#I’ve been thinking about it and it’s continued with Charlie telling him Al probably won’t give him one of those things (sex)
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captainhysunstuff · 1 year ago
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Uh oh. I dreamed about RadioApple/AppleRadio (Alastor x Lucifer Morningstar and vice versa) from Hazbin Hotel. I’ve been infected. 😅
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charliesradiodemon · 6 years ago
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Arranged Marriage (Part 5)
Part 1  Part 4 
(Ping reminders for: @ariloucii @wargraymon0709 @in-to--deep @norski28 ❤️
Thank you all again for all of your support through tags comments and DM’s, you guys really motivate me to try my best with my writing ^.^ I’m super thankful you guys like my fic so far <3
These two songs are important to the chapter. Please choose one to listen to when you get to the point in the fic! I prefer the first one, but the second one contains the complete lyrics. You'll know when to listen to them. I HIGHLY recommend listening and following along with the lyrics as you read!
1. Frank Sinatra (1947) vers.: https://youtu.be/y9sn8CRFVmg?t=5 
2. Al Jolson (1921) vers.: https://youtu.be/mUw5XSrAnO8  )
Part 5
Alastor was right. Vaggie did come back to Charlie and while the worried princess was excited to see her, Vaggie hadn’t exactly shown the same sentiment. She looked unsure, nervous and insecure as she stood there at the front door of the hotel, almost as if she felt like she didn’t belong there. She barely even glanced at Charlie when she answered the door. 
It had been three days since the announcement of her engagement to Alastor and eleven days before her wedding day. It had been pure chaos in those three days and Charlie was already getting sick of it all. The reporters, the visits, the questions… it was all too much. On top of that, Vaggie disappeared on the day of the announcement and Charlie had no clue where the one-eyed demoness went. Her guilt and worry ate at her the past few days, but it certainly gave her more time to think and less time to sleep. She was exhausted, but as much as she wanted to rest, Vaggie was much more important to her. 
“Charlie, we need to talk.” Vaggie sighed and wrapped her arms around her own waist. Charlie noticed that Vaggie’s lone eye was puffy, while her lower lid was much darker in hue than usual. It looked like she hadn’t been sleeping much either, and Charlie feared that she was a mirror image of her suffering. 
‘Oh Vaggie, where did you go?’ Charlie thought, unable to say it out loud. Part of her didn’t want to know. The sting of guilt already hurt, there was no need to build on top of it. But at the same time, how could she be thinking such selfish thoughts right in front of the one who was probably hurting the most?  
And as much as Charlie wanted to jump at the one eyed demon and pull her into a relieved hug, she restrained herself. It broke her heart to see Vaggie in such a state. ‘She doesn’t deserve this…’ She did this to Vaggie. She made her miserable. The guilt made her heart beat painfully in her chest and all she wanted to do was break down and cry. ‘She deserves better…’
She needed to stay strong. “Vaggie you know saying that never means anything good.” she strained a nervous chuckle with her tasteless joke. She didn’t mean for it to come out the way it did, but the demoness’ head was too cluttered and noisy. It was a miracle that she formed a coherent thought as she was already struggling to keep it together in front of her assumed ex girlfriend.
Unfortunately the one eyed demoness did not humor her and instead motioned toward the inside of the hotel without a word. She was obviously still avoiding eye contact with Charlie and kept her closed posture, possibly to keep herself from breaking down. They already knew this was going to be a difficult conversation, but it had to be done. For Vaggie’s sake, Charlie wanted to give her closure. ‘She deserves better…’ She reminded herself. She deserved someone without the baggage of a royal duty.   
This was her duty. She was the Princess of Hell. She was heir to the throne and needed to secure her family’s place in the hierarchy. Should anything happen to her parents in the future, Vaggie would most definitely get hurt… or worse. Although Charlie knew she could handle herself, Vaggie didn’t have the power or ability to take down overlords or a prince. Charlie couldn’t bear putting Vaggie in danger because of her. She had to admit that with Alastor she wouldn’t have to worry about others questioning her authority or usurping her throne. With Alastor, she could make it easier to redeem sinners and complete the goal she held onto for centuries. Charlie felt like a scumbag, but it was going to be for the greater good. It would all be for her people and for Vaggie especially. ‘She deserves better…’ The reminder echoed.
  Charlie stepped aside to let Vaggie in, shaking the urge to hold her and apologize for everything. Without a word, they made it up to Charlie’s room on the top floor for privacy. Every step was tense and the environment in the elevator was even worse. Neither could even look at the other or even speak. 
With a nauseous feeling in her gut, Charlie tried to think of what she wanted to say to Vaggie. She had the past three days to think it over, and she had, but suddenly everything she knew she wanted to say was gone. All that remained was the unforgiving anxiety and guilt that ate at her.  
It felt like an eternity, but they finally made it to Charlie’s room. They settled to sit at a small dining table that sat at one end of her room. It could seat three, as Charlie was waiting for the day she’d have her parents over to visit. Vaggie knew of this, but wasn’t hopeful that the day would ever come. She wouldn’t dare tell Charlie that though.
The silence was deafening until they both tried to speak up.
“Charlie-“
“Vaggie-“
They both stopped but Charlie immediately reassured her. “No, you go ahead first.”
They talked for the better part of the day. There was no yelling or any semblance of aggression between them. They just talked like they normally would, but with more tears. It took longer for Vaggie to crack and cry than Charlie did, but when she did, it was like a dam breaking. All it took was Charlie apologising relentlessly to Vaggie and through her protests, tears pricked at her eyes before spilling down her face. All of their pent up feelings over the past three days were finally out in the open. It hurt, but they made it out with a new understanding. After such an emotionally draining conversation they finally settled and talked through the glaring issue. 
“So we’re good right?” Charlie asked tentatively. They stood at the door leading out of Charlie’s room and faced each other.
Vaggie placed a gentle hand on Charlie’s shoulder with a reassuring yet saddened smile. “Yeah, we’re good. I’ll always be here for you Charlie, you know that. I… just need some time.”
Charlie pulled Vaggie into a tight hug, relief and grief filling her heart. The throbbing of her heart was painful but it didn’t matter. She didn’t lose Vaggie and now she won’t have to worry about putting her loved ones in danger. “Thanks Vaggie. I’m always here for you too. You’re one of the most important people in my life you know?” It wasn’t the best outcome, but it wasn’t the worst case either. After all they were friends first and they’d decided it was the best for the both of them. And even with Alastor’s permission to take lovers, both of them felt it wasn’t right to keep Vaggie as some sort of ‘mistress’. It just wasn’t fair to her. 
Vaggie left and a new feeling of relief and hope filled Charlie’s heart. Sure it still stung, but knowing that Vaggie would still be in her life was good enough for her. She loved Vaggie and the thought of her being with her as her best friend was reassuring. As long as Vaggie was safe, Charlie was content enough. She had to be.
She closed her door, finally feeling a slight semblance of peace even with her pained heart. It was quiet and her head was finally clear in the four days this debacle occurred. It had been four whole days since her father and Alastor broke the news to her. It still didn’t feel real. 
She began the trek to her bed to turn in for the night. Just because she was hurting didn’t mean that she didn’t have to get up early for work. 
But not even five seconds later did Angel Dust burst through the door full of energy that Charlie wasn’t ready to handle at the moment. “Holy shit toots! I saw the news!” He let himself in and approached Charlie. She didn’t face him, as she desperately tried to regain her composure as best as she could. Not only was she still in pain, she knew that she looked like a mess without even looking. Her tears from earlier left visible tracks on her face and her tired expression was a true representation of how she was feeling. She didn’t want Angel to see her like this. 
“Good job reeling in Smiles, babe. Seriously,” he ran a hand through his hair and cackled hysterically. “I didn’t think it was possible!” 
She sighed and answered as calmly as she could. “That was three days ago Angel.” The reminder only made her heart beat painfully.
Angel scoffed. “Yeah I know. I’ve just been a lil’ busy,” He brushed off her comment and began snooping around her room. He’d never been in her room before and he was a very nosey individual. “Anyway, so you’re getting married huh? Never pegged the big boy for a “settling down” type. Fulla surprises, that one.” his nasally cackle sounded the room as he reached into a cabinet. Charlie wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but she didn’t have the mind to question him or his snooping.  
Charlie continued to stand where she was with her arms crossed. Her eyes were still burning and all she wanted to do was go to bed. “Can we not talk about it Angel?” Her voice didn’t crack, but the obviously off tone caught Angel’s attention.
The spider stopped and turned his head to his friend and noticed everything. He only a sliver of her tear-stained face, but he knew exactly what this was about. He passed by Vaggie in the hallway and she brushed him off when he tried to greet her. He stood and walked toward her but then he paused for a moment before deciding to lounge on her couch that was past her instead. “Are you and Vaggie…?” He gave several nonsensical gestures to skirt the word, but Charlie knew what he meant.
She sighed and nodded. “Yep. We’re over. But we’re still friends. It just… hurts you know…”
Angel took a moment to watch his mouth. Well, as best as he could. He wasn’t as good at comforting others as he was pleasuring them. “Well a couple a years don’t mean a thing to ya right? Aren’t you like ancient or something?” Angel blurted. He nearly immediately regretted what he said.
Charlie groaned. “Yeah but it doesn’t make it hurt any less Angel.”
“Sorry babe, just trying to help. I’m not exactly a therapist.” he noticeably drooped a bit dejectedly and Charlie turned toward him waved her hands in front of her frantically.
“No no no! I get that. I appreciate your concern… a lot and I know you’re doing your best.” She shot a genuine smile at the pink and white spider. Angel looked up from his splayed position on the couch and smiled back in appreciation. Charlie knew that he truly was trying and appreciated the effort. He just needed to work on his empathy skills a little more. 
He slowly rose and stretched as he stood. “Yeah, well. I got… stuff to do. Hope you feel better Charlie,” He walked toward the door and patted her on the shoulder as he walked past. Before he shut the door, Angel looked back and added, “Oh! And make sure I’m invited to the wedding!” Sure the request was a bit tasteless, but Charlie knew that he didn’t put any malicious intent to hurt her behind it.
Charlie huffed an empty laugh and turned to flop face-first into the sheets on her bed. She didn’t even bother unbuttoning her shirt or strip her pants or socks off. She was just flat tired and that was all there was to it. It was a long and painful day and she welcomed the comforts of her bed.
“Is this a bad time?”
The familiar radio-backed voice made Charlie shriek and jump straight up. She plopped face first into the mattress before shooting her head up to glare at the intruder.  
Of course it was Alastor who stood beside her prone form. He loomed over her with his wide grin and his hands behind his back. He was as imposing as ever and as rude as ever. 
Once Charlie’s heart began beating again, she took a few deep breaths and glared at the pinstriped demon. “Jesus Al! You can’t do that!”
He chuckled but tilted his head in confusion. “Do what?”
Charlie gestured to him. “That! The whole popping into my room… thing without me knowing!” She sat up and criss-crossed her legs.
“Why not?” He asked bluntly, seeming to be genuinely confused.  
“Because privacy still exists even in Hell, Al,” Charlie huffed and crossed her arms in front of her. She scooted a bit away from Alastor and offered him a seat, which he took her up on. “So what’s up?” She sighed and slouched toward her companion. 
“I couldn’t help but notice that Miss Vaggie came back to you,” his chipper tone was a stark contrast to Charlie’s somber tone. Charlie couldn’t even start to think about what was running through his head. It seemed as though he was completely oblivious to her feelings and Charlie wondered just exactly how dense he could be.  
“Yeah… you were right. And we talked everything out.” she explained wearily. All the energy she had left was gone in an instant at the reminder. She was sick of thinking about the events that transpired and honestly she just wanted to go to bed early. 
He drew his legs in to mimic Charlie’s crossed legs and rested his chin on his propped hand. He leaned closer toward Charlie and asked, “So you’ve taken her as a lover then?” His tone was expectant and smug even. It was as if he expected everything to go the way he said it would. As if he assumed Vaggie would just stay with her despite the situation they were in. 
Charlie felt a twinge of pain in the pit of her gut. “No. We’re just going to be friends. Luckily there’s no hard feelings.” She knew this was the right decision, it had to be. What was she going to do otherwise? Beg Vaggie to stay in a relationship as dangerous as this one? 
“Ah. Unfortunate I suppose.” Alastor said bluntly once more. It clearly wasn’t out of disinterest but a lack of knowledge for the situation. He probably didn’t understand why they would break up when she and Alastor were not engaged in an intimate relationship. 
Charlie hummed in response and let her head hang in attempt to hide her miserable face from Alastor. They sat in silence for a few moments, neither knew how to speak to the other in the current situation. They were very different people after all.
It wasn’t until a noticeable shift of the mattress alerted Charlie to look up. Alastor stood in front of her with a hand offered out to her. “Maybe a dance will make you feel better?” His smile was closed-mouthed and his eyes were narrowed into a soft gaze.
At first, Charlie’s shock took over her expression. It was then Alastor noticed exactly how red and puffy her eyes were from her tears. He also knew the signs of insomnia too well to recognize on her face. She must have been miserable the past few days and he was none the wiser. Alastor suddenly felt an odd painful skip in his heart seeing how miserable his fiancee looked. He felt like he should have been here sooner.   
Charlie couldn’t help but softly smile back in appreciation. She knew Alastor probably lacked the empathy to understand how she was feeling, but the fact that he was even trying to cheer her up warmed her heart a little. She gladly took the hand and was swiftly hauled to her feet.
He guided her to the open floor in the middle of her room and cleared his throat as he adjusted his monocle. With a sizzle of radio static, the shadows on the walls bled to the floor and from the globs of darkness, shapes of shadowy creatures with various musical instruments emerged.
