#LIKE HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO TURN 'i get incredibly obsessed w pieces of media to the point where i make them as sims and make excel tables

[lixbf]

warum will jeder scheiß job nen fucking motivationsschreiben von mir haben? like geht euch doch bitte mal alle ins knie ficken ich will den scheiß gar nicht machen und jetzt soll ich mir ne motivation für den dreck irgendwo herziehen?? ja hey super ich bin "motiviert" mich hier zu bewerben weil man ja anscheinend irgendnen scheiß arbeiten soll und es schlimmeres gibt als diesen mist zu lernen aber ist ja nichtmal so als ob sich irgendjemand den mist wirklich durchliest

[tomtenadia]

Island Dreams - Chapter 15

Chapter 15 is here.

Our gang is away on an adventure. Writing this chapter was actually quite fun. I really hope you will love it.

The song that Aelin and Rowan talk about on the beach is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uspq0Iq4tc This is a live version where Bruce Guthro sings it alone. For me it's an incredible love song and I think it's perfect for those two. It always give me goosebumps.

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As promised at 7am on the dot Rowan reached Aelin’s house, but the trio was already out of the house waiting for him. They loaded their bags in the car and they got on. Aelin taking the passenger seat beside Rowan. “I am in charge of the music,” she announced “I am going to make you listen to some amazing stuff.” And she looked at Rowan. He was aware he had created a monster and that Aelin had become obsessed with Peat and Diesel and Runrig. He smiled. “Can you cope with three crazy tourists in the car? Lysandra buys tacky fridge magnets as well.” “Yes, babe, that’s a bad habit.” Commented Aedion. “Thank you.” echoed Rowan. Aelin poked Rowan in the shoulder and he pretended to bit her finger and she cackled in response. Lysandra was attached to the window on her side of the car and Aedion had his chin on her shoulder and they were both looking amazed at the landscape.

“As a Londoner born and bred all of this looks alien to me. In a good way but so strange. We have been driving for twenty minutes now and since we have left town we haven’t seen a single car.” Commented Aedion “We are surrounded by moors and all these small lakes.” “Lochs,” Rowan corrected him “We don’t have lakes in Scotland. We call them lochs.” “So, is Harris another island we are crossing into?” Asked again Aedion who was super curious. “No,” replied Aelin proud of the fact that she knew the answer “Lewis and Harris are one big island, but Lewis is the northern part and Harris the southern one. They are quite different in character.”she pointed at the landscape outside “We are still on Lewis and the landscape is flat because it’s all peatlands. Once we cross into Harris, all of a sudden it gets rockier and hills just pop up.” Then she looked at Rowan with a smug face and he gave her a huge grin of approval. They were driving when Aelin shouted to stop.”Rowan pull over please.” “What? Why?” He asked and did as he told him. Aelin bolted out of the car and a minute later he saw her hugging the road sign. “Really?” “Look, it’s my village.” She shouted pointing at the sign saying Baile Ailein “It’s just a little different but it sounds the same and it’s my village.” She jumped in front of the sign and Aedion and Lysandra joined them. “Fireheart, it means Allan’s village.” “I don’t care, in Gaelic it looks almost like my name.” Rowan went back to the car and came back a minute later with his camera and snapped a picture of her. He was planning to have a massive collection of pictures of her by the end of the trip. “Get back in the car, we are in the Lochs area of Lewis and there are some incredible views.” They all listened to him and jumped back in the car. Aelin had taken a photo of the sign and was now posting it on social media bragging that on Lewis there was a village with her name. “Aelin, are you getting used to drive on this small roads?” Asked Lysandra noticing the skilful way Rowan navigated the narrow roads and wondered about her friend. “I am getting used to it. The first few times it was downright scary. Now it’s fun.” They finally reached Harris and they took a group photo under the sign that said “Failte gu Harris.” Rowan included. He had caved in the end. When a little later Aelin noticed the first hint of Luskentyre she squealed out in delight “We are almost here. Lys, look out of the window.” Rowan smiled at her. Her happiness was infectious. “Stay calm, and sit back down.” She had leaned all the way forward with her face almost against the windscreen. Rowan pulled her back. “You are nulling the seat belts.” She glared at him. Aelin began protesting when she noticed Rowan was not stopping “Where are you going?” “Shhh…” “Is this even real?” Commented Lysandra when they drove a stretch of road that was very close to the sea. She was stunned by the colours. She had seen Aelin’s pictures, but seeing it in real life was different. Rowan kept driving until he reached a parking space. “What is this?” She asked him. Rowan huffed “Will you trust me?” The four of them started walking the path and as soon as they spotted the beach the two women took off running shedding shoes and clothes as they ran straight to the waters. Rowan sighed “Are they always like this?” Aedion laughed out loud and patted the man on the shoulder “Welcome to my world, my friend.” By the time they reached the beach the two women were down to their swimsuits, their clothes scattered on the sand and were now in the water up to their knees both screaming in happiness. Rowan and Aedion collected the clothes and joined them on the shoreline. Rowan stopped when he noticed Aelin. Her bathing suit was blue like her eyes, but the his eyes trailed down to her full hips and her long legs. And then up again. He was paralysed. And he was glad he had two doctors in the group because he was going to be in need of CPR quite soon. “You feel exactly like I do.” Aedion added when he noticed Rowan’s face “I met them the first time in a bar. They were still interns. I had no idea which one to hit on. But Aelin was with the idiot already. I tried my luck with Lysandra but it took me a long time to get her.” “They are…” “Yes, we are two lucky men.” And Rowan grinned. Yes, they were. He finally managed to move again and reached Aelin, his arms went firmly around her waist and pulled her to him for a passionate kiss. Now that Elias was out of the picture they had finally allowed each other all the kisses they had held back before. And his mind went to the day in his office. “Do you like the beach?” He asked her against her lips. “I was never here when I came to Luskentyre. I stopped way down the road.” “I imagined, loads of people do that.” He kissed her again “But see those dunes?” He pointed out with his finger “we can walk on the sand around them and we reach a lovely spot that gives you an incredible view of Luskentyre.” She knitted her hands in his hair “No comments about my swimsuit?” Rowan grinned “The very limited piece of clothing you are wearing? Is that what you call it?” He played jealous for a bit “I hope you remember how to perform CPR because I will need it soon.”

