#I'm excited for sapling baby

[pushing500]

Against all odds, asexual Buckeye and reduced-fertility-gene Magic Man have managed to make a baby! However, because Buckeye is Animakin, she needs to plant the baby in soil... And there is no soil in the ocular forest where Monster's Basin is. Only red sand and red dirt and other nasty red stuff, which apparently doesn't count.

So, we have unexpectedly had to up and move in order to give this new baby the best possible chance of survival! We were hoping to be able to prepare a bit more first, but desperate times call for desperate measures. We'll leave everything behind for the sake of one of our own if we must.

However, moving means it's time for another (rather rushed, I'm afraid) colony tour! Presenting: Monster's Basin!!

Here's the whole thing from above. If I had to describe it in one word, I would say "red".

Here is the central room, the kitchen/dining/ritual room. Next to it, we have two bathrooms and our freezer. Magic Man is already packing some of our human leather kneel sheets, as you can see.

Some bedrooms: Top left is Vasso and Laursen's room, top right is Euclid and Socks' room, bottom left is Dire Wolf and Pro (and formerly Bella's) room, and bottom left is Magic Man, Buckeye, and Dopey the razorjack's bedroom.

We also have a small, utilitarian hospital.

Up above the bedrooms and the main room are our dinosaur museum (we can't go without a dinosaur museum) and our research laboratory. Also a better view of the freezer.

Our farms and a huge stack of red bricks that we'll never get to use.

Here's a nutrient-paste barn that we got from a prefab some traders sold us. Mostly so we could see what it was, but our animals seemed to appreciate it.

Bella's room that she was given when she grew up into an adult, the sauna, and Blackdragon, Duchess, and Night Stalker's room.

The wardrobe, the chemfuel room, the miscellaneous devices room, the hot spring, and the small place where we attempted to plant Buckeye's sapling child before we realised it didn't work in this biome.

Finally, our animal pen/archery range. We were very fond of the moose named All-Powerful (she fell out of the sky), but we'll probably release her into the wild (along with a self-tamed hare and three baby wolfchickens some traders gave us) to help us conserve food on our abrupt journey.

And that concludes the tour of Monster's Basin! I wonder where our caravan will take us. Hopefully, somewhere with plenty of fertile soil for a growing sapling child...

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[divine-misfortune]

Kinktober, day 1. High sex.

Pairing: Zephyr/Mountain/Phantom

Words: 1,100

Contains: Spit roasting, shotgunning, intox play (i mean obv), sort of objectification if you squint

Summary: Zephyr and Mountain share a blunt and a Phantom.

Starting off kinktober strong - huge shout out to @kroas-adtam for pulling this together I'm excited <33

Read on Ao3

Full.

Phantom felt full, fuller than he'd ever been. Even as his lungs screamed to swell and draw breath, devoid of oxygen or relief, their emptiness was a concern best kept at the back of his mind. 

Though as if sensing his lungs silent plea, Zephyr's lithe fingers drifted from their place on his waist. Skating along the curve of his spine as graceful as they'd ever moved, Phantom could feel the burning cry simmer to a subtle heat at best. Not entirely satiated but quieted for the moment. 

He moaned lowly, appreciative as he could manage around the girth of Mountain's cock stretching his jaw to its limit. With it sat right before the point it'd make him gag, dripping pre down his throat, Phantom couldn't offer up much more sound than that. Mountain's hand had abandoned his hair at some point, no longer guiding him, Phantom couldn't make himself move. His arms were barely keeping him upright. He didn't trust them to support much shift in weight but Zephyr did the work he couldn't. Every lazy thrust forward sent him nearly gagging around another inch of the earth ghoul.

Phantom blinked slowly, sluggishly, to clear the blur of tears away as he heard Mountain's lighter click uselessly. Only putting off sparks much to his chagrin. 

"Dew's never around when you need him." Mountain grumbled as the sparks finally caught, and behind him Zephyr laughed.

