h2o is iconic

rikki chadwick and zane bennett are bi icons and what about it / a side h2o blog, my main is southslates

[bizikki]

dee's masterlist of zane/rikki fic recs

i spent an entire month brainrotting about these two, so let's go! i tried to choose fics that were well-written and mostly in character + finished or in progress as of 2021. sorted by word count.

Mermaids & Motorcross by Clare_Spradley_I - Zane Bennett was the best young motocross racer in all of Gold Coast. His long standing title gets threatened by an up and coming new racer named Rikki. Zane thought he'd challenge this new guy to a one on one race but is surprised when he finds Rikki is a pretty, blonde girl with more secrets than he can count. How will Zane deal with the new girl in town? Rated G, Complete, 64K.

Little Mermaid by Clare_Spradley_I - She was just planning on tricking Zane into kissing her. After all, the movies like the Little Mermaid always talked about true love’s kiss. Maybe then he’d realize how much better she was than Rikki. That was until the locket flew off Miriam’s neck and split open on the table revealing a picture Zane might find quite interesting. A different take on In Too Deep (S1 EP 23). Rated T, In-Progress, 50K (as of now).

Wiped Out by liveonpurpose - Zane gets in a biking accident and loses his memory. Unable to remember the last few years, Rikki tries to help him regain his memory. But will he be the same? Will he keep her secret? Set after season 3. Rated T, Complete, 41K words.

solstice by momtara - Mysterious forces enchant Mako Island and, with the moon pool destroyed, Rikki is skeptical when Zane vows to restore its magic. Legend has it that the fates of all mermaids are intertwined; will this prove true when all are reunited to spend their last summer together? Or can their mistakes ever truly be mended? Zikki. Rated G, Complete, 30K words.

Family by bananacosmicgirl - They’ve been together for four years and now Rikki has something to tell Zane. A five-part series dealing with Rikki and Zane starting a family. Zane/Rikki. Rated T, Complete, 13K words.

Chocolate Ice Cream by maddienole - Set four years after graduation, Rikki and Zane cross paths at a charity function. Chaos ensues. Zikki. Rated T, In-Progress, 11K (as of now).

How to be Happy by maddienole - While struggling to deal with an unexpected pregnancy, Rikki reflects on her own troubled childhood. Post season 3. Eventual Zikki. Rated G, Complete, 10K words.

Part of the Teenage Angst Brigade by littledust - What exactly was on that playlist Zane made for Rikki? 14 scenes from the life and times of Zane Bennet and Rikki Chadwick, each matched to one of the songs. Rated G, Oneshot, 5K words.

Ambergris Aftermath by Clare_Spradley_I - "We were lucky Zane and Lewis were looking out for us today." Cleo told Rikki after Emma took off to apologize to Ash. "Yeah." Rikki replied. "A little too lucky, don't you think?" What I imagine happened after Irresistible (S2 EP 15). Rated T, Oneshot, 3K.

Thunderstorm by bananacosmicgirl - Her eyes travelled onto the TV-screen, which was showing the weather report. Storm clouds piled up on the screen – a thunderstorm was heading their way. Response to prompt 9 on my Hurt/Comfort table. Takes place between the first season finale, 1x26 "A Twist in the Tail", before the start of the second season, 2x01 "Control". An alternate take on how Zane finds out that Rikki's still a mermaid. Rated G, Oneshot, 2K words.

Done Feeling So Alone by Jellybean96 - It's the best feeling in the entire world. She feels less alone in the water, more connected to her fellow mermaids. She smiles at the thought of getting to see them again. It's been too long. Way too long. Post Mako Mermaids Zikki fix-it. Rated G, Oneshot, 2K words.

+ The 5 Items Series by Clare_Spradley_I:

5 Dresses - As long as Zane had known her, she had always preferred shorts or pants. He loved her regardless of what she wore but he loved her in a dress. Five times Rikki wore a dress in front of Zane. Mostly from Zane's POV. Rated T, Complete, 9K.

5 More Dresses - Brenna Bennett was so like her mother, it was often scary. For example, she never liked wearing dresses but Zane always found her beautiful in them. Five memorable times Rikki and Zane's daughter wore a dress. Rated G, Complete, 10K.

5 Ties - Zane didn't dress up often and considering their lifestyle, she couldn't say she blamed him. Still, there was something about him wearing a suit and tie that drove Rikki crazy. 5 memorable times Zane wore a suit and tie in front of Rikki. Rated T, Complete, 14K.

5 More Ties - Flint Bennett was like his father in many ways. He could be sweet but arrogant, caring but had his difficulties pushing his ego aside. Rikki found her son also looked handsome in a suit and tie. Five memorable times Rikki and Zane's son wore a suit & tie. Rated G, Complete, 8K.

