#paw patrol original fives

[tightjeansjavi]

Slow Hands | Chapter 5

“be still, my foolish heart”

A/N: so originally I was going to write more for this chapter, but like @morning-star-joy says, sometimes a story tells you how it should be written so I’ve decided to end the chapter where I feel it felt most natural. The slow burn is still slow-burning but there’s definitely some development happening! 🤎🤎

~word count: 6.0k~

Pairing | Joel Miller x f! reader

Summary: you meet Joel’s horse, Tex while Joel opens up to you about his past further. Your connection begins to develop as you grow more comfortable with one another

Warnings: angst, anxiety, trauma, mentions of death, stress induced thoughts and feelings, fluff, awkward flirting, internal thoughts/dialogue, slow burn, mental health, remorse, forgiveness, soft! Joel, protective! Joel, in his feelings! Joel, readers nickname is beanie (coffee beans) ends on a bit of a cliff hanger, no age gap, +18 minors dni! Let me know if I missed any warnings please!

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Joel Miller was fast asleep on your couch. In your home. He felt comfortable enough to doze off at your kitchen table. Well, of course he was exhausted. He was out at the late hours of the night patrolling with Tommy, and then he spent the early morning hours with you on your rooftop.

Nonetheless, he was asleep on your couch.

You couldn’t help but feel giddy like a little school girl that was developing her first crush at recess. Joel was handsome, ruggedly handsome and there was no denying it. He reminded you of a pearl. Something so beautiful, yet hard to obtain as a pearl is always guarded by the outer shell of an oyster. You couldn’t help but wonder what he thought of you as you stepped outside of your home. The air was still brisk and there was a fresh layer of frost coating the ground. Spring was on the horizon with the sound of chirping chickadee's that gossiped in the treetops above. New life was beginning to sprout and blossom through the frost. Soon Jackson would flourish in green.

You triple checked your front door lock as a forced habit. When you felt relieved that the door was in fact locked, you quietly walked down the wooden steps that were far sturdier now as Joel insisted on replacing some of the rotted planks.

As you started the short walking distance to the stables, you remembered Joel telling you that he would often count his steps as a grounding system. In turn, you found yourself doing the same. There was some innately comforting being around the horses. The barn smell didn’t bother you, in fact you relished in it. From the sweet smelling grain, the earthy scent of Alfalfa, and the horses natural aroma. All of these scents permeated your senses in an indescribable warmth. There was no sign of Ellie or Dina when you stepped into the stables and you were greeted with soft nickers, and curious expressions before the horses returned to their breakfast.

Tommy’s horse, Timber, was a leopard spotted appaloosa that truly had the goofiest human-like personality. Sometimes you wondered if there was actually a human trapped inside of his four-legged body just from the way he would look at you. You stopped in front of his stall and reached into your coat pocket to pull out a handful of sugar cubes that laid flat in your palm.

“Hey, pal.” You softly cooed as Timber lifted his head from his grain pan. “Did you see anything exciting last night? Any stories for me?”

Timber snorted softly as his velvet soft muzzle rested in your palm. He wasted no time to gently snatch up each of the sugar cubes before he was nuzzling your pocket for more.

“Wow, five racoons? How exciting.” You giggled as you playfully and gently nudged his muzzle away. “Were you scared?”

Another snort and a hoof pawing at the ground. “Oh, alright. Just one more, okay?” You snuck him one last sugar cube followed by a gentle pat on his neck before you strode away from his stall. Your mare, Tess, was a flea bitten gray QH. Shortly after outbreak day, you found her wandering through your abandoned neighborhood and you were drawn together like moth to flame. She was your special girl, your beacon of light through the darkness. Her darker counterpart, Tex, was always at her side. He was always at her side, brooding like a shadow but he had the most gentle brown eyes despite his rugged demeanor. Tex was a jet black mustang, and unbeknownst to you, he was Joel’s horse.

You stopped outside of Tess’s stall first and your mare already had her neck outstretched over the stall door to greet you. She nickered softly as you gently wrapped your arms around her fury neck in a tender hug. “Good morning my special girl.” Your tone was so soft-spoken, sweet like the sugar cubes that laid in your coat pocket. Sometimes you felt a bitter-sweet melancholy thinking about how much time you had spent with this mare and the trials and tribulations you went through together. Maybe one day when your mind and heart were calm, you’d be able to go outside beyond Jackson’s towering walls on her back once more.

You wiped your brewing tears along the sleeve of your hoodie as you fed Tess a few sugar cubes. Your fingers gently twirled the soft tendrils of her forelock between your fingers as your forehead came to gently rest upon her own.

You were torn from your present mourning thoughts by the sound of Tex’s hoof pawing at the ground. His ears were attentively flicked forward in your direction.

“Do you want some sugar cubes too?” You softly asked the jet-black mustang as he pawed at the ground once more.

Your forehead slowly dropped from Tess’s as you reached into your pocket once more and pulled out a helping of sugarcubes. Despite Tex’s brooding nature, he was incredibly gentle as he ate the sweets from your tender palm. His velvety soft muzzle and wispy whiskers tickled your skin. His eyes held so much warmth, so much kindness, and you swore this horse was staring into your very soul.

Joel had awoken shortly after you had departed for the stables. He vaguely remembered the handwritten note nestled in the worn fibers of his flannel pocket. He slowly swung his legs over the side of the couch with a heavy grunt. His hand reached for the mug of coffee that he downed in one gulp as the muscles in his back strained tightly. He let out a grumbled sigh as he carefully folded the quilted you had laid upon him. He grabbed both the empty mug and plate and brought them back into the kitchen. He’d be damned if he wasn’t a respectful house guest. He couldn’t help but feel that warm tingle in his heart creeping through the morning chill as he stepped outside. How sweet you were to leave him a treat and a note.

He headed off in the direction of the stables and the sight he saw warmed his heart even further as he observed Tex gently nibbling on the lapels of your coat as you were braiding individual sections of his charcoal black mane. Joel and his horse counterpart were very similar in the sense that they had a protective brooding nature. Hardened exterior yet soft in the middle. Weathered and mysterious, yet docile and gentle.

“Y’know darlin, if y’keep feedin’ me’n Tex sweets like this, you’re gonna fatten us up.” Joel softly chuckled as he stepped further into the barn. He hoped that he had not frightened you, or ruined the moment you were sharing with his horse entirely.

You could feel the heat rise to your cheeks as Joel leaned up against the side of Tex’s stall with one of his broad arms leaning against the side of the wooden stall door. His expression was playful in nature as your eyes finally met his softened gaze.

“Tex is yours I presume?”

“Mhm. He’s got an apparent sweet tooth jus’ like me as well. Think he’s taken a particular likin’ to ya Beanie.” He murmured silkily.

“I have to admit..you do look alike. Tess has taken a liking to him as well.” You responded with a smile tugging along your lips as you finished braiding the last section of his once unruly mane.

“How so? You’ve got me intrigued now darlin.’” He paused momentarily as his eyes flitted over at your mare. “Tess is yours? I had..no idea.”

“Your eyes. They’re the same as his..that same deep shade of brown..like cinnamon. Tess is mine, yes. I found her after the outbreak day, after the government bombed the major cities. She was wandering through my abandoned neighborhood and were just drawn to each other.”

Tex and Tess.

Joel could feel a newfound sense of emotions wash over him as he cleared his throat against the sleeve of his coat. “Well, she’s..a real sweetheart. I can see why Tex likes spendin’ time with her. What about my eyes now? They’re like cinnamon? Wish I could see the world from your eyes darlin,’ cause to me? My eyes are just brown. Like the dirt. Ain’t nothin’ special to ‘em.” He rolled his shoulders into a half shrug.

“She is a sweetheart. She’s my special girl. Joel, brown eyes are beautiful. Have you ever seen them in the sunlight? They melt into golden rays, like sticky warm caramel. There’s nothing boring about brown eyes. They’re extraordinary.” You murmured as your eyes casted downwards to where Tex was still gently nuzzling his face into the warmth of your coat.

Unbeknownst to either you or Joel, Dina and Ellie were up in the hay rafters laying on their stomachs as they eavesdropped.

“Why don’t you ever talk about my eyes like that El?” Dina softly teased as she lightly poked Ellie’s shoulder.

“Because I'm not a poet, Dee.” Ellie whispered back with a smile tugging on her lips.

“Well, Beanie sure is. I don’t think I've ever seen Joel blush like that before. He’s as red as a tomato.” Dina whispered as her and Ellie quietly peeked over the rafters to get a better look.

“That’s cus’ Joel likes her. Isn’t it obvious? He’s always spendin’ time with her. I can’t blame him honestly because she's like really really pretty.” Ellie murmured as she rubbed her hands together to keep them warm. “Not as pretty as you of course.” She quickly added feeling heat rise to her cheeks. Dina and Ellie were just friends but lately there was something else there that was beginning to simmer between them. The last time Ellie felt for someone in a romantic sense was Riley..and now? Well, only time would tell what laid ahead for the two teenagers.

Joel was unable to find the words that he could respond with to your generous compliment. His brain felt like it was re-wiring as if the circuit had been cut through. He didn’t want to leave you hanging like a stray leaf on a dead branch that was holding on for dear life as a ferocious wind tried to tear it from the stem. He blinked, cleared his throat as his thumb swiped across the tip of his aquiline nose. “So, I take it that you like my eyes then?” He mused with a slight arch of his brow as both of his broad arms came to cross against his chest.

“Yeah, I suppose you could frame it that way.” You responded a bit sheepishly as you peered up at him through soft lashes.

“Well, that was a mighty fine compliment t’give me. I never thought of brown eyes in that mindset. Maybe I outta start tryin’ to see the world through your eyes, huh? Anyway, I didn’t get much’of a chance to give Tex a proper groomin’ after patrol..you wanna help me out?”

“If you’re looking to live life with your head up in the clouds like me, then I recommend you adapt to my mindset. See the small beauties that what’s left of the world has to offer. Like the changing of seasons for example. Winter is so cold, so dark, yet it is beautiful. The way that the snow hugs the branches on the trees and the jaw dropping sunsets that paint the sky.” You trailed off before responding to his question, “Sure, I'd love to help you out.”

Joel was in awe to say the least. For someone who had been through so many unspeakable horrors, you truly did see life in all of its beauty. He could listen to you shamelessly for hours if you’d let him. He pushed himself off of the side of Tex’s stall as he maneuvered around you to bend down and pick up the grooming box. “I never really was all that a fan of winter. Holds a lot of bad memories f’me. I do see what you mean about the beauty in it. I love fall the most. When the colors in the sky begin to change and the leaves transform into all of these brilliant shades of orange, yellows, and reds. It was always Sarah's favorite time of the year as well. She’d drag my ass to the nearest pumpkin patch as soon as the first leaves began to fall.”

“I’m sorry that winter holds bad memories for you..but i’m a firm believer that everything heals with time. I think out of all the seasons fall is probably my favorite as well. Was Sarah a big fan of Halloween? She seems like the kinda kid that would go crazy over getting to dress up.” You wanted to nurture this conversation that Joel was openly having with you. You could only imagine the emotional toll it brought upon him when talking about Sarah.

“Oh, she absolutely loved Halloween. She’d have her costume pretty much planned out months in advance. We watched all of the movies together as well. Beetlejuice was her favorite. What can I say? My kid has some damn good taste.” He chuckled softly as he quietly unlatched Tex’s stall. “I’d take her trick-or-treating and then when we’d get home I'd help her sort through all of her candy and make her pay the ‘dad tax.’” His eyes crinkled in the corners when his mind encapsulated an image of a ten year old Sarah in her Lydia Deetz costume. “Daaad. You can’t eat all of my candy! You have to save some for me!” “Yeah, yeah dontcha worry, kiddo. I ain’t gonna eat it all, but you gotta pay the dad tax, baby girl. That’s the rules.”

Joel had just slipped Tex’s halter over his ears when he felt your hand gently grasp his bicep through the material of his warm jacket. He had zoned out after recalling the memory and you were just trying to bring him back down to earth. “Joel?..” You attentively asked as he looked over his shoulder at you. “Sorry darlin.’ Didn’t mean to zone out like that. Jus’ y’know get a little emotional thinkin’ about her is’all.” He murmured.

“Hey, it's okay. Sounds like you have a lot of wonderful memories of her, Joel. I have to ask..what the hell is the ‘dad tax?’”

Joel felt a warm chuckle creep up his throat as he latched the metal clip around Tex’s halter. “Oh, the dad tax? S’jus’ a silly thing I came up with after she made me carry all of her candy bags for hours. Felt like it was only fair if I got a few pieces of her loot.” He responded with a casual shrug as he let Tex out of his stall so it would be easier to brush him down.

“Oh, I agree. That sounds perfectly fair. Man, I'd absolutely kill to have a Reese's peanut butter cup or a kit-kat. Did you end up being persuaded to dress up with her as well?” You picked up the curry comb from the grooming box before gently rubbing soothing circles into Tex’s furry coat to lift up any dirt or debris.

