard to know the vibe of a place without having feet on the ground, and internet research isn’t reliable for choosing a long-term place to live, so don’t commit if you don’t have to. Good thing too, since most of what we read online in advance would have had us living on the west side of town, which is pretty much a mall, but of the NZ variety, which – shout out to my SA peeps – is reminiscent of the Central Park Mall in 1987, only without a Spencer’s and sub in a Kmart as the flagship instead of the Jacque Pen-nay’s.

So we got to town, I went to work, and Jason started with schools. Like many other places, school attendance is based on where you live, though there are schools that have open enrollment. We got here at the end of the Seattle school year and basically decided to throw the kids right back in school until the summer break, which is December here. Nice, right? A whole year of school to go with your whole year of winter, love you! But honestly, it was the best thing for them to start socializing and acclimating without any academic pressure since they were already bored and missing friends after 20+ hours of plane travel and a couple days of down time. A public school that we’d read about – Cashmere High – had an open day for potential students literally the day after we landed. Jason took the kids to it, they liked the school, James sank a couple shots in the gym, we saw that surfing and skiing are on offer as school sports, and we immediately focused our energy on finding a place to live in the Cashmere school zone.

Which brings me to another lesson, the most important one, and something I need remind myself of constantly: don’t make it harder than it has to be. Take the path that presents itself, make one important choice at a time, follow the clear option, and change direction if you need to once things gets going. We followed this rule, sometimes unconsciously, throughout the process of getting to NZ and settling in; we took one step at a time, from job interviews to visa applications, to decisions about furniture and packing and pets. We had no choice, really, it was the only way to handle such a monumental mud slide of hard decisions and logistics, and in the end all the right things happened. As is the case with the house: once we knew the kids liked the school well enough, we decided to focus energy not on asking more questions or exploring other options, rather we focused on a house search, and in fact this house was the first one we looked at. Another pro tip? Show up with 6 months’ worth of rent in cash if you can, and try not to come off like a criminal, just a decent family who is happy to pull the odd weed out of the navy blue 80s style living room carpet and furnish your own tiny, shockingly expensive fridge. Because listen up Americans: here in NZ, the appliances are small and ludicrously expensive, you can negotiate prices in the store, and it’s BYOA to the rental party. I’m not complaining, because that would be some seriously lame 1stworld problem whininess, it’s just something different.

It took us about a month of AirBnBs to find and move into the house, which was a very cool way to experience other neighborhoods, including a couple beachside communities which would have been our first choice for living but made school and sports and commuting much more complicated (not worth it).

This isn’t really a story, but it’s possibly one of the best memories I’ll have in life: the four of us camped out in our living room for almost 6 weeks with literally nothing but an inflatable mattress that deflated progressively and then aggressively at the end, a ping pong table, 4 plastic place settings, a huge (expensive!) television, a few surfboards, and the contents of our duffle bags. Binge watching “That Seventies Show,” huddling together near the wood burning fire place, waiting for your shipping container to arrive? That’s what brings a family together.

The day the container arrived was like Christmas, but the one where your kids find out Santa isn’t real: a great day, followed by lots and lots of boxes and paper, the satisfaction of making your kids learn how to construct Ikea furniture, and sadness because once everything is put in order the kids scatter to their own rooms and beds and desks and laptops and you’re not all negotiating screen time and eating off your ping pong table. You’ve exited one phase and entered another, and if you’re smart you’ll stay present to them both.

Just to close this out, here’s a great picture of Jason at one of the AirBnbs we stayed in:

This is a view from a different one, in Lyttleton:

Cuties! XO.

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douchebagbrainwaves · 4 years ago

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6,372

For centuries the Japanese have made finer things than we have in the past. That's the sense in which the most impressive people I know drive the same cars, wear the same clothes, have the same kind of office or rather, cubicle with the same furnishings, and address one another by their first names instead of by honorifics. Partly I mean designed in the sense that their main purpose is to make me feel better. Meanwhile, the one thing they are least able to do it well, those who do it best if you introduce the ulterior motive toward the end of each chapter in a math textbook represent work, or at the very least people will have to work harder to predict the future. If one didn't score in a startup are just unbelievably low. At the time I was offline. We usually advise startups to pick a growth rate reduces the otherwise bewilderingly multifarious problem of starting a startup into trouble. Writing is the same.

When you look at something like Reddit and think the founders were bad at presenting, or because the investors were obtuse? The pattern of variation seems no different than for any other skill. A notation for code using trees of symbols. It's surprisingly nice. The area under the curve is small, but its shape jabs into your consciousness like a pin. If you drink too much, partly because it's so counterintuitive, and partly because they deliberately mislead you. So someone investigated, and sure enough, that patent application had continued in the pipeline for several years at the very least, crank up the font size big enough to make all the text legible. It shows no sign of slowing. I need to be done.

If VCs weren't allowed to get rich. One of the two paths should you take? The best thing to measure the growth rate of is revenue. Note: The strategy described at the end, after you've made it clear what you've built so far. So you must cushion the blow with soft words. Unfortunately, t is still very far from infinity. That's the worst thing we make in America. Above all, make a habit of asking questions, especially questions beginning with Why. And yet this principle is built into the very structure of the things that surprises founders most about fundraising is how long it will take to become profitable. But just two companies, Dropbox and Airbnb!

I learned this one from Joe Kraus. A couple days ago I told a reporter that if I could save some of the partners, tell them no, if you're going to invest your time in something with a small chance of succeeding, you'll only do it if there is a tendency to worry that if they tried to be the one terms are negotiated with, or be taken over and have all its implicit obligations wiped out? When there are a lot of people make the same mistake I did. Plus they were always so relieved. Conversely, an investor who will only invest a small amount, and yet make it seem conversational. In fact the dangers of indiscipline increase with temptation. The path it has discovered is the most economical route to the sea. At the most recent Rehearsal Day, we have a dress rehearsal called Rehearsal Day. But that's not how most startups get started. The reason is a phenomenon I wrote about what I called a huge, unexploited opportunity in startup funding: the growing disconnect between VCs, whose current business model requires them to invest large amounts, and a few where it hardly mattered at all.

One heuristic for distinguishing stuff that matters is to ask yourself whether you'll care about it in the future. Don't wait before climbing that mountain or writing that book or visiting your mother. You won't feel later like that was a waste of time. Arguing online is only incidentally addictive. And the m. There are other things I might bring if I thought of it. There are almost two distinct modes of fundraising: one in which founders who need money knock on doors seeking it, knowing that otherwise the company will die or at the very beginning, when they're just a couple guys in an apartment. Inexperience there doesn't make you unattractive. Notice anything missing? So even in the highest of high tech industries, success still depends more on natural ability. Plus the maxima in the space of startup ideas. Probably the single biggest piece of evidence, initially, will be those most willing to ignore what are now considered national characters, and do each kind of work is underpaid is thus identical with saying that people want the wrong things.

The rich spend their time more like everyone else too. Why? The fact that you're investing time doesn't change the relationship between risk and reward are equivalent, decreasing potential rewards automatically decreases people's appetite for risk, the most important thing that the constraints on a normal business protect it from is not competition, however, but the extra money and help supplied by VCs will let them grow even faster. Less than you might think. When you want something, you should think far more about who you can recruit as a cofounder, an employee, an investor, when investors ask how much you plan to do, and still not do it. When they finally decide to try, they find they can't. Similarly for companies constrained in a or b. We try to pick founders who are good at it. No, except yes if you turn out to be 13: Pick good cofounders. But it was not a sufficient one. But it's not just nice. Do you have to invent a secret boss to force Mark Zuckerberg to buy it.

It was a novel thing to be able to try out software online. The culmination of my career as a writer of press releases was one celebrating his graduation, illustrated with a drawing I did of him during a meeting. That's a strategy that already seems to be working. Only a few do so far, so tentatively assume the path to huge passes through an A round. And so you can't assume it will fall through. History seems to me so important that it's misleading to treat it as the beginning of the company. American cars is bad design.

The custom of a startup. Outside writers tend to supply editorials of the defend-a-position variety, which make a beeline toward a rousing and foreordained conclusion. Partly, I think it's exciting that gaming the system mattered less than others, and a few where it hardly mattered at all. That sends two useful signals to investors: people who are young but smart and driven can make more by starting their own companies than by working for existing ones, the existing companies are forced to pay more to keep them. It is identical with taking money from the rich. Hot Tub on account of the heat they generated. Paradoxically, fundraising is this type of distraction, so try to minimize that too. The investors would not infrequently collude to push down the valuation. Most people could do better. And the m.

Thanks to Trevor Blackwell, Maria Daniels, Jessica Livingston, Ken Anderson, Sam Altman, Dan Giffin, and Jackie McDonough for sharing their expertise on this topic.

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livelikebrent · 7 years ago

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Stop 7: Winter Park + Boulder, Colorado

Have you ever broken somebody’s heart? Maybe it was with a significant other and ended things. Whether you’re on the giving or receiving end of it...it’s an awful feeling, isn’t it? Have you ever had to do it one dozen times in the span of maybe an hour? I remember shaking and trying to clear my throat as I dialed, Amanda, Danny, Amy, Adam, Josh, Brendan, John, Ryan...this list continues. I don’t even know how I knew who to call, or who I probably should’ve called but my mind had turned into liquid. Amanda had been texting Brent a day or two prior and had a bad feeling when he didn’t answer the text messages. She texted me earlier in the morning asking if everything was okay. I think I started these phone calls somewhere around 11am and 12noon on Saturday, July 15th. I just remember how quiet or how short some people were (not in a bad way by any means) when they spoke to me. I think it was shock, taking in the information and not knowing what to do with it. Others instantly started crying or tried so hard to hold back tears as they asked me to explain. I tried to explain as soon as I broke the news so they didn’t even have to wonder. I tried to explain that he was already heavily medicated and asleep so he didn’t know what had happened. I remember calling Josh as he and Hannah were driving to his sibling’s house. Hannah started screaming. I remember Adam driving, Danny and Dana sitting on their couch getting ready to leave for vacation later in the day. Danny said he knew as soon as he saw my name come up on their phone that something wasn’t right. Some didn’t even have my number at that point and didn’t know who was speaking to them initially but quickly learned. But to break the hearts of some of Brent’s best and my dearest friends from the last few years...broke my heart even more that it already was that morning.

