#miller: thread

[pmartyr]

Just saw Furiosa in theaters again because I wanted to check out the Mr. Harley subplot/fan theory (here’s a rundown with spoilers https://www.reddit.com/r/MadMax/comments/1dg5ou3/made_a_point_to_keep_a_close_eye_on_mr_harley/) and it’s wild how obvious it is if you’re looking, while at the same time being totally not obvious if you aren’t paying attention to it. This was my 6th time watching and my first time catching any of it!!

[yournameyn]

Soil, Soul, Skin Part I : The Meet-Rude

In Progress Series

Joel Miller x OC (she’s desi & curvy & heavily tatted) 2k Words Post Breakout, In Jackson, post the events of S1 of the HBO series. Slowwwww Burn; Longing; Yearning; Joel simping for age appropriate OC (I needed it, okay?) Pure romance, fluff (for now) Rated PG (for now).

Joel experiences a ray of sunshine touch his nearly-stone-cold heart. The ray is an actual woman - Ray - whose mere presence shifts something inside Joel. He’s not had a great history with women but he can’t let a woman like her go by…

A/N - Tell me what you guys think! There's so much fluff coming! Taglist is wiiiiide open but here I'm just taking a moment to show my love to @pedge-page, @joelssimp @toomanystoriessolittletime @javiscigarette who have really kept this obsession fed! I dedicate this series to you guys - hope you don't mind that I tagged you. Please let me know what you think!

Part One - The Meet-Rude Joel has to go on a material run to collect soil (?!) & he's not happy about it.

Joel Miller had always been responsible. Economic. He was so responsible, he bought himself & his brother a scrappy fixer-upper apartment when he was just 18. Simply to avoid throwing hands at his father in his brother’s defence. Joel fought Tommy for joining the Army & then fought for the vet benefits he deserved including every possible freebie they gave out, like the sticker on his Jeep. Joel fought the Cordyceps, FEDRA & the Fireflies for Ellie - his new family. He’d use one punch instead of a couple of words. A bullet instead of a conversation. Economic. Responsible. 

Which is probably why it was difficult for him to understand a four person patrolled run to collect soil. SOIL!

It was hard for Joel to adjust to life in Jackson. The tiny settlement his brother’s wife & a handful others had started had grown to become a thriving city, with a steady influx of refugees. People counted on him for security, maintenance & construction of houses & other amenities for the new citizens of Jackson. The pressure of delivering on his responsibilities would have been lighter if he didn’t face the threat of the Infected, Raiders, Slavers & other nuts every time he set foot outside of the borders - on a patrol or on a material run. Lighter still, if Ellie & Tommy weren’t tagging along. But they were. 

And for something as stupid as SOIL, well, that was just screaming careless. 

Ellie had managed to convince him on behalf of the person who had requested the run - some cursed friend of hers. Joel couldn’t refuse because it was the first time she had asked for something since she’d known the real truth about Salt Lake City. They would take the safer, scenic route to the mountainside, apparently ideal for collecting soil…? 

In truth, Joel could have easily made his peace with it but being the torchbearer of functional responsibility & economic efforts, he had to be at his frumpiest, grumpiest worst.  

“Seven bags?! Who the hell needs so much soil? What are they plantin’? A jungle?!” Joel whined to his brother while loading the horses with the giant jute bags that would be holding the soil they were going to get. Tommy was reluctant to hand a shovel to such an irritated Joel but he snatched it from Tommy with a declaration, “I’m gonna to be needin’ this - because I’m gonna to bury him at the mountaintop. Some friend…” This made Tommy chuckle but that didn’t affect Joel’s tirade - “He’s not a friend. He’s just usin’ Ellie to get to ME. Rope me in to win over the counsel?! That’s a coward if I ever knew one.” 

“I didn’t ask Ellie to rope you in.” A steely voice rung out from behind Joel & Tommy. Both of them whipped around to see a young woman scowling. Her face was soft & kind but her tattoos gave her a stern edge, especially the dark black tattoo on the front of her neck, it suddenly made Joel inch closer to her. The woman had bleached blonde hair, which made a halo around her head in the morning light. “I can do this on my own.”, the woman said as she loaded her horse with a shovel & bags. 

Tommy, who knew her, murmured something in the way of an apology but Joel could hardly hear what he said. He hadn’t been so taken by a woman in eons. Wearing a bottle green baggy DC sweatshirt & pjs with wellington boots. The outfit tried to hide her curves but failed. Her full figure, the curves that dominated any scenery they entered - they reminded Joel of a neighbour who taught Joel & Tommy the basics of gardening. This woman looked much younger than Mrs. Devida. She was ofcourse older than Ellie but could easily be mistaken for 27. The only way Joel knew she was older was because of the way she carried herself - it wasn’t a youthful confidence nor was it propelled by only her beauty. Joel had lived long enough to know that conviction like that was hard-won. Whatever she had gone through, this woman had returned to herself so many times that now she’d made a true home of her body, of the air she breathed, the horse she rode & the friends she had. Joel knew it was women like her that actually own the earth. 

