#yeehaw lets just shift the blame around

[ganondoodle]

honestly cant stand how technically important demise is and yet how he doesnt actually matter or exist in peoples minds as a character, the only thing that matters is his stupid "curse" thing and its the only thing why he will ever be brought up, theres never really any thought around him that isnt related to the "cuuuurse", otherwise he basically doesnt exist in the fandom

to some extent its understandable given how little he actually is in the game but it still makes me sad and a little frustrated imo he shouldnt be treated like soemthing so unimportant given hes involved with the literal start of the timeline

and worst of all is how he and ganondorf make each other worse, like their link is completely deniable yet its like more often than not treated like gan is to demise what zelda is to hylia, but even that isnt used interestingly no, its only ever to write off gan as "well, hes just a demon, demons need no motives or character, they are jsut evil" WHICH IS SO BORING, and people will be HAPPY about that??? they go yippie gan is jsut an evil demon yaaay like the fuck???

it goes around to that other post i made about how not wanting a better written gan is wanting everything to be worse, bc a better written villain is a better written everything and there is only winning in that

demise specifically is just a sore spot for me since hes my blorbo, and the way even gan fans hate him for introducing the "cuuurse" thing just makes it hurt doubly, i get why, still its just so .. man i wish BOTH gan and demise were allowed to be characters, at least gan was a character at some point, demise has nothing ;__;

[innytoes]

For the Saucy Prompts: #22 and the Reggie pairing of your choice, p&ty

And also for @invisibleraven, who sent me: If someone has not sent you “Save a horse, ride a cowboy.” for a Reggie ship then it is a CRIME! I would love it for Rulie, please and thank you!

Since none of them were really big drinkers (and some of them actively didn't drink, due to trauma, medication, or 'everything tastes like how nail polish remover smells'), they decided that for their 21st birthdays, instead of getting trashed at some bar, they'd have the children's birthday party they'd always wanted but never had.

For Alex, they had a princess dance party, complete with mini-spa night and sleepover after. Luke dragged them all to a trampoline park. Willie, rather heart-breakingly, had asked for a cake, balloons, and party games. They got him seven different piñatas and five different cakes (three homemade, one ice-cream, and one from the grocery store with the request to put as many spelling errors on it as possible.)

And now it was Reggie's turn. And what Reggie desperately wanted was to go to the family-friendly, country-themed restaurant with the giant mechanical bull and the line-dancing in the evenings with all his friends and found family.

So they got him a nice leather cowboy hat, donned their denim and plaid, and yeehawed their way on over. Ray, Victoria and Carlos bowed out after a few dances, citing Work, Grownup Responsibilities, and 'if I have to see Julie make heart-eyes at you for one more second I'm going to be sick' respectively.

After a few more songs, some amazing crashing-into-others from Julie and Luke, and another plate of nachos, it was time to dare each other to go on the mechanical bull. Willie, daredevil that he was, went first, whooping and waving his sparkly cowboy hat around before being thrown off. He came up laughing, though, and reassuring Alex he was okay with a kiss.

Luke managed to get tossed by the second spin, pouting and saying he hadn’t been ready. Flynn lasted a surprisingly long time, even though she was screaming her head off the entire time. Alex patently refused to get on, and Julie dithered, suggesting Reggie go first while she gather her courage.

Reggie beamed, giving her a kiss, and bounced up to the bull. He got on, and gripping the saddle with one hand, and when it started up, he whooped excitedly.

What followed were probably the sexiest ten minutes of Julie’s life. Because Reggie wasn’t just good at this. He was amazing. He wasn’t clinging to the bull like Flynn, or waving his arm around frantically to keep his balance like Willie. No, he was moving with the bull, all languid movements and rolls of his hips.

Sometimes, when it spun particularly fast, he bit his lower lip in concentration. After a few minutes, Reggie got a flush of exertion on his cheeks, which combined with the body rolls and the shifting of his hips to keep his weight counterbalanced with the bull... well.

“Oh my god,” Alex squeaked next to her. “This is a family establishment.”

Julie just licked her lips, not even bothering to respond. She didn’t want to miss a second of this.

Finally, the bull stopped, and Reggie blinked, before cheering. “I did it!” he slid off and staggered back to Julie. “Do I get a prize?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Julie purred, tugging him closer. He stared down at her, cheeks still flushed, smile still on his face. “I’ll give it to you if you take me home right now.”

“Oh?” Reggie blinked. “Oh!” He blinked. “Don’t you want a turn?”

“I can think of something better to ride,” she said, already dragging Reggie along. He let himself be dragged, waving at the others. Julie ignored the catcalls. Like anyone could look her in the eye and blame her. “Save a horse, ride a cowboy, and all.”

An hour later, Reggie stared up at her in awe, dazed and thoroughly ridden, his skin flushed and his chest heaving.

“Well...” he whispered, as Julie leaned down and kissed him. “Happy birthday to me.”

[veryreallyfuckinbad]

FIRE AND MOSS // Daryl Dixon X Reader// CHAPTER 3

His words hit you like a truck, one going full speed at that. You opened and closed your mouth, trying to process and understand what he meant. Your dizziness didn’t help you put the pieces together. What did he mean he recognized Jake? Was he watching you? You were sure you looked like a complete idiot, but that didn’t matter. ‘Better be careful than be dead’, after all. You tensed and grabbed Jake, pulling him closer to you defensively, glaring at the man in front of you. He must have noticed your confusion because he decided to speak up, albeit with a sigh.

“Remember the bag?”

Then it hit you. This was the stranger that left the gifts for you and Jake. Why would he do that? He certainly didn’t look like the kind of man to help someone who he doesn’t know. Resources were few and far between, the nearest stores were looted and scavenged long ago, and those that weren’t were overrun.

“Was it from you?” You shifted slightly, sitting up properly.

“Yeah” he said lowly, his eyes not leaving you. He didn’t trust you, and he had every reason not to. A few seconds passed before he spoke again, “Found ya in the woods when I was looking for a lost lil’ girl. Ya seen one?” He spoke matter of factly, as if watching a girl from the shadows was a completely normal thing to do.

“No, I haven’t. I’m sorry“ As soon as the words left your mouth, the man’s gaze hardened. He looked at the floor and back up at you, as if afraid that you would spring up and attack him in the few seconds he wasn’t looking at you. You looked into his eyes, squinting a little as you did so. You saw sadness, disappointment and guilt. His eyes were the only expressive part of this man- his body language was unreadable. Suddenly, you felt a pang of guilt hit you, it felt like a slap in the face. He probably only helped you because he hoped you’d have known something about the missing kid. Before you could think, you opened your mouth and spoke.

“I haven’t seen any kids around but…” you trailed off, once again petting Jake and catching the man’s attention “Jake here is quite the tracker” you smiled warmly at him, all of your defensiveness and fear washing away. A group so dedicated to finding a lost child couldn’t hurt you. Somehow, you felt they were good people, even after only meeting one of them.

But the man didn’t say anything, only looking at you with a mix of worry and confusion. You took it as a sign, one that told you that they neither wanted nor needed your help.

“Sorry” you sighed, “I should get going. Thank you for saving my life” you offered him your best smile and politely bowed your head.

Before you could stand up, the door suddenly open and three more people coming in. Two men and one girl. One of the men was clearly older, with white hair, wearing a white button up shirt with suspenders. The other man was younger, but still older than you. He was wearing a sheriffs outfit, you had to bite your tongue as not to yell out a “yeehaw!”. The girl was pretty- with short hair and an olive green tank top. They looked kind, but intimidating. The man who you graciously dubbed ‘cowboy dude’ in your mind walked up to you with a small smile.

“Don’t go yet.” He smiled softly, “I’m Rick, this is Hershel” he gestured over to the older man “and this is Maggie” he added, pointing to the girl. “You remember how you got here?”

You looked over at the man whose name you still didn’t know, as if wordlessly asking whether you should respond or not. Of course, he didn’t understand and simply stared back. You looked at Rick again, deciding to respond.

“Uh… All I remember is old cabin, walker, glass, ouch” you said with a sheepish smile, not really remembering much other than that. There were some flashes of you wandering through the woods aimlessly but you didn’t think you needed to add that.

Maggie chuckled a bit at your simple response, causing you to give her an apologetic grin. Hershel walked closer, almost touching the bed you were laying on with his knees.

“I’m a doctor. I just need to check up on your thigh; your back is mostly okay, although you needed a couple of the wounds stitched. Your thigh is a different story, you were impaled” he sighed and looked at you. His eyes were kind and warm, he reminded you of your grandfather.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it but I really don’t want to waste your stuff or time” you dipped your head and looked up at him, but he insisted.

“Listen, how about this- I’ll let Rick talk to you and then I’ll check up on you.” The man said, motioning over to Rick. You simply nodded. You were nervous. Usually when people wanted to talk to you, it was either important or you were fucke-

“Yeah. Thanks” Rick’s voice snapped you out of your thoughts. Hershel and Maggie made their way to the door, both of them nodding at you as they left.

Jake looked around, clearly confused. You didn’t blame him, you were the only living human he’s met so far, he didn’t know what to do or whether you were in danger or not.

“So...” Rick began and waited, taking a seat on a spare chair in the meantime. Now Rick sat on your right and the other man on your left, causing you to feel surrounded and uncomfortable. You instinctively glanced at the door, looking for potential escape routes, in case one was needed.

“(Y/N)” you finished his sentence.

“Right, (Y/N).” He stuck out his hand and smiled warmly. Before you could extend your arm to shake his hand, Jake snarled and snapped his teeth at Rick. Letting out a small gasp, you touched Jake gently but it didn’t calm him down. He was protecting you from this stranger and while you were grateful to Jake for defending you, you began apologizing to Rick. He let out a small chuckle and retracted his hand.

“It’s okay, really” he assured, “We got used to it, when you passed out and Daryl had to carry you to the house, he almost killed us all. Little guy clearly doesn’t like us touching you. When Hershel was patching you up he kinda calmed down but as soon as someone else tried to touch you, they almost got their hand bitten off” he chuckled, his body less tense than it was before.

“Yeah, he’s smart.” You let out a quiet laugh and continued “I suppose he knew Hershel was trying to help” Rick nodded, “But still, I’m sorry.” You ruffled Jake’s fur, the fox arching his body up into your hand. Rick cleared his throat and leaned over, resting his elbows on his knees. You took note of the fact that the man, Daryl, as Rick called him, still didn’t say anything.

“Daryl found you when we were looking for a lost girl, Sophia. He said you spared your last resources on this fox so he brought you some of ours. Said you got really pissed when he snapped a twig” he laughed under his breath, licking his teeth.

You looked at Daryl and smirked, catching him off guard. You apologized quickly and he mumbled something you couldn’t quite make out. You still wanted to help find the girl but didn’t want to impose yourself.

“I already told Daryl that my friend here is a great tracker, we could help look for the girl- Sophia” you corrected yourself and met Rick’s eyes. “I can also give you my map and show you where I was and be on my way, if you would prefer that” you added. You really didn’t want to go. The group looked really well stocked, they were kind and seemed trustworthy. This seemed like a perfect place to stay.

“Rick” Daryl finally spoke up, “Seen ‘er fight. She’s good. Helped a wild animal too” He added the last part quietly, as if afraid of saying something wrong. You figured Daryl wasn’t really a talker, hardly speaking in full sentences. You glanced up at him with nothing but gratitude and didn’t miss the tiniest, almost unnoticeable smile pulling at the corners of his lips. They looked at each other, as if having a wordless conversation that only they could hear. Jake looked at Daryl, then Rick, trying to figure out what was happening. You did the same. The sight was quite comical, you both looked like confused puppies. Finally, Rick nodded and Daryl relaxed in his chair a little.

“Would you like to join us?”

Your eyes glistened, you couldn’t believe it. You were on your own for so long, always having to look over your shoulder, having no one to look out for you. You became quite good at surviving on your own but having a group again was a dream come true. Unable to speak, you just nodded your head and grinned at the man in front of you.

“I’ll take that as a yes?” he laughed and extracted his hand, about to put it on your shoulder. Before Jake could snap at him, you placed your hand on his head, telling him that it was okay, that he wasn’t going to hurt either of you. The animal seemed to understand as all he did was look at Rick cautiously, never letting the man out of his sight. Rick placed his hand on your shoulder and smiled at you, then at Jake.

“Welcome” he whispered gently. You felt your eyes water a bit, it still felt unreal. Sniffling, you put your hand over the one Rick had on your shoulder.

“Before you can go out to meet everyone, I need Hershel to see if you’re in any condition to walk around, alright?” he asked, his eyes warm. You looked at Daryl, your big smile never leaving your face.