"You're the one too stubborn to buy a new lighter, sapling." They pointed out as their nails dug into his hip, tone bored enough it hardly sounded like they were balls deep in him. Something so unnaturally calm about them as they pistoned forward again, cock dragging against the most sensitive parts of his inner walls. Phantom made a weak muffled sound. "Don't tell me you're going to hog this joint too." 

"If you want me to share you just gotta ask baby." 

The earthy scent was strong and thick in the room, windows and doors shut tight, leaving the smoke with nowhere to go but straight to his head. Phantom hated admitting to being a lightweight but he had next to no tolerance, a single joints worth of secondhand smoke left him dizzy. He didn't know if he could blame the floaty sensation on the weed outright, the two older ghouls and their actions certainly weren't helping him keep to solid ground. The haze behind his eyes, while mostly artificial, was entirely their fault. He dared to suspect the smoke to be purposeful, a ploy to ease him from his typical shy demeanor. Inhibitions were easy to forget when they'd effectively hollowed him out, emptied out just to be filled again to their liking. 

Mountain inhaled deeply and settled an encouraging hand on the back of his head, and he did his best to let his jaw go slack like they'd taught him.  

"That's it bug…" He exhaled and scratched lightly at his scalp. Just when he thought his head couldn’t get fuzzier the mere semblance of praise sent him further. "Just breathe through your nose, know you can take it. Taken more of me before, haven't you?" Mountain chuckled, laughter low and rich as honey. 

"And he takes you so well...Don't you wisp?" Zephyr purred as they bottomed out. Skin to skin they spread his cheeks apart to watch the way his body clenched around them, groaning aloud. "Fuck you're still so tight, starting to think you don't want me to last."

Part of him doesn't. He selfishly wanted to feel the way their cock swells at the base, wanted them to tease him with the stretch of their knot before spilling hot and sticky inside of him. The idea alone makes his toes curl with excitement...But part of him does want it to last. Phantom had grown so accustomed to this state that his aching jaw was almost entirely forgotten. Masked behind a wall of bliss that ran vein deep, made his blood run hot and his muscle turn to puddy. Pliant barely described how he felt. Truly content to remain a shared toy between them, an afterthought if they wanted him to be, as long as he stayed stuffed full of cock he couldn't care less. 

Above him, the joint changed hands and Phantom sank further along Mountain's shaft. 

He could imagine the way Zephyr's lips closed around it, the red glow of the cherry as it burned away for them, pinched carefully between their fingers. He could also imagine the ruby tinged stare Mountain fixes them with, soft and nothing short of pure adoration, as well as the smile that surely split his face. He'd spent so long watching them watch each other. Fallen in love with how they loved one another, and how beautiful it was to love something and have it love you in return. 

Fingers tangled through the back of his hair and he briefly debated how sweaty his curls must have felt before he's pulled. Phantom mewls sadly as he's tugged off Mountain's cock, eyes glued to it as the earth ghoul takes to stroking himself. 

When did they swap the joint back?

Zephyr's other hand rested loose around the base of his throat while the other remained twisted in his hair. Seeing them, they're not as composed as they sounded, lip bitten red in an attempt to remain stoic. 

The angle is different. New. And lets them fuck into the part of him they'd yet to seemingly mold around the shape of their dick. One thrust had his mouth falling open, his head tipping back to their shoulder, and they smiled coyly.

Smoke spilled out from between their teeth before they moved to catch his lips. It's hardly a kiss, but Phantom melts into it all the same, stomach swooping low with desire. Licking both the shallow moan and smoke from their mouth made his cock twitch. It kicks despite the hours of neglect. Still stood at attention and dripping onto the sheets, he almost reached for it until they abandoned his lips abruptly. 

They pressed a warm, sweet kiss to his temple before they forced him back down to the mattress by the back of the neck. His head spun as he caught himself on his elbows. Mountain laughed again and cupped his jaw, lifting his face up to rub the wet head of his cock to his pink and swollen lips. 

Phantom glanced up to his wide crooked smile as he pressed back into the heat of his mouth, smoke trickling out as Mountain moved to fill him once more.

