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#this is probably why I'm still able to keep working even during panic attacks
autisticlassiedog · 1 year
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I love how God granted me a break from debilitating anxiety today :)
Lately it's been bad. And today, New Year's Eve, would have been one of the worst days of the year to be dealing with extreme anxiety. God knows what He's doing y'all :D
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dirtj0b · 11 months
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Just like, thinking about learning to interact with other people again after isolating myself for like five years. It's a long post and not important to anyone but me probably, so feel free to ignore it!
Hopefully this works, I'm so excited that they added an easier way to do the read more thing!! I like making long posts, but don't like making people read them.
Sooo... I work a job where I have very little interaction with other people, and it's graveyard shift. My bf doesn't like to interact with others either, so 90% of the time he and my room mate are the only people I interact with for extended periods in person.
This has been going on for about four years. I have pretty bad social anxiety as well, I'm literally afraid of people! I try really hard to move past it, but still... any time I have to talk to literally anyone, I am shaking and sweating and want to cry, even just ordering food or saying excuse me to move past someone. Can't even talk to my own mother without apologizing profusely and having a panic attack, it's bad.
This even extends to friends online! Or responding to things from people I don't know very well. I have a lot of trouble responding to comments on my tiktok, even though they're all super nice. I don't know why...
I used to go to karaoke and force myself to socialize and get up on stage. After I stopped working at the club, it became harder and harder to interact with people, and I learned that the only way to keep on top of the anxiety thing was forcing myself to do it in a fun setting. I dunno. But I wasn't able to do that anymore with my job, and a lot of my friends moving away...
I think, for one of my accommodations, I might ask if I can have one night off a month to go to karaoke with my sister, and see if it helps??
Anyway, the trip! I feel very spoiled. My mom, knowing I had these issues and needed a place to hide, got me my own room. I'm so thankful!!!! But I've been trying to hang out downstairs with everyone else as much as possible, because I missed my family.
I'm trying to also use this as an opportunity to re learn how to interact with other people. I've been talking to strangers and stuff. And you know what? For the most part, everyone has been super nice! Some people are mean, but... way more people are nice. It hurts when someone is short with me, but in such a large place with so many people, inevitably I talk to a nice person again in a few minutes.
I think it's helping! Last night, rather than hiding in my room, I stayed down with my family and watched movies and made stupid jokes. I feel annoying, and embarrassed, but I always do when I talk to literally anyone. I don't think I need to feel that way!
Another thing... I'm scared of children. I'm scared of like, everything! But the noises kids make hurt my ears, and they don't seem to give me any space when I need it.
BUT!! I've been interacting with my nephews a lot during the trip, and it's going well!! Actually, the older one (10?) gave me a little pep talk... they were trying to teach me to play four square, but I kept messing up and apologizing. I didn't know what I was doing, and I felt like I was ruining the game by not catching on fast enough.
Everyone else was kind of like ughhh and stepped away (I'm sorry ;~; ) and my nephew came up and was like, "you don't have to apologize so much, it's just a game. When you're going 'I'm sorry I'm sorry and then say 'I'm having fun, I promise!' I feel like I'm holding you at gun point or something" so we talked about it, oof haha.
I think me apologizing a lot and then trying to explain my issues to people is very off putting to them. I do it trying to be less awkward, but it only makes it worse I think! I am going to try to stop doing it, and see how it goes.
The apologizing thing is going to be really hard. I've done it my whole life!
My childhood was a bit rough, so I had to apologize a lot, and it stuck around when I got older. I have wanted to stop for years, no one likes it, but I just have this constant feeling that I'm doing something wrong when I interact with others. I can't shake it, so I have to actively force myself to not apologize and it's very difficult.
It ends up being a cycle I can't break out of, because if I don't apologize my brain goes "oh wow I'm so unapologetically annoying they'll hate me" but if I do apologize it adds friction to the interaction (and is probably uncomfortable for the other person!)
I'm making an effort now to not do it so much, even though I feel so painfully irritating. I don't know. This is going to be hard. How can I know I'm not making anyone angry?? I'm scared! But I have to try, because apologizing and explaining why I'm acting weird is so not working. I just want to interact normally, without feeling awful and embarrassed afterward.
I joined a voice chat with my friends the night before last and tried not to apologize a bunch, but I felt weird anyway. I ended up nodding off and left the call, but I was more embarrassed about just... joining in the first place even though they're my friends and they were nice to me. No one did anything to make me feel that way, I just always feel like that when I talk to anyone. Even my boyfriend, actually!
I feel like a Sim and every time I have a social interaction we both get a lil red - mark, ugh.
Anyway... I messaged my bf and asked if he wanted to talk on the phone today because I miss him, and he said he would let me know when he was able to talk. I suspect probably we will not get to talk in the phone during this trip. I'm sad about it, but I'm thankful he's messaging me!
YES I know I sound pathetic and shit, but listen. I'm trying my best to heal and improve, okay? I'm doing my absolute best. This is all I have! I don't want to spend my life too afraid to be around people. I'm lonely and I want to enjoy being around my friends and family instead of being afraid of them.
Everyone is trying so hard to include me, I don't want to let them down either. If I apologize and seem sad the whole time, they'll think I'm not having any fun, but I am!! I'm so fucking happy to be here, I'm so happy that despite everything they still invited me and wanted me to come. I'm thrilled that they're trying so hard to include me even though I make it difficult!!
I'm so absolutely lucky to have people in my life who love me despite my issues, and who know I can be better and fun to be around even though I'm all weepy and shit.
I'm going to make a second post about the how trip itself so far, but this stuff is a big deal to me... I just want everyone to know I'm trying!!
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Whacky Gotham, Goofy New York, and Chaotic Paris.
(part 1) (part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7)
Chapter 1: Genius Little Ladybug
★—–—–†–—–—★
It all started when Sabine Cheng and her parents moved from China to America, where she met a rich boy named Tony, they weren't the best of friends at first, but they would always get into crazy shenanigans because of Tony. Sabine always finding a way to get them out of it. After a while they were practically inseparable, they had each others backs, both in the good times, and the bad.
So when Tony lost both his mother and father in a tragic car accident, and had to take over his parents company, she was there to try and ease the pain. It helped a little, but the boy changed and blocked out many people, only keeping a select few close to him. His personality changed, and he started to act differently, it saddened Sabine, but she knew it was his way of coping with his lose.
She would oftentimes find him crying silently in his office. When Tony opened a branch in Paris France, he was paranoid something would go wrong when he wasn't there, so he had Sabine become a sort of co-CEO for the Paris branch. Over the many years of her being a sibling-in-everything-but-blood to Tony, her intelligence was much higher than everyone in the company, other than said boy.
She moved to Paris not long after, always keeping an eye on both the Paris branch and Tony ( because god knows what would happen if she didn't do so). She even met a baker named Tom Dupain. Eventually dating, and marrying him. Tony wasn't the most eager when he heard of Tom, but he accepted him as family (not because if he didn't Sabine would knock some sense into him). He practically exploded with excitement when he heard we would be an uncle a few years after Sabine's wedding.
Tony was there in the waiting room with Tom, when Sabine was having the child ( Tony denies not having a mini heart attack when the nurse came in). Both men looked at the beautiful child through the glass. Tony was put to tears when he read her name "Maria Dupain-Cheng" and was comforted by a teary Tom.
When Maria was 9 months old, her Uncle Tony came to spend time with her, and talk business with Sabine. None of them expected Maria to crawl her way into their conversation and say "Uncle Tony" in the sweetest most adorable laugh both adults had ever heard. Tony had a massive grin on his face, and gave Maria a big hug and lots of kisses saying " I knew i was your favorite hahaha, and you're only 9 months old. Sabine I think we got a little genius on our hands." Sabine was just as happy and told Tom to hurry and grab the camera.
"Come on say it one more time my dear Maria, show your papa who your favorite adult is" Tony said with a very wide grin.
Maria giggled at her uncle's happiness, clapping her hands. "Uncle Tony, Uncle Tony" Tom just smiled giving his baby girl a kiss and handing Tony 10 Euros.
Tony continued to visit his little genius niece over the years. Maria ended up getting the best education a kid could get, becuase his logic was " If she is a genius (which she is) then she is going to have the best education money can buy, for nothing is to much for my Little Genius Maria!" and with that she could officially be called the smartest kid in all of Paris... heck probably in all of Europe even! So when she gained a passion for fashion at 4, Tony didn't hesitate to get her, her very first (kid friendly) sewing set. By the time Maria was 5 she already knew how to speak and write in French, English, Spanish, Russian, and is learning Mandarin.
Maria had met Chloé when they were both 6, although they weren't really friends, they were polite to each other, which surprised a lot of the other kids their age. She had met Alix a few months later. She spent a lot of the time she wasn't studying with her friends, Alix would get in trouble with another kid on the playground, Chloé would criticise the other kid, and Maria would talk to Alix and then apologize to the other kid. Overall, they had a good dynamic going on, and they (as 7 year olds) promised to always have each others backs to the very end.
When Maria was 3½ months away from her 9th birthday, Tony was kidnapped. Maria just broke down, she wanted to help her Uncle, but she didn't know where he was or how she could help if she did. For three months Maria would only speak to Chloé and Alix (they were kinda shocked to find out she was related to THE Tony Stark). A few days before her birthday, Tony came to their home, with rolls of fabric, flowers, and 'I'm sorry cards'. Maria jumped into his arms crying asking what happened, and "If you're the smartest man on the Earth, why the Heck did it take you so long? How did you get out? Are any of your vital organs hurts? Do you need to go to the Hospital? An-"
"Hey slow down My Little Genius Maria, I'm ok. 1, They didn't really give me much to work with at first, and there is only so much a genius like myself can do with so little resources, and time before your Birthday. 2, I made an anime mecha suit and flew out guns a blazing. 3, Nothing I can't live without. and 4, No because I'm spending the week with you lot before a conference I have in about 10 days." He said while holding his small little genius  in his arms.
Wiping away the tears she looked her Uncle in the eyes "Wait, you 'made an anime mecha suit and flew out guns a blazing?' How does it work? what's its power source? And why do you have a weird glowing device in your chest?!" He had a lot of explaining to do.
That week, in her words was 'The best week of her life.' She was really happy for the first time since the Tony-napping happened, although she was sad he had to go, she knew  he was safe, and that she didn't have to worry (as much) now.
When Maria was 13, both Tony and Sabine decided to have her go to public school with her friends. After hearing this Maria called for a meeting, her two commanders (Alix and Chloé) came for the meeting, and had a talk on how she should go about her first day of public school, asking questions like 'How do non-homeschooled kids act? What are their personalities like? What interests do they have? Are some barbaric like Alix is sometimes? Will they like me? Am I allowed to talk to Chloé in or only out of class? What are the seating arrangements? Who do I sit next to?' the list goes on. They were all excited to finally all be in the same study environment, now all they had to do was wait for their first day.
•~—~—~—~—~—~—~•
The night before her first day Maria may or may not have slept well due to her excitement, she woke up a little later than she ever would have preferred, getting breakfast, her clothes, the 'greeting sweets' (as Alix called them) and heading out in a slight panic.
On her way out she noticed an elderly man with a cain crossing the street, and a car coming a little faster than what was allowed, she pulled the man out of the cars way without losing any of the sweets, after making sure the man was ok, she gave him a sweet before saying good day and heading over to school. She never noticed the man walking away without the use of his cain.
She still got to class on time, when her teacher walked in she greeted everyone in the class "Bonjour, je m'appelle Maria Dupain-Cheng, c'est un plaisir de vous rencontrer! (Hello, my name in Maria Dupain-Cheng, it is a pleasure to meet you!)" after the introductions she sat down in the empty seat next to Alix, both giving a fist bump, and a smile to Chloé, who looked away as if she didn't care (the girl had an image to keep after all). When class was over she handed out the sweets and went with her friends to lunch. During lunch, one of the other students from a different class was mocking one of their classmates that Maria remembered as Ivan, for having a crush on Mylène and not saying how he really feels to her. Ivan ran off into one of the locker rooms, and Maria decided to go and comfort him, she explained that she overheard what happened and that he should try and tell Mylène about his feelings, listing many different things he could do or say, and that he should stay positive.
Ivan thanked Maria afterwards and went off to write a song for Mylène. Ivan later showed Mylène the song he wrote for her, but was teased by other students near them, Ivan ran away not wanting to be embarrassed more.
Back in the classroom Alix and Maria are sitting and talking when everyone hears crashing and screams outside, the class looked out to see a giant rock thing destroying everything  on its way to the school. The teachers sent the kids home in an attempt to keep them safe.
When Maria got home she noticed a small box with writing she didn't recognize, she carefully opened it, instantly releasing a glow of bright red-ish pink light.
"Greetings Maria Dupain-Cheng, I am Tikki, the Ladybug Kwami of creation and good Luck, it is a pleasure to meet you." Maria couldn't believe her eyes "Mon dieu..." was all she could say, before going full interrogation mode "You're a Kwami? What is that? How are you floating like that? How am I able to understand you? Do you have some sort of ability to communicate in any language?How did you fit in this box? w-"
"There is no time, Paris needs you! I can only explain the powers I grant and how to use them, so please listen carefully."
•~—~—~—~—~—~—~•
Soon Maria was running in a red suit with black spots and amor. She ended up facing the 'akuma' as Tikki called it in a stadium, meeting her partner (a blonde furry she decided) for the first time.
"Bonjour m'lady, so what's the plan to take this thing down?"
Without hesitation she explained her plan " The plan is for you to have your Cataclysm ready, I'll give you a signal when it's your-"
"Cataclysm!"  The boy proceeded to use his ONE attack on a GOAL POST!
"I said to wait for a SIGNAL! Now you only have five minutes before you power-off."
"Oops" The blonde was really wasting her more useful braincells. After the boy was thrown out of the stadium, Maria was left to fend for herself, and she did really well, considering this was her first non(but sort of) official villain fight, up until she lost her footing and was knocked into the side of the stadium. The akuma was gone before she could get back, more and more people were turned to stone, but it showed just where Stoneheart was heading.
She arrived at the Eiffel Tower, where blonde was fighting stone people, he just managed to get away and actually listened to the plan this time.
They defeated Stoneheart, Maria gave her speech to the villain, and did a fist bump (though at this point Maria just wanted to get some sleep), when a reporter came to interview them.
"What are your names, and where did you come from?"
"My name's Chat Noir an-"
"Ladybug, and we're hear to protect Paris from Moth-Man, as much as we would love to give you a bit more details, we don't have much time at the moment" right on que their Miraculous' beeped signalling they had 2 minutes left " Stay safe, and positive, Bug-Out. "
•~—~—~—~—~—~—~•
"Well done Maria!"
"Thanks Tikki." and with that Maria went downstairs to get something to eat, when she saw her parents watching the news.
"Earlier today Paris gained a villain and two heroes: Ladybug, and Chat Noir. Many of our viewers submitted pictures and videos, but only one of Ladybug came out clear."
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"Thank you Ladybug and Chat Noir for protecting us, bonne journée à Paris."
.................
"Maria you're taking self-defense classes starting tomorrow" Sabine spoke, though Maria didn't have any complaints, plus it'll help when fighting akumas so it's a win win.
"Yes maman."
•~~~~~later in Maria's room~~~~~•
"Ok, so you're basically goddess of creation personified into a cute little Ladybug creature?"
"Kwami, but yes."
"And you've existed since basically the Big Bang?"
"Correct."
"... how are you able to float like that? How are we able to talk without any ancient god language in the way? And what other kinds of um kwamis are there?"
"I float with magic. Yes their is a language only for the Kwami, but we've learned every other language in existence, so there would never be an issue with communication. And to your last question, there are many different kinds of Miraculi all over the world, some even across the universe, so I am unable to list every single one in existence, but there are just as many Miraculi out there as there are starts in the sky."
"Impressive... does that mean I could learn magic?"
"As a human you are limited to what you can do with magic, but you have a strong creation soul. So yes it is possible for you to learn basic magic, I can teach you some life magic to help you heal quicker if you get hurt outside the suit. You can also learn other types of basic magic based on what Miraculous you are most aligned to. Surprisingly you have a close affinity to most of my brothers and sisters that are here in Paris."
"Are they in the hands of other Miraculous users?"
"... aside from Chat Noir, only two: one belongs to the Guardian, and the other to Hawkmoth."
"What are their names?"
"...Wayzz is Kwami of Protection, and is the partner of the Guardian. The other is Nooroo Kwami of Transmission, Hawkmoths Kwami.
"Ok, so then I assume the 'Guardian' is who you were with until now, right?"
"That is correct."
"And how was I chosen exactly?"
"The Guardian chose you because he saw your kindness in action, and sensed your strong Creation Soul, he has only ever been wrong once, but I can tell you will be a great Ladybug, maybe even one of the few who achieved a higher sence of life."
"... I feel like you kind of described a Sage, also how would he have seen an act of kindness, I mean, I got my things, went out helped an older man with a cain, wait."Maria squinted her eyes at Tikki as if looking for something.
"The elderly man's the Guardian isn't he?"
"..."
"I get it, you don't have to tell me, it's all apart of the 'plot' like some show, I get it. Welp, good night Tikki, have to get up early tomorrow."
"Good night Maria." Tikki never messed up so badly before, then again she never had a user with such a strong Creation Soul before either... Maria is something special.
•~—~—~—~—~—~—~•
And Tikki was right, she excelled at Life Magic, learning a fair bit of healing, luck and slight plant manipulation and communication magic. Tikki wasn't sure if she should be proud of her Bug, or scared at her fast learning skills.
A few weeks passed and Maria was thankful for the self-defense classes, she even started doing her own training routine with Tikki guiding her. She didn't like that her partner was a flirt, it got distracting and almost got Chat killed a few times. She often wondered 'what the hell did I do in my past life to get a partner like this?'
•~—~—~—~—~—~—~•
Tony Stark was called by Sabine to meet her earlier than they had planned, she informed him that Paris now has a villain and two heroes.
"Ok, so what's the problem? We agreed to put Maria in self-defense classes so she would be safe... is it a boy?! Don't tell me it's a boy, she's to young to be dating!"
"It's not about a boy."
"Then what is this about?"
"She's Ladybug, *sigh* I swear she gets it from you Tony. She learned it from your dumb@ss, and it didn't help the need to protect people she loves when you got kidnapped. I need you to teach her how to be a good hero, good combat strategist, and to give her your support. She already has a tactical mind, I'm proud in a way that she shares your bravery."
"Ffffffffudge... ok, where is she?"
"Upstairs."
•~—~—~—~—~—~—~•
After a slightly awkward conversation Maria started to get even more training, and became a pretty much badass on the field, she incorporated the known fighting styles of: Black Widow (her favorite hero), Captain America, Deadpool (favorite hero to some degree), Daredevil, Wolverine, and some moves from famous villains like, Kraven The Hunter, Red Skull, Doctor Doom, Scorpion, Shocker, and Taskmaster ( her favorite villain). And she used ALL of those skills in battle, it was damn impressive to watch, and then Sabine had a talk with Tony.
〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜Bonus〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜
"Ok Tony wtf? I asked you to teach her how to fight for protection when she's out there, But you turned her into a complete badass, I mean none of the akumas have lasted more than 10 minutes with her! I want to hug you and kick your @ss at the same time."
" Sorry not sorry Sabine, but she is our Genius Little Ladybug after all."
