#on newly forming friendships and love ❤️

[loveinhawkins]

Robin’s always had a soft spot for Eddie Munson, but up until recently it had been in a distant kind of way; she appreciated his class clown act, the way it had a domino effect of keeping the heat off the band kids, how he hogged the spotlight for any passing douchebag’s attention.

But then they both literally dive into The Upside Down, and her appreciation reaches a whole new level.

They’re in the Wheeler’s garage, thanking their lucky stars that four bikes exist in 1983 (and yeah, Robin’s sure that if she thinks about the whole time thing for half a second more her brain will promptly melt, so she doesn’t).

Each of them are pushing their chosen bike down the driveway, in a dazed sort of silence—the high of the Lite-Brite worn off in the face of another grim journey through The Upside Down.

Steve is flagging, Robin can hear it: his breathing’s growing laboured as he walks, an occasional unsteadiness to him that’s setting her anxiety off all over again, because what if they were wrong, what if it’s really rabies, and it’s too late, it’s coursing through his veins, and he’s—they’re gonna lose him—

“Hey, Harrington,” Eddie says, swinging a leg over his saddle, “wanna race?”

“… Hmm? Sorry, what?” Steve says.

There’s not even that long of a delay in him speaking, but the pause still has Robin’s heart in her throat.

Eddie’s got one foot on a pedal now, ready to set off. He looks back at them with a shaky grin—like he’s terrified, but he’s still gonna have some fun anyway.

“I’m throwing down the gauntlet, King Steve. Bet I’ll be faster than you.”

Steve scoffs, stands up a little straighter before he mirrors Eddie, balancing on the bike with one foot on the pedal.

“How much are we betting?”

Eddie huffs. “Oh, no money involved,” he says nonchalantly. He raises an eyebrow in challenge. “This is just for the glory.”

And God, there’s that spark back in Steve’s eyes; it’s like Robin can physically see his competitive streak giving him strength.

Eddie Munson, you beautiful soul, she thinks, I could kiss you.

“Faster than me? Yeah, maybe in your dreams, Munson,” Steve says.

But Eddie’s already speeding off with a comical whoop; Steve curses as he hurriedly tries to catch up, yelling, “You dick, that’s cheating!”

“Not in my rulebook!” Eddie says with a cackle.

And for a little while, that’s enough to put Robin’s mind at ease: watching the pair of them taunt each other like kids—hearing Nancy laugh at the spectacle as she bikes alongside her.

But then she falls through the Gate, Eddie close behind her, and they freeze when Steve screams Nancy’s name with such fear.

Robin’s plunged back into a mind-numbing panic; she’s sure that her heart doesn’t even begin to slow until they’ve left the trailer park, until Steve’s control of the RV switches from ‘holy shit, we’re on the run, what have our lives become?’ to something more normal—the reliable, measured driving she’s familiar with, taking her to and from school or work.

Finally, she has time to, um… take stock. Of… things.

She wobbles her way over to Eddie, grabbing onto his elbow as Steve takes a turning.

Eddie instantly holds her up, a steadying hand around her waist. “Oh, hi. I’ve gotcha—” “Your music isn’t actually shit,” Robin says in one breath. “I know, um, on balance, it’s probably not the worst thing I could’ve said, but the delivery was—but, you know, considering I thought Nance was literally about to die, I’d say it was, like, kinda calm all things considered, but—”

Eddie’s chuckling. “Yeah, on balance,” he echoes teasingly, “you were pretty damn funny, actually. Uh, sorry for. Um. Screaming at you? Basically?”

“Basically,” Robin agrees. “Yeah, you were like impressively loud. Not quite eardrum-rupturing level, but y’know, I don’t actually know anyone who’s really had that happen to them; Amanda Wallis said she ruptured hers at the pep rally ‘cause she was standing too close to us—the band, I mean, but—”

Eddie rolls his eyes. “Oh, that’s bull, there’s no way that’d be loud enough to—”

“—I think she just had a grudge ‘cause David C on mellophone got literally the tiniest bit of spit on her, and he was only—”

“Yeah, well, everyone knows you sit in the splash zone at your own risk.”

“Exactly! She’s had plenty of time to learn marching band protocol.”

“Uh-huh, protocol,” Eddie echoes again, with a giggle.

He’s got a nice kind of laugh, Robin thinks: one where she’s never in doubt that he’s laughing with her rather than at her.

“That stuff you do’s pretty cool,” he says; with his free hand, he actually imitates her mime of playing a trumpet. “You must have good, uh…” She can see the exact moment that he’s having second thoughts about saying it, but he forges ahead anyway, with a hilariously uncertain, “Good… lungs?”

