#we simply cannot shut up!!!!! IDC!!!!

[tcmbcy]

she  catches  his  eye  and  ali  can  see  the  realization  hit  him  like  it'd  hit  her  a  few  moments  ago.  eli  remembered  her  and  now  part  of  her  really  wishes  he  hadn't.  because  now  she  can't  escape,  she  can't  leave  unnoticed  and  she  was  more  than  sure  that  they  now  had  to  confront  this. ali  wasn't  sure  if  she  could  leave  though  --  it  was  like  she  was  frozen.  now  she  really  wished  she  came  with  someone,  her  best  friend  at  least  --  she  was  the  only  person  who  knew  what'd  happened  between  her  and  eli.  but  she  didn't  and  she  was  alone  and  now  the  world  felt  as  if  it  were  crashing  down  on  her. it  was  like  hours  had  passed  while  she  watched  him  kiss  his  girlfriend  on  the  cheek  and  send  her  out  of  here  --  a  smart  move  on  his  part.  it's  not  like  ali  would've  told  her  right  then  and  there,  she  would've  let  him  do  that  and  shoot  himself  in  his  own  foot.  the  blonde  was  petty,  sure,  but  he  fucked  up  --  he  lied,  not  her. letting  herself  be  pulled  off  to  the  side,  away  from  everyone  else  ali  can't  help  but  roll  her  eyes.  "god,  can't  a  girl  come  watch  a  hockey  game?"  there's  a  bite  in  her  words  as  she  says  them,  who  can  blame  her?  "you  didn't  have  to,  genius.  there's  only  one  eli  love  in  the  league  --  it  doesn't  take  a  rocket  scientist  to  figure  out  what  team  you're  on."  ali  tugs  her  arm  away  from  his  grasp  even  though  deep  down,  she  wanted  to  keep  it  there.  "seems  like  you  left  out  another  important  fucking  detail  too,"  a  finger  comes  up  to  prod  at  his  shoulder.  "you  have  a  girlfriend?  seriously?"

He's smiling. It's a rare thing to witness in public, as more often than not he keeps his face expressionless. His girlfriend has her arms wrapped around his neck, face close to his as she congratulates him on a good game. As he chats away with her and a nearby fan, he almost misses the sound of her voice.

He'd recognize it anywhere, despite only having heard it for a night. Ali. The girl he had gotten a little too tipsy with and had taken to bed, despite having a girlfriend. The woman he had told over and over again that he was in no relationship. Lies. He had fed her lies. And now she was here, watching him happily greet the blonde. At least he was consistent with his type.

Eli needs to get her out of there. He doesn't know Ali well enough to know what she would and wouldn't do. After handing Odette his keys, he tells her that he'll meet her at the car. That there were a few more things he had to do before he got out of there. She smiles, placing one more kiss on his cheek before exiting.

When he looks over, she's staring. After signing a few autographs, he slowly makes his way over to her, stomach now in knots. Fuck. He never thought he'd see her again. "What are you - why are you here?" His voice is low as he asks, grabbing her by the arm as he pulls her to the side and away from the crowd. "I didn't even tell you what team I played on."

[soopsiedaisies]

Hey!! Hey!!! Do you want to bake an easy snack?? Do you want something sweet and fruity, but not too sweet?? Boy have I got the thing for you

APPLEFLAPS

This is a treat that, as far as I know, is rather common in Belgium, The Netherlands, and some parts Germany. It’s one of the first baked goods that Dutch kids learn to make, shortly followed by peppernuts and apple pie and poundcake. It’s easy, only requires a couple of ingredients, and has quite a short baking time. You literally cannot go wrong with this I promise. Recipe under the cut

INGREDIENTS NEEDED:

Square puff pastry sheets, but round ones work as well. About 12cm by 12cm preferably (like 4 and half inches by 4 and a half inches). Each sheet will be one (1) pastry. If you get one massive sheet, cut it into smaller squares with like a pair of scissors. Idc I’m not your dad. 

Apples, for the filling. Ones you use for apple pie work best but any apples will do. Make sure you’ve got at least 4 large ones (you can eat the leftover filling by the spoonful) 

Lemon (or lime) juice, to prevent browning of the apples (and to prevent overwhelming sweetness, if the apples aren’t a bit sour themselves)

Sugar (to taste and for decoration) 

Ground cinnamon

An egg for the eggwash (if vegan or allergic to eggs or without eggs, water works as well)

Some lukewarm water

Optional: Vanilla sugar

Optional: (rum-)soaked raisins 

UTENSILS NEEDED

Baking sheet

Baking paper

Bowl (large enough for at least 4 cut-up apples)

Knife

Cutting board (covering my bases here) 

Spoon

Fork 

Lil brush for the eggwash

Your fingers

A fucking oven. 

To start

Preheat the oven to 175 Celcius, or about 350 Fahrenheit. If you got the kind of puff pastry that’s frozen, take that out to thaw a little bit. Line your baking sheet with baking paper. 

The filling:

Peel the apples. Cut them in half, then in quarters. Core them. Cut the quarters in half lengthwise, then gather a few together and cut these width wise: you want to end up with little triangles. The thickness of these triangles depends wholly on how chunky you want the filling to be. I usually go for about 5 millimetres, which means there’s still some chunk after baking. 

Throw the pieces in a bowl. Add a dash of lemon juice, maybe a bit more if the apples are really sweet and you don’t really like that. Throw in the (totally optional) raisins, add some sugar, and pound the bottom of the ground cinnamon jar. Mix with a spoon and give it a little taste. Not sweet enough? Add more sugar. Not cinnamon-y enough? Add more cinnamon. Is it too sweet, or too cinnamon-y? Don’t worry, if you’ve got another apple cut that one up and throw it in. Give it a taste. Still too sweet? Lemon juice. It’ll help. Not more apples? Just roll with it. It’ll taste great either way. 

You can heat the filling a little bit if you want, but it’s not necessary and will only result in extra dishes. 

Folding and stuff

Filling’s done, and puff pastry’s thawed? Great. Let’s get to filling and folding. 

The common shape of the appleflap is a triangle because we tend to use square puff pastry sheets. It doesn’t really matter what the shape ends up being, as long as it’s folded in half and forms a little pocket (you don’t want the filling to spill out a whole lot). 

What you do is grab one of the pastry sheets, put it down flat, and put a spoonful (a little less, a little more. It’s a bit of fiddling) in the middle of it. Avoid the edges. Then you use that jar of lukewarm water: using the brush or your fingers, wet one half of the edge of the pastry sheet. Then pinch the dry half and pull it a bit, folding it over. The filling shouldn’t burst out of the pocket or tear the dough: if it does only a little bit, it’s fine, but if it’s far too much simply peel the pocket back open and take some of the filling out. 

You’ll notice that when you press the wet edge to the dry edge, it’ll stick shut. Decorate/further secure the edge by crimping it with a fork. There. You’ve done it. That’s a fucking pastry. Carefully place it on the baking sheet, and just continue on until you’re out of pastry dough. 

(There will usually be some filling left. This is for you to eat, or for the kiddos you’re making it with) 

Finishing touches 

Stand before the overfull baking sheet and determine whether or not the pastries will touch as they bake. If they do, take some out. Two rounds of baking is also doable. It’s kind of like cookies. 

Brush the top of the pastries with the eggwash or water, then sprinkle some sugar on top. At this point you throw them into the preheated oven for about 25 minutes and just wait. Keep bit of an eye on them though, you don’t want them to burn. 

…and that’s it. That’s all there’s to it. They’re fantastic to eat when still warm, and they’re still fantastic when cold. The sugar melts and comes a bit caramel-y so the pastry is a bit tacky, yet the puff pastry itself is still fluffy and dry. The apple pie filling is just fruity goodness. Easy, fun. You can replace the apple filling with different fruits if you want (cherry and apricot is also brilliant). Enjoy!

[lilgoblinbitch]

when i read in the opening that danai wrote the episode i was shook, but i wasn’t expecting it to be THIS good! 🫠

like, the way she managed to capture michonne, to not only write the inner conflict she is going through, but to also to display it so well - oh my god. QUEEN the talent she has >>

the episode was peak, some call it boring but this is what i was looking for, rick and michonne having to find themselves again, to deal with their trauma and to reunite - we finally got into those deep feelings.

i also loved rick in that episode so, so much, his writing was perfect, their dynamic was just so good i can’t okay? 🥲

danai is undoubtedly a genuis when it comes to playwright, acting, and developing her own character. this woman is my favorite. favorite everything idc you name it. this episode was immaculate, words cannot simply describe how this episode made me feel. i mean the way she was able to perfectly capture michonne’s motherly-wife FEMALE RAGE while also making it 100% reasonable and 100% relatable to the audience. i felt every single one of her emotions; it was really an amazing experience. she captured the ‘fed-up middle-aged mother of two kids with a mentally lost military husband’ beautifully. danai straight up deserves an award. so the fuck does andrew lincoln. this show and the walking dead in general was carried by both michonne and rick in my opinion. the show was certainly not the same after they left. now that we have andy and danai together on this show, in which they are BOTH executive producers…. this is them spoiling us. i am so grateful for these two amazing himan beings.

also, i can’t believe people called this episode boring??? um…your head must have SEVERAL. screws loose. i don’t have time for a richonne hater’s bullshit. sit tf down and shut your damn mouth. go watch dead city if you think this is boring LMAO GOODBYE. because this episode ALONE captured everything that rick and michonne are — everything they went through, their chemistry, their relationship— the angst and the romance drips out from the screen and onto each of us viewers. i became so engrossed in this series because of the way it is written.

i digress. danai and andy are truly remarkable. this episode was my absolute favorite out of the series so far. i fully agree with you. thank you for sending me this because it gave me a reason to rant and spill my feelings and thoughts about my all time favorite tv couple (even though i do this every single day because my life revolves around them I CANT HELP IT).

[berrycake99]

*I got more than 10 followers so time for a corny ahh intro post*

well HELLo!

Here are some basics that I will pin for you to decide if going to Hell with me is worth it or nah. 👇

WHAT DO YOU POST?

Mostly memes tbh. I am very unserious. I have a lot of various interests but I draw a lot of Hazbin and the Vees shitposts here. If this will forever stay a HH blog depends, I think it prolly will since we got a lot more seasons to go and I can always make another account for different stuff!

PRONOUNS?

Any. All. Idc, you get to choose!

WHAT IF I'M A MINOR?

Don't give a shit. Personally, I think if you're under 13 you shouldn't use the Internet yet, but hey who am I to say. I do not believe that minors and adults cannot interact, especially since a lot of this fandom is either teens or adults no in-between. I am not a creep, so I do not "fear" interacting with a minor, or person of any age for that matter. I'on give a shit if you're 12 or 80, if you like my art, you are welcome to engage.

IS THE CONENT YOU POST SFW?

For the most part yes. As I said, I usually just shitpost funny stuff. Although, if I post some NSFW in the future I will tag it so please be sure to block these tags if you're younger or just uncomfy with those kinds of content: #nsfw #nsfw suggestive

To make it clear, I don't think I'll ever do 'hardcore' NSFW, so when I say NSFW it'll more likely be suggestive at most, but just in case, I'd like for anyone who's a minor to block both tags. If you don't do it and see sth you don't like, then don't blame me. I ain't your mamma, I can't make you do sth and I'm CERTANLY not gonna be responsible for you disregarding warnings.

DO YOU KNOW THAT VALENTINO IS PROBLEM-

Respectfully shut the f*ck up.

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW SOME OF MY STANCES ON RANDOM STUFF, HERE'S SOME RANDOM STUFF ABOUT RANDOM STUFF:

On Valentino's morals, On Alastor's sexuality

WHAT DO YOU WATCH?

Mostly cartoons and anime tbh. As I said, I am very unserious. As for the rest, I have like, 5 shows I've watched and 3 of them I rewatch every year again and again because I love them so much.

GAMES?

No. Not a gamer, sorry. The only game I play is some phone games like "Dancing Cats" which was made for neurodivirgent toddlers and 40+ year old mothers who finished Candy Crush. It is an extremly annoying game that makes everyone around me want to jump off a bridge if I play it without headphones and I love it so much. I also like puzzles!

DNI WHEN?

I honestly don't have a list, basically just don't be a cunt.

I tolerate a lot so I don't care as long as you're not dragging ppl just to be a hadur.

Remember kids, everyone can be a bitch! So let's try to be nice for a change ❤️

I WHEN?

You like Hazbin/cartoons and you're not being a cunt❤️

I follow a lot of different ppl and interact with different blogs, simply because my interests are all over the place lol. We do not have to be mutuals for me to love what you do! But also, I love all my mutuals thank you for keeping my faith in humanity 🫶

THANK YOU FOR ATTENTION 👇👇👇

Meme pics credits: 1. By me, 2. By @x1lema , 3. Og screenshot scene by @villainboygirl with some of my IQ 1000 spice added ✨

[headfullofpresley]

Elvis Presley Tag Game

Hi babies! I know there's already a few of these floating around, but I decided to make one as well because I love doing and reading these (so definitely tag me in yours~). Also, ignore me naming 300 songs for each question, I couldn't pick one 💀.

Questions are under the cut. 💗

When was the first time you heard of Elvis?

He's always been in my life because his music has always been played in my family (especially during Christmas lol), so I guess I kinda grew up with him.

What's your favorite era?

I love him in all era's tbh, but the 60s have a special place in my heart.

Favorite song(s) from the '50s?

Harbor Lights, How Do You Think I Feel, Anyplace Is Paradise, Don't Be Cruel, Wear My Ring Around Your Neck, Ain't That Loving You Baby, I Was The One, One-Sided Love Affair.

Favorite song(s) from the '60s?

Dirty, Dirty Feeling, Make Me Know It, Such A Night, Surrender, Reconsider Baby, Starting Today, (Such An) Easy Question, Witchcraft, Little Sister, Kiss Me Quick, True Love Travels On a Gravel Road, Suspicious Minds, Summer Kisses, Winter Tears.

Favorite song(s) from the '70s?

The Wonder of You, Patch It Up, We Can Make the Morning, Always on My Mind, If You Talk in Your Sleep, Moody Blue, Make The World Go Away, Snowbird, Never Been to Spain, I'll Never Fall in Love Again, Are You Sincere, This is Our Dance, Walk A Mile in My Shoes. I CAN'T JUST PICK ONE LMAO

All time favorite song(s) that you simply cannot skip?

How Do You Think I Feel, Starting Today, Moody Blue, I'll Never Fall in Love Again and Make The World Go Away.

Least favorite song?

Tutti Frutti, Ready Teddy and Milkcow Blues Boogie. don't hate me 👀

Favorite gospel song(s)?

Swing Down Sweet Chariot, How Great Thou Art, Crying in The Chapel, Bosom of Abraham and Lead Me, Guide Me.

Favorite country song(s)?

Snowbird, Whole Lot-ta Shakin' Goin' On, Funny How Time Slips Away, The Fool, Flaming Star, U.S. Male.

Favorite non-English song?

We'll Be Together (most of it is english but it still counts bc i love this song ☻), Wooden Heart and Santa Lucia.

A song(s) that makes you feel nostalgic?

Jailhouse Rock, Can't Help Falling in Love, Heartbreak Hotel, A Little Less Conversation, Are You Lonesome Tonight and Return to Sender - they remind me of my childhood sm.

A song(s) that makes you cry?

