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secret-engima · 4 years

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@hamelin-born

*kicks down door* Okay so I’m so sorry you’ve had a bad week, and since I am physically incapable of coming over and giving you a hug, I shall give you bby Dionysus being adorable with his (dead)relatives and Deleantur getting shipped by the local Galahdian bear woman instead!

...

The man shrugged and played with the edge of his cloak, “You may call me Herodotus. Or,” he added when he saw Dionysus’s face screw up at the long name —so many of his dream relatives had such long names that were hard—, “you can just call me Wander.”

“Wander?”

The soft smile grew bigger, mischievous, “It’s a nickname. I’ve never really been the kind of person to stay in one place for very long. Will that suit, Little Traveller?”

Dionysus mouthed the word, then nodded, “Wander.” He looked around them in curiosity, at the glowing flowers and living magic lights and trees bigger than buildings, “Where are we?”

“One of my memories,” Wander answered as he leaned back against the tree trunk, “my … safe place I suppose. Though I have had many over the years, this one was my first, so I suppose it is my favorite.”

“But where?” He’d never seen anything like this outside of storybooks. He wanted to go see it for himself when he woke up next.

Wander shook his head and looked amused, “I’m sorry, Little Traveler, but this is not a place you can find on Eos.” Dionysus stared at him with big eyes and Wander leaned in with a whisper and a gesture at his cloak, “When I was younger, I met a wonderful group of people who liked to travel as much as I did, and they showed me many things. Some of those were places that you could not, and will never, find on any map of Eos.”

Dionysus leaned closer, “Like the story of the magic rock that secretly led t’ the world of Hiso Hiso al’ens?”

Wander’s eyes glittered and his magic that draped around them felt like delighted laughter, “Just like that, yes. But my doorway wasn’t a rock.”

Dionysus looked all around in awe. He was in a secret world just like in the stories! Or the memory of a secret world anyway. He looked back over at Wander, “Did you fight an evil copy of your frien’? Did the copy try t’ de- delete the whole world ‘till you an’ Serah stopped it an’ saved all the Hiso Hiso?”

Wander’s shoulders shook a little, then stilled, “No. Nothing quite so exciting. But I did meet a woman with cat ears and a tail, and we did become good friends.” Dionysus gasped in excitement, and when Wander stood up and held out his hand, Dionysus took it without hesitation, “Come on,” Wander chuckled, “I’m afraid I cannot show you any aliens or evil copies, but I can show you a few other places I’ve been that no one on Eos will find.”

And he did. A few steps into the woods and the trees all turned to hills of sand and shimmering waves of sunny heat. Strange creatures with humps on their backs plodded slowly by in the distance, and in front of them was a tower that reached up to the sky all by itself. Wander told him that it was a dungeon, and that anyone who managed to reach the treasure at the very top would become a king and get magic of their very own. Dionysus asked him if he’d ever done it, if he had dungeon magic, but Wander shook his head and said he already had magic, so he’d let a friend take it instead. They plodded their way through a few shifting steps of sand and suddenly they were out of the hot sand and on an island in the sky. There was a strange ceiling high-high-high above their heads, and Wander told him that this was not one floating island, but a hundred of them all stacked on top of each other, each one just a bit smaller than the last so they didn’t block out all the sunlight for the levels below. Dragons swooped off in the distance, and when Wander led him to the edge and held him tight so he wouldn’t fall, Dionysus leaned over and saw nothing but thick clouds drifting below them.

They stepped back and the world became an ocean. They stood on the wooden deck of a ship and around them was bright blue water and flapping sails and before them was some kind of creature so big it was an island, it’s long legs plodding slowly through the sea with trees and buildings on its back. Wander told him that talking animals lived on the back of the big creature, and that very few people could find the island unless they were born there because it was always moving. He led Dionysus below decks and then they were on an island with a tree growing in the middle that was so tall and so big it had another, much smaller island sitting in its branches. The air tingled with old-friendly-amused magic that felt like laughter and mysteries, and Wander told him that this was the island of fairies.

He showed Dionysus a bunch of places, each one different and strange and amazing, each one with a little story to go with it that made Dionysus want desperately to know and explore more until the next one came and he wanted to see that one instead. Wander held his hand the whole time, steady and sure, making sure he never got lost or stepped too close to something dangerous. It was amazing and weird and exciting, and Dionysus decided he liked Wander a lot. Wander was different from the others, even Grandma Crepera. He didn’t seem to have any questions, and he didn’t mind answering all of Dionysus’s. He wasn’t grumpy, or loud, and there was … something about him. About his soft voice and the look in his eyes that reminded Dionysus of his dad.

... (And here’s Deleantur!)

He sensed someone approach through the outskirts of the crowd. Not that it was easy to miss someone as big as Chief Ligeia considering she stood a head taller than most of the other people here. He tipped his chin to her in greeting as she came to a stop next to him, a mug of something that smelled like alcohol in one hand. She grinned at him, all teeth and good humor, “Going to just watch? Or are you going to go have some fun?”

Deleantur shrugged and went back to crowd-watching, “I am having fun.” It wasn’t a lie, he found it both fascinating and entertaining to watch the party unfold before him. Galahdians weren’t all that different from the mainland in how they celebrated, but there were differences that were interesting to see. For one thing, there was a lot more dancing and singing. Even people taking a break at the makeshift feasting tables were all but dancing on the benches, feet tapping, heads bobbing- there was never a moment of stillness even from the groups lingering on the outskirts of the party to talk rather than dance.

The dances themselves were a lot more vibrant and energetic too. There were no royal waltzes here, but circle dances that dragged everyone nearby into them, or spinning dances where partners traded off at dizzying speeds. There was also a vaguely alarming number of somersaults, backflips, and instances of people climbing up trees and rubble like squirrels to better perform an acrobatic flip in time to the music, and not just from the children and the teenagers. He half suspected that the only reason the Elders weren’t doing such stunts were because they were physically too old and arthritic to pull it off.

Chief Ligeia scoffed, “Just watching is never fun. You should go out there and dance. Don’t want Stella to think you’re ignoring her, do you?”

Deleantur blinked at her, then glanced into the crowd where Stella was currently spinning and flipping in time with her little brother Eventus like some kind of circus performance rather than a dance for a party, “She knows where to find me if she needs me.”

Chief Ligeia slapped one of his shoulders hard enough that he had to bite back a hiss, “Not the point. You should be out there dancing with her. It’s good for young people like you two.” Deleantur gave her the flattest look he could manage and barely refrained from telling her that he was currently two thousand years removed from his date of birth —though that distance was technically in reverse—, even if he only looked to be twenty-six. But that wasn’t something he told anyone, especially not a party-happy stranger. Chief Ligeia rolled her eyes, utterly undisturbed by his look, and slapped his shoulder again in an effort to get him moving, “Go on.”

Deleantur raised an eyebrow and didn’t budge, “Why do you care?”

The Behemoth of a woman took a long drink from her mug, then answered blithely, “Because Candor is my second cousin and Stella is the best niece I ever had and I want her to be happy. You dancing with her will make her happy. So,” the woman moved with astonishing speed, so fast even Deleantur’s instincts and borrowed experience couldn’t stop her from bodily lifting him by the back of his tunic with one hand and all but toss him into the flow of the crowd, “go dance with her!” Deleantur staggered into the crowd, trying to catch his balance, then yelped as his hands were snatched up by a passing dancer and he was pulled into the flow.

... (and here, have a long snip of Buckler too)

They camped on the nearest Haven for the night, and Axis cooked dinner without comment while Nox fussed over his uncle and the redhead just sighed and complained about losing his shirts. He listened to them bicker, watched the way their shoulders slowly relaxed the longer Axis went without recoiling from them or acting afraid, and came to a decision. It was a reckless one, a stupid one even but … but it felt like the right one. He hadn’t asked about what happened, or how Ardyn had magic, but he knew what he’d seen and so did they. He knew not just one, but two of their greatest secrets now —that Nox was a Lucis Caelum, that Ardyn was a Lucis Caelum and couldn’t die—.

In the morning, before they could wander off into the wilderness again, Axis invited —ordered— them to come with him to Meldacio HQ. The two exchanged nervous glances before obediently following him on the trek up to the Vesperpool area.

If his wife was surprised when Axis turned up a week later with not just Nox in tow, but Niflheim’s Chancellor, she didn’t show it. She just smiled and welcomed them into their tiny house with a gesture and a promise of dinner soon. Nox’s eyes were wide as they shuffled in and Axis had known Ardyn long enough to spot the nervous edge in his sweeping bow.

Both of them went totally still when they spotted the playpen taking up most of the living room floor, filled with ratty stuffed toys that Axis had either purchased from Outposts or had been gifted by members of his, Tredd’s, and Luche’s Clans. Inside the playpen, Axis’s triplets —his treasures, his children, his greatest and most precious secrets— cooed and babbled eagerly at Axis, waving their hands and crawling around. His last visit hadn’t been that long ago, and they remembered him —the fact that he had been gone for long enough stretches when they were smaller that he’d been a stranger to them would always hurt—. Venia, his smallest and boldest, spotted Nox and Ardyn and babbled at them, fearlessly crawling up to the edge of the playpen to look at them. Axis reached in and picked her up, kissing her forehead and tickling her stomach with a hand to hear her laugh before turning to watch Nox’s and Ardyn’s reactions.

