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kdramaxoxo · 3 years

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do you have any drama recs for those who loved run on? doesn't have to be about sports just its overall vibes and sweetness. i need something sweet after binging on action and thrillers djjdsksk

Run on is a literal GIFT!

I'm glad you're open to other kinds of dramas that have that light and fluffy slice-of-life vibe, because there aren't a lot of shows that I feel like are super similar?

K-dramas with Slice-of-Life Soft Romance similar to Run On:

Melo Is My Nature (slice of life/found family with some romance): This drama is by far my favorite slice-of-life drama of 2019. Found family, strong and complex characters, I laughed, I cried. Plus a gay character that’s an actual character, with the gay as a casual side note (classy k-drama!!) It was just a perfect show for me. There’s romance, but all of the stories are super interesting.

A Piece Of Your Mind (soft romance): A bit more on the melo side, this kdrama really captured my heart. Using an AI software to capture the personality of someone, a group of people are pushed together by a person they care about who is no longer alive. It’s an unusual premise, but the AI takes a back seat to the romance, friendship, and drama that happens between 5 people and the music studio they work at. The drama had 4 episodes cut so I was worried I would notice but I think it helped the drama keep it’s lovely pacing and tone. Soft Couple Alert (the girl is just the most amazing character!)

Your House Helper (friendship/found family/ romance): A group of girl friends move into their friend’s house to help with the rent and support her through the loss of her father. This is a quiet and sweet slice of life with a ton of great friendship and romance too.

The Package (slice of life/travel/romance): This show’s unique setting of Paris features a bunch of different pairs of Korean tourists as part of a group. You get to learn about each pair and the complexities of their relationships. The male romance lead had a sweet and open personality and I just honestly loved that about him. When the couple argued they actually used their communication skills! If you’re looking for a quiet slice-of-life drama that’s a little different, check it out.

The Happy Loner/ Individualist Ms. Ji Young (mini drama/romcom): This mini drama features a puppy-like boy trying to befriend a “cold” female. He is persistent in winning her over but not overbearing by any means. I had a couple of issues with this show but overall it’s one of the better mini dramas I’ve seen.

Reunited Worlds (fantasy/romance/soft couple): Hae Sung, a senior in high school dies and through k-drama magic, travels twelve years into the future to solve the mystery of his death. He reunites with his high school sweetheart (a now 31 year old woman) and the two fall back in love. He’s really smitten with her regardless of her age, and works hard to make her feel comfortable with their age difference. He’s a lovely friend with a pure heart and is completely adorable. The SLS is also incredibly beta (though not a very charismatic role - people complained about his acting skills). I don’t know a lot of people who liked this show as much as I did, but Yeo Jin Goo melted my heart and I felt all of the feels (plus I love the fated lovers and time travel tropes).

Fight for My Way (slice of life/romcom): I love this drama! Always a fave for me, this drama is funny and heartwarming! The leading lady is a strong female which I LOVE, and Park Seo Joon plays her really cute down to earth best friend. It’s a childhood friends to lovers trope with a group of regular people (no rich heirs in this show!) and has a happy ending and a lot of cute flirting, cuddling and kissing. Argh I love these two!

Into The Ring (workplace/romcom): The perfect slice-of-life rom com! Goo Se Ra has trouble holding down a job due to her passionate personality so after she loses her latest job working for the ML, she decides to run for a small government office position because it pays a salary. Literally she does it for the money which is just *chef’s kiss.* The show is about her dealing with local politics and it’s SO FUNNY and smart and the OTP is the best!

Her Private Life (workplace romcom): Park Min Young really knows how to pick dramas. I loved this one about a museum curator who is secretly a fangirl obsessed with an idol. It’s fun and fluffy but does have a very mild childhood trauma thing with his mother but I mean, 99% of dramas like this do? If you like this one, Touch Your Heart and Why Secretary Kim are by the same person and have similar vibes.

When the Weather Is Fine (slice of life but a little melo in the romance department): A girl returns to her quaint hometown to live with her estranged aunt. She is reacquainted with a class mate and gets a job at his book store. The highlights of this drama are the soft romance scenes, and the side characters. The sister and friend (played by Lee Jae Wook) are so much fun to watch and I’ve never seen characters with their specific personalities. It’s a bit angsty and frustrating in the communication department if I’m honest (her and her whole family are just the worst with talking to one another when they could just move forward, so that portion of the story was a bit hard to watch), but the rest was really good.

Because This is My First Life: I’m always so annoyed that I love this drama so much, when the lead has an icky irl scandal but this show is off the charts amazing. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I don’t want to punish anyone else involved with the show AND all of the characters are so well done that it’s just worth the recommendation (just make sure you are aware of the leads possible scandel.) It’s a contract marriage/slice of life drama with AMAZING female leads (and a stunning kitty). This show has my favorite female character of all time aside from Scarlett in Search: WWW (Soo ji!)

12 Nights (soft romance): While not a very popular drama when it aired, I really enjoyed the slow pacing and the extra soft leads. I mean they might be the most beta couple in the entire kdrama universe. The relationship is a quiet and lovely one that takes a long time to build and the couple is super sweet together. Plus there are more characters than just the lead, and they all get their own story over the course of eight years as well which is interesting. It suffers from a lot of filler which is it’s biggest flaw but I’m still glad I watched it.

#kdrama #kdrama recommendations #kdrama recs #ask #answer #i love a list #run on #a piece of your mind #because this is my first life #her private life #soft couples #i miss mi joo just thinking about this list

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khizuo · 3 years

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c!wilbur for the ask game because he's my fave! (or c!quackity he's also neat)

I’m going to talk about Wilbur! Also note: if I don’t indicate cc! in front of ‘Wilbur’, assume I’m talking about the character.

How I feel about this character

WILBUR MY BELOVED. MY FAVORITE CHARACTER IN THE DSMP.

His story is a Shakespearean tragedy — a noble but flawed hero, struggling with the pull of good and evil, torn apart by external conflicts and the treachery of his mind, ultimately falling from grace and ending his story in a tragic death. cc!Wilbur really wrote a character arc that paralleled a Shakespearan tragedy, and I think that’s one reason why I love it so. damn. much. I even wrote a post about it.

He’s complex. Even though we don’t get constant lore about him, the lore we do have is infinitely rewatchable and can constantly be recontextualized. His character progression is measured, logical, and built up well. He’s a dynamic character. He’s exciting to watch.

Then there’s Ghostbur, who to me has an entirely different appeal. If S1 Wilbur has a dynamic character arc and is a narrative focal point, S2 Wilbur is... not. He’s not the center of the narrative, but he doesn’t have to be. He adds atmosphere, drama, lightheartedness, and angst. He manages to be compelling even though we barely see his perspective, and that is some damn powerful character writing.

Bottom line is that Wilbur is an amazing character — he’s dramatic, tragic, well-acted, and wonderful at stirring pathos in the audience. He has been my favorite since I started watching the SMP. And that hasn’t changed.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Sally the Salmon I suppose. No how did they turn a bit into a compelling piece of lore please I want mercy from the block men.

My non-romantic OTP (favorite relationship) for this character

CRIME BOYS CRIME BOYS CRIME BOYS.

It’s. Such a tragic dynamic??? They start out as good friends, almost brothers, who argue with each other but also have fun together. They try to make a drug empire that spirals into a nation. Wilbur wants Tommy’s loyalty to L’manberg, but he also tells Tommy to be careful, to value his life.

They come out of the revolution. For a while they just vibe on the SMP. They try to start a tourist business. They make fun of Dream together.

Then comes Pogtopia.

Wilbur spirals. Tommy tries to pull him out of it, but ends up wrapped in the spiral himself. They fight with each other, they cut back and forth. Yet despite this they still care about each other. Wilbur holds back from blowing up L’manberg for Tommy’s sake. Then comes November 16th, and Wilbur finally succumbs to his spiral as Tommy cries out.

Was their relationship exactly healthy? No. It’s tragic and it’s flawed. Wilbur wasn’t always the best influence on Tommy’s mental health, and Tommy didn’t understand that calling someone ‘crazy’ doesn’t help them heal. But they cared about each other, and Tommy and Ghostbur continue to care about each other, and there’s a tragedy in that that begs for resolution.

My unpopular opinion about this character

Umm... cc!Wilbur is the best actor on the SMP for me. Is that unpopular? Idk. He’s always included among lists of the best but for my taste he’s like. A bit above everyone else. (Not to say that everyone else is a bad actor! I love pretty much everyone’s acting on the SMP. cc!Wilbur's just happens to be my personal favorite.)

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I’m so excited for his resurrection. Also I wish that the Fundy family drama plotline had been carried out to a resolution? That's one of my favorite interpersonal plotlines — it's just so angsty and it really explores dysfunctional families in a way that I don't think demonizes any character. Hopefully that can still happen sometime in the future, but I’m not sure.

#wilbur soot #my answers #dream smp

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travellvogue · 4 years

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Honeymoon Coast- Anyone You Like

it’s a long one, and one of my faves. i hope you love it (wordcount: 4.1k)

He’s trying his best not to stare, the dress you had on complimenting your skin tone so well. Body glowing under the rays of the sun, his own little ray of sunshine sat right next to him. The delicate pattern of his thumb brushing strokes back and forth over your hand painted a perfect picture of tranquility.

“Y’know, the view over there is better” you whisper gently with a side smile, nodding towards the staggered chocolate box buildings, painted in an array of blush pinks, dusty yellows and cotton creams. The rolling waves a vibrant blue against the calmness of the sand.

“No it’s not” he answers so effortlessly, a flirtatious wink making you giggle and blush under his compliment. “My views much better” he hums, twisting his fork around a clump of spaghetti, scooping it into his mouth, tongue wiggling around to beckon the stray piece that flops out of his mouth.

Two glasses of white wine twinkle under the sunlight, tracing your finger round the rim of the glass over and over again, picking at the olives in your salad, regretting eating all the mozzarella balls already. Knowing you should have gone for the pizza, but your breakfast of croissants and fresh fruit filled you up this morning. Smiling at the recent memory, how you laid in bed, tangled under the crisp white sheets, his naked body next to yours feeding you strawberries and chunks of melon, giggling when he leaned forward to kitten lick the fruit juices off your chin that had dropped down from your mouth.

It was the perfect start to your honeymoon. He’d remembered how you told him you’d love to get married in Italy and travel around after your wedding day. So he made it happen. First stop was Positano, where the two of you sat right now. A quaint little café tucked away in the peaks of the hillsides, a lemon tree hanging over your heads shading you from the afternoon sun. The calming noise of the waves rippling into shore partnered with the locals deep in conversation. Fresh plates of pasta and pizza filling the air with the most gorgeous aroma. The strings of a guitar being strung somewhere in the far distance playing a relaxing tune.

Yet, all you could focus on was him, how his hair was supporting natural highlights from the sun's rays, the tip of his nose slightly sunburn despite you packing factor fifty on his face every morning, “stops you getting wrinkles” you’d tell him every time he complained about the stickiness. He’s dressed in loose navy swim shorts, the toggles hanging unevenly, a thin white shirt thrown over his sun kissed torso, the top four buttons undone so you can admire his muscular chest, dark rimmed Ray-Ban glasses pushed onto his hair, droplets of salt water staining the lenses.

“What time is the boat ride?” you ask gently, leaning over the small circular table, stabbing your fork into his bowl of pasta, helping yourself to a mouthful as he giggles, well aware that the salad just wasn’t cutting it for you. He’d planned a boat ride for the two of you today, something you’d both desperately been looking forward to since you arrived in this perfect location. Wanting to sail around and explore the surrounding beauty.

“Two o’clock I believe madam” he answers playfully, tapping the screen of his phone to check the time. Quarter to twelve, plenty of time to head down to the dock. With a few more mouthfuls of food the two of you were stuffed. Laid back on the wooden chairs comparing your food babies. Laughing when the waiter comes over and gives you an odd glance.

“No don’t pay baby, my treat” you insist, grabbing at his hand before he puts his card on the table, unable to hide your smile when you feel the cold metal of his wedding ring against your palm. It was yet to sink in that you officially shared the same surname as him, for years he’d introduced you to people as ‘the missus or ‘my girlfriend’, now you held the title of his wife loud and proud.

The wedding had been very small, only fifty guests. An abundance of florals, pampas grass and bubbling champagne, and as the sun went down you fell asleep to the sound of waves greeting the Italian sand.

As you snap out of your daydream he’s already paying for lunch, giggling when you give him a harsh stare, unable to stay mad at that dimpled smile for long. He takes your hand and leads you out of the cafe, waving goodbye with a joyful ‘grazie’ to the staff. The warm air hits you instantly, a muggy breeze fluttering the bottom of your dress. Now away from the breeze of the sea front the temperature had seemed to pick up, his hand growing clammy in yours. Arms swinging back and forth in unison as you carefully walk down the steep roads towards the peninsular, the uneven cobbled roads under your sandals let you feel every rock and grain of transported sand from the nearby beach.

“I know we’ve just eaten but…” he holds his hand up to point at the shop you’re approaching. A quiet bakery hidden between a grand hotel and a small beach shop selling the usual ‘tourist tat’ as he likes to call it. The smell of warm freshly-baked bread billowing from its grand wooden doors, painted neatly with golden details. Newly bloomed bougainvillea flowers creating an arch over the entrance.

“How can I say no to that?” you smile. Squeezing his hand once, twice, three times. Your sandals slap against the tiled floor of the bakery, overwhelmed with the amount of choice, smiling widely when you’re greeted with a friendly “Ciao!”. The two of you opting for a baguette and a loaf of ciabatta. He stands behind you, arms wrapped around your body, pressing a kiss to your cheek whilst you wait for them to package it up in crinkly brown paper bags. And once again he uses his rusty Italian skills to bid them farewell. Reaching for your hand instinctively and squeezing it gently, unable to wipe the smile off his face. He’d never felt happiness like this- of course on your wedding day his happiness was unmatchable- but the sense of complete contentment and tranquility was so overwhelming.

***

“Where are you taking me?” you giggle, holding his hand tightly as he leads you along a rickety old boat dock, the wood swaying slightly with each gentle wave that washed into shore. “Was this your plan all along?” you laugh, “To marry me and then drown me in the sea” he chuckles and shakes his head at your ludicrous imagination.