There's Always Me, I Need Somebody to Lean On and Unchained Melody.

A song(s) that makes you wanna dance?

Polk Salad Annie, The Love Machine, Vino, Dinero Y Amor, Bossa Nova Baby, Rock-A-Hula Baby, Return to Sender, Slicin' Sand, Happy Ending, Blue River, A Little Less Conversation.

Favorite song Elvis has covered?

SWEEEEET CAROLINE! 💃🏼

What's a modern song you wish you could hear Elvis cover?

Paper Doll by John Mayer - i want it, i need it! *slams table*. also, Roller Coaster by Danny Vera.

Do you prefer vinyl or CD?

I love both and I love the nostalgic feel of a vinyl, but when it comes to sound, I prefer CDs.

Favorite album?

From Elvis in Memphis, Love Letters from Elvis, From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee and Moody Blue.

Favorite movie soundtrack?

Blue Hawaii, King Creole, It Happened At The World's Fair and Fun in Acapulco.

Favorite live performance?

The Ed Sullivan performances, my god. But I'm also obsessed with the show from August 11, 1970 for That's The Way It Is.

A live performance you wish you were present at?

My ass would be front row at every show, idc.

Favorite jumpsuit(s)?

Adonis, Black Conquistador (IM OBSESSED I TELL YOU; OBSESSED!), Conchos, Royal Blue Fireworks, American Eagle, Pharao and Silver Phoenix. His two piece fits were also very *chef's kiss*.

LIKE HELLO????? TALENTED, BRILLIANT, INCREDIBLE, AMAZING, SHOW STOPPING, SPECTACULAR, NEVER THE SAME, TOTALLY UNIQUE, COMPLETELY NOT EVER BEEN DONE BEFORE!!!!

Favorite movie(s)?

Blue Hawaii, Fun in Acapulco, Flaming Star and It Happened at The World's Fair. Also Viva Las Vegas and King Creole and Loving You and I'm going to shut up now.

Least favorite movie(s)?

Harum Scarum, Stay Away Joe, Kissin' Cousins and The Trouble with Girls.

Favorite co-star?

Ann-Margret and Shelley Fabares.

Favorite documentary?

Elvis by the Presleys, That's The Way It Is, Elvis on Tour and Elvis: Return to Tupelo.

Favorite interview?

This one right here. I can listen to this man talk for hours and fell asleep to this many many times lol.

Favorite car?

The Purple Cadillac Eldorado is sexy af. And also the Stutz Blackhawk... loooord.. 🥵

Do you collect merch? If so, what's the one thing you hold most dear to your heart?

I spend too much money on this man (woops), but I'm obsessed with Elvis and the Birth of Rock and Roll which contains Alfred Wertheimer's amazing work. Andddd a collector's item of the Blue Hawaii soundtrack. 💙

Do you think you'll be a fan of Elvis for the rest of your life?

Yes yes yes. He's such a big and important part of my life, I can't imagine him not being in it anymore.

tagging some of my lovely mutuals: @woundmetender @eliseinmemphis @foreverdolly @septembersghost @mrpresley @marriedtopresley @elvispresleywife @ab4eva @elvisabutler @infatuatedharleys @steph-speaks @mooodyblue - if i missed anyone, sorry bbies!

[confessions-official]

my academic life keeps getting fucked up just by circumstances out of my control and the schools never HELP me. i swear they have personal beef with the concept of kinda okay things happening to me academically.

i was going to go to a private high school that was pretty much intended for neurodivergent kids and then that shut down. so i was like ok whatever let me go to a public school that i hate because when we got thte news that the school was closing, incoming freshman had already enrolled and so even if they got in to other private schools they couldn’t go, they didn’t help us with finding other schools or anything. and i went to the public school and it’s bad. i hate it. i have no friends my age because i’m noticeably neurodivergent and every time i have tried to initiate conversation with another teen it goes so so badly. but then the school announced that they were offering a philosophy class and i immediately signed up. i was really really excited for it, actually looking forward to next year. and then in may my entire life fell apart because my cat, who i love more than my own father, died and i knew it was going to happen but i still miss her. i’ve been trying to stop that from bleeding into my school life but last week i got an email from the school that was basically “we’re not doing philosophy anymore sorry. if we fucked up your college plans go to your counselor idc <3”.

and the solution to these problems is to take classes at a nearby community college. which i am trying to do. but the registration process is so fucking difficult. especially because i am. fucking stupid. i feel like my faith is being tested by god except i don’t believe in a god who can interfere in your life as much as they would be inferfering in mine. i also am hella depressed right now and i am on antidepressants but this month has been a challenge. if i could just not attend the next couple weeks that would be great. i simply cannot do it. i’m giving up on high school. i can’t do this and i can’t go to college either. i don’t want to. how am i a FRESHMAN, not taking any ap classes or anything, taking less classes than other ninth graders actually, and about to have a psychological breakdown because of school. i know it’s the autism but can i have a normal moment in my school or social life please. i know i have an amazing life and i can’t really complain about it but i feel like i’m too stupid for it. i really am not smart enough. and things keep getting in the way of me doing well academically. yes i am aware that this is the severe mental illness speaking but my 2024 has just been constant Ls so far i am so tired

 

[tapucocoas]

.

[sometimesanalice]

MARY!! 💚💚 You’re such a real one for this! Your commentary has me wheezing!!

More for you!

All except for Rooster, who can’t seem to look at you at all. -he feels so guilty i cannot. baby i get it but ITS NOT YOUR FAULT its not like you did it on purpose just go talk to her — that boy is having a whole existential CRISIS. He is full blown spiral! Bless him, it was an accident!

“Hey, book worm,” he grinned as he popped it into his mouth, “How’s my favorite girl doing?” -his favourite girl omg i might DIE alexa youre killing me if he ever called me his favourite girl i would just crumble to nothingness tbh- I WOULD SIMPLY CEASE TO EXIST! And that cheeky smirk of him as he chews that stolen bite of watermelon? Dead. I’d be RIP in the sand just pulling it over me like leave me here I’m done.

“That’s so sweet of you, Bob-” you’d started. “Yeah, so sweet-” Bradley grumbled under his breath.- PLEASE he is SO done all he wants is for her to rub some sun screen into his skin and shes such a minx i cannot. i want the sunscreen i want the sunscreen hello hello idc if you might die if you touch him darling go slather sunscreen on those broad shoulders!!!!!! i want this! i need this!- he is so grumpy and I am so amused by it! He’s totally stewing like “you’re MY favorite girl” he was fully planning on flexing for her like a precious little peacock. And she is so cheeky with that little book wiggle!

You’d just lobbed the ball to Javy before darting around Nat when a big, solid body collided with you. Hard. i mean. we all know that big, solid, hard body. dont we. we allllllllllllllllllllllllllll know it. - just look for the man who wants the earth to swallow him whole

“Woah, buddy, what are you doing?”-she has killed him omg. she has shot him in his tiny fragile heart and he is deceased. buddy omg i cant i know its an instinct i know its a reflex i know i know i know but PLEASE bradley cant handle this - not the “buddy”!! Miss Ma’am is so flustered and embarrassed by all the wrong kind of attention, she’s also out there fighting for her life. And you KNOW he just wanted to shrivel up into the sand when she hit him with that. Jealous precious boy.

And now you are and it’s nothing like you’ve imagined, because there isn’t anything sweet or swoon-worthy about how you ended up in them. You’re his duty, you’re not his desire. respectfully shut the fuck up. he's SO into you shut uppppppppp i get this i totally get this you have every reason to cry miss girl!!! but i swear to god bradley would carry you over the fucking threshold of your bedroom in a bridal dress if he could i will SCREAM— omg this why where you had me wheezing! He’s like first step: hospital, second step: matrimony. This pancakes are a proposal for marriage in their own right!

“And then you’ll kiss me?”

“And then I’ll kiss you,” he promises, offering you a crooked pinky finger. You beam and you wrap your own around his.—alexa oh my fucking god i NEED this kiss i NEED these two to kiss i will die!!! i will seriously die i need them to make out i need them to finally touch each other! theyve put it all out there, theyve finally found the situation and the courage to tell each other and to admit it and theyve done it with so much goddamn tension and i need RELIEF i need tension relief they need tension relief we all need tension relief!!!! alexa!!!!!!! i swear!!! this was perfection omg

Mary! Mary!!! I’m so thrilled you liked this one! Thank goodness they figured it out! There might be pancakes in the future! I’m not against revisiting them! We got to make sure they both come out of that hospital in one piece!

Bedside Manner

Summary: You were expecting the perfect summer afternoon with the Daggers, but when a game of dogfight football takes a turn for the worse, you’re left with a bleeding head and an aching heart. And it’s up to Bradley to show you his bedside manner.

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

Length: 8K

Warnings: A little angst, a little pining, and two idiots in love.

It’s a perfect summer afternoon. Well, almost.

The sun is high in the sky and the steady salt kissed ocean breeze keeps it from being too uncomfortably hot. The coolers are filled with beers and sodas and a few pink cans of rosé that Coyote had brought. And the beach blankets were littered with open half-eaten family sized bags of chips and cubes of bright pink watermelon and containers of various dips and ziplocs with sun warmed and mostly melted chocolate chip cookies.

“You guys, really, I’m fine,” you state as adamantly as you can given the circumstances.

Sure, you have Jake’s t-shirt pressed against your throbbing, bleeding head. Sure, you are a little afraid to put your full weight on your left ankle and already dreading the long walk back to your car.

But it’s fine, you’re fine. Everything is…peachy. Or it will be as soon as they all stop looking at you like you’re about to crumple to the ground like some 1920’s silent film starlet from on the silver screen.

Nat has that deep pinch between her sharp brown eyes. Jake’s lips are pressed together in a firm white line. The rest of the team stands hovering around you in a misshapen semicircle, all sandy and sweaty, and wearing the concern painted across their faces.

All except for Rooster, who can’t seem to look at you at all.

“Clearly, you’re not,” Phoenix says flatly, clearly unamused by your attempts to minimize the situation. And you wish that just this once she could have let this go and follow your lead. But then she wouldn’t be Natasha Trace.

Your best friend since middle school had always been the most capable and sharpest person in the room and you loved that about her.

Normally.

But not so much when her keen assessment of you keeps you from being able to slink away quietly without fuss. 

“No, seriously. It’s just a little scratch. It’s not a big deal.” It sounds feeble even to your own ears. Trying to hold back a wince when the way you shake your head makes starbursts bloom behind your eyes.

You could have dealt with the pounding in your head if it weren’t for the relentless burning of your ankle that was only making things worse. One or the other would have been easier to manage, but both vying for your attention as the pain pulses with every heartbeat was miserable.

The sun was too hot, the kids frolicking the ocean were too loud, the sunscreen on your skin felt too greasy. All you wanted was a shower and your bed and to forget this whole day even happened.

You look around the group trying to gauge how successful your efforts are, but it’s clear that no one seems to be buying your brand of poorly performed bullshit. You wanted to crawl into yourself like a hermit crab, protected by your own shell, as six pairs of eyes all looked on at you sympathetically, while the pretty brown ones you wanted to see the most were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses and trained down at the ground.

It was supposed to be a fun day.

You’d woken up that morning absolutely giddy about trading spreadsheets for sand and sunburns and sea salt tangled hair. Your cheery, new swimsuit already laid out and waiting for you from the night before.

There was something thrilling about hooky on a Friday with all of your favorite people that made you feel all kinds of young and free. Well, hooky for you. They’d been given the day off after a month of intensive training and testing of some new defensive software. They all deserved the break and you were more than happy to tag along.

You were always the good kid in school, never skipping, never missing a class. You’d felt like a rebellious teen as you crafted your ‘out of office’ email, a smug grin on your face like you were getting away with something. Even though you’d earned the right to use that PTO whichever way you wanted.

The anticipation of a snow day from your childhood school days had nothing on the intoxicating promise of a beach day on a golden summer Friday.

The team must have felt the same way too because the group chat the night before had been chaotically amusing. The excitement was palpable enough that you’d almost think you all lived in some landlocked state rather than San Diego, where it felt like all roads led to the beach whether you wanted them to or not.

Somewhere between the string of all capitalized sentences and exclamation points with a few well-chosen emojis scattered throughout, Natasha had managed to wrangle everyone in enough into sorting out who was responsible for bringing what. There wouldn’t be another veggie platter incident, not on her watch.

You’d felt bright and effervescent as you’d pulled into the parking lot, your eyes reflexively seeking out a blue Bronco that hadn’t arrived yet. With a beach chair over one shoulder and a beach bag over the other and a packed cooler bag in your hand, you’d made towards the multicolored sprawl of blankets and the striped peaks of the umbrellas, where you were met with the smiling faces of shiny happy people.

Some of the boys had rushed over to help you carry your things and added your offerings to the communal pile of snacks and sunscreen and bottles of water. It had been easy to fall into conversation with everyone as you set up your own little patch of paradise and shimmied out of your frayed cut-offs. Natasha had given you a wolf whistle and you’d laughed as you give her the finger.

And hour and a half later with an easy grin on his face, carrying a case of beer and two big Ziploc bags stuffed with what you learned later were homemade cookies balanced on top, was Rooster.

You’ve had plenty of beach days with them but every time you saw him in those damn denim shorts he always seemed determined to wear, regardless of how impractical they were, your mind still went a little fizzy as you took in just how well they clung to his thighs.

He’d taken the ribbing from his squad in stride as he unboxed the beers and added them to the collection already chilling in Bob’s bright yellow cooler. You were trying- and failing- to read your worn paperback book when he’d surprised you by plopping his things next to yours on your oversized towel and stole a chunk of juicy watermelon off of the plate balanced on your lap.

“Hey, book worm,” he grinned as he popped it into his mouth, “How’s my favorite girl doing?” That smile of his getting bigger when you rolled your eyes at him.

“Hi, Rooster,” you’d said looking at him from over the top of your sunglasses with an amused smirk.

And if your cheeks felt warm, it was from the sun and not the teasing tone of his raspy voice.

When he’d shrugged off his shirt to apply the sunscreen you’d brought with him in mind, the wink he’d shot you went straight to your head like champagne. The sun highlighting his impressive abs and sculpted shoulders didn’t help either as he took great efforts to cover his chest and stomach with the lotion. He had to be doing it on purpose, because he’d kept rubbing it in well past when the white hue faded. But who were you to complain? Melanoma was no joke.

“You wanna help me out?” he’d asked turning his back to you, looking over his shoulder. You’re pretty sure that he’d been flexing because he’d looked impossibly broad, every defined muscle standing out for eyes to map out and explore.

You’d been at war with yourself, because while your eager hands were desperate to touch him, you also knew that once you ran your hands along his solid frame that you’d never want to stop. That you wouldn’t be content until your fingertips had traced every inch of him.

You had been blessedly and devastatingly spared the choice.

“I got you, Rooster. My hands are already all sunscreen-y,” chimed in Bob, who had just finished rubbing his own freshly applied layer. “Wouldn’t want it to get on her book.”

You were only half relieved to be off the hook, while Bradley on the other hand was still looking at you expectantly, almost hopefully, still with the white and yellow bottle of sunscreen partly extended towards you.

“That’s so sweet of you, Bob-” you’d started.

“Yeah, so sweet-” Bradley grumbled under his breath.

“I appreciate you sparing my pages the sunscreen grease,” you’d said shooting Bob a smile, choosing to ignore Bradley’s comment completely. “Plus, your hands are bigger than mine. You’ll have him covered in no time.”  

