#also if youre a fan of his & coming to terms with this still big hug

[liillyliilly]

No Free-Solo

kenji sato x reader words; 10021 synopsis; from high school on, kenji couldn't do it alone, especially not when she was there for him.

“You’re missing me with that busy shit. You’re missing me with your whole ‘I can’t come over tonight’ act.” Kenji sat in what she liked to refer to as his dungeon, his lair, his Ultraman den. His too large for life couch made of black leather was cold and the emptiness was expansive in his mansion. He wanted her near, he wanted her to come back.

“I really can’t come over, I’m helping out Ami with Chiho tonight.” She tried to let him down gently, but he huffed through the phone.

She wasn’t a nanny per se, but she did do a fair amount of long-term babysitting for lots of people, mostly for Ami, occasionally for other busy mothers. She had a certain touch to the whole watching and raising kids thing, entertaining the child while also educating them.

Chiho was snoring in her bed. Ami was out with her fellow reporter boyfriend. And she, well she was watching movies in the family room of Ami’s house. Drawings that Chiho had done were covering the walls, plenty of Ultraman pictures to Kenji’s amusement.

She knew the Sato family through a long-winded connection by friendship shared between mothers. Kenji’s mom was best friends with her mom. In terms of maturity though, she was light years ahead of Kenji even when they were in high school. Back in America, when life was typical (meaning lacking in Kaiju and Ultraman responsibility) and the LA Dodgers still reigned supreme in Kenji’s head. They had met for the first time right before her junior year and his senior year.

She would be the youngest junior at the school and he would be one of the oldest seniors at their Los Angeles high school.

Her mom had insisted they visit her good friend the summer before her junior year started, and that she would need to help the son out in adapting to American High school since they had just moved from Japan.

She was worried due to a potential language barrier, but her mom assured her that he would be fluent in English. But how would her mom know that? Her anxiety was off the charts. She spent hours studying basic Japanese, which she found was probably going to kill her, why a language needs more than one writing system was beyond her.

“Ah! It’s so good to see you, Emiko!” Her mom went in for a big hug, and the petite Japanese woman returned the hug with as much enthusiasm as had been given. Her mom muttered about the separation between Emiko and Hayao, and Emiko gave a strained smile, leading them into the house.

Kenji was lounging on the couch, which she soon learned that he loved to do, a tendency to sprawl due to his height and lankiness. He was switching TV channels, until he landed on a baseball game and committed to watching that.

Her mom ushered her over to him, telling her to make conversation and get to know him. How she expected her to do that despite not knowing him at all was a wonder. She didn’t suspect that they had anything in common, and with the zeal he was watching the baseball game, she also suspected that he wasn’t going to be a huge fan of her preference for movies and shows over sports.

So she mustered up a greeting in Japanese from a textbook she had picked up. She had missed the way his eyes glinted with amusement, it was at that moment he decided to play just a small inconsequential game. A game where he pretended he didn’t know any English.

He responded in Japanese, and she realized she really knew nothing at all about Japanese. He sat up and patted the seat next to him. The moms left the main living space in favor of drinking some tea upstairs on a balcony, leaving her alone and incapable of communicating.

Pointing to herself, she said her name with a forced smile. He said ‘Kenji’ while pointing to himself and saying a variety of other words that she had no idea meant anything at all. At least Japanese sounded pretty, so she started thinking about the linguistic history and design of the syllables. He waved a hand in front of her face and she snapped out of her mini history lesson to herself.

Pushing his joke a little further, he used his head to point to a door near the stairs. She raised an eyebrow. He spoke for a few more moments, and she could only stiffly smile and nod in return. When he grabbed her hand and went to the door she thought she was going to die.

Inside the door was his room, and she really thought that this was the end of her sanity, her childhood, her innocence. She had fandangled herself into an intimate relationship with someone who didn’t even speak English and her heart was going to burst at the seams. Trying to recall all the words she had memorized, she was mad that she never learned the words for; no, stop, or I’ll kill you.

It was when she began to slink towards the door and hold her arms across her body in a cross shape that he realized maybe he should drop the joke. Her ears seemed like they were burning and her breathing had increased to a mile a minute in pace.

“Relax, I just wanted to show you my baseball cards.” He held up a binder and opened it to reveal a collection of player cards double sleeved and tucked neatly into a sheet protector.

“I thought you didn’t speak any English!” She frowned and put a hand to her heart. He laughed and she realized she had fallen for a trick.

“My bad.” He holds his hands together and puts them up near his head with a slight bow to apologize. Kenji pushes his bangs back and licks his top row of teeth, “Do you know if our school has a baseball team?” He asks.

She nods. “We’re in the top bracket for playing, it’s super hard to get onto the team though, my friend tried-”

He raised a hand to get her to stop speaking, then he informed her of his inherent athletic prowess, “Believe me, I’ll get onto the team.”

And he had. He’d even qualified to play on the varsity team.

A few months into the school year, while she was eating in the library with some friends, Kenji came bustling into the open space with his pack of baseball players. They always tagged along behind him, treating him like some sort of fancy foreign exchange kid, which she realized was exactly the situation and so her mental analogy didn’t end up working out and she clicked her teeth.

But the majority of white boys at the school did tend to lean a little too hard into the racial stereotypes and unfunny jokes. All Kenji could do sometimes was purse his lips and keep eating his natto. They thought because they had an Asian friend it was an excuse for their behavior, why Kenji never stood up to them and told them off was a huge confounding plight in her eyes. Kenji himself didn’t quite understand it either. Not even when they shortened his name into just Ken for ease and convenience.

Before she could tidy up her comparison and dissection of Kenji Sato, he was leaning on her desk, eating her carrots and searching for her eyes to meet him. He said something in Japanese, and she tried to remember how the words sounded so she could look up what he had said.

“I need your help.” He stole a bite of her sandwich, then drank some of her water. Before he even took it without asking, she offered her pastry to him and he ate the whole thing in one bite and mumbled a ‘thanks’ with his mouth full. He finished chewing and swallowing.

“I need you to pretend to date me so I can get these guys off my back.” He stuck his thumb in the direction of his teammates.

“Absolutely not. No way in hell, Kenji.” She started to pack up her bag, but he just put his hand on her bag and pressed it hard against the desk. With his other hand he gently grabbed her by the chin, and tilted her face up to his. Inches away. Her eyes went wide.

“Pretty please?” He licked his lips and she tried to bring her own face back to avoid his tongue getting to her lips.

She thought about what her mom said, telling her to help out Kenji if he needed it. This couldn't apply though, right?

“I’m going to need so many favors.” She groaned, managing to get her bag out from under his hands.

He pressed a quick kiss to her lips, ruffling her hair and heading out with his friends who began to goad him for keeping her a secret for so long. He had just taken her first kiss and it didn’t seem like it bothered him at all. She was too busy pressing her hand to her lips to even notice the way his ears were a scorching hot red.

When she went to research what he had said to her, she thought she must have misheard him because the proposed English translation was something along the lines of, ‘please let this work out in my favor’.

Continuously, she called in favors, and he was there to meet them. Getting books off the top shelves in the library. Sharpening pencils when they were studying. Even helping her learn just a little more of his language.

“No, no you gotta give each syllable its own beat. Copy me.” Kenji went over the blended ‘r’ and ‘l’ sound that felt clunky in her mouth.

She did replicate what he was saying, at least to her own belief that that was her best ability. He laughed a little and she frowned.

“Okay, move your tongue a little, right behind your front teeth, but also not touching your teeth, just let your tongue kinda do the sound in the middle.” Kenji opened his mouth a little so she could observe. She tried again but it sounded even worse than the first attempt.

“I wish I could just move your tongue for you so you could get the motion right.” She looked quickly side to side, biting her bottom lip. Kenji backtracked immediately, “That didn’t come out quite right, I think that’s enough Japanese for one day.” She nodded rapidly and closed the journal she was using to take notes.

He said that they could go get food, she agreed and they got burgers and milkshakes at a run down family owned diner. He paid, despite her insisting she could pay for her own food. Saying that that was apart of the whole fake dating thing.

“You know, you do a lot of things under the guise of our not dating, dating thing.” She sipped her milkshake. Kenji took a bite of his burger, musing about what he would say.

“Well, we’re friends as well right?”

“Yeah, we’ve been hanging out since you basically arrived here. We’re friends, but honestly, we behave more like best friends.” She finished off her shake and cleaned up her area.

That was something he liked about her, her consideration for cleanliness and organization. But also her appreciation for others around her, cleaning up her stuff so that the likely overworked waitress didn’t have to. A person who thinks about other people. Now that was his type he decided.

“I’m happy with being best friends.”

In all fairness, he was probably the best fake boyfriend that a girl could’ve asked for. They had settled on knowing their relationship was best friends, but for others they had the additional label of dating. Sometimes though, he’d do something like grab her hand or wrap an arm around her. When those situations presented themselves, she always looked for possible viewers, his teammates. But based on her data, he only did things like that around 20% of the time when his teammates were actually watching. Meaning that the other 80% of the time he did the physical acts of affection, no one was around to watch.

While his English was practically perfect, he had the hardest time in social studies and history, so he got her help with his U.S. government class. He claimed that because he hadn’t lived here at all, and because he had Japanese citizenship that this class was completely useless for him. His defeatist attitude towards history made her roll her eyes at him.

One day, when she was intending to come over to help him, Emiko crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe as he cleaned up his room. He threw his baseball socks and jersey into the dirty clothes hamper.

“She’s coming over then?”

He mumbled an affirmative answer.

Emiko got giddy, saying she’d make a good rich curry tonight for dinner and that he’d need to tell her to stay for dinner. He gave a wave and kept picking up his room.

When the doorbell rang, he ran to the door. Emiko chastened him and told him to calm down. He let her in, and she greeted his mom, giving Emiko the box of fruit her own mom told her to drop off. He complained in Japanese that she always went straight to his mom instead of greeting him first. Emiko in turn smiled at her while scolding her son again in Japanese.

Watching the conversation unfold, she shrugged, Japanese was just not her strong suit.

“How hard is it to understand a constitutional federal republic?” She looked over his essay answer to a prompt she had given him to practice for his upcoming test. He was sitting cross-legged on his bed, chewing the end of a pen. She was leaning against his bed frame, reading papers and marking up his essay with her red pen. Each time she made another red mark, he grumbled. Of all the people she had tutored though, his handwriting was the best.

“Correct these things first, and then I can edit again with my orange pen.” She held up said pen while handing the paper back to him. He just mimicked what she had said, holding his own pen the same way she had held up hers, even going so far as to bring his shoulders upwards to make him appear smaller.

In response to the insulting imitation she grabbed her notebook and hit him repeatedly on the knee. He let out a pained ouch, and she felt bad, so she put the notebook away and just patted his knee instead.

“If you really loved me you’d just write out the whole essay and then I could just memorize it and cross apply the right parts for the actual prompt Mr. Henry gives in class next week.” Kenji adjusted his body position, and her hand wasn’t on his knee anymore but dead center of his thigh instead. He smirks, and she immediately retracts her hand.

“Good thing I don’t love you then.” Kenji presses his hand to his heart and sighs, falling back into his pillow. “Just do the essay Jiji.”

He lifted his head and repeated what she had said, “Jiji?”

“Kenji.” She says his name and enunciates the two syllables cleanly.

“I like Jiji, I think it suits me. It’s a cute nickname.”

He finished rewriting the essay while she poked around his room. Photos of him with his mom and dad, which she already knew not to ask about because last time she did he went total silence for two weeks. But then he felt guilty about ghosting and took her out to get a sweet treat everyday after school for one week straight. Trophies from his old school back in Japan for his baseball achievements. Multiple MVP awards from the games he had played here.

The other photos that were in his room were mostly of him and his teammates. He just didn’t look too happy in those ones, so she tried to skim them, but failed. His teammates did their best to make him seem like he was a part of the group, but it just didn’t click all the way. Kenji always looked too serious in the photos, or it seemed like he was actually looking at the baseball diamond instead of the person taking the photo.

There was an adorable little figure, made either of acrylic or vinyl, of a little superhero with a red and silver supersuit and a blue circle on the chest. She picked it up and inspected it. What she assumed was Kenji’s name was on the foot of the toy. She bent the arms of the toy and moved it around like it was flying midair.

Kenji had completely paused writing his essay in favor of watching her dart around his room. He clenched his jaw for a second when she picked up the Ultraman toy, then eased his body language when she started making the toy fly around. If only that’s what Ultraman really was, just a toy. Just a toy and not an impending responsibility to protect and serve the people of Japan from Kaiju monsters. He wondered if she’d ever want to live somewhere besides Los Angeles. Tokyo for example.

“Kenji! Curry! Get the applesauce from the cabinet please!” Emiko called out.

She set the toy down and turned around, but Kenji was already standing right behind her. He had only meant to watch her movements a little more closely, but now this was entirely too close. He played it off like he was adjusting the Ultraman doll, smiled and then opened his door for her to exit and head downstairs.

When he heard the steps trailing down, he silently screamed and raised his hands to the sides of his head. Then he dragged a hand down his face and carded fingers through his hair. He envied the self he saw in the photos, cool and nonchalant.

“So, are there any boys you think are cute at school?” Emiko ate another bite of katsu that was drenched in curry sauce.

She swallowed thickly for a second, “I- uh, no. There’s not many good options for dating material at a hyper-athletic school.” She laughed to cut the edge off the conversation.

Emiko drank some water, but then prodded a little more. Kenji wished the earth would open and swallow him up.

“Not even at a school full of athletes? I would’ve sworn there were some good options for you on Kenji’s baseball team. What was his name? Eric? Eli?”

“Ohh, Ezra Johnson?” She supplied, eating some applesauce and then tapping her mouth with a napkin.

Kenji looked to her, then to his mom, then back at her. He was trying to stuff his face with his food so he could exit the conversation and then drag her and himself back to his room. She seemed insistent on blocking out the whole fake dating thing from his mom’s view and perception.

“Yes! He’s a really nice kid! He actually greeted me when I went to the first game. It was so sweet of him. His mom and I got to know each other a little bit. I can send you his details if you want?” Emiko grazed the back of her phone.

“No!” Kenji burst. His mom and his fake girlfriend both looked at him. “Uh, Ezra is talking to this girl named, um, Claire. Yeah, Claire.” He held his plate up and his mom nodded.

Rinsing his plate off he put it into the dishwasher, then from behind his mom’s back he tried mouthing to her so they could go back upstairs but she was too busy still talking to his mom to notice anything.

When she finally finished eating, she said she needed to go back home.

“What about my essay though?” Kenji rested his forearms on the kitchen counter while she was busy doing the dishes despite having to gently fight with Emiko about letting her even do the dishes in the first place.

“I gave you enough content to work with, just do the corrections and you’ll be good to go.” She bumped the dishwasher with her hip to close it, and he wondered what her bumping into him would feel like. And then he groveled a little that he wanted to be a dishwasher for even a split second. “I need to do my own homework now, tell your mom thank you again for me, okay?”

She rubbed his arm to comfort him slightly, but he took his chance to reach to her hip, tugging her lightly into him.

“What are you doing?” She hissed at him, trying to keep her voice down in case Emiko was still lurking around.

“Saying thanks for the help, goodbye, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” He grabbed the hand that she had on his arm and held her hand for a second, then brought it up to his mouth to press a light kiss to her knuckles.

She smiled, then pushed his shoulder.

When she had left the house, he flung himself onto the couch and giggled a little. Kicking his feet that were dangling over the arm of the couch. His mom peeked downstairs to see Kenji wriggling around and muttering. She just laughed a little. Maybe her instigation had worked out in the end.

The next week, she was hounded by baseball players after school.

She kept holding up a hand to cover her face, but they would not relent. Asking questions about her and Kenji. What Kenji was like outside of school, outside of baseball. If Kenji ever stopped being serious and aloof for even a minute. At this point they were just crowding her and not giving her the space to breathe.

She kept giving short curt answers, tugging her backpack straps closer and closer to her. At one point, one of them stepped on her foot and she winced a little.

It was like some kind of sonar sensor, Kenji could tell something was wrong. When he turned the corner, all he could see was his girl getting cornered by a bunch of idiots who didn’t even have his best interest at heart. The only reason why he asked her to fake date him was so that he could get out of dates with the girls his teammates had thought would suit him. The secondary reason was so she could avoid his teammates entirely. But clearly, the second reason did not go as planned because his teammates were a bunch of no-brainers who didn’t even really care about baseball.

“Hey, let’s go, I’ll drive you home today.” Kenji stuck his hand in between two of his teammates, and she grabbed it, so he was able to pull her out from the crowd they had made around her.

He strung two fingers around her jean belt loop and guided her to his car. When they finally sat down, and Kenji had started the engine, she let out a shaky breath. He put his hand behind her seat, and then moved his hand so he could lightly touch the back of her neck at her nape.

“Are you okay? I had no idea they would do something like that, I mean, it’s just completely ridiculous. I don’t even talk to them that much, if at all. And they treat me like some kind of foreigner, which I may be yeah, but really come on. That’s just herd mentality to the max. Ridiculous behavior, so childish.” Kenji kept talking while driving, she thought that maybe he needed a chance to really unload everything and mitigate the tension that had built up around him.

When they got to her house, he apologized again. And again.

“Don’t let it eat you alive, it’s all good, no harm no foul, if it makes you feel better, they totally reeked of body odor.” She chimed in after he finished his long wind of apologies. “And, um, what time is your game on Wednesday? My mom asked, she wants to hang out with your mom.”

“And here I thought you just wanted to see me completely kill the opposing team.” Kenji tried to lean out of the car just a little more, but his seatbelt kept him from getting his head out of the passenger side window. “I’ll text you. Get to your house safe ok?”

To her house from the car was approximately seven steps. The smile she gave him wrinkled her eyes and creased her nose just perfectly. He slid his hands up and down the wheel, smiling to himself as he started home.

The game went perfectly, he stole practically all the bases, and he made two home run hits. And an LA Dodgers scout was there. Once he got the documents and the scout shaked his hand, he was over the moon excited to play for the best team in the United States.

When he saw her with her mom and his mom, he just couldn’t hold himself back. In a second, he was hugging her and ranting about the scout continuously just repeating the experience over and over. Since his mom knew she would have a hard time prying Kenji off of his best friend, she just had to listen in to what he was saying, and she clapped when she had finally heard it all, celebrating from just far enough away to let them enjoy the moment.

His graduation was boring, she sat with his mom in the stands waiting for him to get his name called out. There were a lot of speeches, and she recognized the valedictorian from various library encounters, but for the most part everyone was a stranger to her. Emiko kept getting a call from an international number, but she didn’t try to ask about it.

