#but i hope this is a fun read! i like the idea of tommys ghost being the exact opposite of how tommy normally is

[jamiedc-they-them]

BEING JOEL’S SURVIVING CHILD AND AN OLDLER SIBLING TO ELLIE PART 1:

CW: Normal Last of Us Swearing/Violence; mention of suicidal thoughts

Sarah and you were best friends. Being twins did that to you.

You were in sync with each other, and you would team up to freak your dad out all the time.

“You’re just jealous you don’t have a twin, dad!” You would say to him when he asked you to stop.

Whatever you wrote, she always hyped it up. She was proud of her twin.

You both stayed up to celebrate your dads birthday.

You both got the money for the watch.

When the apocalypse starts, Sarah goes in front. She’s the fighter, you’re not.

“Dad?” You ask you father when you leave to the car.

“We’ll be ok, baby. I promise.”

You see, but Sarah isn’t so lucky.

There’s a shift in you after that. You fall into a pit.

You’re a fighter, a brutal one.

Your dad and you almost lose yourselves.

Tommy’s heart breaks as he sees how far you’ve gone because of the pain.

He leaves for the firefly’s but offers for you to go with him.

There’s a spark of your humanity when he asks, but you decline. He leaves things off better with you then Joel.

This humanity sometimes appears in the small stories you write.

Joel doesn’t like taking you on jobs, but your size is an advantage.

Tess cares for you like one of her own. Constantly calls you “what we’re fighting for and still keeping ourselves around for.”

It doesn’t make you feel as special as she intends, but it’s a nice gesture if nothing else.

She too tries to encourage your writing. She tries to find material for you. Sometimes Joel does too.

On one run, you meet a girl. A spirited girl named Ellie.

You don’t exactly get along like a house on fire, but you also aren’t cold to her either.

She’s someone you’re taking as cargo, sure. But she’s human.

“He always like this?” She asks you, referencing your dad.

“Most of the time, yeah.” You answer.

“Great.”

You get used to it,” you assure.

Her face doesn’t hold a smile, but she’s grateful internally for your assurance, and just for making conversation with her.

When you get to your hideout, your dad sleeps. Leaving you and Ellie awake.

“So, what is there to do?”

“I normally sit here, watching people.”

“...Can I join?”

“Sure,” you move to make space for her. She notes how you have a little pad and pencil, along with how you curl into yourself; you seem more natural, more relaxed.

“So, now what?”

“Now, I normally just watch people as they go. Sometimes write some ideas in here,” at ‘here’ you gesture to your notepad.

“About them?” she points outside.

You start to shake your head, then pause and look up, “sometimes. Most of the time, just ideas for stories. Sometimes I try and give them backstories.”

“Have you ever read Savage Starlight?”

“When I was younger, sure. Used to write my own little fics about them.”

She chuckles, though in interest, “that’s pretty cool.”

There’s a ghost of a smile on your face, “didn’t think so at the time. But, yeah, they were. One time, Sarah and I made up our own characters,” you don’t even clock the name drop of your dead sister, too clouded with the happiness of the memory, “just, acted out scenes for hours.”

“Sounds like fun,” her voice softens; she knows about Sarah, but she doesn’t say that. She’s lost people too after all.

“Yeah,” you say, “yeah, it was.”

She smiles a bit. She hasn’t had a friend in a longtime. Not since Riley. Though, the feelings for her ran in a different way. She doesn’t want to have you in the way she had a crush on her best friend. She just wants a friend.

You see her infection, and become guarded. But you see the conviction on her face when she says to you about being immune.

Hope is something you rarely let yourself feel, but you did in this moment. Maybe all the pain would be worth something if you could do this. Redemption could be yours.

Joel notices a push and pull with you. You’ll find yourself talking to Ellie, bonding with her, only to then pull away or stop yourself. You’re protective of her too, putting yourself in front of her when in danger. Though, she saves you too, killing zombies that have grabbed you or warning you about on coming ones.

For the first time in a while, Joel sees you smile when she brushes off Joel’s advice and crosses over the beam.

Then…then Tess dies. Both can tell it hurts you. It’s why Joel bans it from conversation.

“I’m sorry,” Ellie says to you, then goes by Joel’s rule.

When walking to Bill’s, she walks near you. She doesn’t say anything, but she hopes her presence can mean something.

Part of it does make her feel a bit safer, and makes the loss of Riley more easy; someone is nearby to just silently say “I’m here”

You give her a small smile in one moment of silence. She returns it, but she sees you’re thankful, not fully being alone with it all.

She just nods, she’s glad it’s helping and that you’re here too silently doing the same thing for her.

When she plays with the fireflies, there’s a smile on your face at her innocence in that moment. Even you have to admit, there’s a beauty to them and this world, despite everything.

Joel’s smile softens a bit when he looks at you. He knows Ellie is filling that void that losing Sarah left for you as well. He can see, with the way you then clear your throat and turn around, that it’s scaring you as much as it is him.

You both made a silent vow to never discuss it, but now that wound is being ripped open, the more you let Ellie in.

Joel knows Bill better than you, but you still warn Ellie about how the man can be.

When Ellie tells you both about the game, you don’t correct her on the (admittedly) small moments of incorrect information. She looks at you with glee, then asking you about it. About the other characters. And you’re honest with what you can remember. Twenty years of survival made you forget a lot of your old life.

You both work together, and it’s the first time the three of you have some (albeit slightly chaotic giving everything going on in the situation) level of synchronization. Ellie throwing you both ammo (she never actually pestered you for a gun, which you’re thankful for), Joel covering you; you giving Ellie a boost up, covering her as best you could, her giving you both warnings. It works.

You chuckle at her comments to Bill. You can see your father finds humour in them too, even if he won’t let himself show it.

When it comes to the bloater, Joel makes sure you get up there as well. Just in case.

With Frank, you find the note and give it to your dad.

“Jesus. Alright, thanks, kid.”

You leave it to him to decide what to do with it.

Despite her assurance that she knows how to pop a clutch, she does ask you in a whisper which one that is. You point if out for her.

“Actually. Y/N, why don’t you get in the car with Ellie? You drive.”

“Oh, c’mon?! Seriously?!” Ellie protests, despite trusting you and all. She thought it would be cool.

“How about you cover us from in there?” You say, bringing out your pistol and handing it to her.

“Y/N, no. That - that ain’t exactly what I had in mind for —“ your dad begins to protest himself. Damn it, he’s gone back in time with how you used to be with Sarah. Rebellious.

“Oh, fuck yes!” Ellie says as she takes the pistol, “I fucking love this plan! Get in, partner!” You do so, and pop the clutch, though almost stall the fucking thing.

“It’s been a while,” you use as an excuse.

“Weren’t you like my age when the world went to shit?”

“…Fair point.”

“I did let them drive once after a run,” Joel says as himself and Bill get ready to push the car.

“Joel…Not. The. Fucking. Time.” He says.

Ellie is a decent shot to be fair. So that’s something, at least.

Still, you make it through the town, and say goodbye to your ‘uncle’ Bill. He just tells you to fuck off when he hears that. You flip him off, not seeing Ellie also join you in that.

You’re her friend, she’s gonna back you up however she can. That, and despite him getting you a car, guy was somewhat of a dick to her, so.

She shows you the magazine, you just laugh. Even harder when she reveals she was just fucking with Joel with her questions.

She moves up to the front after seeing you fall asleep. Joel even pulls over so they both can get you laying down.

“They’re a deep sleeper,” Ellie comments.

“Yeah. Yeah, they ain’t been able to for a long time.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good that they still can though, right?” She asks.

“It is,” it’s the softest Ellie’s heard him speak since she’s met you both. And you look the softest you have yet. Guard completely let down.

Before getting back in the car, she makes sure to put your pistol back in your backpack.

They’re quiet with the music as they drive. It lulls Ellie off to sleep.

When the ambush happens, you wake up at the last minute, meaning it’s a blur to you. It almost gets you killed. After Joel saves Ellie, he sees you almost knocked out. That same fatherly rage overtakes him, and he is brutal with his kill. Ellie, meanwhile, helps move you to some cover, giving you some alcohol and cloth to clean the wounds later. She doesn’t ask if you’re ok, knowing that your now bloodied face is enough of an answer.

As Joel looks for supplies, she helps you with your face.

“You ever have things like this happen when you were younger?” She asks, trying to distract you from the sting you feel.

“To be honest, not really. Sarah and I would sometimes take a fall, that was the extent of our injuries most of the time. Though once or twice we’d get in a fight at school.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Some arsehole or something. We’d hear it, the other wouldn’t, then we’d just see red.”

“Must’ve been nice, having someone watch your back like that.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it is.”

“Well,” she says, pouring a bit more alcohol onto the cloth before dabbing it on your cut on your face, “for as long as we’re on this road trip together, I’ve got your back.”

“You have so far,” you say, and she smiles, “and I’ve got yours too. You’re a good kid. I, uh, I hope you can save the world with this immune thing.”

“It’d be good. I mean, most’ve the kids I knew were never that special in general. I never was in school,” you chuckle a bit - neither were you, “but this might mean something.”

“You want my advice?” She nods, putting the cloth and very little remaining alcohol away in her back pack, and handing you yours from the jeep as you stand up, “you’re already a good person, I’d say that’s special enough for a world like this. Just…try not to lose that, ok?”

The sincerity with your advice makes her nod genuinely, “I’ll do my best.”

“I know you will,” you ruffle her hair, “now, c’mon. Think dad might’ve gotten lost during our bonding time.”

She chuckles, but stays a bit behind you before following, she mules on your words. Of saying ‘dad’ and calling it ‘bonding’ time. In FEDRA, they always talked about them all being siblings, but most were just arseholes. But, you’re the first two people who have treated her like a person. Aside from Riley, but she knows how she felt about her isn’t how she feels about either of you - besides, the age difference is just a big no - but she cares about you both. And you’re more open of your care with her. Joel is more through action and small stories.

She follows, after that short moment of contemplation.

With Joel’s vague “I’ve been on both sides” she does lump you in with that as well. Not that she blames you, Joel is the only family you have left. So she gets why you haven’t left his side.

With the whistling, Joel at first thinks you taught it to her, but you say to him that it’s “all her.”

You do smile a bit at it, knowing she now has a trump card against your dad.

You had the puppy dog eyes, Ellie has the whistle.

You swear you hear you dad grumble under his breath about this same idea.

With the hotel, Joel is separated from you both. You just tell her to “stay close” and she does.

She’s panicking, but at least she isn’t alone.

You witness her killing the man who was fighting Joel. You can tell she’s shaken. You try to comfort her, but her anger at Joel makes her ignore it when she snaps at him.

Things are a bit cold for a moment as go through the rest of the hotel. But then he asks her to cover you both.

“How can I do that for both of you?” She asks, a bit worried of letting you guys down.

“We’ll be smart,” Joel assures as you check your ammo, “besides, if anyone’s gonna be caught, it’s gonna be me.”

“Why’s that?” She asks. Joel looks back at you for a moment, and leans closer to Ellie.

“Feeling my age,” he says. She smirks, but doesn’t say anything. She’ll keep that between them.

Joel jumps first, thanking her in his own way for saving him. After she says he’s welcome, she then looks to you, “I meant what I said,” she tells you.

“I know you did. You’ve got this,” you assure, before jumping down yourself.

“I’ve got this,” she says to herself softly, getting in position, “I’ve got this.”

She does. She really does.

You give her a nod when she’s smart with the pistol, pocketing it. You even share some of your ammo with her.

With Henry and Sam, Ellie notices you distancing yourself a little. You are, to be honest, but oddly it’s Henry who catches you out on it.

“Afraid you’ll lose your sister?” He says, as you all wait in his office to go on the night run.

“Guess it’s best to lose her to a friend than the whole permanent thing,” he notices how you: a) don’t correct him; and b) play with your fingers a bit. He nods, seemingly understanding why you’re being a bit distant now.

“I get what you mean,” he decides to say, “I haven’t seen Sam that happy in a while.”

You nod. Then move the conversation on. Which Henry understands.

You find yourself becoming friends with him quite easily. You both bond over your previous lives and the old world.

It seems to maybe be at an end when he ditches Joel, and Ellie joins you both. But he makes a valid point about him wanting his brother safe and how if the tables would be reversed, would it be the same outcome? He came back, after all.

Being split up in the sewers, Ellie is scared truly for the first time, being away from you both at the same time.

She hears gunshots and just hopes it’s both of you. She lets out a massive sigh of relief when she sees that it is, “thank god,” she says.

As you continue your journey, Ellie sees more of this nostalgic side to you; pointing things out for them that they don’t understand, but you, Joel, and Henry, do.

She finds it odd, and feels a bit left out, but there is a life to your eyes as you laugh about whatever the newest nostalgia object or idea was.

“Hey,” she says to you as you both search a house, “we’re ok, right?”

“Yeah,” you say instantly, “course.”

“Ok, good. That’s good.”

“You’re allowed to have friends, Ellie.”

“I know. I know…But, I’m not replacing you or anything —“

“Ellie,” you say, pausing from looking in a cupboard to look to her, “we’re good, I promise.”

“Ok,” she says, “seems you and Henry are tight.”

“Yeah,” you say, “yeah, he’s a good guy. Aside the whole abandoning thing.”

“He was good with me in the sewers,” she says, “he;s a good guy.”

“He is,” you affirm both her and your previous words.

“Do you…like him? I won’t tell anyone.”

“Nah, he’s just a good guy. Besides, was never into any of that myself.”

“Oh. That’s cool.”

“Yep. What about you, you into any of the whole romantic thing?”

Her mouth opens, and the story of her and Riley almost comes out, but she doesn’t say that. Instead, she says, “not with Sam. Or his whole…thing.”

“Gender?” She nods, “Hm. Cool.”

She feels glad she told someone. It’s another one of those bonding moments. There’s more trust now.

Then Henry and Sam die. You’re just frozen. So is she. Joel goes to the youngest, trying to get Ellie out of her state first. It takes a moment, before she is. Then they both look to you. Your hands are shaking, and you’ve curled into a ball at the wall.

“Careful,” Joel says, “Actually, stay here,” she does, but her worried and tear filled eyes stay on you.

She can’t hear what he says to you, but it takes a moment for you to look at him. You then fall into his arms. He holds you as you cry.

You stand up with him, avoiding looking at the bodies of your dead friends as best you can, before you or go over to Ellie.

“Come on,” you say, voice quiet, and wobbly. She takes your hand, and notes how you keep holding it as you leave.

As you near Tommy’s dam, she sees that it’s hurt you. You clean yourself off in a more shallow part of the water. You’re quieter. Not dispondant, but in your own head more. Like with Tess, only this was a death you saw. Joel’s worried too, you haven’t been like this since Sarah. And that quietness lasted for a few years, then turned into anger. He doesn’t want to see you go through that again.

Every so often, when you’re too much in your head or about to miss something like a jump or whatever, she will either call out your name, or put a hand on your arm to bring you back to the present. She hates how you jump at it.

She brings up the toy burial thing with Joel when she knows you won’t hear it. Even though Joel dismisses it, he does give her a ‘thank you’ a bit further ahead.

You both meet Tommy again, and those feelings of being an outsider and abandonment come up again.

She guesses this is how you felt for a moment with Sam and her, though she doesn’t have someone to talk to this time about anything. Maria tries, but it’s not the same.

Joel goes off with Tommy, and you find yourself going to the stables. Maria takes Ellie for some food. You’re all separated.

In the stable, you allow yourself a moment of vulnerability. With one horse, it approaches you and nudges you. You cry, and it comforts you, nuzzling against you. It’s sweet, and you allow yourself to feel the toll of everything. To not hide it anymore.

Maria radios later whoever it is in the stables, asking for you.

Whoever it is, sends a girl, named Dina, to come get you. She’s nice. She reminds you of Ellie a bit. Empathetic.

She tells you where to go. Offers to take you, but you apologise for taking up her time and go find Ellie.

She sees your eyes being red from crying, but doesn’t ask about it. Maria follows that action.

When the attack comes, you’re on instinct mode. And that has protect within there somewhere. You’re brutal. Ellie’s never seen this side full on. It scares her a bit.

“Are you ok?” Joel asks, getting Ellie calm with her rant. She says she is, but then she looks to you in the corner, sat on the table, blood on parts of your face and jacket, and jeans…you’re not caked in it, but there are splatters of blood on pretty much all of you.

“Y/N…they. They protected me.”

Joel hates that this part has come out again, but he finds himself nodding with Ellie, “yeah,” he says, “can you give us a minute?” She nods, moving aside to let him go to you.

“Dad,” you say, instincts on high and your head shoots up to speak to him, “I had to. I had to keep her safe.”

He’s silent for a minute, trying to find the right words. It’s been a while since you’ve had talks like this, time to actually think about his answer, “I know. You did protect her. But, kid, look at you. I don’t want you to lose yourself to that. I don’t want you to…become who I was.”

“Am I a monster?”

“No, no. God no,” he’s quick and sure of that answer, “just…I think this has taken a toll on you more than it has me.”

You smile a small one, he mirrors it, “guess I’m feeling my age too, huh?”

He snorts, “yeah. I don’t think you’re there yet.”

He’s glad he’s done this. And while he knows leaving Ellie will be hard, he knows this is best. You’re both becoming too attached, and he doesn’t want you to go through that pain again.

To make it easier, Joel asks Maria to get you some fresh clothes and have a wash to try make this easier on himself too. She does so, meaning you have no idea Ellie ran away.

Maria’s gentle with you, not out of fear, but because you’re part of her family, and she sees how much this transfer of having Ellie in your life to not is gonna hurt you.

“Thank you,” she says after you’re dressed and leave the room, “for what you did. I’m sorry it came to that.”

“It’s nothing,” you say, waving it off, “thank you for the clothes and the shower. Haven’t had one like those in god knows how long.”

“Don’t know a good thing til it’s gone, huh?” She says.

“Definitely not,” you say, chuckling, before playing with your fingers a bit.

There’s a beat of silence between you both. Not awkward, just a moment of silence.

“You’re welcome to stay, you know,” she says, “you, Joel, and the kid,” she hates lying, but she’d rather spare you that pain, “there’s some empty houses we’ve got.”

You smile, and there’s a sparkle of life to your eyes. There’s hope.

“I’d like that,” you say.

She goes to say something else, when her radio goes off. It’s Tommy, he was wondering if you could come down to the stables, and that Joel and Ellie are wanting to get another horse for you to get where you want to go.

Internally, she’s relieved. Both for her husband not going, but also for that idea of a happy ending being alive still.

She doesn’t think she’s ever seen someone so hopeful for a happy ending. And, knowing about what Joel and you went through, or all least, what Tommy told her about you both, she doesn’t think there’s someone that deserves one more.

Joel and Ellie agree to keep their little fight a secret too, as they too see how happy you are to be together again as a trio.

Ellie rides on Joel’s horse, you ride your own.

You and your dad both try and explain (American) football to Ellie. God help her, she tries to understand it. To be honest, you barely got it yourself.

Still, this is the closest you three have been. And Joel is pretty happy too. You’ve almost reverted back to how you were, but in a more mature way if that makes sense? You’ve got back your hope and openness, just with this more mature mind now using them.

He even opens up about having Sarah and you pretty young. You never asked him about your mother, he was enough as far as you knew. But, he always said your mother loved you, whatever happened to her. So that was enough for you. Not that you and Sarah didn’t theorize.

While waiting for Joel to reappear to open the gate for you both, you mention that Sarah and her would’ve gotten along really well, and she hopes so. She then asks you about being twins, how it's a bit weird. But you explain to her how you and Sarah weren’t always on the same pages. You were different people, just had your own sibling dynamic. Being the same age, and either of you ever sure of who was the oldest by whoever many minutes, just meant you experienced things at the same time.

When Joel mentions the singing, even you beg him, reminding him of when he did for you and Sarah when younger, “You still remember that, kid?”

“Oh boy, do I. You were a real country singer.”

“I was not.”

“Was too.”

“Was not.”

“Was.

“Not.

“Not.”

“Was.”

“Ha! Got you.”

“Damn it,” Ellie chuckles at you both. Selfishly, she hopes you don’t find the firefly’s, and that she can stay with you. She’ll miss you both a ton.

Though, that wish soon turns into reality. And reality is a nightmare.

Joel gets injured. You both get him out, though barely.

Ellie panics, and you revert back to instinct mode. But this time it’s focused.

You find shelter together, and it’s Ellie this time who lets herself be more open, “what do we do?” She asks, voice trembling a bit in both fear and the coldness. It’s winter.

“I don’t know,” you say, voice neutral.

“You don’t know?”

“You want me to say something else?”

“I want for you to have a plan!”

“Well I don’t fucking have one!”

“Then fucking think of one!”

“Like what?!” She shrinks back a small amount, but still holds your gaze, “Hm?! What do you want me to tell you, Ellie? There’s nothing around here! This whole fucking place has been raided! Maybe we’ll get lucky in our next place. A mall, or something. But, right here? Right here, we have nothing!”

You two don’t talk as you move onto a mall.

“Stay here, I’ll go see if there’s anything,” you say to Ellie, getting your pack ready.

“I’ll go,” she says.

“We can’t both go.”

“Then I’ll go.”

“That’s suicide.”

“I can take care of myself, Y/N,” she says, then grabs your hands in hers, “you use your size to your advantage, I can use mine. You’ve taught me a lot. I can do this. Just, trust me, please?”

You don’t like the idea of this. You’re the older one, you’re the one who is meant to do this. But, you also see how Ellie is pleading. You didn’t even think you taught her a lot, but she’s earnest with her words.

You find yourself nodding; and with her assurance that she’ll be “back in a flash,” she’s gone.

She’s not. It’s a bit longer than that. But she stands corrected that she can take care of herself. She even helps you fend off the hunters that had come looking for you.

She’s determined to keep your father alive. You both work on keeping him that way.

You hand her some alcohol before she does the needle work, “to help keep your hands steady.”

She takes it, it doesn’t taste great, but it does the trick.

You find yourself in a town, hiding in the garage part of a house.

You both communicate through things other than words at this point. You both snuggle close to your dad to share body heat. When one goes on a hunt, the other gives a nod of good luck, sometimes a hug.

One time she takes longer than usual, tells you that she met someone else who gave her some medicine. But that they were “fucking creepy.”

Those creeps come by the next day. You’re awake before Ellie this time. Your rushed moment and knocking something over wakes her up, and she’s alert quickly.

“Stay here, I’ll lead them away.”

“That’s stupid!” She tells you, “You’ll die.”

“Only if they catch me. Look,” you say, crouching down and putting your hands on her shoulders, “I’ll be right back, ok?”

“We both will be,” she says, looking to Joel, “you just don’t die, alright? You motherfucker,” she says to him, before getting up.

“You go one way, I’ll go the other?” She nods at the plan, and you both ride out, before splitting up.

You’re both caught, but David tells her you died. When she rips off his finger, she makes sure it hurts to avenge you.

She gets out, and just mutters to herself, “please don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead,” as she tries to make her way back to Joel.

She can’t lose anyone else.

She finds a cell, one with a fresh dead member of David’s crew, “that’s what you get, you sick fucks,” she says to herself. Proud. It means you’re alive.

She gets caught again, and finds herself truly terrified for the first time in a while. She knew people could be cruel in this world, but not like this. Not like David.

When she kills David, she lets it all out. All that anger. All that pain.

Joel finds her, and she’s still in fighting instinct, but calms when she sees it’s Joel.

She breaks down in her father’s arms.

She then remembers you, and pulls away, and only croaks out the start of your name before Joel shushes her.

“We’ll find them, baby girl, we’ll find them.”

It doesn’t take long.

They find you wandering out on your own.

Joel calls out your name, and you spin around with a revolver in your hand. You look dazed.

But you blink a few times, and your father and sister don’t disappear.

You barrel into them, and the three of you just hold each other.

Joel kisses you both on the head, before you then do the same to Ellie.

“Oh, Ellie,” you say, crouching down. You put your hands on her face, “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” She feels warm in the hug. Safe. Protected.

This is what family is like, she knows it’s true.

It’s people who put their life on the line for each other. And care about each other deeply.

As a family, you leave that horrible town, and onto your final stretch of your journey.

This time, it’s you who pulls Ellie out of her head. Sometimes you call out her name, sometimes you put a hand on her shoulder. Or sometimes, when trying to have banter with her, you ruffle her hair a bit.

She always gives you a small smile, but it doesn’t fool you.

But you also know if you push it, it may push her overboard.

So you just keep near, making sure she eats, and sleeps well.

Most nights, she goes to sleep with you having a protective arm around her, or running your fingers through her hair to calm her down.

You even try and do her hair at one point, it doesn’t go well, but she does give you a ‘thank you’ for the effort.

“Don’t leave,” she says one night, while falling asleep. Joel is long gone for the night, it’s just you both.

“We won’t.”

“But you will, one day.”

“One day, yeah. But that won’t be for a long, long time,” you assure your little sister.

“How do you know?”

“Because, even when I tried to die, it didn’t work.”

“…What?”

“A bit after Sarah. Dad stopped me. It’s what made the mark on my forehead. I missed.”

“I’m glad you did.”

You smile, “yeah, I’m glad I did too.”

She falls asleep, glad to have met you people. Glad to have found a family.

When she almost drowns, you and Joel are panicking. No one is in control of the sitatuion. Your only thoughts are Ellie and making sure she doesn’t die.

You wake up in the hospital. Marlene visits you, and tells you the story she told Joel. But then, over the radio, you hear about Joel breaking out, and Marlene takes you with her, as “collateral,” she says. She does give you an “I’m sorry, kid” but it doesn’t mean anything.

When Joel gets out the elevator, Marlene has a gun to your head and you on your knees.

“This is your kid, Joel. Ellie won’t feeling anything, I promise.”

Joel pauses, and you see him hesitate for a moment.

A gun goes off twice. One with it being held in the air, the other into Marlene’s stomach.

You keep it pointed at her, put Joel then comes back, and holds out his hand, “go check on Ellie.” He knows what the darkness can do to you.

You nod, going to the car and putting her head on your lap.

She wakes up to you, and you smile down at her.

When Joel tells the lie, she looks at you, searching for any sign of bullshit. She does find some, but doesn’t say anything.

The three of yo arrive at Jackson, more alive than ever.

You give her a boost up to Joel when the log falls, then they both help you up. She jokes at you feeling your age one thirty-something when you put a hand to your back.

She then confides in your both about Riley. And swears you both to tell her that what you said was true.

You both do, and try to help her with her guilt over her friends’ deaths.

She knows your lying, but buries it. She knows she has also lied to you at being able to fully keep her innocence. But, that’s just part of growing up, she supposes.

She has you now. A support system. And she doesn’t like the lie. But you two have to each other and her sometimes on the journey, but your care for each other is real. So, she says the only thing she can think of to keep this bond going.

“Ok.”

[chill-mcyt-art-reblogs]

2, 6, and 8? :0

2. it's christmas you whos

ah. This fic.

The fic that haunts my dreams and keeps me awake far into the night. My mortal shame. The fic that was supposed to be released last christmas but instead i imploded in on myself like a dying star.

It's your standard It's a Wonderful Life AU. Wilbur starts off as a happy kid with aspirations of being in a band and slowly I beat him down until the only solution left is local not-supposed-to-be-a-guardian-angel Phil who's doing this to get his wings back from his wife to take Wilbur on a fever dream where he gets to witness all of his loved ones in varying degrees of distress.

Something I really like doing for this fic is figuring out where the different people come in and how it all eventually ties together... and how, if Wilbur wasn't there, it would have just fallen apart.

Another favorite part is career farmer Techno who is *constantly* going to war with the local government but only because he can't just dismantle them once.

A short snippet:

There’s a man on the bridge.

It’s an old bridge. Re-done and upgraded a thousand times. New beams. New asphalt. New guardrails. Everything kept up just enough to be called safe, and yet still, in the town’s endeavors of saving the pennies and dimes from repairing the old instead of building the new, they preserved some of the romance of the thing.

In truth, it had been widened to accommodate two lanes, had proper sidewalks installed, along with street lamps. But it still looked out on the same beautiful river it had when it was first built. The forest on either side somehow having remained untouched by progress. The kind of place lovers walk at night. A place where people gaze out of their car windows to see the beauty as it passes too quickly by.

