#probably took a lot of patience on her part but I appreciated it so much | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

llamagoddessofficial · 7 months

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A commission with Nightmare, Cross and a wonderful OC, for the lovely @sansarae (who for some reason Tumblr won't let me properly @ >:/)

I hope the wait wasn't too annoying- thank you for your patience, I really appreciate it!

---

“Oh. Hello again.” You smiled at the monster before you, with a touch more genuineness than your usual go-to customer service grin. “What can I get for you?”

... The skeleton looked up. His eyelights were a sharp, startling red, bloody and intense in a manner that didn’t seem to fit his otherwise pleasantly monochromatic clothing at all. At your comment, his sockets slightly narrowed.

“You... remember me?” he said, slowly.

Your smile immediately twitched with nervousness. What? You couldn’t pick up on his tone. He was staring at you with an unreadable, near-blank expression. Did you say something wrong? What had you done?

“Of... of course I do,” you replied, voice nearly quivering as your usual awkwardness took over. Why did that give him pause? Did you offend him?

...

You couldn’t make sense of his face. He was just staring at you, like that; did he really look accusatory, or were you just seeing things because you were scared? Your lip wobbled- idiot. This is what you get for attempting anything more than you were comfortable with, anything more than customer service politeness. This exact scenario was why you found people so exhausting... why you were so introverted.

“I mean,” you rushed for proverbial cover. “I work at a cafe. It’s my job to remember people, y’know?”

His face didn’t shift. His voice was monotone.

“... I see.”

...

... Well. That was that, then. You felt sick.

“Erm... so what can I get for you?”

Why was he surprised, anyway? How could you not remember him? He had stumbled into the building, a few days ago, a little before closing. It had just been you left in the cafe. He had looked a mess, as if he’d just escaped a natural disaster- dressed in torn clothing, he approached the counter with faraway empty eyelights and the expression of a man who had seen far too much to care anymore. With a calm voice, he asked for ‘anything that would make him feel awake’.

You’d been too stunned (and intimidated) to try conversation. You had served him a large black coffee, which he’d taken, leaving behind a generous tip. He had seated himself in the far corner of the cafe with his back to a wall... and he drank the whole thing in silence, staring nowhere but at the table.

... Then he left without a word.

You’d had a lot of strange customers come through, in your time behind the counter. That was just part of running a business. You still vaguely remembered the best of them... the woman who had insisted you redo her coffee because the one you’d given her was ‘looking at her’, the man who had been otherwise friendly but always smelled so strongly of cinnamon it almost made you feel sick, the guy who yelled at you for making his strawberry milkshake too pink.

But him? The skeleton? You didn’t know why, but out of everyone, it was him who stuck the most firmly in your mind.

... Eventually, he spoke. You didn’t know if he genuinely looked upset or if you were just so embarrassed by his reaction that you were seeing unpleasantness and irritation in his every move.

“... I’ll get a chamomile tea. Please.”

At least he was polite. Tea- nothing at all like his last order. “Sure. Your name?”

... He hadn’t given it last time. Understandably, considering he had been the only person in the entire cafe. But you had other customers this time and ‘skeleton’ probably wouldn’t go down well when you called it out.

He looked at you.

...

“... Cross.” He said, softly.

You smiled at him. “Thank you, Cross. Cash or card?”

Saying his name seemed to have a weird effect on him. A strange look passed over his face, shaking his silent suspicious air for a second.

... He finally blinked.

“... Cash.”

“Gold or dollars?”

“G.”

The register beeped.

“That’s 12G, please.”

... He handed you the money.

...

His mouth opened, then closed again. You waited politely. But... he said nothing. He just quietly took his tea, and made his way to the same far table he’d sat at earlier.

Though he sat in silence, it didn't escape your notice that every now and then, you'd catch him looking your way.

... You opted to just keep yourself busy with your work. Though you had to admit- for some reason, when the thought of 'What an odd guy' passed through your mind...

... It wasn't entirely negative.

///---///

'Cross' came nearly every day.

You were surprised how much of your thoughts revolved around this stranger. He occupied your mind, as you set our equipment, wiping cups and plates... I wonder how he’s doing.

He was very punctual. You liked that. He rarely arrived outside of certain hourly windows, and there was always a pattern to his arrivals. On a good day, he would come in the early morning- depending on the crowds he may even be one of the very first people into the cafe. He'd seem aware, and like he wanted to say something to you... he'd order a tea, and through your shift you'd constantly be glancing up and catching him (sheepishly?) looking at you.

... On a bad day, though... he’d come late. Like the first time you saw him. His eyelights would be distant, his tone brittle, words clipped, someone checked out of their own body. He would just stare at his table like something was playing out in front of his view. Those were the days when he would order a large coffee.

... Today looked like it was shaping out to be one of his ‘bad’ days. It was almost four when he came into the cafe, the last of your usual patrons already shuffling out the door.

Quickly, you started up the coffee machine, and made him his coffee. He had only been standing at the counter for a few moments, when you turned around and placed the drink in front of him.

...

He blinked. His eyelights fractionally widened, growing a little brighter.

“... You knew my order?”

Despite his softer tone, not wanting a repeat of last time, with his strange reaction to you recalling his name... you just nodded.

Another pause, as he just stared at the coffee.

“Nobody else remembers anything about me.”

... Huh. That was a pretty heavy sentence. You tried to keep your tone light, in comparison.

“... Well,” you tapped the coffee lid, “it definitely helps that you only order the same two things. Right?”

...

... His gaze flickered up to you.

... He finally actually smiled at you. His shoulders gently bobbed, like he was briefly restraining a chuckle- the smile looked nice on him, it was handsome and suited his features. And though it quickly fell away to his usual not-quite-a-frown, you were startled by how different he had looked for that brief moment... how pleasant, how warm. Like there was a happier person lurking just beneath the surface.

“Heh... yeah. I guess so.”

His phalanges tapped on the top of the coffee. Over top of where yours had been, moments ago.

Your customer service voice was slowly slipping away. His proximity was... nice. “Do you need anything else?”

"I like your braids."

"... Thank you." One of your hands immediately came up to fiddle with the hair. Was the warmth in your cheeks showing on your face? You really hoped not. "It's easier to work when it's out of the way."

"I wouldn't know."

...

Both of you broke into quiet laughter. Yours, a warm giggle, his a low rusty chuckle.

“... What’s your name?” He asked.

You usually hated when customers asked for your name, pushing the boundary of customer and server. But... not this time, not at all. You couldn't have been happier. “Rin.”

“... Do you mind if I just... sit here?” He motioned to the seat nearest to the counter.

You nearly beamed.

“Sure. Go ahead.”

... You thought you saw something flicker across his cheekbones. Some kind of colour. But it was gone again, as soon as it appeared; perhaps just a trick of the light. Or your eyes finally showing the strain of so many hours of work. Either way, he took his coffee, and settled into the chair at the table right beside the counter.

... It was silent again, in the cafe. But it was a much different silence. You, wiping down the machines and packing away for the day... Cross, taking his time with his drink.

It really felt, to you, like he just needed to sit near to someone.

... You could live with that person being you.

///---///

Cross was good at keeping his cool. After what he’d been through, what he’d done... his nerves of steel had been forged under unimaginable pressure. He didn’t like that it had become genuinely hard for anything to shake him anymore; it was endless proof of his sins, living in his chest and smothering the person he had once been.

That was why, when Nightmare’s terrifying eye turned to him and pinned him under all of its icy power and rage, cold blue flickering against the castle’s glassy obsidian walls... he didn’t flinch.

“you.” Nightmare’s voice, despite having a light intonation, was not happy. “a word.”

... Cross didn’t react to Killer’s cruel snickering. He didn’t even look the other skeletons’ way- he knew Killer would be grinning like a cat, Axe would be cleaning his weapon with his characteristic disinterest, and Dust would be silently enjoying the beginnings of what may eventually become a slow, painful downfall for Cross.

These people were not his friends. They were deeply unpleasant coworkers, at best.

... Cross followed Nightmare, as his ‘employer’ moved into a separate room. The door closed behind them, cutting off Killer’s laughter.

Blue candlelight warped and flashed in the dark.

...

A tentacle lashed out, faster than Cross could react, grabbing him by the neck and slamming him into the wall. He let out a startled gasp as the appendage held him there, tightly, the pressure increasing until it felt like his spine was inches away from fracturing.

Nightmare’s glare pierced straight into Cross’ Soul.

“you think i’m an idiot?”

Cross couldn’t reply, the pressure on his spine too great. But he reckoned Nightmare wasn’t looking for a response.

“you’re getting soft. you’re hesitating.” Nightmare’s head cocked. “did you think i wouldn’t notice?”

Nightmare’s grip fractionally increased, and he clearly spent a few seconds savouring watching Cross struggle in vain. The twitch in his smile, the bend to his claws, he looked to be taking out as much rage as he could in those short moments.

But apparently, he wasn’t yet willing to kill- despite clearly desiring to press until the spine shattered, Nightmare instead clenched his jaw and let go.

Cross nearly collapsed onto his knees. The quick display of Nightmare’s overwhelming power had staggered him. But he still managed to catch himself, at the last moment, and remain standing.

Perhaps it would’ve been better to fall. The silent defiance in that move seemed to aggravate Nightmare even more.

“you aren’t subtle.” Nightmare hissed. “you move through the multiverse with the grace of a dog in wet concrete. i know you like to slink off to other places. what are you doing? crawling away to go build a new family?”

Cross kept his line of sight down. Nightmare had the powers of a God, but he had the temper of a petulant child, and in these kinds of moods the smallest slips from his minions could push him into a fit of violent rage that sent all of them scurrying for cover.

“No.” Cross responded, as simply as possible, voice strained from the attack to his neck. Now wasn’t the time for flowery words; Nightmare still wasn’t looking for a real reply.

A cruel snicker. “trying to escape? settle down somewhere i can’t find you?”

Your face flickered in Cross’ mind’s eye.

Not right now.

“No.”

“... i like to think you have forgotten i taste lies. because i resent the thought that one of my underlings is so stupid as to know that, but still lie to me.”

Cross steeled himself. “I have nothing to hide.”

“not even that little human woman?”

...

... It took all of his mental control. Every ounce. Another skeleton would’ve cried aloud, perhaps, or frozen as the terror spread through them. Someone they cared about had been noticed by Nightmare... singled out, almost by name.

... You had no idea how much you meant to Cross. No idea that you were often the only thing that could soothe his disturbed Soul when it all felt too much. Your warmth, your kind eyes, how you remembered little details about him... and said his name so gently.

Hearing someone say his name with kindness had been like, for just a moment, being home again.

You didn't know how protective he was of you. What he’d do to keep you safe. And he couldn’t, at any cost, allow Nightmare to think you were someone to him.

He kept his gaze on the glassy black floor. He kept his emotions still.

... He had stifled truly monumental loss and terror, before. This was nothing new.

"... She's a barista." Cross said.

"so that's it?” an incredulous scoff. “you're hopping multiverses to go drink coffee at the same shitty coffee shop in the middle of nowhere?"

"Yes, sir."

"you could go anywhere for your coffee. you could go to italy. indonesia. brazil. anywhere at all- and you go there?"

"Yes." Because you’re there.

...

... Nightmare seemed to be quietly fuming. Though whether it was because he couldn't pin any particular 'crime' onto Cross, or because his snobbery with coffee was coming through, he had no idea.

They both knew that Cross was too valuable of a pawn to die for no solid reason.

... Eventually, Nightmare's rage eased enough for him to speak again.

"i don’t care what games you play in your free time, worm.” His voice was significantly lower. “but you know what will happen, if you don’t do your fucking job. hesitate again, and i certainly won't."

“... It won’t happen again.” Cross replied, not yet allowing himself to feel relief.

The cyan eye flashed. “it won’t happen again, what.”

“... It won’t happen again, sir.”

...

"fine. you may go."

Cross rose to his feet, but kept his eyelights down. He exited the room as swiftly as he could, without appearing desperate to leave.

Don’t feel yet.

Killer was there, of course, waiting just outside the door. Grin as smug and cruel as ever.

"oh, so you're still alive?" The murderer crooned. "for how long, though...?"

Cross gave Killer a witheringly unimpressed look. He had no need to engage in one of his games- he just needed to get as far away from Nightmare as possible, so he could allow himself to process the fears that were itching at the corners of his Soul, threatening to give everything he was hiding away.

He wordlessly walked past Killer. As always, the only thing that seemed to make Killer's constant grin drop was Cross refusing to engage.

///---///

Moving between universes was second nature, by this point in Nightmare’s existence. So much so that he wasn’t at all exaggerating when he said he could see how Cross had moved from one place to the other. The fabric between realities looked disturbed and jagged, in the wake of someone moving clumsily; a rippled pond surface, traces of the offender’s Soul saturating the threads.

It wasn’t difficult to track down where his subordinate had been going. And who he’d been going to.

...

... You turned over, in your bed. There was a soft kind of pain written across your face, something happening within your dream. pathetic. Nightmare tilted his head, as he observed... even if you had been awake, he was indistinguishable from the shadows at the foot of your bed.

Cross' scent was all over you- embarrassing, mushy soft feelings that the 'soldier' clearly couldn't help, they had spilled out of his Soul and stained all over you like a foul hotel blanket under a blacklight. Nightmare almost couldn't stand to be near it.

And yet. Under it all- in your chest, he could see a glittering, jewel-like purple Soul.

Nightmare’s gaze zeroed in. she’s a perseverance mage.

... His smile curled. A little more interesting. Did Cross know? Did you know? There was a significant degree of power, flowing through those veins, magic just waiting to be harnessed. Even Nightmare couldn’t deny it was pretty to observe- he was always partial to royal purple.

... You made a sound, in your sleep. A crease formed between your brows.

...

Well. He was curious, now. And he hadn’t tormented a human in a long time.

He slipped, completely undetected by your Soul and mind, into your dream. Before he began to terrify you it was probably a good idea to observe your thoughts, get a sense of any treachery Cross may have committed... any details his underling may have spilled, that could justify erasing another human pest from the multiverse.

... A myriad of pleasant tastes. Melancholy, loss, a hint of misplaced and directionless anger. Overall, a delicate combination of flavours, but sweet nonetheless.

He could see the dream’s scene, emerging before him. how delightful.

... Dreams were, by no means, easy places to be. Though Nightmare was powerful he was also an interloper and there was a real danger that a strong human Soul like yours could cast him out. The dreams of mages were often like rocking boats on a great ocean- until he took the reins, the residual waves made him feel sick, tossed about. It was important to get his bearings.

