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redfoxwritesstuff · 4 years

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Of Dust and Ashes (chapter 25)

Sorry for the late posting, I intended to post it Friday but well, life happened. We're surprise moving at the start of next month so things may get a little crazy but I intend to keep at least biweekly posts.

Chapter warnings: Violence

Clint x ofc (Deanna).

Series warnings: Legit, if it’s a trigger it’s probably in here at some point...

Rated: M for mature themes

Masterlist Kofi

Chapter 25: Into the City

Clint watched the world around them. Cold air bit at his cheeks and ears, made colder still by the breeze. Sun warmed the top of his head. He was alone on the roof with only the wind and the slight ringing in his ear to break the silence. Absently. he rubbed at his ear as if he could somehow rub away the sound that had been with in for much of his life. There were only so many blows to the ear and explosions one could experience without some sort of lasting damage. All things considered, he was lucky. It could have been worse.

In the cold, he sat watching and waiting. He’d left Dee on the top floor, inside and safe from the cold air to care for baby Elsa. It wasn’t a place for her or a baby, not when they didn’t need to be. The desire to protect her, to isolate Dee from any harm burned inside him. He'd rather her never be on this roof but she wanted to help. While he didn't like it, having eyes in the sky and ranged attacks would provide a useful distraction.

She didn't need to be out there right at that moment, at least. For now, she could be warmer and safer than he was. Later, he could show her what she needed to see. Right now, it was better that she rested and cared for the little one. Anxiety ate at him though.

He did the best he could to cut the top floor off from the rest of the building but there was only so much he could do. He did his best while maintaining his own path to get to the roof and back. He wouldn’t hear it if someone where to fight through his makeshift barricades and Dee was sleeping.

He was proud of her for how well she handled the amount of walking they had done but now she needed to rest. They’d covered miles of ground today and would likely cover miles again tonight, assuming they didn’t die. She’d done little complaining and had earned her rest. It was a lot that she was putting her body through for someone who wasn’t a trained agent.

In his pocket, his phone vibrated. Slipping it out, he looked at the name. 'Natasha' flashed on the screen next to a picture of a spider. In the top corner of the screen, next to the date he’d been trying to ignore was a small satellite symbol. They’d not gotten cell phone service returned yet but Stark's satellite phone services still worked.

“Hey.” He hadn’t wanted to answer but he had been ignoring her for longer stretches of time. It wasn’t fair to her. It wasn’t her fault.

Except, it kind of was.

She was there. She was at the battle. She didn’t call him. She didn’t tell him. She went to space. She was there when he died. She saw his blood. She didn’t bring him. She failed to save them. She failed to bring them back. She failed. She failed.

“How’s it going?”

Clint cleared his voice, pushing the turbulent thoughts away as he always did. “It’s going.”

“I wanted to check on you.” She started, sounding more like she was talking to a wounded animal than a friend, comrade and the man who had at one point saved her life. “I know today’s-”

“I’m fine.” He didn’t mean to snap. “Sorry- Just a bit cold. I’m getting to be a grouchy old man.”

“Are you sure? I can take a few days, fly out… I worry about you, being alone in the house and today’s-”

“It would have been 15 years.” Clint offered, knowing damn well that she was calling to make sure he hadn’t gone off the rails.

“That’s a long time.” Nat offered.

“Not nearly as long as I had planned on being married.” There was nothing he could do to keep the ice from his voice.

“I know.” He could hear the regret in her voice. She didn’t mean to pick at the emotional scab. “I just worry about you. You don’t have to be alone right now.”

“I’m not.” His attention was divided between the phone call and the men walking down below.

“You’re never worried.” Natasha teased, or at least tried. “But I mean it, you don’t have to suffer alone. I’m here for-”

“I’m not.” He snapped.

Below, men pushed women out in the open. They had pots in their hands. One tripped and landed in a heap on the ground. What looked to be a soup or stew spilled onto the ground. Another woman tripped over the first and dropped the loaf of bread she had been carrying.

“You’re not? Who’s with you?” He hadn’t told Nat a whole lot of what he had been up to.

“It’s not important.”

Men appeared to be yelling at the women. There was a stark difference between the way the two groups of people were dressed. The men had heavy coats, gloves and hats to protect against the bitter cold. The women, by contrast were lucky to have even a light jacket over their shirts. Many had rips in their clothes.

Regardless of if they were men or women, all were dirty. Their hair was unwashed. Men kicked at the woman who had been carrying the soup. Mouths contorted in anger. The woman who had carried the bread was pulled to her feet only to be thrown back onto the ground. Clint watched as her head connected with the ground and her body went limp. The first woman was still being beaten by the others.

“What have you been up to?” Clint asked. “How’s things on your end?”

“We’ve got order in the East coast established again.”

“That’s good.” Clint sounded as if he wasn’t sitting on a roof watching a woman get beaten to death. “Was there much resistance?”

“Not much.” The squeak of wheels pierced his ear. He could close his eyes and picture the exact chair she was sitting in. It’d always had the wheel that would squeal if it wasn’t oiled often enough.

Tony would often get annoyed and take care of it himself though she was plenty able to ignore it. Tony was back and had made great strides in the physical aspects of his recovery. At least, that's what Nat had told him before. It seemed that he still wasn’t hanging around the compound enough to notice that Nat’s chair was crying for some oil. Or maybe he just didn’t care anymore.

“How’s Tony?” Clint hadn’t intended to ask. What he wanted to know was more details about the state of things on the east coast.

“Pulling away.” Nat’s breath washed over the phone in a sigh. Clint could imagine her leaning back in her chair, turning and looking at the wall behind her. “He came back and he just- for a while he was angry and shut down. And that made sense, you know? But then he started getting better. Pepper being pregnant seemed to help a lot. He’d get in the suit and even if he was going it alone, he’d go clean things up. Set up power for the hospitals and fire stations. It took a while to realize he was working himself into the ground.

I don’t think we wanted to see it. I was doing what I could to locate the mayor or find the president or whatever. I could do that because Tony was doing so good making sure people in the city were not killing each other over Cheetos.

I assumed everything was okay, that he was getting better. It was easier to assume that, I guess than question if he was ready. We didn’t really have time to question that.

Once New York State was re-established, he slowed down, started pulling away from the service. He bought a house outside the city and has been decking it out. Sometimes we don’t see him at the tower for weeks at a time.”

“Pepper- she’s what, five months along now?”

“More like six.”

“Nat.” Clint shifted, almost falling on his ass. Below a feast was being staged by what he grew to understand were slave women under the watchful eye of guards. The stage where the bodies hung was not even twenty feet from where the chairs were being placed around a series of long folding tables. “He wasn’t ready. He wasn’t doing any of that to help others. He was doing it to help himself. He needed the area safe for Pepper. Now that it is, he’s got no reason to keep helping.”

“It’s Tony. He’s all about helping everyone else. That’s who he is.”

“That’s who he was.” Clint stressed. “And what did that get him? A fractured team? A world that wouldn’t listen to him? Half the goddamn universe turned to dust? A failed battle? Being selfless didn’t do shit except cause him pain, so why keep doing it?”

“Is that what you’re doing? Checking out and taking care of yourself? Letting the world burn? Is that why you won’t come back?”

“This isn’t about me. And for the record: In the last week we’ve saved a baby from freezing to death, provided food to a clinic and we’re getting ready to take down a man calling himself King and abusing people.”

“We?” Again, she pushed.

“It doesn’t matter.” He dismissed her with those few words. “You didn’t hit a lot of push from those who claimed territory?”

Natasha sighed. “We did.”

“How’d you handle it? Don’t want to be undermining you.”

Seconds ticked by as he waited for Natasha to answer. She was thinking about her words, choosing them carefully. It was something she only did when she wasn’t sure how the one she was speaking to would react. It wasn’t a good sign at all.

“The president offered them a way to keep the territory in a round about way. Many governors and mayors are just gone. Ones that we think survived abandoned their positions and so many others we can’t account for at all.”

