hiiiii I’m sorry if I missed a request page somewhere I looked around for one but couldn’t find one aaaaa but I was wondering if you did head canons and if so could you do some simple head canons about just dating Robert and what that would be like? Thankyou ❤️
haha that’s absolutely no fault of your own, don’t worry!!! i really need to buckle down and write that ;; just send in your ideas regardless for now!
i’ve been adding on and off to this, and a lot of it is just based off of my own headcanons i’ve already got written down so i hope that’s alright.
(edit: i’m realizing now that these aren’t super romantic, but i find the everyday aspects of somebody more intriguing & charming. idk maybe i’m being weird about human interaction again idk IDC i’m having fun. if you’d like more actual romance stuff, let me know!! :) )
no physical descriptors for reader / gn reader, not many tags to add, these are mostly just random thoughts cobbled together, can you tell i daydream about just texting this man a lot, loved doing these soooo if you have any requests hit my lineeeee ^_^
enjoy whatever these are!!!
✪ I know I touched on this a bit in my previous fics (or at least attempted; not sure how the execution was) but he is actually such a little pain in the ass.
For fun! Obviously, he doesn’t truly intend to actually irritate or upset you; he’s good at keeping a bit running but absolutely knows when to drop it. He just feels comfortable with you enough to be a bit more playful than usual; he doesn’t have a reason to play the ‘cool, straight man’ around you.
Because of that, you will find yourself wanting to wring his neck every once & a while and he fully knows & enjoys it. It just fuels him further.
✪ Robert is very observant (another thing I’ve tried to incorporate). It most likely originally stemmed from his time as Mecha Man in the beginning, having to be on constant guard and hyper-vigilant, lest he has his ass handed to him.
Now that he’s manning the desk, he has to find an outlet for that restless energy somehow. And what better way than to learn your habits, likes, dislikes, etc.? It seems the healthier choice, rather than constantly checking & counting exits and potential blind spots repeatedly.
Plus, getting to look at you all the time is a pretty good deal to him.
✪ Dating Robert makes you privileged to random photos of Beef at any hour of the day.
Sure, yeah, you get the usual cute ones—Beef given up in his bed while half tangled in a blanket and falling asleep; a higher view of him absolutely doing his best to weaponize his big brown eyes at his dad; a decent candid photo of him investigating a tumbling leaf during his potty time out in the SDN courtyard.
And you adore them. But you also really enjoy the ugly photos Robert does Beef SO dirty with.
An awful angle taken right after waking up, Beef sat heavily on Robert’s chest and his chin doubled as he stares down at the camera; so many 0.5 photos of Beef up close, wet nose smudging the camera lens and bright eyes unfocused; an entire collection of him caught mid-yawn, the motion blurring adding a sense of chaos in an otherwise cherubic dog.
These are usually sent at the latest hours of the night, when Robert can’t sleep. And you have a feeling that he’s almost delirious with giggles when he sends them.
Most of the god awful ones have become inside jokes, turned into reaction images. You find yourself getting an ugly Beef reaction to your question about if the eggs are still good. So, not very helpful but still funny.
✪ You may also get random audio messages sprinkled through his texts. Some have actual purpose.
“Hey. Hands are full right now; we still on for dinner tonight? I can have Chase take Beef.”—“Forgot to tell you before I left for work. Love youuuuu.”—“Heads up, traffic’s absolutely hell on Elgar Ave. Avoid at all costs, I repeat. Avoid at all costs.”
The others… well, sometimes the audio message button just gets in the way. And to be fair, all it takes is a small brush of a finger to activate it.
So, you have started saving all of them. All of them.
“… Oh, shit, it’s doing the thi—”
“–ake it outside. I’m serious. No, I don’t care. Don’t fucking fight in the office. (fabric shifting) Christ almighty. … Is this recor—”
“–so, not my first rodeo.” “Uh huh. …You fuckin’ simp. You textin’ ‘em during work hours?” “Okay, first off, nosy. Second, a few texts aren’t going to doom the whole of Torrance, Chase.” “Mhm.” “I miss them, okay. Sue me. This is, like, the only human interaction I get throughout the day that doesn’t drive me insane.” “We both know you ain’t got the fuckin’ money for court. And, uh… you know that thing’s going, right?” “… oh, fuck. Sorry. Sor—”
✪ Does. Not. Use. Chapstick.
