#sorry this took sooooo long

[shivcomplex]

@nefariuus . . . * i hope hell is nice and warm when we get there. - jin

"i could do with a nice tan," shiv smirks from above her glass, soon sipping on the red wine she's holding. "i would want a meet and greet — get me, fucking: elvis, john lennon, the queen of england," logan roy, she stops thinking about it there. "hey, i might get into heaven," shiv thinks aloud, half-serious, "i might! would you be pissed off?"

[umbrellamedic]

Fanfiction/RP Trope Tier List

Tagged by: @cxpperhead

Tagging: @alphateamsfinest @ubcs and anyone who wants to \o/

[ship-it-sideways]

hermits are getting shipped!! in boxes! to other hermits! (this is a humble request to put mumbo in a box and stick a kissy on his forehead ty)

The smooches are just as important to make sure he arrives safely ^-^

[richestindaworld]

HEAVY TF2 TUMMY !! !! !!

I WANT THAT FAT BOY !

[spacescoob]

hi not sure if you're still doing requests but if you are I'd love to see walter in your style :)

YOUR BIGGEST FAN

[kingofthering]

2021 Honda Valentino - mixed media AU (2/∞)

[asanjou]

historians will say they were besties

[loadinghellsing]

i wanna know more about the 1400-2000 au for andercard. sounds like 600 years of delicious mutual pining and repressed feelings to me

They met when they were kids, Anderson being younger then Alucard by two months and two inches taller.

Alexander's an orphan stowaway on the merchant ships, and Vlad the prince of Wallachia. They became close friends, Vlad helped him figure out how to get to Rome, with the promise that he'd visit when Wallachia is at peace. Shortly after Anderson left, Vlad was made prisoner of the Ottoman Empire.

About two decades later Vlad sends a request to the Vatican requesting for reinforcements. Even though Vlad's request was ignored by the church, Anderson hears about it and returns to Wallachia

The AU is roughly 550 years of Anderson pining and 425 years of Alucard pining (Alucard realized a century after his death)

Additional Note: Anderson has long hair for the first few centuries

(frequently has colorful ribbons and strings braided through it thanks to the kids in town)

[cower-inside]

ohhh oyu're doing art reqs? Can you draw Alphonse with birds? :)

AHH YES OFC! Always want an excuse to draw my dear Son Alphonse

I can't draw birds but I tried!

[dailyhatchetfield]

Haiii!! can u draw the nerds wearing sundresses? :D

day 42 - (sun)dressing up

[djarindykes]

after 7 years later here it is! enjoy!

im gonna start with anakin and din parallels. the most obvious being the N-1 star-fighter, as it’s presence in the mandalorian is clearly a callback to the sequels, as well as the phrase of “wizard.” now let’s get onto more touchy feely stuff. I see anakin as everything din could have been, while anakin is what din could never have become. din’s religion absolutely promotes attachment and the concept of holding allies close. the all consuming love that din possess will never be his downfall, example being— din, while he was upset about it, gave up his son in order to give him a better life.he is able to control his passion while staying true to his heart, because the choice of freely loving someone was never taken away from him. his role as a father figure is an opposite mirror to anakin’s role.

if anakin was given the tools din was given to freely attach himself to the ones that he loves, then he would have never fallen to the dark side. let’s imagine anakin is a mandalorian or whatever. sure he’s still gonna be pretty fucking weird bc… Thats anakin. but if the nature of his love was promoted and handled in a healthy manner, he would have been better off for sure. star wars shows that din and anakin are two sides of the same coin, not only showcasing the way fatherhood has transformed them but in general similarities from personalities and whatnot.

now for armorer and luke parallels.. im gonna lose a few of you because this is mostly my views on both the armorer and luke but what ever!!! so, we know virtually nothing about the armorer, but what we do know is that she’s a solid, somewhat detached teacher, almost a life coach. she is able to juggle the responsibilities of being a wise mentor all the while showing her care for her students…. from what we’ve seen about luke’s school…..ya the boot fits. now, this either makes them both GREAT or TERRIBLE teachers depending how u look at it, but the armorers religion will always come first, as well as lukes!!

luke ADORED grogu, and while he wanted to give him a choice in returning to din, it was through the rule of attachment that he gave him that choice. the armorer clearly cares for din almost like he is her own, but she was not about to let him slide for removing his helmet, despite their own close bond.

they are both tasked with caring for the sparse numbers of their people, appearing detached in order to make things right, doing what they see best.

