#hunter doesn’t need any more stress but oh well!

[archivistofnerddom]

Bad Batch AU Idea:

Fives survives. He reconnects with Echo after the latter is saved from Skako Minor, though Fives doesn’t join the Bad Batch when Echo does. He is happy that his brother and fellow Domino is alive and with a squad that will support him at this stage of his life.

Since Fives doesn’t have his chip in anymore, Order 66 doesn’t affect him.

He manages to get away from wherever he’s at and tracks down Echo and the rest of the Batch. When Fives does catch up with them, they’ve lost Crosshair, gained Omega, and fled Kamino. Fives is relieved to see them relatively in one piece, though he’s sad to learn about what happened with Cross.

But then, Omega’s there — and Fives immediately shifts into Chaotic Influencer of Little Sisters mode upon meeting her.

Hunter develops even more grey hair. Wrecker likes Fives a little too much. Tech impresses Fives with his Ludicrous Ideas and reckless flying. Omega loves that she’s gained another brother, as unexpected as it was.

And Echo is simultaneously so happy to have Fives with them and mildly concerned when Fives and Omega team up very quickly to prank him. (He winds up with bumper stickers all over his armor and glitter paint on his scomp, and no one will own up to doing that. Echo knows who did it and isn’t mad about it all. It means that they love him.)

[authorred]

Die With A Smile | Li Shen/Zayne x gn!Reader | Love and Deepspace

➺ Preface: After a particularly bad run-in with a wanderer, you're left essentially dying on site. You know this will not bode over well for a certain doctor-friend of yours, so you force yourself up and onwards. Both you and Zayne have to reconcile the fact that you almost died without seeing each other for almost a month.

➺ I know I already posted a song-fic for this song but goddammit I keep seeing edits for this shit on my fyp and I love this song so mf much that I can't myself ( I also have an unhealthy obsession with Zayne ).

Maybe I'll do a Sylus version??? However the hell I'll do that.

→ Song

Warning(s): Mentions of extensive wounds, blood

Oh god, Zayne is going to kill me.

Your skin is warm and sticky; a disconcerting feeling. What remains of your clothes is glued to your skin in blood and sweat, most of it yours. You don't know why, but for some reason, Wanderers love to dick with you as if you're a hot commodity. You were just trying to do your job as a Deepspace Hunter, which you succeeded at technically, but, now your injuries are catching up to you.

You're starting to feel lightheaded and stumbling on your feet. You don't know if you've broken any bones, but all you know is that every part of your body hurts and trying to blink takes all of your energy.

Goddammit, if Zayne sees me he's going to be so mad. Or sad. Or both. I didn't even text him today--I should've texted him.

You stumble from the remains of where the protocore field emerged. You can feel the warmth of your blood spilling down your leg and flooding your boots. It’s an absolutely unnerving sensation. You have to find a way to the hospital. You need to get help. You can’t die. Not like this. Not before you see Zayne.

~

You were going to kill him. No, not kill, perhaps that’s too far. But you were going to scold him, chastise him like a worried mother. Zayne has been pushing himself again, not taking breaks or sleeping for more than five hours. He’s been using the on-call rooms in Akso or sleeping in his office. He doesn’t know why he does this. Perhaps he’s stressed because you haven’t texted him in several days and he’s unknowing to your severe injuries. It’s a way to cope. Because if he didn’t, he’d go mad.

So why.

Why?

Why is he staring at several paramedics rolling you into the hospital, covered in blood and unconscious? Is that what you’ve been doing all this time? Being reckless? Risking your life? Again?

He stands there, rooted to the linoleum, watching you be rolled into the OR for emergency surgery. He doesn’t know what’s wrong—eyeballing it he could tell you’re suffering from many lacerations. But what if there’s more? What if your heart is giving out?

It’s not until the hospital begins to settle again that he’s able to move. Swallowing thickly and moving like a ghost back to where he’s needed.

~

Hours pass—two hours, specifically. Zayne stands in your hospital room staring at your sleeping figure. Covered in bandages and bruises alike, his eyes are filled with trepidation belying fear and concern. The pain you must’ve went through to trek all the way to Akso Hospital—the amount of blood you lost. Too stubborn for your own good. He can’t linger, he has other duties to attend to. But he wants to—gods, he wants to.

Stepping up to the side of your bed, his hand reaches out. His fingertips brush against the palm of your hand, gently trailing them up your wrist and arm. Featherlight touches to prove you’re here, alive, breathing. His virescent eyes comb up and down your body. “How reckless,” he whispers. “And here I thought you were simply lost with no reception.”

No response, as he expected.

With a soft, almost imperceptible sigh, Zayne retracts his hand and places it back in his coat pocket. With one last lingering look, he turns and walks away from your hospital bed. He has work to finish, and you’re stabilized and alive. At least he’s assured in that regard. He can go on with the rest of his day without that aching, gnawing anxiety in his chest. It’s a relief, really.

~

When you wake up, you have no idea where you are at first. You’re completely disoriented and lost. You vaguely remember trying to navigate your way through a town on the outskirts of Linkon, and then after that, the memories are fuzzy.

You look to your side, your vision severely blurred. You can see a person sitting in the chair next to your bed, resting. You recognize the shape of their body immediately. “Zayne?” Comes your hoarse, weak voice. Even that’s enough to rouse him from his sleep—or maybe he wasn’t even fully asleep in the first place.

Zayne sits up straight when he sees you’re awake before standing. “Y/n,” he says, almost in surprise. “You’re awake. With the amount of sedatives in your body, you should still be asleep.”

“I can’t move my body,” you chuckle softly, but it sounds like a sad whimper instead. “Maybe that’s where they went. . .”

Zayne sighs at your attempt of jokes in your state. “Should I ask what happened this time?”

“I think you know.”

Zayne gazes down at you, his eyes slightly narrowed in worry. “You’re too reckless. Please, put some value on your life before we’re unable to fix you.”

“I know,” you reply softly. “But you don’t seem the best either. I can still see those dark circles even through my fucked up vision. You’ve been overworking again, haven’t you?”

Zayne shifts like a kid getting caught before looking away, “I take naps during the day so I can be productive at night. And I’ve been eating well and hydrating. Truly, it’s not that bad.”

“Those dark circles say otherwise.”

A moment passes before Zayne looks at you again. “You were too close this time,” he says. “Your life was in a precarious position. You’re lucky we had the personnel available.”

“I know,” you repeat. “I know. I—I’ll be honest, I didn’t think. . . I didn’t think I’d make it.”

Zayne’s expression drops suddenly, but he lets you talk.

“All I remember thinking is that I needed to get to a hospital, to get help, because if I didn’t, I’d regret it. Regret not texting you, seeing you. I wanted to see you one more time, at least.”

Zayne’s face twitches, and he resists the urge to reach out and touch you. You need space. Your body needs time to heal. “I see,” he replies softly. “Is that what gave you strength to crawl to the doors of the hospital?”

“Yes,” you nod softly. “At least, if I died here, I’d be near you. And that’s enough for me.”

Zayne doesn’t say anything immediately. “I would be. . . in pain if you died,” he says quietly, doing best to articulate his feelings without coming off as too much. “I would miss you greatly. Agonizingly.”

“Tomorrow is never promised,” you say, gazing at him with such affection and favor he feels lightheaded from holding your gaze. “But if I die—if I die next to you, with you. . . I wouldn’t change a thing. I would die happy and content. Knowing you’re there.”

Zayne swallows, his Adam’s Apple bobbing up and down under his black dress shirt. “I believe it would be best if we promised each other. . . to not push ourselves too far.”

You chuckle softly, “Maybe. But whatever the case, I’m just happy you’re here.”

You add, “And when the day comes I do die, I’ll gladly die with a smile if you’re with me.”

[lightwise]

TBB S3 E4 Recap and Reaction

- Poor Crosshair keeps getting stuck on cold planets.

- Batcher banging on the chair ready to get out 🤣🤣

- These shuttles are really interesting to me. It’s rare to see a ship that size that can be piloted by two different people.

- Baby girl, I totally understand your logic in wanting to pull the data logs to see where Tantiss actually is, but given how tactful we know Hemlock has been so far in keeping his location hidden, most likely it wouldn’t pull up anything.

- What a dreary spaceport. Feels very Andor and very like Norwegian Star Wars.

- The level of snark that Omega is giving back to Crosshair is cracking me up. We don’t see her showing this level of talking back or being sarcastic with any of the other Batchers, which proves my theory that Crosshair’s constant level of highly annoyed at everything around him brings out the sarcasm in everyone else he encounters.

- Love that his knowledge as a former imperial is coming to play to help them.

- Also love that Omega was the one to recognize that they need different clothes (and the obvious pan of the camera on the clothes hanging on the line in the first shot of the spaceport to accentuate that fact).

- Quilted clothes in Star Wars is my fave (yes more Andor parallels).

- The uplilt and little scoff that Omega gives and the look she gives Batcher after Crosshair snarls about bringing “the hound” along is PRECIOUS

- Also Cross and Omega cross their arms the same way. Okay okay I’ll never be over their dynamic here.

- Crosshair’s trucker hat/scuba apparatus is hilarious. He doesn’t look too bad though. Surely he’s at least warmer now.

- The credits negotiation omg. I love how Cross is just waiting for this to play out before he makes a move.

- YES omg are my baby girls strategy skills FINALLY coming back into play??

- Oh no no no no no this kid is going to rat them out isn’t he. You guys need to be more mindful of your surroundings!! Ahhh (okay I’m glad this didn’t happen).

- Honestly at this point Crosshair would be me as well. Just lots of very annoyed sighing.

- I love that Crosshair is getting to see all the things about Omega that the other boys know already, but he hasn’t had a chance to witness yet. We know she can wipe the floor with most people on strategy games/gambling.

- Yep nope this captain is not good news. Don’t get distracted by ranting about Imperial bribery, don’t do it, don’t….*sigh* I hate the Empire so much.

- Oh no this is so bad! I swear WHY is every imperial such a slimy self aggrandizing POS.

- Aww Crossy hunched down at almost table level ready to tear the room apart if anyone touches his baby sister. Adorable murder kitten. 😸

- Also Crosshair when all of this is over: where the HELL did you learn to gamble like that!?! Omega: 🤷🏻‍♀️😇😁

- Also also what game are they playing? Those cards are beautiful.

- Oh no they’ve found the shuttle already. Dear god this episode is so stressful!!

- CROSS!DAD IS OFFICIALLY CANON lmao

- Okay I was hoping Omega would let him win bc this isn’t going to go over well

- Whoa I didn’t actually expect him to concede. Maybe he’s not quite as slimy as I thought. Doesn’t matter though, the shuttle will give them away regardless.

- Of course. There it is. Let all the seedy businesses thrive as long as you get your fine out of it. Ugh. This is paralleling a lot of imperial activities in Rebel Rising and the Ahsoka novel as well.

- I also love how Omega uses touch with Crosshair to calm him down and communicate with him.

- Whoa I did not expect Omega to throw the credits and basically give Crosshair the choice of abandoning her or not. Nor for him to actually have to think about it for a moment.

- “My skills are being wasted” the boy does not like feeling helpless. I understand.

- This is going to give Cross some understanding of what Hunter has been going through the last few years. Especially if he ends up losing her.

- “Don’t push it” and the extra head shake after lmao.

- Geez this man is just lining his pockets every which way isn’t he. Despicable.

- “Alright, let’s try things your way” “Finally” I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

- Animal stampede!

- Oh gosh is Cross going to get left behind??

- Aw he finally called her Batcher.

- We are clearly seeing how much Omega has actually been tempered by the rest of the Batchers being around her until now. The unfiltered combined powers of Omega and Crosshair at their most unhinged is maybe more than the galaxy is ready for 🤣🤣

- Also a very Andor reference with the captain being stampeded almost to death and having his gun kicked away from him in the melee

- NO WAY WE FINALLY GET AN IMPERIAL GETTING THEIR DUE BY CREATURE DEATH once again *cough cough* not a kids show

- Awwww Batcher licking Crosshair’s face. He’s so done for.

- They got away. Wow. I actually wasn’t expecting that. And with most of the money too.

- Okay. Smart girl. She did not pick Pabu.

- What an ending. Wow. So. Similar to Mando season 3 (which is also scaring me) — what the heck is the rest of this season going to be about?

- This reunion is everything. 🥹🥹🥹 the hugs. The running. The tears. The worry. The anger. The hesitation. The fear. The literal and metaphorical distance between their ships that someone will have to cross. They better not fast forward a millisecond when the next episode picks up I swear.

[holfelderwrites124]

Severed Threads

Chapter 2: Schemes

(Chapter 1: Promotion)

Two weeks go by before Aisha is finally able to drag Ian away from Abby and Dennis for a night to celebrate his promotion. Ian is full of excuses during that time — thin excuses that Aisha can see right through. Abby needs me to do this, Dennis wants to hang out, I’m too tired tonight. She knows damn well that Abby just wants to control Ian’s time, and Dennis only cares about Ian’s … well. He only cares about getting Ian into bed.

I’m too tired is the only excuse that Aisha truly believes. She can see the exhaustion in the dark circles under his eyes and in the way he drags himself around the offices when he thinks no one is looking. Every time Aisha runs into Ian, his eyes have lost a little bit more of their usual sparkle. After week one of being put off, Aisha reaches out to Paul to see if he knows what’s going on.

Paul tells Aisha that Ian has been deteriorating for a while now, maybe two months.

“He hides it well,” Paul tells Aisha. “His performance is the same as always — spectacular. He’s adjusted well to his knew position.” Paul shakes his head. “But when he thinks no one is looking, I can see the cracks in that mask he’s putting on.”

“What do you mean?” Aisha asks.

“I’ve caught him having panic attacks several times in the mornings.” Paul sighs. “He always straightens up and puts on a smile when he hears me coming. But he’s … shaking and I can hear him talking to himself, trying to calm himself down.” Paul stuffs his hands in his pocket and leans against the door. “And that thing he does with his left arm, when that chronic pain flares? He’s doing it again.”

Aisha winces. “Shit. That’s not great.”

