#there's a certain time based thing in tommy's thinking as well as in:

[divinekangaroo]

I do really like the idea that Alfie and Tommy fucked and had their deep and meaningful connection in a world where Tommy also has all his on-screen deep and meaningful connections. And that they're happening at the same time, not as serial-monogamy. It's satisfyingly messy.

Tommy's intense mental comparmentation of his experiences as well as his transactional framing would certainly lend itself to him getting one thing from Alfie and another thing from Grace or Lizzie, as he does with Jessie, with sex workers, seeing no issue or conflict with how he feels for any of them at any point in time. Because they are not the same and do not intersect and won't even encounter each other in any way.

[rdng1230]

Sal Deluca Meta

Okie dokie here we go. Just remember y'all asked for this.

Here are some repeated talking points I’ve seen about Sal and why I think most of them are ignoring certain contexts or misattributing things to Sal that were said/done by somebody else. Also just general thoughts about our little mook.

Hen Begins

That Sal was a raging racist/sexist/homophobic. 

Let’s deal with the first one first. Is he a member of the white boys club? Absolutely. He makes no effort to include Hen and doesn’t really acknowledge her at all until he’s complimenting her for her skills at the end of the episode. This is OBVIOUSLY not good. He should’ve been kinder and more welcoming to her. But the only one who specifically makes negative/mean comments about Hen is Gerrard and Tommy. Literally the only thing you could even interpret that way is him saying “for real?” to Gerrard’s diversity hire comment and the fact that he drops the pick axe or whatever the hell that metal thing was on the floor along with everybody else besides Chim. Not great, but also with what we know about how other rookies are treated even by Hen herself, I don’t think any of this behavior falls into “irredeemable racist monster” Buck chased Ravi with a chainsaw for christ sake. 

Ok now the sexism. He actually stares daggers at Gerrard for the entirety of his stupid “waste of taxpayer money/women won’t be able to rescue my guys” spiel. Like the camera specifically focuses on Sal looking pissed as hell. Another thing I’ve heard falsely said is that after Gerrard storms off, Sal/Tommy follow him. That’s not true. They do get up and leave but they actually leave in the ass opposite direction. Sal’s face when he signals to Tommy to get up reads to me as “let’s get the hell away from the fallout of that grossness.” not “I agree with what that dinosaur just said.” But I also realize people can interpret that moment differently. 

I think the sexist reading largely comes from the Kristen Stewart conversation. And come on, This is the lesbian website, if we start dinging people for finding Kristen Stewart attractive, we’re all going down. Plus again, Buck was STEALING EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT TO GO GET LAID AND HE’S EVERYBODY’S FAV SO I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT. We see Sal kind of ignore Hen but also agree with her at the same time during this exchange. Again a case of Sal not really acknowledging Hen but not attacking her either. Go and look at his face when Tommy says that NY bitchiness comment. Sal does not look at all happy with him. Most of the time when anyone is being actively mean Sal looks pissed off, not approving.

Ok now the homophobia thing. And it's at this point I’m going to bring up the idea that some characters seem bad/good not based on their actions but on whose perspective we’re viewing those actions from. I see this being a problem with several characters. Most notably Taylor Kelly. But that's a whole other post. 

Sal’s team Jacob comment is homophobic and gross but it's also 1) 2009 and 2) directed at someone who he clearly knows incredibly well and who we KNOW gives as good as he gets. I easily could’ve seen this interaction reversed with Tommy saying that to Sal because that's who they are and how their friendship works. But because we’re seeing this from Hen’s perspective it's another thing that makes her feel isolated and othered. And again THAT IS NOT GOOD SAL SHOULD NOT BE DOING THAT. But I don’t think Sal at all said that with the intention of putting Hen down, it very clearly reads to me as Sal teasing/riling Tommy up as they always have. Now obviously the harm still hits even if the intent wasn’t present. But I think if we can forgive Tommy for comments that were MEANT to be mean, then we can forgive Sal for comments that were just him fucking around with his best friend of several years. 

That Sal was the ringleader or Gerrard’s right hand man

Does Sal have a sort of in charge vibe? Yeah absolutely. But very notably the only thing he actually initiates is the olive branch. It’s him that offers a hand to Hen and says nice job and you’re good at what you do. I also will die on the hill that the hemorrhoid complaint was his. Chim would definitely say that but not in an official report, Tommy would definitely bad mouth Gerrard, but not like that. Now who is known for kind of cruder language and a short fuse and absolutely would put that down in an official report? Sal motherfucking Deluca that’s who. 

One notable thing that I find interesting is that Hen herself distinguishes Gerrard’s behavior from the rest of the team's. She definitely gives them hell during her big speech but when Chim does dishes with her she specifically says men like him not men like them. Just something I realized on my most recent rewatch. 

To summarize, the only real thing Sal did that was unique to him (because they all failed to stick up for Hen, yes even Chim. Chim was nice to her but he never actually stood up for her to Gerrard’s face. He tried to redirect the conversation a couple times but that was it.) was the Kristen stewart comments and the Team Jacob comment. I would argue Tommy’s comments in Chimney begins and his NY bitchiness comment in Hen Begins are way more targeted, hateful, and fucking rude. (said with all love because we know Tommy had a bunch of growth and change and became the man we all know and adore.) IMO nothing in Hen begins that Sal says/does is as bad as what Tommy did/said.

Bobby Begins Again

Ok another reason why I don’t think Sal is this irredeemable sexist/racist/homophobic pig is WHY ON EARTH WOULD HEN STAND UP FOR HIM IF HE WAS???!?!?!? Hen is THE FIRST PERSON TO CALL OUT THAT CRAP even from the first episode she says something like “why is that always the first instinct with you whiteboy macho types?” So why why why why would she stand up for Sal if he hadn’t shown any improvement in that area in the now 7 years minimum that she’s worked with him. Answer: she fucking wouldn’t. Ok moving on.

The Bobby stuff

So remember how I said perspective changes everything? This is the major reason why. We as the audience love Bobby and know intimately the struggles he’s faced, so we’re naturally going to be angered by anyone who is antagonistic towards him. The thing is Sal doesn’t know ANY of that. This is what Sal knows about Bobby.

He’s from somewhere in middle America and has never worked in a MAJOR American city like LA/NYC. That’s it. He COMPLETELY ACCURATELY I MIGHT ADD predicts that anybody with that background will struggle to adapt to the specifics of LA. It’s Sal that has to pick up Bobby’s slack as he adjusts, calling out the shots at the tree trimmer call, taking the initiative with Maurice even though Bobby does ultimately do the saving. (Which Sal actually seems impressed by btw.) Bobby still can’t even read the city map when they pull up to the restaurant fire call. 

Now imagine you’re Sal. First you had Gerrard as captain, who (I think it's fair to say) you DID NOT LIKE. One of the things he did was put down firefighters who disobeyed orders by rescuing people. We saw this with the “fetching a tide” call and with saving the boy in the submerged car. Hen disobeyed orders but showed real skill as a firefighter. And all she got for her troubles was being berated by her Captain. 

Ok then after Gerrard you have an interim captain that seems like a decent dude, but he leaves and for a while you have a revolving door of retiring brass that are checked out, behind the times, or just generally disengaged. You become used to filling in as captain and get actually pretty damn good at managing the team. (I say this because Sal leads the team several times in BBA and nobody looks at all like this is a new development) Then they finally pick a nobody who has never worked in a proper city before and to you he’s just the newest asshole that will probably screw up and get someone killed. Sal has no idea about the challenges or traumas Bobby has had to face, just like we have no idea what might have happened in the 5+ years between HB and BBA. Sal has probably MANY REASONS not to trust Bobby that we don’t know about. 

So how would you feel after you’ve successfully rescued a teenage boy’s life, if your new captain who you’ve known for like a day and still doesn’t even know how to get the engine to calls on time, calls YOU stupid for SUCCESSFULLY SAVING A CHILD’S LIFE. I think you’d be likely to blow up a little too. 

Was Sal a hothead? Absolutely. Was he being smart by mouthing off to Bobby? Absolutely not. But I think his lines to Bobby during that scene are so telling. “You’re just the latest jag off in a long line of jag offs to come to this house and think you know how to run it.��� In other words, he’s not really seeing Bobby during this exchange (he couldn’t possibly, Bobby is still being very closed off and won’t tell anyone what his story is for years) he’s seeing the long line of assholes that started with Gerrard that Bobby is unknowingly falling into the pattern of. Just like how Bobby didn’t really see Sal and one relatively tiny restaurant, he saw his wife and family and a massive apartment building with no way out. That to me is the tragedy of Bobby and Sal. I genuinely think they could’ve learned a lot from each other if they had left their baggage at the door. 

In other words, would we judge Sal if he had gone after Gerrard in the way he went after Bobby? I doubt it. And that to me is what Sal is actually doing, going after Gerrard and all the other nameless asshole captains he’s been dealing with for YEARS. Sal was hotheaded and impulsive, but at the end of the day I think he was just dealing with misplaced anger that he put on Bobby, something both Buck and Eddie have done at some point or another even when they DID have all the information. If you can forgive the lawsuit arc, and Eddie’s comments in season 5 about Bobby’s kill count than dear god I think Sal has more than earned a pass. 

Overarching things I find interesting about Sal that I don’t see anyone talking about 

He cares a lot about the people they save on rescues, he’s the one on the majority of calls saying some variant of “its gonna be ok/we’re gonna get you out/don’t worry. Whatever the firefighter equivalent of bedside manner is, this guy has it. 

His personal code of who he gives a shit about seems to boil down entirely to who has skills/is talented and who isn’t. The minute Hen shows real promise by saving that little boy, he is down there hand shaking and complimenting her. Ditto Freddie Costas. “Smart kid, probably saved his own life with that move.” You see this in his conversation with Bobby too “that wasn’t luck man that was skill.” You have to earn Sal’s respect and the way you do is by demonstrating competence. Sal genuinely does look impressed with Bobby for apprehending Maurice and showing ingenuity, the problem is it's immediately undercut when Bobby belittles him for saving the kid. 

Anywho, that’s my Sal defense thesis. There’s probably other stuff I forgot but that's the bulk of it. I reserve the right to randomly reblog this with any other shit that comes to mind. Also as a disclaimer I still LOVE reading toxic Sal or asshole Sal content, absolutely eat it up with a spoon gimme gimme gimme. But I think it would be unfair to say that’s the ONLY read of him. He clearly does give a shit and is capable of growth and change, he just also happens to have a short fuse and very little willingness to go about things in a tactful way. 

TLDR: free my man, he did do some of that shit but so did your blorbos, it's just your blorbos had the narrative on their side when they did it.

[inawickedlittletown]

Sooo I started to read other articles. I didn't after reading the ones that came out right after the episode that justifiably got everyone upset.

This one from tv insider had Tim saying this:

Moving on to Buck and Tommy’s breakup, talk about your approach to it. Why was Tommy sure that Buck would break his heart?

Tommy’s older and Buck is very new to this, and whether Tommy was correct or not, I think what he felt like was exactly what he said: I’m not your last, I’m your first, which is a special thing to be, but as Tommy says, it doesn’t usually end up being the same thing. And I think based on what we know of Buck, he’s maybe not wrong. Buck’s a little impulsive when he’s feeling a certain kind of way. He’s like, move on in, bring your couch. So I just think because Tommy’s a little older and wiser or maybe at some level he feels like he doesn’t deserve Buck, I don’t know. But I think he accurately diagnosed Buck. Buck’s still figuring himself out, and boy, that would be quite risky to move in with that guy as much as you would love to.

That does seem to be Buck’s go-to, which isn’t the best.

Exactly.

Are we going to see Buck single for a significant period of time now? Is he trying to figure out what he wants really out of a relationship?

Yeah, I think that’s right. As Tommy said, you’re still figuring yourself out, and his options have increased by 50 percent of the population. So knowing Buck, that’s going to be choice overload. He’s got to navigate that with a little self-awareness.

--

So they definitely planned for this. That's what this reads like...they wanted to break them up so that they could send Buck through a period of exploration. Tim says everything Oliver said here in much nicer terms. His view of Buck is so...Idk, it's like he sees Buck as a kid that still doesn't know what he wants. And he decided to put that view right into Tommy's head too. It's a little jarring I guess but this show...has it ever been consistent?

What sucks is that 8x05 was written like they were doing so well. And then right off the back with 8x06 we have warning signs in the date scene with the girl that approaches Buck and how Tommy sort of shrugs off Buck checking her out. I really do wonder where hot waiter fit into this and I'm so glad we didn't see Tommy like checking hot waiter out or something. But I guess that scene was there to sow the seeds. We have Buck spiraling because of the Abby thing and we have Tommy maybe not realizing but reinforcing for himself that he's a stepping stone for Buck and being okay with it in the status quo.

