#but it meant the same thing as a dolphin for some reason

[helladirections]

Moka Pot

Author: @helladirections Pairing: Harry x YN Status: Complete Oneshot Word Count: 2.2K

Request: Do you think you can maybe do y/n and Harry having a slow morning routine? Like drinking tea together, doing skin together, basically just doing everything together? 

Read below or on AO3 or Wattpad

Historically, YN hated mornings. 

She always had, and she figured she always would. Honestly, who could possibly enjoy them? Going from a warm, cozy, blissful sleep to an uncomfortable awakening by either a rude alarm, and obnoxious ray of hot sun, or unacceptable voices in the house. She always woke up at the worst possible moment, right when something really great was going to happen in her dreams. For hours she would be groggy and cranky, and no amount of coffee or tea could ever elevate her mood. Holding a scowl on her face, all her friends and family knew not to speak unless spoken to when she was around and it was before noon. 

But everything changed with Harry. Because with Harry, every hour of the day was cozy and blissful. There were never enough hours to spend with him, to talk to him, to cuddle with him, to just be next to him. She found herself staying up until odd hours of the night only to wake up earlier than she ever thought possible, even if it just meant lying on her side and staring at him while he slept. She would kiss the creases on his forehead until his nose sniffled just a little, at which point she would wake him up with a soft kiss to lips. 

He was the only person who had ever woken her up without an immediate slap to the shoulder or threat of a kick to the balls. When he woke up first and carefully eased her into waking up herself with gentle strokes of her hair, kisses on her neck, and whispers in her ear, she only held that old frown for a split second before realizing it was Harry who was next to her. She would roll over quickly and with her eyes still closed, find his lips and seal them together with her own, despite the morning breath they were both likely carrying. 

Every morning they spent together was a little bit of the same, and a little bit different, which YN liked because although the ease of routine was comforting at times, it could also leave her feeling like she was stuck in an endless cycle. Harry was sure to make sure she never felt that way, always being a morning person he typically had some sort of plan for the first few hours of their day together. 

Many mornings, they would lie in bed together for hours on end, talking and giggling and enjoy each other’s presence. Maybe she would share her dreams with him - they were always quite vivid and insanely weird, and they always made him laugh. Like the time she dreamt she was in charge of building a high school but suddenly knew no numbers at all and had to measure things by giraffes. Or the time she was inside an old video game from her childhood and all the other players were there, building the world around them from the inside. Or the time she was back in college and for some reason had a statue of a young celebrity’s mother, which came to life and gave her advice before a test. 

Maybe they would talk about their future together. About the house and the dog and the family; where in the world they would like to settle down when it was time. Or about the adventures they would take before reaching that stage in life, traveling the world together and enjoying new experiences together. Perhaps they would go wine tasting in Italy, or swim with the dolphins in the Caribbean, or learn a new language together just for the fun of it. 

One time they spent hours debating the possibility and nuances of what it would be like to have a pet kangaroo. Would they actually be able to pet it? Train it? What would they feed it? Was there a way to have it domesticated ethically? Where on earth would they be able to get one from if they weren’t living in Australia? Would they allow it to breed just so they could see the babies hide in its pouch? What would the landlord say when he found out, or would they have to buy their own house with a big yard and hire a professional landscaper to make sure the environment was to its liking? 

Some mornings, they skipped the talking all together, and instead just cuddled close. This was especially common in the winters, when it was never quite warm enough under the blankets and YN made it clear that the only thing on earth that could get her cozy enough would be Harry’s arms, and his chest, and his hot breath on the back of her neck. They would stay like that for as long as both of them wanted, sometimes drifting back into sleep and other times listening to music float softly through the windows when their neighbor was teaching piano lessons. She taught children so the quality of the music was rather hit or miss, but the effort was always there. 

YN’s favorite mornings, however, were the ones when Harry woke her up with gentle strokes of his fingers or his tongue. He was always trying his best to make her feel as good as he could, and he always delivered. Sometimes it would feel so good that her eyes never actually opened, going from closed and sleeping to closed out of pleasure. Harry’s warm tongue playing with her clit, sucking hard between his cheeks as his fingers worked her from the inside. He knew her body well by this point, and always provided exactly what she needed. One of her hands would fly down to grasp his hair tightly, the other to the side of her face, gripping the pillow like her life depended on it. 

When he brought her to her peak, he wouldn’t stop. Harry always made sure to help YN ride out her orgasms, dragging them out to last as long as they possibly could. He wouldn’t move his head or his fingers away from her sweet center until she was pushing him, oversensitive and whining. At which point he would crawl up her body, throwing the blankets aside, and kiss her deeply, making sure she could taste herself on his tongue. 

On occasion, YN would return the favor, but more often than not they both craved the same thing. Harry would line himself up with her, his lips still on hers or his head tucked into her neck leaving soft little nibbles, and push into her deep and slow. With her body already on high alert, YN would gasp as he bottomed out, moaning and groaning and whining as he worked. Her hands would find purchase on his back, scratching lightly, or not so lightly, as pleasure surrounding her. His weight, his smell, his voice, and his cock tucked deep inside of her overwhelmed her senses. To be surrounded by Harry was her favorite thing. 

When they conversation or cuddles or pleasure was over, YN would lean over to her nightstand where there was always a glass of water and a small bowl of vitamins or medicines which Harry made sure to place out the night before. When she lived alone, YN always forgot to take her morning medicine. But Harry was protective and only wanted the best for her, so took it upon himself to ensure there was no chance of missing a dose, and even started her on several vitamins which he swore by.

After swallowing down her pills in one big gulp, it was typically time for the shower. Depending on their moods, they might shower together or separately. They both valued their alone time, a bit of space to be alone with their thoughts. But theta always appreciated being together. Sometimes they would wash themselves, having a normal conversation or even standing in silence as they took turns beneath the running water. Other times, they would wash each other, taking advantage of the opportunity to run their hands all over the other and appreciate the curves and the bends, the hard muscles and the soft spots, all the places they loved to admire. On occasion they would get carried away, going for another orgasm, or two, or three, taking advantage of the easy cleanup that the shower provided. 

After they were clean whether it was together or alone, Harry would be there to help wrap YN up in a soft fluffy towel, kissing her forehead lightly until she gifted him with her giggle. Most mornings he would help her with her hair, spraying or fingering various products into her soft strands, then brushing them through lightly. In the winter he would assist with blow drying, but in the summer he would just run his fingers through until it began to dry on its own. 

They would get dressed, at least partially, before meeting up at the sink. Their skincare routines had merged until they were using mostly the same products. Harry wouldn’t settle for YN using less than the best. Side by side they would use cleansure, serums, and moisturizers, all with fresh and clean scents that Harry loved. He reminded her of how much he loved them each day by kissing all around her face until she had to push him away because he was just getting her face oily all over again. 

While they didn’t go so far as to share a tooth brush, they did share a toothpaste which left them each with minty fresh breath and bright white teeth. YN smiled as she watched Harry brush beside her, always giddy when he exposed his little front baby bunny teeth to her. Although it was best when they came out due to a smile or laughter, she would take what she could get. After spitting, they would each rinse and then end the routine with a kiss to the lips. 

For breakfast, they would typically take turns cooking. Harry made the best french toast, but he claimed that YN’s pancakes were to die for. While one was cooking, the other would lean against the counter, or sit on it, chatting away. Although they had been together for years, they never seemed to run out of things to talk about. Be it the news, or their families, or friends, or strange things they had on their minds in the morning. YN thought Harry looked so cute when he would wear his little apron to cook for her, she constantly reminded him. 

When breakfast was almost ready to be served, whoever wasn’t cooking would be in charge of coffee and tea. They would turn on the electric kettle or set up the Moka Pot for coffee, depending on the request of the other.  Harry would often tease YN that she took both her coffee and her tea with too much sweetness in it, only to go back on his comments and admit that it was clearly because she was so sweet herself and simply needed to replenish each morning. 

YN had never used a Moka pot before meeting Harry, but she found him to be a bit of a morning-hot-drinks snob and surprised him with the specialty pot as a gift. The morning she handed it to him, he looked at her with a quirked brow before unwrapping the bow. He returned her ‘just because gift’ with a gift of his own, placing her up on the counter, spreading her legs, and drinking up all the sweetness she would give to him. He said she was sweet, nearly as sweet as her coffee after she added sugar and chocolate and milk and other goodies into it. She would smile at the memory of that morning each time she used the pot, always sure to leave an extra kiss on his lips. 

Across the breakfast table from each other, sometimes they would continue their chat, or listen to the piano from outside, or read the paper. They had several papers delivered to their house each day, but only read about one a day. Harry had created a rotation so they would get full coverage of the world’s events as well as information about the local goings on. Sometimes Harry would hold the local paper up and comment about the new park opening down the street, or how the high school had won a big game against the rival, or about a new proposition that would be on the ballot soon. Other times he would grumble about the government, and how they couldn’t figure out how to do the right thing even when it was right in front of them. He could never understand why it was so hard for these elected (and unelected) officials to do what was best for their people. 

If it was a work day, they would soon have to part ways, but never without a special moment together. Sometimes Harry would hold YN close, kissing her nose over and over just to see it crinkle beneath his touch. Other times she would sit on his lap on the couch in a less gentle way, reminding him of what he was going to be coming home to. But most often, it was deep, passionate kiss up against the back of the front door, leaving both of them panting more than they should for that early in the morning. They were teasing themselves, and they knew it, but it was always worth it to remember the feeling of their lips against each other in the morning when there was a difficult meeting or conversation at work. Knowing what they were coming home to always made it worth it. 

So YN didn’t hate mornings anymore. In fact, they were often her favorite parts of the day. They meant spending time with Harry in their own little bubble which no one else could intrude on. No other obligations would ever get in the way of their first few hours together. Because she loved Harry, and Harry made her love any hour of the day where she was around him. 

#writing #yo

[thecatastrophic]

GRUVIA WEEK 2023 — DAY SEVEN: CONTENTMENT

@gruviaweek

FROSTY WIND gusting through the pine trees, the sweet aroma of gingerbread cookies and candy cane, a picture-perfect warm fire dancing with the wood in the fireplace, and gooey love drifting through the atmosphere enveloping the people in a mist.

Shades of white covered the entire land in a thick blanket as pointed icicles decorated the window, cyan orbs lost in the motion of snowflakes trickling down the quaint town of Magnolia as he brought the cup of cafe mocha in his mouth, the rich chocolate flavors bursting through his system.

Years had gone by, trends had changed, and old buildings and roads had been refurbished, yet the sweet taste of the beverages in Mira's Cafe that he had known ever since he was a kid had always stayed the same. He despised changes more than anything in the world, maybe it was also the reason that he resisted the urge to leave their hometown like anyone else; there were times when he had to welcome the inevitable unknown only to go back to where he was used to growing up.

The screeching of the chair against the marble floor brought him out of his reverie, turning his head to meet the gaze of the person standing before his hooded eyes. He could feel his breath hitching, his dark pupils widening as his heart thumped out of his ribcage coming face to face with the person — no, a ghost from his past.

The first thing he noticed about her was her azure loose waves, they had grown longer with specks of lavender hues on their ends, resting on the luxurious beige coat around her body which had grown more mature, voluptuous as it perfectly embraced her figure donning a black top that matched her skirt that reached up to her mid-thigh. 

The stars dancing in her oceanic orbs were shining brighter than he could remember, the last time he gazed into her eyes — it was laced with tears and pain that he had caused. In her delicate hands was a net basket of carnations blooming in vivid pink shades, he also took note of the snowflake diamond jewelry on her ring finger.

"Juvia," her name seems foreign tumbling out of his lips, yet in the same way, familiar.

"Lyon," her voice had grown more feminine as a sweet smile graced her features, one that he hadn't seen in years.

Acting politely, he stood up to help her towards the sit before him to which she reciprocated with a simple 'thank you.' He sat down in front of her, only feeling the awkward atmosphere that seems to envelop the two young adults.

"Juvia knew she'd find you here, Lyon," the blue-haired lady was the first one to break the silence, trying to ease the awkwardness circling their space with the joyful rhythm of her voice. "How has Lyon been?" she intoned.

Lyon faked a cough before answering, "I've been good, Juvia. Working as a public lawyer had been tiring, but it was fun. How about you?"

"Juvia had been doing good too, she learned a lot of new things about marine life while working at Alvarez. She's been saying yes, instead of no. Also, did Lyon know that dolphins sleep with only one-eyed close?" she seemed excited, her fingers tracing the G initial engraved on her circular pendant which did not go unremarked by the silver-head man, he can't help but wonder what the initial meant.

"I have no idea," Lyon chuckled at her display of excitement remembering the same old Juvia who easily got excited over the minuscule of things.

Juvia genuinely smiled as she observed the crease by his hooded eyes as he cackled, the melody of his laughter seeming like an old song that she hadn't heard in years that she almost forgot how it sounded like; even though his cries when she left him by the lakes constantly haunted her in her sleep a few years back. 

"Juvia had this dream Lyon's doing cool shit."

Lyon halt from laughing, tilting his head as he never heard her curse even before, "Like what?"

"Having adventures on your own. Juvia dreamt that Lyon met some woman on the internet and take her home," Juvia responded, looking out at the scenery at the window.

Lyon's brows drew in a straight line, "Wow! That's quite the dream. Contrary to your sleep visions, I haven't been seeing anyone after Ultear." And after you left, he wanted to drag those words out of his mouth, yet found it improper, instead, he asked to further get the conversation going. "How about you? Have you been seeing someone?" he queried his former best friend.

With a flicker of overwhelming emotions that flashed through her orbs, further enhancing the glow of the stars beneath her voids that resembled that of the ocean that she fancy, and the tint of roses coating her high cheekbones, he could only deduce that she's caught in a love mist.

One, two, three.

Lyon waited for the excruciating waves of grief to trickle through his heart; to feel his lungs screaming for air as it felt like a thousand roses laced with thorns is blocking his airway as death knocked through his door of life — the same anguish that he felt almost ten years ago, only that it didn't come.

Had time changed his feelings contrary to his belief? 

"Who's the lucky guy?" he didn't know but his mouth somehow formulated those words.

Hazy chuckles erupted from Juvia as she handed him the basket of carnations, he had only noticed the ivory envelope resting in the center with a gold wax seal. The blue-haired girl gestured for him to open the envelope which he instantly obliged, curious.

Together with their families

Gray and Juvia 

Request the pleasure of your gracious 

presence at their engagement celebration.

It was Gray, of course, he should have known.

Gray and Juvia, their names etched with a fine foil print on the scented paper in swooping, sloping, cursive alphabetical characters were the catalysts to the memories that he had tried to bury deep in his soul; the moments that he realized that it has always been Gray for Juvia as Juvia had always been for Gray.

The tale of the trio's friendship had its genesis in snowy weather with three snowmen clad in Juvia's Santa hats, the ridiculous purple hand-me-down gloves from Gray's sister, and the scarves that Lyon stole from his mother.

The cold breeze continuously prompts the six-year-old Juvia to erupt in a cute sneeze as her tiny fingers moved to shape the snow in a circle, the plush sweater that resembled that of a pink frog failing to do its job to shield her from the cold.

