#and i am going to look at the jellyfish for as long as they will let mr

[macfrog]

hello, gang. i hope everyone’s well.

it’s become clear to me over the last little while that this place has grown into a monster which simply did not exist when i signed up two years ago.

i feel uncomfortable almost every time i open the app these days. there is so much casual cruelty which i find utterly appalling, as well as some of the most shameful name-calling thrown around so callously that it makes my skin crawl.

to put it simply: this is not fun anymore. it has not been for quite some time. frankly, i don’t have the energy or the will to deal with it any longer.

it’s always been most important to me that this blog felt safe and welcoming to anyone who came across it. there are so many of you who’ve helped make it that way, and so i’d like to let you know.

the jellyfish is the last thing i’ll be sharing to this space. my parting gift. i am kissing macfrog on her slimy little nose and logging out. maybe forever, maybe just for a while, i don’t know. it’s been a wild ride, but the sun went down hours ago and i’d like to go home now.

my writing will remain here, as well as over on my ao3 - which i recently updated in full. please feel very free to download any fics for your safekeeping if you'd like to. i'm not planning on deleting anything, but just in case.

i hope you all know how special this was to me and how thankful i am to have stumbled upon all of you. i’m wishing you all the very best for wherever you go and whatever you do in life. be good. be kind. look out for each other. read and write whatever you like and take zero shit for it. give your pets the warmest of hugs from me. and long live jrrmint.

alright. i fucking hate goodbyes so i’ll just leave it there. i love you guys. the porch light is always on.

xx

[luckyartdrawer]

100 FOLLOWERS MILESTONE!!! MER AU!!!

Y'all chose the MER AU to celebrate, and so say hello to some fishy boys! They are all quite happy to see you, though some seem to show it more than others!

Cookie cutter shark Sun can't wait to take a bite- I mean- erm- rather a hug out of you! Either way he's quite excited!

Threadfin Eclipse would rather all eyes be on him, but he would settle for just yours! His colors shifts in every way, he's hoping your eyes won't stray!

Jellyfish Moon doesn't mean to be so imposing -- towards you anyways. He just wants to see you and everyone happens to be in the way!

This is technically a PT 1 to the celebration, as we have a Royal AU to roll out the red carpet for as well due to a tie in the poll!

PT 2 is made!

vvv Sketch/line art and yapping below!!! vvv

Sketch/Line art

Hehehe I just had to share. I am so proud of how the lines came out. Sketch cleaned up as lineart method my beloved.

Uagh I keep looking back and seeing so many things I could do. I might update the images secretly one day, but for now I think I need to let it be free in the world before I just never finish lol

Welcome to my yap sesh! Thank you all for being here, I hope the wait was worth it! <3 I am very proud of this and spent soooo so long rendering it. (What was i thinking doing 3 characters end my suffering /J)

Here's some random factoids about these sillies!

Sun: Born in the depths. He is a dime of dozen of cookie cutter sharks, all of them insistent of taking chunks out of anything and anyone they can find. Sun at least has some restraint when it comes to mers he likes, but he always wants just one nibble! Sun tends to warm up fast to mers that give him a speck of attention and care. Cookie cutter shark mers are known to link up with mates as soon as possible, but Sun insists that he hasn't found the perfect fit yet. No one is tasty enough for it! Everyone needs to compliment the other! Sun is the fastest of the 3, relying solely on his speed and jumping out of hiding spots to catch prey. His sharp claws pierces easily and the long webbing between his fingers makes it really easy to ensnare prey in his grasp!

Moon: Born in the depths. Jellyfish mers are rather uncommon, being known as a mostly solitary species. Unlike their animal counterparts, Jellyfish mer go alone after maturing, not even inclined to search for a mate, though they can if they so desire. They live the longest of any mer species. Their transparent bodies keep their form hidden from prey as their bioluminescence lures them in. Moon is the slowest of the 3, but it does not matter to him. To hunt, he floats in a comfortable spot, amping up his bioluminescence and fanning out his ribbons to attract prey. If a victim gets within his vicinity, his ribbons will quickly wrap and tangle around them, sending painful stings and intense damage to the prey. While effective, there are times the mer will sit in one spot for days having not attracted any food. He can hunt directly like other mers, but he'd have to rely on his transparency over speed in order to get close enough to catch them, his melded fingers make it even harder to grasp prey directly.

Eclipse: Isn't actually born a deep sea mer but spent most of his life in the depths after finding out how delicious specific creatures are and how much attention his looks get him. His skin and scales are iridescent and he loves to flaunt them when he can. Eclipse tends to be very carefree, though also the most gentle when interacting with other mers. He is inclined to view anyone as a potential friend or more due to being omnivorous, though no many has caught his full, dedicated attention. He's not territorial, not competitive, and doesn't care where he goes as he can eat just about anything. Hunting wise he is the most tactical, using his colors and thick ribbons to lure and confuse prey. He isn't the fastest nor the slowest, but his long hands increase his likelihood of catching prey he otherwise would have been a little too slow to grasp.

Yeah i.... I ended up having a lot of fun coming up with these guys

Especially moon, those of you who know KNOW, but man... my moon bias is so strong.

I even have this cute expression idea where he can control how his cap looks and uses it for his own protection. When sometimes when sleeping or defensive, he will tuck in his tail, arms, and sometimes his ribbons within the cap and then, like a string bag, it closes off his entire body from the world. He's in his own cap bubble!!! When embarrassed or trying to physically interact with someone without fear of hurting them, he'll tuck in his ribbons and scrunch his cap around his head. He'll look a bit silly, and you can't touch his face, but you can hug him safely and play with the soft round cap that now encases his head. (His tail/neck ribbons have no stinging abilities, they're just glowy for lure purposes!) his coloration is mostly inspired by the Man-O-War but his species is more fantasy then based off only that like the other two are with their respective fish, so that's why I just call him simply a Jellyfish for now :3

Sorry about that... I still love all 3 of these goobas and have ideas for them though! Maybe one day I'll get a fic going for them, not saying anytime soon because I have TOO MANY to work on rn, but just know they are swimming in my head.

So many ideas, so little time......

Once again THANK YOU ALL!!! It is so lovely to see y'all here despite my whacky upload schedules. I always tell myself I should make more simple things sometimes just so I can get the ideas out faster, but then my hands always do something else smh. Hope you all find this art and my future works quite delectable! <333

[lukolathoughts]

Is it a shark? Or an Anchovy?

Dearest gentle reader,

The ship's main cabin is cosy and intimate with an ornate fireplace, stimulating the crackling flames of a roaring fire illuminating the room with a toasty orange glow. Around a large round table sits my crew. We are laughing and merry. We discuss war stories, baby photos and battle scars. The ship rocks peacefully over gentle waves as the sun sets to darkness. Laughter echoes around the cabin and glasses clink as many a bottle is shared. The atmosphere is jovial. Jokes are told and raucous laughter erupts.

I glance towards the ships round porthole. We are below decks so I can see the deep darkness of the ocean. Occasionally, fish swim past in a swirling shoal. An occasional red jellyfish. A lone crusty crab scuttles by. I marvel at the wonder of the ocean and our great ship. The USS Lukola. Splendid in in's majesty. Last week's attack, practically forgotten. The USS Lutonia lurks somewhere near shore, cloaked in darkness.

In the midst of another great anecdote by a crew member, I glance again towards the porthole and a large shadow glides past it. I sit forward, frowning. My eyes narrow towards the porthole. Am I the only one who has noticed?

Show me the way to go home, I'm tired and I want to go to bed, I had a little drink about an hour ago, And it's gone right to my head, Wherever I may roam, On land or sea a-foam,

My crew member abruptly swings her leg on the table and pulls up her trouser leg, proudly showing us last June's battle scar. Now, long, red and nasty looking, but healed. I swing my head towards the porthole and the shadow darkens it again and swishes past. Is that a fin?

"Guys..." I sit forward, warily. My heart starts to beat, but my voice is drowned out by laughter and merriment. I stand and walk towards the porthole and press my nose against the thick, cold glass. I can only see the endless depth of the ocean and the deep blue of the sea.

"What are you looking at, ZG?" Number 2 asks. "I'm not sure..." I reply, quietly. I squint again as the laughter fades and I see it. A shadow blacker than night, has started to journey head on towards our ship. The shape gets gradually bigger and bigger. It becomes unmistakable in it's speed and ferocity.

Dum dum, dum dum, dum, dum, dum......

You're gonna need a bigger boat.

I brace for impact.

No there is no Jaws-esque crash through the porthole as it smashes into the ship. No thrusting of an air tank into the razor sharp teeth of a shark. No me getting my head chomped off.

Not a torpedo this time either. There are no holes in our ship, but it does take a beating. We once again lose some passengers. Even I, run up to the deck and put my leg over the side and cry. I peer down at the murky depths and I see the tiny little anchovy circling like the predator she is. Dressed cheaply in black, disguised as a great white. But more like a shrimp. My number two, drags me back over. She shakes me, puts me in timeout in the crew cabin and takes over cleaning up. She is the best. The crew rally around and I know we are ok.

Then we process.

Ok, guys enough with the fish analogies. Lets call Antonia out for what she is. The girl with the snake. I haven't forgotten. As for Luke, please if you are reading this know that we support you and we are sorry you have to pretend with this farce of publicity. Call me delulu if you want to. I know what a lot of people think of us 'hardcore' Lukola's. It really is not delulu now, it is critical thinking as I have discussed previously. I was just as upset on Sunday evening as everyone else. It is not the fact that I may be wrong in my tarot readings, I can admit that freely if I have to. It's my concern for Luke and examination of the evidence that gives me pause. Luke, blink twice if you need help.

If we go back to the world tour and watch Luke's behaviour and body language for the entire six month tour when around Nicola and the Bridgerton cast, we can see that his behaviour around Antonia the last two times we have seen him at the Boss event and last Sunday's GQ, is vastly different. It is like night and day. Light and darkness. We can go back further than Nicola, to see his behaviour with Jade. There are plenty of video evidence that Jade shared to prove this to be true.

Last Friday, high off endorphins from the Polin - heavy Bridgerton event, the fandom was overjoyed to see a relaxed looking Luke sans Antonia on Valentine's Day at a dinner. He happily greeted and spoke to fans outside and answered questions. Lukola's breathed a sigh of relief. He was alone on Valentine's Day. No rings, wearing black. Nicola was also wearing black at the IFTA's. Also no rings. Their soul - matism from different countries is poignant.

All is quiet on Saturday, but what we didn't know is that there is a hilarious joint birthday for Jake and his friend Becky 'Jecky'. A combined name quite similar to 'Jakola' don't you think?

Nicola, like the magic travelling person she is, is in attendance. Now this party seemed to go over the head's of the Jakola's on Sunday and I had to log out of twitter for a good week to escape the pure vitriol against Nicola. This is also classic British humour. It is what us Brits do, we take the piss. I do not mean to discriminate if you are not British, but some jokes seem to go over some people's heads. It is not fair for me to keep on about Jake's sexuality on public platforms, but Jakehole's I am speaking directly to you. Let this young lad be and let him be who was born to be. He was wearing a 'too old for Leo' badge because now he is 25, Leo will not date him anymore. The joke is Leonardo Dicaprio won't date anyone over the age of 25. (I'd say 19 these days, but whatever). So why would Jake wear a badge that says that? I'm telling you now no straight man in the UK would do it. Being gay even in 2025 in the UK is not funny. Is not something straight or gay men joke about. Homosexuality discrimination is very real.

"The UK, which once used to be one of Europe’s most welcoming places to be gay, has seen a 462% increase in sexual orientation hate crime reports since 2012." Metro, June 2024. Jake is from Nottingham which is up in the Midlands in the UK. The area is very working - class. A while back he shared an extract on his Instagram stories from Shuggie Bain by Douglas Scott. The book is about a young boy growing up on one of Glasgow's toughest council estates. The book is then followed up by Young Mungo, which is the story of a young gay relationship on the same council estate. In England, hate crimes against homosexuals rose to 2,591 per 1000,000 people in 2023/2024. My point is, Jake would have been extremely familiar with homophobia growing up in the midlands (Nottingham) in the 2010's onwards. He has had reported issues with his own father and acceptance of who he is. The article that accompanied the music video that Jake starred in, 'You me at Six - Mixed Emotions' states, "With Jake Dunn who played the protagonist in the video, we actually spoke a lot about toxic masculinity and his experiences within his sexuality and the impacts it has had on his relationship with his dad."

Jake has clearly been through a lot to get to this point. I google him and every article I can see is how he is in a relationship with Nicola Coughlan. I feel they have agreed to this in some shape or form, but I think now enough is enough. Denying a young person like this his sexuality, is extremely damaging. There was no shade towards Nicola on Saturday. It was shade for the sub-fandom of Jakehole's who refuse to see the truth. Jake is being as clear as he can with who he is. It is time people listen. The ship is gone. Red Jellyfish, I am talking to you.

Back to Luke, Sunday went from bad to worse for me. I will not stand for people disparaging Nicola publicly. I was upset over that and then here comes black widow Antonia clutching on to Luke like the barnacle she is. Ok, we're back to fish! Again, she had no coat, purse or phone and was dressed cheaply for the event. There is video footage of her walking way in front of Luke entering the event. He did not pose with her for official red carpet photos and then he made it damned obvious in my opinion that he left without her. Alone. Getting into the car alone. Antonia nowhere in sight.

Then comes his stories. He makes the whole thing look like he is single until the bed pasta. Luke knows that pasta is associated with Anchovy and traumatises his fans, so he also throws in Love Island which is Nicola's favourite tv show and fries/chips with various sauces, again Nicola coded. Then a text message to some bloke called Gary. Are my messages getting through Gary? (General audience) are you getting it yet!! I'm not so delulu to think that Antonia could very well be in the bed of pasta, but for someone so vapid as her, watching Love Island would equate to her mentally wishing she was on it. Prediction for a few years. Anchovy again doesn't post to her stories about the event. She does however post her 'Barely' knickers brand (don't get me started) and Luke obligatory likes it. Cue fandom eyeroll. There's a lot more I could say about the timing of Luke's 'forced' appearances with Anchovy and her 'barely' brand and dance video launches, but frankly my dear I don't give a damn. (My six year old would not wear knickers like that, let alone my wedding party).

What upset me most is watching Luke's aura and personality change when he is around Antonia. As an empath, it hurts me deeply and it's literally like watching him get cloaked in darkness. When I think of Anchovy this comes to mind:

"A succubus is a female demon or supernatural entity in folklores who appears in dreams to seduce men, mostly through sexual activity. Repeated sexual activity with a succubus will result in a bond being formed between the succubus and the person; and a succubus will drain or harm the man with whom she is having intercourse." Wikipedia. I am not calling Anchovy a demon, calm your jets. It is a metaphor for her influence over Luke whatever it may be.