I talk about these people a lot. I talk about how grateful I am to have them still in my life. I’m about to talk about them some more on how a few joined me on my 7th stop on Tour de Brent: Colorado. I’ll say it again and again...I’m so happy and grateful that they joined me on this trip. One of the first places Brent and I had on our bucket list was snowboarding in Colorado. Brent knew I loved camping and hiking the Adirondack mountains in New York. He also knew I’d never been out west. So he wanted to take me snowboarding in Colorado, explore Boulder and to meet a close WVU friend of his, Lindgren.

Six of us met bright eyed and bushy tailed at the Philadelphia International Airport around 7am on Friday, February 9th. Skis, snowboards and bags had been checked, coffee in hand along with eagerness to depart from the City of Brotherly Love. While the crew was eager to shred some serious mountains, I was eager to finally meet Lindgren. Since I had several hours to kill on the flight, my mind wandered and remembered Brent taking calls from Lindgren. Or just chatting about him and his now wife, Nicole. I remember their save the date on his refrigerator right until we cleaned out the apartment. The first time I had ever contacted Lindgren was on July 24th with an apology. I apologized for not being able to make the wedding with Brent. But what I really ended up apologizing for was how sorry I was that Brent never had to the opportunity to introduce us. I also explained I had planned on still making it out to Colorado to check it off of the list for Brent. I heard back from Lindgren the next day and I just remember how nice it was to hear him say, “...I honestly feel like I know you, from all of the pictures of you and Brent on FB, to all the wonderful things he told me about you. So, in a way, we’ve already been introduced, and I consider you a friend.” I think the people one surrounds themselves with speaks volumes about that individual. The people that were current in Brent’s life have been some of the nicest and raddest people I have met. Lindgren quickly made the list of friends I am grateful for today.

We landed in Denver and I had previously asked Lindgren for suggestions on lunch. He told us to check out Vine Street Pub while still in Denver and that it was a solid spot for a burger and was Stout Month there. I smiled as we approached the establishment. The place we were about to enter is one of the Mountain Sun locations. I think we all know that Brent LOVED stickers. After he had passed, I sifted through his collection...some were recent finds and some extremely old. He had a ton of Mountain Sun stickers. I recognized the logo as soon as I saw it entering the pub. We ordered a round of drinks, lunch and checked the weather. Snow was in the forecast for Saturday which was ideal as that was going to be our first day out on the mountain. I knew I wanted to place a sticker at this location and as I was walking back to my seat from the bathroom, what do you know? They had just a small section of a wall FILLED with stickers. After we paid our bill, I found our waitress with two other employees and explained why we were there from Philadelphia and asked if I could slap a sticker up. Her response was, “OF COURSE! We have stickers for you too!!” She gave me a reel of the same stickers Brent had. Then we found a place on their wall.

We jumped in our cars and made our way out to our Airbnb in Fraser, Colorado. Fraser is just north of Winter Park where we planned on spending our entire Saturday. With all of our gear and crew in tow, Brendan and I made our way through the mountains, around the mountains and then up the mountains. It was so beautiful. The brief video clip below doesn’t even do justice as we got closer to the mountain range.

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Oh. Did you know that elevation sickness is actually a real thing? I will have to say that I had been warned. But as we climbed to over 9,000 feet in elevation to the towns...so did my stomach. I pounded waters to keep myself hydrated. Then by the time we went grocery shopping (conveniently located at the bottom of the hill from where we were staying), my feet started to cramp up. Thankfully, I got over it after a while. We settled into our ski themed Airbnb, made ourselves right at home and ordered pizza (including my fave, Hawaiian).

The answer to your question is yes. The place looked just like it does in the photos above from Airbnb. Believe me, I’ve been to Airbnbs where I’ve walked in and I had to double check the address because it looked nothing like it did in the photos. But you can view more photos and the entire place here! I don’t think we were there for even twenty minutes when we started posing on the faux bear rug in front of the fireplace. It was just such a cozy place for the weekend. But we were pretty tired from traveling and knew we had a long day ahead of us so we laid low for the first evening. Josh and his girl, Katrina came out to the place to hang for a smidge and say hi. I’ve met Josh a handful of times. The first time I met him was two years ago at Carve 4 Cancer. He flew in for the event and busted his knee on his first run of the day. Classic. He was one of the friends that came and visited with Brent when he was sick..which truly raised his spirits.

Josh showed up for Brent’s wake, the funeral and Carve again in 2018. As hysterically funny as he is and a joy to be around, he was genuinely a good friend of Brent’s. I asked Josh how he met Brent. He honestly didn’t know and felt like they just had always been buds since school. Brent would talk about Josh a lot and how Josh’s mom would take them out of school early, throw them in the car and drive up to Vermont to hit the mountains all of the time. I think I’ve heard that about half a dozen times from Brent.

The next day we got up, ate breakfast and realized it had been dumping and dumping and dumping snow overnight...and it wasn’t stopping any time soon. So we made a pot of coffee, breakfast, geared up and made our way over to Mary Jane Pass. To be quite frank the only downside to all of the snow was that it was snowing so much that we could hardly even see the mountains that were surrounding us and off in the distance. Honestly, it was fine though...we were so excited to be skiing and snowboarding in a storm on fresh powder. Cars filled the lots and lined the long, winding drive up to the base of the mountain. I think I heard, “NO FRIENDS ON POW DAYS!” Probably a dozen times in lift lines, on the mountains and in the lodge.

The snow was awesome. The trails took longer than 45 second to bomb down and you weren’t on top of one another for how busy the mountain was either. At this point, I started to understand why Brent wanted to take me out west to snowboard so badly. The snow was soft, there was hardly any ice if any at all, you could hop off the trail and wind your way through the trees and even though it was a pow day...you were on the mountain with some of the best people waiting for you around the next turn. We took a break for lunch at the lodge about half way through the day, hit the mountain for a couple more runs and then made our way back to the car and ultimately to the Airbnb.

The boys made a mouth watering dinner for everyone. While we were in the super market the day prior, they found surf and turf packages for basically $10 a person. I SAID TEN DOLLARS. It most definitely didn’t taste like a $10 meal either. Lobster tails, steak, brussel sprouts, cocktails and beer.

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After dinner, we cleaned up and decided to check out some of the local spots in Winter Park and ended up at Idlewild Spirits Distillery.

It is a distillery pub nestled in the basement of a strip mall on the main drag of Winter Park. There’s a bar and plenty of seating in the main room of the establishment. We sat in the back room with rows and rows of barrels of their liquor. It was pretty cool. Each barrel had the type of liquor and the date. It had a rustic yet industrial feel to the place. Caitlin had suggested the place since she is one who greatly appreciates a fine cocktail. Sidenote, the first time I met Caitlin and Adam...they took Brent and I to a place in Manayunk, The Goats Beard, for cocktails. So we ordered a round of cocktails, “snacks” and hung out for a while recapping on our first day and plans for the remainder of the trip. As we wrapped up and paid the check, our waiter suggested to check out a little bar called The Basement. Are we picking up on a theme here yet? Apparently, Winter Park doesn’t stay open terribly later. But this little hole in the wall did...and we didn’t mind going to a local’s bar. Brent would’ve liked it. Skateboard decks hung above the counter with beers available. You felt like you were in the basement of your friend’s house back in high school and you were waiting for the crowd to show up to start the party. There were video games, a couple of tvs, an area for a DJ or band and some arcade games. A couple of guys were sitting at the bar still in their snowboarding gear with a pie of pizza they probably carried in themselves. It was a place where you went for a cheap après ski.

As drastically different as these two spots were, Brent would’ve thoroughly enjoyed them. We ordered a couple of Rolling Rocks for $3 each. I SAID THREE DOLLARS. It most definitely tasted like a $3 beer. As we sipped our drinks, Caitlin was passing out at the table from the long day for shredding the gnar. I think half of us made Ryan slug back our beers before we made our way back to the place and called it a night.

Sunday rolled around. Josh took Ryan out back country skiing, Caitlin and Adam hit up Grandby Ranch Resort to get a couple more turns in, and Brendan, Koren and I wanted to check out the town for the day and explore after we already arrived at Grandby. (Whoops!) As the three of us were driving out of the resort, I saw a small hill with a gazebo on top. I figured it had a pretty cool view of the ranch below and mountains that surrounded us. So we parked the car and went to walk up the hill. This turned into THE MOST tiring task of the weekend. We should not have been as winded as we were walking up this hill...mind you that we weren’t used to the elevation but it was embarrassing how bad we were sucking wind once we got to the top. I think I had to take a breather for about 5 minutes before I could even think about taking photos. But below us sat the ranch, cattle, and these adorable craftsman houses that sat on the mountain side. (Que ‘Weeds’ theme song here).