•—–—–†–—–—•
First fic, wahoo (mario stile), hope you're all having an Absolutely wonderful day, stay safe, and stay positive, BUG-OUT!🐞💮🐞
〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜 Tag List 〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜
1st place★: @animegirlweeb ☕
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@lupagrimm
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mindofasupernova · 3 years
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Someone you loved
Kaz Brekker x reader
Mr. Sandman Part 2
Inspired by the song "Someone you loved" by Lewis Capaldi
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I'm going under and this time I fear there's no one to save me
This all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy
Kaz's mind was a raging storm, an ever-shifting landscape. His heart was madly racing and he feared that if it didn't stop soon, it'll burst out of his chest.
Two days had gone by and yet there was no information about Y/N's whereabouts. No one had made an effort to contact him asking for money in exchange for her safety, no blackmail, nothing. Kaz knew the probability of Y/N being alive was shrinking as the days passed.
Kaz felt terrible, guilt crushed his heart in a vicious grip. If he hadn't kicked her out, if he had taken back his words, if he had just... No, thinking about what ifs wouldn't bring Y/N back home. If she's still alive a cruel voice whispered in the back of his mind.
His mind drifted to his darkest memories, horrible images plagued his mind. Rotting flesh beneath his fingers, icy hands grabbing at him, threatening to pull him under the waves. Water filled his lungs, consuming his oxygen and living him in the dark. His head broke the water, gasping for air, Kaz looked around, trying to find something, anything to grab to avoid drowning. Only that now instead of his brother's corpse, he saw Y/N's limp body floating above the water.
Kaz fell to his knees, the pain brought him back to reality. He was trembling, sharp gasps left his body, black dots covered his vision. Y/N would have told him to focus on reality, take in the details, count every little object he could find in the room. But Y/N wasn't here, and it was all his fault.
___________
I need somebody to heal, somebody to know
Somebody to have, somebody to hold
Y/N talked passionately about her latest read, making wild gestures with her hands as if to prove a point. Jesper's arm was slung across her shoulder, head thrown back in a laughing fit. When his cackles died down, Jesper leaned his head on Y/N's shoulder and started mocking her for being able to remember the exact place where phrases were in the book.
Kaz watched silently from his seat in the Crow Club, he knew those touches were purely friendly gestures, and still he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.
On many sleepless nights, Kaz thoughts had wandered down a treacherous path, always finding their way to Y/N. His mind had been invaded by images of her: the smile she always wore when she was about to make a witty comment, the way she pursed her lips whenever he asked her to memorize an important document, the furrow of her brows when paying close attention to Kaz's plans.
He snapped out of it, angry at himself for thinking about her, he couldn't afford those thoughts. Kaz's life was dangerous and he had many enemies who wouldn't hesitate to use anything or anyone against him. If he left himself feel, if he let her in, he knew there was nothing he wouldn't do for her.
He had tried. He had tried to distance himself, push her away until his feelings dissipated to nothing. However, every time Y/N appeared in his office late at night just to talk about her day, every time she called his name, every time she sent a glorious smile his way, Kaz couldn't bring himself to say no.
And now, looking at Y/N from across the room, a sense of longing clouded his vision. Thoughts of sitting next to her, no space between their bodies, with no fear of touching reminded him of how miserably he had failed.
____________
It's easy to say, but it's never the same
I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain
Since Y/N's kidnapping, Kaz had gone completely feral. He had looked for anyone who could provide information. He had kidnapped, tortured, and even killed members of any other gangs he had his suspicions on. He was unstoppable, he wouldn't rest until his Y/N was safe. She isn't even yours because you kicked her out a scornful voice reminded him.
Kaz's whole body hurt, his limp was more prominent than usual, his knuckles were bloodied and a purplish bruise contrasted against his pale skin from a blow he had taken when he was beating the life out of one of the Dime Lion's informants.
How he wished Y/N was there. No matter how many times he came back to the Slat, covered in blood and clutching at his wounds, Y/N's gaze always turned into one of horrified worry.
Y/N had always healed his wounds after a mission, wiping the blood away very carefully in order not to touch his skin. Even when he wasn't bleeding and it was just his leg giving him a bad day or a headache that refused to leave him, Y/N always brought him medicine or tea depending on the situation.
But Y/N was gone and he might not ever see her again. His thoughts lurched him back to the ocean, dead things suffocated him. He clutched his cane tighter, he couldn't have a panic attack now, he needed to find Y/N.
_______
Now the day bleeds into nightfall
And you're not here to get me through it all
The night wrapped the dirty streets of Ketterdam in its wicked hold, the moon loomed ahead casting a palish glow through Kaz's window. Another day had passed and he was no closer to finding Y/N.
He was alone in his office, clutching his cane tighter by the second, its sharp edges bruising his skin, and yet, the pain wasn't enough to keep the waters from rising, Y/N's form surrounded by corpses.
No, he couldn't think of her this way. He had to remain positive, he needed to hope Y/N was still alive somewhere, but for someone like Kaz, remaining positive wasn't something he strived on. Instead, Kaz looked inside his brain, searching for a memory of Y/N to avoid passing out and when he found it, he seized it and hung to it for dear life.
Kaz had heard people say love arrived at the most unexpected times, bloomed in the most unlikely places. People said love wasn't something you chose, something you could control, not a concept you could welcome or shut out of your life at your convenience.
Kaz deemed those people foolish, weak for not being able to control themselves, and as the cold mastermind he was, Kaz brushed off all of their comments. And he would have kept thinking that way if it hadn't been for Y/N during a warm summer evening.
The Crow Club was surprisingly empty, everyone was in a relaxed state, currently resting after a successful heist. Kaz had been working in his office, signing contracts when a soft knock sounded against his door, Y/N peered inside and after receiving Kaz's consent, stepped through the threshold.
Y/N sat in front of his desk, a small smile playing on her face, ensued by a moment of silence, Y/N started talking. Kaz's head perked up at the sound of her voice, eyes leaving the papers to direct his whole attention to her but he had been completely caught off guard by the sight before him.
Y/N's mouth was moving but Kaz's couldn't hear a thing, it was as if someone had stolen the sound so he could only focus on Y/N's heavenly form.
Y/N's hair was slightly disheveled, gusts of wind occasionally brushing lonely strands into different directions, soft locks swishing in compass with a nonexistent melody. Sunset rays filtered through the window, lighting up Y/N's features. Sunlight beams fell gently down the slope of her nose, gently caressed her long lashes, and kissed her tender lips giving them a reddish hue.
At that moment, Kaz realized how dreadfully unjust the world was. How come was the wind able to run his breezy fingers across her beautiful hair? How could the rain brush her skin lovingly without repelling at the idea of skin contact? Why could the Sun kiss her graceful lips and he couldn't?
Kaz wanted to hold her, reach for her whenever he wanted without fear of drowning. He wanted to hug her and nuzzle his nose in her hair affectionately. He wanted to know what her skin felt like under his fingertips. Kaz wanted to know the taste of her lips.
Because he was in love with her.
________
I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug
I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved
Y/N laid immobile in his bed, her skin almost as pale as his sheets, soft breaths escaped her lungs. Kaz sat in a chair near her fragile body, his frown deepened every time his eyes landed on a different wound.
Kaz felt like in a déjà vu, a vision that had happened exactly three weeks ago. This was the reason why Kaz had pushed her, why he had evicted her from the Slat, the one home she had ever known. But did it matter? All his efforts to keep her safe had been in vain.
That fateful night, when she had been the distraction in a supposed easy heist, everything had come tumbling down. The nightmares had started back then, where he first saw her all bloodied and beaten and unconscious. They didn't know if she would ever wake up. Kaz had refused to visit her, images of his nine-year-old self seeing her amongst the corpses in the Reaper's Barge haunted his days.
When she had woken up he'd wanted to see her, but he couldn't bring himself to because he knew what he had to do. Kaz couldn't bear the thought of her dying, he couldn't imagine her gone, but if he gave her hope, if she saw how much he cared, she would refuse to leave. He needed her to stay away for her safety
So he had done that, he had ruthlessly yanked his heart out of his chest when he had kicked her out. The words he had said to her tortured him since that day: "Do not think that just because I have kept you around for this long you're irreplaceable." And when he thought he couldn't feel more pain, Y/N had started crying. Silent droplets fell down her cheeks and Kaz felt as if the most savage assassin had ripped his heart into shreds.
I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug
I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved
Seating there, silently watching Y/N's closed eyes, he was experiencing it all again. When they had found her she had been tied to a chair, unmoving, in one of the Dime Lion's warehouses. He swore his heart had stopped beating, she couldn't be dead, when Nina had checked for her heartbeat and announced it was still there, Kaz's heart reanimated.
Nina had done her best to heal her and now the only thing there was to do was wait until she woke up. This time Kaz had refused to leave her bedside. This time he would do things differently.
He had been a coward, he now realized. He should have never let her go. He should have been braver, stronger, he should have protected her. Now he realized he wanted, no, needed her with him. He had been too scared worrying for the future that he had forgotten to enjoy the present. He wouldn't make that mistake again.
"Kaz?"
His head shot back to Y/N. She was awake, she was alive and he would never let her go.
And with such a fervent emotion, he couldn't have thought himself capable of expressing, he said "Please, don't ever leave me again. "
Thanks for the song recommendation @itsemy01
Taglist:
@getawayfrommewerewolf, @lady1505, @rika90, @thedelusionreaderbitch, @coffeewithoutcaffeine, @aleksanderwh0r3, @princessleah129, @subjecta13-thefangirl
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bbugyu · 3 years
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of all the views you had seen, there was little that could compare to him.
6.2k | cavalry captain!jeonghan x gn pyro!reader, genshin impact au, fluff, adventure, drinking, so much flirting, mentions of trauma, honestly this is the sweetest i'm ever gonna write jeonghan
happy inazuma release day!!! it's your local kaeya trash, because i predictably fall for gay bastards that lie straight to my face (example: jeonghan), and i'm here to give you a fic i wrote AGES ago and just polished up a bit to celebrate the release of what is likely going to be my FAVORITE region in genshin impact. i'm japanese so 😅 i have a soft spot. if there's any other gaymer carats out there, enjoy this one. if not, sorry! you can actually probably still read this and understand it for the most part, though you might miss a bit of context of the landscape and the lore.
ps. go tell @babiemingoo that wonwoo xinqiu 🤭
~
your work with the adventurer's guild was always efficient. you received your commissions, you carried them out, then returned for your reward, usually before the sun had even peaked. the rest of your day was generally spent either basking in the eternal sun of mondstadt, feeding cats in inazuma, or enjoying a hard earned meal in liyue, depending on where you decided to stay that week, finding board and paying for it with the commission you had earned that day. your tendency to wander came less from choice and more from nature - you could call yourself a nomad, but generally, you just got bored, and preferred seeing everything teyvat had to offer rather than settling in one place. adventuring was simply what you were meant to do, your mother had told you at a young age.
she, too, had wandered for most of her youth, and didn't stop just because you had come into her life. you remembered getting scooped up because you had wandered off a bit too close to the railing at wangshu inn as a toddler, playing with dogs at the docks of liyue harbor. you remembered the ludi harpastum and the first time you had ever had a sweet honey roast, and the way it made your eyes grow ten times in size before you dug in for more.
when your vision was bestowed upon you, you already knew how to use a sword. it was important, your mother told you, that you knew how to protect yourself. she had a vision as well, younger even than you had, and you had come to recognize the static in the air as a sign that she was angry - whether it was because of an altercation with someone on your journey or because you had secretly eaten the last hashbrown without consulting her first.
she used her vision and a sturdy blade she had owned since before you were born to protect the two of you on the road, but when she felt you were old enough, she taught you how to weild. a two handed weapon that was far too big for you when you were only fourteen, but when your reckless abandon got paired with a spark, you suddenly became far more dangerous than even your own mother. she scolded you for nearly starting a forest fire when you tried to pair the two skills for the first time after receiving your vision, and you both agreed that training was a beach activity from then on.
your mother settled eventually, after you were old and skilled enough to take on the road alone, pulling the many favors she had gathered in her travels to build a home in a small neighborhood south of liyue harbor, nestled in the foothills of mount tianheng, where you visited as often as your wandering allowed.
you had become much better with your vision. more careful but just as hot. quick to scan situations and strategize in the moment, hardly taking a second before jumping into action, slaying hilichurls like you were getting paid. well, you were, you supposed, but you had been doing this long before you had discovered the benefit of joining the guild. you were good at it. you were built for adventure, but revelled in leisure. there was good reason you were able to take afternoons off, and you milked every last second of it.
"you're back in town?"
you grinned, leaning your sword against the wall and dropping your bag off your shoulders before settling at the bar. "for now."
rubin often served you alcohol - when you were in mondstadt, at least, however often that may be - but never questioned you deeply. he would ask how your travels were, and listen to your stories from regions beyond his knowledge, of the cultures that he had only heard of from people like you. he enjoyed them just about as much as any, if not a little more, purely because your tenacious personality brought something more to the table. he wondered, though, how long you intended to keep living day by day, sleeping in different beds every week.
"what's wrong with sleeping in different beds?" you teased, laughing into your wine glass. "if i didn't know any better, i'd think you were shaming me, rube."
rubin simply laughed, knowing your tone by now. "i just wonder if you ever intend on digging in your roots, or if you'll continue travelling forever."
"if i dig roots, you may never see me again. is that what you want?"
"what," he said. "you don't like mondstadt?"
"i love monstadt," you assured him. "but i also love inazuma. and my mother is in liyue, though she might be upset with me if i try to settle too close to her. perhaps natlan would suit me more?" you shrugged finally, the door behind you opening as you finished with "i suppose i'll settle when i've found a reason to love one place more than the rest."
rubin shook his head, a chuckle falling from his lips. "a wanderer through and through." his attention was quickly drawn to the man entering the bar. "ah, captain! the usual?"
"please," the decorated man said, quickly taking a seat beside you despite the rest of the bar being available. "would you like another, wanderer?"
you eyed him cautiously, studying what you could see if his face around the black eyepatch, gaze skimming down his elaborate clothing before looking down at your emptied drink. "sure."
"another for your wandering friend, rubin, on my tab, please." your brain swirled, considering the brief information you had been given and wondered how you had never managed to meet this regular during your past visits. "are you just drinking dandelion wine, or something more fun?"
"more fun?" you asked. "what are you drinking, then?"
"well, a death after noon, of course," he stated. "don't tell me you haven't had one."
you blinked at him. "i haven't."
you turned towards rubin when he laughed at the back and forth. "shall i make two, then?"
"definitely," your new drinking buddy said, then gestured to you. "you trust my taste, right?"
you said nothing, but he accepted your silent smile as an agreeance. "captain," you said finally, thinking of how rubin had addressed him. "of?"
the man turned towards you, his elbow planted on the bar and his cheek on a fist. despite his get up, he had a playful smirk across his lips. "you mean, my reputation doesn't precede me? you really are a wanderer. everyone in mondstadt knows my name."
"everyone but me," you corrected. "as i'm currently in mondstadt."
his teeth shone behind his smirking lips before he sat up straight. "well, allow me to introduce myself." he saluted, his arm extending from his side at an angle - a salute you recognized from the guards around the city. "i am jeonghan, the cavalry captain of the knights of favonius."
"ah, the knights," you smiled briefly, before letting your eyes wander as you thought, crossing your arms over the bar. "i don't see much of a cavalry in the city, though."
he let out an amused exhale. "so i have a bit more free time these days."
"i'm sure the acting grand master is jealous of all your free time," you teased. "poor guy, looks like he's staving off a panic attack every time i see him. you should probably help him more."
"so," he sighed, leaning against the bar again. "you know of the acting grand master but not me?"
"jihoon?" you asked. "of course i know of him. he's all anyone ever talks about around here."
jeonghan nodded once, thanking rubin when he placed two drinks before you. "people talk about me, also, you know."
your lips stuck out in a pout. "jeonghan, you said? doesn't ring a bell."
he rolled his eyes and picked up his drink, holding it out for you to cheers against. you giggled, clinking your glass against his before taking a sip. the golden liquid was sweet, but not like the dandelion wine you had grown to love in this region. it had more depth, a subtle bitterness to it, and a refreshing bubble. you stared after the glass when it left your lips, then looked over to find jeonghan grinning at you.
"i see why it's your usual," you said, taking another sip before placing the glass on the bar. "i could drink too many."
"will you?" he asked.
"not tonight," you replied coolly. "i haven't asked sana to put me up at the guild yet, and if i get there too late, i'll get a cot instead of a bed. unless rubin finally wants to come clean about something?"
the bartender laughed. "how many times do i have to tell you? we don't even have rooms to board."
you squinted at him. "i know there's something upstairs. i'll learn your secrets one day, rube."
"i wouldn't be a very good bartender if i didn't know how to keep them."
"so you're in the guild?" jeonghan asked as rubin attended to another patron. "an adventuring wanderer."
you smiled vaguely at him. "i am. i have to pay for my travels somehow."
he shrugged. "there's other ways to make money. probably more profitable, too."
you eyed his teasing smirk. "i'm not sure i know what you're implying."
"as a captain of the knights of favonius, i assure you, i'm implying nothing at all," he said, exhaling sharply and adjusting on his stool. he leaned over towards you before speaking in a quieter tone. "but as jeonghan, i think you know exactly what i'm implying."
you only laughed, recognizing the thinly veiled attempt to worm a secret out of you. "i outgrew those means a long time ago. besides, when mora gets tight, i can always board up with my mother. i like liyue enough."
jeonghan studied you as you drank again. "liyue's home, is it?'
"for her, yes," you said, looking over to him, but you found yourself looking away again when his steely blue gaze met yours. you thought carefully about how much of yourself you were willing to reveal to this stranger, especially considering how important he was in the rule of the city. "she was a wanderer, too, and ended up falling in love with liyue harbor."
jeonghan made note of the way your face softened as you spoke about your mother. "and what about you?"
you met his intent look again, thinking about how his covered eye somehow made him even more intimidating. perhaps that was its purpose. "what about me?"
"what have you fallen in love with?"
a smile crept onto your lips as you processed his question. "oh, archons, what have i not fallen in love with? the smell of the open ocean in inazuma, the breathtaking temples in sumeru - have you ever been to waterfall city?"
jeonghan merely shook his head at you, the corners of his mouth turning upwards as he put his cheek on a fist again, leaning against the bar. "beautiful?"
you exhaled, eyes wide as you thought of the towering falls and the light mist that covered the city, trying to come up with an apt description. "humbling. there's nothing like it."
he watched your expression, head tilting further. "what a wonderful way to describe a place. tell me more."
your gaze went to him, then away briefly, feeling suddenly shy as you noticed his look. "about waterfall city?"
he shrugged a fur covered shoulder, shaking his head lightly. "about anywhere. describe your world, wanderer. i'd like to hear whatever you have to say."
you wondered if the heat that ran through you was because of the alcohol or the man, but you just took another drink and cleared your throat lightly, thinking of more places you had discovered in your travels. you thought of qingce village, one of your favorite places to visit, because the people are kind and welcoming and the fields are so beautiful. you told him about a tea shop owned by an old man - he insisted you call him pops so fiercely that you weren't even sure you had caught his given name - and it was probably the most relaxing cup of tea you ever had.