“You gotta stop watching all those murder mystery youtubers babe” a blush appears on your cheeks at his words, remembering how you made him watch endless videos with you on the plane journey out here, secretly you knew he was enjoying himself, the way he gripped your leg as he told you a theory he had about where one of the missing people might be. “We’re here baby” the snap back into reality couldn’t be more perfect, almost feeling like you were dreaming as he holds an arm out to beckon to the large yacht docked up in front of the both of you. The sea twinkling around it and the staff giving you a welcoming wave, offering you a hand to help you onto deck.

“Are you serious?” you breath, walking onto the ship. When he mentioned a boat ride this morning you didn’t realise he meant a million pound yacht, something for someone in your position to just drool over as you pointed them out whilst your feet stayed firmly on the sand of the beach. But now your feet touched the decking, every step becoming completely overwhelming, not only was there two floors to this boat, there were several seating areas, your very own private chef, and a hot tub at the very front, giving you the perfect views of the bobbing ocean. “My love, this is insane! I thought you meant like… a little dingy” you giggle, pinching your fingers together to explain how small you thought the boat would be. All he can do is smile and shake his head. Something he’d always loved about you was the way you always stayed so grounded, cherishing every penny of your own and of his, never wanting any gifts or treats- despite him buying you quite a few over the years- you were happy with a chinese takeaway and a movie night, never expecting anything from him other then love and honesty, money would, and could, never buy your emotions. So a yacht, this was certainly something you’d never dreamed off.

“You deserve this, my wife” he whispers gently, coming up behind you as you look out to the sea, the cool breeze blowing a strand of your hair against his jawline, gently leaning back against him, feeling his arms wrap tightly around you. The way he referred to you as his wife still hadn’t sunk in yet, the butterflies still coming to life every time he used your new title. “Plus…” his voice drops to a whisper, leaning in closer so his lips brush against your ear, “you’ve always wanted to have sex on a boat” despite not seeing his face you can picture his smug smirk, of course there was a deeper reasoning to such an extravagant choice of boat. You shake your head playfully and push against him, probably not the best choice of action because he can’t help but let out a little groan at the feeling of your ass brushing against his crotch.

He manages to control himself for the majority of the boat road, smiling proudly as he watches you take pictures of the beautiful settings you sail past. Your beauty still shocked him, even after years together and a big diamond ring on your finger, watching your hair blow in the salty air, sun kissed skin and lips painted with your strawberry lip balm- that quite frankly he can’t stop himself from wanting to taste- he finds that he’s falling in love with you even more in that moment. He’d never realised home could be a person until you held him in your arms.

“We should come here every year” you whisper gently, cuddled up on the sofa-like sunbeds at the top of the boat, the air slightly cooler now the sun was setting, half empty plates of fruit and nibbled at bread resting beside you, the sea still holding the same glimmer and shine it had this morning, reflecting the orange and pink hues off the waves. You’d thrown one of his shirts over your bikini, the thin white material rustling in the breeze, tickling at your bare skin, your hair fluttering into his face every so often, wafting the familiar smell of your apple scented shampoo into his nostrils.

He only hums in response, leaning in to take the chunk of pineapple you were offering him into his mouth, too caught up in absorbing the beauty in front of him, with both the view of you and the never ending waves it was an overwhelming sense of content and happiness. “You don't want to?” you ask gently, not convinced by his response. A frown and a quick shake of the head convinces you a bit more.

“Of course I do” he whispers, lips pressed to your temple. “But I also wanna make love to you all over the world” he smirks, watching you playfully roll your eyes and desperately try to hide your giddy smile.

His fingers trace the side of your jaw, angling your head so he’s got perfect access to your lips, the moon seeming to match the mood of the moment, the sky becoming a thick pink, waves gently crashing against the boat, rocking your bodies unwilling against the sun beds. “Why don’t we start now?” you almost whimper against his lips, trying not to sound like a desperate beg but it was hard when all you’d been thinking about since stepping foot on the boat was the thought of him fucking you to the view of the rolling waves.

“Hmm right here?” he smirks, “I knew you were naughty but to have me fuck you whilst anyone could see… my wife’s a little minx huh?” he teases, brushing his hand down the side of your body, already getting to work with pushing off the oversized shirt you had on, the material falling off one shoulder, exposing your bare skin for his lips to attack.

“Everyone’s below deck” you whimper, aware that he wouldn’t care either way, there was no way he wasn’t going to make love to you on a private yacht to the view of the Amalfi Coast- no one could pass up that opportunity. “Plus… you’re little friend seems to like the idea” your thigh pushes against the growing bulge of his shorts. Your giggle splinters off into a moan as he bucks against you, continuing to suck and nip at the skin of your neck. The wet patch in your bikini bottoms continues to grow, pawing at him desperately for something more.

“Open up” he taps two fingers at your lips, doing as you’re told you part your swollen lips to welcome him, he watches your hooded lustful eyes whilst you suck on his digits, tongue skillfully twisting and licking. His other hand cupping firmly at the mound of your ass, helping you rub yourself against his thigh, slowly moving towards the front of your body. “Take ‘em off” he instructs, pushing at the material of your bikini bottoms.

“So demanding” you tease, humming around his fingers, a trail of spit connecting your lips to them as he pulls away, watching intently as you shuffle out of your bikini, pussy growing sensitive at the exposure to the cool air. Of course he wastes no time pushing his fingers against your entrance, skillfully tracing both digits along your folds, gathering your arousal at the tips. “Baby please” you whine, not wanting to be teased today, not when someone could walk up to the top deck and interrupt the moment. You cling on to him tighter, feeling his fingers push into you, slow and steady, your tight wet walls snug around him. You seem to clench around him in time with the waves rocking against the boat, the cool breeze helping control your body temperature, not wanting to leave sweat marks along the sun beds to give away what the two of you are up to.

“Wetter than the ocean” he teases, scissoring his fingers inside of you, your arousal dripping against him, curling his digits upwards to brush against the spot inside you that has you squirming against him. He rests his forehead against yours, noting how your body heat radiates onto his skin, your cheeks flushed, steady whimpers falling from your lips. “Moan for me baby, let the whole of Italy know who’s making you feel good”.

An orgasm was quickly approaching you, a pinch-me moment overtaking your body as you look out to the shore line, sandy beach only entertaining the last few remaining people of the night, the orange glow of lights gleaming through the windows of the chocolate box houses, praying none of them are owners of binoculars or take a keen interest in boats- because they’d certainly get an eyeful if they wanted to examine the one you were currently laid on (or getting laid on to be more accurate.)

“Cum on my hand” his words seem to resonate with you, your body obeying to his instructions. Legs becoming jelly-like as the knot bursts in your stomach. And the moan that was trapped in your throat pings into the air of the night, loud enough to make the staff downstairs freeze and listen out for a call, wondering if you were calling them for extra champaign. All you needed right now was right in front of you, poking you in the thigh. Whimpering at the empty feeling when he pulls his fingers out of you, clenching around the vacancy.

The wind picks up a little, brushing through your hair and rocking the boat to the right. Both of you bracing for the captain to rush to the top deck, blowing your cover. Giggling a little when the boat straightens out and the rocking stops. “Fucking cockblock” he groans, making you laugh, tucking your head into his neck. Your blushed cheeks would certainly blow your cover. “Gotta be quick” he whispers, “Wanna fuck on the Mediterranean sea”. The ocean seems to talk back to him, a large splash and spraying droplets of water falling against your calves.

He leans forward to catch your lips in a messy, clumsy kiss. Pushing himself out of his swim shorts, cock slapping against his toned torso, freckled tanned skin pressed against yours, your fingers drawing little hearts against his back, the outlines seeming to freeze when the tip of his hard cock brushes against your entrance, easily slicked with your arousal that stills lingers from your previous orgasm. His body hovers over yours, slightly leaning to the side to both keep his balance and to try and make it less obvious that he’s making love to you on top of a boat. Your hand wraps around his length, guiding him in the right position as if he hasn’t done it thousands of times before, but he can’t complain at the sight, something so beautiful yet filthy about your wedding ring sparkling in the light as you pump your hand up and down his cock. “That ring looks great whilst you wank me off” he moans, smirking when you let out a shocked gasp at his vulgar words.

He can’t quite believe his luck when he sinks into you, in that moment he thanks god, his lucky stars, and everything in between. His beautiful wife, the love of his life, moaning his name in the middle of the Mediterranean sea. A dream brought to life. “God you feel good... every- fuck- everytime” he praises the feel of your tight walls wrapped around him, warm and wet, just like how they always are for him. No time is wasted, his hips moving in a perfect rhythm, you’re quite impressed that he can keep himself balanced with the boat swaying in unison with the waves. His cock was enough to make you a moaning mess, reminding yourself you can’t be too loud due to the company downstairs. Instead sinking your teeth into his shoulder to try and silence yourself.

Pain is always something that turned him on, having a kink for anything involving spanking, choking, and hair pulling. So it’s no surprise when he throws his head back in ecstasy at the feel of your teeth grazing his skin, certain he’ll have a mark in the morning to remember the moment. It’s like you’ve read his mind, fingers pushing through his hair and grabbing a fistful, tugging at the roots with each thrust. With the pent up feeling of you wrapped around him as well as the added nipping and tugging he could nearly cum right there and then. But he’s learnt over the years of being together how to control himself, wanting to elongate sex with you, rinsing every second of being inside you.

“Cum for me again baby, give me another one” he encourages, watching you feebly mutter something inaudible, pleasure messing with your words, sweat growing on your collar bone, rising up the skin of your neck and painting your cheeks a darker red. The rapid clenching of your pussy tells him you’re approaching your second high, thighs slick with arousal, painting his skin damp with each thrust. “You’re boobs look great” he says under his breath, hearing you let out a little giggle and whisper “so romantic”, quick to change that when his mouth trails down to your right boob, leaving a wet trail of kisses to your breasts, nipping one of your nipples between his teeth and grazing it gently. Against your boobs you hear him whisper; “you’re close, I can feel it baby, c’mon” with three harsh thrusts, shaking your body with each one.

And just like that, with a loud whine and a cry you’re giving in to his words, pussy convulsing around his length, squeezing him towards his own high. His hand clamps over your mouth before you can scream his name for the whole of Positano to know, surely by now the captain and the staff must have an inkling about what you’re up to, they’d seen the eyes you were giving each other all day. The little slaps to your ass from him as you prepared to dive into the emerald sea, or how you sat on his lap whilst he fed you watermelon, his tongue licking playfully at your chin to capture the juices.

Now his favourite juices soaked his cock, his baby scratching lines into his back- far less innocent than the hearts that were drawn on his skin earlier. Your bikini bottoms on the floor and your bikini top flooded by your boobs and they hang over the edge of the material. In that moment you’re both so free, nature housing such pleasure.

He’s not far behind you, he couldn’t possibly be when your pussy grips at him with such force, dirty words encouraging him to coat your walls with his seed. “Cum for me hubby” it’s more the new title that does it for him. This was his life, married to a filthy little goddess, making love to you where anyone could see, yet in this moment it was only you and him- just like it’ll be for the rest of your lives.

He frantically slaps his hips against yours, the overwhelming sensation to cum washes over him quickly, feeling the fire in this pit of his tummy grow bigger then it ever had before. “I’m gonna cum baby” he chokes out, the grip on yur hips becoming tighter, thrusting into you as he rapidly chases his high, “it’s gonna be so much, it’s- fuck- oh god” you can’t seem to string a sentence together, stuttering and shaking with each word.

“Fill me up baby” you whisper, scratching at the back of his neck, “Drown me” you can’t help but let out a little giggle, “pardon the pun” he scoffs at your attempt of linking being on the sea with your pussy ‘drowning’ in his cum. Trying to hide his smirk, tongue licking his top teeth as he shakes his head.

“Still making stupid puns whilst I’m balls deep inside ya… I married an idiot” he laughs, pulling you even closer to him, soon to choke on his own moans, hitting his high and spilling his seed sloppily inside of you, the sensation making your walls clench, draining him of every last drop of cum he can give you. Riding out his high with a few more lazy thrusts, pushing his cum deep into you, his rhythm faltered by the rocking boat, nearly losing balance when his wobbly legs push himself off of you.

Now you’re a sight to behold, breathless, glowing with that freshly fucked look. Eyes watching him intently as he pushes himself into his shorts and lazily looks for your bottoms, knowing if his cum dripped out of you there would be a hefty fee for leaving ‘bodily fluids’ on the sun lounger.

***

The stars start to poke through the dark sky, sailing back to shore in a comfortable silence, chests still rising and falling in a quicker manner then usual, regaining the normality of not being caught up in each other's bodies. His finger plays with your ring, yours plays with his. How a simple gold band could look so flawless on his hand.

As the waves say one last goodbye, now twinkling under the light of the moon, the boat moors into the dock. Hand in hand walking back to land, still feel the rocking sensation as you get used to the solid floor beneath your feet.

“So…” he whispers, aware it’s late at night, a buzz of nightlife coming from the restaurant nearby, your arms swinging in unison. “This time again next year?” he smirks, this certainly couldn’t be a one time thing.

“See you then” you wink playfully, voice laced with sleep, ready to head back to the villa and be held in his arms for the rest of the night.

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mynameischalie · 2 years

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5, 12, 18, 38 🙂

Thank you Kate, I appreciate the asks!!!

5. What made you start your blog?

Music and shows were the factors that made me start my Tumblr. I would blog about all the punk and hardcore bands I would see here in Philly. I would give people the setlists and give my opinions on whether it was worth your time seeing if said band came to your city.

12. what’s some good advice you want to share?

Okay hold my beer....

A person who genuinely likes you will always make time for you. They won't play games and do immature bullshit like wait 2-3 days to text you back. Usually, the go to is to blame work for being "super busy" but effort is attractive so if you find yourself questioning it means he or she doesn't really like you or just wants you around to fill the void of their lonlieness when it's convenient for them.

If you are traveling and end up in my city of Philadelphia don't fall for the tourist trap that is Pat's and Geno's for cheesesteaks. They are exactly that, tourist traps, and there are better options for you.

People who asks you for advice will absolutely do the opposite of what you tell them. They are basically fishing for you to validate their opinion so they can feel good about it.

If someone tells you that they are a "piece of shit" run far away from that person as humanly possible. Chances are there's some self esteem issues there and I find people like that have lots of unresolved issues or trauma.

