#melizabeth

Some Melizabeth shit i did at 3am bc why not also sorry for not posting in a while i draw slow

I still think about them sometimes.

That's so cute 😭

Okay so a while back I got to thinking about nicknames/pet names/terms of endearment Meliodas could have for the closest people in his life. Or, specifically, for Eli, Zel and Merlin (that's his daughter/little sister and I will not accept anything else). As with many things this past year(s) I never got around to posting it... But here we go.

Elizabeth:

Now, when it comes to Elizabeth, Meliodas has probably used any pet name under the sun with at least of the 107 Eli's he's been around. But here are a few I'm having thoughts about...

Princess - This is one I feel like he has used with multiple Elizabeths. Both those who are literal princesses (like Elizabeth Liones) but also others were it has been more of a cute pet name. I also feel like this is one Mel used with the OG Eli. This is also something I feel could work with different dynamics of early Melizabeth. Both more sarcastic and teasing about her role as the daughter of the Supreme Deity, and more genuine and sweet. I'd say this is a Classic among Mel's nicknames for Eli. And one with varying degrees of intimacy (e.g. with goddess Eli it would be more intimate/personal than with Eli Liones since more people would call her princess).

Angel - This is also one that he's used for multiple Elizabeths. It's also one that would mean something different for goddess Elizabeth and any Elizabeth after they're cursed. With goddess Eli it would be more teasing, connected to the way the other races (especially the humans) view the goddesses, but also about her personality and how Mel would view her as the light to his darkness. For the following Elis (especially the earlier ones) it would be tinted by a hidden grief, a reminder of the Elizabeth he lost (and haven't been able to keep since).

My miracle - This feels like one he would have especially used with Savage Elizabeth, aka the first reincarnation, the one where he realized that he hadn't truly lost her. She would be his miracle (and in a way also his doom).

Sweetheart, darling, dearest - These I feel would be ones he would (among the very few Elizabeths we know of) have used especially with old Eli. The last one in particular I feel like he would have used with her in her older age. The others give me old Eli vibes, but with a higher frequency with other Elis too.

My flower, flower petal - These also give me old Eli vibes, but more young old Eli, as in ones he would have started using when she was younger, earlier on in their relationship.

My life, my everything - These are ones I could see Mel using with most, if not all, Elizabeths. But also ones that would be more frequent the further into the curse they got, as in he would use them more with the later Elis.

My heart - This, too, could work with all Elis. But what gets me with this one is the symbolism. Cause like. A demon only needs one heart to survive, right? This also gives a similar feel as the ones above, as well as that time in Signs of Holy War when Mel tells Eli she is his purpose in life. She is the one thing keeping him going, keeping him living - she is his last heart.

Zeldris:

Zel - Now this one almost didn't make the list because it feels so obvious. (And is the canon one). But it's also significant enough I had to mention it. Because this is the one we hear Mel use in canon, and, more importantly, the only time we see him NOT use it is when he's without his emotions. In the flashbacks to the first holy war, when we know their relationship wasn't great and there was a great distance between them, Mel still calls him Zel.

Little brother, lil' bro - These ones also feel obvious but no less important. They're the counterpart to Zel calling Meliodas brother (which he DOES netflix subtitles. especially before Mel's betrayal. As in right up until he tells him he's not his brother... no i'm not still salty and pissed about the flashback and cbl scenes why do you ask). They can also work with many different vibes. The genuine and soft ones I imagine Mel would have used before the holy wars in those rare moments when the brothers got to be brothers. But also more light-hearted and teasing, like Mel teasing Zel after the dk's defeat. But I also think that during the time before Mel left, when their relationship was what it was, it would have meant a lot to Zel to hear Mel calling him little brother.

Little one - I love this one. I can't explain this one, but it's so cute and I feel like it fits the demon bros well. Actually, it fits Mel especially (but more on that further down). This is one that Mel would use when Zel was, you know, little. He would maybe even use it up until he left the demon realm and Zeldris didn't even want him as a brother, let alone be called cute nicknames by him.

Bud, buddy - Another cute one. This one, too, was something he used to call Zel when he was little, before the wars. For obvious reasons that stopped. If he didn't want to be called his brother, he wouldn't accept bud either, right? Meliodas calling Zel this again (and Zel accepting it), after the wars, would be a huge step forward, a proof of them rebuilding (and bettering) their relationship. (Fun fact: this one, and the one above, have already made it into my room fic).

Little shadow - If I remember correctly, this is something @zorria came up with first. That Zel got nicknamed little shadow by the castle staff because of how he would follow Mel around when he was little. Well, I just adore that. But I also figured it would be cute if Mel too called him that, embracing Zel doing the little brother thing.

Cutie - This is one I can see Mel primarily using after the wars. You know how he called Zel cute after they defeated the dk? Yeah, that kind of thing. I feel like this kind of nicknames would increase the better their relationship got after the wars. Zel would pretend to hate it, make a bug fuss about it, but secretly he would like it because of what it would mean (about having his big brother that close).

Old man - This one would start off when Zel was little and reappear after the wars. Used both teasing and more softly. Low-key inspired by the swedish gubbe/lilla gubben (which does literally translate to old man/little old man. and while gubbe/gubben can be used for old men it's also (especially with lilla (=little) before) for little kids).

Troll - Another swedish-inspired one. Used mostly teasing in a soft sort of way, and primarily when Zel was little. (Trollunge (=troll-kid) is a common term of endearment for kids in Sweden. Hell, my dad still calls me and my sister his trollungar and we're 20+/30+ now).

Little dove, dove - This one is absolutely inspired by Fourth of July by Sufjan Stevens (great demon bros song btw). Used mostly when Zel was little/before the wars, but I could also see it reappearing after the wars in the right moment. "Dove" could also be exchange for something else, maybe with something from the demon realm.

(Hatchling - This one doesn't really belong on this list. Because this one is just for my dragon meliodas au but it's cute and deserves a mention. Mel spends the majority of that au calling Zel hatchling, he basically only calls Zel by name or anything that is not hatchling when he has to (before the wars at least)).

Merlin:

Kiddo, kid - If you know me, you know I LOVE this one. This is one of my favorite hcs tbh. Mel used to call Merlin kiddo when they first met/when she was little. He has still called her this over their many, many years of friendship. Just less regularly because- ("I'm not a kid anymore." "Well, I'm still older than you."). I adore their friendship (the potential of what it could have been with 3,000 years worth of it). Merlin would of course roll her eyes and act annoyed about it, maybe she would even actually be annoyed at times, but, again of course, Mel wouldn't be deterred by it. He might still do it during the Seven Deadly Sins days (the others Sins are probably the only ones who would dare to ask about it too). Especially after his secrets are out (less reason not to, right? Any questions are not unwanted anymore, at least from his point).

Witch, witchling - I don't know, I just like this one too. And I feel that while with most of anyone else witch would sound like an insult (although Merlin might actually embrace it), with Mel it wouldn't. She would know it wouldn't be. (Again, 3,000 years of friendship). It would be teasing or soft, and later on also a call-back to that early time in the friendship when she really was a kid and they were both trying to find their own path when everyone else had already decided one for them.