"it's been a while since i've gone," you sighed. "i think i'm overdue for a chat with pops and his tea."
jeonghan was smiling when you looked at him again. "the tea in liyue is unmatched," he said, reaching for his drink. before taking another sip, he gestured for you to continue.
so you did. you told him about sakura pond, about celestia city, about the volcanic black beaches. you told him liyue had your favorite people, but inazuma had your favorite food. he clicked his tongue at you.
"what about mondstadt? do we have one of your favorites?"
you smiled, genuinely. "sunsets. the night sky is different here than it is anywhere else. i think mondstadt is the closest we can get to the stars without joining the archons."
jeonghan studied you briefly, his blue eye flicking over your face as you finished your drink. "i think that's an apt observation. it seems your eyes are always wide."
"i travel for the views," you exhaled. "i don't plan on missing any."
he thought a second. "have you been to starsnatch cliff?"
your eyes lit up. "not in years," you said, in complete shock that you could have forgotten such a place. you pushed from the bar slightly, turning towards him, and he noticed the flash of a red gem strapped to your right thigh for the first time. "my mother took me there when i was a kid, but i haven't gone since."
"it never gets old," he said, sipping at the end of his drink. "i've yet to see that view and not be in awe."
"i'll go before i leave mondstadt again," you decided.
he looked to you. "when will that be?"
you sighed. "not sure, yet."
he just chuckled. "would you like another drink?"
"oh, no," you said, standing and stretching your spine. "i should make my leave. i don't like sleeping on cots. i just came by to let my ol' pal rube know i was in town again."
jeonghan watched you pull your pack onto your back, grabbing the handle of your sheathed claymore from where it was leaning against the wall next to the bar. "perhaps i'll see you again tomorrow?"
you looked at him, a vague smile on your lips as you strapped your sword back on. "perhaps you will, captain."
"jeonghan," he corrected. "but i don't believe you ever shared your name?"
"that was by design, captain," you said, and he swore he caught a glint in your eye as you bid rubin a farewell and stepped out of the angel's share.
jeonghan spun back around on his stool, immediately looking to rubin. "do you know their name?"
"no, sir," he said, looking at the closed door. "they've never said."
jeonghan's gaze went to the empty glass you had left behind, thinking about your stories, your sword, and the signifier of your vision on your thigh. "fascinating."
you got lucky - sana had a private room for you, and said you were welcome to rent it for your stay. she said not many people were travelling to mondstadt these days, and that more often than not, the adventurer's barracks in headquarters went unused. ever since the fatui had holed up in the grand goth hotel, it had been harder for you to make extended stays in mondstadt, but it seemed that something was telling you to stick around longer than usual. you laid on the hard mattress - a feeling that was more comforting than most, thanks to your continuous travels - and thought of the charming captain that had made a night of questioning you. you wondered if he really had any interest in anything you had to say, or if he had been hoping for details about something pertinent to an investigation.
you packed a lighter bag in the morning, only bringing along the essentials as you set out for your commissions for the day. that afternoon, you wandered around mondstadt and asked questions. questions about the simultaneously well-discussed and mysterious cavalry captain that had listened to your tales of travel, and answers came easier than expected, though they didn't contain all the details you were looking for. that night, you waited up at the angel's share to brag about your newfound knowledge to the captain that never showed, and you did your best to not let that hurt your ego.
the next day, you made a detour on your way back to the city after completing your commissions, stopping by springvale to enjoy a well deserved lunch and catch up with some locals. you sat in the grass with a skewer of grilled meat, watching the windmills of mondstadt steadily spin in the distance as time passed, thinking about how rubin had asked you if you didn't like it here.
you did, you decided. mondstadt felt different than anywhere else you had been. untouched, almost. wilder. freer. despite being born in inazuma, your first memories being in celestia, or your mother being in liyue, mondstadt felt comfortable. felt like a home. you wondered to yourself what that might mean.
sana greeted you happily when you returned much later than you normally did. she told you to go ahead to the guild and come back, filing away your reports and retrieving your rewards. you dropped off your things in your rented room, quickly, practically galloping back down the steps towards the entrance of the city to continue your conversation with the adventurer guilds' mighty receptionist without your sword weighing you down. you crossed your arms on the counter, comfortably lounging as you chatted with her, having always enjoyed her conversations more than most. like rubin, she was a reason mondstadt always felt comfortable.
"fancy meeting you here," an all too familiar voice said, and you pulled your eyes from sana to find jeonghan leaning his side against the counter next to you.
"good evening, cavalry captain!" sana chirped, placing your reward - your room free already removed - on the counter and bowing politely. "can i help you with anything today?"
his icy gaze flickered from your lightly curved lips towards sana. "oh, no, my dear. i'm just coming back from an investigation near springvale"
"interesting," you said, eyeing him. "i was just there and didn't see you."
"i wouldn't be very good at my job if you did, wanderer," he grinned. "knight business, you wouldn't understand. got the assignment yesterday."
"ah," you shifted to your side to face him, making him eye the vision on your thigh. "is that why you never showed? rubin was worried."
he looked you up and down. "rubin was, huh?"
you rolled your eyes and adjusted your posture to face away from his smirk. sana looked between the two of you twice before clearing her throat as quietly as possible, making jeonghan let out a chuckle before he directed his attention to the guild's receptionist.
"how goes holding the post, sana?"
she looked almost frightened when the attention was directed back to her. "good, captain! in fact, one of our most capable adventurers-" she gestured to you, "-just returned from taking care of some of our more difficult commissions - no one else would take them."
jeonghan looked at you. "why did sana have to tell your secret?"
your eyebrows quirked upwards. "what secret?"
"that you're good at this. shouldn't you be bragging?"
a chuckle spilled from your lips, and jeonghan watched you as you looked away. "i'm not the bragging type."
he studied you a moment. "what type are you, then?"
you considered the question, wondering exactly how to answer. what type were you? if not a teller, than surely you must be a shower, but that didn't seem right either. you exhaled. "the quiet type. see you later, sana."
he laughed, pushing off the counter as you tucked your mora into your waist bag, wishing sana a good evening and following you towards the fountain. "you sure talk a lot for being the quiet type."
a smirk landed itself on your lips as he fell into step beside you. "maybe private is a better description."
"that one i can see," jeonghan said, looking over to you. he thought of how you had spent nearly an hour telling him about the best views in teyvat, yet he still didn't know the most basic information about you. "do you share your name with anyone?"
you thought. "my mother."
he scoffed. "anyone else?"
you looked to the sky. "rubin."
"wrong," he retorted. "he doesn't know your name, either."
you laughed, looking over to him as you came up to the fountain, spinning and sitting back on the ledge. "you asked?"
"of course i asked," he said, planting one foot on the ledge beside you and placing his arms on his knee. "i asked other people, too. almost everyone knows you, but they don't know anything about you. bits and pieces, but never the full picture."
you just smiled up at him from your relaxed posture on the concrete. "what's wrong with a little intrigue?"
he just smiled back at you. "nothing. i tend to keep a bit myself. did you know there's a large number of people in this city that were shocked when i said you wield a claymore?"
you hummed, dipping the tips of your fingers into the fountain. "did you know there's a large number of people in this city that consider you the most eligible bachelor in not only mondstadt, but in all of teyvat?"
his lips parted slightly as you spoke. "so you snooped, too."
"i was bored yesterday. it wasn't hard," you exhaled. you flicked a drop of water towards his foot. "jeonghan yoon, the cavalry captain of the knights of favonius since he was only nineteen. who loves wine and whose adopted brother runs the biggest winery in teyvat, yet they're hardly ever seen speaking. who comes from a far off land on a different continent, but has come to love mondstadt like it was his home. who wears an eyepatch but has never told anyone why."
he chuckled at the assessment and pulled his foot off the ledge to sit beside you. "so when do i get to learn about you?"
"i told you about me yesterday," you said.
"you told me about teyvat," he corrected. "and while i was able to infer some things about your character, i still know close to nothing about you."
you thought for a moment, realizing no one had ever noticed how little you truly shared despite always being willing to tell stories. "sometimes it feels like i am teyvat. it's hard to think of things that are just about me."
"you could start with that vision," he said, nodding at the strap across your thigh. you looked down at it, exhaling.
"what's there to tell? you know what it means, and that's more teyvat than me, too."
he leaned back on a hand, looking you up and down in curiosity. "how old were you."
you chewed your cheek. "fourteen. you?"
his lip quirked upwards. "sixteen."
you bumped his shoulder with yours playfully. "beat you."
he laughed. "how'd it happen?"
you paused. "you go first."
he just chuckled and looked away, watching a dog wander past the general store. "another day, then."
"no fun," you sighed, brushing your hands together as you leaned forward. "what about the eyepatch?"
he met your eyes, mouth slanted in a smirk. "another day."
you clicked your tongue. "if you wanna learn about me, you have to be willing to give up some details, too. i value a fair trade."
"then stop asking questions that you know i won't share the answer to." jeonghan noticed the color of the sky, then suddenly pulled a pocket watch out, checking it quickly to confirm that there was enough time and stood. "come with me?"
you stared up at him. "where?"
he grinned, extending a hand to help you to your feet. "you said mondstadt's sunsets were your favorite, correct?"
you generally weren't prone to following mysterious men into back corridors, but jeonghan easily convinced you with no words at all that sneaking around the sight line of the acting grand master was completely normal behavior, sushing you with a grin as you giggled, taking refuge around a corner after the two of you made it up to the second floor of the favonius headquarters. he tugged your hand with his, pulling you into a steep maintenance staircase behind a door.
"this feels like it's against some rules," you said, climbing the stairs behind him.
"nonsense," he said, looking back at you and grinning. "are you suggesting that a knight of favonius would break rules just to impress a mysterious traveler?"
you laughed quietly, wondering if he really meant that he wanted to impress you. "not most, but maybe this one."
he only thought for a split second. "if anyone asks, we're on official knight business."
he opened the door and you found the sky again, beginning to glow orange as the edge of the sun began to hide behind the cliffs. you stared in awe at the way the few fluffy clouds reflected pink and gold, then readjusted your focus when jeonghan spoke again.
"i hope you aren't afraid of heights," he said, walking over to the parapets that surrounded you. "the best view requires a bit of a climb."
you looked up at the tower, and while it wasn't much higher than where you stood, you also recognized that you were well above most of mondstadt already. "you climb up there?"
he paused, studying you. "we don't have to, we can just sit on a merlon-"
"no, we can climb," you said, walking over to where he was and eyeing the small gap between the parapet and the adjacent roof. "hop over?"
he laughed, stepping over the gap and holding a hand out for you. "watch your step."
and though you didn't need it, you accepted the hand anyways, and it stayed on yours as you walked over the roof to the tower, as if making sure you didn't misstep several stories in the air.
"would you like to go first?" he asked. "i'll catch you if you fall."
you rolled your eyes at him, dropping your hand from his grip. "you go first. i want to see where the handholds are."
he just grinned at you. "very well," he said, tugging on the wrists of his fingerless gloves to make sure they were taught against his skin before taking hold of a brick. you watched him as he took foothold after foothold, and he resisted the urge to show off by speedily scaling the wall in favor of making sure you had the chance to see where he gripped. when he reached the opening in the tower, he pulled himself up and spun around, exhaling with a grin as he seated himself at the ledge with his legs dangling above you.
"your turn."
you adjusted your waist bag as you sighed in amused annoyance, spinning it to be behind you and out of your hips' way to climb the wall. it wasn't much - a couple meters, maybe - and you had definitely climbed further, but jeonghan's presence made you slightly nervous. that nervousness, however, just fueled you to prove yourself.
you scaled the wall easily, making jeonghan whistle and jokingly call you some kind of adventurer, and your only hesitation came when his hand was in your face. despite your initial inclination to ignore it, you put your left hand in his, allowing him to help you pull yourself up on the ledge and sit beside him.
"impressive," he commented.
you laughed, brushing off your hands. "you, too."
"c'mon," he said, gesturing his head over his shoulder before making moves to stand. "the view's on the other side."
you sighed, looking over the view of mondstadt shrouded in golden light as he stood and walked to the other ledge. "never a moment of rest with you."
"if you want to miss the sunset, be my guest."
you leaned back on your hands and laughed, pulling your gaze away from the city to look at where jeonghan had seated himself on the other end of the tower, and subsequently the view of the rolling hills beyond him that were glowing golden in the evening sun. you blinked for a second, realizing you hadn't seen the sunset the night before, and quickly got to your feet to join him before you missed this one, too.
he gave you a soft smile when you sat beside him, and you briefly wondered how many he had in his repertoire. the wind was stronger higher, whipping gently through his hair and alleviating any uncomfortable warmth you may have had from exerting yourself on the way up. you watched the dregs of sunlight skip across the grassy hills and the sky turn deep orange and bright pink, feet swinging lightly over the edge of the tower.
"i was fighting with my brother," he said suddenly, causing you to look at him with a start before you realized he was telling you about his vision. there was a slight smile on his face as he looked out on the fields. "hyungwon. it was bad. he already had his - he's a pyro, like you - and we were both young and stupid and just lost our dad. we were sword fighting and it came to me when i needed it. it probably saved my life, honestly."
you blinked at him. "you think he would have killed you?'
he exhaled, leaning back on his hands. "i think if the roles had been reversed, i would have tried to kill him, too. i'm grateful it didn't go that way, though." he coughed abruptly, clearing his throat. "we're on speaking terms, and i do love him as a brother, but i generally avoid him."
you let that thought ruminate as you watched the sun sink, halfway beyond the horizon. "my father was in a gang in inazuma, but my mom ran away when she found out she was pregnant. didn't want to raise a kid in that world, i guess? we ran into him when i got older and he wasn't very understanding." you paused, remembering the detail too well. "they were going to take her vision. that's what they did to traitors. probably take me, too. they weren't expecting me to start setting fires."
jeonghan's gaze was on you as yours was on the horizon. "just a couple of survivors."
you looked over at him, a smirk on your lips. "a couple?"
he laughed waving at your implication, thinking he would have said the same thing in an attempt to fluster you just as you were to him. "like, more than one and less than four."
you only laughed back. "fortune favors the weak, i suppose. the archons saw we needed help and extended a fig branch."
"is that what it was?" he asked, a laugh on his lips. "we were both fighting people. that's hardly an offer of peace."
"look for the deeper meaning, jeonghan. we were fighting for our lives," you pointed out, and he realized it was the first time you had addressed him by his name rather than his title. "i was fighting for family. for freedom. is that not the greatest pursuit of peace?"
he watched you as you pulled your knees to your chest, putting your feet on the edge of the stonework surface you sat on. he studied the way the golden rays lit your skin and made your eyes sparkle. "i suppose so."
you paused in that moment for a long while, and jeonghan allowed the comfortable silence as the two of you watched the sun disappear beyond the cliffs of mondstadt. the sky was turning a deep shade of purple when you told him your name, and jeonghan thought that it was quite possibly the best news he had ever received, but he kept that joy to himself as he confirmed your name, and you rolled your eyes.
"are you gonna answer my other question now?"
he scoffed. "about the eyepatch? is it really that interesting?"
"not any more interesting than my name," you retorted.
"completely untrue," jeonghan insisted. "i've never been so excited to be told a secret, and i get told a lot of secrets."
you eyed his smile warily. "my name may be unknown, but it's no secret."
he sighed and shook his head lightly. "you really wanna know the reason i wear it? it's probably not as dramatic as you're hoping."
"yet you hide it?"
he laughed. "what's wrong with a little intrigue?"
you looked away, recognizing the parrot of your own words. "whatever you say, captain."
"no!" he whined and grabbed your arm, making you start and look at him with big eyes. "you just started calling me jeonghan, don't go back to captain."
you stared at him, only breaking to laugh, dropping your legs over the edge again. "you won't show me what's under the eyepatch, so i thought we weren't on first name basis."
his hand on your bicep was warm and gentle, but his gaze was piercing as he thought it over for a bit longer. you did your best to hold it, but you felt yourself shrinking when he quietly muttered, "go on, then."
it took you a second to register what he meant, and you reached out slowly, fingers hesitating before they brushed upon his cheekbone. jeonghan closed his eyes, resigning to your touch as you gently lifted the eyepatch. his eyes opened again, slowly, and you thought your heart might have skipped a beat.
"like chocolate," you commented, and a smile spread across his lips.
"that's the kindest reaction i've gotten."
your fingers fell upon his temple, brushing down gently as you inspected his singular brown eye. "since birth?"
he nodded, his eyes flicking down to your lips briefly before he spoke. "heterochromia. it's a characteristic of my family."
you studied his face. "not the one here?"
he sighed. "not the one here."
the icy blue of jeonghan's eye had always struck something in you. it made him mysterious. commanding. it felt like he saw more than you despite having one eye covered. but now, you felt warm. you felt his gentleness. there was comfort hidden away behind that black patch, and you told him that you understood why the cavalry captain had chosen to hide the eye he did.
but to you, he was willing to show anything that would keep you around longer, he said.
"why me?" you asked, studying his expression when he looked away. the sun had retreated behind the hills, leaving the sky a deep blue.
jeonghan didn't respond right away, and you wondered if he himself even knew the answer. "we're birds of a feather, you and i."
you looked out to the view again, watching the subtle movements of the wild hills. "did you travel much before you came here?"
"it was all i knew," he told you. "i was thirteen when my father left me here."
your neck snapped, your eyes on his profile when he leaned back on his hands. "left you?"
he almost laughed, a smile on his lips when his eyes met yours. "i was slowing him down, i suppose. hyungwon's father found me and took me in."
"so you stayed?"
"i didn't always want to," he assured you. "i had the itch to leave for years. as soon as i was able, i always told myself." he paused, eyes dropping. "then father died. then hyungwon turned down his position with the knights. and i was their second choice."
you pursed your lips. "you stayed for a job."
he laughed. "it's not that simple."
you smiled at him, enjoying the warmth of his eyes on yours as the sky cooled. "are you sure we're birds of a feather?"
"listen," he said, getting off his hands and brushing them off on his thighs. "i accepted the job so that i could set the story straight. i didn't want to run from the people that believed that hyungwon tried to kill me to avenge our father."
you studied him. "i'm sorry."
"don't be," he said, nudging your shoulder. "i was still planning on leaving, but then i fell in love."
you looked away, trying to sort out the way your stomach flipped. "are they still around?"
"not with a person," he laughed, then nodded towards the now dark hills. "with the views. besides, i get free reign whenever i leave for missions. i have fun adventuring, and come home to the best sunsets in teyvat. there are worse places to call home."
your eyes scanned the horizon, remembering the brilliant rays of sun you had just seen skip across it. "that is tempting."
"how tempting?" he asked.
you thought on that for a moment. "almost as much as a death after noon right now."
jeonghan laughed, slightly proud that he had hooked you on his favorite drink. "shall we go see rubin, then?"
you hummed, smiling at the captain. "as long as i don't have to sit alone again."
"that's a promise," he told you as he stood, holding out a hand that you took without hesitation, though he withheld his intention to make sure you were never alone again.
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dreamii-yume · 3 years
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this is my first time ask crumbBD ajbsakka
Since I read your mermaid best friend everytime, I just can't stop come back reading it when I'm bored! (And english is not my first language srry;;)
So..
How wonder his best friend still remember his birthday? Should they go out a date? cuddle on bed? Did she have a small gift for him? Or maybe celebrating together.. just two of them?
They’ll do all of that! Just watch. lol
Azul thought it was endearing, he almost wished that he was oblivious to it all when you woke up at exactly midnight to go to the kitchen and prepare something.
