#read fics and see how others write these characters

[inseobts]

oh my goddd I just read the Monster trio & pregnant reader fic and i loved it.

Could you write about them as baby dads?

🫵 Made Him a Dad

after the pregnancy and labor let's see they’re doing as newly dads?

a/n: tried to not be repetitive but it was hard lmao

also a special thanks and credits to @katsukis-foxie6 for giving me some ideas, espcially for sanji's ❤︎❤︎❤︎

characters: luffy, zoro, sanji

words count: around 0.9k - 1.3k each

masterlist || ao3 || ko-fi

── .✦ Monkey D. Luffy:

The Straw Hat crew was anchored at a small island, taking a rare break after a long stretch of adventures. The sun was setting, casting an orange glow over the ship as you cradled your baby girl, Dawn, in your arms. She was only a few months old, but her presence already seemed to brighten every corner of the Thousand Sunny. Her tiny hands wrapped around your finger, and the sound of her soft giggles filled the air.

Luffy, his usual exuberance toned down just a bit, sat across from you, his eyes locked on Dawn with a mixture of pride and awe.

“She’s so cute, y/n,” Luffy said with his signature grin, his voice filled with warmth “Look at her! She’s already so strong! I bet she’s gonna be a great pirate!”

You couldn’t help but laugh softly at Luffy’s enthusiasm “She’s barely even walking yet, Luffy. Maybe let’s wait a few years before we start recruiting her into the crew.”

Luffy’s face lit up “Oh, at her age I already wanted to be the king of pirates!" He turns to look at you and your serious face kinda scares him "...Y-yeah, we should let her grow a little first! But she’s gonna be the best, I just know it! I’ll teach her everything I know!”

Suddenly, a loud voice boomed from the shore, and you looked up to see none other than your grandfather-in-law, Garp, strolling toward the ship with a big grin plastered on his face.

“Oi, Luffy!” Garp shouted, his signature Marine coat fluttering behind him “I heard you had a kid! About time you stopped being such a carefree idiot and started taking responsibility!”

Luffy jumped to his feet immediately, his eyes widening with excitement “Grandpa! You’re here!” He grabbed Dawn from your arms before you could even protest, holding her in front of Garp with the same proud grin he always wore “Look! This is my daughter!”

You stood up and approached them with a smile, watching Garp’s reaction carefully. Garp stared down at the tiny bundle in Luffy’s arms, his usual gruff expression softening as he regarded her.

“She’s tiny,” Garp muttered, squinting at Dawn, but his voice held a strange tenderness “I didn’t think Luffy could make something this cute.”

Luffy puffed out his chest with pride “She’s gonna grow strong, just like me! And she’s gonna be a great pirate!”

Garp grunted, crossing his arms “A pirate, huh? You’ve got a long way to go if you’re gonna make her one of your little nakama, brat.”

Luffy beamed, clearly not bothered by the teasing “I’ll make sure she’s ready! Right, Dawn?” He shook her gently, making silly noises that caused her to giggle. Dawn’s tiny fingers grasped at Luffy’s hand, and it seemed like the whole world stopped for a second.

Garp let out a low chuckle, his usual gruff demeanor melting a bit as he saw the deep love in Luffy’s eyes “Well, kid, looks like you’re serious about being a dad. I can’t believe it, but I guess you’ve really grown up. She’s got your stupid grin, that’s for sure.”

Luffy looked over at you with wide eyes, his face flushed with excitement “Grandpa likes her! He said she looks like me!”

You smiled softly, your heart swelling with affection for both your husband and daughter “She has your smile, alright” you said gently, brushing a strand of hair from Dawn’s face.

Luffy beamed, clearly feeling validated by Garp’s approval “I’m gonna teach her all kinds of stuff! How to eat a ton, how to never give up on your dreams, and how to make sure the meat’s always cooked perfectly! She’s gonna be awesome!”

Garp raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching upward into a smirk “Well, she’s not gonna be a pirate, that’s for sure.”

Luffy blinked in confusion “Huh? What do you mean? She’s gonna be the greatest pirate ever!”

Garp crossed his arms, grinning mischievously “No way. I’ve seen what happens when you let brats like you run wild. She’s gonna be a Marine, just like her old grandpa.”

Luffy’s eyes widened, and he took a step back, shaking his head in disbelief “What?! No way! She’s gonna be a pirate! You can’t stop that!”

Garp laughed, thoroughly amused by Luffy’s reaction “Oh, I can see it now: ‘Little Dawn, future Marine Admiral!’ No pirates for her! She’ll be the one taking you down one day.”

Luffy’s face scrunched up in determination “No! You’ll see! She’ll be a pirate! And she’s gonna be the best one there is!”

You chuckled softly at their bickering, watching as Garp playfully ruffled Luffy’s hair and then glanced down at Dawn.

“She’s got a strong spirit, though,” Garp admitted with a sigh, softening just a little “I can tell she’ll be a handful, just like her old man. But I’ll make sure she knows the proper way to punch things if she ever tries to follow in your footsteps.”

Luffy grinned, not giving up on his dream “I’ll make sure she’s ready to punch things too—pirate things!”

Garp snorted and let out a deep laugh “Well, kid, you’ve got a good one here. Just don’t be surprised when she ends up in a Marine uniform one day.”

Luffy huffed but looked down at Dawn lovingly “We’ll see about that.”

As the sunset painted the sky with hues of orange and pink, you felt the promise of a new journey unfolding, one with your family at the heart of it all. With Luffy by your side and Garp giving his usual advice, there was no doubt that little Dawn would grow up surrounded by love, adventure, and laughter, her own future as bright as the sun setting before you.

── .✦ Roronoa Zoro:

Your daughter, barely a few months old, has her tiny fingers wrapped around his index finger, her grip firm, almost unrelenting. Zoro raises an eyebrow as he tries to gently pull away, but she refuses to let go, her tiny face scrunching up in determination.

“Damn,” he mutters, glancing at you as you sit beside him, amused “She’s strong.”

You laugh softly, leaning against his arm “Like her dad.”

Zoro doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he watches your daughter with an unreadable expression, his free hand absentmindedly running over her soft, wispy hair. The moment lingers, quiet, thoughtful, before he finally speaks again.

“No,” he says, voice low “Like her mom.”

You blink, caught off guard by the sudden shift in his tone. When you look up at him, you see the way his jaw tightens, the way his fingers twitch slightly against your daughter’s back. He’s thinking about something serious. Something deep.

Zoro’s gaze flickers to you, intense in that way only he can be “That day…” He exhales sharply through his nose. “And not just that day. The whole damn time. Pregnancy, labor... all of it. I thought I knew what strength was, but I didn’t. Not really.”

Your chest tightens. Zoro isn’t one to put things into words often, but when he does, he means every syllable.

“I couldn’t do anything at all,” he admits, still staring at your daughter’s tiny hand around his finger “I just had to sit there and watch while you went through all of it. No fight I’ve ever been in, no injury I’ve ever had... it’s nothing compared to that.” He finally looks back at you, eyes dark with something raw “You’re stronger than me, y/n, believe me.”

You feel your breath catch.

It’s not just the words, it’s also the way he says them, with complete sincerity. Zoro, who has trained his entire life to be the strongest swordsman, means it. He believes it.

You squeeze his arm gently, your voice soft “Zoro…”

He huffs, shaking his head as if the thought still overwhelms him. Then, his expression softens just a little as he looks down at your daughter again. She’s still gripping his finger tightly, completely oblivious to the weight of the moment.

Zoro smirks faintly “She’s lucky to have you as her mom” he mutters.

You smile, warmth blooming in your chest “She’s lucky to have you as her dad.”

He doesn’t answer right away, but you catch the way his grip on your daughter shifts slightly, gentler, but still firm. Protective. Always.

She might have his strength, but Zoro knows exactly where it comes from.

And he’ll never forget it.

Zoro started to be protective towards her since you first announced your pregnancy.

He’s that type of super stressed dads who keeps running around following every single thing she does so that he can catch her if needed. All this with always a big blush on his face.

But it’s not that bad that he controls her bec, in fact, right now, your one-year-old daughter is standing in the middle of the deck, holding onto Luffy’s index fingers as he swings her back and forth like a human jump rope. Every time he lifts her up, she squeals in delight, kicking her little legs mid-air before landing on the deck.

“Again! Again!” she demands, her tiny fists gripping Luffy’s fingers with ridiculous strength.

Zoro, standing nearby with his arms crossed, scowls “Oi. Don’t drop her.”

Luffy grins, stretching his lips wide “Don’t worry! I won’t!”

You, sitting on a crate just a few feet away, shake your head with a sigh “She’s fine, Zoro. Look at her, she’s having fun.”

Zoro doesn’t budge, arms still crossed “She’s one wrong step away from flying into the ocean.”

Luffy gasps, looking at Kazuki with sparkling eyes “You wanna fly?!”

“Luffy, NO.” you and Zoro shout at the same time.

Kazuki claps her hands “Fly!”

“NO,” Zoro repeats firmly, glaring at Luffy “You are not throwing my kid.”

Luffy pouts “But she’s got a strong grip! She wouldn’t even let go—”

“Luffy,” you say, rubbing your temples “let’s not test her durability today, please.”

Luffy sighs dramatically but doesn’t argue. Instead, he lifts Kazuki up and plops her on his shoulders, holding onto her tiny hands so she doesn’t wobble off.

Zoro mutters under his breath but doesn’t stop it. At least Luffy’s holding onto her.

Sanji chooses this moment to stroll onto the deck, cigarette between his lips but dropping it as he walks towards Kazuki “There’s my little princess,” he coos, hands in his pockets “You hungry, sweetheart?”

Kazuki, who has long since associated Sanji with food, beams “Yummy?”

Sanji grins “The yummiest. I made you something special.”

Zoro immediately frowns “What did you make her?”

Sanji raises an eyebrow “Relax, moss-head. Just some soft fruit and rice balls.”

Zoro doesn’t move “You sure there’s nothing weird in it?”

Sanji bristles, instantly getting in his face “Weird? She’s a baby, you muscle-brained swordsman! What the hell do you think I’d put in her food?”

You sigh, standing up to intervene before they actually start fighting “Okay, okay, both of you calm down. Sanji, thanks for making her food. Zoro, you really do look stressed, why don’t you go take a nap? I’ll stay with her.”

“I’m good, I’ll go later… don’t worry” he says softly but still watches like a hawk as Sanji hands Kazuki a tiny rice ball. She immediately grabs it with both hands and shoves it into her mouth, cheeks puffing out like a chipmunk.

“Good?” Sanji asks, kneeling to her level.

Kazuki chews, sways on her little feet, then beams “Good!”

You smile and ruffle her hair “Say ‘thank you,’ Kazu.”

Kazuki tilts her head, then garbles around the mouthful of rice “Fanku.”

Sanji clutches his chest like he’s been shot “Ohh, my sweet little angel, you’re so polite—”

Zoro scoffs “Don’t act like you raised her.”

Kazuki points a chubby little finger at Zoro and proudly declares “Dada’s idiot.”

Silence.

Then the crew loses it.

Luffy collapses onto the floor, clutching his stomach. Nami has to lean against a barrel, wiping tears from her eyes. Sanji turns away, shoulders shaking with laughter. Even Robin chuckles from where she’s reading in her chair.

Zoro stares at Kazuki, completely betrayed.

You, barely containing your laughter, kneel beside her “Sweetheart, don’t call your daddy an idiot.”

Kazuki tilts her head, as if deep in thought. Then, just as serious, she looks back at Zoro and says—

“Dada’s big idiot.”

Zoro groans so loud it nearly rattles the ship.

Luffy wheezes. Nami nearly falls over. Usopp actually falls over.

You bite your lip, but it’s no use, you’re laughing too.

Zoro glares at all of you “I blame all of you for this... y/n, stop it”

Kazuki, sensing she’s won, lifts her arms up to Zoro. He sighs, scooping her up, resting her against his chest. She immediately nuzzles into his shoulder, letting out a happy little hum.

“Dada” she murmurs.

Zoro exhales, the corner of his lips twitching despite himself. He presses a kiss to her hair, murmuring, “Yeah, yeah. You’re lucky I like you, brat.”

You step closer, resting a hand on his arm “You love her” you tease.

Zoro scoffs “Obviously… unlike you, she doesn’t know what she’s saying”

You go and leave a quick peck on his lips “You’re my lovely big big idiot”.

He blushes like crazy.

Kazuki looks up, sleepy “Dada?”

“Hm?”

She grins “Dada’s big big idiot.”

The crew howls with laughter.

Zoro sighs so deeply, but even as the teasing continues, he holds Kazuki a little closer.

She’s happy, safe, and in his arms. That’s all that matters.

That afternoon, you find them sleeping adorably together, in the same napping position. Smiling, you take a blanket and gently cover them both. Zoro stirs awake, thinking the baby has moved, something that makes you smile even more, knowing how hard it usually is to wake him. When he sees it’s you, he reaches for your hand and quietly invites you to join them, pulling you in for a cuddle.

── .✦ Vinsmoke Sanji:

Sanji is soft with her.

Softer than you ever thought possible.

You watch from the doorway as he sits on the edge of your shared bed, cradling your daughter so delicately, like she’s made of glass. His thumb gently strokes over her tiny fingers, his breath slow, steady, controlled. But his eyes hold something else.

Something hesitant.

Something uncertain.

Your heart tightens.

“She’s sleeping,” you whisper, stepping closer “You don’t have to be so tense.”

Sanji barely glances up “I know.”

But he doesn’t relax. Not even a little.

Instead, he just keeps staring at her, as if waiting for something. As if at any moment, she’ll change into something unfamiliar, something he won’t know how to handle.

You sit beside him, curling close, resting your head against his shoulder. One arm wraps around his waist, the other reaching out to trace the soft fabric of the onesie your daughter is bundled in. She shifts slightly, making a tiny sound, and Sanji freezes.

You feel the sharp inhale he takes. The way his fingers twitch, just barely, as if bracing himself.

And suddenly, you understand.

“Sanji.” You keep your voice gentle “What’s wrong?”

He exhales slowly through his nose “Nothing.”

You don’t let that slide. Not with him. Not when he’s never been able to lie to you.

You shift, pulling back just enough to see his face “You’re scared.”

His jaw tenses, his grip on your daughter tightening the smallest bit “Of course I am,” he murmurs “I’ve never done this before.”

