#oh there's a typo in the article

[dailyrickastley]

Rick Astley is back

"Singer Rick Astley is set to make make a comeback with a one-off tour.

Astley will take to the stage with a host of stars for one week only, 20 years after scoring a number one hit around the world.

He said: "I was offered a really nice trip to Japan to do some of my 80s hits ... and to my surprise I kind of enjoyed it.

"I've dome some little gigs where I've done swing numbers, but in terms of singing for thousands of people, it's still a bit of a buzz."

Astley was a huge hit in the UK in the eighties when he shot to Number One with debut single Never Gonna Give You Up.

After a string of hits, he narrowly missed the spot with a Christmas cover of the classic When I Fall In Love."

[player1064]

i binged like ten of ur drabble chapters and can I just say I love how u write carraville, especially gary! but jamie too, I love how they talk like proper british men, lol. its awesome!!!

thank yooouuuu!! honestly I'm glad people like the way I write them talking bc I am a horrible londoner (and a posh one too) and always worry I'm being Too mean the way I write their accents but also. I LOVE writing their accents so I will Not stop

[unproduciblesmackdown]

interestingly the only mention i can find of a monastery loquarium is (rendered "loquorium") in "the california padres and their mission" by charles francis saunders and joseph smeaton chase, a book in the public domain:

The Mission relics at Santa Inés are many and interesting. Besides those used in the present-day church services, and the beautiful old vestments that are in the sacristy, there is a considerable collection arranged for interested visitors in an interior room of the convento — a room formerly used as the loquorium, where daily, after dinner and after supper, the friars were at liberty to come to rest for an hour from their laboring and praying, and relax in human chat.

the next paragraph also mentions this room now housing relics "patiently got together from all sorts of places," including "from the earth of the surrounding fields as the plough turns it up"

[just-some-random-blogger]

Tender Cuts

Gwayne comes home battered and beaten, and so you kiss his busted lip and tend to his wounds.

Gwayne Hightower x Reader | 700< | cw: fem!reader, wife!reader, mentions of injury/blood, hurt/comfort, fluff, softhours, typos, etc.

A/N: i cant help myself. the unholy unspeakable things i want to do to this man... and yet here i am offering you some fluff

Tagging: @lancedoncrimsonwings

Gwayne watches the way I undo his armor. He sighs and straightens from his chair, turning to the vanity mirror, "I am uninjured."

"And so you say, yet on your lips therein lies the lie you offer, husband," I retort as I finally remove the final piece of steel upon his form.

I bend over as he sighs once more. His tired eyes remain on my face as I unbutton his top. He places his hands on his thighs as he spreads them, "I am not gravely injured."

I forfeit a response and continue to touch him with care, as not to accidentally cause his unexposed injuries any more irritation. By the time I have his top unbottoned, Gwyane removes it along with his undershirt before I can do so. He stands and takes my hands. His eyes are more awake now as he places my palms on his bare chest, "inspect me yourself if you distrust me so."

His tone pinches my heart. "It's not that I distrust you, love," I rub his shoulders, "it's just that you've grown numb to your pain, and I do not wish any ailment to sneak up on you."

Gwayne's eyes slowly shut as I rub his arms then caress the sides of his firm belly. "So?" he grumbles, "shall I rid myself of my pants?"

My expression perks, "you might as well."

He opens his eyes and furrows his brows.

"I will bathe you myself."

Gwayne does not protest, save perhaps for a few more sighs as he rids himself of his last articles of clothing and steps into the preprepared tub. I waste no time and drag a stool to the side, eager to get him clean. He melts into my touch as I scrub his skin.

I splash his arm a few times before moving onto his chest. The room is silent, apart for the sound of sloshing water. Gwayne's head feels heavy, I can tell. I rub his shoulders to encourage him to relax.

"You don't have to mother me, you know."

I tilt my head as I find one of the freckles on his sternum, "I am a mother. You should know, you were there when it happened."

"You mothered my children, not I." He rests his arms on the sides of the tub.

I lift my gaze. His eyes look heavy.

For a moment, my husband is not he, but a child abandoned. I look upon his tired face and recall the soft confessions he'd whispered as I laid in his arms, confessions of his loneliness, his longing. He recounted all the memories of his mother that remained with him. He vented out his hurt over his father who he grew without.

I knit my brows and put down the sponge in my hand, "do you not want my touch?"

He drops his head then grabs my wrist, "I do not want you to worry." Gwayne pushes closer to me. The water around him splashes. He leans on the rim by my side and kisses my pulse. He repeats softer, "I do not want you to worry."

I press my lips into a line and brush his hair back with my free hand, "oh, my love," I sigh, "unfortunately, I worry regardless."

He rests his head upon my hand when I caress his cheek. I comb my fingers through his hair as much as it will allow me in its matted state. He closes his eyes. I trace the shape of his nose with my palm.

Gwayne has never said it out loud, but I know that sometimes he feels undeserving of the attention I so freely shower him in. The wounds of his younger self that never quite healed make the affections he's so craved quite hard to take in.

"My sweet boy," I whisper, gently rubbing his lips, "let me do this for you."

His blue eyes slowly open. They are shrouded with red exhaustion. He finally relents, eyes closing again as he leans back and offers himself completely to me.

I decide to wash his hair for a change, and as I do so, I sing a folk song from the Reach. He rests his head on the tub, sinking slightly into the water as he allows himself to relax.

I only stop singing when he mutters something unintelligible. I lean towards him, "what was that, my love?"

His lips barely move, "thank you."

A soft smile finds me.

"I love you."

I immediately press my lips into his. I make sure to do so delicately, so not to disturb him or the cut on his lower lip. I look at his face for a few moments before pulling back, "I love you too."

I continue singing from where I left off.

[maythearo]

" Welcome to Night Raven College's "Ghostly Gossip"! The school's unofficial main online source for the latest news, articles and trending topics circulating around campus! "

" A new ghoul here, are you? Well then, don't worry. Let this blog be your guide from the hallways to the catacombs! I'll let you in for some personal notes and tips to gurantee your high school survival, so don't you get lost on me now! "

There are plenty of monster students yet to be introduced to you, but for today let's start with...

Navigation (to be linked) :

R. Rosehearts - T. Clover - C. Diamond - A. Trappola - D. Spade - L. Kingscholar - R. Bucchi - J. Howl - A. Ashengrotto - J. Leech - F. Leech - K. Al Asim - J. Viper - V. Schoenheit - R. Hunt - E. Felmier - I. Shroud - O. Shroud - M. Draconia - L. Vanrouge - S. Zigvolt - Silver

(Messy) Design notes:

Give me strength to complete this project with every character. Just Jamil's took me days because I kept getting stuck with that first scraped design ⚰️ of course I had to start with him since AHEM AHEM I hate him sm (lying)

The only thing I forgor to add in the pic above is that the reason I made his hair half green/blue/(?) Is bcs I wanted something to contrast with the red clothes. For the first half of the process I thought his color pallette was too boring in general, so I slapped a gradient over his Rapunzel hair and called it a day tbh 💪

I'm still not 100% sure if I nailed it the way I originally wanted to, buy hey, It's a start. Can't let my perfectionism hold be back and keep me from sharing my art til the end of times. So here it is. First entry. I'm posting this at 22:20 right after I got home from class so I hope my exhaustion didn't sneak in some typos in the post 😫😫 oh and by the way the snake names were all ideas I asked for on my instagram stories. I absolutely love Steve. The person who sent the idea said that it was Kalim who named it that way and I can totally see it happening

But in a final note, I wanted a cooler layout for me to post the series, so I took the name Ghostly Gossip from Spectra's original name for her blog before it became The Gory Gazette, I believe? I'm having fun with this idea that everyone would be introduced by a in-universe blog post just like the original monster high website used to do. So I'm creating a tag for the navigation purposes too! At #.the ghostly gossip hehe, but that's kinda all! Um,, stay tuned? (Runs away)

[leveragehunters]

I'm putting my response to this in it's own post. Nothing but respect for the rightful criticisms of the situation described in those articles. The problem is that the articles by Danielle Cahill are grossly, almost negligently, misleading.

I'm not your lawyer and this is not legal advice, but I am an autistic Queensland lawyer who's pretty ticked off at Cahill.

Cahill's articles:

Autistic drivers could find their licences in legal limbo depending on where they live after new standards introduced

New national Fitness to Drive standards are 'discriminatory' and 'humiliating' for autistic drivers, psychologists say

Short version:

If you're autistic you do not automatically have to obtain a medical clearance to hold a Queensland Drivers Licence and there is no 'list of reportable conditions', much less one that includes autism.

Long version with receipts:

The first article purportedly cites a Department of Transport and Main Roads (Transport) spokesperson who they claim said: "…all autistic drivers in Queensland have since 2012 been required to obtain a medical clearance from a doctor to show they are fit to drive." It also says: "In Queensland, the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) requires drivers to obtain a medical clearance form from a doctor confirming they are fit to drive despite being autistic."

The second article says: "According to the state's Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), autism was added to the list of reportable health conditions in 2012."  Oh, but wait, what's this from just a little further up in the same article? "A TMR spokesperson told ABC News that "there is no specific legislation that states that people with autism cannot drive".

Let's talk about that specific legislation

Despite what the spokesperson said, there was no change to the law in 2012. A new Transport Regulation, which contains the law about medical clearances for Queensland drivers licences, was, however, passed in 2021. (link to the Regulation)

Typo or ignorance? Why not both.

The 2021 Regulation did not substantively change the law. The new Regulation was a consolidation, modernisation, and streamline of multiple pieces of overlapping legislation. (Explanatory notes)

'Jet's Law', which sets the rules for driver medical clearances, was first introduced in 2008. (Ministerial Statement). It was moved from the old Regulation to the new 2021 one essentially unchanged.

Jet's Law in chapter 3, part 6, division 1 of the 2021 Regulation

Jet's Law as passed in the previous Regulation (scroll down to page 64)

The law in Queensland re: medical clearances is the same as it was in 2008. The only changes were to language, consistent with modern drafting standards, and the addition of a requirement to not drive until you've given notice if a condition develops or worsens.  

What does Jet's Law say?

Section 177 of the 2021 Regulation states:

A person who applies for the grant or renewal of a Queensland driver licence must, when making the application, give a notice to the chief executive about any mental or physical incapacity that is likely to adversely affect the person’s ability to drive safely.

Key words: any mental or physical incapacity that is likely to affect the person's ability to drive.

If you're autistic and your autism isn't likely to affect your ability to drive safely, Jet's Law doesn't require you to give notice to Transport.

But what about that list of reportable conditions the article claims exists?

It doesn't exist. There is no list of reportable conditions.

Transport DOES provide some examples of medical conditions that are likely to affect your ability to drive. You can see them here:

https://www.support.transport.qld.gov.au/qt/formsdat.nsf/forms/S5040/$file/S5040.pdf

https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/licensing/update/medical/fitness#medcond

Here's the licence application form: https://www.support.transport.qld.gov.au/qt/formsdat.nsf/forms/qf3000/$file/f3000_es.pdf. Question 7 states that you must report any medical conditions that may adversely affect your ability to drive and asks if you have any of the following conditions:

Vision or eye disorder (other than wearing glasses or contact lenses) that may adversely affect your driving

Diabetes that requires treatment by tablet, insulin or other medication

Been diagnosed with epilepsy, experienced a seizure; or been required to take anti-epileptic medication after the age of 11

Any other medical condition/s that is likely to adversely affect your ability to drive safely

You know what I don't see anywhere? Autism.

But what about the National Standards?

Cahill managed to get that part of the articles almost right.

All Queensland drivers, regardless of age, must meet the national standards to ensure their health or any physical disability does not increase the risk of a crash. (confirmed by Transport) And before you ask, the national standard is not a list of 'reportable conditions'. (Even if it was, the autism update happened in 2022, not 2012). But what is the national standard if it's not a list of reportable conditions?