"Stupid Juvia, just go inside the house," shrieked the seven-year-old raven-haired boy, pointing to the house beside his home as he had enough of her sneezes. 

"No, Juvia wants to win!" the younger girl cried as she thumped her feet against the snow-covered ground.

"Let her be, you idiot!" taunted an eight-year-old Lyon who was lost in his world as he sculpt his snowman to perfection.

Gray stood up from his comfortable squat on the ground, harshly removing the scarf draped around his almost-finished snowman which caused the figure that he made for half an hour to crumble down into nothing but an ugly lump, mixing with the ivory land.

The silver-haired kid jumped up and down as he watch his friend's snowman disintegrate, "I won!"

"No!" 

Gray paid Lyon no heed, walking towards the blue-haired girl having a tantrum at Lyon's outburst. Standing in front of her, he encircled the red frozen scarf around her which engaged a shriek from Juvia. "G-Gray, no way! It's cold!" she embraced her arms around her body, squatting down on the ground.

Gray's hand trembled, quite shocked at her reaction as he quickly moved to untangle the scarf around the younger kid, confusion dancing in his deep-blue orbs. "What's wrong? Teacher Elfman said that scarves are made to keep people warm, right?" he questioned naively.

The sound of Juvia's sweet snortles resonated through his ears as he helped her stand up, the blue-haired girl tilted her head in a wavy azure bob as she began to wonder alongside Gray, she motioned the older boy to scoot down as she whispered in his ear, "Maybe Lyon's scarf is broken because he just stole it from Auntie?"

"Hey, I heard it!"

A seventeen-year-old Lyon threw his phone on the bed, his fingers raking his silver hair as he felt the frustration from his never-ending fights with his girlfriend consume him. He lay on the bed, covering his eyes with his hand as he debated climbing over to Ultear's balcony which is a house away from his own to fix their misunderstanding, and if he was lucky, he can have her writhing underneath him or the other way around and make out thoroughly with her, but he decided against it as she says over the phone and he quoted, "I need space."

The teenager stood up from his bed, deciding to just take a much-needed cold shower he opened the blinds to let some light from the sunset seep through his room when a scenery from the next door window caught his eye. His brows drew in a thick line, confused as to what were those two doing. Ever since he dated the purple-haired lady next-next door, he hadn't been able to hang out with his best friends. 

Gray lazily sit on Juvia's bed with Frosch resting on his bare stomach as he read one of the beauty's books about marine life, while the female was slumped in front of him with his bejeweled guitar (courtesy of Juvia) resting on her front seemingly playing a song which prompts the raven-haired athlete to cover his ears with his hands. 

The tune of Juvia's carefree laughter drifted through the air, even engaging a smile on the silver-haired teenager's forlorn features. Her laughter ceased when Gray rested his forehead against hers, their pointed noses brushing against each other. Juvia put down the guitar, her forefinger moving against her best friend's bare chest as she traced stars around the area where his heart resides. The raven-haired male moved his head away from her, only to rest it against her shoulder as he buried his face in her azure curls, the spectator couldn't help but to take notice of Gray's ear blushing to a healthy shade of red. 

The silver-haired male closed the blinds as his jaw clenched, feeling rather vexed over something that he didn't know.

The golden rays of the morning star spread their scorching warmth on the beach, providing heat on the water, the sound of the waves meeting the shore should have been peaceful yet it felt menacingly eerie. The pure sand seeped its way inside his sandals, despite the heat beating down against his body; Lyon could feel the cold sweat trickling down his pale skin as he stood frozen on the ground, his dark pupils shrinking as he stared at Juvia who seems rather pale and unbreathing as she lay in the arms of Gray.

As if she was a delicate China that could break with mishandling, Gray gingerly placed her on the ground as he sat next to her. Trying to be as calm as he could, feigning ignorance to the quivering of his body as his mind dreaded the worst-case scenarios or how he felt like air is being punched out of his lungs, the raven-head placed his hands at the center of the female's chest. His palms pushed as hard and fast as he could, deducing that his best friend wasn't responding, he was swift to tilt her chin upwards as he pinch her nose, sealing her lips with his own as he blew as much air into her mouth. 

The hockey player kept repeating the cycle several times, until the blue-haired girl began coughing up a huge amount of water, feebly shifting to her side to vomit more water. The first thing that she saw was Gray when she opened her blue eyes, heaving rapidly with heavy panting as she tuck Gray in a tight embrace as memories underneath the surface of the sea began flooding her mind. 

"J-Juvia t-thought she'd," blazing tears began to course down her red cheeks, slender fingers clinging to his back. Her shoulders tremble with the force of her emotions as she forced herself to say, choking on her sobs, "N-never sees you again, G-Gray-sama." 

Broad shoulders quivering, the hockey athlete only stroked her tangled locks with his fingers, responding to her cries with the feel of his pale lips planted on her left temple as he embraced her tighter as if she'd evaporate in his arms.

Relief began to wash over Lyon as he watched his best friend alive and breathing, yet he couldn't help but taste an acidic flavor in his mouth as he realized that he did nothing but just stood there while she was fighting for her life. His cyan eyes watched over the two figures on the ground, a green monster emotion burning behind his dark orbs as he felt that there was more to his two best friends than meets the eye, he just can't seem to decipher what.

"Juvia's leaving in a month to study in Alvarez."

Lyon felt like the moment had stopped as her words registered in his mind, he stared wide-eyed and mouth agape as enormous emotions began to consume his being. The chirping of the crickets residing in the pine trees remained as the only music that enveloped the quiet evening, the glow of the crescent moon burning brightly in the ceiling of midnight sky gifted light in the quaint town of Magnolia in which the two figures sat side by side in front of Juvia's porch. 

The barking of his dog next door bestowed him the courage to let out strangled words, "W-what do you mean?" A crease formed between his thick eyebrows as he gazed at the young lady, who exuded a melancholic aura as she further buried herself inside the embrace of her thick blanket.

Her bloodshot eyes were decorated with dark circles, and the radiance that she once emanate seemed to have flown out in the air as her pale lips trembled; it dawned on him that she must have been feeling under the weather for the past few days. The confusion began to circle his mind, ever since they were just children playing around in the neighborhood, it had always been her dream to leave this town and study abroad as her parents did before.

"Alvarez University is sponsoring Juvia a scholarship to study marine biology," she smiled weakly, her gaze drifting towards the empty road in front of them as she sink further into her sheets.

"Truth be told, Juvia's hesitating to leave. Somewhere deep in her soul, Juvia wants to stay in her comfort zone with her comfort people!" the acidic water trailing down her face was glistening under the moonlight. "Juvia does not want to leave G-Gray-sama behind, Juvia doesn't understand why he kept pushing her to go to Alvarez. And does Lyon know what's worst? He said he'd catch up on Juvia so she should just go, but Juvia knew how much he loves the hockey team here! Of course, Juvia being Juvia said no which resulted in a fight. Plus, other girls would probably make a move on him!" she ranted, breathing heavily, she broke out in a childish wail as her hands moved to conceal her face. 

Lyon did not say anything, he ignored how she just blurted out her feelings for Gray, instead he hauled the blue-haired girl in a firm hug to show his sympathy as she let out her pent-up anguish to her friend. She buried her halo of blue in Lyon's shoulder, seeking warmth and comfort after being in solitude for days, without the familiar arms that used to hold her to tend her broken heart.

The heavy footsteps ghosting against the blue-haired chick's front lawn rang through his ears as he looked up, before he could register the storm brewing inside the dark-haired athlete's irises of oceanic blue, the older teenager was drawn upwards as his sharp jaw met his friend's fist causing him to tumble on the ground.

"Dude, what the fuck?!" Lyon screamed in the late evening, gaining the interest of their neighbors who instantly opened their respective windows to eavesdrop, desperate for some gossip, and that includes his ex-girlfriend with an unamused stare as cucumber coated her entire face.

Before Gray had the chance to pounce at him for the second time, Juvia was quick to intervene as she clasp her painted fingers around the furious male's wrists. "Gray-sama, no! Stop!" she shrieked as she leaned her head on his trembling back, drawing stars around his bruised fist to calm him down. Deducing that she needs to lay her armor down to end this cold war with Gray, the beauty flashed Lyon an apologetic smile before hauling the vexed man inside her house.

A flicker of realization dawned on the nineteen-year-old boy, he completely understood now. 

"No."

Gravel-grey clouds hover above the pitched-black painted sky, droplets of rain plunged like thousand of icicles scraping his pale skin as he knelt in the wet ground holding out a raindrop ring residing inside a heart-shaped velvet box. The loud cries of the heavens failed to mask her single answer to his proposal, he clenched his teeth with the feeling that the natural calamity was mocking him with the acidic taste of the rain in the corner of his lips, how it rumbled throughout the sky resembling that of a madman's laugh.

Grueling waves of anguish transverse to his heart as a feeling of being ruptured over by a thousand shards flickered through his being, swift yet excruciating; roseate lace thorns seeped through his airways, heartwrenching, and bloody, blocking his means of breathing. The tears that escaped his cyan voids as it hauntingly coursed down his face like a river seeming as the only remedy to ease his pain as he grieved for the living, watching her azure waves drift as she ran away from him reflecting the agony that he was enduring.

Loath.

Underneath the shower of the petals of water, as he dreads the path towards his house, Lyon loathed himself and his foolish decisions more than anything in the world. It was ungentlemanly, proposing to Juvia on a whim as he strive to stop her from leaving Alvarez to chase her childhood dreams.

Egocentric.

The silver-haired man embraced his feelings, feigning ignorance of the emotions of his closest friends as he caused them misery, their prosperous yesterdays of childish laughs and cries seeming to fade into thin air with his act of egoism.

Lyon's soul felt thin as shame washed over his being, the hurt in his heart escalated as if he was struck by lightning, standing frozen a few meters in their neighborhood; his melancholic voids watched as the love of his life tiptoed to savor the taste of Gray's lips as if it is her greatest luxury, with the raven-head's arms embraced tightly around her quivering figure as if it'd shield her from the demons lurking in the world.

Or maybe it was Lyon, himself.

The homey aroma of hot chocolate laced with a hint of burnt wood wafting through Mira's cafe, gently tickling his nostrils was the catalyst to bring his mind back to reality. His keen eyes observed the person in front of her, her oceanic orbs drifting around the cafe she frequented as a child, trying to spot as many changes as she failed to do so. 

Lyon brought the cup of his beverage to his lips, the sweet flavor providing him the determination to speak the words he failed to do back then. "Juvia," he began which caught her interest. "About the night before you left the country," recognition danced inside her starlike voids, "I sincerely apologize. Believe me, when I say, there wasn't a single night where I did not regret what I did. In my defense, I have none for not respecting your feelings to save my own." 

The fair lady painted a ray of sunshine over her angelic features, "Juvia had long forgiven Lyon for that. And it's alright now, but that stunt is something, doesn't Lyon think so?"

"Well," he responded with a nervous laugh.

The awkward aura that he felt earlier ceased to exist as it seemed to have evaporated into the dense air, they continued to converse about their lives for half an hour over cups of hot chocolate and cafe mocha with gingerbread cookies on the side — a similar scenery back when they were foolish teenagers.

The silver-haired man had learned that she and Gray had been together for more than ten years, turns out the former hockey player found himself fascinated with glaciology when he set foot in Alvarez. Juvia had also told him that her relationship with the raven-haired male had hit quite a bump in the road, like how she thought they would break up in the morning after 'the great war' as she quoted, but contrary to her insecurities, the man had remained patient with her as she is for him.

Lyon relish the way how her orbs were sparkling every time she talked about her glaciologist of a fiance, yet there was a selfish part of him that couldn't help but wonder that if one of his wishes had come true, would he be the one to light up the stars in her eyes?

"No!" Juvia exclaimed as she fixed her gaze on her phone, a crease forming in between her defined eyebrows as she gaze back at him with an apologetic smile. "Juvia had to go now, does Lyon remember Lucy? She's going into labor now!" she hastily stood up on her heels, as she fished out two cards from her purse that ranges from blue to black colors.

Lyon stood up with a grin on his lips, receiving the cards in her beige-painted fingers before briefly checking it to see that it was Juvia and Gray's contact details. "Oh! The writer who's dating Dragneel? I'm hoping for her best delivery," intoned the man. 

"Juvia truly enjoyed the chat today, she hopes we can catch up again some other time with Gray-sama like old times!" Juvia took a few steps towards the silver-haired man engaging him in a friendly hug as she pats his back before drawing away, "Be sure to bring a date next month! Juvia heard from Gray-sama that Ultear's single," she winked teasingly, before waving goodbye.

The lawyer stared at her as she walked towards the decorated door with a jump in her steps, observing her through the large window adorned with gilded pinecones, he noticed how she tucked a stray lock of azure behind her ear when a black Lexus car halted before her. 

Gray emerged from the driver's seat to open up the car door for her, he rested his palms on both of her shoulders which made her stop in her strides, before removing the woolen grey-colored scarf around his neck to drape it around her, making sure to hide her gorgeous face from the cold.

Some things never change. 

Satisfastion coursed through his veins, pleased that Gray and Juvia ended up with each other, despite trying to act as the villain of their story to sabotage fate himself. Some things are just meant to be, he thought as he took a sip from his beverage, catching a glimpse of vivid curls of bubblegum pink, and maroon eyes, walking past the couple.

Juvia encircled her slender arms around Gray's broad shoulders, sneakily pointing at the mistletoe by the bejeweled pivot door of the cafe. The raven-haired man rolled his blue eyes, whispering sweet nothings into her flushed ear, before leaning down to claim her luscious lips with his own. 

A sense of contentment washer over Lyon as his orbs of cyan voids stared at his old friends with a proud gaze, the quaint town of Magnolia had never seen a love as pure as these childhood sweethearts who seemed oblivious to the lavender haze that they emanates.

All's well that ends well.

#gruvia week #gruvia #gruvia fanfic #gruviaweek #gruviaweek2023 #gray fullbuster #juvia loxar #juvia lockser #greige #lyon vastia #fanfic #fairy tail fanart #fairy tail #gruvia week 2023 #gruvia+modern+au

[rumbelleshowdown]

Author: Rose Daughter

Prompts: Dark chocolate. Falling in the dark. Constellations.

Group: B

-

Ad Astra

They’re called freckles, apparently.

It had taken Belle some time to figure out what he meant when he said he liked her ‘little dots’. The word tickles him for some reason. It’s a fanciful-sounding thing. Freckles.

The first time he’d laid eyes on her – stretched out on the beach, the brim of her sunhat flopping into her eyes – he thought she might be made of alabaster. The same pearly gypsum as the statues he has found amongst the remnants of shipwrecks. He knows better now, having observed her so intimately. She is lovelier, far more fascinating than the unblemished stone of sculptures. There is such detail to her; the silvery streaks on her thighs and stomach, a few faded scars here and there, and all those gorgeous freckles.

