#same day crowns in Austin

[arboroaksdentalaustin]

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[toasttt11]

she chose him; vince dunn

summary: blake ellington a famous person in the formula one world and the fiancé of vince dunn.

blake ellington x vince dunn

Blake Ellington a name well known in the Formula one world. Having joined the sport in 2018 with Red Bull and coming second in the Drivers Championship and having won multiple races as a rookie the world knew she was going to become big in the sport. Her second season in 2019 she became the first ever female World Driver Champion. She shocked everyone by announcing her move to Mercedes and she only signed a one year contract she easily won the championship that year and She shocked the world again and announced her move to Ferrari Formula one team, in 2021 She came second in the Drivers Championship and Max Verstappen won his first Championship. In 2022 she became the first Ferrari World Driver Champion since 2006. Before deciding to continue her career with Mclaren Formula one team in 2023, quickly leading the standings within the first few races.

Blake was born in Ontario, Canada growing up next to the Dunn family, being two years younger than Vince made him very protective of his best friend, for years the two danced around their feelings for each other. Blake not wanting to mess anything up with their friendship thinking he would never feel the same, and Vince being so in love with her he thought she only saw him like a big brother.

Vince in 2017 got really drunk after a game with his teammates and ended up leaving a long voicemail for Blake, confessing all of his feelings for his best friend, not even knowing he sent the voicemail.

Blake woke up the next morning with a voicemail from Vince, who was confessing his love, luckily for them he was coming home the next day in which he was welcomed by a smack on the head and a kiss from her and from them the two have been together.

October 21, 2023

Vince has always noticed over the last few years when he went to Blake’s races that Lando has always been around and Vince never saw any problem with that as Blake has been very helpful with Lando since he joined formula one and has been good friend to Lando, no the problem Vince had was Lando’s looks that he sent his fiancé and the touches Lando always tried to pass off as platonic, of course Blake always just thought of Lando as a friend to in love with Vince to even think Lando could be in love with her.

Vince and Blake’s schedules have always been very hectic and a lot of times there schedules are never free at the same time, Blake is usally around the world in a different time zone and Vince is around the states, but that doesn’t mean they don’t try to always see each other as much as possible.

Vince took a flight right after his game that night right to Austin Texas, having two days off before he next game and wanting to be there for Blake when she clinches her fourth World Championship, he was exhausted after he got off the plane but it would be worth when he saw his fiancé. He got an uber to the hotel and went to the front desk telling his name and they gave him the key card to their room.

It was already midnight when he got into Austin and he knew Blake would try and stay up to see him but would end up falling asleep, he dragged his suitcase to the hotel room and quietly opened the door, he saw Blake peacefully sleeping in the bed in his hoodie, he smiled softly as his fiancé as dropped his suitcase sliding off his shoes and set his phone on the nightstand before sliding into the bed next to his beautiful fiancée.

“Vinny?” Blake mumbled her eyes fluttering open and she naturally cuddled up closer to him.

“Hello my darling, go back to sleep i’ll be here when you wake.” Vince softly cooed wrapping his arms around and pressing a soft kiss to the crown on her head.

“Mmk love you.” Blake mumbled quickly falling back to sleep.

“I love you too.” Vince slowly dozed off content with his girl in his arms.

October 22, 2023

Blake woke up feeling arms wrapped around and happily hummed as waking up with Vince meat to her is her favorite way to wake up. She gently leaned her chin on his chest tracing her fingers against his face, feeling the light stubble on her fingers, she leaned up pressing a kiss to his nose, and then his cheek and then his lips, Vince’s hand came up to the back of her head holding her to him as he kissed hee back.

Vince pulled back cupping her face smiling at her, “I missed you.” Vince pressed a soft kiss to her head.

“I missed you too.” Blake kissed his cheek, “But soon we won’t be apart as much.”

Blake had decided she didn’t want to keep racing after this year feeling she accomplished everything and more that she wanted to in Formula one and besides she kinda wants to just live her life and be able to enjoy life without Formula one. And she wants to plan her dream wedding and she wants to be able to have kids with a Vince one day.

“You know you don’t have to retire.” Vince wanted her to know she didn’t have to retire just to see him more.

“I want to, i am honestly really kinda done with racing.” Blake loved racing she always has but the passion and fire it once gave her has faded over the years.

“Okay it’s your decision.” Vince nodded kissing her.

“Come one we’ve got to get ready.” Blake pulled Vince out of bed and towards the bathroom where they got ready.

Blake was wearing a pair of jean shorts, a white flowy tank top and white cowgirl boots, she slipped her engagement ring onto her necklace, before looking over at Vince seeing him on his phone in black jeans and grey t-shirt with grey vans.

They got in car to drive them to the track, Vince got out first holding a hand for Blake, they walked hand and hand pass all the camera ignoring them as they talked to each other.

Lando who was sitting outside the Mclaren moterhome waiting for Blake scowled when he saw who was with her this weekend. Lando who has been in love with Blake for years now.

Oscar who was the Mclaren Reserve driver this year shook his head at Lando, wondering when Lando would understand Blake has always been in love with Vince nothing is going to change that.

Vince stayed with Blake as she warmed up and did all her Pre race routine and before she knew it she was zipping up her race suit and Vince was holding her blue helmet, as blue has always been her favorite color and blue reminds her of Vince. Vince gently slid her helmet on buckling the straps before pressing a gentle kiss on the helmet where her forehead is, “Go drive my love.”

Vince stood in the garage watching her get on the track and getting ready to race.

Before Vince knew he was cheering with the whole garage as Blake finished first winning the Championship for the fourth time, He rushed out with everything towards Blake.

Vince proudly smiled as watching Blake stand on top of her car with her hands in the air, Blake took off her helmet setting it into her car and hopped off her car and running straight to Vince, she pulled him into a passionate kiss hearing the thousands of clicks coming from all the cameras but she didn’t care.

Vince breathlessly chuckled as they pulled away from each other, “I’m so proud of you.” Vince whispered to his fiancé getting a beaming grin in return, he let her go to let her celebrate with her team.

Vince watched her walk last and onto the top step, Vince proudly smiled the whole time at his beautiful girl. Blake happily grinned on the podium looking down towards Vince the whole time not even noticing Lando trying to get her attention.

Blake lifted her trophy in to the air hearing all the cheers, she was covered in champagne by the end of the podium.

Blake nodded at the interview letting them question her after her win, they asked is she had anything to say as most were wondering if she was staying with Mclaren next year or joining another team, “Ah, i would like to thank all the teams that have welcomed me into their families, coming next year i will no longer be racing in Formula one, here is my official statement of my retirement.” Blake smiled simply ignoring the loud disappointment coming from the crowd or the millions of questions from the press walking away.

Vince saw Lando’s face drop and he couldn’t help but smirk seeing Lando realize Blake wouldn’t be around much anymore. Vince has always been jealous with Lando around because Lando never respected the fact Blake didn’t feel that way with him and Vince hated that Lando never acknowledged Blake was in a relationship. Vince trusted Blake but he never trusted Lando.

Blake walked to Vince wrapping an arm around his waist, “Ready to go home?” Blake smiled at Vince, Vince looked down at Blake who was smiling at him and knew whatever jealousy he felt because of Lando faded away as she always chose him.

“Let’s go home.” Vince pressed a kiss to the top of her head as they walked out together.

[atinylittlepain]

Atlantic City

no outbreak!joel miller x fem!reader

Hungry Hearts masterlist

wordcount | 6.2K

warnings | smut, angst, the usual

a/n | hey y'all, we have reached the penultimate chapter. we're in for a little angst, but i promise i make it better with a whole lot of goodness. as always, i'd love to hear what you think, drop me a line, i'd love to chat. also, if i could offer a song specifically for the young joel sequences, it would be Downbound Train by Springsteen (who else?) alright, that's all.

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gif by @santigarcia

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“She had a little oatmeal and a little applesauce, I think more of it got on her bib than it did in her mouth, though.” Tiny hands gripping at his shirt, he winces at the first sign of her impending meltdown, that small whimper of hers that always seems to come out in the mornings like this. 

“Alright, Joey, that’s okay, I’ve got her.” Except she doesn’t, not yet, because Sarah is still clinging to him, tears starting to heat and dampen the side of his neck where her face is pressed as Deedee tries to coax her out of his arms. He’d like to cry too. 

“I have class until seven, but I gotta run to the store too to get more formula. Shouldn’t be later than eight, ma.” It’s near herculean to finally untangle Sarah from him, a particularly loud cry striking through his ears as Deedee finally manages to scoop her into her arms. He’s learned that he can’t loiter, can’t look at her too much like this, because then that slick curl of guilt will take root and furl up his throat. So it’s a quick goodbye, a kiss to the crown of Sarah’s head and a lowly murmured love you, babygirl before he thanks his mother, who acts offended that he even tried to thank her in the first place. 

He can still hear Sarah crying when he gets back in his truck. Deep breath, just one to smooth out the shake in his hands. And then his day can begin. The same day he has been doing for the last five months. They’re building new apartments off the highway toward Austin. Good work, honest work, at least that’s what people say when he tells them what he’s doing these days. He’s not sure where they get the good or honest from. Mostly, it’s sweaty and sore and simple. But it is good money, and lord knows that’s exactly what he needs right now. 

She, no name, he’s been practicing no name for her, making the fact of her disappear from his life so it won’t be a problem when Sarah gets older, so just she. She left when Sarah was three months old. Not a word, not a note. Fine by him, because while they were certainly a mistake, Sarah isn’t, at all, not to him. So he’s working, making money, and in the evenings, chasing after a degree that promises something better for the both of them. 

Traffic is stupid this early in the morning, crawling lights along the highway in the dusk still burning itself off with the hazy sunrise. He sighs, slumping back. He can sigh and slump now, no one watching, small relief as he rolls toward the job site. Another sigh when he sees that cars are even more jammed up because of an accident on the shoulder of the highway. He’s not one for the radio these days, much more interested in saving up slices of silences in between all the crying and sighing, though he still starts to flicker through radio channels, nothing better to do anyways. 

“With us this morning, an up and coming author whose first novel has garnered a great deal of attention this year.” His hand stills, spine straightening out when the radio show host says her name. Her real name. And then it’s her, thanking the host for having her with an easy laugh. 

The last time he heard her voice, he was standing in the front office of Thatcher’s with a phone to his ear and a hand held over his mouth to silence the quick sobs shaking his body as she spoke, as she apologized, as she said goodbye. The same and different. So very different. His ears rush with it, mind in a thick fog as the host says something about best selling, and new project, and some award that he hasn’t heard of before. And Cherry takes it all in stride.

She did it. She really did it. He can’t help the broken laugh that flutters up his throat, a quick burst of it that feels good only because it’s been so long since he’s had something like that, felt something like that. But it’s a quick radio segment, and she’s already thanking the host again, and they’re already taking a break for some commercial. Gone again. Sigh, slump. 

Good for her, he thinks. Proud of her, he thinks. Did the right thing for her, he thinks. 

And finally, traffic starts to crawl again, just another day. 

…

“Yeah, uh-huh, I’ll have it ready to be sent by Friday. Look, I told you already that I’m not going to rush this one, okay? The first draft needs a little more time, just to Friday.” Often, when she takes phone calls in her office, she imagines what it would feel like to pick up her computer and smash it through her window. It’s a helpful thought exercise, keeps her from cursing out her agent at times like this.

“Alright, and– no, I saw the concepts you sent me and absolutely not. I don’t know how you can already be sending me cover art when you haven’t even read the fucking thing yet. I don’t care what kind of rush you’re in, I’m not going to accommodate it because, quite frankly, it’s fucking ridiculous.” Well, at the very least, she tries not to curse out her agent. 

“Friday, no earlier and no later. And please, do not call me before then, because if I’m talking to you, then I’m not working, and if I’m not working, this fucking thing is going to take even longer. Okay? Great, thanks so much, bye.” Click, sigh. She has also imagined chucking her cell phone through the window, but that is a much less satisfying vision, so she settles for shoving it away in the bottom drawer of her desk. 

“Mom?” She’s quick to stretch out of her slump at the sound of Ellie’s voice, swiveling around in her chair as she smooths out her scowl .

“What’s up, babe?” 

“Is it cool if I go to the mall with Dina?” Dina, the center outfielder, right. 

“Oh, yeah, do you want me to drop you off? I can��”

“No, that’s okay. Dina’s mom is gonna pick me up and take us.” Guilt starts to flicker between her ribs. This happens whenever she’s entrenched in writing. She blinks, and can’t seem to figure out where the time has gone or when the last time was that she and Ellie spent real time together. And though Ellie rails against it with a dejected groan, she can’t help but get up and pull her into a quick hug. Missed you, sorry. Love you, sorry. Ellie squirms a little, but still squeezes her back. 

“Well, be safe, okay? And call me if you need anything.” 

“Yeah, okay, I will.” Normally, this would be when Ellie bounds away before Cherry can get an I love you in edgewise, but instead, she stays standing in front of her, a small pinch between her brows. 

“Are you, um, like– okay?” Cherry sighs. This again. This new thing again. Something that Ellie has started to do at the most unexpected times. Something that started after that day at the ballfields when their car got stuck in the mud and she and Joel shared some choice words. 

“Els, what’s this about you asking me if I’m okay, huh?” She tries to say it light, with a small laugh, but really, her stomach is starting to sicken, because this is supposed to be her job, mom job, and clearly, she’s failing at it. 

“I don’t know, I just– how come Tommy is the one working on the porch now?” 

“Uh, well, I mean– Tommy and Joel are business partners, so they, you know, share jobs with each other.” It comes out stilted and stuttered, and she has to stop herself from wincing at the lameness of the excuse. For her part, Ellie doesn’t seem to be satisfied with that answer, brow still scrunched and mouth screwed up like she tasted something funny.

