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luvvsoft · 4 months

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Main Masterlist

Genshin Impact:

➼ “Hydro Dragon, Hydro Dragon” [Neuvillette x reader]

— The rain pours over Fontaine, darkening its skies. You immediately take that as your sign to see a certain someone.

➼ “Once Mine” [Male Character x reader]

— He was yours once, now he belonged to another.

➼ “My Dearest Love” [Baizhu x reader]

— You’d fallen hook, line, and sinker for Baizhu, but you were more than okay with it.

➼ “Close To Me” [Yandere Alhaitham x reader]

— You finally give into Alhaitham and fall right into his arms.

➼ “I Wished For You” [Male Character x Reader]

— You saw the love he gave to another, and could only wish he would have done the same to you when you were together.

➼ “One Day” [Zhongli x reader] - (pt. 2) (alt. ending)

— You loved Zhongli, but he could never be yours.

➼ “Are You Mine Yet?” [Zhongli x reader] - (pt. 1) (alt. ending)

— You’re plagued by Hanahaki Disease because of your unrequited feelings for Zhongli, but there might still be a chance for you.

➼ “A Chance” [Alhaitham x reader] - (pt. 1) (pt.2)

— Alternative Ending: You move to Sumeru, leaving Zhongli and romance behind. Will it be that easy for you though?

Honkai: Star Rail:

➼ “I want you” [Blade x reader]

— Your soul yearns for Blade, but does he feel the same?

➼ “Through Heaven and Hell” [Nanook x reader]

— Nanook being fond of you (headcanons)

➼ “Hurry Up Now, Darling” [Dan Heng x reader]

— Dan Heng’s been waiting for you for so long.

Unwind Series:

➼ “A Sickly Sweet Home” [Connor Lassiter x reader]

— Connor only wishes to settle down after everything that went down, only this time, its with you.

➼ “The Trials of Time” [Roland Taggart x reader]

— You let Roland in during your time as an AWOL, but it only hurt you more than it helped.

➼ “How About?” [Connor Lassiter x reader]

— You don’t think Connor loves you, especially now that Risa showed up.

Jujutsu Kaisen:

➼ “Fool’s Gold” [Megumi Fushiguro x reader]

— You’ve lost Megumi, but now he’s lost you forever.

➼ “Second Best” [Yuji Itadori x reader]

— You were never Yuji’s first choice.

Record of Ragnarok:

➼ “Undeserving of Your Love” [Poseidon x God! reader]

— You meet Poseidon, soon falling in love. Unluckily for you, he already had someone he adored.

Demon Slayer:

➼ “In Another Lifetime” [Akaza x reader]

— Akaza and you are in love, but you can’t be together, not when the universe itself is against you.

Any Characters:

➼ “Would you choose me just this once?” [Male Character x reader]

— You love him so dearly, yet he thinks of you as nothing.

➼ “Hope To Be Yours” [Male Character x reader]

— He picks someone else over you, but you’re used to it.

➼ “Love Me, Please?” [Yandere Female Character x reader]

— She loved you first, so why were you with someone else?

➼ “Web of Lies” [Female Character x reader]

— You and her play a game of manipulation, but who’s really in charge?

➼ “Maybe” [Male Character x reader]

— You knew, no matter what, he would never choose you or love you.

➼ “Want Me Too” [Female Character x female! reader]

— You wished you were him.

➼ “Call Me Back” [Male Character x reader]

— It hurt to be something, but it was worse to be nothing. You choose the former.

Beings:

➼ “God’s Gift” [Yandere Archangel x Demon! reader]

— They’ve set their sights on you during battle, vowing you’d forever be theirs from then on.

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heliads · 6 days

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REQUESTS OPEN OMG EVERYONE CHEERED. hi i was thinking.. what if… hmm.. what if.. guardian angel y/n x connor lassiter where in unwind instead of lev saving him after the happy jack explosion its y/n. (they kiss at the end PLEase)

ANYWAYS ILY u survived exams i’m so proud !

'angel ex machina ' - connor lassiter

masterlist

They find Connor Lassiter staring at a billboard. He’s slumped against a wall, eyes hollow and vacant, like nothing in this world could possibly be more fascinating than a couple hundred square feet of boastful advertising. The bright colors seem to laugh at him, tantalizingly out of reach from where he crouches now, separated from the rest of the world by the walls of a harvest camp.

We have guardian angels! Low prices, high protection!

Even if Connor somehow managed to piece together enough cash for their exorbitant prices, it’s obvious that a guardian angel would be wasted on him. Connor is days away from his own unwinding. Not even a real guardian angel could pull him out now, let alone the vapid models in suits they’ve got bedazzling that billboard. Everyone knows you can’t actually hire a guardian angel. They just show up somehow, save your ass however many times you need it, then disappear. There, then gone. Intrinsically a part of your life, and then it’s like you’d never known them at all.

Guardian angels are extraordinarily rare. The closest Connor’s ever come to meeting one is hearing a story his dad used to tell, and even then, Kirk Lassiter had only briefly glimpsed one of his neighbors getting saved from a car accident by one of the angels. Not exactly a core memory for Connor. His mom had never seen one at all.