Luke literally looks drained when he is around this girl. It seems to me, he can only stand it for short periods. It was rumoured he only stayed for forty minutes maximum at the Bafta after party on Sunday.

I have seen this before. I have watched painfully as Meghan Markle decimated Prince Harry to the literal shell of a man he is now. He is broken, isolated and the laughing stock of the world. I cannot and will not go through watching another yacht girl from Soho House destroy a man I care about in the media. That is why it has to be PR. It just has to be.

What I will say about the Sag awards is for everyone to remain calm and stay on the ship seated and buckled up. I did get some nice cards for Nicola yesterday of victory and success, so we shall see and we wish the Bridgerton cast the best. If Luke takes Antonia I will be shocked, because if he won't pay for her dress, hair and makeup for small events, I'm confused why he'd bankroll a costly LA trip. Also, is he planning on wrestling her phone out of her hands the entire trip? Anchovy ruined two Bridgerton premieres, so hopefully Luke will not be coerced into dragging her bony behind across the world. I still believe this is a massive PR distraction. Why hasn't Deux Moi posted about Luke and Antonia? Why the solo pap pics of Luke released on Tuesday, but no mention of Anchovy. What is going on? Stay tuned folks and pray.

[yourdadsbasement]

it's too dangerous to go alone! take this (3 wk old wolf pup)

i am very curious about martin's other imaginary friends

kinda like you

the iconic Juice death scene

it's adorable that jimmy took his hat off out of respect for the dead

the amount of times i really relate to zach varmitech is...discomforting

lmao i love that he calls her immediately

donita laying out the straight dope

hacky sacky zachy

excellent chris face

zach is making the classic mistake of conflating long life with eternal youth and beauty, like the Sybil of Delphi

lmfao at Gavin trying to chase off a Zachbot with a broom

i know it's cartoon logic but this man is holding a BOULDER in one arm and a GALAPAGOS TORTOISE in the other, i want him and gourmand to have a wrestling match so bad

ok so storytime, when i was a preteen back in the Paleozoic Era, i worked at the food booth at a 4H fair in rural upstate New York and we were right across the midway from the "Freak Animal" tent, which played the same two promotional tapes one after the other all day long. one of the advertised freaks was "the Fish Girl! is she fish or is she girl???" and to this day my sisters and i say "is she fish or is she girl???" to each other

zach has so many of the best lines, this sounds like it should be the punchline to a "yo mama" joke

oh this look is GOOD, @martincrushcameback we've done goth Zach can we now do grunge Zach?

sure until the expanding sun turns the earth into a molten rock

yeah i was kinda thinking that jellyfish don't have any good powers except letting you live forever as a jellyfish, and that's kinda not worth it. especially since you can still get eaten

chizach canon idc idc

what i say to men before hooking up

zach does not approve of the friendly arm around shoulders

[luvologyy]

Any Anya dating headcanons? 👀

A/n: hell yeahh I got headcannons for her! Ms girly

Anya relationship headcanons ᡣ𐭩.ᐟ

Nsfw/sfw so mdni pls!

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞

Anya x f!reader ᵔᴗ��

It can take place on the tulpar ship and earth, whatever u wanna do mahal ko ᥫ᭡

Sfw headcanons!

★ her love language is words of affirmation. she doubts herself a lot and needs you to tell her you love her, you’re here, etc. But she'll always be there for you too.

★ she likes to crochet in her free time. She'll crochet you scarves and hats for you!

★ when you guys cuddle, she likes being little spoon. The feeling of your arms wrapped around her and your warm body against hers. She loves it.

★ she cooks the BESTT SOUP. Especially when you're sick, whatever kind of soup you want. She'll have a steamy hot bowl ready for her baby.

★ she's always prepared for when you're sick. Making sure she has the right medicine, enough blankets, a bowl of soup or a cup of tea, and some kisses on the head for her sweet girl.

★ loves to take you on picnic dates and would insist you to not bring any food. She'll have it all prepared.

★ she'll always comfort you if you're having a bad day or if you have any other problems, but anya needs some comfort too. She can get overwhelmed with preparing things and with certain tasks, and she'll need you by her side to make her take her time and LOTSS of hugs and reassurance.

★ if you ever feel the slightest bit of pain in any part of your body, she'll come righttt to you. I mean, she's the nurse. What, did you expect?

"are you okay? Where does it hurt? We're you doing anything physical??" Anya asked with concern in her voice.

"Anya, im okay! I really am! I just sprained my ankle."

"You could've gotten a serious injury, sweetheart. You gotta be more careful."

"ITS A SPRAINED ANKLE."

"..but stilll.."

★ loves going shopping with you. Seeing you try on nice outfits and clothes, seeing you so happy with shopping bags in your hands. It makes her melt.

★ lets you put make-up on her, do skin care, or any other activity that gets you to touch her face. it relaxes her a lot. Anya feels closer to you.

★ doesn't mind if you wear her clothes, she finds it cute, actually. She'll wear your clothes too, she'll sniff your shirt and it'll smell like you. Mmmhhh

★ her favorite kind of date to take you on are aquarium dates or ice skating. She'll love to point out pretty fish and other creatures and tell you fun facts about them. Or yall will just sit together watching a pretty tank filled with jellyfish. Her head resting on your shoulder.

★ she enjoys braiding your hair, no matter if it's long or short. She'll sit on the couch, and you'll sit between her thighs while she works on your hair.

★ Always make sure you've eaten today. And if you didn't... OHH, SHES ALREADY COOKIN SUM FOR YO ASSS.

"Why didn't you eat today??"

"I was just not hungry anyaaa."

🤨... "You know what.. no, I'm making you something to eat."

"No, hon, it's okay!"

"SHUSH YOUR BEAUTIFUL FACE."

"Okay.."

★ she'll fix your posture whenever you're standing up or sitting down. She grew up in a proper household, and she WILL NOT have bad posture in her house.

★ just like curly girliess, she'll always fix your appearance or your hair whenever yall go out the house. She just wants you to look neat and nice.

★ likes brushing your hair or playing with your hair, she likes it when you do it to her too!

★ she gets giggly when you guys cuddle, you'll ask her what's funny, and she'll say it's nothing..

★ baby's you when you have period cramps, cradling you in her arms , and kissing your head. Her poor baby.

NSFW HEADCANONS!

★ she graduated university of pussy eatting, SHES THE BESTT.

★ we all know she's the best. She knows all your sensitive spots and where all of your pleasure is.

★ she doesn't mind using toys. She'll use vibratores and dildos with you. But she doesn't like it if they Hella crazy looking or too intense for her. Just the basics like the wands or normal dildos.

★ she isn't super vocal or loud in bed, just some soft moans and whimpers.

★ when you're eating her out, her hands will always be in your hair. She doesn't wanna tug on your hair and hurt you. So she'll dig her nails in your upper back or shoulders. That's how you'll know she'd close.

★ likes scissoring/tribbing, but she'll be too tired to do most of the work. So she'll let you take control and be on top.

★ loves tribbing in missionary, just the feeling of your warm pussy grinding against hers, and feeling her soft clit push against yours. MMH.

★ she prefers to have slow, soft, passionate sex. Nothing rough or too fast.

★ loves it when you wear lingerie for her in bed, seeing the way they wrap around your every curve and body. She thinks you're absolutely gorgeous and model.

★ she doesn't care if you shave or have body hair. she ll support whatever you do. She knows it's normal for hair to grow on your body so she doesn't judge.

★ when she fingers you, she's always patient and going at a steady pace. She'll go faster only when you want her to.

★ RUBS YOUR CLIT WITH HER THUMB WHILE SHE FINGERS YOU AHHH

★ oh my gosh, if you ever do the tongue+finger combo on her, she'll become a whimpering shaking mess. She'll need aftercare.

★ always does aftercare, she loves taking care of you, bathing you, cuddles, and fresh clean, warm pj's after.

★ anya also needs some aftercare, too. She'll be tired afterward and will need comfort and reassurance from you, too. And some bubble baths and take out food. (Honestly real)

★ she's a shooter. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

A/N!: this is for all my gals out there sorry if this isn't the bestt🙁

[hiramaris]

Kiss It Off Me

CHAPTER 9

Chapter Summary:

If she's second-guessing everything she ever thought was platonic and casual between the two of you, is this still casual? They should have meant nothing but it's starting to feel like there is something.

Pairings: Haley x Fem!Farmer

Disclaimer: I do not own Stardew Valley or any of the related characters. Stardew Valley is created by and owned by ConcernedApe. This fanfiction is intended for entertainment only. I am not making any profit from this story. All rights of the original Stardew Valley story belong to ConcernedApe.

Warning: None?

Notes:

I know, I know I'm such a horrible person for leaving this story hanging loose in the air. I've honestly had this chapter rotting in my drafts because I didn't have the motivation to write anymore, not to mention the lack of luxury with time. I just recently graduated as well so I was busy preparing for that back in July-October (I'm a working woman now, hooray! [Not 😔]) Nobody told me that working a 9-5 job (or more like 8-6 in my case) is going to be the end of me. That doesn't even include the 6-hour commute back to back. So as you can see, I'm dying here. I don't really have the time to sit in front of my laptop after hours of sitting in front of my company laptop 😔 I'm really sorry for the long wait, and I still can't promise an immediate update after this. This chapter serves as my apology to you guys. Hope you like it!

Fall 1

"Tell me. Are you and Y/n/n dating?"

Haley nearly choked on her food. Emily said it so casually that she wasn't prepared how to react properly.

So, as opposed to her usually calm and composed demeanor, Haley only managed to sputter a pathetic "what?" as she sat down her toast and reached for her glass of water in hopes to wash down the piece of damn bread she had swallowed accidentally without chewing it properly, courtesy of her sister.

"Are you and Y/n/n dating?" Emily repeated, unabashed and with her annoying eyes crinkling from the side, a look Haley knew all too well when Emily was trying to rise up something in her.

"No, I heard you the first time!" Haley exclaimed, her face turning red as she slammed the empty glass. "I mean–what the hell, Em?"

Emily raised an eyebrow, taking a leisurely sip of her coffee, acting like she was not actively ruining her little sister's evening right now.

"You mean to tell me you're not after your whole public display of affection on the night of the moonlight jellies?"

For a brief moment, the events flashed back on Haley's mind– your silent tears, quivering lips, Haley's arm wrapped around your waist in an almost protective, comforting way as you shared your thoughts with her for the first time since you came here. It was a casual and completely platonic thing to do.

She could vividly remember how fresh tears bested up on your eyes as a baby jellyfish separated itself from its group and went towards you, almost peering cautiously at the human before her.

It was beautiful, you said that night. The night was magical. and that only sank into you that you were no longer Joja's prisoner. You're here, in Pelican town, making a name for yourself, with townspeople who loved you and treated you as an equal. You have actual friends that care for you and most importantly, you found a home.

Was it casual for her to know all this?

"Y/n was feeling emotional at that moment. I was just trying to be her friend," she finally said after a moment of silence.

Yes, it's casual.

Emily must have noticed her pausing as she scoffed behind her toast. "Friend? I certainly don't kiss Sandy's forehead, and she's my best friend."

"Because you're doing way worse with her." Haley rolled her eyes at that. "Seriously, Em, get off my back. Y/n and I are just good friends."

"Okay, I'll get off your back if you can counter my arguments," Emily challenged, leaning forward the table with a mischievous glint in her eye.

She should say no. Emily's just giving her something else to bite on knowing fully well Haley's bound to bite more than she could chew.

Say no. There's nothing to counter because there's nothing to even argue about.

Say n–

"Yoba, fine, if that will shut you up." Damn it, Haley.

Emily's smirk grew and Haley dreaded the first thing that would come out of her hippie mouth.

"You don't kiss Alex on the forehead at all. You don't even hug him for Yoba's sake, and he's your best friend. You're going to tell me everything that's going on with Y/n is entirely platonic and casual?" Emily's expression was triumphant as she laid out her case.

Haley lets out a grin of her own. If Emily's going to lay out obvious bullshits like this then she can definitely handle whatever her sister's planning to throw at her.

"First off, Alex stinks—"

"Y/n/n's job makes her friends with dirt and sweat, no offense to her, but isn't that an ick already to you?" Emily interrupted, smirking.

"I wouldn't know what you're talking about because her hygiene is almost as impeccable as mine," Haley retorted, a smirk of her own forming as she took a defiant bite of her bacon.

"Okay... Were you practicing your answers before?" Emily narrowed her eyes at her, suspicious. "There's no way you're this prepared to counter my arguments!"

"So, I won?"

"Ah, ah... not quite, little sis." Emily stopped her from standing up. "How about the sunflower? That girl planted a whole yard of sunflowers in her yard and you mean to tell me there's nothing homosexual happening around you guys?"

"She's a farmer, duh. Of course, she's going to plant sunflowers at some point. They're pretty and very much profitable."

"Not as profitable as blueberries, corn, or cranberries. Plus, I've been there, it's almost half a hectare, it's crazy."

"You're kidding?" Haley's eyes bulged at that. She's got to admit, she did not see that bullet coming. "Last time I was there, it was just in her front yard."

"Half a hectare," her sister affirmed with that stupidly annoying knowing smirk. "You didn't see that coming, did you? Got no counter for me?"

"Shut up. If you're so curious about her lack of good strategy with her crops, you should talk to her yourself." Haley finally snapped, pushing her plate away.

She's done humoring Emily with her shits.

"Oh, I'll do just that." But it seemed her sister wasn't done with her either. "Anyway, moving on. How can you explain the holding hands?"

Haley visibly relaxed at that. She has some sensible explanation for that, one she's certain Emily wouldn't be able to counter.

"Female friends do that."

"Hmm... So if she were to hold hands with her best friend, Penny, that would be alright with you?" Well, shit.

That made her pause for the second time this evening.

"Of course," she scoffed. "As I said, it's normal for female friends to do that. It's a casual thing girls do. Nothing to bat an eye for."

Sensible explanation her ass. That wasn't even half-sensible, if at all

"I figured," Emily responded, expression turning much more serious now that it kind of made Haley even more nervous. "I just thought if she were this mushy with you, and you're just friends with her, then she's probably mushier with her best friend."

Silence.

Because what the fuck is she supposed to respond to that? This is a piece of information that hadn't crossed her mind, ever. She knows you're a sweetheart to everyone. It's as if it was second nature to you. It was a casual and completely platonic of you to do. Nothing to bat an eye for.

Nothing.

Still. She just hadn't considered the possibility of you being mushier to others.

Were you also comforting Penny the way you were comforting her?

So caring and protective that it felt like those warmth were exclusive just for her only?

She just couldn't imagine it before and now it's physically making her sick in her stomach. Was this still casual for her to even feel?

"She's pals as well with Leah, I heard they'd occasionally do sleepovers in their cabins. It's so cut–" Emily went on before finally noticing the turmoil in her sister's eyes cascading down to her hands. "Okay, what did that tissue ever do to you?"