You shake your head “No, I know it's not just that.”

He doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t have to. You can see it all over him, the weight of his past, the fears he won’t say out loud.

So you say them for him... “You’re scared of being like him.”

Sanji flinches.

It’s barely noticeable. A fraction of movement, a flicker in his expression. But you know him too well.

“I’m not,” he starts, but his voice falters “I mean—I would never—”

“I know,” you cut in softly “And she’ll know too.”

His breath shudders “But what if—”

“She won’t be like them, Sanji.” You rest your hand over his, where he’s still holding her so, so carefully “And even if she was, she’d still be ours.”

Sanji swallows hard “I don’t want her to be cold,” he whispers “I don’t want her to feel like she has to earn love. I don’t want her to think—” He stops, jaw clenching “Like I did.”

Your chest tightens.

You knew. Of course you knew. You knew how deep his scars ran, how much he still carried, no matter how much love he poured into everyone else.

You squeeze his hand “She won’t.”

Sanji shakes his head “You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do,” you insist, voice steady “Because you are her father.”

That makes him pause.

“She’s going to grow up knowing love, Sanji. Because you give it so easily, so naturally. Because you would rather die than see her cry. Because when she wakes up at night, you hold her before I can even sit up. Because you—” Your voice wavers, but you press on “Because you are already the best father she could ever have.”

Sanji exhales, shaky, uneven. His grip on your daughter loosens just slightly, his thumb resuming its soft strokes against her tiny hand.

“She’s so small” he murmurs, almost to himself.

You smile, leaning into him again “Yeah. But she’s yours.”

That does something to him.

You feel the tension in his body shift, melting just a little. He looks down at your daughter again, something lighter in his expression now. Something less like fear and more like wonder.

“She’s beautiful” he breathes.

You kiss his shoulder “Like her dad.”

Sanji huffs, but you can hear the warmth creeping into his voice “I hope not. She deserves better than a troublesome cook.”

You nudge him playfully “She has a father who will love her unconditionally.”

Sanji doesn’t answer right away.

Instead, he shifts, adjusting his hold on her, drawing her closer. And when he finally speaks, it’s barely above a whisper, so quiet you almost miss it.

“Yeah, she has that.”

Your throat tightens.

You don’t say anything, just slide your arms around him, tucking yourself against his side, pressing a soft kiss to his jaw.

Sanji rests his chin lightly atop your head. He’s quiet for a moment, but you can feel the way his heartbeat slows, steadying.

Then, just as softly, almost like an afterthought, he murmurs, “I was easy to love. My father was just really bad.”

Your breath catches.

It’s not something he’s ever said before, not so plainly, not so simply.

But now, with his daughter sleeping in his arms, with you curled up beside him, with love so clear and so real around him, he finally believes it.

The fears won’t vanish overnight. The scars won’t disappear. But right here, right now, in the quiet of your room, with your daughter safe in his arms Sanji finally lets himself believe it.

He is more than enough.

And he always will be.

The next morning you wake up to chaos.

“Oi, oi, oi, CAREFUL!” Sanji nearly vaults over the table as Luffy lifts the baby girl high into the air, laughing as she squeals in delight “Luffy, she’s not a sack of flour, PUT HER DOWN!”

“She likes it, though!” Luffy beams, spinning in a circle with her in his arms “Right, mini-cook?”

His daughter giggling is the only reason Sanji doesn’t immediately drop-kick his captain into the next century. Instead, he clenches his fists and growls, “If you drop her, Luffy, so help me—”

“Oh, come on, love-cook,” Zoro snickers, leaning back against the railing “You’re acting like she’s made of glass.”

Sanji whirls around to glare at him “You grip your sword too tight, you sit too close, you BREATHE wrong, and I swear—”

“Oh no,” Nami sighs, crossing her arms with a smirk “We’ve lost him.”

Usopp nods dramatically “RIP Sanji. He used to be cool.”

Franky wipes an imaginary tear “Another victim of dad syndrome.”

Sanji ignores them, practically vibrating with anxiety as Luffy tosses the baby just slightly in the air before catching her again.

“LUFFY, I SWEAR TO ALL THE—”

You snort. Loudly.

And just like that, Sanji freezes.

His brain short-circuits because—oh.

You’re laughing.

Not a little chuckle, not a polite giggle. Full-on, tears-in-your-eyes laughter.

Sanji forgets about murdering Luffy, forgets about all the dumbasses around him, because you’re happy.

His shoulders drop. His fists loosen.

Then, as if sensing his shift, his daughter suddenly reaches her arms out for him.

Sanji immediately swoops in, taking her from Luffy and holding her close to his chest, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead “That’s enough flying for today, sweetheart.”

Nami smirks “Aww, the overprotective dad act is over already?”

Sanji barely reacts. Instead, he turns to you, watching the way you’re still wiping laughter from your eyes, and—

God.

If this is what family feels like, if this is what love feels like, then he never, ever wants anything else in the whole world.

[mscherub]

Hallo, if it’s alright could I request the Second Years (if it’s too many then just Ruggie, Azul, Jamil and Silver) x fem!reader who’s insecure of her belly pooch? Romantic please :3

To keep it kinda short, whenever reader sits/lays down she’s reminded of it, also holding her arms in front of her, slouching to try and minimize it. Trying various things to seem slimmer.

Feel free to delete if the topic’s too sensitive, but if you do thank you in advance!

A/N: AHHH HEYYYY!!! thank you thank you thank, my lovely, for this request. I smiled when I read it ngl. ANYWAYS. I added a few things, barley, just so I could get some storyline :3

Let’s see if my writing got any better cause like…man I’ve been struggling, lmao. I tired to keep it a little funny, that’s just how I write, enjoyyyyy.

Reader is Fem!reader, although I don’t use she/her, Fem!reader is heavily implied, called various pet names and Shrimpy (by Floyd)

Characters: Second years!

Tags: Belly pooch, Romantic ❤️, short headcanon list + fic, slightly and implied established relationship but not mentioned

Warnings:

Suggestive(possibly)???

(If suggestive it’s cause of the leech twins…)

Swearing

Talks about readers belly

Sensitive topic…

Spelling -_-

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Fem!Reader x second years

Riddle 🌹:

Riddle is indifferent to most things you do. You break a rule? No you didn’t…not in his eyes at least

Same rule applies with your body. Man will worship it if you just give him a chance— he thinks that way, but when presented he will back out

He doesn’t care so long as you’re happy and healthy ❤️

If you’re not happy then of course he’s gonna need to cheer you up somehow. He may not be a pro, but he’s determine

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Hello, my Rose.” Riddle smiles uncharacteristically wide. It’s funny to see such a big goofy grin on his face, but it’s the telltale sign that he’s just so overjoyed. “I’m very thankful you could finally attend an unbirthday party again. It has been a while since you’ve been able to.” Grim being Grim, zooms by and takes his seat, barely controlling his little paws from grabbing at every piece of food within sight.

Riddle brings you over to the decked out table, every other student who had helped to set up the party on edge and awaiting the cue for him to let everyone run loose. Riddle pulls out the chair for you, which was stationed right next to his, rightfully so, and then he begins the unbirthday party with a swift speech and the wave of his hand before he settles down in his own chair. Everyone scrambles about the table, loosely following etiquette as much as they can to stay in line, well, at least to a certain degree.

Laughter rumbles about, jokes are poked around, people eat with bright smiles, Cater snaps away at the confections before pushing the plate off to Grim then grabbing himself something other than sweets. At least they’re having fun…you sigh and lean forwards in your seat, idly messing with a sugar cube you had dropped n your tea and watching it dissolve.

“Do not slouch…bad posture can lead to many problems. Also, may I add that your elbows should be off the table. We’ve been over the proper etiquette, no?” He gives you a critiquing gaze. With him it was practically a sixth sense to correct anything out of the ordinary, but his words were not harsh as they usually were with others, they were just a gentle reminder out of care. You give a small nod and sit up straighter, well, as straight as you could manage while still trying to conceal your stomach. You fold your arms and attempt to cover it that way, it still looked a bit odd but it got the one done.

Riddles attention drifts off to the tarts, taking one down off of the display and placing it onto his plate and quickly doing the same for you.

“Oh…I’m not in the mood for a tart…not now.” You look away at a card tower to lessen the awkwardness. The silence between you two now is far from comfortable. You can feel Riddle boring holes into the side of your head with his incessant staring.

“Are you alright, my Rose?” He blurts out, the tart long forgotten on his plate.

“I’m fine.”

“It is against the rules to lie to the Queen. Do not have me collar you now. Come, let’s head to the rose gardens and discuss this. I will not allow you to dwell.”

“Riddle since when—“

“Follow.“

He gets up and offers you his hand. You take it and the both of you escape off for a moment.

“What’s the matter? Now do not lie.” He forces you to sit down on a bench with him, watching you do the same actions to cover your belly.

“Ok, geeez, chill out.” The exasperated look on your face says everything and gets him to shut up. “I just…I mean look. I was just trying to hide this flabby thing. So sorry for with messed up way I sit.” You gesture to your stomach, shaking your head and looking down.

He tilts his head, slowly, his brows quirking upwards and his lips pursing as he tries to understand. “I don’t follow, my Rose…what is wrong?”

“What’s wrong? My stomach…that’s what. Pokes out.” You murmur out weakly.

“How is that wrong? It is not healthy to be just skin and bones…muscle and fat is there to protect all the vital organs within.” He adds on.

“You don’t need to get scientific.” You roll your eyes.

“My Rose, you needn’t worry over such things. Why does it matter to you what others may think? It certainly doesn’t bother me in the least.”

“You’re…I don’t understand.”

“What? That you having a healthy body doesn’t bother me? Now why would it? I’ll always love you for you, my Rose. Get rid of whatever mindset you have about yourself, you’re…too sweet to let something like that affect you.”

“Riddle, honey…” you sigh. You lean in and kiss his cheek, earning that usual priceless reaction of him going as red as his hair. “Love you.”

“Love you always, my Rose.”

Ruggie 💰:

He doesn’t care. Like why would he?

In his defense, there’s more to love, and more to claim— WHO SAID THAT—

Loves you no matter what. You already like…belong to him, so why are you worrying?

His top priority is that you’re happy and not on the verge of wanting to kill him or throw him out, very important things

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Yooooo, baby, I managed to get leftovers from my shift at the lounge today, so we can cuddle and binge away, Shyeheehee!” He comes over to the bed with a bag and he plops it down, flopping down himself and sprawling himself out over the sheets with a small groan of pleasure.

“Cmere…we can watch a movie too if ya want.” He stretches his arms above his head and lets out a small yawn before sitting up quickly and practically ripping open the bag and pulling out multiple containers of random leftovers from the day.

“Sure…I guess. I’m not hungry right now, though.” You murmur, settling down next to him. Just out of insntinct you reach for a pillow and nestle it comfortably in your lap to conceal your stomach. You felt more covered and secure that way, and it helped to hide what you hated most.

“Baby, move the pillow, cmon, I need cuddles here, not that shitty thing. I swear that thing gets more attention every time you’re in my room instead of me, your actual boyfriend. I might start taking offense here.” He huffs, glaring at the pillow as if it insulted him itself.

“Huh? I…sorry.” You murmur out almost weakly, still reluctant to peel the pillow away from your body. If you did then, well, in simple terms you’d feel exposed. It’s not a thing your proud of—

“Hey…you ok?” The bed creaks slightly as he sits up and looks you dead in the eyes. His gaze is unwavering and he searches for something slowly within your pupils, trying to understand something deeper that you won’t even tell him.

“I’m good…”

“Don’t pull that. What’s up?” He shakes his head. “You know you can tell me anything, right? We build this relationship on trust and understandings.” He pushes a finger into the pillow and narrows his eyes at you.

“I’m not withholding any info. You’re just crazy.” You roll your eyes at his antics.

“You knew that when you started dating me. Baby, you know I love you for everything? Even if you steal my food…which you’re on thin ice there, but whatever.”

“Ruggie…”

“S. P. I. L. L.” He spells it out.

“Fine…I dunno. Just my stomach. I hate it, like it pokes out.”

Ruggie is silent for a moment, longer than a moment, maybe equivalent to a few minutes before he straightens up and gives you the most confused look you’ve ever seen cross his face.

“Ok? I don’t get it? Why do ya hate it? I think it’s hot. Andddd, bonus, great pillow. You shouldn’t care what others think…unless you’re trying to win their gaze?”

“Ruggie! No, that’s not what I’m…look it’s just something engraved in my brain. Can’t help it.”

“I’m messing around, it’s ok. Seriously, though, you’re gorgeous. Now shut up and let’s cuddle.” He moves the pillow away, and to prove his point even more, he settles down and wraps his arms around your waist, nuzzling his cheek right into your stomach.

“Fucking comfy. Now pick a movie…”

“I…you’re something else Ruggie. I love you and your stupid antics.”

“Awww, you do? Heyyy, I’m just playing. I love ya too, Shyeheehee! But I’d have to argue your boobs make a better pillow—”

“That’s enough out of you.”

Azul 🐙:

He’s been there before…he knows it well, that uncomfortable feeling of being in your own body

But you shouldn’t be thinking like that…

He loves you for you, and that’s all that matters, no? He just needs you to be the way you are

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The lounge is as busy as always and super loud with all the hustle and bustle and other students sitting and yapping away. You can see Jade and an unenthusiastic Floyd wiping off tables with a scowl on his face. You walk briskly past them, of course for your own sake so you don’t have to face the wrath of one of Floyd’s moods, nope! You choose life today, and you weren’t here to pay them a visit anyhow.

You knock on the door once, then twice, before you slip in seamlessly, shutting the door behind you with a click.

“Hello, my pearl.” Azul shifts in his chair, leaning back and taking a few documents with him in his hands.

“Working as always, I see.” It’s common to find him hunched over his desk running on fumes most times, though, he looks a little better than usual today. You sit down on the, still, stiff couch in his office. You lean forwards a bit and drape your hands around your stomach as you do so, an action you do without even thinking about it.

“It’s a must…of course to find better business opportunities, as well. I can’t pass up the chance, you know.” He spares you a small glance before he’s back to reading through the papers swiftly, flipping pages in a matter of a few seconds.

“What are those papers for, anyways?”

