Hi just introducing myself here. You can call me Cat and I use she/her pronouns. This is a sfw g/t space where I will be posting my lil writing scribbles (but mostly cheering on other g/t creators). Accounts with NSFW and vore please DNI
silly gt concept: character who's secretly a sizeshifter but theyre really bad at the secret part
like they're a terrible liar or awful at hiding evidence but despite that theyre committed to never admitting it.
im thinking like, theyre normal sized and standing in front of their own giant footprints and when asked about it do a terrible job of acting surprised like "oh! where did those come from? I hadn't even noticed! they look like footprints? leading up to me? no they were probably just caused by...a rockslide. where are the rocks? they kept sliding idk."
or they slip under a locked door while tiny and when questioned how they got in they're like "I...climbed in the window. On the fifth floor...I've been getting really into parkour. It was also locked? Yeah it's crazy what you can do with parkour anyways-"
maybe the other characters think something is up but don't know what, maybe they see through the charade entirely, maybe they think the sizeshifter is just really weird.
In which you find a nice, cozy place to keep your sleeping friend.
You look down at your tiny friend, currently cuddled up in your lap, with your hand curled around them as they’ve dozed off, the show you were watching quickly becoming background noise as your focus shifts. You knew they would fall asleep, even though they insisted that they wouldn’t. You huff quietly to yourself in amusement, seeing their arms draped over the side of your hand, and reach your thumb in to give them a gentle prod to their side. You’re met with a mumble as they wave you off, and you sigh as you gently gather their sleeping form into your hands.
You think briefly about putting them to bed. It’s still hours before you’re ready to sleep yourself, otherwise you’d just hold them as usual, but after a moment you realize you don’t want them to wake up from their nap confused and disoriented by themselves. You decide to pocket them instead, letting them sleep but keeping them close.
Before tucking them away, however, you stand and cradle them to your chest as you head for your room. With one hand bracing them close, you use your other to open their drawer, a space dedicated to them for privacy, and pull their blanket from their bed. You then sit down on your bed, bringing your hands together to make sure your friend is cozy first. You loosely drape their blanket around them, making sure they’re wrapped up comfortably, but not at risk of accidentally being stuck in the blanket when they wake up, not that you wouldn’t immediately help them anyway.
Most of your shirts have deep pockets these days, and the one you’re wearing is no different. You hold your hands to your chest, using one to carefully hold their limp, bundled body while the other widens the pocket opening. With care and attention to how their limbs are bending, you gently slide them in, making sure that their arms and legs are securely in place and oriented properly, with the blanket covering them, not suffocating them. You watch them curl inward as they settle in, as if they know where they are even in their sleep, their arms tucking the blanket around themselves as they wriggle around until they’re comfortable.
Once you see that they’ve settled in, you stand to your feet and grab a light sweater from your closet, putting it on and zipping it up most of the way. It’s closed enough to offer a comforting sense of pressure and darkness, but loose enough to allow for proper airflow. Now that you’ve made sure they’re secure and in a cozy environment, you take a moment to focus on their weight, or lack thereof. It’s a constant reminder of just how tiny they are, despite what their personality would lead you to believe if you didn’t know them in person.
That being said, you’ve been around them long enough that you can feel their weight, your body having become hypersensitive to it in order to accommodate them more effectively. More important, however, is the emotional weight that you feel when you carry them. You know they can take care of themselves, but more often than not they simply opt to keep close to you anyway. The weight of their trust in you is far heavier than their physical weight could ever account for, and you feel heartened each time something like this happens. They trust you when they’re at their most vulnerable, and that is something you don’t take for granted, no matter how comfortable the two of you are interacting with each other.
You know you’re a comforting presence to them, but they’re a comforting presence for you, too. Their presence and perspective helps to keep you grounded at all times. Any challenges you may face on a daily basis feel trivial compared to what your tiny friend would experience without you, and it’s a relief to focus on them instead when things get difficult. If there’s a raging storm out, you’re less concerned about the potential damage being done than you are holding your friend close because they’re terrified by storms, and rightfully so at their size.