Basically din’s mommy issues should be explored more and luke loves dads.

[marukrawler]

Yeah there would need to be some reshuffling. I think many suggested Barry as Pyros as it would need minimal design alterations. Though it feels... a little boring ... you know. Ace can work as Aquos if we add Lancelot theme (lol) to his bakugan evolutions. We can even play with arthurian themes. Yes, it makes Mira his Arthur and we can pull so much from this. It doesn't matter that the original may not have been that deep. Doesn't matter.

it would mean no Marucho but! I think him having screentime in Gundalions was a right call because his Ren dynamics were good. So he is still represented. Mira must stay subterra for gus parallel purposes (and salt mines). Speaking of Gus, gus as bastard theory is good so maybe it would have worked as canon.

continuation of this ask and this ask.

couldn't help myself so i drew my version of pyrus!baron and aquos!ace ashjdjsksk

some notes:

pyrus for baron works surprisingly well with his energetic attitude and canon catchphrase 「激熱!」 gekiatsu! → "let's fire this up!"

added some tails to his headband. i was gonna replace the lightning bolt with flames but i can't draw flames so 😭pyrus symbol it is rip

his overall fit is pretty nice so i didn't want to change anything. although i didn't draw the rest of him, i can imagine swapping his pants and boots for dan's since dan won't be in the resistance in this au lol

ace was lucky enough to get some of shun's gender ambiguous swag. the gloves and exposed shoulders are an obvious reference to shun's resistance fit. kept the big sleeves bc that's ace's thing™️but he will have to fight hatsune miku for the trademark tho.

the rings in his hair are actually a reference to elyon from w.i.t.c.h. for no other reason other than i thought it'd look cool. but it also works because marucho's resistance outfit has a lot of circles on it.

could be nice if there was some lady of the lake stuff sprinkled into ace's ability cards especially after percival evolves into knight percival but alas, i know nothing about the legend of king arthur so im leaving this up to you guys lmao.

and yeah, i totally agree with you. marucho is really not needed for the first half of nv so i don't mind swapping him out for runo or alice. mira of course should stay because she started the resistance and she needs to be the driving force behind the whole bakugan liberation movement. the spectra/gus and mira/ace parallels would be even more pronounced with ace acting as mira's lancelot 🫣

as for the gus theory asjhdjksask i don't mind if it's there in a possible s2 rewrite or not. i feel like that kinda plot twist would need a reason to be there so i'll think about what it could mean for gus' character arc to be zenoheld's bastard child because it would change a lot.

[shivunin]

FenHawke + 5 and Cullen/Salshira + 15 for the Florence + the Machine prompts? 👀

Oooh this is so perfect for them, anon. Good choice! I will do the second one in a separate post, as always c:

When to Fold

(Fenris/Maria Hawke | 1,519 Words | CW: references to alcohol)

Summary: After Danarius's defeat, Hawke throws a party at her home and reflects on the changes to her relationship with Fenris.

“The feeling comes so fast and I cannot control it I'm on fire, but I'm trying not to show it.” —Florence + the Machine, “Free”

Relief had made Hawke clumsy. 

She couldn’t explain herself any other way. Well, she probably could if she really put her mind to it—making things up had always been a special talent of hers—but it was the only way she could explain this to herself. 

“You’ve dropped your cards,” Fenris said in a low voice. 

He was sitting to her left. In and of itself, this was not remarkable. They’d played Wicked Grace together hundreds of times before, though they’d done so in her formal dining room admittedly less often. They’d sat together before. They’d certainly eaten together before. But—tonight was special and she rather thought they both knew it. 

For the first time in three years, Fenris sat at Hawke’s side. 