“The documents?” He asks. He finally takes a look at you, a good one, and he notes your posture almost instantly. “Bills and what not…the usual conundrum of running a business…” He sits back up and adjusts his glasses.

“Oh, mkay…” you purse your lips and look at the table in the middle, noting the never ending sea theme on everything in the dorm.

“Anyhow…I’m not so busy currently.” He stands up and walks over, taking a seat next to you. His actions are so smooth, the wrapping of his arm around your waist, but when you look at his face, the tips of his ears betray his true feelings as they turn a crimson shade. “I have some time to spare.”

He urges you to scoot closer and he tries to push your hand out of the way. “Azul…”

“I don’t mean to point it out…but I couldn’t help but notice the things you do…” he sighs and takes his hat off, pushing it to the other side of him on the sofa. “It’s most likely not the best way to approach a situation like this, but when I was younger I had the same posture to…lessen…the visibility of my stomach I suppose. But just no there’s no need to be self conscious about such…beautiful things.”

“Azul…don’t make me cry what the hell, dude…” how did he manage to be sweet but also kinda scary at times?

“I’m just stating a simple and obvious truth, my pearl. You don’t need to try and hide it. You’re amazing in every way imaginable, and you’re more than what I could have ever asked for.” He leans his head against yours. He locks his arm around your waist tighter and he turns his face away from yours. He’s embarrassed, but he’s trying.

“Your cheeks are beet red, honey—“

“Shhh, you’re imagining things.” He grumbles.

“Sevens I love you, you know that?” You murmur out, giggling quietly at the sight of him. He looks so stupid.

He chuckles and nods along to your words. “You make it an obvious fact.” His eyes meet yours again and the embarrassment fades into unashamed admiration and fondness. “I love you more, if not more.”

“It’s not a competition, Azul…”

“I know.” He stands up and walks back over to his desk. “Would you like to stay for a late dinner with me?”

“Sure. You’re paying right?”

“When don’t I…” he rolls his eyes.

Jade 🫧:

…

He likes it

Squishy, comfortable, adorable, that’s how he thinks, doesn’t show it per se, but the thoughts are persistent

I don’t know what else to say here so pretend I’m actually saying something factual yes yes yes. LOOK IM SAYING LIKE ACCURATE THINGS WOAHH

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jade links his arm with yours as he drags you off to his dorm room, his sharp teeth glinting in the hallway lights betraying his enthusiasm ten fold.

You had agreed for him to give you another tour of his newer terrariums that he had made, as well as his ever growing mushroom collection, and he’d be happy to show you that as well if you wanted to see it, just saying—

“My dear, I made one with one of the plants you had picked out…I must say it holds a certain charm to it.” He pushes open the door and lets you step in first.

He walks over and pulls it down off of his shelf that he kept his most prized ones poised on. He sets it down on the table and ushers you to stand by him with a small side glance. He never usually showed this much enthusiasm, but this time he was especially happy to be able to show you something he was proud of, the thing he made that represents you.

“Dear, whats you your input on this?” He already knew what you were going to say, his pieces were never not short of being pretty. It’s like he managed to shrink down an actual fairy forest and put it into a jar.

“As amazing as always…I know I say it every time, but I think this is your best one yet.” You nod.

“Would you like to try your hand in making one? I believe it would be a…what you call a bonding experience.” He murmurs. His hands idly grab items already.

“I don’t wanna mess it up.”

“Nonsense, I’d show you, of course. Though, it would be funny to watch you fail at such a simple thing.”

“You’re…weird.”

“As are you.” He retorts.

“Ok…why not. I’ll try it out.”

Jade nods curtly to your statement. You decided to just clear off Floyd’s side and take his chair, but before you can, Jade yanks you down into his lap and snakes his arms low around your waist, pressing right against your stomach.

“Jade!”

“What is wrong? I don’t see anything wrong?” Oh…that sly bastard—

“I could have taken Floyd’s chair—“

“He would not have been appreciative. Trust me.”

“Baby, no offense, trusting you is sometimes a bad idea”

“You’re going to make me cry.” He sighs and shakes his head. Of course he was just fucking around with you like usual. He always does it, but you’ve discovered it’s his way of affection, as awkward as it may be…

“I didn’t think by bonding you meant melding to me…” you grumble. His hands wander a bit across your abdomen, dancing about and tracing light circles and a few other shapes which suspiciously kinda feel like mushrooms, but whatever.

“It is nice to have you like this.” He nods. “I feel my body relaxing. How peculiar. Plus, you make quite the comfortable thing to hold. Especially here.”

Now he’s done it. His hands come to a halt on your tummy and he grins even wider. It was hard to tell if he was enjoying his absent minded caresses, or if he was just enjoying seeing you squirm and try to move away. Probably both.

“Hands off!”

“My, my…what are you so sensitive for?”

You stop moving. You slump your shoulders and accept defeat. There was no getting away from him in the start, anyways.

“What’s the matter with it?” He asks

“I just don’t like it.”

“Why?” Did he have to know just everything?

“I just don’t like it. That’s really it.” You repeat.

“And you think i wouldn’t like it? Opinions and bias can be skewed and differ from person to person. It depends on the viewpoint. It does not bother me, dear. Simply…enthralls me. Your beauty is certainly unmatched. You outshine many others.” He sets his chin on your shoulder and leans his head against yours.

He’s…being oddly docile.

“Need I go on? I have a whole mantra if you’re interested.” He smirks again, bearing his sharp teeth.

“I thought you couldn’t get any weirder.”

“You must not know who I am, then. I love you, dear.”

“Love you, too, Jade. Let’s start these terrariums then, shall we?”

“Of course.”

Floyd 🫧:

Squishy! (I can’t think of anything else being his mindset…)

He loves it. More to squeeze on ya, and that’s important

Cuddles are always amazing with you. He stands by that. Anyone else who says otherwise will get squeezed in the bad way, of course

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was yet another long day at NRC, running around, doing everything and anything for students, teachers, Crowley…anyways, and the last thing you wanted to do was get dragged around by Floyd, but, you know, he was, quote, “your main priority now”. You picked him, so now you gotta deal with him. Simple. So when you think you finally get a moment alone, you’re wrong. So wrong.

“Shrimpyyyyyy, cmon. Let’s have fun.” He giggles from behind, wrapping his arms around you tight and resting his chin right in the crook of your neck. “I’m bored…” He lazily traces abstract shapes onto your arm with his fingers.

“I can tell…I’m tired, though…I don’t feel like doing anything.” You shake your head.

“Still doesn’t mean we can’t have fun… Hmmm, I don’t wanna be walking around right now either…me and you should just go cuddle shrimpy. Come come.” There’s no room for protests with his words. He shimmy’s his hand into yours and holds on tightly. So now you’re being yanked along by Floyd down the path from your dorm to the mirror chambers, then into Octavinelle, and then right into his dorm room. Could have just used your room, but, it’s Floyd after all.

Floyd drags you down with him onto the bed with a muffled plop as the sheets morph around the both of your bodies. He pulls you against him, your back against his chest, and his hands wrap around your waist and rest right on your stomach…and if he couldn’t make the situation any worse, Floyd does what Floyd does, and he practically palms it through your shirt, an almost goofy grin spreading across his face.

“Very Squishy.” Of course his actions are…not exactly what you had intended, let alone wanted from him.

“And you’re very ignorant.” You huff, rightfully so, and try to move away, shooing his hands off of you.

“Hmm? Ignorant?” Floyd grumbles. “What did I do?”

“Move your hands somewhere else…”

“Why?”

“Because…it’s awkward. I don’t like your hands there.” He blinks a few times, really considering and weighing your words out in his head. You seemed mad— about his hand placement, nonetheless— he was confused, and him being called ignorant kinda ticked him off. He didn’t do anything bad! “What did I do? I didn’t do anything…just held ya? Is that against the law now?”

He sat up, then you sat up. He crossed his arms and then you followed suit. He didn’t like the mimicking.

“We’re supposed to have fun Shrimpy…not you being mean to me!” He pouts. His anger is building up, you can tell, and he’s honestly a lot less cumbersome to deal with if you just let him do what he wants instead of making him mad and then having to deal with a soured mood Floyd.

“I just don’t like your hands on my stomach. So drop it.” He sees the way you drape the covers over you so they rest in a way to cover up. He notices how you hunch over, now kind of looking like an actual shrimp…he narrows his eyes at you for one more moment before it finally clicks. He lets his arms back down to his sides and he smirks at you.

“Aweee, just like Azul when he was just a lil octotwerp! So self conscious about his little tummy!” He giggles. “Don’t be like ‘zul, Shrimpy, I like it. More to squeeze.” His sharp teeth glint in the light. “And if anyone else has anything to say, I dunno, maybe a bad thing, then tell them they can come to me for a lil chat.”

No other threats are made, so that’s good, but he pushes you back on the bed, hovering over you before he lowers himself down, resting his cheek on your abdomen. He gets all comfy, shifting around and— for sevens sake is this so embarrassing! Like what was he doing, what was he trying to accomplish—

“More to squeeze…and did I say bite too? Guess I just gotta show you how much I don’t mind it, huh? Silly Shrimpy. Heh…”

…

Oh.

Kalim ☀️:

Bro didn’t notice in his fits of admiration for you. Can you really blame him though? You are a work of art in his eyes, and on top of that, you’re his?

Like, you’re his to cherish and love? Say the word and he’ll spend millions

He wants you happy. If you’re happy, he’s happy, so, cue the confused nosies of Kalim when he says something, without knowing, that people find insensitive

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Baby!” Kalim hums happily. He swiftly approaches you in the hall of Scarabia, Jamil apparently no where in sight…oh that’s kind of concerning. Whatever, your with him now. The smile on his face grows even larger as he gets closer to you, of course that bounce in his step as clear as day.

“It’s been like…a day since we last seen each other!” A day, dude—

“Sorry, I’ve been busy.” You shrug. He pounces on you and laughs melodically, the blissful tone heightened.

“I could always help…or Jamil! I know how hard you have it , I think Jamil wouldn’t mind too much to help—“

“I think Jamil is busy enough.” He simply shrugs and giggles happily.

Completely ignoring any other words, he takes your hand and drags you off to the lounge. He throws himself down on the couches and hastily pats the spot next to him, to which you give a small nod and settle down on the cushions as well. He scoots closer and clings to you tight, his grip clearly showing he’s not going to let up anytime soon. PDA was a big thing with him, so…other students watched you two, and when they catch your eyes boring right back into theirs, they turn their heads and look away quickly.

“Your stomach when you sit.” Kalim smiles.

You freeze. Sure you loved him, but that was really rude of him to say…you pry him off of you and scoot away. Other students look over and snicker at Kalim’s “mess up,” though he didn’t know any better since everyone knew his social cues were in the lacking.

“Huh? What’s wrong?” His brows furrow in confusion and his head tilts.

“That was…kind of insensitive you know…geez. Didn’t have to say it outright. I’m gonna go…” you stand up but you don’t get very far before Kalim follows you like a lost puppy, sputtering out apologies in attempts to mend the situation.

“Wait! I’m sorry, what did I say? I’m sorry, please…” His voice is a quiet murmur and, sevens does that hurt you to hear him like that. You stop and turn to him. It was a sensitive topic…

“I know my stomach is…well. You know. You just didn’t have to point it out. Kinda rude…and I don’t like that.” You cross your arms. Kalim, in turn, tilts his head even more and seems horribly confused.

“What did I do? I just…”

“What you did was saying something super insensitive…around people too? Like…” you grumble. It was pointless trying to argue with him whenever he didn’t even know what he did wrong. Like talking to a brick wall.

“What? No, no, no, no, no, I didn’t mean it like that baby. That wasn’t…I think it’s cute! I love you always, no matter what! I didn’t…I’m sorry.”

You let the words sink in, but he continues to blab on to further prove his point, hitting you with the most fluff filled sentences ever.

“I love you so much it kinda hurts, and— you’re gorgeous! So, so, so gorgeous! You know what, I’d even love you if you were a worm.”

“Seriously, Kalim…” you finally crack. It’s comical the way he brightens up again at your positive feedback, so much so he pounces on you and tackles you into a hug. He wraps his arms around you tight and pours all the love he can muster into it…and it’s a lot.

“Sorry…but no, I mean it. Love you always…you’re my sunshine. You make me happy all the time and then I’m never lonely when I have you. I’d never say anything mean like that…I didn’t know you didn’t like it. Oh! What if I buy you whatever you want to make up for it? You’re budget can be any amount of money. Thousands, millions, billions—“

“Kalim…that’s not necessary.”

“But—“ he whines.

“I don’t need it. All I needed was you to understand and now you do.”

“Can I marry you now?”

“KALIM!!”

(After denying his offer to spend so much money on you, you could have sworn you heard a breath of relief that almost sounded like Jamil…)

Jamil 🐍:

Ok?

What he doesn’t care. More food tho?

Like all the other ones, he just wants you to be happy and content, for if you are that way, there is a less likely chance that he’ll have to also supervise you

He already has Klaim to deal with, don’t do this to him…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“When you said baking I thought I’d be actually helping you…not just sitting here.” You lean your elbows on the counter and glare at him with your bored expression. Baking with Jamil, sounded fun! And of course you’d bake with him, you loved him, but what you didn’t have in mind is that he’d force you to just sit down while he did all of the work…you wanted to pitch in at least a little.

“I’ve decided I just want you to sit there and look pretty while I do the work.”

“That’s not fair…I wanted to help.”

He smiles and looks back at you over his shoulder. He likes this sight, just you gazing at him. It’s something simple, the shared time you two partake in, that’s so special and dear to him. “It’s as fair as it will be. Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” He chuckles.

“Just sitting here is boring…I could be actually contributing to the cause of making cookies…” you shake your head. “Really, Jamil…”

He slips the tray with the rolled up balls of dough into the oven and closes the door to it with a clink. He’s quick to set the timer then wash off his hands.

“I don’t know why you’re complaining about having to not do work…” he hums softly as he dries off his hands on a stray towel before strolling over to you.

“Because I just wanted to help…baking is fun.”

“Just being able to talk to you without distractions is fun for me.” He smiles softly. He gently spins you around on the stool you were perched on. Your arms instantly fly to your lap to cover your stomach and you hunch over a bit.

“Oh, are you ok?” Jamil’s eyes go wide for a second and he looks you over.

“I’m fine…sorry.” You reassure him.