“So what? You just give the position to who ever is in the area?” Clint was outraged though there was a part of him that tried to speak up, to remind himself that he’d probably do the same in her situation. The evil that you know is better than the one you don't in the short term. Once things were established again, they could go back and take out the trash and replace them.

The world wasn’t black and white and in the absence of leaders, they had to make do with what they had. There would likely be less death if they brought current leaders into the fold rather than challenging them and taking the power by force. It’s not like they had a way to be sure that whoever they did give the position to after wouldn’t try to take the land for themselves. He tried to reason with himself but all he could see was the bodies hanging from the beams down below. The United States government and the Avengers were giving power to what could be people like King Jacob.

“We can challenge them later.”

“Right. Don’t spill blood yourself while you restore order. Wait until it’s convenient than take care of it if they abuse the power.”

“You know it’s more complicated than that.”

“I’ve got to go, Nat.”

“Clint-” He disconnected the call and pressed the power button on the phone before she had a chance to finish what she had been trying to tell him.

The screen blinked once and went dark though Clint’s eyes were trained on the scene below. While he’d been arguing with Natasha, a woman had committed the grave crime of spilling some wine on the man Clint assumed to be King Jacob. The punishment for such a crime was a swift execution, Her blood stained the dirty snow in front of the table as the men ate.

~~~~~<3

Cold bit at exposed skin. The temperature outside fell quickly as the sun set. Deanna sat alone on the roof with only the sleeping baby strapped to her back to keep her company. The weight of Elsa pressed tightly to her back under the heavy coat was a comfort even as the child slept.

Trust had followed Clint down the endless stairs, much to his dismay. It was a comfort to her at least, to know he at least had Trust to watch his back. Sure, the dog wouldn’t survive a gunshot but they both remembered well how the dog had loyally fought to protect her.

As far as she was concerned, the plan was beyond stupid. Clint had left her high up on the roof with a tactical bow so unlike what she usually used for practice. He’d told her that it would allow her to pull an arrow back and loose it with much more force than she normally would be capable of handling.

He also left her with his arrows. They’d sat inside as the sun had set while he explained what each one would do. He drilled her again and again, making sure she knew which ones would explode on contact and which were simply sharp enough to split a hair on. He showed her how to use the scope and every single time she expressed doubts, he promised that she could do it.

In truth, as he worked his way trough the dark city streets, admitted to himself that he wasn’t at all sure that she would be able to hit any intended target from that distance. But what he did know is that it would be hard for them to hit her where she was. That was what mattered most to him. Clint counted himself lucky to have convinced Trust to wait on the bottom floor of the building. Hopefully, if anyone tried to go after her the dog would be able to make enough noise to alert her.

As he moved through the shadows, Deanna did her best to keep her eyes on him. She watched as he made his way through the streets. There wasn’t much she could do when he would have to move behind buildings though. Each time she lost sight of him, her stomach would tie itself up in knots.

~~~~~<3

Clint moved through shadows every chance he could. His hood was up, hiding his face within the darkness. Dressed in black from head to toe, he was easy to miss once the sun was down. Snow crunched under his boots as he swiftly made his way through alley ways and side streets.

Anyone who caught sight of him and dared to make a threatening move was quickly cut down. He left men’s bodies in pools of their own blood, hidden only by the shadows. Turning a corner, he came face to face with a woman in rags. Her eyes went wide and she gasped a breath.

His hand shot out, grabbing her and pulling her into the darkness. Another hand clamped down over her mouth as he pushed her against the wall without a single thought to how the cold brick would feel through her thin shirt.

“Do. Not. Scream.” He waited until she nodded before removing his hand.

“What do you want with me?” She pleaded in a hoarse whisper. “Just let me go. Please, don’t hurt me. Please, I'll be good. Please.”

“I’m not going to hurt you unless you give me reason to. There was a woman brought in not long ago- she had a baby recently. Do you know of her?”

“Rachel.”

“Is she still alive?” There was no denying that there was a very real possibility that she was dead.

“Y-yeah. The King- The King liked her. He keeps her for himself.”

“Are any of the women here free to go? Or are you all kept women?”

“Some are, more kept than not. But the freedom they have is an illusion, I think. Why are you? Am- Am I in trouble? I don’t know you.”

“I’m not from around here.”

“I- I shouldn’t be talking to you. I’m sorry. I’m not allowed to talk to outsiders.” She pulled away from him but he held her in place firmly. “You- Why don’t you have a guard with you? I should leave. I- they’ll beat me if they catch me with an outsider.”

“When I’m done here, there won’t be anyone left to beat you. Where is Jacob right now?” She hesitated. “If you don’t tell me, I can’t cut the head off the snake quickly.”

“He’d be in his house, with his women.”

“For the rest of the night?” Clint asked. He’d caught sight of fire pits being set up in the town square park. He’d wholly expected that the night wasn’t over for the people under the care of King Jacob.

“No.”

“Then what next? I need to know.”

“When he’s done they come out. He passes his best women around to the men he’s close to. They- they- they-”

“You don’t have to say it. I’ve dealt with his kind before.”

“Any women who fight back are killed. Sometimes they kill so many that they have to go outside of the city to find more. They call it hunting. They bring them back in cages.”

“Are all of his men at the town square during this?”

“Most. There’s a watch at the roads out of town. Always, as far as I know. But not as many now. Most people around are already dead or been brought in.”

“Are there any good men here?”

“Some.” She chewed on her lips. “The ones that go to the town square are bad. Most of the good ones challenged things and were shot. Or hung. Now they just gave up.”

“If I let you live, will you do something for me?”

“I don’t want to die.” The woman whimpered. “I’ve been trying so hard, so hard to stay alive. Please. Please don’t kill me. Please.”

“Do not tell anyone I am here. Do you understand?” She nodded, tears gathering on her wide eyes. “Carefully, tell every person you trust to hunker down until morning.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to cut the head off the sneak and drive out the rats.”

“How?”

“Not your problem. Go.”

As she scurried away, Clint jogged across the alley and slipped between two dumpsters. He waited in silence for a sign that the woman had betrayed him. Minutes passed as kept as still as possible but no one else came into the alley.

After fifteen minutes came and went, he moved on. He took his time working his way through store fronts and alleys. There was no rush. He moved as if he had all the time in the world, as if he had the rest of his life to spend making his way behind the platform in the town square.