That’s the way it usually goes. There aren’t that many guardian angels in the world. Rare things, they are. Somehow, they decide that a person is important enough to save, and then they swoop in and do what they do best. That’s usually saving them from disasters– floods, tornadoes, you name it. There’s an iconic photograph of a guardian angel rescuing someone from a burning building that Connor sees annually in his textbooks; something about the wings silhouetted against the flames is irresistible to school publishers. Hayden swears that he heard about somebody who got a guardian angel to do their taxes, but Connor figures that’s another of the boy’s bad jokes. Guardian angels are for real problems, not tax fraud.

Hell, no one even knows what guardian angels look like. There are photographs, sure, but they always turn out strangely blurry, like when the sun’s too bright outside and all you can do is squint. Even the people who’ve seen guardian angels say that their memories faded oddly quickly after the incident. No one can decide if they look like people, if their wings always appear, if they’re even recognizable as guardian angels at all. The only thing the masses can agree on is that guardian angels do exist, and they’ll never be good enough for anyone.

Least of all Connor. He’s harbored a hope that he’d get to meet one at some point, obviously, everyone has. Imagining that you’d be important enough to warrant an angel sent to watch over you is everyone’s secret fantasy.

Connor’s a few hours away from getting unwound, though, so he’s pretty sure that dream will die like the rest of his: unwanted, unclaimed, unfulfilled. He’ll go to pieces as yet another boy who dreamed of being great, another poor soul ignored by the angels. The only difference is that, unlike most of the teenage population, he’s not even mediocre enough to live past sixteen. He’ll be in parts by tomorrow. Then, who knows? Maybe his elbow will go to a kid worthy of an angel. Connor wasn’t, but maybe his unwound pieces will be.

Connor shakes his head slightly to rid himself of the thoughts. He’s not usually like this. He’s not a quitter. He’ll go under the knife protesting his unwinding. It’s just a little difficult to keep up the fighting spirit when he knows that at last, despite all his running and hiding, he’ll be unwound anyway. There’s no fighting the Juvenile Authority. All his great efforts just delayed the inevitable. It cuts him to say it, but it looks like they were right after all.

In an attempt to get his mind out of obviously dangerous waters, Connor rips his gaze away from the offending billboard and glances around him. Only now does he notice another future unwind drawing close to him. Connor stretches and stands, forcing the corners of his mouth to upturn slightly so Y/N, his closest friend here and only ally among the cops and lambs to slaughter, don’t think he’s totally deranged.

“What are you doing?” Y/N asks, coming to a stop by his side.

Connor shrugs listlessly. “Nothing. Drafting my will.”

With anyone else, he’d probably stay silent, but Connor learned a long time ago that trying to hold his tongue around Y/N L/N is a losing game. They met in the basement of Sonia’s antique shop, Y/N having arrived barely a few minutes after Connor and Risa. Talk about a coincidence. They quickly hit it off, and as proof of their friendship, they’ve even ended up at the same harvest camp after it all went south back at the Graveyard.

If Connor were trapped with anyone, though, he’s glad it’s them. Not even Hayden can make Connor laugh as much as he does with Y/N. They understand him in a way that no one else ever has. If he were feeling particularly stupid, he would call it love, but Connor knows better. They’re both about to get stripped to pieces. If he spills his guts now and they friendzone him, Connor will have ruined the best part of his life for nothing.

So he stays silent, and watches Y/N laugh at his joke. “I want your car after they unwind you,” they inform him. “Maybe even the house.”

Connor pretends to be outraged. “Both? That’s absurd.”

Y/N snorts. “Who else would you give them to? The tithe?” Then, in a quieter voice, they glance towards the billboard Connor was staring at, and add on, “Maybe an angel?”

Connor sighs. “They can’t sell real guardian angels. No amount of flashy billboards can hide that.”

Y/N nods. “You’re still tempted, though?”

Connor lifts a shoulder. “Who wouldn’t be tempted? The idea is great. I’d love for someone to save me right now. Or maybe just care enough to try.”

“I care,” Y/N offers.

Connor gives them a wry smile. “I know you do. But you’re stuck in the same mess as I am, so maybe I’ll hold off on believing in your escape plan until you’re out, too.”

Y/N looks at him for a second, too deep for Connor to understand, then cracks a grin. “You should believe in me, Lassiter. I’m tunneling out from under the dorms with just a spoon. I might make it halfway to Florida by the time we get the unwind order.”

Connor scoffs. “That only works in movies. You’d need a miracle to break through an inch of concrete, let alone all the way past the borders.”

Y/N smiles at him, a little secretively, a little knowingly. “I’m pretty good with miracles.”

“Sure you are,” Connor says, stretching his arms to rid himself of an unpleasant pinch in his muscles. “Any chance you can whip one up to save me from my impending doom?”

He isn’t expecting Y/N to respond, obviously, but when their face drops at the sight of something approaching behind him, Connor knows it’s not just from his lack of belief. “I’d have to make it quick, wouldn’t I?” They mutter under their breath.

Connor turns around to see a squad of Juvey-cops bearing down on him. He swears under his breath. “This is it, right? They’re going to take me away?”

Y/N’s face looks ashen and wrong. “I should have saved you. “

“We should have saved each other,” Connor corrects gently. Usually, he isn’t the sentimental type, but as the guards get closer, he can’t resist the urge to lean closer to Y/N and whisper to them, “Hey, I’m glad for the time we had, alright? It meant– It meant a lot to me. You know. If I was going to talk to anyone on my last day, I would have wanted it to be you anyway.”