Alastor lifted a hand and slowly lowered it. As he did this, the lights slowly faded to black and almost as soon as the light disappeared, a spotlight shone on the lone pair. The music started with the strings of an invisible orchestra. 
Alastor’s eyes were closed, yet he confidently led to a song Charlie didn’t recognize. Though he was still smiling, it was much more mellow than his usual grin. It was so odd to see that even Charlie couldn’t help but stare at his relaxed expression. She listened to him hum along to the melody. He seemed like a completely different person to her, but she smiled and allowed herself to relax into their slow sway. 
But then he took a breath and began singing. When Charlie shot up at the sound of his voice, she caught his gaze. She was unable to look away this time as he sung so sweetly to her.  
“Life is not a highway strewn with flowers
Still it holds a goodly share of bliss
When the sun gives way to April showers
Here is the point you should never miss
Though April showers may come your way
They bring the flowers that bloom in May
So if it's raining have no regrets
Because it isn't raining rain you know, it's raining violets
And where you see clouds upon the hills
You soon will see crowds of daffodils
So keep on looking for a blue bird
And listen for his song
Whenever April showers come along,”
Alastor’s heart raced at the dazzling look Charlie gave him. She looked up at him like no one had done before- with genuine awe. The amount of attention she gave him was almost too much for him to bear. And yet, he wanted her to keep looking at him with that soft gaze of her’s.   
“And where you see clouds upon the hills
You soon will see crowds of daffodils
So keep on looking for a blue bird
And listen for his song
Whenever April showers come along”
Once the music concluded, Alastor gently spun Charlie and dipped her. 
The lights suddenly came back on and the shadows around them had dissipated. Yet they remained in this position. When Charlie looked up at Alastor, she stared wide-eyed at him. She couldn’t utter a word at the sight of him and the indescribable look he stunned her with. Absentmindedly, she reached a hand up to his face, but was caught suddenly by Alastor, who didn’t even flinch as he grasped her hand. As if awoken from his motionless state, he brought Charlie back up as he stood straight.
He cleared his voice and took a step back from Charlie to bow and kiss the knuckles on her hand. He was back to his usual smile and domineering demeanor as if he slipped the mask back on. “Thank you for the dance my dear! Now, I think it’s time you got some rest! I’ll be out of your hair and-“
“Wait! Al- Alastor,” she stuttered and immediately hesitated as Alastor looked down at her with an inquisitive yet tense smile. Charlie trembled and looked up at Alastor with pleading eyes. “Uh, can you stay? At least until I fall asleep? I… don’t want to be alone right now.” She tightly gripped Alastor’s hand and it was obvious that she didn’t want to let go.
The immediate pang in Alastor’s heart hit him hard. It wasn’t just once this time though. It was several times. In fact it felt like Alastor’s heart was thumping like a drum against his chest. It hurt yet… he found it pleasant. It was new and it made Alastor feel alive again. This wasn’t just an unexpected skip of the heart. Oh no, it was as if she set fire to his very core. What she could do to him with just a look was nearly terrifying.
He sighed and relaxed into a small smile. “Of course dear.”
PART 6 HERE
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citraxrowan · 5 years ago
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peaky blinders s6 theories/s5 ending discussion
okay so i recently did a full rewatch of peaky blinders because it is such a great show and i can’t wait for the next season even though we won’t get it for a while because of the pandemic. the season 5 cliffhanger ending still makes me go feral though, so i would like to go over some theories to revive the discussion and hear your thoughts on who betrayed tommy, etc. 
first i'll briefly outline a few points i’m personally speculating on: 
1. gina. i do not trust her!!! feel like she’s definitely an enemy
◦ i don’t think gina's pregnant. i believe she wanted to get close to the shelby/gray family for a greater purpose. with michael in america, she got her chance. gina doesn’t actually love michael, she’s using him. 
notice how abruptly they got married? gina probably lied about being pregnant so as not to lose michael the key for infiltrating the peaky blinders 
gina is insistent on going to the doctor’s appointment alone, not with ada. probably because there is no baby. 
when polly puts her hand on gina’s stomach, gina retracts. polly has senses that tell her about pregnancies; for example, she can tell when ada is pregnant and correctly predicts that lizzie will have a baby girl. when talking about gina’s baby, polly says something like “i wish i felt that heartbeat today” so polly knows she’s not pregnant/is suspicious of gina 
◦ gina knows mosley. they may be working together
gina corrects michael on mosley’s title/position before meeting him = they probably already know each other, possibly because they’re working together 
gina and mosley share a glance during the ballet 
the girl mosley is having intercourse with before the speech has hair that looks like gina’s, and the girl’s face is never shown. could this be gina? based on all this, i feel like it is 
◦ gina is manipulating/controlling/using michael 
she is always whispering in his ear, influencing him
for one, she holds out the papers of the proposed plan to restructure the company
i think gina is definitely an enemy, but i don’t think michael is truly on the same level as her. there are certainly tensions between him and the rest of the family, but i don’t think he is actually a traitor. gina is the puppet master and michael’s her victim. bringing me to my next point
2. michael— he is not the traitor. 
◦ michael doesn’t want to kill any of his family members
remember when michael found out polly made a deal with luca? it’s true that he ended up not telling tommy, choosing his mom over his cousin, but he told polly, “no, we don’t do that to our own” (pretty sure that’s the exact line. feel free to correct me on anything that’s wrong, i’m going off the top of my head). michael doesn’t have any desires to kill his family. he is ambitious and would like to expand on the family business, but killing them wouldn’t really be beneficial and doesn’t seem like his style 
◦ he’s a red herring. perhaps the writers are using him as a distraction
the family was suspicious of him when he first returned; he was already monitored for a period of time and tommy looked into things like his calls, meetings, etc., and he was cleared
so it may seem like he is an obvious option for being the traitor, but i think michael is no traitor, though gina the motherfucking manipulator is 
◦ he’s being controlled by gina. i already went over this but just wanted to list it again here to provide as possible evidence to back this up
3. finn & billy grade (football/singer)
◦ i love little finn but he definitely shouldn’t have said anything, even if he didn’t give exact details
◦ now once finn tells him about the shooting, billy is seen reaching towards the money finn places down for him, but ends up picking up the phone instead. there are two possibilities here: 
billy called someone and informed them of the planned shooting— i initially believed this and still do. billy's demeanor, especially when he reaches for the phone, seemed somewhat sus. however, i have heard about a second option...
billy calls a girl to have intercourse with as finn suggested— i can understand this point, but i just don’t know if he really wasn’t passing on information or was. on one hand, finn was vague but tommy was foiled pretty well. on the other hand, he still could have played a part in the betrayal, as there could have been numerous people involved and providing inside information, not only billy
next i want to quickly bring up some theories i’ve seen but personally idk if i completely believe in them: 
◦ churchill is behind it
he didn’t want mosley to become a martyr for the fascist movement so he had barney killed before he could take the shot ?
he said cutting a weed down doesn’t always work (mosley is a weed, and tommy can’t simply kill him as a solution) ?
◦ johnny dogs is the traitor
he was in the room when tommy explained the plan in detail 
aberama said only johnny knew where he was, so how did the billy boys find him ?
johnny was reluctant to go to scotland. was tommy losing his control over johnny ?
johnny was the only one not attacked. aberama was killed and arthur was targeted but survived, though johnny was spared 
okay now i just want to go over these theories i’ve heard about but personally don’t believe and i’ll explain why: 
• alfie is a traitor
alfie is jewish, mosley is a fascist. i don’t see why alfie would want to keep mosley alive, and i can’t see mosley wanting to team up with alfie 
when alfie was listening to mosley’s speech on the radio, he said something like “whenever you’re ready tom” so it really seems like alfie was in full support of having mosley killed
alfie has betrayed tommy three times already. i think that’s enough
• michael is the traitor
already explained that he was 1) being controlled by gina, and 2) would not betray tommy this way. he may be ambitious, but he would not do this. i mean, why would he want aberama dead, arthur dead, and mosley spared? he loves his mom and polly had just gotten engaged to aberama, so ? what benefit would arthur’s death or mosley being kept alive bring? michael wants to expand the business in america, not become a fascist. i don’t think he’s responsible. his wife on the other hand... 
finally i would just like to bring up some other topics for discussion: 
1. camera effect— when tommy was explaining the plan in detail, there was a moment with a camera effect that made it look like there were doubles or lines i’m so bad at describing it but you know what i’m talking about right it was like someone was looking in or something like that. what was that about do you think? 
i’ve heard people say it was michael and gina but personally i don’t think it was michael as i’ve already expressed how i don’t think he is the traitor, and gina- idk. seems like these more high class people hire others to do this stuff like spying. i’m not sure what to make of this...
2. who really had younger killed? 
3. who is the man that tommy can’t beat? 
is it tommy himself? will he commit suicide at some point? there have been several instances and some foreshadowing it seems. charlie even said it ran in the family. idk 
4. plan b— gina brings up plan b after michael is shut down
gina orchestrated plan b. perhaps plan b is separating from the family to do the business in america, but gina may be hiding more 
is gina a fascist? this could be a part of why she would be working with mosley. a friend mentioned seeing this theory: is gina italian american, possibly related to al capone— because he was name dropped, he may play a part later on ? 
feel free to add on! agree or disagree, i’d love to continue the discussion and hear more to ponder over :) 
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iwannawritepls · 5 years ago
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Writing Update 05
Guess who finished. guess. go on guess. That’s right it was me!!
It was pretty intense because my playlist had finished and so I was sat feverishly typing the last paragraph out in silence and then when I went round for the final spell check I was listening to Achilles Come Down by Gang of Youths and it finished as I finished and it was a moment.
So so so. in total we have
69069 words (nice) and 102 pages spread over 23 chapters and 5 parts. I can actually go into the plot and stuff now too because I know what that is from start to finish. I won’t go into that here I’ll just talk about the last chapters. Buckle up this ones gonna be long.
Whence last we left off there were 17 chapters and now there’s twenty-three. Chapter seventeen also has an actual name too so yay.
Chapter 17 – Pinches of Catgut
Chapter 18 – Yours Forever, Echo
Chapter 19 – Ink’s Tarnish
Chapter 20 – Red Room
Chapter 21 – Crosshatched Scars
Chapter 22 – Chasing Sundust
Chapter 23 – Amen
Chapter 17 originally is now what chapter 18 and chapter 23 isn’t really an epilogue but it also is y’know? Like the last two chapters are the endings in their own right (I say as if I didn’t stop reading The Darkest Minds seven pages from the end)
But c’est la vie!
Chapter 16 (I can finally explain this stuff woo) we had the fallout to the guy’s being told they have to pay the devil – who isn’t really the devil and is actually a god in his own right but that’s beside the point – back for everything he’s done for them. this one focuses on Valentine and Albert having a bit of a moment where I realised ‘oh gosh everyone is a foil to everyone oh gosh’
Chapter 17 is kinda the same but from William and Basil’s side where they have their own conversation about who Will killed Charlie by accident….yeah…William is still baby he just killed someone that’s fine. This is fine.
Chapter 18 is where shit hits the fan because oh my god James is back!!!!! Idk if I mentioned this but James is Enoch’s dead bf who wasn’t dead at all and I’ve been hinting at it the entre god damned book. I almost didn’t include it but after a talk with one of my friends I realised that James’ being alive would bring in more tea than ever before and well,,,,,,why wouldn’t I?
Oh yeah James also tells Enoch that everyone is coming to find them.
The way I'm explaining this seems like stuff just happens, but I swear I do add threads throughout! I'm just disjointed in my thought process.
Chapter 19 is the beginning of the end. We have a rush to pack as they’re trying to get out and they would have more help from James but Basil doesn’t trust James, Enoch is drunk, William has lost a lot of blood and both Al and Valentine had been asleep so they’re slow and groggy and it’s raining because England and winter and the coast is just a great combination.
Enoch and James end up going ahead cus people are getting close and they need to get their stuff away from there. There were three cases left to tie but they didn’t have time so while James and Enoch go ahead the others are carrying the last three cases to the docks so they can tie and run.
Chapter 20 is where Enoch wraps his beef with Aristide up. kinda. He originally planned on just saying goodbye but then stuff happens and he feels bad for Aristide so he just gives him to the devil without the murder part of it.
Chapter 21 valentine kills his uncle and gets closure™
Chapter 22 this chapter is so good. I love it, I love it so much. I'm still kinda feeling funky about it because its got a flashback and the rest of the book hasn’t got anything exactly like this – unless you consider the small titbit in chapter 17 a flashback. But I really delve into Sebastian’s psyche and before then I kinda hated Sebastian but it feels like he's had a whole ass character arch and I love it. I really love this chapter so much.
And finally chapter 23 is them running and the last of the setup for the next book
I want to include memes but they’re all old stuff. If I have anything new, I’ll insert it if not I’ll keep 5 random facts about the boy’s as my transition.
Albert
When he was a bab he wanted to meet keats before he realised the mans is dead.
Can write in shorthand in both Russian and English just so long as he doesn’t focus too hard on it
Albert is his middle name, Lyonya is his first name
Is a cat person.
Orders the same meal at every restaurant even if they don’t serve it. if they don’t serve it he has a tiny crisis.
Also defo has one of the others order for him
Basil
Defo a gifted and talented student if he was alive today
He's technically an accountant and low key enjoys it
Can fight but is a pacifist by choice
Skipped class once and got bored and never did it again
When they were still at school he would look after the groups deeds to land and do all the legal stuff for them because they had no clue. He still has all of Valentine’s papers and so could technically steal valentines land and nobody would care.
