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scribbling-dragon · 2 years

Note

i have another prompt

jimmy has nightmares of being a canary thats dragged into a coal mine (could be a past life or just a comparison used to call him a harbinger of death from a young age)

every time, the dream ends with him dying to the cloying gasses, and he wakes up choking on nothing (and panicking because he thinks he's dying)

tango has nightmares of destroying the things he loves in a fit of rage while sitting just behind his eyes and screaminf for it all to stop (anger issues go brr)

every time the dream ends with him regaining control of himself at the worst moment, and getting killed for it and he wakes up with an ache in his chest

could be hurt/comfort or just angst, up to you

-❄️

difference between dreaming and living

Summary:

The cave has a yawning, gaping mouth. The darkness within it seems to spread outwards, leaking into the air around it and clawing its way towards him, curling around him, pulling him deeper in.

He can't do anything. He can't move.

There’s a knot in his throat that he’s trying to breathe around. It feels like he’s choking, breathing in even as his throat closes over, closing around the knot that seems to have lodged in his throat.

(AO3 Link)

(1,134 words)

this has quite graphic depictions of violence in the second half of this, please be mindful of that

(and, as always, reblogs help more than likes <3)

The cave has a yawning, gaping mouth. The darkness within it seems to spread outwards, leaking into the air around it and clawing its way towards him, curling around him, pulling him deeper in.

He can't do anything. He can't move.

He can just barely see the entrance to the cave, a small pinprick of light in the distance seems to grow smaller and smaller as the seconds tick by. Time seems to trickle by, but the light seems to shoot away from him, becoming the size of a pinhead before he can even choke in another breath.

He knows what’s coming next, but he closes his eyes anyway, drawing his arms into himself, covering his chest as though to prevent his heart from beating straight out of his ribcage as it thunders in his chest. He closes his eyes, as though that can stop the gas and its thick, cloying smell.

It seems to clog his nose, the almost sweet, sickeningly sweet, taste filling his mouth. He wants to vomit, squeezing his eyes shut even further so he can't watch the gases swirl around him, closing closer and closer.

It won't stop. It can't stop.

He keeps his eyes shut anyway, wishing it away and hoping to just wake up.

It’s slow. Dragging it out over minutes, or it might be hours, it’s long enough to be either. He continues to breathe it in, the disgustingly thick air settling low in his lungs, swirling with each breath in and out, past the lump in his throat. It seems to fill his lungs with water, each breath painful and shuddering as he continues to heave, the taste of bile filling his mouth.

He chokes, bolting upright, hands at his throat as he gasps in a breath of blissfully tasteless air. He hears a murmur beside him, feels something shifting and he ducks his head forward, burying it in his hands as tears prick at the corners of his eyes.

He gasps in another breath, past the lump that remains lodged in his throat, even now, even after the dream is done and finished. He’s died again, called out the warning for the miners and served his purpose. And he can wake.

A hand settles on his shoulder, tentative and delicate. It’s barely there, a ghost of a touch that skims over his shoulder. He leans into it, turning to wrap his arms around Tango, pulling him close as his throat seems to close over. A sob tries to escape and results in an ugly, choked-off noise that barely breaks the silence.

Tango hushes him, running a soothing hand through his hair, over his wings, pulling him closer until he’s practically in his lap, arms still wrapped around his neck and tears dripping onto his shoulder.

They don't say anything. They never do. Tango keeps up the stroking of his hair, brushing it back and away from his face as he continues to hide it in Tango’s shoulder. He’s not awake enough yet to feel embarrassed, but he probably will in five, ten minutes; he’ll feel the hot shame wash over him as he realises he’s cried into Tango’s shoulder again over something so stupid. But he’s not awake enough yet, and he’ll allow himself this comfort for now. Even if he’ll feel guilty for it later.

--- --- ---

There’s blood under his nails, beneath his claws, lodged so deeply that he’s certain he’ll never get it out.

Something makes a noise behind him and he whirls, a snarl prepared on his lips, baring his teeth at the thing approaching him. It holds out a hand, a glimmer of metal shimmering in the other one as they heft it over their shoulder-

He leaps, barreling into their stomach and knocking them to the ground with an exhale of breath. They wheeze beneath his weight, and he glares into their face, seeing hardly anything apart from the red haze of his vision that seems to coat everything around him.

They choke, and he’s digging his hands into their neck, deeper and deeper, feeling the crunch of bones beneath his hands, claws curling further and further into their neck. Something hot and wet spills over his hands, and there’s a gargling noise below him, a half-uttered name spilling from the person’s lips.

He pulls back, hands coming away sticky and tacky, blood clinging to his hands. When he looks down his hands are covered in red. He doesn't notice the red haze that had settled over his eyes fading away, simply staring at his hands and the red that coats every inch. Inescapable.

He looks up, only registering that he’s kneeling on someone’s chest as his knees continue to dig into their ribs.

He chokes as he sees their face, the yellow feathers scattered behind them spattered in red. His neck is mangled, torn to shreds like a piece of butchered meat. He pulls back, standing on shaking legs as he continues to stare at Jimmy’s face.

He’s not dead yet. Why isn't he dead yet?

He can't escape from Jimmy, whatever way he turns he’s reminded of the state of his face, the way his throat had been torn to shreds and entirely ruined. He chokes on a breath, a tear escaping and slipping down his cheek.

His chest aches, and he welcomes the feeling, embracing it as it seems to seize his heart, gripping it in a too tight grip that seems to squeeze and squeeze, until his heart is crushed in the invisible grip.

He sobs as he wakes, turning and burying his face into the pillow as he shakes. There’s a wet patch by his eyes and a hand on his shoulder. He jerks away from it, rolling over and onto the floor with a crash.

Moonlight streams in through the window, illuminating Jimmy’s face in a silver glow. His neck is untouched, unstained by blood. His hands are the same when he brings them up to check. He chokes out another sob, chest heaving with the effort of it as he wobbles his way back to the bed.

Jimmy gathers him into a hug when he collapses on the edge, pulling him closer and letting him bury his head right beside his neck when he could snap at any moment and kill him. Just tear entirely into his being and wipe him from the server.

They don't say anything. They never do. Jimmy just gathers him closer, the two of them breathing together until the first hints of dawn spill over the horizon and through their windows.

#again GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE #tw. violence #dlsmp #dlsmp fic #double life smp #double life smp fic #jimmy solidarity #solidarity gaming #tangotek #tango tek #trafficblr #juno.writes #asks #snowflake anon #team rancher #ranch duo

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maurawrites · 1 year

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Martin Sensmeier as Montford T. Johnson in ‘Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher’

#martin sensmeier #martinsensmeieredit #montford t johnson #the chickasaw rancher #perioddramaedit #periodedit #violence tw #blood tw #guns tw #maura makes things

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hybbart · 1 month

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Rancher on rancher violence

#solidaritygaming #tango tek #hermitcraft #fanart #fantasy #character #art #sketch #doodle #Hybbart

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jontheredrc · 2 years

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someone I follow on Twitter wants to compile a list of "games parents can play with their kids that isn't just forcing their kids to play what they liked growing up but also isn't something that will drive you, the parent, batshit in engaging with"

and someone recommended fuckin’ Borderlands

#op is giving examples like ''little mouse encyclopedia'' and ''costume quest''#other people are replying with things like ''bridge constructor'' and ''slime rancher''#and like even if the humor of borderlands didn't hinge so much on sex and violence and the occasional stereotype #and even if it wasn't full of (cel-shaded) carnage #it's still got a vibe that drives me batshit anyway - maybe others too

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eat-limes-bitches · 5 months

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Hell Hath No Fury Like A Farmer Socrned

PAIRING: Female Rancher! Reader x Mafia Boss!Bucky Barnes

SUMMARY: When his lover is snatched from her ranch, everyone better watch out, and not for the reason they all thought.

WARNINGS: Cannon-level violence, mentions of blood, fighting etc.

Word Count: 1284

A/N: Wow here we are! My first AU! I had this idea while I was a work the other day and thought it was funny. Sorry if it is not that coherent but I tried. If you guys want to see more of this pairing send me some ideas! I'd love to try some more of these two!

Enjoy! <3

Divider by Rookthorne

James Bucky Barnes was known for many things, brilliant, cold, ruthless, fierce ruler of the Brooklyn mafia, amongst many other things. One thing he was not known for was his cool temperament when someone he cared for was in danger which is why his two most trusted men, Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson hesitated outside of their boss's office door, not sure how they would break the news. After sucking a deep breath, the pair walked into the room. Bucky sat at his sturdy redwood desk, feet propped up as he leaned back in his lavish office chair. His gaze snapped from the contract to his men standing in the doorway before returning to the papers in his hand as he spoke.

“How may I help you, gentleman?” His deep voice reverberated across the room.

“They’ve got her, boss,” Sam stated evenly, ice dancing across each word. Bucky was on his feet in an instant, staring down the mean in front of him.

“What?” He hissed, any other person in his company would have shivered at the venom lashing out of his words, but it just caused Steve to sigh looking his boss, his dear friend in the eyes.

“They got Y/n at the farm this morning. They just sent in a live video feed that Stark has pulled up in the conference room no-”

Before the words could finish leaving Steve’s mouth, Bucky was shoving past them and all but running down the hall to the conference room. He burst into the room to see Tony messing with the camera feed while the rest of his most trusted men sat around the table, staring at Bucky waiting for his reaction. Bucky walked over to his chair placing his hands on the back of it as he stared at the screen playing the live video feed of Y/n sitting there, tied to a chair with some plastic-coated twine, no doubt from the truck she was in earlier that morning.

Bucky’s eyes traced over her frame, looking for any injuries. If there was so much a hair out of place he thought as his ringed fingers gripped the plush material even harder, causing his knuckles to turn white. As he continued his assessment he landed on her face and it was then that he sucked in a breath, taking notice of how her once soft lips were now busted up and the small gash across the bridge of her nose. What caused him to let out a breath was the overall look on her face. She was livid. Her jaw clenched tightly, her once sparkling eyes dark with fury, he could practically see the rage pouring off of her. Evidently, the guards standing on either side of her took notice as they began to shift uncomfortably.

She's going to be fine. Bucky thinks to himself as he lets out a small sigh of relief.

Bucky pulled out his chair and sat down calmly, catching everyone in the room, including Steve and Sam who had joined the room just a few moments ago, off guard. He cocked his head sideways,

“Will you let them know that we are all present Stark? That seems to be what they are waiting on.” He spoke, his tone even and calm causing everyone to share looks as Tony patched in the audio.

“Afternoon Barnes.” A voice called out as a figure walked around from behind the camera revealing Brock Rumalow, the leader of the rival mob who had been fighting with the Barnes Corp. For many years.

“Looks like you are starting to slack, she was an easy grab.” Rumalow sneered as he approached Y/n, walking around her chair as he ran his hand up her arm and wrapping a hand around the back of her neck causing an even more crossed look to appear on her face.

“Such a shame, I don’t understand why you would let such a pretty little thing out of your sight.”

The atmosphere in the conference room was tense. Everyone knew about the sweet little cattle rancher Bucky fell in love with many months ago. He had finally brought her around during the Christmas party last month where she was loved by everyone who was able to talk with her. However, she was new to this world, his world and so everyone was worried about her the moment they heard she was taken, but watching her now, she didn’t seem the least bit scared, more annoyed than anything, causing confusion to ripple through the air, but no questions were asked as Rumalow continued speaking,

“I believe she has a few things to say to you, James.” He crowed walking away from Y/n with a pat on her cheek, returning to his position behind the camera while she let out a loud huff.

“Yeah, I got some things to say alright. If you aint here in the next hour, I’m gonna be walking home myself. I got a mare due any day now and these asswipes didn’t bother to close the cattle gate after they got me so now all the cattle are probably running amuck stressing out poor Parker.”

Bucky let out a soft chuckle, only Y/n would be worried about her poor farm hand while she sat tied down to a chair by her boyfriend's rival gang.

“I got the location of the camera Buck,” Tony calls out from behind the computer, “It’s only a few blocks away, in that old warehouse on the junction of 5th Avenue and Bakers Street.”

Bucky brushed invisible dust off his pants and started to speak when there was a large commotion coming from the video feed.

Everyone watched in pure shock as Y/n snapped the twine holding her in place, jumping up and kicking a chair at one guard and wrapping the now wrecked twine around the other's neck yanking him down to the ground, his skull hitting the floor with a sickening crack.

Once the guards were dispatched, Y/n glanced to her left before darting off in that direction, the shock of her escape must have finally worn off of Rumalow because everyone, except for Bucky, jumped to their feet as gunshots began ringing out behind the field of view of the camera. There is a loud metallic “thwang!” before Y/n returned to view, holding an old shovel with a small smattering of blood on it and an even more disgruntled look on her face as she examines her once clean cream and blue plaid shirt that was now ruined by a few small patches of blood.

Bucky smiles as he hears a few curses leave her mouth along with a “I just got the blood out of this shirt”.

Y/n then walks up to the camera, letting out a huff as she picks it up and starts making her way towards the side exit. She glances down at the camera before she starts speaking,

“By the looks of it, you have 45 minutes to get here before I start walking, which believe me you do not want me doing that. ‘Cause I swear to God and all that is holy James Buchannan Barnes if that foal is on the ground by the time I get back I’m whooping your and everyone else in that room's asses.”

Bucky chuckles and stands up looking at Sam and Steve as he motions for them to come with him to the garage to pick up Y/n.

“It looks like she had them after all.” Bucky muses as they enter the elevator. The other men nod in agreement as Sam then says, “Remind me to never piss her off.”

#bucky x you #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky x female reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes #mafia au #mafia boss!Bucky x Rancher!Reader #mafia bucky x reader #mafia bucky barnes #mafia bucky x you

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whitecreekvalley-if · 6 months

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[ Demo TBA ] • Character descriptions • Pinterest •

Genres: Slice of life, drama, mystery, romance

WCV is rated 18+ for explicit language, violence, alcohol and drug use, and explicit sexual content.

Life's taken a nosedive—no apartment, no job, no friends. Desperation pushes you to cling to a chance from a kindly stranger offering a ticket to a town hidden beyond mountains and plains, a place people don't seek but always seem to need.