“Stop losing on purpose, Hawke,” Aveline said sternly from the other end of the table. Her coin made a faint scraping noise when she slid it to the pot. “I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”

“There, there, darling,” her husband said, tapping his own face-down hand. “You did very well on that last hand. There’s hope for you yet.”

Aveline cast him a look and Donnic lifted his hands, half-laughing. Maria tried very hard to focus on the two of them, but it was difficult when Fenris went on moving in her periphery. How long had it been since he’d told her he intended to stay in Kirkwall? One week, perhaps two? She’d been so delirious with joy that she’d thrown together a party to celebrate it and only come up with an excuse for the surprise after the fact. 

Something to celebrate all of them being in the same place for the very first time, she’d said. It wasn’t a lie; near as she could tell, this would be around when he’d made his way to the city. Even so, she knew that she’d drawn them all here for a different reason entirely: relief. Whatever she and Fenris were to each other—and it defied strict definitions—he would not be leaving her. Not yet, in any case. 

“Maybe you should lay off the fancy Antivan wine, Hawke,” Varric had told her only moments ago, after she’d dropped her cards the first time. 

Perhaps he was right. Perhaps her mood could be attributed to the heady rush of wine and good company alone. 

“Thanks,” Hawke whispered to Fenris, and gathered the cards up again with clumsy hands. 

He ducked his head to look between their chairs and leaned toward her, stretching. The light caught on the silver embroidery in his clothing, an admittedly indulgent gift. Worth it, of course; seeing him comfortable in fine things had done something rather odd to her chest. Well, seeing him at all did something odd to her chest at the best of times. Surely she couldn’t blame all of it on the clothing. 

“There,” Fenris murmured after a moment, sitting back again. He lifted a card, freshly fetched from under the table. Hawke looked at it for a long moment before she realized that he was handing it to her. 

“Oh, thank you,” she said, and reached to take it from his hand. 

Their fingerprints brushed. It was nothing; the simplest of touches. She’d shared more contact with the grocer. After three years, it should not burn her so. But—it did. It did, just as it had every time before. 

Fenris did not let go immediately. Neither did Hawke. He studied her face, lovely eyes rich and warm in the candlelight. The barest shadow hid under the curve of his lower lip, cast there by the very same candles. If she’d had more wherewithal, she might have wondered if she was blushing. She must be; she felt like her whole body had been set on fire. Not a fire that consumed, nor even a fire that slumbered safely in the hearth 

No—if she burned then, it was like a candle set on a windowsill. Waiting, always waiting, held safe from the winds of the world by the thinnest layer of fragile glass. 

“Forgive me,” he said after a moment, and let go. 

Maria nodded wordlessly and folded the card into her palm with a deft and thoughtless motion. Each place he’d held it was warm. She marked them each: the edge of the card where his index finger had rested, the place where his thumb and middle finger had pinched to hold it still. 

Clumsy. That’s all she was.

Clumsy, and relieved, and Maker but she’d forgotten how warm this gown could be. Hawke reached for her glass of wine and drained it all at once, wishing it would somehow cool her. 

“Now,” Sebastian said from the other side of the table, “I do not mean to be rude, but I will say I was lured here with the promise of cake.”

“Oh, Andraste’s a—” she caught herself at the last moment and fumbled for another phrase. “Ah—dimples—”

“Thank you,” Sebastian said at the plainly amended oath, the corner of his mouth twitching faintly. 

“—I’d forgotten entirely. I’ll go get it now.”

She stood so quickly that she almost knocked her chair over, but gathered herself with a laugh and made her escape to the empty kitchen. For a moment, she leaned back against the door and pressed her hands to her cheeks. 

Three years. Three years of holding herself carefully apart and reminding herself over and over and over again that she had to let him go. Three years, and the tiniest trickle of hope had her stumbling now. 

“It’s too much at once,” she said aloud, passing her hands back over her hair before crossing at last to the desserts laid out on the table. “That’s all. It caught me by surprise.”