Not tonight though.

6. i was reading that one fic again

this one haunts me less but only because it has no seasonal theme that i missed and also the final chapter is almost done.

This is my fic, "That I Could Fear a Door" over on Ao3 (linked under the cut). And I got the idea reading Silverwing15's "Two Fusiliers" (also linked under the cut). Because we love Philza and Technoblade have an emotional reunion and also Phil's a little messed up.

It's been a fun little project. I hope to finish the final chapter soon. It's angsty, emotional conversations from here on out >:). Phil has not had a good time and between the decades and the brainwashing he's got no idea how to approach Techno. And it doesn't help that Techno's getting pushy and distressed himself.

Actually this fic was supposed to start, like, the day before where it actually starts because I was going to show Wilbur getting whipped for "inciting rebellious thoughts."

Which is exactly what he was doing, actually.

A short snippet:

A happier time. Sure it existed, but it’s gone, gone now. It’s over.

(there was laughter, and warmth, and good things. The burn of sweet whiskey on his tongue and the sound of a crackling fireplace)

(and someone else was there as well)

Someone else-

Technoblade-

Technoblade was there. He was always there.

And then he wasn’t. He wasn’t- wasn’t there.

Just a memory. Just a dream. The smallest figment of old comforts that still manage to haunt him at night. Slowly whittled away at by whips and chains and time, time, time-

He’s gone, it’s all gone.

8. “Lost Voice” Toast AU

basically i saw the distinct lack of ghost!tommy fics and decided that clearly Tubbo needed more torturing than what he's already gone through so I made Tommy accidentally down in Exile and Ghost Tommy, or Toast, wandering around outside L'manburg.

oh and also he just disappears one day because Dream revives him and no there is no explanation giving to Tubbo so I just leave him wondering for a while if Tommy melted because he wouldn't come inside or if he just... doesn't want to see him anymore.

I also considered maybe having post-prison death Toast show up but eh I think it will work better as a sad, short little fic where everyone's got that Big Sad

and I don't actually have a good snippet for this one so :|

[myketheartista]

“Tommy’s ghost only remembers bad memories.”

Furthermore, Tommy accidentally dies canonically while exiled. Contrary to what we know in canon, Tubbo has not gone to see him at all. Tubbo has basically refused to visit Tommy to accept the fact that he doesn’t need him. This only makes things worse, of course! I haven’t seen anything from Tubbo’s POV after the exile, so if he has said something of the sort, that’s pretty interesting!

---

Tubbo doesn’t know which one of those deaths is real every time he sees Tommyinnit tried to swim in lava or Tommyinnit fell from a high place. It haunts him, not knowing what Tommy is doing, why is he in danger, why is he not taking care of himself? He’s gotten a passing word from Ranboo, Fundy, anyone who has spoken to him, that Tommy is okay, but he needs to see for himself. So he finally goes to pay a visit.

Except he doesn’t see Tommy anywhere near the tent. His gaze follows the path leading past the nether portal, perking up when he spots Logsted hidden within the trees and begins heading over rather slowly. He feels good. For some reason though, there’s a hint of....jealousy? He’s sad? Tommy seems to be doing just fine after the exile...has a decent looking home, a huge body of water, plenty of space to build, access to the nether...he’s doing fine without Tubbo.

Meanwhile for Tommy, and as we’ve seen a little bit in canon, he thinks Tubbo will visit soon! He’ll come eventually, he’s still his friend, he misses him...right? And as days pass, there’s still no sign. Every time someone else comes, he asks if Tubbo has talked about him, if he’s even mentioned his name in conversation, and the more he asks, the more desperate he becomes. In the book him and Ranboo write in, he always asks, trying his best not to sound as desperate as he is, but it’s without fail that it comes up, ‘has Tubbo mentioned me at all? Not that I care about the guy! He exiled me, he’s a bitch hahahaha he can fuck off...but has he said anything?’

But yeah, Tubbo finally works up the courage to visit Tommy, knows he’ll have to see him eventually, and makes his way over to Logsted. He stands in the entrance, surprised to see the familiar yellow sweater of his old leader who has his back turned to Tubbo. He’s busy chatting away as chipper as can be while his voice is light and scratchy as it has been for the past few weeks ever since he died, but its the quiet, “Ghostbur?” that makes him turn around to acknowledge the boy’s presence. Wilbur’s face lights up and he moves forward to greet Tubbo, but it’s difficult to focus on the ghost’s cheerful attitude when all Tubbo can look at is the pale skin, the white, lifeless eyes, and the messy blonde hair that seems to have lost some of its color. He takes a step back, unsettled by the way Tommy’s expressionless face stares back at him. He’s...is he...he can’t be...?

Wilbur slips back into view because he’s clearly been talking this whole time and Tubbo hasn’t been listening! How rude :(  but it’s okay because- oh! he’s looking at Tommy! 

“Yeah, Tommy’s been like that for a while now, but he doesn’t talk much which is weird, right, Tubbo? Tommy always has something to say, but I guess it’s nice getting some peace and quiet every once in a while.” And Tubbo can only focus on the ‘been like that for a while’ part because what? He’s been what?? Tommy is still staring at him with no recognition in his face, nor does he give a sign that he’s glad to see his best friend after so long. It hurts.

Tubbo feels Wilbur practically hanging off of his shoulder and hears him whisper, “He doesn’t smile as much as he used to. Even when I play the discs, he always looks so sad. Nothing really cheers him up anymore. And Tommy loved the discs, I remember that. I tried asking him why he was so sad because I know I don’t like feeling sad since it doesn’t feel very good, and he just shrugs every time.” Tubbo doesn’t feel good himself. 

Wilbur continues to ramble on about how the things that usually make Tommy happy haven’t been working as Tubbo reaches into his pocket, pulling out the compass. Wilbur stops when he sees it and brightens, “Hey, I gave you that! You still have it on you- see Tommy, I told you he carries it wherever he goes!” And surprisingly enough, there’s a flicker of something in Tommy’s eyes that makes Tubbo hold his breath. Something like ‘that’s familiar...tubbo has one?’ Tommy looks around, confusion evident on his face. ‘i have one too, right?’ It’s been a while since he’s touched it. He stored it away out of fear he would lose it after falling into lava so much. And as he begins to move towards the barrels, Wilbur watches him in fascination, kind of like how someone watches their dog look for a hidden treat because Tommy is finally remembering something! This is good! Tommy sifts through the barrels, taking his time to go through each one until he searches through a particularly full barrel and pulls out the compass from the bottom. Hidden beneath unused materials and more of the like. Things that they weren’t going to use anymore...there was no point. Tommy just stays in Logsted all day. But he fishes it out, turns around and walks over to Tubbo and holds it out next to the other compass that Tubbo has hovering in front of him.

Tubbo’s been too...shocked? Too nervous to say anything this whole time, but he stares at the compasses and looks up at Tommy who’s watching the little red needle quite intensely. He speaks up, feeling his throat tighten as he attempts to get the word out, “Tommy?”

Tommy doesn’t look at him, doesn’t do anything to reassure Tubbo that he’s heard him, just brings his other hand up to grab the underside of Tubbo’s hand and brings their compasses closer to where they touch and there’s a little clink. His brows are furrowed as he thinks, “Your....Tubbo.” Ah, he hasn’t forgotten about him! He might be a ghost, but he stills remembers who his best friend is.

Tubbo nods, “Yeah...yeah, I’m Tubbo.” And Tommy shakes his head, a frustrated noise coming out of him. “Your Tubbo,” and pushes his own compass forward. Tubbo blinks and it sort of registers. “Oh, oh yeah,” and he pushes his compass forward as well, mimicking Tommy, “Y-Your Tommy.”

Tommy nods but still looks a bit confused, irritated, not really satisfied with the “answer” he’s been given. Tubbo stares at him, watching his face sit on the same sad, lost expression. He grabs Tommy’s hand as well, the one with the compass, and brings their hands up. “Do you remember? Remember me?”

Tommy finally looks at him, causing Tubbo to wince at the way those lifeless eyes stare right through his body. He holds Tommy’s gaze though, forcing himself to choke back the tears that dare to escape and gives his friend a smile. “You remember Tubbo, yeah? I’m your best friend, Tommy.” Tommy stares at him before plainly stating, “Yeah, you exiled me.” Tubbo’s smile drops, and his grip on Tommy’s hands loosens. “I- I didn’t- Tommy, I didn’t mean to, Dream wanted-“

Tommy’s expression shifts to something angrier, annoyed, and still a bit confused. “Dream wanted? Why are we listening to Dream? Dream hates me, why would you listen to him? Who cares what he wants.”

Tubbo averts his gaze, shaking his head. “No, I’m not listening to- Tommy, I didn’t want to exile you, but he-“ and Tommy cuts him off again, getting louder. “He what?! What about him, Tubbo? Why are you listening to him? He tried to kill us, he started a war, he hurt our friends, Tubbo, he built walls around L’manberg! And you’re still listening to him? Tubbo, he—he came over here and kept taking my things! Forced me to give up everything I had! Everyday, it was the same thing and he blew them up right in front of me! Threatened to kill me if I didn’t listen, Tubbo!”

And as quickly as the anger appeared, it vanished. His expression falls and his voice grows weak. “You exiled me...and he kept coming back to shove it in my face.”

Ah, but there’s still some resentment left. “He kept- he’s a bitch, Tubbo, that’s what he is. I hate him and I wanna kill him and you should stop listening to him because you’re...” and he trails off, eyes softening and mouth closing into a thin line. Tommy physically deflates and sighs. “You said you’re my best friend, Tubbo.” Tubbo nods and hears his voice break, “I am, Tommy.” 

“Then why am I so mad at you. I don’t feel happy at all to see you.” Tubbo wants to cry and laugh at the same time because the words hurt, but Tommy looks like he’s just pouting at this point. Even as a ghost, he’s pouting. “...Tommy, are you mad at me or mad that you aren’t happy to see me?” Tommy takes a second and chews on his lip awkwardly because he’s right. He grunts out a “both” and Tubbo exhales, letting the laugh slip out.

“What’s so funny? I’m still mad at you. You can’t laugh when I’m mad at you or I’ll be even madder.” Wilbur comes up behind Tubbo and floats beside him because he’s apparently still here, and Tubbo nearly jumps out of his skin cause oh god he saw all that? that’s sort of embarrassing, but Wilbur joins in, “Yeah, that’s kind of rude of you, Tubbo. Tommy’s been really sad and all you do is laugh at him.” And Tommy’s pale skin somehow reddens despite the lack of blood in his body. “I haven’t been sad, you idiot! Don’t tell him that!” Now that sounds like the Tommy he knows.

Tubbo listens to them go back and forth, feeling the burning sensation behind his eyes become unbearable and tries to swallow, sucks in a breath and realizes he can’t hold it back anymore, so he just leans forward and pulls Tommy into a hug and hides his face in the crook of his neck. That shuts them both up. And Tommy doesn’t know what ‘good’ is anymore. Doesn’t remember what happiness feels like. It’s really the complete opposite of Wilbur’s situation and Tommy hates it. He doesn’t want to feel sad all the time, but he can’t think of anything good that happened to him while he was alive and it frustrates him, confuses him, and that just makes him angrier. Wilbur telling him stuff makes him mad too because he shouldn’t have to be told these things, they should just come to him naturally. 

But bottom line, he doesn’t remember what a hug is nor what it felt like. So...hugging is weird. It feels nice? He thinks? He vaguely recalls doing it with Wilbur...and even Techno...a lot with Phil. Years ago for them three but what felt like just yesterday for Tommy. He hugged them all the time back then when they were still a family...he didn’t hug Tubbo enough, did he?

Tommy awkwardly moves his arms to hold Tubbo and stares at Wilbur, helpless and silently pleading ‘help me what do I do’, and Wil just nods like, ‘yeah, you’re doing fine! dont worry.’ And they fall into a comfortable silence. Or rather what Tommy thought was going to be comfortable until he realizes that his shirt is progressively getting wetter by the second and Tubbo has begun to sniff quite a lot. “Uh...y’know, Tubbo, this is pretty cool. You’re hugging a ghost right now. Not many people can say they’ve done that.” He receives a laugh in response and Tubbo’s warm breath tickles his cold skin. “‘m sorry, Tommy.”

Well, he had certainly tried to lighten the mood, but he deflates a bit at the apology and frowns. “It’s fine.” He feels Tubbo’s head shake. “No, I should’ve stopped him. I shouldn’t have made him escort you, and I should’ve kept an eye on him. I should’ve come sooner.” Ugh. All of this apologizing and for what? Tommy rolls his nonexistent eyes and grumbles, his tone growing annoyed. “It’s fine, Tubbo, I don’t care-“ and Tubbo lightly punches his back to shut him up. “You do. You wouldn’t have told me if you didn’t.” Dammit, he’s got a point.

Tommy purses his lips and glares at Wilbur who smiles innocently. God, he definitely shouldn’t be here, just go a w a y. But Wilbur either ignores him or completely misses the social cue and floats over to a barrel, pulling out a disc and moving out of Tommy’s peripheral. Tubbo keeps going, “I was scared. I’m the president, Tommy, but I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to follow you, but that’s...I’m a leader now. I can’t. That’s all I’ve ever done. I followed you and Wilbur, and now you’re both gone and I’m all by myself.” 

Tommy’s arms tighten a bit around him as he tries to reason with him. “There’s Fundy. And Big Q. Niki, Ranboo, Eret’s there but he’s still a bitch for what he did to us.” Tubbo digs his face into his neck even more, voice breaking again when he continues. “They called me Schlatt. Fundy, Quackity, even you. They don’t like me. They think I’m some dictator for what I did, and I thought I was doing the right thing. Everything hurts when I think back on it, but I can’t help it.” He pulls back and Tommy wants to look away, but the redness of Tubbo’s cheeks and the tears falling down his face keep him where he’s at. “I was scared you had died. Really died. But they always said you were fine, and I thought you didn’t need me. “

Tommy’s grip tightens around his compass “I didn’t.” Tubbo shakes his head and he wipes at the tears that refuse to stop. “You don’t mean that.” Chirp kicks to life in the background, and Tommy hums at the sound, relieved there’s something there to fill the silence “I don’t.” He doesn’t. He really doesn’t, but he’s at a loss. He’s unsure what the right thing to say is. He probably would’ve said something different if he were still alive, but he can’t even begin to think about what alive Tommy would say. All he thinks about is grey.

He looks behind him and sees Wilbur gone, probably inside the house, and listens to Tubbo speak again. “You clearly needed someone. You’re dead.”

Tommy looks back, and his eyes are a bit wider because someone finally said it to his face. It’s like he knew but...didn’t completely process it? And hearing it from Tubbo only makes it worse. “I guess I am...” he trails off, losing focus as the familiar tune of Chirp invades his ears and begins to sound too loud, too much, he doesn’t like how loud it is- 

“Tommy?”

He blinks and stares at Tubbo. His tears have stopped. That’s good. He doesn’t like it when Tubbo cries. “Tubbo, are you just here to lecture me or is there something you want?” He curses mentally. Those words aren’t what he wanted to say at all, but saying anything else didn’t feel right. He’s not saying what he wants, why can’t he speak?? But Tubbo smiles and grabs his hand with the compass again, staring at it fondly and running his thumb across Tommy’s ashy skin. 

“I’d like if you came back, Tommy.”

Huh?

Huh???

Tommy frowns. “Oh, so NOW you want me to come back. You waited till I died to say that! You just want L’manberg to be haunted, don’t you, Tubbo? You wanna be able to tell tourists that you have ghosts, huh?” And Tubbo laughs and laughs. Bubbly and so childlike. “That’s not what I meant-“

Tommy interrupts him and yells, but it’s clear he’s joking this time. “Wilbur- no, Ghostbur wasn’t enough for you, huh? That’s fine, I can be a good ghost for you, Tubbo, I’m great at this thing and I’ve only been like this for a week or so, I’ve practically mastered it.” And Tubbo keeps laughing, wipes at his eyes again as Tommy yells for Wilbur to “Pack our bags! we’re moving back to shitty, old L’manberg! We’re gonna be ghosts, Wilbur! It’ll be less shitty once we take over!” But he leans down and grabs Tubbo’s shoulders, white eyes seemingly glowing a little bit brighter as a smile grows on his face. “Tubbo, you have to promise me that I won’t be exiled again if I haunt Dream. I need to have your word, Tubbo, this is the most important thing in my entire life and I need your permission so I can rub it in his face when he starts crying like a little bitch boy and tells me to stop.”

Tubbo nods as more tears slip down his face, more laughter bubbling out of him. Tommy shakes his shoulders and laughs as well, high-pitched and loud as always. “Tubbo! Why’re you still crying! The president of L’manberg doesn’t cry, he gets angry and tells Dream to fuck off!” 

And Tubbo looks up at Tommy, slipping the compass back inside his pocket. 

“I’m just glad you’re still you.”

[tarosin]

The great adventures of y/n tubbo jack niki and george

requested:yes/no

pairing: platonic y/n,tubbo,jack,niki and george

summary: minecraft cave in real life

content warning: cursing

an: the word love is used a couple times but this is all platonic <3 i still don’t know how to add read more on mobile i am sorry about that, part 3 to great adventures series

it was around 4 am when the heat became a problem, unable to sleep you grabbed your phone and decided to facetime ranboo just as he was ending stream

“hey boo...you look like you’ve seen a ghost what the fuck were you doing”

“fnaf vr”

“I’m sure it’s not that bad you’re being dramatic”

“okay we shall see how you like it when I make you play it when I’m in the UK”

“okay bet I’ll add it to our list of videos and stream ideas anyway I can't sleep it’s too hot and I’m so confused as to why Tommy keeps asking me if I like and I quote being high”

“tubbo was telling me about that he keeps teasing him about planes you never know maybe you’re all going on an international adventure... or being pushed out a plane”

“doubt it there’s no way Tommy would pull something as crazy as jumping out a plane it would be pretty cool, I was thinking about doing it for my birthday”

“with a parachute? I hope”

“eh with or without, either way, is fine for me”

an hour passed you and ranboo sat talking about what was happening tomorrow and how you wished he was going to be there with you, after all, you knew how it felt to be watching people you care about making plans and doing things without you.

“didn’t you say you were going to a cave tomorrow? Minecraft in real life, nice”

“I’m begging please touch grass”

“I’ve already done that it made me want to become an engineer now get some rest y/n you’ll be getting up in a few hours, I’ll call you tomorrow goodnight”

“see you tomorrow I love you”

*y/n has ended the call*

•••

when you woke up at 9 you couldn’t shake off the awful feeling you had, today just didn’t feel like a good day you needed some time to yourself to recharge however you knew you’d be okay later on

Niki: good morning y/n!! would you like us to pick you up now or do you need a bit longer

y/n: don’t worry about it I’ll make my own way!! :]

Niki: okay see you soon!!

George: we will pick you up in an hour and a bit

Tommy: wait what are you guys doing

tubbo: following jack and Niki around

y/n: what he said

Tommy: have fun then guys without me

y/n: don’t you have work to do big guy

Tommy: don’t you have to get ready

y/n: leave me alone

•••

soon enough you saw jacks car pull up outside so you grabbed your bag from the other day as it still had everything you needed except this time you decided to bring along a mini first aid kit as you knew your clumsiness and a cave wouldn’t mix well. now you were fully awake you couldn’t wait to go explore the caves, you sat next to Niki who decided to play with your hair and spent half of the journey on a call with an unhappy Tommy who was in college waiting to go to lesson the other half of the journey was spent singing along to the radio

•••

jack started recording and turned around to see you Niki and tubbo leaning over looking down at the floor

“oh hi jack” you waved at the camera “so what’s the plan of action”

“we’re going up there”

you loved heights so hearing that you were going to go on a cable car made you pretty excited once you all got into the car you and George tried opening all the windows whilst tubbo complained

“stop trying to open things”

“it’s a window”

“scared you’re going to get pushed over the edge hmm? scared you’ll have to free fall? it’s not that high you'd probably survive the fall, it’s not like I'm trying to open the door on a plane”

“y/n I mean this in the nicest way possible I’m never going on a plane with you”

tubbo laughed and joined the conversation “we shall see about that”

you tilted your head to the side and blinked a few times trying to process what he just said

“heh?”

“tubbo if we fell we would die right”

“you know jack I've done a lot in my life”

you took the phone from jack and began filming him and George

“why is it slowing down”

“we’re going to die”

“I didn’t bring enough food”

you sat laughing at your friends' reaction before explaining that it’s slowing down for a reason

“they’re slowing it down so you can jump out, what I didn’t tell you is there’s actually a parachute underneath where you’re sat, good luck gamers”

“We could probably climb out the window”

“NO, where do we go”

you just sat shaking your head laughing whilst your friends sat screaming about it stopping

“y/n we’re going to die”

“oh no.. let me just text ranboo to start planning our funerals”

eventually, the cable car began moving just very slow you then ended the recording after jack made jokes about it moving as fast as a George video comes out, you all then spent the rest of the time enjoying everyone’s company.

•••

tubbo noticed a park and ran to the ropes giving you time to update your community a stream will be happening later on

y/n has tweeted: I am outside, stream with ranboo when we get home :]

you laughed as you posted that as all the comments started rolling in questioning if ranboo had come to the UK. you walked back to your group and wrapped your arms around jack and Niki making them both jump out of shock

“Sorry about that ahah now if you don’t mind I want to play in the park”

they laughed as you ran to the rope trying to swing without falling that’s when you gave up and started climbing the net close to Niki.

“that’s not a swing George”

jack ran towards them “I’m getting on the swing with George”

Niki laughed as she recorded what was happening in front of her, she looked to her left expecting to see you stood next to her however she heard you laugh and run towards your friends

“I’m getting on the swing with tubbo”

a few moments later George pointed out a castle and tubbo mentioned the ‘wet rocks’ you just stood with your arm around Niki's shoulders enjoying the view of the castle that was until a dog caught your attention and you walked off to go ask if you could pet it

“Niki where’s y/n they were with you last”

“with the dog”

“tubbo when they come back just follow the path towards the castle, me and Niki are going to record”

“got it, boss man”

•••

after a few minutes, you walked back to tubbo and George realising jack and Niki weren’t there you tilted your head shrugged then sat next to tubbo on the swings as George began recording

“jack and Niki have left us but we’re having fun on the swings..”

“maybe we’ll lick some rocks”

“YEAH”

•••

“if we’re quiet we can sneak up on them”

the three of you ran down the path towards the start of the castle steps looking at the cameras that allowed you to see the top of the castle

“there they are”

“they’re vlogging”

“We can just see them through the castle cameras they have no idea we can see them”

you stood leaning against George until you all noticed they were about to make their way back down the steps so all ran off to hide

“there they go”

the three of you ran back down the path ignoring the stares from strangers and comments about how your hair was obnoxiously bright, the three of you scared the pair who were looking for you all

“I’ve never been less displeased to see George”

the five of you continued walking around after joking about the green water and questioning George on how he could tell what colour it was

“I’m a genius”

a few fans can over and took photos with you all and George began questioning them

“George you’re really self-promoting right now”

“George I am disappointed in you”

•••

“dude it’s boiling”

“ice cream?”

the five of you stood inline

“I’m dying to tubbo”

“I’m not going to ask questions, I love how you just accepted defeat”

“you’re next y/n” tubbo let go of George and began walking towards you

“FUCK OFF NO” you ran behind George and used him as a shield

“y/n George isn’t going to protect you”

“I will y/n don't worry tubbo fuck off” the three of you stood laughing not realising jack was walking towards you all with the ice cream

“thank you”

“you’re welcome how’s the ice cream”

“great thank you”

you laughed at jack who somehow managed to get ice cream on his nose

•••

you and tubbo noticed a wishing well and walked over to it

“wanna make a wish”

“yeah but we have no money”

you both looked at each other then at jack them looked back at each other and nodded

“what are you two doing”

“We wanna make a wish”

“come on give me your money”

everyone stood laughing at you and tubbo determined to make a wish whilst jack argued he had no money however tubbo noticed a £20 note and grabbed it

“y/n quick make a wish”

the pair of you held the note and then dropped it into the well

“yay!!”

“We made a wish”

the pair of you walked off whilst jack stood telling you both how he can’t believe you and the pair of you had stolen over £100 from him today making you both laugh

“tell me the wish”

“We can’t or it won’t come true”

•••

“right cave time”

“we’re going to die”

“well thanks for that George”

you stood next to tubbo trying to ignore your friends as they made comments about there being mobs like creepers in the cave

“you two really need to go outside more”

everything was going well for you until the worker said to everyone

“I think we do have some kids here who are doing a vlog”

you could feel your cheeks heating up from embarrassment although you loved your job you still weren’t used to people pointing it out

•••

“This cave has a door”

“naturally formed door”

“y/n tubbo were in the caves, where are the diamonds”

you pointed in a random direction then continued walking whilst tubbo kneeled examining the rock claiming there were diamonds, as you all kept walking you had to put up with tubbo jack and George making Minecraft jokes whilst Niki followed behind them staying rather quiet, everyone’s as focusing on the cave not saying much till George spoke up

“it’s turned into a horror movie”

“why’s the cave so low why can’t they just dig up”

“y/n did you really just ask that”

“yes I did my neck hurts from ducking under the rock”

“so sorry to hear that”

“thank you for your concern George”

“I’m not concerned”

“oh-“

the tour continued and you were genuinely having a good time, you found all the different rocks and information given to you by the worker fascinating and slowly stopped listening to what your friends were saying behind you

“so this little tunnel up here is where they would send the kids”

“off you go tubbo and y/n”

“please no”

you all continued for a while till you were told you were going in the dark despite the fact you were excited you were also very afraid of the dark so stood closer to tubbo who instantly noticed and pulled you into a side hug

“we’re going dark”

“oh wow that is the only source of light”

a minute or so later they turned on some softly coloured led lights so you could all look at the geode

“holy shit that’s beautiful”

“I thought a geode was a small animal”

“that’s a pokemon dude”

you were all given time to go for a wander however rather than walking with the others you decided to stay with the geode and started a group call with ranboo and Tommy

“hi guys can’t stay long break is almost over”

“that’s okay Tommy but look at this giant fucking rock”

you flipped the camera so they could see and went around showing them parts of the cave

“holy shit”

“looks great y/n”

“cool right I have to go the worker wants us to get ready to leave see you all soon”

“wait y/n one last question, how are you with heights”

“oooh I’m great I love them we went in a cable car earlier”

“awesome see you all later”

*Tommy left the call*

“I’ll call you when I get home boo I’ll see you soon!!”

“bye y/n stay safe”

*ranboo has left the call*

*y/n has left the call*

as you all left the cave you and tubbo noticed two rocks and went to pick them up

“hey look our wish came true”

“yeah we wished for a weird looking rock when we left the cave”

“you paid £20 for a rock”

“yes”

a few minutes later you and tubbo just started walking away only to be later followed by everyone else

“where are you going”

•••

you all got the cable car back at this point you were exhausted you used all your energy running around the cave determined to show Tommy and ranboo everything

“What did you all think of the cave”

“loved it”

“you lost your rock tubbo?”

tubbo pulled out the rock and smiled at jack

“no, I didn’t”

“but you chucked it”

“told you we wished for a magic rock”

jack finished the recording and you all just sat talking about your day and any future plans

•••

the journey back home was extremely quiet you and tubbo sat next to each other, you fell asleep with your head resting on his shoulder, Niki sat in the front with jack quietly singing along to the radio and George and tubbo quietly spoke to each other trying not to wake you up.

when you finally got home you woke up on your couch confused as to how you got there it was only when you checked your phone you got the answer

Niki: you looked exhausted we didn’t want to wake you, hope you don’t mind. your keys are on the table next to your bag!! see you soon it was lovely meeting you <3

you decided to reply thanking your friends for today.

•••

*incoming call: ranboo*

you accepted the call

“hey y/n tell me all about your day whilst you get ready to stream I'm already set up”

“oh they’re gonna be so annoyed I've joined in with making jokes about you being in the UK anyway so my day was pretty good but I did end up asleep on my couch and had no idea how I got there”

“heh?”