Enoch
Isn’t gay is actually bisexual
Is really good at science but just doesn’t care about it
He ate leek and potato soup exclusively for three weeks on a dare
Once played Mercutio and tripped on stage. Managed to hide it pretty well but hasn’t lived it down.
Would live in an old theatre if he could just for the aesthetic and bragging rights
Valentine
His family is of German heritage
Bakes as a stress relief but gets hyper focused on one thing for ages (tarts is the big one of the year)
Is the mum of the group but wouldn’t ever admit it
Cannot do maths for shit. or much else. He can just speak a lot and paint.
It’s a continuous joke irl and in novel universe that he’s called Valentine, but his birthday is on February 15th because his parents thought it was still February 14th when he was born.
William
Allergic to honey but would eat it anyway
Joined classes three years after everyone else
Is the only one in the group that understands people
Has a really bad centre of gravity and falls over a lot
He's 6’7
Bonus – a wild Sebastian appeared.
Acts 50 is 20
Is just brine
In a constant state of identity crisis
Was he born or did he just appear fully formed? Nobody knows
Always stuck as Benvolio. No matter what. forever. He hates it.
Excerpts! –
“you are a walking disaster.” Basil sighed
“I'm your favourite disaster though.” He could hear the smile in Enoch’s voice.
I just like these lines. Nothing too deep just thought they were funny.
Basil placed a hand on his knee hoping the rain could drown out what the music that followed William could not.
My mans being a supportive friend
He finished pulling the manuscript together and reached for the box Albert kept all his current writings in. it was a small box with darker patches between the broken veins where ink had spit and flowed between the cracks.
i have nothing to say about this 
They only had real tenderness with some of the fragile things. A school given copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream, a book by a man called Sashenka Potemkin, teacups with still blooming meadows painted onto them, a book about a monastery, a violin case that had nail marks embedded into the leather, an easel.
Y’know keepsakes are Important but if you’re running shouldn’t you pack light? Probably but these guys are sentimental bastards
The shops were alive with people, the two pubs were open and selling even the tailoress was in business. He wasn’t entirely surprised; worms came out during a storm. They thrived when the squawking of the gulls had disappeared.
We live in a society – Enoch 2019
The gate yielded under his hand, the closest he got to acceptance in the high walls. It seemed colder once he’d walked into the threshold, urging him towards the sickening feeling of unbelonging that sat in his gut. It made him want to turn away and never come back some of the time. How much he didn’t belong there.
Sebastian is yearning™
Basil reached into Albert’s pocket and pulled the crocus out. Albert didn’t react as he did so. he stared at it twirling it between his fingers staring at the petals and their untarnished glory despite having been used to kill them all at least once.
And while that isn’t the last line that’s the end of this. I'm taking a break from beginning anything big and while I want to move onto writing Adalius, Ariane and Adionis’ story I’ll wait for a moment before I do. just because I cant bring myself to think about how I'm starting this yet.
Anyway. That means no updates for at least 3 weeks. I know you’re all distraught. But yeah.
I hope you have a good day.
Thanks for reading this!
BYEEE!
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tiesandtea · 5 years ago
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Interview with Artmagic from July 2012 for Spindle Magazine
By Amy Lavelle on July 12, 2012. Archived here.
Doors close; windows open etc. One of the many valuable lessons to be learned from the Sound of Music and when Suede’s door closed, another window of shining opportunity opened in the form of Artmagic: the new project and meeting of minds of Richard Oakes and producer, now vocalist, SeanMcGhee (Imogen Heap, Britney Spears et al.). Then yes, Suede’s door reopened, but fear not, that won’t be affecting the duo.
We caught up with them for a chat/‘peak behind the magic,’ if you will.
Full interview under the cut. Teaser:
SEAN: Please don’t call us “indie”. Do we look like skinny 18 year olds? I was never skinny, or young. This policy will continue. RICHARD: Please do call us “indie”. It’s funny to watch Sean’s reaction!
SPINDLE: Before you hear Artmagic’s music, it seems at first like an unlikely pairing; how did you form? What’s the story behind Artmagic? SEAN: I was a big admirer of Richard’s work and was curious that he’d seemingly disappeared when his other band split. Here was this enormously talented guitarist and writer, suddenly off the radar. I must have been in a fearless, bolshy mood, because I just decided I wanted to write with him. A friend of mine was egging me on, and it turned out that he knew Richard’s brother. So I was able to get in contact and arrange to meet up. We wrote our current single, Forever In Negative on the very first day of working together; once that was under our belts, we both knew this wasn’t going to be a one-off. RICHARD: We exchanged show reels via our manager Charlie in late 2007, but we didn’t actually meet until July 2008, and started writing straight away. Not really the traditional way bands form – meeting at art school, sharing a squat etc… But right from the off Artmagic was never going to be a typical rock ‘n’ roll outfit. I think of it as a project, rather than a band, with none of the clichéd behaviour, image or attitude. Sean doesn’t model himself on his influences, and this definitely attracted me to working with him. SPINDLE: Why the name? SEAN: It comes from something film director John Waters said about modern art; he noted how it lets you take seemingly unrelated everyday objects and, by using them in the right way, turn them into something meaningful. Art, he said, is magic, like alchemy – transformative. And I loved that, immediately, because song writing is art. We take disparate fragments and craft them into the whole. I’m not afraid to appear pretentious when I say that. I’m get exasperated by the clichés of rock, so framing what we do in artistic terms suits me much better than relying on tired posturing. RICHARD: Sean chose the name, my input was a shameful zero! My past career has left me with a strong ethic that the only thing that matters is the music; everything else is secondary. It’s easy to spot the bands in the past who have concentrated on name, image and impact first… and then forgotten about the actual music. SPINDLE: Obviously there were a lot of expectations for the band; were you at all apprehensive putting new music out there in the beginning? SEAN: Not at all; the moment we released the I Keep On Walking EP was when Artmagic became real, and I think we were both hungry for that moment. I can’t really imagine what expectations people had, but I hope we confounded them by giving them a moody song cycle about 3 unwillingly intertwined lovers. I’m immensely proud of it, and I think it was a gutsy way to lead off. RICHARD: Releasing your work to the world is always exciting yet daunting, no matter what you believe the expectations to be. I’ve had reviews of my past work that have ranged from glowing to utterly awful, and I’ve learned to take both with a pinch of salt. The most important thing is that people get to hear it; I believe there will always be someone in the world whose life is touched by it, and that’s the whole point. SPINDLE: How have you found the reception so far? SEAN: Gratifying. It’s thrilling, really, that we’ve already got some very passionate fans and it’s very exciting when we do shows and we can see the audience getting it. Obviously some people have had difficulty moving beyond our previous work, and get upset or confused because it doesn’t sound the same, but you can’t please everyone, and I wouldn’t want to anyway. Pleasing ourselves is the first priority, and will remain so. RICHARD: I believe we’ve attracted the kind of people who like music in the same way we do. When talking to someone at a gig you can instantly tell if they’re there for the right reasons, a genuine open minded love of music as an art form, or whether they’re there just to stare at you. People who have the usual prejudices won’t appreciate what we do, and I have no interest in playing to them. SPINDLE: Sean, how was it making the transition from ‘behind the scenes’ as it were to taking the mic and being at the forefront? SEAN: Artmagic happened because we realised that no-one else could sing these songs we were writing – they were too personal. That, and Richard’s support, gave me the confidence to be the man to sing them. Doing so was both the realisation of a long-held ambition and a serious challenge. But that’s a good thing, because anything that’s easy to do is generally not worth doing at all. SPINDLE: Richard, after taking time out of the spotlight following Suede’s split, how was it releasing new music? Is it something you’ve been working on since the break or did you take time away from it all? RICHARD: I did take some time out to move house, but I had been working on a whole load of music, some of which became the backbone for the album, for a couple of years before I met Sean. The intensity of being a Suede member for so many years cast a long shadow over my work, and it took me a lot of soul searching to realise exactly what I wanted to do with my career. The one thing I was certain of was that I didn’t want to simply join another band, or have a new band formed around me. I wanted to just write and write, and when I met Sean, that’s what we concentrated on. I threw a lot of (probably very confused-sounding) music at him, and he was able to pinpoint the underlying emotions and feelings, and turn them into very personal songs. SPINDLE: How does the creative process as Artmagic differ from previous projects for both of you? SEAN: The process is both the same and different. I’ve written with a lot of people over the years and I’m past being tentative; you have to fearlessly throw down your ideas and say, “what about this?” to get a song happening. Truly poor songs get written by the disinterested or uninspired. That is never an issue with Richard because he’s always got something great up his sleeve, and that means I have to respond in kind. That’s not always been the case for me in the past, so I relish it. RICHARD: The biggest difference for me is that Sean invites me to be involved when he writes the melodies, there is no separatism. This was never the case in Suede; almost all co-writing would be done alone, often even by post. It just goes to show how many different ways there are to write a song. We have a few that have come out of spontaneous jamming round at Sean’s, but they’re a world away from the traditional band rehearsal room jamming! Something that rarely works well. SPINDLE: Have you faced any major hurdles so far as a band and if so, what? SEAN: Not really. Any musician who has a career is living a charmed life, and they know it. Never mind the endless whining we hear, saying how hard it is. It should be hard, because that weeds out the faithless. I’m a true believer in Artmagic specifically, and music generally. I crave widespread appreciation for Artmagic, because I think our work deserves it. RICHARD: The only hurdles, the only hoops we’ve had to jump through have been self-imposed, in the writing and recording. We set ourselves a high standard, and despite having no corporations breathing down our necks, it was hard work, but the end result was all the more satisfying. SPINDLE: What’s next?
SEAN: Touring and festivals in July, more touring in September. Our second single Down In The River comes out in October. We’re working hard to give Become The One You Love its due, and once that’s done and dusted we’ll start thinking seriously about album two. We already have some songs in hand, and some very interesting ideas about how to approach the process differently next time around. But I don’t want overthink it; better to run on instinct.
RICHARD: Live appearances in the many different guises of the band, up and down the country. I’m especially looking forward to the album release gig at St Pancras Old Church on 9th July with the whole band. But I can’t wait to start writing again – I believe that is the most important part of our job. Creativity will outlive industry. SPINDLE: Anything else to add? SEAN: Please don’t call us “indie”. Do we look like skinny 18 year olds? I was never skinny, or young. This policy will continue. RICHARD: Please do call us “indie”. It’s funny to watch Sean’s reaction!
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wheremytwinwatches · 5 years ago
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[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 50
Last Time: Beard went into Papa Bear Mode, Greed pulled a Vegeta, and Mrs. Bradley was very confused and upset. Onwards!
Episode 50 - “Upheaval in Central” We’ve got the Beret!Officer from last ep talking over the title, saying that they can kill everyone besides Roy. Cue gunshots… Yup, the Officer’s just standing there in shock while all of his men are on the ground, clutching busted kneecaps or wrists. You fools pulled guns on Riza, what did you- Oh ok there’s a bunch of plain-clothes conspirators up in the rafters, and another guy with spiky hair putting a gun to Officer’s head. Where did all these guys come from? While that’s going on, Mrs. Bradley is facing two unfortunate possibilities; either the country is attempting a coup against her husband… or her husband has abandoned her. Roy “doesn’t know”, but promises to continue to protect her. Also, if she could maybe possibly use her position as spouse of the Fuhrer to pardon them once this is all over, that’d be greeeeeat. Now they’re on the move to avoid the commando’s backup, Roy’s being updated by Spiky Hair who apparently knows him (manga character?), learns he’s still at the wreckage and confirms Mrs. Bradley doesn’t know the truth just yet. Now, back to scaring off the hapless mooks! Said mooks’ boss is very upset that his men haven’t killed the five meddlers of the Conspiracy yet. Then reports start coming in that they’ve got a full platoon of rebels now, and that while they have a bunch of casualties there haven’t been any deaths. Whaaa? You mean the Good Guys are trying to fight nonlethally? Who would ever think of such a thing? Apparently not the rest of the Amestrian military, the mooks keep spending so much time wondering why they aren’t already dead that our heroes keep incapacitating them while they talk. Central Officer takes this as a personal insult, orders even more mooks out to get wounded.
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The remaining Generals in the War Room are whining about how their troops getting systematically whittled down, until Armstrong the Great points out that it really should be expected. Think of it like the Military Police of Attack on Titan: While you’ve got more troops along the borders fighting in wars with other countries, these troops are in the very center of Amestris, with not nearly as much experience as those who are fighting daily on the borders. Armstrong the Great even points out their feeble performance against Mr. Freeze in the first episode, how a single rogue Alchemist decimated them and nearly froze over the entire city. Now they’re facing a rogue Alchemist with experienced and determined soldiers behind him.
The other General takes offense to the truth and her offer to step in and help, barks that she’s only there as a hostage to ensure her loyal troops toe the line (oh he is so dead). Armstrong the Great just laughs as Skyrim Chanting starts up.
