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#i had to keep going back(especially on tommy) and making changes to how i drew the facial expressions
yukeet · 7 months
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WHOO this took forever! for @rozugold ‘s awesome dtiys :)) it’s meant to look like a polaroid with scribbles on it but i’m not too sure that worked out haha
just the drawing without the extra stuff under the cut :)
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glossgojo · 1 year
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hold me across every state line
joel miller x reader | 3.7k words
part 2 here
cw: 18+ MINORS DNI, age gap (obviously let’s be real), AFAB reader, fingering, slight pervy joel, pet names, multiple orgasms, choking, oral fem receiving, lingerie, porn with some plot, non-canon compliant, joel has feelings <3
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you had been traveling with joel and ellie ever since philadelphia and as hard as you and joel had tried to ignore whatever was going on between you two, he couldn’t help but let his gaze linger on you. you all arrive at jackson and feel like you can relax for a bit. it all comes to a head when you were changing and he caught a glimpse of fucking lingerie. joel miller feels like a teenage boy all over again just because of you.
a/n: def gotta a lil carried away, what can i say joel miller makes me FERAL. also beta version sorry i wrote this in a daze
it had been a month since you joined joel and ellie, you had grown fond of them both. your younger sister was ellie’s age before you lost her a couple years after the outbreak, it felt healing talking to her. ellie, in a lot of ways, was similar to you. unfortunately for joel that meant a lot more worrying than he admitted to. although he’d never admit it, he was quite fond of you and you were downright gone for the older man. it wasn’t like you had been single since the outbreak or before, but something about joel made your heart beat faster than ever and brought a smile to your face just from a mere thought about the grumpy man.
but you never labeled your feelings and neither did he, you both operated under a need to keep each other and ellie safe and that was it. ellie wasn’t dumb, she could see what was happening between you two. she also knew it was only a matter of time before you both gave in to whatever you were feeling. for now you three just acted out of survival instinct and that was enough. weeks morphed into months and winter was cruel to you three. you spent nights in joel’s arms, you both attributed it to feeling safer that way and for warmth of course. you never missed how sometimes you could feel his heart against your back, beating just as fast as your own. or when you would wake up before him and the sun shone down on his face, his expression would be relaxed and you could dream for a while about him looking at you like that. you hoped one day joel would let the pain he carried on his shoulders be lifted by ellie or even you.
when you all made it to jackson and joel reunited with his brother you felt like you could finally breathe again. although your body was always primed to fight and run, you couldn’t help but relax as maria treated you like a friend. she was kinder than anyone you had met since the outbreak, it all felt too good to be true. your suspicions were shared with joel and ellie. the three couldn’t relax even in the small condo tommy had given to you. maria had whisked ellie away to socialize with the other kids, saying how it would be good for her and far be it from you and joel to argue with her about it.
that left you and joel in a warm house with power and gas, feeling very out of place. the house had two rooms with two en-suite bathrooms, so naturally you and joel decided to share. joel was lying down on the bed, not fully asleep as he stared up at the ceiling planning the next steps in head. he had showered and changed into the clothes maria had dropped off, feeling like a new man. his mind raced at the possibilities of how to get ellie to the fireflies. you had spoke earlier about staying a little bit longer and collecting more information before setting out. he had disagreed, wanting to leave as soon as possible but you convinced him to stay, it would be better for ellie and especially him to spend more time with his brother and others. you also didn’t mind how relaxed joel looked when he was with his brother.
you were just getting out of the shower as you reached for a towel, drying off as you looked at the underwear maria had given you. you had blushed when you first saw it, clearly she thought you and joel were much more than friends after just a few minutes of interacting with her. you weren’t really sure why you decided to wear the lacy black panties and matching bra instead of the more sensible set, but maybe it was something about how maria had raised her eyebrow when you tried giving back the lingerie. you insisted it was nothing like that, but she had simply said, “are you sure because i think everyone else is?” instead of answering her you just snatched the clothes out of her hands and stalked back to the condo. you thought back about how you and joel interacted in front of her when you met.
“joel, say congrats.” ellie nudged joel in the elbow as you sat on the other side of him, making him move into your side slightly. joel looked to for you some sort of permission, you just nodded with a comforting smile on your face. you wanted him to know it was okay to be happy for his brother, that his brother still loved him and that his new life could have his big brother in it. joel’s hand that had been on your leg the entire dinner, squeezed your thigh in gratitude and as always you tried to swallow down the desire it shot through you. maybe you weren’t as successful as you thought in hiding the blush to you face, maybe maria had caught onto where his hand was and the reason behind your tinted cheeks.
you sighed and tried to shove the thoughts out of your mind, as you slightly opened the bathroom door and peeked through to see joel lying down with his eyes closed, a hand resting on his forehead, further obstructing his view. you took the chance to tiptoe to the closet and pick out some clothes to change into. unbeknownst to you joel had cracked his eyes upon the small creak of the floorboard and felt the air leaving his lungs at the sight of you.
joel had seen your body before, when rain made clothes cling to your skin or when you dipped into a clean river. but nothing compared to seeing your bare skin adorned in lacy black lingerie, a suggestion of fabric covered your ass and your breasts were pushed up as if to further torture him. joel felt all of his blood rush south and his heart beat pick up, he hated himself for silently peaking at you but he couldn’t tear his eyes away. he thought he was going a little bit insane when he watched you pull up a pair of jeans over your curves, jumping a little as they hugged your ass. his pants grew tight, his erection straining against the denim.
joel was on the precipice of losing his mind as you wrapped your arms around your chest and hugged yourself, your boobs pushing up and threatening his mental stability. joel had had enough at this point, his dick hard and heavy in his pants, aching to be touched. he sat up, making you flinch and wrap your arms around yourself tighter, not helping him much as you turned towards.
“how long does it take to choose a shirt sweetheart? do you need my help?” his voice was gruff and deep, you shivered at his tone noticing a clip to his voice. your heartbeat picked up as you raked over his expression, he looked more frustrated than anything else. and you didn’t miss how his eyes flicked between your chest and your eyes. it was now or never. you knew looking into brown eyes they were darkened by something you would see in your own.
“can you help me, please?” joel raised an eyebrow at your tone, like you were sure of yourself but still needed him. if joel were more confident in himself he would know that you were just as desperate for him as he was for you but he knew you could do better. you could definitely find someone younger and more suited for you. despite the rational part of his brain that knew better, he got off the bed and walked towards you. he didn’t stop until his chest was almost brushing against yours and he was towering over you. there was a slight flush to your lips and your breathing was fast enough to draw his attention to the rise and fall of your chest. he still let himself read into it, didn’t let himself dwell on the glossy look in your eyes or the way your lips were parted as if to take him in.
looking away from your gaze for a moment, joel pulled out a plain red t-shirt from the closet, meeting your gaze once again. you didn’t move to take it from his hands, just watched him expectantly and joel almost snapped the hanger in half from the hold he had on it. you wanted him to dress you. joel wasn’t sure if you were doing this to torture him or not but he sure as hell felt more desperate than he ever had. the last time he was this painfully hard from barely any stimulation was probably high school. he took your challenge instead, pulling the shirt off the hanger and flinging it to the side, he gently pulled the opening over your head, motioning for your hands to uncross and you followed quietly. you were practically drowning in the sensuality of being controlled by joel, exactly how you wanted. you had soaked through the thin fabric of your underwear as you gasped at the feeling of joel’s warm calloused hands against the soft skin of your arms. he pulled the shirt over your chest and you watched his darkened eyes travel over your body, his jaw clenching as he took in your curves.
“thank you.” you whispered, not wanting to disturb the air around you both. joel looked you up and down, as if assessing his work. he licked his lips as he remembered the sight from earlier, he felt himself leaking into his boxers, even more turned on from your small gasps and glazed eyes. you looked like a doe awaiting his shot, it drove him a little bit crazier. as much as you wanted to sink to you knees and take him into your mouth you wanted him to make the first move, wanted him to be as sure as you were that this wasn’t just one-sided. joel took one last look at your blown out pupils and glossy lips and decided that enough was enough, he had to make a decision right now.
“not sure about those pants though, doll.” your eyebrows knitted up from confusion, you looked down at them and back up at him. joel was endeared by the naivety in your expression, making good use of your confusion by looping a finger through the belt notch of your jeans and tugging you closer.
“i’d rather they were off.” he could see the words click in your pretty little head as the confusion was replaced by the desire he knew so well. you didn’t look away from his hungry gaze as you fumbled to undo the brass button of your pants. joel’s finger that was still curled into the notch, moved to cover your hand.
“let me, pretty girl.” you had to hold back a whine from his words, his gruff voice coupled with the pet name was grating against your sensibility, your underwear a complete mess from his words and presence alone. you were sure you would unravel if he touched you where you really needed him. joel undid your buckle with two fingers and pulled your pants down in one swift movement, causing you to yelp. he didn’t move as he watched you shiver from desire, he could almost laugh at how desperate you were. had you always been so gone for him? it wasn’t like he was much better though.
“j-joel please.” you choked out, you would do anything for him to touch you. you were on the verge of crying as he grinned at the pout on your lips.
“please what?” he stepped back, making a whine claw up your throat, you stepped towards without thinking.
“i need you.” joel nodded at the words, it wasn’t news to anyone, he needed you just as badly.
“come here.” joel moved to the bed, you followed obediently. when you sat down at the edge of the bed he pulled you by the hips, roughly moving you to lie down with your head on the pillows. he shifted himself to sit in front of your legs and your eyes widened as you realized what was about to happen. his rough large hands kneaded the soft flesh of your thighs, he took in the sight of your bare thighs and pretty cunt covered in lacy black material.
“did you wear these for me?” his hands were traveling up, parting your legs as they moved inwards. you loaned, back arching as you felt callouses rub your sensitive inner thighs. joel moved to sit down more comfortably, letting his thick thighs stretch you even more. he kept his hand on your left thigh, keeping you stretched wide. his other hand moved closer to your core, stopping when you didn’t answer his question.
“yes only for you.” you whined out, you had never sounded more desperate and foreign to yourself but you didn’t care you were completely lost to your desire. joel liked your answer, letting his hand tease the edge of your underwear, you twitched from his touch. he couldn’t help but scoff at how sensitive you were. he ripped a cry of his name from you when he pushed the fabric aside revealing glistening folds and a pool of liquid. he swore under his breath, wondering just how long you had been soaking through your underwear, sure enough he felt the fabric wet from your juices. joel wanted to deal this memory away, he knew he’d remember it any time his cock was in his hand. you squirmed from his gaze, whining for him to touch you, to do anything. joel snapped the band of your underwear against your skin, making you shut up.
“so fucking wet, is that all for me too?” joel didn’t think he could survive much longer without tasting you, moving to lay down between your thighs, you noticed immediately and it made you breath a little more rapidly.
“you drive me crazy joel, it’s always because of you, i’m yours.” you sat up on your elbows, looking at how his face was now hovering your hips. your words itched the part of joel’s brain that wanted you to be all his. he wasn’t proud of it but he wanted you to be his forever. without much warning, joel weaved his arms under your thighs and pulled you forwards, your cunt colliding with his nose. the small friction of his large nose against your clit made you moan out his name again. joel thought it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever heard, he loved how his name sounded coming out of your mouth. he wanted you to own it, wanted his name to be yours, he felt more possessive of you than ever. he rubbed his nose against your clit, breathing in the sweet smell of you, his lips and nose getting a bit wet just from your underwear. he kissed your cunt, ripping a strangled noise from your throat and he decided he wanted much more of those sounds as he pulled your underwear down, finally letting himself give in to his need to taste you. you were practically screaming his name as the cool air hit your clit.
joel didn’t waste time in spreading your legs wider and making them ache from the stretch, pulling your ass slightly into the air as he planted his lips right onto your core. his tongue licked one stripe from your clit down to where your arousal pooled. you tasted like peaches and heaven, and joel pulled you impossibly closer, he could barely breathe through his nose but it didn’t matter not when you tasted like everything he’d ever wanted and your ichor was painted on the back of his teeth. as much as he drank you in, the more you bloomed for him. you were squirming and screaming his name, begging for him to stop or keep going you weren’t sure. you could only think of his name, only feel him and only breathe him. his mustache and beard grated against your most sensitive parts, making you clench around him. joel’s tongue was inside you drinking you in like you were water and he was stuck in the desert for days. the sounds his mouth produced were obscene and they did nothing but drive you closer to your orgasm. you were rocking on his tongue, never having felt this good before. as you got closer, joel pulled out, his tongue still on your hole as his nose ground your clit. you cried at the feeling, fingers interweaving with his hair and tugging him against you. joel got the idea and brought his hand up to tease your clit as he went back to feasting on you. you felt yourself grow close, pulling his face against you, as you whined out his name. you came undone on his tongue, twitching into his mouth and joel drank in the wave of arousal it produced, never being satiated enough. finally when you were too sensitive for his tongue you tugged on his hair. joel removed his mouth with a pop and a string of your cum and his saliva connected him to you. his beard and mustache were glistening with your ichor and you felt arousal wash over you all over again, you still wanted to taste him, wanted his lips against yours and so you wove your hands around his neck and sat up to meet him halfway. joel climbed up, you wove your legs around his hips. joel’s lips were rough against you, but they tasted like you and you moaned into his lips. joel kissed you fervently as if he had not just tasted you, like it wasn’t enough and his facial hair rubbed against your skin. your cum was coating both of your faces by the time you pulled back for air. joel put more of his weight against you and you felt his clothed hard on press against your core, making you whine and grab at his shirt to pull him closer. “joel please, want you inside.”
just from what you felt pressed against you, you knew he was big and you salivated at the feeling. you were getting wet just thinking about having him inside you. joel watched your fucked out expression and puffy lips and decided against his urge to fuck you even dumber. he told himself he had time, you weren’t like the others, this was different you wouldn’t just disappear.
“next time, doll, can you come for me again?” you nodded, tears welling in your eyes as desire mixed with your need to be close to him. joel moved off of you, drawing a whimper from you, he interwove his fingers with yours, calming your nerves and you sighed contently. joel didn’t know how you could be so damn endearing and seductive at the same time. with his free hand he pushed you up the bed by your hip, until you were sitting up with your back against the bed-frame. he found his home between your legs, spreading one with his hand the other still holding yours. he used his knee to press against the inner flesh of your thigh, pinning it there and stretching you wide open. you whined at the feeling, although he was the one between your thighs you felt caged in. he was towering over your frame as your back pressed against the cold metal frame. finally when the whine left your mouth, he let go of your hand moving it south as he looked you in the eyes. his hand teased the seam of your cunt, he chuckled at the feeling of you so wet all over again. there was a bead of arousal at your opening, ready for him to please you all over again. he couldn’t get enough of you. without any warning he pressed two fingers into you, plunging them deep and feeling you clench around them. Your breath came out in a huff as you looked up to him with desperation in his eyes. joel curled his fingers facing his palm upwards as he felt for the spot that made you unravel and when he did you struggled against his grasp and pushed against his knee to close on his hands. you gasped out his name and joel laughed at the tears forming in your eyes. he plunged into your soaking cunt again and again. setting a brutal pace and just when you felt close enough he slowed down, he shut up your babbling with a harsh kiss to your mouth. it was teeth and tongues clashing against each other, but the desire and desperation you felt was reciprocated in the way he kissed you. you kissed until your lungs screamed for air and when you were about to pull away, joel plunged three fingers into, you gasped into his mouth. pulling away as your eyes rolled to the back of your head and joel littered your neck with kisses and bites. he marked you as he wanted, made sure everyone knew who you belonged to. you were gushing around his fingers, he added a fourth finger and you screamed his name. if the blooming marks on your neck weren’t enough, the whole community would hear your screams. you started begging when he abused the spot that made your mind go blank, all you could feel was intense burning desire and all you could say was “please joel.” like it was a prayer.
your prayers were answered when his thumb ground against your clit and you came on his hand. you slumped forward, joel catching you as he moved his hand from your thigh and brought his soaked fingers up to his mouth. he wanted to memorize your taste, licking his fingers clean before pressing a kiss to your lips. you let him kiss you, you were spent now and your mind numb from pleasure. joel helped you lay down and cleaned you up as much as he could, he put your underwear in his pocket, he had to deal with his hard-on after you fell asleep. joel combed his fingers through your hair, as you relaxed into the bed. you fell asleep breathing in the scent of his shampoo on the pillow-sheet and the feeling on his fingertips scraping your scalp.
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andvys · 9 months
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I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss | S.H.
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Warnings: hurt/no comfort, angst, sad ending, allusions to cheating, heartbreak, break up, King!Steve, popular!reader, poorly proofread
Pairings: Steve Harrington x fem!cheerleader!reader | Steve Harrington x Nancy Wheeler
Summary: Steve is slipping through your fingers and you desperately hold onto him not realizing that his heart isn't yours anymore.
Word count: 2k
Note: This is only the preview, I wanted to see how this will do before I write the actual story! @take-everything-you-can thank you for listening to my ideas and helping with more!
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The red wine is seeping through his shirt, staining his soft skin with it’s stickiness. He clumsily tries to wipe it off with a random cloth he found in Tina's bathroom, as though it would help, as though he could undo it, as though the redness hasn’t already stained too much of the blue material. 
He is mumbling incoherent words under his breath. 
You roll your eyes, reaching for the cloth in his hands, “it’s not coming off, Steve–”
“It’s coming,” he mumbles, drunkenly.
You sigh, walking around him, you put the cloth on the counter and reach out to him, cupping his cheeks, “come on, just let me take you home.” 
“Why don’t you go home?” 