You feel them shifting about slightly, pulling back your sweater to peek into your pocket. They’ve wrapped themselves up further in the blanket, fully snuggled in as they sleep with a peaceful expression. You smile and leave them be, feeling a flutter in your chest as you settle yourself down on the couch again. Leaning back, you feel their weight shift to lean slightly against you, and if you focus just enough, you can feel their tiny breaths as they sleep, slowed as they slip from a light nap to a deep slumber.
You put on some soft music, lifting a hand to rest it over the small lump they form beneath your sweater, your thumb beginning to idly stroke them as you relax. You close your eyes, finding yourself at peace knowing they’re so close. Even if they aren’t awake, even if you can’t immediately see them, you know you’re not alone.
Giant prince that “hires” a human to be his maid. The other giants in the castle are confused by why he would hire a human, because he knew himself that the human can’t do anything. But the prince has his reasons: reason being that he was crushing on this human and needed a reason for them to be close.
Even if that means giving them silly things to do, so they don’t grow suspicious. Silly things like putting cuffs on his suit, fixing a button, and etc.
i also considered giving the prince a personal butler who she bonds with. the butler would know about the princes little crush of course, the prince CANNOT be subtle (because its funny). he'd probably end up forced to wingman by the prince, and the human girl would confide in him, eventually leading to him wingmanning for BOTH of them at the same time. this then leads to interactions like this:
prince: "idk man, i don't think she likes me, she's not picking up on any of my hints :(" (his hints are essentially just him hanging around her a lot, being sort of grabby with her, putting her in a lot of fearplay scenarios where he just comments on how small she is because he finds it cute, stuff like that. he's not at all doing anything that can be perceived as flirting lol)
butler, completely dumbfounded with massive dark circles under his eyes: "your highness, you're an idiot."
prince: "what do you mean? ive been nothing but friendly to her?"
butler, his eye twitching: "your highness, have you ever considered that your... advances... aren't exactly... romantic?"
---
maid, sitting on a countertop, meticulously using a massive needle to stitch a button back onto one of the princes garments: "it's just so... odd, i suppose? i've invited him to go for a walk outside with me, but he doesn't seem to like me that much..."
extremely tired butler, helping her out by holding the rest of the fabric to make the sewing easier: "oh, trust me. he likes you. he's just a massive idiot."
Hendrick rubbed at his eyes, waking up in an unfamiliar place. Last he had known, he had fallen asleep in Edmunds bakery, not his tent. Or rather, his old master’s tent, he realized as he looked around at the other sleeping forms around him. He was with his squire brothers, he realized as he sat up. The thought made his heart clench. He could hardly look at the others, instead keeping his focus aimed at the thick cloth to the right of him. That was when an extremely wet cough erupted from one of his tent mates, and he shivered, hugging himself. He knew how this ended, and he wished that he could wake up now before he was forced to look at all of it again. He couldn’t stop his head from turning, and soon he saw it. The youngest of the squire brothers, Terrin, was covered in sweat, and it almost looked like a bucket of water had been dumped over his bedroll in the night. His eyes were clenched shut, his face red, and Hendrick tried to look away again. The others in the tent had awakened at the sound of his cough, and his master quickly ushered him and his other squire brothers out of the tent into the cold morning.
“I’m sure he’ll be alright.” Lambert noted with confidence to the others. “We’re within a day's journey of the next town, and Sir Lionell is an excellent healer.” It was his job as the oldest to keep them in order, and Hendrick had known that since the day they had met. His confidence was only rivaled by Terrin’s, and for a moment, Hendrick believed his assuring words.
“I-I’m not so sure,” mumbled Andreas. He was the most anxious of the boys, and often ended up being the voice of reason when it came to getting too confident in their limited abilities. “He wasn’t sick yesterday. What if we’re too slow?” Hendrick felt his mouth move.
“Sir Lionell doesn’t waste time.” He said, agreeing with Lambert. If only he had known then. He could’ve prepared himself for the worst, but like a fool, he allowed himself to hope. Eventually, he watched as Sir Lionell emerged from the tent, shaking his head and swearing under his breath. The knight allowed each squire brother to enter the tent by themself and talk to Terrin. If Hendrick had been a little smarter, he might’ve known what this meant. When it was his turn, he got close to his squire brother.