“Fuck.” He nearly groaned. “Reese’s were my favorite. I used to stick a few of them in the freezer and eat them after they got nice and chilled. It was like my guilty pleasure midnight snack. Oh, yeah I dressed up with her alright. Used to go all out with my costume as well. Whatever was gonna make her happy, y’know?”

“Oh my gosh, I used to do the same thing too! I’d stick an entire roll of them in the freezer. That was really the only way to eat them.” You softly giggled as Tex let out an appreciative grunt when you had found an itchy spot near his withers. “Was there a favorite character that you dressed up as?”

Joel pondered for a moment as he flipped through the memories in his mind of all the Halloween costumes he had dressed up in with Sarah. “Damn, that’s a good question darlin.’ There was one year we dressed up as Iron Man and the Hulk. Sarah insisted on being the Hulk of course. We did Sherlock Holmes and Watson for one year as well.”

“Wow, I would have definitely given y’all all of my candy if you trick-or-treated on my block. All the neighborhood kids had some lame costumes I swear. The best one I ever saw was a trio of girls dressed up as the Sanderson Sisters. I nearly gave them my whole goddamn bowl of candy.”

“Woah. The Sanderson Sisters? Those chicks are wicked.” He chuckled warmly. “Although, Binx was my favorite character out of the entire movie.”

“Oh, I loved Binx too. Dani was my personal favorite. She was such a cool kid.” You peeked over the top of Tex’s withers as you finished currying the dirt from his coat. You felt the heat rise to the highest point of your cheeks when you found that Joel was already looking at you. He looked away quickly of course and cleared his throat.

A comfortable silence washed over the two of you as you got into a groove with brushing down Tex.

Joel broke the silence a few minutes later after he had finished picking out clumps of dirt and rocks from Tex’s hooves. “So, now that the weather is changin’ and Spring is gonna be here soon..I won’t be on patrol during the late night shift. So uh–we can..spend some more time together if you’d like? M’sorry that I've been absent for a while. Maria told me that you were wonderin’ about me.”

You paused your present actions with a soft sigh as you dropped the brush into the grooming box with a soft thud. “Sometimes I struggle with having a rational thought. I–assumed that maybe you were blowing me off or something. Or that maybe you didn’t want to be my friend. It was so fucking silly for me to think that way, but my brain is a warzone a lot of time. It plays tricks on me..Maria told me that she assigned you, Tommy, and a few other men on the late night patrol because..you found something disturbing in the woods?..”

Joel could feel his jaw clench inwards as his fist tightened around the brush that he was holding. Images of those charred women sprung into his mind as he shook his head tightly. “Darlin,’ i’m sorry that it seemed like I was blowin’ you off. I would never do that to ya. I don’t think it is silly for you to think that way. My brain does shit like that too. S’okay that you were feelin’ that way. I jus’ genuinely felt bad, but it was out of my control y’know?” His head drooped slightly as he let out a slightly agitated sigh. It wasn’t directed at you, it was just his present frustrations. He and Tommy had lost track of the raiders and where they were headed. He felt like he had failed you, and the town.

“Joel, Maria wouldn’t tell me what you and Tommy found in the woods that night. Can you please tell me? I know it was out of your control, and when Maria told me the reason why I genuinely felt terrible. I can only imagine how exhausting these past couple of months have been for you.”

The energy seemed to take a drastic dip as Joel met your gaze once more. His jaw unclenched from the tight position it was currently held in. He wanted to tell you what he saw. He really did, but he promised both Tommy and Maria that he would not disclose the details to you. His lips parted as a sigh slipped past. He looked defeated as his shoulders slumped inwards. “Beanie, I'm sorry but I can’t tell you what we found.” He uttered softly.

“Joel, why can’t you tell me? I know I shouldn’t pry, but Maria told me that it was concerning and that–”

He cut you off with a gruff response as he raked his fingers through his salt and pepper dusted hair. “Beanie, I can’t tell you. Please don’t ask me again.” He nearly pleaded as his eyes bore deeply into yours.

“Okay.” You meekly responded. “I–won’t ask again. I’m sorry.” You sounded just as defeated as he did.

Fuck.

This is where Joel struggled the most in conversations. When every fiber in his being could sense the mood shifting and churning, he didn’t know how to bring it back to a calm place. This was usually the moment where he would snap and say the wrong thing. He could feel the word vomit pulsating on his tongue like bile. He didn’t want to keep secrets from you. Not when your friendship was just starting to bud like new sprouts through the permeating frost.

“I’m sorry too. I don’t want to keep secrets from ya darlin.’ I jus’ hope you can understand.”

Please. Please understand.

“Joel, it’s okay. I understand, and I'm not going to hold this against you or anything I promise.” You responded reassuringly.

He let out a visible sigh of relief as he dropped his hand from tugging at the roots of his hair to his side. “Okay, good.” He softly rasped.

After you finished brushing down Tex, Joel led him back into his stall before latching the door shut. “I take it you never found Ellie or Dina? Maybe they’re at breakfast already.” He set Tex’s halter back on the hook alongside his stall before he shoved his hands deep within the pockets of his worn out faded jeans.

“I didn’t see them when I came in. Maybe they are at breakfast like you said? Regardless, I appreciate you suggesting last night that I go and spend some time with the horses.”

“Of course darlin.’ I jus’ know what it’s like to struggle n’feel like you ain’t have no one there to support ya. Horses are good listeners. Better listeners than I am.”

“I disagree. You are a good listener, Joel. You didn’t make me or my feelings feel small or insignificant last night. You’re a good friend.” You meant every word as a small smile tugged on the corner of his lips.

“Well, thank you. Guess I can do somethin’ right huh?” He chuckled softly.

“Hey, don’t sell yourself short, okay?”

“I won’t darlin.’” He seems the least bit convincing as his eyes are averting from making contact with you. You’d accept his response, for now.

After leaving the stables, Joel accompanied you to your shop. He could have gone home, but after not seeing you for quite some time, he felt like he could sacrifice his sleep a little longer. So while you were whipping up two lattes, he was rearranging your back storage area so that there was no chance that a sack of sugar would potentially fall on your unsuspecting head.

“Hey, Beanie?” His voice sounded slightly strained from the heavy lifting he was doing.

“Yeah, Joel? Everything alright back there?”

“Peachy.” He grunted softly as he set the sack of sugar down. “Got a question for ya.”

“Shoot.”

“Your horse, Tess. Did ya name her yourself or did she have that name previously.” He was curious. It was evident in his tone as he wiped a bit of sweat that had beaded upon his brow.

“I named her myself. Why do you ask?”

“Jus’ wonderin.’ I uh–had a partner named Tess. Tommy and I met her after outbreak day. The three of us became a ruthless team. Anyway, we were together for as long as I can remember. We relied on each other heavily. ‘Specially after Tommy up n’left me for the fireflies. She was my partner n’crime. The brains of our operation and I probably wouldn’t have survived very long if it wasn’t for her. Your horse..just reminded me of her s’all.” He missed Tess. He missed her more than he liked to admit and even though time had passed since her death, he still wished that she lived. He imagined that she would have found ultimate peace in Jackson. She deserved that and more than what Joel thought he could offer her.

His voice was less strained and sounded closer in proximity as you turned and faced him with a mug outstretched towards him. “Did..she die?” You softly asked.

He somberly nodded as he gently grasped the mug in his hand. The steam slowly rose from the top and kissed his skin as he leaned back against the counter. “She went out a goddamn hero though. Saved me and Ellie from a hoard of infected. Sacrificed herself so that we would live. She was g’nna die anyway. Got bit. Still feel like sometimes I failed her. Coulda done more to keep her safe. She deserved fuckin’ better.” He bitterly sighed with a shake of his head.

“Hey, I'm sure Tess wouldn’t want you to be feeling like this Joel. She doesn’t think that you failed her. She doesn’t think that at all. She’d want you to forgive yourself Joel.” You reached over and gently touched his bicep as he choked back a strained laugh.

“Yeah? Maybe. Jus’ never was able to give her what she truly wanted.”

“What couldn’t you give her, Joel?” You softly prompted him.

“My heart.” He uttered just above a whisper as his gaze slowly fell upon your face. You could see the glassy look in his irises as his lower lip ever-so slightly wobbled under the soft glow of the fairy lights dangling above.

You could feel your heart straining against the figurative strings in your chest cavity as you looked upon his sunken features. “Joel, it’s not too late to tell her how you feel.” You murmured.

“What?” He looked puzzled as his brows furrowed. He let out a soft sniffle as he dragged the tip of his thumb across his nose. “How can I do that?”

“Write to her. Write her a letter straight from your heart Joel.”

“How’s that supposed t’work? She ain’t ever gonna see it.”

“You just have to believe that she will see it. If you write down how you feel, and all the things that you wish that you could have told her, you’ll be letting that part of yourself go. That part where you feel like you’re to blame for her death. Pen and paper. Write it all down.” You softly encouraged him.

“Will you read it..after I write it?” His tone was timid, unlike his natural gruff nature as he picked at the skin around his cuticles out of a nervous habit.

“If you’d like me to read it then I will.”

“Pinky promise?” He softly requested.

You were already offering him your pinky as he slowly wrapped his thicker weathered finger around your own and gently squeezed.

“Pinky promise, Joel.”

Spring was in full bloom now as the earth turned green and sprouted new flowers and life in every corner. Joel was only having to patrol in the early mornings with Tommy. The sun was warm on his skin as he was hunched over in the tall grasses with a leather notebook and pen resting in his lap. Both Tex and Timber were peacefully grazing a short distance away as Tommy was cleaning his rifle. He glanced over at his brother with a curious expression on his face as he watched him scribble something on one of the blank pages.

“Whatcha writin’ in there big brother?” He asked with piqued interest.

“A letter.” Joel murmured.

“To who?”

Joel let out a sigh as he closed the notebook on the pen before looking over at his younger brother.

“Tess.”

Tommy had an unreadable expression on his face as he tightly nodded. For a moment Joel thought his brother had nothing else to say until a hand reached out and gently squeezed his shoulder.

“Say hi to her for me. Will ya? Miss the hell outta her.” Tommy mumbled softly.

“Me too. I miss her a lot. I just hope she’s with her husband and son. Hope they’re all together.” Joel responded mournfully as he opened the notebook once more.

Tommy felt a tear slowly roll down his cheek before he quickly wiped it away.

Godspeed Tess.

Joel found himself getting lost in his present thoughts and emotions as he poured his heart out onto the parchment. His words bled like the ink from his pen that was clutched tight in his fist. His knuckles transformed to a stark white shade.

Hey, Tess. It’s Joel. I’ve never fuckin’ written a letter in my goddamn life, so I apologize if this is absolute horse shit. I’ll salvage what I can. It’s the least I can do for you Tess. Anyway, lately i’ve found myself doin’ a lot of reflectin.’ Can ya believe that? Me? Joel hardass Miller expressing his emotions? Ellie and I made it to the fireflies. I’m sure by now you know what happened so i’ll spare the details. Do you remember when you told me to save who I could save? Well, I did. I saved her. I’d do it all over again if I had to. Man, I used to think of that kid as cargo. Now, I think of her as if she was my own daughter. They were gonna kill her, and I couldn’t let that happen so I did what I had to do. Ain’t proud of it, but she’s alive and that's all that matters to me even though she hates me. I couldn’t live without her. The truth is, I wish you were here. You’d love Jackson. This community has it all figured out. We coulda lived a life at peace together, you and me. You deserved the world, and I'm sorry I could never give that to you. You never asked anythin’ of me. Never begged me to feel for you back, but fuck, I loved you. I loved you Tess. I think you knew. It was unspoken between us, but it was there. I should have told you when I had the chance. Well, I'm tellin’ ya now. I know one day I'll get to thank you for savin’ Ellie and I. You went out a fuckin’ hero. You’re the reason why I'm alive. I know I need to forgive myself for your death. I know I can’t go on livin’ and blamin’ myself. It’s hard. It’s so fuckin’ hard, but i’m going to try. I hope that you are at peace. Y’know I ain’t believe in there bein’ a Heaven, but I hope that’s where you’re at. I hope your husband and son are there with you. I hope you get to hug them tight. Sarah too. Bill and Frank. I hope you’re all together now. If you see my baby girl, can you please tell her that daddy loves her? Keep her safe. Hold her close f’me.

I’ll see ya again one day. Till then, I'll do better. I promise.

- Your Texas

Joel let a few tear drops drip along the paper before he wiped them away. He felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders as he was releasing the burden that weighed him down. It lifted from his being, floating like a cloud in the sky as it dissipated to dust. Tess never blamed him for her death. She never held it against him. She only wished that she had more time with him in this cruel unforgiving world.