Ian was diagnosed a few years ago with fibromyalgia. It often flares up if Ian is stressed, sleep-deprived, or extremely upset. If he’s been tucking his arm stiffly against his side, that means he’s struggling again.

Paul nods. “Yeah, he’s not doing so hot. But I can’t get him to crack. He just smiles and tells me he’s fine.”

Aisha huffs. “That’s the same response I’m getting. Just a grin and a don’t worry about me.” Aisha purses her lips. “It’s that damn couple he’s been with, the McCartneys. He’s been getting worse ever since he moved in with them.”

Paul tilts his head, considering. “You know, I think you’re right. That is when it first started.”

“I was so happy for him when he got together with them. They seemed like just the right fit for him.” Aisha shakes her head sadly. “He’s been so lonely since he cut ties with his family, and I was hoping these two would be healthy for him.” Aisha snorts. “Fucking unicorn hunters.”

Paul raises an eyebrow. “Unicorn hunters?”

“Oh, sorry.” Aisha laughs softly. “It’s a term in the poly community for a couple looking for a third. It’s usually a male-female couple looking for a woman to join them for funsies, but occasionally you’ll find some looking for a man.” Aisha rolls her eyes. “It’s rarely a true ethical non-monogamous situation, because the unicorn isn’t really allowed to date outside of the throuple, while the other partners can usually do what they want.”

Paul looks vaguely ill. “You think they trapped Ian?”

Aisha nods. “I really do. Ian’s been withdrawing from John and I, and you. First it was just that they wanted to spend time with him, but now …”

“Now he’s working overtime any chance he can get,” Paul fills in. He shakes his head. “I’ve noticed. It makes me wonder how much they’re asking him to contribute to stay in that house of theirs.”

Aisha snorts. “It’s … not a great house.”

“Really? It looks great from the outside, I’ve seen pictures Ian’s shown me.”

“Yeah.” Aisha huffs. “They’ve done a ton of cosmetic work on the interior, so the rooms even look great. But half the plumbing doesn’t work, kitchen cabinets are falling off the walls, and the structure? The structural integrity of that house is not good.”

Paul lets out a long sigh. “Shit.”

“You can say that again.” Aisha frowns up at Paul. “My guess is they’re making him pay more than he should be, with all the overtime he’s clocking.”

“He’s apologizing again too, like he did when you two were in the Academy.”

Aisha winces. “Yeah, I noticed that. He’s doing it with you too?”

Paul nods, and Aisha sighs.

Apologizing for every opinion or thought that came out of Ian’s mouth had always been a habit — Aisha blamed his religious upbringing — but since the McCartney’s, Ian was always apologizing. His inherent lack of confidence in his personal life was worse. He cut himself down more often, and his negative self-talk was worse than Aisha had seen it in the five years she had known Ian.

“I blame Abby for that,” Aisha says. “I met her once. She clearly thought I was a threat. She was such a snob.” Aisha snorts. “And Dennis? Jesus, Dennis couldn’t keep his hands off Ian. It was so uncomfortable to watch. Hell, I even caught Ian swatting at Dennis once or twice to get him away from Ian. It was weird.”

Paul makes a disgusted face. “Yeah, they came here once to see Ian. I met them in the hall. Dennis followed Abby around like a lost puppy. I think the only thing other than Abby that he cares about is Ian. And … I mean … well …”

“No I get you,” Aisha nods. “The only thing Dennis cares about is Ian’s dick.”

Paul sputters and turns a faint shade of red.

Aisha raises an eyebrow. “You know I’m right.”

Paul clears his throat awkwardly and nods. “No, I … I know.”

Aisha smirks at him. “I’ll try to be less blunt next time.”

“No, it’s alright.” Paul laughs quietly. “I’m just … I don’t … I don’t think about Ian in that way ever, so it’s weird to hear.” He frowns. “It’s so weird to hear anyone think about Ian … like that. He’s so private about everything …”

“Related to sex?” Aisha smirks again as Paul rolls his eyes at her bluntness. “Yeah. He’s not comfortable with the topic, and frankly, I don’t know how comfortable he is with Abby and Dennis’s attention.” Aisha sighs. “Well, I guess we both agree, then. Something’s going on with Ian, and it’s not great.”

Paul nods. “Plan?”

Aisha shrugs. “I’m going to keep badgering him until he agrees to come over and have dinner with me and John, but I have no idea how long that will take.”

“I can get on his case about having dinner with Shannon and I. Maybe he’ll agree to at least one of us to get us off of his back.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Aisha says with a smile.

The two of them part ways, Paul returning to his office and Aisha focusing back on her monitors. They play out their plan for nearly another entire week before Ian breaks, agreeing to spend Friday night with Aisha and John. Aisha lets Paul know, but they both agree that Paul shouldn’t come. Ian can clam up when he feels trapped, and they want him to feel comfortable enough to open up about whatever is bothering him.

Aisha sets a time with Ian, lets John know, and then commences to plot out the best way to get Ian to talk.

In the end, her plans don’t really matter. Ian’s body takes matters into its own hands.

Ian looks pale and unwell from the moment he sets foot in the bullpen that Friday morning. Both Aisha and Paul notice it, and furtively text each other about the circles under his eyes and his stiff posture. He perks up the moment he catches Paul watching him, pasting on a fake smile that doesn’t reach his eyes and choking out an off-kilter greeting. Paul asks how he is, as he always does, but today, Ian just shrugs and says hanging in there.

He didn’t even try to fake it, Paul texts Aisha.

Alarm bells go off in Aisha’s head. If Ian isn’t even bothering to fake a chipper doing great, then he must really be hurting, physically or mentally — or both. Aisha keeps a close eye on Ian from her lair through the one window that opens to the bullpen. She notes how slow he moves, and how tired he looks when he thinks no one is watching. Aisha wonders how his conversation with Abby and Dennis went when he told them he was having dinner with Aisha and John. She assumes it went poorly.

Somehow they make it to the end of the day with no crisis requiring either Ian or John — who is a Philadelphia EMT — to skip dinner, and at promptly six, Ian knocks on the door to Aisha and John’s apartment. John lets him in, as Aisha is finishing putting the chicken in the oven.

“Hey, Ian! Long time no see!” Aisha hears John greet Ian.

Ian’s response is a low murmur, which makes Aisha anxious. He used to be full of life, especially around John. She had tracked for a while how animated Ian would get around John, always ready to regale him with some story or another, and always willing to listen to whatever John had to say in response. If even John can’t bring Ian out of his shell … well, they may just have to stage an actual intervention.

Aisha joins Ian and John in their living room once the chicken is in the oven. They engage in small talk for a while, just chitchatting about jobs and hobbies. Aisha can see Ian giving a valiant effort to brighten up — tiny smiles, a curious glint in his eyes, and the occasional encouraging head nod, but he’s hardly like himself at all. John catches it too, glancing at Aisha out of the corner of his eye every now and then. Something is wrong, even more so than usual.

It’s not until John stands to grab them all drinks that everything comes to a head. Ian abruptly stands as well.

“I’ll … I can help,” he says softly, but earnestly. There’s a small smile toying at his lips, and Aisha notes the way John lights up at Ian’s offer.

John motions for Ian to follow. Ian takes two steps, then comes to a hesitant stop.

“I’m … sorry. I think … I think I should s-sit down?” Ian glances down at Aisha, confusion in his face.

Then his eyes close, his knees buckle, and he collapses onto their carpet.

Taglist: @lofiyaketyblr

Drop a comment/reblog and let me know your thoughts and if you'd like to be included in a taglist :)

Chapter 3: Fights and Fainting

[therealnoot]

Hiiiii Noooot it's meeeeeee

Your characters are Valentino, Aurelius, Opal, and Guirec. Your questions are 9, 10, 15, 20, 24, and 30. Answer whatever for whomever :)

Howdy Howdy Tad!!!!!!

Oh boy oh boy! What interesting four characters you’ve given me. I’m gonna answer all the questions with all of them, I hope you’re prepared for this, it’s probably gonna be a bit long.

I’m gonna go sooo insane about some of them on some of these questions.

Also sorry to inform but I might not respond to any questions with Guirec because I want ‘em to stay a mystery.

9. How does your OC handle their physical Health? Do they take care of themselves?

Valentino is pretty good at taking care of himself. Mostly because he wouldn’t be able to be an Arena Boss if he had poor physical health. Since he’s a Benilon he heals pretty quickly and has some tough exoskeletal skin and so most physical harm done to him is easy to deal with. He’s also really good at fighting off sicknesses and is in overall a pretty healthy person! It definitely helps that he is almost always staying fit to survive in the Arena. He also has a good diet and an amazing sleep schedule since that’s also important to his health and a requirement to stay in the arena.

Kinda jealous over the fact pretty much all of my Arena characters have a better sleep schedule than me. Like they all sleep at least 10 hours and still have a whole day to do whatever else.

Aurelius is pretty good at managing his physical health. Since he’s the Royal Commander he kind of has to set a good example of what’s expected. Despite being kinda old he’s quite fit and strong for his age. Unfortunately he’s not the best at taking care of himself when he gets sick since in his mind he has no time for sickness and just acts like it doesn’t exist or keeps going until he literally cannot because of how sick he gets and he hates it. This kind of really sucks for him because Aelfine are kinda prone to getting sick more often than others. When it comes to other things like diet and eating he is kinda back and forth with it. Usually he won’t eat breakfast or lunch but Eloise always makes him breakfast and hunts him down so they eat together in the morning, otherwise he doesn’t eat anything till dinner where he then proceeds to eat as much as he can. His sleep schedule depends solely on Jinxes mood and whether or not she decides Aurelius doesn’t need sleep and makes him stand guard outside the palace all night.

Opal is okay at caring for herself I guess. She’s like brand new young adult or whatever and she doesn’t exactly live anywhere along with being a bounty hunter can really mess some things up but she gets by, sort of. She’s really a “ I do whatever I want when I feel like it “ so her entire schedule is ruined. Sleeps randomly, eats randomly, sometimes spends days on end doing nothing and then a couple days doing everything and somehow she’s still alive. Unfortunately she does have a disease that’s slowly eating away at her. Sorry Opal.

10. How does your OC handle their mental health? Do they take care of themselves?

This question is really easy. Unfortunately all of them have some kind of poor mental health.

Valentino may be physically healthy but he’s a little deranged and doesn’t have good mental health. He needs a therapist but that requires him leaving the arena or anywhere with a spotlight for once.

Aurelius suffers a lot from stress because of his Job. He probably has the best mental health out of all four of these characters but it’s still not GREAT. Especially when Jinx decides to damage it. She does that a lot to just about everybody including all of these characters

Opal is not okay. She needs a therapist and also probably learn yoga or see a doctor or something. She might have some kind of mental illness as well but I’m not entirely sure since her character isn’t developed much but on-top of her disease I think there’s also something really affecting her mind and making her sporadic and generally unstable.

15. Will your OC ever retire? Do you see them making it?

I don’t think Valentino will ever retire from the Arena, I doubt he will change very much either and the only way I see him retiring is through death. Unfortunately it happens like that and I wish it were different but AS OF CURRENTLY Valentino will only retire when death reaches him.

Tbh I don’t really think Aurelius would ever really retire but I definitely see something in his life changing and getting better or at least his job is more relaxing. You have no idea what I have planned for him in the future, it’s great.

I can definitely see Opal retiring from being a bounty hunter and maybe going into something like blacksmithing or clothes making but only if she gets the proper help she needs, otherwise I don’t think Opal will really change anything. And I don’t know if it means retiring overall but Opal is like the youngest on the list and the furthest from being able to retire at all.

Just know that it gets better. Guirec will make it.

20. If they Fight, what’s their weapon of choice?

Valentinos choice of weapon is the Soulmates Compound (bow) and Devotions bind (arrows). This weapons is specific to Valentino, however if he didn’t have access to this weapon he would use any bow and arrow or other long ranged weapons.

Aurelius can use just about any weapon decently since he trains people to handle multiple kinds of weapons, however his prefers weapon is either a Lance or great sword. He has his own custom made Shield-Lance that allows him to infuse his magic into it as well.

Opals weapon of choice is her Iron Maiden Dagger. If she unfortunately doesn’t have her dagger she can use just about any small blade or short ranged weapon.

24. Can they play instruments? If so, what do they play?

Valentino can play both a flute and tambourine. He can’t play them well but his Mother was teaching him how to play a few instruments.

Aurelius can play the drums! Kinda crazy but Aurelius has always been good at playing any kind of drum instrument. When he was younger he always played with handmade drums in his village. He is able to play bongo, bass and snare drums as well. If you put him in front of a drum kit he will learn to play it quickly as well! All Aelfine are naturally drawn to sound in the form of music and even Aurelius, the number one hater of my Aelfine Musician enjoys playing music.

Opal does not play any instruments. She has never had an interested either.

Guirec can play the triangle I guess

30. My OC and your OC are friends. This isn’t a question. I’m not asking.

Surely this can’t go wrong in any way possible!

Valentino really isnt a great friend at all. Any friends he makes he will inevitably throw them under the bus or leave them on the curb. Sure he can be a nice guy and genuinely enjoys being around others but he likes the attention. He might treat his friends more like people and consider their emotions more but at the end of the day if you were dangling off a Cliff and he had the choice to save you, he would save a bag of a million dollars before he bothers to think of saving you or his mother.

Aurelius would actually make a decent friend. He’s a little slow and kind of stubborn with what he thinks but his friends mean a lot to him and he would literally take a bullet for you, make sure you’re okay and then walk it off. He could get stabbed and he would just walk off the stab wound as long as you, his friend, is okay. I think most people would hesitate from being friends with or trying to interact with him because he appears intimidating and is sometimes really difficult to have conversations with but he is trying. He would be a good friend.

Opal would be a decent friend in the context of she would only be a bad influence on you. She would fully expect you to jump in the water after her. She would jump in the water if you jumped in first and then tell you how smart you are even if you are now being eaten alive by who knows what. Opal would watch you get stabbed and tell you how epic it is that you have a stab wound and completely ignore tthe fact you could probably die from that stab wound. If she was stable in any way I think she would be a way better friend but I would not advise being friends right now because half of being her friend is regretting whatever happens and the other half is being stuck in a long, deep conversation about the unfathomable and regretting it because now the paranoia and hysteria has set in.