Welcome to Whitecreek Valley, where the Brass Pine Ranch needs your unique skills to mend a crumbling homestead, and a crumbling family. As you tackle the decay of the ranch and the town alongside the rancher's son, deeper troubles emerge—livestock falling ill sparks fears of a town on the brink of extinction. Can you navigate this community, help them rejuvenate, or will it become another link in the list of ghost towns of America's Wikipedia page?

FEATURES

Customization: Appearance, personality, gender & sexuality, what job they had before, their hobbies, etc. Choose how they feel about being a farmhand, how they're adjusting to the rural life, and - with your choices - how the town as a whole sees them. Are they part of the community or an perpetual outsider?

Skills: Depending on your previous job, you'll have a unique set of skills to help the community. Choose to learn new skills, like woodworking, bronc riding, or sheep shearing, to mention a few.

Animal husbandry: The distances around Whitecreek Valley are hefty, so it's necessary to have at least a horse to get around. Choose your favorite out of a cast of individual equines, each with their own personalities. Also, help a calf into this world and realize how fun it is to raise a baby cow! As long as you're in good standing with the rest of the herd, of course.

Rebuilding: Try your best to rebuild the Brass Pine ranch, and the town adjacent. The better job you manage, the more opportunities (and challenges) come your way.

Community outreach: A dying town is still home, and there are stories to be heard, problems to solve. Lend a helping hand to your new community and see how one kindness can pay itself back.

Romance: Not everyone in town is adverse to strangers, and if your heart yearns romance, there is a chance for a spark along the way. Just be careful as to who you're trying to woo in front of whom. Small town gossips, we've all seen it.

Mystery: There's something hanging over the valley, like a rot in the air. Why are people moving out? Why are exports not moving out? And who's behind the animals getting sick? Don you detective hat and lend a hand to the entire four local police officers working the bizarre case.

THE LOCALS (RO'S)

THE RANCHER'S SON

Mason "Mace" Gannon - 27 - he/him

He used to be so much fun. I miss hanging out with him, out by the bonfires. He'd always make everyone feel so included and happy, and oh, that homemade cider he'd bring? Warmed us up on those chilly late fall nights, when we had nothing else to do. Did I tell you about the time he got us all to go skinny dipping? He was such a charmer, I wonder --

Imagine Mace as your human golden retriever – the guy who's a blast to be around, a bit mischievous, and the first to rush to your aid whenever you need it. After being gone for five years to live his rodeo dreams, he's back, now the sole caretaker of the family ranch in his hometown. He goes to great lengths to keep his personal issues personal, and it's the butt of many jokes how he's always there to help others but has the worst time asking for help himself.

He's you boss, and probably one of the best you'll ever get. Just don't pay mind to the spats between him and his dad.

THE BARTENDER

Alice Marks - 25 - she/her

Alice, she's a feisty one! Like her poppa, rest his soul. How I love the drinks she comes up with at the bar, and that horse of hers! She could go into rodeo, but I don't think after what happened with her pa... Oh, but she's a wonder! Always there with a quip, how they drive her suitors mad. Good thing she stopped with the talk about moving away, the town would be so dull without her!

Alice is the town's most known inhabitant, running the show from the only bar in town, which she just happens to own. Her mind is like a machine for fun, and she's the brain behind all the pop-up events and happenings around town. Sure, she can be a bit like a hurricane of enthusiasm, but hey, that's Alice for you. If the town had a social heartbeat, it'd be Alice – the vibrant, smartass soul making everyday life feel like a blessing.

THE DEPUTY

Word of the wise: Never challenge Alice to a drinking game. You will lose, spectacularly, and it'll all be on film.

Judge Gannon - 34 - he/him

Judge is a bit strange, don't you think? He just vanished as soon as he turned eighteen and popped back out of nowhere! That must've been, let's see... Five years ago? He doesn't spend much time with us commoners though, but I think I've seen him at the bar once or twice. I don't actually think he knows how to make nice with people, he always has that glower on. Gets it from his dad, let me tell you --

Bold and straight to the point, Judge isn't out here trying to be intimidating – it just kinda happens. If his brother is a golden retriever, he's definitely the doberman of the family. He's got this brash, no-nonsense vibe that some folks mistake for arrogance, especially when they try laying on the charm and he's not having it. He steers clear of small talk unless it involves his job, and when duty calls, he's more than ready to throw down to protect his town and county.

There's this local urban legend that he cracked a smile once, but it's like spotting a unicorn – not everyone's buying it.

THE LAWYER

Mercedes "Sadie" Diáz - 32 - she/her

The new girl, yes! Oh, a beauty! And so curious. I do love sitting down with her though, oh the stories she brings from the big city, so intriguing! I hear she finds our town intriguing too, the mayor once - don't tell anyone I told you this - the mayor once said he caught her breaking into the city hall archives! I know, scandalous, but good on her, maybe now someone will argue that my neighbors fence post --

Sadie, the big-shot lawyer from the city, doing her solo act in town. When she's not in court, folks are lining up just to get a piece of the urban tales she's got. A trailblazer and truth-seeker, she's got this knack for poking her nose where it probably shouldn't be, and surprise, she knows more local secrets than the town gossip. Sure, she's all passionate and calculated, a bit out of sync with the town's warmth, but hey, that logical mind of hers might just shake things up and get the town back on track.

It's a well known fact that she could get access to places with the right documents, but she herself has said it's more fun to pick locks. Go figure.

LIST OF MAJOR NPCs

LIST OF MINOR NPCs

#interactive fiction #wip #if wip #if: intro #cog #choice of games #interactive novel #choice script #or is it #choicescript #idk idk

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flowersandbigteeth · 1 year

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🌶️ Spicy🌶️ Masterpost

These are all NSFW fics that are either going or finished 😈

Request Info: Please read before making a request

Key:

☣️ Dark: May contain dark themes readers may find disturbing including noncon, dubcon or violence

💝 Cozy: Gentler fics. There may be violence or yandere themes but it is light, or soft yandere

I did my best to categorize these but everything is relative. Please read the trigger warnings carefully before reading

☣️ Tentacle Monster- Chase: nsfw -- x f reader

Part One, Part Two , Part Three, Part Four, Part Five

☣️ Shadowbeast- Rafe: nsfw -- x f reader

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven

Headcanon

☣️ Wind God- Torin: nsfw -- x f reader

Part One, Part Two Part Three Part Four

☣️ Warlock- Landis: nsfw

Oneshot - this is part of a novel that I probably wont post to tumblr

☣️ Knights - Xavier, Dustin, Eli, and Marco: nsfw -- x maid f reader

Oneshot

☣️ Wolf- Ruston: nsfw -- x f reader

Oneshot, Part Two, Headcanon

☣️ Hesian Alien- Nasos : nsfw-- x f reader

Part One, Part Two, Part Three

☣️ Hesian Alien Rancher- Kostas: nsfw -- x f reader

Request, Headcanon, Request (SFW) Request

☣️ Gargoyle Book Shop Owner- Heath: nsfw -- x f reader

Oneshot, Headcanon, Part Two

💝Vampire Triplets- Church, Sin, and Angel: nsfw -- x f succubus reader

Request

☣️Catman Alien Twins- Qhen and Ceth: nsfw -- x f reader

Part One, Headcanon, Headcanon

💝Minotaur Demigod- Solomon : nsfw -- x water nymph reader

Request

💝Werebear- Hugo: nsfw -- x childhood friend f reader

Oneshot, Headcanon, Part Two, Request, Part Three

☣️ Alpha Gangster- Jude: nsfw -- x f omega reader

Oneshot

☣️ Shapeshifter- Shane: future nsfw -- x f reader

Part One

💝Night Elf- Victor: nsfw -- x f reader

Request

☣️Kelpie- Vylkas: nsfw -- x f reader

Request, Request (SFW)

☣️ Vampire- Marius: semi-nsfw -- x f reader

Oneshot

💝Shadow King- Zintius: nsfw and sfw -- x f reader

Request (SFW), Part Two (NSFW)

💝Kherae Alien- Idreod: sfw & nsfw -- x reader with glasses

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four (NSFW), Part Five (NSFW), Part six, Part Seven, Part eight

First Person POV available on smashwords

💝Maeder- Rohan: nsfw -- x musician reader

Request

💝Kherae King- Argan: nsfw -- x musician reader

Oneshot

💝Dragon Knight- Severin: nsfw -- x princess reader

Oneshot, Part Two

☣️ Sarantopodarousacentaur (Half man/Half centipede) - Mitas: nsfw -- x f reader

Oneshot

☣️ Drider: Ruvain: nsfw -- x f reader

Oneshot

☣️ Changeling: Clark: NSFW -- x flower nymph reader

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine

💝Orc- Moth: NSFW -- x f reader

Oneshot

💝Orc King- Golmad: NSFW -- x f reader with speech disability

Request Oneshot

💝Mothman- Roth: NSFW -- x f reader

Oneshot

💝 Alpha- Riordan: NSFW -- x GN reader

Oneshot

Divider from: @saradika

Bluesky -- Carrd -- Commissions

#smut #monster smut #yandere smut #yandere male #monster x girl #monster x reader #yandere x reader #x reader #teratophillia #terato #terato tag #terato fic #exophilia #exophelia

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amethystfairy1 · 1 month

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I feel it important that you know at one point Jimmy sniped Tango in the neck from like 40 feet away. Tango later got revenge by shooting him execution style in the head

Rancher on Rancher violence 😭😭😭

#hermitcraft #hermit charity stream #tangotek #jimmy solidarity #team ranchers

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giveamadeuschohisownmovie · 3 months

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If you combine the RDR2 epilogue with RDR1, while the series is still about John Marston’s redemption, the epilogue expands the scope by asking the question, “Can John put away his guns for good?”

Because the RDR2 epilogue was all about how John just couldn’t get away from gunfights. Although you can argue that he was pushed into those fights with the Laramies, you can also see Abigail’s perspective in that the fights were putting their family at risk. So, when Abigail leaves, John is forced to really consider if he can put the guns away for good. If he can actually pull off being a rancher. To his credit, he does try.

He gets the bank loan, he builds the house with Uncle and Charles, and he learns how to properly manage the property. Because of his efforts, Abigail and Jack come back. But even so, John just can’t put the guns away because he’s driven by revenge against Micah Bell. Although he gets his payback, he’s punished for it by Edgar Ross tracking him down. Ironically, karma bit both Micah and John here.

So, RDR1 continues the question of whether John can put the guns away for good. It’s here where he’s almost reached that point. But now, he’s being tested on whether he’ll be tempted back into a life of an outlaw, back into a life involving violence and danger. Despite everything that’s thrown his way, John continues his path of redemption/putting his guns away for good:

1) He’s put into the role of a lawman and is pitted against Bill’s gang, essentially forcing him to be on the other side of the outlaws’ violence against others. It’s through this that John swears off from the outlaw life for good, especially when he sees just how awful Bonnie MacFarlane and her family were treated.

2) Javier tries to use nostalgia of the “good ole days” to win John over. It doesn’t work since John doesn’t want the good ole days, especially since he has a bright future with Abigail and Jack. The Mexico arc was, in general, about torn loyalties. John was playing both sides of the war and Javier tried to sway John based on their past friendship. Despite this, John stays true to his convictions. He doesn’t want the life of an outlaw anymore, nor does he want to keep shooting people anymore (he even says he’s getting tired of pulling the trigger!), so he rejects the nostalgia of the old gang.

3) Dutch challenged John over his desire to change. Dutch believed change was impossible and that John would “always” be a gunslinger. He can’t be a rancher, it’s just not what nature intended. John, once again, sticks to his convictions. In fact, despite all of his anger towards Dutch, he refused to shoot him. John can shoot Bill and Javier, but it’s Dutch who he refuses to shoot. When I first played this, I thought it was his fondness over Dutch as his former leader. Now, I’m wondering if it’s also John trying to prove his point. That he CAN change, that he CAN put the guns away. So he does, even when he had Dutch cornered.

Then came the final challenge. Jack Marston brings up the topic of “the day John Marston stopped shooting”. What will it take? John finally does, but in more than one way. Obviously, he puts the guns away since he dies. But John could’ve easily escaped. We’ve done it as the player multiple times. But if he did, it would be a return to a life on the run, a life where Abigail and Jack would always be in danger. The same life that made Abigail take Jack and leave John in the RDR2 epilogue. Everything he’s worked for, all the progress he made in changing his life would be ruined.

So, John makes the hard choice. He sacrifices himself to ensure his family would be safe. He refuses to return to the outlaw life, to a life where he has to shoot at people, even if it means his death. And what is the last thing John does?

He throws away his gun.

245 notes · View notes

stwbrywhiskeysour · 3 months

Text

Leave a Light On

Pairing: Jackson!Joel x F!Reader Summary: A single light flickered throughout the empty room, casting your shadow against the wall. Joel's raspy voice, filled with sadness, whispered a final goodbye.

Words: 6.5k Rating: E (Explicit, 18+ Only MDNI) Content Warning: Jackson time, Establish relationship, No age is mentioned, May contain spoilers to TLOU Part II, Dark/Sensitive topics, does have an happy ending, angst, fluff, Implied MC death, golfing, torture, gun violence, knife violence, graphic descriptions, horseback riding, first aid, explicit language, explicit violence, Typical canon violence, grief/loss, depression, dark thoughts, suicide attempt, smut at the end, fingering, oral F!receiving, P in V, unprotected sex, creampie, cuddling (+ If I forgot any, let me know)

“Baby?” Joel cried as he clutched your lifeless form against his chest. His body swayed back and forth, stroking your blood-stained hair. “Stay with me, baby. Please, stay with me.”

His winter coat was soaked in red while he held you. The bitter cold seeped into his bones as he remained unbothered. His face streaked with tears, clinging to any hope you would awaken and return to him.

JACKSON || A FEW HOURS AGO

The sun began to set on the horizon. Vibrant hues of oranges and pink scattered across the sky. A wicker basket sat next to you, filled with freshly picked vegetables. You took a deep breath, savoring the earthy scent in the greenhouse. You glance out the window as a shadow passes by. As the figure moved away from the greenhouse, you let out the breath you were holding.