It was too much. It wasn’t as if she’d ever stopped loving him. Of course not; she might be a practiced liar, but three years was an awfully long time to close her eyes and cover her ears. Hawke had watched Fenris walk out her door and done everything she possibly could to forget what they’d done. Instead, loving him had carved a new sort of groove in her heart. He was one of her dearest friends, and knowing they would never be anything else had allowed her to know him as he truly was. Fenris was flawed, irritable, biased, short of temper when pressed…but also clever, strong, kind when he had no call for it, thoughtful even when he thought nobody would notice, and unfailingly loyal. 

When they’d stumbled up the stairs to her bedroom three years ago, she had wanted him more than anything. It was a desire that had overridden any good sense she had left, that had rushed her where she knew better than to go, but she was wiser now. Maria loved Fenris down to her bones and knew she always would, but that needn’t change anything. She’d be a fool to think otherwise now. 

“Alright,” she told the cake, decadently draped with summer fruits. “Alright. I can handle this.”

“Do you need help?” Fenris asked behind her. 

Clearly, she had been too lost in thought if she hadn’t heard him enter. Hawke tried to mask her surprise, but it was difficult after she’d already yelped and clapped a hand to her chest. 

Fenris eyed her, one hand pressed to the center of the open door. 

“Forgive me,” he said. “I did not mean to—” 

“No, no, of course you’re not to blame,” Hawke told him, half-laughing. “I’m afraid I was lost in my thoughts. Thank you for fetching me back.”

He studied her for a moment. There was something soft in his face. She was certain she was not imagining or inventing that much. Perhaps it was only the release of a lifetime’s worth of fear and anger. Perhaps he was relieved to stay, too. 

It didn’t explain why his ears were faintly red, but she wasn’t the only one who’d been drinking, was she?

“Thank you,” she told him when he rounded the little table and took the other side of the platter. “It’s heavy to manage on one’s own.”

“Then we will carry it together,” Fenris said gravely. When he bent his head to look down at it, a lock of pale hair drifted over his forehead. 

“Ready?” he asked, and unexpectedly lifted his eyes to hers. Hawke blinked and nodded once, unable to look away for a moment. She was clumsy in a way that had nothing to do with her hands, but it seemed she would go on stumbling. Perhaps she ought to just resign herself to this. It would pass in time, when she got her feet under her. She was sure of it. 

“Always,” she told him. 

Fenris hesitated, opening his mouth to speak, but shook his head instead. 

“Lead on,” he told her, as he had a hundred times before, and Hawke turned her attention instead to the path back to the dining room. 

Well—most of her attention, anyway.

[that-was-anticlimactic]

"can you stay?" + atsushi & kyouka

"can you stay?"

atsushi's voice trembles as they speak, and kyouka freezes.

"nevermind."

atsushi laughs almost immediately, blinking away the impending tears and wavng their hands in front of them. "sorry. you don't... that was stupid of me to say. i'm-"

"stop apologizing."

kyouka slides beside them, curling up against their side. she head plops on their shoulder.

they're warm and shakey, and kyouka feels soft on atsushi's neck.

"i don't mind staying."

honestly, she wanted to stay. no matter how many times she watches atsushi - her sibling by everything but blood - get stabbed, the more she fears for them.

it's a little foolish, she knows; she's been familiar with blood and death and gore since her parents died. limbs being torn off and blood slowly oozing out of the body doesn't scare her.

but it does when she sees it happening to atsushi.

(and she doesn't say anything, but atsushi isn't the only one who gets nightmares - she's just better at keeping them quiet)

"you're just a kid..." atsushi mumbles, breaths shaky and uneven. "you shouldn't have to-to comfort me."

even so, kyouka soon feels the cool pads of their compression gloves rubbing her wrist.

"doesn't matter," she says, because she knows you're still a kid, too only upsets them more.

"okay."

they whisper it so quietly the only reasons kyouka hears it is because of her assassin training.

good.

she snuggles closer still and listens to their heartbeat. it starts off quick, but gradually falls until it's steady.

and kyouka is able to fall asleep with the reminder that her sibling is still alive.