“Hen…” Terrin squeaked. His eyes looked foggy and his entire body trembled. An awful heat radiated off of his body, and Hendrick leaned in closer despite his better judgement. “Promise me… promise me you’ll take care of my family.” He uttered quietly, and Hendrick nodded.
“I promise.” He said, still ignorant to the fact that Terrin was quickly dying. Not even an hour later, the youngest had died long before he could ever be knighted. Hendrick expected to wake up, but instead he was pulled in another, much less desirable direction.
“Come on, guys, this isn’t something we can joke about.” Andreas rolled his eyes, and a new scene unfolded before the blonde knight. He was following closely behind the more serious of his squire brothers, Lambert beside him.
“Oh please, we slew a leviathan just last week, a nest of vampires is nothing!” Hendrick’s mouth moved without his will, and he hated himself for what he said, even if it got a laugh out of Lambert. He was an overconfident idiot, and it showed. Andreas huffed, and Lambert mimicked him mockingly. Hendrick felt himself stifle a laugh, even though looking back, it wasn’t all that funny. The scene warped around him, shifting oddly. He was suddenly at the nest, with the dusty corpses of the vampires littered around him. Lambert was still shaking one of the bodies off of his wooden stake with disgust when one they had assumed was dead jumped up behind him. He wasn’t going to be fast enough. But Andreas was. The stake squelched in the vampire's flesh, and the young man drove it further into its heart with fury. The vampire hissed as it began to wither, but it whipped around like a dying snake, flinging its head around. Lambert jumped back, but Andreas held firm, reaching out to wrap his hands around its neck to hold it still while it died. Hendrick wished he could look away. He yearned to wake up, even if he knew he’d be drenched in sweat and his heart would be racing. He didn’t want to be in this dream anymore. The fangs hit flesh as Andreas got too close with his reach. He yelped, flinging the corpse to the ground and grasping his forearm. Lambert gasped. Andreas’s grip tightened as he groaned with pain. The transformation wouldn’t be immediate, but they all knew it would come. It would erase his mind, and with no other way out, Andreas let out a breath and grabbed up a wooden stake. Hendrick wanted to protest, to say that there was another way. But he wasn’t in control.
“Do me one last favor, brother?” Andreas looked him dead in the eyes. The point of the stake was aimed at his heart, and tears began to bloom from his eyes. “Don’t look.” It was a whisper, and as Hendrick’s vision faded to black, he heard a gurgling scream followed by a wet thud. It didn’t matter if he hadn’t watched it happen. He still had to carry the body back to be buried. He hoped that this time, the dream truly would end. But it seemed his brain had not yet finished torturing him.
Hendrick’s side throbbed. He was pulling himself across the ground, trying to get closer to the sound of someone fighting. His face was wet with blood, spit, and soon tears would be added to the mixture. He knew what this was. Maybe this time he could stop it and change the outcome.
“Lambert!” He screamed out into the distance, continuing to drag himself across the dirt. He left a streak of blood behind him, but continued despite the pain. The sound of a Wyvern's growl rumbled through him, and he watched as more of the village he had come to protect crumbled. There were bodies strewn about, several missing limbs, others leaking the dark green poison from their wounds. Still, he pushed forth despite the dizzying pain and horrendous sight. He refused to fail. The sound of a sword clashing with claws echoed through the now desolate town. He could see it more clearly now, the sight of Lambert's hateful face as he lunged at the toothy beast.
“It’s you or me, brother. And I won’t let it be you!” Lambert yelled, stabbing the beast through its mouth. The wyvern squealed, stomping backwards to recuperate. Hendrick wanted to scream at his brother to keep his eyes on the prize. But the moment Lambert glanced away to look at him, the beast struck.