“Of course!” you exclaimed, louder than you wanted “Thank you so, so much”

Hershel deemed you fit to go out, and while you didn’t want to leave the comfort of the soft bed, you would dearly miss it, you knew you couldn’t overstay your welcome. Daryl was by your side the whole time, when Hershel left he offered you a hand and helped you up, not without a growl from Jake.

When you stepped out of the house the sky was already dark. Stars glowed above the beautiful farmhouse- it looked like something out of a dream. The moonlight lit the entire farm, it shone above the old mansion, a barn, the big, tranquil fields.

You noticed tents were set up on the grass, some distance between them and the house. You heard the chatter of people- a sound you didn’t know you missed. People were sitting around a campfire, their smiling faces illuminated by the flames.

You walked up to them, Jake and Daryl by your side. You suddenly felt nervous and a little self-conscious, wanting to make the best possible impression on your new friends. Suddenly, you stopped in your tracks. Daryl quickly stopped and walked up to you with a confused expression on his face, his icy blue eyes piercing through yours.

“I never introduced myself to you” you smiled and extended your hand “I’m (Y/N)”

Daryl looked at you, puzzled. He tried to understand, he already knew your name. Still, he decided to play along.

“Daryl” he said, giving you another blink-and-you’ll-miss-it smile

After you were done introducing yourself to the man, you kept walking to the group, not waiting for him to follow. He watched you, still puzzled. He already couldn’t figure you out.

The people around the campfire turned to look at you, most of them smiling, some looking at Jake with curiosity in their eyes.

“Well hello there!” a woman chirped, she had long dark hair and wore a plaid shirt. She stood up to take a closer look and shake your hand. Jake puffed his fur up and growled but stood back when you signaled him that it’s okay. “I’m Lori. I’m guessing you’re (Y/N)?” she grinned. When you cheerfully confirmed, she spoke again, “Rick told us. Come on, take a seat”

Daryl sat on the grass next to an empty seat which you presumed was for you. You motioned for Daryl to sit on the chair while you flopped down on the grass so Jake could lay his head on your lap. Daryl didn’t sit on the chair you offered him, he just shook his head and stayed put. You looked at the people around you. After they all introduced themselves, you took mental notes of their names- T-Dog, Dale, Carl, Carol, Shane, Andrea, Beth and Glenn.

“So? Tell us about yourself! Don’t keep us waiting, we have a little bet going on” Glenn shouted excitedly, causing you to perk up and smile at him.

“What’s the bet, and more importantly, what are the stakes?” you caused the group to burst out into laughter, even Daryl. Even though his laugh was quiet, as if he was trying to suppress it, afraid of anybody hearing it.

“Dale thinks you were a zookeeper,” he motioned towards Jake “but I think you tamed him by random chance”

You chuckled, “First of all, I didn’t ‘tame him’. He’s still wild, he just loves me, and I love him. He’s more of a companion than a pet.” You explained, earning nods from the group. “Second of all, nope, not a zookeeper.” You smiled as Dale groaned, digging around his pocket and pulling out a package of dried jerky and placing it in Glenn’s outstretched hand. Jake’s ears perked up, you smiled as his head jolted up.

“He’s a fan of those” you ruffled his fur affectionately. You looked over at Daryl and added “Not as good as your squirrel, though” you gave him your warmest smile. He stiffened a bit, clearly caught off guard but to your surprise, he didn’t brush you off.

“My squirrel’s the fuckin’ best”

You gave him a toothy smile, he gave you a small smirk in response.

“Anyway, I really wasn’t much before all this started. I went to art school, worked in fast food, the usual stuff you’d expect from someone” you said, your tone was matter of fact. You heard Daryl mumble something unintelligible. He really needed to work on speaking clearly, you thought with a smile.

“Woah, you draw?” Carl smiled and jumped up a bit “Can you teach me?”

“Sure! I’ll even draw you guys once I find a sketchbook” you chirped and laughed when Carol, Lori, Rick, Carl and Glenn began begging you to add them to your ‘to-draw’ list. They all smiled when you reassured them you’ll make portraits of everyone that wants one.

“What’s his name? I’ve never seen a fox up this close before!” Carl said quietly, looking at Jake with pure awe in his eyes.

“That’s Jake. I wouldn’t recommend you pet him just yet though, he’s a little nervous” you grinned when you saw him nod in understanding. A while of comfortable silence and the occasional hushed conversation passed before Rick spoke to you.

“We got you a tent. Tomorrow me and Daryl can go and get your stuff from the woods” you dipped your head with gratitude and thanked him with a huge smile on your face- you missed your knife.

When the campfire died out, so did the conversations. Everyone headed back to their tents, ready to sleep. Dale decided to take watch duty, sitting in a chair on top of his RV, a shotgun in hand. Your tent was close to the others, near Andrea’s. You were about to sit down in the small, grey, one-person tent but you noticed something. Jake was growling and pacing around the entrance, clearly uncomfortable with all the new people around while you both sleep. You sighed and walked out of the tent.

“I get it. Let’s move a little” you said and smiled at the fox. He panted and licked his nose in response, running over to a spot further away. Deciding that he can pick the place to set up your tent, you dragged it over to him. Before you set it down, you saw one stray tent, far away from the others. You immediately knew who it belonged to when you saw another, smaller campfire and some tripwire surrounding it and a man sitting on a log, looking at the flames. Daryl.

Hoping he wouldn’t mind, you dragged your tent near his. He looked up at you, tense but relaxed immediately as soon as he saw it was just you.

“Uh… Could we set up here? Jake really doesn’t want to be near the group for now, he needs time to adjust. He’s kinda like you that way” you blurted out, trying to explain your reasoning, the last part coming out of nowhere and surprising you, “he picked the spot”

“Do I got a choice?” his voice was low but his words carried no weight- he almost smiled, but you didn’t notice this time.

You smirked, “Nope!”

[bosspigeon]

74. Kisses Where One Person Is Sitting In The Other’s Lap for Mason/your Detective (I have a goldfish memory, I can’t remember his name sorry).

Pairing: Mason/M!Detective Word Count: 1559 Summary: Literally just self-indulgent nonsense. A chubby detective with anxiety being loved on by our favorite grumpy vampire. Yeehaw.

I know this was originally intended for Chase, but I got inspired to write Juni instead, because I thought it would be cute, and I’m in the mood for cute lately. Mild CW for allusions to body image issues.

Mason perks up the second the Warehouse's hidden door slides open with its distinctive rumble. They all do, really, attuned to the sound at this point. Adam, of course, for "security reasons." Nate and Felix because they both love visitors, especially since they only ever have two.

Mason smells Juniper coming. He smells like outside, crisp cold air and fallen leaves, and the weird air freshener in his car that makes it smell like a goddamned bakery. His soft lavender laundry detergent, the spiced tea lattes he drinks to stay alert because he claims coffee makes his chest hurt-- he did drink it once that Mason recalls, because the new barista mixed up his order and he was too polite (read: anxious) to correct her. It made his heart beat hummingbird fast, and it took Mason snatching the cup and dumping it for him to stop drinking something that was hurting him out of some misplaced sense of propriety.

He shakes off the thought and sprawls himself more languidly across the chair, slinging one leg over the arm and looking towards the door from underneath a curtain of loose, dark hair.

Felix, sitting on the sofa across from him playing with some old handheld gaming console Juni's let him borrow, looks up and snickers. "You're so obvious."

Mason stretches out to kick his knee before hurriedly retaking his position.

"Juni!" Nate says cheerily when the human comes puttering in the door, windswept and chilly. "Welcome!"

Juni always seems startled by that enthusiasm, but pleased nonetheless, and he beams. "Hey! No missions today?"

Adam, tucked as close to Nate's side as he can be without being on top of him, grunts his annoyance, but otherwise keeps his focus on his book.

"I'm afraid not," Nate tasks, nudging Adam in the side reproachfully. "Which is why this one is so grumpy."

Felix chokes a little laugh at the choice of word, and Adam glares at Nate, who smiles glibly back. God, they've been sickening lately. Another thing to blame Juni for.

"I just got my sixth gym badge!" Felix crows while Juni is taking off his coat and scarf and tossing them over a chair. He hasn't even looked at Mason yet, and he’s trying not to be annoyed by that.

He smiles, freckled nose scrunching. "Oh, awesome! That means you can use Fly now!" Underneath his jacket, he's wearing a shapeless, dark sweatshirt that shrouds his body completely. Mason clicks his tongue, and that finally gets the detective’s attention.

His soft eyes drift to the chair, and his mouth quirks in that way that means he's about to get sassy, even if his ears are going pink and Mason can hear his pulse quicken. He smirks.

"Oh, and what's the problem now?" Juni asks loftily.

"No problem," Mason drawls, stretching his arms over his head so the bottom of his shirt rides up. Predictably, Juni's eyes flick down, breath hitching. Got him.

"His problem is you're not paying enough attention to him," Felix scoffs with a hearty eye-roll. "He posed himself all pinup for you, and you care more about Pokeymans than about poking him."

Mason growls, and Juni squawks out a sharp, involuntary laugh that shouldn't be nearly as charming as it is. He claps both hands over his mouth to stifle it, and, as if to apologize, he inches his way over to the chair and nudges at Mason's knee with his hip. He does try to keep his expression neutral when he pulls his hands away, biting his plush bottom lip, the corners of his eyes crinkled with the effort of not smiling. In retaliation, Mason snakes a few fingers into his waistband and tugs sharply, which is enough to overbalance him and send him sprawling. He flails a bit, and Mason wraps an arm around his waist to hold him still, but his body stays tense and he braces one hand on the arm of the chair, keeping his weight from falling onto the vampire completely.

"Wait, don't!" he blurts, pushing himself up a bit. His cheeks are bright red, eyes wide. Mason raises his eyebrows. "I don't want to squish you!"

"You won't," Mason says with a shrug, tugging again now that he knows it's not an issue of Juni not wanting to be close.

"Mason," he protests, "I'm like twice as wide as you are! You're all… lanky!"

Felix snickers. Mason ignores it.

Juni's getting fidgety, looking away and shifting like he’s trying hard not to squirm. Mason pushes his glasses back up his nose for him, and he mutters a quick thanks, but still won't look at him, and he's still bracing his weight so he won't fall across Mason's body.

Mason scoffs and stands up. The sudden motion dislodges Juni entirely, and would send him toppling to the floor if Mason didn't scoop him up and lift him like a sack of potatoes. Juni yelps anyway, which makes the vampire roll his eyes.

Adam and Nate are looking at them both, Adam entirely unamused, and Nate smiling with that usual fond indulgence he gets when any of them are acting up. Felix is cackling now, his game forgotten. Juni is covering his face with both hands, until he finally peeks between his fingers and notices that Mason is holding him effortlessly, no sign of strain, no shortness of breath, no trembling.

"Christ," he breathes, and the heat radiating off him makes Mason smirk.

"Do you believe me now?" he sighs, making an effort to sound as annoyed as possible.

"Um, yeah," the detective squeaks.

"Great." Mason flops back down, and Juni makes another sharp, startled sound, but doesn't try to escape. It takes him a bit, but he does relax slowly, settling against Mason's chest and draping his legs over the arm of the chair. He still seems shocked, a little antsy, as if Mason's going to start wheezing out of nowhere, but he doesn't protest.

Mason pinches his hip, making him jump. “Hey,” he murmurs, nosing his way into the soft, autumn-scented curls hanging over Juni’s face. “Relax. I may be lanky, but I’m stronger than I look. You weigh practically nothing to me.” He wraps an arm around the human’s waist and squeezes, using the coverage provided by his hair to nip playfully at his ear. That gets the blood rushing, and he squirms some more, but this time it’s less about his worries and more about the heat between the two of them. “And you’re so soft,” he purrs, slipping one hand underneath his sweatshirt to find bare skin. Juni wriggles some more, and it just makes Mason chuckle. “Keep doing that and we’re gonna have a bigger problem than you being all shy.”

He freezes, practically vibrating, and the heat radiating off him is delicious. Unfortunately, he can’t enjoy it long, because Felix has been distracted from his game long enough to decide they’re his entertainment now. He leans over the arm of the sofa, elbows braced and chin in his hands, making kissy faces at the two of them.

“You’re both so cute, it almost makes me not feel bad about being such a fifth wheel.” He glances back over his shoulder when Adam makes a disgruntled noise at the comment, but Nate just laughs and mumbles something about whatever they’re reading to distract him.

“You could always leave,” Mason growls back, while Juni hides in his neck and tries to pretend he’s not laughing.

“Nah,” Felix laughs, kicking his feet gleefully in the air. “It’s funny watching you get all annoyed. You want to be all cute and schmoopy, but you can’t when everyone’s around. Newsflash, Grumpypants, you’re being so stinkin’ cute right now. Cuddling and whatnot.”

