It happens to everyone - sometimes, you have nights where you just can't fall asleep, no matter what you do. It could be for a number of reasons, or no reason at all. And this is what's happened now: you've been laying in bed for what feels like hours, just tossing and turning, and nothing seems to help. So what's left to do? Get out of bed and go wake someone else up, of course. If you're not getting any sleep, then why should they?
i n s t r u c t i o n s • Post with your character (note the name and fandom in the subject). • Other people reply to you by generating a number from 1 to 10. • Have fun!
o p t i o n s 01 • FEAR. Maybe you're hearing strange, indeterminable noises; maybe there's a severe storm happening outside; maybe you watched a scary movie before bed? Whatever the reason, you're terrified and it's keeping you awake. You just want to wake someone else up so they can protect you from the monster in your closet. 02 • HUNGER. Your stomach is growling and it just won't stop. Or perhaps your throat is so dry you could cough up a tumbleweed? Well, you've gone to the kitchen to remedy this and hey, that was a pan that just dropped on the floor. It was loud enough to wake the dead! Oops. 03 • PAIN. Your body is completely worn out, be it from exercise, battle, sickness, or what have you. Either way you're in enough pain to keep you from sleeping, so maybe someone else has a home remedy or something, or can at least help you take your mind off of it. 04 • SOLITUDE. For some reason, your bed just feels so empty at the moment. You're feeling terribly lonely and really just want someone to keep you company for a while. Maybe it'd be easier to fall asleep if you're with them... 05 • DISCOMFORT. Your room is an oven. Either that or a freezer. Or maybe this bed is just really uncomfortable? Who knows why you can't get to sleep, it feels like it could be anything. Why even bother trying? Maybe someone else can preoccupy you until you feel tired enough to ignore your discomfort. 06 • PENSIVE. Something's on your mind, and no matter how hard you try to focus elsewhere, it's just not going to work. Your body may be tired, but your mind is incredibly busy and it's virtually impossible to get to sleep. Surely, talking it out with someone else will help? 07 • SADNESS. Something terrible has happened that day, perhaps; or you could just be severely depressed. Either way you're trying your hardest not to cry yourself to sleep, and it's not working at all. Better find a way to get it out of your system somehow; you need a shoulder to cry on. 08 • ANGER. You are just... fuming. Who knows why - that annoying dog is barking again, or maybe the people next door are getting busy and keeping you awake. Whatever the reason for your ire is, you'd better put an end to it so you can get some damn rest already! Go wake up a friend so you can complain to them. 09 • RESTLESS. You're far too energetic to sleep right now. Maybe you're just trying to do so out of necessity - you have to be up early tomorrow! But you just don't think you'll be able to fall asleep for a while now, so why waste the time trying to sleep when you could be doing something else? Namely bothering someone else - you're totally jealous because they're getting more sleep than you. 10 • WILDCARD. Choose one of the options above, or make up your own scenario.
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The removal comes with a fresh, thick ooze of blood, which is pretty well gone by the time Ashe wipes it away, and there's significantly less afteewards.
The blood on the glass, which had started to crystalize around the sharp edge of the sliver, melts a couple of seconds after it's removed from Maria's body.
Yep. Weird indeed. It's about to get weirder, too.]
If... I concentrate enough on the burn of corruption, and the... the arcane in it, I can make it ignite.
Y've never seen someone panic til they realize you can... use your blood as a weapon, an' then... an' then add fire on top of it.
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[ This is a very interesting moment to find out that her girlfriend's blood is flammable. And she responds with an interested, slightly surprised look on her face as she plucks one of the bandages from within the box in Maria's hands.
She sprays down the wound with some biotic mist to clean it (which would also ensure that it healed even faster), waits a couple of seconds for it to dry and then places the bandage over it. ]
Every time I figure you ain't got any surprises left, you go and prove me wrong.
[ She takes the box from her and places it back in the first aid kit, closing it up before she stands and sets it on the counter. ]
You'll have to show me sometime. [ She crouches down in front of the hunter, gently pushing her hair out of her face. ] For now? Let's get you back to bed.
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It's a sort of detached fascination she watches Ashe work with her foot, and the bandage, and then taking everything back...
And then there's an outlaw basically in her lap, and Maria blinks in surprise.] But there's still glass all over the floor.
[Yep. That's what's important.]
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[ It's fascinating, really. The fact that Maria's blood can keep her from infection and healing her wounds up in no time flat, but it sure as hell can't keep her from getting drunk off her ass.
While it is funny, she's still a little concerned. ]
I won't let you step on any more glass. Promise. B.O.B.'ll be here in a few hours to cook breakfast, anyhow. He'll clean it up for us.
[ She reaches for Maria's hands and moves back. ]
C'mon, upsy-daisy.