“Lambert!” Hendrick screeched, his throat shredding. The other moved just as he was bitten, slicing right through the wyvern's skull and severing its brain from the rest of the beast. But that wouldn’t stop the venom from seeping into him. Hendrick tried to stand, his torso screaming at him as he fell back down again and again. If he could just help Lambert, get him away from the teeth somehow… But there was no somehow. He had failed.
----
Hendrick shot up on the counter, panting and drenched in sweat. His throat felt raw as though he had been screaming, but he knew that wasn’t possible. He hadn’t sleeptalked since he was in his twenties. There was no way he had done it. He grasped his head firmly in his hands, squeezing his eyes shut. He just wanted the nightmares to stop. They had been plaguing him since he had talked to that doctor about it nearly a week ago. And since then, he had been doomed to dream of his worst moments, his biggest regrets. Last night had been a dream about his sister. The night before that, his father. And of course, it all had to get worse with a dream about his squire brothers. He sighed, rubbing at his face before smacking his cheeks a few times. He looked around, nearly jumping out of his skin when he realized that Edmund was staring at him.
“You… okay?” The giant baker asked, a bowl tucked in the crook of his arm. He was stirring some sort of batter.
“Ah, yes. Just fine.” Hendrick rasped before he cleared his throat. “I apologize for sleeping in.” He stood from his spot, dusting himself off. He stepped over to the spot where he had laid out his armor and began the process of putting it on.
“It’s no problem, really. It’s been a slow morning.” Edmund assured him with a smile, before it slipped away. “You probably don’t have to help today. You’ve been doing a lot, and I don’t want you to overexert yourself.” Hendrick almost scoffed at the idea of that.
“I won't. This is nothing compared to what I used to do before.” He remarked, thinking about his previous journeys. Eating nothing but jerky for months, catching and surviving scurvy more than once, watching everyone and everything around him die… yes, helping Edmund was nowhere near as taxing. He slipped into his greaves, fastening the buckles behind his knees.
“Well, um, you don't have to today if you don't want to.” Edmund said, placing the bowl on the counter and grabbing a piece of cheesecloth to drape over it.
“I want to.” Hendrick stated, grabbing up his chainmail shirt and slipping into it. He was determined to keep helping Edmund, especially now that he was having the nightmares again. He needed to keep working, to prove to himself that he was doing something helpful while he was away from being a knight. He was long overdue to visit Terrin's family, and he was sure that the flowers on Andreas’ grave had long since wilted. Not to mention Lambert's parents probably needed some money.
“I-I just mean that you're still recovering so, you should get some more rest. You've been at it for the past few days, and you haven't really stopped to eat much of anything.” Edmund’s worry pressed on his back, and he paused for a moment. He supposed he had been eating less, but he had a job to do. He couldn't stop until he had finished it.
“I hardly feel concussed anymore, it's fine.” He brushed it off, trying to keep himself from feeling even heavier with guilt. He continued working on getting his armor on when a massive finger pressed gently on his hands. He kept trying to work despite the minor pressure, but then the finger pushed up against his chin. He was forced to look at Edmund, who was closer than Hendrick would’ve liked.
“You’re taking a break today.” Edmund said softly, and Hendrick felt his insides squirm. His father used to do this when he was small, holding his head so tightly he couldn’t move. It felt strange, he wanted to tear his gaze away, to break from what was happening, but instead he froze. Internally, he cursed at himself. He always did this when he was in danger, like a coward. The only difference between those times and now was that nobody else was in danger. He could never save himself.
“Okay.” He breathed, unable to do much of anything else. His hands began to tremble against his shins, and he loathed himself. Edmund wasn’t dangerous, at least not intentionally. There was no reason for him to act this way. The finger jolted away, and Hendrick caught himself from leaning too far forwards. He shouldn't have replied like that. This wasn't his father, this wasn't some sort of punishment.
“I-I don’t want to push you or anything, I-I just… sorry.” The giant floundered, stepping back and seeming to realize his mistake. He hugged himself, scratching at one of his arms. “I just want to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.” Hendrick pushed out a breath, only then realizing that he had been holding it in. He kept breathing as softly as he could so that he didn’t alert Edmund. The only thing worse than his own guilt was making others feel that way. “Can I get you anything to eat? Souffle?” He suggested, trying to put a smile back on his own face, but now it looked strained.
