#i have a thing for rarepairs can you tell?

[beesbiteandwillowrites]

"The Beating Heart"

The thing about scars is that they reveal a story to the observant onlooker. And this one tells the most fascinating tale. Between the location and the amount of scar tissue, it’s not hard to figure out that this wound was meant to be lethal. And Khoa knows of only one weapon that can leave such distinct markings. This kid had his throat slit by a batarang. Khoa wants to know who got Batman to finally try and break his number one rule.

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Characters: Jason Todd, Minhkhoa Khan, Bruce Wayne

Relationships: Jason Todd/Minhkhoa Khan

Additional Tags: Jason Todd is Red Hood, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Developing Relationship, Friends With Benefits, Alcohol, Human Trafficking, Torture, Murder, Temporary Character Death, Serious Injuries, Identity Reveal, Secret Identity, some descriptions of a rotting corpse (it's minor, but still)

[fountainpenguin]

Things that happened in Martyn & Cleo Double Life canon:

Cleo hoping to find her soulmate and start a life with them

Cleo dumping Martyn without giving him a chance to explain his side of the story, but hearing him out when he comes to her later

Martyn watching Cleo through his spyglass and telling the audience she seems safe and happy even though he thinks it's weird she's outside at night

Martyn, after he's had time to consider how he wants to play this, spinning a story about trying to be a provider for her and Cleo explaining that she wanted him, not things

Cleo not being remotely impressed by the "I was providing" sob story, lol

Martyn calling Cleo selfish for choosing to be with Scott because she's supposed to be HIS soulmate and he wants a partner

Cleo willing to forgive Martyn if he meets them halfway

Martyn refusing to meet them halfway because he doesn't think he did anything wrong

Martyn screaming about how Cleo's building bridges with Scott but "When will she think about mending our bridges???"

Martyn explaining to Cleo that he doesn't understand why his Session 1 actions bothered them

Martyn centering his character arc and roleplay on trying to win Cleo back without actually apologizing

Cleo giving Martyn a flower and stating that if he loses it, she'll be real cross with him

Cleo chasing Martyn out of her yard because he tried to put an HOA sign on her base and she wanted to make it clear that she wasn't associated with them and their hate for his base (even though she does think his heart base is strange)

Martyn attacking Cleo after she said attacking is a form of affection to her

Cleo setting boundaries with Martyn and explaining what he can do to get her back

Cleo sighing when Scar set her up on a date with Martyn, but taking the chance to talk to him instead of walking out

Cleo genuinely wanting Martyn in her alliance

Martyn and Cleo giggling constantly when they chat

Scar asking if Martyn wanted him to play a romantic music disc for him and Cleo (and Martyn getting excited and saying yes)

Martyn offering to take Cleo's armor and weapons to the deep dark so he can enchant them and bring them back while she stays safe

Cleo gifting Martyn diamonds, expecting nothing in return but not wanting him to die from lack of a good sword

Martyn and Cleo forming a secret alliance that allows Cleo to live with Scott while being on good terms with Martyn

Martyn expressing frustration that Cleo wants to keep this alliance secret because he wants them to be public allies; Cleo softly shushes him when people approach and might overhear

Martyn telling Cleo that she's putting out a lot of mixed signals because she keeps reeling him in and then pushing him away, claiming he is very confused about where he stands with her

Martyn teasing Cleo by punching her off a cliff and accidentally killing her and feeling so bad about it that he apologizes profusely despite roleplaying as someone who refused to apologize for Session 1

Martyn and Cleo immediately threatening Bdubs together when he said hi to them while they were hanging out, sdkfj

Martyn genuinely apologizing to Pearl for dumping her after Session 1

Martyn hiding under Cleo's bed while she defends him from an enderman attack

Cleo offering to let Martyn move into her house after Etho and Joel grief his base; Martyn saying he might take her up on that

Cleo and Martyn agreeing to move out and base together at Box

Cleo trusting Martyn with the location and resources of her red life base

Martyn rushing to Cleo's aid in the deep dark and trying to turn everyone against him instead

Cleo responding to Martyn's panicked shouts for her to eat by opening her inventory to get food (and drowning because she forgot she was in water)

Cleo hanging back and letting Martyn attack Scott while she does nothing to stop him from doing so, implying as much as she likes Scott, she won't kill Martyn (and herself) for him (and/or she trusted Scott to handle himself even though he ran away while Martyn was shooting at him)

Things that did not happen:

Cleo unwilling to forgive Martyn or consider being his friend and partner

Martyn and Cleo hating each other

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk

[necrotic-nephilim]

tag game & WIP game

two tag games in one post! (bc i totally didn't forget to do the first when i was tagged) the first tag game, i was tagged by @sasheneskywalker on my main!!

last song: Dark in My Imagination by of Verona

currently watching: Grotesquerie and Kevin Can F*** HImself are the main shows i'm watching! i plan to watch the Penguin but i haven't started it yet

last movie: ... probably Madame Web. for like. the sixth time.

sweet/spicy/savory: savory

relationship status: dating two partners and one girlfriend whom i all love dearly <3

current obsession: in a broad sense, DC. a more specific obsession, Cass Cain. i've got a lot of brainworms about her.

last thing i searched online: "alpine macaroni" bc it's my night to make dinner. the last thing i googled for a fic tho was "width of a penis" and "width of a bo staff" so. you make make assumptions about that.

and for the WIP game!