[easily-bullied]

alright updates. I texted them. things blew up. I was made to feel like my feelings exist to make the other person feel bad. that my having needs was unreasonable. and bigggg realization... that was a microcosm of the whole relationship. making myself as small as possible hoping that would be small enough and then it wasn't. real bad. a roller coaster. and I I was addicted to it. at least I have closure. at least I know that I can't and I won't go back. at least I know that they hurt me and I hurt me. at least I know I have the capacity to dilute myself still. that I can still go to that toxic well. I'm so fucking used to it. daddy issues. god.

so I move forward? god I'm desperate to be loved again though. like I have this need to have someone tell me I'm special. I was reading back what I wrote last time and it was both sad and enlightening. that girl was still so love sick. I'm sorry baby but that was a waste. not that I blame you. but I'm glad to see that lookin back in it feels like almost someone else. and it wasn't long ago or anything, just that door is firmly closed. by me. but hey girl in the past, they did miss you, they told me. and then they still couldn't prioritize your feelings in any way. same as always. me doing all the work for them. apologizing to myself for them, making excuses for them, limiting what I say for them. huh sounds like there might have been a reason you were so tired Momo.

god I'm loving writing again. mosa, don't forget this helps you. I forget every thought I have lol. when I record them and look at them again it's like oh RIGHT ya she figured that out. I need to give myself more credit.

a lot of people telling me that I have a life they're jealous lately. that's something to think about I guess. not to placate my depression or convince myself of something untrue, but to at least be grateful for the good things, the things I started to take for granted. a full social life, a found family, a great apartment, the perfect kitty, an identity that's growing and changing but there, firmly planted. I've been feeling like I'm not filled in lately, like I'm an outline. mosa give yourself grace. you're a sapling still. just planted. you still need extra water, you're still just making roots. but you're out of the soil, you're reaching for the sun, you're definitely visible and here. there's still lots to go and isn't that exciting? the tree you're becoming. the tree that you are, the seed that you were.

I hate that I'm going to have to just love myself. that that's the solution. god doesn't someone else wanna do that for me? can't I have someone be like oh wait you like vacuuming and I like loving you?! let's split the chores! oh well. more improvements needed I guess. never gonna be finished. always fighting my demons. guess I'm gaining exp (barf)

not me trying to focus on how at least I've fucked hotties all summer. like that's something I can hang my hat on. so stupid Mosa. well if I participate in hook up culture, I get to hook up with cuties. unfortunately I want to be WIFE. I am good at wife I think. apparently I'm good at hook ups too but thats less fulfilling. and I'm always trying to be good enough at hook up to become wife.

hey mosa, can I talk to you for a second. don't creep on ex's socials. bad idea. we've now felt bad again for 24 hours. stupid and you knew it. let's be stronger than that. let's brag about how strong we are. you deleted all that shit for a reason. let's forget about it. god mosa, you're a teenage girl at the end of the day. and it's cute but fair warning... those years suck. remember?? oh but I love so hard, oh but my feelings are so big. what a blessing. fuck me. seriously fuck me. I want a big feeling.

my new job is waking up and checking every dating app for new trans cuties and then swiping left on everyone and then being mad. it's GREAT for my mind. it's been so helpful. I feel so settled. I don't feel desperate and crazy AT ALL. can you settle down for one fucking second mosa? would it kill you to be alone?? you did it for 2 years, then after 4 months now you're like AAAAHHHGHH. pathetic.

you're not tho babes. it makes sense. we all want that. everyone you know wants that. and hilariously you're the one who had it most recently. why do you think you're never gonna find it? you're having the most luck! you're having the most sex! ingrate! (jk jk baby. you just got hurt bad.)

I should end this. but it's good to get down the big things. they hurt you. you're mad. you're moving on. it's their loss (classic bs) but you know they feel that too. how do I stop people from falling in love with me they said. and I know the answer, it's don't tell them you're falling in love too. that would help. minimize their own feelings, maximize mine. that fucking sucks. and meanwhile I did the opposite lmfao. I fucking suck. ok now go find love or else you'll have to die

[fizzingwizard]

Big sims update with infants is out, and early access for the new pack. I didn't watch early access vids except to see the build/buy. I don't like the tables/chairs in the pack, but I love most everything else (and that matters more to me because we have plenty tables and chairs :P).

