#very vividly remember having to move a water heater to get down to it when brainstorming this WIP

[londondungeon2]

omfg it’s almost midnight here and i have to get up for work at 5 AM but let me compose at least some of my thoughts …

ok idia x robot girl! reader … hear me out 🥺

someone he creates to cure his loneliness of companionship in a tender way that ortho just cannot do; ugh i’m imagining a plain head just sitting on the desk, stripped down to the metal and skinless; him asking which eye color you like the best until it lands upon yours;

the midnight conversations as he builds a body; the pining from the reader (is it actual pining or are you just scraping the edges of desperate self perseverance so he doesn’t trash you like the other models); kind of dream-like transition between adding each body parts (like imagine yourself lying in a tub of ink — cheeks, nose, lips, a slight peel of your forehead visible — and eventually it all drains down as more and more body parts are added);

the first very touch of human flesh upon you; the cracked polystyrene blinks that you give with twitchy eyelashes; you siphon your romantic tendencies between a messy mélange of gritty 18+ hentai and victorian romance novellas; idia pours his damned and tormented soul into making you perfect for him and you pour yourself willingly into the image, designed just for one man <3

past midnight edit:

BRUH TO THIS SOnG

yeah to this fuckin banger

((past midnight edit again: there are really only two ways you can go with robot main characters: the building process or the robot being oblivious and thinking they are human (Ex Machina or Twilight Zone) i enjoy both sooo much))

[dzpenumbra]

11/30/22

I'm moved in. The cat and I are sitting in the main room of my new apartment. I'm sitting on a cheap side table because I don't have a chair. Max is sitting in her cat tree.

I slept like shit. I got the rest of my stuff packed, had my mom come over to help. I got the car packed and was out the door around sundown. I still have a bunch of things in the old house, but I'm going to wait to sort through it for a few days. Just to get settled in a bit.

The drive was easy. Max was a little upset the first 45 minutes or so, but she slept the rest of the way with little problem. I had to leave her in her crate in the apartment when I brought things in, which was very stressful for her, but we explored after I was done which was a lot of fun.

I'm still getting used to all the sounds, and to keeping my voice down. The walls are pretty thin, I'm not sure how loud I can comfortably be, I really don't want to upset my neighbors. I'll get a feel for it, I'm sure. I got my PC set up, and the internet, and ordered a calzone from GrubHub. It is absolutely perplexing how long I've been missing out on delivery food, that shit was so easy. But my timing was... pretty shit. Because at that point, I noticed that my heat wasn't working. I called the on-call person for the building, she came by and checked it out. She was tremendously nice! She found out that it was the breakers, threw them and even offered to get space heaters too! I said sure, because she was insisting... and then I had to book it because the delivery dude was at the entrance and I said I'd meet him there. I sprinted up 4 flights of stairs and back, and she brought the heaters by a few minutes later. The calzone was... nothing to write home about... but goddamn was it nice to not have to unpack everything and cook!

Then I played Noita for a few hours to "decompress" - it's a stressful but fun game - and here I am. It's still a bit cold in here. It's 34F out, my toes are a bit chilly and its a really big space to heat. I'm hoping the bed space is warmer, it should be, it's upstairs.

I don't really have much more to write today than that. I'm exhausted. My feet stink real bad from my shoes I never usually wear. All my shit is in boxes. I'm gonna have to test run smoking before bed here. But all-in-all... it's good to be home. This is a cool place, and I'm really excited to fill it full of plants. That's like... my new thing.

I noticed at my old place that there were white spots on one of my hats that was hanging on the coat rack. And white spots on one of the cushions of the couch. Mold or fungus of some kind. The couch was near the big hole where water damage pulled away a section of the wall covering, where there was pretty clearly mold problems. But the hat was clear on the other side of the house. It concerned me how they both had mold on them. I've had concerns for a while now that breathing problems for me and Max had been coming from environmental factors like that. And I remember vividly how horribly frustrated I was that everything I tried to grow in that house would just die in a week from mold, and that was 5 years ago. So this is my big second chance, and hopefully it comes with a healthier set of lungs for me and my cat too. I'm hoping to turn this place into a goddamn jungle. :D

Any suggestions on good plants for a beginner indoor gardener, please shoot them my way. I've gardened outdoors (tomatoes, watermelons, cucumbers, jalapenos, green onions, green beans, lettuce) but not indoors before. I'd really like to grow edible plants, but I am totally onboard with decorative too.

[diegos-butt]

Pillows and Blankets 🧸

Summary: Walter comes home after a long day, and all he needs is comfort.