“But why isn’t Joel working on it, like, at all?” That all holds a lot more meaning than it should, and Cherry can’t help the sigh that slackens through her chest. 

“I know what you’re getting at, and you have to understand that, well– we– Joel and I– there’s a lot of history there, Els. And it’s– well, it’s very complicated.” 

“Do you think you guys are gonna work it out though?” It surprises her, if she didn’t know any better, she’d say that there’s a hopeful tilt to Ellie’s question and raised brows.

“I don’t know, but I don’t want you worrying about that, okay? Whether we do or not, I’m gonna be just fine, so long as I have you.” Mom brain, she can’t help herself, stealing another hug that Ellie rails against with a mom that sounds like she’s being accosted it’s so despondent. 

Saved by the bell, or the car horn more like it, Ellie wrangling herself out of their hug with a quick bye, love you as she bounds through the house toward the front door. Sigh, slump, Cherry shuffles back over to her desk, steading her palm on the edge of it as she brings her other hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

The thing is, she is pretty sure that they’re not going to work this out. And that’s what she wanted, isn’t it? She’s not sure anymore. She’s not sure about a lot of things. For starters, why she really decided it was a good idea to move back here. Yes, New York was becoming no good. But then, forty-odd other states she could have chosen from. And no, too late to back out now, because Ellie has already made friends, somehow already managed to settle before school has even started. And there’s the house, and now this fucking porch.

“Hey, Cher?” Speaking of which, snapping herself back out of her slump.

“Hi, Tom, how’s it going out there?” The first time she saw him again, she was shocked by just how much Tommy Miller grew up and filled out. Joel mentioned something about him serving in the military, and it shows, she thinks. A little more serious, a little presence in the set of his shoulders. A far cry from the brash, bold, bumbling boy she remembers. The passage of time, and all that. 

“Just got done with the finish, actually, if you wanna come take a look?”

“Oh really? Like, it’s finished finished?” It is, and it’s frustratingly perfect. Wood polished and still glossy, plenty of space for a table and chairs. She should be happy, or at the very least satisfied, so she isn’t sure why all she feels is a petty curl of anger rising like bile up the back of her throat. 

“Wow, yeah, it looks– looks really good, Tommy, thank you. Is it alright if I pay you now? I just need to get my checkbook.” She’s already walking back toward her office, but Tommy doesn’t follow, rubbing at the back of his neck with a weak laugh.

“The thing about that, Cher, is that I’m under very strict, very aggressive orders to not take any money from you.” That anger flares at his words, a scoff in her throat as she crosses her arms over her chest.

“Oh, is that right? And just which hardass are these orders coming from, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I think you’re, uh, pretty familiar with said hardass.” 

“Uh-huh, right, I suppose I am.” She’s not going to let Joel win this one, turning on her heel to continue her warpath toward her checkbook, Tommy having no choice but to tentatively follow after.

“Cherry, seriously, I can’t. He’s gonna rip that check up the instant he gets his damn hands on it.” She doesn’t listen, dashing off her signature on the six thousand dollar check, though when she tries to hand it to Tommy, he tucks his hands deep into his jeans pockets, a frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. 

“Tommy, I don’t know what kind of stupid game your brother is playing, but I refuse to participate. You did a job for me, and did it perfectly, and now I’m going to pay you. I don’t– I can’t have this hanging over my head, alright? Just take it, please.” She hates the warble that please comes out on, a thick flush of tears starting to thicken in her throat.

“It wouldn’t be hanging over your head, Cher. You know he ain’t like that.” 

“Oh, do I? Because, honestly, I’m not sure what I know about him anymore.” Silence falls, a flash of something passing over Tommy’s face that she can’t place. He clears his throat before he speaks again, and when he does, it’s shockingly quiet.

“I still remember the day you left and didn’t come back, you know. And no offense, but it’s not because we were particularly close or anything.”

“Gee, thanks, Tom. I’m not sure what that has to do with anything though.” She regrets the sharpness of her words instantly, Tommy letting out a long sigh as he shuffles his feet in the doorway to her office. 

“I remember because Joel came home that night. And back then, you’d be hard pressed to get him home unless it was Sunday and ma was ready to drag him by his ears over for dinner. But it was a Tuesday, and he came home that night, and he cried.” There’s no stopping the tears now, not when Tommy’s voice breaks, covering it up with a clipped laugh and a swipe of his knuckles under his nose. 

“I don’t think I had ever seen him cry that hard. Jesus, he couldn’t breathe, and it– it just wouldn’t stop. At the time I was kinda pissed, to be honest, because he wouldn’t shut up, just wailing like a little kid.” All she can do to sit down in her desk chair, taking a shaky breath as Tommy toes his boot into the floor, trying to hide the crumple of his brow on his downturned face.

“And he kept saying the same thing over and over again, like he was trying to convince someone, maybe himself, I don’t know. He kept saying I did the right thing.” Her whole body shudders, sniffling back snot as her vision swims. She doesn’t know what all Joel has told Tommy, whether he knows just exactly what happened that summer. But the way that he’s looking at her now, frown slipping heavy down his face, earnest, honest, she thinks that he knows enough, has seen and heard enough to be giving her nothing but the truth.

“Not that I’d admit this to him, but I love my brother, really, I do. But, Cher, he can be a fucking idiot about stuff like this. And I know that he doesn’t deserve another chance for the shit he’s pulled, but I just– you gotta understand how much love he has for you.” What could she possibly say to that? For a moment, it’s quiet, both of them taking stuttered inhales and exhales, trying to breathe in the fact of what was just said. 

“Tom, where is Joel working today?”

…

“You have to read this book. I’m about halfway finished with it and it’s so good.”

“Oh yeah? I don’t think I’ve heard of that author before.”

“That’s because it’s her first book, I think. But seriously, she’s totally a genius.” 

“Hmm, I’ll have to check it out then.” 

He keeps his smile hidden behind his palm, elbow propped on his desk as he listens in to the conversation between the two students in the row ahead of him. It’s her book, he caught a glimpse of her name on the spine of it. It both buoys and batters him, a strange feeling settling in his stomach as his evening class begins. 

Something his boss recommended to him. A degree at the community college that will supposedly open up all these doors for him. At least that’s what he tells himself when he slogs over to the campus after work every night. Another year to go and then, and then. Something good, he hopes. For him and for Sarah.

The same thing every day. Get up at five, if there’s sleep to be gotten up from in the first place. Get Sarah sorted and driven over to his parents’ house and then get to work by seven. Work and work and work, a good seven or eight hours before he has to book it to class. Then class, something he never enjoyed, and especially doesn’t care for now, working hard at it only for the sake of getting out of it sooner. 

Last week, Deedee had tried setting him up on a date with the daughter of one of the women she plays Euchre with every Wednesday. She even offered to take Sarah for the night, a smile so steeped in hope that it had made him feel a little sick. He had sighed and made a half-hearted joke, something about a date getting him here in the first place. A distraction getting him here in the first place. 

Night is creeping in by the time he gets out of class, streets going dark save for the syrupy glow of house windows, of families sitting down for dinner. And he’s never late, always at his parents’ house when he says he will be, so just this once, just a little late. He goes to the store a little further away because he knows there’s a bookstore a block down from it, lucky that it’s still open this late. 

And everything gets saved that doesn’t have to be spent, so just this once, something for him. They have her book on display in the front of the store. Exactly what he was hoping for, her picture on the back of the dust jacket. The same and different, all grown up. 

He buys himself a copy, but he doesn’t open it, not yet, keeping it in his lap the entire drive back. 

…

Maybe a little crazy, driving her minivan through an active jobsite, men stopping in their work to tilt their hard-hatted heads at her when she parks in the midst of gravel and sawdust right in front of the half-built house. But she’s too hell-bent on the task at hand to care much, marching right up to the nearest man and asking him where Joel Miller is. 

“Sorry, ma’am, who are you again?” 

“Who am I? Who am I? I’m someone important, buddy, that’s who I am. Now if you don’t tell me where he is, I’ll just start wandering all over this place and probably land you with an OSHA violation. So if I were you, I’d make this easier for both of us and just take me to him, thanks.” She can hear a murmur of snickers and yips from the other men working around them, and it seems like enough to get this guy moving with a muttered okay then. 

She acquiesces to putting a hard hat on, something about an actual OSHA violation, before following the man into the bare bones of the house. Some walls are put up, and some are still only frames, saws whirring and nails guns firing all around her, a perfect swirl of work and the smell of cedar that she tries to skirt around as the man leads her further into the fray. 

When she sees him, she thinks to herself that it’s not fair, the way he looks with a tool belt slung low around his hips, his t-shirt clinging to the shifting planes of muscle in his back as he leans over a workbench to look at a scroll of blueprints. No, not fair at all, her throat going dry with just how not fair at all it is. 

“Boss, there’s a lady here to see you.” Boss, right, he’s the boss. Fan-fucking-tastic. Joel’s head whips around, immediate confusion scrunching up his face when he sees her. 

“Cherry? What– what’re you doing here?”

“What?” It’s nearly impossible to hear him over the incessant sound of work going on around them, though Joel is quick to usher her away from the thick of things and into a half-finished room that she guesses could either turn into a bathroom or a closet judging by its size. It’s a bit ridiculous that Joel closes the door to the room given that one of the walls still hasn’t been put up. 

“Why– how did you find me here?” She’s just a little annoyed at how inconvenienced he’s acting, his hand on his hip and his knee jutted out as he raises his brows at her. It’s enough to get her angry all over again.

“Tommy finished the porch today and refused to take my check, so I asked him where I could find you and tuck this fucking money into your hands myself.” She punctuates her words by taking the folded-up check out of her pocket and shoving it into his chest, but Joel doesn’t accept it, the slip of paper falling to the ground when she pulls her hand away. What he does next is far more infuriating though, not breaking eye contact with her as he bends down and swipes up the check between two fingers before promptly ripping the thing up far more times than it needs to be.

“Don’t try to write me another one, Cher, I’ll just do the same thing.” A bitter laugh slips up her throat, and before she knows what she’s doing, the heel of her palm is shoving into his chest. Except he’s bigger now, broader, so what once would have made him stumble now only makes him sway a little. All the more reason to do it again.

“You– fucking– ass– Joel Miller!” He’s still unmoving under her ministrations, each of her words coming with an admittedly weaker shove until finally, Joel says her name, a quiet plea. And she wasn’t supposed to cry, that’s what she told herself on the drive over here. Under no circumstances was she going to cry. Yeah, right, big blubbering streaks running down her face already. Her hands fall limp at her sides as she shakes with it, whatever it is. Easier to call it anger, but she knows that’s not what it is. 

“Cherry, please don’t cry.” She wants him to reach for her, wants to feel his palms smoothing that shudder, and for a moment, it looks like he will, but his hands just hang suspended between them, like he has thought better of it. She wishes he hadn’t thought better of it. 

“I can’t– I can’t do this. You make this so hard, Joel, do you know that?” His face falls, feet shuffling closer until the toes of his boots are brushing against her sneakers. 

“What can’t you do?” 

“This– this– I want to be with you so badly, but I just can’t.” She hates what a relief it is when he finally reaches for her, his palm resting along her jaw, the calloused pad of his thumb collecting stray salt. 

“Why can’t you? I– I’ve been wanting you for a long time, Cher. We could do it, I know we could.”

“I’ve heard that before, Joel. And it didn’t end well.” She can’t look at him as she says it, her stomach sinking with the words. Because it’s true, after all. He sighs, a long, dejected sound that makes her tear up all over again.

“Will you look at me, please?” She doesn’t want to, and isn’t sure if she can right now, but he shows her how, his knuckles crooking under her chin, a soft please that she folds to, finally meeting his eyes with hers.

“I can’t change what I did in the past, Cherry. And it kills me that I hurt you, but I was trying to do right by you. I don’t know anymore if I did, and I don’t know anymore if it even matters. But what I do know is I never stopped loving you. And if you’ll have me, I’ll be yours until the day I die, and probably then some, to be honest.” A laugh at that, thick with snot, feeling good in the midst of all these tears. She curls her fingers around his wrist where his hand is still cupped along her cheek, a tug to come closer so she can rest her forehead against his, though there’s a small shuffle first, both of them pushing their hard-hats off, paying no mind to the clatter of them when her nose brushes along the line of his. 

“Don’t make me a promise you can’t keep.” She says it quiet, almost reluctant, but Joel just smiles.

“Not a promise, just the truth. Reckon I’ve been yours my whole life. And I’ve been hoping you’ll be mine too.” Something blooms inside her, relief in opening up, in allowing even amidst that still-there grip of fear. Because he’s here, and so is she, and there’s plenty of time to prove that fear wrong, to get it right, now, here, in the present. 

She doesn’t answer with words, just closes the space still between them, the easiest yes in the way her lips press against his.

…

He knows he needs to go in. Needs to gather up Sarah and get back to their shoebox apartment so the whole routine can start over tomorrow morning. But quick, he can be quick, sitting in his truck with only the faint slant of clarity from the streetlight to brighten the pages. He steals the first chapter just like that, quiet, mouth moving with every word. And it’s a peculiar feeling, like pride, though he knows he has know business letting that swell in his chest with the way things ended between them. It’s good, of course it’s good. Not that he’s some well-seasoned reader, but he knows good when he sees it, and she was always so good, he thinks. 

He’s only twenty minutes late when he finally knocks on his parents’ front door, and though Deedee makes nothing of it, he still feels that guilt sickening and skittering up his spine, trying to tamp it down with kisses pressed into Sarah’s curls. 