Being friends with Guirec is like being friends with someone who is both a cat and a dog. Someone who is both introverted and extroverted. Being besties with the raging sun and mysterious moon. It can be great but also it can be awful and Guirec will probably leave you guessing whether or not you enjoy his friendship, company and extreme clinginess.

And yeah. That’s about it. I really hope I did miss anything otherwise I would be kind of sad 💔

Anywho here’s a small taste of some of my characters that just about nobody in the world knows about.

[imabeautifulbutterfly]

The Gym Membership - Part 18 (Crosshair)

Summary: Crosshair reacts to Tech's statement

A/N: Hello Lovelies,

I hope everyone is doing well. I know things are getting rough for all of us, but just keep in mind that we all love you. Just keep swimming. Keep moving, keep pushing, even if it's a millimetre, just keep trying.

Love oo

Warning: Grief, emotional hiding, anger, annoyance, flower buying, mentions of hospital, and cardiac monitor. I think that's all of it, if I miss anything please let me know.

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“What could you possibly know about grieving? You’re not Hunter, you’ve never lost a wife or a fiancee! You’ve never loved anyone!” Tech’s voice echoed over and over in Crosshair’s head, he rubbed his hands on his pant leg, doing his best to control the anger brewing within him. He stood from his seat, his fists clenched by his side.

“You have no idea what I’ve lost” Cross’ voice was cold and menacing as his jaw clenched. “Just cause you’re my vod doesn’t mean you know my life!” 

He moved away from Tech, grabbing his keys, he didn’t exactly know where he was heading at that moment, what he did know was he needed to move away from Tech before he hit him.

He took a deep breath and turned to look at Tech one last time, “I may not know what you are feeling Tech, but if you don’t learn how to deal with Kamarie’s loss, it’ll eat away at you more than you can imagine.” It was all Cross wanted to add before he headed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Time passed as Crosshair drove his car in a daze, before he even realized it, his car was headed towards the Veteran’s Army Hospital. He sat in his car staring at the hospital for a good fifteen minutes as he contemplated whether or not he should get out of the car. 

He hadn’t been there in a week, his schedule got thrown off the whole thing with Tech stressed him out if he was being honest. As he sat there, he realized he hadn’t even brought any flowers with him. It was too late now to go and get some from his usual florist, he let out a frustrated sigh as he got out of his car and headed in.  He would need to make a stop at the gift shop, he hated getting gift shop flowers, they were always leftovers and scraggly bits. His jaw clenched as he looked at the stems that were being offered, they were pathetic and not good enough.

“Can’t find what you’re looking for?” The shopkeeper asked as she stood beside him, a smile on her face.

“Do you have … I don’t know, any fresh flowers?” He turned to the elderly lady who had been there taking care of the shop for the past twenty-five years. 

“Haven’t seen you in a while, kid” she mumbled as she walked to the door behind the register.

“Yeah, I’ve been trying to get my flowers at the shop you recommended.” He answered absent-mindedly, “Plus there was a death in my family … so my schedule’s been a little hectic”

“Sorry to hear that, kid.” She gave him a sympathetic nod, before she disappeared into the room she opened, she walked out with a rather large bouquet, “Here you go, lanky.” She placed the bouquet on the counter as she patted his hand, “Just remember, I always keep a fresh batch just in case.” Crosshair looked at the bouquet of roses and tulips that oddly went together, “Was it someone you were close to?” Cross quirked his eyebrow, as he tried to understand her question, “The family member that you lost.”

“Somewhat, she was my brother’s fiancé.”

“That poor man, are you being supportive?” She always treated him like he was her son, he wasn’t sure why, or what she was hoping to get out of being so kind to him.

“As much as I can be, but he’s hiding himself” his voice still had a hint of anger and annoyance as he thought back to Tech.

“Much like you are?”

“I’m not hiding”

“Oh no? Tell me, since the last time we talked, have you told your family why you come to the hospital every week?” Cross didn’t answer her, “Well… have you?”

He let out a sigh, “They don’t know anything”

She lifted her eyebrow in derision, “Isn’t that a form of hiding? You can’t be angry and annoyed with him for hiding when you are doing the same thing, and a lot longer than he has.”

“I’m not angry … or annoyed.”

“Yeah, and I’m not a 65 year gift shop cashier.” She held up her hands in surrender when he narrowed his eyes at her, “Alright, so you’re not annoyed or angry…” she rolled her eyes, “then how do you feel with the way he’s acting?”

“Aggravated” he smirked as he looked at her, “See not annoyed or angry”

She silently laughed as she shook her head, “Kid, pretty sure, aggravation is a mixture of both.” He just shrugged, as he listened to her explanation, “Anyway, young man, try not to be too hard on him. Just remember how you felt and how much pain you went through when you first started coming here.”

“Thanks Bethany. I’ll see you around.” 

He took the bouquet and nodded his thanks as he headed towards the seventh floor. His feet followed the familiar path he’d taken over the past several years, he headed to the room he had gotten to know like the back of his hand. 

His feet froze as his eyes focused on the woman’s back sitting in the chair by the bed, his hand gripped the bouquet a little tighter, as he walked in, placing the bouquet in the vase beside the bed getting rid of the old flowers that were there, “Why are you here?” He mumbled without looking at her.

I glanced up to look at the man who vexed me to no end, I didn’t even bother responding to him as I focused my attention back on my book, glancing at my sister’s bedside cardiac monitor. I don’t know what was more vexing his voice, the fact he always showed up and usually brought her favourite flowers, or that he didn’t say much and still managed to get under my skin. My eyes glanced over as I watched him grab one of the chairs in the room and slid it beside mine. 

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[holodaxy]

Okay so stay with me as I've been having thought...mostly Hawk and Thrush Thoughts...sort of...

Is there a fic (and there isn’t because I’m about to get oddly specific – maybe this is more of a cry to write this because I won’t) where somebody has inadvertently gotten close to Beta (on purpose seems a bit cruel and horrible) as an Aloy replacement?

In my head it’s Talanah – in some way this seems wrong and a touch out of character, but you know those oddly specific details? Well yeah, she works for those oddly specific details so stick with me here…

So Talanah crosses paths with Erend and naturally they get on about Aloy and he mentions that she’s spending a lot of time helping reunite the Quen Fleet and rather innocently makes a joke about how Aloy is more interested in spending time with a Quen Marine than reuniting the fleet (because of course the GAIA Gang have been gossiping about Aloy and Seyka – not to mention they’ve got an inside source! Alva is right there!) Talanah isn’t impressed by this information, though doesn’t know why (Erend has a good idea, but he’s already opened his big mouth once so he’s not doing that again).

How Talanah makes her way to the base I’m not sure (I can’t work it all out!) and cue an awkward first meeting with Beta because of course Aloy didn’t mention that there’s this anxious identical ‘twin’ wandering around. So Talanah is about to leave (because this wasn’t on her ‘Life with Aloy’ bingo card) when she discovers Beta doesn’t know how to use any weapons and really, how could Aloy be so careless as to leave her twin sister all alone in the base with no way to defend herself? Anybody could walk in! As evident by the fact Talanah had just walked in – that’s her argument and she’s sticking to it, she won’t hear any objection from Beta about how the base security was likely programmed by Aloy to let Talanah in because she's been there once before.

So Talanah sticks around to show Beta how to use a bow (or any weapon really) and Beta totally isn’t her Thrush because that would just be weird (not that the whole situation isn’t weird to either of them, but its just a little nice for Beta to have company and for Talanah to be away from the stress of the Hunters Lodge). And I can totally see Beta being the one to tell Talanah everything – about Nemesis, about Zero Dawn and Elisabet Sobeck, about how she and Aloy are clones (again, none of this was on Talanah’s ‘Life With Aloy’ bingo card). She’d also give her a Focus (because Beta doesn’t understand why Aloy isn’t handing these out like sweets to people!) and shows Talanah how to use the Focus and oh look! They’ve taught each other things and that’s nice.

So one day they decide to venture out of the base (again, I don’t know, I really don’t know why) and who do they stumble across? Well Amadis of course (because every story needs a villain – that was harsh, he’s not actually going to do anything wrong this time). He doesn’t get a close look at Beta and just thinks Aloy has drastically cut her hair and changed her clothes (she did it like three time the last time he met her, where is she hiding those armour sets???) and he passes comment about how both he and Talanah were using each other to get over other people the whole time. Talanah has an ‘oh fuck’ moment and Amadis goes on his way again not realising he's caused total turmoil again.

So Talanah’s ‘oh fuck’ moment hits home that she’s drawn to Beta because of Aloy and she’s done exactly what she never wanted to be and made somebody her second choice. And deep down I think no matter how close the two of them were getting, Beta knows she’s an Aloy replacement and her self esteem is so far in the ground that she’s just pretty much ‘that’s just it for me, I’ll never be anything other than the inferior copy’ (and my poor baby Beta, I want to hug her) so she’s just kind of clung to somebody being nice to her even if it’s possibly (keep possibly in your mind) not meant for her in the first place.

I didn’t say this wasn’t angst – I mean, my opening summary of this didn’t indicate there wasn’t angst!

How this ends I’m not sure – I have two options, again…stick with me…

Aloy returns to the base right in the aftermath of the ‘oh fuck’ moment and is totally confused about what Talanah is doing there, but she’s kind of grateful that Talanah was looking after Beta. Then she finds out how close the two have gotten and is not impressed because how dare Talanah go near Beta! And Aloy totally won’t admit to being jealous and what Quen Marine? She’s be reuniting the Quen Fleet!

The two then have a long overdue heart to heart and all their feelings laid bare, happily ever after Hawk and Thrush. This ending seems a bit harsh on Beta who I don’t think deserves that so from stage right enter some unseen original character who has never, ever laid eyes on Aloy and knows nothing about her so they can like Beta for being Beta.

Option 2 goes totally the opposite way, enters rare pare mode and Talanah realises Beta is a totally different person to Aloy and while the original reason she spent time with Beta was Aloy (and was totally wrong) she’s actually rather drawn to Beta’s totally different personality and quirks. Cue Aloy returning to the base with Seyka and being totally confused about what’s going on – and has Beta just stolen her moment? She was about to introduce her girlfriend to the gang and now Beta and Talanah are a thing and…well…typical sibling bickering.

Of course there’s hidden option 3 which is everybody is miserable and unhappy, but that seems a bit bleak even for me.

Well thanks for sticking with me for this long…whatever this is – I don’t know what this is. I’m going back under my rock now, I’ll keep these wild idea to myself as this got out of hand 😁

[fanfictasia]

Whumpril Day 14

Holding Back Tears/”I said I’m fine!”

Spoiler: This is an excerpt from Call it Freedom

“It was… nothing,” he insists, because now that they’re here facing him, he can’t even begin to imagine trying to tell them what happened, how badly he failed. He clenches his hands to hide the faint tremor in them, well aware of the visible tension in his shoulders as he crosses back to his bunk and settles on it, staring pointedly at the wall, not them. He can imagine their expressions well enough, and he doesn’t think he can bear to look Crosshair or Tech in the eyes without crying again.

“That… was not nothing,” Echo says finally.

“I had a dream,” he grinds out, because what else can he call it? “It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with.”

He doesn’t see Crosshair move – he’s not in his peripheral vision – but he hears the movement, and a toothpick hits the side of his head. He jerks, glancing at it, before turning a glare on Crosshair, who just stares back unrepentantly. They grew up together; of course, he doesn’t find Hunter’s current expression any more intimidating than he has the past three thousand times he’s seen it.

“I said I’m fine!”

“Oh, we believe you,” Crosshair answers snidely.

“My scans show that your stress levels are abnormally elevated,” Tech reports, and Hunter flinches at the sound of his voice. “When have we ever followed orders.” There was so much resignation and acceptance and determination in those words. The mere memory feels like a vibroblade even now.

“Must have been quite the dream,” Echo murmurs dryly, frowning.

“Uh yeah,” Wrecker agrees, rubbing his left ear. “It didn’t really seem like you’re fine.”

“… I don’t want to talk about,” he settles on finally. We lost the kid. I lost the kid. Our squad fell apart, and it was my fault.

The others don’t even know who Omega is, and that realization challenges his ability to maintain his composed façade. They don’t remember her. … She doesn’t remember them or any of the things they’ve been through. For some reason, that part hurts even worse, and Hunter ducks his head, focusing on breathing through the sudden rush of emotion.

“I’ll be fine,” he states once he’s certain that his voice will be level – he can feel their eyes on him as they try to figure out what to do. “I just need… some time to sort things out.”

[ireadwithmyears]

i’m just gonna add a read more here cause I like to talk.

I am a fellow hunter Simp, so the section about him was written with a very personal experience in mind. Me and my friend have developed some strategies about going out on the town together, and the ones I mentioned here are really helpful. I might have a general idea of what she looks like, because I do have some vision left. However, I’ve been blind since birth, and put me in a situation where we’ve been separated and I’m potentially lost, I’m going to be too anxious to recall any of that when I ask someone to help me find her and inevitably, their first question is going to be well, what does she look like? So setting a part time Where she can describe to me her physical appearance in general as well as what she’s wearing that night really takes off that stress. Also yes, bright and contrasting colours are super helpful especially if you’re going somewhere like the club and everything is dark around you. Makes it super easy to differentiate the person you’re with.

I’m so happy to hear that Echo spoke to you so deeply. I am a hunter girly, but I’m also an eEcho girly, and as a disabled coded character, he’s really special to me and unlike most others, would be able to understand your feelings in a way that others wouldn’t. He knows exactly why you’re feeling like a burden because he has felt the same way, especially after the citadel and he was a new member of the batch. And he’ll tell you what they told him when he was struggling and felt like he was just making their lives harder. “We didn’t ask for you to be with us because we thought you’d make our lives easier. We wanted you with us because we saw your value, your skills, your devotion, and that’s what we admired. None of your struggles suddenly change any of those things or make them any less true. 