“let me explain”

[simpformoonkight]

Hello, I read some of your matchup things and I became highly interested! I don't know if you're still taking these types of things still. If not than I do apologize! I sorta want to see my Dream SMP matchup if that's okay

Name: Isabel (Online Name: Nyx)

Pronouns: She/Her

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Sexuality: Pansexual, Demisexual

MBT: INFP-T

Personality: I'm an ambivert who leads a bit more onto the introvert side. I tend to radiate recieving energy from other people, sending the same back. As in if someone was very energetic and loud, I'd most likely give out the same energy back. Though most of the time I'm more chill with a "go with the flow" type of personality. As much as I love to keep to myself, I also love to go out and have chaotic fun with friends. I'm a daydreamer with my head in the clouds when I am alone. But I am also sarcastic and I don't take nonsense from anyone.

Likes: Nature, supernatural (ghosts, myths, etc), mythology (mostly greek or Japanese), horror movies, true crime documentaries, fire, swimming, drawing, thunderstorms, poetry, my freedom

Dislikes: Closed mindedness, ignorance, deep dark waters, homophobia (as well as transphobia, etc.), assumptions, feeling trapped or chained down

I hope you've had a good day/night/evening! Thank you for your time!

I pair you up with.. Cc! Ranboo!!

I think you two would get along very well

You two would ending up redating chaotic energy

PARTNERS IN CRIME

If you like to write poetry or read to him he will fall in love with you all over again

You two along side with Tommy and Tubbo would be the only ones understanding each other

Getting along with tommy

Also playing pranks on ranboo with him

Tubbo likes you since you can match up with his energy as well

If you talk about mythology, the supernatural, everything really he will listen to you

"Calm but wanna kill themselves" couple™

If your comfortable he would probably let you join on the stream

Most of the time it just und up him or you embarrassing yourselves while the other one is tearing up from laughing

People are afraid of both of you together

If you are also on the smp you will give less than shit about authorities

*cough* shclatt/wilbur/quackity *cough*

You get along with philza and somehow technoblade

Greek mythology buddies™

Sometimes ranboo gets scared of both of you together

Overall they like you. You like them

Late night cuddles with ranboo

I also pair you with.. technoblade!!

You would have met after Phil brought you over to the Syndicate meet-up

You looked nice not like a criminal

Well.. Other than the fact you didn't take shit from quackity and turned against him

They were impressed (other than Phil who smirked and techno he was just impressed a little bit)

He tricked and you didn't take shit from him

You promised him revange

You met wilbur first then Phil then techno

Wilbur was crazy and you didn't seem phazed by it

And every time he talked about things you either listened or added to his ideas

He was greatful for that

You helped Phil around

With chores and what not

And now technoblade

He wasn't fond of you at first

The whole trust issues and the voices thing

And the blood god too

But the voices used to quiet around you

And he seemed more claimed during you presence

Your love for Greek mythology is byonde my understanding

Scary and powerful couple™

He is pretty touch starved so most of the time he lays on you chest

Your heart beat calms him

He might grumble about it but

If you listen closely

Very very closely...

You might hear happy piglin noises

The voices like you alot

And you have on Hella of patience

Ciyst this piglin dude

Is shit when it comes to flirting or showing his love

But he loves even if he doesn't say it :)

__----___----___----__

Hello!! 👋

I hope you like it, and sorry for not replying early I didn't there was an ask until a few hours ago😭😭😭

Anyways don't be afraid to talk or request anything!!. I don't mind :)

Have a good day/night 🌃 ♥️

[ohworm-writes]

May i request a oneshot for ghost gn reader with c!Tommy? For as long as Tommy can remember, he'd been followed by a ghost that only he could see. They always protected him from monsters, or players and he never understood why. (I was thinking they were related or they were a old friend of Dream, who might've manipulated them too). Fast forward Tommy is in extreme danger (you can choose any moment when Tommy was in danger :) ), and the reader is panicking, they can't help this time. Or maybe they can? DreamXD offers that he'll allow a small time period where they will be revived but, they'll no longer exist. They accept.

You can decide what happens next! Just a lot of angst please! Feel free to do this in a imagine or something else if you dont want to do it as a oneshot! Thank you so much if you do this, I hope you have fun with it :)

main masterlist •• •• •• mcyt masterlist

in·vis·i·ble/inˈvizəb(ə)l/

adjective

unable to be seen; not visible to the eye.

Pairing - Tommyinnit x gn!ghost!Reader ( platonic ) , slight Dream x gn!Reader

Warnings - death , manipulation , anxiety , self-deprecation , minor gore , blood , cursing , mourning

Note - this took a while, but voilà! i had fun writing this, especially for Tommy! this is my first real try at angst, so i hope i did well! i hope you enjoy!

thank you to @krabmeat​ for beta-reading this for me!

Word Count - 2.5k

prompt - check the ask!

content below the cut!

Invisibility was not a foreign feeling to you. The idea that no one could see you, try as you might. Every desperate grasp at attention, every word that came out of your mouth, they merely dismissed all of it as if you were never there in the first place. At first, you hated the feeling. It made you angry. You weren’t a ghost, so why couldn’t they see you? Family, teachers, friends and strangers alike never seemed to see you. 

Upon your inevitable death, a sense of familiarity washed over you. What was the difference? You didn’t have a physical form, but that was it to you. That was the only change in your life. You were given the chance to leave the world behind, to find eternal peace amongst the stars, and you turned the offer down.

Why? Why turn down the only thing that could set you free? Well, long before you died, there was a man. When you had first met him, you hated him with all you had. Everyone saw him, everyone listened to him. He was important, and everyone knew that. Yet he saw you. He was the one person who actually saw you. 

Dream was his name. He was a man who commanded authority, whose heads would turn to when lost like sheep. He made you feel visible; he made you feel heard, but most importantly, he made you feel real. He asked you months before your death to look after a boy, to watch over him and protect him until he himself was to take over your position. So, who were you to accept the afterlife, away from everyone you had ever known, when you’d be tossing your only friend’s wishes to the side?

It was a shame that you only got the chance to meet the boy upon your death. You had never heard of the boy before Dream’s words, but you had heard much of his family. The group was an odd bunch, differing wildly from one another. A god, a king, and a president. Curious, no? They were all the talk of the town, but never once had you heard of the boy Dream spoke of. 

Dream proclaimed he knew the family well, that he was a close friend of theirs. That couldn’t be further from the truth, but you didn’t need to know that. All you needed to know was that you were to look after the youngest in the family; Tommy. Tommy was nothing less than a troublemaker, bringing chaos in his wake. When Dream had first told you about Tommy, he had this look in his eyes. A look of determination, hope, and confidence. That look alone made you agree with his idea. 

Never having a proper friend, you held Dream close. You didn’t want him to let you go, for him to be another person who didn’t see you. He knew this, and he used this information to only drag you deeper into this twisted relationship you were in. He gave you the promise of love, greatness, and everything you could have ever wanted.

Was it stupid for you to trust him? Of course. Did that stop you? Never.

Meeting Tommy was an interesting case in that itself. If you had known that he could see you, maybe you would have hidden at the start, rather than immediately finding your place at his side. Your sudden appearance caused him to drop the plate he was holding, sending it shattering as it impacted the floor. 

His family cursed him for his recklessness, casting him strange looks as he blamed ‘the floating bastard’ at his side. This caused several double-takes from the blond-haired boy, as well as a string of curses mumbled under his breath. He wasn’t crazy! You were right there, staring at him with wide eyes and just as confused of a look as his family. It pissed him off.

So, like that of a child throwing a tantrum, he ignored you. He pretended he didn’t see you. Not the smartest move on his part, seeing how panic immediately set in for you, resulting in him trying to calm you down. “Tommy is a little old for imaginary friends, right?” His older brother, Wilbur, commented offhandedly to his father. A shrug followed from the older man, and thus the conversation was dropped. 

Over time, Tommy warmed up to you. Even if it got him strange looks for talking and screaming to himself, he didn’t care. He’d give a cocky smile when you’d express your concerns about it. “Tommo! They’re looking at you like you’re nuts!” You whine, floating on your back in front of him, your hands covering your face in second-hand embarrassment. He lets out a boisterous laugh, his eyes creasing with the action. 

“Who cares! I don’t gotta’ worry about what they fuckin’ think!” Self-confidence spills off of him like a fountain, his positive energy spreading to you. You give your own laugh, smiling at his wild antics. Still, that uneasy feeling stays rooted in you. Your smile falters, and he’s quick to catch it. “Don’t worry about it! They’re just jealous they can’t see you like I am. Clearly, I’m better ‘cause of that. “

You can’t help but huff out a laugh at his words. “Maybe they’re right, you are kinda’ a nut, Tommo.” He screeches out obscenities at you, waving his hands wildly as he tries to protect his honor. It only causes the two of you to howl out in laughter, but maybe it’s for the better. 

Tommy was a reckless one, that was a fact you knew quickly while staying by his side. He had a tendency to run into danger headfirst, without thinking of the consequences. Whether it be starting wars and going in over his head, or simply fighting mobs, armorless, may it be added. As his ‘guardian’ of sorts, it was your job to protect him. 

Of course, without a physical form, you couldn’t take the blows for yourself. Arrows you’d try to take for him would pass through your translucent body. So, you made it a habit to stay two steps ahead of it all. Listening to your surroundings became second nature. You’d call out to Tommy, steering him in the opposite direction if you heard so much as a twig snapping. You’d wake him up in the dead of night if you spotted any danger. All to keep him safe, all to keep your promise. 

You’d seen Dream a multitude of times since you began your time alongside Tommy. From the first war to Tommy’s exile, you’d seen him in so many parts of Tommy’s life. You never saw it as a bad thing, always arguing with Tommy whenever he expressed his hatred towards Dream. Dream wasn’t the bad guy to you, he was just tunnel-visioned in on his plan! 

Deep down, you knew Dream could no longer see you. But sometimes, on an off chance, he’d look at Tommy’s side. The exact side where you floated beside the boy. He’d keep eye contact with you for a second, then go back on to talking to Tommy. Dream knew you were there. He knew he had you wrapped around his finger. Most importantly, he knew that you’d never let him down. 

He never relieved you of your duty, though. He never spoke out your name, nor that you should go. So, you didn’t. You helped Tommy through the emotional manipulation he’d been put through. You helped him through every cut and bruise that came across him. You helped him through every horrifying death he’d gone through. Every time you couldn’t save him.

As they say, history has a tendency to repeat itself. 

The Doomsday War. TNT raining from the sky, causing violent explosions and craters to form in the once beautiful soil of L’manburg. The acts of a god, a king, and a tyrant causing nothing but the shed of blood and the stench of death to fill the air. Where were you amongst the madness? Well, Tommy’s side, of course! Panicking, albeit, but there nonetheless. 

The boy, once filled with nothing but childish joy, was now amidst another life-threatening scenario. You questioned Dream’s ways sometimes, but this? Destroying the boy’s home, destroying everything he had fought for a lifetime ago. Where was the line?

Another ear-piercing explosion resonates at your side, causing Tommy to be thrown to the ground like a rag-doll. He quickly picks himself up, grabbing his weapon and heading towards Technoblade with nothing short of hurt and anger in his eyes. His sword clashes with the Blood God’s, the metal-on-metal screeching making you cringe. The loud ‘shing’ and ‘clang’ of the collisions is what keeps your attention focused. Because if the sounds were absent, death would be calling. 

With a calculated move from Techno, he maneuvers his sword away from Tommy’s, leaving him open to strike the boy. “Tommo, on your left!” You scream in just enough time for Tommy to block the attack. You float a suitable distance away from the two, not wanting to impede Tommy’s blows. You were useless in this fight. 

Tears well up in your eyes, your chest rising and falling in a blind panic. He only had a single life left, and his permanent death would be all your fault. That is, only if you did nothing. Within the moment of a blink, everything goes white. You’re no longer in L’manburg, no longer amidst a war. The place was familiar, a white room with no walls visible. 

This is where you went when you had died. 

An echoing voice sounds from all around you. Even if you turn around in all directions, desperately trying to find the source of the noise, you’re unable to pinpoint it. The voice echoes your name, pronouncing the word like it was an unfamiliar taste on the tongue. Your arms instinctively hold your ectoplasmic arms closer to yourself, an action you’ve done more time than you’d like to admit. 

“Who’s there?!” Your voice cracks, it’s frantic and filled with fear. The voice laughs, the echo in its voice doubling. “You seem to be in quite the mess, are you not?” The voice is mocking, but you can’t tell at this point. Your words come out rushed as you explain the situation. “Tommy’s in trouble, and I can’t do anything! He’s dying and I can only watch! I don’t want him to die! He’s too young!”

Hot tears stream down your face as you wail out to the voice. You feel helpless, even more so when the voice screams out in laughter around you. You cover your ears and close your eyes tight. The tears don’t stop, and soon it’s the only thing you can point out. Not the blinding light of the room, nor the feeling of dread that has made a home in your body. All you can feel are the wet, hot tears that flow down your face. “I have a proposition for you.” The voice is singular now, a slight echo, but you can pinpoint it. Your head shoots up and your eyes shoot open, met with the sight of a god. 

DreamXD.

The god towers over you, and you can’t help but feel oh-so small. Even face-to-face with the god, you don’t back down, Tommy taught you that. “What is it? Please, let me help him!” You can see hear the smile in the god’s voice, even if you can’t see one. 

“Listen here, as I will only say once. I, DreamXD, god of this realm, will revive you. You will return to your physical form, alive as ever. However, if you die, you will no longer live on as a ghost. You’ll rot in limbo, a hell of your own for all of eternity.”

You know, deep down, it’s a mistake. Making a deal with a god itself is idiotic, but the promise of a final death is even more off-putting. “I’ll do it.” The words come out of your mouth before you can take them back, before you can think. Maybe it’s for the best, you have to protect Tommy after all. The god chuckles, the sound becoming louder, deafeningly so, as it echoes around you. 

This time, you aren’t scared. You have a mission. With another blink, you’re back in the land of the living. This time, however, you walk amongst them. The scent of gunpowder and blood fills your nose, and on any other day, you’d be revolted by it, but you’re too set on finding Tommy to even tell. 

“Tommo!” Your voice comes out like a scream, full of anguish and worry. Heads turn to you, questioning who let a civilian onto a battlefield. That split second of silence is enough to let you listen to the sound of Tommy’s iconic yelling, one that you knew all too well. You’re running before you know it, bolting towards his voice and screeching his name. He comes into view, bloodied and fatigued, eyes wide as they settle on you. 

Time slows for a moment, everything around you blurring. Tommy’s yells are muffled, the explosions of TNT are muted. The only sound you can pay attention to is the lighting of TNT from above Tommy. You see him, Dream, letting the TNT rain down from above him. His smile is crazed, one that you’d only seen on him when Tommy was in exile. 

The TNT falls, you run. Tommy is reaching out towards you desperately, screaming your name with tears in his eyes as he tries to stand. He won’t make get away in time, you think to yourself, watching as the TNT falls further, directly towards him. You’re an arm’s length from Tommy, arms stretched out towards him with tears coating your own face. 

If you were Tommy, you could see the sad smile on your face, the softness in your eyes as you pushed him back hard. He’s colliding with the ground as the TNT collides with the surrounding ground, and everything goes bright. His ears are ringing, his eyes are closed. Everything hurts, but he knows you’re hurt. The adrenaline keeps him alive as he jolts back from the next blast.

Everything is a blur soon after. Once the TNT stops, Tommy is looking for you, and all is quiet. Not the colliding of blades, not the sound of fireworks exploding, not the detonation of TNT. Nothing. Tommy’s eyes land on your brutally injured figure, blood flowing like a fountain all over you. It’s near unrecognizable, but he knows it’s you. 

The overwhelming feeling of fear coats his eyes, giving them a glossy look as tears well up in them. He falls to his knees by your side, arms still as he looks over you. Your eyes were clouded, hazy even, showing Tommy that you were really gone. There were more cuts and gashes in your skin than he could count, and he didn’t want to. He just wanted you to be okay, to be here with him, alive.

He doesn’t even register the blood all over him as he hugs your figure, sobbing as he holds onto you. You’re dead, but you’ll be back, right? You’ll be back any minute now, and you’ll show him you’re okay! He can’t stop crying though, he can’t stop the tears from falling down his face like you’ll never come back. You will though, you’ll be back. 

You never came back. 

[katatty]

Recap: Pleasantview Round 5 (Summer)

The romance of Spring certainly went to a few heads in Pleasantview - the suburb is in the midst of quite the baby boom. But now Summer is here, and school is out! Parents are scrambling to sort out childcare, teenagers are reveling in their freedom, and with the sun shining, the mood in the neighbourhood is pretty great.

But are the families as happy as they seem? Or are some on the brink of collapse? What secrets lurk in their hearts?

The round began with newcomers Tiffany Sampson and Kevin Beare getting settled in. They adopted a puppy, got new jobs, and got to know the neighbours.

Then as Tiffany finished her first day of work in the Education career, she learned she was already pregnant!

They had a quick, slightly rushed wedding before the baby arrived.

Baby Harvey was born, but it already looks like she might be expecting again.

The round ended on a happy note, with the couple already nicely established as a family in town with a few friends!

The Dreamer family started out just as well, but things quickly started to deteriorate.

Due to a combination of bad mental health, recurring nightmares and possible haunting, Brandi Broke isn’t in a good place. Her relationship with Darren suffers for it, too.

Meanwhile Cassandra’s marriage with Don is falling apart, and Darren can’t help being sympathetic. Perhaps a little too much so.

Mia Broke, obsessed with the paranormal, gets herself abducted by aliens, much to her mom’s dismay.

She’s also eager to discuss her theories about the spooky sounds in their yard, but Brandi shuts it down.

Mia goes on a date with Benedick Monty, but it’s kind of a mixed bag.

Back home, Mia and Darren eventually talk about the possible hauntings at home. He admits to her seeing Darleen’s ghost, from time to time.

Brandi also opens up to Mia about her father, Skip.

And Mia is vindicated to finally some ghosts herself!

I played the Lotharios next since I was interested in what was going on with Cassandra.

Cassandra and Don’s relationship has had its ups and downs - neither of them has been 100% faithful, but they’re dealing with it. Maybe? Between raising the twins and focusing on their careers there hasn’t been a ton of time for marriage counselling.

Don’s been feeling a bit isolated, recently. Outside of his family and his coworkers, he doesn’t really have a lot of friends. That’s been deliberate, to an extent. The fewer people around him, the fewer temptations to stray outside of the marriage.

For the most part, it’s been working. But a chance meeting with Nina Caliente has him feeling… confused.

The kids are doing fine, the parents not so much.

She’s always in low aspiration, lately, ever since her Dad passed away. It’s been hard getting on her feet since then, and Don going on about needing “me time” doesn’t help. She needs his support right now more than ever! Why doesn’t he get that?

They don’t talk about it, but both of them are feeling very alone, and starting to lose faith in each other...

Meanwhile, the boys age up. Bernado’s a popularity sim and Cassimiro’s knowledge.

Eventually, things in the marriage finally explode and Cassandra tells Don about Darren, trying to get a rise out of him.

Don immediately retaliates by woohooing with Sharon Wirth on a grocery-run.

After a cool-off day, they agree to break things off, and Don moves out.

He moves in, temporarily, with Bella. Who is insistant that he and Cassie try and patch things up!

He’s more interested in exploring new options, though.

Bella is devestated to lose her job as a party guest.

Meanwhile Oliver Goth (Dina and Mortimer’s son) gets his first kiss with Ariel Capp! Later he goes on a date with Tommy Ottomas, too.

At one of Bella’s parties, Cassandra and Don keep things civil, but Cassandra evidently isn’t doing well.

Bella goes on a date with Gilbert Jacquet. It’s not really all that serious between them, and Bella still misses Mortimer dreadfully, but Gilbert is charming and handsome enough to take her mind of her worries.

Things with Bella and Don also seem to be getting a little heavy, and Don concludes he needs to move out before things cross a line. Bella reluctantly agrees, it’s obvious her plan to get him and Cassie back together hasn’t worked

Don moves to Strangetown!

Next up are the Ramaswami family, a nice breath of fresh air after all the drama.

Priya befriends some of the other mothers in town, becoming especially close to Kaylynn.

And baby Ravi gows into maybe the coolest toddler ever?

Sanjay survives a near death experience.

And Priya finds out she’s expecting again!

Divorced once and with the girls having just graduated college, Daniel Pleasant didn’t expect to be engaged again with a kid on the way as he approached retirement age, doing it all over again. He’s far from unhappy about it, though. Mary Sue always had an independent streak, but Kaylynn adores him. Maybe it’s a bit selfish, but it feels so good to be needed.

Kaylynn knows some people in the neighbourhood look down on her, think her naive, call her a homewrecker… that’s fine. If they worked as a cleaner for years and years maybe they’d consider packing it in and settling into an easy life, too. What’s wrong with wanting to be taken care of?

Notably (and much to my horror) during the Pleasant round, Brandi and John start up their affair again.

Kaylynn finally gives birth, to a baby boy they call Jeffery Pleasant, after Daniel’s father. Daniel’s really pleased!

Jennifer’s eager to meet her new nephew. She and Kaylynn get off to a rocky start, but eventually start to bond.

She’s closest friends with Brandi Broke, though. The two have become inseperable, with Brandi visiting all the time.

Daniel invites both of the girls over to meet their little brother, but Angela is the only twin who shows. Whether that’s because they have a better relationship, or because Lilith was just busy is anyone’s guess.

Then it turns out Kaylynn’s pregnant again already?

Kaylynn and Daniel tie the knot!

Nina and Don also reconcile at the wedding.

Kaylynn gives birth to another baby boy, Luke!

And Jeff ages upp!

Daniel ages up, too. It’s finally time for him to retire, soon...

Daniel’s definitely a bit of a dirty old man, but Kaylynn doesn’t seem entirely oblivious to that side of him, and figures as long as she keeps his needs met they should be fine. We’ll see if that holds up.

Then it was time to catch up with the Shoreharts, who moved here form Widespot for a fresh start.

A retired chef, Sandy’s enjoying her retirement a lot more than she ever enjoyed being a stay at home mom. Granted, all this free time has her a little restless, but it’s nothing a bit of time outdoors and excercise can’t fix. She hopes.

They were honestly pretty chill! Rhett’s taken to the whole marriage thing suprisingly well, for a romance sim. Turns out, as long as he’s getting lovin’ on a regular basis he doesn’t really care if it’s with one woman or several. It’s never boring with Sandy, and he intends to keep her as happy as he can for the rest of her days. That’ll show her shit-heel of an ex-husband.

Mostly they just spend a lot of time with family.

Sandy’s very generious with the backrubs, but nothing goes too far.

Mimi is definitely at least a little anxious about her parents’ marriage though, because she spends some of the round reading up on Couple’s Councelling.

Then it’s time for her to age up! She grows into a rather cute romance sim.

Then at the party the house of cards starts to crumble, as Sandy gives her ex-husband Hamilton a kiss, right in front of Mimi and Rocky.

Mimi agrees not to tell her Dad, but isn’t happy. She spends a lot of time out of the house.

With Sandy keeping her indescretion quiet, I’m not sure what they have in store in the future!

Regardless, next are the Ramirez family.

Tessa’s spent a lot of time looking afte rthe baby and she’s sick of it! So she spends some time Downtown with friends.

She later takes Bernardo on a date, although he’s not sure if he likes her as more than a friend. Bernardo likes the idea of falling in love with Tessa, who he’s always admired! But he’s a little hesitant at the same time, especially with his parents’ divorce still being so recent.

Checo has a bit of a wandering eye, but mostly he keeps himself in check.

Checo might be a bit of a flirt, but at least he’s not a hypocrite. When Lisa was dancing with Skye he didn’t even bat an eye. Or maybe he just doesn’t see an old man as much of a threat…

Ugh, God, I forgot this happened

Baby Sofia grew up super cute!

Anyway, that’s all from them!

The Oldies weren’t too eventful, mostly just focused on hobbies!

They did finally meet Mary’Sue’s new partner, which went... poorly.

But they did have a nice meeting with their grandaughter later, and a fun night out!

Then it was the Burbs! John’s recent indescretions with Brandi aside, things seemed to be going well.

At least, until he made out with Coral Oldie :/

Oblivious to thins, Jennifer was starting to trust John again.

They had dinner with Jen’s brother Dan and his new wife...

And Jennifer discovered she was pregnant again!

Lucy headed away for college...

And baby James grew up, leaving the Burb round complete and Pleasantview all done & dusted!

[theyre-just-blocks]

Different relationships on the Dream SMP but they’re Glass Animals songs. 

No, I haven’t read Heatwaves, no I’m not doing this because of Heat Waves, this is just for fun because I love the band and their music and some of their songs actually fit character relationships in the Dream SMP really well. 

Reminder! This is based on their characters in the SMP, not the actual ccs themselves. It would be weird if it wasn’t and quite frankly the songs wouldn’t fit if that were the case. 

Relationship: Sam & Ponk

Song: Pork Soda

What It’s About: A loving relationship between two lovers who slowly started to fall out of love, leading one of them to want what the relationship used to be. 

Why It Fits: I mean, the song meaning is pretty much what’s going on with the two right now. They had a nice, loving dynamic that quickly turned to the worse thanks to the Egg and the Prison corrupting the both of them. The narrator, obviously, would be Ponk, who got the short end of the stick when it came to the complications of the relationship. And I just think it would be funny to have ‘lemon’ instead of ‘pineapple.’ 

Some Lyrics:

You took my hand and you made me run, up past the prison to the seafront

Why can’t we laugh now like we did then? How come I see you and ache instead?

Maybe you’re fucking scum, don’t you go psycho chum

I want you for the world, I want you all the time (stop)

I won’t forget how you looked at me then

Relationship: DreamXD & George

Song: Holiest

What It’s About: A relationship between two lovers, one who is annoyed with the other’s antics, who is preoccupied in their dreams, goals, and ideals, comparing them to a child.

Why It Fits: I really only chose this song for the two because DreamXD is kind of a god on the SMP, so I went, “Okay god, they’ve got a song called ‘Holiest’, that fits.” But I also think it fits in the way that DreamXD basically simps for George and in the song one of the individuals seems to beg the other that they can be different. I think it would be a sort of, “You’re not him,” kind of thing, basically.

Some Lyrics:

Be a part of the scene like you're living your dream, Walk the room like you're on fire, Like your chasing the truth, gripping tight to your youth

Babe, I'm not what you think, Come on, listen to me

Now all I do is feel afraid

Can't you see that I'm here, Can't you see I've been played

But you're the holiest thing I know, Yes, you're the holiest thing, holiest thing I know

Relationship: Schlatt & Quackity

Song: Cacao Hooves

What It’s About: Possibly about the internal conflict of someone who has done a lot of bad things in the past (though not confirmed).

Why It Fits: Even if the song is mainly for one’s internal conflicts, I felt like it fit Schlatt and Quackity’s external ones with each other. For one, the character in the song is an ‘old goat’, perfect for Schlatt, then there’s a comment about setting wings on fire, perfect for Quackity. The internal conflict in the song would be the two going back and forth with the White House, especially since there’s a line about not fighting back/using bows and arrows. I just thought it was perfect. 

Some Lyrics:

This old goat with beard of grey, He turns his leather gripped cane

You never fight back, Why don’t you play with bows and arrows?

Why don’t you play nice? Why don’t you toy with sex and violence?

Why don’t you set your wings on fire?

Relationship: Dream & Fundy

Song: Flip

What It’s About: The narrator is making plans on getting revenge on someone who had wronged/harmed them in the past.

Why It Fits: While most of the lyrics don’t really fit, and Fundy hasn’t made a move to get back at Dream for what happened at the Wedding, the idea behind the song, I felt fit the two. If given the chance, I’m sure that Fundy would’ve gotten revenge on Dream, seeing as he did so with L’Manburg during Doomsday. It would be from Fundy’s perspective and it puts a new spin on the idea of a Fox Hunt. 

Some Lyrics:

I wanna take to my guns and break you, I gotta make my little foe take his own

I’m gonna go back, I’m gonna go back, I’m gonna go back to a face no more mask

I was in full bloom until I met you, I’m gonna shake my fetters, I’m breaking loose

Relationship: Quackity, Karl, & Sapnap

Song: Tangerine

What It’s About: The narrator sings about some that they’ve know who’s taken a turn for the worse, changing due to different events, but the narrator still has the hope that things could be the same.