The lights flickered on as you eagerly awaited for Joel to arrive. Seconds turned to minutes, and you wondered where he could be. Julie, the other worker in the greenhouse, noticed your uneasiness. She stood up and placed her hand on your shoulder in an attempt to console you.

“Hey, I’m sure he’s on his way. Maybe he stopped home for something?” she reassured.

Joel had never missed a night walking you home. It was the highlight of both your evenings. You would share stories of each other's past and what each other did throughout the day. You especially loved the little spark of excitement that would flash through his eyes when he would talk about Ellie. Joel rarely spoke to anyone outside of Tommy and Ellie. And, since you came into his life, you could barely get him to shut up. However, you cherished those moments. They allowed you to witness a side of him that very few see.

You looked up at Julie and smiled softly, a hint of sadness in your eyes. “Yeah, hopefully,” you responded as you bent down to grab the basket. You walked towards the door and waved. “I’ll see ya later.” You left and made your way towards the pantry before heading home.

The winter storm caused the wind to blow the snow harshly around you. You pulled your coat tighter against your body, trudging towards Rancher Street. A light in your peripherals caught your attention. Your pace slowed as you turned to face the house belonging to Maria and Tommy and stared towards the window. An unsettling knot grew in your stomach. You looked towards your home and back to theirs. Unable to shake the feeling, you jogged towards their door.

Three hard knocks were all it took for Maria to crack the door open. Her hair was disarray, and she had dark circles around her eyes as if she had not slept in days. She looked shocked that you were standing at the door.

“Has Tommy come home yet?” you asked, not allowing Maria a chance to greet you.

“No, he-” she stated, voice filled with concern, “if you’re here, neither has Joel.”

“Yeah,” you sighed, shaking the snow off your hair and shoes.

“Fuck. I sent a group hours ago to bring them home. I just thought they had gone to the Bison,” she said as she opened the door wider to allow you to enter.

“Do you know what area they were patrolling?”

“Uhm, yeah, it was around the old ski lodge,” Maria stated, walking through the house. You followed closely behind her. “You can’t seriously be thinking about going out there in this.”

You looked at her with a determined face mixed with concern. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Can you at least wait til the storm is over?”

“Maria, I-”

“Of course, you can’t,” she said as she walked up to a desk drawer and grabbed a map. She laid it out on the table and circled the area they were patrolling. “They should be around this area.”

You nodded and traced your finger from the gate of Jackson to the area she had circled, making a mental note of the path to take. The lodge was near a small town, and you thought if you could make it there, you would be able to track their prints in through the snow.

“Awesome. Can I take this?” You asked. She nodded and grabbed your arm as you walked past her.

“Wait,” she said. Her grip on your arm tightened. “There were reports of a large horde near the town. Stay away from there. Bring them home, safe. okay?”

‘Well fuck, there goes that idea,’ you thought as you looked up at her. You smiled. “Will do. Thanks, Maria.”

Maria waved at you while you jogged down the street toward the stables. Once you got to the large barn, you grabbed a saddle from the wall and placed it on the back of the black stallion you had named Beauty. You put your head against his muzzle and softly petted his mane.

“You ready, ol’ boy?” you whispered. Beauty neighed as you swung your leg over his back and grabbed his reins. You began to trot towards the wooden gate.

Jesse noticed you on horseback coming out of the stables. He called out to you. “Hey! Where are you going?”

“Open the gate, Jesse,” you said sternly.

“Maria said no one was to leave during the storm.”

“Open the damn gate.”

Jesse looked over at the other patrolman, shocked. They shrugged at him and casually walked over to the lever, pulling it open for you. Just before it was opened completely, you galloped out into the storm, not looking back. The wind whipped through your hair as you urged Beauty to gallop faster.

-- -- --

You rode through the woods, avoiding the town. Because you were not paying attention, you almost caused Beauty to trot off a cliff. He neighed loudly, bucking upwards, knocking you off. You land on the ground hard. You groaned as you got up.

“Easy there,” you stated while you reached for his reins, “easy boy.”

Sighing, you peered across the snow-covered field. A large mansion sat in the middle of a fenced area. Bodies of infected piled along the perimeter of the exterior gate. A shiver went down your spine. “Surely, Joel and Tommy didn’t do that,” you whispered. The wintery air caused a misty cloud in front of your mouth as you spoke. You petted Beauty before telling him to make it home safely and smacking him on the rear. You watched him gallop in the distance.

Taking a deep breath, you descend the cliff. As you crept closer to the building, you noticed dark figures moving across the large bay window. You twisted the door handle, and it creaked open. The warmth of the house greeted you as you slowly entered the room. You heard muffled voices and a loud gunshot that echoed off the walls. You gripped your knife tighter. A familiar voice rang through your ears that caused panic to set in.

“Tommy!” the voice screamed. The voice you came to know so well over the past few years, the voice that was filled with so much love for you, a voice that you could instantly recognize anywhere, the voice that belonged to Joel.

“Put him against the wall,” a young female demanded. She couldn’t be much older than Ellie but ordered the men around as if she were their leader. You inched silently into the room, eyes glued on the two men who grabbed Joel by the arms and shoved him against the large window. His right leg was extended out in front of him, bleeding. “Joel Miller.”

“Who are you?” he grunted, trying not to show emotion.

“Guess.”

“Why don’t you say whatever speech you’ve got rehearsed and get this over with,” Joel bit back. His eyes darted over her shoulder, locking with yours. Fear and shock shot through him as he struggled against the men who held him. You glanced around at the group, quickly trying to assess the situation.

The girl walked to a golf caddy near the sofa and pulled out one of the iron clubs. She nodded approvingly and walked in front of Joel. She brought the club up to her shoulder.

“You stupid old man. You don’t get to rush this,” she growled as she swung the club. It made an impact on the side of Joel’s face. He screamed in agony, blood splattered across the room. His vision blackened as he fell to the ground. The eyes of the girl sparkled with a twisted satisfaction.

You watched in horror as the men drew Joel back against the window, and she raised the club again. Filled with rage, you grabbed one of the men closest to you. Your left hand slid across their face to cover their mouth while you made a horizontal cut across the middle of their neck with your knife. Blood spewed down his body, and his body twitched as you pushed him away from you. His body crumbled to the ground with a loud thud. You ran up to the next person and stabbed them in the neck, puncturing their jugular.

The sound alerted the others, and they turned to face you. You slung your rifle around your body and held it firmly in your hands. Your index finger pressed the trigger as you meticulously aimed and fired at the group. A person came up from behind you and kicked your legs from underneath you, knocking you to the ground. You yelped in surprise as they shoved your face onto the cold floor.

“Get the fuck off of me,” you growled, fighting against the person holding you down, “I will fucking kill you.”

“Well, well, well. Who do we have here?” the girl spoke, stalking up to you. She grabbed you by your hair and pulled you to your knees. You gasped in pain, breathing heavily. “Girlfriend?” she asked as she looked over at Joel. She shook her head. “No. Wife?”

“No, don’t!” Joel rasped out.

She let out a dark chuckle. His desperate plea fell on silent ears as the girl taunted you. Her grip on your hair tightened as she turned you to face Joel.

“This is so much better than what I had planned. You took my father from me; I’m going take something from you,” she sneered, pulling her knife from its holster. Joel struggled against the grasp of the men who held him. His eyes filled with a mix of fear and anger. The moment she took her knife out, his movements ceased. He watched dreadfully as she scrapped the blade down your sternum until it rested just below the hard bone. She pushed your shoulders forward. The blade pierced through your abdomen with a squelching sound; you gasped in pain as you felt the sting of it entering your body. Blood trickled down as you started to sway. The excruciating agony intensified when she dug the blade deeper into you before pulling it out and shoving you away. You fell to the ground, clutching your stomach in a horrible attempt to stop the bleeding. Your eyes locked with the tear-filled ones of Joel. You struggled to catch your breath, and your vision kept flashing black.

“What the hell is this, Abby?” a man yelled while entering the room, “You’re done here.” She groaned in protest. You were unable to pay attention to the words being spoken around you. The words were fading into silence as darkness started to engulf you.

With every ounce of strength, Joel pulled himself across the floor. “Darlin’?” he whispered, reaching his hand out towards you. Abby noticed his movements and kicked him hard in the stomach, knocking the wind from his lungs. She huffed and left the house with her group.

You gasped for air, feeling the weight of darkness pressing against your consciousness. Tears streamed down Joel’s face as he scooted himself closer to you. Memories began to flood his mind. He remembered the first time he met you, how strong you were when you fought alongside him in the spore-filled tunnels. He remembered how you yelled at him for being so careless with a child who didn’t even know how to swim. He remembered how he fell in love with you the day he met you. He tried to stay awake, staring at your beautiful face as the memories faded.

Your eyes met his once again. Desperate to speak. You rasped, “I… I…. lo…. love….” you choked on your blood, coughing harshly as it pooled in your mouth. Your body convulsed, and your labored breath came to a sudden stop.

“Baby?” Joel whispered as he tried to pull you closer to him. “Baby, please.” -- -- -- --

“Baby!” he cried, clutching your lifeless body against his chest. He swayed back and forth, stroking your blood-stained hair. “Stay with me, baby. Please, stay with me.”

His winter coat was soaked in red while he held you. The bitter cold seeped into his bones as he remained unbothered. His face streaked with tears as he clung to any possible hope you would awaken and return to him.

A loud, pained groan erupted from across the room. Tommy shifted uncomfortably against the floor as he regained consciousness. His head throbbed in pain from the hit he received. His palms flattened against the cold tiles, and he lifted himself, stumbling backward and hitting the console table. He gazed at the room and noticed the bodies scattered across the floor in puddles of blood.

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered, just before his eyes landed on his brother, who was sitting on the ground clutching your limp body to his chest. His leg extended in front of him with a belt tightly fastened on his thigh, acting as a makeshift tourniquet. Joel buried his face into the divot of your neck, whispering apologies in a broken voice.

An audible gap erupted from Tommy as he realized the body Joel was holding was you. Tears threatened to fall as he watched Joel cry out in grief once again. Tommy knew that Joel would never recover from losing you; hell, he never recovered from losing Sarah twenty-some years ago. Unsure of what to do, he whispered Joel’s name.

Joel’s puffy, bloodshot eyes lifted from your neck and met his. Tommy took a step back, horrified at the appearance of his brother. The side of Joel’s face was bashed in as if someone had taken something long, hard, with a flat end and hit him across the face with it multiple times. Blood oozed from the wound, and a mix of blues and black colors surrounded it. His left eye was almost swollen shut, and blood caked his face and hair.

“What the fuck happened?” Tommy asked.

Barely above a whisper, Joel rasped, “Tommy?”

He had forgotten Tommy was there. His entire focus had been on you. Making sure nothing happened to you, and he failed. Nothing mattered to him anymore.

Tommy knelt in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He noticed a significant amount of blood covering both of your jackets. With a concerned face, he saw the small cut from the blade on the fabric of your clothes. “Let me see her,” he said softly.

Joel nodded and placed you gently on the ground next to him. He unzipped your jacket, pushing the flaps to the side. He lifted your shirt slowly. The dried blood caused the fabric to stick to your skin. He pulled it up just below the band of your bra to reveal a tiny stab wound on the upper middle quadrant of your abdomen, centimeters below the hard bone of your sternum. Your breath was shallow. So shallow that Tommy nor Joel noticed your chest rising and falling. Tommy placed his hand over the wound, pressed down hard to try and control the bleeding, and immediately blood covered them.

Joel was not paying attention to Tommy. He stared at your calm, peaceful face. His mind was filled with memories and thoughts of you. He pushed a strand of hair that fell on your face, lightly touching your cold cheek as he placed it behind your ear. He noticed your face showed no signs of distress and no pain. You were just there, on the cold floor, unfazed by what occurred around you.

‘You’re so beautiful,’ Joel thought as he ran his fingers through your hair.

Tommy’s hand began to tremble. He was unable to control the bleeding. He leaned down and placed his ear just above your parted mouth, hoping for any sign of breathing. Tears began to fall down his face when he felt nothing against his cheek. He mouthed, “No, no, no,” as he said your name shaking you.

Coming out of his trance, Joel watched Tommy shake you. He saw the tears in Tommy’s eyes and immediately knew something was wrong. He didn’t want to believe that you were gone. How could he move forward without you? How could he move on? What will he tell Ellie?

Joel shouted your name. He shoved Tommy away from you and placed his hands down on your wound, trying to believe if he was the one putting pressure on it, it would stop. When it didn’t stop, he started to weep.

“Please, not her. God, please, no her,” he sobbed. He felt as if he failed you. He had failed: as a protector, a lover, as everything. His heart shattered into a million pieces. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry.”

Tommy found himself void of words, unable to move from where he stood. He wasn’t sure why this happened to you, why they attacked you, of all people. He had so many questions running through his head. He glanced around the room again, trying to piece together any information he could find. He noticed a patch that was on the jackets of the bodies. He knelt and removed the patch with his knife. The patch was a yellow triangle with a wolf in the middle. The words W.L.F. are located at the bottom. He quickly pocketed it before going back to Joel.

“We should probably head back,” Tommy stated as he looked at Joel. Joel had his hands firmly pressed against your stomach, desperately trying to stop the bleeding.

“NO,” Joel shouted. Tommy grabbed onto his arm, pulling him away from you. “I- I can’t leave her. I can’t-”

“She’s gone.”

“No, no, no,” Joel repeated, shaking his. He pushed Tommy away and tried to go back to you. Tommy grabbed him, stopping his movements.

“I’ll come back for her,” Tommy promised, “When the daylight comes and the storm is over, I’ll bring her home.”

Joel sniffled. He knew Tommy was right. They had to leave, or someone would come looking for them, just as you did. Tommy left the room and returned with a large white sheet. He slowly draped it over you. Joel took it and tucked the sheet under your sides. His hands trembled with every tuck. Blood started to stain the middle of the sheet as it settled across your body. Suddenly, the room felt colder than it had before.