Y/N sucks in a breath. “Don’t say that.”

Connor stares at them. “Why not? It’s true.”

Y/N looks like they want to argue– why, Connor isn’t sure, but the guilt in their eyes is like nothing he’s ever seen before– but before they can say a word, the Juvey-cops close in around him, cutting Connor off from Y/N like slamming a door in their face. They give him the usual speech about how it’s time for him to be unwound, but Connor can’t find it within himself to pay attention. It’s so typical of him, honestly, to be zoning out during what may be his last hour whole, but all he can think about is Y/N, who disappears into the distance as the cops drag him away, Y/N, who he’s now left here alone, Y/N, who will join him in this fate not long from now.

Connor doesn’t want to be unwound. Obviously. He doesn’t want this, and the sheer force of his not wanting overwhelms him as they lead him closer and closer to the doors of the Chop Shop. A crowd of other unwinds has gathered by the door; apparently the final moments of the Akron AWOL make for some good entertainment. The band is playing. Connor wants to run, run far and fast like he always does, but for the first time in his life he realizes how pointless it is. If he tried to flee, they would catch him. They would drag him back, and it would be like nothing ever happened. There is no way this day ends with anything but Connor in pieces.

Connor forces his legs to move him mechanically towards the Chop Shop entrance. Just before the darkness of the place swallows him whole, something tells Connor to glance over his shoulder one last time and he sees Y/N staring at him beseechingly. He doesn’t know how he’s able to spot them so easily in the crowd, but he can. Like he would know them anywhere. Like doing anything but looking at them is impossible.

Then the guards shove him into the Chop Shop, and Y/N is gone, replaced by the dark certainty of Connor’s unwinding. The hallway seems to stretch out forever, but before Connor can take even one more step, a few very confusing things happen all at once.

First: there’s this shift in the air. Connor can’t describe it. It feels strange and wrong, burning on his tongue like electricity. The hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and Connor knows at once that something is about to go wrong.

Second: the room erupts in fire and smoke. The bone-rattling boom of the explosion comes later, a little delayed, but Connor sees the white flash of heat and light first. He’s knocked off of his feet, and time seems to slow down. The entire world is gone, replaced only by Connor, floating hazily through the smoky air, and the blossom of fire around him, searing off everything else.

Third, and most confusing of all: out of nowhere, Y/N is right in front of him. Y/N, yes, but Y/N different somehow. It takes him a moment to realize why. Their eyes glow white, brighter even than the explosion, and their skin is radiating off this cool, pearlescent light. He has no idea how they could have possibly gotten in front of him so fast. He has no idea how they’re seemingly immune to the heat and force of the explosion around them.

Y/N reaches for him, pulling Connor into their arms. Their head presses against his, and they whisper quietly, forcefully, “Be safe, Connor.”

The command reverberates through Connor’s entire body. He doesn’t even remember hitting the ground, and when the explosion clears, he’s– He’s fine, actually. Nothing hurts. When Connor stares at his body, he’s utterly unharmed. Not even a scratch on his skin. He is totally untouched by the explosion that has just decimated the entirety of the Chop Shop.

Connor looks around him and realizes that Y/N is sitting in front of him. They’re both on the grass outside the Chop Shop, although he doesn’t remember getting there. Y/N is unharmed also, although Connor can say for certainty that there is still something wrong about them. It takes him a moment to get his scattered thoughts in order, and then he remembers. Y/N’s eyes wink pearlescent at him from a few paces away, and he knows.

“You’re a guardian angel,” Connor stammers out.

Y/N nods. “I am.”

Easy as that. They say it like it’s nothing. Like Connor hasn’t just had his life saved by a supernatural being currently sitting criss-cross applesauce in front of him on the waving grass. He’s had a lot of time to wonder what it would be like to meet a guardian angel, but it never would have occurred to him that one would have been in his life this entire time without him knowing.

Connor stares unseeingly at them. Try as he might, he can’t force himself to believe that Y/N is anything other than, well, Y/N. His friend. His best friend. The person he’s been crushing on since they stumbled into him by accident in the dark of Sonia’s basement. He remembers the flighty beat of their heartbeat when they were in his arms then, and he remembers what it felt like when they embraced him again in the smothering heat of the Chop Shop inferno. All Y/N. All an angel.

“You were trying to save me,” he begins, then stops. That really sums it up.

“I was,” Y/N agrees. “It was always about you, Connor.”

The idea doesn’t compute to him. “Then why wait until now to save my life? Why not make sure the Juveys never found us out in the first place?”

Y/N tilts their head to the side, considering this. “The job of a guardian angel is to save their primary assignment, sure, but also to minimize suffering wherever they go. I knew the Chop Shop explosion would happen if I didn’t save you. This needed to happen so everyone else here could be rescued. Worse things would have happened if I didn’t interfere now. It may not seem that way, but it is.”

Connor can practically feel gears in his head spinning. “So you knew how this would end the whole time?”

“I knew the great catastrophes of your life,” Y/N corrects. “I knew many paths you could take. This was the big risk, though. I didn’t get to see any more after that. Now I know just as much about your future as you do.”