When Joel returned from patrol in the late afternoon, he found himself in your shop. The door was propped open with a heavy ceramic pot as a warm spring breeze drifted past his covered shoulder blades. Your shop was peacefully quiet sans the record player crackling to the tune of Queen. The song playing was ‘You’re My Best Friend’

How sweetly fitting.

He could hear your soft humming through his good ear as he walked around the counter. “Beanie? Y’back here darlin?’” His voice traveled like the breeze as you looked up from the mug you were currently painting. Normally you’d paint in your shed at home, but today you decided to kill some time and paint at the shop.

“I’m back here Joel.” You softly responded as your paint brush delicately dragged across the ceramic.

The first thing you noticed was Joel’s bare arms in your peripheral and the way his hair had one stray curl that dangled over his forehead in a soft swoop. His cinnamon brown eyes landed in a soft gaze across your face as he leaned his arm up against the wall. You liked to call this stance the ‘Joel lean.’ Although, this information was kept private.

“What’re you paintin’ today?” He asked intriguingly.

“Vines and tiny little flowers.” You held the mug up in his direction so he could observe what you had completed so far.

“Beautiful.” He rasped. “Listen, you got any plans this evenin?’” He was fidgeting with his fingers now as he awaited your response.

You gently set the mug down on the little drying table before wiping your hands on your paint stained apron. “I was going to head home in an hour or so to make dinner and then settle in with a good book probably. Why do you ask?”

“Come with me to the Tipsy Bison.” He blurted out suddenly, catching you off guard.

“I’ve never been.” You murmured sheepishly.

“S’okay. You ain’t even have to drink. Jus’ would love to share your company. There’s music n’dancin.’ There’s no pressure or nothin’ but it would be fun.”

Was..Joel Miller asking you out on a date right now? An unofficial-official date?

Am I askin’ her out on a date right now?

Yes, you are.

No. I ain’t.

You are.

“Won’t I stick out like a sore thumb if I'm not drinking?” Truthfully you were looking for a way out of this. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to go spend time with Joel. You were just intimidated by the thought of having to socialize with other community members of Jackson. You could already feel your anxious thoughts creep up and stain your mind with self-doubt.

“Darlin.’ everyone there is g’nna be too drunk to care. If anyone has somethin’ to say, they can say it to me. Again, no pressure. I don’t wanna stress ya out or anythin.’”

Be still, my foolish heart.

You chewed down on the inside of your cheek, gnawing on the soft flesh as you could taste copper beading along your tongue. How bad could it really be? Besides, Joel wouldn’t let anyone fuck with you. Maybe he would even share a dance with you?

Be still, my foolish heart.

“Okay.” You finally responded. “I’ll come with you, on one condition.”

“Name your price darlin.’” He was holding back his grin that was threatening to spread across his lips.

“You have to dance with me at least once.” You requested.

“Deal.” He didn’t even falter on his response as he outstretched his hand towards you to grasp. “We’ll dance the night away.” He shot you a subtle wink.

His hand was warm in your grasp as he gently eased you up from the chair you were sitting in. You could feel the rough ridges from years of scarring, but despite this, his hands were beautiful. The ridges reminded you of mountain peaks that would nearly touch the clouds. His scars were littered about like constellations in the night sky. Some were deeper than others and you could only imagine how many times the skin on his knuckles had been split open. How many times they bled, how many times he’d hiss under his breath as the healing scabs would flake off.

How would he react if he saw your own scars? Would he shy away or would he trace them delicately? Kiss the pain away with gentle words. Promise you that no harm would come upon you again. Would he hold you close? Murmur into your hair an oath kept against his heart. Would he protect you? Kill for you?

Of course he would.

You just hadn’t a clue what this night would bring.

One thing was for certain, you were eager to find out.

Banners made by the lovely @saradika 🤎

Tex, Tess, and Timber:

[self-indulgent-paw-patrol]

hey lary!! since you run so many askblogs for paw patrol, what are your opinons of humanized AU’s of the pups? in your opinion, are they cool or too out of character for you?

and if you do think they’re cool, do you have any headcanons on what the pups would look like?

Hooooo man ahsuahshahsha okay let me see

PERSONALLY I am not a big fan of this kind of AU, but that's probably because I prefer animals to people (I'm not a people hater). Besides I always liked more the way how animals can be so expressive, use a lot of body language and you don't need to guess if they're in a good mood or if they'll try to bite or kick you - they make it evident. I'm absolutely AWFUL to understand human body language or social cues, it got me in so much deep trouble several times I literally avoid staying around a bunch of my relatives because of that - and that's because I love them, imagine how it would go if I disliked or hated them???

Also I tend to gravitate towards animals the most because they're sincere and won't lie to you on how they feel. And about cartoons/movies/etc, animals usually represent fantasy, a fantastic different world, another point of view I live for and love to explore. They're an escape for my mind to take a break from our chaotic real world and just... Go back to our roots, y'know? All those jokes like "When I was a child my only worries were my school grades, what we would have for dessert and to finish homework in time for watching my favorite cartoons on TV, I was happy and I didn't know it", like now I have too many "adult worries" such as monthly bills expiring, being unemployed, spending hours at the supermarket doing maths to buy the most I can with little money... Being a freelancer artist is hard as hell, I can barely make a living for my parents and little brother and my pets (I've gone hungry to bed several times before bc I spent my last savings on cat food instead of dinner for myself, also my cat and dog share the cat food bc dog food is more expensive and thank God they eat the cheapest kibble just fine). Right now it's been three weeks I'm staying at my friend Pablo's home to recover from a crisis of malnutrition. I am literally here to be properly fed and regain weight and strength. I think I can go back home next week.

So, sometimes I just... Don't want to worry. And then I go for animals. Their only worries are when I'll feed them, if we can play together now or in five minutes, and if I'll sleep next to them in the living room that night or not (they can't sleep in the bedroom XD). Their life is so much more simple and I like that kind of simplicity.

Also I draw animals better than humans too LOL (even if my mom will disagree with me on that, she says my humans are just as good nowadays)

With all that being said, I also find humanized AUs interesting in their own way when they're well written. Sometimes it's hard to adapt things, a lot of stuff that works with animals won't work with humans just as well or will be viewed as weird. I like to come up with furry AUs sometimes, they're sort of humanized, but still retaining their animal traits. But when people do their research, pour their love and soul in it, work on the little things to make it all click together, a nice carefully written human AU will appeal to me almost as much as the original source any day.

As for appearance headcanons? Oh well XD I'm not sure I can answer that so quickly - I like to take my time and do a lot of research, try sketching stuff to see if it works well or not... I'll owe you the answer for now, alright? I'll show up someday with another post listing my headcanons for a human AU on the pups.

After I do the same for a furry AU, as a warm up XD

[blocksruinedme]

Jimmy's not a furry - but Martyn?

Watching how Jimmy is engaging with the "I am not a furry" thing in stream chat... I think we might be in for this for awhile. For some reason I have never understood, he denied being a furry weirdly often. Never sure how it came up.

But the way he looks into the camera and zooms in and says "I am not a toy" or "I am not Ken" and then he's out there designing merch for himself based on it or rebranding his channel?

I'm not complaining, just trying to prepare myself and others.

....oh no paw patrol no that one I don't want. oh no.

[denimbex1986]

'Barbie and Oppenheimer are more than just an internet meme that exploded into such virality that even the British PM (read: Tory scum) took part—it’s a triumphant return for cinema in a post-pandemic world obsessed with inflated budgets and diminishing returns. It came off the back of the live-action Little Mermaid remake, the lukewarm Indiana Jones legacy sequel, another in a long line of awful Fast and Furious movies, a pseudo-Michael Bay Transformers, and insulting multiversal escapade The Flash, which resurrected the dead with CGI. Cinema has never felt so downtrodden and hopeless, but Barbenheimer brought a semblance of optimism back… until CEOs everywhere immediately stomped it out.

Barbie is a perfect standalone movie, with a feminist story expertly weaving its way through the garish shades of pink in what is otherwise a two-hour-long advert for dolls. It sees stereotypical Barbie grow beyond the purpose of her creation to embrace her own agency, stepping into the real world to conquer the challenges of unchecked patriarchy. It’s a poignant narrative, despite the clear limitations of being a company-mandated franchise starter, but that’s ultimately what it is. Director Greta Gerwig might not be interested in sequels, but Mattel is. Going beyond that, it wants a cinematic universe for all its toys, greenlighting a Polly Pocket film, a “grounded and gritty” Hot Wheels movie, and a Spike Jonze-inspired Barney helmed by Daniel Kaluuya. The MCU and superheroes as a whole might seem to be on their way out, but we’re just swapping a sandbox of action figures for literal toys. I’m not sure which is worse.

Many declared Barbenheimer as the ‘return of cinema’ after months of expensive box office bombs. But a movie based around a ‘50s toy making $380 million in only five days was never going to send the message to CEOs that original ideas told by talented directors are what people want. Their eyes lit up with IP and dollar signs instead, the prospect of digging through their box of intellectual property to whip out the next gem overwhelming them. This is the Iron Man of the 2020s, kickstarting the next generation of cinema, and while we enjoyed the MCU in its heyday, look at where we are now. Superheroes dominate screenings, drowning out original ideas, and routinely suck the joy out of filmmaking with an abundance of green screens, needless CGI, and an overwhelming number of releases.

Oppenheimer is another piece of this puzzle. On its own, it’s an ambitious biopic about the horrors of American ingenuity in World War 2. I can’t see CEOs foaming at the mouth regarding franchise potential here, but out of spite toward Christopher Nolan, Warner Bros. placed Barbie’s release on the same day, inadvertently creating cinema history. Now, Oppenheimer joins Barbie’s legacy as a trendsetter in all the worst ways. We’re already seeing the impact of this, as Saw X has moved its release date to coincide with Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie, aiming to recreate the word-of-mouth marketing that saw Barbie and Oppenheimer thrive in a Summer where nothing else was. But again, this misses the point. It’s more akin to watching a meme get dragged out back on the Ellen show to be beaten with three baseball bats like a long-dead horse.

CEOs and companies are seeing Barbenheimer’s resounding social media-driven success and hoping to replicate it by launching their films on the same day as tonally opposite competitors. Saw X and Paw Patrol couldn’t be more different, aside from the likelihood of them both being awful. And that’s the stickler. Barbenheimer was so much more than ‘Haha look at two very different movies!’ It was two completely different films from award-winning, beloved directors with brilliant casts and something important to say. It wasn’t just bright pink vs black and white.

People would have been excited for Barbie and Oppenheimer independent of each other—sticking them together on the same date wasn’t what ignited the match. Yet that’s what the big corps are taking from the entire situation, so expect to see far more SawPatrols in the coming years, desperately trying to convince people to watch a double bill of two awful films. Sounds really appealing, eh?

Barbenheimer was a fun break from the bleak landscape of modern cinema, but it will go down as another blow to movies as a whole. Already Paramount has sworn off all non-IP properties for animation, only committing to churning out tried and tested formulas it considers safe films, while Mattel is busy scrambling to catch up with the MCU overnight. Only it’s doing so with a dollhouse full of tat. The coming years won’t see a renaissance of cinema thanks to Barbenheimer, it will see the next step in devolving franchise slop, the endgame being burnout on an unprecedented scale.'

[marshallpupfan]

Chase...

That shepherd frustrates me at times. Well, not really. I'm just saying that as a joke, because truth be told, he's one of my top five favorite pups in the franchise. Actually, did you know he's the one who originally drew me in when I first started watching PAW Patrol? It's true! Marshall didn't become my #1 favorite until later on.

So, why do I say Chase sometimes frustrates me? Let me explain...

In my spare time, I like to make transparent PNGs of Marshall. Sometimes for fun, but other times so I can use them for various projects, such as videos, episode updates, among other things. Of course, I can only really make a transparent PNG when Marshall's whole body is showing. Quite often, when I find an image I like, his hind legs and paws are sometimes blocked by another character, or other parts might get covered by a logo or something. On occasion, I can piece together two images or try to replicate what I think it would look like (easier said than done), but of course, it always works best when his whole body is showing.

So you can imagine how frustrating it can be sometimes...

when a certain German Shepherd...

is almost always...

right...

in front...

...of him. Funnily enough, I encounter this quite a lot. Being the main character gets you up front and center in most pictures and advertisements... who would've thought? lol

Then again, I do get lucky every now and then and find images that actually have Marshall up front instead of Chase. I guess it also pays to be one of the fan favorites, too! :)

Of course, when it comes to making transparent PNGs of some of the other pups....... well....... good luck with that. Let's just say, some of them have it way, waaaaay worse. 😅

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to continue looking for a full body image of Marshall in this really cool pose. So far, this is about the best I can find... which isn't helped by Rubble now getting in on the act! lol

[caedun]

A scroll was waiting for them at the Valdrakken inn, marked with a stylized flaming eye in green. "A non-cooperative Mo'arg didn't see the wisdom in an arrangement, burning the scroll will let you see the metaphysical thread of cursed blood I drew before it managed to evade me, hiding among the cisterns of Thaldraszus with time altered Legion backup. Deposit of five thousand gold is waiting for you in town's bank per our agreement under moniker 'Mr Hammer'. Happy Hunting."

