update: i have fought 20 characters in a month ✌

Reliving Our Adventures

Thor x Reader

Request: “Your make it rain fic was so adorable!! Could your write more adventures about reader and Thor in the new asgardian village?“

Word Count: 1,202

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: Swearing, Loki sadness, Peter Quill bullying

A/N: Imma be honest, I never usually had a big thing for Thor but writing all these things about him is making my heart do the feels thing. It doesn’t help that I just went and saw Men In Black International either. Chris Hemsworth you’re ruining my life. Anyways, thank you to the Anon who requested this! I’m happy you enjoyed “Make It Rain!” As for the rest of my requests, I will bust them out as soon as I can but if I’m missing for a day or two it’s because my birthday is quite literally *glances at fake watch* tomorrow. So if I don’t post on the twentieth, I’m celebrating being brought into this world with my family! Other than that, I hope you enjoy!

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Buying a polaroid camera was the best decision you had ever made. Being the girlfriend of the God of Thunder made things very interesting and you wanted to capture every moment. Not only that, though. It was nice having pictures of him around when he was off saving the universe and you weren’t with him. That’s exactly what was happening now, actually. The dumbass left around a week ago to go with the Guardians and do something that would result in saving the entire galaxy and didn’t take you. Shameful. You knew how to fight and quite honestly, were probably more intimidating than him at times. Especially when you got mad. Instead, you’re stuck here in his cottage in the new Asgardian village, looking through all of the polaroids you had taken.

You come across the first one you ever took, which was of Thor giving you a very confused and ‘oh my GOD I was just attacked by LIGHT’ look while in an apron and wearing oven mitts. To make it even funnier, there was a blur of a whole batch of cookies just falling on the floor. You didn’t tell him what the polaroid camera you were holding was, and he didn’t know what it was, so that’s where the confused look came from. The hilarious squinty look came from the big flash that temporarily obstructed his vision and caused him to drop the cookies you two had just made. The cookies were a queen-warming gift for Brunnhilde, but they became food for the floor because of Thor’s reaction. “Thor! The cookies!”

“(Y/N)! That contraption!”

You giggle at the memory, seeing the very next picture you took of him. It was the exact same scene, except he was smiling and holding the second batch of cookies instead of them being on the way to the ground. You fish through all the other pictures, your eyes landing on one of you and Thor huddled together by a bonfire. You two are swallowed by a blanket that Brunnhilde knit for you two as a housewarming gift. Your head is resting on him, and he’s gazing at you. His expression is literally lovesick puppy, and it’s absolutely adorable. Brunnhilde was the one who took this candid photo, actually. It was a nice night where you all just sat back and relaxed for once. Thor knew a lot about space, actually, and that night he was telling you all about it. “It is funny how small all those stars and planets look from here, but do not be fooled. They are big. Much bigger than what you would think. It is actually quite alarming, seeing a planet from the outside for the very first time. Very big.”

The next picture that catches your eye is the one of Thor and Rocket pointing and laughing at Peter Quill who is glaring at them and just so happens to be... soaking wet. You snort at this memory as it started a prank war between Peter and Thor that is still waging on to this day. “Thor I don’t get why you want me to stand here,” Peter says, standing on the edge of the dock. “Look out at the sunset Quill! It is lovely from this specific area here, believe me!” Peter turns and looks out at the horizon, only to be pushed in the water by Thor. It was a pretty lame prank, but Rocket and Thor could not stop laughing. You snapped this picture because seeing Thor with this much happiness on his face made your heart flutter. As many good memories you have with him, there are some dark ones as well.

With that thought, your eyes focus on another picture. This one is of Thor, his back to the camera, looking out at the water. On the water were spots of fire. This picture was a darker one, as it was a memorial of the death of his brother, Loki. Loki never got a proper Asgardian funeral, and it really affected Thor. Even though Loki’s body wasn’t there, it eased Thor knowing that he finally got a sendoff that he saw as fit. You took this picture so any time Thor missed him, he could look at the picture and know that he was still there. Ironically, the very next picture was of the time you got Thor a snake. You got it for him because Bruce told you about the times his brother would try to trick and kill him as a snake when they were little. If that happened with you and your sibling, you would probably be scarred and scared of any and all snakes for the rest of your life, but this is Thor we’re talking about. He looks overjoyed. The snake’s head is coiling around his wrist as he’s holding it, and he’s looking at you like an excited child in a candy shop. “He will be named Loki!”

“After your brother?”

“Yes! He did enjoy turning into a snake and attempting to end my life when we were children! It fits perfectly!”

Chuckling, you see another picture of your silly boyfriend. He’s wearing a dollar store Thor costume. Well, not the whole thing, just the wig and the fake Mjolnir. His eyebrow is raised and he’s doing his best to look sexy, but the bright yellow strings hanging down around his head made the picture hysterical. Not to mention the styrofoam hammer in his hand being half the size of his actual hammer. “Perhaps I should do what many humans do with their hair and get highlights in this color.”

“Perhaps you should definitely not do that.”

Your browsing is cut short by a flash of light. You jump, quickly looking in the direction of where it came from only to see Thor smiling at you. “You really are the most photogenic person in all of Asgard, my love,” he says, pulling the polaroid picture out of the camera and shaking it. You run over to him, basically jumping in his arms. He laughs, kissing your head. “Miss me?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Yes, of course not. That is definitely not why you were looking at all of the pictures you have taken of me...” he starts, and you roll your eyes, cutting him off with a kiss. “Okay, fine. Maybe I did.” He grins at you, placing another quick peck on your lips before setting you down and walking over to where you were looking at all of the pictures. “I do love all of these. Thank you for trying to document everything we do here,” he tells you, sitting the newest picture down with the rest and grabbing a marker to date and title it. You walk over to him, smiling. “Of course! I wouldn’t want our adventures to go undocumented, would I?” you ask, and he smiles. “No, of course not,” he mumbles, writing the date and pausing for a second before titling the polaroid, ‘Reliving Our Adventures’ You smile as he puts his arm around you and pulls you to his side. Although you were reliving many adventures right now, you know there will be even more to come. And that thought excites you.

The Garden Path

Summary: A path of wildflowers marks the way towards the woods, waiting for those who hear It.

A/N: This is something that I wrote and posted on patreon a while back, something that I decided to experiment with. I don’t know if I’m particularly proud of it, but it is something that I do enjoy. I especially enjoy the creature, and might feature him somewhere else later, if the need arises.

Please, let me know what you think of this! If I should continue writing the creature’s story, or if you just enjoyed it. :)

There’s a path behind my house. It cuts through the garden, and through the field behind the gate, and disappears into the woods. I haven’t ever walked it, because it’s old, and honestly, it’s a path that makes you think twice when you step foot on it. It’s worn into the ground from being walked almost constantly. But, since my family moved into the house almost twenty-five years, no one has walked it, so there’s now wildflowers punching through the dirt, tiny ones with seven noxious green petals and a bed of fluffy black and white stamen in the middle.

They are odd flowers: they only grow in the foot path.

On my twenty-fifth birthday, Mom said she heard a noise. We were making candied oranges together. It was something we had done every year since I could touch the stove without burning myself. I sat on the counter as Mom made the third batch, watching her move through the motions like a professional. She was telling me about the plans for the night – a nice dinner, with slow cooked chicken and roasted potatoes, homemade bread, and hand churned ice cream for dessert. “If you want to, of course,” she added with a smile. I took a candied orange from the plate. “You’re an adult, you probably have plans.”

“Nothing really,” I answered. I kicked my feet. My heels fell against the lower cabinets with echoing thuds. “Most of my friends work tonight, so we were gonna do something tomorrow. Head to the movies, maybe?” I shrugged. “There’s that old one that was just restored down in The Square. They’re gonna be showing some old flicks, ‘50s, ‘60s, and such.” Mom’s attention wandered away from the stove to the window. Her hands stopped what they were doing. “We’re gonna…. dress up….” I trailed off with a frown. “Mom?”

“Do you hear that?” she whispered. Her voice was miles away.

I glanced up at the window. It was open, and the sun filtered through the old warped glass as though through water. Outside was beautiful, like staring at a painting. But all I heard was the fire on the stove. I shook my head. “No, I don’t hear anything.” Her hands fell dangerously close to the flames. I jumped from the counter and pulled them away. “Mom?”

“Hm?”

I squeezed her hands when she didn’t turn away from the window. She finally looked at me then with this odd smile. “Are you okay?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m perfect,” she answered. Her eyes drifted back to the window. I finished the third batch of candied oranges. She was still standing there as I cleaned the kitchen, divided the candy into small boxes, and labeled them for my friends. She still stood there when I returned to the kitchen forty-five minutes later, carrying a basket to take the candy.

I pressed a hand against her back. She didn’t even twitch. “I’m gonna go take these to the gang, okay?” I whispered. She hummed. “Maybe you should sit down?” I suggested. She hummed again, noncommittal but acknowledging.

I left to see Dad in the spare bedroom. He sat at his desk in there, clacking away at his computer, working on another book for his publisher. Trying not to break his focus, I threw him a quick hello-goodbye, and told him that Mom was in the kitchen. He nodded. “I’ll be back later for dinner,” I said.

He turned in his chair then and smiled. “Happy birthday,” he drawled.

I smiled, leaned against the door frame. “You remembered because of the dinner, didn’t you?” I teased.

“No,” he protested. He turned back to his computer so fast that I laughed. I didn’t blame him. He was in another world with his novel.

I left, visited my friends, delivered the candied oranges, and spent a little time with each of them as we ironed out our plans for the following day.

When I came home, there was a police car out front. I ran into the house, found it empty, continued through it, until I found Dad standing in the back garden with the police. The cop was taking a statement from Dad, while another office was staring into the woods far behind our house. He stood on the path, holding a flashlight next to his face. The flowers that were caught in the glaring white light were broken, trampled on. After a moment, he shook his head and looked back at us.