Connor whistles under his breath. “That’s comforting.” Then, a terrible thought occurs to him. “Wait, that means I was your assignment. Like a job? Were you ever really my friend at all, or was that just something you had to do to complete your assignment?”

Y/N rears back as if hurt. “I have always been your friend. Guardian angels aren’t supposed to ever reveal themselves. I was actually meant to never talk to you until I saved you.”

“What changed?” Connor asks. He can’t stop himself.

Y/N smiles softly. “I saw you. You looked like someone fun.”

“Someone fun,” Connor echoes. He tries to think about his life, if anyone could see that and decide he was someone worthwhile. Someone fun. Someone an angel could watch and want to befriend. A warm feeling blossoms in his chest. Pride, maybe. Or the realization that the one secret he’s been keeping may go both ways after all.

“Yeah,” Y/N says, growing a little embarrassed. “I like you. My bad.”

Connor laughs. “That’s not bad. I like you too, by the way. In case you didn’t see it when you were receiving visions about my life.”

Y/N’s eyes dart up to his. “Really?”

“Really,” Connor says. “What, you didn’t know?”

Y/N shakes their head. “Like I said, I could only see what happened to you up to the Chop Shop exploding. Everything after that is a mystery.”

“Well,” Connor says, drawing closer to them. “I’m glad I get to surprise an angel once in my life.”

Before Y/N can ask him what he means, Connor kisses them, and after a moment of shock, they kiss him back. He’s not sure if he’s the first person in the world to have kissed an angel before, but he wouldn’t mind having that accolade under his belt. Just so long as he gets to be the person to kiss an angel two times, or three. Or forever.

requested by @julysn, i hope you enjoy!

unwind tag list: @reinekes-fox, @locke-writes, @sirofreak

all tags list: @wordsarelife

#connor lassiter #connor lassiter imagines #connor lassiter x reader #connor lassiter oneshot #unwind #unwind imagines #unwind x reader #unwind oneshot #unwind dystology #unwind dystology imagines #unwind dystology x reader #unwind dystology oneshot #unwind connor #unwind connor x reader #unwind connor oneshot

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k4nkrelatz · 5 months

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My pookies

#unwind dystology #connor lassiter #risa ward #lev calder #unwind fans where are u

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sirofreak · 4 months

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Connor in unwind had exactly one brain cell

#unwind dystology #memes #connor lassiter #lev calder #risa ward

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dragonsdendoodles · 3 months

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Today had I think the most fandom-diverse notes I’ve ever done

#unwind #unwind dystology #mphfpc #hamilton musical #connor lassiter #horace somnusson #enoch o'connor #alexander hamilton #thomas jefferson #enorace #dragon’s doodles

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gustavofringishot · 10 months

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reposting this thought i had on twitter to here bc 😭😭

#unwind dystology #unwind #connor lassiter #risa ward #lev calder

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rezniiks · 1 month

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how do i survive when the unwind dystology fandom is DEAD is DECEASED is SIX FEET UNDER

I HATE EVERYTHING!!!!!!!

#unwind #unwind dystology #risa ward #connor lassiter #lev calder #mason starkey #neal shusterman

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luckytidbit · 5 months

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“Here you go Pookie!” *chucks old unwind art at you*

#unwind #unwind dystology #art #character art #cam comprix #connor lassiter #risa ward #lev tashi'ne #lev garrity #lev calder #I FORGOT TO DRAW HIS SCAR! *dies of rage*#bet you didn’t expect Cam to blink at you like that #hehe #Kodak 2%

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cryystallos · 1 month

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10 hours of work and it’s finally done!!

#unwind dystology #unwind #connor lassiter #risa ward #lev tashi'ne #lev calder #hayden upchurch #i put my BLOOD SWEAT AND TEARS into this #unwind fandom we shall rise at dawn #this is for school btw lmao

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bonggatorade · 8 months

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The neurodivergent urge to singlehandedly revive a fandom of 4 people

#unwind dystology #unwind #connor lassiter #risa ward #neal shusterman #someone talk to me about unwind or i will explode

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junokami · 11 months

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for the 4 unwind fans left on this site

#unwind dystology #connor lassiter #risa ward #lev calder #hayden upchurch #incorrect quotes #camus comprix

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luvvsoft · 3 months

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hi ml 💘 okay idk if ur requests are still open + this is my first time requesting but i’m dumping this here,, anyways

could u possibly do another connor lassiter x reader? preferably slow burn angst with a very fluffy ending but honestly idgaf atp i’m starving 🤧

notes: hi!! tysm for requesting and yes, my requests are always open at any time! i’m always open to suggestions from my readers, especially concerning unwind since i love it sm<3

ᰔᩚ connor lassiter x reader, angst with a fluff ending, slow burn!, insecurities, misunderstandings, love triangle, childhood friend reader, connor can’t choose lassiter, ooc connor probably, sweet confession near the end!!, some post undivided towards the end as well !

word count: 1.9k,, longest fic yet !!

I think I made this way too angsty and long, but bear with me guys :’) I also kind of switch a bit between POVs to include some of Connor’s thoughts, hope that’s fine! Honestly, I just wrote and let the ideas flow, but I hope this is what you wanted, dear anon<3

You’ve known Connor since you were little kids. You grew up together — as neighbors, always playing together. From all the time spent together you considered him your best friend, even if you knew he didn’t think much of you.