The national driver medical standards Assessing Fitness to Drive set out the considerations and medical criteria for safe driving. They also guide the management of drivers with health conditions so that they may continue to drive for as long as it is safe to do so. The standards are used by health professionals to assess and manage patients with health conditions that may affect their ability to drive safely. These assessments and the standards themselves inform Driver Licensing Authority decisions about driver licensing.

The national standard does refer to "Other neurological conditions including autism spectrum disorder and other developmental and intellectual disabilities". Yes, it was updated in 2022, as indicated by a big red banner across the top of the page. The update notes state:

The review identified that information and guidance was required to enable assessment of persons with ASD. Specialist advice noted that the variability of ASD characteristics and the degree of severity were too diverse for a specific standard. General guidance is however provided in the text of the chapter.

Wait, the review? The changes were made because of a review? They weren't a secret sneaky change as Cahill alleged? There was a public review that called for submissions from stakeholders?  Yes there was.

The review concluded there was not enough evidence to determine the MVC (motor vehicle crash) risk associated with ASD, and "Specialist advice noted that the variability of ASD characteristics and the degree of severity were too diverse for a specific standard."

So what does the standard actually say about autism?

The impact of other neurological conditions including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental and intellectual disability should be assessed individually. A practical driver assessment may be required. If the degree of impairment is static, periodic review is not usually required. People with ASD can have differences in social communication and interaction, with restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour, interest and activities. Although evidence from driving studies are limited, drivers with ASD may drive differently from people without ASD. Shortcomings in tactical driving skills have been observed, while rule-following aspects of driving are improved. There is considerable difference in the range and severity of ASD symptoms, so assessment should focus on these and the significance of likely functional effects, rather than an ASD diagnosis.

So what does that mean?

It means we're right back at Jet's Law, in section 177 of the 2021 Regulation.

If you have a mental or physical incapacity that is likely to affect your ability to drive you need to declare it.

Could this include autism? Yes.

Does it automatically include autism? Not according to any law or standard currently in force in Queensland.

If you're an autistic Queenslander, your obligations under Jet's Law and the update to the national standard mean it's important that you consider whether your autism is likely to affect your driving ability and, if so, declare it. If it's not, then don't.

[Reminder: I am not your lawyer and this is not legal advice]

[anthracite-writes]

Obey me! Dating Headcanons (SFW)

ft. Non-datables [Mephistopheles, Thirteen, Raphael] - SEPRATE

NOTE: These are just my personal headcanons for the undatables. I haven't met them in OG OM! yet because of low card levels lmao but I have only met them in NB and read the wiki. What I say here is what I think I think would fit them according with the vibes I get from reading about them, so the headcanons are may be very if not extremely OOC - apologies in advance.

𝙎𝙐𝙈𝙈𝘼𝙍𝙔 !!: What it's like dating the Non-datables + love languages.

NOT PROOF READ - APOLOGIES IF THERE’S TYPOS OR SPELLING ERRORS!!!

𝓜𝓮𝓹𝓱𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓹𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓼

Love Language? Words of Affirmation and Quality Time. [Hints at Physical Touch but it's all part of his fantasy]

He would definitely ban members of the RAD newpaper club from writing on you.

If there was one member that had written about you, that article draft along with all the photos are making a b-line right into the shredder. Especially if it's made-up gossip about you, even more so if it's accusing you of being in a relationship with some random student in the school or something scandalous that he knows you didn't do.

Only he's allowed to write about you, and only him.

Would definitely write about in the highest regards - praising you for your achievements as the human-exchange student.

Takes the best photos of you, even if they're candid photos.

Almost like... he's bragging for you about your achievements and accomplishments you made in RAD.

Meets you in private to avoid having any of the newspaper club members seeing the two of you together - for sure there would be a gossip column in the RAD newspaper on you two of you were ever caught.

He's a child of a extremely wealthy family - definitely hiding his relationship with you from his parents and family as a whole.

In public, he would be so cold to you, questioning why a human like you would be allowed in the Devildom.

Behind closed doors? He would be profusely apologizing to you for what he said to you in front of people, showering you in kisses and compliments about how amazing you are and how much you've changed his life.

His dates are over the top - flexing with wealth [idk, just read he likes bragging and doesn’t like cheap stuff.] . Nothing but the bestest for you.

Takes you out to expensive restaurants, shopping sprees, list goes on - and he's willing to pay for you, it's all to impress you.

Oh, he overheard you at some point when he was eavesdropping on the brothers for some kind of gossip that you favour more simple dates?

"Okay, I can do that - wait. What exactly is simple?"

Does tons of research on simple things you two can do for dates.

For more simple dates, he takes you two go for a horse back ride on one of the horses from his estate's stables on the trails of his family's land.

Organizes picnics or fancy dinners in his family's garden [obviously out of his family's eyes]

If he could, he would show you off SO HARD.

I mean like your his trophy - holding your hand with pride, a hand on your waist and holding you against his side.

He would want everyone to know you were his, kissing you while everyone is watching.

You are what he wants to brag about all the time but alas... must only happen in his daydreams during classes and Newspaper club briefings.

Loves it when you're there with him while he drafts up the next article for the newspaper or sorting through photos.

Gets your opinion on hook-lines for his article titles and has you help him choose the best photos he takes

firm believer he is amazing at photography and takes amazing photos of you two when you're out on dates.

probably has a photo of you two as his homescreen in his D.D.D, lock screen? prob the default one - again, he's trying to hide the fact he's dating you

Let's you in on gossip he's heard on the job and inside scoops on events in the school.

Def. the jealous type - sees some other student hitting on you? Oh, he's digging up as much dirt on that person so fast and blackmailing the person in order to get them to leave you alone.

Calls you 'Darling', 'Precious', and 'Tesoro'

Doesn't mind nicknames you give him, as long as you don't call him that when other people are around.

Fav. places to his you? Neck, hands, and lips.

𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓻𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓷

Love Language? Gift Giving.

Girlie is absolutely crafty and definitely not gonna let you know when she's giving you anything.

Creates contraptions and traps just for you that won't do any harm to you.

Most of the traps and contraptions are extremely wholesome, showering you in confetti, flower pestles, maybe a gift or two like a plushie she saw that she knew you'd like.

Dates consists of a lot of cafe and bakery dates.

If you can cook any pastries or sweets and gift that to her, oh she's over the moon for you now.

Make sure you know all of the traps she set out in the Reaper's Cave, both old and new.

She called dibs on your soul, will fight any other reaper who tries to harvest your soul when your time comes.

Has a special place for your candle, keeping it close to where she sleeps probably - just, you candle if very far from all the other candles in the Reaper's Cave.

Probably has a shrine around your candle, images of you and all while surrounding it with gifts and contraptions she made for you when you comeback to the devildom or when she's up in the human world for business.

Probably also laid traps around your candle so no other Reaper can tamper with your life span or anything.

Loves it when you help her with the making of any traps she's making at the moment - most likely lets you name one or two.

Takes the saying 'Till Death Do Us Part' seriously.

Once you're gone, she will never take another lover - she's that devoted to you.

Calls you her 'partner-in-crime'

Fav. place's to kiss? Cheeks, temple, nose, forehead, and lips.

just anywhere on your face is her fav place to smooch ya.

𝓡𝓪𝓹𝓱𝓪𝓮𝓵

Love language? Acts of Service.

Actions speak louder than words - and boy does this angel take this shit seriously.

He's giving me Stong, Serious, and Silent type [so let's go of that.]

Would probably drop by the House of Lamentation, sees your doing dish and just quietly takes you gently, putting you aside and does the dishes for you so you two can spend time together.

Bumps into while your grocery shopping? DW, he's grabbed the list from you and choicing the best of the best things that are on the grocery list, always checking in with you if this is the right product.

Having trouble reading a spell or remembering an incantation? He made you flash cards, little notes on the thing your struggling in, and willing to sit down and go over the spells/incantation that's giving you a hard time.

Pretty much, if you're doing some hard work - he's gonna set you aside and do it himself.

Genuinely hate seeing your struggle but also thinks it cute [he'd never say it out loud].

TBH, kinda see him l just piercing something as simple as a coffee maker not working right with one of his spears because he's worried that you're gonna get frustrated [yes, even if he know you have the patience to work it out]

But he'd definitely give a warning smite to anyone giving you a hard time or not paying attention to you when you're talking with his spear - don't matter if it's a demon, another angel, or another human; no hesitation.

'Y/N is talking to you - pay attention, please.' // 'back off, next time I won't miss.'

Not big on PDA, but doesn't mind it.

Holding hands? yeah, hugs? yeah.

Walking up behind you while you're talking, placing his hands on your hips and resting his chin on top of your head without saying a single word? yeah.

Honestly, see this guy as the type to not say much unless spoken to - not every social you can say.

You also can't really tell how he's feeling due to how straight faced he is.

Don't worry, once again - he speaks through his actions rather than his words.

Gives you multiple small kisses on your forehead or the top of your head as he mumbles how much he loves you and appreciates you being in his life.

Loves reading you poetry or book passages he finds interesting - not necessarily because he thought of you, just because.

Feels bad when he doesn't get to spend enough time with you due to his statue in the Celestial Realm.

Dates are very simple - walks around town, sightseeing, dinner dates, shopping, just basic and simple dates.

Calls you 'my angel', 'little lamb', 'human', and 'dove'

Fav. places to kiss? Forehead, eyelids, lips, and nose. [get it? they're all ANGEL kisses, yes i'm making that joke twice, cry.]

But most definitely the top of your head and forehead - all while he has a gentle hand on the back of your head and would hold you close to him/his chest after he was done planting them smooches on ya.

[marzipanandminutiae]

Good news! There's a chance that in the upcoming Dorian Grey adaptation they might actually not be brothers!

Because there's a chance they might be making Dorian a woman. The deadline article reported him being named "Doran" and refers to them as "siblings".

So. You know. That's... there.

Is...Doran a woman's name? Is Dorian not? Oscar Wilde made it up; it's associated with the character, but technically it has no gender.

So it's hetero incest, then, is what I'm hearing.

(Also, I like more female characters in things generally, but the fact that I've heard the new adaptation centers around the modern beauty industry leaves a bad taste in my mouth.)

(Like. Oh. Wow. A woman corrupted by youth and beauty. A young beautiful woman who is Evil because she's young and beautiful and that makes her self-centered in the extreme. Groundbreaking)

(You Wanted To Look At A Naked Woman So You Put A Mirror In Her Hand And Called It Vanity etc. a story about youth and beauty that revolves around a MAN is so much a departure from the norm that switching the subject to a woman feels dull at best and at risk of falling into old misogynistic tropes at worst)

(the idea that women, and only women, will do anything to stay young and beautiful- an idea that is usually framed as personal failing rather than a struggle to stay relevant to a society that judges us solely by our appearances and tries to shuffle us out of the spotlight the second we age -is such a worn-out storyline at this point. it's used to trivialize our battles in life and make us monsters in the least interesting way possible)

(Also like. a painting done by someone who is so in love with the subject that they capture that person's very soul in it- literally -is pretty different from the artist representing some kind of Larger Social Ill. That changes the whole story, one feels)

EDIT: someone has pointed out that "Doran" might just be a typo, and I do heartily agree that it's entirely possible. "siblings" worries me a bit more here though

[the-ninjago-historian]

New Dragons Rising Article!

(EDIT: I blurred out the episode title last minute. I was feeling paranoid about it. Lol. And I made some last minute grammer fixes. Enjoy!)

