#(slaps aether) this guy can hold so much angst

[kingvoiddd]

HIIIIIIII I grinded like 18 hours of Genshin to try and catch up to Fontaine and I'm almost there I just had to burn through like a few months worth of content haha (I'm almost out of sumeru trust)

So! Since I have Genshin on the brain, here's some Aether headcanons!!! + some doodles of him bc I love him and also Xiao x Aether canon I am Hoyo I said it myself.

[1800-page-not-found]

Abyss (Childe/Tartaglia/Ajax x fem!Reader)

Im still trying to understand the concept of angst even though i cant-

Warnings:Death, suicide, survivors guilt, trauma, ptsd

Angst w/out comfort (attempted)

a little bit of aether <3

Everything is platonic in this story. theres no romantic Childe x aether

Summary: Young childe with his friend, [name]. And into the abyss they fell. (all i know is that childe fell into the abyss when he was 14)

"[name]! wake up!" Ajax frantically shook you. "Everything hurts Ajax...Where did we fall?" you sat up holding your head.

"I don't know but we need to get help immediately! Your head-its bleeding!" He took his scarf off and wrapped it around your head. "D-Don't worry [name] ill protect us" He assured you.

--

"Grahh!" A monster swung their bat towards you as you blocked their attack and killed it. Picking up its weapon, you threw it to the larger monster whom was fighting ajax. "Phew! Thanks [name]" He smiled towards you. At least you guys had each other in this place.

--

This...'floor' it was different. darker. quieter. "Ajax?...this place seems a bit different...maybe we should just fight the weaker ones to build strength?.."

"C'mon it'll be fine! I'll protect us if anything goes wrong."

"Alright.."

And it was different. new enemies fought the two of you. it was difficult. but, no worries, Ajax would protect you.

--

In the midst of battle, from the corner of your eye, you saw a mitachurl throw a pyro slime at ajax. You took your crossbow and fired towards the pyro slime in the air. 'I hit it!' you thought, excited. You turned around to face the electro abyss mage. You had gained a dendro vision while childe gained a hydro one. It was all going well until the electro abyss mage unleashed its ring of electricity around and doing so, electrifying you. "[name]!" Ajax finished off the rest of the enemies and rushed to you, lying on the ground.

It was hard to breath, think, feel. Too much for a 14 year old to handle. You were shaking as you reached your hand out to grab ajax. You cried in his arms. "It hurts-It hurts so much! Why us?!" You sobbed, staining his shoulder with salty tears. "I-I'm sorry [name], I said I'd protect you and I didn't! I'm so sorry please forgive me!"

The two of you decided to take a break, for you to recover. After your physical health got better you decided to start going up the floors again.

--

Floor 11-3. You guys were almost there. 'just a bit more!' you thought. You hadn't been facing any sort of electro enemies so far. "Aaaand cleared!" You two high-fived each other. "We're almost out [name]! I can feel it!" he said excitedly. You two climbed the stairs to reach the 12th floor. And then you saw it. An electro abyss lector. Fuck. You were shaking, paralyzed with fear. "Ajax-" But he didn't hear you. Rushing in to the battle he started attacking.

You couldn't move. But you have to. hydro wouldn't be a big help with destroying its shield. 'get a grip!' you slapped your face as you rushed in.

Attack. Attack. Attack. Don't stop.

You can't stop.

You were breathing heavily as you were attacking the lector. 'i cant stop' you pushed yourself to continue. your vision was getting blurry as it got harder and harder to breathe. You suddenly stopped attacking and collapsed to the floor. 'I cant-I cant breathe! Help, anyone get me out of this-'

The abyss is not for the weak. Thus, in your moment of weakness, the lector attacked with a mighty bolt of electricity.

"Heuk-" You spit out blood. It hurt so much. worse than the abyss mage. you were loosing your vision and the sound around you became muffled. 'i cant do this anymore...' a tear escaped your eye. if only you were stronger, you'd be alive.