It’s crazy to me how worlds apart kids are with guide dogs versus adults. I have a guide a dog myself, and if you tell a child please don’t interact with it, and here’s why, they are so respectful about those rules and suddenly, that dog isn’t important. They act like it doesn’t even exist . Adults, however, they might think that because I don’t have much vision left, they can get away with a sneaky pet. Or, they won’t pet, but they talk in a baby voice which honestly, is just as bad if not worse when it comes to your dog getting distracted while working. Or they just make passive aggressive comments like oh, I wish I could pet you, but I know I’m not supposed to, which by the way, is still talking to my dog and is still distracting. Adults need to learn from their kids. Sorry, had to rant.

I just feel like Crosshair would place such a high value on your autonomy and independence, because he would understand how frustrating it is for people who try to make choices for you, and even if they are well-meaning, try to help you by being too overbearing. He understands that you have figured out how to survive this long, and he doesn’t want to get in the way of that flow by being over protective. However, if you don’t ask for help because you’re being stubborn and it gets to the point where you put yourself at any kind of risk, that switch is flipped And he’s going full protective, that was really stupid of you and I’m saying this because I love you but don’t ever do that again.

Please, yes, give me more clones to do these with. I will do it. Just let me know of who, either here, or shoot me an ask or message, and I would be more than happy to take requests. And if you have any specific scenarios in mind, I can do my best to incorporate those as well.

How each member of the bad batch would be with a visually impaired significant other (short imagine’s/headcannons

Word count: 5.4K

Pairings: the bad batch ex female reader (individual)

Tags/warnings: some are suggestive, mostly domestic fluff, hurt/comfort, mild injuries

note: look, it’s the epitome of self indulgence. I wrote this solely because I’m blind, and have never seen these ideas discussed when it comes to our beloved boys. However, I recognize that the majority of people reading this will not have shared this experience, so this is why I am adding a disclaimer/reminder to tell you that blindness is a spectrum, and the majority of us have at least a degree of useable vision left, so that is why I continue to use visual language/descriptors like look or watching. That being said, I hope you enjoy these, I had so much fun writing them, and if you have an idea for a specific scenario so I can do more of these, or another particular clone who isn’t a member of the batch, please let me know, and I would be happy to write more

Hunter🩷 

Hunter is the best at planning dates when it comes to keeping your accessibility and comfort in mind. 

If he wants to take you out somewhere, he’ll always go and scope it out beforehand, analyzing things that might not make it an enjoyable experience for you. I.e. if the lighting is too low and will obscure any of your remaining vision. If the music is too loud and will make it hard for you to effectively communicate with him. He knows that both of these things, especially when they’re working in tandem, can make you feel on edge and anxious, and that’s the last thing he wants you to feel when he’s taking you out on a date.

He will always ask the establishment about things like accessible or braille menus, or, if you happen to have a guide dog, seating that will have the space to accommodate and be comfortable for all of you.

If the menu isn’t accessible for you, he will always give you a heads up beforehand, using his datapad to pull up the menu on the holonet so that he can help you familiarize yourself with it, and you can decide what you want before you get there, taking a lot of the stress and pressure off of you because you don’t have to rush.

He wants you to feel cherished, loved, and safe when you’re out and about with him. So if you are going somewhere that’s particularly busy or crowded, he will also adapt himself. 

He’ll keep you close, whether it’s with your arm tucked securely in the crook of his elbow to guide you around, or his hand gently placed on the small of your back, letting it rest there so that you know he’s right there with you.

He never plans on getting separated from you, but if, by some unforeseen circumstance, it happens by accident, he has a plan for that too. 

If you’ve got remaining vision that is useable, he will intentionally wear bright, contrasting colours to make him easier to spot, even when he’s a distance away. 

If you don’t have any remaining vision, he’ll wear something like keys that jingle, or an article of jewellery that makes a distinct sound as he walks so that you can tell when he’s approaching. 

Regardless, every time you go on a night out, he will take the time to describe his appearance to you in detail, his general physical description, what he’s wearing, so that if, for some reason, you do get separated, you know how best to describe him to someone, so that they can locate him for you and help you make your way back to him

His enhanced senses have become innately attuned to your normal patterns and rhythms, and if he notices any rapid fluctuation or change be it with your breathing or heart rate, indicating that the environment you’re in is causing you stress, he’s whisking you away, taking you back home, despite any of your protests. He knows you’re just fighting him because you feel guilty about potentially messing up the night, which you absolutely are not.

He will not let you feel that way for long, because when you’re home, he is determined to make you feel like the beautiful, treasured, and wanted human being that you are.

He orders your favourite takeout food. He’ll lie you down on your bed, surrounding you with soft blankets and pillows, gently and tenderly beginning to caress and massage the tension from your tensed up shoulders and back, partly because he feels like he might have inadvertently been the cause of it being there in the first place.

“I’m sorry,” you try to apologize. “I know you really wanted to...”

“Shh,” he quiets your apology, a hand coming up to softly brush a finger against your lips, resting his forehead against yours gently. “Meshla,” he breathes, unable to help the small smirk of amusement that pulls at the corners of his mouth as he observes, taking note of your breath audibly catching in the back of your throat as his finger, slow and slightly teasing, begins to lightly trace the edge of your bottom lip.

He presses his lips to yours in a sweet, chaste kiss as he affirms, “this is all I want,” he breathes in a whisper close to your ear that immediately has your whole body erupting in goosebumps.

“You,” he continues, his voice a low, husky rumble against your neck as his lips press, warm and deliberate, directly where your pulse flutters beneath them, pulling a soft, yet audible gasp out of you, that makes his lips curve up into a smile that you can feel against the skin of your neck.  “Are all I want.” 

He spends the rest of the night taking his time to prove that to you, in every way that he knows how.

*

Tech🩷

He takes note of every single bruise you get on your legs from bumping into shit all the time. 

You’re blind, it’s just an occupational hazard. You might not even notice that you have one, but he certainly does, and he’ll take care to notify you of every time you accumulate a new mark in your collection.

“There is a bruise directly above your left knee,” he observes, gentle fingers tracing over the mark with a soft frown marring his features. 

He naturally has picked up on using the language that is most helpful to describe the location of something visual to you. You didn’t even have to ask the first time you were on hands and knees on the floor, feeling around for one of your shoes. He didn’t point, and say “it’s over there,” which is just instinctive habit for most people. Instead, he had a used more specific directives like “behind you, on a slight diagonal to your right.”

“How did this happen,” he asks softly now, placing your hand directly on top of the blossoming mark on your leg.

You give him a half shrug and a rueful smile. “I don’t know,” you admit, honestly puzzled. “It happens all the time.”

From then on, he observes you closely, quickly coming to the realization that there are things that are just harder for you to look out for, and, just as quickly, doing his best to rectify each one. He’s easily able to identify a pattern of cause and effect that lead to your many bruises, bumps, and small every day accidents, and rather than being over bearing and cautious with you, he just figures out a way to remove the root of each problem entirely.

Each step on the Marauder’s gangway is suddenly marked with a long strip of brightly coloured tape at each edge, so that you can more confidently move down the steps without having to fumble to find the edge with your foot.

Low sitting caf tables in the middle of the living room, with sharp, jagged corners jutting out are suddenly pushed up against the wall, so that you don’t have to be careful while stepping around them, trying not to hit your leg off of one of them.

He makes sure that any overhead cupboards in the kitchen that are hard for you to notice until your head is colliding with their open doors, are kept securely shut, recalling a particular incident when, whilst putting away dishes, your head had caught on one of the cupboard doors, large bump blossoming on your forehead, just barely missing your eye. He had frowned, gently holding an ice pack to the swelling bump, deciding that from now then on, he would put any of the dishes away that needed to go on the top shelves. He wouldn’t budge on this, even when you tried to argue.

“Cyar,” he had said, voice stern, even as he gently took you by both of your shoulders. “I understand your need to be able to do things independently, and I respect it greatly. But, as much as you can make a light about getting bruises on your legs from these little incidents. Your head is much too important to apply that same lightness to, and I will not compromise on that so please, let me do this for you.” he had leaned down, barely brushing his lips over the bump on your head in a caring, affectionate gesture, and that had made your resolve completely crumble.

He’s also hyper aware of your systems and ways of organizing things, and it has become a habit for him to make sure that it is maintained. 

Shampoo and conditioner bottles that look almost identical with exception to the labels that isn’t much help to you are always set in a specific order for you to find in the shower. You always leave things like your wallet and your cane in the same place, and if anyone messes with these orders, it can really throw you off.

If anyone does touch or move any of your things, regardless of how insignificant, without telling you first, Tech will find out, and, especially if it’s one of his brothers, will thoroughly scold them for it, ensuring that they understand why somethings so small could be really frustrating and disorienting for you, and makes sure that they never do it again.

If you read braille, this man learns it for fun one day on a whim, and he doesn’t even tell you about it.

He’ll put away your groceries for you one day, and then you’ll be searching for something like a dinner ingredient, and find that he’s attached a braille label to the box, with completely correct use of the six dots that form the language.

When you confront him with it, he only shrugs, adjusting his goggles with a slightly confused expression.

“You sound surprised,” he observes with one raised eyebrow. “In a practical sense, this was a logical solution,” he continues, clearly unfazed by your display of shock.

“That’s not fair,” you pout, leaning against the counter and folding your arms. “If you’re going to learn braille, then you at least need to teach me some Mandoa,” you challenge.

“I was not aware that you were interested in the subject. But that is an agreeable request. What would you like to know?” He asks, looking at you questioningly.

“Like,” you bite your lip, considering, tilting your head in curiosity. “What’s that word that you always call me?” You ask. “It starts with an S? I think? Or maybe a C...c cyar?” You say, suddenly uncertain and cringing at your own pronunciation.

He straightens, suddenly grateful that you’re unable to see the blush that’s crept into his cheeks as he answers evenly. 

“Ah, yes, the word that you were saying is correct. Cyar... it means, love... or beloved,” he answers, voice going soft as he catches your hand in his, almost absently pressing his lips to the back of your knuckles briefly as you stare at him, surprised.

“You ... you love me?” You ask, hopeful and voice clearly bewildered. The smile that pulls at the corners of your lips lights up the whole room. 

Both eyebrows arch as he looks down at you, because now he’s the one who’s confused. When he responds, his voice is far less confident and sure than it usually is. It holds almost a shy, completely uncharacteristic timidness, which conveys the genuine honesty in his words when he speaks.

“Well ...cyar. of course I do. I thought it was obvious.”

*

Echo🩷 

Echo, unlike most people, understands all the aches and pains, mental and physical, that come with being disabled.

He’s sat with you on the bathroom floor, your head resting against the cool linoleum of one of the tiles on the wall after a concert. You had come home to find your head throbbing from the after affects of being surrounded by a combination of extremely loud music, a screaming crowd, and strobe lights that made you wish that you didn’t have any remaining vision at all. 

Your eyes were shut tightly, and  your heart fluttered with surprise and gratitude when, with his one functioning hand, Echo, movements slow and meticulous, carefully began to undo your hair from the tight updo it had been forced into all night. There he sat, fingers so, so gentle as they ran through your hair, undoing the tangles and soothing away some of the tight ache that had gathered at the back of your head. 

He’s careful to stay quiet, not wanting to interrupt the little bit of peace that you had found. The only thing that fell from his lips were gentle breaths and soft murmurs of “oh, sweetness, s’okay,” lips pressing the lightest kisses to your flushed cheek, the side of your aching forehead, until the painkillers had finally, finally kicked in.

If you’re a cane user, he always has his eyes peeled for the little bumps and cracks along the sidewalk.

He’s seen what happens when the tip gets caught in one of them, when the handle inevitably jabs against your stomach or ribs and the immediate discomfort on your face that follows.

He also sees the bruises that are left there afterwards, and as much as he loves gently pressing his lips to each of them, reassuring you that he’ll kiss them better, he’d rather them just not be there in the first place.

So, he always watches out for them, giving you an ample warning on ones that your cane could get caught in so that you can move it out of the way. 

He takes you to a holofilm, and you both don’t realize that it’s not available with audio description until you’re in your seats and the headset doesn’t work. He immediately turns to you, giving you a reassuring smile and offering his hand, saying “We can leave, if you want. If you’re not going to get anything out of this, we can go, and we’ll find something else to do.”

You decide to stick it out, rationalizing that you’ll still be able to get something out of the film, if not the whole story, and besides, he can catch you up on parts you didn’t understand after it’s over. 

In the end, it’s still worth it for you.  

You finish half of a bag of popcorn before commercials are even over. You’re intrigued by the movie for almost half of it, and then finally, you spend the rest of it passed out with your head resting on Echo’s shoulder, only for him to wake you, slightly chagrined, when the credits are rolling.

When you’re out of the theater, you walk together hand in hand down the street. He apologizes profusely, saying that he should have done more research. You try to laugh it off to reassure him that it was fine, because you just had one of the best naps of your life in that theater. When it’s clear that that doesn’t help, you’re turning to him, sighing with a small frown.

“Echo,” you say with a small shake of your head. “I’m the one who should be sorry, not you, love.” At his look of bewilderment, you continue. “You do so much for me already, and I’m just so, so grateful for that. It’s not always something I feel like I can repay you for.” You look away, ashamed. 

Because it’s true. He has his own set of issues and lingering problems from the injuries he sustained at the citadel. You can encourage him to do things like his physiotherapy exercises that ensures that his cybernetics are working in tandem with his body. But you can’t actually help him with them, whether it be with making modifications or repairs. It sometimes makes you feel a bit useless, because he helps you so much and you feel like you can only help him so little, and you feel like you’re just adding to his already overflowing plate sometimes.

“I know there could be easier people for you to be with,” you confess, voice quiet.

Echo stops dead at the street corner, catching your wrist to stop you from moving forward, and turning to fully face you with his brow creased in a frown.  

“Oh, Cyar’ika,” he says, voice soft, reaching out a hand to tilt your head up so that you’re looking at him. “Now who put that idea in your head, ner kar’ta?” he whispers, gazing down at you with pursed lips.