These new items are my favs as shown in MsGryphi's vid, plus a couple things from lilsimsie's update vid.

WE HAVE A STANDING PIANO!!! I'm sooo happy. No more stacking endtables and merging them with the keyboard lol. Now we finally have an option between formal grand piano and that electronic keyboard. And look at the swatches soooo cool!

I'm also really loving the detail in the sink and bathtub. The quality has advanced a lot in recent packs. (to the point that it's actually made it difficult to even use base game/early pack items because they just look so bad by comparison.)

Also these tree wall decalls <3 I don't know how I'm gonna use them but I really want to. And the mushroom planter, the owl statue... so cute. Love this wall art because it looks like legit art! The black cat makes me think of the Le Chat Noir poster, and the one next to it makes me think of Alphonse Mucha. In another swatch there's a painting which reminds me of Hokusai's wave.

MsGryphi seemed confused by the "children's statues" (the rocketship and pirate bear). To me they definitely look like the way kids put everyday items together and use their imagination to turn them into something else. I really like these items, except for their being nonfuctioning, they really add reality to kid sims.

Again with the detail... look at this kitchen set!! I'm so in love with the stove in particular, I've been wanting a stove like that. The couch with the throw blanket is my favorite, the other one is not my style, but I do love the colors and the swatches, and I wanted to add it because you can see again just how much more detailed sims games are now. Instead of looking washed out and old, these couches look to me like someone really decorated them.

The smaller items I adore: so happy to have a toy box which fits in a more rustic home, and a new lantern!! It looks nicer than the other lanterns so I'm sure I'll use it everywhere. Love the owl backpack too.

The final four detail items I will definitely use all the time. Love the shadows from the trellis and the gazebo. The rock-line planter will be a great shortcut instead of painstakingly lining things with rocks myself lol. And I love the little sapling growing out of the stump! What a nice touch!

These crafts... as a pre-k teacher, I have made every single one x'D hahaha. And I want this fox lamp for my own life. No really, I NEED it.

Last but not least: look at the infants!!! I love this strawberry sweater (there's also a red-pink one that I might actually like better, even though I don't usually go for red-on-red!) And the middle haircut is THE baby haircut for me. I love the soft wispy baby hair soooo much. And the final pic is what newborns look like now. I still wish they were cuter... and smaller.... but eh. They're only newborns for a very short time so it's more important for the infants to be cute. I'm still not sure what I'll think of them, and how obviously they'll differ from toddlers. But they do look cute.

It is nice to have a more interesting childhood. In particular I'm excited that child skills now roll over into teen years. That for me was a major detractor from childhood before: why be a child if what you do as a kid has no impact later on? It does have an impact, though, at least if you have Parenthood (I'm not sure whether this is pack specific or not): you gain extra traits based on your parenting as a child. But those are extra traits - nice to have, but they're not useful like skills. If my child plays piano, they should be able to have at least one or two piano skill points as an adult, otherwise it just doesn't feel worth it. So glad that's a thing now!

[ronearoundblindly]

Hey Ro! I'm so glad I caught the post before your birthday. Happy birthday and here's to a great day and very productive, successful year full of growth. For the birthday post I'm really unsure of any idea but I really love the way you write. You could literally rewrite the most boring article and I'd swoon with awe and disbelief at how great it is. I'd love to read your favorite trope, like sharing a bed, enemies to lovers, childhood friends, best friends to lovers or any other cliche you love. Thank you for sharing your work!

TLDR; scroll for drabble after my drivel.

Oh boy, this one is HARD. I'm gonna sound pretentious as hell, but I really love finding a way to mess with tropes. I like writing about imperfect relationships that work out because people work hard at them. (The voice in the back of my head is screaming, "you like painfully slow burns, bitch." But yeah, shut up, brah. Oh great, now it's just singing "smut" over and over. Well, fine. Brain's not wrong.)