Walter Marshall x Melody Williams (Curvy OFC)

Since I didn't mention her name, I guess you could read this as reader insert? I also didn't describe her body/appearance, but this is written with a curvy/plus size gal in mind.

Warnings: Flufffffffffffffff

Wordcount: 1.6k

A/N: Hi everyone! This is inspired by Electricity, a fic I wrote for my babies Walter & Melody. I don’t actually mention her name in this, so I guess you could see this as a reader insert, but I had her in mind. This can be read without reading Electricity, but you’re always welcome to check it out as well! Hope you enjoy. 😉

•••

It was long after dinner time. I had eaten the dinner I cooked over an hour ago and saved some leftovers for Walter, who still wasn’t home. I sat on the couch with a book, waiting for him to come home. We had been living together for two months now. After dating for 9 months, he had asked if I wanted to move in.

I smiled to myself, I remember that moment vividly. I had squealed from happiness and jumped in his arms. I remembered he had said “I’ll take that as a yes” and swirled me around.

Now, two months later, I had settled in. The best part of it? Having a life size teddy bear around. Many nights were spend cuddling on the couch, or in bed.

Except for the nights Walter had to work late of course. I knew beforehand he wasn’t working a 9 to 5 job, and that he would be working late some days. This was one of those days, well, more like weeks. He was working on a case they couldn’t crack. Last night he’d come home way past midnight and this morning he was gone before I had woken up. Just like the day before, and the day before that one.

I was dying to spend some time with him. Just to be with him, to see him. And I knew he needed the same. I could tell by the way he had wrapped himself around me last night when he had gotten into bed.

Looking at the clock, I was debating with myself whether I should go to bed or wait for him a little longer. The answer to that question became clear when I heard the front door opened. Heavy footsteps walked inside, and I heard a zipper being pulled down, indicating he was taking his coat off.

“Hey doll,” Walter said as he opened the door to the living room and sat down next to me on the couch. I welcomed him with a smile, and he pressed a kiss to my cheek. He kicked his shoes off and sighed. I opened my arms for him, and he placed his head on my chest while wrapping his arms around me.

“Have you eaten dinner?” I asked him and pressed a kiss on his curls.

He hummed in response, and I took it as a yes. They usually order take out on nights like these at the police station.

“You’re wearing my sweater again uh? You living in these doll?” he said while his hand caressed my waist.

“You know very well I am,” I chuckled, melting underneath his touch. “You should be concerned if you see me wearing something else.”

The small smile he had on his face faded, and he fell silent. He just laid on my chest, with his arms wrapped around me while I caressed his curls, my fingers slowly drawing patterns. I could tell he was tired, and he needed some comfort.

“Baby, why don’t you take a nice, warm shower?” I suggested. I knew he didn’t want to talk about the case, so I knew I had to take another approach of taking care of him.

“Only if you take it with me,” he grumbled back. I laughed, stroking his hair a few more times before I took his face in my hands.

“A very tempting offer, but another time, that is not what you need right now. Besides, you’re not exactly smelling like roses right now,” I said and looked into his tired eyes.

“Fine woman, but you will be sorry for saying that later.” He looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. Before he could say something else, I pressed my soft lips against his.

“Go take a shower, I have a surprise when you get back.” I gave him another quick kiss and motioned for him to stand up. He groaned, but he untangled himself from me and stood up.

“This better be a nice surprise,” he mumbled and cocked an eyebrow at me. I chuckled, and watched him as he walked out of the living room. I heard his heavy footsteps on the stairs. Utter seconds later I heard the showered being turned on. Time to get to work.

I knew what he needed was comfort. He needed something soft, safe, soothing. While he had come home, and we had our little conversation, an idea had sprung up in my head. I got up from the couch and grabbed all the blankets I could find. I had multiple laying around, to keep me warm for the times Walter wasn’t there.

Next, I collected all the pillows I could find. The throw pillows on the couch, but I also sneaked upstairs and grabbed the ones from our bed and the bed in the guest room. Once I got back downstairs, I grabbed a string of fairy lights from the cupboard. The batteries haven’t died yet, so they still worked. Thank god, ‘cause I have no idea where he, we, keep spare batteries.

After I had collected everything I needed, I dropped it all in front of the couch. Then I made my way to the dining table, and one by one I carried the dining chairs in front of the couch. Let’s assemble this blanket and pillow fort.