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[Armstrong the Great]: “Hahaha! You don’t understand a single thing about the resolve of my troops! Your plan is useless. The only law the men of Briggs know is Survival of the Fittest. They know to abandon me if confronted with a crisis. Even if you were to murder me in cold blood, my troops would simply write me off for being too weak. They don’t need me! Those men can act as their own force. That’s the strength of the Briggs army! Don’t even begin to assume that you know the soldiers I’ve trained!” Mowhawk. White Uniforms. Sandals? Ok so Buccy’s standing with some other unique Briggs troops and soldiers in the white Briggs coats in an apparent cellar. But sandals? And there’s a space in the back with two glowing red eyes. Who are these new people? Guess we’ll find out later, because the Briggs soldiers are on the move and the Oh Shit alarms are going off in Central, as Armstrong the Great “wonders” if her bear-killing soldiers will have any trouble with the dolls of Central. Let the curbstomp begin! But seriously, where were they? They mentioned a cellar but I don’t think they’d all fit under Madame Christmas’ bar even it wasn’t blown up. [Spiky Hair]: “The Armstrong Mansion?” Oooooh, duh. They even ‘subtly’ pointed it out when Roy visited Armstrong the Great after the timeskip, of course that’s where the Northern troops hid. Ok so apparently Spiky Hair is Charlie, one of his own subordinates comes running up asking for ammo. What, you aren’t getting enough spare bullets from the soldiers you’ve wounded? Or the dead now, seeing as the Briggs troops are in play. Or they’ve got a supply unit that hasn’t shown up yet. [Roy]: “Look guys, if it comes down to it just leave me behind.” [Charlie/Other]: “Roger that!” [Offended!Roy]: “You could at least pretend like you’re willing to die by my side!” Uh oh, but it looks like the Military’s realized they’re out of ammo. They make a push- and nearly get run over by a Funny Bear truck. Ooh, here’s that supply unit! With a familiar face, it’s Riza’s friend Rebecca! And oh my Leto that was certainly worth the wait, rifles bullets and bazookas galore! Roy gets a new rifle from the driver, a lady with a covered face? Someone who knows the Colone- … … … [HELL TO THE FUCK YEAH]: “Second Lieutenant Maria Ross, returning to active duty without permission, sir!”
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Yessssssssssss Sorry, give me a minute. I need to walk around with a stupidly large grin on my face for a while. Ok, I’m better now. Let’s continue. Aw, Rebecca’s all upset that she came all this way only to find a bunch of “sissies” restraining themselves since they’re in the city. As she loads a friggin mortar Leto damn woman how is Grumman still alive? Oh ok it was a smoke bomb, just enough to disrupt the military so they can load into the truck and drive away. Rebecca’s showing off all the cool Xingese weapons Ross brought back. But she procured the rest of the conventional weapons through someone else? She says she’ll let “him” tell Roy, they hook up a radio. [Roy]: “This is Colonel Roy Mustang speaking. I’m honored to have your support.” [!!!]: “Heh heh, man, whose ass do you think you’re kissing?” [Roy]: *shock* [!!!!!]: “I’d prefer if we kept things casual!” Oh my Leto it’s Havoc! Running a General Store/Conspiracy Quartermaster! yessssss [Havoc]: “So, who do I send the bill to?” [Roy]: “The office of the Fuhrer. And start a tab!” yesssssss Mid-ep pictures of Ross and Havoc being awesome (all my babies are coming back I’m so happy!) and Beard pushing up his glasses. Seeing smoke and hearing sirens in the distant city, Ed and the crew (minus Greed and Al) are preparing to make their move. Ooh, and Beard says he has a countermeasure if the TC gets activated, but just says he’d rather stop it in the first place. So we’ve got two unspoken plans going on, this is looking better and better! Wait no Beard’s saying they need to destroy Uncle’s “flask” in order to defeat him and free the souls he gathered. Eh, just vague enough that I won’t count it as a stated plan. As for finding the guy, Scar’s going to show them the tunnel he and May found way back when I thought Beard was the bad guy. Lion’s staying behind because of his injuries, as is Marcoh for his wanted status and Yoki because Yoki. Ed takes a moment to say goodbye to Al still stuck in the Dome, they bump fists against the earthwork as Pride is still tapping Al’s helmet with a stick wait. Wait wait WAIT NO LETO-DAMNIT the Goth is clearly doing quick taps and longer taps it’s obviously Morse Code he’s sending a signal to the surviving Goths damnit Al take your helmet back! Ugh ok so while that ticking timebomb counts down we’ve got May running through Central with her covered jar, urged on by Envy to reach Uncle before he reveals the secret of immortality. She slips into the tunnel just before troops arrive to block the area off. Back in Central oh buddy you really don’t want to do that. The Military Police General is pointing a gun at Armstrong the Great, demanding she call off her soldiers. She’s all “What? But you stripped me of my northern command, remember?” But the General just whines that they’ve been chosen to ascend with Uncle and all the sacrifices are necessary- Nope! Just like with Raven, Armstrong the Great’s gotten bored of listening to their stupidity and stabs his arm while drawing a pistol on the other general, chiding them for being Armchair Generals who don’t dirty their own hands, espousing the “necessity of sacrifice” while never making any of their own. Also, you threatened Armstrong the Great, so die. The Mighty Armstrong? What are you- oh shit, did nobody tell you about the Promised Day? Holy crap, if The Mighty Armstrong wasn’t updated then he’s still working for the Military, just sees his comrades apparently go crazy and start shooting up soldiers and setting the city on fire. Someone please update this poor man- Oh hey, it’s Brosh! Speaking of updates, someone tell this guy that his partner isn’t dead, he’s had to spend all this time thinking she was killed by Roy! [Brosh]: “That devious coward! First he murdered Lieutenant Ross and now he’s kidnapped the Fuhrer’s wife?! The man has got to be pure evil!” Ooof, even if he doesn’t know the Promised Day plan The Mighty Armstrong did know Ross was alive, he’s probably feeling a bit guilty for not telling Brosh. Fu’s off to the side, overhears The Mighty Armstrong being told about his sibling’s actions, and heads off to try and find Ling in the chaos. But he can’t sense his new Goth nature, what with Uncle giving off Big Bad Vibes underground. That have grown stronger? Uncle’s sitting in his pipe chair, lounging as machinery rumbles and pounds, disturbing mice and dogs even outside the city wait nevermind it’s not the machinery that’s making that noise. It’s the Littlest Goth with his helmet and stick, tapping out a message. Al, take you Leto-damned helmet back!
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Three quick taps. Three long taps. Three quick taps. And Uncle opens his eyes. Al and the others have arrived at the cordoned off tunnel, think there’s too many to fight past. Come on guys, it’s just a couple of Military Police, you’ll be fine. That’s your only way in any case, it’s not like you can just manipulate the ground beneath your feet to make a new tunnel OH WAIT. Or is there actually another way? Oh yeah, the Third Laboratory! With only three guards at the gate too, that’ll be easy. Hold up, Ed says he has a plan- Right, I keep forgetting that he’s an official State Alchemist, he can just order them to stand aside and- [Ed]: “Oh please help me! That murderous Ishvalan Scar is trying to kill me!” [Scar]: “wait what.” [Guard]: “*gasp* Oh my, that man’s on the wanted list! Stay back little boy, we three Muggle Soldiers will tell this murderer of multiple State Alchemists to surrender!” [Ed]: “Mwahaha!” [Guard]: “Aaargh! No, our consciousnesses! We need tho-” Man, Ed can be a jerk when- [Beard]: “...that was a mean thing to do.” [Ed]: “Aw shut up, c’mon.” No, sorry Ed, but I’ve got to side with your old man on this one. Meek nerds in labcoats cower as our heroes brush past them in the hallways, until Ed finds the poorly-transmuted doorway and oh for Leto’s sake do you have to put tacky demons or skulls on everything you Transmute, you deranged midget? Anyways Ed made a new door, let’s continue. Oh yeah, I remember how Roy’s Crew had to split up to take both hallways last time. So how are the groups getting split? Apparently Beard leading one, and ooh Ed has to travel with Scar. Ed’s not happy with this, especially when Beard raises the valid but still condescending point that Scar could still fight against Uncle when Ed’s power was shut down…. Wait. Wait wait wait WAIT. Did you… did you seriously never get any lessons in Alkahestry? Not a single one? Dude. You KNEW that Uncle could shut down your conventional Alchemy. The whole POINT of tracking down May and Scar was to get lessons from the little girl. And you learned NOTHING of the discipline? Wow. Just, wow. So our Protagonist gets saddled with the repentant murderer because he’d be curbstomped on his own. Meanwhile Beard takes… nobody? Because he’s already so OP? [Beard]: “On second thought…” [Lan Fan]: “Huh?” *Old Man Flirt Mode Engage* [Beard]: “It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a bodyguard, so I might as well take the young lady with me.” Somewhere Fu and Greedling feel rushes of protectiveness and anger about lecherous old men. After the groups separate and the Chimeras grumble about the “pervy old man”, Beard actually take a moment to Iroh at Lan Fan, lets her go to search for Ling. And like that she’s off, and Beard’s on his own. Oooh, shit. That’s the Golem Room. An officer’s just barged in with a labcoat running after him, shouting about how they haven’t been tested yet. But Officer thinks there’s no better test than a field test, and starts pulling levers. Tubes of liquid and shattered red stones start glowing, the pipes make a heartbeat sound, and red sparks OH LETO NOPE NOPE NOPE I did not need to see eyes pop up on their foreheads and AAARGH they’re all screaming nope nope nope Cue lots of dramatic head turns from characters at The Hell Is That Noise, and fade to black. Grrrrreat. This is going to go swell, I’m sure. End credits. Jeez. So on one hand, this episode had me grinning like a loon as characters came back from offscreen in awesome ways. On the other hand, that noise is going to give me nightmares tonight, and I really, really don’t want to see those creepy Golems moving.
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How to Survive a Factory Tour - Chapter 14
A Sanders Sides / Charlie and the Chocolate Factory FanFiction
PREVIOUS
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Well, today is going swimmingly, isn’t it? When I won my ticket, I had thought I’d be coming here and seeing all the fantastical wonders that were hidden within these walls. I hadn’t thought I’d see these wonders and then immediately have them ruined by seeing how they almost kill two of my new friends. I know it sounds rude to blame them given what they’re going through, but I wish Patton and Logan had been a little more careful. All Patton had to do was stay clear of the very edge of the cliff, and all Logan had to do was not go into that teleporter, or at least make sure there was nothing in there with him, and then they’d have been fine, and the tour would have stayed nice and happy. But nope! Now it’s mopey. Marylin Monrose over here has stopped joining in my playful banter about Disney and music and such as he was before. He’s fiddling with his hoodie, counting to himself. I don’t get it, Wonka reassured us that Patton and Logan are going to be okay. Why does he look like we just saw them die?
Luckily, Ethan is willing to talk. And he knows musicals! We’re currently in a deep discussion about whether Evan did the right thing when lying to the Murpheys in Dear Evan Hansen. He’s bringing up a lot of good points to support the yes side that I’d never even considered…
Unfortunately, Wonka interrupts our conversation, deciding to stop at a couple rooms we pass as we walk down the corridors.
“Now, this room is where we keep the square sweets that look round! We just finished them, and they’ll be being officially released next month. We just need to market them a bit first to make sure people are actually aware they’re a thing.”
We all peek through the window in the door, and my eyebrows furrow. The sweets are all different coloured cubes with little faces on them. But I emphasise: cubes. They don’t look round at all! The name is a lie!
“They look square to me…” I mumble, but make sure I’m loud enough for Wonka to hear my criticism. I mean, if he’s coming close to releasing them, he needs someone to tell him that it’s actually, you know, how it’s supposed to be!
“No no, they’re square sweets that look round,” Wonka repeats. Um, is he serious? Repeating the phrase doesn’t change the fact those sweets are definitely cubes. Welp, when these launch, they’re going to bomb. The Wonka name will have a second 
“They’re squares! They don’t look round at all!”
“No no, they look round.”
Okay, he’s lost me. I have never been more confused than I am right now. I look between Wonka and the sweets beyond the door, trying to figure out what the heck he means.
“Roman,” Virgil’s voice breaks my concentration. “Do you honestly not get it?”
I open and close my mouth. “... Yes?”
He rolls his eyes. “They’re square sweets that look around.”
“Ooooh!” That’s why they have faces! Their eyes are looking around the room!
I swear I’m not an idiot. All the sugar is probably just getting to me. I’m smart.
Wonka continues to lead us down the corridors yet again as Virgil rolls his eyes at me yet again, chuckling. I elbow his side in response. At least he’s in good fooling again… I just need to be very very careful to not remind him of Patton and Logan. Then he’ll be back to being , and then we’ll be back to nothing being fun.
Wonka leads us into another room, and it’s certainly an interesting one. The walls are lined with shelves, all filled with bottles of different shapes, sizes and colours. In the centre of the room is a large bubble machine, making bubbles that float up high through the very tall room. The ceiling of the room is just a large spinning fan.
“This is the Fizzy Lifting Drinks Room!” Wonka tells us. “You may have noticed us advertising them recently. We just finished working out all the problems with them a couple months ago, and will be releasing them in two weeks! You three are lucky and get to be the first to try it.” He goes over to one of the shelves looking through. “What flavour would you all like? There’s cola, lemon, lime, mixed berry, cherry…”
I’m about to say mixed berry before realising anything berry flavoured probably isn’t the most appropriate right now… So, instead I choose, “Cola. May as well go with the classic fizzy drink.”
Wonka nods, grabbing a bottle of dark brown liquid, popping open the cork. He then holds it out to us three.
“I’m not so sure about this…” Virgil mumbles. “You sure it’s perfectly safe?”
“Completely sure, my dear boy! Now go ahead, you three!”
I take the bottle, rolling my eyes at Virgil’s uncertainty, before taking a swig, and then pass the bottle to Ethan.
Wow, that drink is super fizzy, even more so than that lemonade back at Dessert Island.
Hold on. That’s… odd. My feet don’t feel like they’re- HOLY SHIT, MY FEET AREN’T TOUCHING THE GROUND!
I’m floating! I’m flying! Oh my gosh, this is awesome! Fizzy Lifting Drinks, I get it now! Oh, this is absolutely fantastic!
“Guys, you have to try this!” I call down as I continue to rise. Now I see why the ceiling is so high!
Ethan sips from the bottle and passes it off to Virgil, before he too lifts off the ground. I, on the other hand, find myself stopping about three quarters of the way to the ceiling. Pretty good I have, I don’t want to get chopped by the fan blades.