The backdrop was a sea of blurry images, nearly-forgotten places melting together in your mind. A park, a bedroom, a dark street. And... there was two of you.

...

... No. He could smell the emotions rolling off of you, as you stared at this mirror image of yourself. The mirror image... she wore different clothes. Frilly and sweet ones. The adult features of her face were exaggerated, imagined- unlike your messily self-braided locks, her hair was sweetly ringlet curled, as if done lovingly by another's skilled hands.

And her eyes, though so similar to yours, were someone else’s eyes.

Melancholy. Regret. Anger.

...

Nightmare suddenly... felt his chest tighten.

that's... her sister.

a twin.

... His thoughts were getting quieter and quieter. Static, faintly ringing in his skull... he couldn't taste the emotions anymore.

“... I wonder if you would’ve cared.” You said, quietly, to the blank and silent sister before you. “I guess I’ll never know.”

The reflection didn't smile.

His brother's face flickered in his mind's eye.

...

Nightmare drew in a sharp breath- suddenly staggered, he immediately withdrew from the dream. He moved back from the bed like a live snake was laying within it.

He gripped his shirt. His chest... it was so heavy. Why did it feel so heavy? He took another step away.

i didn't think anyone could comprehend how i felt.

let alone...

... He didn't like how, when he looked at you, for a moment he didn't immediately see prey.

Just a sleeping person.

...

In an instant, he was back in his room. Back in his castle, where he was safe, and alone.

...

Nightmare let out a slow, dark breath. And though he hadn't yet fully re-centred himself, his grin regardless began to return.

As much as he was aggravated by Cross... he almost had to thank him.

His ‘soldier’ had bought such a fascinating creature to his full attention, after all.

#commissions #its a total accident that i post a commission abt cross after he wins the sexyman contest #ig the universe had to will it

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ssa-thotchnerr · 2 years

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Nerve Gas - Chapter 3

part one part two

Summary – The final chapter in the ‘Nerve Gas’ story. Hotch’s daughter realises she may not be getting out of this one and wants her dad – Hotch does everything he can to save his daughter from a painful demise.

Warnings – Gore, character deaths, angst, sad hotch, reader becomes disabled, sight loss

Word Count – 2.2k

A/N – Wow, fucking finally. 2 years later here we are, finally finished with this series! I hope everyone enjoys this as I have really – believe it or not – enjoyed writing it! Please feel free to like, reblog, and leave feedback, as it is always appreciated!

The blood in your hand stood out painfully against the paleness of your palm, trying to keep yourself as calm as possible, you wiped it on the leg of your jeans. You knew the nerve gas was making its way around your body and probably shutting down all your vital functions, but you couldn’t give up, despite how much your body was begging you to. You held onto the wall as you made your way down the hallway to try and escape the two that were after you – the two who wanted you dead just because you were your father’s daughter. You stumbled and tripped, grunting painfully as you hit the ground, the wind being knocked out of your compromised lungs. It took a lot of strain for you to get up and back up onto your feet, you struggled before pushing yourself up, only to find your two hunters in front of you – they had found you, their prey.

Hotch continued to watch you, watched as you tried your hardest to run away from those after you, despite your weak body’s protests for you to stop and let yourself rest, to give up entirely – but you had run in harder conditions. Like when Hotch had to chase after you after you snuck away to try and meet your dealer, desperate for a hit of something stronger than what your anti-depressants provided you with, they didn’t make you numb enough anymore. Hotch remembered that night with a sad smile, it had been the night you had finally admitted your drug problem to him, and your need for help and a way out. You didn’t enjoy doing drugs, it was a necessary evil for you to not have the bad thoughts you so often had. Ben smirked as he looked at Hotch.

“Your daughter is quite something, agent Hotchner,” He chided, watching as rage completely engulfed Hotch, taking over every fibre of his being until all he seen was red, and he had to fight back the urge to swing a punch at the old man for even mentioning you. It was unfair. Why were you made to suffer for his actions, what had you done to deserve this?

“Don’t you dare, mention her. She could be dead, all because of you and what you’ve done to her. She’s a child, what did she do to you to deserve this?” Hotch was in his face. The old man smirked once again, knowing of the outcome of your fate. As Hotch went to speak once more, he heard Derek’s phone ring and turned to him.

“Hey Garcia,” He greeted the technician. Normally she would have reprimanded him for his bland greeting, but these were not normal times, her original BAU baby was missing.

“So I tracked the feed of the camera’s in the house that y/n’s in and,” Garcia stopped with a gasp, and Emily, Hotch and Derek all waited, patience wearing thin between the trio and Garcia on the other end of the phone. “The feed is 2 days old,” She finished without prompt. Hotch felt his stomach drop, if your survival chances were already slim, what about now? “The address is 19 Melville Lane, the house has remained empty since Ben Rogers bought the house in 2013,” She rambled. Hotch looked over at a smirking Ben, whose face held a smug grin, one that made Hotch sick to his stomach the more it all clicked into place. “I’ll send Spencer and Rossi with JJ to the house.” With no time for anyone to reply, Garcia hung up. Emily and Derek watched as Hotch made his way over to the frail unsub, fury written across his face.

“Where is she?” Hotch questioned the man. Ben continued to smirk at the angered hotch, which only infuriated him further – what was so funny about this situation to him, was it the chaos he had caused? Emily made her way over to the row of dusty computers, Derek following after her in curiosity.

“I’m fast forwarding the tape, we can’t waste any more time,” she told him, clicking forward in the tape. Emily gasped as she paused the tape. There you stood, covered in blood, knife in your hands and a manic look in your eyes.

You didn’t know what happened. The last thing you remembered, you were being chased and felt like you were dying and now here you were – covered in blood with two dead bodies at your feet. Suddenly you fell to your knees, a coughing fit taking over you before you could do anything. Blood came pouring out of your mouth, and you started to panic. You wanted your dad, and you wanted him now, you didn’t want to die alone – but as your body went numb and your eyesight went blurry, you knew it was looking that way. You found yourself curled into a ball, the bitter taste of iron in your mouth and your eyelids feeling heavier and heavier with each passing blink.

And for a moment, everything was peaceful.

No worries.

No thoughts.

Nothing.

Just you and peace.

Until there was nothing but pain, and nothing but agony.

You wanted to be numb again, as the burning sensation in your lungs lit up and made you feel like you couldn’t breathe. As you tried breathing in, you couldn’t – it felt like you were choking on nothing, and if you were being honest, it felt like your first overdose. Lying on a freezing cold floor as your body shut down, all alone. As your eyes rolled up, you caught a glimpse of the man you assumed to be the one who had put you in your current position, too weak to react, you simply exhaled, and went numb for the final time.

When the police finally came and very forcefully arrested Ben, Hotch made his way over to the computer screens, where he saw Emily with tears glistening in her eyes, and Derek with a look of shock on his face.

“Hotch,” Derek tried to distract him from looking at the screens which showed your fate, but he knew Hotch was angry, he didn’t want him to lash out and hurt someone, or even himself.

“Derek, move, please,” Hotch had his focus on one thing, you. He needed to know that you were okay, that you were in a safe place, as Ben had said you were. Derek couldn’t hold his position much longer but felt a wave of relief when Hotch’s phone rang, and he moved away from the screens. Reid?”

“She’s not here.” Spencer stated. Him and Rossi had gotten to the house, only to be met with 4 dead bodies, none of them yours, and the only trace of you being here your blood on the floor and the knife you held in your hands to kill your hunters.

“What?” Hotch couldn’t believe it. How could you have just vanished like that? His mind ran through all the worst-case scenarios. Had you been trafficked? Or had he just murdered you in cold blood? Emily began to run through all the things Ben had said to Hotch to try and think if there was anything in his words that could have hinted towards where he was holding you if you were even still alive.

“She’s not at this house, Hotch,” Spencer reiterated. Hotch’s heart began to pound – this couldn’t be happening. Emily left to look around, leaving Derek with an increasingly nervous Hotch. As she looked around, Emily spotted a large safe built into the wall, the door laying slightly ajar with a tube running out of it.

Oh.

You were in a safe place.

Emily ran towards the safe, gently opening the door in case you really were inside, she didn’t want to spook you. She could have cried when she saw you, curled in on yourself with an oxygen mask on, an IV bag laying by your leg, the needle running into your arm. You where barley awake, but you were breathing.

“Hotch!” Emily called out for your father, who came running in, still on the phone to Reid and Derek following behind him. Hotch’s breath caught in his throat as he saw you, frail and curled up in on yourself, a bit more conscious than you were when Emily had first found you. Lazily, you looked up at your dad, and your eyes widen as you realised, he was real this time, and it wasn’t like your hallucinations since you had been kept in this safe. Hotch hung up on Reid, too concerned to tell him goodbye. He reached in for you and gently brought you out of the safe, careful to keep the IV in your arm and oxygen mask over your face, even though you had taken off – despite your aching chest and inability to catch your own breath.

“Dad,” You gasped out, tears in your eyes as you looked up at your dad, even though you still couldn’t really see. You could make out shapes and colours, but nothing had any depth or other details, everything was fuzzy and blurry. “I can’t see.” You cried out. Hotch pushed your hair away from your face, putting the oxygen mask back over your face as you struggled to breathe from your crying.

“It’s okay honey, I’m here,” He assured you gently, watching as you desperately tried to deblur your vision. “Don’t do that, you’ll hurt yourself,” Hotch gently scolded you, you stopped squinting and let out a heavy exhale. “There you go, you’re okay baby.” He didn’t know who he was assuring the most, himself or you. It didn’t matter to him though – you were here, and you were alive in his arms.

Hotch watched as you put your new glasses on, screwing your face up at the coldness of them. In the weeks and eventual months after your incident, your vision hadn’t returned to what it was before, leaving you partially blind in both eyes.

“Do I look stupid?” You asked your dad, huffing when he moved your head towards him so he could actually see how they looked on your face. “I already hate this.” You stated bluntly, a dramatic frown on your face.

“You’ll survive, honey, and no, you don’t look stupid,” He told you, a sad smile he know you wouldn’t be able to make out on his face, sometimes he just remembers that you would be like this for the rest of your life, dependent on him. “Do you want to keep them on or take them off since you’re going to bed, where your lights are off, or supposed to be.” His sad smile turned into a more happy one as he joked about your failure to go to bed when he asked you to, you only had to wear your glasses during the day when it was light, since your eyes had a strong sensitivity to the light and made your eyesight even worse.

"Oh ha-ha, you’re so funny, dad,” You jabbed back, matching the smile on his face.

“Alright, upstairs,” He gently shoved you towards the stairs and stood behind you as you attempted to make your way up, which you were able to on your own. Hotch gave you a few minutes before badgering you to get into bed. He had had to renovate your room to make it more friendly towards your disability. Your bed no longer had a head or a footboard and was pressed against the wall, so you could easily just fall onto it when you were getting in. Hotch, however, did have a slight panic attack when you had tried to light your candle and nearly set the house on fire. “Are you ready, honey?” He asked you, knocking on the door.

“Yeah,” You replied tiredly, looking over at the door as you heard it creak open. Hotch came over to your bed and sat down on the edge beside you. “I’m sorry you always need to look after me.” You apologised. Hotch frowned.

"Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault, honey,” He assured you. “And I’m your dad, its my job to look after you, especially now that you really need me.” He continued, watching as you had slowly started drifting off to sleep, completely unaware of what he would do for you, and what he would do to keep you safe, to keep you out of the pain and trouble that life had already burdened you and your younger brother with. It was taking Jack a little bit longer to adjust to the new changes to the household, that he wouldn’t be the centre of Hotch’s attention anymore, that you now needed it that bit more than he did. Hotch waited until you were fully asleep before tucking you in and kissing you on the head.

“I love you.”

#aaron hotchner #jack hotchner #SSA HOTCHNER #aaron hotchner x daughter!reader #Aaron Hotch Hotchner #Aaron hotchner x daughter reader #hotchner!reader

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imabillyami · 27 days

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Hii I I'm back 😂

Okay so I would not have guessed English was not your first language 👀😳 you are doing amazingly well!

21 parts!! *fainting* I'm sooo happy to hear that haha Please please in your words - get over yourself and post that stupid (not stupid) chapter 4 😂 - I say this in the most loving and polite way possible 😁🥰 butttt obviously what I really mean is don't stress about it too much and post only when you're happy and comfortable with it (we'll be patiently waiting 😊). I'm glad to hear you're excited for the rest of it though!! 😁

On another note... My curiosity got the better of me 😆 Gentle Cottagecore Emoji Asks 🌱🥛🍯🐄🌳🐓🐇🌲🥞⛰️ answer as many as you like

(as always no pressure to respond) 😊

🐨

Hi Aussie anon friend 🥰

Took me a while to get to your message (April is this crazy busy month for me every single year, but in a mostly positive way), but here we are.

Yeah, the writing thing is delicate and very fickle. But I've been writing for 15+ years at this point and it rarely stresses me out anymore. I just gotta do things in my own time and remind myself from time to time to trust the process. We'll get there, always do in the end. Patience is key.

Thanks for sending those emoji asks, I'll be answering them under the cut 💕

Hugs to you 💜🌻

🌱 Seedling: What is a scent you find relaxing?

Sandalwood & the scent of the air when you walk through the woods after heavy rain

🥛 Milk: What is a food you find comforting when you are sad?

I dealt with some stuff in the past, so I’m not an "eat my feelings away" person anymore these days, and I’m really trying to prevent finding comfort in food or spending money when I feel sad, so I don’t have a specific food. In fact, I really struggle with eating when I’m sad these days, a complete 180 from when I was younger.

🍯 Honey: What is one thing you like about yourself?

Personality wise - my kindness. A lot of people think I’m faking that or playing it up, but I’m genuinely not. I just don’t see the point in making anyone’s life harder or miserable when I can spend my time putting smiles on people’s faces and leave them with good memories instead. Physically - probably my eyes. I like the dark color of them and the way people tell me I have kind eyes. So that.

🐄 Cow: What is one other tumblr blog you really appreciate?

Picking one is impossible, really, cause we’re all here for different reasons and good at different thing and I’m just glad we get to share this space together and love the thing we love.

I’d like to shout out some of my dear friends though. Tay @taydaq for her incredible art and being an all around lovely person who’s always there for others.

Mahi @mahi-wayy / @bangazaii for being a complete sweetheart and our lovely fic writing sessions and idea spitballing sessions / rarepair shenanigans in our dms.