The way that Tim speaks about Buck asking Tommy to move in, he makes it seem like Buck is just barreling in without thought...like if they went through with it Tommy might be proven right. But then what is the point of the scene with Josh where Buck is right on the cusp of an "I love you" just to then be like no actually Tommy knows how this ends and he can read Buck and knows they're not forever. But Tommy is not a mind reader.

Where there is hope is in that Tim doesn't outwardly say anything about Tommy being gone for good. As someone else pointed out the Lou interviews were done by buddie journalists with a bias so there is a question to how much that colored what we got and why they were so determined to close the door fully. Also...why did we get exit interviews in the first place for a character that only had three episodes...it's so odd.

The writers made a point of leaving this open. Do I think we'll get Tommy back any time soon. No. But after the doom and gloom and the time to mourn this a bit I want to be positive and there is really no knowing. Tim says he thinks Buck will be single for a while...okay fine...picture that being the rest of this season.

Buck won't just jump into another relationship...and Oliver gets his Buck slut era 2.0...what if S9 brings back Tommy? What if this is the long game...or at least the thing they can have in their back pocket if Lou is available later on to come back. But that's not something they can promise or that they can commit to and Lou isn't on contract clearly and Oliver wouldn't know if that's the plan...hell even Tim probably doesn't know if they'll do that. Or I'm giving him too much credit because as we've seen this season storylines have been rushed to close up at breakneck speeds so it would be an anomaly for him to prolong something like this.

All this to say, showing the network and Tim that bucktommy matters to a lot of people and that Tommy matters...it may just make a difference.

[eddiewithcat]

losing my mind a bit, and need to try and get my thoughts in order BUT!

there is just.. something to be said with this season, and how they constantly like to reaffirm for us buck’s place in christopher’s life.

literally starting off the season with eddie opening up to buck about chris and him dating multiple girls at once, asking buck to talk to him (instead of simply asking him for advice to handle the situation, or even asking his girlfriend who- is a girl and would probably be better in that department! but anyway!).

and then showing us buck’s jealousy of chris thinking tommy is “so cool” (we all know now where that stemmed from, but i am still convinced he was confusing a bunch of feelings at once- and even oliver has said buck had no idea what / who he was jealous about!), and when tommy goes over to talk to buck about the basketball court incident- tommy tells him just how much christopher “can’t shut up” about him. and not to forget buck’s face when he says that and how it lasted a few seconds longer than it probably should have

…. and now; whatever the fuck is going on with helen and ramon coming to visit. my money is on abuela getting / feeling sick after the wedding (hence why eddie is still in the same shirt he wore to the hospital wedding in that still of him and chris that we got- also looks like he possibly could’ve been crying)

i am not super sure what the heck is going on there but i have a silly theory that my friend and i kind of came up with! we do not have strong evidence supporting it btw- this simply just based on what we have seen thus far and how the season has been playing out!

but since eddie will most likely be busy being by his abuela’s side- he would want someone to watch after chris for him. our best guess? buck, of course! it would also explain why he seems to be filming the same time as everyone else involved- and plus it could be the perfect opportunity to bring the ‘will of it all’ into play.

i could see two things going on with this; helena says something in a spur of a moment out burst along the lines of like, “you cannot keep leaving your son with a stranger” and eddie can say something like “he’s not a stranger, he’s family” and that can somehow lead into the will reveal! (because i do see helena being the problem here- people have pointed out many times now that ramon is the only one it seems to be putting in any effort into having a relationship with his son, where as it’s crickets from helena! also she was the first one to be defensive about shannon but anyway!)

OR!

and just a heads up: this is not me bashing tommy at all, i actually do enjoy his character and love what he has done / is doing for buck! this is simply speculation and also just a bit of fun!! no harm in silly theorizing!

i could see tommy perhaps noticing how often buck is watching after chris, and maybe he just brings up something about like, oh hey i thought eddie’s parents were in town… are they not able to watch after him? (in a nice way!! idk how the hell to word things but i do not think he would be a dick about it 😭 like he would just genuinely be asking!) and then somehow that conversation leads to the will and how eddie trusts buck more than anyone etc …

needless to say i just think there is. Something. There. and i have sooooo much hope in the will being brought up. based on how many times they brought it up in interviews, and sort of alluded to in the show as well (“you don’t seem to have trouble committing to certain things” you all know where your mind went!)

anyway that is all. thanks for reading this mess if ya did <3

[scarlet--wiccan]

Semi related to the "Mayomoff" thing, but I really dislike sometimes how cb twt tries to distance Billy from Wanda. I get it's a way to overcompensate because MCU stans usually have the misconception that Billy and Tommy were raised by Wanda, but the insistence feels icky. By the way these people write about these characters, it would make you believe that Wanda tried to steal baby Billy from Rebecca's arms (anti roma tropes are still super present even in "leftie" fandom spaces).

This has been a thing for years, and I've definitely noticed an uptick recently, from both sides, in response to Billy's imminent arrival in the M C U. I think a lot of comic fans, in particular, have a hard time accepting that characters can be more than one thing, or have more than one important storyline or relationship. Whether or not you find it interesting, Billy's relationship with Wanda is a major part of his story, and both characters care about each other a great deal. If you think you can have one without the other, you've lost the plot.

But if I'm being honest, I do think that racism is a part of the problem. People undervalue Wanda's relationship with her sons because they don't understand the significance and nuances of Romani heritage and identity. They undervalue how meaningful a story about family separation and reunion can be, because they have no investment in our history or generational trauma. I think a lot of folks are not willing to hold the space for those perspectives or learn from Roma voices. When we talk about representation and authenticity, a lot people think they need to understand the interiority of Romani culture, but I think these experiences and historical perspectives are much more important.

On top of that, a lot of people seem to think that acknowledging Wanda as Billy's mother or labeling him as a person of Roma heritage somehow erases other aspects of his identity. In some cases, this is well-intentioned-- Jewish identity can be just as nuanced and specific, and needs to be respected-- but a lot people clearly just feel threatened by the idea that he might not be white. And that's a real shame, because in my mind, Billy's Romani heritage only adds to the richness of the character. Mixed families with varied identities exist, and there several real-world experiences you can map Billy's identity onto without invalidating his Jewishness.

-----

Homophobia and gender anxiety are also important factors. I've been following this character for nearly two decades, and I find that Billy's depiction, and how fans respond to him, often reflect shifting attitudes about "positive" gay representation-- specifically, where femininity, diverse gender expression, and gay cultural semiotics fit into that narrative. [x] [x] The character has always been legible as a certain type of gay guy, and over the years, more writers and artists have taken license to explore that aspect of Billy's style and personality. All told, it's pretty subtle, and since most of those writers are gay/bi men, I usually find it quite authentic, but certain fans-- particularly the Young Avengers fanbase-- always respond negatively to any degree of femininity or androgyny.

Billy's proximity to Wanda-- as a legacy character based on a female hero, and as a man who identifies positively as a "witch," when that word is used with explicitly feminine connotations elsewhere in the Marvel canon-- evokes a lot of those same responses. Again, I think this is a perfectly authentic and frankly very common relationship for gay men to have with femininity. But characters like that are rarely represented as powerful, admirable, or desirable, and Billy is all of those things. To me, that is positive representation, and anyone who can't see that has an internalized bias they need to work on.

On the flip side-- homophobia and transphobia are on the rise in America, and I really think the pendulum has swung back around in terms of how comfortable people are expressing those views in public. I've been more plugged into the M C U fandom lately because of Agatha, and I've seen a lot of folks just saying mean, homophobic things about the actor and character. I don't want to defend Locke, because of the whitewashing, but that sort of hate okay is not okay.

[bleue-flora]

Well since everyone’s doing staged duo headcanon I might as well follow @dr3amofagame [post] and @elmhat [post], and throw in my two cents, which is probably less headcanon and more interpretation of canon.

c!Dream and c!Punz’s insistence on answers and power is only half true. Or at least not the full picture. They do want knowledge and answers but not because of power or greed, but because they were hurt by random people like c!Tommy and c!Wilbur showing up with no explanation. The power they strived for wasn’t a ruling, controlling power but the ability to protect what they value, whether from the rest of the server or death.

c!Dream did tell c!Punz about the torture. Debatable on how much detail he goes into but he does tell him, even if prompted first. I think this for a couple reasons. Firstly, to c!Purpled, c!Punz says, “But they were, Dream told me how Sam let him in freely and allowed him to do unspeakable things to him, that wasn’t a prison that was Hell in a box,” basically telling us that c!Dream told c!Punz and while this could be argued as manipulation, it also just makes sense. He also says “And Quackity was allowed to go in and torture him Every. Single. Day. Purpled, do you know what that does to a man, do you know the limits that people have it—it goes beyond those limits, it's not okay,” and his highlight of it being daily is telling to me. It didn’t have to be daily to be brutal and horrible and have lasting effects. Unless he watches Quackity go in and out covered in blood Every Single Day, at which point would cause some serious concern, then how would he know it was daily unless c!Dream told him? And I am of the opinion that if he had noticed Quackity coming in and out of the prison covered in blood, suspecting c!Dream was being tortured then he would have said something to c!Dream or in his own inner thoughts during the Jailbreak stream. Secondly, as someone with the Revive book it’d be kinda reckless to not inform c!Punz about what happened. He kinda should know who is a major threat and what lengths people are willing to go. After all, should they find out he has the book somehow he needs to be informed on what that could mean for him. But even so, I don’t think c!Dream just offered up that information without c!Punz either asking or doing/saying something that persuades c!Dream to tell him. c!Punz definitely suspects first before he learns more details.

c!Punz did not know why c!Dream wanted Quackity’s location or what he intended to do with the information in the scrapped lore. So, he didn’t take time to scope it out, it was more of - here’s where he lives sorta deal (like if c!Dream asked where Kinoko Kingdom is, then it’s not like c!Punz is going to scope out the place for booby traps and such, he’d just give the location). So, he doesn’t learn about the torture till after, when c!Dream is way worse for wear and tells him what happened in Pandora’s Vault, but I do agree, not about what exactly happened in the scrapped lore (it would make him look too weak).

I think I do have to agree with dr3 and elm on c!Punz going behind c!Dream’s back when going to Purpled. I don’t think c!Dream would risk c!Punz’s exposure like that after everything he sacrificed to keep them a secret and yea c!Dream definitely doesn’t have the info on c!Purpled and c!Slime to put together that plan. I could definitely see it as c!Punz’s own like redemption for the failed first attempt at revenge that he is inadvertently at fault for. Like after finding out about the torture and why c!Dream wanted to know where Quackity was, he is upset and goes to form a plan for better revenge, which after a certain point of success he ropes c!Dream in.

c!Punz does visit the prison, but not before Dream breaks out and not like all the time but just because c!Tommy or c!Sapnap may be watching the place doesn’t mean c!Punz can’t sneak it. He’s a spy after all, it’s kinda his job. I get this impression based on how c!Punz and c!Dream seem to show off the prison together in the finale - ‘let’s show them a part they haven’t been to before.’ And while the deterioration of the prison is a great parallel to Tommy’s overgrown home, both representing the poor mental states of the characters, I think it is worth noting that it’d be really suspicious if the prison was all nice. Like yea ideally no one gets in, but if they do it’s a good deterrent for the place to look dirty and abandoned. After all, who would live in such a mess? Is similar to the mindset or who chooses to live in their own torture box? Who chooses to live in their own hell?... 

c!Punz is jealous of c!George.

[mischievouslittlecreature]

Part 9: Bound in Blood

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x OC

Summary: To some, the blood bond is as sacred as marriage.

Word Count: 1,979

Notes: Today (April 29) is Lucy's birthday! This might be the sappiest thing I've ever written. Also, I couldn't find much concrete information on blood bonds, so apologies if I got some of the details wrong or had to fudge any of the real-life aspects of these bonds to accomplish what I intended in this fic. Don't try this at home, kids; blood-born illnesses are a thing. Warnings for depictions of blood, self-inflicted injuries, and smut.

Previous Part • Series • Next Part

The knife stung as it bit into the flesh of her left palm. Blood, like red pearls, beaded at the first prick, then rushed from the wound in a small gush as she increased pressure on the blade and it sliced deeper into her flesh. She dragged it across nearly the full length of her palm, leaving a diagonal, bleeding line from the base of her index finger to the heel of her palm opposite the side of her thumb in its wake. 

When Tommy had asked her what she thought about marriage, she had been honest with him. Her feelings were conflicted. All her life, marriage had seemed to be akin to a cage. She’d watched women–not just her mother, though she was certainly the most potent example–have their entire beings almost entirely stripped away, until nothing, not even their name, remained. Nothing but a maid, housekeeper, nanny, and whore all rolled into one.  

Perhaps she was being a bit harsh, but that was the example of marriage she had been exposed to for almost her entire life.

And it did not ultimately matter what Tommy wanted, either. She knew it was never his desire to cage or chain her. But it would not be up to him. Society had a very particular expectation for women who were married. And if he wanted to stand even a miniscule of a chance of being accepted into the circles he longed to be a part of, he could not have an unconventional wife. At least not now. 