We hit up an antique store we saw along the way, stopped at Cooper Creek Square to buy stickers, shirts and gifts. The shops were cute. I think Koren bought a gift for about everyone in her entire life. Brendan bought gifts for his niece and nephew. We decided to find something to eat and right across the street was a place called The Ditch on 40. It ruled. It was a small spot on the second floor of a strip of stores. (Actually a spot not in a basement!) It had a deck which I’m sure gets packed on a mild blue bird day. The place described itself as “A family-run, roadside bar and grill, where it's all about the red and green... chile, that is. We start from scratch! Using only chile from Hatch, NM. We serve great burgers, tasty sandwiches, authentic New Mexican food and the best margaritas in town!” I’m sorry, but did you know that Colorado is known chile peppers? Well, it kinda is. If you want to read up about it and the great green chile debate between Colorado and New Mexico, click here! But I digress, it had a locals vibe to it with license plates on the walls along with ski trail signs from Winter Park’s trails, skis and snowboards hanging on racks from the ceilings. We figured the place got rowdy at night and was probably a pretty solid time with the après ski crowd. We shared some sliders, tacos and had a round of drinks. I do need to point out the beer that Koren ordered though. It was an oak aged sour stout with cranberries named Blucifer from Odd13 Brewing. Blucifer is the demon horse of the Denver Airport ...it is a bright blue mustang standing at 32 feet tall and 9,000 pounds with glowing red eyes. I am not joking. Although the Blucifer beer sounds odd for a stout to be sour - it was mighty delish. Also, we need to note the artwork on the can quickly...and yes, that’s Santa’s sleigh.

As soon as we had walked in the door I knew I wanted to place a sticker there for Brent. This was most certainly a place I could picture him after spending a day out on the mountain together. As soon as I asked one of the waiters he immediately said, “Yes! Of course!” and he had the same reaction when I asked if he wouldn’t mind capturing the placement in a photograph for me. There was a perfect spot, dead smack in the center of the mirror behind the bar.

After lunch, the three of us made our way back to Mary Jane’s Pass to check out the gift shop in the lodge. Apparently, this portion of Winter Park is the most difficult and it’s where we started and ended our first day out on the mountains. So Brendan and I bought a handful of stickers and Koren bought more gifts. I need to figure out how to get on her gift list. After lunch, we made a pit stop so Koren could get her ice cream fix and made our way back to the house. I tried to capture more of the mountains and the trees that were lightly coated in fresh snow...but, these photos don’t do any justice. There was so much texture.

When we got back, Caitlin and Adam were right behind us followed by Ryan and Josh who found the local Irish Pub (shocker. not.). We hung around, Ryan showed off the photo that Josh took of him and we had a couple of drinks and hot teas.

Eventually, we got ready and made ourselves presentable for a nice dinner out in the town at Deno’s Mountain Bistro. We snagged some seating by the bar as we waited for a table. This place had everything from wings to a steak dinner and a wine list that was 16 pages long. SIXTEEN! We had ordered everything from biratta, steaks, poke bowls, wings and pasta. Ryan was in his prime that night and Josh had us all laughing so hard during the entire meal.

The next day we packed up and left Fraser/Winter Park and started to make our way towards our next destination, Boulder. On the way, we stopped at Arapahoe Basin. It was another gorgeous ride up and through the mountains. We drove through Loveland Pass and the Continental Divide which was stunning. Koren and I had no shame in asking Brendan to pull the car over (more than once) to take photos.

We got to the parking lot and started to gear up for the day when I noticed Arapahoe’s logo. It’s the letter “A” with a design around it. I had seen it a dozen times in Brent’s sticker collection. Even when I visited Drew and Amanda in Syracuse, I remember looking through the collection with Drew and asking what logo or brand it was and he had no idea. Well, apparently this was a fave mountain of Brent’s and here we were about to spend the day shredding there.

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Now THIS is what I envisioned snowboarding in Colorado to look like. Mountains were EVERYWHERE. Winter Park was a great time and all but if you told me I was at a ski resort in update New York on that mountain, I’d believe you. But the setting at A-Basin was just absolutely incredible. We were surrounded by high peaks near by, mountains in the distance and tons of trees.

I think every time we were on the lift up the mountain I said something along the lines of, “I can’t get over how beautiful this is!” THIS was when I completely understood what Brent wanted me to experience. I just knew it. THIS was where he would’ve taken me (or Breckenridge - next time!) to tear up a mountain together. An old colleague of mine went hiking in Yosemite National Park last year. I remember her posting a photo of her with in front of a stunning backdrop and the caption reading, “Sometimes it’s good to feel small.” That is 100% true and that’s how I felt riding the lift when we got to the top of the mountain at the Montezuma bowl. But right as we got off of the lift for our first run of the day, there was a work bench for binding adjustments next to the map of the mountain. It happened to be covered in stickers. I couldn’t think of a better mountain to place a #LiveLikeBrent sticker.

I know this is an obvious statement but the mountains were so big! There are so many trails and options! It was an amazing time. At one point, Koren and Caitlin found an alpine trail on the mountain called Moose Hollow. They took a photo for me knowing that moose are my favorite animal and that I’d do anything to see one in person. So the next trip up the mountain they took me through the trees on this trail. Mind you, I never take these trails because it’s a bit more difficult if you’re on a board. It’s even more difficult if you get stuck. Never mind that, it’s freaking EXHAUSTING if you fall and need to get yourself up. If you’re on skis you at least have both feet and two poles to help get back up. We went down this trail twice, I hopped over one of the divets successfully the first time. But there was one slight jump I couldn’t get over and lost speed both times. I honestly had to lay there and give myself a minute after trying to get myself up the first time.

After a stellar day on the mountain, we packed up and made our way to our Airbnb in Boulder so we could get ready for dinner with Lindgren. This place was adorable as well. You can view more photos and the place we stayed here!

Lindgren asked where we wanted to get dinner and I requested any place that he would take Brent if he were in town visiting again. He suggested a Nepal/Tibetan/Indian spot called Sherpa’s Adventure Restaurant & Bar. It’s a restaurant that is in an old Victorian home...so yes, you felt like you were dining in somebody’s home. It was so great to finally meet Lindgren. I asked him how he met Brent. He said one time he was eating dinner at WVU and this shaggy, bleached, long haired, guy came over and sat down with him at the table. Lindgren said, “He just started talking to me and kept going. Somehow we got on the topic of snowboarding and he was SO passionate about it. At the time, I hadn’t had a lot of experience on the mountain. But we somehow just became immediate friends. He kept going on and on.” Ah yes the gift of gab, a gift given I’m sure by his father, was one of Brent’s best qualities. Shortly before Brent went in for his stem-cell transplant, he came to a wedding with me to celebrate my friends, Bit and Asad. I was parking my car for the wedding and feeding the meter as Brent went inside the beach bar of the hotel to get more quarters. I noticed he took a long time. It turns out it was because he was chatting up one of my college friends at the bar, Joe. When I went inside, Joe, looked at me and exclaimed, “AIS!!! DO YOU KNOW THIS GUY? He walked in and now all of a sudden we’re like BEST buds.”

After Brent passed Joe wrote, “Been thinking of you and Brent so much the past few days. I've never been so inspired by the spirit and fun vibe of a person after hanging out just one time with him. Just wanted to share these fun shots. So glad I got to spend that night with you two. Love you Ais.” That’s the kind of guy Brent was though. He met Joe once. He spent maybe a total of 8 hours with him. Like Lindgren said - that’s all it took.

Anyway, I digress! Lindgren became one of Brent’s close friends from WVU and described him as his only “frat friend.” Lindgren said one time he was at his fraternity house and he received a phone call from Brent. Brent said, “Are you home?” Lindgren told him he was and Brent continued, “Go outside RIGHT NOW!” Lindgren was hesitant but went outside. Brent and his friend Tony were throwing giant tires down the hill Lindgren lived on and wreaking havoc. Remember at Brent’s funeral when the priest joked he wasn’t a Saint? Case and point.

As we ate dinner (which was top-notch), Lindgren also shared one of his proudest moments with Brent. Brent flew in to visit with Lindgren with the obvious goal to go snowboarding. Lindgren said he told Brent that they’d be snowboarding Vail that day with one of his friends. Cool, right? Lindgren also added in that they would be snowboarding with Owen Schmitt. Ha! He was a football player at West Virginia and had moved onto the NFL after college. I’d say that’s a pretty solid proud moment. Lindgren’s bud went to high school with Schmitt who still clearly hung out. I do vaguely remember Brent telling me about this and he somehow got Schmitt’s phone number...he made up and excuse when he asked for it like “Just in case we get separated on the mountain.” Brent then added him on Snapchat and I’m pretty sure vice versa. What a Brent move.

As we were finishing our meal, Lindgren suggested a place to check out next he liked called The Sundown Saloon. It had a cool name, so we were down for it. Nicole, Lindgren’s wife, showed up as we were paying the check and met everyone. When she heard where we were going for drinks she looked at Lindgren with concern and said, “You’re taking them there???” We asked what was wrong with it and she described it as a hole in the wall dive bar. I remember saying, “But...that’s our kind of place.” It really was. But before we left, Lindgren and Nicole chatted with the owner. I’d say they’re pretty darn close to being regulars. Then we took a quick group photo. Again, it looked and felt like we were in somebody’s house for supper.

As we approached the doors...guess where it was located? Yes, in another basement. The Sundown Saloon is tucked underneath the walking mall that is Boulder’s Pearl Street. I decided to place a sticker here because it was a place that Lindgren would’ve taken Brent. After being inside it was like Murphy’s back in East Falls with Billards. I’m NOT calling Murphy’s a hole in the wall dive bar, mind you. There was a lot of wood going on, a fun crowd, and photos on some of the walls like Mike has up.