Rules: You will be given a word. Share one sentence/excerpt from your wip(s) that start with each letter of that word.

Tagged by @melodyatlas

word: BATS

B [a Helena/Steph WIP]

“Batman?” Stephanie groaned, blinking her eyes into focus. The first thing she saw wasn’t the person who caught her, but the shadow they cast. It had the pointed ears and she could already hear the lecture he was about to give her. “Not even close.” The voice was deep, but distinctly female. Stephanie jumped. With a quick slice of a blade, the woman cut away the rope holding Stephanie’s arms and ankles.

A [a Dick/Lance Brunner WIP]

“All the goddamn mercenaries and contract killers I’ve called and not a single fucking one of you is willing to kill one mob boss?” The man on the other end got so huffy, he made the call go static for a moment. Lance made a point to snort loud enough for the guy to hear. “I wouldn’t take a contract for any mob boss in Gotham. But I’m sure as hell not taking one for the Red Hood. It’s called self-preservation. Google it if you have to.”

T [a Cass/Terry WIP]

Terry refuses to call them anything but panties. They certainly didn’t cover any more skin than panties would. He hadn’t the slightest clue how everything stayed in place with the skimpy, shimmering fabric. If Terry went out wearing that, he’d only win fights by making villains piss themselves from laughing after he accidentally flashed them.

S [a Slade/Tim WIP]

“Shiva,” Slade hummed, as soon as he could pinpoint a specific move the little bird couldn’t have learned from anywhere else. “The Bat convinced Shiva to train you, didn’t he?” Granted, Robin wasn’t as sharp with them, but he wasn’t half bad for the scrawny thing he was. Slade tried to kick the kid in the head, but he managed to flip out of the way, landing in a crouch a few feet away from Slade.

no pressure tagging for anyone who wants to do either of these!

@searchforahero @divine-dominion @redhoodedoutlaw @rottenapricots @sandy-writing

if you do the WIP game your word is: ROBIN

[empress-of-snark]

now I got someone to hold

to keep me warm when life is cold

a little sun to melt away the gray

stranger things rarepair collection

[bayofwolves]

i so badly want to tell you guys who conor ends up with in path of the heroes and gush ab them... i'm thinking ab them again and i just love them so dearly... but i have several big posts that need to come first and aaaaaaahh.

it's okay tho bc i finally feel the spark of motivation coming back to me! soon i'll be able to spill my secrets :)

[h377b7iss]

.

[momotonescreaming]

A quick thing for @hellion-child , thank you for joining me on my Sal Deluca/ Josh Russo rarepair bullshit 💜

"Is he always like this?" The probie — Hayden — asks, brows furrowed underneath his helmet as his gaze flicks between his fellow firefighters and their Captain — Captain Deluca, smirking as he speaks into the radio strapped to his chest.

"Thanks for the assist there, dollface," their Captain says, flirts, to the dispatcher on the other end of the radio. He's smirking, looking all smug about it, but Hayden can't quite tell if it's mean spirited or not yet.

When his friends from the Academy heard he got assigned to Captain Sal Deluca from the 122 — they winced. He's got a reputation of being a bit of an asshole, apparently, who scares the shit out of all the probies. High turnover rate. When he got to the actual station, however, the other firefighters said he really wasn't that bad. He just pushes them because he knows that they can do better. Some people just can't handle his leadership style — weak people — someone joked. Hayden can't tell if it's a style meant for him yet, but he's being put through his paces at least. And isn't that what being a probie is all about?

This however, in front of him, doesn't match up to the Captain Deluca in his head. The Captain Deluca he's been told about.

"Assist?" The very male voice of their dispatcher crackles though the radio, smile in their voice evident. "You'd be lost without me, and you know it."

It's like they don't even care that everyone can hear them.

"He didn't use to be," one of their paramedics — nicknamed Barbie, on account of her being a tall blonde — says with a casual shrug. "But he is now, and only with Josh."

"Josh?"

"The dispatcher," Barbie nods, looking over at their Captain, flirting through the radio waves. "We know him by name now."

Hayden — admittedly — hasn't been on very many calls yet, but on all the other's he's only heard Cap refer to them as dispatch. Maybe thanking them by name at the end, once they've rescued their person and done their job. But today, it's been 'what've you got for me Josh' and 'how's our caller doing, Josh' and 'give me good news Sunshine'.

"Cap's always been a bit of a charming asshole," the other paramedic — Riley — chimes in, where he's starting to pack their gear back into the ambulance. Thankfully, they didn't end up needing most of it. "Good at getting people to calm down and listen to him, y'know?"

"But the flirting," Barbie parrots back, smarmy smile on her face as she flips her long blonde hair over her shoulder. Hayden kind of gets the nickname a lot more now. "Is an 'only in the past few months' sort of thing. A new development, shall we say."

It's so weird, to hear these two paramedics, these two seasoned professionals — openly gossip about their boss flirting at work. Their fucking boss, who's stern and tough and pushes Hayden because he knows he's got the skill so why isn't he fucking using it. A real man's man, all bulky muscles and a sharp jaw. Talking to the others about basketball and how he's been helping a friend of his restore an old hotrod. Who can command a scene like nothing else, and then, right at the end, when everything is wrapped up and everyone's safe — flirt with the man on the other end of the radio like no one else can hear them.