Shanie @shanie-the-komania-toyaddict for always being there when shit gets rough and calling me out on my bullshit, but never judging (& also writing the most beautiful kayfabe compliant steenerico fic + side stories).

Carla @samijey for providing me/us with the most beautiful gifs and the most gorgeous writing (and giving me a chance when it was easier not to).

And last but not least my dear friend E. @bremmommye who’s been my friend and comfort person in & out of the internet for many years by now and who I miss dearly cause we rarely ever get to see each other in "real life" (that's what living on opposite ends of the same country and being busy does).

I love all my moots and my followers and all the people I follow who don’t follow me back, but these people are the ones that have carved out that extra bit of space in my heart for themselves and made themselves a forever home in some shape or form. Sorry, didn’t mean to get that mushy, but I really love talking about my friends.

🌳 Tree: What is one thing in your future you are looking forward towards?

Honestly, it goes hand in hand with the answer above, I think. Being able to watch the people I adore, family, friends, acquaintances, strangers I have yet to meet, grow and evolve and live authentic lives that they’re feeling happy and fulfilled with. That’s what makes me happy - seeing the people around me happy.

🐓 Chicken: What is a comfort movie/show for you?

Sooo many. But one constant is The Princess Bride. Another one is The Breakfast Club. Grey’s Anatomy (very early seasons), Skam, Legally Blonde and more recently Heartstopper. I could go on and on, there’s a whole lot of them.

🐇 Bunny: What’s a song that you really like?

If you could see my music library - it’s WILD. And I love every single song. I listen to music basically every single minute I’m awake and able to. So picking one song - good god. I’ll give you my 5 most recent played ones.

Thoughts of a child - The Lathums

Dublin in Ecstasy - Inhaler

Dreams - The Snuts

I bet you look good on the Dancefloor - Arctic Monkey

Poundshop Kardashians - Sam Fender

🌲 Pine: Do you prefer the cold, or the heat?

The heat. Don’t love the heat, but I can stand it a lot better than being cold.

🥞 Pancake: What is your favorite breakfast food?

Not a big breakfast person, don’t have a sweet tooth either (not anymore I should say), so probably something savory. I had this yummy grilled veggie & hummus on rye bread breakfast sandwich when I was traveling the other day, that one came to mind. On a normal day, I’ll just have a cup of tea (no sugar, no milk alternative), a handful of almonds, and a banana or an apple to hold me over till lunch. But yeah, if I’m going for actual breakfast, I prefer savory over sweet.

⛰️ Mountains: Would you rather live in the mountains, city, beach, or the forest?

Grew up living near the forest and spending a lot of time playing in the woods as a kid, lived in a couple a large cities over the years, now living close to the mountains, but still in general vicinity of the city (albeit a smaller one), I’m really enjoying being able to go for a hike in the mountains if I need to catch a break. Reconnecting with nature and the quiet from time to time is real nice.

#lovely anon #anon #asks #m answers #replies #ask game #ask games #tw ed #🐨

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shawol-poser · 2 months

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hello!! i'm here for the matchup thingie ^^

• fandoms: shinee + exo

• pronouns: she/her

• mbti + ennea: isfp 4w5

• taste in fashion: i like more simple outfits. like shirts that are just a single color bc i'm not really into stamps and all. and the shirts are in more neutral colors like black & white, or colors in a darker shades, especially red and blue. i loove stripes tho. also sweaters are my thing, and crochet tops for summer. for bottom parts, whatever is comfortable which means i like mom jeans better than skinny jeans lol (sorry if this got too long shshsjsjsj)

• aesthetic tendencies: i'm not really into makeup, the only thing i put on is lip gloss. i keep my hair natural aka curly, i dyed it dark ginger sometime ago but now i'm growing it out and thinking about dying it black (naturally it is dark brown)

• favorite features on my self: hmm i like my eyes and eyelashes, also my lips, my collabones too kinda, and my hair when it's not a mess

• favorite group era: ok this is HARD (pun unintended) omg hmm for shinee i love 1 of 1, the vibes were great and they all looked so good in those colorful fits, so that's the one. for exo tho i'm torn between monster, ko ko bop and cream soda aghshshsjsjs but i will go with ko ko bop for a single reason: red mullet baek (aka the loml)

• what i like in a partner: i like respectful people, who don't pressure me and try to make me feel comfortable through small but meaningful actions. people who are rather quiet than loud really catch my eye, but i also enjoy being around more extroverted and talkative people, although i have a hard time keeping up with them most times

• a song that sounds like me: the archer by taylot swift :,) i relate to it soo much it's crazy. mitski's thursday girl too, and lana del rey's doin' time (a friend of mine once said this song has my vibe lol i took it as a compliment)

• 3 fav songs from the groups: ok now that's hard omgggg for shinee one is definitely lucifer (my fav tt of theirs), an ode to you, and 1 of 1 (honestly i'm still getting into their discography). for exo it's forever, she's dreaming and let me in (man i changed it like 10 times help)

that's ittt, please take your time with writing! and take care of yourself too <3

Hello!! Thank you so much for your patience, it was fun working on this, so thank you for the request! All matchups that I recieve will probably be around this length, give or take, so I hope this is fine!!

For SHINee, your match is: Taemin

Sweetie, can I just ask, are you okay? The songs that you mentioned are exceptionally interesting but also rather sad— Anyway, to start off, an ISFP 4w5, to my understanding, is someone who is very introverted and appreciates living a more average life, with very few but exceptionally exciting things. Just enough to make them not quite ordinary, but just enough to fly under the majority’s radar.

As such, I believe someone that catches wind of your unusual “charm” or interests would become instantly interested in you. Especially someone like Taemin.

More under the cut.

As an idol with a lot of accolades for both group and solo works, he’s definitely someone who outside of work greatly appreciates a sense of normalcy. Being an INFP, this also heavily implies that he’s more likely to be a homebody, and that he’s someone prone to sticking to what he knows and rarely tries anything new. Being with someone who feels like they’re immediately part of his average at-home lifestyle, yet still keeps him on his toes, is definitely someone that he’d like to have in his life.

Besides, his personality is essentially a melting pot of all of his hyungs combined, so in his humble opinion, he’s all the fun that anyone could ever need.

“Minho hyung? Aren’t I enough fun though? 6v6”

He thinks that the way you dress is so cute. To him, although a bit plain, the fact that such outfits compliment you so well is an ode to how naturally charming and attractive you are. And, because they’re more on the simple side, he can subtly match with you whenever you go out without catching too much attention. Nowadays, he’s more interested in looking soft and cute anyway. So if he needs an idea on what to wear, or how he’d want to style himself, he can always count on looking at you to feel inspired!

He also loves your au naturél look. While anyone can appreciate how pretty makeup looks, he especially appreciates how fresh and sexy you look with your natural skin, and glossy lips. For whatever reason, he thinks it goes well with your curly hair, and the mostly natural colors you dye it in! It’s like he’s looking at someone who is beauty incarnate, and he always feels that simply looking at you is like a breath of fresh air. Like after a long day, he can just hug and feel refreshed!

Speaking of hair though, to an extent, Taemin can empathize with how stubborn and messy curly hair can get as he has had it at some point. If you’ll allow him, he’ll probably share some tips about how he managed to keep his tamed. (And if he can’t remember what that special hair thing was called, he’ll randomly ask his makeup and stylist noona about it)

Taemin is also very considerate and well attuned to the emotional needs of others thank to his INFP personality. Whenever he does something with you around, you can always count on him to ask if it’s something you’d like to do. And if not, given his hard-headed nature, he’d try and find a compromise that will still keep things fun and exciting for both of you.

Taemin also strikes me as someone who would take a little work with him home, as opposed to staying at a studio overtime. So he’d probably bounce some of his ideas for concepts onto you, and will willingly engage in lengthy conversations about what you think, how it could be possibly interpreted and received, and if it’s something that the fans would like.

Overall, I think someone like Taemin would be greatly entranced by someone like you :DDD

For EXO, your match is: Suho

On the more Extroverted side of the spectrum, I believe Suho, Mr. Kim Junmyeon, would love to be your match!

As a natural born leader, Suho has traits that can easily stir an exciting and fun gathering into something easy and comfortable. Having a fair share of friends who are introverts themselves, along with members that are on that end of the spectrum as well, he knows how to take care of those that prefer observing and having fun with others as opposed to being the fun.

As an Extrovert, he is usually recharged when he hangs out with people he’s very comfortable with and loves sharing things that he’s interested in with them.

This would extend to you! In the very likely scenario that he’s away on tour or preparing for a comeback, whenever something happens with the boys, or if he finds a pretty illustration or flower, he’ll snap a picture or two just to send you. One with just the object of interest, and one that has him in the frame, along with his famous uncle jokes as a caption or greeting. Most of the time, he’s sharing videos about him complaining about the members.

“I miss you like how the boys miss the point.”

He’s definitely the type of person that would want you to constantly think of him when something good happens in your life, so he’d want you to have a lot of happy memories to look back on whenever you meet. Things like picking out a matching outfit, taking candid photos of you, holding out a hand for you when crossing the road, things that make you feel properly girl-like because he wants to treat you with care. Ever the prince that he is.

He’s also the type of person that tends to take care of the people he’s with, almost in a motherly fashion. So even if he knows that you’re very capable and naturally charming, he’d love to help you out regardless. It’s a habit he’s picked up on as years of being a leader, but in the instance that you do even the smallest of favors for him, he’s eternally grateful. The boys would love you too after seeing how much their leader is whipped for you and would jokingly call both of you, “mom.”

Nowadays, Suho is super into the “casual, effortless” style, so he’d find your own style of clothing very fresh and compliments his own very well. I can also see him as being the type of person that loves to be on camera and likes taking nice pictures of himself. So after getting inspired by those aesthetic posts of couples on pinterest, he would love to take those fun and casual pictures of the two of you, if you would let him.

He loves your eyes. Whenever you two eat together and you’re too absorbed in your food to notice, he likes to watch how your eyes blink and how your eyelashes kiss your grace your cheeks ever so often! He’ll have to remind himself to kiss them later when he sends you home. Though the thought of it makes him feel sort of lonely, he knows that you’d always just be a text or picture away whenever he does go back to work. But as long as he has you right now, he’ll make the most of what he can.

Overall, I think this princely leader would love to take care of you! :DDD

#shinee #shinee matchup #exo matchup #shinee x reader #exo x reader #exo imagines #shinee imagines #lee taemin #lee taemin imagine #shinee taemin #exo suho #exo suho imagine #kim junmyeon #kim junmyeon imagine #suho matchup #taemin matchup

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cars-and-planes-dork · 4 months

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So I randomly felt like quickly sharing my thoughts on all three Cars movies and both Planes movies. Quick disclaimer, no matter how I feel about certain things it's totally cool if you feel different and I respect that.

Cars:

I love Cars. This was my childhood movie that I watched over and over and over again since I was a young child. I love the characters, the plot, and I think the animation holds up really well. I also am glad to see it with adult eyes cause there's a lot of nuance and stuff that I of course didn't get as a child. Recently on a whim I needed to unwind from stress and I put on Cars (just like my parents used to do for me as a kid, lol), and it genuinely did make me feel better and woke up a part of me that had laid dormant for years. Cars is a film that almost makes me wanna take a long drive on Route 66...until I remember I'm not any good at road tripping, lol.

Cars 2:

I have a distinct memory in my mind of being a child in the theater watching Cars 2, turning to my dad and saying 'can we go now?'. I didn't watch it all the way through until recently and I can thoroughly say that I don't despise it, but I'm also not its biggest fan. It's actually something of a guilty pleasure for me now. Sometimes I'll just put it on in the background while I do things. It also makes me contemplate the inner workings of this world more than the writers themselves probably thought about, like how the heck do different makes and models come about, what is the impact of climate change on a world of vehicles, but that's probably its own post. But yeah, I accept it for what it is and even enjoy some parts of it.

Cars 3:

So confession, it took me over 6 years to work up the courage to watch this one. I don't know why I was so worried, but I finally did it. And I loved it. I really think they ended on a good note. I'll admit the first part was probably the weakest in my eyes, but I really enjoyed the tribute to Doc Hudson and I actually teared up and I was happy to learn more about his past. I liked the torch passing narrative as well. I think my biggest complaint is that I wish we could've seen more of Lightning and his friends. (I may be biased because somehow Cal Weathers worked his way into my heart).

Planes:

Planes took longer to stick in my brain than Cars did. I remember going to see it actually, the local air and space museum did a showing of it and I went to watch it with my family. My parents didn't like it much but I remember being happy with it. Upon rewatching, there's things I like, but there's a part of me wishing it was something more. I can't fully explain it. Also I find Dusty's attitude off-putting to me personally (particularly his feeling of being entitled to being trained by Skipper and essentially demanding that Skipper tell him about his clearly traumatic past strikes me as kinda callous). But I still enjoy putting it on in the background and enjoy thinking about the world itself, much like Cars 2. Also fun fact, Skipper is one of my favorite kinds of planes.

Planes Fire & Rescue:

I'm sorry but I have much less patience for this film, but like I said above, I respect those who do. I will say, I appreciate them highlighting some of the realities of firefighting (like how the general public doesn't hear about a lot of fires that are dealt with). But other than that, I don't have much positive to say about it. The characters for the most part feel underdeveloped and I can't say I'm particularly endeared to a majority of them (Blade is the exception for me, tbh). And Dipper in particular needs to chill the hell out, her behavior is pretty inappropriate and creepy while being played off as jokes. Beyond that, my aforementioned issues with Dusty remain in this movie. Honestly, he doesn't strike me as capable of doing this job and he actively creates a situation that nearly gets Blade killed. I could spend awhile talking about it, but I'd honestly rather not. To end on a positive note, I think the married RV couple are adorable and I like them.

So that's all my thoughts. I enjoy both franchises and tend to overthink the hell out of them (if I overthink something it's usually cause I enjoy it). Hopefully I didn't piss too many people in the fandom off, lol.

#pixar cars #disney planes #cars 2006 #cars 2 #cars 3 #planes fire and rescue

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fallatyourfeet · 2 years

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Conflicted - Part 2 of 2 (Ramsay Bolton x Reader)

Summary: Ramsay is conflicted by his feelings for the Reader.

Find part one in my masterlist. I used to link previous parts, but I've had so much trouble with posts and links that I gave up on the idea a long time ago.

Warnings: Usual Ramsay warnings, he's hardly a poster child of purity.