“Fascinating attempt at a compliment,” Robin says. “Luckily for you, I accept insults as, like, equal tokens of friendship.”

Eddie does a double take. He doesn’t go so far as letting out a questioning, “We’re friends?”, but he might as well have said it anyway: his eyes widen for a moment, like someone who’s just been unexpectedly asked out to prom.

Steve takes another turning; he does it smoothly enough, but even he can’t stop the RV from moving with it, and Robin stumbles again, very nearly ends up repeating how she toppled right onto Eddie in The Upside Down.

“Woah there, you’re good,” Eddie says, “just gotta find your, uh, what’s it called? Your equilibrium.”

“I don’t have any,” Robin says, all theatrical devastation, and Eddie snorts.

“Sure you do, Buckley. Look, just take my—yeah, that’s it, then just kinda straighten up… yeah, you’ve got it.”

And yes, after a minute or so, Robin’s footing does feel more certain, but she still keeps a stubborn grip on Eddie’s elbow, just in case.

“God, d’you know what I’m gonna do when all this is over?” Eddie says.

“Pray tell.”

“I’m gonna make a list. What was it you said, Madonna, Blondie…? Whatever, I’m getting all of them, m’never getting caught out like that again.”

“I’m hoping that needing music to evade the clutches of a serial killer from an alternate dimension is, um, strictly a one-time thing.”

“Don’t care,” Eddie says. “Still buying those tapes. Just in case.”

And yeah, it’s said partly in jest, but Robin can hear that he means it. Still, it’s the most optimistic that she’s heard him be so far: making plans for after, like he can really see a way through this. Like maybe he finally knows that they’ll help him get there.

“Need a list of tapes from you too, Buckley. You and Harrington.”

Robin smiles. Her first thought is of singing Total Eclipse of the Heart from the dirt-ridden floor of a mall bathroom, but then she thinks of every car ride with Steve, every time they’ve turned up the radio to belt along, and she knows that there are way too many songs to count.

“Forget a list,” Robin says, “I could fill a book. Same for big boy over there.”

Eddie blinks, like he’s suddenly taking stock, too. “Oh yeah,” he says, laughing lightly, “I did say that, huh?”

“Sure did. I was doubting my ears, too.”

Robin had been hoping they’d long since reached the point of being able to joke around with one another. But while Eddie does laugh again, he also starts biting at his thumbnail, glancing over at Steve in the driver’s seat.

“Um, hey.” Robin manages to keep her balance, briefly pressing her knee against his leg. “I didn’t mean anything by it, Eddie.”

“No, I know.” Eddie huffs self-effacingly. “I’ve kinda got permanent foot-in-mouth disease, my report cards would tell you that.”

Well, if he wants to pass it off as sometimes I just say the darnedest things, Robin would be a hypocrite to deny him.

It fascinates her in a sad sort of way though, how he veers between joking and nervousness—like he’s worried he’s intruding on their group, of overstepping somehow.

She wants to tell him: Look, we all got dragged into this, but we chose to stick around, and you’re no different.

But she no longer has the aftermath of Russian drugs to help bypass her own nerves, to kickstart her sincerity.

“Hey, you’re awfully quiet back there,” Steve calls, and Eddie startles.

Robin shakes her head. “Not us, that’s his—”

“Hello? Henderson, I’m talking to you.”

“We’re not even doing anything!” Dustin shouts back in exaggerated affront.

He’s sat on the backseat of the RV, peering out the window along with Lucas, Erica and Max. Robin stifles a chuckle at the sight; they look like they’re on a field trip—the cool kids at the back of the bus.

“Yeah, well, just checking,” Steve says, amused. “For all I know, you coulda been building a gigantic radio again on, like, the roof of this thing.”

“Cerebro,” Dustin says, just as Eddie lets out a baffled, “Uh, again?”

But then they’re pulling into The War Zone’s parking lot, and any chatter abruptly dies.

Afterwards, Steve gets off the road to park in a reassuringly deserted field. They don’t head outside right away (Robin’s not exactly looking forward to prepping Molotov cocktails), instead staying in the RV to eat junk food they’d grabbed beforehand.

Robin discovers that Dustin’s somehow bought five more cans of Pringles and snorts, declaring, “You’ve got a problem.”

At some point, Steve tries to sneak off to the bathroom so he can change his dressings—“And use actual proper bandages!” Robin calls to him; no offence to Nancy’s resourcefulness, but the torn shirt strips only do so much good.

It becomes a more comical than horrifying event, although she’s sure that’s down to Steve deliberately making it so, like a sleight of hand trick: playing it down as he keeps talking to the kids throughout, never wincing even once.

He ends up having to keep the bathroom door open to continue an argument with Erica over which Scoops Ahoy sundae was the best of all time—then figures that he might as well just step out into the open anyway.