Mason shifts with the urge to stand up and put the brat in a headlock, but freezes the second he realizes that would dislodge Juni. Juni, who is warm, and soft, and--

“Fuck,” he mutters. He glares at Felix, who looks entirely too smug, thinking he’s won. Mason’s going to have to get him back later, but for now, he’s got a human in his lap that is quietly radiating happiness, and when Mason returns his attention where it ought to be, he’s pleasantly surprised by a soft peck catching his lips, quick and sweet. It leaves him blinking, blindsided, and Felix starts snickering again, but he can’t even be bothered to be upset.

Juni doesn’t initiate kisses often, and warmth blooms deep in his gut at the unexpected, easy intimacy of such a small gesture. It doesn’t help that Juni is smirking. It's weak, still edged with his usual shy “is-this-okay” worry, but when he chuckles, “Good boy,” teasingly, Mason’s done for.

You’ve fucking ruined me, he almost says aloud, but stifles it at the last second by returning the favor and snagging the detective by the chin, kissing him with a little more force, more intensity. Juni melts instantly, going boneless and pliant, and Mason can’t even be annoyed by the slightly chilly fingers curling around the back of his neck with the pride pulsing through him.

And, while the detective is nicely distracted, Mason snags a throw pillow and chucks it blindly at Felix, and, judging by the sharp yelp that follows, it strikes true.

The victory is almost as sweet as the mouth against his.

[hongism]

request from @shibereomma​ :

    “Hi! This is my first time requesting an imagine but I love your posts and was wondering if I could request a 4&16 San ft Seonghwa angst with a happy ending”

oof this req made me really excited bc i haven't done one with more than one member yet so i was both excited and nervous at the same time bUT i hope i did it well and it makes sense?? idek what i'm saying at this point but n e wayz onto the writing

#4: "Why are you lying to me?”

#16: “Are you hurt?” “No.” “Then why are there bruises all over your face?"

...

You and Me (and Him)

"Y/N." The voice startles you, rousing you from the partial sleep state you're drifting in and out of, but you don't look over at the person who is speaking. Rather, you sit up straight in your chair and shake your head to dispel the tiredness from your mind. "Y/N, I asked you a question."

"Hm?" You blink at the person across from you. Cat-like eyes pierce into you. You flinch under the intensity of your ex-boyfriend's stare.

"I asked you a question, Y/N." San tilts his head to the side, eyes narrowed at you and your evident lack of focus on him.

"Could you repeat it? I'm a bit tired." You scratch the back of your neck.

"Late night?" He asks, and you don't miss the hint of underlying annoyance (and perhaps lingering jealousy) in his tone. "I asked if you're happier with him." You frown at his words.

"Do you want me to be honest or tell you what you want to hear?" San's gaze hardens even further at the question.

"Why don't you just lie like you always did while we were together?"

"That's unnecessary, San." You sigh and fold your arms over your chest.

"Well? It's the truth. Something you don't seem to understand the concept of."

"San," you hiss out between gritted teeth. You shift your gaze to look around the restaurant, searching for one person in particular, and San catches your eyes drifting. He follows your line of sight, and you both look over at the tall figure in the corner of the restaurant.

"You brought him? I thought this was going to be just the two of us."

"I didn't mean for him to come. He kinda just...followed along. I meant for it to be just the two of us."

"Why are you lying to me?"

"I-I'm not. I'm being completely honest with you."

"Did you bring him to rub it in my face?"

"San, I just said I didn't want to bring him. I'm not trying to do anything, I swear."

"Are you happier with him?" San repeats his previous question. He brings his gaze back to you, but this time, the gleam in his eyes is much softer. There's more pain there than before.

"We broke up."

"What?" San blinks at you in wonder, eyes growing wider by the second, and if you had it in you, you might laugh at his expression.

"Seonghwa and I broke up."

"Why?"

"He--" You cut yourself off. The sentence that was about to leave your lips is not something you want to admit, even though it's something San would want to hear. Something Seonghwa knew before your relationship came to a crashing halt, a swift and painful break in your heart, and you remember the night he broke up with you all too well.

"I'm ending this."

It hurt, quite a bit more than you would like to admit, and you're honestly surprised that Seonghwa even agreed to be in the same room as you after how you reacted to his following accusations.

"W-What? Why? I thought--we were--I don't understand, Hwa."

"We need to break up. I can't keep doing this, Y/N. You don't feel the same, I can see it. I know you don't, and I know you still love San. It isn't fair to either of us to stay in an unhappy relationship."

"I'm happy though! We're happy, aren't we? We love each other, right?"

You had grabbed hold of Seonghwa's face to catch his attention, only to spot a large number of bruises covering his face.

“Oh my god, Hwa! Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“Then why are there bruises all over your face?"

"Are you still holding a grudge, San?" You ask, pushing the memory to the back of your mind as you look at the man across from you.

"Against who?"

"Seonghwa, obviously. You know he broke up with me the night you two got into that fight."

"It's nothing, don't worry about it. Just a small fight."

"Are you blaming your breakup on me?" San scoffs. It's his turn to fold his arms over his chest and lean against the back of the booth.

"You still love him, Y/N. It's obvious that you do, and he still loves you. I'm not going to keep you from being happy any longer. I love you but I know San can love you better."

"No, San, that's not my intention at all."

"If you broke up, then why is he here?"

"Probably because of how you acted last time you were together."

"Are the bruises from him?"

"No, no, no. I said don't worry about that."

"It was him, wasn't it? What did he say to you? We can work through this, Hwa. Don't listen to whatever he said to you."

"This isn't about what happened between San and me. It's about us, what we are, and what we aren't. And I think I know where we both are."

"Not my fault he was jealous." San spits the words out like venom, betraying his own jealousy.

"This is exactly why we broke up, San."

"What? Because Seonghwa was jealous?"

"Because you can't contain your anger and bring it out on everyone."

San sighs, and you catch his eyes drifting back over to where Seonghwa is sitting. "Does he think I would hurt you?" The question is quiet, a soft-spoken tone exposing San's vulnerabilities. Even though you're absolutely certain that Seonghwa thinks that's exactly what might happen, you still care about San far too much to hurt him with the knowledge of Seonghwa's doubts.

"No, never." You say the words a bit too quickly, but San doesn't seem to catch. "Let's not bring Seonghwa into this, San. It's between you and me." Funny how Seonghwa had said something oh so similar the night he broke up with you, and now you're bringing it back around.

"Don't bring San into this, Y/N. It's between you and me."

Even more funny though is the fact that this has never been about just you and San or just you and Seonghwa. No, it's never been that. It's always been about you and San and Seonghwa because Seonghwa has been involved in this mess since before you and San even started dating the first time.

"You asked me here for a reason, San, and I want to give you a chance to explain it."

"Why did you break up with Seonghwa? I want a real reason, not an excuse."

"He..." You trail off, still hesitant about admitting how you truly feel, but San's expression hits something in you. "He wasn't you, and it took me too long to realize that."

"I want you."

"San." There is a hint of warning in your tone. You've heard these words before, you've heard him say this time and time again, three words that weaken you no matter what. You want to be strong this time, even if you want him back.

"I still love you."

"San, please."

"I need you." San leans forward, palms connecting with the table. You press your lips together. "Tell me the truth, Y/N. The truth." And that's enough to break you, tear down your walls of defense, and leave you vulnerable in front of San.

"I love you," you whisper. "I want you." Tears spring to your eyes before you can stop them. "I need you." You furiously try to blink the tears away before San catches sight of them, but you're too late, and they fall onto your cheeks as you look at him. "I want us to try again."

San's chin dips to the table, and a small laugh escapes his lips. "I want us to start over. Well, not start over, but retry with the things we know now. I think...I think losing you once showed me that I need to make more of an effort for you. I don't want to lose you again. I'd do anything to have you back." San reaches out, hand finding yours, and you let him, squeezing his hand as he wraps his fingers around yours.

"I want to give us another chance then." San grins at you from across the table, hand gripping yours tight, and he brings your hand to his lips to land a quick kiss to the skin of your knuckles.

"I'll make sure I do things right this time, Y/N. I promise."

...

a/n: hngnhngnnhgnhngh i am very very nervous about this one bc i've never written something like this before idek if it's even goOD idek ANYTHING y'all im just sitting here Stressed and Confused and Worried so klfjioweruklsdjf yeehaw i have NO idea if this is a happy ending or nah i was feeling the slow burning angst mood

[taehyungsgrowl]

Camp Souvenir - Xavier x Fem!Reader

A/N: Hey sweet friends! I was originally going to wait until the new season aired to write to Xavier fanfic, but I had some inspiration so here we are. 

I know we don’t know too much about him, but I did try to give him a little bit of a personality. 

Essentially, a fuck boy. But a nice guy overall. 

Warnings: Sex, Oral (male receiving), use of camera 

Description: Xavier wants to show you just how useful his clunky 80′s VHS recorder can be. (Basically y’all make a low resolution sex tape) 

Word Count: 2 K

Yeehaw!

{gif by @violadvis}

Dancing along to the quiet music that played through her cabin room, Y/N started getting ready for bed. She and the other counselors had a long week ahead of them. 

She stripped out of her clothes and into a large camp shirt from the year before. 

A sudden rasp at the door made her yelp - (being all alone in the woods, could you really blame her?)

“It’s just me,” she heard him laughing from behind the wooden door. 

Xavier. 

Every summer, for as long as they’ve both been counselors, they had this unspoken agreement to be, well, for lack of better words, friends. 

Friends who had sex with each other, (if only for the summer) but friends nonetheless. 

She hurried to the door before some could hear his loud voice. Xavier was a lot of things, but subtle was not one of them. 

She thinks back to the summer before when he made her cum repeatedly in the lake while the other counselors were only a few feet away. 

Y/N cracked the door open, only allowing her face to peek through. “I should leave you out here tonight for scaring me.” she smiled, knowing full-well that he’d be joining her on her twin sized mattress regardless.

“Awe, don’t be like that, baby.” he put his hand on the door and pushed it open, letting himself in. She rolled her eyes, but stepped back letting him inside her cramped cabin. 

“Besides,” he started to take off his teal color-blocked backpack, setting it on the floor and kneeling besides it. “I have a surprise for you..” she could hear the smile in his voice as he looked down, unzipping his bag. 

Her cheeks flushed, but she didn’t want him to notice. “A surprise?” she asked sitting on her bed. Her long T-Shirt rode up her thighs as she sat. Xavier didn’t fail to notice that. His blue eyes trailed up her legs, to her braless chest, and finally to her face. Sure, she left little to the imagination with her sleepwear, but Xavier was almost eating her with his his gaze. 

“Well..” he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, “Since it is our last summer together,” he tried to hide the disappointment in his voice. He really was going to miss warm night with her. “I thought we could make our own little camp souvenir.” he smirked. 

“What? We’re doing arts and crafts now?” she shook her head, “I promise I’ll make you a friendship bracelet tomorrow,” she jokingly mocked him, pouting her lip. 

It was his turn to roll his eyes now. “How sweet.” he quipped. Before she could make another smart remark he pulled out a clunky video camera out of his backpack. “I was thinking of another way to remember us by,” he pointed the camera in her direction, pretending to film her. 

She laughed and tried to cover her face with her nearby pillow. “Oh, shut up!” she exclaimed, giggling nervously. He wasn’t serious, was he? 

“I will not shut up,” he laughed as he took the pillow away from her to see her face. He was kneeling in between her legs, camera held loosely in his left hand. “C’mon what do you say? It’ll be fun,”

Her eyes met his again. They sparkled with a hint of mischief and his boyish charm shone through. There was really no way you’d be able to say no. Besides, a part of you burned at the idea of making a sex tape. The thought of behaving like a porn star for Xavier to keep forever made your lower belly burn in excitement. 

Nodding slowly, she agreed, “Okay. Yeah. Fine,” she smiled, slowly becoming more and more comfortable with the idea. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head. 

“Perfect,” he reached up to peck her lips before she could change her mind. He stood up and got his tripod set up adjacent to her bed. Carefully setting the camera on top and pressing Record. 

Xavier, being who he was, loved the spotlight. Even at camp, you’d always find him in the center of attention. He loved having eyes on him. He was the perfect dance teacher because of it. 

He walked in front of the camera, crouching down to ensure his face (and hair) were in the frame, “Camp Sexcapades; Take One.” he winked at the camera before turning back to her.  

“You’re an idiot,” she laughed as he made his way back to her. 

“An idiot you’re still gonna let fuck you, don’t you forget it, baby,” he pulled her up and switched places. With her back facing the camera, he pulled her in for a kiss. Large hands roaming down her sides until they came to your ass. Xavier lifted her large shirt, right above the curve of her ass and gripped it firmly, spreading her cheeks and slapping it once. 

She felt his signature smirk form against her lips at his cheeky gesture. 

“You’re cool with this, right?” he asked quietly as he held her face. 