Word Count: 1177

A/N: This has been a long time coming. It's been requested quite a few times since Part 1 got posted, so I thought it was time to deliver. It's based off a request I got at the start of the year (but I haven't followed it completely). I've been in a writing slump the last couple of weeks, not because of a lack of inspiration, but rather a lack of time. So I'm hoping this doesn't feel too disjointed, being written in patches here and there, whenever I could steal the time.

I would love to know what you think, please feel free to send an ask, message or leave a comment, feedback is always appreciated

If you like this, please feel free to visit my blog and take a look around!

Ramsay followed the young lord down the dark passages of Winterfell, heading towards the long-forgotten places below the castle, places that had been rather useful since the Bolton’s were proclaimed the Wardens of the North. There were a lot of Bolton enemies that needed to be taken care of, and their screams were much harder to hear in the dark musty cells beneath the castle’s great stone walls. The young ward who had come to live with them a little over a year ago slotted right into their less than orthodox family. Becoming more of a sadistic apprentice, of sorts, rather than ward, to the now trueborn son of Roose Bolton, their similar and ungodly natures giving them much in common. But as Ramsay followed him further down the darkening passage, he grew uneasy, the stupid and fevered look lighting the young lord’s eyes ripped at his chest like claws, his thoughts lost on the very idea of what the stupid boy had gone and done.

Peering over his shoulder, the boy smiled with anticipation, “I’ve got a little present for you, Lord Ramsay, I think you’ll be pleased.” Coming to a stop outside an old beaten-up door that led to probably the worst of the damp and decrepit rooms, he rested his hand on the latch, “I’ve seen the way you’ve been watching this one... no one saw me take her.” Ramsay felt his face stiffen, his upper lip curling and tensing as he took in the boy’s excited features, his gut already telling him what he would find on the other side.

The door creaked loudly when the young lord slowly opened it, but Ramsay did not hear the sound. The only noise reaching him came from the distressed muffles of the beautiful peasant girl he had fought so hard to leave alone and untouched. Clenching his jaw tight, Ramsay held his breath, losing his grip on his usually impeccable self-control. Having always prided himself on his sadistic patience, especially when faced with his insatiable desire for cruel and torturous revenge, it was unsettling to feel himself losing grip. And for what? A worthless little peasant girl? She embodied everything he wanted to enjoy and destroy in the most ungodly ways. Why did this one matter? Why was she different from the rest? And why did the very thought of her being hurt make his jaw tense up and chest burn?

A mere thread of self-control kept Ramsay from reacting to the distressed sounds on the other side of the opening door. A thread that soon snapped, burning all his sadistic patience to ash the moment he caught a glimpse of her restrained form thrashing around in panic, her futile attempt to free herself twisting his stomach into knots of pure torture. Bringing with it an overbearing thirst for the boy’s last breath. How dare he lay a single finger upon her... and oh, how quickly he would come to regret it.

With his self-control lost beyond reach, Ramsay’s rage was the only instinct left. Grabbing the boy by his collar, he pushed him through the door, slamming it shut. Throwing him against the stone wall, the impact knocked all the air from the young lord’s chest. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the girl, (YN), her arms and legs fighting to free themselves, and when he turned his head towards her the look of absolute terror in her eyes consumed him. Because he knew that it was not only the boy that put it there... it was him, his presence in that dark and dingy room put it there too. And that knowledge ate at his insides in a very unpleasant way... feeling none of the joy he was accustomed to. Why? Why did she have this power over him... And what was he going to do about it?

Turning back to the boy, he gripped him around the neck, squeezing until the flesh of his cheeks turned red and his eyes grew wide. Leaning down to his ear, Ramsay whispered, his voice low and menacing. “You’ve made a very stupid mistake, my young lord... You have completely misread my intentions.” Squeezing tighter and tighter, he watched the boy fight for air, but released his grip just enough to stop him from losing consciousness, wanting to say one last thing before sending him to sleep, “I’ll deal with you later... you will not enjoy it, but I’ll make sure that I do... sweet dreams.” One final squeeze sent the boy limp, his body sliding down the wall to the floor, a short reprieve before Ramsay sent him on his final journey into permanent darkness. A journey that would be long and filled with unimaginable pain. He would beg for mercy, beg for his life, before finally begging for death. But Ramsay would not grant his wish, would not bring death a moment sooner than necessary, he would die only when his body finally gave up.

Turning his attention to (YN), he felt the air skip roughly through his lungs, her body was no longer thrashing about, but the monopolising fear in her features stung every nerve around his body. Moving towards her with his palms outstretched, Ramsay reached around to loosen the gag that was secured so roughly around her beautiful mouth, detesting the way her body recoiled from his close proximity. When the gag fell to the ground her distressed muffles were no longer contained, moving and bouncing around the damp stone walls as desperate cries and pleas, but he hushed her raising a finger to his lips.

To her credit, she somehow managed to regain her composure, showing that same quiet defiance he first saw in the great hall of Winterfell... and it lit the edges of his heart. With a shaky breath she tried to hide her fear, bravely holding his piercing gaze and spoke. “...Lord Bolton, I... I don’t know what I’ve done... but... but you don’t have to hurt me... Just tell me what I did and I... I won't do it again.”

Normally he would find such a request, pathetic and weak, he knew that... but he couldn’t ignore the way he wanted to soothe her, to take away her fear, keep her safe from the people that wanted to hurt her. To shield her from evil... from his evil.

Crouching down beside her, he reached for her wrists, ignoring the way she flinched as he untied her restraints, “Hurt you?” Shaking his head, he took his dagger from his tunic and cut the tie around her ankles, “Sweet girl... much to my surprise, the thought of hurting you does not appeal to me.” Then lifting her to her feet, he ran a gentle thumb across her cheek, his skin tingling under the contact, both his eyes and voice far too intense to bring her any kind of reassurance. “No one is ever going to hurt you... I’m going to make sure of it... Never, will anyone [else] ever touch you again.”

#ramsay bolton x reader #ramsay bolton imagine #ramsay bolton fanfiction #ramsay bolton fanfic #got x reader #ramsay bolton #ramsay snow #ramsay bolton x reader series

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blueywrites · 1 year

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Hi, I'm the anon from earlier. Not disappointed at all! Still very much buzzing with excitement for whenever you complete part four. Take your time because I hate being rushed myself so I hope my last ask didn't make you feel like you have to speed things up for our sake.

I will gladly collect my recompense but I don't want to risk asking a question that might take the surprise out of what you have planned for the rest of the series( yes, I'm one of those losers who likes anticipation and also wants to know how the pregnancy reveal is going to go is it a boy or a girl how's eddie going to react aaaaaaaaah) so I'm going to go with the 'what if' route if you don't mind. If Pa had said yes to Eddie courting turtle dove what do you think their first official date might have been like?

(Also, the raccoon was very much appreciated! you're a cutie)

HI!! no no not feeling rushed by you at all. I felt bad for misleading you haha you are so good!

I absolutely understand that - I personally hate having tv shows and books spoiled (and also the pregnancy reveal... let's just say you won't have to wait too much longer for that)

If Eddie took Dove on her first official date...

Well, first off, you know that boy is showing up at the front door with flowers in hand. Probably a couple of sunflowers from his side of the fence, but also a nice mix of others he picked himself and tied together with some twine. They'd put it in a vase, and Mama would send them off with a stern word of caution not to be back too late but also would smile behind their backs as he helps her down the porch steps in her little heels.

Eddie and Dove love being outside, but they also spend a lot of their time together outside, so I think Eddie would've racked his brain to think of something unique for them to do when they essentially live in the middle of nowhere. He could've waited another week for the end-of-summer festival in town to do something special - which would likely include some kind of public declaration of his intentions to her - but he didn't have that much patience. So, for now, he'd settle for a safe bet. He'd borrow a little rowboat and take her out on the lake to float amongst the lilypads and under the branches of the willow. His guitar would be too bulky to bring, but he'd stash a harmonica in his pocket and sing to her some silly songs to make her giggle and then some more sentimental ones so he can see the way her face goes soft for him.

And then, when the heat of the day would make them start to feel lazy, he'd lay her back against his chest, and they'd let the lake drift them where it wants to while they nap together.

Their first date wouldn't be groundbreaking, but it would be full of everything that makes them most happy.

#blueyblabs #td&tc #should this become a blurb??#maybe...#actually maybe their second date could be a blurb. I want them to do something in town!

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wishingforatypewriter · 2 months

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Long Ass Tag Game

Cause I wanna get to know you guys better

Thanks @linnorabeifong for tagging me!

How many tumblr accounts have you had before this one?

Just one, my "main" personal/aesthetic blog.

How long have you been in fandom?

I've been in different fandoms on Tumblr since maybe 2012 or 2013. I joined my current fandom back in 2020.

Your favorite trope in fiction?

I love reading slow burn, though I don't personally have the patience required to write it well.

Your favorite random fact?

Bonobos have a matriarchal social structure.

Your favorite game or kind of game?

I've been obsessed with Potion Craft for the past month or so. Animal Crossing is also an old favorite.

A place you'd like to visit? (If carbon emissions, logistics and money weren't in question)

I've always wanted to visit Japan (I had a trip booked for July of 2020, but it ended up not happening because of the pandemic). I'd also love to go back to Florence, Vienna, and Prague someday.

An animal you're irrationally afraid of?

Centipedes, millipedes and basically any other insect with a lot of legs. I know on a rational level that I'm much bigger than them and they can't hurt me, but they still freak me the hell out.

What's your favorite season?

Autumn, I think. The leaves are beautiful, and I like the kinds of clothes I get to wear in that weather. However, I'm starting to appreciate summer a lot more.

A smell that brings you nice memories?

There's this rose perfume I bought in Italy that reminds me of the trip I took in 2019 with my best friend. Whenever I wear it, I think about walking through the ruins of Pompeii, witnessing the beautiful art in Vatican City and the Uffizi Gallery, strolling along the river Arno, and wine tasting in Tuscany. That was probably my favorite vacation so far.

(If you're ok talking about food. If not, delete this part)

What's your favorite food from where you were born? And what's your favorite food from some place else?

I'm from New York, and my favorite food from here is probably a fresh hot bagel with cream cheese.

My favorite food from elsewhere is probably ramen or carbonara.

What's your favorite drink (if you drink alcohol, alcoholic and non-alcoholic)?

My go to is probably a gin and tonic or a glass of red wine. My favorite reds are Cabernet Sauvignon and Chianti.

Do you give your pets random table scraps?

I don't have any pets at the moment, but back when I lived with a roommate, I was known to indulge her dog every now and then.

Tagging anyone who wants to participate.

#personal #ask game

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jngsjngs · 1 year

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(if its not too personal) what was the specific instance that not only made you want to write hsc but to share it with us too?

i’ve always loved to write and in all honesty knew i was pretty good at it (if only because i had the support of so many incredible teachers over the years) but the most i had ever done was the occasional essay and a group project in high school in which we had to write a script and record it (sort of like an audio book). although daydreaming was a daily occurrence that project was my only attempt at fiction for several years because the thought of putting words down on paper seemed oddly perplexing. i genuinely thought nothing i had to say was worth anyone’s time so publishing my work or even reading it aloud was an impossibility.

in hindsight a lot of my insecurities stemmed from a severe case of imposter syndrome (and it’s still a burden i carry now). i don’t think i learned the significance of sharing until i took my first creative writing course a few years later. so many of my peers poured their hearts into the pieces they brought to class and i would have never known that sense of community had they not been brave enough to invite other people into their world. i’m not sure if i was inspired to write hsc solely because of that but at the very least all of these experiences gave me the confidence to believe it was actually possible.

at that point of my life my depression had taken a turn for the worst and the only place i could find solace was in stories. i read so many books and watched just as many shows but after finishing them i realized that there were only a few i felt deeply enough. something about that was incredibly isolating. looking back it was probably because mainstream media wasn’t discussing mental health to the extent that they do now so i had no idea other people struggled with it the way that i did. i came up with hsc because i wanted to be a part of that conversation in case even one person could relate.

sometimes i feel selfish because i wish i received more comments and sometimes i’m sad because a few of the ones i do receive are criticisms (sometimes constructive and sometimes not). often i get frustrated because i’m not the best at execution and even more often than that i get excited because i can recognize how much i’ve improved. most days i’m happy because those who reach out (on tumblr and ao3 in particular) are only ever kind. but i am always content because i am able to feel deeply regardless, and because i never feel as alone as i once did.

as i’ve said before rei as a character isn’t based entirely on me as a person but it’s only natural that my experiences helped shaped some of hers. i think that’s the most important part. after all, the people who read hsc come from all over the world and have lived so many experiences of their own. despite our differences there is something about the story that brings us together and it’s for that reason i continue to write it. thank u for ur patience and support all these years. i don’t think i’ve quite mastered how to express my gratitude but i hope u know wherever u are that i appreciate u.

p.s. the sun is rising and i have not slept so this might be totally incoherent (the lack of punctuation doesn’t help at all i’m sure) i apologize for the strain on ur eyes but if u made it this far i am all the more grateful

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fancuries · 2 years

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Nominee Spotlight: Kitty

Kitty is nominated for Excellence in Doll Makers at the 2022 Fancuries. Here’s what they have to say:

Hello fancuries! I'd like to start this spotlight submission but saying thank you to those who nominated me! I never expected it as I just love to share my creations with others that I am so proud of so I really do appreciate this gesture! Thank you again. My name is Kitty. I've been a big fan of Pretty Cure for around eleven years now. A lot of my creations are made with doll makers, primarily Glitter Cure with the odd Picrew thrown in. I'm not a great artist and I'll happily admit that so I always resorted to doll makers to make my creations come to life despite the limitation there may be with that doll maker. I am going to share some of my creations with you!

This is Cure Hoppy, the leader of my Spirit Mahou Precure team. She is one of my earliest creations that I've made slight changes to and added more components to her. I like to think of this as a simple design (in my opinion). I wanted to make her look like the usual pink leader but add other colours to her so it wasn't so overwhelming with her overall design. I like to pick colours that compliment each other and don't look too harsh and I added simple decorations to her bow, shoes, head, waist etc. My favourite part of her design is probably the colours and the rabbit aesthetic behind her.

These are my newest fancure team known as Witchy Mix Precure. I attempted to create Cure forms that looks similar to that of some kind of witch. I went with the usual pink Cure leader. She is my favourite design personally from the three as everything on her seems to fit together so well. I wanted to make their outfits somewhat similar with some slight changes. The top halves are practically similar with different colours, but I changed the skirts and other accessories. Personally, these are simple again. The only thing that required a bit of effort to get right are the neck ties. I love their aesthetic as well, and they're my personal favourite fancure team that I've made.