Perhaps someday, with the changing times and more modern outlooks…if equal rights for women ever truly properly took off, then maybe. But not right now. 

And she would be a rubbish wife. Bored out of her mind. She detested cleaning, was an absolute disaster when it came to knitting and sewing, and she was certain that sitting at home with the knowledge that her husband and his boys were out enjoying all the action and thrills of the life without her, would eat away at her. 

She never had handled the feeling of being left out very well. 

She’d grow to resent it. Resent her life. Maybe even resent him. And that was not something she was willing to risk. 

He had been startlingly understanding, all things considered, when she explained her feelings to him. He knew her so well, he probably had half been expecting it. He’d just stroked her hair, kissing the top of her head. 

“I don’t need a ring and a certificate to know that I’m going to love you forever,” he’d told her. She’d locked her arms around his neck, stretching up on her toes to touch her forehead to his. 

“I plan to love you forever too,” she’d affirmed. And she meant it. Just because she could not say yes to being his wife, did not mean that they didn’t intend to be together for the rest of their lives.  

“But the door is always open. If you ever decide someday that you do want it,” Tommy had promised. Her brows raised, she’d looked at him with eyes that were only half joking. 

“Really? What if you end up marrying someone else?”

He’d scoffed at the mere suggestion, but must have caught the seriousness behind the teasing tone in her voice, because he’d pulled her closer, fondly kissing her nose. “Doesn’t matter. The promise still stands,”  he’d shrugged as if it were no big deal. “You decide you want me to marry you, and I’m already married, I’ll just get divorced.”

Laughing, she’d shook her head. “I don’t think you can ‘just get divorced,’ love. It would fuck your reputation.”

He shrugged again. “Would be worth it,” her laughter faded at the dead seriousness she saw in his eyes as he tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “I’d do anything for you.”

There was something about the way he’d said it, the complete and total certainty, that made her nearly want to cry. No one had ever loved her like this before. 

Completely. Passionately. Unconditionally. 

“There’s something else we could do. In the place of an official, legal marriage. If you’re interested,” he’d suggested, voice but a tempting purr in her ear. And when she looked at him, brow raised with intrigue, he smirked devilishly. 

And so here they were, kneeling in front of each other on the rug in the bedroom of her flat, each of them clutching a dagger in one hand, drawing it across their palms. Lucy watched the blood ooze from her cut, slightly flexing her fingers. She set the knife aside, looking from the warm, red gush to see Tommy doing the same, the dark red of his blood striking against the pale white of his skin.

He looked up, sky blue eyes glimmering in the low light of the candles they’d lit. Her eyes traced over the sharp lines of his jaw and cheeks, softened slightly by the freckles dotting his skin. Those eyes that could be as cold as ice or as warm as a sunny sky boring into her. Dark fringe falling over his forehead. When it was less styled, like it was now, he could have almost been described as a little boyish.  

The blood pooling in both of their palms dripped between their fingers. Sticky and warm.

Slowly, being careful so as to not jostle the cuts too much, they pressed their palms flush against each, then, just as slowly, interlaced their fingers.

Lucy gasped quietly at the feeling of his cut kissing hers. Their blood mixing together. Pouring into each other. Running through the other’s veins. 

If they had not already been one being simply split in two before, they certainly were now. Lucy shuddered, Tommy’s free hand going around her waist and pulling her a little closer, keeping their bleeding palms clasped tightly together. She tilted her head up, nose brushing along his neck and jaw as she did. He dipped his head to kiss her, deeply and open mouthed, the slow stroke of his tongue against hers making her moan softly against his plush lips. 

To some, the blood bond was as sacred as marriage. An unbreakable intermixing of the two bloods. The closest thing one could get to entwining their soul with another. Not only was it a symbol of the deepest possible love and trust, but also a silent promise of eternal devotion. A bond that would last as long as the scars remained present on their skin. A permanent mark tying them together for as long as they both lived. 

Of all the scars marking her flesh, faded but never truly to disappear, this was the only one she would ever truly be happy to have.     

His blood ran in her veins, now. He was a part of her. Forever.   

She’d have wanted it no other way.  

She kissed him back hard, the hand not clasped in his landing on his chest, feeling the steady rise of his breathing and the thump of his heart. Their palms squeezed impossibly tighter against each other, the blood coating them slick, smearing all across their palms, impossible to tell which belonged to whom. 

When they finally parted for air, foreheads resting against each other, they looked down together at their still clasped, bloody hands. 

It was done. 

Tommy’s arm around her waist tightened, somehow pulling her even closer to him, his lips on her forehead. Lucy closed her eyes. He was so impossibly warm, body large and strong and safe around her. She could have stayed like that forever. 

“I love you more than anything,” he said, and the words left tears brimming in her eyes. The weight of those words was not lost on her. 

“I love you too,” she said, angling her face up to his. “More than anything.” 

He smiled at her softly, head dipping to kiss her one last time before they parted, and his fingers flexed a little around hers. Their mixed blood was starting to run down both of their wrists. 

“We should get bandaged up. Before we both bleed everywhere,” he mumbled. 

“Mm,” she nuzzled at his chest. “Yeah.”

He reached for the gauze and bandages they’d set to the side in preparation. Some of the blood had congealed, half sticking their palms together, and it took a little bit of gentle fidgeting to pull them apart. Lucy hissed as Tommy poured a helping of alcohol over her cut, leaning into the kiss he brushed against her temple in apology. They cleaned and bandaged each other’s cuts with quick, practiced movements, examining their handiwork critically to ensure it was satisfactory and wouldn’t leave the other open to any complications or difficulty in healing.

Once that was done, Tommy was gathering her back up into his arms again, kissing her everywhere he would possibly reach. She giggled, overjoyed at the blatant display of affection, returning it as eagerly as she knew how. Strong arms scooping her up by the back of her thighs, he lifted her up onto his hips, standing in one fluid motion and carrying her towards the bed.  

Still kissing, they collapsed in an entanglement of limbs onto the mattress. Clothes were shed hastily, and then there was just the sounds of pleasure and utterances of love filling the room. Her fingers clenching in his hair as he kissed his way down her body, lips, tongue, and fingers working together once he’d reached his destination to make her cry out, back arching off the bed. 

And then he was over her again, wiping his mouth and looking far too pleased with himself. He grinned when she needily dragged his mouth back to hers, legs wrapping around his waist, eager. They both cried out when he sank into her in one deep thrust, the penetration serving as the second unioning of their bodies that evening. 

The bedframe creaked with the pace of their love making; thrusts steady, slow, and deep. Lucy clutched to him as tightly as she could, never wanting to let him go. Never wanting to have to spend another moment of her life without him. 

She’d given him her soul. And in exchange he’d gifted her his heart. And now, with their blood running through each other’s veins, it was as if the merging of their beings had finally completed. They were one now. No one and nothing could ever tear them apart. 

She cried out his name when his cock hit the spot inside her that made her see stars, his thumb rubbing circles into her clit. Her head tipped back against the pillows, babbling nonsense about how good he always was to her. How he always took care of her. How he knew her more deeply and intimately than anyone else ever could. 

When her walls squeezed around him, Tommy moaned her name like it was a prayer. Like it was the most precious thing in the entire world. And then his lips were at her ear, whispering over and over again how much he loved her. That she felt so good. That he promised to love her for as long as he breathed. Maybe even after that. 

She came with a sob of his name against his lips as he kissed her, felt it as he came with her at the exact same moment, filling her with a groan, hips rolling to a stop to rest inside of her as he emptied while she tightened around him like a vice. For hours, or maybe only minutes, neither of them moved, just laying there, holding each other as tight as they could. 

Later, Tommy laid reclined against the pillows, with Lucy cuddled securely in her spot on his chest. And there, in the dark and quiet of night, they traced each other’s bandaged cuts, and whispered promises of eternal love.

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[pacifymebby]

could you possibly do the peaky lads where their s/o who seems “out-there” to others (not weird like crazy and loud) as in doesn’t fully understand social cues, might speak before thinking, not understanding or realizing the vibe of a conversation in time/at all, but ultimately being good-intentioned and tries hard to act “right”? (essentially maybe being someone on the spectrum and if this sounds personal that’s bc it is lol) ty for ur consideration :) 🤍🤍

Okay so, i have adhd and suspected but not diagnosed autism so i based a lot of this on my own experiences but also just wanted to say thank u for the ask i love this its v v cool.

Tommy

🌿Is probably taken back by it at first, his whole thing is being able to predict how other people behave and respond and when he can't do that with you he finds it throws him

🌿 At first... Once he knows he can't ever account for how you'll respond to him or how you'll feel about a situation he stops trying to control things or predict things and kind of realises he just has to be himself, no frills, no tricks, just plain old Tommy

🌿 Theres a moment the first time you meet, where he's talking to you, probably warning you away from the part of the city youre in, trying to put on the dangerous man act, when it becomes apparent that although youre listening to him (he thinks you're listening to him anyway?) your mind is clearly wandering and before he's finished speaking you cut him off with "Well i have to come here... Thats my favourite bakery," you point over his shoulder and he's a little stunned...

"Excuse me?" he looks at you in confusion, wants to ask why you can't just go to a different bakery but senses that if he does you might actually answer him...

🌿He realises pretty early on that any sense of danger you have is outweighed by your own stubborness/ routine. You're going to keep walking past the betting shop to get to your bakery whether he likes it or not, so he can either adjust and make time in his busy schedule to acompany you to the bakery, or he can let you get on with it.

🌿 So you get to see a side of him that he doesn't usually show anyone anymore. Things start out awkward but quickly become very natural once Tommy lets go of his need to control every element of his life.

🌿So other people don't really understand what you've done or how you've done it, but they notice the change in Tommy when youre around and they say that youve done him a lot of good. They think you're really good for him.

🌿 You're nervous to meet his family because you are aware that sometimes other people dont understand you, in a society of rules and set manners, you often come across as rude or a little odd... But Tommy would reassure you, probably by pointing out that youre about to enter a family full of "witches, psychics and murderous thugs" (joking of course) so how can anybody possibly say that you're the odd one...

🌿And when you meet his family he's watching you the whole time, trying to make sure he notices if you get overwhelmed or if you feel uncomfortable.

🌿 When youre nervous your habit of ramblimg very quickly can get worse and when he notices this happening he gives your hand a squeeze and makes sure hes following the conversation so he can answer when youre done... You have a tendency to leave people in stunned silence and he doesnt want you to be embarrassed

🌿 In the same vein, when you miss social cues, don't realise someones made a joke, don't realise you're being spoken to and need to answer, Tommy will gently, subtly nudge you in the right direction or just start to answer for you so that you know you can speak.

🌿 Also if its an important meeting or social event thats happening in which you will be on public display he will go through every step of the evening with you telling you what you should say when you greet certain people, when you should shake hands ect ect. He will explain different peoples personalities and mannerisms too, "When you meet him he'll probably try to charm you, he tells lots of terrible jokes, none of them will be funny but when he laughs you should laugh too, don't worry if you don't understand the joke, they're usually so bad no one else does either..." he will make sure you feel prepared to navigate the evening!!

🌿If anyone makes any sarcastic comments in front of you, theres a chance they will go over your head, but tommy will pick up on it and put whoever said it in their place. Hes probably more protective of you and feels he has to shield you from everyone who doesn't understand you

🌿 There are definitely times when he's been in the middle of a very tense conversation with one of his brothers or in the middle of a family meeting when the vibe is "tense" and you've not really picked up on the seriousness of a conversation, so have asked what to anyone else would be deemed a trivial question... John might smirk, Arthur probably frowns and can't hide his confusion... But tommy would just answer your question plain and simple.

🌿And the rest of the family would be able to tell from the look he gave them not to say a word.

🌿 When someone is flirting with you and you dont realise (because idk about you but unless someone is straight up "do you wanna fuck" i will not notice at all, and if they say something too obvious then i just think its a joke) Tommy will just quietly tell you, he'll be a mixture of proud and possesive, "you do realise what that man wants from you don't you angel?" "What?" "You..." "Oh, well... Thats unfortunate for him i guess?..."

🌿Ultimately the gist of this is that its amusing for everyone else seeing how Tommy has to relax and accept a loss of control when he's around you... And he is forced to open up, umwind and be less uptight because of you too. You definitely bring out the good in him.

Alfie

🐻 Alfie is exceptionally endeared to you, he thinks its cute when he catches you looking lost in conversation, he just wants to put an arm around you, take you under his wing.

🐻 The first time he met you, when he introduced himself to you and you didn't quite catch what he'd said so instead of asking you just hesitated, looking back at him waiting for him to say something else... He pretty much decided from then on that he was going to keep you around, he'd have a protective attitude towards you even if really you don't need protecting.