Hayden's gaze flicks back over to his Captain, the macho asshole, smiling and laughing as Josh the dispatcher threatens to send all the interesting calls to the 118.

"Oh sweetheart, you wouldn't fucking dare," Sal retorts, slowing walking back to the truck and the ambulance Hayden is leaning on. His heart speeds up — traitorously — as his Captain approaches him not doing anything to help them wrap up the scene. But it turns out he needn't have bothered. "As if they don't get all of the wack shit already."

Sal nods at the three of them — Hayden, Barbie, and Riley — and continues on to the truck proper. They can all hear Josh huff a laugh down the line.

"Am I losing my mind?" Hayden says, brows continuing to furrow, an incredulous smile starting to creep onto his face.

"Best get used to it probie," Riley laughs, clapping him on the shoulder. "We've been placing bets on when they'll actually start dating."

[darkwingsnark]

Y'all. If you don't like a ship, don't post it in the tags of said ship. People don't want to see negativity when they're there to have fun. I don't see why you feel so compelled to tell the targeted audience that you dislike the thing. Go play in your space. And if you need more stuff in said space because seeing a 'competing ship' makes you so angry, pay artists and writers to make things.

I know and understand the struggle of being into rarepairs, sometimes you end up being the only person in the tags for a while. But that is so much better than being bitter, and it can even convince people to start shipping your OTP.

Positivity brings in positivity. Sometimes a rarepair is just you and your bud talking and making up stories that you say you'll eventually write but it's been eight years. And you gotta embrace it as your special thing.

[shanastoryteller]

Happy birthday! I would love some more rarepair dot/jack and miss fisher's murder mysteries. You write them amazingly 💚

Dot feels guilty for agreeing to go on this date. Her divorce from Hugh has only just been finalized, never mind that they’ve been living separately for the last year. She’s grateful it’s over with now – she doesn’t know how she would have felt if they’d been separated for longer than they’d been married under one roof, and that’s exactly what would have happened if everything had taken a couple more months.

It still feels too early, and it’s not like she’s ever dated before, Hugh having been her first relationship. But her neighbor Andrea had insisted that this would be good for her, and that her brother’s friend was perfect for her, and Dot is running low enough on friends that she hadn’t wanted to offend her and risk this new friendship collapsing in on itself.

She’d kept Jane and Mr. Butler, and Burt and Cec, of course, but all their other friends had landed firmly on Hugh’s side in everything, which she can’t even say is unfair, considering. But it is a little lonely. There’s a reason one of the first things she’d done was move back to Melbourne, toward the people who still liked her and away from everyone else. Her mother is appalled, but her priest is excited enough at having her back that he’s apparently willing to overlook the whole divorced bit.

She resists the urge to smooth back her hair again, wonders if she should have chosen a dress with a longer hem, but being a divorced woman provides so few benefits that it seems only fair that she take advantage of them.

“Dorothy?”

She looks up, breaking out into a smile at the familiar face. “Detective! How are you?” She gets to her feet, although she still has to crane her neck to look up at him. She forgot how tall he was. “You look well.”

“As do you, Miss Williams,” he says, a teasing lilt to his voice.

She flushes. She never would have worn anything like this a few years ago, but lots of things were different then. Besides, Miss Fisher is always encouraging her to take risks in her letters. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Well,” he says, lips pulled up on one side. On a second look, it seems like she can figure that out for herself. He doesn’t look old, really, but he does look tired, something weary about his eyes and shoulders that he didn’t have when she saw him last.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, cutting off whatever answer he would have grave.

The relief on his face makes her think she made the right decision. “I’m meeting someone, actually, although I’m not sure who. Andrea wouldn’t even give me her name.”

Dot blinks once, twice, then raises her hand to her mouth, heat crawling it’s way up her neck. “I’m going to kill her.”

It only takes Jack a second to catch on. “Ah. But,” his eyes flicker down to her hand, “I see.”

Hugh hadn’t told him, then. He’d called her Miss Williams, but that could have been habit more than anything else. Maybe they don’t talk. She assumed they did, but she’d assumed a lot of things.

Jack’s hesitating. If she lets him, he’ll make some sort of excuse and she won’t see him again unless she starts stalking crime scenes again.

“I’ll tell you the dirt details, if you like,” she offers, sitting back down looking expectantly to the chair across from her. He takes it, some of his hesitance bleeding away as he leans forward. “It’s not that exciting, I’m afraid.”

He smiles at her. He really is very handsome. “I bet I can guess.”

Dot raises an eyebrow, waiting.

“You outgrew him,” he says. “He was always struggling to keep up with you.”

It sounds so cruel put like that, but it’s also entirely correct. Hugh’s a good man and he’ll probably be a good husband – to someone else. To someone like she used to be, perhaps, but not at all for who she is now. “Well, I wish someone had told me that.”

“It didn’t seem appropriate,” he says, almost apologetic, and his eyes start to dip lower before guiltily jerking back up to her face.

“No,” she says, almost breathless. “I suppose not.”

[mellosdrawings]

Listen- rare pairs are the shit

Two characters that rarely interact or have much in common?

Excuse me while I highlight all the ways they could have a beautiful relationship

Im ready to hear out basically any ship because it not always ‘do these characters have on-screen chemistry’ rather more like ‘how would these fall for each other’ and ‘does it bring you joy’

Agreed.