Dutifully he followed the thread, ashes left in the fireplace of the Roasted Ram. He questioned the origin of the spell, but not the result; he was used to hunting in alien lands, but the severe magical presence of all five dragonflights and their kin left Valdrakken a loud and messy blur, making the pinpointing of demons a significant challenge. He had often considered that clever demons--and indeed, those from "Azerwrath" as it had been coined--would hide within the city's depths to avoid the presence and gaze of his brothers and sisters, and now he had proof.

He wrenched the iron cistern grate out of the stonework with a few practiced pulls, setting it gingerly to the side to be replaced later following a letter of apology to the city's managing body. Saevusia peered into the tunnel between the gap in his abdomen and arm, her face scrunching at the dark depths.

"I'm not accompanying you further, hunter. This space is too small as it is, and I will not be found pawing about in the city's backup water supply."

His gaze trailed the thread as she complained, his lips pursing as his jaw shift in thought. He turned to look down at his visaged companion.

"I did not ask you to attend me in this matter."

The black dragon's expression became fiery, as it oft did, and her green eyes widened. Caedun turned back to look into the cramped tunnel ahead of him.

"GOOD! Because I'm LEAVING!"

"Farewell. I will reconvene with you afterwards in the city; our patrol of Amirdrassil will begin after supper, as usual."

Saevusia's only further response was a snort of annoyance, and he heard and felt her transform back into her true shape and take wing into the Isle's blue skies. He let out a small exhale and briefly closed his eyes before setting off into the long wrought stone tunnel that led to the cistern waterways.

--

Zz'og twisted the final bolt into place and the perimeter detector hummed to life, the small dome atop it rotating lazily. He clicked the tips of his mechanical clamps together in satisfaction and tromped back towards the circular stone platform that he and his followers had made into a makeshift camp, the only area in the cistern they had found that wasn't ankle--or knee, depending--deep in water. He grumbled angrily as he sloshed through the liquid, suppressing the ever-present desire to turn it all into acidic felbat blood, a task so simple and effective he carried the components for the corrupt chemistry with him at all times.

Alas, Zz'og knew he would need to be calculating. He had accumulated a small force of Azerwrathian followers, but to be rash would draw the attention of the dragons too early, and then it would be all for naught. Already the Nethermancer had nearly been his end, and he knew there would not be another parlay with the warlock. Still, he would need to act soon.

The demons from the alternate timeline were far more feral and bloodthirsty than his own kin, their long-ago victory having sapped subtlety and stealth from their tactical repertoire. The aranasi could mostly follow orders, but Zz'og knew if they lingered too long, he would lose control of the sayaadi, eredruin, and others. If they could collect just one more cadre of demons from the time rifts, he would have a force substantial enough to leave this cursed place and abscond to the Blasted Lands.

"The southern tunnels are secured," Zz'og rumbled, setting his tools atop the dais, "what news from the rifts?"

"They have yet to reconnect to our timeline, but I have confirmation that there is a group of eager 'explorers' on the other side who are interested in your plans, headed by an Inquisitor and Observer," one of the aranasi replied.

"Good. We will hold here for now, but be ready to collapse camp and exit to the north on my command. Once we meet up with this secondary force, we will be leaving this island," Zz'og grunted, organizing his tools and adjusting the settings on several detectors and weapons.

"Be ready, be ready, be ready," came an annoyed chanting from behind him. Zz'og's face twisted into a fury which he smothered before turning to face Erwrath, a particularly bold and violent incubus had consistently been undermining him.

"You tell us to be ready, but nothing ever happens, Zz'og. You waste the potential of all these demons, cowering in this cistern like an IMP! We should be turning this water to fire, sacking this city and feasting on dragon flesh!"

Erwrath stomped closer to Zz'og as he spoke and some of the other demons watched them, mutters of agreement snaking around the edge of the dais. Zz'og grit his teeth, the clamps of his mechanical arm tightening and rotating.

"You are too used to the taste of victory, Erwrath. If you think yourself so mighty I invite you to go to Valdrakken's city square alone, and see just how much you feast before you are thoughtlessly turned into ash by the Azerothians. These are not the pathetic mortals you rule over in your world; they are worthy foes."

With that, Zz'og turned back to his devices. Erwrath's face turned red and his arms tensed, both fists tightening into weapons, lips curling back to reveal a mouthful of fangs.

Before their interaction could come to a head, something odd happened. A cloud billowed out of the southern corridor and began to fill the room rapidly, drawing confused sounds from the gathered demons. They rose to their feet and peered around, the muttering beginning to rise to a clamour as the hot fog rose above the water then to their ankles with little warning.

Steam?

Zz'og began to bark out an order when he was interrupted by the wailing of the southern sensor, confirming his concern: whoever was responsible for this steam cloud had detected the freshly-erected checkpoint and was obfuscating their approach.

"We have mere moments, you wretches!" the Mo'arg cried out, grabbing a massive slab of pig iron that roughly resembled a wrench, "Prepare for combat, stay close, and shut your mouths!"

The steam continued to billow into the cistern's central holding, hiding more and more of the room and darkening it considerably, lights only faintly visible in the thick cloud that now hovered about them. Zz'og grimaced and lowered into a combat stance, running through the permutations. The chatter of his cohort fell to whispers, and the sound of dripping and rippling water overtook them.

It had to be a wizard of some sort, either arcane or elemental; manipulating water like this was their kind of trick. With any luck one of their anti-magic demons would sniff the perpetrator out and end them quickly, even with the shroud in the way.

"Volz! Prepare the felhounds, we have some kind of magic-user and I want them--"

Zz'og's words caught in his throat as a sensation washed over him, one he had felt before and dreaded feeling in this small, enclosed space. An overwhelming pressure, the threat of eyes watching him that saw into him and through him, that perceived his three hearts accelerating in fear and his four lungs hitching on a breath.

"What the hell is that?!" came Erwrath's voice from behind him, the sayaadi moving alongside Zz'og with eyes wide and fangs bared, hands trembling.

"Illidari," Zz'og grunted, calming himself. He had, at least, familiarity enough with a demon hunter's presence and could shake off the prey fear they exuded, but one glance to the incubus let him know that the Azerwrathians did not have similar experience. If he panicked, they all would.

"We're leaving!" the Mo'arg roared, turning to face what he could see of his troops, "This location is compromised, gather what supplies you can and move for the northern exit!"

"COWARD!" Erwrath yelled in reply, pointing into the depths of the steam, "You would let some mortal creature disrespect you with this malignant aura, and then turn tail?! I'll not allow my pride to be tarnished by your weakess, Zz'og! Follow me if you wish for glory, Legion!"

Erwrath charged off into the steam cloud and several demons followed him, growling and roaring lustily as Zz'og spit curses at them, quickly collecting several of his whirring and screeching machines into a satchel.

The cheers and growls abruptly fell silent and then just as abruptly turned into screams and shrieks, the cloud of steam suddenly filled with flashes of hot fel energy that crackled and snaked through the billowing fog, the sounds of heavy impacts and wet crunches reverberating off the stone walls and travelling through the tunnels. For an eternity of seconds silence claimed the cistern again, punctuated by Erwrath's head, half-caved, bursting from the steam and landing with a muted slap on the dais.

Panic shot through the demon forces despite Zz'og's orders, and as they scattered into the ill fog the chorus of screams, violence and fel energy resumed its baleful song all around the Mo'arg. Zz'og spun about on his heels, trying to track the Illidari who seemed to attack from every direction, gripping his weapon tightly and trying to suppress the panic welling in his gut as his compatriots vanished into the cloud one by one.

Again, silence filled the cistern, interrupted only by the dripping of water and--Zz'og assumed--blood. The mo'arg twitched as a sound behind him got his attention and he spun about, slamming his wrench against the dais in the same motion with enough force to split the stone. He grunted in confusion when he realized all that was below his mighty blow was the splattered remains of an imp that had been hiding behind him, and set to lifting his weapon once more.

Before he could even strain to hoist the wrench up his planning was interrupted by two loud, successive POPS from behind that nearly deafened him and sent him stumbling forward, his body suddenly wracked by a reeling sensation. He looked down at his chest and saw two large, round holes blown out, and puked up a litre of dark blood on the dais as he collapsed to his knee with heaving breaths. In front of him lay two of his hearts, still beating and twitching on the stone, each covered in small mechanical devices designed to improve blood flow and oxygenation.

Zz'og grimaced as he heard the demon hunter walk around to his front and stared up at the towering night elf. The mo'arg glowered at the Illidari, his teeth stained with his own dark blood, his breaths haggard and long. The hunter looked down at him, his face obscured by darkness but his wicked, burning eyes threateningly present, as if taking stock or memorizing some aspect of Zz'og.

Zz'og's heaving breaths turned into a guttural roar and he lunged forward at the night elf. In the same moment he felt the Illidari's fist pass through his open mouth and out the back of his head--then he felt nothing at all.

--

Two days after his scroll was sent, Nixalegos would be recipient of a reply in the mail, penned in an abrasive but orderly fashion and lacking any kind of seal or literary formality.

"NETHERMANCER--

MISSION COMPLETE. TARGETS DISPOSED OF, NO ESCAPEES. SEEMED TO HAVE PLANS TO DRAW MORE DEMONS FROM AZERWRATH, WILL KEEP AN EYE ON TIME RIFTS AS PART OF MY USUAL DUTIES. ASSUME YOU WILL KEEP MORE THAN ONE EYE AS WELL. CAUSED REGRETTABLE DAMAGE TO CISTERN STRUCTURE/WATER STORES/PURITY DURING TARGET PACIFICATION. THUSLY PAYMENT RENDERED WAS GIVEN TO THE CITY TO HANDLE REPAIRS AND PURIFICATION WORK AS APOLOGY. WILL KEEP YOU ABREAST OF ANY FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS. BE WELL.

--CAEDUN"

tags: @nixalegos for mention/prompt

[bluescluesposting]

Speaking of all the "what happened to Steve" rumors, I was reminded of another Blue's Clues rumor that I remember hearing a lot around the late 2000s and early 2010s.

It wasn't spread as often as the Steve rumors, but I remember hearing all the time that they retooled the show into Blue's Room because "Joe wanted to leave". Yeah, Joe never actually officially "left" Blue's Clues (after all, he did make appearances on Blue's Room when it got a show!); Nickelodeon decided to not renew the show after the sixth season due to ratings declining (and merchandise sales going down most likely) and that they felt they had enough episodes for reruns.

And I really don't think the ratings declined because of Joe, no matter what some people think- Blue's Clues had been on for eight years by the time "Bluestock" aired, Dora the Explorer was turning into Nick Jr.'s biggest show, and simply put, Blue's Clues just wasn't as hugely popular as it was in 1999. Still popular, still well-loved, but it wasn't the "number-one" show on Nick Jr., either. Even if Steve never left, the show was probably still gonna end around that time anyway. Not really helping was that Blue's Clues was actually pretty expensive to make.

Actually while Dora and now PAW Patrol have surpassed Blue's original run, the fact that Blue managed to get six seasons across eight years and over 100 episodes was a big deal for a Nick Jr. show at the time. A lot of the shows before it, like Eureeka's Castle or Gullah Gullah Island, were usually given a three to four season (or three to five year) run (with Allegra's Window ending mid-season three due to Disney buying the show's production studio, and Little Bear having a 65 episode order), the main reasoning being that after they end their run, the target audience would be outgrowing the show and they'd have enough for reruns (Gullah Gullah Island had an aborted fifth season- two episodes were made and aired as specials in 2000, but that was it. The fact that the kid cast were outgrowing their roles was more than likely a factor). And Blue's Clues actually reaching 100 episodes was a HUGE deal in 2002- they ran the special during primetime and everything!

And Blue never really went away....not only were reruns on the main network and Noggin/Nick Jr. for a long time, but the original show continued to get releases on Nick Jr. compilation DVDs until around 2017 (from 2019-on, it was BC&Y! only). And then the reboot!

[the-monkey-ruler]

Is there an article that says the name of the Taoist skills and their respective characteristics of the monkey king? His Magic powers?

This isn’t a full list of them if that is what you mean? I know that JTTWR has a list in the works and an article explaining a lot of skills but there isn't really a full list. and while I have tried to catalog all his names powers I haven’t gotten around to organizing it.

This is NOT a list of his 72 transformations, but just a list of what he has used his power within the book.