Kenji barrelled through the crowd of graduates to get to his people, his mom and his best friend. When he started to talk about what he was going to do over the summer, his baseball camps and training, getting to meet the members of his team. His mom put a gentle hand to his shoulder, and he furrowed his eyebrows at the serious environment his mom had suddenly crafted. She backed away a little, but Kenji grabbed her hand and shook his head, telling her to stay for whatever his mom had to say.

“Kenji, your dad, he’s, your dad wants to talk to you. He’s, he’s on the phone.” Emiko couldn’t help but stutter a little, unnerved with how Kenji would react.

Kenji shook his head no, pulling her closer to him trying to use her as a crutch to prevent an interaction with his father from occurring. She looked between Kenji and his mother for a moment. Emiko with her tightened face and hand gripping the phone tightly said more than what her original request was saying. Emiko wanted Kenji to answer the call. So, she in turn encouraged him to answer it.

“Jiji, just answer the call. It’s your dad.” He felt betrayed.

“I’m not picking up the phone, I’m not talking to dad, and I’m getting a ride with a friend.” He pulls his hand away, despite missing her touch, and leaves his mom and her standing and stunned from his reaction.

Emiko pulled her into a side hug. “Thanks for backing me, you’re much more mature than I think people give you credit for. I have udon at home, call your mom and let’s have a girls night. I don’t think he’ll be home for a while. I’ll let him blow off steam today, but don’t think I’m soft on him, he’ll have some hell to pay when I catch him tomorrow.”

Patting the back of her head, Emiko went to the small electric van. She stood for a second, thinking about the space Kenji had just occupied. Maybe the family dynamic in the Sato household was more complex than she had anticipated, Emiko seemed to still love her husband despite them being separated. Kenji seemed adverse to and angry with his father, but Emiko didn’t carry any slight of resentment.

Girls night was a blast, including face masks and bad romance movies. Kenji got back around midnight, just as her mom and her were leaving his house. When she left, he was the one who closed the door after her. He gave a short pained smile and a wave. In her mind, it was a win because at least he wasn’t upset with her for taking Emiko’s side.

Summer was hot and burned the apples of her cheeks, leaving both sunburns and memories in it’s fragmented state. Kenji was busy conditioning for baseball practically everyday. Somedays he’d invite her out just to watch him play, so she could sip some icy lemonade and sit in the shade instead of being cooped in her house doing whatever it is that homebodies do.

It would be deceiving to say that she didn’t enjoy just watching him play. The way his baseball jersey would bunch at his elbows and shoulders when he hit the ball. Or the way he would run the bases each time he missed a throw from the ball machine. He still needed to get a haircut, so his bangs would completely cover most of his face, until he ran a hand through his sweaty hair and his almost snake-like eyes would study her from afar.

The best part was when he told her to move her legs a little, so he could sit on the row of bleachers in front of her. Eventually positioning himself to settle in between her legs, resting his arms on her thighs and his head was leaning on her torso. Although his sweat would lightly mark up her shirts when his hair dripped from his practice rounds, she still loved to be there for him in this capacity.

Either he was here with her or he would be at the diamond alone and angry. When he came alone, he would throw his bat when he made a mistake instead of just brushing it off and doing a lap. Somehow, doing baseball training alone while waiting for official LA Dodgers’ orders made him all pent up and out of control. So when she came to observe, it felt like he had more things in his control, his ability to manage.

“How are you gonna survive without me next year?” Kenji rolled his shoulders before getting his water bottle and guzzling down the IV infused liquid.

“Well, as far as everyone knows, we’re still dating, so I’ll have another year of free solo-ing the romance world at a hormone ridden cesspool.” She slid her backpack on, ready to start the trek home.

Kenji slung his duffel bag over his shoulder, then quickly switched which shoulder his bag was on once he saw which side she let her bag rest on, so that their bags wouldn’t bump into each other as he walked her home.

“You’re not gonna tell people we ended it?” Kenji sucked in some air through his teeth, readjusting the bag’s weight placement a little.

“Nah, it’s just easier that way. At graduation though if anyone asks how we’re doing I’ll say you found a supermodel that preys on greenie Pro-Baseball players.”

He nods, accepting the route she was going in order to terminalize their fake relationship.

“I was a good boyfriend though, right?” Maybe he asked so that he could feel out the possibility of a real one, or seeing what he could do better when he finally worked up enough courage to ask her out for real and for forever. For now though, he knew that friendship would satiate most of his yearning for her time and attention.

“Comparatively, to what I heard other girls went through, you were practically a saint. I mean, you never did press me into a couch so we could make out. Ruby held that over my head for the whole year once her girlfriend did that to her.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad actually,” Kenji stroked his chin, “One last boyfriend duty for me to do before I get too busy, ya know?”

“Kiss me without permission and you're a dead baseball boy.” He held up his hands defensively.

“That was one time.”

“In the middle of the library, in front of a good majority of my friends, right after I had been begged to be a fake girlfriend.”

Kenji raised his eyebrows, and tilted his head, “I do not recall begging.”

“You definitely begged,” She clasped her hands together and turned towards him, pausing their pace on the sidewalk for her to parody him, “Pretty please.”

She fluttered her eyelashes and pouted dramatically.

He rolled his eyes and tugged her hands so she would keep walking.

The postseason began around October for Kenji, and he made his official debut into the stage of professional baseball. Around the fifth game he played, he snapped. And that’s why he was sitting on her bathroom counter holding a bag of peas to the side of his face, while she dug through the closet just outside the bathroom looking for a first aid kit.

The catcher had just stepped out of line according to Kenji, messing up his at bat routine with his comments about his age, his inexperience, his lack of genuine talent. The first punch was Kenji’s, the second punch was the catcher’s and it rocked Kenji immediately.

Tasting the metallic blood in his mouth, he was just glad all his teeth were okay. He did feel bad for going to her instead of going home. But he knew that his mom would’ve killed him for hitting another player. The only reason why his mom wasn’t at this specific game was because she had some research files from years ago that his father needed, so she was spending the time trying to transfer data from floppy disks to USB drives.

She should’ve been asleep, or studying for her upcoming exams. He felt like an inconvenience and like a child who was being coddled, but he did feel like he was being fawned over by her which he could live with. Even the way she had reacted to him texting her and asking if she could help patch him up a little. She had sent nearly thirty messages, mostly angry, but also laced with worry.

“This might sting a little.” She reached up and pressed a cloth to his lip. He lurched away from the disinfectant, and she almost fell over due to having to reach up to get to his face.

“Hold on, give me a second.” Kenji got off the counter regardless of her complaints, she stopped complaining and was silenced once he swapped their positions, her sitting on the counter and him in front of her with his hands on either side of her hips, placed on the edge of the counter. “Better.”

She hummed a little, pressing the cloth to his face again, he tried to not lurch away this time. She put some triple antibiotic ointment on his lip and temple where there were some cuts. Putting some small star shaped bandages on his face where the cuts were biggest.

“All done!” She put her hands on his shoulders and gave a big smile.

Maybe he leaned in, maybe he didn’t. But their lips were definitely touching. When she pushed him away he realized he must have made a fatal error. So he decided to play it off.

“Sorry, a little faint from the fight earlier, not in my right mind.”

“Yeah, you, uh, you were just trying to, yeah.” She chewed the inside of her mouth.

Kenji helped her off the counter, and walked to her front door, ready to head out.

Holding onto the door, she stuck her head out and commented to him before he got too far away from hearing distance, “No more fights okay?”

He threw her a thumbs up before leaving her house. When he was safely back in his car, he did something that was all too familiar when he slipped up around her, he silently screamed and gripped his hair.

Years went by.

They stayed close, and he made sure of that. Baseball was going great, but no championships under his belt. She had graduated college, working at an office as an assistant. She moved out of her family home and got a shared apartment with some college friends who also worked in the main part of Los Angeles

Then, his dad hurt his leg, and everything went to hell. Hayao had called, telling Kenji it was finally time to take the name of Ultraman. He now needed to bear the gauntlet, the responsibility of keeping his home country safe. His mom just agreed, putting her hands on Kenji’s knee. Telling Kenji it was finally time for him to go home and be who he was supposed to be. And he was supposed to be Ultraman?

Baseball was his thing, he knew baseball and he was good at it too. Baseball felt like home, LA felt like his home, she felt like his home.

On top of all that, within a week of his father’s request and his mother’s urging, his mother had an accident. He had no idea what happened. Just that one day, Emiko was there and then she wasn’t.

He was depressed, and so he drank. His house was a mess. Dirty dishes piled up in the sink, he was wearing the same clothes from four days ago. His toothbrush had become unfamiliar. He didn’t bother turning on the lights, staying in the dark and sulking.

When her mom found out about Emiko’s disappearance and presumed death, she called her daughter and told her to check in on Kenji. He had been distant lately, and she knew that the distance was a result of his grief. Her stomach twisted into knots, and she realized she hadn’t reached out to him in a few weeks.

His front door was locked, she had a basket of fruit and a stack of tupperwares filled with lunches and dinners for an entire week. She tried to think about what food were both comforting and had a lot of protein, so she made a variety of pasta dishes with extra meat.

“Kenji?” She knocked repeatedly, checking her phone only to see that her messages had been left on read. She called out for him again, knocking harder. “I know you’re in there Jiji.”

Opening the door made her grasp the gravity of the situation he was in. His hair was covering his face, he seemed to have recoiled into himself, wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt instead of his typical jeans and jersey thrown over a solid color tee. He smelled too, not of his usual mintiness and clean linen, but of all and any sort of alcohol. With eye bags darker than dirt, and hollow looking features, he just left the door open as he lurked back into his blacked out house.

Setting her gifts on his kitchen counter, she turned on the lights, and got to work. First the dishes, and then she picked up all the clothing and started a load of laundry. She made him a plate of the food she had brought, and a big glass of water and some Advil for the inevitable hangover he would have.

Lying on the couch, Kenji played with the hem of his sweatshirt. He tried to take another sip straight from a bottle of red wine when she stole it out of his hands. Whining, he told her to give it back and turn the lights off. She clicked her tongue.

“Eat this,” she handed him the plate, “Drink this,” she sat the water and pill on the coffee table. She tapped her foot, her arms folded in front of her chest. He groaned but did as told.

Satisfied with his actions, she dragged him upstairs and told him to take a shower. Hearing the water running, she looked around his room and cleaned it up. His passport, along with a one way ticket to Tokyo for one month out, was on the floor, covered by blankets that were strewn around. Opened letters were lying on the floor as well, pictures and clippings of ‘Kaiju’ attacks in Japan. Maybe she needed to brush up on her international news instead of staying in her little bubble.

Coming out of the shower with baggy clothes on, he dried his hair with a small towel.

“What are you doing?” He saw her holding the letters his dad had sent. He reached out for them, but she held them back and to her chest.

“What are Kaiju?”

Soon, he was sitting on his bed with her as well. He had the Ultraman doll in his left hand and a stuffed animal that she had given him some years ago in his right hand.

“Basically, I’m this, by blood,” He shook the Ultraman doll, “And I’m supposed to fight these back home. Since my father can’t anymore.” Laughing slightly, he slammed Ultraman into the stuffie repeatedly.

Her eyes were wide. She may not have understood everything about what he was, or what he was supposed to be doing, but she knew it was important to him to some degree. It was irrelevant that his dad needed him, the only thing he cared about was that his mom had asked him to take the step to become something he wasn’t sure of.

But the idea that her best friend was going to be a superhero? That he could change into some kind of robotic monster slayer? She had to disconnect a little from reality just to process the whole thing.

Suddenly, he thought of something that could possibly get him out of his funk. Something that could make his time in Tokyo, living an entirely new life bearable.

“There’s some extra rooms at the place I’ll be living in. I know that you want to go to some kind of graduate school. There are really good graduate schools in Tokyo.” He scratched the back of his head, if she said yes, then he would be truly mortified that she had seen him like this but he would also get to have neverending time with her on a day to day basis if she agreed.

“I remember none of the Japanese you taught me, I’d need to get a visa,” She started listing off all the things that would keep her from leaving, “But, uh, I think I’ll go with you. Yes.”

“I can handle the visa thing, you’re just going to need to sign some papers and have an interview with some people, and you’ll need to wear a ring on your ring finger. As for the Japanese, I’m a better teacher now than when I was 18.”

Getting married was not on her bucket list, but at least she could get better tuition at her graduate school for technically being a form of naturalized Japanese national. Her mom was glad to see her living away from LA, and she was grateful for Kenji going with her daughter. Her mom just didn’t know about the marriage for a green card/visa situation, and honestly, she didn’t plan on telling her mom.

The whole flight to Tokyo she was practicing her Japanese with Kenji. For the first time in a long time, he was actually happy. Not ready for the whole Ultraman thing, but ready at least to leave home and be out of LA. Los Angeles reminded him of his mother, every street sign, every restaurant, the greenery and flowers, it all came back to his mom.

What he had explained to her as the Ultrabase wasn’t just some place that he was staying at, it was a literal industrial modern masterpiece of a mansion. The sleek design ebbed and flowed into the molding of the island it resided on. Ceilings higher than a museum’s, she traced her finger along every surface trying to soak in the elitism of it all. He reclined himself on the ginormous couch, watching her observe the surroundings.

To him, she was the best feature of the homebase. Where most things were cold and stricken with a detrimental weight of his responsibility, she was like a beam of no expectations. She gave him the space to just exist without pressure. That and she was always fighting with his robot assistant MINA which also made each time returning back from fighting a little easier to endure.

“Listen MINA, I just think that you’d be more effective if you were pink, also can you pass me my pencil case.” She was sitting at the kitchen table, snacking on candy and working on an assignment from one of her professors on her Master’s Committee. MINA used an extended robot hand to fly over the pencil case that had been in her backpack.

“If I was pink, it would detract from my integrated design.” MINA floats around her head, observing her completed work thus far. “Your work is completely correct, why are you changing the grammatical structure?”

“For the love of the process MINA, for the love of the process.”

Kenji just ate another bite of his New York Strip, enjoying the free entertainment. When he finished his meal, he asked if she wanted to go out for an adventure.

Matching helmets, black and gold design with her wearing one of his extra leather jackets just in case. For safety he justified. The cool Tokyo air felt even colder as they rushed around the streets, lane splitting and cutting in between cars. The headphones had built in bluetooth so they were listening to a shared playlist they had made. Blending rap, RNB, pop, and EDM crafted the right ambiance needed for a late night drive.

In some ways, Tokyo was similar to LA. She reasoned that it might have been the lights to a certain degree, but here, the lights were brighter and bolder. Neon signs and air pollution were the common denominators between the two cities.

He takes a corner just a little too hard, and she instinctively tightens her arms around his waist, tucking her head a little closer to his shoulder.

They end up taking a break for a minute, pulling off the side of the road to grab some vending machine drinks. Tea for her, coffee for him.

That’s when his watch begins to blare red. She fidgets with the ring on her hand, she didn’t need to wear it around he told her, but the cool diamond gem had grown on her. Just as a precaution if the case workers came around to check on their ‘marriage’, that was the explanation she gave to him for why she always had her ring on. They never talked about why he always kept his on too, despite interviews asking and continuously pestering him about the ring. The baseball world had just concluded it was either a secret wife or for the style since he never gave an answer.

“I think you have to go do your whole superman thing.” She pointed at his watch that he was trying to ignore.

Kenji groaned a little, calling for a ride so she could get back to his place. MINA had already gotten to them by the time the watch had started to blare.

“Ken, it is time to mitigate the primary conflict in Shinjuku.” MINA did a bow with their robot body. She tried to throw a pebble at MINA to test for reaction time, that being said MINA caught the rock. She shrugged.

Back at the dungeon, also known as the Ultrabase much to her distaste for a name like that, she was surprised to see an elderly man with a crutch sitting on the couch in the central living room.

He was watching a big hologram screen, which now clearly looked like Kenji (in Ultraman form) fighting with a pink monster dragon thing. When he got a particularly nasty body slam she sucked in some air through her teeth.

“Ahh, hello strange girl in the Ultraman base.” He circled her for a moment, his crutch slowing down his assessment of her.

“Ahh, hi strange grandpa in the Ultraman base.” She waved, and the older gentleman introduced himself as Professor Sato.

“Kenji’s dad?” She checked.

“Yes, I’m his father.” She nods, getting a glass of water.

When Kenji gets back to the base, that’s when things get a little crazy. What was once a slimy egg turned into a cute komodo dragon mutant baby. She was all over the baby in an instant, trying to get to know it better.

“She’s adorable. I love her.” She was tapping the glass of the containment cylinder, cooing at the infant Kaiju. The baby seemed to respond positively, making little coos back and stomping around a little.

Kenji just folded his arms and took it all in. He was still trying to get rid of his dad, despite his father’s willingness to help out. He just couldn’t balance it all without Hayao’s help, he realized. Especially when Emi needed more assistance, and help avoiding the KDF’s insistent attacks. She loved Emi, despite the Kaiju having the ability to totally crush her, Emi reciprocated quickly to her. Considering the contrast in how long it took for Kenji to demonstrate that his Ultaman form and his regular self were the same through systematic desensitization.

They became a family, even if a family consisted of a pro-baseball player, his fake wife/best friend, an estranged but loving father, a Kaiju baby, and a robot assistant.

A learning curve consisted of a lot more mistakes and complaining, but at the end of it all, Kenji had to commit. He was Ultraman now. He needed to protect Tokyo. At least now he had a support system he could rely on. Slowly, changes occurred with him. Putting others before himself, really truly thinking about life and the value of other human beings. The catalyst was a Kaiju baby named Emi, especially the way that said Kaiju baby loved openly.

The misadventures of raising Emi were wild and laced with KDF fights, but in the end, Kenji and his dad were brought together by defending Kaiju in a unique way. The monsters weren’t intentionally villains, humans had just made them out to be like that. That’s life though, people defining and categorizing things into concepts and schemas that made sense to them.

That’s what his dad was doing when he and Emiko separated. Hayao was trying to find ways to open human eyes to the world and beauty of Kaiju. Living in tandem with them may not have been immediately possible but why shouldn’t it be ever given a chance? Professor Sato, his dad, wasn’t trying to hurt anyone, he was trying his best to make the world a little bit better. Forgiving a father who he once believed left him wasn’t an easy road, but it was a path that needed to be traveled.

Saying goodbye to Emi was rough, yet, the Kaiju Island was close enough to go and visit on occasion. Baseball was great, winning the championship and going into a post-season diffusement.

