#i WILL get to day 12 i prommie!
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Dol you keep saying Martin next where is he LISTEN THE NOEMTB I GET TO SIT DOWN AY MY DESK IBSWEAR. PROMMY (agian. You know. Like a liar)
Ive been trying to fix sleeping schedule extra fast. Crash course, even. Because as of this time 12:15am. I have one day left till uni starts for m </3 and I only draw at PAST MIDNIGTH so have Whiteboard I’ll get some Martin ones tmrw me thinks I miss drawing him so bad
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OC in 15: Kendis Crawford-Louel
rules: share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!
I was tagged by @deepinifhell and am woefully delayed in getting on this.
Tagging: @thedeadthree @thee-morrigan @nat-seal-well @nightingalesighs @laufire @lusavors @cypresswrites @thelittlestspider @mt07131 @roxaro @quaxorascal @tuomniia @andthatisnotfake @sunshineandviolets @sapphic-story [tagged fifteen peeps! i think! and as always no pressure!]
Most of the dialogue from old rp stuff repurposed for this meme, some from unposted stuff, and a few I made up for this. (As warning: some cussing)
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1] However, strangeness of the situation proves that the metal gates aren’t fully down around the castle, because she bites out, bluntly, “No! No. I’m not okay.” Her breath hitches. “Don’t. D-don’t follow that up with another question. I thought we talked about this.”
By ‘we’ and ‘talked’, she meant the time she summarily shut down his last attempt to dig deeper. It should’ve been obvious by now that Kendis didn’t like accepting what they insisted on dishing out.
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2] "Yook, Kenny, yook!"
"What'm I lookin' at, teeny tyke? --- Well, now. Look at that! Is that me? In fact, I know that's me. That's the second prettiest person in this entire art of prettiness. And is the one right next to me you? It's got to be 'cause that's definitely the prettiest person in this."
"You siwwy, Kenny. Boys not be pretty!"
"Am I? Well, if you're sayin' that's right then I'll consider it. But being silly doesn't mean I'm wrooooong~. Boys can be very pretty, kiddo. People can be whatever they wanna be so long as they're --- kind, yeah? And you're the kindest, prettiest, most talented teeny tyke, I've ever known. Oh, now you're laughin' at me, huh? Well, Ima show you 'bout that teeny brat."
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3] "Who invented white allosexuals, like for real? Someone return this woman to sender."
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4] "We're not even four days into a fucking New Year and this shit stain is stinkin' up the place."
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5] "And I get that it's different things for different people. But I rather lose a place, than lose the people that matter with it."
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6] "I know you've probs been lied to lately. But you're really not cute."
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7] "He obvi picked bad pics on purpose, you Italian booger."
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8] "I'm like Siri. Except better looking, smarter, much louder, and not an AI slave to a hegemonic hell-hole that stole the name of one of the best fruits. Like ever."
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9] "Um, excuse you. I'm not reckless. What 'bout me screams the self sacrifice type?"
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10] "Hey. Hey! Look at me! That's it ... slow breaths. I've got you. Do you -- you're okay, slowly ... Do you remember what I told you last week? Just nod. I've got you. I've got ya. You remember this? That's my pinky. We pinky promised -- the biggest and most bindable way to lock in a promise, yeah? And you may not know this about me, but I don't make promises that I can't see through. I said you're gonna be okay. And I mean that. I'm gonna make it happen, okay? I'll -- I'm here now and I'll be there at the end. Prommy, prommy, prommy, prommy, pro -- oh, a laugh, huh? Ha. That's what I like hearing. Leave the worryin' to me, dude."
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11] "If this human version of a mutated ingrown armpit hair follicle don't get up off my face in the next 10, 9, 8, 7, …."
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12] “Ow! Fudging snowcaps! That bitch hur –” They stopped mid-yelling but simply began complaining underneath their breath.
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13] "I'm --," Kendis gestured sharply with their right hand as if orchestrating their feelings or encouraging Morgan to jump in. Not that they gave her much of a chance when they quickly added, "You know."
"You're?" Morgan smirked, "You know? I don't think I do."
"Yes. You do."
"Nah, nothing's ringing a bell."
"Well, that's probably all the brain damage you got from the last fight."
"Right. I remember that. The fight where I got stabbed instead of you."
Kendis' nostrils flare and their jaw clenches so tightly Morgan almost feels a sympathy twinge in her own teeth.
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14]
“Then why won’t you tell me you love me? Maybe a little reward so I can be brave?”
“‘Cause a face full of kisses wasn’t enough? Wow.”
“Sure, it was nice but this is a big deal. I think I deserve a bigger reward.”
“Aren’t rewards for after you actually do the stuff?”
“You’re right. How about you say ‘I love you’ just because you do!”
“You look cute when you pout an’ you’re gonna be late.”
“Please, Kendis? We’ve been dating for a while now and … That is – Unless – You don’t.”
“I don’t what?”
“You know you are always avoiding it, saying how you feel about me, and you’ve never come close to saying the words .. and sometimes I’ve wondered … I’ve been very patient the last several months –”
“Then keep on with that.”
“Okay. Okay. Kendis. Do you love me?”
“Can we talk about this later? This ain’t as black an’ white as you’re making it look like.”
“But it is. It is a very black and white question with a very black and white answer. Do you love me?”
“Austyn. Austyn? Stop that! What’re you doin’? Don’t. You’re – fuckin’ –”
“These are the notes I wrote you. Look at them. Look how far they reach on your floor. Look!”
“No”
“You never even wrote it back. I kept saying it and writing it and you never gave anything back … B-because … because you don’t.”
“I never gave – We’re not doin’ this right now. Again. Why’re you doin’ this right now? We don’t even have the time to really get into -”
“What is there to get into? It’s yes or no, Kendis! If you say that, then it will be all settled.”
“Maybe stop cuttin’ me off an’ let me speak.”
“You cut me off first! And don’t you start raising your voice at me!”
“You started that shit first, yourself! What is with you?”
“Why are you acting like I am overreacting? I’m not! It isn’t wrong to want to know whether or not my best friend is in love with me. It isn’t wrong to know if you really see a future with us together or if you’ve been just tagging along because I’m one of the very few other out girls in school.”
“You called me your best friend.”
“What?”
“You should know how I feel. You say I don’t give you nothin’ back but that’s a damn lie an’ you know it.”
“Then why don’t you say it? I say it all the time!”
“But are you really meanin’ it?”
“Uh - Wha – EXCUSE ME!?!!”
“Are you? How can I say those words to someone that's not a sure thing? You talk a lot about a future that ain’t here but what you really got to say for the now.”
“Wow. Asshole.”
“Takes one.”
“Fine. Don’t love me. I think it’s best if we take some space right now and reconsider our priorities.”
“Austyn. I didn’t mean – Austyn this is silly.”’
“Is it?”
“Why're we even doin’ this right now? What about the formal?”
“Don’t call me unless I call you.”
“Austyn!”
“Don’t.”
“You know what? Fuck you.”
“Apparently not even in the next few months, asshole.”
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15]
Kendis narrowed her eyes but forced herself to take a deep breath, “You. Bumped into. Me!” Honestly, that was a generous and kind assessment. If Kendis had been human, she doubted she would’ve been able to stand with only a headache and a bad mood to show for it.
“Yeah, because you slowed down when you weren’t supposed to! I was keeping pace with you, speeding by the way, and then allva sudden –”
“I know you’re not blaming me for any of this, let alone your speeding, you Stranger Things reject.”
“Excuse me?”
Kendis felt that anger again – no, they could almost taste it. It was just wafting off the air from the shifter in front of them. It was churning up their stomach like sick, this anger that wasn’t their rage.
It was restless, like her’s was, but was also too hard, too cold.
Not right, not right. The warning blared in Kendis’ gut. Something was off and they needed to leave.
“Don’t!” They warned when the person reached out to grab at them, clearly making Kendis ready to skedaddle. The sharp yell struck out like a roll of thunder, loud and final enough to make this person hesitate, before Kendis’ voice dropped into a growl, “Don’t. Touch. Me.” [x]
#insight: kendis crawford louel#oc: kendis crawford louel#kendis x austyn#i wrote this great exchange for morgan and kendis but it deleted so fuck that#effing tumblr#grapecase writes#also i had a bunch of people tagged but it didnt save and idr who i tagged and i dont remember who has been tagged before so#im winging it and if i missed you im sorry. just do it and tag me. and i double tag you im sorry#as always no pressure#the longer stuff is toward the end#so long post#i'm not satisfied with number two but i've decided to stop fussing
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I care about ur Bevin headcannon I would love to hear
YES i finally get to yell abt these two, its my fav ship in the series idk why people arent more into it. Fanart is supplied as usual and i have some evidence-ey screenshots under the cut, mostly bc i want to share them w SOMEONE other than my friend blue. Enjoy my ramblings
-kevin is dating both ben and gwen, gwen and his relationship being a lot more outward and public and ben a more private relationship, they only ever kiss or hold hands when its just the two of them or (rarely) when gwen is around, partially bc of bens fame and his own hangups about liking men and partially bc when they are romantic they r extremely vulnerable with each other and thats the sort of thing they wouldnt want anyone else to see.
-(quoting from a discord dm w my friend) ben and kevin violence is something that if u saw it in a painting or a movie it would be rly profound and aweinspiring. in real life its also the same, but it feels so much like intruding when ur actually watchingbc kevin and ben have all their emotions about each other in v short bursts, theyll bottle them up 4 an extended period of time and then have som e massive cataclysmic event when it bubbles to the surface. there r literally no continual emotional moments between them like kevin and gwen who have contunious small emotions abt each other, kevin and ben will hang out 4 months at a time and then one day just start hitting each other, which is in a way a part of the romance
-in omniverse theres a scene where its shown that 12 year old kevin is in possession of a photo of ben that is suspiciously well worn, it has rips and stains and has been crumpled up and refolded a couple times. I like to think he kept that photo, whether to use as a beacon of hate or chew on and cry who knows.