It wasn’t hard to piece together what happened.

They searched the woods for a week before just…stopping. The cops told us that if Mom did wander off into the woods that she would come back when it got cold, or when she got hungry. Some of the louder, more disrespectful ones said that she probably was attacked by a wolf or a bear.

Dad punched the first one that said that within earshot of him.

He wasn’t the same after Mom went missing. He didn’t write, didn’t eat, didn’t do much of anything. He just sat at the dining table, right in the middle of the kitchen, beneath the window that Mom had stared out of. He kept it open. He always kept it open.

On my twenty-sixth birthday, Dad was sitting at the table. He picked at the breakfast I made – eggs, bacon, potatoes, pancakes. He had eaten a few bites and drank his orange juice but didn’t do much else. I sat across from him, slowly stealing the food off his plate so it didn’t go to waste.

He lifted his head when I took the pancakes from him. “Do you hear that?” he croaked.

I froze. He stared out the window. With the way he sat, he could stare just over the windowsill. He didn’t move. I don’t even know if he breathed. He just…stared.

“I don’t hear anything,” I finally said. The words were hard to get out, especially with the dread that crept up my throat. I set my fork down at I watched him. “What is it?”

“It’s her.” He didn’t clarify. The longer I watched him, the more I saw change. His skin grew warmer, a light finally igniting beneath it after a cold and terrible winter. The grey that now threaded his hair seemed to melt into the rest of the light brown locks. He looked almost younger. And his eyes were filled with unshed tears.

I stood from my chair and touched his shoulder. “I don’t hear anything,” I repeated. He didn’t move. Another few minutes, and I released him, turning away to pick up the dishes and save the pancakes for later in the day. I cleaned around him, brought a blanket to drape around his shoulders, and when the time came for me to leave for work, I hesitated.

Would he still be there when I came home?

I kissed his rough cheek before I grabbed my phone. “I’ll be right back, okay?” I told him. When I received no response, I stepped out of the kitchen, shoving my hand through my hair as I called work. My boss answered on the first ring.

It wasn’t easy to explain when I asked for the day off – “I’m sorry, but my dad just suddenly went comatose? And I’m worried about what might happen if I leave him alone.”

Instead of questioning, she hesitantly asked, “Isn’t it the anniversary of…?”

I sighed, “Yeah. It is.”

“Take the day. Be with your dad. I’m sure the both of you could use it.” She paused. “And happy birthday.”

I didn’t thank her. I hung up with a sigh and shoved my phone into my back pocket. “Dad?” I called. I turned around and walked back into the house. “It’s just you and me today, and—” The words caught in my throat. The blanket I had draped around his shoulder was lying on the floor and Dad was gone. I shot through the kitchen, turned the corner, and spotted the back door just swinging closed.

By the time I got outside, he was halfway across the field, following the wildflower path at a brisk pace. I jumped over path’s gap at our gate and raced after him. “Dad!” I shouted. The field between the house and the woods was so big, so choked with weeds and thick grass that I might as well had been running through water. When I reached where he had been just moments ago, he was breaching the woods, stepping between two curved trees and into the shadows just behind them.

“WAIT!” I screamed. The grass thinned. I jumped from the path, scrambled alongside it, and slammed into one of the curving trees, knocking the breath out of me. He had been right there only seconds ago and now he was just…

He was gone.

I called the police only when my voice cracked from screaming for Dad for so long.

They searched the woods again, half as enthusiastic as before but much more empathetic.

They at least looked for two weeks this time.

Dad’s picture joined Mom’s at the police station, up on a pinboard filled with flyers of missing people.

I quit my job after that, took up where Dad had left off a year ago, and finished his last book. The royalties were enough to keep the lights on and my fridge stocked, and that was enough. That was fine.

Now, I spend my time out in the garden, sitting in a chair I had dragged from the kitchen, wrapped up in a blanket and eating candied oranges.

Every day I watch that gap in the woods in the distance. I watch the noxious green wildflowers bend towards the sun through the sky. I watch and I wait.

It is now my twenty-seventh birthday. I settle into the chair late in the morning, pulling the blanket around my shoulders, and sip orange juice from a mug. It is just another day at this point. I think that, maybe, if I don’t acknowledge the day, that it won’t happen.

But it does.

I see him first. I think it is because I am looking for him that I see him. He is tall, I can tell that even from so far away. His golden skin pushes away the shadows like a glowing candle. His horns curve high above his head, ending at dangerous points. He has pointed ears adorned with gems that sparkle in his own personal radiance.

And then I hear his voice, a deep baritone that touches my very soul before it even graces my ears.

He asks me to join him.

I am out of my seat before I even register agreeing. The wildflowers pad the trail beneath my bare feet. I walk slow, almost expecting someone to watch me, to stop me in my tracks or shout for me, but nothing comes. Would I stop even if they do? Probably not. It is just me and the man at the end of the path, the only one calling my name, beckoning for me.

He holds out a hand that ends in white crystal claws when I finally approach.

He helps me off the path and through the two curving trees with a simple tug.

I finally understand.

I finally hear it.

Train Tracks: Route 1; Not Pregnant

Description: Hybrid!Reader x Taehyung: As a hybrid you have no worth and your means of survival is digging through the trash, working odd jobs for those who are more kind-hearted, and–unfortunately–pick-pocketing. When you choose the wrong target, things take a strange turn as this obviously wealthy man enters your life.

Warnings: I think this part is clean, but let me know if it’s not.

Posted: 05/16/2019

Tags: Taehyung, Human Taehyung, Hybrid Reader

Mostly fluffy: 3,896 words

A/N: I like the way this route turned out much better than the way the other route turned out. This one just feels more natural while the other gave me so much trouble that I just sort of gave up on it. Either way, enjoy one of the two endings for Train Tracks!

You peered around the training facility, trying to determine where Taehyung was. The freshest scent he had left appeared to lead towards the puppy-room, which wasn’t surprising. There was a fresh batch of fluffy puppies that were staying here for a while so he could find those that would make good service dogs. You peeked in first, watching him with the pups. He was good with the dogs, firm but kind, indulgent but with moderation. He trained them well. “They’re hungry, didn’t you feed them yet?” You asked, finally entering. He looked up at you, first in surprise, then with a grin. “Wanted them to work for their food. Help me?” “Everyone, you have to sit,” You instructed. They took a few minutes but eventually they were all sitting. The two of you passed out some kibble as a treat, then he started teaching them to lay down one by one while you kept the others distracted. You tossed a tennis ball and watched the pups stumble over themselves and each other without ever reaching the ball because they started playing with each other instead. Dogs. A shadow was cast over you, and you flinched, looking up at Taehyung. Both of you were standing, him at least ten inches taller than you, but probably more. You could just barely flick the top of his head with your tail. Your eyes widened when you saw him suppressing a grin after you flicked the hair on his head with your tail. “Cute,” He chuckled, then passed you to get to the food bin to get more treats. 