(send me a sentence (+ a ship/character) and i'll write the next five sentences)

[maxanor]

Watched ep 3 and 4 and I'm back with more thoughts (mainly on ep 4)🫡

The scenes in episode 4 contrasting Rhaenyra and Alicent's stories, oh that's that excellent content. They're actually the heart of the show, I don't care about the rest just them.

Anyways the parallel of the rats though: when we see them for Rhaenyra's side as she is sneaking out of the Red Keep near the Dragon skull, representing her fleeing to freedom from her duty; while then seeing the rats on the bedframe in Alicent's story after she was forced to do her "marital duty" (that's rape :/ when he touched her face and she was forced to smile during that, I was raging, like oh Viserys count your days!)

Anyways after 4 episodes my thoughts can mostly be narrowed down to that meme "get a job. stay away from her" about both Rhaenyra and Alicent. (Ps let me know if you don't need to know my thoughts and I'll shut up, I yap too much haha)

OMG im so sorry this took so long to answer i've been on vacation and bridgerton part 1 is taking over my life 🙈 but YES oh episode 4 is absolutely heartbreaking like rhaenyra and alicent are both children being taken advantage of by these crusty old men when all they want is each other </3 they're the heart of the show and it will stay that way everyone say thank you ryan condal and sara hess!!!!!!

trust me your thoughts are not annoying i love hearing them 🤗

[mermaidchan05]

Thunderstorm

Inspired by this amazing headcanon by @iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia​ ! The idea of Nadia loving storms just meshed so well with my Apprentice Chimalus who... decidedly does not love storms. 

Featured characters: Nadia, my oc Chimalus (they/them pronouns), their familiar Skye the Bluebird. 

Slghtly less than 3000 words. TW for thunderstorms and thunderstorm-induced panic attacks. (Also spoilers for/reference to one of Nadia’s paid scenes? Idk if it matters but just in case) 

_________________

Nadia set the last bit of paperwork aside. “I believe that’s all for today. I assume we all remember our duties?”

The assembled palace staff all gave a general murmur of assent. There were some excited whispers as well. They were all looking forward to either a relaxing evening or the entertaining activities that some were sure to whip up.

A storm raged outside. Rain pounded against the palace windows. Thunder rumbled through the air. Lightning split the sky. Which meant that it was the perfect time to continue a Prakran tradition. A rainy day meant a day for things to cool off for a bit, both figuratively and literally.

It was more of a Prakran Royal Family tradition. Whenever a storm hit Prakra, Nadia and her family would pause in their endless duties and enjoy one another’s company… as much as one could, at any rate. Nadia had never admitted it aloud—to do so would be far too embarrassing—but out of everything she had left behind in Prakra, she missed these moments the most. It was a blessing to be able to bring a semblance of the tradition back to Vesuvia.

It was almost a shame that rain came much more frequently in Vesuvia than Prakra. None could afford to take a rest day for every single drizzle, of course, but it was a bit frustrating to save these particular rest days for the right type of storm. Luckily, this was quite a storm. The absolute perfect day to settle down, if only for an evening. The perfect chance to enjoy the somewhat cooler temperatures and to appreciate a bit of peace and quiet with friends, family, and loved ones.

Over the past few years, many of her storm nights had been spent with Portia. They would read together, or perhaps introduce one another to some of their favorite childhood games, or Portia would hustle Nadia down to the kitchens for a baking lesson. But this time, Portia had plans with her family, and Nadia had someone else she was eager to share this wonderful tradition with.

Chimalus. The wonderful magician who had not only saved all of Vesuvia from the wrath of the Devil himself, but had utterly captivated Nadia’s heart. Chimalus, who was incredibly brave, endlessly loyal, quick-witted and kindhearted. Not to mention incredibly attractive, with an air about them that was far more noble than any one of those infuriating Courtiers.

It would truly be a blessing to spend some genuine quality time with Chimalus. They could find a cozy spot in the library to sit together and read, or Nadia could show Chimalus some of her favorite spots around the palace, or she could enlist their help in one of the many tinkering projects that she hadn’t quite had time to finish, or the two of them could visit the Contemplation Tower… there were so many possibilities.

There was only one problem with her plans. Nadia couldn’t find Chimalus anywhere.