Maybe it’s because he was too reliant on your warmth that whenever you would pull away from his bed, he’ll have an internal panic attack and wake up. Though he was disappointed that he’ll have to act surprise during the reveal, instead of genuinely expressing it, he still considered himself blessed for being able to witness you working this hard for him. Despite everything, you couldn’t bring yourself to hate Azul, and you still cared for him like you did before, even if the situation had been slightly different.
Your gift was nothing but a precious little box, enough to fit in the size of his palms, but opening them revealed a bunch well-taken cared of monarchy coins. Ah, so this must have been what you’re collecting every time you were allowed to go outside, it explains why you’re always looking down as if you’re scanning for something. It brought a smile on his face, warmer than he had ever expressed his entire life; you even took the time to polish some of the dirt and rust covering them. Azul gently took your hands, no wonder it’s gotten a bit rough these past few days, you should’ve just had someone to dirty their hands for you, dummy.
Regardless, he still gave it a grateful kiss.
The twins helped you prepare the cake, Jade was elusive enough to keep a secret but unfortunately, the same can’t be said for his twin who can’t seem to shut his mouth about it. Anyway, the taste was what he expected if they were your instructors, but seeing you nervously waiting for his opinion was something he couldn’t help but chuckle at. You don’t have a voice, but your mannerisms are enough for Azul to understand what you wanted to say. Pretending to think deeply causes you tense up and bite your bottom lip, but when he smiled and told you how great of a baker you are, you lighten up with wide eyes, silently proud of yourself. It was cute, he was glad that you never changed from the way you were before.
He’ll close up the Mostro Lounge for this particular day and show you around town, especially places you have never been to before. He’ll keep a close eye on you, of course, just in case you get any ideas of running away…He sincerely hope it doesn’t come to that. However, watching you run around like a little kid slowly made him realized that you were probably distracted for it to happen any time soon, he knows that sparkling look in your eyes far too well after all. At some point, Azul caught you staring deeply onto the sea, you were probably thinking of all the peers and family members you selfishly left there. He then noticed how you shifted your look on the people down the beach, a tinge of sadness came decorating your eyes as soon as you saw an innocent couple holding hands.
Azul didn’t like that one bit; you were reminded of something that you were better off forgetting again. He quickly grabbed you by the hand and dragged you away from that scene, saying how there’s something else that may catch your attention to the other direction. You hesitantly followed.
Being alone with you was the best part of the day. No annoying twins, no people, no mermaids, no one else but you entangled in between his arms. You squirm, but ultimately lets his kisses explore your cheeks, neck, collarbone, and finally to your lips. With your skin being this sensitive, he couldn’t help but to tease your weak spots and embraced the subtle reactions you give, such as the slight sways of your legs and the way you close your eyes on impact. His hands travelled everywhere, and stops to pleasure you down between your thighs and your breast, chuckling at your sudden erotic gasps. Unknown to you however, pleasuring you isn’t the only objective Azul has here.
You still have that guy on your mind. There’s no way Azul can just let that thought go on, it wouldn’t matter having you in his grasp if your mind is wandering to someone else, right? It doesn’t matter what he’ll do, he can pleasure you all he wants and have you finally forget about that past heartbreak.
It’s in the contract, isn’t it? He’ll fulfill the terms and conditions no matter what, it’s what his benevolent heart is saying.
Even if he had to force that memory out of you.
Watch Yume struggle to remember what happened in her own sinfics lol
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petra-realsnk · 3 years
Text
Rivetra fanfic (divergence au)
Under the cut there’s the second chapter of my Digging up a grave series! I really do appreciate your support guys. I was really excited to know that some of you enjoyed the first part, so I hope you find this one interesting as well. This chapter was quite hard to write. I wanted this part of the story to feel genuine while also setting some conflicts.  I'm pretty clear about the direction the story will go, and it will probably end up having around 6 chapters. I’ll keep trying my best to bring you all a good burn! <3
Warnings: distress, sadness, mourning.
You can also read it in AO3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29610360/chapters/72925107 
Digging up a grave (Chapter 2)
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Petra wakes up in the military dungeons, oblivious to everything that has happened during the last six months. Levi is in charge of bringing her up to date, and informing her of her last duty to humanity. Erwin had asked him not too long ago if he could see his fallen comrades, and now he surely could. During their talk, Levi, who had sworn to live regretless, starts to doubt. What will he say once she finally asks him, "how did I die?"
The pendant duty
Petra woke up with a start. Seconds after she opened her eyes the memory of her nightmare faded, leaving behind it an agonizing sensation. The room was dark, and a faint musty smell stung her nose. The small bed was nestled against the wall in one corner, though she could barely see anything in the dim light.
She then remembered that she had been in the forest, and that the captain had found her, although she couldn't recall how she had gotten there. She also remembered her conversations with Eren before the expedition, but all the rest seemed to have been lost. There was not a single muscle in her body that didn’t ache, and a slight but persistent migraine pricked her temples. Her hands fearfully explored her body expecting to find a wound that could explain those after-effects. To her surprise, she didn’t find anything on the surface, which made her think that it was something internal, maybe caused by some fall or blow, which was somewhat correct.
At the thought of it, something twisted in her stomach, as it would surely have implied a problem for her squad, that would have had to come to her aid. It was even possible that her own captain had come to rescue her, which hurted her considerably. Petra was a proud soldier, she placed high esteem on her work, and would be lying if she said that she didn’t seek Levi's approval. For a long time Petra had tried to justify herself by thinking that all she wanted was to prove her worth, or that maybe she was too good-natured and therefore a little bit of a pleaser, even if the latter didn’t fit her at all.
Her breathing was still uneven, and from time to time she also experienced vertigo. Fatigue prevented her from caring too much about her condition, although it didn't take long for her to notice that something was wrong. Despite her blackouts, she managed to remember most of the things, but there was a fog separating her from everything… The memories, the people, the important events were there, but the emotional bonds that tied them had been distorted. She analyzed herself in the stillness of the room, until the sound of squeaking metal alerted her that someone was entering.
Thanks to the light of a torch she could see that it was Hange, who had just opened the gate of the cell in which she was. Petra felt misplaced as she realized she was imprisoned, and looked around her quickly, worsening her headache.
"Lay back down, getting upset will only make it worse", Levi said.
His voice moved something inside Petra, briefly clearing the mist that had separated her from reality before, bringing back for a second the sensation that linked his memory to her. She saw him appear from behind Hange, in civilian clothes and with his hands tucked into his pockets. Petra rested her head on the pillow once again, lying on one side without losing sight of her superiors.
"There you go! Just as when we found you… ”, said Hange in a rather calmed manner. As the commander approached she realized Hange wore an eye patch, then her eyes shifted to her neck, where now there was an honorific pendant with a green gem. Petra wondered what could have happened, and how was it possible for them to have been commemorated that fast…  
“What happened?”, she asked them, unable to hide her urgency. Hange's expression turned grim, while Levi remained motionless, leaning against the opposite wall the bed was in, unable to look at her. Petra's eyes went from one to the other, trying to figure out if she should apologize for something.
“We figured you won’t remember”, said Hange, making a pause. “You see, Petra… During the 57th expedition, we were attacked by an intelligent titan who turned out to be an infiltrated member in our army. Levi’s squad was totally annihilated, including yourself”.
The room remained in silence as Petra stared the commander in disbelief. “Are they- are they dead?”, she started saying, but couldn’t finish before Hange interrupted, “that was six months ago”.
That last sentence made her body temperature drop. The meaning behind her words was starting to reach her, and soon she started to panic. Petra tried to incorporate herself as her coping mind began to separate her from that moment. Before her nerves collapsed, Levi pushed himself off the wall and started walking toward her.
“You died, your body had to be left outside the walls and the enemy transformed yourself into a titan. After six months you came to devour someone who had the ability to shift like Eren, and that’s how you turned back to yourself.”
Hange gave Levi a concerned look, for he was delivering way too much information very harshly, even though she quickly realized that was his best attempt to bring her back. As he finished speaking, Levi finally looked Petra in the face. She regenerated slowlier than normal, but now her face looked as usual if not a little bit pale. He had always been prepared to let go of anyone at any given moment, but he wasn’t ready for this.
“Hange, aren’t you busy now that you’re the new commander? How about you let me take care of her”, said Levi without taking his eyes away from Petra.
“Commander!?”, replied Petra, “Then Erwin…”
“Ah, you’re right”, said Hange with a saddened tone, “I’ll go take care of it now, you guys have a lot to talk about! See you, Petra.” This time she sounded more carefree, disappearing before Petra could say goodbye.
Rapidly her mind shifted to Ouro, Eld and Gunther… The pain was beginning to take over her, but the captain wasn't going to let her take a breath.
Levi continued to advance towards her and sitted on her bed, quite more closer than what he had really intended to. Petra felt slightly intimidated, had he stopped trusting her? “Is he trying to intimidate me?”, she thought to herself, although he just wanted to see her from up close.
“Captain… I apologize. I understood what you both said, but there are some things I can’t really grasp”.
After hearing the word “captain” Levi shuddered. That was the first time she addressed him after her death, so formal, as if… nothing had really happened. She gave her life to him once, and now that she’s given a second she’s already back on duty? His expression betrayed him this time. He had always known how devoted she was, and was aware of her fondness for him, but why now? After giving everything she had, after he had failed them, she was willing to continue believing in him? He was being dragged to a mindspace he couldn’t afford. He had to understand she hadn’t seen herself under that tree, nor falling from the chariot. That was on him.
“Petra, it is done now. You don’t need to talk to me in that manner. Your duty with humanity has been fulfilled for now. If you still want to do this, I won’t stop you, but for now you should just listen”.
His reaction softened her. She knew she probably was a titan now, but if what they said was true, they would have had to suffer her death anyways. Petra lowered her gaze, as the blood slowly returned to her cheeks. She really had to work up the courage to ask the following:
“What happened to us?”
The captain was then forced to look away. It was a most common question, but he didn't know what to answer. All the formulas that came to mind included the confession that he was not there, that he could not help them, and that he abandoned them a second time without being able to take them to their families.
“I wasn't there, but it looks like your back was broken.” He could not lie, although he chose the short version. He didn't want her to have to imagine it, even at the risk of sounding blunt. “If you want to know more, you should ask Eren.” That’s all he could give away, as he turned to face her once more.
"I see ..."
Petra bit the bullet nicely, keeping her composure. At least she was certain that Eren was fine, even though they had failed him too. She knew Levi was used to losing people along the way, and he'd had to let go of his squad as well. At least now they could carry the weight of that loss together, she thought. Then, as things started to fall into place, it suddenly hit her.
“My father!”
“We’ll take care of it. I’ll inform him personally that you’ve been miraculously found alive. We can’t really tell him the truth for now, but we’ll arrange something…”, he comforted her.
Petra’s face lightened up a little, regaining its usual beauty. She had a very close relationship with her father despite their silly arguments. She didn't want to imagine the suffering it would have caused him, and was dying to tell him she was fine. Her determination helped her feel better, since now she had in mind to go home as soon as possible.
“Thank you so much, sir. When will it be possible to go see him? I really need to let him know.”
Levi looked at her somewhat concerned, Petra's mind was jumping from one place to another, and he needed to talk with her about so many things... Things that had happened in battle, the truth about the titans, she deserved to know everything, although deep down he knew that would not satisfy him. Was there something else he wanted to tell her, or was it actually something he wanted to know?
“I’m telling you to listen. Now that you’ve eaten a shifter you have inherited their powers. As you might have guessed, that means you’re like Eren now. We can’t really lose sight of you for that. We can’t know for sure which titan you have, and as far as we know your condition seems more delicate than the others. We aren’t sure you’ll be able to transform and come back.  Our only concern for now will be to make sure we don’t lose you. When the time it’s due, you’ll have to pass your power on to someone else”.
Petra saw that their conversation was far from over, and continued to listen with the same gesture of professionalism that had always accompanied her.
“There’s something more…”, continued Levi, “you can only live for thirteen more years after having inherited the powers. That’s in normal cases, so it’s  very likely that you’ll have considerably less time due to your circumstances.”
Petra's eyes widened momentarily, realizing now that she would have to lose most of her freedom, and that her time was running out. It's not that she wasn't up to it, but she wondered what would become of her life. Did that mean that her father was about to lose her again? She even came to think that perhaps it would be better for him to continue thinking that she’s dead, so he wouldn’t have to bury his daughter twice.
“You will need to find a reason of your own. We’ll only ask you to keep yourself alive until we find some certainties. If everything goes on smoothly we should be able to meet with the people who transformed you. But until your time is up, you must decide how to spend it. Once you are better and clean yourself up, I will take you to see your father, if you want to”.
That comment, coupled with his visibly frustrated expression, brought Petra a small smile.  They were close, and she could sense that he had cared deeply for her. As she looked at him, a chill ran through her arms. His attention always managed to move something in her. Petra felt ashamed of her own feelings, but it was obvious that she felt for him. Sometimes she belittled that affection as a childish crush, or distorted admiration. But other times, she felt that she knew him better than that, though it mortified her to admit how she had been carried away by Levi.
“I’m already starting to feel better. I will get to it as soon as possible. I would really like to get some fresh air. Is there anything else that I should know?”
Her voice was gentle, although there was some sadness to it. Guilt gnawed at Levi even though he didn't show it. Similar chills washed over him, unable to stop looking at the ghost on the bed. Erwin's death still followed him, and Petra's return had done nothing but show him a new version of hope and mourning.
They continued to talk about everything she had missed, sometimes looking into each other's eyes, sometimes avoiding their gazes. It was the first time that such a conversation took place on earth, an acquaintance bringing news to a dead person that could actually answer. There they remained, exchanging words for hours, caught up in an emotion that cannot be experienced alone.
-------
Ending note: Thank you so much for reading! In the next chapter, as you might have already guessed, they will be visiting Petra's father. Maybe something about that letter is about to be unveiled...
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milasartblog · 3 years
Text
Training (Anoli)
In life, no matter how perfect and skilled you are, there is always a place for training. Most of it is about gaining new abilities, in other cases it's just a refresh of your current skills. For Anoli, it was both. She didn’t expect to come up with such thing one day, but she also understands that she can’t always be so kind and sweet every time. Moreover, she still doesn’t know who was that person responsible behind Nazeel’s parents murder. And so, Anoli thought to prepare herself for any situation. The training took its place very recently, as in order to be able to at least hold the sword steady, the warrior must prepare themself mentaly, which Anoli did before the actual training. It was close to the evening, Liya, Nazeel and Sona were all at home. Anoli meanwhile was still outside, somewhere on the outskirts of the city. She warned Liya and Nazeel that she will come back a bit later today. Anoli looked at the horizon, holding a wooden stick that looks like a sword. Seems like she was waiting for someone. Fortunately, this someone didn’t keep her waiting.
Anoli: Thank you so much for accepting such proposition, Michael.
Michael: It’s nothing, I arrived as fast as I could. I’m honestly still surprised that you decided to learn how to use sword.
Anoli smiled as looked at the horizon again, then prepares for the training. She walked some distance and stood on the fighting pose. Michael did the same as looked at Anoli.
Michael: Didn’t change your mind yet?
Anoli: No. I came up with such decision, and I will go till the end with it.
Michael: Okay. Then you should remember one thing: no matter how honorable and generous you are, fight was and will never be fair, neither for skilled one nor for newcomer. Pay attention to moves and tricks that your opponent is about to use.
Anoli: Really? I thought that angels and archangels always fight fair.
Michael: That was long time ago. In our situation, we must be ready for anything, especially with our enemy that tries to harm Nazeel.
Anoli: You’re right.
She sighs deeply, cliching the wooden sword. They made an eye contact before Anoli started her move. Michael dodged her upper attack as swings his sword to her, which she blocked successfully and even pushed it away before making another attempt. Sounds of wooden blades accompanied the fighting as Michael keeps blocking and dodging the strickes. It made Anoli worry a bit.
Anoli: Why is he not attacking? Is he afraid to hurt me?
She thought to herself as stood still for a moment, which Michael noticed.
Michael: Don’t stay still for too long. You’re opened for the enemy.
And he rushes his attack to her right side. In panic, Anoli blocked the blade as tried to hold the position. Now it was her turn to avoid the attacks. Sometimes she had to step back in order to collect her strength and swing. To her surprise, Michael blocked it too...while holding the grip and the blade at the same time, standing almost on the knee. Anoli was stunned and worried, while Michael looked calm and collective.
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Anoli: Michael, your ha-
Michael: If you’re going to pay attention to it, your opponent will easily knock you off.
He made a push towards Anoli, making her step back as she almost fell, while Michael put the sword closer to her chest. They both stood still for a moment, then the archangel removed the sword. Anoli looked down with upset face, putting her sword down too. Michael patted her shoulder.
Michael: You did great, Anoli.
Anoli: But I got distracted. I got worried about you and-
Michael: We used wooden swords, remember?
Anoli: Oh....right, I totally forgot about it.
Michael: It’s okay, on the first training emotions and excitement can make the picture too real, However, it can be bad for your attention. Even tho you demonstrated not bad results, your focus and emotions need some work.
Anoli: Wait, do you mean that I should be emotionless?
Michael: No, of course not. Just when we feel anger, as an example, our attacks can be stronger, however our focus will be only on making as much attacks and swings as possible, not paying attention on where to strike better in order to disable the opponent.
Anoli: Disable? Not kill?
Michael: That’s right. 
Anoli: But shouldn’t warriors be ready for such situations? Sword is still a murderous weapon, no matter how you look at it.
The archangel looks down at his wooden sword, thinking. His face was not so confident as before, like this was something he prefered to avoid it, or this took place in his past. Anoli realised that she probably said too much.
Anoli: Sorry, I just-
Michael: No no, it’s okay. It’s just our thing, to disable the opponent and not kill it, no matter how terrible they are. Still, it doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be done. There are fates worse than death from the sword.
Anoli: Oh...I see, I will remember it.
Michael: Good. Shall we try one more time or take a rest?
Anoli: I want to try one more time, then maybe come back home.
Michael: Alright, but first, I would like to teach you something else.
Anoli got curious as Michael showed a sign to come a bit closer. She did it as the archangel put his hand on her head, then suddenly Anoli felt like her and Michael’s powers are synchronized. It was new to her.
Anoli: Woah, I can feel how the power flows through my hand. What is it?
Michael: Just an improved healing ability. Sometimes, less powerful angels have to rely on more powerful ones, and so their powers should be in one wave. And so, such ability allows not only to heal faster, but also strength others if need to.
Anoli: That's incredible! And you will teach me how to do it properly?
Michael: Of course, every angel should be able to do it. And with your quick learning ability, I'm sure it will go fine. So, are you ready to learn?
Anoli: Of course. I'm always ready to help and learn.
Michael: Good. Then let's train a bit more, then take a rest. It's important to have proper rest.
She nodded as they continued training before the evening covered the city with its early stars. Anoli gained some experience during this training, but also felt super tired to cook something, so Liya took the responsibility on it. Fortunately, this time kitchen was not on fire and everyone could enjoy the meal. It's a long way for Anoli to master the sword combat, but she was determined to do it. For the safety of her dearest people.
