okay, so winter was a darling muse of mine and as much i didn’t want to part with her, it was time to be retired. been playing her so long, my muse was all burnt out. but thanks to the help of some amazing people, here’s mercy ! a shiny new muse i’m ready to play with.

{ elizabeth lail ♔ 24 ♔ she/her } well, well, well if it isn’t mercy williams running around peach hollow. legend has it, they come from tangerine towers and have lived here for most of her life  . if you’re wondering what they’ve been up to, i hear they’re a book clerk for a living. they have been known to be closed off yet talkative . a word of advice to them, always look over your shoulder. you never know who is watching. 

there’s the sparks notes version of her below, but i’d encourage you to read the FULL BIO because it’s way better. i promise.

It had been hard to find a place to stay. She only had a couple more days in her dorm until Winchester officially kicked her out. Luckily, she had found Mercy. “I would love that. Do you need a downpayment or something?” She asked, keeping her hair out of her face. “Can we talk about boundaries? Is that something to talk about?” 

“A down payment?” Mercy repeated, a little surprised at the girl’s offer. As nice as it would’ve been to have a large sum sitting in her savings, she didn’t have it in her to take advantage of another person like that. Despite what the rest of the town had to say, the woman wasn’t selfish-- well, not that selfish. “No, honey, you’re fine. Boundaries, sure. You got anythin’ you wanna say? I know the pretty basic stuff. What’s yours is yours and you ain’t gotta worry ‘bout me goin’ in and out of your area.”

Alexa had indeed been looking for Clarissa for the better part of the morning. She’d stopped by her house in the morning while walking Hotch to see if she wanted to get coffee and missed her, and apparently, she was missing her here too. “Hey… Yeah, I’m Alexandra, but call me Lexie” She said with a smile, reaching her hand out to greet her “Yeah, seems like I’m doing nothing but missing her from places today… Everyone needs a bit of a caffeine hit sometimes, my wonder-sister included” She said with a slight chuckle.

“Lexie, nice to meet you. I’m Mercy,” the book clerk said, taking the other’s hand into her own hand before giving it a light shake. “Your wonder-sister might have an addiction if I do say so myself. I hardly ever see her without and when I do.. boy,” leaving the rest unsaid, knowing fairly well that the other should be aware of exactly what she was talking about. “You been in town long?”

Leo had been sitting on the steps leading up to his office when a familiar blonde entered the shop. It had been a while since he’d seen Mercy Williams and hadn’t planned on seeing her ever again, in all honesty. But her sudden reappearance on his shop, let alone in Peach Hollows was a welcomed surprise. Pushing himself off the metal steps, he wiped his hands on his jeans before crossing the floor towards her. “Am I seeing a ghost or is it actually Mercy Williams?” He asked with a chuckle, grinning from ear to ear. “Yeah, yeah. I got time for you today. I can move some things around,” he said, looking back over his shoulder at the busy garage. “I didn’t know you were in town. Are you just passing through? Or you finally settling back down?”

“Mercy Williams in the flesh,” the blonde answered, releasing a soft laugh at his surprise as the tension she felt had evaporated. His obvious welcoming exterior making it fairly certain that Leo Choi wasn’t going to be one of many to give her a hard time-- something she needed. In a sea full of people that weren’t exactly happy with her return, it was nice to have the small few who were. Made her feel as though living in town for the next couple months wouldn’t be all that bad. “Settlin’ down here? You know Peach Hollows ain’t the place for me,” taking a few steps inside of the garage, her eyes glancing around at the scenery. He’d really done well for himself and Mercy admired that. "When I say check up, I really do just mean a check up. I’m almost positive that there’s nothin’ wrong with miss thin’ out there, but just wanna give my roommate a peace of mind.”

Growing up in a small town like Peach Hollows meant knowing everyone’s face, if not also their name. Anytime Cecelia wandered into the coffee shop, Joey’s or even the doctors office she saw familiar faces and always managed to strike up a polite conversation. At the very least, muster a slight head nod or even smile. It was a habit her parents had instilled into her as a child as a method to keep up positive appearances in town, ensuring that every resident or tourist knew that even the youngest of all Phams was polite, courteous and most of all, friendly. And for the most part, she was. Cecelia was extremely non-confrontational, didn’t like being put in difficult situations, and really just wanted to spend her time with the people she cared for the most.