Bradley looked between you and Bob before he passed the bottle to the other man, shaking his head a little in defeat. You’d giggled to yourself as you wiggled your book at an openly brooding Bradley, and then leaned back on your elbows to observe the way the attentive WSO made sure to carefully and thoroughly cover Bradley’s entire back.

Respectfully, of course.

Behind your sunglasses you’d admired all of Bradley’s bulk compared to Bob’s lithe grace. But in your defense, they were standing right in front of you and you’d already reread your book at least five times in the past, so it wasn’t nearly as interesting as the scene in front of you had been.

“You look awfully comfortable over there,” Rooster called out with a raised eyebrow.

“Just taking in the view,” you’d teased back.

“Yeah, I bet you are,” he huffed as Bob finished up, giving him a thanks, man before tossing you back the bottle of sunscreen. He’d nudged his sunglasses down his nose and pinned you with his gaze, “Let me know if you want me to get your back. My hands are just as capable as his.” Even in the high heat of summer, the way he’d looked at you sent chills running along your arms.

You felt the way his keen eyes traveled from your face, down the deep-v of your swimsuit and along the swells of your breasts, and down your legs to your freshly painted toes. His mouth had ticked up in the corner then left you reeling and your heart pounding away in your chest as he’d strut off to go join Fanboy and Coyote by the mountain of snacks.

And that was the thing about Bradley Bradshaw. You never knew if he was just flirt-y or flirt-ing.

You hadn’t had a crush in ages, but when Nat had introduced you to her team five months ago, the man with the sunkissed curls and surprisingly attractive mustache had immediately caught your eye.

And as you’d gotten to know him, it had only gotten worse.

Not only was he very nice to look at and could make you laugh until your sides ached, but he also he had depth about him in a way that most men your age didn’t. You liked talking to him and listening to his stories. You liked learning his perspective on things. You liked being around him.

He made you feel interesting and special and funny and seen. You’ve never felt as comfortable in your own skin as you did when you were around him.

Rooster would send you flirty winks, give you less than subtle once overs, and could flash you such devastating slow grins that they’d have you trying to catch the butterflies they released in your stomach for hours after you went home.

But he’s never made a move.

If only he wouldn’t play hide and seek with his true intentions.

You felt like you were still waiting on some small clue whether he was serious or not. You didn’t know if he was just having fun with you or if he was into you and it was more than just friendly banter. It would be so much easier if he’d straight up tell you one way or another.

Needless to say, you’d let Nat be the one to help you with your sunscreen a little bit later. The idea of Bradley’s big hands on you, gliding along your sun-warmed skin and under the crisscross straps of your swimsuit, was too much for your hummingbird heart.

The sun climbed higher into the sky as the butter yellow midmorning transformed into a Midas-touched golden afternoon.

The squad had been able to reserve a fire pit and the plan had been to stay until the sunset. An endless summer day stretching out before them like a cat. They had nothing but time.

Clusters of people came together and split apart like a kaleidoscope as some went to take a dip in the ocean or raid the cooler and snack spread or go for a walk along the shore. Changing and shifting with the direction of the wind, going where the mood took them.

And for a peaceful moment, it had been you with your book and a napping Bradley sprawled out next to you on your towel with his arm flung over his eyes. Close enough that you could feel his warmth, almost but not quite touching. The sound of his soft breaths and the waves their own kind of lullaby as you contentedly read your book, turning your pages quietly to not disturb the man next to you, as the droplets of the Pacific dried on your skin.  

You still don’t know how you got roped into playing a round of dogfight football with the Navy’s best and brightest. You were more of a corn hole or ladder toss kind of girl, but Coyote had all but thrown you over his shoulder and dragged you out before you’d agreed to participate, conceding your defeat.

You were on a team with Hangman, Coyote, Fanboy against Nat, Rooster, Payback, and Bob. A few plays in and you had been getting the hang of it. They’d all been making sure to take care to go easy on you even in the chaos of two teams playing offensively and defensively at the same time. You were more than a little out of breath, but you were having fun.

Before the next snap, Mickey gave the most impassioned pep talk you’d ever heard, “Fuck luck, we don’t need luck. We gotta fucking win.” You had been about to laugh, but then you’d seen the looks on Jake and Javy’s faces and decided against it. Curious about the other team, you’d glanced over only to see Rooster looking back at you.

The calls had been made, the blur of plays in motion as people whirled and dodged and sprinted.

You’d just lobbed the ball to Javy before darting around Nat when a big, solid body collided with you. Hard. You’d felt the twinge of your ankle twisting in the sand right before the force sent you flying in the opposite direction you’d been headed.

The impact had been jarring. The air knocked from your lungs.

Where you should have been met with a mouthful of gritty sand, instead your head had connected with the rough surface of a partially buried rock. The low, thick thud reverberating throughout your whole body.

You’d been so stunned that you didn’t even register you were even on the ground until you heard the chorus of oh fucks and holy shits and goddamns and jesus christs over the ringing in your ears.

The game coming to an immediate and conclusive end.

For how many empty bottles and cans were sitting collected in a trash bag off to the side of your beach set up, they had been surprisingly quick to act as you blinked blankly, trying to clear the spots from your vision.

It was a silent ballet of efficiency as they instinctively fell into their roles, much like you imagined they did the sky. Everyone stepping up and then stepping back as they did their part, like the ebb and flow of waves.

Nat had carefully poured some fresh water from a bottle on your face to remove the sand that clung to the sweat and sunscreen on your skin. Then Jake had wordlessly passed her his clean spare shirt he’d jogged of to get to help stop the bleeding after Javy checked on your pupils to make sure they were the same size. While Bob stood off to the side holding your warped sunglasses in his hands, as if he was hopeful they could still be salvaged. Mickey and Reuben had been waiting in the wings giving you space, ready to help if they were needed, but not wanting to not crowd in.

And from the corner of your eye, you’d caught Rooster standing a couple feet away with his hands in his hair looking absolutely wrecked.

“Bradley?” you’d tried, even though his name stuck to your teeth. But he’d just shook his head at you before turning away slightly, like he couldn’t look at you, which made your heart sting as well.

They only allowed you to move to sit up after they were content with the answer to their questions- What day is it? Friday. Where are you? San Diego. What else hurts? My ankle and my pride.

It wasn’t until someone hauled you up from underneath your armpits that the throbbing and stinging and aching settled over you. The pain seeping and spreading through muscle and bone like an inky oil spill.

It’s still an almost perfect summer afternoon except for the fact you hate everything about this.

You hate the way they’re gathered around you with too many pairs of assessing eyes pinned on you. You hate that you’re the reason the game of dogfight football came to a definitive and abrupt end. You hate that you’re the reason their carefree and fun afternoon off has turned into this.

There’s a pressure building behind your eyes, the hot tears of hurt and frustration and embarrassment are clamoring to be released. You have to bite your lower lip to keep it from trembling.

And it doesn’t help that you’re the type who’d rather lick your wounds in peace.

You just need to get back to your car and you can figure things out on your own from there. You just need a moment to yourself.

As you open your mouth to argue your case again, Jake puts his hand up and stops you before you’ve even had a chance to start, “I hate to break it to you, sugar, but you’re not fooling any of us.” He says it gently, but gives you a pointed look at the way you’re leaning heavily on your right leg to keep the pressure off of your left ankle.

“That head wound is not a little scratch. Just like your ankle isn’t just a little puffy, when it’s twice the size it should be. You need to go to the Emergency Room,” Nat says, final and resolute. A lifetime of friendship has taught you not to argue when she has that look in her eyes, the one that says try me, I dare you.

They all talk over you as they figure out who is the most sober of the group after your suggestion to call yourself an Uber is immediately shot down. Drinks are being counted on fingers, and memories are searched to make sure every sip and bottle and can is accounted for.

Your eyes drift over to the man who is still actively avoiding looking at you, even as he talks to everyone else on the team. You aren’t paying too close attention to what he is saying, but you can hear the short, clipped staccato of his words.

Bradley’s shoulders are tinged a little pink even though you know for a fact that you had purposely passed him the 65 SPF. His eyes are hidden behind his dark green tinted sunglasses, but you don’t need to see them when you can read his body language better than any book.

His arms are crossed firmly over his chest, the tendons in his forearms flexing and shifting, like he is squeezing and releasing his fists from where they’re tucked under his biceps. Everything in his body looks coiled tight and strained, so at odds with the easy going and loose-limbed man you know him to be.

You don’t realize just how much you’ve zoned out until Natasha has to say your name a couple time before you pull your gaze away from Bradley and back to her.

“Ok, it’s settled,” Nat informs you, “Rooster’s going to take you.” You barely nod your head in acknowledgement when she tells you, because it feels like you’ve been punched in the stomach now too.

“It’s the least he can do,” Jake drawls.

“That’s not fair-” you start, defensively.

“Fuck off, Bagman-” Rooster snaps.

The rage in his voice shocks you, you’ve never heard that much heat from him before. There’s none of the teasing tone that usually underscores their banter. Jake puts both of his hands up placatingly like my bad, folks and Javy just shakes his head and sighs.

And this time when you look at Bradley, he is finally looking back at you with a deep furrow in his brow. His jaw is clenched tight, that muscle ticking and jumping, as he takes in the way you have Jake’s t-shirt pressed against your forehead.

Not exactly the way you’d hoped he’d be looking at you when you put on your new blue and white striped swimsuit this morning.

The one you’d bought because you wanted to make him look.

Just not like this.

With everything sorted the rest of the team trickles away a smattering of take cares and get better soons and let us know if you need anythings. But not before Mickey hands Rooster his stuff and passes Nat your bag and sandals. He gives you the gentlest of squeezes on your shoulder before he leaves to join everyone else back on little part of the beach you all had claimed before things went to shit.

Your group of eight now downsized to a trio.

Bradley is quick to roughly pull on his tank and shirt, and Nat fishes out your car keys from your bag as she waits for him to slip his shoes on. When he’s ready she passes it to him and he silently slides it over his arm.

Nat bends down to help gingerly glide your feet into your sandals, “I’ll grab the rest your things and drop them off at your place and then one of the boys will drop off your car later. We’ve got it all covered, ok?”

“Thanks, Nat,” you say quietly, trying to hold back a wince as she slips the left one on, your ankle pulsing in tempo with your heartbeat.

“Best friends don’t say thank you, they just do,” she says matter-of-factly as she stands. It’s the same thing you’d told her after you’d dumped a carton of strawberry milk on Carly Radke for outing Natasha your freshman year in high school. It was only time you’d ever gotten detention, but it had been worth it.

“They just do,” you repeat with a small smile.

You’re so grateful that your friendship with her is one that has spanned years. That you’ve been able seen one another grow and change and come into their own, but that you haven’t outgrown each other. She’s the person you want by your side and having your back. There is no one quite like Natasha Trace.

She turns to Bradley and you watch him stand a little taller under her sharp eyes, your straw tote still dangling from his forearm.

“You good?” Nat asks him with a look in her eye that you can’t place. And you’re reminded that even though she’s your best friend, that he has also earned a spot as one of her closest friends. Their relationship built over years and experiences that you could never fully understand. Different, but just as deep.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got her. I’ll take care of her,” Rooster promises with a stiff nod, as he gives her his word. It might have made your heart beat a little faster if you didn’t feel like such a burden. That it’s simply a twist of fate and three less drinks than everyone else for the reason that he’s the one to look after you. That he’s the one stuck with you.

“I know you will,” she says softer now, patting his shoulder, “Keep me posted.” Nat presses a kiss to your cheek and gives you an encouraging smile then heads off to go rejoin everyone else.

You watch her go with longing. The cheerful beach set up with its colorful blankets and umbrellas looks more like a desert mirage now. The sweet coconut scented potential of what the day could have been now forever out of reach.

And then it’s just you and Bradley and the sound of the waves and cries of seagulls.

The two of you silent and motionless.

You feel one wrong move and the fragile attempt of the stiff upper lip you’ve cocooned yourself in will crack open and all the soft parts of you will seep out into the sand beneath your feet.

His expression is shuttered closed as he bends a bit like he is going to pick you up.

“Woah, buddy, what are you doing?” You’re squinting into the sun as you look at him. You’d step into his shadow to block it, since you’re now in need of a new pair of sunglasses, but that would mean moving to the left which isn’t an option with your ankle.

“Buddy,” he grunts under his breath, slipping off his sunglasses and carefully putting them on your face, being mindful of stinging scrapes and wad of soft cotton you’re holding to your head. “They’re definitely going to have to run concussion protocol on you,” he mutters more to himself than to you, “I’m taking you to the Bronco and then we’re going the ER, remember?”

“Yeah, I know, Rooster,” you grit out, even rolling your eyes hurts, “But I don’t need you to carry me.”

Everything about this was excruciating and embarrassing enough without him being the Clark Gable to your Vivian Leigh. Maybe you could lean on him and hop over to his car? Like a six-foot-one pair of crutches with good hair.

“Take a step without wincing and I’ll think about it,” he says firmly, pointedly calling your bluff. There’s an expectant look of go on then, whenever you’re ready on his face. Because he knows he’s right, and you do too.

You don’t even bother to make a move, but the way your lower lips wobbles speaks volumes.

“That’s what I thought,” he says quietly, almost like pains him to be right.

He bends a little to hook his arms around your knees and back to lift you up, and this time you let him. Your free arm automatically wrapping around the back of his neck. And he starts off towards the winking windshields of the parking lot.

You’ve thought about what it would be like to be wrapped up in Bradley’s arms, how good it would feel to be pressed closed against him. And now you are and it’s nothing like you’ve imagined, because there isn’t anything sweet or swoon-worthy about how you ended up in them. You’re his duty, you’re not his desire.

All your sandcastle hopes have been washed away by the tide.

You’re so frustrated. You’re frustrated by the day, by yourself, by him.

This time you can’t blink back the tears that well up in your eyes. They flood through your tear ducts carving hot trails down your sun-tinged cheeks.

You want the Bradley from earlier. 

The one who stole your watermelon with warmth in his eyes.

The one who dozed next to you in the sun like a cat, his features soft free of the tension he now holds in his shoulders.

You want your Bradley.

The one who’d whispered cheeky comments in your ear whenever the team got into lighthearted tequila fueled arguments about things like whether a hot dog was a sandwich.

The one who’d always go up to the bar with you on busy nights at the Hard Deck and make sure you didn’t get bumped into on the way back to your friends with your freshly refilled drinks.

You’re aching, aching. Everywhere.

For a brief moment, as you swipe at your tears, you’re happy for the throbbing in your head and ankle, so that way you don’t have to think about the stinging in your heart.

“I know, I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I know you’re hurting,” Rooster says gentle and low as you sniffle, but you can hear the thickness of the words in his throat. The term of endearment is the sweetest of nothings, making your tears come faster. Where it should ease the heartache, all it does is make you angry at yourself for giving your emotions away. “We’re almost to the Bronco. It’s ok, we’re gonna get you taken care of, I promise.”

We.

You wanted that with him.

You want to press both of your hands to his cheeks to make him look you in the eyes to ask him is it going to be you and me together?  You’ve been a fool for love before, but you didn’t know if could take another hit-and-run with your heart.

The salt of your tears makes your cheeks feel tight and itchy as the summer breeze dries them on your skin.