Changed into a small sparrow perched on a tree

Changing himself into a cormorant

Changed into a small fish

Changed at once into a water snake

Changed again into a spotted bustard

Turned self into a pine tree

Rode a 'fierce wind' for monkeys

A mighty wind, hurtling pebbles, and rocks, a wind arose and separated the king from his subjects

Magic of body division

Plucked a handful of hairs, chewed them to pieces in his mouth, and spat and changed into thousands of little monkeys, who snatched and grabbed weapons

Magic of displacement, calling up a great wind, which carried all the little monkeys back to their home  

Magic of water restriction leaped into the waves, which parted for him, and he followed the waterway 7

Magic of cosmic imitation, grew to be ten thousand feet tall, with a head like the Tai Mountain and a chest like a rugged peak, eyes like lightning a mouth like a blood bowl, and teeth like swords and halberds.

Transformed himself into a creature with three heads and six arms

Magic of immobilization, transfixed

Magic of body concealment, invisible

Changed into the form of the Great Immortal of Naked Feet

Plucking a few hairs, he threw them into his mouth and chewed them to pieces before spitting them out and sleep-inducing insects

Exerted his magical power and changed himself into a figure having the features and height of Erlang

Changed into the form of Holy Father Erlang

Hair changed into a writing brush with extra thick hair soaked in heavy ink

Magic power of foreknowledge, divination

Hair changed into a sharp, curved knife

Magic of overturning seas and rivers, he transformed the clear, limpid water of the Eagle Grief Stream into the muddy currents of the Yellow River during high tide

A strong wind arose and whipped the fire into a mighty blaze

Changed at once into an exact semblance of that old monk 72 magic to 'seize the wind' allowed the head of the wind to move past but he caught hold of its tail and sniffed at it

Changed at once into a spotted-leg mosquito

Magic of body protection, he stretched his waist and at once grew more than six feet, attaining the height of ten feet altogether

Magic of the body beyond the body, creates more selves, the body changes into ten of me, and the ten can also change into one hundred. In fact, the transformation can grow to millions and billions

Water-repelling spell breathe underwater

Change into a water creature like a fish, shrimp, crab, or turtle

Change hair changed at once into a specious Pilgrim

Change hairs into the elder, another changed into a figure like himself, and the two other trees changed into Sha Monk and Eight Rules

Magic of revivification  

Magic of the spirit leaving the body  

Pat a mouthful of water to break illusions

Spell that brought him the God of Day Patrol, the God of Night Patrol, and the Guardians of Five Quarters, to whom he gave the following instruction

Changed into Hill-Pawing Tiger, while he himself changed into Sea-Lolling Dragon.

Magic of thinning the body  

Straightening up his torso, he grew about three and a half feet instantly

Magic of shortening the ground and moving the mountain

He changed at once into a cloth wrapper adorned with gold

Making the fire-repellent sign he hurled himself into the fire to search for the fiend

Water-division magic, he opened up a pathway for himself through the waves

changed himself into the form of one of those old Daoists

Magic of head cutting, his head came off with a swishing sound and grew a new one.

At once his belly closed up completely

At once he changed into a boy with the exact appearance of that child Guanbao.

Blew a mouthful of magic breath onto Eight Rules, whose body at once took on the form of the little girl.

Magic of invisibility  

Wind-arresting magic  

Magic of seizure

Magic of traction, taking hold of the two fiends and mounting the to head for the southeast

Changed at once into a herd of ferocious striped tigers, prowling and growling, which had the main road completely blocked

Grew to thousands of feet tall, body diminished in size until he became as small as a mustard seed.

Magic of Body-Vanishment, body to shrink and immediately became free of the ropes.

Changed into a tiny fly,

Changed with one shake of his body into an old, hungry hawk

Changed with one shake of his body into a pangolin

He shook his body and changed at once into a neat young priest,

Change with one shake of his body into the appearance of that Little Wind Cutter whom he first met on the road

He changed into a tiny mole cricket

With one shake of his body into a little bee

Change into the form of the Tang Monk

He changed with one shake of his body into a moth

Changed back into an ant

Magic of Passage, He shrank his body and climbed out of the ropes

At once he changed into a little firefly,

Mouthful of immortal breath toward the ground on the southwest. Immediately a gust of dark wind blinded the people's eyes, and only then could the pilgrims proceed.

Spell of release, bandits gradually regained consciousness

That is at least MOST of the times that Wukong has used magic and that is undoubtedly more than what he can do considering that 'changing' your form is just one thing.

Again this is NOT his list of 72 transformations, just a list of what he has used in the book.

[adhoption]

The whole complaint about there being too many comic book movies is weird when you think of it as a medium rather than a genre - it's like complaining about there being too many novel adaptations, or films based on a true story.

Actually, come to think of it, it does feel like we've had enough films based on video games or musical biopics recently, but that just means that comic book adaptations are hardly the problem. It's all unoriginal, just chasing trends and following certain formulae, all latching onto recognisably IP and milking it until it curdles.

Relative to an industry dominated by films based on toys and household objects and spun off of TV series, even cannibalising other films into unwanted remakes and reboots and sequels and prequels, somebody adapting an actual story, with new characters, that has not been previously adapted to film, is like a breath of fresh air.

Within that medium, there can still be great diversity of genre. It used to be that we could distinguish between film noir and heist capers, between space operas and spy thrillers, but now if they were originally comic books it's all the same. It feels like lumping The Shawshank Redemption and IT together as 'Stephen King movies', or Twilight and The Godfather as 'novel movies'.

Yes, there are a lot of Marvel stories being produced all at once, but that's because they have half a century of content to catch up with, with thousands of comic editions to sift through and adapt. It's no different to what they'd do with anything else, and if anything I think they're being more discerning than the way they drag out some of their other source material.

You think they wouldn't have made 30 Harry Potter films if there were enough books? They added some extra ones as it was, and now they want to do a TV series. They turned a couple of Jurassic Park books into six films and counting. The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings became twenty hours and a TV series. If the Marvel canon offers a whole untapped universe of hundreds of characters to explore, what do you expect them to do?

'There are too many Marvel movies', sure, but there are too many everything movies. Every single smidgeon of IP will get exploited until all of the flavour runs out. This year alone we have John Wick 4, Rocky 9, Scream 6, Fast and the Furious 10, Evil Dead 5, Magic Mike 3, Transformers 7, Indiana Jones 5, Insidious 5, Mission Impossible 7, The Equaliser 3, The Expendables 4, The Exorcist 6, Saw 10, Trolls 3, Hunger Games 5, and Ghostbusters 5.

At the same time, we have films based on Super Mario Bros. and D&D and Gran Turismo and Five Nights at Freddy's and Teen Wolf and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Paw Patrol, biopics about George Foreman and the origins of Tetris and Air Jordans, remakes of Children of the Corn and The Colour Purple and White Men Can't Jump and Haunted Mansion, live action adaptations of The Little Mermaid and Peter Pan and a Willy Wonka prequel for some reason.

I feel exhausted just reading through that list. How many of those films were actually needed, or even wanted? How many are an obvious cash grab from a studio bereft of any original ideas, a forced extension of a franchise which should have been left to rest where it was? I don't understand all of the criticism focusing on the fact that there are three MCU films, when surely they are no more tired than any of the alternatives?

If you ignore the cross-over events, and look at Guardians of the Galaxy 3 or Ant-Man 3 as the conclusion of a self-contained trilogy, resolving various character arcs and introducing an engaging villain which an established history and background in the source material and an actual plotline planned out and executed, I don't know how you can say they aren't stories at least as worth telling as the umpteenth phoned-in sequel being drawn out of every popular film, with no plan other than to try to copy what was good in the original, to increasingly diminishing returns.

Next year we're going to get Planet of the Apes 4 (itself a reboot of a reboot), Godzilla/Kong 5 (itself the latest in a long line of reboots) Mad Max 5, Kung-Fu Panda 4, Transformers 8, Mission Impossible 8, Despicable Me/Minions 6, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, a musical biopic of Bob Marley, a live action remake of Snow White, another Garfield film, a prequel to the Lion King remake, and sequels to Dirty Dancing, Gladiator, and Beetlejuice.

I'm not looking forward to Thunderbolts, Captain America 4 or the Blade remake, but I don't think they're less original than almost any other film being released, and I don't understand why people are acting like Marvel are doing something particularly boring or cynical when they are still largely adapting original material and still have untapped stories to tell, which is more than can be said for most of these zombie franchises staggering on long after they should have ended.

[first-impressions-gaming]

GAMING RECAP (JUNE 10-14)

Dead Cells Animated Series Premieres Next Year

Dead Cells joins the growing list of video games getting animated series adaptations with a show based on the popular action roguelike slated to arrive next year.

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XDefiant Open Beta Launches June, Full Game Later This Summer

After a series of closed beta periods, XDefiant is ready for public testing. Announced during today's Ubisoft Forward, the series-spanning mashup shooter will enter into a brief open beta period later this month, from June 21-23. The event will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

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Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector Announced

Today's PC Gaming Show presented an exciting update, and much sooner than expected: Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is currently in development.

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Dead Island 2 roadmap details two story expansions

The first expansion, Haus, will arrive in the fourth quarter of 2023, with the second, SOLA Festival, following in the second quarter of 2024.

Both expansions are included in the game’s $29.99 / £24.99 Expansion Pass.

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Overwatch 2's first story missions are coming August 10th, along with a new PvP mode and Support hero

Blizzard may have abandoned their plans for a fully-fledged Overwatch 2 PvE mode, but they do still want to tell us some stories. They've just announced Overwatch 2: Invasion, a big update that'll include three story missions, a new PVP game mode, a new Support hero and a handful of hero-specific training missions. It'll land on August 10th.

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Microsoft Reveals 1TB SSD Xbox Series S

For those in the market for an Xbox Series S with more storage, Microsoft has unveiled a 1-terabyte SSD model of the console that launches on September 1. This carbon black version of the slimmer Xbox boasts roughly double the storage of its original white counterpart. That also means it’s more expensive, retailing for a hundred bucks more at $349.

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Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora’s release date has been confirmed

Revealed during Ubisoft Forward, the game based on the James Cameron Avatar franchise will release on December 7.

A trailer shown off during Ubisoft Forward showed a Na’Vi using rifles and other human weaponry. It also gave a brief glimpse at the open world of Pandora. The game will see the player fighting against another invading human threat.

13 Game Pass Titles Announced At Xbox Extended Showcase 2023

The Bookwalker: Thief Of Tales (June 22, 2023)

Techtonica (July 18, 2023)

The Wandering Village (July 20, 2023)

Sea Of Stars (August 29, 2023)

The Lamplighters League (October 3, 2023)

Mineko's Night Market (October 26, 2023)

Galacticare (Late 2023)

Another Crab's Treasure (Early 2024)

Harold Halibut (Early 2024)

Lightyear Frontier (Early 2024)

Go Mecha Ball (2024)

Little Kitty Big City (2024)

Neon White (TBD)

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PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium June lineup

As June rolls along, both tiers will gain access to the following titles:

Inscryption

Far Cry 6

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Rogue Legacy 2

Soulstice

Tacoma

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Killing Floor 2

Lonely Mountains: Downhill

Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York

Hundred Days: Winemaking Simulator

A Hat in Time

Carto

Forager

Dodgeball Academia

The Wild at Heart

Redout 2

Thief

MX vs ATV Legends

PAW Patrol Mighty Pups: Save Adventure Bay!

My Friend Peppa Pig

DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace

The Talos Principle: Deluxe Edition

Elex 2

While Premium tier subscribers also get the below:

Killzone: Liberation (PSP)

Worms (PS1)

Herc’s Adventures (PS1)

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Embracer announces "comprehensive restructuring program" to close studios, cut jobs

Embracer has announced a "comprehensive restructuring program" which will result in studio closures, project cancellations and job losses.

The Swedish umbrella company has grown enormously through acquisitions over the past five years, and now owns a swathe of studios such as Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics, Borderlands maker Gearbox, rights to franchises such as The Lord of the Rings, and an array of other publishers such as Plaion, Saber and THQ Nordic.

But while amassing its empire, Embracer is yet to see a big return. Last year's big bet, its Saints Row reboot, was a critical and commercial failure. More recently, the company suffered a body blow when a major unannounced $2bn deal fell through, prompting its shares to plummet by an eye-watering 40 percent.

Today's reckoning seeks to make Embracer a "leaner, stronger and a more focused, self-sufficient company", the company's boss Lars Wingefors wrote in an open letter published this morning.

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[ao3feed-danganronpa]

The Ultimate Crossover

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/x8kzmCi

by Insanehappymealgiver

A story about the rancid school Hope’s Peak Academy, where a bunch of shenanigans ensue.........,....