She stopped to tie her hair up before she got on her horse and Joel wanted to look away, truly, he wanted to resist drinking the vision in so obviously that it shocked not only Tommy but also Ellie. But he just couldn’t. Her skin was such a beautiful shade of golden brown & it shone in the sun & strangely reminded Joel of the first time he’d seen chocolate being tempered - glistening, delicious, tempting him to reach out & touch.  She looked at him with such a sinister anger in those dark brown eyes, that’s what finally made Joel look away. 

She was so enchanting that even Ellie & Tommy caught Joel staring. They were exchanging confounded looks about Joel’s out-of-character behaviour all the way there. Joel was just quietly trying to pretend that his world hadn’t just shifted. 

The road was quiet as predicted & even though Joel was leading the run, the woman was the the first of the pack, expertly navigating the curving road to the peak. That worked out well for Joel so he could constantly stare at her as they climbed upwards - the contours of her body revealing rich curves as she stretched across her horse, keeping her balance on the rocky terrain. Finally, they reached the peak. 

Joel, Tommy & Ellie were all surprised to see a small lake-like reservoir there. It was still late winter but the snow on the peak had thawed. Joel didn’t know how to show it - considering the sudden range of emotions he was experiencing - but he was impressed. Only an expert would have judged the first signs of spring with such acuity. ‘An expert at what exactly?!’ Joel wondered. “Ray! You were right! This is—!” Ellie was delighted as she rode her horse ahead toward the woman - who welcomed her with a smile that put the sun to shame. ‘Ray… Ofcourse, that’s her name…’ Joel realised. It made the grumpiness in Joel melt & Tommy caught the beginnings of a smile on his face. Joel shuffled to hide it as he got to work. 

Ray marked out an area & the girls began to dig while Tommy & Joel were still unloading. Soon Joel began digging with Ray, glancing at her every few minutes. He had managed to re-adjust his facial features to his default mode of grump. 

Ray on the other hand was completely in focus mode, which was also fuelled by a fight she had back at her home, with her ex-turned-friend. He was trying to get more benefits than were agreed upon. The comment Joel made pushed her over the edge. She had actually been excited to meet Tommy’s brother. Tommy & Maria had been so kind to her & the Washy DC family - which is what Ray, five other adults & around 50-odd kids called themselves - so she wanted to extend the courtesy & the circle of kindness. But it seemed this Joel person was an asshole. Lilly, Ray’s best friend, had told her about him working construction, literally building the school that the Washy DC family needed & had described him as “delicious”.

' More like despicable...' Ray thought. He couldn’t stop looking at her like a little puppy. He couldn’t gather enough courage to come up to her to apologise. Although, Ray knew, only a madman would approach her now - the way she was going at it with the shovelling. It was helping her process her feelings. The shovel was her rage & the soil was the shitty behaviour of men. 

The sudden softness Joel was experiencing was entirely shocking to him. How this woman with her strange obsession with soil had reminded him that, underneath all the tough, manly layers, he was still the 12 year old who’d felt a strange tug in his jeans the first time he saw Mrs. Devida garden. It wasn’t just lust, as his friend at the time had concluded, it was the most innocent first love a boy could have. Joel thought that part of him - the innocent lover - had died. But a single look at Ray had been like a storm. Where Joel assumed  hard concrete, this torrential rain was revealing soil...? And the possibility of something beautiful growing. That’s what was scaring Joel. Lust, he could handle but this… this rush of tenderness - it terrified him. 

A run that he had thought of as useless had suddenly become life-altering; Second only to the mission of bringing Ellie back to Jackson. And to Joel - who thought there were no more positive surprises coming to his life - this... was a rude shock. 

Collecting seven bags of soil was heavy, tiring grunt work but they finished the run & unloaded the bags back in Jackson, at the entrance of the school where some people were already transporting them inside. Joel had worked on construction at this building, turning into a school. At the behest of the weird group of people that had showed up at the gates of Jackson. He was opposed to letting them in but Maria & the council had insisted. These strange feelings within Joel made him oscillate from being grateful to annoyed at the council’s compassionate decision. Joel started, as Ray stood heaving, looking up at the sky in relief. They had all lugged the bags of soil but she looked like she’d won a war. She looked like a Goddess, breathing out puffs of smoke in the cold air. She was sweating & taking time to get her breathing even. He was too but he couldn’t tear his eyes off her… She’d just untied her hair to let the sweat air out, the way her curvy contour moved, trying to breathe slowly, deeply. Whenever she looked up, he could see her gorgeous tattoo, a painful experience, no doubt, but it made her look like the warrior she must be. He wanted to be tender with this part of her… When Ray stretched her arms all the way back, Joel caught a glimpse of her midriff - plush, round & soft to the touch, he imagined. Ray caught him staring & quickly rearranged her pose, reminding herself she was not indoors. Then she questioned herself about why she needed to police how her body moved just because she was in front of men… the men of Jackson had been sweet… more or less. But as gorgeous as Joel was, Ray didn’t really know what kind of a man he was. She did like having his gaze on her, though. Or maybe that could just mean that she was going to be ovulating this week - the female psyche was a strange place indeed.  Joel hardly ever thought of women as lusty objects meant for his satisfaction & as much as he wanted to know more about her, just glimpsing Ray’s belly was making Joel’s civil mannered self go blank. He needed to see all of her… touch her, love her… take her in a way that would ruin her for all other men. He felt this ancient urge of making her HIS. This savage, carnal part of him just wanted to pick her up, throw her on his shoulder, take her home & have his way with her (in a thousand different, unmentionable ways). But all Joel could do was covet this gorgeous woman standing before him with incredulity. 