--

Three months in the abyss were equivalent to three days in Teyvat. A boy came out after falling in the abyss. There was only one.

--

'It should've been me. If i didn't suggest exploring. If i waited for [name] to get better. If i had protected her well.' Ajax-Tartaglia's eyes were dull. He laughed bitterly. What is his reason to live now?

--

It was awful when he received an electro delusion. The same element that...killed his best friend. But how could he reject the Tsaritsa?

--

Oh...how Aether reminded him of you. And when his journey reached Sumeru, the two crossed paths again. But something was different. "Aether, comrade, why are you avoiding me?"

"You have...an electro delusion." Both had flashbacks to awful encounters with electro. "Aether, what happened?"

"in inazuma, i was...struck. by lightning." Ah. "I see." Silence washed over their restaurant table. "I'm sorry-I- I need to go."

A moment of weakness.

Childe collapsed onto the wall as he held his chest. It was like he was back in that very moment.

--

"NO! [NAME]! You have to wake up! Please you can't leave me here by myself!"

But. It was too late. You had already breathed your last breath.

--

'It should've been me.'

--------------

Well that was a terrible attempt at angst. um

[bi-bard]

Destiny- Duke Crocker Imagine (Haven)

Title: Destiny

Pairing: Duke Crocker X Reader

Requested: Nope... but please send in requests for this series

Word Count: 3,555 words

Warning(s): MAJOR SPOILERS FOR HAVEN IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET, major character death and some heavy angst

Summary: (Set in season 5) (Y/n) had loved Duke for years. They had been through everything together. But Duke fulfilling his so-called destiny may be the end of the line for them... in more ways than one. 

Author’s Note: Hi... I binged Haven with my dad recently and I have yet to shut up about how upset I was about Duke’s fate at the end of the show

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I was close to fainting when I reached the police station. Not only had I been running for who knows how long, but I was also crying my eyes out. I was scared and sad and confused.

“(Y/n),” Audrey very quickly pulled me into a hug. I basically dug my nails into her skin as I sobbed. “Shh, shh, you’re going to pass out. Please stop.”

“Duke, he’s-”

“I know, I know,” she mumbled, rubbing my back up and down. “Nathan, water, now.”

Audrey guided me to one of the chairs and handed me some water. I drank some but I was still crying. Audrey kept a hand on my back, trying to comfort me.

“It’s not him anymore,” I said softly. I was staring at the floor. “That’s not Duke. Not really. I know Duke. I loved Duke. That man running around right now is not the man I loved.”

“I know,” Audrey leaned her head against mine. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

I kept to myself as they spoke about getting a plan together. I didn’t have any ideas and I definitely wasn’t going to say anything useful in the state I was in. My leg was bouncing as I chewed on my thumbnail.

“(Y/n), come on,” Audrey picked me up so I could walk with them. I was kind of shoved into a room right before a wall seemed to come up in front of us. Nathan and Audrey had their guns drawn. 

“Duke got in, didn’t he,” I asked.

“Yeah,” Nathan mumbled. I looked down.

“I could help him,” I suggested. Audrey gave me a look of shock before shaking her head. “That isn’t Duke but he’s got to be there, right?”

“(Y/n), no, it’s too dangerous,” Nathan snapped. “We aren’t losing another person.”

I glared at him. I had finally come up with this idea. Something that might work... and I was being shut down. 

“How’s it going, Vickie,” Nathan asked, now completely ignoring me. 

“Almost there,” Vickie said, not looking over her shoulder. 

“Hurry, Laverne may have been able to move this wall to hide us but Duke won’t be fooled for long,” Audrey added.

“Or fooled at all,” I mumbled. “He knows this place like the back of his hand.”

“Poor kid,” Gloria looked over at me, sympathy obvious once she saw my face. I sent her a pained grin. 

“Finished,” Vickie put down her pencil. 

“Good,” Audrey put her gun away as she walked over. “So, once you fold the paper, the core should just fuse back together, right?”