Nox was still staring at Historia and Spiritus in the playpen, a bright-eyed look on his face and a shiver of power in the air that felt protective. He looked at them like any of Axis’s remaining clan did, or how Tredd and Luche had first looked at them. Awe and protectiveness and already blooming adoration. Axis glanced at Ardyn.

Ardyn was staring at Venia, and the look on his face took Axis’s breath away. There was pure, open adoration there, wonder and a bright-edged fear, like just being near her would be enough to break her. Venia spotted Ardyn staring, dressed in all his clashing layers and colors, and giggled at him. She had never been afraid of strangers, and she didn’t hesitate to flail her hands in his direction, babbling with all the energy of a healthy nine month old. Ardyn flinched faintly away, even though her hands were nowhere near him, his own hands curling shyly inside his long sleeves like he was terrified of touching her.

Something in Axis’s heart broke a little.

No one as unexpectedly kind as Ardyn should fear being near a child.

“Her name is Venia,” Axis murmured, “that’s her sister Historia, and her brother Spiritus.”

“They’re so little.” Nox cooed as he crouched just outside the playpen, watching the two babies who stared back with far less fearless curiosity than their sister had —but not outright fear, Axis wondered if they too could feel Nox’s magic swelling around the room, rumbling with protective and already loving emotions—. Porrima reappeared at Axis’s elbow, reaching past him to pluck Spiritus out of the playpen. She gave their guests a considering look, then calmly reached out and plopped their son into Nox’s arms. Nox’s grip tensed, but his arms shifted into a proper position with a speed that looked instinctive, “Hey, wait-!”

Porrima ignored Nox’s breathless squawk and Spiritus’s wary coo, just picked up Historia and turned to face Ardyn, who had gone stiff as a board and deathly white, “Madam,” Ardyn said tensely, “I don’t think-.”

“Are you going to hurt them?” Porrima asked.

Ardyn’s jaw tightened, “Never, but I don’t-.”

“Are your arms so weak you’ll drop her?”

“No, but-.”

“Are you sick?”

Ardyn shook his head but kept shying subtly back, “I-.”

Axis sighed at his wife as she exchanged Historia for Venia, then turned and fearlessly stepped into Ardyn’s space to put their boldest daughter in the arms of Niflheim’s Chancellor —and the king’s unknown relative—. Ardyn went stone still as soon as Venia was in his arms, hands cradling her like she was fragile as glass and his eyes huge. Axis bounced Historia in his arms a little as he scolded, “Porrima. Don’t force them to hold the children if they don’t want to.”

“But they do want to, and it’s good for the triplets to meet new safe people,” his wife sniffed back. Then she flitted back to the kitchen without waiting to see the fallout of her actions.

Sometimes his wife trusted his judgement and choice of houseguests a little too much.

Axis sidled closer to Ardyn and held out an arm, “I can take her back if this really makes you uncomfortable.”

Ardyn stared down at Venia with the roundest eyes Axis had ever seen. Venia blinked up at her new handler, looked over at her dad, then looked back at Ardyn and clumsily patted his cheek, grabbing curiously at his red-violet hair a moment later. Ardyn inhaled, and Axis felt a second magic flood the room, old and powerful and monstrously protective. Where Nox’s was deep like the ocean, powerful but … subtle, like currents under the surface, Ardyn’s magic felt wild. It felt like the ripple of spotted fur in the jungle, the glimpse of fangs and teeth of a feral beast. Nox’s protective adoration of the little boy he was bouncing in his arms was like the pull of the tide, sweeping in and out with each breath, but Ardyn’s-. Ardyn’s was the rumble of a Coeurl’s purr as it curled around its cub, the singing edge of bloody steel, promising death to anyone that so much as looked wrong at Axis’s triplets.

Ardyn very slowly sank down onto the floor, legs crossed to form a lap for Venia to flop on, and when he looked up at Axis, his normally blue eyes were a brilliant, Coeurl gold, “They’re beautiful.” He whispered hoarsely.

#Melodies and Manuscripts #Nox verse #Nox verse Main #Deleantur verse #Blood of my Blood (That Was Shed On the Throne) verse #Child of My Blood verse #Secret Engima Rambles

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skinsharpenedteeth · 3 years

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RNM After Dark off-cut

So here's my RNM After Dark off-cut that I deemed Not-Kinky-Enough and therefore went back and finished my medical kink story to replace. It's a nice little smutty AU tho and it's finished so I figured I'd still post it for you guys. Also, available on AO3.

Rated Explicit. Includes: erotic electrostimulation, telekinesis as restraints, attempted mind manipulation, anal sex, hand jobs, sex against a giant crystal

Words: 6120

"The Prize at the End of the Maze"

Above-Earth discos were still a relatively new thing when Forrest invited Alex to visit one. They’d been casually dating for almost a year, and Forrest had never seemed to have more than a passing interest in going to one of the slowly rotating space needles with its tethered pods that could go up into the mesosphere for a space experience all while still within Earth’s atmosphere. It looked like more money than he was willing to part with over a fleeting experience, but Forrest apparently was a member of one of the most exclusive above-Earth clubs on the globe, Deep Sky.

One of the things that made Deep Sky unique was that you had to be invited. Upon Forrest inviting him, he had also informed him that he was being considered for membership to a club he had only passing knowledge of, and he was deeply suspicious. Why did he matter? Who was he to these people that they would know him? Had Forrest told them about him? It unsettled him.

“Look, they recruit guys like us all the time. Guys with a more open mind and familial connections,” Forrest had explained after they’d dressed and Alex had demanded an explanation. “It’s not a bad place. It’s… it’s actually amazing.”

He’d said the last bit with a dreamy smile on his face, eyes going unfocused as he apparently reflected inward at a memory of Deep Sky that Alex wasn’t privy to.

“What’s the drawback?” Alex had asked, leaning forward and snapping Forrest from his internal foray. Forrest looked at him seriously then.

“The deeper you go, the more alone you become. You can get lost in there and lose everyone, including yourself. But the place is weird. You only go as far as they let you. I’ve never gotten very far in there, but the way they talk about you… I think you could have the run of the place.”

“How do they talk about me?” Alex had asked, knitting his hands together and feeling his forehead furrow in concern.

“It’s not bad. I don’t… I can’t really explain it. If you decide to join, you’ll find out. But, how about you come with me as a guest one night? You can see it for yourself,” Forrest had offered, giving Alex the easy grin that had once made his heart thump in anticipation. Then he’d just felt trepidation, but he’d nodded and agreed to go as a guest.

“You’ll love it,” Forrest had told him before kissing him to stop the cynical comeback he’d cued up.

Now he was within its walls and thinking that maybe Forrest was a little bit right about it being something different.

Deep Sky was like no other club Alex had ever been to. Sure, it had music and dancing. Sure, there were bodies pressed hot and slick against each other in every direction he turned. And okay, there were strobing lights and bass lines that made the bones of his ribs rattle around his heart, but that’s where the similarities ended. For one thing, there were plants everywhere. Vines crawled up walls to end up dangling from the ceiling, and tall, large-leafed purple giants with vibrant green veins running through them pushed into pathways and created canopies overhead. The air smelled like oxygen, water, sweat, and wet stone. Deep Sky also had labyrinthine hallways that could lead you to a bar, a bathroom, the main dance floor, or somewhere darker where greedy hands and mouths reached out to drag you in. The darker places were only menacing if your least favorite sin was lust. The slap of skin and deep, throaty moans of utter surrender to pleasure leaked from the shadows as a taunt and a promise to the passerby.

Once you were in the hallways, there were no signs to tell you where to go, only nonsensical phrases shouted in humming neon surrounded by alien-looking orchids and birds of paradise at forks in the path. This was how Alex found himself alone and contemplating a series of rough stone stairs leading him up to the second floor. Next to the dark entrance shone a pink neon sign so bright Alex only noticed the stairs because he’d been fascinated by some unknown flower that grew in clusters behind the words emblazoned before him: And if those hills be dry, stray lower.

“Easy for you to say,” Alex mumbled to himself in response to the sign and eyed the stairs leading upwards. “Apparently the only way for me to go is up.”

He left the flowers and the sign behind him and climbed the stairs. The stairs were caged in a sweet-smelling leafy vine which only allowed brief glimpses of the dance floor as he climbed. The air in the tunnel was heavy with humidity, and Alex’s skin prickled with sweat under his clothes. He was beginning to feel anxious. He’d been stuck in the hallways wandering, enjoying the novelty of new areas and plant life, for so long that he had no idea where the exit or his host was. And now he was going higher and higher up into the building without knowing where he was headed.