Bradley carries you like you weigh nothing, but cradles you like you’re the most precious things he’s ever held. He’s mindful of any dips in the sand and gives wide berth around the college kids playing volleyball close to the entry back to the parking lot.

When he reaches the Bronco, he sets you down gently, making sure both of your feet are planted on the asphalt before letting go of you to unlock his car. He tells you to wait a moment when you move to open the passenger side door.

“I never know when I might get called up for an emergency deployment, so I like to have some extra clothes just in case,” he explains as he digs around in the backseat, pulling out a pair of gray athletic shorts.

“Oh.” And you realize you’re still just clad in your striped swimsuit. “Thank you for sparing me from the hospital germs,” you say lightly, an attempt at a joke to break the ice. One that doesn’t land, since instead of cracking a grin he just presses his lips together in a firm line and nods.

Bradley crouches low in front of you and you put a hand on his shoulder for balance as you lean against the Bronco, still trying to keep as much pressure off your left ankle as possible as you step into them. He’s looking up at you and even through his sunglasses perched on your nose, you swear his brown eyes get a shade darker as he eases the shorts up your legs. You’re touched by the effort as he ties the strings in a lopsided bow, even if things are feeling tense between the two of you.

“Think this’ll be easier,” he mumbles shrugging off his light blue button up. You’ve always liked this one, with its soft pastel pink and minty green watercolor prints of net fishermen and hula girls and palm trees.

He holds it open for you, helping you thread your arm through it, and then takes over holding Jake’s now ruined shirt to your head so that you can get your other arm past the sleeve. It smells like him, citrus and amber. Your fingers brush against each other when you reclaim the makeshift bandage, and he adjusts his shirt so that it hangs over your shoulders just right.

It’s an awkward kind silent as Rooster helps lift you into the Bronco with his strong hands around your hips. He is all smooth efficiency as he buckles you in with a click. You pass him back his sunglasses the same moment he hands you your tote bag, and it almost feels like a hostage exchange.

He says nothing as he hauls himself into the driver’s side. The car rumbles to life when he turns the key in the ignition and a cheery song from the 80’s station on the radio comes on. Bradley quick to turn the volume down low. His thumb brushing your shoulder as he sets his hand on the back of your seat to look behind him as he carefully backs out of the spot.

It’s never felt this strained with him before.

It’s so painfully obvious that the two of you are walking on eggshells around each other. You can almost feel the wall that’s gone up around him. The white noise of the radio drowned out by the hum of the road as he drives in near silence.

Your day has been most effectively ruined by a chunk of sedimentary rock, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still recoup what’s left of it.

He could still have the perfect summer afternoon.

He could still go back to your friends and their perfect beach set up and laugh with them as Coyote keeps accidentally setting marshmallows on fire. He could still catch the bold oranges and soft pinks of the sunset with all the satisfied contentment he deserved to experience.

“You can leave me and go back, you know. I’ll be ok if you just want drop me off and then head back to the beach,” you say looking down at your fingers as you trace the stitching of his leather seats.

When he doesn’t answer right away, you glance over at him. The vein in his neck is standing out boldly against the column of his throat.

“Do I seem like the kind of guy who would leave someone at the ER alone?” he asks, his voice rougher than sandpaper.

“No. No, of course not,” you say emphatically, “That’s why I’m giving you permission.”

“Permission?” he scoffs with a shake of his head.

“Yes, permission,” you say, clipped.

You’re giving him an out, why doesn’t he get that?

He heaves a big sigh and grunts. “Is it… Would you rather have Bob- with his big hands- here instead?” Bradley asks, frustration leaking out around the edges of his words.

“Bob with his big hands?” you repeat baffled, “What does Bob have to do with anything about this?”

“That’s what you said earlier, sweetheart. I’m just citing the source. Or I can call Phoenix? Or…” he pauses glancing at the t-shirt pressed to your head, “Or even Seresin. Once we get you checked in I can call any of them an Uber or something, and they can be there with you, if you don’t want me.”

“No, Rooster, I don’t want anyone else.” You wince at the implication and hope it doesn’t read into it further than the current situation to two of you are wading through like quick sand.

“Ok, good,” he grumbles.

“Great,” you lob back.

His hand tightens on the steering wheel, the knuckles turning white, “Then where is this even coming from?” The action makes his thick forearm flex in this most delicious of ways that you’d appreciate more if you didn’t feel the anger simmering low in your stomach.

“It’s pretty damn clear that you’d rather be back there, Rooster. Or literally anywhere else right now.” You flip down the sun visor with more force than it deserves, regretting that you gave him his sunglasses back when the bright California sun in your eyes turns your headache into a full-blown migraine.

“Of course, I’d rather be anywhere else!” he says hotly, tossing his sunglasses back in your lap, “Do you think I like that you’re hurt and that we’re on our way to the hospital?” You shove them on your face with an angry huff.

A car speeds by blaring their horn as they pass by.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fuck off,” he grunts but speed of the Bronco doesn’t change, “Asshole.”

Bradley’s driving five miles under the posted limit, and you know for a fact he religiously drives at least ten miles over. And his turns have been smoother than butter, as if he is trying not to jostle you anymore than you’d already been today.

You are so tired of this hot and cold thing that he’s doing. His words and his deeds weren’t going hand in hand. He keeps giving you the cold shoulder, but is also so in tune with your every movement and need.

Gingerly, you angle yourself in your seat to look at him better, resting your tired left arm on the back of your seat and taking in his strong profile.

“Why are you being like this?” you demand, waving your free hand in a vaguely in his general direction.

“Like what? I’m not being like anything,” he retorts, making the same vague hand gesture as you did a moment earlier.

And oh, if that doesn’t fill your chest with hot indignation. That low simmering anger has turned into a full roiling boil as you shift in your seat trying to get your ankle in a position where it doesn’t hurt.

“Seriously, Rooster? I can feel tension rolling off of you in waves. You’ve been like this since everything turned to complete shit on the beach. I didn’t mean to ruin your day, I’m just trying to figure out how to make things better,” you bite out unable to keep things bottled up anymore.

He sucks in a sharp breath, “Are you kidding me right now? You think you ruined my day?” He glances from the road to you and back again, his brown eyes wide and searching.

“Yes?” Or so you’d thought until you’d seen the shock written all over his face, but now you weren’t so sure. It’s like you’ve dumped ice water on him instead of simply calling him out. “I feel like you’re taking it out on me and I don’t know why.”

“Jesus Christ,” Rooster swears under his breath, shaking his head. “I’m so damn sorry, sweetheart. I’m mad at myself, because I ruined your day.  I should have been more careful, I should have been looking out for you. It’s not like you’re hard to miss in that swimsuit.” Your cheeks heat up at the comment, but you choose to ignore it.

Misery drips from his words like spilled ink off a page. You knew he was upset, but you didn’t realize he was upset about that. That he’s shouldering this fluke of fate as if it is his burden to bear. Some of the anger you’ve been feeling leaves your body like the tide washing out back out to sea. You’re still upset at him for how he has been acting up until this point, but you’re not mad at him about that.

“Bradley, no. It was an accident.”

“Yeah, an accident I’m responsible for,” he says hoarsely, rubbing roughly at his forehead. “God, I can still hear the sound it made when you hit that rock and it makes me feel sick. I would give anything to undo that moment. I need you to know that.”

He is being so hard on himself and your heart squeezes, this time in sympathy rather than hurt. He didn’t place that rock in the sand, the both of you were victims of circumstance.

“It could have happened to anyone. It could have been anyone,” you press delicately, trying to get him to hear you, shifting in your seat again still uncomfortable.

The sunshine bounces off of his slumped shoulders as he sighs raggedly.

“But it happened to you and it’s my fault. You’re bleeding, you’re in pain, and you’ve been crying. And it’s because of me.” He reaches down with his right hand and lifts up your leg so that you can rest it on his thigh, some of the ache alleviating immediately. He asks quietly, “That better?”

“Yes, thank you,” you murmur. He looks so upset, and all you want to do is curl into his lap. You want to hold him and you want to be held by him. “You know I don’t blame you, right?”

You expect him to move his hand back to the steering wheel, but he keeps it on your leg. His thumb stroking your still slightly sandy shin. Your cheery toenail polish at odds with the color blooming around your ankle.

Bradley’s throat bobs as he swallows hard, “Yeah, I do. I know that. But I still blame myself.”

The Bronco rolls to a soft stop at the light. There’s enough traffic that you know you’ll be here for a bit, and so does he since he turns in his seat to look fully at you. You take his sunglasses off, tucking them into the pocket of his shirt that rests above your heart, so nothing stands between his brown eyes and yours.

“So, you’re going to keep beating yourself up over it and icing me out? Making me feel worse? For what, Bradley? Because you’re a glutton for punishment? That’s not fair to me or to you.”

“Shit,” he mutters, his left hand running through his curls. “You’re right and I’m so sorry. I’ve been in my head feeling so damn guilty that I’ve been such an asshole. Can you forgive me?”

You’re about to answer him that when a horn startles you, making you jump in the leather seat. You see the light is green, the car that had been in front of you is gliding through the intersection passing under a blue sign pointing the way to the hospital.

“Bradley, the light.”

The car behind the two of you honks their horn again.

“They can wait. This is important, you are important. Do you forgive me?” There’s an underscore of need that punctuates his question.

“Yes, of course,” you say easily and sincerely. There’s so much remorse in his eyes, you would have forgiven him with that look alone.

“Thank you,” he breathes out in relief. And then he smiles at you for the first time since the beach and that ache in your heart is completely soothed, bandaged by that soft way he is looking at you.

Atlas no longer, he can simply be Bradley.

He takes his foot off the brake and by some miracle he’s able to make it through the light before it turns red again. You can see the tall structure of the parking lot near the hospital poking out above the line of the treetops.

The destination is closer than ever, but there are still things on your mind.

“And you aren’t an asshole, Bradley. But your bedside manner could definitely use some work,” you tease with a smile of your own.

“Baby, I’ve been trying to show you my bedside manner, but you keep holding me at arm’s length,” he groans dramatically.

The idea of experiencing Bradley Bradshaw’s bedside manner makes you feel all kinds of weak in the knees, even as you’re seated in his Bronco with your leg propped up in his lap, his big hand skating up and down along your shin comfortingly.

“How can you even say that with a straight face? You’ve never made a move!” you exclaim incredulously, “I was even the one to ask for your phone number, if you remember.”

“What the hell are you talking about? I hit on you all the time,” he argues with your favorite brand of Bradshaw banter, “I’ve been waiting for you to give me the green light, sweetheart.”

“I thought you were supposed to be pretty and smart,” you smirk.

He barks a laugh and the last tendrils of all the tension and all the pressure that had been swirling around you like a marine layer evaporates.

“You saying I’ve had the green light this whole time?” He looks over at you with a boyish smile, you like the way you feel when he looks at you like this.

“What I’m saying, Bradley, is if you’d have actually asked me out I would have said yes.” You press your toes into the muscle of his thick thigh and immediately regret it, wincing as pain ripples around your ankle.

He makes a sympathetic sound deep in his chest, “Sounds like I’ve been an idiot.”

“A very pretty one,” you allow, leaning your aching head back against the back seat.

“At least there’s that,” he concedes good-naturedly as he pulls into the parking lot, turning on his blinker for a spot opening up near the entrance to the Emergency Room by some twist of fate, one that’s in your favor this time.

Bradley pulls into the empty spot and kills the engine turning to you. He gently eases your foot back down onto the sandy floormat of the Bronco and leans into unbuckle your seatbelt.

He’s so close now looking up at you from under his eyelashes, and your breath catches in your throat. He moves closer, you can see the bits of hazel that surround his pupils. Your eyes flutter close and you tilt your head up, lips parting at the anticipation of his kiss.

There’s no holding back the noise of dissatisfaction you make when his lips press a tender kiss to your cheek. You lean into him wanting to feel, wanting him to give you more. His warm breath coasts over your skin as he chuckles. You can feel the way his lips are pulled up into a smile.

“I’m a gentleman, sweetheart,” he says as he pulls away, his eyes lingering on your lips. “My mom raised me not to go for the kiss on the first date. Or ones with head wounds and potential concussions.”

“Some first date,” you lament jokingly, looking in at the fluorescent lights awaiting you inside the hospital. You’d rather skip over this part entirely, but you’re ready to be done with holding Jake’s shirt to your head. “Nothing like insurance cards and scrubs to really set the mood.”

“Mmm. How about this, after we’re done here, I’ll take you through whatever drive-thru you want-”

“In-N-Out,” you cut in without a second thought. The novelty of it still hasn’t worn off on you, even if the fries are terrible.

“Ok,” he grins, “I’ll take you through in In-N-Out and get you your number two combo with mustard and grilled onions with a vanilla shake.” He pauses waiting for your nod of approval, looking more than pleased with himself when you acknowledge he got your order right.

“I like the sound of this so far,” you hum.

“Well that’s good. Since it’ll be our first date, I want to set that bar high,” he says giving you a wink. And there are those butterflies again, this time you don’t try to catch them with a net. They’re free to flutter around as they wish.

“If you really want to impress me, you’ll also take me through the McDonald’s drive-thru for their fries,” you muse.

“Done.”

“I was kidding,” you laugh, shaking your head at him disbelievingly and thoroughly charmed.

“Well, I wasn’t. So after we get you fed, give or take some fries, I will bring you home. I’ll get you whatever you need, I want to make sure you’re comfortable. Think you might be on crutches for a bit, sweetheart,” he says softly, playing with the ends of your hair. “And then in the morning, if you’re up for it, I’ll take you out for breakfast. Or bring you breakfast. Whatever you want. We can call that date number two.”

“And then you’ll kiss me?”

“And then I’ll kiss you,” he promises, offering you a crooked pinky finger. You beam and you wrap your own around his.

He slips out of the driver’s seat leaving you to contemplate the terms of his offer as he rounds the front of the Bronco. The nurses are going to get an eyeful of him in only those snug jean shorts and thin white tank. You make a mental note to avoid looking at him if they have to connect you to a heart rate monitor, he doesn’t need to know the effect he has on you. Not yet anyways.

“I have counteroffer,” you announce turning your body towards him as he opens your door for you.

“Let’s hear it, baby,” he says with a grin that almost makes you forget how bad your head and ankle hurt, “Shoot.”

“We still go to In-N-Out, but then in the morning you make me breakfast in bed with some of those famous Bradshaw pancakes I’ve heard about,” you say, as he steps in between your legs, “Seems like a good way to work on that bedside manner of yours.”

“I think you’re going to like my bedside manner, sweetheart,” he murmurs, stroking his thumb over your cheek.

You tilt your head at him, taking in the sunkissed strands in his hair and the affection in his eyes, “I guess we’ll have to find out.”

“Guess we will,” he rasps.

Rooster drops another sweet kiss to your cheek, whispering for you to stay put, and then he struts off towards the automatic doors of the Emergency Room. Leaving you alone with the butterflies in your stomach and the hope in your heart.

You dig your phone out of your straw tote and check the time, doing the math in your head.

There are a few messages from Nat and other people on the team already checking in, but you know you’ll have time to reply to them later as you wait with Bradley sitting by your side.

You look up and see he’s got a wheelchair now and is making his way back to you, wearing a soft smile on his face just for you.

Only seventeen more hours until you get to kiss Bradley Bradshaw and you can’t wait.

You’ve got that forever feeling about him.

Oh, oh, oh.