Have fun reading!

[sydeysage]

Why do you find it so hard to believe that someone could be interested in you? I mean, regardless of where you live, Rikki. I like you. I mean... I really like you. Zane Bennett & Rikki Chadwick in H2O: Just Add Water (2006-2010)

[bizikki]

HI BABES! doing my yearly rewatch again mwah i love these babies!

underappreciated zikki moment....the dance in season 1 when they're vibing away in the corner until the plot kicks in :)

[bizikki]

so me personally, I think it's insane how watching zane and rikki fall in love angrily and perfectly in H2O as a kid changed me for life. like, that is love to me. that is my standard for a fulfilling relationship (minus season 3).

[bizikki]

am i the only one who shipped cleo & emma in h2o.... or like cleo/emma/lewis?

[team--charlotte]

[ghostfreak04]

screaming sobbing crying

thinking abt zikki and just zane bennett overall makes me so emotion like i cant- IM LIKE WEIRDLY EMOTIONAL OVER A FICTIONAL COUPLE

[bizikki]

they were my og faves and they were so cheated it STILL FILLS ME WITH RAGE! they were soulmates ok

[bizikki]

my love of enemies to lovers ships started with rikki chadwick and zane bennett

[juicenet]

zane could have handled that incident where he spills juice on emma in literally any other way and it would have been better 💀

[juicenet]

and realistically… i’m on zane’s side because he’s trying to do the right thing, but i can see why ash thinks he was just being an asshole as he doesn’t know the mermaid secret yet. but why is emma so mad?? she knows zane was trying to stop ash from following her to the cool room 💀

[dizzystqrs]

no and you're so right. emma is literally soooo smart in canon and you genuinely cannot tell me she didn't make the connection that zane was trying to stop her Zero Knowledge Of Boundaries Boyfriend from going in the cool room & seeing her with a tail. like i understand if she was upset bc of how zane handled the situation (which was badly) but.... her lines literally just implied that she only thought zane was being an asshole. violence actually

[juicenet]

ash dove (Zero Knowledge of Boundaries)

[dizzystqrs]

LMFDOADOGFOO NO BUT LIKE.... god i forgot to add this but later on the show has zane talk ash down from (yet again) intruding on boundaries in charlotte's shed. and zane does this... like a completely normal person 💀 like it starts no arguments bc it's... not a necessity of the plot for it to happen. like... they truthfully were just fighting to fight

[team--charlotte]

ash really is that guy who insists he knows what's best for you while insisting he's invading your personal space for your own good

[h2ojustaddmako]

honestly don't disrespect zane like that

he wasn't "being an asshole" when he tried to stop ash from seiing emma... He knew that this was his reputation and what people expected from him and what would piss ash enough to forget about emma and fight with him instead

he's clearly just playing along, my boi is smart like that

but honestly literally why emma is mad homie are you dum

p.s. am i becoming a zane bennett stan account? mayhaps

[opalsiren]

who would win in a fight strictly using their mermaid powers: emma, cleo, or rikki? go

[cleo-serotonin]

i think it really just depends on whoever makes the first move bc any of their powers could immediately kill someone, im gonna place my bets on emma bc i feel like rikki would be too overly confident and emma would use that to her advantage . and s1 cleo really doesn’t stand a chance im sorry 😭

[bizikki]

@cleo-serotonin I DIED

strictly powers i think it would be rikki because cleo is too nice to explore the depth of her ability and i feel like rikki could probably melt anything emma did but with the kind of fatigue heat exhaustion gives you emma would have a hard time beating rikki

[opalsiren]

i’ve made this post before but it just confounds me in the best possible way that the h2o finale aired 10+ years ago yet there is SO much new h2o content being created every day. its cultural impact was absolutely unprecedented and there is so much talent in this little fandom. i feel so lucky to be a part of this community every day <33

[teamcharlotte]

I am seriously so proud and happy to be a part of this fandom 💜💜💜 we’re such a talented bunch and I love you all so much!!

[opalsiren]

h2o zikki-centric episodes directory

season one:

1x10 'the camera never lies'

1x18 'bad moon rising'

1x20 'hook, line and sinker'

1x21 'red herring'

1x22 'fish out of water'

1x23 'in too deep'

1x25 'dr. danger'

1x26 'a twist in the tail'

(also 1x01 'metamorphosis,' 1x04 'party girls,' 1x15 'the big chill,' and 1x24 'love potion #9' contain some zikki moments)

season two:

2x03 'the one that got away'

2x08 'wrong side of the tracks'

2x11 'in over our heads'

2x24 'three's company'

(also 2x15 'irresistible,' 2x18 'the heat is on,' and 2x26 'unfathomable' contain some zikki moments)