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And that's the next story for our universe^^ Anoli decided to master not only healing, but also sword techniques. Hope she will succeed in it^^
Anoli and Michael belong to @wildstarfan and @milasartblog (both me)
Okaria et Feria belongs to @wildstarfan and @captainthane
Base for the drawing is by AdorkaStock (SenshiStock)
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notaversetohedonism · 3 years
Text
Daisy Chains and Daydreams
Pairings: Mostly Moxiety but with some Logince as well because I love them and couldn't resist
Content : Fluff, Probably a bit long winded but it's the first fic I've ever finished 😅, mentions of food as a potential CW, as well as mentions of anxiety/panic attacks as well as general feelings of mild anxiety
Word count : 1960, jus a little one shot :)
"I'm boredddddd" groaned Roman, leaning his head back so that it rested on Logan's lap. Logan flinched slightly at the gesture, but was able to keep his composure well enough not to let out the squeak playing on his lips.
"I suppose today has been rather slow" he replied, turning a page from his novel without looking up. Virgil and Patton walked into the room quietly, perhaps hoping that the other sides would not have noticed their absence. No such luck, unfortunately.
"Hmm, Winnie the Blue and Patty-Cake," Roman began with a smirk "Couldn't help but notice that the two of you were, should I say, mysteriously absent?" Virgil simply shot him a death glare, where Patton looked sheepishly down at the carpet, a blush forming upon his freckled cheeks. God. His freckles. Typically his face was clear and bright, but on the odd summer where the sun shone a little brighter, they appeared. Virgil, as should surely be apparent, was a fan. Before they had gotten together, he often lay awake at night staring up at the ceiling, imaging tracing every single one beneath his fingers.
Virgil collapsed in an undignified heap on the couch. He, as the most cynical side, was not a fan of weather in general, but he despised these summer months. How was he supposed to maintain his edgy persona without a hoodie to pull over his head when he had had enough with Logan and Roman's nonsensical bickering? The only thing that had convinced him that dying of heatstroke was not the way to go was Patton tentatively offering up one of his many identical blue shirts.
Patton sat down next to his boyfriend, sliding his fingers into Virgil's and tracing his thumb in gentle circles on the top of his hands. The one gesture that was sure to make Virgil melt. As if he wasn't already doing that in this ridiculous heat. He looked up at Patton, the softest of smiles on his face. In return, Patton gave his usual wide, brighter than the sun itself, grin.
"Hey everyone! I had an idea!" he suddenly burst out, as if the thought had just entered his mind and he had to get it out before it left again.
"Yeah Pat?" asked Virgil softly, a light blush emerging just barely visible underneath his foundation when he saw the identical smirks on Roman and Logan's faces. Patton of course, noticed this. He gave Virgil a look the two of them had come up with together, asking with his eyes if Virgil was ok with this or if he needed to stop. Reassured by the slightest nod of Virgil's head, he continued,
"Why don't we go for a picnic? It'll be fun, and with the breeze it'll be cooler out there than it is in here!" Patton giggled, practically clapping his hands in excitement. There it was again. The ache in his face. Virgil, despite his reservations, had absolutely no intention of giving one of his typical cynical remarks that would have no doubt have been rewarded should any of the other sides been the one to suggest the concept. Logan and Roman both at the same time had said
"Sure!" causing them to blush and turn away from one another. Patton had been badgering Virgil for weeks to let him help set them up, but Virgil had gently insisted that this was something for them to discover in their own time.
"Let's do it," Virgil said, his voice starting out very quiet but becoming a little louder as he continued "It could actually be fun" Patton all but squealed with joy as he jumped up to prepare the food. That was another thing Virgil's mind would often wander to.
They could all cook to some degree. But Logan followed the recipes so meticulously and to every minor detail that the food was often a little bland, Roman had a bad gague of how hot was too hot, and Virgil, naturally, was petrified by the idea of burning himself on the hot stove. When Patton stepped up to the stove, however, it was like a whole other world. One could taste the pure love worked into every bite. The sides would typically cook for themselves, but if one was having a particularly rough day, or if they got sick, then Patton's cooking was sure to make them feel better. Virgil often received it after a panic attack, and more often than not it was the thing that grounded him.
"Oi, Panic at the everywhere, go get ready!" Roman's voice cut through Virgil's thoughts. The nickname still bothered him somewhat, but he could tell Roman was making the effort to be a little nicer to him.
"Alright Princey, if you insist." he smirked, sinking out and back into his room. He wasn't the biggest fan of wearing shorts, but he knew wearing jeans probably wasn't his best idea. He pulled on some loosely fitting jean shorts and, of course, Patton's blue shirt stayed on. He sat for a second on his bed, no longer feeling the need to repress his smiles now that he was alone. Patton saw them; when Virgil was with his boyfriend he couldn't keep them in, but he still felt a little wary around Logan and Roman. They had accepted him, but as the anxious side he still had his reservations. As he sat, Patton suddenly appeared at his side.
"Virge, are you ready to go? We're leaving soon!"
"Gah, Pat! What have we said about appearing in here with no warning?" Virgil exclaimed, but with no real bite to his voice Patton knew he was only kidding.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! This is gonna be so much fun!" Patton giggled, pulling at Virgil's hands. Virgil would never in a million years admit it, but secretly he found Patton's somewhat childish nature the cutest possible thing.
Before they got to their picnic spot, they had a short walk to complete. Roman and Logan forged ahead, arguing about something Virgil didn't understand, nor did he really care about. He was with Patton, and he felt safe. Their hands were loosely intertwined, their pinky fingers locked but not so tightly that Virgil could not pull away should he feel the need. It had taken a little bit of time and a lot of clear communication, but Patton was now very good and understanding of the way his boyfriend felt about affection. He craved it deeply but it often overwhelmed him. But right now, Virgil was quite possibly the calmest he had ever been. The two didn't exchange many words as they walked side by side, only the occasional comment on the beautifully scenic park, or a stifled giggle between themselves as Roman or Logan would make some loud statement.
Finally, the close-knit group of friends found the place they were seeking. They stood in a little alcove discovered by Patton and Virgil on their first official date (by that point they had actually been on about seven, but Virgil was not exactly good at reading the room and thought Patton was just being friendly. Friends kissed on the forehead goodbye, didn't they?). Tall willow trees encircled them. The space was small, but not so small that it felt uncomfortable for their slightly larger than usual party. But what Patton and Virgil unanimously agreed was the best part was the daisies. They grew here wild and free, mostly white and pure but with some pink and some purple, exciting and joyful.
"Thank goodness! I understand that being fit and healthy is necessary for me to remain the most handsome Prince in all the land," Virgil barely stifled a snicker, "but seriously guys? Now I see why your dates always take such a long time!" Logan said nothing, but gratefully slumped onto the soft grassy ground. All those long hours and late nights working tirelessly on his computer did not leave optimal time for exercise.
"Ok everyone, food time! I know it was a little short notice but I hope you all like what I've prepared for us!" Patton said, grinning. Virgil looked inquisitively into the basket that Patton had carried with them for their whole journey. And just. Wow.
Sandwiches in the flavours each side liked best, as well as at least five different types of cookies, and best of all? A rather respectably sized vanilla cake. Their favourite. Roman clapped his hands, Logan raised his eyebrows with a pleasant surprise, and Virgil once again gave his tiny smile. Just a slightly lifted corner of his mouth, but still one Patton recognised well. His own mouth initially mirrored Virgil's, but his smile only grew from there into the one the sides knew so well.
"Alright everyone, dig in!" Of course, no convincing was needed here.
After having stuffed themselves silly, the group sat on the ground, quiet and content. Even Logan, who at this point during an outing would typically be badgering the sides to get back so that he could finish his next series of extraordinary projects, simply closed his eyes and looked up, barely concealing his satisfied smile. With his closed eyes, he did not notice the barely concealed glances of pure adoration given to him by Roman.
Virgil sat propped against a tall, sturdy willow tree, staring at Patton's back lovingly, quietly pondering what the taller side was doing: his back hunched slightly, humming a tune to himself. Within less than five minutes of wondering, he had his answer.
"Uh, Pat? What's this?" he stared in mild confusion at the interwoven daisies sitting in a loop against his pale wrist as Patton looked at him with soft eyes.
"It's a daisy chain! See, I wove them together like this!" As Virgil sat patiently listening as his boyfriend weaved together the pretty little flowers, a thought wandered to the front of his mind. "How on earth did I get so lucky?" Overcome by emotions and bravery, he dared to utter,
"Pat, is it ok if I kiss you?" As Patton gave him an unreadable look for just a few seconds, he wondered if he had crossed a line. But suddenly, he was rewarded with an enthusiastic
"Of course!" and a pair of lips on his own. As Patton eventually leaned back from the kiss to regain some of his air, he suddenly stared at Virgil intensely.
"Uh, y-yes, Pat, what is it?"
"Your eyeshadow, it's purple!" Patton conjured a mirror, shyly holding it up to a stunned Virgil's face.
"And it is. The credit for this one goes to you, Pat." Patton, clearly thrilled but wanting to make sure his boyfriend was comfortable, opted, instead of saying a word, to lay his head down in Virgil's lap, looking up at him with what could only be described as pure adoration. In that moment, it was just them. Roman and Logan's quiet chatter faded into a barely audible whisper, the bird song silenced. They were together, and they were in love. A realisation that would later strike Virgil, and he would spend many am hour wondering how best to say so to Patton, but for now, they sat happily.
But what was the most exciting thing about the beautiful day they all shared together was that by the end of it, as Patton layed his head on Virgil's legs, Virgil saw Roman and Logan's tentatively intertwined hands, the awkward but hopeful smiles on their lips. Virgil decided not to tell Patton right now. Because at this moment, with his hands gently running through his boyfriends soft hair, a daisy chain around his wrist, he felt calm. He felt happy. Maybe tomorrow things would change, but just this once, Virgil decided it was alright to focus on today.
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pathopharmacology · 4 years
Note
Hey. I'm the anon that checks in on you occasionally. First, sorry for thanking you for doing your job, I understand now that was tone deaf and I'm sorry for being an ass with that. Secondly, you've gone completely dark since this pandemic started and I'm really worried about you, especially since IIRC you work in emergency. You don't have to be okay (although that sure would be nice!!). I'm guessing you're not. But I'd like to know you're alive. And I want you to know you're not forgotten. We're not friends, though we're mutuals last I checked, and I want you to know someone cares even if there isn't shit I can do to help. Stay breathing. Keep your head above water.
Shit, friend, I am so sorry I freaked you out like that. God’s honest truth, I haven’t checked tumblr in ages, because I kinda noped out of most social media after we lost our first baby and then never really found my footing again after because a bunch more Life Stuff happened (more on that below). I don’t know that I’ll resume any sort of presence here, but for those who do want to stay in touch I have a twitter account (@patho_patho) I use occasionally. It honestly never occurred to me that anyone would worry. Again, I’m super sorry about that. I never intended to scare anyone.
Anyway, life update! The tl;dr version is that I found out I was pregnant in November of last year, freaked out SUPER HARD about it because of how things went the last time, freaked out SUPER HARD some more when covid-19 started showing up in the states, left the emergency department for a care management position right before the hospital implemented a hiring freeze, basically didn’t tell anyone I was pregnant until I was like almost 26 weeks along and it was incredibly obvious anyway, and — several months later — ended up having an unplanned (but non-emergent) cesarean delivery when my water broke three weeks early and the baby was breech.
The little dude is now 8 weeks old, growing like gangbusters and marvelously healthy. Unfortunately, our entire state caught on fire recently, so I’ve just spent the last week with him up at my parents’ house because the air is poison and their ventilation situation is way better than ours. Fun stuff.
I can’t explain how good it was for my mental health to get out of the emergency department. I was struggling even before everything happened with my first pregnancy, so when I got off my “postpartum depression is even more awesome when your baby is dead” medical leave, I was in a REAL bad way. We were thrilled when I got pregnant again, but it was also much earlier than we’d intended (apparently I’m super fertile, hooray?) and I spent the first trimester pretending like it wasn’t happening because I wasn’t sure I could survive the loss of another child. Covid started being a thing riiiight as I was heading into the second trimester, and...let me tell you, being pregnant during a pandemic is absolutely terrifying, and it was even more terrifying when I was still working in the ED. Those early days, when we really didn’t know much except that it was really, really bad? God, that was brutal. I was having panic attacks on my way to work, because I was scared shitless that I was going to get it and either I would die (thus killing my baby), or there would be complications of some sort (which would kill my baby), or me and the baby would be fine, but I would give it to the Dude or my parents and then one of THEM would die and...
Anyway. Bad times. It was bad times.
I was interviewing for a number of positions when things started amping up, and accepted the care management job literally days before the shelter-in-place orders went into effect, which led to a hospital-wise hiring/transfer freeze. The transfer still went through, thank god, and my new job has been amazing. They were super cool when I finally told them I was pregnant, especially when I explained why it took me so long to disclose it in the first place (basically, I wanted to wait until the final diagnostic tests were done and I knew 100% that this kiddo wasn’t sick the way our first was). I’m currently on maternity leave, and every once in a while my supervisor will text with a demand for more baby pictures. It’s really nice, actually. Care management is challenging as fuck, but it’s also really rewarding and interesting, and I’m glad I was able to make the switch before the whole world imploded.
(Also, it’s super nice to be in a position where the stakes are not literally life and death, and I’m also not putting my own life on the line every time I go into a patient room? I might’ve been okay with that once upon a time, but, uh, a lot of shit changed for me last year)
That’s pretty much it, unless y’all want to hear the whole pregnancy saga (which probably isn’t all that interesting, to be honest, except for the last bit with the c-section and all). Parenthood is deeply scary and deeply amazing. Everyone talks to you about postpartum depression, which makes it super easy to be blindsided by postpartum anxiety, which is like regular anxiety except your hormones are completely out of whack and you cry a lot and also refuse to sleep because you’re convinced your baby will die the moment you stop looking at them. Being a new parent during a pandemic is even scarier than being pregnant during a pandemic, and I honestly have no idea how I’m going to explain all of this EVERYTHING to the kiddo once he’s old enough to ask what the fuck was up with 2020, anyway.
Again, I’m really sorry I scared you by going radio silent. I’ve got all my notifications turned back on in case you or anyone else has any follow-up questions, and people are always welcome to check in over on the twitters (which is a garbage site, I freely admit, so I totally understand if folks would rather not). I definitely aten’t dead, and right now I’m doing better than I have in a long while.
Now I just need the air to stop being poison.
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Note
Hello mods!
I hope it's okay to vent a bit... I feel very lonely and I don't have someone to talk tp right now.
I was in a small car crash today and it was totally my fault. I feel really ashamed and I can't really remember anymore what happened or how I could've not seen the car slowing down.. I just know that I looked at the road.. I'm scared that I dissociated during driving and/or went on autopilot. I don't really know how that works yet because I've just got into therapy. I'm scared it'll happen again. I'm scared that I have another 'almost trauma' on my already huge mountain of issues. I'm scared to drive again. No one got hurt, because I managed to react kinda quickly, because something told me to slow down. But I just feel like shit. My neck head and ears hurt. I also hurt my knees a bit and I'm dizzy when I walk. Also I'm scared they got my phone number wrong, because the police officer kept telling me 0 it's a 0 at the start of a phone number, even tho I told him repeatedly that that's not my number, because I fucking read it off of my phone. But at some point my social anxiety just said 'no' and I just stopped saying anything.
I know it's sick, but I wish I didn't hit the brake. Not because I wanted anyone to get hurt, but I just don't want to be here anymore.
I guess some higher being knew tho that there was a little girl in that car and if I didn't react, she probably would've been dead or severely hurt along with me, so I hit the brake. Probably also out of reflex. But I don't like to think that, because I hate myself. Thinking I probably wanted to save my ass in that moment just feels wrong.
I just hope that little girl isn't traumatized or something. She looked so creeped out by me and also my panic attack. I'm so scared about what's to come. I just can't handle life. At all.
I was so in shock I guess at some point while driving home, I laughed and cried. I was laughing and smiling. Probably I'm really going crazy at this point.
I'm also scared that I might get diagnosed with psychotic depression or something.
I should've just stayed in bed... The day already started badly, because I probably had flashbacks yesterday night of something that happened a while back.
My mom wants me to keep driving and if she won't drive me to therapy and stuff I guess I also don't have another choice...
I hope you are all doing okay tho! Have a good night/day.
We always welcome vents, anon. I'm glad you could get this off your chest.
First off, I am glad you are okay and not fatally hurt, even if you said you wished you were. I am glad you are still here with us. I am also glad no one else was fatally hurt. You reacted quickly and really, kudos for that. Believe me anon. I'm glad you're still here with us. I really am.
Second, that sounds like a downright terrible experience. Any car crash would be, I'm sure, but the aftermath is what is weighting you down the most it seems. I understand why you wouldn't want to keep driving. What you went through is haunting and I really, really hope therapy will help you. I'd love to say that you don't have to drive ever again but... unfortunately, it is necessary.
Third, part of being humans is acknowledging the awful part of ourselves. I'm glad you wrote everything down, even the bad parts you wish had happened. You got it off your chest and that's the important thing. I know right now you are scared and guilty, but in the future, you'll be able to look back at this and - hopefully - say you are glad nothing worse happened.
Whatever they diagnose you with, I'm sure you'll be able to overcome it. It will be a long and hard road, but you will do it. I believe in you, anon. - Mod Jessa
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starlightsearches · 4 years
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Okay so I'm in love with the oneshot you did of Hux x Reader graduating from the academy. I would like to request a part 2 please, where Armitage sees Reader again for the first time on the Finalizer. Thanks, hun!! ❤❤❤
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Graduation pt. 3
Hello friends! I was feeling really guilty about opening up my requests before I finished some of the older ones, but now I’m very glad that I did because i was able to combine these two, and I love the way that it turned out. Hope you guys like it!
Requests are closed  ✨
Armitage Hux x Classmate! Reader Pt. 3
(Here’s part one and part two if you’d like a refresher 🥰)
Warnings: Discussions of an injury, and I think that’s it!
He’s still not sure why he had volunteered for the mission, not really. It was uncharacteristically impulsive, as he had been sitting in the meeting with his head down, occasionally flitting his glance in your direction. Captain Prayjor had made the opportunity sound exciting: the chance to be on the ground during an attack, a time to use the skills he had so carefully cultivated in all those simulations, but even then he had held back, unwilling to make the choice just yet.
Life on the Finalizer was different from what Armitage had expected; some of those differences were good, others were . . . less than ideal. Perhaps the most surprising was also the best: he rarely saw his father aboard. Apparently the general was much too busy to concern himself with any of the new lieutenants, including his own son, and Armitage liked that well enough. Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to see much of you either.
He had thought that things would be different, after the cadet’s ball, after the kiss you had given him in the moonlight on Arkanis, but he had managed to fuck that up. It was just so hard, now—to speak to you, to look at you, to be normal. Every time he tried, the memory was conjured again, and each time in more devastating detail: how pretty you had looked inching closer to him outside your dormitory, how his skin had turned to fire and melted away under the pressure of your lips on his cheek, how bare he felt in your presence. Every time he looked at you, he was overcome with a flood of desires, and the inability to act on them. He wasn’t brave enough.
It was natural, for the distance to grow between you, a spreading crevasse that Armitage widened every time he caught your eye and then looked away, with every curt answer he gave to your genuine questions, and he didn’t know how to stop it. He knew you’d give up on him soon enough, though, and it would tear him apart.