Virgil watches us, unsure whether or not to join us. 
“Come on, Virge, it’s awesome!” I call. I emphasise my statement with a front flip and a “Whoop!”
Virgil watches us a little longer. Ethan eventually stops rising at the same level as myself. “It’s a good thing we stopped. Wouldn’t want to fly right into the fan…”
“Yeah.” I agree before looking back down. “Get your butt up here, Virge! It’s fun and safe, I promise!”
The Emo Nightmare hesitates, before sighing and raising the bottle to his lips. He downs some of it, hands the bottle back to Wonka, before rising from the floor. However, he almost immediately seems to regret it, turning to Wonka. “Uh, how exactly do we get down when we want to?! We could be stuck!”
“No, you won’t be. You just need to burp and you’ll come right down,” Wonka replies.
“Oh… okay…”
I decide to swim around in the air for a bit and make the most of my time with the ability to fly. I do flips, try and recreate the scene in WALL-E where he and Eve fly around in space (though Virgil and Ethan are refusing to play along), and I sing You Can Fly from Peter Pan. Honestly, I’m having the time of my life. I can’t wait until these go on sale and I can fly whenever I want!
However, the enjoyment comes to an end when Wonka calls up to us. “Come on down, you three, we must be getting on! We’ve got so much time and so little to do! Wait… scratch that. Reverse it.”
Darn, I’ve been enjoying this… I don’t wanna go back down. But, I guess I must. I let out a burp, and find myself slowly sinking to the floor. The other two do the same, and we all find ourselves back on solid ground.
Virgil shivers. “I did not like that…”
“I thought it was really fun,” Ethan replies, and I nod in agreement.
Wonka leads us from the room and we are once again walking down the corridors. My feet are honestly killing me from all this walking… I probably shouldn’t have decided to use today to break in a new pair of shoes.
“Do we have to keep walking?” I ask. “We haven’t gotten a break all day…”
Wonka stops walking. “In that case, let’s catch some transport. I think it’s somewhere down here…” He turns left to another corridor, and then right. We run and catch up.
There in front of us is the strangest looking car I have ever seen. Is it even a car? I think so. I mean, it has wheels and a steering wheel.
“Ta da! The Wonkamobile!” Wonka grins, stepping forward, and climbing into the driver's seat. “This car is completely sustainable. Doesn’t run on petrol, or even electricity; just ginger ale, ginger pop, ginger beer, beer bubbles, bubble-ade, bubble cola, double cola, double bubble, burp-a-cola, and all the crazy carbonated stuff that tickles your nose. Hop on in, and we’ll use it to go to the next room.”
I climb up and take a seat at the front of the strange vehicle. Virgil takes a seat behind me, while Ethan sits at the back.
“You doing okay?” I ask Virgil. Figured that now we’re alone I should probably check up on him
“Yeah, just… Everything with Patton and Logan hasn’t done wonders for my anxiety… I keep thinking I’ve distracted myself and got it all out of my mind, but then I remember what happened to them and start freaking out a little. Since I dropped out of school, Remy and Thomas have been the only friends I’ve really had. Sure, occasionally I bump into old friends from school, but we’ve mostly lost touch. So… it meant a lot to get three new friends. And I... I don’t want to lose two of you…”
Oh. Oh god. He’s crying. Like, there are actual tears in his eyes.
“Um, Virge? Can… can I touch you?”
Virgil hesitates. He doesn’t respond verbally, but instead turns and buries his face into my shoulder, crying into it. I tentatively wrap my arms around him, rubbing his back. “Hey, hey, it’s okay… Pat and Lo are gonna be fine, Virge. Mr Wonka promised. When we’ve finished the tour, we’re gonna meet up with them, we’ll explain what they missed, and then we’ll all head home just as good as when we arrived. Get all the tears and worries out now so we can have fun the rest of the day.”
Virgil nods, lifting his head a little and wiping his eyes. “S-sorry… God, this is embarrassing... “
“You don’t need to be embarrassed. It’s understandable you’d get panicked after everything. I’m scared too. Guess I’m just better at suppressing it.” I pause. “Which, now that I’m thinking about it, probably isn’t actually a good thing…”
Virgil chuckles. “Yeah, probably not… Thank you.”
“It’s nothing, Virge.” I take his hand, squeezing it comfortingly. “Just remember, Pat and Lo will both be fine. Patton’s probably already having his wound treated, and Logan’s in the juicer as we speak.”
“Yeah…”
Our conversation is ended by a jolt as the Wonkamobile starts moving. It drives us at a gentle speed down the corridor. It’s nice, I definitely prefer it to the boat ride…
At least that’s what I think until foam suddenly is fired out a pipe all over myself and Virgil.
“What the fuck?!” he cries, pulling his hand from mine to wipe the foam off his face. I do the same, only yo be met with another blast of foam to the face.
“My clothes!” I cry. “It’s official, cars should not be powered by carbonated drinks!”
Ethan sounds just as startled and annoyed as us from where he’s sat at the back. Wonka, however seems completely unfazed as foam covers him, not even wiping it away.
Virgil and I hold our hands over the pipe in an attempt to stop block the foam. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work, and foam keeps bursting out over us.
I’m glad Remus isn’t here. He’d be making a lot of rude jokes about this.
“What’s that?”
I look ahead as Virgil asks the question. We’re heading towards a strange machine… The car continues forward, heading into it. I don’t even have time to register what happens as we do before we emerge from the other side of it. The foam’s all gone. My clothes are clean, as are Virgil’s, even the stains from our dessert war back in Dessert Island having been cleared.
The car comes to an abrupt stop, and Wonka hops out. “There are two very interesting rooms in this corridor! Come along, let’s go take a look!”
I share a glance with Virgil, wondering what the hell just happened, and we both climb out the Wonkamobile. Wonka leads us and Ethan to a nearby door. “This is the Nut Room! Here, our team of a hundred specially trained squirrels are testing nuts to see if they’re good or bad. If they’re good, they get taken to be put into chocolates and other things. If they’re bad, however, they get thrown down the garbage chute.”
“Like Veruca?” Virgil asks.
Wonka sighs. “Yes, like Veruca…”
I only get a quick look in the room before Wonka leads us along again, likely wanting to change the subject since Virgil brought up the previous tour again. He takes us into another room a few doors down. “Here we have another recently finished product: lickable wallpaper! Will be good for nurseries. Go on, have a taste!”
We all go up to the wall, licking the various pictures of fruits. Wow, it’s amazing! It tastes so re-
WHOA. WHOA. WHAT THE HECK IS THAT ONE?! IT CANNOT BE WHAT I THINK IT IS!
“Um, M-Mr Wonka… what’s this one?”
“That would be a snozzberry!”
“... Uh huh…”
I notice Virgil raising an eyebrow at me, and I whisper a simple response. “Don’t try the snozzberries.”
We don’t spend long in the room, as there isn’t much to see. But, as we leave, my feet begin to ache again. “Can we do something that doesn’t require walking again? Not the Wonkamobile! Just… another mode of transport?”
Wonka nods. “Of course! We’ll take the elevator.” He goes up to a nearby door, pressing the button beside it. A few moments later, and there’s a ding, and the door opens. We all follow Wonka into the elevator, which seems to be made of pure glass. “Hm, which room…?” He looks through the hundreds - no, thousands - of buttons. “Aha! Let’s go to the Rock Candy Mines!”
He presses a button, and Virgil, Ethan and I almost fall over as the elevator suddenly nyooms to the right.
----------
NEXT
Taglist:@clone-number-1, @pumpkinminette, @i-have-n0-idea-what-im-d0ing, @jessicakennedy957, @why-should-i-tell-youu2, @dont-lose-urhead
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ghoulishboyhummel · 6 years ago
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worth a shot || self para
WHO: Aaron Hummel talking to Elizabeth Hummel’s tombstone. Mentions of Burt Hummel, Kurt Hummel ( @gleedalekurt ), Marley Rose ( @marleyrosens ), Blaine Anderson ( @northsideblaine ), and Sebastian Smythe ( @northsidesmythe ). Minor mentions of Charlotte Rose ( @serpentchar ), Alejandro Hart ( @hartdalemd ), Benji Karofsky ( @benjikarofsky ), and Franco Del Rio ( @southsidefranco )
WHEN: Tuesday, May 28
WHERE: Riverdale Cemetery
TRIGGERS: None, I think. 
WARNINGS: Guys, Aaron cries and only swears once. It’s a big deal.
Aaron needed someone to talk to about...everything, but he needed someone completely detached from all of this and won’t get hung up on his feelings or anything.
So he drove to the cemetery and walked to his mother’s grave.
He hadn’t visited since the funeral, always too worried about what would happen in his head if he saw the tombstone with her name on it. But there were no other options and as they say, no time like the present. When he came upon the grave, he sat down in front of it, knowing he was probably going to be here for a bit.
“Hey, mom. It’s Aaron.” He started, laughing to himself when he thought about how ridiculous this whole idea was, but he stayed. “I don’t believe in any religious shi-stuff,” he doesn’t know why he corrected his language, Elizabeth can’t care how he speaks, but he did “But I can kind of get behind ghosts so I guess that’ll be my excuse for talking here.”
This was weird, but also strangely right, to do. Talk to his mom like she was really here and standing in front of him instead of six feet under.
“I’m 21, turning 22 this year. That’s cool, right? You haven’t seen me since I was 8...I’m sorry I never visited after the funeral. Even after I ran away and had full choice of my life, I chose to stay away from your grave.”
Aaron tapped his finger against his leg, “A lot has happened, mom. I know you only knew me for a year, but you were the best mother I could ask for and then you were just gone. I couldn’t get your pancakes on Saturdays anymore, I couldn’t make you sit through my dumb little videos anymore, everything changed with us when you died.” He took a steady breath while his mind drifted to the arguments he had with Burt, to running away, to everything that could have been avoided if she didn’t die. “Dad and I don’t get along, really at all now. He tried to pin attempted murder on me, can you believe that?” He paused to laugh, albeit, a little reluctantly, “But now he’s been arrested for being the town serial killer so, I guess that’s karma.”
“Kurt and I are working on it. After I ran away, I tried to pretend like I hated him. I joined the Ghoulies, you know, like the Serpents but with a cooler logo and a little more dangerous.” That time, Aaron actually did laugh, “But after some crazy fu-after some crazy stuff happened, we decided to give the brothers thing a shot again. We even live together. At least, we’ll go back to living together once I’m fully sober and done with withdrawal. I won’t lie, mom, I’ve had some pretty bad alcohol problems in the recent past. But I’m getting better now, Marley’s been a big help.”
His hands started doing their own thing to distract himself. “You remember the Rose’s, right? Charlie and Marley, twins a year older than me. Charlie and I are friends, she even joined one of the gangs after a whole bunch of things happened. Not the Ghoulies, unfortunately, but I guess the Serpents are okay to join for her. But Marley...I really like her. And she likes me too, I know because she told me ages ago. I’ve only known about my feelings for a couple of weeks. But I haven’t told her.” Even though he knew it was ridiculous, saying it out loud was worse.
“I’m sure it sounds dumb, but there are so many complications so I have a very good reason for not telling her. You know Blaine? He told her he loves her, like actually loves her, and kissed her. Then he kissed me a bit ago. And I don’t even know how to be a good person, let alone a good boyfriend. So, maybe I should just wait and let Marley fall for Blaine instead, or just let her feelings for me die out entirely.” That also sounded dumb, because there was no telling when his own feelings would die out. It took a long time for his crush on Jackson to go away.
“If you really can watch over me or whatever, then you probably already knew some of that. And I’m sorry for everything you’ve seen me do; running away, calling the cops on myself, being an alcoholic, breaking into the Hayward’s office, though I had legitimate reasons for that, and for being a dealer and gang leader.” Aaron felt some tears roll down his cheeks and he quickly wiped them away. “I’m sure I haven’t turned out the way you thought I would when you adopted me. But I’m not awful, right? I’m not a sociopath like that Benji kid thinks I am? I’m pretty sure I’m not, sociopaths don’t feel remorse or guilt for the things they do, and I do feel bad for everything I did to him and Franco. Having sex with Franco while they’re together was wrong, taking so long to apologize probably wasn’t the best move either. That means something, doesn’t it?”
He was silent for a bit, almost like he was waiting for a response, some assurance that he wasn’t a bad person. But obviously no response came.
“I miss you. I really miss you, mom. It’s not fair that I only got a year with you, I can’t help but think I wouldn’t be so...messed up, if you were still here. I’d probably be a lot nicer, I probably wouldn’t get into fights, definitely wouldn’t be a drug dealer, who knows? I might have even left town by now to take my filming elsewhere. But none of that happened. You died, and dad and I kept arguing, and I ran away.” This time, Aaron didn’t bother trying to wipe away the tears that were falling. “Sebastian, I’m kind of friends with him now, can you believe that?” He shook his head and continued, “Anyways, Sebastian told me that he always kind of wondered what it was like to have a mom that cared for her kids. Obviously being my sad orphan self, I could definitely relate. I guess I still do relate. Considering I don’t still have a mom that cared for her kids, I don’t...I don’t have a mom at all now.” He breathed, trying to keep his voice steady, though it was really hard to do so.
“I don’t blame you, obviously. Not your fault you died. I don’t even blame dad, though looking back, I’m sure I may have made it seem like that. I don’t think I can blame anyone. Death happens, that’s life. It sucks, you get over it, you move on. But I don’t think I’ve ever really “moved on” from anything.” He leaned back a bit in his criss-cross positioning, “I’m still really pissed at my birth parents for just leaving me. I’m pissed at this screwed up world for taking you away from us, I’m pissed at dad for...everything he’s done since becoming Sheriff. But most of all, I think I’m pissed at myself. I keep letting things affect me, I keep lying, I definitely have issues. What’s the line between outside circumstance and just me not trying hard enough to be a better person? Have I crossed it? Is it too late for me to try to be a better person?”