 (If it helps, Michael Jackson 2 is Muzan from Demon Slayer and Michael Jackson 1 is the actual Micheal Jackson, and anyone who was mentioned from real life, sorry. Translations for the Spanish parts will be on the end notes :9)

Words: 1356, Chapters: 3/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Multi-Fandom, The Crossover - Fandom, Teletubbies (TV), 鬼滅��刃 | Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Anime), Steven Universe (Cartoon), Dangan Ronpa Series

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi

Characters: Tinky-Winky (Teletubbies), Dipsy (Teletubbies), Micheal Jackson, Kibutsuji Muzan, Rubble (PAW Patrol), Simon Laurent, Hazel (Infinity Train), Barack Obama, Garnet (Steven Universe), Johnny Cage, Michael Jackson, Steve (Minecraft), Usami | Monomi, Monokuma (Dangan Ronpa), Original Characters, Quid (Original character), Big boob mogus (original character), Duolingo (Anthropomorphic), Bakugou Katsuki, Kel (OMORI), Discount Dream, Purple Guy (Five Nights at Freddy's), Elizabeth Harris | CupcakKe, Osana Najimi (Yandere Simulator), Other characters unmentioned because i'm at my tag limit

Relationships: Tinky Winky/Everyone, Garnet/Everyone, Tinky Winky/Kibutsuji Muzan

Additional Tags: Intentionally Bad Spelling & Grammar, Out of Character, so ooc it’s basically ocs wearing the characters’ skin, Crossover, Crack Crossover, Multiple Authors, everyone is dummy thick, Satire, Crack, Enough crack to drop Elvis, Original Character(s), Polyamory, Sex Toys, Smut, Threesome, Eightsome, sixty-ninesome, Masturbation, Start praying because this sure ain’t holy, Self-Insert, MEN??!!!😱, Violence, Abuse, Made by silly little goofsters, tee-hee :9, Bad Spanish, My dad went to get the milk because of this, first fic, Other Fandoms Not Mentioned in Tags, other fandom references, Tinky winky is a homophobic homosexual (Teletubbies), Dezzy goes by she/her pronouns here (Bo on the go), Racism, Murder, Some Plot, Plot sidetracks, Minor Character Death, Major Character Injury, Canonical Character Death, There was a beta reader but they got sent to the void - Freeform

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/x8kzmCi

[self-indulgent-paw-patrol]

You say that in Brazilian dub Zuma and Marshal were referred as females. I'm recently joined this fandom and trying to catch up with new seasons. And only now I noticed that in the dub that of my native language Zuma's been referred as female for 5 seasons straight! (If not more bc I'm only on the end of season 5) How did people managed to screw this up so bad?/notneg

ALFHJDEALFHSJDKFLAHSDJKFHLASJKFA HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII- FIVE WHOLE SEASONS--

I HAVE NO IDEA XDDDD You got what my friend wanted the most, female Zuma is real LMAO

My guess is that it's PROBABLY due to the original voices in English being very... Uh. High pitched. Personally I haven't watched the first seasons in English yet, only a couple random episodes, the "Ready, Race, Rescue" special and both movies.

All I know for sure is: The original cast was/is of literal children, with toddler-like voices. And they keep changing the cast apparently because the kids grow up (oh, really?) and their voices become "too deep" for their characters. I constantly joke with my friends that the American/Canadian teen or adult voice actors need a lesson or two from Brazilian voice actors to know how to make children voices for children characters XD With such high pitched voices, the people working with the translation might have seen them as females without batting an eye at other sources before sending the translated scripts for the dubbing studio. BUT FIVE SEASONS STRAIGHT AND PROBABLY MORE OMG I'M DYING THIS IS AMAZING-- SO MANY YEARS PASSED, haven't they checked internet about the show NOT EVEN ONCE if not the original sources they're getting the episodes from in the first place?? This is hilarious (not in a bad way, I'm just legit laughing imagining this)

Zuma probably fell TOO HARD in this category of having such a voice that he can pass as a female with literally no difficulty at all. His round face and the fact he's usually a very calm and chill pup probably doesn't help it either, y'know, "males are agitated and playful and energetic and loud", while "females are quiet and calm and polite" and all that. Including the fact that there's not really body look stereotypes that would be too strong to tell male apart from female. Everest is literally a very bulky pup. The twins Ella and Tuck look nearly the same. Skye's and Sweetie's small shapes/sizes are due to their breeds, not for being females. I could go on XD The only thing telling female and male apart are small eyelashes, they're not even that big!

Brazilian Paramount+ still has ONE single episode with our old dub, it's the episode where they see the Merpups for the first time. I was thrown for a loop when I watched that lol I need to admit it, Marshall and Zuma had nice girl voices in our old dub. They could've been females and nothing would change in the show at all, as Paw Patrol doesn't usually lean on gender roles stereotypes, except that would make the Marshall+Everest ship become a lesbian ship and the Rocky+Zuma ship become a straight ship XD

Biggest proof is that you got Zuma as female SO FAR and nothing changed substantially in the show lore, right? To the point you didn't even notice at all! This is SO WILD. Not many shows can say they could pull that off!!

[neuroticphysiologist]

Gotta say, Harold Humdinger deserved that.

[denimbex1986]

'If Hollywood sees something making money, you better believe that the film industry will try and make that lightning strike again. Such is the case with Barbenheimer, the phenomenon where Barbie and Oppenheimer opened on the same day and both received a massive box office boost in the process. These titles generated a lot of pre-release buzz over how remarkably different they were from one another, with all that discussion gradually turning into a pop culture phenomenon. Tons of distinctive outfits and elaborate double-feature plans ensued, in the process cementing the weekend of Barbenheimer as something that will undoubtedly go down in cinematic history.

The only problem now, though, is that Hollywood is going to want to see this success repeated. The circumstances behind the Barbenheimer phenomenon were very specific and played on two very different filmmakers who’d cultivated immediately identifiable reputations over multiple decades (not to mention that everyone knows who either Barbie or Oppenheimer are). It’s not going to be easy to replicate that, especially with Hollywood’s modern aversion to counter-programming. However, over the next few months, there will be multiple instances where the film industry is going to try its best to capture that Barbenheimer lightning in a bottle.

Can Saw Patrol Dethrone Barbenheimer?

The next immediate potential Barbenheimer drops over the second weekend of September. That’s when Warner Bros. will once again take a cue from its monster 2017 hit It and debut a horror movie in the post-Labor Day corridor. That scary feature will be The Nun II, which will open against My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. This pair of motion pictures certainly fit the bill of being polar opposites, however pairing them up doesn’t feel like it’ll generate anywhere near the interest of Barbenheimer. A pair of sequels to long-running franchises just don't bring the must-see originality of “Nolan doing Oppenheimer” and “Barbie is in live-action for the first time.”

At the end of the month, another pair of movies will also try their best to be the next Barbenheimer: Saw X and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie. These dueling movies have already garnered an affectionate nickname from the internet (or at least overly eager studio marketers), Saw Patrol. However, this pair of opposing movies already garnering a nickname that’s been co-opted by official Saw and Paw Patrol social media accounts appears to immediately discount this double feature becoming the next Barbenheimer. You can’t just generate this kind of pop culture phenomenon in a boardroom meeting. All those memes pairing up Barbie singing in a car with the shell-shocked face of Cillian Murphy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer were so beloved because they came from genuinely eager moviegoers. That’s an entirely different world compared to the Paw Patrol Twitter account communicating with the Saw Twitter account.

It won't be until November when another potential Barbenheimer will drop in the form of the Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes opening up against Trolls Band Together. This one has the potential to be extra strange since it could become a "triple feature" kind of deal as the hard-R holiday slasher film Thanksgiving also drops on that same day, November 17. However, the idea of a Trolls movie opening the same day as a PG-13 tentpole doesn't have the same novelty as Barbenheimer, since the first Trolls opened on the same day as the inaugural Doctor Strange movie. Plus, there isn't as much drastic difference in the target demos of Songbirds and Trolls. They’re both big sequels aiming largely to get women into movie theaters. To pull off a Barbenheimer, you need a pair of movies as drastically different in tone as the bands Kero Kero Bonito and Five Finger Death Punch.

December 2023 has a handful of instances of drastically different movies opening on the same day, but that’s not at all unusual for the last month of the year (remember Sisters opening the same day as Star Wars: The Force Awakens?) The slate of 2024 films is so nebulous right now that it feels peculiar to comment on any potential Barbenheimer showdowns in this year. However, it is worth noting that the closest potential Barbenheimer is launching the first weekend of March 2024. That's when the next original Pixar movie, Elio, debuts competing against The Fall Guy, a new action movie starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. The last two movies those actors anchored? Barbie and Oppenheimer, respectively. It's also easy to imagine The Fall Guy, which will be R-rated, will be drastically different in tone than a family-friendly sci-fi Pixar feature. A pair of non-sequels (The Fall Guy is based on a 1980s TV show), one of which is headlined by the stars of the films that comprised the titles in the Barbenheimer phenomenon, could be the next big instance of lucrative counter-programming.

Do Not Try and Mimic Barbenheimer, That Way Lies Madness

While a potential Elio/The Fall Guy showdown could inspire some unorthodox double features and memes (the trailer for The Fall Guy will certainly immediately get remixed to Gosling’s version of “Push”), it’s still unlikely to be as momentous of a pop culture event as Barbenheimer. This was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, buoyed by a pair of movies covering historical figures and toys that everyone is familiar with. Even a Gosling/Blunt union rooted in a 1980s TV show can’t hope to recreate that magic, let alone whatever the heck “Saw Patrol” is.

The inherent problem with trying to recreate Barbenheimer is that this task is built on cynicism and attempting to create easily controllable lucrative variables when the Barbie and Oppenheimer showdown was so wildly unpredictable. You’re not going to get those kinds of drastically bigger-than-expected box office numbers when you’re relying on the umpteenth Paw Patrol and Trolls movies. Plus, studio executives and marketers trying to mimic phenomena and moviegoer passion that originates organically never work out. In the 1960s, Hollywood was unable to make its various James Bond pastiches click. In the early 2010s, there was a flood of Twilight knock-offs that are now gathering dust somewhere. Inevitably, we’ll soon have a bunch of examples of would-be Barbenheimer’s that will go nowhere.

That’s such a shame because the success of Oppenheimer and Barbie should be instructing Hollywood that audiences will turn out for exciting and bold creative visions. These projects should be inspiring studios to look for other exciting artists who have distinctive ideas for how large-scale cinema can operate, while remembering how important it is to make movies that satisfy female moviegoers. If the greatest takeaway these companies have from the artistic achievements of Barbie and Oppenheimer is just to place Saw X and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie on the same date, well, it wouldn’t be surprising, but it would be incredibly disappointing.'

[leafs-lover]

Part Thirty Four

Series Masterlist

A/N: And to think, my original outline had this as the end...

Warnings: Mentions of a sick kid and swearing, I think that's it...

Word Count: 5500

“Mommy,” Taylour sniffles when Tia stands up to prepare a tea. Tucked with a blanket to his chin and Geoffery tight to his chest, he hasn’t moved for almost an hour. His head leans against Tia’s thigh, he has dozed on and off all morning, had a few coughing fits, and basically spent every second with Tia, barely letting her leave for five seconds. She carried him around letting him rest on her shoulder while making coffee, and actually screamed when she went to the bathroom.

“I’ll be right back Tay,” Tia sweeps the curls from his forehead and lets the back of her hand fall against his clammy skin for another temperature check. Cooler than before, but still warm.

“Nooo,” his cries get louder, and he props himself up on his elbow to further fight her on it.

“Come here,” Auston offers. Lifting the blanket he sets the cup on the coffee table, and with the clattering of glass on wood she knows he didn’t use a coaster but doesn’t have the will to care.

“Nooo, mommy!” his eyes are completely glossed over with tears hovering on the surface. She can hear the mucus in his lungs as he takes a shaky breath, a heavy couch coursing through his tiny body.

“Alright,” she sighs, rubbing her hands down her face, trying to keep it all in. At this point her morning has been filled with tears, whining and whimpers, and she doesn’t want to provide a reason for more. Adjusting back into the couch, she shoots Auston a sympathetic smile. All he wants to help, and has tried to comfort Taylour multiple times, but when he all he wants is Tia.

He was thirsty, but Mommy had to get him juice. He wanted a popsicle, Mommy had to get it. He wants cuddles, they have to come from Mommy. He was cold and Mommy had to take him to get a sweater. Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, it’s all he’s heard all day. He understands that most kids prefer their mom when sick, and for two years Tia was the only parent around when he was sick, but it would be nice if Auston could look at him without it ending in tears.

After another couple episodes of the endless Paw Patrol marathon that has become their day, Auston glances at his watch. Letting his knees crack when he stands, he collects the half popsicle that Taylour let melt on top of Auston’s bagel and throws them both out. Opening the fridge, he pours some juice into a cup and finds the tiny bottle of medicine and brings it over to the couch.

“Hey Tay,” he sweeps the curls off his forehead and notes the redness in his eyes. “Time for your medicine.”

“No Daddy,” he quietly objects, rubbing his cheek against Tia’s thigh.

“Yes Taylour,” Auston sighs.

“It’s not time, I still have this many,” he holds up three fingers, bringing a gentle smirk to Auston’s lips.

“No,” Auston shakes his head. “You have this many,” he turns his hand into a 0 and holds it up for him to see.

“No,” Taylour rolls onto his back to look at Tia. “No medicine Mommy,” he pleads.