I silently thanked myself for convincing Walter to buy a nice, furry rug when I moved in. This meant I didn’t have to put much on the floor for it to be comfortable. Nevertheless, I laid down a blanket. Then I draped the largest blanket I had, over the chairs. I threw another one over the front, creating an opening. It was starting to look like a fort now.

I crawled inside and placed the pillows. Some against the couch, and some for us to lay on. This is starting to look cosy. The fairy lights laid beside me. I picked them up and wove them through the chairs.

The shower turned off, and I knew I needed to hurry. Quickly I crawled out of the fort and went to the kitchen. I grabbed two beers, and some snacks. Realizing there was nothing to put it on in the fort, I walked back and dragged a small side table inside the fort. Hurrying back to the kitchen, I grabbed the drinks and snacks, and placed them on the little table.

Suddenly, I heard Walter behind me, scraping his throat.

“What is this baby? What have you done to our living room?” His curls were still damp from the shower, and I could see little drops of water falling on his forehead. He was dressed in sweatpants, and a black t-shirt.

“The surprise,” I said. “Be a dear, and grab the laptop would you?” I gestured to the dining table, which he was the closest to. He obliged, but I didn’t miss the surprised look on his face.

“That doesn’t really answer my question,” he said, and I could see he was trying to suppress a smile.

“Don’t be so grumpy.” I gave him a smile. I turned around and crawled into the fort. He didn’t follow immediately, and I loudly sighed in fake annoyance.

“Come on, get in here!”

This time, he did follow my order and he crawled inside. He placed the laptop on the little table next to the drinks and snacks, and looked at me surprised.

“Open the laptop and go to Netflix to put on a show,” I ordered.

“Yes ma’am,” he muttered. “So bossy.” I nudged his side, but yet again, he followed my order, and quickly the sound of The Office filled the fort.

“Now, come here.” I made grabby hands towards him. I wanted him close to me, to hold him.

He chuckled and shook his head. Slowly he crawled closer to me, and he wanted to sit beside me.

“No, no.” I stopped him, “Tonight I’ll be the one cuddling you.” I spread my legs, making room for him to sit between them. He hesitated, but I pouted and continued making grabby hands. He gave in and sat between my legs. I wrapped my arms around him, and pulled him closer.

“Just let me hold you doll, I don’t want to squish you,” he said, and tried to turn around.

“I like it when you squish me,” I spoke softly and pressed a kiss on his cheek.

He sighed, but I felt his body relaxed. Finally, he melted in my arms, and I could feel the weight of his body pressed against mine. He felt warm, like my own space heater. I draped one of my hands across his chest, which he immediately took in his. My other hand stroked his curls. He let out a sigh, a happy one, one indicating he was finally letting go of bad thoughts and stress. He was finally relaxing a little bit.

He played with my fingers, pressing a kiss to each of them. We watched a few episodes in silence, and I could tell he was starting to fall asleep by the way his body relaxed more and more against mine. It made me happy, that I could be there for him the way he was there for me. Usually he would hold me after I had a rough day, or when I didn’t feel so good. He always knew what I needed, and I always wanted to do the same for him. Expect most times, he didn’t let me. Until know. It felt like our relationship was growing, and he was letting me in more and more. I pressed a kiss to the crown of his head, and snuggled him closer to me, as if that were possible.

“Thank you love,” he spoke softly.

“Anything for you,” I whispered back.

Before we both knew it, we had fallen asleep. Happy, and curled up in each other’s arms.

•••

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[cirrius-akiyo]

Could I please request 78."You’re worth it.” from the angst/fluff list?

Thank you Lovely Nonnie!

This is from the Fluff/Angst Prompts List

Read this on AO3

LOVE & AFFECTION IS A GOOD CONSIDERATION

///

Blinking himself awake, his mind sluggishly wonders what wakes him up in the first place, disturbing his restless sleep.

It was then his bladder reminds him that he needs to pee, forcing him to finally move.

Eddie groans as he stiffly kicks the cozy blanket away that somehow got twisted alongside his body, shivering as the cold air kiss his clammy skin. He honestly doesn't feel well rested at all, but it's better than puking his guts out like he did the day before.

As he forces his achy limbs to work, Eddie silently applauds his self-restraint for not dragging the blanket together with him to the toilet (which would be greatly frown upon by Buck).

Speaking of Buck...oh wait, thinking of Buck, Eddie suddenly remembers why he was colder than before; he vividly remembers that his personal heater was not beside him when he woke up.

Finishing his business in the toilet, Eddie returns back to the bedroom to confirm his suspicion all along.

True enough, his boyfriend is not in their bed.