The end of the tunneled stairs appeared so abruptly, he almost stumbled on his missed step as his body continued to climb automatically. He was on a landing that looked down over the middle of the club. The plants up here seemed wilder somehow, less manicured and tamed than the ones downstairs. There were large quartz further from him that blocked some of his view, though he could see the lights from the club below reflecting off their smooth, mirrored surfaces. They were taller than him, milky opaque and then clear in turns as he looked at their multifaceted surfaces. He stepped further from the stairs cautiously and found the ground was soft, springy moss under his shoes. On a whim, Alex slipped off his Docs and his sock and let his foot sink into the cool, sweet smelling floor. He instantly felt twenty degrees cooler, and he sighed in relief. It was grounding somehow, even though he knew he was standing on an artificial floor so high off the ground that they had to pump oxygen into the building to keep everyone from passing out. The entire night had felt like a dream to him. He still wasn’t sure if it was a good one or a nightmare, but he was sure that it was an interesting one.

His jacket soon joined his shoes until he was only in his button-down and black jeans. He was high enough that the music was more of an echo than something he was feeling through his body. It was a lonely bird's eye view, but he liked the cooler air and his unimpeded view of the night sky through the glass roof above. He moved further out towards the edge of the landing, fully intending on laying down to count stars until Forrest found him or the club closed. He practically fell onto the green moss carpet when he reached the middle of the platform. Alex’s eyes slipped shut on instinct, his body relaxing into the coolness beneath him, and he suddenly wished he’d just stripped naked and damned the consequences of anyone finding him that way. He rolled onto his back and opened his eyes slightly to receive the comfort of the night sky above.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” a voice from beside him asked, startling him from his reverie. Alex’s body jerked into a sitting position as his head whipped towards the sound. He cursed when he found that he was not indeed alone, hand coming up to clutch at his chest over his heart as he took a few breaths to calm its racing. He glared at the stranger while he collected himself and was unsettled to find the newcomer smirking at him.

“Sorry, I didn’t know anyone else was here. I can leave,” Alex said automatically, beginning to push off from the floor. The stranger rolled over and caught his wrist before he could heave himself up. Alex looked down at the wide, square hand gripping at him and then let his eyes follow up the length of the tanned, muscled forearm to his upper arm and then to the stranger’s face. He had gold and amber eyes that seemed to glow in light and dark, loose curls that haloed his head. He was shirtless and shoeless where he stretched out against the ground nearby. Alex tried not to catalog the breadth of his shoulders or the arch of his feet, but he could feel his brain quickly scrabbling to soak up every piece of this gorgeous interloper while it could.

“You don’t have to go. It’s nice you found me. I usually spend the nights up here just hanging out until close waiting for nothing,” the guy replied with a shy grin.

“You work for the club?” Alex asked, suddenly fascinated. He settled back on his hands, though he didn’t lower himself to the ground as he’d been. The guy retracted his hand and pushed up onto his elbows so he was nearly on the same level as Alex.

“Kind of. I’m the resident alien here. Kind of the prize if you manage to slip past all the other distractions while in the maze downstairs.”

“That seems… kind of fucked up? I mean, are you getting paid? Are you free to leave if you want?” Alex asked, suddenly nervous that Deep Sky was keeping this gorgeous creature captive against his will. The alien snorted in amusement and gave Alex an open grin that just about took his breath away. His teeth were startlingly straight and white, almost glowing against the dark blush of his lips.

“There is no way they could hold me here if I didn’t want to stay. Wanna see what I can do?” His eyes lit up in excitement and Alex felt a flutter of anxiety at the keen look.

“Will it hurt?”

“Nah. I wouldn’t hurt you. Not unless you wanted me to, of course, and even then I promise I’d make it feel good,” the alien replied, giving Alex a flirtatious wink after his eyes gave him a thorough once over. Alex felt heat rush through him at the images his words brought to mind.

“Why don’t you call me Alex? I think you might want to know my name is if you’re going to be using your extraterrestrial wiles on me.”

“I’m Michael. Now why don’t you just relax and let me take over for a bit?”

Alex nodded nervously, but relaxed back onto his back against the moss. At first, he felt nothing except for Michael’s eyes on him. Then a pressure started low on his stomach, almost like a hand, but without the tickle of fingers spreading out. Alex glanced over towards Michael, who was still laying on his stomach a little less than two feet away with his hands interlaced under his chin. The pressure started to move up, a slide against his skin, moving his shirt with it. Cool, humid air made goosebumps burst over his skin as it was exposed. Alex picked up his head and glanced down to see his shirt seemingly moving on its own accord. His breath hitched in his throat at the sight of his clothes moving without him being touched and he shot a panicked look towards Michael before instinctively moving to push down his shirt. Or he tried to move. He found that he couldn’t. His body felt paralyzed, weighed down, and the pressure against his abdomen kept pushing up his body. It was at his chest and Alex was beginning to imagine it resting against his throat, pushing against his airway, cutting off his ability to cry for help, and the panic rose.

“Stop, please,” he gasped out, every muscle straining against the invisible hold over him.

“Sure,” Michael replied easily, and then the pressure was gone. No pressure on his chest, no pressure on his limbs, and while it was immediately blissful, Alex also craved to feel a fraction of it again. Alex lay still and tried to slow his galloping heart, tried to take slow, controlled breaths, and tried to stop his muscles from shivering out excess adrenaline. He was dimly aware of Michael watching him calm himself, not reaching out for him or trying to help, but letting him do the work. When Alex felt like he had to break the tension just so Michael would stop watching him go through whatever was happening to him, he spoke up.

“That was… intense,” Alex said, voice still a little wobbly from fear.

“It can be. It can be intensely useful. Ever fuck in microgravity?” Michael asked, voice calm and unconcerned about Alex’s response to his power.

“Can’t say I’ve had the opportunity,” Alex replied with as much sass as he could muster. Michael grinned at him and pushed up off his elbows and onto his hands and knees so he could crawl over closer to Alex. Alex stayed where he was, even as part of his animal brain was telling him to flee.

“Want to give it a try? We could, you know. They’ve got pods here that’ll take us up to the mesosphere and then I could really show you what my powers are good for,” Michael explained. He’d settled on his hip so close to Alex that he had to rest his hand on the other side of Alex in order to keep upright. Alex’s eyes trailed down Michael’s chest, noting the unruly chest hair that spread across his pecs and then moved down his stomach and below his loose white track pants.

“I don’t know where you got the idea I was so easy,” Alex replied in mock offense, rubbing a hand over his stomach before pulling his shirt back down. Michael’s eyes followed the movement of the shirt, a frown settling on his face.

“You’re teasing me,” Michael accused when he caught the grin on Alex’s face.

“Oh, not me. I’d be much too frightened to tease an alien,” Alex replied.

“Star Wars won’t save you now. This is much more of an abduction, experiment with probes, drop you off at your front door kind of alien experience.”

“Probes, huh? That sounds interesting,” Alex said as he reached up and slid a hand behind Michael’s neck to pull him down for a kiss. Alex didn’t know what was coming over him, but he was actually charmed by the silly banter and bad jokes. Michael’s lips touched his and without thought or hesitation, Alex opened his own and licked over the seam of Michael’s lips. Michael welcomed him in, sliding his tongue smoothly along Alex’s once before retreating and breaking the kiss. He hovered over Alex, close enough to pull back for more, but far enough not to appear blurry.

“That was your first one,” Michael whispered. “Think you can handle some more?”

Alex only smirked in response, this time not needing to pull to get Michael to kiss him again. Their mouths met and Alex could swear he felt the floor shake with the intensity of it. He’d meant for their kisses to stay sweet and shallow, but by the second a fire was building between them. He tugged at Michael’s curls to hear him groan, wished Michael were on top of him so he could start to get some friction and relief on his swelling cock. Alex hadn’t gotten this hard from just kissing since he was a teenager.

His hands were thinking faster than he was. One stayed trapped in a tangle of Michael’s curls while the other rubbed over the warm skin and soft hair of Michael’s chest. Feeling bold, he didn’t stop his wandering hands above Michael’s waist, but let his hand keep drifting down until he brushed over the prominent bulge pushing under the waistband of Michael’s pants. His heart stuttered at the firmness he found and he traced his fingers down the length of Michael’s clothed erection, feeling his body flush hotter with desire at every inch.

“Are you sure you’re an alien? This feels pretty human to me,” Alex asked, massaging his palm softly against Michael’s cock in emphasis. Michael’s hips pushed forward and he let out a small gasp at the pressure.

“We’re a pretty comparable species. Most of the differences are only obvious under a microscope,” Michael explained breathlessly. His eyes slipped shut as his hips began to hitch forward against the first press of Alex’s hand on him. It was lewd and shameless the way he chased his pleasure while Alex watched. Alex untangled his other hand from Michael’s hair and brought it down to the waistband of his own pants. Deftly, he slipped the button and pushed down the zipper, the material separating immediately as his own hard-on pressed against his underwear and towards the newly opened space. He pushed his fingers under the waistband of his underwear and almost swore at how good it felt to wrap his fingers around himself.