Tommy helped Joel to his feet, wrapping his arm around his middle. They began to walk towards the door, grief heavy on their hearts. Joel stopped for a moment and looked back towards you. He started at the white sheet that covered your body. The light flickered throughout the room, casting your shadow against the wall. He whispered a final goodbye.

As he turned, a gust of wind blew through the open door. It caused the sheet to flutter, uncovering some of your features. His heart sank, feeling a part of him was left behind in the room. Joel sighed sadly, finally looking away from you. They left the building carrying the weight of your absence on them.

-- -- -- --

Jesse walked along the ramparts with a snow shovel. He scooped the snow into its blade and tossed it over the exterior wall. He noticed two dark figures stumbling in the distance. The dense snow made it difficult for him to identify them. He reached for the binoculars and peered through them. One of the figures was held by the waist, their leg dragged behind them, leaving a red trail in the snow.

“What the hell,” he said into the wintery night. “Open the gate!” He shouted but received no response. He glanced over the edge to an empty area. “Where the fuck did they go?”

He ran down the steps to open the gate. Laughter erupted behind him as Dina and Ellie exited the stables. Jesse stared at them in disbelief, eyes darting down from their faces to their interlocked hands. “You gotta be kidding me,” he scoffed, “you were supposed to be on patrol.”

“We are-” Ellie got interrupted.

“This town depends on us. We can’t just be fucking in the stables anytime we want!”

Dina’s face turned bright red. A loud bang on the gate startled them, and a voice shouted just beyond it.

“OPEN THE DAMN GATE!”

Ellie looked at Dina. At the same time, they both stated, “Is that Tommy?”

They ran over to the gate and opened it. The wooden doors creaked, pushing the snow to the side as it opened. Tommy dragged an unconscious, injured Joel inside Jackson. He shifted his arm around his waist, trying to adjust, but Joel slid right out from his arms and landed into the snow. Joel landed face-first into the powdery snow. Ellie immediately ran over to him and lifted him back up with the help of Tommy.

“What happened?” Ellie asked as they reached the clinic. Tommy knocked on the door. An elderly lady appeared, her glasses hung low on her nose.

“Do you realize what time it is?” she said, her voice filled with sleep. She glanced at Joel and gasped. Immediately opening the door, she gestured for them to come in. “The first room on the left is empty,” she said as Tommy and Ellie walked to the room. They laid Joel down on the bed. The lady began to cut his pant leg, revealing the bullet hole.

“Jesus, Tommy. If you don't tell me what the fuck happened right now. I swear, I’m going,” Ellie demanded, clenching her fist tightly.

“That’s it, out!” the lady demanded as she pointed towards the door. Everyone looked at her in shock before muttering and walking out. Dina took a seat next to Jesse. Ellie quickly realized that you were not with them and was unaware of Joel's condition. Her heart started to race, conflicted about whether she should leave or stay with Joel.

Dina’s eyes softened as she watched Ellie’s expressions rapidly change. “I’ll go get her,” she said to Ellie, squeezing her hand.

“She’s not home,” Jesse said softly.

"What do you mean she's not there?"

"She took off hours ago, right before the storm got bad."

Tommy's eyes darted to Ellie's as Jesse finished his sentence. "Ellie, I need to speak to you... Alone."

"I'll be at your house if you need me," Dina told Ellie as she and Jesse left the clinic. Tommy took a seat and rubbed his hands across his face. He sighed loudly as tears threatened to fall from his eyes again.

"There's no easy way to say this," he whispered. His voice trembled. "Kid, she came looking for us. I don't know exactly what happened, but I do know. When I woke, it was too late. She was-" Tears ran down his face, "she was already gone."

"She's gone?" she muttered, tears forming. Her heart sank as she tried to comprehend what Tommy had said. The room felt heavy around her; her breathing became erratic. Everything felt as though it was caving in around her. Her vision tunneled. She violently shook her head; her face went stone cold and void as she stared at him. Just above a whisper, she asked, "You just left her there?"

"Ellie, I didn't have a choice. T'was just me and Joel," he said. "Once the storm settles, I'm going back."

"I'm coming with you."

-- -- -- ---

MEANWHILE || AT THE MANSION

The light flickered throughout the room. Your eyes fluttered open as you desperately gasped for air. The sheet covering your body clung to your face as you inhaled. Shakily, you reached up and pulled it off. The blood rushed back through your body and up to your face. The room spun as you held your head in pain.

You groaned loudly, sitting up. You tried to keep a steady breath as you attempted to stand. Clumsily, you bumped into things while you walked towards the bathroom. You dug through the cabinets, looking for a first aid kit. The blood on your hands smeared the white doors as you opened them. A small red box lay beneath washcloths. You grabbed it and placed it on the counter.

You caught a glimpse of your reflection and were startled by your appearance. Your hair was matted with blood and sweat. Your eyes were bloodshot, and your face was sickly pale, reflecting the trauma you had experienced. Your hands shuddered as you opened the kit.

Among the bandages and alcohol pads, you find a sewing needle and thread. Tucking your shirt under your bra, you tried to thread the needle with blurry vision. After many failed tries, you got the thread through the eyelet and placed it on the counter. You poured water over the wound, soaking the top of your jeans.

With a deep breath, you pierced the needle through the skin, pulled it through the other side, and secured the suture with a double knot before making two more next to it. As you focused on the sutures, the pain intensified. Beads of sweat formed on our foreheads.

After the last stitch, you slumped to the floor. A wave of nausea washed over you. You could barely keep your eyes open. They started to close until you could not fight them anymore and fell into a dreamless slumber.

-- -- -- ---

JACKSON || MONTHS LATER

Darkness surrounded the streets of Jackson. Snow covered the pavement. The white sparkled in the moonlight. The brisk winter breeze bit anyone who dared to be out in it.

A single light flickered from a bulb attached to a familiar house on Rancher Street. Its soft glow illuminated Joel as he sat skillfully strumming away on his guitar. The beautiful melody flowed through the air, stopping passersby as they listened. He sang no words, only allowing the vibrations of the chords to do the music.

His mind was flooded with memories of the past, the battles that were fought, those who have died, and each heavy decision was made. With each note, tears dropped and landed on the curve of the guitar. He played as if it would be the last time his calloused fingers would scrap against the strings.

The last chord strung, he leaned the guitar against the house next to him. He grabbed the pistol from the table and held the cold metal. A sense of finality washed over him. You were no longer here. Ellie never forgave him, and with you gone, the wedge between them grew. He had nothing left, no reason to be here anymore. He contemplated if Jackson would be better without him.

Taking a deep breath, he placed the cold gun against his temple. His index finger brushed against the trigger. His eyes closed for the last time, picturing your face.

“Whatcha think you’re doing there, cowboy?” a feminine voice stated. Hesitantly, he opened his eyes. They land on a familiar silhouette as they ascend the steps. The features of your face appear more prominent as you step into the light. Joel’s eyes widened.

“You’re… You’re not here,” he stuttered. His hands shook as he lowered the gun to his lap. “You can’t be here. This isn’t real.” He shook his head, attempting to remove the image of you. However, no matter how hard he tried, you stood there unmoving, with an amused look, staring at him. Joel’s heart pounded in his chest, questioning his sanity.

He stared at you in wonder. The snowflakes glimmered in your hair, and the bitter cold caused your nose and cheeks to turn pink. He tried to find an explanation. Was this a hallucination? A figment of his imagination? There's no possible way you could be here.

The feeling of longing engulfed him as he stared at your beautiful face.

“Why don’t you come and find out?” you smiled. He hesitated for a moment, unsure if he could trust his senses. But the genuine warmth in your voice convinced him to stand. He grabbed his crutch and took a step towards you. His eyes flickered with a mix of fear and excitement. He reached out toward you, afraid that you would disappear. His warm palm lands on your cold cheek.

“Easy there, cowboy. You look a bit unstable,” you chuckled, leaning into his touch. He released the breath he was holding and pulled you into his arms. He buried his face in your hair, inhaling the familiar scent of the honey soap you used to use.

“Baby,” He mumbled into your hair. You could feel his heartbeat against your face as he held you tightly. His grip filled with longing and relief. “You’re really here.”

“I’m really here,” you replied with a voice filled with love and reassurance. All the doubts and fears vanished from him as he held you. His hand moved to your chin, tilting it upwards. His teary eyes met yours for the first time in months. He leaned down. His nose touches yours.

“You’re really here,” he whispered again. You could feel his hot breath linger on your lips. He closed the gap between you, pressing his lips against yours in a gentle kiss. He nipped your bottom lip, forcing you to open, and slipped his tongue inside. He moaned in your mouth before breaking away to catch his breath. He started to kiss along your jawline, sucking on your pulse, leaving a wet, red spot. Your hands clung to his brown jacket.

“Joel,” You mewled as he nibbled at the soft skin. His scruffy beard left red marks across your neck. “Let's get out of the cold.”

He mumbled in protest, but you pushed him gently towards the door, grabbing his guitar.

You helped me into the house and up the stairs. One of his arms dangled over the crutch, and the other around your waist. As you guided him through the house, his light touches sent shivers through you. His weight felt comforting and electrifying, making you yearn for more.

You made your way to the bedroom. Joel let go of the crutch. A metal clunk echoed off the walls as it hit the ground. His eyes met yours, filled with desire. Without a word, he pulled you closer. His lips brushed against yours in a tender yet passionate kiss. His hands lifted your shirt slowly up your abdomen, fingers lightly touching your skin.

“Baby,” he groaned as he tossed your shirt to the floor. He hobbled towards the bed, pushing with him. The back of your knees hit the frame, causing you to fall backward. Your back lands softly on the blankets and shifts upwards, allowing Joel to climb onto the bed. He towered over you. You could feel the heat radiating off his body. His lips trailed down your neck while his hand explored every inch of you. Your heavy breathing filled the room.

Joel tugged at your jeans. The tip of his fingers traced lines down your thigh as he pulled them off. Flattening his palm, his hand grazed your inner thigh. He kissed down your sternum, stopping just above the bandage that wrapped around you.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, kissing it. “so fucking sorry.”

“Oh hush, now,” you stated, shifting your legs a little higher on the bed. He kissed down your stomach and stopped just above the warmth of your core. He looked up at your face. You propped yourself up on your elbows. As his hand covered your dripping cunt, your head fell backward onto the bed.

“So wet. This all for me, darlin’?” he purred. His index finger slid through your folds, which caused you to gasp. Pleasure coursed through your body as he teased your entrance. His touch was electric, and you find your back arching in response.

You could feel the anticipation building as he went lower on your body, nibbling your thigh. The mixture of his breath and the roughness of his beard against your skin heightened your senses. You yearned for more. He pushed his finger inside, coating the digit with your slick before sliding it out.

“More,” you mewled, voice filled with desire as you begged. The hunger in your eyes fueled his own as he eagerly obliged. He pushed another finger in, curving them to hit the rigid sweet spot that he knew would cause you to scream his name. Each movement of his fingers sent waves of pleasure through you, building an insatiable hunger within you. Your hips instinctively arched upwards.

He leaned in and stuck out his tongue. He licked through your folds, up to your clit, circled it, and before moving down to his fingers. The taste of your slick sent Joel over the edge. He moved his tongue back up to your clit and flicked it a few times before sucking. Your hands grabbed a fistful of his hair as you ground your core against his face. His tongue danced skillfully around your clit. The combination of his relentless fingers and the tantalizing flicks of his tongue pushed you closer to the edge.

“That’s it, baby. Cum on my fingers,” Joel growled into your thigh, catching his breath. “Yeah, just like that.” He pumped his fingers faster, pushing you to your limit. You gripped the covers, and your back arched higher. Unable to hold back any longer, you screamed his name. Your walls tighten around his fingers. “That's it, baby.”

He slowed the pace of his pumping until you came down from the euphoric high. He pulled his fingers out of yours, dripping with your slick. He brought them to his mouth and licked his fingers clean. “Been too fucking long, you taste so good.”

He shifted higher up on your body, peppering your skin with kisses. The leg of his jeans rubbed against your bare cunt as he kissed you softly. His hot breath sent electricity through your already sensitive body. As you caught your breath, you could feel his throbbing cock pressed against your leg, aching for release. He whispered in your ear, “I want to feel you around me.”

You stared deeply into his eyes before trying to shift him off of you. The last thing you wanted to do was to hurt his leg. He peered down at you, confused, but pushed you harder against the bed.

“Darlin’, what are you doin’?”

“Would you just lay on your damn back,” you grunted as you squirmed to get free from his towering form. You moaned as he rubbed his covered thigh against your cunt. He chuckled at your failed attempt to get him to move. You looked up at him with big puppy dog eyes. “Come on, please?”

“No.”

“Joel, come on, your leg.”

“I don’t give a shit about my leg right now,” he grunted. He pulled his pants down. His cock bounced as it sprung free from its confines. His eyes burned with desire as he buried his head in the crook of your neck. His large hands grabbed your legs and placed them around his waist. His cock lay against your fold, and he rocked forward, allowing it to rub through your folds, hitting your clit repeatedly. You groan in pleasure. “You ready for me?”

You nod frantically. He looked down at your blissful face.

“Of course you are. Such a good girl.”

“Please, Joel.”

He chuckled as he pushed his cock inside you. He grunted loudly at the feeling of you around him. Your head hit the pillow, shutting your eyes as his cock stretched you.

“God, I missed you,” He moaned and looked at you, “Eyes on me, baby.”

He wanted to watch you come on him. He didn’t want to miss any more moments with you, especially this one. He firmly gripped your hips, thrusting his cock deeper inside you. You screamed his name as he hit that spot only he knew about. With each thrust, he enjoyed the way your moans grew louder. Your breath grew heavier. He knew you were only his.

“Ah! Fu-Fuck!” Joel grunted. His thrusting became more ragged and forceful. The bed frame knocked against the wall. The sound of slapping skin echoed through the darkened room. Your screams muffled as you pulled the pillow across your face. Joel grabbed it and tossed it to the floor. “I want to see you. Fuck, you feel so good.”

Tears threatened to fall as the pressure inside you became too much. You desperately scrape your dull fingernails across Joel's back.

“You can take it. Just a little bit more,” He moaned, “Such a good girl”

You screamed as you came around his cock. The tightness of your walls sent him climaxing with you. His cock pulsates inside you, coating your insides white.