She decided to pull a gesture of her own; her hand snuck in between both of their bodies and grasped at the prominent bulge in his white shorts. She had noticed the outline of his cock from the moment he walked into her room. And here he thought she was the one who left little to the imagination.

“Don’t tell me you’re backing out now,” she teases him both verbally and through his shorts. 

Xavier let out an almost shaky breath, his eyes glancing towards the red light that flashed from the camera. Not wasting anymore time, she dropped to her knees, but shifted so her side and profile was facing the camera - Xavier followed suit, giving the lens a clear view of what she was about to do. 

Soft giggles escaped her lips as she nervously undid his shorts. No, this wasn’t her first go at this, but it was the first time being recorded like this and as much as it turned her on, it still made her nervous. 

His long cock sprung out as she let his bottoms pool around his ankles. “So big..” she said quietly looking up at him. His already inflated ego soared, “Think you’re gonna be able to take it, baby?” he feigned his sincerity, giving her a mocking pout. 

Y/N stuck her tongue out and licked the underside of his tip, allowing the movement to be shown, slowly. She imagined Xavier replaying this tape over and over, stroking himself while they were away from each other. 

Wrapping her lips around his head fully, she hallowed her cheeks and began to bop her head down his length. 

“Fuck.” he groaned, throwing his head back. She massaged at the veins decorating his girth with her tongue. Making soft strangled whimpers for the camera and batting her lashes for Xavier, she felt like an adult film actress. 

Low grunts overpowered the music that continued to play in the room. “Go on,” he gripped her hair tightly in his fist, “Show me how much you like this, baby.” 

Loudly popping him out of her mouth, she moaned, “Mm, I like it so much,” she wiggled her ass for him one more time before taking him back in her mouth. 

His stomach began to tighten as the blood rushed and his cock throbbed. It took all his willpower to pull her off of him. With as good as she was, he knew he wasn’t going to last much longer and he wanted to be inside her when he came. 

“Argh, but I wasn’t done,” she whined, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. 

“You’ll have plenty of chances to have my cum down your throat, don’t worry.” he helped her up before roughly pushing her down in the bed. 

Quickly and clumsily, he took off his pullover sweater and tossed it on the ground, leaving him naked and ready. Climbing in between her thighs, as she sat up on the bed, he lifted her shirt above her head and discarded it along with his clothes. 

Urgency taking over both of them, they both made an effort to take her panties off. She could feel the warm dampen spot between her legs grow with the anticipation he had built around it. 

Pushing her back down so her head hit the pillow, he hovered above her. He leaned down and kissed her. Camera forgotten for the moment, he closed his eyes as his mouth explored her and truly kissed her for the first time since last summer. 

Xaviers cock brushed against her bare thigh as they made out on the bed. Instinctively, she wiggled her hips trying to feel the friction where she really wanted it. He felt her move underneath him and used his own hips to hold her down. “Someones eager..” he mumbled against her lips.

“It’s been a whole year,” she pouted, pulling him back to her lips for another hungry kiss. 

“Let’s make up for lost time then,” he bit down on her lip and aligned himself to her entrance. 

Gently teasing her wet core, he slowly slipped inside her. She felt the familiar stretch of his cock splitting her pussy. Time after time he made her feel like this; made her feel like her first time as the familiar sting burned through her momentarily. 

“Fuck,” he bucked his hips into her, “I missed this,” he pants out, feeling her clench around him, “I missed you,”

“God, faster please,” you beg feeling him stay still. No movement from his hips, but his cock continued to throb in her pussy. 

He placed his hands above her head on the headboard for support and began to drill his cock inside her. His ass was on full display for the camera as he flicked his hips repeatedly. 

“Feels so good, please.” she begged, feeling the tip of his cock inching deeper and deeper with each thrust. 

“Taking. Me. So. Well.” he grunted, with each thrust he gave her. 

She felt lightheaded and her legs began to tremble. Giving him open mouthed, sloppy kisses, she let herself go. Completely losing herself in the feeling her gave her. 

“That’s right, baby. Cum for me.” he kissed her jaw and chin - anywhere he could place his lips, really. 

All the while, feeling her nails digging into his back - he was sure he’d have the visible scratch marks tomorrow during swimming. 

Xavier held on for her and didn’t release until she was cumming, both of their arousals mixing together. They were seeing stars brighter than the ones that shown out in the wilderness outside. 

Even after finishing, he stayed inside her, letting his body go limp over hers until he came down from the rush he got. Once he finally rolled off of her, she felt their cum slip out of her cunt and drip on to her sheets. 

“Fuck, that was...” she let the sentence hang in the air - still in euphoria. 

“I know.” he agreed, both rolling over to face each other. 

He reached forward and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.  

“Hey and for the record, X..” she hoped that the dim lighting would hide her blush, “I missed you too,” 

She saw a sleepy smile spread over his face before he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. 

It seemed as if both of them had forgotten the video they were recording. Before drifting to sleep, they shared stories of what they had done in the past year and what their hopes were for the summer and beyond. 

“I hope I still get to see you,” she admitted looking up at the dingy ceiling. 

“Make me that bracelet you promised and we can work something out.” he laughed. 

***

The next morning they woke up to the sound of her alarm blaring. She sat up in the bed, rubbing at her tired eyes. How Xavier could sleep through the alarm was beyond her. 

Focusing on her surroundings, she noticed the black camera and tripod, looking directly at her. Red light still flashing. 

Another blush creeped to her face as she recalled the night before. 

She stood up and stopped the camera, taking the tape out of the side. Taking her favorite gel pen, she scribbled a message on the blank white label of the tape, “Camp Sexcapades; Take One” before neatly tucking it into his backpack. 

--

THANK YOU GUYS FOR READING! I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS! 

tagging: @1-800-bitchcraft @avesatanormalpeoplescareme @mega-combusken  @lathraios @emmyrosee @ritualmichael @starwlkers @langdonsoceaneyes @langdonsinferno @lvngdvns@wroteclassicaly @divinelangdon @langdvnshepherd @satcnas  @missantichrist @theinevitableprophecy@sammythankyou @lovelylangdonx@wickedlangdon @ticklish-leafy-plant @wvntersldr @michael-langdon-appreciation @rocketgirl2410 @coollangdon@venusxxlangdon @livocc @maso-xchrist @langdonsdemon @langdonswhoreprobably  @saviorinsilk@desertsunflower00@langdonshell @freak-war-hour @flowersiren @ladynuwanda @cam-elija @queencocoakimmie @codyswhore @hecohansen31@peachesandfern @littledemondani @getdevils @littlepsychos-world@plsfuckmelangdon @hplotrfan @devil-on-acid@ivegotaworldofchances @cocosfern @moltenskeleton 

[valkblue]

— masterlist, AO3

Chapter 3 on 12

Chapter wordcount: 5,241 Rating: General Warning: You know the drill by now, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ swearing and technobabble!

Author’s notes: Soft engineer goes yeehaw.

Tag list: @hathorik​, @pheedraws​, @the-blind-assassin-12​

Does anyone else wants to be added to the tag list? Let me know. 💙

— Chapter 3

In front of the mirror, Vivian was enjoying a pretty flattering image of herself in this Old West apparel; it was brand new, from boots to hat, all worn looking with some sort of a distress effect for which Vivian had actually paid good money. The staff didn’t always get to choose among the bespoke best of the best considering the renting was free… But if one aimed for ever so slightly better, it wasn’t anymore!

For now, Vivian regretted nothing, except maybe that she wouldn’t get to keep it all at the end of her stay. She even afforded a gun!

But considering where she intended to go, it wouldn't be just a pointless luxury. And neither would be looking a bit more weathered than as if straight out of the tailor's shop…

Filled with pride, Vivian flushed at the thought she hoped not to be the only one to think her pretty, and to make an impression on the other guests. For no reason other than to boost her self-esteem. She pulled her hair up, trying to shape them into some fancy beachy waves, same as for a western starlet, Sharon Stone in that antic 95' movie, "The Quick and the Dead"… but not as sexy. Also, less blond.

And clearly, everything else was so frickin stylish as well! Thanks so much, Design.

All the available outfits for the clients were carefully recreated with historical sewing patterns but with all the benefits of current materials. And the gray linen shirt, the vest and the pants Vivian was wearing were cut better and no doubt from much more comfortable fabric than her everyday clothes that it was borderline upsetting!

Still, she smiled to her reflection while tying a large beige and red kerchief around her neck.

This time, she chose what she would wear. No way she’d suffer dresses or puffed sleeves and flowered hats ever again!

Her first visit in the park, not too long after she started in Behavior, was on the occasion of a "team building" week-end of some sort but after a few hours — a day, maybe? — everyone had scattered around in the limits set to them during their onboard train briefing… So much for team spirit!

That being said, Vivian was fine with that; she was of the quiet kind, more observing than extroverted, and to go forth befriending new people, stuff like that, wasn’t really her strength. Even if everything had been set up to spur her on that way. Like, a Team Building week-end…

But then, it was also because she was the way she was — alone and no strings attached — that Vivian had grasped this golden opportunity to work as a coder for Delos in their now famous park. She only had a few friends all around the world, mostly online, and didn’t keep much contacts up with her family, especially her sister with whom she shared an old resentment.

It was this lack of ties that could let people believe her more focused and available than her otherwise committed colleagues.

These thoughts discarded, Vivian put her stetson on, stuffed her gloves in her gunbelt and picked her saddlebags up before leaving the dressing room to walk the hallways down to the elevator. It took her in one go all the way to the level right below the surface, from which the maglev shuttles' terminal was distributing the entirety of the park; she almost jumped out of the cabin and kept a brisk pace in the last long corridors to reach a plainer hall than the client’s terminal.

Shifting her saddlebags’s weight on her shoulder, Vivian moved across the space, ignoring the curious eyes to get to one of the shuttle’s platform. She was already getting in character, and she enjoyed it. 

Maybe a bit too much, she thought as she tipped her hat to three techs in suits and apron. She was discovering herself an unsuspected confidence that she liked very much; she giggled with pleasure as she stepped in the shuttle she was about to share with a group of techs from various departments and two guys from QA’s security, including one who gave an enormous yawn.

The shuttle carried them at high speed and stopped first at Vivian's meeting point, where she was the only one to step off.

With a peek at her pocket watch, Vivian hoped she wasn’t late, provided that she didn’t get stood up. But passing one of the many concrete pillars in the huge low lit tunnel, her worries faded; Graham didn’t let her down. He was there, waiting for her next to a freight lift, holding a beautiful chestnut horse by the bridle. At least, she wouldn’t have to walk, or rely on the train and start all the way back from Sweetwater.

"Thanks, Graham! Sorry for the trouble…"

"No problem," he answered. "You’re aiming to make a mess someplace, aren’t you?"

Vivian scoffed and buckled her saddlebags to her steed’s gear.

"No, not even! I’m just gonna visit remote corners, far from the tourists’ standard circuit."

"Mmh, good luck…" Graham replied lazily, handing her the reins. "Cry for help and shake your arms to the camera if you need us to come get you!"

She punched him lightly in the arm and he smiled, unfolding a tablet on which he confirmed Vivian and her horse’s exit in the logs.

"You’re good to go."

"Thanks, Graham."

"Yeah, yeah…"

He waved her away towards the glass lift; as she was getting ready inside, her horse still held by the reins, Graham ordered it to go up — the doors closed, and the cabin shook in its tubular frame.

"Yeehaw, babey!" he shouted, playfully.

Vivian shrugged before patting her horse’s shoulder as to calm it. It didn’t need any of that, it was actually more about alleviating her own stress by petting it. The lift slowly raised Vivian and her horse to the surface where the bright daylight was jarring. She lowered her head to look around under the brim of her hat; a great plain spread out in front of her eyes, surrounded by crisp red hills covered in tall grass and a few crooked trees like old charred bones.

The lift shook again before coming to a stop, startling the horse that jolted at the end of its reins. Vivian patted its neck and when the doors opened she steered it out; a gust of wind full of a warm earthy smell rushed a cloud of dust against the armored glass.

Gathering the reins on her horse’s neck , Vivian hoisted herself in the saddle; it wasn’t something new by any means, but the feeling of it was strange anyway — she hadn’t been on a horse for a very long while. But as they said, it was like riding a bike…

For now, she was happy just by staying in the saddle, unmoving, and took the time to put her gloves on to observe the landscape. According to the map she did her best to memorize, Las Mudas was north-west from this outpost, within a few miles. On horseback, it wouldn’t take long. And she would find the road eventually, even before reaching the town.

Vivian clicked her tongue to encourage her mount to walk, and it obeyed; she was in no real hurry but if she hoped to be in the right place at the right time to smoothly intercept the narrative of her choice, she ought to end up galloping at some point, fast!