You crouched to play tug with one of the puppies that was tugging at your pant-leg, avoiding his gaze with all your might. “So, my buddy is free tomorrow. Would it be okay if we came and got your place ready for winter?” He asked, scooping up his next training victim. “I suppose.” “I’ll take that as a yes. Jungkook said he was free to help as well.” You nodded. “Okay.” The two of your were pretty quiet for a while. “You’re really comfortable with Jungkook, aren’t you?” You blinked a couple times to let your mind catch up. “I guess so.” “More than me?” You sat back on your heels, flicking your tail out of the puppies’ reach. “About the same, I think.” “Really?” “Well, I know you better now.” “So you’re more comfortable with me?” “A little, I guess.” He was smiling triumphantly, though you weren’t sure why. “Did you get him to lay down on command?” You asked, looking at the pup that was basically eating the kibble out of Taehyung’s hand. He glanced down and quickly closed his hand with a soft groan. “No.” You batted his head gently. “Focus.” “Yes, ma’am.” You squeaked as sharp little puppy teeth got your tail. You looked back at the excited pup and sighed. “Yes, yes, you won. Now let go. It’s attached and that hurts.” The pup let get, licking it apologetically. “Good boy, who’s a good boy?” You rubbed his sides until he fell over and then rubbed his belly. “That’s the one that keeps trying to go home with you.” You grinned and scooped him up. “That’s because he’s a good boy.” “Very good boy,” He added. “Maybe he should be your dog.” You rubbed your nose against his fur. He still smelled like the puppy-shampoo you had washed all of them with the previous day, which was nice. “He might be a good companion for you if you’re still running around town alone. You have a job where he could come with you, he could eat here if you’re worried about food. You don’t have to decide now, we can keep training them.” Taehyung sat next to you, obviously giving up on training for now. It was pretty routine by now. He would get distracted and you would subtly keep training the pups by talking with them. Then he would work on some paperwork while eating lunch and you would work with one of the older dogs that was getting ready to be placed with an owner. You would play in a wheel-chair and the dog would get things for you and open doors and then you would fall out of the wheel-chair and so on and so forth. “Maybe. If he’s not adopted by the time he’s seven months, I’ll take him,” You agreed, leaning your head onto Taehyung’s shoulder. His hand rested on your head. “So, Yoongi, Jungkook, and I will be there tomorrow, probably a little after first light. “I’ll warn the wolves not to attack you,” You replied calmly. “Make sure you don’t draw too much attention to where you go. Can you find it on your own after you leave the East gate.” He nodded. “Yeah, I can find it.” “Are you sure, because you couldn’t even find the East gate. And Jungkook said it was morning when you tried.” He pouted. “I can find it.” “I’ll write down directions,” You said, heading over to the desk and grabbing the pad and paper. He was looking over your shoulder as you wrote out instructions. “Where’d you learn to write?” You felt hot with embarrassment. “Chanyeol taught me what he knew. I can read better than I can write. I’ve had a few odd jobs reading to some elderly folk.” He put his hand over yours and guided the pen over the page. “Like this.” You watched your letters form better under his guidance, swallowing a little to get past the knot in your throat. “Sorry.” “It’s nothing to be sorry about. It’s not your fault the government treats you as worse than animals. I can get you some books to help you improve, then I can give you more responsibility.” He shrugged and left your side. You read through the note, knowing that some of it was probably misspelled. You almost wanted to crumple it up and throw it away. Try again until it was perfect. “Hey, you heard me, right? It’s okay. I can read it, and that’s what matters.” The puppy plopped onto your foot, licking your ankle. Taehyung gently pulled the instructions from your hand, folded them and put them in his pocket, then took your hands in his much larger ones. They encompassed your hands, making them look like the hands of a child which also gave you mixed feelings. But his hands were warm. “Look at me,” He instructed. You tentatively looked up at his face. “Don’t worry so much about it. I didn’t even know you could write, so I’m pretty impressed. Most hybrids don’t know how to read or write. If it bugs you, then we’ll work together to improve your ability. Okay?” You nodded hesitantly. “Don’t cry,” he whispered more gently, cupping your face in his hands. “Everything’s okay.” You sniffled and pressed your face into his chest so that he at least wouldn’t see the tears falling. He held you tightly. “Oh, kitten.” You pinched him. “Not a kitten.” He chuckled. “Sure you are. You’re small and cute and you have ears and a tail, and you purr when you’re happy.” “I also scratch when I’m grumpy or indignant.” He squeezed you and rubbed his face in your hair before releasing you. “Better. Now, can you take the puppies outside to play a bit. Maybe work on some basic commands? I have to have a conference call with someone who’s trying to find a service dog.” You nodded and herded the pups out into the sunshine of the yard, trying to determine when exactly your tears had stopped. ——— You fell on your butt as the root finally came loose in your hands. You huffed and shook the plant to get some of the dirt off of it, then tossed it into your basket and turned to dig around the next one. You were working just a short distance from the road since you didn’t think Taehyung would actually be able to find the way, even with your directions, gathering some chicory plants. The flowers were a bit bitter, but you could still eat those, and the leaves were edible too, but you were mostly after the roots. You liked to bake them and then grind them up, mixing it with roasted and ground dandelion roots to make your own sort of coffee that you liked to drink on especially cold mornings in winter. You also needed to check on the wild grapes over by the abandoned train station and see if any were ripe. You had some turning into raisins on the roof of the train car that you had gathered from a spot closer to town on your way home the previous evening, but the grapes at the train station were extensive and somewhat sweeter. In a week or so you would start gathering rose hips. Probably another two weeks before the persimmons would be ripe enough to be edible. You could gather from your little patch of wild onion you’d cultivated the past four years any time you wanted, having already harvested some to dry in an onion braid. The barberry could also be harvested at any time, though you figured you should do it sooner rather than later considering your bird competition seemed stronger this year. You took out a small notebook that Taehyung had given you and the stump of pencil you now carried around with it, writing down all of the things you still needed to gather for winter, including chickweed, acorns, walnuts, crab-apples, various mushrooms, and your potatoes in the other garden patch that your bunny friend watches over in return for some carrots in winter. “I know it was somewhere along this road!” “As long as you don’t try to take us into another thorn bush,” Someone muttered. You rolled your eyes and stood up. “Taehyung?” He turned and grinned. “Hey!” Then he pouted. “You didn’t think I would find it?” “I just heard them confirm that you couldn’t find it,” You replied, bending back down and pulling the last root out and shaking it before tossing it into the basket as well and tucking your notebook back into your sweater pocket. “I realized it was the wrong path!” “You were about to lead us into the undergrowth on the wrong side of the road,” Jungkook pointed out. “Just like you did back there.” Taehyung made a face, bounding over to you and holding out a small bouquet of goldenrod and tansy. “They looked bright and happy.” You smiled and took it. “Thank you. I’ll use them before they die.” “Use them?” His head tilted with curiosity. “Well, tansy is good for the skin so I like to make a tea from it and then concentrate it, sometimes I’ll add it to my soap. It’s also good for fevers. Goldenrod is edible and medicinal, so I like to gather the flowers and leaves.” You rubbed your face into the soft goldenrod. “Thank you.” You would have to add both to your list of things to still forage. And garlic. And mallow, though you hated going into the marsh, but you could also get some cedar, and maybe some Labrador tea or bog rosemary as well. “You weren’t kidding,” The one stranger said. He was watching you with a slightly curious expression, a half-smile on his face but sadness in his eyes. You tensed, gaze darting between the two strangers. One had to be Yoongi, but who was the other? “Of course I was,” A different voice replied. Then you noticed another three strangers that had been hidden by Tae’s body and the tree by the road. “I can explain,” Taehyung started. You looked up at him, then at the strangers that were slowly approaching. One held a bouquet of sunflowers, another had a bouquet of lavender and some other herb that you couldn’t identify at this distance. The last two were carrying toolbags and hauling a wagon of supplies. They must have made quite the procession going through the village. “Um, they wanted to hang out, but we told them we were working on a project and then they kept pestering us so we explained the project and that we were doing it for you and they volunteered to come. But I said it probably wasn’t a good idea because you had been hesitant in the first place, but they kept arguing and said that with more help it would go faster…and that sounded true, so I caved and they’re here but they also brought you flowers and they helped get the supplies and tools here and please don’t ask your animal friends to hurt us?” You blinked a couple times, then with a final lash of your tail nodded sharply. “Okay, so, you know Jungkook. This one is Yoongi, the one that actually knows what he’s doing.” He gestured to a shorter man that looked somewhat cat-like himself. You dipped your head and he nodded back. “The one next to him is Namjoon.” The conflicted one from earlier smiled and waved. “Nice to meet you.” You just nodded again. “This is Jimin,” He indicated the man that came up to you with the lavender and herb bouquet. “I told them you’d prefer useful bouquets. This has lavender, rosemary, sage, catmint, and thyme.” He had a soft voice, and you liked it. He also had a pleasant aura. “Nice to meet you,” You replied, taking the bouquet he offered and not meeting his gaze. He sort of giggled and stepped back. “Seokjin is the one pulling the wagon, and Hoseok is the one holding and imitating sunflowers.” Hoseok chuckled and gestured to your full arms. “I’ll give it to you when we’re there.” You nodded gratefully. “Um, I guess follow me?” They all nodded, Jungkook taking your basket before you could. You led the way, extremely self-conscious that you were leading not three, but seven men to your home. You had to be out of your mind. There were whispered conversations between some of the boys, but you couldn’t pick up exactly what was said between your racing heart and the wind blowing through the plants and creating a ruckus. And that stupid robin that never knew when to shut its beak. “Whoa-whoa-whoa, we have to go down that?” Hoseok asked, sounding a little nervous. You turned back and smiled. “It’s safe.” You held out your hand to him after shifting the bouquets. He smiled a little and took it. You led the way through the dark, listening to the boys tease each other but focusing on leading Hoseok through, feeling the way he flinched resonate through his hand. You purred softly as the sound died down to barely an echo in the tunnel, seeing the light ahead. Hoseok relaxed once the end was clearly in sight, and seemed to sigh once out of the tunnel. The other boys were quiet, looking at the train car. Taehyung glanced at you. “Is it ready for us?” You nodded. “I packed things up and cleaned. Not the kitchen, because of last night, but I have everything moved.” You nodded toward the carefully organized pile in the protective lean-to you had constructed the previous day. “Or boxed up inside. I wasn’t exactly sure what you meant by preparing for winter.” Yoongi looked for permission before entering the train-car, disappearing inside when you nodded. He came out a moment later. “You live here all year?” “For years.” He looked back inside. “Alright, let me make a plan before you all come plodding in. Y/n, if you have other things to do, go ahead and do them. With these bozos it’ll get pretty crowded.” “Might be less stressful,” Jimin suggested softly. “And Taehyung can be your assistant.” “What?” Taehyung started pouting. “No, hyung, Namjoon should help her instead,” Jungkook protested. “He’d break her,” Seokjin objected. You looked up and decided you might need to move your raisin-making pan to a better location. While they were debating, you climbed up into the roof of the car and got the pan. “How did you get up there?” Jungkook asked, eyes lighting up. You gestured to the ladder, then climbed down with the pan, taking it farther down the tracks and setting it in a spot that got sun all day. You came back to them and looked between all of them. “I think you’ll be pretty crowded with even five people. I have a whole list of things to do, so whoever you think you don’t want around, Yoongi-oppa, I’ll put to work.” He nodded. “Take Namjoon and Taehyung.” You took the basket from Jungkook and went to spread the roots in the sun to dry while you worked. “We’re your servants for the day,” Namjoon said, walking over with Taehyung. You dumped the dirt from the basket and handed it to Namjoon. “We’ll need a few more baskets for what I have planned.” You went back to the car, ducking in and grabbing the stack of baskets, and the bags you could tie to your belt. “Two baskets each.” You grabbed the fish traps from the wall as well. They both grabbed extra baskets. You took some strips of fabric and wove them through so that you could strap one to your back. Taehyung took the other one. “What is this?” “Fish trap. I thought we could set them up on the way to the station.” You shifted, looking down. “Last year we were catching fish every day until they stopped entering the trap on top of scavenging in town.” “Well, you’ll also have some money since you’re working…” Taehyung pointed out. You nodded a little. “True. But I’d like to save as much of that as I can. Get myself a coat.” “I could get you a coat,” he offered softly. You shook your head adamantly. “Please,” He whispered. “No. You’re already doing all of this,” You gestured to the car. “And you’ve given me a job, blankets, and you insist on sending food home with me every day. It’s more than enough.” “I could never do enough for you,” Taehyung replied, holding your gaze. You stared back at him, a little startled. “We should go. We’re burning daylight and Yoongi said you were my assistants for today.” You hurried past him and down the path towards the station, heart racing at the look in Taehyung’s eyes. You didn’t know what it was, but part of you wanted to keep seeing it. ———— You stared out the window at the snow falling, holding a cup of your homemade coffee substitute. It was one of your weekends off and part of you wanted to go out into the snow and check on your animal pals. The other wanted to stay warm and curled up in the nest of blankets you had made. Your home was substantially warmer than it had been before thanks to the insulation that Yoongi had installed. The whole place was a little nicer since Yoongi’s work. Taehyung had had them sneak in and install a wood-burning stove that effectively heated your home without the fire hazards of your kitchen, which also had an oven feature and two burners. You didn’t worry about stoking the fire in the middle of the night, or freezing to death because you slept. You were perfectly capable of having a lazy day. Your door opened and panic rose in you. Taehyung quickly closed the door, shaking himself off and stripping his hat, coat, and gloves after setting down your puppy. “Morning.” “Morning?” He warmed his hands by the stove. “Chilly this morning. Ooh, is that coffee?” “Sort of,” You replied, still confused by his sudden arrival. “It’s dandelion and chicory.” “Can I try some?” “Sure?” You shifted to get up. “No, no, stay cuddled and warm.” He lifted the puppy onto your bed (which he had also modified when they were all in here, the sneak) then poured himself a mug of your coffee. Then—this part really baffled you—he had the audacity to come over and crawl into your nest with you and the puppy. You sat there silently for a few minutes. “So…um…what brings you here?” “Got lonely.” “And your friends weren’t available?” “They were, but I like you best.” He snuggled in, hands finally warm after warming them on the sleepy puppy. He’d been getting progressively touchier around you, especially if the other guys were there. He would get grumpy and pouty if Jungkook, Hoseok, or Jimin got near you, which was frustrating because they were the ones you were most comfortable with since the other three were just a little too shy to get on just yet. “Um…okay…” You sort of resigned yourself to his presence. He fell asleep a short time after finishing his cup, holding onto you. Which left you with the options of sitting there while he slept growing bored and restless, or taking a quick little nap. A cat nap. You woke up purring, nuzzling into the warm body next to you and licking at the skin. “Did you just lick me?” His voice was deep, both teasing and seductive. You gasped and pulled away. His sleepy gaze, damn him. And how did you not notice that his collarbone was so pronounced, especially as it peeked out of that shirt. “Kitten,” he rumbled. “Are you going into heat?” You squeaked in protest to the dreaded words. But he was right. Damn him. Damn him, damn him…holy crap his hair looked amazing when he just woke up. He made a soft shushing noise. “It’s okay, kitten. We thought as much. YOu’ll be in full heat tomorrow, probably.” “We?” You asked in a squeaky tone. “Jimin and I. He works with hybrids. I consulted him because you’ve been…well…” He shrugged. “Sort of clingy and needy. Pouty too.” “I think you just described yourself…” His mouth dropped. “What?! I’m not—” “You broke into my home and climbed into my bed, and I can’t talk to your friends because then you get pouty and grumpy.” “Only because you belong to me,” He protested, then sat up and held up his hands. “Wait, I meant that…no…I said the wrong word…wait…” You watched in wide-eyed confusion as he tried to correct himself but made a mess. “You’re not a belonging, but you belong with me and not them because they’re trash, but I love you and I think we could be really happy together and I never want to see you suffer and this bed is really great and I don’t mind if you still want to live out here sometimes, it’s a nice location and it’s really actually quite frugal and I like that you’re frugal—” He gasped for breath, then tilted his head. “Can I kiss you?” You just stared at him, trying to process everything he just spewed at you. He loved you, his friends were trash, he liked that you were frugal, and could he kiss you? Was that right? That couldn’t be right. You must have already been a bit feverish. Or dreaming. Or feverish and dreaming. That was most likely. Then his lips pressed softly to yours.