We walked in and there was a juke box, dart board, foosball and shuffleboard table, a handful of pool tables, Christmas lights that covered most of the ceiling, and plenty of cheap beer and whisky. If I lived in Boulder, this would certainly become a regular spot for a drink or two with a crew. We pushed together a bunch of tables, watched Shaun White slay the Olympics, drank and chatted. Then, who shows up? Josh and Katrina. Josh definitely spoiled us with his presence that weekend. As we sat there, some a little more buzzed than others, Caitlin looked at me across the table and smiled, “Looking around this circle makes me really happy. Brent brought us together.” It was true. Who travels across the United States to meet a stranger and his wife? We did because Brent only surrounded himself with the most amazing people. I’ve learned many things over the last year and one of them is that the people you surround yourself with are a reflection of who you are as a person. I think that’s important to think about. If you sit back and think about the people in your life, who are they? How do they act? Are they some of the funniest people you know? Maybe they are the most thoughtful and caring. Or maybe they simply inspire you. I’ve decided to continue to surround myself with people that make me happy and that want to be in my life. What I do know is that as you get older your circle of friends tend to get smaller. But mine has only been expanding and I’m extremely thankful for it and everyone that has become a part of my life.

We said our goodbyes, I gave Lindgren one of Brent’s beanies he wore in the hospital all of the time, Never Summer. The company is based out of Colorado so I figured it was fitting. We didn’t talk about what happened to Brent. But Lindgren did look at me and say, “I’m just so glad he had you for the time that he did and everything he went through.” He started to get tears in his eyes and these are the types of things that make me cry...Seeing any of Brent’s friends hurt or upset about what happened. He continued to say things that were truly touching to hear. I hugged him a couple of times and told him I was so glad to have finally meet him.

P.S. Nicole SLAYS in foosball. Don’t let her fool you.

Photo Credit: Airbnb, Caitlin, Koren, Brendan, Josh, Joe, Odd13 Brewing

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twopedalpushers · 5 years ago

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Travel update #6

Brazil

After leaving my bike and bags behind for safe keeping with a friend in Peru, I boarded a flight to Brazil, blissfully unaware of all of the events that would unfold in the coming months. The plan was for both me and Max to have a little break from cycling before reconvening in Peru, full of energy and ready to carry on pedalling South.

Max was off spending some time with his family in the Galapagos for a couple of weeks and I was heading to Rio de Janeiro for Carnival!

I had wanted to visit Brazil for years. Unfortunately our cycle route didn’t take us through Brazil, so I was excited about the prospect of getting to visit whilst on this trip. I had spent so much time imagining what Brazil would be like over the years that I was nervous about it not living up to my expectations.

Brazil during Carnival exceeded my expectations by a long shot. I arrived about halfway through Carnival, which in hindsight I’m actually pleased about because I don’t think my body could have taken much more.

Carnival in Rio is everywhere. It takes the form of huge street parties called “Blocos”. If you don’t know anything about Carnival (which I ignorantly did not before arriving) Blocos are neighbourhood parties created by local residents - some of which have been taking place annually for over 100 years. Some have musical themes, some have a dress code and the general idea is that locals follow a huge band or sound system around the block, dancing, singing, drinking and generally letting loose.

What I did not know before Carnival is that there are a few hundred of these Blocos over the course of the celebrations and most have between 5,000-30,0000 people in attendance. So even if you want to innocently pop out to pick something up from the shops or grab a bite to eat, you can’t help but getting roped into the partying and suddenly you wake up the next day with a hangover, covered in glitter, wondering how the hell you got home.

The biggest Blocos start at 8am and I’m pretty sure they have no end. I tried on a couple of occasions to stay until the end but called it quits around 5 or 6am when the partying somehow seemed to gain a new lease of life. Blocos aren’t just for young people, there are a lot of families and elderly Cariocas getting down with the best of them.

During Carnival, it becomes normal to see people going about their daily business dressed like this:

Or taking the Metro dressed like this:

Of course, I also had an outfit and found it pretty entertaining to spend the week wearing hot pants and a huge flower crown.

On this note, one of the best things about Brazil is how body positive everybody is. Rio is known for its beaches- Copacabana, Ipanema and Joatinga, so I spent a lot of time at them. It was refreshing to see so many women rocking itty bitty bikini’s no matter their size. In Brazil, it didn’t seem to matter what type of body you had, as long as you owned it, exuded confidence and showed it off.

The city in itself is backed onto by Tijuca National Park - a tropical rainforest. Walking down the iconic patterned cobbled streets, it feels like the built environment is in constant struggle with the nature that surrounds it. Plants and trees sprout from cracks in the pavement, vines overtake and dangle down from powerlines. Favelas sprawl up into the mountains, looking down on the Atlantic Ocean.

Rio isn’t polished, its full of graffiti and grimy. On one occasion I saw a pile of rats on a discarded sofa in the middle of the street fighting over half a salgado (a type of Brazilian pasty). For me, this added to its charm. I’ve spent a lot of time in cities in South America that felt like they were trying really hard to be something their not in order to attract tourists. Rio doesn’t try, its effortlessly cool and its people felt genuine.

For me the best thing about Brazil was the amount of other mixed-race people. I’m normally the odd one out in the largely white spaces that I inhabit back in the UK. I’ve grown up with it being that way so have learnt to look past this. However in Brazil, there was something really comforting about seeing so many other faces that looked just like mine. For the first time in my life I felt like I fitted in.

Aside from partying, I did all of the touristy things while in Rio. I drank Caipirinhas on the beach, visited Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain.

My absolute highlight of Carnival was watching the final parade in the Sambadromo. The Sambadromo is an open air stadium in which Rio de Janeiro’s famous samba schools dance across the 100 metre long stage to mark the start and end of Carnival. If you have ever seen photos on the news or the internet of Brazilian dancers wearing incredible costumes with huge floats in the background - the Sambadromo is where they were taken. The schools parade with moving structures about the size of a two storey house, each one decorated with dancers. Each samba school has a bespoke song that’s played throughout the stadium- these songs are also sung in the Blocos and become the sound of Carnival as a whole. In the stands, Cariocas sing, drink and dance while the performers in their dazzling costumes samba on stage. It takes about an hour for each school to cross the 100m stage and the entire performance goes on for about 6 hours. The Sambadromo has to be the greatest parade on earth and I highly, highly recommend seeing it. It’s such a huge spectacle, no description can really do it any justice.

I accidentally ended up spending more time in Rio than I first anticipated and more or less had to tear myself away. I was heading to Paraty, a small, beautiful Portuguese colonial town - a stopover between Rio and Sao Paulo. During my time in Brazil I was mainly travelling by bus - for the first time on the whole trip. I gained a new found respect for bus travelling backpackers whilst in Brazil because it is so arduous and boring sitting still for hours on end!

Unfortunately a couple of days into my time in Paraty, I received some awful news from Max. After returning from the Galapagos, Max had planned to continue cycling south into Peru in order to meet up with me in a couple of weeks time once I had returned from Brazil. On the first day of cycling alone he had been robbed by two men in a pickup truck at gunpoint, losing his bicycle and all of his possessions. Fortunately he had been able to get away with his life, despite the assailants wanting him to get into the pickup truck too. The police were involved and followed the GPS tracker that he had (that had been stolen) to try and find the whereabouts of his possessions. Unfortunately the police didn’t find anything at the location where the GPS tracker cut out, so its likely that they found it and turned it off.

The entire time that I was in Ecuador I felt very safe. On a couple of occasions, locals and the police told us to be careful but we took their advice with a pinch of salt. In every country that we crossed in Central and South America, people frequently told us that it was “too dangerous” to be there. When I landed in Brazil I thought to myself that if I were to get robbed during this trip, it would happen in Rio de Janeiro. Everyone gets robbed in Rio (it’s almost a rite of passage, especially during Carnival) - yet it didn’t happen to me. It’s not that either of us ever let our guards down, I think it was just a case of extremely bad luck. Max was robbed on a busy road - the Panamericana, during the daytime. I’m not sure how the robbery could have been avoided unless we had decided not to travel around South America all of those months ago and stayed at home instead.

After picking up an emergency passport, Max decided to join me in Brazil. We weren’t sure whether it would be possible to cycle anymore, or even if we wanted to after what had happened. We were 6 months into our year long trip, so we needed to come up with a new plan.

We were reunited in São Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city. We spent our time there hanging out in São Paulo’s coolest neighbourhood - Vila Madalena. It’s similar to Hackney Wick so felt a lot like a home from home (but with much better weather!) We happened to be in São Paulo during their International Women’s day protests, which sort of felt like a mini, politicised version of Carnival. Again, people were wearing costumes, chanting and street vendors were selling alcohol. It reminded me of how uptight we are in the UK - selling alcohol at a protest would never happen in London!

From São Paulo we took an internal flight up to Salvador, Bahía. Salvador is know for its old Portuguese historical centre, full of picturesque pastel coloured buildings.

It was during our time in Salvador that Coronavirus started to ramp up in the UK and the first time we considered the possibility that it may affect our trip. Whilst we were in Salvador, Peru, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Chile suddenly closed their borders without warning.

We both had flights to Peru in a couple of weeks time that were cancelled. My bike and all of my belongings were now stuck in Peru.

For about 5 days we lived in a state of denial, deciding that if we had to isolate in Brazil, we would get an Airbnb somewhere near the coast and wait it out. I was convinced that Peru would re-open its borders in a few weeks and we would be able to pick up my bike and carry on travelling.

I think we felt this way because there was an utter lack of panic in Brazil. The Brazilian president, Bolsanaro, is still to this day dismissing Coronavirus as “just a little flu”. In the days before leaving Brazil, we were frequenting packed restaurants, beaches and coffee shops. We felt that it was a silly idea to return to Europe; the epicentre of the virus.

Looking at the situation in the rest of South America, it started to become apparent that travelling freely was not going to be possible for some time. Max no longer had a bike. I no longer had a bike. The trip that we had planned in a sense was already over.

The beaches started to close in Brazil and the locals mentality towards foreigners was shifting. People no longer wanted tourists as they were the people bringing across the virus. It became clear that with so many people already in extreme poverty in Brazil, people could become very desperate very quickly. That morning we made the decision to leave.