At least the wounds have stopped bleeding—although the sight of Steve cleaning around them with bottled water is one that Robin could personally do without.

The kids are entirely unfazed. They flock to Steve, peering at the glimpses he lets them see like he’s just got a cool tattoo. Robin supposes that after El and whatever nightmare wormy thing was in her leg, they’ve seen everything.

Eddie, however, is another matter. He keeps quiet about it, not obvious at all, but Robin watches his face grow paler and paler before Steve wraps the new bandages around his stomach.

Dustin, bless his precocious little heart, must also notice, because he quickly starts up a seemingly impromptu game of charades, meaning that Eddie is soon distracted by his ridiculously over the top gestures.

“No, Steve, how are you not getting this?”

“I thought the whole appeal of this game was that you’re not meant to talk, Henderson. Dude, watch it, you nearly took Max’s eye out with… whatever the hell that was.”

“Oh my god, it’s Back to the Future, obviously! Ow, Max, I didn’t mean to—uh, yeah, the mime needs to be that big, how else am I gonna project what—”

“Dustin, I swear to god, I’m about to project you out the window,” Steve drawls.

Eddie laughs, hides it behind his hand.

But Steve must catch it, because he glances over at Eddie and winks before he’s dragged back into guessing another movie title.

And Robin’s obviously seen Steve wink before—he does it all the time, so much so that she’s become quite adept at reading when it’s a friendly one for her, or if he’s sharing some kind of in-joke with one of the kids.

She’s also seen his attempts at a ‘smooth’ wink towards some girls at work—and look, he’s Steve Harrington, it’s not like he’s going to be bad at it.

But if you ask Robin, it’s never looked quite right, like he’s always performing to an audience he’s unsure of.

But this wink doesn’t look like it belongs to either of those categories. Well, it’s got something in common with the first: that it looks entirely natural, as if he’s doing it almost without thinking. Like it just feels right.

They go through some more rounds of charades—Dustin’s gestures, if possible, getting even more dramatic—and Eddie gradually goes from contributing a few guesses to none at all, curling up on the backseat. He looks utterly wiped out.

Robin tries to catch Nancy’s eye, and after a few attempts, she gets the message, stands up with a nod.

“Okay, let’s take this outside, guys.”

“Spoken like a true camp counsellor,” Max says.

Nancy acts like she’s offended, but her lips keep twitching into a smile. “Max, never say that to me again.”

“There’s more space outside,” Erica says, “so we can duck out the way of Dustin’s windmilling arms.”

“Hey!”

“I’m bored of charades,” Lucas says. “We could do another competition? Like, I dunno, cartwheels or handstands or something?”

“Oh sure, so I can show you up?” Max returns, grinning.

Steve scoffs. “Uh, if you’re doing a cartwheel competition, I would win.”

“Since when?” Dustin says, an obvious taunt that Steve predictably rises to, flipping him off.

“Save your athletics for Vecna, please,” Nancy cuts in dryly.

“It wouldn’t be a fair fight.” Lucas gestures to Steve’s stomach, a little uncertainly. “You know, considering…”

Steve rolls his eyes. “Whatever. Under normal circumstances, I would kick all your asses.”

“Sure,” Robin says brightly, “but Steve, if you do literally anything more strenuous than sitting down right now, I’m gonna—”

“Uh, Steve would kick your asses, actually,” Eddie says slowly. His voice is muffled from the way his hand’s holding up his chin, partly covering his mouth. “He did gymnastics.”

Robin, surprised, looks to Steve; he’s doing that thing where he scratches at his cheek unconsciously, seems to be a mixture of embarrassed and pleased.

“How’d you know that?” he asks.

Eddie shrugs. “We didn’t have a cover for gym one time, remember? There was a whole group of us slacking off but you just kept doing, y’know,” he twirls his fingers, “tricks on that box thingy.”

“Vaulting box,” Steve corrects like he can’t stop himself. He’s sporting an almost abashed little smile that Robin’s never seen before.

Eddie shrugs again. “S’all Greek to me,” he says, interrupts himself halfway through with a deep yawn.

Steve’s eyes soften. And then he’s ushering the kids outside, “C’mon, you can do whatever competition you want for thirty minutes before we get to work.”

“Got it, coach.”

“Shut up, Mayfield.”

“I’ll be your stopwatch if you’re doing handstands,” Nancy chips in, bringing up the rear—she catches Robin’s eye again, subtly tilts her head in Eddie’s direction and mouths Stay?

Robin nods.

“Uh, that won’t be accurate at all,” comes Dustin’s rebuttal—he’s outside now, but his voice still carries. “Unless you can like accurately keep time in your head down to the second—”

“Oh my god, Dustin, you’re such a shithead.”