Losing sight of one another was hardly an uncommon occurrence, sadly. Chimalus had their own duties to attend to, both as Royal Magician and as Nadia’s betrothed. They were often called upon to assist others around the palace, and they paid frequent visits to their old shop in the city. But Chimalus would always let Nadia know when they went to the shop. And when Nadia asked around, no one had seen them.

A spike of alarm shot through Nadia’s chest. Logically, she knew that Chimalus must have been perfectly fine.  Her intuition would have told her if something had gone wrong. Or there would have been some other sign. Chandra had been keeping a surprisingly close eye on them lately, she would have found some way to alert Nadia of any crisis…

But no amount of logic could slow Nadia’s frantic pace as she searched the palace for her love.

She didn’t even bother to check the garden, which was one of Chimalus’ usual haunts. No one would be out there in this weather. To her dismay, the library was empty. Chimalus’ favorite sitting room was suspiciously devoid of magicians. Chimalus’ chambers, the very same room that they had used as a mere guest what felt like a lifetime ago, were utterly deserted.

But the room wasn’t quite empty. Chimalus had left all of their things. IF they had planned to go out, they never would have gone without their bag, as it held far too many precious objects: magical supplies, their prized notebook, their tarot deck…

Unless they hadn’t planned on going anywhere.

Nadia was about to rally the guards for a full-scale search of Vesuvia when she heard a little chirp. A chirp that had grown nearly as familiar as Chandra’s hoots.

“Skye?” Nadia breathed.

Even if Chimalus had gotten into some kind of trouble, there was absolutely no chance that they would have been out there without their familiar. Skye, the sweetest and most charming bluebird in the world, would never abandon her human.

Which meant that Chimalus was somewhere close by. Very close.

Skye chirped again. Nadia turned toward the sound.

“Skye?” she called. “Chimalus? Are you…?”

She was cut short by another clap of thunder. It nearly shook the walls. Skye’s chirp was more like a shriek. And there was another sound, so sudden and quiet that Nadia nearly missed it.

A gasp of pure fear.

“Chimalus?”

Nadia carefully stepped around the bed. There, huddled in the corner between the bed and the wall, curled so closely in on themselves that Nadia had mistaken them for a pile of blankets, was Chimalus. Nadia couldn’t even see their lovely, deep blue hair; they had pulled the hood of their cloak so tightly over their head that they were completely obscured. They had even draped the fabric of their cloak over their knees, which were bundled up against their chest. A well-worn book was lying haphazardly on the floor in front of them. Clearly they had been trying to read before… whatever had happened that had caused them to fall into this state.

A thousand thoughts sped through Nadia’s mind, from illness to a horrible magical vision of a terrible future to some sort of attack. What could possibly drive Chimalus, the one who had stared down the Devil with hardly a wince, to be left like this?

Skye chirped again, drawing Nadia further forward. Nadia carefully reached out a hand.

“Chimalus...” 

No response. Skye bumped her tiny head against Chimalus’ hood, right where their cheek must have been. Chimalus curled in on themselves further, if that was possible.

Nadia let out a faint sigh. “My love, what’s…?”

Once again a crack of thunder cut her off. Skye chirped wildly again. And Chimalus visibly flinched, nearly throwing the little bluebird off of their shoulder by sheer accident.

And just like that, Nadia understood. Chimalus, clever, loyal, wonderful Chimalus, was terrified of thunder.

Nadia stepped forward, her hand still outstretched. She moved slowly, making sure not to add to her beloved’s fright. She called their name again, softly, gently, showing nothing but love and understanding. At last, Chimalus shifted, uncurling themself just the slightest bit.

“Nadi…” they choked out.

Nadia gave a reassuring smile. “Yes, my darling. I’m here.”

Chimalus let out a shaky sigh. “I’m sorry. I… I didn’t mean for you to—”

Another thunderclap. Another visceral flinch from Chimalus. Skye managed not to shriek this time, instead going back to gently headbutting her human.

Nadia carefully crouched down in front of Chimalus. “You never meant for… me to see you in this state?”