She is the inverse of the night sky. If the sky is soot and coal with tiny pinpoints of light, she is cream and roses, stippled with ink stains. They form wee patterns on her skin like the stars overhead. Constellations, Belle called them. They’ve spent many afternoons lying in the sand, him dripping seawater onto the cover of her mythology book. The names bewitch him. Cassiopeia, Ophiuchus, Andromeda, Vulpecula. They’re prettier than the sort of human language his ears are accustomed to. Their lyrical quality resembles the sounds that his fellow Finfolk trill to one another beneath the waves.

Rumple likes to get her words right. He likes to get them wrong, too. He even does so on purpose, sometimes. Just to hear her darling giggle. Just to watch her plush, pink lips tenderly sound out each syllable as she corrects him. But his tongue takes quickly to the delicate names in her gilded book.

The constellations on Belle’s body don’t match the ones charted on the pages. They are entirely her own. It’s a game that he likes to play with himself on the sunniest, drowsiest afternoons. As Belle frolics in the surf and sunbathes on the low tide’s dense sand, he amuses himself by playing astronomer. It requires a great deal of imagination, but then, doesn’t all stargazing?

Lunaris; the cluster on her inner forearm that bears a striking resemblance to a crescent moon. Then there is Florens Rosa; a speckling that contours the back of her neck, each dot falling into place to create the illusion of a rose in bloom. And his very favorite, Saltatio Delphinus; the abstract likeness of a leaping dolphin on her upper thigh.

Every night, long after she’s returned to her cottage, Rumple peers through the mouth of his little grotto. He scans the stars to see if the Gods have plagiarized from Belle’s canvas. To see if they are brave enough to try to replicate one of her designs.

They never are.

(+++)

As a young boy, no larger than a seal pup, Rumple used to thrill-chase by diving into the seemingly bottomless trenches that cut into the seafloor. The blue of the water would get darker and darker as he plunged down, until he was floating in an empty, inky blackness. It was like being swallowed up by the maw of some ravenous predator. His vision would swim as he sank away from the surface, his small body too fragile to handle the pressures of such deep water. Yet, he would push on.

It was exhilarating. To free fall through the darkness, to do something he wasn’t built for.

Finfolk aren’t meant to dive so deep, but he did. They aren’t meant to liberate and hoard human trinkets. They aren’t meant to steal pretty human lasses.

But is that truly what he’s done? Stolen her? It certainly doesn’t feel like stealing. How can you steal what is so freely and happily given? How can you steal what is served on a silver platter, garnished with shortbread crumbs and cheeky smiles?

She was there throughout the summer, when the sunlight made her auburn hair burn like the bonfires the villagers build on the beach. And she is still here amid winter’s grasp, when the heavy clouds cast her in soft focus and the rain extinguishes the embers in her hair.

Every time he lays eyes on her, it is like diving into those trenches again. The disorientation, the vertigo, the intoxicating thrill. To be thoroughly overwhelmed and still want more.

Belle is an abundance of more, always willing to provide and spoil. Butterscotch and blackberries. Jokes, chats, and out-of-tune songs. Early morning breakfasts and late afternoon lunches. Stories of all sorts, bound in leather and paperboard.

And Rumple always takes without hesitation, for fear that there will come a day when there is nothing left to give.

(+++)

Most days, Rumple awaits her arrival in his grotto, tucked into the shadows, impishly giddy at the thought of taking her by surprise. On quieter days, when there is no traffic on the beach, he instead lounges in the tide pools, his eyes trained on the bluff’s coastal trail.

He has waited long past sunset today, which is a rarity. Belle finally trots into view over the uplands’ crest, her knapsack heaved over one shoulder, its bulging mouth threatening to spit its contents in exasperation. Her silhouette is otherworldly, the green tartan skirt of her frock looking flimsy as the moonlight passes through it.

Rumple doesn’t have to question if she comes bearing treats. She clambers onto the rocky outcrop to reach him. A small rectangle robed in silver foil is pressed into his wet hands.

He adores the foil, marveling at how it reflects the water’s shimmering surface in its ripples and wrinkles. He does not adore what the foil is wrapped around.

Belle claims it’s chocolate, but he has his doubts.

“It’s dark chocolate,” she explains, nibbling on a square. “It has less sugar and no milk, so it’s sharper. There’s a bitter bite to it.”

“It’s re-volt-ing.”

“You eat raw trout.”

She rolls her eyes, muttering disparaging comments about his palate. Despite her grousing, she is more than happy to polish off half of the chocolate bar by herself. It makes sense to him. Belle likes sharp things; teeth, and claws, and wits.

Rumple doesn’t mind sharp, but he prefers soft; round jawlines, and button noses, and fond scolding. What he can’t stomach is bitterness. It agonizes him that the stories in Belle’s mythology book all start so whimsically and end so brutally. And that no matter how sweet their days are together, it doesn’t change the fact that she’ll always leave him at the end.

She allows the hefty book to continue its slumber in the caverns of her bag. It’s too dark for her deficient human eyes to make out the fancy lettering. Besides, she looks far too tired for narration duty. Her cheeks are stained with a lingering flush of exertion, her eyes dim with sleepy contentment.

“Today was the Cèilidh,” she says, by way of explanation.

Despite her sore legs and weary yawns, he rouses her to perform a final dance for an audience of one. She demonstrates a reel, her skirt flaring around her legs as her bare feet kick up golden puffs of sand.

Rumple doesn’t really need to know what it’s supposed to look like to know that she isn’t very good at it. Her footwork is clumsy and she wobbles as she pivots. She’s even off-time to her own humming.

“Not the most graceful sort, are you?”

Belle lurches to a stop mid-turn, her brows knitting together. “Excuse me?”

“You look rid-ic-ulous.”

“It’s a far cry better than you could do.”

He gives an exaggerated sneer of offense. “You think dancing requires legs? How horren-dous-ly ignorant.”

Her mouth perks into an amused smile. “Show me.”

“A proper dance begs a partner, does it not?” he says, beckoning to her with his talons.

Puckish delight eats up the sweet turn of her lips. She used to make such a fuss about swimsuits. Now, she just gathers the hem of her tartan frock in her fists and lifts it up over her head. She discards it in a careless heap on the rocks.

Next came the perplexing underthings, fiddly-looking clasps coming undone with a flick of her fingers. Rumple drinks her in like a marooned man at a pool of freshwater.

It fills him with pride to be the one allowed to stargaze at the lavish expanse of her pale, pretty sky. To behold the constellations that live beneath sweaters and sensible woolen tights.

She wades into the water, her skin pebbling in the brisk night air. He takes her hands in his own and guides her further into the sea, the waves lazily sloshing against his back. When her toes can barely touch the ocean floor, he winds his arms around her waist. He hauls her into an embrace, thinking of how sailors greet their sweethearts the first moment their boots hit dry land.

Then, with a twist of his fin, he sweeps her legs out from under her, tucking his tail beneath her bent knees. Belle’s squeak of surprise gets lost in a breathless giggle.

He supports her gently, their bare chests flush against one another. The lack of resistance in the water allows them to spin effortlessly, twirling in small, quick circles. There are no fancy steps – no steps of any sort – but Belle begins to absently hum that same Cèilidh melody.

“It sounds better on a fiddle,” she murmurs, as though embarrassed by her rendition.

“I sin-cere-ly doubt that,” he whispers back.

As they spin, weightless and languid, Rumple leans his forehead against hers; his customary vow of adoration. But then, Belle does something strange. She tilts her chin up and presses her mouth to his. As she captures his bottom lip between her own, Rumple lets out a choked gasp, like a human swallowing seawater.

And then it’s over. It was so fleeting, he could have whimpered from the loss.

“Mhm…what…what was that?”

“A kiss.”

So he does what he’s always done when Belle gives him something; he immediately asks for more.

One kiss turns into two, which melts into a third, and a subsequent stream of kisses that come so leisurely, there is no telling where they begin and end. And he’s falling again, into the darkness of the sea’s deepest trench. His head is spinning, his lungs are burning, and still his every thought is ‘more, more, more’.

“You’re very greedy,” she chastises, though there is little heat behind her words.

Rumple flashes his serrated teeth, heartened rather than discouraged. “You shouldn’t give so readily, dearie. A beast may become accus-tomed to taking more than you’re willing to part with.”

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t let you have.”

And he believes her, his generous Belle.

He is struck with a stroke of brilliance. A kiss could be planted just about anywhere, couldn’t it? What if he were to kiss every last constellation in her sky? He could even tell her all of their names as he goes.

He purrs this idea against her lips. Belle throws her head back, moonlight splashing over her porcelain face, and she sends a laugh up to the true stars above. And then her laughter is smothering him as she gives a greedy beast his fill.

Rumple realizes, huffing a small chuckle of his own, that he might like the flavor of dark chocolate after all. So long as he is tasting it on her tongue.

-

#rumbelle showdown #round three fics #author: Rose Daughter

[olistar255]

PIKMIN 4 STORY SPOILERS from stuff available in the demo :]

i've been reading up on some people's thoughts on 4's story and i'm kinda confused. Can people really not tell apart a retcon from an alt timeline? 4's story is very much meant to be taken with the rest of the series in mind, and i think that's only going to be more and more true as the game progresses. We can already get in the demo a Voyage log from Olimar where he dreams about 2's plot, which also directly references a log in 3 where Olimar dreams about 1's bad ending (obviously they didn't knew about 4's plot when writing that log, but there's definitely a parallel). I'm sure storywise AND gameplaywise, 4 will embrace creating parallels to the 'main' games. We've already seen in the demo how SO MANY little details pay homage to the first 3 games.

As for if it is a good decision, well that's way more personal... I definitely get being disappointed the story doesn't go further. But I see it as a great narrative choice for 2 reasons :

I always saw 3 as the finale of the main Pikmin story. For one it forms a trilogy which is just satisfying :] Second everything about it spells conclusion to me: the emphasis on story to wrap things up, playing new characters for the "new generation" trope, the stakes of the story, the role reversal of Olimar becoming the 'treasure' to rescue and the final boss itself. Not saying i would dislike seeing the story continued, but i simply think the main story arc is done. Koppai is saved and Olimar returns home safely against all odds. The shooting star at the end of 3's credits is symbolic - you get a glimpse of the story from the Pikmin's point of view : they're guardian angels always helping those in need. Even if the story repeats itself with more people crashing on the planet, this shows it'll always pan out the same - there's nothing left to explore or tell, aside from mysteries like the wraith's intentions, the nature of the Pikmin or of PNF404 itself... but the very essence of the Pikmin setting as an alien world mean we cannot get answers for everything.

i don't want the follow up to 3 to be about olimar crashlanding again lmfao. I've seen people say alt timelines like in Zelda are lazy... making Olimar crash on PNF404 after it's been shown he knows how to land there would either retcon the whole 2 arc, or tread on the old Pikmin 3 ground of "spooky mysterious force forces a crash", which imo feels way more lazy. It's also why i'd kinda really hate if it turns out it's not an alt timeline and takes place after 3... It would imply Olimar got amnesia, which is just... such a bad storytelling tool so far into a story. It's about as bad as the "conflict could get resolved if characters simply talked" story convenience. Would also not make sense since as of right now, Olimar has no reason to go back to PNF404 with the Dolphin (implied all debt would get paid back).

All these problems get solved with the alt timeline idea 4 got. We get to explore brand new ideas without having to go through redundant plot points or render previous arcs useless. We get to enjoy a new story with characters we like (hell, before the story got shown i was ready and embracing the thought of having a new game with no returning characters).

I didn't really intend to write an essay defending an unreleased game :P but more than just being inspired a lot by Pikmin, it does annoy me when people think video games can't have narratives more complex than just "repeat same story again and again" just for the sake of gameplay. I don't need deep stories (Pikmin's story is remarkably simple) but i deeply value cool set pieces, unique atmospheres and refreshing storytelling ideas.

#pikmin 4 spoilers #pikmin story #unending brainrot for the plant scrungles #one week.

[fledglingmaster]

I don't like putting a lot of negativity out and I prefer balance...so I'm going to highlight the good that has happened as well lately. (Mostly talk of birds.)

My stress relief is being in nature. After last week I needed to spend time outside. Plus, I need to get back into the habit of walking. Most of the snow has melted for now.

A few days ago I went for a walk. The place I usually go has some main paved trails that take you around but there are also more natural paths in wooded areas. I enjoy walking both.

There's a local witch that likes hiding crystals for people to find and keep every once and a while. It's just a nice thing to do and it's business promo. She puts them in areas that people usually walk, so not super tucked away. Because of this I haven't found any myself, early bird gets the worm as they say. But I did find a tiny pink dyed heart! I believe it's quartz though it could be agate. Such a small thing but I about cried.

Then I saw my first wild bald eagle. I was seeking a pileated woodpecker, they're fairly elusive around here. I spotted one some months back. My mom also spotted one a few days prior around the same area. As I was looking for a woodpecker, maybe a hawk if I was lucky as they like the same area, an eagle flies over my head! I was in shock! I'm nearing 32 and I've never seen one in the wild, let alone have one fly over. I didn't get a photo but I had the experience, it meant a lot considering everything I've recently gone through.

I continued my walk and ran into the herd of 5 deer that I've been missing dearly. (Thank you, I'll see myself out.) I was able to get pretty close. I think I took my best deer photo yet from one that decided to rest in front of me. I felt so honored. As I'm walking back on the paved trail I hear the eagle vocalizing. If you know what bald eagles sound like, it is the weirdest, dolphin-esque, "that is not a bird" sound. In media, for whatever reason, most birds of prey you hear are actually dubbed over with the cry of a red-tailed hawk. I mean their screams are impressive...still I'd rather hear the bird's actual call. Anyway, the sound came from the river. I've been sharpening my location skills, I'm decent at finding where sounds are coming from. I was able to follow along the river and spot the eagle on the other side. As far away as the eagle was, my photos are poor quality. But once again, just seeing the eagle was magical. I haven't taken the pictures off my camera yet, once I do I'll post them on here.

With all of that happening in one day, I'm taking it as a sign that things are going to be okay.

So yesterday, I went back hoping to see the eagle or deer. If not, just being in nature is lovely. I did find the deer again. I swear it's like they have a gps on them as I'm just pulled to where they are. Deer energy is different from any other animal or human. I never knew how much I connected to them until this summer. After I spent some time with them I heard a woodpecker knocking. I followed it hoping for a pileated but expecting a downy as we have many of them. They're very cute. It was neither! It was a red-bellied woodpecker. They were too high up to get a good photo, but I was able to positively identify them. I'm starting to think I should have an official list to check off for birding.

-

Also, I'm so close to being done with work on my teeth. I'm really hoping I can have my smile back by summer. If not, at least I'm closer and I should have my denture this year for sure.

#personal

[starry-blue-echoes]

Alright, you seem to like people sharing their own OCs/AUs, so I figured I’d share mine. 

For the purposes of context/connection, this is the AU/OC universe is where my “JoJos intros/outros as stands” characters are going to be from.

The tentative title for this story is “JeJe’s Odd Experiences”.

Despite the name, the intention is for the story to be rather serious (or as serious as any JoJo’s bizarre adventure spinoff can get, at least).

The story follow’s the Jemoon family, starting with Jean Jemoon, a very, very distant cousin of Jonathan Joestar, who ends up going on a bizarre adventure of his own, and setting a trend for all of his (? I haven’t given any of my protagonists definitive genders yet) descendants to follow. 