Masterlist. ~ Part 2. ~ Route 2

Tagging: @jiminslye​

I bet you didn’t think that by “incredibly soon” I meant about a day later, huh? Truth be told I felt kinda bad about the previous chapter because it was mostly just a filler chapter to speed the plot along and show some time passing, but this one and the next couple chapters deliver some seriously flirty vibes and drama (at least in my opinion) and the words just kept coming so I decided to seize the opportunity and post this ASAP.

I also found this chapter rather cathartic to write because I am still incorporating a lot of myself and my experiences into Rae and the story overall, so I really hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! This chapter is at about 2,994 words, which is right on track with my goal of making each mini-fic 3,000 words or less!

Wanna get caught up on the updates leading up to this one? Look no further!

Feel free to let me know if you would like to be added/removed from the tagged list and I’ll be happy to oblige! As always: each and every one of you that read my writing, like, reply, reblog, etc. are amazing people and inspire me to keep writing! :)

Just a Touch of Sweetness

Friday and Saturday sort of just blurred together, as Rae slowly began falling into the routine of Finn sitting with her and Izzie whenever they all worked together, but by Sunday afternoon when Rae walked into her apartment after a long day at work, she felt completely and utterly exhausted—both mentally and physically.

It was mid-November, which meant that the holidays were approaching and things at work were quickly becoming more hectic. To make matters worse, that also meant that there was less than a month left in this semester of Uni, which was making Rae feel relieved but incredibly overwhelmed simultaneously. It seemed as though all of her classes had suddenly announced the final projects and assignments that were swiftly approaching and the stress of everything was becoming too much for Rae to handle.

As much as Rae wanted to just turn on some music and relax in a desperate attempt to ease her worries about school, she knew that procrastination would only exacerbate the stress she was currently feeling with knowing that she had assignments due that evening in both of her online classes, as well as an upcoming exam in her Economics class that has been the bane of her existence this entire semester.

Groaning and sighing dramatically as she turned on her laptop and opened up Spotify, preparing herself to work on her assignments without stopping until she had finished everything that was due at midnight, Rae pressed play on her go-to playlist that she had made to match her mood this time of year, aptly titled “Falling…”, and began trudging her way through the list of assignments she needed to get done.

Hours had passed when Rae finally submitted the last assignment she needed to complete prior to midnight.

Thank fuck that is finally over with!

Rae was still feeling overwhelmed by everything she had coming up in her classes as she attempted to prioritize her upcoming assignments and she could feel her breath catch as the panic and feelings of self-doubt and fear of failing out of Uni this semester crept in. To an extent, Rae knew that she was taking on too much responsibility going to Uni full-time, working part-time, and becoming financially independent after moving away from her family to attend Uni. She had incredibly high expectations for herself and she could not even fathom letting herself down by falling behind in her classes or losing the academic scholarship that was the only reason why attending University was even a possibility for Rae.

Knowing that she had to calm down before she had a proper panic attack, Rae gripped the edge of the desk in her bedroom she was sitting at tightly and began counting quietly under her breath, attempting to regulate her breathing.

Just breathe, Rae…In 2-3-4-5-6-7-8, Out 2-3-4-5-6-7-8, In 2-3-4…Out 2-3-4….In…Out…

When her breathing was almost back to normal, her grip on the edge of her desk loosened and she flexed her fingers that had begun to cramp from how tightly they were clenched.

Despite calming down slightly, Rae knew that listening to music could only do so much to help her relax, so Rae turned to the next biggest comfort and sense of enjoyment in her life: food.

Rae has had a strange relationship with food for as long as she could remember. She had a tendency to overeat to the point of being sick to cope with stress and sadness as a child; however, as she grew older and her self-esteem plummeted as bullying “the fat girl” was a more common occurrence at college, Rae began to not eat in front of strangers. This continued until she also refused to eat in front of people that were not her family, until eventually she skipped meals entirely on a regular basis.

For years she struggled to find some semblance of balance because she knew the dangers she faced from both binging and skipping meals, that is until she found a way that she could love food without the temptation and regret she had previously associated it with.

When Rae was 16 years old she discovered that her casual interest in cooking was a true passion and she had quite a knack for it. As she continued cooking for her family and friends and experimenting with new foods and new recipes, Rae gained a new appreciation for food as a form of art and expression that did not lead to her hating herself afterwards. And so even now, nearly 4 years later, Rae would go on “stress baking” and “stress cooking” sprees to help clear her mind and get relieve stress.

Hmm…what shall I bake today…?

Rae walked into the small kitchen in her apartment and perused her cabinets trying to determine what she had the ingredients to make before grabbing her phone off of the counter to get a second opinion.

Rae: Hiya Izz, random question: Do you like cupcakes?

Rae set her phone back down on her kitchen counter and it buzzed almost immediately indicating that Izzie had already replied.

Izzie: OF COURSE I DO, RAE. All sweet things beckon to me! <3 <3 <3

Rae: Lol…In that case, I just might have a sweet surprise for you tomorrow before work! ;)

Rae returned her phone to its place on the kitchen counter, making a mental note to read Izzie’s response as soon as she had a spare moment after getting the cupcakes started.

Two hours later Rae was putting the finishing touches on the three dozen cupcakes she had made and examining them to determine if there was anything else she should add to them.

Hmm…chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate-hazelnut filling and a cream cheese buttercream…Well, you can never go wrong with a little more chocolate!

Rae proceeded to drizzle the top of each cupcake with the remainder of the chocolate she had incorporated into the filling she had made. She quickly cleaned up the last traces of her late night baking, licking the spoons used to mix the batter and taking pride in the perfect balance of sweetness and rich chocolate flavor she had achieved on this particular batch of cupcakes.

By the time she finished tidying up the kitchen a bit, it was just past 2am and Rae decided it best to get some sleep, fully aware that she had to go to work early the next morning.

***

Rae walked into work well over 15 minutes earlier than she typically arrived, especially on a Monday morning, and took a seat at one of the tables in the break room before retrieving her cellphone from the bottom of her purse to browse her social media accounts.