Thank you for reading! Rock on. Oh that joke was schist, I'll see myself out.

This was written as part of @roosterforme's Rocktober Playlist! You can check out all the other great submissions here!

The song that inspired this story was Paula Abdul's "Straight Up"

Taglist:

@gretagerwigsmuse @sehnsuchts-trunken @notroosterbradshaw @tongue-like-a-razor @laracrofted @bradshawsbitch @starryeyedstories @top-hhun-main @startrekfangirl2233 @callsign-viper @teacupsandtopgun @shanimallina87 @angelbabyange @oneelleandaneye @mizzzpink @cornishkat @alana4610 @20th-centu-fairy-girl @pono-pura-vida @donttouchmycarrots @eg-dr3amer3 @whaledots-blog @a-beaverhausen @hangmanscoming @mandolin22 @theweekndhistorybook @lilpeekabooze @high-bi-imgonnacry @ahintofkiwistrawberry @ruewrote @spiderman-stilinski @jayniebop @my-soulmate-is-mycroft @imaginecrushes @keyrani @chicomonks @artemissunn @mayempress @eddiemunsonreader

[junityy]

dates with enhypen

# PAIRING. ot7 x gn!reader

# SYNOPSIS. basically what kind of dates they would take you on.

# GENRE. fluff

# WC. 683

# WARNINGS. mentions of food

# NOTE. might be a bit messy but since im not in the place to write a fic rn i wrote some hcs,, i hope you enjoy !! <3

⋆｡°✩ HEESEUNG

probably just staying in, watching something and eating

you either order food OR even better

heeseung makes you ramen <33

THE VIBES HERE UGHHH i want

it would be so chill. like SO chill but still fun

you might be invested in whatever you're watching but after some time you just talk

about literally ANYTHING

may go from small things to having a whole existential crisis,, like you talk about the most random things bc its so comfortable with him

and maybe cuddle too :((

plus you'd probably continue watching whatever you started after missing like half of it but hey

that's okay :,,,) for both of you

rest of the members are under the cut !!

⋆｡°✩ JAY

late night dates

oh my god where do i START

late night drives walks talks and stargazing just all of it

it'd be at the most random times too

i mean i know thats kinda normal but RANDOM random

sometimes you have to be careful to not be too loud whenever you're walking by some houses or whatever tbh

could stay the whole night not even gonna lie to you

you'd probably find a random place, maybe sorta abandoned and it'd be your own place to go to

a little hill or a rooftop from which you'll have a good view overall

⋆｡°✩ JAKE

library dates

like study dates ykk

spoiler: jake isn't studying tho. not even close to it

mans is staring at you the whole time while you are actually trying to study

whenever you catch him staring he acts like h really is going to learn stuff for school now

spoiler #2: that energy lasts for 20 seconds maximum

hes back to being distracted by you <33

will eventually try to REALLY study when you somewhat scold him but he gives up

literally cannot stop thinking about you when you're right next to him hes so <///3

⋆｡°✩ SUNGHOON

ice skating dates

we all know it.

he would absolutely make fun of you if you can't ice skate tbh

man he would have so much fun only watching you already </3

but he'd also try to teach you how to ice skate

would 100% say things like "this is BORING" in the most dramatic way when he's teaching you

bc you're obviously going slow yk

also you will never not see him flexing with his skills

however if you seem like you can't get the hang of it he'd act dramatic i just know

⋆｡°✩ SUNOO

picnic dates

i can absolutely 101% see this

the vibes :(( ugh im SOFT

it's simple but regardless, it'd be a lot of fun

just overall very soft vibes if that makes sense

you'd talk about the most random things and basically laugh about everything

you're probably the happiest when you're eating and with sunoo together??? hell yeah

also if there are some bees every now and then sunoo would probably crack up if you'd jump

maybe its only a personal experience okay idk

also i feel like sunoo would put a lot of effort into it to make it look as pretty as possible

if that makes sense yk

⋆｡°✩ JUNGWON

after watching his vlog i feel like he'd simply take you to the park

and do something there yk??

might do a little picnic or something similar

just sit down somewhere and watch a movie

or simply talk overall

and oh my god yes you'd absolutely watch the sunset together

take a few walks too

a overall very chill date

although you may be not doing THAT much it's a lot of fun

and the both of you absolutely love it

⋆｡°✩ NIKI

arcade dates

a 100% i do not take any criticism

would battle you every two minutes idc

he would have the time of his life let's be real for a sec

would refuse to SHUT UP for even a second

probably doesn't care about how loud he is either

i can lowkey see him being sad when the arcade would close bc he could stay there all night

his goal is obviously to beat you and i kid you not

this boy would do ANYTHING just to get first place if we're honest

TAGLIST @koishua @igyus @hoonluvs @iuwon @eternallyhyucks @sungsunnie @sooblvr @yourlocalhotgf @tyunni @yjwfav

[godsofhumanity]

How do you feel about BOZ offing you know who? I don’t want to spoil it die anyone who hasn’t watched it yet

BLOOD OF ZEUS SPOILERS BELOW!

okay idk which of the two you're referring to, i'm guessing it's the latter of the following but i'll vent about both:

TL;DR- seraphim's death? feel like pure shit, just want Seraphim back xx........ zeus' death? meh. idc.

1. SERAPHIM:

ohhhhh seraphim my beloved <3 literally did not deserve what happened to him.

when Heron found out that the truth and that they were actually brothers (twin brothers, i believe) his whole motivation towards Seraphim changed from wanting him dead to wanting to save him. which was beautiful and awesome and i love Heron for that. and it really felt like the show was building up to this massive redemption arc for Seraphim (who was not just a villain, but a victim of the gods as well, same as Heron).

but then the last few episodes came out, and he just??? he just died??????? what the fuck. Heron survived of course, but Seraphim got chucked into Hades?!?!?! not just that, but Hades' final words to him imply that he's going to be punished... for what?? for wanting revenge on the gods who took away his family? for wanting revenge on the gods who abandoned him when he prayed to them? bruh. shut the fuck up. S2 better bring me the Seraphim Redemption arc that we all know he deserves.

2. ZEUS:

okay, i'm less emotional about this guy. honestly, the BOZ portrayal of Zeus did not make me like him. his whole affair with Heron's mother really was just a heat of the moment thing to him- and maybe he did love her, but i just.. i'd have liked to see Zeus having a little bit more of a more solid reason for messing around with the mortals, not just simply, "woah that chick's hot".

his whole treatment of Heron's mum, with him hiding them away, was understandable IMO, and the fact that he remained there as an old man to watch out for them was good, and i liked that. but for real, i just,, i just did not like Zeus.

i know that last tear-jerker scene where they show Hera and Zeus mimicking their fight against the Titans was meant to establish the idea that they do love each other. but it didn't feel that way to me. throughout the whole show, Zeus seems to completely disregard Hera's feelings. it's like, he cannot possibly fathom why his wife of a millennia is angry with him for having affairs. maybe i'd have liked to see him at least trying to sympathise, and not just say "well, i'm king so i'm gonna do what i want".

all in all, i wasn't all that sad about Zeus' death. more confused. at the beginning of the series, in the prologue cards, it mentions that the Ancient Greeks had many myths about many heroes, and we, today, don't know all of them because they're lost, etc. the implication of this is that the show producers wanted Heron's story to be like, just another Heracles myth. but then they killed Zeus? how does that work? no god has ever died in the whole history of greek mythology. not even Ouranos (in the myths, both Ouranos and Gaia are able to tell Cronus that his kids are going to defeat him, after Cronus defeats Ouranos). Greek gods cannot die.. so how did Zeus?

also, Zeus is literally the king of the gods??????? what's supposed to happen after he dies? who takes his place? Athena? she wasn't even really shown on the show. Apollo? there's no evidence on the show that he has to take up the mantle of king- he's just a side character. it's definitely not Ares. and Hera? girl has some issues she needs to deal with. also, the way she's portrayed, it seems she doesn't give a fuck about humanity, so i'm not sure how a goddess indifferent to the plight of humanity is supposed to rule over everyone. sounds like trouble.

so yeah, that's my take on that.

[growingstrong-imagines]

Kissed by Fire // Chapter One

Prologue

Summary: What happens when the Queen kissed by Ice needs to turn to the Queen kissed by Fire in desperate times? Will the visit of the Dragon Queen cause unintentional anger and even unexpected feelings in the Northern Realm? People aren’t joking when they say opposites attract.

Word Count: 2k+

Warning: mentions of alcohol

A/N: okay this is a hot mess which took me way too long to write but hey after all im writing a fanfic based on grrm’s work amirite. it’s also going to flop but idc

Lyarra woke up with an awful headache attacking her temple, and it felt like her brain was about to burst out of her skull. She looked down at herself and realised she had fallen asleep in her gown which became quite wrinkled the night before. The Queen let out an annoyed sigh and she knew she was causing extra work for her servants, the thought of it making her feel ashamed of herself. 

She tried to stand up on her two feet as slowly as possible, but Lyarra still felt like her body was light as a feather and heavy as all the bricks making up Winterfell, at once. She almost collapsed back on her hard bed which was barely comfortable enough to even sit on it. 

Lyarra knew she had to get herself together, so she took a huge gulp of the glass of water sitting on her desk and she knew it would probably be for the best to call one of her servants and ask for something to treat the hangover but her thought process was cut short by her most trusted advisor, Ser Davos.

“Your brother would like to talk to you, Your Grace,” he announced, bowing slightly. Lyarra simply nodded and told the knight to let Jon inside, then wait for them outside. She recognised the worried looks Davos was giving her when he saw her uncombed hair and wrinkled gown, but she couldn’t bother thinking about it right now. However, Lyarra did start feeling uneasy once Jon closed the door behind himself and looked her up and down with slightly raised eyebrows.

“Are you here to tell me something important or to judge me again?” The Queen snapped and rubbed the bridge of her nose with eyes shut tightly. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, feeling like an actual mess.

Jon took a step closer with a worried expression on his face. He knew what it felt like to behead someone, though he had got quite used to the blood on his hands by now. However, his sister didn’t have as much experience and still wanted to appear strong, but Jon knew about her coping mechanisms and it worried him more and more, on a daily basis but every time he wanted to talk to Lyarra about it, all he got was annoyed groans and denial. His sister was definitely down on the wrong path, but he knew there was still a chance to pull her back.

Lyarra looked him in the eyes, and she couldn’t keep it anymore. All those weeks and months without touching anyone even in the most innocent way possible made her stone-cold and distant, but still starving for the feeling of a warm body against her seemingly frozen one. She knew that her title was turning her into something she had never wanted to become and that made her terrified and anxious, constantly on the edge, praying to the Gods to send someone who would help her get her real self back.

Lyarra suddenly collapsed into Jon’s strong arms and her brother held her as close as possible, reassuring his sister that she wasn’t alone in this fight. He ran his fingers through Lyarra’s hair and stroked her back gently, so she would calm down and feel at ease just again.

Once it happened, she pulled away from Jon and gave him a tiny smile.

“I’m sorry. It was harder than I thought it would be. And I can’t stop thinking about how much danger might be hiding among the walls of Winterfell. Among the walls of my home,” she said almost whispering while filling another glass with the cold water.

“We’ll work hard to secure the castle even more, Lyarra. After all that have happened, you’ll also need a guard constantly looking after you. And don’t even dare to say no. I know that you are the Queen but I’m your brother and want you safe and sound.” Jon looked at her with one of the most serious expressions Lyarra had ever seen on his face, and she knew it was no place for an argument right now. She simply lowered her eyes and tried to ignore the headache that didn’t want to go away. Eventually, she decided to change the topic. It was way too painful to talk about it right now.

“Does the Dragon Queen still want us to bend the knee?” she asked with a slightly disgusted face and Jon didn’t have to talk to answer her question; his long and deafening silence was enough.

Lyarra let out a chuckle and shook her head, taking another sip of the fresh water that she wished was a cup of great Arbor wine instead. She soon got ashamed of that thought.

“We cannot do that and she just wastes all of our time if she thinks otherwise,” Lyarra said, putting the empty cup down, all the while looking Jon dead in the eyes. Her brother lowered his head and sighed, knowing full well it would take an awful lot to convince his sister to think about other options. Jon saw the good in Daenerys, he saw the potential in her and genuinely thought it would be for the better to seek alliance with the Dragon Queen. However, Lyarra was just as stubborn as their father Ned and brother Robb, and she wasn’t convinced easily about anything, let alone such an important decision, which could influence the lives of thousands if not millions so easily.

Jon stepped closer cautiously, knowing full well how much his sister treasured her personal space. But as she stood there without her heavy crown and flawless gown, Jon realised how vulnerable Lyarra actually was. No matter what anyone said and thought, his sister was still a scared child at heart who had to grow up way too fast. And a part of Jon hated himself for not being there for her to protect her from all the harm that had reached Lyarra while they were apart, but he knew that his sister would be angry with him for saying it out loud, so he kept it all to himself.

Lyarra shook her head once again and forced herself to look the other way, so she wouldn’t see the worry in Jon’s eyes. It was the same bloody look every time they looked at each other, and she was getting tired of it. After all, she wasn’t the helpless little girl she was when her brother left for the Wall - she was the Queen in the North, a grown woman with ambition and cunning. A grown woman who had fought for survival for a big part of her life, who had already learned she was her only true ally.

So she despised that look in Jon’s eyes even though her brother meant no harm. Still, it took Lyarra back to dark places she never wanted to visit again, so it was easier to avoid eye-contact with her brother, even if it meant making him feel bad. After all, she had never learned how to confront an issue in a healthy way.

Finally, when the silence was getting too heavy for both of them, Jon sighed and pulled Lyarra into a tight hug. The girl was surprised at first, so she just stood there slightly shocked of the sudden display of affection from Jon. Then, slowly but surely, Lyarra let her muscles relax and leaned into her brother’s strong body, folding her own arms around Jon’s torso. She unconsciously buried her face in the boy’s chest and it made her feel safe and home. Oh, how dearly she had missed these feelings and finally, they were all there, lighting a fire inside of Lyarra – a fire that was ignited and kept alive by the feelings of love and safety. Just as this fire started had Lyarra realised how cold and icy she had become throughout the years spent alone or in the company of cruel people and traitors. She only needed a pair of safe arms to melt the ice and make her feel human again.

When they pulled away, Lyarra even flashed a weak smile at her brother, who was quick to return the gesture. However, their moment was soon ruined by Ser Davos, who informed Lyarra about the Dragon Queen’s desire to speak to her in private.

Lyarra took a quick glance at Jon, who lowered his eyes and was already holding his breath. He knew full well that his sister had a rather strong personality which not everyone was fond of and he had feared that Queen Daenerys would be too quick to judge Lyarra too without giving her time to warm up to her.

However, Daenerys was quite patient and understanding, some of her qualities which she only reserved for people she greatly loved or respected. As she stepped in the chambers of the Queen in the North, she had to try really hard to toughen up in front of her rival. Or, who seemed to be her rival. Daenerys had no idea what had happened to her and she tried to fool herself by telling herself it was the sweet wine she had had before visiting the Queen in the North. Of course, it was much more complicated than that and a part of her was aware of that.

Lyarra raised her eyebrows to let the Dragon Queen know that she was waiting for her response.

“I’m terribly sorry, I must have got lost in my thoughts. I simply wanted to visit you because we haven’t had the chance to get to know each other, I’m afraid. What you did yesterday- You’ve done it before, haven’t you, Lady Lyarra?” Daenerys cursed herself in her mind for letting such ramble roll off the tip of her tongue.