He looks down at you with a look in his eyes that you aren’t familiar with. He furrows his brows as he looks into your eyes, searching for something that he won’t find in your eyes, ever. 
You are scared of it, you are scared of him, of what he feels, of what changed. You act like you don’t know what changed, you act like you are clueless, you act like you are unaware of everything that’s been going on behind your back. But you know everything. 
You know that Steve isn’t who you want him to be. 
He is King Steve and you are the queen of Hawkins High– you didn’t give that title to yourself, you never would, in a way it’s humiliating to you that people claim you to be some sort of queen, some mere girl that people look up to for some reason. You are nothing but a simple girl and Steve is nothing but a simple guy but unlike you, he loves the attention, especially the one he gets from all the girls, the ones that make him feel desired. You always hated the way he flirted with them even when he was already with you– he said he only did it because of Tommy and the other guys from the team, they always encouraged him to flirt with them. You didn't understand it, you would never do that to him. His flirtations were only halfhearted and he never actually did anything but it did nothing to make you feel better. Still, you stayed with him because you loved him and because you knew that he only did it for show, to keep up his stupid reputation.
After all he did only have eyes for you. Only you were allowed to see sides of him that no one else saw, only you got lingering looks, soft touches and kisses, only you got to lay in his arms and listen to the beat of his heart, only you were his girl, his only girl. Only you got all the I love you's.
He took you out on dates, he gave you flowers, he kissed you in his car, in downtown bars, behind the school, in his room, in your room. He made you happy like no one else did. He once did.
You were his first love, you had hoped that you would be his only love but then she came along and his love for you was just gone. 
When he suddenly stopped flirting with every girl that batted her lashes at him, you had hoped that he finally stopped caring about what his friends thought, you had hoped that he was finally ready to show everyone that he wasn’t like that, that he wasn’t some playboy who needed more than his girlfriend to keep him interested and satisfied but that was simply too much to wish for. You were a fool for considering that in the first place.
His eyes strayed away from you weeks ago, he had set his eyes on her, the girl that stole him and his heart away from you like it was nothing.  
Nancy Wheeler. 
The pretty freshman who was assigned to be his partner in some stupid history project. 
You knew that he was gone the moment he stopped calling you every night just to hear your voice before going to bed, you knew that his love had started to vanish when even after the project was over, he kept canceling or even forgetting date nights, you knew that his heart wasn’t yours anymore when you caught him staring at her with a look in his eyes that you wished to see when he looked at you. 
He isn’t yours anymore but you still hold onto him because he is still here, right in front of you and he puts his hand around your wrists, not hers. He looks into your eyes, not hers. But he doesn’t look at you with love or adoration in his eyes, no. He looks at you with something– with nothing. There is nothing in his eyes and you can already feel yourself growing sick because you know that this is it. You knew this was coming, you knew this would happen eventually, he will leave you, for her. 
You don’t know what happened between them, if anything happened at all, you don’t know if he crossed that line yet, he did emotionally but did he physically?
Your heart begins to pound in your chest, the sound of the music outside is too loud, even when you are stuck in this bathroom with your very drunk boyfriend who is about to shatter your heart into tiny little pieces, you still hear the music and it’s hurting your ears. Your throat tightens and your vision blurs. You feel like you are suffocating. 
“W-Why are you looking at me like that?” You ask, not even recognizing your own voice, it’s so shaky and so far away. 
Steve frowns, he shakes his head a little as he keeps looking at you. His eyes flicker down to your cheeks, to your nose that he used to kiss every time he would say goodbye, your lips that are trembling from the fear that is running through your body, he holds your wrists tighter as he looks back into your tear filled eyes.
What is he doing? 
You step closer to him, blinking those tears away, you whisper his name, begging and pleading with your eyes. You love him. God, you love him so much. 
He says your name. Not baby, not honey, not babe, not princess. He says your name. 
“L-Let’s go home, okay?” You mumble shakily, tearing your eyes away from his, “let’s just go home together.” 
"Together?" He slurs as he stumbles forward a little, you steady him by grabbing his waist.
“Yeah, you wanted to stay with me, remember?” 
“I-I don’t wanna stay with you, I don’t wanna be with– with you,” he mumbles, closing his eyes, he sighs. You smell the alcohol in his breath, the wine on his shirt and it makes you feel nauseous. He grabs your shoulders and suddenly his touch is too much, knowing that it’ll be the last time he touches you. 
“W-What do you mean?”
He is too drunk to see how scared you really are, how hurt you truly are. He is too much of a fool to see anything. 
“You heard me,” he says as he gets closer to your face, “I don’t want to be with you,” he spits. 
You draw back, furrowing your brows and holding your breath as you feel your heart dropping to your stomach, of course you weren’t prepared for this even though you saw it coming. 
“Why not?”
He looks bad, his hair is messy from all the tugging all night, his eyes are red rimmed and he has dark circles beneath them, like he had been up all night, his eyes are filled with so many things yet none at all, right now, you don’t recognize him. 
He is gripping your shoulders tightly, you wish it’s because he is afraid to let you go. 
“I’m not in love with you anymore.” 
And just like that, with a few simple words, he broke your heart. 
Steve Harrington, the man you gave your heart to so willingly, despite your friends warning you about him, despite all the warning signs, you gave him your heart and you never regretted it even though you should have but he was your Steve. He was. 
Steve awaits a reaction from you. He expects you to break down, to slap him, to push him away from you, to ask why but you don’t. In fact, you don’t give him a reaction at all, you just nod at his words, somehow managing to keep the tears from falling, your trembling lip tells him that you do want to cry though but you don’t. 
The bile rises in your throat, you want to throw up, you want to fall to your knees and puke your guts and your heart out but you swallow harshly and close your eyes for a moment, pressing your lips together to keep yourself from sobbing. 
Please wake up, please wake up. You think to yourself, let this be a dream, just a bad dream. You want to wake up, in his arms, in his embrace, you want to feel his kisses on your shoulder, his fingers running through your hair, to hear his morning voice, to hear him say I love you. But you will never get any of it again. It’s over. 
“Okay,” you whisper, shakily. 
You step away from him, pushing his hands off your shoulders, you nod to yourself as you open your eyes to look at him one last time, “okay.” 
An unfamiliar feeling runs through him, gripping at his heart, it hurts and he suddenly feels nauseous. He blinks and stares at you as though he doesn’t understand what just happened. 
You look into each other’s eyes, you both drown everything else out, the voices outside, the music and the ongoing party. 
It’s over. 
You feel grief, the way you felt it all this time already, knowing that this was coming. 
He feels it too, though he doesn’t understand it yet. He doesn’t understand what a huge mistake he just made, how much he will despise himself for doing this to you, how much he will come to regret this. When he feels the loss of your touch, his heart begins to understand a little. 
Deep down you know that he will come back to you, he will. 
Unable to stand around him any longer, you step away, “I’ll get Tommy or something, he’ll drive you home–”
“What about you?” He asks as though he didn’t just tell you that he doesn’t want to be with you.
Your heart is hurting, it’s hurting so badly that you start to forget what it ever felt like to be loved by him. Your tears threaten to fall so you step around him and reach for the doorknob, “goodbye, Steve.” 
He says your name but you don’t dare to turn around to face him, you keep the sob in, pushing it down as you open the door and step out of the room.
By the time the door slams shut, you are already crying, the tears are streaming down your face as you rush through the hallway and down the stairs, not caring about the looks of curiosity of the people around you, you don’t care about anything right now. 
You stumble down the stairs, almost crashing on the hardwood floor if it wasn’t for your friend catching you before you can even take the fall. 
“Hey, oh my god, are you okay?” She asks as she steadies you, watching you with concern in her blue eyes. 
You shake your head as you look at her. 
She looks around as though she is searching for someone but when her eyes settle on him standing by the stairs, not walking down just yet, she knows that it’s him who made you cry. 
She rolls her eyes, putting her arm around you, she pulls you away from the stairs and out of the house, wrapping her cardigan around you after you both step out into the cold. The front door closes and despite the loud music, the laughter and all the people around him, Steve swears that he heard it shut, it echoed and it made him wince in pain. 
He doesn’t understand the deep regret in his chest, the pain in his heart and the confusion in his soul. 
He doesn’t understand it yet. 
-
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stevesbipanic · 1 year
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Inspired by this post by @liightsnow
Steve had always been quick to open his home to his friends.
It began of course with allowing Tommy to throw big parties at his house since Steve’s parents were away, later he would open his home to the kids to have a safe place to just be kids. Steve enjoyed having his friends around and it helped fill the silence of his usually empty house. So it was no surprise that when Eddie needed a new location for Hellfire, Steve was the first to volunteer.
He and Eddie had gotten close as Eddie recovered in hospital, he was fun to be around, loud and bright in a way that pushed away the thoughts as to how Eddie ended up in the bed in the first place. Wayne was appreciative of Steve keeping his nephew company while he was at work and Steve always reassured him that it was no trouble, most of the time Steve stayed even when Wayne was there.
There was one issue with hosting Hellfire however, the Hellfire boys. Jeff, Gareth and Grant had visited Eddie a few times after school, all their parents keeping them at home when they could after the “earthquake”, Steve always excused himself allowing Eddie to have time with his friends. Steve couldn’t blame the wary looks that they’d send him, he knew who he was in high school, even Eddie had assumed the same.
This lead Steve to now as he opened the door to the three boys, who were last to arrive. They all nodded politely at Steve before heading straight to where Eddie was calling them in the dining room. At first Steve tried to make himself seem friendly and approachable to them, demonstrating that he had changed since his years of being King of Hawkins High. He set out snacks and got people drinks, even remembering which drinks Eddie had told them were their favourites, but all he got were polite smiles and glances towards Eddie. After receiving similar treatment when he brought them lunch, Steve gave up his attempts and retreated to his bedroom to wait out the rest of the game.
Steve curled into a ball on his bed, knees tucked tightly under his chin as he wrapped his arms around is legs. He got an eerie sense of déjà vu to when he was a child and his mother would send him up to his room once he’d been “showed off” to the guests. His purpose complete and he was no longer needed, Hellfire had what they needed to finish their game without them.
Steve heard joyous cries downstairs and wished for a moment he would’ve been able to stay and watch. Everyone always sounded so happy when the game concluded, and he knew Eddie told the best stories. He knew he couldn’t though, he didn’t want to ruin it for anyone, especially Eddie’s friends.
He was getting ready to go downstairs and clean up, another thing similar to his mother’s parties, when there was a knock at his door.
“Stevie? You ok in there?”
“Huh? Oh yeah, Eds, I’m fine, game finished then?” Steve replied as Eddie entered the room.
“Yeah, it was great, you should’ve stayed to watch Gareth made the best final attack, you have a headache or something, why are you hiding up here?”
“Oh, um,” Steve looked down at his hands, “Thought I’d just be in the way down there, didn’t want to spoil the fun.”
Eddie made a face at this, “Spoil the fun? Sweetheart, everyone would’ve loved you to stay and watch, might get Dustin off your back about playing.”
Steve shook his head, “Your friends don’t really like me much, which I get, it’s fine, glad you guys had a place to play though.”
“Steve why did you offer up your place if you didn’t want to watch? And the guys think you’re fine what’re you talking about, did one of them say something?”
“You guys needed a place to play and I have an empty house, need to be useful someway now that there’s no monsters to fight and my parents cut me off, and no, no one said anything but they always act weird around me.”
“Fuck Stevie, you’re more than just someone useful you know that right? I’d want you around just because I like you around, sweetheart, you don’t have to earn that by offering your house.”
“You sure?”
“Very sure, wasn’t getting better in Casa Harrington, was I? Got better cause I had my favourite jock beside me.” Steve blushed at that. “And as for my friends, I think I know the reason they’re acting weird around you,” Eddie said guiltily.
“Why?”
“Might’ve told them not to embarrass me in front of you,” Eddie said sheepishly.
“Why wouldn’t you want them to- oh,” Steve smiled softly, “Eddie Munson did you want to look cool in front of me because you like me?”
“Would it be bad to say yes?”
Steve lent over and kissed Eddie’s cheek softly, “Not at all.”
When the boys returned downstairs holding hands to find the others cleaning up, Jeff let out a sigh of relief, “Thank fuck you got your shit together Eddie, Harrington can you make those sandwiches again next time, I don’t know what you put in them but Gare ate like 5.”
“Hey, you would’ve eaten just as many if there were any left!”
Steve laughed, “Sure, will make them a Hellfire staple every week.”
The following week Steve was met by wide grins when he opened the door, and celebrated with the party when they defeated Eddie’s villain. Sitting on Eddie’s lap to watch the campaign was a good new perk too.
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red-write-hand · 3 months
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"You're killing people?" "No, I'm killing boys." || thomas shelby x assassin!reader
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pairing -> thomas shelby x assasssin!fem!reader
word count -> 2.5k (this took me two weeks)
warnings -> i was watching jennifer's body while i was writing the beginning and i think it accidentally started to seep into my writing, bisexuality??, hella tension, maybe some ooc tommy???, assassin stuff, a lot of dirty thoughts (i mean a lot)
notes -> yeah jennifer's body was a reeeally big influence of this. i had a good idea but this could have died, sorry yall!! also no beta read, we die like peaky fookin' blinders
REBLOGS AND COMMENTS ARE LITERALLY SO HELPFUL Y'ALL HAVE NO IDEA
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An assassin is defined as someone who is paid to kill someone. In this business, you need to pay a handsome price to kill someone as important as Thomas Shelby. It wouldn’t be easy but no one saw a beautiful woman as someone who could kill you, but then again, that was usually the same people who called her sweetheart when passing her in the street. The very same people who would never be able to harass another woman after her. Y/n cut down any man that would hinder her fellow woman. Women too, if she viewed them as a threat. She was completely innocuous. She looked like every washerwoman in Birmingham. No one ever thought she was the one who was slowly taking out Peaky Blinders one by one. 
No one saw her go in and no one saw her leave. It was easy for her. Men were becoming easier and easier for her to manipulate. Really, this is truly why she was bisexual. Women were truly better but sometimes she would find that one man who saw her. Saw her for what she was. A soldier who didn't know how to stop what she was doing. She had gotten so good at it that every time that she wanted to stop, another high paying aristocrat or politician would waltz in and give her a stack of cash to do away with their competition and she knew that her rent was due so just had to keep going. She was also supporting her family, all the family she had left after the war. She had grown up with brothers and most had gone to war and come back changed. There was nothing she could do about it. She just had to keep her head held up high and persevere, and persevere she did. She began to get very good at petty crimes, and more importantly getting away with them. Another thing she got good at was blending into the background. Become a nobody. Someone that people could easily see through. An excellent cover for an assassin.
There was another part of her that wanted recognition. Y/N wanted that fame and fortune. Nothing that she could have. Women had to work twice as hard in this world. Especially in the business of murder. Then again, those feminist rallies kept yelling about fucking over the patriarchy, why not instead, poison the patriarchy? Slowly? Maybe in the night? Maybe a little murder could do the feminist cause some good. She seemed to know every woman in this tiny town. She really didn’t but it was quite fun to see the men worry that all the pretty women they felt up would disappear. No one knew she existed and everyone knew her name. She barely knew how everyone knew her name. Maybe she did have a bit of that fame and fortune business. She just hoped that it would lead to women feeling a little safer to walk the streets, knowing that they had a silent protector who was not against a little homicide in the name of female comradery. It always feels a little warmer when you know you have a friend protecting you with a knife in the back of her skirt. It was never outright said but it was only men that saw through her. Women knew she was there. This is why she never took jobs that meant hurting or killing women. If it was a husband, she would leave the money for the widow. She was not going to be an asshole about it. No matter what, she would make sure that no woman would go without help. 
She had no qualms about killing men. As much as she loved men, especially tall, dark, and handsome men, they can be a real pain to deal with sometimes. She tried to stay civil but really, how can straight women deal with them all the time? How do they not realize that the best part about married men are their wives?! And god, did the Shelby boys have the best pick of the women! God the women that hung around the Shelby betting shop were proper fit. Or maybe that’s just what drunk men said about them. 
Tonight was special. It would be the death date of Thomas Shelby. The people who had paid her to poison him and make it look like a suicide. The only thing was that he was at a gala. 
Great. 
Using some of her extra earnings and her pay from doing laundry, she bought herself a tight fitting dress and some sparkling jewelry. She stood in front of her mirror and surveyed her body. She wasn’t well endowed at all, really she was the most average looking woman in the country, but not tonight. Tonight she would be the prettiest girl in the room. Tonight she would kill two birds with one stone. She would wreck Thomas Shelby’s public image and she would actually kill the devil. Her. She would be the one to kill the Devil of Small Heath. Oh what joy it would be to sit back and watch the Peaky Blinders scuttle around like sewer rats after their god and king died. They would never know who killed him, well, they would think they knew. She would make it look like a suicide but really, that was easy to stage. She would cry along with everyone else and wipe her tears with the cash she would receive after this job was done.
Stepping out of the car, making sure her dress wasn’t flashing anyone, she made her way up the stairs to the Shelby charity gala. Her dress was short and her faux fur shawl was draped around her shoulders precisely so that she would get all the right looks. She had studied men for too long without knowing what they looked for. Sauntering onto the floor, looking for the guest of honor, her trained ears could pick up the hushed chatter. Everyone here thought she was a prostitute. Figures. A woman dresses the way she wants and people call her a whore. Maybe it's for the better. It would ruin his reputation even more. Be here and be seen talking with a woman who people gossiped was a prostitute? Perfection. She hadn’t even planned this bit.