Yet, Kaiju still came and wreaked havoc, and Kenji still had to fight and protect Japan. Even if that meant coming back to the base bloodied and bruised. She was almost always there, wrapping his arms in white bandages and wiping off blood with towels. Running ice baths and making cold soba noodles.

Which is what she was doing at this moment, rinsing the noodles in ice water and stirring a sweet sauce for Kenji to pour over rather than dunk his noodles into.

He was resting a frozen water bottle on his shoulder, hoping it would numb the pain, the Kaiju just had to try and rip his good arm off didn’t it?

“Hey, can I come in? Got your soba.” She knocked on the bathroom door using her elbow, since both hands were carrying bowls of soba with sauce containers precariously resting on her lower palms.

“Yeah, I’m wearing swim trunks.”

“Good because I’m not ready to see you naked, like, ever.” She chuckled, but pulled a chair next to the ceramic tub, breaking her chopsticks and saying a quick itadakimasu. He copied her, immediately drowning his noodles in the sauce she set on the edge of the tub. She rolled her eyes at his action.

He laughed a little, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, “What, it tastes better like this.”

She hummed an affirmative sound, but her eyes glinted with an agree to disagree conclusion.

The noodles had been fully digested, but she was still there, dipping her fingers into the water and making small swirls. The frigid temperature makes her fingers feel detached from her body.

Kenji lowers himself in the tub for a moment, getting his hair wet. When he came back up, she was pushing his bangs away from his face, smiling. Her hand stayed in his hair, brushing the strands away from his face as they dropped droplets down the back of his neck and then into the tub again. The ice cubes bumped into each other, melting slowly but steadily.

He ran his tongue over his teeth, uttering a few words, “Hot tub?”

She nods and heads out of the bathroom to get a swimsuit on.

The pool on the second to bottom floor of the base had an attached hot tub. He turned on the low lights, leaving the space in a warm brown shade of yellow light. The glass wall gave an outlook over the city and the ocean that surrounded the base.

MINA zoomed into the pool area, “Shall I put on some smooth jazz Ken?”

“No. Do not do that.” Kenji waved off MINA with red stinging his ears. MINA states they were just trying to speed up the whole process, and quoted one of her favorite phrases adding an addendum of MINA’s understanding and AI learning, “For the love of the process, especially if it's about love.”

The hot tub was warm, not quite boiling, but warm. She rested her arms on the outside ledge of the tub, looking out through the window. Kenji came to her side and replicated how she was positioned, before remembering that his shoulder hurt and gave out a small sound of displeasure. She giggled a little, rubbing the back of his shoulder where there weren't any distinct injuries.

“You’ve changed a lot since we were in high school.” She closed her eyes and dropped her head so that it was on her crossed arms.

“That’s what happens with time.” He wants to ask why she brought up his self-improvement. But she cuts him off before any words settle in his mouth.

“Yeah, but you’ve made a lot of great changes. You’re actually friends with your teammates now. And you’ve taken on this whole responsibility for an entire country. You aren’t just Kenji Sato, you’re also Ken Sato, and Ultraman, and I like to think you’ve fully embraced your father again, and not to mention our friendship.” She looks up at the ceiling, “You’re like an actual adult now.”

“I’ve been an adult for way longer than you.”

“But not like this, like an actual responsible person. You can juggle everything now.”

She sniffles a little, “Which is why I can understand if you don’t want me to stay once I finish my program you know?”

Kenji grabs a hold of one of her hands, “What the hell? Why would you ever think I’d want to kick you out?”

She shrugs.

He continues, “I hate to say it, but I think you’re stuck with me. You know too much about my dark secrets.” She smirks in response to his teasing tone.

Kenji dives deeper into things he wished he would’ve said earlier.

“I mean, you already have the ring to prove it too.” Her mouth gapes open a little, raising an eyebrow.

It would be amiss to say that this wouldn’t alter everything, but it was time.

“I know that we’ve only ever been friends, but you need to know what I feel.”

“I think I already know.” She cups the side of his face, and he pulls her into him, and makes her face him. She’s sitting on the expanse of his thighs, and he looks up at her from how he’s leaning back onto the wall of the hot tub.

Wrapping arms around his neck, careful to not rest too much of her arm on his shoulder, she brings their noses to brush against each other.

“Mine now? Right? You’re mine now?” When she doesn’t respond he continues, “Pretty please? Mine?”

“I thought you said you never begged?” She grazes his lips with her own and he sighs with a light shudder in his chest.

“I’ll beg for this, for you.”

“Fair enough.”

He tightens his grip and pulls her flush to him. Angling his neck up and tilting his head, he kisses her. She smiles too much for it to be a proper kiss, but he keeps pressing against her mouth. When she stops smiling and starts responding with her own pressure of lips to lips, he has to suppress the hunger to bite her.

His tongue brushes against her bottom lip and she opens her mouth for him, he runs his tongue along the inner lining of her mouth before biting on the tip of her tongue when she tries to take her turn. He chuckles when she pulls back a little, nose crinkled and lips wet.

“C’mere.” He trails kisses down the side of her face, going to her neck and collarbones, glad that her swimsuit was low cut enough for him to graze the top of her chest, where the rise of her curves began. She just presses kisses to the top of his head while her hand tangles into the hair at his nape, twisting the locks into fake curls.

When their fingers were wrinkled from the water in the hot tub, they showered and curled up on his bed, watching a meaningless show.

“So, my thoughts are that we can just skip the dating thing and go straight to marriage since legally we already are.”

“My mom will kill me.”

“Good thing she loves me, just say we eloped.” He wraps his good arm around her and pulls her down to lay on the pillows. She snuggles into the silk blend pillow cases and murmurs a little, tired from a long day. He caresses the side of her face and rests his hand on her hip.

MINA flits around the base, erasing specific footage from the recordings in the pool room, for everyone’s benefit.

Kenji paced back and forth in the base, waiting for her to get back from babysitting Chiho, hoping that Ami’s date would end shockingly early for his benefit.

He’s still on the phone with her, “I don’t want to wait to see you.” He kicks a throw pillow that had fallen on the ground from the couch.

“Have patience, I’ll be back around one AM.”

“This is spousal abuse.”

“It really isn’t”

MINA chimed in and agreed with her, so she exclaimed and said that even a robot knows the truth that Kenji was just a little clingy.

“I think you should stop watching other people’s babies and come take care of your family. And by family, I mean me.”

“I know what you meant.”

He looks to the clock, three more hours of waiting would be excruciating. But at least she’d be back in time for him to wish her an extremely early happy anniversary with the new ring he got.

[lev1hei1chou]

Gojo As Your Boyfriend

Gojo x reader Genre: Fluff Words: 1.2K Synopsis: Oddly specific Boyfriend headcanons Masterlist

Boyfriend!Gojo who trusts your ablities and strengths but would still be incredibly protective. Your safety and well being is his priority, and he'd do anything to keep you safe.

Boyfriend!Gojo who'd end up laughing with you at the most serious moments, be it while facing curses like Jogo or while getting reprimanded by principal Yaga and Gakuganji

Boyfriend!Gojo who thrives on excitement and challenges. He'd be up for any adventure you suggest: whether it's trying out new cuisines, going on spontaneous trips, or exploring hidden gems in the city.

Boyfriend!Gojo who would be incredibly supportive of your goals and dreams, encouraging you to pursue your passions wholeheartedly. You like to cook? He's purchasing new cookbooks. You like to train? He's coming with you. You like to dance? Don't worry, he's at the front seat screaming and cheering.

Boyfriend!Gojo who has no filter. Maybe it isn't a great thing in some aspects, but it's almost always helpful to get rid of barriers in the relationship.

Boyfriend!Gojo who would enjoy surprising you with thoughtful gestures and gifts, showing his affection in unexpected ways. Spontaneous dates? A random heartfelt letter? He's already done it.

Boyfriend!Gojo who'd have a romantic side to him, despite the confident and aloof exterior. From candlelit dinners to stargazing nights to rocking the streets in matching outfits, he'd enjoy creating memories.

Boyfriend!Gojo who is unpredictable but would also provide a sense of stability and reassurance. You can find comfort in knowing that no matter what challenges come your way, you can always rely on him to be your rock.

Boyfriend!Gojo who loves engaging in playful banter with you, gracing your conversations with witty remarks and teasing comments. He adores teasing you, whether it's about your hair, your clothes, or your habits. But it's all in good fun.

Boyfriend!Gojo who'd known to surprise you with random acts of affection, like pulling you into a spontaneous hug or planting surprise kisses on your cheek or ruffling your hair.

Boyfriend!Gojo who enjoys finding common interests to bond over with you, whether it's binge-watching your favorite TV shows together or geeking out over shared hobbies.

Boyfriend!Gojo who isn't afraid to let loose and be silly with with you, indulging in goofy antics and inside jokes that only both of you understand.

Boyfriend!Gojo who finds joy in cooking together with you, even if you end up making a mess in the kitchen. It doesn't matter if you're good at cooking or bad at it.

Boyfriend!Gojo who isn't shy about using cute pet names for you, whether it's "darling," "sweetheart," or any other endearing term that makes your heart flutter. Sometimes its downright weird but there's no use in complaining.

Boyfriend!Gojo who's affectionate side shines through when you need it. He'd wrap you in a warm embrace, gently stroking your hair and whispering soothing words until you feel better.

Boyfriend!Gojo who absolutely loves stargazing with you, lying side by side under a blanket of stars as you share your stories, dreams and aspirations.

Boyfriend!Gojo who enjoys planning surprise picnics for you, whisking you away to scenic spots where you can enjoy delicious food and each other's company in the great outdoors.

Boyfriend!Gojo who is a big fan of cuddling with you, relishing in the closeness and warmth of their embrace as you unwind together after a long day.

Boyfriend!Gojo who is known to leave sweet and encouraging notes for you to find, whether it's tucked into your bag before you head off to work or hidden under your pillow as a pleasant surprise.

Boyfriend!Gojo who spontaneously turns your living room into a dance floor, pulling you into impromptu dance parties where you sway and twirl to your favorite tunes, lost in the moment together.

Boyfriend!Gojo who has a secret soft spot for romantic comedies. He may pretend to scoff at them in public, but behind closed doors, he's secretly binging on the latest rom-com releases with you, occasionally shedding a tear during the most touching scenes.

Boyfriend!Gojo who has a quirky obsession with funky socks and has an extensive collection of colorful and patterned pairs. He loves showing them off to you, eagerly awaiting your reaction to his latest sock choice each day.

Boyfriend!Gojo who has an inexplicable talent for plant whispering. You often catch him talking to your houseplants, offering words of encouragement and praise, much to your amusement. He's terrible at gardening though.

Boyfriend!Gojo who is an undisputed expert when it comes to building pillow forts. He spends hours meticulously constructing elaborate forts with you, complete with secret tunnels, cozy nooks, and twinkling fairy lights for added ambiance.

Boyfriend!Gojo who has a fascination with whales and loves taking you on spontaneous whale watching excursions whenever the opportunity arises. He's memorized facts about different whale species and eagerly points out their distinctive behaviors during your ocean adventures.

Boyfriend!Gojo who surprises you by penning heartfelt poetry dedicated to you. His poems may range from whimsical and playful to deeply profound, reflecting the depth of his emotions for his beloved.

Boyfriend!Gojo who embarks on midnight snack adventures with you, raiding the kitchen in search of tasty treats to satisfy your cravings. You indulge in elaborate snack concoctions and share laughter-filled conversations in the dim glow of the refrigerator light.

Boyfriend!Gojo who is a master of stealthy tickling and loves catching you off guard with unexpected tickle attacks. You can never guess when he's about to strike.

Boyfriend!Gojo whose skill is unmatched when it comes toplanning spontaneous dates. One day, he might whisk you away to a museum, and the next, he could surprise you with tickets to a concert you've been dying to see.

Boyfriend!Gojo prides himself on his pancake-making skills and often surprises you with elaborate pancake breakfasts on lazy weekend mornings. He might not be the best cook but pancakes are an exception. He's mastered the art of pancake art and loves creating whimsical designs like heart shapes or your initials.

You wake up to the soft morning light filtering through the curtains, feeling warm and content in your bed. You patted Gojo's side of the bed just to realise that this presence is missing.

Blinking sleepily, you notice a piece of paper with cute patterns on the bedside table. Picking it up, you see Gojo's familiar handwriting, a simple yet sweet "Good morning sunshine!" greeting accompanied by an invitation to join him downstairs.

Curious, you follow the note's instructions and make your way downstairs. As you enter the kitchen, the scent of freshly cooked pancakes wafts through the air, and you can't help but smile at the sight before you.

There stands Gojo, wearing an apron that's probably more for show than functionality. He beams at you, holding a plate piled high with pancakes of various shapes and sizes.

Suppressing a laugh, you take a seat at the table as Gojo proudly explains each pancake's shape, from a lopsided heart to what is supposed to resemble your face (though it's more abstract than accurate).

Despite their unconventional appearances, the pancakes taste delicious, and you find yourself laughing and enjoying the moment with Gojo.

Between bites, he steals kisses from you, his affectionate gestures adding to the warmth of the morning. As you finish eating, you realize how lucky you are to have someone as playful and loving as Gojo in your life. With a full stomach and a heart full of love, you lean in to return his kisses.

[starkwlkr]

Can you do max having a son? Nobody knew he had a girlfriend or a child except his mother and sister… until they see him interacting with a child that’s running around the paddock calling him daddy at one of the races.

daddy max | max verstappen

idk if max’s mom lives in the netherlands so for this imagine her and victoria live there 🧍🏽‍♀️ ok? ok 🫶🏼

Noah was a daddy's boy, it was clear. From the day he was born, Noah was declared Max's buddy. They did everything together, except when Max was racing of course. The two parents wanted to keep the young boy away from the spotlight so they never posted about him on their social media. Noah’s existence was unknown to many, fans, press even the drivers. Of course Max and Y/n’s family knew about the little boy. While Max was racing, Noah and Y/n would stay with Max’s mom, Sophie, and his sister, Victoria.

Once Noah had turned four years old, Max had a talk with Y/n. He wanted no more than to show the world his son. He would never admit it, but Max was jealous of Sergio. He got to celebrate his wins with his family while Max had to wait for a phone call from Y/n. But he always looked forward to that phone call.

“Come on, he’ll love it.” Max said over the phone. The next race was the Australian Grand Prix and he really wanted his son and partner to be there.

“He has been asking when his daddy is coming home. We both miss you. And he did ask when he can see the big cars in person.” Y/n sighed. “What about the press?”

“What about them?”

“What are they going to think when they find out the golden boy of Red Bull is a dad? They’re going to put two and two together and find out I had Noah at twenty.” Y/n said. They were young, even Jos was against them having Noah, but Max wasn’t going anywhere. He was going to be there for his son even if his father didn’t like the idea.

“Who cares if they find out we’re young parents. I love you and Noah and I finally want Noah to see his dad race. Sergio is constantly asking when you and I are going to have kids, you know?” Max chuckled.

“Of course. Listen, I’ll talk to you later. You need to rest.” Y/n spoke.

“But are you and Noah coming?”

“Bye, max.” Y/n said as she ended the phone call. Little did Max know, she and Noah were on the way to Max’s hotel room. Noah was almost half asleep, but he claimed he wanted to stay up to surprise his dad. “Go to sleep, baby. We’ll see daddy soon.” Y/n whispered to her son.

Max was getting ready for bed when he heard a knock on the door. He figured it was someone from the team or Daniel. When he opened the door, he immediately hugged his partner and his son even he the little guy was passed out with drool coming from the corner of his mouth.

“Surprised?” Y/n chuckled as Max took Noah from her arms.

“You’re evil. You had me thinking I wasn’t going to see you two at all this weekend.” Max kissed Noah’s forehead then set him on the bed and covered him with the sheets. He then walked to the door to help Y/n with their luggage.

“Don’t you think it’s about time Noah sees his daddy win?” Y/n smiled as she set her bag on the table.

“Don’t be so sure about that. Anything can happen.” Max said, sitting on the end of the bed.

“Yeah and what’s going to happen is you’re going to win. Noah and I believe in you, your family, your fans, you team. We all do.”

And it was no surprise that Max won that weekend. Little Noah was so happy to finally see his dad win. Jos was also in attendance, but the mom and son didn’t cross paths with the older Verstappen. Yes, he was in a somewhat happy mood since Max won, but he still wasn’t on good speaking terms with his son’s partner.

“Look, Noah! Daddy won this for you.” Max spoke to the four year old, showing him the trophy he had just received.

“Pretty.” Noah said looking at his and his mom’s reflection.

“Max, congratulations!” Daniel’s voice could be heard from miles away. Y/n adored the Aussie and his contagious smile. “And who’s this little fella?” He crouched down to reach Noah’s height.

“Tell him your name, baby.” Y/n encouraged her son.

“Noah.” The four year old said in a low voice.

“Hi, Noah. I’m a friend of your parents. My name is Daniel.” Daniel held out his hand for the boy to high five. Max watched the interaction between Daniel and Noah and thought it was the cutest thing on earth. After Daniel said goodbye to the family, Max enjoyed a moment with them before he was pulled away for interviews.

“Say bye to daddy.” Y/n waved goodbye to Max with Noah.

“But I want him. I want daddy.” Max’s heart broke hearing his son’s cries for him.

“I can take him.” Max offered.

“You have interviews. We’re going to go find some food, I think he’s hungry.” Y/n adjusted the boy in her arms.

“I want daddy!” Noah cried even louder.

“Let me take him. Nothing is going to happen.” Max took the boy from Y/n. “Ready to meet some people, Noah?”

Y/n watched as her partner and son walked around the paddock. She could already see the headlines on every news article.

‘Max Verstappen mystery child?’

‘Red Bull golden boy is a father?!’

[1-800reki]

❝random Ryūnosuke Akutagawa headcanons!❞

summary: headcanons (that probably aren't cannon) with Aku <33

pairings: akutagawa x gn reader

a/n: my friend had to help me with these 😼 (come back the kids miss you)

a/n: these are lazy so they might not be (def not) cannon or good 😖

• Akutagawa pretends to not like you in public but when you're alone he acts like the best boyfriend ever.

• He would keep the relationship a secret but only to protect you from any dangers since he's in the Port Mafia.

• He would call you when he has a chance when he's alone at the Mafia just to check up on you.

• Gin would know of your relationship and she would be your biggest supporter.

• You would live with Akutagawa and Gin.

• Gin would ask you to do her hair since she loves you playing and brushing it.

• You would have movie nights with the two of them.

• When you first met Gin, she was nervous with you, but she got comfortable. After you started going over for a month she got used to your presence and you being there. (ROOTBEERRR)

• You moved in with them after almost 2 years of dating.