He goes silent for a moment, piecing things together but he doesn’t say anything else, instead, just wrapping his arms around you and hugging you.

“What’s up? looks like you have some things on your mind…” his words are softly murmured, his hands splaying across your lower back.

“You’re one to talk, honey…but I’m ok. I promise!” You smile.

“You do that every time I’m around you…when you’re sitting at least. I just wanna know if something’s wrong…”

Oh…well, ok then. Of course he’d pry into it…

“It’s nothing concerning you—“

“You’re important to me so it should concern me to a certain extent.” He pulls back and places his hands on your shoulders. “Now say it before I make you say it.”

That…threats from him were not nice. “Ok. Since you just have to know…i mean…look it’s a sensitive topic and I’m not proud, ok? I know it’s not—“

“Stop stalling.”

“I don’t like my stomach when I sit, ok? Happy? Now can we drop this.” You mumble.

Jamil cups your cheek gently. “It doesn’t bother me…it’s natural.” He shrugs. “And it won’t ever…I’ll love you always no matter what.” His cheeks flush with a small tinge of pink and it’s an adorable sight to see, and an even greater look to witness on him.

“You’re…something else.”

“I tend to have to be that way…I may not be the best at reassurance but…you’re always gorgeous in my eyes so…”

He moves his hand off of your cheek and he moves in to press his lips to yours, but—

The timer for the cookies rings and echoes throughout the room. Has it really been 30 some minutes already? Jamil gives you an apologetic smirk as he backs up and slips on the oven mitts before he pulls the tray out of the oven. It clinks against the top of the stove and he takes the gloves back off.

“They need to cool a little more…but they’re better when they’re still warm…do you want one?”

“Jamil, who in the right mind would say no?”

“Alright then…”

Silver ⚔️:

Pillow…OK IM SORRY

Another one that doesn’t care. Why should he? It’s not his body…and plus he loves you so much anyways

He’s here to protect you as your personal knight so let him do that :3

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The forest critters chirp and chatter about as you and Silver walk under the tree shaded path, flowers and other plant life dancing away carelessly in the wind. It was peaceful, walking around like this without a care in the world it seemed.

Silver wanted to show you the animal population around school again. You two escaped to just hang out with the animals for a little and bask in each others presence along with the wildlife. It was fun!

Silver‘s hand was intertwined with yours, and he drags you under one of the tall trees along the path. He settled down on the ground and you follow suit. Almost instantly, birds start to flock around and land on branches above your head, squirrels climb down and glance at the both of you, making small squeaks of acknowledgment and interest.

“This is always nice…” you murmur. A deer pops up from behind a bush in the distance and prances over.

Silver pulls out a small acorn from his coat pocket and hands it off to a squirrel that had jumped down and perched on his shoulder.

“There seems to be a lot more today…” he matches your tone of voice, keeping quiet and to set the example of not scaring off the animals.

“Mhmm…” The deer bends down and begins to eat at some of the grass. But, as usual, Silver yawns and you know your time with him being awake will be a little cut short.

“I’m sleepy…” his words are slurred and his eyes droop closed slowly.

“Do you wanna head back to your dorm then? Mine?” You suggest.

“I won’t make it…too tired.” He turns to you, and instead of leaning his head on your shoulder like he usually does, his head takes refuge in your lap and he pushes his face against your tummy, keeping his arms lazily wrapped around you. He yawns again, practically burying his face against your stomach. He places a few small kisses which do everything to make you even more embarrassed, and of course he’s oblivious to it.

“Love you…” he mutters. And then he’s out like a light in the matter of a mere second.

The varied array of animals also seem to quiet down, moving to rest up against you two. Bunnies hop over and move to rest along your legs, the birds quiet their chirping, the deer kneels down and rests its head on Silvers leg…the scene is surreal and comforting.

It’s no use waking him up. The situation is insanely awkward, but you don’t have it in you to wake him up, and you most likely wouldn’t be able to, anyways. Silver is smiling blissfully as he lays there cuddled up against you like nothing else mattered…and that tells you all that you really need to know.

I got it done somehow? I tried…sorry silvers was the shortest one. Anyways, LOVE U, MY LOVELIES <3

Master List

Please don’t steal or copy any of my work! You may, however, reblog if you’d want to!

Pictures belong to Disney Twisted Wonderland but are edited by me :)

[irregularcollapse]

Hiiii just wanted to pop in and say I watched Masters of the Air and I really enjoyed it! Wouldn’t have known about it/known to look for it were it not for you and I enjoyed spotting all the moments I remembered seeing you reblog gifs of as I watched it ❤️ you’ve successfully carried on the grand tumblr tradition of influencing people to watch a show with gif sets! I can’t decide yet if I want to read any fic for it or not but if I do decide to I’ll definitely start with yours 👍🏼👍🏼

This is SO exciting to me hooray! I've managed to trick a few people into watching MOTA because I knew they'd like it, and it feels like an achievement every time. There's a lot I really like about it as a show, but especially the core performances, and John and Gale as characters. Personally, it resonated with me more than other war shows I've tried to watch, which is just a matter of individual taste really. I'm as surprised as anyone to find myself writing fic about military men 🤪🤪🤪

No pressure to read fic at all (though it's very nice that you're considering reading mine waowww ty ty) but this message was a perfect reminder for me to do something that I keep forgetting to do because my brain is a sieve, which is to shout-out a few writers whose stuff I have been enjoying recently, who I haven't personally seen recc'd a whole lot and so may fly under the radar (not a pilot pun, I swear) if you go looking for other fics. Alphabetised!

@blixabargelds / hart who is not only a brave writer, but one who writes with raw vulnerability that makes each work a visceral, multi-sensory experience, and truly approaches writing with a purpose and intent which radiates off the page -- as do strength of concept and the truthful, emotional weight that sits behind everything Frankie writes

@constanthaunt / justfine whose writing has such a beautiful cadence and flow to it, and who has such a rich understanding of not only how to use these particular characters but of how people work, and produces writing with real emotional nuance and depth

@feyd-meowtha / feyd_meowtha whose writing has a heightened, shiny quality to it that I really want to spend more time delving into. There's a real sense of fun and playfulness in what I've read of their work, and a clear enjoyment of the texture of words

@pleasuretrade / PleasureTrade has big things on the way I'm sure, because the snippets I've read have a really deft command of interaction and dynamic -- such lovely character interplay that I can't wait for more of, and dialogue which settles so organically and authentically

@reallylilyreally / ReallyLilyReally whose writing has a warmth and affection for character in it that is lovely to read, and really demonstrates how observation and action are the best tools for constructing characterisation. I've found a real "slice of life" quality in what I've read of their work which is so clever and well-executed, and I'm so keen to read more

@shipstorms / ipsilateral writes with a precision of word choice that I appreciate so deeply, and everything in each sentence feels so well-placed, and in their work as a whole there's such excellent use of pacing -- every paragraph serves a purpose

@soliloquy-dawn / soliloquy_dawn is so lyrical and lovely, with a richness of style that poses a confident challenge to the misconception that all detailed writing is "purple prose" (simply not true!); to me, Dawn's writing shows that often more is more and immersion is achieved best through a luscious focus on detail

@weimarweekly / VoluptuousPanic is delivering a masterclass on character voice with Looking for Eight, with writing that balances interiority, experience, and visualisation in such a delightful way. There's specificity in vernacular which is so competent and impressive, and the flow from a sentence > paragraph > chapter level carries you along in such a natural, gorgeous way

For a relatively small fandom, the writing side is quite prolific! There's a lot getting written all the time and I know I find it hard to keep up (and am sure a lot of people do). This list is hardly a dent in what I've enjoyed and who I've read! But it's stuff that's dug into my brain in the best way.

[harmonysanreads]

Hiiiii! I saw your reblog on my Yandere Phainon and reading the tags brought smile to my face, thank you and I’m happy my work hit the spot 💖

I just wanted to say, the idea of Phainon like this is just sooo… 😩 I feel like Phainon himself is not aware he’s that manipulative or cruel towards reader, that it’s more of an involuntary thing (though he’s not an idiot either and knows how to coerce reader into his request.) I had this idea he’d be so obsessed with reader he’d romanticise everything about them without realising that there’s more complexity to reader’s problems, and with that, the fact that his words of supposed acceptance and forced-facing-their insecurities would be painful and not uplifting…

As you say, some people would have taken his words as compliment since they’re more subtle, but someone as insecure as reader would always be sensitive to any word and end up having their spirit crushed just like Phainon has crushed theirs with treating their insecurities as something only acceptable, but not desirable…allegedly not on purpose.

I just cannot stop feeling like Phainon is such a creep-feeling character to me in the game, that yeah, he’s nice and chivalrous, but it’s as if he’s one stop away from losing it all and that he’d be love bombing type until you no longer want to be separated from him, so I had to write him this way. I don’t know the kevin lore but Phainon really feels psychotic to me, felt that way during the quest, as if he lost a big part of himself.

I’m glad this interpretation of him was well received! I’m really curious how is it you perceive him yourself, even just as a character in the game and off fanfic.

The fic mentioned is this one. Do check it out!

That's... interesting. I agree with everything you've said but the Phainon giving you the creeps part really surprised me. So, that made me wonder whether knowing Kevin's lore from HI3 really does make a difference or not because, I've never gotten that particular vibe from Phainon. There's a bit of a distinction here which I'll clarify shortly.

Phainon's turbulent inner world is something that we all can agree on by now, especially since both Aglaea and Tribbie have talked about his preference for shouldering way-more-than-he-should very clearly. I've also mentioned the matter of identity crises in particular in a previous post back when 3.0 was still fresh. In 3.1's story, he honestly gave very ‘smiling through the pain’ vibes throughout. So, I completely agree with the ‘one step away from losing it all’ and I keep it in mind myself for when I write for him.

Phainon has lost pretty much everything. Even though he gained a new identity after becoming a Chrysos Heir, it'd never compare to his peaceful life in Aedes Elysiae. And even then, he's slowly having to let go of his companions to the prophecy, he's becoming alone all over again. At the same time, he can't bring himself to burden others with his problem, isn't that the least he should be capable of as a ‘perfect vessel for divinity’? But deep down, maybe, he yearns for someone to understand without him having to speak up, without him having to convey.

To talk about Kevin without spoiling the story, I'll need to quote Welt from back during the Penacony arc — that man was never a failure. Even if the decisions he makes are questionable and shady, at his core his sense of duty is pure. Perhaps that is why, despite noticing all of these things about Phainon, I have trust in him. He's so familiar, in a way. Amphoreus's story is long and Phainon will no doubt go through many unpleasant things, but I have faith that his intentions will not stray. He is and will be a true hero. Which is why, even if I write for him in certain ways, I'll personally never see him as anything truly sinister.

I've read another one of your works for him and there I noticed a reflection of this observation of yours as well. I'm by no means criticizing or discouraging it by the way! Your interpretation is what makes your writing for him unique! I just find the distinction that's appeared as a result very interesting.

[crk-kr-to-en]

Now that I've read the KR text of the game and fully realized who Shamil and Pyuba are actually supposed to be, I think of how many artworks and fanfics probably wouldn't exist if those people knew, too, and I both shake my head in sorrow and feel this little sardonic giggle bubbling in my throat lol. Lovely art and beautifully written fiction proudly depicting the wrong people as wrongly as possible. Would trading them all away in exchange for proper understanding of the true story and characters be a trade any of us would be willing to make? Just something to think about, I suppose I wouldn't miss most of it tbh. ShadowVanilla has mostly devolved into regular horny yaoi slop anyway

On another note, a big reason I've been struggling a lot with writing a ShadowVanilla fic I've had in my drafts for 400 years is bc I keep worrying that I'm writing Shamil "wrong". I kept leaning away from the silly clownish behavior+dialogue bc I'm not used to writing characters who sound... like that (characters like that usually irritate tf out of me lol). But now I see that I've been writing Shamil correctly after all - I've unknowingly been writing the Korean one and not the English one! I feel infinitely less dumb and useless now, so thank you x1000 for showing me I was on the right path all along 🙏🙏🙏 (thank you for your hard work doing these translation in general, they've been very enlightening)

No problem! Its always pleasure doing translations.

Fr fr. I barely even took so much from En Shamil when I made analysis posts about him back in Ep 7 release because his character still felt so underwhelming that I had to resort looking into the plotline, the emotions found in his trailers or the character design. (And in terms of fanart, I lonly liked the more serious depictions of his character before translating the Kr version.)

I will never forgive En localization team for removing MOST of the clues about Shamil's self loathing in Ep 8 to become some silly marketable character (I can't even explain how many times there is). And how they took away Pyuba's "Jesusness" despite being literal Cookie Jesus by making him sound overly polite and gentle through his dialogue, contrasting Kr Pyuba's stern kindness and sincerity. And Pyuba's Awakening title as well. The quality of being Compassionate has ALWAYS been present for him through all of the story. His entrie plot line in ep 8 was UNDERSTANDING Shamil, not pity him. "Let me be your... friend." and "I want to be your friend." are NOT the same nor they feel similar in tone. The former sounding like he's sorry for him, while the latter is a DESIRE and an invitation Shamil couldn't escape PERFECTLY MIRRORING Shamil's intentions of wanting Pyuba to stay with him forever.

SO MUCH in Ep 7 is so diluted as well and I hate it. The first translation I've actually seen was the part where En said "other half" when it's actually "lesser half" in Kr that I clocked that it's actually him thinking so highly of himself when he's clearly self-loathing (which perfectly fit into my favorite "Control Freak" character category paired with a "Hope Personified" character.)

People may like English Shamil's lore, but that's the DILUTED (and tumblr sexyfied™) version of him, meanwhile I come out of the Original Korean Shamil lore dragging myself across the floor covered in blood.

[tathrin]

So this thing is amazing, and I love the whole premise of it. However, my own focus in the fandom is very much on The Lord of the Rings books more than anything else, which leaves me in something of a pickle when I spin the wheel and get a movie-centric character whom I really don't know, and also has me lamenting the lack of chances to land on any pairs including my book-only blorbos.

So, with permission from @frodosrings, I have made an alternate version of the wheel that focuses primarily on the characters of The Lord of the Rings books. Check it out below!