Unexpected tears spring to your eyes at his gentle tone. The truth is that you can’t place this feeling on a singular person, though people have contributed to it. Family members have made comments in passing, strangers who look at the two of you and immediately begin to judge from there own preconceived notions and outside opinions. It’s society at large, who has made you feel like your blindness is a burden to the ones you love. 

You don’t know how to say that, though. So you remain silent as Echo leans down, dropping a lingering kiss to your forehead as he whispers, “I don’t need you to make my life easier, cyar. You make my life meaningful, and that, to me, is more important. 

He rests his forehead against yours, brushing a soft kiss to your lips. “Your needs don’t make you a burden, cyar’ika. I want you to remember that. I want to make sure that they are always being met. It’s the least I can do, you understand?”

All you can do is nod, your heart in your throat. 

The next time you go see a holofilm with him, and the audio description isn’t available, Echo is prepared this time.

He still offers to leave, but when you refuse, he has a plan. In his own time, and on the occasions when you both have been watching something at home, he always makes sure the described video settings are on, for your benefit, and when he’s alone, for his.

He’s observed closely, listening and carefully paying attention to how the narrator’s go about describing things. So, when the movie starts, he leans over to you, keeping his voice low and quiet, beginning to describe to you what’s happening onscreen, careful to never interrupt any dialogue.

You stare at him, more than a little surprised. “Echo, are you going to do this for the whole film?” You ask, caught off guard and delighted all at once.

He gives you a quick nod. “Yes,” he answers matter-of-factly. “Now, be quiet and let me do it.”

True to his word, he does, staying close to you and keeping his voice quiet, so as not to disturb anyone around you. If someone still tries to shush him or gives him a dirty look for talking in the theater, he glares at them, in only the way that Echo can, until they stop.

This time, you stay awake during the whole film, watching intently, and listening to echos every word as he is meticulous in describing the visual things that you’re missing. In spite of all of the things that are different in comparison to your last date, one thing still remains the same.

You still finish the movie with your head resting on his broad shoulder, and he still looks at you like you’re the centre of his world.

*

Wrecker🩷 

The first time you make a blind joke about yourself in front of him, he’s terrified. 

Instinctively, he starts laughing, but then, registering your words, he immediately cuts himself off, not wanting to offend you, and is concerned that you’re being mean to yourself, which he will not allow. 

When you only snort at his reaction, playfully nudging him and explaining how it’s fine, because you have to make fun of the things that you are unable to change, and how it’s actually a mark of self love if you have the ability to laugh at yourself, slowly, he begins to understand. 

Soon enough, he not only readily laughs at your self deprecating humour and blind jokes, but at one point, he ends up slipping out one of his own before he can stop himself.

Again, he’s immediately apologetic and regretting his words, but when you throw back your head and laugh heartily, he feels a little less insecure and soon enough, you both have the ability to crack blind jokes with each other without missing a beat, to everyone else’s chagrin and fond amusement. 

He decides that having the ability to make you laugh, getting to watch your eyes sparkle with amusement and hearing the sounds of your joy is music to his ears, and is one of his favourite things. 

Wrecker is your number one protector. Not in a toxic, over protective way.

Even though he’s only got one functioning  eye, chances are he’s still got more vision than you, so he’s taking it upon himself to be the working set in this relationship, meaning he’s always watching out for you.

If you’ve got a guide dog, the first time he encounters it, he might have gone to pet it, but, before he did, he sees the do not interact sign, and stops short, quickly pulling back and apologizing. 

He asks questions, just to make sure he understands why it’s important, and after you explain it, he fully respects the boundaries and never forgets them, to which you are immensely thankful.

He doesn’t understand why you’re so grateful for him just doing the decent thing, until you tell him that a lot of people understand that you’re not supposed to pet the dog, but will either do it anyways, thinking that if you can’t see them doing it and they do it silently, you won’t notice, or they’ll talk in a distracting way to the animal, which is sometimes worse, and equally as distracting for the dog to work through.

This angers him, that they would take advantage of your blindness in such a disrespectful manner, and because you’ve explicitly told him that distracting your dog could potentially put you in danger, under the right circumstances.

From then on, he’s always watching.

If someone is petting your dog while it’s working, or trying to distract it, he’s right there, towering over them and glaring with his arms crossed, not so subtly pointing at the do not pet sign until they back away, stuttering and flustered.

If a child runs up to pet it, he’ll much more gently intercept them, crouching down on the ground to quietly explain to them the rules. In your experience, children are often much more respectful than adults, and watching him interact so kindly with them melts your heart every time.

Wrecker is tall. Standing at 6 feet six, it makes him not the most ideal guiding companion.

If he’s guiding you himself, sometimes, unintentionally, his elbow might knock against your head, for which he is immediately aware of, and instantly apologetic. 

He will always stop, large hands gently cradling the sides of your face as he looks you over, worried that even the slightest bump from him could leave a bruise. Regardless of what he finds, though, he’ll always lean down, dropping a kiss to your forehead with a soft, “m sorry, meshla.”

His solution to this problem, however, is a tad bit unconventional. 

When confronted with a situation where it’s just more efficient for him to guide you, for example, a street blocked off by construction, taped off areas and pylons everywhere, instead of offering you something like his hand or his wrist to hold, he simply reaches down, scoops you up into his arms and carries you over his shoulder until you’ve both cleared the obstacles together, you letting out a surprised squeak and giggling all the while.

Wrecker finds you beautiful, every day, all the time, and he is constant with his reminders of that.

As a blind person, it can be more difficult to coordinate a whole outfit, look, hair, and make up. He is so appreciative, and loves if you do that. But, if you’re one of those blind people who never learned how to do make up, who isn’t as confident in their sense of personal style, and you feel a little bit self-conscious about how much, or how little, in your opinion, effort you put into your look when you’re going out on a date with him, he will quickly assuage your fears the minute he catches wind of them.

He’s very good at detecting those days where you’re not feeling good about your appearance, just intuitively sensing when you’re having a bit of an off day, and when you could use a reminder of how beautiful and precious you are to him. He knows he can’t magically change your mind.

But he can  tell you about all the things he finds attractive about you, every day, if you need that reminder.

He’ll tell you of each one, each part of you that he finds beautiful beyond belief, while taking the time to softly caress and kiss each one, with whispered affirmations of “Such a pretty little thing,” and “You’re perfect, cyar, absolutely perfect.”

And if that’s not enough, he’ll keep going, keep moving downwards until he can look up at your beautiful face, watching from in between your parted thighs as your lips form equally beautiful noises for him.

*

Crosshair🩷 

It isn’t that Crosshair doesn’t want to help you. It’s just that, honestly, he’s a little bit hesitant to, in the beginning, fearing that he might overstep, because he places such a high value on choice, and respects your independence and autonomy to much to question you and your abilities.

He trusts that, if you need his help, you’ll come to him and ask. He also trusts that you’ve been living with blindness for a long time, maybe even since birth, and you’re aware enough to know your boundaries and limits, trusting that you’ll advocate when you need him to help with one of those limits.

Just because he doesn’t help you as much in the physical sense, does not mean he isn’t your number one advocate, because he absolutely is. 

For example, if you’re a guide dog user, and you both are going out together using a ride sharing app. If the driver refuses to let you in they’re speeder because of your service dog, he will wait patiently for you to explain, analyzing every micro expression of the driver and knowing when they’re still not listening to you, and he will step in without hesitation.

Wearing his most menacing glare, and in a voice that is deadly calm, he will absolutely read them the riot act. He knows every law regarding your guide dog, and knows just how properly to phrase them in a way that will make the driver scared, usually when he mentions the 5000 credits fine they could be sued for not denying you access 

He’s also keeping his eyes out to make sure that no one distracts your dog, and isn’t afraid to directly confront anyone who tries, saying something snarky like, “You know, maybe you’re the one who needs a guide dog, if you can’t read the don’t pet me sign that’s right in front of your face,” paired with a signature eye roll.

They always back away stuttering, and it always makes you laugh, even as you gently rebuke him, saying “Cross, that was a bit rude.”

He scowls, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you against him as he responds.

“And you, sweet girl, are too nice,” he purrs lowly against your ear. But, with the way that he begins to nuzzle at your neck, you don’t really think it bothers him that much.

If you’re one of those blind people who feels like asking for help is just burdening other people with your problems, and would rather risk facing the consequences by trying to do something yourself, rather than ask for help, he will find out, and he will not be pleased in the slightest. 

Your stubbornness is something that he loves about you. But if it has a tendency to go too far, especially if you’re putting yourself in harms way, that adoration will quickly turn to frustration.

For example, one time, you both were staying at a place that had a glass topped stove. 

These things are so inaccessible for blind people, it’s not even funny. But rather than admit defeat and let him cook dinner, you decided that you could figure it out, and gave it your best shot. 

Your best shot ended with you trying to line up the pot with the burner, and very quickly, receiving a searing burn on your hand from touching the heat. 

You had not anticipated it getting that hot that fast , and as you quickly pull your hand away, tears prick at the corners of your eyes as you let out a pained hiss.

““what are you doing?”

He had materialized behind you from seemingly out of nowhere, voice a silky, yet tensed coil as he reaches around you carefully, quickly flicking off the burner before long, dextrous fingers wrap  around your wrist, still gentle, even as he insistently pulls your hand away from where you’ve been clutching it to your chest, eyes keenly examining the burn with a soft frown on his face.

Wordlessly, he guides you over to the kitchen sink, hand on the small of your back, turning the water on cold and carefully placing your injured hand beneath the stream. 

Only then does he come to stand in front of you, placing both of his hands on your shoulders, his expression hard as he looks down at you. 

“What were you thinking, cyar?” He grits out, voice almost a growl as he tries to understand. “Why didn’t you wait for me? I could have helped and prevented this,” he gestures to your hand. “From happening.”

You blame the trembling in your voice on the lingering throbbing ache in your hand.

“I’m s sorry. I I thought that I could figure it out. You were busy, and I didn’t want to bother you B because I’m scared that I burden you with all the help I need sometimes and.”

“Stop,” he cuts you off in one quick, decisive syllable, and you instantly fall silent.

He tilts your chin up with one hand, guiding your eyes to look at him. His lips form a thin line when he sees the glimmer of unshed tears there. When he next speaks, his voice is still firm, but there is an underlying gentleness and softening in his tone. It has lost its hard edge, and it’s protective bite.

“You are not a burden, to anyone, but especially to me.”

“But,” you try to interject, but he easily silences you, taking your face in both of his hands and cradling it gently.

“Shh, cyar, listen to me,” he says, his voice a quiet command.

“If you are a burden, then you are my burden. In the same way that I am yours.” He takes your uninjured hand in his, relaxing his fingers against yours,  allowing you to feel it’s tremors.

Oh.

It’s been so long since his hand has shaken like this. He’s worked so hard to try and work through this particular trauma, and though it hasn’t completely gone away, it only begins to tremble during moments of high stress. You flush with shame, realizing that this moment of high stress is completely on you.

“I know what you’re doing, and stop it,” he says, voice stern, squeezing your hand in a silent warning. “Look at me, cyar’ika,” he continues, voice softening.

When you do, he continues. “If we are each other’s burdens, then we take care of each other, together. Do you understand me?”

You nod, actually stunned into complete silence at his proclamation.

“Good,” he says, voice softening further. He leans forward, pressing a slow, lingering kiss to your lips, fingers gently caressing the side of your neck as he pulls back.

He gives you a playful nudge as he smirks.

“Don’t ever try something like that again, cyar,” he quips with a scowl. “Your eyes already don’t work, and if you lose one of your hands, you’re completely fucked.”

All the levity of the moment vanishes, and it ends with your face pulling into a smile, a soft laugh falling from your parted lips as he watches you, eyes filled with adoration.

[catch-the-wind]

when reader is sick hc's

finally posting writing here so true

n e ways okay so i’m brainrotting about the genshin charas taking care of their s/o’s when they’re sick 🥺 and now i'm feeling sick, sigh

ohm and sulien ambros belong to @teyvattherapist! they're such good chara's, i know i'm writing them here but i deffo recommend reading up on them

okay here u go, have some hc's that are kinda sorta long and by that i mean 2.5k- i haven't proofread this bc it's 4am and im going to BED but if i write for any other chara's i'll post a second part <3 mwah

tags: gn!reader, diluc x reader, kaeya x reader, jean x reader, lisa x reader, albedo x reader, dainsleif x reader, tartaglia x reader, ohm ambros x reader, sulien ambros x reader, soft bean hours

diluc

is not working or traveling when his partner is sick

absolutely makes them soup and hot tea and drinks

he’s trying to make them food but he’s not the best cook so he’s asking adelinde for help

absolutely asks jean, barbara, and ohm for help while his partner is sleeping but he’s so awkward LMAO

was absolutely frantic the first day he found out his partner was sick tho, he made them come over to the winery so they could sleep there and he can take care of them <3

absolutely lied about what room was his so they slept in his bed

“hmm this guest room is so furnished diluc are all your rooms like this” and no, no they are not, this room is his, bestie

diluc slept on a sofa in his bedroom and did work on the table that was supposed to be for flowers. kinda stressed over abyss order locations but was more worried ab his partner being okay so he was distracted

he just put the flowers on his nightstand for his partner to see when they woke up <3

gives his partner forehead kisses because they won’t let him kiss them on the lips and he gives them the gentlest cheek kisses while they sleep

also gives his partner his clothes to wear <3

cuddles them and reads to them when they’re awake and TEMPLE KISSES OH MY GOD

kaeya comes over because he’s worried his brother and his brother’s s/o haven’t been seen in a little while

n e way, diluc gets sick after his partner gets better and they nursed each other back to health

kaeya

like diluc, he took off work so he could take care of his s/o i,mediately after he found out they were sick

wouldn’t force them to stay at his place tho, he’d probably let them recover in their own place

but he might make them go to the kof hq or the cathedral just so they can be taken care of by a proper healer

he absolutely soothes their fevers and stuff w cryo and also the man can heal himself w his elem skill ofc he can fix someone if he tries hard enough <3