However, Lyarra cursed the Queen in secret for addressing her as a simple Lady instead of the Queen she was. Still, she managed to force a smile on her face and offered her a seat opposite of her by her desk before answering the Queen’s question.

“I haven’t had to behead too many people so far, if that’s what you’re curious about. But I have had my battles to fight, so I’ve learned to swing a sword the hard way.”

Daenerys suddenly didn’t know how to reply, but she was so desperate not to appear weak or ignorant in front of a possible ally, so she simply smiled and said how much she had always admired warrior queens at which Lyarra simply smirked and turned away, leaving Daenerys disappointed.

“I’m sure you’re already a legend, as well, Your Grace, so please, let’s skip the small talk to you telling me the actual reason you’re here,” Lyarra blurted out, staring deep into those violet eyes. I can’t lie, they’re beautiful, but beauty is lethal.

Daenerys couldn’t ignore the tone the Northern Queen used when saying Your Grace but she also knew she couldn’t let such petty little things get in the way. She had a goal to achieve here but it was getting difficult to keep her composure in the presence of Lyarra Stark. And it wasn’t the fact that it was her territory that intimidated Dany- it was something completely different, a feeling that she hadn’t been able to shake off since she first laid eyes on the Stark girl. As much as it annoyed her, it also made her scared. Scared that it might be the cause of her losing her place on the Iron Throne.

“You see right through me, my Lady. I am actually here to convince you to bend the knee and join forces with me to-,“ but she couldn’t continue without being cut off by Lyarra Stark.

“To help you get the Iron Throne where you could rule over my home? I’m terribly sorry, Your Grace, but I hope you can understand that I simply can’t do that. I can’t decide for thousands. And even if I could, my answer would still be no.”

Daenerys flashed a rather forced smile at the self-proclaimed Queen in the North and thought to herself she’s making it difficult for everyone, but if she wants difficult, let it be difficult.

[vespertineflora]

i am a simple woman, humbly requesting xiyao smut where lxc pins jgy to one of those Lan desks and fucks him like my man 100% wanted to do when they first met. no preference on top/bottom, idc what the sex acts are either, just some fun, steamy smut in a completely inappropriate place(no exhibitionism tho plz, it gives me 2nd hand embarrassment something fierce), but 100% no pressure for you to write this if you don't feel it and i hope you have a lovely day/week :)

thank you for this GEM, i had a blast writing it!!! since you didn’t have a preference, i had to go with botton lxc, especially with lxc holding jgy down, it just felt right, you know? hope you enjoy! 