The episode titles and descriptions for Season 2 Part 2 just dropped today! There's TONS of new info and lore to unpack. So let's get started! *SPOILERS BELOW THE THE CUT!*

1: So first off we have The Shape of Motion. (This title is clearly parodying The Shape of Water. Lol.) It seems they will be picking up a new baby dragon! Riyu is gonna be a big brother! How cute!💖 I hope Arin finds his parents too. Poor guy.😔

2: Now we have Enter the City of Temples. The Ninja must have found out about the tournament and decided to go there. But why? We're not sure yet. I would think they would want to stay away from the tournament, considering what happened in the last one.😅 Also, Kai and Bonzle are attempting to escape. So that's cool! You guys will get to see them too!

3: Next is Gathering for The Feast. Some how I get an ominous feeling about that title for some reason. Lol. Also, looks like the Ninja's earned their invites somehow and are now in the tournament! And it looks this is the episode where we'll see the return of some old Elemental Masters!

4: Now we have Inside the Maze. This episode is VERY interesting. So much to unpack! Because it's the first mention of some new artifacts. The Horns. Specifically, The Dragon Horns. Arin and the others must have heard about them in the last episode. What are these horns exactly? Are they like instrument type horns? Or literal dragon horns? We'll have to wait and see. We also have a new character called Frak! And finally, something ALL you Jaya shippers have been waiting for...

JAYA TOURNAMENT BATTLE WITH AMNESIA JAY!!!⚡🌊⚡🌊⚡🌊⚡🌊⚡🌊⚡🌊

This is gonna break y'all hearts, I know it.🤣

5: Next is United We Fall. Oh boy! It's named after one of my favorite TSFH songs! Haha! Just kidding! Anyways, poor Wyldefyre is pitted against CINDER?!?! The guy who broke her leg?! Yikes! Looks like it didn't go well either. And the Ninja will have to win they way back into the tournament through a race!

6: Now we have Truth and Lies. Finally a Wu mention! But it doesn't look good. I have a feeling Ras is lying though. Or not. And we'll get some racing action from the rest of the ninjas!

7: Next is The Shattering Sword. Sounds like something from Lloyd's vision, huh? And we get to see the new character Roby giving Arin a museum tour and some new info on the source dragons! (It would be hilarious if Roby was working for Ras the entire time.😂) And here's how to pronounce Roby's name, if you're curious.

8: Next is Clues and Suspects! Tons of cool stuff in this episode! Roby has a way bigger role then I thought! There's a new character mentioned named Bleckt? (I wonder if that's a typo?) Also, FINALLY A ZEATRIX MENTION! And they're transferring her powers for some reason? The how and why are unclear. Also, this new character Bleckt is somehow connected to Arin's investigation. And possibly part of The Administration, since they mention he has an office. My guess is that these Dragon Horn thingies were confiscated by the Administration or something.

9: And here we have The Final Game. That doesn't sound good. Arin learns a "Devastating Secret about the Merge" Uh oh. Cole stays behind to protect the Dragon horns! What??? Oh no! Sora faces off against Nokt and Wyldefyre is too late to stop the "Manipulation of the Games!" OH NO. Yeah, this one is gonna be pretty chaotic. Yikes.

10: Finally, we have Elements of Betrayal. THAT'S AN EVEN WORSE TITLE! It's making me more nervous than the last one!

There's a new location called The Monastery of Gates. That I guess these Dragon Horns are at? Arin, Zane, and Cole seems like a fun combination. Should be a cool fight! And it looks like the elemental masters have lost their powers once again are going to be fighting Ras and his wolf warrior army. NoBoDy SaW tHaT cOmInG. Pfft.

Aaaaaaand, that's it for now. Wow! So much stuff! Sounds like it will be a very exciting collection of episodes! Hope you had fun reading this!

Bye for now!

[upside-garden-of-dreams]

In A Late Afternoon [Hybrid!Jake x Reader]

Genre: fluff

Warnings: none, just some mentions of undressing, kissing, and maybe a suggestive ending? But that ending interpretation is up to you

General info: Reader is kept gender neautral, Jake is a golden retriever dog/puppy boy, English isn't my native language excuse the typos

[More puppy Jake]

Aaaah.... I honestly didn't think this idea would extend like this Anyways, hope you enjoy! 🐶💛

Ears perked at the sould of keys fumbling with the doorknob.

A tail wagged, a nose sniffed, a heart beat faster at the prospect of what will happen next.

As soon as you opened the door to your home, allowing your bag to sling off your shoulders and pop down on the small shelf by the door, your greeting was interrupted by an excited voice:

"Jakey, I'm ho-"

"Honey! Hi, hello! Did you have a good day? I missed you!"

You were instantly hugged by your over-energetic golder retriever of a boyfriend, face nuzzling deep into your neck as he familiarized himself with your fresh scent once more.

Sure, the house was surrounded by your scent, but nothing compares to the one on your actual skin, you know? Or so he says.

Tiredness startled out of your mind, it took a couple seconds to process what excatly happened just now. Instinctively, your arms went to wrap around him in a confused hug.

"Darling, remember what I said?" You pat him lightly on the back to call for his attention.

"Oh! Yeah! Ah-ahem...Sorry, babe." He let you go, a tinge of bashfullness and shame coloring his face. His excitement bubbled down slightly by what his ears and tail showed, flattening against his head and slowing down its wag, respectively.

Jake fumbled with his hands in nervousness, eyes downturned but still taking peeks at you.

He was way too adorable for his own good. A small smile settled itself on your face as you admired the cutie in front of you.

The brunet's entire demeanor changed back to his characteristic joyful self once your hand went on to pet between his floppy ears. Jake stared at you with bright brown eyes, while an equally as bright smile shaped his lips.

Pushing the door closed, you talked again, "While I adore your hugs as a greeting, do allow me to fully come inside next time, luv." Once done with the reminder, you opened your arms expectantly.

The hybrid chuckled and dove into your arms, "Understood!"

"Hello, Jake. I'm home." You completed your greeting from before, burrying your face into his shoulder. The comforting warmth of his embrace permiated your soul, finally relaxing your tense body for today.

Jake turned to place a sweet kiss on your temple, "Welcome back, my love."

You remained in place for a while, neither of you willing to separate.

Alas, it was the puppy boy who broke the hug. Still, he kept his hands on your waist to keep you close.

"Let's get you comfortable, yes?"

Taking one of his hands and walking to you room, you agreed, "I'd love that."

Golden ears perked up once more, an excited yet shy smile coloring his lips, "Do...I get to help you?"

Turning around to answer, you could see his tail wagging slowly and picking up in speed as you talked, "Of course, silly puppy! I have tea to spill! You won't belive what Yuna said to the manager, like O-M-G my girl gives ZERO shits!"

As you talked and completed your after-work routine, Jake listened attentively. Occasionally, he would let out small hums of agreement and sounds of disbelief as he listened to the tale about your friend Yuna and her fight with that nightmare manager your team was cursed with.

His gentle hands helped remove some clothing articles, taking the time to sooth the skin with leftover marks from where your clothes hugged you a bit too tight. Your lover brought you close to his chest, circling your waist from behind, head dropping down to your shoulder to trail tender kisses all the way to your neck and jawline.

Giggles erupted from you due to his affections, hand going up to play with his hair and rub at the base of his left ear.

"Baby~" Jake whined in delight at the petting.

"Jakey~" You mimiked his tone, a breathless laugh at the end. "C´mon, put a shirt on me so we can cuddle on the couch for a while. I need my puppy to truly relax."

You could see the lightbulb atop his head from where he got an idea, "Wait here! I won't take long!"

With a sloppy kiss to your cheek, the dogboy quickly ran to his room.

In a matter of seconds, he came back with a black t-shirt in his hands, "Arms up! I have your favorite~"

Doing as told, you allowed your boyfriend to dress you up in one of his oversized shirts. It smelled just like him.

Bown eyes scanned you up and down with myrth, he loved how you looked in his clothes.

"You're so beautiful," he said, with a lovestruck look in his eyes.

Pecking his lips quickly, you answered, "And you're the cutest ever." Tugging on his hand, you led the way back into the living room.

Finally, the moment you desired most arrived: a moment to wind down and cuddle, catch up on Jake's day, and enjoy some time together.

Plopping down on the couch, you turned on the TV and let the random channel from last night play on the background.

A look thrown Jake's way sent you both into motion: the golden retriever laid down sideways on the cushions as you unfolded the light blanket hanging on the armrest. Your sweetheart gently guided you down near his chest while you flicked the soft cover over both your bodies.

You sighed happily while nuzzling into his toned chest, humming in delight at the calming atmosphere surounding you two.

Jake carded his fingers through your hair to help you destress even more, tail tumping against the sofa with every volume spike in your hums of enjoyment.

"Missed you so much, Jakey," You mumbled into his chest.

"Missed you, too, my love," He answered back.

As you looked into each other's eyes, the same idea crossed your minds. In silent agreement, you leaned towards the other and gave in to your desire...

With loving passion and delicate sweetness, you locked your lips and indulged in one another to your heart's conentent

[ END ]

Thank you for reading ~!

Feel free to like, share, reblog, and leave comments in tags or under the post (⁠人⁠*⁠´⁠∀⁠｀⁠)⁠｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+🩷

[yippeeometer]

Pssst got any thoughts on MA/VA?

first of all i think it should be illegal to incite such mental torture on the people around you. i think it truly should.

like mom and dad are arguing in front of u all the time but theyre kind of just like that. you'll understand when you're older honey dad's choice of shirt really is going to make mommy ruin this family meal.

shirt being; mass's disgusting collection of niche science pun shirts that go beyond being fiunnny and just become confusing. super distracting all mealtime when youre trying to work out advanced trig at mealtimes to get the answer 8008135. virginia sat there twitching at the eyes.

and you guys should really get a divorce however i understadn that youre both so codependent at this point that this is just forever now.

theyre a vibe to their ship and its ginny w that shirt saying 'hot girl shit' and mass w 'i have a gun in my pussy'

and the fundamental reason they suck so deeply is because whilst existence cringes ginny out to the point of dysfunction, mass hasn't felt embarased since 1800s despite how much you wish he would. bonking their heads together

its what describes their whole dynamic in table history i fear. the concern disgust and arousal still doesn't leave after all this time i fear.

loser x wife he's definitly slightly scared of.

within reason though like the thing that scares mass ab ginny is making him upset bc at the end of it all he's cared about him so long it doesn't feel natural to be mad anymore

their house prob overstimulating as shit they both have 12 million hobbies and aren't capable of being normal ab them. u walk in 7 different speakers r playing music theyre a shrine to some niche craft and ur being yelled at for wearing shoes in the house.

they dint PLAY ab thanksgiving i know that for sure. genuine raw effort goes into that holiday

fourth of july, on the other hand. the og13 gets to look forward to the yearly argument iver what day to celebrate. 1 gazillion casulties.

i need everyone to sit the fuck diwn and listen to my super specific au i created for these ghouls theyre sooooooooooo awful

i believe wholeheartedly ginny is a minor level politician in his day job. very very low level, think guy who runs the department of forestry or some shit. bc as much as he loves being in control he generally aquires very little respect from anyone and theres only so many times he's allowed to crash out before people start asking what the fuck his problem is.

and in this au bc they serve awful divorced asshole core, mass is a journalist in an equally low level newspaper who has dedicated his column to just attacking this guy. catch him and one other person turning up to a dep. of forestry press conference. he's in the front row smiling evily as ginny experiences war flashbacks to last time he answered one of his deeply specific and altogether pointless questions

oh and they both just find this to be normal behaviour. like u go into ginny's office and hes got every article mass ever wrte pinned up as he desperately tries to find typos or incorrect points to bring up. mass has the dep. of forestry as his lock screen to force him to always be thinking of his arch nemesis. 20k words enemeis to lovers.

[xsweetcatastrophe]

You Broke Me First

part 31

Zoe opened the front door and let Scout trot in first, breathing a sigh of relief as the cool air from the house hit her hot sweaty skin.