-ben and kevin dont give a shit about what form the other takes, the only time ben has ever blushed about a guy is when mutant kevin grabbed him in the rooters arc and kevin is around alien versions of ben every day and doesnt bat an eye. This is why i think that once kevin and ben get together kevin makes a game about kissing all of his aliens (indiscriminatley. Even if they dont have mouths) he makes a scoring system and writes reviews on how good the experience was in glitter gel pen and makes a ranking list of his favorites. Stinkfly sweeps the vote, shocking everybody. Ben would rank kissing kevins mutations but only 2 out of 5 would even consider it before turning him into pink mist so he just sticks with what he knows.
- ben and kevin get married when theyre older and gwen stays in girlfriend status (mostly bc she knows that ben has a much shorter lifespan than her and kevin and she wants to give him the happiest time she can while hes still there) and they all live in a mansion the size of the white house. Kai comes by once a month to keep kenny happy (he still thinks shes his bio mom even after theyve told him multiple times she was just a donor. Gwen says he gets his delusions from ben). Ben and kevin like to sit on the 500 foot long porch and throw rocks at passerby and snuggle. Kevin is so happy he giggles mindlessly to himself in public, scaring strangers. He tries to get them to look at pictures of his family but this only further creeps them out.
-kevin finds the most random shit ben does extremely charming. hed look at him picking his boogers and eating them and he thinks in his head i need this guy so much. ben finishes a rubix cube not even very fast and kevins like wow. cool. do you like emos.ben is charmed by kevin in the same way. he sees kevin use the toilet brush to scratch an itch on his back and hes like fuck oh fuck oh fuck
I have more i prommy i just cant think of them rn, i will make more if im able. 4 now please have my collection of bevin screenshots under the cut. Spread the word my disciples. fair warning there are a lot
#ben 10#ben tennyson#ben 10 omniverse#ben 10 alien force#kevin levin#ben 10 ultimate alien#ben 10 classic#ben 10 uaf#ben ten#bevin#ben 10 headcannon
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tagged by the brilliant @jamiesfootball and the stunning @lady-of-the-spirit and the gorgeous @abubblingcandle! thank you all for the tag MWAH <3
1. how many works do you have on AO3?
11
2. what's your total AO3 word count?
120,102
3. what fandoms do you write for?
ted lasso (quick everybody act surprised), daredevil (i WILL get back to that fic i prommy), thor & loki, and uh. i haven't posted anything yet but somehow succession got me to care very deeply about billionaires so. watch this space............
4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?
It's the Great Father's Day, Ted Lasso (ted lasso)
It's the Great Valentine's in May, Colin Hughes (ted lasso)
hear you calling from some lost and distant shore (thor & loki)
and do not recognize us as we pass (ted lasso)
It's the Great Moving Away, Sam Obisanya (ted lasso)
5. do you respond to comments? why or why not?
I DO. I KNOW THIS SOUNDS LIKE A LIE AND THAT IS BECAUSE IT IS. i have been woefully bad at catching up with responding to comments........... however i will fix this once school gets out.
6. what's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
hmmm. despite the fact that my fics tend to be Incredibly Angsty, they almost all end with deep and abiding sappiness. i suppose at the moment the sun is only a God if you learn to starve has the angstiest ending, although that's mostly just because it only has the one singular chapter atm.
7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
probably It's the Great Father's Day, Ted Lasso! i love that ending very very much.
8. do you get hate on fics?
thankfully not yet!! pls be nice to me im This Tiny (i am not short at all) (be nice to me anyways)
9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?
i have not! maybe one day, possibly, but i'm very [blushing] about writing that right now lmfao.
10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?
i haven't written any crossovers before! i tend more towards AUs (as we can attest)
11. have you ever had a fic stolen?
as far as i'm aware, nope!
12. have you ever had a fic translated?
no but if anyone ever wants to, i'm so incredibly down for that
13. have you ever co-written a fic before?
no! BUT! i would LOVE to! come to my dms and let's brainstorm.
14. what's your all-time favourite ship?
all of my favorite characters/therapy. tbh.
15. what's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?
i will finish every WIP i've posted a chapter of because i will. this is my Brave Face Mantra. in terms of ones i want to finish in my head.... the ted lasso s3 fix it will hopefully eventually happen but not for A While.
16. what are your writing strengths?
hrm. hrngh. i hate complimenting myself. people have told me i have a good grasp of character voices and also prose? so? [throws that at you and runs away]
17. what are your writing weaknesses?
i am THEE absolute worst at describing settings/environments. i'm not a visual reader at all which translates into not being a visual writer and it's just. urgh. HELP.
18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?
hell yea! most of the characters i've written for so far have been mostly english-speaking, but for characters who are bilingual (dani, sam, richard) i try to include phrases in their native language they would use. if i were to ever write a lot of dialogue in another language, i'd probably give an in-narrative translation, or just stick 'em in the end notes.
19. first fandom you wrote for?
when i was 12 and infinity war came out i was so distraught that i wrote like 10 fix it fics and none of them will ever see the light of day.
20. favourite fic you've ever written?
and do not recognize us as we pass & find a new place to be from! yes i cheated and chose two.
tagging! not sure who has and who hasn't done it yet so! @altschmerzes @jamietarttsnorthernattitude @iguessyouregonnamissthepantyraid @thirteenemeraldcats @nativestarwrites @orbitalpirate + absolutely anybody else who would like to participate and use me as their tagger! MWAH <3
#tag game!#i think it's very funny that my charlie brown series takes up more than half of my most-kudosed works#i cringe about them sometimes but also cringe is dead.#so!#sid speaks
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Join my discord, peons! I'm hosting a create-a-thon!
cw: shilling
I'M DOING AN ART EVENT PLS JOIN I PINKY PROMMY IT'LL BE FUN
On JANUARY 4TH at 12 PM GMT (that's noon IN ONE MONTH, not midnight) the event starts, which will last 36 total hours and conclude at the END of JANUARY 5TH, AT MIDNIGHT.
During this time period, there's one simple task for you should you choose to accept it.
If you have an idea, and you've had it in your notes app or your brainhole for years and years, this event exists to try and act on it: finish that WIP, start planning that novel, make an album in this period, go nuts!
ANY form of art is welcome!
After the 36 hours are up, we'll be looking at your work, not to pick a best one or whatever, but to celebrate creation!
In the absolute worst case scenario, you enter the event with a cool idea, fail to make it and learn from your mistakes, and still get to tell us about your awesome plans!
also you get to hang out with a bunch for artists for a day and a half, neat!
so join my server and participate, it'll be fun!
WOOF
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making a copy of this bc op disabled reblogs and i just got reminded it existed and would like to not lose it
ok so . im outing myself to the world but thats fine this is too funny to not share
so. ive run a roleplay blog for a few years. i keep it separate from my main, yknow, its just a side hobby and ive been doing it since i was like, 12. its cringe but hey yknow at least im not 30 and writing ya novels
now its pretty common for rp blogs these days to have rules. right? you dont want to just bag any weirdo on this website, and as you can imagine bnha roleplayers are batshit crazy (see: conversion therapy todoroki) so mine are pretty strict and detailed. because ive been doing it long enough to be exposed to what counts as carbon monoxide poison from a screen. one of those rules is "if youre mutuals with people who write porn of the kids even aged up im blocking you we're keeping a ten foot pole on this". because as a 20 year old man i have a healthy disinterest in seeing paragraphs of teenagers fucking
so the dash is astir with talk of a guy writing age up bakugou porn and im like ok whatever. make a post bitching about it . mutual likes those posts but then the mutual is turning around and being buddy buddy with this guy so i dm the mutual like hey whats going on here . mutual is like "well why dont you talk it out with him hes not as mean as he seems i prommy" and im like sure whatever i can have civil conversation and if it ends with One Less Person writing weirdo porn then i might be able to get into heaven
so i dm him and he loses his fucking mind. it lasted all of 10 minutes because he was sending paragraphs like this and i was too tired to give a shit
(take note of my icon thats a special tool thatll help us later)
(also he goes by the name rxgelord. WITH the x. thats also important just because its funny as fuck)
so the guys clearly bothered by the idea that people might possibly talk about him without his permission and im a little miffed after being misgendered (which hed do again later) so i just post our dms. swing first and hey batter batter lets play ball i dont give a shit this is bnha roleplay
once again: loses his damn mind. he makes a psa post about me talking about how im just some pussy infant and hes too HARD for me and shit and also they do bakudeku muffin roleplay in the comments of that post which is fucking insane
anyway. at one point while joking about the whole thing i called him a "wannabe bakugou kinnie" as a joke and apparently he felt a very serious need to address this
and im like holllllllllllllly fucking shit
you may have noticed that his posts are incredibly over-formatted. this goes for everything he does he is pouring a LOT of time and energy into typing his 9 paragraphs about how im an insane bitch or whatever. (if theres literally one thing i can give him credit on its that his graphic editing skills are kinda good. i will be honest) his rules document is also just as insane and features gems such as:
(this dude thinks hes pulling bitches on a bnha roleplay blog)
so we're just full on ragging on him at this point and hes getting MADDDDDDD MAD. he misgenders me again and when i point it out he has the following excuse:
(art by @/pcktknife. anyways)
after a certain point i get dmd an old copy of a 130+ page callout he had a year prior and im like WHAT and it included his yugioh rp blog career and various allegations like having been involved in gang violence, doxxing, etc. also a picture of the hickies he bragged about leaving on his uwu pink glitter gf which looked more like he was trying to go for the killing bite but hey. yknow. apparently im a toddler idk how that works
along in this we also find his twitch account, which was under the name rxgelord, and it featured edited graphics of his real life face with bakugou. he posts selfies a lot too i wont share them even if theyre public but he has knuckle tats and a goatee and uses the greyscale filter. if this gives you an idea. he also had 5 twitch followers and detailed his desire to be a rapper/dj and im like holllllly fucking shit this guy cant be a real person. holy fuck.
anyways. skipping a lot of unnecessary bullshit and paragraphs of text with gifs from 2013 attached hes constantly going on about how we wont just "say it to his face" which i think is hilarious bc i was, the entire time. but im like ok fine you want me so bad
so i send him this. he posts about how "he won when he got all might" (for some reason hes calling my ex mutual by the character name. i dont know) and then hasnt posted in 4 days. he deleted his twitch. im a little worried bakugou. dont say that. may have actually chased this man off the internet . to go have real life sex with his real life girlfriend so he isnt so mad
anyway we ended up turning one of his posts into an eminem uberduck
im honestly probably forgetting something this was so much and it was so fucking funny and honestly im glad to have been there
update: he has not in fact posted since last summer. god bless.