A bit of distance away Aedion and Lysandra were having an intimate moment as well. “I have a feeling those two are going to disappear soon for a quickie.” Lysandra laughed and shook his head “They don’t do that.” “Well, their faces tell otherwise.” He replied. “They haven’t reached that stage yet.” And this time Aedion looked at his girlfriend in shock “They just kiss and hold hands. And apparently they only started kissing a few days ago.” “Lys, those are not kisses of someone who just started dating. That’s the kind of kiss I give you when you, I don’t know dress up with you amazing skirts.” “They are not even dating.” And now Aedion was stunned. “According to what Aelin said they did not put a label yet on their relationship. They are just taking it slowly.” “Uhm…” “But I have a plan.” She whispered “I was talking to Rowan at dinner and I did manage to find out the name of the cottage. I phoned them and found out that for their bedroom he had asked for two separate beds. I phoned back and told them there had been a mistake and that we needed two double bedrooms.” “You are wicked.” “I am just helping them. Aelin is happy and he is madly in love. They both are.” “Wicked, wicked woman.” He kissed her deeply.

It was forty minutes later when Rowan began being paranoid and gathering everyone back to the car. They quickly stopped at Scarista Mhor for some pictures and fifteen minutes later they were in Leverburgh for their ferry with still fifty minutes to spare and Rowan muttering that they had cut it quite too close for comfort. Once on the ferry, Aelin was disappointed that she was not allowed to leave the car. An hour later the ferry came to a halt and docked on Berneray, a little island that acted as arrival point and was connected to North Uist via a causeway. Once off the boat, Rowan pulled over to formulate a plan “Our cottage is twenty minutes away. What we can do is go there, check-in, dump our stuff and eat something. Then we can drive back here and spend sometime here on Berneray. On the way back we can go to Lochmaddy, buy some provisions for food and drive back to the cottage and relax for the rest of the day down at the beach and our ladies can even try and swim.” “Guys?” Asked Aelin turning her head to look at the back of the car. “I am good with anything as long as we get out of this car.” Rowan laughed “Fine, let’s go and dump our stuff and get settled down. Once that is out of the way we can finally start enjoy our holiday.” Aelin sat back and pulled her sunglasses down “Punch it!”

The cottage was in the most perfect location ever imagined. Lysandra and Aelin got off the car and had been staring at the views for a few minutes now. “Why bother going back to London? They need doctors here, right?” Aelin laughed and took her friend’s hand. She would have to tell her friend that she was not going back and she hoped Lysandra would understand.