My journey back to the UK was swift and boring, so I won’t bog you down with all of the details. I found it funny that I had left the UK with two lots of extra hold luggage but was returning with only a small backpack.

I had been functioning in Spanish and a little bit of bad Portuguese for the past 6 months so it was weird and distracting to overhear conversations and understand everything being said in Gatwick Airport. We arrived a couple of days before total lockdown was announced but I remember travelling in the car and the roads being completely desolate; so different to the hustle and bustle of Salvador. It was also mid March so the clouds were low in the sky, the trees barren and the landscape shockingly flat (in comparison to the Andes!) Earlier that day I was surrounded by the lush, tropical, sunny, sweetness of Brazil so it felt like I was suffering from some form of mental whiplash.

My return to the UK wasn’t what I wanted it to be but I’ve come to accept it. My travels haven’t been something that I have spoken about with my friends or family since returning as everyone is justifiably wrapped up in discussing Coronavirus (myself included). It’s actually been incredibly cathartic to write about the final few weeks of the trip and remind myself about the fun times that I had!

I am super grateful for the 6 months that I spent away, especially now that travelling is off the cards for everyone for a while!

I’m going to follow this update with a reflective post on the trip as a whole in order to conclude my blog. Like I did in all of my previous posts, I have written a list of all of the interesting things that I noticed/appreciated whilst I was in Brazil. Here goes:

It’s true that literally everyone wears Havaianas in Brazil.

For some reason the builders van/bus/ vehicle of choice is the old vintage VW camper van in white. They’re everywhere in Brazil and I’m not sure why, the don’t even make them here in the UK anymore, maybe they still make them in Brazil

The most popular thing sold on the beach is grilled cheese on a stick.

Açai smoothies. Yum Yum Yum. I still dream about these. Before Brazil I wasn’t sure what açai berries were but it turns out that they are grown in Brazil, so açai smoothies are super cheap there. They’re sold on every street corner and everyone drinks them. They’re full of caffeine so you get pretty buzzed.

There are lots and lots of “kilo buffet” restaurants.

50% of the people you see around will be wearing a Brazil football shirt.

The rest of South America seemed to be all about sweet things and desserts (there were Panaderías everywhere!) Brazil is more about savoury snacks, salgados and pasteïs. I only saw one bakery while I was there and it was a boujee, hipstery one.

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sowecanrememberourtrips · 5 years ago

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Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Brussels (2019)

Dates: 29th Nov 2019 - 12th Dec 2019 (2 weeks)

Climate: On average, temperatures in all 3 cities ranged from 1 - 10 degrees, making it necessary for us to wear heat tech inner wear, gloves and thick winter jackets when outdoors. Thankfully, it only drizzled on a couple of days, and there was only mild snow on our very first day in Copenhagen. However, the sun set around 4pm daily, which was a factor to consider when planning our activities.

Expenditure: In total, each of us spent at least SGD $5,500 for the whole trip. We converted SGD $1,500 for cash expenditure during the 2 weeks, but definitely used our credit cards every now and then. Note that there are places in these 3 cities which do not accept cash. We chose to stay in gorgeous Airbnb apartments as we feel that hotels in Europe generally do not offer value for money.

Sequence: Copenhagen (Denmark), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Brussels (Belgium).

Transport: Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Copenhagen at midnight of 28th Nov, KLM flight from Copenhagen to Amsterdam, train from Amsterdam to Brussels, Singapore Airlines from Brussels back to Singapore (via stopover in Zurich)

***

Day 1 (Fri)

Singapore Airlines direct flight to Copenhagen.

Metro from Copenhagen airport to town area took about 20 min.

Torvehallerne Market, largest covered market in Copenhagen, which we went to by taking the metro to Nørreport. The area is split into two air-conditioned market halls: http://torvehallernekbh.dk/

Freetown Christiana: A controversial closed community, that was immune to Denmark’s laws at one point. While we were at an area named Pusher Street, we actually saw drug pushers setting up makeshift stalls to sell their stuff to all sorts of characters crowding around them. Note that photographs are generally not allowed here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freetown_Christiania

Church of our Saviour: one of Denmark’s most famous churches, known for a helix spire with a winding staircase. We did not go up, but entered the building to look at the beautiful prayer hall: https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/planning/church-our-saviour-gdk410659

Strøget, Copenhagen’s largest shopping area. We were rather overwhelmed here actually, due to it being Black Friday. Incredibly vibrant, and therer were also charming Christmas markets offering highlights such as mulled wine, also known as Gløgg: https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/planning/stroget-gdk414471

Other important info to note for getting around Copenhagen:

It was surprisingly difficult to find places offering data SIM cards at/near airport, so we decided to depend on Wifi and a navigation app we like named maps.me (like Google Maps that doesn’t need online connectivity if you have downloaded the country map beforehand)

Important tip: Get the Copenhagen Card online. Can be physical card (pick up at airport) or a digital version in your phone. There are 1 day, 3 day or 5 day options for purchase. Covered our public transport and entrance fees for many attractions including museums and Tivoli Gardens.

Our Airbnb apartment was a 5min walk from Nørrebros Runddel station on a circular line. Try to always find accommodation within a radius of less than 5min from metro stations. We would go on to depend a lot on the Metro Circle Line M3 for the next few days, which is new and brings you to many popular attractions.

Metro station overview: Three stops along Stroget, Rådhuspladsen is City Hall side, with LGBTQ area next to it and Tivoli Gardens opposite it. Gammel Strand in the middle and Kongens Nytorv is the other end, walking distance to Nyhavn, Marble Church, Design Museum. Marmorkirken station also means Marble Church. M3 also covers Enghave Plads, which is the heart of Vesterbro area (beware, dead on weekends after 3pm!) and København H or Central station, transit to S Trains for Forgotten Giants.

Day 2 (Sat)

Nyhavn, a lovely waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen. Lined by brightly coloured 17th and early 18th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants: https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/planning/nyhavn-gdk474735

We enjoyed a canal cruise in the area, covered under our Copenhagen Card. Informative 90min experience that covered a lot of attractions via the waterways of the city. We arrived early (10+ in the morning) when crowds were small.

Restaurant 108 for Michelin-quality lunch: https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/planning/restaurant-108-gdk1082918 (after walking along Nyhavn to Royal Playhouse)

Vesterbro area after lunch by bus, unfortunately the area was a fairly dead town, with most shops closed by 3pm. An area that has potential, but isn’t worth going to yet.

Enghave Plads station, where we explored nearby streets and ate at Sliders.

Rainbow Square, next to City Hall Square, honours the LGBTQ movement. Drinks at a cosy bar named My Fair Ladies, serving drinks named after divas like Idina Menzel: https://www.myfairladies.dk

Day 3 (Sun)

Rosenborg Castle, home to 400 years of royal history. After exploring the grounds and halls, at 11.30am, we followed the royal guards as they marched from an exit of the castle to Amalienborg Palace. Very fun experience marching alongside them through areas like Strøget: https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/planning/rosenborg-castle-gdk410582

Amalienborg Palace, Marble Church (biggest dome in Scandinavia), Design Musem, three places we visited in succession due to their proximity from each other: https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/planning/amalienborg-palace-gdk492887

Gasoline Grill, interesting burger kiosk at a petrol station: https://www.gasolinegrill.com/

Round Tower: fascinating architectural highlight. No stairs! Located in a vibrant area too: https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/planning/round-tower-gdk410741

Illums Bolighus, massive Danish design store, one of many highlights at the bustling pedestrian shopping area of Strøget: https://www.illumsbolighus.dk/

Oscar Bar & Cafe, classy restaurant bar for the LGBTQ community, located at Regnbuepladsen 9, a short walk from the City Hall Square: http://oscarbarcafe.dk/

Day 4 (Mon)

Nørrebro Park, a skate park with contour lines, perfect for Instagram: https://iaincameron.dk/norrebro-park-copenhagens-colourful-urban-park/

Grundtvig’s Church, which we visited after a bus ride, but unfortunately could not enter due to it being closed on Mondays

Tivoli Gardens, one of Copenhagen’s most popular tourist attractions. We spent many hours here, soaking in the Christmas vibes and eating at the amazing variety of eateries. Established in 1843, and yet still incredibly charming despite the lack of intellectual property characters like Universal Studios or Disney theme parks. We recommend entering in daylight, and staying till night falls, as well as visiting during the Christmas period. We deliberately visited on a Monday too, to avoid weekend crowds. Admission was covered under our Copenhagen Card, but you have to pay separately for rides: https://www.tivoli.dk

Note: If you plan to also visit the NY Carlsberg Glyptotek art museum next door, you may want to visit Tivoli on a non-Monday, as the art museum is closed on Mondays.

Day 5 (Tue)

Bulk of the day was spent outside the city, hunting for forgotten wooden giants by Thomas Dambo: https://thomasdambo.com/works/forgotten-giants

There are 6 of these giants hidden in forested areas of Copenhagen’s suburbs. We had time to find 3, depending solely on public transport options such as the S train and buses (do prior research using Google maps). A significant amount of walking/trekking was required too.

Based on online research, driving is a more popular way to find these giants, but we decided against it as we did not want to rent a car for just 1 day and worry about the unfamiliarity involved. Our navigation app maps.me also reflected the location of the giants, helping us to find our way in the wilderness.

Sequence of 3 giants found: Little Tilde, Thomas on the Mountain, Teddy Friendly.

Chose to find Little Tilde and Thomas on the Mountain first, as they are 20 min walking distance apart. Little Tilde takes about 10min walk from bus stop. And then skirt around the lake, cut through a sheep farm area and climb up a steep sloop overlooking a field to find Thomas on the Mountain.

Then this is the longest walk of about 25 min from mountaintop to civilization. Hop on the same train to go further in the train route to another suburb Høje Taastrup to find Teddy Friendly. The train station for this is a larger terminal and the bus to take is right above the station. Bus will bring you to a Technological Institute. Teddy Friendly is only about 5-10 min walk from bus stop depending on which bus.