Right as Vickie nodded, Duke walked through the wall that Laverne had put up. Nathan quickly put his gun up, keeping us all behind him.

“Nathan,” Duke said.

“Duke,” Nathan replied. Duke slowly moved to walk around him. “Stop! Don’t make me shoot! Duke!”

“Duke, stop,” I added, getting a quick glare from him before turning to look at Nathan again. 

“Go,” Nathan called over his shoulder. 

The others ran out but I stopped for a second. Nathan gave me another glance and I finally followed the others through the halls. I heard a thud behind me and had to fight my urge to look back. 

“Laverne, slow him down,” Audrey said as we moved. Again, I didn’t turn around as I heard the sounds of things moving. 

Vickie fell as Duke pushed through the obstacles. Gloria helped her up quickly, guarding her with her own body.

“Duke, please, this isn’t you,” Gloria begged. 

“Oh, this is me, just with some improvements,” Duke smirked. Audrey grabbed my arm as I went to step forward. 

“The Duke I know would stand up to bullies like Croatoan,” Gloria argued. “You don’t want to hurt Vickie.”

“I should’ve killed you when you were a statue,” Duke said. 

That’s when Nathan hit him in the back of the head with his baton. 

“Go,” Nathan shouted. “The Aether core?”

“Got it,” Audrey said. 

“No,” Duke shouted, tilting his head up. “You don’t.”

Duke slowly stood up, Vickie’s drawing in his hand. My breath caught in my throat as I frantically reached for Audrey’s hand. 

“No,” Nathan basically whispered.

“Duke, please don’t,” I begged. He only glanced at me for a second before ripping the paper apart, destroying the Aether core. 

“I always liked your trouble, Vickie,” Duke said. “I can’t wait to try it out.”

Duke took his knife and slid it across his palm. His eyes turned pure black as he moved. Audrey and Nathan stepped forward. Duke only smirked at them. I bit the inside of my cheek as I stepped forward with them. His head tilted as he stared at me. I looked at him with sympathy. This wasn’t what he wanted. 

“What are you gonna do,” he asked, stepping towards me. I copied him, slapping Nathan’s hand as he tried to pull me backward.

“I won’t fight you,” I said. “Mostly because I don’t think you could hurt me, even if you wanted to.”

“Are you sure about that,” he asked. Duke moved forward with his knife ready to attack but I grabbed his wrist. “Well, that’s cheating.”

“This isn’t you,” I shook my head, pushing his arm down, still holding his wrist. 

“It’s the new me,” he shrugged. “I offered you everything. You ran to these people.”

“I remember talking about this with you,” I continued. “You ‘destiny’. You tried to push me away out of fear because you were scared. But I didn’t let you. I told I’d be there. You made me promise one thing.”

“Let go of my wrist, I have a job to do,” he replied. 

“You made me promise to pull you back if you ever tried to hurt anyone,” I ignored his comment. “Because you didn’t want to be a monster. You wanted to choose your own fate.”

“Just shut up.”

I sighed.

“I love you,” I mumbled, letting go of his wrist so I could hug him tightly. 

I knew it was dangerous. He still had a knife. He had every chance to literally stab me in the back. My heart stopped when I heard the knife hit the ground and felt Duke hug me back. Slowly, I moved back, just enough to look at his face. 

“I love you too,” he smiled. 

“So... what’s your fate,” I asked. 

“I think I’m gonna stick with being a pirate,” he grinned at me. I chuckled through the happy tears that were building in my eyes. Carefully, he leaned in and kissed me softly. 

I pulled away a few moments later, not opening my eyes until Duke stopped resting his forehead on mine. I wiped my eyes quickly before wrapping my arms around his torso and moving to the side, basically cuddling him. He wrapped an arm around me. 

“Hey,” he said to everyone.

“Good to have you back, kiddo,” Gloria replied.

“Glad to be back,” he nodded, looking at me again. 

“I knew you could beat him,” Nathan said.