#just copy pasted it . for posterity#very funny how in the og ppl are asking abt ctt. dont worry abt it#bakugou dont say that
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(April’s)Huevember - Day 12!
featuring: Glaukos !!
[in which I’ve made my very own #Huevember wheel this year (that you can use too! Pls tag me I’d LOVE to see!) - unabridged version continues, including a wide array of Elysium’verse characters across the rainbow!]
TEAL BEGINS!! this and the following two drawings were the hardest for me this entire month AHH. today features - who the hell is THIS now?! well remember that yellow pic of Oiolyka a few days ago - here’s her aforementioned husband Glaukos! SEE I TOLD YOU TO REMEMBER THE NAME :-))) notes!!
MERMAID MERMAID- Well,, merman, whatever. can you believe we have an entire mer person in here and I’ve only ever drawn him ONCE BEFORE THIS?!?!
Glaukos is one of the original early early Elysium’verse characters like Oiolyka is, he was one of Maci and (pre-deified still mortal) Tory’s first ever close friends and uhhhh………….. partners 😏, before they got married!! He lives in the waters of the Blessed Isles of Elysium
Glaukos actually used to be mortal long long ago and ate like, wacky poison herbs that almost killed him but turned him into a god and a mermaid instead so he and Tory became apotheosis buddies 🥰
I spoke a lil about him on Oiolyka’s pic, but when they had their quadruplets he moved deeper in the water with her and also completely off screen. Every so often he’ll pop up to make rare cameos! Unlike the rest of Maci & Tory’s playthings, Glaukos never lived in the palace formally though he did often show up in the pool and bathtubs
FUN FACT actually when Glaukos was an Elysium regular & back in the day he had much longer hair!! When the quads were toddlers (three girls and one boy, I have literally never drawn them and it’s been 15 whole years) they chopped his hair off while he was sleeping so he just kept it short forever after lmfao
I have drawn him so infrequently that I. Have never drawn the long hair. I will get around to it eventually though! I prommy
Glaukos belongs to @fenixethekid & Day 13 tomorrow! I conveniently have just added the exact next shade of teal to a character in the recent days past so….. you might be able to guess who comes next……..👀 click the link up above to see the whole Huevember wheel - feel free to use the tag AceprilHuevember if u want to play too - and my tag this year can be found here!!
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got tagged by my good friend/father @shslskaterboy for 10 songs ive been listening to so here they are
1.
rmebered this guy exists and found out he made a telecaster b boy cover and now i listen to it an ungodly amount
2.
you are not the guy youre not capable of being the guy i had a guy but now i dont you are not the guy
3.
i dont even know why for this one but at one point it was all i listened to for a whole day
4.
i love this so much you need to listen to it right now ough
5.
i dunno i am just <- consumed by the silliness
6.
i listened to this on repeat for 3 hours on a plane and slept peacefully the whole time i now have a Pavlovian response to it where i will immediately get eepy tired when i hear it
7.
very good song also very good for blorbo au also very good
8.
AUUUUGH EEEOEOEOEIUGH AUG i am nrmal i prommy where are you going
9.
i get so autistic over this musical and this song makes me want to explode (positive) please go listen to this musical please it is so good it made me cry
10.
i was oh so sad so i made my charcyers sad and oopsies i made them neurodivergent do you see my vision
this was very fun thanks for the tag james i will now taggg @gummyly @vancrypt @vincentus @melvintheferalrat and @shihoann
#godam it you got me james#also ignore how incoherent some of these descriptions are#i am so normal#also feel free to judge my music taste#maybe even tell me about it#my anons are on#daily stuff i guess
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wanted to clarify if my previous anon came off as rude that i love your posts + your art. just wanted to make sure everything was good. i very much enjoy your commentary and think you are great at posting. just always a little worried you are not okay.
(part one ^) i want to let you know how much these are first of all the absolute funniest asks ive ever gotten in my entire life i love you so much anon. you are so kind and have such a way with words first of all. second of all yes i prommy im great im thriving even <3 never better! as unhinged and delirious as the posting may seem. truly ever since the dnp renaissance ive been experiencing every emotion known to mankind (SLASH POSITIVE) from the bottom of my heart it has felt like healing my inner child and such. it's felt like cradling that little depressed closeted 12-year-old that i once was and being like. look at you now. look at them now. look how beautiful things can be... it truly does get better etc etc :'] it's just also that theyre diabolical and insane and do crazy things so every day is another dose of psychic damage. but it's fun. it's so much fun i promise u <3 they r keeping me sane thru this semester. etc etc
#I SWEAR IM NORMALER THAN MY POSTS WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE. IM QUITE REGULAR#its just that like. wheres that image thats like yaoi is my only escape from this bullshit called existence or whatever#dan and phil.are my only escape. from this bullshit called art school babey <3#im normal i am. like mostly normal. I LOVE YOU ANON SERIOUSLY NEVER FEAR <3#i mean ive been extra unhinged for the past week cause dnpcrafts was crazy but thats also been extremely extremely fun <3 mass hysteria!#but yeas. do not fear. i mean i fully understand the worry but i am as thriving as a college student can be ^_^#which is admittedly not peak performance. but thats because there are always the evils. the horrors. of assignments. and etc#ask
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20 Questions for Writers
eeee thanks for the tag @fuckyeahfang!! <3 i'm gonna tag @maraschinomerry if u wanna (no pressure tho!)
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
31! Dang I've been writing fic for a second and a half huh
(Note: one of these fics is not mine lol -- I posted it for a friend without AO3)
2. What's your total AO3 word count?
77,138 -- waough
3. What fandoms do you write for?
Whatever's rotting my brain most at the moment -- I had a long streak of Critical Role, which went into TMA, and I have a feeling Dunmeshi might get a few fics by the time it's done with me; also original stuff but I don't post that
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
My Lightbringer - 4,891 Hits, Critical Role
[incoming communication] - 3,018 Hits, Lifeline
little blue pills - 2,919 Hits, The Magnus Archives
The Hands-On Approach To Teaching Dunamantic Spells: A Guide by Essek Thelyss (Results may vary) - 2,271 Hits, Critical Role
Shitty Hair - 1,190 Hits, My Hero Academia
5. Do you respond to comments?
I try, I really do, but sometimes I'll see one and be like "I'll reply to that later!" and then I don't and then it's been 2 years and I feel bad for replying so late that I just don't 😭 But I do read and appreciate them all I prommy
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
this would require me to finish fics EVER lmao... but seriously probably (Don't) Look Away. Do NOT read this if you haven't played Outer Wilds, but DO go and play Outer Wilds, and THEN read this.
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Probably [incoming communication]? It's definitely the ending I'm most proud of -- it's very self indulgent, but I'm fond of it :"
8. Do you get hate on fics?
nah people tend to be chill
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
Sometimes, but not often, and I post it even less often. I prefer reading it to writing it, but I do like tossing around ideas I'll never write about the characters' weird and intriguing kinks lmao
10. Do you write crossovers?
I don't tend to, unless they're incredibly funny to me. Reading-wise, crossovers just annoy me because there's 2x the chances for mischaracterisation/misunderstanding of the setting(s), but sometimes a really good one can scratch my brain.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
not to my knowledge!
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
Not into another language, but I have had a podfic made of Cabin Fever -- which was great since it was a scriptfic anyway! It's really well made, go give it a listen!
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Quite a few! Not in a while, but it's fun to work with someone whose brain ticks in synch with mine about a character or ship. I actually started dating my current partner in part because we were talking about a fic we wanted to write together! We'll get to it one day, and get sooo much hate about it it's quite fucked up LMAO
14. What’s your all time favorite ship?
MAN. YOU CAN'T ASK ME THIS. it's like picking children. uhhh Shadowgast (Critical Role) is up there for All Timers but they are def not the only one. Probably the one I've thought most about, but now I'm thinking about Blupjeans (TAZ)... JMart.... augh. i love when people love each other despite the very terrible consequences
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
little blue pills! It's a fun concept -- I love fucking with the very rubbish trope of soulmate AUs and making them Weird and Queer, but I am not great at finishing projects and I have also cooled slightly on TMA since I started it.
16. What are your writing strengths?
big emotions! being purple prose but like good about it! Weird People.
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
finishing things, plotting, writing convincing dialogue -- yknow, just little things (🥲)
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
It can be done well, but it needs to be considered deeply. Also, used sparingly. I like throwing in terms of endearment in other languages, but when it's whole conversations, it's not fun to be checking google translate/the AN every five seconds.
19. First fandom you wrote for?
the first one that's still up? Layton Brothers! the first ever? harry potter 😔
20. Favorite fic you’ve written?
i hate favourite questions i hate favourite questions uHHHHHH You Were My Conscience. fucked up monster lovers trying to moralise their way out of being responsible for a man's mental breakdown <3
thanks again for the tag sunny i love u mwah
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everyday i wake up and check ur acc....thankyou for being the only one feeding us rendoc content.....
AAhhh thank you anon, I’m glad I am a rendoc poster for you ig, old men live in my brain get them the fuck out of here. Sorry I haven’t been drawing much of it recently, I’ll draw them again soon, the temporary drought won’t last long I prommy. autism and adhd is super funny in that it will kidnap me and I literally cannot do anything But play video games for 12-16 hours straight a day.
