#is alive

I don't know guys if you noticed that Shouto's ice slide structure has a Phoenix on top. The enormous growth of his ice-shaping skills aside, this brings back all the Phoenix theory speculation about how Touya may survive. Also just the symbolism of the Phoenix across cultures is so fitting for Shouto.

AN: Ok, so I had to write something because you know... I don't agree on killing El off, never. I loved the ending but not this part, so here's something from me. Coping, I guess. It's short and English is not my first language, so I'm sorry if there are mistakes somewhere. Also hasn't been writting for some time, so sorry.

Summary: Life goes on, but it's still there, buried somewhere deeply. The pain, the sorrow, the longing and maybe a little bit of hope.

Words: 620

The most unfair thing about the whole situation is that the life – undeniably and painfully – goes on. Sun rises every morning and shines like nothing happened, like it’s another beautiful day full of opportunities. Birds twits soundly and cheerfully, like Vecna never existed and Hawkins was never cracked into four pieces. People meet up, smile and laugh like all of the friends are still alive. And maybe that’s honest. Because all of their friends are still alive. And maybe it’s not really fair to expect them to wail when they don’t know what they should be crying for.

It’s hard. To smile and laugh these very first times after all of this. And at the beginning it almost feels like betrayal because how you’re supposed to move on, to carry on when not long time ago- No. It feels highly unfair to bid farewell to everything what had happened.

But life goes on. Without the question, like nothing ever occurred.

And even when the life passes mercilessly, it’s still there, buried somewhere deeply. The pain, the sorrow, the longing and maybe a little bit of hope that the mage didn’t really vanish because she’s still the mage. They don’t disappear. Not really.

And it manifests itself subtly in everyday life.

And every now and then Steve swears that he sees her face in the crowd of the kids he’s teaching and every time it happens, he feels his heart shudders. But when he wants to call for her, when he has her name just on the tip of his tongue, she disappears in the blink of an eye.

Lucas and Dustin would bet that they rarely see someone so similar buying Eggos in the shop around the corner near the flat they share. But what’s the odds? And it’s always: “Hey, isn’t it-“ but then it turns out it isn’t, because how it could be, right? But then it feels like they’re being watched, just for a second, by someone who hides themselves in the shadow.

Will would cross his heart and promise to whoever asked, that he sometimes feels her touch – most often when he’s sad. It’s warm and kind and feels just like she was next to him but when he opens his eyes, there is no one, but he’s almost sure he can still sense her gentle hold on his arm.

For Max it’s her laugh. She hears it every now and then. When she’s in the cloakroom trying these new jeans, when she’s skating, reading or eating ice-creams. And for the moment Max stills and waits but she never catches it twice a day. But its echo always lingers – just for a moment.

And Mike is certain that he sometimes perceives sound of her voice and it’s always his name that she’s saying. But he knows better, he knows she’s not here so he always put his headphones on and surrounds himself with music because it still hurts and he misses her like hell. But he still hopes that maybe someday- No. He remembers. It’s not possible.

But one day, not so long after everything falls into the place, he’s sorting his old toys in the basement when something cracks. He takes a look under the couch and he finds his run down walkie-talkie. He smiles because – heck – there were things to remember. And then it cracks again. His heart jumps wildly because surely it couldn’t be- But it cracks again and again and it starts to rustle. And he realizes what he’s going to hear in a moment because hope it’s a strange thing and it makes him believe and he just knows that he has to tell the others.

The walkie-talkie stops rustling.

I saw the reference and had to draw it as BJC and his little one. Then I realized that I never drew Billy.

I haven't drawn in a while but I like how it turned out. Took long enough anyway.

Reference under the cut

This is part one