The plan would be to have one part to mirror each JoJo part, sharing roughly the same time period and location, as well as a few events that would tie it into actual “canon” without directly interfering with it.

Part 1 would be about a small village in the English countryside, that comes under attack by a slightly more intelligent than normal zombie that escaped WindKnight’s Lot before the Hamon users arrived. It is up to the brave Jean Jemoon and a band of brave villagers to put a stop to this undead menace once and for all!

Part 2 would be about an archeology team in Central America that is sponsored by the Speedwagon foundation. Their official mission is to “learn about the ancient cultures”, with a secret unstated mission of finding and destroying as many Stone Masks as possible. 

This leads them into conflict of a rival archeology team of German occultists and cyborgs, who want to use the masks for their own purposes.

Part 3 has a less well-defined start, but for one reason or another the users of [Sono Chi No Sadame], [Bloody Stream], and [Stand Proud] end up on a globe-trotting adventure. 

They will face stands based on the “Deck of Many Things” (a magic deck of cards from D&D, with each card having a different magic effect. Its the closest thing I could think of for a tarot deck stand-in).

The users of [Roundabout], [Walk like and Egyptian] and [Last Train Home] will also be present but more as rivals or temporary allies than outright enemies. 

The yet to be clearly defined reason for their journey eventually takes them to Greece, where they face off against 12 more stand users, each one with a stand based on one of the Greek Gods. 

Part 4 takes place in a small, peaceful town in Japan, somewhat close to Morioh. However, after discovering the existence of [Crazy Noisy Bizarre Town], the users of [Great Days], [Chase], and [I want you] realize their supposedly peaceful town has a lot of secrets, some of them being particularly gruesome…

Part 5 would be about a group of Stand-using vigilantes, the users of [Fighting Gold]  [Traitor’s Requiem] [Freek’n You] and [Modern Crusaders]. They come to the conclusion that the lthe law and government is corrupt, they must take justice into their own hands, and decide to take it upon themselves to take down the local Passione group.

Part 6 has an unclear plot. It will either take place in Green Dolphin prison, or some other prison in Florida. And the initial plot would involve prison gang activates, involving the users of [Stone Ocean], [Heaven’s Falling Down], and [Distant Dreamer]. But past that, the course the story will take is unclear. I don’t know how directly I want to involve, or not involve, the plan to achieve Heaven and the universe reset. Another difficulty is that as the last part within this story, I need to wrap up the overarching story and theme of the parts, but I can’t really do that when I don’t have the overarching story or theme written yet.

Since I have mostly just making up stands, parts 3, 4, and 5 are the most developed of the parts.

This is what I meant by me having a lot of stand/OC ideas. 

What started as me trying to think of stand abilities for a few songs spiralled all the way out of control into whatever this is. Having actually taken the time to type this all out, I have just now come to the realization of how big this AU/OC project is.

However, what this massive project currently consists of is a lot of stand ideas, some character ideas, a few cool story beats, some vague ideas for character design and names, and the barest amount of an actual story worked out.

Sorry(?) for yet another long ask, I apparently can’t right anything shorter than a page-long essay when I’m writing about JoJo.

If you want to know more about the other stand ideas, the characters or even more story specifics, I would be happy to do so (I had a lot of fun just writing this).

XHDFJBDGJVDGVRD JEJE'S ODD EXPERIENCES I'M-

but also OOOOOOOOOO THAT SOUNDS SO NEAT

also, no need to apologise at all, really long asks Spark So Much Joy because it gives me so much to think about and work with, so I really love it and would love to hear more if you'd like to share :>

#jjba #jojo’s bizarre adventure #not my oc #sb answers #artbyfinnbrown

[encyclopika]

Are there truly many benefits to being a marine biologist?

I suppose this is very subjective, but for me the benefits have so far been:

-I have seen and handled a number of shark species, from the common Spiny Dogfish to Sandbar sharks, a Dusky, Sand Tigers, and even a HUGE scalloped hammerhead. Sharks are the reason I became a marine biologist, so I'm literally living my dream.

-I have had the pleasure of seeing other incredible animals and got to handle them, too, such as numerous Atlantic Sturgeon, a Loggerhead Sea Turtle, and an Atlantic White-sided dolphin (deceased, but I still can't believe I performed some science on a dolphin!!)

-Being a marine biologist has meant that beach days are spent exploring and knowing the animals I find and not being afraid of them.

-I've been trusted to educate people of all ages about the sea, and other important topics like pollution and climate change. Sometimes I get nice tips from my audience once it's over lmao.

-I work with people who care about the same shit I do and I learn from them everyday, too.

-I get paid to go fishing. I get paid to eat seafood and tell people how great it is.

-I do meaningful work that directly helps and benefits my community and my local fishing industry members.

-I do meaningful work that directly helps to make our water healthy and promote conservation for animal species I love.

Are there cons? Yeah - I got paid to go fishing today, but my coworker and I woke up at 2am to catch a boat an hour and a half away and then didn't even catch the specimens we needed...so we'll have to go again at some point. I've been treated like shit while trapped on a trawler in the middle of the winter for 9 days straight to get data I didn't feel anyone used. I have seen horrible things happen to animals in fishing gear and I deal with a lot of dead stuff.

It's a dirty job - so many other marine bio majors and colleagues have quit the field because it's too much often for too little money - but the benefit of being a marine biologist is that I'm one of the few people who dreamed of it and made it happen, too.

#there are many benefits to being a marine biologist #real talk #marine biology #I love my job #thank you

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

Hello ! Okay so this question really has no connection to any fandom in general (except, maybe, Avatar on the intelligent non-human species side?) but I just saw an article about orca intelligence and the fact that we now know they have very strong social bonds, even teach each other things and even have names they use between each other! Anyway, I just saw this and was also thinking about the fact that most people still think they're just big dumb fish and don't ask me why but it made me think again about your excellent posts on Avatar (I told him there was a link!), Quaritch and Jake's family in general.

So I was wondering what you think? About their intelligence and the fact that some people would like them to be considered as non-human (I admit I think that about cetaceans in general personally) as well as your opinion on the fact that individuals in captivity are often captured in the wild and find themselves in honestly pitiful conditions in the company of orcas they don't know and therefore can't communicate with (fun fact: each pod, or group, of orcas has its own language that doesn't correspond to that of other pods).

If you already knew this, I'd be delighted to know ey if you didn't, I might have raised your interest in this and that's just as well. What's more, it might also raise the interest of other people who see it...

What a fun question!! Honestly, no worries at all for any non fandom related question, it means so much that you guys care for my opinion on anything at all! I love the Avatar questions a ton, but it's super fun and special when a question branches out into another fandom or topic.

Yes, I do know about wales and orcas! I was always one of those dirty little mud kids who was obsessed with all animals and bugs and wildlife. I had bins and bins of plastic dinosaurs and book after book on wildlife. I was going to be a vet until senior year of high school, when I decided that taking algebra for the third time meant I wasn't cut out for a math or science career lol (I took it for a forth time for no credit in college 😬).

There is a ton to be said about captivity in general, and the ethics of zoos and wildlife centers. Thankfully most zoos follow much stricter laws now, and the majority of animals you see in care are unable to be released into the wild or are being rehabilitated until they can be. I don't know that there are these same standards yet for large aquariums, and places like SeaWorld that have orcas and whales and sharks. I am not an expert, and it's not something I've looked into in a long time. In general though, I think most of these places have improved, but these large animals, I don't see how they can ever be kept ethically in captivity,

There is also the matter of orcas, who have been a huge talking point as of late because of them sinking ships. They truly are the dickbag bullies of the sea lol, so it's funny to me to compare them to the tulkun. Actually, maybe all the dolphins are the dickbag bullies of the sea. But, orcas are dolphins so they are the same thing. But orcas (also dolphins do this with fish) play catch with seals dude, they slap them back and forth and don't even eat them. Sometimes they make waves too knock animals off of ice and then wait for them to get back on the ice so they can do it again. They are sociopaths. So I think they are smart, but also I'm scared. Dolphins (orcas are dolphins) are one of the few animals besides humans that hunt for fun as well as for food.

BUT ANYWAYS. I don't think orcas can be considered human, they are non-human. Humanity sets itself apart from other species with large scale cooperation, culture and tool use, and abstract thought and reasoning. These are things the tulkun possess in Avatar, and things that are not shared by any other creature on Earth that we know of.

#cool question tho #i hope this answer was what you wanted? #miles quaritch #jake sully #tulkun #avatar #avatar the way of water #james cameron avatar #orca whale #whale #melissa's asks #melissa on avatar (cameron) #melissa is an english major

[jaimebluesq]

8 shows to know you

Tagged by @dual-domination - thank you so much!

All right, I'm going to go chronologically rather than by current importance, and yeah, I'm going to show my age a little bit. So without further ado...

1 - The Monkees

When I was a kid, I first watched the Monkees on reruns (this was the 80s), and I fell for their shenanigans and music - to this day I still hum Cheer Up Sleepy Jean some mornings. I was a Mickey Dolenz fan, but I loved all of them equally. When I got *older*, I did discover fandom and fanfic... that was a fun personal update lol.

2 - The A-Team

OMFG where do I start... Did I mention I love shenanigans? Because these boys may be former military but the show is FULL of shenanigans. I laughed my ass off, honestly. When I grew up, my opinions on certain things developed, and it's hard to watch the show the same way... but it will always have a special place in my heart.

3 - Various Saturday Morning Cartoons & Shows

All right, I can't list them all because this list is only for 8 shows, but Saturday Morning Cartoons (and Saved by the Bell) were the best things ever growing up! And I think they really helped develop my sense of humour ;)

4 - Star Trek: The Next Generation

And here we are, my first foray into true addiction and obsession. Didn't have the internet yet, which was probably a really good thing because I'd have spent all my time reading fanfic. As it is, this was when I made my first foray into it with a self-insert fic about the ship meeting a new alien species led by a young girl with blue hair and sparkling pink uniform who would draw the eyes of young Wesley Crusher... omfg I was young, okay!!! That fanfic never saw the light of day, thank goodness. But this show IS the reason I got to meet a Klingon and a Vulcan when Paramount took over Canada's Wonderland and did a Star Trek exhibit :D

5 - SeaQuest

This show was so significant in my life that I should REALLY list it twice. I watched it when it first aired, at least the first two seasons - either the 3rd never aired where I live or I missed out on it for some other reason - and loved it so so so so much. I think one of the things I initially loved about it was that it wasn't just a military vessel - it was both science and military, and the conflict between the two was often a significant plot point - well, all that and the talking dolphin. But the characters were magnificent, the episodes were engaging even when they got silly... and then years later, I got onto the internet, fell in love with TV show #6 which prominently features one of the actors, and my love for seaQuest got renewed to the point that I even wrote for fanzines back in the day, and created a little internet fan thing called "Tim O'Neill's Cunning Linguists" - yes, I do love a good pun ;)

6 - Xena: Warrior Princess

I can't describe HOW MUCH this show was important in my life. Honestly. It's the reason behind my foray into fandom. My love of Ted Raimi renewed my love of SeaQuest, and Joxer was a character that my 'loser' self related to more than anyone else, and the fact that he was accepted as part of the group meant so fucking much to me! I made awesome online friends through this fandom - JoeyRZ and CrystalBlue in particular - and to this day, I can remember Shamenka's "The Fool and the God" almost word for word because I re-read it so damned much. I'm team "The last season didn't happen except for Virgil because he's adorable". So yeah, there's no true knowing me unless you know about my love for this show.

7 - The Rise of Phoenixes

It's funny that there's such a huge time period between #6 and #7, but even though there were many shows I loved and enjoyed, none of them had a real profound effect on me... until this one. I honestly don't remember how it happened, but a few years ago someone introduced me to harem games on mobile, and the players of the game began talking about CDramas they enjoyed. At the time I was skeptical, had never really watched much from other countries before, but I spotted The Rise of Phoenixes on Netflix and I happened to have an account, so one day I thought, what the hell? I binged the whole fucking thing! And I didn't find the subtitles off-putting - in fact, I think I've come to prefer watching everything in subtitles since I'm hard of hearing, and when a show's in another language, it gives me the excuse to do so >.< But yeah, this show was my introduction to CDramas, Ni Ni was gorgeous as hell and I adored her, and it's the reason I am where I am in fandom today. Which brings me to...

8 - The Untamed / CQL

It was really hard trying to find an image that accurately reflects my feelings about this show, but I think this does it enough. Wei Wuxian's story was wonderful and engaging and addicted me instantly, and his love for Lan Wangji was evident despite them having to keep the BL quiet for the sake of the Chinese censors. But Nie Huaisang's story, that's what made me go "There's more story to be told here... I wonder what people are writing about it in the fandom. There *MUST* be a fandom for this show, right?"

*Ahem* Hundreds of fics read later, my AO3 now lists me as author to 90 fics in this fandom, I've taken part in many events (and still am!), I've pioneered ships and supported others, and I've been having the time of my life, all because of these boys. I continue to watch other CDramas - from Word of Honor to Blood of Youth - but none have engaged me as much as The Untamed, the show that I binged and then, after the reveal of the final episodes, rewatched the entire thing immediately after. If you're following me on Tumblr these days, you know how I feel about this fandom :D

If you've read this far and want to join in, consider yourself tagged :-p

[pangolin-404]

Recent Thoughts about Minecraft

right as the title says! Thoughts I have about the recent Minecraft updates, and what direction I see the game as going in. Gentle criticisms and such! Don’t misunderstand this, I love this game dearly.

Starting off:

The Warden and the Ancient City

I think the Warden has been buffed far too much. The idea of it being stronger than the Enger Dragon itself is interesting. But the ranged attack 1) has a much to short cooldown time, 2) bypasses shields, and 3) goes through walls. This is too much. I disagree with the idea of a mob players have no choice but to avoid, period. Minecraft is about choices and playing how you want to play. By intentionally making a mob a pain to deal with, Mojang is making the game less fun for players by removing the option of having a challenging fight, or a fair flee (I will say it again! The ranged attack goes through walls!). The Warden doesn’t even drop anything, which I also see as a flaw, but given how it’s not intended to be engaged with at all, I’m not surprised. Right now, I really love the Warden as a concept, but it needs a better execution.

The Ancient City doesn’t have loot worth avoiding the Warden for. Some of its most precious loot outside of music discs are, as of writing (March 11, 2022), enchanted diamond armor and emeralds. I can’t see players going in without netherite or at least enchanted diamond armor of their own, and a player that armored wouldn’t have much of a use for armor. Either lesson the threat (re: weaken the warden) so it’s worth the trip or increase the reward. If this was an advanced civilization, as players believe, why not add a scrap of netherite or two, or more diamonds? I’ve seen theories the structure in the center is a portal, which would make the journey more appealing.

Fireflies (and Frogs)

So, Mojang removed fireflies. 2-pixel entities that frogs were meant to eat. They removed fireflies because, in real life, fireflies are poisonous to frogs. This is a silly reason to remove a mob for. Cookies are poisonous to parrots, and yet players can still shove one down their bird’s throat! Frogs don’t have to eat the fireflies. They can exist in the same habitat, no problem. Fireflies make for a living ambience, a light source. People want to put them in bottles and have cute little jars of flreflies! I’ve seen people tease the firefly for being 2 pixels big, but never genuine disagreement toward it.