Finding him was the easy part. Talking was harder. He was surrounded by donors and grifters trying to weedle their way into his pocket. He just hadn’t noticed her yet. She perched herself on the edge of a stool at the bar and ordered what she usually liked to drink on the job. A daiquiri. Easy and plain. Continuing to accentuate her inconsequentiality. She wrapped her crimson covered lips around the rim slowly, watching him circle the room and finally alighting his eyes on her. She turned on her bedroom eyes and ripped more of her drink as she crossed her legs. She was trying to go for ‘come over and see if I’ll take a chance on you’ but really, it was more like ‘come over here and I’ll ruin you before you can finish whatever drink you order to look more casual’. This had worked plenty of times before so she was fairly sure it would work on him. At his core, Thomas Shelby was still a man. A man with a cock. A cock that needed a lot more than a regular man, or so Lizzie Stark told her. She loved Lizzie. Whenever Thomas was done with her, Y/N would always offer her a place to stay and open arms for her to settle in. Stroking through her hair was somehow calming to both of them at the same time.
The room seemed to heat up as he got closer. It really was a toss up if he would guess what she was really here for. Tensing up, she could feel him behind her. Shifting her hair so that it cascaded down her shoulder wasn’t a huge issue but it did wonders for her confidence. Her breath got shallower but gathering all of her courage, her foot spun her barstool to face the looming figure of Thomas Shelby.
“What are you ‘ere for, eh?” The head Shelby took a drag from his cigarette. Giving Y/n a once over, he chuckled. She obviously wasn’t a prostitute but really, he wanted to see what her game was. He was not about to impede a fellow business person while they are trying to do business. She tried to compose herself, tried to keep herself from falling into the endless pools that were his eyes. Endless pools that would ultimately drag her down and bring her to ruin before she could drive her knife into his chest and put an end to the whole ordeal. She could do it right now. She could see the blood seep out of him and see that look of pain that she so dearly needed to see from him. That look of pain that would be payment for all the harm he and his family had caused. She pondered whether or not she should actually fuck him here and now or fake wanting to and kill him just to get it over with. All this nasty business, gross man blood getting on this amazing dress. 
“Here on business Mr. Shelby. Lizzie Stark gives her regards.” She would apologize to Lizzie later. Dear, dear Lizzie. Hopefully she would forgive Y/n for this later. She swung her legs around and walked closer to him, dragging a single hand down his chest. The easiest part of her job was having sex. She constantly thought about herself as a female protagonist written by a man made the process a little easier. Molding herself to the wants of the man. 
She just wanted to hide away from the world but right now she was on the clock. Laying the charm on heavy and batting her eyelashes. His heart was beating faster and faster. This was getting easier and easier. Now she was divided. It was taking too long. The longer it took, the more attached she got. This is one target she didn't want to get attached to.
“Just because you look fuckin’ gorgeous, doesn’t mean you can just-” She gently plucked the cigarette from his pink lips and took a drag herself. Under her other hand, his pulse raced faster. She beamed at him. This time, she was actually feeling some semblance of happiness. Taking a small step forward, she got as close as she could so the smoke, ebbing and flowing from the smoldering edge of the cigarette, would be the barrier between them. She felt a strong hand at her waist, the hand away from the crowd, so the interaction would still look inconspicuous. 
The cigarette hung her from her dark painted lips. They stood an inch away from each other. Each one wanted the other to move first. In his mind, he dreamed of slick thighs, breathy moans, painted breasts, fucked-out expressions, and those perfect gummy walls hugging his cock so well as she screamed in pleasure. In her mind, she dreamed of a perfectly executed mission…and nothing else. Definitely not his perfect jaw and how strong his hands felt at her waist. Definitely the way he was looking at her. Well, at least that meant she was doing what she did best correctly, but still…there was some part of her that had that morbid curiosity. Lizzie had told her what Tommy was like. Rough but loving. Rough enough to satiate himself but since he had taken all this effort to bring you here, he would not snap you in half. Maybe she could do that for one night. That would make a good story. ‘I spent the night with Thomas Shelby and survived’. Definitely something Lizzie would find funny.
Her mind just kept going back and forth in the span of a minute. Does she give in to her curiosity and see what the Devil of Small Heath would do to her or does she put on even more of a show just to ruin his reputation and then pull him outside to finish him off quietly. ‘Pun very much not intended.’ Truly, this was the worst situation to be punny. 
To try to keep her mind on the man in front of her, her eyes just kept alighting on his sturdy looking chest. There was something strangely mysterious about what lay under that perfectly pressed tux. Just to be able to slowly pull every layer off of him was tantalizing. Maybe she might. 
All of this took place in two minutes. They had gotten impossibly closer. His hands had started to slide down, slowly and even slower as she played with the edge of his tie. Oh how much fun it would be to pull him by his impeccable tie, just for him to land on top of her. This could be very fun.
His thoughts were undressing her, meticulously feeling every curve and every fold, kneading anywhere he could elicit a reaction, kissing, biting, anything she wanted. Feeling her under him. Hearing all those pretty noises as he devoured her completely. He knew that all she wanted to do was destroy his reputation but really? What’s so bad about having a little bit of fun? No one could comment because no one messed with the King. 
No one.
They were forcibly shoved together at the hip. His grip was harsh and she was grinning. Sliding the cigarette behind her ear, she gently, temptingly, tantalizingly brushed her plump lips against the edge of his jaw, leaving trace amounts of her lipstick and perfume with it. Giving him one more flash of her sultry eyes and ghosting her hand against his face, ever so delicately holding his jaw, she grabbed her clutch and escaped expertly from his grasp. But not slipping her number into his jacket pocket so he knew where to find her. This was a different kind of mission now. A longer game. A game where she would move up the ranks. Infiltrating the Shelby operation at every level. Finding out their secrets. Knowing what shouldn't be known. She’d make a pretty pound for what she would know. 
Of course, there was that added bonus. Now she had her snares in the most powerful man in Birmingham. Now she could manipulate him as she liked. She would make him fall for her completely. Make him promise her the world. Make him believe that she was what she told him. See her as she wanted him to see her. Control his judgment if someone decided to try to sow seeds of doubt into her darling. Making sure that when she was finally ready to stick the gilded knife in his back, that he would smile and tell her that he loved her one last time. Till next time Mr. Shelby, until next time.
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thank you for reading (and if you reblogged/commented, double thanks) !!
@birminghamshelbyboys @pinguwrites @forgottenpeakywriter @hanawrites404 @runnning-outof-time @no-fooking-fighting @no-1peakyfan @hllywdwhre @floralcyanide @cilldistilled @stridingseer @darlingsfandom @mrkdvidal1989 @lunavelha @aphroditeslover11 @henrywintersdearestgirl @thatwitchybitch420 @classicsandfantasy @marilynmonroefanfics @ninja-potato-shelby-solomons @scorpinelle @chellyrps @maxwell-demon @atrwriting @cassius-casim @your-nanas-house @sherwoodknights @munstysmind
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burntb4bydoll · 10 months
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Tom Kaulitz x inexperienced!fem!reader
Warnings: a bit of scratching, hair pulling, slight size kink, PRAISE KINK, readers lowkey bratty and a crybaby💀, very soft dom Tom🤭 like fr tho hes WHIPPED.
“Please Tom! I just wanna try. You’re so mean!” You pout, furrowing your eyebrows at Tom. He sighs and grabs your chin with his thumb and pointer finger,
“Baby, thats enough. You’re not ready yet. You have no idea what you’re doing. We gotta work up to it.” That only made you pout harder. Whining, you climb on top of him to straddle his waist. You two were already undressed because you had already been messing around before you started to throw a little tantrum. You lean down to kiss him, moving your hips to grind your body into his. Toms breath hitched as he felt your wetness spreading over his length. (Im sorry physically can not type any other word for it. They all sound so gross)
“Look, Tommy. I can make you feel good,” you sigh, “Just please let me fuck you! Ill be such a good girl!” You sit back up, inspecting his facial expressions. He grabs your hips and sits up against the headboard so that you are sitting in his lap.
“Fuck. Ok fine, but I’m gonna help you. And thats not an option. Its not gonna be easy, sweetheart. Especially for someone who has no idea what to do.” You rolled your eyes at him. What could be so difficult about it? Hes over exaggerating. Tom sees your eye roll and gently grabs you by your hair, which was so gentle that he was basically just holding you by the back of your head. “what did I say about that attitude? You wont get fucked at all if you keep it up. You know I don’t wanna do that to you, baby.” Toms voice was soft as he looked at you with pure love in his eyes. You knew he wouldn’t actually do that, you’ve got him wrapped around your finger. But you decide to play along anyways.
“Sorry, Tommy. I’ll be good, promise.” You both know thats probably a lie, but he accepts it anyways. He lifts up your hips to position himself at your entrance, watching you the whole time to make sure you were okay. You slowly sink down on him, moaning at the new feeling. You didn’t think it was possible to feel him this deep inside of you. “Tom-! Oh my god, you’re so deep!” He shushes you, moving your hair out of the way so he had access to your neck. As he trailed kisses across your jaw, you had finally got him all the way inside.
“Good job, princess. Just sit still for a minute. That was a lot, huh?” He pulls away and smiles as he plays with your hair.
“Mhm… fuck. Ive never felt like this before. It’s weird.” You moan, looking down to see the outline of his dick (💀) showing on your lower stomach. He moves his hand down to press in it, making you whine and jolt from the pressure.
“God, you are so pretty. Look at this. You can actually see how deep I go.” Tom was absolutely mesmerized. He only looked away when you started to lightly bounce on him. Groaning, he holds your hips tightly. You started moving a little faster, grabbing him by his hair to steady yourself. His nails dug into your skin, leaving crescent shapes on your hips.
“There you go. Good girl~ you’re doing such a good job.” Tom coos. Your eyes feel heavy and tears of pleasure start to form in your eyes. Toms praising always gets you so worked up. After riding him for a while your legs start to burn. After your failed attempt to continue fucking your boyfriend, you collapsed onto his shoulder.
“I wanna keep going- its just…my legs hurt. Can you help me? Please, Tom. I need you to help me..” Your words are breathy and desperate, basically crying for him. Tom silences your pleas by kissing you. While you kiss he starts to thrust up into you, moving your hips for you to match his thrusts. He moans loudly at the change of pace, feeling himself grow closer to finishing. One of his hands leaves your hip to toy with your clit, causing you to whimper and shake.
“Come on, baby. Cum with me…I wanna feel that pretty cunt cum for me.” Both of you gasp as you reach your highs, hands gripping on to each other desperately. He makes sure to continue his movements on your clit so that you could ride out your orgasm for as long as possible. “Good girl, such a good girl. You take me so well” Tom mumbles as his movements come to a stop. A silence fell over the room as you calmed down, but it was quickly ruined by your giggles
“I told you I could do it! And most of it was by myself!” You state proudly, making him laugh at you.
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sumwan · 5 months
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I'm not sure how many people know about this, but the entire script for the Green Festival was actually shown in Tommy's DSMP tribute video from last year. It seems to have been written by Dream (it mentions "I" at some point when referring to Dream), and it's pretty interesting to see how they planned out the lore streams and what changed in the actual streams.
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Transcription can be found under the cut.
Transcription The festival is happening. Fundy, Tubbo, Quackity, Ranboo, Niki, and anyone else that is generally around lmanburg can attend. Everyone starts streaming early for the festival. Before the festival starts, Quackity Tubbo and Fundy (and ranboo? I'm not sure who was there originally), have a meeting about how they're going to kill Dream.
They talk about how Dream trusts Tubbo so Tubbo is going to have to be the one to do it. That they've become sort of friends since Tommy was exiled. Tubbo agrees, still slightly doubtful that it would work. Tubbo says that Dream agreed to show up with no armor to for the first time ever, honor lmanburgs laws.
The meeting ends and they start the festival, talking about how Dream said he would be a little late.
Tommy and Techno at this point have been planning how they're going to ruin the festival (and get back Tommy's disc from Dream). They know that Dream will show up, but they don't know how they'll fight him without him escaping. (Ranboo finds them on the outskirts of lmanburg and tells them that Dream agreed to show up in no armor? possibly?) That sparks that they can hide around lmanburg and ambush Dream when he's at the festival. Tommy and Techno improv and mess around while trying to build an "ambush spot" (all of this is sort of unimportant to the plot so can be adjusted to make funnier/better streams for those two).
Tommy and Techno start streaming about 30 minutes after the others.
After some festival activities have been done, Dream shows up in full armor, placing obsidian again in a wall formation. Everyone sees him and runs over confused about what's happening.
They hop in a call with dream (techno and tommy join too but tell eachother to be quiet before joining.) Dream starts screaming about what Tommy did and how he really screwed up this time (tommy is kind of afraid and is looking at techno for assurance), and everyone is confused about what Tommy did, especially tubbo. Dream yells about the fact that Tommy destroyed the community house, the longest standing structure on the server, and how he has to pay for it. Quackity and the others don't believe it and decide to go look with Dream. (Techno and Tommy follow stealthily behind (invis), no one should see them).
Sapnap and anyone else from the original Dream SMP can log on now or already be on and come over to see. (Awesam, Callahan, George(probably not), Sapnap, BadBoyHalo, Punz)
They stand in front of the shattered remains and everyone is shocked that Tommy would do this, and upset. Everyone is insisting that Tommy really screwed up and that it's horrible.
Tubbo agrees but insists that he and lmanburg had nothing to do with it. Dream says that as long as Tubbo has one of the discs, he has everything to do with Tommy. Tubbo seems shocked and thinks about what Dream said. All of the Dream SMP original members agree and are talking about how he should give it so they can burn it once and for all. Tubbo is reluctant but seems to agree that Tommy keeps doing things that would put lmanburg in danger, so he doesn't want association.
He seems like he is about to give the disc, so Tommy reveals himself (techno too) and gets into a screaming match with Tubbo about it.
--Tommy and tubbo fill in what happens here, but it's a big argument and fight probably mostly improv-
Eventually after both nearly dying, Tommy realizes that he's fighting his best friend and stops. Tubbo is angry and gives the disc quickly to Dream, saying that it's just a stupid disc. Tommy is hurt by that but realizes that he's been blinded and has lost friends because of it. Tommy realizes that Dream now has both of his discs, and that they're back at square one.
Dream has an evil speech about how Tubbo is an idiot and that he never should have given him the disc. That Tubbo was never the president of L'manburg, but that everyone else had more control than him of his own country, even Dream. That he's the worst president because he was no president at all. Expose Ranboo as a traitor that has been working with Techno and Tommy, and that he can't even keep control of his own people. Give Tubbo the book with proof. That l'manburg is weaker than it's ever been, and that the only thing stopping Dream from completely destroying l'manburg was the fact that Tubbo had the discs and so Dream had to befriend him.
Now there's nothing stopping Dream from completely obliterating l'manburg. Everyone seems shocked and tries to talk Dream down, but Dream screams and tells everyone to shut up. Everyone goes completely silent. Dream asks Techno if he has any withers left. Techno responds basically like "oh do III" because he has so many.
--Techno should add more here so he has more of a role-
Dream announces that tonight is the final night of l'manburg forever. That he and Techno will finish the job that Wilbur started, and that l'manburg will be blown all the way to bedrock at (TIME, the next day). He tells everyone to say their last goodbyes, and to not try and stop him because Techno and him will kill every last one of them.
Dream leaves.
Everyone is left in shock, (maybe techno has some funny monologue here like it's awkward that I just left him there with everyone or something)
No one knows what to say. They realize that Dream has gone completely insane and that he has to be stopped. (techno is gone by now) They realize that Dream made a mistake by telling them the time, and they decide that they will all plan to work together and stop them. If all of the server fights together they can beat Techno and Dream. They get hyped about it and Tommy and Tubbo agree to fight together, despite having 1 canon life, that they're willing to put their lives on the line for l'manburg. They kind of have a reunion.
--Possibly Tommy leaves or ends here?-
Quackity seems blood thirsty and wants to punish Ranboo for conspiring with them and being a traitor. Tubbo disagrees and Quackity and tubbo get into an argument, Quackity insists that he HAS to execute him because he was a traitor. Tubbo gets mad and flips out on Quackity insisting that he's not going to be like Schlatt and execute him next to his own festival decorations (call back), that they need to ALL be together, ALL of them, otherwise they will lose to Techno and Dream. As long as he agrees to fight, he will fight with them. Quackity still seems to disagree, Tubbo puts his foot down and mentions what Dream said. That everyone else always pushed him around, but no HE'S the president, and his word is final, anyone who goes against it is committing treason. Quackity reluctantly agrees, but says that what Tubbo said doesn't mean they can't deal with the traitors after they stop Techno and Dream.
-End of this stream-
Bullet points for Tommy-
Starts Stream a little after Tubbo and the others start.
Plan to go to l'manburg to ruin the festival
Show up at l'manburg, with lots of invis potions, investigate what's happening
Dream shows up, join VC secretly Hear Dream freak out about the community house, seem confused, follow them.
Once Tubbo seems like he's going to give up the disc, tommy interjects
Fight tubbo
Give up on fighting tubbo and realize that you're fighting your best friend
Listen to Dream evil speech
After Dream/Techno leaves, convince everyone to work together. Talk about putting your life on the line for l'manburg.
Bullet points for Techno-
Start Stream a little after Tubbo and the others start.
Plan to go to l'manburg to ruin the festival
Show up at l'manburg, with lots of invis potions, investigate what's happening
Dream shows up, join VC secretly Hear Dream freak out about the community house, seem confused, follow them.