(Also don’t worry about the spam, I don’t mind it, it makes me kinda happy to see. It’s like I turned around in my desk only to see a really fucking insane bird just going ham on the bird feeder on my window)
#lord help me. i wake up I sit at my desk I get Posessed I look at my clock it’s been 12 hours and I haven’t moved#anon#I’ll probably make persona au rendoc doodles tho. i got thoughts#< NEVER A GOOD THING!!#i got p5r. on christmas. i haven’t done anything but play p5r. since then#bird talks
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👀👀👀!!!!!!
cheating bc you sent me 3 eyeballs so im gonna give u 3 different answers 😌 :::
the DSMP Lost Boys AU. GOD i was on some shit when i was thinking abt that. it was literally so perfect. i still have the other half of the references buried somewhere deep in my wip folder but i just. never finished it. i was probably never gonna write an actual fic for it but god did i want to do more screenshot redraws . it was so perfect. i still think abt it sometimes when i watch lost boys like. damn .... sam is so tommy coded . i love you annoying little brothers
ANOTHER dsmp one: vengeful spirit. god. fuck . where do i even start. vengeful spirit was my baby i cared about it so much. it was my ghostbur-centric character study fic series where after cwilbur was revived, ghostbur fought his way out of limbo kicking and screaming and then they had to deal with the consequences of both existing in the living world at the same time. very heart player core. something something you hate yourself so much but now there are two of you and youre different people but also youre the same guy and you hate that your brother trusts the dead fish eyes version of you more than the living breathing one. aka ghostbur gets to be angry because i really just wanted to see him snap and punch something. unfortunately the first fic totally flopped and i had nobody to bounce ideas off of so i was the only person in the world to care about vengeful spirit. i had like 12 oneshots planned out and they were each titled with song lyrics from a song in the playlist (which still exists btw) and i made a layout and everything. A LAYOUT. i never outline things dude thats how u KNOW i went hard for this one. another factor in its death tho is i started writing it like.. right after the cwilbur revival when there was a huge lull in lore streams and i was trying to fill in the blanks. but because i am a slow writer eventually canon surpassed me and i was like "hm this is too divergent now and since i am the only one who is going to read this it will simply live in my brain forever" . also i think my time for writing dsmp is way past me now. sad! oh well theres other fandoms.
third one is NOT dsmp related but it IS general minecraft related. fuck dude i have so many ideas about minecraft worldbuilding. its such a perfect game to write about. i have so many minecraft ocs that have super complex lore that will probably never see the light of day bc im like. how the hell do i convey this information without actually showing people my minecraft world. the intricacies. there are so many. i cannot play this game normally i have to make a story every single time. EVEN WHEN im not actually setting out to make a story. even when im just like "hm yeah this is gonna be a casual world im not gonna take it too seriously" and then suddenly ive rebuilt an entire village to protect it from raids and all the villagers have names and im attached. sigh. i think about minecraft religion and also the magic system and how the world works and how mobs interact with each other and . man . theres so much. does anyone want to play miencraft with me i prommy i wont go insane on you
#sorry ros i didnt mean to make these all minecraft related i promise i also write about other things sometimes#i was tempted 2 get into my ideas for dp and marble hornets and subnautica#but i dont know if u have seen/played any of those so it would have been absolute nonsense <3#am i allowed to talk abojt my ocs in these asks. because god i think about my ocs so much#and i. never post about them. sigb#if i had the time and energy to actually sit down and create all of the things that r going on in my brain i think the world would explode.#nobody would be able to handle it. thered be so much . i could be doing so much but alas i am so tired and sad all the time#hiiiiiiii im. having a night tonight. i wanna ramble abojt stuff so bad. i hope this wasnt too incomprehensibly long#asks#friends!!!#intertexts
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HI there are a lot of these so feel free to pick n choose (i just love all ur guys i could pick)
Owen 23
Annora 27
Abbigail 26
Frith 5
Felix 12 (thinking about those wings n tail 👀)
Maria 16
Leona 35
Loreina 14
im gonna answer all of these so i'll put it under the cut :)
Owen 23: How does envy manifest itself in them (they take what they want, they become resentful, etc)?
Owen by nature is not a very envious person, he grew up not having very much but was kind of resigned/accepting of this. But i think deep down he does become a bit resentful of those who have the things he wants (stable family, money, unconditional love and support), but he would never show those kinds of feelings to the person he envy was targeted at. Don't mistake that for him being a too good of a person though, he just doesn't want negative emotions to become between him and the people he's close to. He's selfish in that way, he would rather let sleeping dogs lie and not cause problems than potentially lose someone close to him over something so trivial as jealousy.
Annora 27: What causes them to feel dread?
Annora definetly has issues with control and therefore a lack of it. New environments terrify her, it's why she was so scared of going outside for so long, and her powers didn't make that lack of control any easier on her. I think to truly make her feel dread, it would be to put her in a situation with a bad outcome, that she could truly do nothing about. She tries to prepare for everything.
Abbi 26: What is their preferred mode of transportation?
she hasnt been exposed to very many as leaving the palace grounds hasn't really been on the table for her, but after some adventures her favourite way of getting around was on the backs of ... well i havent named the animal yet but its like if a wolf, a horse, and a dragon combined and became like a tamed beast. ill draw it one day i prommy LOL
Frith 5: How easy is it to earn their mistrust?
he doesn't really think for himself for a long time! he's loyal to the king, and the king tells him to do what Loreina says, and if Loreina says someone can't be trusted they cant, and if she says someone can be trusted they can. it takes a while for him to break out of this mindset... its not that he mistrusts people, just that he hasn't thought about it either way unless he's been told to.
Felix 12: How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach?
This man is goofy and silly, he will spend ages stretching and contorting trying to reach the itch and once he realise he cant get it he will throw himself at the nearest person and put on a soap opera worthy performance in order to get them to reach it for him. they usually give in.
Maria 16: What makes their stomach turn?
big league gambling :)
and generally mistreatment towards children. she has quite the protective streak.
Leona 35: How do they treat the things their friends come to them excited about? Are they supportive?
she definetely pretends to be exasperated but always joins in on shenanigans. if its an interest her friends have, she'll act disinterested, but they always know better because she'll ask clarifying questions and bring up the thing later on to cheer them up or get them things related to it. but she DOESNT CARE!!! important you know that. definetely not. no way.
Loreina 14: What animal do they fear most?
She doesn't feel fear >:) animals fear her >:) ... not exactly an exaggeration but she does find the palace guard dogs pretty annoying. she doesnt like how mindlessly they follow orders, it freaks her out that an animal capable of ripping her throat out could be cowed so easily by the promise of a treat. nevermind that she basically has her own dog in the form of Frith :)
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I posted 223 times in 2022
108 posts created (48%)
115 posts reblogged (52%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@aeon-arts
@lesbianstarlightglimmer
@huey-dewey
@tilde-heart
@vederlicht
I tagged 220 of my posts in 2022
Only 1% of my posts had no tags
#reblog - 104 posts
#my art - 86 posts
#my oc - 25 posts
#meows - 19 posts
#mlp - 19 posts
#my edit - 18 posts
#mlp fim - 12 posts
#my fursona - 11 posts
#my little pony - 10 posts
#rottmnt - 9 posts
Longest Tag: 137 characters
#i dont even get it from artists like bro this person saw your art of blorbo from shows and went nuts in your notes thats a compliment...?
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
Happy Rupphire Proposal Day ‘22!!!!
468 notes - Posted July 4, 2022
#4
Sometimes I draw him happy I prommy
(🧣)
LFLS belongs to @eternalglitch
487 notes - Posted September 27, 2022
#3
Hunter Autism Moments
761 notes - Posted October 24, 2022
#2
See the full post
829 notes - Posted January 15, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
See the full post
894 notes - Posted August 29, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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breathe (in the air)
chapter 11
a03 link !!! | spotify playlist
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
byler fanfiction - 1970′s au - aged up character(s) - multi-chapter - no upside down/no powers
words: 8587
overall summary: Mike didn’t even want to go in the first place, honestly. El and Dustin managed to convince him to tag along despite his determination to refuse, and he was quite miffed, to be honest. He considered himself to be a pretty normal guy; a little anti-social, a bit uptight due to his conservative upbringing. But he was normal. And he was going to keep it that way, no matter what his friends tried to do to get him to loosen up.
But then he was stuck at a five day hippie-filled, groovy festival called the Midsummer Splendour, full of psychedelic music, drugs, peace and love. And he meets Will, possibly comes to some realisations that he wasn’t a very normal person after all, and finds friends that he would be bonded to for life.
It’s 1973, and Mike is completely, unequivocally, screwed.
author’s note: SORRY i realised this chapter was getting really fucking long because i kept getting really carried away and there were SO many things i wanted to include and have will and mike talk about before the confession and IOUYSDHUFHJFSJHFJHF i had to end it. ANYWAY PROMMY THAT IT WILL COME most likely next chapter !! so it might become 13 chapters instead of 12 like i planned. but hey extra content am i right ?? WOOO anyways PLEASE PLEASE lemme know what u think of this chapter was very fun to write and LOTS and lots of byler !!! hope u enjoyed <333 bye bye !
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It felt like his life had somehow transformed into a kind of bizarre, backwards Hawkins reunion for Mike.
At that point, he almost felt like they had all subconsciously migrated to the same place in Los Angeles and conveniently came across each other until they were all reunited together, a one-in-a-million chance. I mean, how often do people end up at the exact same music festival, in the exact same part of a huge city on the other side of the country at the same time, all having come from the same tiny town in Indiana? That wasn’t very common, in Mike’s opinion. But all of a sudden it was very common for him specifically, and now he was basically surrounded by old Hawkins residents. He was half-expecting his old school bullies Troy and James to show up, exactly the same as he last saw them on their day of high school graduation. He wouldn’t, in fact, be surprised, either, if Nancy and Jonathan surprised them by coming to the last day of the festival. Then he’d feel like some higher power was messing with his life, pulling the strings until basically the entirety of Hawkins’ population had reappeared in his life - even though he’d moved away to try and escape from that precise town - if that ended up happening.
Not that he minded reconnecting with these old friends, per se; or missed opportunity friends, in Max, Lucas and Will’s case, but he was beginning to feel a little freaked out by it all.
The saturnine clouds were advancing ever closer on the horizon, glowering and foreboding, bringing forth a raw breeze that nipped at Mike’s cheeks; though it was a welcome one at that, after all the stifling heat of the past couple of days. It would be nice to have a change in weather, he figured - though, of course, with the open-air stage that was filled with slews of electrical wiring and precious and expensive instruments, the rain might not be so welcome in the eyes of the musicians and production team. Hopefully nothing too drastic would happen.