“Fuck, Alex, can I…?” Michael’s voice trailed off and Alex realized he’d closed his eyes. He opened them to look up at Michael who was glancing between his face and where his hand hovered over Alex’s. Nodding, Alex slipped his hand out of his pants and away from Michael so he could lift his hips and push down his jeans and underwear to mid-thigh. He kept his eyes on Michael as he did it, watched the black of his pupils dilate further and his throat move as he swallowed.

“I’m going to use some of those alien abilities on you,” Michael said, hand still hovering over Alex’s heated skin. Alex smirked and opened his mouth to make a snarky remark on how nothing they’d done sexually so far was alien to him, when he felt curling prickles over his hard-on. He gasped at the sensation, unsure if he liked it or not, and looked down to see small electrical arcs dance over the swollen, dark pink skin of his cock. Michael let his hand hover a few inches above Alex’s body, and slowly he moved it up and down the length of Alex’s shaft, the electrical arcs darting between his fingers and palm down to Alex’s skin. It almost tickled and it almost hurt, and Alex was so fucking turned on by it that precum was starting to weep from the tip of his cock and drip onto his stomach.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he gasped loudly, hand shooting out to grab Michael’s wrist as his hand moved lower and the arcs caressed and pricked at his balls. His entire body throbbed at the sensation.

“Do you like that?” Michael asked in a low voice near Alex’s ear. “Could you get off with just a little electrostimulation to your balls?”

The prickling intensified for a moment, becoming nearly too much, and Alex’s grip on Michael’s wrist tightened in warning. The electric current on his skin dulled back down until it was gone. Alex only had a moment to mourn the loss of stimulation before Michael’s hand was on him, thick fingers wrapping around his length and stroking confidently. Alex let his hand fall from Michael’s wrist. He beckoned Michael down for another kiss, lifting onto one of his elbows to meet him halfway, already starving for the feeling of his lips against Michael’s again.

“Take your pants off,” Alex whispered against Michael’s lips as they took a quick breath between kisses. He felt more than saw Michael nod before he pulled away. He watched as Michael quickly slipped the pants off his body and off to the side. His skin was evenly tan all the way down and though his chest hair was left wild, his pubes were trimmed and neat. Alex watched his muscles flex as he kicked off the white pants and then rolled onto his knees, moving to straddle Alex’s legs. He grinned as he caught Alex looking him over.

“Like what you see?” Michael asked, leaning forward to brace himself on his arms to either side of Alex’s body so he could be within kissing range. Alex gave another leisurely scan of Michael’s body with his eyes before answering. Michael watched him avidly, licking his lips as he waited for a verdict.

“I think I can work with this,” Alex replied, overly casual tone making Michael’s eyes go wide, and then squint in mock offense.

“Well, I wouldn’t want you to strain yourself,” he challenged, and Alex felt an invisible pressure on his chest pushing him down to lay against the ground. The pressure lifted as soon as he was flat and Michael was towering over him. Alex reached out and fit his hands around Michael’s hip bones, thumbs stroking over the soft, thin skin of his groin, and pulling slightly to indicate he wanted Michael down closer to him. Their cocks brushed as Michael bent down, making Alex push up against the pressure and pulling a grunt from him.

“What do you want, Alex? You want to get off just like this? Grinding against each other like horny teenagers?” Michael asked, his lips trailing over Alex’s jaw as he spoke. Alex turned his head to give him more room to continue. Their hips hitched against each other sinuously, not giving nearly enough pressure for relief, but building the tension further between their bodies. Alex slid his hands to Michael’s ass, fingers flexing against the shifting muscle, before pulling their lower bodies in closer. Michael hummed in appreciation at the increased contact before continuing to talk low in Alex’s ear. “Or I could blow you. Or you could fuck me. Or I could just hold you down and make all the decisions for us both.”

Alex felt a rush of heat go through him. All of those scenarios sounded like good ideas, but he was getting tired of being a relatively passive participant. He glanced around behind Michael to get an idea of their terrain. Meanwhile, Michael had re-started his exploration of Alex’s neck and shoulder with his mouth, adding in small sparks of pleasure whenever he nipped at the muscles with his teeth.

“How about you go kneel by that crystal over there, hands on the crystal in front of you, and I’ll show you some of my special skills?” Alex suggested, his hands skimming up Michael’s sides until his fingers cradled his ribs. Alex turned his face towards where Michael was mouthing at his collarbone for an answer. Michael hummed in consideration for a moment before bringing their mouths together for a wet, open, filthy kiss that said exactly what he thought of that idea. One kiss turned into another, and Alex wondered if they’d be able to move before one of them blew their load. His own cock was throbbing with the need for release and the dirty, hot presses of Michael’s body against his was working him higher and higher with each hard grind. It was with truly superhuman strength that Alex was able to push Michael back and break their kiss. He wanted nothing more than to keep rutting until spent on each other.

“Fuck, hold on, just….” Michael panted, and Alex realized he really was about to cum. Alex pushed a hand between them and pressed it over Michael’s cock, effectively trapping it against his stomach and giving Michael something to fuck his cock into. The smooth pull of Michael’s foreskin over the engorged flesh beneath was unbearably hot and watching Michael’s face as he fell apart above Alex almost made him lose his own load into the humid, minute space between their bodies. As it was, Michael’s cum flooded onto Alex’s skin, pooling beneath his breastbone, hot and sticky as Michael milked his cock between Alex’s hand and stomach in slow, firm presses until there was nothing left.

“Jesus,” Alex breathed, staring down at the space between their bodies as Michael panted above him. Michael lifted Alex’s hand from over his cock and moved down to lap at the pool of cum on Alex’s skin. Alex hadn’t previously thought this was a thing for him, but watching Michael’s broad, flat tongue knife through the pearly liquid was doing things for him right then. Michael moaned at the taste of himself on Alex’s skin and then moved back up to Alex’s mouth. Alex opened his mouth on instinct, knowing what was coming, and he wasn’t disappointed when the taste of Michael’s spunk burst bittersweet and salty against his tongue. As they kissed, Alex sucked on Michael’s tongue to take everything, let himself indulge in chasing every trace of it.

A whimper escaped his throat as Michael pulled out of the kiss and pushed to sit up. He gave Alex a knowing smirk, running his finger down Alex's chest and smearing the few errant drops of cooling cum into his skin. Alex noticed he was still hard, had hardly softened at all after cumming, and he shot Michael a faintly questioning look. He shrugged and his smile grew broader before he heaved himself from across Alex's body to move towards the stone Alex had indicated. Alex watched him move, appreciated again the span of his shoulders and muscles in his back.

Alex pulled his pants back up enough to be able to roll onto his knees to crawl to Michael. His prosthesis made him feel like one leg was heavier than the other and he took care to keep the inanimate foot lifted so as not to unseat the device. He'd picked the crystal in question because it was low and not far from them. Michael looked gorgeous with the reflected light highlighting the dips and curves of his skin. Drawing near, he pushed up and carefully knee walked the few paces until he could wrap an arm around Michael's torso and lean part of his weight against him.

Michael's skin was smooth and warm, warmer even than the humid air around them, and Alex was surprised it didn't make him recoil from the excessive heat. Instead, he plastered himself across Michael's broad back, pushing his hips forward until his cock nestled firmly against the crevice between Michael's cheeks. He ran his hands across the front of Michael's body, over the taut skin of his lower stomach and up over the soft fur of his chest. His mouth latched onto Michael's skin wherever it could, licking away the salty dew of perspiration. One of Michael's hands drew back behind him to clasp low on Alex's flank, encouraging him to grind his cock against him.

"You going to fuck me or just paint my lower back?" Michael asked, amusement in his voice. Alex's hand drifted down to Michael's cock and he stroked it in time with his gyrations.

"Would it be so bad if I did just want to cover you in my cum?" Alex asked, pushing his chin to hook over Michae’sl shoulder so he could look down at his hand smoothing over Michael's gorgeous cock.

"Mmm, no. But if I have a choice, I'd like you to fucking rail me against this rock at least once before you go," Michael replied. He turned his face close to Alex’s and brushed his mouth as close as he could in silent request. Alex moved enough to let him twist so they could kiss properly. While they kissed, Alex reached into his back pocket and withdrew a few packets of lube and a condom.

"Then get back into position and stick your ass out for me," Alex demanded, giving Michael's cock a final squeeze before pulling back slightly. Michael grabbed the lube from him and turned back to face away as Alex began to push his jeans and underwear further back down his legs to pool by his knees. Resting back on his heels, he tore open the condom package. He glanced up from rolling the condom over his cock to see Michael already working two fingers in and out of his hole in front of him. It was a close thing, only stopped because his hand had already been gripping the base of his dick, that he didn't shoot his load before even breaching Michael's body. He grabbed the other packet of lube that he'd kept with him and quickly opened it to smear over his length. Before he pushed back up onto his knees, he reached out with his still slick hand and pushed a finger into Michael's hole alongside the two Michael already had inside. A grunt and low, muffled curse was heard from where Michael was pillowing his face against his forearm. He removed his fingers from his body and Alex immediately pulled his out as well to replace them with the blunt end of his cock.