“Sorry Taylour,” her thumb soothes over his cheek, “you have to take your medicine.”

The confirmation coming from Tia, coupled with his exhaustion from being sick, leads to a trembling lower lip. With a few sniffles, tears begin to ripple down his cheeks “I don’t want it,” his sobs start to get heavier.

Pulling him up into her warm embrace, Taylour instantly curls in, letting his tears spill onto her shirt. “Medicine will make you better,” she tries to explain, shifting to let Auston sit on the couch beside them.

“Come on Taylour, you had some before and you liked it,” Auston tries to offer.

“No I di’in’t,” he tangles a sticky hand into Tia’s hair and lets out a heavy, dramatic sob.

Tia is almost at her wits end. She knows he needs this, and they have to get him to take it, but she barely slept last night. The adrenaline and guilt never let her heart settle or mind to turn off. And since Taylour decided to wake up and crawl out of bed, she hasn’t had a few minutes to herself - hasn’t even showered the bar off her.

“Taylour,” she sighs, letting Auston hear the defeat in her voice.

“Does your throat hurt?” Auston wipes away the tears the sit in the corner of his dark brown eyes. “Yeah?” he continues, following the slight nod of Taylour’s head, “What about your head?” He nods again. “Ears?” Another nod. “Well, this medicine will make all of that go away.”

Taylour whimpers and swallows down the lump in his throat, shaking his head ever so slightly against Tia. “Mommy,” his voice cracks as he cranes his head to look at her.

“Daddy is right,” she softly kisses his forehead. “Take your medicine, then we can watch whatever you want and have some Jello.”

“Blue?” he meekly whispers.

“Of course,” she smiles at him. “Blue is the best.”

“Kay,” he mumbles. Turning slightly towards Auston he barely opens his mouth for the medicine, and dramatically winces when the spoon touches his tastebuds. Forcing down a swallow, he eagerly accepts the cup of juice and Auston walks to the fridge and grabs him a Jello-cup.

“What do you want to watch?” Auston peels the lid off and hands it to him.

“Incredibles,” he mumbles softly, digging a spoon into the cup.

Taylour barely made it twenty minutes, and Tia fell asleep ten minutes later. With Taylour finally asleep, it meant Auston could finally get a break from cartoons, but he just doesn’t have the mental capacity to focus on something. He flipped the movie off and turned on The Office. He answered his moms seven texts messages and the ones from his sisters; everyone concerned about Taylour.

Two episodes played in their entirety and Auston couldn’t even tell you what episodes at this point when he hears a faint knock at the door. He assumes it’s Becks coming to check on Taylour, see if they need anything, and before he can even crawl out from the million blankets Tia has buried them under the knocking is heavier and louder. Sighing, he walks over and opens the door, and is almost left too stunned to speak.

“Um hi,” the man on the other side of the door speaks first. Wearing a dark sweater with the sleeves rolled up, the hood covers his dark hair and blocks the light from hitting his face, but Auston can see the heavy bags underneath his eyes. Holding a grocery bag full of soup, Gatorade, juice and freezies in one hand, a coffee in the other, he looks equally stunned to see Auston on the other side. “Is Tia here?”

“Uh,” Auston originally thought he was at the wrong door and shakes his head in disbelief. “She’s uh…she’s sleeping.”

“Oh,” he shuffles on his feet. “I brought some stuff,” he holds out the plain white plastic bag. “Can I leave it with you?”

“Um…sure…” Auston blinks a few times. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Thomas?” Tia pokes her head around Auston, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. When she awoke in a sleepy haze to the faint chatter of voices it took her a second to recognize it wasn’t the TV she was hearing. Her feet barely touched the floor once she heard Thomas’s voice and then Auston’s. “What are you doing here?”

“I brought Taylour some medicine and soup,” Thomas explains, motioning to the bag, bringing a smile to his face.

“We have medicine and soup,” Auston mutters bitterly, just loud enough to be heard.

“Auston,” Tia warns under her breath, glaring briefly at him. Letting her face soften, she turns towards Thomas, “thank you.”

The tension in the hall is thick, and she holds her breath as silence overcomes them. The seconds that pass are like hours, and it feels as if the walls begin to close in on them. With arms crossed over his puffed-out chest, Auston looks to Thomas, who looks to Tia, who shifts her gaze between them. When Auston finally catches the silent pleading in Tia’s eyes he is the first to cave. Grumbling incoherently, he snatches the bag and with heavy footsteps pads off towards the kitchen.

With Auston gone, Tia steps out into the hall and lets the door softly close behind her. “Thanks again,” she smiles at Thomas, but can’t help but notice the way his lips twitches and the smile falls from his face. “You really didn’t have to do this,” she emphasizes the really, dragging the syllables until the air in her lungs is gone.

“He’ll be better soon?” There is genuine concern in his question.

“Yeah, just a bad case of strep,” she gently nods. “A couple days with antibiotics and you won’t even know he was sick.”

“That’s good.” He quickly changes the subject. “He spend the night here? Auston?” Tia can almost see the displeasure dripping from his tongue.

“Yeah,” Tia replies dryly, knowing where the conversation is heading. “He’s Taylour’s dad.”

“Right –“

“Taylour was in the hospital,” she interrupts him and lets her head fall. “He’s going to be here after something like that.”

“Where uh, where did he sleep?” There is a hesitation in his voice, the answer threatening to burst the air around them.

“Seriously?” Tia scoffs – swallowing the bitterness on her tongue.

“You don’t have a spare bed.”

“We didn’t fuck,” her eyes narrow and she crosses her arms over her chest. “That is what you’re asking right?”

“I –“

“Look, my kid is sick, I can’t deal with whatever this is,” she motions between the two of them. “You either trust me or you don’t.”

“I do, but it’s a little shocking when your ex opens the door,” he tries to reason.

Tia can feel the fire inside getting hotter, the flame being fueled by her frustration. The audacity of him to come here start an argument over something so trivial. Did he actually expect Auston to go home after last night, and not give a second thought to his sick child? To leave her to care for Taylour when he is the sickest he’s ever been?

The weight of the unfolding situation makes her arms fall at her sides. Releasing a heavy exhale, she attempts to hold back the anger drenching her words, “Auston is Taylour’s dad. He will be around, a lot, if you aren’t comfortable with that then maybe we shouldn’t be together.” The door slammed on his face before he had a chance to talk, and he was left stunned, just as the man on the other side of the door is.

Auston was in the kitchen, pretending to be busy putting away the items Thomas brought, but it was clear he was trying to stay busy until she returned. The door closing slightly harder than anticipated sent a jolt up his spine, and he didn’t even need to look to see the frustration radiating off her.

“Who was that?” Auston mindlessly probes when Tia walks over to the fridge for a drink.

“Just a friend from school,” not entirely a lie. They went to school at the same time and have mutual friends, they just didn’t have any classes together or meet until after he graduated. “He was at Beck’s birthday last night, saw me leave upset.” There is a brief moment of silence before she continues, “I’m going to go shower.”

Auston can tell there is something she isn’t telling him, her entire demeanor shifted, and when she walked away, he could hear her muttering under her breath. He thought she would have an excessively long shower, the kind where she’d spend more time thinking and letting water hit her in the face and roll down her body, than actually showering. But less than ten minutes later she had her hair braided behind her head, glasses on her nose and one of Auston’s oversized sweaters engulfing her frame - another sweater he didn’t know had gone missing. But this isn’t one from Zurich, it’s from his closet in Scottsdale – something she must “borrowed” during her stay in May and forgotten to return – something he likely won’t see ever again.

Auston found himself back in her bed that night, closer than the night before – so close he could smell her moisturizer, feel her hair tickling his neck. The only difference was on the other side of her was Taylour, digging an elbow into her ribcage. And it was more of the same the following night. Auston didn’t know how the littlest one had the most space in the bed, and he had the least, but he also wasn’t going to complain.

Taylour slowly began to get better. He still whined and complained when Tia would leave the room, fought them every time his medicine was brought out and at times nothing seemed to make him happy, but they tried. Auston cancelled his upcoming trip to Arizona. Tia struggled to find two hours to jump on the computer for her class, and she didn’t go to her internship.

It was the longest stretch they had spent together since they dated, and Auston hated that he knew her so well, because that meant he could tell that whatever had upset her was still bothering her. And it wasn’t that she was upset and concerned about her son being sick, it was more. It was staring at her screen when a name popped up and if it was anyone other than Becks and Max she would huff and press the lock button. It was mumbling and muttering under her breath, constantly being bothered by something she wouldn’t talk about, and he knew better than to ask.

He thought it would be awkward, spending all that time in a small apartment, sharing a bed, sharing a bathroom, sharing basically everything. And at first it was, but by the third morning when Auston woke up holding Tia, all the tension had faded, and they both actually found themselves enjoying the others company.

There was a routine, one where Auston found himself chopping vegetables or doing the prep for dinner, while Tia cooked (because after he let Taylour’s soup boil over and create a mess on her glass cooktop, she refused to let him touch a spatula). He didn’t mind. After dinner he’d start on the dishes and Tia would come over and show him how he had once again incorrectly loaded the dishwasher. Once Taylour was asleep, they’d watch something on TV, both of them sprawled in opposite directions. She laughed and teased him when he jumped in the scary parts of the movie, and he pretended not to see when she teared up three separate times in Guardians of the Galaxy – even though he knew she would before it even started.

Waking up with Auston at her side, she felt safe and secure – an overwhelming feeling that everything would be okay. There was no flirting or romantic thoughts, and for the first time in a while –maybe ever, if she is being honest – she began to believe this was something her and Auston could manage. They could be exes, and only exes that not only raise a child together but are there for the other, no matter what. It felt so natural to have him around, she almost let it slip about her road trip to the bus stop by Kylie’s house, but at the last second, she bit her tongue and decided to not emotionally unload on him.

Auston felt comfortable being there, but also confused. A week ago, he was bitter and reluctant to spend more than five minutes with her, and now it felt easy to be there, and the thought of leaving and returning to his apartment saddened him in a way he couldn’t quite understand. He didn’t have an overwhelming urge to kiss her, or to hold her close while lying in bed, yet every morning she was in his arms, and he didn’t want her to leave. Luckily, as Taylour got better, he had more energy, which meant bouts of playing, colouring, childish giggles, all things that provided a distraction from everything going on in his mind.

“I don’t want my medicine,” Taylour brings his arms over his chest and lets out a tiny cough. “I’m all better.” He coughs again.

“You’re all better?” Auston laughs and turns to Tia in the kitchen who is cleaning up from breakfast. “Your doctor said to take medicine for ten days, it’s only been three.”

“I’m better daddy! I don’t need it,” he tries to sound firm, but releases another deep phlegmy cough.

“Oh, so you’re a doctor now?” Auston grins to Tia who is just watching from the kitchen. Kneeling down in front of Taylour, Auston measures the medicine out and waits for him to take it.

“I will be when I’m big.” Taylour tries to run away but Auston wraps his free arm around him and pins him to his chest, smirking as Taylour huffs in annoyance.

“Well, when you’re big I’ll listen to you because you’ll be a doctor, but for now you have to listen to your doctor. And he says take your medicine.”

“Daddy, NO!” He stomps his foot and turns his head away, crinkling his nose in the process.

“You can have a popsicle after,” Auston offers.

“Red one?” he slowly turns to face Auston, a glimmer of hope reaching his brown eyes. Walking to the freezer Tia opens the drawer and pulls out a red popsicle, peeling it from the wrapper she holds it out for him to see. “Fine,” Taylour huffs.

Barely opening his mouth Auston brings the spoon closer and puts it between his lips, on his tongue. Waiting until Taylour closes his mouth, Auston slowly pulls it out and places a kiss to his temple, “Go get your popsicle,” his arms loosen.

Taylour didn’t need to be told twice, he ran to Tia and scooped up the popsicle and scurried off to the couch to eat while watching Paw Patrol. “You’re getting good at that,” Tia discards the wrapper in the trash and closes the dishwasher.

“What? Bribing an almost three-year-old?” The edges of his lips begin to curl upward. “Not something I thought I’d be adding to my resume.”

“Auston Matthews, first overall draft pick and top goal scorer for the Toronto Maple Leafs, number one at bribing toddlers,” Tia jokes, making him chuckle slightly. “If you weren’t here, every dose of medicine would take an hour and be full of tears, mostly mine, but tears nonetheless.”

“So, what’s the plan for today?” Auston grins. Walking into the kitchen he leans against the counter. “You have to go to Celeste’s, right?”

“She said to take –“

“He isn’t really sick anymore,” which is why Auston is planning on returning to his apartment tomorrow. “He’ll be fine for a couple hours.

“Auston –“

“You have to get these hours done before school starts in September, right?”