She thought it was a good idea to take scout on a run. she didn’t check the weather prior; it was NOT a good idea.

it was 2pm and she hadn’t heard from Cillian all day, besides the text she woke up to from him saying he was awake and on his way go set. She also checked her email religiously, hoping to see the schedule from Hannah, but nothing yet.

She hopped in the shower and changed into leggings and a t-shirt she stole from Cillian's drawer. She had big plans of sitting in the kitchen and finishing up some articles, as well as attempting to eat something. She was nauseous again the better half of the morning, plus her eating schedule had been all off due to living between two different places and scheduling furniture deliveries. Plus, stress at her job and deadlines looming and not being anywhere close to where she needed to be with her assignments and articles wasn't helping. However, the furniture has all been delivered and placed, 99% of the boxes have been unpacked, internet has been hooked up and the house was now feeling like a home.

She sat at the kitchen counter with her laptop in front of her. She grabbed an apple and a jar of peanut butter and a knife and placed it beside her. She fired up her laptop and checked her emails, perking up when she saw one from Hannah.

Hey Zoey, see attached schedule for this week. TY - Hannah Woods VP, PR Strategist / Executive Assistant to Cillian Murphy Elite Talent & Public Relations cell: (213) 555-0808 HWoods@elite.com

Okay, cool. I'm going to ignore how she spelled my name, it's a common typo, Zoe thought.

But... did she really have to add "Assistant to Cillian Murphy" to her email signature? Is this permanent? What's a VP doing as a personal-excuse me, executive assistant? She wondered.

She opened the attachment and it was... not what she was expecting. it was a simple word doc, with days bolded and shooting times next to it. For some reason, Zoe thought there would be something more... professional?

Is this how Tarantino does his shooting schedules? Zoe thought.

She looked at the assigned day and saw that he was shooting from 7am - 8pm.

Zoe did the math in her head and concluded it was 10pm where he was. Was it too late for a call?

Weird, why wouldn't he text or call me when he was done? She thought.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Scout barking, wanting to go out in the yard. Zoe stood up, stretched her legs and opened the sliding glass door outside to the backyard. She followed Scout onto the deck where the plopped down on a deck chair and reclined back, letting the sun hit her face, thinking about if she should call him or not. She sighed and pushed the paranoid thoughts to the back of her mind and opened her phone.

~

"Let's wrap it up here, guys" Cillian heard once they finished a scene. Cillian relaxed his shoulders and unclenched his jaw. relaxing as much as he could back into himself.

The first couple days back were always the toughest, he spent so long as himself it took him a couple days to snap back into Tommy. Tommy and Cillian were two completely different people, with Tommy being an extremely violent person, the complete opposite of Cillian. It was hard sometimes, but in a way, so rewarding. He truly loved his job.

Cillian made his way back to his trailer, unbuttoning his shirt as he walked up the steps, pushing open the door.

"Hello!" Hannah said, standing up from the kitchen booth. Cillian jumped, not expecting to see her there.

"Oh, hey Hannah," Cillian said, smiling. All he wanted to do was get a shower, call Zoe and sleep.

"I have some stuff to go over with you once you're done in the shower," Hannah said, looking down at her notepad. "But, you have a cast dinner scheduled this evening. In an hour, actually. So..."Hannah said, motioning to the bathroom door, insinuating to get to it.

"Is the dinner necessary? I'm beat," Cillian said.

"Yes, Stephen requested it. He wants them more often actually, to strengthen the bond of the cast."

"Strengthen the bond...? We're in season six, i think we're all bonded," Cillian mumbled. He sighed and stretched his back, hearing a few pops and wincing at the sound. He was truly beat. "Alright. I'll shower, but do me a favor will ya?" He said, walking towards the bathroom. "you still have my phone, yea? Text Zoe for me and tell her i'll text her later when I'm home."

Hannah smiled. "Of course Cillian."

Hannah waited until Cillian got into the shower to look at his phone. As she expected, there was a text from Zoe.

Zoe: Hey babe - how was today? We miss you.

Hannah rolled her eyes. Gross. She thought for a couple minutes then responded:

Cillian: Hey. working late - i'll talk to u when i can.

Hannah hit send then deleted the entire message thread. As soon as she swiped out of the messages, She heard the shower turn off.

Cillian emerged shortly after, in sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Wardrobe sent over some jeans and a white button down shirt for the dinner," Hannah said, pointing to the clothes laid out for him.

"Thanks," he replied, "did you get a chance to text Zoe for me?"

"Sure did!" Hannah said, smiling. "She said she'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Cillian said, furrowing his eyebrows. "We wrapped at 5 today. I'll get to her when I get out of the dinner I guess, Thanks H," He said, walking over to the clothes on the counter.

"No problem," Hannah said, standing up. "Oh and Cill?" She said, turning to facing him. "It's not my place, but you should really consider deleting all your texts in your phone. It's not just a privacy issue, obviously if you lose your phone and someone breaks in they can read all your messages, but it's also taking up a lot of memory.... it makes your phone run slow," She said, struggling to end that sentence. She wasn't sure if it made the phone run slow or not, but she just needed an excuse to keep deleting messages.

"Really? I figured phones nowadays have no memory limit... but what do I know, I'm horrible with technology," Cillian replied.

"Yea!!" Hannah said, almost laughing. She couldn't believer how dumb men are.

"Yea I'm horrible with technology?? you're fired," Cillian joked.

"No no! I'm agreeing with you that phones nowadays.. should be limitless when it comes to memory," Hannah scrounged up. "Unfortunately we're not there yet.... it's all in the little booklet that comes with the phone."

"Cillian raised an eyebrow, pulling the shirt over his head. "People read those?"

Hannah blinked. "I read those... But you know me. I love a contract!"

"Oh" Cillian said somberly. "Well, you're in charge. Delete it then. And just hold onto my phone for me until the dinner will ya? I'm still so off from the flight and I'm still jet lagged and it's a miracle i can remember my lines. I'll come grab it after dinner."

"Sure thing, Cill! Francisco is waiting for you in hair, I gave him a heads up about you going to the dinner and asked if he could do your hair, so he's ready when you are," Hannah smiled sweetly.

"Thanks, I don't know what the hell to do with this," Cillian sighed, running his fingers through the haircut he hated so badly. He grabbed his boots and made his way out the door.

Hannah waited until Cillian was out of sight before pulling up her laptop. She spent all afternoon drafting up a fake schedule to send to Zoe in Microsoft Word. She wanted to get a jump start on the one for next week.

Shooting tomorrow didn't start until 10am tomorrow, which would be 2am Zoe's time. Shooting was supposed to end at 8pm tomorrow, but Zoe doesn't have to know that...

And now that she has control of Cillian's phone and can delete messages, this will be easier than she thought it would be.

First things first, she pulled out her cell and dialed her contact at DailyMail.

"Hey Tara, it's Hannah over at Elite... I have a tip for you. Tonight the Peaky Blinders cast is going out for dinner and drinks to celebrate the start of shooting the new season..." She said, smiling to herself.

"Heard it's gonna get a little wild. Cillian Murphy has to let off some steam and he plans on going full Tommy tonight. Think it can make tomorrow's press?"

tags:

@lau219 @cillianinlove @vervainandspritz @supershadowymiraclestudent @borntodiemp3 @cillianmurphyvevo @shopgirl6us

[the1975attheirverybest]

I love you (Do it again)

A/N: as requested by @footprint-in-the-snow earlier in the week.

Warnings: smut, pegging? Probably typos.

——-

“Matty?” She called his name, softly, her hand running through his hair.

“Hmm?”

She felt his hum in her chest where he’d been laying his head.

“Oh, You’ve been so still and so quiet I thought you’d fallen asleep.”

“Nah.” He sighed contentedly, turning his head slightly to look at her, “I’m just….”

“Just what?”

“Just…takin you in. Thinkin bout how much I love you.”

Her heart fluttered. “Love you, too.” She said, blushing, her voice barely above a whisper. “Hardly seen you this week.”

“I knowwww, I know. I’m sorry.” He nuzzled into her neck, squirming as he tried to get comfortable.

“Don’t be sorry. I’m just saying I’ve missed you.”

“Things at the studio have been…mental.”

He and George had been putting the finishing touches on someone else’s record at the same time as writing their own. He’d been coming home late every night and leaving early in the morning. Sometimes, her only clue that he’d even been home at all overnight was the cigarette buds in ashtrays or the random articles of clothing that he’d leave behind.

“Aww, babe. You must be tired.” Her nails scratched at his head.

He nodded, “so tired.”

She glanced over at her phone screen, checking the time. “Well, we could just call it a night and go to sleep a bit early….”

Matty gasped dramatically. “No! Wanna spend time with you!” He lifted his head up and off her body, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

“Admit it, your eyes are halfway closed already. You wanna go to sleep.”

“I don’t.” Matty insisted. “I wanna kiss you.” Slowly, he pulled up her shirt, revealing her stomach, and began to press gentle kisses to her skin. The feeling of his soft lips brushing her skin made the hair on her body stand, her eyes fluttered shut, exhaling a big breath.

God, she loved this man more than anything. The thought overwhelmed her. It felt like a pressing urge, running through her blood. A force emanating from her bones.

“Matty…” she said, brushing his hair with her fingers.

“Hmm?” Still dedicated to kissing every inch of her skin.

“I wanna make you feel good.”

***

Her eyes drank him in as he laid there, on his back, in the spot that she’d occupied not too long ago. The way that he smiled up her, his eyes heavy, stopped her in her tracks for a moment too long. The fact that he still had that effect on her, to this day, made her heart flutter. Reluctantly, she coaxed herself out of the sentimental daze that his smile had held her in, coming back to the present moment.

Matty giggled softly at the ticklish feeling of her fingers pulling his boxers down. He tried not to squirm, but the harder he resisted the tingle, the funnier it got. He erupted into a silent laugh, his breath hitching in his throat.

“I’m not doing it on purpose,” she giggled.

“I- I know- still tickles, though.”

She leaned over him, her hands planted on either side of his body, and planted the smallest kiss to the tip of his nose, purposefully brushing her lashes against his face.

“beautiful boy.” She whispered, as if making a secret observation to herself.

His cheeks felt warm, flushing red.

She looked down at the bottle of lube and strap on that she’d fished out of a drawer, biting her lip. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She took a deep breath, reminding herself to be self-restrained and patient.

Matty sucked in a breath, gasping lightly at the feeling of lube against his hole.

“Sorry,” she smiled sheepishly.

He took a moment to get used to the sensation of her slick fingers’ massaging motions, then smiled tightly. “All good.”

His gaze focused on the ceiling above them, surrendering himself to the anticipation that grew within him as he listened for the sound of her shifting on her knees, the squirting of the lube onto the artificial cock, the snap of the buckle around her waist, the squelching sound of her coating the toy in the oily substance.

“Ready for me?” Finally.

“Mhm. So ready.” His hand stretched out, and hers moved in response, silently reaching forth meeting him half way and holding his hand.

She pushed into him, slow and gentle, watching his abdomen clench as the tip of the cock disappeared inside him.

He let out a soft whimper, his hand squeezed hers, he felt his body grip the toy tightly.

“That feel good?” She asked, her free hand stroking the side of his leg soothingly.

“Mhm, very.”

She pumped into him slowly, purposefully, intent on letting him enjoy every inch.

“Breathe, Matty, darling, breathe.” she cooed when she noticed his body stiffen. “That’s it, take it slow. No rush, yeah?”

“Christ- b-baby. That’s s-so good.”

Her hips rocked, lazily, the pace comforting to him. Allowing him to feel the weight of her body as she moved, the pleasure that bloomed throughout his body coming directly from the movement of hers. His hand moved to cover his mouth and he felt himself begin to get lost in the pleasure, losing composure. Her gently, but assertively stopped him, the tip of the toy pushing deeper in him as she leaned forward.

