#graverises

[acceptedrisk]

one liner for @graverises ( will ) .

' i've never really .... prayed before . does that make me the worst cleric in faerun ? ' the question is posed as she trudges along the path alongside will , his gentle hand on her arm guiding her over the worst of the rocky terrain outside the mountain pass . ' how's it even work , anyway ? you just ask them for stuff in your head ? or am i gonna have to blow up a temple every time i need to catch their attention ? ' after all , that seemed to work well enough the first time ..... or was it stealing the holy relic that did the trick ?

[devilscheck]

@graverises liked for a LYRIC STARTER !

"I see things that nobody else sees-"

[eatbitch]

well, i guess neither of us are who we said we were, huh? / from nancy

soft features are arranged in an impassive mask , though those chocolate brown eyes have grown cold and flat . is nancy trying to bond ? does she think that a dimpled smile & air of camaraderie will endear her to shauna ? it won't . in nancy there lives an echo of every person who ever had the ability to dig their fingers in the butcher's wounds . sometimes she swears it's jackie's voice that leaves the wheeler girl's lips , and twice out of the corner of her eye she'd mistaken her for natalie , shotgun in hand . it's stirred a resentment so heavy it's fucking suffocating .

the handle of her buck knife turns over again & again in her hand , eyes locked on nancy's as she considers . ' fine . ' it doesn't sound fine , if the way shauna jams the blade so deep into the counter that it stays upright when she releases it . ' so you're not totally useless . you can stay . but that doesn't mean we're friends . '

[clericwoken]

MIKE'S UNRELENTING OPTIMISM IS ONE OF THE THINGS WILL ADMIRES MOST ABOUT HIM. the unquestioning belief that things will work out in the end. there's a wholeheartedness to everything that mike does that always manages to amaze him. it was something he experienced first hand, a level of devotion to their friendship that will knew he wouldn't be able to find elsewhere. maybe that's why it hurt so much when they inevitably grew apart, when time brought change and opposite priorities became impossible to ignore. and yet, they found a way to move past the turbulence of teenage years to somehow end up here: in the dimly-lit bathroom of the squawk, first-aid kit opened hastily while careful fingers attempted to clean the cut underneath mike's left eyebrow. the burden of their failed attempt at saving the children still hangs in the air, contradictingly coexisting with the relief that none of his friends had been severely injured. the essential role that mike had played unbeknownst to everyone but will. because if mike hadn't proposed the idea, if he hadn't wholeheartedly believed in will, then maybe he would've never found the courage to use those powers to save them.

⋆　　 ˚　　 ࿔ i’m not going to let anyone hurt you.

mike says it like he truly believes it: unrelenting optimism. will knows that it's not that simple, that the real threat exists within him. how can anyone save him from his own mind? he knows henry won't risk visiting them in the physical realm again. the battle must take place inwards, where no one can protect him. back to where it all started. but mike doesn't need to know that, no one does. ❛ i'm not worried about getting hurt. ❜ will admits softly, allowing himself to wallow in the regret a few seconds more. ❛ i keep thinking about the kids. i know what that's like, being there— all alone. ❜ the idea of anyone else going through a similar torment was almost unbearable. he sighs, focusing back on his best friend. ❛ i told you not to move. ❜ a mutter that is supposed to be a reminder, except it lacks any real heat. ❛ this might sting— i'm sorry. ❜ brows furrow in both concentration and remorse before pressing the gauze against the small wound, holding his breath as if it was him receiving the treatment and not the other way around.

˗ˏˋ THE DUSTY TOYBOX , @graverises (mike) .ᐟ

[clericwoken]

there was no point in hiding it: will was scared. being back in the upside down, the place where it all started, brought back grotesque memories. his body trembling against the cold, the steam coming out of his mind as he despairingly hummed the lyrics to his favorite song. his efforts to escape, the damning realization after being captured by the demogorgon. death might've been merciful, as opposed to the profanity that left him fundamentally changed. there hasn't been a day that goes by where he doesn't grapple with the consequences of being taken ( chosen? ) and it almost didn't matter anymore. whoever will byers might've grown up to be if he wasn't taken that night was nothing but a lenient mirage. an illusion. his fate was sealed that night. from the very beginning, will byers had been destined for slaughter.

he tries to hide it, but it's a fruitless attempt when it comes to his older brother. jonathan was always able to read him better than anyone else, could always tell when there was something growing underneath. he always acted as a shield between will and the outside world. it was in the resentful stares directed at their father whenever he said something particularly mean. in the barely-concealed concern whenever will came back from school a little quieter. in the warm smiled exchanged over breakfast every morning. will knows it haunts him too, the same way it haunts their mother. it wasn't just his path that was permanently disrupted.

⸝⸝ i love you. nothing’s gonna change that.

will smiles at that. tries to ignore the growing dread as the final battle approaches. they're in his territory, they're playing under his rules now. “ yeah? not even having superpowers? ” will aims for lightheartedness and misses the mark completely. it's impossible to shake off the feeling that jonathan shouldn't be there with him. none of them should. the upside down was a place that was never meant for mortal souls. “ i love you too. ” of course he does. the thought of growing up without jonathan by his side is almost unbearable, as unimaginable as a reality where he's untouched by the powers that kept the upside down alive. “   do you really think i can do this?   ” there's uncertainty that he could allow himself with jonathan, a level of vulnerability that only he would understand. will knows there's no other way to end this, that henry would always find him in the end ... and yet he struggles with the possibility of it all being for nothing.