Animals

Pandas, axolotls, dolphins... All mobs added to Minecraft, all real endangered animals. I think it’s cute to have more irl animals but, personally, I want more wacky critters, like the Mooshroom and Glow Squid. Why not make a mob that serves the same function as a dolphin: Intelligent, playful, and provides a speed boost? I think the frogs are cute, and I think the fireflies are cute, but... I want more passive mobs that aren’t based off real animals.

I think it’s great Mojang has a clear stance on protecting endangered animals. Just, maybe, in the future... more passive weird mobs, please? The ones we’ve gotten lately, like the Guardians and Phantoms and Hoglins, are hostile. Striders are an exception, but they’re found only in the nether. When was the last time we got a passive overworld mob like that? Glow Squids, and...? Nothing else.

Minecraft is a fantasy game with different dimensions and magic and I just want more critters and beasts (friendly), y’know?

Things are Moving Too Fast

Simple as that. That, I believe, is the crux of the problem. Mojang has been showing possible new features, like the Warden, Archeology, and even the Caves & Cliffs, without being totally set or ready for them. These features have been pushed back and reworked (not that these things are inherently bad! It’s just been happening more often more recently). I worry Mojang’s devs are working too hard to produce more content. They aren’t ready to release these things. First Caves & Cliffs was cut in half, where we didn’t even get the Caves & Cliffs in question until the second part. Then the Ancient City was pushed back as the idea grew and developed. Some features, like Archeology, were mentioned and never brought up again.

I want them to slow down. They need to stop setting deadlines for themselves. They need to work at their own pace and take their time deciding what features Minecraft deserves, and how to implement them.

They don’t owe us once-a-year grand updates. 

We love Minecraft. They know this. They need to slow down and take their time on these things, listen more to the fans, and not hold themselves to such strict rules.

#thoughts #minecraft #mojang #mineblr #minecraft posting #I'm. worried about the game's future. that's all

[causemufins]

went rooting through old school notebooks that we never got rid of. found one from when I was in second grade. felt like tumblr would enjoy some highlights.

'Gabby was not your usual goat. Gabby has some ideas of her own.'

'Wene I jumpt into the pool.'

I had a list that was supposed to be a top 10 of things I like. there was only 6 things listed. One of them was 'I like girls' and let me tell you past me, you still like them now. But in the queer way.

Had a short story with the following misspellings: 'One day I playd my fafrit game on the compotr.' 'Same as all wase.'

'Part 3: My Truth' and it was paired with a drawing of a balloon in between the 'part 3' and 'my truth'

'One day I went to ~'

^ That's it. that's all that's on the page. It was in cursive too. And it's the only thing in the notebook that is.

'... becuase he dose not like his ferkls.' I think I was going for freckles.

Okay so I had an obsession with dolphins back then, and I must have learned about the amazon river/boto dolphin because I wanted to be one. And if I were one, 'I would swkeek'

'they are too late.' ^ Again, only thing on the page. But this time not in cursive.

Found some pages that I think are meant to be me drawing my own custom pokemon. I think I made a fire starter line that went Rago-Ragon-Fireenooe. Or maybe it was just the first two together then the fire one on its own.

A different pair that look like bunny caterpillar things named Bulbee and Raydoe. There's also a sad vaguely crescent moon shaped thing called Crondee? Or maybe Crondoe? It also looks kind of like it's half of one of those 'best friends' heart charms.

Oh man I also made pikaclones. But hey, they evolve and aren't just a 1 stage. they both look like bunnies with oval heads and cat tails, but there's Twitltoo and then it evolves into Spikeoloo, who has spikes on its tail now.

They share a page with a story about a thanksgiving based dream. My family became turkeys. Except I never used the letter U, so they 'trned into trkeys.' And they also 'peckted' me.

'threre were three.' Like you don't understand, this is a lined paper notebook. About 25 lines to write on. And I wrote a single three word sentence on line one and there is nothing else.

And now there's a page after two empty blank ones that just says 'I' (capital i not lower case L)

There's a page where i must have used one of those little plastic stencils that always make the details look wrong and rounded. I had one of a unicorn, and on the other side of the page, i traced the drawing using the stencil and man, it is simultaneously better and worse than the stencil one.

'OCTEMBER'

'1. January, 2. Feduary, 3. March, 4. April, 5. May, 6. Octember, 7. June'

I'm not saying the whole thing, but apparently for a party, i was going to get '1000 jugs of wine' to set on the 'tabale'. And i would 'inviyt' my friends. Friends is circled. And for whatever reason 'inviyt' cracks me up.

'One Day I went' I didn't even finish the sentence!! That's again all that's on the page!

More of those stencils. I did a bunch of dogs, then draw some circles for balls and you had to pair the dogs with the balls based on the size of the dog and the size of the ball. ...or something. Also one of the dogs is a goat.

on the back cover, in giant letters, it says 'my truh' and I think I was going for truth.

[my-darling-boy]

So I had this half lucid dream where I was swimming in a lake with my crush and his friends and we climbed up onto this very low dock that dipped just a little below the water. I thought “Oh I want to hold a water animal!” and what I WANTED was a dolphin, but my brain couldn’t quite conjure the image of a dolphin, nor could I recall the word “dolphin”.

So after much thought as to what a dolphin looked like, a giant banana with floppy banana peel dog ears, banana peel fins, and two beady black eyes hauled itself into my lap from the waters of the lake.

And I remember thinking “... Now wait... something is not quite right with this...”

I sat looking it over for a moment until I realised, “Oh I forgot a tail!” so when I looked down, the creature had a fish tail, and I was Quite Proud of how well I had recalled what a dolphin looked like from memory, and it deserved to be drawn:

#for some reason I had deep knowing it was called a Banana Dog #but it meant the same thing as a dolphin for some reason? #I should start drawing my dreams more #my art

[cozycottagetarot]

Pick A Pile: How Can You Take Better Care of Yourself?

I did this reading a bit different from my others. It’s mainly based on impressions as I’m only using the images and any text on the cards at face value along with whatever else comes to me. So feedback would be appreciated. Another thing is the piles all have intertwining messages so if you feel drawn to two piles, then by all means I encourage you to check them both out.

Paid Readings (I’ll be updating them again)

Disclaimer: All readings and tarot/blog games are for fun and entertainment purposes only. It is in no way meant to act as or replace professional advice of any kind. You know yourself and what’s going on in your life best so I asks that you trust yourself above all else. Finally please take only what resonates from the reading which may be some of it, all of it, or none at all.

PILE 1

Tarot Cards: 7 of Cups, 8 of Wands, The Sun

Pile 1, the way you can take better care of yourself is by making a decision. With the 7 of Cups I see that you have all these opportunities being presented in front of you but you have no idea which one to go with. I get the impression from the cards that from postponing making a decision or choice, you’re starting to feel the brightness in other areas of your life dim. With the 8 of Wands and The Sun following however, I feel like once you make a decision, results and positive things will happen quickly, bringing you happiness. The Sun has a faint face depicted in it, so I feel like you don’t have to worry too much about unintended consequences. I see this as a sign you are being protected from unintended or unpleasant consequences as a result of your decision. Also, connecting with your inner child may be a way to help you make this decision.

The next cards that came out are: Protection (Call back your power. Cut the cords. Soul retrieval.) Soul Family (Call in your tribe. You don’t have to do it alone.) Anna, Grandmother of Jesus (Seeding the light, laying foundations. Divine plan.) The Ever-Unfolding Rose (Cracked open. It’s happening for you, not to you.)

With these cards I think some of you could be going through a 'dark night of the soul' (read: a very difficult time in your life). You may be feeling like somewhere along the line you’ve lost yourself or your direction as to where you’re heading next in life or what it is you truly desire (any Lucifer fans here because I hear Tom Ellis’s voice in my head haha). You may be asking yourself questions such as 'Why is this the way life is happening? Why me? Who am I even?' But even though it might seem unfair or lacking sense right now, keep in mind that whatever is going on is helping you in some format. Situations within reason of course, using your discernment here is best. It’s truly all about how you tell your story. Another thing is you don’t have to make these decisions on your own. Turn to your family and your friends for help/advice. If necessary, maybe you can seek professional help. If either or those things isn't really an option, you could always try taking some time to nurture yourself and journey inside to help you remember or figure out what’s important to you. When you make that effort to find/listen to yourself outside of the noise of everything else, I think that’s when you’ll find the information necessary to help make your decision.

Remaining Cards: The Hourglass Dolphin (46) — your achievement is only a matter of time. The Three Rhine Maidens (15) — love is a virtue that endure eternally.

The Hourglass Dolphin is all about finding balance between two aspects of your life, typically work and play. Dividing your time and remembering to put EXTRA care into taking care of your basic needs is another thing that’s going to help you find success. I feel like you are in a transitory phase and it really is only a matter of time before whatever darkness that may be clouding your life right now disappears.

The Three Rhine Mermaids talks about a phase in your life coming full circle, and once that happens your hearts desires are going to start materialising in your physical/the 3D.

The North Witch (23) — This card just kind of confirms or reiterates that with patience this dark phase is going to fade.

The Toad Witch (7) —This card talks about gaining wisdom from adversity. Also a secret admirer as well. There were messages of love laced through out the cards but they weren’t clear until now. Similarly, I think this will reflect in your life that after you’ve found stability once things have cleared up, you will find love as well.. or better yet, love will find you. Do keep in mind it might not be super quick… maybe Spring or Summer (depending on when you're reading this).

Self Care Activities Ideas (Homemade deck): Look good; feel good (put effort into looking the way you want), Believe In Yourself, Have a fruit (incorporate more fruits into your diet).

PILE 2

Hello Pile 2. The way for you to take better care of yourself right now is through doing what makes you happy.

Tarot Cards: Ace of Swords, The Sun, The Devil

I actually pulled the Ace of Swords last. Also before I started focusing on your pile while shuffling, the Four of Swords reversed came out.

Thinking of these two cards together, I think you need to pull back and ask yourself if what you’re doing is really the best thing for you. I feel like you guys could be in a really good place right now— at least at face value. The cards have darker backgrounds, except The Sun. I feel like whatever you are doing isn’t really sparking joy inside. Maybe it’s familial or peer pressure related? The life path you’re on right now seems ideal and fulfilling to everyone else, but somehow I feel like deep down inside it doesn’t feel that way. You may feel chained or held back as shown by The Devil. Looking at The Sun and The Devil, they came out together side by side. I feel like this is more family related meaning parents, parental figures or mentors. They may be trying to look out for you by telling you to study a certain topic or take a certain job because it’s safe, when what you truly want to do may be a little bit more risky. So even though you’re playing it safe right now and have things to celebrate, you may not be able to shake the that unsatisfied feeling inside.

The next cards that came out are: Warrior Woman (Have you answered your deepest calling?) Play (Have fun. Celebrate. Don’t be so serious.) Break The Chain (Ancestral patterns. Healing. Rewriting the future.) Transformation (Things are changing at a cellular level. Deep healing.)

All the figures in these cards look like they’re in their power. It makes me think you may be ignoring or avoiding stepping into the energy of your higher self. I kind of had the though fear of backlash pop into my head, and while it is a valid fear, I don’t feel like it’s something you have to worry about a lot. I feel like you need to schedule more time for yourself in general as well. You can’t ‘fight’ for other people all the time, you also have to ‘fight’ for you.

I’m just noticing something about the placement of the cards. Warrior Woman has a sword and is placed right next the the Ace of Swords. Break The Chain is right next to The Devil, and the sun is shining in Transformation and Play, in the same position as the one in The Sun… As I was saying, I feel like you need to just take a moment to connect with yourself. Ask yourself what is it you truly want and begin rewriting your future*.

*This is the part where I let it be known I need people to practice life coaching with so if you’re interested you can message me. 18 years and up only though.

Remaining Cards: The Siren (14) — In the treasure of a day, light is thrown on what could be tomorrow. The Stripped Dolphin (30) Good news, flowing through the ether waves will answer your prayers.

The Siren Is mostly about observation and not forcing connections. The Stripped Dolphin is about good things happening for you, especially by surprise. It’s also about new beginnings in any area of your life. However there’s also a message about not getting caught up in many opportunities, so if you were drawn to pile 1 as well, I see this as a sign to check out the pile as well.

The Silver Moon Witch (2) has a message of being able to see progress by the next full or new moon. However this card advises you to choose carefully when it’s the right time to go with the flow versus ‘swimming’ against the tide. Relating to above, journey inside yourself to figure out if you are taking the right course if action by choosing to stick with the path you’re on versus yelling plot twist and doing something different.

The Full Moon Witch (18) has two sides to it. On one hand you can expect ‘heartfelt’ plans coming to fruition, but on the other hand emotions may be running high and words that aren’t meant may be said. This another one of the moon phases cards, so you may find during the full moon you may have disagreements with your loved ones but once it starts to wane, disagreements may also reach a resolution. I think this relates to the The Silver Moon Witch card as well, so maybe before or during a full moon may not be the best time to bring up anything that may cause a disagreement?

Self Care Activities Ideas (Homemade deck): Journal, Get Creative, Listen To Music (there may be messages in songs for you)

PILE 3

Pile 3, you guys have been giving me hell from the moment I sat down to pull cards for your reading. From focusing and interpreting to editing. Everything was a mess and I’m assuming you a significant part of your life maybe as well? Or your headspace at least.

Aside from my struggles with your reading, based on the cards, I see you need to focus on yourself.

Tarot Cards: The Chariot, The High Priestess, Queen of Wands reversed.

Starting with your Tarot in no particular order, you have The Chariot, The High Priestess and Queen of Wands reversed. The Queen of Wands is my ideal (you) card. When it’s reversed, I see it as a sign [you] are not embodying the energy of your highest self and/or something in your life is out of balance. Both The Chariot and The High Priestess have black and white polarities, so I see it more as you needing to put yourself back into balance. Something may feel hidden from you, though you’re not really sure what and you want to push forward but it’s just not really happening? On the bottom of the deck is the 9 of Swords which notes to fear, depression, anxiety, etc and is needing to release those emotions. Obviously it can be more complex than it sounds, but I’m hoping you get the idea. Brain-dump came to me. Maybe you need to do a brain-dump and survey/assess your ‘kingdom’ so you can flip that Queen of Wands energy around and allow your chariot to race onward. The next cards that came out are:

The Crumbling (What are you clinging on to?) —> Do you need to release anything? Material items, a goal, a belief, way of life, or maybe just the act of trying to have it all together?

Boundaries (Where do you need to establish better boundaries?) —> Do you need better boundaries with yourself? Habits? People? Enviroment? School/Career?

Share Your Voice (Come out of the cave. Persecution. Expression.) It’s time to step into the limelight, because the world is your stage. Maybe you’ve been hanging back and suppressing who you truly are, but now it’s time to step forward into a new role… a you role. You don’t have to go from stand in actor to lead role over night, but do brainstorm and take baby steps daily to get there.