Tommy gestured, encouraging him to go talk to the woman. Ellie took one look at Joel & rolled her eyes, “Could you be cool? For once in your life?!” Nothing like a taunt from a teenager whose life he’d saved so many times he had lost count to snap Joel back to reality. And just as well because Ray was walking toward him. Tommy shoved an elbow into Joel’s side, encouraging him to make conversation. Ellie walked ahead to meet her friend, Dina. Ray had finally evened out her breath & as she began to think about next steps, she melted a little when she saw the man who had been bad-mouthing have this... soft, coy look on his face. She walked toward Joel, almost to let him know that she wouldn't tear him to shreds if he said what needed to be said. Ray was ready to let go of the act of being an angry grump. It really took a lot of effort for her & she was hoping to return to her natural, smiling self but when Joel began speaking, he said, “So what was all that for?” Ray simply looked through Joel, at Tommy and said, “Thank you” in a way that made it sound like a slap than actual gratitude and walked away from them, into the new school building. 

Tommy slapped his palm on his face & groaned. Joel turned to his little brother & asked, "What did I say?" Part Two: His Personal Council

[daisyxmiller]

starter for @steviexwagner

location: kismet harbor library

Daisy had been seeing quite a bit of Stevie Wagner and her children. Growing closer with them had made her heart full and for the first time in a long time, she felt like she had a family again. Even if she had not revealed to Stevie that they were partly related. However, as she watched Naomi interact with the toy blocks with the other children, she knew that she needed to say something sooner rather than later. "Hey, Stevie," she gently placed a hand on the woman's forearm, "I have something I want to talk to you about, do you want to?" She trailed off, gesturing to the table that was out of hear shot but still within sight of her daughter.

[purplemccns]

🌙 || closed starter for @starlingisms from source

the light peeking in from the blinds is what eliza presumed woke her, as the bed she'd crashed in was surprisingly more comfortable than other hotels she'd stayed at. once she tried moving, the woman immediately felt how stiff her body was, this eliciting a moan of pain in response. peeling her eyes open, the designer was immediately met with the stranger she occupied the bed with, her heart stopping in shock as she wondered if he dream she'd just woken from wasn't only that. of course the panic was now increasing rapidly by the moment, she hoped that maybe there could have still been a decent explanation even if she did doubt it. "excuse me," she tapped the other with an underlying urgency, though keeping her voice surprisingly polite. "sorry to wake you, but what exactly was your name again?"

[bluebeerg]

a whole bunch of old as hell gorp stuff. Enjoy, Kiddos! 💙

under the cut i'll put adascript (the chadfield residence swap) and an unfinished triple dash :]

radio thread and the old man she's enabling by letting him project his dead wife onto her ^^

and this fucking guy .. who isn't quite human. and everyone has the hots for him ......

[theha1rarch]

"She's My Mother, But She Has Never Been a Mother."

aka pluto wrote a six page (literally the doc is six pages long) long emotionally shattering drabble involving steve, patricia, technically the winchesters, & too many fucking feelings

i gotta tag the fam in this bc a) y'all are involved, & b) trust me - you wanna read this sorry it's so damn long though ... @milleroptimism @wantdead @patchedstars @dgrayd @lilyspaintedred @littletavpole

steve knows this might be a bad idea, that he might end up regretting agreeing to this - but his mother had insisted, had insisted and insisted that she just wanted to talk to steve privately before she left and so - after telling everyone else it’d be fine. he’d be fine. they’d gone to a private room in the house and now …

here they are. sitting across from each other, neither of them have said a word so far but steve isn’t as nervous as he could be, isn’t as afraid. if this had been his father, that might be a different story. but it’s his mother, here in the place he feels the safest, and he can do this.

he looks to her, deciding to take the first step and the be the one to speak. “so, mom -” and doesn’t that word just feel weird to use. heavy and bitter on his tongue when it’s in reference to the woman across from him. because she’s not his mom. his mom is in the next room over. “what did you want to talk to me about?”

patricia is quiet for a moment, before she seems to gather herself and offers steve a small smile, crossing her hands in her lap. “steve, darling, come home with me. please?”

it’s steve’s turn to be quiet for a moment, before he swallows - licking his lips and then speaking. looking directly at her once more. “why should i?”

patricia blinks back at him and he can tell, he can just tell she’s holding herself back. probably from calling him out for his ‘attitude’. “what do you mean, dear?”

“why -” steve starts. “should i go home with you? genuinely tell me, i want to know why.”

“well because i - we miss you, and we want you home with us. so we can be together again, we’re a family and it’s where you belo -”

but she doesn’t even get the chance to fully get her sentence out before steve is laughing. straight up fully laughing in her face.

and once again patricia doesn’t say anything. just abruptly cuts herself off, snaps her mouth shut and tightens her hands in her lap. it’s once again obvious she’s holding herself back.

after steve is finished laughing, he gives a little shake of his head as his gaze settles to her once more. “well, first of all, you don’t gotta lie to me, mom.”