I like finding organic transitions of behavior like people being nervous to excited to comfortable. I wanna read how Steve Rogers evolves as a man, and frankly, it's difficult to really get that from just a fighting style or being a hero all the time. I put him in domestic-adjacent situations and go wild thinking about how he'd react. Although to be fair, I got back into fanfic a few years ago with a Bucky x OFC, so it's really anybody being explored more through different scenarios.

I like characters in character. Now, that said, if you lead me there with experiences and background and interactions, I'm invested and will totally buy dark!characters and AUs, but I'm a picky bitch about jumping straight into--say--a hardcore BDSM sex scene when the characters have been flirting for 50k and have only kissed once. I'll read it, but I won't believe it. I'm not invested then. (Told you I was gonna sound pretentious.)

Ok now for a wee scene--only warning is zero editing. FluffyMcFlufferson WC ~450

In the Sunshine

Steve nods his head in the direction he wants you to look, but it’s too vague.

“Where?”

“Right there,” he whispers. “Are you even looking?” His head tries to point fervently to his eleven o’clock.

Of course, you see them, a whole family of deer lazily prancing in the sunshine a ways across the wooded ground, probably heading to the same babbling brook Steve is giving you a piggy-back ride to. You saw them before he even stopped, but it’s easy to see everything from your perch atop his hips. Yes, the shelf of his lovely, defined ass helps keep you propped high enough to squish your cheek against the side of his head, soft hair caressing back and forth with his strides.

A glorious, golden day indeed.

Steve is frozen, thinking his already imposing figure made more massive by your legs spread wide around his sides and your elbows jutting out, will spook the doe. 

She stares you dead in the eye. Her ear flicks, and her long tongue shoots out in a lick.

“I don’t think they give a shit about us, love,” you mutter so low and close to Steve’s ear that when he turns, he bumps your nose.

Your eyes water at the bit of sting that zaps through that delicate nerve.

Steve winces. “I’m sorry” rushes past his lips, louder than he intends. He shifts his footing instinctively which simply moves you with him, so he can’t look right at you.

The leaves crunch beneath his huge boots. Steve’s grip loosens under your knees, and you shift more weight to cling to his shoulder.

“No, honey, look.” Your command sounds nasally as you pinch your nose and wait for the tickle to stop.

Momma Deer flicks one ear and then the other. Baby stops nuzzling something at the roots of a sapling before looking back to their parents, ignoring you two entirely.

You’re recovered and settled again against his broad back. You keep your voice soft, breath hot on his skin. 

“They have good instincts, Steve. You might be big, but it doesn’t mean you’re scary.” You let your hand slide down his chest a little and pat. “We are looking. We all see the same thing. A good man.”

Steve sighs when your lips meet his cheek, and you both hum. He’s never gonna get used to this, and you’re secretly very glad of that because you will never get sick of reflecting Steve Rogers’  heart back to him.

The deer head to the stream, and Steve follows, bouncing you a little until you giggle and hold on tighter.

This is where Steve can be himself, can see himself, and can love himself: in the sunshine.

divider by @firefly-graphics

[hxseok-honee]

blossom || part 12

blossom [part 12] || I'm happy being okay

[‘cause all i need is to see you blossom out, blossom out, blossom out]

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a/n : i have no idea who i love more!! hobi or yoongi!! no idea!!!

_______________________________

When Y/n wanders across the grounds later that morning, just past 7am, she’s checking her phone to make sure she’d read Hoseok’s text properly.

The forest? What the hell could we have to do there this early?

Convinced her sleep-deprived mind is playing tricks on her, she almost misses the head poking out from the treeline just ahead, followed by the body of a tall boy she’s come to be very familiar with.

“Y/n!” Squinting at the person with burning eyes, exhausted out of her mind, she finally sees that it’s Hoseok. He’s waving excitedly, arm stretched high over his head as he uses his whole body to beckon her over. He’s got a thermos in his free hand, which he holds out to her once she stumbles over to him. She takes it curiously, so he reaches out and uncaps it for her while he explains.