Third & Fourth Age LotR Book-verse Randomized Character Pair Wheel

These are pairs mostly focused on people who were living and dying at the end of the Third Age/beginning of the Fourth Age... with a few folks from the Silmarillion sprinkled in for DramaTM and Fun TimesTM (and because several of said characters are likely to be alive again in Valinor eventually, where they'll be able to meet those of our heroes who get to/have to Sail).

There are more than 500 different character pairings available, so spin away and see what you get!

For the non-Third-Age-centric additions, I picked Silm-characters whom I thought would create interesting narratives/emotional journeys for our LotR heroes, because the focus of this wheel is on them—but I thought it was more fun if we got people like Celebrían and Celebrimbor and so-on to play with, too!

(There are also a few Silm-Silm character pairs, whom I admittedly was mostly thinking about in a Fourth Age/re-embodiment situation, but you certainly don't have to write them that way!)

As in the original list, not all of these randomized pairs feature characters who have an easy way to interact in canon—but who says you have to write strictly canon-verse? Go wild and make yourself an AU if you want! Or have somebody stray into a dream, or a liminal space where time folds in on itself, or maybe they meet in the Halls of Mandos, or drift off into a song that may or may not be really happening, or reflect on someone they know from history books/poems/songs, etc etc...

No limits, no holds barred. Take it seriously, make it crack, whatever suits! Write it, draw it, cross-stitch it if you want! This is all about stretching your creative muscles, so don't let me get in your way.

Your Quest, should you choose to accept it:

Write (or draw, etc) something the features the pair of characters you get when you spin the wheel. This can be anything, from a one-shot drabble to a 10k multi-chapter epic, a bullet-list of headcanons, an "incorrect quotes" post, a doodle, a painting...anything! Just make sure you're primarily highlighting the pair you spun, in whatever way you choose to do that.

Use the hashtag #tolkienrandompairs so that everybody can keep track of and enjoy seeing everything! If you prefer to post on AO3, please tag there as well, so we can all find your stuff.

nsfw fics/etc are allowed, but please mark those clearly to make this a safe event for everyone to participate in (and avoid awkward moments on public transport/work/etc!).

If your piece includes commonly-triggering material, again please tag or otherwise indicate that. (Do not c*nsor your trigger warnings and tags! That defeats the purpose of tagging in the first place, and prevents things like block-lists and filters from functioning!)

While you don't have to treat these pairs as ships, you certainly can; but let's have NO ship-wars or kink-shaming, etc! "Don't like, don't read" shall be the law of the land, and everyone shall live happily-ever-after whether on this side of the Sundering Sea or the other, thank you.

If you like something you read or see, please comment and tell the writer/artist/etc! Fandom should be a community, but if we don't communicate with each other, we're all just screaming alone in the dark. (Nobody wants to be Gollum! Please talk to your fellow fans so they know they aren't alone!)

There is no limit to how many times you can spin the wheel, and no cut-off-point for the event: keep spinning, and writing, and posting, and tagging, for as long as you wish!

Any questions about anything (or suggestions for other characters/pairs to add to the wheel), please don't be shy! You can reach out to @frodosrings as well, and many thanks to them for both coming up with this brilliant idea, and for being so willing to let me stick my fingers into the pie as well.

Now get spinning, and have fun!

[getocurse]

Hope there's more bottom or switch Tom Tomarry fics in 2025...

Dunno why Ham writers are often trolled and hounded.

How a fictional characters has sex is a creative endeavor and headcanon. Why take it so personally?

I hope so too! Bottom or switch Tom/Voldemort fics are so good and it'd be great to see more of them for sure.

It’s honestly wild how some people feel the need to bash others just because their preferences don’t match. Fan fiction is meant for people to write and read what they enjoy. There’s no reason to invade someone’s space when a take doesn’t align with your own. If something isn’t your thing, scroll past. No one’s forcing anyone to engage with content they don’t like.

Instead of bringing negativity into other people's spaces, it's easier to curate your own experience. Mute tags, avoid certain authors and stick to what makes you happy. Really not that hard.

At the end of the day, how a character engages in a relationship is all headcanon. There’s no universal rule for what's in character when it comes to fan fiction, especially for something so subjective and as personal as sex. The books don't even cover that anyway. Write what makes you happy, read what you enjoy and let others do the same. It's basic fandom etiquette.

On that note, let me just shout out my appreciation for the ham nation. It's beautiful out there.

[wow-an-unfunny-joke]

Is there a mechanisms discord server???? Im seeing stuff about a semi-official server, my current assumption is that there WAS and no longer is (they’ve been dead for five years so it makes sense) but im stalking the lore archive and seeing the silly memes and such and now im sad

[mist-fire]

It's been about a year, sooooooooooo, updates!!!

Below the cut!!

No Rose Without a Thorn by morningsound15

Can't believe I didn't rec this the first time! It's the fic with the most kudos under Thirteenrose, and for a good reason! Multi-doctor fic that has Tentoo changing alongside their alien counterpart in the alternate universe.

No Beginning and No End by BlueMargaritasAndYum

Sweet, fluffy multi-doctor fic where every time they regenerate, they go in to buy a new wedding ring, except they keep going back to the same store, sometimes multiple times a day.

when i lose my head, i lose my spine by tablox

I was so so privileged to read this as it was updating, and oh, what a magnificent story @tablox has spun for us. Set right after space jail, with a more realistic look at how thirteen might've reacted after being alone for over thirty years. A story about healing, about forgiveness, about reunions, featuring the TARDIS as a prominent character and Bad Wolf as Disability, two of my favourite things.

It Ain't the Being Alone by thegirlwiththeblush

Sweet, slightly sad closure with a pre-Doctor Rose having a conversation with Thirteen in a park. Gentle and kind and beautiful.

ephemera by tablox

I almost cried reading this one. Painful, unrequited love from both Yaz and Thirteen, but yet there's something so heartbreakingly beautiful about it all. Just Thirteen remembering Rose, thinking about what could've been.

These Old Bones by little_librarian

This is actually a part two to a series, and while I thoroughly enjoyed the first part, the second part is what truly struck a chord with me. Quiet grief and sadness, with Graham knowing too much, and Thirteen remembering.

Stolen Time by The_Lady_Siuban (Explicit)

Thirteenrose is lacking in explicit fics, but this one is lovely! Thirteen and Rose meet in multiple dreams, but it soon becomes obvious that these aren't just any dreams.

And as a reminder!!!

Pertinacia by Lumidaub

Still incomplete, but truly one of my favourite thirteenrose fics, the art is absolutely gorgeous and the amount of nuance and emotion that @lumidaub is able to capture in each panel never ceases to amaze me. I can't wait to see the plot unfold, as well as marvel at the worldbuilding, as it's some of the best I've seen for alien worlds! I get giddy when it updates, and highly, highly recommend it to everyone.

Finally, I feel weird about reccing my own fics, but here are a few of my fics that I'm the most proud of.

hold on tight to my memory, darling

My most popular Thirteenrose fic to date, and weirdly enough, the first one I ever wrote, back before I'd seen any of the show. I do think it stands the test of time and hindsight. Taking the fam back to Sheffield, the Doctor runs into someone she never thought she'd see again.

a rose for everafter, a flower for now

Hanahaki fic featuring enough self-loathing to choke on, as well as Ten, Eleven, Twelve, and ending with a reunion with Thirteen. Something I really enjoyed writing as well as getting to see inside the heads of each Doctor!

snarling heart, aching teeth

Now this? This is my magnum opus, my masterpiece, and I don't know how anything can top this. A Werewolf Rose-centric piece focused on her feeling of otherness, her confusion as why she doesn't fit into the life she thinks she should have, and her growth through and beyond the Doctor. Contains an epilogue featuring some tooth-rotting Thirteenrose fluff. Please read the tags and the notes if you are interested, as it contains some themes that might be triggering!

chasing you through the trails of time

This is my take on Rose and Thirteen meeting out of time. Closure that comes with the cost of angst and grief.

Thirteenrose Master Fic List

I'm aware of the fact that honestly, there's not enough fics for this ship (a tragedy) to warrant a master list, but I wanted to share some of my very favorite thirteenrose fics.

All below the cut!!

last sunrise in the wasteland, by Shaedan

A tragic, angsty fic of how Thirteen would handle being able to interact with Rose, one last time.

i'm on my own, you're at the beach hundreds of miles away, by thelemonisinplay

Rose only has 36 hours in her universe to solve a problem, and then she's heading home. Angsty lovely closure.

'cause I followed my star (that's what you are), by quantumshade

Lovely little one-shot, where instead of regenerating into Ten during the Christmas Invasion, the Doctor regenerates into Thirteen.

A Door Once Opened, by BlueMargaritasAndYum

Rose comes back, but she's got a wedding to attend to, and what better way to do it, then have the Doctor be her fake girlfriend. Super sweet, soft fic that I loved.

Back Here in Another Universe (After All You've Been Through), by regenderate

Fantastic reunionfic one-shot, that I have no notes for. It ate that up.

Pink and Yellow Roses, by CupofSonic

Another by CupofSonic! Multi-doctor one-shot, ultimately ending with a thirteenrose reunion. Beautiful prose and an excellent understanding of the characters.

I'll Take You There Someday, by Allamarain

You want Thirteen pining after Rose, even after thousands of years? Look no further than this angsty hurt filled one-shot that breaks your heart in the best of ways.

The Reason (Is You), by MarbleHeart

Featuring two of my favorite tropes: Thirteen looking like Rose for a reason, and a reunionfic! Gorgeous fic!

Heal Thyself, by Allamarain

I love Tentoo as much as the next person, but what if he was too much? What if Rose couldn't fix him? This explores that, in the first longer form story yet on this list!

One Ring to Bind Them, by CupofSonic

Multi-doctor fic that has them mourning over Rose, until suddenly, they don't have to mourn anymore.

You're So Northern, by MiJasmine

What do I need to say about this? Short, soft, fluffy reunionfic!

i had a feeling so peculiar, by tablox

Love the hints of Bad Wolf throughout this one! The Doctor is searching, but can she find Rose? Reunionfic

Here I Love You, by Maiden_of_the_Moon

A desperately mourning Doctor talks to sixteen year old Rose in a club. ANGST fest galore, but beautifully written.

It's Me Here, Riding A Light Through The Universe, by Allamarain

What if Rose had never met the Doctor until she was twenty three? This story explores that! Another long form fic by Allamarain that I THOROUGHLY enjoyed.

You Will Find Me Time After Time, by mltrefry

This is seriously one of my favorite thirteenrose fics ever. When the stars never went out, Rose was trapped in the other universe, but now, for a completely unrelated problem, she has returned. Will she meet the Doctor? Another longer one!

When The Chaos Calls Me Out, by Melusine0811

Thirteen follows the ache of a broken bond to Pete's World, where she finds Rose alone and hurting, the Metacrisis nowhere to be found. What's an alien to do? Longer form, and absolutely brilliant!

i wished on a star (it brought me you), by rcsetyler

Broken and alone in Pete's World, Rose tries to find the one person to lessen her grief. A wonderful reunionfic.

come on, come home to me, by nounpolycule

Short and sweet reunionfic of what might've happened if Rose was stranded in the same place the TARDIS had stopped.

Pertinacia by lumidaub

The first incomplete and first comic of this post, but don't let that dissuade you! This comic is gorgeously drawn, with just the right amount of ridiculousness. Very excited to see where lumidaub takes it next!!

your bouquet of golden roses, by lifeitself

Also incomplete, and unlikely to be finished, but truly one of the most gorgeous and well written pieces of media that I have had the fortune to consume in the past few years. The last chapter is a decent enough stopping point, and the story and prose itself are so so worth it.

a collapsing star, by sunshinemachine

A little twisted and convoluted in the best of ways, this is an angsty one-shot that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

No More, by Singing_Siren

What can I say other than a masterfully executed reunion one-shot!

World in Flux, by withthekeyisking

Rose takes a bit of a unique path back to her original universe, but she muddles along the best she can, hoping to eventually find the Doctor. Great one-shot!

Interwoven, Entangled, by regenderate

Multi-doctor fic showing how Rose fits in with the rest of the Doctors, featuring one of my very favorite hcs, Bad Wolf as Disability!

forever (wondering if you knew), by sherlgrey

Silly little multi-doctor speed dating fic, and ends with some gorgeous thirteenrose.

[keferon]

Two Peas in a Pod: part 4/?

Hopefully the dialog isn't confusing.

______________________________

"Still dizzy?" 

"Not really," Jazz answered with a comfortable smile, though stole a quick glance over to the gate. The first since Blaster had arrived for the morning routine. The other mer wasn't awake yet last he saw, but he was shifting more. The medication had obviously long worn off by now, but Jazz still hoped they weren't in too much pain. 

But Blaster noticed and it prompted him to pause his checks to ask, "did he wake up last night?" 

"Kinda? He could have been talking in his sleep though." 

"Hm, there's a good chance he'll be up soon, then." 

Jazz's expression of his usual cheerfulness shifted, just slightly and if it had been anyone other than Blaster, they would have missed it. He flipped the clipboard over in his lap and rested his elbows against his crossed legs. 

"You're nervous," Blaster pointed out gently and gave Jazz an encouraging smile. "Is this about their injuries, or is this about making a friend?" 

The mer's face soured and he looked away. "I thought I wasn't supposed to ask." 

"That was about the gate, and I'm sorry about that." It was just the two of them on the pier, but Blaster still practised a surveying sweep of the area with what looked like stretching. Then with a lower voice, he continued, "The Vet Chief wanted to fully isolate them from you, to keep them in a transfer-crate, at least until the injuries had a low risk of reopening. I argued that it would put them under a lot of undue stress, and you because you knew the Mer was here. Which is part of why it took so long for–" 

"–and it's fine to say this now?" Jazz snapped and turned back to him with a small scowl. 

"Jazz, how many staff members were in your area yesterday? When we talked about the gate?" 

He paused, trying to recall. Blaster was with him and the group that went into the bay had five… seven? 

"There was thirteen, Jazz," he supplied, knowing that any answer coming would be incorrect. It was a lot of people, and with Blaster already known for making waves on the regular, the sudden addition had eyes and ears on him. That, and because he had fought so hard against the 'great idea' brought up in the first meeting after emergency treatment had ended. "You didn't even clock the vet on standby at the pier entrance." 