TRUST YOUR GUT. If something feels off then chances are it probably is. If someone seems secretive or isn't being completely transparent you probably will end up getting hurt.

18. do you believe in ghosts and/or aliens?

Absolutely! The truth is out there.

38. fave song at the moment?

Pup - Matilda (this band has dropped two songs off their new record due out April 1st and both of them have been excellent) I can't wait to hear the whole thing when it's finally out.

#ask me #thank you #personal

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that-little-zebunny · 3 years

Note

Hi! I hope you're doing okay! I understand you may not be always online so no pressure on this one, Tom Hiddleston x (non actress) reader where she is a tourist went to the pub and participated in open mic which happened when Tom was hanging out with Ben and she caught his attention?😊😊

And Suddenly I see you

Tom Hiddles x Tourist!Reader

Word Count: 1300+

Warning: None I think

*A/N: thank you! Thank you so much for being understanding my situation and for trusting me to write this lovely request. I hope you will love this as much as I loved writing it. I used one of my fave song Venus by Sleeping at Last (imagine it being sung by a female in acoustic) coz I thought it has the fitting lyrics for this prompt. <3

It was a very tiring but satisfying day for you and your friends. It’s your last night in New York touring and tomorrow the three of you will be watching a Broadway show and then head back home. You can’t wait to see the show your favorite actor is starring in. You were daydreaming how it’ll be seeing him act live when the band playing at the pub you and your friends decided to take a rest stopped playing and people applaud them. You put down your own drink to clap laughing at one of your friends because she’s literally screaming to get the vocalist’s attention. Well, he’s cute but not your type. That made you laugh internally too. Your favorite actor’s current look popped up in your mind and it made your stomach flutter because he looks intense and badass on his look for the play he’s starring.

Your daydreaming is once again disturbed when you felt a shoved. Staring with glaring eyes to your friends because you almost spilled your drink.

“What? Stop shoving me, woman!” You said, trying to make a scary face that you know for sure ends up looking constipated than what you want.

“They’re having an open mic! Come on Y/N!!!” Your tall friend Cindy said pointing at the stage where the earlier band’s vocalist is now waving the mic urging someone from the crowd to go up. You looked at your friends as if they are losing their minds.

“I can’t do that. It’ll be embarrassing. Look at all these people!” You whispered as you try to keep your butt on your chair fighting their shoving. You kept shaking your head that you actually started to get dizzy.

“Oh don’t be modest! You got a killer voice!” Kim said and the bitch actually had the guts to stand up just to pull you out of your very much safe chair. “Hey! Psstt!! My friend here will sing!” she shouted getting the vocalist’s attention.

You felt you face heats up when he looked at your area and started talking.

“Well looks like we have a very willing volunteer.” He joked making the crowd laugh. You, traitor friends, did their best to push you until you’re on the stage. Looking down you tried to hide your face with your hair as much as you can. The crowd clapped and shouted encouragement for you. You stiffly gestured thanks by waving your hand very slowly and smiled the best smile you could show in your current situation.

The vocalist handed you a microphone and you took it whispering thanks while you try to ignore your friends shouting wildly like idiots.

Oh gosh, this is so embarrassing. You said to yourself, swallowing a lump on your throat.

“Well can your lovely audience get a name?” the Vocalist turn MC asked.

Licking your drying lips you told him over the mic your nickname.

“That’s a lovely name,” he said and the crowd agreed.

“Thanks…” you said shyly.

“So any song in mind, my band will help you on this don’t worry.” He said, trying to make you feel assured. You must looked so, so tense.

“Uhm…I-Uhm-can I just borrow an acoustic guitar?” you asked not wanting to bother them too much and you’re very used to playing on your own every time you sing coz you only do it in your room with the people close to you.

“Sure, sure.” He said and the guitarist handed you his guitar. You said your thanks and faced the crowd but not before looking at your friends and scowling at them. The traitors only laughed and clapped their hands excitedly.

You took a deep breath and strummed the guitar checking if it’s on the right tune you need it to be. It’s close so you only adjusted a little and then you sang one of your favorite.

***

At the shaded part of a pub near Broadway Tom is enjoying a little break with his pal Benedict. He went and watched his show today and went to meet him at the backstage and there they decided to hang out for a bit. They haven’t seen much of each other because of work.

He is enjoying a vodka in his hands and laughing at his friend's stories on his own film project and he did the same telling Ben about the funny stuff that happened on Betrayal’s stage. Ben was almost red with laughter when Tom told him about the melon that almost choked him and a lot more. Their chatting was stopped when a commotion on the front side of the pub happened. Looks like a girl is being teased by her friends to sing. He laughed when she was not able to fight them and went up the stage defeated.

“Let’s bet shall we?” Ben said. Winking at him. “If she can sing, you’ll go to them introduce yourself as someone else and then pay their tab. Let’s hope they will not recognize you.”

Tom’s eyebrows raised and he looked at the stage again looking at the girl hiding half of her face with her hair. He can see the blush on her cheeks from embarrassment, something in her is making him very curious.

“…and if she can’t?” Tom asked not taking his eyes away from you waiting to get a proper look at your face.

“I’ll pay for ours and theirs,” Ben said smugly.

“Well can your lovely audience get a name?” the MC asked. She answered and asked for an acoustic guitar. Ben chuckle knowing he's going to win.

Y/N/N, what a lovely name indeed. He thought. He sat back on his chair comfortably as he watches you adjust the guitar strings waiting for you to start singing. He’s very much confused with the itching interest he’s having and it’s not because of the bet. He doesn’t mind paying for your orders.

You started strumming and humming in a smooth and sweet melody that gave him goose bumps then you started singing and he got lost in your voice.

***

You started strumming the melody of Venus by sleeping at last and slowly your nerves started to calm and you just felt the music. You had your eyes closed as you hum in tune with the guitar.

The night sky once ruled my imagination…

Now I turn the dials with careful calculation

After a while, I thought I’d never find you

I convinced myself that I would never find you

When suddenly I saw you…

You sang. You’re starting to enjoy singing, not caring about the crowd you did your best to put your emotion into every word when you felt a weird feeling that someone is staring at you. You started roaming your eyes around the pub as you sand looking at how the people are reacting on your singing.

Like a telescope

I will pull you so close

‘Til no space lies in between

Feeling relieved that people look like they are enjoying your eyes darted at the far back part of the pub and you almost choked.

And suddenly I see you

You continued singing. The lyrics seems like its mocking you because as you sing the man of your dreams is currently looking at you with his intensely gorgeous green eyes…

Suddenly I see you

You couldn’t take your eyes away. He got you trapped in his gaze. You’re thankful that you didn’t suddenly forget the lyrics or mess up the notes.

I was a billion little pieces

‘Til you pulled me into focus

Astronomy in reverse

It was me who was discovered

You can feel your face heating up. Butterflies started dancing in your stomach. You tried your best to finish the song as much as your melting nerves can handle and thank God you were able to finish it without messing up or embarrassing yourself in front of your long-time celebrity crush.

***

Tom was mesmerized. You’re ethereal and his heart is beating wildly especially when your beautiful (Y/E/C) eyes met his. He’s very thankful that he lost the silly bet his friend came up with. He can’t wait to walk towards your table and introduce himself to you.

Agreeing with the lyrics that you’ve sung, he can’t wait till there’s no space between the two of you.

----

Hi all lemme know if you want to be on my Taglist <3

Tom Hiddleston and characters: @jewels2876

The Whole Gang: @Acornish717 (untaggable)

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brideofcthulhu10 · 4 years

Note

Ok I’m at work and I cannot stop thinking about a soulmate au with Dwayne (because he’s my fave) where a psychic or someone tells him that he’ll meet someone with like a specific tattoo or birthmark

Sure thing! Currently the child birth post is taking a lot longer than I expected, I’ve only just finished the David segment, I still have Paul, Marko and Dwayne to go but hopefully they’ll be done before Wednesday.

Dwayne’s Fate

Halloween rolled in and yet the plethora of tourists never seemed to cease. All over the boardwalk they flocked to every newly decorated attraction, sporting cheesy plastic masks, sharing caramel apples, hugging each other as they went into the haunted house... Dwayne couldn’t help but feel the sharp pang of envy overtaking him. The young native pushed his mess of windblown black hair from his face, utterly tuned out while Marko and Paul were scoping out the beach honeys clad in bikinis and shorts. Instead he leaned on the handlebars of his bike, watching the couples pass by. Eighty-One Years.

He had been a vampire for eighty-one years. In all that time he’d never considered anything outside of his own pack, his coven of brothers who had become vampires alongside him. It was decades of wild nights! He thought he could never want anything else. But when Michael waltzed in and swept up Star and Laddie... he felt almost dark, in a sense.

Something changed in him the night he came back. He wasn’t sure how. What mattered was that he, and his brothers were alive once again. Well, not alive, but still. Now he was back to terrorizing the night time streets of Santa Carla like he always had. Only, it wasn’t like always. A part of him wished there was something more to all this. He had hoped one day to settle down when he was still alive but opportunity seemed to be almost gone by this point. Drumming his fingers on the handlebars of his bike, Dwayne grew increasingly impatient remaining in place. Swinging his leg over his bike he sighed with Marko turning to watch the road hog waltz away.

“Hey, Dwayne, where you headed, man,” he called, looking up.

“For a walk. I can’t sit here all night like you suckers,” Dwayne retorted, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. Silently he wove through bustling crowds, barely lifting his eyes. Anyone who was in his warpath quickly learned to dodge him. Thoughts plagued his head, more than he had before to the point they were cluttering against each other.

“You there,” a voice called over the unruly sounds of Santa Carla. Dwayne hadn’t thought much of it until an elderly woman quickly wove through. “You! You! Yes, wendigo-boy!”

The term gave him pause, looking back at the silver haired crone waddling his way still pointing her dried up finger until it was inches from his nose. “Yes, I could sense the aura of you and your friends across the way. Your dark presence is unmistakable.”

Dwayne swatted her hand away with a grimace, taking a step back. “Bug off you old bat, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he hissed, turning from her.

“Your past may not define your future! It is not too late to find one who can bring light to your darkness,” she insisted, running in front of him.

Again Dwayne groaned, This broad was persistent. Even when he tried to walk away a third time she managed to swoop around him.

She was easily in her late 80′s with wiry silver hair barely contained in a low hanging bun. Feathers stuck out of her hair, clanking armfuls of metal bangles rang whenever she moved her hands. Each boney finger cracked, dawning a ring on each that barely hung of aged flesh. Beady brown eyes practically stared into his center which made it impossible to to look at her face. Whenever she spoke he could see her crooked snaggle tooth accompanying her worn voice, raspy as if she had swallowed sandpaper. Wrapped around her burnt orange dress was a worn leather belt chipping away sporting a purple satin bag tied around it. Whatever it was she wanted to discuss was not going to wait. When his internal debate grew to be too much, she finally snatched him firmly by his wrist and began to pull him where she was determined to be. There was no point in questioning any of this, all she did was answer in stupid riddles.

"All will be answered! But you come with now, otherwise you will miss it! Then who knows when it'll happen again."

"It". Whatever this "it" was carried some weight as she used the term frequently. Although reasonably irritated, something in Dwayne felt the need to follow. He resisted the urge to rip her arm out of it’s socket, and instead rapidly shuffled his feet so he didn’t step over the hobbling broad who couldn’t be more than five feet tall- even when she wasn’t hunched over. The way she wove through tourists was eerily timed. Almost perfect. Nothing caught her off guard. Bobbing and weaving. Worst of all no one was moving, everyone around them seemed utterly oblivious to her presence! Pulling him forward she shuffled her way to a small caravan. The dusty old piece was barely illuminated by a single light hanging over the door, wedged between the old donut place and the Santa Carla Gift Shoppe.

Still clutching his arm, they continued up creaking wooden steps that practically sang as he carried himself atop them. He can as convinced any moment this whole thing was going to collapse. The red door swung open slowly on it's own. Must've been rigged or something to do that. Meanwhile Dwayne had to duck just to avoid hitting the doorway, not that it mattered to the scatterbrained lunatic he decided to follow. Only when they were indoor did she finally release his hand and immediately shut her door behind him. It was decently bigger than what was let on initially. Tucked away behind a thick red curtain was a bed built around an arching stained glass window. It must've been somewhat decent before, athough this woman was such a hoarder you wouldn’t be able to tell at first. What books didn't fill her towering cases were strewn about the the floor in piles. Pages were stained with ink, notes written in old languages stuck to the walls between massive oil paintings depicting glorious battles, mystic creatures, ancient ones he had never seen. Plants were either hanging from the ceiling or over grown in corners. Dwayne made the mistake of sniffing at the strange red mushrooms poking out a dense pot of wriggling soil. He immediately recoiled watching worms surface just to burrow beneath the cakey mud. There were chattering cages hidden behind the bedroom curtain, ones he couldn't see into. Lined up along the wall was an oak desk draped in a velvet purple fabric coated in metallic gold zodiac symbols, completely covered end to end in bizarre herbs, animal parts, even live critters kept in an array of apothecary jars. Shelves held more, beakers of unrecognizable fluids bubbling over rickety bunsen burners. Thick crystals caked in dust jutted out beside a faded wooden box with bizarre pieces of jewelry spilling over, cobwebs gathering in untouched nooks. Rather than lamps or lanterns she had candles everywhere. Dribbling onto the floor, pouring over wrought iron candelabras, wiggling wisps of light spilling around the corners. By the kitchen space were cabinets sporting different colors of even more candles, many carved into with unfamiliar writings. When Dwayne picked up a dirty bottle covered in cobwebs off the crowded oak desk, there was a loud THWACK that made his ears wring.

“Ow! Hey-!”

Before he turned around she had a broom to his face and smacked him again. “No touching,” she demanded, yanking the bottle from him.

“If I wanted to, I could kill you, you old hag,” he snarled, rapidly stepping towards her with fangs bared. Again, broom.

“Hush! You are not as your bothers are. You desire the knowledge, yes?! You shall not get a word if Alma is dead. No use then!”

Dwayne grumbled a sour huff, rubbing the top of his head. Again he questioned his personal sanity for humoring this hag wielding a mighty broom.

All the while the self proclaimed Alma shuffled around him, snatching up handfuls of bottles and plopping then atop another overcrowded table. Repeatedly she used the words "fool" and "knows nothing" clearly referring to him. Mostly because every time she said those words she'd look over her shoulder at him.