“Yeah, not soon enough,” Duke sighed. I moved back a little to look at Duke fully, now only grabbing his hand.

“We have to make sure that Croatoan doesn’t find out about you,” Audrey said. “Is there any way you could use your phasing trouble to get out of town?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Duke shook his head. I squeezed his hand lightly. “I’m going to kill Croatoan.”

“No,” I snapped. “No way. You are not going anywhere near him. Not again.”

“The things that he made me do,” Duke tried to explain. “The people I killed, the friends I hurt, what I did to Nathan and Audrey, trying to split them up. I almost killed you.”

“But you didn’t.”

“He wants Audrey and Nathan to be split up,” he looked at the two of them. “He knows that you’re stronger together. You guys need to let me help. I need to make things right.”

“You will,” Audrey insisted. “I promise. But we have to be careful. If Croatoan gets a hold of one of your troubles...”

Audrey didn’t get to finish her sentence before Duke started groaning in pain. He dropped my hand and walked a few paces away. 

“What’s wrong,” I asked softly. 

“He knows,” Duke said. “Croatoan knows. He’s taking them. I can’t stop him.”

Something was pulled out of his eye and out through the doors of the police station. I placed a hand over my mouth. 

“What can we do,” Audrey asked. Another trouble was pulled out of Duke. “There’s gotta be something that we can do.”

“There is,” Duke said softly, turning to face us. There was a moment of silence. “You have to kill me... now.”

“No,” I snapped instantly. “No way in hell.”

“(Y/n),” he sighed. I stepped forward and he cupped the sides of my face. “This is for the good of all of Haven. You need to kill me before he takes anymore.”

“No,” my voice had dropped significantly. “There has to be another way.”

“(Y/n)’s right,” Nathan added. “There has to be another way.”

“There isn’t,” Duke shook his head, letting go of my face and looked at the others.

“Duke...,” Audrey trailed off.

“Whenever a Crocker has died, the Troubles stayed with him,” Duke insisted. “If I’m dead, Croatoan has no way of collecting them.”

“No, Duke,” Nathan shook his head. “I can’t, Duke.”

“Yes, you can,” Duke said. “You can to save Haven. You can to save Audrey.”

“I can’t lose you again,” I whispered. Duke looked back at me. “I can’t do that again. Please. I don’t want another goodbye. Please. We can find another way.”

“We don’t have enough time,” his hands grabbed mine. “We have to protect the town. I need to protect you. You would do the same thing if it were you.”

I closed my eyes. I knew that was true but I didn’t want to admit that. It hurt too much to admit that.

“I still won’t do it,” Nathan shook his head.

“Look, I’d do it myself,” Duke explained. “I’d go up and throw myself off the roof or something but if I break open or bleed out all of my Troubles, then I die for nothing.”

I let out a shaky breath before hugging him. I hid my face in his chest as I cried. His lips touched the top of my head softly. I wanted everything to stop for a second. For time to freeze so I didn’t have to face reality.

“Croatoan took everything from me,” Duke said after a few seconds, stepping back slightly. “I have to take something back... I have to choose my destiny. I have to show Croatoan that Duke Crocker is nobody’s bitch.”

He stepped around me so he could step closer to Nathan and Audrey.

“So please,” he continued. “Please. Please! Gloria?”

“I’m sorry, Duke, no,” she shook her head.

Another trouble moved out of Duke. 

“Do you see that,” he suddenly shouted. “Who knows which one that was? You have no idea what terrible troubles I’ve taken inside of me! And if I let Croatoan get them, he wins! That’s not my destiny. That’s not me.”

“No,” Audrey shook her head.

“Nathan, please,” he pleaded. “I can’t do it myself. There’s no time.”

“I know,” Nathan said. “Everything’s gonna be alright.”

“Wait,” I managed to say.

“(Y/n),” Duke sighed before I leaned up and kissed him again. 