“I woke up this morning expecting to see you and Yoongi still passed out in the common room, but you were gone! And when I checked my phone, I saw you guys had stayed out instead of going back to Slytherin, so I figured you haven’t slept.” Pulling away with the cap in his hand, he points into the open container with a smile, so she peers into it. Hot steam billows out, followed by the smell of freshly brewed coffee. She looks up at him, a gesture of appreciation on the tip of her tongue, but he only waves her off.

“Not all of us can be energized by life -- some people are weak and require caffeine.” He grins impishly when she scoffs, the gratitude gone as she reaches out to nudge him with her elbow.

“Well, this weak human thanks you for supplying her with her daily fix.” Hoseok grins widely, his smile bright and pleased, and she’s amazed, as she tends to be, that he can be so infectiously happy all the time.

“Anything for you, Y/n -- besides, I need you awake and alert for today’s activities!” Lifting the thermos to her lips, she sips straight from the bottle, savoring the heat it brings her in the cold November morning. She doesn’t respond while she drinks, only raising an eyebrow questioningly at him. He lets out a small giggle, waving her into the forest as he heads back to the trees. She sees then that he’s got a backpack on, seemingly empty. She assumes it’s bottomless, one of the many everyday conveniences of being a wizard. Swallowing her coffee, she hums at his back while she follows.

“What are you hiding in there?” He glances at her over his shoulder with a shy smile.

“Patience, Miss Y/l/n.” Rolling her eyes with a smile, Y/n decides to just trust the sunny boy in front of her. While she follows behind him, she notices that she recognizes this path, an inkling that’s confirmed when they finally step into a clearing they’d only been in one other time. She gasps, the sound loud in the quiet morning, and Hoseok turns to walk backwards while he talks to her, his smile wide.

“I told you Wiggentrees grow fast, didn’t I?” Just there, in the middle of the clearing where they’d planted a seed not a few days prior, is the sapling of a tree, almost 4 feet high now. It’s clearly taken root, growing steadily in the bright, open space, the sun’s rays coming down prettily on it as it sways gently in the breeze. Hoseok watches with a fond smile as Y/n heads for it with wide eyes, passing him with a quick glance in his direction, her expression full of wonder.

“But we just planted it! It was just a little mound of dirt, like, 72 hours ago!” Hoseok nods, knowing she can’t see it.

“It’ll be fully grown probably within the week-- ah ah!” He steps in quickly when he sees her nearing it, hooking his fingers into the hood of her sweater and stopping her from getting any closer. She looks back at him in confusion, comically child-like as he holds her hood up behind her. “I know you love bowtruckles, but I promise they’re not as cute when they’re doing their job.” He gestures with his chin down at the ground around the tree sapling, and when she follows his eyes, she sees there are two little green heads poking out from the dirt, tiny eyes peering up at her cautiously. She lets out another quiet gasp, enamored by the little creatures.

“I didn’t even notice them… they usually have leaves sprouting out of their heads…” Hoseok releases Y/n while she talks, her voice nothing more than a whisper as she crouches to get a closer look at them. She hears Hoseok settling down on the ground beside her, and when she turns to him, he’s setting his bag in his lap and opening it. Reaching inside, he pulls out what looks like a metal breathmint container, small enough to fit in his palm.

Glancing up at her, he pats the ground next to him, an invitation. When she sits next to him, her back is straight and she’s got her hands in her lap, cradling the thermos of coffee as she looks at him attentively, waiting for him to direct their next move. It makes him smile sweetly, seeing her trust his expertise in herbology so fully. He hands her the container silently, explaining in a low voice when she looks at it curiously.

“I thought you might like to do the honors -- they’ll like you a lot more if you’re the one giving it to them… they might even remember you later on.” Popping the lid open, she sees that the mints once inside have clearly been eaten, the container kept for storing something else -- wood lice, to be exact. The small black insects squirm around inside, still alive, and Y/n can’t even begin to wonder how Hoseok had acquired them so fresh.