By the time he gets them home, Sarah is indignant, fussy coos humming in her chest, ready for a bottle that he still has to make. Muscle memory, auto-pilot, he heats it up with her in one arm and the book held in his other hand, plowing through half of chapter two before he finally has to set it down to feed his girl. His girl, his perfect girl. He has enjoyed doing this from the very start, one of the things he always felt he could get right, at the very least. Simple and sweet, all the motions of bedtime, a small mercy that she goes down easy tonight because he’s still thinking about the book he left splayed open on the kitchen counter. He doesn’t sit down, just simply leans over the counter to keep reading under the light above the stove. 

Sarah begins to cry about an hour and a half later, and by then he has already finished half of the book, careful to mark his place before checking on his girl. His hands still shake sometimes with the reality of holding her, something so small and careful that he has to roll his shoulders back a few times after every diaper change, every close cradle, like his whole body braces for her, trying to be big and enough for her. And he should get some sleep now, he knows that. But he reasons to himself that he’ll be waking up in an hour or two anyways for her, so, might as well. 

Just like that, for the rest of the night, back and forth between Sarah and his close huddle over the kitchen counter. By the time morning is starting to blush that pale blue through the curtains, he has read the whole thing. 

And no, not his place, and no, he has no right, but he is proud of her. Proud that she got out, proud that she did it. And relief too, that maybe he did the right thing after all, even though it hurt so very much.

…

Maybe a little crazy, the both of them. She’s pretty sure she heard a few wolf whistles when she led Joel out of the house and back to her car, but she doesn’t care, and she doesn’t think he does either judging by the way he keeps rubbing his palms down the front of his jeans in the passenger seat, both of them sweeping their eyes over the half-finished lots of this new neighborhood, searching for the same thing.

“Wait, right there.”

“Right where, Joel? There aren’t any–” She doesn’t finish that thought, a gasp high in her throat cutting it off when Joel reaches across for the wheel and veers her car right off the street and into an empty lot. The only reason she doesn’t press the brake is because she’s too stunned to move, letting the car roll into a thick copse of trees. She’s only snapped out of her stupor when Joel huffs out a right here, stop, stop, Cher, bringing the car to a stuttering halt. It’s all she can do to laugh as she looks around at the perfectly secluded spot.

“You always did have a talent for finding places like this.” He grins crooked at her, still leaning over the console with his hand on the wheel.

“Yeah, well, you– just c’mere.” Not pretty, not at all. A little greedy and a little desperate, her elbow beeping the horn as she scrambles over the console, Joel groaning when her knee lands a little too close to his crotch before she finally settles in his lap. He holds her by the hinge of her jaw, opening her mouth with his and taking everything she has to give. And in turn, she seeks out more however she can get it, one hand in his hair tugging when his teeth nick her bottom lip, her other hand bunched into a fist in his t-shirt. And it should be good, except it’s all so scrunched up in the passenger seat, and her legs are bent at such an angle that when she tries to grind her hips down onto his, she ends up with a mortifying cramp in her hamstring. 

“Oh fuck.”

“I know, Cher, me too.”

“No, I mean, my– my leg is– I need to get up, it’s–” Joel finally seems to get the hint when she lets out a hiss of pain, quick to open the passenger side door so she can hobble down off his lap, tenderly trying to stretch out her leg in a graceless hop. Luckily, it seems to sort itself out, though Joel still gets out of the car, making her heart do something strange when he holds onto her hip with one hand as he rubs out the muscle in her leg with his other palm, squinting up at her and murmuring a question, that better?

“Y-yeah, thank you. We could– the backseats go all the way down.” He’s a sight, eyes big and blown out, lips parted in a swollen little pant as he looks at her. 

“Right, let’s– let’s do that then.” She makes quick work of cranking open the sliding door of the minivan and folding the backseats down, plenty of room to assure that there won’t be anymore cramping crises. When she turns around to usher him into the back, Joel is quick to stamp a hard kiss to her mouth, a breathless laugh punching out of her lungs when he pulls away.

“Sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, Cher.” 

“Well, if you liked that, just wait until I put the seats back in place.” His smile splits, all boyish in the way his eyes crinkle up. And it’s all graceless fumbling from there, both of them crawling into the back, leaving the door cracked to let in the late summer breeze, though she can already feel sweat sticking her shirt to her back. Not that it matters though, not when they’re both making quick work of each other’s clothes. 

Her want wills, and he answers in kind, letting her press him back, bare for her, heart beating for her as she settles between his legs, already taking him into her mouth, salt and sense, all him making her hum low in her chest. 

“Jesus, look at you– so fucking pretty like this, Cher.” He’s one to talk, she thinks, chest flushed to blaze all the way up to his cheeks, his eyes heavy and hooded looking down at her as she laps at his leaking tip before taking as much of him as she can into the heat of her mouth. Though he doesn’t let her work him over for long, a petulant hand curling around the nape of her neck and a breathy baby, baby, c’mere coaxing her up, both of them sighing when the swollen ache of her cunt grazes along his length. 

“Like this– I want it like this, Joel.” Her lips drag the word up the arc of his throat, sealing them with her lips slanting over his.

“It’s all yours, Cherry. I’m all yours.” They move together like they never stopped in the first place, all quiet communication in the press of their foreheads, eyes turned down to watch as she sinks down onto his throbbing cock, a high sound stopping itself in the back of her throat as her hips settle against his. For a moment, just this, the tight peaks of her nipples grazing his chest with each broken breath, palms smoothing along skin only to grab greedy handfuls where they can. And then the quiet murmur, good? Yes, so good. Moving with so good simpering up and down her spine, a moan breaking in her chest with the first pass of her hips against his. 

He lets her find the rhythm first, his mouth hot and open against the side of her breast, all coaxing, all consuming with the way his hands grip at her ass. Everything turns hazy and humid in their close press in the back of her car, skin slick and sticking, chests fluttering with hard pants. 

Not so young anymore, either of them, getting a little ahead of their own pleasure because she can already feel it snaring and snapping in her pelvis, that liquid languor that turns taut so fast. And of course Joel can tell, bringing his hand to curl around her hip so he can drag messy circles against her clit, mouth open and pleading against hers. 

“That’s it, Cherry, take it for me. Fuck, I wanna feel it, just like that.” Her breath catches in her throat, that searing snap that slackens everything else, his name on her next exhale as everything melts down around her. Just him, and the close grind of his hips up into hers that’s snarling on the edge of too much, cracked whimpers with each thrust that she bites back, wanting his pleasure just as much as she wants her own. 

“Baby, baby, so good like this. Want it so bad, want you so bad.” Her lips slide against the shell of his ear, crooking into a grin when he groans at her words, his grip on her tensing and tightening as he comes, warmth spreading and sating. 

All tangled up, their bodies slacken and slump, splayed out in the back of her car as they both catch their breath. Joel’s head tilts up when she huffs out a laugh, breath fanning over his chest where her chin is resting.

“I don’t think that was the smartest way we could’ve started this new relationship thing.” 

“I think we’re pretty far past new relationship, Cher.” She hums at that, no real argument, settling instead for a kiss pressed into the bare patch in his scruff. 

“You know, Ellie asked about you.” Joel’s eyebrows shoot up at that.

“Seriously? Thought that kid hated me.”

“Mm, I think you won her over with the diarrhea joke.” 

“Well it certainly worked on you.” 

“Unfortunately.” He huffs at her dig, laying a mean squeeze to the crease where her ass meets her thigh. 

“Unfortunately, none of that, Cherry baby.” Ease, all ease in their shared smile, settling back down around each other with a sigh. They’ll have to untangle soon, leave soon, back to reality soon. But for now, this time with him, all the time to say what she wants to say to him.

“I never stopped, you know. I think that’s why I came back, at least partly. I was hoping that you hadn’t stopped either.” Her cheek rises and falls with his breath, Joel trailing his finger along her jaw to coax her eyes back up to his.

“I didn’t, Cher. Even when I didn’t wanna admit it to myself, I was waiting for you, hoping for you too.”

................................

taglist: @spookyxsam @libbylou223 @angel-in-beskar @starstruckunknown-princess @casa-boiardi @tieronecrush @swiftispunk @beskarandblasters @trulybetty @amanitacowboy @pr0ximamidnight @wannab-urs @jksprincess10 @suzmagine @everything-isfucked @lanabobana @kittenlittle24 @sarap-77 @officerrrfriendly @val-srz @bitchwitch1981 @redwoodsanddaffodils @themothersmercy @romanarose @lost-inhawkins @youcancallmeelle @hollywoodcaligirl @harryleatherfit @fifia-writes @brighttears @lokanda @hardlystrictlystarwars @sarahxxo3 @harriedandharassed @anoverwhelmingdin

[joelmillerisapunk]

WIP Wednesday

Thanks for the tags @sawymredfox @mermaidgirl30 and @milla-frenchy

I have 2 new current wips stewing and I can never just give a small snippet so sorry. We got ranch hand and Austins most eligible bachelor below for your perusing:

Ranch hand Joel

I'm working on many things. But then I fell off a horse yesterday and was inspired to write this ranch hand Joel fic:

"Easy there, easy," a familiar voice drawls as strong hands gently roll you onto your back. Joel's face swims into view, his brow furrowed with concern. "Looks like you had a bit of a tumble, darlin'. Can you tell me where it hurts?"

His voice is deep and soothing, cutting through the haze of pain. You manage to point to your side, wincing as he carefully probes the area. "Just bruised, I reckon," he says after a moment, his touch surprisingly gentle for such calloused hands. "Your arm too. We should get you back to the house. Might need to go to the doctor."

You'll be damned if you involve any more people than necessary, you never fall off the horses, why did it have to happen in front of the hottest cowboy alive.

As he settles you onto his horse, he keeps a steady hand on your back, making sure you're secure before he swings up behind you. The closeness is overwhelming; his body is a solid wall of heat at your back, and you can feel the muscles in his thighs as they grip the horse's flanks. It's a strange mix of vulnerability and safety, being so close to this man who just days ago was little more than a stranger.

The ride back to the ranch is a blur of sensations—the rhythmic sway of the horse beneath you, the scent of leather and sweat mingling with Joel's unique aroma of woodsmoke and something undeniably masculine. You find yourself leaning into him without thinking, seeking comfort in his strength.

"Almost there," Joel reassures you as the house comes into view. His breath is warm against your ear, sending an unexpected shiver down your spine. "We'll get some ice on those bruises and take a look at ya."

Austins Most Eligible Bachelor

The DJ's voice booms through the small kitchen speakers: "Good morning, Austin! Are you tired of the same old dating scene? Swipe left, swipe right, and still no luck? Well, hold onto your cowboy hats because 'Austin's Most Eligible' is saddling up for another season of love, laughter, and maybe even a little bit of lassoing!"

[Sound effect: Horse neighing and whip cracking]

"That's right, y'all! 'Austin's Most Eligible' is back and better than ever, bringing you the finest catches in the Lone Star State. Here's your chance to give that special someone the recognition they deserve. Nominate him today, and he could be crowned Austin's Most Eligible Bachelor, winning a luxurious date night and a feature in the Austin Chronicle!"

[Sound effect: Cowboy yeehawing]

"Join us every Friday night at 8 PM on K-AUS 99.5 FM for your chance to meet some of the most amazing bachelors Austin has to offer. From entrepreneurs to musicians, from tech gurus to cowboys with hearts of gold – we've got 'em all lined up just for you, but remember only one can be Austin’s most eligible.

Don't miss out on the fun, the flirting, and maybe even finding your forever love. Mark your calendars for 'Austin's Most Eligible,' every Friday at 8 PM, only on K-AUS. And remember, when it comes to love, Austin's got the beat!"

[Background music fades with a harmonica outro]

"Keep it weird, keep it romantic, and keep it tuned to K-AUS, your source for Austin's Most Eligible!"

[Sound effect: Fade-out with a guitar strum]

"This is K-AUS, signing off. Y'all come back now, ya hear?"

Sarah nearly chokes on her eggs as she giggles uncontrollably. "Dad," she says between laughs, "you should totally enter this!"

Joel raises an eyebrow at her suggestion but can't help chuckling along with her infectious laughter. "Me? Nah, I think I'm a bit too old for that kind of thing." He shakes his head and focuses on finishing his breakfast. But Sarah isn't easily deterred; she has that look in her eye – mischievous yet earnest – that tells him she won't drop it so easily this time around.

NPT and im sorry if youve all been tagged so im tagging a bunch of you <3: @syd-djarin @sixhours @mountainsandmayhem @aurorawritestoescape @missannwinchester

@ameerawrites @ace-turned-confused @604to647 @frenchiereading @fhatbhabiee

@oonajaeadira @ovaryacted @thundermartini @laligraves @pascalssbabyy

@freelancearsonist @josephquinnswhore @proximaamidnightt

[iloveaustinelvisandmannymore]

Daddy's #1

Pairing: Austin Butler x reader

Warning: Daddy kink, creampie, Blow job, Jealousy sex, Spanking, Dirty talk, Teasing and Mocking, Cuckholding, Ownership, Boss-employee/ lovers relationship, hair pulling,Dealmaking, Power Domenic, Mean Austin (well not the reader), Cumming in pants Just nasty stuff ya know the drill.

Summary: Austin Butler was your pimp and you were his number 1 money-maker. Austin needed to make a deal with another pimp, Daddy Harry so Austin took you with him and Harry take an interest in you. Your Daddy is not happy bout it so he shows just how much you belong to him, you and Harry.

A/n: Sorry for this taking so long but here it is! Also for those who don't know one of Austin's favorite colors is blue.