She picked in her pocket, pulling out her watch; it was past two in the afternoon and, provided she didn’t wind up lost, she’d be there around four. Comfortably set in her saddle and stirrups, Vivan pushed the pace of her horse with another click of her tongue while the freight lift was quaking back down.

Gallop wasn’t uncomfortable, but galloping that long could quickly become so and, once she reached the dirt road meandering in the sparse vegetation all the way to Las Mudas, Vivian let her horse go back to a trot. And that gait was straight down uncomfortable but she preferred riding all the way there rather than popping up through a building access right in the middle of the town, fresh as a daisy, hands in her pockets, saddlebags on her shoulder… and without any pony.

Not fishy at all…

The truth was she didn’t had much of a choice about the available access points, really! She did what she could with what was among the closest. But it was fine by her. It would make the experience more authentic and gave her the time to check what she could have overlooked before leaving, or even think things through instead of just dive head first into trouble.

That being said, she hoped there wouldn’t be any; she wasn’t there to go on an adventure, but to hold a promise… while taking notes on her script in field conditions.

The thought that she’d remove it if it caused any issue was kinda gut wrenching but she thought it best to blame it on hunger. Vivian hadn’t had lunch yet so nervous she was, and now, she was starving.

But, at last, the shape of the town’s walls cut out on the hills gray with garrigue. Maybe she’d eat something once settled there. She had heard that the food was kinda good around these parts…

Vivian let the reins loose; only a few yards and they entered, walking, on the town’s dusty square. Even if her poor horse had done most of the work, it wasn’t the only one to be tired by this scamper; they both had a sore back and stiff legs. Getting her feet back on the ground would be an interesting experience in a few moments…

She stretched her shoulders as she was slowing down her horse, until it stopped, nose in front of the fountain. Apparently, she was better at parallel parking with a horse than with her car!

That thought made Vivian snicker as she slowly slid down her steed. As she expected, dismounting was tough; the pain surge from the sole of her feet all the way to her thighs, getting her knees to shake. She stood still for a second, taking the time to pat her horse who had already dived its big grey nose into the water of the fountain.

"Good idea, buddy,” she whispered, out of breath.

She took her canteen from her saddle horn to take a long sip from it. The water wasn’t that fresh anymore but it still did the job; Vivian felt like all the dust of the road was in her throat right now! Her steps heavy, betraying her lack of habit to ride for so long, she sat with less grace than hoped on the edge of the stone basin, beside her still drinking horse. Vivian took a hot minute to breathe and watch the scenery of Las Mudas; she could make out the colors of the house fronts under the dusty patina, feel the cool air and hear the quiet bustle of its inhabitants. Children were running after a few panicking chickens with a dog barking in excitement and wagging its tail like a whip.

Vivian removed her gloves and untied her neckerchief to wipe her face. When her horse raised its head, its mouth dripping with water on her shoulder, she chuckled and avoided its forehead coming a bit too fast in hers. Then, she plunged her hands in the water to wet her face and neck. That felt really good.

Vivian tied her neckerchief back while a plump red hen came pecking pebbles at her feet, fleeing when her horse stepped on the side; she snorted as her eyes followed the hen’s erratic dashes. Vivian enjoyed the calm ambient, the subtlety in details, but at the same time, she was recognising the work of this team, that department… Vivian grunted as she turned away from the daily life scene and leapt to her feet, startling her horse. She shouldn’t let her insider knowledge get in the way of what she came to do here, she shouldn’t "trash her own immersion" as much as she should be careful of what she was going to say, and to whom.

After this little clarification with herself, she brought her attention back to the people around her; the border between hosts and guests was finally getting a bit blurry — that guy who was scraping horse shit from his soles on the edge of the cantina’s boardwalk was just that, a man… And these kids, bickering around who would be the hunter in their next game of hide and seek, were all just kids. It was more pleasing to imagine oneself like a time traveler — she had to adapt to what was around her, not the other way around.

Her horse cut her thoughts short with a soft headbutt to her back, like a nudge to immerse herself back in and she took it to the hitching post, a few steps away; Vivian rolled the reins around the rod, searched in her saddlebag for a few coins she pocketed in her vest and walked without hurry to the cantina’s rickety tables. She pushed her holster back a little on her hip and sat on a chair. Even though she had spent the last few hours with her butt sticked to a saddle, she felt like it was the first time she was really sitting since the morning! Her shoulders stooped in relief and she stretched her legs with a grunt, propping one heel on the seat in front of her. 

"Shit…" she sighed between her teeth.

She noticed the three patrons at the closest table staring at her. When their eyes met, under the brim of her hat, they turned away, focusing back on their tumblers full of whisky and their domino game.

"What are you having, newcomer?"

Vivian almost jumped; the barkeep was standing right beside her, a dirty rag in his hands. His face was as weathered as the walls and he looked simply tired to be himself.

"Actually, I’m looking for someone," she explained.

The barkeep’s whole face wrinkled as he frowned, wincing a smile that was as embarrassed as it was embarrassing.

"What kind of someone?" he asked, cautious.

Vivian understood her mistake. It might not be the best way to break the ice to accidentally imply that she was a bounty hunter or something, as she suddenly realised. She tried to fall back:

"Someone with good knowledge of these parts to take me to Pariah without going in circles."

The barkeep couldn’t have looked more relieved had he cracked a fart, Vivian thought, her eyebrows raised in amusement.

"Oh," he said before flicking glances around. "You’re sure gonna find a great deal of good folks like that around!"

He gestured towards one of the domino players.

"Carlos, here, can take you. Hey, Carlos…"

That one turned a suspicious look towards Vivian’s table, but stood up anyway to step forward; he was the dirtiest of the three and under the brim of his own hat, his face had something alarming — maybe because of his broken nose and missing teeth. With a calm motion of her hand, she stopped him to make another step. Carlos froze, looking frankly disappointed and Vivian glared at the barkeep.

" Someone trustworthy."

Carlos grumbled and spat some black tobacco goo on the ground, through the spaces between his teeth before sitting back among his cackling friends. Vivian looked back to the barkeep who winced again awkwardly.

"D’you have that around here?" she quipped.

Far be it from her to be disparaging; she was only being playing the game… She figured out that the barkeep wasn’t a model of bravery, or honesty, and he needed to be pushed a little for her to get what she wanted. He shrugged, twisting his rag.

"Yeah, yeah," he assured her, nodding almost exaggeratedly. "Sure! There’s…"

He cleared his throat and one of his shaking hands flew from the rag to point her towards the stables — or at least what looked like it — opposing the cantina on the other side of the street.

"Thanks," she answered, almost ironically.

But he heard nothing of it, bobbing his head without adding a word before leaving for a table where a guy was calling for him loudly. Vivian stood up without haste, sparing her sore muscles useless efforts, before heading to the wooden awning. The street wasn’t very large between the cantina’s boardwalk and the stables and yet, she had time to come across enough people to wreck her immersion; two women were walking down the southern aisle, commenting almost out loud on the realism of the place. 

"Feels like the real thing!", a guy uttered as he caught up on them after having thanked a woman who had given him direction on the doorstep on her house.

The real what, exactly?!

It’s wasn’t like they were in the middle of Sweetwater, which was more or less the  park’s entry point, with all its market-tested banalities! No, this was one of these remote areas where things started to get a bit more "hairy" as Margaret said… "Epic", according to Thawal.

Basically, what the fuck were those tourists doing here, in this area of the park, if they weren’t going to forget, not even for a second, the limits of this questionable reality they were clinging onto at each step to focus on all the possibilities of where they were right now?

Vivian let out a slow sigh. She shouldn’t get angry, or judge; maybe these people lacked self-confidence — she knew all too well what a pain it could be — and were afraid to lose control; control of themselves, or the situation.

Vivian rubbed her neck under her kerchief and slowed down as she arrived in front of the stables. From there, exited a tall black guy with broad shoulders under his long duster, and with one look, he seemed to evaluate her from head to toe as he went past her, leading his horse by the bridle. He nodded to Vivian, and she nodded back. 

By the fountain where he hoisted himself in his saddle, several others came from the nearby street; she heard the guy giving orders to the troop gathering around him and they all went ahead, galloping towards the western gate, frightening the chickens away to the sides of the street, scattering their feathers as they flapped their flightless wings. A strange silence fell on the town after the riders disappeared.

Despite her being kinda bothered about "tourists", Vivian would admit that long-returning guests like that man with the duster, had an uncanny ability to blend themselves in the narratives, to make them theirs to the point of changing the entire thing sometimes. At least, until the next reset.

Vivian brushed her hair off her forehead under the brim of her hat to try to gather her thoughts, and courage, before stepping in the stables; two men had their backs turned, at the right of a bay horse’s tail, facing to talk to another Vivian couldn’t see, except for his worn hat between their heads. At the moment, he seemed more concerned about his saddle’s straps than about what the two other men were telling him on a hurried but hushed tone. Vivian couldn’t hear everything from where she was; one of them didn’t want him to leave, not now, and the other was arguing that it was exactly what "the other brother" was waiting for, that he should at least let them come with him…

The horse shifted its weight, nudging the man leaning on its croup — he and the other moved aside, clearing the line of sight to the third, someone Vivian recognised with no effort. Even dressed.

She sucked her teeth and wrinkled her nose as to hold back a laugh. But all cheerfulness vanished when the two men turned to her, almost threatening. Certainly surprised by the sudden silence, Lawrence then looked up, letting go of the straps he had just finished buckling around a Winchester scabbard.

"The fuck d’you want?" spat the one of the two with a big mustache and a split leather vest.

Vivian didn’t answer right away, and that silence prompted the other to slowly put his hand to the handle of a knife in his belt. The unspoken threat made Vivian’s heart rush. Yet, she kept her chill — way more than she imagined herself able to. So, she explained:

"The barkeep sent me here when I told him I was looking for someone trustworthy to take me to Pariah."

The one with the mustache glanced at Lawrence, himself staring at Vivian with an expression she could have qualified as grumpy or disappointed.

"I can pay, if that’s what concerns you," she added to break the silence before it settled.

Lawrence suddenly unfroze and shook his head, before checking a second time on the straps securing his rifles’ scabbard to the saddle.

"No," he grumbled. "Sorry, lady… You’ve been fed some bullshit."

He patted his horse and tugged a bit on his saddle blanket to adjust it.

"Thing is… I can’t right now."

He was playing "hard to get"! Vivian would’ve almost laughed at that. Not that she found it ridiculous or anything, on the contrary; it was nice, and unexpected!

Looking away towards a rider passing in the street near the awning, she nodded slowly, not repressing a smirk, and sliding her thumbs in her belt.

"Alright," she simply said. "Thanks anyway…"

Vivian waited for a second to pass in silence. None of them broke it until she added:

"Evenin’, gents…"

She tipped her hat; one of the men nodded as an answer and Vivian was already leaving the stables when she heard another swear a bunch, on a quiet tone. She was still repressing her smile when she reached the cantina to sit back at the same table, still available. This time again, she was more than happy to sit down.

Vivian threw a quick glance at the stables and snorted, amused. She easily guessed that he wasn’t engaged on any other narrative than his own for now but… she wouldn’t insist anyway. Maybe later? Or maybe she’d follow him and pretend to come across him somewhere along the way… Vivian had nothing outlined, really, and she didn’t want to outline anything. She, too, would improvise!

The barkeep finished to fill a glass at the nearest table and walked to Vivian’s to whom he asked:

"Something to drink, after all?"

He shook the brownish alcohol bottle he had in his hand.

"Cider, you have that?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure! I-I’ll get it now…"

And without waiting for any approval or comments, he left for the inside of the cantina. Vivian let out a long sigh; every intentions put aside, it was a nice moment to spend in the coolness and the calm of this small town between the hills. At the southern gate, the entrance of a cart pulled by a prancing donkey caught Vivian’s attention but she turned away from it as the barkeep was coming back already, holding a clay bottle and one small glass, same as for the other patrons, barely bigger than a shot.

"Did… did you find what you were looking for?" he asked, opening the bottle.

"You can say that…"

The barkeep didn’t comment and poured a glassful of dark cider, generous enough to spill all over the table — she guessed that it was a dry one but she hoped it would also be a good one. She nodded, thanking him silently, and the barkeep went back inside. A second had barely passed and a man stood up from his table to come and sit in front of Vivian who was trying her best to raise her glass without spilling more; she only acknowledged him with a curious eye while working on the careful rise of her almost-a-shot of cider.

"Heard ye're lookin’ for someone to get ya to Pariah, over there?" he jabbered with a thick accent.

Vivian didn’t answer, watching him above the back of her own hand as she was swigging a good half of her drink; his skin was tanned under his salt-and-pepper beard, his eyelids heavy and his eyes yellowish.

"Ah can take ya there,” he continued under Vivian’s scrutiny. “Less than three days!"

He nodded vigorously.