In truth, if it went sideways he would be spending the rest of his life on this walk. This wasn’t how he wanted to spend the last hours of his life and so, he decided that he wouldn’t. He didn’t care what he had to do, but he’d take down the rats in the city on his own and live to tell the world about it. He’d do whatever he had to do to go back home with Dee and keep the battle from her. He’d kill the whole city if he had to.

~~~~~<3

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cat-the-dragon · 6 years

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This Last Thing I Could Do For You

I guess most of my followers already read Even Now We Feel The Shape Of Your Absence, that I’d posted partly because of @camsthisky, and partly because of the @nanowrimo.

This time, I’m blaming @chibinightowl for inspiring me to write this prequel (still meant to be read after the other one), both her and @comicroute beta-ed for me, so thanks to them

Read on Ao3

-The opening of the Will is scheduled at 19:00 this Monday in the Batcave.-

Jason stared at the message. The Will. Whose will? In the Batcave, a will was being read.

It had been sent by Barbie's Oracle number, so the probability of a prank was in negative percentages.

One of the Bats had died, and Jason hadn't been told. He’s always the last one to hear about these things.

Oh, god, what if it was Alfred?

Hands just barely not trembling, Jason typed his reply. -Who died- No question mark, somehow, it seemed more disrespectful than sending a message without proper punctuation.

-Red Robin- Came back ten seconds later.

Jason stared at the two words. He'd expected relief if it wasn't Alfred, but learning it was the kid he still held a grudge against without a proper reason was actually worse.

Jason arrived at the Cave at 7 pm sharp on Monday. He was there for the Will, not to socialize.

He'd had the time to look up what had happened.

It had been surprisingly easy.

Red Robin Death and Red Robin Suicide were all over the internet. There was a shaky cell-phone video of the hero hurling to the ground and going splat that had gone viral enough that even the Bats couldn't seem to get rid of it, and then dozen of witness declarations on diverse discussion boards.

The report he'd hacked on the Batcomputer said that Red Robin's gear had been in perfect working order, he didn't seem to have suffered any head injury before the fall, and his blood tox screening came back perfectly clear.

So.

Suicide.

Somehow Jason felt bad.

He wondered if he'd had anything to do with Repla- Tim's decision.

Dickster had told him, "Tim was your greatest fan. I saw him talking to your Memorial Case in the cave, Jay."

He wondered. Would things be different if he'd actually apologized for beating the kid up on top of Titan’s Tower and shooting him that time?

Jason knew how much having a role-model betray you hurt, and he'd been the one who did that to Tim, hadn't he? Would he have gone suicidal if Bruce systematically went after him with the intention to cause maximum harm instead of just reactively hurting him?

Who was he kidding, Jason was already a bit opportunistically suicidal even with just the status-quo at hand.

He didn't have the time to dwell more, because the big screen flickered with a video as soon as Bruce saw him arrive. (He was the last one, good.)

"Hey," the costumed and masked Red Robin on the screen started. "Seeing the probability of me dying, on or off the field, I figured I should make a vigilante version of my will. That way I can get into the type of questions that definitely couldn't be stated or explained on the civilian one that I left with the lawyer."

The Tim on the screen (not the one resting under a sheet in a refrigerated dome in the medbay that Jason had only glimpsed so far) turned a bit more somber. "I gave this video to Oracle. I figured a video would be the easier to confirm as genuine and not forced. The instructions were to get everyone possible to open it, but do it within two days at most, even if some were missing. That way you have a forewarning of my preferences before you start sorting my civilian death."

"Good bye everyone. B, if you are watching this alone because you couldn't wait for the others, or got nosy and I'm still alive while you see this, I'm very disappointed in you, close this video immediately!" Red Robin made a stern frowny face, and despite the solemn atmosphere in the cave, a ripple of amusement ran through the assembled heroes.

Jason for his part stomped down on his matching laugh to shoot Bruce a suspicious look. Did he tense? Had he actually tried it?

"So, I guess first off are my cases... I pre-made an override command in all my digital systems that will transfer everything to my old Robin session in the Batcomputer. I tend to use informatics a lot, so there should be everything you need on it to finish whatever I am doing at the moment of my death. It might be time sensitive, so I hid the transfer key in the Batcave, you'll find it under the detachable R emblem of my first Robin design in the display cave. It's a microchip, you might need a couple of minutes to find it, then connect under my old session and launch the program that pops up, it'll do everything on it's own. DO NOT fiddle with the code or launch it from anything but my old session on the Batcomputer, it'll destroy all my data. That's a very safeguarded override."

"Even then, some things are password protected. I put the list of encrypted passwords and corresponding files under the passenger side floor-mat of the Batmobile. Red Hood's Batmobile." Probably the one he boosted the tires from what feels like a lifetime ago. Good concealment of information in case an enemy got the Will on Tim's part, that.

"The encryption key is written on a post it note in Nightwing's favorite book from when he was still wearing the disco suit." Jason shot a look at Dick, who had a pensive expression on, trying to remember, surely.

"Legacy comes next, I guess? Red Robin was Hood's so if he wants to take it back now that I'm dead he can, I'd rather you didn't give it to D-Robin or any youngster after me, though. It’s not been around long enough to absolutely need to get passed down, and frankly, if I die in it, it would be a pretty unlucky omen for the next one.”

And that doused the little bit of levity that seeing a sassy Red Robin had introduced. Jason couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the sheet covered exam table.

Talk about unlucky.

One thing was sure, Jason would not be donning Red Robin again, thank you.

“The map of all my personal safe houses should be in the download with my cases, feel free to help yourselves to them or my gear. I mean all of you, no one gets to claim everything for themselves without asking the others if they want it.”

“Now my other Will also says this, but I wish to be cremated. And if possible not have all the ashes at the same place. I know it is tempting to forego it and wish for another miraculous resurrection like for J. But considering the interest Ra’s has been paying me, I really, really prefer not to run any risk of him ever getting his hands on my corpse.”

Tim looked at the camera fixedly. “I know what you’re thinking, B. You’re thinking you could protect my grave. Don’t. You’re not immortal, Ra’s is. What about fifty years from now? Will you still be able to protect my grave then? I prefer not to run the risk, so please respect my wishes on this.”

Bruce got up abruptly and stormed off.

Jason shot a venomous glare at his back.

He couldn’t even handle that? Tim had definitely been low balling that one because Bruce’s ability to protect graves? BULLSHIT. He hadn’t even noticed him vacating his.

Tim spoke for a couple more minutes. Minor things about who could have what, and his wish not to get a memorial case in the Batcave, and what to give to the Titans. There were instructions about keeping an eye on his teammates, especially Superboy, right after his death. He offset that by saying he made a will for the Titans too and that they would know what he wanted them to do after he died.

There weren’t person by person messages for the Bats, Tim apparently treated them as a single entity, or he’d made a series of personal messages independently from the general one.

Jason wasn’t paying much attention by the time the screen went black, because his mind had gotten stuck on Tim’s demand for a cremation. He understood that all too well. And more importantly, Bruce’s reaction to it.

Was he getting paranoid?

This suspicion, that Bruce storming off might be because he wanted to falsify the civilian will, stuck with him though.

Would Bruce be that much of an asshole?

What a question.

Yes, yes he would. When Bruce thought he knew best, he steamrolled everyone to force his version of ‘the best thing to do’, disregarding everyone’s logical reasons or emotions. Jason actually wondered if he was even aware people other than him routinely had feelings.

He looked around himself at the other Bats in the cave. Bruce wasn’t hiding anywhere he could see, but everyone else lingered, making clusters, crying, or noticeably being in the process of not-crying.

Damian was standing stock still, staring at the screen vacantly, obviously still deep in shock or denial.

Everyone else was mixed bags. They had seen death so often that they skipped entire stages of grief all the time, though for that one, Jason did foresee everyone getting bogged down on guilt floor for ages. He knew he would.

Suicides had the tendency to do that to surviving families after all.

Resigned to the idea of having to be the bad guy, Jason stalked past Blondie crying in the arm of a very stiff Cassandra and stopped in front of Barbara.

She extracted her blotchy face from Dick’s abs and sniffed. “What do you want?” she asked coldly.