• Higuchi would still have a crush on Akutagawa but he would be more distant than he is in the anime.

• Akutagawa would def take you out on dinner dates or café dates.

• He gets your favorite flowers on your anniversary or on dates.

• In a modern au he would have a private account where he replies to your posts. (and before you started dating he yapped about you)

• He's not a big fan of cuddling but it happens sometimes during the middle of the night.

• You have date nights every two weeks, that consist of amusement parks, restaurants, and sometimes if you don't want to go out, he'll set up something nice!

• If he had to comfort you, he'd be a little shy at first, trying not to tightly hug you or sit still next to you. Seeing you cry makes him cry, so expect him to be a bit on edge- his heart will break a little.

• If you have scars, he takes time to admire them and make you feel confident about them.

"Look, it's almost the shape of a star. Because you're my star."

• Your social media profiles probably look a little something like this:

• If you were in public, he'd hold your hand and rub his thumb along your knuckles.

• When you can't sleep, he whispers sweet nothings into your ear, kissing your forehead with a smile.

• HE DOES NOT FALL ASLEEP UNTIL HE KNOWS YOURE ASLEEP. I REPEAT- HE 👏 DOES 👏 NOT 👏 FALL 👏 ASLEEP 👏 UNTIL 👏 HE 👏 KNOWS 👏 YOU'RE ASLEEP!!

• His favorite type of weather is either wind or rain. If you ever come over while it's raining, you might (100% will) notice him sitting on the porch watching the rain. It makes him feel peaceful.

• He definitely smiles with his eyes before his lips. He's used to having a mask in the mafia and giving fake smiles, so it's no hard feelings when he does it.

• He absolutely ADORES you when you call him 'Aku'. He also folds at terms like "sweetheart", "baby", "my love". In turn, he likes to call you "darling" or "honey". He's not a person who's big on pet names anyways, so take it or leave it.

• When you leave for work before him, he gets bored and lays on your side of the bed. It's still warm, and your scent lies within the pillow. Obviously, he's not a weirdo, but could you really blame him? He's inlove with you! He might spam you a couple times with positive affirmations to have a good day and then go back to sleep (he imagines you next to him)

a/n: this is so not cannon but whatever.

[vanderbilt-draws]

pleaseee...draw devwinn interacting... plssss

ok sorry it took forever for me to answer i may have gone slightly overboard with the doodles but I REALLY LIKE DEVWINN AND MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE A WHOLE UNWRITTEN FIC ABOUT THEM IN HIGH SCHOOL AND LIKE 7 MILLION HCS ABOUT HOW THEY MET AND THEIR FUTURES AND UHH UHH hcs/all the stuff leading up to my unwritten fic are all below the cut if youre interested ✨✨

winn moved to dimmadelphia in the fourth grade

pretty much instantly dev "befriended" them and started being really clingy with them. he had a MASSIVE crush on them right from the start

winn wasnt actually all that big a fan of dev at first because yk he was mean to most of the other kids, but they didnt want to hurt his feelings so kind of went along with him

(side note i hc that dev has literally been wearing pretty much the same outfit since forever. hes so autism)

dev and winn only got to being real friends once hazel and dev became friends (bc yk shes got the balls to actually tell dev when hes doing something mean, so thats rlly when dev started improving as a person)

winn and dev had the same homeroom in sixth grade and ended up sitting right next to each other, which was when they really started becoming a Duo

winn broke their arm in a skating accident during the winter break of their sixth grade year, dev was the first one they got to sign the cast :] winn never stopped skating but they did do it a lot less + more carefully after that (by order of their parents)

dev started growing his hair into a mullet in the seventh grade because he "thought it looked cool" (<< started noticing his gender dysphoria and wanted longer hair in an attempt to quell it)

winn thought they were bi for all of seventh grade and most of eighth grade bc they had a crush on dev

SPOILER ALERT dev is a trans girl, she comes out in the eighth grade and her chosen name is devine. she still goes by dev but all her friends know what its short for

dev doesnt want to come out to her dad bc she doesnt know how hell react. (tbh if she did come out, her dad would be super supportive and good with prns and names and terms in public, but slip up a ton in private bc he doesnt care as much when people arent watching)

obv winn told jasmine and hazel about their crush right when it started developing, so it became kind of an inside joke between the three that winn has "transbian senses" after dev came out

just before ninth grade, winn decided to get a buzzcut, and theyve been growing it out ever since (this is mostly bc as much as i love dyed hair undercut enby/trans characters THERES TOO MANY PLEASE CHOOSE A DIFFERENT HAIRSTYLE FOR YOUR FICTIONAL TRANSES AND ENBIES SOBBING)

they bleached it blonde when it was about two inches long, and never bothered to cut off the blonde so now they just have blonde tips

winn ended up being 6'5" and joined varsity basketball in the tenth grade because they didnt wanna waste that height

dev stole their original varsity jacket because it was comfy (and because it was winns and it brings her comfort) and then paid for their replacement jacket

jasmine started learning how to sew and embroider clothes over the summer between ninth and tenth grade and so helped devine sew on her own name tag (dev just told her dad jasmine was a bad speller and tbh dale didnt care and was like ok son whatever)

dev ended up stuck at the spectacular height of a middle schooler (5'2") and winn thinks its adorable. theyre strong enough to pick her up whenever they hug her. sometimes when they get excited they spin her around

dev also started wearing her hair curly occasionally in the tenth grade bc winn told her she looked pretty with it like that. her dad doesnt like it when she doesnt slick it back and gets passive aggressive about it whenever he sees her like that

winn started getting panic attacks from all the pressure of high school after joining the basketball team, and dev usually ends up talking them through it, although jasmine and hazel are also good at helping them

they dont think their anxiety is bad enough to be a disorder so they never get a diagnosis/help (until Things Happen in my fic :]]] )

hazel and jasmine are both aroace (in this timeline at least, ive got a few other fic ideas where hazel is bi) and in a qpr. they are also fandom girlies and fic writers, so when dev finally tells them in the middle of tenth grade that she has a crush on winn (and has for a while) theyre both like OOOOOOOHHHHHH I SHIP IT and they, along with cosmo and wanda, start trying really hard to get them together

unfortunately hazmine and coswan have literally no idea how human teenage romance works irl SO. shenanigans ensue :]]]]]]]

anyways yeah thats my buildup to my fic/my personal hcs, no peri mention because hes ✨elsewhere✨ when all this is happening

[multi-fandoms-posts]

A Magical Moment at Comic-Con

X Men Masterlist

The hall buzzes with excitement. At the Comic-Con, the day's highlight is happening: James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, two of the biggest stars, are on stage talking about their roles in the "X-Men" films. The audience is hanging on their every word as the actors joke and interact with the fans. James grins while Michael responds in his typically calm and charming manner.

You stand backstage, observing them from a distance. The whole situation makes you smile. You feel like your heart is about to leap out of your chest, not only because of the upcoming surprise but also because of the news you’re about to share. Only the backstage crew knows that you’re about to step onto the stage. The fans are unaware, and, most importantly, James and Michael have no idea.

"All set?" asks one of the technicians backstage, glancing at you.

You nod nervously, take a deep breath, and wait for the right moment. James is telling a funny story from the filming that has the audience laughing. At just the right moment, you give the technician a signal, and he lets you through.

With a quick step, you sneak onto the stage, the noise of the crowd almost drowning out your footsteps. Some fans in the front rows notice you and start cheering. The sounds seem to catch James and Michael's attention, but they haven’t seen you yet.

Suddenly, a louder cheer erupts, and both men turn around simultaneously. Their faces are pure astonishment as they see you. James’s eyes widen, and Michael immediately smiles, his eyes sparkling with joy.

"What are you doing here?" James asks, surprised but with a hint of joy in his voice. He immediately comes over, hugs you, and pulls you closer. Michael stands there, laughing softly as he watches the two of you before joining in and hugging you too.

"This is a surprise," Michael says, his voice deep and warm. "I thought you were coming tomorrow."

You grin mischievously and look at the two of them. "Well, I thought I’d surprise you."

The crowd cheers even louder as James gives you a quick kiss on the forehead and Michael gently strokes your back. The fans seem absolutely thrilled to see you on stage, knowing about your relationship. Rumors had long circulated, but it was no surprise when you made it official.

James looks at you curiously, his brow furrowed. "There’s more to this, isn’t there?"

You swallow and laugh nervously. The moment you’ve been imagining for so long has arrived. You look at both men lovingly and take a deep breath. "Yes... actually, there’s something else I wanted to tell you."

Michael raises an eyebrow. "Oh? What could that be?"

The crowd falls silent as they sense something big is coming. You feel the tension in the air, the anticipatory thrill. You take their hands, one in each of yours, and smile broadly.

"I’m pregnant," you finally say, feeling your heartbeat quicken. "With twins."

The reaction is straight out of a movie. James’s eyes widen, and he stares at you for a moment, speechless. Then a broad grin spreads across his face, and he pulls you into a tight hug. "What? Twins?!" he exclaims loudly and joyfully. "That’s incredible!"

Michael remains calm for a moment before he starts laughing slowly, his laughter deep and full of happiness. He places a hand on your belly and looks into your eyes. "Twins... that’s wonderful, Y/N." He pulls you close and gives you a gentle kiss. "I can’t wait."

The crowd around you explodes into cheers and applause. Some fans even stand up and clap enthusiastically. James and Michael are still completely speechless with joy, and you stand between them, overwhelmed by their reactions and the emotions of the moment. You feel like you’re floating on air as both men happily embrace you.

"I still can’t believe it," James murmurs in your ear. "Twins!"

Michael nods in agreement and smiles at James. "So, we’re going to have two little McFassys soon."

The crowd laughs as the term is mentioned. You laugh too, shaking your head and feeling incredibly loved. It’s a moment you’ll never forget—a moment of joy, surprise, and boundless happiness.

[cursedkeyboard]

Funnily enough, I've never been too big of a Jason Todd fan. Not because I don't like him, he's a great character, but because DC fails over and over again to give him justice and treat him right.

The number of times alone this boy has been beaten by his adoptive father, betrayed, and forgotten are far too many, far too much.

And the constant portrayal of Jason as this volatile, violent, mindless man is tiresome, lazy in all senses of the word and overdone. I understand that Jason was unstable after he left the pit, I mean, who wouldn't? The trauma of his death alone could've sent anyone crazy, but then to experience everything else afterwards, including having to come to terms that Bruce not only did not kill his murder but also replaced him, leaving Jason to grieve what was once his and what he should've gotten, of course he'd be less than okay.

Again, I'm not the biggest Jason Todd fan but I do wish more people would see just how much good Jason has in his heart, how kind and gentle he can be once his walls are down, when he's no longer constantly analyzing your actions and wondering why would you bother talking to him, getting closer to him.

In my opinion, a man who is so gentle with children, who constantly gives second, third, and fourth chances to people who don't deserve it, who despite it all still wants to make a change and protect the city that failed him, couldn't possibly be anything but the most caring partner. Not just partner, no, also brother and friend.

We all know what he did to Tim and Damian, there are reasons, such as his mental instability at the time and rage, and though those are not excuses, I believe Jason would still drop everything to go save his family. He might complain, he might brood, but family is something important to him even when just looking at them hurts him. He lost his loving mother, stepmother, far too early and it's not hard to imagine that even with all the pain and grief inside his torn heart, the little boy inside Jason still craves the warmth of a family.

Just look at the way he treats his friends, at the way he helps them through situations no one else would, how caring and attentive he is. Jason is gentle, sure, he is rough and mean and he's got blood on his hands, but Jason is made of love.

Jason was made to be loved.

So I think, whether platonic or romantically, Jason would treat you so well. He'd scold you for not wearing warm clothes during winter, "We're in Gotham, you fucking moron, you wanna freeze to death?", all while wrapping you with his jacket or scarf. He'd make sure you're eating at least something every day, and if not, he would immediately put you under his arm, maybe over his shoulder, and take you to the nearest food chain he could find, "I don't want to hear you complaining about headaches when all you had today was a cup of coffee and gum.".

Lord, he'd be torn between freaking out and being extremely annoyed that you got hurt, be it at work, a fight, or just out of clumsiness. But no matter what, his hands would always be so, so gentle when touching you. The tip of his fingers brushing under the injury, as light as a breeze, his other hand holding the back of your neck, or your bicep, perhaps even your hand just to make sure you're there, with him.

Jason would both hush you gently, "I know, sweetheart, we're almost done.", and also tease because he's a little shit at heart, "If you had a little more awareness than a ten year old this wouldn't have happened, idiot."

And physical touches? Oh, love, Jason is a sucker for intimacy.

I know for a fact he wouldn't be comfortable for a long time with anyone in his personal space due to the torture he went through. The trauma would make his skin crawl any time someone got too close or brushed past him, he'd hate it so much because it makes him weak but also because he can't let anyone try to hug him without feeling sick to his stomach.

And with you it's no different. It would take a long time, a lot of trust being built up, conflict and confessions, maybe he'd even open up to you with his head on your lap as you brushed his hair softly, a big, big step for him after years of not letting anyone close. He'd tell you about the Joker, about having hope in Bruce, about his biological mother. And he'd feel vulnerable like a child when you wipe his tears gently without a word.

Once he starts craving your touch, though, regardless if you two have a platonic or romantic relationship, Jason is putty in your hands. Forehead kisses when you part ways, cuddling on the couch while he reads and you're on your phone, thighs touching when sitting close, even a little bit of hand holding when he's stressed and needs to play with your fingers.

He's like a big cat that's constantly making his way onto your chest, stealing your breath and making biscuits on your skin, making sure you're giving him sufficient pats every day.

It's a little part of him that he's barely able to properly allow space for. There's still so much hurt in Jason, so much confusion and desperation, hatred and upset, that he'd probably still close off sometimes, try acting tough so you'd see how fucked up he is, how he's not truly worth of your love.

And yet.

And yet all it'd take for him to go soft and pliant in your hands would be a single touch, cupping his cheeks, brushing his skin softly with your thumbs, right under his pretty emerald eyes, making sure his gaze is on you and only you. Just like that, he'd slump his shoulders and bring you into his arms, breathing a sigh of relief and squeezing you close, your heartbeats synching.

He wouldn't remember when he started feeling safest in your arms but it'd feel like it was since forever. Like there was no one else but you.

Jason was made to be loved, though he is a little broken and a little tainted, lost like a child and hateful like a sinner, your love might just be his salvation, something he's greedy for, selfish for, even when he's so hesitant of somehow hurting you.

[gumnut-logic]

J Protocol

The Protocols

This one is a long time coming and I've been staring at it for hours, so have no idea if it is good enough and it hasn't been read through by anyone but me, so I'm going in blind.

This is for @onereyofstarlight who has waited long enough ::hugs::

I hope you enjoy it.

-o-o-o-

John liked to be alone.

It allowed him to rest, to think, and to be himself. There were no demands on how he needed to act, what he was wearing or what he felt like saying.

Alone he could serenade the stars, karaoke dance to his ABBA collection, read without anyone commenting on what he was reading, and, hell, leave the bathroom door open if he wanted to. Being alone had its advantages.

But it also had its disadvantages.

Today had been an unpleasant one.

The fish brother in the back of his head cried foul and described it in much more colourful terms, in several different languages - did Gordon actually know how to speak Greek? All of the above would have had Grandma threatening to clean his mouth out with soap, but really, John couldn’t help but agree with the description.

Even the thought of his little brother had him smiling just a little as Thunderbird Five slowly grew larger.

He had been out in his exosuit, something he usually enjoyed when a rescue was close by. This had involved a couple of idiots in orbit who had done something very, very stupid.

And it cost them everything.

John had been fast, but space was faster and it took their lives.

Scott had been on comms at the time. His eldest brother had all the kind words amongst the command decisions, but a mission failure was still a failure and after the long shift before it, John was just tired and sad.

Returning home to Five was a relief, but there was part of him, a very small part of him, who missed the loud of home.

He liked being alone.

But he loved his family.

And today sucked all the ass.

Gordon, watch your language.

Talkin��� to yourself, bro.

Solitude also tended to promote conversations with himself.

“John, which airlock will you be using?”

But then, was he truly alone?

“The rear ‘lock, Eos. The suit needs some repairs and a good clean.”

“Should I alert Virgil?”

“No, I can manage.” But that would be an excuse to see his big brother. Virgil wasn’t a fan of space, but he would drop by at any hint of John needing help.

A glance in the direction of Tracy Island, in midnight darkness just like the whole half a planet beneath him.

John sighed as he slowed, firing reverse thrusters to kill off his velocity, to a smooth pacing of Five. Splattering himself across her solar panels would certainly be an undesirable end to an already shitty day.

Eos had the airlock open and waiting, enabling John to slip in quietly. Five crept around him with her protection. Being out in space was a raw experience. Beautiful, but raw. His ‘bird provided a sense of security with cahelium between him and the harsh environment.

The airlock sealed and the air pressure welled up, familiar in its reassuring caress. The inner door slipped open and he pushed off gently into the module he had left in such a hurry several hours earlier.

He ran through the disassembly routine for his exosuit, robotic arms pulling it gently from his body. For some reason he found himself leaning into that metallic touch.

Damn, maybe he had been away from Tracy Island for too long.

He would have to schedule some leave.

But he had that experiment running…and Auckland University were waiting for his write up on his comet. He could do the writing on Tracy Island - would his brothers give him the space?

The pun was ignored.

His brothers tried. He knew they tried. They respected his wishes as much as they could. Didn’t understand them, but respected them. They knew social interaction took energy he felt better spent elsewhere. They knew that what worked for them didn’t necessarily work for him.

They tried.

Hard.

But he also knew they missed him.

And he loved them for it.

Returning to Earth added him to their lives in three dimensions and they often wanted to take advantage of that. Hell, he wanted to take advantage.

But there was transition time from space to Earth, and all the stuff he had up here, and…

God, he was tired.

The mechanics finished up, leaving him floating free in the centre of the module.

He let himself drift just a little.

“John?”

Eos didn’t ask if he was okay, but the question was there anyway.

He sighed. “Stash the exosuit, I’ll do the repairs tomorrow.”

“Yes, John.” How did she put so much emotional inflection into those two words?

He refused to sigh again, simply reaching out to touch the wall and nudge himself towards the airlock leading into the central hub of Five.

The room lit up as he entered, the familiar map of the planet below spreading out across the spherical walls. The rescue indicators were clear for once in his life and he was quite happy to pass by the map and head for the gravity ring, aiming for his bathroom and the chance to clean off the sweat under his uniform.

“Hey.”