“Nu-uh. Let me hear you, Matty, please.”

His face heated up, eyes darting away.

“I love the sounds you make when you’re feeling so good.” She praised.

“Love you- oh! Fuck. Do that again, please.” He begged, feeling her slide deeper.

Intoxicated by the sounds of his pleasure, she obliged, indulgently, thrusting long, slow, deep pumps, filling him to the hilt.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, yeah…..” he cried. “M-more. Please don’t stop.”

She lowered down onto her forearms, pushing deeper into him, her lips now inches away from his, she kissed him. “You’re perfect, you know that.”

“Fuckin- Christ! Darlin, that- that’s it! Can you- again? Please?”

She chuckled, lightly, his blissful state endearing to her. She planted a sweet kiss to his cheek. “Love you, Matty,” as she rolled her hips, thrusting harder.

“Yeah, yeah, just like that.” He nodded, his hair shaking around his face.

She kissed the crease in his brow. “Can’t believe you’re this beautiful. And all mine.”

She thrusted again. “Love you so much.”

[alwaysonthemend]

Author’s Note: Josh lane come get y'all juice!!

This fic has been sitting in my drafts for a hot sec and I’ve finally finished it! I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Sorry for any typos/mistakes!

Summary: Good things come to those who wait. And our sweet Josh is about to find out just how good those things can be. 

Content Warnings: Oral (m and f rec.) fingering, pegging, slight edging. Needless to say, 18+ MINORS DNI

Word Count: 4961 

-----------------------

You can’t help but leer at him as the two of you make your way into the venue from the parking lot. Josh always looks gorgeous, but tonight you find yourself wishing that the two of you had just stayed home. 

“Enjoying the view?” Josh asks, turning to catch you staring at his ass with a cocky smirk.

“Meh. I’ve seen better.” 

“Have you now?” Josh stops, allowing you to catch up with him. Grabbing your wrists, he pulls you into him so that your chests are flush against one another. 

“Oh ya. Way better.” You tell him, grinning as he places his hands on your hips. 

“Methinks the lady doth protest too much.” He says, cocking a brow at you and giving you a mischievous smile.

“She doth protest too much because she has not the words to describe such beauty.” You say, pressing a sweet kiss to his lips and looping your arms around his shoulders. 

“Ethereal. Divine. Transcendent. Such lofty words that still fall short.” You continue, giving a mock frown. 

“Not to ruin the vibe here, babe.” he tells you with a sideways grin, “but it makes my dick hard when you talk about me like that.” 

“Literally shut the fuck up.” You slap his chest playfully. “You better behave tonight.” 

“No promises. I still think we should have just stayed in tonight.” 

You just roll your eyes, pulling away from him to enter the venue. 

-🌻🌻🌻🌻-

“Baby?” 

The sound of Josh’s sweet voice makes it to your ears over the sounds of the bar, drawing your attention away from your conversation with another friend of yours. 

“Yeah?” You ask him, swiveling in your high top chair at the bar to see him taking a seat in the one next to you. He’s got an odd look about him, and his cheeks are flushed from the alcohol. 

He leans in closer to you, tilting his head downwards so that his lips hover just above your ear – it’s loud in the bar, but not so loud to warrant his pretty lips coming so close to you in order for you to hear him. 

“Can we go home, baby?” The words slip from his lips, accent slightly more prominent since he’s been drinking, and there’s just a tiny hint of a whine in his words. “Please?” 

He’s been extra clingy all night. He’s always touchy, but tonight he’s turned the touchiness up to 11. You’re not really complaining – his obvious desire for you makes you feel extra special tonight.  

“We just got here.” You tell him, furrowing your brows at his sudden lack of interest in parties. Normally, you’re the one that has to drag him away from an event like this. “Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong. Just wanna be…” he trials off, raising a brow in a way that’s so ridiculously attractive you almost choke, “alone with you.” 

You bite your lip – the neediness of his words affecting you in a way that, perhaps, they shouldn’t be. Certainly, in a way that isn’t appropriate for a social gathering such as this. Especially when he’s sitting in front of you looking so delectable in his tan suit and white turtleneck. The outfit looks better on him than any article of clothing has a right to, and there’s a large part of you that would be more than happy to just go home and tear it off him. But you’re enjoying yourself, too. You haven’t seen some of these people in ages, and you want to spend a little more time with them before leaving. 

Not to mention, there’s another little part of you that loves how much Josh wants to go home – solely to be with you. You want to soak up the feeling as much as you can. Why not draw it out? It just makes the reward that much more enjoyable.  

“We’ll go home soon, babe.” You say, waving your hand dismissively, “Just be patient.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he says, sarcasm dripping off him, “have you met me before?”

“Patience, Josh. Or I’ll make you stay here much longer than either of us really want to be.” 

That shuts him up, and you watch in humor as he slinks away, turning back only once to give you a bratty look before disappearing back into the crowd. 

You mix and mingle for a while longer, catching up with old friends as you flit about the room. Occasionally, you’ll catch Josh’s eye and he’ll give you a pleading look – one that normally would have you falling to your knees and giving him whatever he wants. But tonight, there’s a fire within your veins that renders his magical puppy dog eyes useless on you. 

As the revelry of the night ensues, you find yourself tucking away in a corner with a few of your closer friends, lounging on the leather sofas and catching up. It doesn’t take long for Josh to come and find you though, and he settles next to you – so close you can feel the warmth of him as he presses his thigh against yours. 

“Now?” He whispers, once again leaning in close to your ear. 

“No.” You tell him, taking a sip of your drink. 

“Babe…” He sighs, shoulders slumping, “I want you so bad. Please can we go?”

“Josh,” you place your glass down on the table and turn your body to face him more fully, “I’m enjoying spending time with my friends. You can wait.” 

He sticks his bottom lip out and looks at you through his pretty lashes. 

“Laying it on thick, huh Joshy?” You bat your own lashes at him in response. 

He shrugs. 

“And why do you have to be so mean?” He’s not serious, but he is losing patience. 

You raise a brow at him and sit up a little straighter. 

“What’s gotten into you tonight?” 

“Have you seen you?” He asks you, raking his eyes up and down your form. “Your dress is going to kill me one of these days. A happy death, no doubt. But a tragedy nonetheless.” 

You roll your eyes at him playfully, chest warming with affection for the ridiculous man in front of you. 

“Are you really that desperate for it?” 

He just nods at you, soft curls bouncing where they rest on his forehead. 

“Too bad.” You tell him simply, reaching your hand over to rub his thigh softly with your fingertips. You stifle a gasp when you feel him, half hard, through his pants. 

He whines quietly as your fingers brush over his clothed cock, rocking his hips delicately forward. 

“Please.” He whispers, cutting his honey brown eyes to look back at you. His cheeks have become a dark red and his chest heaves with each breath. You’ve never seen him look so ravished without having even done anything to him yet. 

“Patience, Josh.” Is all you give him, stroking his length through his pants one more time before you turn away, jumping right back into the conversation with your friends. 

You hear him stifle a groan as he shifts next to you, clearly uncomfortable. You feel slightly bad for him, imagining how he must be feeling – popping a boner in public like a teenager. But that’s as far as your sympathy goes. You’re not ready to give up the game yet. 

After a while, he calms down enough that he can rise from the sofa. He gives you a frustrated glare as he retreats, and you can’t help but to smile into your drink as you watch him go. 

-🌻🌻🌻🌻-

Eventually, the dull ache between your own thigh becomes too much, and you rise from your seat to go in search of your lovely partner. Weaving in and out of the crowd of people, you find him quickly, and his eyes practically sparkle as he sees you. 

He walks over to you in quick strides, a bashful smile on his face. 

“Are we leaving?” 

“Yes, baby.” You tell him, heart alight with affection as he grins widely at you and laces his fingers with yours. “Let’s go home.” 

“Fucking finally.” 

The drive back to yours and Josh’s shared home isn’t particularly a long one, but it feels like years have passed before you’re finally pulling into the driveway. Josh had been silent in the passenger seat, hands clenched into fists at his sides and his plush bottom lip between his teeth. 

You climb out of the car, and the two of you make your way to the front door. Josh walks in front of you, opening the door for you like the gentlemen that he is. 

“Thank you, baby.” You tell him, stepping inside and immediately slipping your heels off. Breathing a sigh of relief, you walk further into the house. Josh follows behind as you make your way up to the bedroom. 

Entering the room lit only by a salt lamp and a floor lamp, you sit on the edge of the bed, watching as Josh makes his way into the room. 

He walks over to the middle of the room, arms hanging loosely at his sides, and a fire in his eyes as he looks at you. 

“Something you need, Josh?” You ask him, a coy smile painting your lips. Why not tease him a little more?

“Babe, you know what I want.” He mutters, walking over to the side of the bed where you’re sitting and slotting himself between your legs. “Been wanting it all night.” 

“Yeah?” Your question lilts out in a breathless whisper. 

“Yeah.” He confirms, splaying his warm hands out on your thighs. 

“How bad?” 

“So bad, mama. So bad.” 

“You were so patient for me.” You tell him, running your hands up his sides. “Take your clothes off, Josh. I want to see you.” 

Obediently, he steps back and begins to strip. You watch in rapt attention as he undresses, until he’s standing there – naked and glorious, before you. 

You allow yourself a moment to stare at him. You admire the way his slim waist is accentuated by the dim light, and your mouth waters as your eyes rake up to his sharp jawline and gorgeous lips. 

He’s looking at you in that way that only he can – like you’re the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. He’s looking at you in awe, almost as if he doesn’t feel worthy enough to gaze upon you. He’s more than worthy, a fact which you have, on numerous occasions, tried to convince him of. But in his mind, no one is worthy enough for you – not even him. 

At last, you allow your gaze to fall on his pretty cock, hard as a rock and leaking already. The tip rests just below his belly button, curving just slightly and flushed red with need. 

“It hurts.” He tells you, lip sticking out in a pout. 

“I know, baby.” You say in sympathy, noting the way his entire body seems to tremble – tensed and eager to fulfill whatever command you give him. The power you hold over him in this moment makes your core weep and throb with want. 

You rip your dress over your head, tossing it to the floor before turning your attention back to Josh. His eyes have come to rest on your breasts, eyeing them through the lace of your bra. 

“You’ve been such a good boy tonight, Josh.” You praise, sliding backwards in the bed and leaning up against the pillows. “Can you be patient just a little longer for me?” 

“Anything.” He breathes out, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. 

“I need you to make me cum, baby. And then I’ll give you whatever you want.” You spread your legs wide, allowing him to see the damp spot on your cotton panties. “Can you do that for me?” 

“Whatever you want, mama. I’ll make you cum. Wanna make you feel good.” 

“Come here, then.” 

The bed dips as he climbs onto it, crawling his way over to you and settling between your legs. He leans down, pressing his nose to your panties and inhaling deeply. Almost as if in a frenzy, he dips his fingers into the waistband and yanks them down your legs. You kick them off to the side, not even bothering to see where they went. 

Josh descends onto your cunt, licking a stripe up through your slick folds – drawing a loud moan from you. Expertly, he swirls the tip of his tongue around your clit, knowing exactly what to do to drive you absolutely crazy. Relentlessly, he swirls your swollen bud with his tongue, the feeling almost too much as he lavishes attention on you. His speed makes your eyes roll back in your head, his ministrations a mix between too much and not enough. 

You reach down and thread your fingers through the unruly curls on top of his head, tugging as he finally plunges his talented tongue into you. You whine and moan as he fucks you with it, his nose pressing into your clit perfectly. The sound of your wetness and his slurping is obscene – pornographic and loud in the otherwise silent room. He’s got both hands splayed on your thighs, and he groans into your cunt, sending delicious vibrations through you. 