(angstprompt!anon can look for their submission in the next few days probably! meanwhile, my ask box is open for xiyao (or any combo of 3zun) and wangxian prompts, which could result in anything from a drabble to a short fic like this one turned out haha)

~~~

Jin Guangyao arrived in Gusu much later than he’d intended--but Lan Xichen had invited him, and Jin Guangyao had so dearly wanted to come that he figured arriving late was better than not arriving at all. Nearly a month ago, Lan Xichen had given him a jade token that allowed him free passage through the barrier surrounding the Cloud Recesses, a gift that Jin Guangyao had appreciated very much, knowing how rare and special it was for Lan Xichen to be granting it to someone who was not a member of the Lan Sect. It had taken far longer than he would have liked to find time in his schedule to come visit, but he was finally here.

He made it inside the barrier just minutes before the Lan Sect’s strictly imposed curfew and was quickly escorted to the Hanshi... and the moment Lan Xichen’s dark eyes fell upon him, they lit up with warmth and delight, the smile on his lips becoming quickly more sincere than polite. He welcomed Jin Guangyao inside the room almost at once, greeting him in a way that hid none of his precious excitement at having Jin Guangyao there.

They chatted for a few moments, before Lan Xichen suggested, “It’s been so long since you’ve been in the Cloud Recesses, A-Yao. Would you like to take a walk around the grounds?”

There was a particular sort of mirth dancing in his eyes, a look that Jin Guangyao couldn’t quite put his finger on... but one he had no intention of questioning. He teased faintly, “But what about curfew, Er-Ge? Isn’t it past the time that disciples and guests are allowed outside?”

Lan Xichen just grinned a bit more playfully and countered,  “A good thing you’ll be with the Sect Leader then, isn’t it?”

Continue Reading on AO3 or below the cut :)

They stood to head out--though once they were in the yard, Lan Xichen paused suddenly, asking Jin Guangyao to wait for him a moment while he headed back inside, which Jin Guangyao found to be another oddity, though he was frankly too intrigued by Lan Xichen’s unexpected behavior to want to draw attention to the fact that he had noticed it. Whatever Lan Xichen had in mind, Jin Guangyao trusted it to be something he would enjoy.

As it was past curfew, the grounds of the Cloud Recesses were quite empty. Twilight was upon them, the last few rays of the sun sinking down behind the horizon and giving way to the overhead blanket of stars in the night sky. The moon wasn’t full, but it was close, and both the Cloud Recesses and Lan Xichen himself were gorgeous in the silver glow of the moonlight.

Due to their solitude, they didn’t fear walking close together, shoulders brushing as they strolled in companionable silence, glancing at one another from time to time as they passed by the buildings where the junior disciples slept, through the gardens, over to the library, and then finally back around to the Lanshi... where Lan Xichen paused, glancing around in a way that was the opposite of surreptitious, before he took Jin Guangyao by the hand and led him inside.

Jin Guangyao was usually one to try to figure out someone’s intentions before they could ever come to fruition. He usually hated not knowing what others had in mind, what they planned to do, especially where he was concerned... but, strangely, it wasn’t the same at all with Lan Xichen. Beyond knowing that Lan Xichen had intentions... Jin Guangyao couldn’t honestly say he knew what they were and hadn’t been at all bothered about finding out. It was exhilarating in a way, to trust Lan Xichen so deeply that he didn’t need to anticipate what his every move would be, didn’t need to nitpick everything he did or said to figure out each move he would ever make...

All he needed was the deep rooted knowledge that Lan Xichen adored him and would never do anything to hurt him.

It was dark inside the Lanshi as Lan Xichen shut the door behind them, with just enough moonlight slipping in through the screened windows that Jin Guangyao could still faintly make out Lan Xichen’s features, at least enough to see a bit of silver light in his eyes and the smile on his lips--before he leaned down to press their lips together, of course.

His hand moved to cradle Jin Guangyao’s face as Jin Guangyao’s hands moved naturally for Lan Xichen’s waist, their bodies gravitating naturally closer to one another as they kissed in the darkened classroom, breaking apart after a long minute as their foreheads pressed together, hovering close enough that Jin Guangyao could feel Lan Xichen’s semi-heated exhales against his lips.

“This is the first place we met,” Lan Xichen said. His volume was hardly more than that of a whisper, but in the absolute silence inside of the Lanshi, the words couldn’t have possibly been clearer. “Do you remember?”

Jin Guangyao felt the grin stretching across his lips as his thumb smoothed over the fabric of Lan Xichen’s robes. “Considering how close I came to death that day, how could I possibly forget?” he replied, giving Lan Xichen’s waist a playful squeeze. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“Did I?” Lan Xichen huffed out a breath of laughter, pecking Jin Guangyao’s lips almost apologetically, “How so?”

“Mm, well, I was hardly more than a humble servant who had heard many stories of the noble Lan Sect, the disciples of which loved cleanliness, and wouldn’t dare touch others unless it was absolutely necessary,” Jin Guangyao recounted fondly. “Then, while I’m assisting my young master with presenting our Sect’s offering, I’m expecting to hand our gift over to some helpful disciple... when instead I am approached by none other than the sect leader himself, a young man so fantastically handsome that even the wildest rumors cannot overstate his beauty and grace.”

“A-Yao,” Lan Xichen protested with an almost-shy laugh, a sound that gave away the color on his cheeks that was otherwise unknowable in the dark room.

“And then,” Jin Guangyao continued on heedlessly, spinning his fanciful account together with a playful grin, “this stunningly gorgeous sect leader not only lavishes me with the most sincere flattery this lowly attendant could have imagined, but proceeds to brush his hands against mine--not once, but twice! Once, maybe, can be counted as an accident, no matter how intentionally those fingers seemed to slide across my hand, but then it happened again as the offering was taken from my hands! Imagine my shock as a meager assistant to be touched so deliberately by this elegant and comely young cultivator who I was led to believe would only touch others in the most dire of circumstances!”

Lan Xichen’s soft and flustered laugh was now shaking in his chest, enough for Jin Guangyao to feel it against his own chest with their bodies flush the way they were.

“Er-Ge, all I’m saying is that we’re both quite lucky I didn’t faint at that very moment!” Jin Guangyao said with faux insistence.

“Ah, but then I would have had an excuse to catch you,” Lan Xichen lamented cleverly.

Jin Guangyao was caught off guard by a faint hitch of his own laughter, before declaring, “Then I would have certainly passed from this world to the next! Though...” he trailed off as he pressed his lips again to Lan Xichen’s, “I can’t say that dying in your arms wouldn’t have been the ideal way to go.”

Lan Xichen let out a harder puff of laughter through his nose as their mouths pressed together, somewhat uncoordinated in their shared humor. Their grip on one another grew a bit tighter as they both smiled into the kiss and teasingly tasted one another’s mouths.

“Well,” Lan Xichen finally broke the kiss to speak up, “if that was enough to nearly kill you, then it was likely for the best you left as soon as you did. I was disappointed at the time... but if you’d stayed, you might have discovered my imagination had run quite a bit deeper than simply touching your hand.”

“Er-Ge!” Jin Guangyao gasped dramatically--genuinely surprised, but certainly exaggerating his reaction, “Are you saying you had impure thoughts about me back then?”

Lan Xichen shook with another quiet laugh as he leaned in to kiss Jin Guangyao again before replying, “So impure I found the need to retreat to the cold springs soon after you’d left.”

“Oh, really?” Jin Guangyao asked. For as much as he was playing up his responses, he was genuinely intrigued. He’d never realized that Lan Xichen had thought about him like that so very long ago. “And what exactly were these impure thoughts? Humble servant Meng Yao couldn’t have handled them, but Chief Cultivator Jin Guangyao is quite curious.”

“Ah... I’m not sure words would quite do them justice, honestly,” Lan Xichen said with a touch of wistful disappointment, before his voice took on a tone that was as equally playful, but in a very different way. “Perhaps... a demonstration is in order.”

Oh. Jin Guangyao's pulse fluttered and he had a feeling he’d suddenly stumbled upon Lan Xichen’s reason for bringing him out here in the first place.

“A demonstration would be acceptable,” Jin Guangyao replied, his lips brushing Lan Xichen’s teasingly, anticipation building now, his heart beating a little faster. “Would it be wrong to assume our location plays a part in this demonstration?”

“As a matter of fact...” Lan Xichen trailed off playfully, then leaned down to kiss him, and as he started to walked Jin Guangyao backwards, Jin Guangyao followed easily, right up until the back of his knees bumped gently into one of the desks arranged neatly in the room--at which point, Lan Xichen dropped quickly to his knees in front of him, aiming an appeased smile up at him as his hands made quick work of the sash holding Jin Guangyao’s robes in place. They slipped inside as soon as they could, locking onto his hips and giving them a gentle tug; Jin Guangyao gave in to Lan Xichen’s strength, letting himself get pulled down as his ass landed firmly on the sturdy wooden desk behind him.

If Jin Guangyao had to guess, based simply on how little time Lan Xichen was wasting, this fantasy was something he found quite pressing. Jin Guangyao hadn’t even found time to get hard yet as Lan Xichen was working his pants loose and reaching inside to free him, his hand giving Jin Guangyao’s cock a few eager strokes that quickly helped it twitch to life.

Jin Guangyao’s breathing picked up as quick as his arousal came on, legs spreading to let Lan Xichen get his body between them as he was using his own free hand to open his robes; as soon as Jin Guangyao’s cock was half-hard though, Lan Xichen’s focus was pulled from his task as his mouth quickly descended on Jin Guangyao.

Jin Guangyao’s breath hitched as Lan Xichen didn’t hesitate to wrap his lips around it. He sucked on the head, his tongue swirling around it, lapping eagerly across it, so sudden and hot that Jin Guangyao couldn't help the low moan that rolled out of him. His hands automatically reached for Lan Xichen’s hair, pushing his fingers into it and messing up the neat strands of it almost immediately, though it wasn’t something he could regret; he loved it when Lan Xichen came undone for him, when he sacrificed any amount of his neat appearance in favor of giving in to their shared desire for one another, particularly on the rare occasion when he took charge like this, eagerly taking whatever he wanted--something Jin Guangyao would allow only from Lan Xichen.

In the heat of Lan Xichen’s mouth, it took hardly any time at all before Jin Guangyao was hard, his breaths huffing faintly as his finger tightened and released their grip on Lan Xichen’s hair, fingernails scratching lightly at his scalp in a way that had Lan Xichen humming around his cock, only heightening the arousal buzzing through him.

Clear thought only flooded back to him the moment after Lan Xichen’s mouth and hand pulled back from his cock. The situation was certainly something to wrap his mind around--he hadn’t been in the Lanshi in so many years, but he last remembered it full of students, quiet and serious. Now, his first time back in the Cloud Recesses in so long and his first time back in the Lanshi in even longer, he suddenly found himself in quite the position.

His eyes were fastened on Lan Xichen as he opened his robes, shoved down his pants, and as he reached into his sleeve to produce a bottle of oil, which told Jin Guangyao everything he needed to know about how much Lan Xichen had planned for this to happen.

It was nearly hypnotizing to watch Lan Xichen for a moment, slicking his fingers quickly and liberally. Jin Guangyao’s gaze followed them as Lan Xichen reached behind himself, seeming to shudder as his fingers slid between his cheeks--the expression on his face was heavenly, lips parted as his breath shuddered, brows knitted ever so slightly in a way that told Jin Guangyao he’d skipped over using a single finger and had jumped right in with two. Tragically, Jin Guangyao couldn’t see the stretch of Lan Xichen’s rim as he started to finger himself, but from his vantage point he could easily watch the rocking motion of Lan Xichen’s hand working behind him, and that was more than enough.

Lan Xichen didn’t leave him just to watch though. After just a moment, he leaned back in, his free hand moving once more to Jin Guangyao’s cock, holding it in place as his lips wrapped around it again.

The show was enough to leave Jin Guangyao dizzy. He leaned back a little, hands gripping the desk behind him to support himself as he watched in awe: Lan Xichen’s mouth bobbing faintly around his cock as Lan Xichen’s hand seemed to move in tandem behind him. That motion only paused after a moment for what Jin Guangyao figured was a chance to press in a third finger, an action that elicited a sharper moan from Lan Xichen's throat that vibrated lightly around the head of his cock as Lan Xichen took it deeper into his mouth.

Jin Guangyao moaned deeper, his fingers tightening in a telling way on Lan Xichen’s hair--and Lan Xichen seemed to get the message, as he pulled his lips slowly back from Jin Guangyao’s cock, sitting up a little as he seemed to work his fingers quicker inside, leaning back a little as if straining with the effort to get them in deeper, though all it really did was allow Lan Xichen robes to fall away from his chest, treating Jin Guangyao with a glimpse of his dusky pink nipples, just making the scene set in the Lan Sect classroom even more erotic.

By the time Lan Xichen pulled his fingers out of himself, seemingly deciding he was open enough, he sat panting and whimpering ever so faintly for a few seconds, as if he’d scattered his own thoughts by doing such a thing so on display for Jin Guangyao. Unable to help himself, Jin Guangyao leaned forward to capture Lan Xichen’s lips quickly, to take advantage and dip his tongue deep between his parted lips, Lan Xichen letting out another shuddery moan around his tongue as he kissed him back fervently, his body leaning further and further into Jin Guangyao’s space.

As he felt Lan Xichen starting to push him backwards, across the length of the desk, Jin Guangyao went down easily enough, a true testament to the depth of his trust for Lan Xichen. His upper body fit near perfectly across the length of it from ass to head, just barely reached the edges, as if the surface was nearly made for him to lie on like this--or, more likely, as if Lan Xichen had imagined this enough time to know Jin Guangyao would fit on the desk like this, and wasn’t that an erotic thought?

Again, Jin Guangyao couldn’t help but note how impatient Lan Xichen seemed to be, as he seemed to only bother to remove his pants from one leg--all he needed to lift himself up and properly straddle Jin Guangyao over the desk, reaching for Jin Guangyao’s cock, lining it up with his entrance, and then lowering himself in a motion that was at least somewhat practiced at this point. Jin Guangyao’s hands quickly reached for Lan Xichen’s thigh, gripping onto him as the overwhelming heat of his body sunk down around Jin Guangyao’s eager cock, consuming him little by little--until in a whirlwind of huffed breaths shared between the two of them, Lan Xichen’s body was lowered fully around his cock, his ass resting gently over his hips.

They sat like that for a moment, a look of ecstasy splashed across Lan Xichen’s features that had Jin Guangyao entirely captivated, before, slowly, Lan Xichen started to rock his hips.

The movement was gentle---but even that little started to draw a series of soft keens from Lan Xichen’s mouth, soft little ‘ahh’ sounds that seemed to escape with every exhale, as if Lan Xichen was aroused by where they were doing this as much as by the actual physical sensations.

Jin Guangyao fought his way out of his awed stupor at that thought, a grin rising to his face as his hands began to knead his fingertips up and down Lan Xichen’s sturdy thighs. Almost without prompting, Lan Xichen’s hips began to rock quicker--he even lifted his hips, before letting them sink back down, once, twice, a third time, before the roll of his hips was one solid motion that was growing quicker and quicker--

Without much ado, Lan Xichen’s hands snapped to grab onto Jin Guangyao’s wrists as his body tightened its grip on Jin Guangyao, followed a few seconds later by a soft whimper and the soft, wet streak of cum hitting Jin Guangyao’s stomach.

But Lan Xichen’s movements only paused for maybe a minute or so, before his hips had picked up that gentle rocking motion once again, as motivated as if under some lustful spell that made him unable to help himself except to keep Jin Guangyao’s cock moving inside of him.

Jin Guangyao’s hands started once more massaging Lan Xichen’s thighs--but only a moment later, he found himself surprised as Lan Xichen moved their hands, intertwined their fingers... and then began to lean over him, moving him until his hands were pinned down to the desk beside his head, Lan Xichen’s face wearing an incredibly blissed out expression as it hovered barely a couple feet above him, strands of his long hair slipping over his shoulders, a few stay bits Jin Guangyao’s fingers had shoved loose hanging around his face.

Seeing as Jin Guangyao was quite trapped now, speech was the only tool left in his arsenal--and he certainly had plenty to say.

“How much have you thought about this, Er-Ge?” he asked, voice low and sultry, clearly catching on Lan Xichen’s ears immediately. “Is this really what you wanted back then? To hold me down and ride my cock like this?”

Lan Xichen didn’t answer, but Jin Guangyao felt the way he shuddered at the words, the flicker of change in his expression, and could pick up on the truth easily enough.

“Maybe it is for the best you didn’t do this all those years ago,” he said with a touch more humor, agreeing with Lan Xichen’s earlier statement. “I don’t think I would have survived it back then.”

The corners of Lan Xichen’s mouth twitched upwards, and he left out a pointedly amused huff--which was quickly turned into a soft keen as Jin Guangyao leveraged his feet against the floor to roll his hips up a few sharp times, before he settled once more.

“When do you have these thoughts, hm?” he continued, eyes trained on Lan Xichen’s face, “Do you fantasize about me while you’re falling asleep at night? While you’re trying to relax in your cold springs? Or maybe... maybe while you’re in here teaching or reading off your sect rules, you’re actually thinking about getting fucked by me? If you’ve had these thoughts since the first time we met, you’ve had so many years to fantasize about us fucking, surely you’ve thought about it in here too.”

Lan Xichen’s brow furrowed faintly, a shudder running through him as his hole tightened around Jin Guangyao’s cock, fingers gripping more firmly around his hands, obviously affected by the words even if he hadn’t replied verbally.

“Well, whether you have or not until now...” Jin Guangyao prattled on, his tone as low and seductive as ever, “You definitely will from now on, won’t you? Tell me the truth, Er-Ge. Will you think about how you rode my cock so wonderfully every time you’re in this room now?”

“Yes,” Lan Xichen gasped out faintly, compliantly, his hips grinding down a little more firmly a few times before returning to the previous pace.

“Promise me, Er-Ge,” he compelled him sweetly, voice nearly all breath now, yet still so clear in the ringing silence of the classroom. “Every time you’re in the Lanshi, I want you to remember how you fingered yourself open while sucking my cock. I want you to think about how desperate you were to pin me down and get my cock inside of you. You’ll promise to think of me every time you look at this desk that we’re fucking on, won’t you, Er-Ge?”

The faint moonlight didn’t allow for much color perception, but Lan Xichen’s cheeks were so flushed after all of Jin Guangyao’s rambling that he could see how dark they’d gotten even now.

“I promise,” Lan Xichen panted, his hips starting to move a little quicker again, a little more urgent. “A-Yao, I promise.”

He couldn’t move much, but his thumbs stroked the outside of Lan Xichen’s hands from where they were pinned to the desk. He let out a pleased hum and almost purred as he said, “Thank you, Er-Ge.” Lan Xichen could be so easily flustered when he got like this, and Jin Guangyao considered it a delicacy, something to be truly savored. “Do you want to come together this time?”

“Yes, yes,” Lan Xichen exhaled sharply again. His hips rolling down a little harder, his breaths getting more desperate.

Jin Guangyao adjusted to Lan Xichen’s pace, then started to roll his hips back up at Lan Xichen, meeting the downward motion of his body and forcing his cock a little deeper inside, creating a slight thrust that only increased the delicious friction around his cock, and that made Lan Xichen’s soft moans get a little more heated as his second orgasm drew closer.

Their bodies moved in harmony, a practiced motion after so many years, Lan Xichen lifting himself up a bit so that he could drop his body back onto Jin Guangyao’s cock with each thrust, and the silence of the room was completely eaten up by the wet sound of Jin Guangyao’s cock moving in and out of Lan Xichen’s tight hole, by the soft smack of their skin meeting at the end of each thrust and the increased panting of their breaths, by Lan Xichen’s rising whimpers and moans.

Jin Guangyao felt his pleasure plateauing as Lan Xichen’s body rocked more urgently, as aroused by Lan Xichen’s desperation to fulfill this fantasy as he was amused by it, his senses all a flutter in Lan Xichen’s telling reactions and noises giving away exactly how close he was, noises that would have given them away in an instant if this weren’t so far past the Lan Sect curfew that left all the disciples thankfully out of hearing range of the Lanshi. The one thing that Lan Xichen had yet to master (and perhaps the thing Jin Guangyao hoped he never would) was the ability to actually keep his voice down the closer he got to his orgasm.

Waiting for Lan Xichen, Jin Guangyao took a few deep, hard breaths, skillfully forcing his own orgasm back, letting it balance right on that delicate edge, because he could tell that Lan Xichen was going to come at any second--and just as he thought, barely a minute later, Lan Xichen’s face pressed down against his chest as he let out a sharp cry, the clenching of his hole around Jin Guangyao’s cock finally pushing him over the precipice with a sharp breath of his own as he released deep inside of Lan Xichen.

His grip loosened, but Lan Xichen didn’t let go of Jin Guangyao’s hands, not immediately, as they both laid there panting in the dark room. Jin Guangyao’s face pressed to Lan Xichen’s hair, showing him the only affection he could at the moment as he nuzzled him gently.

They stayed entangled for several long minutes, until Lan Xichen finally seemed to get his strength back. He lifted his head and sought out Jin Guangyao’s mouth with his own, kissing him as he slowly lifted his hips; Jin Guangyao felt Lan Xichen shuddering faintly as his cock slid out of him before his body settled back over him.

“You know,” Jin Guangyao spoke up after a moment, his words faintly muffled by Lan Xichen’s mouth, “I almost feel sorry for whoever’s desk this is.”

Lan Xichen broke away from the kiss as he broke into a silent laugh, burying his face against Jin Guangyao’s neck again, his hands finally releasing Jin Guangyao’s. It meant Jin Guangyao was free to slide his arms up under Lan Xichen’s robe and wrap around his back comfortably, letting his fingernails trail lightly across the smooth skin and firm muscle for a little while as the both of them gradually settled down.