In your heart, you knew you were not enough to consider him your friend, but you were selfish. You wanted Connor to see you as more than the annoying neighbor who constantly wanted to hang out with him, more than someone who was just pleading for an ounce of attention in his eyes. You wished he was happier with you than he was with fighting his parents.

Maybe if you tried hard enough to keep him away from fights — from meaningless arguments with peers, with his mom and dad — you wouldn’t have to hear his parents talking about an unwind order. Maybe if you dragged him away whenever he caused trouble for no apparent reason, you wouldn’t have to watch as Connor did everything in his power to make his parents regret their decision.

You watched as Connor studied to get that B+ in his science exam, as he gave his mother flowers. You silently watched as he turned into a shadow of the person he used to be, but it wasn’t enough. When was it ever enough? When could parents ever change their mind after they signed off on their children’s lives?

You watched as the time neared for Connor to go. You watched as he grew fearful, as trepidation crawled up his spine as if it could happen at any moment. You watched as he made the plan to leave— as you never crossed his mind even once.

You watched, that was all you ever did. You watched as the one you loved pleaded for his love to run away with him. You watched as she agreed, and wondered would you? You were sure you would. You’d trade the world to have Connor in your arms.

Finally, you watched as Ariana told Connor she wouldn’t go with him— she had a life — he no longer did. You watched as Connor crumbled, as he fell into the deep ends of his pain: the pain inflicted by the very people he called “parents.” Then and there, you decided it was fine if Connor didn’t love you, as long as he was happy.

You came up to Connor after Ariana revealed she wouldn’t go with him.

“How about you and I?” you asked softly, kneeling down near him.

“What about that?” he answered, taking a moment to throw you a look before resuming what you assumed was his spiraling. You couldn’t blame him, you would react similarly.

“I’ll go with you, Connor; wherever you want to go,” You brushed a stray hair out of his eye. “Just say the word.”

“What if I say now?”

You didn’t lie to him when you said that, quite the opposite. You followed him, did as he wanted while trying your best to keep him out of trouble.

You followed him as he got captured and tried to free himself. You followed as he met Risa, as he met Levi too.

Oh, how you hated the day Connor and Risa met. You hated it all: how she slowly started replacing you while he forgot you, how she became the glue that kept the group together, how she was, just to put it simply, better than you.

You slowly went from being part of his life to once again becoming a spectator. You were watching, again.

You saw how Connor looked at Risa. The softened eyes, the small tug at the lips you longed to kiss, the calmness and serenity that he exuded when she was around. You saw it all, of course you did, and you wished, oh you wished, you were her.

You wished just once he’d pick you. You were there since childhood, since you were kids. And yet, as soon as some other girl comes around, he’s interested.

Why? Why could he never see you? Why were you destined to yearn for a soul that did not reciprocate? Why was kismet so cruel? Why did it torture you so?

Why were you forced to watch as the one you loved fell for another? Why would your hearts never intertwine?

Even if you thought the opposite, Connor saw you. He’s always noticed you in his shadow, as if that was all you were meant to be.

Connor saw how you were always the first willing to help him— always willing to clean his bloody knuckles and nose after he just fought. You were the first one to actually try, and not give up on him after the first sign of him being, well, him. You were always there to help him study, to keep him out of trouble.

Connor liked you, he did. He just had no idea how to show you, not when you were always lingering, but never fully present. He had no idea how to take you out of your shell as a kid.

The brunette had been making progress to get to know you, even if most of it was just you scolding him. He used his fights as a way to push you towards him, to get you to open up when you were so mysterious.

Connor thought he liked you until he met his then girlfriend, Ariana.

After meeting her, all his feelings for you evaporated, never given a chance to come to light. He became fixated on her, just her, with no room for you. Soon, you reverted back to that shadow he worked so hard to get you out of. But he didn’t notice, not when all his attention was on her.

Following the fallout with Ariana, you two became close or as close as he would allow you. You became a constant in his life: a pillar of support. But that’s all you ever were, a continuance— never to become a change.

If only Connor noticed how you looked at him like he had crafted the skies, the earth, the stars, by hand. If only he realized his feelings weren’t unrequited — quite the opposite — you loved him. If only he realized the tightening of his throat and sweaty palms whenever you were around weren’t anxiety.

If only he gave you his focus once again. But he wouldn’t, not when Risa was in front of him, and all he could think about was her. Her pretty green eyes that reminded him of the grass blowing in the wind, her brown hair — almost like his, but not quite, her charming yet tough personality.

Everyone saw the signs: Connor was a fool in love. And you wished to be the one the fool loved.

They knew Connor was in love, but did they know it was two people? Did they know he laid awake at night wondering, questioning why his feelings came back for you?

Was it the sickly sweet domestic sight of you helping the kids in Sonia’s basement? Was it how kind and pure you remained despite the world you were dragged into? Was it that you were always there every step of the way for Connor, but he didn’t bother for you?

Maybe it was everything. Maybe it was the longing for someone who understood him. Risa understood Connor, but only to an extent, where as you, you knew Connor.

You knew who Connor was and what he stood for, even if those morals had been slightly fractured. You could recognize Connor amongst a sea of Connors. You, it was always you.

Connor couldn’t fool himself now. He understood the feelings that brewed inside him before. He understood what the tingle he got whenever you touched him was. He understood what the fastening of his heartbeat around you was.