Why It Fits: This song fits so well, lyric and beat wise. It’s so preppy and fun like them, despite the lyrics being so down. For this, it would be Karl and Sapnap’s take on Quackity’s spiral with torturing Dream and setting up Las Nevadas. They’re wondering what happened to him and still have hope that maybe they could get him back, basically. 

Some Lyrics: 

I can't keep on making you happy 'cause you got issues with your daddy

But I wish I could show you more of yourself, I wish I could make you somebody else. But I left it way too late. Are you stuck in your own ways?

You let the devil in, and all you talk is money, money, money, money, money, It's so funny how it changes how you feel

Where are you? What happened? I want what we had. Where you gone? Where you hidin'?

Hands, knees, please, tangerine, come on back to me. Got what I need, tangerine, do this for me

Relationship: Puffy & Niki

Song: Agnes

What It’s About: The narrator is trying to pull out another from an addiction, which has steadily ruined their relationship a bit.

Why It Fits: This one is just a bit of a stretch, but it works. It would be from Puffy’s POV as she’s trying to get Niki back to the way she once was, before Doomsday, before finding out about Wilbur, and before being obsessed with killing Tommy. In the song, the person being sung about has an addiction, so I figured that could be replaced with her want to kill Tommy. So it’s Puffy trying to bring her back, but at the same time, Puffy is unsure about what she’s doing. 

Some Lyrics:

Calm down now, stop and breathe a second? Go back to the very beginning. Can't you see what was different then?

To be reborn, I want to hold you like you're mine

You see the sad in everything. A genius of love and loneliness

Where went that cheeky friend of mine? Where went that billion-dollar smile?

You're gone but you're on my mind. I'm lost but I don't know why

Relationship: Bad & Skeppy

Song: JDNT

What It’s About: Though not confirmed, the song could be about a narrator who is putting on a brave face, but is ready to crack under the stress at any minute. 

Why It Fits: This one is also a stretch, it was kind of hard to find a song that fit the two. However, with the Egg, I think that this song works well for them. Though I couldn’t find a solid meaning behind the lyrics, I figured that if we took their arc with the Egg, it would work. I think the song would be from both of their POVs, with the story idea behind Skeppy being stuck in the Egg and Bad giving himself to the Egg in return of getting his friend back. 

Some Lyrics:

I've got my old helmet on, Keeping out an eye, Puffing all my feathers up

Please, it's not okay. Oh, can't you feel your dirty face? Oh, don't it leave that filthy taste?

Where my funny friends gone? You're in paradise. Who gon' plant the flowers, huh?

I shut my wild eyes, and crumble to a pile of dust and fertilise

Relationship: Quackity & Glatt

Song: Your Love (Deju vu)

What It’s About: Being caught up in a relationship you know is toxic, but somehow you can’t seem to cut that person out of your life.

Why It Fits: I think the meaning of the song fits them pretty well as we all know that relationship was toxic as hell. But in this sense, it’s Glatt, so even more so, Quackity’s still coming back to him even when Schlatt is dead and now a ghost. Though their relationship during Schlatt’s time alive was terrible, Quackity still went to Schlatt and decided to work with him. Also, it’s got a line about eating and I just thought it would fit in the whole ‘heart eating’ sense. 

Some Lyrics:

And I'm backsliding into this just one more time

You go back there when you're done, Don't you want some more?

Maybe in time, When we're both better at life, daylight can open my eyes, and you'll still be by my side

Night by night, I let you eat me alive, I want you to eat me alive

Relationship: Dream & George

Song: Heatwa - [gunshot]

Nah, jk, here’s their song.

Relationship: Dream & George

Song: The Other Side of Paradise

What It’s About: Though I’m not entirely sure, but I think that the song focuses around a relationship that slowly deteriorated due to one of the individuals moving on for a more grander, luxurious life. 

Why It Fits: Dream would be the individual in the relationship who went to go chase after a fancy life, thus ruining the relationship. The "fancy life" in this case would be the power and control he sought over members of the server, which ultimately got him locked up. So I think it would be in George's POV, but that's basically why I thought the song would fit the two. 

Some Lyrics:

He told me, "Please, don't worry", wise little smile that spoke so safely 

Caught up in a rush, it's killing you

I miss him, don't you blame me? That boy went stone cold crazy, Caught up in camera lust, He's chasing that pappy pipe dream

I know you don't but I-I know you don't but I still try

Curled up in a grip when we were us, fingers in a fist like you might run, I settle for a ghost I never knew, super paradise I held on to, but I settle for a ghost

I know I should probably post my thoughts on Quackity's stream, but I started this a few days ago and only finished it today, so take it now.

[peppersteakss]

so... you wanna know the dream smp lore as of dec 19th, 2020

you have come to the correct place

the dream smp in a nutshell (somewhat)

ok so despite the server itself starting in april, the lore doesn’t start until wilbur joined in like june. the basics are that wilbur tommy and tubbo started a drug business and that didn’t sit well with dream sapnap or george bc it was their server, so tommy tubbo and wilbur (and eret came in at some point) decided to separate their land on the server and call it l’manberg. they built a wall, they had their own national anthem. this again upset the dream team. eret then gets revealed as a traitor and causes everyone in l’manberg to lose their first lives. (there’s a 3 live rule for almost every character in the smp, the only exception being philza - he only has 1) eret did this in order to become kind of the server. then dream bombed l’manberg after wilbur tried to negotiate with him. at that point, independence for l’manberg was no longer looking like an options

then came an agreement between tommy and dream, they’d duel for l’manbergs independence, but if dream won he’d take one of tommy’s music discs (why the discs are so important? i literally could not tell you). dream won, taking tommy’s second life. and somewhere in there fundy enters the server as part of l’manberg, and starts all the weird family dynamic stuff

here’s a little tangent on family dynamics in the smp:

philza is the father of techno and wilbur (twins), and it’s confirmed their mother is a samsung smart fridge. he also fathers tommy, who’s mother is unknown, and tubbo, who’s adopted - his bio parents unknown, but there’s a really popular theory going around that schlatt is his bio dad

wilbur is the father of fundy, and fundys mother is apparently a fish - sally the salmon. it’s complicated, at some point the idea of sally being a shapeshifter was brought up but never confirmed

back to the lore, tommy came back on his last life and then negotiated with dream for the independence of l’manberg and in exchange he would give dream both of his discs (again, i have no clue why they’re so important to him but they play a huge part in his character) so with that, the war between l’manberg and the dream team was over. l’manberg wrote a decree of independence, officially exiled eret, then started a government - tommy was assigned treasury of the state and later the vice president, tubbo was the secretary of state, and fundy was just wilbur little champion. wilbur took the title as president

jack manifold then joined the server and l’manberg, dream begged him to join the dream team but he stayed with l’manberg. then tommy, jack, and tubbo decided to cause chaos and get revenge against dream for the destruction of l’manberg and for tommy to get his discs

there were a few minor events in between the war and the election that i don’t really deem that important, the most notable thing is that quackity joined the server. but if you’d like to read about the events - they’re on the wiki! i’d also recommend keeping up with the wiki because the plot moves very fast, and the wiki is a good source that always keeps track of everything that happens and just the members individually! there’s also a channel on youtube that uploads the vods of every member but only their smp streams, it’s just called dream smp members vods (if you’re at all interested in watching this rather than reading it)

we now get into the election. a lot of people weren’t really happy with wilbur as president and they weren’t taking him seriously, so wilbur tried to fix this by holding an election that originally he thought only he could win. quackity then formed his own party to run against wilbur, thus leading to SWAG2020 (quackity and george) vs POG2020 (wilbur and tommy). later joining the election would be Coconut2020 (fundy and niki nihachu) as well as Schlatt2020 (it was just schlatt). this was a real poll left up to the viewers, and Schlatt2020 ended up winning as for some reason his results were supposed to be combined with SWAG2020s results - together they had 46%, just 1% above POG2020 - so Schlatt was now president of l’manberg. (despite only joining the server once the campaigns had started and almost ended). schlatts first decree was to exile wilbur and tommy from l’manberg - he then kept tubbo as secretary of state and demanded he hunt tommy and wilbur. it’s also worth noting that he ordered the walls of l’manberg to be destroyed. this ends the l’manberg independence arc as a whole (yes all of that was one single arc) as l’manberg was renamed manberg by schlatt. (one last thing worth noting is that wilbur lost a life during the election, so he only has 1 life left)

this then starts the manberg rebellion arc. this is actually the longest arc at the moment as it lasted for almost 2 months(sep 22nd-nov 16th), but the next arc is still ongoing so that could change. also it’s now important to note that important events always happened on the 16th, so if you plan on ever watching streams live, you should always try to catch any that happen on the 16th.

wilbur and tommy created yet another independent part of the smp called pogtopia. other members of pogtopia were technoblade (who had just joined the server) acting as a mercenary, and tubbo, the pogtopia spy. this then caused another split of the server, and dream became part of pogtopia but only in secret. there were also third parties, that being manifold land and the badlands.

a festival in manberg was announced, and tubbo was supposed to give a speech and organize the event. this then caused wilbur to question his morality, and this sparked the idea that wilbur should blow up manberg for good, tommy didn’t agree with this, and dream sided with wilbur simply because he wanted schlatt gone. tommy and tubbo then decided they could only trust each other (THATS IMPORTANT PLEASE REMEMBER THAT)

the festival happened on oct 16th, where tubbo was outed as the l’manberg spy, techno was then ordered to kill tubbo (which he did, causing tubbo to lose a life and bring him down to one life) but he then basically caused a massacre in manberg. niki then joined pogtopia in hopes to save manberg with tommy and tubbo while wilbur and techno planned to destroy it. wilbur originally had plans to blow up manberg at the festival, but was unsuccessful as he lost the button he was supposed to use in order to do so

quackity was removed from his spot as vice president, then joining pogtopia. then an ultimatum was established within pogtopia - deal with schlatt, or wilbur blows everything up. that did not stop wilbur from attempting to blow up manberg yet again at nikis birthday party but was stopped by quackity, karl jacobs, and niki. the ultimatum was then given a deadline, november 6th.

quackity tried to meet with schlatt, who had tried to blow manberg up yet again only for schlatt to reveal that he moved the tnt wilbur put in manberg to pogtopia. fundy then revealed he’d been spying for pogtopia in secret - and wilbur began to realize that under schlatts leadership, NO ONE was on manbergs side. except dream who then revealed he actually was going to protect manberg for some reason idk dreams motivation and just dream in general is really confusing, but regardless he negotiated war with pogtopia, and the decided date was nov 16th

schlatt ended up dying of a heart attack in front of everyone in pogtopia, leaving the presidency to tommy, who then handed it to wilbur, who then handed it to tubbo. wilbur took this as his chance to blow up l’manberg, as in his eyes it would never be the same. philza then joined the server and tried to stop him, but he was unsuccessful. wilbur then convinced phil - his own father in canon - to kill him, and he did, causing him to die in all actuality this time as that was his last life.

techno then caused another massacre right after wilbur literally blew up l’manberg because he was angry that l’manberg was just replacing one dictator with another, and set two withers. he swore that he would destroy any government that rose in the dream smp. (i actually recommend watching wilburs video on this event, it’s his most recent dream smp video and probably his final as his character is dead now. techno also tells the story of theseus and he explains it much better than i can, and the role of theseus does play in later in the lore)(it’s also just a fucking cinematic masterpiece but maybe that’s just me)

that ends the manberg rebellion arc, and so starts the l’manberg retribution arc (which is still ongoing) and although the last arc currently stands as the longest arc, there’s much more lore in this arc at the moment. like i’ve said, the lore just moves very fast

the remaining citizens of l’manberg start to rebuild with the help of ghostbur, which is just as he sounds - the ghost of wilbur. he only remembers happy memories from his life and generally just likes to follow people around a lot, he’s not on anyone’s specific side. also somewhere during all of this, eret decided to adopt fundy, so eret is now in this complicated family dynamic mix

quackity was angry with technos actions and started ‘the butcher army’ so he could take techno down, despite tubbos wishes to not start any more wars and to keep l’manberg peaceful, and also the factor of technoblade now having nothing.

dream along with captain puffy started defacing and destroying the sever as a whole and placed all of the blame on tommy. most notably he targeted skeppy and badboyhalo in the badlands (who for some reason have one of tommy’s discs). dream left a fake note about the disc, which is what let to the belief that tommy actually did commit these crimes.

on nov 19th, a funeral was held for schlatt, to which the crowd who attended made fun of him and celebrated his death, and trying to cause trouble (basically quackity made a piss portrait of schlatt and ate his heart) the rest also took pieces of schlatts body. he was put to rest in the side of a mountain outside of l’manberg

badboyhalo actually encountered the grieving of him and skeppys houses done bg dream, promising to burn tommy’s discs. everyone else was finding out about “tommy” greeting bad, meanwhile quackity was replacing schlatts remains with fucking glass, trying to resurrect him - he then gave this task to awesamedude, but whether or not he’s going to do it is still up in the air

ranboo then joined the server and became close with tommy, and they both george’s george’s house. this caused dream to build and obsidian wall around l’manberg, and then everyone found out tommy grief led george (which is not a good look for the vice president (tommy is the vice president btw)) and this is when the idea of exiling tommy came up. tommy was then brought to court simply because dreamed wished to see tommy get exiled for things that he didn’t even do

a lot of stuff happened but i’m really trying my best to keep this brief, again you can read the wiki if you’d like more detail! it’s a great source of information! but in the end the decision to exile tommy was left to a twitter poll, it was close but the winning option was to exile tommy

before tommy got exiled, there was the introduction of mexican l’manberg also known as el rapids. in el rapids, a lot of conflict happened with dream, and at this point it really seems that no one is really on dramas side (which like rightfully so dsmp!dream is fucking horrible)

still before he was exiled, tommy brought up the idea of waging war on dream because it seemed that really everyone in l’manberg was against him. there was even the idea of getting people outside of l’manberg involved (like techno, sapnap, bad, etc). tubbo then had dream escort tommy out of l’manberg to his exile. he’d just betrayed his best friend, the person who he agreed was the only one he could trust, which confused a lot of people because it was almost a last moment decision - but apparently it was the only logical thing to do (bs imo) but then tubbo agreed to work with quackity in killing technoblade

dream stayed with tommy often while in exile, and they stayed together for about 11 days with occasional visits from ghostbur. dream was very violent towards tommy during all of this, threatening to kill him if he didn’t do as he said, blowing up an old house tommy and tubbo built, and saying that he could /never/ go back to l’manberg. tommy actually began hiding important items from dream so that he wouldn’t destroy them, as that was a common thing as well - he’d make tommy drop all of his items to dispose of them for good. there was one item he’d never drop, though, and that was a gift from ghostbur - it was a compass that pointed to the whitehouse in l’manberg called ‘your tubbo.’ similarly, tubbo also has a compass called ‘your tommy’ that pointed to logstedshire (the place where exiled tommy and dream would stay)(‘your tommy’ was destroyed, most likely by dream, and even though tubbo got a second one - tommy doesn’t stay in logstedshire for long)

dream unfortunately found out about this as well, and the. disposing of all of his hidden items. and after 11 days of experiencing all of this with dream, tommy left to find somewhere much safer, ultimately deciding to make a burrow under technoblade and philzas house, as no one in the smp except them had known its location.

he thought he could stay hidden but techno found him literally the next day after being hunted by the butcher army that quackity had built, and being ordered for execution in l’manberg only to be saved by a totem of undying and escaping l’manberg through the sewers with the help of dream. (it’s worth noting that philza was also captured, is now on house arrest, AND was almost forced to watch another one of his sons die right in front of him) and guess when all of that happened???? DEC 16th. also everyone in l’manberg now thinks tommy is dead and they’re planning a funeral for him because they saw some sort of explosion debris that somehow links to tommy(i think it was blown up logstedshire)

techno and tommy then formed an alliance in order to get back technos stolen items (the butchers from l’manberg took everything) as well as rescue phil, and to get tommy’s disc back. i’m doing this, techno revealed a secret room that no one but himself knew about prior, revealing to tommy a room full of wither skulls and a full set of netherite armor, uttering the fucking ICONIC line ‘welcome home, theseus’ and therefore referencing the last big event, showing that tommy has made progress since then (at least in the eyes of technoblade)

so tommy stays with techno with more visits from ghostbur, and visits from dream - although tommy has hidden during both of his visits with invis potions. techno is set on protecting tommy now, and tommy is still struggling with trying to separate himself from dream. the first time dream visits it’s with techno, and techno convinces him that tommy isn’t at his house. dream also points out that techno owes him a favor bc he saved him in l’manberg. the second visit is when ghostbur was there, and ghostbur slips up quite a lot when interacting with dream. dream reveals he knows tommy isn’t dead and that he’s with techno somehow, and i think that’s just about it

one last thing worth noting is that this story is almost always looking at the fans for inspiration and has included a lot of fan theories into the canon (techno and wilbur being twins, and most notably the ‘welcome home, theseus’ line) so i’d highly recommend in participating in fan stuff as much as you can! there’s also just a lot of creative people in the fandom if you stay out of the weird side lol. but with that, i think that’s about all of the lore as of now

(i wrote all of this from midnight to 3 am so i am so sorry if i forgot things and i’m sorry about spelling mistakes)

[darkeninganon]

Ah, more Gream (Ghost Dream). He’s hanging out and trying to remember stuff! Trigger warnings for: implied trauma, implied death, implied torture, triggering oneself (Gream trying to remember what happened), minor cursing. Read at your own risk!

Gream smiled, tossing the small emerald around. Today was going to be a good day, he could feel it. Tommy and Tubbo had agreed to let him wander around Snowchester, but told him he had to stay inside the walls. That was fine. He had asked, obviously, and then learned Ranboo had told them about... The Warden. A shudder ran through him. The ghost paused for a moment to recover, before resuming his pacing and throwing of his little emerald. When the two teens had learned about that visit they both got nervous and started talking in hushed voices, whispering something to each other while looking at Gream to see if he could hear. He didn't care to listen, whatever secrets they had he was fine with, they'd protect him... right?

Another shudder ran through him. Okay, no, he couldn't think in questions. Tommy and Tubbo would protect him, and so would Ranboo. The three teens were so nice to him, and apparently they had been friends before he... before whatever happened to him happened. Gream still wasn't clear about that. Shaking his head, the ghost left his room and headed out of the mansion, kicking up snow as he explored the tiny country.

Country. For some reason, that word in particular left a bitter taste in his mouth. Probably left over from seeing whatever happened in L'manburg. He really needs to ask someone about that. He was a citizen there, right? Or, maybe he lived somewhere else and was just friends with the people that lived there? Surely he fought against the monster with his friends to protect their home, even if he didn't live there.

"Maybe I didn't fight... Maybe I was already gone or captured by that time..." Gream hummed, crossing his arms and staring intently at the ground as he tried to think. What did he remember before he died? He remembered...

"hey there Dream! You ready to give me what I want?"

"Just... Stay over there! I'm not..."

"Okay, you're doing this again?"

"No! No, no, no, no! I...I just- I'll die if you keep this up! You don't have to visit! Please!"

"Ew. God, you're as gross as a bug now."

"Sam... won't let you- Sam! Sam please! ---------'s going to kill me! SAM!"

"Holy shit! You're so fragile like this!"

"Oh Dream, I said I wouldn't visit anymore... Well, I can't visit if I never leave!"

"You... You're a monster..."

"Look who's talking! A monster calling me a monster! Oh you have no idea."

"Please! Please stop! Please... Just leave me alone... Please."

Gream gasped, falling back. He sat in the snow, hyperventilating. When had he closed his eyes? Why couldn't he remember that guy's name? Why did he call out for the Warden? What did he know that that the man with the gold tooth wanted to know?

The ghost looked down, snow melted away exposing dead, dry grass turned slimy and foaming from acid. He needed to calm down. He couldn't keep burning things from getting mildly frightened.

"Dream?!"

The ghost froze. No... no, no, no, no. This could not be happening. Gream turned, slowly, terrified of the voice calling out for him. Gream stared at the masked face of the Warden. "S-S-Sam?" his voice cracked, the puddle of melted, acidic snow around him growing.

The Warden stayed still for a moment, as if surprised by Gream's presences. The Warden seemed to suddenly snap out of it, shoulders squaring as he strode towards the ghost.

Gream ran.

"Tommy! Tommy! Sam's back!" Gream could hear the Warden running after him, chasing him into the mansion as the ghost called out for his friends. "Tubbo! Help! Ranboo! Someone!" Gream slipped on the floor as he took a turn, hoping to lose the Warden in the maze-like house. "Stay away from me!"

"You're going back to the prison! I don't care that you're a ghost!" Sam yelled, managing to stay upright as he chased the prisoner. Supposed to be prisoner. He was gaining too, almost able to reach out and grab Dream...

Until an arrow hit him in the leg. It wasn't enough to prevent him from running, but it did make him stumble. Sam spun around, taking out his axe, ready to kill whoever had just stopped him from re-capturing his only prisoner. "Tommy?" His axe fell as he was confronted with the Tommy and Tubbo, the latter holding a loaded crossbow while the former held a bow.

"Get out Sam."

"Tommy you're... why are you protecting..."

An axe suddenly slammed into the ground right next to Sam, shocking him enough to make him stumble. A static noise filled the space, and Sam had barely enough time to block with his shield as the axe swung again. Ranboo glared at him from the opposite side of the Warden's shield, particles buzzing about as Ranboo glared, looking more like an enderman than his normal self. "Get. Out." Ranboo growled. Literally growled. It barely sounded like English. Sam shoved the teen, bolting out of the house and through the tunnel.

He had to tell Quackity... fuck it, he had to tell the whole server. Dream was a ghost, and pretending to be like Ghostbur to stay close to Tommy, manipulate him and kill him over and over again; and possibly hurt Tubbo and Ranboo, all just for the fun of it. The server needed to be warned.

Ranboo glared at where Sam had been. He was still pissed. His dear, sweet, easily spooked particles buzzing around in agitation. Shared agitation. Tubbo came over, placing a hand on his cheek.

"Relax big man. Everything is okay now."

Slowly, very, very slowly his anger faded. His mouth seemed to vanish as he nuzzled against his platonic husband's hand, static fading to a gentle purr as the little purple particles wove between the two, cooing in a language only Ranboo could understand.

Gream watched, approaching the teens slowly. He watched the little particles floating between Tubbo and Ranboo, each one moving freely around the duo. As he got closer, they all seemed to take up a defensive stance between him and Ranboo. At least, most did. Some floated over to him, circling around his head.

"Is this a trick?"

"Surely he's manipulating our beloved!"

"I don't trust this."

"Poor, poor little ghost."

"You monster."

Gream grabbed one, the rest scattering back to Ranbbo. The half enderman perked up, looking toward the ghost. Gream cupped the little thing in his hands, staring at it.

"I'm not scared. Ranboo and Tubbo can be scary."

"Yeah... I suppose all three of them can..."

"Wait..." The little particle floated up from his hand, weaving around him as it spoke "you can understand us? Well, that makes sense. Too bad you have no memories."

"Why is that bad?" Gream asked, following the little thing with his gaze. The little thing stopped, as if it had just been pacing and was only now facing Gream.

"Because... We all have questions that only Dream can answer."

[mediocre--writing]

The Drooping Red Silvias on the Dining Room Table

Tom Riddle X fem!Hufflepuff!Reader

Summary: “Love could be remembered forever and it could be dwelled on for decades, but it didn’t last forever. Nothing did. Not a truly happy smile. Not the Red Silvias on the dining room table. Not even love.”

Word Count: 4544

Warnings: like two bad words, SUPER ANGSTY

“Pathetic, isn’t it?” A teasing voice questioned from behind Tom’s left shoulder.

“What is it now?” He heard a light giggle as he felt her get closer to him, her aura contrasting his in every way.

Where he was harsh, sharp angles, she was kind and bright, in every way possible. And it beat just about every brain in Hogwarts how the two ended up together at all.

“How much you mope around school scowling at people when you could just come find me and we could have a grand ol’ time!”

And so it was, the grin that was hardest to suppress made its way across his dull face, one only the girl next to him could elicit from him. He enjoyed it, no matter how much he protested her jokes and immature behavior, it brought out the child in him that he was never allowed to show.

“Should you be any more childish, they might have to hold you back this year, L/n,”

Matching smirks graced their faces as they made eye contact in the busy hallway on their way to dinner, in which she would ditch her rightful place at the Hufflepuff table and sit with Tom at the Slytherin table, a good bit away from any other students in the house.

“They would never, I’m far too loved in this school for anyone to wish me a disadvantage!” She said, mocking an offended tone and placing a dramatic hand on her chest.

“Think what you will, but you are one of the most adorably immature people I've had the chance to meet,”

“Oh, Tommy, that’s just pessimistic, be a bit happier, will you? We’ve got, like, a month left of school and I’d like to be happy for the time being, if you can manage that?”

They sat at the end of the Slytherin table, close to the door, and far from other students. They both began to place food onto their plates in mass amounts, the Hufflepuff being more than distraught at the idea of having to lose Hogwarts’ meals after graduation.

The brunet smiled at the bubbly girl in front of him, her eyes glimmering from the reflection of candles in the hall. There was nobody he admired more, from her personality to her obsession with Herbology to the way she read, all curled up on an uncomfortable library chair, and he especially adored the way she kept him connected to the person he always strived to be, even if he didn’t notice himself drifting, she always did.

“I think I can manage that,” He said softly, looking down to add more roast to his dinner plate. “For you, I think I can manage anything,” 

“Pathetic, isn’t it?” A teasing voice questioned from behind Tom’s left shoulder.

“What is it now?” He questioned the ghost that haunted him to this day.

“Well, the fact that you’re trying so hard, for one,” Her mocking voice chuckled as her semi-transparent form drifted to face him.

The man-- if you could call him that-- groaned at her insistence on bothering him.

“I also think that you’re doing far to much to not die, that you’re gonna end up getting killed and only end up living to, like, 80, at the most,”

“If you could be quiet for a moment then maybe I would be able to focus and then I won’t get killed!” He snapped, agitated at the nuisance around him, slamming his hand onto the table that had plans spilled across it.

“Too bad you can’t kill a ghost, huh?” She quirked her head to show a false sympathy for the man, “Though, you already did kill me, so…”

“Shut up!” He tried to command with a strong voice, but it came out quieter than he wanted it to, guilt overtaking what was left of his emotions.

She let out a loud sigh as she crossed her arms over her chest, rolling her eyes, “No need to be so dramatic, Tommy,”

“Why don’t you just go to wherever it is you go when you’re not bothering me,” He sneered at the ghost of a girl who used to be everything to him, but was now diminished to absolutely nothing.

“Alright,” She said, backing up to disappear and reappear somewhere else, “Catch you later, Tommy!”

He let out a final groan after she disappeared, getting back to what he was doing before.

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, the ghost was wandering around, talking to other ghosts, sometimes waving to younger students, and just milling around with nothing to do.

“Excuse me,” she heard a timid voice call from around her. “Ma’am, excuse me,”

“Are you talking to me?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at the brunet boy below her who nodded at her question. “What is it you need, darling?”

“Do you know other.... uhhhhh,” He paused his question, eyes darting around as if to escape the prevalent tension, “Other people, who have… gone from the world?”

“Why do you ask, and what is your name, darling?” The Hufflepuff asked tenderly.

“I’m Neville,” The boy spoke as his cheeks flushed pink, his grip tightening around his satchel, “And I was reading about how some ghosts have contact with those who are passed through, and others can’t and I just wondered if there were any ghosts at Hogwarts who could--”

“Neville, darling,” He was pulled from his rambling and fidgety monologue, “I’m very sorry, but I’ve not been able to contact those who have passed, but I may know who you are referring to, given I have been around Hogwarts for quite a while,”

“Well, my parents…”

“What’s your last name?”

“L-Longbottom, ma’am,” the boy stuttered out quietly.

“Your parents, they’re Frank and Alice, correct?” She tilted her head as she lowered her body from floating feet above the floor to be closer to the ground so as to not be intimidating to the shy boy, who looked more like his father than he probably knew.