🐻 He would try to teach you a little about the streets of Camden, try to teach you some street smarts... Because he doesnt like the thought of you out there on your own... But if you weren't a quick learner he wouldn't mind. He'd be very patient with you, and honestly he probably enjoys being that person you look to for help in any situation.

🐻 He will also try to help you prepare for any social events which might be intimidating for you, giving you all the gossip and intel to help you behave accordingly with each person... Unfortunately he will let his own opinions get in the way, he'll refer to a person by his own personal insults "fat boy" or "mummys boy" little nicknames he gives to each person, which you may once or twice have been known to accidently blurt out upon an introduction.

🐻 He likes to catch your eye across a room and feel like he's your protector when he walks over, stands just behind you and picks up the conversation for you.

🐻 He can talk for England can Alfie and i think the first time you interrupt him, mid-sentence this excited smile on your face because you know exactly what he's talking about!

🐻 He'd be amazed the first time you cut him off like that but i think afterawhile, as he got used to it, he'd enjoy it, the two of you would have such long conversations cutting in on one another, talking about ten different things at once

🐻 Hes lowkey impressed by your ability to understand him and follow his train of thought when he's talking complete shit.

🐻 You're the only person who is allowed to interrupt him.

🐻 Ollie is lowkey jealous that you get away with all of your mishaps because he doesnt.

🐻 Alfie doesn't see any problem with the way you are, if other people say you seem odd or "out there" he just shrugs and says "wellllll i like 'em..."

🐻 More than that, Alfie actually enjoys the fact that you often misstep in conversation with others... He likes to see the looks of confusion on other people's faces when you say or do something they aren't expecting. He absolutely won't help them when you catch them off guard with a question they weren't expecting.

🐻 "Well? The little lady asked you a question... Didn't she..."

🐻 He would constantly be battling internally with whether to let you help him with business or not... On the one hand you'd be excellent at unnerving his opponents without even trying... But on the other hand you are so precious to him and he wouldn't want you anywhere near those kinds of people. Especially when you sometimes don't pick up on the vibe of the conversation, you might not realise if you were being threatened...

🐻 One thing he does find amusing but does spark his over protective and possesive nature, is that you never, NEVER notice when someone is flirting with you... You will giggle along, smile and be your friendly self with someone who is really pushing their luck... And alfie will stand there silently furious but also finding it incredibly funny that this man is trying so hard to charm you, is thinking that its working, but it actually isnt at all.

🐻 He'll cough, take your hand in his and raise your palm to his lips as a way of gently showing you his affection and passive aggressively showing the other man that you're taken.

Arthur

🍂 Arthur strikes me as spectrumy himself to be honest so i think the two of you would either get along incredibly well, having these fast conversations only the two of you can understand, or you'd constantly be misunderstanding eachother and getting confused.

🍂 I think he'd find it funny when you behave unexpectedly in front of Tommy, the fact that you really try to be "good" and polite in front of him but still end up mistepping because you don't pick up on the subtext of the conversation...

🍂 Arthur would find that both adorable and reassuring since he often doesnt pick up on those things either.

🍂 Honestly i think you would understand eachother better than anyone else understands either of you. You'd be able to have such easy conversations about the important stuff because neither of you would cut corners or pussy foot around difficult things... Youd just tell eachother everything exactly how it is/feels to you and then you'd have clarity that isn't there in your relationships with others

🍂 I think your inability to match up to societies expectations would marry up well to his "reject/underdog/outcast" thing too. You're both trying your best to be what other people expect you to be but you're both "failing" and through no fault of your own.

🍂 You would be eachothers salvation and sanctuary from a confusing and frustrating world. Instead of feeling like "whats wrong with me?" you'd come to the conclusion that the real question is "what the fucks wrong with everybody else? Why are we the only sane ones?"

🍂 He would be fiercly loyal and protective of you, if other people like his brothers ever made out like you had "a screw loose" or you were a bit "slow" Arthur would defend you with his whole chest (and fists depending on who said what where)

🍂 When he can tell that you're really struggling to follow a conversation he'll speak for both of you, whether he understands the whole vibe of the conversation or not.

🍂 When you are feeling overwhelmed he'll hold your hand in his lap and give it a tight squeeze

🍂 He fucking hates it when people flirt with you and you dont realise. Sometimes he gets frustrated with you but most of the time his anger is directed at the men.

John

🌼 Adhd king amirite <3

🌼 Who is actually interrupting who here? What are you even talking about anymore?

🌼 You and john would definitely be thick as theives, almost telepathic because you just get eachother in that way that only two neurodivergents can?

🌼 You'd balance eachother out as well, you'd be the laid back half to his excited child chaos.

🌼 Every time you "fucked up" in conversation this man would have your back, doubling down on whatever you said, always taking your side. He'd be fiercly loyal to you and you to him.

🌼 I think he'd make it even harder to concentrate on conversations though, you would be trying hard to listen in a family meeting and John would be whispering to you, knowing he finds it easy to distract you... So if you're missing the vibe of serious conversations its not your fault, its just you have the class clown sitting next to you and you're his favourite person so

🌼 I think you and John would struggle at first when it comes to emotional conversations. You know that bit in Wednesday when her love interest says "You're giving me all these signals Wednesday..." and like, as far as she's concerned she hasnt been giving any signals at all. I feel like at first thats how it would be... He'd be making it obvious how much he likes you... Cheesy flirting, real teenage boy flirting and you'd just think it was a joke IF you noticed it at all

🌼 And one day he'd just be like "y/n what the fucks going on here do you like me or not?"

🌼 "Well of course i like you John, i wouldnt spend all this time with you if i didn't like you..."

🌼 "You know i dont mean it like that y/n..."

🌼 "Like what?"

🌼 Basically you just being kind of clueless that he likes you and him just desperately trying to make it more and more obvious... But then when he finally cracks and says it to you plain and simple, you answer him plain and simple and he feels like a fool for not just talking to you...

🌼 And then when you are together it would be this learning curve for him, that he can't just say serious things in a jokey way because you won't know hes really being serious.

🌼 He has to learn to be a bit less childish sometimes... Only sometimes... Other times you behave like children together much to everybody elses frustration.

🌼 Together you for sure spell trouble and he is definitely ecstatic every time you cut Tommy off or ask him an unexpected question.

🌼 Finds it funny when you don't realise other people are hitting on you, but he does worry it will get you into trouble, that you'll mistake someone being sleazy with you for someone being friendly, so he keeps a close eye on you when youre out, even when youre not out with him

Bonnie

🍀 He's definitely been into you for way longer than you realise... He's been trying to give you signals for so long but they're all so subtle that you don't pick up on them at all

🍀 You're always referring to him as your best friend. You once told someone he was "like a brother" to you.

🍀 He's constantly suffering real teenage angst and yearning for you

🍀 Until one day you blurt it out in conversation and take him by surprise...

🍀 "I said something really stupid and I'm sorry Bonnie!" you'd say in the middle of his sentence about something totally different. Youd be awkward about it, fiddling with your shirt or hair, "I didn't mean to say you were like my brother... You're not that at all actually... Actually i think you're..." he'd be able to see that you are struggling with it but

🍀 He doesnt want to push you or talk over you so he just has to wait it out...

🍀 "think I'm what dove?" he'd be hopeful but not wanting to get his hopes up, because he's used to how unpredictable you can be sometimes, he knows you might not be about to say what he wants you to

🍀 "Actually i think... I really um.. You know..." he'd chuckle at that, biting back a smile as he plays with your fingers, definitely would enjoy teasing you when you steuggle for words/to say the right thing.

🍀 When you finally tell him he'd be so happy, he wouldnt even care that it had taken so long, he'd just be glad you finally understood eachothers feelings.

🍀 He'd be very supportive of you, he'd never let you feel embarrassed or guilty/ashamed if you felt like you'd messed up in conversation

🍀 Similar to Tommy hed make jokes at his family's expense like "You're worried you're the odd one here? Really little dove?"

🍀 Always telling you you're perfect and that he loves you, you're never going to feel like you're not good enough

🍀 Will defend you from any teasing that may come your way

🍀When youre watching him fight you don't hold back when you shout encouragement. You don't really understand when hes throwing the fight unless he spells it out to you first, so sometimes you won't realise and you'll be be shouting at him to "hit back, why aren't you fucking hitting him bon?"

🍀So he learns to warn you and tell you exactly how a fight is supposed to go before it starts. He's lowkey worried youll get him caught!

🍀Bonnie laughs it off when other people flirt with you because "well good luck to em i say, took you bloody years to notice me didn't it," but he does make a point of holding your hand in public, kissing you in public.

🍀 His favourite thing is that the idea of "manners" doesn't hold you back a lot of the time, if the other boys are being cheeky to you you wont hesitate to put them in their place and its always cutting and brutal, more so because you often don't intend for it to be.

Isaiah

🐀Doesn't have the trouble of you not realising he likes you because he is actually straight up with you from the very beginning. "I think me and you would make a good couple what do you say y/n..." "I don't know you..." "Well thats what a dates for... What do you say? I'll pick you up at 7?"

🐀Because hes so straightforward with you, you understand eachother quickly and you are able to trust him very quickly too.

🐀You'd never be confused about where you stand with Isaiah because he always says things simple and truthful and doesn't try to hide or sweeten things for you

🐀Still it takes him by surprise one day when he tries to, he's talking about a job he has to do for tommy, and he's not saying it but you know its dangerous... You turn to him cutting him off mid sentence, "so he wants you to kill them for him? How are you going to do it?"

🐀The way you offer up advice on killing them/disposing of the body so he won't get caught... You just want to make sure he doesn't get caught so that he will be safe, you don't really realise how removed and heartless you sound... When he points it out he says it with an affectionate smirk but you just shrug

🐀"well i just don't want you to get hurt... If i can help you to be safe why wouldn't i? How is that heartless?" he'd be forced to accept that youre right actually, its hardly heartless to care about him.

🐀He would be over protective of you around the others, if other peaky boys looked at you for too long, or tried to tease you, flirting with you and then snickering about the fact you don't seem to realise that they are... Isaiah would put them in their place immediately, wouldn't hesitste to hit them around the back of the head with his cap, shaking his head at them and talking down to them about how they behave like fucking children

🐀When you're worried about messing up in front of people he will be encouraging but in a "so what?" kind of way. He has had to spend his whole life fighting to be respected in the wake of a society that looks down on him for who he is, and his attitude to that is "fuck em" thats what he'll say to you.

🐀"But Isaiah what if i do something wrong and they think I'm..." "who gives a fuck what they think of you love, if you spend your whole life worrying about what the likes of them think about you you'll never be happy, they'll never welcome you with open arms so fuck em... You're fuckin perfect right, a fuckin star... Fuck em... "

🐀Expect lots of these angsty little pep talks.

Michael

☘️ Cares about you alot and can empathise with your embarrassment when you realise you've messed up in conversation by speaking too soon or saying something that isn't exactly relevent at the wrong time... He feels like he can feel it for you

☘️ And his response to this is to try and make sure this happens as little as possible... He doesnt want to make you feel bad about it because he knows you try your best and you just can't help it... But he also hates to see you embarrassed or being laughed at by others so he tries his best to help you get by in social situations

☘️He will write out step by step notes on conversing with certain people (like his cousin tommy who intimidates you) and if you're nervous about something like a job interview or just meeting someone important, then he will let you practice and rehearse the conversation with you too

☘️ He's very supportive in this way, and he'll never leave you to fend for yourself in any situation he doesn't 100% know you'll be accepted in

☘️ He will leave you on your own with Pol though, because he knows she will accept you for everything you are.

☘️ He does get frustrated sometimes when you cut him off but only when he's trying to talk to you about something serious (like your own personal safety) he's constantly reminding you to concentrate or listen to him

☘️ However when you're just talking about things together he likes to let you cut him off and start rambling about something, he loves how your face lights up when something interests you, or how you concentrate when you're explaining a new idea to someone. He could listen to you talk for hours and hours.

☘️ And when you are feeling confident in a social situation michael enjoys being a silent spectator just sitting back and watching you thrive. If you get worried afterwards that you missed the vibe of the conversation or you talked too much he'll shake his head "darlin you were the most interesting person at the table, if you ask me they should have only let you speak, we could all have enjoyed listening to you even longer..."

☘️ He warns his family in advance, and warns tommy especially because he wants tommy to be patient with you and will not tolerate anyone snapping at you or humiliating you.

☘️Really i think, michael was raised in a loving but judgemental family until he found his real mum, i think those prejudices would sometimes sneak up on him, so perhaps at first he would be concious of your differences, however he also knows that those exact prejudices are what meant he was taken from him real mum, they're hnjust and they target good people...so rather than hold those prejudices himself he would be extra concious of protecting you from other people who might hold them

☘️ He won't let anyone say a bad word about you ever, sometimes you'll actually have to be the one to say "calm down michael, he was just joking..."