Keepers Of The Earth (You are not alone. Ancient ancestors stand beside you.) Take the meaning as you will, but I see it as a message to look for support in unexpected places. Maybe it’s an online community of people who can relate to you. Maybe it’s a book, article or video. Who knows, it could even be a friend or family member you didn’t think could relate or help you out. Remaining Cards: The Kraken (38) — Your success and happiness lie within you. The Great Sea Monster (37) — To accomplish you dream plan and believe.

The main theme of The Kraken is release. Good fortune/luck will come to you by delving into your subconscious mind to free the conscious. Returning to nature and the things that bring you inner joy. Good fortune coming in small waves which eventually grow into big ones.

The Great Sea Monster is about taking action and again, freeing your conscious mind by looking into your unconscious mind. Also there is more than one way to solve a dilemma, you just have to search the right way. The Immortal Witch (4) — new beginnings are happening for you, and your desires are on their way to you although it might not appear so currently. (Kind of like planting a seed. It’s growing though we can’t see it until it burst through the soil). The Fairy Ring Witch (9) — mental and physical communication. Connecting with or making friends with similar skills or talents. Self Care Activities Ideas (Homemade deck): Tend to yourself, Slow and steady, Get creative, Read a book (maybe a self help book relevant to what you're going through).

#pick a card #pick a pile #pick a card reading #pick a picture #tarot reading #pick a pile reading #pac #pac reading #ariesmoontarot

[nanasparadise]

“Imprisonment” Yan!Jolyne x female reader

This blog was in dire need of some wlw content. In that sense, I hope you had a happy pride month and enjoy this piece! 

Summary: You are the target of many inmates in Green Dolphin. That changes when Jolyne becomes your cellmate, for the better or worse. 

TW: toxic relationship, prison, bullying, violence, insults, threats, slight gore (ear mutilation), noncon kiss, allusions to NSFW, MATURE AUDIENCE ONLY/MINORS DNI

Word count: 2853

I do not condone any yandere behaviour in real life. 

„Get your ass moving, girl!”

You truly hated it here. A day spent at Green Dolphin felt like being ten years in hell. The queue in the prison cafeteria moved forward quickly, since everyone got the same horrible food. As you hadn’t reacted fast enough, you’d received rude comments. At this point, you didn’t care about the insults anymore. You were used to them, you had no affiliation with anyone here, meaning the other inmates saw you as fair game. In addition to your nature as a pushover, you weren’t surprised to be the target of many prisoner’s sadistic streak.

You took your tray containing your lunch – a portion of rather questionable meat and some mashed potatoes – and went to your solitary table. A blissful sigh escaped your lips when you finally were alone in your corner. No, worse than any insults or solitude were the threats, hidden under fake smiles. Not a single day went without them. You always were forced to do ‘voluntary tasks’ for the designated mean girls of Green Dolphin or ‘lend’ them money. It was humiliating, really, but you didn’t want to end up beaten to death in your cell, so you followed their instructions.

Once you completed the laundry task, you decided to spend the rest of the afternoon in the library, hoping to find an interesting enough book to teleport you away for a couple hours from your harsh reality. You settled into the couch with a novel in your hands, enjoying this slight moment of calmness. Your peace was short-lived though as a blonde woman approached you, a saccharine smile plastered on her face. Oh no, you knew where this would go.

“Hi! How are you doing today?”, she greeted you with a fake happiness swinging in her tone.

“Fine”, you mumbled quietly, not being able to assert yourself.

“I’m glad to hear that!,” she replied, though you knew she didn’t give a shit about your well-being, “Look, I’m so sorry to bother you again, but could you give me ten dollars? I need them for something very important and you’ll get them back in no time!” She batted her eyelashes at you, seemingly coming across as innocent.

“I would, but I forgot the money in my cell”, you countered, trying to come up with an excuse.

“Then stand up and get it.” Her voice had already shifted into a menacing tone, eyes gleaming like a predator.

“I don’t know if I-“

“Y/N, that was your name, right? Well, if you don’t get me my money, our friendship will be ruined and you’re aware of the consequences of that, aren’t you?”, your fellow inmate replied while pulling you by the collar of your uniform up from the couch.

“Right…,” you whispered, accepting your defeat, “I’ll get it for you.”

“Awesome!,” the blonde chirped, all sunshine and rainbows again, “I’ll wait for you here,  just don’t take too long.”

That was how your life went. You didn’t complain too much, you knew it could be way worse than that. And it wasn’t as if you had much of a choice to change it anyway. You weren’t going to be released from prison in the next twenty five years. “So just accept it and move on, day by day”, you mused, repeating that thought every day.

Your life took a turn, however, when a new inmate joined Green Dolphin. She was a young woman around your age, dark buns adorning her head and a green fringe framing her face. You had been spared from a cellmate, but that all changed now, as she was your new roomie. “Great,” you thought bitterly, “now my last bit of peace has been stolen from me.”

She introduced herself as Jolyne Kujo. Jolyne seemed to be still quite naïve when it came to prison life, claiming she’d been conned and that her lawyer would certainly take her out from there. “It’s time to face the fact that no one cares if you’re here for a valid reason or not, trust me, I know it from experience”, you thought, though you didn’t dare voice that to her.

She actually turned out to be nice. And with that, you meant that she respected your private space and didn’t threaten you. In exchange, you offered her some advice on who to avoid in jail, which the woman gladly accepted.

At first, the change was barely noticeable. Jolyne kept herself quiet except for the occasional small talk in your cell or during a shared task. Instead, she chose to lounge around two other inmates you hardly knew, one with dark braids and the other with a weird-looking green cap. You were glad to see that at least she formed a group, being able to protect herself now better from potential harassers if needed.

Of course you were still exposed to them. You made your way to the shower as a woman with broad muscles approached you, face turned into a dark grimace. By her build and expression, you’d first assumed she was a guard until you’d noticed the familiar uniform.

“You there!”, she shouted at you, a finger pointing menacingly at you as she came closer, “Give me your money, now!”

You cowered back into the corner of the shower room, panic flooding your system. “I’m sorry,” you stuttered, “I don’t have anything on me, I can give it to you after-“

“Don’t fucking play with me, bitch”, she brutely interjected, nostrils flaring up angrily due to exhaling. Your aggressor stood now in front of you, a strong hand wrapping itself around your throat and threatening to cut off your airflow. She yanked you up in the air as she continued her assault. “You think you can pick and choose? Does this place look like fucking Disneyland to you? You better give me my money now if you don’t wanna end up choking water and being beaten up like the dirty street mutt you are.” You were already flinching when the prisoner raised her fist to punch your face as a voice suddenly interrupted you.

“I think that’s enough”, Jolyne said in a firm tone, a fierce expression marking her face.

“And who the hell are you? Wanna join your little friend here?”, your tormentor commented, unimpressed by your cellmate’s entrance.

“Big words for someone who’ll soon be nothing but a bloody pulp”, Jolyne answered, not faltering under the inmate’s glare.

Your harasser proceeded to laugh out loud at her words, obviously not taking her seriously. She dropped you unceremoniously as she shifted all her attention to your saviour instead. Desperately, you panted for air, your hands moving to your hurting throat. You remained in your corner as you observed the scene unfolding in front of you.

“As if you weakling could do anything against me,” your tantaliser spit out, still chuckling at Jolyne’s words, “I’d kill you with my pinky finger.”

Jolyne remained strangely calm, choosing to smile at the threat. “We’ll see about that”, was the only thing she uttered before she lunged at her with incredible speed.  Clearly, you weren’t the only one surprised as the inmate’s eyes widened as well. Jolyne turned the bully’s bewilderment into her advantage, her fist immediately connecting with the inmate’s nose. The latter let out a shrill scream, blood dripping out of her nostril. Clearly, she didn’t expect your roommate to do any real damage, let alone break her nose.

Jolyne shook the hand she punched her with, her knuckles reddened and slightly torn open from the assault. You kept staring at both of them, petrified and unsure about what to do now. 

“I’ll kill you for that, you bitch,” your aggressor barked out angrily, “and your little friend will pay, too.”

You started trembling at the thought of her hand around your neck again. 

“I’ll look for a guard, Jolyne”, you eventually said, the fear barely hidden in your voice. You decided this was enough and someone had to put an end to this. 

“Stay here”, your cellmate replied authoritatively. For the first time, you were actually scared of her. “I’ll teach this woman that she needs to face consequences for her actions.”

With these words, Jolyne placed her fingers on your tormentor’s right ear. You wondered what she’d do next when a sudden yell disrupted your thoughts. The inmate’s cry was far worse than the previous one, emitting all of her pain and agony. You could hardly listen to it. 

Then, with great horror, you finally noticed it. Her ear shell laid on the floor, blood coating the cut off organ. Your gaze travelled to Jolyne, waiting for an explanation to your unvoiced question, though she kept her eyes fixated on the prisoner’s pain-ridden face. 

“You won’t touch Y/N or me ever again, did I make myself clear?”, she asked, her voice coated with barely concealed anger. Your bully only gave out a whimper, but the answer seemed to satisfy Jolyne. “Good. Now, if you see any guards, you keep our names out of your mouth, unless you want to lose another body part.”

The following weeks, Jolyne had become overly protective. She clung to you like a lost child, afraid that you’d be hurt or threatened again without her presence. You didn’t know if you should be grateful or terrified for her protection. 

You’d asked her how she’d been able to cut that one prisoner’s ear off, but her explanation had been more confusing than enlightening. She’d talked about a Stand ability and how only so-called Stand users could see and wield it, but nothing made sense to you. You started to believe she’d just lost her mind. 

Jolyne had also introduced you to her friend group. Ermes and Foo Fighters seemed nice enough, though they behaved in the same weird manner as your cellmate did. You felt awkward in their presence, not knowing why you were even there in the first place. 

In the end, you decided to be thankful. With Jolyne and her friends by your side, no one bullied you anymore. And if your peace meant to spend some time with your cellmate, that was a small price to pay, right? 

~

You didn’t notice the pair of chartreuse eyes observing every bit of your sleeping form. You never did. 

Jolyne had been looking at you for many nights. This time, it wasn’t an exception. She tentatively brushed her hand over your cheek, marvelling at your slight reaction as you furrowed your brows at the touch. 

“You’re really cute Y/N, do you know that?”, she whispered to you. Of course you were unable to answer. 

Jolyne had been unusually shy around you. She was well aware of the fact that after her act of violence, you felt uncomfortable around her, possibly even scared. She tried so so hard to make you see that she was only protecting you! In fact, the young woman wondered how you could have even survived in Green Dolphin before her arrival. 

She had a hard time picturing your life without her in it. At first, she’d been furious and crushed at the revelation that her ex-boyfriend had purposefully framed her for a crime she hadn’t committed. She had loved Romeo, so naturally, her heart had been broken. 

But then, you entered her life. She saw now why she needed to be here. Who else could protect you, love you, like Jolyne? You were everything she had ever wanted. 

Lovingly, she placed a small kiss on your cheek. You stirred slightly from the feathery peck. Nevertheless, you continued your slumber. Jolyne wished she could touch you more deliberately, more intensely. She’d grown tired of this little hiding game. The prisoner didn’t want to secretly let your brush run through her hair anymore, imagining it were your fingers instead or coo at you when you were sleeping. No, she wanted to feel you, to be touched and loved by you. 

Sure, you might feel uncomfortable around her, but that was only because you didn’t see how much she cherished you. Maybe it was time to be bolder around you. 

~ 

“Hey Y/N, could you give me my toothbrush, please?”

“Sure”, you replied casually as you handed the desired object over to her. 

“Thanks, you truly are the sweetest.”

Your face heated up at her flirtatious tone. “She definitely didn’t mean it in that way”, you thought to calm your nerves. 

“You still don’t want to join me showering? I’d hate for you to get attacked again”, your cellmate asked you, concern swinging in her voice. 

“I’m good,” you mumbled, “I’ll just go next morning. And I doubt anyone’s gonna threaten me again after your lesson.” The thought of Jolyne mutilating another inmate terrified you, no matter how much your former aggressor deserved it. 

“Come on, you’re just afraid to see me naked,” Jolyne teased while giving you a toothy grin, “it’s alright, you can tell me. I don’t mind.” 

You didn’t think you could get more flustered. “That’s not it!”, you countered hastily, “I mean not that you're not a beautiful woman or anything, it’s just that…”

Jolyne stopped listening and straightened her back. You thought she was beautiful? Was this finally the moment she’d been waiting for? A dreamy expression marked her bright eyes. 

“You think we could be a thing?”, Jolyne interjected your rambling.

“What?!”, you stuttered, unsure if you heard her correctly. 

“I mean, I do really like you.” Suddenly, she stood up from her bed and moved over to you. You stared at her big-eyed, still not knowing what was going on. A hand came resting on your cheek as her gaze was locked on you. “Who am I kidding? I’m totally in love with you.” She softly traced her fingers over your skin, sending a chill down your spine. 

“Jolyne”, you whispered quietly. You had no clue how to handle the situation, images of her brutal side flashing up in your mind again. You gulped harshly. “I didn’t know you felt this way, I thought we were friends.”

“We are friends,” the young woman retorted, “we could just be more, you know?” Jolyne leaned into you, closing the space between you, as her lips landed on yours. She kissed you with gentleness and care, as if you were made of glass. When you felt her teeth slightly tugging at your bottom lip, begging for more, you eventually snapped out of your surprise and pushed her away from you. 

“What was that?”, you asked her out of breath, unable to conceal your anger. 

“I’ve kissed you, silly.”

“I’ve just told you that I’m not interested in a relationship!”

Ah yes. That must have been when Jolyne had blended you out in favour of marvelling at your compliment. 

“I think you should think about that again”, your cellmate replied, a dark edge manifesting in her voice. 

“And why is that? Do you want to cut my ear off too?”, you asked, your iritateness making you feel reckless. 

Jolyne huffed at your comment. She did that for you! 

“At least you could be grateful for what I did,” she spit out, “but no, I’d never hurt you. I can’t guarantee the same thing about the other inmates though.”

You immediately caught onto the threat. Your anger easily transformed into fear again as you realised what impact your words had on the woman in front of you. When Jolyne noticed you wouldn’t counter, she put her hand on your body again, this time deciding to let it travel up and down your arm. 

“If you keep saying mean things to me,” she said, her voice still sounding menacing despite her gentle hand movement, “I might just not talk to you anymore. Once the others see that we’re not hanging out anymore, they’ll just change their mind and choose you as their target again. And what do you do without my protection? You don’t want to be their punching bag again, do you, hm?” 

“No”, you managed to utter silently, eyes cast onto the floor. 

“Look sweetheart, I can make an exception for today. I’ll forget your behaviour and you reciprocate, right? Unless you want to go back to your initial position.”

“No!”, you answered a bit too fast, your eyes looking at her face again. You could only imagine what the inmate with the mutilated ear would do to you… “I’ll be good, I promise.”

Jolyne took hold of chin, ensuring that your eyes were still trained at her. Then, she kissed you again. Despite your feelings, you gave in, much to her pleasure. When she eventually removed her lips from yours, she shot you another love-struck gaze. 

You knew your life in Green Dolphin had been shitty before Jolyne, but now you only felt what it meant to be truly imprisoned. 