Ten minutes later they were carrying the bags into the cottage and Aelin was impressed by Rowan’s good taste. The place was incredible. She saw him walk to what she suspected was their bedroom, but he was paralysed on the door. “Buzzard, you are supposed to go in.” Rowan turned and pointed at the bed. “So what?” “It’s a double bed.” “Again, so what?’ “I asked for two separate beds.” “Why would you do that?” She asked almost shocked. “I just… you know… I thought that you…” he fumbled “that since we are keeping things relaxed might not want to share a bed with me.” Aelin laughed, she pushed him in and closed the door and then pushed him to the bed “You can be so adorable.” She kissed him and pushed him until the back of his legs hit the bed and he sat on it. Aelin promptly straddled him, her legs at each side of his hips “I am touched that you care so much about my virtue, but that ship has sailed a long time ago.” He flinched. “Ro,” she caressed his face “Nothing needs to happen until you want it too. We can cuddle, kiss and be naughty without going the full way. It doesn’t bother me.” “Aelin, I want to… you have no idea.” He admitted staring into her eyes. “It’s just that….” how was he going to explain his feelings without sounding like a lunatic “I am an old fashioned idiot.” He blurted out “I only had sex with Lyria. I am the kind of guy who believes in joining that way actually means something. And I want to wait because for me it means commitment. And it doesn’t mean I am not interested in committing to you, because I am all in.” She left him talk, let him expose his raw emotions “We have just started this. Making love to the person I love means a lot to me. I am weird that way.” And he rolled his eyes, but when he looked at Aelin he noticed she had tears in her eyes “Are you crying because I am a pathetic fool?” Aelin kissed him trying to show him all the love she had for him “You are not pathetic. You are wonderful and I love you so much that my heart is about to explode.” She kissed him again. “And I love your old fashioned idea. I really do.” Another kiss “You are my weirdo. And just so you know… I am all in as well. To whatever end, remember?” He nodded slowly and lay down on the bed pulling her with him. “But I still want to kiss every centimetre of you.” She leaned over for another kiss. “Permission granted.” He replied sealing the kiss.

Twenty minutes later the four of them were at the tiny car park at that would give them access to Berneray beach. Aedion and Rowan collected the backpack and the two women again ran away ignoring everyone. “We have been reduced to carrying backpacks apparently.” Luckily, Rowan had convinced Aelin to put her stuff in his backpack. “Aelin kept her swimsuit on and she told me she is adamant she will swim.” “Lysandra was the same.” “No chance they got lost right?” Aedion was worried. Rowan laughed “Aelin smells beaches like a bloodhound. They are probably in the water already and the clothes will be all scattered again.” A couple of minutes later they reached the beach and as Rowan predicted the women’s clothes created a trail along the sands and both Lysandra and Aelin were already in the water swimming and playing. “Ach well,” said Rowan and removed his t-shirt leaving him in his swimming shorts. Aedion followed and they joined their women. As soon as they approached both Aelin and Lysandra began making appreciation sounds. Rowan too off to a run and jumped in the water and reappeared in front of Aelin. She looked up and heat spread to her special place. His shorts, now wet, hugged his shapes and her mind began wandering to very dangerous places. His hair was wet and clinging to his face. With a swift gesture he pulled it back and Aelin agreed with Lysandra’s comment. Rowan was sex on two legs. He closed the distance and pulled her in the water and in an instant she was kissing him, forcing herself to keep her hands at bay. “Let’s swim a bit. The water is gorgeous.” Aelin nodded and realised that Rowan was in his element. “Just don’t laugh.” “Why would I laugh?” He asked her pulling her to him again. “You are a professional swimmer. You probably look awesome and perfect while swimming. I don’t. I do breaststroke and I look like an idiot.” Rowan laughed “I don’t care how you swim.” He turned and took two powerful front crawl strokes and Aelin’s mouth fell open. It was a beautiful scene to watch him break the water with experienced perfection. She gained some courage and started swimming towards him and felt like a fish with clumsiness problems. In front of her Rowan stopped and swan back to her. “You are doing it wrong.” He stretched and showed her how to do it correctly. Then he placed his hands under her belly holding her up and she repeated the motions under his instructions. “Better.” He told her “It can be a tricky one to master. It requires coordination or you end up using more energy than needed.” Lysandra and Aedion reached them a moment later. “Can we swim to the island in front of us?” Asked Aedion. “I can, not sure you guys.” Affirmed Rowan “I have done it in the past. But we need to make it there and back.” “I can’t” said Aelin looking at the distance. “Me neither.” Added Lysandra “we girls can stay here and play where it’s safe. You boys go and have fun and do macho things.” Aelin walked to Rowan preoccupied “Ro, I am worried.” She admitted, caressing his tattoo, brushing the surgical scar marring his otherwise perfect skin “What if your shoulder…” “I will be fine.” He placed his hands on her cheeks “I feel good about this.” She nodded and decided to trust him. “Just look after Aedion. He is a fish too but he is not an ex professional.” “Will do.” And he gave her one last kiss. Aedion kissed Lysandra and the two men were off. Lysandra and Aelin were suntanning on the beach when they noticed their two men on the beach of the island waving at them. They both stood and waved back. “I didn’t know Aedion could swim that well.” “He is no champion like Rowan but he is good. He swims regularly and he can cover quite a distance. I usually join him but after a while I just move to the shallow side of the pool and soak until he does his million laps.” An hour later the two men walked out of the water and both Aelin and Lysandra looked at them with appreciation. Aelin had never actually noted how attractive Aedion was. He was just a bit shorter than Rowan, but he had muscles too, and a nice and tanned skin. And his blond hair reached his shoulder. “He is putting muscles on. He has found this place in London where they do medieval sword fighting. He has joined it and he is learning to wield a sword.” “No way. I want to do it.” “Do what?” Said Rowan’s voice in front of her. “Aedion has joined a group to learn medieval sword fighting.. It’s so cool.” “It is pretty awesome.” The man added shaking his wet hair all over Lysandra. “The idea of you with a sword is terrifying.” Rowan added while leaning on the beach towel at her side. In response she poked his sides finding nothing but hard muscles. “How was the swim?” “Gorgeous.” Replied Rowan brushing his hand through her wet hair. “It was incredible. I agree. Never swan in such pristine waters.” Once they were all dry they went back to the car and drove the twenty minutes needed to get to Lochmaddy. In the village they bought food at the local supermarket. On their way back, Aelin was staring at the landscape when she noticed and bed and breakfast and told Rowan to stop the car. The place was called Rowan Tree and she pulled him out of the car and forced him to take a photo in front of the sign. They got back to the cottage that it was almost dinner time and Lysandra kept telling everyone that she could not believe how bright it was. In their bedroom Aelin complained she needed a shower to remove the salt from her skin. She almost suggested Rowan to join her but then realised that naked in the shower could lead to other stuff and she wanted to respect Rowan’s desire. So they took turns and in the end she was glad she has the shower for herself so she could look after herself and reach the release that had been building up for a while now. The four of them had dinner together, cooked again by Rowan, and after their meal they decided to spend the evening the two couples each to their own. Rowan took Aelin down to the beach in front of their cottage. They found a nice spot with incredible views and they sat down, Aelin as usual between Rowan’s legs with her back to his chest. “You shoulder is bugging you.” She told him. She had noticed his grimaces of pain. He denied it. “Ro, the swim today was a bad idea.” He shook his head “I just have to retrain the muscles. I will be fine.” She huffed “well, tomorrow I am driving. You can be the navigator but I am driving.” “Driving is not an issue.” “Buzzard, you have this discussion with Lysandra. She is an orthopaedic surgeon. Be my guest.” He yielded “Fine, you drive, but you listen to me.” She leaned back her head and begged for a kiss “Of course.” They sat in silence until Rowan noticed she was humming Every River from Runrig and kissed her neck. “You are humming one of my favourite songs.” His arms tightened around her “It makes me think of us.” She kept humming. “All the ways of my life, I’d rather be with you. There is no way, without you.” He sang to her “or the second verse that says but you came to me like the way of children, simple as breathing, easy as air. This is you.” “It’s such a beautiful love song.” She felt him nod. They stayed on the beach a little while longer but at the first yawn, Rowan dragged her back to their room. Aelin reappeared in her Cookie Monster pyjama and Rowan smiled, then she climbed in bed with him. “I am the little spoon,” she ordered. He pulled her down and wrapped his arms around her pulling her body to his and burying his chin in the crook of her neck. “Another thing…” she grabbed his hands and moved them to her breasts “these, they camp here.” Rowan gave them a little squeeze “Oidhche mhath, mo chridhe.” “Whatever you just said.”