Josh is nothing if not eager to please, and it doesn’t take long for the coil in your belly to tighten, warmth spreading through you at a rapid pace. 

“Fuck, just like that.” You command him, as he takes turns between suckling on your swollen clit and fucking into you with his tongue. “You’re so good, Josh. So fucking good.” 

He moans at your praise and the feeling sends you hurtling over the edge, drenching his face in your release as your entire body shakes with pleasure. 

Sitting up, you watch as Josh licks his lips. The light reflects on your juices that are smeared across his chin. 

“Fucking hell, you’re so good at that.” 

His eyes glimmer and he opens his mouth to retort but you interrupt him. 

“If you say ‘vocalist’s tongue’ one more time, I’m gonna slap you.” 

He grins, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. 

“You and I both know it’s true.”

“Come here, baby.” You say, beckoning for him to switch places with you. He crawls up to you and settles into the pillows, allowing you to toss one leg over his waist to straddle him. 

“Please, mama. I’ve been so patient. Please.”

“Yes, you have. You’ve been such a good boy. And what do good boys get?”

He takes a stuttering breath. 

“Good boys get a reward.” 

You nod at him, sliding downwards on his hips to settle between his legs, leaving a trail of your slick as you do so. 

“That’s right, Josh. And now you get yours.”

Slowly, you lick a stripe up his cock, tracing the vein that runs on the underside of him. You flick your tongue over the head, tasting the saltiness of his precum. He tosses his head back in response, mouth dropping open in pleasure. Delicately, you press a kiss to his tip, just barely pressing your tongue into his slit. He gasps, arching his back as his entire body tenses. 

“Fuck.” He stutters out, as you sink your mouth down around him. You swallow him down, relaxing your jaw and breathing through your nose as you allow him to hit the back of your throat. You press your tongue into him and hollow your cheeks as you start to bob up and down on him, taking him as deep as you possibly can. He really has been so good for you, and you want nothing more than to return the favor. 

Blindly, you reach out and find his hand, bringing it towards you to rest in your hair. Josh takes the hint, threading his fingers through it and guiding you down on him, allowing him to fuck into your mouth. 

Tears gather at the corners of your eyes and your jaw aches, but you persist, focusing on breathing through your nose as he seeks out his release. 

“Oh fuck, baby. Shit.” He whines through gritted teeth, eyes scrunched shut in pleasure. “Gonna cum. Feels so fucking good.” He tries to pull away from you, unwilling to allow himself to finish yet – no doubt wanting this to last longer. But you stop him by pressing your forearm over his hips, keeping him grounded as you start to bob your head again, this time taking him so deep that your nose presses into the soft hair at his base. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, I’m cumming!” His moans and wails are like music to your ears, and just like that he’s spilling down your throat. You greedily swallow it all down, before pulling off him with a lewd pop. 

“You sound so pretty when you cum.” You tell him, licking your lips. “You taste even better.” 

He blushes, suddenly bashful – just as he often becomes in the bedroom. For someone who normally seems so confident – and for someone who’s just had his dick down your throat, his shyness seems silly. But it's just another facet of Josh that makes you love him even more. His timidness is endearing, and is so specifically Josh that if you think about it too hard, you’ll start getting emotional. 

You sit up more, leaning upwards so that you can kiss him. He parts his lips, allowing you to slide your tongue into his mouth, exploring and tasting him. You remain there a moment, before detaching your lips from his, pressing hot kisses down his jawline that you love so much. 

“No marks.” He warns, turning his head up to give you access anyway. 

“You have a makeup team.” You say into his sweaty skin. “Plus, I don’t care if anyone sees. Want them to know who you belong to.” 

At that, you feel his cock twitch against your thigh, hardening again at your words. 

“Oh?” You say, sitting back on your haunches and grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “You like that? When I call you mine?” 

He whines, and his dark, lust-blown eyes gaze upon you – filled to the brim with renewed need and desire. 

“Yeah. So much, mama. M’all yours.” 

“I know you are.” 

You reattach your lips to his neck, kissing down the hollow of his throat before going lower. You wrap your lips around his right nipple, sinking your teeth into the delicate flesh and drawing a breathy moan from him. 

“Y/n?” He asks suddenly, his tone a little more serious than before. You stop, sitting up to look at his pretty face. 

“Yes, baby? Is something wrong?”

“No, no. I just-” He stops himself, biting his lip and you can see him battling with himself. 

“You know you can tell me anything baby.” 

“I know. I just don’t know how to say it.”  

You cock your head to the side, waiting. You don’t want him to feel pressured into speaking, but his trepidation is setting you on edge slightly. 

“I want-” he sighs, “I want you to fuck me.” 

Your eyes widen and a fresh wave of slick gushes from you. 

“I- are you sure?” You ask him, timid in the face of his own hesitation. 

“I’m sure. I’ve been wanting it for days, I just… I didn’t know how to ask for it.” 

“Oh, sweet boy.” You coo, swiping your hand over his forehead, brushing his sweaty curls off of his skin. “Is that what had you so worked up tonight? Wanting me to fuck you but you were too afraid to ask?”

He nods, closing his eyes in embarrassment. 

“Don’t ever be embarrassed over what you want. I’m more than willing to give it to you.”

He opens his eyes at you, and the look in his eyes is like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. 

“I want it, mama. I want it. Please give it to me.”

You see the change overtake him – like a switch has been flipped. Generally, the two of you switch up who’s in control depending on the day. And Josh’s neediness for you today had been nothing out of the ordinary. 

But right now, as he pleads with you to give him what he so desperately needs, there’s something more. It’s a headspace you’ve only seen him in once before – months ago when you’d first broached the topic with him. He’d asked you to finger him, timid and so afraid it had made your heart hurt. You’d obliged, and you’d assured him over and over that you weren’t put off by his desires. If anything, you enjoyed giving it to him more than he enjoyed receiving it. Afterwards, the two of you had gone online together to pick out a strap on that Josh liked. You’d kissed him all over and told him that you would enjoy anything so long as it gave him pleasure, and he’d hit the ‘order now’ button. It had arrived quickly, but had since remained untouched and unmentioned. Weeks passed without him saying anything, so you hadn’t said anything either – afraid to push him too far. 

But now, here he is, needy and desperate for it. He’s looking at you with complete trust, confident enough in your love for him that he’ll let you take care of him the way he needs it – absent of any judgment. Shaking yourself from your thoughts as you feel tears beginning to brim in your eyes, you lean over to the bedside table and open the top drawer. 

You pull the toy out, the glossy black plastic reflecting the dim light. Josh’s eyes track its movement as you bring it over to you. You flick your eyes to meet his, giving him one more chance to change his mind. 

“I’m sure.” He tells you, reading the unspoken question in your gaze. “Fuck me, mama. I want you to fuck me.” 

“Anything you want, baby.” 

With shaky hands, you slip into the strap – slow and deliberate as you secure it around yourself. Once it’s on, you slide the straps of your bra down, unclipping it and tossing it to the floor. 

Josh watches you, eyes dark and lips shiny with spit. His chest is flushed a gorgeous red and his golden skin glows with a thin sheen of sweat. As you turn your attention back to his face, he allows his legs to fall apart, leaving himself on full display for you. Your own breath catches in your throat at the sight – suddenly feeling overwhelmed at the beautiful creature that lays before you, open and completely trusting in you. 

You crawl up to him, the plastic cock bouncing obscenely as you move. You grab a bottle of lube from the nightstand and squirt a generous amount over your fingers. 

“You ready, Josh? For me to take care of you?” You whisper, settling between his thick thighs. 

He nods feverishly, chest heaving. 

Slowly, you circle his rim with your finger, messaging the tight ring of muscle. You study his face as you press one finger into him. The heat of him envelopes your mind in a lust-drunk haze, the breathy whine that falls from his lips makes your pussy clench around nothing. 

“Tell me if you want me to stop.” You tell him, carefully stretching him inch by inch. 

“Don’t stop!” He whines, mouth falling open as you add another finger. “God, don’t fucking stop.” 

You scissor your fingers in him, focusing on the sounds that fall from his pretty lips and on the way his facial expressions shift with each movement of your fingers. He’s beautiful like this, completely spread out for you as you prep him. 

“More.” He stutters out between heavy breaths, squirming and whining as you comply. 

“Fuck, you’re so pretty like this. So pretty for me, Josh.” 

The sight of him, awash and lost to pleasure is affecting you more than you thought it would, and you can feel your arousal dripping down your thighs. You want nothing more than to reach down and give yourself some relief, but you abstain – instead focusing all of your attention on Josh’s pleasure. Tonight, you want this to be about him. He’s always so giving in bed, and he deserves to be spoiled. 

You pull your fingers from him and he sighs at your absence. You wipe your fingers on the bedsheets before reaching for the bottle of lube. You coat the strap in it, wanting to ensure that he’s not uncomfortable at all. 

Glancing up at you through half lidded eyes, Josh whines quietly in his chest. 

“Fuck me, baby. Please. I’m so ready for it.” 

“Ssshhh.” You shush him, lining your plastic cock up with his entrance. “You don’t have to beg, sweet boy. I’m going to take care of you. You know I will. Just be patient.”

Finally, you slowly sink into him, and you bite back your own moan as his beautiful noises hit your ears. They’re breathy, practically a whine – needy in a way you’ve never heard from him before. You sink to the hilt and pause, allowing him to adjust to the stretch, still slightly afraid of hurting him or going too fast. 

He squirms beneath you, beginning to delicately rock his hips to meet yours, fucking himself lightly on your fake cock. 

“Move, mama. Need you to move.” He grips the sheets in his fists, hands clenched so tight that his knuckles have turned white. 

You oblige, beginning to rock your hips into him at a steady pace and he groans loudly in response. 

“Look at you.” You mutter, more to yourself than to him. He’s the most gorgeous thing you’ve ever seen. “Feel good, baby?” 

“Feels so good.” He moans, voice turning pitchy. You place your palms on the bed on either side of him, caging him in and bracing yourself to fuck into him harder. 

“Fuck, please touch me.” He begs you, eyes completely screwed shut. 

“Not yet, sweet boy. Be patient just a little longer longer. I’ll get you there.” 

Selfishly, you don’t want this to end yet. Seeing him like this, completely lost in the throes of pleasure – pleasure that you alone are giving him, is like a drug. His moans and whines are addictive, lighting a fire in your veins as you fuck into him without mercy. His cock is red and leaking, angry and neglected as it bobs between the two of you. You’ll relieve him soon enough, but you allow yourself a moment longer to revel in this feeling. 

You pull completely out of him for a moment, ignoring his groan of displeasure as you hook your palms behind his knees, pressing them up to his chest so that he’s practically bent in half. You thrust back into him, and the new position allows you to slip even deeper into him. You can’t feel it, but you can only imagine how tight he must feel. As soon as you bottom out again, Josh’s mouth hangs open in a silent scream. You’re almost afraid he’s in pain, but his hand suddenly shoots out and wraps around your forearm tightly – his fingers pressing into your skin harshly. 

“Fuck, baby, right fucking there. Holy shit.” His words suddenly begin to slur together and you assume that with the new position, the toy must be brushing against his prostate – if the noises he’s making are anything to go by. His tiny whines have morphed into loud moans, and you’re thankful that the walls are thick. He’s never been this loud before, and your own desire at the sound of him threatens to overtake you completely. 

“Fuck, harder, harder.” He chants as you piston into him, your entire body begining to shake at the effort with which your fucking him. 

“M’gonna cum. Fuck!” He all but screams, and suddenly he’s finishing, shooting ropes of cum all across his taut stomach. You watch in awe as he cums completely untouched, and his orgasm seems to go on forever. You still in him, allowing him to come down from his high and back to the land of the living. 