Connor understood so much, yet so little at the same time. But, did it really matter when he knew he wanted you? Did anything when all he saw was you in his dreams? Laying there while he reached across to touch your hair and bring you close. While he inhaled your comforting scent. Waking only to find you across the room, leaving him with a soulful ache.

He came up to you while you were with the kids. “Can we talk?” he whispered into your ear, tickling it in the process and leading to goosebumps dotting across your skin.

You silently stood and nodded, promising the children vying for your attention you’d be back.

You both stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity before he spoke up. “I..I don’t know how to tell you, but I just wanted to say I’ve always noticed you. Despite what you think, I appreciate everything you’ve done, how nurturing you’ve been. How you still care for me even if I just toss you aside.”

“Connor, if this is you telling me you don’t want me around anymore, I get it. It’s fine, don’t drag it out,” You interrupted, your tearing heart begging you to put an early end to the conversation.

“What? No, no. Don’t think that. I would never want that from you, ever.”

“Then why did you bring me here? Please, tell me. The children want me back and I don’t think this is a good idea, your girlfriend is looking at us,” You tilted your head behind him, directing him to look at a staring Risa.

“Risa’s not my girlfriend, and why should I care who’s looking?” Connor stopped in the middle of his sentence, as if he was thinking before continuing on. “Let’s give them a reason to look.”

He then grabbed your head, pulling you closer to his body and crashing your lips together.

You were in shock, but soon melted into the kiss. It was slow, passionate, and full of hidden emotions, by both you and Connor. The kiss revealed things you wouldn’t dare say out loud before, until now.

As much as you wanted it to continue, as much as you wanted to indulge in your daydreams becoming true, you pulled away.

“Why..why would you do that?” you whispered out, watching the string of saliva that connected you both.

“I thought actions spoke louder than words.”

“You’ll be the death of me someday, Connor.”

“I just want you to know that I have loved you since we were kids, even if I didn’t show it,” Connor slowly said, like he was a sailor out in uncharted waters. Maybe this was uncharted waters, you’d never done anything of the sort with him.

┉┉┈◦ೋ•◦❥•

You heard the door close, signaling that Connor was home.

You heard his soft sigh next, with accompanied shuffling until he stepped foot into the living room. Connor laid down next to you, setting his face on your shoulder and his arms around your waist.

“Long day?” you whispered out before flipping the page of the book currently keeping you occupied.

“Mhm, so many things to do, yet so little time,” Connor responded before pressing a kiss into your shoulder.

You set your book down then looked at him, “How about I run you a bath?”

“Join me.”

You gave him one last kiss before getting up, “Come on then. I made your favorite.”

#x reader #unwind angst #unwind fluf #unwind x reader #unwholly #undivided #unwind series #unwind connor #unsouled #connor lassiter x reader #connor lassiter #unwind connor x reader

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heliads · 8 months

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love is stored in the sonata

Connor Lassiter thought he'd stop hearing the Graveyard's piano once Risa Ward left. Y/N L/N may prove him wrong. It does not hurt him as much as he thought it would. Far from it, actually.

masterlist

Connor Lassiter almost thinks he’s hallucinating when he first hears the piano.

It’s not that he’s so far removed from any semblance of humanity that the possibility of culture and art is obscene; despite what Proactive Citizenry would like to argue, AWOLs aren’t gremlins nor creatures of destruction only. Connor can stand to hear a melody. He just isn’t used to it. Not here.

Certainly not since Risa was abducted. The piano did not desiccate into ash and dust when she left, and the fact that she’s being held hostage somewhere unknown to Connor does not glue all the keys in place nor stop them from being played. Every Unwind here has the capability to bang out a tune if they so desire. They just don’t, either out of respect to Risa’s memory or perhaps a lingering fear that someone will see a prodigy in their fingers and try to carve the skill out of their digits themselves.

Connor stands motionless in the shadow of a grounded jet, listening to the chords echo off of the rusting metal. It kind of feels like he’s being haunted by the Ghost of AWOL Girlfriends Past, even though he and Risa never agreed on anything of the sort. However, referring to the lingering feeling of wrongness nestled between his lungs and ribs as just, like, the Ghost of Crushes He Thought He Had but Maybe That’s Just What Happens When The Only People You See On A Daily Basis Are A Tithe, Roland, And One Token Girl, is way too many words.

So, Girlfriends Past works. Kind of. Not really. What does work properly around here, though? The Graveyard lives up to its name. Kids come here carrying with them only the memories of when they understood what was going on around them. You can find a job to do, and you can like it enough to make the days pass by until you survive to seventeen, but it’ll never fit you like anything did before you came here. Functionality is best. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to keep you alive.

Connor thinks this mysterious piano player might have to agree. He can hear occasional slip ups in the music, nothing too jarring but still there if you care to listen. He is, of course, hanging onto every note like it’ll save him from all of the Juvey-cops combined, so he listens.

This, if nothing more, is how he knows it isn’t Risa. Risa always stopped when she made a mistake, every single time. Even if it was something as simple as a skipped rest or one forgotten flat. It was like she was looking for excuses to point out her imperfections, subconsciously proving that StaHo Ohio 23 was right to kick her out.

