Sora Niniji (AU) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
notzubats) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
driftfleet2016-11-20 01:37 pm
notzubats) wrote in driftfleet2016-11-20 01:37 pm
Entry tags:
- !mingle,
- adalwolfe hawke,
- alphonse elric,
- beverly crusher,
- charles xavier,
- erik lehnsherr,
- fenris,
- hank mccoy,
- hermione granger,
- jennifer keller,
- katherine "kitty" pryde,
- kaywinnet lee "kaylee" frye,
- kuroba kaito,
- mikleo,
- misty day,
- nakamori aoko,
- nami,
- rey,
- richard castle,
- sam winchester,
- sora niniji (au),
- stefan salvatore,
- winn schott,
- yuan ka-fai
Iskaulit Mingle - Problems with Psychics
Who: Anyone on the Iskaulit!
Broadcast: If you'd like?!
Action: Iskaulit!
When: Today, as Sora's augment glitch starts.
[It's your average day on the Iskaulit. Absolutely nothing seems out of place initially, but without any warning- you might find yourself or your friends experiencing some problems. What's up on that?
In other words, it's an Iskaulit mingle with a twist! Come on in everyone! You don't need to interact with Sora to have it effect you, so feel free to start your own threadstarter! Or talk to Sora, that's cool too. ]
Broadcast: If you'd like?!
Action: Iskaulit!
When: Today, as Sora's augment glitch starts.
[It's your average day on the Iskaulit. Absolutely nothing seems out of place initially, but without any warning- you might find yourself or your friends experiencing some problems. What's up on that?
In other words, it's an Iskaulit mingle with a twist! Come on in everyone! You don't need to interact with Sora to have it effect you, so feel free to start your own threadstarter! Or talk to Sora, that's cool too. ]
no subject
1. Well, at least I'm not crazy.
2. But why is that person floating?
3. Oh, CRAP.
It was, of course, Stefan, and when she saw him, despite his predicament, a rush of unpleasant emotions came rolling back in, and she remembered their last encounter in stark detail. Part of her thus wanted to just ignore him and let him float on away and keep going about her business. And when he fell, she couldn't help but let out a bark of laughter. Then almost as soon as that happened, she felt sickened with herself. He could be hurt, and despite her feelings toward him, she still had her sworn duty to do.
So, she approached him with a confident stride, all business, medical kit in hand, and spoke in a professional tone.]
Did you break anything?
no subject
[He can't even see Jennifer, on account of his entire face being covered in mud, but he gives her the world's laziest thumbs-down as he tries to prop himself up.
No broken bones here, just a bunch of ruined hero hair and the ashes of one vampire's dignity.]
no subject
[She hovered there for a moment, filled with uncertainty, her stomach clenching. Now what? Should she just leave him here, not even try to help? Should she try talking, even though he'd ended up here accidentally, and not sought her out?
She then remembered that he hadn't spoken to her in months now, and felt a hot rush of anger.]
Well. If you're not hurt, then I'll get back to what I was doing, and you can get back to what you were doing, and we can pretend this never happened. How's that sound?
no subject
No, Jennifer... [Mrgh. Stefan forces himself to sit up, stretching out his mud-splattered arm since it's a little sore. Nothing he can't handle or heal himself, though.] That's the entire problem.
I fucked up, and instead of owning up to said fuck-up, I just kept running. Or, well, crashing straight into even more crap.
no subject
It wasn't enough, of course- not enough time to help her articulate the contradictory emotions roiling inside her. She was angry, she was sad, she missed her friend and wanted him back, but she wanted to push him away, she wanted to stay, but she also wanted to walk away.
She found what she was looking for- a packet of wet wipes- and hesitantly offered it to him. No matter what, she thought, no need to be a jerk and let him stand there with dirt all over him.]
... I'm not really sure what to say, to be honest. I... Beverly told me what you were trying to do. What your intentions were. And part of me realizes you had a point buried in there, but it's still... it's really hurt to watch you just carry on and talk to others while you ignored my attempts to reach out. Like you didn't want me in your life any more. [Do you? she wanted to ask, but she wasn't going to. Beverly had assured her that Stefan did, that he still cared, but Jennifer needed to hear his answer for herself. And if it was "no", well... at least she could move on.]
no subject
Stefan stares at the wet wipes, at the olive branch that they are, before he murmurs a thank you and hastily opens one. The dirt clings to his face and his hair and his entire body, but at least he can see after he scrubs it all off.]
I wanted to give you someone to hate, [he says quietly, taking another wet wipe and wiping his hands clean too.] I thought that if I did, then maybe... you'd focus less on why you and more on why not you. I could never hate you. I'm not capable of hating you.
[He's not gonna cry here, not now - there aren't enough tissues and wet wipes to clean this up.]
But I hurt you, more than I thought I could, and I... I don't know where to keep going from here.
no subject
...I needed to hear that. I really, really needed to hear that. [She took a breath that was a half-sob, then looked into Stefan's eyes.] I... I told Beverly I never really stopped to think about how I might be affecting the people closest to me, with the way I can be down on myself a lot. So a small part of me can't blame you for going to such an extreme. And I've been trying to do better, even if you were avoiding me and wouldn't necessarily see.
[She wiped her eyes on her sleeve- not that it stopped the tears.]
I'm also angry, and relieved, and I guess that's my way of saying I don't know what to do, either. But I want us to figure this out. After I fell asleep and went home for a bit and saw that my life will be there waiting for me when I go back... I've accepted that I'm here for a reason. I want to make the most of it, and part of that is having good people by my side.
no subject
[Now he feels like an asshole. Stefan sits up straighter, furrowing his brow and peering at her with new eyes. He can't deny that he was avoiding her, because he was. He couldn't funnel energy into what he believed to be a burnt bridge - and he sure had been dancing around her, even at Beverly's birthday party.