“Nancy Wheeler, I’m heartbroken.”

Steve’s chuckle floats through the open door. “She said it, dude, not me.”

“You say it all the goddamn time!”

And then the voices fade away until all Robin can hear is distant laughs and joyful screams. It’s relaxing, in its own way.

“No gymnastics for you, Buckley?” Eddie says.

“Nope, not since 7th grade. Managed two cartwheels before I broke my wrist.”

Eddie winces in sympathy. He’s slumping a bit more; Robin makes herself comfy in the opposite corner of the backseat, gives him the most space.

She feels a weird lump at her back, behind one of the cushions. A quick investigation reveals an issue of TV Guide Magazine.

“Ooh, we can find out what we missed while on the run,” she says, waggling it in front of Eddie.

He smiles with a small huff. “Doubt it. Says 1981 on the front.”

“What’s a little more time travel?”

Robin flicks through to the crossword. She’s all too aware that Eddie’s still sat more stiffly than anything else. With Steve, it would be so easy; she could prod him in the thigh with her toe, light touches until he took the hint and relaxed.

But even before they’d really become friends, they were tactile: a tap on the shoulder to grab attention, bumping hips to move each other out of the way whenever they were scooping ice-cream at the same time. It’d been done so unconsciously, like they were already learning to read each other’s minds.

With Eddie, it’s clear that a different approach is needed.

Robin had caught onto that after her misstep at the boathouse, a pit in her stomach at the sight of Eddie’s hands shaking.

But her instinct to reach out, to soothe, made her unthinkingly try again; as they walked in the woods, she’d heard his breathing quicken, and her hand lightly brushed his back. She drew back as he instantly flinched at her touch.

“Sorry, sorry,” she said hurriedly. “Just—just checking you were okay. Sorry.”

Eddie just stared at her before nodding hesitantly.

And Robin wanted to tell him that it wasn’t by chance, that he had people who cared about him; that she did, and it wasn’t a fluke or an accident—she was choosing it.

She keeps her eyes on the magazine, jots down a few crossword answers. It reminds her of summer days spent reading on her grandparents’ porch, not wanting to startle a cat her grandpa had rescued as it approached her. It was always so spooked.

“You’ve just gotta let him come to you, sweet pea,” her grandma would say.

After a couple minutes, she hears Eddie breathe out, the creak of the seat as he lies down. He rests his head right next to her thigh.

“S’good?” he asks, pointing at the magazine.

“It’s pretty easy.” One of the crossword clues is ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the?’ which isn’t exactly taxing. “I’m used to doing the cryptic ones.”

Eddie laughs. He kinda sounds fond. “Of course you are.”

“They’re not that hard, once you know how to read ‘em.”

“Hmm, I doubt that. Lay one on me, Buckley.”

She purses her lips in thought. “Oh, I got this one last week. Condition of Wyoming, five letters.”

Eddie lifts his head ever so slightly to give her a blank look. “Not a fucking clue.”

“State. Get it? ‘Cause ‘condition’ is the definition, and Wyoming is literally—”

“God, I’m surrounded by geniuses.”

“Well, I’ve got the advantage of a summer of code-breaking.”

Robin slowly raises her hand as she speaks—makes sure to do it in Eddie’s line of vision, spots that he doesn’t pull back, that he even gives the tiniest half-nod. She pats his head twice.

Eddie scrunches up his nose. “Sorry, my hair’s gross.”

“It’s not that bad,” Robin says honestly. “Y’know for being on the run, it’s holding up pretty well. I’m getting whatever shampoo you use.”

Eddie smiles. “Sure.”

“Yours is looking way better than mine did after, like, one day getting wrapped up in all this.” Again, without really thinking, Robin adds, “I had all this sweat and blood and puke in it.”

Eddie’s eyes are closed now. He makes an unhappy sound, prods gently at her knee. “You’ve all gotta work on telling me horrific shit. That should not be casual for you, Buckley.”

He sounds emphatic—protective, even. Robin feels unexpectedly emotional.

“Yeah, sorry. Bad habit.”

Silence falls, and by the time Steve enters the RV, Robin has filled in the whole crossword, Eddie dozing by her side.

Steve’s getting another bottle of water—actually drinking it this time. He’s got grass stains on his knees, and he’s sweating slightly, like the ‘stay still’ advice hasn’t once been taken.

His eyes soften again when he sees Eddie sleeping—he doesn’t need to linger, but he does.

Robin watches.

We need more time, Steve, she thinks suddenly. For you to keep looking at him like that—for him to be awake to see it.

Steve tears his eyes away. Lands on her.

She smiles, mouthing What?