"You good?" Alex asked, voice faltering as he teased the head of his cock up and down over Michael's pink hole. Michael groaned and pushed his ass back against the intruding pressure. "Okay. Here it comes."

Alex steadied his cock in one hand and with the other he reached up to grip Michael's shoulder, pulling him gently back as Alex moved forward to get past the first small bit of resistance. As soon as Alex was half sheathed inside the tight clutching walls of Michael's body, he pushed both of their bodies forward to lean against the crystal. He braced himself with an arm next to Michael's ribs and continued pushing until his hips rested flat against Michael's ass. Almost immediately, Michael was squirming restlessly beneath him.

"Come onnnn," he whined. "Fuck me!"

Alex drew his hips back slowly and then snapped them forward in a rough thrust. The sound Michael made could only have been described as ecstatic. Immediately he shifted his knees wider and pushed his hips back in a plea for more. Alex gave him more. He cramped a hand back on Michael's shoulder and grabbed his hip with the other and let his body carve out space for himself over and over in Michael's body while Michael grunted, groaned, and cried out in pleasure before him. When Michael let out a particularly surprised yelp, Alex knew he'd found the spot that would make Michael's vision white out when he came for a second time. He angled his hips and pressed in deep, giving short, languorous thrusts that rubbed that spot over and over again.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, Alex!" Michael chanted, voice wrecked as he pushed back to meet Alex and pull him deeper into his body at every meeting. "Right there. Don't fucking stop."

Alex had no intention to ever stop if he didn't have to. Michael's body was tightening around his cock as he prepared to cum again and it was dragging Alex quickly to the edge with him. God, he wanted to live in this man's body. He wanted to experience the high from pleasure over and over.

His thrusts started to get sloppy as he tried to hold himself back from release.

"Michael," he said in both question and warning. He was reaching the end, his own body drawing up tight in preparation for the finish.

"Oh shit, Alex, I'm--," Michael started, only to choke off the words as his muscles seized up tight. Alex groaned against the intense pressure around his cock. It set off his own orgasm and he pumped his hips weakly, trying to draw out the pleasure as long as he could.

Eventually, he and Michael were just two heaving forms against each other. Alex reached down and held the base of the condom as he pulled out carefully. He slipped it off his softening cock and tied it off, tossing it on the ground beside him. He ran his hands over Michael's sweaty side before shuffling to the side where he laid back down on the ground, staring upward. A moment later, he felt Michael land beside him. A tentative hand touched his chest and without thinking, Alex grabbed it and held it against his still rapidly beating heart.

"So that was…" Michael started, voice sounding awed. Alex nodded in agreement, not ready to speak yet. After a few minutes he found his words.

"Are you here all the time or do you get nights off sometimes? I'd...I'd like to do that again sometime," Alex finally managed to say, turning his head to look over at Michael. Michael was laying partially on his stomach, cheek resting against his arm and curls tumbling everywhere. He would look so good wrapped in Alex's sheets.

"You're cum drunk," Michael teased, not unkindly, but Alex still felt the slight. It was true they didn't know each other, but Alex wasn't one for impulse decisions normally. But his gut was telling him that despite their lack of real conversation, there was something between them that he shouldn't let go.

"How do I prove to you that I'm not? Do I have to come back every night for a week just to talk?" Alex asked, rolling onto his side to better look at him. Michael opened an eye to glance up at him before sighing and rolling to his back.

"It's just the fresh fuck and my alienness talking. But sure, come back tomorrow night if you feel so inclined. Maybe I'll convince you to give that zero G sex a try," Michael replied lightly. He rolled to sit and moved to grab his pants. Alex felt off-kilter. How could Michael not feel this connection between them?

"Okay," Alex said after a few minutes of silence. "I'll come back tomorrow. And the rest of the week. The rest of the month or year if I have to. There's something here and I'm going to prove it."

Michael studied him, eyes sad and speculative. Alex assumed he'd heard this before. Maybe he heard it every time, but Alex didn't care. He'd prove it to Michael that he was different.

A shiny haze seemed to fill the edges of his vision and for a moment he felt like he was still at the club, in that hidden landing with Michael, and also like he was in a dream.

"You should go ahead and give up on this idea," Michael said to him and it felt like more than a suggestion. It felt like a shove out the door. Alex recoiled, standing stalwart in its path.

"No. I won't go. I won't be deterred," Alex replied. It would've been enough but his mouth kept moving despite his normal reticence. "I have never seen or met anyone like you. I don't want to give up because it's not easy."

"It's not ever going to be easy, Alex. It's always going to be more difficult than anything else. Just let it be. Drop it," Michael replied, voice harsh. Again, Alex felt a wave of persuasion crash over him, pushing him away.

"I won't do that. I can handle difficult. You'll see," Alex tried again, moving to sit up so he could move closer to where Michael was now standing. Michael gave him a long, searching look. The shiny edges lifted from Alex's vision and everything refocused. He stared at Michael, who was eying him warily.

"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow night?" he asked, voice tentative for the first time.

"Yeah. And every night after," Alex replied easily. Michael nodded and moved to help Alex stand. Alex waved him off, moving to stand how his physical therapists had taught him so he didn't hurt himself or the prosthesis. As soon as he put weight down he knew he'd overdone it. It had been worth it, but it would make coming back tomorrow and doing all those stairs a real challenge. Michael noticed his discomfort, eying him up and down for evidence of an obvious injury. Chagrined, Alex pulled up his pant leg and knocked on the hard plastic on the shin plate.

"You don't happen to have an elevator around here behind a waterfall or something?" he asked, smiling ruefully. Michael gave him a smile back and shook his head. "Oh well, guess I'll just have to stay with you up here forever."

"Sure. Let me just show you to my spaceship," Michael teased.

"Ooo, have you heard of zero G fucking? I met an alien once who told me it was a must-try," Alex teased back. Michael chuckled at his bad joke and moved forward, lifting his arms and resting them on Alex's shoulders

"A must-try, huh?" They were still smiling at each other when their lips met for a kiss. It was warm and wonderful and made Alex's toes curl. Yeah, this was definitely something.

#mine #malex fic #malex #michael guerin #alex manes #forrest long #deep sky #alternate universe

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wineanddinosaur · 4 years

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Wine 101: New Zealand

This episode of “Wine 101” is sponsored by Whitehaven. From the sunny bays and lush green vineyards of Marlborough comes a New World Sauvignon Blanc that only New Zealand can offer. Whitehaven’s winemaking philosophy centers on the pursuit of quality without compromise, a principle that is supported at every step from vineyard to glass. Whitehaven uses only Marlborough grapes in our wines, ensuring that only truly authentic Marlborough character is in every bottle. Inspired by a dream, try Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc. Your haven awaits.

On this episode of “Wine 101,” VinePair tastings director Keith Beavers discusses New Zealand wines. While the lush region is known for its zesty Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs, Keith spotlights the other up-and-coming wines that originate in New Zealand that are distinctly delicious due to their terroir.

Additionally, Beavers walks listeners through the unique history of New Zealand as a winemaking region, and how it went from being relatively untouched by human settlement a mere 800-odd years ago, to being a complex viticultural reflection of the various settlers that came to inhabit it, from Croatians to Brits.

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Keith: My name is Keith Beavers, and am I the only one that cringes when people talk to the food they’re about to eat in commercials or ads? Like, you’re about to eat that M&M that’s talking to you.

What’s going on, wine lovers, welcome to Episode 7 of VinePair’s “Wine 101” podcast. It’s Season 2 — we all know this. My name is Keith Beavers. I am the tastings director at VinePair, and howdy doody. You’ve had the Sauvignon Blanc from a place called New Zealand, but what do you know about New Zealand? Let’s talk about New Zealand. There’s so much fun to be had in New Zealand beyond Sauvignon Blanc, but that’s awesome, too. And I’ll tell you why.

In the U.S., when we get into something, we don’t mess around. When we get into it, it’s the thing that we’re into, and we just stick to it for a long time.

Then sometimes, at some point, it’ll taper off. But in wine, we stick to things for a long time —I’m talking about our flavor profiles, our tastes, and what we dig, and sometimes when a wine hits our market and hits that palate preference of almost everybody, it’s crazy. That’s what Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough in New Zealand did to our market. It’s one of those wines up there with Shiraz back in the ‘90s from Australia. It’s the Malbec thing that’s happening right now on our market. Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc came on our market in the mid- to late ‘80s, and it’s just never gone away. If you think about Sauvignon Blanc, you’re probably going straight for the New Zealand section or maybe the French section. New Zealand is a prominent player on the market for Sauvignon Blanc. But we got to talk about everything else that New Zealand does because we got to talk about how awesome Marlborough is, and where it is, but we have to also talk about a few other places that you’re going to see on the American market from this amazing country that is just awesome.