Haley stopped, noticing the crumpled piece of tissue against her clenched fists. She looked up to Emily with a sharp glare and found her sister staring back at her, not even flinching away from her dissecting gaze. "Why are you even saying this to me?"

"Nothing. Just thought it would be best to talk to one of the possible sources. I heard from Abigail that Y/n/n just recently purchased a bouquet of flowers so I thought she might have given it to you."

Emily's sudden nonchalance at this conversation is infuriating her to a certain degree that she felt like she wanted to barge inside Clint's sorry-ass-of-a-shop and beat the living shit out of him.

Emily went on, humming casually as she piled up the dishes to wash them in the sink. "Hmm, I couldn't believe I was wrong. You were so close with her that I thought she'd give it to you. I guess she's been secretly seeing someone else then."

"She what?" Her stomach dropped.

Haley was so caught off guard at her last sentence that she couldn't help but rip the tissue on her hands. So much for that.

"It's been the talk of the town, you know? There are even bets going on but it's kind of hard to pinpoint who exactly, not when she gets along with all the bachelors and bachelorettes here. Some even bet on themselves, like Abigail. I mean, it does make sense. She and Y/n/n spent an awful lot of time on those mines."

That made Haley stand up from her seat, her form indignant. "So, you bet on me? Is this why we're having this conversation?"

"Of course, I would support my sister!" replied Emily, briefly looking behind her shoulder just in time to catch Haley scowling from where she stood. She went on, almost saying the words in a singsong voice as she continued soaking the dishes. "But if you want, I can always bet to myself. Y/n is a cute gal after all."

"I hate everything about you."

"You don't!" Emily readily chirped out behind Haley who had enough of this conversation and was already stomping her way into her room.

"Good night, Em!"

With that, she slammed the door to her room in hopes of finally ending this damn conversation. If she knew this was where it would have led, she would have bolted out the moment Emily opened her mouth.

She didn't need to know all this particularly if you hadn't even said anything else to her about this.

She scoffed. 'I thought we were close enough for her to share something like this with me. Afraid not.'

"I'm just saying, sis. Y/n/n is one of the most eligible bachelorettes in the valley. Anyone would be lucky to have her."

Emily's voice came once again just behind her door making her groan against her pillow. Hadn't she had enough?

Haley briefly considered running towards her dark room just to tune out whatever Emily was going to say but she stopped dead in her tracks when her sister's words next came through.

"There's going to be a competition. If you don't get your shit together soon, someone's bound to steal her heart. I just hate to see you getting hurt."

Was it casual for her to admit that hearing this news was already starting to hurt her?

This could mean nothing. Right?

****

Fall 2

A day of shopping in Zuzu City was just what Haley needed. While she had promised herself to tone down on hoarding clothes, she made an exception just this once. Shopping was one of her ways to cope with stress, aside from photography, but she had scratched the thought of using her camera for today because she didn't feel like spending her day wandering around town. With the bets on whom Y/n was giving the bouquet to, she knew the townspeople's eyes were hot on her trail.

The sun was beginning to set, casting a warm golden glow over the landscape when Haley stepped off the bus, her arms laden with shopping bags from her trip to the city.

She had noticed Pam looking her way since the trip began, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what the older woman wanted to hear from her. That's why when the bus pulled to a stop, Haley was quick to bolt out of the vehicle.

"Oi, kid." Haley froze at the sound of Pam's voice. So much for her plan to escape. "Haley."

"Oh." Haley whirled around, fighting back a wince at what was about to come. "Hey, Pam. What's up?"

Pam's steps were slow and deliberate as she stepped off the bus and Haley had no choice but to watch and wait expectantly for the words to finally come out.

"Are you and Farmer Y/n dating?" There it is.

Despite expecting this topic, Haley couldn't help but feel her face flush slightly under Pam's scrutinizing gaze.

"Uhm... no?"

Pam raised an eyebrow. "Why do you sound so unsure?"

Haley shifted on her feet, glancing down at her shopping bags as if they might provide an answer. "We're not dating," she said more firmly this time. "Why?"

"Good, then that scratches you off the list."

"Excuse me?" Haley's brows knitted in confusion.

"You see, kid. There have been bets going on about who Y/n will give the bouquet to. Of course, I'm putting all my beers on my little girl. She's the closest to the farmer, aside from you. So, if you weren't dating Y/n, then my Penny's definitely got a shot."

Haley blinked, taken aback. "And you're okay with that? I mean... Y/n's a girl and all..."

Pam raised an eyebrow, her expression turning serious. "I didn't know you were homophobic, kid."

"I'm not! I swear. It's just that… things are a bit different now compared to your—well, generation. I doubt my folks would be as accepting as you."

Pam's face softened slightly as she sighed. "Penny's father left us when she was really young. So, I don't wish for her to experience the same thing. Y/n's a good kid. Responsible and has a sense of direction. Far from my dead-beat husband. Penny's happy with her, and that's the only thing that matters to me. And it's not bad that the gal is well-off. I heard she was supposed to be Joja's heiress. But even so, that farm of hers is enough to provide for generations of her future family. I could never ask for more capable hands to take care of my kid than Y/n."

Haley couldn't help but tune out of this conversation. She didn't need to hear all the right reasons why Penny's the best shot for your heart. Penny's a sweetheart and all, has her heart set in the right direction, a characteristic that perfectly compliments your lifestyle.

But why does this feel like Emily stabbed her with her kitchen knife and twisted it for good measure just to spite her?

Wait... what did she just say?

"Joja?" She furrowed her eyebrows at this information. "Where'd you hear that?"

"From the mayor, but don't tell him I told you. I think it was supposed to be a secret or some shit." Pam shrugged. " Still... word gets around, you know? Small town and all. People talk. But it doesn't matter where she came from. What matters is who she is now and how she treats the people she cares about."

Haley nodded slowly, absorbing Pam's words but couldn't tell exactly why there was a lump in her throat she couldn't swallow.

"I guess you're right. Y/n's a good person. Anyone would be lucky to have her." Haley faked a smile, desperately hoping the older woman didn't catch her in her lie.

Pam smiled, her stern demeanor softening. "Exactly. So, if you're not interested, that's fine. But just know that I know when people are bullshitting me. I know, I know it's not any of my business. But if you really do happen to have something going on with the farmer, get your shit together soon."

"I'll..." She didn't know it was possible to have the lump in her throat grow even more, she could feel a twinge of something else she couldn't quite identify. "I'll take note of that. Thanks for the chat, Pam. I'll see you around."

"Likewise, kid," Pam replied, waving as she climbed back onto the bus. "Oh, and Haley?"

"Hmm?"

"You know what you feel, don't let fear stop you from following your heart, or else you'll spend the rest of your life wishing you had."

When even other people can point out how non-platonic and far from casual the things you and she do are, is it still casual now?

****

Fall 9

It's been an excruciating week of being asked if she was dating Y/n, and it's starting to get on Haley's nerves. Not because she was entirely opposed to the idea, but because she knew it wasn't even her to begin with, and she didn't need everyone rubbing salt in her wound every minute and every second of every damn day.

She didn't need to hear Abigail bragging to Sebastian and Sam that any day now, she'd be receiving the same bouquet she had arranged that you bought from Pierre, and how ironic it would be if she were to receive them, and how she wasn't actually opposed to the idea.

"I haven't really considered that I could possibly like a girl, but hey, it's Y/n. I'm not complaining. If she were to give me the flowers, I'd say yes in a heartbeat," she had even said. That's all Haley needed to hear to decide she wasn't in the mood to shop right now at Pierre's if she was going to hear bullshits like that.

She also didn't need to hear any sort of development you have with Penny. She didn't need to know you went with her to Zuzu to buy some school supplies for the kids on Penny's birthday. She didn't need to hear you gave the teacher and her students a tour of your farm.

She didn't need to hear any of it.

Because how in Yoba's name had she not considered your growing friendship with the redhead?

"Miss Y/n? I have a question," Haley heard one day from behind the trees by Cindersap Lake. She lowered her camera from her eyes when she recognized Jas' voice followed by yours.

"What is it, Jas?"

"You're from the city, right? How do you court someone there?"

She heard you chuckle. "Well... We go on dates, walk our dates back to their door, and then... That's when our date will decide if they still want to see us for our next date."

You paused, and Haley thought that was it, but the next words you uttered almost made her pack up her equipment and go home.

"And if we're worthy of being kissed."

"Y/n!" came Penny's scandalized gasp. "They're kids. They don't need to hear that!"

"Right, right... Sorry, Pen!"

"Ohhh." That's Vincent. "So, are you like courting Miss Penny since you're walking her home, too?"

"Vincent!" Penny scolded, sounding almost aghast at her student's blunt question.

Haley could only allow herself to breathe when you finally answered Sam's brother.

"Haha, we're walking Jas home together, remember? If anything, it seems you were the one courting her since you wanted to come with us to walk her home," you teased him.

"Ew! I don't want Vincent to court me!"

"Hey! What's wrong with me?"

"You're too childish like your brother! No wonder Miss Penny turned down Mister Sam. I bet you she likes someone like Miss Y/n. I know I would."

"Hey!" yelled Vincent, obviously offended.

"Okay, that's enough kids," admonished Penny, and Haley could only imagine the horror on her face at Jas' comment. "It's not good to gossip, Jas, and it's not polite to ask adults things like that, Vincent."

"Alright, Miss Penny. I'm getting inside. Thank you for walking me home," Jas replied, her tone still somewhat defiant.

"Bye, Jas!" you called after her, followed by the sound of Vincent sniffling. "Hey now, little dude... don't be upset. I'm sure Jas was only joking."

"I don't understand why she needs to be mean. Am I not likable?" Vincent's voice wavered.

Haley dared to take a peek behind the bushes. She watched as you knelt down to be at eye level with Vincent, your smile as warm as the setting sun.

"Anyone can be likable to a certain someone. Like you," you said, ruffling his hair. "But we can't really force someone to like us the way we want, you know?"

"But... are you just going to accept they don't like you even though you're nice?" Vincent asked, his voice tinged with confusion.

You chuckled softly, briefly looking up to meet Penny's eyes, which had been fixed on you with such fondness that it tightened the knot in Haley's stomach.

"Well... I didn't say you have to give up. Sometimes people say mean things to protect themselves. You just have to be patient, and I'm sure they'll come around eventually," you explained gently.

Vincent nodded, his big brown eyes hanging on to every word you said.

"But..." you continued, "if this person has made it clear they don't like you, then you have to accept their boundaries, okay?"

"Eh..." He pouted. "I don't get it. Adulting is so confusing."

You barked out a laugh. "Don't worry, you have plenty of time to grow up, buddy."

Vincent's expression brightened a bit at your words. "Okay, I'll try to remember that."

"That's the spirit," you said, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Penny smiled, her eyes softening as she looked at you. "Thank you, Y/n. You're really good with them."

"Thanks, Penny," you replied, standing up and stretching. "They're good kids. Just need a little guidance sometimes."

"Are you feeling any better now, Vincent?" Penny asked gently. "Don't take Jas' words to heart, okay?"

"Uh-huh! I'm feeling a little better, Miss Penny! But... could Miss Y/n carry me until we get home? I'm..." He yawned. "I'm a little tired."

"Uhm, I don't think..."

"... alrighty then, let's get this little guy home as well," Haley could hear you grunt, and she could only imagine you carrying the sleepy Vincent in your arms.

"Your farm's right there, Y/n/n." Penny pointed out gently. "I can walk Vincent home. You don't have to make a detour."

"Nonsense, a little walk isn't going to kill me. Plus, I want to walk you home as well."

The redhead giggled softly. "I wasn't informed you were courting me."

"Oh, really now? I wasn't informed either," you joked, and Haley could feel herself dying a little on the inside.

****

Was it casual when you gave her daffodils every chance you could get when you barely even knew her?

Was it casual for you to have a daily mandatory breakfast with the Carter siblings?

Was it casual when you gave Haley her favorite gift on her birthday even though coconuts aren't something you can just spawn at hand when you need them to?

Was it casual that you managed to pay attention enough to actually know what her favorites are?

When you were drunk and Haley made her way outside to get you, in a greasy saloon of all places, even though she's not yet finished with her skincare, was it casual now?

Was it casual when you called her babe while you were drunk?

Was it casual when you declared you'd only allow yourself to be this close to her is in the reality you created in your dreams?

When she stayed at your place, took care of you, and cleaned your vomit-stained shirt and mattress, was it casual now?

Was it casual when you avoided her for four days because you thought you ruined her pampering day?

When she started minimizing her makeup because you told her once she's pretty even without them, was it casual?

When Haley was upset at the thought you'd be dancing with someone else, was it casual now?

Was it casual when you assured her you didn't want to dance with anyone but her?

When Haley, for once, didn't think about winning the flower dance and was focused on your endearing smile and relaxing embrace, was it casual now?

Was it casual when you were bloody and wet from the rain and the first thing you thought was knocking on her door?

When she could only focus on your wounds rather than your dirt-stained body staining the carpet, was it casual?

When Haley tried her hardest to treat your wounds despite fearing the sight of blood, was it casual now?

Was it casual when you almost died to get her a gift just because you thought she'd find them pretty enough to be the subject of her camera?

When Haley kissed your forehead the same way her grandmother used to do on her to kiss the pain away, was it casual?

When Haley forced you to take her bed because she couldn't bear to let your injured self sleep uncomfortably on the couch, was it still casual?

Was it casual when the first thing you thought upon waking up was to let Haley sleep on her bed because you didn't want her to suffer any back pain from her sleeping position on the foot of the bed even though you're injured yourself?

When Haley thought you hated her for the poisonous words she spouted on you that night and hated herself for it, was it casual now?

Was it casual when you tried your hardest to find her great grandma's bracelet because you couldn't bear to see her so upset despite your injuries?

Was it casual when you crafted a bouquet of sunflowers to make up for giving her a hated gift?

Was it casual when you planted a whole yard of sunflowers on your farm when Haley mentioned in passing that she loves them?

Was it casual when you helped her with her shopping bags even though you were obviously going somewhere else?

Was it casual for you and her to walk in the town, hand in hand? It could mean nothing.

When Haley's view of success was you beside her, was it casual?

When Haley couldn't handle the feeling of disappointing you, was it casual?

Was it casual of you to magically appear whenever she needs you?

Was it casual of you to be her number-one supporter in everything when she couldn't even believe in herself?

Was it casual when you made it your personal mission to keep her happy no matter what?

Was it casual when you made sure that no dirt could touch her not when you're around because you know how much she hated getting dirty?

When Haley no longer minds the feeling and smell of dirt, especially when you're around, was it still casual now?

Was it casual when you modeled for her despite hating modeling itself because Haley needed some new variations for her photography?

When Haley tried to conquer her fear of the ocean because she saw you once having fun with Leah swimming along the shore, was it casual?

Was it casual when you helped her conquer this fear even though you had plans for the day?