Steve rolls his eyes. He imitates her ‘what?’ mockingly, but then he smiles back and taps at his wrist, mimes winding a watch on. It’s what they do whenever they’re slammed at work, wanting to talk, but only able to briefly catch each other’s eyes in the rush. Later.

She taps her wrist. Later, she promises.

He gives her a double thumbs up—what a dork—before heading back outside.

Robin quietly puts the magazine away. Ever so carefully, she lightly strokes Eddie’s hair, feels her heart swell and break at the same time when he sighs contentedly in his sleep.

You’d better look after yourself, Eddie Munson, she thinks. You’ve got people here. People who really want you to stick around.

[theunholyrogue]

I’m autistic and my special intrest are catfish (the fish, not the other catfish). Recently, I’ve found out about a catfish yokai called an Ōnamazu, which in Japan is believed to cause earthquakes by thrashing around. I was wondering what the tmnt Bayverse boys would be like with an Ōnamazu s/o? They have the power of earth manipulation and they look like a catfish humanoid

hi nonnie! ^^ thank you for your ask! i thought it was a really interesting one (i love catfish too!!!)

i hope that this is what you were asking for! i’ve been struggling with writer’s block so i’ so sorry that’s it’s not super long ><

The Boys with an Ōnamazu SO (Bayv! scenarios x GN! reader)

tw: v mild cursing

🩵Leonardo🩵

Whenever you had first met the group of teenage mutants, Leonardo was the first to have caught your eye. Something about the leader of the turtles intrigued you, but it didn’t help that he was standoffish towards you. It took him the longest to warm up to you, to know for sure that you weren’t going to turn on him or his family. That you were indeed an ally.

After he had begun to warm up to you, a friendship blossomed instantly. You were ‘peas in a pod’ as April liked to call the two of you. Since you were both mutants, you both spent the majority of your time together. You would join in on their training sessions, sit down next to Leo during his meditation time and attempt to do what he did, and sometimes you would join them on patrol.

It took even longer for Leonardo to work up the courage to ask you on a date, to which you weren’t expecting much. But when he took you to a secluded area of NYC Square Park, underneath a very leafy tree with fairy lights and a blanket spread along the ground and a basket atop the blanket, you smiled.

He apologized that there wasn’t more to it, or that he couldn’t take you anywhere fancier due to both of your situations, but you quickly assured him that what he had set up was perfect. You sat down on the blanket with him following behind, and while he started to open the basket to pull food out, you manipulated the ground beside the two of you to become a small, round, earthy table. Leonardo’s gaze swiftly moved from the basket to you, his eyes widened with amazement.

“Could you always do that?” He asked, looking at the newly formed table and then back at you.

You nodded slowly, “Have I never done that around you?”

He shook his head, “No, but you should do that more, that’s neat!”

Leonardo took advantage of the table and pulled the arrangement of food out, different small foods that both of you enjoyed and went about your date.

❤️ Raphael ❤️

It was no joke that you and Raphael were meant to be. You both tend to have anger issues and a stubbornness to the two of you. However, none of the other turtles knew to what extent your anger issues could resort to whenever you got mad. Really mad.

This particular night was the night they found out, when Mikey suggested that you, his brothers, April, Casey, and Splinter all play Monopoly earlier that day. Only April and Casey had played it before, so the rest of you decided to play (whether willingly or forcibly, we’ll never know), and April agreed to bring her copy of the game over.

Casey had made the smug comment that it would be fun to see the two hot-heads playing the most anger-inducing game there is, causing you and Raphael to look his way.

“Do you seriously think I’ll get pissed off over a game?” You asked, causing Casey to smirk and shrug.

“We’ll see,” he replied, hopping up from his spot on the couch and leaving before you or Raph could get another word in.

Later on that night, April and Casey returned with the boardgame and a few boxes of pizza, all with various toppings to everybody’s likings. As Casey laid the pizza out with Mikey following behind him and taking a slice from each and every box, April was at the table setting up the game itself before calling everyone over.

“Let’s play!” She announced, with everyone walking over.

She played as the banker, handing out money while everyone took their pieces.

Let the game begin.

Donnie and Raph quickly dominated the board, taking over several of the greater money making spots that people normally landed on, to which had you fed up.

Pay Raph. Pay Raph. Pay Taxes. Pay Donnie. Go to Jail.

“What the hell!” You yelled, causing the entire sewer around you to shake.

“Woah, mamacita!” Mikey called out, while everyone else looked your way.

“Hey, there’s no need to get all mad, sweetcheeks. It’s just a game,” Raphael said with a fat grin on his face.

You glared at him, wanting to throw in the rest of your 200 and quit the game but what fun would that be?