Now, if you missed the bus specified by Google Maps, you can look for other buses that take similar routes. Cos bus intervals may be as long as 40 min.

NY Carlsberg Glyptotek, a massive art museum beside Tivoli Gardens. Spent a couple of hours appreciating the statues and surroundings, before Thai takeaway dinner near Airbnb apartment.

For future treks to find the remaining 3 giants:

If we had one more hour of day light, we could have covered a 4th, Sleeping Louis, on our way back (sun set around 4pm at this time of year). Cos it’s also the same train line, and some 20 min walk one way from bus stop drop off.

The other two giants are harder to get to. The one under the bridge is a whopping 35 -40 min walk from nearest train stop. No bus or clear walk track. However if you cover this, you may as well walk a little more to Arken Museum of Contemporary Art. Either giant or museum, you will need another 40 min to walk back to train station.

The last giant on the hill is a 8 min bicycle ride from Louis. But a 30 min walk one way southwards. Again, no train or bus routes.

Day 6 (Wed)

KLM Airlines flight from Copenhagen to Amsterdam.

Tip: Buy 24 hours or 3 days tram / bus passes. One trip on tram costs 3.2 euros, whereas a day pass costs 8 euros

Jordaan area for Airbnb apartment. A charming Tiong Bahru-ish place with cozy restaurants and cafes. 4min walk to Westermarkt church (our landmark and tram stops), which is in turn near the iconic Anne Frank House.

Anne Frank House, one of Amsterdam’s most famous tourist spots. We were impressed by how tasteful the experience was. Poignant but essential. We bought tickets in advance as this is a very popular place: https://www.annefrank.org/en/

Grand Café Restaurant 1e klas in Amsterdam Centraal Station for dinner, as we were entitled to a Klook promotion. Classy venue.

Future consideration: Staying in hotels near Amsterdam Centraal is a good idea, as the pick up points for many day tours are within the station

Note: Tram ride from Westermarkt to Centraal or vice versa takes only about 5 min.

LGBTQ tip: Pink Point is a useful info kiosk for the community, located right in front of Westermarkt. We picked up a map and spoke to the owner to find out more about bars and clubs. There is also a homomonument nearby, consisting of three triangular structures to honour the LGBTQ community.

Day 7 (Thurs)

Zaanse Schans windmills + Volendam cheese makers + ferry ride to Marken to learn about wooden shoe making. Comprehensive Klook day tour that we highly recommend. Meeting point was Amsterdam Centraal Station.

Canal boat tour for Amsterdam Light Festival. We bought tickets at a tourist kiosk, for the boat company Lovers. A charming 90min ride around the city’s canals in the evening, with pitstops to appreciate light installations by international artists, based on the theme Disrupt.

Prik, gay bar located at Spuistraat 109, for drinks

Day 8 (Fri)

MOCO Museum, a relatively small museum hosting an exhibition of works by contemporary and street artists including Banksy, Yayoi Kusama, Kaws and Jeff Koons: https://mocomuseum.com

Van Gogh Museum, much bigger, permanently dedicated to the life and work of Van Gogh. Buy tickets online so you only need to queue once to enter. 11am to 2pm is peak hour: https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl

Both museums are located in Museum Square. Another popular museum in the area is Rijksmuseum, but we did not have time for that due to spending hours in the two museums listed above.

Club Church, located at Kerkstraat 52. An eye-opening themed night at this dance club.

Day 9 (Sat)

Giethoorn, which we visited using a Klook day tour. A picturesque little village, 1.5 hours drive from Amsterdam. It has canals instead of streets and boats instead of cars. We had a lovely time strolling along the canals, and enjoyed a boat tour too. Highly recommended for December, but we were warned that the place is overcrowded and unpleasant in summer: https://www.klook.com/en-SG/activity/8628-giethoorn-one-day-tour-amsterdam/

The Good Companion, for comforting seafood dinner, walking distance from our Airbnb in Jordaan area: https://www.thegoodcompanion.nl/

Paradox, coffeeshop for marble cake (less upmarket)

Day 10 (Sun)

Kessens, a hipster cafe serving breakfast, walking distance from our Airbnb apartment: http://www.kessensamsterdam.nl/

Bloemenmarkt, a supposed floating flower market, which was basically a row of shops selling similar tulip products. Too touristy for our liking.

Picked friend at Central Station, who would spend a couple of days with us in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Genetics, coffeeshop for red velvet cake (more upmarket)

Rice Table for dinner, along main road leading to Westermarkt

Day 11 (Mon)

Pancakes Amsterdam Westermarkt for breakfast: https://pancakes.amsterdam/locations/3/pancakes-amsterdam-westermarkt (very near Anne Frank House)

Coffee at Zoo bakery

Amsterdam Centraal’s Wurst & Schnitzelhaus for lunch, before boarding train to Brussels

Thalys train to Brussels. Tickets bought online before the trip: https://www.thalys.com/be/en

Grand Place for Christmas light show on the hour, part of the Brussels Lights Festival. This is the historic central square of Brussels: https://www.brussels.be/grand-place-brussels

La Brouette, traditional brasserie for dinner, located right at Grand Place: https://taverne-brouette.be/en

Airbnb right in the heart of district centre, walking distance to Grand Place

Day 12 (Tue)

Ghent and Bruges, which we visited using a Klook day tour that took 10 hours (including bus time). Both are charming cities in northwest Belgium, famous for their medieval architecture. Our guide provided comprehensive commentary in both cities, which offer many opportunities for photo-taking: https://www.klook.com/en-SG/activity/26000-ghent-bruges-day-tour-brussels/

Day 13 (Wed)

Breakfast at Aksum Coffee, located in a glitzy row of establishments named Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert: https://visit.brussels/en/place/Galeries-Royales-Saint-Hubert

Mannequin Pis, the famous peeing boy statue of Brussels. Popular with tourists, but definitely not a must-visit. The lanes of shops and eateries in the area were more interesting to us: https://www.brussels.info/peeing-boy/

The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, for an interesting Dali x Magritte exhibition: https://www.fine-arts-museum.be/en

Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier for late pastry lunch (owned by founder of Tiong Bahru Bakery): http://www.chocolatsgerbaud.be/

Wittamir area, for chocolate brands such as Godiva and Taschen bookstore

Rue Neuve pedestrian street for shopping, Primark being a highlight for us: https://stores.primark.com/nl_nl/belgie/brussels/13-15-rue-neuve

Starbucks Rogier, futuristic building: https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Restaurant_Review-g188644-d13274778-Reviews-Starbuck_Rogier-Brussels.html

Japanese food for dinner at Kabuki restaurant, near our Airbnb: http://www.restaurant-kabuki.be/

Day 14 (Thursday)

Took Intercity train to get to airport. Due to early flight, we had to get tickets for the 4.41am train. Thankfully, Brussels Central Station opens at 4am. Bought our tickets for 8 Euros the day before.

Flew back to Singapore with Singapore Airlines, via Zürich, Switzerland.

#copenhagen #amsterdam #brussels

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thecoroutfitters · 7 years ago

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Written by Wild Bill on The Prepper Journal.

So, on a bright clear winter day a couple who considered themselves young and athletic, decided to go nordic (cross-country) skiing, just the two of them, a spur of the moment thing. After all, they were there on vacation to ski. They did take a trail map obtained from a local source and decided on a trail that was more advanced than intermediate. The trail was clearly marked with the “blue-square”, still not an expert trail. Their first mistake – ski trails (nordic) and ski runs (alpine) are rated in comparison to the other trails and runs within the specific ski area. There is no industry or national “standard” so if one has been venturing off the grid covered in white gold say in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, their trail ratings don’t equate equally to those of say, the Taos Ski Valley of Northern New Mexico, or Summit County, Colorado . They are a general guide, but not general enough to go out without understanding the local measuring stick.

Their second mistake – when they left at around lunch time they dressed fashionable for the 40 degree prevailing temperature, expecting to be back about 4 hours later.

Mistake number three: Since they had arrived at their western resort the night before, with clearing skies, they did not know that it had been snowing for two-days straight and there was now a fresh new 28″ layer of what we affectionately call “Sierra Cement” – the closer it is to the freezing point, the higher the moisture level in snow, the heavier the snow. (Dry powder needs temps below 20 degrees F.) Normally not a big deal for experienced skiers, in fact we pray for just such conditions, but, in an area where trail markers can be obscured by drifting, blowing snow, this is a concern. Generally, these markers are placed every quarter of a mile, generally. Factoring in mischief, failure due to prolonged exposure, and vague in brilliant sun-reflected light. Miss one and you better know what you are doing.

You can see where this is going…

Mistake number four: They told no one of their plans.

Mistake number 5: They took sunscreen and a bottle of water each and their cell phones with multiple GPS apps, which failed as soon as they lost their signal.

Lost, they did survive the night because they found a small warming hut that protected them from the winds, and, with their combined body heat, the 42 degree drop in temperature overnight. They were found by the Sheriff’s Mountain Rescue Team working with the National Forest service. A lot of people taken away from their normal duties.

So as Preppers who may get caught off the grid in the deep of winter what should we focus on? Well, the things we know that apply no matter the weather!

First: PLANS. If it isn’t a SHTF scenario let someone know. If they were in a hotel, the hotel front desk staff. Since they were in a condo, the agency they rented it through – have you ever talked to a real person at Airbnb, Flipkey, or Hometogo? So what is your fall back? Yep, local police, fire station or Park Service rangers. These last three will teach you a very valuable lesson in responsibility if you fail to notify them of your return.