“w-what?” is asked, her tone pinched - body wound so tight steve’s surprised she doesn’t hurt herself.

he rolls his eyes now, letting out a sigh. “you don’t want me home because you miss me or because you want me there. you want me home so you and dad don’t gotta go back to an empty house and worry about the neighbors talking when i’m not with you.”

patricia uncrosses her hands now, leans forward in her seat a little as her face takes on an almost desperate expression. “no, steve, dear, that’s not true. that’s not at all why, we - that … that’s not important.” she tries for another smile, a little shake of her head.

steve is quiet for a moment once again, before -. “if it’s not true and it really is because you miss me then where the hell have you been for the past several months?”

this time he doesn’t get an answer at all. this time she just quiets again, saying nothing - having the decency for once in her life to almost look ashamed.

steve lets out a little scoff, shaking his head once more. “yeah, that’s what i figured. i’m not fucking coming home, mom.”

patricia looks back up at him now, doesn’t even admonish him for his language and she once again looks desperate. “steve, dear, please. don’t do this. i promise we can change, we’ll try and be better.” 

it takes everything in steve not to start laughing again, but he does give another scoff - raising a brow. “right, yeah, sure, okay. like i haven’t heard that before.”

of course she looks confused now, of course she does. “what? when? what are you talking about, darling?”

she’s never used this many pet names for him one sitting, he can’t help but absentmindedly note before he answers her. “how about when i was ten and we were leaving the er after your husband gave me my first ever concussion? i’ve had four more since then, by the way. but i’m sure you knew that. just like you know i can’t hear out of my left ear, right? or … how about when i was twelve and was terrified out of my mind because there was a storm shaking the whole damn house and i was completely alone and i called your hotel crying. and after your husband yelled at me on the phone for fifteen minutes for bothering you so late, you came on and said those exact words … promised me you’d be home tomorrow … and you didn’t come home for three weeks after. still don’t like storms, by the way. or the dark, for that matter. or how about any of the million times i almost died over the past several years but you were never there but you sure as hell could make empty promises … or how about when i graduated from fucking high school and you weren’t there. and you were so quick to try to reassure me with those damn words … until you found out i didn’t get into college. then all you and your husband cared about was telling me how much of a disappointment i was to you. how about any of those times?”

patricia is quiet for a lot longer this time, several long minutes past and steve is about ready to just get up and walk away - ready for this conversation to be over, not expecting her to actually try any longer before … “steve. i - … i’m sorry you feel this way. but - i - this … you can’t stay here, steve. this isn’t right. these people, they aren’t actually your family. you hardly know them. that - woman out there. she doesn’t know you, she didn’t birth you. and she … she’s got so many other children, do you really think she can give you the attention you deserve?”

and steve, steve just stares at her - stares long and hard at the woman across from him, almost as if he can’t believe her. and honestly, he kind of really can’t. he didn’t think they could surprise him any more - but apparently he was wrong. “yes, i do.” he finally answers, his words slow and deliberate - as if he’s explaining something very complicated to her. “because she’s given me more attention in the past several months than you’ve given me my whole. entire. life.”

this time it’s patricia who lets out a scoff, throwing her hands up in the air. “i sincerely doubt that’s true.” and she’s clearly not holding back anymore.

and if she isn’t, then steve isn’t. “like hell it’s not.” he says, shaking his head and hating the way he can hear the anger in his tone.

“steve … come on now. stop acting like this. why are you being so …” and she trails off a little, suddenly as if she’s holding herself back again.

but steve, steve’s done with that. he’s done with the pretending. “so what, mom?”

“so unfair to me.”

and that. that’s it. that’s the trigger, that’s what lights the fuse in steve that’s been there since they sat down for this conversation and before he can really think of it - he’s on his feet, standing, almost looming over her.

“i’m being unfair to you? i’m being unfair to you? you’re kidding me, right? like you’re actually fucking kidding me?” and he knows his voice is rising in volume, he knows it might not be long before this conversation ends up a little more public than it’s meant to - but truly he can’t bring himself to care right now.

“no!” and his mom doesn’t seem to care any longer either. “no! i’m not kidding! you’re acting ridiculous, steve. and i truly don’t understand why. i don’t understand why you’re being this way. this isn’t how we raised you.”

“you didn’t fucking raise me at all!” and yeah, he’s definitely yelling by now. “so don’t even start on that shit. but, you wanna know why i’m acting like this? why i’m apparently being so unfair to you? because i - i’m fucking tired! i’m so fucking tired of you! and dad! and all your bullshit!” and he’s angry, he’s so angry right now his hands are shaking as he slides them through his hair - tugging hard. “i - i spent my whole life. my whole entire fucking life, from the time i was literally a child, thinking that i deserved everything you did to me. the way you treated me. maybe at first i thought it was normal, maybe at first i thought that just how parents were, but once i realized it wasn’t … i thought it was me. i thought there had to be something wrong with me, that there was some fucked up part of me that made it impossible for you guys to love me, to treat me normal, or whatever.”