Once Tubbo seems like he's going to give up the disc, tommy interjects
Fight tubbo
Give up on fighting tubbo and realize that you're fighting your best friend
Listen to Dream evil speech
Join in when Dream asks if you have withers, *whatever else you want here*
After Dream leaves, awkwardly leave and head back to your house
Dream is there and Techno & Dream briefly talk about what they're going to do, Techno shows Dream the wither room
Bullet points for l'manburg-
Start Stream a little before the festival
Have meeting with cabinet about killing Dream, how Tubbo should be the one to do it because he's trusted.
Start the festival, Dream said he would show up a little later.
Dream shows up in full armor and is building an obsidian wall.
Realize and run over pissed off. Join his VC (don't see tommy / techno)
Listen to Dream, then go see the community house
Be mad at Tommy
Tubbo fights with Tommy after almost giving up his disc
Fight ends, Tubbo gives the disc to Dream to end war
Listen to Dream evil speech
Ranboo was a traitor for Techno/Tommy
After Dream/Techno leaves, Tubbo and Tommy convince people to work together. They talk about putting their lives on the line for l'manburg.
Quackity wants Ranboo executed
Tubbo puts his foot down and insists that he will not be doing that, that he's president.
Bullet Points for original DreamSMP members:
After l'manburg and dream show up at the community house(it's blown up), show up and seem upset and distressed that it was blown up. That it was the oldest artifact on the server and it had a lot of memories.
Follow Dream's lead, mostly agreeing with what he says.
Once Dream brings up the disc that Tubbo has, insist that it be burned and turned over by Tubbo.
Once Tubbo turns over the disc, Dream gives and evil speech
Realize that Dream is taking it too far and l'manburg's a part of history and is a free country
Follow Tommy/Tubbo's lead, talk about how you guys can stop Dream and Techno if you all work together
247 notes · View notes
lowkeyrobin · 2 months
Text
MCYT ; you ride a bike
includes ; tommyinnit, tubbo, ranboo, badlinu, nihachu, & quackity
warnings ; language
I love passenger princessing my mom on her trike so here's this
masterlist
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TOMMYINNIT
he's absolutely mortified to get on the back with you at first
you convince him to just ride him around the neighborhood nice and slow and he over time gets used to it because you suggest going short distances on it rather than taking a bus and stuff
he grows on it though
his helmet has some stickers on it, one literally says tommyinnit.store in bold font 💀💀💀
either holds on the sidebars thatre there for him to hold or around your waist
he finds the wind against him therapeutic
the butterflies when you turn around and ask if he's okay, especially when it's dark and cold
constantly snapping jack, freddie & tubbo pictures of him on your bike/riding around with you/where you go
posts a lot of pictures on his Instagram
most of them are you & the scenery
"do you wanna learn how to drive a bike?"
"no???"
he unironically loves shouting at shit drivers who cut you off or try to get you killed
"WATCH IT ASSHOLE! YOU ALMOST GOT US KILLED, USE A BLINKER NEXT TIME!"
loves going over bridges
if he has somewhere to be after a ride, he'll gladly show up with his hair a mess and ass hurting since you need to put a few more pounds of air in his seat LMAO
"okay, so-"
"Tommy, why are you limping?"
TUBBO
idk if that pic of him w the bike & helmet is real or means that he actually knows how to drive a bike but shit
he'd probably be the one to ask you if he could jump on the back before you left to ride with some friends
you obviously said of course bc you had an extra helmet laying around
he loved it lmao
he loved the air against his face and how fresh it felt
even if the backroads you took were 99% trees, they kept him entertained because he'd never been down them/rarely goes down them bc why would he
loves taking pictures of you + the scenery
religiously posts pictures on his Instagram
you went to a sunflower field together and he constantly looks over those pictures because it was just so beautiful
only has a couple stickers on his helmet, he seems like the type to overthink stickers (same)
likes holding out his arms on straight roads like a bird
loves going out at night, the lights are so awesome to him
asks you to go over/find more bridges lmao
RANBOO
he's 50/50 on being scared and wanting to get on with you
they man up and just do it after lots of reassuring
so many pictures lmao
litters his helmet with stickers and white marker doodles
has a sticker of the boober particle + one that just says ranboo.fashion in comic sans
he finds the air against him very therapeutic
loves going down backroads and finding new restaurants
always taking pictures, mostly of you
loves wearing his R800 jacket cause it keeps him warm + free promo
makes "I'll jump off rn" jokes
likes spreading his arms out like an eagle and will yell over the engine LMAO
loves bumps even though they'll hurt immediately after
FREDDIE BADLINU
you ask if he wants to come and he shrugs with a yeah
his first ride was at night so he got to enjoy all the lights and night life
takes a bunch of pictures and videos and sends them to Bill or Tommy
changes his insta bio to "my biker partners passenger prince" + bonus points if that's how he softlaunches your relationship
convinces you to go through a drive thru
eating lunch in the sun was a 10/10, will do it again
takes some cute pictures at stops/lights where he's leaning onto you a bit and he holds the phone in front of you to get both of you
wears dumbass hoodies/jackets w the dumb shit on the back to make ppl look at him weird or smile a bit
he'll show up to Tommy's live show (part of the bit) with messy hair and come on stage and tommy will look at him confused
Freddie asks him what's wrong and tommy just points and circles around his hair and the crowd laughs
"I was with my partner"
cue the laughing
"wait what?" Tommy laughs
"we were riding around the city before we got here, sorry"
NIKI NIHACHU
she thinks it's so cool, trust me
but like Tommy, she's very nervous to get on at first
you take her for a little ride around a parking lot and she's like "Okay I liked that let's actually go now"
her helmet has all sorts of stickers on it, but they're placed to look cool
there's a snake hide looking one down the middle and some cool patterned ones on the sides
she loves the wind in her hair and the feeling of being free
loves taking pictures of the scenery and even using you as a model
loves posting those pictures online for her fans to see
her editor fans always edit the pictures you two take together when you're out and about and whatnot it's so cool
you custom made her a leather jacket that fit her aesthetic
and she's super attached to it
she'll change her insta bio to "that one biker chicks girlfriend" LMAO
she spoils you like you're the one with the large social media platform its adorable
ALEX QUACKITY
"SINCE WHEN THE HELL DID YOU RIDE A BIKE???"
he thinks it's really badass tho
he'll gladly jump on with you
he's honestly scared after getting on but loses the fear pretty quickly
lovesss holding his arms out like a bird it's so fun to him
constantly asking you to tighten his helmet LMFAO
he finds it really entertaining in general
although if he's not wearing a full face covering helmet and wearing one of the head covering ones, you'll have to listen to his wailing later
his hair isn't long enough to completely pull back and the wind obviously tangles it up bad
so you gotta sit him down and try and carefully like de-matte his hair
he loves taking pictures and posting them tho, especially ones of you LMAO
sometimes he'll go the extra mile to give it a corny caption too
you change his insta bio to "passenger prince of the year"
always feels a little special and giggly when you ask if he's okay, especially when it's getting darker and much colder
"I told you to just wear the-"
"I know! please just do it for me! it hurts!"
"either grow your hair out or wear the other, lex"
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ijustreallylovethem · 7 months
Text
don’t take the girl
i actually cry so hard to this song every time i listen. i cried so much writing this, i’m sorry. please don’t hate me.
mark estapa x reader
words: 3,242
masterlist
8 years old
mark stomped his foot at his dads words, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting for a moment. his dad gave him a look, as if he was tempting him to fight him on the matter. and mark, ever the rowdy child, took him up on the offer.
“i don’t want her to come with us!” his dad sighed. “can’t we take jimmy? or tommy?”
“mark, it’s too late to invite any of your friends. i invited her dad and he suggested she come to keep you company.”
“but i don’t-“
“i know. you don’t want her to go. but maybe you’ll start to like her and you’ll change your mind.” mark shook his head.
“no. i’ll never want her to go.” before his dad could respond, you were walking through the gate of your front yard next door and walking over to the pair. you had a fishing pole in your hand and a bucket hat on your head, ready for the trip.
“well we can’t just leave her here! she’s come prepared!” he took the pole from your hand as he greeted you, then secured the pole in the boat. your dad was coming up behind you, ready for the day out on the lake. mark stood pouting next to you as your dads placed a cooler in the boat and your dad loaded in his pole and tackle box.
“alright, we ready to get this show on the road?” your dad asked, clapping mark on the shoulder. mark glared at you, rolling his eyes as he started to walk around the truck. his dad thought for a moment that he might just go back inside, despite how happy he had been all week to take the fishing trip. but he just walked to the back door and climbed in, slamming the door behind him. you opened the door you stood next to, hearing marks dad tell your dad that mark wasn’t very excited about you coming as you climbed in. you just shut the door and stayed silent, not wanting to upset mark any more than you already had with your presence.
you stayed quiet for most of the day, though you enjoyed fishing. you loved getting to reel them in, but hated having to take them off the hook. you found out, however, that mark loved taking them off the hook and measuring them, so you asked if he’d like to do it for you. he was hesitant, but agreed, and he seemed to be slightly more okay with you being there after that.
18 years old
you laughed at the dumb joke that mark made about the movie you both had just seen. as soon as the lights came on in the theater he made it very clear that he wasn’t fond of the movie, especially the way it ended. he stared making fun of some of the scenes as you both walked out, hand in hand. you shook your head at his antics, coming to a stop once you were on the street outside, turning to face him.
“you’re an idiot, estapa.”
“hey, i might be an idiot about a lot of things but i can promise you that i’m not the only one who feels this way about that movie.” you just smile at his little rant. “it was horrendous.” you giggle, then lean in to kiss him. you both keep it tame, as there are still people walking around downtown, but the street isn’t too busy. it’s 9:30 on a tuesday night after all. you pull away, just smiling up at mark for a second. and then all of a sudden, your presence is gone.
it takes a second for marks brain to catch up, but he notices you struggling and he notices the glint of the streetlight off the gun behind held to your side. the guy has his arm around your neck as he snarls at mark and you look terrified.
“just give me what i want and we won’t have any problem,” the man speaks lowly. mark is immediately patting at his pants pockets.
“i- i have some cash, not a lot. and my debit card is in there.” he throws the wallet on the ground near the guys feet. “and my keys.” he takes the keys and tosses them as well, and the guy watches as they bounce off the toe of your shoe. “if that’s not enough, i have this watch that i got from my grandpa and my phone. just please don’t hurt her.” you could see him trying to hold back tears but you couldn’t judge, you were doing the exact same.
“keep your car, bend down and take out the cash.” mark does as he says, holding the money out to the man. he quickly shoved the gun into his waistband and snatched the money from marks hand, then releases you from his hold and takes off running down the street. you let out a sob once he was gone, and mark was immediately pulling you into a tight hug.
“oh my god,” you cried into his shoulder, holding onto him just as tight.
“it’s okay,” he whispered, “you’re safe. i’ve got you.” he may have been trying to reassure himself just as much as he was reassuring you, but you didn’t need to know that. all that mattered is that you were alive and completely unharmed. twenty-three dollars was a small price to pay for that.
“um, sir?” mark pulled away from the hug just enough to see the kid who had sold them the tickets earlier in the night. he had a phone in his hand, wide eyes, and was just standing back up and holding marks keys out to him. “i just wanted to let you know that police are on their way. i saw everything and called.”
“thank you. we’ll come wait inside if that’s okay?” the kid, probably fifteen or sixteen, nodded, and turned to head back in. mark kissed your forehead and then pulled one arm away, keeping the other around you as you both headed back inside to wait for the police.
23 years old
your pregnancy had been rough. you had morning sickness almost all the way through. your cravings were terrible, mood swings that left mark slightly scared, and body pains that made you want to just curl up in bed all day. mark did his best to be there for you. he was always willing to run and buy you food, no matter the time of day or how far he had to drive. he didn’t get angry with you when you were irrationally angry at him two minutes after wanting to jump his bones, instead he did his best to talk calmly to you and resolve the situation you had created. he even gave you massages and held your bump when he could.
“mark.” he woke to you calling his name and you arm smacking against his torso.
“what’s wrong?” he asked, suddenly extremely alert.
“i think it’s time to go to the hospital.” he took a second to smile down at you, and you returned it.
“the baby’s coming?” you nodded.
“that baby’s- oh shit.” your face contorted in pain as a contraction hit, your hand reaching out for marks. he let you squeeze it as hard as you needed, knowing you were in pain and there was nothing he could do to stop it. he stayed silent until you eased your grip on his hand.
“let me grab the bag and put some clothes on and we can get going okay?” you nodded, sitting up and swinging your legs off the bed. by the time mark was ready, you had slides on your feet and you were waiting by the front door. mark smiled when he saw you, leaning in to give you a kiss. “let’s go have a baby, yeah?” he said softly. you giggled and nodded.
“let’s go have a baby!” the drive was short, but you still had another contraction in the car. your nails dug into marks thigh as he drove, and he reminded you to breathe. you hunched over a bit and he reached over to rub your back, trying to support you when he didn’t really know how. he parked and helped you walk in to the hospital, filling out the paperwork you were given as you took a seat. you only had one contraction in the waiting room before you were taken back to your own room.
“now it’s a waiting game,” mark said, scooting a chair up to the side of your bed and sitting down. he grabbed you hand is his, pressing a kiss to your knuckles. you looked down at his, giving him a tired smile.
“lovely.” he let out a small chuckle at your less than enthusiastic tone.
“she’ll be here before we know it,” mark assured you.
“i wish she’d be here in the least amount of contractions and pain possible.”
“don’t worry, they’ll come give you drugs soon.” you smiled at him them. you spent the next few hours being checked by nurses routinely while you and mark did your best to entertain yourselves. your contractions started coming quicker, but it was still a long and painful process. when the clock hit a decent hour, mark called his parents to let them know where you both were, but told them it would probably still be a bit before anything happened. then he did the same with your parents.
you were just recovering from a particularly painful contraction when your nurse came in to check over you again. she smiled when she looked up to you.
“i think we’re almost ready. i’m gonna go get the doctor and we’ll be back in just a few minutes to start pushing okay?” you gave her a smile as she left but it quickly turned to a look of panic as you turned to mark.
“excited?” he asked, a smile on his face.
“i just realized i have to push a child out of me.” he grabbed your hand, squeezing it and pressing kisses to the back of it.
“you’re gonna do amazing, baby. you got this.” you took a deep breath, trying to prepare yourself. “i’ll be right here the whole time,” he reminded you.
“you’ll hold my hand the whole time?” he nodded. “even if i’m crushing it?” he laughed, nodding again.
“even if you’re crushing it.” he stood cleaning over you to give you a kiss. he pulled away just as the door opened and a few nurses came in, followed by your doctor.
“okay lovely!” she greeted you. “are we ready to have a baby?” you took a breath, mustering up a smile.
“i guess so.” she smiled, getting everything ready.
“we’re gonna push on the next contraction, okay?” you nodded, looking over to mark with a nervous expression.
“i’m right here,” he whispered. you let out a deep breath. you sat waiting for a moment, hating the anxiety of it and just wishing the pain would hit. and then it did. the doctor was reminding you to push and you did, almost crying at the pain. you felt hot all over and way too vulnerable for the amount of people in the room. the contraction passed and yet, the baby was still inside.
“you did good, mom. we’re gonna try again on the next one, okay?” you nodded, taking deep breaths as you recovered from what you had just done. one of the nurses tapped your doctor on the shoulder and leaned down to whisper something, then they both glanced up to the screen displaying your vitals. you glanced up as well, but couldn’t really decipher what you were seeing other than a high heart rate. that seemed pretty normal to you though after attempting to give birth, so you tried to brush it off. when you looked back to the doctor, you noticed the nurse leaving the room. you didn’t have much time to question anything though, as another contraction hit and you were being told to push again. you were slightly frustrated, as there was still no baby. your chest hurt and mark asked if you were okay.
“out of breath,” you said.
“how else do you feel, mom?” the doctor asked.
“is it normal to want to vomit?” you asked. you closed your eyes, focusing on breathing through it all. focusing on how your baby would be in your arms in just a few short minutes. the door to the room opened, the nurse from before standing in the doorway.
“OR is ready,” she said. your eyes opened, flying to your doctor who was now stood.
“OR?” mark asked.
“don’t worry. we have to go for an emergency c-section because of the symptoms she’s exhibiting but everything should be fine.” the nurses lifted the breaks off of the bed you rested on, starting to wheel it toward the door. “can you show him to the waiting room?” she asked a nurse.
“waiting room?” mark questioned, alarmed.
“you won’t be allowed into the operating room. once the baby is here, someone will come get you to see them,” the nurse explained, giving him a sympathetic smile.
“but i-“ he watched as you were wheeled out the door, but before you could get down the hallway, mark was by your side again. he reached for your hand, leaning over to give you a kiss. “everything’s found to be just fine, baby. i’ll see you in a bit, okay? just know i’m jealous you’ll get to see her first.” you gave him a weak laugh, and then they were wheeling you away. he watched until he couldn’t see you anymore, wiping a tear as he turned to the nurse. he followed her to the waiting room, thanking her when they arrived. he wasn’t expecting to see his parents sitting there.
“mark! is she here?” his mom asked, standing from her seat. she held a teddy bear in her hands while his dad held onto some balloons.
“um, not yet. y/n was pushing and then they had to take her for an emergency c-section.”
“oh.” his mom gave him a look of sympathy, pulling him into a hug.
“do you think she’ll be okay?” he asked, his voice shaky.
“they’re gonna do everything they can for her, okay?” he nodded, sniffling as he pulled away. his dad stood and gave him a quick hug as well, and then the three of them sat down. the waiting was excruciating, the minutes ticking by slower than mark had ever felt time pass before. he couldn’t stop his leg from bouncing, and eventually his mom rested her hand on his knee to calm him. he sighed, running a hand over his face.