By contrast, this latest would-be maestro just doesn’t care. They could actually be flawless, or they could just be human. Either way, the melody keeps going. Connor decides that he likes it better that way, which is pointless, because the music doesn’t need his approval. It’s also kind of mean to Risa’s legacy, but Connor’s mind is still Connor’s with or without Risa there, and he likes the melody with accidental sharps instead of flats regardless.

Impulsively, Connor slips out from his hiding place underneath the jet, searching around for the distant sound of chords until they get louder. It reminds him of being at a public pool when he was younger, playing a game with his brother. Marco. His footsteps seem to crash through the relative quiet of the Graveyard; everyone else has ceased work for the evening, but he’s here anyway. Polo. The piano sounds out a path for him to follow.

He takes one last turn and then it’s there right in front of him. The piano has gotten a little dustier since it first appeared out of nowhere in the airplane junkyard, but they’ve all attempted to clean it off every now and then. A figure is seated at the bench, and after a moment of squinting, Connor recognizes them. Y/N, Y/N L/N. They’d arrived recently, all things considered. They never knew Risa but they know him. Isn’t that better?

They lay off playing abruptly when Connor steals too close. “Sorry,” they murmur, eyes wide, “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

Connor shakes his head quickly. “No, no. Keep going.” He realizes belatedly that sounds a little harsh. “If you want to, of course.”

They crack a cautious smile. “You sure? I can pick up another time if it’s disturbing people’s work or sleep.”

Connor glances back at the slumbering hulks of metal and flight machinery behind him. “No, I think they’ll be glad for it. It’s been a while since we’ve heard someone play.”

Y/N’s expression turns bleak. “Yeah, I heard about that. Risa Ward used to play this piano, right?”

They start to draw their hands back from the keys. Connor reaches out an arm, as if to physically drag them to the ivories once more. “She used to, but you do now, right? Don’t let her stop you.”

Y/N blinks up at him, and Connor is starting to wonder if he can perhaps call a parts pirate to just take him away now forever when they smile again, cautious and sweet, and put their fingers back on the keys. Good.

Connor leans against the curve of the piano, and he lets the music vibrate through the instrument and into him. If he tries, he thinks he can feel it pressing against his bones, his blood, his organs, invisible surgeon’s hands not trying to dissect him, just to remind him that he is still alive. This is almost the opposite of unwinding. It feels as if he is being put back together.

A few minutes, or perhaps centuries of unadulterated time, later, Connor registers that the music has ceased. He’s not sure how long ago Y/N stopped playing, nor when his eyes closed, but perhaps everything has always just been in his head, anyway.

He looks over at Y/N, who is looking at him, and he is struck by the magnitude of all the things he wants to say. He should compliment them on their skill, or at least appreciate their courage for playing when people like him could hear, but instead of anything good or at least neutral, he coughs once, and asks, “Am I being weird?”

Y/N laughs, easy and clear. “No, you’re not. Really, you’re not,” they add, upon Connor’s face twisting doubtfully. “I’m glad to know someone likes it. It would be more weird if everyone thought I was terrible but they were all too afraid to say something about it.”

Connor chuckles. “Well, there’s no chance of that, trust me. If they try to complain, I’ll fight them off.”

Y/N grins. “Well, if you’re going to be my guard, you might as well stay. You can sit, if you want,” and they gesture to the empty space next to them on the piano bench.

Connor stares uncomprehendingly at the open spot, and then moves cautiously to sit down by their side. They almost touch, and the ghost of that would-be contact makes him feel far more alive than if their shoulders were pressed all the more firmly together.

“Another song?” They ask him.

“Please,” he answers, and the fingers are placed upon the keys once more.

Connor tilts his head back, staring up at the sky. He imagines what it would feel like to leave this body, this world, behind, and soar all the way up to the sky. He could leave these fears and dangers behind, these rumors of parts pirates and Juvey-cops and parents who did not want him enough to keep him. Listening to Y/N’s music, he thinks he is halfway there already.

unwind tag list: @schroedingers-kater, @locke-writes

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arcofacatboy · 3 months

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Remember when, towards the beginning of Unwind, Connor sees a storked baby on someone’s doorstep?

Connor has just escaped the juvies less than 48 hours beforehand. Right now, his main focus is not getting caught by juvies and being unwound as a result. He has Risa and Lev to look out for - not that he knows either of them very well at this point - but his main goal, at this point, is saving his own skin (literally). Connor didn’t object when his classmate, and fellow unwind, Andy Jameson, sacrificed himself for him. It was implied in a Facebook post (all the way back in 2011!) that Connor and Andy were friends - and Andy was ultimately unwound because he saved Connor’s life. Andy is never mentioned again. Connor feels no guilt over Andy entering a divided state for him.

And yet, when Connor sees that baby on the doorstep, he panics.

It’s not like the general public in the Unwind Universe care about storks that much. Starkey was tormented by his status as a stork - everyone else thought he was a joke because of it, and he hated himself for that. Bam feels similarly, and is no stranger to becoming aggressive with those who try to belittle her because she was abandoned as a baby. No adults seemed to want to help them in this regard - they sent Bam and Starkey off to be unwound in the end, because their status as storks and the lack of affection from everyone in their lives came to be too much, and their anger was no longer contained and internalized. Bam lived - but Starkey ultimately died because he, more than anything, wanted to be something other than a stork to be unwound, who wouldn’t amount to anything.