I hope you like these and that they were what you were wanting, they've taken me a long time because i wanted to get them right i guess!!!

[quotethemenevervore]

NOTE: I DO NOT CODONE THE ACTIONS OF CERTAIN CCS IN MY CONTENT. THIS IS PURELY OF THE CHARACTERS, AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN PURELY ABOUT THE CHARACTERS.

So uh, I’m back-

Like a seesaw that only goes down, chapter 3

Content warnings: g/t, vore, scars, talks of violence and characters having anxiety

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“How come Techno doesn’t come see you when you’re big?”

It was an innocent question, one that Tommy didn’t think was going to be anything big. It had been a few weeks since the first time the blonde came to see Wilbur when he was big, and Phil tagged along when he could. But there was always one person missing, and finally, it bugged him enough to ask.

He expected ‘Oh, he just doesn’t feel like it’, or maybe even ‘He just doesn’t like being around someone bigger than he is’. So when he asked that, and Wilbur’s eyes immediately cast down and away, he was confused.

“It’s… a little complicated with him. It’s not that he hates me being a shifter, it’s just.. yea. It’s complicated.” It was not a fulfilling answer in the slightest, but Tommy felt bad for making Wilbur feel bad, so he dropped the subject and brought up something else.

~~~

“Dad?” It had been a little bit since he’d officially been adopted, and he surprised himself at how natural it felt to call the avian dad. It always got a smile out of the older as well, eyes softening as he turned to face the other. “Yea?” “Do you know why Techno doesn’t like hanging out with Wil when he’s big?” His face scrunched up slightly, but it was in confusion rather than sadness. “To be honest, no. Neither of them told me what happened when Techno went to go see him when he was big. All I know is that it was only one time, and he hasn’t gone back since. It could have been like your situation.” The younger hummed in thought. “Techno doesn’t seem like the type to cower away, though.” “I don’t think it’s cowering away. I think maybe it’s a mutual agreement, Wilbur’s never seem saddened by it. But I don’t really know.” “Alright. Thanks anyway.” “No problem, mate. I’ll come get you when dinner’s ready, okay?”

“Okay, thanks.” There was one more person he could ask.

~~~

“Techno?” The door was slightly ajar when he went upstairs, the piglin sitting in a chair in the corner of the room reading a book. He didn’t catch a glimpse of the title, but based on what he knew of the man, he could guess it was some kind of ancient history. “Heh?” Tommy didn’t ask permission to come in, Techno had already granted it to him a while back so long as he made his presence known first. Flopping down on the bed across from the pinkette, he watched him put his book aside.