“i should probably call her mom again. i called right after i called you guys earlier and said i’d call again when she got here. but…” he trailed off, thinking about having to drop the news on your parents. he stood, about to make his way outside when he heard your name being called out to the room. he looked up to see your doctor standing there, and she gave him a tight lipped smile when her gaze landed on him.
“the baby is perfectly healthy,” she said when she had met mark halfway across the room. mark let out a small breath.
“and y/n?”
“y/n suffered from amniotic fluid embolism. it’s when amniotic fluid gets into the mothers bloodstream.” marks chest started to hurt at the fact that he was getting an explanation instead of an answer. “it’s a very rapid onset, which is why we rushed her from the room. we did everything we could for her but unfortunately, she didn’t make it.”
it took a second for the words to register in marks brain. she didn’t make it. the ache in his chest turned to a stabbing pain and his legs gave out, causing him to fall to his knees. she didn’t make it. his ears were ringing and his whole body felt heavy. she didn’t make it. he barely felt arms wrapping around him from behind, or saw his dad in front of him trying to get his attention. she didn’t make it. he felt suffocated, pulling at the neck of his shirt to try and get some air into his lungs, but when he couldn’t, he stood. he would’ve apologized for almost knocking his mom over if he realized that he had done it, but instead he just made his way through the doors and into the chilly air outside. she didn’t make it. that’s when he screamed. he had tears streaming down his cheeks and he screamed, letting all of his emotions out as his brain finally caught up with the ache in his heart.
he collapsed to the ground again, sobbing as he leaned against a pillar. he grabbed at his hair, pulling at it until someone was gently coaxing the locks from his fingers. he looked up to see his mom, looking down at him with a pained expression. he just cried harder, leaning into her instead. he wrapped his arms around her, clutching at her shirt as he sobbed.
“why her? why can’t it be me instead? i can’t- i can’t do this without her!” his mom rubbed his back gently, resting her cheek against his head.
“i know, honey. it’s going to be rough. just let it out, okay?” mark cried until he couldn’t anymore, which took a long time. he was still sniffling, and he had a raging headache and puffy eyes. he pulled away from his mom eventually, leaning his back against the pillar that they were still sat next to. he looked up to the sky, and then his eyes landed on his dad. he was standing a few feet away and had obviously been crying as well.
“her parents are on their way,” he spoke softly and mark nearly thanked him. instead, he let out a mix between a scoff and a laugh.
“you were wrong, dad.” mark shook his head. “i never changed my mind, not once in fifteen years.” his dad looked at him slightly confused as mark took a second to compose himself. “i still really don’t want her to go.” his dad let out a laugh, causing mark to laugh as well, and soon the three of them were sitting outside of the hospital entrance laughing to themselves. when it died down, his dad came and took a seat next to him. he rested his arm over his shoulder, pulling him into a side hug for a moment.
“i know it’s been a bit of a rough day, but i do believe you have a daughter in there that would like to meet her dad.” mark smiled, then his lips quivered a bit.
“we had a name picked out… do you think she would mind if i changed it a bit?” marks mom smiled at him, her eyes watery as she knew just what he wanted to do.
“i think she would love that,” she said softly, reaching out to squeeze his arm in support. he smiled back, giving her a cute nod.
“well then, i believe it’s time to go meet isla y/n estapa,” he said, standing from his spot and making his way back into the hospital.
168 notes · View notes
padfootdaredmetoo · 9 months
Note
Hey there can you please do a Tommy Shelby daughter x Isaiah . Y/n is the daughter of him and Greta and he’s super protective of her she’s is like his rock especially when he got back from the war. maybe a few times they almost get caught and when they do he find them in a compromising position but ya know y/n is Tommys daughter so she acts all nonchalant about it while Tommy is fuming and she tries to talk him down. Hope it makes sense ❤️
Hey love,
This ended up with a lot of Reader & Lizzie development and I feel that I may have made this too fluffy. Hope you enjoy it and I apologize for how long this took me.
Warnings: Parenting, mentions of death, teen anxiety, family themes
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“Thomas it’s obvious! Please don't be stupid about this. Talk to her.” Polly’s voice wore down what little patience he had left. Yes, it was obvious his daughter was seeing someone in his team, and that someone happened to be Isaiah. 
Something that seemed to be lost on everyone was how this type of thing should be handled. Isaiah, like everyone, had a job to do. As his boss it was Tommy’s job to keep him in line. Going out to do God knows what to his daughter was a huge betrayal. He liked Isaiah, but it was up to them to make the right decision to come forward about it and ask for his blessing. 
In which he would consider things carefully with his daughter. If he got involved before that, he would have to punish Isaiah for sneaking around. Which, would probably hurt his daughter and cause a great big fiasco.
Another massive headache to distract everyone from what was important. 
“Do you ever listen?” Polly shouted slamming the door to his office behind her. He sat there for a long while staring at the wall thinking about his daughter. She was so much like her mother it caused him chest pain from time to time. She hadn't known her mother, or that side of the family, meaning she herself would never understand or see the similarities. 
She had just had her 17th birthday. Tommy could see how his role in her life had rapidly changed the older she got. She was incharge, headstrong, and temperamental. He would be forever grateful that Greta’s qualities were there to balance what she had received from him. 
He sighed pouring a glass of whiskey. As much as he wanted to punish Isaiah, he knew this was more her idea than his. 
______________________________________________________________________
You laid in bed haunted by your first relationship. So much pressure was on you. Your heart wanted him, but if you made a foolish choice your father’s disappointment would be enough to wipe you off the planet. You thought back to the morning when you had been kissing in the cellar. Arthur almost caught the two of you. Guilt twisted up in your stomach, and you wondered if it was worth all this pain. Thinking about ending it was somehow even more painful. 
You thought about your dad, what he was like once he came home to you after the war. He was so bitterly cold with everyone, except you. Then you remembered Grace with as much fondness as a block of moldy cheese. A complete waste of a person, well, you got your baby brother from it so you supposed she was alright in the end.
Then there was Lizzie. You wanted to talk to her so badly, but she would tell your dad. Or worse, look down on you. She was too tall, and slim, and pretty to understand the situation you were in. 
Laying there in bed as the night grew later you left it up to fate. If she was awake when you went down stairs you would tell her. If she was asleep then you would keep it a secret. 
You pulled a thick sweater over your pajama top before padding down the stairs. You knocked on your father’s study and opened the door. Lizzie was laying on the couch reading a book. 
She looked like everything you wish you were. Lizzie wouldn't ask for permission, she lived her life however she wanted. Her eyes looked up from over the top of her book and she looked surprised to see you there. 
“Hello.” She sat up and motioned to the other side of the couch. Normally you avoided her, partially out of respect, but also because her aura of perfection annoyed you. 
“Erm - Is this a bad time?” You said in a shy voice. 
“No, not at all.” She said calmly. You sat down on the couch, she wore a silk house coat that hung on her slender frame elegantly. You looked down at the men’s Pajama bottoms and wool sweater you were wearing and gave a defeated sigh. This was very stupid. 
“What’s going on? Everything okay?” Her voice held a tone of genuine concern. You remembered that you had left it up to fate. You took a deep breath then began. 
“Well, I really like Isaiah, he’s kind and funny, and I feel really calm when I’m with him, sometimes he will read to me and I'll just fall asleep, which is embarrassing and everyone says you should feel nervous and like there are flies in your stomach, which is very gross, but I don't know what i’m doing and my mum is dead.” 
The words came out of your mouth like a hurricane. You took a couple deep breaths then more came to the surface. 
“He wants to tell my dad, because he doesn't want to die, which is reasonable, but I don't know how sure I am about this and it’s my life I want to enjoy it, go at my own pace, I don't want to make a bad choice and have dad be disappointed, but also fuck him, I can’t just not live my life. I know you’ve never had to deal with this type of stuff being a woman of “higher education” BUT like I said my mum is dead and Esme is still in the woods, Pol will tell my dad.” 
Her eyes were wide as she looked down at you.
“What’s a woman of higher education?” She asked with a lifted brow. You let out a sigh, frustrated that she was focused on the wrong thing. 
“You know, you went off to school, got a good job, worked for my dad then fell in love with him. Not a lot of conflict. You guys got married and had Ruby.” 
Lizzie let out a laugh that made you want to slap her and cry at the same time. People were so frustrating. 
“Darling, oh, is that what you think of me?” There was a fondness in her voice and a softness in her wet eyes that confused you. “That’s - I’ll tell you my story another time, I promise you it was not glamorous in the slightest.” 
She lit a cigarette and you wanted to know what she meant.  
“This is about you.” She nodded, breathing out a cloud of smoke. “So he makes you feel safe. He knows what your family does for a living. Sounds like a good move.” She responded easily. 
“What about dad?” 
“Just tell him.” 
Your stomach dropped and you still felt like she didn't understand the situation. If your dad and the family knew it would be this huge thing that would swallow you up. It wouldnt be yours anymore. 
“Look your father isn't going to make you marry the guy.” She laughed at the idea. “Even if he was that way I wouldn't let him. You need to do your own thing. I would, however, feel better if you had us behind you. I know what it's like to be out there alone.” Her eyes fell onto the fire and her posture went slightly rigid. 
“Thanks, Lizzie.” You whispered after a long moment. She gave a small smile then walked with you up to your room. You got into bed wondering what her life was like before drifting off. 
___________________________________________________________
The morning came and you found yourself in a losing battle with guilt as Isaiah pulled you into a broom cupboard. 
“Have you had some time to think about things?” 
“Oh um -” You thought about what Lizzie said and took a breath. 
“Look, I’m not trying to pressure you. I just really hate lying to your da.” He gave you a long look and warmth spread across your cheeks. “Whatever you want - Is fine with me.” He said finally. 
“I think it’s best we talk to him.” You said letting out a happy giggle as he picked you up. He kissed you hard and your heart rate sped up. You kissed him back and before you knew it you were pressed up against the back wall with your legs around his waist. 
It was wrong. But for some reason that made it harder to stop. He made noises that were going to keep you up for days.
______________________________________________________________
Tommy’s POV 
Lizzie had spoken to you, about what, she wouldn't say, but it confirmed to him that things were getting out of hand. A small part of him was pleased that you were starting to see Lizzie as a part of the family, the other part of him didn't like the idea of you keeping secrets with anyone but him. 
In the corner of his eye he caught the door to the broom cupboard swing shut and he fought with himself for a moment. Might as well put her out of her misery and just get it over with. No one was here to witness it meaning that no one would know this is how it went down. He wouldn't punish Isaiah, just have a chat with him after about what punishment will look like if he messed up again. It would be enough to set him straight. 
He opened the door with the intention of sorting this out. Seeing his daughter in a position like that was something he was not prepared for. He set you down immediately, removing his hands. 
He was too angry to speak. He had half a mind to kill the stupid kid. He watched your face turn from shock to rage. This was not going to be a easy morning. 
“Isaiah, get out.” You snapped, he looked at you for a moment but left when he realised it was in his best interest to listen. 
“We were going to tell you today at lunch. We are dating. Nothing bad happened here, so I don't need to be scolded.” You crossed your arms.
“Go home and wait for me there.” Was all he could manage to say. Having a screaming match when they opened in ten minutes was not wise. His tone of voice made your skin pale slightly meaning you would listen. You stomped out of the shop. He waited for Polly to show up and explained before heading home. 
He made a stop along the way and tried his best to orginize his thoughts. 
________________________________________________________
You walked around the kitchen island in circles.
Lizzie sat there drinking her coffee. 
“I really fucked everything up. He’s so mad Lizzie.” 
“He’s your father, it's his job to be angry.” She said easily. “He loves you, a lot. He’s got this whole complex about your mum too.” She took a drag of her cigarette. You stopped and turned to look at her from across the kitchen. 
“What does that mean?” 
“It means, he will never forgive himself for your mum, in his head the whole thing was his fault. Him not being there when you were born - the whole thing. Last thing he ever wrote to your mum was about how he would keep the two of you safe. He takes it very seriously. He wants to protect you, but this is new ground for him and he’s not sure how to do it. He can be a real idiot about things, but that’s why he’s got me to help him sort it out. He’s not going to hurt you or Isaiah.” 
“What she said.” You dad’s voice made you jump. He came over and placed a kiss on the top of Lizzie’s head. That stupid part of you that wanted to prove him wrong kicked up.
“I’m not going to let you control everything.” You said, something about arguing felt good. You like Isaiah, you wanted to fight for him. 
“I don’t want you to live that way.” He said after a long moment. “But you're my kid, in my house, there are rules.” You thought about arguing but waited to see what he would say. 
“First off, curfew is 8pm.” 
“11.” Lizzie said interrupting him. 
“10pm. No boys in your room - ever. Kissing is fine - nothing without clothes. Ever.” 
“Once you're married.” Lizzie said with a smile in her voice. 
“Never get married.” He said getting annoyed at being interrupted. 
“Ouch.” She said in a mock hurt voice. 
“There’s - Parenting. It’s hard. If you can wait till your ready - it’s -” 
“Dad ew-” You held your hands out as if it could stop the conversation. 
“No, no one had this talk with Ada and - “ He seemed lost for words. 
“Her husband died.” You said confused.
“Exactly. Teen pregnancy is a real killer okay? So just dont make a baby - ever.” 
“Once you're married.” Lizzie said with a smile. 
“Which is never.” He said firmly. 
“Now the real thing you need to hear from us. If you come and tell us something awful has happened to you, we will believe you and unleash a world of hurt on that boy.” She said with a serious tone pointing at you. “If you get pregnant, you’ll get a wedding and a place to live. But I think we both know you want time to get there, eh?” You nodded at her. “Exactly, so don't do anything we would have done, and take your time. Find the right boy when your ready."  
You finally broke her stare to look to your dad standing next to her. He was gripping the chair tight enough to turn his knuckles white. His gaze was focused out the window on the wet grass in the backyard. 
“I want you to be happy- In your life.” The words were not difficult, but the meaning behind them was enormous. You thought about everything your dad, and family did for you. You felt your face get hot at the words you knew you should say. 
“I am informed, and I will not make a baby, because, I do not -  at this time-  want to be married or to live in a house on my own, with an infant. Ruby is annoying enough as it is.” You added the last bit in to lighten the mood. 
“Don’t talk about your sister like that.” Tommy said in a worn voice. 
“I know - I love her for it.” You said and went over to hug your dad. He put his arm around you tightly and kissed the top of your head. 
“Lizzie.” You let go of him and watched the look of confusion on her face as you reached down to her. She hugged you back awkwardly due to her seated position. When you pulled away your dad handed you a small box of pastries from your favorite shop, but it didn't distract you from Lizzie brushing the tears from her cheeks. 
“Well, those look good,” She said in a high voice and you pushed the box to her. 
___________
You and Isaiah, did not make a baby or get married. However, when you look back on that time in your life you remember your parents looking at you in a different way for the first time. Like an adult, in charge of her life. You remember getting close with Lizzie fussing over outfits and various arguments, and feeling secretly touched by how much she and Tommy cared about the situation. 
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ghosttotheparty · 1 year
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part 1 // part 3 also on ao3
It seems to happen overnight.
King Steve and the Freak.
The students at school see them in the hallways, standing together and laughing, looking at each other with the stars in their eyes, and it doesn’t make any real sense. Steve with his pressed polos, tucked into his jeans, Eddie with his frizzy, overgrown curls and his metal chains and rings.
They talk. Exchange greetings in the hallways. And nobody knows when or how it happened.
They might be friends, but nobody says it. Like it might be a curse, a jinx. Like saying it out loud will change something that’s gone unspoken.
Steve snaps at Tommy Hagan when he refers to Eddie as a fucking freak. Eddie isn’t even around to hear it, but Steve looks angry in a way no one’s seen before, his cheeks red as he says, “I don’t give a fuck what you think he looks like, don’t fucking talk about him like that.” And it’s jarring, especially as Tommy H and Steve have been known best friends since sixth grade, and maybe because it’s so jarring, it works. Tommy H never talks badly about Eddie again (in front of Steve).
People see them talking in the parking lot before and after school, laughing and bantering before they part ways to go with their separate friend groups, all of whom stare and watch in confusion. None of them question it though, not when they just stare in response to the curious looks. The stares are almost scary, intense and daring. Firm What?s that deter anyone that wants to say something.
People see them at parties, disappearing behind doors to make deals, sitting in the kitchen and serving each other drinks before they go their separate ways.
Word spreads about them skipping detention together. Someone saw them leaning close together and writing on a piece of paper, laughing into their arms to keep quiet until Eddie noticed that the teacher had fallen asleep. Eddie had barely even hesitated before he got up to leave even though there was a little less than an hour left, and then he’d paused in the doorway, turning back to give Steve a look before Steve followed. And then people are concerned, because Eddie Munson is anything but a good influence.
But when Carol Perkins tries to talk to Steve about it, nothing hostile or anything, just a gentle question about if being friends with Munson is a good idea, Steve shuts her down with the same look he’s been giving everyone. But Carol is Carol, and she persists. She only stops when Steve says firmly, “You don’t know him, Carol. Just drop it.”
“I’m just saying, Steve, he is not a good influence—”
“And you guys are?”
And he’s met with a moment of silence as Tommy and Carol stare at him.
“Tommy gets through half his classes by paying other kids off for their homework and you’ve picked like three fights in the past week, Carol, don’t act like you’re some angel. Eddie’s just…” He shrugs, glancing away, across the cafeteria where Eddie is sitting with his legs up on the table even though he’s been scolded for it several times. “Eccentric. He’s harmless.”
“He’s a Satanist,” Tommy insists.
“I don’t think you know what Satanism is, Tommy.”