Not for any ‘macho-man’ reason; we know Robert is secure enough in his masculinity to not give a fuck about that.
Be it a texture reason, sensory issues, whatever, he simply refuses to use any. And he needs to.
His lips get chapped from the slightest breeze. And he lets it get to the point that it has to hurt; his skin is cracking, bleeding, and he’s wincing whenever he smiles too wide. He’s also chewing off the dead skin.
And, to make it worse, when you asked him why he doesn’t use chapstick (y’know, like any sane person would), he simply shrugged and—100% serious—said, “I’ve got spit. I just have to lick them a bit and they’re good.”
Robert did find your appalled expression a bit funny, but overall didn’t get why it was such a big deal.
He figured it out quick when he realized it was the main reason he was being denied kisses. (Not out of disgust, mind you—okay, maybe a little, but mostly out of concern.)
Either gets a small tub of vaseline (read: had it chucked at his head by Chase when he was lamenting about his lack of kisses) or just a generic Carmex stick. Doesn’t really fuck with any specific flavors until you introduce him to your favorite.
Then he doesn’t have such a problem with chapstick.
consider: Robert who cries during sex sometimes, esp post crash and coma. it's not that he's upset or anything, he just gets a little overwhelmed (both physically and emotionally) and reader is endeared by it. 👀
oh do not even get me started (no wait do)
you know the drill. MDNI
tags - cw pretty nsfw, crying during sex, no physical descriptors for reader
wc - idk writing on the tumblr app. not very long?
It’s unfair.
You already feel envy over the thick lashes framing Robert’s tired doe eyes.
Already feel the curling green vines of jealousy whenever he’s below you, said lashes fluttering and pupils blown wide as he stares up at you in a daze.
So, it’s incredibly fucking rude of him to look so pretty with dewy tears clumping his lower lashes, fattening with each half-baked blink.
His furrowed brows deepen the sweet expression on his flushed face, bite-plump lips parting around each trembling exhale that leaves him.
It’s unfair how the copper of his irises almost glitter in their wetness, especially when his eyes roll and stutter shut when your hips give another slow grind against him.
“Fffuh–ck.” Robert chokes out, fists twisting in the sheets fitfully before they release the fabric to blindly fumble for purchase on your waist, “Sl–ow down.”
The envy continues curling in on itself until it reinvents, blooms into an almost aching adoration as you watch him. The hand you have braced on his chest skims his collarbone on its trajectory to his throat.
Your fingertips make contact with the sweat on his neck before they travel up, up, up to his jaw. They form a cradle against his heated cheek, his head easily tilting back further at your gentle direction.
“Look at me, Robert,” you murmur sweetly, thumb drifting over to press on his bottom lip with light pressure, a soft low sound puffing around it, “Open your eyes.”
He sucks in a stunted breath through his teeth before they peek open, just barely able to focus on your face above him before they’re rolling again when you reward him with another grind.
The resulting wheezing groan that punches from his chest vibrates from his jawbone to your fingertips, the tendons in his neck flexing as his head presses further against the pillow it rests on.
It’s almost sinful—how the tear that falls from his lashes adds so beautifully to his thoroughly debauched demeanor, how his eyes struggling to stay open send another wave of broiling heat to your stomach.
hi it's my dumb ass again YOU SEE MY VISIIIIOOONNN THANK YOU
I raise you this: Robert who is, in fact, deeply betrayed by reader leaving him, but does not push back for their sake because it's finally apparent to him how much his self destruction has also destroyed them in the process. :3
your brain is beautiful and so big and very full of wrinkles you are more than welcome to come back as much as you want are you kidding
i couldn’t help the angst aspect, that’s been a long time coming i’m afraid
god, this could branch in so many directions also.
like would he just accept it? almost anticlimacticly?
maybe reader had a whole speech about it, finally able to get him to listen to them for the first and last time. their concern, their fear for his life, “Robert, you’re killing yourself. You aren’t the mech. You can’t keep pushing yourself like this, you’re going to get hurt. And I can’t just sit idly by while you do it anymore. I can’t. I love you too much to.”
a simple, “…okay.” that’s it. he can’t even look at them when they pause, almost laughing in disbelief. “okay.” like the thought of even absorbing their words would allocate too much energy that could be used on tracking this toxic guy down.
no “you’re right.” no “i can be better.” no “please, i need you.”
no matter how much he wants to say it; knows he should say it.
he keeps those words burning like a live wire connected from his auditory cortex and his frontal lobe, burning white hot until it crisps itself. by that point, they’re long gone, having offered one last crumb of support that he won’t be seeing for a while.