The downfall of spending days with your ex who used to be your best friend, they talked about basically everything. He knows all about the internship and Brenda’s attempts to make her look incompetent. He knows that she doesn’t need to get the hours done by September, she just wants to get them done lighten her workload. He also knows that she is eager to take Celeste up on her option to stock some of Tia’s pieces in the store but worries that if she doesn’t get something done that offer could expire. And he knows that she is stressed because most of those pieces are either yet to be sewn or are in pieces having been torn to shreds.

“And isn’t today super important?” he adds in.

At least this time he is right. It’s Celeste’s final walk through with the items. Every year she brings in a couple local girls and they pair the clothes with shoes, accessories, they do their hair and makeup, and take a few photographs. And Genevieve hinted that a decision could be made regarding the Montreal trip any day. But Taylour is sick.

“I don’t –“

“Tia, he is fine.” Auston interrupts her. He eyes over to Taylour who is giggling and bouncing his stuffed Marshall on the couch while imitating the actions of cartoon Marshall on the TV. “And you have a phone, if anything changes, I will call you.”

Tia thought Taylour would fight her leaving, two days ago she could barely leave for the bathroom without him crying. So, when she walked out of her room, dressed and ready to go, a part of her was shocked Taylour wasn’t even phased. She walked over and placed the back of her hand on his forehead and told him she was going to work and expected the tears and trembling lower lip. Instead, she got the response she has never received when Taylour was sick, he hugged her.

“You’re going to stay here with Daddy, while Mommy goes to work.”

“Okay mommy,” his head nestles into the crook of her neck and shoulder.

“Bye Taylour,” she squeezes him tighter than normal.

“Bye mommy,” he says in her ear, Marshall and Geoffery smushed between their bodies.

When she let Taylour go and turned around Auston was in the kitchen, shaking his head with a grin on his face. He always knew Taylour was a momma’s boy, but he didn’t realize how much she loved him being one.

Walking into Celeste’s with an ice coffee in hand she falls into her desk – she didn’t realize the sheer strength it would take to not only get ready but also leave Taylour. Maybe a part of why she was the only person who could comfort him when he was sick, was because she made him that way. Tia sat silently in that room for what was probably ten minutes. A ring of condensation sits around the plastic cup on her desk, and she hadn’t even managed to turn on her tablet on, the stack of papers waiting in her peripheral becoming more and more daunting as time passed.

“Tia,” Genevieve breathes out a smile, “you’re here. Taylour must be doing better?”

“Yeah, he is still a little sick, but certainly doing better,” her head snaps up and she swivels towards the door to look at her.

“Oh, that’s good, we missed you around here, Celeste sure did.”

Walking back out of the room, Tia barely has a second to herself before Brenda walks in - wearing a white and navy horizontally striped oversized shirt and her Chanel parachute pants. Tia hates that she is competing for a spot at in Montreal with someone who not only doesn’t understand fit, but hasn’t grasped that horizontal stripes are terrible on every body type, only making you look wider. It was taught to her week one of school, but it’s also assumed to be common knowledge by fashion majors at that point.

“Morning,” she drops her purse onto her desk, a big smile pressed to her face.

“Hi,” Tia grumbles.

“Did you get my e-mail?” She falls into her seat but doesn’t pull her eyes off her phone, typing furiously on the screen. “The one about accessories. I sent it on Monday.”

“I was off the last few days, Taylour was si-“

“Can you take a look; we need it by noon.” She keeps up the perky façade as Tia grits her teeth. Unlocking her tablet and muttering a curse word under her breath Tia skims through the seventeen messages in her inbox, to find the one. The “can you go here and pick up these five belts and then here for these seven scarves and wraps. Things that Brenda could have found a few hours to do over herself instead of leaving Tia to scramble right before the walk through.

Tia shut off her tablet and threw her bag over her shoulder. The August air was warm and sticky, temperatures reaching unprecedented highs. The streets were crowded with people going to work or the beach, wanting to cool off from the heat. The last thing Tia wanted was people and crowds, and that’s exactly where she found herself.

Sweat was pooling behind her neck, clinging to her hairline as she weaved with four oversized shopping bags and her purse. She could feel beads rolling down the valley of her breasts, could taste saltiness on her upper lip, but she was almost back to the air conditioning where a cold drink would be waiting for her. Then her phone rang.

“Can you get Celeste a coffee?”

“Yeah.”

The word barely even hit her tongue before the call disconnected. Slinging the bags up higher, Tia turns and stalks back down the stairs to the subway towards Celeste’s favourite coffee shop. The line was long, and it was nearing 11 by the time she left, then had to restart the journey onto the subway, through the crowd of people and down the bust street, while juggling a million items.

Everything almost dropped the minute she opened the door, but she managed to get down the hall, past the mannequins and racks of clothes, the mess of fabric and to her desk. She set everything down when she heard Celeste’s voice getting louder with every click of her heels.

“I just can’t believe…Tia,” Celeste trails off, smiling wide when she sees her. “Genevieve said you were in today, but when you missed the walk through, we thought something happened with Taylour.”

“I thought it was at noon,” Tia’s entire face threatens to crumble as she tries to ignore the shameless smirk from the corner of the room.

“Carlos had to push it to 10:30,” Celeste explains sympathetically.

“I was getting the accessories you needed,” when confusion crosses her face and smugness hits Brenda’s, she continues. “The scarves, wraps…” trailing off, she reaches into a bag and pulls one out to show her.

“Oh, we don’t need those anymore.”

“Brenda said –“

“Oh, we must have gotten our wires crossed,” Brenda grins, but Tia sees right through it. “Sorry.”

“How was the walk through?” Tia accepts defeat and just sighs, blinking back some tears.

“A little crazy,” she laughs lightly. “But it went well. Shame you missed it.” Giving her forearm a gentle squeeze, Celeste turns and her heels echo as she descends down the hall.

“Thanks for the coffee,” Brenda sends her a fake and devious smile. Walking over she grabs a cup from the tray and scurries after Celeste. Tia’s heart drops into her feet and her stomach does a flip. She knew Brenda felt threatened by her presence, but didn’t think she had it in her to effortlessly wrench a knife into her.

**

“Mommy!” Taylour runs over to her and wraps his arms around her neck for a big hug the second the door opens.

“Hi baby,” she welcomes the embrace while removing her shoes. Slowly walking through the apartment, she falls into the couch. “How are you doing?” she runs her hand through his hair. His cheeks are still puffy, and nose is plugged, but overall, he seems in good spirits.

“Good, I watch Nemo,” he explains, pointing to the TV.

“Can I watch with you?” Tia brings him down to cradle him against her chest.

Auston tells her about their day, that he barely fought the medicine a few hours ago. He had two popsicles and was laughing and playing for a bit, but still had a decent nap in the afternoon. Tia nodded along, listening to every word but didn’t ask any questions, nor did she say anything. She just ran her hands through Taylor’s hair, occasionally kissed his forehead and silently watched the movie.

Auston could tell something was wrong - he actually saw it the moment she walked in the door. While she tried to keep her eyes soft, there's a hint of sadness lingering just below. If he didn’t know her so well, he might not have seen the fallen hope behind the barely standing façade. Unfortunately, he still knows her better than anyone else. He can see through the bandages and crumbling armour, right at the pain she is trying so hard to hide.

“T,” Auston gently touches her arm.

“Hm,” she rolls her head along the couch cushion to look at him.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she replies hollowly, eyes fighting the tears that hover beneath the surface.

“You sure? You can talk to me.”

Taking a moment, Tia lets out a deep breath before responding with, “Just a long day.”

Right Auston thinks to himself. It’s obvious she is lying in the way her breathing stuttered before she spoke, and how the words felt grey and had no weight behind them. There is something she is hiding behind, and just needs a push.

“Come on,” he nudges her, “if you’re going to lie at least try harder.”

“No lying,” Taylour turns to Auston. “Lying is bad Daddy.”

“You’re right, lying is bad” Auston smiles to Taylour and then smirks to Tia. “Can you do me a favour?” he directs his attention back to Taylour.

“Mhm,” he nods at him with a wide smile growing on his face.

“Can you tell Mommy that lying is bad, then ask her why she is sad.”

Tia just rolls her eyes and scoffs quietly. She hates that he is using their son against them, but what she hates more is that she can’t try and hide it. Because the second Taylour turned in her arms and she looked into his chocolate brown eyes, saw those sweet dimples, and swept her hand through his curly hair, she was done for.

“Don’t be sad Mommy,” his voice is soft as he stares directly at her.

“I just had a long day at work,” Tia hollowly smiles back at him, locking her fingers behind his back.

“Ask her why,” Auston prompts, his voice a loud whisper.

“Why Mommy?”

Letting out a soft laugh, she then sighs. “Brenda made a mistake, and Mommy did three hours of work she didn’t need to,” Tia explains, hoping it’s enough to silence Auston.

“Ask if anything else happened today,” Auston whispers again.

“Anything else make you sad?” Taylour repeats in a soft voice,

Tia hates how sympathetic he is being, that even though these are Auston’s questions, there is actually genuine concern in the way he asks them.

“Mommies boss decided to take Brenda on a work trip instead of me,” Tia’s voice cracks. “And mommy really wanted to go on the trip.”

Auston’s heart snaps for her, but she knows she can’t dwell on it. Celeste explained that Brenda was an actual employee where Tia was an intern whose time was coming to an end. None of her past interns had stuck around or returned after their hours were completed, and she if she is going to spend hundreds of dollars for the fees, meals and the hotel, it made more sense for it to be an actual employee, because that would benefit her company.

It made sense, and Tia knew all that going in, but she also knew this was the first year Celeste considered bringing someone in Brenda’s place, and she really felt she deserved it. And when she was going to make an argument for her case Celeste mentioned she needed someone there she could rely on, and earlier in the day when she was trying to maintain small talk with Carlos, she also had to scramble to step into Tia’s role because she wasn’t there, and she needed her to be.

She didn’t mention her being gone with Taylour’s illness, but a part of her wondered if that factored into the decision. Regardless, once Celeste mentioned the scavenger hunt around the city Brenda had sent her on, she was left almost speechless. She smiled, a half-smile but a smile, nonetheless, said she understood (even though she didn’t) and returned to her desk. She bit her tongue when Brenda walked in twenty minutes later with a large smile pressed to her face and attempted to block her out as she hummed excitedly only a few feet away. As soon as the clock ticked to 4:30 Tia grabbed her phone and slammed it in her bag and walked out the door.

“I go on a trip wif you Mommy,” Taylour offers.

“Oh, my sweet boy,” she pulls him in for a big hug, and those tears she had spent all afternoon fighting began to slowly fall. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too Mommy,” he responds.

Something unexpected came over Auston, and he found himself wrapping his arms around Tia and Taylour. It almost didn’t feel real, as if the entire thing was an out of body experience, but when Tia settled against his chest and Taylour giggled out they were squishing him, he realized it was real. And as overwhelming as that felt having his family in his arms, it was also equally devastating because Tia was heartbroken and there was nothing he could do to fix it.

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[gingacd]

did that clangen thing that all the kids are talking about lol. I got pretty far, enough for five leaders to happen and for me to get emotionally distraught when my save got corrupted. Anyways! Let me tell you about the story of NewfloodClan, an unfortunately named settlement of cats and their antics.

Cloverstar: The original leader of NewfloodClan, she was named leader when she was an older warrior and was overall pretty good. She had a mate named Birchscar and two babies; Petalstrike and Stagear (both white cats). Sadly she passed away of old age shortly after his kits became ‘paws, leaving her inexperienced deputy, Grassleaf, in her place.

Grass-star: Perhaps the shortest lived leader, Grass-star was thrust into leadership when she wasn’t prepared and this was very evident... She would go on to die during a patrol after trying to lead a dog away from the clan.

Petalstar: THE KING OF CATS. The best leader NewfloodClan ever had frfr. Son of Cloverstar, father of 15, winner of many scars. He’s like Ramses II if he were a cat. He and his beloved wife Cherrypatch tended to their clanmates for many, many seasons and led NewfloodClan into prosperity. While Petalstar initially chose his own son, Doeacorn for his deputy, after the tom’s untimely death he would choose Clawheart, who would later be known as....

Clawstar: An agreeable fellow. He wasn’t the most interesting leader but he was alright. He was appointed later in his life so his reign wasn’t super long or exciting. He did have a funny on-off relationship with a cat named Snipstrike tho. Clawstar went through like. 3 deputies I think? One was Birdflood, a granddaughter of Petalstar who was killed by dogs, the next was Buzzardpetal, who sadly died of greencough, and the last was Skyfall.

Skystar: Unlike the other leaders, Skystar and his brother (forgot his name so now it’s Embercloud) were brought in as kits by a loner who sadly died a moon later.. The two would become skilled warriors respected by the clan, and eventually Skyfall would become the deputy and then, the leader. That being said, he was a little bit of an evil dude? Or at least let evil happen cause his mate, Rubblefang, was a massive jerk who was constantly starting rumors and being cruel to other cats ghjk.

Sadly after this I lost the entire save so they’re all gone now... However I do remember some of the most notable cats, who I may post later.