“I know what Satanism is—”
“Pass your history class by yourself and maybe I’ll give your word more credit, how ‘bout that?”
“Alright, asshole.”
Eddie graduates, and no one seems to see it coming except Steve, who goes to the ceremony. No one really questions it; underclassmen and juniors often go to graduations to support their friends, and Steve knows a few seniors this year. But then Steve is cheering louder than anyone when Edward Munson is called, and Eddie is beaming brighter than anyone’s ever seen, and as he crosses the stage he squints out into the crowd, smiling and smiling and smiling, and he waves. And it’s the most well-behaved he’s ever been, even as he begrudgingly shakes Principal Higgins’s hand and takes the diploma.
People stop talking about Steve and Eddie.
They still talk about Steve, of course, always the King. His parties, his hair. The shallow things. He doesn’t hang out as much with Tommy H and Carol anymore, but no one really knows why. Most people just assume Steve finally realized how shitty they are. And maybe he has.
Eddie doesn’t come up much anymore unless people are talking about where to get the best weed. People go to the mechanic that’s just outside town just to see him, to make deals while he’s on his lunch break or after he gets off work. (Which is funny just by itself: Eddie Munson with a job. Who would have thought?) But his reputation at school fades into someone that used to make shitty, loud jokes and talk shit about the popular crowd.
Until he shows up at Steve’s graduation. No one in Steve’s graduating class notices him until the end of the ceremony, when everyone is outside the theater the ceremony took place in, as everyone is taking pictures and laughing and smiling and celebrating, and Steve is just… waiting. He’s not talking to anyone, or taking pictures with anyone, and he and Tommy H seem to just ignore each other completely, but he doesn’t seem to be sulking or lonely. He’s leaning against the wall, holding his cap in his hands, eyes scanning the parking lot. Until a white van pulls up, a little close to the grass lawn outside the theater, and Eddie Munson steps out, his hair too long and loose and curly. He’s grinning as he looks around at everyone until his eyes catch on Steve, who’s beaming now.
And he’s running at him, and Eddie catches him in his arms, hugging him tightly as he spins him around, Steve’s graduation gown billowing in the air. Now people are looking, watching, seeing, some of the curious, some of them aghast, murmuring amongst themselves.
Is that… Eddie Munson?
Hugging Steve Harrington?
Are they friends?
Neither of them seems to notice everyone looking, laughing as they hug each other tightly, and when they part, Steve is beaming brightly at Eddie as Eddie touches his face, saying something quietly that no one can hear.
Steve nods excitedly, and Eddie takes his cap, bopping him on the head with it before they go to Eddie’s van. Steve strips the gown off, bunching it up in his hands and tossing it into the back as he climbs into the passenger seat. Eddie climbs into the driver’s seat and smacks Steve in the face with the cap, and Steve just laughs, glaring at him, snatching the cap and hitting him back before he tosses it in the back without looking. And they drive off.
Some people laugh because it’s so absurd. King Steve and the Freak. Most others just move on, too focussed on celebrating to care much.
That’s the last time anyone sees them or hears from them.
The Harringtons come back to Hawkins a few weeks later, and soon after, word spreads that Steve just left. Left Hawkins, left his parents, left his childhood home. He didn’t tell them where he went, just that he was safe. Not to worry. That he’ll be fine. He’ll be happy.
And slowly, across town, realization strikes each individual person that witnessed it happen: Steve and Eddie running away together. It explains the van, it explains the hug, the joy, the giddy excitement. And people talk about it.
King Steve and the Freak.
They ran away together.
And then
They skipped town.
They took off.
And then
They escaped.
Then the rumors aren’t as fun anymore. It’s not a fun bit of gossip or something to speculate about, but something to think about, to daydream about. What it would be like to leave Hawkins, to have no obligation to come back. That doesn’t happen in towns like this. People don’t just leave. People go to college. People come back. People get married to their high school sweetheart, and people have two and a half kids, and people get a dog or maybe a cat, and people stay here. That's what happens.
But Steve and Eddie left. That apparently wasn't the life for them. And it makes people wonder if it's the life for any of them. Some of them stay awake at night, looking up at their ceiling in the dark and wondering what's outside of Hawkins. What's in the big cities, what's in the seas. What isn't in the movies. Some of them look at the sky at night. Here in Hawkins, in the middle of nowhere, Indiana, every star glows brightly, like the universe is making up for the city lights they've never seen.
Some people are angry about it. How dare they leave? How dare they act like they’re better than Hawkins? Like this town isn’t enough for them?
Some don’t care. Hawkins is all they know. There’s no point in thinking about anything else, about dreaming about “escaping.”
And of course there are more rumors that spread alongside the runaway rumors. Why did they go together? Why did they hug like that? Why did Eddie touch his face like that? What are they doing?
And even as they all skirt around it, as they avoid certain words, because they would never want to taint the image of the King, they all know it.
They didn’t just run away together. They ran away together.
It angers some people even more. People who can’t think outside the limits of their own front lawn.
The rumors spread throughout town, just escaping the ears of Mr and Mrs Harrington (because nobody wants to anger them), through the high school to the middle school. King Steve and the Freak. They left together. And the rumors shift, mold like clay, altered by every mouth that touches them. They were holding hands. Eddie was touching his leg when they drove off. Steve kissed his cheek.
And the rumors find the ears of a young boy. A boy that sits alone in classes that his friends don’t share with him, fiddling with a pair of dice under his desk, hiding them so they don’t get confiscated, drawing in a notebook. A boy that tilts his head when he hears another boy’s voice say the words.
My brother said they ran away together.
Like… together, together?
I mean, he implied it. He said someone saw them holding hands.
What the fuck?
Followed by stifled laughter, because of course it’s the most absurd thing they’ve ever heard. But this boy, sitting in the back of the classroom, wearing his brother’s handed-down flannel and sketching his best friend’s eyes, looks out the window. At the sky.
The classroom he’s in is on the top floor of the main building, and he can see almost half of town from where he sits by the window. Just past town, there’s a road leading off into the world, and he wonders if that’s the road they took when they left. He wonders if the sun was setting when they left, if they followed it into the sky. He wonders if they held hands as they passed the LEAVING HAWKINS COME AGAIN SOON sign, if they kissed across the center console of the car. He wonders a lot of things.
He wonders if he could do it. Someday.
If he might leave the day he graduates, if he might get away from the children that call him fairy and fag, if he might escape the claustrophobic walls of the town, the square lawns and bullet-riddled tin cans, the brown and beige and grey. If he might get away from their voices. If he might escape too.
He sighs, listening to the boys’ laughter again. The sky is blue in between the grey clouds that are threatening rain over town. He follows the road with his eyes, follows it out of town, out of sight.
And he looks down at his desk, lifting a hand, and rolling the dice.
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indianamoonshine · 9 months
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࿐ folklore | joel miller x reader songfic | track 1 ❅ epiphany
summary | while out on patrol, there is a crack in both joel and the ice.
rating | this particular chapter rated t. minors are still not allowed to interact.
warnings | mention of drowning, death, and hypothermia. angst. revelation of feelings. joel is an emotional vault but tommy knows better.
TAGLIST | @stagerightlauren @paanchusblog @lunxramour @casualanxietyblob
“Keep your helmet. Keep your life, son. Just a flesh wound. Here’s your rifle.”
Joel remembers the first time he saw someone drown.
Wasn’t even a year after the outbreak. He’d been traveling with Tommy and some strangers they met on an abandoned interstate. The way of life had yet to become something of an instinct for them. During this time, they were more prey than predator, and they had little to no knowledge of life outside the south.
The Miller boys had only seen snow once or twice in their lives. No one in their family had ever moved outside of Texas being as big as it was. Tommy had gone into the service, but Iraq had a climate similar to the desert back home. Snow and ice were something of mythical elements they read about in stories and saw in films.
This is why they didn’t see it coming.
“Crawlin’ up the beaches now. ‘Sir, I think he’s bleeding out.’ And some things you just can’t speak about.”
One of the men they’d been trekking across the midwestern landscape with (Joel can’t remember his name even if he tried his damndest) miscalculated the snowfall. It’d been only seconds before the lake he stepped across crumbled beneath him and claimed his life. Ever since then he’s been cautious of frozen bodies of water — even a little frightened of them — but it didn’t stop him from taking the risk every time.
Joel knew for a fact you weren’t a hunter even if he’d only known you for a few months. It didn’t take a damn genius to come to the conclusion that you were far better off as a farmer or…anything other than this. You know how to handle a gun (you had to in order to survive this long) but it wasn’t your strong suit. You were a little off-kilter and fuckin’ jumpy.
How you were still alive he hasn’t the slightest.
Joel had been staring at the back of your head for hours. Tommy led this patrol so he hung back for stalkers. The infected weren’t as active in the winter, especially in such wilderness. The climate causes them to shut down or somethin’ — he didn’t know the science. Just knew that they weren’t around as often when the snow fell.
But while the infected were occasional, winter brought upon other challenges.
Like the freezing temperatures that chilled his bones and bit at his appendages; the snow that clouded his vision and made it difficult to start fires or walk the miles he needed to; and the ice that made fools out of men.
Tommy had crossed it fine, the lake. It wasn’t very big but underneath Joel knew of a bitter current that had little to no forgiveness. The patrol goes in this direction once in awhile, though not often in the wintertime for this very reason. Joel, being as skeptical of lakes as he was, made sure to note its raging waters in the summer. As a survivalist (cynic), he was already prepared for disaster.
For this reason, he waits until Tommy gives the two of you the go-ahead to make a decision.
“It’s good to cross!” Tommy shouts from the other side. He waves a hand to usher you forward.
Joel can see it plain on your face that you’re terrified. You’d only patrolled once before now, but he was certain you were used to the unforgiving climate after so many years of survival before Jackson. He also recalls you mentioning being from the midwest, so he assumed you had enough knowledge of these conditions to accept Tommy’s decision.
You take a deep breath, something changing in your face. He realizes then that you’re good at faking bravery — you just chose not to.
They say fear is an evolutionary response to potential danger.
Joel wishes you had listened to that gut instinct.
“With you, I serve. With you, I fall down.”
You’re barely two feet across the sheet of ice before it crackles beneath your weight. Joel barely has time to register your expression of terror before he’s falling to his knees to crawl upon the lake’s mirror.
“Shit - Joel!” Tommy yells.
Joel doesn’t answer, focusing on shifting his weight just right so that he doesn’t plunge into the depths himself. He can see your shadow beneath the ice, a struggling form that pounds furiously at the frozen sheet above you. He can’t even imagine the panic you must be experiencing now but he attempts to settle his nerves because…
He’d get you out of this. He had to.
It was because of Ellie. She had taken a liking to you in the past year. You were kind to her — showed her how to bake lavender cookies this summer. You welcomed her into your home like you would any member of your family, tutoring her on all kinds of subjects that Joel couldn’t — nor shouldn’t. Ellie needed a woman in her life. You’d become that woman.
It took Joel too long to meet you. He found that he liked you quite a bit himself.
But it was because of Ellie, right?
Yes. Ellie.
He didn’t ever think about the way your eyes shone during golden hour — how they twinkled with a natural aesthetic he didn’t even find in nature. He rarely thought about the length of your hair — how you preferred to keep it braided during the warmer months and down in the cooler opposites. He wasn’t at all distracted by the snowflakes that landed upon your nose while they saddled the horses before going out this morning or how the frigid air blushed the apples of your cheeks.
While he hadn’t known much about you (he’s wanted to — yearned to, but he’s a goddamned pansy) he knew you were something special. Something sweet in a world riddled with rotting flesh and melting tar.
Besides, you were far too young to die.
Yes. Too young to die.
He convinces himself this is why he immediately jumps into action. He’s careful in his ministrations to rescue you, every ounce of strength he has to be clever rather than urgent. Joel figured his decades of fighting would get the job done quickly and with level-headedness. But when he finally manages to grab you from an open pocket within the ice — forty feet from where you initially fell — his hands are trembling.
“Joel! Is she breathin’?!” Tommy yells frantically.
“Watch you breathe in. Watch you breathing out.”
Joel grunts with exertion, dragging your limp and sopping body across the ice and onto the snow covered banks. Once the two of you are out of danger, he finds with horror that…
No. You’re not breathing.
This is when he starts to panic.
“Something med school did not cover. Someone’s daughter. Someone’s mother.”
He thinks of Sarah. It’s an inopportun time to be doing so but he can’t help but see her lifeless body when he looks at yours. The same thing had happened when Ellie drowned before they found the Fireflies in Salt Lake City. Youth quickly deteriorates before him, the Grim’s mangled hand on his shoulder.
“No,” he mutters, shaking his head. “No.”
Joel is a stubborn man and this might be why he’s lived as long as he has. He’s lost too many people. He won’t loose you — not before he had you.
With fumbling hands, he rips away at your drenched clothing which already stiffens from the extreme temperature to check your pulse. He discovers in horror that you have none.
“Fuck. Fuck!”
“Joel! What’s goin’ on, dammit?!” Tommy screams from across the river. It sounds muffled, like he’s underwater himself.
“Holds your hand through plastic now. ‘Doc, I think she’s crashing out.’ And some things you just can’t speak about.”
He begins CPR after unzipping your coat with frantic hands, the heel of his palm inching into your chest the way he’s done so many times before. After a few minutes, he starts mouth to mouth.
It’s not the way he first wanted to touch you.
Instead of a kiss, it’s the attempt at a breath of life.
Your body jostles beneath his endurance, of his precarious attempt at saving your life. Your mouth hangs open like a fish, lips already turning blue, and skin blanching. Images of Sarah — and of Ellie — plague his vision. He thinks of Tess’s body sponging her own blood as she lie dead in the courthouse.
After about five minutes — it felt like hours — he feels the muscles in your legs twitch. You garble, ice water expelling from your lips and onto your chest before gasping for air.
Precious air.
“Jesus,” he whispers in relief, tugging your body close to his chest.
You continue to pant in his arms, body still rigid in shock, before two of you sag in one another’s embrace. Your arms lie limp at your sides from lack of strength. You’re not even shivering — not even crying.
Joel pets your hair, his palm cradling the back of your head. “You’re alright, darlin’. You’re fine…” he whispers.
You nod weakly, eyes slipping shut.
You’re alright.
Tommy sees something defeated in Joel when the medics take you.
Fortunately, they hadn’t been too far away so it was only an hour before they reached Jackson. Joel had instructed you to take off your clothing and wrap yourself in the wool blankets they’d brought along. The patrol was intended to be much longer than this so they were well prepared for any inconveniences.
Even death.
“Only twenty minutes of sleep but you dream of some epiphany.”
This was what you’d been the verge on when they galloped to the gates with thundering hooves. Accounting for the weather, it should’ve taken them three hours to get back - it usually took two during the summer when rain was their only concern. But Joel rode Old Beardy hard; Tommy was concerned the damn thing would fall over from exhaustion.
But they made it in the knick of time. Joel shouted for help while you slump against his back, your horse Bucephalus galloping alongside of his like the loyal steed he was. You were mumbling something incoherent against him and he shushed you as he slid you off into his arms.
“Help!” Joel’s tone broke something down in Tommy’s chest cavity. “I need a goddamn medic!”
They’d been quick to take you. Joel’s fingers lingered against your shivering form as he passed you along to Kevin, one of the younger boys in town. They exchanged a few words before Joel urged him with a stern growl to get going.
“Just one single glimpse of relief to make some sense of what you’ve seen.”
When she’s gone, he rubs his hands down his face and sags against the horse barn. His chest heaves with heavy breath, eyes shut tightly as though he’s seeing ghosts long gone.
Tommy didn’t have to imagine.
Sarah. Ellie.
“With you, I serve. With you, I fall down.”
Tess was more likely to be the answer. After all, Tommy knew his brother had feelings for the woman. She was rough around the edges, but Joel usually liked them that. He did back then, anyway. His first wife — a spider in every sense — was difficult to say the very least. Joel liked a challenge.
“Watch you breathe in. Watch you breathing out.”
You weren’t anything like them. This is why Tommy finds it so strange when Joel takes a moment to collect himself, clears his throat, and turns towards the horses like it never even happened.
“Almost lost her,” he mutters.
Yes. Tommy knew then. This wasn’t about Ellie. This wasn’t even about Sarah. He was no father figure to you.
This was different — you were different.
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musings-of-a-rose · 1 month
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Falling Slowly - Chapter 9
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Pairing: Tommy Miller x f!reader
Word Count: 3500+
Rating: Mature - 18+ ONLY!
Warnings: Just like ao3, “creator chooses not to use warnings.” If you click Keep Reading, that means you agree that you’re the age to handle mature themes. Also by clicking Keep Reading, you understand warnings may not be complete in order to avoid spoilers for the story. 
Notes: So I thought this may be the last chapter. It's not. Because I'm me.
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**Reader is not described
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Raiders. I’m honestly surprised it’s taken this long for someone to find us. But I thought, or assumed we’d be mostly ok, hidden as well as we are. Joel and Tommy are always extra careful whenever they have to venture out further than our property to scavenge, making sure they aren’t followed. But they’ve only seen people once and that was years ago.
Sarah and Jax move quickly into the hall closet where Joel and Tommy had made a secret hiding place behind a back panel. Tommy hands me a shotgun and squeezes my hand, trying to reassure me that it will all be ok. But I don’t see how it will be. 
The cabin is silent, but getting louder is the unmistakable sound of a truck, no, trucks. Joel and Tommy exchange a look, moving to stand by the front door but well hidden behind the shutters. Rose and I wait in the hallway, staring at each other as we listen as hard as we can. The trucks park and we can hear muffled voices getting out of them. Joel peeks through the slot on his side and whispers to Tommy, but I’m close enough to just hear it. 