he gives kisses no matter how much his partner says not to but he’ll also give them butterfly kisses so it’s soft moments too~ sigh, ur too cute alberich

asks ohm and barbara and albedo and lisa for potions and such to help his partner feel better but he’s really lowkey so he doesn’t seem SUPER worried

he just hates seeing his partner not feeling so well </3

refreshes his partner’s vase of flowers at their bedside every day

brings home work so he can watch over his partner. he can’t cook super well either so he asks for help and brings stuff home from good hunter too

jean was okay to let kaeya off of work and diluc would never admit it (man practically swore everyone to secrecy smh) but he helped take up some of kaeya’s duties in his stead

and kae, the alcoholic, didn’t even drink while his partner was sick bc he was lowkey worried they would need his help w smth and he didn’t want to be drunk just in case <3

many cuddles despite protests of getting him sick <3

jean

absolutely uses her healer skills to make her partner feel better

panicked when they were still sick and thought it was her fault </3 she asked barbara and ohm for help and they just told jean to relax a bit bc her partner was sick and it wasn’t going to be a quick fix

wanted to take off work but didn’t, so she just brought her work with her

kaeya and ohm very kindly took up her other duties where she had to leave so she could be w her partner

her partner is staying in the kof hq where they get access to ohm and barbara comes to visit <3 but also so that jean can sleep comfortably enough close by bc you cannot tell me this woman does not sometimes sleep in her office or the library and barely makes it to the kof dormitories sometimes

she’s so worried the entire time, she’s probably got a few gray hairs and a new frown line smh

she has clothes that aren’t her work clothes???? it’s so foreign seeing her in stuff like pajamas. you didn’t even know jean owned pajamas

jean sets them up in her bed at home (yeah she has a place outside of the kof hq??? it’s surprising) but it’s a big bed so they can rest and she’ll have the lamp on her side on while she sits up and does work

absolutely dotes on them. she’s good at making foods that make them feel better, she’s just a good healer that way <3

albedo, klee, venti, kaeya, lisa, and ohm all come over to check on jean and co and make sure everyone is doing okay <3 lots of food brought

if jean was asked to sing to her partner normally, she probably wouldn’t bc she’d probably get embarrassed but i think she probably sounds v good and venti would give her his lyre to try out a musical instrument too. but also she’d read to her partner and they’d probably fall asleep together uwu

lisa

works part time hours at the library so she can go visit her s/o

probably asks them to stay at the kof hq for easier access to medical assistance and plus she’s almost always there

“cutie” but worried and very 🥺 (pleading emoji)

makes soup and potions and reads to her partner until they fall asleep

also super playful omg she’s still got a smile on and is full of affection while she walks her fingers up her partner’s arm to their face so she can cup their cheek

she’ll make her partner laugh and smile and blush even when they’re sick, but she makes them laugh until they cough sometimes and immediately feels so bad

jean, barbara, kaeya, albedo and ohm all come to visit with different foods and soups and medicines and such

klee comes knocking and gives lisa some good fisherman’s toast and asks lisa’s s/o if they want to hug dodoco b/c that always makes klee feel better

purple roses galore, lisa has them in her partner’s room and they’ve got a potion to make the. uh. sniffer? to make the sniffer feel better. don’t ask me how, idk but she would find a way to make them physically feel better with flowers

reads to her partner ofc, and she tells them stories ab her own life and time at sumeru sans the crazies

worried looks when her s/o is sleeping but also the softest smiles when they wake up pls-

albedo

cutest lil frown on his face when he finds out his partner is sick

immediately they are taken home and he’s testing to confirm what’s wrong w them and what he can do to speed up their recovery

he’s more distracted than usual at work but he’s coming over to your place all the time w what paperwork he can do

also sketches his partner while they don’t know. he’s got lots of beautiful candids of his partner sleeping, looking out the window, falling asleep, reading, even drinking water. he’s made the most mundane things look captivating

kaeya and ohm come to check on albedo when he doesn’t show up for work after a few days and it’s bc he’s taking care of his s/o with food and soup and alchemical potions and shit. and when kae and ohm come in, they find his partner opening the door wrapped in a blanket while albedo is asleep cuddling the pillow they left bc he stayed up the night before making soup and reading to them

klee has camped out on his partner’s couch, she helps w the cooking too~ she absolutely lets them hug dodoco and gives them a treasure to feel better too LOL

many kisses from klee and albedo, and they also go out to get treats for albedo’s partner too

domestic albedo cooking in his partner’s kitchen and for once it isn’t some alchemical potion that he might blow up the stove with

tartaglia

takes off work entirely but BOY OH BOY is he stir crazy smh

brings his partner to his apartment to rest <3

he’s so worried ab his s/o that he makes all the sick ppl food the first day, orders from wanmin restaurant when his partner wants smth different, and also gets toys and such to entertain them otherwise

also reads to his partner but, again, he gets stir crazy after a while

absolutely does workouts and katas in the living room and phew shirtless tartaglia working out? gets the heart rate up for sure ahem

rushes to his partner tho omg- need soup? water? a trip to the bathroom? another blanket? he goes to them the MOMENT he hears them moving around. absolutely dotes on them <3

his family knows ab his partner and he’s probably written letters ab them being sick~ his family sent snezhnayan herbs and flowers and medicines and such

zhongli comes around because he wants sugar daddy!tartaglia with tea and medicine from bubu pharmacy. hu tao is in tow with well wishes and a “hope i don’t find you at work!” which is. a little worrying because aren’t you just a little sick-

many kisses from tartaglia because he is Needy and he’ll absolutely get sick from cuddling his partner while they sleep

also he’ll probably just like. envelop his partner while they sleep. they’re all cuddled into him and he’s actually so warm it’s nice bc they’re cold w a fever and he’s living for comforting them

he’s so worried tho, he’s got the frowny face and he’s so adorable but he just doesn’t want his partner to feel sick

dainsleif

the man camps in ruins, he’s going to his partner’s house smh

he doesn’t go into the church either LOL so expect him in his partner’s home making dinner and doing their grocery shopping thanks

he would get ohm and barbara to come over tho <3 “fix them please” but also “how can i fix them”

is so dead set on making sure his partner takes their medicine at the right times, he’s so soft for them and them alone

cooks soup and old recipes he barely remembers from khaenri’ah. he doesn’t really get sick, so he doesn’t remember these ones too clearly. deffo brings back old memories he’d long forgotten

reads to his partner and tells them old stories of how the world used to be, his travels, gives them the gossip on a certain khaenri’ahn but doesn’t give away the name

ohm comes over with medicine and lollipops bc dain is so unlikely to go to the cathedral to get barbara smh

but also dain, so self-sufficient, is unlikely to want to ask for help, so ohm just goes to help anyway

dain with the old khaenri’ahn lullabies and tucking his partner into his arms and singing quietly while he holds them and rocks them to sleep

dain is immortal, he’s giving his partner kisses bc “i’m immortal, ofc i won’t get sick”

he got sick

but his s/o nursed him back to health and then there were smooches the end

ohm ambros

the doctor with his ill lover oh my god

he’s frowny, he’s taking care of his partner at his home in springvale and his home clinic is open to everyone else. but everyone knows his partner is the first priority LOL

kaeya and albedo come over to see if ohm is okay or if his house needs to be checked up on. they’re wondering if he went on a last-minute expedition to sumeru and didnt tell them

diluc comes over too, he’s just checking up on his best friend but he’s also stealing a cherry lollipop smh. he heard from kae that ohm’s partner is sick tho, so he brings some soup and good food over from adelinde. he also brings some of his own specialty food tho, the once upon a time in mondstadt <3

sulien sending letters to his big brother to see if his brother’s s/o is okay

ohm is also just super protective of his partner, there are not many people who come into his life who he loves and lets in in the first place. he’s absolutely trying to heal them with his own vitality, so their recovery is much shorter than initially expected

barbara also comes over w jean to check up on ohm and co, complete w a goody basket of soup, a teddy bear, flowers, and books

ohm reading to his partner <3 he’s got such a soothing voice even if his accent is wack LMAO. he’s reading stories and even his paperwork because just his presence is comforting

he puts his hands on his partner’s forehead to soothe the fever goodbye

ohm will not sing for his s/o simply bc he doesn’t think he sounds v good. and he probably doesn’t but it would be so cute to hear him try and please ohm? 🥺

n e way i want smooches idc if i’m sick KISS ME OHM AMBROS

sulien ambros

when he finds out his partner is sick, the man blinks like twice and then suggests so calmly that they go to his apartment in liyue

man does not sleep normally, he’s just going to nurse his partner back to health and read during their recovery. fruit tart can cover his duties for him <3

sulien cooks for his partner tho, he’s making soup and stuff and getting medicine from bubu’s pharmacy. he’s also picking up books on the way home but some of them are to be read to his partner so it’s okay-

like tartaglia, sulien works out while his partner rests and goes to them if he hears them moving around. he’s reading to his partner and not so frowny, but the slightest furrow of this man’s brow is already such a big expression of his concern <3

sends letters to ohm asking for advice ab how to help his partner feel better. ohm just sends a letter back with “i’m coming” and shows up within the day LMAO

reads to his partner, and the monotony of his voice is soothing and lulls them to sleep. he just looks at them affectionately (well affectionate for him) and presses a kiss to their forehead before finishing the story on his own and in his head

tartagalicious comes over and brings food, flowers and a teddy bear with some of sandrone’s paperwork but he sends a smile to sulien’s partner with some well wishes

scara comes over too just to visit and check to see where sandrone is, but scara is a grumpy bean so he just says “feel better” all brooding and like it’s a command to one of the fatui subordinates LOL

sulien like ohm uses his cold hands to soothe his partner’s fever and also gives them forehead kisses <3

Edit: a link to part 2

[pastelpaperplanes]

Big Ol Ask Post Pt. 3 I think

I haven’t drawn anything other than cursed or plain technical stuff w him 😔😔 have these for now but expect more soon!

anon a way back asked what he’d look like next to Overlord being already so big compared to Megs, that’s why you see Lordie if you’re wondering why he’s thrown in that line up!

by the way I have a voice claim for the big purple simp— Jenner from NIMH, he’s so awful but that suave baritone oh it fits too well >:] it’s the ‘humble servant’ line that got to me

Yep! Pharma is absolutely in this AU—as well as the CFau and Crack one too—and in all, he’s still an estranged medic long since booted from any legal work back on Cybertron.

He lost his credibility and more all those years ago when he found himself willing to do his fair share of cutting corners and hastily concealed malpractice to expedite his dream of getting his name down in the medical books—ultimately impressing his dear Mentor Ratchet, finally, in perfecting long-since banned risky experiments and surgeries—not to mention cruel and unusual temperament with the (supposedly) taboo practice of non-medicinal mnemosurgery.

His ambitions and aggression always got the bet of him, this hasn’t changed since he found himself working in freelance outposts. Light years away from Cybertron, he’s made a name for himself as a Good Doctor—but to his under-the-table black market part-dealing clients, he’s just about as bad as a Crooked Medic can get.

Bounty hunters and Arms Dealers like him for his business, a certain DJD member likes him for the occasional berth company and seemingly never ending supply of fresh T-Cogs—but no one actually likes him for his nasty temperamental personality, save for a young and naive Ratchet once upon a time.

Pharma is a roamer, as of recent he’s been a hard to reach mech—seems as if he’s found a little project to keep himself pretty occupied in the last few decades—something about a breakthrough for aiding the Decepticon Energon Crisis :] him and a small, horrifyingly cheerful surgeon are well on their way to completing their first trial batches, it’s safe to say that their little synthetic mixture will have it’s users sated and compliant.

they’ve got that amazing ‘new car smell’ those first few weeks, and instead of chittering like an Insecticons or vibrating their wings like a seeker—they beep and squeak, sometimes even honk a horn depending on the baseline altmode coding, to get their Creators’ attention before their vocalizer truly starts to kick online

It’s cute, but loud

Much like a seeker sparkling, they have to reach a certain ‘age’ (upgrade) to be able to transform completely, in between then they’re still able to rev those engines as a warning should they need it, as well as spin their wheels should they need a getaway HEELIES IF THEYRE LUCKY WOOHOOOOO—for seekers they can hover on their thrusters!

Crusade is actually pretty formal with Megatron. But yeah as a kid, Megs was always known as Carrier, but as Sadie got older and more aware of their surroundings—they definitely came to learn the true weight of that title and the fact that they were the progeny of the faction leader, a fact they should have really held onto with more pride. Not wanting to draw more attention to the already blatant favoritism (and nepotism) Crusade made a switch to addressing Megatron as Sir, My Lord, Lord Megatron, —ect. to better fit in with their fellow troops.

It bothers Megatron more than than he lets on. Crusade shouldn’t have to hide their high ranking as his child, the heir to the faction. Megs is their Carrier and can only order them around for so long, as their Leader however—pulling rank may just allow for their infuriatingly stubborn sparkling to listen to them should a day come where even a Carrier’s plea is dismissed.

Crusade does slip up every now and then and a ‘Carrier’ will slip—often hushed and annoyed though as Megs does like to tease every now and then, gotta remind them that they’re still his baby every once in a while :’)

Optimus however—whenever him and Crusade should truly reunite, will never be called Sire by Crusade, which they so heatedly established early on—Crusade never needed one and they don’t need one now, better to not let the title trigger those long-suppressed emotions. Sure enough though Optimus will get his moment.

actually no lmfao so you’re good! Eh, I haven’t mentioned much plot w them outside of them and Megs, plus bits of potential interactions with Optimus—so the rest of Team Prime is free game :D

For what I (hopefully will have) planned, their interactions with team Prime will be eh,,,interesting to each their own to say the least. Some more stressful than others BUT let’s not get into that until I’ve worked it out—for now I’ll just mention what they’re dynamics would be like when the drama of Oh Shit Boss Bot You’ve Been Hiding a Kid For HOW LONG has died down.

A usually touch-wary Crusade actually is the one to initiate a hug with Bulkhead, he’s the biggest and warmest and somehow is always happy to see them. Plus he tells cool recaps of Earth films and gifts them strange blobish paintings every now and then, all of which Crusade doesn’t exactly understand, but at least the colors are pretty.