Now, he was kind of regretting doing this. The silence after his last couple of questions was deafening. “I suggested that Kurt should come here and talk to you, so if he hasn’t yet, I’m not trying to take away his big news when I mention that I don’t know how I feel about him being engaged.” Aaron let out a sigh, “I’m happy for him, obviously. He’s my older brother and I’m glad that Ale makes him happy. But I just wish he’d tell me for sure what his plans were. If he doesn’t want to live with me anymore and would rather live with Ale, I’m fine with that. Really. It’d be better for him to stay on the Northside with his great fiancé and do what he needs to do instead of kicking it back on the Southside with me. But it seems like everyone’s been so worried about if I’m going to have a breakdown or something if he leaves and I think that’s why he hasn’t told me for sure yet. If he wants to live with me still, awesome, if he doesn’t, that’s great too. I just want him to be happy.”
Aaron tilted his head to the side a little, “I don’t want people worrying about me. I get it, I went back to drinking and clearly I’m more upset about dad being arrested than I tell people but I’m fine now. Marley isn’t talking to me because I got mad and punched her dad, but I’m fine. It sucks that despite leading an entire gang now and having all these people who say they care about me, this is the loneliest I’ve felt in a while, but I’m fucking fine.” He knew that it was a lie, especially since it’s like a swearing filter had been turned on while here and he just said ‘fucking’, and after sighing again, he decided to tell the truth. Not like it matters here, right? “I’m not fine. This is all so messed up and I should be glad that I even have people that care about me despite the awful things I’ve done. I’m lucky Kurt’s given me so many chances, I’m lucky Marley isn’t going to be upset with me forever, I’m lucky I have so many amazing people in my life. I just don’t know why that isn’t enough for me yet, why I feel lonely and so self deprecating that it actually hurts sometimes when I have people telling me that I’m a good person.”
Checking the time, he sees that he’s been here for a little over an hour. Just crying and talking to his mother’s grave. 
“I should go. Don’t want people worrying about where I am and all, they might think I’ve gone to a bar or something.” He moved to stand up and wiped away his tears. “I love you, mom. I don’t think that’s ever going to stop. And as much as I hate crying and talking about how I feel, this was nice. Maybe I’ll come visit more. And bring flowers, people do that, right?” Aaron pushed some of his hair back, “Okay, I’m gonna go. Bye, mom. Hope you’re having more fun than I am.”
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stillthewordgirl · 7 years ago
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LOT/CC fic: Memory & Maybe
Leonard continues to get acclimated to the Waverider and the team, three years after the Oculus. It's not easy. A direct sequel to "A Million Miles Away" and another prequel to "Me vs. You."
I decided I wanted to post this before Legends airs. It's not like I don't know it's an utter AU already, but I rather like this Charlie (whom I've sort of used before) and I'm holding on to her as long as I can. (Hey, they're dealing with magical creatures this season, right? It could happen!) 
For @larielromeniel, who wanted to see how Leonard would meet the newbies. And thank you for the beta!
Can also be read here at AO3.
Someone else—one of the women—is in his old room now. She—Zari—offers to move, but Leonard declines. The Waverider crew rooms are pretty much interchangeable. There’s no point in ousting her when he can just move into a spare.
He tries not to think about the times he and Sara had played cards on that bed. That’s stupid. Sentimental. It’s just a room.
We have to hide.
Don’t try to distract me.
The Brit in the trench coat mentions that he “wouldn’t say no to a roommate, mate”—wink, wink—but Leonard simply blinks at him, feeling far too at sea right now to flirt back or even respond to it. The man gives him a considering look, then nods thoughtfully and not without sympathy.
“Let’s have a pint later in the galley,” he says quietly. “Get acquainted.” He gives Leonard a smile that manages to be wry and understanding at the same time. “And for once, I mean that perfectly innocently.”
So now Leonard’s standing in an empty room, staring at the walls while Mick and Raymond retrieve his packed-up belongings. He’d asked about his gun, but Mick had sighed and Raymond had gone white and refused to speak, so he’s letting that go right now. He knows enough of the specs these days that he’s pretty sure he can just work with Gideon to recreate it. Maybe even make it better.
The rooms are different: the bed looks more comfortable (not that it would take much) and there’s more storage space. Raymond had said that Jax had been working to revamp them, and there’s another little pang. Leonard hopes the kid is OK and happy, wherever he is.
Three years.
Gideon had given him a clean bill of health. He was precisely as he had been when the Oculus exploded: same physical age, constructed left forearm and hand and all. Her supposition was that his position at the heart of the explosion had thrown him into the timestream so immediately that none of the more destructive energies had touched him, literally suspending him in time. No one, yet, had any idea why the temporal fluctuations surrounding him had only recently grown so rough that the Time Bureau had noticed them, but Leonard’s sure someone will have theories eventually.
He doesn’t really care. He has enough to deal with.
He hasn’t seen Sara since she’d headed off with the Time Bureau director, and maybe that’s just as well. He’s having enough trouble finding his feet and getting accustomed to things here…now…without dealing right then with the reality that they almost certainly won’t be able to go back to their old friendship, let alone anything more. He doesn’t go where he’s not wanted, not in this respect anyway, and…
There’s a noise behind him, and he turns to see the two new women on the team standing in the doorway, watching him. They don’t look as wary and upset as the other new guy had been, but they do look tentative. More than that, though, they look curious. Well, he can deal with that.
“Hey,” the one named Zari says, giving him a little wave. “How are you doing? Sorry again that I took your room.”
Leonard shrugs. “Well,” he drawls, stuffing his hands in his pockets, “it wasn’t like I was using it.”
“Still.” When he doesn’t complain about their proximity to his (new) space, Zari takes a step forward, edging into the room, the other woman following suit. “We, ah, asked Gideon to tell us who you are. More about who you are,” she adds. “She told us what the Oculus was and how you blew it up.” Her quick smile is definitely pleased. “Badass.”
She continues before he can respond to that, or really digest the thought that the remaining original team members mention him so rarely that these newcomers don’t even know who he is. “I really hate the idea of someone being able to pull my strings like that. And I don’t really like people who set themselves up as some sort of…moral authority.” A quirk smirk. “Ask Sara.”
Leonard lifts his eyebrows, a little surprised, but pleasantly.  “Yeah,” he manages. “Same here.” He glances at the other woman, who’s staring at him intently with what almost seems to be puzzlement in her gaze--like she’s not quite sure what to make of him. He lifts an eyebrow at her, making the request for introduction obvious, he thinks, and Zari elbows her, getting a glare in return before she looks back at him.
“I’m Charlie,” she says, and he’s never heard an introduction sound quite so defensive and angry before. But he understands anger, and he understands a healthy disrespect for authority, and he thinks maybe he could work with these two. Maybe they’ll get along just fine.
“Pleased to meet you, Charlie,” he tells her cordially, ignoring the anger. “And what…”
“Hey!” The man from before, the one who’d cautioned the others against him, stops in the doorway. He’s carrying a crate, and it appears he’s actually bringing some of Leonard’s packed-up belongings, but the look on his face is anything but friendly. “Zari…Charlie…I told you about…”
Zari rolls her eyes, shaking her head. “Not the boss of me…” she sing-songs, while Charlie gives the newcomer a look that’s so filled with irritation that Leonard wonders about the history there. Still, they both apparently decide it’s better to let Leonard get to the business of looking into his things, stepping back toward the door. Charlie just leaves, but Zari winks at Leonard first—a friendly wink, and a commiserating one, nothing more. But nothing less, either.
“Nice to meet you,” she says, ignoring the other man. “Anyone Mick and Ray trust so much is OK in my book.”
And then she leaves, as Leonard wonders that she didn’t mention Sara and the newcomer stands there, still staring at him.
He’s not in the mood to deal with criticism from someone he’s never even met. Leonard lifts his chin and despite his current state of uncertainty, gives the man his best Captain Cold glare.
It doesn’t help. In fact, the man’s frown grows a little more pronounced, his discomfort shifting into what might almost be anger.
“We fought you,” he blurts out then. “You were part of the Legion of Doom.”
Leonard blinks at him. “The Legion of what?” he manages.
The other man’s continued without pause. “The Legion,” he repeats. “The Reverse Flash, Malcolm Merlyn, Damien Darhk. And you.”
Leonard knows two of those names. The Reverse Flash was Ramon’s name for the first speedster enemy Allen had acquired. And Merlyn…
That was the man who’d killed Sara. Or as close as didn’t matter. She’d told him once, over cards. She’d acted like it didn’t matter, not anymore. But it did.
“I did not,” Leonard hisses back, his discomfort with the very idea coming out as anger, and a corner of him is almost glad to see the other man step back in the face of it. “I never worked with…with them.”
But the fellow is made of sterner stuff than expected, and there’s steel in those eyes as his chin goes up too.
“You killed Amaya. You froze her and shattered her,” he continues inexorably. “And you helped them rewrite reality. Thawne and Merlyn and Darhk…the man who killed Sara’s sister, for crying out loud!”
What?
“Sara’s sister is dead?” he says, staring. “When? What happened?”
The man is in no mood to give his perceived enemy any information, however. “You killed Mick too,” he says, staring back at Leonard. “Icicle through the heart. And…”
“The hell?” Mick himself had appeared, carrying a crate, Raymond following him with another. “Damn it, Pretty…”
“What?” both the new guy and Leonard ask in irritation, looking at Mick, then looking back at each other with even more ire.
Raymond coughs back a laugh, but Mick’s in no mood for humor. “That wasn’t him,” he says, staring at the man. “It wasn’t. Any way you spin it.”
“Nate,” Raymond butts in, putting his crate down and finally giving Leonard’s antagonist a name, “I have to restack some stuff in the cargo bay where we found these. Come give me a hand.”
Nate gives Raymond a look, but he still follows him, giving Leonard a glance that’s probably supposed to be threatening before he leaves. It’d almost be funny if Leonard wasn’t so disturbed by his words. He gives Mick his own look, and the bigger man sighs, putting his crate down.
“They said it was old you, from before the Flash, from long before the Legends,” he mutters, looking away. “They picked you up then, the Legion, told you that you were gonna die, and you worked with them.”
Leonard didn’t know what to say. “It was me?” he asks finally. “Really?” He’d killed Mick? Worked with the bastard who’d had Sara killed, the bastard who’d apparently killed her sister? No wonder she didn’t want to talk to him.
Mick shrugs, glancing away. “I dunno.” He glances back. “You don’t remember anything?”
Leonard been racking his memory. “No,” he says shortly. “Not at all.”
“Eh.” Mick looks down. “I sorta used this memory-wiping thing on you…him.”
Leonard digests that. “You can do that now?
“Yeah.” His friend glances up, a spark in his eyes. “But I still think that wasn’t really you,” he says firmly. “Maybe like a Dark Snart, someone from another Earth, like Leo.”
There’s that name again, a name that brings up unpleasant memories from his childhood, and his jaunt back to 1975. “Leo?”
Mick starts to speak, then stops. “I need beer for this,” he tells Leonard firmly. “And so do you. Trust me.”
Leonard considers, then acknowledges that with a tip of his head. “OK by me. Galley in the same place?”
“Yep.” But then Mick pauses again, and there’s something almost…soft…in his eyes, something that speaks of the feelings they’ve both staunchly denied having. Leonard will admit that as he gradually sorts through the variety of issues related to his three-year time skip, he is glad that Mick seems so…settled? More at peace. More at…home?
Well. At least there’s that.
“Glad you’re back, Snart,” though, is all Mick says.
“Me too, Mick. Me too.”
Raymond and the Brit in the trench coat—he introduces himself as John Constantine, and while that seems to be vaguely familiar, Leonard isn’t sure precisely how—join them in the galley, and there are beers acquired all ‘round. He takes a drink of his, reflecting that he hasn’t had anything to eat or drink, apparently, in three years, and looks at the others.
“So,” he says, “who’s Leo?”
Constantine makes a noise that’s thoroughly admiring—Leonard lifts an eyebrow, but otherwise ignores him—and takes a drink, winking at Leonard again. But he glances at Mick rather than replying himself, and the bigger man nods, as if steeling himself to speak.
“Well,” he says, after taking a long pull from his beer. “Nazis attacked Allen’s wedding. Nazis from another Earth. The you from that Earth goes by ‘Leo.’ ”
So many words today aren’t making sense. “Nazis?” Leonard asks blankly. “From another Earth?”
“Yeah.”
“Scarlet got married?” And he wasn’t there to crash it? Damn.
That gets a snort from Mick and a laugh from Raymond. “Eventually,” the scientist says, taking a sip of his own drink. “Leo’s cool. He’s…different. From, uh, you. He likes hugs and he likes talking it out. Playing counselor.”
Leonard stares at him, vaguely appalled. “No.”
“Yes,” Raymond responds happily.
Constantine sighs gustily. “A damn-fine-lookin’ man,” he says thoughtfully, putting his feet on the stool next to him. “But sadly, quite thoroughly taken.”
Leonard gives Mick a quizzical look. His friend shrugs. “Fella by the name Ray Terrill,” he says. “Ever heard of him?”
“Nope.” Leonard stared into his beer, wondering. This Leo seemed…rather more likeable than he’d ever considered himself. Or cared. But...
“Anyway, we beat them,” Raymond continued. “Leo and his Ray went back to Earth-X. They’re getting married! But he visits sometimes.” He gives Leonard a grin, then looks at Mick. “Oh! Tell him about the puppet.”