Uninterested in what she saw while scrolling through Instagram and Twitter, Rae set her phone to the side and began examining the small white box containing the cupcakes she had brought to work for a few of her coworkers until she head the door to the break room open.

“Whoa…Finn, you’re here really early today, aren’t ya?” Rae asked raising an eye brow as Finn walked toward the table she was sitting at with a massive grin.

“Good morning to you too, Mae,” Finn replied, feigning that he took offense to what she had said to him.

“Oh, don’t be that way Finn! It’s good to see you, I just didn’t anticipate you being here so early.”

Rae noticed that Finn stood in front of the table she was sitting at and was shifting awkwardly from one foot to another, biting the skin on his thumb subconsciously.

Why does Finn seem nervous? It’s just me after all, he’s got nothing to be nervous about.

“Finn, you know you can take a seat at the table with me is you want to, right?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry…” Finn pulled the chair nearest to Rae out from under the table before sitting down and giving her a small close-lipped smile to help hide some of the embarrassment he was feeling.

“I just didn’t know if you’d be okay with me sitting down at the table with ya or not…” He trailed off until he was barely mumbling and went right back to biting the skin around his thumb.

Rae and Finn sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes until he lightly tapped the top of the square box she had sitting in the center of the table.

“What’s in the box, Rae?” he asked, clearly curious but resisting the urge to open the box and take a look for himself.

“This box, my dear Finnley,” she began but stopped to smirk at her use of the nickname she knew he secretly hated, opening the box to let both of them see its contents, “contains some of the Chocolate Hazelnut cupcakes that I baked last night and brought for some people here at work.”

“Ah, alright…wait, did you say you MADE these? They look like they’re professional quality! How’s that possible!?” Finn exclaimed, making no attempts to hide his surprise and how impressed he was that these cupcakes were homemade.

“Yeah, I like to cook and bake when I’m upset or stressed, and I’ve been pretty overwhelmed with Uni lately, so last night I did some stress baking. I still have a lot to learn about baking and decorating cakes, but thank you, I tried to make them look halfway decent at least.”

“‘Halfway decent’? Are you shitting me, Mae? These cupcakes are perfect looking! Why in the hell would you want to share these with other people? If I were you I’d just keep them all for myself…”

Rae tensed slightly, trying to determine the best way to respond to Finn without making him think that she was weird.

Careful what you say, Rae...one wrong thing and Finn will always see me as some crazy, fat blob.

“Uh, well I love to cook, but I don’t have much of an appetite for sweets. So whenever I bake a lot, like I did last night, I give most of what I make to people here at work.”

Finn nodded and continued examining the cupcakes that still sat in the white cardboard box while Rae tried to read Finn’s face and figure out what he thought of the explanation she had given.

“Hiya Rae! Morning Finn…you two are here quite early today!” Izzie mused excitedly as she pulled out the chair at the table across from Rae and Finn and sat down, nearly bouncing with her usual level of energy that seemed impossible this early on a Monday.

Both simply shrugged in response, which made Izzie laugh because she could almost swear they were the same person at times with how similar they are.

“Izzie! I have a surprise for you, love, as promised…” Rae opened the box containing the cupcakes, showing Izzie the sweet surprise she had brought for her today.

“Oh my god, Rae! These look amazing! And you made and decorated these yourself!?” Izzie removed a cupcake from the box to examine it further.

“I was just telling Rae the same thing when she showed me the cupcakes! It’s not just me that thinks you’re insanely talented, girl,” Finn replied, playfully poking Rae’s arm to further prove his point to her.

Rae stood up from the table, cheeks blushing a deep red color, and pushed the now vacant chair back under the table, thoroughly embarrassed by Izzie and Finn’s praise and acknowledgment of her baking skills.

“Well, I’m gonna head inside and get to work now. Are you planning to stay out here to eat a cupcake, Izz?”

“Yeah, as long as you don’t mind saving my seat for me, Rae…These look too good and I can’t wait much longer to give them a taste!”

Rae giggled and informed Izzie that she would save her a seat but Rae expected to get Izzie’s feedback on the cupcake as soon as she finished.

“Hey, wait up, girl!” Finn walked hurriedly towards where Rae stood holding open the break room door, allowing him to catch up to her.

Finn gave Rae a huge smile, making her chuckle, and walked beside her toward the seat to the right of Izzie and Rae that has become his regular spot to sit for almost a week. As they passed the radio in the corner of the room, Finn stopped to turn it to Rae’s favorite Alternative music station, which earned him an appreciative nod and genuine smile from Rae.

Just as Rae and Finn got logged into their computers and began getting settled in to answer customer questions, Izzie came bounding through the door, scanning her badge in the process, before rushing to take her seat on Rae’s left.

“Rae, holy shit that cupcake was amazing!”

“Izzie!” Rae exclaimed, laughing at the sound of Izzie cursing, which was a very rare phenomenon.

“I’m serious, Rae! I don’t know how you did it, but that cupcake from the filling to the decorations, to the cake itself were fantastic!”

“Well thank you Izz, I’m really happy to hear you enjoyed it!”

The three of them continued working, only occasionally stopping when Rae and Finn bickered about their opinions of the song currently playing on the radio or when Izzie brought up how delicious the cupcake had been and how tempted she was to take another one during her break that was coming up shortly.

Rae was quickly becoming accustomed to the new dynamic between her and Finn, especially considering that she had been prepared for the worst following the mixed messages she received from Finn last Monday. Sitting next to Finn this week and talking to him more at work than she has heard him speak in the month she had been working here has allowed Rae and Izzie to get to know Finn a little bit better and Rae could almost say she considered him one of her mates.

When Izzie sat back down at her desk after coming in from her break, she turned towards Rae hesitantly, avoiding eye contact.

“Rae…I hope you aren’t too mad at me, but after giving Rebecca the cupcake you saved for her, I ate another one of the cupcakes you brought while I was on break.”

“Don’t worry about it, Izz! I brought them specifically for my friends here at work and I have plenty more at my apartment if you want more. Just let me know!”

“Aw, thanks Rae, I’d really appreciate that!”

Izzie returned to responding to customers and Rae turned in her desk chair when she noticed that Finn was locking his computer.

“Are you about to go on break, Finn?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I just wanted to let you know that if you want a cupcake before Izz eats them all herself, you are more than welcome to take one. I felt like a real dickhead about teasing you with them and not even offering you one,” Rae replied, apologizing for her inadvertent rudeness and lack of manners by not offering Finn a cupcake as well this morning.

“Are you sure I can take one, Rae? You don’t have to give me one if ya don’t want to…”

“Of course I’m sure,” Rae interrupted, “I want to know if it lives up to your expectations or not!” Rae winked at Finn, causing him to gulp audibly and clear his throat before stuttering out his reply.

“Uh, wow…thanks, Rae! You just made my day! I know it’s gonna be amazing because that cupcake looked fucking amazing, but I’m going to give you really detailed feedback, okay? Because I really love critiquing stuff like this like they do in those cooking show competitions.”

“Hell yeah, I love those shows! Don’t spare my feelings either, I want to know what you really think of them.” Rae added, laughing at the childlike excitement Finn was emanating at the mere mention of the cupcakes.

“In that case, Mae, I will be sure to be EXTRA hard on you…err…your cupcakes, I mean…uhhh…I’m just gonna go now!” Finn hurried away, avoiding eye contact with Rae as he walked out the door in the direction of the break room.

Well…that certainly was an interesting choice of words, Finnley…

When Finn returned fifteen minutes later and sat back down in his seat, Rae was already turned in her desk chair facing Finn with her arm propped up beside his computer screen and her chin resting on her hand.

“So Finnley…what did you think?” She asked, biting her lower lip slightly as she braced herself for his feedback.

“Well Mae,” he began placing emphasis on his nickname for her that he knew got on her nerves, “I thought it was pretty fucking fantastic!  I noticed that the cupcake itself was hardly sweet at all, it was mostly just the filling and frosting on top that added sweetness.”

“Thanks, Finn. I’ve always hated things that are too sweet so I always try to focus the sweetness on certain aspects of what I’m making. That way there is just a touch of sweetness and it isn’t overwhelmingly sweet…Was there anything else you would have wanted different about them?”

“Well, don’t get me wrong Rae, I really liked the cupcake,” he prefaced, trying to soften the blow of his critique to follow, “but I really would have like there to be more filling on the inside.”

“Oh, and why is that Finn? Was it not sweet enough for you as it was?” Rae asked quirking her eyebrow in anticipation for his answer.

“It was plenty sweet, but knowing that there was a filling in it, I was kind of hoping to get it all over my mouth and face while I was eating it…I like it a little dirty, you know?” Finn smirked and gave her a quick wink when he noticed Rae’s eyes widen at the double entendre in his statement.

Are you shitting me right now? Finn Nelson, you will be the death of me, I just know it...

@eveerez @tinakegg @hey1tskat1e @bitchesbecrazy89 @kneekeyta @milllott @protectfinnnelson @arathewallflower​ @jackiewalsh2013​ @pink-royaute

First Drive: Volkswagen I.D. Buzz Concept

Three days after Volkswagen officially decided its all-electric I.D. Buzz will become a reality, we roamed San Francisco’s streets in a concept version of the car along with a classic 1952 VW Microbus. It was, succinctly, an emotional demonstration of how electric propulsion, autonomous driving, and digitalization will redefine the mission of the automobile in the next 10 to 15 years.

My first school bus was a 30-horsepower ’57 Volkswagen Type 2 (aka the Transporter, Kombi, Microbus, Bus, and “the hippie van”) trimmed with a mix of utilitarian rubber and leatherette. I sat up front, right foot resting on the gray tin blister that protected the headlamp assembly from the inside. There was no radio, no worthwhile heater, and no seat adjustment. But you could play with the five-stop sliding side window until one of the adults on board mercifully intervened. The brassy, catch-the-latch noise remains forever seared into my memory.