Jazz huffed and laid out flat, resting his chin on his crossed arms. Okay, so he wasn’t paying attention to who was around. "Then what is it about the gate? I get the bit about climbing the walls, but…" 

"That one is on me, I was – am – being overly cautious. Not of you, but of others misunderstanding your excitement or anxiety as aggression. And I know how persistent you can be when something catches your interest. But that's not the point, what is, is that if the team reports you showing signs of aggression, they'll… remove him." 

Now looking worried, Jazz glanced from Blaster to the gate. "But what if he shows aggression?" 

"We're expecting that, at least at first." Blaster wanted to reassure him, but there were still too many unknown variables. "Unknown place with an unfamiliar face, and likely limited communication. There is bound to be backlash." 

Jazz looked down with an expression of growing despair, before dropping his face against his arms. His words muffled, "so whether he stays or not depends on me being able to talk with him." 

Blaster reached out and placed his hand on the orca's shoulder. "Listen, buddy, this might be hard to hear. But let me explain, okay? … So far it looks like there are no issues and the current plan is to have him released once he recovers." As he feels Jazz tense, Blaster frowns in understanding and begins to rub his shoulder to comfort him. "There is only one reason that the aquarium wouldn't go through with it, and honestly, I don't want that to happen. It's all sorts of fucked up and would only make things worse– but I don't want you to distance yourself from him. I want you to try and befriend him." 

"… why," Jazz asked weakly, cursing him for telling him the truth – for reminding him of the truth – for breaking his small piece of hope of not being alone anymore. If he was going to be taken away, if he was just going to lose him no matter what, then it would hurt less if he just ignored him. 

All sorts of answers bounce around in Blaster's mind. From wishful thinking – because I want you to go with him. To long term goals – anything we could learn could help Mers everywhere. But he settled on as close to the truth as he could. "Because I'm trying to make sure that no matter what happens, it's the best result for both of you. But I can't do that if the two of you can't at least work together. So, I'm asking you to try." 

"Right," because he doesn't need to be kept here to survive… he just needs time to heal. Where I – "–right. Okay, I'll try… but where do I even start?" Jazz took a deep breath to compose himself before he lifted his head. 

"Well, why don't we see if sleepy-head is waking up? Maybe he'd like breakfast." Blaster offered, first with a reassuring smile, but then twisted it into something more mischievous. "And maybe you could find out if he's got a beautiful name, too." 

It took a second to realize what Blaster was getting at, and for the first time in his life Jazz felt bashful. "W-what are you talking about?" He hid it terribly. 

"He's beautiful~" he whispered dramatically, and Blaster learned that mers could in fact blush. 

— 

When Blaster left to get food for the wild mer, Jazz calmly made his way over to the view port. Only to be taken by surprise, he was looking directly at Jazz. Though, glaring, might be more accurate with how his face was pulled tight with focus and the sheer intensity of his stare. 

But otherwise, they were completely calm. Jazz wasn't sure if that was a good sign or bad. Yet, it didn't stop his nervous excitement from returning. He waved with one of his best smiles – one without teeth – and greeted him with a friendly, "hello!" 

What he got in return was a slightly more intense furrowing of their brow – irritation or confusion? 

"Oh! Sorry, habit." Jazz switched to mer. {Hi!} 

The tension didn't leave his face, but there was slight movement and, again, Jazz didn't know how to interpret that. But he did answer, {||၊|။||||•။၊|။|။|၊|။||၊၊၊|?} 

"Uh…" Yep, didn't understand any of that. 

Then the door opened on the edge behind them and Jazz for a moment thought that it would startle the wild mer. But they didn't even flinch. And while their eyes remained on him, Jazz was fairly sure now that they had been using their sonar to track the human's movement. 

"Are they still asleep?" Blaster asked, puzzled. 

"Nope, very much awake." He shifted lower to try and get more than the man's boots in his sight. 

"Ah…" He sounded uneasy and began to make small careful steps around the edge closer to Jazz while he spoke as calmly as possible. "Well, I'm going to keep talking, just so you don't think I'm trying to sneak up on you." 

When he reached the point where he was straight across from the wild mer, they lifted their head to turn their glare on the human. Blaster to his credit did not flinch, but he did freeze. "Whoa– that's – wow, t-that's quite the look." 

A series of slow clicks came from them, but their lips did not move. Jazz didn't think it was echo-speak, as it reminded him of his own searching clicks when he was trying to get a better picture. "Oh! I think he's trying to see what you have." 

The wild mer glanced to Jazz, becoming silent once more before looking back up at Blaster. 

"Fair enough, alright new buddy, I'm going to be real slow about it okay?" Back to narrating his actions calmly as he knelt down. Showing the long pole with a thin, blunt hook, "just an arm I don't mind losing if you decide that you don't like the breakfast I brought," and poured out the fish from the bucket. 

Still the wild mer glared, unblinking and watching every little movement. 

"Okay… I'm not sure what to make of this, so far everything has been nothing like previous encounters." 

"Ya, didn't you say he'd be freaking out?" 

"You got anything to calm or reassure our new buddy here that I ain't going to hurt him?" Blaster was doing his absolute best at trying to remain calm, but even his hands were starting to tremble under the pressure the wild mer was giving him. He wasn't even moving, just watching, but it felt like the human was being stalked. 

Honestly, Blaster was probably one bad move from being lunged at. Though, if that was the case, he had maybe one chance to get away. The hammock would throw him off on the first strike, the supports could probably take two or four hard thrashings before it snapped under the mer's strength. Injuries be damned, this mer was in peak physical condition. 

Jazz gave a small chirp to try and gain the other's attention, and failed, but continued with trying to talk. {It's okay, you're safe.} 

He was given a very tiny dip of his finial facing the gate – a tell that he had heard him? 

{You're safe,} Jazz repeated. 

The mer didn't look away, but he did at least respond. {•၊၊|•|၊|။။၊|။•|||။||||။၊|။•၊၊||၊|။||||။•၊|။•၊၊||၊|။||||။၊|။•} Though, far too fast for Jazz attempt to understand. 

"I'm hoping you two are talking about your favourite fish." Blaster joked to cover his nervousness. 

Jazz sighed and admitted the truth, "I haven't a clue to what they're talking about…" 

"Just let me know if I should run, kay?" He shifted slowly on his knees, trying to find a comfortable spot without making himself too vulnerable. 

But Jazz hadn't given up yet. {Hungry?} He tried instead. 

More chirps and clicking that didn't translate. 

{Hungry? Yes? No?} 

The heavy huff that came from them caused Blaster to flinch, but the mer finally focused on Jazz. There was clear irritation in their face now on top of glaring. And the damns broke, he started ranting at him loudly. 

"Hey, don't yell at me, I'm trying okay!?" Jazz glared back, not backing down. Though wasn't all that intimidating with him just having a little porthole to look through. 

"Jazz, buddy, please don't aggravate him." He, after all, was the one in the room with the wild mer. 

"He fuckn' started it!" 

Silence came quickly as the wild mer plunked his face into the soft floaty that had been his pillow. Blaster would have found it utterly hilarious if not fearing for his life currently. With another heavy and long huff, the wild mer looked back at Jazz, still glaring, but slightly less than before. {•|||။||||။၊|။•၊၊||၊|။? Yes? No?} 

Jazz blinked at him for a moment, depending on the question, no could be a yes. {No…?} He answered tentatively instead. 

{It's safe? Yes? No?} And he pointed his nose towards Blaster briefly, but clearly wasn't happy about it. 

{Yes!} Jazz nodded vigorously and smiled for extra encouragement. Out of all the staff, Blaster was safe, Jazz held some trust in the human after all. {[Blaster] safe.} 

"What about me?" 

"He asked if you're safe and I told him you were. Relax a bit or something to show him." 

Easier said than done. Blaster cursed, but did his best to ease the tension from his shoulders and smile a little. Even, daring to slowly lift a hand to wave. 

The mer did not seem convinced, but his glare lessened some more and looked over the human with more curiosity than before. 

{Hungry? Yes? No?} Jazz tried again. 

There was a long pause, but they sighed and answered. {… yes.} 

"Progress!" He cheered and then stuck his hand through the little window. "Blaster, hand me one of the fish. He's hungry, but I have a feeling that he'll trust you more if he sees me eat what you have." 

"Okay." He made sure that it was clear as possible what his intentions were. Taking a fish under the gills, Blaster looped the blunt hook in and out the mouth. Then, very slowly, began to feed the length of the pole towards Jazz's waiting hand. Once Jazz felt the tail touch his palm, he grabbed it and waited until Blaster twisted enough for the fish to slip free. Then the pole was just as slowly drawn back. 

The whole time the wild mer watching the exchange intensely. 

Jazz pulled the fish over to his side, chirped for the other's attention before he swallowed it whole. Smiling once more as he said, {safe.} 

Blaster had to admit, he was surprised when the mer shifted slightly in the hammock, and then cautiously held out his right hand. The glare never left, but this one felt like a threat, that if he messed this chance up, there would not be another. 

Though this was the first time Jazz had been able to see any of his injuries. The colourful tape-bandages almost covered every inch of his skin from his hand up to his bicep. It reminded him that just yesterday he had been mortally wounded. Which was probably a key reason the wild mer seemed so calm, they had only started to recover and every action was either painful or exhausting. Likely both.

Jazz watched closely as Blaster went through all the careful steps as he had with Jazz and held the fish out. The only difference, was that the human's grip was loose, just in case the wild mer decided to try and yank him into the water with it. But they didn't, doing exactly as they saw before, allowing Blaster to release the fish and retreat. The whole process was so slow that the wild mer's arm started to shake from being held out. 

But both Jazz and Blaster let out a breath of relief as there had been no backlash. 

He eyed the fish in his grip with a mild sneer before he swallowed it and then held out his shaky hand for another. It was clear that the pain was getting to him, but nothing in his expression showed weakness. 

The feeding got easier and quicker as Blaster relaxed a bit, not fearing that a normal pace would come off as threatening to the wild mer. 

When the shaking got bad enough, the mer rested his arm back in the hammock, but kept his eyes on the remaining fish. As if to convey he wasn't finished, just needed a break. Blaster was more than happy to comply and gave him a few praises, even if they didn't understand. 

"Hey," Jazz called gently, chirping for the other's attention. He waited until they looked his way, then pointed at himself. "Jazz," and then to the human, "Blaster," and back to himself once more, "Jazz," before pointing to the other mer with a questioning tilt of his head. He hoped it was clear what he was asking for. 

When the silence stretched on for a bit, the human also joined in. "Blaster," to himself and to his mer, "Jazz." 

There was a brief moment that Jazz could see that they were working over something, opening their mouth a few times before the sound of a sharp zip came out. "… 'tzz?" 

Jazz snorted, before breaking into a few chuckles. "Ya, missing the Ja, but you'll get there. I'm Jazz." He placed a hand over his heart. 

The gesture was reflected, {•၊||၊။} 

It was his turn to try and work out the sound in his head. Jazz tried the word out soundlessly on his tongue once. It was like a popping roll? {•၊||၊၊၊၊၊?} 

{•၊||၊။} they repeated, firmly correcting him. 

"Nice to meet ya, {•၊||၊၊၊၊၊}!" While the mer scowled at him for not even trying to fix his pronunciation, Jazz just smiled brightly.  

"So... what is his name?" Blaster asked for a translation, very interested in the development between them.  

Jazz laughed, "I have no idea." 

______________________________

Don't ask about my attempt to make sound-wave-like-text, it's gibberish, lol, and going forward only •၊||၊။ (Prowl) & •၊||၊၊၊၊၊ (Prowler) will be used until Jazz has a English (common?) name to attach an understanding to.

Keferon, I just wanted to say that every comment or tag you leave on the fic is like serotonin being injected into my veins. Every silly little image is like rolling down a grassy hill in the warm sun while I laugh with manic joy. When you add art, it's like an adrenaline shot to the heart that makes me want to run across the globe just to frantically wave hello with both hands, give you a hug and run back to get started on the next part.

And the next part will be Prowl joining Jazz in the main pool and Jazz learning just how fast he is, even while injured. >:)c

-GLC

𓆝 Previous 𓆟 Next

---------------------

Me looking in my inbox and seeing that there's two peas in a po

Odjndgdjdkfhdkm PLEASE. Blaster is so nervous EVERYONE IS SO NERVOUS Ooohhhnooo he's gonna freak out and kill everything he can reach oh no we all know how all those wild stupid creatures are oh no watch out While Prowl is trying to blow their pancakes with mind

And I juswannasay I love it so much ehehejgknfbfkdn THE SOUND WAVE SPEACH? I LOVE THE LOOK OF IT EHEHEH

Always a big fan of creative ways of showing imaginary languages. This thing?? ||ll•|Il It looks hella stylish >:O

Aaannnndd I got excited and made some art hehe

[kaisollisto]

“Are you here?" Ava barely breathes it, there's a tension in the air that she can't recognize, an energy that squashes her. Her throat feels scratchy and she can feel the Halo slotted between her shoulders. Ava's flat on her back head turned to look over at Beatrice. She feels wimpy like a stomped flower, her left arm dangles dangerously close to Beatrice-territory. She wants to reach out, to touch Beatrice to confirm that she's here but something stops her. She feels so silly, she could easily shift over to touch Beatrice, shake her gently and - 

Beatrice slides over, a firm sleepy sister warrior knife wielding badass with frumpy hair poofing from what remains of her low bun. She moves towards Ava, inches away from her but moves to answer her. It’s rare for Ava to see her like this. Beatrice is clearly fighting sleep, rubbing her eyes and doing her best to move in hopes that it’ll shake the sleepy spell. 

She’s dressed in one of Ava’s ugly loose white shirts, a huge bass clashing with faded big blocky lettering that just reads “FISH”. Beatrice had looked at her weirdly when Ava had dug it out of the bins at a thrift store disheveled and ecstatic. 

Ava had spent hours coaxing her into it doing her damn best to hide Beatrice’s laundry when she wasn’t looking. It fills a warm feeling in her chest and Ava wants to burrow further into it. It was a fool proof plan. 

Ava found her shortness made it exhausting to reach up towards the Beatrice-level-cabinets. The halo pulls at her pinching and knotting up the muscles in her back after a long day of training. She feels it alive within her, an uncomfortable reminder sealed inside her back. 

At the end of the day Ava settled on hinging at the waist. She had slowly started integrating Beatrice’s sleep shirts in cabinets that Beatrice had to bend down to reach. Ava always tried to situate herself at the scene of the crime doing her best to seem inconspicuous while she leaned over hungry for Beatrice’s reaction. Ava thumbed her findings down in the recess of her mind, her finger tracing over it in a hurried desperation. The time would pass and she did not want to forget. 

