How (some) of my characters hug, totally @brielleroux‘s fault.
J’hasi’s hugs vary in intensity, from the cautious ‘oh, okay I think we’re friends (???) and they want to hug and that’s ok’ to ‘I missed/care/etc you, I-would-die-for-you’ sort of hugs. The former is easy to get out of, almost as if he thinks you’re made of glass: overly cautious and gentle. His hands rest on your upper back while his chin just barely touches at your shoulder, typically on your right side. It’s brief unless the other person doesn’t seem to want it to end just yet, but eventually he’ll get fidgety and pull away.
The ride-or-die hugs are firmer, not suffocatingly tight, but firm enough as if to say ‘I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere’. His face usually ends up buried in your shoulder or rubbing against it or your face (or chest, if the recipient is taller than him), his eyes are shut and his hands, rather than resting almost timidly on your back feel more like he’s actually holding you rather than 2 seconds from pulling away. His tail even curls around both of your legs, either brushing or hovering. Purring may happen. It happens a lot.
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Maarzi hugs you like you’re her best friend and lover all in one, always. A big hug, oftentimes picking you up and spinning you around before setting you down again, arms going around the back of your neck as she starts talking to you, usually not letting go for a while unless requested. She puts her forehead to those she’s especially close with, gently rocking side to side. The hug usually parts with a smack on the ass if she’s feeling playful. Family or those who request more platonic forms of departure get a hair/mane ruffle instead. J’hasi usually gets both, with a steady dose of grump in reply. She thinks it’s cute.
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Jeer-rah hugs like they haven’t seen you in ages, and usually just with one arm, though it’s more of a squeeze than a hug. They’ll jostle you a little bit and keep their arm around your shoulders when they chat with you for a bit, eventually slipping off and the hug is over. They only hug with both arms when they’re comforting someone. Comfort hugs are firm, their head pressing against the side of yours, moving to pressing against your forehead if they’re talking to you, their arms around your shoulders initially and moving to around your ribs when more at rest. The hug doesn’t so much as end as drifts apart, Jeer letting you pull away at your own pace.
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Stalks-In-Shadows’ hugs are death. If he’s hugging you it means you’re about to get stabbed in the back, strangled, or your neck snapped. DO. NOT. HUG.*
*J’hasi is rare exception, but his hugs are possessive ‘this is mine’ hugs rather than ‘I care about you’ hugs.
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Baht is an awkward hugger. He doesn’t know where to put his hands, so he ends up curling his hands into fists and holding you around the shoulders or middle, depending on height. Tends to pick people up when he’s excited. Also doesn’t know his own strength, and apologizes when he squeezes too hard.
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Sees-In-Mist has only been seen hugging one person, ever. They still hug ‘their little Ei’ as they did when he was a wee hatchling, almost like they’re trying to gather him up and carry him. One hand is on his lower back, the other at the back of his neck, guiding him to rest his head over their shoulder, oftentimes stroking J’hasi’s fur. Their tail curls around both of their legs, but doesn’t touch. Protective and safe vibes on the inside, the outside has a firm warning of ‘you fuck with my kid and you’re dead’.