Powered by an e-Golf powertrain, the I.D. Buzz Concept managed 53 miles before hitting the halfway point of its charge during our day driving around San Francisco.

The Buzz concept resurrects these recollections and then some. The time-warp 3D transformation from that meager post-war appliance is reborn most of all in the car’s characteristic proportions and trademark silhouette and in details such as the two-tone paint scheme and three horizontal air intakes in the D-pillars. The new shape is easily recognizable as the long-lost family member who has grown and matured over time. Both models are rear drive (all-wheel drive will be optional on the production Buzz), both sit on a remarkably generous wheelbase, and both are spacious and surprisingly easy to get into and out of. From behind the older version’s wheel, the new Volkswagen looks positively huge. That’s what a 26-inch difference in length and a 10-inch increase in width will do to your perception.

“We built this model to be fully operational. So simply go for it. A single charge will safely take you through a 12-hour day.”

Due to arrive in 2022, the I.D. Buzz is slated to be the last of VW’s first batch of production I.D. models. Wolfsburg’s e-attack begins in early 2020 with the Golf-size I.D. and the Tiguan-size I.D. Crozz. In 2021, we expect to see the boxy Touareg-size I.D. SUV and the full-size, seven-seat I.D. Lounge—a crossover coupe with the cabin space of a minivan. The 2022 forecast includes not only the Buzz but also the larger version of the I.D. Aero sedan followed in 2023 by a smaller five-seat derivative. Emotionally derived products such as possible new versions of the Beetle and Scirocco are under consideration, but rather than replacing existing body styles with more of the same, don’t be surprised if next-gen offerings employ the heritage-meets-future approach with a dual-cab pickup truck or a modern reinterpretation of the Karmann Ghia or similar.

Family Resemblance: Though there’s a clear design lineage between the Type 2 and the Buzz, the resemblance is only skin deep.

This I.D. Buzz concept is a runner in the purest sense of the word. It can maintain a steady 50 mph across the Golden Gate Bridge and snake through corners like a slot-car racer. The grabby brakes get on surprisingly well with the home-cooked light gray tires, the turning circle is tight, thanks to the absence of a bulky combustion engine, and the single-speed transmission operated via steering-wheel buttons hooks up with instant-torque vigor. “We built this model to be fully operational,” says Dzemal Sjenar, senior engineer for VW concept cars. “So simply go for it. Don’t worry too much about wear and tear. And rest assured that a single charge will safely take you through a 12-hour day.” This is exactly what we did, pairing the yellow-over-white ambassador of a cleaner tomorrow with the orange-over-cream museum piece, a digital hippie leading its analog ancestor. The original Type 2 (fun fact: the VW Beetle is the Type 1) and its rough, air-cooled engine was kind of a Porsche 356 A with seven seats. It was gutless and notoriously short of breath, and you needed to rev the lungs out of its coughing flat-four in order to build anything resembling momentum.

Dynamically speaking, driving the first-generation 1952 Microbus is a lesson in patience. Its huge, nearly horizontal two-spoke steering wheel turns the front wheels with the precision and ease of a vintage Armenian truck, the spindly gear lever rides the four-speed transmission like a one-legged amateur stilt walker, the heavy clutch must travel a long distance before polishing off 49 lb-ft of torque in one easy lick, the four drum brakes might lock up briefly or pull to either side before getting down to work, and the skinny vintage tires like to let go without warning. The floor-mounted pedals are charmingly Porsche-like, but the throttle response is not. This might have to do with the 3,500-rpm redline and the fact that at last count we could not round up more than 25 horses. It takes just short of forever to reach its top speed of around 53 mph when the bus is traveling on a flat stretch of road.

The I.D. Buzz is altogether different. In top-of-the-line guise, a 150-kW rear motor and a 125-kW motor driving the front wheels for a total of roughly 369 horsepower are allegedly enough to accelerate the bus from 0 to 60 mph in 5.0 seconds. The lesser version combines all-wheel drive with a pair of powerplants rated at a more modest 302 horsepower. The entry-level I.D. Buzz will relay 201 hp exclusively to the rear wheels. The three different power packs are paired with three different battery sizes good for 60, 83, and 111 kWh. Regardless of output, top speeds will be electronically limited to 100 mph. (Volkswagen estimates between 200 and 270 miles of range for the concept Buzz.) The maximum charging power is 220 kW, maximum voltage is 400V, and minimum charge time should be around 20 minutes for an 80 percent state of charge.

The Buzz concept has some features that aren’t likely to make it to production, such as the side-mirror cameras, and some touches that may, like the “Play/Pause” foot pedal designs and the dial-based drive selector.

Like all future electric VWs, the Buzz sits on the brand’s modular electric architecture (MEB). At its heart is a rigid battery cradle located inside a honeycomb frame designed to optimize side-impact protection. Accessible from below for repair and replacement, it accommodates between three and five energy packs positioned to ensure a fixed weight distribution of 48/52 percent front/rear. The MEB layout provides a low center of gravity as well as exceptional space utilization. The front axle relies on MacPherson struts while the rear suspension is a multilink setup. The concept car uses conventional springs and dampers, but by 2022 you will also be able to specify a fully adjustable air suspension. Mounted ahead of the front axle is the variable-rate, variable-effort electrically assisted power steering. Rear-wheel steering will be an option, sources say. The brakes are capable of passive and driver-induced energy regeneration. Although definitive dimensions are not finalized, we hear the show car, which is 194.5 inches long, 77.9 inches wide, and 77.3 inches high with a 129.9-inch wheelbase, is physically quite close to the real thing.

Featuring fully adjustable swiveling seats up front and a sofa-like rear bench, the Buzz concept is designed to accommodate up to eight passengers in style and comfort, though the middle seats were removed for our drive. Like in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the rear side windows can dim for a cocooning effect. Although the concept car comes with a retractable steering wheel as well as an array of sensors and cameras to demonstrate that autonomous driving is very much on the agenda, the timing for these technologies is still unclear. Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess answers with a wink: “At this point, it would be cheaper to hire a human being in a low labor-cost country to monitor the car 24/7. Should a dangerous situation arise, that person would take corrective action over the air.”

At Monterey, restored buses went for between $86,000 and about $100,000. When the I.D. Buzz arrives in 2022, VW intends to sell it at a price north of $45,000.

In San Francisco, though legendary rock music venues such as the Fillmore West and the Avalon Ballroom are no more, certain parts of the city still move to the music of the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and The Doors. The Haight-Ashbury area in particular remains a sanctuary for flower-power children of all ages, some of whom attended the legendary Altamont and Woodstock festivals, went to see Janis Joplin sing and Ravi Shankar play the sitar, were disciples of Timothy Leary, read and listened to Leonard Cohen, and digged on Zen, dharma, karma, and any other kind of counterculture. Before 1966, LSD was legal in California, and to this day you probably don’t have to search too long for vendors peddling tickets to the Promised Land.

We stop our caravan, and two street urchins quickly stagger over, mumbling “hey, man,” and “what the heck?” through broad smiles revealing incomplete sets of teeth. To celebrate the apparition, they light a thinly rolled brown joint. Like the rest of the quickly gathering crowd, our new friends are torn between old and new. Although the Microbus brings back memories of love, peace, and amphetamine-fueled frenzy followed by going cold turkey, the I.D. Buzz is identified immediately as e-powered by the San Francisco residents who adore Teslas and the Prius. Whoever owns a Volkswagen bus, irrespective of vintage or condition, grinds to a stop, hops out, takes a zillion pictures, then asks the inevitable questions: Are these for sale? How much? When can I buy one? Does it drive OK?

The I.D. Buzz offers ample space inside, having grown by 26 inches in length and 10 inches in width over the original Type 2 Microbus.

The Buzz is much too quick for its arthritic sibling, and it cracks open the door to a new level of near-silent lounge-like roominess. The interior is light and airy, the ergonomics are pleasingly minimalist, and the seating position defines “command.” Strangely enough, the ancient spring-loaded seats of the Microbus cope better with the area’s more suspect roads than the contemporary foam buckets do. And the old-fashioned lever-operated parking brake provides more positive feedback than the new, whirring push-button stopper. But the ride comfort is more than nine clouds better in the 2017 show car, its handling eclipses the top-heavy 21-window bus by a world and a half, and the difference in cornering grip compares like speed carving does to stem turns. Everything in the I.D. Buzz works as if by magic touch. The doors open and close automatically, the camera-operated side mirrors and the reverse camera create a new quality of surround-view, and the electronic brain displays its findings on an extra-large screen between the seats.

When we kicked off the day at Twin Peaks in drizzle and fog, the batteries were 90 percent charged. Almost 14 hours and 53 miles later, the readout had just dipped below the halfway mark—not bad for a provisional preprototype equipped with an e-Golf’s humble drivetrain.

At the Monterey auctions held in mid-August, fully restored Microbuses went for between $86,000 and about $100,000. When the I.D. Buzz arrives in 2022, VW intends to sell it at a price north of $45,000 in today’s money. That’s way too much for some of the remaining hippies, but perhaps it’s a tempting proposal for middle-class families, especially if VW can deliver on brand values like solidity, longevity, and affordability with—hopefully—newfound strengths such as coolness, cleverness, and modernity.

IFTTT

First Drive: Volkswagen I.D. Buzz Concept

Three days after Volkswagen officially decided its all-electric I.D. Buzz will become a reality, we roamed San Francisco’s streets in a concept version of the car along with a classic 1952 VW Microbus. It was, succinctly, an emotional demonstration of how electric propulsion, autonomous driving, and digitalization will redefine the mission of the automobile in the next 10 to 15 years.