“Fuck, I missed you,” he panted, collapsing on top of you. You could feel his cock softening until it slid out of you. His come seeps out of your weeping hole.

You ran your fingers through his soft hair while you kissed his shoulder. You smiled widely as you both basked in the afterglow. Slowly, he rolled off of you and pulled you flush against his chest. He whispered sweet words of affection in your hair. You attempted to get up, but he pushed you back down, trapping you between his arms.

“I’m not ready to let you go just yet,” he muttered as he planted kisses along your shoulder blades. The warmth of his embrace enveloped you, making it impossible to resist. Your eyes begin to get heavy. You heard Joel chuckle, and then the cover was placed on you. He nestled you under his chin.

The sound of his steady heartbeat lulled you to a blissful sleep. You felt loved and safe, wrapped in his embrace. Whatever tomorrow may bring would be tomorrow’s problem. Right now, you were right where you belonged.

-- --

originally posted: 27/11/2023 on @pamasaur previous account. Support/MDNI banner by @cafekitsune Tags: @pedrostories, @kelbellsficrecs @fhatbhabie (ily) @cool-iguana

#joel miller x f!reader #Joel Miller x You #joel miller x female reader #joel x f!reader #joel x female reader #joel miller #joel tlou #tlou fanfiction #joel miller tlou #the last of us #joel miller fic #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller x reader #joel miller smut #tlou fic #tlou fandom #Fic-Leave a light on #StrwbryWhiskeySour writes #Pedrostories

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justagalwhowrites · 10 months

Text

Yearling - Ch. 1: Break

A night out takes a turn. The first chapter of Yearling, a TLOU fan fiction. Find the Masterlist here.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader

Warnings: Canon-typical violence. No use of Y/N. Minors DNI, 18+ only.

Length: 5.6k

AO3 | Next Chapter

Friday, September 26, 2003

Dubois, Wyoming

“They ain’t even that good,” you took a sip of beer, glaring at the girl in the short, white eyelet lace sundress standing near the band on stage. Your Texas accent got stronger when you were drunk. It also got stronger when you were pissed. You were speaking with a full blown drawl now. “I can play better n’them.”

“Baby Doll, you can play better than everyone in town,” Justin leaned down, his head so close to you that you could feel his breath on your cheek, his lips brushing the shell of your ear when he spoke. His arm went around your waist. “Better than you is a damn a high bar…”

You could hear the smile on his voice and you turned around in his arms to face him, eyes narrowed.

“You’re lovin’ this,” you said. “I can tell, you’re just havin’ the time of your life…”

“I ain’t gonna lie to you,” he smirked. “It is fun seein’ you get all worked up over a girl hittin’ on me.”

“I am not!” You swatted his chest. “I just think it’s disrespectful, she saw me come in with you, she should know that you’re gonna dance with the one that brung ya…”

“Hey,” he teased. “I brung you, not the other way ‘round…”

“Yeah, yeah,” you waved him off, turning back around and taking another sip of beer just in time to see the girl in question heading to the bathroom with one of her friends. She looked a little green and you smiled a little. Served her right. You looked back up at Justin. “Don’t go thinkin’ you’re hot shit now just because I didn’t like some rancher’s daughter tryin’ to climb you like a tree.”

“Oh I’d never dream that you thought I was hot shit,” he kissed your temple. “Don’t you worry. Need another?”

“It’s Friday night and if I’m gonna listen to that band fuck up ‘Devil Went Down to Georgia’ you better goddamm well get me another,” you said. He just shook his head and worked his way up to the bar. You smiled a little, watching him go, rapping your fingers along the side of your almost empty beer bottle.

You were getting attached to Justin.

He’d started out as something fun to do over the summer when he showed up at the ranch you’d been working at for more than a year now. He was a few years older - not enough to make it scandalous but enough that he knew what the fuck he was doing. He was rugged and handsome and he was happy to buy you beer and whiskey because, at 19, getting your hands on the stuff was tricky. It had started in May with you fucking him.

At first, that’s all it had been. After a few weeks of him staring at you when you were hanging tack back up at the end of the day, you all but cornered him in the barn.

“You got some kind of problem with me, cowboy?” You snapped, getting so close to him that the brim of your hat almost caught his chin.

“No I do not,” he replied. “Unless you count the fact that your ass looks way too damn good in those jeans to be doin’ nothin’ but ridin’ horses all day. Otherwise, I got the opposite of a problem with you.”

“Oh,” you stepped back from him, looking him up and down. He was tall, broad, handsome. He reminded you a bit of the boy you’d lost your virginity to when you were 16 and he’d been working on your parents’ ranch back in Texas. “Well, I’m done for the day, headin’ back to my room. You’re welcome to join if you want to see what else I’m good at ridin’ on.”

You turned and started off toward the bunkhouse. He scrambled to catch up with you and you smirked a little. He was definitely going to be fun.

In August, he asked if you wanted to go to dinner sometime. You frowned, looking over at him, his naked body shiny with sweat.

“Dinner,” you said, incredulous. “With me.”

“That’s what I said,” he replied, looking over at you. “Unless there’s someone else you’d rather go to dinner with…”

“You realize you’re already fucking me, right?” You frowned. “You don’t have to try.”

“Oh trust me, I noticed,” he grinned, a little cocky. “But I’d like to do more than fuck you. So I’m askin’ you to dinner. Gonna try to make a proper lady outta you and all that.”

You snorted.

“No proper lady to be had here,” you said. “But… we can have dinner.”

This was actual date number five. Not that the number of dates meant much when you were already screwing every chance you got.

But you’d gotten to really like Justin, especially now that you were spending almost every spare second together. Maybe love him. A little. You’d cross that bridge when you came to it.

“You know,” he came and pressed a new beer into your hand and took your empty bottle, putting it on a nearby table. “Bet you’d look pretty as hell in a little dress like that…”

He ran his nose along your temple and you glared at him a little.

“OK, first of all, it’s after Labor Day, wearin’ all white like that is tacky,” you said. “Second of all, you get frustrated when I take 10 minutes to tame my hair before we leave, you know how long it takes to look that put together? Longer than you want to wait, cowboy.”

“OK well I’m dyin’ to know where you got that Labor Day thing from. But you’re prettier than her, so I’m sure it wouldn’t take you that long,” he said, smirking a bit. “And I’m not talkin’ about for every day. Maybe if we were to… I dunno… take a trip somewhere.”

“A trip?” You smiled, brows raised. “You tryin’ to take me away from all this, that it?”

“Maybe,” he winked. “Thinkin’ maybe a few days, we run away to a cabin on a lake, find some fun restaurants, I get to spend way more time kissin’ you than usual…”

“Sounds good to me,” you were about to move to kiss him when there was a strange, snarling sound from over his shoulder. You frowned, leaning around him just as he turned to look.

The girl from before - in the stupid white dress - flew at him, her blonde hair tangled, her fingers curved so her nails were more like claws. He stepped back, his hands going up to stop her but she didn’t seem to notice or care.

She jumped, knocking him to the ground as you jumped out of the way, the girl ripping at his shirt before digging her bared teeth into his neck.

“What the fuck!” You yelled, grabbing her by the hair and yanking her backward. She sprawled on the floor next to Justin for a second before she scrambled up onto all fours and tried to rush you. You took your half full beer bottle and throttled her on the side of her head, hitting her with every ounce to strength you had, sending her down to the ground, unconscious.

“Shit!” A man near you looked between you and the girl.

“Hey, she fuckin’ started it!” You snapped. “She just tried to take a chunk out of my boyfriend’s neck!”

Someone else got down on the ground with the girl as Justin got to his feet. You looked at his throat, her teeth marks red and oozing.

“Jesus, she got you good…” you frowned, leaning in close.

“We should call the cops,” the man near you said.

“And that’s our cue,” Justin took you by the elbow and started pulling you to the door.

“Hey, we didn’t do a damn thing wrong,” you said as he dragged you along beside him. “She went fuckin’ nuts…”

“Yeah but that’s your third beer of the night and you’re 19,” he said quickly. “Rather not get in trouble for buyin’ you booze…”

“That’s the girl that hit ‘er!” Someone yelled. You looked up at Justin.

“Run!” Justin pulled you with him as the two of you took off, him clearing a path with you at his heels until you were in the parking lot, a handful of people on your tail.

“Sure hope you ain’t drunk!” You said as you jumped into the passenger side of his rusted pickup.

“Sober enough to get us outta this,” he said, turning the key and holding it until the old engine turned over with a growl. He floored it, nearly taking out the front of a sedan on his way onto the main road.

He careened through town at 80 until the streetlights had faded in the distance and the sky was bursting with stars.

“What the fuck was her problem?” You crawled to the middle of the bench seat and tried to get a look at his neck. “Maybe you should go to a hospital, this looks bad…”

“I’ll just clean it up when we get back,” he waved you off. “I’m too eager to find out what kind of sex I get as your boyfriend…”

“What?” You sat back, incredulous.

“You called me your boyfriend back there,” he smirked. “I’m really ready to find out what that means once I’m in your bed…”

“Oh, Jesus,” you shoved him playfully. “You got a one track mind. And you shouldn’t read too much into what I say when I’m defending myself because some psycho tried to take a chunk out of ya.”

He winked and you rolled your eyes.

The two of you made it back to your room without any more excitement - something you were plenty thankful for. Once you were inside, you took Justin’s plaid button down off and draped it over your worn wooden desk chair before getting out your first aid kit. You usually used it for patching up cuts when a horse did manage to throw you - a rare occurrence - or when you weren’t paying close enough attention and cut yourself on barbed wire - less rare.

You frowned at the bite mark, the skin around it red and angry, as you cleaned it with rubbing alcohol and applied a bandage.

“This looks infected,” you said. “Really should take you to a hospital…”

“Nah,” he waved you off. “I’ll go to a doctor in a day or two if somethin’ ain’t feelin’ right. I’m fine, Baby Doll, really.”

He tugged you onto his lap and kissed your cheek.

“You’re cute when you’re worryin’ though,” he smiled a little. “If I’d known all it took was some rancher’s daughter gettin’ handsy with me to get you to be all over me, callin’ me your boyfriend, I’d have done it sooner…”

You rolled your eyes and shifted so you were less sitting on his lap and more straddling him and his hands went to your waist.

“See if you were in a dress, this’d be easier…”

You glared at him.

“You’re not careful I’ll give you a matchin’ bite mark on the other side of your neck.”

“Oh, from you, I’d welcome it,” he smiled, kissing you as he unbuttoned your shirt.

You ground your hips down against his as he undressed you, his hands exploring you as he kissed you. Once you were bare from the waist up, he pulled you down on the bed and you crawled down his body, opening his pants and stroking his hardening length a few times before taking him in your mouth in one, swift motion.

“Fuck, Baby Doll,” he groaned, one of his hands going to your hair. “Fuckin’ love your mouth…”

You hummed in approval, making his legs twitch as you sucked him, bobbing your head up and down his length as his fingers dug into your scalp. You worked his cock until he pulled your head roughly away from him, panting for breath.

“Really don’t want to come before I have a chance to properly fuck ya,” he said, grip loosening on your hair.

“So demanding,” you teased, looping your fingers over the top of his jeans and boxers, pulling them both down his legs and leaving them on the floor. You took off your own jeans and underwear, too, and crawled up his body, leaning over him to grab a condom from your bedside table. He took one of your nipples into his mouth and sucked you as your breasts hung over his face, his fingers sinking into your hips.

He reluctantly released you when you moved back down to straddle his thighs, opening the wrapper and sliding the condom on over his thick length. You looked at him naked in front of you and rubbed two fingers through your slit, spreading the wetness that had gathered there.

“You gettin’ wet from suckin’ me off has to be the hottest fuckin’ thing I’ve ever seen,” his hands slid up your legs as he watched you arrange yourself over him.

“I’m so busy thinking about this the whole time I can’t help it,” you said, breathless, as you sank down onto him. He groaned as you did, your body slowly and surely taking all of his cock into you. Your hips met his and you ground yourself down against him, his hardness just big enough to stretch you enough to satisfy. You rode him like that, rubbing your clit as you did, his hands on your hips as you worked yourself to an orgasm on his length, coming around him with a whimper.

He took advantage of your orgasm and grabbed you, flipping you onto your back and driving into you as you rode out the last waves of pleasure, arranging your legs so he was pressing deeper. You groaned as he started to fuck you harder, faster, the force of it making your tits bounce.

“Love seein’ you come on my cock,” he grunted. “Love seein’ how this tight little pussy takes me…”

He ground himself in as deep as he could reach, your body tightening around him again.

“Fuck, I love you,” he gasped it out as he started to come deep inside you, spilling into the condom.

Your eyes went wide and your orgasm hit - soft and subdued but not entirely put off by his words. He collapsed beside you when both of you were spent, your own slick leaking out between your legs. You stared up at the ceiling.

“Knew boyfriend sex would be good,” he teased, a little breathless and smiling at you.

“Yeah, about that,” you said, propping yourself up on your elbows. “What did you say at the end there?”

He frowned.

“I said…” and his eyes went wide. “Oh shit… I didn’t mean… I don’t expect… Look, I…”

“Did you mean it?” You asked, brows raised.

He flinched.

“Maybe,” he said. “But I wasn’t plannin’ on sayin’ a damn thing about it to you, alright? So please don’t freak out about this, OK? I feel like we’re in a good place…”

“I…” you paused. “Well I dunno if I love you yet or not but… I do like you. A lot. You’re kind of my favorite person so… I might love you a little. But just a little.”

You shrugged and fell back down onto your back. He smiled.

“Well, you’re my favorite person, too.”

“Don’t read too much into it,” you smiled a little.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Baby Doll.”

He rolled over to kiss you before getting out of bed. You frowned.

“Gonna go rinse off,” he said. “I’m feelin’… I dunno, just off.”

“I’m telling you, that stupid bite is infected,” you called after him as he went to shower. You waited until you heard the water turn on and got out bed yourself, getting his shirt from the chair and shrugging into it. It hung on you and you had to roll up the sleeves. You smiled a little at the physical representation of him enveloping you, the shirt smelling like his cologne with the faint smell of hay below it - a smell he never seemed to really shake. You liked it.