“It’s Mr. Jones.”
Mr. Jones? The man who sold us this cabin? We should be ok then, right? I chance a glance around the wall and watch as Joel’s posture changes, his face hardening even though his back is to us. 
“He’s with the Raiders.”
Why is Mr. Jones with raiders? Was he captured? Why would he come here, to a cabin he’d sold us long before the outbreak? 
“What’s the move?” Tommy looks at his brother, waiting to see his reply. Joel stands another moment, watching the men get out of the truck outside. 
“Just follow my lead and stay quiet. If it goes south, take the kids and the girls and get out.”
“I won’t leave you-”
“Tommy.” It wasn’t a suggestion, but a firm warning, and by his silence, I know Tommy complied. 
Joel takes a deep breath and unlocks the door, carrying his shotgun loose in his hands, pointed down, but still ready to go if needed.
“Hey, Mr. Jones. It’s Joel. Joel Miller.” 
There’s silence for a moment before he replies. I have to strain to hear him properly. “Holy shit! Joel? It’s really you?”
“Yeah.”
“Huh! Wow, never would’ve guessed. Everyone make it out ok?”
Joel pauses for a moment, like he’s thinking how to best reply. “We survived the outbreak.”
A chuckle. “Well that’s amazing news!” There’s a slight lull in the conversation, a heavily weighted pause.
“Can I help you all with something?” Joel asks.
“Ah. Well see, I’d forgotten about this cabin, having sold it to you so long ago. Well, it feels like a long time ago. So much has happened…..anyway, I remembered we were setting it up to be off grid and I hoped you all had continued that, maybe have some supplies? I didn’t think you’d actually be here.”
“What supplies do you need?”
“All of them.”
There’s a more weighted pause before Joel replies. “Yeah, I can’t help you with that.”
“Well now, I think you can.”
This isn’t like Mr. Jones. Not the sweet man and his sweet wife who just loved the Miller brothers. Mrs. Jones especially adored Tommy, as she often told him he reminded her so much of a brother she had lost when she was younger. I can hear Tommy grip his gun harder and I glance at Rose, both of us locking eyes in the understanding that we may have to book it down the escape route rather quickly if things escalate. 
“I’m sorry, Mr. Jones. I would be happy to trade with you, but I can’t just-”
“You know, the only reason you’re still alive is because my wife loved you guys so much. Tommy especially. He reminded her so much of her brother Gabriel. She wouldn’t have wanted anything bad to happen to you.”
“Is she ok?”
Another pause. “She…didn’t make it past outbreak day.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. She was a good woman.”
“She was. But, now you see my predicament. I don’t want to hurt you out of respect for my wife. And I’m assuming you have a lot of resources, considering I’m fairly positive your brother and your kids and wives are all hiding here too.”
“So what do you propose?”
“There’s no need for bloodshed here. There are many of us and a few of you. Still, I wouldn’t want to upset my wife.”
“Alright then. You and your men can just go and we’ll forget it happened.”
“Ah, well. I do have responsibilities to my men too. They also have families and needs…how about this: we leave you all here with your supplies, but you and Tommy have to come work for us. Only when we need you. We could use your construction expertise but also your, apparently steady trigger fingers.”
A long pause. “Can I have a moment?”
“Absolutely. We’ll be here, in good faith.”
“In good faith.”
Joel’s heavy boots tap against the floor as he moves back inside, gently closing the door almost shut behind him, his peripheral trained on the men he can see through the crack. Joel calls to use and Rose and I join our men in front of the door. 
“Well?” Joel asks, looking at all of us.
“How many men are there?” Rose asks. “I’m a pretty good shot.”
Joel shakes his head. “There’s at least 10. And they mentioned families so I think if they didn’t return, more would come.”
“We could just leave? Throw a few things in some backpacks and head out the tunnel with the kids?”
“And go where, Daisy?” Joel’s dark eyes meet mine. “There’s nowhere around for miles and these raiders are bound to go looking around. Not to mention the damn infected. We can’t give this place up.”
I know he’s right, but still. It had to be said.
“I don’t like this, Joel.” Rose takes his hand and squeezes it. “I don’t want you gone for God knows how long.” 
Joel lifts her hand to his lips and kisses the back of it. “I know. But we have to do this to take care of you. All of you. Tommy?” Joel looks at his brother, but I don’t have to look to know what his response will be. Tommy will do anything to protect Jax and I, no matter what.
“Yeah. We gotta protect ours.”
Joel nods at Tommy. “It’s settled.”
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It was almost 2 weeks before they came back, just one vehicle, Joel and Tommy gathering up their backpacks, nerves visible in their features. Joel went around back to grab another tool bag and Rose and Sarah followed him. Jax was still asleep upstairs and Tommy had already said goodbye to his sleeping son. He slides his arm through the other strap and I adjust his flannel shirt, picking at it in an attempt to do something other than cry. 
“Hey.” Tommy lifts my chin with his finger and gently presses his lips to mine before pulling back to look at me. “I’ll come back. I promise.”
“Please be careful, Tommy. I love you so much, I can’t…I can’t lose you. Not again, I-”
“Hey, darlin’. I love you too. I don’t plan on going anywhere.”
He pulls me to him and I nuzzle into his chest, inhaling his scent, letting it permeate my brain as it tries to memorize everything about him. But then Joel walks back inside, handing Tommy another tool bag before moving to the front door. 
“Be safe.”
“You too.”
Rose, Sarah, and I stand together in the doorway, watching Joel and Tommy get into the truck, not knowing when they’ll come back.
Or if.
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The first few times they went, they helped the raiders build some additions to their compound, fortifying their defenses and just general maintenance and repair. I had asked Tommy if no one there knew how to do any of this, as it seemed pretty odd that in a compound of the size they discussed, that no one knew how to do something as simple as switch out a doorknob.
“Yeah, normally that would be odd. Except, they’re all rich people.”
I look up at him from where I had been snuggling against his chest. “What?”
He nods. “Yeah. Before the outbreak, all of these people had money. I’m talking loaded. Lots of them telling stories about it. So they’re not used to doing things for themselves.”
“So the rich people are raiders?”
He shrugs. “Guess maybe they couldn’t cope with doing without. So they just started taking.”
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About 6 months in, the raiders come to collect Joel and Tommy, this time for an actual raid. They promised they’d be careful, looking out for people and clickers. But I don’t like it. It was bad enough them going to help the raiders build their home. But this?
They don’t return for nearly 2 weeks. 
Before, they were gone at most 4 days. Byt the end of the 2 weeks, Rose and I were ready to go charging the base and probably would have if it wasn’t for Sarah and Jax. 
They returned in the middle of the night, the kids fast asleep. Rose and I were still awake, having a hard time sleeping without them here. But the sound of a truck was unmistakeable in the quiet and we carefully headed downstairs, peeking out the slot in the shutters that Joel had looked out before, making sure it was really them. Joel and Tommy hopped out of the truck, slinging their bags over one shoulder without so much as a glance behind them. But my initial wave of relief at the sight of them quickly was replaced by concern as Tommy gets closer and I can see the hunch in his shoulders, his eyes on the ground. Something had happened. Something bad. Rose opens the door and Joel steps inside, Tommy following behind him as Rose closes the door. They drop their packs and kick off their boots, stowing them in the little baskets we had placed by the door.
“Tommy?” I reach for his hand but he snatches it back, not quite meeting my eye.
“I need to shower.”
I was stunned. He had been on some dirty construction sites, even building for the raiders, and not once has he never kissed me when he came home. Out the corner of my eye, I see a similar conversation happening between Joel and Rose, Joel following Tommy upstairs. 
“What the fuck happened?” Rose whispers to me, her eyes on the stairs where Joel had just been.
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem good.”
I pop my head in the kid’s room, checking that they’re still asleep. I should stop calling it the kids room as Sarah is nearly 20 now. But they’re both so attached at the hip, I forget that she’s so much older than him. 
I close our door behind me, hearing the shower click off as I kick off my house shoes. I sit on the bed, quietly waiting for him. Tommy emerges from the bathroom, towel slung low around his hips, his hair wet and curly, sticking to his neck and forehead. He turns to the dresser and grabs a pair of boxers and puts them on, tossing the wet towel in the basket. He sits next to me on the bed, still not looking at me. It’s almost as if he’s..ashamed?
I cup my hand to his cheek and lift his face to mine and immediately have to choke back tears at the look of defeat in his eyes. “Hey. I love you.”
He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I love you too.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t want to give details. But fuck, Daisy, I…we had to do some shady shit and I don’t…But it’s to keep you safe so I will, but-”
“Hey, hey,. It’s ok. We can just leave. We have the truck and we have more time now so we can load it up and-”
He shakes his head. “Joel’s right though. They’ll come looking for us. Especially now.”
“What do you mean especially now?”
Tommy looks down, picking at his fingers. “We were good at our job. Joel more than me, but they liked how good of a shot I am.”
“Tommy. Look at me.” It takes him several moments but he does, his eyes watering. “I love you. I love you no matter what, ok?” He nods but like he doesn't believe me. I place my hands on either side of his face and pull him to me, pressing my lips to his. 
And to my surprise, he melts into me, one hand coming up to tangle in my hair, the other gripping my hip as he deepens the kiss. He turns his body, pressing me down into the bed as he lays on me, kissing down my neck, goosebumps erupting down my arms. I know this isn’t a healthy way to cope but it seems to be what he needs and honestly, I need him. I need to hold him, know he’s here with me, solidly here. He pushes his hips against mine, my back arching as he nips at my neck, his hips rocking faster and faster, chasing his high. His hands are everywhere, sliding over my skin, gripping me, touching me, his lips drawing paths across my body. My fingers tangle in his curls, my legs wrapping around him, urging him deeper, faster until finally lights erupt behind my eyes, my whole body tingling as I moan his name, hearing my own echoed back at me as his hips sputter against mine. He presses his forehead to mine and takes a few breaths before he pulls out, allowing me time to use the bathroom first. When he’s done, he slides into bed and pulls me to his chest, wrapping his large arms around me, my back pressed into his broad chest, his nose in my hair. 
“I’m here if you want to talk, but I’m also here if this is what you need. Whatever you want, I’m here, Tommy.”
“I know. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
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Every time they leave, I swear a part of them doesn't come back. Joel seems more aggressive. Not to us, but just...angrier. Tommy's shoulder's slump, his smile often not reaching his eyes, staring blankly out at the trees as he relives whatever horrors he's had to do.
It's when the last bit of life in his eyes snuffs out that I decide I need to do something.
I'd always told him he could talk to me and sometimes he did. I know he hasn't told me everything they've had to do, and I don't expect him to. I've asked him to leave before, but he always said Joel never would. That he couldn't leave his brother. But after 5 years, it finally took that last little bit of him I had left. I couldn't continue on like this. We couldn't continue on like this.
I come back into the cabin, washing my hands in the kitchen sink, before I head back outside, walking down through the trees to the dock, knowing I'd find Tommy sitting at the edge of it, glass of water clutched in his hand as he stares blankly out at the water, a million miles away.
"Hey, handsome." I sit next to him, gently placing my hand on his thigh and giving it a light squeeze. He blinks rapidly a few times, coming back to present before looking at me, smiling slightly.
"Hey, beautiful."
I place my hand on his cheek, rubbing my thumb over the bit of stubble that had grown in the last few days. "Are you here with me?"
His dark eyes meet mine and he blinks. "I am."
"Come with me?"
He cocks his head slightly to the side as I stand up, offering my hand out to him. He takes it, the warmth from his large hand seeping into mine as I lead him off the deck and back into the woods, down a path he'd taken me years ago. Albeit I was blindfolded, but I'm not bothering with a blindfold this time.
It had taken me a few days to figure it out, setting up the tent and blankets just like he'd done for our anniversary not too long after...well, after. I thought for sure he'd know where we're going but if he does, he says nothing, his fingers still laced with mine as we walk around trees and over roots. When the clearing appears and he sees the tent, he stops walking. I look back at him and am met with a blank stare.
"Tommy?"
"What..what are we doing here?"
"I thought it might be nice to get away for at least a night."
His jaw clenches. "Shit, did I miss our anniversary?"
At least he remembered why we had been here before. "No. I just...come sit with me?" I take his one hand in both of mine, pulling him slightly towards the blanket I had spread out. He pauses for a moment but then acquiesces, kicking off his boots and stretching out his long legs on the blanket. I kick off my own boots and sit next to him, hesitating before taking his hand again, feeling him lace his fingers through mine.
"I love you, Tommy."
"I love you too, sweetheart."
I told myself I wouldn't cry, that I'd be strong. But when I looked at him, his eyes staring at mine, and I couldn't see that light, I lost it. Giant drops fell from my eyes, splashing against our entwined hands.
"Hey, hey Daisy. What's wrong?" He drops my hand to place it on my cheek, cradling my face with both hands.
"I..can't...can't..."
He pulls me to his chest, wrapping his arms around me and I finally feel safe, secure, like he's fully here with me in this moment. It takes me a few minutes to calm down, but he's patient with me, always so patient, just holding me and letting me sort myself.
"We have to leave, Tommy."
He doesn't move, still for a long moment and so I sit up, drying my tears on the back of my hand.
"Daisy, we can't. I told you, Joel won't-"
"Every time you guys leave, a part of you doesn't come back. I know you're having to do terrible shit, more terrible than the crap you've told me about. And I've supported you as best I can, but Tommy, I feel like you're finally slipping away from me and I can't pull you to me, and I can't lose you, I just can't. Not again. I won't survive it."
"Oh darlin'. I'm right here."
I look up at him. "But that's just it. You're not. Even when you're here, you're not. This last trip. Something took the last bit of light from your eyes and I-" a sob ripples up from my throat and Tommy immediately pulls me to him again.
"You said you're protecting us. But who's going to protect us when you're gone, Tommy? Even if you're alive, you can still be gone. Please. We have to go."
A drop of water hits my cheek, but it's not my tears. I turn my head up and see tears freely flowing down Tommy's cheeks. This time it's my turn to hold him, press him to my chest as he cries. It's several long minutes before the sobs stop, the tears finally drying. My fingers are still tangled in his curls, gently patting him and lightly scratching his head. He sits up, wiping his eyes on his arm.
"I'm so sorry, Daisy. I thought I could handle it."
"Hey. You're so fucking strong. Most people would've cracked by now."
He smiles weakly. "I would have, if it weren't for Joel." His face falls. "He'll never leave, Daisy. He's convinced this is the safest option."
"Tommy, we can't continue on like this forever."
He nods. "You're right. I gotta take care of my family and that's what I'm gonna do."
"What if Joel won't come?"
"He won't. I'll make the offer to Rose and Sarah, but I'm sure they'll stay. But we'll still go."
"You sound like you have a plan?"
He's quiet again, his eyes going far away for several moments before looking back at me.
"Actually, I do. I've heard about this freedom fighting group called the Fireflies."
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dr3amofagame · 6 months
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I find it strange that a lot of people are coming forward and saying that the staged finale was a bad play for one reason or another but it really isn’t and I don’t understand where the hate is coming from.
yeah i've seen some of this the last few days--staged finale has always been somewhat "controversial" in the lorehead scene, so a measure of disagreement/discourse about it makes sense. especially bc it was honestly a very big change to what people thought was the story and required people to go back and reevaluate a lot, which. people are naturally resistant at doing
but while obviously i think that some healthy discussion about these things is good, and i feel like i have seen a level of...misunderstanding? about it?? which has gone into the ways that people disagree
staged finale refers to the decision to stage the finale. that's it. staged finale just asserts that based on preexisting foreshadowing and based on the sheer level of suspension of disbelief in order for genuine finale to be real, it made more sense for the finale to be staged than for it to have been genuine. how the finale was planned, when the finale was planned, and to what ends it was planned are all things that you can disagree on w/ other staged finale believers/supporters while still being a staged finale believer/supporter, ykwim? if you believe that c!punz faked his betrayal to c!dream, then congrats! you believe in staged finale. oftentimes i see people say things like "i don't believe in staged finale, i think that c!dream faked the betrayal and all and always had c!punz on his side but i think that the reason behind why he did it is [X]" and it's like. staging the finale is one (1) event, not a comprehensive explanation for everything c!Dream does. that would be more in line with something like the "strategist dream interpretation," which in itself does have different readings as well.
people have listed all of the inconsistencies in the staged finale before, but just to summarize--the guy literally could've dipped when everyone came to "defeat" him, c!tommy leveraging his own life is basically no leverage at all when the mans has the revive book, skeppy cage is a joke, c!dream revealing all of his plans when they were maybe 10% carried out (the entire damn attachment vault was empty of items besides stuff that was literally faked, his own damn stuff, and stuff that he stole recently from c!tommy such as the Axe of Peace and the discs) is ridiculously stupid, why the hell does he have blackmail against c!punz included in a bunker that c!punz clearly had access to???? the list goes on.