“So what do you think Eddie looks like now?” Mike asked Dustin as the group of six jogged across the festival field towards the main stage, shouldering their way through the voluminous crowd, which he felt as if it would never end. He didn’t think he’d be around this many people ever again. Music warbled like a distant birds’ call in the air above them, otherworldly and transrational, in a way; the usual psychedelic-type stuff. Mike kind of tuned the constant music out now that he was used to it playing all the time, unless it turned out to be something of interest.
“Probably not that much different, it’s not like it’s been ten years. Still cool as hell.” Dustin responded, eyes practically glowing. Mike fought the urge to roll his eyes.
“His band must be doing well if he’s here at Midsummer Splendour.” Lucas mused aloud; the raven-haired boy noticed his hand was entwined with Max’s as they walked, idly swinging their arms back and forth, and he instinctively sought out El to see if she had noticed, but instead he’d found her on the other side of Max, holding her other hand, grinning as Max rambled on to her about something or other. He had to bite down on his bottom lip to drive away a smile. At least the trio’s issues weren’t bad enough for them to be unable to continue enjoying each other’s company.
They eventually found a way to the backstage area, which was really just a makeshift shed composed of large white tarps held up by poles, concealing the musicians inside.
A few other festival-goers were lingering around the backstage entrance, clearly hoping to get a glimpse at their favourite performers, but they seemed to be being driven away - mainly by the three burly security men stationed in front, arms crossed over their square-shaped chests, adorned with matching churlish looks. Ugh, Mike hoped Dustin had come up with some sort of plan to get them inside, otherwise they were going to be standing around forever, waiting for Eddie to come out. If he even was in there at the moment; they had no idea.
“What are we gonna do?” Will asked, rather hopelessly. Before anyone else could answer, though, Dustin strutted towards the security guards, confident as ever - Mike was almost tempted to call out for him to stop, because he didn’t know why he would even try to reason with those boulders - but he was kind of pissed that his best friend had forced him along to this thing, just when he was about to enact his plan to finally confess to Will, so he kind of wanted to watch him get rejected.
“Hello, dear officers-”
“No one is allowed inside without a backstage permit.” The middle one cut him off mid-sentence, completely unphased. He looked quite fed up, obviously having been fending people off all day; he barely even moved his lips when he spoke.
“Oh, well, y’see, I actually do have a backstage permit, but- but I left it back in my van, I’m a roadie- so could you pretty please let me and my friends in?” He gestured in the direction of the rest of the group, who awkwardly waved and forced smiles (which looked more like grimaces, to be honest). “I just forgot something that I need to quickly get. Be ten minutes, tops. Won’t get in your way.” Dustin fibbed, making some rather painful expressions as he explained his ‘situation’ and pleaded to get inside.
“Oh my god.” Max buried her head in her hand.
“What’s your name?” One of the other guards probed, brows furrowed in suspicion; actually changing their expression for once.
“Um.. Dustin… Henderson..” Dustin trailed off, growing quieter and quieter by the second; they were probably going to look him up somewhere and find out he was bullshitting about it all, and then he’d be promptly banished and they’d be back at square one. Not that there really was a square, anyway. It wasn’t like this was a movie and they would do some stupid backwards-Bond-style hijinks and sneak into backstage.
As if on cue, Eddie himself luckily popped out from between the tarp folds behind the guards like their own personal saviour, long fluffy hair ruffled and wavier than usual, and his expression rather bewildered.
His eyes roved across the six friends, who waited with bated breath (mainly Dustin) - he looked as if he didn’t know who they were for a moment, but after a second, his eyes sparked with recognition and his face broke out into a bemused grin.
“They’re with me, Mark, it’s all good.” He shot the guards a wink and a finger gun, his multitude of rings flashing in the light. It was only then that Mike noticed a little pin attached to the middle guards’ shirt that read ‘Mark’. He gestured for the group to come inside; they all grinned at each other before following him backstage; they were immediately attacked with the harsh smell of cigarette smoke, plastic and some kind of cleaning chemical that made Mike gag slightly - it was even hotter inside than outside, and they had to hurry to keep up with Eddie - who was striding along as if he hadn’t a care in the world - clumped together in an awkward group to keep from knocking anything over. Because the entire backstage was packed; packed with tons of people rushing back and forth, yelling commands to each other and ushering musicians along. And dozens of equipment in all shapes and sizes were stacked up in corners, spare guitars, pieces of drum kits, tripods everywhere. The entire place was just pure chaos. The crew were evidently flat-out.
“Crazy to see you guys!” Eddie threw over his shoulder in their direction, voice raised in order to be heard above the mayhem; he veered a sharp left, guiding them away from the area directly behind the stage. The music coming from it grew louder as they zipped past, though faded once again as they moved further away. “When Harrington told me he’d seen you three,” He pointed at Lucas, Mike and Dustin. “At the café in the town nearby, I almost didn’t believe it.” They’d reached a doorway now, which was just yet another piece of tarp hung up to conceal the area from the rest, and Eddie dramatically swept it aside to reveal what seemed to be a kind of backstage lounge, where the musicians could relax before or after their shows.
“Why wouldn’t you believe it?” Max asked rather sceptically; she’d never met Eddie before this moment, and she was clearly trying to gauge his personality to see if he was someone she could get along with.
“‘Cause these nerds would never show up to a hippy festival like this.” He made his way inside the lounge, and the others followed him; there were already a few other people milling about inside, and Eddie fist bumped some of them - they looked vaguely recognisable. He guessed they must be other members of Eddie’s band. “‘Cept for you, Byers. You always seemed the type. And you, too, Hopper.” He smacked both of El and Will’s shoulders in a friendly way. They both laughed, albeit a little awkwardly.
“Well, here we are, anyway. It’s not like we’re not up for trying new things.” Dustin commented.
“Shit, yeah, man! Didn’t know you guys had it in ya, congrats! Especially you, Wheeler!” He nudged him. Mike couldn’t help but flush when Eddie’s elbow touched his side, a bolt of electricity shooting down his spine. Okay, so, Eddie was still obviously attractive and of course that would have an effect on him; it wasn’t like he’d aged all that much, anyway, being twenty seven while they were twenty two. It didn’t really mean anything.
“Hahah, yeah,” He managed.
“Anyways, what’s going on with you guys? Haven’t seen since, what, a year ago? Two years? I have no fucking clue, my memory is dogshit.” He grinned at them all, gesturing for them to start talking before slipping out a cigarette from his pocket to light up.
The group fell into a pleasant conversation with their old friend; updating him on their life - how Mike was nearing the end of his university course, how Max, Lucas and Will partially lived in their caravan and travelled often; Eddie asked Mike how Nancy was doing, and he told him about how she lived in Chicago with Jonathan and how their parents kept pressuring them to have kids, even though they’d already pressured them into marriage the year beforehand. It had ended up propelling Eddie into a rant about forced conformity and how all these stereotypes and expectations were ruining society - which starkly reminded Mike of their high school days, of how Eddie often talked about that stuff, and how it had inspired him into a rebellious phase for a few solid years. His parents really hadn’t liked it. He made a note to himself to visit his parents in Hawkins after all this; and his sister too. It had been a while.
After they’d talked a bit about themselves, Eddie described how he and his band Corroded Coffin were faring, which appeared to be good considering they were at Midsummer, and how they were a bit more hard rock compared to the psychedelic-slash-prog-rock bands at the festival. As well as how he lived with Robin, Steve and Argyle (the name rang a faint bell; Mike remembered Steve mentioning him) in an apartment together, which they had been for a couple of years now. He didn’t think Robin had ever talked to him about that. Max introduced herself to him as well, and he took a liking to her and her no-bullshit attitude right away.
They’d dawdled around the backstage lounge for a while longer with him, chatting about everything and nothing, and Mike grew more and more impatient with each minute that passed by until he ushered everybody out. Before they left, Eddie invited them to his show.
“We’re not the main act, unfortunately- Wings is - but we’re on later tonight, around eight thirty. Come and see us if you want.” He’d offered as they emerged from the confines of the sweltering, suffocating tarp and back out into the real world again. Once they’d promise they’d stop by, the six friends left Eddie’s company with warm goodbyes. It had been nice to see him again, Mike thought. Seemed as if Eddie had a good thing going.
“I completely forgot that Wings is literally coming tonight.” Mike gawked as they trekked up the gently sloping hill away from the stage, presumably back to the caravan. “I was the biggest fan of The Beatles for so long! I’d begged my parents to let me see them for so long, basically each time they toured America, but they’d never let me because they were too liberal and raunchy or something.”
“Don’t act like you aren’t a fan of them anymore!” El retorted with a smirk.
“I never said I wasn’t ! Who wouldn’t be a fan of them?” He threw his arms up in the air in a gesture of incredulity. “I think I’ll die when I see Paul McCartney on stage. Holy shit, what the fuck would’ve happened if we saw him in the backstage lounge? He’d probably have his own private trailer though, he’s too famous. It’s too easy to sneak backstage. Oh my god. Eddie could actually meet him!”
“Into British boys, are you, Mike?” Will teased; Mike swallowed thickly. I’m into boys like you.
“W-what? No, no, well-” Distracted by his own thoughts, he tried to come up with some kind of answer, cheeks flushed bright, but Will didn’t let him.
“Just takin’ the piss, mate! Don’t be daft!” He quipped, adopting a Cockney-esque British accent to match the words. Seeing Will grinning lopsidedly like that, hazelnut hair tousled and windswept, eyes glittering like two green suns; he couldn’t stay upset for a single second. He crumbled into a fit of laughter, because Will’s faux-British accent was utterly terrible and it made everything worse.
“I’ll give you what for, son!” He shook a fist at Will, taking on a (probably terrible) British accent of his own. He could tell that their friends were watching the pairs’ interaction, flanking either side of them, but he found he didn’t care this time. “You’re bonkers, you are!”
“Who you callin’ bonkers, ya bloody tosser? Have you lost the plot?” He shot back, but the two of them were giggling so much that what they were saying barely made any sense, and their accents grew worse each time they spoke.
“You’re fucking barmy!” Mike pulled a face at him, and Will laughed so hard he actually snorted, holding a hand over his face in embarrassment afterwards. But Mike didn’t care; it was the greatest sound he’d ever heard in his life. And he’d do everything in his power to hear it again.