You continued playing with a pettiness to you, taking over several lots of Raph’s and inevitably taking him down.

You could see the red on his face when you took the last bit of his money, a sadistic grin forming on your face.

“Don’t worry, hon. It’s just a game!~”

💜 Donatello 💜

Whenever you had first met the genius, it wasn’t under the most normal of circumstances. The two of you had met in a lab while out gathering supplies for various degrees of needs, as if faith had it out that the two of you were to meet.

He wasn’t so standoffish to you as Leo would be since you were both mutants just trying to survive, but he didn’t do anything to try and keep in contact…

Until the day the two of you met again, at the same lab, nearly two months later. You remember making a joke about seeing him again and Donnie had laughed, and he actually invited you back to the lair after the two of you had a longer conversation and got to know one another.

Little did Don know that would be the best decision he would have ever made in his life, as he had a whole relationship spark from those two meetings and that one invite back to his home. The two of you clicked, he took time to learn about you and your past and vice versa. You spent a lot of time in his lab with him, helping him with projects and experiments, even being able to use your manipulation in some cases to aid him.

Tonight, he pulled you into the kitchen with him, with a sloppily written recipe on a piece of paper on the island. He was eyeballing you, “We’re going to bake together, but there’s a catch,” he spoke.

You looked at him, nodding your head with curiosity.

“One of us is the eyes, the other is the arms.”

Your brow bone raised, “Am I the eyes? I wanna be the eyes,” you replied.

He nodded, “Okay, I’ll be the arms,” he said, grabbing the blindfold and putting it over his eyes.

Wrapping his arms around you with yours draping down over his, you directed him on what to do.

“Over, over, to the right, right, no other way, Donnie, other way,”

“Are you directionly blind!?”

“No, but you are, apparently!”

The brownies that the two of you had put together ended up being good, but there was a lot of harmless insults jokes during the process that both of you took part in.

🧡 Michaelangelo 🧡

Oh, Mikey was so ecstatic to have ever met you. No matter how the youngest looked at it, you were not one of his brothers, also a mutant, and you spent so much time with him. What a win-win situation that was, right?!

He acted smooth around you all the time, gaining plenty of giggles and chuckles, or dismissals of his behavior, but when he seriously asked you to be his partner one day, you could tell the difference between his then behavior and his norm.

Of course you said yes to the turtle, allowing a relationship to occur between the two of you that more than your friendship.

You didn’t expect the sudden difference in his behavior, however. He was his usual Mikey, sure, but he was a lot more lovey dovey, a lot more protective, and a lot more affectionate. You weren’t going to complain about his behavior change, not unless he started to push you past your own comfort zone at least.

Yours and Mikey’s favorite thing to do together aside from watching movies or gaming is swimming. You both love taking a dive off of the NYC coast into the water for a nice swim together and see who is faster (which is typically always you, but sometimes you go slower to let Mikey have a win every now and again).

Sometimes your swims are romantic, where the two of you swim against one another and just be there with one another, other times it’s playful and fun, where the two of you make up games out of it.

It’s not often that the two of you get to enjoy this kind of activity together, typically with how busy NY is, the turtle’s late patrols, or other factors that prevent the two of you from going out in public. When the two of you get to, you take advantage of it.

“Hey Mikey, wanna go for a swim?”

“Oh, you already know it, my lil dumpling. Let’s go!”

[udaberriwrites]

Fic Writer Self Rec

Fic authors self-rec! ✨ When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you’ve written, then pass on to at least five other writers ❤️

Oooh, a chance to ramble about my fics, I see, well let's do this! Thank you, @sliebman10!

Let's tag... @mikaharuka , @alpaca-clouds , @thememoryofthatday , @sapphosewrites , @axolotlsupremacyowo , @0nelittlebirdtoldme , @kayedium-writes and @tsunderewatermelon !

Ok, ok, so... as usual, I'm going to be jumping around, because you guys know how my attention span can be xD

1. Life is a Rollercoaster; or Tao Xu's Fight Against the Big Butterfly of Doom (Heartstopper | 11.1k | Fluff, Humor, Time Travel)

Tao got the chance to go back in time and undo his worst mistake. Tao prevented Charlie from being outed or bullied. Tao changed things enough that, the second time around, Charlie didn't get assigned the seat next to Nick Nelson in form.

…Fuck.

Or: the Butterfly Effect sucks, and if Tao has to take desperate measures to ensure his friend's happiness, he will. He draws the line at Iron Man 2 though, someone has to keep some standards around here.