Buck's side of the bed is void of any trace of body heat and the bedding is undisturbed at all, save for some wrinkles, which probably by Eddie's own doing with all of his restless twisting and turning.

Feeling like he won't keel over anytime soon, Eddie decides to grab his tossed blanket and haphazardly wraps himself in a makeshift burrito before leaving the room to search for his missing lover.

Out of habits, Eddie stops by at Chris' room to check on his son, but refrains himself from passing through the doorframe. God knows how much Eddie misses his little Superman. That poor boy had not been in close vicinity with him for the last two days, to prevent him from catching whatever it is Eddie is having.

Buck has been diligent with sanitising, spraying and wiping clean everything Eddie has touched (or even looked at) for extra preventive measures, not wanting to take any chance.

Oh...thinking of Buck, again, Eddie now remembers the reason why he was standing in the hallway in the middle of the night, depriving himself from the tranquility of sleep.

To find his missing Buck.

His son needs to learn to share; his jumbled mind supplies.

Eddie wanders down the hallway and towards the living room with careful steps, his blanket still heavily draped over his shoulders.

Lo and behold, on the couch there lies his slumbering lover, completely dead to the world.

Eddie smiles at hearing the occasional soft snores while taking in the view displayed around him.

The television is switched off, but beside the couch, there lies the book that Buck currently is fixed on, forgotten on the floor. Looking at the table lamp that is still on, Eddie assumes Buck had fell asleep reading his late night fill, a habit that usually done in the privacy of their bedroom, underneath the warm sheets.

Picking the book up before setting it down on the coffee table, Eddie then plops down on the floor clumsily with his body leaning onto the side of the couch, directly facing Buck's sleeping face.

Under the glimmer of the yellow light, Eddie could see the haggard lines on his partner's face. The two days old stubble and the unkempt curls are enough proof of how Buck was on his toes these couple of days. Eddie had called in sick two days ago, and Buck has been taking care of him right after getting off from his 24 hours shift one day earlier when he should have spend his day off decompressing. Eddie knew Buck's last shift was not an easy one the moment he stepped inside their home if judging by the tired lines and rigid stance, but his strong headed boyfriend had insisted that everything was fine, and that they should focus on to get Eddie better soon.

Selfless idiot.

And an adorable idiot too, drooling all over the couch cushions.

Buck is laying on his side with the fleece throws tangled down below his knees, and his right arm somehow got tucked underneath his sleeping t-shirt, effectively dragging the fabric upwards, revealing sufficient amount of abs that makes Eddie's mouth water.

The small patch of happy trail does makes Eddie happy regardless of his current ailments; come sniffles or smiles.

Eddie doesn't realize when he had scooted down along the couch and closing in to Buck's torso, but the view is magnetic. The hard lines of the abdomen, perfectly contrasting with the softness of Buck's skin is so inviting.

Blaming his health condition and his scrambled state of mind, Eddie swears he could feel the comfortable warmth radiating from Buck's exposed belly, and without much thought, he places his head against the exposed skin, feeling completely blissful and content with the heat. Eddie nuzzles deeper into the warm skin, inhaling the musky smell that is definitely Buck while savoring the coziness and soon enough, Eddie is feeling himself falling asleep.

But it shouldn't be like this.

While it pains Eddie to wake Buck up, his better judgement knows that their current positions are not going to be kind for both of them. Their couch is not big enough to contain Buck's long limbs, and Eddie wouldn't want to spend his recuperating day listening to Buck whining about his achy joints.

His not so better judgement then decides that the best way to wake the snoring man up is by a very unorthodox method.

And without lifting his head up, "bruuuuuuurrrrrrrrhhh," Eddie blows raspberries hard against Buck's belly as long as his congested nose allows.

"Whuzza?" Buck startles awake, his body jerking back against the couch with clear confusion drawn on his face. His hand that was tucked underneath the t-shirt automatically moves downward to rub his tickled stomach.

Eddie smiles in triumph, satisfied with the outcome.

Buck looks around the living room, trying to find his bearing as he blinks rapidly, chasing the sleep away. His eyes finally falls upon Eddie who is sitting cross-legged on the floor parallel to his stomach, wearing a shit-eating grin.

"Eddie, what are you doing out of bed?" Buck croaks, still rubbing at his slightly wet skin. "Wait, did you just blew raspberries on my belly?" His eyebrows pinched and nose scrunching in confusion.

Eddie grins wider, shrugging his shoulder in dismissal, refusing to admit or deny any crime committed.