“Got a question for you.” “Okay. What is it?” “Did something happen with you and Wil?” He caught the miniscule flinch that Techno immediately hid. “It’s just, like you’re the only one who doesn’t go see him when he’s big so I’m just wondering-“ “It’s nothing. We just don’t really get along when he’s big. He gets too handsy.” He added the end with a snort, but Tommy caught on to how he was avoiding eye contact. “I mean, yea. But is that it?” He tried to push, but it failed. “Yea. That’s pretty much it. We agreed on it.” His brow furrowed, and he tried to think of something else to ask, but Phil’s voice carried from downstairs announcing dinner, and that was the end of it.

~~~

Dinner was.. tense, to say the least. Well, to Tommy it felt tense. Everyone else seemed fine, even his brothers were in a good mood and chatting about random things. He just couldn’t figure out why his brothers wouldn’t see each other when Wil was in his bigger form. Anything he tried to conclude fell flat on its face, so he begrudgingly set it aside. Anything he could think of he could probably think about on a fuller stomach.

But it didn’t help. Nor did trying to distract himself with a game of kart racing (which Tommy absolutely won, and techno didn’t, and if he says he did he’s lying-) and even laying down it tried to consume his thoughts.He groaned into his pillow, reminding himself that if they didn’t want him to know, he wouldn’t know. He shouldn’t push it.

It would be bad to have to see Puffy so soon.

With that thought in mind, he shoved the entire question as far away as he could, and relaxed, thinking about former trips with Tubbo, and some of the past nights with his new family.

~ ~ ~

The next time Wilbur grew, Tommy wanted to feed a different curiosity.

Anatomy classes could only do so much, and if he had the ability to see inside a person’s body, why wouldn’t he take it? He got permission, got a waterproof flashlight, and Wilbur happily gulped him down the next time he shifted to his full height.

Tommy wasted no time upon settling in and turned on the flashlight, waving it around to look at his surroundings. It was.. kind of what he expected- pink, fleshy walls. There was barely a puddle under him, probably the saliva that came down with him. It wasn’t really anything shocking, but his curiosity was satisfied anyway. He moved to turn it off when something caught his attention.

A long, jagged line, so deep that the walls seemed to cave into it. It was about as long as Tommy’s forearm, but despite it being on the inside, he knew what it was.

A scar.

Running his light across that wall, he found a few more, totaling it up to about six or seven. Six or seven scars.

His silence must have gone on a little too long, because his surroundings collapsed on him. “Tommy? Are you okay?” His brother called out, worry in his tone. “Wilbur, what the fuck did you eat? You have scars.” He couldn’t see the giant’s face, but the muscles freezing around him told him more than it should have. “Wil? What happened?”

It was silent for a good minute or two, and Tommy grew more worried. He tried to think of anything and everything his brother could have eaten to get those nasty scars- did he try to save a wounded animal? Did it get scared and start attacking him? Was it a stranger to him, a camper in jeopardy like he had been those weeks ago?

“It’s.. it’s fine. I don’t think it’s anything to worry-“ “Nothing to worry about my ass, Wil.” He meant to say more, but a heavy sigh from the other jostled his surroundings and interrupted.

“I didn’t even know I had scars. I didn’t even think about that when..” another sigh, a heavy air of sadness to it, cut through the silence he unintentionally left behind. Tommy leaned against the closest wall to him, running his hand along the flesh closest to him in an attempt to be comforting.

Whatever had happened, it must have been bad.

Finally, the giant broke the silence.

“When I stored you, you freaked out. You panicked because you thought I’d actually eaten you, because you didn’t know about giant anatomy.” “Yes..?” Tommy drew out, trying to encourage him to continue while drawing his own conclusion.

Definitely a camper, then.

Wilbur took a moment, a shaky breath, and continued. “Well, you aren’t the only person I’d swallowed that didn’t know. And.. it was to protect him, so I had no time to explain anything to him. I didn't know he was armed,” “Oh, Wilbur-“ “It’s fine.” He tried to reassure. “But… that person was Techno. That’s.. that’s why he doesn’t come visit me at this size.”

What? He must have said it out loud, because Wilbur hummed in agreement. “I didn’t really want to say anything, because I know Techno doesn’t like talking about it-“ “But- Did he ever apologize? Does he know about this?” Tommy understood, of course- the fear that coursed through him the day he thought Wilbur was killing him was awful, and he could believe that if he had a weapon he’d probably had done some damage as well. But if Techno didn’t know the damage he’d caused-

“He doesn’t know. Honestly? I.. didn’t know it had scarred either. We talked about it when I was smaller, and we came to an agreement that he just didn’t feel.. comfortable being with me at this size. It’s not out of fear, I don’t think. But it only takes one bad experience to… ruin things.” Tommy sighed. “Am I really the only person who didn’t hold this against you?” “Phil.” “He’s your dad. Of course he wouldn’t hold it against you.” “Well, not after he learned, of course. But..” Wilbur hummed, cutting himself off.

“We should probably head back soon.” It was a distraction. Wilbur was trying to pull him from these thoughts. He shouldn’t let it happen so easily, but.. it did seem like bringing this up has struck a chord in the giant, and he really didn’t wanna upset him any further than he was.

It would be hell if Wilbur tried separating himself from the family again.

“Okay.” So he relaxed, and waited, and planned.

~ ~ ~

“We need to talk.” It was the last thing Techno expected to come out of his younger brother’s mouth, especially with such a serious tone to it. He already had a feeling what it was about, too. He’d just been with Wilbur the day before while the shifter was giant, meaning it was likely the conversation from before. He kept his book open, but turned his head to the other as the blonde walked further into the room and sat on the bed to be opposite of him. “Okay. What about?”

“About you lying.” “What did I lie about?” “Wilbur.” Techno sighed, a mix of unease and exasperation. “I don’t really want to talk about it.” “Wilbur wouldn’t talk about it either. And I’m willing to bet neither of you have talked to each other.” “Then how did you find out?” Anxiety began to grow in the piglin, a heavy weight gnawing at him from the inside. Techno was sure that Phil didn’t know, so unless Wilbur had said something about what happened that day, which the blonde had said he didn’t, then there was no way for Tommy to-

“He has scars.” The book dropped to his lap, his fears confirmed, but Tommy didn’t stop. “From when you attacked him. He has like six scars in him. And, look, I get it, okay? Fear does some crazy shit to you. But- you don’t even know what you did! And I know he said that you guys talked but-“

He was abruptly cut off by the piglin standing up so fast the book spilled to the floor and being out the door before it ever hit. “Wh- Tech-!” Before Tommy could even catch up to him, the door to Wilbur’s room slammed shut right in front of him. Worry gripped his heart in an icy fist, and he warred between himself whether he should try to eavesdrop or go to his room and hope they sort it out. A voice in the back of his head nastily told him he’d done enough already, so he ducked his head and slunk to his room, hoping that his brothers would be able to figure it out and be okay.

~ ~ ~

“Techno!?” Wilbur jumped at the sudden door slamming, whipping his head around to see the culprit. “You know I prefer my door-“ “When were you going to tell me you had scars?” The piglin’s face was dead serious, borderline angry, and he had to blink at the sudden whiplash he felt. “I- what?” “When I..” he cut himself off with a harsh breath, the anger morphing to appear more distressed. “I left scars. Were you just never going to say anything about it?” “Tech- I-“ “I know that you were trying to spare my feelings, because of the whole situation, but that seems pretty important for me to-“

“Techno, I didn’t know!” He cut the other off.

“..what?” “I only just found out about the scars yesterday. Tommy found them. I had no idea. I didn’t even think I was going to scar because of it.” He sighed. “And no, I’m not trying to spare your feelings. I saw how you looked at me when we were together that next time I shifted. You think I want to see that? I feel enough guilt as is. I just thought.. and you agreed..” Techno thought over his words, speaking them slowly. “I agreed to not see you because I didn’t want to upset you. I thought you were upset with me.” “I was never upset with you. I’ve only ever been upset with myself.” Before the piglin could even get a word out, eyes widening at the realization before him, Wilbur continued.

“I scared you, and I scared Phil.. I’ve scared Tommy twice now.. I.. I never wanted to be like this, Tech.” He pulled his knees up to his chest, resting the side of his head over them. He was still looking in the piglin’s direction, but it didn’t really seem like he was seeing anymore. He didn’t want to confront these feelings, that’s why he had hidden away from them when his brother had proposed they not see each other when he was big. But they were on full display now, and despite everything he couldn’t reel the words back in before they were put in the open before the Piglin. “I don’t like the idea that I’m hurting the people I love. I want to be able to make friends and have my family close without anyone being afraid, or worried about me. I just..” he blinked, and only then did he recognize the sting at his eyes as tears began to drip down his face.

He felt pathetic. He bet he looked pathetic then too, curled up in front of his brother like this. If it were up to him, he’d rather disappear. At least if he could disappear, it would be a better ability than growing to a freakishly-

The bed dipped beside him, and he looked up to find Techno wrapping an arm around him, forcing his body to move and his knees to drop back down. His head now rested on the piglin’s shoulder, with the other’s head resting on his own. Delicately, as if he were made of glass, one of his hands reached down and picked up the brunette’s. It was slowly lifted until his fingertips rested against what could only have been one of the piglin’s tusks.

“You’re not the only one, Wil.” He whispered, letting go of the other’s hand. “Those alone caused me lots of grief in school. Everybody looked at me like a monster.” Wilbur let his hand fall, but only low enough to wrap the arm around his brother’s shoulder and pull him closer to him. “I didn’t feel welcomed until Phil brought me here. By then, I was out of school, and it was only us two. I learned I wasn’t a monster, I was just as equal as he was. And then we found you, and.. I guess the lesson got lost somewhere.” The brunette wasn’t sure when his brother had returned the hug, but he sank further into it as he began tracing shapes against his back.

“You’re not a monster, Wilbur. You’re just trying to survive in a world meant for humans. And you’re doing a lot better than you think you are.” And that was the straw that broke down Wilbur’s resolve. He began sobbing into his brother’s shoulder, clutching onto the fabric of his shirt so tightly as if he were afraid he’d disappear. He wasn’t sure how long they’d stayed like that, Techno gently rocking him while he let all his emotions finally run their course. Every time he’d tried to say something through his hiccuping sobs, he was gently shushed, so he gave up. Eventually, he felt like there were no more tears to shed, but he hesitated, worried that once he’d let go he’d still lose his brother. He’d missed him since the incident, even if they were still close outside of him shifting. He wasn’t given a choice, a small whine escaping him when the pinkette pulled away.

“I’m just gonna change my shirt.” Wilbur looked down from his face to the large wet spot he’d left on the shoulder, and he winced. “‘M sorry..” “It’s fine. I’ll be back. Want me to send the gremlin in while I’m gone?” The brunette rubbed at his face, trying to get rid of the excess tears. “If you want to.”

Techno had not left the room until he opened the door and yelled for the teen, Tommy rushing out of his room. “What happened? Is-“ “Keep him company until I get back. I won’t be long.” The block of ice in his gut grew tenfold at the sentence, and he quickly entered the room as Techno went down the hall to his own room. It took one look at Wilbur for his heart to sink into the ice in his stomach, and he froze in the doorway.

But then Wilbur smiled through his tears, opened his arms as an invitation, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief and walked to the offered hug.

“Did everything work out?” “Yea. I think everything worked out.” He heaved out a breath, the ice quickly melting away from his veins as he pulled away from the hug. “Thank god. I dunno if I could handle you guys not talking about that.” “Well, I don’t think you should be telling people’s secrets.” Wilbur mused. “Well, I don’t think people should be keeping secrets. Especially not secrets like that.” The blonde stayed firm, crossing his arms over his chest. “But.. Do you think it’s okay now?” “I think we’ll be okay.” Techno was back in the room less than two minutes later, a new button up to replace the old one. “Do you own any other clothes, man?” “Yea? I prefer style.” He climbed back onto the bed, this time sitting up against the headboard. “I think that’s stupid.” “You think everything’s stupid, you gremlin child.”

Tommy huffed, clambering over Wilbur to get to Techno at the top of the bed. “I’m not a child! I’m a big man!” “So you are a gremlin, then?” “Wilbur!” “What? You didn’t deny it.” He shot back with a grin, bracing himself to catch the blonde as he launched himself at him. “Fuck off! I’m not a gremlin or a child!” A small tussle followed, Wilbur trying to get up to sit against the headboard with Techno and Tommy simply not letting him move. At some point, the brunette shot up around a foot or two and simply scooped the squirming teen in his arms, dropping him on the piglin and finally making it to the spot he desired.

The energy burnt out soon enough, and the blonde settled down sprawled across the other’s legs. Wilbur had shrunk back down to his human height, slumped back down against Techno’s shoulder. “‘M glad you guys talked it out.” Tommy mumbled. “I’m not glad you initiated the conversation like you did.” “Yea..” Wilbur sighed. “Sorry.” “Apology accepted, Toms.” “I’m sorry too, Techno.” The pinkette hummed questioningly. “I wish I’d had time to tell you you were safe that day.” “We’re past that, Wil. I don’t hold it against you.” “Still. I want to get it off my chest, at least.” “Then let me apologize too.” Wilbur looked up to the other from where he was curled against him, and Techno met his gaze fully. “I’m sorry for acting out like I did. And I’m sorry that I left scars in you.” An amused huff left the shifter, and he nodded. “Thank you. For what it’s worth, I don’t feel them.” A small huff answered him, along with a pat to his head, and Wilbur leaned more into his side, letting his eyes fall shut as he relaxed in his brother’s embrace fully for the first time since the incident.

~ ~ ~

When Phil came home from grocery shopping, he’d called out to the boys so they’d come and help him. When none of them had, he couldn’t help the small twinge of worry, the nagging voice in his head that made him run upstairs. He’d only had to search one room, finding the trio knocked out on Wilbur’s bed. Techno was still practically sitting up, Wilbur curled up beside him and the youngest flopped overtop of them both. With a fond, and relieved sigh, he set the letter from the mailbox atop the brunette’s desk and shut the light off.

[bekolxeram]

Good morning! (Well, at my place) I've just read your take on fandom, and while I'm personally avoiding most of the cast interviews and stuff, I see your point. I'm just afraid that's too much a voice of reason. Something spread all over the world today, facts do not matter very much. And people really forget that fandom is fun. Anyway, would love to see more of those posts :)

I too usually avoid interviews and stuff, I'm mostly in it for the excuse to unite my love for aviation, disaster documentaries and gay stuff. I'm sure you've stumbled across fandom discourse before and asked yourself "are we watching the same show?" Well, I saw a post about one of the actors "confirming a character's sexual orientation" and I was just wondering if we were reading the same words.

I've seen media literacy, canon vs fanon being brought up numerous times for the last 2 months, but I think I've finally found the right words to describe my gripes with the fandom: the confusion of implication and interpretation.

Maddie pulling Chimney out of the frame in that hotel room then ending up pregnant a few episodes later, implication, it's not the network or the show for explicit sex scenes. Buck making a dirty face while saying the ring cutter was for "other stuff", well what other stuff can you think of? Hen and Chimney hanging out with Tommy at the bar in Bobby Begins Again, would Hen and Chimney knowingly become friends with someone who was still racist and misogynist that they had a problem with? These are all hardly refutable facts that just weren't shown explicitly on screen for whatever reasons.

A male character being emotionally repressed and having trouble dating women on the other hand, could be because he is attracted to men without knowing it, but it also could be due to all sorts of reasons like childhood trauma, religious trauma, trauma from the battlefield, unprocessed grief from on-and-off ex-wife suddenly dying in an accident so any sort of closure is no longer possible etc. Another male character looking after a good kid when his father is trying his best to juggle between raising him and being a first responder, could be because he is romantically interested in said single father and wants to become part of a traditional type of nuclear family unit with the kid, but it also could be just him being kind and empathetic, as he himself grew up with emotionally neglectful and absent parents. You can interpret these things all sorts of ways based on your personal experience, but the show itself doesn't tell you how to frame it, nor does it limits you. Though at the end of the day, other people may interpret the same piece of media in different ways, and that includes the showrunner, the writers and even the actors themselves.