“You’re a nutter!”
“A pillock!”
“A ponce!”
“Blimey, that’s wicked!”
They weren’t even talking by that point, just calling out any British slang they could think of in increasingly exaggerated accents until people were glaring at them as they passed by, annoyed.
“Jesus, shut up, you two, you’re driving me insane with your dorky flirting,” Max snarked, seemingly one of mind with the strangers around them. Lucas whacked her arm lightly, hissing “Max! Let them flirt,”, to which she sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. They’d reached the van by then, and they threw open the doors and began to climb inside.
“What? We’re not-” Mike and Will began in unison - before cutting themselves off when they realised they were speaking at the same time; they glanced at each other, eyes wide, before immediately looking away, embarrassed.
“Leave them be, guys, they’re still figuring stuff out.” El admonished the others; Mike sent her a grateful smile, and she smiled back.
While the others made their way inside the caravan, Mike lingered by the back doorway, still on the grass outside - and by consequence, Will stayed behind with him, smiling a little nervously at him. They stared at each other for a long moment, clearly not knowing what to say to each other; and Mike knew that it was time for him to begin to implement his plan and confess his feelings for Will.
What he was about to do was risky, he knew that - this whole thing could go up in flames at any moment, and he could potentially lose Will (in every sense of that word) and he’d end up alone and ashamed, worse off than beforehand. Which, of course, wasn’t ideal, and Mike had a feeling he’d probably go insane if that was the outcome. But he had to try. Even if it didn’t turn out the way he wanted.
And even though he didn’t like allowing himself to hope too much, it looked like Will could conceivably like him back - which, holy shit if that was true Mike would practically drop dead on the spot if he found out.
Enabling himself a moment to gather courage, he gazed into Will’s curious eyes for a second longer, chewing the inside of his cheek anxiously; fuck, he hoped this didn’t backfire on him.
“Oi, let’s pop down to the chippy, eh? Get a butty,” He half-joked, bringing back what they’d been joking about earlier - though, of course, he wasn’t joking about the leaving part. Maybe it’d make Will more inclined.
“I could go for some good nosh!” The older man indulged him, grinning, and they both snickered together at the words before they fell silent again. Neither of them moved, and Mike felt the need to ask again, for confirmation because he wasn’t sure if Will had actually been serious or not.
“So - you- you really wanna go? Um.. ‘cause I was thinking, like, we should, y’know. We could go to the nearest town, maybe, get some food, go for a walk, and just. Hang out.” He paused, feeling unsure all of a sudden - because what he was describing sounded awfully similar to a date, and he was terrified that if Will thought the same, he wouldn’t want to come. “Well, if you want to, of course. Just ‘cause- I wanna get away from this place for a bit, before we have to be back for Eddie’s performance-”
“I’d love to.” Will cut him off, grinning at Mike like he had hung the sun and the stars in the sky, and he was ninety-nine percent sure that he was melting right there, on the spot. God, I like him so fucking much, he half-despaired. If they weren’t currently surrounded by hundreds of people and in full view of their friends, he’d envelop him in his arms right then and there and never let go.
Abruptly seized with confidence, he grinned right back at the other boy and gently gripped his hand, interlocking their fingers together until they were perfectly entwined.
“Well, what are we waiting for, then? Let’s go,” He began to tug Will away, who followed him pliantly, though made sure to call back over his shoulder to their friends.
“Guys, me and Mike are going into the town for a bit! We’ll be back in time for the concert, though, don’t worry!”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Dustin frowned, watching them go, but Max only shook her head and patted his shoulder, an amused smirk playing across her lips.
“Let them go, Dustin. Maybe they’ll finally sort their shit out and we don’t have to witness any more angsty, whiny pining anymore.”
If Mike had the foresight, he probably would’ve given her the finger for saying that - but, to be honest, he found that he didn’t care all that much. With Will’s soft hand holding his, their shoulders bumping occasionally as they jogged barefoot up the field towards the path that led away from the festival grounds, the dry, yellowed grass tickling their soles, the only thing he could feel was a kind of exhilarated joy, enveloping his chest like vines until he could no longer breathe.
“Ow, maybe we should’ve put some shoes on first,” Mike grimaced as they passed by the car park to the gravel pathway leading towards the road that would take them away, clusters of painful rocks and pebbles littering the ground and impossible to avoid, causing him to hop rather than walk. It was only then that they let go of each other’s hands, which he was starkly disappointed about.
“Awh, come on, Mike, you’ve got to learn to be spontaneous!” Will jokingly reprimanded, doing his best to carefully manoeuvre his way around the rocks, though probably only as successful as Mike was. “We’re children of the earth, we were made to walk on the ground like this, we’ve got to get used to it!” He held his hands high up to the sky, grinning in his usual lopsided way at Mike as he spun around on the spot. His clothes and hair flapped about graciously in the wind, and it almost looked histrionic. He could imagine it appearing in a movie.
“Wow, you’re serious about being a hippy, then, aren’t you?” Mike snickered, hurrying to catch up to Will; they continued down the gravel path side by side, instead ambling along beside it on the parched grass to avoid the stones (and also the multitude of cars that sped by to and fro.
“You tell me. I literally live inside a caravan painted like what acid looks like, I go around ‘travelling’ all across the states, I dress like I don’t give a shit, and I also smoke weed.” Will stated rather matter-of-factly. “I think we know if I’m a hippy or not.”
Mike chuckled. “Point taken.”
They came up to the pothole-ridden road that stretched out forever on either side; cars whizzed by back and forth, temporarily blinding Mike with their shiny metal like a camera flash until they were gone only a second later. The memory of that dreadful, torturous moment where he’d nearly died on that road, driving like a maniac during his mental breakdown came to mind, invading his conscience like an unwanted guest, sparking a sick kind of fear deep in his gut. God, he can’t believe that had happened; he hadn’t told anyone else about it yet. He didn’t know how he’d verbally explain it out loud without bursting into tears, anyway - it wasn’t exactly his most treasured memory.
Determinedly shoving it to the back of his mind, he lingered beside Will next to the road and checked his watch; already past three in the afternoon.
He had five hours, then. Five whole hours for him to confess his feelings and to deal with whatever consequences came from it, good or bad. Fucking hell.
“So, do you know where to go?” Will enquired curiously; Mike sent him an enthusiastic smile and jerked his head in the direction of the left before beginning to walk again, sticking to the edge of the road.
“Yep. Trust me, I am awesome at navigation.” He declared confidently, exaggerating his gait until he was walking like a Disney character; he couldn’t help but grin triumphantly when Will laughed in response, succeeding in his goal.
“For some reason, I really doubt that.”
They were silent for a moment, but it wasn’t uncomfortable - they traipsed along in a homely kind of silence, broken only by the roar of cars speeding by, sending clouds of dust and debris twirling up in the air, along with their clothes, making Mike have to keep adjusting his t-shirt.
“So what are we going to do?” Will asked, as if he was just trying to think of something to say.
“Well, I thought we’d go to the local town not far from here, get some food, maybe walk along the beach for a bit. Like, the one that we went to before.. we could even go swimming if you want.” He added the last bit a little more hesitantly, because being alone with a half-naked, soaked Will was something he didn’t think he could handle at the moment.
“But I didn’t bring any swimming stuff.” Will frowned, perplexed.
“We can just go in our underwear. If you’re up for it.” Mike almost felt like another version of him that was actually confident had possessed him and taken over; he was boldly flirting with Will now, making his own feelings clear and testing the tepid waters between them. He knew it must be because Will could possibly like him back, after all he’d learnt from their friends.
And, as if to prove his own hypothesis, Will’s cheeks flushed a rosy red, mouth opening and closing as he stared wide-eyed at Mike, as if he was at a loss for words. His gaze dropped to the ground in front of them, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, refusing to look at him.
“Oh- o-okay.”
Woah. Okay. Mike hadn’t predicted it would be that obvious. Fuck, he hoped he hadn’t overstepped anything by saying that.
But before he could spiral any further, worrying that Will would be upset by what he’d said, the other boy turned back to him, slightly hooded eyes gazing at him for a moment before he spoke.
“I wouldn’t mind that.”
“O-oh.” Mike blinked at him. Paused. And blinked some more. He could feel his own cheeks flushing a bright pink, heartbeat drumming against his ribcage, feeling like his lungs were caught in his throat. “Well, you’ll have to suffer the sight of my bony pale ass legs again.” He jested nervously, tacking on an embarrassed giggle afterwards.
“Oh, god, not the legs!” Will cried out, shielding his eyes with a hand, though he was grinning, peeking at the ebony-haired man from between his fingers. “I’ve been permanently scarred by those things!”
“Well, too bad, you’ll be exposed to them again! They may look like twigs, but I’m proud of them!” Mike professed dramatically, holding his arms up in the air like he was saying something ground-breaking and profound; Will did his best to clap for Mike’s emotional speech, wiping away faux tears, even though he was collapsing into giggles. A car drove past whilst they were talking, driven by what seemed to be a group of people that were definitely coming from the festival, and spurred on by Will’s laughter, he called out to them. “I’m proud of my twigs!”
They stared at Mike and Will in utter bewilderment as they sped past, obviously not understanding what he was talking about, but the pair didn’t even care, they were laughing so much.
“Oh my god, that was so stupid! Their faces!” Will exclaimed, shaking his head as they picked up their pace again - they were getting closer and closer to the nearby town now, the actual place within their sights; the first building was the run-down gas station.
Memories of his and Will’s conversation they’d had there on the beach day flooded through him- how they’d had that tense exchange while Mike was filling up the gas, talking about the festival. An involuntary shiver funnelled down his spine, like icy water trickling down his back. He’d still been denying his feelings for Will back then, despite how emotionally charged that interaction had been.
“They just don’t understand the journey of my self-love and acceptance for my twigs.” He said eventually. “Anyways, I’m craving a milkshake, let’s go,”
They wandered side by side through the streets of the sleepy town, Mike racking his brain to try and remember where the little café was situated.
Most of the ground around them was nearly completely flat, allowing for them to see everything in their vicinity for miles and miles, until it absconded into the horizon, as if enveloped by some invisible mist, obscuring it from view. Dozens of shops and houses snaked out before them, zigzagging into the distance for what must’ve been a couple of miles before dying out, breaking away into level fields of long citrine grass, which looked so dry that it’d probably catch fire the moment the temperature rose even the slightest bit.