"You menace. You could just wake me up like how a normal human being would." Buck groans as he stretches across the couch, cracking and popping his back. "You should go back to sleep." Buck chastises as he settles down again, as if readying himself to actually sleep out in the living room, on their short-ass couch.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Eddie retorts, frowning as Buck does not move to get up.

"I was reading." Buck answers simply, stating the obvious fact.

"You usually read in our bed." Eddie counters as he throws his body onto the little space that is left on couch, pressing their bodies together in order to fit. Buck welcomes him and pulls Eddie into a warm embrace.

"I don't want to disturb you with the light." Buck replies in earnest, tightening his hold against Eddie's warm back, noticing that Eddie still has some temperature, but not as worrying as yesterday.

"But I'm sure you must be tired taking care of me and handling Chris, especially after a 24 hour shifts." Eddie looks up to meet Buck's soft gaze.

"You're worth it."

The open expression of love got Eddie shies away, burying his head at the crook of the taller man's shoulder. He is not used yet with the fact that someone actually cares for him, loving him so readily when he himself still a broken mess.

Both of us got baggages, Eddie. Maybe it is time for us to help carry each others' so the burden won't be too heavy.

"Your back will hate you tomorrow." He mumbles instead, trying to lighten the mood.

"That is for my future me to worry."

"Future you will whine for at least a week." Eddie scoffs at Buck's ridiculousness.

"I don't whine." Buck retorts, whining.

"Come back to bed. I need my personal heater back." Eddie tugs at the collar of Buck's ratty t-shirt.

"Now I know my place in this relationship. You only use me for my body heat."

"Don't forget the sex. And taking care of my son. And cooking." Seeing that Buck does not make any move to get up, Eddie burrows his nose against the man's chest, drinking in the scent that is Buck with every breath.

"Good to know your fever doesn't strip away your asshole-ness." Buck tighten his grasp, squishing the sick man in mock tackling all the while tickling lightly on Eddie's side.

Hearty laugh escapes from the brunette.

"You should be happy I'm coherent enough to have this conversation." Eddie looks up once again while catching his breath.

"I'm happy with you everyday." Buck leans forward and bridging in their gap, fully intend to go for a kiss.

Eddie places his hand on the apple of Buck's cheek to stop him from going any further. "You sap, and while I am very much interested in a kiss right now, but we couldn't risk for you to get infected." Longing colours Eddie's expression as he speaks, regretting not being able to catch Buck's breath, warm against his own lips.

Buck smiles his soft smile. "You. Are. Worth. It." He parrots his assurance from earlier, stressing each and every words.

Buck gazes into his lover's unsure eyes and leans forward to kiss Eddie's chapped lips chastily, silencing any incoming protest from the man.

"Worthy enough for you to get sick?"

"You know, in the law of contract, love and affection is a good consideration. So this love is always worthy."

Eddie blushes deeper, but blaming it on his fever.

"Are we contract boyfriend now? Am I a boyfriend for rent?" Eddie quips to deflect although he understands every weight behind Buck's analogy.

Buck snorts at the prospect of renting Eddie as his boyfriend. "No, but how about in the future, both of us enter into a contract of marriage?"

The room stills in deafening silence, and both of them seems to hold in their breath, neither want to break the moment.

After long seconds passed, finally Eddie dares himself to speak.

"Are you...proposing?" Eddie's cracked voice wavers, unsure of the implied meaning, not daring to let the budding of hope blossoms in the pit of his stomach.

"Not now...I uh...I want to do it properly, but that's definitely what future you and me would be getting into. I guess." Eddie could see the stiffening of Buck's shoulder as he turns his face sideway, away from facing Eddie, refusing to meet his eyes.

It pains Eddie that his response has cast a doubt in his boyfriend's voice. With their upgrade in relationship to live-in couple is still relatively new, it dawns on him that Buck's insecurity about his place in their home is still rearing its ugly head. Buck would think that things between them are going too fast, when in reality Eddie has always wanted Buck that way.

"Not if I propose first."

Buck's whole face immediately lit up in a dazzling way that could possibly blind Eddie, but that is enough for him to see the tension melts away from the blonde.

And even if Buck's bright smile could blind him in reality, Buck is definitely worth it.

[milesbeardworth]

Can I take a minute just to talk about how proud I am of Sophie?