Captain Prayjor had finished his presentation, waiting patiently for the first brave volunteer, but the room stayed silent. Hux watched you closely as Jamisa, one of the other new additions to the Finalizer crew, leaned over next to you, whispering just loud enough for Armitage to hear, “sounds dangerous, I don’t think I could do it,” and you had nodded in assent just as your eyes met his. Electricity had filled the air, and he hadn’t noticed that his hand was raised until he heard Captain Prayjor calling his name.
“Yes, lieutenant?” he had said, and everyone turned to Armitage, waiting to see if he would really agree to this, if he would be the first of them to take all the theoretical learning that they had done and see if it really worked.
No one breathed, no one moved, the weight of all the eyes and expectations of everyone in the room rested upon his shoulders, but only yours mattered in that moment, to Armitage. He needed to be brave. He wanted more. If this is what it would take for you to finally see him as more than just a friend, then no amount of danger would make him turn away.
“I’d like to volunteer for the mission, captain.”
In the days leading up to the event, Armitage couldn't keep his mind from wandering with outlandish fantasies, his thoughts filled with images of himself, a little bruised, a little bloody, but also victorious and vital, returning to the Finalizer. And you would be there, of course, waiting for him, eager to see that he had returned alive. Things would change, in that moment. You'd see him the way he wanted to be seen by you, and everything would be different. He’d close the divide that he had created.
The reality was much more pathetic, of course. He and Prayjor hadn't even been on the ground for the fight, instead directing troopers from a command ship, only leaving the safety of the transport once everything was finished. He had surveyed the battlefield after the fact, stepping over the charred landscape of discarded blasters and fallen troopers with a distinct feeling of dissatisfaction.
He only found out what really happened much later, about the rebel in hiding, the blaster shot and how they had rushed him, unconscious, back to the Finalizer, to the medbay. So his return had not been what he had expected at all. But then again, neither was anything that happened after.
He wakes with a headache, his limbs sore from the lack of movement, and even with his eyes closed there's too much light. He grunts and shifts, testing out the limits of his body, but his limbs haven’t quite woken up yet, left weighed down and immobile. He waits patiently, working up to the point that he can flex his fingers, but he freezes when something in his palm impedes the movement.  His eyes flash open, and you're the first thing he sees, sitting at his bedside, facing away from him, towards the door. He sees you first, and then his gaze wanders to his hand, where your fingers are intertwined with his.
You don't notice that he’s awake just yet, focused intently on your data pad, which rests in your lap. Despite the effect it had on him, the light in the room is dim; most of the overhead lights are off and the majority of the light pours in from the corridor outside of his room—it must be the middle of the night cycle.
A familiar feeling of panic rises in his chest, but not for any normal reason, not because he’s woken in a strange place with no memory of how he got there. It doesn’t take long for him to figure out he’s in the medbay—not with the medical equipment and the thin mattress beneath him and the remnants of sedatives he can still feel running their course through his veins. No, he’s panicked because of you, because he can already feel his palm grow moist against your own, because any moment now you’ll realize that he’s awake and he’ll have to find something to say.
He stays as still as he can manage, ignoring the pain that emanates from his side, trying to relax into this moment. He watches you as he tries to maintain the steady, sleepy rhythm of his breathing, paying close attention to every detail he can, because he’d like to savor this moment, and what it means. You’re here. You care about him.
You shift in your seat, removing your hand from his and turning to face him. Armitage manages to close his eyes again, just in time, pretending to be asleep.
He feels the gentle brush of your fingers against his hairline, and he has to remind himself to breathe as your touch sparks against his nerve endings, your fingers curling through his hair with an affectionate gentleness that he hadn’t felt before.
Can people blush when they’re asleep? Armitage can feel the heat rising in his cheeks, up to his forehead, and his breath stutters through his nose, the beep of the heart monitor beside the bed following suit. Your fingers still, and he can feel you waiting to see if he might wake.
Armitage lets his eyes fall open, and they meet yours immediately, like fate, like it was meant to be. You’re beautiful, even without sleep, even with bloodshot eyes that tear up when you realize that he’s awake. For a moment, you’re both motionless, and there’s a silent communication that flows between you—for just a moment, he believes with every fiber of himself that you might actually kiss him.
But just as soon as it was created, the connection is broken. You break away from him, pulling your hand from where it rests in his hair, embarrassed, your eyes traveling to the doorway before they return to his, guarded now.
“You’re awake,” you whisper, fiddling with the sheet at the edge of the bed, maybe to give your hands some purpose besides touching him, “how are you feeling?”
“I’ve been better,” he responds, and the rasp of his own voice surprises you both. You search the room, your eyes landing on the stand beside the bed and you take the cup that rests there into your hands, holding it out to him. Armitage shifts into a sitting position, wincing at the sharp, smarting pain that engulfs his side when he moves. Your other hand reaches out to steady him, and he flushes again at the contact, just now realizing that they had left him bare from the waist up, your palm warm against the pale skin of his rib cage. He settles back into a sitting position, but you don’t remove your hand just yet, waiting until he stops before you pull away. 
“Do you remember what happened?” you ask as you hand him the cup, pausing to make sure that he has a good hold on it before you let go. Armitage thinks he should probably be embarrassed with the way that you’re doting on him, but he finds he doesn’t mind the attention. He shakes his head before bringing the glass to his lips and drinking the water in long, slow sips.
“You were shot twice,” you say as he drains the glass, “before the troopers could apprehend the rebel. They only just missed your spine.” Your voice cracks on the last word; and a tear slips down your cheek before you brush it away. Armitage goes rigid, watching you carefully as he sets the glass back down. Maybe he’s misreading the signs, but that tear holds meaning. He thinks that this might be the first real sign that you care about him—as more than a friend.
“Thank you for being here,” he whispers, and he inches his hand across the crisp, white sheets towards the place where your hand rests on the edge of the mattress. A surge of warmth flows through him as he takes your hand in his—he’s feeling brave.
“I’m glad that you’re alright,” you say with a sniffle, trying to stay any more tears that threaten to fall as they pool in the corners of your eyes, “if you hadn’t been, if it had been-”
Pain shoots up his side again as Armitage lunges forward, but it doesn’t even register, not when he’s focused on the infinitely more pleasurable feeling of your mouth on his as he kisses away the worries that you were unable to express. A white-hot thrill shoots through him as you kiss him back, your lips parting with a little laugh, your hand resting against the crook of his neck as you pull him closer, his fingers already entwined in your hair.
It’s the alarming of the heart monitor that finally makes you pull away from him, the shrill measure of his accelerated heartbeat echoing through the room. You’re shy all of a sudden, brushing your fingertips over the small smile that rests on your lips, and the realization hits him with force: you’ve wanted him all this time, just as much as he did. How could he be so foolish? How could he have let his fears deprive him of something this wonderful?
Armitage struggles to get his breathing back in check, and he can feel that he’s blushing all the way down to his chest, his skin flushed with delight. 
“I should probably let you rest,” you say when you look at him again, brushing your fingers down the length of his arm, leaving a pleasant chill in their wake. “I’ll be back tomorrow?” 
“I’ll be out of here by then,” he responds, grabbing your hand as your fingers dance over his palm, bringing it to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss against your knuckles. If he had his way, they’d let him out of the medbay right now. He wants to be with you, and he knows that you want to be with him. And nothing, not even a blaster wound, was going to keep him away from you anymore.
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angelic-serenade · 4 years
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request: 🌟 Hellou!! I love ur work!! ❤️❤️❤️ Is it possible tó ha e a Alastor and younger(like 4 years younger) reader who have nightmares of his death sonetimes, cause she saw itt Back then, and go to big bother Alastor for comfort? 🦌
requested by: anon
a/n: okay so this was supposed to be a quick one-shot but my hand slipped and I wrote 9500+ words instead. oops. anyway, I hope this meets your expectations, enjoy!
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gif, original work and characters do not belong to me
pairing: Alastor x sister! reader
fandom: Hazbin Hotel
warnings: mentions of death, bit of angst, traumatic events, toxic relationship if you squint, Alastor being Alastor but softer for reader
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It never rained down in Hell, no matter how ardently you had sometimes wished to feel the drops pouring down your robes. Even during your longest nights, the ones haunted by nightmares and long-forgotten memories resurfacing at your weakest, it would never rain like it did in those Gothic Novels your darling brother used to read you back in the day: you were no virtuous protagonist and never would the skies cry for your misery. It was probably one of the worst downsides of being stuck in Hell for all eternity: the equally eternal blood red sky forever looming over your head, serving as a reminder of your infernal punishment.
When you'd wake up in the middle of the night, after a particularly vivid nightmare, there was no pouring rain to muffle the sound of your hopeless wailings, no thunder to distract your spinning mind from its panic. Therefore, you found yourself continously seeking comfort from the only person you held dear to your now dead cold heart: Alastor, The Radio Demon, whom you had the privilege to refer to as your darling brother (at least in the privacy of your own bedchamber) - older brother to be precise, even if only by a few years. You had always been extremely fond of your sibiling, looking up to him as a role model - definitely not your wisest decision since it had landed you among the sinners of Hell. That's not to say you had any regrets, Heaven seemed like an awfully dreadful and boring place if you were to be completely honest.
Alastor, on his part, had affectionately doted on you back on the surface, taking his little sweetling under his protective wing as if his sole purpose in life had been to take care of you. As a consequence, on more occasions than you cared to remember, you had felt utterly asphixiated by your brother's undivided attention all your life, and quarrels had been a daily occurrence whenever his protective behavior clashed with your own desire for freedom. Your lovely mother had always been there to try and defuse your heated altercations, the poor woman; your dear brother and you, however, both shared the same stubbornness and desire to prevail on others, so that whenever your strong personalities came to oppose, trouble was always certain to follow suit.
You wished you'd appreciated his concerns more when you had been given the chance. Now in the afterlife, shows of affection were hard to come by. Mayhap that had been the worst punishment inflicted upon you after death: the privilege of having your dear brother by your side without actually being able to cherish and bask in his caring regards. Mayhap the illustrious Dante had been right in his musings all along: the law of retaliation had taken away from you the one thing you had never really appreciated in life, making you realize just how much you had taken for granted. Now that your brother had become Hell's greatest menace, an overlord to make things worse, weakness in any shape or form could and would not be tolerated under any circumstance, for both his and your sake.
Luckily, no demon in the seven circles suspected that the feared Radio Demon had any siblings to begin with, thanks to Alastor's foresight.
Your identity was to be kept secret at all costs in order to avoid undesired repercussions. If anyone were to even suspect you had any kind of connection to the Radio Demon - Alastor had told you - overlords and lesser demons alike would be at your throat in the span of a heartbeat. If given the chance, no enemy of his would ever hesitate to stoop as low as to attack him were it hurt the most, where he was most vulnerable. And that chance, he was not willing to give any time soon. You both had already died once and you were not keen on repeating the experience.
So you had followed his every order ever since your fall into the pits, leading a life death away from your darling brother and his chaotic ways - the one thing he hadn't been able to prevent in life -, keeping a low profile as a common denizen of Hell. Alastor would unsuspiciously check up on you every now and then, but his visits had been as rare as it was to see an angel in Hell - seeing him once a year was truly an unfair torture. Time went by and you grew more and more lonely as you mostly kept to yourself and wasted your days away in a nice apartment away from prying eyes. You were a nobody in Hell, and that was how things were meant to be.
Things changed when Alastor unexpectedly showed up at your doorstep for the second time in a year, blabbering about the newest project he'd involved himself with. His words betrayed unusual enthusiasm, a mood you had learned to be usually spurred on by the prospect of carnage and bloodshed or his precious radio broadcasts. Whenever he came to see you, he always showered you in gifts and praise, but it had been centuries since you had seen your brother so excited over... anything, really. Therefore, witnessing his cheeriness brought a genuine smile on your face. You were a little jealous you weren't the reason why he felt so giddy, but you couldn't complain as spending time with him was the greatest gift you could ever ask for these days. So when he told you you'd be moving into this phantomatic Hazbin Hotel, where he'd be staying for a while as well, you were impossibly ecstatic. Alastor had gently caressed your cheek and, in one of his rare moments of tenderness, softened his voice as if to lull you away:
“My dear, it has always pained me so to leave you here to your lonesome, but I am certain you understand that I always ever meant to protect you from harm.”
Unexpectedly, as most of his actions were, your dear brother spun you around into his arms as if he were coaxing you into a dance - which would probably be the case, knowing him. His words were impossibly haughty now, as if a switch had gone off in his mind:
“But now sweetling, now the time has come to finally put an end to this painful arrangement. You'll be joining me at this whimsical Hazbin Hotel our dear princess is so enthusiastic about!”
You knew better than to question Alastor and his ways, so you simply nodded your approval, glad to finally be able to leave that god forsaken apartment you had been locked in for far more than you cared to admit. And so you moved to the hotel - still keeping your true identity a secret, mind you. You were introduced as one of Alastor's acquantances, much like both Niffty and Husk were. Nobody questioned your unexpected presence and Charlie (much more than everybody else) welcomed you with opened arms into her precious hotel. When you offered to lend a hand with whatever she needed, she was utterly ecstatic. All in all, you were quick to adapt to the new situation.
The new accommodation, however, brought about quite a lot of new issues as well.
Spending so much time with Astor, for one, even if pretending not to be as close as siblings should be, awakened long forgotten memories about your life on Earth, most of which you would have preferred to keep locked away. During your very busy days, you were able to distract yourself from your scattered thoughts and memories; at night, however, your subconscious relentlessly haunted you in the form of nightmares and there was nothing you could really do to prevent it.
It was inevitable that you'd start losing sleep, as the only way to evade the cage that your mind had become was not to sleep at all. Astor had grown increasingly worried about your sleep-deprived state, even if he tried not to show it, masking his concern with his usual smile and charming talks:
“You will chase away any potential patrons looking so disheveled and shabby, my dear. Charlie will surely be heartbroken.”
You wouldn't have put it past him to manipulate you through guilt, but you knew that Alastor was truly worried about your health. His gaze, cryptic to most, felt all too familiar to you, just like the expressiveness of his smile held no secrets from you anymore. Needless to say, as fond of him as you were, you tried to sleep once again.
Then one night everything changed: it had been the worst night of your undead life, and the best one too.
The deafening sound of gunshots had echoed through your unconscious mind, increasingly loud footsteps and dogs barking so loud that you subconsciously jerked in your sleep. A call to your name, desperate, hopeless and scared. You saw him, his beautiful maroon eyes that had once only pooled in fondness for you, now dark and miserable. But they held promise too, a promise to fulfill maybe someday, in another life.
“I'm sorry (Y/N)”
His smile had dropped.
So had you.
You woke up screaming, trashing about in your bed. Sweat clung to your brow, your mind in a frenzied panic searched for something concrete and real to cling to. Was your brother alright? Satan, you hoped so. He had to be, he couldn't leave you again, you had to go to him, to see him, you didn't want to lose him again, you wouldn't bear the pain - you almost tripped in the bedsheets as you scrambled to the door.
When you arrived to Alastor's door, you had yet to calm down. You rapidly knocked on the hard wood, agitation evident in both your jerky movements and shivering hands.
“Alastor, Alastor, please. Open up. It's me” you desperately whispered.
As the door gently opened, your brother stepped into the darkness of the hallway and you unceremoniously flung yourself to him, clinging to his neck as if it were your lifeline. Your tears wet his robes, but you couldn't bring yourself to care enough to apologize. You felt like you had almost lost him again after all those years of seclusion.
But he was alive and he was with you. That's all you could hope for and far more than you thought you deserved.
Alastor uncharacteristically started to pat your head, as if trying to console you even though he had little to no experience in that area. His movements were uncertain, but as you lifted your head from his chest to gaze into his eyes, you realized no words would ever convey as much affection as Alastor's eyes did in that brief moment. His smile never faltered - even if it had become a bit strained - but you hadn't expected it to. It made you smile through your tears, despite yourself. You realized in that moment you'll forever be the only one allowed to touch Alastor without eliciting his wrath. That fact alone enough for you to truly appreciate the amount of control he'd give up in order to comfort you. He gently brought you to his bed and sat you down next to him.
“Are you quite alright sister dear? You know, those awful tears don't suit you at all! I rather much prefer your blinding smile!”
You smiled wider this time, for him, to let him know that you were indeed grateful.
“Oh, now that wasn't so difficult, was it?”
When he kissed your forehead, you almost broke up crying once again: it had been so long since you and your brother had been so close. The gesture warmed your long dead heart and you tried to return the favor by kissing his cheek. Nobody had ever been that intimate with the Radio Demon and lived to tell the tale, but in that moment he was no demon of hell: he was just Alastor, your dear brother who had doted on you in life and kept protecting you in death too - even though his ways weren't the most orthodox.
“I missed you Al. Please, don't ever leave me again.”
“I most certainly shall not, my sweet little darling. It's a promise.”
You were glad he let you stay with him for the rest of the night. No words were needed as he brought you close and took your hands into his. You both laid on the bed, in a rare moment of peace and quiet. It reminded you of your childhood on Earth and how you'd always sneak out of your room during the night to sleep next to him - you had always been afraid of the dark after all. Only in your adulthood had you learned that there are worse things than darkness one should fear.
After eons of suffering and terrible loneliness, everything finally fell into its rightful place.
Alastor was safe and so were you.
That was all that mattered.
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shipyard98 · 4 years
Note
ohmylord I love your matchups, can I get one, pretty please? I'm a chunky, straight 5'2 Irish-Italian girl with short poofy hair and brown eyes. I have bags under my eyes bc who doesn't love sleep deprivation, but I hide them with glasses. I' super anxious, insecure and fluster quickly. I come off as cynical to strangers, but the second I get to know someone I warm up. My energy is very inconsistent: one sec I'm all tired in the corner, the other second I'm off the walls. [1/2]
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Why thank you! I’m glad to hear that you like ‘em ❤
And I’d be happy to do a matchup for ya
(Having a lot of information to work off of helps me out a lot, so don’t worry; the “info dump” is completely fine by me 😄)
Quick Update: Summer courses are almost over for me, so I’ll have more time to catch up on some writing. I’ve got ideas on my notepad and a determined outlook, so expect some more stories to come out within the next two weeks.
Thank you all again for the incredible amount of support and patience you’ve shown me!
Anywho, back to the matchup. After some thorough consideration, I think that your matchup will most likely be...
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KOICHI HIROSE!
This reliable guy thinks you’re beautiful through and through! He especially likes your hair; if you let him, he’d love to run his fingers through it.
The cynical front you put on isn't going to deter him that easily. The way I see it, the relationship is going to be a little bit of a slow burn that’ll evolve into something beautiful.
Keeping up with your energy might be a bit of a challenge for him in the beginning. But hey, practice makes perfect, and soon he’ll be able to adapt easily to those shifts.
I can see him being the one to try to initiate the conversations most of the time just to urge you out of your shell. He’ll be thrilled the minute he gets you to talk. You two will likely end up talking for hours.
A lot of dates will probably be coffee dates in the comfort of his or your house (he might even try to introduce you to things like “Pink Dark Boy” while on one of these dates), but on the occasion where it’s an outing, he’s more than happy to check out new places with you. Every day’s a new adventure!
(And during the winter, I can see you two going outside a little more often to have a little snowy fun, but end up inside and cuddling up by the fire afterward.)
If this guy is anything, he’s a great listener. He will make sure you know that he’s paying attention to your words and that he will understand what you are trying to express.
As someone who used to be pretty anxious and insecure himself (and is still prone to panic attacks), he understands what you’re going through. With that being said, if you express doubt or anxiety, he'll give you lots of reassurance, sometimes through his own words and sometimes through Echoes Act 1 if it becomes necessary.