(It helped, the imagery of Bea’s furrow when she would find her sleepwear underneath the sink when Ava would have to tuck her spine into the halo as she placed the shirt somewhere clean.) 

Thanks to her genius planning Beatrice had finally caved and worn Ava’s huge “FISH” t-shirt after weeks of her persistence. She looked adorable, she was drowning in it and constantly tugging at it. She had found Beatrice loved to tuck it into the band of her sleep shorts creating puffy funny creases distorting the text even further to say “FSH”. It looked so ugly and old and endearing. 

She looked out of her depth and it made Ava’s heart thump funny. Beatrice with her weird posh mannerisms combined with the peaceful unguarded look when she slumbered made her feel hot all over. 

It was the prospect of the future, a glimpse into her life with Beatrice, of when they would grow old together. It shakes her, the idea that Beatrice will get wrinkles with her. She takes it seriously, a study that she isn’t well versed in but preparing for. It is a long hard internal debate flipping between what wrinkles will show first. Ava selfishly hopes it’s smile lines, that Beatrice will smile at her as much as she does in secret. She’s happy to be wrong, Beatrice’s forehead crinkles have always been cute. She hopes that Beatrice never stops looking at her, thinking of her. She wants to spend a long time being the source of her wrinkles. And just for right now she can handle the role of being just her friend. 

Beatrice blinks one eye open, the other pressed against the pillow as she stifles a yawn. Her hand blocks her mouth in a delicate way and Ava can see her nails are short and uneven in places. Ava wishes she could touch them, study them in a way no one has done before. She wants to press against Beatrice hard enough to watch her skin fold around hers. Some sort of truth that she was here, that she is here. 

Beatrice scoots over slowly, her elbow tucked under the pillow. She stops inches away from Ava, a frown set in her jaw. Ava mirrors her position albeit more awkwardly and more wiggling than Beatrice’s but she finds a place where the Halo won’t bite her back. 

“I’m here,” Beatrice murmurs it, a quiet thing between them. 

Ava closes her eyes hoping Beatrice won’t notice her shakiness. She blinks a few times before she presses closer, the arm she’s laying on moving to support her head underneath the pillow. 

There’s so much to tell her, anything and nothing at all and Ava doesn’t know where to start. It constricts her throat, the constant stream of consciousness from inside of her heart. It’s horrible and she can’t stop it as the feeling balloons inside of her lungs. Ava wants help, she so desperately wants to feel okay again, to feel anything other than the stupid fucking halo. It grates on her nerves and muscles, a burning hot metal ring poking and prodding at the entirety of her upper torso. It leaves her reeling, a sort of anger that beckons for her to hurt (hurt something, hurt someone, hurt), disregarding the aftermath of tears and shame. 

Ava is sure she’s shaking, a layer of sweat gathers between the space of her shoulder blades as the Halo lights up with her inner turmoil. It’s a faint pitiful thing that Ava would be ashamed of if not for the bone aching tiredness. 

She wants to say she’s sorry the words clawing their way up her throat and it feels wrong to feel anything but that. There’s a sort of unspoken shame that haunts her with the Halo. It’s a thing she’s known long before any of this. 

Beatrice drags her out of her turmoil with her hand hovering near Ava’s pinky. She has a gracefulness to it, like she has practiced it a hundred times over. It’s weird, to be in a bed, a soft and lumpy bed looking at Beatrice. Beatrice with such plain features and subtle cheekbones that Ava can’t stop looking. It pays off, watching Beatrice, Ava knows it when Bea smiles a grin too wide for polite acknowledgement and Ava can see her dimples pronounced. 

“Can I?” Beatrice’s finger lingers near her hand, a hovering itch that Ava needs scratched. It’s so wholeheartedly Beatrice that Ava can do nothing but nod. Something inside of Ava aches harder than the rest of the organs inside of her. It’s the unwavering crushing thumping feeling that squeezes around her heart. The sincerity of Beatrice. 

She places her hand over Ava’s and squeezes her gently. Beatrice’s hands are firm and soft. She can feel the callouses on her palms prodding at the back of her hand and wonders if Beatrice has ever had them fade away. If she’s had the pleasure of unscathed palms. Her hands are warm but not sweaty, not like Ava’s.

Ava can’t feel Beatrice’s pulse but she tries her best to match it. She imagines it would be a slow melody playing a duet with a classical track. Some sort of tune that spurs comfort or a feeling of nostalgia. She briefly wonders if Beatrice listens to music, if she seeks out music that has spoken to her. If there was a song that shook her to her core so deeply she had to sit down and digest it. There’s so much she still needs to know and so little time. 

“I admit I’m not sure what you need from me.” Beatrice whispers it quietly, she’s hunched awkwardly, hovering close in Ava’s space but too far away for her own comfort. 

Ava clamps her mouth shut, sure that “come closer” will betray her. That she will reach too far into Beatrice and take far too much. 

Beatrice pays no mind to Ava’s silence and slowly caresses her hand, it’s a small little gesture that seems to have no set course. Ava briefly wonders if it’s the start of a massage or if Beatrice is looking for her joints underneath her skin and touching her tendons in apology. 

It should be awkward, Beatrice and Ava orbiting each other in a lopsided manner. A rotational tilt that is unfamiliar to both of them and yet feels intimate. An unknown dance with their eyes closed and their breaths mingling. (It’s easy to follow Beatrice’s lead, Ava knows love.) 

There’s nothing Ava can say to her, she chokes up at the prospect and they both blink at each other. She’s not sure what she needs, only that it’s nice having someone here. 

Beatrice drowsily blinks rapidly and slowly at the same time as Ava watches swallowing the bits of her smile. Her hand has slowed its pathing, opting to curl on the inside of Ava’s fingers. It’s endearing watching one of her favorite bad ass sister warriors lose against sleep. It softens the edges of Beatrice who is always carrying some unseen obligation. (Here it is only the two of them free of their past and future burdens, just two girls sprawled thinly on hopes and dreams). 

She can feel Beatrice’s grip loosen, she’s going to fall back asleep any minute now but Ava doesn’t have the heart to keep her up. Beatrice is no doubt tired, powered by her own sleeping and eating habits unlike Ava who has the artifact to juice her up. 

She isn’t quite unwound but she feels manageable now. It’s weird to be within reach of Beatrice, someone who cares about her. To be in proximity of someone who will look for her, be in step with her, maybe it’s duty but Ava holds it close to her heart regardless. (It’s all the same to her, devotion, loyalty, love). 

She clings to Beatrice afraid to let the moment go, she had called and someone had answered, Bea had answered. Ava can feel her eyes watering, it almost feels like a distant dream. She tucks her chin closer to chest and thinks, how awful to be loved. 

She can feel her throat closing up and she squeezes Bea’s hand just a tiny bit harder. (She answers in the twitch of her hand, clearly on the cusp of sleep). The Halo still thunders in her back throbbing some fatal fate but here in the hush of night grounded by the touch of Beatrice she has some reprieve.  (Part 1)

[nattikay]

Spider is not Jake and Neytiri’s kid and they had no obligation to act as his surrogate parents

[j0kers-light]

Choices part Two

I'm on a roll re-reading today, perhaps because we have a severe thunderstorm/tornado warning.

Let's get back into it! 🖤✨These three chapters were so hard to write and so many people noticed.

Did he really think you'd be amazed by his toxic declaration? As if you would come crawling back to him like some lost puppy after the whirlwind of insanity he displayed today. Forget that. If Joker wanted to self sabotage his chances with you, then by all means, you were going to let him.

Yass do it for the girls! Show him you mean business!

“Uh.. yes?" You slung the laptop bag onto your opposite shoulder. "You're the one who encouraged me to go, now you don't want me to? Geez, make up your mind Joker."

Did J really think we would stay with him after his rude comment? 🤨

You walked up to him with confidence. "Didn't you say, 'Enjoy your time with Gotham's savior, live it up in his mansion all you want'? Well that's what I'm gonna to do and guess what, Joker? I'll come back on my own terms, not because you expect me to."

Choices. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 Choices darling!

Once again you were running away and even worse, you were running away to another man.

You were still iffy on if you really were attracted to the billionaire, but you needed to get this out of your system if you wanted to move forward with Joker.

Mhm if that’s the lie you telling yourself then sure. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Alfred loved Bruce with all of his heart but female guests were so commonplace at the manor with a new one coming and going like clockwork. Yet somehow this one was an exception.

👀👀 nah tell us more Alfred. Spill thine tea. Who else Bruce got around? Who are his choices?

You nodded. "Sure do! They're my best friends!" Alfred glanced at Bruce over your head. Bruce slowly shook his head. 'She doesn't know.'

I thought about letting Y/n find out about Batman’s true identity but this is a Joker x you fic. We don’t need all that.

The moment you laid eyes on the Wayne Manor library, your soul ascended to heaven. You pretended to faint and Bruce caught you thinking you were passing out for real. "Y/n! Are you alright?"

a girl’s literal dream!!!

“It makes the bread soggy. This sammich still bussin tho.. I mean! It's good." You snapped your gaze out the window. Your Blüdhaven dialogue usually came out whenever you were frustrated or hungry. You rarely code switched, but Bruce and his proper upbringing made you feel a little guilty.

I love adding in small details like this to drill in that Y/n is of culture 🤌🏾 it also served as a divide between Bruce and Y/n showing their polar opposites.

These two were doomed from the start.

Cut the bull Mac. I know it's you. What in the world are you doing here? Did he order you to follow me?"

The answer is yes Y/n. Joker’s loyal three are tasked to follow you. Discreetly of course. 😉

“I clean up Joker's messes. If you end up being a problem, then so be it. I always get the job done." He whispered.

Now Mac my love, is this foreshadowing? 👀

“Hear me out! You ran polls, people are interested in reading an alternative story opposed to a more traditional happy ending!"

"Y/n we talked about this. That poll was inconclusive! The demographics aren't there for it to be successful. People want to feel good after they read a book, not depressed and even if you do find a willing bracket, I still don't see the point."

This is a conversation between myself debating on if His Lighthouse should end in angst. Nothing to see here. 👀

“Y-Yeah. I drafted it as a typical love at first sight troupe but it's all an illusion. The reader and main character are just wasting each other's time. I don't wanna spoil anything but it gets really deep. If I drop teasers and create enough lore for fans, I can make the numbers."

Not me talking directly to you my fellow reader. This is the His Lighthouse’s plot and my own personal expectations 🤣🤣🤣🤣🫣

"I am not giving up on him!" You shouted into the room.

How could anyone give up on this adorable face?

"Is there something wrong?" Bruce knew where this conversation was going after seeing her tight smile.

"Oh nothing right now but hurt her in any capacity and I don't care if you're a trillionaire with coins on the side, I will end you."

Cindy is a girl’s girl. Unfortunately she’s in a tough position where she can’t fully be a better friend to Y/n but ahhhhh does Cindy got your back.

Sitting in Bruce Wayne's foreign car waiting for him to close the distance and kiss you was every girl's dream in Gotham yet there you were dreaming of another male with green eyes instead of blue, and dirty dyed hair with stark white face paint.

Y/n cannot stop thinking about Joker while she’s with another man 🥴🤣🤣🤣

In time Joker would move on and leave you heartbroken. Bruce gave you an opportunity to secure a safe and happy future for yourself yet you hesitated. You just had to grin and bear it until you accepted it.

You mentally nodded and prepared yourself for whatever Bruce would bring to the table.

This is what settling is ladies. Take note of how mentally draining it is. Never settle.

You craved the passion Joker had in store for you. Just being in his presence was electrifying– you didn't get that from Bruce. You feared you never would, no matter how hard you tried.

Y/n is beginning to regret this choice and I love it.

Bruce was a good man; any woman would kill to have him as a lover, just not you. Was it wrong to gobble up this feeling while it lasted? How selfish could it be to allow Bruce to treat you like a princess for just one day?

I like this open ended question because is it wrong? This is helping Y/n heal despite using Bruce who is none the wiser. So is it bad? He’s not financially hurting sooooo?

Bleed him dry Y/n!

You didn't care if you were being selfish. You didn't care if you were using him. You wanted to experience what a normal relationship felt like before you went back home to a monster.

I ate this. 🫢

Monster? What monster???? Joker? He’s the sweetest best boy! 😭

His Lighthouse Re-Read Thread

Hey hi my loves!!! I've read my own story 14 million times but I never did an official reread thread so thank @jaysmentalspace for what's about to happen! 🖤✨

This will be an interactive thread. Yes, you can join in with your own comments, reblogs, whatever! I will start from chapter one and I guess, review/commentate my own story! I hope you enjoy the ride. There's gonna be fun facts, behind the scenes commentary, who knows. 🤷🏾‍♀️

His Lighthouse masterlist let's get started.

[touchlikethesun]

i’m trying to break out of it but, when it comes to their relationship dynamics, so far no fic has managed to top the one skiing au where bokuto and akaashi try and convince kuroo and tsukki to be in a poly relationship that i followed religiously back in 2015, like. (almost) no other fic has managed to tap into what i find so appealing about that group’s whole dynamic, their humour their earnestness their chaos as four, the way akaashi and tsukki balance kuroo and bokuto’s energy (except everyone knows the real trouble is tsukki and bokuto), and like the individual dynamics are incredible too, every pairing just worked so well, even ones i wouldn’t have considered before like kuroo and akaashi. like how in 100k words did this author manage to develop every relationship just so damn well??? there should be way too many moving parts, at least one of the dynamics should have fell flat or fell to the background but none of them did ughhhhh oh my god it’s so good i just need like. a dozen more fics exactly like it rippppp like i’m watching s2 (again yes ik) and all i can think about when i see the four of them interact is “wow that author really nailed their dynamics, what they wrote is exactly how those four would be in 10 years time” god fanfiction is incredible

[sinful-karateka]

I'll bite and talk about something that doesn't get enough spotlight in general, which are Demetri's and Eli's family life. So obviously several fic authors have their own twists and flavors to this, but if I may sell you something for a sec.

So far into the series, what we've got are these facts:

Demetri's Mom is the only family member to be mentioned in the show.

Eli's parents were mentioned a couple of times.