Look, I used to be in the Detroit: Become Human fandom. We took a character with 5 second (in ONE branching of the story only), no name, no personality, and no words spoken whatsoever, and we started shipping him with a character that appeared in like 2 chapters of the game, even though they never met.

And it was one hell of a good ship.

I'm a simple person. If I see potential, any common point for the characters to bond on, or just a general vibe that I think could fit, and I see why a ship could come to life. The N2 squad literally comes from them all being losers. Depression trio is all about their whacky mental states. SebeJami could actually be great folds to each other, except one idolizes his master while the other demonizes him. There's so much you can do with that.

Besides, Twst is one of those rare games in which all characters have interacted at least once with each other, be it in the main story, in vignettes, in clubs, or in events.

Epel and Malleus? Epel's Masquerade vignette.

Jade and Jack? First book of Playful Land.

Lilia and Idia?! Their relationship is the funniest, who thought to make them interact at all?! And like that!!

And come on, don't tell me having Cater, Lilia, and Kalim interact together isn't the funniest shit the game has ever pulled. I'm still not over those three being canonically "friends".

So there's always at least one opportunity to see how they would interact together, and that's a thing I really like in this game.

So yeah, rarepairs are fun. Why limit myself to one ship when I can make them all smooch together?

[quillkiller]

Jen!! I need all your lunarry thoughts pls I'm so captivated already

ok so… lunarry was my first ever rarepair before i even knew that rarepairs were a thing…

so like. what made me so compelled with them is the scene with the thestrals. they’re the only two people who can see them, because they both watched their mothers die.. and then they just form this very sweet and unlikely friendship. ’i’ll ask someone i like, someone cool’ <- harry about asking luna to the slug club thing. he’s just so charmed by her <3

she’s the only one who treats him as just a Regular Guy. he’s never just a regular guy with anyone, not even his two best friends because the three of them are always roped into quests and boy who lived-missions. i love the golden trio more than anything, and harry loves his best friends more than anything, but luna is the only one who treats him as just some guy and he’s constantly drawn to her because of it … they’re so autistic4autistic social weirdos <3

here are some hc’s i have for them post war:

harry becomes a recluse after the war, hiding himself away at grimmauld place and avoiding everyone. his best friends can’t get through to him either because they’re just too close and he’s too traumatized. he’s not going to weasley sunday brunches, not talking to anyone, nearly becomes agoraphobic because whenever he does leave the house there’s always someone there who wants to personally thank him OR someone who blames him

but eventually luna finds him, whether she tracks him down with purpose or just because she felt like spending time with him, and he lets her in. she doesn’t talk about the war, doesn’t treat him like he’s breakable or traumatized, doesn’t treat him like she owes him anything. just continues to treat him like any other guy, talking to him about magical creatures and looking around for nargles, doing silly magic together and drinking tea and watching films and slowly but surely harry starts becoming himself again, starts smiling again, starts respondint to his friends letters, starts actively inviting luna over, starts visiting her instead, coming with her on the avdentures she goes on

i always see them stumbling into a relationship rather than actively asking each other out. harry asks luna if she’s seeing someone and she says ’yeah, im seeing you?’ and that’s that. it’s such a gradual thing, months or maybe a few years of slowburn. neither of them in a hurry to get anywhere because they’re always been friends first. they’ll always be friends first . the foundation of their relationship will always be FRIENDSHIP !!

they move somewhere together, some cottage somewhere away from the wizarding world. just the two of them in a house and lots of land. harry keeps grimmauld place, stays thete sometimes when he needs to, and because he doesn’t want people to know where he actually lives. the only two people he tells is ron and hermione obviously, but other than that no one knows where he is or where he lives. his letters gets sent to grimmauld, etc

’WHERES THE BOY WHO LIVED ?????’ the daily prophet says <- no one has seen him in YEARS. wel!!!!! he’s out counting stars with his dreamer girlfriend and tending to the thestrals they own together. they’re domestic and love working with their hands, growing their own foods, taking care of magical creatures, doing magical experiments, painting and repainting their walls, cooking, etc etc etc. they love their solitude and can be quiet with each other, but they also make each other laugh <3

they’re so deeply special to me…. 🤍

[zaebeecee]

“Your ship will never be canon.”

Yeah, you’re right, and I’m well aware of that. And I hate to be the one to tell you this, but neither will yours. The canonicity of ships is a garbage metric by which to measure the validity of said ships, because if your ship isn’t canon, it will probably always be non-canon.

Unless your ship is already currently canon, or unless the characters were expressly created to be a romantic ship, it is incredibly unlikely that they will ever be made canon. Are there exceptions? Sure, but these are incredibly rare, and they generally only happen in media that have low to zero corporate oversight where the authors can change direction based on fan opinion with little to no hassle.

Have these characters been stated to be best friends? Then, canonically speaking, they will always be best friends.

Have these characters been stated to be rivals? Then, canonically speaking, they will always be rivals (and if the rivalry peters out, they will become friends who snipe at each other, or they will never speak to each other again).

Have these characters been stated to hate each other? Then, canonically speaking, they will always hate each other (see above).

This is, of course, not to say you shouldn’t ship them. Ship whoever you want! But canon should play a role in absolutely nothing except characterization when it comes to your fanfics, fanart, AUs, and anything else you decide to make.

“But the team said they would be canon!” Did they, though? Or did they make a statement that contained words that could be used to imply they would be canon? Because that second one is a combination of wishful thinking and putting words in the team’s mouths.