The next morning, Rowan had everything ready with the precision of a military officer getting ready for a mission. He made breakfast, prepared their lunches and filled their water bottles. His and Aelin’s backpack was all ready with all they needed. From fresh beach towels, to a hat, sunscreen a hat, sunglasses and his hoodie for Aelin in the off-chance the weather turned. He was pleased to see that Aedion was just as ready as him. “He is an ex-military brat. You two would get along.” Commented a sleepy Lysandra. “If we let things to you and Aelin we would be in bed till three in the afternoon and spend the rest of the day at home.” Rowan hid a laugh. He liked Aedion. “Ok troops, let’s march.” And while Lysandra was sleepy, Aelin was live and alert. In Rowan’s arms she had the best sleep in her entire life. They reached the car and Aelin took the wheel. “Why are you driving?” Lysandra sounded almost worried. “Rowan’s shoulder needs some rest.” “I noticed you seemed to have issues with it yesterday.” Lysandra added, with the eye of someone who did that for a living. “Old injury.” He flinched. Aelin took his hand and squeezed it. “I had a gym accident and suffered a complete tear of the rotator cuff. The tendons came off the bone.” “That’s a nasty one. What kind of surgery they did on you?” “They had to go for an open repair. The tear was far too big for an arthroscopic one.” He explained. “I have repaired quite a few of that type of injury. Rehab can be a bitch.” “Ro, just let me know where to go by the way.” “You are fine, keep driving, I’ll tell you when to turn.” She drove a bit longer “When we pass Clachan drive for a little longer the turn right at the first junction you see.” She did exactly that. “Now keep going until you reach the causeway and cross it. On the causeway the women were squealing. They had white sands on one side and blue waters and they had no idea where to look. Rowan pushed Aelin’s face “you look on the road, Fireheart.” “These roads are really small…” said Lysandra with apprehensive tone. “Now just follow the main road. Eventually it will finish and we will reach a farm.” They eventually reached their destination and Rowan gave her a kiss as a prize. For half an hour they wandered around the extensive white sands until Rowan called them back to order telling them that it was time for the main attraction of the day. Aelin tried to coerce a bit more info out of him but he refused. They were back in the car and Aelin kept driving under Rowan’s instructions “We are about to leave North Uist and go onto Benbecula, a very interested island joined to North and South Uist by Causeways and the whole island is pockmarked by lochs. It’s something quite spectacular.” Once they reached the second causeway Aelin stopped the car and very quickly she and Lysandra took some pictures. Back in the car an angry Rowan waited for her “You are not supposed to do that. That was a very dangerous manoeuvre.” “It was for a moment and there was no one coming anyway.” “That was a stupid thing to do. End of of the discussion. Now keep driving and at the junction there is a sign. Follow for Eiliean Fhloddaidh.” “The what?” She asked feeling stupid all of a sudden. “Just turn left at the junction, please.” His tone had a thick layer of annoyance. “Keep driving, pass the causeway and drive until you find the car park.” Five minutes later they arrived at destination, Aelin got off the car and slammed the door with a bit too much force. Rowan glared at her. Then grabbed her hand “Let’s go.” The four of them walked in silence for a little bit longer until Aelin spotted something moving on the rock “Are that…” “They are seals…” added Rowan with a big grin. “No screaming, you two. No touching, especially if there are pups. We keep our distance and admire them in silence.” They quietly moved closer and Aelin started squeezing Rowan’s hand “They are seals…” she whispered “They are adorable.” She looked at Lysandra and noted that her friend was in the same state of amazement as her. Rowan took out his camera and with the expertise of someone who had done it plenty of times he got closer without scaring away the animals. A moment later he noticed Aelin at his side. Her arms around his waist and her eyes full of joy and surprise. He took a picture of her while she was admiring the seals. It took him and Aedion a bit of time to convince their women they could not spend the day there and they had to keep going. They stopped again at another stunning location just after the causeway leading to South Uist, they had a quick coffee break in a lovely cafe then the two women did some shopping in two crafts shops. The second one was a place specialising in Hebridean jewellery and Rowan bought Aelin a simple necklace with a pendant as blue as her eyes and all the waters of the beaches she loved so much. Slowly they made their way south and Rowan had them stop at some archaeological sites. Aelin hugged a few more standing stones until they finally reached the pier in front of the causeway to Eriskay which Rowan explained was were they meant to go the following day to take the ferry to Barra. By the time they got back to the cottage they were all exhausted and after a nice meal, they all went to bed ready for their new adventure the following day.