I held onto the collar of his jacket until my knuckles turned white. He wrapped his arms around me as tight as possible. I could feel the chapter ending and I was fighting it with every ounce of my being. Slowly, I pulled back, tears running down my face again. I felt Duke try to wipe them away.

“I love you,” I whispered, letting my grip on his jacket loosen.

“I love you too,” he mumbled. “Always have and always will.”

I nodded before letting my grip slip entirely. Nathan jumped forward and grabbed Duke, one hand over his mouth and the other arm wrapped around his throat. Gloria blocked Vickie from the sight but Audrey and I both rushed to one of Duke’s sides. 

“Hey,” Audrey said. I grabbed Duke’s hand, moving it up so I could kiss his knuckles. “Duke, it’s gonna be okay, all right? We love you.”

“You’re the bravest man I’ve ever met, Duke Crocker,” Nathan mumbled. “Always have been. So much we’ve done together. So much we could’ve never done without you. I owe you so much. I will spend the rest of my life, trying to repay that debt.”

“I love you,” I whispered again. Duke locked eyes with me. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

I watched as the life drained from his eyes until they closed. I closed my eyes after that. Nathan finally stopped, getting up and moving Duke so he was actually laying on the table. I pulled a chair up, sitting next to his body. I didn’t even notice Dwight or Vince walk in until Dwight placed a hand on my shoulder.

“I’m so sorry,” Vince said. “What Duke became wasn’t who he was.”

“No,” Audrey added. “And in the end, it’s what saved us.”

“Maybe all of Haven,” Dwight continued. “It stopped Croatoan from getting his troubles.”

They continued discussing the Aether core and the plan but I tuned them out. I was staring at Duke’s face. It’s like I expected him to wake up. Like he was just sleeping and I’d get to see him smile again and joke about how creepy it was for me to watch him sleep. 

“Audrey,” I spoke up, interrupting them all. “I know he’s your father, but will you do me a favor?”

“What?”

“Kick his sorry ass into the next dimension,” I replied. 

“Okay,” she whispered. 

“Dwight, maybe you could help me move him to the truck,” Gloria said. “We’ll put him on ice until we can give him a proper burial. At sea. He would’ve liked that.”

“Like a true pirate,” I mumbled with a sad grin. “He would’ve loved that idea.”

We all sat in a sad silence for a few minutes. No one knew what to actually say. I let out a sigh before standing up, laying a kiss on his forehead, and then stepping back completely. I let Audrey hug me tightly as Dwight and Gloria took care of Duke’s body.

“What do I do now,” I asked.

“You keep going,” she whispered. “Duke would want you to keep going. Do something that you wanted to do.”

I nodded, hiding my face in her shoulder. 

“I have an idea,” I mumbled. “But we have to beat Croatoan first.”

**About a Year Later**

I let out a breath as I placed my hands on my hips. For probably the first time in a year, I was proud of something. 

After defeating Croatoan, I had dedicated all my time and energy to rebuilding the Grey Gull. I thought it was the best way to carry on his legacy. I smiled at what represented over a year of hard work and dedication.

I blinked away a few tears and walked to one of the tables, picking up the photos that I had gotten framed a little while ago. 

One was of Duke and me. I think Audrey had taken the picture for us. I had jumped onto his back, essentially scaring the crap out of him. It always made me happy. Both of us laughing and being in our own little world. 

“I wish you could’ve seen this all,” I whispered. “I love you.”

The second one was the whole crew. Duke, me, Audrey, Nathan, and Dwight. We were all smiling and just happy. It was one of the rare times where we weren’t worried about everything. I loved all of it. 

I set them back on the table and looked at the walls, wondering where to put them.

“(Y/n),” I look over to see Dwight walking in the door. I waved at him. “The place looks amazing.”

“I wanted to make something that Duke would’ve been proud of,” I replied.

“He would’ve loved it,” Dwight promised, giving me a side hug. I bit my lip, looking down with tears in my eyes. “Hey, hey, hey. It’s alright.”

“I just... still miss him,” I said. “I just wish he could see it.”