And then there's conflating interpretation with irrefutable explicit fact, like I demonstrated in some of my posts. Like the moment after 7x10 came out, the whole fandom was enshrouded by debates over daddy kink. One side painted Tommy as a sexual predator who exploited Buck's moment of vulnerability to satisfy his own kinks (again, Buck started the daddy thing), the other side defended the rights for gay men to explore sexually whenever they like. Yes, the I know daddy kink is very common among the gay community, but the concept itself has become so mainstream the past few years (I blame Pedro Pascal) that it now vaguely means "an older man who is hot".

After a few weeks of thinking I'm crazy and I lack verbal and reading comprehensions, I finally read the source material behind most of the controversies, and I got things completely different from the mainstream discourse out there? I've never seen anyone from the production of the show explicitly stating or even imply a certain ship would come true? At most, they respect and validate fans' own interpretations of the story, that's it. It doesn't necessarily mean they agree with said interpretation, and it certainly does not invalidate other possibilities.

So here we are, some fans feel betrayed even though they were never promised anything. Other fans get nervous over stuff that is actually just an interpretation of a cast member's interview, which in itself is also an interpretation of their own character, but tutted as absolute fact by some.

Enjoying a piece of media is supposed to be about enjoyment, not like a part-time job, so enjoy the parts you like and ignore the rest. But if you want to participate in the fandom, and you feel anxious anytime there's rumors brewing, tracking down the source might actually bring you more peace.

[lemotmo]

https://www.tumblr.com/lemotmo/765530003168542720/hi-i-was-wondering-if-ali-as-an-expert-in-pr-has

😂😂😂😂 the words she used are exactly the words I used as well.

I think we all know it’s unprofessional though. I’d be more curious from someone with that background like she has (and this is definitely not anyway meant to be a way of me saying for you to ask her so please don’t feel like you need to) why they keep them around once they start? Like maybe in this case more so for Edy since we don’t really know with Lou atm episode wise if he’s there or not still.

But with Edy when she started actively engaging with anti buddie stuff and with actively liking homophobic stuff in relation to buddie and everything else, she was still kept around which we know because of how far behind filming they were in relation to filming vs episode airing that she was still filming episodes during and after her meltdowns. Like it even became a vocal thing online each time she’d do one of her little insta posts to make sure we knew she was still there of why are they allowing this phobic actress to be on their show still? Especially as they were trying to PR about being inclusive due to the Bi Buck storyline (honestly I feel bad for Oliver because he waited so long to do this story justice and it got completely hijscked by her misbehavior and L and his cameos)

Now based on stills and such yes a lot of scenes with her seem to have not made the Final Cut. But I’d be curious why even bother keeping her and dealing with that fan backlash and wasting the resources filming, make up, etc etc instead of just getting rid of her.

I'm no way an expert in PR, but I feel like Tim is finally telling the Buddie story and he needed Tommy to be a part of that story. It think it's that simple.

He couldn't have foreseen how crazy things would get with Lou on board. He just wanted a male actor to play Buck's love interest for a couple of episodes, but then the show got an early renewal and he suddenly got more time to tell the story. So Lou got to come back in season 8. Simple as that.

It's pretty obvious that he was gagged at a certain point and that they forbade him to make anymore cameos or talk to the fans about Tommy anymore. He was silent for months.

As for Edy? I have no idea. They probably needed her to do some scenes in that Kim episode, but I think they could have easily made a few minor changes and carried on without her. So I haven't a clue why they kept her on, even after all the things she did.

That's all I can give you Nonny. Sorry for not being more helpful here.

Ali does go through my blog and reads some of my posts, so if she happens to talk to me about this and share some of her insights on this topic, I'll get back to you. 😋

[leggerefiore]

just embracing it at this point, lads

cw: fluff, slight confessions, cuddling, based on original animal crossing

pairing: Tom Nook/Reader

It was difficult to resist the big eyes of the little tanuki whom you had grown close to. When Nook had threatened you with his goons jokingly after you finished working for him, you had truly thought he meant it entirely as a falsity. Yet, it seemed that he did have some “goons.” Granted, they both seemed far too sweet to actually do anything like that. Though, if Nook did raise them as he had claimed… You felt certain they might actually be capable of doing that.

You served them cake with a sigh, watching as they greedily devoured their individual slices. It seemed they had little to do when Nook was working long hours, so it had become a habit to visit you and see if you would play with them. The two were easy to entertain and fascinated by most things. Though, you were not entirely sure if you enjoyed their comments on the benefits of a larger home for you. Something told you Nook had really rubbed off on them. Still, they were far from a burden, and it was nice to have company. The older tanuki had become a frequent visitor to your home, too. Well, for more than just reminders to pay your loan. Picking up the twins had become a part of his evening routine. They often lost track of time which made Nook have to head over to retrieve them.

Both blinked at you as you sat at the table in your thoughts. Timmy spoke first, opting to bring back your focus. “… What do you think of Mr. Nook… Nook?” Tommy's voice trailed after him. Both seemed curious about the same thing. You glanced at them. Well, he was a bit of a hard ass at first. Seriously, you did not expect to have a mortgage jousted onto you when you moved to a new town. Granted, it did not have interest and no due-by date, but… He also forced you to work part-time and got huffy when you did not want to what the uniform. Your revenge had been banging on his door at three in the morning, claiming you had things to sell. It was shocking he opened the door in his pyjamas and told you that he would only pay seventy percent for it.

But… He had his good sides. He still did give you a home to live despite only having a thousand bells to hand off, and he was courteous enough to still be pleasant with you. The way he cared for Timmy and Tommy… And, well… Maybe, secretly, you would admit that he was a bit cute. Those tired eyes and his comforting way of speaking… You often found yourself hanging out his store for more than just tools. Though, you could not just tell these children those things!

“… He is a good businessman,” you replied simply. They both idolised him and wished to learn from his, after all. That was a good enough reply, assuredly. Both seemed to blink while gazing at you with their large eyes.

“Do you like him… him?” they both asked. You swallowed. What in the world was this? Did they suspect your feelings? It was beyond stressful that your feelings were so obvious that these kids could see them. You grew a bit flustered and looked away. The two shared a glance and nodded at each other. “Mr. Nook likes you, too… too!”

You tensed up. Huh?! Nook liked… you? Surely, they were messing with you. Nook had warned you himself that they could be quite mischievous. Though… They did not appear to doing anything of the sort. Why… were they telling you this? You swallowed again. Nook… You did feel quite strongly for him, but you had this feeling he was not the type to be overly interested in romance. Especially not from a tenant of his. “This isn't some joke, is it?” you asked the two.

Both leaned towards you with their eyes even wider. It seemed that, no, this was not a joke. They were informing you of the truth. “We want you and Mr. Nook to be together!” Timmy explained. Tommy nodded. You grew even more flustered. What was this?! Yet… You could not entirely say you were disinterested. You shook your head at the boys.

“Well…” You tried to politely scold them for being so involved, but their pleading eyes silenced you. They seemed to have made their wants known. Maybe… you could try. Finally, you gave a nod, and they both seemed to perk up. They thanked you for the cake and asked you to walk them home. Thus, giving you a moment with Nook.

~

The shopkeeper received the twins back easily, heading to close the shop while you lingered for a moment inside. He glanced at you, seemingly waiting for you to either leave or say something. You knew he was tired. Nook'N'Go's hours were no joke. It had become slightly common for you to bring him food to eat on his shift since you worried about his health a bit. Though, he seemed fine otherwise.

“Nook…” You spoke finally, “Er, Tom, rather.” He perked up at your choice of his first name and shut the door to the shop while flipping the sign. It seemed he understood you were not there to shop any longer. He took his cap and walked over to you, opting to give you his full attention in between his closing duties. “... I…” it was quite difficult to tell the man what should have been so easy. He gave a 'hm' in reply. “I was wondering if you could set aside some time… for us to… get a coffee together?” you offered awkwardly.

“I don't see why not, hm?” he nodded, “That sounds quite nice. I think I will, yes, yes.”

It seemed it was the beginning of something for you.

Maybe you could even convince him to knock some bells off your debt.

(Unlikely, alas.)

~

A few months from there, you found yourself asleep in a bed with Nook. Snow had crept in with the winter. Somehow, you had found yourself sleeping over at the little living unit in the shop the tanuki lived in. You shifted into his side as the chill of the morning crept under the covers. An arm held you closer to him. The warmth that ruminated from him kept you contented. It seemed you had not been tricked by twins about his feelings. He genuinely had come to like you and appreciated your aid with the boys. It had not been long after that your relationship turned into something more romantic.

Honestly, his off-comment suggestion about you moving in was not so bad. Though, you wondered if that would mean you would be freed from your mortgage. With what a cheapskate he was, you doubted it. You clutched onto his pyjamas and nuzzled into his chest.

You both would have continued to sleep in had the pitter-patter of smaller feet had not approached Nook's bedroom and knocked on the door. You both rose up from the embrace to glance at the door. It seemed Timmy and Tommy were awake. A yawn came from Nook as he stretched and moved to get ready for the day. You managed to catch him just before he did and press a kiss to his cheek. Pulling away, you called out, “Morning… love you…”

He nodded back at you. “Good morning, dear,” he leaned forward to peck a kiss to your forehead. His cheek rubbed against your own make you giggle. “I love you, too,” he moved to actually get dressed.

[localsharkcryptid]

I'd love to hear about it :D

Okay so! Admittedly this entire 'Good Ending' AU is a lot of concepts and ideas so imma just put down a bunch of the main and favorite notes I have so far with it!

If I ever do anything with this it'll probably be a fair amount of one-shots or short stories, and I do wanna hammer home that EVERYONE in this AU gets a good ending - no exclusions, full DSMP cast, if I don't write things on certain characters it's generally due to me just not knowing their lore well enough to give specifics on what they'd be doing or just not having set ideas atm.

Mostly for Context Notes:

- I won't say the canon ending is retconned but more so it doesn't happen the same way due to some changes! The Eggpire ending is important though and still plays out mostly the same. Which leads into The Egg becoming this bigger force that everyone has to work together against - thus leading to a final server wide 'truce' in a way that allows for things to finally settle. (Generally going with a concept that the Egg originally surfaced due to all the previous wars, the death drawing it out so it could be found, therefore people figure this out and it becomes a sort of for the greater good situation)

- Additionally the server doesn't reset again due to XD making a very specific deal with George, in an attempt to finally be free of the Admin's influence/all the dream coma bullshittery, George effectively tricks XD into becoming mortal and giving up his status as Admin - officially freeing the server from the loop.

- After the truce, the idea of countries kinda dissolves, while the locations all remain they become more so cities/towns all apart of the same thing again! Also with the server being "freed" the SMP starts gaining citizens after a bit! So actual populations for everywhere!!! Also totally not an excuse for me to make OCs, definitely not (I say like a liar)

- This is a good ending but also I will note it takes a while for a lot of people to become comfortable again with each other, and honestly I don't think there's a lot of forgiveness either, it's more so people choosing to move on from the past. So a lot of my ideas for shenanigans/light hearted stuff are written with the idea of it being like 2-3 years post 'ending'

Other Notes! Just some more miscellaneous thoughts honestly.

- Dream ends up as part of a syndicate as one would assume, Punz is considered an honorary member and of all people, Purpled also joins the ranks, he gets picked up by someone some time after the Las Nevadas finale and that leads to him joining them, whereas the other two show up later on.

- Pandora's Vault ends up being entirely renovated, it being pretty damn difficult now to tell what it was and turned into a proper home, it's a long process mostly headed by Sam in his long list of things he's done to "apologize" after having his world view shattered (he learns that the staged finale was, well, staged and has a mental crisis for like 3 weeks over that and realizing he is, in fact, the bad guy) also his plot goes slightly differently, being based on a roleplay I have going rn! Generally Sam returns to the Vault initially to hide out from people/so they'll 'get over' him being a shit person and it leads into him eventually siding with and eventually ending up with Dream (Awesamdrunz is a dynamic that is borderline crack to me and yes it's going in here) - this is the main factor that changes stuff with the nuke part of the og ending, as Tommy and Tubbo get effectively curb stomped by Sam when they attempt to kill Dream the first time around and don't really try it again.

- While it takes a bit, DTeam do reunite, it's shaky at first (especially with Dream's chosen partners, Punz is pretty neutral as always - he's good at keeping his opinions to himself even if he tends to clash with Sap a lot. As for Sam, well, it's more so that Sapnap and George rightfully hate his fucking guts for awhile) but they have bi-weekly if not more meet-ups to hang out and do things like they used to. They end up eventually building another community house somewhere between Kinoko and the main SMP, this one being more so just a designated hang out.

- Bad ends up taking over looking after a lot of the main server, especially with new arrivals. He's kinda a one-man welcome committee and does a pretty good job. He also tries to host little get togethers now and again (mostly for DTeam/The Manhunt Crew and whoever they wanna bring along) also you cannot tell me that he wouldn't have like weekend bake sales as the SMP gains a proper population. Someone needs to enjoy the muffins.

- Wilbur & Tommy end up making their own book club to rival the syndicate cause both of them aren't allowed in Techno's fancy book club (they think it's an actual book club, so yeah). Sam gets roped into it one day when he shows up to pick up Dream & Punz, Tubbo inevitably gets roped in as well. It's a time and they insist on using Phil's living room for meetings. Phil hates this - also Sam's 8ft ass can barely fit in the room, it's very cramped for him.

---

I've got more but those will be going to the other ask I've got :)

[meowmeowriley]

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! Tag as many people as you have WIPS!

If you saw the original, no you didn't. Lol sorry, had to do some housekeeping here on my blog, and had to redo this post.

Right well, here's the thing, I have way more WIPs than I do moots 😅 butttttt I'll drop what I've got. Please please please ask me about any of them! I'm begging for interaction!

1) Little Meow Meow - my first fic, it's not abandoned, catboy!Ghost is also unkillable and emo.

2) Poké-Pandemonium - Pokémon and secrets. Here soon I aim to make people cry with it ❤ (soon as in within the next couple of chapters, whenever I put them out)

3) More Than Just Loose Ends - 09 Ghost has been watching over and mentoring 22 Ghost his whole life

4) Oh, Brother - my most popular fic, told through the eyes of Erin MacTavish (John's sister) and Tommy Riley. Baby's first realistic and in character AU.

5) I Don't Think We're in Space Anymore - Ghost is a shape-shifting alien and also chaotic as fuck. And horny. Whoops.

6) Was tHat thE BiTe oF 22 - FNAF but all the characters are replaced with COD characters. It's my little abomination.

7) Be Kind, Rewind - Ghost is suddenly 10 years younger. Young dumb and full of cum. Seriously, being 19 means he's got that teenager horndog thing goin on.

On to the ones that haven't been posted yet

8) Duo Fatui - Unus Annus, but make it Soap and Ghost

9) Is That Gonna be a Problem? - Ghost and Soap met before the events of MW2, and were secretly together during the game. This is the story of their relationship.

10) Cohabitation - ghost!Ghost and Zombie!Ghost share one body. They're the same person, so it's not difficult. They banter like siblings.

11) Lost a Bet - Ghost lost a bet with Gaz, so Gaz gets to design his next mask. Gaz designs a cat skull mask, and Ghost bonds with a bunch of stray cats on base.

12) Outlaw Outta Time - some of the COD boys get sent back in time and meet up with a certain outlaw. COD RDR2 crossover. It's a fix it for Arthur ❤

13) unnamed fic about trans Ghost dropping hints that he's trans and Soap who thought he was straight being really confused by the boners he gets around Ghost.

14) unnamed fic about Soap thinking Ghost has a girlfriend, that they're on their way to rescue, when it is in fact a dog. Ghost is fully aware of the miscommunication and thinks it's funny, so he doesn't clarify

15) unnamed fic about Ghost and Soap getting sucked into our world a la Supernatural's The French Mistake. They have to pretend to be Samuel and Neil until they figure out how to get home

WHOO BOY! I think that's all of them. And they're all Ghost/Soap except the FNAF one, because they're children.

Mooties who aren't already on this list, no pressure though! @myriadblvck @27potatochips @resident-idiot-simp @tacticaltaxonomist @ratpiss0

[bleue-flora]

