I want to thank @perpetualmaladaptivedaydream for creating this wonderful tag game (here's their original post) and for tagging me, as well as getting tagged by the amazing @deianestormborn, @tynithia, @cep-stories, @spillingteanotpermitted, @dynamicducks, @carnivaley, @thesanguinesonnet, @rdekarios, @litsenn, @saylofwaterdeep, @andromedaancunin, @grandninjamasterren, @cinder-rellish181 - the serious talent all of y'all possess is just....gosh, wow. I feel very grateful to be tagged so I can admire it 😌🥰
As per usual, I am quite slow with these but I'm happy to share what I came up with 😊 Right now, I'm completely burned out from caregiver fatigue and just brutal, bleak, surreal grief. So having this tag game to pour some of my emotions into was really therapeutic for me ❤️ The Silmarillion is my favorite book and I thought it would be fun to come up with a version of one of its covers for Her Harper, His Sufferer. Although I don't have VP of them on the cover like others did, the image in the center represents Elminster the Tree, a key "figure" in the story, and Geraldus (left) and Nienna (right). The elvish text are real lines from the story that I used the Tengwar Feanor Elvish Transcriber for. Not sure how accurate the translator/text is, but I had so much fun finding all the resources and uploading the fonts to Canva, etc. (Note: edited this after posting as I realized the circular elvish was overlapping!)
This was based on my favorite cover version of The Silmarillion, shown below:
Because I'm so late to this, I'm going to do an open tag but also boops for visibility (in case y'all would like to take part, or if you have already, please link me your post as I likely missed it ❤️🩹): @ceremorph0sis, @wasted-sam @wyfyoyo, @onlytavs, @missfortunetherogue, @emmyandthetieflings, @gortashsrighthand @cunthulhu-xo @fireflyeyes @bhaal-battle-beer-bard @miauzuli @toomanyfamiliars @scoldingdarjeeling @nasaiki @theya-art @ele-millennial-weirdo @ellessario love y'all, and with the open tag for anyone else who would like to take part, please tag me when you do so I can see!!)
A/n: Don't look at me like that. I tried working on requests but he's infiltrated my mind, running around day and night!!!! He's a cutie and I love him lol, might do spiced headcannons later who knows. I could probably write some more but these are the many thoughts that have been rummaging through my head.
Requested: no lol
Pairing: Harper (Soon-to-be Watcher) Geraldus x gn!Reader
Word Count: 1.7+k
Warnings: Lots of fluff, brief mentions of marriage and having children (no birth mentioned but wonders about similar traits the parents and children share, I want to make it clear I am NOT excluding adoption nor other ways of starting a family!!!), brief food mentions as well, existential dread related to trauma and heavy disassociation towards the end. Reader = Tav, Tav = Reader
You accompany him to his ceremony where he’s named a Watcher! He offers an arm to escort you like a gentleman, and you not-so-secretly get a feel of the upper strength he’s been keeping private. You practically hang off of his elbow the entire evening and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Him being fiercely protective of you. Not crossing your boundaries, but keeping an eye open for any signs of danger when you’re around. He knows more than well that you’re capable of taking down enemies on your own but he wants to be someone you can lean on; someone you can look to being your shield against the evils of the world. It’s more than Geraldus wanting to be useful but more of him wanting to keep you safe and protected.
A plethora of nicknames for you. There’s the familiar use of “love” and “dear” with an occasional “my” before the term, but every now and then he calls you his “moonbeam” since you guide his way through the dark.
You receive plenty of letters when he’s sent away for work. Long and detailed confessions of how he misses your warmth and how he can’t wait to return by your side. He writes dreamy imaginations of how you both would spend time at the current location he’s stuck in. Geraldus even tries his hand at poetry, each line about you.
Send him letters back! He has a growing collection of each note you’ve sent him, the majority are kept close to his nightstand but your most recent ones stay in his pockets while on duty. He likes to reread them in his spare time; memorizing each curve of every stroke of ink in your handwriting. He will also memorize specific phrases or terms of endearment you’ve written.
Meeting his mom! She instantly loves you for what you mean to her son, but makes an effort to get to know you personally as well. She adores when you lend a helping hand around the farm or assist her in making desserts! Geraldus is usually standing still; struck with Cupid’s arrow as he watches you and his mother get along. His heart melts in the beautiful domestic bliss of the moment!
Geraldus makes a daily effort to tell you how much you mean to him, one way or another. He tends to accidentally repeat sentences he’s already said to remind you that the words will always remain truthful. He also likes figuring out which vocabulary can make you shy, with a darted gaze and heated cheeks. He thinks it’s cute when you’re nervous given your reputation as the grand savior of Baldur’s Gate.
Being with you has him realize how much of a touchy cuddlebug he is deep down. Holding your hand, resting his head on your head/shoulder, and keeping a hold around your waist or bicep quickly become some of his favorite activities. Adores to hold you from behind when you are both standing and likes to be held against your chest when laying down in bed. It’s as if he can finally breathe; decompress and embrace the safety of purely you. He doesn’t mean to, but he does smell you when your bodies are intertwined. Your scent is very soothing to him. Very grabby in his sleep as well, he subconsciously wants to keep you close no matter when.