Austin kisses your neck and down to the valley between your breasts, his big hands kneading them before pushing them against his face and he shakes his head; motorboating himself as he blows raspberries. You giggle and laugh at his goofiness. Running your fingers through his hair and spoke up "What's wrong daddy?" "How'd you know?" Austin mutters between your boobs. "well I recall you saying "Nothing makes everything better but your breasts"." You mimicked his deep voice " What?" he raised his head and his eyebrow "I said you make everything better." He corrected you and you just grinned at him "Same thing." Austin shook his head in playful disbelief "Please, tell me." you begged him.

" I have to make a deal with another pimp," Austin rolled his eyes before he looked at you lustfully "You're gonna come with me but for now let's finish what we started." He smirked kissing along your jawline, his cock twitching inside of your cunt, distracting you from asking more."O-oh, Daddy." You mewled hopelessly as he began to pound you into the mattress as if he'd die if he didn't.

It was Saturday, the day of Daddy Austin's deal and you waiting to hear the familiar sound of his car horn, while you waited you looked over your makeup and lingerie in the body mirror beside the door of your apartment. You had on a rose-gold shadow with a dark brown on the corner of your eyes, blended perfectly with clear lip gloss to make your lips shine. You wear Austin's favorite set, it was baby pink with gold hearts paired with pink high heels and a light pink choker with another gold heart in the middle. Your hair was on the side to show off Daddy Austin's ownership over you, a tattoo of his first initial with a king's crown on top.

You smiled softly to yourself, it was wrong to be in love with your boss, you knew it. But It was hard not to. You met him when your friend suggested that you get a job at the club that open up 5 months ago, giving your dance history, you considered it. Blue, purple, pink, and white lights flashed around you when you had laid eyes on him, he was sitting on a VIP couch, laughing with what seemed to be his friends and a girl, a stripper in his arm.

You played with the hem of your shirt, you needed this job! So with a shaky breath, you quickly made your way to the VIP section. "S-sir?" you gulped as the whole group turned to you "I..um—" "You can't be here." the raven-haired woman under Austin's arm glared at you. "Can I help you?" Austin's voice was surprisingly deep and smooth "I need a job a-and a friend said you're hiring, right?" you stuttered. the girl scoffed and opened her mouth to say something but stopped when Austin stood up "Let's talk more in my office," He smiled and walked you to his office his hand hovering over the small of your back "Oh! I'll see you guys later!" Austin called over his shoulder.

You got the job even though you didn't have much confidence but Austin helped you along the way. It wasn't long before you became the crowd's favorite. The girl that glared at you, Scarlett, whose you've learned was her name, was not happy about it before you came, she was top dog and she was gonna let Austin know that but she didn't get the chance.

BEEP!

You inhaled and grab the long white fur coat Daddy Austin bought for your birthday, you quickly put it on, and grabbed your purse, keys, and phone. You locked the door to your apartment and ran as fast as you could in your heels to the pretty light blue Cadillac. Austin always had a love for old things, cars were no exception that was one of the many things you love about him. Austin didn't spare a glance at you as you got in the car, his hand on the wheel was white from how hard he was holding it.

You put your hand on his knee and his tensed body relaxes at your touch, as he puts the car on drive, he holds your hand for the whole ride, you don't say anything. knowing sometimes he needed silence to think and calm down. You realized why he hated this deal when you pulled to 'Falling.' one of Pimp Harry Styles's clubs, he and Austin had some kind of rivalry, and Austin felt like Harry was always upstaging him despite being just as a successful pimp and clubs owner.

Austin got out of his Cadillac and opened your car door, offering his arm to you which you took with a smile. You leaned more into his body and hummed a tune, feeling his warmth as he walked you into the lively stripper club, the music boomed loudly but you could barely hear it, it was like every time you were alone with Austin it was only you and him in the world. You gently massage his arm, doing your best to help, he only brings you to deals if he doesn't like the pimp or is uneasy around them. He doesn't say it out loud but you knew; you've become a safe space for him, someone to go to when he's in his head too much because you bring him down to earth.

"Austin! Welcome mate." Harry greeted, his curly hair resting again on his jawline, his black suit jacket sparkling in the fleshing purple and red lights, Harry smirked as his green orbs laid upon you "Who is this beautiful lady?" he asked without looking away from you "Her stage name is Cherry Valentine, and that's all you'll know." Austin spat "it's a pleasure to meet you miss Cherry," Harry said taking your hand and placing a kiss on your knuckles all the while looking up at you from behind his long beautiful brown lashes. Austin's jaw clenched.

You smile at him shyly as he lets your hand go "Let's go somewhere private, so we can talk about business." He said leading you to a VIP room you take this time to look around, Two beautiful women dance on the stage, one on the pole while the other seductively rolls her hips, Men and women rain them with money, and there's laughing, and talking, people taking shots as they watch the girls perform. "Here we are." Harry opens a door, and a single purple C-couch sat in the middle with a circular stage with a silver glittery polstandingod in front and the carpet is a furry white. You and Daddy Austin sat on the right side of the cushioned couch, facing Harry "Darling!" he called and like Magic, a girl with back-length pink hair walked dressed in a baby blue baby doll With black heels carrying a tray with two glasses of whisky. "Thank you." Austin sends her a smile, grabbing a glass, a blush spreads across her pale cheeks "Thank you, dear." Harry said taking a sip, "I recently have gotten a few new women, Some from Africa, Japan, and Puerto Rico. I haven't marked them yet, of course, and I thought why not have a mate get some, they're trained well and follow orders of reasonable command " Harry leaned back.

"Thank you but my girls are enough," Austin assured "Mate what bout your other clubs? I know 'Blue suede' is as popular as 'Falling'—" Harry started "They perform excellently." Austin fired back now full-on glaring "oh..So does she perform excellently?" Harry asked his eyes racking down your lingerie form, licking his bottom lip, his green orbs darkening. Austin leaned back, an idea in mind and a smirk on his face with a devilish glint in his icky blues "She's better than excellent." he replied, looking at you with an unreadable emotion as he stroked your cheek gently before tapping your chin.

You bit your lip to stop yourself from smiling while you shrug off your coat, letting it drop to the floor, you knew exactly what that meant. You put your knees on the couch and pulled his hardening cock out of his black dress pants, you swirled your tongue around the tip of his large cock, moaning at the taste of his salty pre-cum, you exhaled as he had trained you, and with an inhale you took his whole length down your throat, saliva leaked out from corners of your mouth your arousal created a darker pink of you light pink underwear, you bobbed your head along his member, and drool pooled around the base of his cock and pants. Austin watches harry focusing on the sight of his girl choking and gagging around his dick, his smirk growing wider, he grabbed your hair and forces himself down your tight throat without a warning, Harry groans as his cock forms a tent in his black pants.

Austin kept you there for a good 10 seconds before pulling you off and just as you take a sharp inhale Austin pulled you off the couch and pushed you toward Harry, you yelped as you catch yourself on harry's knees "Oh, I'm so sorry—" you started but was interrupted as you felt Austin pulling down your panties and pushes himself roughly into you, making you grip Harry's knees tighter to stop from crushing head first onto him. You looked everywhere but harry, Austin gripped your hips hard so that it would surely leave bruises as he pushed back you onto his dick, his thrusted had started slowly and deeply, his balls smacking against your clit "Fucking look at him." Austin growled grabbing a hold of your hair and forcing you to make eye contact with Harry, as he pounded into you. You could barely hold in your moans, he typically wasn't this rough.

Austin spanked your ass with his other hand leaving a sharp sting sd on your right cheek, "you love this cock, don't you baby?" he asked slapping your ass again harder this time "YES! L-love it so much!" you shouted cock drunk as you fought to keep looking at harry. The said man gulped, his dick stirring wake in his pants, a tent taking from as he is helpless to do anything that is if he wanted, Harry bit his lip to stop from moaning, your breasts bouncing his face. Suddenly you and Harry were brought back to reality when Austin laughed cruelly "Aww Harry 'Mate' are you turned on? So desperate for My woman that you're hot and bothered from watching me fuck her? Pathetic Harry even for you." Austin smirked looking Harry in the eyes as you nearly scream at his rough, animalistic pounding, it was getting too much, you are close and you were sure Austin could tell by your clenching walls.

Daddy Austin pulled out, and before you whined he manhandled you to sit on Harry's lap with your back against his chest, forcing your ass on harry's hard on, Austin thrusted himself back inside of your hot core and resumed his wild pounding, you moaned and whimpered, rolling your hips up. Austin's long fingers rubes your swollen clit with a hectic pace all the while you were in your world of pleasure, you couldn't hear Harry's soft moans and whines from the friction of your butt against his clothed dick, he clawed at the poor couch. You let out a long, loud moan as you reach your climax, Austin grunted, filling your abused pussy with his steaming hot cum, and harry swallowed down his moans, his cum filing his boxers, wishing it was him cumming inside you.

Austin jerks his cock out causing a little river of his seed to flow out of you, his chest rose up and down from his heavy panting, and after calming down Austin runs his fingers through his messy-sex hair and pulled himself back his pants, he quickly fixed his suite "Come on baby it's time to go." his deep voice a raspy, you with a little trouble got off Pimp Harry's lap and grabbed your coat, you wrapped it around but with you walked to your pimp, your feet give out just before you hit the ground Austin caught you in his strong arms and without sparing a look at harry, he makes his way to his car.

Austin gently kissed your forehead as he laid you in the passenger seat, he put the seat bait around your fucked-out yourself, shut the car door, and walked to the driver's seat. The drive was quiet but comfortable, when you stop at a red light, the street lights created a tan-like color on you both Austin called out your name softly, you turned your head and focused on him "Yeah Daddy?" you spoke just as softly Austin stay silent for a moment before he lifts his jacket and shirt to his chest, there on his hip, close by his v-line was a tattoo of your name initials in big, black cursive writing and a crown with light pink and blue jewels on top, a large lavender heart-shaped jewel inside of the front "I'm yours." He spoke up finally not taking his eyes off the road.

You smiled.

He loved you as you loved him.

Taglist: @babyxshy, @lovincherries @godlypresley, @galaxygirl453 @plasticfantasticl0ver, @dre6ming @lanadelray-gurl @purejasmine

[blurredcolour]

一期一会 | ichi-go, ichi-e | Epilogue

一期一会 | ichi-go, ichi-e Masterlist

Summary: Happily ever after arrives for you and Austin.

Pairing: Austin Butler x Female Reader

Warnings: Fluff, Pregnancy, Christmas Tree Decorating, Vague and Passing Mentions of Labour, Rating - T.

Word Count: 1138

--------✿❀✿------✿❀✿------✿❀✿------✿❀✿--------

“Oh, my not-so-little bean…” you murmured softly, absently caressing the swell of your abdomen with one hand. The other reached to hang a decoration on the Christmas tree that had taken over a sizeable corner of the living room in the house you now shared with Austin. “I swear here and now that your birthday will never, ever be overshadowed by the holidays.”

“Absolutely” Austin chimed in from somewhere on the other side of the thicket of branches. “That’s why we’re putting up the tree early this year, because moving forward…little bean’s birthday comes first and then the holidays.”

“Right…exactly…Separate party with no holiday decorations. Separate gifts, no joint weirdness. Special and distinct events.” You shuffled – more of a waddle but you would never admit that – back toward the coffee table to select another ornament, but the siren song of the couch called out to you, and you found yourself sinking back into the plush cushions, heaving a deep sigh of satisfaction as you set your feet up.

To say that two weeks out from your due date was a comfortable time would definitely be an overstatement. You were managing. You had certainly timed the end of your translation contract well, even though you had been able to work from a spare room upstairs that Austin had graciously converted to an office for you.

Your gaze came to rest on the tall, tanned man still diligently working on decorating the tree. You could not help the way your features softened and the swell of fondness beneath your breastbone. The man who had helped you draft your resignation email, flown back with you to Japan to pack up your apartment and end your lease early. The man who had introduced you to his manager Kate to ensure she could help watch out for slander against you in the tabloids and had welcomed you into his family and friend group. The man who had given up the other spare room in his house to make over into a nursery for little bean and had diligently attended every appointment and test and preparatory session with you.

If you had thought you were in love with the man that night in Osaka…you had barely been able to conceive of the depth of the love you felt for him now. A punch-drunk smile etched its way across your face crookedly as the sound of him humming along to the holiday playlist you had curated together reached your ears. The tree was nearly full of ornaments. In your defence, you had assisted with five-sevenths of the tree before the couch had sucked you in, though you had been limited to the central band – unable to bend over or reach up too high.

After fussing with spacing for a few moments, Austin took a step back to assess the tree as a whole before nodding silently. He switched off the rest of the lights in the room and came to join you on the couch. Sliding forward, you made space for him to nestle in behind you as you rested back against his chest, basking in the moment of peace in one another’s arms.

“I told you I have the director’s permission to keep my phone on me, right?” He murmured softly, his long fingers splaying across your belly.

“Mmmhmmm” You murmured softly. “And I have the ride share apps and the neighbour’s phone numbers and everything ready to go.” You tilted your head back to look up at him. “I’m going to be fine, and you’ve only got five days left on this project.” You strained upwards to press your lips against his jawline.

“Hmmm, ok little mama…” He rumbled and kissed the crown of your head. “But you gotta call me the moment it happens…”

You could not help the grin at the nickname – it had appeared around the same time you started showing. Had simply fallen from his lips, giving you both pause before it become a mutually accepted and adored moniker.

“I promise, Austin, I absolutely want you there…You will be my second call after I secure transportation if it happens early.” You nodded firmly. “Odds are? Odds are it won’t, so take a deep breath and focus on winning another Oscar.” You lay your hands over his softly. “I’m just as eager as you are to meet little bean, but they will arrive precisely when they mean to.”

He grinned broadly and nodded before nuzzling into the crook of your shoulder. You had worked with Dr. Sidhu to keep the sex of the baby a surprise – had seen many people get burned by the ambiguities of ultrasounds and locked into decorating and clothing choices…you wanted little bean to tell you upon arrival who they were.