“Where is B?”

Dick snarled, jumping over the wheelchair to put himself between Barbara and Jason. “Now is not the time to be petty. Tim is dead! He... He’s dead, he’s not coming back, he’s dead!”

So he was the bad guy. He was okay with it but as the one who’d gotten royally fucked by a Lazarus Pit, he’d given himself the mission to ensure Red Robin was burned the way he asked to. Being the good guy or the bad guy was not important. Keeping Bruce from disrespecting his third Robin’s wishes was.

So he said the bad guy’s thing. “Yes, he’s dead. And he wanted to stay that way and not become a Lazarus puppet like me, so I really hope I am wrong in my suspicions, but I need to know where Bruce is to be sure of that.”

Barbara stared at him around Dick, wide eyed. “He wouldn’t.”

“Right. And he wouldn’t label my memorial with ‘a good soldier’ either, then?” Jason spat back.

“This isn’t about you!” Dick yelled.

“No, it isn’t!” Jason bellowed back, agry to be accused of making Red Robin’s death about him. “It’s about Tim wanting to be cremated and Bruce going missing after the unofficial Will stated part of the content of the official one that’s with a lawyer. A part Bruce doesn’t like. How well can a law office hold up to the Batman?”

“How dare you suggest… You hateful!” Dick was losing steam. And the whole cave was deathly silent except for the unhappy rustle of disturbed bats on the ceiling. Everyone was staring at them. “...Spiteful… You!”

“Prove me wrong, then.” Jason gestured to the computer. “Tell me where Bruce is.”

Barbara blew out a loud breath. “I so hope you are wrong.” She wheeled herself to the console, letting Dick try to protect empty air.

“So do I.” Jason stood tall, arms crossed next to Barbara as she chillingly narrated her finds. No missing cars or bikes. Jason pointed that Bruce had gone up the stairs in his Batman costume. She gritted her teeth and looked for him on the video surveillance.

Dick was staring at him like he was a monster. And frankly, he would give his right hand to be wrong, but someone had to doubt the Bat, and if no one else would, Jason would be that person. He infinitely prefered being wrong and looking like the a heartless monster at Tim’s will reading, than be right but not speaking up and seeing Bruce prove himself to be the inconsiderate asshole once more.

“No,” Barbara whispered. “No.”

Jason squeezed his eyes shut. Shit. The pinpoint that represented Bruce was heading straight for Gotham. Which wasn’t that bad per-se. Maybe he was planning to beat some poor schmucks up to make himself feel better, but as far as disproving his fears went, it wasn’t great. (The fact that he had gone out in full Batman from the Manor’s entrance and apparently decided to go by foot wasn’t saying great things about his state of mind either.)

He stood still and silent, watching Bruce move on the map. Waves of murmurs floated around as some of the Bats left for their patrol and others watched along with Dick, Barbara and Jason.

When Bruce made it to the block of Tim’s lawyer, Jason decided to fuck the benefit of the doubt and stop dawdling.

His plan was already forming as he turned away from the computer screen and jogged up the cave’s stairs.

First, he went to the garage.

Slashing every single tire might have been a little overdone, but Bruce was filthy rich, he’d get over it.

Second were the supplies.

He didn’t have a precise idea of exactly what would be needed, but he figured he could always buy what he needed as he went. The most important tools for the first phase was cooling stuff.

He pilfered a big comforter from a guest room and filled it with as many ice cube packs as he could find in the upstairs freezer, then he trudged back down the cave’s stairs with his loot.

Barbara, Alfred and Damian were the only ones still in the cave when Jason came back down. He figured Dick must have led the few stragglers on a mission to go talk some sense into the big dumb Bat.

Jason didn’t like to put his trust in that. If he wanted stuff done, he might as well do it himself.

The trio stared at him and his comforter bag. He ignored them.

He did the same with all the cooling packs in the medbay freezer as he had upstairs.

He also pilfered half the emergency liquid Batfunds from their hiding place.

Third was the Batgarage.

He almost expected to be stopped, to have to fight his way through, but instead he was met with watchful silence when he stalked to one of the Batmobiles, opened the trunk, collapsed the back seats and spread his catch on the floor.

Then Jason methodically moved on the hangar for the fliers and plastic-ed up every single landing gear. Barbara put a hand on Damian’s shoulder and asked him to push her to the elevator because she wanted a snack.

Damian must have been pretty out of it not to see through the transparent excuse. Or maybe he was experiencing disconnect. He blinked at the systematic destruction Jason was wreaking upon their vehicles, then at Barbie, and obeyed without a word.

The Bat-tires were all a lot sturdier than the civilian ones, so slashing wouldn’t work that well.

Instead, with a lingering look at Alfred to see if he’d try to stop that much, Jason took out the Bat-impact-wrench and went to work removing every single wheel and kicking them over the edge of the precipice into the man-made lake Batman kept his marine float in.

Once only his chosen Batmobile was standing on all its wheels, he went for part four.

Fourth was Tim.

He strolled up to Tim’s body, opened the refrigerating dome, and lifted the sheet covered lifeless body up in his arms. He noticed Alfred bustling around. Still, he didn’t move to stop him when he went back to the trunk and deposited Tim in it.

Considering how the body had been kept very cool since his death (probably to make it easier to disguise his civilian death to a later date) rigor mortis had barely set in and it was fairly easy to maneuver him into lying on his side so he would fit inside the limited space.

Jason folded the blanket back up over Tim and closed the trunk. This was when he noticed Alfred in much more practical clothes than he ever thought he’d see the old man in, holding a backpack and opening the passenger door.

He stared at the old man, but when he was only met with a very flat stare, he shrugged, climbed into the driver seat and drove off. It was nice to see someone else understood about respecting final wishes and all that.

Fifth was distraction.

In the morning, once he estimated himself far enough from Gotham, Jason bought a replacement minivan with tinted windows at a shady second hand shop. Alfred helped him transfer the contents of the Batmobile, and then they left with their new vehicle.

Jason left the Batmobile in a well frequented parking lot with the keys taped to a side mirror for any daring youth to take it on a joyride whenever they found it. Alfred didn’t look thrilled by his choice, but didn’t protest either.

When Alfred asked him what he planned on doing, Jason started considering his options besides ‘steal the body and run’. Speaking the possibilities out loud helped him think them through too.

Breaking into a funeral house and commandeering the crematorium, although easier, would leave an obvious trail. If not on the security surveillance, at least in the fuel gauge. There was no way it wouldn’t be reported and investigated, and even if nothing came up from it, it would make Tim’s civilian death with a missing body much more suspicious than it needed to be.

Tim was so loyal to the Bats and their secret, that even the fleeting possibility that Jason might be too careless and accidentally harm his successor's cover made him sick to his stomach.

Alfred nodded at Jason’s exposed doubts. “Well,” he mused. “I guess humans have been building funeral pyres since the Roman empire, and they didn’t have gasoline then. I suspect young master Tim would have appreciated such a send-off.”

Jason swallowed. “Would he?” he asked, suddenly desperate to learn more about the person he’d just gone against Batman to cremate.

Alfred smiled sadly. “Yes, I believe so. He forced Master Bruce to watch the original Star Wars trilogy once.” Jason smiled, wondering how he’d even managed that feat, but didn’t ask, not wanting to interrupt the tale. “Master Tim was so emotional at the funeral for Anakin Skywalker. I could see the awkwardness radiating out of Master Bruce. It was clear he didn’t quite know what to do.”

In the following day of driving, they had to make a few pit stops to buy more ice-cubes and dump the old ones so the body they were transporting didn’t start to warm up and putrefy.

Jason guessed the result would be the same either way, but he really prefered to be able to give Tim as much dignity in his funeral as he could. And as far as he was concerned, it included not letting him start to smell like a pile of garbage.

They picked a deserted beach at the foot of a ragged cliff, hoping the relief would hide their fire from the watchful eyes of fire departments, and waited for the evening to start moving their newly bought supplies and Tim.

There was quite a bit of wood, charcoal, and acetone bottles to move over a pretty long way, but Jason was strong and had quite a bit of endurance, so he took care of it while Alfred built the pyre.

When all the supplies were moved, and once the night was well fallen, Jason finally brought Tim. He was still fairly cold, and didn’t actually smell.

Feeling like this had all gotten much more real, Jason carefully wrapped Tim in the comforter, letting a tuft of hair poke out to make the human shape look more like a voluntary blanket burrito than a carpet wrapped corpse.

