#( 📓 ) the likeability paradox !

[thelastofhyde]

On my hands and knees begging for more of likeability paradox

since you begged, have a sneak peak at part 2 <3

The door creaks, a beg for oil, and announces Joel's arrival far sooner than he would have preferred, stumbling upon the scene of you. More specifically, the back of you, doubled over. Everything from the waist up digging through the backseats of the vehicle, seemingly searching for something, while everything downwards is on full display for his starved eyes to feast upon. Boot covered feet, the hem of the most nonsensical skirt resting upon bare calves, the curvature of thighs beneath silk, the stretch of tightened fabric against your ass.

Joel thinks himself a strong man, but he is weakened by the sight.

You startle at his entrance, rushing to straighten yourself so quickly your head smacks against the top of the car's door frame. A hiss and a pressing of a hand to your head is not enough to comfort the witness of your harm, crossing those three steps forward needed to grip your jumper covered shoulders and spin you to face him, eyes immediate with their scanning of your features, frantic to confirm you're not teary-eyed, nor pouty-lipped, nor in the beginnings of a concussion.

"I thought-" you pause whatever you wish to say when one of his hands covers your own, cradling the back of your head. He's well-aware this is too close, too unlike him, too noteworthy. But he can not seem to care enough to welcomed back the distance that so often sits between you. "Oh, it's you."

"Sorry to disappoint ya."

He surely is.

Disappointed, confused, conflicted. Here you stand, no runny nose, no bloodshot eyes, no scratch in your voice, no need to be cared for. It's a selfish thing, to feel his heart lurch at the fact you're in full-health, no pesky cough in sight, but his distaste towards the feeling only makes it double in size.

"No! Sorry, I just," you're the first to inch back, head tilting to meet his stare with your own. He follows suit, taking your unvocalised desires and stepping away from you, hands back by his own side and vowing to keep themselves there. "I thought it would be Tess teaching me."

So maybe you'd never called for him.

[thelastofhyde]

reread likeability complex and the thing you did towards the end with the line about breath and then two paragraphs and then breath and then two paragraphs and then breath OH GOD IT WAS GOOD it's such an amazing way to un-explicitly portray suspenseful buildup jesus are you good

i found myself waiting to breathe until i saw another line about breath (once again I love you please write a book so i can put it on a shelf)

screaming, crying, throwing up at this entire ask because,,, wtf??? i can't wrap my head around how my silly joel thirsting could birth this reaction out of someone but bestie i am honoured 🫡 if you're holding your breath now, just wait till joel adds breath play into the mix in future chapters <3

[thelastofhyde]

just finished outlining part three of the likeability paradox... umm, got a funny feeling this ones gonna hit the 20k mark.

[thelastofhyde]

babessss are you okayyyy???? The new chapter can wait but you’ve been mia

sending you good vibessss🫶🏻

thank you for the good vibessss ! and sorry if i've made anyone worry, i've just been avoiding posting out of the shame of not having posted the new chapter yet <3

[thelastofhyde]

WHEN IS PART 3 FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE

next thursday 27th <3

[thelastofhyde]

Hey so are you planning on continuing the joel fic you wrote? It's honestly one of the best fics I've ever read and I'd really love to read more

first of all, i’m blushing 😳 wdym “best fics i’ve ever read” i’m just spewing out a bunch of words and hoping it’s in character for joel but thank you so much im honoured you feel that way. and yes, i will be continuing to write more of this couple, please look forward to it x <3

[thelastofhyde]

WHEN

THIRD PART

WHEN

ON MY HANDS AND KNEES

hate to say this but,, i have an assignment due for uni on the 27th, so it might not be till after that 🫣 i’ll try my best to get it posted s asap though

[thelastofhyde]

hyde mi amor, book-shelf anon here,

as a latina, the nickname sol was so fucking butterfly inducing i adore it sm

do you envision joel pronouncing it in proper spanish (i fully do either way bc pedrito<3) or with a cute little texan man accent? if u prefer to leave it up to our imagination that's valid too sjksbs

also just saw that ur planning for 12 chapters and 11 drabbles?!?! on the edge of my seat fr

ay mi amor <3 as someone who speaks fluent spanish ( and has grown up in a country where spanish is the primary language ), and absolutely loves pedrito’s acento chileno, i tend to read it with the proper pronunciation.

that being said, i do headcanon that joel has his own little texan twang when he says it. i also headcanon that tommy has perfect pronunciation and used to call joel a gringo for his lil texan spanish <3

[thelastofhyde]

I just have to say I am absolutely IN LOVE with this story and it’s my first time ever leaving a message for a fic so that says a lot… I’ve read so many Joel fics (way too many at this point haha) and yours is one of my favorites. The way you describe every moment, every feeling.. I don’t know where Sol ends and I being while reading it. You are so talented and if one day you’ll plan on writing a book I’ll be the first one in line cause sheesh. I won’t even start on the smut, it’s built up so deliciously, gives me butterflies! Idk how many chapters you have planned for this story but I’ll read all of them a thousand times over just to get a taste of this version of Joel Miller. I’m also around Sol’s age & personality and quite inexperienced sexually & with an attraction for capable older men, problematic relationship with my dad as well so it feels personal to me & I’m living my fantasies through your writing atm haha. You’re amazing, talented, incredible!! Sending you all the hugs

dear sweet anon, take my heart and soul and don't give it back !