That got Chimalus to look up, to finally meet Nadia’s eye. Admittedly, they were more startled than anything else, but it was a good start. Nadia smiled softly.

“My goodness, Chimalus, something such as this will hardly make me think any less of you,” said Nadia.

Chimalus’ expression slowly shifted to something close to concern. “I… I wasn’t… I didn’t mean it like…” they sighed again, giving up. “I’m sorry. It’s… silly, isn’t it? I know it shouldn’t bother me. It’s just a storm, and we’re all inside, and we’re perfectly safe, and I’m sure there are a thousand emergency plans put in place just in case something—”

They cut themselves off with a sharp gasp and yet another wince as thunder clapped once more. They tugged their hood further over their head, burying their face in their clenched fists.

Nadia held back for just a moment. Before the thunder had frightened Chimalus all over again, the small rant they had begun had sounded almost like a mantra. It was as though they had repeated those exact words to themself countless times. As though they had tried to talk their way out of a fear that they couldn’t explain. As though their inability to rationalize their own fear made it all the more difficult to bear.

It was a sentiment that Nadia understood too well.

“Chimalus…” Nadia’s voice was as soft and gentle as a sigh. “May I hold you?”

Chimalus looked up, taken utterly by surprise. “I… of course. You know you don’t need to ask if you ever want to—”

Once again they were cut off. But this time it was by Nadia wrapping her arms around them and pulling them close. Chimalus let out a little gasp. For the span of three of their own rapid heartbeats, they were completely rigid. Then they let out a shaky breath. And they sank into Nadia’s embrace. They buried their face in her shoulder. Nadia thought that Chimalus may have been trembling slightly, though if that was from fear or hardly suppressed sobs, Nadia would never know. Not that it truly mattered. Nadia was simply glad to give them some kind of comfort.

“Chimalus,” Nadia said gently, “I assure you that you are perfectly safe. And I will never look down on you because of your fears. You are my sunlight, my heart, my past, my present, and my future. My love for you is not so fragile that it will shatter upon learning you are frightened of thunder.”

“Even though it’s a completely irrational fear?” Chimalus mumbled.

“We cannot control our own fears,” Nadia said gently. “Nor do we always have an explanation for them. And it is not only fears… may I share a secret with you? Since we seem to be learning new things about one another this evening.”

“Of course,” said Chimalus. “You can tell me anything.”

Nadia had to resist the urge to laugh. It would have been a fond laugh, naturally. Chimalus suddenly looked so serious that it was rather adorable. A fact that Nadia gladly would have explained, but her instincts assured her that this was not the time to laugh at her beloved, no matter what the reason behind it.

 Instead, she began her story. 

“When I was younger, I absolutely despised the color green,” she said conspiratorially.

Chimalus blinked up at her. “Green? But what about the emerald you gave me?”

“I did eventually overcome that particular bit of immaturity,” said Nadia, her smile playful. “Back then, however… to this day, I have no idea why I was so vehemently against the color. Prakra is known for its emeralds. One would think I would have a bit of pride for my homeland’s great treasure…”

 “You never were one to follow trends,” said Chimalus.

 Their voice still shook a bit. But a bit of their usual, teasing tone had returned.

Nadia’s smile grew. “No… I suppose I am not.”

Chimalus managed a smile in return. Then, playfully, they added: “Or maybe… it was because of Nasmira. Green’s kind of her color, isn’t it?”

For a split second, Nadia could only stare at Chimalus. Then she let out a laugh.

It was wonderful how, even in a moment like this, Chimalus always found a way to make her laugh.

“Why yes, of course,” Nadia teased. “Clearly I was unbearably jealous of Nasmira’s hair. Not to mention her fashion choices. That must be the answer. It seems the Mighty Chimalus has solved another mystery.”

Chimalus flushed, laughing awkwardly. “I don’t know about mighty, but—”

Their argument was drowned out by another clap of thunder. Chimalus winced. Nadia gave them a soft squeeze, drawing them back to the present.