If she's second-guessing everything she ever thought was platonic and casual between the two of you, is this still casual?

They should have meant nothing but it's starting to feel like there is something.

****

The general store was quieter than usual that afternoon, with only a couple of customers browsing the shelves and the faint hum of Pierre’s old radio playing a static-filled tune in the background. Haley placed her basket of groceries on the counter with an air of casual confidence, her hair shimmering under the warm glow of the store's lights as if she had just stepped out of a magazine.

"There's my favorite blonde," Pierre greeted her with a grin, his tone far too cheerful to pass as entirely neutral. He adjusted his glasses as he began unpacking her items. "You got everything you need?"

Haley offered a small, polite smile, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I would appreciate it though if you restocked your peppermint coffee. Winter's coming soon, and I need my coffee to survive the whole season."

Pierre chuckled, nodding as he scribbled something on a notepad beside the register. "I'll keep note of that."

The rhythmic beep of the scanner broke the silence, but Pierre seemed to drag out the process, deliberately slow with each item. Haley tilted her head, pretending to examine the jars of preserves on a nearby shelf, though her curiosity flickered with each stolen glance Pierre gave her from behind the counter.

Her patience thinned as the seconds stretched on. She crossed her arms and finally turned back to him, narrowing her eyes. "What?" she asked, her voice sharp enough to slice through his act.

Pierre blinked, his hand pausing mid-air with a can of soup. "What, what?" he asked, his tone layered with faux innocence.

Haley raised an eyebrow, her expression shifting into one of exasperated suspicion. "Nothing. It's just... you looked like you wanted to say something."

Pierre hesitated, scratching the back of his neck as a sheepish grin spread across his face. "Has farmer Y/n told you who she gave the bouquet to?"

Her lips pressed into a thin line. "Is this about the bet?"

"Sort of," Pierre admitted, lifting his hands in mock surrender. "Come on, I gave Gus five grand. I just know my daughter caught her eye. Why else would Y/n be here every other day just to give Abigail her weird collection of stones?"

Haley rolled her eyes so hard it felt like they might stay that way. "First off, it's none of your business. Secondly, even if I did know, I'm not about to spill it to the entire town."

Pierre's grin faltered slightly, but his persistence didn’t waver. "I get it." He sighed dramatically as he began to load her bag, though his eyes darted toward her with a flicker of mischief. "She gave it to you, didn’t she? I mean, it makes total sense."

Her irritation bubbled just beneath the surface as she prepared to unleash a sharp retort, each word she'd make sure colorful enough to crush Pierre's so-called pride.

Her fingers curled slightly around the edge of the counter, her nails digging into the wood as her lips parted to speak.

But then it happened—before she could form a single syllable, the distinct scent of freshly cut grass and minted soap filled her senses. Haley froze, the small hairs on the back of her neck standing on end as warmth radiated from the figure now standing just behind her.

"Hey there, doll," your voice was soft, low, and entirely too close for her comfort—or rather, for her ability to maintain composure. Haley could feel the faint brush of your breath against her skin, and she clenched her jaw to stifle a gasp.

Pierre perked up, his eyes sparkling with newfound interest as he set the last of Haley’s items into her bag. "Well, speak of the devil," he quipped with a knowing smirk, crossing his arms. "The farmer of the hour. What brings you here, Y/n?"

"Oh, I'm just out to get Haley," you replied smoothly, your tone casual as if you weren’t practically pressed against Haley’s back. You leaned slightly to the side, catching her narrowed gaze as she turned her head just enough to glance at you. "Emily told me she'll be here."

Haley’s lips twitched, fighting to suppress the blush creeping up her cheeks. "Do you mind?" she asked through gritted teeth, her voice laced with a mix of exasperation and something she refused to name.

She instinctively took a step forward, creating a thin barrier of space between the two of you. The distance was barely anything, but it felt monumental to her frayed nerves. You noticed it, of course—you noticed everything, just as you’d noticed her avoiding you the past few days. She’d orchestrated this whole "not a date" movie outing at your farm a while back before she started this shindig of avoiding you, and yet here she was, cornered by her own choices. She knew you'd confront her eventually; she just hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

Damn you, Emily. Haley cursed internally. Her sister's meddling defies the bound of the universe.

"Oh! Out for a date, I see," Pierre chimed in, his tone laced with playful curiosity. His eyes darted between the two of you, a knowing smirk playing on his lips.

Haley's pulse quickened, and she forced herself to remain calm. She looked at you, waiting—no, daring you to deny it. Say something, she thought. Deny it. Deflect. Anything.

Your eyebrows shot up, disappearing behind your bangs as you opened your mouth, undoubtedly preparing to clarify the situation. But before a single word could escape, the bell above the door jingled sharply, drawing all attention to the entrance.

Morris stepped inside, his smug face immediately souring the air. His presence was an unwelcome shadow, sharp and intrusive, like nails on a chalkboard.

Haley caught the subtle change in your demeanor, a storm cloud rolling across your features. You muttered a string of profanities under your breath, quiet enough that most wouldn't catch it. But Haley was close—too close—and every word hit her ears like a sharp note.

It startled her; you rarely, if ever, swore in her company.

The tension in your frame said everything she needed to know. Your clenched jaw, the way your hand flexed and then balled into a fist by your side, all screamed one thing: you loathed the man in front of you.

Haley felt her blood begin to boil, mirroring your intensity. You’d never told her exactly what had happened during your time with Joja, but the bitterness in your expression now, the way your muscles coiled like you were ready to fight, painted a vivid enough picture. That, and the sight of Morris’s condescending grin, was enough to make her want to deck the man herself.

"Miss Y/n!" Morris's oily voice filled the space, louder than necessary. "What a pleasant surprise! I finally got ahold of you." His gaze flicked briefly to Haley, dismissing her with barely a glance before returning to you. "When my employee Shane told me the new farmer who’d taken over the rundown farm was named Y/n, I didn’t think it was you at first."

Haley's fists clenched around her grocery bag. Her heart thudded with protective anger, but she said nothing, instead glancing at you from the corner of her eye. The slight twitch in your brow, the way your jaw tightened, and the stiffness in your stance spoke volumes. You were trying to keep calm, but Haley knew it was taking everything in you not to snap.

"Folks kept talking about a lovely farm you've got there," Morris continued, clearly not picking up on the warning signs. Or maybe he simply didn’t care. "Imagine my surprise when I found out you’d gone from our... employee of the month to a simple farmer in the middle of nowhere."

You took a deep breath through your nose, the air between you practically crackling with suppressed emotion. When you finally spoke, your voice was calm—too calm. The kind of calm that preceded a storm.

"Morris," you said curtly, your tone colder than Haley had ever heard it. "Piss off."

Haley's eyes widened slightly at your words. She'd never heard you speak like that before, not even when you were angry. There was venom in your tone, something raw and unfiltered.

"My, my... what foul words you have there, miss," Morris said, raising a hand to cover his mouth in mock disbelief, though his smirk betrayed his true intent. "Anyhow," he continued, his voice oozing false geniality, "I received a call from your mother stating that you had AWOL'ed from your job and left the city. This only spurred me to seek out the new farmer in town with the same name as you. It couldn’t have been a coincidence, right?"

Your jaw clenched, and your knuckles turned white as your nails dug into your palm. Haley could feel the tension radiating off of you like heat from a furnace. "Shut up," you hissed, your tone low but charged.

"But you were sleek," Morris went on, as if he hadn’t heard you—or more likely, chose to ignore you. "For months I tried to get a sight of you. It should have been easy, given how small this town is, but I never caught even a glimpse of you. Tell me, were you avoiding Joja on purpose?"

Haley's stomach churned as she watched you struggle to keep your composure. She'd never seen you like this—on edge, restrained, a storm barely contained behind your eyes.

"I don’t want anything to do with Joja," you spat, your voice trembling slightly, not with fear, but with the effort it took to hold yourself back. "And I don’t want anything to do with my mother. I left Joja for good, and I have no desire to take over that hell of a company."

"Joja needs its heir, Miss Y/n. No matter how far you run, Joja will always be one step behind you." He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I’ve already informed your mother of your presence here in Pelican Town, and she is beyond displeased."

Haley saw your breath hitch, your shoulders stiffening as Morris’s words hit their mark.

"You’re wasting your time," you bit out, your voice quieter now, but no less fierce. "I’m not going back, and there’s nothing she—or Joja—can do to change that."

Morris chuckled, a low, condescending sound that made Haley’s skin crawl. His smirk widened, and he tilted his head in mock pity. "Oh, Miss Y/n, you underestimate Joja’s reach. This quaint little farm life of yours is nothing but a detour. We both know that."

Your fists clenched at your sides, trembling slightly, not out of weakness, but from the sheer force of holding yourself together. Your breath came out unsteady, the weight of his words pressing down like an iron vice.

"I don’t care," you spat, your voice cracking under the strain of bottled-up frustration. "I’ve spent blood, sweat, and tears on my grandpa’s farm—making it thrive, grow, and function all on its own. Every single effort I’ve made here has been worth something. Something the company never gave me."

Haley froze, her eyes darting to you. There was a rawness in your voice she wasn’t prepared for, an unguarded glimpse into a part of you she’d never seen.

"Even if I tried—even if I died trying—my mother would never be satisfied with my work," you continued, your voice rising with every word, trembling with pent-up anguish. "So how dare she? How dare she say she’s disappointed in me, like I’m supposed to care, when that’s the only thing she’s ever felt at the very sight of me?"

Morris let out a low hum, his fingers tapping idly against the counter. "Joja is all about hard work, Miss Y/n. Maybe she just hasn’t seen it on you?" His tone was measured, almost bored, but his words were like a needle aimed directly at the cracks in your armor.

You let out a sharp, bitter laugh, the sound harsh and devoid of humor. Haley flinched at the sound, her heart clenching as she watched you unravel.

"Hard work?" you echoed, your voice dripping with venom. "Hard work means nothing to Joja. It doesn’t matter how much I gave, how much of myself I sacrificed, it was never enough. It was never going to be enough."

Morris raised an eyebrow, as if amused by your outburst. "Look," he said with an air of condescension, "the missus, as much as she is strict and calculated, is only doing this to ensure you’re capable of handling the company once she steps down as CEO. Surely, you must be aware of that?"

Haley could see the way your shoulders stiffened, your lips pressing into a tight line, and your chest rising and falling as you struggled to control your breathing. She knew that Morris’s words had struck a nerve, and her patience finally snapped when she saw the flicker of doubt in your eyes.

"She doesn’t care about me being capable," you said quietly, each word laced with bitterness. "She only cares about molding me into her image. Into something I’m not—and something I never want to be."

Haley stepped forward without hesitation, planting herself firmly between you and Morris, her eyes blazing with a fury that caught everyone off guard.

"Sorry to intrude," she began sharply, her tone like ice, "but have you even seen Y/n’s farm? That place was a dump before she came here, and now it’s practically a well-oiled machine. Her farm has boosted this town’s economy more than you and Pierre’s businesses combined. And you know why?" Haley tilted her head, her voice turning venomous. "Because of Y/n’s dedication and hard work. So don’t you dare stand there and act like you have the right to judge who’s ‘working hard’ when you couldn’t lift a finger to do it yourself."

Morris’s smug expression faltered for the first time, but he quickly recovered, his smirk widening as he saw an opportunity to strike back. "Ah, I see what’s going on here," he drawled, his tone dripping with condescension. "If you really want your fair share of Joja’s wealth, you should convince your girlfriend here to come back to Zuzu City and manage the company like the true Joja she is." His eyes gleamed maliciously. "Though I doubt the missus would approve of this... kind of relationship."

Your body moved before your mind could catch up. Stepping forward, you shoved Morris back a step, your voice low and dangerous. "Fuck off. You don’t get to disrespect her like that."

Morris’s smugness wavered, but he tried to rally. "But I—"

"I don’t want to hear another word from you," you snapped, your tone brooking no argument. "Leave. Now."

Morris opened his mouth to retort, but Haley cut him off, her glare sharper than a knife. "You heard her. Get lost."

Morris huffed, his composure cracking slightly. "Hmph. I’m not leaving until I distribute my 50%-off Joja coupons to these fine customers." He raised his voice, addressing the room. "Anyone who wants a discount, feel free to take one from me."

Before the murmurs could start, you turned sharply to Pierre. "No one moves a foot," you commanded, your voice firm and unyielding. "Pierre."

"H-huh?" Pierre stammered, clearly caught off guard.

"Everyone shopping here right now—everything in their carts, ring it up. Put it on my tab," you said decisively. "I don’t care how much it costs. I’ll stop by later to settle the bill."

Pierre blinked, stunned, before nodding quickly. "O-okay. Got it."

You turned back to Morris, your voice colder than ice. "No one here wants your fucking coupons. Get the hell out."

Morris narrowed his eyes, clearly frustrated but unable to retaliate effectively. "You can’t pay for their tabs forever, Miss Y/n," he sneered. "Not with the little money your farm is making."

A smirk tugged at your lips, sharp and defiant. "You haven’t seen the progress of my farm, have you?" you asked, your voice filled with quiet triumph. "Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you never do. By the end of the year, the community center will be fully restored, and Joja—" you jabbed a finger toward him, "Joja will never taint this town again."

Morris’s face darkened, but he said nothing as you turned to Pierre and motioned to the grocery bag you took from Haley. "Please ring this up as well, Pierre."

****

"Y/n... are you okay?" Haley's voice was soft, tentative, her usual sharpness dulled by concern.

You didn’t meet her eyes, your voice steady but distant. "I’ll walk you home, and then I’ll get going. I need to be alone for a while."

Haley hesitated, searching your face for something—anything—that would let her help. But all she found was a wall she couldn’t push past. "Oh... okay," she murmured.

****

The walk to her house was quiet, the air between you heavy with unspoken words. When you reached her door, Haley turned, her expression uncertain. "It’s only a raincheck, right?" she asked, her voice almost hopeful. "You’re not canceling our movie night?"

You gave her a small, tired smile, though it didn’t quite reach your eyes. "Hmm. Maybe we can do it tomorrow instead."

Haley nodded slowly, watching as you turned to leave. "I’ll see you later, Y/n," she called softly, her voice lingering in the quiet night.

You didn’t look back, but you lifted a hand in acknowledgment before disappearing into the shadows. Haley watched you go, her chest tight with a mix of worry and something else she couldn’t quite name.

****

After you had dropped her off at her home, she moved quickly towards her kitchen, her movements deliberate as she retrieved a well-worn piece of paper. A single recipe sat tucked away for ages, something she hadn’t thought she’d use anytime soon. Yet, here she was, baking in autopilot, determined to bring you something that might make the silence a little more bearable.

It only sank in for Haley that you might have been serious about wanting to be alone for a moment when you opened the door to your farm after she knocked.

Well... No going back now.