“But everyone ships them!” I guarantee you they don’t and not everyone in your fandom would be happy to see your ship become canon, no matter how big the shipping base is. And everyone in the fandom, from people who ship the biggest non-canon pairing to people who ship a rarepair that literally only they ship, deserve the freedom to ship whatever they want.

“But the actors ship them!” That’s nice; it tells you that you have the same opinion as the people with the most intimate understanding of those characters. It’s also not relevant to the writing of the story.

“But I can’t ship them if they’re not canon!” That kinda sounds like a personal problem, buddy.

If you can’t enjoy something in a fandom until it’s been declared canon, you’re not going to enjoy being in any fandom. And you definitely aren’t doing yourself or anyone else any favors by bullying other people who like different things from you.

[necrotic-nephilim]

Roytim is such a fun crack rarepair for me! Dick’s best friend sleeping with/dating Dick’s baby brother Timmy is 10/10 drama on a more personal note than I’d picture it with Jason. Absolutely no shade I just have always read Dick as being more protective of Tim and Damian.

Do you have any Roytim headcanons to share? <3

oh i LOVE RoyTim on it's own! likely bc i'm just a Tim multishipper and if it fits i ship, but Roy is especially fun via the Dick connection. and i 1000% agree, *especially* pre-Flashpoint, would even argue it's outright canon that Dick is far more protective of Tim and Damian than he ever was with Jason (not out of dislike, but simply bc Dick and Jason were never all that close and the tragedy of losing Jason was losing what could've been, not what he already had) and especially with Jason as Red Hood, Dick holds no particular protective brotherly feelings toward him. it's all Tim and Damian. so you're so right, the drama of RoyTim is just a smidge more upped than of JayRoy and i'd love to share headcanons-

i think it makes for a fun "crush on your older brother's friend" situation. where like. Tim knows it's unrealistic and he has no *actual* intentions to chase it when he's just 15/16 and Roy and Dick are in their twenties, often hanging out around Tim. and Roy is handsome, he's funny, he's similar in personality to ppl Tim has dated (Steph, Kon) so, it's a crush. one that he hides *well* and never makes it Dick or Roy's problem, and one Tim never expects to pan out. he just fantasizes about Roy a little bit and mostly grows out of it by the time he's an adult.

i think more fics need Lian, so i like the idea of them co-parenting Lian. especially if they're both. sort of bad at it. like Roy loves her and he's trying, but he's doing this basically alone and it's not like he has experience. Tim also has no experience. neither of them know what on earth to do. it's a very cute idea that just relies on the two of them being terrible at parenting and Roy getting so mad that the first time Lian says "dada" she says it to Tim that he considers breaking up for a good five minutes.

how they get together can happen in a lot of ways, but i'm interested in the idea of Dick asking Roy to talk to Tim during Tim's Red Robin arc. Roy has experience helping kids through his work helping young addicts and nothing else has worked, so he offers to at least try with Tim. and Roy, who also doesn't handle grief well, understands at least some of what Tim is going through. especially since Roy dealt with Oliver dying and then suddenly coming back, he's at least open to the idea Bruce could be alive. he's just around to try and help Tim keep some emotional stability, but it ends up with Roy helping with the search and somehow, falling for Tim along the way

they go to sitcom levels of chaos trying to keep the relationship hidden from Dick. they *both* know Dick is far too protective of Tim to react well to it. but also, i think Roy would get *just* a bit of an ego about sleeping with Tim under Dick's nose. he makes a point of strutting around when Dick invites him over, finding reasons to be shirtless just to make Tim squirm a little bit. it's that sort of kink where you're excited about the risk of being caught. that fits these two so well and i can't explain it.

because Roy is used to mentoring younger heroes, i think he would have a bigger than normal moral panic about dating Tim. he fights his feelings for a *while*, to the point Tim can tell Roy is fighting his feelings and he's trying to convince Roy he's fine with this. Tim telling Roy about his childhood crush does not help. it makes Roy feel *worse*. it makes them take things very slowly, and i could see Roy being the type to never fully touch Tim until Tim is 18, no matter how much Tim insists it's okay.

i do think they have unhinged sex when they actually get into it though. no matter how sure Roy is that he'll be gentle the first time, the minute he gets his hands on Tim, it is feral. there is blood and foul dirty talk and Tim cannot walk the next day. i think Roy makes for a very mean dom, the type who will make fun of you for being a mess in bed. he just has those vibes, and it works great for getting Tim to just. turn his brain off.

i think Roy, who's struggled with picking hero names before, would be someone to try to force Tim to let go of Red Robin once the whole Bruce thing is over. it's not Tim's name and Tim doesn't need to keep punishing himself with it. Roy is nice about it at first, but then i do think he threatens to set that damn suit on fire if Tim keeps wearing it and doesn't come up with a new hero name. and the worst part is, Tim does know he's serious.

when Dick does find out, chaos. an absolute shitshow. when Roy tells him, Dick punches Roy in the face before he even finishes explaining himself. it's a pure gut reaction. even Bruce isn't as protective over Tim as Dick is. it takes a *lot* of convincing from Tim that it's okay and he wanted this before Dick calms down, and he still doesn't talk to Roy for like a month until the rest of the Titans are forced to hold an intervention reminding Dick of his own dating history with age gaps, like Babs. Dick does cool down, but he is not afraid to stoop to "you're fucking my brother" in an argument bc he wins everytime when he brings it up.