(as someone who took awhile to be fully convinced in staged finale, what really tripped me up was the stream punz did the day before: here's a post breaking it down that definitely helped me to see it in a different light.)
as far as foreshadowing goes, just off the top of my head: the original prisoner is a constant question from the day of the prison's creation, being something that's even highlighted on the day of the staged finale itself. c!Dream saying he has "the biggest house on the server" and how it's full of redstone. the entire conversation he has with c!punz, obviously. his holding back on the favor with c!techno, the connection between the revive book and the prison that he establishes the day they begin prison construction.
from a logical perspective, the plan as c!Dream establishes it doesn't make any damn sense. c!dream had opportunities to escape that he didn't take for illogical reasons (if the only reason why he allowed himself to stay in a fucking possible kill chamber was to keep c!tommy from committing suicide, then? what about the revive book? what about the fact that he literally kills c!tommy just a few months later????) -- a level of plot contrivance is expected in the medium, but for a lot of people this was just. Going way too far. Unless he literally lost his whole mind (which, to be fair, was the persona being played) there's just. really no other way to make sense of what was going on there, if it was all genuine.
the other argument is a narrative one--people claim that the story established by a genuine finale is cleaner than the story of the staged one, and honestly. it's like. like that's...a feature, not a flaw? the reason why the genuine finale worked isn't because it was logically believable. dream is Dream Manhunt. he's famously hard to nail down, famously good at escaping sticky situations, famously a man that can outsmart his way out of crazy disadvantageous situations--like. just in terms of minecraft skill, i'd wager that most people would think that dream would've technically been able to pull off an escape even when facing down the collection of enemies that were there. like he had 2 stacks of pearls.
narratively, though, the staged finale has a story that's quite appealing on the surface. the "story" of the events from the spirit speech onwards is one that revolved around the idea of "attachment." c!Dream rejects attachment in favor of control in the spirit speech when he says he refuses to let his love for his dead pet control him anymore, and he focuses on the ability to use the discs to control c!Tommy. the fact that c!Dream's relationships deteriorate at this time seems to support this point, and c!Tommy's strength in his relationships being what saves him and damns c!Dream ties everything off into a neat bow. c!Tommy wins because he has friends and c!Dream loses because he doesn't, moral of the story established, hip-hip-hooray. And so it goes.
but when we look at this more in specifics...? it does start falling apart a bit, doesn't it?
although c!Dream supposedly begins his rampage over his existing emotional connections with the spirit speech, his reputation had been in shambles long before that point. c!Dream-as-villain is first established as part of the greater story in the lmanburg revolution, and that's a title that he never really sheds (this point being emphasized in inconsolable differences and the book c!Wilbur has c!Dream write.) Dethronement happens within a day of Spirit Speech, iirc, and on that day c!Quackity specifically points out that c!Dream has no one on his side but c!Punz. the moments where he is more specifically isolated go back to events such as november 16th, where his alliance with c!Wilbur involved blowing up L'manburg, his deal for the revive book, which involved his publicly betraying Pogtopia, or his opposing Manberg to the literal Manberg cabinet. etc. all of these events in the Manberg/Pogtopia era had c!Dream's loyalties erode to end up as just c!Wilbur and later c!Schlatt for the book, two dead men. (and i say eroded loyalties as if pogtopia really believed dream was on their side, like, ever? like he was never trusted in their ranks, even by c!Tommy, who was definitely the person he worked the closest with outside of c!Wilbur.)
if we look at Dethronement itself, it doesn't actually fit the pattern of "c!Dream cuts off his attachment to people in order to make himself uncontrollable" -- in fact, what it does fit the pattern of is. Staged finale? Faking an end in a relationship with people that he does consider important to him, making a public appearance of betrayal + anger to mask an existing connection, drawing attention to their being enemies to hide the fact that they're actually friends--that's not c!Dream cutting anyone off. That's just the exact same ploy that he uses to make people think that c!Punz betrays him (only c!Sapnap and c!George ended up deciding that Nah We're Gonna Kill You Now. Fuck You It's Coup Time. so that's how that ended up.)
Otherwise there's...the Badlands, who were perfectly happy to agree to joining the coup on the day of dethronement if it got them more power and land. c!Techno, who c!Dream wasn't an ally of until later on with the favor established and then doomsday, and who was someone c!Dream was quite openly wary of + afraid of due to his combat skill. c!Dream was alone literally before exile even happened, his remaining "attachments" of c!George and c!Sapnap turning against him like the day he goes on a whole spiel about ohhoho from today onwards i DONT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT MY ATTACHMENTS !!! I ONLY CARE ABOUT THE DISCS !!! like congrats you don't even have a chance to cut off any attachment at all dingus they all hate you and want you dead already.
further, with c!punz, he literally says that they're more than just employer/employee in the infamous conversation they have about planning a betrayal. if the whole point of the story is "attachment good," then why is it that what takes down c!dream is...his one remaining attachment? if his fatal flaw is that he didn't trust people enough, why is it that he loses because he trusted someone too much? it's not like c!tommy had any attachment to c!punz--c!punz explicitly "has a reason" to betray c!dream because of money. he helps c!tommy because dream "should have paid [him] more." none of that reflects that spirit of "attachment" that people claim was c!dream's downfall.
(not to mention how the people present in the staged finale to take c!dream down included people who literally hated c!tommy's guts. like. what brought them together wasn't the power of friendship, it was the power of we hate this green bastard.)
this isn't to say that c!Dream didn't have some relationships that go up in flames because he starts acting particularly cackling evil villain (with the green festival being the specific moment where he really goes full in with that persona, going from someone that was framing himself as having a Reasonable Complaint to literally the joker as soon as he gets the disc from c!Tubbo. It's purposefully played as a "mask off" moment that is meant to make him look like a crazy fucking villain in front of a large audience--whether or not you think that was a choice that he made in character or not, the way his personality changes as soon as he receives the disc is jarring.) In particular, his relationships with c!Puffy and c!Sam come to mind--c!Puffy burns the house she made him when she decides that he's too evil (but, uh, c!dream really wasn't even there for that and didn't ever have a particularly close relationship with her) and c!Sam is among those whose opinions of c!Dream become drastically more negative around the period of time that spans green festival->doomsday->staged finale. but it's important to note that c!Dream's relationships on the server aren't...great, at the time of spirit speech. They're uh, really fucking bad, actually. dethronement only makes them even worse, and all of this happens pre-exile. c!Dream had significant reason to be paranoid and afraid for his life long before exile happens, which is Quite Significant, Actually, when you consider that that paranoia is literally what goes into his decisions to carry out the staged finale + put himself in the prison (which isn't the case for genuine finale, where he's more motivated by a desire to control the server without being controlled himself.) staged finale does solidify c!dream-as-villain for a lot of people, but it never would've worked if people didn't already see him as a villain in the first place. c!Dream doesn't make people hate him with the staged finale; he uses hatred that he already knows exists to put himself in what he sees as a safer position.
and look we could go into a whole discussion about manberg/pogtopia c!Dream (which i do think is way overdue to be fair considering that that's where the paranoia + isolation that motivates him post-november 16th comes from in the first place) but this post is long enough already and i still have to figure out a better way to articulate my thoughts on the matter. anyway. carrying on:
people still have different feelings on why he carries out staged finale in the first place, but what we do know for sure is that it was meant to protect punz and protect the revive book. by firmly establishing that c!punz and him were on opposite sides, he keeps the revive book safe and both of their lives safe by extension: as long as no one would kill both of them at the same time, they had a means of reviving the other if need be and obviously had the information on how to raise people from the dead secure. which was important to them. and otherwise...c!Dream is paranoid. c!Dream is very, very paranoid, and this paranoia goes back at the very least to when he learns about the revive book. the prison, for all the dependence that it required of him, was tailor made (and the construction process controlled by dream every damn step of the way) to make sure that whoever was in the main cell would be safe from external threats. the security of the prison and the prisoner was the POINT. i've seen some assertions that staged finale implies that he predicted everything that happened after he was put in prison and...no? i'd say that c!dream's behavior indicates him being thrown off by c!sam as early as bad's prison visit, c!sapnap's prison visit for sure. c!Ranboo being banned from visitation pretty damn obviously fucks him up, tbh. he has c!punz explicitly out there to keep an eye out on the server while he's in the prison, where he was meant to remain for a period of time that was supposed to be much shorter than how long he ends up being there. likely because, you know, he was supposed to have a consistent and reliable source of information with the outside world in the form of c!Ranboo, and c!sam wasn't supposed to fall off the fucking rails as soon as the prison started. people have also talked about how having the staged finale be true means that c!dream doesn't lose, which...i mean. gestures at the prison arc? that whole thing is a loss so catastrophic it literally destroys him. he's never the same after the prison happens. the false betrayal of c!punz is deliberately like ironically described to c!sam, who was the REAL betrayal that fucking. ruins him. he loses SO MUCH over the course of the prison, which was something he literally designed to keep himself safe from external threat. as far as losses go, i definitely find that a lot more compelling and a lot less contrived than watching c!dream go "whoop de doo guess i have to die now" when he's like 3 pearls away from making a clean escape in the disc vault, tbh.
at the end of the day, i think having some conversation about staged finale is fun! and it's always good to reexamine what you believe to make sure that it still holds water. but i've really not seen much staged finale crit that makes the genuine finale feel favorable as an explanation: logically, it makes a lot less sense. narratively, it relies on a story that the audience wants to be true and acts as a "clean" explanation for everything while not actually taking into account a lot of what was ACTUALLY going on for c!dream (cutting off attachments for the sake of control versus watching people turn against you and becoming increasingly paranoid, for example). and believe them or not, the content creators involved have always asserted that staged finale was the plan from the beginning, not any form of retcon. (and we do know that people have been dodgy about stuff like the "original prisoner" literally since the week that c!dream was imprisoned, so take that as you will.) (okay to be fair theyve been dodgy about the original prisoner since the day that the prison began to be constructed, but the QnA from that first week of imprisonment sticks out to me in particular because cc!Sam had the biggest fucking smile on his face and staged finale would've been planned out and then carried out in entirety by the ccs and the c!s by that point.)
this is a longass post but uh hopefully it makes sense, lmao. tried to touch on most of what i've seen recently 😅
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skoulsons · 1 year
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She was keeled over the sink when she poured the chemicals on her arm, Joel finding her sweaty and crying as her knees shook, not knowing how to stop the pain.
He was so gentle. He held her against him, lowering her to the ground as he turned their tub on, keeping her arm under the steady stream of water as he gathered towels from the closet and found her a change of clothes.
She was sobbing against the side of the tub, gritting her teeth to try and suppress her screams. Joel was right there, his hand rubbing back and forth from the nape of her neck to the middle of her back. His other arm kept a hold on her forearm, keeping the bite under the water.
“I’m sorry,” she cried, Joel leaning his head against hers as she hiccuped.
“Why, baby? You had me scared shitless.”
“I didn’t- I wanted to- I fucking hate it-“
“What?” He glanced towards her under the water. Oh. “Your bite? Kiddo, we-“
“I hate it,” she pleaded, interrupting him. “Having to keep it wrapped up all the time. I have to look at it every fucking day. It reminds me of so fucking much, I wanted it gone-“ Saliva, snot, and tears were gathering in her throat, she could barely speak
He cut in, his thumb tracing back on forth on the underside of her burned forearm, right above her bite. “You should’ve come to me, Ellie. We would’ve figured something out.”
She looked down, avoiding his gaze. “I was afraid you’d brush me off.”
He let go of her forearm and grabbed her face, thumbs brushing away the wet streams costing her cheeks. “Why would I brush you off?”
She didn’t have an answer. She had no reason to believe he would; especially not now. They were together. He never brushed her off in the past and he surely wouldn’t start now.
But what if.
No, he wouldn’t. She knew he wouldn’t. But something…a small part of her said he would. And that’s all it took. That she still wasn’t family. That she was still cargo; a mere object he still had to get rid of.
He didn’t care.
He could see her eyes fading, growing distant. “Hey,” he called, voice gentle as he brought her back. “I would never brush you off. We would’ve figured something out, alright? Tommy and Maria would’ve helped.” He paused, combing a hand through her hair gently as he brought it back to her cheek. “We could’ve done something that didn’t hurt you, baby.” His voice started to shake, but only slightly.
He cared so much. A paper cut on her was enough for him to turn into a wild animal. Ellie never had someone to care for her like this and it was overwhelming sometimes. He came home early from patrol once after being radioed about Ellie falling. He always dropped everything to care for her; didn’t matter where he was or what he was doing. She was all that mattered to him.
“Alright, lemme see your arm.”
He dried the burn gently, wrapping a few bandages along her forearm to cover all the damage. “I’ll change them again tonight before we go to bed. Here,” he grabbed her extra clothes behind him and placed them in her lap. “You should change. Can you manage?”
All that came from her was a hesitant mhm as Joel helped her to her feet. He set the clothes on the sink, making sure she was steady enough to stand on her own. “I’ll be right outside the door, okay?”
“Yup.”
Their night was spent together, Ellie complaining about how much her arm hurts and Joel resisting the urge to make a backhanded comment to her about not pouring chemicals on your bare skin.
It was movie night and they watched Back to the Future, a favorite of Joel’s. Ellie wouldn’t stop trying to itch and scratch at her burn, so Joel held her hand, their fingers interlocked and resting on his lap. He tilted their arms a particular way, his forearm overtop hers so she couldn’t sneak an itch even if she wanted to.
Despite the burn only being hours old and their lack of painkillers to fend the pain off, the weight of his arm on hers was welcomed.
He traced circles over her hand and lightly tapped the pad of his thumb to the beat of Johnny Be Good, getting a few giggles out of Ellie in the process.
She nestled closer to him, her fingers adjusting in his grip as she held him tighter. His forearm covered any evidence of her bandages and, for a while, she could forget the pain.
Her hand was in his. He was all that mattered to her.
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thegreencanary · 2 years
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can i request a billy hargrove fluff/angst oneshot? maybe where reader gets in his car after school crying and his brain goes brrrrrr *microwave noises* unsure what to do but reader says stupid jason carver was picking on her and a switch flips in him and he gets M A D ready to punch his face in??
Omg I got you boo I love a protective man and Billy is just *MWUAH*. I’ll try to keep it simple but this gave me a lot of good ideas. Might make a larger story later!
A/N: This is my work and I don’t give anyone the permission to post it anywhere claiming to be someone else’s. I worked hard on this, if you enjoy it please interact. Requests are open.
TW: Cursing and fighting
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It was a dumb shirt, you knew wearing it to school was going to be a problem but the whole morning was a shit show so you didn’t have time to change. It was a really nasty shade of green and it fit you like a box. The sweatpants you decided to wear just made you look like you just rolled out of bed, because you had. Oversleeping makes one panic in the morning that’s for damn sure. School was just as bad, especially since Jason Carver woke up and chose you to be his victim today. All day he had been calling you names, knocking your books out of your hand and harassing you about your best friend. Billy was popular but Jason hated him, and because of your class schedule you barely got to see Billy during the day. Lunch time he was being held in a lunch detention for falling asleep in another class so Jason took the opportunity to throw apple juice at you. The day just sucked.
Finally the bell rang and you just wanted to go home, Billy usually took you but you didn’t want to wait for him because Jason was hot on your heels.
“Gonna run home and cry about how the big bad basketball players were mean to you today? Yeah? Wittle cry baby? You’re pathetic.”
You just pushed on outside, wanting to just go the fuck home.
“No wonder your dad died! I’d want to too if my daughter was a fat bitch like you!”
God. Damn. You. Jason. Your legs stopped working for a few moments. He just had to yell your business so the whole fucking school could hear it. Embarrassed tears streaked your face as you ran to the comfort of a certain blue Camaro. Billy wasn’t inside yet but you had his spare key; perks of being the best friend. You sat down and began crying so loud that when he opened his door you didn’t even hear it.
“….if you bleed on my seats you need to pay for it to be cleaned.”
Billy had no idea what to do. He’d only ever seen you cry once, and it was when your dad died. He usually was the one crying in front of you. You shot a glare at him through your tears.
“I’m not on my period idiot.”
“…so are you gonna tell me or are you gonna do the dumb girl thing where you just cry and make everyone else miserable too?”
Sometimes you questioned your friendship, and your secret love for him. He could be a real asshole.
“Jason fucking Carver. He’s been on my ass all day and then…he just…he said…something about my dad…”
Billy’s attitude switched immediately. He may have been an ass but he loved you. You knew him, all of him, and you didn’t judge him at all. You were always there for him; like when Neil got to physical and you patched him up in your bathroom, or when he got into a fight at a party and you got in Tommy’s face for trying to start shit when he was too drunk to fight. You were always in his corner.
“Finally.”
Billy threw open his car door and b-lined it to the fucking prick. You followed, not stopping him because part of you wanted to see Jason get his shit ROCKED.
“Well, Well. The ogre had her little boyfriend come and save the day.”
Jason laughed with his friends but Billy didn’t stop or slow down at all. He stormed right up to Jason and DECKED him. Jason fell back and you gasped, happy but surprised at the intensity of Billy’s punch.
“Yea well leave my girlfriend alone and you won’t have to see me again. If you fuck with her at ALL anymore, you’ll never walk again.”
Girlfriend? You were still stuck on that when Billy aggressively pulled you back towards his car. Jason could be heard groaning about a broken nose but you were focused on Billy.
“Ready?”
“Ready for what? What do you mean girlfriend? What the fuck happened back there??”
“I’ve been waiting for a reason to knock his dumb ass out. We’re basically already dating, I think you’re hot you think I’m hot don’t get your pantyhose in a twist.”
You were dumbfounded.
“You’re such a romantic Hargrove.”
You rolled your eyes, but Billy killed the car engine and sighed.
“Look, I want to take you on a date, like a real one and I want to be good to you the way you are to me; I just didn’t want to bring it up after I got into a fight. I wanted to ask you later. But since you’re being a brat about it, yeah. I want you to be my girlfriend.”
Jesus this boy was so dumb. You just laughed to yourself and nodded.
“Okay Billy. But you have to do this right. I’m not one of your groupies okay?”
He chuckled and eyed you.
“Oh I know. They dress so much better than you.”
“I WAS RUNNING LATE YOU FU—“
He shut you up with a way overdue kiss. This was going to be an interesting adventure.
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