"Truth be told, ah did it on the way in awright," he completed, without taking note of Vivian’s stubborn silence. "Gimme first half now and the rest as soon as—"

He never finished his sentence, pulled out of his chair by the grip of another man who tossed him aside without a word; he almost fell over but didn’t complain, and on the now available seat settled Lawrence. The expression on his face was a subtle mix between annoyance and remorse and Vivian only raised an eyebrow while putting her glass down on the table.

"My apologies for my bad manners, before," he said, not looking her in the eye for too long. "My cousins and I… we didn’t agree on somethin’."

Vivian didn’t reply and leaned back in her chair… now that she could take her glass without spilling it everywhere.

"I take it you want to go to Pariah?"

It wasn’t really a question, and Vivian didn’t reply to it either, holding his stare. The barkeep was coming back to their table anyway, a bottle and a glass in his hands. However, he didn’t say anything as he poured the whisky in the glass he had put in front of Lawrence who asked again:

"Why is it you want to go there?"

This time, it was a real question. The barkeep had a knowing grin for Vivian before walking away; he was so proud of himself, that one!

"I… I’m supposed to meet someone," she answered, looking back at Lawrence. "Someone who… who owes me."

Vivian clenched her teeth, and her fingers on her glass; it was only half a lie, as she’d find an outpost somewhere around the town but still, she lied. And, herself, she wasn’t proud of that.

The truth was that she had planned her starting point, but not her arrival.

But the answer seemed to convince Lawrence — at least, enough for him to recline in his chair, an arm resting on the table. Without taking his eyes off Vivian, he was tapping with his fingers on the scratched, stained table, next to his glass he still hadn’t touched yet. Vivian enjoyed that detail in his bearing; she could guess that he was thinking. About what, she wasn’t sure, but she was eager to hear what he’d chose to answer.

"If I may," he started with caution. "I don’t think this is a good place for someone… someone like you…"

He waved towards her in a lazy move, still close to his glass. And Vivian wasn’t expecting such a comment. She even doubted that it was part of his standard library; so, her surprised was perfectly honest.

"I can take care of myself!" she bristled.

Again, Lawrence shook his hand and smiled a little, nodding.

"Don’t get me wrong," he tempered. "It’s just that… you might be too polite for a lot like these ones."

Vivian’s puzzlement was unending. Frowning, she heard him adding:

"I only hope you know what to expect over there. But, then again… ain’t my business! I’m goin’ there today."

He picked his glass and took it to his lips.

"And I wouldn’t mind havin’ some company, after all."

Then, he emptied his whole drink in one go. Vivian nodded, tapping with her fingers on the base of here own glass; she displayed some sort of disinterest, like she was totally not impressed while, in fact, her nervousness was starting to take over. It was so different than being in analysis, in the controlled environment of her lab, she realised that too — she was the one in his world, now…

And things wouldn’t be as easy as they looked like. Not for her, anyway. However, she managed to let no more than a few seconds pass before recovering her ability to speak:

"Perfect."

Finishing what cider remained in her glass, Vivian thought how much her own improvisations were about to be wicked awful. She put her glass back down, without a sound.

"The question is," she continued carefully. "How much do you want?"

This elicited a genuine but quiet laugh from Lawrence; he watched her for a second, still smiling. But as much as his sudden cheerful mood was catching, Vivian was wondering what was so funny in what she said.

"A whisky before we leave and somethin’ of the kind when we’re there sounds fair to me," he declared, with a look around the boardwalk of the cantina and the surroundings of the fountain behind Vivian. "It will at least take us two days to get there."

He nodded towards someone out of Vivian’s sight before adding:

"If you need supplies, now’s the right time to think about it."

Vivian agreed — aside from a can of water and a travel kit that, in all honesty, was more of a survival kit, she had nothing in her saddlebags.

"Thanks," she said, simply because she had no idea what else to say — and because she was too polite. "Mister… ?"

Lawrence lowered his head and shook his hand, lazily.

"No, no, please…" he replied, a frown on his face but without any real annoyance. "We’re in for quite a trip together, you can call me Lawrence."

Vivian nodded.

"I’m Ivy…"

It was her real nickname — one her few friends had given her and that she adopted fondly. In front of her, Lawrence leaned towards the table to hold out his hand, palm open as though he had a change of heart about payment. But Vivian got it; he was offering her to shake his hand. And a smiled appeared on his lips as she did.

"Nice meetin’ you, Ivy…"

His politeness effort didn’t slip past Vivian who, even though she appreciated it, couldn't ignore a twinging thought; should she come back in the park after this visit, he wouldn’t remember her… and this "first encounter" would become one among many that only she would remember. That, even with the help of her script.

Lawrence let go of her hand before standing up.

"I’ll be at the stables," he said. "Got some stuff to deal with before leavin’, too."

"Very well."

She observed him as he walk towards a young man, hopping up and down with anxiety and he started to talk really fast to Lawrence as he arrived. The boy was radiating so much stress and guilt that Vivian felt nervous just to look at him. She turned away to see the barkeep coming her way. Without even waiting for him to give her the prices of the drinks, Vivian dropped a few coins next to the empty glasses.

"Keep the change," she muttered as she stood up too.

"Oh, thanks!" he replied, visibly pleased, gathering the coins without waiting. "Safe travel and come back soon!"

She replied with a simple, tight smile before walking down the street to the western gate, towards what looked like a grocery store. 

[leggomylino]

au ceo / trope unrequited love / prompt 8 or 10 / like joshua from svt or yoongi from bts !! 💓💓

au trope + prompt requests! Send me a trope, prompt, etc. and I’ll write a short story or drabble!!

AU Type: ceo!au

Trope: Unrequited Love (I think I did okay- I’ve never written this type of romance so I’m sorry if I failed :c)

Prompt: #8: “Wait, wait. Say that again, please.”

K-pop Boy: Joshua, Seventeen (+ Yoongi, BTS)

~

Genre: ceo!au, angst, comedy, nostalgic

Pairing: ceo!joshua x fem!reader (x ceo!yoongi?)

Word count: ~2.4k

Warning(s): angst, I kinda rushed this one so sorry if I left out any important details…also it’s a bit cheesy and unrealistic lol ^^”

A/N: requests are open~ | Masterlist in BIO! | aaaaaaaaaand as always, yeehaw

~

“Excuse me, Mr. Hong. If you would just sign here, please…”

“Mr. Hong, there’s a call waiting for you on Line Four.”

“Mr. Hong! Mr. Hong, do you have a moment?”

Being swarmed with papers and phone calls and never ending crowds was the life of a CEO. But it was never the life that Joshua Hong wanted.

In his mind he was living a small, peaceful life by the sea within his means, the love of his life at his side and within an absence of the means of time. And he would achieve that, one day.

For now he just had to wait, and continue to play the game. 

As the crowd grew thicker and less transparent, completely blocking his way down the golden-railed hallway ‘til he could no longer move, Joshua halted his pace, took a quick breath, and graced everyone with the usual-plastered smile they’d all been waiting for, addressing his underlings one by one.

“Yes, sign here? Okay…and Janice, you said there’s a call on Line Four? I’ll take it momentarily, tell them I’ll be with them shortly? And Shawn, why don’t we talk during lunch? I’ll have Seungkwan make a reservation–”

One by one he went through them, each and every employee and sales’ person and random fan or citizen that had managed to make their way to the 48th floor of GameOn! Headquarters, handling each concern and care with kindness and as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

The entire act was draining. Thirty minutes later, he needed a nap.

But the moment the mahogany doors opened, the gold-plated doorknob flinching back as he released it to reveal the initials “J.H.” on the cover, yet another face was waiting for him. Sort of.

Hay and wood chips covered the entire room– the delicate swirl-colored carpet in shades of deep blues and cascading velvet, the beach-toned walls that really didn’t match but reminded him of the dream he was pursuing, the crystalline chandelier where a telephone hung among the masses.

“Just so we’re clear,” Seungkwa said, visibly sweating at the seams, “Dokyeom–”

Joshua wasn’t listening. He was too busy scouring the room for whatever had happened to his pet rabbit Mina, who just…jumped…onto the balcony.

Screaming in unison both boys rushed beyond the double french doors, Seungkwa nervously gathering the speckled ball of fluff before shyly passing it to his superior.

“Ha…hahaha…” He bowed. “Sorry?”

“……” His boss looked back inside at the chaotic mess before letting out a sigh, his gentle strokes against Mina’s backside attempting to soothe the terrified creature…and calm his own nerves. “…It’s fine…just call someone to clean this up. Do I wanna know what…?”

His assistant shook his head. “Probably not. I’m blaming Dokyeom. The snake was his idea.”

“Snake?!”

“What? Snake? I don’t know a snake. Unless his name is DK? Haha…ha?”

“…” Another sigh. He stepped back into the office, the brunette boy at his heels. “…I need you to make a reservation for lunch in an hour. I was thinking maybe–”

“Oh! Reservation!”

Seeing as Seungkwan had stopped and cried out with such sudden tenacity, Joshua blinked behind him. “Yes…?”

“Um…” Seungkwan smiled sheepishly. “There’s someone waiting for you in the lobby. After Seokmin dropped by and Mina got loose I sorta forgot about it. She said her name was…y/n?”

Joshua’s face paled. Every motion in his body froze, save his beating heart and racing thoughts.

He gulped. The last time he’d spoken to anyone by that name was…you. Three years ago. “………”

“…Joshua? Are you okay?”

The snapping and abrupt clapping in his face pulled him out of a one-way ticket to Memory Lane. He quickly smiled shyly to avoid any confrontation.

“Yes. I’m fine. Has she been waiting long?” He lifted the fallen plush pin from the ground, resetting it with one hand and placing Mina back into her luxury Barbie Dream home. “What’s her last name?”

Seungkwan thought a moment, picking random wood chips off the floor as he simultaneously flipped through a phonebook for room service. “I don’t think so…and her name was, uh, y/n…l/n?”

Another gulp. Crap. It was you.

He knew what this was going to be about. The same thing, every two to three years. You show up on his doorstep and tell him how you feel without actually saying anything. And everytime, he has to push you away.

Because he knows you. And he can’t have you getting mixed up in this “extravagant” lifestyle. It wasn’t just luxury cars and homes and country clubs and maxing out however many credit cards you wanted. It was busy, and messy, and chaotic. The opposite of you. Often times it got downright evil, shady, and sinful…blackmailings, mindgames, having to uphold an image and reputation. It definitely wasn’t the life he wanted, and he refused to drag you down into it as well.

At least not until after he’d done enough. After he could fall back on an early retirement that would please his family and make everyone happy.

He’d spaced out again. When he came to, Seungwkan was glaring up at him with curiously round brown eyes.

“So should I tell her to come in or…?”

After flinching back and shaking his head (once to recover from shock and once to clear the despondent memory of you), he took a look around and gestured with his hand.

“What do you think?”

Seungkwan looked over his shoulder, up at the ceiling, down at the floor. “Hmmm…probably not. I can–”

The door suddenly opened. “Mr. Hong? Animation Studio’s is still on Line Four and I don’t think they’ll hold much longer…”

Joshua clenched his jaw, closing his eyes a moment. “Tell them I’ll be there as soon as I can.” His eyes shifted to his accomplice. “Keep them busy,” he said.

Seungkwan shook his head. “You want me to handle an important business call?! But–”

The door had already shut, the echo muffled by scattered woodchip and torn featherdown from a certain rabbit-tailored Barbie Dreamhouse. 

A groan overtook the following silence.

~

“Wait, wait. Say that again, please…”

It was no use. This year’s visit was going terribly wrong. Just like all the other visits.

But it wasn’t for the same reason as before. 

“I came to get your blessing. If that’s okay…? Oh, and I wanted to drop off this thank you gift. For my birthday? I know it’s a little late, but I’ve been so preoccupied with the wedding invitations and the planning and…sheesh, you wouldn’t believe how hard it is to get Yoongi to go anywhere on his days off.” Y/n shook her head, hands clutching a rosary-gold picture frame with her latest masterpiece scribbled within its contents. “He’s always so tired so we usually just end up staying in and watching Netflix all day. But sometimes I’m able to convince him to do a little shopping with me. If I ask nicely and lure him out with cookies…er, that doesn’t always work, though…”

He couldn’t believe it. Here he was thinking he was going to have to let you down easy again, thinking up a basic speech plan to go over so things wouldn’t get messy or sidetracked, and your feelings would be spared, and he could go back to tackling another day in the life of Joshua Hong while trying to make the best of things and stay as cheerful and bright as possible, but…

It was his feelings that were on the line now. And dangerously close to the fire.

Things were not cheerful and bright. They were a desolate wasteland.

“You’re…getting married?”

Those words had cast a curse over every last straw of bliss he had left to grasp onto, and yet they’d brought the brightest smile Joshua had ever seen to cross your face, brighter than the sun and the moon and all the stars he was suddenly wishing he’d paid more attention to, stars he would chase to the ends of the earth for you…

But they were too far now. They were no longer a part of his universe. They were a part of yours…and someone else.