That should be enough context to deduce two things:

Demetri could be an only child to a single mother, and;

Eli's parents involve themselves in the stuff that he does — including karate, who knows — though they tend to be tone deaf with his actual needs.

There's strong evidence to why the boys act the way they act (brain functions notwithstanding, but this isn't the post for that), which is why I think these deductions make sense. How their hypothetical upbringing is part and parcel to how characters behave in this series. Of course societal influence comes in second because obviously you've got a show that encourages learning karate as defense against bullies, but this show is also about generational chains and traumas! So why wouldn't their home life inform the way it informs the LaRusso's, Lawrence's, and Nichols'? But I digress.

In the span of the entire series, I've held onto this headcanon that Demetri's neuroticism and ability to anticipate his actions carefully stem from a household that needs these systems in place, much more for someone who likes to be on top of things. Since he's just a student, the only authoritative figure who can make executive decisions... is his mom. Add to the fact that she may be a working mom, so when Demetri tells Daniel about certain restrictions in learning karate, what could have made her decide to just write a letter instead vs. taking the time out to go with his son herself? I know I know it's narrative writing but like do you seeeee where I'm at here

Eli's family life is by far gave us early indications of his dynamic with his mother — but not so a father — in earlier seasons. It's possible that his mom is a stay-at-home one, but if I were to push the bounds of this box even further, I'd even speculate that she's retired early if it meant that Eli's dad is the one making most of the living. Like of course they'd get mad at Hawk for getting a tattoo at his age, I think any parent would! But the way he tells Aisha to exclude him from her stories tells us that there's not a lot that his parents know about the life he lives as Hawk. At this point we all know the kind of effort it takes to successfully carry it out because he has to go home every night. It's either he a) puts in a lot of effort into concealing this identity once he gets home, or b) his parents are rarely ever home, which again, feeds into another assumption that maybe Mrs. Moskowitz works certain hours.

All we know is they're never around a whole lot for these boys, which is sad! and also again, very Indicative of their classification as awkward nerds pre- and early karate. When I read along certain fics that consider and include how the rest of their characters besides the found families they've formed, it gives much more depth and potency to writing them, their flaws, and how they think.

For all we know, Mrs. Alexopoulos could be a lesbian making fun of her son for not slinging pussy like she does being rizzless unlike her, but don't let me explain that when we have @demetriandelibinaryboyfriends!

[officialrapunzelfitzherbert]

maybe next time

word count: 2.5k

fandom: buffy the vampire slayer

characters: tara maclay & rupert giles

summary: tara attempts to break the ice with giles after the birthday incident with her family.

preview:

Tara saw what Mr. Giles had with Buffy. She saw what he had with the whole group. She knew just how badly she wanted that, and it felt so big and powerful that she wasn't sure if she could ever touch it. He didn't know her that way. She didn't really know him that way, either.

She might never see her father again.

a/n i do not have an ao3 account and do not remember my ff.net password so yall are getting my first fic since 2012 on this webbed site have fun everybody. perhaps i will write again in another 12 years <3

In no particular order, Tara had three goals for her trip to the Magic Box.

Goal #1: Formally apologize to Mr. Giles for the spell that got his shop attacked by demons and for involving him in the family drama that followed.

Goal #2: Have a real one-on-one conversation with Mr. Giles.

Goal #3 (optional): If he's open to it, get a job at the Magic Box to get to know Mr. Giles better.

She'd had it all mapped out. She'd been taking notes and rehearsing whenever no one was looking. She had a whole story about being on an errand for Willow so that she had an excuse if she needed to make a quick exit. She knew exactly which crystal she was going to buy, exactly what coffee order she had to pick up on her way back to their dorm, and exactly where she would hide to look busy browsing if she started to panic.

The truth was that Tara adored Mr. Giles. Unfortunately, she was painfully aware of why. It didn't help that Willow had been dropping hints that the two of them should be closer ever since the recent birthday incident with her father. It wasn't that Tara didn't appreciate the encouragement, but every time Willow mentioned his name and gave her that Knowing Willow Look, it just felt so important that the pressure got the tiniest bit debilitating.

Tara saw what Mr. Giles had with Buffy. She saw what he had with the whole group. She knew just how badly she wanted that, and it felt so big and powerful that she wasn't sure if she could ever touch it. He didn't know her that way. She didn't really know him that way, either.

She might never see her father again.

The last thing Tara wanted was to embarrass herself in front of Mr. Giles by letting him see how much she wanted him to like her. She knew she was projecting. But every day that passed without her saying a word to him was starting to feel like another nail in a coffin. If she averted her eyes from him one more time, she was sure he'd think she hated him. That or that she was terrified of him - not entirely untrue, but not in the way he probably thought. Maybe if they started working together while the shop was still new and there were tasks to complete, it would help them break through whatever polite-off they were having.

Before her birthday, she'd almost given up on being his friend. But now she had two pieces of evidence that it wasn't a lost cause:

Exhibit A: He'd stood up to her father for her.

Exhibit B: He gave her a birthday present.

He still hardly knew her. But it was proof that he cared. She wasn't imagining that, as much as the self-conscious worms in her brain kept trying to tell her she must have been. She was there. She saw it. She had the crystal ball on her desk. That was real.

If there was ever a window, it was now.

So she found herself at the Magic Box replaying her script over and over in her head. The plan was to get right into it so she wouldn't have time to overthink it, but as she walked in to see Mr. Giles and Anya in the middle of a semi-heated but clearly petty argument, she realized this wasn't a scenario she'd planned for.

As Mr. Giles heard the door open and made a split-second of awkward eye contact with her, Tara gave a weak smile and a wave. He smiled back politely but his attention very quickly went back to Anya, who hadn't stopped talking long enough to take a breath, let alone notice that someone else was there.

Tara waited about two seconds before making a beeline to her hiding spot among the books.

She'd made it 3 pages into a book she already owned by the time Anya let out a long dramatic sigh and went downstairs to storage. She took a deep breath. Tara liked Anya, but it was always hard to predict what she was going to say. If she wanted to eliminate as many variables as she could, she had to do this now.

Acting as natural as possible, Tara walked over to the crystals. Even though she was expecting it, she still flinched a little when she heard a voice calling from behind the counter.

“Sorry, Tara, did you need anything?”

“Hi, Mr. Giles,” Tara replied, “Oh, I was just here to pick something up for Willow, she's in class right now so…”

Tara fought back a wince as she heard herself speak and mentally updated her list.

Goal #4: Figure out a way to organically stop calling him Mr. Giles.

She'd already said it once today, so it might be too obvious if she dropped the “Mr.” in the same conversation, but maybe by the next time they talked, they'd be familiar enough that he wouldn't notice.

Keeping that in the back of her mind, she forced herself to get started on goal #3:

“Oh, but while I'm here, I was actually just…” Tara stammered, fidgeting with the crystal she'd picked up as her script escaped her, “well, I wanted to ask if… I’m happy to help out if you need-”

“Of course,” said Giles before she could finish, “Well, you have, you've- everything you've done for Buffy, for all of us-”

"No, I-” Tara stopped herself for a second and reminded herself that he was giving her a compliment that she needed to acknowledge. “Yeah, always. I just meant... In the shop, if you’re looking for an extra set of hands for anything, I'm available."

"Oh, well, if you're looking for a job…” Giles paused in a way that made Tara's heart sink.

He was looking for the kindest way to say no.

“Well,” he continued, “Anya's not one for taking days off, I’m afraid, so there's not really a position- that is to say the budget at this stage is still- but-”

“Oh, that's okay,” Tara interrupted so he wouldn't have to come up with any more reasons to justify it, “No worries. I was just-”

“And I wouldn't want to interfere with your studies-”

“Totally get it.”

“Perhaps during the holidays, I might have some extra work for you. It's a bit early to say for sure, but I expect I'll need everyone's help on Halloween if nothing else.”

“Maybe then, yeah.”

“I'm sorry that's all I can really-”

“No, it's no big deal. I was just saying if you needed… And I mean, I'm not so great with the customers anyways.”

Giles blinked. “You've met Anya?”

Tara chuckled softly and felt her shoulders relax just a little.

“Well,” Giles continued, “if anything, keeping the floor stocked is probably where I'll need the most backup. You'll certainly be the first to know.”

“Yeah, of course.”

There was a brief pause. This counted as a one-one-one conversation, didn't it? That was goal #2. Goal #3 of getting a job had been eliminated and #4 was for the next time they talked. So all that was left for today was #1: apologize. That was the real challenge. She wasn't sure if this was going to naturally come up, but if she could just spit it out and leave as quickly as possible, she wouldn't have to see his reaction.

“Speaking of holidays,” said Giles, “you've got somewhere to go?”

This caught Tara off-guard.

“Huh?”

She hadn't been looking at him since he'd politely rejected her, but this got her to finally look up and see a softness in his face that she wasn't prepared for.

“Yeah,” she said when she finally remembered how to speak, “Willow and I haven't made a plan yet exactly, but whatever she's up to. I know she wants us to do my first Hanukkah this year, so I'm excited for that.”

Tara felt her voice drop what felt like a full octave when she started talking about Willow earnestly. That subject was always easy. Giles clearly noticed this and smiled.

“That's wonderful.”

“You did Thanksgiving at your place last year, right?”

“Well, Buffy did, it was my place, but that was a bit of a-”

“Oh, I don't mean to-” Tara stammered, hoping she hadn't just accidentally invited herself into his home. Sometimes she spoke just to make sure words were coming out of her mouth and would realize at the end of the sentence that she might have implied something she didn't mean.

“I guess you wouldn't really celebrate it,” Tara went on, “Willow usually doesn't either.”

Giles gave that polite laugh that was more of a quick exhale. Tara knew from her own experience that this meant he didn't know how to respond to that.

Was it rude to assume he would celebrate American Thanksgiving? Should she be asking about English holidays?

Goal #5: Learn about English holidays later.

A few agonizing seconds passed as Tara desperately tried to flip through her mental script for the next talking point that felt the most organic, but Giles spoke before she could.

“Well, last year, we all got together at Buffy's with her family for Christmas,” he said, “I'm sure they'll be hosting again this year. Of course you're welcome to come.”

Tara smiled. “That sounds nice.”

“You're not the only one with a, um… difficult family situation. You'll fit right in, I’m sure.”

Tara didn't know how to process when anyone said something that implied they'd been thinking of her, much less someone she admired as much as Giles. She also didn't know much about the other Scoobies’ families. But as she thought about each of them and the things they didn't talk about, it hit her that maybe her own family didn't make her an outsider after all. Maybe that was actually the one thing she had in common with everyone.

She found herself suddenly curious about how Giles grew up. What were his parents like? Were they still alive? Did he ever have a family of his own?

So many questions that it wasn't time to ask yet. For now, she was simply grateful.

“Thanks. And I um…” She took a deep breath. It was now or never. “I wanted to apologize about that. I didn't mean to bring my family stuff into your-”

“No, no, that's-”

“Really, I-”

“Tara, believe me, if it's not demons threatening my life in the workplace, it's angry customers. Between the two of them, I'll take the ones I'm allowed to hit, if I'm being honest. And as for the spell, I mean, it's not as if I… as if we all haven't… Just as long as you're all right.”

“It's just…My dad was so-”

“Your father I could have taken if Buffy wouldn't have gotten to him first,” said Giles, his accent getting just a little less posh for a moment. His lips tightened as if he had more words that he thought it best not to say out loud.

It was hard to picture Mr. Giles in a fight. But Tara had heard stories. Apparently he could be terrifying when he needed to be. Willow had described it as him being two completely different people: one a mild-mannered British librarian who couldn't hurt a fly, and the other a man with that look you only have if you've killed in cold blood before and aren't afraid to do it again. Tara had only ever seen glimpses of the second one. Every time she'd seen the scarier Giles, though, she'd noticed he was always protecting someone.

Now that she was the one being protected, he didn't feel like two people at all. She didn't know all the details of what he'd done in his past. She didn't need to. In this moment, as far as she was concerned, the gap between the gentle Giles and the terrifying Giles was bridged. At the core of both was just a man who cared.

“Thank you,” Tara said softly.

“Of course. And you're…?” Giles trailed off, gesturing to her nose where Spike had hit her.

“Oh!” Tara exclaimed, remembering to breathe again now that she'd been reminded she had a nose and lungs attached to it somewhere. “Yeah, I'm fine. Not broken. I put some ice on it.”

“Glad to hear it. Sorry he hit you. I'm sure there was another way we could've-”

“No, it's fine. It was quicker.”

Giles shrugged. A few more seconds of silence passed and Tara felt her face getting hot as she became hyper-aware of herself. If she let on just how much this talk meant to her now, she was sure to blow this whole thing. It was best to make her exit for today and do this in small doses.

“Well, I'd better go,” she said, placing the crystal by the register, “Just this.”

She quickly looked down to dig into her bag for her wallet, letting her hair fall in front of her face and praying that she hadn't turned into a tomato in front of someone whose approval she was so desperate for. Giles put a hand up to stop her.

“On me.”

Tara's eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

Giles ripped off the price tag and glanced over to the door that Anya was sure to return through any moment now.

“Well, best to keep it quiet,” he said, discreetly shoving the sticker into his pocket so he wouldn't be caught giving away free product, “but really, I insist.”

“Okay,” Tara said, freezing for a second. When it came to her birthday, she knew that gifts could have just been because of an unspoken social rule, or maybe just to please Willow. This, however, was a kindness Tara had done nothing to earn. Before she'd put the crystal down, she'd been gripping it so hard there were indents on her fingers. Now, as she picked it back up, she was cradling it as if any movement would shatter it completely.

“Thank you so much,” she said, knowing that it wasn't enough, but not knowing what else to say. “Well, I'll see you later, Mr. Giles.”

Tara saw him think for a second, almost open his mouth to speak, and then stop himself. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but she could have sworn he was about to tell her that she could just call him Giles. He looked a little embarrassed for a moment, but gathered himself quickly and just gave a gentle nod.

Maybe next time.

“Take care,” Giles said as Tara waved goodbye.

His smile was a lot like his usual polite customer service smile, but there was a hint of warmth in it now. She'd seen that before, but she couldn't remember ever being on the receiving end until now. But maybe she had been. Maybe she'd just been too nervous to look at him long enough to notice.

Two out of five goals achieved. And one new piece of evidence to put next to the crystal ball on her desk.

She could work with that.