Most of the buildings were small with low ceilings, painted with single colours like yellow or pink - they reminded him of the houses and shops in Mexico, when he visited the country the year before with El and Dustin. Well, they were pretty close to San Diego, which bordered Mexico, so it wasn’t surprising. The roads were old, sun-bleached and cracked, no lines to border either side, but it didn’t really matter, there was barely anyone on the roads anyway. It was small enough for everyone to just walk or bike everywhere, unless they were going to travel out of town.
In fact, most of the town-goers were walking about right in that moment, dressed in shorts and t-shirts, or even shirtless, to adapt to the heat - most of them were barefooted or had flip flops on, meandering about without a care in the world. It was peaceful, and it reminded Mike of Hawkins a little bit, just ten times hotter; the way no one was ever in a hurry, how everyone knew everybody, the way everything was in desperate need of repair. It was a nice change from Los Angeles, at least.
“It’s like Hawkins, isn’t it?” Will eventually observed aloud, the two of them locking eyes and staring for a long moment. “Just a bit.. warmer.”
Mike nodded slowly, an unexplainable melancholy streaming through him like water, a dull pain blooming across the back of his head. “Yeah. It is.”
Sharing tentative smiles, the two men continued on their trek, bare feet silent against the sun warmed footpath, deciding to move on to better subjects.
“So, tell me more about yourself, Will Byers.” Mike prompted, smiling softly at Will; they both crossed the street to the other side, shoulders bumping gently as they went, having finally spotted the café and making a beeline for it. Mike’s stomach growled, as if awoken by the sight. “I feel like we haven’t been able to learn much about each other, with everything else that’s going on. Except that we’re both from the same town.”
Will’s lips curled up in a half-smile at that, eyes glittering fondly; Mike pushed the café door open and shuffled inside before holding it open so Will could follow after him. “Huh, true. I guess I’ll tell you my very exciting and fantastic life story.”
The café was cramped and rather derelict, but actually quite cosy despite all that - scuffed white linoleum tiles at their feet, a couple of metal tables and chairs (which would be nice and cool in the heat) squeezed in wherever they could fit, a small display area with a couple of cakes, pastries and biscuits and a drink fridge, along with a busted looking coffee machine shoved up into one corner; there were a pair of doors opposite it that must’ve led to the kitchen, those swinging types with the round windows like a restaurant. There was a mother and a young child seated on the table in the very back, eating some cheese toasties, and an elderly man was up at the counter talking to a middle-aged lady who was at the coffee machine, cleaning the milk jugs, dressed in a dusty stained apron; they seemed to be having a pleasant conversation.
“Ooh, that’s intriguing.” Mike responded. They scanned the room for a moment, looking for a spot to sit; the other people in the café glanced at them briefly as they came in, but didn’t pay much attention afterwards; the pair eventually chose a small table with two chairs by the window looking out onto the street, collapsing onto the cool metal gratefully after their lengthy walk. “I bet you robbed a bank or stole crown jewels or something and got away with it, or like rode a dolphin to China or something.”
“Woah, how’d you guess?” Will mock-gasped, yet unable to keep himself from grinning; Mike grinned back, affection swelling in his chest like a balloon. Ugh, his happiness was so infectious.
“Intuition, I guess.” He shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant, before getting up from his seat - his feet ached in protest, as he’d only had a moment of rest. Will automatically followed suit, like he’d been running on autopilot when standing up - wherever Mike went, he went. “Well, hold that thought about your exciting life story, let’s order our food first before I die of starvation.”
“Oh shit, didn’t know you were in drama club in high school.” Will eyes glowed with mirth.
“Shut up,” Mike grouched, cheeks flushing pink. He hadn’t been in the drama club, but yes, he’d admit, he had wanted to be back then, but knew it was social suicide.
The two of them huddled up to the counter, observing the menu written on a chalkboard plastered up on the back wall - they made pretty basic things, like sandwiches and burgers and pies. A couple of more foreign things, like the croissants. The same stuff they had last time, of course. The special seemed to be some kind of seafood soup. Mike scrunched his nose slightly; he liked seafood, sure, and he had plenty of it living in Los Angeles, but seafood in soup? He didn’t know if that was the greatest combination.
“Oh! Yes! They have milkshakes!” Mike pointed to the right corner of the blackboard, where the drinks were displayed. “I’m getting chocolate.”
“Haven’t you been here before?” Will looked bemused.
“Yeah, I just forgot if they had milkshakes or not.” He shrugged. “Anyways, what flavour are you gonna get?”
“Huh. I think strawberry.”
“Ooh, strawberry! We’re opposites.” Mike flashed a smile at him; Will smiled back, before he replied.
“But opposites attract, right?” He was clearly trying to play it off as a joke, but there was a nervous glint to his eye, and his chest visibly rose and halted, like he was holding his breath, and Mike’s heart was in his throat again.
“Ye-yeah, you’re right,” He managed to reply, a longing so intense and all-encompassing rising in his chest that it was all it took for him to resist from grabbing Will and crashing their lips together like there was no tomorrow. Soon, he promised himself, trying his best to swallow his feelings down and keep them at bay. Goddamnit, could his emotions stop playing up for one second so he could be normal?!
“You two wanna order something, or?..” The middle-aged lady, who was clearly the owner, interrupted their staring contest, bewildered gaze bouncing between the two of them.
Terrified that she had somehow figured out the nature of his and Will’s relationship (or at least, their mutual pining), he turned abruptly away from the other boy and cleared his throat loudly.
“Yeah, sorry! Didn’t mean to keep you waiting,” He forced a chuckle, trying his best to act normal - which he had a feeling wasn’t working the way he wanted to, because Will, the old man and the lady were all still staring at him - before listing off what they wanted. “Can we get one strawberry milkshake and one chocolate, a croissant and.. A chicken sandwich.”
“Sure, that’ll be twenty two dollars.”
Mike handed over the money needed to the owner, and Will protested at the sight, shocked.
“Wait! I can pay for my stuff,”
“S’kay, I got it,” Mike waved him off, smiling at him in a way that had Will blushing.
“Okay. Thanks, Mike.” He blinked shyly up at him through his lashes. God, he’s so cute.
After paying, the lady informed them their food would be ready soon, to which they thanked her and returned to their table by the window; there was residual tension crackling between them like electricity, and they both knew it, so Will tried to break it once they sat back down.
“Croissants are one of my favourite foods, y’know.” He smiled at Mike, though a little carefully.
“Yeah, I know, Lucas told me.”
“Wait, really? Is that why you got one, then?” Will’s eyebrows shot to his hairline, looking as if he was genuinely shocked that someone would do that for him, let alone remember it. “When did he tell you, anyway?”
“Yeah, ‘course. It’s all yours, you can have it.” Mike shrugged, though his heartbeat picked up pace, a little embarrassed. “And he told me when we went to get food, back on the second day, I’m pretty sure.”
Will frowned, chewing on his bottom lip, seemingly in thought. “Shit, that was only a couple of days ago, but it feels like weeks.. you remembered that?” He stared at Mike; there was a certain look in those green eyes, like he was seeing him in a new light.. almost as if he’d realised something.
“Yeah, of course I do.” Mike flushed even more, fixing his eyes on the table in front of them. Fuck, he’d gone too far. He’d remembered some inconsequential thing about Will that people wouldn’t normally recall, and used it later to make him happy. His affection for him couldn’t be more obvious now. The food luckily came at that point, so Mike had an excuse not to look at him, instead digging into his food.
“That’s nice of you.” Will’s eyelids fluttered a little as he blinked, an almost coy kind of smile gracing his lips; even though he tried so hard to avoid his gaze, Mike still gave in and met his eyes anyway - there was something different about the way the other man looked at him now, like his realisation had unlocked something within him and he no longer felt the need to hide. Like he was comfortable with revealing his true feelings or opinions and no longer felt the need to pretend anymore. “I didn’t think you’d be such a considerate friend.”
Friend. He was still using the word. But his grin had widened just the slightest when he said it..
“Yeah, well,” Mike awkwardly raised one shoulder, rubbing the back of his neck before deciding to cut this weird fucking interaction short and move on. “Anyways, enough about that! Let’s get back to the fantastic life story.” He grinned at Will, slapping his hands on the table before leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Come on, spill the beans.”
Will hesitated for only a moment longer, but quickly indulged him with a placid expression on his face, as if nothing had ever happened.
“Well, first off, my full name is William Jacob Byers,”
“No!” Mike exclaimed as if he’d just revealed some very scandalous information, bringing out a smile on the other boy’s face, prior to continuing.
“Yep, it’s true. I’m from Hawkins, but you know that- uh, I have a mom, Joyce, and an older brother, Jonathan. I had a dad, but he was a deadbeat and left when I was, like, eight.” The slope of his shoulders tensed just the slightest at the last sentence; Mike’s heart ached for him. The idea of someone having the audacity to treat someone like Will like shit was fucking baffling to Mike; who could take one look at that face and not think he was greatest thing in the world? He wanted to find Will’s dad and punch him in the face, the injustice of it all.
“I technically have a stepdad now, as of, like, two years ago, though. He was the police chief of Hawkins, Jim Hopper-”
“What.” Mike interrupted, staring at him with a gaping mouth and wide eyes like Will had just turned into an octopus right then and there.
“What?” Will furrowed his brows at him, utterly perplexed, but Mike ploughed on anyway.
“Dude, that’s El’s dad! Well- adoptive dad.” He exclaimed, as if it should be obvious. “What the fuck! I don’t remember her ever mentioning him being with a ‘Joyce’.”
“No- you gotta be fucking kidding me! Really?” Will exclaimed. “They’ve apparently known each other since high school, but only got together recently. Mom said she had the time to finally do it now that me and Jonathan had both moved out.”
“Oh my god. How did we never meet?” Mike threw his arms up in the air in defeat, slumping back in his chair. “This is nuts.”
“I’m serious, it’s like fate pushed us apart until now, like this was the right time for us to meet.” Will insisted. Mike stared down at his now empty plate, sipping at his half-finished milkshake as he transcended into thought. They’re both quiet for a bit.