He reviewed his excuse: Yes, my brother fell asleep during the car ride. He never sleeps so I didn’t feel like waking him. I couldn’t let him in the car though. It’s okay, he barely weighs anything.

Jason didn’t see anyone, but the cover story had already started to make him shift his way of seeing things. Brothers…He shook himself off and hurried over to Alfred.

Now that Tim was out, they had to make haste. Getting caught with a corpse was absolutely not desirable.

“I know it’s stupidly romantic, but I can’t help thinking we should burn him with his weapon,” Jason said, sighing while dousing the comforter in acetone. (They should probably douse Tim too, but that was something neither of them could bring themselves to do, pouring acetone on a family member.)

Alfred smiled faintly and opened his backpack to pull a small cylinder out. Jason reached for it and unfolded it.

They quickly put Tim in position on top of the fire accelerant doused pyre. (Jason spared a moment to be thankful Tim had already been cut out of his fire retardant nomex uniform and dressed in cotton civilian clothes. He didn’t voice it, though, because he was fairly sure Alfred had been the one to do it and it must have been incredibly harrowing for him.)

Alfred took out a camcorder and a tripod and started recording the funeral pyre. It wasn’t meant as an archive, too risky, but as an inclusion, so the rest of the family would be able to see it at least once if they chose to.

Jason stared at Tim’s too pale dead face.

He had been suppressing his knowledge that Tim’s ‘body’ was actually Tim’s corpse. He’d been compartmentalising, and he knew it, thinking like Tim was in some sort of coma instead of dead. Even when he’d been browsing the barbecue section of the mall for the pyre’s material, he’d still been treating it like he was doing Tim a simple favor, rather than organizing a funeral.

Because he needed to be functional, because he couldn’t break down.

At last, Alfred and Jason folded the acetone doused comforter over Tim’s body and threw ropes over the pyre to anchor it down. (Apparently, Roman pyres sometimes ejected the person placed on top of it because of the abrupt heat, and they prefered to avoid this risk.)

Finally, they lit a couple of torches and touched them to the pile, lighting it up.

The pyre went up in flame with a wroof.

Jason retreated out of the camera’s recording field and huddled down.

That was it.

No more Tim.

Alfred, bless him, noticed his somber mood and gently rubbed his back as they watched the initial acetone fueled fury recede down to a more reasonable wood and coal fueled one.

“You should cry,” Jason rumbled.

“So should you, young man,” Alfred hummed back.

“Somehow I can’t,” he admitted, staring at the brazier. “But the kid deserves to have someone cry at his funeral. You knew him, you should do it.”

Jason felt numb. The heat of the fire was drying his lips and stinging his cheeks and forehead, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, let alone move away. Not with the burnt flesh smell and occasional explosion as the heat started to pulverise bones.

Even as tears started sliding down Alfred’s weathered old cheeks, the disconnect wouldn’t go.

He was still thinking about what if someone came. What if the fire department came by and noticed they were illegally getting rid of a body.

Thankfully, no one came by for the four hours it took for the fire to burn itself down to embers.

Somehow, Alfred had fallen asleep in the sand, dried tear tracks marring his face. It had been a very long 36 hours, after all, and Jason had no idea how long the man had been awake before he came in the cave to hear Tim’s will.

Jason didn’t wake him and raked the coals closer together with a long branch, looking out for any long bone or unburnt flesh that would need to be pushed closer to the embers.

There were some bone fragments, but thankfully no flesh, and once Jason had managed to push everything closer together, he took the last bottle of fire accelerant, poured it in a long handled steel pan and carefully dumped it on, then jumped out of the way of the new tongue of fire.

One hour later, Alfred still fast asleep, he carefully scooped the top layer of ashes into the big glass jar they had bought for them.

Once it got impossible to catch the ashes without taking sand with it, Jason took out the garbage bags and started scooping all the mixed sand and ashes he could into them.

Only then did he shake Alfred awake.

They silently took everything back to the van, drove a few miles to a wild looking patch of forest and buried the ashy sand.

“So. What now?” Alfred asked, looking at the Jar.

“Now,” Jason said with a sigh, “I drop you off at a train station so you can go back home to Gotham, and I get to burying these ashes in different locations.”

Alfred smiled sadly. “It’s probably for the best. It’ll give you boys the opportunity to spend some time together. Take him somewhere nice, hear me? I always thought the boy needed to go on vacations more.”

Jason swallowed around the lump in his throat. “Promise. Only the best places for little Red.”

Alfred looked equally choked up.

They climbed back in the van.

“Take care, young Master Jason,” Alfred whispered along with a rare hug in the deserted train station. “No matter the circumstances, it was good seeing you again.” Then he looked down at the Jar. “I’m counting on you to keep that one out of trouble, young man.”

And… Here were the tears again, Jason shuffled awkwardly while Alfred dabbed at his eyes.

He ran away as soon as the train came in the station, rather than stay for a last tearful goodbye.

“Well,” Jason told the Jar when he turned the key in the ignition. “Ready for a last adventure, Timbo?”

There wasn’t, Jason thought as he sieved the ashes into a mixing bowl to catch the chunky bits of charred bone, anything that could drive the reality of someone’s death in more deeply than having to crush their bones to a dust using seemingly innocent kitchen ustensils...

It took him a couple of hours to get the bones into fine enough a powder as to be totally inconspicuous in the granite mortar he’d bought especially for this purpose. He was so glad he’d managed to hide the chunks from Alfred, it wasn’t something he wanted the old butler to even have to think about.

“So? Do you like it here?” Jason asked Tim’s Jar.

He was aware that Tim was dead and talking to his ashes looked an awful lot like madness, but to be fair, next to the Pit madness, any other form of it was an improvement.

“I like it. It’s nice. I think you’ll be happy here.” With a small smile, Jason reached for his shovel and started digging.

Once the hole was a couple of feet deep, Jason knelt by it and dumped a handful of ashes in.

Well, ashes and some sand. Most air travel companies didn’t let funeral urns travel in the passenger cabin. Jason had used colorful sands to make Tim’s Jar look more like a souvenir decorative sand bocal than a jar of human ashes. He was sure Tim didn’t mind going undercover, he’d been trained to it, after all.

When he was done shovelling soil back in the hole, Jason sprawled next to it, basking in the beauty of the spot he’d chosen to be yet another of Tim’s graves.

“So, where to next?” he asked his deceased brother. When, predictably, no answer came, he smiled. “I think you’d like Tibet. Let’s go to Tibet. Maybe I can find somewhere you like in the Himalayas.”

Jason stared at the hole. The last one he’d have to dig after what seemed like a hundred of them (it really wasn’t though).

The scenery was pretty perfect, blue sky over a lush green mountain, not too high, and still pretty wild. It went well with the rest of his string of small graves.

With a grimace, he tipped the small glass bocal (he’d switched the Jar out for smaller containers as he went) over the hole.

A part of him was saying to only dump half of the ashes down, to keep going for a bit more.

Finally, tears welled up.

He knew he hadn’t actually needed to divide the ashes half as much as he had. It had been an excuse, to be able to hold onto his little brother for a bit more time. Not that he’d ever been much of a brother to him, except for this one last time when it mattered most.

The same part of him asked again if they did have to bury all the ashes. He could keep an ounce of them after all, keep a bit of it, for memory.

Jason shook the bocal to dislodge the last of the dusts in it and scooped a handful of soil over the ashes immediately afterward before he could lose his nerve.

It was time he said goodbye.

It was time to let Tim go.

Jason finally started to sob, crying over the too young hero. Over the little brother he never actually managed to bond with. Over the Robin, dead, just like him, and the fact that it was what it had taken for Jason to finally pay attention to him.

He cried, long and hard.

Then he took his shovel and filled this last hole back up.

“Wherever you are now, I hope you are more happy than you were when you left us,” he murmured. “I can’t remember being dead, so I can only hope.”

He looked around. “This has been fun, kinda. I hope you liked our little adventure as much as I did. I just. I. I’m just sad and sorry we couldn’t do that while you were alive.”

He sniffed, rubbing at his eyes. “Farewell, Tim.”

Breathing deeply, he placed the bocal next to the upturned soil and stepped back, taking his cellphone out. He walked far enough away that he could get the mini-grave in the camera’s frame along with a good chunk of the scenery.

He hadn’t documented any other locations, but seeing the quantity of different places he’d scattered Tim’s ashes across, just one picture wouldn’t hurt too much.

-Coming back to Gotham now- He included with the picture to Alfred.