"Hey..." she greeted hesitantly, her voice soft and uncertain. "I know you said you wanted to be alone, but I just... I thought it would be unfair that you're always there for me when I need you, and I left you alone just because you asked me to."

You didn’t speak immediately. The silence between you stretched, heavy with unspoken thoughts. For a moment, Haley worried she had crossed a line, overstepped some boundary. But before she could apologize, you offered her a faint, weak smile—a small curve of your lips, almost imperceptible, but a smile nonetheless.

"Are those cookies...?" you asked softly, your eyes landing on the tray she held out.

"Granny Evelyn's secret recipe. Freshly baked from the oven." Haley’s voice was gentle, almost a whisper. "Thought this might cheer you up."

You took a slow breath, the air between you carrying a quiet weight. You stood a step closer to Haley, your hands clasped loosely in front of you.

"I can just go and leave, you know? I just really want to bring these cookies—"

Before she could finish, you cut her off with a warm, comforting hug, wrapping your arms around her gently. Your embrace was steady, grounding, a silent reassurance. The scent of fresh soap mixed with the faint aroma of wood and grass on your worn flannel shirt created a sense of familiarity.

"Of course, you’re always welcome here, silly, with or without cookies," you said softly, pulling back just enough to look into her eyes.

"You say that but wait until you have a taste in them first," she teased, a small smile playing on her lips.

"I'm sure they'll taste delicious. Come," you urged, motioning her inside. "It's freezing outside."

"Thanks," she murmured, stepping past you into the warmth of the house.

"These your stuff?" you asked, noticing the bags she struggled to carry. "You should have called me so I could have helped you bring them here. It must have been a tough walk from your home."

"Yeah... sorry, I know it's a lot. Had to bring my skincare, you know?" she replied with a sheepish smile, setting the bags down on the worn wooden floor.

"Heh, if I didn't know you any better, I’d think you were moving in," you joked, giving her a playful nudge.

"Shut up, goof."

"Now, now... I didn’t say I was exactly opposed to the idea, m'lady," you continued, a grin tugging at your lips. "I would love it actually. It’s getting kind of lonely in here, you know? Sometimes I even question myself why I asked Robin to renovate the house this big when I’m all by myself."

"What? So you're saying you wanted me to stay here?"

"Would it be so bad?" you asked with a playful shrug.

"Perhaps? Especially if you're supposed to be saying these sappy things to your girlfriend." Haley's tone was teasing, but her smile faltered slightly as she added, "Yoba... I just realized. Penny won't be mad if I stayed the night, right? Or would she?"

"Huh? Why would she?" you asked, confused.

"Isn't she—" Haley began as she walked towards your room.

"Wait, Haley—" you called after her, a hint of worry in your voice, but it was too late.

"Oh..." Haley paused at the sight that greeted her eyes—a bouquet placed carefully on your bed, sunflowers nestled in among them. You were arranging them yourself, the soft glow from the bedside lamp casting a warm light on the delicate petals.

It took a moment for Haley to gather her thoughts. Her mind raced a thousand miles per hour, processing what she saw and the implications behind it.

"I thought you'd given Penny the—the uhm..." she began hesitantly.

"The bouquet?" you finished, your voice quiet. "What made you think so? And how'd you even know I have a bouquet?"

"I think what you mean is 'who else didn't know you'd bought a bouquet'," she replied, a sly smile creeping onto her face.

"Damn it, Pierre." You ran a hand through your hair, cursing under your breath. "Shit— you aren't supposed to see all these."

You sighed heavily as you walked toward the edge of the bed, keeping your gaze firmly away from her. The bouquet lay forgotten on the bedspread, the sunflowers blending with the faded, dried-out petals of the original flowers.

"I bought this days ago and I couldn't find the guts to give it to you. I guess I was waiting for the perfect timing or maybe I was chickening out. Shit, I don't really know..." you murmured, your voice shaky as you ruffled your hair anxiously. "All I know is the flowers dried out because I was a coward, and now I was planning to spend the whole night replacing the flowers with sunflowers instead of having our movie night because I'm mentally and emotionally unable to think straight because of what happened with Morris earlier, and now I'm babbling this to you like a fool and—"

"Breathe, Y/n." Haley’s voice was soft and soothing, her expression gentle as she stepped closer, her eyes warm and understanding. "It’s just me."

"Breathe... I can do that," you said, taking a slow breath and closing your eyes for a moment to collect yourself.

"Now..." Haley continued, a teasing smile playing at her lips, "Can you clarify the part about who you were planning to give the bouquet to because I’m a bit slow and I’m going to have to assume it’s me if you don’t."

"It's for you," you finally confessed, your voice barely a whisper. "I thought the sunflower already gave it away?"

"I..." Haley’s brows furrowed slightly, her voice softening as her expression turned thoughtful. "I thought you liked someone else..."

"And I thought I was pretty obvious," you said, a faint smile tugging at your lips.

"You probably would have if I hadn't seen you treating others the same way you do to me," Haley said, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Her expression was thoughtful, but there was a hint of uncertainty behind her eyes. "I don't really want to assume."

"But I don’t treat others the same way I treat you," you replied gently, your voice calm and steady.

"Giving favored gifts to every possible living thing you can see, walking Penny home, exploring mines with Abigail, painting with Leah..." Haley paused, glaring at you with a raised brow when she noticed the corner of your mouth twitch into a sly grin. "Do you honestly want me to continue the list?"

"No, no need. I got the message," you said with a soft chuckle, shaking your head as you stepped closer to her. You reached out slowly, taking her hands in yours with a tenderness that spoke volumes. Your thumb brushed gently against her knuckles, grounding the moment in a sense of intimacy that neither of you could ignore. "I guess I do those things with everyone. It was almost a natural instinct that I didn't need to bat an eye. It was normal for me. It was casual."

As your touch lingered, Haley’s breath hitched for a moment, and the rapid beating in her heart began to slow. What was once chaotic and unsure began to calm down, her mind finding clarity amidst the confusion.

"But for you... everything is complex," you continued, your voice steady, eyes locked onto hers. There was a sincerity in your gaze, a vulnerability in your words that couldn’t be dismissed. "And I don’t mean it as a bad thing. You made me second-guess everything I do. I was afraid I was being too obvious because I was doing too much. I was afraid that what I was doing bypassed everything I thought should be normal between friends. I was scared I was doing too much that I might scare you away."

Haley let out a soft, watery laugh, a quiet chuckle that broke through the tension between you both. She shook her head lightly, realizing you were both overthinking the same thing all along.

"So yeah... everything I did, everything I said from the start—it was never casual," you finished, your voice gentle but unwavering. "Simply because I like you, Haley. I’ve liked you for a long time."

There was a long, charged pause. It probably felt like an eternity to you, but it could’ve only been a minute or two—maybe more. You weren’t sure anymore. If the roles were reversed, if Haley were in your place, she would’ve bolted in embarrassment, rushing back to her home to cry her heart out the moment you didn’t respond to her confession.

But this is you. You have always been patient. You still wore the same loving face the moment you started your confession and the moment you let out the last word. Nevermind your face is in a deep shade of red.

"You..." she breathed out, her voice barely above a whisper before rising drastically. "You fucking idiot!"

"Huh?" you managed, taken aback by the sudden outburst.

Before you could process what was happening, her fists slammed hard against your chest. The force wasn’t enough to cause real pain, but the impact was enough to send a slight jolt through you. You wheezed softly between bursts of laughter, breath escaping in short bursts as she continued her assault.

"You liked me all this time and you didn’t say it earlier?!" she demanded, her voice rising with each word.

You let out another laugh, struggling for air as her fists smacked your chest again. At this point, it wasn’t about the physical impact—it was the sheer force of emotion behind it.

You must have had enough with Haley's fists dealing little to no damage on your ribcage because the moment she lifted her hands to strike again, you caught them gently in yours and leaned down to capture her lips, silencing the stream of profanities leaving her mouth.

When your lips finally parted, a brief, lingering pause stretched between you both, the air thick with emotions you both hadn't fully acknowledged yet.

"You could have said you liked me, y'know? No need to hit me." You said softly, a teasing smile playing on your lips as you pulled back.

"I hate you," she grumbled, her expression softening despite the harsh words. Her gaze lowered, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks as the embarrassment of her outburst settled in.

"You don’t." You sounded far too smug, watching her squirm just a bit. "Emily said so."

Haley’s brow furrowed deeply as the realization dawned. Her lips parted slightly, and her eyes narrowed in disbelief. She thought back to that conversation, recalling her sister’s confident assurance. "You know about the bet all this time?!"

"Yup." Your grin widened.

She stared at you, her expression a mix of incredulity and irritation. "You asked my sister if you have a chance with me, didn’t you?"

You smirked but remained silent, letting the unspoken answer hang in the air.

"Good Yoba… Why did I have to like such an idiot dork." She huffed, puffing out a breath as her frustration began to give way to amusement. Her lips twitched into a small smile despite herself. "Come here and let me wipe that stupid smirk from your face."

"You'll do that by?"