“Do you believe in it now, then?”
“What?” Mike asked.
“Fate.” Will paused, searching the other’s face as if it would give him an answer. “After all this, do you think you could believe in it?”
“Huh..” Mike hesitated. “Maybe.” They stare at each other again, for a long moment. But Mike is the first to break it.
“We should go down to the beach now. I wanna get out of this stuffy café,”
Since they had finished their food, they took their milkshakes with them and left the shop, emerging back out into the outside - the temperature was still quite tropic, a stifling heat that could almost be physically felt - though the breeze had picked up in speed, sweeping up stray leaves and rubbish in its wake, icy and bringing the musky smell of rain. There was a crack of thunder that echoed in the distance, and Mike squinted in the direction of the clouds; they were inching closer and closer. It looked massive from where they were, looming ominously and threatening to unleash havoc on the world below.
“Let’s not try to stay too long, the storm looks pretty big.” Mike considered, moving to catch up with Will, who had already begun to cross the road.
“True. Can’t remember the last time it rained, the earth probably needs it.” Will mused, kicking idly at a loose rock as they made their way towards the nearby beach.
The two friends fell into an easy conversation after that. Mike told Will more things about himself, like his family and what he studied at university, and his job. Will brought up the ‘Grocery Boy’ nickname that Max had conjured for him, which he was not exactly happy about, and Will explained how he was a bartender and sold his art on the side, though he’d had to bounce between jobs quite often when travelling with Max and Lucas. ‘Kind of ironic that you’re a bartender but you don’t drink’, Mike had joked, and Will giggled in that adorable way that sent his heart fluttering. He wondered why Will didn’t drink, exactly; he was afraid it had something to do with his dad.
After mentioning their friends, Mike asked Will to tell him more about Max and Lucas. He hadn’t really had an opportunity to spend time with them one-on-one, mainly because the pair was either always together or with the entire group; and so Will told him a bit about them, how Max hadn’t had the greatest home life in California, with an abusive stepdad and stepbrother and a mother with a drinking problem, and how Lucas and Will had done everything in their power to get her out of there - luckily, they didn’t know of either of the boys’ existence, or (specifically the stepdad and brother) would lose their shit, especially Lucas. The thought of that made Mike cringe in disgust and fury. Apparently Max never talked about them since, she was only glad to be rid of them; though she still visited her mother every now and then, without Neil and Billy’s knowledge. Mike didn’t blame her for that.
He then told Will more about El and Dustin, how he’d met them and their upbringings. And that conversation led to Hawkins and their memories of the place, from adventures in the quarry and sneaking into the movie theatre to spending time in the library reading fantasy stories. Mike felt that familiar surge of melancholy, but not for his past childhood, but for what he could’ve had back then - Will. And Lucas too, for that matter - they could’ve grown up together, the five of them against the world, and later, six. They could’ve had that, but ‘fate’ as Will kept saying, had other plans.
“I had a dog, too, when I was young, back in Hawkins. His name was Chester,” Will recalled as the two friends meandered along the beach, kicking up sand in their wake, which seeped in between their toes and stuck to their ankles. The beaches’ waves were disturbed and angry, clearly because of the oncoming storm, and Mike could almost imagine Poseidon seething beneath the surface, his rage influencing the ocean around him; he was fascinated by the way the water frothed in spirals, almost, curling and weaving then dissipating into nothing. The water was dark, more blue than green, and it looked almost solid because Mike couldn’t see anything underneath. They stayed fixed to the edge of the water, enough for the icy ocean to lap hungrily at their feet as they went along, pant legs rolled up to avoid the edges getting wet, but not any further than that - they were content just toeing the edge, talking the afternoon away.
“Oh, really? That’s awesome.” Mike smiled at Will before moving ahead of him and spinning around to face him so he could look at him, walking backwards as he did so. “I’m a little jealous. I always wanted to have a pet for the longest time, but my parents refused to let me, Nancy or Holly have any. Except for maybe, like, a hamster. But I always wanted a dog. And I never really got the time to get one when we moved to LA.”
“That sucks,” Will sounded sadder than what Mike thought the phrase warranted. “Kids always deserve to have a pet when they’re growing up. You seem like a cat person to me, anyway, but I think that’s because you yourself are like a cat.”
“I’m like a cat?” Mike echoed, staring at him in perplexion.
“Yeah, of course you are! You’re moody and temperamental, when you get angry you sound like you’re hissing, you just give off cat vibes. Wouldn’t be surprised if you were one in a past life.” Will grinned at him and sipped at his milkshake (which he struggled with slightly, because he couldn’t seem to tear off his smile for the life of him), delighted by his friends’ confusion. “I like associating people with different things, like animals.”
“Oh? What do you think our friends’ animals would be, then?” Mike’s initial indignation vanished after the last sentence, overwhelmed by curiosity about what animals Will thought certain people were.
“Oh, I’ve already got ones for Max and Lucas.” He grinned wider, excitement twinkling in those captivating eyes, spurred on by the subject that was clearly something he enjoyed. “Max is a Pitbull. She appears aggressive and dangerous, and she’ll bite anyone who crosses her, but underneath she is the biggest sweetheart in the world. When she wants to be, that is.” Mike praised him for his accuracy - he couldn’t think of a better animal for her. “And Lucas is a giraffe. A gentle giant type, y’know, kind and friendly. He’s always kind of been that way.”
“Oh, totally. I’m not surprised you’re accurate, you’ve known them for ages.”
“What animals would you say match El and Dustin?” Will asked, eyeing Mike curiously; he looked so utterly beautiful in that moment, with his windswept hair and his flannel shirt hanging loosely over his shoulders, flapping gently in the breeze, his face scrunched up to avoid letting the ever-bright sun in his eyes, that lopsided smile still playing across his lips; and Mike sorely wished he’d brought his camera. Well, if his plan went well, they’d hopefully have many more occasions like this, and he’ll be able to make up for it. Make up for lost time.
“Huh, alright, lemme think.” Mike sunk his teeth into his bottom lip, deliberating - but only for a moment, because the ideas came flowing to him near instantly. “Oh! Dustin is absolutely a dolphin. Super smart, sweet disposition, kind of kooky. Then El is an alpaca. Her hair is fluffy enough to be alpaca’s wool, and she’s sweet and loyal but she can certainly pack a punch if someone she loves gets hurt.” He paused, a smile slowly crawling across his face. “Woah, this is fun!”
“It is, isn’t it?” Will grinned back, enthused by Mike’s enjoyment. “It’s just fun to do things like that. You can spend hours coming up with all sorts of things, y’know? Just to stave off the time..” he trailed off.
While listening to him speak, an image of a young Will Byers lying on his childhood bed formed in his mind, saturated with warm and nostalgic-esque colours, a familiar lopsided grin on the boy’s face and a faraway look in his eyes as he gets lost in his land of thoughts, coming up with all sorts of different ideas, of ‘what ifs’ and ‘how’s. An ever imaginative mind running wild and free. He didn’t even try to stop himself from smiling at the idea, an ardent affection swelling in his chest - secretly entertaining his fantasy, he pictured his own young self splayed across the bed alongside Will, the two of them laughing and talking for hours, creating stories together. Because that’s how it should’ve been, Mike knew it. It should’ve been Mike and Will, best friends since they were kids.
As if Will had somehow read his thoughts (he’d probably just seen it on his face), he smiled softly at Mike and reached out to touch his arm in a comforting way.
“It’s okay, we’re here now, aren’t we? Let’s not dwell on what could have been and just enjoy the here and now, okay?” He briefly ran his fingers over the back of Mike’s knuckles for a moment, his eyes glistening in a kind of sad but affectionate way before letting go of him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Yeah. You’re right.” Mike’s chest expanded, feeling like he could breathe properly again after that.
I’m not going anywhere. The words felt like they entered Mike’s brain and found their way down his spine, crawling through his veins and melting into his skin until he felt like he was full of it, a euphoric kind of longing taking hold, and he couldn’t stop staring. God, he hoped Will never left. He adored him so fucking much it hurt.
And maybe, just maybe, Will liked him back.
“You okay, Mike?” The other man peered at him, beautiful doe eyes concerned, and Mike felt freer than he’d ever felt. He couldn’t let anything else hold him back from being with Will - no matter what way that ended up being. Just being around Will was enough for him. He was going to be okay.
He had to tell the truth.
#AAAAA#MIKE JUST DO IT GODDAMNIT#tilly's writing#stranger things#mike wheeler#will byers#stranger things fanfiction#mike wheeler x will byers#byler#byeler#will byers x mike wheeler#byler fanfiction#byeler fanfiction#byler fanfic#byeler fanfic#max mayfield#el hopper#dustin henderson#lucas sinclair#elumax#eddie munson#elmax#lumax
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thank u allison @myunsoundintuition for the tag!!!!! i prommy ill do the rest of them…sometime…soon hopefully but we know how that goes 😔
relationship status: in my bf era ^_^
fav colour: RED
fav food: hmmmmm big fan of homegrown beef steak i will not lie. mac n cheese also. and tomatoes. ALSO i made a 2 layer cookie cake the other day and its so dense and probably the equivalent of like 12 dozen cookies and idk if id do it again but its FUN OK
song stuck in my head: burning up by marianas trench
last thing i googled: uhm… “HOW.TO.BE FEMININE AND GNC” yeah.if anyone knows how to be a hot guy but a girl etc……lmk
time: 10:55 pm
dream trip: TUMBLR MUTUAL ROAD TRIP WLD B SO FUN PLEASEEEEEEE also sorry but i do need to pilgrimage to that pawn shop in houston that used to be the venue where awtto first met like. sometime. sorry
something i want: tumblr mutual road trip. a blimp or maybe a zepplin. my cd order to ship. to know every major computer language without having to learn them. time and motivation AT THE SAME TIME. to write and record an ep. catch up on night vale and not loose interest when i have to wait in real time for the next episode again. to shake some people violently by the shoulders and to take others gently by the hand. art skills. time machine. peanut butter. you get the idea
tagging @heartshapeddoor @cyncity2000 @secretkoalasandwich
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