He found it adorable the way you bounced lightly in place at his question, nodding ecstatically. “Yes! I met someone…about a year ago, Yoongi. And he’s recently asked me to marry him.” 

Your eyes dipped down to the cerulean rug lining the large office table Joshua currently had to lean against for support, and a film of sadness fell over the atmosphere like a veil of mist or fog.

“So…I wanted to ask for your blessing. You know, since we grew up together and all…and well, I know we’ve kind of had a..history…but I also wanted to know, you won’t have to worry about me bothering you anymore. Haha,” You scratched the back of your head, turning away sheepishly to enlong the avoidance of eye contact. “I know you’ve always seen my yearly or semi-biyearly…tri-yearly?…visits as sort of an…inconvenience. And I told myself if you really felt that way, I should just get over it all and stop coming around anymore. But…” You smiled. “I know how hard this world of yours is. And that it’s not something you ever wanted. So I promised myself I’d just check in every now and then and make sure you were okay, because I really care about you, Josh.” 

This was it. His world was crumbling.

“But you know, now that I’m getting hitched and all, I probably won’t be able to come around anymore as often.”

Why? Why was his world falling apart?

“I’d be really nice if we could still keep in touch though? That is, if you want to…”

Why did any of this matter to him? He’d wanted you to move on. He’d wanted you to stop coming around, and he was finally getting his wish. So why…?

His grip tightened on the chair beside him. On the corner of the table he was propping himself against.

“…Anyway, that’s enough about me and Memory Lane. Here,” you held out the portrait in your gloved hands, the one’s he’d always see you show up in during the Holiday Season from years past. They’d been sewn and patched over a few times, a stark contrast to the Tiffany diamond and quartz watch around your right wrist. 

You glanced down at it as he took the painting from you, eyebrows raising with a smirk. “Ah, I’m going to be late for lunch. We’re almost finished watching (insert favorite series here). I promised I’d try making dinner tonight, too…”

The two of you shared a look. A look that only lasted mere seconds, but to him felt like twenty more years had gone by.

You gripped his wrists, giving him a tearful smile. “I don’t want to say this is goodbye, so…I hope to see you at the wedding? Or at least hear from you soon.” A content giggle chimed from your lips, the means of an afterthought following. “Oh, and…thanks for putting up with me all these years. You know I’ve meant well, right?”

“……” He felt lost. The only thing he could do was nod.

You beamed. “I’m glad. Again, I always knew I kind of annoyed you or that maybe you got the wrong idea but…you know, I just, wanted to make sure you were doing okay. Anyway,” you let go, and he wished you hadn’t so. Every step back was one he wanted to take forward. “I should get going. Don’t worry if you can’t make it, or if…you know, you’re just, too busy, I understand. I honestly should have stopped coming around so much, but I just…couldn’t help myself.” 

And for a moment, just one moment, Joshua could have sworn he saw a flick of regret. A wavering longing of nostalgia, of something so deeply internalized he didn’t have the time to reach down and discover its true nature, for it was gone just as soon as it had come.

And then so were you. As if you’d never existed at all. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt like he’d lost something; or that maybe you were never real to begin with. Which was blasphemy, absolutely ridiculous, he had known you since you were six.

He observed the painting you’d left for him, lips parting just slightly.

It was a portrait of a long forgotten photograph, one your parents had taken of the two of you when you were twelve, fishing for frogs and bugs and rainbow-colored rocks down by the riverbed of your hometown. The sky was the clearest blue it had ever been that day, the fluffiest of clouds providing the perfect shade along with thick blankets of willow trees, and Joshua was smiling while displaying a handful of crystallized rocks he’d found buried in a pile of mud (which he’d detested having to get dirty for but did so anyway), you proudly swinging a silver-colored fish that gleamed in a spectrum of colors beneath the soft peaks of sunlight.

The portrait was signed at the bottom: “To my best friend Joshua, with love - y/n ❤”

And then everything just…clicked. It was strange, but all those unscheduled yearly visits, the bi-yearly and tri-yearly, and all the time the two of you had spent together before that…everything came crashing down like a whirlwind that suddenly ceased, dropping everything it had been lugging and spinning around. It fell like a sudden ton of bricks.

He studied the painting for hours, locking himself away and politely going through the motions of the day on autopilot. Even when he was away from it, it was fresh in his mind, and the moment he had finished one task he would come back to it, even if it was just for a few minutes. At the end of the day, when everyone else had gone home for the night, he found himself staring at it, preferably you, and your smile. The gleam in your eyes.

He’d always thought you’d been squinting at the camera with the sun in your eyes. But really, you’d been squinting gleefully at him.

And he’d always known, deep down. This was all a carefully hazardous game he’d orchestrated to keep you at bay, telling himself he was protecting you and doing the right thing, but now…

Now, the game was over. He’d won.

But he’d truly lost you.

[twelverose]

till the sun comes shining through (1/?)

It's a life of working hard and playing harder. Rose is the daughter of an old family trying to keep up with modern times. James is the boy of a family who left for easier living. It was natural for them to collide. Rodeos and events keep them on their toes, pushing them closer. All they know is they have a life to lead and it's better with two.

Rating: Teen (Some sexual implications, mild violence)

Pairing: Twelve/Rose

WC: 2.9K

TW: Mild violence, drinking.

A/N: It’s a cowboy au bc i love writing about things inspired by my own life babey. yeehaw.

Song: Cause I Love You - Johnny Cash (Title) and What Was I Thinkin’ -  Dierks Bentley (Chapter)

Read on Ao3

Chapter One: Come and Get Me Grin

What was I thinkin'

Oh, I knew there'd be hell to pay

But that crossed my mind a little too late

_______________________

Rose Tyler was the most beautiful girl James had ever seen. He decided that years ago. He was a year older but the same class as her in high school. Keeping at least an acquaintance with her for the first two years. Before their junior year where they really got to talk at a party. He’d been chasing her ever since. And she had fun leading him.

Her family bought the old McCrimmon ranch before she was born.  Her father was a cowboy legend. Raised to ride bulls and that he did. Winning enough by riding in the PBR to be able to invest in more land at the age of twenty. They raised cattle and trained horses. Her mother was a champion of her own. Training and riding horses in world class events. Rose stayed humble though. She was carefree. No restraint in her friendliness or attitude. It was a warm welcome in James’s life.

His family wasn’t a fan of the friendship. Especially once they sold their farm.

When she told him to meet her at the front gate of her property, he stumbled over his okay. It was a given. He wasn’t one of the idiots to say no to her. Or maybe he was the idiot to say yes. There was a rumor that Pete Tyler was more than a bull rider. Something to do with another guy and Jackie. James never asked about it. It was just something that came back around whenever word got around that Rose was going on a date in high school. 

But they weren’t in high school anymore. And he was glad that he wouldn’t have to hear it again. Especially since his nerves were already on fire, sitting at the edge of the Tyler property.

When she climbed over the gate, he knew he was in trouble. But didn’t really think about what it meant.

“You might wanna drive,” She said as she hopped into his passenger seat, “I think dad heard me.”

“What?”

“Wait another minute or two and you’ll see why.”

So he did. Not sure if it was because he felt the need to prove himself or to see if the rumors about her dad were true. Maybe it was both. But the sound of a shotgun made him kick the truck into drive,

“What the fuck?”

She shrugged and smiled, “It was an actual warning, y’know?”

Rose was wearing a tank top that belonged in an early 2000s horror movie. It was a size too small and showed off her midriff. He wasn’t complaining. Especially when she made an obvious move to sit in the middle seat to change the radio station. James found himself clenching his jaw. Just to make sure none of the stupid thoughts going through his mind came out. Not that there were many there at all. 

During the commercials between songs, they caught up. They hadn’t really spoken like they used to since graduating. Both of them falling into work. James was a farmhand at several ranches. Rose was working with her mom and dad. Taking care of cattle and training horses.

She talked about a new horse until she realized what road they were on. He didn’t even realize. Until her entire mood shifted slightly. Into something that made his cheeks turn red.

“What have you got planned for us tonight?” She asked, batting her eyes.

“Oh, the Amber Tree is doing somethin’ tonight. I think a band is playing? I’m really not that sure.” He tried to sound cool and confident. 

She smirked at him, “Who told you that?”

“What d’you mean?”

“I know how you boys work. You talk to each other to figure out the hottest spot. Who’d you talk to?”

He pretended to be offended, slapping his hand over his heart and glancing at her with a sigh, “You think I’m boring? Let me show you a bit of fun tonight then.”

She laughed, “You think I would’ve asked you out if I thought you were going to be boring?”

He pressed down further on the gas and grinned at her, “I sure hope not.”

The highway they had turned onto went through a forest until a railroad crossing. The music echoed back at them through the tunnel of trees. She seemed to know every song on the radio. Unlike him, he could only pick out a few. She didn’t seem to notice. Singing to him or out the window, grabbing his arm to get him to look at her. 

He tried to keep his eyes on the road. Luckily he knew it like the back of his hand. Because she was determined to make him look and keep him looking.

Once they got past the train tracks, she hung out the side window for a bit, whooping at the moon. He laughed and whooped with her. It was all so natural. It was fun. The most fun he’s had in months. It made some type of warmth pump through his veins. And all he wanted was more of it.

  And that he got. 

When they crossed the county line, blue and red lights flashed behind him. Rose slid back in with a wide smile and looked at him like she was saying, “Well, prove what you got.” So he did. Changing the gear and swiftly pulled off into a field. The wind whipped through her hair, wisps of it stinging his face. She kept looking behind them, telling him how far behind the cop was. He wasn’t worried. He hoped he’d remember to tell her that he’d done this a few times. And his best story of one of those times.

He really did try to avoid the crops. Although he heard at least one stock of corn get caught underneath him. The other side of the field was a dirt road, which he tore out onto. 

“Why don’t you go faster, cowboy?”

If he had to give an excuse or reason to go faster, he would’ve had to blame the testosterone spike those words caused. And usually, he’d try to keep in line. But if she was asking, then James would just have to do it.

The smile he got in response was worth it. A tongue-touched grin. James decided that he’d probably do anything for another smile like that.

It was another five minutes of loud music and speeding before they made it to the bar. It was already busy. Nine at night would do that to places like these in small towns. Especially when there was a promise of live music and fights. Although, fights weren’t on the posters.

He wiped his palms on his jeans and looked back at her, “Ready?”

“As long as you can keep up.”

They were both technically underage. Technically because the bar didn’t care nor did it really have enough staff to do so. The bar itself was full of old timers. The ones who were found there every night and knew everyone and their father. They were the first ones to ask what Rose was doing there.

“Does your father know?” He tilted up his hat.

Rose shook her head,  “And I hope he doesn’t find out.”

The man chuckled and went back to who he was talking to originally. James felt a wave of anxiety go through him. Afraid of what that conversation would lead to for him.

“He’s not gonna tell him, right?” James asked while he paid for their beers.

“You better hope he doesn’t. You’re already in trouble.”

Her wink told him that she was more of the trouble than her dad. Even if he knew the more trouble he got into with her meant only more from her dad.

He didn’t let that stop them from dancing though. It was a honky-tonk band. It was hot and sweaty in the middle of the room. He knew that. But he didn’t know when he lost the button down he was wearing over his t-shirt. He didn’t care. She was so focused on him that he had no choice but to return it. 

They were close. A lot closer than they’ve been when they danced at parties. Her chest against his. Her hands running up and down his back. This time, there wasn’t one of her friends to pull her away because she was busted. Or one of his to tell him he better lay off or he was in deep shit. They did what they’d been waiting to do. And she knew the perfect way to do it.

He was on fire. Because that’s what she did to him. Made him red and wild. So, he was just about to finally kiss her when someone shoved him back from her.

James knew who that someone was. They saw each other when he walked into the bar. They both realized what could happen. James figured it would. They both had a reputation that was in due time for testing.

Jimmy Stone was older. He was probably what made Pete Tyler the protective father he is. Once again, if the rumors were true, no one could really shame him for acting the way he did.  There was no question in what Jimmy was capable of, that was given to James. He was fit. He had to be for what he did. But he wasn’t much compared to Jimmy.

“Will you fuck off, Stone?” Rose shouted at him.

He shushed her, “This isn’t about you. Well, it doesn’t have to involve you.”

James took a step forward, “You can stop talkin’ to her like that.”

He saw the fist coming and he let it land. To prove he was just as tough as Jimmy. That’s what he would say tomorrow when he was at work. But right now, he would be stupid to say it didn’t hurt. He could feel the bruise forming when he stood back up straight. He felt the blood from his split lip run down his chin.

“You afraid to fight, pretty boy?”