Her eyes rolled again, but the playful edge remained as she replied with a small, amused grin. "By kissing it off you, what else?"

~~~~~~

taglist:

@joordynn

@taliiiaasteria

@iluvwomen01

@tekanparadiae

@slug-on-bike

@prlan

@mit-suri

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[bubsmiraculousau]

These are my OT5 brainstorm pages. Elaborations on how I got to these below! I reference concept pages so if you see any pictures you don't recognize that's why. <3

First up is Cat Noir who I think is already perfect lmao. For my version though I wanted to lean closer to his PV design because I love it, like his larger triangle nose (you can't really see it at the angle in my drawing but it's there I swear!), the bigger bell, the more elaborate belt, etc.... so basically everything ... just in my style instead.

With my designs I think that whenever someone transforms into their miraculous persona it's based on what they think a hero looks like or what they think is cool. I think Adrien reads a lot of comic books and is a fan of characters like Batman (relatable for him LOL), Catwoman, and Nightwing, so his suit reflects that kind of vibe.

Extra: I decided that Ladybug and Cat Noir's masks go all the way up their foreheads because it looks nicer in my 2D style with their bangs haha.

Next up is the one and only Ladybug! Unpopular opinion but I actually like the all red suit! My hypothetical series would be a webcomic, and I feel like in action scenes the red differentiates her from Cat Noir esp at a distance, and more red style keeps their color ratios even.

I like the ladybug designs with a bunch of black sections they're very cute! Just not for my au. (I think it's just me but I find drawing the ladybug designs with inverted red dots to feel sacrilegious in a way,,, just my neurodivergent brain lol)

And I am a long ribbons truther, I love them and they can be very expressive. Also I knew I wanted Marinette to have a more vertical circular eye shape because her shape vibe is definitely a circle (Adrien's is triangle) and it reminded me of the eyes for the main girl in princess jellyfish (I've never seen it, love the style tho)

Her hair is a more bright blue to contrast her hair against her suit, and make her look more cartoonish. I imagine her idea of a superhero comes from kids shows and some magical girl anime. So her hair has a plastic shiny texture to it because when she thinks 'superhero' she thinks of kids toys. Also I just like color! The blue kinda gives comic spiderman vibes imo (the version with the light blue instead of the navy)

Queen Bee definitely changed the most throughout the design process. I really like her in-show design so I just tweaked it to be more my vibe. Adding a crown because she's a Queen.

Something that I've noticed is that Alya and Chloe actually share a lot of traits (There's even some old concept notes where I believe Alya and Chloe either switch names or roles at some point?? The miraculous concept info rabbit hole is real y'all) and I think this comes through in their final designs.

Like they both share a middle part, which bothers me for some reason, so I decided to give Chloe a little Ariana Grande side part into a ponytail.

I wanted each character to have a cool little piece on their costume, so I tried these little hip things to make her more commanding and girlboss, but currently her weapon is similar to ladybug's (but more like one of those hair ties w the little disco balls on them) and it would sit on her hip and would clash w her hip thingies, so I just decided to make her weapon the hip things instead, combining the two.

Something else that bothered me a lot was that Rena was the only one with white on her costume. Everyone has black but she's the only one with white... my brain says that this cannot be. So I tried to give Bee some fun white fuzzy bits but the texture just was too different...

And then I had the mega-brain idea to make her hair white to tie in the white from Rena. Her and Cat Noir both having blonde hair irked me as well LOL so this hit two birds with one stone. I wanted her hair to be sharper and more aggressively drill shaped because of her abrasive personality haha.

After that, is Carapace. I had an idea for him from the start because I felt like his in-show design just doesn't match his personality... I couldn't make his outfit all loose because I wanted to stick generally to the miraculous suit formula, but I feel like 'skin tight suit' just isn't his vibe. So he has a kind of hammer pants situation.

I think they capture Carapace's b-boy ninja turtle vibe while still looking like a miraculous outfit. Though I decided later that I wanted the pants to be a lighter color for contrast and the visor to be white (to tie in that Rena Rouge white).

Lastly is Miss Rena! Something that bothered me (back on the similarities to Chloe) was that they both have ponytails (yes I know I'm crazy). Even though they have very different textures I just wanted each of them to be distinct from each other. So I put her hair down and just dramatized her regular hairstyle.

Also her and Queen Bee both have black gloves to their upper arms, which, you guessed it, bothered me. So I shortened Rena's to just reach her elbow.

I wanted her to look like a magic-man, her illusion powers evoke a showmanship energy to me. I imagine her and Cat Noir are quite the dramatic theater kid-esque duo.

So, for drama I tried some flowy arm bits, which I think ended up just looking a little strange, so I'll pocket that idea for something else. Then, I tried to add her coattail from the show, but it ended up looking a little frumpy, not the drama I wanted.

I ended up making her coat more triangular in the front, to give off the vibe of a magician's vest, and changed it to solider red/orange double coattails, which I think makes her more magic-man-ish. And I think the white ends made it too busy.

So those are my hero designs! I'm still working out Hawkmoth and Mayura, esp Hawkmoth because I am not good at drawing masculine older men...

If y'all want LESS of the artistic process let a girl know lol! I know some ppl like it but this is very long,,, all my drawings will not have text this long! thx for reading if you did tho xx

[bones4thecats]

If it's okay could I please ask for Poseidon with kianna but how would he be in a relationship with her I'm not completely sure what else to ask in this request so the rest is up to you and I hope you can get an idea out of this

❥· The Pink Sea, Poseidon × Kianna! S/O

Character(s): Poseidon (🔱) A/N: I couldn't find a good start for headcanons or a short-story, so I decided to do some incorrect quotes themed with the two of them in mind! Hope that works! Nice to hear from you again, @nunezs-stuff! ✎ Summary: The relationship of Poseidon and Kianna Komori is unique, especially in the minor moments.

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🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱

Yui, finally meeting her sister's new family: Okay! Let’s play Kiss, Marry, Kill! Yui: First who would you kill? *Hades points at Adamas* *Kianna! S/O points at Adamas* *Poseidon points at Adamas* Adamas, shrugging: I would kill me too. ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ Hades: Are you ready to commit with my brother? Kianna! S/O: Like, a crime or a relationship? ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ Zeus: So, dear older brother Poseidon, how long have you and Kianna! S/O been together? Poseidon: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Kianna! S/O and I are not together. No. No. Adamas: Really? Sixteen ‘nos’? Really? ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ Poseidon: My hands are cold. Kianna! S/O: Here, let me hold them. Poseidon: My lips are cold too. Kianna! S/O: *covers Poseidon's mouth with their hand* ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ Kianna! S/O, at Poseidon: You're my husband. Poseidon: *Nods with a slight smile* Kianna! S/O, at Proteus: You're my child. Proteus: Yes, Lady Kianna! S/O. Kianna! S/O, at Adamas: You're my bitch. Adamas: Yeah I am- wait, what? Kianna! S/O, at Apollo: My bestie. Apollo: Naturally. Kianna! S/O, at Zeus: My verbal punching bag. Zeus: Fuck you. ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ Kianna! S/O: Listen, we’re done, we’re over! Okay? Poseidon: Whatever bitch, you ain’t never gonna find no one like me. Kianna! S/O: Yeah, that's the point shithead! ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ Kianna! S/O: Smart is attractive. Educate me on something I don't know! Poseidon: The mouth of a jellyfish is also an anus. Kianna! S/O: Stop. ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ Kianna! S/O: Look, I know you think my judgement's clouded because I like Person G a little bit. Ares, holding Poseidon's notepad: You doodled your wedding invitation. Kianna! S/O: No, that's our joint tombstone. Ares: My mistake. ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ Poseidon: I don't need to go to bed. I'm not tired, I'll be fine. Kianna! S/O: But, darling, I'll be so lonely without you. Come curl up in my arms so I can feel whole again. Poseidon, not looking up from his papers: Are you trying to seduce me into healthy sleeping patterns? Kianna! S/O: Is it working? ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ Poseidon: Brothers, I’ve been meaning to tell you… Kianna! S/O and I are getting married. Kianna! S/O, Hades, Adamas, and Zeus: *gasp* Poseidon: Kianna! S/O, why are you surprised?! ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ Aphrodite: I know you love them. Poseidon: I am not in love with Kianna! S/O. Hermes, staring at Poseidon with a sly smile: She never said who... Poseidon: *realizes* Poseidon, turning away: Ares how was the latest war again- ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ Poseidon: Truth or dare? Kianna! S/O: Truth! Zeus: Do you- Poseidon: I dare you to kiss me. Kianna! S/O: *kisses Poseidon* Heracles, to Hermes: She said 'truth', right?

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🦴 Copyright © 2025 by Bones4thecats on Tumblr. All Right Reserved. 🦴

[yunsound]

Update on the Ao Bing Zhuan drama

Oh my god this never ends.

Part 1 here , read for context

It's actually so funny to watch on XHS. Literally last night I came across an Ao Guang solo art (solo meaning no ships or anything implied, it was just Ao Guang being hot) and there was a comment like "Ying Long your husband is so sexy". I told them not to 嗑药 (keyao) which means not to bring up other ships under an art that's not tagged with that ship. The comment was three words long: 别磕药 (don't keyao).

Holy shit. Within 20 minutes, 6 comments from 6 different people calling me a whole manner of things.

Disgusting fujoshi Dilong shipper (no joke, they literally wrote this)

Fuck off and mind your own business, they're canon

I hate all Dilong shippers, Ying Long is his canon wife

No wonder your ship gets attacked, Dilong fans are so fucking annoying

All fujoshis leave Ne Zha fandom (which is funny because 80% of Ne Zha fans are fujoshis who ship Oubing)

Fuck you

Okay. Wow.

The artist of the post liked my comment but they didn't tell the others to stop, which I get- no one wants to be attacked either.

Funniest thing is I've never even shipped Dilong. Starting to see the appeal now though, at least compared to Guangying.

OKAY.

I think I mentioned this in the last post, but Ying Long's design copied a genderbend Dilong art's design of Ao Guang back when Ao Guang's human form was never shown. This is really ironic.

An update: Oubing is currently the top ship in Ne Zha by FAR, like, by FAR FAR FAR. No other ship comes CLOSE to how big Oubing is. However, Oubing fans have mostly been able to stay out of Guangying vs Dilong drama as well as Ao Bing Zhuan drama.

One of the platforms ABZ is posted on, however, posted two of the author's sketches. One of them is child Ao Bing. The other one is an unknown female character who wears red and has red hair. The caption included this: "Guess who Ao Bing's new ship is with?"

The female character lated debuted and is called Hong. She's a thousand-year old jellyfish spirit.

When I tell you the author couldn't have done anything fucking dumber than try to pair Ao Bing with some random OC girl, I mean it. Oubing makes up like 80% of the fandom. The other 20% consists of half Ne Zha Ao Bing friendship stans and half casual fans. Oubing is probably the only ship with a negative hater rate in the fandom.

If the author tries to pull some "Oh this webcomic is official content so Oubing is a ship that breaks up a canon ship so it's not allowed" I guarantee ABZ will be bullied so hard the author might never be able to do anything ever again. Oubing is probably one of the biggest ships ever in Chinese fandom history. It's also one of the most wholesome, un-problematic (whatever that means) and sweet ships ever. But Oubing fans are hardcore. Like, not rude, but will NOT take shit.

Aside from the unknown girl the author is trying to pair Ao Bing with, they changed the setting of Oubing. One of the biggest parts of Oubing is that they're each other's first and only friend since they're so isolated.

ABZ, however, has Ao Bing go off and make friends with a whole bunch of people- his brothers, (who in the movies are probably dead), a bunch of abyssal sea monsters, etc.

Also the author is one of THOSE Xiao Zhan fans. Not the normal ones- I am also a Xiao Zhan fan. The kind of Xiao Zhan fans that led to the 227 incident and AO3 being banned in China.

ALSO!!!

The most important part!!

I made a Ne Zha post explaining that Ao Guang, Ao Bing's dad and the poor dude caught in the middle of these ship wars, is usually portrayed as an ugly old dude. In fact, Jiaozi said verbatim in an interview that he was originally going to look like

this.

The comparison. Jesus Christ.

Jiaozi said that it was fanart and fanwork that gave him the inspiration for Ao Guang's sexy dilf design. Back in 2019 and 2020, ABZ wasn't out yet: the ONLY Ao Guang arts were all Dilong! Dilong art is the ONLY reason Ao Guang is a sexy dilf instead of whatever the fuck that is.

IDK, I think I've become a Dilong fan despite only seeing Dilong art like twice in my life just because I feel so bad for them.

[ttkinnie]

Tokyo Revengers characters as animals 💖 (for no reason)

Kazutora: let's start with the most obvious one, our resident tiger. Which is funny considering he gives 0 tiger vibes. Or maybe rescued declawed tiger from an abusive circus. Wait a sec... Hanma and Kisaki have a circus theme going on... why did I never notice this? This starts well. Saddest tiger pic I could find

Baji: A black gray wolf of course. 'nuff said

Chifuyu: A cat. Kitty kitty meow meow. Not crazy enough to be orange, but he's gotta have green eyes and a kind face. This tuxedo:

Koko: Talking about cats, here he is. Most obvious choice I've ever made. Black cat of course, very fancy, will knock shit off the counter and eats only the most expensive wet food

Inupi: second most obvious one because you've gotta pick the race of the dog too. I say he's the only serious golden retriever you've ever seen.

Takemichi: A mouse. He is squeaky and scared, looks like he eats cheese. Very cute. Big eyes.

Hinata: A doe, beautiful and kind but will ram into you if you touch her loved ones

Naoto: a buck because I am unoriginal. he does give off buck vibes tho

Hanma: I know the official art makes him a caracal but I love being contradictory so maned wolf it is. Plus look at its long legs and creepy demeanor, it's him

Kisaki: Listen, I am not the most partial person when it comes to him. He's my little meow meow, I wanna put either cat or bunny ears on him and squish his cheeks. But! Let's be honest, that boy is a snake. The deadliest snake in the world, the saw scaled viper, not the most venomous but highly aggressive. He eats mouse Takemichi for breakfast. Also look at its scales, they remind me of his adult hair.

Mikey: A honey badger, small and cute but will bite your balls off and kill your family for fun.

Draken: A lion, beautiful mane and a symbol of strength. Lives among a tribe of lionesses (lucky him)

Mitsuya: I do not like spiders. At all. But an animal literally producing silk is the only choice for Mitsuya. However I am not masochistic so i won't put a spider image, just the web

Taiju: Great white shark. Very smooth skin. Anyone who tells you they have sandpaper skin is lying.

Hakkai: A seal, same eyes, same innocence, favorite prey of the great white shark

Yuzuha: An orca, beautiful but deadly. Only predator of the great white shark. Also eats seals but let's not comment on that. I support women's wrongs.

Pah-chin: it's too cliché to put warthog here, so i won't. He's a cane toad, one of the stupidest animal on Earth, one of their most common cause of death is eating shit they shouldn't because they stuff their mouth without thinking. They also hump anything, including dead animals from another species, and lay their eggs anywhere, which leads to a high mortality rate among their offspring. Why did I give so many facts? I don't know. Look at it.

Peh-yan: A tarsier. it's the eyes.

Sanzu: Arctic hare, crazy eyes and a gift for divination if you can understand his language

Senju: a cutie baby. Bunny x2, will kick you.

Takeomi: a rat. I am not a hater, rats can be cute, but this guy definitely gives off rat vibes

Wakasa: So very pretty. White leopard of course.

Benkei: A bull. I always thought his tattoos were a bull, but I was wrong I just looked it up. Still a bull.

Shinichiro: This one was though, but I'd say a koala. I'm partial about it, but I feel like he would give his children poop to eat, and their reproductive habits are also not a good look on them.

Emma: Japanese dwarf flying squirrel because I play favorites and that's the cutest little furball ever. it looks like it's wearing eyeliner

Izana: Another small but deadly thing, the Australian box jellyfish, found notably along the coast of Malaysia (I feel so clever right now)

Kakucho: Fiercely loyal dog, he's a Rottweiler. Don't tell me Izana and him don't have some kind of puppy play going on.

Ran: Secretary bird. Canonically hates Kisaki which explains why he stomps snakes to death. Wears killer eyeshadow and looks like they hate your fashion style

Rindou: Did you know a group of male Pacific tree frogs is called a chorus? me neither, which is why Rindou is a Pacific tree frog. Peace of music, yeah

Mucho: Polar bear, cold and aggressive. Plus arctic hare and polar bear, there's a theme

[fordford]

i want to write something nice and meaningful about fiddleford not hating gubby but i have to pack so this is all i have in me

transcript/screenreader version below cut because it's kind of long

image ID: a screenshot of a text file i wrote of a quarter-assed fanfiction about fiddleford and the shapeshifter. many words are misspelled and there are countless grammatical and punctuation errors. end image ID.

screenreader-friendly image transcript:

once upon a time fiddleford was hanging out in the bunker. bunkers are man-made underground spaces so you would think it would be really cold because places that are underground are usually cold. well you would be right but fiddleford was really hot today in the bunker because he was working so hard and sexily. he was sticking out his nonexistent ass as his head was buried in some machine thing i don't know engineering.

suddenly ford came up behind him. "hello" said ford.

"agh" said fiddleford and he was startled and banged his head against the machine and got a huge concussion and lost consciousness for a couple hours. but when he came to ford was still waiting there patiently so they continued their conversation. "what's up."

"look at this thing i found" said ford and he held up a pile of slime.