i think Tim is the protective partner. everyone *expects* it to be Roy, he's older and more experienced, but it's Tim who will absolutely lose it if someone threatens Roy's or Lian's life. like not fanonish "committing murder" Tim, but more so canonish "i have a contingency plan for everything" Tim. Roy has had to hold him back a couple times. honestly i think the moral conversations Roy and Tim have are so interesting. because Roy will cross the line for those he loves, so bc of that, Tim is careful to make sure Roy is never in a position where he has to protect Tim bc he knows it would turn lethal quickly. it's a very "i know what you're capable of and you don't scare me but i won't let you become a worse version of yourself bc of me" sort of self preservation vibe. i think it'd be very neat. Tim fights like hell when he's close to death bc his thought is always "i refuse to let Roy feel like he has to avenge me" which i find very crunchy.

[velvetwyrme]

i beg (bug) of thee . .. more borrower au pleaze.

now you might be wanting more of the existing dynamic/s ive mentioned but @dubia-015 asked me about the other character concepts i hd in mind yesterday and then i sat down and went AHHHHHH into the void and it rewarded me with even more thoughts

yapping under the cut

please consider Ratchet thinking that the tiny person he helped out when he was still in medical school was a fever dream (too much coffee, not enough sleep). Only to get blindsided when a different tiny person shows up one day, loud and obnoxious but clearly worried about his friend who is injured, begging for Ratchet's help. And well, Ratchet doesn't know what to with the fact that Drift is REAL, but he DOES know what to do if someones bleeding out.

Or the flipside of that, Drift returning to his old house that he nearly died in, and finding out that the tiny man who helped him during that time is REAL and not a drug induced hallucination. If you want to get extra tasty with it, Drift almost stabs Ratchet, the blade THUNKING down in front of the borrower as Drift glares down at him. He wasn't even been looking, he just knew Ratchet was there. But as soon as Drift sees him his eyes widen and soften, as recognition finds him and he whispers... "Ratch?"

(I imagine he IMMEDIATELY panics and pulls the blade out because OH GOD HE NEARLY KILLED RATCHET) and can you tell i really want to draw this but also i really dont want to draw People.

And some other concepts!!

Borrower Brainstorm trying to one up human Perceptor while also trying to not be caught. He wants to be NOTICED and RECOGNIZED but he's meant to keep hidden but Perceptor is so brilliant he NEEDS to prove himself.

Human Whirl and his two tiny partners who he tries to scare off,,, or alternatively, Tailgate and Cyclonus and the borrower that they're luring into their home like a stray cat.

Borrower Skids pining fruitlessly over human Nautica!! Roommateless Swerve having a little borrower buddy in his walls who listens to him ramble. I can't decide who but my silly rarepair brain immediately went ULTRA MAGNUS because i have a soft spot for Swagnus hdjdhdjfbjd

And of course you can't forget tired veteran OP who has been passing messages with a mysterious stranger in the library who writes the most beautiful poetry and has a fresh new perspective on life, albeit one that is jaded, hardened by a life of being underfoot, downtrodden and struggling to survive day to do,,,,, like. Ghhhrghg.

im gonna fucking explode so you also get more thoughts abt the various versions ft the Constructicons, J/P and SW

Also if you go borrower!Soundwave and Prowl (Human Constructicons+Jazz) then you get the two of them working together somewhat begrudgingly at first- they have a working respect for each other that gives way to mutual appreciation for each other's logical prowess and intelligence, things that are required when trying to navigate a house filled w/ 5 rowdy guys. In that same version you have Rumble, Frenzy and their like. 8 dads. Since they're human, it's easier for the other humans to wrangle them but Soundwave and Prowl are the real powerhouses there who keep everyone in line.

In the one where the Constructicons are menacing J/P, they all slowly befriend Jazz first, who stays well out of the way of Prowl's investigations- he could tell him, but... this is the most fun he's seen Prowl have in a long time and it looks good on him. Also getting doted on by the pack of borrowers is a nice perk.

i literally cannot create fast enough to keep up w this. Also logically if I did anything I'd. probably cut down the amt of characters so I don't have to deak w/ as many interconnecting pieces but IN MY HEART OF HEARTS THIS IS THE DREAM

[damnfandomproblems]

Fandom Problem #5887:

I am literally the only person who actively makes content for my rarepair in the fandom. It's a perfectly plausible pair but gets super overshadowed by another more mainstream pair. I find their fans kinda intimidating because they do that, "this is canon, you can't tell me otherwise" jokes so often I can't tell if they're still joking or not.

I have a lot more works that I can post, but I hold back out of fear of being seen as just a different brand of crazy by the rest of the fandom. Like, this weirdo who keeps making stuff about a ship that no one even cares about and gets mostly pity notes. I've considered sending prompts to fandom events and stuff, but I always chickened out because I don't think anyone would pick my prompts.. It gets kinda lonely. I know I should just say "screw it!!" and post the things I like, but I can't seem to find the courage. Anyone got any tips for doing just that?

[flightfoot]

ML Fanfic Recs for Completed Fics 10K - 15K Words

12 fics in this category. Decent amount of Lovesquare, but you also have a fic from the rarest rarepair I've ever recced, I never even considered Vivica/Marinette before.