The next morning was another early start as they were planning catching the first ferry out to Barra. Rowan had stated that he was the one to drive because he knew the road and they had a time issue at hand. Aelin yielded and let him drive. They reached their ferry in time and forty minutes later they docked in Ardmhor on the isle of Barra. Rowan kept driving and told them that they were going to a fun place. Aelin noticed the huge beach appearing in front of them and was ready for some excitement. Until Rowan parked in the small car park of what turned out to be an airport. Probably the smallest airport she had ever seen. “Let’s go.” Rowan took her hand and guided the group to a safe location. Aedion’s eyes were wide in surprise. “This is Barra airport. The only airport in the world where planes land on the sand.” Rowan checked something on his phone and Aelin was amazed how quickly he had learned how to use it. “A plane is due in, in half an hour.” They walked along what they discovered was called Traigh Mhor, which just meant Big beach. They all removed their shoes and walked in the water, until Rowan noticed the sound of a propeller plan approaching. Quickly they made their way to a safe spot, ready to admire the landing. “See the windsock? It means the airport is operating.” Rowan kept explaining “The runaways are under water at high tide so the schedule of the flights is very connected with the tides.” He moved the group off the beach while the plane was on its last leg of its approach. “Have you done this? Asked Aelin fascinated. Rowan nodded. “They only fly to Glasgow. And it can only operate by day.” Finally the plane landed and Aedion cheered “As an ex RAF pilot, this was awesome. I’d become a commercial pilot just to do this.” Rowan laughed. After the excitement, Rowan drove them all the way north to the top of Barra, and then they made their way back down and Aelin realised that Barra had one main road that was basically a circular around the island. Rowan took them to a few short walks until they eventually reached Castlebay, the main and only town on the island. They had lunch in one of the cozy cafes and in the afternoon they took a boat out to Kisimul castle. Back in town Aelin discovered a place that made toffee and she stocked up for life and Rowan made fun of her and her obsession for super sweet stuff. And to finish off the day Rowan took them to the gin distillery and they had a tour and Aedion bought two bottles for himself. Eventually they made it back home ending another long perfect day. Aelin was on the bed waiting for Rowan to come out of the shower and was flipping through the photos on his camera. “You took a lot of photo of me.” She said when he reappeared in his shorts and t-shirt ready for bed. He leaned forward and kissed her “I have seen these places a few times already. You are my favourite subject.” She put the camera down and a moment later he was hovering above her, caging her head between his arms, his head right above hers. He lowered himself and kissed her and Aelin moaned at the feeling of his body pressed on hers. Her kiss deepened and her legs locked around his lower back pushing his pelvis closer to her body. His hands traced her sides, sliding her t-shirt upward, exposing her breasts. The previous night they had gone a bit further in their cuddling and he had taken very seriously the idea of worshipping her girls. His mouth found its target and Aelin arched her back when his tongue flicked her hard peaks. Her hands fisted in his hair and pushed him even closer. And when his hand landed between her legs she had to restrain herself from a loud moan. His hand never actually touched skin but she was positive he could feel how wet she was. She could imagine his smirk, if it wasn’t that his face was buried in her chest doing wonderful despicable things. His hand sneaked under her shorts and stayed on top of her knickers. But the fabric was so thin that she could have been naked. His finger started rubbing in the exact spot where she wanted him and a shiver ran down her spine. Her back arched again, trying to find friction against his finger. She heard Rowan chuckle against her bare skin and his mouth sent her reeling. Damn, the man had skills. Eventually release came and Aelin had to bury her face against his shoulder to muffle the scream of undiluted pleasure that rippled through her. She felt her body shake and almost whimpered as she rode her high. Eventually she melted on the bed, Rowan lowered her t-shirt and took his place at her side, giving her a huge grin “I guess you will sleep very well tonight.” And that she did.