This is going to sound a bit weird, but as a place on this earth that humans exist on, New Zealand is new. Does that sound weird? It sounds weird. I guess what I’m trying to say is there were no humans in New Zealand until about 800 years ago, and that’s when the seafaring people of that part of the world found this land and made it their own, and eventually evolved into what we know today as the Maori people. They went on to create this amazing, beautiful, vibrant culture with creation myths and everything. If you’ve seen the movie “Moana,” there’s a little bit of that mythology in some of the songs of “Moana.” It’s pretty awesome. These people are documented as arriving on the shores of New Zealand between 1200 and 1300. It’s not until around the 17th century we start seeing the British and the Dutch making moves because they’re all over the place. During this time, the Europeans were everywhere on boats. If the Europeans are on boats looking for places to live, you know they got monks with them. Of course, the first vines to be planted in New Zealand soils were missionaries. The English are here with their missionaries planting the vines. No documentation of wine being made, but there is documentation of plants being put in the ground, the northern part of the northern island of New Zealand.

The winemaking credit for New Zealand is a story we’re going to tell in another episode by a man named James Busby, who started making wine around that same area and then selling that wine to British troops. This guy is important. When we talk about Australia, we’re gonna have a whole thing on him, James Busby — put a pin in that. New Zealand is a fascinating place with a fascinating wine history. It’s kind of a rollercoaster ride, and it’s very quick because it all happened so recently. But the thing is, what I find the most exciting about New Zealand and wine is what’s happening right now. There’s a couple of things I just want to mention about New Zealand, how they got to where they are today. We’re going to talk about what’s happening right now because, man, it’s exciting.

By the late 19th century, New Zealand had a wine industry to the point where in 1895, they actually appointed their first government viticulturist, a dude by the name of Romeo Bragato — sounds Italian. His job was to make improvements to what was already happening in New Zealand. That was a big moment for New Zealand wine history. But unfortunately, that same year, this villain I keep talking about, this bug called phylloxera, is first detected in New Zealand, and everything kind of grinds to a halt. Like, “Hey, what are we going to do now?” By this point, the phylloxera situation was not under control but was being worked on. In the United States and with French help, there are all these American hybrid vines being grown all over the United States to try to combat this thing called phylloxera, which is an American louse eating all these European vines.

The remedy — and we’re going into this in the phylloxera episode — was grafting American rootstock onto European rootstock, and that would save the vines. So all New Zealand had to do was graft all of their native European vines that were already there onto American rootstock, and they could have their vitis vinifera vines. But New Zealand decided to not do that. Instead of grafting, they just said, “Give us the American hybrids, whatever those grapes are, and we’ll just plant those.” These types of vines stayed in the soils of New Zealand until about 1960, and between then and 1960, a lot of crazy stuff happened. But unfortunately, I can’t get into all of it. New Zealand, from 1910 through 1919, went through a temperance movement. We in America actually signed into law alcohol Prohibition. They tried to do that in New Zealand, lost the votes, but ended up with the temperance movement affecting the way you buy alcohol in New Zealand for a very long time. There was also a situation in the post-World War II era of this country where there was a big flood of imports from other places. I believe that was because you had soldiers coming back from World War II that have been to Europe, and they were probably saying, “Hey, let’s get some of this European wine into here.” Some local winemakers were competing against imports pretty heavily after World War II. By 1960, the most popular vine planted in New Zealand was a hybrid from New York called American Isabella or Albany Surprise. Things were about to change.

There is a mountainous region called Otago. In the 1860s, there was a gold rush there, and a lot of families from Croatia came to this place to find gold. When the gold rush was over — it was a very brief gold rush — these families stuck around, and on the southern part of the North Island is a major city called Auckland. Surrounding that area is what is known as gumtrees. There are these trees that give off this kind of sap that the Maori people actually use, and oxidize, and sculpt into jewelry and stuff like that. But it also has industrial uses. A lot of these Croatian families found jobs as gum diggers. The reason I’m saying this is because these Croatian people brought with them their wine skills. The modern era of wine in New Zealand is because of three or four major Croatian families that established themselves there. One of them — which created the company called Montana, which is now called Brancott — in the late 60s, worked with UC Davis over in California to see if this new area they had found would be good for wine. That area was on the South Island, the northeast corner of that island. It was a region called Marlborough. The story goes that people thought they were crazy. This is such a wine thing, in the history of wine and especially in the New World; like in Oregon it happened, in Washington State, it happened — people go to a place and say Pinot Noir works here — no, it doesn’t and then it does— and “Oh, my gosh, Oregon Pinot Noir, this happened here.” They’re, everyone’s like, “No, you can’t do that.” But then they put Sauvignon Blanc into this soil, and something beautiful happened.

They realized that there was kind of a Goldilocks situation going on here, where they had this major ocean influence of cool air but had a lot of sun as well. This balance created something special out of the Sauvignon Blanc grape.

In 1973, the first vines were planted in Marlborough. The style was unique because it had a nice round fruit-forwardness to it. It had some depth to it and some roundness to it, but it still had that bracing acidity that is known for Sauvignon Blanc in a place like Sancerre. But it had more depth, and then in addition to that, the herbaceous notes of the wine were just aggressive. They were very in your face. Not in your face uncomfortably, but they were actually just so much more prominent than other places that Sauvignon Blanc grows. As this style emerged, in 1975 New Zealand formed what’s called the Wine Institute of New Zealand. It’s now called New Zealand Winegrowers. There was an alliance of wine grape growers that started sharing information. In 1925, an Australian winemaker by the name of David Hohnen created a Sauvignon Blanc called Cloudy Bay, and when that hits the international market, it’s over. That put New Zealand on the global map, that put Marlborough onto the global map. That is how we as a wine culture in the United States was introduced to New Zealand — it was through Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough.

Today, Marlborough is the largest wine region in New Zealand. To this day, it seems to be our favorite style of Sauvignon Blanc on our market. Even though Marlborough “Savvy B” (as they call it in New Zealand) has a general style, the Marlborough region is a huge river valley and it has all these different deposits of all these different kinds of soils. So you get this general style that we all know. But within that are the nuances, and every winemaker has their own way of expressing the nuance of Sauvignon Blanc in their Marlborough pocket. So although Marlborough isn’t the newest wine-growing region of New Zealand, it is the most significant, and the biggest, and the one that we know the most. There are nine wine-growing regions in New Zealand on both islands. We don’t see a lot of that on the American market. We’re only going to see a few. So outside of Marlborough, I want to talk to you about a few other regions that you’re going to see because I feel like they’re very exciting. Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough is awesome. But there’s so much more going on in New Zealand that we can also celebrate as much as we celebrate Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough.

The thing about New Zealand is there is no controlled appellation system. There are label laws, but other than that, there is no geographical this or that. There are wine-growing regions and districts within those wine-growing regions, but that is about as far as it goes. Also, in New Zealand there are no rules — make wine however you want to make wine. You can make it as natural as you want. You can manipulate the hell out of it, whatever you want to do, it’s all you. That’s what’s so beautiful about the winemakers in New Zealand. They have in front of them an open, blank canvas. They can do whatever they want, but what they choose to do is refine, tweak, and find the best places and the best grapes. They actually, within their freedom, make very focused, awesome wine.

Now I’m going to start talking about some locations. This is why New Zealand is a little bit tough, because it has a North Island and it has a South Island, and when you talk about locations within that island, you have to use south and north within the island itself. For example, Marlborough is on the northeast corner of the South Island. Your brain kind of has to wrap around that for a minute, you know what I mean? So just as New Zealand defined a new style of Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand is also defining a new style of Pinot Noir, and it’s really, really exciting. There is a wine-growing region on the South Island, towards the southern part of the South Island, smack dab in the middle of the island. It is the only wine region in New Zealand that is a continental climate. It has no influence from either ocean or any of the oceans, which is crazy because it’s all surrounded by oceans.

This place is mountainous and hilly and drainy, but it gets a lot of sun. It’s perfect for Pinot Noir. It has all the cool climate that it needs. But the thing is, New Zealand gets so much sun, so you get this bright, vibrant, alive, active Pinot Noir. But because of that sun, you get this deep, voluptuous, chewy fruit. There’s really not a Pinot Noir out there like the Pinot Noir from Central Otago, just like there’s no other Sauvignon Blanc like there is from Marlborough. The same goes here. If you get a chance to check them out, they’re awesome and they’re on the market. They’re a little expensive — they start about 30 bucks. They go from there, and they’re easy to find on a wine shelf because they’re the only wine from Central Otago on our market. Seventy percent of that wine region produces Pinot Noir. They’re playing around with things like Riesling and Chardonnay, but Pinot Noir is what’s defining that region right now.