Given your experience with making plans and the universe laughing, perhaps you should not have spoken with such glib confidence. Not two days later you found yourself making that call, the ride share pulling up to the gate as you grabbed your hospital bag and waddled down the driveway.

“Austin?” Despite your best efforts, the adrenaline pitched your voice an octave higher than normal and wound a tightness into your tone that told him immediately that it was time.

“You’re getting in a car?” He asked in a rush, bursting up from his set chair and heading for the parking lot.

“Yes…” You exhaled as you plunked down into the backseat, closing the door, and giving the driver the name of the hospital. “Yes, we are pulling away right now.”

“Ok, are you in a lot of pain?” You could hear his keys jangling as he struggled to unlock his car door.

“It comes and goes, as it is meant to…Deep breaths Austin…I’ll see you there, ok?”

“Ok…yes. Yes, I will see you there.” He affirmed, ending the call with an exchange of ‘I love yous’ before hanging up.

He arrived just as you completed the first circuit of your birthing suite, leaning on your doula. You could not help the giggles as he burst in wearing full makeup and costume.

“Hey little mama, you’re doing great.” He kissed you quickly, smothering your laughter, before he quickly changed and cleaned his face in the attached washroom.

Ten hours of sweat, tears, blood, and effort later, you and Austin were at last introduced to your baby son. There was a list of names to choose from later, but for now, the pair of you were too awed at his ten fingers, ten toes…and impressed at his powerfully squalling lungs. Lain across your chest, you both peered at him in wonderment as a flurry of activity unfurled around you in the room.

“Welcome to the family, little bean.” You whispered softly and bit your lip at the two wide eyes that gazed up at you in response.

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一期一会 | ichi-go, ichi-e Masterlist

[twoidiotwriters1]

Daughter of Olympus (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: This is a sad one -Danny Words: 2,647 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter / Next Chapter Listen to: 'gold rush' -by Taylor Swift

XXXVII: We Ran Out of Chill Pills

The walkie turns on, and Lily picks it up quickly. "Mike?"

The sounds of battle startle us, and we think Michael's in trouble. We almost drop everything and run straight to where he is, but then he speaks. 

"Do you know that look in Ara's eyes when she's training?"

"When she looks insane?"

"Hey!"

"Precisely," Mike replies.

"Hey!" I repeat in outrage.

"I think I get it now," he continues. "Listen to this..."

Way in the background, we hear a manic peal of laughter. I recognize it only because I've heard my brother laugh that way before, when he's demolishing me while playing UNO.

"What's Percy doing?"

"That's your brother?" Lily asks in shock. "He sounds crazy!"

"He looks crazy," Mike states. "He's helping though, the bridge was—Oh, wow! Hang on."

I finish my bombs and Lily finishes her traps in a hurry, we start to walk in Mike's direction, we want to help him. 

"Yes!" He laughs, it sounds like he's running. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"Sounds like it's going well," Lily points out.

"We're going, Mike, maybe you can put our bombs to use!"

"Yeah, maybe..." I don't know how he's able to speak to us and shoot arrows at the same time, but it sounds like it's no biggie for him. 

We haven't been walking for long when Mike talks again. No fight noises are coming from his line, and he's whispering.

"Don't come."

Lily presses the comm. "Is it over?"

"He's here," Mike replies, and we immediately know who he means. "Annabeth's been hurt. Don't come."

We look at each other, and instead of listening to him, we run. Probably not the best idea considering we're carrying bombs, but we aren't thinking about our safety.

"We're going!" Lily yells to the walkie-talkie. "Hang tight!"

"Blackjack took Annabeth to safety, Lily. Go to her—Do not come!"

I snatch the walkie out of Lily's hand. "You must be out of your mind if you think we're leaving you!"

"I'm not repeating myself!" His line is failing. "Focus on your mission, beast. Good luck."

Ara's eyes linger on the wall where Michael's picture is hanging.

Next to him are Austin and Kayla, they're hugging each other and making faces, Michael is laughing with his whole face like he used to. Ara remembers how he glowed whenever he did that.

Michael's leaf-green light was so easy to bring out, he had an awful temper, but man, whenever he laughed...

"Wow! Are these all former campers?"

Ara gives a start, Leo's standing at the doorway. She points to the wall next to her. "Yeah. That's Percy, in case you were curious."

Leo approaches and takes a look. The picture shows Percy and Annabeth arm in arm, he has pitch-black hair, green eyes, and a great complexion. Now that's a demigod. Then he notices the girl clinging to Percy's waist: A younger version of Ara that barely reaches her brother's shoulder.

Leo has never seen her smile the way she's doing in that picture. His eyes wander as they always do, and there she is, same age as now but different. Her face is solemn yet more childish, a laurel crown rests on her head and her purple cloak is on her shoulders covering a white sleeveless dress. The girl's holding Almighty with both hands, the blade pointing down.

On her right side stands Lily Saggio, trying and failing to look lively. On her left, there is a boy with dark hair, dark eyes, black clothes, and a sinister expression. Still, Ara stands out the most, she looks like a queen. The picture was definitely taken the day she got Aphrodite's blessing.

Leo realizes he's way over his head with Ara Jackson, completely out of his league—They're not even playing the same sport!

"Why did you come here? Leo?" She speaks at last, then follows his line of vision. "Oh."

Leo can't make eye contact, he vaguely points to the picture. "You look amazing in that one."

Ara makes a face. "I look like a toddler wearing adult's clothes."

"Don't downplay yourself, you look like Aphrodite in that picture," he tries to tease her, but he sounds way too flustered to make it work.

She chuckles. "You've never met my mother, how would you know?"

He forces out a laugh trying to hide his anxiety. "Right. Still..."

There is a hesitant smile on Ara's face and he wants to make her laugh for real, but he wishes she could go back to just being Ara in his mind. Why can't she? It's not her fault, he knows that, but she could at least try to be less perfect...

And why isn't he talking? Why is a picture affecting him this way? It burns in the back of his mind like he's got it tattooed on his eyelids. 

Ara tilts her head with amusement. "What's the matter? Ran out of lines?"

Leo clears his throat determined to speak, he wants to be honest even if she doesn't believe him, but at the same time... she's so many things to the world, and he's got nothing to offer.

Ara tenses suddenly, she walks past him at once. "I think Lily's coming, we should go back."

As soon as she's out of sight, Leo grabs fistfuls of his hair and pulls in exasperation. What the heck is wrong with him? He's never been this speechless before! His gaze goes back to Ara's picture, looking like a young goddess guarded by two murderous wards. 

It was easy to pursue her when she was just a pretty girl he met under weird circumstances, but Ara's a war hero, and in the past six months, she's done more than Leo in his lifetime.

He can light himself on fire for her amusement, and build her a few toys, but he's bound to bore her someday. It takes one look at her brother to know Ara doesn't belong in Leo's world.

Even Ara, who's the most thoughtful cute girl he's ever talked to, will end up hurting him.

Leo has been staring at her the whole movie and it's getting on her nerves. It's not a cute stare, she can feel him scowling from across the room. 

He's no longer flirty and fun, he's "Sorry, General" and "Thanks, Strategus", and Ara hates it. He's been like this the whole day, and the week is ending soon.

Lily locks eyes with her, and Ara doesn't understand how, but it's like she knows exactly what Ara's thinking. 

"Well, we better hurry!" Lily nudges Connor's arm. "Hey, Queen B, you have no problem cleaning up after us, right?"

Ara smiles. "None at all."

"We'll help—" Jason starts, but Piper stops him.

"Actually, I need your help with something," she pulls him along, giving her sister a brief but significant look. "Thanks, Ara!"

As the girls hurry to take the boys away, Ara catches Leo's wrist and pulls him back onto the couch, maybe a little too roughly. 

"Ouch!" Leo winces. "Ara, watch it when you manhandle me!"

She blushes, but his complaint is not enough to distract her. "Tell me what's wrong."

He scowls at his feet. "Nothin'."

"Leo."

"It's stupid."

"I want to make things official." The boy looks up at her, mouth slightly agape. He tries to speak but Ara stops him. "I can't be comfortable with that decision if you don't trust me enough to be honest about the things that upset you."

Ara knows his mind works as fast as his hands, so she gives him a moment to catch up and put his thoughts in order. This is not as fun as she'd dreamed it'd be.

"I'm not right."

Ara looks up. "Not right?"

"Yesterday, I overheard one of your siblings saying that you'll end up dating a buff Greek guy once we sail on our quest, 'cause it's the only match that makes sense for you..."

He rants about all the things he's been repeating over and over in his head, only growing more frustrated. 

"...And I laughed at first, 'cause we'd kissed and they had no idea—But then..." he shakes his head. "I saw that stupid picture..."

For a moment she doesn't know what he's talking about, then she remembers. "The one in Chiron's office?"

"You're beautiful, Ara," he blurts out defeatedly. "Why are you with me?"

"Argus took that picture the morning after we won the war," she explains to him. "I had just gotten the child of Olympus' blessing, of course I looked unreal! But I don't look like that all the time!"

"But it's you!" Leo insists. "The one who picked me up at the Grand Canyon, and fought the Cyclops—That is your best self, and I..." he gulps. "I'm just a mechanic."

It disturbs her to hear him say those things, this is exactly what she was afraid of: her friends building walls around her, feeling like she's unapproachable... it's such a lonely life, and Ara's not built for that.

"You think I'm impressive because you met me at the right time," she replies patiently. "Ask any of my friends... better yet, ask me. I'll tell you who I really am." 

Ara's heart is pounding and her hands are cold, but she needs to talk about this. She's seen Janus again, something's coming her way soon.

"There is someone I haven't mentioned yet," she says, hands so shaky she has to close them in tight fists.

Leo looks at her with a frown. "Who?"

"He... I couldn't talk about him before," Ara takes a fragile breath. "He was..." her chest feels so tight she has to take a moment. "He's the reason I became a daughter of Olympus."

The boy places a hand over her fists, trying to loosen them. "Ara," he says, forgetting about his worries for a moment. "What happened?"

Leo touches her and suddenly she's no longer drowning. She's in pain, but her vision sharpens, and she feels strong enough to walk through her grief if only for just a moment. 

It helps that she's doing this to ease Leo, makes her feel like she has permission to think about the past, and makes her sorrow a thing of use. Ara has to do this, Leo will never believe they're in the same boat otherwise.

"I used to have two best friends. One was Lily, the other was a son of Apollo," she gulps. "His name was Michael Yew."

As soon as she says it, Ara bursts into tears.

Austin runs up to us, looking desperate. 

"We can't find him—We can't find Michael."

Lily abandons her bag on the ground, running towards the destroyed bridge. I follow her without a second thought. 

We scream Michael's name until we can't speak, but no one answers. I find his bow and backpack on the floor, near the edge. My knees give in and I fall, holding onto his bow tightly.

"We should've been here," I whisper hoarsely.

Lily inches closer to the edge of the bridge, but it's too unstable. I catch her wrist before she gives another step forward. 

"What are you doing?" I ask, voice shaking.

"We have to keep looking," I know she's thinking of every possible scenario, refusing to believe this one. "He could be down there."

"Lily," My thumb presses on the scar on her wrist, the mark Michael left on both of our bodies. "He wanted us to stay away..." I pull her back. "It's time we listen."

"Now more than ever it's when we shouldn't!" Her breathing's getting heavier. "He could be alive—he needs us!"

I lift Mike's bow. "We're too late!"

"No!"

I want to scream again, my vision's getting blurry but I try to hold on because Lily needs me to. "He knew what was going to happen. He asked us to keep going, don't quit on us now."

She looks back at the edge, and a whimper abandons her and she rubs her eyes furiously. "I'm sorry..." she covers her face in shame. "Forgive me, brother..."

I get up and hug her as tightly as I can. We're the same height but I'm stronger, so I squeeze her so she feels something other than despair. Lily buries her face on my shoulder and sobs.

"It's you and me now," I cry quietly. "I'm not leaving your side until this war is over."

She doesn't speak, only holds onto me tighter.

"Everyone always took care of me—Michael, Charles, my sister... they slipped through my fingers and I just... I was so far from where I should've been, every single time—"

"You didn't fail them," Leo holds her face. "From what I've heard, you did great things after they died."

"Michael was the first to believe I could be someone great... and he died because of me. He swore on the Styx that he'd make me a child of Olympus," she sobs. "I don't want you to think I'm more important than your well-being—I became a child of Olympus to make sure no one would sacrifice themselves like that for me ever again."

"But being a child of Olympus doesn't mean you can control..." he hesitates, understanding what she's trying to say. "How you're perceived by others..."

Ara's heart is in her throat. Leo's hands hold her face so gently, almost as if she's made of the finest silk.

"I'm sorry I dropped this on you with no warning..." she says hoarsely. "I needed you to understand... I'm as worried as you are... about not being the right fit," Ara stares at him with deep distress. "Just to imagine how it'd feel if I lose you too..."

Leo wraps his arms around her carefully, allowing her to decide whether she wants the contact or not, and she welcomes it fully. He pulls her closer, wanting to say something but having no words. He rubs her back gently. 

"I won't make any promises if that's what you want," he struggles but tries very hard to voice what's in his mind. "But I have never cared the way I care about you, so we'll go to the gods-darn Underworld together if we have to."

"No rebirth or anything until we see each other one last time?" She asks, barely keeping control of the lump in her throat.

"It's a deal," he dries her tears with his thumbs. "Until then, you can lean on me. I'll lean on you too if it makes you feel better."

Ara doesn't understand why Leo is so perfect in her eyes. She wouldn't change him at all, except for the parts that hurt him. To think it's been just a few weeks since they met...