(He’ll also try to encourage you to stand up for yourself when that occasion arises, such as when a confrontation occurs. He will never push you beyond what you’re comfortable with, but at the same time, he’s determined to help you find your voice, because you deserve to be heard.)
... And there you have it! I hope you enjoy this ❤
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dreams-of-wings · 5 years
Text
Impossible (6/8)
Imagine Billy Hargrove with a Mixed Race/Biracial S/O
Warnings: Racism, swearing, homophobia, homophobic slurs, mild violence, you throw hands a lot, angst.
Masterlist
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You stay blocking the window sill for a bit cuz you enjoy seeing him squirm.
Honestly, he is bad at this whole climbing thing and he's struggling to not fall on his ass.
You finally let him in after he almost falls.
You're laughing your ass off while he's climbing through your window and simultaneously having a heart attack.
"It would have been less of a hassle if you used the door."
"I didn't think your parents would be happy if someome like me came knocking on their door asking for you."
You raise a brow at this, someone like him?
After a minute it occurs to you.
"Oh you mean a violent, racist, douchbag, with a reputation that surpasses the devil?"
He frowns.
Contrary to popular belief, Billy Hargrove is very self aware, and very self conscious about himself, his actions, and his self worth.
He doesn't like being an asshole but it's all he knows.
He low-key is afraid of growing up to be like his father.
Even though he has that nagging voice in the back of his mind that's telling him he's already as bad as his dad, if not worse.
He hides it all under a mask of confidence, booze, and cigarettes.
It still doesn't make his actions okay.
You snap him out of his thoughts.
"What?"
"I said my parents are out of town."
Now that he's in your room you noticed that Billy looked shaken up.
Billy Fucking Hargove, for once didn't have a scratch on him, but he looked like hell.
You question him.
It takes a while but he finally answers.
His dad got pissed at him because Max wasn't home, and he came hoping she would be here so he could drag her home.
You convince him to let you come along, because he is pissed and you know how he can get.
He caves and lets you tag along.
The next stop was Lucas' House.
Neither Max nore her son were there, but she said the kids all loved to go to Mike's house to play games.
Next stop is the Wheelers residence.
You dont know what's being said between Mrs. Wheeler and Billy, but knowing Billy and being able to read his body language- well. It takes everything in you to refrain from rolling your eyes and honking his horn (though you fail at not rolling your eyes).
I mean come on you guys are looking for Max, this is not the time to be flirting.
Fuck he went in.
You audibly groan and contemplate jacking his car to go look for his sister yourself, unfortunately he has the keys and you dont know how to hotwire a car.
Finally, he's out.
You forgive him because he comes out with a cookie in his mouth and has another one in his hand, which he gives to you.
"Hell, yes!!"
What?
Who the hell turns down food? And cookies at that. Home made cookies. And they're fresh.
Last stop was the the Byers house.
Fuck, Steve is there.
"Stay in the car."
"What? No!" Like hell you were going to let him beat up your friend.
"Stay in the fucking car!"
Steve seems both angry and hurt when he notices that you're in Billy's car.
You can't really hear what's being said, it's all muffled.
You panic a bit when Billy shoved Steve and you worry they'll start fighting.
"Shit!"
You burst out the car when you see Billy storming for the door, but stop to help Steve.
"Why the hell are you driving around with him?"
"He came to my place first, looking for Max and I offered to help him. What'd you say to piss him off?"
Steve gets mad, thinking your taking his side, and for the second time that night you find yourself rolling your eyes. "Why did you tell him you didn't know her? I tutor Max and her friends, and you babysit her friends, and you and I hang out, of course you would know her?"
You both stop arguing when you here a loud crash from inside the house.
"Damn it!" "Shit!"
You both walk in just in time to hear Billy threaten Lucas.
Fucking excuse you, Billy???
Steve decks him across the face, Billy taunts him, and this time an actual fight breaks out.
You try your best to get them both to stop fighting, but neither of them will listen to you, the voice of reason.
When Billy has Steve pinned to the floor and keeps punching him over and over again you finally get physical.
You tackle Billy off him while he's oblivious to his surroundings and use your hands and knees to pin his arms to the ground.
"What the fuck is your problem, Billy?!"
You've never seen him look at you so angrily, probably because he feels a bit betrayed.
He somehow manages to roll you both over so now your stuck underneath him.
You flinch when he draws his fist back like he's going to hit you, but the next thing you know- there's a syringe sticking out the side of his neck.
"Holy shit!"
He gets up to go after Max, but promptly falls.
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Your a bit shocked by Max's outburst.
Now her, you have never seen that angry before.
When they leave, you stay behind to look after Billy and move him to couch
He isn't happy when he wakes up.
He's actually really fucking pissed.
But he's still a little groggy from sleep and the drug (mostly the drug) so it's funny.
Help this child, he thought he was getting off the couch normally, but turns out he just rolled off and onto the floor face first.
Your freaking out and laughing all at once.
Slurred, "What the fuck's so funny?!?"
He needs aspirin and water like a hangover.
He falls asleep again after you get him back onto the couch, and you fall asleep on the floor propped up against the couch in a sitting position.
You don't wake up till the kids get back (Max wakes you up).
The both of you manage to get Billy to his car. He still asleep like a log.
You go to your place, and they spend the night - Max was worried their dad would be even more angry if they woke him up, and even more so if he caught you helping Billy and Max into the house.
The next morning was very #Domestic.
With You waking up to find Max already up and looking through your cabinets for food.
Suprise, you end up making breakfast for everyone!
Max wanted chocolate chip pancakes, so chocolate chip pancakes she shall get.
No suprise, Billy wakes up while you both are making the sausages and bacon.
Full plate of eggs, bacon and sausage, and pancakes for everyone! Yay! 😀
Honestly the best morning the two of them have had for a while, but you won't catch either of them saying that outloud.
Max leaves to hang out with the others.
Billy still seems mad about the previous night.
"What, are you going to pout all morning? All day?"
"I dont pout."
"Oh I'm sorry, what would you prefer to call it- sulking? Brooding? Plotting my death?"
He tries to hide a snicker and lightly shoves you.
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Going back to school the following Monday felt weird after everything that happened over the weekend.
You tried asking Steve what was up with all the drawings in Will's house, but he wouldn't budge.
Of course you tried asking Nancy and Jonathan too, but they acted like they didn't know anything.
The next few weeks were full of practice tests and prep assignments for finals.
You saw Billy less and less because you were hitting the books.
Sure he knew you were probably in the library, but after that weekend he wasn't sure how to go about interacting with you, or if he should do so anymore at all.
He kinda feels like you picked Steve over him.
He pops buy on Wednesday and almost gives you a heart attack. He's not surprised that you've been working yourself ragged, and your not surprised he hasn't even touched a text book (let's be honest, Billy doesn't strike me at the type of person to take notes in class, just pull out a pencil and paper to look like he's interested and go about his day).
Your freaking out, because finals but he doesn't flinch because you're like the smartest person he knows.
"Oh c'mon," he's managed to take your precious notes away, "You'll be fine, you're only stressing yourself out."
"Billy, I need those!"
"No you don't," He starts acting like he's reading the notes outloud, but he's getting the facts and formulas all wrong.
You correct him several times, and have actually started to chase him around the library.
Finally he closes the book after your sure you must have chased him around at least twice, "See, I told you. You don't need to study, you know this shit."
You both got kicked out of the library, again.
Billy is banned, but the librarian gives you one last chance...starting tomorrow.
You sigh in defeat, "Alright you proved your point, now give me my notebook back."
You reach for it.
"Nah," He raises it above his head so you can't reach it. Asshole.
Tommy and Carol show up and they think he's picking on you.
Neither of you sees them.
Tommy manages to snag the notebook, gives you an obnoxious laugh when you reach for it, and tosses it to Carol
"Give it back, shit face," Your mood went from playful to pissed in point zero seconds.
"What are you going to do about it, Heinz?"
Lord help you, you're about to throw hands again.
Billy snatches the book back and hands it to you, before looking at Tommy and Carol with a very stern expression.
"You idiots got anything better to do, huh?" He takes a few steps towards Tommy and for every step he takes, Tommy backs away.
Carol is distracted, which allows you to snatch your notebook back. She reaches for it again but you slap her hand away.
The message was very clear for them, so they take their leave and retreat back to wherever they came from.
Billy has lunch with you and manages to get you to skip the rest of school with him.
You don't want to miss during dead week, but the whole fiasco during your study period in the Library got you thinking- you need a break.
You also don't want the absent strike.
"You're such a goodie-two-shoes."
Peer pressure sucks.
You convince him to give you 30 minutes after the late bell rings to show up.
You go to class, set up your desk, the late bell rings, teacher calls role and marks you present. 7 minutes have passed.
You feign being ill.
It really wasn't hard. You just acted more tired than normal, threw in a couple "I have to stop what I'm doing because I have a headache," gestures. You even put your head down for a minute. You sit in the front so your body language is easy to pick up on and the teacher allows you to go to the nurses office when you ask. 12 minutes have passed.
When you get to the nurses office you throw the pass on the desk and storm into the private bathroom - closing the door behind you, before forcing yourself to dry heave. 27 minutes have passed.
You convince the nurse that it must be something you ate that's making you sick.
She gives you a pass and let's your teachers know you're sick and have gone home.
You meet Billy outside the school 30 minutes on the dot, he's surprised you actually came, and even more surprised that you lied well enough to get the teachers to excuse you for the rest of the day.
Of course you're upset when you see Tommy and Carol in the back seat, but you just roll your eyes and brush it off before climbing in shot gun.
Tommy and Carol are mocking you before you even get in.
"We didn't know the, mutt was coming along."
"How nice of you to bring something to entertain us, Billy."
Your looking at Billy through the corner of your eyes as he starts the car.
He waves you off, "Dont mind them."
You have no idea where you're going, or how long it will take so you pull out a book to read.
Before you can even open it, Carol snatches it from you, "What's the Nerd reading?!"
You roll your eyes again.
Tommy snatches it from the red head, "Stephan King. Christine."
"What's it?" Carol pipes up again, "Sappy romance novel?!"
"Wow, you both are actually uncultured, " you snatch the book away from Tommmy, "I'm impressed," and keep it out of his reach by out stretching your arm towards the dash, "Did it take all three of your brain cells to read that?"
Tommy tries to get his hands on you now, but you smack them away.
"Alright, alright!"
The three of you look surprised at Billy, "If you two don't quit your shit," he looks to the rearview mirror, "I'm kicking you out."
The rest of your ride was uneventful.
You arrive at Tommy's house.
His parents are also out of town.
But he lives in a large house with a pool and bar.
They're having an end of the year party and whoops you got dragged along.
You hadn't planned to be doing this with your time so you resort to studying more, much to Billy's behest, and Tommy and Carol's attempts to distract you.
You sit outside on a lawn chair next to the pool while they get everything prepped for the night.
Not much happens till it starts turning dark out, Billy calls you for help with something and when you leave you don't notice Carol and Tommy going for your stuff.
You can imagine your suprise when you find you stuff had been emptied into the pool.
Notebooks, text books, pencils, pens, erasers, even the book you were trying to read on the way.
You look up when you hear Carol laughing as she rounds the pool in your direction, and you see Tommy throw your bag in the pool.
"Are you fucking serious? What are you twelve?!"
Before you can react, Carol shoves you into the pool.
"And that's how you get a book worm to swim!"
You somehow manage to keep your cool, gathering your stuff and putting them on the edge of the pool away from Tommy and Carol. Though you didn't know why you bother, you can tell the ink is smeared and the pencil is faded now, only thing possibly salvageable was your pencils and your reading book, but even that was debatable.
You climb out and sit at the edge.
You feel physically uncomfortable
Your clothing is sticking to you.
And it's basically summer already so the air is hot and a little damp. You look up to see Billy storming out of the house.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Relax, Billy, we were all just having a little fun, right?" Tommy looks at you like you're afraid of him so you're going to agree with him.
Yeah, no.
"Fuck off," you chuck your biggest text book at him.
None of them knew how well a text book could fly till it hits Tommy in the gut.
Go you! Bonus points for nailing him with the corner.
Your trying to wring the bottom of your clothes out when Tommy comes up from behind you and tries to grab you by the back of your head.
"Hey!" Billy is quickly making his way over to the both of you.
Carol tries to stop him, but she is poetically shoved to the side and subsequently falls into the pool.
You manage to elbow Tommy in the balls but the pain only makes him hold on harder.
"You little-"
He doesn't get to finish because he's promptly punched in the side of the face. You quickly back away from the edge incase Carol gets anymore funny ideas.
Billy helps you up and ushers you into the house.
"Sorry..." He sounds awkward, "About them."
You look at him with a deadpan expression, "Billy Hargrove, apologizing," you sigh with attitude, "pinch me. I must be dreaming."
He grits his jaw, "Don't you start being a smart ass with me- it's them who keep giving you crap!" He started raising his voice.
"Yeah, yet you still keep them around," you make your way over to the sink to keep wringing out your shirt and shoulder check him on the way, "Honestly, I don't even know why you keep them around- at least you have your reasons for being an asshole." You take off your shirt -much to Billy's suprise- so you can properly get rid of the water. Let's face it, a soaked shirt sticking to you like a second skin doesn't leave much to the imagination anyways, "Reasons," you turn to look at him for emphasis, "Not excuses," you turn back to the sink, "but understandable reasons nonetheless." You lay your shirt out flat on the kitchen's large counter to air dry (it's too dark and humid outside for it to dry any better outside anyways), "But they're just assholes because....because...." You sputter and shake your head, "I don't know, probably because they know they won't ever amount to anything better in their lives, so they figure they might as well tear down as many people as they can on their way to fucking nowhere."
You turn and look at him with an aggravated huff and cross your arms. Unfortunately Carol and Tommy walk in at that moment.
"You trashy mutt!"
"Stupid whore!"
"You really think, Billy's that desprit?!"
For a second you were confused. Then you remembered you didn't have a shirt on.
You roll your eyes again before throwing your still wet shirt back on.
"And what the hell Billy?! You really gonna' side with this half-breed?!"
Fuck this.
Fuck Carol.
Fuck Tommy.
And you know what? If this doesn't change, fuck Billy too. You dont need or deserve this.
You storm out the back door, gathering your things and shoving them in your dripping bag before walking around the side towards the front. Billy quickly runs out the front door to meet you outside.
"I'll take you home."
"No."
Billy calls your name and he almost sounds tired.
His tone is what makes you pause and turn around.
"Please."
You raise a brow and swallow your pride as well as your snarky comments, "Fine."
The party commences and goes on without the both of you.
Billy isn't quite sure what he enjoys more, being out and partying or enjoying a relaxing evening indoors, heavens knows he can't relax at home.
Max surprises the both of you by stopping by to visit.
The three of you hang out in your living room flipping through channels and eating popcorn.
Billy eats the least pop corn out off the three of you and opted to have some carrots and grapes less than half way through the first movie.
Billy is totally a health buff.
"Are Carol and Tommy really that bad?" Max mistakenly asked about your day.
"They have absolutely no redeeming qualities."
Max doesn't hide how she shoots a glance at her brother, 'And that fool does?' Is basically what her expression asked.
Billy glares at her from the couch opposite to hers and bites a carrot like it's her head.
You're covering your laughter with your hand.
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From now on all my Imagines will be tagged by their titles, series, and parts! Hopefully this will make it easier to find a specific imagine if your looking for it. For example, anything relating to this series is tagged with "impossible", the series itself is tagged as "impossible series" and each individual part is tagged as "impossible pt.[1/2/3/etc.]"
Another example: part one is tagged as "impossible pt.1"
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clericbyers · 5 years
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The funny thing about RR!St3 (and yes I'm still talking about this) is that its technically your au so if u don't like stuff about season 3-and maybe that's like everything lmao- than you can change it for this au!!! so what're some things you could change to flex on the duffers with ur beautiful Galaxy brain?
oh ur so right….oh man OH MAN the power in my hands right now…this is super long but i got so into it okay thank u…
First off, my real vision for RR!ST3 would not be too close to how ST3 went down; the RR!ST3 I originally hashed out was me trying to stick close to ST3 but as I said then, it was hard bc many of the issues in ST3 wouldn’t happen if Mike wasn’t obsessed with El and if we actually address the fact that these kids are dealing with serious trauma from the events of ST2. In RR!ST2, Mike would be the one dealing with being possessed, Will would have been at his side the entire time, Nancy and Mike would be a lot tighter thanks to RR!ST1 (like she’d be very overprotective because she almost lost her brother and he’s annoying yeah but she can’t imagine not having him in her life anymore). So when RR!ST2 ends with the Snowball, I can see Mike still dancing with El when she returns because he needs to thank her, she saved his life after all, but I really. just cannot see his level of attachment being enough to try to date her. Because in ST1 and at the beginning of ST2, Mike is wracked with guilt about losing her, about bonding with her and ultimately her being a sacrifice to save them. He doesn’t have that in RR!ST1 and RR!ST2, at least not to the same degree as ST1 and ST2. He didn’t have the time to bond to El and while I think he might have fleeting feelings for his savior (like I said, nightingale effect) and have some guilt about how she seemingly gave up her life to save everyone, especially him, I also think RR!ST2 Mike would be very attached to Will though given how Will trusted him and stuck by him despite all the horrors. Mike takes loyalty very seriously and Will being with Nancy and Karen (as she would be the “crazy” mom who lost her son in RR!ST1, but she’d enlist Joyce’s help since Ted wouldn’t really care so it would be power duo Joyren trying to figure out where Mike is) in the RR!ST2 shed scene would mean a lot to him.
Now, we have those 8 months between ST2 and ST3 where basically Mike and El entered a relationship in ‘85. In that time frame in the RR au, I would focus more on how the Party is getting over the trauma they faced during RR!ST2. Firstly, Mike is definitely not okay after being possessed by a demonic godly shadow force. He’s in therapy again maybe, back on medications, IDK what exactly but he is broken inside but trying his best to act like everything is normal and he wasn’t just possessed. I think he would try to cling onto his childhood as Will did in ST3, because Mike didn’t get to grow up normal since he got kidnapped and possessed by monsters. Will and El would bond a lot in those 8 months though, definitely becoming closer siblings and El having a crush on Mike can still a thing. Mike might not feel that same way for her but he’d be down for dating if just to feel normal again. Part of that may be to continue dampening how he feels for Will because he just wants to be a regular kid again and what he feels for his best friend is not at all natural in his mind. I like the idea of Mike and El getting together in ST3 at the mall scene so I’d stick with that. But I also feel like Mike would definitely also be spending half the time subconsciously trying to stay away from El because she’s also a reminder of the horrors he faced in the UD and with the Mind Flayer.
There would be a lot of Will, El, Mike moments too! Will is her brother of sorts in the RR au and Hopper is only ever really comfortable with Mike coming to visit when Will is over, too, even before Mike agrees to date El.