The sudden appearance of a body blocking his path confused his exhausted brain and he was slow to connect the dots of green, blue and heavy lifting brother.

“Whoa, Johnny, take a breath.”

A hand steadied him where his reaction had sent him spinning just a little.

“Virgil? What? Eos, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Virgil asked me not to. You said I should listen to Virgil, so I did.”

John deflated, and sighed in exasperation. “Virgil, why? You scared the shit out of me.”

That earned him a raised eyebrow.

Okay, so plain, old boring swear words weren’t usually his thing, but he was tired.

That eyebrow twitched in his direction.

Oh.

“Just dropping in for a home visit. That last situation was a rough one.”

“I’m fine, Virgil.” He pushed past his brother. “Just need some sleep.”

“Uh-huh.”

John rolled his eyes as he pushed himself out into the ring, his feet lightly landing in the low gravity environment. He strode across cahelium reinforced glass. “If you’re going to order me back to Tracy Island, I rather you didn’t.”

Virgil was obviously following him, the soft squeak of his specialised boots on the glass a not unfamiliar sound. “Haven’t even thought about it. Just wanted to drop by and see how you were going.”

“At two in the morning.”

“I’m a night owl.” He could feel his brother’s smile bounce off the back of his head.

John grunted as he reached the doors to his rooms. He turned to his brother standing behind him. “I’m going to get cleaned up. Back shortly.”

“Scott says debrief in the morning, but I would like to check you over before bed.”

“Really?” It was whiney and childish, and he earned that extra eyebrow arch, but damnit, he was tired.

“Really.” And there was just that touch of steel in Virgil’s voice. Not quite the same as Scott’s commander tone, but just as final. “Don’t make me come in there after you.”

“Fine.” He threw open the door and wished he could slam it behind him with all the petulance he felt right now.

Virgil didn’t answer, nor did he follow him.

It only took a moment or two for the guilt to sink in and John was faced with the fact that Virgil was worried about him. He climbed up into orbit, into space which he didn’t enjoy, to check on his little brother, only to encounter …John.

He let his head drop against the glass of his bedroom wall. Because of the lower gravity, his forehead did not hit with any of the thump he needed it to.

A sigh. He would apologise, but first he needed to get clean.

-o-o-o-

It was a bit longer than he had expected when he finally emerged from his rooms, but he felt just a little bit more human for the clean and new spacesuit.

Time also helped. His head had been caught up in rescue gone bad. Those few extra minutes helped him step back and breathe.

Virgil wasn’t outside his door, which, considering he’d likely left him with the impression he might have to hogtie John to get the readings he needed, was a surprise.

“Eos, where is Virgil?”

“In the infirmary. John, do you like pineapple?”

He frowned, heading in the direction of the small room set aside for medical needs on the gravity ring. “Yes, why?”

“Even if it is on pizza?”

“Uh, no. Pineapple should never be put on pizza.” He frowned as he slipped into the infirmary. “Have you been talking to Gordon?”

“Yes, and he is most emphatic that pizza should include pineapple in its toppings.”

“Gordon has issues.”

Virgil snorted. “That he does.” His brother looked up as John entered. Apparently, he was doing a medical supply inventory.

He had removed his baldric and harness, and was standing in his overalls-styled uniform without his usual green. It wasn’t right.

As if sensing John’s affronted senses, Virgil frowned. “You okay?”

John shrugged and sat down quietly, and obediently, on the small bed. “You need the green.”

Virgil looked down at himself, wrinkling his nose. “I do feel kind of naked.”

“So why did you take it off?”

“Didn’t need it. Need the suit for safety, but didn’t want to clink every time I moved.” He pulled the medscanner out of it protective sleeve on the bulkhead.

John held up a hand. “Sorry about before. I-“

Virgil put a hand on his arm. “Nothing. Been there, it’s not fun. Understandable.” And that was the end of that.

Virgil gently pushed John’s arm down to his side and began waving the scanner over John’s body.

Ten seconds later he turned off the scanner. “You’re good. Could do with some food, drink and sleep, but everything else is fine. You don’t even have any bruises.” A gentle smile. “You’re good, John.”

“Thank you.” There was a double meaning there, good in health and a compliment on a good job done. “And thank you for coming all the way up here. I could have saved you the trip.” He did know how to use the medscanner, after all.

“There is more to your health than what that scanner can tell me.” Virgil eyed him as he put the device away. “Besides, I like to see my all my brothers from time to time.”

“The time, Virgil. You should be in bed.”

Then as if to throw John completely out of whatever universe he was currently in, Alan bounded through the door. “Virg, it’s working. All ready to go.” His littlest brother looked up. “Oh, hey, John.” And he darted out as fast as he had entered.

“What?” The word burst out of his mouth. “How-?” He glared at Virgil. “What’s going on?”

But Virgil just straightened and smiled. “J Protocol.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope.” Virgil strode past him and pushed open the door. “Come with.”

John found his mouth open and had to shut it. “Virgil-“

“Nope.” His brother waved an arm towards the door. “C’mon.”

Instinctively, John knew that if he didn’t move, Virgil would start on more drastic transport options. After all, John had seen his heavy lifting brother throw Scott over his shoulder in exasperation.

Virgil always got his way eventually.

John let his shoulders drop and walked through the door.

This time he felt like stomping instead of slamming, but the same emotion was behind both.

“Virgil, I’m fine.”

His brother nudged him forward as he shut the door behind them. “Good. Keep it that way.”

“But-“

A strong arm wrapped around his shoulders. “John, you need this.”

“I-“

But his brother herded him through the airlock into the central hub of Thunderbird Five.

The sphere was full of brothers.

And pizza boxes.

Scott was sitting cross-legged like some kind of suspended Buddha, poking at his phone. Gordon was upside down chattering non-stop to Alan who was the right way up - there was no ‘up’ in space, but there definitely was an ‘up’ on Thunderbird Five, despite the lack of gravity in her central hub - and conversing with an ease that spoke of extensive space experience.

An irrational sense of pride of his littlest brother swelled John’s heart.

All at once the three brothers realised John was in the room.

“Johnny! Welcome to the party!”

Alan flipped midair in an obvious over-the-top move to land right next to John. “Hey, John, way until you see what we’ve done.”

John frowned. “What have you done?” They better not have messed with his ‘bird.

But Scott had unfolded and was narrowing in on John with a frown. He didn’t say anything, just glanced a question at Virgil who gave him a nod.

His two eldest brothers were irritating when they did that, especially when the non-verbal conversation was obviously about him.

Scott reached out and gently clasped John’s arm. “Good job out there today.”

Yesterday, technically. “What are you all doing up here?”

“Pizza party!” Gordon’s eyes were glowing with glee.

“At 2.30 in the morning?”

Scott shrugged. “Sometimes pizza is just needed.” And there was something in his big brother’s eyes.

Goddamnit, he was fine.

But then Scott gently pulled him into a hug. It wasn’t tight, just a wrap of his arms around John, his head resting, just touching John’s shoulder.

The room was oddly silent.

And John found himself leaning into the hug. His brother’s caring touch etching into his skin, drawing him in deeper, feeding a need he hadn’t realised he had.

His head fell quietly onto Scott’s shoulder. The moment it touched, his brother’s grip tightened just a fraction before loosening again…so, so gentle.

Oh god.

But then Scott was equally as gently pulling away, blue eyes eyeing him as if unsure how he would react. Perhaps gauging his next move.

A big hand landed on his back and its partner wrapped around Scott’s shoulder. “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.” Virgil nudged himself between them, aiming for the huge pile of floating boxes.

The moment snapped and the world started moving again. Gordon and Alan joined Virgil with the boxes, happily discussing toppings…which ultimately led to the ongoing war between yes-pineapple and no-pineapple on pizza.

Gordon was never going to win that one, outvoted four to one, but he was a determined fish and kept up the battle at every chance.

It was a familiar sound of home.

Blue eyes were still staring at him. Saying so much unsaid.

“Hey, Johnny, me and Virg set up something cool for you.” Alan was bouncing as much as he could in a zero-g environment.

It forced John to look away from Scott. “What have you done?”

“Virgil said he wanted to set you free, but keep you safe, so we did this.” Alan poked at his wrist control.

And the hub walls disappeared.

What?

All his brothers, the stack of pizza, the random slice of pepperoni that chose that moment to drift through his eyeline - all of it, and them, was floating above the night side of Earth with nothing around them.

Thunderbird Five was gone.

His breath caught in his throat. “How?”

Virgil was smiling as he gazed at the view, pizza slice in hand. “A few more sensors on her hull, improved communication with the holoprojectors, and a little bit of programming by Alan, and you have your own space-themed holodeck.”

He stared at the lights of Auckland and Sydney. “You built me a holodeck?”

“Isn’t it cool?!” Alan was definitely bouncing.

John nodded. “Yeah, it’s cool.”

“This is the default view. It draws directly from Five’s exterior sensors. What you see here is what you’d see if we were outside. But I did add a few of my favourites for you and tweaked the input from your telescopes.”

Alan poked at his wrist control and Earth vanished.

It was replaced with a view of the Andromeda Galaxy. They were staring down at a sea of swirling stars surrounded by the deepest darkness.

“It’s not interactive, though. The processing power required for this resolution is huge and Five does have a much larger program it needs to keep safe.” He looked up for a moment, but when there was no response, Alan warily turned his attention back to John. “If you want to add more views, we’ll need to up Five’s storage. We should probably do that anyway. Never hurts to have more storage.”

“Says the video game addict.” Gordon snorted.

“Hey, your holos of fish take up more room than my games.”

“Are you kidding? Zombie death 16 pushed me onto external storage.”

“That was an accident.”

“How?”

“I may have put it on the house servers twice.”

“What? Did you delete it?”

“Of course I did.”

“Guys?” Virgil’s voice was ever so tolerant.

Gordon and Alan glanced at John. “Sorry.” It was a chorus of the both of them.

No, this was fine. It really was.

Andromeda glowed beneath them.

His family was…being his family.

And there was pizza.

He let himself float and closed his eyes.

The smell of toasted cheese and tomato sauce, peppers, that unique pizza smell.

His brothers talking quietly - Gordon and Alan still at it, but desperately trying to be quiet about it. John would look at digital storage options both for Tracy Island and Thunderbird Five tomorrow.

At the moment…

A soft touch to his shoulder and Virgil was offering him a slice of cheeseburger pizza, his favourite.

Scott had gone back to being aTracy Industries Buddha…until Virgil coasted past, snatched his phone out of his hand, and smoothly replaced it with a slice of pepperoni and cheese.

Scott’s protest was muffled by Virgil’s glare.

John bit into his pizza slice surrounded by his family and an amazing projection of his second favourite galaxy.

Yes, he liked to be alone.

But he also loved his family.

And they loved him enough to follow him.

-o-o-o-

[roo-bastmoon]

To the Sockpuppets in my Asks

"Jimin is so private! What does he have to hide?"

*Flashbacks to Jimin's mail being "omitted" four times and his national ID and address being leaked online, which the press sat on until his OST With You dropped, or, years prior, when folks accused him of whoring and doing coke because he... [checks notes] played a forehead-flicking game at a pub restaurant in Paris*

"Jimin keeps saying he's all alone!"

*Jimin is seen at work, at the gym, taking trips for work and vacation, posting photos on Insta, and appearing on shows and in dance challenges*

"Jimin never goes out anywhere!"

*Yet another idol scandal is in the news, this time involving illegal drugs, yet somehow, Jimin's photo at the official Nike dinner with Joon gets circulated as him "out clubbing"*

"Jimin and Jungkook never show that they hang out! They are never together any more!"

*South Korea enacts  Article 92-6*

Look, conspiracy theories are bullshit, but ALSO:

Jimin and Jungkook are both cooking big, big feasts for us before service and they are focused on that right now. There's still plenty of evidence they see each other and are on great terms, if you actually listen to them, so stop flooding my ask box under sockpuppet accounts, crowing that Jimin is all alone and Jungkook doesn't care about him.

Look, puppykitties...

I cannot tell you Jikook are dating. I do not live in their cupboards and watch them 24/7.

Yes, JK has been hanging out with 97 line friends these days and yes, Jimin and Yoongi (and Hobi) have all gotten super duper close (or are at least more comfy talking openly about how close they've always been) in solo era. And yes:

Jikook don't talk about Jikook these days.

But what ISN'T being said sounds so loud that half this fandom froths at the mouth every other day.

Jimin has two gaming chairs in his apartment--including one chair that really looks similar to the one Jungkook had.

Jimin traveled half-way around the world to be with Jungkook during his debut and we still have no idea what they were doing at the restaurant or on the boat. Let's wait patiently.

There's been some highly suspect photos in the past of a guy in a white bucket hat with JK via CCTV at a quick mart (illegal, won't be posting) or of suspiciously similar-looking hands during game nights on JK's brother's Insta (family stuff, won't be posting). There's also video of someone who looks eerily similar to Jimin in expensive designer clothing at the arrivals terminal of the airport when JK got back from the World Cup--and later, just beyond the airport, footage of JK's car pulling away from another company car with fans screaming "Jimin!" to the riders inside (unofficial content, won't be posting).

Jungkook knows every single lyric in Jimin's songs, and his choreo, AND what he says, word for word, on his interviews.

Jimin took up boxing and has showed us he has a punching bag in house.

Jungkook muttered that Jimin moved his lamp.

Jimin went to the airport sporting what looked like a big dog scratch.

Vminkook went to a cafe in Jeju. K-Army said they spotted Jikook there well before Tae posted about it.

Jimin and Jungkook both watched the same random anime series recently.

Jimin ran up to Jungkook to cutely say "periri" so often that Jungkook was afraid he'd accidentally say it on stage.

JK quietly stopped by Jimin's docu-live, and Jimin lit up like a Christmas tree and then grabbed his moob.

AGAIN: I. CANNOT. TELL. YOU. THEY. ARE. DATING.

But don't come here with that "Jimin is always alone" and "JK only cares about his career, not Jimin" nonsense.

Please make better use of your time by watching JUNGKOOK'S GOLDEN PREVIEW and JIMIN'S SPECIAL TALK LIVE and then go watch YOONGI'S SUCHWITA WITH 2MIN for good measure!

And next time you come to my blog, if you can't say something nice...

Okay?

Okay.

*hugs* Love, Roo

[thealpacaavenger]

Prisoners of War, the Effects of Solitary Confinement, and Sonic the Hedgehog

Remember when Sonic was a prisoner of war? Well turns out, that can damage your brain in some pretty awful ways (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). It’s been revealed in several studies that being a POW can cause schizophrenic disorders, anxiety, debility, etc.

But, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s talk about the torture that happened in those six months. 

Sonic Forces is said by many fans to employ the term “torture” loosely, that simply being confined to an empty room for an extended period of time (six months in this case) is no warrant for the term. While yes, the game certainly does not address the event properly, making it seem as if this circumstance is no big deal, in reality, being confined to an empty room with no human contact is what is defined as “solitary confinement”, a punishment becoming more and more infamous for its adverse effects on those it is inflicted onto.

The various consequences of solitary confinement on a person’s psyche go as follows (Stuart Grassian, Psychiatric Effects of Solitary Confinement):

-Hyperresponsivity to external stimuli, including ordinary things such as the sound of plumbing in another room. 

-Perceptual distortions, illusions, and hallucinations, mostly auditory, but may be visual depending on the individual

-Panic attacks

-Difficulties with thinking, Concentration, and Memory 

-Intrusive thoughts, typically those of violence against captors 

-Paranoia

-Lack of impulse control

-Delirium

Furthermore, the effects and issues with solitary confinement are so severe, that a UN human rights expert stated that solitary confinement for more than 15 days has every right to be labeled as psychological torture (https//www.ohchr.org). 

I’ll drop a bit of the professional tone because, well, this is Tumblr, but on with the hedgehog. 

As shown here, Sonic has cuffs around both his wrists and ankles. In all honesty, this is even worse than being locked up in a small room. All proper movement for him was restricted. There was no proper stimuli around him, he was locked in a metal prison. Once again, this was for six months. Sonic already struggles with staying still, he feels the need to run most constantly. Being restricted for that long could not have been good for him.

The thing is, you don’t even have to stretch to say that Sonic was tortured, because solitary confinement is torture. Perhaps it would explain why he didn’t give Tails a proper hug upon his return. After all those months with no proper contact, it might have been too much for him at the moment.   

“Yawnfest” is nowhere near the proper term to describe these conditions. The proper term is said in the game itself: “torture”. 

Maybe this was why Infinite said Sonic “reeked of fear”. Sure, it could easily be interpreted as infinite stroking his massive fucking ego, but what if Sonic truely was afraid? Not only was he defeated (easily) by him, but also Infinite locked him in solitary confinement (ie: torture) for six months. 

You don’t have to come up with a bunch of stuff not shown on screen to feed your angst needs (I mean, if you want to, all power to you). You’ve got all the ingredients for a delicious angst-pie right here.

Edit: Just realized that solitary confinement and torture were said as two separate thoughts in the original dialogue. Jesus fucking Christ.

[mchlgayser]

sorry that this is so vague and hardly a request but pls could you write more jealous mason if you’d enjoy writing that !!! i’m such a sucker for angsty jealous fics that have happy endings <3

JEALOUSY, JEALOUSY!

starring: mason mount x female!reader

warning: mentions of arguments and cuss words

author's note: another request coming in, I'm so FUCKING glad ppl find my stories ☠️☠️ I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU THAT REQUEST LUV YALL SM 🤭🤭 & not proofread

song suggestion: try again by jaehyun and d.ear

There's a party going on at your and Mason's friend's house, on your defense, you weren't very much of a party person, you love going out, yes but you hate parties. You are not a big fan of alcohol either but your boyfriend was the opposite. Mason loves parties, he can socialize and sometimes even meet new mates. He was't an alcohol fan either but he drinks. You never drank a sip of alcohol, there's one time you tried it when you were eighteen and it was a disaster. You gave yourself a sip of beer and you immediately vomit after that and it is why you promised not to drink again.

It was now eleven sharp, the parties still going strong, people went in and out of the house, some leaving and some just get there. New faces each hours, you have been on the couch for some times, a glass of coke in hand. Mason was gone, again to his friend as they were discussing and talking. Your friends also left some time ago, dancing on the floor and some left.

Your eyes bore around the dimmed light hall, and your eyes caught with a certain somebody, the familiar jet black hair person caught up to you and you grin hugging him 'Oh my gosh Danielle how're you?' You beamed, he chuckle, giving your body one firm press before he lets go 'Good, God I can't believed I finally able to meet you again! At a party at that!' He jokes about and petting your shoulder

Danielle is your childhood friend from your hometown but was't just any childhood friend, you both dated back then and broke up at seventeen when his family leave for the city. It was technically a good term kind of breakup. You both kind of rebounding a friendship before he permanently moved to the city.