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[She does seem to be quite concerned about the glass on the ground, if the look she gives it is any indication, but then Ashe grabs her drunken attention again, and she looks up to the other woman, who is now holding her hands.
Right. Time to get up.
It's a slow, clumsy process that ends in Maria remembering a second too late that her foot is injured as she jolts her leg up and probably nearly knees Ashe in the stomach because of it... and then she sort of hops on one foot for a second, before gingerly setting her foot back down. It may be healing rapidly, but it's still tender.]
... What are you doing, Elizabeth...? [This doesn't quite sound like she's asking about the current situation, but that's what the timing is.]
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Woah-Hey! Watch it!
[ Ashe startles, taking a small step back when Maria nearly nails her in the stomach by accident. Thankfully, that doesn't happen and she can stand by and help support her girlfriend as she gets back on her feet. ]
What am I doin'? I'm takin' you back to bed. What're you doin'?
[ She keeps ahold of one of Maria's hands and slowly begins guiding her out of the kitchen. ]
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[She limps, of course, putting the majority of her weight on her heel and the side of her foot so she doesn't have to use the space near her toes.]
Drinking too much, too quickly. I didn't... really mean to, it just... wouldn't go away.
['What', she doesn't specify, just yet, but she does look back at Ashe as she steps back into line with her and kind of... leans into her hand a little, so she can take some of the pressure off that one foot.] But I mean... what are you doing? You... shouldn't waste your time just... caring for an old, drunk... former hunter.
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[ Oh. Is that the kind of night she's having, then? Were the nightmares worse tonight? Whatever the case, she doesn't like that a bit.
When she feels Maria leaning a bit more, she lets go of her hand, shifting it over to the other one so that she can slip her arm around her waist to better support her. ]
If I thought it was a waste of time, I wouldn't even bother. Turns out, you're my partner and I'm pretty fond of you. Wish you would've woken me up instead of dealin' with this on your own.
[ Easy does it. One step at a time. ]
You gonna tell me what wouldn't go away?
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[Not the first time, will not be the last time Maria has had nightmares that wake her up and potentially drive her out of bed.
It's easier to walk when she's leaned up against Ashe's side, and she can take some extra pressure off her foot.]
It's just... a dream. An image, won't go away. Still kind of won't, but... I don't need to sleep anymore.
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[ Oh, she knows all too well. Hence, she doesn't wake up immediately when Maria gets out of bed and wanders off downstairs. But she has told her before to wake her up if her nightmares are bad, or if she's upset.
Thankfully, it doesn't take them too awfully long to get up the stairs and then Ashe leads Maria back to their bedroom. ]
You don't have to sleep, but you're gonna lie down a spell. [ She pauses to help her sit down on the edge of the bed. ] What'd you dream about?
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Maria does sit on the edge of the bed, and almost immediately sort of slumps onto her own lap, elbows on her knees.] I dreamed I failed.
[That's not very descriptive. Try again. She takes a deep breath, raises a hand against her forehead, and flinches against the image that talking about it brings up. It's still there, even if it's slippery and blurry like a dream should be. Hopefully it will fade away with this drunk.] ... At the warehouse, when I taunted one of your captors. He pulled the trigger instead.
I've seen what it looks like... when... when someone's shot in the head close. It's just more terrible when they have a... familiar face. [A sigh, it's shaky.] I'm... 'm sorry, I really did think a couple drinks would be... enough. At least to put me back to sleep.
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Ashe kneels down in front of her, resting her arm against the hunter's knees as she reaches up with her other hand and places it against her cheek. For a long few moments, she doesn't even know what to say. Anything that comes to mind either doesn't sound comforting at all, or isn't enough.
She strokes her cheek with her thumb for a few moments in silence and then gets up, moving to stand next to her. She wraps her arms around her and pulls her head against her chest. ]
Don't reckon you've gotta apologize for that...
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Really, now. She'd never been the most touchy-feely person before. She offered a bit of physical comfort to the patients who had lost their sight, in the form of holding hands or placing a hand on their shoulders or back when she was around to let them know she was there, but otherwise, it wasn't really a whole lot.
Yet, here she is, leaning into a hand on her face like an attention-starved cat. Ashe has trained her well.
And when she sits upright, and is pulled against the other woman's chest, she presses an ear against it, just listening for the thrumming of a pulse.]
No, but perhaps I should because I... bet your life on a single threat. I could have approached that situation in many other, less reckless ways. And if he'd tried to call it for a bluff... well. Disassembling him and his family would've just... just been a hollow victory... a hollow... vengeance.
[Her eyes drift shut. The dizziness has abated, just a bit.] I'm... going to outlive you as it is. I have to face that reality eventually. [She turns her head inward, as though to bury her face in Ashe's warmth, and wraps an arm around her.] ... I'd rather it... not come in the form of something stupid like that.