“Yes, you knew them?” Neville had a spark of hope lit in his eyes, it was apparent in the way he straightened his posture and could look her in the eyes.

“Yes, I also knew your grandmother, Agusta, while I was at Hogwarts, is she still as intimidating as she once was?” Neville nodded with a small smile, “Well, Alice was one of the first friends I made while wandering Hogwarts. Kindest women I’ve ever met, by a long shot. I didn’t know Frank too well, however, but Alice worked him into just about every conversation she could, she loved that boy,”

“Do you have any stories?” Neville asked, taking a seat on a bench on the side of the hallway, “If you don’t mind, that is?”

“Of course I don’t mind!”

She spent until curfew talking about Alice and Frank, stories of their dates and their friends and how goofy and awkward and wonderful they both were. Neville had never felt so close to his parents, he could almost cry.

Y/n loved talking about her friends, though she was never truly a friend, but she liked feeling close to people and helping them along in the world.

She’d seen people she was once close to go down a path that only resulted in destruction, and she wanted to prevent as many people from doing that as she could. It hurt everyone when someone hurt themselves.

After Neville had gone to bed, she had begun wandering the halls once again, watching paintings move and random cats and owls move around outside on the grounds.

She could never get tired of the castle, especially not the grounds, which, no matter the weather, always seemed to be green and full of life. She loved the edge of the forest, right before it got too dense but where you could still be surrounded by trees.

“Tommy!” She squealed, feeling the blood run to her head as she was hung over his shoulder. “Tom! Thomas!”

He was giggling right along with her, running across the lawn, over to the forest where nobody went, enjoying the warm, sunny, spring day that seemed rare this time of year.

He finally allowed the girl’s feet to touch the ground, but kept her wrapped in his arms holding their chests together, fast breathing causing them to touch every breath or so.

“Was that necessary, love? You could’ve just asked to walk over here calmly,” She smirked, watching as his cheeks lost some of their pink tint as he calmed his breathing.

“Yes, but aren’t you always the one telling me that life should be fun, not mundane, like I, apparently, always am?” Tom teased the girl, poking one of her cheeks as she leant against a tree, staring into his eyes.

He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, where a small white flower already was, probably from the bouquet that he’d given her just a few days ago. The bouquet had been mostly white flowers, along with a few yellow ones, and he’d said the white flowers were as perfect and pure as she was, along with the yellow sunflowers that he’d put in, comparing them to her bright smile.

“You’re not mundane,” She smirked, poking his cheek as well, to prove a point, but let her hand rest against his jaw, “maybe a little dull sometimes, but --”

His lips touched hers tenderly and with love as he smiled into the kiss they shared, in the forest, away from prying eyes and lurkers.

She gasped a bit from the surprise of her sentence ending so abruptly, but sunk into the kiss after a moment, still holding his cheek in her palm as his hands wrapped around her waist, curling her into his chest.

This was a routine for them, hiding from the eyes that seemed to follow them everywhere and share tender moments that neither would forget in years to come.

Sometimes, the moments they shared, weren’t just kissing, they would sit in the back corner of the library, far from the librarian’s prying eyes, and would read old children’s tales to one another.

(She swore that his voice was made for reading, and the way his chest felt when she rested on his lap was perfect for casual reading days.)

Other days, they would do homework. More like Tom would try and work and she would talk his ear off until he threatened her to do her work. Though the threats were harmless, (ex: no cuddles or kisses until Monday) though, he wasn’t good at keeping them anyway. She was too perfect to just ignore for the sake of lousy school work.

They enjoyed their time together, no matter what they did, it was always precious time if it was spent with the other.

“Ms. L/n!”

She jumped from her daydream as she noticed the man standing at the end of the hallway.

“Professor Dumbledore, how are you tonight?”

“I’m fine,” He smiled kindly from underneath his half moon spectacles, eyes glimmering even in the darkest corner of the castle. “You know what’s been brewing outside these walls. I’m here to ask something from you, once again. Would you be willing to aid me and my friends as you did many years ago, should the time come to do so?”

She stared off, quietly wishing she didn’t have to. “Of course, Professor,”

“My thanks means nothing in comparison to the help you will give us, Ms. L/n,”

The man nodded once more and walked to the end of the hallway, turning left as he disappeared out of sight.

Though it meant close to nothing, she couldn’t help but feel guilty.

How could she have gotten into Hufflepuff, the house of the loyal, if she were betraying the one person who ever treated her with more than a fake smile and courteous conversation.

Her Tommy, who had once been a kind soul who only wanted to feel the love he had been deprived of in his first life. The happiness that had been brutally ripped away from him any moment he got too comfortable.

It was the right thing, going against Lord Voldemort, but there was still a part of her that wanted to help Tom Riddle on the right path when there was so much persuading him from straying to the wrong path.

The person she knew was, well, a person at heart. He may not have shown it often, but he wanted what people were given freely. He hated having to ask or dream of what others were given daily.

For what should give a person a reason to treat a child as less than loved?

“Y/n I’ve been looking for you everywhere, do you know wh--” He paused halfway through the two shelves that hid the table and chairs that they would go on study dates to.

It was the perfect spot, a small window that showed the hilly landscape outside and allowed just enough light that it gave the spot a romantic feel without being too dark or light. There was a small table and two plush chairs, which was just enough for the two. It was the perfect spot, apart from right now, where there was Y/n, tears pouring down her cheeks as she tried to mop them up with the end of her sweater sleeves.

He walked up to her, slightly shaking, body, crouched down a bit, and opened his arms, to which she wrapped her sweater-covered hands around him and connected her hands around his neck, pulling him partially down to her chair.

He adjusted them bit by bit until he was in the chair and she was laying across his lap and chest, her cheek nestled into the side of his neck, his light gray sweater getting slightly damp from her tears.

She began to stop crying, embracing the earthy, yet clean smell he had, along with his fingertips running up and down her spine in an effort to bring comfort to the girl. She shivered every once and a while, in which he would respond by snuggling her deeper into his warm body.

They remained quiet for a while, even after she stopped crying and was breathing normally, just enjoying the embrace, and the calm atmosphere that came with it.

“Wanna tell me what’s got you spooked, darling?” He asked in a whisper, scared to break the comfort with too loud a voice.

She shook her head in the crook of his neck, nustling her nose deeper into his sweater, which was softer than anything she’d ever felt. ‘I’ll have to steal that later,’ she thought.

“That’s alright,” He reassured, “It wasn’t somebody, was it? Or were you overwhelmed, darling?”

She smiled into his shoulder, murmuring “Overwhelmed,” as she closed her eyes once again, feeling more tired than ever.

He had to know that it wasn’t someone who made her upset, and knew that more often than not, it was just a mix of school and general teenage angst, which he knew that better than anyone.

He felt her warm breath on his neck, feeling her yawn as she readjusted her head again, “Tired, darling?” to which he got no reply other than her arms squeezing around his torso a bit tighter than they had been.

He chuckled to himself, smiling at the girl who, in his eyes, at least, couldn’t be more perfect.

During the last war, Y/n had been in the same predicament.

She wanted to do the right thing for a majority of people, but she also felt as if she was going against her loyalty for not defending Tom, though he was barely even who he used to be at that point.

She had advantages for either side, mostly the Order of the Phoenix, because she understood how The Dark Lord’s mind worked and you couldn’t exactly hold a ghost back from a room or hear what she wanted, given you couldn’t exactly stop her from just floating through the wall.

She knew it was the right thing.

She wasn’t a complete idiot, she knew basic right from wrong, though it didn’t erase guilt.

Nothing erased guilt.

That went both ways.

Tom still felt a tremendous amount of guilt when it came to his lost love.

She had never given up on him, not a single time between their years at Hogwarts and the years beyond when they had been trying to understand how their life worked without people telling them how to act. Without set rules to follow.

They’d never strayed from one another, always been loyal and adamant about their trust in one another.

She never doubted him, and that was the worst part. She didn’t see him as a god or supernatural being, and he supposed it was nice to be admired for being a person rather than for actions that could be twisted back and forth.

He didn’t have the best conscious, given it was switching between what he wanted and what he needed, and she was something he needed, but he prioritized his wants over her. His views on blood status had clouded his judgement and, in turn, lost him everything he’d ever wanted and everything he’d needed.

“Stop acting like a fucking twat for once in your life, Thomas!” She screamed as she found, yet another, suspicious book sitting on his desk.

This time it was a book called Horcruxes: How to Make and Destroy the Key to Eternal Life.

“What is that supposed to mean?!” He was agitated, he was close to pulling out his own hair in pure agitation, “I was reading a book and now you’re being all pissy for no reason!”

“Oh, so you can read?” She asked, hands on her hips like a scolding mother, “Then what was the title of your little book, Tom?”

He was silent, looking around the room rather than in her eyes. He’d been caught but he was far too stubborn to admit that he was at fault for the argument.

“Tom,”

“If you’re so mad then just get out!”

“I’m not mad at you, I just want to know what’s going through your head because from what I’m looking at, it’s not a good situation. And you know, good and well, that I will believe what you tell me, but if you keep lying then I really will ‘get out,’”

She set the book down on the desk as she watched his body language, surveying his eyes flickering around the room and his fingers loosening and tightening his tie again and again.

“Tommy,”

“I don’t want to lose you, ever, and I’m trying to figure out a way that we never have to be without the other.” She opened her mouth to question him further but he began rambling, “I want to be with you forever and I don’t want us to be apart because I know we’ve been together for a long time, but I can’t bear the thought of, one day, not having you with me. It’s something I can’t afford to lose because of some stupid mistake or-or,”

“Tommy,” She put her hand over his, which was on the arm of his chair, “Life is about losing things and gaining things. We can’t cheat nature just because we want to be loved for longer or because of pure selfishness. I don’t exactly want to live without you, either, but I know that you’re always going to love me and I know that I will always love you, no matter what you think, so just calm down for a few moments and enjoy life while you still get to,”

That night had changed everything.

Had the conversation been had earlier, maybe the first two Horcruxes wouldn’t have been made. He rethought everything after that, finding his humanity that he’d been repressing for months, all for her.

It was never that easy, though. He had already made the Horcruxes, and he vowed he would stop now.

And he did. For almost a year, he made no more moves to further his progression of splitting his soul into seven pieces. He found happiness, he kept her love for him in a pocket right over his heart, where he also kept the small flowers she would pick him out of the garden, and he still felt like a person.

A person who, though he was now beginning to regret it, had an army of loyal, blood supremacists behind him. He had made them promises that he was now beginning to question.

It was a beautiful morning.

A blue sky, blooming flowers, and the smell of rain that was sure to fall later in the day. But now, Tom was reading in his study, watching his wonderful darling tend to her garden, she was fascinated with nature, what it meant and how it grew so freely.

She would ramble about why she had certain bouquets into the dining room table, about what they meant, and how her smile was only brighter when she was talking about him.

(“These are daisies and morning glories. The daisies mean hope and the morning glories mean care and affection. I noticed you were moping earlier and wanted you to feel happier.”)

(“These are violets and asters-- they look pretty together, no?” “Of course they do, darling,” “The violets are for loyalty and the asters are for love, because that’s how I feel for you,”)

(“All yellow tulips, darling?” “I read somewhere that they represent the sunshine in your loved one’s smile, and you just light up my world,” “Oh, how cheesy, darling,”)

That morning, she’d put in a large bouquet of Red Salvias, which bounced well off the crisp white tablecloth underneath.

“And what of those flowers, darling?” Tom had asked once he came into the room to find her in her gardening clothes, dirty and grimy but still looking absolutely stunning while she arranged the red flowers.

“They’re Red Salvias, they represent a forever love,” She’d sent a cheeky smile towards him at the last part of the sentence, to which he walked towards her, grinning, and wrapping his arms around her from behind.

“Then we shall put them everywhere, darling,” He whispered softly into her ear.

Her smile was one that could not be broken. When she was around those she loved, nothing could dull her happiness and affection towards them.

Tom never wanted her smile to fade, not because of him and certainly not because of anyone else.

A knock was heard from the front door, harsher than the old neighbor lady, who would bring them sweets occasionally, would knock.

Tom looked back to her, then walked to the door, coming to see Abraxas Malfoy, one of his friends from school, though they weren’t necessarily friends, given their heritage.

“Abraxas, how nice to see you,” Tom said curtly, confused as to why the man was there, given he hadn’t spoken to any of them recently.

Little did Tom know that they had been meeting one another recently. All his followers met to discuss their leader’s change in attitude, which led to the answer for his rejection of ideals.

Quite the understandable distraction, they had agreed, but unnecessary all the same.

As Tom was tensely chatting with Abraxas Malfoy, another, undetected Death Eater had walked to the back door, sending a silent petrification charm at Y/n, catching her before she hit the ground.

Unable to speak or move, her eyes widened and looked to Tom worriedly as she was aggressively moved and bound, hands together and a strange man’s hand around her neck, squeezing hardly, but not too tight that she was losing oxygen.

After a few more moments, Abraxas noticed that the girl had been restrained and nodded for Tom to turn, to which he immediately pulled out his wand to the platinum blond, threatening him, but it was evident that nobody was there to hurt him.

There were two more masked Death Eaters in the garden, watching from outside, threateningly, as Abraxas smiled and Tom tried not to act rashly as Y/n tried not to allow tears to slip from her eyes.

“All we want is our old leader back, Tom,” Abraxas said from behind his right shoulder.  “It’s a pretty easy decision to make, if you ask me, we’ll spare the girl, if you come back to us, as you should,”

Tom’s wand, for the first time in his life, was trembling in his tight grip.

It didn’t feel right, the deal, and he knew that if he followed what he really, truly wanted, she wouldn’t live to continue his ideal life with him. But if he chose the path he was avoiding, would he lose her anyway, would she stay if he was a murderer?

She, though bound and being choked, didn’t feel as though she should be nervous, this was her Tommy, the Tommy who would read her children’s stories because it made her smile. The Tommy who would poke at her cheeks when she was trying to be mad at him.

Even if he chose, whatever it was, with these people, she knew that he would always be Tommy to her.

Her Tommy.

And as he made a decision, a stupid one on his part, he knew that it was his last act of true defiance and bravery.

He shot a spell at the man choking her, but was immediately pulled back down by Abraxas as he watched her fall over to the floor, unable to catch herself due to her bound hands.

“You have made a mistake, Tom, and we don’t tolerate mistakes here, now do we?”

There was one last look of vulnerability in Tom’s eyes as he watched a spell hit Y/n.

That last look of vulnerability lasted until his final death.

He watched as her, once tense, body went limp from the use of the Unforgivable Curse.

He’d done it to people before. He’d felt no remorse on the other end of it. He’d almost enjoyed the feeling of power that came with using the Unforgivables.

Not anymore. He didn’t like the other side. He didn’t like feeling this. The pain. The knowledge that if he’d just done what he should have a long time ago, he’d have her there. With him.

Abraxas allowed him to stand up, and he did, slowly, and tried to not look into her cold, dead eyes that still dripped with unfinished tears, and clothes still dirty from the gardening she’d done earlier that day.

He’d looked to the dining room table, at the Red Silivas that she’d just finished arranging only minutes ago.

The flowers that represented a love that spanned forever.

Little did those flowers know that forever only lasted until the love was broken in half and ripped to shreds. There was no love that lasted forever.

As the flowers would begin to droop with days to come and nobody to care for them, Tom’s once shining love would begin drooping with them.

Love could be remembered forever and it could be dwelled on for decades, but it didn’t last forever.

Nothing did.

Not a truly happy smile.

Not the Red Silvias on the dining room table.

Not even love.

[bertyose]

here’s some festival predictions!

these are just some guesses that probably wont happen but its fun to theorise and share my ideas and listen to your own so, here you go lads :):)):).

1) dream

yeah so dream isnt going to die. they couldnt kill technoblade so theres no way dream dies.

unless, dream acts out like he died, he makes them think they won. he makes the butcher army put down their gaurds and celebrate in their “victory”. but then dream comes crashing back, taking them all down to either put them in prision or to murder or b o t h.

or, dream turns the situation around. somehow tubbo, quackity or someone else ends up in the execution trap. and dream starts going on about how tubbo was meant to be a good president and that he believed in him and blah blah blah. dream either gets someone else to execute the person or he does it himself. i feel like it would be more ahhhhhhh if he got someone else to... like, maybe fundy ;)

2) niki

i just want to see niki go batshit crazy. or just knock sense into everyone. i want her to go, listen to me you fuckers, stop fucking around and acting like lunatics. please niki please.

but seriously, what if dream acts like he’s going to murder tubbo but goes “i dont want you to die just yet, i still have something planned for you but you still need to be punished”. so he pearls next to niki and is like “yeah i will murder her for all of your crimes”

niki then gets mad, rightly so. she goes on how she doesnt want to die for tubbo or for the butcher army because they’re all turning into people she despise, they are all turning into schlatt. and then she gets mad at dream aswell for thinking he can run the roost. for using all of his power to just ruin countless of lives. she gets angry and maybe murdered?

3) ranboo

i really like ranboo’s character so far but unfortunately i dont know everything abo it him as i’m unable to catch his streams. so i dont really know what the treasonous thing in his diary is that can get him killed.

but anyways, it seems as if ranboo may be exposed and potentially killed at the festival. maybe he was have a death that mirrors tubbo’s in the first festival? or maybe he’s safe and it turns out whoever read his diary was niki, fundy or someone who’s more neutral. or maybe it was ghostbur looking for a new book for his library?

if it was ghostbur maybe he’d blurt something about it infront of everyone and they’d go “whattt?” and ranboo would be like “ahahfunnyjokeidontknowwhatyouaretalkingaboutpleasestop,ahahha”

4) tommy/techno

personally i think this festival is going to be mainly evolved around the butcher army arc. its going to hold the public, the army and dream. i feel like tommy wont have anything to do with this unless he’s wondering around half way through and watches from the shadows but i think he might not just stream/be on until later like the first execution.

techno might turn up at one point but just to return dreams favour by mirroring what dream did to help techno. but i think techno and tommy might just not be there at all. they may hear about it from a particular ghost friend but apart from that, they’re far away in the snow oblivious to the raging party.

5) butcher army

these guys are in for a treat. by that i mean, they are fucked.

they are destined to fail, no plans from l’manburg ever follow through, they are going to find themselves in deep trouble again. maybe someone will die again, if they do it would likely be fundy. tubbo is on his last life so i think he wont be killed, quackity was killed last time so him dying again wouldn’t be likely. if we’re following the theme of someone from the army dying then it would probably be fundy. if we’re not then it could be ranboo or niki. those three are on my death list.

i hope the army wears their butcher outfits again because that would be so so funny, everyone would be so confused and be like “isnt this a festival?” and the army would just say its their special festival clothes. please please please let them wear the clothes even though it makes no sense.

one last thing, maybe the prision will be used? or maybe it will be threatened. i think dream might have something else planned for the prision so it might be left for that, but it could be used as a threat which would be cool.

anyways i hope you liked my theorys, feel free to drop your own! i love reading what all of you have to say. also if anyone wants to send me a ask... ;);));););)););)

have a lovely day! ((also /roleplay))

[twistnet]

the last of us masterlist

✶ = smut/sexual themes.  ᰔ = author fav.  § = read warnings.

ELLIE WILLIAMS

✰ IMAGINES

forsaken — after being thrown onto another world with the hopes of surviving, you forsake your armor and try to live among the people of this new world you’ve come to live on. but what happens when someone you love finds out about your past? ꒰ ✶ ꒱

companion — ellie is pretty convinced that your dog doesn’t like her, and she has no clue why or how to fix it

sneaking out — somehow, you were able to coax ellie out of her room to join you on a small adventure -- not that she’s complaining one bit

one locked door — ellie sneaks off with you during the town dance for a little bit of fun ꒰ ✶ ꒱

impatient — you were supposed to meet up with your friends minutes ago, but your shower comes as a priority and ellie isn’t happy

slow dance confessions — sometimes, things just slip out when you’re so in love with the other person ꒰ ᰔ ꒱

touch that lingers — ellie’s touch is always lingering on you ; in more ways than one ꒰ ✶ ꒱

rain against the window — taking shelter from the seattle rain, confessions are made after a quick brush of death ꒰ ✶ ᰔ ꒱

glistening in the light — while a rare slight to see ellie drunk and having a good time at one of the annual dances, it was an even better sight to see her ring glistening in the light

tranquility — after months of getting into a routine, you decide to surprise ellie with a little something special as a thank you for everything she’s done ꒰ ✶ ꒱

amazement — it’s been almost six months, and ellie still can’t seem to grasp onto the idea that you even said ‘ i do ‘

coming home — just because it’s christmas morning, doesn’t mean the work around jackson stops for the holiday -- now all you’re waiting for is for ellie to come home so the two of you can spend the morning together

✰ HEADCANONS/CONCEPTS

dating would include

being the older sister of lev & yara 

nsfw alphabet ꒰ ✶ ꒱

JOEL MILLER

✰ IMAGINES

surprise — it’s joel’s birthday, and for once, that man just needs to relax ꒰ part one ∗ part two ꒱ ꒰ ✶ ꒱ 

warmth — cold weather sets in across jackson county earlier than expected. warm jackets, a steaming cup of coffee, and joel’s warmth are the only things you really need

worthy — after a talk about worth, you and joel confess your feelings to each other ; seeing the worth in each other

ghosts — old ghosts have a way of appearing when you least expect them to

✰ HEADCANONS/CONCEPTS

dating would include

nsfw alphabet ꒰ ✶ ꒱

ABBY ANDERSON

✰ IMAGINES

touch — abby always has to be touching you in someway, regardless of where you are at or who’s around

akrasia — the overwhelming fear that develops in the pit of abby’s stomach as she looks on you in panic, causes her to lose her self control ꒰ ᰔ § ꒱

sanctuary — after making it to catalina island, you and abby finally find some alone time ꒰ ✶ ꒱

stockings — you surprise abby with a decorated living room in an old cafe, complete with her own custom stocking

✰ HEADCANONS/CONCEPTS

dating would include 

TOMMY MILLER

✰ HEADCANONS/CONCEPTS

dating would include

DINA

✰ HEADCANONS/CONCEPTS

dating would include

© twistnet 2017 — no permission is ever given to copy, translate or transfer any of my works to any other blog, platform, or claim as your own !!

[rainbowbutterfrosting]

The Revived - Chapter 4: Reunion

This is chapter 4 of the dream smp fic @dramaticsnakes and I are writing. Thank you to @r0w3n-1n-d0ugh for beta-reading this chapter!

AO3

Read in order (on Tumblr)

Characters in this chapter: Wilbur, Tubbo, and Ranboo

Word count: 2,988

Cw: discussions of burns, medical treatment, mentions of hospitals, implied anxiety, implied suicidal behavior, crying

Fic summary: Wilbur was alive, and it was such a magnificent feeling, that made his mind spark with anticipation. It didn’t take long, however, for Wilbur to realize that this new breath of life, was not just his own. An echo-y voice hides in the back of his mind, and before he knows it, the transparent version of him he saw at the endless train station, is a lot more ingrained than he’d expected him to be.

And Wilbur really shouldn’t care. Because he’d be damned, if he spent the life he’d awaited for so long, babysitting a lost cause of a ghost, stuck in the very same limbo Wilbur spent so long in. It was an even exchange, and one Wilbur wasn’t going to mess with. Why exactly he ends up setting out to get the ghost out of his mind, in order to save the both of them, however, is beyond him. And perhaps Wilbur’s past isn’t as easy to leave behind, as he’d hoped it would be.

Tubbo led Wilbur over to a room near the entrance of the house. It was mostly empty except for some boxes labeled with markers. From where Wilbur was, nothing seemed special at first. There were some labeled with clothes, furniture, and pictures, but there was a box named ‘Michael’ that was unlike the others. The peculiar box had some drawings on the side of it. There were three… people in it? The drawings were too shaky to be easily determined, and Wilbur didn’t have the time nor patience to decipher them.

Tubbo caught where Wilbur was staring, “Oh, don’t mind the boxes. We know which ones will have the medkits.” Wilbur nodded as if that was the main question in his mind. Yet, he didn’t want his reunion with Tubbo to be filled with him eavesdropping on his new life.

“Where should I sit?”

Tubbo looked away bashfully, “Oh! I uh, we mostly just sit on the floor.”

Wilbur walked towards one of the walls and slouched against it. His legs still ached from his fight with the ghast, and he gave himself a moment of peace as he closed his eyes.

Apparently, he gave the peace to Ghostbur too, “Thank you. It was starting to hurt again.”

Wilbur mouthed, “No problem,” before realizing that Tubbo and Ranboo were staring at him, with Tubbo looking him directly in the eyes and Ranboo focusing on his burns.

Wilbur propped himself up slightly, “Am I in the way of something?”

Tubbo pursed his lips, “No, it’s just-” He exhaled, “Nothing.”

Wilbur rolled his eyes, “Tubbo, if I’m in the way you can just tell me.” Though Tubbo just shook his head and smiled awkwardly in response. Ranboo kneeled down next to Wilbur and opened the medkit. There didn’t seem to be too much in it, but Wilbur couldn’t judge since he didn’t need a hospital to treat his wounds. 

Ranboo quietly asked something he couldn’t hear, with Wilbur’s confused glance, Ranboo said it slightly louder, “S-so Wilbur, uh, does it hurt right now?”

Wilbur barely resisted the urge to scoff at him, “I wouldn’t be here if they didn’t.”

“Wilby, that wasn’t very nice,” Ghostbur commented.

Wilbur sighed, “Sorry, I’ve had a rough day so far.” His words grew quieter near the end, embarrassed that he needed to apologize to someone he barely knew.

He might’ve expected Ranboo to make fun of him for not having armor or say he was an idiot for going alone, but the boy only nodded and slightly tilted Wilbur’s face towards him. A focused expression came across Ranboo’s face as Wilbur held still. 

Ranboo looked somewhat relieved when he said, “Second-degree at the chin, but uh, first-degree at the surrounding area.”

Tubbo nodded, “Do you know what to do?”

Ranboo shifted his focus to Tubbo, “N-not exactly, but I’ve got a general idea. Sorry, I-” Ranboo tightly closed his eyes and hid his face with one of his hands. An enderman vwoop came out in small chirps. Tubbo kneeled down to where Ranboo was and held his other hand. His eyebrows were knitted together with concern, but he tried to have a small smile on his face.

Tubbo’s voice lowered to a whisper, “Hey, Boo, it’s alright. How about we head outside?” Ranboo responded with a shake of his head. Then came another enderman vwoop, one that sounded like a constant buzz that made Wilbur slightly cringe from the unpleasant sound. Ranboo nodded and stood up, still covering his face with his hand, and Tubbo stood up with him. Tubbo mouthed something to Wilbur that wasn’t clear to him as the married couple exited the building. 

“Aww, poor Ranboo. Ranboo said he’s never met you before but I can explain! Sometimes, he gets… how did Tubbo describe it? I- I don’t think I can remember.” Ghostbur sighed.

Wilbur shifted slightly to look around the corner, and when he couldn’t see anyone, he whispered back, “It’s alright if you don’t know the exact wording, just give me the general idea.”

“Well, I’m not too sure. All I know is that it can be really unpleasant for him. Once when it started happening, Tubbo started counting. I’m not sure why though, maybe Ranboo really likes numbers.”

Wilbur rolled his eyes and made a sharp exhale out of his nose that could have been recognized as a laugh, “I don’t think-” Did Wilbur want to ruin his fun? The ghost was already in limbo. The most he could do was play around with his silly ideas. “Yeah, maybe he really likes numbers.” Wilbur could barely keep himself from laughing at himself saying the statement.

Ghostbur gasped excitedly, “You really think so? Hm, maybe you should ask what his favorite number is.”

Wilbur wanted to close his eyes and rest, but he didn’t want Tubbo or Ranboo walking back in seeing him talk to himself. “Mhm, that’s a… good idea.” Wilbur yawned near the end, his adrenaline crash hitting him rougher than he expected.

“Are you okay?”

Wilbur nodded then remembered that Ghostbur couldn’t see him, “Yeah, yeah. Just a… yeah, I’m fine.”