“I’m glad to hear that, honey,” the young woman said with a bedazzling smile on her face, “I’d suggest we finally take a shower, after all I can’t wait to see everything of my darling.” 

Her grin gained a sinister note. 

“And we’ll see how the night goes after that.”

#JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken #stone ocean #yandere jolyne #yandere jolyne x reader #yandere x reader #tw: yandere #tw: threats #tw: toxic relationship #tw: noncon kiss #tw: slight gore #tw: ear mutilation #tw: bullying #tw: prison #tw: insults #tw: violence #minors dni

[beepboop358]

A Prom in S4 Theory & Music Coding Predictions

Some leaked set pics indicate that there MAY BE a junior/senior prom at Hawkins High, which they are calling the "Lover's Ball". It's unclear if this prom will be included on screen, or if it will just be mentioned as an event coming up at Hawkins High because this flyer could just extra set decor. Regardless if the prom happens on screen or not, there will probably be some tension about 'who's asking who' to the prom that we will see in s4. Given that this picture was just leaked a few weeks ago, it probably falls closer to the end of the season sequentially.

Having a big school dance in s4 is suspiciously close to how they had the Snowball scene in s2. This would certainly follow the even/odd season patterns, (and actually add to the list of the patterns), which kind of makes me think we will see this prom on screen, or at the very least it will be mentioned in the course of the season.

The Duffer Brothers love Steven King and reference his work and especially 'IT' a lot in the show, but they haven't done anything with Carrie yet so maybe we will get a Carrie moment this season at the prom...

Carrie was on the video store fridays movie inspiration board for ST4.

At the "Lover's Ball", there will be definitely be some music coding relating to Byler. Since music coding is kind of a key thing in the show, I've been rifling through 80's songs to try and find some that may fit with s4's themes/character storylines (and I may do a seperate post about that later), but for this post I'm just gonna focus on what they might use at the prom for relating to Byler.

Since the season is most likely going to take place in 1986, I only selected songs that had a compatible release year so it would be historically accurate. (these songs would also be great for a byler playlist!)

Some strong contenders for the songs that might play at the prom to reference Mike and Will's relationship could be:

"True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper (1986)

This song is honestly too good of an option for them not to use. I'm reallllyyy crossing my fingers for this one.

It's hard to take courage In a world full of people You can lose sight of it all And the darkness inside you Can make you feel so small

"And I see your true colors Shining through I see your true colors And that's why I love you So don't be afraid (don't be afraid) To let them show your true colors True colors are beautiful (you're beautiful, oh) Like a rainbow Oh oh oh oh oh like a rainbow"

If this world makes you crazy And you've taken all you can bear You call me up Because you know I'll be there

"Heaven" by Bryan Adams (1984)

This first verse is literally just the story of Byler... 😭 The rest of the song applies but that verse verse is just sooooo accurate. (I'm crossing my fingers for this one too)

"Oh thinkin' about all our younger years There was only you and me We were young and wild and free Now nothing can take you away from me We've been down that road before But that's over now You keep me comin' back for more

Baby you're all that I want When you're lyin' here in my arms I'm findin' it hard to believe We're in heaven And love is all that I need And I found it there in your heart Isn't too hard to see We're in heaven

Oh once in your life you find someone Who will turn your world around Bring you up when you're feelin' down Yeah nothin' can change what you mean to me Oh there's lots that I could say But just hold me now 'Cause our love will light the way"

"Take My Breath Away" by Berlin (1986)

This song is on Will's Spotify playlist, and I thought it could also be used at the prom since it's a romantic song. I see it as an 'entrance to the prom' moment song, almost like a 'first look' - like the Mike and El moment at the snowball when she first walks in, but with Mike and Will this time. I think the lyrics clearly hint to this kind of 'first look' moment as well.

"Watchin' every motion in my foolish lover's game On this endless ocean, finally lovers know no shame Turning and returning to some secret place inside Watchin' in slow motion as you turn around and say...take my breath away"

Watchin' every motion in this foolish lover's game Haunted by the notion, somewhere there's a love in flames Turning and returning to some secret place inside Watchin' in slow motion as you turn my way and say...take my breath away"

"In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins (1981)

This song was originally meant to be included in the snowball scene from s2, but it ultimately was not used and "Every Breath You Take" was used for this scene instead. Since it was intended to be a part of the s2 dance, that's why I think it may be used at the prom this season. (you can read the scripts on 8flix)

——— I forgot to include this explanation originally BUT, I think this song might be used to show some anger/resentment between the two, and to show a decent amount of tension, depending on their development this season. Like maybe Mike is kind of leading Will on in private by continuing to initiate intimate scenes between them, but in public Mike is still trying to put on his “straight boy act” and kind of being a jackass about it, and this song could be used to show the tension between them that has caused.

"And I've been waiting for this moment, for all my life, (Oh lord)

Well, I was there and I saw what you did I saw it with my own two eyes So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been It's all been a pack of lies.

Well I remember, I remember don't worry How could I ever forget It's the first time, the last time we ever met But I know the reason why you keep this silence up

No you don't fool me The hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows It's no stranger to you and me"

"In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel (1986)

Some of the lyrics in this song just SCREAMS byler, just look at the 1st, 2nd and 4th paragraphs. I would be suprised if they didn't use this song in either s4/s5.

Love, I get so lost sometimes Days pass and this emptiness fills my heart When I want to run away I drive off in my car But whichever way I go I come back to the place you are

All my instincts, they return The grand facade, so soon will burn Without a noise, without my pride I reach out from the inside

In your eyes The light, the heat (in your eyes) I am complete (in your eyes) I see the doorway (in your eyes) To a thousand churches (in your eyes) The resolution (in your eyes) Of all the fruitless searches (in your eyes)

Love, I don't like to see so much pain So much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away I get so tired working so hard for our survival I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive

"Heroes" by David Bowie (1975)

David Bowie was bisexual. A cover of his song “Heroes” is used in the show twice already, sung by Peter Gabriel. The song plays when they pull Will's fake body out of the water in season one and Mike cries in his Mom's arms, with some very queer-coded lyrics in the background, and after Hopper's letter in s3 (which is very Byler-centric)

"I will be king. And you, you will be queen 'Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact. Yes, we're lovers, and that is that. Though nothing will keep us together. We could steal time just for one day We can be heroes forever and ever. What d'you say? I, I wish I could swim, like dolphins, like dolphins could swim I, I can remember (I remember) Standing by the wall (By the wall) And the guns shot above our heads (Over our heads) And we kissed as though nothing could fall (Nothing could fall) And the shame was on the other side. Oh, we can beat them forever and ever. Then we could be heroes just for one day We're nothing, and nothing will help us Maybe we're lying, then you better not stay But we could be safer just for one day"

I just thought the above songs might be some highly likely possibilities given that they fit the year of the s4 and also make references to not only love, but the idea of hiding, pain, shame, longing, etc., and can make some (partially stretching here) references to other things in the show such as:

RAINBOWS and TRUE COLORS, SHINING THROUGH (rainbows imagery is always associated with Mike & Will in the show and a is symbol of lgbtq+ pride, True Colors shining through = who you really are on the inside finally coming out)

IF THIS WORLD MAKES YOU CRAZY ("crazy together", "only love makes you that crazy" and references the "world" motif in the show)

YOUNGER YEARS, ONLY YOU AND ME, YOUNG, WILD AND FREE (references "not wanting things to change" and wanting "to make things go how they were" part in Hopper's letter, and the "But we're not kids anymore" comment during the Byler fight)

ENDLESS OCEAN and SWIM, LIKE DOLPHINS (references water's significance in the show)

FLAMES (Will in front of the burning car in s4 teaser?)

LIES and LYING (Mike lying to El about how he feels)

INSTINCTS RETURNING, FACADES BURNING, WITHOUT MY PRIDE, I REACH OUT FROM THE INSIDE (Mike's feelings for Will are his instincts, the facade is the act he put on in s3 to seem straight, burning could reference Will & fire, and I think the last 2 lines of that 2nd verse reference vulnerability- perhaps in an apology/confession)

I GET SO LOST (confusion about his sexuality, feeling lost without the other) and SO MUCH WASTED TIME (known each other since kindergarten but were unaware the other felt the same way/was dealing with same things, they could have been even closer)

KINGS and QUEENS (the d&d game mike wrote where he has king Tristan give him a medal in s1)

STEALING TIME (references "turning back the clock, to make things go how they were" part in Hopper's letter and the time theme in s4 and time is central to the s4 plot)

AND WE KISS - AND THE SHAME (references the shame they both feel about being gay since it was so stigmatized in the 80's)

Byler @ Prom Possibilities:

If Mike and Will did dance together at the prom, they will probably get bullied because they live in a small conservative town. They will probably either run out, upset, or Eleven will step in to protect them which could lead to the Carrie moment.

Or Mike and Will will not dance together in the actual dance room, but instead sneak off to somewhere else in the school and have a private Byler dance moment where they can't be teased and it's just them together.

OR Mike and Will are still acting weird at this point in the season because neither of them is communicating what needs to be said out of fear, or one of them has confessed or done something to indicate how they feel, but the other hasn’t so everything is weird between them. There would be lots of tension from this and we would get lots of longing looks and adoring moments between the two of them from the sidelines. (I think this one is the most likely)

#byler #byeler #st4 bts pics #st4 spoilers #st4 leak #byler rights #byler is real #byler obsessed #byler is canon #byler theory #byler proof #byler is endgame #will byers #mike wheeler #will byers is gay #mike wheeler is gay #mike x will #will x mike #eleven #stranger things #stranger things 4 #stranger things four #stranger things season 4 #stranger things season four #st4 #st4 theory #byler headcanon #byler playlist #st s4 prom theory #st4 speculation

[jaedreaminn]

On The Bridge

Summary

The water under the bridge was luring but no as much as the boy on the bridge.

Or maybe you were just convincing yourself you liked the water because you hadn't met the boy yet...

Pairings: Renjun x fem!reader

Characters: Renjun, Doyoung «mentioned» Chenle, Taeyong.

About: Angst, recovery, comfort, semicolon, light humour, sad, Bitter-Sweet, open ending.

Word Count: 4.6k

WARNINGS

Mentions of suicide! Attempt at suicide! (Nothing graphic) Read with caution it gets heavy.

Toxic family relations.

Mentioned bullying.

Reader suffers from depression.

You sat on the thick railing of the bridge, legs dangling high above the moon lit waters. It was truly a beautiful and calming site, so peaceful and pure, the complete opposite of your thoughts.

Up on this bridge you were lost in a trance, trapped in a void of your own thoughts that were empty but at the same time raging.

You failed to notice a presence besides you so you were quite startled when a voice spoke asking you, "Why are you here?"

You blinked once at the pretty who sat next to you before calmly answering him, "To watch the water."

"You're not here to....umm..."

"Join the water?" You asked a small teasing smile creeping on you face and the boy seemed to curl into himself.

"Y-yea that" he stuttered.

"Yea I'm here to join the water." You said and he frowned, "But not today. I'll do that the moment my birthday ends" you said with a smile and he looked at you in awe.

"Leave this world a day after I arrived, won't that be cool?" You asked and he hesitated before nodding.

"It would be cool..." He said slowly sitting up straight.

"So you're here to jump too?" You asked, your words too bold and unfiltered for him.

"Oh- umm I, Y-yea" he stuttered, panicking and you smiled softly again.

"I don't think you will. You seem too cowardly to actually jump...I mean you couldn't even properly ask me if I was going to jump" you said with a shrug while the boy with blond hair (you just noticed) slowly calmed down.

"I am." He said with a small nod, "But I wasn't always scared it's just...." He trailed, biting his lip not sure whether to tell you or not.

"Just what?" you asked eyes innocently curiously, he held his breath for a minute contemplating whether to tell you or not and then sighed, "I used to sneak out and come here every night but every time my younger brother would know I was gone and would always follow me here" he said eyes glistening and you felt entrapped in his sullen gaze.

"And we'd sit here on this bridge every night talking about anything and everything. He was bubbly and carefree but always held onto my hand tightly as if he knew I would jump if he let go. But I could never tell if he knew or not because the only thing that was bluntly visible on his face was his million dollar smile." the boy said with a small twinkle in his eye.

"Where is he now?" You asked and a sad smile made its way to the boy’s soft features.

"He's shining as the brightest star in the sky" he replied, pointing up at no particular star.

"He was sick. Born a sick child, I always knew he was going to go early." the boy said and you felt sorry for him, the way he smiled sadly to himself holding the weight of losing a loved on his lean shoulders.

"I'm so"

"No don't say sorry, he lived a good life" he cut you off and for a few minutes the two of you just sat on the bridge silently, two broken souls.

"What's your name?" You finally asked and he looked hesitant before he spoke, "Huang Renjun"

"Hi Renjun I'm Kim y/n" you said offering him a smile with an enthusiastic wave.

"Hi y/n" he said with a small laugh at your gesture, which he found cute.

"So why do you still come here Renjun?" You asked and Renjun stilled, breathing slowly he spoke "I want to jump. I can't handle life anymore but every time it feels like someone's holding onto my arm..." He trailed off and you felt your heart sink, he lived only because of the memory of his brother.

"Why are you here y/n?" He asked, changing the topic.

"Me? Well...I recently shifted here with my parents. My brother stayed back but it's not like he lived with us. I hated my old school and my entire experience there. It scared me to the point I have an anxiety attack at the thought of going to any school so I'm being home schooled now. Home school isn't better though considering I'm stuck at home with the constant yelling. I'm invisible now almost as if I was never supposed to exist so that's what I'm here to do. To not exist." you said in one go biting your lip nervously at the thought of over sharing but Renjun smiled at you and you felt your nervous heartbeat calm down. You also noticed that he really was a beautiful boy because one small smile on his face looked so captivating to you.

"That's sad... I wish you didn't feel that way" he said earnestly and you felt something close to genuine happiness at that statement for a brief second.

"And I wish I was never born...it's not fair to me" you said with a sigh eyes fixed on the water again. Jumping into it and being lost in its current seemed like the most peaceful and joyful thing in the world to you. The coldness of the water and the darkness of the night wrapped around you like a blanket as you finally let go. It sounded perfect.

"What if you find a reason to live?" Renjun asked interrupting your thoughts and you frowned. There wasn't a reason, there never was going to be and even if there was one reason to live there were thousand other reasons to leave.

"What was your brother's name?" You asked changing the topic. Renjun smiled and simply answered, "Zhong Chenle" without prying any further.

And so you two bonded talking about anything and everything or nothing at all. And every night, like routine you went to the bridge and he was there. And that's how you made your first and probably your last friend.

It was on one of the more cheerful nights when Renjun was animatedly telling you about his baby brothers dolphin laugh and about how contagious it was that it had delayed his cake cutting by fifteen minutes because he couldn't stop laughing that you told Renjun when your birthday was.

"In two weeks!" Renjun exclaimed shocked, a frown plastered on his face.

"Yes in two weeks" you repeated with a small giggle at how cute his flustered self looked.

"But that's so soon" he subconsciously pouted rather cutely.

"Want to join me?" You asked even though you knew his answer.