Black as night, her worn iron stove roared when she stoked the fire withing it's oven. Just atop the surface was a heavy black kettle nestled above a scalding red coil. It rattled and hissed, moaning when plumes of steam billowed out into the air. She mumbled and “harumph”ed her way through the caravan. Clanking down a tea set on a worn old silver tray she rapidly shuffled back to her stove to retrieve the screaming kettle still singing it's tune. Without missing a beat she dropped something inside it. It took two trembling hands she poured the water over the strange herbs she had previously retrieved into two cups. The dainty porcelain pieces were etched in golden, ancient writings atop another circular table covered by a deep blue table cloth. With that, she plunked herself atop a creaking old chair, staring at Dwayne with those beady eyes .

‘Why the fuck am I still here with this old bat?’

Dwayne barely managed to fit in the rickety old seat that squeaked beneath his weight, staring down at the petit cup. The muddied liquid still bubbled, steam spiraling to carry an unbelievably sickening scent. Not necessarily horrible, but utterly confusing. The more he looked at it the more it seemed alive. “I am not touching that.”

“Hush! Nonsense! You shall drink as Alma does, and you will see.”

Dwayne hesitated, watching her sip at the herbal concoction. This was clearly the dumbest decison of his afterlife, but he had already died twice. What was there to be afraid of?

“On the boardwalk.. you called me ‘wendigo’. What makes you say that?”

“I can see your true form,” she calmly explained, setting down the cup. The leaves barely floated at the base. If he turned his head he swore he could see it forming into the shape of a fanged jaw wide open. “Blood and flesh pave your future, but even those who dwell in darkness deserve a lantern to ease the suffering.”

So, she knew what they were. What he was. “Then why help me if you know I’m a vampire,” he questioned, expecting the tea to be brewed with holy water.

“It is not my place to judge your path. I have come across many of your kind in my years of living. They all do what they must. So, drink.”

Dwayne hesitated once more, only to lift the beverage to his lips. It was bitter. The taste was reminiscent of biting into tree bark, all he could do is scrunch his nose.

Then, Alma’s figure began to vibrate. He could see pieces of her breaking off, the room surrounding him peeling away, like old paint off a dirty wall. Strips crumbled to his feet. He attempted to move only to find himself firmly planted to his seat. There was nothing. No sound, no sight, only black.

With a sharp inhale he opened his eyes to streams of orange. A... sunset?

Dwayne was amazed he could even remember what a sun set looked like. However, there was nothing that could take away the memory of the fire that filled the edges of the sky. Drips of night seeped in, miles of tall wheat grasses swaying in the breeze enveloping him. Still wedged in place he could only sit there, savoring a sight he would never see again.

But when he heard it, and he froze. A laugh. A twinkling bell chiming from far away. Flashes of E/C orbs flickered holding the sun within. A pearly smile whispering his name so softly it sent chills running down his spine. S/C as smooth as satin running a hand on his arm. The face cut in and out, but what he continued to see over and over was a symbol. An inky raven with wings draped over a woven dream catcher. Thick cords wove between each other into intricate details, each hole giving him pieces of who she was. Yes, she. He could hear her voice vibrate through the air. Not what it was saying, but only the sounds it made. “Alright alright, enough,” a raspy voice commanded.

Dwayne finally jumped up and out of his chair, crashing back down to earth and only the dusty floor of Alma’s caravan practically wheezing for air. He felt like he had just been running for hours!

“Come, come let’s not be dramatic,” Alma snorted, shuffling over to take his tea over to her rusty old wash pan piled with dishes.

It took a moment to get ahold of his bearings, swearing if he had a heartbeat right now it’d be jumping through his ribs. “What... the fuck... did you give me?!”

“No time for that, child. The bird is waiting for you just beyond the docks,” she began to babble again. Bird? Again that raven flashed before his eyes while Alma pried him off the floor.

“Wait- but I don’t- will you quit shoving me?!”

Alma continued to yank him until he was out the door barely catching himself as they ran down the steps. “Oooh any minute, any minute. No time for dawdling!”

Quickly she took him by his arm and swung him back out into the crowd, stumbling into a young woman who nearly yelped.

“Oh shit are you okay,” she asked. A few girls giggled at him until she made a face, waving them off. “Sorry I didn’t see you there. Are you alright uh-?”

Just across her collarbone sat a raven tattoo nestled across her chest with winds spread over a dream catcher trailing into her shirt, the trickles of beads left hidden in her blouse. When he looked into those perfect E/C orbs holding the sunset beneath them he could only smile, setting her heart immediately ablaze. With a massive blush tinting her cheeks an adorable crimson hue she pulled him to his feet, unaware once he was standing that she still had not let go of his arm. Looking behind him Dwayne still expected to see the batty old woman sitting outside her caravan. Instead... there was no one in sight. No caravan either. Just an empty alleyway only sporting a few dented old trash bins overflowing with garbage. Slowly he turned back to the girl, positioning himself closer as his crisp smile beamed over cinnamon flesh.

“Well what’s your name first?”

“Y/N,” she spoke with a tender tone, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Y/N. I’m Dwayne. Nice to meet you, princess.”

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izzy-b-hands · 5 years

Text

The Taste of Blood

So here’s that vampire AU for Sledgefu I talked abt a while back. It falls into the two other AUs I’ve created thus far, Horror Movie and NOLA. This specific vampire one is going under the Demolition Lovers AU tag (because yes, this was inspired by the first MCR album in part.) Title is taken from one of my fave tracks on the Only Lovers Left Alive soundtrack (another inspiration for this AU.)

This is another one that might have some sequels, I’m still playing with the idea based on some other sources of inspiration! In any case I don’t think I can leave it with just this one piece.

My love to all who read/like/reblog!

“I think we should call my dad,” Eugene touched the mirror he was looking into, waiting for his reflection to appear, but it didn’t. “We’re both obviously sick. I mean...I can’t even see my reflection, and I know it’s there. It has to be.”

Snafu moved behind him and peered into the mirror. “Where? I don’t see mine either.”

“We’re both losin’ it,” Eugene muttered miserably. He didn’t want to call his dad, hadn’t even tried since he’d left to find Snafu in New Orleans. But he also didn’t want to go to any of the local doctors, and as it was they’d both started to develop an intense sensitivity to sunlight. Even if they’d wanted to see a doctor in town, they’d have to somehow convince one to make a house call at night.

He moved back to the couch, where they’d both been sleeping for the past week since the trouble had all started, and picked up his glass of water. Neither of them could keep anything down, but they kept trying water in the hopes of at least being slightly hydrated.

He sipped, and immediately gagged and brought it back up, nearly choking as his stomach contracted violently at the water inside of it.

“Baby,” Snafu whimpered softly, pulling him gently back onto the couch. “No more water. Just gonna make yourself more sick.”

“That isn’t possible,” Eugene protested. “We’re sick, so we need fluids. Give me your wrist, we can at least do a pulse check.”

“Alright Florence,” Snafu sighed and held out his wrist. They’d been doing these checks all week, with their pulses getting fainter and fainter with each passing day. Eugene was worried, but he didn’t know what he could possibly do to try and fix it. Nothing was working, and they both looked worse with every hour.

“What the fuck,” Eugene spat, and moved up Snafu’s arm, then to his neck, searching for a pulse anywhere. Nothing.

“Check me,” Eugene said, his hands shaking at the thought of what Snafu was (or rather wasn’t) going to find.

Snafu did the same, moving from pressure point to pressure point, anywhere, searching for a pulse. “Uh. Eugene.”

“I know, I know, I know,” he felt like he couldn’t breathe, and suddenly noticed how stiff the air felt in his lungs. The air went in and out, and he was still breathing, but it felt...off. “This isn’t possible. We’re dreaming. Or dead. Or something.”

“I think we are dead,” Snafu said quietly. “I think I know what’s wrong.”

“I gotta call my dad, now. Before we pass out and-”

“Eugene,” Snafu interrupted, and grabbed a hold of his hands, just tight enough to keep him sitting on the couch. “You aren’t gonna wanna believe me. And that’s fine, cause I don’t wanna believe me either. But...you remember how we brought Hugo home late last week?”

Eugene did. It had been a bit spur of the moment, but they’d been talking to Hugo for the past few months, meeting up with him most nights to hang out. It had always edged up near wanting to bring him back to their bed, but it had taken them until Friday of that last week to finally feel brave enough to ask him to come back home with them.

“What do you remember from that night?”

Eugene blushed. There was a lot he remembered, a lot of fun and good things. But he couldn’t remember much after.

“I know I found a weird rash on my neck. Figured Hugo and you were just overly enthusiastic about the hickeys.”

Snafu shook his head. “Still got the rash?”

Eugene moved his collar to show it off. Two small red dots, evenly spaced.

Snafu undid the first few buttons of his shirt and showed off the same.

“Okay, so Hugo was a little rough. What’re you gettin’ at, sweetheart?” Eugene laughed.

“We’ve never seen Hugo during the day. He bar tends some nights, but otherwise he doesn’t work. He dresses like he’s at least five years behind everyone else, and his teeth are...well, you’ve seen them,” Snafu continued. “I...this is everything my family made fun of growing up. All the ‘spooky’ parts of the city that the tourists fall for. But...”

“But what?”

“Some folks always used to warn about vampires. The city’s old, and you can melt right into it. Where else would you go if you couldn’t die and wanted somewhere you could just be and party or hide away or do whatever else you wanted?” Snafu asked.

“Are you saying you think Hugo’s a vampire?”

Snafu looked at the floor, and Eugene sighed internally over how pale he looked. How pale they both looked. Whatever this was, it was eating them alive.

“And you think he turned us, but it’s just now...taking full effect or something?”

“Don’t say it like that,” Snafu protested. “You think I like thinking that this is what it is, what we’ve got? This wasn’t my first option for a diagnosis.”

“Okay, I’m sorry I just...you know how it sounds. I know you do.”

Snafu nodded, sighed, and dropped his head into his hands. “There’s ways to find out. I mean...it’ll feel silly, but if we do some of these tests, and then it turns out it isn’t this, then we can move past it.”

“Fair enough,” Eugene agreed. “What tests do you know of?”

“Well, we failed the first one. No reflection. Failed the second one. Can’t keep any food or water down. Failed the third one. Don’t have a pulse anymore. I’ve got one more, but you aren’t gonna like it,” Snafu replied. He went to the fridge and pulled out the meat they’d picked up from the butcher on Monday.

It slowly dawned on Eugene what the test was, and his stomach turned. “Oh no.”

“Oh yes,” Snafu said, slicing into the meat with a knife from one of the kitchen drawers and draining the little bit of blood that came out into two glasses. “C’mere.”

“I don’t think I can...” Eugene said. It looked repulsive, thickly settled at the bottom of the glass.

“It’s old blood, but nothin’ we can do about that,” Snafu said, and handed over one of the glasses. “Bottoms up, darlin’.”

He tossed it back like a shot after Snafu tossed back his, grimacing at the sensation of the blood as it slid down his throat.

“Now what?”

“We haven’t been able to keep anything down, so this should come up too,” Snafu replied.

They stood at the kitchen counter and waited. And waited. And waited.

“Jesus,” Eugene whimpered, and dropped to his knees, hiding his head against them as he wrapped his arms around himself. “Snaf-”

“I know,” Snafu interrupted softly, and pulled him up to standing again. “Come on. Back to the couch we go. We’re gonna be alright.”

“No, we aren’t,” Eugene heard himself whisper, horrified. “What the fuck, what the fuck what the-”

“Shhh,” Snafu interrupted. “Can’t do nothin’ about this if we panic.”

“We’re dead,” Eugene hissed. There was no other way around it. He was walking, talking, feeling the panic but with none of the usual heart-pounding. Because his heart no longer beat. Because they’d fucked a vampire, and now they were dead.

“I know,” Snafu was alarmingly calm, and it made Eugene itchy to watch. As much as he valued Snafu being able to be cool and collected, he also couldn’t bear to be the only one freaking out.

“We have to find Hugo,” Snafu continued. “May as well go straight to the source. I know going out sounds like shit right now, but we can do this.”

They dressed, just barely presentable to be out of the house, and wandered down to the nearest bar. The sun had just recently gone down, but Eugene missed it. If this was all real, and he really had already had his last moment in the sun, then he wished he could have somehow known. He would have enjoyed it more.

Hugo was behind the counter, working. But he looked like he wanted to jump the counter as he caught sight of them.

Eugene let Snafu take charge of the situation. He was too weak, too tired to do much more than stand by Snafu and lean against him.

“Hugo. We gotta talk,” Snafu called across the bar.

Hugo winced as they stepped up to the bar counter. “You guys look like shit.”

“Yeah. Feel like you might know somethin’ about that,” Snafu said. “Wanna take a moment in the back room with us so we can sort this out?”

Hugo sighed. “Fine.”

He led them to the back room, and Eugene let himself collapse onto the couch in the room with a groan. He’d felt better after the glass of disgusting, sludgy blood, but whatever effect it had given him had worn off.

“I thought I had drained you both completely. You should be dead,” Hugo said, staring at them in amazement and confusion.

“We are dead, asshole,” Eugene barked.

“I mean...not dead like me. Completely dead. Not getting up and looking for blood to drink dead. Speaking of, have you guys been feeding? Because you look awful,” Hugo said.

“Wow, thank you for again tellin’ us we look horrible after doin’ this to us,” Snafu spat as he dropped into a wooden chair near the couch.

“I didn’t mean to,” Hugo protested. “I was going to just kill you both. I hadn’t fed in weeks...it was nothing personal, I swear.”

“Hugo...this is is why you’re still single. I swear to fuckin’ god...” Snafu muttered. “Nothin’ personal. Jesus.”

“I’m sorry, I really am,” Hugo continued. “Look, I can help you adjust to this. It’s the least I can do, and it’s what my maker did for me. Granted, he was also well off and not bar-tending to pay rent, but-”

“Boo-fucking-hoo for you,” Eugene scoffed. “I’d say this is the least you can do.”

Hugo sighed. “Clearly, whatever we had is gone. So I’ll do this. I’ll give you a list of places folks like us-”

“Vampires,” Snafu interrupted. “I wanna hear you fucking say it.”

“Vampires,” Hugo said. “Places where vampires like us can meet up for resources, help when you’re new and learning how to feed and how much to feed, things like that. I’ll give you my phone number, but you call me; I won’t call you. You only call if you’re comfortable with doing so or really need immediate help, okay?”