˗ˏˋ the dusty toybox , @graverises .ᐟ

[eatbitch]

"Someone needs to put you down." / from steve LMAOOO hes scared of her i fear

watching billy & steve clash wasn't watching a fight , it was watching a slaughter . steve was strong , sure , but he fought clean . billy didn't . that's fine . shauna could do it for him , if push came to shove .... which it quickly did . billy had been looming over a thoroughly battered steve when shauna intervened . she slide tackled his legs right out from underneath him in a move that taissa , rest her soul , would have cheered ---- and immediately began fucking whaling on him .

it was effective enough at first ---- with the wind knocked out of him , shauna's first handful of blows rained down on a vulnerable billy . but once he caught his breath , things got messier . they grappled through the wreckage of the byers' living room until billy got his arm around shauna's neck in a headlock & began to squeeze . before everything went black , shauna did what shauna does best : teeth sink into flesh , hard .

billy lets out a bellow of pain and tries to shake her off , but she's latched on to his arm , biting harder & harder as blood gushes into her mouth , hot & familiarly metallic . she only lets go when her fingers close around a heavy brass candlestick . she spits a chunk of raw , bloodied flesh onto the floor before cracking billy across the skull with the candlestick . he was still standing , so she did it again .... and again , and again , the familiar rhythm & pounding of fleshing taking over until the brass was snatched from her hands by a stunned - looking max . had she been telling shauna to stop ? all she could hear for the longest moment was the pounding of her own blood in her ears .

looking down , billy was unconscious , beaten to a pulp . a joint effort between she and steve .... although the worst of the injuries were certainly shauna's doing . a joint effort , she doubles down in her head . they did this , together . steve's voice is hoarse when it cuts through the air . he doesn't look much better off than billy . that pretty face of his is swollen and bleeding , nearly unrecognizable .

' saved your ass , didn't i ? ' she pushes herself to standing , doesn't offer a hand to help him up . ' next time you might not be so lucky . '

[eatbitch]

you son of a bitch, you promised! / from mike

when mike rides his bike up to the sadecki house and rings the doorbell , it's bordering on 48 hours since shauna has last slept . the exhaustion and the undiluted stress of motherhood are taking their toll , making her tongue sharper than usual . poor jeff , the usual target , has found refuge at the furniture store . shauna's pretty sure he's outright fucking avoiding her at this point , not that she could blame him .

' you're so fucking lucky i didn't put her down for her nap yet , ' she grumps at mike , even as she lets him in . callie is in a baby bjorn , strapped to shauna's chest ---- it's the only thing that seems to keep her from crying non - fucking - stop . ' what's wrong ? what's going on ? ' concern ebbs at the realization it's not an emergency . at all . no , the kid had knocked on her door because they were down a player for their stupid dice game .

honestly , a part of her respects the audacity , but the rejection is swift and absolute , as is mike's rebuke . ' i promised ? ' she echoes . ' when i promised to help you i meant for actual emergencies , not your after school club . besides , i'm pretty sure none of you guys want to hear a baby crying the whole time , and god fucking knows where jeff is . ' her agitation stresses out callie , who begins to wail all over again . ' god dammit . '

[eatbitch]

you know what, you’re right, i don’t understand. / from jonathan

it doesn't take much to set shauna off nowadays . her mother , disconnected as ever , hardly seems to notice the storm brewing within her daughter . her fiance -- the word still makes her stomach turn -- finds himself walking on eggshells around her ever since her mysterious return . in fact , everyone seems to be . hawkins has greeted her with judgment & pity , neither of which sit well with her . like kindling just waiting for a spark , shauna shipman is about to fucking snap .

maybe jonathan didn't deserve it , but he was there . always trying to bond , to reconnect , to edge his way beneath the armor that shauna has meticulously fucking built . so insistent with his concern , his quiet support making her skin crawl . she doesn't deserve it . they both know she doesn't deserve it , and his persistence in maintaining this fucking charade agitates her to no end .

it's only when he says her name that shauna finally moves , the invocation of her best friend's ghost too much to bear . ' do not fucking talk about jackie . ' her voice is low and fierce , but there's a slight waver that betrays the raw wound beneath the seething anger . ' what gives you the right ? you have no idea what we went through out there . you think you get it because will was lost out there for a few days ? you think that measures up to any of the fucked up shit we saw ? what we did ? ' her volume steadily increases . ' your brother came home , jonathan . my team , my -- ' she stops short before the word baby could leave her mouth . the wound of the lost child is not one she can reopen , not now , maybe not ever . ' my friends . they're dead . do you understand that ? '

it takes her a moment to realize she's in his face , and he's looking at her like she's just kicked a fucking puppy . she's breathing hard , expression hard as stone . merciless . @graverises is quiet for a long moment before relenting . you know what , you’re right , i don’t understand . his submission doesn't make her feel any better , but she'll consider it a win anyway . no apology is offered ---- instead she just scoffs as she steps away .