His eyes blink open at you and a dopey, fucked out smile spreads across his lips. 

“Fuck, Josh,” you sigh out, “that was… the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” 

He just mumbles at you, leaning his head back to rest on the pillow. 

“Gonna pull out now, okay?” 

He nods, and you slowly pull out from him. He hisses at the feeling, and stretches out his legs. You unclasp the strap from your waist and place it on the nightstand, before reaching down to grab his boxers from the floor. You carefully clean him up, being careful to not overstimulate him. 

“Are you okay?” You ask him, concern washing over you as he just lies there with his eyes closed, chest heaving. 

“More than okay. Fuck. Thank you.”

“No need to thank me, baby. I love giving you what you want. Thank you for trusting me.”

“Always trust you.” He mumbles, sitting up and reaching for you. “Lemme return the favor, mama.” 

You swat his hand away and place your hands on his shoulders, pushing him backwards so that his back presses back into the pillows again. 

“Watching you was more than enough for me. Just want you to rest now.”

He frowns at you, but you just give him a soft smile before pressing your lips to his for a sweet kiss. 

“Another time, baby. Tonight was about you. Let’s go draw you a bath. How does that sound?” You rise from the bed, reaching your arms out to help him up. 

“Sounds nice,” He says tiredly. 

He goes to stand, but his knees buckle as soon as he tries to straighten. You quickly wrap your arms around his waist, helping him to carry his weight. You giggle. 

“Damn, you really did a number on me, huh?” He asks you through his own quiet laughter. 

“You were just so patient for me, baby. You deserved a reward.” 

-----------

If you're reading this, I love you! <3

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Editorial

Joel Miller x Reader

Summary: "Can I read your diary?" "No." "Please." "I said no." "Pretty please?" "Ellie." "P l e a s e?" "No."

Word Count: 3k+

Warnings: Fem!reader, writer!reader, slice of life, mom and dad problems, some meta references, me being corny, fluff, typos, etc.

A/N: This can be read like a p2, or within the same universe at least, of this fic but also as a stand alone whatever you want babe Tagging: @pinksirensong @aralezinspace @sloanexx

"Ohemgee look!" Ellie calls, running through rubble and debris, making her way off to the rack of magazines with both ripped and dilapidating issues, and ones still very much intact and still in plastic wrapping.

She grins and begins to rummage the rack, "what was the magazine you used to write for again?"

I follow after her, tilting my head at the selection, "I've written for them all actually."

Ellie turns to me, cocking her head out, "whaaaaaaat? Seriously?!"

I shrug, "I was a freelancer."

"That's so fucking cool man!"

I roll my eyes, "yeah, cool, up until you had to pay rent," I turn over my shoulder as Joel walks over to us, then goes down the other aisle, continuing to survey the shelves.

I point, "there's some bleach over there."

Joel looks at it then back to me, "do you want it?"

I shrug.

Joel rolls his eyes and grabs it.

Ellie rips through the pages of one magazine and turns to me, "do you know who Tom Holland is?"

I walk over to her, looking through the available magazines, "actor. He was Spiderman at one point."

"What does that even mean?" Ellie shakes her head.

"It means he played Spiderman in films for a period of time."

"Oh," Ellie turns back to the page, "you in this issue?"

"Honey, I have no idea what date it is today," I reply as I examine other magazine covers. I recognize one of them and take it. Ellie immediately loses interest in the magazine she had, dropping it to the floor, coming close to me, pressing her cheek onto my shoulder as I flip through the pages of the magazine.

The telltale smell of the ink and paper makes me smile. I bring the object close to me and smell it. I chuckle, moving it to Ellie, "smell?"

She gives it a sniff then looks at me.

"Smells nice, right?" I smile.

Ellie gives me a weird look, "... I guess?"

Joel, from afar, comments, "signs of a druggie. Watch closely, Ellie."

I snort. Ellie looks over her shoulder and chuckles, turning back to me. She leans in as I flip the pages, breathing in deeply. I bring the magazine close to her again. She pulls back, sighs, and looks back at me, "I don't get it."

I laugh under my breath, "maybe I am a druggie," I give her a look. She mimics my wacky expression. I then survey the crumbling supermarket and sigh, "or maybe... it's really just not the same."

Ellie watches me as I go through the magazine.

She perks when I make a sound. I scan the pages and begin to laugh as I point to the corner, "and behold."

"HOLY SHIT!" Ellie gapes. She takes the magazine from me and begins to eagerly read the work upon seeing my name on the side. Ellie's jaws are parted as she goes through the text.

I laugh, brushing her hair back amorously.

"JOEL, SHE'S FAMOUS!" she shouts as I begin to walk off to the said man.

Joel grunts, "congratulations."

I chuckle as reach Joel and his push cart full of whatever he deemed important enough to take. He mumbles to me once I'm close enough, "sold your soul to the devil for shit."

I grab the box of thumbtacks on the shelf and place it in the cart, "I was told it was actually just a minor demon."

"WHO'S PEDRO PASCAL?" Ellie calls.

"Actor," I turn over my shoulder and call back. I then turn back to Joel, "was he the one in that Marvel film?"

"I don't give a fuck," Joel shakes his head as we continue going down the aisle.

"OHEMGEE YOU SAID IN YOUR ARTICLE YOU HAD A CRUSH ON HIM?" Ellie laughs.

"I honestly don't remember babe!" I reply to her.

"IS THIS HIM?!" she shouts and begins to run over.

Ellie pants as makes her way to us with a bunch of magazines in her arms. She rips one of them open once she is next to me, throwing the rest in the cart. Joel eyes Ellie after doing this.

She then points to a stylishly suited man with mustache and a debonair smile. The image of him instantly jogs my memory. I gasp and pull the magazine closer to me, "no wait, I remember. I did have such a big crush on him. He was so sweet and he made me laugh the whole interview."

"OHEMGEE!" Ellie giggles, "that's so cheesy of you!"

Joel grunts as he pushes his cart over a rocky part.

I grin at the sight of magazine Pedro Pascal. Ellie then begins to look between the magazine and Joel. She tilts her head then suddenly points, "oh my gosh, Joel looks like him."

"What?"

"That's why you like him," Ellie grins, "he looks like your actor crush!"

I give her a look, "Joel looks nothing like him, Ellie."

"What do you mean?! The mustache, the eyes, everything! That's Joel."

"Maybe if you showed me a pic of Joel in his heyday, I'd pretend to believe you. But that would honestly be such an insult to Pedrito."

"Pedrito," Joel scoffs under his breath, "Ellie take those magazines out of the cart. We are not taking them."

I steal a look at Joel as hold back a laugh. I shake my head, "rip the page of my article out. I'm feeling sentimental."

Later that day, on our stopover, I was curled up, sitting at the roof our car, looking between my notebook and the ripped page of my magazine laughing to myself. It was an amazing feat to find this in the middle of everything.

"Can I read your diary?"

I look down to my side, smile dampening slightly, "no."

"Please."

"I said no."

"Pretty please?"

"Ellie."

"P l e a s e?"

"No," I raise my brows at her. I motion to Joel who was going through some of the abandoned cars, "go help Joel."

"He told me to wait in the car because I'm a nuisance."

I scoff out a chuckle, "you're not a nuisance, baby."

"I know," she reaches out to me, "but if you feel bad, let me read your diary."

I roll my eyes, "why do you want to read my diary so bad?"

"Why do you write to much?"

"If I didn't, one of us would be dead," I said.

She gasps, "I get killing Joel, but me? You could never, you love me!"

I don't get to reply as Joel comes back and orders me to get off the roof.

Later that night, Ellie wakes up to the sound of arguing. We were camped in the middle of the woods and promised no one else would be camping. She shoots up from her sleeping bag and sees two people arguing from afar. She panics, turning to see the two sleeping bags by her side were empty, then she realizes that they were the ones fighting.

She pretends to go to sleep.

The sound of bickering intensifies.

Ellie gathers from the hushed growls there had been an accident.

In the morning, Ellie would find out whatever happened last night got the adults to non-speaking terms. She does not have the guts to ask, even through the silence of the long drive.

"Go left," I coldly dictate.

Joel turns left.

Ellie nibbles on her lower lip as she leans forward between the two front seats. She looks over to me. She looks over to Joel.

"So..." she says.

No one responds to her.

She notices how I lift my leg up when we pass a hump. Ellie points to my foot, "what happened to your ankle?"

"Accident," I turn to her with a soft smile.

Ellie looks worried, "is it broken?"

"Sprained," I retort.

"Twisted," Joel cuts.

I turn to Joel, "I've had worse sprains from running before."

"Oh, I'm sure you did!" He turns to me, "then you went back to your apartment-"

I turn away from him.

"-and put fucking ice and hot compress on it."

I sigh as I look out the window.

"I mean I'm sure you can do that now-- oh wait," Joel turns back front, "you cant!"

Ellie leans back into her seat, thinking of something to say to change the subject. She leans onto the window, eyes widening, "ohemgee, look, it's a family of-"

"I wouldn't have gotten in an accident had you not snuck off at-"

"I didn't sneak off!"

"Oh yeah," I turn back to him, "you made it a point not to wake me."

"You're a heavy sleep-"

"I'm really not, Joel!" I bark, "you wanted to do some heroic shit by doing a run all by your-"

"YEAH AND I REGRET DOING IT ALRIGHT!"

"WELL YOU SHOULD BECAUSE YOU'RE SO FULL OF SHIT WHEN YOU SAY THAT YOU-"

"I'M FULL OF SHIT!?!"

"YES YOU, YOU DIPSHIT! IS THERE ANY OTHER HILLBILLY FUCKER HERE THAT GRINDS MY GEARS SO FUCKING MUCH I WANT TO FUCKING -"

"YEAH WELL YOU'RE A FUCKING PRETENCIOUS RAT WHO HAS NO IDEA HOW TO SURVIVE BECAUSE ALL YOU USED TO EVER DO WAS GET ON YOUR LITTLE COMPUTER-"

"THAT MAKES YOU FEEL SO FUCKING HAPPY RIGHT? THE FACT YOU WORKED IN MANUAL LABOR AND-"

"NO IT DOESN'T MAKE ME FUCKING HAPPY-"

"SHUT UP!" Ellie rips through the verbal abuse, "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! Shut up!"

Joel and I look turn away from each other, heaving in anger.

The tensions worsened once he had to go on foot.

"Ellie," I say, turning to the girl, "you have a choice. Do you want to go with me, or do you want to go with Joel?"

"We're sl-" Ellie panics, "we're splitting up?!"

Joel says something under his breath that I wholeheartedly ignore.

I release a breath and motion vaguely, "we're getting two different things," I point to the left, "one is in the tunnels, which stinks worse than shit," I point to Joel on the right, "and one is up in building, but you have to climb, like, a hundred levels."

"49," Joel grunts.

I shrug, not bothering to look at him, "your pick, El."

Ellie looks between me and Joel. She begins to overthink what was happening. Before I could tell her it wasn't a big deal, she blurts out, "can you walk by yourself?"

I purse my lips, feeling somehow defeated by the fact her question meant she was choosing Joel. I nod once, "I told you, I've had worse."

Joel scoffs.

"My ankle is fine," I speak sternly.

Ellie nods, "okay. I want to wait in the car."

Joel and I turn to each other when she says this. I quickly turn back to her and furrow my brows, "you sure?"

She nods, "I'm kind of tired actually... we woke up... pretty early."

I nod slowly and ask, not looking at who I was talking to though, "you good with that?"

Ellie turns to Joel. She looks back where his sights were, watching me stretch my neck. Joel nods once, "don't go outside the car."

Ellie turns to Joel and nods back, "I wont."