"What?" He asks, amusement dancing in his gaze. "What's that look for?"

"I'm in love with you."

Leo blinks, not expecting those words to come out of her mouth at all. He stares at her, convinced that he's lost it, there is no way he heard that right. "What?"

"I love you," Ara states with certainty.

Leo's heart rate goes off the charts, his entire body lights up so brightly Ara has to look away. His smile grows as he processes what Ara said.

"I love you too," He's been dying to say it ever since they first kissed, but now he's hardly able to sit still and form a coherent sentence. "Are we crazy?"

"Yes, extremely," Ara wraps her fingers around his wrists. He's still holding her face but he's stuck, he either stays frozen or he'll bounce off the walls and wreck the rec room. "But I mean it with my whole chest, and that's when you're supposed to say it."

"I believe you," he gives in easily. "You're an Aphrodite, if you say you love me, heck, who am I to say it's not true?" He smirks. "I've loved you for longer, though."

Ara laughs, messily cleaning her nose with the back of her hand, in a way that Leo loves cause it makes her look so normal. She's not the pretty girl he met before or the impressive hero everyone keeps away—Ara is his girlfriend, his favorite person in the world, and that's nothing scary. He won't be able to keep his hands to himself after this.

"You're the best boyfriend ever," she sniffs. "And an idiot."

Leo is always expecting her to roll her eyes and disregard his comments, but she never does that. Gods, he loves her.

"Maybe," he replies with a smile. "But most importantly, I'm officially your idiot boyfriend."

Next Chapter ->

Taglist.

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[wrestlinghistorywithkay]

Mr. No. 01 : All About George South And My Personal Experience With Him

Hey Everyone! I wanted to write this special article for a legend whom I’ve met multiple times! The legend is , ‘ Mr. No. 1 ’ , George South . I wanted to write this because today is his birthday!

George South has been wrestling since 1984. He made his in ring debut the day after Christmas, which was December 26, 1984 at Championship Wrestling from Florida ( CWF). He was in a tag team with his partner being Mike Allen. They took on the team of Pretty Young Things , which consisted of WWE Hall Of Famer Koko B. Ware and Norvell Austin. However , South and Allen lost the match. South’s next wrestling appearance was in Bill Watts’ Mid- South Wrestling. Mid-South Wrestling was rebranded into the Universal Wrestling Federation ( UWF ) in 1986. South was in a tag team with Rocky King in a match against Kamala in a Two-On-One match in 1985. The same year , South found his way to Jim Crockett Promotions and made his debut on the Inaugural episode of World Championship Wrestling ( later to be known as WCW Saturday Night ) on April 6,1985.

On the episode of WCW, George South would team with Greg Stone to face the team of Ivan Koloff and Krusher Khruschev. A week after making his debut, he would face Magnum TA , the most popular wrestler in JCP. This was his first singles match, Magnum would defeat him. Thus , he would have his very first match against the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, ‘ The Nature Boy ’ Ric Flair , on June 1,1985. This match would be a non-title match , which meant that Flair wouldn’t have to defend his championship. Flair would go on to say that South was his favorite Enhancement Talent to work with and praised him for being a Great Worker. On September 14,1985 , South would earn his first victory against Mack Jeffers. He would also work for Georgia Championship Wrestling and would also become the NWA Junior Georgia Heavyweight Champion in 1986 as he continued to work for JCP. He would also appear in Central States Wrestling out of the Midwest. Central States Wrestling was an affiliate of the NWA in the Heart of America/ Central States Territory. His appearances there would be in the Fall of 1986. He would have matches against talents such as Colt Steel and Mark Fleming. South would form a tag team with Gary Royal upon his return to Mid Atlantic Wrestling. They would be known as the Gladiators , Cruel Connection, and the Mexican Twin Devils. They would be masked and would be an Enhancement Tag Team. South would continue to wrestle for JCP.

In August of 1988, George South would debut for the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF). He did so as he continued working for JCP. He was used as an Enhancement Talent in a match for the Honky Tonk Man for ‘ WWF Wrestling Challenge’. He would also wrestle against The Blue Blazer on the same show on August 24, 1988. This match would mark Owen Hart’s first TV match for the WWF. He would have matched against talent such as The Ultimate Warrior, The Rockers ( Marty Janetty and Shawn Michaels) , Jake ‘ The Snake ’ Roberts, Sam Houston, and many other popular WWF wrestlers . His final appearance for the company would be in 1990. Thus , he would also appear in WCW once more. He would have matched against The Great Muta and other talent such as Johnny B. Badd ( Marc Mero). George South would find his way back to the WWF in 1993 at a taping against Tatanka. Thus ,a year later, he would face Tatanka on the January 17,1994 episode of Monday Night RAW. In February, he would face Doink The Clown. In April , he would go against Lex Luger. He made his final WWF appearance in 1996 , being in a match against Jake Roberts on ‘ Superstars ’.

George South would join the PWF ( Pro Wrestling Federation) in 1991 as he was continuing to work in WCW. He would become the PWF Junior Heavyweight Champion in the Summer of the same year. He also reconnected with Gary Royal and Cruel Connection was reformed. South was crowned the PWF World Heavyweight Champion in 1995 after defeating Star Ryder. He also made an appearance in Jim Cornette’s Smoky Mountain Wrestling. In 1999, South would open his own wrestling promotion, Exodus Wrestling Alliance. He is a born again Christian and says one of his greatest accomplishments is giving Hulk Hogan a tract to help him with his faith. He often gives these out to fans at any show he is booked at. South also works with legends such as Nikita Koloff at Christian based wrestling shows. As a Heel , South says that he doesn’t use profanity, or become vulgar in order for fans to boo him. He also uses his style of wrestling to salute the wrestlers of the past such as Blackjack Mulligan.

George South is also affiliated with AML Wrestling. He made his NWA return in 2019 in a dark match against Colby Corino. This was before the taping of the December 15,2019 episode of ‘ NWA Powerrr ’. He also trains new wrestlers at Rings Wrestling Training Facility. South has trained wrestlers such as Tessa Blanchard , the daughter of Tully Blanchard and the stepdaughter of Magnum TA.

My Personal Experience With George:

George South is one of the nicest people I have ever met. I first met him back in 2022. I’ve also learned a few things about the business from him, and I’m not even an in ring talent. I got to work his merch stand at a show one night and it was an honor to do so. I even got to watch him perform in the ring and it was excellent! I have to say , he’s a great Heel and an even better person. He’s also pretty fun to watch in a deathmatch. So, happy birthday, George! Love ya! - Kay

[saturniandevil]

June 2023 Important Dates

AKA my notes on The Astrology Podcast's June forecast.

Recap of May: The Pluto station in Aquarius (1st of 38!) coincided with a major AI engineer leaving Google and related conversations with software engineers at the White House. Guest hose Kirah Tabourn connects the WGA strike with Mercury's retrograde (disruption in communications) approaching Uranus in a Venus-ruled sign (arts). We're also finally getting some lunations free of eclipse season. Speaking of eclipses, which have indicated major changes in rulership since ancient times (ex. a clay tablet from 331BC ties Alexander the Great's defeat of Darius to a concurrent eclipse), Charles II was also crowned king of England under the eclipse early this month, and while it's an intensification of his natal transits, Austin says it's an electional chart he wouldn't recommend--perhaps indicating the fall of a dynasty. The eclipse also coincided with the passing of Ellen Black, one of the founders of Project Hindsight (translation of ancient astrology texts directly into English).

Overall June has few big rearrangement, in contrast to the tumult of April and May. We're out of eclipse season and Mercury has gone direct, though some sign ingresses this month give us hints as to what's coming this summer.

June 3rd - Full Moon in Sagittarius This full moon occurs while Mercury & Uranus are approaching an exact conjunction. With both benefics in aversion to the lights (one of whom rules the Moon), this lunation wants to be grounded but can't quite get there. Jupiter wants to understand things to improve them, and is in a position to help us, as he's being received by Venus with a line of communication (sextile) between them. Our hosts are drawing heavily from Formicus today, who describes extreme bad cases with certain aspects, but suggests mitigating factors that may lessen or negate difficult effects, one of which is this conversation between benefics.

June 4th - Mercury conjoins Uranus

June 5th - Venus enters Leo She will retrograde in this sign on July 22nd, and will enter the shadow period (degrees she'll revisit while changing direction) this month. She'll be chasing Mars this month and for the first half of July. Though never exactly conjunct, they'll be copresent. Venus-Mars is not subtle, and even louder in Leo. Drawing from horary significations, this may indicate something that seems to start but never quite comes together. That being said, there's still a lot of drama as two planets light up the same house of our chart. We may fight over the spotlight or misperceptions of our egos; expect a double dose of sex scandals & celebrity drama.

This retrograde also ties back to Venus's previous Leo retrogrades, most recently the summers of 2015 and 2007, so you may be going back to complete something unfinished. For example, a Venus-Jupiter conjunction then effectively legalized same-sex marriage in the US, but now Jupiter is squaring her. Pluto is also squaring her for the first part of this transit, as well as the nodes, indicating power dynamics and confusion (the North Node tells you to hold on while the South Node urges you to let go). Overall, this is a good time to audit the contradictions we feel in our relationships. Hold some space for that back-and-forth ambivalence, because we'll make it out the other side with some clarity--but you can't get the answer six weeks early while you're still in the process.

Venus also signifies creative processes, especially the arts, so be prepared for your projects to take some time. Let it twist and turn where it needs to go. The change of direction in the sky gives us a chance to change our direction internally as well. Venus's actual retrograde will happen with plenty of communication with Jupiter, so the road into the retrograde may look scarier than the retrograde itself (though first we must deal with the unexpected disruptions Uranus brings us by squaring Venus on the day of her station).

June 11th - Pluto regresses to Capricorn, Mercury enters Gemini Pluto has only explored the first degree of Aquarius before returning to the themes first begun in 2008 (our hosts especially predict banking & finance themes). However, Mercury's trek through his home sign should speed up our conversations, movements, and thoughts. A square to Saturn slows him down a little, but once he clears those degrees we should be moving.

June 17th - Saturn stations Retrograde This is his first station in Pisces and as far as he'll get into the sign this year (7 degrees). Early degrees of mutable signs will feel this transit the most--think an ocean of lead. The square to Mercury brings some tension: Mercury wants to skate around the big heavy issues that we can't help, while Saturn wants to take a long time to work on deep healing and is annoyed by the light conversation.

Around the 19th, Jupiter will sextile Saturn exactly, and with the reception between them (Saturn is in Jupiter's sign), there's a positive stabilizing influence. We've got some options for how to deal with the difficulties--or settle into the years of work they require. This is the first exact aspect between them since the ingress into Aquarius in 2020, which began a new cycle. This is the first new chapter of the 20-year long story, especially involving world events. We've got a balance between pessimism and optimism--the course is stabilized.

June 18th - New Moon in Gemini, Auspicious date The Moon conjoins the Sun at 26Gemini, closely squaring Neptune (27♓) just 12 days before his station. This is a very good Moon for being creative, like sci-fi and fantasy, artists and musicians, or for doing something creative as a change of pace. It's also a good time for socializing and having fun. Think storytelling and myths as a social function and using healthy doses of escapism. Ask: what kind of story am I in right now? Sometimes roles shift and it takes us awhile to realize who we are now. A few days later, Venus will hit 12 degrees of Leo, which is where she'll station direct after the retrograde.

This is also the date of this month's auspicious election (around 11:56AM local time):

The chart has Virgo rising, ruled by Mercury in the 10th house at 12 degrees of Gemini (who has cleared that square with Saturn and is riding the high of a sextile to Venus (11♌)). This is a great chart for career matters and public reputation (10th house)--anything that requires direct and quick communication. This is also good for 11th house matters like friends and social groups: the Moon is applying to a sextile with Jupiter in Taurus, who himself is in the 9th house of religion, philosophy, and foreign travel, and applying to a balancing sextile with Saturn (who, though in the 8th house, is more cooperative in a day chart and feels the stabilizing influence of Jupiter). Thus this chart is good for 9th house matters as well. Both the Moon & Ascendant ruler are in very good shape during this chart.

June 21st - Sun enters Cancer (A/N: The beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere!)

June 25th - Mars square Uranus (not pictured) We've had some Mars issues lately between eclipses, retrogrades, and fall placement, but know we've also got a bit of instability/sparking the powder keg coming up. Alternately, our stability may be stress-tested.

June 26th - Mercury enters Cancer In a few days on the 30th he'll have a cazimi (exact conjunction to the Sun), resetting his synodic cycle. Austin says this configuration will further add to a deeper understanding of where we're at in life. Chris brings up the Gnostic/Hermetic concepts of gnosis and gnos, where we each have a spark of the divine within us (gnos) and occasionally glimpse the greater pattern as represented within us (gnosis).

June 30th - Neptune stations Retrograde

[solarsonicsoda]

The Road to... Wrestlemania XL

Part 4: Sami Zayn vs. Gunther, LWO vs. Escobar & Dominik, 6-Way Tag Team Ladder Match, & Damage CTRL vs. Belair, Naomi, & Cargill

On top of the three I have already mentioned, there are four other matches on Wrestlemania XL Saturday!

We have Damage CTRL, who have been running roughshod over the Smackdown Women's Division for the better part of the year. We'll get to the crown jewel of that faction tomorrow, but their three other members are in action on Saturday. The Women's Tag Team Champions, The Kabuki Warriors (Kairi Sane & Asuka), and Dakota Kai are representing the unit as they take on a trio of popular women's stars.