And last but not least, my all time favourite design of my own. This is Cure Knight, a discontinued fancure of mine that I still need to give some love to. I had the idea for a valkyrie type of Precure team with Cure Knight eventually being a solo Cure. I remember spending a lot of time and patience with her as I attempted to recreate small touches of armour around her body with the editor you get right at the end of Glitter Cure. I created shoulder coverings with a part of Cure Mermaid's crown, arm guards, and chest pieces. I decided to leave some elements simple such as her boots, skirt, and hair. However, I added the fluff to her giant overskirt which is probably what took me the longest to complete. All of this was achieved with patience and trial and error! I'm quite proud of it and I always refer back to it when I'm needing some inspiration for some new designs. This is for my spotlight submission. Once again, thank you for those who have nominated me for the doll makers category. I appreciate it so much and I hope you found entertainment within this submission too! Thanks! - Kitty ❤️

#fancuries #fancuries 2022 #nominee spotlights 2022

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abellaheart-blog · 2 years

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Hii!! I don’t know if you’re still accepting matchups but I’d love to have one if you are!

JJBA match up, parts 3-5, no villains please

I’m a Pisces sun and rising. Scorpio moon. I’m hetero-asexual with She/her pronouns. I’m outgoing, friendly, laidback, moody and sensitive and optimistic. I’m a bit of a contradiction. I’m very hardworking but lazy when I have free time. A bit reserved at first but extremely open and chill once I get to know someone. My favourite music genres are metal and pop. I enjoy creative hobbies and I’m good with emotions. I’m very sensitive to people’s moods and get anxious when people get angry easily.

I’m 23 years old, 5’5 and have a curvy body. I’m black with tan skin and dark curly hair but I wear it in brightly coloured braids often. I have quite a few tattoos and piercings (including cheek piercings) and tend to dress more alternatively. I’m either dressed to the nines or in sweatpants.

I haven’t dated very much but I haven’t seen much of a change when I did. I’m more goofy when I like someone. I’m a bit hot and cold. I can be very affectionate and cuddly but it’s not consistent. I definitely need time to myself.I have an older sister and we are very close despite a big age difference. I’m also super close with my best friend’s siblings and consider them family.

I like dancing, and sketching. I love discussing film, writing, and music but also philosophical and emotional topics. In my spare time, I watch movies, and documentaries, play video games or go exploring new places and trying good food! I love most animals and even bugs but I’m scared of raccoons and centipedes 🤮. I don’t like judgemental or rude people and I’m not afraid to stand up for what I believe in.

If my partner had a stand I’d probably treat it like a pet tbh. I’m very jumpy though so it’d probably scare me. I’d love to know how their stand would react to my chaotic energy

Thank youu❣️

Anime Matchups 💘

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

Hey you were definitely on time for requesting a matchup at the time. I appreciate your patience. I had a family death so I’ve had a lot going on but I finally feel up to writing. Your very welcome and I hope you like your matchup. Took me a bit to make a final decision on who I’d match you with.

Guido Mista

Mista is the man for you. You two have so much in common and a relationship is definitely a good fit here.

I can see him being attracted to your personality. You being outgoing, friendly, and laidback is what brings you two together. He’s lazy when he isn’t working either so you two spend a lot of time together. He doesn’t mind your moodiness or sensitivity. He’ll be sure to be careful with you. Once you’re more open with him he’s happy chatting it up with you and is friendly.

Mista enjoys pop and soft rock and with his friends they each have different genres they enjoy as well. He won’t mind your metal music and he certainly loves pop. You two will be having plenty of convos about this subject alone.

He’ll like watching you do your creative hobbies often asking what you’re making. He’s pretty curious as he hasn’t seen anyone partake in them. He’ll be sure to compliment whatever you’re working on. Be prepared for his outlandish questions while you’re creating something.

He’ll compliment your hair and even help you with it if you’d like. Your tattoos and piercings are a part of you so he’ll admire them. Mista isn’t fashionable so he won’t care what you wear though I do see him taking you shopping. Whatever you want to wear he won’t mind. Also he’s flirting it up with you.

He’ll like your goofy side. He respects when you don’t want affection but when you do give him your touch he’ll be so happy. Mista adores affection.

You being close to your siblings and their friends is a very nice sight to see. He’ll like this about you and would like to make a good impression on your sis.

Dancing? This man loves dancing with you. He’ll like watching you sketch and will give suggestions. He’ll compliment your art. Music is something he’s interested in hearing about. I can see film and writing being another interesting topic to him. He’s all ears and would give his input. He’s good at telling exactly what’s on his mind. Philosophical and emotional topics wouldn’t be trouble bringing up with him. Mista is honest and will give his input here too.

He enjoys watching movies, playing video games, eating at new places, and exploring new places with you! He’ll turn some of them into dates.

He thinks it’s cute you like animals and bugs. Considering how dangerous raccoons and centipedes are he’d understand wanting to stay away from them. He wouldn’t judge you being scared of them since he has his own fears. He is superstitious. Be sure to consider his fear of the number four.

Mista is right behind you on disliking rude and judgemental people. He’s dealt with his fair share of annoying people.

You stand up for what you believe in? He totally admires this about you! He’s going to give you a proud smile.

His stand adores you and the fact you’d treat them like pets makes them want to be babied by you especially if you feed them. They love your chaotic energy since they’re chaotic themselves. They’ll want to dance with you and help you in anyway they can. I can see them swiping some food for you too. When you’re affectionate with them they’re all going to want your attention so be ready.

When you show signs of being a bit scared at first they’ll be sure to be gentle with you. Number five will want to comfort you. I can see a few of them complimenting you or calling you by a petname hoping you’ll like it.

You’re a Pisces meanwhile Mista is a Sagittarius. Though an unlikely pair there’s room for a relationship. The relationship can form into something special depending on the pair.

All in all you and Mista are sure to form a good relationship the more you two get to know each other. You’re both fun, share common interests, enjoy the same dates, and talking to each other. You’re also both very chill so this relationship has smooth sailing. I think this is a very good matchup and it’s sure to spark into something special.

#anime matchup #jjba matchup #guido mista #jjba mista #jojo's bizzare adventure golden wind #jojo's bizarre adventure vento auero #matchups #jojo no kimyou na bouken #jjba part 5

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mobloomspell · 1 year

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Reading diary

I want to start sharing more of what I read or watch these days, partly for myself, and also because I do actually engage with a lot during my free time but for a variety of reasons it’s not a “fandom” I can otherwise passively reblog stuff for and share that way. Putting my thoughts into blurbs can also be a low-stakes way of getting back into writing and hopefully beat a block I’ve been struggling with.

Pandora Hearts by Jun Mochizuki - read 10 volumes so far out of the complete 24. I mostly started this because Vanitas is on hiatus and I got sick of people spoiling it for me in critique/theory posts, and right now I can only say I think I’m too old for it. If I hadn’t been into Tsubasa, this probably would have been the convoluted fantasy I’d been obsessed with back when it was first coming out, but I’m not really that person anymore. I like parts of it (Gilbert and Alice are great, the art consistently improves) and can see how it may slowly become more of those bits I enjoy, but I also have zero patience for “carrot on a stick” style storytelling, even good examples of said storytelling, so its main mystery doesn’t intrigue me. Taking a break for a little while, and I’ll eventually come back to check out the second half people really remember this series for. I guess I love Vanitas so much nothing can compare right now, not even the author’s previous work.

Into the Wild by John Krakeur - I originally started reading this on my breaks at work, since I was cleaning a community college in the evenings and this was one of the books as part of an adult literacy class. Full transparency, I mostly bought this as a reference because I’m working on a Breath of the Wild adaptation fic, and I thought it not only described wild environments in a compelling way, but since I can’t do hiking or camping myself right now I thought it would be good research for basic things to know (I have a second-hand Adam Shoalts book for similar reasons). Right in the preface, the author says he is not trying to be a distant biographer, he was drawn to know more about Chris McCandless’ life and death because he’d been through similar experiences, and that honestly shows up a lot throughout even the more prosaic recountings. The book paints Chris as a completely normal guy, occasionally naive and stubborn but not as stupid as some detractors painted him as. My only major gripe is that it prioritizes men’s perspectives quite often while breezing by women’s thoughts and intersections in the recounting, almost like “they exist, too, I guess.” Part of this I’ve learned later is intentional - Chris’ sister Carine wanted to keep a lot of details about their volatile childhood off-record because her relationship with her parents had improved by the time she was being interviewed, but it still bothers me when the gender balance is so skewed to one side. I took a chance on this book and minor annoyances aside, I don’t regret my time with it.

From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty - I got into Ask a Mortician videos shortly before the pandemic, and decided to buy this because I was interested in learning about other funeral customs around the world. The segments vary in detail, some being more travelogue than history, but the whole thing is a very sincere wish for the funeral industry to help people through grief by not treating death as a scary, unseeable and untouchable phenomena. I really appreciated a segment wherein Doughty’s coworker and friend shared her own story of loss with a miscarriage and just wanting to acknowledge that her grief wasn’t stoic and graceful. It is basically an Ask a Mortician video in less than 300 pages, humorous asides and all, so if you like those I’d recommend it for other people also looking for a Death Industry intro. My paperback copy also has really nice gold foil and orange-peel texture covers, its the prettiest book about corpses I may ever own.

#reading diary #moposts

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dhwty-writes · 3 years

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The Terribly Sad and Tragic Affair that Is the Fake Funeral of Shadowhand Essek Thelyss

Apparently, I am not only drawing for the Critical Role fandom, but writing for it, too. After months of nearly no progress I just vomited out 3k words this Tuesday and it only went downhill from there.

This fic is based on this post by @anne-o-nyme, I really hope I managed to capture the energy of it.

Have fun!

Summary: There were eight strangers in the foyer of his dead brother's towers and Verin Thelyss was slowly losing his patience.

After the sudden "death" of Shadowhand Essek Thelyss, it is his brother Verin's job to empty out his towers. The Mighty Nein show up to help (and maybe steal a few things).

OR: Verin is grieving, Essek just wants his stuff back, and the Mighty Nein are the Mighty Nein.

Warnings: I didn't tag this with MCD, because Essek is technically alive and kicking. Since Verin doesn't know that though, and this fic is written from his POV, this is dealing with grief and includes depictions of depressive thoughts as well as anxiety attacks. For more explicit warnings, please mind the tags on AO3. Take care of yourselves, and let me know if I forgot anything.

Read on AO3

There were eight strangers in the foyer of his dead brother's towers and Verin Thelyss was slowly losing his patience. "Listen," he said with what little calm he had left, "I know that by returning one of our beacons you became heroes of the Dynasty and were placed under Es— My bro— his stewardship. But this here—" he gestured vaguely at the interior of Essek's towers that had always been too cold, too empty, but not like now, never like now— "This is a very difficult situation for me, so if you could please leave, that would be greatly appreciated."

"Yes, yes, it's very sad that Essek died," the blue tiefling said—Jester, her name was Jester; she had given him that already as she had offered him her condolences with a hug—and Verin could barely contain his anger. After the funeral he had quite enough of lying dignitaries, nobles, and heroes currying favours with him. That had always been Essek's thing, he would know what to do, how to make them regret even daring to speak up; Verin had never been any good at it.

"But we're his friends!" He grit his teeth at Jester's blatant falsehood. Perhaps his anger showed on his face, since the tiefling faltered. "And, uh— Fjord?"

"It's true," the half-orc with too-smooth words and too-smooth voice lied, too. "We spent quite some time with your, er— your brother here. Made some good memories. We thought we might take this as our chance to say goodbye, too."

"We are here to help as well. We wouldn't want to infringe upon your grief, though," the tall firbolg added. "So, if you'd prefer us to return at a later point, we'd be happy to."

Verin was still trying to process everything—from these strangers showing up unannounced to their overwhelming presence to the fact that his brother was dead—while simultaneously trying to keep an eye on the halfling who looked like she might have sticky fingers. So, he latched onto the word that stood out the most to him: "Help?"

"Right," Fjord said, looking slightly embarrassed, "we probably should have led with that..."

"We should have called ahead, too," the scary-looking human in blue—they didn't even wear white for the funeral—added. "We always forget to call ahead."

"But Beau, how should we have called ahead?" Jester complained. "We didn't know Verin yet."

"Well, Essek—" the human was interrupted by the even scarier-looking woman next to her stepping on her foot unsubtly. She at least had the decency to act embarrassed. "Right. Sorry 'bout that."

Awkward silence fell across the room, the Mighty Nein looking anywhere but him. It took him a few moments to realise they were waiting for him to speak up. "Help how?" Verin could have kicked himself. By the Light, he could do better than that. He had to do better than that.

A beat of silence followed, then everyone seemed to talk at once. Verin wanted to weep. How was he supposed to deal with this? How had his brother dealt with this? 'He probably hasn't,' he thought. 'They're probably all liars, probably—'

Someone cleared their throat and all eyes turned to the other human who hadn't said anything so far and who looked properly miserable. Immediately, the Mighty Nein fell silent. "Word has reached us that Den Thelyss ordered these premises to be vacated as early as possible," he said quietly with an accent Verin has been taught that belonged to the enemy. "And while some of us may not look like much, I can assure you, we are quite capable."

His eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "I supposed such menial tasks are beneath the heroes of the dynasty. There are servants—"

"Well, sure," the halfling with the probably sticky fingers interrupted, "but we know him. Knew him, I mean; sorry, force of habit."

"Besides, there's a lot of stuff," the lavender tiefling, who Verin was pretty sure was a known pirate, piped up. "Looks like you could use the help."

"If you want to, of course," the sad Empire human added.

Verin only wanted to scream, to give room to the torrent of thoughts raging in his head. 'My brother just died. My brother just died and he wasn't consecuted, so he's gone for good. He's gone for good and I didn't even know him; I didn't even know about these supposed friends he had because he didn't allow me near him in decades. I was a horrible brother and so was he, but I can't even be mad at him because he's dead.

'And now these liars show up and talk about friendship and knowing him, but those are all lies, horrible ones, because Essek had no friends. Essek was cold and cruel and lonely and do you even know how horrible that is? Dying alone with no-one who mourns you, just the favours you still owe them? Do you? I don't even know, and I'm his brother.'