You got your guitar from its stand in the corner and settled back down on the bed, tuning it briefly before just noodling on it. You’d been experimenting with a combination of chords and the rhythm you could get from tapping on the guitar body itself.

“That’s soundin’ good,” Justin said, coming out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. He got is boxers off the floor and stepped into them, draping the towel over the chair.

“Thanks,” you said. “Not sure what I’m gonna do with it yet but something eventually… Feeling any better?”

“Bit worse actually,” he frowned. “Maybe I should go back to mine, what if I’m comin’ down with somethin’. Don’t need to be gettin’ you sick, too…”

“You were just inside me, Justin, whatever you got I’m gonna get,” you rolled your eyes. “Assuming it’s contagious and it’s not from that damn bite.”

“She wasn’t rabid,” he teased, climbing into bed beside you. “Sure I just picked up somethin’ somewhere…”

You put the guitar down beside the bed and curled into him, falling asleep breathing in the smell of hay on his skin.

His twitching is what woke you up.

“Justin,” you whispered, nudging him. He didn’t respond. “You’re dreaming, c’mon baby…”

You gave him a shake but he didn’t wake up. You sighed and untangled yourself from him and the sheets. You grabbed your panties off the floor and ducked into the bathroom. If you were awake, you might as well pee. You did that, chugged a glass of water and went back into the bedroom.

It was uncommonly dark, the new moon making it so there was almost no light coming in through your windows. You nudged Justin again as you tried to get under the covers.

“Hey,” you shook him a little more firmly this time. “Baby, you’re dreaming something crazy…”

He responded then, taking in a deep, raspy breath, his movements still sharp and jerky.

“Justin?” You said quietly. “Hey, it’s me, it’s…”

He shrieked, sounding like the girl at the bar and you shocked back from him, jumping away just as his fingers reached and groped for you.

“This isn’t funny!” You yelled, stumbling over your guitar as you backed away from him. You squinted, barely able to make out his writhing in the bedsheets in the dark. “Justin, cut it the fuck out!”

He just shrieked again before he fell to the floor with a thud, his breaths still coming in deep, rasping pants.

“Justin?” You crept toward his side of the bed cautiously. He snarled and scrambled, on all fours, for you.

It shocked you so much that he got ahold of your ankle, yanking you onto the ground so hard that it made your brain rattle in your skull, his fingers digging harshly into your flesh as he dragged you closer.

You fought without really thinking about how or why or who, you just kicked as hard as you could with your free leg, catching the side of his head with your knee. He shrieked and released you and you scrambled back from him, pulling yourself up by your bed to run around to your nightstand. You yanked the middle drawer open - just below where you’d grabbed a condom just hours before to put on the man who was now bent on killing you - and pulled out your hand gun.

“Justin!” You were crying. You almost never cried. You weren’t sure when you’d started. “Please! I don’t want to do this, please!”

He snarled and lunged for you again and you pulled the trigger. He collapsed immediately and you screamed, fumbling to turn on the lamp on your side table.

“Justin?” You got down on the ground next to him. You’d shot him in the chest, right by his heart. The rattling sound of his breaths were gone. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please…”

You sobbed, instinctively trying to put his blood back inside of him. If you could just fix it, put it back together, he’d be OK, he’d wake up and be Justin again and everything would be fine. That had to be the way it worked, it was the only thing that made sense…

You barely noticed it, out of the corner of your eye. He’d pulled the bandage off his neck at some point, the violent bite mark on display and a fibrous, vine-like tendril reaching out from his throat. Reaching for you.

You yelped and scrambled back from him, your gun still in your hand. The thing was still moving, with a mind of its own.

“What the fuck?” You were panting for breath. His body twitched and you did the only thing you could think to do.

You ran.

“Help me!” You ran out front of the bunk house, gun still in your bloody hands. “Please! Help me!”

You heard it before you saw it, the rattling breath and the inhuman snarl. Like the girl at the bar. Like Justin.

It was Keith, one of the older ranch hands. He worked with the cattle. You’d almost never seen him so much as jog and here he was, running for you, snarling, his hands in a claw-like shape.

“Stop!” You held up the gun. “I ain’t jokin’, I will shoot you!”

He kept coming, the snarling getting louder. You fired, shooting him in the head by the glow of the light on the barn. He collapsed where he stood as you heard something crash against the door of one of the other rooms at the bunkhouse. Like someone was hurling their body against it, trying to break free.

You looked around, frantic. There was only one thing you were sure of: you’d get torn apart if you stayed here. You didn’t know why, you didn’t know what caused it, but you knew you were going to die if you didn’t get away.

You ran to the paddock where you’d been working with a horse, a filly who was just past her yearling stage. You’d been breaking her in, now that she was old enough, barely to dumb broke, just starting to carry a rider and learn commands. She was there, asleep in the grass. You jumped the fence, not wanting to risk going in the barn where there were sometimes still people, even at this hour.

“Hey Nike,” you whispered. She roused with a whinny. You’d named her for the goddess of victory and you hoped that meant she’d help you win whatever the fuck battle was apparently happening here today. “We gotta get goin’ sweet girl…”

You coaxed her to her feet and she shook her head, her mane bouncing. You jumped on her back and realized that you hadn’t even put on shoes or pants, you’d been in too big a hurry to get the fuck out of your room. But it wasn’t safe to go back, not now. You’d have to make do. You tucked your gun into the waistband of your panties. Nike pranced, impatient below you.

“We’re gonna get the fuck out of here,” you said. “You and me.”

You leaned forward and took some of her mane in each hand, one on each side of her neck. You couldn’t afford to go and get reins, you hoped this would be enough.

“Lets see if we can make you a jumper…”

You nudged her forward and got her moving. There was more snarling from the bunkhouse, louder now. Something must have gotten through a door… you shuddered, thinking about it.

Once she was up to a good clip, you pointed her at the fence line and drove her to it, adjusting your weight and pulling back on her, hoping that she’d figure it out.

She did, you barely hanging on as she sailed over the fence posts.

“Good girl!” You said, driving her toward the woods at the edge of the property. “It’s you and me, Nike. You and me. We’re going to get through this, we’re going to get help, we’re going to get through this.”

You said it more for you than your horse as you rode into the dark of the forest, the ranch and the bodies of the first men you ever killed behind you.

***

Sunday, November 2, 2025

“Been quiet today,” Tommy said from beside Joel, the gentle crunch of the snow under the feet of their horses the only other sound on the cold air.

Joel groaned.

“Jesus, Tommy, why don’t you just ask for us to get swarmed by infected,” he glared at his little brother.

“Don’t tell me you’re superstitious now, brother,” Tommy smirked a little. “You and I both know that whatever I say don’t got shit to do with anything that happens later.”

“It will if I deck you for sayin’ stupid shit,” Joel replied. “And I ain’t superstitious, I’m just smart enough to not say somethin’ that goddamn dumb in the middle of a patrol.”

The men were, at this point, about a four hour’s ride from Jackson, Wyoming. But they’d been taking it at a slow pace because - as Tommy had rightly and stupidly pointed out - it had been a quiet day. A quiet day in a quiet month.

Raiders seemed to have gone dark - either hunkering down for the coming winter or migrating elsewhere. So had infected, though they knew they could put that on their migratory patterns. Stupid fungus was smart enough to know that the humans it occupied couldn’t hold up in extreme cold and that their host bodies would freeze and die if they stayed too far north during the winter. Things thinned out this time of year.

“We should turn around and head back soon,” Tommy said. “We cut over a few miles, we’ll be able to sweep up and check a different area…”

“You know this shit better’n me,” Joel shrugged. “Just don’t be surprised if we come up on a pocket of raiders now…”

Tommy rolled his eyes as they rode up on a stream. He nudged his horse to follow it, cutting back toward Jackson.

They’d only been following the path of the stream for about 20 minutes when Joel first noticed it. The sign of footprints, then blood.

“Tommy,” he said quietly, nodding his head at it.

“Shit,” Tommy sighed, shaking his head.

“You said it was quiet,” Joel said, trying not to smirk at him.

“Fuck you,” Tommy replied, steering his horse to follow the footprints.

They didn’t have to go far, the snow growing steadily redder the further they went, until there was a body face down on the ground.

Joel slid off his horse and crouched next to the man, checking for signs of life even though it was pretty obvious that there weren’t any. He rolled the man over. There was a sizable knife buried in the man’s chest but that’s not the thing that caught Joel’s attention.

“Jesus Christ,” he looked up at his brother, still on horseback. “Tommy, look at this.”

Tommy frowned, dismounting and squatting down next to Joel.

“Oh fuck,” he said. “Was that… infected?”

The man’s face had been nearly torn apart, nail marks like some kind of feral animal had gotten to him but they were distinctly human, little half-moon shapes dragged through his flesh that had gushed blood. He’d been alive when something - someone - got to his face.

“Ain’t ever seen one go at someone quite like this,” Joel said. “And infected don’t use knives…”

“Maybe suicide if he got bit?” Tommy shrugged.

Joel looked over the body and found a gun with plenty of ammo and nodded to it.

“Well then, never mind,” Tommy frowned. “Jesus, he pissed off someone…”

“The fuck knows who,” Joel said, looking him over more to see if he could find any signs as to where the man had come from. There were a few thick zipties in the man’s back pocket. Joel sighed and held them up for Tommy to see. “Well, probably plenty. I’m bettin’ he’s a raider, probably tryin’ to bring in someone who fought back a little harder than expected…”

“Fuckin’ hell,” Tommy sighed, getting up again. “Grab the guns I guess, knife too. See if we can’t find who fucked him up.”

The men mounted up again and rode on. They found another body, this one shot dead and not scratched to hell, though one look at the nails - free of blood and torn flesh - told Joel this was another raider and not who they were after.

“Joel,” Tommy nodded at another set of tracks, starting with little drops of blood in the snow and coloring it more crimson as the path wore on.

“Shit,” he sighed, steering his horse to follow the path.

They didn’t need to go far.

Ahead was a body in the snow, splayed out on the ground, splotches of red and pink around it. Joel dismounted and approached slowly. He could sense that this was different. This was who the raiders had been after.

He moved cautiously, almost afraid to see what the raiders must have done to you if you’d done that kind of damage to them. You were bloody but he wasn’t sure the source of it from a quick glance. Your face was bruised and he could see signs of you being bound on your exposed wrist, the skin ringed in harsh and angry red.

“Jesus,” Tommy breathed, coming up along side Joel.

He noticed it then, the small, almost imperceptible movement of your chest. Joel tapped Tommy’s arm and nodded toward your torso.

“Oh shit,” he said.

Your eyes fluttered open and you took a sharp breath, struggling onto your elbows and hands, trying to drag your broken body back away from Joel and Tommy.

“Woah!” Tommy held up his hands. “Not here to hurt you, you’re OK, we’re just gonna try to help…”

“Fuck you,” you spat - literally, blood and spittle flying from your lips as you tried to get a full breath. “Don’t touch me!”

“Hey,” Joel got down on your level, his hands up, and met your eyes. There was something in them that felt familiar. Something that he wanted to protect. “It’s OK. We’re not like them, those men back there. Guessin’ you killed ‘em?”

You nodded once. Your eyes were so wide, you were so afraid. It reminded Joel of a baby deer, fragile and wild.

“You did good, Bambi,” he said, keeping his hands where you could see them. “Fucked ‘em up real good. We’re from a settlement, few hours from here. It’s a good place, we’ve got a doctor who can help you…”

“Can’t walk a few hours,” you said through gritted teeth.

“I know,” Joel said, nodding to your torso. “Mind if I take a look? See where that blood’s comin’ from? I’m just gonna lift your shirt, not gonna touch you.”

You looked at him for a moment before you gave him a stiff nod. He gingerly raised the bloody fabric - you weren’t wearing nearly enough layers to be out in this weather, just jeans, boots and a button down - and examined your stomach. There were two bullet holes there. He winced. He wasn’t a doctor but he knew getting shot in the stomach was bad. He noticed a raised scar on your hip, just below and to the left of your belly button, a branded letter M. His stomach turned. The fuck had happened to you?

“It’s bad,” you managed. “Just shoot me, better… better than dyin’ with them.”

“She’s right, Joel,” Tommy said, his voice low. “She’s lost a lot of blood, dragging her back to town’s just torture at this point…”

You’d fallen back into the snow, struggling to breathe, your eyes closed. But he remembered your eyes, the warmth wrapped in something harsh and sharp.

He realized then what they reminded him of, who you reminded him of. Tess. You were a survivor, like Tess. He hadn’t been able to save her, either. He’d failed her, too.

“Bambi,” Joel said, just sticking with the name. He figured you’d offer your real one if you wanted to. You opened your eyes again. “Now, I’m gonna have to touch you for this but I’m gonna be as gentle as I can…”

“Fuck you,” you winced. “Just…”

“Not going to just let you die out here in the cold,” Joel shrugged out of his jacket and held it out to Tommy. “Gonna get you on my horse - it’s OK if you pass out, I’ll hold onto ya - and we’re gonna get you back with us.”

“I don’t…” you began but Joel slid his arm below your legs and the other behind your ribs and he gently, slowly, lifted you into his body. You cried out in pain but he held onto you, putting you on the horse as best he could.

“Sorry, Bambi.” You instinctively wrapped your fingers around the saddle horn as your body slumped forward and you whimpered. He mounted up behind you and held his hand out to Tommy, who handed him his coat. He draped it over your shivering frame and tugged you against him. Your head lolled back against his chest and you groaned. Your eyes were closed. He wondered if you were conscious.

“This is damn stupid, Joel,” Tommy said, mounting his horse again.

“Couldn’t just leave her out here,” Joel said. “You know we couldn’t.”

Tommy sighed.

“Let’s get back,” he said. “Maybe, by some miracle, this won’t all have been for nothin’.”

“And you said it was a quiet day,” Joel said, starting off at a faster clip this time.

Tommy sighed.

“Fuck you.”

A/N: Hi everyone! Welcome to Yearling! I hope you've enjoyed it so far and that you'll come to love Bambi and Joel as much as I have as I've been thinking about and planning this story for the last month or so.