At a very young age, no cellphones, you both just kind of lost contacts with each other. 'And to finally meet you again, You are prettier now.'

'Have to say the same for yourself, you are taller now.' You could't help but pinpointed, he grins 'Ahh let's take a seat first and catch up!' He told you, he began telling you about his life after he moved to the city, big change in his life. New environment, new friend, he even hook ups with a few girls and tell you how right now, his current girlfriend is friend with the party-holder which is also your friend.

You also told him about your busy and hectic life, works, and your boyfriend 'You are finally able to pursue your dream..' He referred to and you smile at him 'Yes, anyway it's nice catching up with you Dan.' You both exchanged contacts and he left for his girlfriend 'We're going now.' You heard your boyfriend from behind you 'What?'

He drags you along the hall and excited the house 'Wait Mase, where are we going?'

'Home.' Is all he said, you heave a long sigh catching up to him and get inside the car 'Now what's that all about?' He scoff, starting the engine and drove without muttering a single word to you.

The whole ride was complete silence, the only sound that is made is the ac and the faint radio background. When the car finally pulled over to your residence, Mason opened the door and slammed shut completed leaving you behind, you groan in pure madness and ran after him, and if it wasn't for your fast feet he would've locked you outside

'What the hell Mason Mount?!' You exclaimed, getting angry, he had his eyes on you creating a bullet hole in you 'You dare asked me that?! When you are being a complete flirt with some random guy, chatting with each other, lost in your own world, hugging and touches around?! You dare ask me that question now?!' You turn back to him 'So that's what this is all about? He was an old friend Mason, come on, you think you can get mad at me all you want like I'm a kid? When you've been neglecting me the whole party? Talking with your friends leaving me behind at that damn couch minding my damn own business? You didn't even come at me asking me if I need anything! You brought me to that fucking party and left me behind! When I desperately don't want to fucking go, when all I want was to spend my fucking precious weekend with you at this damn house!'

You burst, and a few tears managed to reach down your cheek but you rapidly wipe it away and exhales 'You know what, I'm tired. I'm gonna go to bed.'

Mason was left behind on the hall, reflecting back to his actions the past hours, indeed he had left you behind to yourself, he would just occasionally waved at you from far over and continued chatting with his friends. He was tired, at himself.

He sat on the couch waiting for you to cooled down and talk it out with you, and apologized too. It's been more than fifteen minutes, Mason get up from the couch and tread upstairs to you both shared bedroom but he found you nowhere, not in the bathroom neither. He heard noises coming from the guest room and strutted his way there, the door wasn't entirely closed some was able to peep in to see you curled up like a ball with a duvet covering your figure. He heard sniffling presuming you are crying. The door is open creakily as he tiptoed to your other side. His hand hesitantly presses against your side temple, you shudder at the sudden touch and stiff around like a rock. He started up 'Look, I'm sorry about what I did earlier. It was very wrong of me to do that, especially to you. I didn't know that guy was someone you knew either so I guess I can't help but be jealous. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, I didn't mean to so I hope you can forgive me.' He caress your hair and leave a kiss before getting up

You jumped on him and hug him as firm as you could 'It was uncomfortable sleeping here...' You pouted, he smile picking you in bridal style and brought you to your shared bedroom 'Let's spend our time just like you wanted.' Peppering your face with kisses, you and him spend your whole night until dawn talking and ranting to each other. With his arms all around you.

[hashtagboykisser]

LOVE LANGUAGES !!

ENCANTO KIDS !!

characters included: mirabell madrigal, camilo madrigal, luisa madrigal, dolores madrigal, isabela madrigal

this is in terms of RECEIVING, not GIVING, if this is liked enough i might do another :)

MIRABELL MADRIGAL: quality time

most may think mirabell’s love language would be words of affirmation - considering her family didn’t give her that for most of the movie,

but imo she puts her family and lover into two separate categories, and she doesn’t expect the same thing from each.

and plus, she does like affirmations like “i’m proud of you” not so much “you’re stunning” (as much as she does appreciate it, she would just explode lmfao)

she likes living in the moment with her partner, and it doesn’t matter what they’re talking about, or what they’re doing. it’s a breathe of fresh air - and she needs a lot of it sometimes - especially when she’s stressed.

she loves any kind of love her partner gives, but quality time means the most to her :)

overall rating:

quality time: 10/10

words of affirmation: 9.5/10

gift giving: 7.5/10

acts of service: 6/10

physical touch: 5.5/10

CAMILO MADRIGAL: physical touch

i think the main reason camilo is so into physical touch is becuz this boy CANNOT keep his hands to himself (well, he can, but only if he has to.)

i feel like he’s not a huge fan of words of affirmation and acts of service, he’ll enjoy them coming from u, but there not his favorites.

he doesn’t need words of affirmations becuz he already thinks he’s amazing lol. like you’d go “camilo, ur awesome.” and he’d be like “ik sweetheart, ty for the reminder.”

he also wants to show you how manly he is so he is big on doing acts of service for u, but not so much the other way around. XD

gift giving (or ig receiving in this case) and quality time are something he loves, but physical touch still is at the top.

this bitch is a damn love machine, so he’ll take from u and give anything to u.

overall rating:

quality time: 8.5/10

words of affirmation: 7/10

gift giving: 9/10

acts of service: 6/10

physical touch: 10/10

LUSIA MADRIGAL: words of affirmation

lusia goes through a lot of stress - even after the events of the movie (imo.)

so hearing a simple “your doing great today!” or a “i’m proud of you” makes her cheeks swell from smiling.

she also really appreciated acts of service becuz of this!

she loves gifts, but she feels bad about u spending money on her😭🥹

on top of all this, she loooves physical touch. she loves giving headpats lol. and she loves receiving hugs and kisses, hand kisses will be the death of her heheheheheh

overall rating:

quality time: 7.5/10

words of affirmation: 11/10 !! lol

gift giving: 7/10

acts of service: 10/10

physical touch: 9/10

DOLORES MADRIGAL: receiving gifts

gifts - big or small, mean the absolute world to dolores! to her, it shows you cared enough to 1: buy her something and 2: pay attention to what she likes. and she’s all for it!

your family doesn’t have much money? no biggie! she love’s physical touch too. hand kisses, holding her hips, and playing with her hair are her favorites :) are this things small? yes. but does she love small gestures? also yes.

words of affirmation she also loves, but the appearance based one’s rllyyyy get to her. “you look like stunning today.” or “i love your smile.” are the kind of things she loves :)

quality time doesn’t mean to much to her - as she can always hear her partner anyway. but don’t take that as she doesn’t wanna see you at all, because it’s quite the opposite!

she likes doing acts of service for her partner, and not so much the other way around, just becuz she likes having the feeling of doing something and crossing it off a list.

overall rating:

quality time: 6.5/10

words of affirmation: 9.5/10

gift giving: 10/10

acts of service: 5/10

physical touch: 9/10

ISABELA MADRIGAL: acts of service

home girl can get stressed out - just like the rest of her family, and she really appreciates when it’s taken off of her shoulders.

she really enjoys massages - so physical touch is smth she enjoys.

words of affirmation are sorta different for her, she wants to hear “you’re not perfect, but that’s what i love about u.” or “trying your best is all u can do, don’t push urself.” yk?

isabela enjoys receiving gifts, but it’s not always the way she likes to feel loved, but she cherishes everything u can give her like a diamond🫶

she likes quality time as well - but i can imagine her being busy a lot so sometimes it isn’t always so easy.

overall rating:

quality time: 7/10

words of affirmation: 8.5/10

gift giving: 6.5/10

acts of service: 10/10

physical touch: 8/10

hey heyyy

i hope y’all enjoyed!

if u wanna request smth go for it!!

if there’s anything offensive/inaccurate here feel free to lmk🫶

love yaaa!! <3

-hermy

[moonshineplaydate]

Hiya against starlights! I’m taking a quick break from Hazbin content because I have been dying to pump out some Murder Drones Agere content, because it is very underrated and there is a new episode coming out which I am very, very excited for! Here’s some long overdue headcanons!

Ps, sorry for my absence, exams suck.

Tw: Mentioned knives, not proofread (very sleepy).

Uzi Doorman

•Uzi is a switch, that flips between an involuntary regressor and babysitter!

•Her age range can be anywhere from 2-6 depending on why she’s regressing, she’s normally younger if she’s scared or upset.

•Uzi wasn’t much of a fan of her regression, it totally ruined her dark and edgy aesthetic if she was acting like a little kid!

•Though, after meeting N and seeing him regress, she began to soften up juuuuust a little bit. She ended up slipping after the whole Promening ordeal and pretty much clung to N. She didn’t want to lose him again.

•And afterwards, she felt a lot better now that someone had taken care of her! N pretty much became Uzi’s full time caregiver after that, always trying to be there for the little one!

•Since she had a caregiver, she was actually about to regress more and slowly came to terms that it was a part of her.

•Uzi is scared of the dark when she’s little, part of her little gear is a night light that makes it look like they’re stars on her bedroom ceiling. She says it’s her ‘favouritest thing ever!’

•Speaking of her little gear, she has a purple paci along with some cozy black PJ’s to wear!

•She’s partially touch averse, things like hugs or kisses are a big no no, but being picked up, head pats, hand holding are all things she loved when she’s small.

•Uzi can be pretty quiet when she’s little, when she’s with someone she doesn’t know/like/doesn’t know about her regression, she just doesn’t talk at all. She’s really only verbal with N and V.

•She sees V like a big sister when she’s little, and V doesn’t have the heart to be mean to what’s basically a kid and plays along with her.

•Uzi likes nicknames when she’s little, even if she doesn’t show it her whole face lights up whenever she gets one!

•Her favourites are, ‘Baby Bat’, ‘Little Rascal’, and ‘Honey’.

•Uzi can get fussy when she’s little, not for any particular reason, she just doesn’t like listening to people all the time.

•N has to be patient with her to avoid tantrums.

•Uzi actually really loves bed time, she finds it peaceful, when she’s either a little or a caregiver!

•Uzi makes a pretty decent caregiver, usually to N.

•Has the vibes of a very chill babysitter, who says they hate kids but really doesn’t.

•N really cried once when he was little because he heard her say that, and she had to spent an hour comforting him and telling him she didn’t mean it.

•Can be a very relaxed babysitter, but whatever she says goes and she will not back down on that.

•Acts a bit softer with the littles just so she doesn’t upset them, is still pretty edgy though.

•Uzi sometimes makes little robots or machines to keep littles entertained when she can’t watch them fully! No rail guns though.

•She talks to littles like normal, and not like their a child. But she still uses nicknames for them and can be affectionate.

•Lowers herself down so she can look her littles in the eye when she’s talking to them.

•All in all, pretty fun and chill to be around when your little, especially if you wanna get away with things!

Serial Designation N

•Oh, the sweet baby boy. Literally.

•N is definitely a flip, though I see him forced into being a caregiver role more often than not. Not maliciously or anything, he just gets caught up with looking after Uzi and very rarely V. (Never J though, she still doesn’t like him, even if little).

•N is a pretty versatile caregiver. He’s able to lower himself down, so to speak, to his little’s personality/how they’re feeling. If he’s got a quieter little, he’ll also be quieter. If he has one that’s more excitable, he’ll be pretty happy and bubbly with him! If he has one that’s violent, well, that’s something he has to sort out.

•N first learned about regression through some books in the mansion, but didn’t think robots could do it until he saw V regressed once. Since then, he just took up the roll of being a caregiver.

•And he was (and still is) amazing at it! He keeps a bag with some emergency little gear (things like pacis or toys) in case anyone needs them, he never leaves the littles unsupervised, is great at calming them down or getting them to bed.

•Even though N is great is interacting with littles, he’s not the best when he’s the little.

•N’s age range can be from 7 to younger than that, again, depending on his mood, usually how stressed he is though.

•N first started regressing after everything that went down with Cyn, and didn’t really do well at hiding it on a small spaceship from V and J.

•J was still disinterested in the whole thing and basically pawned him off to V to take care of him, who did a decent job. She wasn’t that emotionally intelligent and usually just bribed him with toys, and rarely cuddles, to get him to stop crying.

•It probably took N a while to explore his little side, mainly because he didn’t have many opportunities to regress. Or rather he did, he just didn’t want to bother anyone.

•But oh my stars once he was more open, he became a total sweetie!

•N is definitely a very giggly little, everything is funny to him when he’s in his little space!

•He can be a little shy and usually keeps his hands over his mouth or his arms at his sides, he sometimes has trouble speaking but it depends on how he’s feeling. He can get pretty loud if he’s excited!

•N loves being picked up, but it’s a little difficult due to his size so it’s usually V who has to do it, or he’ll have to settle for sitting in someone’s lap (which he also loves)

•N’s little gear consists of a blue paci, some nice, comfy PJs, a couple sensory toys that he can fiddle with, with his hands and a golden retriever teddy that he called Vun!

•He LOVES Vun, little or big though he’s a lot more clingy to it when he’s little and practically needs to sleep, or power down with it.

•N has a hard time speaking if he’s feeling really small and has to rely on gestures, like holding up his arms if he wants to be carried, pointing to things he wants, etc.

•N really loves nicknames when he’s little, his favourites are ‘Special little guy’, ‘Sweetie’, ‘Darling’, and ‘Baby boy’!

•He calls his caregivers a variety of things, V is usually just V since it’s easy for him to say, Uzi is usually too hard for him to pronounce and he just babbles whenever he tries to say her name! Tessa is also one of his caregivers but they don’t get much time together.

•Had a really bad habit of thumb sucking before he got his paci.

•Not good with asking for things when he’s little so his caregivers have to make sure that N is doing what he wants to do and not just whatever’s easiest for everyone else.

•All in all, just a total sweetie, big or small!

Serial Designation V

•V is a flip (I’m saying that a lot, I can’t help it, these fit being a flip so well, I can’t imagine them not taking care of at least one of the others) whose regression is a lot more rare than N’s or even Uzi’s.

•I think she’d be more of a sleep regressor or even a trauma regressor, whichever it is though her regression is definitely involuntary.

•She wouldn’t want to be vulnerable like that in front of someone, so would try and hide to be alone while regressed.

•V generally regresses to around four, so she thinks she’s big enough to be on her own.

•She really likes small spaces when she’s small, like in a closet or underneath a bed, it feels secure.

•That’s also the reason part of her little gear is a weighted blanket, however those work for robots, she loves hiding underneath one! It’s best for her caregiver to leave her alone if she’s like that and not let know that they’re watching her, otherwise she’ll get grumpy someone’s interrupting her independent blanket time.

•Speaking of, her main caregiver is N and very rarely Uzi if N isn’t around or if Uzi doesn’t want to leave N while he’s taking care of V. V doesn’t outwardly dislike Uzi while she’s little, she could even be a little scared of her but N assured her that she’s safe there.

•She’s absolutely terrified of the Solver when she’s little, which isn’t much of a problem since it’s not like it’s just going to show up but she gets nightmares sometimes which really, really upset her.

•It’s one of the reasons she refuses to sleep alone while later, she’ll normally curl up next to someone since she doesn’t want outright cuddle with her caregiver but once she falls asleep, she usually clings to their arm.

•Other than her weighted blanket, V doesn’t have much little gear, she doesn’t really like using pacis but she has a ton of different PJ’s she likes getting into, some with little stars on them, some with angel wings, they’re all really important to her! She can’t really sleep without them when she’s small.

•One thing she really, really loves is lullabies, it doesn’t matter who she gets them from, she’ll be out like a light the moment she hears a lullaby.

•When she’s not sleepy, she has a few toys that she plays with, namely her bubble blowers since she’s not allowed to play with knives when small, also a stress ball because she likes squishing it.

•V has a love hate relationship with nicknames, she loves feeling small but when people treat her like she’s small, she can get upset and embarrassed, feeling like they’re talking down to her.

•The only nickname she’ll tolerate is ‘baby’.

•In terms of her being a caregiver, she does a pretty good job! She’s not amazing with kids but is a lot better at getting down to their level then someone like Uzi.

•As stated, she lowers her guard just a bit with the littles, she knows they actually think like children so she’s safe with them but being vulnerable is still hard.

•V’s really good at guessing what a little needs, even if they can’t/don’t feel like talking. They’ll be times where N could try for hours trying to find out what a baby Uzi wants and V just walks in and figures it out in a couple seconds.

•Not that attentive of littles, she’ll keep an eye on them for sure and stop them from getting hurt but wouldn’t really mind them doing something dangerous, like standing on high places.

•N usually has to look out for things like that.

•Speaking of, she loves little N, taking care of him feels like she’s making up for him looking after her when she was in a coma back at the mansion.

•Plus, he’s a sweetie and V is actually capable of carrying him so they just work well together.

•She doesn’t keep things like toys on her but she does have a bag of batteries to give to the littles as treats.

•Has a kind of stern mom energy to her when actually enforcing a role, she is a very stubborn caretaker and will get the littles to listen to her.

•She can have fun though, it’s one of the few times she can let down her guard with the group.

Serial Designation J

•J is the first person on this list that I see as strictly a regressor, I can’t really see her looking after someone else

•Plus she deserves some time to relax, being the leader of the murder drones and dealing with Tessa is definitely a lot.

•J regresses from about 1-5, she needs some baby time where someone can take care of her.

•In the mansion, it was always Tessa looking after her so she stopped regressing after she was sent away on missions and couldn’t see her anymore, but did slip up a few times with V.

•She basically threatened her to not tell anyone about it, she was obviously mortified of being in a small state of mind in front of her.

•J was meant to be a leader after all and behaving like that wasn’t…leader-ish to her but that was just the first crack in the wall as she found she actually liked V as a caregiver and would slip around her more frequently, but it was still pretty rare.

•J also tried to look after a regressed V once to ‘make things even’ but failed hard and only managed to get V to go to sleep to keep her calm. It’s why she’s only a regressor.

•J considered letting N look after her but, no.

•How she acts when she’s small depends on why she regressed as it’s usually involuntary. Generally, she can be a bossy little who also demands attention, essentially a Princess regressor.

•One thing she loves while being little is sitting in between her caregiver’s legs and having her hair brushes, she finds it really relaxing.

•Surprisingly, J can be a bit physically clingy when she’s little. Normally when she’s smaller or sleepy , she’ll try and hug her body around her caregiver’s.