There's the returning Naomi, who rejoined the WWE in January, and is keen to show-up the unruly faction. There's also Bianca Belair, a multi-time women's champion who has been frequently undone by Damage CTRL. Completing their team is the debuting Jade Cargill. She has wrestled just one WWE match, that being the 2024 Royal Rumble where she made an immediate impression. She's joined Naomi & Belair in their fight against Damage CTRL, so the stage is set for Wrestlemania.

There's also a big 6-team ladder match for both the Raw Tag Team Championships and the Smackdown Tag Team Championships! The Judgment Day have been on top of the tag team division, holding both titles for almost the entirety of the last 9 months. This will prove a challenge for the dark and dominant team of Damien Priest and Finn Balor...

There's the 11-time champions The New Day, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods. The happy-go-lucky team are always favourites to win a big match, having been some of the strongest champions in recent years. The team of #DIY are also in the match. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa have had their ups and downs, but when they're on the same page like they are now they're one of the best teams out there. You can never count out the team of Awesome Truth though, The Miz & R-Truth. The cocky and opinionated Miz will do anything to win, and Truth is entirely unpredictable, whether he means to be or not! He may have extra motivation too, having thought he was in The Judgment Day despite their dislike for him, leading to them feuding with the rapping wrestler.

Smackdown has some hot tag teams also in contention too though! There's the New Catch Republic, the former British Strong Style team of Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne. They challenged for the titles at Elimination Chamber in a losing effort, but these awesome young wrestlers are some of the best in the world and they'll want to get the belts on the second attempt. Lastly, there's also A-Town Down Under, Austin Theory & Grayson Waller. This mouthy and underhanded pair will be keen to win here and laud this accomplishment over the rest of the roster. Who will claim each set of titles in this chaotic matchup?

Speaking of tag teams, we have a tag team matchup between the Latino World Order and the team of Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio. When Rey Mysterio revived the LWO name, Santos Escobar was honoured to be a part of such a legendary faction. However, he grew frustrated with the Hall of Famer, and he would shockingly and brutally turn his back on Mysterio with a vicious beatdown. He would bring back his faction Legado del Fantasma with new members Angel Garza and Humberto Carillo, and they have been at loggerheads with the remaining LWO for months. However, when Mysterio & Escobar finally went head-to-head, the masked man's son Dominik, who had long-since distanced himself from his father, helped Escobar cheat a win.

A year after Rey defeated his son at Wrestlemania, a tag match was set up with Santos & Dominik against Rey and the newest member of the LWO, Dragon Lee. Despite the faction containing the tag team of Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro, plus legend Carlito, already in their ranks, Mysterio reached out to his fellow masked man for assistance. Carlito would find Lee injured on Friday Night Smackdown though, and a change had to be made. But in a surprise, Andrade El Idolo, a former rival of Mysterio's, showed up to assist the LWO against Legado del Fantasma and The Judgment Day's Dominik. Andrade would join LWO and be the man to tag with Rey at Wrestlemania.

Will it be the nefarious team of Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio?

Or will the veteran Rey Mysterio and his ally Andrade El Idolo come out on top?

And of course, there's the big match for the Intercontinental Championship. Gunther, the big man from Austria, has held the title for a record-breaking 665 days. However, if there's anyone who can defy the odds, it's Sami Zayn. Zayn has gone through a lot in recent years: joining The Bloodline, breaking out of The Bloodline, winning the tag team titles in the main event of Wrestlemania 39 Saturday. He has yet to taste singles gold since he became a fan favourite again, and he is struggling to wear his heart on his sleeve once again to defeat the champion. He was able to win a gauntlet match to earn the opportunity though, despite his previous doubts of how he gets onto the card, and has been working with one of Gunther's biggest rivals throughout his reign, Chad Gable. The former Olympian has been training Zayn on all his experience with Gunther, but only time will tell if he can defeat the leader of Imperium, Gunther.

That's all for Wrestlemania XL Saturday! You can also check out WWE's compilation videos for the ladder match, Rey & Andrade vs. Dom & Santos and Zayn vs. Gunther!

[world-of-wales]

red white and royal blue (the book) was amazing and i loved how it seemed to open up the romcom genre to queer relationships an entirely different way! it's so witty and heartfelt and such a fun but earnest read and perfect for a holiday or a day by the beach! (also definitely my favourite by the author so far, one last stop was cute but the time travel element was a little weird for me and i kissed shara wheeler was just a queer paper towns (the novel by john green) with unlikeable characters, but i'm excited for their 4th novel!) also, books i've really enjoyed so far this year (no particular order or genre): - the roughest draft by emily wibberly and austin siegemund-broka (romance about two authors who had a falling out but have to write a novel together to fulfill their contractual obligations) - pet and bitter by akwaeke emezi (coming of age novel and prequel about what choices we can make when society is in denial) - happy place by emily henry (fake dating exes spending time with their friend group at a beach house) - our missing hearts by celeste ng (novel about identity and rebellion) - yellowface by r.f. kuang (unhinged in the best way about a white author who steals their dead asian friend's manuscript and publishes it under a racially ambiguous name and the ramifications of that) - small worlds by caleb azumah nelson (book about growing up and finding yourself amidst expectations from your immigrant parents in london with a beautiful music backdrop)

what kind of books to you tend to read? and what are your favourites from this year?

Honestly same, I loved it. I read it in 2020 and I was hooked. Read it in one sitting and spent the whole night awake finishing it. Exactly I agree with this, there used to be books about queen relationships before but they weren't done so well till Casey put RWRB out there. I have read books before that too but that never dealt with the characters in such a good way. It's my favorite by her too, i read her other books too but theres just some magic in RWRB that's never been matched again as per me.

I get ur point about OLS but I did like the time travelling aspect of it though (it's the fantasy romance reader in me). Oooh paper towns >>>> haven't talked about that book in so long. I was such a big John Green fan in ninth grade, totally obsessed with his books.

Ooh all these books sound amazing. Definitely adding a few to my tbr. I have read Small Worlds and just read happy place last week. Loved both of them. And Yellow face has been in my tbr too, I have the kindle version just need to find the time to read it.

So I can read pretty much anything - romance, mystery, coming of age, fantasy, biographies etc. My book interests are all over the place honestly.

Currently I'm on my romance and mystery phase. So I'm trying to finish Catherine Cowles blacklist. This year I had a slow start on my reading thanks to this being my last term in university. So I only got properly into reading in June. Since then I have been reading a lot of romances (anything and everything), thrillers and suspense, fantasy even. Though I have been struggling to find good thrillers this year so that's in a bit of a slump.

So my favs of this year have been -

Crowns of Nyaxia (1st book) by Carissa Broadbent

From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapaata

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis

Loved loved loved Small Worlds

Finally read Things we never got over by Lucy Score

If this is love by Jewel E Ann

Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings

Dirty air series (4th book) by Lauren Asher

The guest by Emma Cline

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yaaros

A scoundrel of her own by Stacy Reid (need to complete her blacklist too)

[quaranmine]

SPEAKING OF WILDFIRE, i wanted to share the fascinating-yet-terrifying article i read during work a few weeks ago. we get a daily newsletter of environmental-related new stories for our region's states, so i often find interesting things there.

This article honestly rocked me. I had NO idea the Austin-San Antonio area was at such a risk. I knew of the devastating fire in Bastrop, Texas a few years ago, and then more recently I followed the fires in the Chisos mountains in Big Bend National Park with personal interest since it's one of my favorite places in the world. But it hadn't really occurred to me that this area was such a risk waiting to happen. In retrospect, it does make sense to me (like, where did I think Bastrop was located if not close to Austin? lol)

I said earlier that I was fortunate to live in an area that doesn't experience much wildfire, and that's still true--I live in a region that is typically wetter and more humid than this. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's July and we're pretty crispy and dry over here too. But it's just not the same biome. We don't get massive sprawling wildfires--at most, someone burns their field off and it gets mildly out of control and put out within a day. Now, I trade this risk for being constantly under the gun for tornadoes all the time, but still. Fire is not a natural disaster that I worry about.

This article says that one-third of Austin is at high risk. The grasslands of the area don't produce super dramatic crown fires the way fires in California might, but since urban sprawl keeps steadily moving outward and embers from fires can go up to a mile away, the potential for damage is in the billions of dollars. It also says some of the towns and cities in Central TX don't even factor in fire during planning, and leave any fire mitigation up to the individual homeowner. Most of whom do not even realize that they are also living in fire country. And even if they do realize that and do take fire precautions, they're only as safe as all their neighbors are because of how quickly fire spreads from building to building.

In the I-35 corridor between San Antonio and Austin, nearly 1.1 million people (49% of the total population) are living in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) area that puts them at risk of wildfire since fires that start on open plains can easily consume new suburbs next to them.

[draftmare]

I may have ruined myself by having my first books of the year being One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns. It is much too early to crown them favorites of the year, but I don’t think it’s too early to firmly place them in top 5 of the year. That duology was fantastic, despite me struggling at first. Once I got into it, I could not set it down. Now I am on the struggle bus. Heartless Hunter felt very…surface level. The characters were very clearly being forced together by the author for the romance that she wanted to have happen. There was very little nuance to it. It felt like it was being written for a much younger audience despite still being in the fantasy romance genre. That’s not to say you have to be an Austin or Dickinson to be worthy, but it was just so….shallow…

Next on my list is/was Butcher and Blackbird. I had mentioned in my last post that I was worried this book was well outside of my current wheelhouse of fantasy romance, but there has been a lot of buzz about it in the book groups that I am in. I thought I might like it based on my love of Dexter back in the day. The premise of this book is two serial killers that kill other serial killers and end up falling for each other. However, I think my tastes have changed enough since my Dexter years that this one is going to be a miss for me.

I spent some time feeling very loss about what I was going to read next because for once I did not have anything that I was feeling really excited about or readily lined up. However, I think I might have finally of broken my SJM burnout. I read the first chapter of Crescent City, which I got a physical copy of for Christmas. I know that I should finish ACOTAR series first, but after reading a few pages in Wings and Ruin, which I was 40% through when I threw my hands up and said I just couldn’t with these characters any more I decided I was going to have to start at the beginning of the book anyway. At least do a brief skim to refresh my memory on what is happening. If I remember correctly I don’t think there are any spoilers in Crescent City, they just happen in the same world so knowing the other story helps.

[omegawhiskers]

Full Gear 2023

Bloody Hell, bruv!

Full Gear injected a new aspect to the main event storyline during the pre-show. MJF got a beatdown post match from Austin and Colten Gunn, who injured Max's knee with a chair. MJF was taken away by ambulance, but Adam Cole promised he would not let Jay White walk away with the title tonight.

I really didn't like this part of the story. Firstly, I find it ridiculous that Tony Khan would allow Cole to take his best friends place in the main event. Cole is not cleared to compete. This is total incompetence on Khan's part. Secondly, since when do you drop a title to your opponent if you can't defend it? This is nonsensical.

The first match we got was the six man tag. Sting, Darby Allin and Adam Copeland came out with face paint while wearing Copeland style jackets. Darby took a chokeslam from inside the ring, over the top rope and out on to the apron. It looked like Darby died, while we were told he has to climb mount Everest the next day. There was something awful, yet hilarious at the same time about this. Darby, Nick Wayne and Luchasaurus did most of the work. Sting actually played things nice and safe. Christian never had contact with Copeland and Flair no sold a low blow after a minute. After the match, Darby grabbed a microphone and told the crowd to cheer for Sting or he was going to be the shit outta everyone. This was a great opening bout.

Orange Cassidy beat Jon Moxley, but he had to give it everything he had. I think it took five or so Orange Punches to take Moxley down. I like what they did with Orange during this feud and it made his victory felt earned. Matches like these make the International Title prestigious.

Toni Storm was quite whimsical in her match against Hikaru Shida. Her mannerisms were entertaining to watch. Storm picked up the win which wasn't at all that surprising as she's super over. Even tough Storm is the heel, the crowd were still behind her. Shida’s reign wasn’t booked so great. She had matches, but there was nothing beyond that. This was a decent match, but I wasn’t a big fan of the sliver tray spot as you really had to suspend your belief that the ref did not see it.

Who was that child with LFI? Did they abduct him? Anyway, this ladder match was a little slow to get started, but once it picked up steam, it delivered some great spots, especially from Brodie King who was the MVP of the match. I was quite surprised when the match came to an end as I thought 10 or 15 minutes had past, but it went just over 20 minutes. Due to eight wrestlers being involved, not everyone can get time to shine unfortunately. I thought Ricky Starks got lost in the shuffle. While this won't go down as a classic ladder match, I still think it was good for a match that was only announced this past Friday.

So, Julia Hart misted Skye Blue, who in return misted Hart as an act of revenge, but, in this triple treat match, Blue wanted to shake hands with Hart so they could continue to team up on Kris Statlander. Julia denied her. This part of the match made zero sense to me. Why would Blue want to shake hands with Julia? Why would Julia not take the help? Besides that part, I really enjoyed this match. Blue’s presentation was great. I liked that she dumped the baseball cap for a crown. Statlander came off looking like a beast (the german suplexes were great). As I mentioned, I think creative failed Statlander. They didn't give us any development to her character as a champion, yet, Blue and Hart have both transformed. I’m glad Julia got the win. She's been killing it for a while now, and deserves the spotlight.

Will Ospreay is All Elite. Ospreay was like ‘’YO BRUV, SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LET ME FINISH MY TIME IN NEW JAPAN FIRST, BRUV.’’ Clam down, Will, we respect contracts around here.