But they’re not the only ones. I mean, there’s Pinot Noir happening in Marlborough, but that’s really all about Sauvignon Blanc. There’s a place that’s called Martinborough, and that often gets overlooked because it looks like Marlborough when you’re at a wine store. But it is in a place called Waipara — it’s a region in the southern tip of the North Island. Martinborough is in that area. It’s also a very hilly area. They’re a little more expensive, but you’re going to see Pinot Noirs coming from Martinborough, and they’re awesome. They have that depth that Central Otago has, but there’s a distinct, sort of earthy mushroom vibe going on in their Pinot Noir that is very, very cool. There’s also good Sauvignon Blanc coming from there, Chardonnay coming from there. More Martinborough stuff’s going to be coming on the market, so take a look.

There are about seven more wine regions in New Zealand other than the ones we’ve talked about. But I only want to talk about one because the other ones, like Gisbourne, and Northland, and Canterbury, we’re not going to see a lot of that on the market yet. But what we’re starting to see is one of the older wine regions in New Zealand and my personal favorite: I love the wines from Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. Just inland of Hawke’s Bay in the northeastern section of the North Island is the wine-growing region called Hawke’s Bay, and it is this low-lying land that as you get further inland gets a little bit hillier. What’s really important about this place is there are these specific rivers. Because of the low-lying area, throughout the history of this particular region, there have been floods. When the floods recede, sometimes the river would take a different course. And when it did that, it would leave behind a riverbed of soil, which is basically perfect for vines. I feel like this is a fun playground where — I don’t know how to say it — you have central Otago’s Pinot Noir. Martinborough is doing Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay. Then you have Marlborough, which is basically sticking to Sauvignon Blanc; other varieties are being grown in those areas, but that’s what defines those areas. Hawke’s Bay, there is no grape that defines Hawke’s Bay. What defines Hawke’s Bay is actually just the terroir — the varied soils that are very draining. I’ve got to say, whatever they’ve been planting has been working. I’ve had stunning Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir from this region. Beautiful acidity, good character, nice depth, awesome structured wines.

What’s really exciting is I’ve had some awesome Malbec from Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand. Some of the Malbec I’ve had from New Zealand is some of the best Malbec I’ve had outside of Argentina. It’s deep and dark, but it has good acidity. It’s herby, but not too herby. It’s just awesome. They’re growing Syrah there, I think they’re doing some Riesling there. This region is going to emerge not as a style, like Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc or Central Otago Pinot Noir. It’s going to emerge as a place of terroir. It’s being explored right now because of its terroir, not because of a certain style of something. I’ve had Merlot, Syrah, Malbec, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc all from Hawke’s Bay, and they’re awesome in their own right, with their own specific structural awesomeness. It’s a very fun and very unique place.

What’s so cool about New Zealand is we’re watching these regions emerge, even if they’ve already emerged. 1973 wasn’t long ago. Even though New Zealand has been making wine since the 16th or 17th century, it wasn’t until really 1973 and 1985 that New Zealand popped onto the world stage. So we’re still kind of watching this region evolve. I think places like Hawke’s Bay and Martinborough are really cool things to look out for while you’re sipping on your Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, and while you’re checking out your Central Otago. So that’s New Zealand in a nutshell.

I want to give a shout-out to Peter Jackson, winemaker, and Whitehaven in New Zealand for a good chat and some awesome information for this episode.

@VinePairKeith is my Insta. Rate and review this podcast wherever you get your podcasts from. It really helps get the word out there. And now, for some totally awesome credits.

Wine 101 was produced, recorded, and edited by yours truly, Keith Beavers, at the VinePair headquarters in New York City. I want to give a big ol’ shout out to co-founders Adam Teeter and Josh Malin for creating VinePair. And I mean, big shout-out to Danielle Grinberg, the art director of VinePair, for creating the most awesome logo for this podcast. Also Darby Cicci for the theme song. Listen to this. And I want to thank the entire VinePair staff for helping me learn something new every day. See you next week.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article Wine 101: New Zealand appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/wine-101-new-zealand/

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johnboothus · 4 years

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Wine 101: New Zealand

Listen Online

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

Or Check Out the Conversation Here

In the U.S., when we get into something, we don’t mess around. When we get into it, it’s the thing that we’re into, and we just stick to it for a long time.

I want to give a shout-out to Peter Jackson, winemaker, and Whitehaven in New Zealand for a good chat and some awesome information for this episode.

@VinePairKeith is my Insta. Rate and review this podcast wherever you get your podcasts from. It really helps get the word out there. And now, for some totally awesome credits.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article Wine 101: New Zealand appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/wine-101-new-zealand/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/wine-101-new-zealand

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theaxtorres · 5 years

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In Fleeting Memory

When youthful bliss loses its grip on the present, the musings of old age catches up. “In fleeting memory” is a story of contentment and melancholy told through excerpts an old man scribbled in his journal.

Microwaved bagels and a cup of store-bought coffee take the place of morning hikes to the mango farm. I sit on the chair I made when I was 21 and I’m reminded of all the things I swore I’d do and all the places I hoped I’d go to. Now I’m 72, wrinkled and old, and I’ve done all the things I swore I’d do and I’ve been to all the places I hoped I’d go to.

January 23, 2008, 10:00 AM

It’s finally stopped raining here in Seattle. The sun has come out and its soft rays are making the dewy grass glisten. It’s the perfect weather to spend the day with my granddaughter at the park. I sometimes forget she’s not three years old anymore but 12—what a number; Bella’s 12 and, like most young ladies her age, she’s obsessed with her new iPhone. On our way to the park, she was busy tapping away on that little device. I walked quietly beside her, hands in my pocket, remembering the last time we went to the park together when she asked me to hold her hand as she skipped cracks on the pavement.

Bella and I sat side by side on a bench in silence. While the empty swing danced to the beat of the wind, Bella’s playing a game on her phone, the one with a bunch of tiny animals racing around in colorful cars. I don’t know how kids today call it, but to Bella, it happens to be worth ignoring the rare view of the cloudless, vibrant sky above us. If I were her age, I’d be causing a ruckus all over this park. Except, not to the fullest—the trees here are trapped by ropes that hung “Do not climb” signs.

January 23, 2008, 5:00PM

While eating ice cream by a pond, I told Bella about the summer when I was 12. I’d wake up at five in the morning to see the sunrise with the fishermen who lived by the coast. Summer days in the Philippines looked exactly like how they look in postcards; sunny and clear. I wish the postcards could carry the scent of the salty coastal air and the sound of lapping waves.

I told my granddaughter I learned how to swim with the currents by tagging along with the fishermen. She chuckled and said, “Lolo Ernie, there aren’t even any currents in the pool I take swimming lessons in. It’s blue and still, there aren’t any waves to tug on my ankles and the sunlight only touches my skin through the thin glass window panes.”

It made me laugh. It was true, there were no currents in indoor swimming pools and the sun had to snake its way through the windows.

February 24, 2008, 3:46 PM

“Prayer coupled with perseverance will help you achieve your dreams.”

I could still hear my mother’s soothing voice when I was a boy, with her gentle gaze and a soft grip on my shoulder; this was her daily reminder to me and my brother growing up in Leyte. Kuya Emman and I prayed to own the only Banaba tree in the neighborhood (to whom we were praying to was no more than a name we started these litanies of childish faith with). Truthfully, we never actually cared for Church, so we used that Sunday hour to only play by the pews or catch some more sleep. By college, we stopped attending mass; maybe because mom wasn’t there to remind us anymore. And the Banaba tree remained a part of our childish prayers.

But the older you get, the more you search for moments of prayer. It returned to me in whispered wishes, in declarations of desperation, and cries for help. When my daughter became too busy being a mother, the Church kept the loneliness at bay. At Church, there are subtle buzzes of life everywhere; children dress their Sunday’s best, choir’s melodies urge everyone to sing along, and the priest plays a raconteur’s role. I’ve never been a devout Catholic, but I’ll always be fascinated by the blind power of religion—how strangers gather in one house to sing praises and listen to stories, and find refuge in someone who could merely be a historical character.

March 5, 2008, 5:40PM

Bella invited me to go to the park this morning. This time, Bella left her phone at home. In front of us is the horizon, hues of red and yellow clamoring over fleeting clouds. A while ago, she asked me why I left the Philippines. I told her it was a decision I made in my youth—to press the refresh button with my only daughter who was just three at that time, after her mom chose to stay far away from us. There wasn’t anything special in the Philippines for me anymore. “It was boring,” I finished, trying to get a laugh out of her. She just stared at the sun as it lost its rays. After a while, she told me that people run away when things get too predictable.

“Easy can be unsettling,” she answered casually, no air of pretension.

Bella doesn’t realize she’s growing up too fast.

March 20, 2008, 8:12PM

My brother called me today and told me a house in the Philippines was waiting for me. We finally had enough money to pay for the house and lot that was planned to be our family’s little compound for us older relatives. By next month, I’ll be settled back in the Philippines for good. Mom was right; prayers do go a long way.

April 24, 2008, 8:02AM

I have to stop tightening my seatbelt and ignore the newspaper headlines about plane crashes pulsating under my eyelids. I always believed I feared flying but I realize now the imminent fear is falling into the sky, consumed by gravity.