Bee is annoying,,,which is what Crusade would say if confronted if they actually liked all the shenanigans Bee suggest they pull together, prank wars to the max, sparring for fun, video games?, DOUGHNUTS and RACES in the fortress halls??? Ahem. they are a super serious soldier, not a hooligan. But honestly, Bee is the one they seek out the most should they need an adventure, they missed out on a lot of this ‘fun’ growing up on the Nemesis—Bee seems to know how to balance a day of soldiering and dumbassery. sometimes.

Ratchet reminds them a bit too much of their Carrier than they’d care to admit. The medic is an old soul to his very core, perpetually tired but quick to snap into work mode, and sweet if you reallllllly squint. Sadie has been taught from day one to always respect medics, Ratchet obviously takes the cake on I’ve Seen Some Shit and for that alone Crusade both fears and admires Ratchet. Again, growing up on the Nemesis they didn’t have too many bots willing to talk much with them—but Ratchet (after he’s gone through his own lot of therapy, him AND Arcee. good lord) has a never ending pile of stories to share with them. Ratchet may throw in a few more colorful curses than necessary—which is SURPRISING bc Crusade thought they’d heard them all back home, but he’s entertaining and tells Crusade how it is, no sugarcoating. For that Crusade is grateful, there’s been too many half-truths thrown about to them in their recent years :’)

Ghost Prowl freaks them out—why does he deliberately have to be so sneaky?? Crusade has only met Prowl a fleeting handful of times (visits from the Allspark come with meaning, you know) and each time Crusade has been given nothing but odd riddles and poetic nonsense. Kidding. Prowl does like his wordplay’s but his given advice is always well meaning—the most firm and direct message Crusade has been passed though was probably most definitely “ Get those two cowards for mecha you call your Creator’s to stop fooling around with each other and SPEAK—at this rate it’s physically paining me that they haven’t begun Ritus and they’re not getting any younger”

Team Prime adores Sadie, they ask Megatron to see their sparkling photos every chance they catch him. And Crusade. hates it.

:) have

We’ve been here before, haven’t we?

[jade-parcels]

What if mc went into labour?? O_O

Panik! /(O_O)\

Going into labor

With Xiao, Diluc, Baizhu and Childe

(Same guys as this post)

—————————

Xiao:

He’s freaking out more than you are

He’s been around a long time but he hasn’t exactly…watched a birth. Or been by someone’s side for a birth. It sounds horrific, it’s bloody, theres a lot of gore and crying…It’s easy to say it’s not exactly his scene

Xiao loves you and his unborn baby so much!! But he has dreaded the birth since day one. He’s scared for you, he doesn’t like seeing you with a papercut!! Now you’re going to push out a baby??

Xiao knows he can’t deliver this baby so he took you into Liyue Harbor a month before you were due just to be safe! There’s doctors there!!

He wears a calm, collected mask as you hold his hand for support but he’s sweating…sweat is literally trickling down his face as he murmurs encouragements to you, trying to avoid making eye contact with the doctor because that’s just another level of stress on his shoulders

Every time you flinch, cry out or sob, he’s there. Xiao will even get in the bed with you if you want him to, you have him wrapped around your finger “You are so brave…I am…I am so proud of you” he tells you, trembling right beside you “Just a few more pushes, okay? You’ve got this” he counts with you, breathes with you, holds you, he’s there to support YOU and be whatever you need him to be!

Once the baby is presented to you, he steps away, not wanting to hold the baby right away. He’s still shaking and his arms feel like noodles, his heart is absolutely pounding…But he feels relieved. You’re safe and the baby is healthy. He’ll kneel beside you and the baby to say a prayer of thanks to Rex Lapis for keeping his family safe :’)

Diluc:

You’re about to have the most lavish birth a person could have

Midwives, maids, candles, warm or cool cloths for your face, imported extra strength painkillers, the whole nine yards

Diluc is not messing around, he wants this to be a smooth, painless (well, as painless as it can be) experience for you. He has interviewed your midwives and staff personally and background checked every one of them

He has planned it all out with you but when the time comes, he freezes up and panics. Never in a million years would he have predicted this! He’s always been so collected in stressful situations but how can one be calm right now??

Labor takes hours and the entire time he’s stressing. The midwife will probably have to step in and send him away for go get some air cause oh my gosh, he’s stressing everyone out with his nervous Nelly behavior!!!

When he comes back and it’s time to push, he’ll help you into whatever position you want. Standing, sitting, laying down you name it, he’s there to help you in any way he can

And once the baby is in your arms…He’s a a sniffling mess! You’ve never seen him cry this way, sniffling and hiccuping with a huge grin on his face “I-I just can’t believe it” he’ll choke out “I love you so much- thank you- thank you for everything”

He’ll be shaking from leftover stress all night, constantly checking in on you and the baby. Diluc may be a bit overbearing but cut him some slack…he’s a new dad with loss/abandonment issues 0-0

Baizhu:

He is READY!!!!

You two have has a written birth plan for months now so he follows it exactly. He assists you to your shared bedroom, gets you changed out of your clothes and into a baggy nightgown for comfort. He makes you lay down so he can get all of the equipment he needs

He’ll send Qiqi away, telling her to go to Gui’s house to get him just in case he needs an extra set of hands amidst the general chaos of birth

You still have hours to go before the baby is actually born but time flies when you have someone so kind and attentive by your side. His presence is calming and he uses his vision to grant some healing to you which in this case is just pain relief

Baizhu alternates between laying with you and getting you up to walk around to get labor started

Gui will arrive and hours later, hours of sweating, pushing, crying, promises of “you’re almost there honey, just a few more minutes”…Now your baby is here

Baizhu is quick to cut the cord and wash off your bundle of joy, bringing them over to set on your chest

Now that he’s no longer in doctor mode…he’s quite speechless :’) he’s just overcome with joy. He basks in this moment and thanks the archons that he was able to be here for this :’)

Childe:

Ajax took time away from work to be present for your birth!! He took you to his family home! You’ll be supported by his loving mother and older sisters. They’ll all be present to make sure everything goes smoothly

Ajax is overjoyed! He’s so excited to meet his baby :’) he is right there to hype you up! Whenever you feel scared or nervous, he’s right there with his optimism and sweet encouragement “Sweetheart, you’ve fought a ruin hunter with a dull blade and a bucket! This will be easy as pie, I promise you”

He’ll make you do squats and walk up and down the hallway so gravity will pull the baby down so you won’t have to push as much or as hard

Ajax isnt even nervous himself. Sure, in the back of his mind he knows there’s plenty of risks but he just doesn’t believe anything bad will happen. You’re so strong, he has his family here to help, he’s here to support you the entire way!!! He’s ready to meet his baby!!

Your birth is a noisy one, youve got like 5 people in the room with you telling you to push, relax, ‘it’ll be okay’, breathe!! Ajax is right there to hold your hand and brush your hair off your sweaty face

When he sees the baby for the first time he dissolves into a sobbing mess lmao it is not pretty. He wraps his arms around you as you hold the baby, crying into your shoulder, thanking you for being so strong, so beautiful

He’s said it one hundred times but he tells you again that he’d do anything to protect his family. He’s so grateful to you for bringing your baby into the world :’)

[phoenixyfriend]

SW Suddenly-Omegaverse AU: Surrogacy, Worldbuilding, Obi-Mom

Truly the main irony of all this is that everyone considers Obi-Wan the Better Omega but Anakin is the one who's actually 👀👀👀 about pregnancy

Obi-Wan: I have the deepest respect for those who do it, but the idea of growing another person inside of me is weird and gross, no, thank you.

Meanwhile Anakin is like. Immediate baby fever. Someone actually approaches him like "hey... there are forms you can fill out to request an exception for pregnancy, and like... regulations" because he's that obvious about it.

I assume that if they've got safety nets for accidental pregnancies, then they're probably aware that there are people who want to do it on purpose? I feel like in an omegaverse where 'biological imperative to procreate' can be so much more intense, then maybe there's old precedent that stuck around even after suppressants got most of those hormones under better control.

Bit torn. Just know I want Anakin to Make Baby.

"Anakin, what are you--" "Do you think offering to be someone's surrogate would be acceptable to the council as a way to be pregnant without getting attached." "...what." "They'd probably accept that as a way to practice not getting attached, right?" "N...no, that's not... what?"

Anakin approaching Bail and Breha and being like “Do you... still want a kid? I would provide a kid. Do you want one here*?”

* in this dimension

Great way to give up the baby as a parent because he'd still be able to see them once in a while but also like... it's not HIS kid, technically. He can be a cool uncle who happened to give birth, which is distant enough to not be 'attached,' but close enough that his Tatooine-raised 'must ensure family is safe whenever possible' background doesn't flip out. It helps that 'Core World Royalty' is like... a top-tier family to be raised in.

(It would have to be post-war because he probably shouldn’t be risking his life while very pregnant. He needs to be reminded of that sometimes.)

Bail/Breha is an alpha/alpha relationship and while a pregnancy is still possible,* it’s a whole lot more difficult, and that's on top of Breha's canon medical issues that resulted in her heart and lungs getting replaced.

* AFAB alphas can get pregnant, and AMAB omegas can inseminate, but the success rate on that angle is much lower than the 'traditional' alpha/omega roles, as is any attempt at reproduction outside rut/heat. They're low-fertility overall for the non-dominant aspect of their reproductive system, which... ha, Anakin and Obi-Wan try to get explanations for why the senary system works the way it does, but it's a very longform history lesson that comes down to 'idk this got cemented so long ago that nobody really knows why anymore.'

AKA "why do you title these roles male omega and female alpha instead of intersex omega and intersex alpha since both parties have both genitals."

ANYWAY

Anakin: I want to make babies. But I don't want to get kicked out of the order. But I don't want to give up my own babies for adoption. But I can't keep my own babies if I want to stay a Jedi. So basically I want to have someone else's babies? Anakin: ...wait shit that's just surrogacy.

Anakin, calling up Obi-Wan: Hey are the Organas still struggling to have a kid? Obi-Wan: ...not really your business. Anakin: You're friends with Bail again though, right? Obi-Wan: I am, but-- Anakin: Do you think they'd want me to be a surrogate? Obi-Wan: What.

I can't decide if it's funnier for the Order to be like "I mean... technically there's no rules against this?" or if this is a precedent set by at least three omegas every generation because that's just how a/b/o manifested for omegas in a biological and cultural sense.

Bail: Wait, your former apprentice is... volunteering... to be our surrogate. Obi-Wan, exhausted: Yes. Bail: He barely knows us. Obi-Wan: He respects you and you're the closest people he knows that want a child and would be good parents. Bail: And he's just... volunteering? Obi-Wan: Yes. Also, you did say your primary worry was that a surrogate might be targeted for assassination and you couldn't ask someone to risk that, right? Anakin is very much able to avoid assassins, and would be staying primarily in the Temple anyway. Very safe, and not particularly scared of assassins in the first place. Bail: Your words say you approve, but your tone says otherwise. Obi-Wan: Anakin considers me his father. I'm not old enough to be a grandparent. Bail: Ah.

Anakin is a surrogate and enjoys it and everything is fine and then like a year later he's accidentally pregnant with his own and Rex's kid, and nobody knows how to ask if it's actually an accident.

A suggestion from @gelpenss:

OH MAN i.... have to drive home. But I just had a thought about like. I always want to poke at Betas in A/B/O like are they “normal” or different from our standard or.... but ANYWAY assuming they have a pheromonal thing I just think it would be neat if betas had the ability to be the Bucket of Cold Water. Like if caught early enough, and with the caveat it’s not permanent, a beta could arrest a rut or heat in its tracks until a more ideal time. Like. They aren’t birth control. But they are the remind me later button.

Okay done driving I am Returned to bring up why I brought up betas and it’s this: well okay 1. It plays nice with a popular but inaccurate dog breeding urban legend that female dogs will like, delay heat cycles? so that the bitches above them in pack hierarchy have first choice of mate selection. And I think in omegaverse it would be cool if that was a Bio Fact, and also historically enforced by the third designation. 2. It gives me an excuse to have betas have the Most Sensitive sense of smell because it’s their “job” to pick up on things before they go too far to be put on pause. 3. I’m just thinkin ‘bout a beta clone [...] just hovering around Obi-Wan because they found out how much stress his heat cycle causes and they’re like “okay cool I will help make sure it does Not”

I want to like a/b/o verses but betas niggle at me. I want to give them a hat and a Function that woulda helped before modern medicine.

I'm not sure how I feel about betas being able to delay heats, but I do like the idea of them having a more sensitive sense of pheromone smell than most. Most aliens assume it's omegas with the best sense of smell, and betas with the worst, but it's more complicated than that because they all specialize: Alphas are actually less attuned to pheromone smells, but more attuned to things that were useful back when humans were still a hunter-gatherer species. Omegas tend to be heightened towards danger smells like fire or aggression, and pheromones relating to children/care. Betas, as suggested above, are very sensitive to pheromone changes relating to mood and behavior of the community around them.

I like the idea that betas were historically the ones that ended up taking care children, unmated omegas, and so on during people's heats and ruts, because they kept their heads about themselves long enough to do things like cook and clean while someone was reeking of hormones. The checks and balances work out that betas may have lower fertility, but it makes them better able to support the network around them.

It works in with humanity's general collective history of thriving the most when working as a community.

Given that I decided that this is Jangobi, the clones might all subconsciously view Obi-Wan as Mom. Not intentionally, but, you know... Obi-Wan the not-evil stepmother. He doesn't know how he got into this situation, but he sure is here, and he sure as hell doesn't know how to get out.

Obi-Wan "I don't need to get pregnant, I have three million stepchildren" Kenobi

I definitely love "clones all want to make Obi-Wan's heats less stressful" but like in a different way from Whatever The Fuck Anakin's Got Going On.

Obi-Wan using the force to dull the pain in a Shiny's broken leg while the medic works on it and the Shiny just mumbles "Thanks mom" and everyone gets very embarrassed and pretends it didn't happen.

But then it happens again. And again.