Eventually, Lan Xichen said they should head back and Jin Guangyao agreed. Lan Xichen had luckily picked a very secluded spot for this little adventure, but the longer they stayed here, the higher the risk was that someone would discover them like this. They both knew they would be shedding their robes as soon as the door of the Hanshi shut behind them, so they redressed just enough to look proper in case they encountered any patrolling disciples on the way; Jin Guangyao even took a minute to carefully comb his fingers over Lan Xichen’s hair, smoothing it out and pointedly straightening the ribbon across his forehead, much to Lan Xichen’s embarrassed delight.

Jin Guangyao had mostly been teasing Lan Xichen... but as they slipped out of the Lanshi and headed back towards Lan Xichen’s room, Jin Guangyao couldn’t helped be be thoroughly amused by the idea that it really would be quite impossible for Lan Xichen to be in the Lanshi  without thinking about him now; there was something deliciously entertaining about the idea of Lan Xichen having to fight back his arousal every time he had to come teach a class. Perhaps it was only fair after their many, many escapades throughout Carp Tower had led to many fond memories for Jin Guangyao, that Lan Xichen would now have some of his own memories at home. In fact...

“If this is how I’m treated when I’m here, I’m going to have to visit more often,” Jin Guangyao said as a smile curled at the corner of his lips, his arm slipping casually and yet quite boldly around Lan Xichen’s as he settled against his side.

Lan Xichen flashed a flustered smile down at him, but held Jin Guangyao’s arm a bit closer to his side as he replied, “You’re welcome here any time, A-Yao.”

They had more memories to make, and Jin Guangyao was now quite curious about what other sorts of fantasies Lan Xichen had been having about him all this time.

[swatato]

fat. FAT. P H A T RANT INCOMING FOR ANYONE WHO CARES TO READ THIS NONSENSE CUZ @haldidoodh ASKED

That episode literally blasted the last of my serotonin into smithereens but TBH??? WHO AM I MAD AT I should have seen this coming this whole volume has been such a headache. I cant be bothered to type up a coherent rwde essay on everything that bothered me this episode so im just gonna copy and paste my earlier yelling here instead ;A;

Team Rwby was god awful in episodes 11-12. They’re so self-righteous, entitled, hypocritical and cocky as a team and it doesnt help that they all suck as individual characters nowadays (except for weiss but even she lost best-girl points this episode also lmao blake and yang aren’t even INDIVIDUALS anymore they’re just bumbleby). It was annoying at first but now its just infuriating how rwby thinks theyre always right with their uwu energy and think they can do whatever tf they want with ZERO CONSEQUENCES.

Basically any time there is a problem in this show they have Ruby uwu at it and its solved lol.

They kept giving ironwood shit for taking on this incredible burden SO THAT NOBODY ELSE WOULD HAVE TO and rather than offer any real solution they just kept going “but mantle” like okay?? But remnant??? Like obvi letting mantle rot is bad but HE WAS OPEN TO ANY HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS CUZ HES OBVI AT HIS WITTS END AND DOESNT LIKE THE IDEA EITHER but yeah they just proceed to be the fattest hypocrites by hiding secrets of their own after being all “no more secrets uwu” and WHEN THEY GOT EXPOSED THEY JUST WENT “>:[“ (yangs self-righteous little glare here pissed me off so much oof) especially when ironwood was laying everything out in the open to them from the start. AND ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SECRET WAS FKIN “OH YEAH SALEM CANT DIE LOL” They watched ironwood make every decision he did in hopes of beating Salem while KNOWING she couldnt die??? So literallY WHERE do they get off on screeching at him with their yOu doNt hAvE to Suffer In ManTle YOu doNt kNow whAt iTs liKe bs. Wtf made ruby distrust iw at the start anyway? Because he had a bunch of ships out? They kept this CRUCIAL piece of information from him because he seemed stressed out?? Like what made ruby keep the secret from him. Someone tell me.

And the fact that rwby beat the ace-ops makes no goddamned sense. The power-scaling in this show is non-existant. We finally got to meet some pro huntsmen in this universe who aren’t teachers but are actually on the job, but because we gotta move out of the way for that 👌🏽✨ Power Of Friendship✨ and ✨rwby is always right✨ they somehow managed to beat experienced huntsmen with YEARS in the field who’ve actually graduated school??? FARM BOI OSCAR WHOS *JUST* LEARNING HOW TO FIGHT MANAGED TO LAND A PUNCH ON NEO FKIN POLITAN??? Didnt neo dance circles around yang??? Yang, who punches for a living and also beat mercury and adam??? I cant yall (and the fact that he didnt even bother to sneak up on her this boi literally screamed “no!!” as he ran down a hallway and neo didnt even have time to blink??? Pls)

Ruby’s “you were the best, until you trained us :3” -for maybe 2 days before my team went dancing ruby sis shut right tf up pls my god is this line just so. UNEARNED. Training in a room for a short while does not simply grant you the years of field experience the ace ops have and whAT IS UP WITH HER TRYING TO REASON WITH HARIETT AFTER SAYING THAT COCKY LINE AND FIGHTING HER??? WHAT and also like. The entire idea of “the ops lost cuz they weren’t good friends and were bad at teamwork uwu” is just so dumb. Ur telling me this group of high ranking hunstmen who’ve most likely been working together for at least a few years didnt have teamwork down??? Learning to work together is the most BASIC concept for a team to learn!! Its like the first thing a team has to perfect!! If the ace ops are supposed to be the best of atlas you dont think the ops would have gotten something as fundemental as teamwork down?? I dont buy it. And who gives a shit if they dont hang out after work or take selfies with eachother. Being friends doesnt necessarily mean theyre great at working together. If they succeed at relying on eachother to watch their backs, to keep each other alive (in the words of hariett herself) then Id think theyd know how to protect eachother i.e WORK TOGETHER.

And for all the ✨friendship✨ and ✨going through so much with someone✨ talk rwby like to do, the show barely displays these people acting like friends. We’re constantly TOLD how great of friends this group is, but the actual CONTENT we are shown leaves a lot to be desired. Tell me the last time ruby and blake teamed up in a fight. Or weiss and blake. Or yang and weiss. What teamwork?? Yang only interacts with blake now and weiss is only ever allowed to interact with ruby. Has blake ever said nora or ren’s name out loud? Have jaune and yang ever held a conversation between just them? Team rwby just spent a GOOD DEAL of time seperated from eachother, but when they reunite their teamwork is still somehow better than the ace ops?? Honestly its easier to believe that ruby is closer with team jnpr than she is her own team. If they showed the ops messing up during rwby vs ace ops fight due to lack of communication, then it still doesnt matter. My point is that they shouldnt have lacked teamwork in the first place.

Robyn was m e h this episode “JaMes ConTinUes to UnDeresTimAte Me” *proceeds to get knocked over in .3 seconds and is then KO for the rest of the episode* also great job for starting a fight and aiming to take clovers life in a moving airship with a terrorist on board when clover was acting PEACEFULLY and qrow was WILLING TO TALK IT OUT WITH IW and potentially work on a solution, but naw robyn is big mad and shall shoot.

Qrow made zero sense this episode too. I was with him right up until he chose TYRIAN OVER CLOVER??? THE PSYCOPATH WHO CANNOT BE REASONED WITH OVER THE RATIONAL DUDE YOU KNOW IS GOOD except clover wasnt acting rational in this fight at all and ill get to that AND IS THE ONLY FRIEND YOU HAVE WHOS NOT 19????? Qrow rly looked at tyrian- a man who is literally an enemy to all of remnant and went after ur neice- and said lets get rid of this punk together u and me bro. Like screw teaming with clover to bring down the dude you ACTUALLY have a grudge with whos also a serial killer and then trying to talk it out with clover whod be willing to do things peacefully why is this show like this

and AS FOR CLOVER. where were the braincells this episode. Qrow was trying to fight tyrian-the WAY bigger threat here, but clover??? kept knocking him away from tyrian and restraining him with his hook like??? YEAH LETS HELP OUT THE DEMON SCORPION CRACKHEAD HES CLEARLY NOT THE PRIORITY ATM nvm clover deserved to die there m8

His death scene was emotional and I feel bad for Qrow but u literally sealed his death when u ganged on him with tyrian so why are you even surprised. And on the subject of fairgame, im glad it didnt happen. Qrow was in no state for romance and I was glad he finally had a friend. He just spent the last volume thinking he wasted his life away helping oz, drowning in misery, drinking til he passed out on the street and so drunk he couldnt even be of any help during the apathy situation, when up til now hes been shown to fight just fine while drunk. I don’t see this as a “bury your gays trope” because clover was never confirmed to be gay and all their scenes added up to 40 seconds of platonic friendship. These two are grown ass men, if they had the hots for eachother then im pretty sure they could openly show it and not dance around it like theyre kids. I do feel bad for mlm viewers who were hoping for some rep with fairgame/lucky charms (cuz rt only cares if ur a cute marketable lesbian) but idc for the overly entitled fans who try to force their own headcanons on the writers and go feral when they dont get what they want. You dont just get to prance around claiming whats canon and what isnt. If rep is there then great, but if it isnt, then why not look somehwere else and let the author tell the story theyre trying to tell? Shipping fairgame cuz you think its cute is absolutely fine but not when u start getting ready to casterate crwby for not catering to you. Also, rwby sucks with lgbt+ rep anyway so what were yall expecting.

The only thing that was great this episode was the chorerography. It just sucks that the animation/choreo continues to improve while the writing doesnt. Another thing that really fell off this episode was the whole “we’re friends but we have to fight” drama. It doesnt work when its only ONE SIDE SHOWING ANY DISTRESS OVER IT. Only the ace ops (marrow, clover, the vine dude) seemed to show distress over having to fight rwby (it sucks that the only 1v1 weiss has won was because marrow was going EASY on her cuz he didnt wanna fight her fr) but rwby???? They didnt give any shits. They were so quick to turn against them and aim for their heads. They were SMILING as they ran at the ace ops, while they looked conflicted. If you oppose their UwU philosophy, you’re dead to them.

I really wanna enjoy RWBY but sometimes this show (and the fndm) really tests me. Its ironic how this episode came right after last episode, which I thought was the best chapter this volume. Anyway I rate this 10/10 cuz it gave me best character ironwood and best boi marrow and I would like to give them hugs for carrying this volume on their backs. (Also tyrian and penny and winter have been great too)

[cs-discourse]

Breaking Down Clowns' Posts: Episode One with Mochi

let's get into a Breakdown, shall we? my interpretations are in bold :) 

I’m fucking over this mewlin bullshit. Idc what kind of hate I’m going to get over this because obviously nobody is allowed to have beliefs contrary to your own anymore. to start off, saying "idc what kind of hate i'm going to get over this" before saying something defending a terrible opinion is a bad thing to do, just sayin. you saying "because obviously nobody..." makes it seem like you're annoyed with us being upset over transphobia! that's just my interpretation, but it'd bc a shame if you were :) because our opinion is valid and mewlin's transphobic opinions are not. anyways, if the beliefs you hold could potentially harm somebody/a community, they aren't valid whatsoever. let's put it this way (thank u alcides for saying this): bigoted people vote for bigoted opinions. bigoted opinions lead to bigoted laws, and these laws will harm people's lives & affect the choices they are able to make. also, blatant transphobia is so different from a VALID opposing belief such as preferring winter over summer. transphobia kills. favorite seasons don't. But anyways. Y’all need to laY oFF. Mewlin is a person, just like you and I. She thinks, eats, and breathes. nice to know she's living-- what exactly does this have to do with the point you're trying to make? homophobes think, eat, and breathe. racists, eat, think, and breathe. i could go on! She doesn’t deserve even a fraction of this harassment. are you sure...?? not even.... 1/100th of it? god, i can't believe a transphobe would actually DESERVE harassment!! the audacity!!! you should never be harassed for holding an opinion that harms someone's life! (extreme sarcasm, if you couldn't tell!) I get it, her beliefs are upsetting to you. thank you for stating the obvious! why wouldn't we be upset with a transphobe? Obviously I don’t agree with her beliefs, I think transphobia is nasty. i mean if my friend was a transphobe i'd fucking run from them but u do u boo BUT that doesn’t make her a bad person. You hear me? YOUR BELIEFS DONT DEFINE YOU. i've had to repeat something along the lines of this statement many times but i'll say it again: if your beliefs harm other people, then that's all people will define you with. Mewlin is a sweet, kind, supportive person with some controversial beliefs. some....? controversial beliefs? transphobia isn't even controversial ur either a terrible person or ur not. I’m not saying you have to love her, you can hate her with every ounce of your being, but keep it to your damn self! if u love her, keep it to your damn self! look what you've done by posting this. you've prompted a response from myself & many others. I don’t expect trans people to be all buddy buddy with her, or even cis people. But you have no right to dehumanize her the way you’ve been. i mean..... isn't she dehumanizing trans people by saying they're invalid & wrong....... :0c When she had her moments of saying nasty things, SHE DIDN’T KNOW BETTER. When she was called out, she stopped! did she really? Doesn’t erase what she said but it doesn’t mean she had bad intentions. i distinctly remember her defending her use of the word (tw!!) tr*p so like. ok You guys are so out to get her that you don’t realize she’s a person too. A person with emotions and a life to live. when are u going to stop using the "shes a person!!!" argument... zzzzzzz How do you think she feels reading about you all calling her disgusting and telling her she has no rights to this or that or even at all? i would hope she feels regret for her transphobic actions and that's all. Mewlin is truly a sweet, generous person. She gives people things out of the kindness of her heart. She’s gifted me a kalon and some edits, not to clear her name or to prove anything, but because she wanted to. what point are you trying to prove??? this is like saying a bully is a good person bc they're nice to their friends?? Have you ever considered that maybe her pfp on discord is that pride icon jish made because she wants to express her support?? okay... and? someone who's bi (assuming she's using the bi pride one) can still be transphobic lmao. Sure, she’s had her moments, but maybe she’s getting better. if she's getting better, i'd like to personally hear from her & not one of her friends. Maybe the pride icon is her way of trying to open up a little bit, and hey, she knows I’m a genderfluid lesbian and she’s never said a word to me about it. good for u!! must be because you're friends w her. she must be desperate to hold onto the few people who manage to ignore her bigoted opinions! Grow the fuck up and learn to either keep your mouth shut or GET OVER IT. Bitching about it on this blog for months is only keeping you angry and upsetting Mewlin more. i'm pretty sure people have the right to defend their identities & like. we would stay quiet if mewlin didn't continue to clown around This is counterproductive!! Yeah, you hate her. Woohoo!! You get a gold star! omg, thank u!!!! Now move on and do something with your life that isn’t obsessing over one person who is MISERABLE because of you. She is getting nasty dms all the time that are really upsetting to her all because you guys think it’s a fun idea to harrass her more. ok i haven't DMed her so i really don't have an opinion on that but., it's not like we're 'harassing' her without being provoked?? all of this drama starts with her & her bigoted statements/actions CS is supposed to be a fun, enjoyable game for everyone. It’s supposed to be a safe space. Lay off already and let her enjoy her safe space like you all get to as well. the problem with the last statement is that we don't get to truly enjoy this 'safe space' if transphobes like her are making trans people uncomfortable, afraid, and upset so like. Ok She’s not hurting anyone! really? she's not hurting anyone? If her existence makes you THAT uncomfortable, fucking block her and go. already have, luv xx I’m over it! I’m done reading the hate she gets on here and getting dms from my upset or even terrified friend because of what people said to/about her. are u trying to get us to sympathize w a transphobe..?? im confused. Imagine if it were you. i mean. if you read the salt blog last year it Was me so uhhhhh. what's your point?? i know i fucked up but it seems like all mewlin is doing is crying despite causing Imagine if it were your friend. i'm not friends with transphobes so i can't relate! There’s this DBT skill called radical acceptance. It’s where you recognize that it is what it is. You cannot change it so rather than sitting in your misery and spreading it around, simply accept that’s what it is and keep going with your life. Try it, it actually works pretty well. Radically accept that when it comes down to it, you can’t change her. So accept how she is and move on. are u asking people to accept that someone on what's supposed to be a safe space is a transphobe...??? Okay, I’m done rambling now. I’ve said my piece, I’m ready for the hate to come pouring in 👌

with this closing statement: it's 1am and i'm tired so! this is monky brain typing. i really don't have sympathy for mewlin whatsoever so like i really don't care if she gets upset over my response bc it's nowhere near compared to what trans people have to go through so :) my final words are: fuck mewlin and anybody who likes her despite her invalid shitty opinions.

[mod-python]

The Boosh submission didn't get deleted, the Tumblr search function just sucks. Thankfully we can just remove the commentary from Mochi's submission and get the OG anyway, so here you go:

I’m fucking over this mewlin bullshit. Idc what kind of hate I’m going to get over this because obviously nobody is allowed to have beliefs contrary to your own anymore. But anyways. Y’all need to laY oFF. Mewlin is a person, just like you and I. She thinks, eats, and breathes. She doesn’t deserve even a fraction of this harassment.I get it, her beliefs are upsetting to you. Obviously I don’t agree with her beliefs, I think transphobia is nasty. BUT that doesn’t make her a bad person. You hear me? YOUR BELIEFS DONT DEFINE YOU. Mewlin is a sweet, kind, supportive person with some controversial beliefs. I’m not saying you have to love her, you can hate her with every ounce of your being, but keep it to your damn self! I don’t expect trans people to be all buddy buddy with her, or even cis people. But you have no right to dehumanize her the way you’ve been. When she had her moments of saying nasty things, SHE DIDN’T KNOW BETTER. When she was called out, she stopped! Doesn’t erase what she said but it doesn’t mean she had bad intentions. You guys are so out to get her that you don’t realize she’s a person too. A person with emotions and a life to live. How do you think she feels reading about you all calling her disgusting and telling her she has no rights to this or that or even at all? Mewlin is truly a sweet, generous person. She gives people things out of the kindness of her heart. She’s gifted me a kalon and some edits, not to clear her name or to prove anything, but because she wanted to. Have you ever considered that maybe her pfp on discord is that pride icon jish made because she wants to express her support?? Sure, she’s had her moments, but maybe she’s getting better. Maybe the pride icon is her way of trying to open up a little bit, and hey, she knows I’m a genderfluid lesbian and she’s never said a word to me about it. Grow the fuck up and learn to either keep your mouth shut or GET OVER IT. Bitching about it on this blog for months is only keeping you angry and upsetting Mewlin more. This is counterproductive!! Yeah, you hate her. Woohoo!! You get a gold star! Now move on and do something with your life that isn’t obsessing over one person who is MISERABLE because of you. She is getting nasty dms all the time that are really upsetting to her all because you guys think it’s a fun idea to harrass her more. CS is supposed to be a fun, enjoyable game for everyone. It’s supposed to be a safe space. Lay off already and let her enjoy her safe space like you all get to as well. She’s not hurting anyone! If her existence makes you THAT uncomfortable, fucking block her and go. I’m over it! I’m done reading the hate she gets on here and getting dms from my upset or even terrified friend because of what people said to/about her. Imagine if it were you. Imagine if it were your friend. There’s this DBT skill called radical acceptance. It’s where you recognize that it is what it is. You cannot change it so rather than sitting in your misery and spreading it around, simply accept that’s what it is and keep going with your life. Try it, it actually works pretty well. Radically accept that when it comes down to it, you can’t change her. So accept how she is and move on. Okay, I’m done rambling now. I’ve said my piece, I’m ready for the hate to come pouring in 👌

0 Links

[bbangjaes]

jeon jungkook ruined my life: a story told through gifs

wey hey what’s up guys i’m back with another collection of rude gifs

this time our subject wll be the maknae and perhaps even the rudest member of bts: jeon jungkook

ok, time for the pain to begin

would any rude jungkook gif post be complete without a gif of this moment? i think not

idk what the fuck this move is trying to achieve but idc i’m still into it

again, what the fuck

don’t even get me started on this choreography, i’m thoroughly convinced that bighit was trying to kill me off

*googles* how to be a sweater

ok but seriously what do we have to do to get this hairstyle back because fucking hell

bitch i’m sweating he looks so good all dressed up n shit

hahahahahaha i’m not okay

*takes deep breath* isweartogodjeonmotherfuckingjungkookifyoudontbuttonupyourgoddamnshirtimgonnalosemyshit

i told myself that i wasn’t going to scream while making this post but it looks like that just went ouT THE FUCKING WINDOW

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

UUUUUUUUCK

hahahahahahahaha i’m not crying i just spilled a little water in my eyes

is this….. is this shit allowed

oh, you think this is bad?

well what do you think about this?

or this?

and we simply cannot ignore this

and i’m pretty sure that this is pornographic but hey it’s fine i’m FINE

that J on his jersey must be for “jerk” because that was extremely uncalled for

yup, it’s for “jerk” alright

tbh this stage was the sexiest shit ever and i’m still not over it

SUPRISE BITCH, THE CHEST HAS COME BACK OUT TO PLAY

AND THE ABS SEEM TO HAVE JOINED US AS WELL HELLO

ok u guys are probably sick of my comments by now so i’m just gonna hit u with straight up rudeness for a sec

OK OK OK I KNOW I SAID I’D SHUT UP BUT WHAT THE FUUUUUUUCKKKK

*raps to the beat of le hip thrusts* i. am. dead.

*yodels* fuck my life *dabs*

ok this was longer than i expected i’m so sorry i swear i’m done now peace out

(these gifs are not mine and i give complete credit to the makers of them)