Ellie burns time by going through some of the pages from magazines she had ripped out for herself. Once she was bored of that, she began to count the windows on all the buildings she could see. Once she was bored of that, she began looking for something else to read.

And then it struck her. The diary. It was here, fresh for the pickings.

Ellie wastes no more time. She opens a random page.

Day ~98 with Joel & Ellie

I didn't write for two days because we nearly died, Suzie.

Who's Suzie?

I'm glad we didn't. I'm glad you're still here. If you were a real person, you would have wanted to die after what we went through, considering the state of you, pages falling off and all. Ellie would have roasted you for your appearance.

Ok... Suzie's the diary?

I would have loved to have been her teacher in literature. She's got an amazing mind. She uses fuck as a punctuation though.

Fuck yeah!

Joel would have been her substitute math teacher who actually taught PE. He'd be really good at math though actually, he'll teach you how to compute rates and interest. He's good at that. He's practical. He's safe. I love him Suzie. I love them both.

Cute, she thinks. Ellie skims the page and tries to part the others that were stuck together. She gives up on that and decides to read something else.

Joel gave me a hicky-

Nope.

Joel nearly broke my back af-

NOPE.

I FUCKING HATE JOEL SO MUCH

Better.

I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY HE ACTS LIKE THIS

Ellie squints at the furious handwriting, unable to read parts of the passage.

I DON KNOW WHAT PLANET HE THINKS KEEPING THE FACT HES INJURED FROM ME IS A GOOD THING LIKE I WOULDNT NOTICE LIKE SUDDENLY I WOULDNT CARE

Ellie tilts her head at the next words she reads.

I HATE THAT HES SO SCARED OF EVERYTHING HE MAKES ME WANT TO EXPLODE

She ponders on what the text she read meant cause- well... Joel's not afraid of anything. She reads something else.

I look at your face and I feel like the noise doesn't have a sound. I feel your calloused hand touch me like I'm the most precious thing, even when they hurt me so bad. Don't push me away. I love you so much. We can do things together. We should do things together. I can stay up late sometimes. I can stay up late with you. Why don't you trust me? You're strong and capable. I love you. I am not. I am nothing to you. I am nothing. I am weak and timid. But with you I am everything. Why won't you believe me? Why won't you trust me? I love you. Joel. Ellie. I cant take care of you. I can take care of her. I love you. please believe me.

Later that night. We've set up camp by the woods.

"You want this?" I ask Ellie as I give her the other half of my food. She reaches out for it, but pulls her hand back when Joel barks, "don't take that."

I shoot him a look, "I'm not hungry any-"

"Like hell you are!" Joel snaps, "you didn't eat anything in the afternoon."

"I wasn't hungry then either."

"So what?" he chews exaggeratedly, "you're going through something? Or you're doing this to get back at me?'

I scoff and shake my head. I walk off.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Joel screams as he watches me walk off.

"I'm going to take a PISS by the fucking LAKE!"

Ellie watches Joel as he watches me.

Ellie looks at the fire in the middle of them. Joel mutters under his breath. She licks her lips, "you know... it's... okay."

Joel turns to Ellie, giving her an incredibly annoyed look, "what?!"

"... you don't have to always be the strong one," Ellie mumbles as she looks off to the distance, "she's really strong too."

"You mean bullheaded," Joel grunts as he finishes the last of his food.

Ellie turns back to Joel, finding that he was looking at the same direction she had been. She brushes crumbs off her, "you worry about her. She worries about you-"

Joel turns to Ellie.

"I'm worried about my eardrums..." she trails off, looking to the dark sky, "but strangely enough, I'd rather go deaf with all your screaming than never be able to see you fight again."

Ellie pauses. She scrunches her face up and looks down at Joel. She raises a finger, "I was trying to be sentimental but I feel like that just makes no sense."

His nostrils flare, "you should leave the sentimentalities to-"

AHHHHHHH!

Joel shoots up from his spot and looks out to the source of the scream. Ellie shoots up as well, tense as she looks between Joel and the dark unknown, "should we-"

"Wait here," Joel says, grabbing a gun as he quickly makes his way deep into the woods.

Ellie watches as she uneasily fidgets on her spot.

Joel listens intently to the sounds around him. He slows then continues after hearing what he did, gun up and ready.

"Joel?" I call out as I walk. I repeat his name as I continue through the forest. I grunt when I step on a rock with my bad ankle. I lean against tree as I wince in pain. I try to stretch my injured ankle. It's a bad idea. I hiss.

I hear my name get called out. Before I can even look, there is a hand on my arm.

I turn and see Joel looking at me with a concerned expression. I whimper as he takes my cheek in his palm and shift to face him. He quickly asks, "are you okay? What happened? Is someone here? Did you fall? I-"

I silence him by placing my hand on his cheek, "Joel."

Joel's brows tense.

I sigh and shake my head, "I was... I was spooked by a racoon that brushed against me while I was peeing."

He lets out a breath. His shoulders relax and he lowers his gun. He then puts his weapon away and wipes his face. I chew my lower lip and grip on his bicep.

Joel turns to me as I give him a look. I gulp, "I also... stepped on a rock, and... my ankle hurts... like... really ba-"

I am cut off when Joel bends down and picks me up in his arms. I squeak and grip tightly on him. He grunts when he begins to walk off. I begin to feel agitated as he strains, "Joel-"

"Shut up," he blurts, "I can fling you into the sun if I want."

I lick my lips as I adjust my arms around his shoulders, "but what about your back?"

"What about my back?" he mumbles, "you haven't been eating and it shows. I would run a lap with you in my arms."

"..."

"You have to stop skipping meals."

"... I'm not hun-"

"I didn't ask if you were."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Joel."

"What?"

"I don't like it when we fight."

Joel scoffs out a chuckle.

"I'm sorry."

He sighs as he continues walking back to our camp. I caress his cheek. He looks down at me, blinking slowly, "I'm sorry too."

Joel looks back up and I begin to fiddle with his collar. A smile plays on my lips, "you know when you say 'too', it's like you're just agree-"

"I'm sorry," he blurts.

I hold back my chuckle, "well now it really feels like you're just agreeing with me."

"Do you want me to drop you?" he rolls his eyes as he gives me a quick look.

"I don't mind," I smile, brushing his hair back, "I like it like this. When I'm injured," I stroke his jaw, "you always do what I ask you to."

Joel clenches his jaw as he eyes me darkly.

I chuckle softly, rubbing the line between his brows, "hey."

"What?" he quips, no longer looking at me.

"I love you."

He purses his lips. His chest releases a deep breath of air. Joel spots Ellie from afar, and she very evidently spots us as she calls out. She runs over to us, "holy fuck, what the fuck happened?!"

I turn to Ellie and smile, "I'm being dramatic," I call back.

I reach out to her and caress her cheek, explaining my incident with the racoon.

At this point, we all had our sleeping bags set up and were getting ready to go tot be.

I give Joel a kiss on the cheek before he pulls away after helping me in my spot.

Ellie catches this then places a hand on her chest, "oh thank fuck you guys made up."

I turn to Ellie as she brings her sleeping bag close to mine. She says, "it was because of me right?"

I watch as Ellie looks out to Joel, who does nothing but set up his own bag close to mine.

Ellie begins to ramble, "I took a page from your book and got really sentimental with Joel."

I snicker, "did you, now?"

"Yeah," she raises a hand, "I talked about... going deaf and not being able to... hear you fight or something-- honestly, it was really cringy."

I give her a look, "are you indirectly calling me cringy."

"Absolutely," Ellie speaks without missing a beat as she nods her head.

I scoff, "you're so mean."

"No," she shakes her head and beings pointing, "he's the mean one, I'm the funny one, you're the sentimental one."

I laugh and shake my head at her words, "okay, sweetheart. Whatever you say."

The three of us are now cozied up in our bags.

"Good night mom and dad," Ellie says.

"Night, my love," I mutter, brushing her cheek, "I love you."

"Love you, mommy," she says softly then a little louder, "Love you, Joel!"

I grin and turn to Joel, "I love you, Joel."

Joel rolls on his side, facing away from us.

I curl up in my blanket and release a breath.

"I love you... I love you."

[blazehedgehog]

It's interesting that you've run into more Sonic '06 defenders as of late, because I think I've noticed the same thing. I've been thinking about why that is for a hot minute, and I wonder if it has to do with just how awful the video game industry is at the moment.

Games come out polished sometimes nowadays, but normally they're catastrophically broken on release and take months of post-launch patches to become somewhat playable, if they get those patches at all. Perhaps younger fans of the Sonic series, having grown up in this environment, go back to play Sonic 06', see all of its bugs and bad game design decisions, and think "Wait, that's it? That's not even the worst game I've played this week."

That is, it's less that Sonic '06 is suddenly good now, it absolutely is not, but more that the bar has sunken so deep into hell that even a blatantly broken game like Sonic '06 doesn't look particularly bad in comparison to what comes out now, so they miss the context of why it was so controversial on release.

This is an old ask that got buried, but I think it's still relevant, and to me it's just...

Liking something ironically is the path to liking it unironically. Maybe that means you're being honest with yourself, or maybe it's just familiarity. That happens with music -- so much so that there's an article from the National Library of Medicine about it. The more familiar you are with music, even if it's a song you hate, the more you eventually begin to enjoy it. It's a scientific fact.

And Sonic 06 became something of a rite of passage. Everyone knows about it, either because they've played it for themselves or they've watched someone else play some (or all) of it. Everyone has their favorite moments. Whether it's

The Winder of a Shoemaker typo (it should be "Wonder")

The inevitable realization you have to save manually after getting your first game over in Wave Ocean

Having to reload the entire world every time the state of anything changes

Sonic's boss fight with Silver, and "It's no use!"

Followers reappearing in the town stages only to instantly fall over dead.

Meeting Sonic Man

Meeting the Soleanna Boys

Meeting Pele the Dog

Sonic flicking the card at Knuckles who fumbles the catch

Riding the metal crate into space

Seeing Eggman's Real Human Eyes behind his sunglasses

Eggman's keyboard mashing "typing" animation

Realizing Sonic's head is 3/4ths the size of Princess Else's entire body

The constant back and forth of rescuing Elise only to have her get kidnapped again only to rescue her again only to have her get kidnapped again

The Windows XP background FMV

Elise's attempted suicide

Luppy Luppy

Which one is the Captain?

That tornado is carrying a car!

Elise's Train is... Uh oh, gotta speed up!

Don't be late.

Long time no see.

Amy and Elise's girltalk moment

The Test of Love

Anna, the Lady in Waiting

Eggman comically going "bonk" off the shrapnel after beating the last boss of Sonic's story

The Iblis Trigger™

The Scepter of Darkness vs. The Book of Darkness

Shadow the Hedgehog using Chaos Control to roundhouse kick Silver in the back of the head

Showing a crucified Shadow the Hedgehog in the future

The "Head to Wave Ocean" line flub still existing in the game

Mephiles is literally Shadow's shadow

THEN I'LL FIGHT... LIKE I ALWAYS HAVE

Having the ability to time travel to literally any point in history and never just going back to before Eggman arrived

The blue chaos emerald paradox loop

Watching someone's soul leave their body when they have to do Silver's billiard ball puzzle

Using the cyan gem to turn collision detection into a suggestion

Using the purple gem to go out of bounds

Spamming Omega's hover to fly anywhere

The death and return of Sonic the Hedgehog

etc. etc. etc.

I'll say it again and again and again, but it's the Rocky Horror Picture Show effect. When that movie came out, it was not beloved by the mainstream! But it became notorious as a midnight movie where the rowdy graveyard shift audience would heckle the picture, transforming it into something that was fun to watch (and participate in).

And the more they watched it, the more they heckled it, the more people realized that maybe they actually love the movie. And now it's this big, important cultural touchstone.

That's Sonic 06. Let's do the time warp again.