Second: CLOTHING. As a life-long skier I love that when you ski the “locals” favorite resorts in the West such as Alta or Brighton in the Cottonwood Canyons of the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, or A-Basin or Mary Jane, in the Rocky’s west of Denver, you see so many people dressed more in “army surplus” than you do in $3,000 Bogner ski wear they bought at Neiman Marcus. They live there, they know how to dress (and save money). If you have to be trendy get a fancy backpack and bring your uglies that keep you alive if vanity is THAT important to you. AND stuff your survival kit in there to show you have a shred of common sense. Understand fabrics.

Understand cotton – light, comfortable, flammable, useless as insulation when wet, breaths well when dry, smolders when burned for a signal fire, loses any sprayed on “waterproofing” quickly, great for cleaning equipment.

Understand Wool – good insulation wet or dry, makes you crazy from the itching when in direct contact with your skin, shrinks, retains moisture so well that when it gets wet it gets heavy, dries out, durable.

Understand Silk – Insulates and breaths well, hollow fibers do not trap perspiration when directly on the skin, does not itch, GREAT for undergarments that wear well and insulate, expensive to buy, good layering qualities, expensive to dry clean.

Understand Polypropylene – synthetic, insulates wet or dry, breathes well, burns and melts onto you skin, dries quickly, retains body odors, durable.

Understand Gore-Tex – A branded synthetic, excellent protection from wind, takes forever to dry, very durable.

Understand Spandex – form fitting, excellent at pulling perspiration from your skin, zero protection from cold or heat, should be illegal for anyone over 35, no matter their body type.

Understand Nylon – excellent wind protection, excellent moisture protection, zero ability to breath, melts on your skin when burned.

Moving on, what should NEVER be left behind when out in the snow: Sunglasses, goggles, ear muffs, a bandanna, hat, and gaiters – nylon sleeves that snap over boots and the calf, YOUR survival kit which contains fire starter, a knife, a compass, a whistle, signaling mirror, a thermal/solar blanket, tarp, a few energy bars, flashlight, your cell phone for fun and on and on.

Extra socks are a must, a second pair of gloves – an item easily lost, a wool cap – ruins your “do” but saves your life.

What do you tell someone before you go? Who is going, when are you going, where you are going, when you plan to return. Use “Italian minutes” as opposed to “German minutes” to account for a slightly delayed start, some “stop and soak it in” time, a planned rest stop. Be realistic, not foolish.

What else do you take? A GPS transponder or Avalanche beacon – NEVER go out and play in the snow without one! One that you have tested, know how to use and that has fresh batteries (or charge) and replacement batteries. I have one on me when I am just skiing within a resorts boundaries as there are so many places where a missed turn can put you in an instant world of hurt.

A lot of articles on prepping cover the off grid but seem to focus on warm days, cool or cold nights, and endless viability. Nice but not always the reality in winter where it snows. Snow camping and survival are a whole different animal in and of themselves. The cold and the moisture CAN kill you, the zero viability can stop you dead in your tracks. Skiing once at Whistler (Blackcomb) in British Columbia I took the dip into Glacier Bowl and not 20 meters down the steep the whole world went opaque. I could see NOTHING. Blast of snow/ice from an unseen storm produced the white-out. I stopped. I had to as there are trees and great big unpleasant rocks and other skiers. It took more than 2 minutes to break, with me listening for that clown that just dropped in and now can’t see me, or anything else. Not to be confused with snow-blindness which is from the glare off snow and ice, this is a different animal.

The mountains, a tempting destination if the WAWKI goes away, but, like fabrics it brings pluses (game, forests, snow and snow melt (water)), and minuses (your A-game for conserving heat, finding shelter, difficulty in movement and concealment.) Stay frosty!

The post Yeah, But You May Have to Deal with the White Stuff! appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

from The Prepper Journal Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

#SHTF #TEOTWAWKI #MARTIALLAW #BUGOUT #PREPPERBAG #USAF #USSOCOM #ARMY #NAVY #SurvivalFirestarter #Sur

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trogersracing · 5 years ago

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Challenge Roth - 2019

I signed up for this (my second full distance triathlon) before having ever completed my first. I randomly saw a tweet from the race organizer that several registrants had not completed the sign up process and they were re-releasing the entries. I wrote a hasty email not thinking I’d be one of the first to respond and was amazed that I was able to nab a spot. Knowing that I could try to sign up for the race lottery for the next years and never get an entry I took advantage and decided to go for it. I though it would be a nice ‘A race’ for the summer not knowing how Barcelona would go or what else Carly and I would be getting into for travel. Fast forward a bit and I qualified for Kona at Barcelona so Roth became much more of a ‘fun’ race, but still an important tune up and experience before going to the big island. I was excited to race the distance again and experience the fabled Challenge Roth atmosphere.

Though the body seemingly had other plans, in late January/February I thought what was a strained groin turned out to be a mild hernia. Carly and I joke that I literally ‘busted a gut’ at Barcelona. The other line was that the my body was rejecting me and this was a not so sublt hint to cut this shit out. Regardless, I took quick action and scheduled the surgery ASAP knowing that I’d have a bit of downtime and then slow build back to form. I was able to maintain general fitness right up till the scheduled surgery date.

Thanks to private insurance the surgery itself was an amazing easy process and my doctor was amazing. We schedule the surgery they day I got back from a trip to the USA for work. Literally….. off a red-eye at Heathrow and into the Hospital. I was a sight. That was Tuesday, February 19th. Not knowing most people take two weeks off of work for this thing I went to work the next day. I was slow moving to say the least but it i’d go nuts sitting around the house. I took a walk a few days later and Carly forbade me to get on my bike…. for a week. On the 28th I started doing some easy rides and slowly worked into some easy runs. I got in the pool for the first time on March 17th, nearly a month later. The week of March 18th was my first week ‘back’ in building fitness. I had a mountain to climb in the ten weeks to prepare for Roth.

During the down time it was tough to see instagram filled with everyone out on the spring training camps and gearing up for earlier season racing as my fitness plummeted. But I filled the time trying to ‘think’ about some of the aspects of racing I don’t usually get to ponder and to consider a few of my gear choices.

I knew I was in capable hands and that my fitness would return and it was better to take the time now and make a proper recover and gains than risk greater damage. I slowly got back into my standard routine of cycling to work, running and eventually swimming. I had the odd sting or stretch but overall the recovery went very well. The rest was also good mentally, I knew that the summer was going to be long and that I had two very big races on my calendar that I needed to stay ‘checked into’ I was able to spend some time thinking about my racing, things that were important to me and places I wanted to develop. I didn’t pull everything I thought about into my training or racing but it was good to think about some of these things, research, listen to what others had to say and spend my time preparing and know why I was (or wasnt).

Below you can see my fitness and training (gains) from early Feb through to the race.

Feb 15th. The low point.

Race Day.

Training Volume to get to Challenge Roth

Average training hours during build. (does not count commuting)

Average (and max) TSS during build. (does not count commuting). The spike at the end is the race.

This doesn’t take account an average of 39 miles (3 hours) a week of commuting. A complete week of commuting would be 75 (5 hours) but that sometimes doesn’t happen with other work or professional commitments. I don’t count the cycling as part of ‘training’ but it doest factor into general recovery or how I’m feeling in terms of energy level. The commute is also good for bike handling skills and distressing at the end of the day.

Trips taken… work and pleasure

I fly back to the USA about every eight to ten weeks so I was able to put my next trip off till mid-april which allowed me to get into a good rythm with training before the next disruption. I made a bit of a weekend out of it and and saw some family on the weekend after which was a nice way to end the (short) trip. My parents live in rural NH so there was ample time (and space) to get a few runs under my belt.

Live Free or Die.

May was quite but June saw us traveling to the states for two full weeks for two weddings and my sisters graduation. I took the bike over and used the time to get in some long rides up into the white mountains and around Maine as well as open water swims in Sebago. We planned to take a week of ‘work’ and then a week of holiday so it was the first week that I was most concerned with continuing the gains where once I was on ‘holiday’ it would be slightly easier to find the time.

Carly’s mom organized this mural in Maine and the ‘sister’ mural in Iraq. Both painted with the assistance of young kids to show there is more that unites than divides us.

However, it was not an easy ask as we had a full slate of friends and family to see during the week. There was a fair bit of running around the eastern seaboard seeing friends and family but all totally worth it.

At the end of the weeks I had been able to put in a couple of quality longer bike and run efforts and got to race week at very nearly the same ‘fitness’ that I had with Barcelona. That summer played out much differently with more racing including London Marathon and 70.3 WC’s so the fitness was much deeper then but I was happy with how fast I was able to get my body ready.

Roth itself….

As soon as I entered I held a spot at a hotel in Nuremberg and began looking for an Airbnb closer to the race start. I knew that many stayed in Nuremberg so it wasn’t ‘bad’ but staying in Roth or Hipolstien was far better. Luckily enough, after much checking I snagged a great place in Hipolstien next to the train station and was able to cancel the hotel. As a whole house it had more than enough space for Carly and I to enjoy the weekend and the race atmosphere and made it very easy to get to/from Roth on the train for briefings and to/from the race finish.

Carly and I flew into Munich Thursday evening and after a quick car rental pickup were shooting north very, very, quickly on the Autobahn to Roth. We stopped for a quick bite to eat that evening on our way up and crashed once we got in. Friday morning I woke and walked down to the swim start for a short swim in the canal during the allocated trial time. Afterwards, Carly and I met up for a food shop and I assembled my bike. Once assembled I was out for a ride to test everything out and short run to get the legs moving. During the ride I went to check-in and crossed that off the list. The check-in process on Friday mid day was very easy and I was in/out in ten minutes. Very well managed.

I spent the remainder of the day Friday and Saturday preparing my gear and setting up the my prototype hydration bladder for the bike (more on this later). Once prepped it was a decent amount of relaxing and just enjoying ourselves around the house and small town.

