Work Text:
they always give sympathy for technoblade, the oldest brother, the weapon brought in for his little brothers play war. betrayed when he had always been clear, betrayed when he only wanted the best for his brothers.
“his hand was forced” they say “you went against his ideals, used him as your pawn, he did what he thought was best.”
they always give justification for wilbur, the smartest brother, the mastermind made mad by circumstance. betrayed by those closest to him, betrayer of those he only wanted best for.
“he wasn’t always that way,” they say “schlatt and power and exile drove him mad, he never wanted to be that way, it wasn’t him.”
they never do the same for tommy, the youngest brother, the one who was nurtured by war, to whom it came like second nature. forgotten by those closest to him, scorned by the ones he loved.
“he should have known better,” they say “he’s vice president, he needs to learn to stop, theres no good reason.”
tommy was a child of war, she had held him close from his first breath and she never let go. tommy was fourteen when he was recruited to his first fight, fourteen when he first fought for one of his friends with swords not dulled.
tommy was fifteen when he started his first war, fifteen when he first plotted for revenge brought by blood, fifteen when he first pored over battle plans to take down his enemy. tommy was barely sixteen when he won his first war, barely done with one when he was asked to join another.
tommy was sixteen the first time his brother taught him to brew potions of strength and speed, sixteen when he first stood in front of his brother and defended him against a mob of men, sixteen when he watched his brother sign a declaration of war, and sixteen when he first donned that forsaken uniform.
tommy was sixteen the first time he saw a country go up in an explosion, sixteen the first time believed and was backstabbed, sixteen the first time he died, sixteen the first time he led his family through a tunnel to safety. tommy was sixteen the first time his brother held him back, sixteen the first time he took ten paces. tommy was sixteen the second time he died, and was sixteen the second time he lost his disks for a cause that wasn’t his own.
tommy was seventeen when his brother dubbed him vice president, seventeen when he asked for respect and got none. tommy is seventeen the first time he needs to stop a war and cannot, seventeen when his brother proposes a plan to gain more power.
tommy is eighteen the first time one of wilbur’s plan fails, eighteen the first time he cast out from his home, eighteen the first time he leaves everything, eighteen when he first listens to his brothers yells echo in the ravine they made their home. tommy is eighteen when he calls his oldest brother for the first time in years, eighteen when he has to convince the twins to trust each other again, eighteen when he builds tunnels and crouches in bushes to see his friends.
tommy is eighteen when his brother calls himself the villain, eighteen when he watches his best friend die at the hands of his brother, eighteen when he stands in front of his brother who he’s never lost to and screamed like he never has before, eighteen when wilbur shows him the pit and he launches himself at the pig, eighteen when he begins to question his family.
tommy is eighteen still when he fights in his third war, eighteen when he laughs with his friends again for the first time in months, eighteen when his brother gives him armor, eighteen when the tyrant dies of a heart attack. tommy is eighteen when he sees his home blown up a second time, eighteen when his brother creates a wither, eighteen when his father appears with blood on his hands, eighteen when he is named theseus.
tommy is nineteen when he is vice president again, nineteen when they begin building again, nineteen when he sees ghosts, nineteen when he believes he can be a kid, and nineteen when he gets told no. tommy is nineteen when his world is flipped upside down by a joke, a prank, tommy is nineteen when walls are built around his home again, nineteen when his best friend makes a choice.
tommy is nineteen when he is cast out again, nineteen and alone, nineteen with ghosts and villains to keep him company. tommy is nineteen when he has no wars to fight, nineteen when he is told to rest, nineteen and he cannot.