Hugo grabbed a piece of stationary from a desk near one wall of the back room, and started to jot down the various places and people they could use as resources, and as he listened to the pen scratch Eugene’s heart sank.

No more sunny walks in the park, or sunsets watched in between making out with Snafu. No more dinners they cooked together, learning new recipes. They’d have to quit their jobs, and find new ones with only night shifts, or they’d lose the house. No traveling, unless they were willing to drive all night while knowing they for sure had somewhere to hide during the day.

And more killing. If they wanted to survive, there would have to be more killing.

“For now...give me five,” Hugo said and handed Snafu the paper before ducking out of the room. He returned with one of the other bartenders, who calmly bared his neck to Snafu as he knelt down near him.

“What the fuck is this?” Snafu scoffed.

“Dinner,” Hugo spat. “Unless you wanna keep looking and feeling like death.”

“We are dead!” Eugene screamed, forcing himself up off the couch even though every limb protested the effort. He strode towards Hugo faster than he intended to, unsure if it was his new state of being or his anger carrying him forward. He pushed him up against the nearest wall, and hissed. “We’re dead and it’s your fucking fault and-”

He was suddenly incredibly aware of blood in Hugo’s veins, and before he could stop himself he latched onto Hugo’s neck, effectively stealing his dinner from within him.

“Get him fucking off of me!” Hugo was screeching, caterwauling, but Eugene held tight onto him, hating how much he enjoyed the feeling of his now much sharper eyeteeth sinking into Hugo’s flesh, emptying his dead veins of his last meal.

“Eugene! Enough!” Snafu pulled him away, and Hugo dropped to the floor, whimpering.

“He deserved it,” he huffed.

“I know,” Snafu said. “But what good is killin’ him gonna do us, huh? None. Let him live with the knowledge. I guarantee that’s worse than bein’ all the way dead.”

“Neither of you are even up to my usual standard,” Hugo scoffed, still on the floor. The other bartender was staring at him, but made no move to retrieve him. “That’s what I get for fucking ugly goddamn-”

It was his turn to hold Snafu back as he tried to race towards Hugo, shouting abuse right back at him, how he was a shitty fuck, how he was lucky they’d even allowed him near them to begin with.

He dragged Snafu outside, regretting that he’d lost his cool.

But he did feel better, with the blood he’d taken from Hugo.

“Here,” he offered Snafu his wrist. “You’ll feel better. If we both feel a little healthier, then findin’ all of these people and places’ll be easier.”

Snafu pulled him into a dark corner near an alley, and kissed him hard before moving his wrist up to his mouth. The feeling of Snafu’s teeth slipping into his wrist was something else, painful but not so much to make him do more than wince. It was almost erotic, especially when Snafu looked up at him, still drinking, his lips locked against the skin of his wrist.

Which at least confirmed one thing he’d been mildly worried about, regarding blood flow. He didn’t know how it could still work, but he wasn’t going to question it when he had Snafu with blood on his lips, pulling him close and rutting against his hard cock.

“Let’s go home,” Snafu murmured into his neck. “We can check out everything Hugo gave us tomorrow night.”

Eugene nodded, but used a hand to carefully pull Snafu’s face back up towards his, and gently, with just the tip of his tongue, licked the drying blood from the corners of Snafu’s mouth before kissing him.

He had figured it wouldn’t be a jubilant walk home, but he had expected to at least feel better, having gotten confirmation of it all. But he didn’t. He was tired and hungry despite having fed off of Hugo, and wanted nothing more than to fuck until the morning or until they were both too tired and sore to move, whatever came first.

By the time they got inside, however, he was only half-hard and he could tell Snafu was just plain exhausted. They dropped onto the couch after making sure the door was locked and the windows were all still tightly covered with blinds and newspapers they’d taped over them, and Eugene knew they’d both be asleep soon. There would be no calling into work; he couldn’t keep his eyelids open let alone get up to go to the phone and call them both in.

What he could manage was to wrap his arms around Snafu, and try not to cry when he didn’t have the familiar sound of Snafu’s heartbeat to lull him to sleep. But he still had Snafu’s hand squeezing his, and it was just enough to work in place of the heartbeat.

#text post #LeeH writes #Sledgefu #Horror Movie AU #NOLA AU #Demolition Lovers AU #it is almost 2 am so please forgive any typos #I'm gonna reread this tomorrow after my tattoo appt and fix any mistakes I see

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earlgreytea68 · 6 years

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On the Anthropological Fandom Impulse

When I first got into fandom, I feel like I did it in the way that you hear about it: I watched a thing (for me it was always watching), and I loved it so much that I wanted *more,* and then I sought out fic, and then I waited to feel like I had something I needed to say about it. This is what people will traditionally tell you fandom is.

But, Idk, as I’ve gotten older, I have shifted this. Fandom has become more of a habit, a general way in which I interact with creativity, rather than a specific reaction to *someone else’s* creative work. Which isn’t how fandom is traditionally defined but is how I do it, and I guess I’m writing this out to see how odd this is, and where this impulse comes from within me?

Because it’s been a while -- a very long time -- since I consumed a piece of media that I loved so much I wanted to seek out the fic. I have tried. I have consumed all of the things that are big fannishly now. None of them really caught my creative spark.

The first thing to catch my creative spark after Sherlock was in fact Inception. Not because I’d seen the movie (which I had seen, and barely remembered). But because the Inception *fandom* seemed kind of amazing. I read a fic, and then another fic, and then more fics, and then I was performing what I now call my Fandom Anthropology. I dug through historical layers, uncovering old rec lists, ending up on old LJ kinkmemes, letting them link me to other things, finding fanvids, going through meta, until I had assembled a picture of what I thought the fandom was doing, what the fanon conventions were, which pieces of canon were the most important. It was like settling into an entirely different mental location and mapping it out like a tourist.

Since the Inception rabbit hole, I have always consistently come to a fic-reading rabbit hole not from the canon but from the fandom itself. I subscribe to authors on AO3, and whenever they update with a fic, I tend to click on it curiously. I am such that I can tell right away if I’m going to be caught by a ship or not. I’m actually fairly predictable in what I like, tbh. I’m sure you can pick up on my preferred OTP dynamic. :-)

I read all recs sent to me, but not all of them necessarily hit me at the right time. And then suddenly something will catch me and I’ll just spend a little while devouring everything I can in that universe. I did that with Social Network RPF (which I revisited this summer and it remains delightful) and Sports Night (which was a show I’d been fannish about in the early 2000s before being fannish was the more organized thing it is today) and Marcone/Dresden from the Dresden Files (I read some Dresden Files many years ago, but left off before Marcone even entered the narrative) and for a little while I read a bunch of Raven Cycle fic (despite never having read a word of these books). There was a small attempt to explore BTS fandom but I found it a little impenetrable (I couldn’t get a handle on the characters); I also tried to read some One Direction stuff but mostly got distracted that no Harry Styles was like how he was in my head (Idek, I barely listen to One Direction, I have no idea where my very clear picture of Harry Styles came from, but I kind of think he’s a delight, he’s just my fave).

But, anyway, the point of all of this is: I read fanfic these days not because of inherent interest in the canon but because writers I like are writing in it. And if I like the characters they write well enough, then suddenly I’ve opened up a ton more fic that I can read. As far as I can tell, I am treating fic as original writing. I come to it with little knowledge of the characters. All I know about it is its *genre.* And fic is definitely its own genre. I know the basic shape of everything that’s going to happen in every fic I click on, so I’m entirely reading because something about the characters have caught me. Not because of canon, but because of *fanon.* Because, Idk, so often it’s the fan artists who are really creating this marvelous complexity, and I feel like I’m just cutting out the middle man. And, once I’ve been caught by a dynamic, lucky me, it’s super-easy to find a million other ways to explore those characters. And the canon of them is entirely secondary to me in the first exploration, and then eventually becomes part of my excavation of what’s going on.

Is this a weird way to do fandom? I feel like it might be. But also I don’t think it’s necessarily the *wrong* way. It might even have always been my preferred way, but before the age of AO3 and Tumblr, it was actually harder to jump between fandoms. I know you *could* do it on LJ, but I remember when I switched from DW to Sherlock, having to be like, “Hey, were are the Sherlock people on here? Where do I find them?” Whereas now it’s just all simpler to run productive searches that get you what you’re looking for. Or just asking on Twitter, “Hey, who knows anything about this fandom and wants to point me to the best fics?”

This has been, for me, a far more reliable way to discover things I love than to sit around waiting for a canon to find me. I would never have randomly rewatched Sports Night last spring had a Sports Night fic not crossed my inbox. I would not be listening to nonstop Fall Out Boy had a random bandom fic not crossed my inbox. Fandom is the thing I use to introduce me to mainstream culture; not the other way around.

And, tbh, I am kind of enjoying doing it this way. I guess the main thing I fear about it is that I probably miss canon the first time around, because it turns out I find myself letting the *fandom* seduce me in. So, like, I know Fall Out Boy songs, and even had friends in bandom, and paid, like, zero attention to anything fannish, until I started reading bandom fic, and then I had to perform Fandom Anthropology, and uncover old LJ posts and new Tumblr primers and long lyrical analyses (that are WAY better than any analysis of any FOB lyric on Genius, those analyses are...weird, Idk).

So, Idk, in ten years I’ll probably finally get the huge appeal of the big fandoms today. There’s a possibility I’m bad right now, at this point in my creative life, at, like, being part of the *active* fandom formation part of things. Which I don’t say in a way to imply that I’m annoyed with myself, because I’m not. I am doing lots of original writing because that’s apparently what I’m in the mood for and life is too short to fight with the things you want to write about, and6 being part of an active fandom is a very different energy than just kind of passively enjoying a fandom. If that makes sense? And I think you just go through cycles. My most creative fic periods coincided with a lot of soul-searching transitioning in my life as I staggered into my career. I feel like I’ve finally got a bit of a handle on who I am? And that feels a little bit like it’s unlocked an original writing impulse within me that honestly had been dormant for many, many years.

Which is all to say: Being creative is an all-over-the-place experience. If you roll with it, you never know where you’re going to end up. And the key, I think, is to learn to just go with it without judging yourself too harshly for it. There’s no wrong way to do creativity. I don’t think there’s a wrong way to do fandom, either (apart from being a bully, of course). The universe is infinitely expanding.

#long post #personal

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passionate-baker · 5 years

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Italian Adventures Part II: Bologna

Finally, the time has come - welcome to Italian Adventures Part II: Bologna!

Boyfriend introduced me to the gorgeous city of Bologna not long after we got together, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s why it holds such a special place in my heart. On our first trip there, I fell head-over-heels for the city & ever more smitten with Boyfriend. We’ve been back a handful of times since that first visit, & every time - without fail - we dream of uprooting everything we have here in Dublin & running off to the Emilia-Romagna capital. It’s romantic, it’s quaint & peaceful, it miraculously remains somewhat untainted by tourism, and it’s the birthplace of one of our favourite meals: the mighty ragu.

Bologna is known as ‘La Grassa’ in Italian - which translates to ‘the fat’ in English - & it isn’t hard to see why: you will be extremely hard pressed to have a bad meal in the city. Although I’ve included a list of our favourite restaurants below, use that more as a guideline to get out & find the places that work for you; we’ve eaten at a hell of a lot more restaurants than are listed here, but these are our old faves. Wherever you find yourself, please don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy two dishes - tagliatelle al ragu & gramigna alla salsiccia - both of which are specialties of the city. You can thank us when you get home.

As with our Italian Adventures Part I: Florence guide, there is a huge amount of recommendations in this post. To make life easier, I’ve streamlined everything into six sections: Stay / Coffee / Eat / Drink / Museums + Attractions / Places to See + Things to Do. The difference between the last two sections is an entry fee; Museums + Attractions are all paid entrance, while the Places to See + Things to Do are free.

Happy travelling, friends!

S T A Y

Airbnb // we stayed in the most fantastic apartment on our last visit. The flat - Silent Bright Apartment - is located a stone’s throw from Strada Maggiore & was honestly the best Airbnb experience we’ve ever had. It was spacious and clean, it had a balcony, it overlooked the blazing rooftops of the city, the kitchen was extremely well equipped for cooking, the bed was amazing, and there was a bathtub in the bedroom. The location was about an eight minute walk to the main square in the city. Basically: it. was. perfection. Added bonus: there was a totally adorable turtle roaming free in the courtyard below! We named him Sporo and had a really hard time leaving him behind.

Albergo delle Drapperie // if you’re looking for something more central, you can’t really find anything better than this boutique hotel. It’s quite small, and it literally overlooks the bustling market stalls of the old town. If I remember correctly: the hotel is across the road from a beautiful flower shop (feast for your eyes), around the corner from Tamborini (feast for your belly), and a further few minutes walk from Osteria del Sole (feast for your Italian soul), which is kind of exactly where you want to be.

C O F F E E

Caffe Zanarini // for us, this is the Gilli of Bologna. The coffee is fantastic, the pastries are even better, and the space has that super Italian feel to it that just warms my heart. We normally nab a spot along the bar & enjoy our breakfast the true Italian way, but once in a while we treat ourselves to the somewhat extortionate prices for a table outside on the square. Let me tell you, it is always worth it, if even just for the people watching. (And pigeons.) A must-visit.

E A T

Trattoria Serghei // three words: gramigna alla salsiccia. After ragu (duh), this is the dish of Bologna, and Serghei do it extremely well. It’s a small, traditionally run family joint that we find ourselves returning to time and time again. The food is always exceptional. We normally go for the ragu & the salsiccia pasta dishes to start, and then share a big hunk of meat as a main - the last time, it was an insanely tender pork shank that was about the same size as Boyfriend’s head. Amen to that! A must-visit.

Osteria de Coltelli Da Biagio // a tiny bit further than some might be willing to venture, but the food is worth it. The dishes are on the larger, heartier side of things, and the meal as a whole was outstanding value for money! ... that said, we did notice the staff favoring the locals over tourists like us, but the quality of the food was high enough for us to let this slide.

La Capriata // wandering along a covered archway off Strada Maggiore one day, we stumbled across LC & decided to stop in for a lazy lunch. We ate in the most beautiful sun-drenched courtyard, surrounded by lemon trees. The food was outstanding. It was super fresh - we had an amazing caprese salad that was beyond delicious - and perfectly traditional; I had an unforgettable ragu with homemade pasta served in a Parmesan bowl. A bowl made of Parmesan = the stuff of dreams!