[bizikki]

shipping rikki and zane from h2o just add water as a child means you love intense relationships that seem toxic from the outside but are really super wholesome now

[opalsiren]

it’s so funny to me to think about how fast rikki and zane fell for each other, how serious things got between them when they’d only been dating a few weeks. they kiss the first time rikki gets moonstruck, and then the next full moon isn’t until dr. denman is back in town, so they weren’t even together a month when all the drama goes down at the end of season one

like. zane takes rikki to an important luncheon hosted by his dad for some prospective investors after he buys her the iconic red dress. said purchase causes cleo and lewis to comment on how advanced their relationship has gotten, how they couldn’t even fathom being that serious about someone

zane goes out of his way to get her julia’s locket, even going so far as to jump into the water after it when miriam tosses it off the jetty. let us bear in mind that at this point zane has no clue why this locket is so special to her, but if it’s important to rikki, it’s important to him. also this is only a few episodes after he very nearly drowns but he jumps straight into the water for rikki without hesitation so there’s that

they go to the dance together and, at least before the incident with lewis’s waterproof spray, are dancing and laughing and generally having a great time being smitten with one another. at one point nate intervenes to try and get miriam away from him because he’s not into her any more, he only cares for rikki

like. once or twice we get the impression that zane is tired of rikki’s secrecy, and of course there’s the drama with the mermaid hunt, but they were so happy together regardless. they really fell for each other and got so serious, so quickly. the moment they were locked out on a balcony together and forced into a situation where they had to talk and share, it was as if they were inevitable.

[deafchild2000]

H2O Season 3: Saving Zane's Character

Alright: They did Zane wrong in S3.

Ok, Zane wasn't an angel. He pulled a lot of crappy stuff back in S1 with rightful payback. But, if Rikki's love did anything for him, it was that he became less of a shitty person. In fact, after Lewis, he became a reliable boyfriend to Rikki and a good Secret Keeper to the girls.

So why did the writers make him a jackass in the last season? Easy: To welcome Will Benjamin, his so-called "perfect replacement" who can ride a motorbike, be sweet and romantic, keep up with the girls when they swim, and have a better relationship with Rikki from the start! (NOTE THE SARCASM)

I could go on a rant about this, but I won't. So I'll just start with this headcanon, bullet-point headcanon on, based on the LAST 2 SEASONS, how Zane's character should have developed:

First to point out: Zane is not a complete Good Guy. But he's not a Bad Guy either. He's a Bad Boy with (potential) Heart of Gold that should've been explored.

First off, I feel many people forget his dad, Harrison Bennet (⬇️) is fully aware of the Secret.

Harrison isn't stupid and knows the girls are still mermaids. Though he has a better relationship with Zane, he's still an ambitious man. So when he and his son returned and the boy gets back with a young Rikki Chadwick (who he initially disapproved of), he knows there's more to the story.

So he sits and waits, bidding his time to have some connection with her when the opportunity arises when Zane comes to him about the JuiceNet Café closing. He wouldn't have cared if Zane hadn't mention Rikki saying she wanted to run the cafe. So Harrison decides that the best way to get connected to the mermaid would be to by influencing a financial tie, so he buys the café and has Zane and Rikki run it.

Zane isn't stupid. He knows his dad and that, while he did in fact plan on talking him into buying the cafe, he didn't budge until Rikki's name was mentioned. And considering how his Old Man wasn't sworn to secrecy, Zane decided he'd keep on eye on him.

For the most part, Zane feels a bit like he was just overly paranoid and his dad really just wants to let them run the cafe. Money is coming in, people are always gathering, he has loyal employees and Rikki is doing just beautifully as his co-owner. He can't help but admire what new ideas she's always coming up with.

One night, Zane overhears his dad talking about Rikki. He hoped it was just subtle mentioning, but then he revealed he wanted to capitalize on Mako and the moon pool. (To be fair, his dad was a natural businessman, so if he had any inkling on what the moon pool did, he could use this!) Realizing the cafe was a front to bind Rikki to his father and his plans, he formulated a plan. One he might not get Rikki back if it all went down perfectly. But first, he needed to go back. He needed to be Zane Before Rikki.

It hurt Zane to realize just how easy it was to revert to his old ways. On one hand, he now knows that if he had to do it for Rikki, he would. But he also knows that Rikki is preoccupied with the moon pool and why it's acting the way it was. The first step was to get Rikki away from the cafe. This pained him considering it was her name on the signs and advertisements, even more to purposely mismanage the money but one way his father could bind her to him, and by extension the girls, were to use the cafe against her. So he made a scan using the dirt bike race and he knew Nate would love to help cause a little chaos, and knew Rikki would find out. However, he hated that Will knew how to ride, but it worked....until he nearly suffered a head injury. So, it didn't work, but he got a almost got a kiss from Rikki!