Ghostbur’s confusion showed in his tone, “I’m not sure what the word for it is, but you seem pretty… the word isn’t sad, because it’s not exactly an emotion, but it takes over your head like the sad thoughts would.”

Wilbur sighed, “Tired?”

“Yeah! I’ve heard that sleeping helps when you’re tired. Not sure though, I haven’t tried it out myself. Maybe you could ask Tubbo and Ranboo.”

Maybe the exhaustion was making Ghostbur… not exactly funny, but somehow adorable in a way that made him want to giggle along with him. “I’ve… I’ve tried sleep… pretty nice.”

“So if you’ve done it before, why aren’t you sleeping now?”

“Supposed to be polite and shit. Not polite to fall asleep in someone else’s house.”

“But didn’t you fall asleep in Techno’s house?”

Wilbur made a confused noise, “Nah, I fell asleep in Phil’s house.”

Ghostbur huffed, not understanding the situation, “But Phil is a someone else, so therefore, you already slept in someone else’s house.”

Wilbur chuckled, “Oh, Ghostie,” Wilbur heard footsteps walking along the spruce floor, and stopped whispering to his counterpart. 

Tubbo peaked his head out, holding a silver bucket in his hands. He walked towards Wilbur’s direction, looking calmer than before as he sat down next to him and grabbed a rag from the medkit. 

“What’s all that noise?” Ghostbur asked.

Wilbur needed to lay down some rules for communication for Ghostbur, but he decided not to do it while Tubbo was there. “Is he alright?”

“Yeah.” Wilbur raised his eyebrows, expecting some kind of explanation, but he supposed it wasn’t his business. Tubbo dipped the rag into his bucket of water and gave the rag to Wilbur. “Hold it where it hurts the most.” Wilbur held it to his chin, both him and Ghostbur giving an exhale of relief. 

“It doesn’t feel as good as the stuff from before. Can we go back to that?” 

Tubbo gently grabbed the hand that wasn’t holding the rag and Wilbur winced from the pain before realizing that his hand wasn’t even burned. When he dodged one of the fireballs he must’ve scrapped his hands on a wall along the way. Tubbo laid Wilbur’s hand down, grabbing another rag from the medkit and dipping it into the water. 

“This might hurt a bit,” Tubbo stated as he dabbed the wet rag onto Wilbur’s hand. Once most of the dirt was cleaned, Tubbo looked closely at the skin and let out a sigh of relief. “I don’t see anything inside your hands so that’s good.”

“Wait- Ranboo told me there were veins and blood inside hands. Did you lose those somehow?” 

Wilbur barely held back a giggle, “Yeah, that’s good.”

Ghostbur gasped, “No that’s not good! Your hands won’t have any circulation!”

Wilbur laughed but tried his best to cut it off short with a cough after seeing Tubbo’s concerned glance. 

Tubbo looked skeptical as he placed a hand on Wilbur’s forehead. “Have you been coughing a lot?” 

“Not really, just happens every now and then.”

“Hm. Let me have the rag for a second.” Wilbur gave him the rag as Tubbo redipped it into the water. “Continue holding it to where it hurts, but hold it with the other hand.” Wilbur nodded and did what he was told. Tubbo grabbed the now free hand and cleaned it like he did the other one. Some dried blood came off which caused Tubbo to frown. 

Tubbo fished around the medkit before he grabbed a small tube. It had a label Wilbur couldn’t read, but he wasn’t too worried about what it was. He taught Tubbo all the medical knowledge he knew during one of the first wars. He would’ve told it to Tommy, but he didn’t have an interest in it. 

Tubbo uncapped the tube and rubbed the semi-transparent paste onto Wilbur’s hands. He winced at the pain, but Tubbo kept going. 

“Wilbur, Wilbur, Wilbur,” Ghostbur hissed. Wilbur wished he could comfort Ghostbur, but he remained silent throughout the ghost’s pleas.

Tubbo grabbed a roll of gauze and started carefully wrapping it around Wilbur’s hand so it would hold itself together. He tucked in the end and gestured for Wilbur’s other hand. Wilbur complied and tried to hold the rag in a way that didn’t touch any of the bandages that were already done. Tubbo raised an eyebrow, “Where are your gloves?”

“Most likely in my pocket…” Wilbur mumbled as he hung the rag on the side of the bucket. Tubbo continued rubbing the paste onto Wilbur’s hand, then wrapped the gauze around it as well. After searching his first pocket with no success, his second one had both gloves in there. He sighed in relief and put on both of his gloves once Tubbo put his hand down. 

Tubbo gently grabbed the bottom of Wilbur’s chin and tilted it upwards. He made a sound of worry then let his hand fall from the man’s face. 

“I don’t know how to handle burns,” Tubbo quietly stated. 

“That makes two of us,” Wilbur shrugged. Although he was slightly disappointed that Tubbo didn’t learn how to, he couldn’t blame the boy either. 

Wilbur started to get up when Tubbo brought Wilbur back down using his arm, but instead of yanking him backward, it gently brought him to the wall he’s been laying on. “What are you doing?”

Wilbur slightly tilted his head, “I’m leaving?”

Ghostbur whined, “Aww, but we didn’t even get to have any fun.”

Tubbo looked at him with disbelief, “We haven’t even treated your burns yet, you can’t leave.”

Wilbur groaned, closing his eyes in frustration, “You’re not my dad.”

“Don’t worry, he should be here soon. Well- him or Techno.”

Wilbur sat up immediately, “What!?”

Tubbo’s casual expression shifted into one of worry, “I said that Phil or Techno should probably be here soon. Did you hit your head too?”

“No no, I-” Wilbur’s mind flashed with his and Techno’s fight. He didn’t even say goodbye to his father before he left. He’d be lucky if either of them would even look him in the eye, let alone help him medically. “I just have to go.” Wilbur shakily stood up, exhaustion filling his mind. 

Tubbo’s voice turned shaky, “Wilbur, just talk to me. What’s going on?”

“Wilbur?” Ghostbur was quiet compared to how loud Wilbur’s mind was.

Wilbur ran a hand through his hair, “It’s fine, it’s fine, I’m fine. It’s all just fine, and I’m good to leave!” 

Wilbur moved towards the exit before Tubbo stood in front of him, blocking his way out. “Wilbur, please, at least let us treat your burns. I- I know you hate me but you don’t need to leave so soon.”

“Wait, you never told me you hated Tubbo,” Ghostbur’s voice creaked with melancholy. “Is there anyone you like? I- I don’t like jumping to conclusions, but first, you don’t like Techie and now you don’t like Tubbo either. D-Do you also not like me?” The last words wavered more compared to Ghostbur’s typical tone. 

“It’s not like that- it’s- it’s more than just that.”

Tubbo looked confused, and Wilbur was reminded of past betrayals and moments of heightened caution. He was reminded of young Tubbo, hesitant to take a stand, his voice now booming with strained determination. Tubbo yelled, tears on the verge of spilling, “Then tell me!”

Wilbur spent so long in limbo he forgot that people might still have attachments to him. He almost hoped that everyone would forget so that he could go back to being himself without any problems. “Tubbo…” Wilbur stepped forward slowly, showing Tubbo he wasn’t going to do anything sudden, and in exchange, Tubbo watched his every move. His eyes occasionally darting to other parts of his body. When Wilbur was right in front of the boy he stopped walking. 

A moment of silence was exchanged between the two before Wilbur bent down slightly and hugged Tubbo. At first, Tubbo didn’t reciprocate, but seconds after, he slowly put his arms around Wilbur. The grip was weak, probably to give Wilbur time to pull away, but he soon tightened his arms around Wilbur, exhaling in relief. 

“W- Wilbur?” Tubbo’s body shook with a sob, but he mostly tried to keep his cries quiet.

“Yeah, Tubs?”

“Are you j- just gonna leave again?” Tubbo’s voice broke at the last word, his composure only lasting so long. Wilbur squeezed tightly in response. 

“Why…  haven’t you responded yet?” Ghostbur wasn’t crying yet his voice mimicked the sadness in Tubbo’s. 

At least a minute stretched between them before Wilbur pulled away. Although he wanted to view Tubbo as a pure equal in the situation, he couldn’t help but give him pity once he saw the boy’s red-rimmed eyes. 

“Sorry, man, I didn’t mean to get so emotional,” Tubbo sniffled and whipped his face into his sleeve.

Wilbur put a hand on Tubbo’s shoulder, “It’s fine. You’re allowed to have your emotions.” Although he didn’t mean to, his voice softened into a warmness that he rarely presented.

“Does this mean you’re staying?” Ghostbur’s hesitance spoke more than his words ever could.

Wilbur took a deep breath in, “Tubbo, you’re not an idiot so I’m going to be honest with you.” Tubbo slowly nodded. “I… I can’t really promise myself staying.”

“...okay.” His voice harmonized with Ghostbur’s.

“Okay.” Wilbur gave Tubbo’s shoulder one last part before removing his hand. 

“Just-” Tubbo’s words came out slower than they normally would have, “Next time you go and… get a life taken away, just please say goodbye before you do it.”

Wilbur gave Tubbo a confused look, “I- Tubbo I just meant I can’t stay at the mansion.” It wasn’t a complete lie. He did mean that he couldn’t stay at the mansion, but what he heavily implied was one of his main thoughts at the moment.

But Tubbo took this lie gratefully, “Oh! I- Oh wow, I really took that the wrong way.” They both awkwardly laughed to themselves.

They stood like that for a little, when Tubbo’s expression suddenly shifted, glancing at a couple of the boxes around them. He bit his lip nervously. “I uh, need to go do something real quick.” he rubbed the back of his head, “I’ll be right back!”

Wilbur nodded in response, as Tubbo walked to a nearby box that Wilbur couldn’t make out the words on, and picked it up. He walked out the door, his posture certainly a little more sheepish, and Wilbur was left alone.

“What happened? Where’d Tubbo go?” Ghostbur asked, his voice quiet, yet less sad than before, “And what was that nice feeling?”

“Hm?” Wilbur asked.

“That nice feeling, like being close to Friend, or… Like safety, wrapped around me?” Ghostbur tried.

Wilbur inhaled, “Oh.” he said. That made sense, perhaps. Ghostbur had felt the relief from the wound being treated too. “I hugged Tubbo.” Wilbur said, feeling a little awkward saying it out loud, “You must’ve felt that, somehow.”

“Oh! Oh, that’s really nice!” Ghostbur said excitedly, “Can I feel everything you feel? How exactly does all of this work?”

“I’m not… Certain.” Wilbur replied honestly, “But perhaps.” his voice turned a little quieter at the last part, as he thought of the implications of that. Because if Wilbur getting hurt, would keep hurting Ghostbur in return, that made the entire thing so much more difficult. It was simpler, when it was just Wilbur, piecing himself together, and taking what belonged to him, despite what it would cost him in the end. But if this voice, that held a tight involuntary grip around Wilbur’s mind, would be affected by all of it too, it made decisions so much harder. It made Wilbur’s plans so much harder because some things couldn’t just be explained away, and the mere thought of those painful screams from before, made Wilbur shiver.

And a brief thought was clear to Wilbur in that moment even if he didn’t say it out loud. He needed to get Ghostbur out of his mind, whatever that would mean. Wilbur needed to keep all of this to himself, because if he ever wanted to complete any of his plans, then dragging around a ghost like that… Someone who remembered so little, yet experienced things just as vividly, would make everything Wilbur wanted to do impossible.

Wilbur heard Tubbo shuffling around with things upstairs when he saw his chance to leave. He had things to get done, and a mind to quiet down. He rushed to the front door, turned the handle and opened it, just about to run outside, when he saw them.

A nervous Ranboo, hunched over, behind a figure that stood tall and confidently. Someone who looked at Wilbur with an expression of cold aggravation. Wilbur swallowed something in his throat. “Hello, Techno…”

[a-hundred-jewels]

cruel summer ch 12: i have these lucid dreams

Ao3 Wattpad

Summary: sabrina starr, pegasuses, and oh no! the fourth wall broke! do we have a carpenter in the audience?

Word Count: 9000 ish

Tags: Rachel Elizabeth Dare/Jane Penderwick, Rosalind Penderwick/Tommy Geiger, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jane Penderwick, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Rosalind Penderwick, Skye Penderwick, Chiron (Percy Jackson), Martin Penderwick, Elizabeth "Batty" Penderwick, Elizabeth Penderwick (senior), Iantha Aaronson-Penderwick, Ben Aaronson-Penderwick, Nico di Angelo, Will Solace, Annabeth Chase, Jeffrey Tifton-McGrath, Percy Jackson, Demeter (Percy Jackson), Apollo (Percy Jackson), Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Camp Half-Blood AU, Demigods, demeter!elizabeth penderwick, demeter!rosalind (second generation), demeter!batty (second generation), apollo!alec mcgrath, apollo!jeffrey (second generation), demeter!jane (second generation), demeter!skye (second generation), all of that's in no particular order, main focus is on jane because i love her and she's so so fun to write, tomsalind is there (and stuff will happen - i can't really say what, it will really be eventful though), yes of course there's solangelo, takes place right before Penderwicks In Spring, After Trials of Apollo, more tags to come??, Minor Swearing

Notes and Full Chapter below cut:

Hello everyone and welcome back! I'll admit, this is a little later today than I'd been planning to post (was hoping to get an early start), but hey! If the Puppet History season 4 finale can be late, then so can I!

First off, a massive massive thank you to waterbottle_stickers for being the best beta reader ever. This chapter would be a mess without you. Also, if you haven't already, please check out their enola holmes fic wherever you stray, i follow it's truly wonderful.

If you've been following me on tumblr, then you'll know that, in addition to reblogging an alarming quantity of good omens fanart, I've been making some plans for fics this month. The original plan from back in august was to post every day of the month, but... ahhh.... I just don't work that fast lmao. I'll have to be content with just posting a fair amount this month. Happy october! Anyway, stay tuned.

On this fine day, we've got two lovely QUEER fanfic recommendations that I'm very excited to share. Up first is one from the tumblr blog izzielizzie (which you should all absolutely check out! especially if you're into the one of us is lying fandom!). it centers around the skye/melissa pairing and their senior prom, which Skye is said to have only gone to last minute, and also wearing a lab coat, in a passage of the penderwicks at last. featuring some oblivious lesbians and also jane. once again a massive thanks to izzielizzie, as this fic is one of my favourites!. click here to take a look! (also keep an eye on her blog in general bc her penderwicks fics are awesome!)

The second fanfic is also one I'm very fond of, as it focuses on the siblinghood of skye and jane, which is one of my favourite topics on earth. check out rolling down the ancient high street by hanchewie/ramblemadlyon (tumblr and ao3 respectively) for the sibling antics of aroace skye and bisexual jane when the latter visits the former at her college in california! and, if you like it, ramblemadlyon has two other penderwicks fics from the past couple days that look fantastic as well, and that I look forward to reading.

This chapter is dedicated to my therapist, since I've decided this will be the month of oddly specific dedications. thank you for telling me to stop referring to cruel summer as my "trash baby" and help me recognize the true worth that it holds in my life.

Disclaimer: not my characters, you know the drill. Jeanne Birdsall and Rick Riordan are lucky ducks indeed. chapter title is (obviously) from "lucid dreams" by Juice WRLD.

FROM THE POV OF JANE PENDERWICK

The woods loomed around me, seeming as tall as buildings as they invited me in further. I took another step, the sharp pain of a pinecone digging into my foot barely registered in my mind. I kept walking. A crack sounded throughout the air, and, behind me, a tree splintered round its base and fell down, only inches away from crushing me dead, and completely blocking the path out.

Frightened, I began to run, looking for a way out of the forest. But no matter which way I went, there were only trees in front of me. Where was the path? Where was the grassy hill I had walked down to get in here in the first place. Had I even walked down that hill to begin with? Now that I thought about it, I wasn’t sure I remembered coming here. I wasn’t sure I remembered waking up this morning, or going to bed last night, or anything besides existing in the forest. Who was I? What was I doing here? How could I get out?

Panicking, I stood in the middle of a clearing, looking frantically at the trees around me, trying to find something familiar. Nothing. I was exhausted. How long had I been here? An hour? A day? A lifetime? I collapsed at the base of a tree, sobbing as I tried to remember. Something. Anything.

Then, a voice echoed around me. “Welcome,” it said, and my mind went black.

I bolt upright in bed, a scream halfway out of my throat. I clamp it back, not wanting to wake my cabinmates. Thin light whimpers through the window--enough for me to see my white-knuckle grip on the sheets, but not enough to pass as daylight.

What time is it?

Our cell phones don’t really work here--that was one of the first things Miranda told us when we arrived, and Batty’s been gleefully lording it over us that her Mp3 player will still play music and, like, function, while our smart phones recline sadly in our duffel bags. That being said, I don’t feel quite brave enough to get out of my bed just yet and tiptoe over to the big analog clock that Rio bought at a pawn shop in Colorado. Maybe my phone will at least show the time.

I reach under my bed and fumble for my duffel, hooking my pinky through the zipper loop and yanking it out onto my floor. My phone’s in the front pocket, buried under two pairs of headphones, several gum wrappers, and some strawberry leaves (?????). A piece of gum peels off the screen as I disentangle my phone, and I mentally chide my past self for being so messy.

My phone does not turn on. Big clock it is.

I tiptoe across the cold tile and peer around the tree.

5:45 .

Jesus Pagan Christ.

It’s too early to wake anyone up (as I think this, Batty lets out a snore to rival any crabby Tyrannosaurus Rex), so I wrap a blanket around myself like a criminally attractive burrito, and creep out onto the porch, with my notebook and pen tucked into my shirt.

As long as I live, I will never get tired of summer mornings. There’s something deeply lovely about the soft light of the still-sleepy, pink lemonade sun, the quiet anticipation of the cool air, damp from dew and preparing for the upcoming heat. At home in Cameron, Skye’s woken me up many an early morning to go for a run or do soccer drills or for a grueling “Seven Minute Workout Except You Don’t Follow The Rules And Torture Your Sister by Making It Actually A Forty-Nine Minute Workout.” (But it’s okay, I’m not bitter). But, as delightful as those experiences have all been, I don’t think Skye really gets it. The beauty of the summer morning is not what it can do for your workout schedule, but rather in its gentle softening of an otherwise boiling day. It is to be appreciated in the way that I am now, sitting curled up on this frighteningly creaky porch (I mean, seriously, who built this?) and calling up the Sabrina Starr section of my brain to try and write away the residual panic from my nightmare.

Sabrina sighed as the plane took off. She wasn’t sure if she should have followed the voice in her head telling her to come here. Saying it out loud--even just thinking it--made it sound ridiculous. A dream, a voice in her mind. Barely more than a whim.

Worse than that, Sabrina wasn’t even sure where this whim was taking her. On a napkin in her pocket, she’d scrawled everything she remembered about the dream from the night before. The dark sky, lit only with spiderwebs of lightning, the shadowy figure huddled on a beach and soaked through with rain. The voice crying for help.

And a name. Aeaea.

After she’d woken up, Sabrina had looked up Aeaea, too tired to fully connect why the name felt familiar. Her heart had sunk further after reading the Wikipedia entry, and a breath of hopelessness had left her lips. According to the internet, Aeaea was not a real place. It had been the island prison of Circe. Fiction wasn’t new to Sabrina, and neither was mythology (she recalled an adventure spent with a ghost called Rainbow from a few years back).

Fictional places, though, were another matter. How could she get somewhere if she didn’t know where she was going? Was she trusting her gut with too much this time?

Sabrina folded up the napkin and put it back in her pocket. There was no point in worrying about that now. She’d looked at enough maps to make a guess at where Aeaea might be if it was real. When she got there, she could get more information. Sabrina Starr had survived this long in her career of rescues and whims. She could survive one more adventure. Worst case scenario, she said to herself, I spend a few days running around for nothing and have to brush up on my Greek.

She repeated it to herself like a promise. Worst case scenario, worst case scenario… Eventually, tired out from all her anxieties, and from trying desperately not to worry about what would come next, Sabrina fell asleep.

FROM THE POV OF RACHEL ELIZABETH DARE

“Okay, I give up. Tell me what’s wrong.” Annabeth’s voice startles me away from my plate of eggs, which I had been pushing around with a fork. Anxiety bubbles in my throat, just as it had been since I woke up, and food just doesn’t sound like a good idea.

“I--what?”

Annabeth waves her hand impatiently. “Don’t play dumb. I’ve been talking to you for five minutes and I don’t think you’ve looked up once. Also you’re always hungry in the mornings, so unless you, like, ate an entire cow before I got here, this ,” she gestures to my uneaten eggs, “is unusual behaviour.”

I give her a look. Sometimes, I get the feeling that Annabeth exists as a part of multiple different dimensions at once, like she’s having four other conversations that I can’t hear, and is still ten steps ahead of me in the one I’m actually a part of.

Or maybe I’m just easy to read.

“Nothing’s wrong.” I don’t want to talk about it. “I’m fine.” I’m terrified.

Annabeth sighs. “Is this about the prophecy?”

“No,” I spear another piece of egg, and don’t eat it. “Maybe. Yes.” I feel like going back to my cave and staying there for the rest of my life. Waiting with a book and some paints for the prophecy to get bored and go away. Maybe I’d take Jane with me, or Nico, for some company. That sounds nice.

My plate is pulled away from me as I aim my fork again. “I can’t pay attention when you do that,” Annabeth huffs. I think I wouldn’t invite her to stay in my cave. She’s too on the nose when I want to mope. Then again, she says the same about me.

“Fine,” I turn and face her. “Let’s talk feelings.” Connor Stoll, who had been making his way towards our table, abruptly turns around and walks the other way. I should get Chiron to hire a therapist. Gods know we need it.

Further proving my point, Annabeth’s eyes widen a little, before she remembers it is I who will be spilling. (I make a point to corner her later. It’s a routine we have). “Wow. You broke fast.”

I nod. “I’m tired and you’re annoying.” (False. We both know it. Another routine). “Like you said, I’m nervous about the prophecy.”

Annabeth nods. “And?”

I frown. “What do you mean, and ? There’s no and.”

Annabeth frowns back at me. A mirror, a mime, an annoyance. The nerve to look disappointed in me. “I thought you were spilling, Red.”

I roll my head back and study the roof of the pavilion, which Annabeth designed, and slowly lean my head down to stare at the table. I really don’t want to have this conversation. I go along anyways. “I’m worried about Jane.”

Annabeth leans back, triumphant. “Ah, yes. Your girlfriend.”

Maybe if I try reeeeeeeally hard, I can activate the Oracle of Delphi and freak Annabeth out enough to make her go away. “ Not my girlfriend. You know that.”

“You called Percy my boyfriend for weeks before we actually officially decided.”

I wave my hand dissmissively. “That’s different, you guys were dancing around each other for like three years. You needed a bit of a push. Jane and I kissed once! Over a week ago! And nothing came of it.” We actually haven’t really talked about it. We’re in this sort of in-between zone where we spend a ton of time together, but don’t have a label for it. Honestly, it’s been nice.

Annabeth grins, apparently reading my thoughts. “You’ve been eating lunch with the Demeter cabin, like, every other day. I saw you doing archery together yesterday. Both of you were awful at it, but you stayed there for hours. I’ve never seen you focus on something that long outside of your paintings.”

I stare at the ceiling again. Maybe Annabeth designed it so that a single square foot of rock might fall down onto my head and relieve me from this conversation. “Yes, fine, we spend a lot of time together. But that doesn’t make us a couple, and has nothing to do with what I’m actually worried about!” I can see in her face that Annabeth is more serious now, and is about to fully listen to me, when Percy and Malcolm show up, sliding into the seats across from us, and clanging several plates of pancakes down onto the table in front of them.

“Made them ourselves! Wanna share?” Percy gives Annabeth heart eyes and a kiss on the cheek when she folds a large blue pancake into thirds and bites it like a burrito. I roll my eyes at them because they are a horrifying and disgusting couple and also I kind of want to be them when I grow up. Malcolm ignores them, instead turning to me. “Were you talking about Jane?” he asks, pushing wire rimmed glasses up his nose.

I frown. “Sort of. Why?”

He shrugs, sheepish. “You know. Just, uh, just wondering.”

I narrow my eyes at him, then Percy, who tears himself away from looking at Annabeth to sigh dramatically. “Malcolm wants to ask out Jane’s sister. You know, the blond one.”

I snort. “ Skye? Seriously?”

Malcolm looks vaguely offended. “What’s so weird about that?”

“Sorry, it’s not weird.” I reach over the table to pat him on the shoulder with my fork. “Perfectly normal teenage hormones.” He glares at me and I smile sweetly back. “I just can’t imagine Skye going out with anyone, that’s all.”

Malcolm stares down at his pancake, disappointed. “Oh. You sure?”

I nod, feeling a little more normal with my friends and less doom-related breakfast conversation. My eggs are past the threshold of “warm and appetizing” but I take a bite anyway. “Pretty sure. Jane told me that she’s aroace and, based on past occurrences, there’s a seventy percent chance she’ll punch anyone who asks her out. Anyway, why the interest? I didn’t know you guys talked.”

Malcolm shrugs. “We don’t, really. She just seems cool.”

Percy pipes in, “He’s been practically obsessed with her since she won that soccer game against the Nike kids and made them cry.”

I nod approvingly. “Well, Malcolm, at least we know you have good taste.”

Annabeth pats him on the head, ignoring his complaints that her hand is covered in blue maple syrup. “Better luck next time, brother of mine.”

Piper and Leo join us next, contributing an alarming volume of grapes and a single hardboiled egg to the breakfast display. Leo grabs a pancake and wraps it around some grapes, before taking a big bite. “I hear you’re discussing Malcolm’s romantic failures,” he says around the world’s worst breakfast burrito. Piper gasps in mock offense, then swallows the unpeeled hardboiled egg whole, like a snake. (This is a regular morning routine. She’s trying to work up to being a sword swallower, since her dad did it in a movie once and she thought it looked like fun). “ Malcolm, why didn’t you come to me? I could have given you a verdict within five minutes!”

“I wanted advice on whether I should ask out that Heaphestus boy two weeks ago and you told me to fuck off.”

Piper pouts at him. “That’s on you, you caught me at a bad time.”

Annabeth holds up a pancake with the air of a respected royal and we turn to her. “As delightful as this is, Rachel and I were initially talking about her romantic prospects and also her worries and fears, and I feel that we should get back to that before she slinks off and avoids the rest of the conversation.”

I glare at her. “Why would you bring this away from the very nice conversation we were having about everyone else’s problems? Do you hate me?” Annabeth rolls her eyes. “No, dumbass, I’m just not letting you walk away from a potential breakthrough. Now, where were we? You were saying that you’re worried about Jane but it has nothing whatsoever to do with your relationship, or lack thereof.”

I give a long suffering sigh, and try to communicate telepathically with Piper that she needs to Save Me Now, but she’s looking at me in interest with her chin resting in her hands, her long fingers adorned with rings sent to her from her Mortal girlfriend, Shel, who bought them at a vintage punk store. The traitor. Defeated, I turn back to Annabeth.

“It’s just that, whatever ends up happening with this prophecy, I don’t want it to fuck her up, in the way the quests have sometimes done to us. Like, we’re used to this by now, but it hasn’t been a smooth road. I don’t exactly like going on quests, and at first I was really worried at the prospect of being included in a prophecy, since that’s fairly abnormal, but Jane was only made aware of her heritage a couple months ago! What if this turns out like Silena or Beckendorf or-or Jason, and the prophecy destroys her, and it’s all my fault because I’m the one who pulled her into all this?”

Everyone tenses up at the mention of Jason, but they continue to look at me with a mixture of concern and love that makes something soften inside of me. For the hundredth time, I think of how lucky I am to have these people who love me unconditionally. Even if they really, really need therapy.

“I know that I didn’t plan any of this, but we’re both tied in now, especially since both Chiron and I had the prophetic dream and I actually gave the prophecy that day in the woods, and, well, this isn’t her world yet. She’s only got a little bit of ichor in her, and she grew up knowing nothing of any of this. In a way, I did too, and I have no ichor, but I had clear sight. For me, it was ineffable, but she could technically leave any time, if it weren’t for the prophecy. She can leave, and I feel like it’s up to me to make sure that doesn’t change.”