He’s so nervous under your stare; he can’t help feeling flustered. You’re looking at him, every detail about himself is completely bare and out in the open for you to judge. Along with a soft expression filled with adornment from you is, more likely than not, aimed at his direction. It doesn’t help that you can read him like a book. Further in your relationship he grows more confident and sure of himself.
You can find him tripping over his words early in your relationship, particularly in moments where he’s trying to impress you. A few words of reassurance helps him immensely.
He loves feeling your fingers between his raven locks. You usually brush his hair in the morning and at night, sometimes giving his scalp a comforting scratch. This is the quickest way to have him asleep in your lap. He snores slightly but is easy to wake if it’s time to get up.
Geraldus frequently has nightmares. Not only from the incident where you both met but also from the other horrors he’s seen during his work as a Watcher. He despises waking you up in the middle of the night since he hates being bothersome. However, he’ll still selfishly indulge in your comfort after nudging you to consciousness if he can’t handle his fears himself. Pull him close, his pointed ear against the thump of your heartbeat is precisely what he needs as both consolement and a lullaby.
Every time he thinks of his future, he pictures you. He wants to be yours for the rest of his life and is definitely considering proposing after a couple years of being your significant other. If you have previously expressed wanting children someday, Geraldus could spend hours imagining how amazing parents the two of you would be. It’s almost as if he’s conjuring them into reality with how much he’s thinking. Maybe your daughter will have your nose, maybe your son will have his hair…
His kisses leave you feeling special. He first kisses you with only lip, shaking slightly as he feels blessed by the Gods themselves to have this opportunity with both hands on each side of your face. As the kiss progresses he’ll clumsily add some tongue, but leave you to take control. He likes it when you do.
With leaving some room for imagination, he really enjoys following your orders. He appreciates a kind tone when telling him to do something more than barking out instructions, but he’s a good boy and will do what’s needed nonetheless. He also appreciates rewards for his good behavior.
His laugh is so loud now that he’s found it again, largely in thanks to you.
Geraldus will always catch you if you were to throw yourself at him, maybe not lift you off the ground but certainly collide his toned body with yours. He might stumble depending on the day and sometimes he’ll even fall over but he'll use his figure to soften the blow. Hold him against yourself nevertheless! Squeeze him tightly when he walks through the door after not seeing him for a while because of his duties! It makes him feel treasured and wanted.
The Watcher isn’t necessarily a bad cook, but simple is a better word to describe his meals. He has primarily made food for only himself after leaving his mother’s care, but was mainly helping with the side dishes in his youth instead of the main course. Since you’ve lightened his life, he tries to improve as a chef! From experimenting dishes to asking his mother about certain recipes, he’ll be trying his best to make a “Marry Me” meal that’ll make you proud!
Since Geraldus is gone for duty every now and then, he likes to return with special dates planned. It’s one of the many ways he likes to thank you for your patience and for choosing to stay by his side. Sometimes the dates are fancy, but more often than not they’re inexpensive and personal. Involving your favorites across multiple categories and sweet moments the two of you have previously shared.
On dates in general, he tends to keep quiet and let you do the talking. He loves to hear about your dreams, aspirations, thoughts, opinions, and how your day went. Listening to how a scenario played out, even if he was there/involved, from your point of view is a joy to him. Yes, you’ll have to be the “He asked for no pickles!” in this relationship but it’s worth it and more. However, if you ask him a question he’s sure to respond. If it’s about a particular topic he may rant a tangent and then promptly apologize. Ask him about his work, he has so much gossip stored that's ready to be shared.
Geraldus does have thoughts about how lucky he is to be yours, and how it almost doesn’t feel real to him. Sometimes, he wonders if he met his end all the way back on that horrible night, and your time together has only been a vision. Or, maybe it’s what was in store for him after his life all along. He also speculates if he's currently going through his passing, and instead of flashing through the memories of his life he’s instead creating new and beautiful ones with you by his side and being named a Watcher. You’ll have to regularly ground him and bring himself back from the deceiving space his trauma has created in his mind. You’re here, He’s here, you two are here together, all of his memories are real, and you are both alive in this very moment. Learning a few breathing practices and taking the time to inhale and exhale with him is something he couldn’t live without.
On the other side of that coin, he also has moments - very brief moments - where he wonders if you’re a doppelganger. That the real you, who he never had a chance with to begin with, is gone and in your place is this face-stealing creature that has seen him at his realest, weakest, and most vulnerable self. He is quick to brush those thoughts away. If you were a doppelganger, then surely, you would’ve ended him already; you’ve had every chance to do so. On his worst days, he thinks of the latter that wraps around into his “Is this even real?” moments. Ground and breathe with him still, but giving him some extra support through therapy will be beneficial for him for years to come. He still needs a good cry on occasions, hold him close and rub his back while he gets everything off of his chest and starts the day anew.
He’s all yours; every fiber of his being is under your mercy and you continue to prove that you sweetly care for him. For that, he loves you. He loves you with the gentle thrum of his heart, with every moment shared between you two, with each arrow he aims, and with all of the years that pass.