My first school bus was a 30-horsepower ’57 Volkswagen Type 2 (aka the Transporter, Kombi, Microbus, Bus, and “the hippie van”) trimmed with a mix of utilitarian rubber and leatherette. I sat up front, right foot resting on the gray tin blister that protected the headlamp assembly from the inside. There was no radio, no worthwhile heater, and no seat adjustment. But you could play with the five-stop sliding side window until one of the adults on board mercifully intervened. The brassy, catch-the-latch noise remains forever seared into my memory.

Powered by an e-Golf powertrain, the I.D. Buzz Concept managed 53 miles before hitting the halfway point of its charge during our day driving around San Francisco.

The Buzz concept resurrects these recollections and then some. The time-warp 3D transformation from that meager post-war appliance is reborn most of all in the car’s characteristic proportions and trademark silhouette and in details such as the two-tone paint scheme and three horizontal air intakes in the D-pillars. The new shape is easily recognizable as the long-lost family member who has grown and matured over time. Both models are rear drive (all-wheel drive will be optional on the production Buzz), both sit on a remarkably generous wheelbase, and both are spacious and surprisingly easy to get into and out of. From behind the older version’s wheel, the new Volkswagen looks positively huge. That’s what a 26-inch difference in length and a 10-inch increase in width will do to your perception.

“We built this model to be fully operational. So simply go for it. A single charge will safely take you through a 12-hour day.”

Due to arrive in 2022, the I.D. Buzz is slated to be the last of VW’s first batch of production I.D. models. Wolfsburg’s e-attack begins in early 2020 with the Golf-size I.D. and the Tiguan-size I.D. Crozz. In 2021, we expect to see the boxy Touareg-size I.D. SUV and the full-size, seven-seat I.D. Lounge—a crossover coupe with the cabin space of a minivan. The 2022 forecast includes not only the Buzz but also the larger version of the I.D. Aero sedan followed in 2023 by a smaller five-seat derivative. Emotionally derived products such as possible new versions of the Beetle and Scirocco are under consideration, but rather than replacing existing body styles with more of the same, don’t be surprised if next-gen offerings employ the heritage-meets-future approach with a dual-cab pickup truck or a modern reinterpretation of the Karmann Ghia or similar.

Family Resemblance: Though there’s a clear design lineage between the Type 2 and the Buzz, the resemblance is only skin deep.

This I.D. Buzz concept is a runner in the purest sense of the word. It can maintain a steady 50 mph across the Golden Gate Bridge and snake through corners like a slot-car racer. The grabby brakes get on surprisingly well with the home-cooked light gray tires, the turning circle is tight, thanks to the absence of a bulky combustion engine, and the single-speed transmission operated via steering-wheel buttons hooks up with instant-torque vigor. “We built this model to be fully operational,” says Dzemal Sjenar, senior engineer for VW concept cars. “So simply go for it. Don’t worry too much about wear and tear. And rest assured that a single charge will safely take you through a 12-hour day.” This is exactly what we did, pairing the yellow-over-white ambassador of a cleaner tomorrow with the orange-over-cream museum piece, a digital hippie leading its analog ancestor. The original Type 2 (fun fact: the VW Beetle is the Type 1) and its rough, air-cooled engine was kind of a Porsche 356 A with seven seats. It was gutless and notoriously short of breath, and you needed to rev the lungs out of its coughing flat-four in order to build anything resembling momentum.

Dynamically speaking, driving the first-generation 1952 Microbus is a lesson in patience. Its huge, nearly horizontal two-spoke steering wheel turns the front wheels with the precision and ease of a vintage Armenian truck, the spindly gear lever rides the four-speed transmission like a one-legged amateur stilt walker, the heavy clutch must travel a long distance before polishing off 49 lb-ft of torque in one easy lick, the four drum brakes might lock up briefly or pull to either side before getting down to work, and the skinny vintage tires like to let go without warning. The floor-mounted pedals are charmingly Porsche-like, but the throttle response is not. This might have to do with the 3,500-rpm redline and the fact that at last count we could not round up more than 25 horses. It takes just short of forever to reach its top speed of around 53 mph when the bus is traveling on a flat stretch of road.

The I.D. Buzz is altogether different. In top-of-the-line guise, a 150-kW rear motor and a 125-kW motor driving the front wheels for a total of roughly 369 horsepower are allegedly enough to accelerate the bus from 0 to 60 mph in 5.0 seconds. The lesser version combines all-wheel drive with a pair of powerplants rated at a more modest 302 horsepower. The entry-level I.D. Buzz will relay 201 hp exclusively to the rear wheels. The three different power packs are paired with three different battery sizes good for 60, 83, and 111 kWh. Regardless of output, top speeds will be electronically limited to 100 mph. (Volkswagen estimates between 200 and 270 miles of range for the concept Buzz.) The maximum charging power is 220 kW, maximum voltage is 400V, and minimum charge time should be around 20 minutes for an 80 percent state of charge.

The Buzz concept has some features that aren’t likely to make it to production, such as the side-mirror cameras, and some touches that may, like the “Play/Pause” foot pedal designs and the dial-based drive selector.

Like all future electric VWs, the Buzz sits on the brand’s modular electric architecture (MEB). At its heart is a rigid battery cradle located inside a honeycomb frame designed to optimize side-impact protection. Accessible from below for repair and replacement, it accommodates between three and five energy packs positioned to ensure a fixed weight distribution of 48/52 percent front/rear. The MEB layout provides a low center of gravity as well as exceptional space utilization. The front axle relies on MacPherson struts while the rear suspension is a multilink setup. The concept car uses conventional springs and dampers, but by 2022 you will also be able to specify a fully adjustable air suspension. Mounted ahead of the front axle is the variable-rate, variable-effort electrically assisted power steering. Rear-wheel steering will be an option, sources say. The brakes are capable of passive and driver-induced energy regeneration. Although definitive dimensions are not finalized, we hear the show car, which is 194.5 inches long, 77.9 inches wide, and 77.3 inches high with a 129.9-inch wheelbase, is physically quite close to the real thing.

Featuring fully adjustable swiveling seats up front and a sofa-like rear bench, the Buzz concept is designed to accommodate up to eight passengers in style and comfort, though the middle seats were removed for our drive. Like in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the rear side windows can dim for a cocooning effect. Although the concept car comes with a retractable steering wheel as well as an array of sensors and cameras to demonstrate that autonomous driving is very much on the agenda, the timing for these technologies is still unclear. Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess answers with a wink: “At this point, it would be cheaper to hire a human being in a low labor-cost country to monitor the car 24/7. Should a dangerous situation arise, that person would take corrective action over the air.”

At Monterey, restored buses went for between $86,000 and about $100,000. When the I.D. Buzz arrives in 2022, VW intends to sell it at a price north of $45,000.

In San Francisco, though legendary rock music venues such as the Fillmore West and the Avalon Ballroom are no more, certain parts of the city still move to the music of the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and The Doors. The Haight-Ashbury area in particular remains a sanctuary for flower-power children of all ages, some of whom attended the legendary Altamont and Woodstock festivals, went to see Janis Joplin sing and Ravi Shankar play the sitar, were disciples of Timothy Leary, read and listened to Leonard Cohen, and digged on Zen, dharma, karma, and any other kind of counterculture. Before 1966, LSD was legal in California, and to this day you probably don’t have to search too long for vendors peddling tickets to the Promised Land.

We stop our caravan, and two street urchins quickly stagger over, mumbling “hey, man,” and “what the heck?” through broad smiles revealing incomplete sets of teeth. To celebrate the apparition, they light a thinly rolled brown joint. Like the rest of the quickly gathering crowd, our new friends are torn between old and new. Although the Microbus brings back memories of love, peace, and amphetamine-fueled frenzy followed by going cold turkey, the I.D. Buzz is identified immediately as e-powered by the San Francisco residents who adore Teslas and the Prius. Whoever owns a Volkswagen bus, irrespective of vintage or condition, grinds to a stop, hops out, takes a zillion pictures, then asks the inevitable questions: Are these for sale? How much? When can I buy one? Does it drive OK?

The I.D. Buzz offers ample space inside, having grown by 26 inches in length and 10 inches in width over the original Type 2 Microbus.

The Buzz is much too quick for its arthritic sibling, and it cracks open the door to a new level of near-silent lounge-like roominess. The interior is light and airy, the ergonomics are pleasingly minimalist, and the seating position defines “command.” Strangely enough, the ancient spring-loaded seats of the Microbus cope better with the area’s more suspect roads than the contemporary foam buckets do. And the old-fashioned lever-operated parking brake provides more positive feedback than the new, whirring push-button stopper. But the ride comfort is more than nine clouds better in the 2017 show car, its handling eclipses the top-heavy 21-window bus by a world and a half, and the difference in cornering grip compares like speed carving does to stem turns. Everything in the I.D. Buzz works as if by magic touch. The doors open and close automatically, the camera-operated side mirrors and the reverse camera create a new quality of surround-view, and the electronic brain displays its findings on an extra-large screen between the seats.

When we kicked off the day at Twin Peaks in drizzle and fog, the batteries were 90 percent charged. Almost 14 hours and 53 miles later, the readout had just dipped below the halfway mark—not bad for a provisional preprototype equipped with an e-Golf’s humble drivetrain.

At the Monterey auctions held in mid-August, fully restored Microbuses went for between $86,000 and about $100,000. When the I.D. Buzz arrives in 2022, VW intends to sell it at a price north of $45,000 in today’s money. That’s way too much for some of the remaining hippies, but perhaps it’s a tempting proposal for middle-class families, especially if VW can deliver on brand values like solidity, longevity, and affordability with—hopefully—newfound strengths such as coolness, cleverness, and modernity.

IFTTT

First Drive: Volkswagen I.D. Buzz Concept

Three days after Volkswagen officially decided its all-electric I.D. Buzz will become a reality, we roamed San Francisco’s streets in a concept version of the car along with a classic 1952 VW Microbus. It was, succinctly, an emotional demonstration of how electric propulsion, autonomous driving, and digitalization will redefine the mission of the automobile in the next 10 to 15 years.