“be careful.”
or could it be a bit more vitriolic?
instead of pushback, it’s straight up pushing.
the walls he’s learned to build from the early days of mecha man raise on instinct. his nervous system can’t tell the difference between a hulking giant villain trashing downtown and his partner gently asking him to slow down, to be careful.
to slow down is to lose track of his mission, to lose track of his mission is to run the risk of shroud getting away, shroud getting away is… not an option.
his brain sees this intervention as being cornered in a fight, and when he’s cornered in a fight, he’s learned to fight dirty.
and so he does.
he isn’t foaming at the mouth, but he’s cold. he’s already closed the reinforced hatch to his mental fortitude.
what hurts about what he says is that they’re fundamentally true, that they cut deep in a personal way only years of being together can be. and with each word, with all the forced indifference, he can see them try to remain above the cutting board.
so he keeps on. he keeps running his mouth until he knows he can’t come back from this. until they’re staring at him like every memory they’ve had with him were wiped from history’s playbook. selfishly, until he knows they are hurting without a doubt, just to bring them to his level.
the borderline horror in their eyes as they stand with a gaped mouth twists his stomach sharply, guilt and regret beginning a dizzying tango in his gut until he shuts that out too.
“you don’t want to get involved?” he asks rhetorically, knowing damn well that is not at all what they were trying to say, “fine. leave. don’t get involved. this has been a problem for me long before you become one.”
that was it. that was the last thing he said to them until they meet again after the explosion.
okay okay not your usual brand, BUT please consider: Robert and a reader who are rekindling their romance because being Mecha Man was putting a strain on the relationship and it came to a head when his suit went down. consider 👀
i almost feel bad for a few fics i have planned because all i've posted so far has been nothing but tooth-rotting sweetness and i know the whiplash that will come with the posting of said fics... almostttttt ;) this actually isn't too far off to one in the works! it's gotta little twist to it, perchance kekekeke.
oh, i very consider this.
this concept drives me up the WALL in the best possible way. there are so many avenues it could take (albeit, with the subject at hand, usually not good ones lol) and it makes such a good mental jawbreaker.
undercut because i am insane and write with the guidance of visions and the like
like how long did reader put up with the self-destruction that got progressively worse and harder to ignore? what was the breaking point? would robert be resigned to it and let them walk out without a fight (already tunnel-focused on leads on shroud and thus blocks the mental & emotional space to confront his feelings)? would he feel almost betrayed by the only pillar of support and love he had left in his life seemingly giving up when he was so close to his goal, causing a more defensive pushback? would he be bitter until he almost dies? would he hit the bottle again?
what was the tipping point for reconciliation? reader can only stay around for so long with no change, i don’t think they’d make the move to reconnect. after settling into sdn, i bet chase would smack him upside the head after he recounts the timeline of events while drinking together, calling him a dumbass and to reach out. i think he’d be nervous. he never deleted their number, no matter how many late nights he laid on the floor staring at the contact while a thumb hovered over the block button. he has no excuse. he’s mecha man for fucks sake, why is he borderline terrified of texting an ex. has he even grown or changed to healthier habits enough to deserve the chance? he’d like to think so but some vein of thoughts he has to bury occasionally makes him feel otherwise.
would they almost fall back into old routine, without the self sabotaging? like they were never apart? or would there be a period of relearning the other? either way, the love that he thought he had stomped out with a heavy heel immediately starts thrashing and clawing in his chest when he even sees them again.
holy text wall my apologies but THANK YOU. now i am scheming. oh goddd what if i edit what i have so far. fuck oh god you are feeding the worms in my brain.