"it’s my first time ever leaving a message for a fic so that says a lot" oh, wow. genuinely, wow... i'm honoured that you'd chose me and my fic to be the first you message about. i love that you see yourself in sol, especially after i've attempted to keep physical descriptions of her to a minimum to not take anyone out of the fic (ie. describing a skin tone that may not match whoever is reading). it's such a nice reminder that we don't need physical descriptions to relate or see ourselves in characters. i hope you continue to live out your fantasies as this series progresses! <3

"Idk how many chapters you have planned for this story but I’ll read all of them a thousand times over just to get a taste of this version of Joel Miller." honestly, not even i know at this point how many parts i intend to write for this series. every time i think i've settled on an outline for the whole fic, a new idea pops up and i add another chapter. as it stands, i currently have planned out a total of 12 chapters and 11 drabbles, but that could easily change and grow in length.

"You are so talented and if one day you’ll plan on writing a book I’ll be the first one in line cause sheesh." you're now the second person to bring up the idea of me writing a book ( including the sweet book-shelf anon ) and i really just want to stress how much hearing things like this means to me. i'm currently a student, working on my bachelors degree in english literature and creative writing with the goal of ( someday, hopefully ) working in the publishing industry/writing my own fiction novels, so to have anyone say this is just so incredibly validating to my big ( basically unnattainable ) dreams.

this reply ended up longer than intended, but thank you so much, for all of this! sending you all the hugs back ! <33

[thelastofhyde]

Ur Joel series is what I think about to fall asleep at night. I’ve written “why don’t ya like me?” In my diary with hearts and lipstick kiss marks. Love u

joel, is that you? 🤨

[thelastofhyde]

I can’t even begin to describe how much I love your Joel series…… it’s 5am and I just finished binging the entire thing. There’s very few fics out there that are from Joel’s POV. It’s a very different take, but ohhhhh the man is like a lovesick puppy! His pining and the way he had to see her before they left? Like, my heart is SWOONING for the guy with a gruff exterior being that soft yet capable of killing a man while at the same time fucking you and managing to get the both of you off afterward 🤷🏼‍♀️🤭🥴

actual footage of me putting this ask through through text to speech and replaying it over and over like it’s my new favourite song:

thank you so much! i love to see that the series being from joel’s pov is being enjoyed, though it wasn’t something i went in with the conscious decision of doing. 100% a happy accident, it’s so fun writing from inside his mind, its the perfect way to show him being a giant pining simp and contrasting it with his dismissive and rough attitude. the smut from his pov is also very fun to write.

buckle up for the next part though, because we’re bringing in the big guns ( aka angst brought on by discussions of sarah ).

[thelastofhyde]

“Stop comparing me to your dog” OMG I immediately thought “the dog is better behaved than you 🥵🥵🥵”

true fact: otis has more table manners than joel.

in this house, we live for one thing and one thing only: joel slander. sol better, in the wise words of that one tiktok audio, walk him like a dog.

[thelastofhyde]

I am obsessed with this Joel fic you did. Just... holy shit! Your character is just so *chef's kiss* 💋 Like, I love the low-key confidence of being unbothered yet horny. And those bits of Joel's selfish thoughts of yearning. Fuuuuuck. You didn't just eat that you served it, and we the people need more. Xoxo

thank you so much, sweet anon ! you, the people, are definitely getting much more and i'm struggling to hold myself back from writing too far ahead ( especially when i've not even finished writing part two and i've already skipped ahead to write scenes that won't even take place till years later after the likeability paradox )

joel's selfish thoughts are gonna be on high alert in the next part- we're even gonna get a few moments of sweetness between him and his sol peaking through to counterbalance how harsh he was towards her in part one. that doesn't mean he's not going to continue being a pathetic weepy baby that contradicts his feelings by being mean to her, that's a trait not even years of therapy could take away from joel!

[thelastofhyde]

OHMYGOD THAT WAS SO FUCKING GOOD! eta on the second part? I need to plan my life around this update #joelandhissol

thank you so much <3 #joelandhissol is so cute, i'm tempted to steal it as my tag for them. but don't plan your life around this next update or your schedule is gonna be messy, because my writing pace is pathetically slow.

on the topic of the next part/update: i'd love to say a definite date for when the next part is coming- and to set a consisting update schedule for the series- but it would just fill me with anxiety and make me dread writing it. between working full time and studying for my uni degree, it's just not realistic to give myself stress when it comes to something i consider a hobby. this is also a sideblog of my main writing blog, where i have a series that's in desperate need of updating so i'm currently juggling writing that and part two to the likeability paradox.

i've written about 25% of the next part and i'm really enjoying writing it, so i'm hoping i'll have it posted by the end of this week/start of next week, but i can't make any promises, sorry :(

tldr; i'm writing part two, it should hopefully be done soon but i'm not setting a definite date.

[thelastofhyde]

OMG I'M OBSESSED WITH YOUR JOEL MILLER FANFIC!!!!! THE FACT IT WLL HAVE MULTIPLE PARTS HAS MADE MY DAY!!

glad to be of service 🫡

[thelastofhyde]

joel: "why do you not like me :("

also joel: commits war crimes against her with his grumpy stare and basically tells her to shut up

HMM I WONDER WHY JOELSEPH! I WONDER FUCKING WHY! if there's a part two, and he's mean to sol again, it better involve otis biting his dick or sumn shit

i need 4-5 business days to recover from joelseph. and, fr, joel is public enemy number 1 for poor otis- but he’s also obsessed with him and wants joel to love him. kinda matches how joel feels about his sol.