correct me if im wrong but people claim c!Tommy is obsessed with c!Dream, but if yo ulook back at the aftermath of l'manberg exploding, c!Tommy says "our stories over", while c!Dream says "our story will never be over you're just too fun" Which makes it look like that c!tommy is the one wanting to leave c!Dream alone while c!Dream is doing the opposite.

That and the mini truce they had in early dsmp days if that counts because directly after establishing they were allies, c!dream proceeded to hunt c!tommy for the discs. I dont doubt your perspective, but I've seen far too much instances of c!Tommy trying to end this feud with c!Dream while c!Dream continues to drag him back down into it and rarely have seen the opposite. Curious on your opinion on that. I do consider majority of his focus on c!Dream post-exile being out of paranoia that c!dream would harm him again so he wants to kill c!Dream to avoid that perceived torture but ig that would still count as an obsession.

Well, I mean not sure which war you were talking about originally but if it was the first war he says imediately that he’s going after Dream for the discs once they have recovered [clip], but I think you actually meant Doomsday based on your quotes [clip], in which case I’d like to note a couple things. Firstly, it’s important to highlight that this is right before the staged finale, which means he’s purposely trying to sound evil and malicious. So his, ‘this was fun’ is part of that. (Though I do think even Tommy and his affinity for griefing would probably enjoy blowing things up but that’s besides the point). Secondly, the way Tommy says ‘it’s over.’ And ‘it’ll be over soon’ is I’m pretty sure as a threat, not him saying he wants to stop the fighting, but it seems to me that he’s basically promising to kill Dream for the discs. To which Dream says ‘our story will never be over, it’s too much fun’ again ‘fun’ here is his villain persona feeding Tommy’s image of him being a bad guy, but I think if Tommy is threatening to kill Dream, which based off context and even the tone of voice I’d say it’s likely, then Dream’s response makes a lot of sense considering he has the revive book. So it’s two fold, half is just truth - it will not end because neither Dream nor Tommy will stay dead because of the revive book - and half is his persona setting the scene for staged finale. So in either, scene whether after the first war where he gave Dream the discs for L’manberg or in Doomsday, I don’t get the impression Tommy intended to actually end their feud. And after the first war, Tommy highlights “taking back his discs” when it is true, as Dream points out, Tommy did give them to him. In a way, everytime after that happens, as Dream points out in Daedalus, it’s kinda Tommy taking Dream’s discs, almost like giving a present then trying to steal it again.

I’m not sure which specific truce you are referring to specifically and don’t feel like or have the time to watch all the early stream to find it, but it is important to know, that Dream in the beginning is loyal to keeping everyone happy, he changes sides depending on who’s being wronged, which changes from fight to fight. So sometimes he’s on Tommy’s side, sometime he’s against Tommy, depending on the situation and who might be in the wrong. And while I’m not sure which truce you mean, I’m fairly certain Dream didn’t just go after Tommy without reason, it’s just not his style unless he’s trying to play a persona like around the Doomsday era in which case, technically that is still a reason, but it just may not be obvious because it could be that Tommy hurt someone other than Dream.

Just as references, here are some instances where Tommy has provoked Dream: Burning down George’s house after winning the war, Hitting him with a mine cart and stealing his stuff, Stabbing him while fixing a hole in his Tommy’s own yard [clip], teaming with Sapnap to kill him while he’s just waking down the path [clip], killing him again after the war has ended and Tommy’s stuff have been returned [clip], stealing his items after falling into a trap [clip] just to name some examples I can think of off the top of my head and have watched recently.

And if the logic is that after prison Tommy is targeting Dream out of paranoia and fear, does Dream not get the same respect? Was he not specifically targeted by Wilbur and Tommy in the very start of L’manberg? (Their constituention literally says “suuuuck it green boyyy!”) Were his friends not hurt because of association with him? Were his items not taken multiple times? Even after prison, is it reasonable to say he’s once again put his persona of scary villain to get him to leave him alone, after Tommy broke in and tried to kill him when he was already defenseless and locked up?… Yes at some point, maybe it did become more mutual, maybe Dream did start conflicts too, but at what point can we not say that it’s prevention instead of obsession. Clearly, he holds onto being murdered repeatedly at the start of the discs wars all the way till the finale, even after we know his memory was suffering [post].

And yes, post-prison I hope we can all agree that Tommy is definitely stalking and obsessing over Dream, while Dream could care less (the disc in his basement being the one thing he does in provoking Tommy, which again I file under intimidation to keep him away.)

Anyways… I’m just saying, it seems to me that whenever Tommy logs on we don’t hear Dream say, ‘oh look it’s the child again’ or whatever but when Dream does, it’s ’oh look it’s the green bastard’, so where is the line between obsession vs prevention and retaliation…

[undressmewithyoureyes]

LET THERE BE LIGHT - FIFTY ONE

**Harleys POV**

Ghost wasted no time wanting to tie the knot. A few days after I was discharged from the hospital, I came back to base to it set up with white tapestries and white tablecloths covering the cafeteria tables. It wasn’t an extravagant wedding, but it was perfect for us. It was…home. Soap had picked out the outfit that Tommy wore going home and also his little onesie that looked like a tux. Soap was the best Godfather and 141 as well as Los Vaqueros were the best village we could have ever asked for.

Price married us and for the first time in a long time, I felt at peace. My head was calm with no storm brewing. Tommy was the most perfect surprise that has ever happened to me and Ghost is the best father. He so gentle and caring with him, it’s almost surrreal. Alejandro and Rudy made sure to have a feast for us to celebrate for our wedding. I had never seen so much food in my life, but from what Alejandro told me, that’s how they do it in Las Alma’s.

“Mrs. Riley,” I hear his voice call out to me.

I spin around and give a flirtatious look at my…husband, “Yes sir, Mr. Riley?”

“Mmmm, I do like that,” he tells me as his arms wrap around my waist. I was leaning over the crib watching our perfect son sleep away.

I turn around to face Ghost, “Do you now?” I flirt back with my eyebrow cocked.

His grip around me tight, “Yes ma’am.” He leans down close to my ear, “I have something for you.”

As long as Ghost and I have been together, my body still isn’t ready for his touch or his deep voice and I hope it never will be. I love the way he makes me feel and I love the chills he runs down my spine. “Oh really? Dare I ask?”

“Close your eyes,” he demands.

I do as I’m told and close my eyes. I frown when I feel his touch remove from me, but my ears perk when I hear his footsteps walking away from me. One things for certain, take away one of your senses, the other ones will heighten. I could hear the drawer to the bedside table open and then shut soon after. His footsteps walk back towards me and before he was standing directly in front of me, I could feel him.

“Hold your hand out,” Ghost says softly.

I reach my hand out, palm up. He places something small in my hand. Cold and metal. “Open your eyes.”

I open my eyes and a gold shiny key rests in my hand. I furrow my brows in confusion still looking at the key before diverting my eyes to his, “I-I…”

“It’s to our house,” he says before I could get the words out.

“…Our house? You bought us a house?” I say to him as tears form in my eyes.

“I did. Right after you told me you’d marry me, I went and bought one,” he says to me as my eyes get lost into his amber ones.

“Simon, I-I don’t know what to say.” I mean what could I say? I was absolutely speechless.

“Say you’ll be mine forever”, he says to me as he pulls me closer to him.

“I already did…when I married you, remember,” I say as I let out a chuckle.

“Oh I’m aware Mrs. Riley. It never gets old.” He was right. I still get butterflies when I hear my last name, our last name come out of his mouth. I knew there was something there the first time I woke up and my head was resting on his chest. When he held me after he secretly listen to me play the piano. When he surprised me in Paris. When he never gave up on me when everyone else did.

“What about Soap?” I ask.

“You know Johnny is coming with us,” Ghost replies with a chuckle.

My arms wrapped around Ghost as my head nestled against his firm chest. It didn’t matter where we lived. He was home. “So where is this mystery house?” I ask - my voice muffled from my face resting against his chest.

“Manchester,” he replies.

“Manchester, UK?” I asked confused removing my head from his chest. He nods. “I thought you never wanted to go back there?”

He brings his hand up and cups the side of my face, “Harley, if there is anything that you have taught me, it’s that I can overcome anything. I didn’t think I would be a good father because I didn’t want to turn out like my own, but here I am loving every second of it. Not being able to find you for all those months and then losing you in the hospital, it really brought something out in me,” he pauses. “And I know we can both overcome anything together.” He stops and looks over my shoulder and into the crib at Tommy. “And I fear anyone or anything that try’s to hurt him.”

I slowly turn around to look at our precious baby boy. Ghost was right. We were killers naturally and would do it without thinking twice, but when it came to our son, we would burn the world down.

A knock at the door pulled my attention from Tommy. Ghost walks over to the door and opens it. Alejandro.

“Amigo’s, it’s been an honor working beside you both,” he says as he shakes Ghost’s hand and then walking over to me.

“Alejandro, we can’t thank you enough for everything you and your base has done for us,” I say back as he hugs me tightly.

“Senorita, please. It’s the least we could do. 141 is family to us,” Alejandro says as he places his hand over where his heart is. “You are always welcome here,” he pauses. “And please, don’t be a stranger.”

“We wont, I promise,” I tell him as he holds both of my shoulders. Alejandro and Rudy have been nothing but kind and treated us as one of their own. They helped with my rescue and they helped house us. If anything, we owe them.

“Harley, our plane will be here in about an hour,” Ghost says to me. I give a soft smile to Alejandro and start packing our bags to head home. Price called in a private jet so we could be more comfortable on the flight, especially for Tommy. Ghost helped me pack as Tommy slept away in the crib. It didn’t take long to pack our few things, and we took the rest of the time telling everyone goodbye.

The hour went by with what felt like a matter of minutes and before we knew it, Ghost, Soap, Tommy and I were thousands of feet in the sky heading to our new home.

“You know this isn’t it,” Soap says to both Ghost and I.

I look at Soap confused as I held Tommy in my arms. It must be nice to be a newborn. You get held all the time and sleep all day. “What are you talking about Johnny?” I ask.

“As in the ‘normal’ life,” he says air quoting ‘normal’.

Ghost chuckles as he fixes him a glass of bourbon and Soap a glass of scotch, “Were not retiring Johnny.”

“Plus, Michael and Graves are still out there. Has anyone heard anything on that?” I ask to them.

Soap shakes his head, “They’re both off the radar. If you ask me, it doesn’t really make sense.”

Ghost throw is head back as the caramel color liquid disappears, “Maybe they killed each other and did the work for us.”

I raise my eyebrows and cock my head giving the ‘that’s an option’ response. “So do you think they are in hiding or blending?”

“Either or,” Ghost replies to me. “The smartest option would be a bullet to the face. I’d take that over what we are going to do to them when we find them.” His voice deep and sultry.

God, I loved when he got riled up or talking about something that pissed him off. His voice became deeper and filled with rage. “I’ll drink to that LT,” Soap says as he raises his glass.

“I hope I’m the one that finds them. Especially Michael,” I say through gritted teeth. The things I plan on doing to that worthless piece of shit is going to be so inhumane that its going to make even the most sadistic people flinch. Michael was mine. End of story and if by some means someone took him out before I could, then they owed me their soul.

(Six Months Later)

Snow covered the windowsills and rooftops in Manchester. Houses were decorated with lights and Christmas trees were places in front of windows. The air was light and crisp as Christmas music played inside the three story house. Ghost went all out when buying your forever home. The house was perfect and there wasn’t a room in the house that hadn’t been ‘broken in’ yet.

I sat on the couch as the doorbell rang through out the house. “I’ll get it!” Soap yells from the kitchen. The house was an open concept, but the giant living room was a huge sunken living room with five stairs leading to the kitchen. Twenty foot vaulted ceilings with floor to ceiling windows with a bright red baby grand piano in the corner. It was something you would find out of a magazine, and you fell in love with it everyday.

“Soap who is it?” I ask as I look over towards the kitchen. Soap doesn’t respond, but flashes me a shit grin. Soap had been cooking since yesterday for our Christmas dinner. I kept asking him why was he cooking so much for just the four of us and his response never changed, “For leftovers Harley.”

Ghost comes down the stairs with Tommy in his arms. Seeing him being a dad lights my heart up. He’s the best dad ever and Soap is right there with him. Tommy is so blessed and I hope he knows that. “Who’s at the door?” Ghost asks as he steps off the last step.

“I don’t know. Go ask the chef,” I say with a chuckle. I grab Tommy and bring him to the center of the living room with his toys. He’s right at six months and has almost mastered the art of crawling.

“Johnny!” Ghost calls out. No answer. I look over at Ghost and he looks back at me. It was times like this that made my anxiety go up because we still had yet to hear anything on Michael or Graves.

“Johnny!” Ghost calls out again. This time he takes a step towards the kitchen and then stops when we hear the door close and multiple sets of footsteps inside. I stand up and stand in front of Tommy and reach behind my back where my pistol rests - Ghost does the same.

We hear the footsteps slowly make their way towards the kitchen. “SURPRISE!” The five people scream as they jump around the corner. Ghost and I quickly pull our pistols and aim it at them before quickly retreating our weapons back into their holsters.

“Talk about the bloodshed of Christ on Christmas,” Soap says as he walks around them.

“Not funny amigo,” Alejandro retorts back.

Price, Gaz, Laswell, Rudy and Alejandro stand in our kitchen on Christmas morning with smiles on their faces. Tears fill my eyes as the overwhelming feeling invades my body. This was the best Christmas ever.

“The place is beautiful,” Laswell says to me. She walks over to where Tommy and I are and takes a seat on the couch.

“Thank you,” I say to her. “Everyone, come in here,” I say to them.

“Everything is in the oven. It will be a few hours before it’s ready,” Soap says to all of us. “Anyone want anything to drink?”

We all nod and Soap brings all of us glasses and brings the ‘whiskey cart’ as we call it over to us. It’s a cart that is filled with all sorts of wines and liquor - cause you never know when you might want to transport a drink.

Everyone fixes them a drink and then takes a seat. “It’s so good to see all of you,” I say looking around the room.

“It’s good to see you all of you too,” Price says to us. “We almost had to block Soaps number. He kept asking us multiple times a day if we were going to make it.”

“Well excuse me for caring,” Soap bites back playfully.

“And look at how big Simon Jr has gotten,” Gaz says with a smile. Ghost couldn’t deny his son. Not only did he have his daddy’s temper, but he was the spitting image of him.

I sat back against the couch as I let the guys and Laswell talk amongst themselves. Soap eventually got up and headed back into the kitchen to check on the food. I got up shortly after to follow.

“I really do appreciate this Johnny. It means more to me than you know,” I tell him. “And I know it means a lot to Simon,” I say as I look back out to everyone.

Soap walks over to me and wraps his arms around my waist, “Anything for you Lass,” he says as he removes his hands from my waist and cups my face before kissing my lips.

“Get a room!” Rudy yells from the living room. All eyes were on us and honestly, I think this was the first time they had seen Soap and I kiss.

“Pick one,” I joke back as everyone laughs. Soap turns back around to finish taking the food out of the oven and I just stare out at the living room. This was perfect. If someone would have told me over a year ago that I would be joining The 141, I would have laughed, but it was honestly the best decision ever - even if it was forced at first.

141 was family. My family and it warms my heart with how welcoming they are and always have been - even when I tried to push them away. Ghost, Soap and I have the best support system and the most reliable people we can count on - that Tommy can also count on.

Ghost gets up from the couch and walks over to me, “Merry Christmas baby,” he says as he places a kiss on my cheek.

“Merry Christmas Mr. Riley,” I say back with a seductive grin.

I go to tease him more, but Prices phone ringing interrupts my thoughts. In our line of work, our phones didn’t ring much unless there was a contract - and our phones never rang on the Holidays unless it was really important.

I watch Prices head move up and down as he talked to whoever was on the other line. After a few minutes, he hangs the phone up and gets off the couch. “We have a hit on Michael,” he announces.

I stand straight as a chill runs down my spine, but it was quickly replaced with this bright fire that I refused to let die off. I said Michael would suffer at my hand and I meant it. I don’t care how many miles I have to run or how many oceans I have to swim through, Michael Gravely will die at my hand.

“Harley, you okay?” Price asks and all eyes turn towards me.

“I’ve never been better,” I say as a sadistic grin forms on my face. “Where is he?” I needed to know because I was coming for him and bringing a wrath with me. My life has always been surrounded by darkness and Michael brought the most with him and if there anything that I learned along the way, is you can’t have darkness if you let there be light.