Dark Signs - Sleep Token (mostly the backing vocals)
Youngest Daughter - Superheaven (purely vibes)
New Person, Same Old Mistakes - Tame Impala
Deathwish (slowed) - akiaura
I Don't Wanna Be Me - Type O Negative
Past Self - Sleep Token (tbh I could put just about any ST song on here, ST is for the yearners ✌)
Hollow Moon (Single Version) - The Crane Wives
Cogwork Core - Hollow Knight OST
You Know Me Too Well - Nothing But Thieves
Die Your Daughter - Susannah Joffe
A Little Death - The Neighborhood
Jericho - Sleep Token
The Future - Mystery Skulls
Honey Whiskey - Nothing But Thieves
got so violently excited over seeing idwbm - type o negative. same with youngest daughter - superheaven. also HELLO crane wives and susannah joffe (i actually haven’t been able to stop singing die your daughter recently LOL).
i will definitely listening to the others i’m not familiar with, you have given me enrichment. thank youuuu <3
i absolutely adore connecting with others over music regardless of topic and this has made my day, so in return i offer a few songs that i’ve connected to robert myself :)!
disclaimer; these are a mix of character analysis and straight up projection/what i picture him personally jamming to/songs i just associate with him so have fun deciphering what’s what ;)
Papaoutai - Stromae (self explanatory /shrug)
* Morto - O Terno
What’s My Name - Noshows (where i got the title for my fic of the same name; literally no relation to the story other than i was listening to it at the time of writing LOL)
Daredevil - Fiona Apple
Bombshell - Powerman5000 (idk seems like a song he’d have on like a patrol playlist to get his blood pumping. also c’mon. powerman.)
* Logging Field - Annabelle Dinda
The Nurse Who Loved Me - A Perfect Circle (i just imagine him liking how this song sounds tbh)
* I Couldn’t Say It To Your Face - Arthur Russell
Father of Mine - Everclear (also very self explanatory. also also ouch)
1979 - The Smashing Pumpkins
Jane! - The Long Faces (yes because of that incredible dispatch fan animation but i also really adore this song)
* Drinking Age - Cameron Winter (heavy on this one. also the lyrics to my header lol. if you listen to any of these, let it be this one first and you will see how i see him.)
Chase the Feeling - The Devil Makes Three (i haven’t posted it yet, but this ties in with my rerun of dispatch robert)
* Slow Moves - José González
Toxicity - System Of A Down (honestly, i can see him liking a lot of soad’s songs)
Hysteria - Muse
Edge of Seventeen - Stevie Nicks (my robert absolutely loves belting stevie sorry. i’m not i love stevie.)
Sextape - Deftones
Bullet With Butterfly Wings - The Smashing Pumpkins
Paper Bag - Fiona Apple
Today - The Smashing Pumpkins (jesus that’s a lot of pumpkins.)
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) - Deftones
Breathe (In the Air) - Pink Floyd
Linger - The Cranberries
Noid - Tyler, the Creator
Oil - Gorillaz (Ft. Stevie Nicks)
other general artists/misc - definitely listens to paramore, maybe some nirvana, more deftones if he’s been drinking maybe, foo fighters, if i put every song i can think of we will be here all day
do you have a guidelines post or anything for requests?? like topics that are and aren't allowed. Ive got lizard brain but I wanna be Respectful™
i’m fast tracking a faq page to the top of priorities of writing :)
for now, the basics are i don’t tread dead dove/dark topics. that’s really it. other than that, it’s up to my own discretion of what i want to post so go nuts!!! (obviously, within the bare minimum boundaries)
hello hello! I just wanted to say how much I love your dispatch fics. they're so soft in such an intimate way- like, in hypotheticals, how Robert and the reader are cuddled up and joking felt so real and intimate I felt genuine yearning.
I would love to bounce ideas off each other sometime, if you'd want to chat!!! have a nice day 🧡
ahhh thank you so very much!! :) this takes away some of the worry i had with hypotheticals lol. if the yearning is strong, then i accomplished what i set out to do >:) #yearner
and absolutely! my askbox is open for any concept or thought! i love volleying ideas with others a lot and will absolutely jump at the chance haha