Were he a weaker man, a less disciplined one, he might have said so. But he was Taskhand Verin of Den Thelyss and he had learned discipline before he had learned to talk. So, he said: "Your help would be greatly appreciated, thank you. I'll have the servants bring up some tea. There are, uh—" He straightened his back, summoning the composure that was befitting a Taskhand, even one with a dead brother. "There are boxes up there, they've been brought to the rooms already. Anything of value will be sold; the rest will be given to charity. The things— Well, if you find anything that might have sentimental value, something in his handwriting, perhaps, I think I should like to keep that, please."

The firbolg nodded sagely. "Of course. We will be careful with our selection."

With that, Verin turned around and— froze. Where was he even supposed to start? The towers had always seemed to huge for just Essek and he knew that there were very few personal belongings in them. Still, they would have to be scoured clean within the fortnight.

A large hand on his shoulder made him jump, although he'd never admit it. "Sometimes, when a task seems too large, you should start with the smallest part," the firbolg said. "If I were you, I'd start with the smallest room."

"Thank you, that, uh— that seems like good advice," Verin replied, still a bit startled and confused. "I, er— I'm afraid I didn't catch your name."

"Caduceus Clay. I live in a graveyard, so I'm used to this," Clay said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Verin furrowed his brows slightly. A graveyard? It seemed highly unlikely to him that one of the heroes of the Dynasty would live in a graveyard of all places. Perhaps they were not only liars, but impostors too? But they had the symbols of the Bright Queen, so there wasn't much that he could say.

"Right," he mumbled. "I believe the smallest room would be the closet. Although it might be tied with the bathroom..." He trailed off again. He had never seen Essek's bedroom in his towers. Judging by how many times he had even seen the inside of the building; he could count himself lucky if he even found the way there.

"Why don't we split up?" Clay suggested. "One group takes the closet, one the bathroom and one the bedroom. We'd get done sooner that way."

"That is a great idea, Caduceus," Jester said excitedly. "I'll take the bathroom; I promised— er, I'm curious if I can find more of that hair oil, I got for Fjord that one time!"

"Ohhh, are you saying this is... an investigation?!" the halfling joined in.

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Veth!"

"Seems like a case for Wildemount's best detectives!"

"Bye, Verin!" Jester called and he blinked and they were gone. Fjord joined them as well, muttering something about having to supervise them.

The purple pirate-tiefling shrugged, heading off in the same direction. "Well, I wouldn't mind rifling through some drawers. I'll have a look at that bedroom."

"Yeah, I don't need to see Essek's underwear, so I'll pass on the closet," Beau added tactfully—Verin was getting the sneaking suspicion that manners were not really her strong suit. She linked hands with the large woman at her side, pulling her along. "Come on, Yash."

"I'll go handle the tea," Clay said. "Don't worry about it." He vanished in the direction of the kitchen, his steps accompanied by the constant tap tap tap of his staff.

When Verin looked around, he realised that only the sad Empire human was left with him in the hallway. "If you wouldn't mind," he said, pointedly avoiding eye-contact, "I would love to have a look at the closet. I always, ah— appreciated your brother's sense of fashion."

Verin blinked at him a few times, then shrugged. "Sure." He began heading up the stairs.

"My condolences," the human continued. "I realise I didn't speak up earlier, but— I am sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," he said, letting the same numb feeling wash over him again that he had embraced since the news of Essek's death had reached him.

"I know that we seem like a bunch of, ah— forgive my language, but assholes, but we're really here to help. I will tell the others to tone it down a bit."

"Thank you," he repeated.

"If you'd prefer that we start in, ah— less personal rooms, we can do that also."

"If I'm perfectly honest, I don't even know what I should be doing there."

"Neither am I." The human laughed nervously. "I have dealt with grief before, but I've never had the, ah— how do you call it? Hang on." He pulled out a copper wire and whispered: "Beau, how do you say zweifelhafte Ehre in Common? You can reply to this message." A moment later he straightened. "Right. I never had the dubious honour of emptying out a deceased person's house before."

"Neither did I," Verin admitted. 'Usually, the deceased person comes back,' he didn't say. Instead, he opted for: "You're, er— What's the word in Common? You're weird? I'm sorry if that's insulting, I just— waele xanalressen [stupid languages]."

"I don't understand your words, but I think I understand the sentiment." The man grimaced. "And I've heard that one before. I hope we're not too much of a... too much."

"It's alright," he lied and opened the door to Essek's bedroom.

It wasn't alright; Verin wanted to weep again.

The door to the bathroom stood ajar, as did several drawers and cabinets, although he couldn't glance inside. Considering that he heard glass shatter and a quiet "oops" followed by a hushed "Jester!" he was rather glad about that. Besides, what he saw was already quite enough to handle. Beau was currently rifling through Essek's nightstand, the tall woman tossing unread books on the bed carelessly, while the lavender tiefling seemed to make his way through his brother's collections of make-up and jewellery alike.

They froze when they spotted him and the sad human in the door. "Heeey, Verin," Beau drawled.

"These were all still closed, I swear," the lavender tiefling said immediately, gesturing at the jars in front of them.

Verin just sighed in defeat. "I don't wear any make-up, I don't care; you can have it. Put the jewellery in the box to be sold; the books are for charity if he hasn't read them. Just leave the earrings in front of the mirror, please. Those were his favourites."

Without another glance at them, Verin headed straight to Essek's closet, desperate to get some quiet. He took a few moments to collect himself, before closing the door and leaning his head against it with a heavy thunk.

He stayed like that for a minute or maybe two until he heard someone clear their throat. "I have been debating for the past fifty-five seconds, if I should just Dimension Door out," the sad human said and Verin very nearly jumped out of his skin, "but that would be loud and I didn't want to startle you. Not that I didn't startle you like this but—"

"Vithin shu," Verin cursed.

"Vithin shu ke," the sad human agreed, his accent in Undercommon even heavier than normally.

For a moment, they both stared at each other, equally startled by the course of events. Then, the human looked away again. "I, ah— have started learning Undercommon before, um— well, before." Verin tried very hard to focus on the way the human was scratching at his forearms; that way he had something else to focus on besides his nearing breakdown.

"This is a bit embarrassing, but, ah— I believe I forgot to introduce myself," the human continued. "I'm Caleb Widogast. Essek and I were... friends, yes, and ah— colleagues, of some sort. It's... complicated."

He scratched at his arms again before turning towards the shelves and pulling out a stack of tunics. He unfolded one, looked at it, then carefully folded it again, cast a cantrip to smooth out the wrinkles, and put it in the charity box. Then he repeated the procedure with the next. And the next. And the next.

Verin frowned, thinking for a moment about his words. There was something about them that seemed painfully familiar, although he couldn't quite remember. Then: "The transmutation specialist."

Widogast looked up in surprise. "Yes."

"Essek told me of you," Verin admitted.

The last time they had seen each other had been here, in these towers, just a few months ago. He had found his brother in his office, pouring over notes for a new spell, alive and healthy as ever. As always, he had entered without knocking. As always, he had pretended to read the notes. Not as always, he had noticed something wrong. "Whose handwriting is that?" he had asked.

"What?" Essek had snapped, his head whipping up. Then, however, his expression had softened. "Oh. A friend's. A colleague, of sorts. He's helping me out, a bit."

"With the spell?" Verin had asked incredulously.

"Yes. He's a transmutation specialist; you know that's not my forte. Now give it back, will you?"

"A colleague, huh?" He had grinned and held the paper out of Essek's reach. "Are you sure that's all?"

Perhaps Essek had been sick after all, for the strangest thing had happened: instead of using his floating cantrip to snatch the notes back, he had gotten a dreamy, far-off look in his eyes. He had even smiled with an expression Verin might have called dopey, if it weren't his brother they were talking about. After a few moments, he had snapped out of it, sighed, and said: "It's complicated."

"Did he?" Widogast asked tentatively. "Did he, ah— did he say anything else about me?"

Verin pinned him down with a glare, sizing him up. In hindsight, he should have noticed the thick spellbook at his hip earlier; judging by his slim frame alone, he should have known the man was a wizard. He supposed Widogast was handsome enough, although his brother had never cared much for that, with his copper hair and his striking blue eyes. Blue eyes around which crows' feet were gathering, as he noticed to his dismay. 'He's human,' Verin reminded himself. He might have a few decades left, maybe, whereas Essek had centuries ahead of him. The thought why his brother might condemn himself to more loneliness crossed his mind, though it hardly mattered. His brother had been the first to die, after all.

"Verin?" Widogast inquired quietly.

"I'm sorry," he answered with a thick voice. "I got lost in my thoughts there. He, uhh— he said that he trusted you." That didn't even begin to cover it, but these Mighty Nein had been lying to him since the moment they got here, so what was a little lie by omission? Besides, there were some memories that he wanted to keep just to himself.

"Essek," he had teased, still waving the sheet of paper out his reach. "Come on! Aren't we brothers?"

Essek had crossed his arms and pouted. He hadn't done that since they were both little. "Unfortunately. You are a menace. And a child."

"If you tell me about him, I'll give it back. Is he handsome? Is he a drow? Where's he from? How did you meet? When will I meet him? Can I promise to kill him if he hurts you?"

"Verin!" Essek had groaned and hid his face in his hands.

"What do you do when you meet? I bet you stay up all night, talking about 'arcane research' or something."

"We do, in fact. Are you done now?"

"Oh, is that what young people call it these days?" He had cackled at his own joke.

"Evidently not," Essek had muttered. "Might I remind you that you're younger than me?"

"Might I remind you that you're a buzzkill?" Verin had shot back and placed the note down. He had gotten bored of his own game.

Essek had taken the sheet of paper almost reverently and thanked him. "I would have hated it to rewrite that page." He had smoothed it down, stored it safely away in a folder, silent for a long time. Then, he had said: "Caleb."

"Excuse me?"

"That's his name," Essek had said. "Caleb Widogast."

Verin had frowned. "Hey, Essek?"

"Hm?"

"You must trust him a lot, to share a spell with him."

His brother had taken a shuddering breath and closed his eyes. Verin hadn't expected him to answer, yet he'd said: "I do, actually. It's not the first spell we've created together and I would be honoured to create a thousand more with him. I'd trust him with my life, my death, and beyond. I think—" He'd huffed. "I think I trust him almost as much as I trust you."

Verin watched Widogast as he was looking through his brother's tunics, placing most of them in the charity box, and he wondered. Wondered if the trust Essek had obviously put in Widogast had been misplaced. Wondered if it had extended to his friends, as well. Wondered if ultimately trust had been his downfall, as he'd always feared.

Then again, if Essek had trusted him... perhaps that trust had been mutual. Perhaps they had been friends. Perhaps there was another person mourning his brother after all.

"Do I have something on my face?" Verin had given up on counting how many times Widogast had now startled him out of his thoughts.

"No, no I—," Verin stammered. "I'm sorry."

He tilted his head to the side. "For staring?"

"No, er— For your loss." Liar or no liar, it only seemed appropriate.

"Oh." Widogast turned back to the tunics. Verin probably should get started, too, shouldn't he? "Thank you. Though I'd wager your loss weighs heavier than mine."

"Probably," he agreed and turned to the task at hand. At this point, Widogast had moved on from the simple tunics to Essek's court regalia. After a short moment of consideration, Verin decided to look through the pants; he also had no interest in sorting through his dead brother's underwear.

Out of the corner of his eye he kept watching the wizard, pulling out one cloak after the other. At a few he wrinkled his nose, at others he just stared before putting them with the tunics. After a while one made him pause; an elaborate, beautiful robe in deep purple. "This is what he was wearing when we first met him," he said.

'He hated that one,' Verin thought. Not that he could say that out loud. Instead, he cocked his head and asked: "Are you sure? He has a lot of those. Had, I mean. Had a lot of those."

"Yeah, I'm sure." He tapped his temple with a faint smile. "I have a good memory."

"As does Essek," he snapped, suddenly feeling very defensive about his brother's capabilities. "I suppose most wizards do."

Infuriatingly, Widogast only nodded. "Indeed. Or they're not very good ones."

Silently, Verin turned back to the trousers. The sooner he got done, the sooner he got these people out of his brother's towers, the better. He didn't know for how long they worked in silence, Verin reminiscing about the times he had seen Essek wear the clothes and wondering about those he didn't know. Eventually, he folded the last of them and forced himself to return to the present. "I think we're done here," he announced. "Do you have a preference for a next room?"

"Perhaps the library?" Widogast offered a tentative smile. "I think I might be of more use there than folding clothes."

"More use than I will be, surely."

"I take it the wizardry doesn't run in the family, then?"

Verin only scoffed and opened the door to the bedroom again.

He immediately spotted Beau leafing through one of the books Essek had never read, while the tiefling was chatting amiably with the aasimar while braiding her hair. He also noted the boxes neatly stacked in the middle of the room. Besides that, he noticed with a heavy heart, the room looked much the same. If anything, it looked less orderly and empty than before. Except for—

"Where are Essek's earrings?" Verin demanded to know.

"What earrings?" the lavender tiefling replied with a too-wide grin the same moment Beau said: "Dude, there's tons of them, why don't—"

"No," he said decisively. "Essek's favourite earrings; they're always up here. I told you about them. Where are they?" His hands curled into fists, his neatly manicured fingernails pressing almost painfully into his skin.

"Perhaps you should look in one of the boxes," the aasimar woman suggested "I'm sure they're—"

"You're lying," Verin interrupted her, barely containing his anger. "Why are you lying? If they're in one of the boxes, then only because you put them there. So: where are they?"

Widogast only now stepped out of the closet, wearing an amber necklace he hadn't noticed before. "Verin—" he said tentatively, but he'd had enough.

"Shut up!" He startled himself with how loud his voice was. But he was beyond caring. "I know they're not in there, because the only ones to put them in there would have been you. So, either you're lying about having them put in there, or you're lying about stealing them, I don't care. Just— please. Please give them back."

The four of them passed a guilty glance. "We can't," Beau replied finally.

"The fuck you can't," Verin spat. "Give them back!"

"Verin, love, we would really love to," the tiefling added, "but we can't."

"I don't understand; is it precious things you want? Here, have some!" He strode over to the boxes and ripped the first open, tossing the lid towards the bathroom door Jester was peeking out of. He reached in to grab a necklace—an ugly one, he had always thought, with a stylised beacon—and threw it in their direction.

Beau caught it. Of course.