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[ She strokes her hair, and presses a kiss to the top of her head. When they hadn't really discussed, at length, the subject of just how long Maria would outlive her, it isn't... too surprising when the hunter isn't even fully human. Definitely a subject for another day. ]
You've got enough that keeps you awake at night, darlin'. I don't resent you for how you handled those boys, and I don't want you feelin' guilty about it.
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[Man, she wants more alcohol, suddenly.] Not to mention if an accident were to happen.
[Thus begins the saga of Maria Harping On Ashe's Lifestyle, but tonight, she's drunk and can hardly articulate.]
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It's the nature of the beast. The life of an outlaw. The thrill of the chase and the sense of belonging among her crew had been enough to keep her where she was for two decades and counting. ]
I don't know what to tell you, Maria... This ain't a life I can just up n' leave at any time. [ A beat. She tights her hold on the other woman. ] Even as much as I don't wanna ever have to leave you. I can be more careful, but even that don't always matter.
[ A weak response, sure. But there's no comfort in this truth. ]
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[She'll keep on it later when she can think straight. She can't think about anything really at the moment, except just sort of trying to relax, and forget the bad dream, and just... enjoy Ashe's presence.
That's not working, either. It still bothers her, and it's clear in the restless way she starts to move, turning closer to Ashe. Maria wants to go back downstairs and finish off another bottle of alcohol. Not like it would kill her. Hell, it probably wouldn't even make her puke. She doesn't make a move that direction though.
Instead, she just holds the other woman closer, tighter.]
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Honestly, she's a little surprised Maria didn't get fed up with her a while ago; maybe her temper and reckless became a little too much to handle. That they didn't have some sort of disagreement and break it off, being that they're both so different. Somehow, despite everything, it has worked out. That's gotta be worth something.
Ashe sighs. This is a lot for so early in the morning. ]
So, what're we gonna do?
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[The urge is there, but the alcohol is clearing up a bit; the somberness of the conversation, the throbbing in her foot, her general metabolism, all of it is combining to start to sober her up a bit, but she isn't there yet, by far.
Then, the grip becomes almost painfully tight, and she, in all her drunken genius, decides to stand, despite the fact she's drunk and on one and a half functional feet.
It's okay, her goal is to just kind of flop them both over onto the bed, though. Flop them over, roll over a bit, and pin Ashe there. Not for anything untoward; not even a little bit. All she does is close her eyes, and lightly bump her forehead to the other woman's.] Maybe just rest for now.
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[ A soft breath catches in Ashe's throat as Maria's hold on her tightens even more. It's on the edge of painful, but not enough for her to react much more than that. It's just as tight as she wants it to be, honestly.
However, Maria stands, which does get a: Hey, wait a minute- from Ashe before she finds herself falling onto the bed with the other woman. And then she's pinned and, again, she can't really complain. She shifts a bit, arms still wrapped around her shoulders, albeit a bit more loosely. ]
We can sure try, can't we?
[ She presses a soft little kiss to Maria's lips and then tightens her hold on her again. ]
Wish you you sleep better.
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[The kiss isn't a surprise, but it does feel like a strange little jolt nonetheless. She takes a moment to just... enjoy the warmth, and the closeness. Even if she knows she probably reeks of booze, and her depression is clearly kicking her ass. This is Maria's way of being possessive. Another thing she rarely truly is, because she never wants to stifle another, but right now she's too drunk to care.
This is her outlaw. And she will cuddle said outlaw as tightly as she wants to. Which is pretty tightly, even after she realizes she should move over a little to get more comfortable on the actual bed so there's not two hundred-some pounds of Hunter causing joint problems for Ashe in the morning.
She also moves up to nuzzle into Ashe's neck and shoulder. It's warm, and soft, and smells like her girlfriend, and right now that's what Maria needs. Even if she's not going to fall asleep, no matter how drunk and depressed and exhausted she feels otherwise.
Because that image keeps coming back. Every time she closes her eyes for more than a moment. Nothing to do but to outwait it.]
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For now, though, she strokes Maria's hair and nuzzles her cheek against the side of her head. ]
Mm... C'mon, sugar. [ She shifts again with a soft, slightly strained noise. ] Let's at least get under the covers.
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She knows she has to, though, as soon as the other woman starts wriggling against her.
She lets up, and goes to crawl under the blankets again. She'll accept Ashe back into her arms if she wants to go, but if her outlaw would rather stay out, she's just as well. She'd deserve it.
Don't get depression, kids.]
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What can I do?
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[She sighs.] In the future? ... Live. Long as you can. That's what I want: You to... be with me. For as long as possible.
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