You can expect updates a few times a week here as I have brain rot and really only want to write this stuff :)

I'll start a tag list, please let me know if you'd like to be added!

Thank you so so much for reading! I hope you stick around and go on this journey with me. Love you!

Next Chapter

#fanfic #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #slow burn

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penvisions · 1 month

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buckles and barley {new series masterlist}

Fandom: Kingsmen - The Golden Circle

Pairing: Rancher! Jack Daniels x Ranchhand! Reader

Summary: You seek out a secluded ranch outside the city limits at the behest of your ill father. In search of one of his old friends he had lost contact with after returning from a deployment and a catastrophic fallout. But instead you find the charming, dedicated, and rather handsome son of the man who had already passed, Jack Daniels. A night of bonding over the iron wills of your fathers and you find yourself falling into bed with him, only to be called away by the hospital that your father had been rushed too.

Devastated but free from the ties of your former life, you return to the ranch a changed woman. With the help of a man who holds his own grief, you learn how to tend to the horses and maintain the land. Together, you dance around each other as the seasons change. Cultivating a life that you never envisioned for yourself.

Wordcount: undetermined

Warnings: canon typical violence, canon typical language, death of a loved one, strained family dynamics, grief, implied verbal abuse, implied anger issues, allusions to past relationships, reader finds herself, reader takes control of her life, minor injuries, accident prone reader, allusions to infidelity, miscommunication, pining, mutual pining, protective jack, adult content, sexual content, smut, p in v, unprotected p in v, oral (f and m receiving), more to be added as the story develops!

A/N: excited to delve into this once {by the grit of sandpaper} is concluded. will be doing a little bit of a different approach with this one, it's a new pedro character for me and i wanted to try writing a majority of this one before i begin posting to help establish a solid posting schedule!

ao3 link || navigation || main masterlist || ko-fi

sneakie peek || fic teaser || chapter one header

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intrawebs · 9 months

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A list of misc. Hermitcraft/Life Series fics from someone who loves AUs

There is no smut on this list

❤️ = Angst 💜 = Fluff 💛 = Fic I recently added

No Romance and Romance Optional

❤️Hermit Hybrids (In Progress Series) by Flickersprout - "Loosely connected fantasy AU with background dystopian elements. Mostly exploring the Hermits as a magic found family and all their different ways of being nonhuman." Can be read in any order! I'd suggest starting with The Colors of Friendship cause it's the earliest chronologically, ZombieCleo's great, and it's a good introduction to the world.

❤️the sanctity of the mundane (Completed Series) by crabbunch - “Snippets of life on the Double Life server; mundanity can reveal the most interesting things about people, after all.” This series makes me crazy. The only happy pairs are Boat Boys and Ranchers hell yeah

From the Archives (Completed Series) by Sixteenthdays and zeph - “A collection of statements from the archives of the Void Institute.” A Hermitcraft/Life Series Magnus Archives AU with Grian as the Head Archivist and Pearl, Mumbo, Scar, and Impulse as his assistants. Can be read with no knowledge of the Magnus Archives.

Interlude From Another Reality: Peacock's Eye by Sixteenthdays and zeph - “‘My assistant,’ announced Scar Goodtimes, newly-promoted Head Archivist of the Peacock's-Eye Institute, to nobody in particular except maybe the paused audio recording software on his laptop, or perhaps the small pile of tape recorders his predecessor'd left piled on a shelf in the corner, or arguably the little peacock-feather eye logo that dotted the office as haphazardly as it did the entire Institute, ‘is weird.’

(In which Scar is Grian's Archivist, and Grian is Scar's assistant.)” Sort of an AU of the Magnus Archives AU? Haha. But it’s completely divorced from the canon and can definitely be read stand alone.

❤️Shining and Polished (But Never to Plan) by SaltyServal - “A cough makes Grian freeze in his tracks, shakes him to his core. Despite all the signs, of all the things he was expecting to find in this cave, a truly sentient creature was not one of them. That’s what scares him the most.

He turns, grabbing his dagger and pointing it at the newcomer, who simply smiles at him, fangs and all.

‘Why hello there.’

tldr; Grian is an avian desperate to keep his wings, and he'll do whatever it takes to save himself. Even if it means stealing from a dragon.

(It turns out there's more to the dragon then he thought).” A fantasy AU with bird!Grian and dragon!Scar

oh captain (let's make a deal) by birrdie - “No one on these shores knew Scar’s name. Aside from Tango, of course. No one feared the humble, white-sailed ship docked on the south side of the port. This, like the tides, would eventually change with time. They would know his name soon enough. The greatest pirates all rose from humble beginnings like a phoenix from ashes. Scar was no different from them; that much he was sure of. And it would not take him long to prove it.

Or; Scar is a Captain of a humble pirate crew of one. That is, until a discovery on the shore shakes things up a bit.” A heaping helping of greedy pirate Scar and mysterious crewmate Grian, with evil Boat Boys and innocent Solidaritek as a garnish.

❤️starry eyes stare through me by whatcaniwriteinthis - "'You know,' he says. 'Gotta have a good show: high stakes, violence—' He nods at the room, at the 24 children learning how to use weapons, how to start a fire, how to find food that won’t kill them.

'An unlikely allyship,' Scar finishes, smiling a little. Grian smirks back.

–

Grian is this year's male tribute from District 9. Clearly, the odds are already not in his favor. But he has to get home to his sister and to do that he has to play the Games. Give them a show. Stay alive. Remember to step out of line is to threaten Pearl. Don't get too attached to the Career that agrees to be his ally, but not to put a damn shirt on." Angst without a happy ending. Made me cry

❤️Stained Glass Sunlight (In Progress Series) by Cosmic_Retribution - “The Watchers had seemed so nice, is the thing. So… disarmingly hospitable.

When they’d set out for the ruins, they’d gone in search of some magical beasts reportedly plaguing the area, according to the flyer they’d taken. What they’d found instead was an empty city and a group of mages and scholars studying… something. They’d been cagey about what. Certainly not the history of the place— the Watchers arrived long after the fall of Dogwarts, content to live and work inside the city’s corpse with no special reverence for the grave it lay ruined in. They had no stake in its fall, or its future, or the preservation of its once-hallowed legacy— but its bones, certainly, served as protection enough for their studies.

The beasts were the only thing troubling the Watchers’ work, or so they’d said. Strange, then, that Grian and his party never once saw a trace of them.

How long after, until his friends realized Grian was gone? That they weren’t safe?

—

Two decades ago, the city of Dogwarts met its demise. Today, a traveler meets god wearing the mask of a merchant, looking for a miracle.

These two things are not as unconnected as they appear.” Grian and Scar’s version of the lamplight AU(below). Featuring bored god Scar and oblivious paladin Grian.

Lamplight (In Progress Series) by skelew - “Welcome to Lamplight, a DnD/Fantasy Third/Last Life Renchanting AU. Ren is a god stuck in the form of living fire. Martyn is his sole follower. Martyn and Ren help free one another from imprisonment by the Watchers and are now traveling the world on a two-man adventure of fond companionship and occasional arson.” There’s angst but really just in the first fic. The main series has no shipping but skelew has written some treebark one shots that are also in the collection.

❤️dandelion wishing by skelew - “The white lily is known to symbolize purity, innocence. It is also a symbol of mourning, a popular choice to decorate the casket at a funeral. This is due to their beauty, yes, as well as the fact their smell can cover up the scent of a decaying body. Dandelions are best known for their magic, but no dandelion survives a wish.

The King of Dogwarts is not dead.” A Martyn and Ren centric fic about coming back from the dead.

❤️Wooden Mausoleum by skelew - “‘To take the life of one you love an agony Martyn understands far too well. It’s not something he’d wish on anyone—not on his worst enemy, and certainly not on his dearest friends.

Least of all would he wish it on Ren.’

Or, for the Red King, there are fates worse than death. How fortunate he is that his Hand will never let him meet them.” Dogwarts makes it to the end of 3rd Life but Martyn has a betrayal arc.

💜Performance Evaluations by glossyblue - “From The Desk Of His Majesty’s Most Private Of Areas: A True And Accurate Evaluation Of Growth Opportunities For The Knights Of The Square Table, The Loyal Court of Ren the King, As Suggested By The HR Department. (Note to self: when did we acquire an HR department? Ask Bdubs.)” Super cute and funny performance evaluations of the knights from the King Ren Hermitcraft arc.

The H.T.G.Y. Files by glossyblue - "Research scientist Cub didn't intend to make a person. He just came up with the plans. But when a competing team looking to make a supersoldier gets hold of the genome he invented, Cub is pulled in to stop them screwing up—and whatever he expected to find, it wasn't someone like Scar." This is part of a series called Lab Escape but the other fic has a ship that's not in this list so I can't put it in. But I really recommend the whole series!

💜The Government Institute for Ghost Supervision (G.I.G.S.) by glossyblue - “HIGHLY SENSITIVE: G.I.G.S CLASSIFIED. Audio logs for a team of supernatural agents investigating reports of a ghost at a local high school.GRIAN: Yeah, Skizz, why did you let Scar set something on fire? Pretty irresponsible.

SKIZZ: [noise of incoherent outrage] You try stopping him, buddy.” Goofy GIGS story

fixed and dilated by iamsolarflare - “Anything waterdwelling knows from bait.

---

Or: xBCrafted deals with the people around him, and a secret he's been keeping for one hell of a long time. Not the ‘old enemies hunting him down’ type, no - this should be fine, as long as nobody pries. It's the way you should deal with secrets like this, really, just don't let people know. No questions, no answers.

Hypno never got that memo, apparently.” An xB and Hypno fic where neither are human and neither wants to talk about it. Even if you don’t watch them I recommend it.

on the getaway mile by Odaigahara - “‘You want me to do what?’ the civilian asked disbelievingly, and Scar’s body language shifted to that of an impatient trainer, one whose fuse was running short. It was a precursor to bad things, like being tased or forced onto a treadmill for hours; Mumbo flinched even knowing it was an act, and the civilian cut off with a squeak, so Mumbo knew he felt the same way.

Or possibly that was the gun. Scar having a gun seemed more likely as an explanation, now that Mumbo thought of it.

Stealing the car would be better, but they had no idea where they were going, and neither of them was familiar with road laws. What if they hit a person while driving? What if there was some sort of kill switch in the car that the owner could flip to blow it up with them inside? Anti-villain tech had to be wild, from what the Foundation had on hand– and they were villains now for sure. Not just for defying the Foundation, but for this. Heroes didn’t take the actions he and Scar were taking.” Heroes Villains Scar and Mumbo take civilian Grian hostage for a road trip! It's not as bad as it sounds

💛counterclock by scarabies - “When it’s over, Impulse finds him in the throne room.

(or, Bdubs and Impulse chat after a rebellion ends. Can be read as either platonic or romantic.)”

Scarian

❤️coliseum by artanogon - "Grian is on a mission: kill the Red King of the Third Precinct. Unfortunately, when he travels to the capital where the king resides, he lands in a spot of trouble with a local merchant when he accidentally destroys the merchant’s shop. After he enters into a contract to help pay off the damages, he discovers that there might be another side to Scar under the silver-tongued salesman— and that he’s not the only one who wants the Red King dead." This one made me cry. Happy ending but it gets worse before it gets better.

Picture Perfect, Trapped in Eternity by CloudySkyFlight - “Grian's an architecture major in college, minoring in art history, and when the largest, and supposedly most haunted, collection of royal portraits in the world is displayed in a museum only a few hours away from his dorm, he gets up early to go see it.

Scar's been dead for centuries, living in a royal portrait he cursed to hold his memories and soul, waiting for the moment his best friend would come back to him. Several centuries later, he wakes up to see a brunette that has the looks and soul of his friend, and Scar knows that he cannot let Grian leave without him.” Starts out with Scar sort of kidnapping Grian? But the mood quickly lifts from there

and everything is you by eastwards - “‘Oh my gosh. I’ve got paint on your face.’

Grian moved to wipe the paint off, but Scar shook his head, ‘No the other side, here let me-’

He held Grian’s head steady with one hand, the other carefully brushing across his jaw. With an affirming noise, Scar nodded and bid Grian farewell, as he wandered back to his station in the studio. Grian held his hand up to where he had touched him, feeling his head begin to warm. How troublesome.

–

artist au w/ scarian wooo”

somewhere between the surface and the seabed by LovesickPrince - "It's a classic tale of love: Grian, a mer from the depths of the sea, makes a deal with a sea witch to exchange his voice for a pair of legs and go visit the human whose life he had saved. Only in this case, Grian is more interested in the sea witch than the human.

(If only someone had bothered to tell Scar, the sea witch in question, about this divergence)."

💜Dead Heat by glossyblue - “Jimmy's having a meltdown, Ren and Martyn are flirting outrageously, Tango gets cruelly betrayed and Grian and Scar are being unrepentantly weird about each other in every shot. It's the nation's favourite no-holds-barred elimination game. It is, of course, the Great British Bake Off.”

A Certain Je Ne Sais What by glossyblue - “Literally any one of Grian’s friends would be a better soulmate than Scar, and Grian is going to prove this scientifically.

Grian’s already felt it, a pinprick in his thumb. He’s familiar—he’s so painfully, unforgettably familiar—with the way Scar sees something and is already reaching out to touch it before he’s asked questions like 'what is this' and 'is it bad news' and 'is it going to hurt me, Scar, and by extension the unwilling bystander my physical sensations are now linked to'. Scar just immediately reaches out.” Grian tries to convince himself that anyone else would be a better soulmate than Scar while proving that Scar is the best soulmate for him.

❤️wait the worst is yet to come by glossyblue - “‘Grian is smirking at him. ‘I know, Grian, I know,’ Scar says. ‘Trade by name and trade by nature–okay, Scar by name but still trade by nature–we are going to be in business, opening soon, special rates for favorite customers of course–’

‘But have you done it yet,’ says Grian.

‘No?’ Scar says. ‘We only just started.’