Pizza Regina // sometimes, you just need a pizza and you need it to be reliable. We opted for the less traditional take-out option and brought our meal with us to Osteria del Sole so we could have it with a beer. We ordered a custom made pizza - n’duja + mozzarella - & devoured it within five minutes of sitting down. It was amazing!

Lindt // I’m kind of a bit sorry/not sorry for including this in my list. Listen, just hear me out: we had delicious chocolate gelato in the most amazing chocolate hazelnut dipped cones and it was worth every single penny. I regret nothing.

La Sorbetteria Castiglione // for a more authentic gelato experience, we always trek a little bit out of our way and it never disappoints. Our faves are the pistacchio and nocciola!

D R I N K

Osteria del Sole // definitely one of our favourite places in all of Bologna. According to my notes, it’s the oldest osteria in the region - 1465 apparently! - and it is so bloody brilliant in it’s simplicity. You make your way through the market streets, buy some antipasti goods in the nearby market, bring it into Osteria del Sole, buy a drink to go with it, and have your lunch picnic style alongside locals at one of the long communal tables. It is fantastic. An experience not to be missed: a must-visit.

Osteria I’Infedele // a recent find. Similar in style to Osteria del Sole in that it was small, filled with locals, cheap & relaxed, but it had a more youthful vibe to it and a wider drinks selection of cocktails etc.

RosaRose // located on Via Clavature, this is a fantastic spot for people watching. Boyfriend & I sat outside for hours one evening, listening to a nearby street musician, soaking up the atmosphere, enjoying the free platter of food that came with our spritzs, watching the sky change from blue to pink to dusk. Perfection. To experience the true Bologna vibe, this is a must-visit.

Enoteca Italiana // a beautiful wine shop that has a small amount of barrels & stools for dining on. We enjoyed some wine with a delicious meat & cheese platter on one of our first visits, and have since returned for breakfast & coffee.

Bar Senza Nome // a fantastically vibrant bar, located on a buzzy street lined with heaps of similar places. However! This one, apparently, is the only bar in Italy that is run & managed by deaf people. It’s amazing! You go in & the walls are lined with how-to sign language photos for ordering your drink! If you aren’t brave enough, the barmaids read your lips and that’s equally as amazing. Such a fantastic experience. Added bonus: you can eat your weight in free monkey nuts while drinking extremely cheap spritzs! Probably our favourite bar in the world. A must-visit.

Birreria Popolare // a hipster craft beer place that was located conveniently near to our apartment. We were drawn in by the beer emoji sign out front, and we sampled some nice Italian beer. Added bonus: if you’re lucky enough to visit at the right time (we were), you get a free platter of food with your drinks!

Le Stanze // I kind of liked the thought of this bar more than I actually enjoyed our experience there. It’s located inside an old chapel from the 16th century, and there are original frescoes still lining the walls & the ceilings. It was cool to see the artwork, but there was nothing distinctly Italian about the place. It was overpriced, and too touristy for our tastes.

M U S E U M S + A T T R A C T I O N S

Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio // one of the most magical, dreamlike buildings I’ve ever visited - somewhat reminiscent of Hogwarts. Boyfriend & I spent ages wandering back and forth along the arched passageways, but the real draw (and the part you have to pay into) is the wooden Teatro Anatomico from the 17th century, where they used to hold anatomy lessons. Worth the €3!

Santa Maria della Vita // the lure of this church, although pretty beautiful in its own right, is actually a fantastic group of wooden sculptures hidden in the back. They charge a measly €4 to see the group, but it’s certainly worth it: the scene depicted is the moment that Jesus dies, and honestly they are some of the most expressive pieces of art we’ve seen.

La Due Torri // yes, it’s very steep, and yes, it’s claustrophobic.. but it’s worth it for the breathtaking views over the terracotta rooftops of Bologna. Added bonus: it’s super cheap! A must-visit.

Palazzo Fava // a renaissance palace & art gallery space. The very first time we went to Bologna together, we saw an amazing Edward Hopper exhibition here, so it’s definitely worth checking upcoming shows just in case!

Museo Civico Archeologico // fantastic archaeology museum to wander around if you find yourself looking for something to do. Particular highlights for us were the beautiful building itself, and the Egyptian exhibition.

P L A C E S T O S E E + T H I N G S T O D O

Market shopping // wandering along the tiny streets around Via Drapperie and Via Pescherie Vecchie, you get a real feel for the Bologna lifestyle. The flower shops, the fish stalls, the butchers, the cheese-mongers, we love it all. Our favourite places to stop into for some goodies are Tamburini & Simoni, both of which are reliably great. Definitely a must-visit.

Basilica di San Petronio // the central basilica in the middle of Piazza Maggiore. A beautiful internal space, much bigger than it looks from the outside. Note: if you want to take photographs inside the church, you have to pay a small fee.

R E L A T E D P O S T S :

Bremen, Germany // Paris, France // Amsterdam, Holland // Copenhagen, Denmark // Cork, Ireland // Edinburgh, Scotland // Westport, Ireland // Barcelona, Spain // Munich, Germany // Vienna, Austria // London, UK i - ii - iii // Florence, Italy

#bologna #travel #italy

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nerdmars · 6 years

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Bruno Mars comes home this week, but the pop music megastar’s welcome came five months ago, when his first two announced shows each sold out in a couple of hours. A third was added and sold out just as quickly, and now the moment his fans waited months for is finally here.

For the fourth time, the Roosevelt grad born here as Peter Hernandez is back, bringing his mega-successful 24K Magic World Tour to Honolulu for a little homestand.

This visit is his biggest yet, befitting of his ever-growing profile, as he revives Aloha Stadium as a viable concert facility with a venue-record three sold-out shows, capping a 213-concert tour that spanned six continents, 38 countries and nearly two years.

About 110,000 fans will attend the three shows, reinforcing the pop-music superstar’s description of his home state in a 2011 web documentary.

“They got love, man,” Mars said then. “Hawaii … this place is the best.”

Hawaii earns the nickname “The Aloha State” in many ways. From the lei we give out on special occasions to the way we always make sure our potlucks have too much food rather than too little. From the aloha shirts many businessmen favor over three-piece suits to the way we welcome guests — both into our state and into our homes.

But some of our greatest aloha is expressed in the way we support our own.

24K MAGIC WORLD TOUR >> Where: Aloha Stadium >> When: 7 p.m., Nov. 8, 10 and 11 (doors open at 5:30 p.m.) >> Tickets: $49.50 and up, available at Ticketmaster.com >> Guest acts: Charlie Wilson (Nov. 8); The Green and Common Kings (Nov. 10 and 11) Every Little League team that makes it to the World Series — which only seems to happen every other year — gets the full weight of the state behind it. When Mililani’s Jasmine Trias and Maui’s Camile Velasco were “American Idol” finalists, the show became appointment television from Kalapana to Kekaha, and our telephone votes carried Trias to a third-place finish.

So when one of our own becomes perhaps the biggest pop star in the world? Well, it’s like we ourselves are along for the ride — singing along to every No. 1 song, gushing over every Super Bowl halftime show, celebrating every Grammy Award win.

And when that pop star comes home for a visit? We throw the biggest party we can.

The hoolaulea for Hawaii’s own Bruno Mars begins Thursday at Aloha Stadium. It lasts for three concerts across four nights, with more than 100,000 of his closest friends having already RSVP’d, “Hell yes.”

BRUNO BY THE NUMBERS >> 19: Top 40 singles >> 11 million: Albums sold >> 79 million: Singles sold >> 7: No. 1 singles as a performer >> 8: No. 1 singles as a songwriter >> 32: Weeks spent at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 >> 32: Countries where Mars has had a No. 1 single >> 11: Grammy Awards won >> 27: Grammy nominations >> 14.049 billion: Total YouTube views for Bruno Mars’ official music videos 24K MAGIC WORLD TOUR >> Miles traveled: 113,201 >> Days: 594 >> Shows: 213 >> Continents: 6 >> Countries: 38 >> States: 29 >> Cities: 123 >> Stops: 141

Take away something as simple as birthplace and Mars is still very much the kind of pop megastar Hawaii fans would love. Start with the fact that he’s half Filipino. So rare has it been for us to see Asians and Polynesians in the national limelight that we grab on for dear life when one — be it in music, movies or sports — rises to national or worldwide prominence, even if he’s not from Hawaii. A Steve Perry-less Journey would not sell out one concert here if it weren’t led by Arnel Pineda, a singer from the Philippines. In the world of sports, Ichiro Suzuki, Troy Polamalu and Jeremy Lin were local faves.

But the “half” in Mars’ ethnic makeup is as important as the “Filipino” to a state that has three times as many multiracial residents per capita as any other state, for we also pride ourselves on our multiculturalism. Sure, racial prejudice exists in Hawaii, but we’re still the state with the most ethnic variety, and Mars embodies that diversity — his father is most prominently Puerto Rican and Jewish and his late mother was Filipino, but he has flecks of other ethnicities laced in with those. For a state of “poi dogs,” one moving the most assuredly toward a true post-racial society, who better to identify with than a pop star who defies racial categorization?

And Mars is a big enough star that even if he wasn’t from Hawaii, the coming shows would be significant. That said, the fact that Mars is “one of us” certainly adds to the fervor surrounding his arrival on these shores this week. And let’s face it — he probably wouldn’t be coming here if he weren’t from here. Honolulu is on one of its greatest runs of concerts in many years, but while more and more stars are finding their way to our islands, the biggest are not visiting at their peak the way Mars is. We’re getting some great acts, but we’re not getting the Taylor Swifts, the Ed Sheerans, the Beyonces of contemporary pop music. Will that change? Mars’ three sellouts seem to have opened the door to more shows at the stadium, with the Eagles and Guns N’ Roses due in December, and there are rumblings that other stars could be on their way.

Whatever happens down the road, with Mars coming to town, Honolulu for once is included in a worldwide tour by an artist in the upper stratosphere. Mars’ 24K Magic Tour has sold well past 2 million tickets worldwide, with revenue surpassing $250 million. The album it was named after was the second-best seller of 2017. Overall, Mars has certified sales of more than 90 million records/downloads in the U.S. alone less than a decade after he put himself on the map with a smooth guest spot on rapper B.o.B.’s chart-topping “Nothin’ on You.”

All of which serves as a reminder of another reason Hawaii loves Bruno: He always remembers where he came from.

BACK TO WHERE IT ALL STARTED

ALBUMS

“Doo-Wops & Hooligans” (2010) >> Peak: No. 3 >> Sales: 5 million copies >> Singles: “Just the Way You Are” (No. 1 for 4 weeks, 9 million); “Grenade (No. 1 for 4 weeks; 7 million); “It Will Rain” (No. 3, 3 million); “The Lazy Song” (No. 4, 3 million)

“Unorthodox Jukebox” (2012) >> Peak: No. 1 >> Sales: 4 million copies >> Singles: “Locked Out of Heaven” (No. 1 for 6 weeks, 6 million); “When I Was Your Man” (No. 1 for 1 week, 6 million); “Treasure” (No. 5, 3 million)

“24K Magic” (2016) >> Peak: No. 2 >> Sales: 2 million copies >> Singles: “That’s What I Like” (No. 1 for 1 week, 7 million); “Finesse feat. Cardi B” (No. 3, 3 million); “24K Magic” (No. 4, 5 million)

Other singles >> “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars (2015, No. 1 for 14 weeks, 11 million) >> “Nothin’ on You” by B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars (2010, No. 1 for 2 weeks, 3 million) >> “Billionaire” by Travie McCoy featuring Bruno Mars (2010, No. 4, 2 million) >> “Lighters” by Bad Meets Evil featuring Bruno Mars (2011, No. 4, 2 million) >> “Young, Wild & Free” by Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa featuring Bruno Mars (2012, No. 7, 4 million)

Sources: Billboard Magazine, Recording Industry Association of America

The pop superstar born in Honolulu as Peter Hernandez has brought his show to town for the tours following all three of his albums, with each visit growing on pace with his skyrocketing career — from one sold-out show at Blaisdell Arena to three there and now three at Aloha Stadium, a venue with about four times the capacity of the arena. For his hometown fans, it was a long wait through a tour that has gone on for almost two years, but in the end he did not forget about us.

Mars’ backstory is well-known, and it both adds to the Bruno Mars mythology and makes him that much more likable.

He started his career as a 4-year-old Elvis impersonator in Waikiki and entertained at hotel shows throughout his youth. During a “60 Minutes” profile in November 2016, he also recollected, with no negativity or sense of self-pity, how he spent part of his childhood homeless, living with his father and brother in an abandoned shack in Manoa Valley.

Mars has credited his humble beginnings for his work ethic and his start in Waikiki for his broad appeal.

“Because of my upbringing performing for tourists, I had to entertain everyone. Not just black people, not just white people, not just Asian people, not just Latin people. I had to perform for anybody that came to Hawaii,” Mars told Rolling Stone for a November 2016 cover story. (Mars had not granted the Star-Advertiser an interview at press time.)

That requirement to entertain all comers has also resulted in a command of various musical styles. His latest album, 2016’s “24K Magic,” is pretty much a straight-up tribute to old-school R&B and funk, but his prior two albums showed off his versatility as a singer and his dexterity at crossing genres, with forays into belted balladry (the soaring yet somber “When I Was Your Man”); post-punk reggae-rock (the Police-inspired “Locked Out of Heaven”); folksy, island-inflected pop whimsy (“The Lazy Song”); and even an amalgam of styles including Motown and surf rock (“Runaway Baby”).

Those songs and those sounds all come from Bruno. In an era in which so many pop stars lean on hitmakers such as producers Max Martin and Benny Blanco, Mars has had a hand in writing and producing every song he’s appeared on. He works with outside producers at times — most notably Mark Ronson, with whom he recorded the megahit “Uptown Funk” — but compared with his peers, such collaborations are minimal. More commonly, Mars and his production teams — previously The Smeezingtons and now Shampoo Press & Curl — work in the opposite direction, shepherding hits for such artists as Adele (“All I Ask”) and CeeLo Green (“Forget You”), the former earning him one of his 11 Grammys.