"that's disgusting waht is that. is that like a dead jellyfish" asked fiddleford. just then the slime moved! and took the shape of the wrench that fiddleford was holding (i forgot to mention he was holding a wrench but trust me it was there the whole time).

"what the hell is that." said fiddleford.

"it's a shapeshifter ❤️" said ford and he held the wrench up to his his lips and kissed it tenderly. for a split second fiddleford felt a little bit jealous of a wrench but stopped feeling that way because it was stupid. "i am going to raise it as my son" finished ford.

fiddleford watched as the wrench changed back into a grub thing and it jumped onto his head and started sucking on his open head wound. "idk it's kind of ugly" he said.

ford frowned. "fiddleford... i thought you of all people would be more accepting of guys who are a little bit different..." he said gayly.

fiddleford felt bad he didn't want to make ford feel isolated. and the grub was actually making his open head wound feel better or maybe he was just getting numb to the pain from blood loss. "well okay 🙂" said fiddleford and then they raised shifty as their child and lived happily ever after. the end. end transcript.

[starlightswordfight]

everyone needs their really specific headcanon over their randomly selected character that gets like two lines total and this is mine. delicious in dungeon more like DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER (I get hit by a car)

holm kranom DID essay post incoming right now EVERYONE is getting GLIMPSES into MY BEAUTIFUL MIND. it's also REALLY long that's my bad I have Favorite Character Disease. get ready

ALRIGHT !! my telekinesis throws everyone against the wall

so this party just dies, right. cannot stop dying. allergic to victory all they do is lose. so they attempt to go back up to the surface after arguing a little with kabru about it, the corpse retrievers try to turn them all against each other, everybody looks like different kinds of mermen because of illusion magic, that is the part of the story I'm talking about below okay YAY

SO I NOTICED. A GOOD FEW THINGS IN THIS SCENE. went back to the manga to make sure it wasn't me like ... overthinking it, but I really don't think it is

this panel ALONE gives a lot of things to work with:

1) kabru is very obviously a super perceptive person. it's interesting to me fascinating even that the most glaring observation he can make about holm is that he freezes under stress. he does it frequently enough for it to be considered noteworthy

2) the anime also doesn't say this verbatim but here it is SPECIFICALLY described as him being "dazed". it is not just freezing up like when you're surprised, it is dissociation. and this is apparently happening with holm all the damn time

3) the sea creature his illusion was modeled after is a cuttlefish. and that stands out a lot to me

cuttlefish are known for "freezing out" predators, and for camouflage. the type of camouflage you would inherently be doing if you had a covert disorder like DID. the entire point is that you are not supposed to find out about it unless you really go looking

it is a covert disorder that you either discover long after the fact, or in some cases, never. and that could so nicely parallel the fact that cuttlefish, despite being so good at color matching to blend in to their environments, are colorblind

^ (cuttlefish are also remarked by some as "chameleons of the sea" and his name in old english means "sea" or something similar iirc. something something chameleon of the self. something something blending in as one person, the constant looming feeling that you're pretending to be yourself, other alters imitating the host SEE MY VISION NOW)

and also they have THREE HEARTS?? OKAY MAN

still on this scene listen I AM onto something just bear w me. in this same part the accessories or weapons of some of the party members are visible, and you can see that they weren't transformed into other fish/marine life!

like kuro's sword! and rin's staff!

they were not altered extensively by the illusion, just enough to look slightly different. and clothing wasn't considered an issue at all, and would just not impact anyone else's "forms" altogether!

this does not apply to holm.

the hat is a completely different animal.

not much reason the illusion would only do something like that for holm, I feel like. even if I'm reading into it too much (I know I am and idgaf), the fact that holm is made two sea creatures while everyone else stays one is a detail I can't let go of

furthermore: consider the stress responses! and how these specific animals will defend themselves! the cuttlefish freezes when threatened. a jellyfish will sting on contact. do you see where I'm going with this

this also is more speculation than anything else, but I think it'd make a lot of sense if him being religious (though we don't ever figure out WHAT specifically, my personal interpretation is whatever this world's equivalent of Judaism is but anything goes) had something to do with being a healer. and his magic practices. and even if not, in most religions, from what I understand, harming others -- particularly killing others -- is the worst thing you could ever fucking do. right

but AFTER the illusion spell wears off -- which, again, he was frozen for the entire time. just Standing There. -- and kabru fakes out then kills the corpse retrievers? ALL holm says is "yeah, that makes more sense". not particularly happy, but not upset at all, either. unbothered

and that is baffling to hear from a healer, particularly a religious healer. the dungeon plays by different rules sure but it feels like he should have had more qualms with that, but he just. doesn't? something is happening here. I don't think it's just hypocrisy that would be too easy. there's something more going on

EXPANDING on that: he can be. super judgemental ?? despite how otherwise gentle he is. it feels jarring. can you be normal

like this part right here?? him just SAYING this about mickbell?? and like yeah he was right but his reasoning was based on NOTHING. just Intuition. "this is correct Because I Just Know"

the way daya goes "holm." made me giggle to be honest. but it could still be important!! she says this like she's had to say it before, like he's Done This Before Multiple Times

oh oh and and AND. in the anime his word choice is different, somehow harsher ("I bet he's working the poor thing to the bone for peanuts") and his voice changes entirely, in tone, in pitch, in cadence.

I understand that acting ooc on its own doesn't mean anything, but I also had to rewind this part initially because I wasn't actively watching and didn't recognize the voice!! here he doesn't speak softly like holm normally does, at all. like he's quiet, still, but it's not the same. almost like he isn't holm. a jellyfish will sting when threatened

OH AND THIS PART. THE PROTECTIVE SPELL THAT RIN LOOKED OVER

it makes absolute sense that that's her specialty and not anybody else's, and that she would know the most about this particular kind of spell! so true rin I LOVE you rin

but a cleric -- a healer who has also been seen resurrecting people in this series -- has absolutely no reason not to know at least a little bit about this sort of thing

in the anime he says it's just not his area of expertise. okay sure, fine, I'll take that. the manga?

"I don't really know much."

fuck you mean you don't know much?? at ALL???? mf yes you do???????

I can't do this "yeah I know that I, as someone who Is A Cleric and Revives People In Dungeons, would have to understand how ghosts function In Those Dungeons to be able to do my job at all. I DON'T know anything about this spell warding off ghosts though. in fact I could not even estimate" SO TRUE HOLM I BELIEVE YOU

like I understand that it's not EXACTLY the same. and obviously it's not like a huge deal. but I have a really hard time believing that someone who also knows enough about ancient magic to have been arrested for it can't look at a simple defensive spell and take a wild guess

this is also the exact same group interaction where he says that shit about mickbell. and his voice kind of slips. and he can still think harsh things sometimes but I think this might be the only time he actually voices that thought. which is notable to me (since in other situations, like judging kabru for eating harpy eggs, he doesn't say what he's thinking. but there not only does holm talk, he doesn't even bother trying to sound how he usually speaks)

in this entire sequence of events we get:

– a healer who knows all about resurrection and healing but apparently nothing about protective spells? particularly protective spells against ghosts (despite again his whole thing being HEALING AND REVIVAL MAGIC which would HAVE to be a little knowledgeable on that so he was just fucking lying maybe)

– an abrupt compete shift in character that happens for about one second and then we never see that again

– this behavior taking place directly after a life threatening experience, which he had stood dead still for the entire time. the illusion had presented the image of a separate animal from a separate phylum attached to his person, specifically attached to his HEAD

– and when he's talking again suddenly he doesn't care one way or the other if kabru permanently kills someone, suddenly he's clueless on defensive magic, suddenly he's reading mickbell in bad faith, suddenly he's eating meat despite being vegetarian for religious reasons (if you choose to take that as anything other than an animation error) (because it IS an animation error 100%)

that was somebody else. like that just was not holm. in my eyes this is whoever the jellyfish could potentially represent, and they were just Standing There during the illusion shenanigans before this scene because they were switching

then considering his quiet demeanor, and his tired face (which when you look at the designs for all the characters as other races via changeling spores, that tired look FOLLOWS holm. it is not just because he's a gnome, that is how he emotes). like

okay man. he's had maybe two hours of sleep in the last nine hundred years

regardless of the scenario he is way too calm. being that serene AND just locking up when you're taken off guard ?? could very well be connected. for someone who looks so calm he sure does get overwhelmed very weirdly quickly

and despite that tired look to him, holm is observant. very observant. he can engage with kabru's theorizing enough to argue back, strongly, easily. there is a back and forth with holm between noticing even the smallest details and then not engaging with anything around him whatsoever

and I already talked about how out of nowhere it felt to see him get so harsh, but building on that: him seeming ... a lot less indifferent (and more worried) than he tries to sound? he can be really mean when he wants to be. making a lot of fast judgements, but most if not all of them seem related to whether or not he can trust these people. "I bet mickbell is taking full advantage of kuro", "kabru would do anything to gain somebody's trust/yeah I completely expected him to backstab the corpse retrievers", these are people he WORKS with. their LIVES are all in each other's hands and this is where his mind is

reminiscent of hypervigilance, almost. the constant back and forth you'll see in dissociative disorders like this one between painful awareness and just completely shutting down. never really knowing who to trust so you're wary of everyone, but end up associating with those people anyway out of necessity. so you're always on guard, even if you care for these people, because you've never been given a reason not to be

we don't hear anything about his parents. zero. nothing. we know he has a sister that he's on rocky terms with, for reasons we don't get to hear. we know he's been imprisoned before in the west for his studies of ancient spirit magic for Lord knows how long (like what do you MEAN you were fucking imprisoned for ancient magic?? and you got OUT?? what are you DOING??)

and we know (because holm is 76 and the maturity age for gnomes is like 40) that all things considered he was very young when all of that went down. and people do not just gravitate towards ancient magic for no reason, especially not young people. and that's ... it! that's it?

it's such a patchy backstory in terms of missing so many key details. everyone else's in his party seems mostly consistent (as in there's at least a linear story, somewhere, anywhere) but his is bits and pieces. from holm there is just ... nothing? I'm supposed to believe that he's just Also There? something is deeply wrong

with dissociative disorders (and trauma-based ones) your memory will just be god awful. important years and times will just be blocked out, or fuzzy at absolute best. recollection is choppy, inconsistent. it is very very common for bits and pieces of childhood to be remembered and absolutely nothing else, if you even get those snippets at all

he isn't very personal or talkative, but there are characters who aren't talkative (daya as one example) that we as the audience still learn the lore for. not him! he's just Here for like No Reason, as far as we can tell, and the complete lack of linear backstory so sincerely could be a matter of not remembering anything. or not being able to think about it for too long. forcible switch out every time he tries

my Proposed Theory: he is not the party's Resident Normal, there is no Resident Normal, he just blocked all that shit out. he freezes when overwhelmed as is, already, CANONICALLY, I don't see why that wouldn't bleed into this too. I could easily see him trying to share personal things like the others do then just blanking immediately

"-- so that's how the mana absorption works with undines :]"

"so true holm. why don't you tell me more about yourself"

" "

"okay"

and this last part is not even an attempt at justifying any of this it's just a reason I'm so attached. I adore the idea of a character being a system and also being a healer. and being softer. and being gentle.

not only do characters w DID very often get exaggerated to extreme degrees and completely ignore the covert part, but I'm tired of the only systems we see in media being overall violent. or having one designated violent alter for the sake of scaring the neurotypicals since we are seen as our own subgenre of horror. I want to see a character who's calm and careful have this disorder for once. for once

always "serial killer with DID" this, "violent outbursts from person with DID" that, how about healer with DID. system in the party that brings people back to life. system that is careful and gentle and values safety. system that loves other people and loves when people Live And Are Cared For and is NOT a murderer waiting to happen good Lord the bar is low

this specific headcanon means a lot to me because I feel like this being what's going on with him could hold weight. it is possible. I have more but I don't want to write for way too long and that one is more speculation than canon. people with good childhoods don't stand like that

TL/DR this character is fucked up. in my heart. I know what he is. peace on planet earth

also I'm giving him two (2) alters as a treat and their names are llewellyn and dorset (NOT A TREAT) (THIS IS REALLY BAD ACTUALLY)

[moonstruckdraws]

Aphrodite & Antheia

Your little high and mightyyy~

yep, going down this rabbit whole on my blog (updated)

Version 3 (ack-)

Ver. 1 & 2 (2.1)

Aphrodite is, I would say, the goddess I know the most about (even though I'm still learning new things). I literally did all my mythology projects on her when younger lmao

Stars it's been so long since I've drawn people-

Anyway time to yap

The way I first learned (and preferred) of Aphrodite's birth was emerging from seafoam. I thought it was the coolest thing ever, and was so so SO happy to see people incorporate the ocean in their designs of her. I felt it only appropriate to do the same (I am worried I made her too ocean based- so it's the reason she's got those wings lol)

however, sticking with her origins, I gave her stretchmarks (that I'll likely edit later to detail better) that look loosely like waves. I thought they were cute. Her hair is based on jellyfish frills, and made the underside yellow to be kinda-not-really like scallop shells. The ends of her lashes have little pearls because they are also a symbol of hers

Her animal is the dove, sometimes swan though I see that more with Eros, so I put these utterly useless wings in the back of her head like a hair ornament. They are folded to be in the shape of a heart.

The other lady is Antheia, one of the Graces or Charites, Aphrodite's attendant and the Goddess of flowers (& gardens & other stuff). Her and Aphrodite have a close relationship, and as a kid when first learning about her I thought she was another lover of Aphrodite. She's not, but I consider her Aphrodite's best friend. Her only symbols are flowers, usually roses & blossoms. And for fun, I have her hair loop back into the snake on her head. She's not associated with snakes, but I thought it'd be fun to give her a Garden Snake (though again I'll have to edit that for its patterns).

[violetdawn001]

What is with the Dreamers' Houses?!?! Monomon's Archives

Okay, we can all agree that Team Cherry put a LOT of thought into crafting the backgrounds and environments of Hollow Knight. But why is nobody talking about the designs for the Dreamers' houses?! Especially compared with their base forms?  Well, let's start talking about it!

Behold! Monomon's Design!

Taken from Monomon-the-Teacher.jpeg (1280×720) (punishedbacklog.com)

Taken from: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yn7QtF-wkSY/maxresdefault.jpg

When you meet the Teacher, the first reaction is either "She's beautiful…" or "WHAT IS A JELLYFISH DOING IN A KINGDOM OF BUGS????" If one isn't your first reaction, then it will most certainly be your second.

I could go on about how Monomon pairs her elegant beauty with her mysterious origins, but then I would be repeating words all day. Let us pause and consider how Monomon, as THE Teacher, would teach Physics…while defying them. It isn't too much of a stretch to say Monomon would float outside of her tank when the all the other Jellies in game do.

Next is her Archives that to my knowledge, lacks books.

We are immediately treated at the entrance of Monomon's Archives.  The only word that could sum it up would be awe: awestruck due to the beauty and the mystery. Looking at Monomon's house from the front can't help but remind one of how Jane Austen would describe a character's house…and how the house perfectly matched the character.

Entering the Archives, we quickly guess that no one has been here in a long time.

But walk in far enough…

And you can't help but guess what an awesome place this must have been.  Take a look at the detail!

The insane amount of knowledge stored here is amazing…and we're on the first floor!

Though we can't read most of it…and what we can read…

Why Monomon, why? Even STEM students need to be proficient in spelling. Source: my engineer brother.

Moving on, the pathway to Monomon's tank is very straight-forward. So much so that we never get a chance to see all of the Teacher's Archives. One point that strikes me is that we never get a chance to see any classrooms. We see Monomon as a researcher as noted by the Charged Lumafly tank and entry:

We know Monomon as a collector of information:

We even get glimpses of Monomon being a mad scientist by creating the Uomu, Oomu, and Uummu.

But the only sign of Monomon being a teacher is by her relationship with Quirrel and the name of her Archives. Unless I am missing something, (or we are simply not able to enter the classrooms) the Archives are more of a library and research center than a school. While I am of the mind that we simply do not see the whole Archives as we are so dead-set on getting to Monomon herself, it really says something about Monomon that we can only see the Madame as a Teacher in her relationships with others.

