#merawrites

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Nascence

A Tommy/Maria fic, exploring the nascence of their relationship amidst Tommy finding his footing in Jackson and the loss of Maria’s father. ***

He knows the horses, knows Adam and Rueben and a few others— good men, kind men. He knows patrol, the rotation of the routes, the rhythms of keeping the stables up, feeding and working the animals. He knows how the storms roll in and how they leave, knows the way the gloaming comes over the valley when the sun slips behind the peaks and sets the clouds ablaze. He’s getting to know the feeling of having a house all to himself, sharing meals, casting votes in town halls, asking and receiving and being able to go out and get for himself what he needs without having to steal it. And he’s beginning to know he’s got something going with Maria, something that turns his heart soft every time he dares to think of it. But there are still plenty of days he wonders if he even knows up from down around Jackson, really.

That ain’t gonna cut it much longer. Cause he’s gotta know. He’s gotta know what it means, to have found all of this, and he’s gotta know whether he gets to keep it, and what he’s meant to do with it.

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I am writing the Tommy PTSD fic I’ve always wanted and I really shouldn’t be trusted 😭

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I have questions about Nathan!

I never thought much about the original leader of Jackson, but reading your fic made Nathan my new fav TLOU OC ❤️

How did you choose his name and why? Was it simply based on vibes or was there any specific meaning behind the name?

What was the your favorite trait or dynamic to explore with his character?

Would you ever consider drawing/sketching him?

- @adhdprincess

WAAA thank you Mimi <3 <3

Usually I don't name my characters after people i know irl, especially not if I'm planning on killing them off T_T but Nathan is an old black cowboy who owns a couple horses on the ranch I work at irl, and he's sort of the epitome of what I imagined Maria's father to be - can fix anything that's broke, knows how to handle just about any situation, southern charm in spades, unfailingly kind, excellent horsemanship and craftsmanship in everything he does <3

The parallels between Nathan and Tommy's character. I wish Tommy had more time with him, because I think Nathan would have been a wonderful father figure to Tommy. I imagine they both worked pretty hard to get their head on straight in their younger years, both are committed to working their tails off for the wellbeing of their family and community, and both have a deeply-seated love for people that transcends blood or bond.

Oooo, i hadn't considered it - I'm not really great at drawing portraits from my imagination, but I have done it before with a couple OC's, and I do think it would be cool to draw him. If I continue to write him into more stories, I might give it a shot! thank you thank you thank you these questions were so fun to answer <3

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Tommy/Maria short story available on substack early! Posting to AO3 later this month for @tommymariaweek25 <3 <3 <3

I'm starting to post more regularly on Substack - polished scenes from TSIU and also some original prose. Follow if you'd like to see more! (no subscription fee and there never will be <3)

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The Tommy/Maria PTSD fic has reduced me to tears on four occasions now and is GNAWING on my brain harder than anything I’ve ever written I think, absolutely inconsolable over them, do not send help

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The Reaping Song

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63435283

The Tommy PTSD fic I've always wanted to write, with a heavy dose of found family cuddles and Maria being his port in the storm (I am absolutely inconsolable over these two honestly, do not send help)

// be aware this one is heavy on the Graphic Description of Violence // &&&

Maria holds Tommy’s hand in hers, running her thumb over the calluses of his palm and back along the lineaments of his wrist. They sit in the half-light of a fire burned low, side-by-side on one of the logs in the middle of the atrium, which is notably and mercifully empty in the early hours before the dawn. Outside, the sky is dark and featureless, the stars blotted out by a uniform cloud bank that flows on the wind, rippling out endlessly to the horizon. There’s a damp chill in the air, and Tommy coughs, shivers.