SHOWMAN BRINGS THE MAGIC

Mars takes that same hands-on approach with his dancing, that extra something-something that takes him from star musician and singer to maybe the best showman currently working, a worthy successor to great entertainers such as James Brown and Michael Jackson.

Phil Tayag, one of the founding members of the renowned hip-hop dance crew the Jabbawockeez, works with Mars on many of his routines — peep him in the video for “Finesse,” among others — but won’t go so far as to call himself Mars’ choreographer.

“He’s not one of those artists that just wants somebody to prepare something for him,” Tayag told MTV.com in January. “We build everything together. He is very involved in all aspects of what he does when it comes to music production and everything. So it’s the same with dancing and creating and choreographing — super involved. … I was thinking in the beginning that he was just one of these artists that wants to be fed this choreography and all that, but he’s not. He’s super involved in everything, so we create together. He is a choreographer as well.”

The choreography is one part of translating powerfully sung songs to a live platform. Mars sees the brotherhood — in one case literal — he shares with his eight-piece band, the Hooligans, as an even more essential part.

“I think the best part of our show is that you can tell that we’re all friends up there,” Mars said in a documentary short posted to his YouTube page, “and you go in thinking, like, ‘Oh, OK, I’m gonna go see this guy sing these love songs,’ but then you kinda get a treat, you get … one of my best friends, (sideman and writing partner) Philip Lawrence, and me and him are just having the time of our life. You got my brother (Eric Hernandez) on drums, and I think that’s where the magic happens.”

BRUNO TIMELINE

>> Oct. 8, 1985 — Born Peter Hernandez in Honolulu.

>> Feb. 14, 1990 — Graces the cover of Midweek at a mere 4 years old, drawing attention for his gig as an Elvis impersonator at the Esprit Nightclub at the Sheraton Waikiki. Mars goes on to appear in costume in the Aloha Bowl halftime show in December and in the Nicolas Cage film “Honeymoon in Vegas” two years later.

>> June 7, 2003 — Graduates from Roosevelt High School. Soon after, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music.

>> Feb. 8, 2009 — “Right Round” by Flo Rida (featuring an uncredited Kesha) becomes Mars’ first No. 1 hit as a songwriter (six other writers and the band Dead or Alive share credit).

>> May 1, 2010 — “Nothin’ on You,” a collaboration with rapper B.o.B., becomes Mars’ first No. 1 single as a performer. Five months later, “Just the Way You Are” becomes Mars’ first fully solo chart-topper.

June 15, 2010 — Network TV debut on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

>> Oct. 4, 2010 — Debut album “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” is released.

>> Dec. 19, 2010 — Plays a sold-out show at the Blaisdell Arena.

>> Feb. 13, 2011 — Wins first Grammy Award, for best male pop vocal performance for “Just the Way You Are”

>> October 20, 2012 — Hosts “Saturday Night Live” and serves as musical guest, one of only 25 performers ever to do double-duty. (He also appears as a musical guest only on Oct. 9, 2010, Nov. 22, 2014 and Oct. 15, 2016.)

>> March 16, 2013 — “Unorthodox Jukebox” becomes Mars’ first (and so far only) U.S. No. 1 album.

>> June 1, 2013 — Mother, Bernadette Bayot, dies of a brain aneurysm at age 55. Mars told Latina magazine in 2017, “She’s more than my music. If I could trade music to have her back, I would.”

>> Feb. 2, 2014 — Wows the world as the lead Super Bowl XLVIII halftime performer, with a guest appearance by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. (He returned two years later at Super Bowl L as a guest with Beyonce at the request of main act Coldplay.

>> April 18-21, 2014 — Plays three sold-out shows at Blaisdell Arena.

>> Jan. 17, 2015 — “Uptown Funk,” a collaboration with British producer Mark Ronson, spends the first of 14 weeks at No. 1, tied for third-most in Billboard history.

>> July 4, 2015 — Performs at the White House as part of President Barack Obama’s Independence Day celebration.

>> Nov. 20, 2016 — CBS news program “60 Minutes” airs a segment on Mars, his roots in Hawaii and his rise to fame.

>> Dec. 13, 2016 — Appears on the “Carpool Karaoke” segment of “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” About 50 segments have aired and Mars’ is among the most viewed on the internet.

>> Nov. 29, 2017 — His special, “Bruno Mars: 24K Magic Live at the Apollo,” airs on CBS.

>> Jan. 28, 2018 — Wins six Grammys, including the big three of album, record and song of the year, bringing his career total to 11 Grammys.

>> June 9 and 16 and Aug. 3, 2018 — Three shows at Aloha Stadium this month sell out within hours.

#Bruno mars #article #24kmagic #24kmagic tour #hawaii #aloha stadium #finale

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chromacomaphoto · 6 years

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Places to Shoot in Bangkok Part 10: Hit the Parks! (Lumphini)

Ok, so here is a post this month that I have been meaning to get done for ages due to lots of questions from readers about the greener side of Bangkok. So, this one is all about Bangkok’s rare green oasis spots, the antidote to anybody feeling overdosed on the asphalt jungle.

There are several large and very well known parks within the Bangkok city limits, there are also some larger ones that are very famous and treasured by Bangkokians but which are slightly out of the city (the beautiful Phuttamonton park at Salaya being a good example) but for the purposes of this month’s entry I will keep it simple and give some advice regarding the easiest ones to get to by BTS skytrain so that people here on holiday reading this can have an easy time of it too.

The best known are probably the Railway Park AKA ‘Suan Rotfai’, Queen Sirikit Park which borders onto the railway park and Suan Lumphini. The BTS stations for these would be ‘Chatuchak’ for the first two and either ‘Ratchadamri’ or ‘Sala Daeng’ for the latter. I think that the Railway Park might be one of my all time faves but today I will look at Lumphini Park in detail. To be fair though, some of the tips and advice below is applicable to the others.

Lumphini is quite large for a piece of land located in such a downtown part of Bangkok but it’s not overly huge. I’d guess around 150 acres or so. There is a regular flow of joggers and cyclists orbiting around it in daylight and the total track distance is about 2.5 kilometres per loop, if that helps give you some idea. It’s nice to not go when it’s too hot in the early afternoon but there is a lot of shaded tree cover in places to help with that a little. The best times for photographers to visit there are very early morning and just before sunset OR any time during a consistently cloudy and overcast grey day ...although hopefully not actually as it is raining. Unlike the other parks in Bangkok, the joggers and cyclists generally (but not always) seem to orbit the same way and follow the rules. Be aware of the yellow lined track if you are standing with your eye buried into your camera as you could inadvertently turn around into a cyclist going at a rate of knots! Also be advised that some very healthy, large examples of Thailand’s famous water monitor lizards live and thrive in the waters all over this park and although sometimes you won’t see a single one, other times you might see several and quite close to you as well. It’s nice to be prepared with this information as if you are not expecting to see such a beast and then happen to stumble on one unexpectedly, it can be quite the shock (they are the size of an alligator or even longer in some cases and just as ugly and fierce looking). They generally won’t harass humans but give them their space!

This park has more than its fair share of expats as well as locals due to such a location being really hard to find in downtown Bangkok. It’s prized by a lot of hardcore fitness types as well as leisurely strollers. Very early morning visits can lead to you discovering huge groups of elderly Thai Chinese people doing Tai Chi with great synchronicity and people making religious offerings at little shrines and spots around the park.

There is a very low tech but incredibly cheap outdoor weightlifting and bodybuilding place or two hidden around the park that you’ll no doubt stumble over. It’s like something out of a prison yard but has been going for decades and decades (it has moved spot a few times though as I recall). Lots of guys doing dips and chin ups and the like. There is a nice lake in the middle and lots of connected waterways with pedal boats for hire, attracting tourists and locals having fun, making for good people shots. Refreshments are sold around the outside of the park with some good street food and drinks near some of the main entrances in and out.

Some safety tips and local knowledge that you won’t easily find in all the usual trite guide books:

Although it’s good to come very early for the morning golden hour, be advised that during the night it is not a safe place and full of mentally disturbed people, homeless tramps, drunks and hardcore drug addict types. Be warned that some of them will still be hanging around and maybe only just coming down (or even still high) so don’t be walking around there THAT early. The official opening time is around 4:30am till about 9pm but wait until the sun is up or you might find yourself in the middle of a Michael Jackson video from the 80’s. There are also lots of sex workers in the park at night, often the kinds that can’t or won’t work in the ‘usual’ places for them in Thailand and often for dubious reasons. Don’t get robbed for your camera or wallet.

Another top local tip that catches a lot of people out: If you wanna picnic with your partner under a tree and read a book whilst making some shots and enjoying the day, great. BUT if you are a man alone in Lumphini park on a picnic blanket under a tree in the shade reading a book (especially on a weekend or holiday) then this is locally the equivalent of putting up a huge neon sign that reads “I am looking for a casual sexual hookup with another male’ and you will very likely be approached by people who might misunderstand your intentions. It’s ‘the spot’ apparently and if that is what you want of course, then hey...that’s also cool but I just thought that as one of my readers, you ought to know as I have never seen this written in a guidebook anywhere yet locals and especially long term expats often are aware of it..

Lumphini Park, or often just ‘Suan Lum’ as it’s known to the locals, has been a public park in Bangkok since just after the first world war so we are talking about getting on for nearly a hundred years. The whole of the city has been built around it in the area and so it’s a nice juxtaposition of proper, long standing tropical park and huge metropolis all around. It’s named after a loose transliteration of the reputed birthplace of Buddha himself (although that wasn’t in Thailand of course). There are outdoor music concerts in the cooler months of the year, some of them are quite large and well executed affairs with full orchestras and the like, jazz concerts being another common one.

It’s a great Bangkok park for people watching and photos, enjoy it. This post was a change from the old 6 x 6 Rolleiflex work that has been dominating the blog for the past year and was actually all shot on 35mm Tri X with a Leica M2, a goggled Summaron 35mm and 50mm Summicron (rigid) lenses.

CCP

#chromacomaphoto #bangkok #leica m2 #35 summaron #50 summicron rigid #tri x #black and white #bangkokthailand #street photography #photography guide bangkok

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jeremystrele · 3 years

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A Stylist’s Bookmark-Worthy Guide To Byron Bay + The Northern Rivers Region

Travel

Jono Fleming

Photo – Jono Fleming.

I travelled to Byron Bay with some friends on a road trip when I was in my early 20s. We stayed at a youth hostel somewhere, hit up Cheeky Monkeys for some shots, and drove around taking photos with every large object we could find (the big prawn in Ballina, for example).

Cut to over a decade later, and a trip to Byron Bay and the Northern Rivers region is a little different. While the landmarks and big Australian icons are still there, there has been an influx of amazing creatives and foodies that have set up shop in the area, as well as social media stars sharing every corner of town. But don’t be put off by its ‘sceney’ status, there are a still lots of places to escape to if you want to unwind.

One of my favourite things about the area is that it’s somewhere you can visit any time of the year. Whether it’s peak summer season or the middle of winter, there is plenty to do and see. The aforementioned creative scene is experiencing huge growth, with new design stores, fashion, accommodation and restaurants opening with every visit. In a year when travel was scarce, Byron has offered a plethora of new experiences and a change of pace to the usual working from home grind.

While the sleepier, more casual Byron Bay of the past has evolved, the town and surrounding area still holds many secrets. You can still explore some of the most incredible nature walks, find small cafes hidden away in country towns and take time out on spectacular drives to see where the rainforest meets the sea.

I go to Byron to get inspired, to take pause and connect with other designers. By no means am I a local, but one of the best things about Byron Bay, is that when you get there, you’re on holiday… but you still feel at home. And on the way out of town, as the sun rises and we brace for an 8 hour drive back to Sydney, I still go past the big prawn at Ballina every time, because it makes me smile and reminds me that I’ve been doing this trip for a while, and it gets better with every visit.

Here are a few of my favourite spots!

Jono and his partner Ryan at The Top Shop – a hilltop cafe famous for its surfy burgers! Photo – Jono Fleming.

Whites Beach is a secluded surf spot surrounded by picturesque bushland. Photo – Jono Fleming.

The Eltham Pub was established in 1902 and sits on the outskirts of the hinterland! Photo – Jono Fleming.

Top Shop

Formerly a corner store and milk bar, Top Shop was converted to a cafe by in 2008 and now serves its famous burgers to surfers and tourists alike. The old weatherboard is a Byron institution, and an essential bridge between the old and new community.

Eltham pub

Established in 1902, the Eltham Pub is a locals watering hole that has recently undergone a bit of a revamp. About 30 minutes out of Byron Bay, nestled amongst the hinterland, the Eltham boasts an impressive menu and classic selection of drinks. A beautiful drive through winding hills leads you to this little oasis of a spot, with a laid back vibe and lots of personality. This has quickly become a new favourite and is worth the drive.

La Casita is a low-key Mexican cantina by the same owners as Fleet. Photo – Jono Fleming.

Glorious waves rolling in to the shore. Photo – Jono Fleming.

Spanner crab scramble at Three Blue Ducks. Photo – Jono Fleming.

The Farm at Byron Bay: the setting for Three Blue Ducks. Photo – Jono Fleming.

La Casita

For those who didn’t plan a head and get a booking at Fleet in Brunswick Heads, never fear, down the road is La Casita, a Mexican cantina from the same team. Set in a large undercover outdoor courtyard, this restaurant mixes authentic Mexican flavours with a modern dining experience. The tasting menu is extremely good value and nothing kicks the night off better than starting with a Tommy’s margarita.

Three Blue Ducks at The Farm

We’re starting with a classic, and it’s a familiar one but it’s worth the hype. Three Blue Ducks at The Farm is a great way to start off your trip with it’s stunning grounds and impeccable food. The breakfast menu is a fresh mix of classics and some unexpected treats such as the filipino sausage with fried eggs and sambal.

My go-to is the spanner crab scramble, because nothing says ‘holiday’ like having crab for breakfast. And chuck a Bloody Mary in there for good measure. Don’t worry if there’s a bit of a queue; Three Blue Ducks is set on an 80-acre working farm so there’s plenty to see and pass the time, from the fluffy cows and animals to the macadamia grove.

The impressive new Tigmi Trading HQ and showroom. Photo – Alicia Taylor.

Inside Tigmi Trading’s new HQ. Photo – Alicia Taylor.

Formerly a 1990s warehouse, the store and showroom has undergone an extensive reno – complete with sculptures by denHolm! Photo – Jono Fleming.