But Leonard holds up a hand. “No,” he commands. “Don’t tell me about the puppet. I don’t wanna know about the puppet.” And he doesn’t want to know more about the oh-so-charming Leo, who very definitely isn’t him. “Tell me about the other newbies.” He pauses. “And who’s Amaya?”
Constantine and Raymond exchange glances, but Mick’s eyes go distant. “She was parta the team,” he says quietly. “Went back home, though. To 1942.”
There’s more there. Leonard knows it with every fiber of his being. But this isn’t the time to pursue it. “Ah,” he manages, deciding to leave the question of this missing woman behind him. Especially since his doppelganger apparently killed her. Sort of. “The newbies?”
“Well,” Raymond cuts in, leaning forward, “it’s weird. Charlie looks just like Amaya! But she isn’t.” He takes a healthy gulp of his beer as Leonard stares at him and Constantine guffaws at his expression. “Well, that’s a long story. And it’s even weirder for Nate. But…”
But Leonard’s staring at Mick now, and the other man is shaking his head, something complicated in his own eyes. Again.
“Charlie only looks like Amaya,” he tells Leonard. “She found ‘Maya’s image in Gideon’s database and decided she liked it. She can change shape.”
Words continue to not make sense. Leonard tilts his head, waiting. “So,” he says after the silence stretches. “Who is she?”
Mick pauses…then grins. “She’s a dragon,” he says raptly.
No sense. At all. “A dragon.”
“Yeah.”
And Leonard knows that look. Oh, crap.
Leonard stares at him, then looks at Constantine and Raymond. The latter gives him a nod and a particularly goofy grin. Constantine just shakes his head.
“We’re dealing with magical creatures, mate,” he says, not without sympathy. “It gets weird. Make this lot explain to you how it started, ‘cause I’m not up to it right now.”
Leonard just plain doesn’t want to right now. He takes a bigger swig of his beer than usual. “And Zari?”
“She’s a hacker,” Raymond tells him. ”From the future. And she has this wind totem.” He snaps his fingers. “Oh! The totems. We need to explain the totems. And Beebo.”
“What the fuck is a Beebo?” Leonard does have a vague memory of some children’s toy, but he decides, abruptly, that he doesn’t want to ask. He just can’t deal with more weirdness. “Never mind. Seriously. Tell me later. Maybe much later.”
Raymond looks disappointed, but nods. “Well. Anyway. Good to have you back, Snart.” He gives Leonard a tentative grin. “Really. Hasn’t been the same.”
Leonard allows his shoulder to be patted, giving Mick a long-suffering look, and watches as the scientist wanders off. Constantine lets out a snicker, finishing his own beer, then rises.
“Well, I’m sure this isn’t going to easy for you, mate,” he tells Leonard seriously. “But welcome back to the land of the living. You need any fillin’ in on the magic stuff, let me know.” He smirks. “Over another drink, if you want.”
Leonard eyes him. “Got it.”
Constantine chuckles, tilts his head toward them, and saunters off, into the corridors of the Waverider. Leonard, bemused, watches him go. And decides not to ask. For now.
Instead, he just looks at Mick, who looks back.
“You gonna stay?” his friend asks abruptly. “On the ship? I mean. I know a lot’s changed.”
Leonard’s still feeling very at sea, but he has a very definite feeling that if he makes the wrong decision here, he’ll lose even more than he’s already lost.
“I can’t really see goin’ back to Central and picking up where I left off,” he says after a moment. “But I do want to go tell Lisa. Soon as I can.” He eyes Mick. “Still, I’m staying. For now.”
Mick nods, and Leonard doesn’t think he’s imaging the faintest look of relief on the other man’s face.
But then Mick presses it.
“Blondie…” he starts.
Leonard holds up a hand. “No, Mick.”
His friend gives him a rather combative look (which is very Mick) laced with concern (which isn’t). “You should…”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” The words come out harsher than he’d meant.
Mick regards them, then shrugs. “Fine,” he mutters, getting to his feet. “On you, then.”
Leonard watches him go, sitting there in the galley alone, nursing his beer.
He can do this, he decides, a little grimly. He’ll make this work. It won’t be the same, but he can go back to being Mick’s partner, Raymond’s…frenemy? Sure, that works. And he’s pretty sure he can work just fine with Zari, Charlie and Constantine. Nate will just have to deal.
But Sara…
His role here has always been snarky opposition to the captain. It’s a good role. He’ll miss Rip in that regard. Sara…Sara is undoubtedly a much better captain, but she’ll need that too. Someone to challenge her and provide counterpoint and back her up, sometimes.
And he can do that. And maybe…
He stifles the maybe.
The maybe is never going to happen.
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matrixaffiliate · 6 years ago
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Salient
Chapter Update! FFN and AO3
I'll post again either the 20th or the 21st, I'm not entirely positive yet. I love Christmas time, even though it cuts into my writing time – and my posting schedule. ;)
Chapter 20
Christmas gave way to the new year and the new year to the following semester and life picked up much the way it had been before. Al's daily schedules were color-coded in spreadsheets on his phone and laptop, and he'd come to rely heavily on them. The guarantee of fitting things in along with the flexibility to adjust when he needed to, left him feeling liberated.
It also left him with guaranteed time spent with El, which was always a good thing.
"Aunt Susan wants us to have dinner with them on Sunday again." Ellie flipped the page of the textbook in her lap.
Al opened his calendar app, and added a new event, "Sounds like a plan, what time?"
"Five," Ellie pushed the book from her lap to the coffee table, "but you can come over whenever you want to."
Al chuckled, "I really ought to just give you access to my calendar and let you enter in events. You'd need to set reminders so I see them, but it would make things easier."
Ellie rolled her eyes at him but smirked, "You sound like my dad. He just tells everyone to ask Mom if they can make it to something, and tells Mom to make sure she reminds him the night before of anything."
Al felt the familiar pull of anxiety over how close he was growing with El but pushed it away. He was determined to enjoy their relationship, not freak out about an uncertain future.
"Your dad's a smart man, El," Al forced himself be light about Ellie's comment, and even managed to chuckle.
"I really like that you get along with my family." Ellie's smile went soft and Al felt all his discipline to continue studying start slipping.
"Well, I have to admit, your grandma made me more skittish than a unicorn, and I really came close to hating Susan and Charlie there for a bit. But I'm learning to like your aunt and uncle. I don't agree with the majority of what they say, but I'm trying to remember that just because we don't see eye to eye doesn't mean that they're bad people."
Ellie raised an eyebrow at him, "And what about 'Nmi?"
Al chuckled, "I'm working on accepting that if she wants to know what I'm thinking, she's going to know. But your mum pointed out to me that Naomi doesn't use what she finds against anyone. And when I think about it more as a quirk, like my Grandma Molly's hugs, which are usually so tight you can't breathe, it helps take some of the discomfort and awkwardness out of the situation."
Ellie leaned back on the sofa and smiled. "Yeah, when you grow up with it, it doesn't seem weird at all. As a little kid, I thought all older women could read my thoughts."
Al laughed, "Were you young enough your parents could pass it off as make-believe?"
"I'm not sure if they ever needed to explain it away. But I was five or six, so that's probably what they did. Was that your parents go-to?"
"Yep, anytime we interacted with Muggles and one of us said too much, Mum or Dad would always lightly comment on what a vivid imagination we had."
Then Al had a thought. "El, are your mum's parents still around?"
Ellie nodded. "They've retired to the West Indies. I've met them twice, but they seemed nice. They send me a tenner for Christmas every year."
Al stopped breathing for a moment as he tried to remember that just because these grandparents had little interest in Ellie didn't make them evil people.
"Are, er, do you have cousins on either side?" Al asked more to distract him from his current freak out.
"On Dad's side yeah, most of them have moved away from St. John's but they usually make it back for Christmas since my dad's siblings all still live on the Rock. But it's just me on Mom's side."
Ellie pulled her feet under her and studied Al as he processed what she'd told him.
His initial emotion was rage at grandparents who didn't care more than a tenner once a year for their only grandchild. Then he felt guilty at having been in a relationship with El for nearly a year and only now just discovering that she had family outside of who he'd met thus far. But then his indignation returned at said family who he might never meet. And then the guilt returned as he remembered his immediate assumptions about Susan and Charlie, and how wrong he'd been.
"You need to calm down," Ellie's frown interrupted his internal monologuing. "I don't know what's going on in your brain right now but tell it to stop."
Al fisted a hand in his hair, "Sorry, emotional overload."
Ellie pulled his hand from his hair, "Talk it through."
Al really didn't like it, talking through his emotions. It was hard and felt incredibly awkward the whole way through. However, as much as he hated to admit it, talking it through usually helped, and so Al determined to keep at it.
"I guess first, I'm astounded that anyone could ignore you, that anyone could be capable of only caring a tenner a year about your existence." Al brought his hand up to his hair again. "And then I feel like a wanker because I've been your boyfriend for almost a year and I'm just now thinking of asking if you have family outside of who I've met. And then I feel guilty because maybe I'm judging your mum's parents too quickly the way I did with Susan and Charlie. And it's spinning in circles around all of that and it's overwhelming."
Ellie scooted closer to him. "Al, you're a good boyfriend. If you weren't, I wouldn't stick around."
Al shook his head, "You deserve so much more, El."
Ellie laughed, "Al, you're choosing not to see a lot of my imperfections right now, and trust me," she smirked up at him, "I don't mind. But remember that I have my own issues too. I'm not perfect."
"I know," Al groaned, "I guess I'm just protective of you, is all."
Ellie gave him a cheeky grin, "So this is not the time to tell you about one of the patrons that comes into the diner frequently and ogles me as I walk?"
Al felt his whole body grow hot before his logical brain caught up.
"I bet he's a gangly git whose hair can't seem to lay straight."
Ellie's smile grew wider before she leaned in and kissed him.
"He's the most handsome man I know." She murmured against him.
"He's the luckiest prat in Britain," Al pulled her back to him.
Ellie did eventually pull back, but she rested her head against his chest.
"Since we're sharing family stuff, when do I get to meet your siblings and cousins and the lot?"
Al pushed his head back into the cushions of his sofa.
"Why is it so bad that I want to keep you to myself?"
"You don't seem to mind sharing me with my family."
"That's an entirely different matter."
Ellie sat up, "Your parents are wonderful, you have nothing but good things to say about your brothers and sister, and you love me. What is the problem?"
Al looked away, "I don't like change?"
"Please let me in, Al, please let me be a part of your entire life, not just the parts that are easy to share."
What was he supposed to say to that?
"Can we get through midterms?" Al looked back at her. "I'll talk to Mum and we can plan a family dinner and I'll make sure Ted and Jamie and Lily know I'm bringing my girlfriend. They won't miss when I tell them that."
Ellie smiled, "Thank you. That sounds perfect."
Al pulled her back to lay against his chest again.
"How are you not nervous? I was terrified when I met your family."
"I am scared," Ellie said against his chest, "But fear blocks good things from happening. And meeting your siblings is a good thing."
"So you just let both emotions run simultaneously but give preference to one over the other?" Al mused.
"Exactly."
Al smiled as Ellie snuggled closer to him on the sofa. It made sense, what she said. He more or less did the same thing when he first determined to get her home. He was pretty sure he had felt a million things that evening, but he had given priority to the most important one.
And then it hit him.
The phone case needed multiple spells at the same time. And his work had been stuck in trying to find the right combination.
But what if he could give priority to the spells the way he could with code?
"El, can you hand me my phone?"
Ellie pulled his phone from the coffee table before looking up at him quizzically.
"Everything alright?"
"Yeah," Al made a note in his phone, "I just had an idea for the phone case I wanted to write down."
"You don't want to go try it out right away?"
"No," Al tossed his phone back on the coffee table and wrapped his arms back around El, "Right now, I want to be with you."
Priorities.
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easytravelpw-blog · 7 years ago
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What I Spent: A 5-Night Road Trip to Montreal
01 of 07
Upfront Costs
Elspeth Velten
The upfront costs of vacations are predictable. It’s the little things—airport snacks, cocktails before dinner, tipping a tour guide—that can throw even the most well-planned vacation budget off track. In this series, we look at the spending patterns of real travelers in popular destinations, so you can estimate what you’ll actually spend.
In this installment, one couple takes a five-night road trip from New York to Montreal.
Airbnb: $424 for 3 nights
Hotel: 53,065 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points ($795.98) for 2 nights
Size of Group: 2
Continue to 2 of 7 below.
02 of 07
Friday
Elspeth Velten
11:30 a.m.: Our loaner car (a 2017 Ford Edge Sport) is being dropped off outside my Manhattan apartment, but finding a parking spot during the daily alternate side parking wars will be no small task. The driver double parks — like every other car on the street at this time — and I realize I'll need to wait around until 12:30 p.m. to snag a spot as soon as the street cleaning timeframe is over. I go grab a shrimp empanada from the corner cart to make the wait taste better. Cost: $1.50
2:55 p.m.: My husband Charlie is home from work, our bags are packed and we're ready to go. Unfortunately, so is the rest of NYC — it's the Friday before Fourth of July weekend, and the FDR is bumper-to-bumper. I take the first round of driving — Charlie's new here and only has his Learner's Permit, and we're not clear on what the rules are around him driving on NYC highways.
4:55 p.m.: We pull off the road to quickly switch seats, so I can broadcast how cool this car is over my Insta Story (literally cool — air-conditioned seats are something I can no longer live without), SYNC up my iPhone to get the tunes going, and eat leftover gummy bears I found in my bag. 