It was, after all, time to move on. Jason definitely should try and talk to Damian so he didn’t have to mourn another stranger of a little brother ever again. (The thought hit him suddenly, that it was exactly what Dick had said to explain his much more developed relationship to Tim as it had been to him.)

His phone chimed with a reply.

-I am looking forward to your return-

#character death #cremation #relativelly graphic depiction of a cremation #funeral #pyre #Jason Todd #Tim Drake #alfred pennyworth #bruce wayne #dick grayson #Damian Wayne #I made both my betas and myself cry so be warned

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ramblesandmumblesofanerd · 7 years

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Weekly Review: Samurai Jack Season 5 Episode 6

Warning: Lengthy Post Which Contains Spoilers

Previously on Samurai Jack…

The Scotsman leads three armies to the tower of Aku, only for the Shogun of Sorrow to almost immediately annihilate most of his men, including himself. His spirit persists, however, telling his daughters to regroup and find Jack. Meanwhile, the Samurai teaches Ashi the truth of Aku’s horrendous world and at the same time learns about a kidnapping that can still be undone. Ashi finds a way to free an army of children from a twisted form of mind control, only to have them fall to the ground unconscious. Jack, believing his interference has killed the children walks away into a green fog and vanishing alongside the Green Warrior.

We start 97 up in the sky, as Ashi rides an aircraft to Jack’s last known location. She has been desperately searching for her new mentor, and has thus made herself more conspicuous than normal. Two large, hooded figures attack her, proclaiming that the woman they believe to be a bounty hunter of Aku will not hurt the Samurai. Ashi insists that she doesn't want to hurt Jack, she only wants to find him before it is too late. The figures reveal themselves to be the Woolies, giant furry timid creatures from the earlier seasons. They tell their tale of how Samurai Jack saved them from enslavement, and how they have hailed him as a hero ever since. Afterwards, an employee aboard the aircraft tells Ashi they have reached Jack's last known location. Ashi gives her thanks before jumping off, and landing safely in the forest below.

Meanwhile, in a familiar looking pile of rubble, a set of robotic eyes blink open. It appears the robotic assassin from the very first episode of Season 5, Scaramouche has somehow survived, albeit as a decapitated head. He bounces with glee as he begins his long journey to Aku, anxious to tell him the news about Samurai Jack losing his sword. Remember, Aku does not know this, so if Scaramouche actually succeeds, Aku will destroy Jack with ease.

Elsewhere, Ashi continues her search for Jack only to bump into a tribe of archers who have fought numerous Beetle Bots, some of which now scurry away. They warn her to run if she is in league with Aku, but Ashi once more states that she is looking for Jack. The archers extend a hand in friendship, as any friend of Jack's is a friend to them. Ashi reluctantly accepts the gesture, not wanting to upset them though still unsure if she is truly the Samurai’s friend. The archers show Ashi their civilization, formed on the spire of a mountain. The place is vibrant, colorful and peaceful in spite of the earlier conflict. The archers proclaim that this place would not exist if not for Jack, showing her a flower covered tribute to their hero. They too tell a tale of how the Samurai helped them, and it is here where my professional demeanor must briefly withdraw.

*inhales*

OHMYGOD IT'S THE THREE BLIND ARCHERS! They are my earliest memory of Samurai Jack! For those not in the know, these guys found a well that could grant any wish. They wanted to be the most powerful warriors in the land, but the well made them blind monsters in the process. This was because the well was made by Aku as a trap for Jack. If the Archers didn't kill him, the well would. But, Jack managed to free the Archers from their curse and destroy the well with a pain-filled scream. That scene has stayed in my head for years and it is so awesome to see the Archers again after so long! This is of the the many reason why Season Five is so amazing to me, and it only gets better from here. But we’ll get to that in a moment.

*ahem*

Back to the actual story. As Ashi once more sets off on her quest, Scaramouche persists in his. He manages to find a boat that is heading for Aku’s domain, and is finally accepted aboard after a few comedic attempts. This leads to a joke that comes far out of left field, one that I do not want to spoil for the sake of newcomers. Let’s just say Season 5 isn't on Adult Swim for no reason.

Ashi, meanwhile, stumbles across a massive outdoor rave party. Once more she asks about Jack, only to be told of another instance of his heroism, only this time in song. Olivia, another character from the previous seasons, sings of how she and her people were once mind controlled through Aku’s twisted music, but were freed by Jack. Now she rebels with her people through music, as they dance throughout the night. Even Ashi is swept up in the beat for a brief moment before pressing on in her quest.

As Ashi continues into the night, she comes across a river, and remembers another cruelty of her mother. The High Priestess claimed that Aku was born of darkness (molded by it), so his Daughters must follow suit. How do they accomplish this? By being pushed into a pit full of smoldering ashes, making their skin black. Ashi cringes at the memory, and plunges herself into the water, scrubbing and scraping away the ashes until morning. She lets her hair down and crafts a new outfit out of the nearby foliage before continuing on once more.

Back on the ship, Scaramouche finds a phone booth, where he makes a collect call to Aku. Before he can tell his boss about Jack's sword, he is interrupted by a crowd of anthropomorphic dogs nearby. He rudely tries to get them to shut up, to which the dogs respond by tossing him overboard, which will no doubt hinder his progress if he is ever to make another appearance.

At a dingy bar on a rainy night, Ashi takes refuge from the storm. The bar is crowded with various warriors, all sporting their own kind of wounds. Ashi once more mentions the Samurai, but this time everyone around her laughs. It appears everyone in the bar was once an enemy of Jack's, even the bartender who was once known as Da Samurai, a wannabe warrior who once challenged Jack only to be defeated with ease. He has since hung up his blade and became a bartender. And then, another fangasm worthy cameo occurs…

OMAIGAWD IT’S DEMONGO!! He’s back!!! He must have escaped the Pit of Hate due to Aku not caring anymore! Another lesson for those not aware of the character; Demongo was one of Aku’s most powerful warriors in the original show. His gimmick was that whenever he defeated powerful warriors, he would enslave their essence and have them fight for him forever. This is why he has come to Da Samurai’s Bar, to find powerful warriors to capture. But upon seeing the sorry state of most of the bar patrons, he leaves while saying he has come to the wrong place.

Soon afterwards, Ashi steps out of the bar only to bump into a small girl with large eyes. She asks if Ashi is a friend to the Samurai. Ashi finally says yes, to which the girl points her in the direction of a graveyard before enigmatically disappearing.

In the graveyard, Ashi finds Jack in a trance-like state. She tries to talk to him, but the Green Warrior intervenes. It seems he was not a hallucination, but rather a spirit who has brought Jack to this graveyard to perform his last honorable act: sepukku or a Samurai’s Suicide. Ashi tries to stop Jack, but the Spirit won't allow it, as he attacks her while Jack holds a blade to his chest. Ashi tells him of all the wonderful things she has seen, and how he is responsible for all of them. The Spirit retorts that Jack is also responsible for all of the deaths, especially those of the children from the previous episode. Ashi not only retaliates by saying that the children actually lived, but that Jack has also saved another lost child: her. As the Spirit prepares to silence her forever, Jack slices him in half, his warrior’s spirit finally back for good. He marvels at her new look and tells her that the time has come for him to finally find his sword.

As you can no doubt tell, this was one of my favorite episodes of the season so far, which is saying a lot considering the quality of the previous episode being just as fantastic as this one. Not only were there so many easter eggs and cameos in this episode, but we also got the completed transformation of Ashi from blind assassin to enlightened ally. She has seen all of the good Jack has done in comparison to all of Aku's destruction, and has thus left behind her past both metaphorically and literally. One can say that her bath was like a baptism, washing away the ashes on her body and the sins of her past. Not to mention we finally get to see what the Green Warrior was after speculating for weeks, and I’m pleased to see that my theory about him representing Jack’s grief and pushing the Samurai to his death was at least partially correct. And now, with Jack’s fighting spirit truly here to stay, we're finally going to see what became of Jack's sword after the briefest of flashbacks in episode one.

If I do have to complain about the smallest of things, there are two aspects of the episode that are a tad lackluster. As much as I liked Scaramouche, I can't help but feel like his scenes were simple padding to keep the episode at a minimum time length. Not to mention that joke he told still throws me off a bit upon remembering it. Also, the appearance of Demongo was far too brief, and I feel like we might not see him again in spite of his newfound strength. But I suppose his appearance was meant to point out that there are few warriors of notable merit now that Jack has hacked and slashes his way to the top, making for a chuckle worthy joke.