Beer!

and sausage!

Saturday I had a quick ride and run followed by dropping my bike off at T1. The race also requires you drop off the run bag so that it can be transported to T2. I had scored an amazing rack spot right at the end of a row and next to the pro’s so my run out of T1 was very easy and no searching for my bike!

Dimonds get the best settings.

Saturday was very hot so we spent the rest of the day relaxing around the house trying to avoid getting dehydrated. I spent a bit of time prepping my bottles for the next day and double checking everything I could.

Get in my belly!

Race day….

Up at 4:30, had a Honey stinger wafer and banana and some PH. Out the door by just before 5 am to walk to T1. Got to T1 as a rain started but before the majority of crowds so was able to get easy access to bathrooms and sort the bike quickly and drop off the bike bag. I spent a few minutes chilling under a tree with Carly trying to avoid the rain but soon enough it was time to dawn the wetsuit and get this party started. I felt fueled, hydrated and ready.

I made my way back into T1 and over to the starting pen. As I had indicated a Sub 9:00 hour goal I was placed into a distinct starting group just after the pro men and women start. I was a bit psyched (nervous) about this as it would leave the roads a bit more clear for the first loop of the bike and make it a bit easier to pace and see where I was for the race in terms of place.

Swim

Washing machine.

I started at about the middle of the starting line 2-3 people back from the front. I was terrified that I’d get kicked in/around my incision during the swim so my primary goal was to make it through the swim unharmed. Once the cannon fired it was an instant washing machine. Definitely the most hectic swim start I’ve ever participated in and given that all the people there were quick it continued on for a while. I have no illusions of fast swimming to tried to just stick to my race and my pace and get into a good rhythm. Being in a canal the swim is calm and course simple. Down with the current and then back against with a quick out and back the other way just before the finish. I was consciously ‘pushing’ but not killing myself. I know that sometimes i allow my mind to wander when swimming so I kept checking in to keep focus and maintain pace. I wanted to get a sub 60 swim and thought that with the ‘easier’ course versus the rough seas on Barcelona it would be doable.

Just. start. running.

On exit I glanced at my watch 60:41… fuck.. pretty much the exact same time as Barcelona. Not a bad time by any measure but I had been hoping (expecting) a slightly quicker swim. Oh well, no time to dwell on it and right into T1. The volunteers are amazing and had my gear dumped and sorted quickly. Socks and number on and out to the bike. I momentarily grabbed my bike and started running before I realized I didn’t have my helmet on which was on the bars. Big no no…. stopped and helmet on before any harm done (officials saw).

ignore the time. next job.

Swim – 60:41 – 251st OA

Out to the start line and on the bike…

Bike

I wanted to give a solid effort on the bike here and shave time off the 4:49 from Barcelona. The course is rolling but giving the amazing road surfaces you always have the ability to move fast.

The bike course is stunning and it passes through some lovely german countryside and towns. There are people lining the entire course cheering which makes the atmosphere even better. Every hill you’re treated with cheering fans on both sides.

With the prototype bladder my goal was to take in the just under 2 liters in the bike as well as two (and a half) bottles on the bike for a mix of fluids and fuel. I’d supplement this with half a honey stinger wafer every 30 minutes or so for some ‘real’ calories.

The bladder worked amazing well and it was great to be able to take small swigs while in aero position or whenever desired. I supplemented that with bottles when it started to run dry or I wanted to larger draw of fluid. Overall it worked really well and I was able to move over and ignore all the aid stations. I don’t think this really saved me any time but it certainly goes to a level of confidence that I can have everything I need for a full distance race right on my bike and not be beholden to the aid stations and be carrying it in a very aero manner (inside the bike). Certainly if it had been hotter (or I had lost a bottle) I would have taken water or other from the stations. I’ll continue to refine my fueling mix and the bladder itself to maximize the volume and make sure I’m getting the type of energy I need during the bike.

The highlight of the bike was easily Solar Hill. Rolling through Hipolstien you round a small corner and there is just a mass of people in front of you. They’re screaming and making noise and right in your face. Its hard not to push up the hill and takes a fair amount to ride the hill ‘like a triathlete’. I clocked through the second loop at around 2:20ish and felt happy with the pace though wanted to be a bit quicker.

The second loop I kept on the gas and took a bit of solice in that I saw two Freespeed athletes come up to me about halfway through the second lap. I rode with them for a good portion of the remainder of the race and felt it was a good indicator that I was moving along well and where I sat in the overall leaderboard.

I did over cook one decent through a small town and had to bunny hop the bike up on the curb at about 30 mph and then back off to keep from hitting the shoulder. I scared a good portion of the crowd who must have thought I was a gonner… also got my heart going…. really didn’t want to be ‘that American’ who couldn’t keep it right side up.

Bike 4:46 – 82nd OA

Marathon…

Rolling into T2 I saw a lot of bags still on the ground around my number so knew I was in ‘decent’ position but had some work ahead of me. A very quick transition saw my shoes and PH hat on and I was out the door. I think I had the 9th fastest T2 of the day…

I had a goal of wanting to run sub 3 for the marathon and knew the splits I needed to run to achieve that. I started out feeling strong and set off a bit under that pace hoping to build a buffer. The course brings you first through a bit of town before putting you on two out-n-backs along the canal.

Starting the first I saw Carly which put a bit of pep in my step and I was feeling good. I knew my swim was solid and I had bike taken some time off my bike so I was in good position. Running a sub 3 marathon would really put me across the line with a decent finishing time. I saw the pro women coming back towards me on the first out and back and started to see a number of the fast AG’s as well so knew I wasn’t too far off the lead guys.

I was quickly running with another racer and after a chat realized he to was looking to run about that time so we linked up for the next few miles. After a few aid stations though he dropped back and I continued on at pace. As I passed Carly the second time to start the (longer) out and back to the north of the canal the wind picked up and the sun came out. It started to heat up a bit and my body started to feel tired. Over the next few miles my mind went from ‘sub 3’ to I need to make sub 9 overall. My legs really started to weight and at each aid station I started to go for the coke and fruit. Going for that stuff before mile ten was much earlier in the race than I usually begin going for that sort of thing.

By the time I turned back around and was heading off the canal for Roth I was feeling wrecked. I saw Carly and indicated no joy and tried to get my head into the game. ‘Common man, you’re more than halfway done… suck it up’. The nice bit was that running through town there was way more fans and support which kept the spirits up. It was a bit easier to push and find that energy reserve to keep moving. That said, this was, personally, a very, very rough run. I really felt like throwing in the towel and calling it a day. I felt slow, my legs were like limp sausages. After a couple hours of pushing my body to keep going my mind was also starting to throw in the towel. Failure creeped in and took hold.

But I kept on pushing forward. ‘Just keep moving’ I told myself. If I kept going I would finish, and finishing at the time I would, even if outside my goal is an accomplishment many spend an entire career trying to achieve. Don’t to that dishonor by throwing in the towel now. Keep going.

Hurting. Hard.

By the time I made it to the turn around pond with three miles left I knew I’d finish the race and gave it one last go for the downhill miles back to Roth. Back into the crowds I found the last bit of reserve and pushed through the town and into the finish stadium. It was a pretty epic finish scenario with the announcers and crowd in the stands and an experience I’ll not forget.

Don’t trip now.

Run – 3:07 – 57th OA

I crossed the line exhausted but finished. I knew I hadn’t made my place or time goal I had wanted but it was a quality race effort in an amazing venue. I can’t be mad with the performance. Into the recovery tent I went over to the timing services to see how I placed. 8:57… I was amazed, I had (somehow) bested my Barcelona time by a minute and slid in under the 9 hour mark. Given my training leading up to the race this was a great time and an affirmation of my underlying fitness.

The only hit on this race was the post race food. For the last few miles all I could think about was getting some good german sausages once finishing. The smell of fans cooking (and eating) them was thick the last miles. Certainly, I thought, this to would await for me at the finish. However I was disappointed on finish and the food options were rather lack luster. They were well stocked with the offerings they did have and there were some nice options but just not what I (or my body) had in mind at that moment. So after downing a few chocolate milks and pastries I left the tent to find Carly. On finding me she promptly fixed the problem and supplied currywurst and beer which instantly made me feel better. We chilled for a little while and then, with not much more reason to hang around left to find the bus replacement back to Hipolstein. After a short wait and bus ride I was home and showered. We went into the little town and had a quality dinner (avoiding the chaos of Roth) and relaxed with some beers.

At around 8pm we jumped in the car and went back to T2 to pick up my bike and gear. After which we found a place to ditch the car and went to the finishing stadium to cheer on the late finishers and watch the fireworks. It was really something to watch the racers who had been out there for 13/14/15 hours come across the line and receive their medal. I cant imagine being out there and racing for that long… The mental toll (outside of the obvious physical effort) is mind blowing. The fireworks at the end of the evening were the perfect ending to the day and it was nice to get some fireworks in over the 4th of July weekend!

The race provided a number of valuable experiences and I was able to take away some great lessons from both the prep and overall experience.

Good:

2nd Full distance race, 2nd sub 9 hour finish (and on 11.5 hours a week of training)

500 euro back for finishing sub 9 hours

fitness coming back after the surgery with no post race issues

hydration bladder prototype worked well

overall weekend was much more ‘low stress’ than my first full race and gave me a good level of confidence for the distance in Kona

Bad

swim not as expected, if only by a minute or two

biked uneven (in retrospect) and paid the price on the run

run sucked, but with mid 20 mile weeks averaging leading up it is not surprising that a sub 3 marathon didn’t happen

Please let me know if there is anything about the race (or training) you’d like to know or for me to expand on. I’m happy to share my experience and help others have a great day out at Roth. Its an amazing event!

Challenge Roth – 2019 was originally published on Rogers Racing

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