I binged the show and immediately got the urge to write something for it, but I didn't expect it to blow up as it did! I had fun with this one, and the readers were super nice and encouraging, plus sharing this one is what led me to eventually meet @mikaharuka as we rambled over our fics, so for that alone it's always going to have a special significance for me 😁

2. Neither Grief Nor Glory (TSOA/Hades | 7.6k | Angst, Smut)

Dying had been a relief, but death is turning into its own kind of torment.

Dying was just the beginning. Achilles' journey back to Patroclus is a long and twisted one. Along the way he'll have to confront his unaddressed grief, face his many regrets and learn to truly become a man worthy of Patroclus' unconditional love.

But like all journeys, eventually he'll reach his safe harbor.

My first yuletide! This one took months and a couple of minor breakdowns, but the end result is something I am very proud of, both in terms of the prose and the worldbuilding. And my giftee left the loveliest comment ☺️

3. All That Matters (Asterix the Gaul | 2.6k | Character Study, Queerplatonic Relationships)

Asterix has always felt different, but he has Obelix, and that is usually enough. Everybody else has questions, however, and he grows tired of answering.

"He wants to shout, even if he still doesn't know what he wants to say, even if he knows that if he lets his frustration take hold of his tongue, he will regret the harm he will cause."

This was... very, very cathartic to write. I remember rewriting sections of this so often, and I am humbled by the response it had. It was a very validating experience.

4. Life is a Flower, Love is the Honey (Deep Space Nine | 9.5k | Romance and Fluff)

“I don’t think Julian would like that,” Leeta said, without pausing to think about it, but… “We could ask him,” Rom had replied. And wasn’t that an interesting idea?

(A self-indulgent, mostly Rom-centric, Julian/Leeta/Rom fic because I was re-watching ‘Bar Association’ and this happened. I have no regrets.)

The one that brought me back into writing, after several years of hiatus... and the one that gave me confidence to push on, even if I nearly backed out due to it featuring a strange rarepair. This story is always going to be special for me <3

4. When You Speak, I Hear Silence (Deep Space Nine | 1.8k | Friendship)

Terok Nor is no more, and strange new aliens are coming to the newly named Deep Space Nine. Nog doesn't expect life to change; but then he finds a friend, who gives him the greatest gift he will ever receive.

If there's a fic where I wouldn't change a single word or a moment of the writing process, it has to be this one. I'm so glad I didn't go with my initial idea, because this version with Jake&Nog just made things click for me ^_^

[texasdreamer01]

hey, sorry to come to you at such a random time, but do you happen to have some ygo fanfic recs or know where I could find them? I see you reblog ygo stuff from time to time and I've been away from the fandom for so long I don't know my way around anymore lol thanks anyway, stay safe 💜

No problem nonny! ❤️ I haven’t been incredibly active in the fandom for a while, either (though now I’m in a couple of zines! Hocus Pocus and P.O.S.S.E.S.S.E.D.). 

I don’t know what you prefer to read, so I’m just going to… dump everything I have off hand, so this will be put under a cut. A lot of this will be Puzzleshipping/Blindshipping, unfortunately, so if you’d prefer a different ship (or genfic!), please let me know!

Aside from everything I’ve recced, FanFiction.net is still hugely popular for posting YGO fics, though as I’ve linked, AO3 has some traffic as well. If you’re looking for other series outside Duel Monsters, please let me know! I’ll try to find people in those fandoms to direct you to. ❤️

All my YGO bookmarks on AO3 because I can’t decide what to rec first

All the fics I’ve recently recced out to others:

The Newly Revised Book of the Dead by Nenya8533 chapters, complete, M, Prideshipping

Paper Roses by Kisara Strife53 chapters, incomplete, M, Blueshipping, Pleashipping/Aweshipping

Mistaken Assumptions by tavia45426 chapters, complete, M, Puzzleshipping/BlindshippingAO3 mirror

Written in the Stars by TechnicolorNina23 chapters, complete, M, Puzzleshipping/Blindshipping

Dream Eater by LeonawriterOneshot, Gen, Ryou Bakura & Yami Bakura

Legacy of Darkness by BanjodogSummary: “Second Place Winner for Chibizoo’s Fanfiction Contest!!! Yami confronts the Millennium Puzzle and challenges its authority. Some hints of Y/Y”Horror, 4.7k, Puzzleshipping, Complete

Don’t Fear the Reaper by spirithorseSummary: “Yugi is a reaper, one who separates the souls from the body at the moment of death. Yami is a man who can see and talk to ghosts. Yugi is sent to the town of Fairwater to investigate a recent increase in deaths and find out more than he ever wanted to.”Horror/Mystery, 85.7k, Puzzleshipping, CompleteAO3 Mirror