In either case, I absolutely cannot wait for the next episode, same Samurai Jack time, same Samurai Jack place.

In the meantime, never stop rambling, TM

Reblogs are always appreciated. YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yiICspiisE

#samurai jack #samurai jack season 5 #review

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marulikestea · 7 years

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Indochina Trip - Bangkok, Thailand

Last November of 2015 (Yes, two friggin years ago, huhu), my friends and I embarked on an 8-day journey to Indochina. Though we say Indochina, we actually just visited three countries: mainly Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The reason behind this trip, aside from the fact there was a ticket promo from Cebu Pacific Airlines, was because Arlyn and I wanted to experience travelling abroad for the first time. As for me, I’ve always dreamed of going to Cambodia due to their ancient ruins, so having that country as part of our destination was definitely a bonus, as well as an incentive.

Originally, there were five of us who were supposed to be going, but unfortunately, the tickets got sold fast so Denise was only able took three.

So it ended up with only us females. :<

For the trip planning, we equally divided the task of coming up with an itinerary, wherein each of us had an assigned country to deal with. Mine was Cambodia (naturally), Denise was Thailand, and Vietnam for Arlyn. Since Arlyn and I had no prior experience traveling outside the country, Denise took it upon herself to book our hotels for each country. Aww, thanks so much mommy Denise~ <3

Anyway, since blogging all 3 countries in one go would be a total chore, I decided to discuss each nation separately in the following posts. So for this one, it will only focus on our stay in Thailand adventure. Be warned though, there will be major photodump ahead.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

FLIGHT TO THAILAND

Our flight departure was in the evening (9:35pm) but Arlyn and I got to the airport several hours earlier (as commonly practiced). Denise was the last to arrive, lol.

We had our dinner at Tapa King before going to the waiting area of the terminal.

Took a photo of us at the airport with my old crappy samsung galaxy 1 cellphone. I was black-haired back then. ;P

Our flight got delayed a bit due to various reasons, but we were able to depart eventually. After a few hours in transit, we finally arrived at Bangkok, Thailand.

My flight ticket. :3

Upon our touchdown, we took an airport taxi (200 THB) to drive us to our hotel destination. Since it was already past midnight, there was no traffic at all. So we were able to have a smooth ride while marveling at the city’s night lights.

I must admit, even from the airplane window view during landing, Thailand’s night lights differ so much from Philippines; having more of a white-ish organized glow compared to our yellowish scattered embers. Nevertheless it gave me this alienated but excited sort-of feeling; an emotion that served as further proof that I was no longer home.

BANGKOK CITY HOTEL

After our long ride from the airport, we finally arrived at Bangkok City hotel. Transaction went rather smoothly, since their staff were well-versed in the English language. So after verifying our reservation, we then checked-in to our room, dumped our luggage on our individually-claimed space and slept like a log for a few hours before our call time at 6:00 am.

When 6:00 am came, we got ourselves ready for the hotel’s breakfast buffet.

According to Denise, this hotel has been suggested by one of her acquaintances due to its breakfast buffet feature. And evidently enough, when we got to the lobby, almost all the dining tables were already occupied by tourists and other hotel occupants, and the buffet line stretching as far as the table could go.

After a few minutes of searching for open seats, a table has finally been vacated. Like a hawk, we zeroed in on the spot and secured it for ourselves. We took turns in getting food while someone remained to guard territory.

But apparently, that didn’t seem enough because in one occasion, a seat got stolen from us by some random Chinese tourist right under our noses. During that time, Denise was on the buffet line while Arlyn and I were busy chatting with each other. Then we just realized that the chair where Denise was suppose to occupy was suddenly taken. It happened all so fast that we weren’t able to react, lol. Luckily, we were able to get another seat for her when she returned. Since then, we vowed to never again get slighted by the likes of those ill-mannered tourists who can’t even ask for permission before taking someone’s chair. Tsk.

Setting that aside, food was very delicious and we certainly had our stomachs filled to the brim and satisfied.

Our hotel room.

We then went back to our room to take a bath and prepare our stuff for the first agenda of the day.

DAY 1

We took a cab to our first destination: the grand palace complex. Our cab driver, who was probably friendly and chatty by nature, thought that we were from Malaysia. After telling him that we were from the Philippines, he said that he had Filipino passengers in the past and continued to talk about stuff that I can no longer recall lol. The ride cost us 200 THB and was paid in full when we reached our drop off point. As expected, even arriving early, there was already a huge crowd of buzzing tourists who had the same agenda as us.

Welp, on to the ticket booth then.

GRAND PALACE COMPLEX

“The Grand Palace complex was established in 1782 and it consists of not only the royal residences and throne halls, but also a number of government offices as well as the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It covers an area of 218,000 square meters and is surrounded by four walls, 1900 meters in length.”, as said in the pamphlet guide.

Our entrance ticket worth 500 Baht.

View of "Wat Phra Kaew" from the outside of its protective walls.

Even before we went to Thailand, the three of us were already aware that most of the places we were going to visit were temples or structures that are highly respected and revered by the locals; thus it was advised that we wore decent clothing. Alas, Denise sleeveless top was deemed unacceptable by the palace guard (even with a shawl as cover), so she was forced to buy a shirt to wear instead so we could proceed inside, LOLOLOLOL.

Denise in her new instant-souvenir-shirt. So tourist-y~ XD

Thotsakhirithon, Demonic guards (or yakshas) at the temple entrance

From left to right: Phra Sri Rattana Chedi, Phra Mondop and Prasat Phra Dhepbidorn (The Royal Pantheon)

A closer look of the buildings... sort of.

Entrance to Phra Mondop, with guardians

Trying to be spiderman, eh birdie? ;P

A mini-replica of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Woot! Tourist mode! :3

Even from afar, the emblem of the Chakri dynasty (three-bladed sword in a sharpened disc) on the door is still visible.

The Chakri Maha Prasat hall

BOAT RIDE TO NOWHERE

After we finished our sweaty stroll inside the palace, we left the premises to continue to our next destination. Seeing as we had no idea how to get there, we stopped and asked for directions.

Which led to one of the worst decisions we have ever done in our stay in this country.

The person we’ve asked directions from insisted that we take a boat ride around the city, so as to experience a better feel and understanding of their city and culture. While pointing to the map we held with a guiding finger, he further explained that riding a boat through the river would take us to all the hot spots Bangkok had to offer, and at the same time recommending a particular boat service that offered a much cheaper price compared to the usual fee being charged. Being the gullible tourists that we were, we agreed to such stupidity and paid 900 THB each for this “chance of the lifetime”...

...Only to see nothing of importance, get bored and sleepy, and waste a large sum of money that we could have used for buying souvenirs or food.

UGGGHHHHHHH.

The expensive boat ride around the city. Ngiti nalang mga bes, huhu

To those who plan on having a boat ride around the city, I advice against it because it’s a total waste of time and money. (’ -_-)>

When that long ordeal was over, we were dropped off near the souvenir shacks by the docks, just a few blocks away from Wat Pho. But because it was already lunch time and the 3 of us were utterly famished, we took a short break and ate affordable lunch from the local street vendors.

Reminds me of the karinderyas back in the Philippines. ;3

My lunch: beef noodle soup for 50 THB. :P

WAT ARUN

We were suppose to go here as indicated in the itinerary, but sadly, the place was undergoing renovation and restoration at the time, so we opted to skip this part.

WAT PHO

For our next (and last; huhu, wat arun whyyyy) destination of the day, we went to Wat Pho, the oldest and largest Buddhist temple in Bangkok where the famous Reclining Buddha resides. It houses the largest collection of Buddha images in the country as well.

Wat Pho is also the oldest learning center in Bangkok. It is also the birthplace of traditional Thai massage.

Wat Pho entrance ticket for 100 Baht, with complimentary bottle of water.

The side entrance.

“Welcome to Wat Pho”

The Bell Tower.

For those who are directionally challenged... like me. >.>

Koi party~

Denise strikes again, lol! Better cover those arms before going inside the temple mah dear~

The Reclining Buddha in Viraha Hall