"I would if I wasn't a coward" Renjun said with a frown and held your hand. "I'll miss you"

"At least someone will" you said with a dead laugh and Renjun frowned, for some reason he was convinced people knew you existed. And maybe they knew but if you didn't want to live it was your choice not theirs.

"My brother's in town and we used to be so close now it's only awkward small talk as if he hates talking to me" you said with a sarcastic laugh but it only sounded like a strangled cry and Renjun put a comforting hand on your shoulder not saying anything.

"And my parents...well they don't talk they yell" you scoffed, "They probably haven't even noticed I live with them by how occupied they are trying to hurt each other"

"And I never had any friends and I wouldn't call the people at my old school my friends...ever. They broke me and said that's just how they are or that I'm being dramatic. It was always just me. I'm always stuck outside as if I was never meant to be and maybe I'm not..." You said a sob escaping your lips after your outed your demons and Renjuns heart broke as he pulled you towards him and hugged you as you silently sniffed.

"Don’t worry you won't go alone, I'll come and say goodbye to you" he whispered in your ear and a small smile made its way to your face, glad that he understood you.

"I'd try to stop you but I know it's stupid to try to stop you when I myself want to jump so bad" he said as he tightened his hold around you and you lay your head on his chest. Renjun wasn't cold like the waters were but being in his embrace still brought you peace.

"How come you're waiting till after your birthday?" He asked you and a small smile made its way to your face, finally a question you wanted to answer. "Because that's the one day the yelling stops and everyone pretends like everything is fine and the one day they notice me. It's the one day I'm everyone's favourite and I want their last memory of me to be a happy one" you said, recollecting those rare happy memories as you listened to Renjuns heartbeat.

"I'll send you away happy too so you'd have one last happy memory too" he said resting his head on yours.

He was so warm but you didn't hate it as much as you did and suddenly the water looked too cold.

And so two weeks started to go by and your nights with Renjun got weirder and weirder, he would either be really talkative or extremely quiet. And not the comfortable quite you were used to, not when everything about his quite presence screamed THINKING LOUDLY. But it didn't bother you for too long.

The day of your birthday went as you predicted. Everyone was smiling and suddenly you were the center of everyone's attention. With fake smiles and happiness and peace that wouldn't last. At least their last memory of you was you smiling right? Maybe they won't feel guilty for too long because you were never supposed to exist. But at the same time you wanted them to hurt the way you did, to regret not being able to save you.

The day went by cheerful and night came, you kissed your parents good night and hugged your brother properly for the first time after he returned. You were pretty sure you shocked him a bit but it was your last good bye. You needed it. He was the one you cared for the most in your family.

Once night fell and you were sure everyone was too tired to care you creeped out towards the bridge walking there quickly in anticipation of Renjuns good bye so you frowned when you realised he wasn't there.

You looked at your phone, 11:45.

He still had fifteen minutes to arrive maybe he'd say goodbye to you then.

But it was soon 11:59 and no one had come onto the bridge other than a stray cat.

You frowned looking at the screen on your phone as tears made its way to your eyes, you were always meant to be die unnoticed and alone.

The numbers on the clock changed from 11:59 to 12:00 and you placed it down on the railing next to you as you leaned over to look at the water.

Stupid Renjun, his warmth made the cold water which you loved before seem too cold. But at least it was dark.

You placed your arms on both sides of the railings and gave yourself a slight push ready to slip and fall off but just then a hand clasped onto your arm and you turned around to look at a red faced Renjun.

"M-my brother used to...” he panted, out of breath and you looked at his pleading eyes worried. “He used to hold onto me and now I'm going to hold onto you" he said, breathing heavily from his run here.

"B-but you said you understood" you yelled anger bubbling inside of you, a frown making its way to your face, how could he stop you just because he was scared.

"I didn't understand two shits." He said sternly, standing up straight. "At first you inspired me and I thought that I'd finally have to courage to jump if I do it with you but then I didn't want to see you go....I already saw Chenle go without being able to do anything for my baby brother who wanted to live and here I was letting you go and thinking of taking my life, a life which Chenle could have never had. What an insult it would have been to his death if his brother who wasn't forced to die took his own life after his baby brother fought so much to live? And you! How could I just sit by and watch you take your life" he yelled as tears threatened to fall.

"So I decided not to come today but I care too much to not show up. So the only thing I can do right now is hold onto your arm to make sure you won't jump while talking about anything and everything until you forget about wanting to jump. Just like Chenle did for me." Renjun said hurriedly and desperately, face turning red and fresh tears falling out of his shining, determined eyes and you felt your heart sink as realisation of how real this situation was. His goal was to talk to you until you forgot why you were here but you just couldn't.

"B-but" you started to reason and Renjun shook his head. "No I'm holding onto you" he said, red eyes shining with a passion to keep you alive and you almost felt touched. Almost. This was supposed to be your escape but now one small boy with the voice of an angle has got you questioning everything? His eyes pleaded with you and he rambled about something that fell deaf to your ears as you glanced at the waters. It looked too cold and suddenly death seemed a bit scarier than before.

You closed your eyes, taking in a deep breath and you let yourself die away in the darkness. As you pressed each emotion you felt way under an invisible weight of the darkness that comforted you, that excited you, that promised you eternal peace. Maybe the water was too cold but the darkness was pulling you in and all it would take was one little push to let it consume you.

But the darkness was snatched away from you as a sudden bright light blinded your vision, it was someone's torch from their phone but you couldn't see who was holding it and neither could Renjun as he squinted trying to not look directly into the light.

"Y/n?" A voice called out and your eyes widened, in recognition.

"D-Doyoung?"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" he yelled pocketing his phone and running to you, yanking you off the railing and onto the pavement of the bridge.

"Are you mad? Why would you do that! What would I do if I lost you? How could you just think of leaving like that!" He yelled at you, tears shamelessly falling out of his eyes. You noticed he looked defeated but you didn't understand why.

"I-I’m sorry" you mumbled feeling obligated to apologise, looking away biting onto you lip hard, more embarrassed than scared that he caught you.

What you didn't know Doyoung’s mind was a whirlwind of regrets and flashbacks. Of hatred for himself for not noticing sooner for not coming to your aid sooner.

For how noisy his mind was to you it was silent. Too silent. He didn't say anything and now you were scared. Scared of what would happen, scared because no matter how much you tried to predict the outcome your mind remained blank.

"Ohhh what would I do if I lost you" he finally said breaking the silence and holding onto you so tight you were surprised none of your bones broke.

"I'm sorry." He broke into a sob, "I'm sorry I didn't notice sooner. I'm sorry I didn't take you away from there with me, I'm sorry I didn’t protect you at school. I'm so sorry I couldn't do more. But please don't do this y/n" he pleaded with a broken hopeless voice holding onto you tighter, "You're my baby sister and I won't be able to live with myself if I lost you" he sobbed into your hair holding you close to him and for the first time you felt fear, fear of what would happen if you left Doyoung behind.

"I should have protected you and should have just taken you with me not waited until I could prove to our parents I had money oh god" he continued to cry and it hurt your heart, how could you forget your brother's promise to take you away and protect you and how could you forget your promise to love with him. Live with him. You couldn't hold back either, clinging onto him for life as you cried. All the pain inside you finally breaking lose as you sobbed and sobbed in your brother's arms. And suddenly all the emotions that the darkness hid were out in the open and you felt every emotion all at once and it wasn't a burden like you expected but instead freeing.

The pain from the constant bullying, the neglect, having to deal with your parents fighting and then your brother moving out. You were alone and scared and all the emotions you bottled up came pouring out all at once. You felt faint and light headed but you couldn't stop crying your soul out.

You weren't brave but a coward just leaving without really putting up a fight. You felt yourself shift as Doyoung who had stopped crying slowly sat down with you still held tightly in his arms.

You sat on the cold road, head rested on your brother's chest as you listened to his heartbeat and he caressed you head as your sobs slowly died down. You were tired and might have fallen asleep there if it wasn't for your brother's cold voice startling you back into consciousness.

"Who are you?" your brother's asked tone so cold you would have been scared to be on the receiving end of it and that's when you realised- Renjun!

"Oh I'm her.... Friend?" Renjun questioned more than answered and you smiled at the flustered boy as your brother's eyes critically scanned him.

"He's Renjun" you said pulling away from your brother's embrace deciding to end the trembling boys suffering, "He was brave enough to not join me and even braver to stop me" you said smiling at the said brave boy (who was currently trembling under Doyoungs gaze). Doyoung gave Renjun a curt nod and got up to thank him.

You tried your best to hold in your laughter as you watched them awkwardly shake hands. It was definitely a start of a very awkward relationship.

...

You blinked your eyes open, your head was killing you and you felt like you woke up from a drug induced dream. Last night was all messed up for you and you weren't sure if it was real.

You lay there on your bed feeling drained to the core and empty inside. You felt awful. Like you shouldn't have woken up today morning, yet some part of you was secretly glad.

Your thoughts were interrupted by Doyoung who barged into you room and opened your curtains filling the room with bright light, you squinted, your eyes hurting at the sudden surplus of light but for the first time you were glad it was bright rather than dark as you saw your brother standing against the light, smiling at you.

"Get dressed Renjun should be here soon" he said and marched out of your room before you could react. You forced yourself to sit up, brain still not processing a word he had said.

It was a challenge getting ready, especially since all you wanted to do today was lay in bed but you got ready and walked to the kitchen where Doyoung placed a fresh plate of pancakes in front of you.

You smiled at him, sitting yourself down and digging into your breakfast when you stopped and realised how quite it was

"Ummm Doyoung where are..." You started to ask but Doyoung cut you off, "It's like you forgot last night." He scoffed but there was a very obvious smile on his face as if he was happy. You couldn't understand why he was so happy when all you felt was empty and awful after last night.

"They have gone for couples counselling but honestly I think it'll end in a divorce" Doyoung said it so casually that you sat there with your fork hovering in front of your mouth shocked. "Don’t be so surprised. I know it sucks but I'm old enough to take care of you and I'm taking you away with me this time. Let them sort out their own problems and don’t you dare blame yourself for their failed marriage okay." He said sternly walking towards you and feeding you the pancake himself since you just sat there frozen. "And I know they're kind of messed up but they do love us and they have taken care of us, maybe not emotionally but in...other ways" he said placing a hand on your head and you nodded, dumbfounded. You wanted to say something but didn't know what to say or ask so you just sat there watching him, confused. He smiled at that. Everything was happening so quickly it was still taking you time to process it especially after last nights... whirlwind of emotions.

"You can be mad at them y/n. You can be mad at me. You can be mad at whoever okay. Feel things again." He said placing a soft kiss on your forehead as he walked to answer the door.

When did the doorbell ring?

"Oh Renjun you're here!" You heard him happily exclaim and walk back into the kitchen, followed by a shy Renjun. You looked at Renjun confused but he only gave you a shy smile.

"What's going on?" You asked after you swallowed the food that was in your mouth.

"I'm taking you two for therapy" he said so casually as if he didn't forget to mention that to you and by the looks of it he forgot to tell Renjun too.

"But my parents..."

"Renjun I spoke to them and they agreed to it" Doyoung said interrupting Renjun who seemed to have trouble believing Doyoung as he looked at him accusingly.

"Okay I fought with them and they agreed. Plus they can't stop me all the way from China if you consent to this can they?" Doyoung asked with a smug grin and Renjun looked at him in disbelief.

"What why?" You asked still confused "when did all this happen?"

"I got it all arranged last night." Doyoung casually said again as if he didn't forget to tell the two of you all of this and turned to Renjun, "Would you like some pancakes too?"

Renjun flushed in embarrassment at Doyoungs gaze and you frowned.

"But why are you suddenly so invested in all this" you asked, your tone sounding colder than you intended it to be. You regretted your words when you saw hurt flash through Doyoung’s eyes for a second.

Doyoung’s gave you a wary smile before he spoke, "When I left three years ago I wasn't in a good place. But I met good people and I got help. The three years I avoided coming home was because I took that time to heal. And I feel selfish for leaving you but I hope you'll one day understand that I needed to be stronger to take care of you. So that's what I'm doing now."

"Why are you taking me too then?" Renjun asked, eyes downcast, looking disappointed. What you didn't know was that he was disappointed. Someone else was going to take the burden of taking care of him and he didn't like that. He didn't like being a burden. He burdened his parents so much that they left him and now the same thing was going to happen with the only nice people he knew. He was beyond disappointed.

"Because you need help. I have a friend in uni, his name is Lee Taeyong." A small smile made its way to Doyoung’s face, "He helped me out in ways no one else would. He took care of me and he made sure I was okay, he genuinely cared for me even though I wasn't very nice to him. At first I found him annoying but now he's one of the most important people in my life and I don't think I would ever be able to live without him, don't tell him that though. But the thing is he came to me and helped me I didn't go to him, so now I'm going to help you no matter how much you feel like you don't deserve it Renjun. No matter how annoying you think I am." Doyoung said, stubbornness shining in his eyes and Renjun stood there shocked and taken back.

"I also knew your brother" Doyoung said shocking Renjun for the second time in the past five minutes, "He was a child prodigy at SM University, musical talents unlike any other, he was so young and so week but so jovial. His parents loomed over him taking praises given to the kid as their own but that young boy couldn't care less about them. The only thing he would talk about was his brother waiting at home for him, his brother that took care of him, who played with him, who protected him from the monsters in the closet. He spoke about his brother that held his hand when his heart hurt. He spoke about how when he was sick the medicines could never put him to sleep the way his brothers voice would." Tears made their way to Renjuns eyes as memories of everything Doyoung had mentioned came flooding into his mind but he held them back, too stubborn to let them fall.

"Every time he came he would tell us about how handsome his brother was and how talented his brother was. He would brag about how he wanted to spend his whole life being this faceless boys little brother." Renjun sniffed, roughly wiping away his tears before they could leave his eyes as he looked at Doyoung who continued to speak. "I owe it to him, a small kid that really gave me a different view and perspective on life to take care of this amazing brother" Doyoung finished speaking and Renjun broke into a sob, turning away and hiding his face. You got up from where you were seated and walked to him, wrapping your arms around his shoulder from behind, hugging him. Your heart broke every time he shook because of a sob. And that's when you knew, you knew you didn't want to continue like this. This beautiful boy deserved a happy life and so did you. You may feel like shit right now but you were going to change that and you were going to help the blond headed boy who stopped you from taking your life genuinely smile too.

"It's going to be a long journey and I know the two of you feel like it would never get better but it will. And I'll be there for the both of you during that time" Doyoung said sincerely and you looked at Renjun who looked at you through teary but hopeful eyes. You brought your hand up to Renjuns face, wiping a tear away as you felt his fingers interlock with your free hand and smiled. He smiled back at you, eyes still shining with fresh tears and you looked at Doyoung who stood at the side with an unreadable expression (but you could make out the hint of pride on his face) and you gave him a single, sharp nod. "We're going to get better." You looked at Renjun, "We're going to move forward"

"We'll take baby steps"

This is the first time I've written something so heavy so feedback would really be appreciated.

Let me know about your thoughts on this story.

It took a long while to come to a final story line/plot and even longer for me to want to post this.

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