“I-I have some jerky with me.” Hendrick replied, his brain still scattered from the interaction. Edmund’s face only seemed to fall further with that. “But I appreciate the thought.” Hendrick added, trying to repair things. This was stupid, he was stupid for acting this way. He was a grown man acting like some sort of scared animal, and he hated it. Obedience and submission had always been his downfall, and it was something he desperately wished would go away. “Are you alright?” He forced himself to ask. Helping others was the only thing he was good for.
“I should be asking you that, I'm the one that scared you.” Edmund backed away again, his hand rising up to scratch his head.
“It is my job to serve you. Not the other way around.” Hendrick reminded him. Hopefully that would offer him some sort of comfort so that Hendrick could ease him.
“You say that like you don't matter.” Edmund noted quietly, and Hendrick froze again.
“I-I…” He didn't matter. Not unless he was serving someone. He was a coward for not admitting it, but a stupid part of him wanted to matter. Especially to Edmund. But he knew better. The giant got closer again, reaching out to him before pulling away.
“You just… you've been different after you and Josey talked. I'm worried about you.” He admitted, scratching his forearm.
“There's nothing to worry about.” Hendrick brushed it off, getting up and stepping closer to the edge of the counter. He needed to be honest. “I've just been having nightmares, that's all.”
“Oh.” Edmund leaned down, getting closer. “Would you like to… I mean, would it help you to sleep in the same room as me?” The giant's cheeks darkened. Hendrick felt his insides flutter, and his entire face heated. He'd shared sleeping spaces with others before, of course, and in tents it was often in close proximity. So why did it feel different this time?
“I… suppose. But I don't want to disturb your sleep.” He admitted, feeling tingly at the idea of being so close to Edmund. “I've been waking up with a sore throat recently, so-so I might be sleep talking.” Edmund waved his hand in the air.
“Oh, that's not a problem. I wouldn't be offering if I wasn't prepared to help.” The giant smiled softly. “What are they… about? If you’re comfortable sharing, of course.” Hendrick sighed, his entire form drooping. Perhaps this time, he wouldn’t be called crazy for all of this guilt he carried. Maybe this time, he wouldn’t feel crazy for it.
“Do you have knights? Or, really, any sort of soldier?” He asked, slowly lowering himself to sit on the edge of the counter. He watched Edmund grab the stool he usually sat on and lower himself in front of him. It was always a sight to behold, almost as if a mountain were bending down to meet him.
“No, I don’t think so. Giants have never really needed that to protect ourselves.” The baker answered honestly, scratching the side of his head in thought. “Nothing else is big enough to matter to us.” He shrugged slightly, and Hendrick cringed. The unimaginable amount of power it took to even fathom that sort of thing was insanity. He almost leaned back, but thought better of showing any sort of fear this time.
“Well, knights are generally selected as young boys. We are chosen to be squires by older knights, where we’re trained to fight, but mostly handle and clean their equipment. I was selected with a few others my age, and we became brothers by the blood of the squire.” He paused to take a short breath. “I was… I was not always alone.” Sorrow began to leak into his voice, and it took everything he had not to tremble. A massive hand came behind him, laying gently on his back.
“Ah. I-I understand. Losing people is an awful thing to endure.” Edmund noted, and Hendrick’s head snapped up. Had he really gotten it just at that? He wasn’t being forced into elaborating further? He could take that simple answer and move on with it? “I… I can only imagine what you’ve been through. It seems just… awful to be in your position.” Hendrick breathed out a sigh of relief.