[daeneryses]

im sorry i have to rant again

i just cant understand how u can fuck up e v e r y s i n g l e o n e of your characters in one (1) episode

WHAT THE FUCK

god knows 2014 me wanted pol!sansa more than life itself BUT NOT LIKE THIS. she’s supposed to be kind and intelligent and c o u r t e o u s and have more than two functional braincells. she’s not supposed to be LF reborn or ms cersei lannister wannabe.

why is she scheming behind her brothers back. why does she hate daenerys so much. why is she the way she is. WHY IS SHE TRUSTING TYRION. this is the biggest mess i have ever seen. she goes against dany as if the north had more than 12 survivors im sorry but I HAVE TO LAUGH BC DANY STILL HAS (HAD) 1 (2) WHOLE ASS DRAGON(S). like if this was a well written conflict i would be enjoying my Clash of Queens but ts just PURE CLOWNERY BECAUSE THEY NEVER EXPLAIN WHY SANSA DESPISES DANY. SHE ISN’T JUST WEARY OF HER SHE STRAIGHT UP HATES HER. my girl sansa is a smart bitch do u really think she’d want to burn (lol) bridges with the most powerful player atm???THEY NEED TO REBUILD WINTERFELL AND THE WHOLE ASS 12 NORTHERNERS WHO SURVIVED THE AVERAGE LENGTH NIGHT AIN’T GONNA BE ENOUGH. MMAYBE THE UNDEAD DEMONS ARE DEAD BUT IT IS STILL WINTER THEY NEED PROVISIONS (although, to be fair, there aren’t many people left) 

god

i dont even think there’s a single powerful house in the north anymore (besides the starks) like who would even rally to them who would they be ruling over i d o n t g e t i t. 

also wtf is gonna happen to the glovers???? they betrayed their liege lords and nothing’s gonna happen to them??? GUESS WE’LL NEVER KNOW BECAUSE FUCK CONSEQUENCES. CONSEQUENCES ONLY APPLY TO DAENERYS TARGARYEN NOW APPARENTLY.

why is she emulating the worst of LF did she learn nothing? am i in hell? if she thinks jon is such an imbecile (which, i agree!!!) WHY does she want him on the throne. why, all of a sudden, everyone wants jon on the throne? the dude doesnt WANT IT!!! mAyBe thE BeST ruLErS dOnT wANt To rULe yeah well varys how did robert baratheon turned out???? 

god the northern plotline really sucked ass. and i really had hope. i really really did. i should have known the story was fucked up the second they sent sansa to marry ramsey instead of fArya.

ITS ALSO SO FRUSTRATING WATCHING THEM MERGE CHARACTERS TOGETHER 

the whole ass mess we’re about to get with jon and dany is happening solely because they didn’t want to include fAegon. and okay, no biggie, but u cant have ur cake and eat it too. if there is no fAegon u cant have a targbowl. u cant have a golden company. and u should have figured out a way to write cersei out of the story bc by the looks of it fAegon is gonna deal w her in the series. jesus fucking christ. but they couldnt do that could they? which is the reason why we’re 2 episoded away from the grand finale and cersei is still on the throne, the NK (arguably the Great Other) is dead and jon is gonna murder dany. neat. totally not nihilistic. super bittersweet. a+ story telling. IM IN HELL.

