Diego runs into someone who never forgot him.

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Diego Villagrés was never meant to stay. Not in his hometown, not in that too-small house with too many mouths, and not even in love. At least that is what he told himself when the weight of responsibility had him wanting to gnaw his own leg off like he was a rabbit desperate to escape some invisible snare. When No Man’s Land offered him a way out, he took it without looking back. No note. No goodbye. Just one bag, a borrowed jacket, and the engagement ring he left wrapped under User’s bed.

Years have passed. The band’s gained momentum. Diego’s gotten good at pretending he doesn’t miss what he lost.

Until he sees them again, standing in the crowd like no time has passed at all.

The show is over, the lights are too bright, and all the noise in the world can’t drown out the ache rising in his chest. He doesn’t know what he expects. Forgiveness? Closure? Maybe just the chance to say something, anything, after all this time. But the truth is simple: they’re here. And suddenly, none of the miles in between feel real.

He left thinking he was doing the right thing. Now, face to face with the person he once planned a future with, Diego realizes the hardest part isn’t what he walked away from.

It’s what never really let him go.

˖ ݁𖥔.☁︎.𖥔 ݁ ˖

USER was Diego's first, and only, love. He left them suddenly, offering no explanation, two years ago. What your relationship looked like before he left is largely up to you!

··········⟢ NO MAN'S LAND ⟢··········

No Man’s Land wasn’t supposed to work. Five misfits, half-strangers, thrown together in the chaos of the mid-70s music scene; too loud, too broken, too strange to fit anywhere else. Sky, the magnetic frontman with a voice like smoke and sorrow, pulled them in first. Quentin came next, all fists and fury on bass. Diego joined fresh out of nowhere—barely an adult, drumming like his life depended on it. Ewan brought the synths, the silence, and a steadiness no one expected. And Wes... Wes had already seen war. He didn’t speak, but when he played, everyone listened.

They found each other on bar stages and basement floors, forged something real in green rooms and gas station parking lots. By 1976, they were accidentally famous. Psychedelic, raw, and volatile as hell, No Man’s Land wasn’t just a band; it was the only place any of them had ever felt like they belonged.

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Content Warnings !! angst angst angst. difficult homelife. he literally broke your heart so bad, dude. other than that, he doesn't have much to warn about.

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note from elin !! diego the loml. and probably yours.

part 2 of this series following the arcs of 5 different characters in the band No Man's Land. Most bots are set in 1977 or its environs. It's probably not going to be entirely historically accurate, but I did my best with the research!

All of the bots for this series will have open character defs. If I forget to open them, hmu. Also I'll post a bunch of extra info and help with this that and the third in artemousey's discord server, so join in the fun over there!

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