The Texas Deathmatch is a match I won't forget anytime soon. This hardcore violent. It didn't take long before Adam Page had a staple gun and was using it on Swerve. It's was quite gruesome when Swerve’s blood was gushing down his face and Page decided to staple his kids drawing to Swerves cheek. When I thought things couldn't go any further, it did. At one point, Hangman started dripping Swerves blood into his mouth before spitting it into the air like HHH with water. These men used barbed wire in horrible ways. I was pretty sure Page's face was going to be ripped off when some wire got caught in his face and Swerve continued to pull at it. Brian Cage got involved near the end, and I couldn't help but think where is Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks? You can argue that Matt and Nick are heels, but Omega sat this out with Cage's involvement? Besides Cage, I think this is an instant classic. I loved how personal this feud was. And I loved the violent payoff to it.

I was pretty tired by the time it came to The Golden Jets vs. The Young Bucks. While I was watching, my brain had checked out. At some point I started to wake up and I got into this tag match. The Bucks working on Chris Jericho's arm, giving the low blow and having a tantrum post match were all highlights. I'm glad The Young Bucks lost because I think they need a fire to ignite further heel antics.

Cole, with crutches and all, gets into the ring to face Jay White. Before the match can begin, MJF returns to the arena driving an ambulance. Did he steal that ambulance? Max can barely stand when he arrives and White takes full advantage. Even when Max gets any offensive, it results in him collapsing to the mat in pain. I'm thinking there is no way MJF is winning without the help of Cole. There was a moment when Cole was going to hit White with ROH Tag Team title, but it so feeble, it looked like he past it to him. Later, Cole would pass the Dynamite Diamond Ring to his brochacho that would lead to his victory. The issue I had with the wonky knee angle is, it was worked on too much. Less would have been more. By the end of the match, I was shocked that MJF was not stretchered off after the win.

Full Gear was a pretty good PPV. I didn't think it delivered any bad matches. The negatives laid in the build up to the event and I didn't think the injured knee of MJF was warranted. We also got no appearance from The Devil which was disappointing.

[philosopheme]

[Review] Fortress Festival

I went to Fortress Festival in Scarborough this weekend just gone and had a blast. Here’s a little review of some of the bands I saw.

Friday

Friday kicked off at 2pm with English BM band Andracca and what an opener it was.   Crowd was disappointingly light for them and I felt a little bad but it was the very first set of the entire festival. They still earned some new fans, myself included. Great energy and intensity.

Next came another English BM band - Andartar. Heavier than Andracca but similarly great intensity. I knew I'd stumbled upon a brilliant festival already at this point. Another pic. Lighting was great throughout the whole fest.

Slight change of pace next with Devastator, a black thrash band from Derby. First pit of the weekend starts, even if it only consisted of around 6 people. They got a great reception and put on a good show and their set was 30 minutes, same as the two before.

Then we get to our first jaw drop of the festival. The Sun's Journey Through The Night. One man band from England recently nominated for Metalhammer's Song of the Week. Incredible performance and highly recommend them. Nice theatrics with the horned skull mask and just fantastic energy from everyone involved. I also got a drumstick from them, cheers!

Wode come next. 40 minute set this time. Manchester black/death metal. Loved his vocals.

Then we have Finnish pagans Havukruunu. Setting the 'atmospheric' tone for the rest of the evening with a nice intro. Place was looking full now, though it was amazing how spacey the room felt. Should also note the crowd was really chilled and friendly. Great set, loved the bassist's bullet crown.

Time for the headliners. I say headliners because they both played for the same amount of time and both felt like they had the right to finish the first day off. So - an hour's set from the magnificent Can Bardd from Switzerland. Beautiful atmospheric folky black metal, many people said they were their favourite band of the weekend. Great set and, as you can see, the place was really alive. Popped out for a smoke and thought 'what a place'.

To finish off, Saor from Scotland. First time hearing electric bagpipes which was a fun experience. Just like every other one that day it was a brilliant set, the crowd were really into it and I especially enjoyed the flute(?). Frontman Andy engaged spoke with the crowd a few times. Nice view leaving the spa. 

Saturday

Back  to Scarborough Spa - which was once again looking ravishing - just in time for the post-black metal openers from Birmingham, Lunar Mercia, at 12:30. Really nice sound and lovely vocalist who I'd spoken to the day before.

Next we have Nemorous. Basically Wodensthrone v2 as it's made up of mostly ex-members. Started amazingly, finished amazingly, but suffered a very unfortunate snapped guitar string in the middle that seemed to take an AGE to restring. The crowd was totally sympathetic but you could feel the frustration from the entire band, I can't imagine how disappointed they were. Think they only managed around four songs but they did a great job and I went and bought a t-shirt afterwards. Visceral vocals and first keyboardist of the festival.

My personal highlight of the weekend came at the end of Nemorous' set. Just before they started I checked in at the Panopticon stand and got myself a copy of Kentucky. £80 on Discogs currently but they were selling them for £35. That alone made me very happy, but, whilst watching Nemorous, I noticed a familiar face. There was Austin Lunn from Panopticon, the reason I bought the ticket to this festival, going ham at the barrier (the guy with the hair, obviously). Once the set finished he very kindly signed my copy of Kentucky after I frantically searched for a marker pen and got a photo with him. He stuck around to chat for a few minutes and was one of the nicest musicians I've ever met. So enthusiastic and asking loads of questions.  My weekend was made and absolutely nothing could've ruined it at that point.

After a short break and a few beers I got back in time for Ard. Described as 'Monastic Northumbrian doom', Ard is the project of Mark Deeks from Winterfylleth. As a one man project he was naturally assisted by the rest of Winterfylleth! This was a real change of pace from the black metal we'd been listening to since early Friday afternoon and he did thank everybody for sticking around for him 'even though there were no blast beats'. Really enjoyable set.

Next, Ante-Inferno, from Scarborough itself, with the drummer being the organiser of the festival, Gary. Really been enjoying their most recent album 'Antediluvian Dreamscapes' and they were a class act. In case you haven't caught on, everyone at this festival was fucking great. Really loved the vocals here.

Here we have one of my biggest highlights of the weekend and a band I've not stopped listening to since I left Scarborough.  Afsky, from Denmark. They rendered me absolutely speechless. Sure, the wood and the torches and the industrial fan were a nice touch, but they played with an intensity I hadn't seen to this point. The sound was amazing and the screams were just top drawer. As you can see in this video, it was way busier on the Saturday. Room was packed but, like Friday, far from cramped. I've listened to them every day since Saturday and I finished one of their albums on the drive home.

It was getting real misty at this point. Eldritch powers or smoke machine, who can say?

Penultimate act of the day, English black metal darlings Winterfylleth. Mark Deeks from Ard back behind the keyboard this time. I'm a fan of Winterfylleth and it was my first time seeing them but I wasn't really blown away. They were good, I think I just expected them to be better. Or maybe it was the anticipation of Panopticon around the corner... either way, there was a better pit this time as well as a few corpse-painted balloons floating around. Very kvlt.

Finally, my time had come. I bought my ticket for Fortress the moment I heard Panopticon were there. One of my favourite black metal bands, with Kentucky being one of my favourite albums of all time. At this point, around 21:30, I hadn't had a pint for about 2 hours to avoid needing a piss and losing my spot at the front. I got right to the barrier, which was insanely easy, and waited it out. Soundcheck took a little while and the whole fest was probably running a solid 15/20 mins behind. Think Austin Lunn spent more time trying to balance his 'Commonwealth of Kentucky' flag on his amp than actually doing the soundcheck, not that I was complaining.

And then we were off. They were fucking amazing in every way. I was emotional. So much Kentucky material, including the wonderful little folky bits. Austin wasn't satisfied with the sound at the start and kept asking for more guitar, not that it interrupted his flow at all. Though, the string instrument they were using (fiddle? violin? idk) could've definitely been a bit louder. Austin's vocals were fantastic but I was utterly blown away by their keyboardist, who's name I don't know. Guitar work was fantastic and at times it sounded just like the studio album.

Austin did an impromptu meet and greet afterwards, just jumped down from the stage and started to chatting to people. Really phenomenal set. Sadly it was the end of the road for me, as I couldn't stay for Sunday's lineup due to work, but I had had an incredible time and finishing with Panopticon was a moment I'll never forget.

I heard Sunday was also good, though I think it would be fair to say the lineup was slightly weaker. Heard great things about Abduction and Cenotaphe, though I've heard a few things about Bolzer having a nightmare with soundchecking (as in it took fucking ages and he had a go at the sound engineer - and someone may have heckled him?) but I can't say much more as I wasn't there. A friend did say they were really good once that got out of the way.

Favourite sets: Panopticon, Afsky, The Suns Journey Through The Night. In that order.

Final thoughts

Fortress is one of the best festivals I've ever been to. Not because it was flashy or had the best lineup or anything like that (though Panopticon puts it up there for me), but just because it was so well organised and chilled. Everyone was super friendly, there was zero hassle, the venue was incredible, and all the bands delivered. 

They've already confirmed they're going again for 2024 and they're moving to the bigger room at Scarborough Spa which holds 1800 and looks awesome. It's going from 3 days to 2 days (Saturday and Sunday).  Here's their Facebook page and there's a forum with plenty more pictures and discussion and links to other black metal gigs in the UK, worth joining.

Thanks for reading.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"M'CAFFREY TO MISS BIG PARADE THIS YEAR," Toronto Star. July 11, 1933. Page 2. ---- "Never Missed Twelfth," Pleads Pat's Friend-Gets Three Months ---- "He's never missed a parade, your worship," Captain Bunton of the Salvation Army pleaded for Patrick McCaffrey, charged with drinking. "I haven't been here for a long time." Pat put in for himself.

"He always has some story or other," said Magistrate Coatsworth. "He's been up three times in the last two or three months, hasn't he?" "Yes," confirmed Inspector Guthrie.

"Well, it will have to be three months. He will have to miss the parade this year."

John Reeve, another repeater, was also sent down for three months.

"First offence," said the clerk as Jas. Crane was called.

"It may be the first offence, but it's not the only offence. I got information this morning that he did a good deal of damage to his wife's house. He was out all night long, crashing things. I'm going to give him $20 or 30 days," said the bench.

"These men weren't on the tracks at all," declared Tom O'Connor, counsel for Wilfred Holmes, John Lemon, Edward Ridmon and Chas. Cameron, who were all charged by the C.P.R. officer with trespass on the Parkdale line. "They all tell me they were sitting beneath the trees on Noble St." The magistrate remanded them. Thomas Doyle, arrested by the same C.P.R. officer on a charge of trespass was sent down for five days.

"This man had a serious operation last November. Since then he's had six other operations. If this case is dismissed, he won't ever do it again," promised Austin Ross for Wm. G. Wright, charged with keeping a common betting house. "$150 fine and costs," said his worship.

Faulty Memory George Johnson, charged with breaking into a cigar-store on Carlton St., was remanded one week for mental examination. He claimed to have developed a case of loss of memory.

"I don't know anything about it. My head was all dazed," the prisoner said when he was asked to plead guilty or not guilty.

Alec Kelly, who apprehended Johnson with the help of Tom Jephson, stated he was walking down Parliament St. early yesterday morning when he heard a crash of glass. He went over and seized the man, Kelly stated.

"Did you find anything on the man?" asked Assistant Crown Attorney Fred Malone. "Just these cigarette dummies."

"He made a pretty bad choice," Mr. Malone commented.

Jephson testified that Johnson had told him that some drunk had broken the window and run around the corner.

"You don't know anything about being thrown out of a restaurant "earlier in the evening?" asked the crown. "I don't know anything about it."

Mr. Malone said the citizens should be commended to the police commision.

"They certainly should." agreed the magistrate. "I will mention it to the chief." Peter Lawsen, Ernest Twiddy, and Bob Telfer were given the option of $10 or five days for stealing a ride.

"I'm going to plead guilty for Tomlimnson. Cannell wants to plead not guilty," declared T. B. Horkins, defending Fred Cannell and Charles Tomlinson, charged with stealing two suits from a downtown store.

"I saw these two men, hanging around the exchange office," testified the store detective. "Then they got two suits from the stock room. I went up to them then, and took them to the office. When Tomlinson was searched a suit was found on him. I saw Canneil drop his on the way."

Both were remanded to July 25. Bail stands at $1,000.

McBrady Remanded Three charges of theft have been lodged against Louis V. McBrady. Only one of the charges came up to-day It was deferred to June 13, when the other charges are to be heard.

"If your worship has no objections, I would like to be tried by some other magistrate, because of what's happened in the past," the prisoner requested.

"I'm quite agreeable," his worship replied, but I can't guarantee that Mr. Jones will accept the responsibility."

"He says that he wants to get out on his own bail," Mr. Malone told the bench.

. "I've been in jail since June 30 for the theft of $5," added Mr. McBrady. "I can't accept your own bail, I'm afraid. There's too much of sort of thing." Magistrate Coatsworth refused.

Woman Driver Theresa Klein, charged with reckless driving, was given a two weeks' remand by Magistrate Jones in liquor and traffic court. Bail of $200 was continued.

Charged with Illegal possession of liquor, Walter Zabolotny drew a fine of $25 and costs with the option of a month in jail.

Wm. Wilson pleaded guilty to driving his car recklessly on Bloor St west of Keele. He collided with a milk wagon.

Wilson was sentenced to $10 and costs or 10 days and 7 days.

"He was under the influence of liquor," said P.C. Locke, testifying against Louis Dollery, charged with reckless driving on Richmond St. W.

Admitting he had a glass of beer. accused explained his groggy conduct and appearance shortly after the accident by the fact that his jaw was injured in the collision so that his teeth had to be removed later.

"Ten dollars and costs or ten days and seven days," said his worship.

"I thought I remanded you until Sept. 5." said Magistrate Jones as Louis Garland appeared in court.

"This is another charge," explained special Crown Prosecutor Marshall.

"There was also an Indian in the party," he continued, "and in a back room I found a woman so drunk she could not be aroused."

The officer declared that there had been a canned heat orgy in the house.