If it were a movie, he’d probably pop his neck. But instead, he flicked the baseball hat off Jimmy’s head. Dodging the next punch, James managed a land to the middle of the other guy’s gut. But he took the one to his ribcage. Jimmy laughed when James took a step back and groaned.

There was a crowd around them now. He saw someone step out in the corner of his eye. Then felt Rose’s hand on his elbow but he shook it off. He wasn’t one to lose a fight without good reason.

“You ready to regret coming out tonight, Stone?” 

He was cocky. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn’t fallen yet or that Rose was on his side. Then a surge of anger rushed through him. He wasn’t sure where exactly it came from but it slipped out of his mouth with the taste of blood. And the hardest swing he thinks he’s ever thrown.

The crowd around him gasped. Jimmy fell flat on his ass. James laughed, then he spotted the tooth on the ground and grabbed Rose’s hand. Taking off out of the bar. 

As he slid into the driver’s side and started the truck, she slid over the hood. His heart started beating a little faster. When she jumped in, she landed in the middle seat- almost in his lap. That’s when he stopped breathing. 

She gave him a kiss. One that he had been dreaming about for a while now. It was sloppy and deep and warm. It was probably a lot shorter than what it felt. Only stopping when they heard a commotion at the front door.

She slipped away from him with a breathy “Thank you.”

They tore out of the gravel parking lot. He didn’t try to speed on the way home. Wanting to keep her this close for as long as possible. But he got a glimpse of the time and worried about what would be waiting. 

She reminded him that maybe it would be worth it. Distracting him with another kiss when he stopped at the first sign of the night. And then telling him to pull off the road just for a second. Which led to a little more than he expected. 

He had a little more than one bruise now. The rest were a lot sweeter than the first. And his shirt was just as high on his stomach as hers. Hair probably is just as messy too. Though, he didn’t quite pull it off as well as her. Given she laughed at him when he pulled back. 

“You’re a mess.” She laughed, running her thumb over his bottom lip. Focusing on the cut he got in the fight.

“Your fault,” He mumbled, leaning into her hand, “What else am I supposed to do?”

He tried to kiss her again, but she giggled against his lips. Giving him a chaste one before patting his thigh.

“Better get me home before my father decides you’re the next hide on the wall.”

He cursed under his breath. Moving back to his seat and putting the truck in drive. Trying to ignore the feeling of Rose’s hand in his hair and her humming. Those things would probably be the last thing he needed to be thinking about when pulling into her drive.

Which he was against. But she coaxed him into doing it by playing the right cards. The ones he fell sucker to almost every time, especially for her.

Pete Tyler was sitting in the driveway. James knew he was in for it by the look he got when he put it in park. Instead of flying out of the drive like any other person, he got out with Rose. Grabbing her hand. 

Which was arguably the stupidest decision he made all night. Grabbing her hand in front of her father like this wasn’t doing anything for him. Pete just glared at him harder.

Rose gave him a reassuring squeeze. He hoped that her showing fondness for him would save him some skin. The instinct deep in him doubted it would.

Pete glanced down between them, “Did y’all have a good night?”

It wasn’t a pleasantry. But James treated it as one, “Yes sir.”

The two words came out as if he should’ve given them with a salute. He held back the impulse to do so sarcastically.

“You should’ve talked to me beforehand.” He said thickly.

James suddenly felt like he should’ve at least tried to sharpen up  a bit. He felt a bit bare in his untucked shirt, messy hair, and jeans tucked into boots. He held his head high still. There wasn’t any use in putting it down at this point. He would rather be caught looking scared in front of Jimmy Stone.

Rose pulled her hand from his and walked over to her dad. He didn’t fall for her scheme like James, “Rose. Get inside.”

“Why should I?” She tested him, trying to hide her grin.

“It’s nearly 3 am, you still live in my house, and you might as well and go ahead and get your trouble with your mother over with.”

Rose sighed and took a few steps behind Pete but didn’t go inside. He didn’t take his eyes off James. He had the same challenging look that Rose did earlier. James understood what it meant to inherit looks in that moment. Even if they meant different things.

“Your daughter is amazing, sir. I was lucky to get to hang out with her tonight.”

“You sure are. Where’d you get that bruise?”

James struggled for his words, “Uh, Jimmy Stone.”

“Where’d you go to run into him and get that?”

“He’s worse,” That was his attempt in defending himself, “And I’m sure you’ve got another way to find out besides me.”

Pete laughed and shook his head. James let a small smile come to his face. This was the opposite way of doing things for a first date. You meet and talk with the parents first. Not after. He didn’t really mind. Nothing really came smoothly for him. And he liked it that way.

Especially because their conversation ended with a little less of a glare. 

“I’ll let y’all say goodnight. But you better watch what you do, Smith.”

He nodded and Pete walked inside. Silhouette taking a stance by the window. Rose glanced back and tried to shoo it away. But eventually walked back towards him when it didn’t move an inch.

She took his hands, “I had fun tonight.”

“I hope so.” He felt awkward suddenly. Unsure of what could happen next.

“Sorry about Jimmy. And my dad.”

James shrugged, “I wouldn’t ask for anything else. Another great story to tell.”

“You wanna make another great story?”

He couldn’t get out his “What?” before she kissed him. Right there. In front of her dad in the window. Once again he felt like he was on fire. Every nerve in his body was ringing. He was careful to kiss her back, not that he wanted to be.

He was shaking slightly when she stood on her toes to whisper, “It’s okay, he likes you.”

James stood there for a second. Watching her skip back inside. Excited for whatever would come next.

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

The best memes of 2018 so far

If you feel like you see bad news every time you log onto social media, you're not alone. Going on Twitter can be an overwhelming experience, with constant arguments, drama, and snitch tagging.

Memes are the only thing holding the internet together at this point. 

It's been a stressful year so far, but at least we have these memes! Let's take a walk down memory lane — meme-ory lane, if you will.

1. Eating Tide Pods

Vincent van Gogh used to eat Tide pods because he wanted happiness inside him

— lusty goth (@elkalumpy) December 27, 2017

The Tide Pod eating craze technically started in December 2017, but its effects lasted well into the new year, concerning parents nationwide. The forbidden snacks will always have a place in our hearts for the countless memes and cursed foods it inspired. 

2. What your child is really texting about

Is your child texting about @olivegarden? Here’s a quick guide to find out: OG: Olive Garden LMAO: love me an olive LOL: lots of lasagna ROFL: ravioli or flavorful linguine BRB: breadsticks rock, bro WTF: where’s the fettuccine STFU: some tiramisu for us

— jillian dradzynski (@jillianallyce) January 22, 2018

Concerned parents could breathe a sigh of relief as Tide Pod obsessions died down, but it seems like texting lingo will always be a mystery to the Olds. Luckily, a handy guide to common acronyms became a meme. What are your kids texting about? Probably Olive Garden.

3. Change my mind

pic.twitter.com/GgrxCUolVt

— Prodigy (@CSN_Prodigy) February 21, 2018

Sometimes you look at a meme and realize there really is hope for humanity. When a conservative podcaster/professional troll set up a table encouraging people to change his mind about "male privilege," the internet got to work and turned him into a meme. It became a platform to share your diciest opinions, from pineapple on pizza to the plot of Bee Movie.

4. Wholesome memes 

People have a knack for finding the good in anything, and as dark as 2018 seemed, the flood of wholesome memes gave us hope. While wholesome memes have been around for a bit, 2018 is their year to shine.

5. Gru's plan

If you have a brilliant, well-thought-out plan that ended up going wrong, Gru's plan is the meme for you. The four panel image conveys so much optimism and disappointment in one revelation, perfectly capturing what it feels like when stealing the moon doesn't go your way.

6. American Chopper hot takes

pic.twitter.com/4mb1m3lOHI

— Garf Gab (@GarfieldFanArt) March 22, 2018

American Chopper came back for a revival this year, prompting the internet to bring back an iconic scene from the original show. The destructive father-son duo became a meme for the hottest, spiciest takes. 

7. Build your perfect man

ladies you have $5 to build the perfect man $300 - tall $200 - smart $400 - rich $150- famous $2 - name is Paul $3 -is a mall cop $500 - attractive

— Lazy dog (@LaziestCanine) April 25, 2018

Does the perfect man exist? This meme encourages people to build their ideal partner. There's just one catch — you have limited funds and the characteristics you can afford are pricey. Guess you'll just have to settle for Paul Blart, mall cop. 

8. Who killed Hannibal?

This is a damn good contender for best meme of the year - all of the variations are good...but this one is the best pic.twitter.com/SwpOUAuRjk

— RickyFTW (@rickyftw) April 18, 2018

The "Who killed Hannibal?" meme is great for situations when you've done something shitty and need to shift the blame to someone else. Like Eric Andre in The Eric Andre Show, some people just refuse to take accountability.

9. Walmart yodel boy 

11-year-old Mason Ramsey went viral for yodeling in Walmart, and instantly stole America's heart. He performed at Coachella, landed a record deal, and released a single about being in adorable tween love. Walmart yodel boy slaps. 

10. Is this a pigeon?

pic.twitter.com/k90ssimgos

— Cat Graffam (@catgraffam) May 4, 2018

Although this image has been around since 2011, the meme blew up this year to convey absolute confusion. The meme originated from an anime, where a character points to a butterfly and asks, "Is this a pigeon?"

11. Ladies, imagine your best life

Ladies, imagine this. It’s 15 years from now, and you have no kids. You’re the cool wine aunt that occasionally comes back to the country for a brief visit before leaving for another long, exotic vacation. You have no commitments, and a suspicious amount of money.

— Em Treasure (@emtreas) May 22, 2018

A viral Twitter movement subverted a romanticized version of suburban life by asking ladies about their most ideal, most bizarre life. The meme covers it all, from (again) the plot of Bee Movie to imagining marriage with Stuart Little. 

12. Yanny or Laurel?

It's The Dress of 2018. The audio illusion tore apart the internet, with friends and neighbors turning against each other over whether a recording said "Yanny" or "Laurel." It was fun until the Trump administration hopped on and killed the meme forever. RIP.

13. Sad cowboy

they always say yeehaw but never ask haw yee pic.twitter.com/Zcqy3y1sbc

— fahad 🤠 (@ShlongUziVert_) March 25, 2018

Who hurt this sweet country boy? We just want to know. The sad cowboy meme (alternatively, and more accurately called "sad howdy boy") has been around since 2017, but popped up again this year. Someone needs to reach out to him and let him know that everything's going to be OK.

14. By the age of 35 

By age 35 you should have lost at least twice your most valuable information for lack of backups.

— Miguel de Icaza (@migueldeicaza) May 20, 2018

By the age of 35, there's really no need to have your life figured out. The meme plays off a report by Marketwatch telling people that by the age of 35, they should have twice their salary saved. Twice. Who even has time for that?? 

15. I am: gay/straight/bi

i’m: ⚪️ gay ⚪️ straight ⚪️ bisexual 🔘never gonna give you up pic.twitter.com/6lsdZkN4g0

— hanz💨 (@hasharakl) May 23, 2018

Broke: labels. Woke: RickRolling. The gay/straight/bi meme has it all: pop punk lyrics, nods to classic Vines, and poking fun at tired gender binaries and sexuality labels.

16. Distressed LeBron

When you leave all the doors open but your dog poops in the house anyway pic.twitter.com/LY8u7CqQzJ

— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) June 1, 2018

Poor LeBron. His reaction after the Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors became an iconic meme for, well, when you're too stressed for words. 

17. IHOb

IHOP is changing its name to IHOB and while people think it stands for “breakfast” I’m putting my money on BETRAYAL

— bea (@bayahhh) June 6, 2018

IHOP changing its name to IHOb for burgers was probably the most overhyped marketing ploy in history. The name change was thoroughly underwhelming, but sparked a hilarious Twitter feud between rivaling fast food brands. 

18. Melania's awful jacket

ok i am into this jacket pic.twitter.com/ZJdx4hwIsG

— sara yasin 😐 (@sarayasin) June 21, 2018

Melania, girl, what are you doing? The First Lady wore the worst possible jacket for a visit to meet detained immigrant children at the border. Was she trolling her husband? Was she messing with the mainstream media? Is she really that clueless? Either way, the $39 Zara jacket will probably be remembered as one of the memes defining this hell presidency. 

19. Alexa, play Despacito

nakia: t'challa was murdered in a ritual combat m'baku: this is so sad alexa play despacito

— beth (@sam_bucky) June 27, 2018

This is a beautiful shitpost. Reminiscent of the world's smallest violin meme, "Alexa, play Despacito" is the perfect reaction for overdramatic, not very sad news. Why is this meme so funny? It's not just not caring about the situation, but telling Alexa to play Despacito conveys absolute detachment from feeling anything. It's art. 

WATCH: IHOP tries to advertise its burgers and gets flamed