 “I believe you are mighty,” she said gently. “Chimalus… we have not yet found the key to unlocking your past. It is possible that there is some unknown history behind your fear. Or perhaps there is truly no deeper reason behind it at all. It makes little difference in the end. You are still courageous, caring, and wonderful in every way. And I still love you and wish to bring you whatever comfort I can.”

Chimalus sank back into her embrace. “This is… good. More than good. Thank you, Nadia.”

“You’re very welcome,” said Nadia. She placed a gentle kiss on their forehead. “Remember that you can turn to me whenever you may need me, no matter how small or silly the problem may seem. Just as I know I can always depend on you.” Her eyes twinkled with humor. “We are knights in matching armor, after all. Are we not?”

That earned her a small laugh. It was soft, but it was completely genuine.

 “Yeah…” said Chimalus. “We are.”

From her new perch on the bed frame, Skye chirped approvingly.

Nadia and Chimalus stayed like that for a long moment. Neither of them were sure how long it was. All they knew was that, whenever another strike of thunder tried to interrupt, Chimalus didn’t flinch quite as badly. 

Eventually, Nadia pulled back just enough to shift her grip so that she held Chimalus’ hand. Then she stood, half-dragging Chimalus along with her.

Chimalus stared. “Nadi, what…?”

“Come along, my love,” said Nadia. “It is much more difficult to hear the sounds of the storm from the kitchens. And if you’d like, I’m sure we could whip something up for ourselves.”

Chimalus frowned a bit, confused. “We can whip something up?”

 “Why, yes,” said Nadia. “I allowed the majority of the staff the remainder of the evening off. I thought I had mentioned… ah, perhaps you are not comfortable with cooking? I apologize, I should have asked—”

 “No, I can cook,” said Chimalus. “I just thought that—”

 “Then let us begin,” said Nadia.

She playfully dragged Chimalus out of the room, leaving Skye swooping behind.

Sure enough, it was relatively more quiet down in the kitchens. And though it was empty, there were more than enough supplies to start a good cooking fire, and a few ingredients had been left out in the open.

Nadia clucked her tongue. “I had thought they would show a bit more care after our last storm…”

“Nadi?” Chimalus asked. “What’s wrong?”

Nadia shook her head. “No matter. I’m sure we can make something out of this.”

She swept further into the kitchens. Chimalus trailed behind her, taking a look at what the cooks had left behind. Nadia gathered everything up: a bowl of greens, a small roast that had apparently not been roasted yet… and there, shoved in the back of a nearly empty cupboard, was a small but decent loaf of bread.

“It’s hardly the makings of a feast, but I suppose this will do,” Nadia declared.

Chimalus cleared their throat. “Nadi, do the cooks… always leave things like this behind?”

“Not always, to my knowledge,” said Nadia. “Though they tend to leave this sort of mess behind more often than I would like…”

“Try not to worry about it too much,” said Chimalus with a little laugh. “And you’re right. We can certainly make something out of these. And… I think they may have… forgotten to set out some desserts after lunch.”

Chimalus reached into another cabinet and pulled out two small plates. One held an immaculate tea cake, the exact type that Nadia requested whenever she and Chimalus had the rare opportunity to relax on the veranda. The other held a lovely little fruit tart: one of Chimalus’ favorites.

Nadia smirked. “Well, now. It would be a shame to let those go to waste, wouldn’t it?”

 “It certainly would,” said Chimalus.

Skye chirped loudly. Chimalus laughed.

“Don’t worry, Skye, I’m sure we can dig up some sunflower seeds for you.” Chimalus rolled up their sleeves. “So… shall we get cooking?”

 Nadia couldn’t help it. Chimalus was so wonderful, and their smile was so adorable, that she laughed.

“Of course.” Nadia rolled up her sleeves as well. “Let us get cooking.’”

With Chimalus assisting, it turned out that they could make a lovely little meal out of the assorted ingredients. All the while, Chimalus was so focused on their task that they hardly flinched at any rumble of thunder. Each sound seemed more and more distant than the last. Though if Chimalus wanted to use the noise as a reason to hold Nadia’s hand a bit more often than usual… well, Nadia didn’t mind in the least.

All in all, she was very glad she was able to invite Chimalus to share in this lovely tradition.