Nikau Store is a ceramics mecca! Photo – Jono Fleming.

All the handmade wares on display at Nikau Store .Photo – Jono Fleming.

Tigmi Trading

Driving through the industrial area just outside of Byron centre can be a bit of a sensory overload. With new shops popping up all the time, there’s so much to see and do but standing out among them is the Tigmi Trading flagship store, a plaster rendered beacon. One of the coolest brands in the homewares industry, Tigmi’s new showroom is filled with beautiful furniture, rugs and homewares, sourced from all around the world. Entering will whisk you away on holidays, while you’re on holidays.

(See TDF’s feature on the new Tigmi Trading HQ here!)

Nikau Store

Run by the always smiling Nicky and Nicole, Nikau Store is a little haven packed with ceramics and plants. Filled with one of a kind pieces by local makers and imported goods you don’t seeing in every shop in the city, Nikau is bright, unique and almost impossible to leave without purchasing a little piece to take home. You never know what you’re going to find in this shop, but there’s something for everyone!

Sunseeker Motel is the newest, hottest, hippest accommodation in town! Photo – Jacqui Turk for The Design Files.

A mix of local designers and vintage finds constitute the entire 70s-inspired decorative theme. Photo – Jacqui Turk for The Design Files.

Crazy paving and Fearon Borthers furniture at Sunseeker Motel. Photo – Jacqui Turk for The Design Files.

The previously decrepit roadside motel has been given a new contemporary life, while still remaining faithful to its original character. Photo – Jacqui Turk for The Design Files.

The motel interiors are a showcase for budding Australian design talent! Photo – Jacqui Turk for The Design Files.

Sunseeker Motel

The new kid on the block, and while I haven’t stayed there (yet!), Sunseeker is next on my list when I come to town. Similar to The Bower (another hot local sleeping spot!), this is a renovated motel but with a wildly different design. Filled with retro charm, an eclectic mix of furniture and decor, this is a great example of the new aesthetic that’s sweeping Byron Bay. For those looking for more than the classic beachy white on white, this new accomm is filled with colour, pattern and texture. See you there next time!

Comma day spa is quintessentially Byron: low-key, impeccably designed, and relaxing! Photo – Lisa Sorgini.

Left: The interiors of Comma are instantly relaxing. Photo – Lisa Sorgini. Right: The beach is incredible, no matter what time of day you’re there. Photo – Eve Wilson for The Design Files.

Comma

If the local wildlife is a bit too much, take a load off and book yourself in for a massage at Comma. Hidden away in the industrial area, this place is exactly the ‘treat yourself’ experience you deserve on a break. With a beautifully minimal interior, some beautiful fragrances and a large offering of treatments, you will leave more zen and relaxed than ever.

Killen Falls. Photo – Jono Fleming.

Minyon Falls rainforest walk on the edge of Whian Whian State Conservation Area. Photo – Jono Fleming.

Jono himself on the Minyon Falls rainforest walk! Photo – Jono Fleming.

Scouts Falls are closer to Coff’s Harbor than Byron, but are on the way if you are driving to and from Sydney. Photo – Jono Fleming.

Killen Falls

If you’re looking for a very fun nature experience then jump into the cooling waters of Killen Falls. A short drive out of town, follow the marked path to the lookout and falls and be at one with nature, paddling under the booming water. This recommendation does come with some caveats though. Remember to be careful about leaving the area the same as you found it, and be wary of all sorts of critters you might find living there.

Also pictured are Minyon Falls, accessible via a rainforest walk in-land from Bangalow; and Scout’s Falls, which I visited on the drive back home to Sydney!

The bubbly, ever-enthusiastic Jono Fleming! Photo – Jono Fleming.

Walking down the boardwalk at The Pass, Byron. Photo – Jono Fleming.

More Of Jono’s Fave Spots

EAT

Light Years, Oma, Orgasmic Food, Keith

SHOP

Toko Toko, Marz Design, Newrybar Merchants, Pampa, Our Corner Store

STAY

Kia Ora Byron Bay, Hobo Homestead, Cactus Rose Villa, The Perch

Whites Beach and Cape Byron Distillery

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denisecua · 6 years

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While working on our Taiwan itinerary, I realized there aren’t as many available travel tips and guides online about the country, as there are for Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. So upon getting back from my trip, I figured I should let my experiences be learning grounds for your future travels here. And without further adieu, let me present to you Taiwan (or Taipei) in lists of tips, tricks, hits and misses.

Flight: AirAsia

Very cheap roundtrip flights from Manila to Taipei– PHP 3,000 without check-in baggage and PHP 5,000 with 20kg of check-in baggage. Both include (strictly) 7kg carry-on allowance. Travel tax excluded.

AirAsia flights to Taiwan is only once a day apparently. Took the 11:15 PM flight out and the 1:45 AM flight back to Manila.

One of my fastest check-ins ever, especially during departure. Finished everything in 15-20 minutes! Way less people compared to Cebu Pacific which had super long lines heading to Taipei at the same time.

Flight was comfy, and the plane was nice and clean. Leg room, as you can expect, is quite limited, such that when I’d cross my legs, my knees would hit the next seat.

No blankets for lending!!! You’d have to purchase their AirAsia-branded blankets at PHP 500. Not cool! Or should I say, too cool because I was nearly freezing?!

For in-flight meals, you have to pre-book them if you don’t want to take chances. Pretty cheap, at around PHP 150-200 a meal.

Weather in August: H-O-T!!!!

August is Taiwan’s hottest month. Clearly we didn’t research prior to booking! Can go as high as 38 degrees Celcius!

Recommendation: Don’t book in August so you can maximize your stay! We got tired too easily due to the debilitating heat.

Money

Their currency is New Taiwanese Dollar.

Conversion from NTD to PHP is 1.7.

For money exchange, you have to do it at the airport upon arrival or at the banks. They don’t have FOREX stalls everywhere like in Hong Kong. So carefully plan your exchange in advance.

For pocket money, average spend a day (given our itinerary — available upon request) would be at around PHP 3,000-4,000 excluding shopping.

Accommodation: Meander Hostel

Definitely a place I’d recommend if you’re traveling on a budget! It’s a hostel but with private rooms.

Got the Triple Room with 1 queen bed and 1 double bed–comfy. Spacious enough. Looks new and clean. Has minimalist design.

Had troubles with the air conditioner–wouldn’t get cold enough for a day or two!

Shower area is more than sufficient, and heater works great! I could take showers for hours. Jk.

Total cost for 4 nights was at PHP 17,000 but thanks to Agoda Rewards, we got it for PHP 15,000. Just PHP 5,000 per head! So affordable!

No windows in the room; could use better lighting = Not very ideal for girls who spend a long time putting on makeup!!!!

Has a common room at the G/F. Very cozy and you can mingle with fellow travellers. You can also bring food and eat there. Has free-flowing water and wintermelon tea. Also coffee, milk tea, bread and fruits in the AM for breakfast.

Not allowed to bring outside shoes in. They give you slippers to use. Not sure if that’s hygienic but I think they sanitize it after every use. The upside is that you don’t have to bring your own slippers anymore.

Location is a-ok! Just 10 minutes away from Ximending on foot. You just have to walk one straight line/street so you won’t get lost. Also has nearby convenience stores.

Transporation

From Taoyuan International Airport, we shared a cab going to our hostel since it was late already (2AM) and it was cost-effective given that we were 4 people.

Getting around is mostly thru their MRT which is super easy to understand. We didn’t have to buy stored value cards since buying single tickets was always a breeze. Never a line! MRT is also very clean and not so crowded.

Most frequented line is the blue line–Bannan. That’s where Ximen is located right smack at the middle. This is why I recommend you choose a hotel in Ximen, since it’s close to the many areas you’re likely to visit as a tourist.

Going back to airport, we asked help from our hostel and they booked us a 9-seater van for just NT 1700. Not bad! From Ximen to Taoyuan, we only took 40 minutes.

Advantages of Taiwan over Hong Kong

Much, much friendlier people.

Less fast-paced so you can travel more calmly.

Cleaner, especially the toilets!

Generally cheaper.

Shopping

For international clothing brands, they have H&M and Uniqlo in Ximending (more expensive though) and GU, Pull & Bear, ZARA, and Bershka in Taipei 101 area.

They also have the usual sports stores like adidas, Nike, New Balance, and Jordan in Ximending, but I never entered. Hihi.

Speaking of Ximending, they say that’s Taipei’s counterpart of Myeongdong in Seoul. While I still managed to have fun (because I will always, always find a way to shop successfully), I recommend not expecting too much. I found that there aren’t as many interesting stores, and even their food offerings were underwhelming.

Highlight for me was the skincare variety. They have super cheap sheet masks, so better hoard! Go for 86 Shop and Paris Strawberry, as they have better pricing. More on this here.

For Taiwanese delicacies (pasalubong alert!), buy from the corner/semi-hidden stores that don’t look fancy. The well-lit and nicer-looking ones have higher prices. For instance, I got salty yolk cookies for just NT 120 a pack while at the better-looking stores, they were selling it to me for NT 180. Nonetheless, they all provide free tastes so you can make sure the goodies are yummy before you buy them!

Re: Supermarkets, I’m not sure if I was just blind but there weren’t so many. I only found Jason’s Marketplace in Taipei 101 and in Ximending (near Exit 1 of Ximen Station). My favorite purchases were the frozen fried rice–huge variety (salmon, sausage, hawaiian, kimchi, smoked pork, etc.) and super cheap (NT 48–definitely more affordable than the Spam kimchi fried rice packs in Korea). Note: Put in carry-on because it’s not allowed for check-in baggage.

Food

Gudetama Cafe in Zhongxiao Dunhua is super cute! But, food could be better. I say don’t go there starving. Just get snacks or desserts there for Instagram purposes. Do note that you have to reserve in advance. I did thru eztable.com, and they require advanced consumable payment of NT 200 per head.

Yong Kang Street has a lot of restaurants and stalls you can try out: Scallion Pancakes (yum!), Smoothie House (line too long), etc. They also have the first ever Din Tai Fung there but waiting time is usually about 45 – 75 minutes. Personally, I find that it tastes the same as those in HK and SG, and nothing more.

Mala Hotpot!!!! Best hotpot buffet ever!!!! Their beef cuts are so generous, premium and lean! Soup tastes heavenly! They also have unlimited Haagen-Dazs ice cream with about 12 flavors. Unlimited canned drinks, too, and free-flowing coffee and tea. YUM YUM YUM! Per head: NT 598 for lunch and NT 698 for dinner and weekends. Note: Must call ahead of time for reservation.

Chose Raohe Night Market over Shi Lin because they say it’s less crowded there. Didn’t regret it. Place isn’t packed, and has good variety of food stalls. Do come with friends though so you can share food and try a lot of different things. My faves from there include the Walking Steak Cup and the big-ass chicken. Oh and the candied strawberry, too, for dessert!

7-Eleven is also close to my heart because they have this microwavable packed Spicy Chicken similar to KFC’s Hotshots that taste so yummy! Also very cheap at NT 38 if I remember correctly.

Mos Burger (originally from Japan) is also

Milk tea!!! If you’re not watching your sugar and dairy intake closely, go all out!

Attractions

Taipei 101 is a must-visit because it’s a key attraction in Taipei. It also has many stores from fashion to food. The Observatory is another thing. You pay about PHP 800 and the lines are excruciatingly long (maybe because we went on a weekend) and the view is meh. The outdoor viewing was also closed when we visited so that added to our disappointment.

Visited Huashan 1914 Creative Park for the “Hello My Name is Paul Smith” exhibit. I found that it was a breath of fresh air from the usual Taipei scene. Very artsy place! The exhibit was funky and colorful as expected. You’d leave the place with very nice pictures for sure. The entrance fee is not bad either at NT 280 for foreign visitors, and exhibit is set to run until September 3, 2017 only. [Note: Clearly, I published this too late.)

Joined KKday’s Day Tour from Taipei at USD 33 each, inclusive of bus transfers starting from Taipei Main Station but exclusive of entrance fees and food:

First stop: Yehliu Geopark for the rock formations. Very unique but also very hot. Remember to wear sunscreen–we forgot!!! Good thing this was first in the agenda, otherwise we’d have no energy to go around given the vast place and the hell-like heat!

Commercial: Be wary of the time. If tour guide says meeting time is at 11:00, she really means it. Otherwise, you’d get left behind just like our friend. Hahaha! It’s funny now but it was stressful at the time it was happening.

Second stop: Shifen Old Street for the lantern flying and lunch! For the lanterns, you can buy based on what you wish for (i.e. Wealth, Marriage, Happiness, and the like) and they cost at NT 200 a piece. You also get to write and draw your wishes on it usng a chinese pen (mopit), and take photos/videos as you let it go up in the air. They do this along the railway. As for the food part, I say it’s one of the best! We had Yakult slushie, barbecued chicken wing with rice inside, fried cuttlefish, and peanut ice cream roll. Gooda gooda in mah belly! ❤

Third stop: Shifen Waterfalls — underwhelming to be honest! I don’t know, maybe we were exhausted at this point but walking all the way to the falls didn’t feel worth it. It was smaller in person than in the photos. 😦

Fourth stop: Jiufen. If you’re a fan of the movie Spirited Away, be sure to visit! But if not, I honestly didn’t find it that interesting. It’s just an old alley that’s uphill–so many steps. We kept grumpling because we were so tired and sweaty and I was having allergies from my sweat and sunburn from Yehliu. We wondered how come the oldies have more energy than us. Hahaha! Highlight: Cute cat shops. There are about three!

Things I’d Do If/When I Go Back

Elephant Mountain because a pretty Canadian girl we met at the hostel recommended it for its view — you can see Taipei skyline including Taipei 101; I realize the skyline is only nice when the tower is in sight.

Cat Village because nobody wanted to go with me 😦

Mala Hotpot because it’s the bestest!

Meander Hostel because I miss their sofa :))

National Palace Museum because the hostel people said it has interesting treasures from China. Hmmmmm.

IKEA because apparently Taiwan has one!

Ichiran because apparently they just opened there, and we were plain oblivious.

[Long Overdue Post] A Roundup of My Taipei Trip While working on our Taiwan itinerary, I realized there aren't as many available travel tips and guides online about the country, as there are for Hong Kong, Japan and Korea.

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