“It-It’s not all awful. There’s some glory that comes with it.” He smiled, but it wasn’t genuine. It faded quickly on his face. “But yes, that’s… that’s true. I-I had to carry their caskets. Even now, I still visit their graves and their families. It’s almost as if… I truly was their brother. But-But I know that’s stupid, because I really am a brother to somebody, and-and…” And he had failed her, too. That was clear enough to him by her behavior. A finger rubbed against the back of his head, and his eyes began to warm. How long had it been since someone had played with his hair, or even simply touched it? Terrin took over braiding once he was in the squire, Andreas liked to touch it, and Lambert loved to mess it up just to irritate him. He leaned back into the touch, hoping that Edmund would never stop. He yearned for this sort of soft contact. He craved it, and he had been deprived of it for so long. But now, somehow, it felt better than it ever had before. He wanted nothing more than to melt under Edmund’s touch, to relinquish all sense of control for a while and let him play with his hair. At the thought of that, the fluttering returned to his stomach, and he welcomed the feeling.
“You don’t have to tell it all to me now. I-I’m sure it hurts.” Edmund rubbed at the back of his head some more, and he hummed with enjoyment at the touch. He could only hope the giant wouldn’t hear it. The giant smiled softly down at him. “But, you don’t have to hide this pain from me, if you don’t want to. I-I’ve found that sharing my troubles, even in small doses, can help me feel better.” His fingers trailed down his back, and Hendrick felt his eyes begin to warm.
“Please, don't-don’t stop.” He whispered, knowing that Edmund wouldn't hear him. The warm, gentle touch eased an ache in his bones he hadn't known he had. He never wanted it to stop. One of his arms began to tremble, creeping towards one of Edmund's fingers. If he could just hold it, hold him back, he felt as though he could be complete. But eventually the fingers had to leave him, cold and alone on the counter. He was a fool to forget that the giant had other commitments, things he needed to do exclusively with his hands. He'd miss the touch, he allowed himself to realize as he wiped at his face. He'd been so lucky that no tears had fallen. He cleared his throat, ready to acknowledge what he had been told. “Thank you, Edmund. I’ll… keep your offer in mind.” He smiled, though his body still tingled, wanting more contact. The baker seemed to smile as well, a finger descending and patting him gently on the top of his head. His eyes teared up anew. Bea used to do that.
----
Edmund rolled over in bed, facing the nightstand he had placed Hendrick on. The blonde had still refused a blanket, and this time, he even refused a pillow. He couldn’t sleep, not with the knight so close. He wanted to stay awake in case he had a nightmare, maybe then he could help him. He knew he was a heavier sleeper than he liked to admit, and he knew if Hendrick needed help it’d be difficult for the human to wake him up. Though, now he realized that maybe Hendrick wouldn’t want something like that. He stared at the human anyway, wondering if it would really be so bad if he gave him some sort of blanket.
“Father…” Edmunds eyebrows shot up as he watched the human roll over. He was clearly asleep, but still muttering about something. It was likely something going on in his dream. It felt almost intrusive to hear him speak against his will, but Edmund couldn’t exactly say he wasn’t curious. He adjusted himself to lay even closer so he could hear better. “Don’t… hurt her.” His words were slurred, and his little eyebrows seemed to furrow as he rolled over again. The murmuring continued as he tossed and turned, his words turning back into mush that Edmund couldn’t interpret if he tried. The giant moved again, his hand creeping towards the human before he paused. Touch would probably just freak Hendrick out, like it had earlier. He still wasn’t exactly sure what had caused that, but he did know that sudden contact seemed to be the issue. He brought his hand back down, but didn’t cover it in his blanket just in case. Everything seemed to go quiet again, and Edmund kept staring at the human on his nightstand. Maybe he should wake him up? Nightmares were often an awful thing that took reality and twisted it into something worse, and he already knew that the knight had clearly lost many people. Before Josey had left the other day, she had mentioned something about a childhood injury. Was he dreaming about that?
“No!” It was an anguished scream that interrupted his thoughts. He moved again, this time deciding it was probably right to wake him up, but instead, Hendrick jolted up. He was breathing heavily, and he almost looked as though he was confused. Edmund drew his hand back a little, not wanting to overwhelm him.
“Are you alright?” He kept his voice even quieter than he usually did around humans, not wanting to make things worse. Hendrick’s chest heaved as he curled in on himself, trembling. Edmund wanted to assure him that he could be quiet if he needed it. “You don’t have to-”
“I hate these nightmares.” Hendrick’s voice dripped with resentment. Silence stretched on again, and Edmund slowly wiggled himself to be even closer, nearly falling off of his bed.