Silent Sacrifice by BayleefSummary: “The first creature chuckled and nuzzled the Pharaoh’s arm, making excited, hungry noises that turned Atem’s stomach.’ Atem had lied about the Ceremonial Battle. Beyond the door was not the Spirit World, but a pact with darkness.Oneshot.Rated for violence”Angst/Horror, 3.6k, Gen, Complete

Time After the Tone - A Reboot by SmallInsectSummary: “It began the way the apocalypse always seemed to these days: with strange phone calls in the dead of night. Phone calls which prove Yugi’s friends really will go around the world and back for each other, as Shadow Realm monsters gather in the streets of Europe. [A reboot and partial rewrite of “Time After the Tone” - first posted here in 2007 and still available to read.]“Supernatural/Friendship, 114k, Gen, Complete

Dream Eater by LeonawriterSummary: ”“You’d better be careful.” Those were the words the spirit of the Millennium Ring would hear - either from the half-asleep voice, or simply as a shiver up his spine as he worked. He was possessing a dream eater in human form, after all. “Or one day I’ll mistake you for a bad dream.”“Oneshot, Gen, Ryou Bakura & Yami Bakura

Paradise Is by geefishgeraldSummary: Fate moves us.Archived version, geefishgerald’s other works

Double Vision by Hitokiri-san Summary: Post series, solid Yami. Weeks after the Ceremonial Battle, Kaiba is plagued with dreams of his past life. Against his better judgment, he visits Yugi with the intent of confirming his suspicions about Pharaoh Atem.

Untitled by lovely-accursed-muse* Malik-centric

Ya'aburnee by Darkspine29 Summary: Sometimes all it takes is a single word. Puzzleshipping drabble.

From Page 41 by Animom Summary: Pharaoh Set knew that Mana had meant well, but what she’d brought back for him from the River of Time was certainly NOT Kisara. ** Humor/angst with light romance and an incident of implied unpleasantness. ** Established Mizushipping (Set/Kisara), assumed Mana/Mahaado and Pegasus/Cyndia, a discussion of Toonshipping, and mild situational Heiroglyphshipping (Set/Pegasus).

daily drabble: not settling for, but settling into by @paradoxi-kayHonda/Ryou, alternate reblog link

Spell of Pain by nihao.museSummary: Malik has just arrived in Japan, planning to spend a few months away from his homeland. The Millennium Items are gone, but as Malik discovers, his dark side isn’t. If coexistence isn’t possible, is mutual destruction the only other option? Post-canon bronzeshipping.

This tumblr fic

Where Gods Fear to Tread by Slightly Sinister Sinestra Summary: Seto Kaiba is in business partnership with Bruce Wayne. These two gods find out that there is one thing they fear, and its name is Alfred Pennyworth. On hiatus.

Power and Distraction by streptomycinnSummary: On the boat to Battle City, Malik reflects, despite his efforts not to. Oneshot, Character Study.Archived version

Untitled by ishtarclanSummary: Part headcanon, part drabble.  Malik discovers how strangers view him.

Posthumous by streptomycinnSummary: Lady Ishtar does not have the Sight, but she still finds a way to see beyond. Justice will not come in her lifetime, but justice will be served.Archived version

Zenshu by Masami Mistress Of Fire Summary: Zenshu translates as complete literary works. A collection of 10 oneshots based around a single Japanese word or phrase chosen at random from a Japanese dictionary. Rating to be safe, some mature content, shonenai, cursing, Puzzleshipping!

You Can Still Be Free by Scribbler Summary: Atem. Yami. Spirit. Pharaoh. Prince. Many names but still one personality. Many incarnations but still a core of love that he spends on those most precious to him. From goodbye to hello, a story told in reverse.

Whom the King Loves: A Love Story in 50 Sentences by lucidscreamer Summary: They both know that it is madness for the two of them to fall in love; they do it anyway. Puzzleshipping. Mostly-canon, with added Yami/Yugi, and end of series “fix it”. This is the first story in my post-canon universe.

Where the Dawn Doesn’t Break by Penga Summary: Yami is trapped within a dark, crushing void, the weight of guilt and regret bearing down on him. When his deepest fear takes root in reality, the broken pharaoh is offered a permanent outlet.

What Could Have Been by citrus luver Summary: In a universe where Yuugi and Atemu are normal teenage boys. They spend the night playing video games.

The Subject by Ocean Summary: Jou stumbles upon Yuugi in the park one cold winter's afternoon, only to bear witness to a typical day in the lives of Yami and Yuugi. Poor Jou. Mention of YY {continuous}

Taur'i Gods by lavalieres Summary: When the SG1 team stumbles across two odd, young men on a standard reconnaissance mission, it becomes their duty to determine if the young men are friend or foe, and help the two get back home. [crossover with Stargate SG1, slight Yami no Yuugi x Yuugi]