“How…”

“Growing up a plant nerd in a muggle household made it pretty easy for me to be fascinated by magical plants and their inhabitants once I got here… you wouldn’t believe how often I have to pick wood lice from the plants at my apartment when I go home.” Y/n blinks down at the little bugs before turning to Hoseok, a question about what he'd just said lingering on the tip of her tongue. He gestures to the two bowtruckles when they make eye contact, continuing the conversation before she can ask, and she wonders if he’d seen her curiosity and purposely avoided it. It seems distinctly unlike Jung Hoseok to hide something, but she lets it go when he starts talking.

“They’re still babies, by the way -- you were curious about not seeing the leaves on their heads… They’re still taking root, just like the tree…” He trails off, pointing to the container of wood lice in her hand. “But those are their favorite -- they’ll love you for sure if you give them that.” Glancing back down into the metal tin, Y/n smiles, finding it incredibly endearing that Hoseok had brought her out here just so she could befriend the bowtruckles.

Reaching out without a word, she tips the container slightly, letting the wood lice roll out onto the fresh dirt around the Wiggentree. The two baby bowtruckles had disappeared back underground in the time she and Hoseok had been talking, having apparently decided that these large humans were no threat to the tree as long as they stayed away. Now, they poke their heads back up, honing in on the meal laid out before them. Hoseok and Y/n watch quietly as they clamber out from beneath the dirt, crawling over to the wriggling lice and scooping them up in tiny arms. They return to their burrows to eat in peace, and Hoseok turns to Y/n while they wait, opening up his bag with excitement.

“So! I brought you out here to make evil stick bug friends, but I also thought it could be nice to do this, too.” Y/n watches with a sip of her coffee as he retrieves an entire wicker basket, contents covered with a damp paper towel. He sets it down next to her, smacking the back of her hand lightly with a playful glare when she tries to peek inside. “Patience, I said.”

Y/n rolls her eyes, unable to stop the smile that spreads across her face when she hears his quiet giggle, his joy truly infectious. He reaches back into the bag, setting out two pairs of scissors, a stack of twine, and a roll of thin, green tape. He does allow her to pick that up while he sets his bag down, explaining with a small smile.

“It’s floral tape… kinda like washi tape for flowers, I guess.” Y/n spins the roll around on her pointer finger, humming in contemplation as she puts the pieces together.

“So, you brought flower tape, flower wire, flower scissors, and--” She points at the covered basket with an inquisitive look. “--fresh flowers? Hopefully?” Hoseok smiles sheepishly, peeling the damp towel back from the basket, revealing a variety of flowers, all different types and colors.

“Welcome to the Jung Hoseok Flower Crown Process?” He waves his hands dramatically, but his voice is hesitant, like he’s unsure if she’ll even like this idea. It makes her smile, the fact that he’d gone out of his way to let her into this private part of his life even though he’s insecure about what she’ll think. Peering into the basket curiously, she picks out a small purple flower, twirling it between her thumb and pointer finger carefully.

“You know I won’t be able to do this as well as you do, right?” Hoseok smiles, some of the tension leaving his shoulders as he sees that she’s clearly curious and not about to tell him she thinks this is dumb.

“Don’t worry about how it looks! It’s just… kind of like my puzzles, in a sense -- a good way to sit and not think for a while. It helps me process whatever's going on in my head without the actual... processing part.” He grabs the stack of twine, running a length of it into a circle between his fingers before snipping the end with scissors. Tying the ends together, he reaches out and sets the crown of wire experimentally on her hair, smiling when he sees that he’d guessed at the size of her head properly. “After the night you had, I figured we could either talk about it while we do this, or we could just do this and not talk about it… up to you.”

Y/n stares at Hoseok while he goes back to his twine, unrolling a bit more and snipping when he thinks he’s got the right size of his own head. When he ties it together and sets it on his hair, she snickers -- it’s too small, sitting on his head like a little hat instead of a crown. He breathes out an embarrassed laugh, the tips of his ears going red when she takes it from him, switching it out for her properly sized one.