“What was this one about? If you want to share, of course.” He practically whispered, catching a glimpse of the sheer sheen of sweat on Hendrick’s face.
“My…” He drifted off for a moment, seeming to think about something. Though the giant was curious, he knew that it was likely the other didn’t feel comfortable sharing something so personal. He had already said so much today, and he probably had to say more to Josey. “I don’t want to bother you with some sob story. I’m sorry I woke you up.” Hendrick didn’t even look at him, his gaze focused somewhere in front of him.
“It doesn’t bother me.” Edmund assured him honestly, trying to follow the other’s unfocused gaze. “And, if I’m being honest, I couldn’t really sleep.” Hendrick’s head dipped, and he seemed to grab his forehead and pinch his eyes shut in thought. He sighed.
“It was about my sister. She… She and I grew up in a home that wasn’t… perfect.” Hendrick relented. “She was so kind, she-she’d lie for me, protect me, braid my hair-” his voice cracked and he paused to clear his throat. “But she’s… she’s not like that at all anymore. She’s not the sister I remember.” Hendrick’s voice wavered.
“I see.” Edmund nodded to himself sadly. He was going to say more when Hendrick continued.
“And I can’t keep myself from wondering what might’ve happened if I hadn’t become a knight. If-If I hadn’t abandoned her to chase after the idea of saving her.” He covered his mouth with his hand before pulling it down. “I-I… I hardly recognized her the last time I saw her. She looked so…” he trailed off again, voice breaking. “I hardly know my nephew at all. I met him so few times I could probably count the number on my hands.” He fanned them out in front of himself, staring at his trembling fingers before clenching them with a ragged inhale.
“You couldn’t have known any of that would happen. It isn’t your fault.” Edmund placed his hand just behind him, not wanting to touch him just yet.
“It is, Edmund! It is!” He cried, glossy tears spilling down his face. “She was alone for-for so long, raising a child without help after losing everything she had. And where was I? Off in some distant land thinking about how much money I would make for her after the next job, how much I could get to her without sacrificing the next job by traveling to her!” He tried to breathe in, barely catching any air as he continued. “I always had a choice to help her, and I never took it! It is my fault. Everything that happened to my nephew is my fault. If-If I had been there-”
“You can’t focus on the ‘what-if’ of it all, Hendrick. That’s… That’s no way to live.” Edmund interrupted him, voice raising just a little. He knew that there was no use in beating yourself up over the past. He had watched Roger do it for as long as he’d known him, and he only began to feel better when he started to focus on what he could do in the present. “You need to focus on what you can do right now.” Hendrick sniffled.
“But I can’t do anything right now.” He leaned his head forward and rested it on his knees, sniffling.
“Aren’t you trying to rescue your nephew? Isn’t that why you came?” Edmund gently reminded him. “That’s something you’re working towards right now.” His hand hovered just behind the blonde. He wanted to touch him, to physically ease him, if only a little. Hendrick raised his head again, looking at him for the first time.
“I… I am.” He brushed at his face with the back of his hand. “But what if I…” He trailed off, seemingly thinking about Edmund’s advice. “How can I be sure that I won’t mess up?”
“You can’t really be sure.” Edmund said, knowing that it wasn’t something Hendrick would want to hear. “But you can do everything in your power to keep yourself from messing up. Take the things you wish you did then and do them now.” He finally rested his hand against Hendrick’s back, almost pulling back when the human’s tears immediately refreshed. Had he made it worse, or something else?
“I can do that. I will do that.” The familiar determination returned to his voice, and he nodded to himself. Still, he seemed to be lost in thought about something. Tears still bubbled at his eyes, and Edmund’s fingers twitched slightly. Somehow, even while he was crying, Hendrick still looked like the most beautiful person Edmund had ever seen. Then, the knight seemed to lean into them, two tiny trembling arms raising up and wrapping around one of his fingers. Edmund’s eyebrows raised up slowly. He was unsure of what was happening, or what he should do next. “I-I’m sorry, I just…” The knight trailed off, clearly deciding if preserving his pride was still worth it or not. “I haven’t been held in a long time.”