I would love to further this point, but this essay is for the Dreamers' houses, not necessarily the relationships the Dreamers had unless the relationships are implied in the housing designs themselves, such as the masks in Herrah's Den. Another essay would be required so the Dreamers' relationships can be given the focus and care they deserve.

Returning to Monomon's Archives, it is strange that of all the rooms we get access to, it is not ones that Monomon's students can enter. The pathway to Monomon's tank is blocked by acid.

Yet we are the ones able to see Monomon in her resting place.

Besides Quirrel. But Quirrel has a habit of getting into places most wouldn't dare enter. And it is fitting that Quirrel, Monomon's closest student, is the one to enter Monomon's inner sanctuary.

The Tech in the room is simply amazing and begs more study. Atlas, I fear I might have missed a great deal when it comes to the Teacher. If there is anything more, I hope another member of the Hollow Knight community will step up to fill the void, pun intended.

Now, let us discuss a resting place not for Monomon, but for the player.

Is not this place so elegant in its decay? The perfect symmetry and the framing of the moss ceiling…it is a terrible pity we could not see the Teacher's Archives in Hallownest's prime.

Moving past the pity, let me share a little detail. Team Cherry, when designing each location, placed signs of the ruler of said location in the framework of the place, usually in the fencing. For Teacher's Archives…

It's right at the bench! Which means Monomon is in charge!

The above statement, while made in good jest, possibly bears more weight than on a passing glance. We see no Hallownestian Seals or crests imbedded within the walls. There are also no King's idols or any item to be retrieved from the Archives. Everything in the Archives is centered around Monomon and her research.

This idea gives rise to a theory that perhaps the Teacher's Archives was not part of Hallownest, but rather neutral territory where ANYONE could come to learn about anything in peace. This would not be the first time in media where such a place existed. The TV show "Babylon 5" tells the story of a space station created as a place where the different alien races can learn about the other races in neutral territory for the purpose of creating peace.

 To answer some objections, yes, "The Pilgrams' Way" does pass through Fog Canyon, but it also passes through Greenpath which technically belongs to Unn, not the Pale King.  And the Archives is one of the few places that has its own, unique bench. 

If the Archives is not part of Hallownest, what does this neutrality tell us about Monomon? If the Teacher's Archives is indeed neutral territory, it shows how much emphasis Monomon puts on knowledge being open to everyone as the purpose of the Archives is a place to store all the knowledge she collected.

But if Monomon was neutral, how did she get involved with the Dreamer plan? Simple. Monomon cared about her students. Monomon welcomed everyone from anywhere, and everywhere was infected by the Radiance. To save her students, the majority of whom came from Hallownest, Monomon became a Dreamer. Unfortunately, it was all in vain as the world fell into stasis as one by one Monomon's students either died or fell to the Infection. The Archives, where you could find anyone from anywhere in Hallownest, now only holds jellyfish…

Before we wallow in sorrow, let us escape to the City of Tears and to the final Dreamer. Wait for part 3.0 coming soon!

This is a part series to see if I can fit everything in. I hope you enjoyed Monomon's Archives!

Part 1.0: Herrah's Den : Here

Part 2.0: Monomon's Archives (You are here)

Part 3.0: Lurien's Spire : Here

Part 3.25: More of Lurien's Spire: Here

Part 3.5: Lurien's Spire: Pillows and Patriotism: Here

Part 3.7 Lurien's Spire: What is wrong with Lurien's Office?! Here

Part 3.8: Even, even More of Lurien's Spire: Secret Room: Click here

Part 3.9 Watcher Knight Boss Room! Here

Part 4.0 What We Know We Don't Know About the Dreamers' Houses: Click Here

Link to essay on Ao3: Here

[macknshift]

[ ☀️ 🗺️ 🪼&👙 ] for your marauders reality pleasseee 🥺🙏

YIPPEEEEEE THE DR I LIVE MY MERMAID PRINCESS FANTASY IN!!!! (thank u for the ask pooks)

𐔌 . ☀️ ⋮ DAYS OF SUN ֹ ₊ ꒱ what are your go-to summertime activities? do you and your friends plan big garden parties with all the fruits and snacks? maybe a charcuterie board? possibly a water balloon tournament?

day-to-day, i do three things; swim (in a lake near my house. it's enchanted to not have any creatures or illnesses in it, Thank God!) read, and tan. i lay out in the sun for so long every day. i know that logically i don't have to care about tanning bc i'm a metamorphagus and i can change my skin color at whim (which i don't do?? btw??? i've seen ppl say that they do and i am NAWT a race changer good lord) and also the sun is not that strong in my hometown, but i just like laying in the sun and getting a nice bit of outside time. i usually bring an enchanted mp3 player so i don't have to bring any electronics with me lol

otherwise, i just like popping in and visiting my friends where they live. i think i visit remus the most (mainly bc we're bffs but also his family is so sweet (his younger sister adores me, i'm like her idol or smth lol)) but i go see james specifically a lot too. (euphemia hooks me up w some of the best food i've ever had in my entire life LMFAO) my friends obviously come and visit me too, so it's not like i'm the one travelling to them 24/7, but it is a really fun activity to just go floo-ing around the greater UK area lol

𐔌 . 🗺️ ⋮ WORLD WIDE MAP ֹ ₊ ꒱ if you could have one fantastic trip where would you go? why would you go there? what intrigues you about that place? are there certain activities there that have attracted you there?

i would LOVE to visit japan. japan is overall a bucket list country for me anyway, but i can imagine that the magic system there is probably pretty different. besides that, i just really want to go to the studio ghibli museum y’all 🙏🏻🙏🏻 like PLEAK just once and i will be a happy clam i promise i will be!!!!!! i honestly don't know who would come with me tee bee h. i feel like logically i could drag remus with me he would basically go anywhere w me and probably (weirdly) alice fortescue? she's japanese (adopted by the fortescues!) and i know that she likes to travel based on her and frank planning on taking a gap year once they graduate (they graduate 2 years before i do!) so maybe? mayhaps? alice would come along? i think i could also convince marlene too. she's on a "my parents want me to stay inside SO I MUST TRAVEL!" kick rn (which like, good for her tbh)

𐔌 . 🪼 ⋮ COLORFUL JELLYFISH ֹ ₊ ꒱ okay, we're going to the biggest aquarium in the world. where are you dragging me first? to the large sharks? the exotic fish? fish tank tunnel to watch the fish above us? or are you mad at me because you wanted to go get ice cream instead?

on top of the whole. u know. mermaid fairy princess vibe i try to have, i deadass think i can talk to fish. like, not shitting you, i think i can. or at least like. dolphins. (they’re kind of terrifying but my mom’s patronus is one so i’ve learned to appreciate them LMFAO)

personally i looove just running around and seeing all the little guys. like the tiny ones that get overlooked for the Big Kahunas™️ bc that’s just how i am as a person i think??? idk i’m just a “look out for the little guy” type ig. besides that! however! as i mentioned in the marvel dr answer, i do tend to go insane for the fish tank tunnels. in my cobra kai dr i’m sooo excited to go to the sekai taikai solely for that aquarium i’m so srs LMFAOOO obvi barcelona *said in the voice of that kid from booksmart that says s-es as ‘th’* will be super fun but like!!! aquarium!!!!!! i am getting off track lol

𐔌 . 👙 ⋮ DOTTED BIKINI ֹ ₊ ꒱ what are your dearest summer pieces? a swimsuit that highlights the color of your eyes and makes you feel good? an old band tee you put on after you're done swimming? a new top with pretty flowers on it?

*kim crawford dance* THIS MY JAM!!!!!! the little collage i made above is pretty much the vibe for my summer clothing! i'm ngl, i dress pretty much the same every single season, just varying amounts of skin showing 😭😭 i'm a metamorphagus as well, so i change my hair color based on whatever i'm wearing that day too. i normally stick to those same pastels & everything, and of course the vibe is pastel mermaid princess, so my hair is either the typical pastel pink (what i make my 'default') OR a bright blonde with streaks of whatever color i'm wearing that day (usually pink, purple, or blue streaks!) which i think is super fun.

jewelry wise, i stick to the same jewelry i wear all year (i have a heart-shaped locket necklace from my parents that has a photo of me and my family & a photo of my nuna and bamp (my grandparents) and another necklace that has a sea star pendant from my mom. i wear a crap ton of rings, with various jewels and things and a few separate bracelets, including a charm bracelet with a charm for each year i complete of school, which is super fun. kind-of pjo vibes a bit?) BUT! i wear a lot of arm cuffs? i think they look super cool, and it kind of adds to the whole beach-y vibe. it's kind of ironic that my ass lives in (lowkey) dreary belfast, ireland, but it's alright!!! i travel a bunch!!!

[badomenslullaby]

Author's Note: It's been a while since I wrote Smut, so I am a little rusty.

Parings: Noah Sevastian x Reader

Word Count: 1739

Warnings: 18+: heavy making out, sex

MasterList

Today marks your and Noah’s four-year anniversary, and boy, did he go all out. As a man with golden retriever energy, his love language is giving, and he certainly showed it today. From the minute you woke up, he was pampering you. Your day started with brunch in bed; Noah served you your favorite breakfast foods along with his version of bottomless mimosas. The tray was filled with freshly baked pancakes, fluffy scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and a small fruit platter that looked like it belonged in a magazine. He refilled your glass with a smile, ensuring you had everything. Every detail, from the freshly squeezed orange juice to the perfectly chilled champagne, was meticulously prepared to make you feel cherished and adored. As you enjoyed the delicious meal, he sat beside you, his eyes shining with joy and affection, soaking in every moment of your happiness. This was just the beginning of a day filled with love and surprises.

After your giant breakfast, he hurried you into the shower, where he joined you. The warm water cascaded over both of you as he gently helped you wash your hair, his fingers working through the strands tenderly. He gave you a scalp massage that felt like a full-body experience, his hands skillfully kneading away any tension. Every touch was deliberate, ensuring no part of you was left untouched or unworshipped. He moved with loving precision, his hands gliding over your skin, leaving a trail of warmth and relaxation. The intimacy of the moment, combined with the soothing rhythm of the water, made you feel cherished and adored. This was more than just a shower; it was an act of love, a celebration of your bond.

After begrudgingly leaving the shower, you both got dressed for a day full of fun and laughter. He took you everywhere, and anywhere you wanted to go. Your first stop was a romantic trip to the aquarium, where you marveled at your favorite sea animals. The gentle swaying of the jellyfish, the otters' playful antics, and the sharks' majestic glide captivated both of you, filling your hearts with wonder. 

Next, you had a picnic lunch in the botanical gardens, surrounded by your favorite flowers. The air was filled with the sweet fragrance of blooming roses, and the vibrant colors of the garden created a picturesque backdrop. You sat on a cozy blanket, enjoying the delicious food Noah had packed, from sandwiches to fresh fruit and homemade baked goods. Laughter and conversation flowed easily, making the moment feel magical.

The day's final stop was a pottery place, where you got to pick pieces to glaze together. You opted for a mug, imagining cozy mornings sipping coffee, while Noah chose a dog bowl for your puppy. As you both carefully applied the glaze, you couldn't help but giggle at the splatters of paint and the creative designs you came up with. The experience was fun and intimate, a perfect ending to an incredible day. 

Once you got home from your long but fun day, you found a little black dress on the bed. “Put it on,” he gently said with a smile. As you slipped into the dress, feeling the luxurious fabric against your skin, Noah quickly dressed up alongside you. He looked dashing in his suit, his eyes twinkling with excitement. Hand in hand, he led you to the nicest restaurant in town. The ambiance was perfect, with soft lighting, elegant decor, and the gentle hum of live music in the background. The host greeted you warmly and escorted you to a private table adorned with candles and fresh flowers. The evening unfolded like a dream, with exquisite dishes, fine wine, and heartfelt conversation.

As the night progressed, you both eventually made your way back home. Noah sat on the bed, looking more beautiful than ever. After all the effort he put into making today so unique, you wanted to do something special for him. You start to make your way over to him seductively, ensuring every move catches his eye. His gaze follows your every step, filled with anticipation and admiration.  As you finally reach him, you straddle him and feel the warmth of his body beneath you. You lean in and give him a kiss filled with pure passion and hunger, your lips melding together in a fiery dance. Running your fingers down his arm, your hands interlock, creating a connection that sends shivers down your spine.

“I want to make you feel good,” you whisper, your breath hot against his ear. He gently moans, a sound that stirs a deep hunger within you. You continue to kiss him, your lips trailing down to his neck, tasting the salt of his skin as his heartbeat quickens. Your hands roam over his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his breaths as you both lose yourselves in the moment. Noah's hands move to your waist, pulling you closer, his touch igniting a fire within you. 

The room fades away, leaving just the two of you in this intimate bubble. Your whispered promises and his soft responses create a symphony of desire, filling the space between you with a palpable energy. You pull back slightly, looking into his eyes, seeing the same hunger reflected in them. "Let me take care of you tonight," you murmur, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead. His eyes close as he leans into your touch, a contented smile on his lips. 

You guide Noah’s hands to the zipper on the back of your dress, encouraging him to undress you. He takes the opportunity to tease you, his fingers lingering at the zipper before slowly, tantalizingly undoing it. Each inch the zipper descends feels like an eternity, heightening your anticipation and driving you wild. He peppers your neck with soft kisses and gentle nips, his breath warm against your skin as he continues. The combination of his deliberate touch and the sensual assault on your neck sends shivers down your spine, making your pulse race. His hands glide over your exposed skin as the dress loosens, adding to the electric charge between you.

It was your turn to undress him. Slowly, you unbuttoned his shirt, your fingers lingering on each button, grazing his skin with every movement. His breath hitched with each touch, his eyes locked onto yours with anticipation. You slid the shirt off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor, and trailed your fingers down his chest, planting soft kisses along the way. You savored the moment, enjoying how his body responded to your touch. As you reached his belt, you looked up at him with a mischievous smile, taking your time to undo it and then sliding his pants down. Once the both of you were entirely naked, you both locked lips again. 

With one hand traveling down between your thighs, Noah put his other hand on the back of your neck and pulled you down so he could kiss you deeply. Despite the intensity of his kiss, you could barely concentrate as his fingers continued to move with delicate and expert precision on your clit. The sensation sent waves of pleasure coursing through your body, making it hard to focus on anything else but the overwhelming ecstasy building within you. Noah's touch was both tender and skillful, his every movement sending you closer and closer to the edge of bliss. With each stroke, each caress, he brought you higher until you were teetering on the brink of release, lost in the intoxicating rhythm of his touch and the passion of his kiss.

You pulled back a little to look into his eyes. “Lay back,” you said. Noah complied, propping himself up on the pillows. As you climbed back on top of him, you positioned yourself at his entrance. With slow, deliberate movements, you began to sink down onto him, feeling the exquisite sensation of being filled. As your bodies joined, you both moaned in unison, the shared pleasure amplifying the intimacy of the moment. He placed both hands on your hips, guiding your movements as you rocked back and forth, each motion sending waves of pleasure coursing through you. The sensation of his touch, combined with the rhythmic friction between your bodies, heightened the connection between you, deepening the intimacy of your lovemaking.

The more you continued, the harder it was for him to sit back. Sensing his increasing urgency, he changed tactics and pulled you closer to him, his grip firm yet tender. You felt him slightly lifting off the bed, his hips rocking back and forth in a synchronized rhythm with yours. The new angle intensified the sensations coursing through your bodies, heightening the pleasure and deepening your connection. Lost in the moment, you moved together in perfect harmony, each movement bringing you closer to the peak of ecstasy.

He changed positions swiftly yet gently, flipping you onto your back. He positioned your legs on his shoulders with precision and care, creating a new angle. You gazed up at him, feeling a rush of anticipation and desire as he leaned in closer, his eyes locked with yours. In this new position, every touch and every movement sends sparks of pleasure coursing through your body, igniting a fiery passion between you.

In the heat of passion, you and Noah lose yourselves in the rhythm of your affectionate intimacy. With each thrust and caress, your connection deepens, as if every touch speaks volumes of unspoken words. The room fills with the sound of your shared moans and the symphony of your bodies moving together in perfect harmony. As the intensity builds, you feel yourselves teetering on the edge of ecstasy, on the brink of release. Noah's movements become more urgent, his touch more vibrant, as he strives to bring you both to the highest level of satisfaction. And then, with a shared gasp and a final surge of passion, you both reach the peak, exploding in a cascade of blissful release.

Breathless and spent, you collapse into each other's arms, your hearts racing synchronously. In the quiet aftermath, you bask in the warmth of your shared intimacy. As you lay there, entwined in each other's embrace, you know that this moment will be a testament to the depth of your love and the beauty of your connection. Nuzzling closer to Noah, you drift into a peaceful slumber, eagerly anticipating the next four years' adventures.