5:30 p.m.: There's a store called Taste NY in the median of the Taconic State Parkway, and you can bet I'll be stopping there. We leave with a chocolate chip cookie, a cheddar and chickpea scone and one cold brew for the road. Cost: $10.65
8 p.m.: There have been some serious storms outside (torrential downpours and flash floods) and driving is treacherous. We need to eat it off. We Google the nearby options and decide on New Way Lunch of Queensbury. It's a dive-y diner, and it's perfect. We go for two hot dogs with meat sauce, onions and mustard, a fish sandwich with fries, and two birch beers. Cost: $24.00, including tip
8:30 p.m.: We gas up before getting back on the road. Cost: $20.32
9:30 p.m.: Are we in Canada yet? No. One more snack stop — Charlie gets a Twix and a water. Cost: $4.35
1 a.m. (Saturday): We made it to our Airbnb! We scored a prime parking spot on the street and had no problem getting into the apartment. Time to hit the sack.
Continue to 3 of 7 below.
03 of 07
Saturday
Patrick Donovan/Getty Images
10:30 a.m.: We're awake and ready to get going — today, much like the rest of our trip, is all about eating. First thing's first: coffee. We find an ATM and then make a bee-line for the first cafe we can find. It happens to be the hipster hot spot Hof Kelsten bakery in Mile End. We order one latte and one cortado to go. Cost: $7.00
10:50 a.m.: We walk up to St. Viateur in Mile End, one of Montreal's two most famous bagel joints. I have my heart set on a lox sandwich, but the location we just arrived at doesn't seem to have seating or a sandwich menu. We confirm that we're at the wrong location (St. Viateur's sit-down cafe is located back where we started, in Mont-Royal) and decide to fit bagels in on another morning. All the better, because we're headed to the famous Jean Talon market. 
12 noon: We've made our initial lap around the market, and decide to start first at Boucherie An-Nasr, a brick-and-mortar butcher on the outskirts that's advertising merguez sandwiches. We share one merguez sandwich with tomato and harissa mayo, and one water. It's delicious. Cost: $6.33 
12:18 p.m.: Next stop is the market's renowned charcuterie: Les Cochons Tout Ronds. We seek advice on what's best to try, and settle on a 100-gram mix of the spicy and regular salami, and a 100-gram slice of terrine, to go. Cost: $6.61
12:30 p.m.: What's charcuterie without cheese? We head to La Fromagerie Hamel, where we let a cheesemonger talk us into one Quebecoise and one French cheese. Cost: $10.18 
12:35 p.m.: The La Boite aux Huitres oyster counter is a must in the market. We ask for 12 Canadian oysters — two each of six types from both the East and West coasts of the country. We stake out two seats at the bar while we wait for the oysters to get shucked, and then down them.
The couple next to us is waiting for a special order of “sea angel” oysters, and when they're delivered, we understand the novelty. They're huge! We ask about them and as our neighbors give us the scoop, our shucker lets us know he cracked open an extra for a different order on accident. One massive free (and somewhat terrifying) oyster, coming our way. Cha-ching. Cost: $23.17
12:57 p.m.: So far we've only split one sandwich and 12 oysters, so we definitely still have room to split a crepe. We go to battle over which type to order, but I give in to Charlie's plan: spinach, egg, ham and swiss. Savory crepes for life. Cost: $11.61
1:34 p.m.: We've finally eaten enough (I mean, not really, but OK). We pop in to Pharmaprix on the way home and leave with a razor, hair bands, water and toothpaste. Cost: $15.75
1:47 p.m.: It's raining. We jump into the metro at Beaubien towards Mont-Royal. Cost: $5.12
2:18 p.m.: We stop in the local depanneur (corner shop) to grab 10 beers and one big Evian before retreating to digest in our Airbnb. Cost: $22.21
6:45 p.m.: Our dinner reservation is at 8:30, so we leave plenty of time to hit a bar for a drink before. We head to Bily Kun, a Czech bar known for its extensive beer list and its stuffed ostrich decorations. We order two small beers by Quebec brewery Brasserie McAuslan: one with apricot and one cream ale. Of course, we can't resist a snack. With our second round, we add a “Combo Jenni” — a plate of nachos with a side of cheese sausage. Cost: $22.28
8:30 p.m.: It's our turn at Au Pied de Cochon.
In researching this trip, I, of course, set my heart on a couple of restaurants that are super difficult to book. With a little bit of help from the concierge at the Hotel Gault (a Preferred Hotels & Resorts property), where we booked a room for the last two nights of the trip, I was able to snag reservations at three of my top choices. This is one of them. 
Au Pied de Cochon is known for its unapologetic Canadian menu of rich meats, poutine and maple syrup desserts. The menu has an entire foie gras section! We decide to start with the tuna tartare (how could we not, when the tuna is fresh today, straight from Nova Scotia?), and then share the stuffed pig's foot and a foie gras poutine. We glug through two glasses of orange wine, one glass of red and one bottle of sparkling water, before admitting defeat in the face of half a remaining trotter. Our waitress pours us free shots of Calvados, and takes one with us. We drag ourselves home on foot, and I vow to never eat again. Cost: $158.51
10:27 p.m.: Charlie can't end the night without sugar. He grabs an ice pop at the depanneur. Cost: $1.88 
  Continue to 4 of 7 below.
04 of 07
Sunday
Elspeth Velten
8:30 a.m.: I wake up, and immediately start to think about what time I should get Charlie moving so we can go get bagels and not have to wait on a long line.
8:45 a.m.: Oh wait, something suspicious is happening. Those are probably just hunger pains, right? Some fresh air on the walk to the bagel cafe will do me good, and then I'll be fine. 
9 a.m.: This isn't normal. 
9:30 a.m.: Oh, haha, I have actual food poisoning. “It's probably Norovirus”, I tell everyone in my phonebook. Good thing this entire trip wasn't planned around eating or anything. Cost: My dignity and lifelong desire to eat oysters ever again
12:45 p.m.: Charlie looks hungry — he can't do life alone. I try to pull it together for the sake of the team. I buy a water immediately, then make it about two blocks before retiring to a bench to hopefully not vomit in front of Canadians while Charlie goes back to Hof Kelsten for a croissant. I mean, I get it, but, kind of rude. Cost: $4.30
3:20 p.m.: Trying this whole “going outside” thing again. But not without supplies. I grab three individual packets of Advil, a water, and a soda (for Charles). Cost: $5.13
3:40 p.m.: I made it further this time — to Boulangerie Guillaume. I can do this. We settle for just one baguette and an almond croissant, and we walk over to sit in the grass at Mount Royal Park with the cheese and terrine we bought at the market yesterday. I'm suddenly feeling much better (it's relative — things won't be normal again for at least a week). It's Saturday, so the park is alive with the sounds of the Tam-Tams, a weekly drum circle that sprouts up around the George-Étienne Cartier Monument, and the crowds that the drummers attract. Cost: $6.10 
7:15 p.m.: We cannot lose a night's worth of food plans. We don't have a reservation for tonight, but I planned that we'd drive to Le Coq de L'est, a hipster tandoori chicken joint way out in the 'burbs. Having a car on this trip certainly has its perks! Surely I can handle some chicken. We order a whole chicken (which comes with frites, cole slaw and house bread) and a Caesar salad. Charlie has a beer. The meal is worth the drive; this is the best Caesar salad I've ever had, and that's not the food poisoning talking! We wrap the leftovers. Cost: $55.20
Continue to 5 of 7 below.
05 of 07
Monday
Elspeth Velten
10:30 a.m.: We are awake, we are in eating condition, and we are at St. Viateur. We wait about 20 minutes for a table, and then order two traditional bagel sandwiches (that's smoked salmon with cream cheese, tomato, onions, capers and lemon) — one on sesame, one on all dressed (AKA everything) — with crab salad on the side. And two filter coffees! I'm a New Yorker, so it's important to me personally to suss out the realities of this bagel rivalry. Cost: $30.42
11:23 a.m.: The bagels are bready, and there are no free refills on the filter coffee. I'm still a devout Long Island bagel enthusiast! On our walk back, we (I) can't stifle our intrigue surrounding a mysterious bakery we walked past earlier with a long line. We find it on the way back, and while I wait in line, I determine they're famous for making French kouign amann pastries. Guess what? They're sold out for the next 40 minutes. I grab a cheese croissant and a raspberry and almond danish instead. We save them for later. (Can you tell our food collection is growing?) Cost: $4.63
12:29 a.m.: We've checked out of the Airbnb and stashed our stuff in the car. Now it's time to do some damage to that leftover stash we've been hoarding. We grab drinks at the depanneur and set our sights on the top of Mont Royal. We're rewarded after the climb with a view and a picnic. Cost: $3.32
3:23 p.m.: Before checking into the Hotel Gault, we decide to drive over to the Atwater Market, another of the city's popular food halls. We meander between the rows of outdoor plants and perfectly preened baskets of berries, and drool over the display cases of pate inside. Remembering our existing food collection, we buy only a Coke and a Pellegrino. Cost: $2.23
4:17 p.m.: We find a parking garage near the hotel. Cost: $13.29 per day for 3 days = $39.87
6:30 p.m.: This hotel is beautiful — our modern room incorporates original design elements seamlessly behind the building's 19th century facade — and we booked it on points! Dinner tonight is at 8 p.m., so we head out early for drinks. Cost: $7.82 for two unlimited evening passes on the Metro
7 p.m.: We go for beers before dinner on Rue Saint-Denis — Charlie picks L’Amere a Boire, and we take two seats at the terrace on the street. Cost: $23.51 for five beers.
8 p.m: Tonight’s the night for L’Express, one of Montreal’s most famous French brasseries. We’re seated towards the back, where tables of two are lined up with little space between, and the waiter is lagging big time. That just gives us more time to enjoy our prosecco before ordering.
Charlie chooses the celery remoulade and the hanger steak, and I go for the bone marrow and the house ravioli (they’re mushroom!). We down a bottle of Cote du Rhone, and end things with an ile flottante and a crème caramel. We laugh through the meal as nearby couples eye our food and order accordingly — we barely even remember that the service was subpar. Cost: $162.09
Continue to 6 of 7 below.
06 of 07
Tuesday
Bota Bota
10:45 a.m.: We start the day at the Titanic café, around the corner from Hotel Gault. They don’t officially serve breakfast — the only offer one type of egg sandwich and coffee. We order two sandwiches, a latte and a macchiato. The sandwiches arrive with scrambled eggs, tomato, lettuce, ham and cheese. They’re delicious, and make up for the fact that my macchiato is actually a latte. Cost: $28.35 including tip (I’m shocked! That’s what happens when you don’t order from a menu.)
11:05 a.m.: Today we’re tackling Old Montreal. We walk through Place d'Armes, and pay to enter the Notre Dame Basilica. It’s worth it to stand beneath the basilica’s colorful interior for a few minutes. Cost: $4.86 each
1:30 p.m.: We conclude our self-guided walking tour at Olive et Gourmando, where we wait for around 30 minutes before being seated inside the bakery. The restaurant is known for its homemade bread and healthy salads. We go for two sandwiches — one Cajun chicken and one Cubain — a raspberry lemonade and an elixir iced tea. This place lives up to its reputation as the best bet for lunch in Montreal’s most touristy area. Cost: $39.39 including tip
2:45 p.m.: We’ve spent the last few days running around and eating — now it’s time to relax and sweat it out. We head to Bota Bota, a 1950s ferryboat that’s been converted into a spa docked on the St. Lawrence River. The boat stares directly at the Montreal skyline, so it’s easy to cycle between the spa’s saunas, steam rooms, hot and cold pools and hammock chairs for three hours. Cost: $102.45 for the “Water Circuit” for two
5:30 p.m.: We’re walking along the river’s industrial edge, and we’re dehydrated. We grab two seltzers from a vending machine. Cost: $3.24
7:45 p.m.: It’s time to head out for our last big meal, and it’s the one I’m most excited for. We grab two evening passes and take the metro to the Little Burgundy neighborhood. Cost: $8.10
8 p.m.: We head into Burgundy Lion for our pre-dinner drink. Charlie has two beers and I nurse a vodka soda. I need to be in prime condition to make the most of dinner! (And my stomach is still a mess.) Cost: $21.87 including tip
9 p.m.: We’re finally at Liverpool House, known for being the sister restaurant of famous next-door neighbor, Joe Beef, and for recently hosting Justin Trudeau and Barack Obama for dinner. Casual. Our table isn’t ready, so we order two beers while we wait.
At a table out back on the terrace, we decide on a couple of dishes to share. We start with the homemade rabbit sausage and a dish of morel mushrooms served with garlic bread, then move on to pork ribs with clams and the restaurant’s most famous dish — a creamy and rich lobster pasta. The waitress suggests a bottle of wine to match: we agree on a 2015 bottle of Magic of Ju-Ju. We’re too full for dessert, and to ever eat again. Cost: $204.40 
Continue to 7 of 7 below.
07 of 07
Wednesday
Elspeth Velten
9:30 a.m.: Just kidding! A stay at one of Montreal’s best boutique hotels would be incomplete without a big old room service breakfast. We order two orders of eggs Benedict with ham, one latte and one regular coffee. Cost: $54.27
12:10 p.m.: We’re on the road, and we need to fill up before hitting the border. Cost: $44.01
3 p.m.: I’m back in the States, and I’ve lost all desire to pretend I don’t still have food poisoning. And what’s more soothing for an upset stomach than fake food? Yep, we finish off a trip of fine-dining at McDonald's. Cost: $15.00
6 p.m.: We fill up the tank one more time before arriving back in NYC. Cost: $33.50
Totals:
Accommodation: $424.00
Food & Drink: $968.60
Transport: $159.02
Miscellaneous: $133.05
(As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with some discounted services for review purposes. While it has not influenced this review, TripSavvy believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest.)
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