But as she wandered down the streets of Strawberry Lane and crossed a face she hadn’t seen in nearly four years, everything her parents taught her was gone. She couldn’t muster a smile, a head nod or even open her lips to say hello, nor could she apparently control her legs because she was suddenly walking towards none other than Mercy Williams.

However before she had the opportunity to say a single word, Mercy cut her off. Short and not-so-sweet. Cece’s breath caught in her throat as Mercy, ironically, mercilessly shut her down. “Mercy, please,” Cecelia muttered, her hand reaching up to touch her arm, though it stopped short. “At least let me explain.”

From the moment her light eyes landed on the other, flashbacks of their last encounter flashed through her mind. The night of her last argument with her father, it had been her friend she’d confided in--- Cecelia Pham. It’d been her door that she knocked on, watery eyes and tear stains visible on her face as she stood there. Mercy’s decision to leave the following morning had been unplanned, unexpected, but a long time coming. Something she had hoped the other would understand, but clearly it hadn’t been the case. 

“Explain what, exactly?” The blonde questioned, arms folding over her chest as she simply stared. “That you’re a backstabbin’ snitch?” Bitch was what Mercy was really wanting to say, but bit it back.

“ Its okay. Kids are pretty durable. He’ll be just fine. I bump into him all the time.” Ilia made sure that Lian was okay but he seemed fine and more preoccupied by the ice cream. “Hey, I’m new in town. I’m Ilia and this is Lian. We’re new in town. I don’t think we have ever seen you though.” 

“I still feel so bad. Honestly should’ve been payin’ attention to the people in front of me,” she said, voice still  very much apologetic for the small incident. Even still, Mercy did just as the mother do her to do and brushed it to the side, lips spreading into a friendly smile. “Nice to meet you, Ilia--” Her attention now turning to the young boy-- “And Lian. Welcome to Peach Hollows, I’m Mercy,” she introduces, eyes now shifting up to the brunette that stood before her. “Kinda just ... blew back in with the wind, you can say.” One way to cut a long story short.

“I missed you too, Mercy.” He did want to be mad, he really did, but he couldn’t. He had missed her, and it’s not entirely out of the question to think that his anger had dissipated at the sight of his old friend in front of him again. “You don’t have to explain yourself, I get it. I think I would of run a long time ago if things were different. I don’t blame you for skipping town, but a little heads up if it happens again would be nice.” Arizona joked softly, shrugging. “How long are you back for?”

I missed you too, Mercy. The words had the blonde releasing the air she hadn’t even realized she’d held in-- a weight being lifted off her shoulders. No longer feeling as though she had to brace herself for his outburst. No more waiting for the backlash, the yelling.. he understood. Someone finally taking a minute to understand why she had done what she had by taking off like that. “Thank you for that, really. I appreciate it a lot.” The forced smile that had once been on Mercy’s face now softening, turning into something genuine for the first time since her return. “ I can’t tell you how long I plan on stayin’ because I don’t even know myself, but I do promise you’ll be the first to know when I go. Deal?” 

[ enough ] your muse commanding mine to stop talking.

Lately the only thing she seemed to be good at doing was picking fights. Picking fights with her parents, friends-- hell, even the poor neighbors were forced to hear the fury that was Mercy Williams. Today, Leo Choi had to be on the receiving end of it all. What had he done? It was small, insignificant and had it not been to her sour mood, probably would’ve been brushed to the side. Unnoticed. Just not in this moment. With all the built up anger that seemed to swell inside of her small figure, the smallest of things could set her off. For now, she was a ticking time bomb and no one knew when she was fully ready to explode. 

“You know what? Fuck this, Le--”

Enough. 

Her voice had been cut off, hands that had been reaching for her clothes now rose while light eyes simply stared at him. He hardly ever seemed to raise his voice around Mercy and to hear him finally grow fed up, she was surprised. Her light colored eyes scanned his features, waiting for him to say something. Waiting for him to lash out on her just as she did to him.. but, nothing. A silence hung between the two and before she knew it, a sense of guilt began to make itself known. "... I’m sorry,” Mercy finally said after a few moment, voice soft and barely above a whisper. “Today just hasn’t been the best of days and I’m just--- I’m sorry, alright?” @leoochoi