he takes a second to pause, and he’s still angry - but all that age-old hurt is cropping up fast and now he’s trying really hard not to cry. he takes in a deep breath and slowly lets it out, patricia isn’t saying a word. she’s just sitting there. watching him. “but then, but then i came here. and i met these people, and that woman out there who you wanna shit talk so badly, and never once have they made me feel that way. never once have they made me feel like there’s something wrong with me, like i’m fucked up or broken or something. since the beginning, all they’ve shown me is love. like that unconditional type shit. even when they didn’t know me very well yet. and the thing is, they don’t have to. like you wanted to point out - sarah, my mom, didn’t birth me. but she still loves me like she did, she still loves me like it’s as easy and natural as breathing. like … like …” you were supposed to, it isn’t said out loud - but he knows she understands - if the look on her face is anything to go by.

she’s still quiet though, still not saying a word. so once again, steve continues - the attempt at not crying only growing more difficult - especially as he thinks on these next words. “there … there’s a little girl here. that lives here. with us. and … she’s the same age that i was when i first asked myself what was wrong with me. why i couldn’t just … make you guys care. why was i so messed up that my own parents didn’t even want to be around me and … the thing is, no one here would ever let her feel that way. no one here would ever let her think there was something wrong with her - i … even if she did, we’d do our best to make sure she knew it was the furthest thing from the truth. and i just - i look at her, and i think about that, and i … of course we wouldn’t. because she’s - she’s just a little kid. and i … i was just a little kid.” and now … now the tears are falling, now it’s hard to hold them back any more. even if he’s trying his damndest to ignore them.

“and i just …” he sits back down in his seat now, wiping at his face - letting out another shaky breath. “i just don’t get it. i don’t get how you could do that to me, how you could treat me that way. i was just a little kid. i’d never fucking do that to her. and i just …” he shakes his head again. “i’ll never understand it, but - i know i didn’t deserve it. i might not have known that years, or even months, ago but i know that now. i never deserved any of it. because i was just a kid, and i didn’t do anything. except exist. and that pissed you off for some reason.”

he’s not crying any more now and he fully straightens up once more, finds himself fully facing her once again. “so no. i’m not coming home - though that place isn’t my home anyways - with you. i’m not going to leave just so things can go back to the way they’ve always been. so i can see you for three days before you’re taking off again. and then i’m stuck once again wondering why i wasn’t enough. no. i won’t go back to there. i won’t do that shit again. because i don’t deserve that. i deserve better than that. i deserve to be here. so i’m staying here. this is where i belong.”

if he thought patricia had been quiet for a long time before, it’s nothing compared to now. the two of them sit in silence as the minutes stretch on - staring at each other, but this time steve waits. he waits to see if he’ll actually get a response.

and finally, finally - after maybe a little too long, she gives a little nod and opens her mouth. “alright, steve. alright. clearly nothing that i say will make you come hom - come back with me, so alright. if this is where you want to be, then i can’t really stop you anyways. you’re of age. so, i guess that will be that. i’ll talk to your father, don’t worry.” she gives another little nod as if to confirm this.

and there’s a lot more steve wants to say, more he wants to ask. there’s a part of them that wants to question, that wants to beg her to actually address anything else he said. to actually pretend for once that maybe she cared, just a little bit. that maybe his words actually had any impact on her. that maybe, just once, she actually felt ashamed for the way she let him grow up. but, he has a feeling that won’t them anywhere anyways. because really, there’s no point in trying anymore.

“okay. so … are we done here then?” and he simply gets a nod in response. “okay, i’ll show you out then.”

and he rises in his seat again, she does as well - he guides her out of the room and as they cross into the next - into the others - he can feels eyes on them. on him. but he doesn’t stop, he doesn’t look, he doesn’t say anything - just continues to guide her to the front door. and once they reach it, he stops - opening it to let her out.

“well, i guess this is goodbye …” he starts, trailing off and when he faces her, there’s an expression on her face, that he can’t quite place. she gives another little nod now. “yes, i suppose it is.” she says, but it seems like there’s something holding her back - like she’s not ready to leave quite yet.

and he’s about to question it, about to ask what’s up, figure out why she’s stalling - when suddenly she’s stepping towards him and instinctively he tenses, unsure what is about to happen … when he feels arms wrapping around him. her arms.

he blinks several times, not sure how to process this. process the fact, that for the first time in his life, his mother is actually hugging him. actually hugging him, a full, real, hug, her arms wrapped completely around him, her warmth fully against him. and … well, he can’t quite help the way he ultimately reacts. as his eyes flutter shut, as he wraps his own arms back around her - and for a moment, for just a moment, he’s not nineteen years old, for just a moment he’s that little kid that wanted nothing more than a hug like this from his mom.