All of these fics will be in my Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2024 Collection, and if you like that, please consider checking out my other collections, Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2023, Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2022, and Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics - Misc. Years.

circling back to you by @taketwoinink

Things have been breaking between Ladybug and Chat Noir for a long time, for even longer than Marinette knew about. He keeps trying to walk away and she keeps dragging him back. They're running around in circles and something - or someone - needs to change. So when he leaves a note on a rooftop for her to find, telling her he's left again, Marinette's willing to swallow her fear and her pride to get to the root of whatever problem started this in the first place.

So this is a season 4 fic, rooted in the Ladynoir conflict of that time, with Chat giving up the Black Cat Miraculous again. I love how much we see of Marinette's thought process, how clear it is how much she cares about him, how much she wants him to realize his own value and wants to hear the actual problems he has (including the ones to do with her) in order to fix things, to make it so they can fight as a team again. Because while she could be Ladybug without him, she doesn't want to be.

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And Mark Ronson Can Get Stuffed by @liiinerle

Marinette gets a call from Vivica, Jagged Stone's guitarist, with a proposition. She wants a producer - and she's heard Marinette's the best one for the job. At least, that's what Jagged says, and well, the only real competition is Bob Roth... ... but Marinette still isn't prepared for the whirlwind of feelings she'll get spinning through her brain whenever she sees Vivica play. Or for the realisations she'll make about herself as she sits engulfed in a type of music that feels like it gets her, and gazes up at the angel who's holding the guitar.

So this is a RARE rare pair, I've never seen Vivinette before! Man though, is this a great first fic for the pairing! I love seeing Marinette's efforts to be the best producer she can be for Vivica, not totally realizing at first why she's so nervous and determined to be the best she can be for her... and then becoming all too aware of her feelings XD. I especially adore how enamored Marinette becomes with Vivica's songs, being deeply affected by them but unable to put her feelings into words well enough to give feedback.

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Stop Time by @liiinerle

— she put her hand on the page, blocking it so the words wouldn’t scream so loudly at her. They had screamed more than enough already. Gritting her teeth, she pulled her fingers together, crumpling the paper slightly — just enough that it didn’t look so pristine and mocking. It needed to be full of despair, in every possible way. “Marinette —” started Mullo. “No! Never again. Marinette is… gone, forever.” She let go of the paper. Now it lay alone in the light, as the last thing she could ever tell them. That she loved them, that she’d miss them, that she would never talk to them again. A suicide note. Of sorts. ----- Fu accidentally names Marinette as the new guardian, and not Ladybug. She's forced to fake her own death and go into hiding in order to get away from Hawk Moth. She finds a hiding spot in the Louvre, but there she's forced to face the effects of her going away by a very unexpected source: her friend Alix.

Definitely mind the tags on this one! But if it ain't triggering to you, then I highly recommend reading it. You can really feel Marinette's struggles here, with basically making herself homeless, unable to reach out to her friends and family, needing to steal just to feed herself and the kwamis, and then dealing with everyone in her life grieving... and then moving on. Except for a few people who don't...

It's just... it's really good, really heart-wrenching.

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To Feel The Sun From Both Sides by @nemaliwrites

"Be careful," Cat Walker finally says. He lets her go before taking a big step back, as though purposefully trying to put more distance between the two of them. "You might fall." "No, I wouldn’t," says Loveybug. She takes one step forward for each one he takes back — continuing their dance from before. "Not when I have you to catch me." -- The masks they wear might be different, but it doesn't matter. They'll still find their way back to each other.

This is a Loveybug AU fic, obviously. I love the philosophy in this one, where Marinette comes to a revelation on how to feel about love, on how she loves, and how this change in her worldview naturally makes her transform into Loveybug.

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Not Quite Right by @ladynoirfanao3

When Marinette wakes up one morning, she can’t help but feel that something is just a little bit… off. No one else around her seems to feel the same, however, and she is forced to shake off the strange feelings. It proves to be more difficult than she imagined, especially when an akuma attack leaves her feeling helpless as she watches Chat Noir and Ladybug arrive on scene.

So this is an interesting one, Marinette feels like something's off, and seeing the way Ladybug's acting just reinforces that. I love the mystery element here as both she and the audience figure out what's happening and she and Chat Noir try and fix things.

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impromptu training exercises by @14muffinz

“I didn’t do anything,” Rena says proudly, not flinching away from the ire of their leader. “Eagle, on the other hand…” “DO YOU HAVE IT!?” Rooster Bold shouts eagerly, running forward to shake Rena wildly by the shoulders. “Do. You. HAVE IT!?” “YES,” Rena shouts back. [Eagle deposits an heroic object of importance known simply as The Ball in Alya's bedroom. Chaos, a game of keep away, and bonding insues. Also, a spreadsheet.]

This was a really fun fic! Basically the NYC superheroes play this training game where they attempt to steal this one tennis ball from each other and hold onto it for as long as possible. It's led to this one, ratty ball becoming an important piece of superhero memorabilia.

Naturally, the Miracuteam continues the tradition.

I love how you get little vignettes of what all the different characters are doing, getting a glimpse inside their heads as they try to find, steal, and keep The Ball. If you're a fan of hijinks or the Miracuteam more generally, this'll be right up your alley!