It’s been an interesting experience getting to know Sophie these past 8 months. She was the first fish I have had bought for me as a gift without me knowing beforehand that somebody was going to do so. My mom bought her for me almost a week before I moved home after the end of last semester, and at first I was a little upset; another betta of mine had unexpectedly passed away a few days prior and I was still coming to terms with his passing (not to mention my opposition to animals being bought as gifts, period). But as soon as I set my eyes on her, my heart immediately softened and I found myself taken in by this tiny little crowntail betta.

Aside from how small and cute she was, however, it was also immediately apparent to me that she was extremely stressed out. My mom had set her up in an aquarium with everything she needed- a heater, filter, lots of plants, substrate, and a cave- and had been doing water changes for her, but she was still very pale, had clamped fins, and was displaying prominent stress stripes. My mom said she had been very avoidant of her since she had come home, as well.

It quickly became apparent that Sophie was stressed out by almost everything in her environment, even when all the water parameters and��physical components were as they should be.

Turn off her filter, and she would still get stress stripes when her tank light was on. Turn her tank light off, she would be spooked every time one of the plants in her aquarium touched her. A stranger sitting in front of her aquarium resulted in clamped fins and a ceasing of all movement on her part. Move anything even slightly out of place during a water change without moving it back again- you guessed it, clamped fins and stress stripes. Being constantly stressed out is obviously not a good way for an animal to live, so I started working on counterconditioning and desensitization training with her almost immediately.

We started with the things that were most important to her long-term health and well-being; primarily, her filter. I swapped out the HOB filter my mom had set up with a sponge filter, setting it up with a gang valve so I could exercise precise control over the strength of the water current coming out of the filter. We started with barely any flow at all, though that was still enough that Sophie got stress stripes anytime the filter was on. She was fed all her meals in the back of her tank, progressively moving closer to the filter each time, until eventually all her food was dropped directly above it. It took a couple of weeks, but eventually, she was eagerly swimming over to that spot without clamping her fins, losing any color, or displaying stress stripes. Slowly we upped the strength of the filter, using the same process every time, and now it can run at full strength and she won’t react in the slightest.

We followed the same general process with having her lights on, introducing new things to her tank, leaving new objects sitting outside of her tank, and so on. Interestingly, the more we worked on these things, the easier it became, and the faster Sophie started reacting positively to the stimulus instead of negatively as she had before. I vividly remember setting a coffee cup in front of her aquarium one morning several months after she first came home, and watching her swim up and wiggle at it, despite never having done any training with cups before. I was stunned, but also incredibly proud of her!

Fast forward to two days ago, I removed one of Sophie’s old plants from her tank to replace it with a new one. At first, she swam over to the plant, looking at it with that familiar clamped-fin look and slightly dimmer colors (she virtually never gets stress stripes anymore, thankfully, but will get a little pale if something is stressing her out). All it took was one meal scattered throughout the leaves of that plant, and she no longer reacts negatively to its presence at all. I’ve even caught her sitting on it multiple times these past few days! This is something that would have taken weeks to accomplish when she first came home, and I can’t help but be proud of her for how much progress she’s made these past 8 months.

Probably the most interesting thing, however, has been applying these training techniques to the presence of an unfamiliar person. It’s not me anthropomorphizing- she genuinely reacts differently to someone she doesn’t recognize, as evidenced by the way she stops moving, clamps her fins, and just stares at them as opposed to her normal darting about and wiggling. My mom described this when she first told me about Sophie's behavior around her, and I have seen it myself in the months since. I had people feed Sophie whenever they came over/into my room, and though she will still stop and stare at new people, it only takes a couple of visits now for her grow comfortable enough to actually swim around when they are watching her, as opposed to the weeks it took before.

Interestingly, Sophie never actually reacted this way to me. The very first time I sat down in front of her she swam right over to me, made eye contact and wiggled, and has been just as open and interactive with me ever since. I couldn’t tell you why, but I would guess that maybe, because I have spent more time with fishes (and particularly fishes like Sophie) than most people who have met her, I approached her in a way that was more encouraging of her coming up to me. Who really knows, though! It will always be a mystery what exactly she was experiencing on her end when we first met.

This turned out kind of long and rambly, but it’s just something that’s been on my mind a lot these past couple of days. At times I feel some people do not really understand that fish behavior can be just as complex as that of other animals, and that, sometimes, they have issues like this that won't just magically go away on their own. Sometimes, fish keepers have to do more than just ensure water parameters are good and the diet is appropriate. I think Sophie’s case is a good example of this, and I certainly have learned a lot from working with and getting to know her.

In the end, though, I’m really just happy that she’s flourished into such a healthy, relaxed betta. She certainly is a far cry from that tiny, pale, striped little fish she was when I first met her!