But that’s not the point here, really. Connor doesn’t know Bam or Starkey, let alone that Starkey will die at his only remaining hand. He’s not panicking because someone he knows is a stork, and is suffering because of it. Someone he knew was a stork, and died because not a single person in his neighborhood cared about keeping him alive.

A baby was put on the doorstep of Connor’s parents. They knew why he was there - they had been storked, and they were now legally, and morally, obligated to take in the baby as their own.

But they already had a seven year old and a four year old! Two boys, no less! They had no need for a third son. Surely no one had seen them be storked by whatever irresponsible girl had gotten herself pregnant and given her baby up to good, hardworking people, who shouldn’t have had to bear the burden of her bad decisions.

Surely no one would notice if they just moved the baby to the doorstep of the neighbors. Surely they wouldn’t mind raising a son.

But no one said a damn thing.

Two weeks later, the baby boy showed up on the Lassiter’s doorstep - again.

He was visibly sick, so close to death that only then, out of pity for the infant, did the Lassiter parents take him in. He died in the hospital - most likely alone, having never known a world in which he was wanted. He never knew a world in which he wasn’t passed from porch to porch, doorstep to doorstep, suffering, alone and sick, because of the silence and apathy of everyone around him.

Everyone in the neighborhood came to the baby’s funeral, a funeral that was only held because it would have looked terrible for the Lassiter parents to not hold a funeral for the baby that died on their watch, and was technically their son. And they all cried. They knew they were all responsible for that baby boy dying, so they cried and cried, never admitting guilt, never admitting that one of them could have saved the baby’s life - and they chose not to.

Connor was only seven when the baby died. And yet, at sixteen, the death of the baby still haunts him. And here he is, face to face with the same situation. There is a baby on a doorstep - and the recipient of this precious gift is complaining about having to care for another unwanted child.

He remembers the death of the baby who could have been his neighbor, or his baby brother, if anyone around him had showed an ounce of compassion. A horrible thought strikes him.

This baby could suffer the same fate.

Connor is already so close to death himself. He could be caught by juvies at any moment. If he gets caught, Risa and Lev could die, too.

But, if he doesn’t act now, so could the baby.

So he goes to save her. He confronts the recipient of the storked child with no real plan. He just wants to save the baby. He can’t let another baby die because of human selfishness and apathy.

Risa steps in, making up a lie that she and Connor are the baby’s parents, and tells the recipient that she’ll take her baby back. Risa is furious with Connor, and chews him out. What could make him do a stupid thing like that? The three of them could be caught at any moment, and a screaming, crying baby isn’t going to make escaping persecution any easier.

But Connor couldn’t let Didi die.

Unwind came out in 2007 - it celebrated its seventeenth birthday last November. Unwind is now so old that, if it was a teenager, it couldn’t be unwound itself! So why bring up a well-known scene from the very start of the book.

Like the book itself, it comes back to Neal Shusterman.

@nealshustermanreal - remember what you wrote. While The Schwa Was Here might have been your first critically acclaimed book, Unwind is why you’re here today - why you are anything to anyone. And while all your books (that I’ve read) have complex themes of morality, like the anecdote I just mentioned above, remember that Unwind is what most people who know you, know you from. They know about Baby Lassiter, and they know about baby Didi. They know that silence, apathy, and complacency does more harm than good - they know that because of you.

And yet, here you are. People are dying in droves, and the people that aren’t dying are being injured, having their homes destroyed, being forced to watch their loved ones die, or otherwise being terrorized. Palestinians are dying. And yet, you wait over two months to say anything about it. You wait until your book tour, promoting a graphic novel you wrote about another genocide, is over. You send out an email quietly, an email that only those who are subscribed to your newsletter will see. And your statement seems to be an afterthought, squeezed between a paragraph on how you approach presenting your books on tour, and links to where you can buy a signed copy of your new, shiny graphic novel about genocide. And this is what you say.

Most of your fans, at least on this platform, know of this email. We’ve all seen it. But I want to focus on that last part.

“I’ve taken a stand - by refusing to feed that mentality. The situation is tragic for everyone. We need empathy everywhere.”

You are being selfish. You wish to try to see why both Israel is justified in their slaughtering of Palestinians, and why Palestinians don’t deserve to be slaughtered. This is not a topic in which you can have your cake and eat it, too. Either you support the country who has proven that they will continue to murder Palestinians, destroy every aspect of their culture, and bomb every place that Palestinians cherished and loved, or you denounce that. Your refusal to acknowledge that the citizens of Palestine are the current targets in a genocide, to acknowledge that Israel will call anything or anyone they don’t like “Hamas” to slaughter them without criticism, and to acknowledge that all of this was the result of Israel wanting to destroy Palestine does not paint you as someone who is refusing to feed a black-and-white mentality. It paints you as someone who, because they aren’t being directly affected by this genocide, doesn’t think it’s their problem. That, by definition, is apathy.

This isn’t a perfect comparison by any means, but.

You are leaving Didi to die.

#arc of a scythe #scythe #the toll #thunderhead #neal shusterman #aoas #gleanings #unwind #unwholly #undivided #unbound #unsouled #connor lassiter #risa ward #lev calder #lev garrity #nealfanart

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