“i’m sorry.” and steve almost doesn’t believe it’s actually coming from her mouth, wouldn’t believe it if it wasn’t so close to his ear. “i’m sorry i wasn’t a good mother to you. i’m sorry i wasn’t the mother that you deserved.”

and those damn tears are threatening to fall once more. “thank you.” is what he breathes out, and it’s almost like a sigh of relief, and he can’t help the way he hugs her harder.

they stay like that for a few more seconds, before finally she pulls herself away and steve lets her go. she steps back enough to look at him - and as if this couldn’t get any more surprising, she reaches up to cup his face, albeit briefly. “you take care of yourself, alright, steve?”

and he bites back the urge to respond with something snarky - to give a response like ‘no worries, been doing it my whole life’, instead - he gives her the smallest smile he can manage. “you too, patricia.”

she doesn’t even seem to react to the name, just drops her hands now - steps back completely and with one final nod turns and makes her way fully out of the house, down the steps - into the car containing his father waiting for her below, and out of his life forever.

[sweetapparitions]

LOCATION : anywhere , idk FOR : @phantomtownx

" i don't know what to do anymore . " the truth weighed heavy in her quiet voice , and adeline bit her tongue to attempt to stop it from coming out , but it had been trying for too long now to make itself known . there was guilt weighed in the words , the horrible words . her fingers clutched the necklace hanging over her heart , a locket from years past . " i . . . i don't know if i want him to come back , sam . "

[cowgurrrl]

https://x.com/dinandwhiskey/status/1755106135974048216?s=46&t=ZjXxCPgffhy-oThhk6SVpQ

Text thread where actress reader! Posts this on their group chat and everyone like Tommy and all start flaming the shit out of Joel and Joel is losing it 💀💀💀

HAAHHAHA THIS MADE ME LAUGH SO HARD

[justaprankhan]

@fracturals: ❛ are you wearing my shirt? ❜ ( sarah miller, au where she lives )

"Maybe." She is. It's the right size too, such a nice change from all the crap she's found in the last few months. "Your dad's fault, Miller. He said I could." Not that Sarah seems mad about it, but she'd like to make clear she's not a thief. "Mine got all bloodied up... not my blood. Not people's blood. I slipped on a dead crawler, super gross... Is this okay? I'll wash it before I give it back."

[ireallymisscoffee]

open: to everybody location: jackson settlement, stables verse: (within the 5 year skip in Jackson) notes: not a lot to say, joel's just doing joel things, our muses can be strangers or not, i'm chill, feel free to hit my ims for plotting

he  should’ve  replaced  it  a  week  ago.  maybe  longer,  if  he  was  being  honest  —  but  joel  had  a  habit  of  putting  off  the  things  that  could  wait,  and  for  the  past  few  mornings,  there’d  always  been  something  louder  demanding  his  attention.  a  busted  fence  by  the  creek.  a  kid’s  bike  with  a  bent  frame.  one  of  the  lookout  posts  needing  new  boards  before  the  rains  came.

still,  he’d  made  a  promise  to  tommy  to  get  this  one  done,  and  today  felt  like  the  kind  of  day  where  he  could  see  something  through,  if  only  for  the  sake  of  quiet.  the  barn  door  had  been  hanging  crooked  long  enough  the  horses  were  getting  stubborn  about  walking  under  it,  skirting  sideways  like  they  knew  better.  he  couldn’t  blame  them.  it  groaned  in  protest  anytime  it  moved,  the  hinge  warped  and  rusted  near  clean  through,  as  if  time  itself  had  welded  it  that  way  out  of  spite.

so  here  he  was  —  crouched  in  the  sun  with  a  knee  in  the  dirt,  trying  to  brace  a  new  bracket  against  old  wood  while  holding  the  door  steady  with  the  side  of  his  body.  the  nail  he  needed  was  in  his  mouth,  and  the  screw  he’d  just  dropped  was  somewhere  in  the  hay  behind  him.  the  box  he’d  brought  was  full  of  odds  and  ends,  none  of  which  quite  matched.

he  muttered  something  under  his  breath,  mostly  to  the  hinge,  partly  to  himself,  and  swore  softly  when  the  wrench  slipped  and  skinned  his  knuckle.  there  was  dried  blood  already  crusted  there  from  earlier  —  something  he’d  meant  to  clean  off  but  hadn’t.

he  leaned  back  after  a  moment,  straightening  slowly  with  a  tired  exhale,  hand  braced  against  the  frame  like  he  was  feeling  his  age  all  at  once.  the  sunlight  caught  in  his  hair,  now  more  grey  than  brown  when  he  let  it  grow  too  long,  and  a  streak  of  sweat  worked  its  way  down  his  temple  before  he  wiped  it  away  with  the  side  of  his  wrist.

someone  had  left  a  thermos  by  the  fencepost  —  not  his,  but  warm,  filled  with  coffee  and  close  enough  that  he  figured  it  was  meant  for  him.  he  took  a  sip  without  asking  and  didn’t  flinch  at  how  bitter  it’d  gone. 

he’d  heard  the  footsteps,  but  hadn’t  looked  up  until  now.

whoever  it  was  hadn’t  spoken  yet  —  just  watching,  maybe  amused,  maybe  bored,  maybe  just  looking  for  something  to  do  that  wasn’t  their  own  job.  joel  let  out  a  breath  through  his  nose,  one  corner  of  his  mouth  pulling  up  faint  like  he  didn’t  really  mind  the  company,  even  if  he  acted  like  he  did.

“what,”  he  drawled,  finally,  voice  worn  rough  with  heat  and  disuse,  “never  seen  a  man  argue  with  a  hinge  before?”