But then, he starts to notice something. Or rather two somethings. The Benjamin Siblings, Will and Sophie Benjamin to be exact. He's not completely stupid. Sophie is a hard worker, but he knows she has a thing for him. And Will?...Something about the guy rubs him the wrong way. Especially with the girls involved. Mainly Rikki. To be fair, he understands the whole Water Tentacle thing and understands what the risk is if the guy kept exploring Mako Island. But then, both started crossing boundaries! To start, even though he wasn't close to her, the fact the guy forced Bella to reveal herself to him was a red flag! And that was saying something considering he was working with Denman when he found out the Secret. Then, there's Sophie, who's making it clear she likes him and wants everything that he's given to Rikki. Zane already knew the consequences of outsiders looking into the group, he recalls most of the Charlotte Incident clearly!

And Zane knows that for the last part of his plan, he needs to use Sophie.

While the girls were dealing with Mako, Zane was dealing with his father. He's been asking about her a lot lately and criticizing his business skills (not knowing his son was sabotaging the place on purpose). But as he was busy keeping an eye on him, he wasn't there to save Rikki when she was kidnapped! He hated that! And he also hated how the girls rescuing her also required Will's help, essentially forcing themselves to reveal their secret too! On Rikki's birthday, no less!

In hindsight, with Ash and Lewis gone, having another guy to watch the girls was some comfort. But that didn't mean he didn't see it! Blonde, blue eyes, chiseled chest, a better diver, and greater connection to the ocean, plus his biking skills...Will Benjamin was practically his nemesis the universe made to take Rikki away from him. He had more and better qualities to him and if he was a better guy, he would have told Rikki this, but the further away from him and distracted she was, the better. But this was causing fights between her and him, fights he knew was coming when he pretended to be an asshole who couldn't understand her obsession with the moon pool (or better yet, her obsession with being a mermaid).

And this is where Sophie kissing him as Will Dive Tournament sod the lasting job. To be honest, it wasn't planned, and he hated hurting Rikki, but she he found out that his father was planning on having someone explore the island to find the pool again, he knew he needed to focus his energy on severing the last tie between him and Rikki: Zane himself. And it worked: Rikki wanted nothing to do with him or the cafe.

And his father was FURIOUS! How could he let her go, he had said. But Zane wasn't going to tell him it was to protect her from Harrison Bennett.

There were cons with his plan: One of them being Sophie trying to make the restaurant her own. It was exhausting putting up with her, especially with Rikki still coming to the cave, and Harrison making "surprise" visits, hoping to catch the fiery mermaid that was once his. Not to mention, he and Cleo shared a connection with a geologist name Ryan Tate who was searching the island and accidentally found the moon pool. So when Zane found Sophie with Rikki's crystal necklace, he had to be a dick! Between Sophie and his father, who had sprung another surprise visit that day and nearly saw the jewel, he knew how much deep water he was in.

So, he gave the money to Ryan to mine the moon pool. Harrison was heavily hinting to backing Ryan first, but surprisingly, Sophie intercepted him and brought him to Zane. If the pool was broken, no more could his father find a way to make a profit through mermaid transformations. Zane was also aware this is where he should confess everything to Rikki and save their fragile relationship. But he never deserved herald she could do better. She'd be made at what he'd done, whether he told her or not, but he was doing this for her. And he'll apologize when it was all over.

A lot of changes when you realize you were nearly utterly annihilated by a comet planning to hit Earth, especially when you were standing on the target. The target: Mako Island. Another thing that carried through was the destruction of the moon pool, which Sophie and Ryan nearly stole from until Will gave his sister an ultimatum: Riches or him, Zane was surprised when she chose him. And then that spectacular light show happened and Zane found himself wondering if maybe he should have been more in-the-know about what was really happening to the moon pool.

Rikki's was rented out for the graduation party and Lewis returned. And maybe he should be relieved that Will finally kept his eyes on Bella and not Rikki. But no one can tame Rikki Chadwick. And he still can't go and tell her that everything he did, he did for her. From sabotaging Rikki's, cheating, to playing a part in the moon pool's inactivation. He knows even if justified, he's lost her. But it's okay. As long as she's free, he's happy. And that's enough.

[opalsiren]

early season 1 rikki positioning herself as this like serial maneater commenting on byron’s pecks and acting excited at the prospect of boys at emma’s party is so funny considering how utterly helpless she is around zane

[bizikki]

no you're so right she's so confused around him despite her tough girl attitude and i love them so much i'm--

[girlsjustwannahaveadegree]

Rikki and Zane were a bi-girl-bi-boy pairing

No, I will not take constructive criticism

[bizikki]

SO FUCKING TRUE BI ICONS