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Mamma Mia! by @ladynoirfanao3

When Marinette discovers she is pregnant, she is distressed to realize any of the three men she slept with in the recent past could be the father; Chat Noir, Ladybug’s partner and ex with whom she had gone through a tearful breakup - the mysterious Cat Walker, Ladybug’s rebound - or Adrien Agreste, Marinette’s current boyfriend. Bit of a twist on the base concept of Mamma Mia, where she doesn't realize all three potential fathers are, in fact, the same man.

So this is a fun little fic. I loved seeing Adrien and Marinette independently wrestle with the situation - Adrien, with maybe being the father of his former girlfriend's children (but maybe not), and Marinette, with needing to tell her former and current boyfriends that they might or might not be the father, and having to deal with a potential change in their relationship because of that.

Oh yeah, this fic is rated M, but the sexual content is relatively mild. The foreplay is detailed, but the actual sex is just implied.

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Bend the World Around It by @kasienda

“Tell me it was real." She can’t look at him. She can barely stand the pain in his voice. She definitely can’t face it. “It wasn’t.” He shakes his head, and turns to her - his eyes swirling in their intensity. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. Tell me that you were there. We were there together, having the same dream.” She squeezes her eyes shut. She wants to lie to him. She needs to lie to him. But she can’t. Lying would be like it never happened. But it did happen. And if it’s all they get to have, she wants him to know it. “I think we were having the same dream,” she whispers, unable to meet his eyes.

So this is an adorable Jubilation aftermath fic, with Ladybug and Chat Noir both mourning the loss of what only they remember, of a dream that never was. And them deciding that screw it, it may not have been real to anyone else, but it was real to them. They remember those years together, and they want to live together, if only during the times when they can afford to be missing from home. They remember being happily married, and crave that life.

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Are Hexagon Square Dances A Thing? by @hueynomure

Tikki flew right in her space, playfully booping her nose. "Marinette!" She threw her hands in the air. "What!" "You're going to be late for patrol," the kwami giggled. Marinette checked her phone and she muttered a few choice Mandarin curses. She couldn't be late, not today! Chat was waiting for her! She called her transformation and strode to her balcony's trapdoor- She accidentally caught a glimpse of her reflection in the vanity mirror and froze. She slowly turned and blinked, almost disbelieving her eyes. Her featureless, smooth polka-dotted suit was just gone.

So unlike in most Loveybug AUs I've seen, Ladybug adoting the Loveybug identity was an accident. She decided to confess to Chat Noir, butterflies in her stomach, and then when she transformed, she was Loveybug.

Unfortunately being THAT smitten makes it difficult for her to fight like she usually does.

Luckily, there's another Black Cat who she is currently less in love with who can fight alongside her...

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Me and You, We're Roses of Blue by fennieaile

For centuries, the blue rose has represented mystery, royalty, and that which is unobtainable. Why? Because the blue rose is artificial. Unnatural. So close to being real, but not quite. The unfortunate, disappointing result of humanity daring to challenge the natural order. And for some reason, Felix Graham De Vanily can't stop thinking about it. Meanwhile Kagami Tsurugi, despite everything, thinks they are wonderful. And Adrien Agreste, who prefers his roses red, is just here for a good time. (A story in which Felix reflects on his childhood, his relationships, and the nature of what's artificial and what's real.) (Alternatively, a story where the ideal date is destroying a dead man's property in the name of art, and two cousins who are actually brothers' bond over one truly terrible joke.)

I love Felix's and Kagami's introspective talks, with Felix reminiscing about the past - both the good, and the bad. He still has trouble believing that his life is this okay now, and especially that the class (and Marinette in particular) are actually friendly with him. Him and Kagami deciding to destroy some of Gabriel's things is great.

I think my favorite part is when Chat decides to give Felix birthday greetings. Chat loves to mess with him and Felix just doesn't understand why. Chat apparently has a little brother he likes to do this sort of thing with, so why can't he got bother that guy instead?

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The Art of Blossoms by @fruitdragon1a

Marinette is a florist. Adrien needs a bouquet. Or: Five times Adrien walked out of Marinette's store with flowers, and one time he left with something far more precious.

This is a classic, adorable No Powers Adrienette AU. I love that Nino and Alya are a couple and are friends with Adrien and Marinette, but that Adrien and Marinette don't know that they have friends in common, it leads to some fun reveals!

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Peppermint Kisses by @kuromori4

After a holiday adventure with his best friends goes horribly wrong, Adrien unexpectedly finds himself finally confessing his love. Too bad he confessed to the wrong girl.

This was fun and cute. An akuma attack gone wrong results in Adrien being a bit woozy and confessing his love to Ladybug... which would be fine, if he was Chat Noir, but as Adrien... well, there are problems.

Plus well. He HAS started catching feelings for Marinette as well...

It's cute, has some nice Ladrien, and just a nice, pleasant read.

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Even a Lucky Charm Can't Find a Soulmate by BeeRye

After a heart-to-heart with Alya, Marinette decides to go all in on finding her soulmate. The problem is, in a world where countless methods of getting a soulmate exist, how can she even go about making that happen? Meanwhile, Kagami can't make heads or tails of Marinette's strange behavior, but she won't turn down more time with her. If only she could do something about this troublesome crush that shows no signs of easing up...

I love a good soulmate fic, and it's even better when the two people choose each other. Marinette WANTS Kagami to be her soulmate, and Kagami wants to be with Marinette. Honestly, that's enough.

Also, Alya's the MVP here. Sometimes lovebirds just need an outside perspective in order to get out of their own heads and actually do what they need to do to ask out their crush.