[yournameyn]

Soil, Soul, Skin Part II : His Personal Council

In Progress Series Joel Miller x OC (she’s desi & curvy & heavily tatted) Feat. Tommy (& others!) 1.2k Words Post Breakout, In Jackson, post the events of S1 Slowwwww Burn; Longing; Yearning; Joel simping for age appropriate OC (I needed it, okay?) Pure romance, fluff (for now) Invented Character History

Trigger Warning - Passing mention of being (lovingly) coaxed to have a child, couple issues & eventual child abandonment Rated PG (for now).

Series Summary - Joel experiences a ray of sunshine touch his nearly-stone-cold heart. The ray is an actual woman - Ray - whose mere presence shifts something inside Joel. He’s not had a great history with women but he can’t let a woman like her go by… Part One - The Meet-Rude!

Part Two - His Personal Council Joel, haunted by the innocence that has survived within him & grieved by his past, needs encouragement & a strategy. He calls on the person who might understand this predicament most but Jackson is a strange place where people rely on each other & so Joel finds himself sitting in front of his own personal council.

That night, Joel tossed & turned with a thousand questions & a million buried desires that were suddenly bursting, like unwanted weeds, through the soil of his psyche. When he did sleep, he dreamed about a strange bed shortage in Jackson. It startled him to realise just how teenage-romancey his mind could be. He had been with a score of women but Joel was struggling to think of a time when he’d shared his heart, truly, with a woman who had shared his bed. After a string of bad girlfriends in high school, he’d met Nina, Sarah’s mother, who was actually just little more than a one-night-stand… that resulted in a positive pregnancy test.

Joel had judged Nina way too harshly when she confessed that she would rather not have a baby. But he didn’t say it. He coddled her for the entire pregnancy and a year after that… Joel really did want to do it right. But they couldn’t truly accept each other. He couldn't really embrace Nina, who she was at her core. Even though they slept in the same bed, there were walls between them. Nina left when Sarah was a year old… she never looked back. Joel understood much much later that some women are just not meant for motherhood & that’s more normal than its made out to be…  He had come close to love, but every time the result had been loss, grief, a gaping void. So he just began chipping away those sweet, tender parts of himself that needed love… He thanked God for Ellie, for saving some part of him that could still love. But now, seeing Ray, his almost-stone heart was angry, it was asking him to stretch, to soften, begging him to be able to love more. 

Grief weighed heavy on Joel’s soul that night. But the heaviest piece, the one that was the hardest to admit was that he was jealous of Tommy. Joel cursed himself - ‘What kind of a spineless shit was envious of his own baby brother?!’ He was proud of his brother, ofcourse but something ancient ached in Joel when he saw Tommy & Maria together. He took care of her, she protected him too, from the demons that had haunted Tommy since his childhood. And now they had little Ben. Tommy had always been idealistic, a dreamer….and now, defying all the odds, he had carved out a family for himself in this crazy world. 

Could Joel ever have something like that? With a woman made of golden sun like Ray? 

At 2AM, he knocked on his brother’s door. An exhausted Tommy took one look at his late night visitor & understood what this was about. As the brothers walked down to the garage space, Joel asked, “What IS the soil for?”. Exasperated, Tommy said, “You know who can answer that.” 

The next thing Joel knew, he was in Ellie’s Garage-Room with Dina & Jesse in attendance. 

Joel was prickly, “Do they really need to be here?”

Ellie was truly his daughter in spirit. Pricklier, she said, “Do you really want me to be here?” Dina’s excitement smoothed over Ellie’s prickliness.

But Joel was impatient, “So…?” Jesse who was completely clueless, sighed, “Could anyone fill me in?”

Dina excitedly explained, “Tommy called in Ellie who called me because she’s just as dumb as Joel in these matters” Ellie glared at Dina who just coolly offered, “You know I’m right.” Ellie resigned to that as her friend went on, “And I brought you along…” she said to Jesse, “because… I want you to see just how dumb men actually are…”

Joel interrupted, “Dina…” 

Tommy decided to clarify things as he poured whiskey into four glasses, three of them heavily watered down, “Joel saw Ray today.”

Jesse took a beat but then slowly exhaled, “Ohhhh…”

Joel, “Wha-?! How Is that enough information?!”

Dina shrugged & gestured to Jesse like, “Do you see?”

Jesse sighed & took it on himself to lead this strange convention, like a little Model UN - “Joel… like almost every adult straight man… & gay woman in Jackson… you like Ray.” Joel almost protested but simply looked to his brother. Tommy nodded in agreement to Jesse’s observation when Joel took a big gulp of his whiskey.

Jesse continued, “Remember that crazy group from Washington DC - who had all those kids with them? That’s who she came in with…” Joel hadn’t a clue.

Dina tried to jog his memory, “The Art Teachers…?” Joel remembered, “The ones who demanded the bigger school? The kid people? Is she… married?”

Ellie answered this time, “No…” She tried to say something that she couldn’t fully articulate.

Joel completed her sentiment, “No, but what?”

“We don’t know for sure but there’s rumours of a polygon between them…”, Dina explained.

Joel & Tommy both didn’t understand this. Tommy asked plainly, “Polygon…? Isn’t that a shape…?”