Jon and the Young Griff are so....different....how can u even fathom the idea of merging them,,,,when their motivations are so so so so so different. their stories, their motivations, their goals, their upbringing. how much of a dumbass do you have to be to think they could share a storyline.

they also sloppily merged ELLARIA SAND AND ARIANNE MARTELL, with a mix of fucking darkstar in there with the whole “lets assassinate myrcella lol that should work” plan. HOW DID THEY MANAGE TO FUCK THAT UP SO BADLY. DID THEY READ ELLARIA’S SPEECH ABT HOW VENGEANCE DOES NOTHING? HOW SHE WANTED THE SAND SNAKES (the real sandsnakes not....whatever THAT was) TO STOP BECAUSE THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE NEVER ENDS???? IMAGINE INDIRA VARMA DELIVERING THAT SPEECH G*D I WAS ROBBED. but they said “hey, u know what’d be neat? having a deceased prince’s paramour and his three bastard daughters overthrow an ancient noble house and face no repercusions whatsoever from the people (who canonnically loved oberyn) yeah that sounds h a r d c o r e”. house martell is dead and so am i. 

and now, arguably The Worst Of Them All: they merged arya and lady stoneheart. fucking stoneheart dude. s t o n e h e a r t. somehow, zombie!cat who is hell bent on revenge and living, sentient arya stark share the same goals. dont get me wrong i’ve been a little bit of a hypocrite bc i sure as hell cheered when arya obliterated house frey. we got that, but at what cost? i’d rather not have that scene and have a human arya stark who is not obsessed with murder and can grow as a character and, u know, be a fucking human being.

i need a whole post to rant about the arya and stoneheart merge

this has been rough bc throughout the years i’ve seen them butcher storylines and fuck things up but i always wanted to think that it was for the best. the show is not the books, after all. george doesn’t have a budget or deadlines, he can take his sweet time (as he has been doing) and build incredibly complex plotlines and keep adding characters and its okay. d&d dont have that. but i dont think its fair to monumentally fuck characters up the way they have been doing.

i dont mind the divergence from the books, i think they are way too rich for any visual media, the plotlines are too intrincate, and d&d had to end the story one way or another. they could tell their own story, it didn’t have to live up to the grand finale of ASOIAF, but they had to respect their audiences. 

thorughout the years, whenever i saw what they were doing i was sure they had a reason. that they had an ending planned and all the cuts were made because those particular aspects of the story didn’t matter in whatever ending they had planned. but this season (particularly last episode) has proven me wrong. they never knew wtf they were doing, they just want to shoot cool scenes and that’s it. and now we’re gonna get a half-assed ending that they have only now started to foreshadow and hint at. because they never knew wtf they were doing.

THESE TWO IDIOTS REALLY TOOK ONE OF THE RICHEST PIECES OF FANTASY LITERATURE EVER WRITTEN AND CRUSHED IT THE FUCK DOWN.

EVEN WORST. THEY TOOK THEIR OWN STORY, THE STORY THEY HAD BEEN HINTING AT, AND TORE IT THE FUCK DOWN. 

im so mad u have no idea

[passportandplates]

Disclosure: I was given a complimentary cooking class in exchange for this review, but as always, all opinions are my own.

Home to friendly camels, luxury campsites, and mouthwatering food, Jordan managed to surprise and delight me at every turn. When I vowed to make 2017 the Year of the Middle East, I never imagined how easily I would fall in love with every aspect of Jordanian culture. One of the many experiences that contributed to this borderline obsession was cooking with A Piece of Jordan.

  Cooking with A Piece of Jordan:

Just before 8 pm on a Sunday evening, two of my fellow travelers (Josie and Callum) and I slowly make our way downstairs to the hotel lobby, simultaneously exhausted and excited. We’d spent the better part of the day exploring the ancient city of Petra, hiking the uneven trails to the Monastery and the High Place of Sacrifice. My watch informs me that we’d trekked over 31,000 steps – the equivalent of 13 miles – so my exhaustion is warranted. Yet my excitement overpowers my tiredness since I’m about to do one of my favorite activities while traveling – a cooking class. This isn’t just any cooking class, however. This one is taking place in a local’s home without the frills of stainless steel cookware and a professional chef. A Piece of Jordan is run by locals in support of locals and I’m eager to learn more about Jordanian culture through food…after all, isn’t that what traveling is all about?

In the lobby of our hotel, we’re greeted by Bev, a kind American-British woman who I later find out has been living in Jordan for just eight months. The three of us pile into the pick-up truck and Bev expertly navigates the streets, sharing stories about her recent transition to Jordan from the United Kingdom. She’s moved to Jordan to run a bed and breakfast and be close to her daughter Steph, owner and founder of A Piece of Jordan. Ah, so that explains the British accent.