Grian bounces on the balls of his feet, delighted. ‘Okay. Okay, okay, so. You need to know how it works, then, don’t you? Kiss me.’” Scar centric Last Life AU where you transfer lives by making out. There’s a sex scene but it’s not smut. Angst without a happy ending.

heart under your sleeve by Anonymous - “Scar was easy to love, as mortifying as that was to think. Grian didn’t think he was in love with the artist, it was far too soon for that, but he knew it would be easy for anyone to love him.

In the back of his mind, he wondered if Scar had met his soulmate, then shook his head to dispel the thought before it could fully form.

“Look, we can’t bring in a live panda, but if you want, we can try and connect with a zoo in the area so that they can set up a live stream of their panda exhibits,” Grian compromised and Scar brightened again. He ignored the sweeping feeling of relief in his chest as he opened his laptop, typing in a quick search for nearby panda exhibits. “Maybe we can even get one of their handlers in to give a talk about pandas.”

“Perfect!” Scar agreed, putting on a bright grin. Grian smiled to himself in turn.

—

Soulmate AU: You are born with a birthmark, similar to a tattoo, that is shared by your soulmate. Grian is a curator for an art museum. Scar is an eccentric artist who is just as attractive as he is infuriating to work with. Everything goes sideways when Grian realizes they're soulmates.”

💜If you like it… by GoodTimesWithScar - “‘Hello,’ slurs Scar, ‘you wouldn’t happen to know where a man such as myself… would find… an eligible bachelor to spend a little bit of time with?’

Grian blinks. ‘Oh, you are plastered.’

or, the ‘you got so drunk you asked your husband if he was single’ trope, but with added mumbo being 100% done with this nonsense.”

💜Well It’s Not Quite Narnia, But- by Raichett - “It’s just past seven in the morning when Grian opens his built-in wardrobe door to find a man dressed in something close to a green and gold matador outfit standing inside.

---

Or: Grian is not giving up this dirt-cheap rent flat for anything, not even the strange (if fun) goings on around the place and the elven king coming in through his closet.”

💛my ever after / is holding you by LovesickPrince - “Grian has been many things.

A servant of a respected noble family. A survivor, with bruises on his skin and hidden wings tied down to his back. A rebel, sneaking away for a night of wonder in the heart of the kingdom - and a curiosity, gawked at by all as the King himself swept him into his arms and spent hours by his side.

When Scar spent days tracking Grian down and helping him escape the cruel grasp of the Watchers, Grian thought his life couldn’t surprise him anymore. Pledging his life to serve Scar was all he could do to thank his King.

Of course, being the personal servant of the King comes with its' own risks - and now Grian could add ‘hostage’ to his list of titles.

Or; someone decides kidnapping King Scar’s beloved servant was a good idea. It really wasn’t.”

i live in a hologram with you by remrose - “‘Anyone in there would be lucky to be graced with your company.’ Scar told him. His face was calm but at his sides, his hands tightened and knuckles went white.

‘Stop trying to sweet talk me, I've already caught you fleeing.’ Grian stalked another pace forward, eyes alight with mischief and excitement. ‘Where are you going?’” Scar’s bad end in the treesekai AU (which you need to have read to understand).

Treebark

💜love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books (In Progress Series) by GoodTimesWithScar - “treebark theatre kids au, with ren as the male lead and martyn as the very distracted spotlight operator!”

💛Through the Sky-Blue Cracks (In Progress Series) by Amethystfairy1 - “This is a compilation of all the pieces that take place within my Over-City/Under-City AU, which is also a Hot Guy/Cute Guy Superhero AU, though that's not the only thing that'll be going on!” The first treebark fic is quite a ways down (It’s called Dagger and Rose), but I believe in yalls ability to figure out the setting through context clues.

❤️Sgt. Pepper’s Broken Hearts Club Band by harpydora - “The sign next to the door just reads, ‘Support Group,’ which frankly doesn't leave a great impression for the gathering inside. Martyn double-checks the Facebook event on his phone, but he's unfortunately certain he's in the right place: a support group for people whose soulmates are no longer with them.” The double life broken hearts club in a modern AU.

wild things can't get comfortable by donnerstag - "Ren and Martyn steal what small moments of comfort they can get.

Several loosely-connected scenes from Dogwarts as Ren struggles with his feelings towards the Hand of the King."

Scribbling the lines (from you to me) by Siri_Spy - “Martyn and Cleo are soulmates… but what exactly does that mean for them? And with Martyn starting to fall for the over-the-top president of his RPG club, and Cleo starting to realize that they might be a little late to the ‘disgustingly in love’ phase… something needs to change.

What will that something be? Well don’t look at me, I’m the one who wrote it. Look at yourself, and ask yourself: Why don’t I know?

Exactly. That’s what I’ve been wondering. Anyway, what are you still doing here? Go read!” A really sweet modern AU about Cleo and Martyn.

not the ghost by csillagvizsgalo - “Martyn tags along with his friends on a ghost hunting trip (he has seen people who had weirder hobbies anyways) for fun in an old run-down castle museum that has definitely not been kept properly. It's all fun and games, and he definitely doesn't believe in the supernatural, so it's not scary at all, until he starts noticing things lying around in areas that nobody has been to in ages, that remind him of memories of events that he never experienced, hundreds of years ago. The voices aren't helping. Well, the one Voice.

The Not Ghost of the Castle (he is a very dedicated cosplayer, thank you very much) takes a liking, and possibly some recognition, to Martyn, and while he spends the night terrorising Martyn's friends, the two of them build an unlikely bond and friendship.

The Red King just wants to rest, and so does Martyn. But not everything is as easy as it first seems.” Ren pulls out all the stops to try and intimidate Martyn but Martyn is a little rude to him and completely ruins it.

Wild Life: A Conservation Podcast by donnerstag - “Ren and Martyn, hosts of a popular little nature and conservation podcast, go camping together as part of a season finale special; discussions of the future, for both the show and themselves, ensue. Featuring: a campfire! innuendos! and even a little bit of kissy, perhaps?”

A Romance Route For The Doomed Villain?!? by skelew - “These days, Martyn doesn’t really have a lot going on. This is where the dating sim comes in.

Granted, if Martyn knew he was going to die so soon, he maybe would have tried a little harder at, like, holding down a job. Or maybe not. It's not like he has a lot of time to think about it.

Or, Treebark Isekai Romance Parody Which I Spent Far Too Much Time On.”

❤️I Think I’ve Seen This Film Before by GoodTimesWithScar - “In which Martyn fails to get the guy - but he doesn't let that stop him for long.” Set in the treesekai AU (the fic above), which you need to read to understand.

💜I should’ve known it would be you - water/woods by theorionsound - “Martyn sort of expected to fall in love with Ren eventually.

—

On their bi-annual hiking trip, Ren and Martyn get lost in thought. Mainly about eachother.”

❤️To Sit in Hell With You by dirtybinary - "Ren pulled Martyn close, breathing in the smell of soot and cinders still clinging to his clothes. 'You never kept secrets from me, back at Dogwarts.'

'Sure.' There was something knife-bright in Martyn’s eyes. 'And I’m a good little Southlander now.'

Martyn's playing every side in the death game. He's a loose cannon, he's a wild card, he's a selfish bastard who's going to betray everyone in the end, even Ren. Probably. Most likely. Any minute now."

Solidaritek

💜Red Bandit AU (In Progress Series) by scribblingdragon - “A Empires Season 2 AU with Jimmy as the Sheriff of Tumble Town, and Tango as a local bandit that is slowly, forcefully, being domesticated. Shenanigans ensue from there.”

❤️💜Hels To Pay AU (In Progress Series) by aquaquadrant and lunarcrown - “Angsty Tango-centric Hermitcraft/Double Life SMP AU”

❤️The Highwayman by EnvelopedByOblivion - “Fate walks many paths - but for each person, it only wears one face. Sheriff Jimmy Solidarity’s fate is a handsome red-eyed highwayman who saves Jimmy from a group of bandits. Despite being on opposite sides of the law, something keeps bringing them together, tangible as gravity and inevitable as death.

Which will get to them first? What will win out – a growing relationship between them, or their obligations to the life they’ve chosen for themselves?”

💜Let Me Show You Everything I Know by MassiveWaffle - "Jimmy Solidarity is an ordinary guy. He goes to his grad school classes during the day, works at the campus library in the evenings, and neglects his friendships a little too much. Then, engineering student Tango enters the library for some help, and Jimmy finds his friend group growing, and his life inexplicably changed."

A Nestcommunication by YacintheMorning - “Tango just wants to make the ranch a home for both him and his avian soulmate. Unfortunately, he knows almost nothing about avians. But the least he can do is try, right?” In which Tango is accidentally way too forward.

💜A Lesson in Listening by YacintheMorning - "Grian's brother is moving to town and staying with him while he house hunts. While introducing him to his friend, however, Jimmy and Tango seem to make quite a connection. Determined not to suffer through the pining, Grian and Impulse attempt to play matchmaker."

💜He loves that horse by ThatTallQueerBassist - “Tango uses his horse training knowledge to get Oreo back in shape after all the drama of being stolen back and forth.

Unfortunately, this panicked Jimmy at first.

He quickly calms down once he finds Tango training Oreo just outside the walls of their ranch.

They chat, and everything is well in the world again.”

SmallEtho

There’s, like, no AUs for these two!

❤️The Best Soulmate by BlocksRuinedMe - “‘But everyone else didn’t know that - it was possible even Bdubs didn’t know that - and yet he carried on like that, all the time. All about Joel’s soulmate. Bdubs didn’t respect Joel, and fuck that.

Fuck that.

Joel had been fantasizing about killing Bdubs for weeks.’

—

The Boat Boys have made it to the end of Double Life, standing with Impulse and Bdubs, watching the divorce quartet crumble. Joel has a plan to make Etho win Double Life, whether Etho likes it or not.” Joel being an unreliable narrator because rage clouds his thinking is really something I wish there was more of. You definitely want to read the tags before diving into this one btw.

Holy Father, judge my sins by giddyfenix - "Joel and Etho as the seven deadly sins. After all, what were they if not corrupted?" The lust chapter has a sexual scene, obvs, so skip that if you so wish.

A list of facts and problems by giddyfenix - “Joel had never realized it was possible to feel someone in your bones until Etho came along.”

Amores anacrónicos by giddyfenix - “Don’t be further than 10 blocks from Etho for 10 minutes. One attempt only.”

You held his hands, it felt like flying by Prudent_seer - “Etho doesn't believe in soulmates. Doesn't believe in fate, destiny or an invisible little string tying two people together indefinitely. It was ridiculous, maddening even to think of two people who were made for one another; made perfect for each other by the "universe's almighty will". With that being said, he had someone in mind that was pretty damn close. So when Grian threw them in a world where these soulbounds did in fact exist in a tangible form, where health and pain was shared with someone else, he sought out the person whom he thought was his match. Only to literally fall into the life of his actual soulbound.

It was Joel. And with that Etho cursed the universe for its twisted sense of humour.

Creative rewrite of double life through the eyes of Etho, who learns to love his soulmate.” There’s sex but it’s not smut, you know what I mean?

when everything burns, they burn together by TheYesterdayShow - “No one for Joel because he's always been a loner. For as long as he can remember he's been on his own in these games—in the first one he had his cottage on the hill (so long ago that he can barely remember what it looked like, he can only remember it burning and the flames licking up at him and melting his skin and the smell of his hair and he has to put it out—), and in the games since, he's been alone. Alliances that last little more than a week, here and there, and somehow he always ends up at Grian's side at the end of things, but he's never actually teamed up with anyone else.

He doesn't want a soulmate.”

etho has said parkour tag! by panch_owo - “Neither Cyan or Aqua make it to finals, which means the rest of the event is unimportant!

And instead of dwelling on their non-team, they go on another round of tag because it's them.” No smut but a lot of innuendo

More Powerful Than Fear Itself Is The Will To Win by smoothlikebutter - "After a devastating crash ends Etho’s racing career with the McLaren Formula One team, he’s forced to take significant time off to recover. While his fans are eager to see him again soon, what they don’t know is that Etho’s crash was worse than reported; he had to re-learn how to walk and talk before he could even think about racing again. But the desire to get back in a racing car is a strong motivation, so Etho pushes himself to his limits… However, his team couldn’t wait forever. His replacement is talented and the endless competition of motorsports is ruthless. Now Etho has to prove to his old team— and to the whole world— that they were too quick to forget about him. And what better place than the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

ConCorp is eager to snap up a big name like Etho. They’re entering under the Garage 56 innovative category this year, and their CEOs aren’t interested in much more than publicity so the pressure is low. But they’ve also signed Joel, a ruthless pro endurance racer who isn’t about to settle for anything less than the top step of the podium and a champagne shower at the end of the race. And honestly? That’s exactly the kind of teammate that Etho needs." Had me dancing around my room with excitement. Etho's character arc is amazing.

We're a Couple of Freaks by smoothlikebutter - "Joel is a weapon. Etho is also a weapon. They're professional monster hunters, and they've got a job to do tonight: clear out a ton of undead from an abandoned old mansion. Simple, right? This could only possibly go wonderfully well.” Epic Smalletho Souleater AU

❤️Blurring The Lines by FountainPenguin - “Dad always goes overboard with presents. They're never something traditional that a kid would ask for, either. It's always something he had left over in the back of his truck after a project or something stupid he bought after sipping a few too many potions and regretted sober.

One year for Scar's birthday, when he and his cousin Grian were playing in the sandbox out back, Dad and his friends arrived unannounced with four oak saplings. Dad didn't grab his arm or anything (Dad basically never touched him except on rare occasion to brush sand from his hair before loading him in the car; he always said it would make Mom mad), but he used words and praise and empty promises to drag Scar away from his and Grian's game to plant them right away.

Maybe Dad gave so many gifts because he was never around in summer. As early as April, he spent every weekend out fishing with his cousin on his houseboat...

AKA - That Scar-centric standalone piece about the Clocker family in contemporary suburbia.”

And goodness you’re bleeding (What a wonderful feeling) by knightinshiningarmor - “When the relationship burns, Etho feels an intense burst of emotions that leads to a revelation.”

#masterlist #fic rec #scarian #treebark #solidango #solidaritek #smalletho #hermitcraft fanfic #trafficshipping #traffic life fanfic #life series fic #can u tell i watched double life first? lol

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