(In hindsight, clinging closer to Allen might've been a terrible idea.)
He swallows down his surprise. He expected anger. Anyone in their right mind would've been pissed for him going all Ripper on them without warning.
He can't say he expected relief.]
Of course we're going to figure this out. I'm glad your life's right where you left it. I just - [He's still stuck on this,] How long were you out?
no subject
[And now her voice was tinged with a little bit of annoyance. He really had been taking great pains to avoid her, hadn't he? But she'd been doing the same to him, so... did she have much of a right to be angry?
Yes, she told herself. Because their fight had lasted much longer than that and been about so much more than that. But the fact that he was talking to her, even if he hadn't intended it, and hadn't walked away yet... well, it was something, and she was clinging to that.]
For a few weeks, earlier this month. I'm not surprised you didn't notice, though. [There may have been a touch of bitterness there.] This is the first time I've fallen asleep for a long stretch and woken up with new memories, though. And I think it was good for me. I wasn't happy to wake up back here, but it helped give me a new perspective.
no subject
Only a few months ago, they had been closer than close, and he'd smashed it to pieces with a metaphorical sledgehammer. Stefan wasn't supposed to be capable of that cruelty, and he sure won't forget how slimy he felt.
In the end, that "re-direction" hadn't done much good.]
I don't think anyone would be, [he admits quietly,] except those who have no home to return to.
Like you said, we're here for a reason, and until we can break the cycle... we're all we've got. [They're aa'aila. He's never stopped believing that, even when he hated her self-deprecating behavior.] I'm sorry, Jen. I shouldn't have done any of that to begin with.
no subject
I... I appreciate the apology. But you're right... it didn't need to have gone that far. If Beverly hadn't told me what you'd been intending, I would have spent the last few months thinking you hated me. [And a small part of her had still thought that, until he'd reassured her otherwise just now. Because he'd cut off contact completely, and she'd had no way of knowing if it was because he was angry with her, angry with himself, or a mixture of both.]
And I'm sorry that you got that frustrated with me, too. I don't think the part of me that sometimes gets insecure and wonders why and feels like I'm not good enough is ever going to go away. But I can't let it dominate me, either. I won't.
[She wiped her eyes again, took a shaky breath, but seemed more resolute.]
We can't change what happened. It was awful, and you hurt me pretty badly. But I can forgive, and we can start trying to put this behind us. Right?
no subject
His tarnished beauty's a blessing in disguise: Stefan doesn't know if he's earned that right. He lost it when he said she was swirling in a vortex of misery. He also lost it when he refused to answer her calls or her texts, and he doesn't think he's earned her forgiveness.
His shoulders droop as he looks back at her.]
Only if you're okay with that. I fucked up, and I know I fucked up, so don't... [He sighs, running a hand through his hair.] Don't go easy on me for the sake of going easy.
no subject
Of COURSE I'm fine with it, I wouldn't have said so if I wasn't, and... [She paused, taking a deep breath to re-center herself, to slow her babbling down.] Look. I won't forget what happened, and sure, I'm angry, but I won't let this ruin what we had. I refuse to. I'm not the kind of person who's going to be cruel to you in return and turn my head away. You mean too much to me still.
[She paused, looking up into his face.]
And if our positions were reversed... you'd want me to try and stop beating myself up over it. Right?
no subject
[That goes without saying - all he ever wanted was her to gain self-confidence and a little self-love. He might've gone about it in the cruelest, stupidest way possible, but his heart had been in the right place.
He reached over and lightly squeezed her hand.]
I missed you, you know. [He laughs, at his own stupidity and the mud still on him and the sheer surreal nature of it all -] And I'm glad Aunt Beverly set things straight, I uh - I definitely ruined our big, giant sleepover.
[Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if he were consistently excluded from those now and forever.]
no subject
Her voice shook a little as she went on, but it grew steadier the more she talked.]
She didn't want me to spend months thinking you hated me. Because if I had, well... it would've been a lot harder for me to handle. Maybe impossible. So she was truthful with me, and helped me cope wherever she could, but she also was wise enough to let us have our space from each other. And now... here we are. We've both made mistakes, but we'll do better from now on.
no subject
Some of us made bigger ones than others, but yes. [He grows quiet, looking at her with newfound appreciation. Maybe that space had given her the strength he had always seen in her.] I uh, probably need a shower - thank God I installed one in the Center - so I'm gonna get right on that.
[His mud and dirt is the only reason he hasn't caved into temptation and hugged there then and there.]
But once I do? Drop by for some tea, and we can figure out where to go from there?
no subject
no subject
I figure you had stuff to do in here, so um, go ahead. I'll be there a while.
no subject
Yeah, I was, uhm, coming in here to check on the plants and make sure the surgery center's still in order, so. I'll- I'll go do that. I'll be back around. See... see you soon.
[And that? That felt good to be able to say. It had been such a long time since she'd been able to say that to him, and it was such a simple thing, but it meant he didn't want to avoid her any more, and she wasn't left hanging and wondering and worrying. She hurriedly wiped at her eyes again before starting to walk over to her patch of the garden.]
no subject
This could've gone so, so much worse than it had - and as he turns around, he can't help lingering for a moment to watch her work. He missed her, and he knows what a life without her's like.
He can now safely say that it sucks, and he's never gonna put himself in that position again.
Stefan just hopes, as he finally turns to leave, that he still remembers her favorite drink.]