“Oh, Rachel.” Annabeth reaches her arms out to me and I let myself be pulled into an embrace. “Jane’s going to be okay. We’ll make sure of it.”

Sabrina stood in line at the boat rental hut, her arms crossed and a frown plastered on her face. It had not been a successful afternoon. For hours, she’d been searching the coastal towns near where her plane landed, looking for some trace of Aeaea, or anything else she’d seen in her dream. She was used to working with dregs. It was normal for her to have to squint a little at the evidence, have to shuffle things together around big holes of “Maybe,” like she was working a jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing.

But this was something else.

Sabrina had read about places where mythology shaped the culture. Places where the tourist draws were events that had supposedly happened thousands of years ago, or creatures that only existed in grainy photographs and people’s imaginations. Hell, she’d met the Loch Ness monster. Was it insane for her to have assumed she’d be able to find the same kind of thing here? All her training and years of experience had told her that, if you sniff around long enough, you’ll find a conspiracy theorist or a slightly off-the-rails guidebook.

So far, though, Sabrina had found nothing. Absolutely nothing. She hunted around, searching up library catalogs, checking every store on the street. “Aeaea,” “Circe,” even “the Odyssey.”

Nothing.

The line edged along slowly, and Sabrina ran her hands up and down her arms. The air was chilly from its proximity to the cold sea water. There were three people in front of her now. She just had to wait a little longer, then she would have a boat and be able to explore these waters herself.

Something was wrong with this place. Something was wrong with all of these places. And Sabrina was going to figure out what.

Later, Jane and I are taking our time walking to the pegasus stables to watch the riding lesson that Rosalind has reluctantly agreed to let Batty take (provided that Percy, who’s teaching today, doesn’t let her fly high enough that she’ll die if she falls off, and that Batty wears all of the necessary protective gear). Jane looks lovely, wearing a sunshine-y yellow bandana that sets off her dark curls and warm sepia skin. She has on her Camp Half-Blood shirt again, and a short green skirt, and all of it should clash horribly, but it doesn’t.

We’ve decided to cut through the strawberry fields, and I swallow a sun-warmed strawberry while Jane tells me about the dream she had last night. I think back to my conversation with Annabeth this morning when she tells me of the dark woods and the feeling of drowning, the memory warping and the echoing voice. At some point we sit down in a patch of grass, a simple circle amidst strawberry plants with a couple logs where the campers and satyrs take their breaks when they work here. Jane finishes her story and we sit in comfortable silence for a few moments, only broken by the grunts of annoyance Jane makes while trying to get her plant powers to activate again. She’s been doing that a lot.

“Well that sucks,” I say finally. “Have you been having other dreams like it?”

Jane shrugs, the neon orange fabric of her shirt wrinkling on her shoulders. “One or two, I think. Last night’s was the first one I really remembered. ” She smiles out of the corner of her mouth. “I hardly ever remember my dreams. It used to upset me. I thought I was losing potential writing material.”

I laugh. It’s such a Jane thing to think, that I can’t help it. She goes quiet, like she’s reminiscing, and I picture a tiny version of Jane, sitting crossed-legged on her summer quilt, writing. I look at her now, scrunched up nose and big brown eyes. Oh gods, she must have been an adorable child.

“My mother used to say that my imagination was the eighth wonder of the world,” Jane says. She’s looking down the hill at the cabins, plant powers temporarily forgotten, and I remember her telling me about her mother, the first Elizabeth Penderwick, who came here and was a daughter of Demeter and loved opera. The Penderwick siblings’ beloved mother who died so young.

I move closer to Jane on the log. “I can understand why she’d say that.”

Jane smiles again, a little sad this time, a little absent, but full to the brim with love.

“Bet you she’s in Elysium,” I say softly. I explained the Underworld to Jane a couple weeks ago, and she’d gotten this same absent look on her face, that I now know means she’s thinking about her mother. Jane nods, now, then turns to me. “Could we talk about something else?” Her voice is quiet, her eyes a little shiny.

“Course,” I say. “Shall I regale you with tales of dimwittery at this camp in the years past?” I told her last week about the time some Hermes kids tried to order pizza to the camp, accidently causing Chiron to think we were under attack. Jane had nearly fallen off the bench laughing.

She grins now, but shakes her head. “Tell me what it’s like being an Oracle.” I give her a look. She’s asked me before and I never really know what to say. When I give prophecies, it’s like I black out. I’m taken over by another entity who shares my body. (“Like that lady in Suicide Squad ,” Leo had said when I tried to explain it to him once, but I’d refused to be compared to such a gods-fucking-awful movie). So, in a way, I don’t know what it’s like to be the Oracle.

As if reading my thoughts, Jane shakes her head. “Not that part. I’ve seen you all green and smokey, and I know you can’t feel it. I mean the other stuff. How did you know it was you? What did you have to do to become the Oracle? That kind of thing.” I relax a little. Jane’s asked me all sorts of weird questions about Greek mythology and the gods recently. She calls it “research for her book,” but sometimes I think she’s just nosy. It’s cute.

Jane shrugs and looks off into the distance. If you tilt your head a little you can kind of see the stables from here. We have fifteen more minutes to get there, according to my watch. I decide to take it easy. “Delphi is this weird ethereal spirit,” Jane continues, “but there’s also just everyday, Oracle you, who likes paint and denim and bagels.” At that, I laugh. “I actually don’t like bagels that much. I’m just late to breakfast so often that they’re usually the only things available.”

Jane pouts at me and plays with the bracelet tied around my wrist--the one she gave me. “You know what I mean! You know all this weird shit about me because my siblings don’t shut up at lunch, and I know stuff about you, like the denim thing, which I still think is funny by the way. But you’re also the freaking Oracle! Your dormant self lies waiting!” I laugh at her, and she rolls her eyes, but I see the corner of her mouth tilting up. “Rachel, that’s very cool!”

I give in. “Honestly, there’s not much to say, that’s why I don’t talk about it.” I pause. “Well no, it’s that a lot of the stuff beyond the obvious is actually sort of creepy and weird, and not in a good way. There’s stuff I try not to think about, is what I mean.”

The edge of her yellow bandana sticks up as Jane tilts her head at me. “That makes sense. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

I shake my head. “No, it feels okay right now.” I mean it. Now that I’ve gotten into the swing of it, I do want to talk about it. Still, a small sigh escapes me. “I like being the Oracle, because that’s what brought me to a place where I feel like I belong and I have people who love me. It’s nice to know that I’m fulfilling my purpose in life.”

Jane pulls her knees up to her chest. “But?”

“But I also get lonely.” It comes out in a rush. “There are other oracles, but I didn’t know about any of them until the Apollo thing happened, and even then, they’re all supernatural beings--I know, I know, but not in the way I am. It’s not the same. Also, there are all these weird rules. Like I have to stay an unmarried virgin my whole life.”

“That’s fucked,” Jane says softly.

“I know! Chiron won’t even tell me why, just that it’s ‘the rules’” I let out an annoyed huff. “And, like, it’s not even that the idea itself bothers me. That’s pretty much what I was planning to do with my life anyway.”

“Same.”

“But it’s the principle of the thing!” I flick a strand of hair out of my face, offhandedly noticing that the tip of my pinky finger is slightly green. I ignore it. It’s not important. “Just because I don’t want to have sex or get married doesn’t mean it’s a fair rule to impose on me! Besides, why is it always the women in these things whose identities are tied up in who they do or don’t fuck? Last I checked, Grover didn’t have to sign an ‘I shalt not fornicate’ contract when he became Lord of the Wild!”

“Exactly!” Jane raises her hands and shouts up to the sky. “Don’t you fuckers realize we’re more than that?”

“The Hunters of Artemis, too!” I’m a jack-in-the-box, and something’s winding me up. “Thalia and Reyna send me letters all the time, and they seem really happy! Which is great!” I pause to emphasize the greatness of their happiness. My pinky is completely green, now. “But, they also had to make a stupid ‘ode of chastity,’ like I did!”

“Are you kidding me?” Jane’s hair flips as she turns to me. “I thought Artemis was one of the good ones!”

My voice lowers to a husky rumble, and I stare into the distance towards you, the reader. “In a broken system, there are no good ones. Abolish the police.” I clear my throat and my voice turns back to normal. “Sorry, zoned out for a second.” My green pinky has begun to vibrate.

“Happens to the best of us,” Jane’s voice is light and nonchalant. “And yeah, I know. Pretty much all of the gods have skeletons sitting on their shoulders, but it just seems out of character for her. I thought all of Artemis’s groups were supposed to be safe havens, not oppressive structures in their own right.”

I frown. “Yeah you’re right, that is weird. I’d never thought of it much beyond the gods having weird rules, but I wonder if something bigger is at play. The gods might be fucked up in the way that regular people are, and are undoubtedly responsible for all sorts of crap. But then there's more personal things, like the ‘chastity vows’ the Hunters and I had to take, and the fact that Nico was initially outed by Eros, and the weird unexplained eye condition that Piper had during some of her quests that made her eyes a bunch of bright, Eurocentric colors, rather than their natural brown. All sorts of other stuff, too.”

“Wow!” Jane says, sitting up straight on the grass. Her hand moves from where it was resting in her lap to cover her heart. “It’s almost like a bunch of genuinely good and inspiring material, such as including prominent queer people and characters of color in fun children’s fantasy, as well as having an immortal group of warrior women who support each other and are free from the gaze of men, was taken into the hands of a cis white man armed with unchecked misogyny and a fair amount of white Twitter feminism, both of which really showed when he tried to create an inclusive and empowering book series for children! Like yeah, it had its moments, and definitely some good characters, but overall, a lack of meaningful research in certain areas really made it fall flat!” Once again, I stare through the bindings of URLs and internet coding, now joined by Jane as we lock eyes with you, the reader. This time, we hold eye contact for nearly a minute, giving you time to read and process the long tangent spat out by this fanfic’s author, who, if we’re being honest, has gone just a tad off the rails right now. Finally, Jane and I look away from you, and resume our roles as fictional characters, still shaking off that strange cloud that comes with staring into the soul of those who give you life.

“Ugh, what’s going on with me today?” Jane groans at the same time I mutter, “What’s Twitter?” We turn to each other, blinking in the sunlight, then grin. This is normal. We’re fine. Jane looks up at the sky again. “I wonder if the gods are watching us. Maybe we should make them think we suck so they’ll leave you alone.”

I laugh as she sticks her tongue out, grinning wickedly at a nearby cloud. “Better yet, make them think we’re too powerful to be messed with,” I say. Jane sees me watching her and opens her mouth, sucking the cloud in between her teeth. The sky seems bluer in the space where it had been, and Jane’s eyes glitter with mirth as she swallows. “Mmm, tastes like sugar.” I giggle, feeling a small shiver on the top of my head. When I peer up, I see another cloud has floated over to me. I open my own mouth, and take it in, just as Jane did hers. “Sugar, yes. But there’s a touch of blood, too,” I say. Jane nods sagely. “What were we talking about?”

“The inherent misogyny in much of Greek mythology and the world of Camp Half-Blood in general.”

Jane nods again. “Right. A very important topic. It makes it weird when I’m writing sometimes. You know, cause I want to bring in Circe and Zeus and Apollo and all these fascinating characters, but there’s just so much bad stuff tied up with them that comes up when I research.” She looks down at our feet, which are standing in the midst of a strawberry patch. We seem to have been walking, crushing sweet summer strawberries as we go, which is odd because I don’t remember getting up. “You know Rachel, I’m feeling a bit strange.”

I look at her, and see an odd blankness in her warm brown eyes. “Now that you mention it, Jane, so am I.”

“My thoughts and words are my own,” Jane says, “But there’s something up with my body. I can’t really feel it.”

“I agree, I’ve honestly gone a bit numb.” I try to glance down at my fingers, wondering idly if they’ve gotten any more green, but find that my neck won’t bend.

Jane’s eyebrows furrow. “Yet, at the same time, I feel as though I could do anything. Grow another grass blade. Grow a flower. Grow a tree. Bend the world to my will if I wanted to.”

“Or is it the world bending me to its will.” I grin at my own philosophical point, but find that the smile won’t go away. Pretty fucking inconvenient, since the next thing I was going to bring up was part of the whole serious misogyny conversation. I decide to go for it anyway. “And I’m not the only one with weird rules!” Jane nods, as if this is a perfectly normal segway, and the only extraneous thought that floats through my mind as we find ourselves walking down a hill is how unfair it is that she still has control over her neck and I don’t. “Remember when I told you about the Hunters of Artemis?”

“Oh yeah! Your friends Reyna and Thalia, right?”

“Yeah, them! They send me letters sometimes, and seem really happy, which is great.” I pause, meaning to add emphasis, when I’m hit with a great sensation of deja-vu. “Wait a second, we already talked about this, didn’t we?” I try to remember, but something in my mind is rapidly melting. I cannot find it. I cannot find anything.

“Jane?” My voice quivers, and I squeeze my eyes shut. Oh gods, please let this be a dream. For a moment, I try to convince myself that it’s the Oracle of Delphi taking over, just like she did the other day and generally does a couple times a year. But I know that I’m lying. This is not what that feels like. “Jane, where are you?” I can barely move my mouth to say the words. I can feel nothing but the frozen fear of paralysis, of lost control. When I open my eyes, this other thing in my body has brought me to the edge of the forest. “Jane? Jane?” She could be right beside me, unable to speak, and I wouldn’t know because I can’t turn my head, can’t move my eyes, can barely even hear right now.

It’s okay, something says.

“Jane?” It’s not her voice. It’s no one’s voice.

It’s okay. You’re home.

With every cut the wooden oars made through the choppy ocean water, Sabrina knew she was getting closer. She could feel it in her bones, in her brain, a little voice that whispered in her ear. It had been three hours. Her body was worn down, energy levels dipping dangerously low, when she felt something scrape the bottom of her boat.

A rock.

Frantically, she peered through the fog that had begun to surround her boat a mile ago. The island. Had she finally made it?

As if answering her call, a peel of thunder rang out, and Sabrina’s boat began to fill with rain that pounded down from the sky. The storm from her dream. She rowed even faster, then, fear sparking a renewed strength in her tired muscles.

Just as Sabrina was about to reach the shore, a massive wave crashed over her, and her boat capsized. She came back up, sputtering, holding her sopping wet bag above her head. Another wave swept against Sabrina’s face, and she found herself spitting out a mouthful of saltwater. Finally, she washed up on the shore, heaving breaths raking through her lungs.

Sabrina blinked, pushing herself up onto her elbows. It was real. She was here.

She had made it.

FROM THE POV OF ROSALIND PENDERWICK

It’s been a pleasant day so far. Breakfast with my siblings and some of the Demeter cabin (though Jane did seem a bit absent-minded). Miranda, Florien, and Rio convinced me to practice some plant magic with them for a couple hours and I built up to growing a small sunflower. Lunch (again with Jane seeming distracted, though Rachel ate with us this time, which appeared to help). Then, Skye and Jeffrey disappeared with some of the older campers (supposedly for a regular game of soccer, but the unsettling gleam in their eyes had me doubting that was all there was too it), Jane and Rachel went to take a walk in the strawberry fields, and Batty and I were left to prepare for a pegasus riding lesson. If it had been up to Batty, the latter could have easily taken up the entire afternoon, but changing into durable pants and finding a bandana can only take so long.

After a somewhat restless hour, during which I grew three peonies and Batty rhapsodized about the stable of unicorns that another demigod camp apparently has, Batty and I arrive at the stable. We’re ten minutes early, and she’s been talking a mile a minute the whole time, not stopping from before. I swear I now know as much about pegasuses as she does. According to Rachel, the teacher today is Percy, her friend, who’s very responsible “when he puts his mind to it.” I wasn’t sure how to tell her that’s actually not very comforting, but Batty looked so excited and I figured there will be plenty of other people there, so. Why not. She’s been spending so much time there anyway.

Needless to say, I very much regret my decision now.

The stables are modest, made of wood and painted green, and I’ve been there several times by now. There’s a long line of stalls visible when we first walk in, but Batty skips straight to the far end, where a massive pegasus the color of a carrot pokes its head over the door and nuzzles Batty’s hair. She looks up at me with a smile that could melt anyone’s heart, and pats the horse on the nose. “Rosy, this is Queen Lotus Flower. Percy said we have a impenetrable bond.”

I look at the two of them with a questioning gaze. How can they both have the exact same puppy-dog eyes? I swear to god. The gods. All of them. “Batty, sweetheart. That horse is like ten feet tall.”

She nods enthusiastically. “I know, she’s so much taller than any other horse I’ve seen. Percy says she has the biggest wingspan of any horse at camp.”

I nod, slowly, wondering why my sister picked the biggest pegasus to fall in love with. At that moment, Percy pushes the door open. “Hey Batty! Ready for your lesson?” Batty leaves her post by Queen Lotus Flower to wrap her arms around my waist and nod. I look Percy over. He’s a few inches taller than me, with brown skin and curly hair. A beaded camp necklace, orange tshirt, and jeans. Weird arm tattoo aside, he’s one of the most normal-looking people at camp. I’ve only met him a couple times before, but, my nerves over Batty flying around on massive horses aside, I do trust him. Rachel seems to have a good taste in friends. Also, Batty likes him, and she’s still shy around a good number of Skye and Jane’s friends back in Cameron.

For the next few minutes, I watch as Percy instructs Batty on buckling Queen Lotus Flower’s giant saddle and looping the bridle over her nose. Not wavering a bit from the “lesson” aspect of all this, he steps back to let her show what she’s already learned from hanging around the stables so often, only stooping in to guide her when she gets confused. As the minutes tick by, more people show up for the lesson: three other students, and a good sized crowd of people who just like watching the pegasuses. By then, I’m seated on the grass outside the stables, soaking in the blistering sun and watching as Percy (seated atop a wiry black pegasus who Batty pointed out as Blackjack) darts around the large dusty enclosure, making final preparations for the lesson.

Skye and Jeffrey show up then, and sit on either side of me. I want to ask them where Jane and Rachel are, but they’re talking non-stop about a game they just played in the woods with some of the other campers, only switching the subject when Percy and Blackjack return and they begin discussing whether or not it should be scientifically possible for a horse to fly.

Just as Batty and Queen Lotus Flower begin a gentle trot around the enclosure, I feel a tap on my shoulder, and hear the familiar sound of Tommy’s chuckle. “She’s got a weird knack for that,” he says. I nod, grinning.

It’s been good with us. We’ve had breakfast together a few times, even played a game of basketball one afternoon. Our conversations aren’t the same as they used to be, and there’s a sense of newness that feels cold and strange every so often. But it’s good. It feels right. At least for now, this feels like where we’re supposed to be.

As Percy starts demonstrating how to take flight, I look around again. Jane and Rachel still aren’t here. They promised to come. (“For moral support!” Jane had said. “Wouldn’t miss it,” Rachel had added with a smile). I try to push it out of my head. This lesson is a big deal. Batty’s going to be flying.

She leans forward on Queen Lotus Flower’s neck.

They begin to run, moving together like a single being.

Just as they burst into the air, Batty’s euphoric smile lighting up the sky, Katie grabs my shoulders from behind. I shush her so I can lean forward and watch Batty silhouetted against the pegasus’s wide orange wings.

“Rosalind. Rosalind, guys. ” Something about the panic in Katie’s voice makes me turn around. Her usually tied back hair is loose and her clothes rumpled, giving the impression that she was dragged out of bed for this. (Some part of my brain distantly remembers her saying she was going to take a nap). Skye and Jeffrey turn around, too.

“What, what’s happening?” I reach out my hands, trying to calm her as she collapses into a squat, breathing heavily.

“Billie… found me in the cabin… had been looking for you guys… been running all over the camp… lucky I remembered about the riding lesson…”

Jeffrey leans over and puts his hands on her shoulders. She stares down at the dirt while her breathing levels.

“Katie, what are you saying? Why were you and Billie looking for us?”

She looks up, and I see that her forehead is drawn into well-worn creases of worry. “Jane and Rachel have gone into the woods.”

Something was wrong. Sabrina crouched on the wet sand, straining to see through the heavy rain. In her dream there had definitely been someone else on the island. She remembered the hunched figure, the sound of sobs leaking through the rain.

But she’d circled the shore at least twice by now, and there was nobody to be found. “Am I late or something?” she wondered aloud. Somehow, she’d gotten that dream It felt like it had been sent to her. Why did it show a person when there was no one?

Sabrina sighed and began to traipse inland, tucking a knife in her pocket. It wasn’t a big island, and she might as well find some shelter aside from her boat, which was now overturned somewhere on the beach. Circe lived here, didn’t she? There must be some sort of roof, especially if this kind of weather was standard.

Or maybe this was just a random island and there was no Aeaea and Sabrina’s dream had just been the unhinged work of her unconscious mind.

There was a small grassy hill set aside from the sand, which Sabrina crawled up with the determination of a dying warrior. Something was pushing her back. An invisible force, a last crumb of survival instinct, plain old fatigue, she wasn’t sure. But something wanted her out of here, and it pushed back harder and harder as she climbed.

She let out a cry of frustration, clawing at the ground, at the air, at whatever this goddamn thing was, and found a renewed burst of strength that pulled her to the top of the hill. Once there, the force that pushed back ebbed a little, like it was giving up. Sabrina let herself relax, and simply took in the view for a moment.

The hill she lay on top of gave way to a deep valley, sprawling and green. In one corner, there was a cluster of trees that looked healthy and comfortable, despite being on a random Greek island in the middle of the ocean. A modest garden lay next to it, somehow appearing unaffected by the rain, and a narrow river wound around the whole scene.

There was also a house.

Sabrina wasn’t sure what she might have expected from the lair of an infamous Greek enchantress, but it wasn’t this.

She hauled herself up on the hill and started down, rushing through the rain onto a wide wooden porch. There was a large stone vat of something dark and crumbly, with a heavy looking staff of sorts leaning against it. The door to the house was short, and Sabrina heard it scrape on the floor when she pushed it open.

The scene awaiting her was surprisingly cozy when she stepped inside. There was a fire in the hearth and rows upon rows of little viles arranged on a set of shelves beside it. A broom leaned against the wall. Sabrina looked around, noting the way that the rain didn’t make any sound as it thrashed against the roof and window, and the almost drug-like stupor that threatened to take over her brain, whispering that everything was fine, she was safe, nothing bad could happen to her.

Sabrina had encountered hypnosis before, and it only ever made her more jittery.

There was an open hatch in the floor with stairs that lead into darkness. She followed them down, feeling the air grow cooler with every step. Sabrina was quiet, taking tiny steps on her toes, and wincing when one of the stairs creaked. She didn’t know what was down there, and she didn’t want to find out the hard way. But there were no arrows flying up from the space below, no sounds of footsteps or slashes of swords.

Sabrina stepped onto a dirt floor and let herself exhale, shuffling along until her toe hit something hard. Only seasoned reflexes made her reach for the knife in her pocket instead of crying out in fear. She knelt down and squinted in the darkness, trying to see what she’d hit.

A leg.

She frowned, shaking it until she heard a low growl. “Stop that.” She stopped.

“Who are you?” Sabrina leaned closer. If they hadn’t killed her yet she was probably safe.

Instead of answering, they reached out a hand. Sabrina could see a gold ring on the thumb that glinted in a little sliver of light that had crept down from the room above. “Pull me up,” the figure said. “I’ve been paralyzed by the witch.”

Helping the stranger sit turned out to be no simple feat. They were tall and muscular, wearing a cape and a heavy metal chest plate. “The witch?” she questioned, propping them up against one of the cellar’s dirt walls. Her eyes were beginning to adust to the dark, and she could just make out their sharp chin sticking out as their head lolled back.

The figure made a noise. “The witch, the sorceress, the woman. Whatever you want to call her. I figure she sent you down too?” They snorted. “Good luck. I told Zeus not to sent mortals, but does he ever listen? You’re gonna die.”

Sabrina tried to piece together what she could from all this. The witch must be Circe, unless she’d wound up on an entirely different island. And if Circe was going around paralyzing people, then something must be going on. She must be hiding something. As for the person in front of her, Sabrina wasn’t sure who they were. By the way they talked about Zeus, and casually said “mortals,” she’d guess some sort of god? As if that narrowed it down. She’d have to be careful.

“Why did she paralyze you?”

Another weird gutteral noise. “She didn’t like my offer. It’s not the first time this has happened.”

She was growing impatient. Why’d he have to be so vague? “What?”

“Yeah, I don’t know why he always sends me. I don’t think he trusts me. He’d rather me stay her paralysed in the basement of a witch than come back home.”

Sabrina let out an exasperated sigh. This wasn’t working and she needed answers. A whole coast of people with mythology-shaped holes in their memories awaited her. “You’re going to need to be a little more specific. I don’t think we’re on the same page.”

The figure sounded confused. “What do you mean? Don’t you know who I am?”

She leaned forward and inspected them in the darkness. “No. No I don’t.”

They slid their eyes down to her face. “I am the god Apollo. I came here for Circe and she did this to me.”

“What? Why?”

The stairs creaked behind Sabrina and she felt a long nail drag up her back. “I just want to be left alone,” said a voice as deep and powerful as the smell of red wine. “You don’t mind, do you?” Before Sabrina could grab her knife and turn around, before she could even scream, strong arms had surrounded her shoulders and a hand was clamping a damp cloth over her nose and mouth. Shock made her breath in, sharply, and she smelled the sweetness of sleeping drugs.

A heartbeat, a brief struggle, and Sabrina Starr was gone.

[bewitching-elizabeth-olsen]

Press: A Thorough Breakdown of All the Marvel Easter Eggs on WandaVision

POPSUGAR: WandaVision has finally arrived, and it’s chock-full of hidden goodies for Marvel fans to devour! While the series is built upon a mystery that we’ll be spending a reported nine episodes trying to figure out, the smallest details in each episode provide clues on where the show is heading. From supermarket banners to foreboding commercials, viewers have an abundance of references and callbacks to classic comic lore and pivotal MCU moments. Are they setting the stage for a big reveal at the end, or are they just fun details included for fans to enjoy? While we try to figure it all out, scroll through to see what we’ve gathered! And check back every week for an episode-by-episode breakdown as WandaVision progresses.

WandaVision Episode 7 Easter Eggs

The episode opens the morning after Wanda has expanded the border of the Hex, finding the Avenger hiding from the world under her comforter. The comforter in question has a hexagon pattern, which is both a nod to the overall theme of the show as well as a metaphor for how Wanda is literally hiding away under a hex.

Billy and Tommy run into the room to reveal that their video game console has been messing up. Everything in the house is glitching, trying to transform back to earlier versions of themselves.

Billy also tells his mother that his head hurts and things are “noisy.” Since the twin inherited his mother’s ability to read minds, it seems he’s able to hear the thoughts of everyone in the bubble (and near it on the outside, since he was able to hear his father when he was dying). It’s a sign that Billy’s powers are growing, which means we could see the little boy reach his Wiccan potential before the end of the season.

Wanda wanders into the kitchen as the news drones on in the background. The news station is called W.N.D.A. or Wanda. The newscaster makes pointed comments, noting that there’s “not a thing weighing heavily on your conscience,” and that they “hope your little ghosts arrived home safe last night. It’s always such a treat to see those creepy kiddos out and about once a year.” The comments refer to Wanda’s building guilt at her actions in the previous episode and the rare appearance of children during the Halloween episode.

As Wanda makes her breakfast of “Sugar Snaps,” a nod to the big Snap of the universe, her milk carton reverts from its modern design to the old school glass bottle and back. The carton has a missing person’s ad on the back with a picture of a little boy on the back. This could be a reference to the oft-mentioned absence of children of Westview, and what could have happened to them.

Wanda and the twins “break the fourth wall” frequently to talk to the camera in the same vein as Modern Family.

This week’s theme song sounds similar to The Office’s, which also usings talking head segments like Modern Family. The opening credits are similar to the show Happy Endings and allude to the show’s focus on Wanda, even attributing the creation of WandaVision to her with the title image. Vision is notably completely absent from the opening credits, but there’s a clue that someone else is watching in a message that reads, “I know what u are doing Wanda.”

Agnes stops by to take the boys off of Wanda’s hands, which the exhausted mother is exceedingly grateful for. The twins are visibly uncomfortable with the idea, with Tommy asking Wanda if they have to and Billy telling his mother that someone has to stay to take care of her. It seems like they can sense that something is off with their “kindly” neighbor.