My first school bus was a 30-horsepower ’57 Volkswagen Type 2 (aka the Transporter, Kombi, Microbus, Bus, and “the hippie van”) trimmed with a mix of utilitarian rubber and leatherette. I sat up front, right foot resting on the gray tin blister that protected the headlamp assembly from the inside. There was no radio, no worthwhile heater, and no seat adjustment. But you could play with the five-stop sliding side window until one of the adults on board mercifully intervened. The brassy, catch-the-latch noise remains forever seared into my memory.

Powered by an e-Golf powertrain, the I.D. Buzz Concept managed 53 miles before hitting the halfway point of its charge during our day driving around San Francisco.

The Buzz concept resurrects these recollections and then some. The time-warp 3D transformation from that meager post-war appliance is reborn most of all in the car’s characteristic proportions and trademark silhouette and in details such as the two-tone paint scheme and three horizontal air intakes in the D-pillars. The new shape is easily recognizable as the long-lost family member who has grown and matured over time. Both models are rear drive (all-wheel drive will be optional on the production Buzz), both sit on a remarkably generous wheelbase, and both are spacious and surprisingly easy to get into and out of. From behind the older version’s wheel, the new Volkswagen looks positively huge. That’s what a 26-inch difference in length and a 10-inch increase in width will do to your perception.

“We built this model to be fully operational. So simply go for it. A single charge will safely take you through a 12-hour day.”

Due to arrive in 2022, the I.D. Buzz is slated to be the last of VW’s first batch of production I.D. models. Wolfsburg’s e-attack begins in early 2020 with the Golf-size I.D. and the Tiguan-size I.D. Crozz. In 2021, we expect to see the boxy Touareg-size I.D. SUV and the full-size, seven-seat I.D. Lounge—a crossover coupe with the cabin space of a minivan. The 2022 forecast includes not only the Buzz but also the larger version of the I.D. Aero sedan followed in 2023 by a smaller five-seat derivative. Emotionally derived products such as possible new versions of the Beetle and Scirocco are under consideration, but rather than replacing existing body styles with more of the same, don’t be surprised if next-gen offerings employ the heritage-meets-future approach with a dual-cab pickup truck or a modern reinterpretation of the Karmann Ghia or similar.

Family Resemblance: Though there’s a clear design lineage between the Type 2 and the Buzz, the resemblance is only skin deep.

This I.D. Buzz concept is a runner in the purest sense of the word. It can maintain a steady 50 mph across the Golden Gate Bridge and snake through corners like a slot-car racer. The grabby brakes get on surprisingly well with the home-cooked light gray tires, the turning circle is tight, thanks to the absence of a bulky combustion engine, and the single-speed transmission operated via steering-wheel buttons hooks up with instant-torque vigor. “We built this model to be fully operational,” says Dzemal Sjenar, senior engineer for VW concept cars. “So simply go for it. Don’t worry too much about wear and tear. And rest assured that a single charge will safely take you through a 12-hour day.” This is exactly what we did, pairing the yellow-over-white ambassador of a cleaner tomorrow with the orange-over-cream museum piece, a digital hippie leading its analog ancestor. The original Type 2 (fun fact: the VW Beetle is the Type 1) and its rough, air-cooled engine was kind of a Porsche 356 A with seven seats. It was gutless and notoriously short of breath, and you needed to rev the lungs out of its coughing flat-four in order to build anything resembling momentum.

Dynamically speaking, driving the first-generation 1952 Microbus is a lesson in patience. Its huge, nearly horizontal two-spoke steering wheel turns the front wheels with the precision and ease of a vintage Armenian truck, the spindly gear lever rides the four-speed transmission like a one-legged amateur stilt walker, the heavy clutch must travel a long distance before polishing off 49 lb-ft of torque in one easy lick, the four drum brakes might lock up briefly or pull to either side before getting down to work, and the skinny vintage tires like to let go without warning. The floor-mounted pedals are charmingly Porsche-like, but the throttle response is not. This might have to do with the 3,500-rpm redline and the fact that at last count we could not round up more than 25 horses. It takes just short of forever to reach its top speed of around 53 mph when the bus is traveling on a flat stretch of road.

The I.D. Buzz is altogether different. In top-of-the-line guise, a 150-kW rear motor and a 125-kW motor driving the front wheels for a total of roughly 369 horsepower are allegedly enough to accelerate the bus from 0 to 60 mph in 5.0 seconds. The lesser version combines all-wheel drive with a pair of powerplants rated at a more modest 302 horsepower. The entry-level I.D. Buzz will relay 201 hp exclusively to the rear wheels. The three different power packs are paired with three different battery sizes good for 60, 83, and 111 kWh. Regardless of output, top speeds will be electronically limited to 100 mph. (Volkswagen estimates between 200 and 270 miles of range for the concept Buzz.) The maximum charging power is 220 kW, maximum voltage is 400V, and minimum charge time should be around 20 minutes for an 80 percent state of charge.

The Buzz concept has some features that aren’t likely to make it to production, such as the side-mirror cameras, and some touches that may, like the “Play/Pause” foot pedal designs and the dial-based drive selector.

Like all future electric VWs, the Buzz sits on the brand’s modular electric architecture (MEB). At its heart is a rigid battery cradle located inside a honeycomb frame designed to optimize side-impact protection. Accessible from below for repair and replacement, it accommodates between three and five energy packs positioned to ensure a fixed weight distribution of 48/52 percent front/rear. The MEB layout provides a low center of gravity as well as exceptional space utilization. The front axle relies on MacPherson struts while the rear suspension is a multilink setup. The concept car uses conventional springs and dampers, but by 2022 you will also be able to specify a fully adjustable air suspension. Mounted ahead of the front axle is the variable-rate, variable-effort electrically assisted power steering. Rear-wheel steering will be an option, sources say. The brakes are capable of passive and driver-induced energy regeneration. Although definitive dimensions are not finalized, we hear the show car, which is 194.5 inches long, 77.9 inches wide, and 77.3 inches high with a 129.9-inch wheelbase, is physically quite close to the real thing.

Featuring fully adjustable swiveling seats up front and a sofa-like rear bench, the Buzz concept is designed to accommodate up to eight passengers in style and comfort, though the middle seats were removed for our drive. Like in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the rear side windows can dim for a cocooning effect. Although the concept car comes with a retractable steering wheel as well as an array of sensors and cameras to demonstrate that autonomous driving is very much on the agenda, the timing for these technologies is still unclear. Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess answers with a wink: “At this point, it would be cheaper to hire a human being in a low labor-cost country to monitor the car 24/7. Should a dangerous situation arise, that person would take corrective action over the air.”

At Monterey, restored buses went for between $86,000 and about $100,000. When the I.D. Buzz arrives in 2022, VW intends to sell it at a price north of $45,000.

In San Francisco, though legendary rock music venues such as the Fillmore West and the Avalon Ballroom are no more, certain parts of the city still move to the music of the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and The Doors. The Haight-Ashbury area in particular remains a sanctuary for flower-power children of all ages, some of whom attended the legendary Altamont and Woodstock festivals, went to see Janis Joplin sing and Ravi Shankar play the sitar, were disciples of Timothy Leary, read and listened to Leonard Cohen, and digged on Zen, dharma, karma, and any other kind of counterculture. Before 1966, LSD was legal in California, and to this day you probably don’t have to search too long for vendors peddling tickets to the Promised Land.

We stop our caravan, and two street urchins quickly stagger over, mumbling “hey, man,” and “what the heck?” through broad smiles revealing incomplete sets of teeth. To celebrate the apparition, they light a thinly rolled brown joint. Like the rest of the quickly gathering crowd, our new friends are torn between old and new. Although the Microbus brings back memories of love, peace, and amphetamine-fueled frenzy followed by going cold turkey, the I.D. Buzz is identified immediately as e-powered by the San Francisco residents who adore Teslas and the Prius. Whoever owns a Volkswagen bus, irrespective of vintage or condition, grinds to a stop, hops out, takes a zillion pictures, then asks the inevitable questions: Are these for sale? How much? When can I buy one? Does it drive OK?

The I.D. Buzz offers ample space inside, having grown by 26 inches in length and 10 inches in width over the original Type 2 Microbus.

The Buzz is much too quick for its arthritic sibling, and it cracks open the door to a new level of near-silent lounge-like roominess. The interior is light and airy, the ergonomics are pleasingly minimalist, and the seating position defines “command.” Strangely enough, the ancient spring-loaded seats of the Microbus cope better with the area’s more suspect roads than the contemporary foam buckets do. And the old-fashioned lever-operated parking brake provides more positive feedback than the new, whirring push-button stopper. But the ride comfort is more than nine clouds better in the 2017 show car, its handling eclipses the top-heavy 21-window bus by a world and a half, and the difference in cornering grip compares like speed carving does to stem turns. Everything in the I.D. Buzz works as if by magic touch. The doors open and close automatically, the camera-operated side mirrors and the reverse camera create a new quality of surround-view, and the electronic brain displays its findings on an extra-large screen between the seats.

When we kicked off the day at Twin Peaks in drizzle and fog, the batteries were 90 percent charged. Almost 14 hours and 53 miles later, the readout had just dipped below the halfway mark—not bad for a provisional preprototype equipped with an e-Golf’s humble drivetrain.

At the Monterey auctions held in mid-August, fully restored Microbuses went for between $86,000 and about $100,000. When the I.D. Buzz arrives in 2022, VW intends to sell it at a price north of $45,000 in today’s money. That’s way too much for some of the remaining hippies, but perhaps it’s a tempting proposal for middle-class families, especially if VW can deliver on brand values like solidity, longevity, and affordability with—hopefully—newfound strengths such as coolness, cleverness, and modernity.

IFTTT