“Oh.” Edmund allowed his other hand to rise up and land palm up in front of Hendrick. “M-May I?” He asked quietly, half expecting the other to say no. But instead, the knight lurched forwards, allowing himself to fall into his other hand. Edmund slowly brought the knight closer to him, depositing him on his chest. In those few moments when he wasn’t touching Hendrick, the human seemed to wilt. Edmund’s hands slowly lowered on top of Hendrick, pushing him into a laying position, and the giant rested his hands on top of him like a blanket. He allowed himself to relax, taking in a slow breath so he didn’t rock the human too much. There was silence for a minute or two, and Edmund felt his eyelids begin to grow heavy.
“I see you finally found a way to give me a bed.” Hendrick joked, rolling around until he could look at the giant’s face. His half lidded eyes and gentle smirk made his face flush, and for a moment he wished he had something to cover his face with. After all, he couldn’t exactly use his hands. They were occupied at the moment. Not that he minded, of course. He would hold Hendrick until the sun went cold, so long as the other wanted to be held.
“I suppose…” He trailed off, fighting a yawn. He was certain that flashing his fangs right now would sort of dampen the mood. “But aren’t you more comfortable than you were on the counter?” He raised an eyebrow, smirking back at him. His heart bubbled as he watched the knight’s face flush bright red, before he faceplanted right into Edmund's chest. He was so unbelievably cute every time he turned bashful. It made him laugh, and he reminded himself to keep it light so he didn’t overwhelm the human with the sensation. Hendrick rolled back around, pulling out an arm and wrapping it around Edmund’s thumb. The giant felt his face heat up again, and he relished in the feeling.
“Thank you for the advice, Edmund.” Hendrick murmured, closing his eyes and nestling into his spot. The giant very much wanted it to become his spot. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” Edmund replied. He very much wanted to do this forever. He could absolutely get used to this, he realized as he began to drift off.
Making an Iron Giant AU with Tenna and Kris because seemed logical honestly idk
Tenna is a newly unboxed (but cheap) TV with very little personality input and no way to talk in the beginning and somehow ends up in the Light World where Kris frantically tries to keep their new giant TV buddy a secret. He eats VHS tapes and DVDs instead of metal (and is addicted to sugar)📼✨
Yet another new study debunked the basis for the anti-trans sports bans. It was never about sports but for creating legal avenues for exclusion and abjection. This is one of the largest analyses ever conducted, involving 52 studies and 6,485 trans people. Read the study here.
I really wanted to make a comic with just Ghost and Dewi. Both are core to the comic and they don't get as much screen time interacting as I want. So I made a little comic aside with a solo interaction.
I wanted to showcase their relationship and it's complexities. They both have a lot to learn from one another about boundaries. Ghost with their tendency to lean towards more violent shows of communication and Dewi being naïve to the bug's own fears and plights.
This little comic also FINALLY allowed me to show off that - YES - Ghost does communicate with sign language (on the rare occasion). Though both them and Dewi are slow with it, so it's disjointed.
A dump page I did of some stuff of Pietro and Bobby getting closer physically and emotionally before they even admit their feelings to each other that was inspired by several different pics visually!
Face gripping inspired by @lucentbliss!
And the last 2 bicep and laying were inspired by @ilovegt!
But yeah, Bobby still is trying to grapple with the fact that he is actually falling very hard for Pietro and doesn't want to takes the flirting back too seriously bc he doesn't think Pietro would think that way of him too and doesn't want to read into it too much beyond being close friends... I don't think Pietro even realizes how much he ends up kind of flirting back with Bobby bc he just naturally likes to tease people, but also hasn't grappled with the fact that he has in fact, also fallen very hard for Bobby.... He's not ready to unpack all that yet. They're just very good friends. yeah.
But yeah, Bobby is getting everything he could ever want here lmao Nobody save him, he's exactly where he wants to be. And yes, Pietro's heart just goes that fast even when he doesn't have his super speed working. He's just built different.