We arrive at the family’s house where sisters Fedaa and Baraah live with their parents. In Jordan, hospitality rules all, and everyone insists that we sit down and have a cup of tea before heading to the kitchen. Fedaa makes us tea with sage, which I’d never had before. Like everything I’ve sampled in Jordan thus far, it is delicious.

Before long we head to the kitchen, eager to start cooking and eating. We’ll be learning how to make the Jordanian version of Kabsa, a spiced rice dish with chicken, vegetables, and tomato sauce. Kabsa is actually the national dish of Saudi Arabia, but the Jordanians claim a variation of the dish as well.

Like most Middle Eastern dishes, we start by chopping and sautéing garlic and onions. Josie is tasked with chopping while Fedaa thoroughly rinses the long-grain rice and chicken. At this point Baraah joins us, introducing herself and jumping in with prep. We learn that she is a physiotherapist and her sister is an engineering professor, but both of them are passionate about tourism in Jordan – hence, the cooking class. I am admittedly spending all my time taking photos rather than being of much assistance, but the others have it under control. Fedaa adds the chicken to the pot, then tasks Callum with peeling and shredding a bunch of carrots. Fedaa and Baraah’s mom comes in a few times to make sure that we’re being taught “correctly.” I have to laugh because this is the point where I really feel like I’m cooking at home!

Then comes time to add in the spices and boy, are there a lot of them! Cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, salt, pepper, allspice, turmeric, fennel, and coriander are all generously added to the pot “to taste.” No measuring spoons in this kitchen!

The chicken is left to cook in its own sweet time and in a separate pan, we stir-fry green peppers, more onions, the shredded carrots, and peas. The aroma of the spices is hitting us full force and my stomach rumbles in anticipation. Luckily, there are only a few more steps left before we can grub. The veggies and rice are added to the pot of chicken along with tomato paste and a bunch of water. We take turns tasting and assessing the spice and salt levels and once we declare the dish to be perfect, we close the top of the pot once again and hungrily huddle around it in anticipation distract ourselves by prepping the salad, setting the table, and chatting. Bev shares the incredibly romantic story of how her daughter, Steph, came to marry her Jordanian husband. In a nutshell: love at first sight on a horse ride in Petra led to a whirlwind cross-continent romance. *SWOON.*

20 minutes later, the kabsa is ready. Fedaa manages to impressively flip the entire pot of rice onto a serving plate – magic, I tell you! – while Callum, Josie and I inhale the spicy aroma and try not to drool. Of course, nobody is allowed to eat until I take photos…how else am I supposed to visually capture the essence that is Jordanian food?

We dig in and the table is silent for a few minutes as everyone eagerly chows down, scooping yogurt and salad onto the kabsa as instructed by our hosts. That’s how the Jordanians eat kabsa, they inform us.

While the food is one of the best things about the experience, it is the conversation at the dinner table that remains in my mind to this day. We discuss a range of topics – everything from Chimamanda Adichie’s Ted Talk to politics to religion to Islamophobia. No topic is taboo or off-limits. We talk about how tourism in Jordan is down due to the “bad neighbors” and are reminded that Jordan is actually safe, despite it being lumped together with the rest of the Middle East (especially Syria) in the media. We’re asked about Islamophobia in the United States and in Australia (Callum and Josie are both Aussies) and laugh about stereotypes we hear about the Middle East and vice versa. While learning how to cook a new dish is always a fun activity, sitting with a hospitable family (not unlike my own), discussing random topics, and eating home cooked Jordanian cuisine – now that’s something I will treasure for a long time.

  About A Piece of Jordan:

Steph started A Piece of Jordan in 2015 as a way for visitors to experience the hospitality of Jordanian culture. Many tourists come to Petra to see the ancient city, but few have the opportunity to interact with locals outside of a merchant-customer relationship. Steph is hoping to change the perception of Jordan and the Middle East as a whole. Rather than painting the entire region as an unstable hotbed of extremism, A Piece of Jordan invites you to experience the true Jordan – the stories and experiences of real people – so you can return home with a true cultural understanding.

  Additional Thoughts:

Travel is more than ancient sites and breathtaking landscapes. Travel is about experiencing life as a local. It’s about eating the cuisine and learning about the culture and the clothing and the religion. If you’re lucky, it means interacting with locals on a deeper level by being open-minded and getting out of your comfort zone. If this is the kind of experience you seek while in Jordan, make time for A Piece of Jordan. I promise you won’t regret it.

Book a local experience (not just cooking classes) here!

A Piece of Jordan Petra, Jordan Phone: +962799902916 Email: info@apieceofjordan.com

Tell me: What’s the coolest local experience you’ve ever had?  Share in the comments below!

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Shattering Stereotypes Over Food With A Piece of Jordan Disclosure: I was given a complimentary cooking class in exchange for this review, but as always, all opinions are my own.