Before the sun gives way to night, I’d be back home. I’d finally get to see the bluest seas and touch the tree barks I used to scale barefoot. I’ve lived in many homes throughout my lifetime but the Philippines was the home that I never left behind, oceans and miles in between considered; the Philippines stayed within me.

“Please take your seat and fasten your seatbelt. Make sure your seat and folding tray are in their full…” crackled through the plane’s PA as I put all my strength in my weatherworn hands to clutch onto the armrests.

If there ever was a situation that called for a prayer, I figured it would be this.

“God, let me come home.”

This article was originally published in The Benildean Vol. 4 No. 2: Preservation and on The Benildean website.

#literary

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j0sgomez-blog · 5 years

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By Michael Lanza

You want to explore the best backpacking in America’s desert Southwest, but you’re not sure where to begin, or how some of these trips you’ve read about compare for scenery and difficulty. You’ve heard about the need to carry huge loads of water, and environmental challenges like dangerous heat, rugged terrain, flash floods and even (gulp) quicksand. Or maybe you’ve taken one or two backpacking trips there and now you’re hungry for another one and seeking ideas for where to go next.

Well, I gotcha covered. The five trips described in this story comprise what might be called a Southwest Backpacking Starter Package. They are all beginner- and family-friendly in terms of trail or route quality, access, and navigability, and some have good water availability. But most importantly, regardless of their relative ease logistically, they all deliver the goods on the kind of adventure and scenery you go to the Southwest hoping to find.

I present them in no particular order of priority; in reality, competition for a backcountry permit will dictate when you’re able to take the most-popular ones, such as those in the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Canyonlands—and those are trips you need to plan up to four or five months in advance to get a permit reservation for the prime seasons of spring and fall. (Learn more in my “10 Tips For Getting a Hard-to-Get National Park Backcountry Permit.”)

If you’ve done any of these and have thoughts or advice to offer, or if you take one of them after reading this story, or simply have an opinion about my list or another trip you believe should be on it, I’d appreciate you sharing your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this story.

David Ports near Skeleton Point on the Grand Canyon’s South Kaibab Trail.

The Grand Canyon’s Corridor Trails

The Tonto Trail at Horn Creek in the Grand Canyon.

So many writers (including me) and other people have written and said so much about the Grand Canyon that it’s hard to find words that sound unique and inspiring to describe it. You won’t encounter that problem when actually going there, though—every hike is unique and inspiring. But the very aspects of the GC that make it such a unique place—its severe topography and aridity—also ramp up the difficulty of any multi-day hike into the canyon.

That’s precisely why the park manages its “corridor” trails—the Bright Angel and South and North Kaibab trails—to accommodate backpackers (and dayhikers) will little to no experience hiking there. Those well-maintained trails have established campgrounds and relatively frequent, reliable water sources, and offer a variety of route options, including a loop from the South Rim to the Colorado River and a full traverse of the canyon.

See my story about hiking across the Grand Canyon and this photo gallery from dayhiking rim to rim, this Ask Me post about hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim to rim, and my story about another more beginner-friendly GC hike, the 25-miler from Hermits Rest to Bright Angel Trailhead.

Click here now for my expert e-guide to backpacking the Grand Canyon rim to rim.

The Kolob Canyons in Zion National Park.

Zion’s Kolob Canyons and West Rim Trail

Zion may lack the extensive trail network found in parks like Grand Canyon, Glacier, or Yosemite, but it does harbor a classic backpacking trip widely recognized as one of America’s best—The Narrows (described below)—and other trails that compete with it for I-can’t-believe-my-eyes panoramas. Sheer red walls towering above the vibrant, green forest, plus easy hiking and the perennial La Verkin Creek made the Kolob Canyons an enjoyable overnight hike for my family when our kids were nine and six.

Backpacking Zion’s West Rim Trail.

Our overnight on the West Rim Trail on the same trip was a bit harder—and we had to carry extra water—but within our kids’ abilities; and the views from the West Rim of Zion Canyon and the maze of canyons and white-walled mesas dicing up the Zion backcountry look like something from another planet. Road access to both areas of Zion, and local shuttle services, allow for short overnight hikes or longer outings that are ideal for beginners.

The more ambitious can make a north-south traverse from the Lee Pass Trailhead in the Kolob Canyons to either Zion Canyon or across Zion to the East Entrance Trailhead—the distance ranging from roughly 40 to 50 miles, depending on how many side hikes one takes (such as the incomparable Zion must-do, Angels Landing).

See all of my stories about Zion National Park, including “Pilgrimage Across Zion: Traversing a Land of Otherworldly Scenery,” “Mid-Life Crisis: Hiking 50 Miles Across Zion in a Day,” and “Ask Me: What’s Your Favorite Backpacking Trip in Zion National Park?”

Hike all of “The 10 Best Backpacking Trips in the Southwest.”

Hiking the Chesler Park Trail, Needles District, Canyonlands National Park.

The Needles District in Canyonlands

Backpacking Squaw Canyon in the Needles District, Canyonlands.

Multi-colored candlesticks of Cedar sandstone stand 300 feet tall, appearing ready to topple over with bulbous crowns wider than their base. Waves of rock ripple into the distance, looking like a petrified, burnt-red ocean. Stratified cliffs stretch for miles. The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park holds the kind of geological formations that fascinate both kids and adults. It also has over 60 miles of trails zigzagging over a high plateau spliced by canyons.

But unlike big, deep canyons, most trails here don’t involve much elevation gain and loss; and while water is scarce, you don’t have to hike great distances to reach backcountry campsites and explore; and established trails to Chesler Park, Big Spring, Squaw, and Lost canyons, and the Peekaboo Trail are easy to follow.

See my story “No Straight Lines: Backpacking and Hiking in Canyonlands and Arches National Parks,” and all of my stories about Canyonlands National Park.

I can help you plan any other trip you read about at my blog. Find out more here.

Hi, I’m Michael Lanza, creator of The Big Outside, which has made several top outdoors blog lists. Click here to sign up for my FREE email newsletter. Subscribe now to get full access to all of my blog’s stories. Click here to learn how I can help you plan your next trip. Please follow my adventures on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.

Overlooking Coyote Gulch in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Coyote Gulch, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Backpackers in Utah’s Coyote Gulch.

On a three-day, roughly 15-mile backpacking trip through southern Utah’s Coyote Gulch, my family and another hiked across ancient dunes hardened to rock; squeezed through a claustrophobically tight, 100-foot-long slot called Crack-in-the-Wall (not as hard as it sounds and quite fun); and stood atop a cliff overlooking a vast landscape of redrock towers and cliffs, including Stevens Arch, measuring some 220 feet across and 160 feet tall. And that was just in the first hour.

With its short distance, perennial stream, and lack of flash-flood hazard, Coyote Gulch ranks as one of the Southwest’s most beginner-and family-friendly backpacking trips. But that description, while true, almost diminishes the raw beauty of a hike that features a natural bridge, two of the region’s most distinctive natural arches—and one deeply overhung cliff with amazing echo acoustics. In many ways, Coyote delivers a complete canyon-hiking experience—without the common hardships and hazards.

See my story “Playing the Memory Game in Southern Utah’s Escalante, Capitol Reef, and Bryce Canyon.”

Plan your next great backpacking adventure using my downloadable, expert e-guides. Click here now to learn more.

Big Spring, on day two backpacking The Narrows in Zion National Park.

The Narrows in Zion

Day one in the Narrows, Zion National Park.

No surprise that Zion’s Narrows is one of the most sought-after backcountry permits in the National Park System. With sandstone walls that rise up to a thousand feet tall, the Narrows of the North Fork of the Virgin River in Zion squeezes down to just 20 to 30 feet across in places. On this 16-mile, two-day hike, you’ll walk in the river most of the time—with the water coming up to thighs and hips in places—marveling at the constantly changing, towering walls, and oddities like a waterfall pouring from solid rock, creating an oasis of greenery clinging to a cliff.

I don’t want to understate the challenge—and it may not be a good choice for complete novices or young kids. Despite it being a very gradual descent for its entire distance, the Narrows can feel surprisingly strenuous because you’re walking much of the time on riverbed cobbles and in water. The water and air temperature vary seasonally, and it can feel cool or downright cold, which saps energy over several hours. And there’s certainly flash-flood danger—don’t go without a forecast for sunny skies—but the park also closes the Narrows at times of flood hazard. Still, this is one classic hike to get to whenever you can.

Click here now to get my e-guide The Complete Guide to Backpacking Zion’s Narrows.

See my story “Luck of the Draw, Part 2: Backpacking Zion’s Narrows” (which includes tips on planning this trip, though not nearly as much detail as my e-guide, linked above), and all of my stories about hiking and backpacking in southern Utah.

Tell me what you think.

I spent a lot of time writing this story, so if you enjoyed it, please consider giving it a share using one of the buttons below, and leave a comment or question at the bottom of this story. I’d really appreciate it.

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