“He’s watching, I promise,” he replied before stepping away from me. “I need to tell you something.”

“What’s up,” I asked, wiping my eyes. 

“I saw Duke... after he died,” he said. I furrowed my eyebrows. “And I don’t mean his dead body. It was some kind of spirit.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Dwight nodded. “He asked for a favor or two. One of them was to tell you that he loves and misses you and hopes that you have an amazing future... the other was that he had something on the boat. He was saying that he hid it in his underwear drawer... which was terrifying to go through. I found this.”

He handed me a little box. My breath caught in my throat. I slowly opened the lid and choked on my spit. A ring. A fucking ring.

“Is this real,” I asked softly. He nodded. 

“He thought you’d question it so I was told to ask you to look inside the ring,” Dwight shrugged. 

I nodded and picked up the ring. I smiled and placed a hand over my mouth as I read it. It was real, definitely real.

“What does it say,” Dwight asked. 

“It’s the year we met,” I mumbled. “In Roman numerals... which I had to teach him in high school because he didn’t understand them. This is an engagement ring, right?”

“That’s what he said,” he nodded. I slid the ring onto my left ring finger with a smile.

“God, I miss him,” I said, staring at the ring. Dwight hugged me again. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied. 

“Go spend the day with your daughter,” I patted Dwight on the chest and took a step back. “I have some last-minute stuff to do before the grand opening tomorrow.”

“Good luck,” he nodded. 

Dwight walked out the door and left me on my own. I grabbed the velvet box and slipped it into my pocket before going back to my photos. 

I had finally found a place for them and I was about to go get nails to hang them. I ended up freezing where I was when I heard a familiar voice.

“Hello,” I almost fainted as I slowly turned around. “Sorry, I didn’t know if you were open or not but I’ve been driving all day. Can I grab some food?”

My throat closed, my eyes filled with tears. It was him. He didn’t look like he had really changed. He just looked a little more professional. He was wearing an actual suit but his hair was still the same as when I last saw him. I let out a small breath.

“Duke?”

“Sorry,” he asked. “No...sorry... I’m Elliot.”

Oh my god. It was like Audrey. Same guy, new memories. I blinked back my tears and nodded.

“Right, I’m sorry,” I said. “Um... we aren’t actually open until tomorrow but I could fix something up if you’ve really been driving all day.”

“That would be great,” he nodded. I smiled as I watched him walk over to the bar. 

I worked quickly, moving to the back and grabbing a menu.

“It’s our first menu,” I explained quickly. “Can I get you a drink?”

“Just a water,” he replied as he looked at the menu. I furrowed my eyebrows for a split second. I was just used to him drinking. 

I got him a glass of water and placed it next to him before asking for his order.

“That’s a beautiful ring,” he commented as I wrote down his order. “Must be a lucky guy.”

I let out a sigh and looked down. 

“He... he passed away,” I explained. “About a year ago.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright,” I replied. “I’ll have your order ready in a few minutes.”

I went to the back and sighed, leaning against the counter. I covered my face and tried to take a few deep breaths. I very quickly shook out the nerves in my body, carefully placed my ring in the box, and turned around, getting the food together as fast as possible. 

After a few minutes, I slid my ring back on and walked back to the bar and placed the plate down.

“Thanks,” Duke- Elliot said. 

“You’re welcome,” I nodded.

“Is this place really brand new?”

“I actually rebuilt it,” I explained. “It has had a fair number of owners but the last guy had to watch the place get destroyed. I spent the last year rebuilding it.”

“You did a great job,” he replied. “The place looks great. The food is delicious. Good luck, really.”

“Thanks,” I smiled. 

“I know this is forward and stop me if you want to but... would you like to go out sometime,” he asked. I felt my heart stop.

“That sounds... nice,” I nodded. “It sounds really nice.”

“Good,” he smiled at me. I looked down, blushing slightly. I felt my hopes going up by the minute. Maybe things were going to be alright.

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