Measuring 46 meters long nad 15 meters high, this golden statue is something first-time visitors must see in Bangkok.

Look at that enormous golden beauty...

Reclining Buddha in a different angle.

Detailed paintings that depict their history and culture adorned its walls.

Temple Grounds

Aside from its main highlight, the vicinity inside is worth exploring. Similar to the grand palace complex, intricate architectural designs and several golden buddha statues lined up together can be seen here.

Colorful Chedis that are said to contain the ashes of the members of the Thai royal family. Four of these are dedicated to the previous kings of Chakri dynasty.

A Golden Buddha altar inside Phra Ubosot.

Phra Prang (tower) at the corner inside Phra Rabiang

A line of golden Buddha images in the cloister.

Entrance of Phra Mondob.

When it was beginning to get dark and the feeling of our legs were turning into hard lead from all that walking, we “threw in the white towel” and headed back to our hotel to take a short rest before dinner.

NIGHT STROLL AT KHAO SAN ROAD

When night came, we took a 100 THB taxi ride from our hotel to Khao San Road, a famous district where backpackers and tourists alike go to eat food and buy souvenirs.

One of Denise’s goals in Thailand was to eat their famous ‘Pad Thai’. Luckily, there was this pretty lady who was cooking such a dish (in such high speed and precision!) so we ordered 3 servings from her for 50 THB each.

The Pad Thai queen in her element.

There weren’t any tables and chairs available for eating like the ones we were accustomed to see at food courts, so we had no choice but to take a table reserved to a particular restaurant. Of course, the waiter (who looked rather annoyed at us) spotted us and asked (or demanded? can’t remember) if we were going to buy anything, so we bought a bottle of water for 29 THB so he wouldn’t have to kick us out. Hahaha, business is business after all. Wish I could have seen him do that to the other foreigners taking advantage of their tables. ;P

Aside from our dinner, I also bought a pomegranate juice for 40 THB and a coconut ice cream worth 20 THB for dessert.

Coconut ice cream with coco crunch and chocolate syrup on top. XD

Not one to miss such an opportunity when a horde of clothes are being sold everywhere from left to right, I browsed through every booth on the street and was rewarded from the search with a sleeveless cat-printed shirt, which I bought for 100THB.

Vintage style by Indy - Recession Over!

We also decided to get a Thai massage too, to feel the authentic experience first hand. Therefore we paid 150 THB each and got on top of the mattresses...

...only to be brutally tenderized by these Thai masseurs who didn't know the meaning of pain. DX

To those of you who are not aware of what a Thai massage is, here's a perfect description of it from Wikipedia:

"Traditional Thai massage uses no oils or lotions. The recipient remains clothed during a treatment. There is constant body contact between the giver and receiver, but rather than rubbing on muscles, the body is compressed, pulled, stretched and rocked."

How I wish I 'd have known this piece of info before subjecting my poor body to torture, lol. Oh, don't get me wrong, the massage did indeed healed whatever tension or stress my muscles were subjected into, but the process of getting there was total SUFFERING.

I literally felt like a pretzel dough being kneaded, stretched, and pounded by a brutal patisserie, lol. At first I was anxious because I've never had a massage before. And since the one in charge of me was male, I had reservations being touched on my body.

Well, My reservations couldn't have been any more wrong.

Such concerns were useless and soon disappeared because there was nothing sexual about it at all (bless their professionalism and shame on my dubious heart) . It was just pure... pain, so intense, that when the masseur asked if it was painful, I was utterly speechless. Arlyn, who was beside me, was already pounding her pillows, and not out of happiness ROFL.

That massage session made me realize that it was possible to crack bones in some parts of my body which I never knew were possible. It was a totally eye-opening experience. >.<

After that ordeal, I've never felt so cheated by those posters of relaxed females who seem to be feeling good when having Thai massage. A piece of advice: don't be fooled by them. Hmph!

Anyway, since it was getting late and had ran out of things to do, not to mention having our bodies turned to jell-o from the berserker massage (lol, get it?), we agreed to go back to the hotel (via 67THB worth of taxi fair) to get a good night's rest.

DAY 2

AYUTTHAYA

For our second day itinerary in Bangkok, we were suppose to go to Ayutthaya. We even rode 2 trains to get to the train terminal for it.

Instead of cards, one of their train lines use a token that has a built-in chip for scanning. So neat! XP

Unfortunately however, there was an issue in our schedule, since we didn't take into account the timetable of the train that would take us to the aforementioned UNESCO heritage site.

Because we didn't want to push it and ending up messing our itinerary, we decided to forego with Ayutthaya and just go shopping. Denise mentioned that the ruins were similar to Cambodia's Angkor Wat so it wouldn't be a total loss.

MBK CENTER

Having enough free time due to the cancellation of our Ayutthaya plan, we took a taxi to MBK Center, one of the famous shopping malls in Bangkok for its variety of goods being sold at an affordable price.

Of course, with that being said, we bought our souvenirs here. Here's a list of some of the stuff I bought:

Magnets for 100 THB

Barquillos snack for 10 THB

Tamarind for 250 THB

2 Chapter clothes and woodprints for 950 THB

Olive green deer shirt (for Ian) for 200 THB

Cute cat shirt in mint green for 200 THB

One out of the two lovely wood prints that I bought for myself. The other one, I gave to Ian. <3

Unfortunately, some of the items I intended to buy were a bit pricier compared to the ones I saw near the shops at Wat Pho. So I asked Arlyn and Denise if we could return (after dropping our stuff in the hotel first), and have lunch there in the process. They were kind enough to comply to my selfish request. <3

And as usual, here’s the list of what I bought in that place:

bundle magnets for 200 THB

patterned pouch for 100 THB

mini statue for 100 THB

artwork for 250 THB

fan hat for 100 THB

Going to another country has always been a major dream of mine since I'm the only one in my family who haven't set foot yet on a foreign soil. So to commemorate such a big leap forward in my personal goals, I've decided to buy myself a piece of the country I've been to, as a remembrance of the memory.

And keychains and magnets were out of the question.

So I bought the one thing that would represent the country's culture, and at the same time cater to one of the hobbies that I love: art.

Yes, I bought artworks. And here's one that I hand-picked: :3

Artwork of buddha.

When we were satisfied with the items we've purchased for ourselves and for our loved ones, we walked a bit to the area where food vendors and kiosks were stationed together. Imitating the other tourists there, we bought our food (mine cost around 110 THB) ala-"turo-turo" style. We then looked for a shaded corner with seats and ate happily while watching foreigners pass by.

Can you spot where I am in this pic? :P

For our dessert, we bought sticky rice (50 THB), which was recommended to Denise by one of her acquaintances. It's basically almost like suman with ripe mango, topped with condensada.

Totally yum!

Once we were finished with our affairs, we headed back to our hotel to make our preparations for our trip to Cambodia the following day. While I was organizing my stuff, I realized something dreadful that demanded immediate attention and solution: I ran out of Thai money.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~

Due to my souvenir-hunt splurging (and also, curse you damn boat ride!), I mismanaged my funds and therefore didn't have enough money to buy transpo tickets for our trip the following day. Echoing my despair to my 2 friends (who were also low on money), we went back to MBK Center to exchange dollar to baht.

Since we wanted to save money and the mall was a walking distance from our hotel, we did just that: walk. The distance was similar to going to Trinoma mall from my condo.

I thought my problems were solved once we got to the mall, but the universe had its own way of amusing itself.

And making me suffer in the process.

We went to 3 money exchange places, but it was either they ran out of money or they were already closed. We literally went to every nook and crany of the shopping center to exchange money but it was the same thing.

Running out of time and feeling quite desperate, I was at the tipping point of my panic when we arrived at our final money exchange booth. Good news was, they were still open. Bad news was...

Well...

Uh.. I’ve already forgotten the actual details of it, so LOL.

But from what I can remember, it involved using our local money to exchange it to baht. Haha. Talk about repressing a bad memory hahahaha.

So when the whole shenanigans was finally done, we walked back to our hotel, but not before stopping by at 7 Eleven first to buy cheap dinner (Got smoked salmon onigiri for 28 THB) and some toothpaste that tasted salty when we got to try it. It was weird, to be honest.

We ate at our room after we came back and enjoyed our last night at Bangkok, Thailand.

A final view of Bangkok from our hotel, before our departure to Cambodia.

#travel #personal #indochina #thailand #bangkok #wat pho #grand palace complex #mbk center #philippines

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