"Have a whole box, actually, if you like them so damn much." He reached inside and pulled out a jewellery box, tears prickling in his eyes. He threw one of those, too, just for good measure. It gave him some satisfaction that Widogast had to dodge it. "Just give me back the bloody earrings that my brother wore at my fucking consecution!" He was properly crying now and could only imagine the mess he looked like, but he had reached his limit. And, in his opinion, he was allowed to with all that was going on.

At least they looked a little bit guilty. "Fuck man, we didn't know," Beau mumbled.

"It's just one pair, Beau," Jester called over from the bathroom. "I'm sure it will be alright."

"Yes, there's no need for this to escalate," Fjord agreed and strode over to them, his hands raised innocently.

"I don't even know you people," Verin muttered, looking at the people crowding into his brother's bedroom. "Why did I even let you inside?"

"Do you want the earrings back?" the aasimar woman asked, reaching into a bag at her hip. Had she been carrying a greatsword for the whole time? Verin suddenly noticed how overpowered he was, were he to face all of them. "You can have them back if you want. Here, you can have them back."

"For a moment," Widogast added, slowly drawing closer to him and taking the earrings from the aasimar. He held them out on his flat hand, almost like he had seen soldiers offer treats to horses. His whole demeanour reminded him of someone trying to calm a spooked animal. For some reason, that seemed hilarious to him and he couldn't help the hysterical giggle that escaped his throat.

"Verin, I need you to calm down," he continued. "I know that's easier said than done, but you need your head."

"I think we should all calm down," Clay said from the doorway. And despite being surprised again, he did. It didn't make any sense, but few things these days did.

"Did it work?" the halfling asked. Verin wasn't really sure what she was talking about.

"It did," Clay confirmed.

"Gut," Widogast said and pressed the earrings that had seemed so important a moment ago into Verin's hands. "I think we should maybe go somewhere else, ja? Will you come with me?"

Inadvisable as it might be, if Essek had trusted that man, he should, too. And out of all of the Nein, he seemed to be the most normal one. The one he could see Essek with most. So, he nodded.

"I'll get us back to the kitchen, quickly." Caleb held out his hand and Verin closed his eyes, steeling himself. 'I hate Dimension Door,' was the last thing that crossed his mind before the teleportation spell ripped him away, together with: 'We haven't been to the kitchen, yet.'

Evidently, there went something wrong with the spell. Verin didn't know much about magic, but he knew Dimension Door couldn't transport more than two people. So, when he heard Beau groan and say "Fuck, dude, warn us next time," he knew that something wasn't right.

"You knew about the plan, Beauregard," Widogast replied.

"It doesn't matter," Fjord decided. "Caduceus, do you think you could make tea again? I think the Calm Emotions is about to wear off."

Cautiously, Verin opened one eye, then the other. They were, in fact, standing in a kitchen, as far as he could tell. All of the Mighty Nein were surrounding him. The furniture seemed to have been made for people taller than them; Essek probably would need to float in order to avoid awkwardly climbing onto the chair. The firbolg, however, who was fussing with a teapot, seemed to fit right in. All in all, the interior was very rustic. And very much not in Essek's towers, not that he had ever seen that room, of course.

The panic hit him once more. Verin whirled around to the wizard, instinctively grasping for his sword. "Where the fuck—" he faltered, finding his hip bare. Of course, he hadn't brought it for the funeral. Instead, he opted for just grasping Widogast by the lapels and lifting him up a bit. It was supposed to be menacing, which surely would be more effective, were humans not so annoyingly tall. "Where the fuck are we?!" he spat out.

A lot of things seemed to happen at once—he heard a "Fuck, man, what-" from Beau, a "Well, Mister Thelyss" from the pirate, several hands trying to tug him away from the weak wizard—but he didn't pay them any mind. He just shook Widogast, who looked entirely too calm for his liking, and demanded: "Answer me!"

"Leave him," was all Widogast said. "He has every right to be angry."

Indeed, the people grasping at him retreated, still on guard and surrounding him. There was a creak outside the door and Verin desperately wished for his sword once more. Then, a voice cut through the tense silence that had descended over the kitchen: "Caleb, is that you? You're back early."

"Yeah, there were some complications. Best come and look yourself, Schatz."

There was a sigh that was entirely too familiar for Verin's liking. Then, the door opened with a creak and in walked a dead man. "Complications," Essek Thelyss said with a fond smile. "I was just a Sending away, what did you come here fo— oh."

The person wearing his brother's face stopped in their tracks as they saw him. A couple of complicated emotions passed over his face—confusion, surprise, regret, guilt. If he hadn't known before, Verin was certain now that they were impostors, all of them. His brother would never tolerate such a display of weakness. Still, the impostor said: "Hello, brother."

Verin whipped his head back around to the wizard in his grasp. "What the fuck are you playing at?" he hissed.

"I- what- Verin!" the Essek-impostor sputtered. "What are you doing; put him down!"

"I would appreciate that, yes," Widogast added.

"Not before you don't tell me what's going on."

"Going on?" The impostor sneered and shook his head in a perfect imitation of his brother. "Nothing is going on, Verin."

"You died," he accused him.

"Evidently not," Essek scoffed.

Verin narrowed his eyes, looking from the man claiming to be his brother over the other too calm wizard to the rest of the Nein, seemingly perfectly happy to let this play out. "Prove it," he demanded. "Tell me something only my brother would know."

"You've become paranoid," he noted and Verin couldn't decide if it sounded proud or disappointed. "Alright. When you and I were in our early thirties, you once got in trouble for scaling the outside of mother's mansion. Rightfully, I should have gotten in trouble, too, but I was hiding on the attic. And the reason you never told anyone, is because then you'd have had to explain that I, the wizard, had somehow outpaced you, the fighter, in a climbing competition."

Verin wrinkled his nose at that. "Well, my brother cheated."

"I did not cheat, thank you very much!" He huffed indignantly and crossed his arms. "You didn't say 'no magic' before we started."

He stared at Essek for a few moments. "It's you," he whispered.

"Obviously."

Verin dropped the wizard on the ground and looked over at his brother; really looked. The man looked nothing like the one he had known for most of his life. His hair was longer than it had ever been since he'd cut it off and his bare feet were touching the ground. His clothes were casual, a simple tunic and trousers. After this day, Verin knew for a fact that not even Essek's trancing clothes were that informal, and yet his brother looked more comfortable in them in another's house than he had in decades. On top of that, he kept glancing over to Widogast. And smiling. Essek was smiling.

No, this man looked nothing like the one Verin had known for nearly a century. But he looked a lot like his brother.

"You're alive," he said stupidly.

"Yes, of course I am," Essek said, as if Verin hadn't just attended his funeral.

It felt only right to tell him so: "Why are you alive? I was at your funeral."

"That's a long story," he sighed and floated onto one of the chairs that were slightly too tall for him. He accepted a cup of tea from Clay with thanks and turned back to Verin. "Why are you here?"

"Well, that's a pretty long story, too," Jester spoke up. "He kind of started freaking out about your earrings, I think? And he was crying and looking pretty awful and everything, right Caleb?"

"I, ah— didn't think he'd believe us if we told him about you," Caleb said. "So, we had agreed beforehand to bring him here, in case of an emergency."

"He thought we were lying," Clay added.

"I suppose it is my story to tell," Essek said. "Earrings, Verin?"

"They're your favourite," Verin said stupidly and held them out to him.

His face grew soft. "Oh," he said as he took them gingerly, "I didn't know that you kne—"

Before he could overthink and do something stupid like stop himself, he surged forward and enveloped his brother in a tight hug. After a moment Essek closed his arms around him, too.

It seemed so unreal, to be able to hold him after mourning him for what felt like years. All the worries, all the grief and anger that had crushed him in the past few weeks and for what? For the bastard to still be alive after all. It wasn't fair. Why had he had to go through all of that? And why did he feel the pressing urge to start crying again? He should be happy, shouldn't he, that his brother wasn't dead. So why did it make him feel so awful?

"I think this is our cue to leave," Fjord said. Verin felt his brother nod and heard the Mighty Nein shuffle out of the kitchen, the door closing behind them with a creak.

Only then, Essek spoke up. "Verin," he asked quietly, "are you crying?"

"Shut up," he mumbled through the thick fog of tears and snot, definitely not crying. "I hate you, Essek. Do you know what I went through?"

"Meeting the Mighty Nein? Yes, I can imagine."

"They're horrible," he complained. "They're loud and they're rude and they had absolutely no respect for any of your belongings! I thought I was going mad."

"They are. They also are my friends, you know."

"How?" he asked agonised.

"I know they don't look like it, but they are surprisingly capable. And I am sure that you've noticed most of them to be annoyingly charming. But I think their absolute worst traits are their infinite stubbornness and perseverance. They quite literally did not leave me alone until they had befriended me."

Verin glanced up at him questioningly. "And were half in love with the wizard?" he guessed.

Essek scowled darkly, a faint blush colouring his cheeks. "Perhaps."

He snorted and disentangled himself from their embrace. Very calmly he said: "You're a liar."

Essek looked genuinely startled at that. "What?"

"You said, you trusted me more than him. Why then, did he know and I didn't?"

"It's... complicated," he said.

"You wizards say that a lot."

"Verin." Essek closed his eyes. "I trust you. Implicitly. And I care about you. Which is why I chose not to burden you with the knowledge of my misdeeds. I didn't— I didn't want to put you in an impossible situation to choose between me and our queen."

He laughed nervously. "What on earth are you talking about? I mean, you didn't commit treason or anything."

Essek didn't answer, avoiding eye-contact instead.

"Right?"

Still, Essek kept stubbornly quiet.

"Oh," Verin breathed. He took a moment trying to reconcile what he knew about his brother with the fact that he was apparently a traitor. It all fit together ridiculously easy. "The beacons."

Essek looked up at him in shock and he knew he had hit the mark. "What?"

"You stole the beacons." Now that he thought about it, it made perfect sense. Essek had been studying them at the time, one of the only people with frequent access to them. He had always been fascinated by them, yet his theories had been rejected for their heretic nature. As Shadowhand, he had also regular contact with counterparts from the Empire, albeit not officially. Then, a few years after Essek’s research had been denied, they had vanished. How had he never seen this before?

"Oh Essek...," he said softly.

"No, please— I don’t—Please don’t—” He seemed to deflate, curling in on himself. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you, I—”

"I don't care,” Verin interrupted his frantic ramblings.

"What?" Essek looked up at him, looking just as shocked as Verin felt.

“I don’t care,” he repeated, realising that it was true the moment the words left his mouth. For how could he care about something as trivial as treason when Essek was sitting right in front of him, alive and well. "You're my brother, I don't care. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe in a year. Maybe in ten. Right now, I only care that you're alive."

“I—What—I don’t—” Essek stuttered, lifting and then lowering his hands a few times. “I don’t know how— If I can—Fuck.”

There was a joke on the tip of his tongue, but even he knew that this wasn’t the right time for it. Essek was obviously trying to tell him something and it took him a minute to decipher that strange behaviour. “Are you asking for a hug?” he hazarded a guess.

An agonised expression passed over his face and for a moment Verin thought there were tears gathering in his brother’s eyes. Surely not. “I don’t know if I may. I don’t mean to overstep—”

Without further ado, Verin stepped forward and gathered a yelping Essek up and squeezed him tightly. “Of course you may!” he assured him, awkwardly patting his shaking shoulders. “I love you, Essek. I am very glad that you’re alive.”

“I’m very glad to see you, too,” Essek answered and squeezed him a little tighter.

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prof-peach · 3 years

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if fans wanted to include peach in stuff they write, would that be okay? and how would they write peach's personality? aside from "FIGHT ME" anyway, i think that much is a given lol. i only really write the anime characters 'cause that's what i know, but it sounds like it'd be kinda fun to try making a version of ash that fits into this blog's universe! nerf'd Obviously, but i think she'd probably appreciate how hands-on he gets when training his pokemon!

Ok, I get a lot of these messages, and I often hear folks wanting to throw peach into their stories and comics and writings, and I will always simply ask that if it’s published online publicly, to be linked to it so I can snoop and enjoy the content too. If someone asks about her in your work, let them know about the blog I guess? But literally I love that people take this stuff, these characters and stories, and make new stuff with it. No ones making money off my work here? So where’s the issue? Go for it buddy, knock yourself out, I’m all for it.

For you, and all the others out there who want to add peach, and other characters to your world building, I will give you a detailed rundown of the main lot, and how they behave, what they do, how they function. You can use that, use bits, or use none of it, I do not mind at all. If you’re creating something, you’re in control, not me.

So, peach doesn’t actually fight people as much as you’d think. She’s very aware most cannot and do not want to do that, and so she likes to keep to herself with regards to that aspect of her life, she doesn’t ask to spar with people, or even bring it up at all, but people ask her all the time, even if they clearly would lose or become hurt should she miscalculate during the fight. She looks at people like they usually create problems, and often has a somewhat reserved nature to other humans. You have to work quite hard to get anything more than formalities out of her. She will dead-pan handle people with blunt and very to-the-point statements, aid whenever possible, but very quickly get back to handling the Pokemon she so carefully tends. Her focus is clear, she’s all about hard work, her very small select family, and the Pokemon.

Her brutal, loud and brash personality only comes out with friends, family, difficult humans, OR any Pokemon. She will joke and laugh and play with Pokemon, but clam up around humans, maintaining tight body language and generally will be a little cold by regular standards. She does however have some weaknesses in this emotionless shield she puts up. When peach was young she was always angry, which swung so fast to sadness, back and forth. Her teenage years it just got worse and worse, it was crippling at points. She is to this day, full of fire and rage, even sadness, but now she has learnt to control it, to use it. When she sees that in others, it’s familiar, and she is pushed to drop the front, and be very real with the person. Underdogs I suppose, people who get bad reps, but deserve the same as everyone else. She can’t ignore it.

Once you start to pry open her personality, you’ll find she’s a lot more laid back and fun than originally appeared, you just have to work hard to find that side of her. She will meme reference, can’t dance to save her life, loves her coffee, and can be caught in quiet contemplation while gardening. This hobby is her calmest, and often is why she can stay so level headed when her quiet rage boils up again. Without time outside she will become grouchy, a little snippy, and lethargic. Will not go in the ocean for any reason other than life or death, is fine with ponds and rivers, or water at wading height. Likes the rain.