Ellie snapped, “I’m better than these guys…” Dina had to concede.

Jesse explained, “The Art Teachers all live together Joel… They're close... Together-together…” he emphasised… 

It took them a minute & a half. Joel & Tommy exchanged a look of disbelief.

Dina stepped in, “Guys… that’s… it could just be a stupid school rumour. Joel, you should ask her out.”

Joel shook his head, “She hates me…”

“And who’s fault is that?” Ellie asked before she recounted the fateful meet-rude when Ray met Joel.

Dina was optimistic, “Ray… doesn’t do hate… strange as it is… Joel… just go up to her & apologise. The soil is because she wants to teach pottery… Just… talk to her…”

Jesse offered, “Its… not that simple…” Dina glared at him but all the other three people at the table nodded their heads in agreement. Dina sighed. 

Ellie explained, frustrated by this whole discussion, directly to her ‘friend’, “Dina… how do you not get this… she’s like an older you… she… shines…”

The masculine energy around the table grunted in abject agreement. Dina blushed… she had no idea Ellie thought of her as someone that… shined. 

Ellie went on, “Jesse… how did you…?” She gestured to Dina who was scarlet now. 

Jesse sighed, looked at Joel & told him the key, “You help. You keep helping. If she needs a light fixed, you’ve got a spare bulb. If she needs a hot pack, you’re boiling the water. If her door gets knocked in… you’ve got new hinges in your pocket. You’re good at that Joel… So you do that till she starts to see… you’re… helpful…? And you begin to see… maybe… that she’s… a person too… and then you talk to her.” 

Dina feels tender toward Jesse, who did all these things for her. But she looks exasperated at the two grown men who’ve had children through relationships as they take careful note of Jesse’s basic-ass advice as though its gospel. 

She agrees, “Okay… do that… & then there’s the Spring Dance, you should ask her out for it. Even if you think she’ll say no…”

Dina looks at Ellie who seems to be taking mental notes too. Something about that makes her feel butterflies. Joel is too busy feeling butterflies of his own. And not just about Ray. He raises his glass to all the people helping him build a plan to approach this woman who has changed everything for him... at 4AM, “Thank you… to my personal Council…” Ellie couldn’t help but smile at Joel’s little toast of appreciation.

That filled Joel with more warmth than all that whiskey. Maybe he could actually do this… maybe he, too, could carve his own family in this crazy world. 

Part Three: No Filter, no Sieve... Coming Soon! A/N - I'm still writing this series - tell me what you guys thought! Taglist is wiiiiide open! Thank you for reading!

[workingforitallthetime]

really, really outstanding journalism

[daisyxmiller]

starter for @daehyunxkwon

location: boba dream

Yoga had left Daisy Miller feeling refreshed. She'd been attending sessions since moving to Kismet Harbor when she had free time. Whether it was before work, after work or on a day off, Daisy was certainly taking advantage of her membership. "I've been going regularly, but I hadn't expected the advance level to hurt already," Daisy teased Dae-Hyun as she opened up the door to Boba Dream. It had become a regular occurrence for the two of them to grab a smoothie or delicious treat after yoga class. "I hear they got a mango and passionfruit on the menu for spring," well, it was one of the many new ones they cycled in.

[angelsofsmalld3ath]

closed starter; @lungsandlips

matt had been looking forward to a nice relaxing evening at home, but his boyfriend had other plans, when matt had gotten out of the shower liam had instructed him to get dressed nicely, and when matt asked why liam just told him to do as he asked. so as much as matt really didn’t want to, he put on a pair of boxers and a nice pair of slacks, matt pulled out a white button up, that he wasn’t one-hundred-percent sure was his and put it on while matt was doing the buttons matt looked over his shoulder. “so am i getting ‘i need to wear a tie’ fancy, or just not a t-shirt and jeans fancy?” matt called out to liam over his shoulder while doing the last few buttons on his shirt.

it had been a few weeks since matt and liam had the conversation about engagement-well more so liam talked and matt just blushed profusely-and matt had forgotten all about it.

[aquitainequeen]

【ネタバレ解説】映画『マッドマックス：フュリオサ』特別対談 in LONDON ロングVer./"Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga"Special interview

[moonglowmagic]

Where: Shipfaced (around 3 am) Who: @cantfightmoonlight (Song) + @xthetoddinatorx

Dilan had a smirk on her face as she walked into the empty bar with a cake in her hands. “Hello,” Dilan sang out happily. Walking behind the bar to where Song was, she put the cake on the bar top. “Guess what day it is?” She giggled with drunken laughter. She may have had a little too much liquid courage flowing through her veins when she came up with this plan, but she still thought was holding out on this present working for her. “It’s my birthday!” She informed him as she twirled her belt around. Putting her hand on his shoulders as she pushed him back against the bar. Pulling at the belt of her coat and when it didn’t open she sighed. “Hold on give me a second.” She informed him as she held up a finger and began to work on the belt until she eventually got it undone. Shaking off the coat to revel a tiny white silk nightgown. “Guess I should happy birthday to you.” She giggled once more and wrapped her arms around his neck. “So last year… we could rewrite history?”