Wanda sends them off with Agnes, but once they’re gone, her magic goes incredibly haywire. All the furniture begins glitching again, with the stork from the painting in episode three making a reappearance. “I don’t understand what’s happening,” Wanda laments during a talking head segment. “Why it’s all falling apart and why I can’t fix it.” The off-screen interviewer responds, “Do you think maybe it’s what you deserve?” which visibly unnerves Wanda, who notes that they aren’t supposed to speak. It’s another sign that Wanda does not have as much control as she’s been led to believe.

Cue the sixth commercial, and it’s even more pointed than any of the others have been. It’s an ad for the antidepressant Nexus, for “when the world doesn’t revolve around you. Or does it?” The drug allows people to anchor themselves to the reality of their choice with side effects that include “feeling your feelings, confronting your truth, seizing your destiny, and possibly more depression.” Whew, the pointed commentary is even making me sweat. Nexus is a nod to two things: Wanda’s crippling inability to deal with the trauma she’s been through and her depression that’s pushed her into the creation of Westview, and two Marvel comics concepts. The first is the Nexus of All Realities is a kind of gateway point between dimensions from which all universes in the multiverse can be accessed. (Remember, Wanda’s next reported appearance is in Multiverse of Madness.) The second concept is the existence of Nexus beings, people who have powers that can alter reality, probability, and the Universal Time Stream. Guess which two Westview residents are considered Nexus beings? That’s right, Wanda and Vision! The commercial can either be just a cheeky nod to the couple’s seemingly infinite power or an allusion to the bigger picture that WandaVision is leading to.

While Darcy and Vision are attempting to make their way to the house, the doctor gives the synthezoid a brief rundown of his origin story, explaining how he died twice in an attempt to save the world. Vision points out that it seems like someone is trying to keep him from getting home, which spurs him to fly off, leaving Darcy behind in the blocked truck.

Billy and Tommy are watching Yo Gabba Gabba in Agnes’s lowkey creepy home. (It tickles me that Yo Gabba Gabba is more canon in the MCU than the X-Men or Fantastic Four right now.) While Billy pets Agnes’s bunny Señor Scratchy, he notes that he likes being around the older woman because he’s unable to hear any of her thoughts. “You’re quiet inside,” he says, an allusion to the idea that Agnes can hide her thoughts from him because she has magic.

Back outside the Hex, after the super-rover isn’t able to penetrate the field, Monica decides to run through it again. As she struggles through the barrier and we watch her, a montage of dialogue from Captain Marvel plays. The voices of Maria, Nick Fury, and Carol play over Monica getting through, and as Captain Marvel says “when they were handing out little kids, your mom got the toughest one,” Monica she pushes through to the other side. She lands in the stereotypical three-point-stance of all Marvel heroes, and her eyes glow, showing that she can see energy. We just witnessed the rise of Photon, folks! (Or Spectrum or Pulsar.)

Monica confronts Wanda in her home, and as their fight spills onto the lawn, the residents of Westview watch from their own homes. The delivery man is wearing a “Presto Delivery” uniform, a reference to the magic words said by magicians before they pull a magic trick.

In the first blatant show of Agnes’s ulterior motives, the older woman stops the fight when she realizes Monica is getting through to Wanda and pulls the young mother into her home. But when Wanda gets there, she notices the green bug and rabbit in the living room and the lack of her sons’ presence. When she asks Agnes where the boys are, she’s told to head to the basement, where the big showdown occurs. The scene hints at the eventual disappearance of Billy and Tommy.

Wanda notices a book on an altar, which could be the Darkhold, also known as The Book of Sins, The Shiatra Book Of The Damned. Originally a collection of papers known as the Chthon Scrolls, the book contains all the spells and ideas of the evil Elder God known as Chthon. The book is a conduit for Chthon’s power and can open a doorway from Earth to Chthon’s dimension. If that book is in Agnes’s basement, it stands to logic that she may be working with the evil god. The Darkhold emits an orange glow, which is a distinctly different color than the purple of Agatha’s magic.

Speaking of magic, Agnes finally reveals herself as the witch we’ve known her to be. Although the show tells us that “it’s been Agatha all along,” it still doesn’t ring completely true. There’s definitely more at work than just Agatha’s magic.

In the mid-credits sequence, Monica is caught snooping in Agnes’s backyard by Pietro. Her eyes seem to glow purple, the same color that signals Agatha’s magic. Does this mean she’s now under the witch’s spell?

  WandaVision Episode 6 Easter Eggs

The opening credits for episode six seem to be a tribute to Malcolm in the Middle, which ran for seven seasons between 2000 and 2006.

The entire Wanda and Vision family wear their comic book character costumes for Halloween.

There’s another reference to Thanos’s snap as Director Tyler Hayward talks about dealing with the repercussions of all the people “who left.”

The terrifying Yo-Magic commercial seems to foreshadow Vision’s future. Even though Wanda was seemingly able to bring Vision back to life, it looks like he won’t stay alive for long as it’s implied that he can’t exist outside of the Hex later in the episode.

Blink and you’ll miss the fun Disney movie Easter egg on Westview’s movie theater. The sign outside the theater shows a double feature of The Incredibles and The Parent Trap. Connecting right to Wanda’s family, The Incredibles is about a family of superheroes, while The Parent Trap is about a pair of long-lost twins reuniting.

Wanda’s changing accent has been brought up countless times by fans, and in episode six, Pietro makes a slight reference to it when Wanda asks, “What happened to your accent?” to which he quips, “What happened to yours?”

There is another reference that Agnes is actually Agatha Harkness as she is spotted wearing a witch costume on Halloween.

It appears that Vision has no memories pre-Westview, as a conscious Agnes tells him he’s one of the Avengers, and he has no clue what she’s talking about.

The episode further hints at Monica’s powers as Darcy confirms that the Hex rewrote her cells on a molecular level.

A few interactions between Pietro and Wanda have fans wondering if he might actually be Mephisto in disguise. Not only is he fully aware about Wanda creating Westview, but he makes several references to the devil and hell throughout the episode.

  WandaVision Episode 5 Easter Eggs

Wanda and Vision’s brand new house, suitable for a family of four, is reminiscent of homes in ’80s sitcoms such as Full House and Growing Pains.

When Agnes comes in to offer her babysitting help, she refers to herself as “Auntie Agnes,” which is eerily close to her comic counterpart’s nickname, Auntie Agatha.

An uncomfortable break in conversation leads Agnes to ask Wanda if she wants her to “take it from the top.” Though Wanda appears confused for a moment, she readily smoothes the conversation and carries on. Vision is visibly perturbed, though Wanda attempts to redirect his attention. It seems like the facade is fading all around.

To the surprise of their parents, Tommy and Billy age up five years while the two argue over Agnes’s break in character.

This episode’s opening sequence shows Wanda and Vision growing up, which we know didn’t happen in real life for the synthezoid. The theme song sounds very similar to those from Family Ties and Growing Pains, and consists of lyrics noting that “we’re just making it up as we go along.” Sounds pretty close to how things are going with Wanda and Vision!

When Wanda’s scans come back, they’re inconclusive and show up blank. Considering Monica gains her powers due to bombardment by extradimensional energies in the comics, it’s entirely possible that the blast from Wanda back in episode three, coupled with passing through the forcefield around Westview twice, have given her those abilities. We could be seeing the rise of Photon!

While Jimmy Woo is explaining Wanda’s backstory to the agents of S.W.O.R.D., Director Hayward asks if she’s ever used a “funny nickname” like the other Avengers. She hasn’t, in fact, she’s never been referred to as Scarlet Witch in the MCU ever. Since her powers are different from her comic book counterpart, there’s never been a reason for anyone to call her a witch.

That never-before-seen post credits scene from Infinity War has officially made its debut. Director Hayward reveals footage of Wanda entering S.W.O.R.D. headquarters to steal Vision’s disassembled body. The video harks back to a moment in the comics where Vision was kidnapped and taken apart — but still very much alive. Much like that Vision, the one in Westview has his memory wiped and doesn’t remember anything before he woke up in his new world. So, the question is whether Vision is actually alive or not. Wanda’s hallucination from episode four might suggest he’s a walking corpse, but there’s more to the story.

Jimmy mentions that Wanda’s stealing of Vision’s body violates the Sokovia Accords, which haven’t been mentioned since Captain America: Civil War. Unfunnily enough, the Accords were a direct response to the mission gone wrong in Lagos where Wanda lost control of her powers and caused the death of many civilians.

Darcy mentions that Vision is playing “Father Knows Best in Surburbia,” referencing the ’50s sitcom.

Tommy and Billy find a dog that, with the help of Auntie Agnes, they name Sparky. The Vision family has a dog with that exact name in the King and Walta comics, but he’s green. Sadly, he meets a similar fate as his live-action counterpart.

Wanda blatantly uses her powers in front of Agnes, who has seemingly handled the magic around her with ease. It’s almost as if she’s used to magic.

Darcy calls the Westview anomaly the “hex” because of its hexagonal shape. Although the magic has been taken out of the phrase, Wanda’s powers are known as hexes in the comics.

Jimmy, Monica, and Darcy try to understand how Wanda can revive Vision and control the Hex, which takes much more power than she’s ever displayed before. Monica notes that Wanda has always been powerful, being the only Avenger who was close to taking down Thanos singlehandedly, which Jimmy interjects to note that Captain Marvel could as well. Both are empowered by Infinity Stones, with Carol’s Kree biology giving her a power boost.

When Jimmy brings up Captain Marvel, Monica is visibly uncomfortable and changes the subject back to Wanda. What happened there?

Vision’s office mates learn about the sweet glory that is dial-up internet! But when he and Norm open their first bit of electronic mail, it’s a transmission picked up from S.W.O.R.D. talking about the Maximoff anomaly.

Vision breaks through Norm’s conditioning, revealing that he’s under the control of a woman (alluding to it being Wanda). He directly references his family, a conversation that Jimmy mentioned in his notes in the last episode.

The twins have aged themselves up to 10 by this point and are seemingly completely aware that Wanda has control over certain aspects of life, like time. They point out that it was Saturday when they woke up, but Wanda says it’s now Monday. She apparently changed the day to send Vision to work. Is their awareness because they also have magic or because she doesn’t control them?

Monica sends an ’80s drone into Westview after working out that Wanda’s Hex is rewriting reality to suit each era occurring in the bubble, and the drone would need no era-appropriate change. Though she attempts to speak with Wanda through the drone, Director Hayward commands agents to fire a missile at Wanda instead — directly ignoring that Monica said she doesn’t see Wanda as a danger. The action results in Wanda leaving the Hex and confronting the S.W.O.R.D. agents outside. She’s wearing the suit we last saw her wearing in Infinity War and Endgame and has her accent back, although it’s much thicker than it’s been since Ultron.

Episode five’s commercial is more pointed than any of them have been. Lagos brand paper towels directly reference the city in which Wanda accidentally killed several people in Civil War by blowing up a building. Thus, the Sokovia Accords were born.

While Wanda and the twins are searching for a missing Sparky — with no one calling out the fact that Wanda disappeared for some time — the mailman tells the boys that their mom “won’t let him get far.” It seems almost like a dig at how no one can leave Westview, like the doctor mentioned during episode three.

When Agnes reveals that Sparky died after eating too many azalea bush leaves, the boys ask their mother to reverse his death. Agnes seems particularly surprised by the idea of Wanda having that ability despite having seen other displays of her power and watching the twins age up rapidly twice. Wanda tells the twins that they can’t reverse death as there are still rules to things, which almost seems hypocritical considering her circumstances. Is she trying to say that she hasn’t revived Vision? Or is she simply trying to keep her boys from expecting too much from her?

Later that night, Vision reveals that he unearthed Norm’s repressed memories and demands to know what’s going on. He tells Wanda that she can’t control him, which she cooly responds asking him, “Can’t I?” Although the credits start rolling, their argument continues as Vision unleashes his frustration with not knowing his past and his confusion over their circumstances. Wanda tells him that she doesn’t control everything, saying, “I don’t even know how all of this started.” Vision believes it began subconsciously, but chastises Wanda for letting it get that far. Wanda reiterates that she isn’t controlling everything, which gives weight to the theory that there’s someone else behind the scenes. But who could it be if Wanda isn’t the “she” that Norm was referring to?

Mid-argument, the Vision family doorbell rings, which Wanda states she didn’t do. I’m inclined to believe her because when she opens the door, she is genuinely shocked speechless. At the door is her “brother” Pietro, now sporting the face of Evan Peters. Darcy asks the question we were all thinking as the episode closes, “She recast Pietro!?”

  WandaVision Episode 4 Easter Eggs

This episode opens with the heartbreaking reveal that Monica Rambeau was one of the people lost to the Snapture from Infinity War. She returns from Endgame’s Reverse-Snap in a hospital where she had been awaiting news after her mother Maria’s surgery.

As Monica is waking up, we hear familiar voices echoing in her head. It’s Captain Marvel calling her by her childhood nickname, Lieutenant Trouble.

As Monica weaves through the chaos of people reappearing in the hospital post-Reverse-Snap, she finally locates someone who recognizes her. Although Maria survived the surgery five years ago, she died from cancer three years ago in real time, having not been blipped with her daughter.

We finally have some information on S.W.O.R.D.! The acronym stands for Sentient Weapon Observation Response Division, rather than the meaning in Marvel comics, which is Sentient World. It sounds a little more ominous, right?

Maria’s badass legacy continues well past her friendship with Captain Marvel; according to S.WO.R.D.’s acting director, Tyler Hayward, Maria helped build the agency during its inception. She was the acting director until her death.

Tim gives Monica a mission to help out the FBI in the town of WestView, NJ, where something super freaky is going on with a missing person’s case. This confirms that WestView is, indeed, a very real place.

Welcome back, Jimmy Woo! Monica’s FBI contact is none other than Scott Lang’s parole officer and semifriend, Agent Jimmy Woo.

Jimmy reveals that a person in witness protection has somehow dropped off the map in a town that no longer seems to exist where no one recalls anyone who lived there. In an attempt to figure out what’s going on, Monica sends in a S.W.O.R.D. drone that vanishes inside the forcefield. It’s revealed to have transformed into the retro-style helicopter that Wanda picks up in episode two! We can only assume that since it’s an item from the outside world, it gained color when it entered Wanda’s reality to show that it doesn’t belong.

Darcy Lewis is back! Now a doctor in astrophysics, Darcy is called to help figure out what’s gone wrong with WestView. She’s the one who figured out a signal for the broadcast and is the owner of the hand we saw watching Wanda and Vision in episode one.

The mysterious beekeeper from episode two is revealed to be S.W.O.R.D.’s Agent Franklin, who journeyed through Westview’s sewers to investigate. His hazmat suit became a beekeeper’s uniform, and the cable around his waist becomes a jump rope as he travels through the tunnels.

Darcy explains that the sitcom that’s become Wanda and Vision’s life is literally being broadcast through the signals that S.W.O.R.D.’s viewing, with an audience and everything. There’s no explanation for how this is happening, but Darcy and company watched those first three episodes just like we did, credits and all.

Darcy also points out that Vision is supposed to be dead-dead, which leaves his presence in WestView still unexplained.

While Darcy and Jimmy can identity a majority of the neighbors we’ve met in WestView to their real-life counterparts, Dottie and Agnes are the only ones who are missing real information.

It’s revealed that Agent Woo was the voice behind the radio disruption, just as we suspected! But while we can see Wanda and Dottie’s reaction to the call, Darcy’s broadcast didn’t show the same thing. She explains that someone is “censoring” the visuals they’re receiving, which means someone knows they’re watching.

Back in the sitcom WestView, we see that Monica’s slip-up resulted in Wanda blasting her through the house and the energy field. It’s the first time we physically see Wanda using her powers again, so she still has them. But the lapse in her facade has consequences — when Vision returns from his talk with Agnes and Herb outside, Wanda hallucinates him as she last saw him in Infinity War, a corpse with his head crushed in.

It’s important to note that Vision seems to become more aware of the strangeness of their world with each episode. It makes sense because no matter how human he may seem, he’s still a synthezoid who has always been able to see beyond the superficial. It harks back to his “birth” in Age of Ultron. He’s omnipotent and always learning.

When Monica lands back in the real world, all she says is, “It’s all Wanda.” That seemingly serves as an answer to what’s going on in WestView, but it’s not a whole answer. Wanda seems just as confused and unaware as everyone else, but she is willing to stay in her “perfect” world. The question is, who put Wanda in the position to have her perfect world?

  WandaVision Episode 3 Easter Eggs

Much like the comics, Wanda magically becomes pregnant! But this time around, things are progressing much more quickly, and her doctor isn’t Dr. Strange.

The first of the episode’s weird glitches happens with Wanda and Vision’s neighbor Herb, who is attempting to saw through the brick fence separating the two houses instead of trimming his hedges. When Vision points out that his aim has gone a bit askew, Herb’s detached reaction is a bit creepy. He thanks Vision but keeps sawing through the wall! And unlike the previous weird behavior, there’s nothing that triggers the moment, especially not from Vision or Wanda.

Wanda and Vision contemplate what to name their baby boy, with Vision suggesting Billy and Wanda throwing out Tommy. (The argument becomes moot when they have twins!) These are the names of the pair’s sons in the comic, who later become members of the Young Avengers. In the show, Wanda chooses her name because it’s “all-American,” which is also a fair indicator of why her perfect reality is framed around sitcoms. Vision cites William Shakespeare as his inspiration and uses a quote from As You Like It that seems pretty on the nose. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players” seems like a pointed reference to the fact that WandaVision is, in fact, all a show.

Wanda decorates the nursery using Simser brand paint, which is most likely a nod to Jeremy Simser, a storyboard artist for Marvel Studios and WandaVision.

The second glitch appears when Wanda says the residents of WestView always seem “on the verge of discovering our secret.” Vision has a moment of sobering clarity where he notes that something is wrong in WestView, citing the incidents with Mr. and Mrs. Hart and their neighbor Herb. A second after his says this, reality glitches and the scene starts over with Vision seemingly worry-free. The last time this happened with the beekeeper, it was clear Wanda was the culprit in turning back time, but in this case, she doesn’t seem to do anything to force the change. This suggests someone else is pulling the strings.

Wanda mentions that their child could be human or “synthezoid,” a term that originates in the comics. Although fans like to joke that Vision is an android, he’s technically a synthetic human. He’s not made of metal or machinery — in the comics, his body is composed of the bioengineering tech of Dr. Helen Cho, while in the MCU, he’s made of organic tissue mixed with vibranium and “powered” by the Mind Stone.

Vision jokes that Billy will be just like his mom, which is funny because, in the comics, Billy has magical abilities similar to Wanda’s powers. Tommy ends up having superspeed abilities like his uncle, Pietro.

It’s time for the third commercial! Much like the previous episode’s watch promotion, this break references Hydra — though a tad more directly. It’s all about Hydra Soak, and the message is decidedly more pointed than we’ve had before. “Escape to a world all your own, where your problems float away,” the announcer says. “When you want to get away, but you don’t want to go anywhere: Hydra Soak.” Marvel: Agents of Shield fans will recall that Hydra Soak HAS been mentioned on the show. During the series’s Framework arc, Phil Coulson claims that Hydra is brainwashing people using soap, so he makes his own. Is the commercial another sign that Hydra is behind the mystery of WestView? Is it a warning that no one in the town will be able to get away? And what’s that about finding the goddess within?

The actors in this ad are the same ones as the previous ones, Victoria Blade and Ithamar Enriquez. Their recurring presence might mean they have some significance in Wanda’s life. Maybe they’re her parents?

In what feels like an ominous follow-up to the Hydra Soak commercial, the doctor reveals that he and his wife won’t be taking their trip away after all. “Small towns, you know, so hard to escape,” he mutters, pointedly. I think we’re starting to get the hint, folks! Wanda mentions she is a twin and that her brother was named Pietro. It’s been a hot minute since anyone has talked about MCU’s Quicksilver — he made his debut back in Age of Ultron, the same film in which he was shot and killed.

When Geraldine lets it slip that she knows about Pietro’s death at the hands of Ultron, Wanda interrogates her and discovers her necklace bears a familiar symbol — it’s that damn S.W.O.R.D. logo, and Wanda is apparently not a fan.

In another sign that something is UP, Agnes and Herb seem to warn Vision about Geraldine. They note that she’s “brand new” to town with no family and start to say that “she came here because we’re all —” before they’re cut off. It’s worth noting that the two figures that may be MCU versions of formidable Marvel characters are the ones who seem to understand that strange things are going on in WestView. If Agnes and Herb are the MCU’s Agatha Harkness and High Evolutionary, they would definitely be the ones in the know. But why would they try to warn Vision about Geraldine if WestView is a trap?

Agnes is wearing her infamous brooch as a necklace that could be referencing an MCU supervillain mentioned before. The necklace has three figures close together, with the center figure holding what looks like a giant scythe. Is it another clue that the Grim Reaper is on his way?

Wanda literally throws Geraldine out of town — though she tells Vision that she had to run home — and Geraldine passes through what seems like a magical forcefield. While fans have been assuming WestView is a fake town, this shows us that physically, it’s a very real place. But it’s currently bubbled off with a barrier that Wanda can apparently allow people in and out of. And the song that plays as Geraldine finds herself outside the barrier? “Daydream Believer” by The Monkees. It seems pretty appropriate for a situation that feels like a surreal dream.

When Geraldine lands on the outskirts of real WestView, she’s instantly swarmed by cars and agents all bearing the S.W.O.R.D. logo. Since we know Teyonah Parris is playing the adult Monica Rambeau, it’s safe to assume Geraldine was an alias she used to go undercover in WestView. Combined with the mystery agent watching the show within the show from episode one, we can conclude that Wanda and Vision are being closely observed by S.W.O.R.D. for some reason. But they clearly aren’t the ones in control, since Monica is so easily forced out. What will they do next?

While the opening credits of this episode are a reference to The Brady Bunch, it’s the end credits that give us another clue about the big bad coming our way. Just like the previous episodes, Wanda and Vision are framed in a hexagon as the end credits roll. The symbol is so important because it’s the preferred shape of the creators at Advanced Idea Mechanics, or AIM, who are last seen in Iron Man 3. Remember the beekeeper suits that resemble AIM agents’ clothing? It seems like the evil organization might be making a comeback.

  WandaVision Episode 2 Easter Eggs

The opening credits for this episode aren’t just an adorable homage to Bewitched but a whole bevy of Marvel Easter eggs! The illustration of the moon happens to be surrounded by six stars, and we can’t help but be reminded of the Infinity Gauntlet.

When Vision phases through the floor, there’s a dark shape that looks exactly like the helmet worn by Marvel supervillain Grim Reaper hidden in the space. In the comics, he’s the brother of Wonder Man, whose brainwaves were used in Vision’s creation.

When Wanda goes to the supermarket in the opening, three references hang above the aisle! Bova Milk refers to Bova, the humanoid cow who raised Wanda and Pietro on Mount Wundagore. Auntie A’s kitty litter is a witchy reference to Auntie Agatha or Agatha Harkness, whom we’ve discussed before, and her cat-like familiar named Ebony. And Wonder Mints is most definitely a cheeky reference to Wonder Man, aka Simon Williams, the superhero who Vision’s brainwaves are based on in the comics!

When animated Wanda and Vision settle on their couch, the small figure on their side table is a statue of the Whizzer. Featured in 1982’s Vision and the Scarlet Witch, the Whizzer thought he was Wanda’s father but later discovers he was wrong. Whizzer and his wife were offered the chance to adopt Wanda and Pietro when they were kids on the mythical Mount Wundagore, but they declined.

When Wanda hears a crash outside the house, she heads out to the front, where she finds a colorful toy helicopter in an otherwise black-and-white world. Not only does the red-and-yellow helicopter have the number 57 stamped on it, but it also bears the S.W.O.R.D symbol! The number is likely in reference to Vision’s first appearance in Avengers #57, while the symbol hints to the presence of S.W.O.R.D outside Wanda’s perfect world.

The creepy, cult-like refrain spoken by the fundraiser organizers of it all being “for the children” seems to be a reference to Wanda’s involvement in the comic event The Children’s Crusade. The story follows her son, Billy, who’s trying to gain control over his reality-warping abilities by looking for a missing Wanda.

Well, here’s another blast from the angsty past! The Strücker timepiece is a very obvious callback to Hydra and Baron von Strücker. The watch bears the unmistakable octopus skull symbol of Hydra, and Strücker is the Hydra leader who recruited Pietro and Wanda for the experimentation that gave them powers. He was later killed by Ultron in his prison cell. Does anyone else hear that ticking noise? Remember good ol’ Herb? In the comics, a character named Herbert is also the High Evolutionary who runs Mount Wundagore, the very same safe haven where Bova delivered the Maximoff twins. Time will tell if the super-scientist is the same character, but it can’t be a coincidence.

Wanda and Vision’s magic show has two gems that we’ve noticed! First thing, the literal Mind Stone happens to be the design on the doors of the Cabinet of Mystery that plays a huge part in their act. Second, Wanda and Vision use the names Illusion and Glamour for their actor, which are also the names of the magicians that Vision goes to see in an issue of The Vision and the Scarlet Witch.

Though we all enjoy a good jam, The Beach Boys’ “Help Me, Rhonda” gets interrupted by someone asking, “Who’s doing this to you, Wanda?” And doesn’t that voice sound an awful lot like Randall Park’s Jimmy Woo?

While it may seem weird that Wanda shows her pregnancy in an instant, it’s in line with what goes on in the comics. Wanda uses magic to help her have children, which checks out since her husband is a synthezoid.

Oooh, that mysterious beekeeper! Not only does their presence lead to the reveal that Wanda has some control over the reality they’re in, but it also sets off some alarm bells. Even though the beekeeper’s suit bears the S.W.O.R.D logo on the back, the costume is reminiscent of the yellow costumes worn by A.I.M., a military science organization founded by Baron von Strücker. Could this be a sign that Wanda is being watched by more than one organization? And is this a hint that Hydra is back!? (Obviously, it is.)

  WandaVision Episode 1 Easter Eggs

When Wanda accidentally smashes a plate into Vision’s head, he jokes about his wife and her “flying saucers,” and she comments back about his “indestructible head.” Considering that Vision died after having the Mind Stone ripped from his head, it’s a dark joke to kick off the series.

Vision’s work tie has a visual reference to his comic-book alter ego! In Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta’s Vision, whenever the character dresses as a human, he wears a tie clip that emulates the diamond pattern on his chest.

Vision’s boss, Mr. Hart, is likely named after comic creator Steve Englehart, who created 1985’s The Vision and the Scarlet Witch with Richard Howell, a miniseries that heavily influenced WandaVision. It’s been heavily implied that Kathryn Hahn’s Agnes is the MCU’s Agatha Harkness, a witch who helped train Wanda’s magic back in the ’70s and ’80s.

When Wanda magically saves dinner, the bottle of wine she pours from is Maison du Mépris, which translates to house of contempt or scorn. As fans have pointed out since the trailer drop, this seems like a reference to the House of M comics storyline in which Wanda bends reality into a new world ruled by her family.

The Stark commercial break refers to two things: Avengers icon Tony Stark and his part in Wanda’s dark past. As Wanda and her twin brother, Pietro, explain in Avengers: Age of Ultron, their parents were killed by an explosive Stark Industries device, leaving the twins trapped under rubble. The Maximoffs were trapped by a Stark Industries shell for two days, expecting it to detonate before they get rescued. Even though Wanda eventually fights beside Tony in the future, there’s still some trauma from that experience and her brother’s death. If it weren’t for the Starks, Wanda could have been a completely different person.

The episode closes with a mysterious observer watching the “show” and taking notes on a pad with the logo of S.W.O.R.D. on the cover. For those who don’t know, S.W.O.R.D stands for Sentient World Observation and Response Department and is a subdivision of S.H.I.E.L.D. It’s a counterterrorism and intelligence agency that deals with extraterrestrial threats to world security. Expect to see them around more.

  Press: A Thorough Breakdown of All the Marvel Easter Eggs on WandaVision was originally published on Elizabeth Olsen Source • Your source for everything Elizabeth Olsen