With regards to her training others, they usually have to tolerate her somewhat strict nature. She is a little....unforgiving, holds a grudge if you make a lot of mistakes, and has no tolerance for ignorance in the age of information that we all live in. In previous posts I’ve mentioned she’s only recently selected two students, after many years of testing kids who want to learn from her. Hundred tried out, only two have ever been approved. How she teaches is very fast paced, be prepared to get some scrapes and bruises, she will test your physical and emotional tolerances with intense tasks, carefully watching students like a hawk. Bad posture in your stance? She’ll be the first to tell you to sort it out. Not hearing your Pokemon partner? Right, now you spend the day without using words trying to communicate, let’s see how you like not being listened to.

This is a woman who has spent her life saying very little, and watching everything, she watches Pokemon and can see an issue from a mile off, and in battles, her observations are why she can react fast, and chose effective strategy to avoid damage and achieve results. Don’t let her body fool you, her strongest asset is analysing, watching, planning. Those skills have over the years transferred to people too. As a student, mistakes don’t go unnoticed with this professor.

Her methods are harsh but fair, and should you prove yourself, she will protect you with her life.

Because of her disinterest in kids and lots of noise, she does pass the training of students on to the other staff members whenever possible. Grey takes on the lions share of battle lessons, he is far calmer, more open and friendly, with patience for people, and an empathy that peach sometimes struggles to have. When you go through a lot of harsh training, and difficult events, it’s hard to change how you feel or think, with peach, well, she’s been through it. Most do not come out the other end in one piece, but she did, and it made her strong. You may think I mean strong like buff and big, and yeah sure she is, but I mean it mentally more than anything. Peach will not quit. She has learnt to destroy the boundaries that stop people getting hurt, gone is the fear that freezes you in your tracks, that feeling that you’ll pass out if you go one more step. She’s learnt to ignore it.

This means she’s a little forgetful at how it is to be normal, to be vulnerable and soft and squishy like students so usually are.

She has her issues, but for the most part, visitors get a laugh, a smile, a calm assertive confidence, and facts. She will indulge those who have genuine interest, or show a connection with nature, an understanding of the balance that needs to be struck for everyone to live well together.

Despite her many flaws, she’s fiercely protective, and will go above and beyond to defend the island, it’s staff, the Pokemon and the visitors. Injustice is her biggest gripe, along with littering, and she doesn’t stand by quietly if something happens that seems unfair.

You will not see her without Valka, her vulpix, close by. That Pokemon doesn’t like to be touched by strangers, at all, and will run the second someone comes at her with that intent. Peach will scold you for pushing yourself onto her, should you persistently try to get close to pet Val. They are in sync, if peach is sad, Val is sad, if Val is stressed, peach is stressed, and so on. They are inherently connected, it’s just been that long, the psychic bridge between them has been built, and reinforced over the years.

The only other Pokemon who follows her so endlessly is Booker, a teddiursa who’s pretty rough looking. He quietly trots behind, grouchy and stoic, they fight closely together a lot. He lost his mom a long time ago to poachers, and peach took him in, and changed her whole life for him. Not many people know, but Booker was the reason she left the rangers, changed career, and got so strong. Will tolerate people petting him but isn’t keen at all, grumbles a lot and tries to move away.

You may also need to know about the others, for the sake of writing, she here a few more bits that may be important to you, or others wanting to do this.

Grey is very tall, very burly, composed, tells bad dad jokes, is a bit of a goof if allowed to be. If he sees a pun, he’ll say it. Can’t help himself. Very nice guy to work with, good at keeping people calm and grounded. Pokemon are drawn to him like a moth to a flame, he gives off warm energy, and has inhuman amounts of patience. If you wrong his family however, he will snap back.

He grew up in the city, loves to swim and hike and cycle, can snowboard, is really sporty. A total brain box with held items, and boosting stats. He will explore many paths, to make sure visitors and students get the information they need, in a way that can be remembered and retained for later. Is a huge guy, but will get on the floor to play with a tiny Pokemon. Treats big “meaner” looking species like babies, very good with all pokemon.

His free time is spent either tinkering, swimming, or trimming his bonsai trees. This guy stares at screens a lot, so appreciates time away from them. Peach built him his own little greenhouse for his trees and tools, which he keeps clean and loves dearly.

His methods as a teacher are built around fun and games, he makes hard work easier to do by distracting trainers from the difficult bits, and focusing in on something more interesting or compelling.

His most commonly seen Pokemon would be a houndoom, Saxon, old battle veteran, retired now to herding and being a good boy. Very gentle, loves a pet.

Pari, now a fully fledged nurse, often oversees the labs front desk and pokecentre features, such as healing pokemon, and informing trainers who come to visit. Her skills with eggs and hatchlings is high, she’s great with younger Pokemon, and hands out good advice to trainers a lot. She’s not a fighter, never was, but can find any file, any study, any book, and any refrence you may need. A true bookworm, loves her romance novels, chat shows and upbeat celebrity gossip mags. Will cry at a lot of stuff, be it sad or happy.

She’s got a seriously upbeat personality, but if caught off guard or shocked, she gets a little flustered. Too much chaos will overwhelm her, but usually she’s on top of things. The years spent on the island have made her better at maintaining composure in emergencies. With lots of siblings, she’s very competent with others, and has a good ability to disarm cagey people with her jolly nature. Because of this, she can sometimes gain information from trainers that some of the more harsh professors may not have access to. Charming is a word for it.

Her partners are an eevee, and a happiny. They are quite sweet and well adjusted, the eevee gets a bit bouncy if you get it too excited.

#if you dont want to use the refs #im really cool with it #just enjoy yourself buddy #pokemon #prof.peach #peach talks #prof.grey #pari #dotaku island #dotaku staff #PLEASE #just ask me if you dont know something #or feel i missed something in what i wrote

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rayofsunas · 3 years

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s/o goes on a mission with them.

A/n: so, as you may or may not have seen by my recent “updates” I’m obsessed with genshin, and I’m pretty sure for one day I played for a solid 5 hours- my eyes hurt pls. but I did miss writing, I’ve just been unmotivated and busy with college stuff (mainly stressing, I haven’t even started my essay yet shh). n e ways, here’s an update, I hope this quenches your thirst 🙊

Summary: s/o goes on a mission with them.

Parings: Kaeya/Reader, Diluc/Reader, Xiao/Reader, Scaramouche/Reader (all with a fem reader)

Warnings: crack, swearing, worrying Teyvat bois

Word count: 1.7k

Kaeya

when you’re assigned to be on a mission just the two of you, you assume he’s happy, and don’t get me wrong, he totally is!

usually you’re never on missions together, deciding it was better that way because you both get distracted (you realized after marrying, space was always nice too, space was healthy)

though the decision mainly came about because you two good around a lot... and other things 😏

no but deep down he’s worried when you go on this mission together, it’s been a while since the two of you have, a little too long, and the nerves came back

he’s always worried whenever you go on missions, and sure he’ll always be there to protect you when he’s with you (not that you need it) but anything can happen

sure taking out a bunch of Hilichurls was deemed easy, especially together, but he still worried

he never said a word about it though, he’d always keep a watchful eye on you (he does have a reputation to keep after all)

“Ya know, you did well today.” You said plopping down beside your husband, using your pyro ability to light the twigs and leaves in front of you.

“Of course I did,” he boasted, eye lighting up in the dark of the night. “What kind of Knight would I be if I hadn’t, babe.”

You groaned in annoyance, this was the ever so haughty husband you knew.

“Please, I could’ve easily wiped your ass if it weren’t for the fact that we haven’t been paired together in a while; I forgot about your skill.” You teased. The cryo user glared at you.

“Skill? Surely, I have more than one.” He snipped teasingly. Your head shook, feigning innocence. “Are you sure?” A hum sounded in your throat. “I couldn’t tell... Maybe if you hadn’t been staring holes into me every time I used my sword, I could see your progression.”

Kaeya visibly tensed, but he tried to make it go unnoticed, you saw his shoulders raise slightly.

“Hmm?” You laughed wholeheartedly.

“Don’t ‘hmm’ me, mister.”

Despite having been caught, a grin spread across his face, he was enjoying your teasing tonight it seemed.

“There’s a reason we don’t go on missions together, but, I did have fun with you today, despite the worrying part.”

Diluc

um, the ever so stoic and emotionless fire boy is WORRIED AF

and he accidentally lets it show

he’s totally fine if you’re only going against a few low-rank Hilichurls and Slime, but against any of the Hypostasis’s, he’s worried for your wellbeing (after a few days of trying to beat one of the Hypostasis’s I finally did, APPLAUD ME PLS, I was crying)

the very first mission you went on together, the job was done quickly and without much trouble, but before and after, he would not stop asking you if you would like to be escorted back to the Knights headquarters

he said it was his duty to protect any and every Mondstadt Citizen

you knew he was also just particularly worried about you

despite being worried, he is happy you’re here, though wishes it were under different circumstances other than battle

he rarely sees you, so it’s a nice change to be placed on a mission together instead of alone, you missed each others company

BUT HE’S STILL WORRIED

“I’m a Knight of Favonius, I don’t particularly need to be escorted back, I appreciate your concern though.” Poor Diluc, the face he made looked like pure defeat, you used the Knight of Favonius card on him. And yes, you were capable, but he did know a certain Knights of Favonius Captain who he loathed a little too much,

“That’s why I’m worried.”

You scoffed at his jab, though it didn’t necessarily hurt too much.

“Please, I can handle myself. We’re not all like Captain Kaeya, but even then give him some credit!”

“I know you’re more than capable but-”

”No buts! Let me do what I know how, please. Or else I could slip up, and then actually put myself in danger.”

“Okay...” You nodded, sending a soft thanks to your lover's way, but he just stared at you before muttering, “But let me escort you back to Mondstadt.”

👁 👄 👁

“I’m sorry, did you hear a word I just said?”

“I see your skills darling, but-” He paused, noticing how your arms folded across your chest. You were annoyed. “I’d much prefer if you took care of the greatest battle of all; Kaeya.”

“Kaeya does not need my assistance.”

“He’s probably in a ditch somewhere, and it would be much appreciated by Jean if we did not leave him to rot there,” Diluc explained.

You had seen Kaeya earlier, and yes although he usually frequented the bars and whatnot, he was surprisingly sober. He hadn’t promised he would stay that way, but it would take hours for said man to get completely drunk to the point where he was immobile. You had only left Mondstadt four hours ago.

“Amber can find him. She did last time,” He watched in disbelief as you sauntered off towards the hill in front of you, dead set on continuing your mission. “Come on I see an Electro Hypostasis ahead.”

“Also, you could’ve just said you were worried about me, instead of trying to send me back home! Kaeya is fine, worrywart.”

Xiao

it’s not that he’s worried about you and it’s not that he shouldn’t be worried either

he can be both given the right moment

the only reason he doesn’t want you going with him is because he claims he focuses better on missions alone

you could understand where he was coming from, but you would’ve liked to have gone with him when he first left

you mentioned going on a mission with him in Liyue the night before he locked you in your Liyue Harbor Guesthouse room

you were still asleep when he’d snuck out and had found a note in the sheets where he’d previously been sleeping hours ago

it read, went on a quick mission, be back soon. - Xiao

...one of the cleaning ladies had come to your rescue after seeing various lounge chairs from the hallway stacked and pushed against the door (she was supposed to clean the room that morning after having seen Xiao leaving, figuring it was empty to begin cleaning)

she was shocked to see you hurriedly throwing your shoes on and grabbing your spear, confused obviously

she’d asked if you were being held against your will or if you were in danger, but you’d dashed off before you could give her an answer

eventually after asking a few Liyue Harbor Merchants, you were able to get a rough estimate as to where your boyfriend went

when you finally caught up to him, out of breath, he was somewhat shocked to see you

“Hey!” You called after the ancient man, watching with glee as he turned around with wide eyes. “Locking me in the room seriously?”

“I didn’t think you’d catch up. I left hours ago.”

“I thought so too. But one of the Merchants gave me a shortcut to your destination.”

“Interesting.” He said, hand going to his chin in thought.

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?!”

“Interesting.” You mocked

He stared blankly, without a doubt the gears working in his brain, spinning and ticking at an unbelievable rate.

“No, one more thing... How did you get out of the room? I barricaded it.”

👁 👄 👁

Scaramouche

you better be someone who can handle yourself, and you probably are, or else he would not be able to stand being with you romantically AT ALL

he’s had you practice with him, just to show him what you’re capable of, before he ever allowed you to travel with him

after deeming you a worthy opponent, he decided you would fair well with him

he would’ve never allowed you to come if he knew you’d be a burden, slow him, or get hurt

after you proved yourself, he does not doubt you so he’s not going to be worried at all

he’s only worried if you start slowing him down, then he’ll think you’re incompetent to be traveling together

if you slow him down, you’re being sent home, no questions asked

though because he does love you, you receive a bit of a less severe punishment for doing something wrong on a mission

he may ask you once or twice to keep up with him, or take your enemies out without less hesitation, but that’s if he feels particularly generous, most of the times he’s harsh and will not tolerate your mistakes, no chances given

fortunately for you, he felt extremely generous today

It was truly evident that you were slowly pissing off the sixth Harbinger and he was losing his patience with you. Yet you continued flirting with him to get a rise out of said man (yeah, same); he often reacted, and you enjoyed it when he did. You liked seeing him react and appear differently than always being so uptight and mean.

It was a common belief that he often traveled with a young woman, who had Pyro for a vision, and she was strong but often loved to distract and tease her fellow Harbinger. You were not so surprisingly, that young woman.

“Keep up, I won’t ask you again.”

Today, you were on a mission together which wasn’t rare, but your other mission was to piss him off as much as you could. So, you purposely walked behind him, very slow. Pretending to take in the chilly scenery of Snezhnaya, although you had seen it thousands of times, acting as if it was something new.

“You said that the last two times.” You said, cheerfully laughing to yourself when you heard him growl lowly. He didn’t pay any mind to your retort but began showing more signs that he was aggravated.

He hissed, “There’s not much to admire, you can barely see.” Yes, he was right, he’d caught onto your antics very fast, but that didn’t matter.

“As I said, if you keep slowing me down, I’ll continue without you.” Your eyes rolled. Would he?

“Leaving a member of the Harbinger behind wouldn’t be very honorary, but if I must, I will.”

A pout took shape on your lips. “Please, you wouldn’t leave your lovely girlfriend out here to freeze would you?”

“You have pyro abilities, you would fair just fine.”

“Hmm... I suppose so, but I’d get lonely.”

“Then be quiet and walk faster.”

1.13.21, rayofsunas

#rayofsunas #genshin #genshin impact #kaeya #kaeya x reader #diluc #diluc x reader #xiao #xiao x reader #scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #genshin imagines #genshin impact x reader

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