•She had a ton of little gear, namely sparkly outfits and PJ’a, some pink or yellow pacis, a few auditory toys (like pressing them and they make a sound) and also a white noise machine. Being able to relax is super important to her little routine and she will throw tantrums if something is bothering her.

•J doesn’t have total meltdowns though, she’ll throw one or two things or maybe flail her arms and legs about for a bit if she’s frustrated just to get it out of her system. Afterwards, she’ll still be a bit grumpy but as long as her caregiver can help her relax, she’ll be fine.

•One random thing that J loves while little is money, coins, notes, she loves holding it, playing with it, eating it occasionally. One of the toys she had a piggy bank.

•Tessa was the first person she regressed around and she became very clingy to her once she got to regress more afterwards.

•Tessa honestly loved little J, she could be demanding but she was also so much more happier and adorable; J being little was the first time Tessa heard her laugh. She was too smiley and giddy to not give her all the attention she wanted.

•And J, clearly being someone who wants the attention of people with authority, ie Tessa, soaked it all up.

•J can be really protective over the little gear she got from Tessa. Since she can’t regress with her anymore, it’s the next best thing. She ended up crying and regressing when she thought she lost one of her pacis but V helped her find it.

•J’s speech while little isn’t the best, when she’s feeling a little bigger, she can actually speak pretty well but for when she’s smaller, it’s mainly just babbling.

•She loves being praised for anything while she’s little, knowing she’s doing something good when she’s in a headspace that doesn’t feel productive is really nice for her.

———

And that’s all I’ve got for this post, starlights! I was originally gonna try and write some Tessa Headcanons but episode 7 put me through a roller coaster of emotions, so I wasn’t sure how to write for her! If I do, it’ll probably just be younger Tessa! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed these, lemme know if you want to see anymore!

[clashschamink]

Keegan P. Russ HCs

This guy is full of ego and all 🙂🔪

At first when you met him you felt like he hated you or want that you were just non existent.

You had a ... relationship like what? Rivalry or something .

You will like "Hey you cock face" then he would be like "A nice way to say goodmorning I guess. Flat chest"

The whole team wondered what type of relationship was that. Every member of the team should have been in a good terms relationship right?

But it hit the best when he realised his feelings towards you. He was all angry ball. He was like "how can a flat chest like them can make me feel like this"

He tried to ignore you as much as he could. Because being near you he felt weak. He felt like he will faint in that instant.

But love is love. He can't stand it. He decided to confront his feelings to you anyways.

But this mf is full of ego. He won't ever I mean never confess to you first. It's either you confess to him or incomplete story.

He tires small tricks to give you hints like he offers you to lunch or sometimes dinner. He sometimes buys you your favourite flavoured icecream. He even starts to compliment you. Like "i like you nose". Don't blame him. He just simply don't know how to compliment so he comes up with the weirdest compliments ever.

But when you took note on everything you finally connected all the dots and the threat took you to the conclusion that he is throwing hints to you.

You finally decided to go and talk to him.

When you asked him is he really throwing hints or it's just you who misunderstood it.

He doesn't denies. He quickly tells you "yea. I was throwing hints for you since so long" he also said that "no offense but you are pretty slow like a snail" . You literally punched his chest. But to your surprise he didn't dogged it like everytime. He took the hit.

He giggled and slip his mask to the bridge of his nose. He doesn't care if you feel the same. The moment you decide to confront him , you were his.

He crashed his lips to yous. His lips were warm. Probably from the mask he wears all the time.

But when you didn't pushed him back and just kissed him back, he was dying. His stomach blasted with butterflies. He felt like throwing up.

When he broke the kiss he shyly said "I love you" he was so embarrassed that he couldn't look into your eyes. But when you laughed and said "I love you too" he melted into your body. He hugged you so tight that you thought you were done for.

Even after you two were in a relationship nothing much changed.

You two fought all the time still.

He was still egoistic.

He was still pain in your ass.

He still eats your brain out sometimes.

But then again there was his other side which you never saw before.

He was clingy.

He was like a cuddly teady bear.

He won't stop you if you want to cuddle. Instead of you don't he will pick you up and make you sit on his lap and make you cuddle him.

He is sweet sometimes. But mostly he doesn't like pet names. But he doesn't call you "sweetie" "buttercup" "rose petal" etc.

He is not a big fan of PDA but it makes you happy, he will certainly do it.

But if you ever deny his kiss. Be ready. For the next attack. He will attack you with a lot of kisses, and you may die because of lack of oxygen. I am just kidding. He won't kill you.

Overall he is just a cutie pie. And he will be all flushed when you kiss him first.

He never gets enough of your kisses.

There wasn't a time when he wasn't flushed and a blushing mess when you kiss him first.

Guys guess what. I am alive. And I am here with a new Headcannon of Keegan P. Russ. Hope you all like it. It wasn't that much but atleast I tried. And thank you all for reading my writings. 😄💫💐😄

[ddwcaph-game]

what are the crush options' type romance-wise (like appearance and personality)? and will we get to choose mc and twin's type as well?

Hey there, thanks for sending this in!

I was originally going to reply with how I calculate MC's chemistry score with each crush option, but it was getting too long/complicated, so for now I wrote a condensed summary. I'll share that post instead once I'm finished with the update.

I want to make it clear that it's NOT necessary for MC to meet the crush options' preferences, whether it's gender, appearance, or personality. The game will have at least 6 volumes, so there's plenty of time to build up your chemistry score with each of them even if you have the opposite of their preferred traits or started with a low relationship.

If you ask him, Wayne would make up a poem about "How there's something beautiful about every girl", but if he had to choose, he prefers tall girls with very long and colorful wavy/curly hair. Wayne wouldn't go after boys, but he wouldn't reject them either. He'd return the favor if a boy told him he's cute or handsome.

But really, he just wants someone who's funny, likes spending time with him on his many hobbies (singing/dancing/baking/drawing/taking care of birds), and willing to go on fun adventures (or dates) with him around the world.

Wayne's preferred personality stats in-game are Silly and Headstrong, and his favorite genres are High Fantasy and Adventure (plus Fairytales, courtesy of Roselyna). It also helps if MC is romantic (or have halfling/dwarf/draconic/amphibious fae ancestry), but if there's one thing he dislikes, it's someone who gets jealous easily. Before getting together with MC, he'd ask them if it's okay if he can still tease or play-flirt with others (he wouldn't mind if MC does so as well), but of course he'd still try to respect MC's wishes if not.

It's probably not a surprise, but Roselyna's ideal crush is someone who's sweet and romantic, loves cuddling, and enjoys food (especially sweets) as much as her. Her dream job is to be a teacher, so she also admires someone who knows a lot of things. Oh, and just like Wayne, bonus points if they also like dancing, music, and animals. She also prefers boys, but her first crush is a girl, so gender isn't really a big deal for her.

Rosie's preferred personality stats in-game are Emotional and Altruist, while her favorite genre is Fairytales (and High Fantasy by extension). Appearance-wise she prefers someone tall and chubby (and maybe someone with halfling/fae ancestry or nephilim/werewolf/vampire heritage), but it's not a big deal for her either way (unless they have cambion/unseelie fae heritage). The only other dealbreaker for her (more than not liking hugs and being stoic) is someone who dislikes playing with little kids and not interested in having a family in the future.

Lily isn't really interested in crushes, but hypothetically… she'd want someone honest (unlike herself who likes keeping secrets), independent, and not childish or clingy. She's not a big fan of cuddling (or romantic acts in general), so acts of service as a love language speaks a lot to her. She prefers girls more, but on some level, she also understands why someone would like boys like Wayne. Other than that, she has no big preferences when it comes to appearance.

Besides having an interest in sci-fi and mystery, she'd also vibe well with someone competitive—and not strictly in academic terms. Unlike Rosie though, she has little to no interest in having a family, although she could be persuaded.

JM also isn't interested in crushes, but that's mostly because he's too focused in his studies. But if he is, he admits that he'd like boys like Wayne—minus his silliness, stubbornness, and troublemaking tendencies. That's the one thing he dislikes the most. As with Lily, he also doesn't have any big preferences appearance-wise, though he wouldn't mind if a girl liked him either.

JM's preferred personality stats in-game are Disciplined and Sensible, and his favorite genres are Mythology and Supernatural, so he'd like someone who shares his fascination with the creepy and the supernatural (and thus MCs with divine/supernatural/unseelie fae heritage), especially if he can be competitive with them… but maybe not too much. JM's love language is words of affirmation, so nothing motivates and cheers him up more than a compliment, reassurance, or praise telling him a job well done. You know, things he never heard from his father.

Unlike the other members of F6E, Brandon/Beatrice doesn't really have any gender preferences when it comes to crushes. They also don't have any big preferences regarding appearance, but that might change as the story develops. It does help if MC is the creative and competitive sort, especially if they're also great at swimming and loves giving gifts.

Brandon/Beatrice's preferred personality stats in-game are Honest, Emotional, and Silly, while their favorite genre is Superheroes. But the most important part? You need to accept B's sidequest no matter what, or else they will never have a mutual crush on MC. B would also have considerably more interest in MC if they don't have a bestfriend, but if they do, they'd prefer if it was Roselyna or Wayne instead of JM or Lily.

When it comes to crushes, Cordelia prefers girls (and non-binary individuals) much more than boys. And ideally, a bit chubby and much taller than her with long braided hair—the beauty standards in her culture. Speaking of, she'd be slightly more interested if MC has dwarven or halfling ancestry, or at the very least, has elven/gnomish/goblin/draconic/woodland fae ancestry.

Cordelia's preferred personality stats in-game are Warm and Altruist, and her favorite genre is Adventure (as well as High Fantasy, considering her origin). Given her work, she'd also like someone who shares her interest in animals, cooking, healing/helping people, gift-giving, and especially music. Music is a big part of her culture, so look away if you pick the Musical Averse Trait!

Cham struggles with the concept of crushes, but it'd be a lot easier explaining it to her if you are romantic, and bestfriends or mutual crushes with Wayne. That said, they don't have any preferences gender or appearance-wise, although she'd find it interesting if MC is also genderfluid, have nephilim heritage, or short like Wayne.

She loves hugs (although it's more tackle hugs than cuddling), but when it comes to love languages, she's much more receptive to words of affirmation (receiving) and quality time (giving). They also struggle a bit with other human concepts, so they'd feel less awkward if MC has the Needs Improvement Trait.

Cham's favorite genre is Adventure (and Mythology given her origin), and their preferred personality stats in-game are Silly and Altruist—not Discipline though. She's a troublemaker at heart, and although they have a pet hellhound, that doesn't mean she doesn't retain her aversion to imps and demons (or Cambion/Unseelie Fae MCs) since that got part of her wings torn off.

***

As for the other two crush options… you'll just have to wait for now! But for MC and Twin's types...

I'm not planning on a choice like that for MC as you can just choose whoever they are interested in, but if you confess to your twin about your crush(es), you will get the choice of what you like about them the most. And in the next update, you will also get the choice of what you think about their appearance after accepting their crush sidequest.

As for MC's Twin, I've already mentioned in the FAQ that if they do have a crush, it will most likely just be a minor character as that's not something I want to explore (I'd rather leave that to headcanon). But now that I think about it, I might give the MC the choice to tease their twin about what their type is, which the Twin will jokingly deny (of course, MC's Twin having no interest in crushes is always an option).

[fumifooms]

Hey what're your thoughts on how marcille and chilchuck show affection for marchil?

I mean, marcille seems to be the type to be the most blatantly affectionate of the two, but I want to know your headcanons and observations on the subject. How do they communicate their wants for affection, and what do they view as signs of affection (ex: hugs, small gifts, ect.) and such?

Sorry it took me this long to answer!! Thank you sm for sending a marchil ask my way I swear I love them sm, they spark joy and even if I have uhh -checks- 67 drafts already I love dropping everything for them when the mood comes hehehe. I love talking about love languages actually! Little did you know that the first post I made on this blog was about analyzing the love languages of an ot3 lmao. The only reason why this is so late overdue is because as always I’m going to talk so much about it. The pics I put in it are relevant but I don’t put them right beside where I make my point, so stick with me even if they’re a bit jarring at first, they’re just meant to show aspects of them~.

Marcille and Chilchuck’s love languages

+ their domestic romantic dynamic. I’ll say, I ended up talking even more than I expected, and though it is in a marchil context I think my analysis of the characters is relevant even if their partner was anyone else, so non-marchil shippers might also enjoy this post! Give it a shot maybe~

To open it up, I think this post is very relevant. Marchil is def a ship where the ways in which they say they love each other feel more subtle, for Chilchuck at least.

Their perspective, boundaries and overlap

I think Chilchuck and Marcille recognize the other’s way of showing affection well, though it’s very obvious that Marcille and Chilchuck’s ways are super different. Marcille is very open and loud and Chilchuck… Isn’t. Chilchuck is reserved while Marcille loves to get all the affection she can get. Marcille could be seen as too much while Chilchuck would be too little. One could even say they aren’t compatible, but I think that’d be a mistake.

Yes Marcille loves big grand gestures and a lot of open communication, but her thing is analyzing people as they are, like how when she imagines how it’d have been like as his wife she put in details like how he’d be annoyed at having to wait for her to get ready and didn’t idealize that part of their relationship. She’s very good at putting herself in others’ shoes, at understanding why they might feel this or that way. She typically doesn’t seem put off when Chil is snappy or discouraging at her, like when she shows him the ball of Izutsumi’s hair that she shaped into a cat lol. (The panel at the start of this section was when she was disappointed in him for cheating on his wife, so her good esteem for him was gone). She has a high esteem of Chilchuck’s intentions and has good faith in him overall, so instead of going "He’s annoyed at waiting on me… Am I annoying to him? Does he dislike me?" or "He didn’t notice I got upset when we were out drinking with his colleagues. Does he even love me anymore? Would he care if I left him?" she goes "Oh that’s just how he is, I know if there’s an actual issue he’ll tell me, and he still has my best interests at heart.". Who knows if she’d always be able to rationalize and keep that optimistic attitude up long term, but it gives me a good impression that she would! Or that at least she’d communicate about it if she felt their relationship had a problem. She loves to confront people about that sort of thing! She can be more insecure and meek when the topic is sensitive to her like her being a half-elf, but when it comes to relationships like that, I believe she’d stand up for herself if it came down to it. The way she said that his wife might have left to "test his love" and see if he’d chase after her is a bit worrying to me, but ultimately I think that was her dramatic novels fan self talking and not something that she’d do herself. If she did leave, she would sooo leave a super long dramatic letter about how she felt and the situation and he’d reply and they’d make up I think. ANYWAYS!

Of course everyone needs to be shown some affection once in a while regardless of if she knows well how he is or not, and Marcille would be very unashamed about asking that of him. She’d respect his boundaries with public displays of affection as much as he’d demand it, but she’d be her usual overt self with stealing kisses or making him say I love you regularly. 0 PDA would be rough on her if Chilchuck wanted it that far, but she’d do it, she’d be able to twist it into something endearing too, like her being like "No one else gets to see him this way but me, I have this sweet side of him all to myself" and "He’s just reserved like that, it makes the time when he does show it all the more meaningful", them cuddling a ton as soon as they get home and Marcille feels touch starved, etc etc. So what I’m getting at with all this is: Marcille’s love languages are very self-evident and hard to miss so unless Marcille suddenly acts mopey and doesn’t tell him why, and unless Chilchuck has some anxiety (what with his ex wife just up and leaving without him having been able to see the warning signs), he would feel very confident in her love for him and comfortable in the relationship, if not a little tired or frustrated with some aspects of it if she sometimes does too much.

Meanwhile, like mentioned, even if Chilchuck’s love languages are more subtle, more rooted in casual domesticity rather than big gestures or words, Marcille would see and recognize that and not hold it against him or feel burdened by it. She highly values communication —in a way they both do, even if when it’s about feelings Chilchuck becomes a bit of an ostrich hiding his head underground— so if there’s a problem she’ll for sure confront him about it too. Chilchuck is good at voicing when there are practical problems or when he’s uncomfortable, and Marcille is good at voicing when there are emotional problems, so they’re pretty complementary in that way.

Surprisingly I think if she ever did a marriage proposal it’d be very private though, it’d be a big deal to her and she would want to talk about it in the comfort of their lonesome, already thinking through the grief and how everything would work. I think Chikchuck would also prefer a private proposal, but on the other end I could totally see him thinking she’d love this grand fancy gesture of a big public proposal and organize one for her (Ooh good fic prompt right there). Once they’ve talked it through though they’re both very enthusiastic about it and openly talk about it with friends and coworkers, and Marcille gushes about her fiancé and they both have bachelor parties on their own end and whatnot. The big day would be a fun one, and the daughters would be the perfect wingwomen I believe~

Their love languages

Alright now that the groundwork is done let’s do this thing! Ok so the "official" love languages are words of affirmation, physical touch, gifts (giving and receiving), quality time and acts of service.

Marcille

Starting with Marcille, she’s pretty balanced I’d say! In the sense that she cranks them all to the max. Oh yes, and part of it is that she’s very aware that the time they have together is counted, so she wants to make the most out of every moment.

Idk if it’s fair to say that Marcille has something like separation anxiety, what with her getting mad at Falin when she left and they didn’t see each other for 4 years, and with during canon with Falin and such, because they’re all intense situations that don’t necessarily show how clingy(or not) she would be under normal circumstances (and she doesn’t live with them so she’s def ok with distance to some degree), but also I def think it’s fair to say that due to her experiences with loss she’s scared of taking her eye off of someone she loves for one moment and for them to disappear, also like how we see her talk to Izutsumi when she thinks she’s going to prison. All that to say that yes, quality time!! She adores quality time, she’s the kind to soak up in someone’s presence even if they’re doing completely different things in the same room. She loves talking with him, cooking with him, bathing with him, even just chilling on the couch together. Post-canon they’d both be rather busy I imagine, so it only makes those moments they share more important. They’re trying out the long distance thing and making it work with the power of communicating well 🙏 Again, she’s big on acts of service, would resurrect you, would bathe you, would nurse you back to health or do something for you. Since she’s observant I could see her noticing subtle things in Chilchuck’s routine that she could help with, like getting his mug of coffee for him each morning, etc. I feel like those things are so natural to her that she wouldn’t mention them to Chilchuck or talk about how she does these things, so if she’s doing too much Chilchuck has to tell her because she won’t realize otherwise.