So okay, Episode 1 of RR!ST3 deals with the fact that all the kids are still dealing with some sort of trauma. Mike wakes up from a nightmare, uses his walkie talkie to contact Will, and Will comes over and sits in his room with him and they chat for a bit until Mike can fall back asleep. Will sits at the foot of Mike’s bed watching him sleep before he sneaks back out the house. Nancy catches him and thanks him for stopping by and then he catches Lucas outside too while making his way back home. Lucas casually mentions that he couldn’t sleep and they chat about how weird things have been when no one in Hawkins knows what happened last fall. In the early afternoon the next day, Will bikes over to Hopper’s cabin to hang out with El, they listen to music and doodle together for hours, just being great friends. El casually mentions that she might have a bit of a crush on Mike (who comes with Dustin, Lucas, and El to visit sometimes because fuck ST3 and isolating El from the Party). This could be a moment for Will to be like, “Oh, me, too.” and they can bond over liking Mike together (that’d be cute af!! and it would help Will feel more comfortable about how he feels toward Mike when he’s able to talk about it without persecution). She asks him if Mike likes him back and Will kinda just stops doodling.
“I don’t know,” he murmurs hoarsely. “He’s never said anything.”
El hums and takes out a purple crayon to color in the grass. “Do you know if he likes me?”
Will says he doesn’t know but that he’ll figure it out for her. Hopper won’t let her come with Will to the movie that night so he promises one night he’ll help sneak her out and then bikes over to the theater. We have the ST3 theater scene but it’s reversed of course, so it’s Mike who feels the Mind Flayer and Will who asks him if he’s okay. Mike isn’t as shy and flustered as Will was in ST3 though, he tries to brush Will off petulantly (as RR!ST3 Mike tries his best to act like the events of RR!ST2 aren’t affecting him as much as it is) but Will takes his hand and says, “It’s okay to not be okay.” and Mike kinda fidgets but squeezes his hand in turn before they both go back to watching the movie.
The next day when Dustin comes back, we have the Party going up to Cerebro but there would not be any El and Mike leaving like in ST3. Instead, Will and El are whispering between themselves but it’s not really much about anything. El is too shy to ask Mike if he wants to sit with her as they listen to Dustin call his girlfriend and Will just wants her to feel comfortable near Mike and keeps pestering for her to just sit next to him. Mike is irritated because he wanted to hang with Will more today and he’s bonding with El. His powers activate from his irritation and he’s blocking the radio signal for Dustin and Suzie’s call. When it starts getting late, the Party splits up, Will and El leaving first because of curfew (a real one not the lie El told in ST3). Lucas and Max leave next and Mike is left solo with Dustin.
“I know that Will and El aren’t together, but god, I feel so childish being the single one out.” Mike complains as a chill breeze washes over the two of them.
Dustin hums distractedly, still trying to work out why Cerebro isn’t picking up Suzie’s channel. It takes a moment for Mike’s words to sink in and then he perks. “You know, El likes you.”
“She what?” Mike blurts, giving Dustin a look. “No, she doesn’t. She can’t.”
“Uh, but she can and she does.” Dustin turns a random knob to a different frequency. “It’s pretty obvious; she was sending you heart eyes this entire time if your oblivious ass would have realized.”
Mike isn’t sure how to feel about it. He’s always seen El as Will’s sister, especially with Hopper attempting (and kinda failing) at dating Joyce. Even when they danced at Snowball, it was a thing of gratitude, of joy, of acknowledging that she hadn’t died and he was happy about that. But, El actually liking him? “What am I supposed to do about that?”
“Do you like her?”
Mike scrunches his nose. He feels…something toward her but he’s not really sure what it is. It’s not the same way he feels toward Nancy but it’s not what he felt toward Max either. And it’s definitely not what he feels toward Will, but he doesn’t want to think about that right now. He wants to feel normal. “I’m not sure.”
“Well, if it’s not a solid no, then I’d say go for it.” Dustin adjusts his hat and leans back with a sigh. “She’s cute and I think this is the first time a cute girl has ever liked your nerdy ass.”
“Shut up,” laughs Mike and he nudges his friend who grins in turn. He looks up at the sky and sighs. “I should probably get back home before my mom goes nuts. Talk to you later, yeah?”
“I’m leaving, too,” he sighs as he stands up. “I don’t know why this isn’t working. Maybe the clouds are too overcast.”
Mike shrugs and flicks at the radio’s antenna. It buzzes erratically, static blasting through Dustin’s headphones and then suddenly there’s a voice coming through the noise. It’s a blend of things, like the receiver is caught between two frequencies. One is Suzie, the other is some spoken code (in English because the random inclusion of the Russians works for Red Scare era / anti-Russia 80′s America but like…it had no set up so I wouldn’t use it for RR!ST3) that neither Mike nor Dustin can understand. Dustin tries to fix the frequency channels to focus on Suzie, but he looses her and the input only focuses on the frequency the code is on. Mike touches the antenna again, holding on this time around, and he can literally feel the electric currents coursing through him, something sharper than a tickle but not as harsh as actual electrocution. The dials on the receiver interface start wavering about randomly and crazily until Mike lets go and then there’s only static again.
“What the,” Dustin mutters, bending down to check how Cerebro is working. “What did you do?”
Mike stares down at his hands, a panic attack on the edge of his senses because, seriously, what the hell was that? First having flashbacks in the theater and feeling that shocking tingling sensation on their way up the hill, now this? “I…I don’t know.”
Dustin taps at a dial and frowns. “Touch it again. Like hold onto it as you did earlier.” Mike does as told and the dials go nuts again. “Mike…do you…have you had any issues near electrical appliances recently?”
Mike scowls and tries to remember if anything odd has happened recently. “No? Not really. Sometimes the radio in my mom’s car doesn’t work and the TV gets a little staticy but that’s normal. Oh, and we had flickering lights out at the cabin when Will, Lucas, and I visited but it’s a cabin in the woods so what do you expect.”
Dustin bites at his bottom lip. “And this only happens when you’re around?”
“I, uh,” Mike grabs at his hair, “No, no, it doesn’t. It doesn’t. It can’t…I’m not, what…I thought that was the Upside Down only.”
“What do you mean?”
“I could touch the lights and the TV when I was in the Upside Down version of the basement. And when I touched them, everything glowed. Kind of like casting Daylight in D&D.” Mike struggles to find his breath; he never really talks about what it was like in the Upside Down. “And…and I knew, I knew where the demogorgon was before I should have. Like innate. And the dead people…”
“Detect Evil?” Dustin suggests, cocking his head to the side. “Mike, do you think any of that stuck with you here?”
[ So basically, the equivalent of “magic” in D&D is electricity in the real world / the Upside Down since electricity and tech is kinda like modern magic, and all of Mike’s powers in the Upside Down are, in theory, paladin spells. He couldn’t control which lights flickered on like Will did in ST1 but he can turn them on and he can create a beacon, along with talking to the dead and having an innate circle of protection around him (a magic circle as paladins can have!) ]
Mike goes back home totally freaked out and refusing to believe he has “powers” because his time in the UD felt like such a nightmare anyway. He just wanted to survive, he didn’t ask for this, he didn’t ask for the Mind Flayer to possess him and use his body to kill people, to almost destroy Hawkins in the process. And that night, Mike decides he absolutely cannot let these possible powers do anything or mean anything because he’s normal, he’s a normal 14-year-old boy who is absolutely not crushing on his very male best friend, no, he’s gonna get a girlfriend, and hang out at the mall like kids do over the summer, and everything is going to be fine.
The next day, Will doesn’t go over to El’s place to hang out, Mike picks up the phone and says a dumb lie about Will being busy to try to get out of it. (“Friends don’t lie,” says El afterwards. “But brothers do.” snorts Max, “All. The. Time.”) He’s frustrated by El wanting to spend time with Will one-on-one when he’s trying to get the og4 Party members together for some normal hangout time playing D&D because, again, Mike here is the one trying to cling onto his childhood, even more now that he might have “powers”. They play D&D with Mike as DM and it all goes well until Karen comes downstairs asking about magnets and Mike internally freaks out. He’s been feeling like someone is watching him for a while now (hint: El when spying on the boys in the Void) and now his mom is talking about something that could very well be his powers working. Dustin knows and can actually see it, so he suggests everyone should get some fresh air and hang out at the mall. The Party goes out shopping, they hang out at Scoops Ahoy and Mike and Dustin share their story about the radio last night but purposefully leave out details about what Mike did with the antenna. Will feels guilty for lying so he’s trying to find some new clothes so El isn’t always wearing Hopper’s hand-me-downs, and they run into Max and El outside.
“Well, well, well,” Max huffs as she crosses her arms. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
Will is worried because El leaving the house and being at the mall of all places would definitely make Hopper upset. “Are you okay?” he asks her, careful not to sound too overbearing. “Does Hopper know you’re here?”
El shrugs. “I told him I was seeing Max. And I am.” She turns to Mike. “You said Will couldn’t come over yet you are shopping. Why did you lie?”
Mike, who has spent practically the whole time at the mall on pins and needles, is really not in the mood for being questioned like this. “It just came out. I wanted to hang with the boys, okay? Just us. Like old days.”
El frowns. “Do you not like me?”
“No! No, I really like you!” Mike softens up and gives her a smile. “Honest; friends don’t lie, right? I’m sorry I lied to you. Today’s been…weird.” Dustin huffs at that. “Don’t worry about it though, I genuinely like you.”
And Mike doesn’t mean it that way–he had just said ‘friends don’t lie’ because he really does see her as a friend–but El takes it that way, and she grins widely, blushing as she ducks her head. “I like you, too, Mike.”
Will didn’t even think Mike liked El that way but now that it’s spoken in front of him, he can feel his heart breaking just a bit because any chance he thought he had is gone in his mind. El steps into Mike’s space and he blinks a couple times. “I want to go out with you.”
Dustin gasps, Lucas covers his mouth, Will tries his best not to look dejected, and Max whoops at her side. Mike turns to Will, who is staring at his feet, and then looks back at El. (A parallel to Snowball when Will looked at Mike for approval before going to dance with Zombie Boy girl.) Mike told himself he was gonna get a girlfriend and be normal, right? Ignore whatever happens in his chest when Will smiles at him. Ignore all of that and his stupid powers and be normal. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. Let’s go out.”
So the Party stays at the mall a little longer and Mike and El hang out together and get ice cream at Scoops’ Ahoy, which is amusing to Steve and Robin both. At the end, they go back to the Wheelers and El has to go back to the cabin but Mike is kind of in a daze because wow, he just got a girlfriend for the first time and went on a date with her. Dustin keeps teasing him, Lucas is cackling and making kissing jokes, but Will…Will is oddly silent at first. They get back on the campaign but no one can really concentrate and Will starts getting concerned about El and how she was out and about without Hopper’s knowledge. Mike is even more frustrated now because he thought things were going to start getting normal now, but it just seems to be falling apart. Will won’t even concentrate on the campaign, Dustin is horrible at trying to be subtle about if Mike’s powers are activating, and Lucas is complaining with Will about how Max and El are hanging out.
Mike lashes out and storms outside, where Will goes after him. “Mike, I’m sorry, it’s a really good campaign,” Will starts with a hand to Mike’s shoulder, “but I’m worried about El and I just…I can’t concentrate right now. We can play it tomorrow, I promise.”
Mike yanks himself away from Will. “Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, it’s always tomorrow! I said ‘see you tomorrow’ before and then I never did! Tomorrow may never fucking come! But oh, that doesn’t matter, huh? Tomorrow always comes for you. Tomorrow is always gonna be better.”
“Mike,”
“No!” he yells and lightening crackles in the distance. “No, you don’t get to say anything! You keep spending time with El, forgetting about all of us! I’m her boyfriend now and I’m not even this obsessed with her whereabouts.” He waves at Will, who scowls. “She’s not even really your sister and you’re letting her just ruining the party like this? And for what? So you can have a fake younger sister to hole up in her room all day?”
Will’s nostrils flare. “El is my sister whether you like it or not!” He snaps back with irritation. “It’s not my fault you don’t like El!”
Mike pauses, eyes widening just a fraction as his breath visibly hitches. No one was supposed to know that he wasn’t even sure how he felt…Dustin himself had come to the conclusion that Mike knew he liked El all along. Will though wants to take it back immediately. Taking out his anger onto Mike isn’t fair at all and just because Mike suddenly has a girlfriend doesn’t mean he should try to accuse Mike of not liking her. But he can’t help but question either way because Mike barely alluded to seeing her that way anyway.
“Look, I’m…I’m sorry, that came out wrong. So wrong.” He steps toward Mike, who tenses up more. “I know you like El, okay? I know you care about her. I care about her, too, just differently. She helped save you and the Party, how can I not care? That type of care has been with me for months. I can’t shut that off. I’m sorry.”
Mike’s breathing is getting denser and his vision is getting blurry because now he knows. Now he knows how he feels and he really fucked up saying yes to dating El. He doesn’t like her like Nancy and he doesn’t like her like Max either. He especially doesn’t like her like a boyfriend. “I like El like how you like her.”
“Mike?” Will’s voice is soft and shaking a little and Mike feels like throwing up.
“El saved me,” he whispers, “She saved me and I like her for that. I do. But she’s not…”
“She’s not what?”
Mike is crying now, angry tears dripping down his face like the rain as his voice crackles like the thunder. “She’s not you! I thought she would be enough and maybe I was wrong for it but it hasn’t even been a full day and I already know! I already know I don’t like her like that because I like you!”
There’s nothing but the patter of rain and Mike’s heavy breathing, and Mike can already feel his heart breaking because he spent so long trying to deny this and now he blurted it out in the midst of an argument like a dumbass and now Will is going to hate him. Hate him for not being normal, hate Mike for being what Lonnie always said he was. He’s crying still, hands shaking at his side as the tears continue to spill.
Will looks up at him with widened eyes and Mike can’t take it any longer. He can’t face the inevitable rejection right now. “I need to go.”
“Mike, wait, no! Mike!” Will rushes toward him but Mike’s already on his bike and riding through the rain. “Mike! Mike, come back!”
When Mike doesn’t turn back, Will rushes downstairs, tears streaming down his face as well and he can barely get his words out. “We need to find Mike, we need to find him now!”
“Will, what happened?” Lucas asks but Will grabs his jacket instead of replying.
“We need to go, now.” the brunette is shaking and Dustin puts a hand on his shoulder.
“Seriously, Will, what happened? Is he okay? Is he hurt?”
“Yes, yes, oh my god,” Will collapses on the stairs before he can finish climbing them. “Oh my god, he confessed to me.”
“Confessed what? His powers?”
Will blinks a few times and looks up at Dustin as he rubs at his runny nose. “His what? Powers?”
Dustin freezes. “Oh. I, uh, I thought…oh…oh. Mike likes you?”
Will waves a passing hand. “Pause, what is this about Mike’s powers?”
Lucas speaks up with irritation. “I thought you said we need to go!”
So all the boys get on their bikes and ride toward the Byers house since that’s where Mike would go when his nightmares got bad enough and it’s a safe place for him outside of the basement. Dustin explains what Mike had done with Cerbero and how they caught this code that he had been sort of hashing out with Steve and Robin when they went to the mall. No one is home at the Byers residence (Joyce and Karen are out with Hopper doing their whole side storyline there) and Will starts to freak out more.
“Where would he be, where would he be?”
Lucas crosses his arms. “Maybe the cabin? That’s where his girlfriend is after all.”
And that’s not where Mike is, he’s actually with Steve and Robin at the mall given he feels he’d be better off with someone who understands the UD/MF mess (Steve) and someone who doesn’t know the Party dynamics (Robin). He’s just about to tell Robin about his confession to Will when he feels the Mind Flayer and knows that he’s back.
The rest of the season is kinda…the same ish but also not?? But so I don’t write out the whole damn thing now lmao here are the pointers:
El and Mike are still trying to be girlfriend and boyfriend when they reunite at the cabin (Scoops Troop is a thing but it’s not tied to the Russian bs so they aren’t at the mall the entire time) but Mike is also really uncomfortable with El’s advances though he tries not to act like it.
Mike avoids Will as best he can even though Will keeps trying to get one-on-one time with Mike to confess that he likes him back
Jonathan and Nancy team up at the cabin too with news about the exploding rats (the MF’s attempt to possess non humans that went wrong) and Mike speaks up about how he might have powers himself
El tries to teach him how to go into the Void (which would be like a prayer for him) but when he does so, he ends up running into the Mind Flayer and find out that it’s after him and is willing to kill all his friends to get to him
Mike and El both pull out of the Void together gasping and crying and Will is immediately at Mike’s side as Max rushes to El. “He’s going to kill us,” Mike sobs shakily, “He’s going to kill us all.”
El gets attacked by the Mind Flayer (not Meat Flayer) because it was coming for Mike and she intercepted the transmission using her mind
At the hospital Mike breaks up with El (instead of how in ST3 they became friends again), and she’s a little hurt but understanding when he confesses that he likes someone more than her and doesn’t want to hurt her by lying to her constantly when dating her
Will finally gets Mike to himself here and is about to confess but then Mike feels the Mind Flayer (his innate sense evil power) and it’s possessed someone. He confronts it, helps save Nancy from the shapeshifting demogorgon attacking her, and banishes it from this dimension, only to pass out from the effort
El takes over with her powers and with Mike’s help, accesses the radio to find the channel that Dustin and Mike had found before. She discovers that someone is trying to open the gate again under the mall
At the supermarket, Will and Mike finally get to talk and Will confesses that he likes Mike, too. “Blank makes you crazy, right?” Mike chuckles as he takes Will’s hand in his own. He’s not willing to say love yet even if he knows it’s true. He knows that Will understands him though. Will always does.
“Yeah,” the boy replies sweetly, “blank makes you crazy.”
Cue an almost kiss before Lucas and Dustin come around with the fireworks and they all get over to the mall
Big battle against the Mind Flayer and the people it possessed. Instead of a giant gory meat machine, it possesses people in Hawkins like it did Mike in RR!ST2 and uses them to shapeshift them into individual monsters. So the Party is attacked by a horde of demogorgons and demodogs!!
The fireworks help a lot as Lucas suggested, and Mike and El work together as superpowered besties to banish the Mind Flayer from all the neighbors. Some die in the process (because it’s just, brutal and violent and horrible) and Mike gets temporarily repossessed in the battle but he’s more leveled up now and understands how this works, so he can banish the MF from him (a level 4 paladin spell might I add!) as much as El used her powers to take out the piece of the meat machine in her leg in ST3
Hopper closes the gate but not in enough time (we need him in the Upside Down for RR!ST4) and then the Mind Flayer retreats, but it kills all the people it had possessed in the process, which only wrecks the kids with guilt for being unable to save everyone like they almost did
This also frightens Mike who has been possessed by the Mind Flayer because it means his connection is still strong enough that the Mind Flayer could kill him instantly too (but it won’t bc Mike and El’s powers are too strong and it could possibly kill itself trying to kill them through that connection)
At the end there’s no one really moving away. El has lost her powers, Mike’s are nearly depleted / he doesn’t know how to use them without El’s help. Everyone is mourning Hopper and with El and Mike unable to use their powers, they can’t go into the Void to see that Hopper’s actually alive.
uhhh the epilogue is the first day of high school and the Party are hopping off their bikes and chatting about something nonsensical. Lucas and Max are holding hands, Dustin is waving his arms about wildly as he explains his latest science project, and Mike and Will are standing close together, just enough to brush their fingers together. (El is homeschooled since she needs to catch up on her education)
“You okay?” Will asks quietly as they stand off to the side away from the bustling crowds. “It’s okay to not be okay.”
“I know,” Mike grins down at his boyfriend, which is still so blush inducing to think about, so he blushes. “But, I’m fine. I’ve got you right beside me so I’m definitely okay.”
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