Obi-Wan asks for an explanation from Cody and gets a halting response that, since Jango is technically their father, and his scent has been all over Obi-Wan recently... and Obi-Wan puts in a lot of effort to take care of them all.......

Anakin overhears the clones calling Obi-Wan "mom" and just. The most judgmental eyebrow raise.... Mostly in the sense of "You never let me call you dad" "Thought you said you weren't anyone's parent." "Hey, hey, Obi-Wan. What the fuck."

BOBA. BOBA ABSOLUTELY CALLS OBI-WAN MOM WHENEVER POSSIBLE. IT'S DEEPLY FRUSTRATING.

Obi-Wan eventually manages to admit that he's uncomfortable with it at minimum because of the gendering the word has for him, can they at least use the neutral 'buir' instead?

Word spreads like fire, takes like two days max for everyone to switch.

(Anakin demands cuddles as compensation for not getting to call Obi-Wan any true parental term for years.)

[cherryleehernandez]

Hunter comforting reader after a stressful week <3

Full credit to: @dorayakimanjiro for the idea! (It’s my first request/idea I’ve written for someone so I hope you like it!)

Stressful feels like an understatement, soul snatching, light busting, bone shaking? Perfect.

This week was awful, Y/N had just about every stupid little errand to run for Belos. “Y/N you are to retrieve ink pots from in town”

“Y/N I need you to go show the new maids where the cleaning supplies are.”

“Y/N go fetch me a cup of tea.”

“Y/N go slay monsters in the forbidden forest.”

WHAT ARE THEY?? HIS BUTLER?!?! A soldier? Maybe. Butler??? They did not sign up for that.

Y/N has trained hard since birth, they are not someone to run errands. They are a high guard for titans sake!

While it seems Belos is just doing this for fun he finally gave them a break, a break well deserved if you ask Y/N.

_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_

With a huff and a groan Y/N stomps into their room, slamming the door shut. They tore off their mask and cape and ran to the bed. They were so relieved to be back in their room they didn’t even notice Hunter! Y/N froze as they heard a laugh near them.

Is- is hunter in here? That little bitch is hiding in the corner on the chair isn’t he?

Oh! HE IS.

“Hiii Y/NNN, long day?” He spoke with a teasing grin

“Aaaah more like a long week! Belos is a slave driver I swear!” Said Y/N complained

“Hey-“

“I know, I know. ‘That’s my uncle you’re talking about’ doesn’t change the fact that he had ONE OF HIS HIGH GUARD ‘FETCH HIM TEA’” They said flapping their arms in the air, adding emphasis to how annoyed they are.

Standing up hunter moved towards Y/N.

“I- uh- you?” They said frazzled

“Shhh, let me do this for you. You deserve a good break.” Hunter hushed

He lowered himself onto the bed, laying down next to them. His arm snaked around Y/N’s middle, and the other behind their head.

It was a sweet embrace, warm and soft. Y/N loosened up in his arms and laced their own around hunters torso, soaking in his scent.

“Thank you hunter.” They sighed

“Anything for you Mx. ‘high guard’” he joked

“UGH I SAID THAT ONE TIME! And it’s true anyway…”

Y/N pouted at what he said, jerk.

“Yeah, yeah, now get some rest sugar.” Hunter somewhat demanded with a light smile

‘This is…nice.’ They both thoughts as they fell asleep together.

_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_

(If any of you reading are struggling just know that you deserve a break! Or rather, you need it! It’s ok to take time off, even if it’s just for five minutes. Take care of yourself, you’re doing great!)

(P.S. please send requests, I need ideas!)

[brick-by-dumbass-brick]

Laughing my ass off here. “ActUaLLy wiLLoW tUrnEd 15” so theoretically here hunter must’ve turned 17 or would soon be turning. There’s still a 2 year age gap between the two. Yes I would tell Dana right to her face that it’s ridiculous to ship Willow and Hunter. Even MORE SO if she’s 15 and he’s 17.

Y’all really think “oH wOw BOy LoOK aT giRL? thEy iN LovE” I’m getting secondhand embarrassment seeing how many of you are defending the age gap in the ship.

Yes people get married with like 10 year age gaps but *gasp* GET THIS! THAT ONLY HAPPENS WHEN BOTH PEOPLE ARE WAY OVER THE AGE OF 18, YOU KNOW, ADULTS????? PEOPLE WHO’S BRAINS ARE ALREADY FULLY DEVELOPED???? SUCH A CRAZY CONCEPT I KNOW

if Emira tried dating Gus would you still find it cute? Or would you think logically and find it weird because it’s the exact same age gap? Just because something has become “normalized” doesn’t make it ok

And when I say their brains aren’t developed the same, I’m not talking down about Willow as if she were a baby. I quite literally fucking meant their brains are at different stages of development. they’re teenagers. Teenagers rapidly age and develop so 2 years is a lot of different experiences and situations and development that’s happened.

If Hunter were born a witch and went to school with everyone else, he’d be in Edric and Emira’s class groups and be friends with kids those ages. Notice how Edric and Emira are friends with Luz and only Luz because A) she was the cool human who stumbled upon the boiling isles and B) Amity’s girlfriend. They’re not friends with Willow or Gus or anybody else in their grades. Hunter would have never been friends with Luz, Willow, Gus or Amity in any other situation. Their friend groups would be drastically different and separate because they’d be in different grades.

Once again, I cannot fucking stress this enough, just because something is “normalized” in real life doesn’t make it ok.

Listing off other canon ships from other shows who had ages gaps like this to try and defend it is not the “gotcha” that you think it is. Like, you’re just listing off even more ships that shouldn’t have existed with age gaps. Just because they were canon doesn’t mean it was ok and doesn’t mean it wasn’t weird

So why are this many of you foaming at the mouth trying to defend shipping Willow and Hunter? Because a boy and a girl character befriended each other suddenly they HAVE to be shipped and be together??? No matter how many of you try to defend this will not change the fact that it’s really fucking weird to ship the two.

I saw one person trying to defend this by saying “well I’m 17 and my boyfriend is almost 19 so” ???? So your boyfriend is a GROWN ASS ADULT DATING A MINOR???? THATS YOUR ARGUMENT????

Y’all need to stop for a second and actually THINK before blindly doing shit.

[ltleflrt]

Hey Carrie! You talked a little the other day about writers' tendency to start a fic too early in the story, and how you see a lot of first scenes that could have been scrapped to improve the story. My question is if you have some tips to recognize while writing that first scene that you are starting too early in the story?

Hello friend!

That's a really good question, and I'll see if I can give an answer that makes sense. I am not a professional, and I'm not educated or trained in this stuff, it's just something that I recognize from years and years and years of voracious reading. And as with all writing advice, I encourage you to take what I'm going to say with a grain of salt and remember that no writing rule is a hard rule, only a guideline.

Also, my advice is going to be pertaining fanfiction, and specifically to AUs. Obviously a published book has an editor with a razor blade going through a manuscript for you, and the problems that bother me in fanfiction crop up in AUs more than Canonverse.

Oh, and every instance of "you" is general, not specific 😜

So I think the main problem that I see is that people are starting with an Info Dump. An Info Dump is not always a bad thing, sometimes it's completely necessary, but it is NOT where you want to start your story. If it absolutely has to be done, it's better to be somewhere in the middle or near the end. When it's something that your characters need to know.

That's an important bit: Do your characters need to know this?

And related to that: Does your audience need to know this for the story to make sense?

And very important follow up: If the answers to the above questions are yes, does the character/audience need to know this RIGHT NOW?

There's a lot of information about your story that YOU need to know. Heck, my notes files are full of sooooooo much stuff that I know about the characters and plot that never reaches the final product.

So when you're reading your first chapter (I say reading, not writing, because sometimes info dumping for your own benefit is good, and then you fix it before you share the story lol), ask yourself those two questions.

So for example:

In an AU where Dean is a tattoo artist, and it's his POV. The story starts with Dean driving to work, and when he gets there he's going to find out that the empty shop next door has been purchased and is going to be a yoga studio. He meets Castiel out front, up on a ladder trying to hang a hand painted sign, and some teens go running buy and knock into the ladder and Dean has to catch Castiel from falling. (Anyone who wants to adopt this idea is welcome to it btw, I would love to read this lol)

The mistake I often see in a first chapter like this is that as Dean is walking to work, there's a whole Info Dump about why he's a tattoo artist instead of a hunter. He'll be ambling along, thinking about his nice little business, and there's info about how his mom died in a fire, and his dad was a jerk, and Dean didn't go to college because he saved his money for Sammy's college fund, and Dean's only passion was art, and Bobby Singer introduced him to a tattoo shop owner who took Dean under his wing, etc.

Question 1, does your character need to know this?: Why is Dean reflecting on his past? Does Castiel need to know this information in order to build a romance with Dean?

Question 2, does your audience need to know this?: Why does this information matter? If Dean's only reflecting on this because you want to make sure your audience knows where the timeline changed and this became an AU, then you're starting too early in your story. Dean doesn't need to know this, and honestly in a lot of cases the reader doesn't need to know this. This is information that should have been left in your notes file.

Question 3, does the character/audience need to know this NOW?: If this information is pertinent to the plot, like maybe there's some trauma there that Castiel might need to know about to develop their relationship, then you don't want to put it HERE, you want to put it in a conversation with Castiel LATER.

If I was writing this AU, I would just start with Dean sipping his coffee, he's kinda tired because reasons, he looks up to see an unusual commotion, and has to drop his coffee and sprint forward to catch Cas. If he's reflecting on anything in this scene, it's going to be whatever made him tired, or how good/bad the coffee is this morning. Since Cas is a new business owner, they can talk about the origins of Dean's business on their first date, because it'll be a relevant response to Castiel talking about the origins of his yoga studio.

And just in general, if Dean's origin story includes a lot of canon elements, like mom dying in a fire, dad being a deadbeat, Sammy being the adorable overachieving Stanford student.... try to hide that info for as long as you can so that the audience is actually curious about it by the time the info might pop up. It's the wild divergences that are more interesting earlier on.

Okay, and then I want to talk about my giant pet peeve for a starting chapter. It's a specific kind of info dump, that often includes the stuff from above, but then goes a step further.

My nemesis, The Daily Grind.

I haven't asked the authors, so I could be wrong about this, but I feel like most of the time when this type of chapter is included in a story it is because the author wants to show the reader that the character's life is boring and meaningless before the plot's inciting incident. I can absolutely see why that might be considered an important detail about the character, but keep in mind if it's boring and meaningless to the character, it's boring and meaningless to your audience.

You know how I said earlier that writing tips should never be hard and fast rules? Well this is in regards to that Show Don't Tell rule, and it's an example of TOO MUCH showing lol

It is possible to do a daily grind in an interesting way, but only if you include a Shake Up right away. And you have to look at the 3 questions a little bit differently.

So for example:

Castiel POV, and he works in an office. His daily routine is to always get up at the same time every day, he goes for his run, he grooms himself, he has his breakfast, he goes to work and talks to Kelly about how Jack's doing in kindergarten for a few minutes before going into his office. Adler comes in to be a prick, Castiel hates him for it, and then he does his reports, has lunch hiding in a corner of the lunch room so that his co-workers will leave him alone, he does more reporting, leaves an hour after his shift technically ends, goes home to a lonely apartment that maybe includes a pet who is the only being that shows him affection, has an unsatisfying dinner of leftover takeout while watching a mindless reality tv show, then he goes to bed.

Ugh.

BORING.

Which, yeah I get it, the point is that his life is boring. But now the story is too, and I've clicked the back button before I can see how exciting it's capable of getting.

Question 1, does your character need to know this?: No. He knows. Poor thing definitely already knows.

Question 2, does your audience need to know this?: Yes, but...

Question 3, does the character/audience need to know this NOW?: Yes, but new question for ya:

Optional Question 4, why does this need to be separate from your plot's inciting incident? The answer to this 4th question is usually that it doesn't.

Chapter 2 of this type of beginning usually shows the shake up of Castiel's day. My advice is to start with the shakeup, and sprinkle in the details of what you would have put into chapter 1 to show the contrast. It's far more interesting to learn how boring Castiel's day is by starting with the shake up.

So, same scenario:

Castiel's alarm doesn't go off for some reason, OH NO HIS ROUTINE IS SHAKEN UP! You're explaining his routine while also stressing him the fuck out because he has to rush, or skip something that he normally needs to do. Action! Interesting! He gets to work late, and has to miss his conversation with Kelly about Jack because she's telling him that Adler's already in his office being a prick because Castiel isn't there waiting for him like he always is. Oh shit, he's pissing off his asshole boss! Conflict! He's so flustered by the shakeups that he misses something on his report, and he gets a call from that new marketing guy Dean Winchester who asks if they can have a meeting about it when Castiel normally takes his lunch. BAM! MEET CUTE OPPORTUNITY! While Castiel is getting all flustered by how pretty Dean is while they talk about TPS reports, he can reflect on how this is both better and worse than hiding from his co-workers in the corner of the lunch room. The rest of the day after that meeting he's thinking about how weird this day is, he still goes home an hour late, he talks to his pet about his weird day when he gets home, and maybe he still eats leftover takeout, but he's not paying attention to the reality tv show because holy shit he wants to count Dean's freckles.

In this example, you're Telling the audience about Castiel's normal routine instead of Showing them. But since it's during a plot heavy chapter, it works!

Lemme see if I can TL:DR this...

As you're reading, ask yourself who needs to know this information, why do they need to know this information, and why is it important for this information to be included early instead of later?

If the answer to any of those questions boils down to "this is backstory" instead of "this kicks off the plot", then you've started too early.

I hope this helps? I'm always nervous about giving writing advice because so much of the time I have no idea what I'm doing, and I'm just feeling around in the dark. And I definitely do not ever want to hurt an author's feelings, because this hobby is so fucking hard, and we're all fragile. Even authors who welcome con-crit with open arms will have a weak point that they're unaware of that might get poked wrong and cause a crack, ya know?

I hope anyone who gets this far who might see their own works reflected in my examples understands that I have a lot of respect for their ability to put their work out into the world, and I want them to keep doing it. We're here to have fun, okay? Okay. I love y'all 💜