Gifts. We see with how she showers Chil in apology gifts intended to be from him to his family that she does value gifts! Giving wise, I think she’d be the type to be out shopping, see something that reminds of you then get it for you casually. It’s probably resulted in a few joke gifts that did not land lol, like idk modern AU a grumpy cat mug, or socks with "If you can read this bring me a beer" written underneath them. She’ll also put her heart and soul into gifts sometimes, especially for birthdays which mark the passage of time for her and even if a year passes by a little fast she makes it a point to always always go all out about it, she wants to show that he matters to her and thinks of him a lot, so she’ll put all of herself into picking out an heartfelt gift. She can get a little stressed and perfectionist over it but she does genuinely enjoy picking out gifts and giving them. Receiving wise, she’s also super big on it! She’s the kind to instantly value gifts more than other, maybe better suited options she has, like if you give her an ugly hair accessory or a mug she’ll 100% use them all the time from then on… Until she passes onto something new and the item gets sidelined a bit, but then when she’ll find it again years from then on she’ll be struck by memories and emotions and how much it all meant to her. I could see Chil getting her choker necklaces like she often wears for example, or books he can’t begin to understand about magic theory. It’s not as much of a ‘love language’ as the other ones I think, but she does really appreciate them, and if Chil makes an effort to get her flower bouquets somewhat regularly it would for sure make her feel really loved and happy. Oh yes! Also I def think that if she took up sewing or (personal hc) she’d love felting bc of when she did a tiny Izutsumi with her hair, she’d love making handmade gifts! She’d weave him a bracelet. She’d write him letters and put a nice scented oil on them.

Physical touch ohhh she’s big on touch. Even platonically we see that she’s very casual with her touches and does it a ton to most people (mostly Falin, Izutsumi and Chilchuck, but with her being a healer it also happens with Laios etc) and likes to cuddle or hang onto others, in daydream hour artworks, when sleeping with Izutsumi in an extra, etc etc. Even if she had a romantic partner I think she’d keep doing that with her friends and maybe even favoring Falin when she’s there for platonic touch, but I also def think that she’d be super touchy feely with her partner both in public and in private. As long as it doesn’t interfere with what Chil’s doing and he can remain cool and collected™️ he wouldn’t mind I think, so they’d be holding hands often and like, if he were to sit down on a couch with a beer she’d just drape herself over him and they’d chill out there (until they talk and she makes him laugh too hard and he spits his beer out all over them rip), not unlike how Izutsumi would. But YES physical touch is def a big love language for her, wether they’re arguing or just sharing a soft moment together, if he put his hand to her cheek gently she would melt into his touch. And she loves doting on others herself and touching them and feeling like they’re real and warm and alive, so yes yes touch is a big thing to her. Words of affirmation aren’t a big deal to her to give out, because it’s so natural to her, but they would mean a lot to her to receive. She can get insecure and feel lonely/alone, and having someone be supportive and tell her that she is valued like in the mandrake chapter lifts a lot of weight off of her shoulders, and I imagine that’s doubly meaningful when the words are each and all true and earned when they come from Chil. Whenever he says "I love you" unprompted it’s like an arrow to the heart. Again, if he made the effort to be romantic and like idk, tell her poetic things like it’s a love letter she would absolutely melt. "My boyfriend is the best, most romantic most loving most virtuous man" @ everyone in hearing distance etc etc. She wants to keep his words all to herself and be a little greedy but just maybe while kicking her feet she’d go "and then he said blablabla~" with friends and coworkers at the palace (who may or may nit be willing listeners lol).

So because of all of this, of how she values all of them, I think she’d cherish whichever love language her partner does the least! She likes variety, and like we’ve talked a bit she adapts herself to whoever she’s with a bit. She’s personally a big cuddler, but she’d value whenever Chilchuck says that he loves her etc more in the end because she knows how much that means for him and how many feelings were put into that gesture for her.

She wants the full range of affection, everything that someone is ready to offer. She wants the full storybook romance experience babyy, if it’s a crumb of love she’ll take it and gobble it up whichever form it takes. They all mean something to her in different ways.

Chilchuck

Chilchuck is more picky. He knows what he likes and what he doesn’t like, and he doesn’t like to compromise much (though learning to do so is part of his arc in canon). His favorites are acts of service and words of affirmation, and physical touch selectively, imo.

First of all, Chilchuck is a more private person by nature, but I think it’s also worth pointing out that he has some stress over how things ended with his wife, so someone growing on him and him getting to trust them etc also just takes slower. Wether you think Chilchuck will largely be open and comfortable once the confession’s done and they’re dating, or if him opening up and growing used to being loving and loved again is more gradual even throughout their romantic relationship, his love languages will differ depending on what "stage" he is at. For example, I think he’d actually love receiving words of affirmation, they’re just not his highest priority and he needs to highly value them and trust them first, trust that they’re not lies or that you don’t have shit judgement. For the rest of this though I’ll assume they’ve been dating for a good while and have grown used to it and are very familiar with each other. Like Marcille maybe his insecurities creep up on him sometimes, but with the power of communication and support those moments tend to be short lived 💪 She keeps him from using alcohol as a bad coping mechanism & distraction too much.

Ok so starting out with quality time… I’ll get it out of the way but yes I think they’d be sexually active, though with how they work away from each other like with his wife and he spent 4 years holding out fr her his libido isn’t as intense as we’d asssume I think, and for elves "often" might be like once a month, so who knows. This is gonna come back in the physical touch section~ But yes Chilchuck spent a lot of time away from his family, so I think if he values quality time he super values the quality more than the quantity of time spent together. That said, I also headcanon that he gets stuck in his head a bunch about it so as long as he thinks about his family to motivate him on the job for example, he also half-asses the time he spends home and he’s generally too tired to go out and do big things, just wanna relax, so idk!! He might be a bit of a neglectful lover and Marcille needs to poke him so they go out on dates, but yes I think in a similar way to Marcille he really appreciates the time just spent together, even if it’s working on their own thing in the same room. As for conversations or emotionally meaningful moments, I think emotional stuff tires him out quickly, unlike with Marcille where she seeks emotional stimulation from books, so spending time being heartfelt and vulnerable together would be appreciated, but would need to be kinda rare for him to not be exhausted dead lying on the pavement and unable to keep up. Feeling gets him tired too, he never knows wether to repress or let the love grow or how to word what he’s feeling etc etc. At least at first, dates that are activities and allows him to just have fun without thinking much are best. It’ll take him time to grow more used to feeling emotionally naked with her and for it to come more easily and naturally, but they’ll get there and they’ll be sooo domestic. So in the end! Quality time is appreciated but not particularly important, Chilchuck can really keeps the love going even when spending a loooong time away from each other or keeping the moments spent together casual. Oh yes I haven’t gone into that in any of my posts so far I think, but part of why he’s so casual and seemingly dismissive with his wife imo is because the relationship was sooo based on familiarity, respect and trust to him, they’ve been together forever, he trusted that they loved each other and were in this together and that he didn’t have to be extra for her to feel comfortable in the relationship because he trusted that she knew him well enough, trusted that she would stay with him even if their relationship wasn’t perfect, etc etc. So imo as long as he’s like "I love her and that’s enough for me, I trust that if there’s something up she’ll tell me and we can figure it out, I trust in our relationship to stay strong even if we don’t see each other much" then he can seem very casual and neglectful from an outside perspective. But make no mistake he thinks about her all the time and sighs forlornly because he wants to sleep in her arms after a hard day of work and has horny dreams of her 10/10 she matters a lot to him.

Acts of service!!! Biiig big one, there’s little more that Chilchuck values receiving than respect, though he’s much more stingy about giving it out, what with his teasing and insulting snappy remarks and how he’s always laughing at Marcille in canon. But yes like mentioned just before, Chilchuck likes familiarity in a relationship, so his partner anticipating his needs and going out of their way to do services for him would be suuper appreciated and would make him feel loved, would make him feel understood which in turn makes him feel safe that he doesn’t have to try and be someone he’s not to satisfy her and that she understands him well enough that she wouldn’t leave him due to miscommunication. Doing big favors would also be appreciated, but he prefers to live a routinely daily life imo so the acts of service would show themselves in small ways, like idk letting the water run in the bath because he knows Marcille will want to take a relaxing bath when she comes home from work. It’s definitely the love language that he does/give out the most imo, they’re the way he’s most comfortable showing that he cares and that he thinks of them and that he loves them, and he can feel safe doing them in any context wether he has all the eyes in the world on him or if they’re alone. He’s also generally protective, and looking out for her would fit into this category imo. But yes post-canon, I think one way in which this shows is that he’d do her hairdos, maybe even daily if possible. He loves blonde hair and he’s agile with his fingers, but he doesn’t value complicated hairdos much, but he’d learn a lot of hairdos for her, because he loves her and knows how it was once super important to her, and also bc he wants her to slay out there and at the same time he’s doing himself a favor by prettying it up hehe. He had a thing for undone long hair but he loves Marcille and when in the final chapters her hair was all messy the unfamiliar sight of it unsettled him, so besides just wanting her to get through the day without eating her hair and getting the urge to shave it all off, he also just does it because it feels so her and he remembers that side of her fondly (yes, even if that used to make her take even longer to get ready in the mornings).

Might surprise you might not but I think gifts are everything to him. Like the cowl from his daughter that he always wears, and all the mementos from his family we see he keeps in his room, like the dragon plush and the flower. Maybe they help him feel that the love people hold for him is real and exists/has existed at least at one point, maybe it’s about the memories, maybe it’s about being able to keep hanging onto them even after a relationship is over, idk!!!! But I think having gifts from his loved ones makes him feel like his life is fuller and warmer and like he always has some love surrounding him. For that reason he would super value gifts that Marcille would get for him. She overdoes it a bit and often gets him stuff for no particular occasions, mostly stuff that’s useful and that gets consumed so it’s not a problem or a bother though, but when it sticks it sticks, like a durable pair of gloves in a style he likes that she got for him. I don’t think photographs exist (at least not for the non-dwarves) but if they did oooh he’d be keeping stacks of them, would have some framed, he wouldn’t want people to know because he thinks he’d look corny but he wouuuuuld. He’d also have the "this reminds me of Marcille" moments when out into town, looking at jewelry or food that she likes (I imagine this is often the sort of gift/act of service he’d get for her, meals that he picked out because she loves them), but he’d also have the instinct to get her a gift on special occasions, and he’s s bit clumsy with it but he wants to make the item meaningful. He knows what she thinks is romantic, the woman has made plans for him to apologize to his wife with gifts after all, but he also knows that she loves gifts that scream "him" too so the man just doesn’t know what to do to make it as best as he could and he really doesn’t want to fuck it up. I think once he’d made a little metal sculpture-puzzle for her, like a little rabbit out of metal scraps, and he’d be so self-conscious about it but my god she’d adore it sooo much. It’d be cute if he got her a locket, even, and then with the help of imported dwarven technology they could get a picture of them or even all their friends into it and it becomes her most precious item for the following centuries. Ouuugh that’d make a sweet fic where he plans out a birthday party for her…… But yes yes, practical gifts… He knows she values ornamental useless things, unlike him, and though he doesn’t fully approve he also wants to do right by her so he’d go out of his comfort zone and find pretty gifts for her. I touch upon it a bit in my fic Grind Me Down Sweetly (named bc ground coffee beans & it’s meant to be like her slowly getting through the walls he built around himself :] Finding a newfound vulnerability with someone new but finding it soothing, sweet even if a lil bitter bc it’s coffee), and for example he gives her money for a favor she did for him as a friend. She doesn’t want to accept it, because to her doing something for her friend to help them out is more meaningful than getting rewarded for it, but for him respecting each other’s time and abilities is a big thing too. They end up compromising somewhat, because she then spends that money on gifts for him/them to share, so it ends up being a gift to the both of them for a shared effort~

Alrighty physical touch. In canon we see him get touched quite a lot, and when it isn’t patronizing or crowding (like others going to pet his head) he doesn’t seem to mind at all. But it’s a question of wether he’d enjoy it here. We don’t really saw that I think? He often doesn’t mind touching others but usually his touches have a practical purpose like pushing or pulling someone out of danger, and when it isn’t he doesn’t seem to enjoy it, like when Izutsumi sleeps in his bed. As far as I remember the only time we see him happy for touch beyond the few meaningful hugs like when he wanted the party to head back to the surface, was when his succubi were seducing him, sooo overall I get the feeling he’s not big on touch. Like being open with his feelings it’s something he’d keep for the more occasional time rather than something he does often. He is casual with touches but doesn’t give it out and seek it out naturally, so Marcille being very clingy’s not a problem, and as we see with Izutsumi always sleeping with him he’s ready to sacrifice his comfort for others too sometimes. I think being Marcille’s lover though I feel like he’d warm up to touches more, like she’d love to have him rest his head on her lap and to massage his scalp so eventually Chil looks forward to that as part of their routine and it relaxes him and feels right. I think he does like kissing, the routine goodbye peck feels warm and soothing, but with touch what he’d like the most would be making out and having sex and whatnot. Listen it’s super meaningful to him like, the peak of being vulnerable and naked and pouring out his emotions for someone for him. But yes she hangs onto his arm, holds his hand, goes to hug him from behind when he’s cooking, etc etc, and he doesn’t dislike it, but it’s not one of his love languages perse in that sense. It’s more that physical touches are a part of her, so he associates those with her, and so in a way he quite likes them, but it’s nit something he gravitates towards.

Words! I forget what I’ve mentioned already and what I haven’t oof, but yes Chilchuck values respect a lot, and with his last relationship he now values straightforward communication a lot. "If you want to leave me, at least please tell me first" style. But just with the way he is in canon too, where he hypes up his professional skills a lot, getting earned praised does mean something to him. Inversely, he devalues himself interpersonally quite a bit, calling himself a coward or selfish etc etc, and ultimately it’s Marcille telling him that he was a virtuous husband and that he may still have a shot with his wife that makes him see the glass half full and reflect on himself more positively! Remember what I said about Chilchuck first needing to value someone’s opinion before putting stock in their words? This is the canon moment that makes me feel the most like she earned that trust from him, he values what she says and her perspective. He knows her words aren’t empty and he’s able to trust in them more than he trusts his own judgement about himself. So yes yes, he loves getting told that he has qualities, that he’s skilled and manly and handsome and virtuous and kind, though he doesn’t need to be told "I love you" he’d still find it nice ofc. I say this because as I’ve said I think his way of being in a longterm relationship is soaking in the familiar casual soothing energy of it, he loves knowing her and noticing the little things (much like her with how she notices that he hates having to wait on someone for example), and he trusts her love in him, so he doesn’t feel like being told I love you is necessary, but it is a nice bonus.

And this is the bit where the post I linked at the beginning becomes especially relevant. I think Chilchuck shows his affection in subtle but thoughtful ways that showcase just how much they know each other, because to him love languages are less about proving how much love one holds for another but about defining the bond that they share, about quality more than quantity. He’s not one for big gestures, he just wants to feel connected with the person he’s with. Access intimacy, in-jokes, being protective/attack dogism, knowing the little details (Marcille’s favorite) and voluntary vulnerability… These truly ARE more in line with how Chilchuck shows his affection. And thus Marcille would see them for what they are and greatly value them as well.

Last points

… Help I forgot to talk about how teasing is like their whole thing lol

Ok so more concisely, Marcille will receive and give as much affection as she’s allowed, while Chilchuck needs to have the right setting right mood for it and makes more efforts for her sake to outwardly show it.

Edited in: Short section about pet names!! Chilchuck likes to call people by name and finds that in itself to be intimate but with half-foot names having ‘first names’ where Chilchuck’s is Chil, he might instinctively shorten it to Marci. Otherwise I’ve thought it’d fun if he gave bunny themed pet names teasingly, like his silly rabbit like the meme or harebrain rip, ‘bun’ would have the benefit of being related to food… But also I could see him defaulting to calling her ‘love’, ESPECIALLY if they had a conversation about pet names and discussed it- it could be a more sustainable way for her to feel loved since he’s not regularly showing his affection outwardly much or saying "I love you", that’d be sooo sweet I think. They discussed pet names, and since he doesn’t regularly say "I love you" or show affection all that much, having him call her love as a pet name eases all of that and makes her feel so special and loved. He takes a bit of time to get used to it and not feel silly and self-conscious, but nowadays it slips off the tongue so easily.

How do they communicate their wants for affection: Marcille will blatantly ask for it and/or make the first move herself, except for when she senses that Chil is tired and needs his space. Chilchuck will blink in morse code, and Marcille will somehow understand (to his upmost relief and adoration). He’ll grab her sleeve subtly to ask for her attention and touch, wordlessly walk up to her and reach for her face to leave a tender kiss on her lips, quietly speak to her if he wants to tell her something. And, you know, the other half of the time he feels horny and on top of the world so he indulges her wants for big passionate gestures and being very blunt and forward about it.

What do they view as signs of affection: They recognize each other’s way of showing affection well enough, but it’d be more about which signs they prefer I’d say. For example, Chilchuck does love getting smothered by her kisses and affection sometimes, but if it’s in public 99% of the time the embarrassment will win over, so it ends up meaning more to him that she doesn’t, that she holds back for his sake and she loves him enough to do that and she doesn’t blame him for it and she cares and she would stay with him even if he’s maybe flawed and- It means a lot!!! It’s like an act of service in that way. They compromise and do acts of service sooo much for each other, like she hurries in her care routine so he doesn’t have to wait on her for long, but then he sees her get out ready with her hair a mess and he takes the time to tie it up nicely for her. But yes Marcille overanalyzes everything and will seek out signs of affection into literally anything, but values whichever way to show affection she knows is hardest to do for Chil beyond the ones that feel so heartwarming because they just scream "Chil" to her. Meanwhile Chilchuck values her keeping in mind his boundaries, values her words and her being there for him, an unchanging fixture in his life offering him unconditional love through thick and thin. He values how well they know and understand each other, and how they communicate when things don’t feel as easy. Like, you know, when one of them becomes a dungeon lord and threatens humanity for example.

The compromises that being in a romantic relationship inevitably brings, and having to put some efforts to understand the other person and better the relationship, are points at the heart of Chilchuck’s plot with his wife imo. With the bicorn chapter, Marcille and Chilchuck have already hashed out a lot of their differences and come to a deeper understanding, so I’d say they’re halfway there to making it work :) Oohh what if I gave you hope in the world sometimes being a good bright p’ace where things can go right and love can be fulfilling and rewarding, and what if you gave me a concrete real example of the virtuous man figure that I’ve always idealized in books even if no one real can be as flawless, and the compromise both our outlooks on lives mixed to make made something beautiful and productive…

A bit like how the sweet & salty sandwich feels like an ill-fitting mix of ingredients but still tastes surprisingly good… Like perhaps a sweet woman and a sour man would go well together after all.

I’ll share this lil marchil song analysis @thatsmimi did once of Soap by The Oh Hellos to be the note I leave this post on~