“Allow me the privilege to make your tiny crown into a really ugly tiny crown?” He smiles at her request, nodding as he lays out some of the flowers on the ground before them.

“It would be my honor to wear your really ugly tiny crown.”

--

“Okay, and then you just twist it… around… like this-- okay no, not like that-- you know what? It’s perfect, Y/n. I love it.” Y/n groans loudly when Hoseok laughs, shaking his head at her poor recreation of his work. The crown he’s making is a perfect mix of purples and blues, some white flowers peeking through to create a nice winter arrangement. Hers is… not quite the same. The colors are there, but the flowers hang lamely off of the twine, very obviously not secured to the wire despite Hoseok’s best attempts to get her there.

It’s close to 9am by now, and they’ve been working at the flower crowns for almost an hour already -- there are two finished ones next to Hoseok, but Y/n’s still on her first, having started and restarted a million times to try and get it right. The baby bowtruckles sit perched on her shoulders, having decided not long ago that she was worthy of their affections after the meal of wood lice. They croon quietly, swaying in the wind as they watch her work -- she knows they’re not particularly engaged in her struggle, but she definitely feels like they’re judging her right now.

She watches as Hoseok ties up the ends of his third crown in an hour before offering the loose bits of flower in his palm to the bowtruckles. They lean in curiously, climbing into his hand and picking at the purple petals with small sounds of interest. He smiles down at them as he lifts his hand to Y/n’s shoulder, helping them return to their previous spots so they can examine their new possessions. Y/n watches him closely, not even realizing she’s staring until he’s meeting her eyes self-consciously.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Y/n blinks, biting at the inside of her lip with a shake of her head.

“Just wondering how I happened to meet someone as lovely as you.” Hoseok’s flushing red almost immediately at the unexpected compliment, and it makes Y/n laugh quietly. “You know, you can be pretty shy when you want to be, Hobi.” He purses his lips, twiddling his finished flower crown between his thumb and pointer finger as he thinks.

“I’m not really used to having friends… this is kind of the first time I’m doing any of… this, I guess.” He gestures vaguely to their setup, but Y/n notices that he’s mostly gesturing between the two of them, and she sees that by ‘this’, he’d meant them.

“How’d a guy like you go 7 years without making any close friends?” She curses herself as she asks -- she hadn’t meant to be insensitive, and she certainly hadn’t meant to word it like that. But Hoseok only smiles, his eyes taking on a faraway look as he stares down at his lap.

“It’s funny… that question used to bother me a lot. Especially first year.” Y/n groans internally, dropping her head to her chin in shame at her own idiocy. The bowtruckles let out quiet complaints, disgruntled by her sudden movement. Hoseok chuckles under his breath, reaching out and setting his finished crown on her head when she lifts it to eye him cautiously. “Don’t worry, I’m not upset. I just thought it was interesting.” He takes another pause, humming while he thinks about how to explain this to her.

“My life… has been remarkably unremarkable. I’m healthy, I study hard, and people generally like me without trying too hard to get close to me because I’m a little weird.” He lists these things as facts, even going so far as to tick them off on his fingers while he talks. Y/n finds herself disagreeing silently, thinking of no less than ten different things that make him undeniably remarkable. But she doesn’t say anything, letting him finish.

“It’s kind of a blessing in disguise -- no news is good news right? So, if there’s nothing important to say about me… then that means I’m doing enough to get by successfully. I’m okay where I’m at, and I’m okay whether I have people… or not.” Y/n furrows her brow, entirely confused by him.

“But being okay isn’t the same as being happy.” He blinks when she says it, not having expected the way her voice wavers, the way her eyes fill with an emotion he can’t place right away. If she’d been anyone else, he would have mistaken it for pity. But it’s not. She seems upset, like she’s frustrated that she’s trying her best to understand him and failing. It makes him smile -- no one’s ever tried that hard.

“What if I’m happy being okay?” He lets it slip out, fully aware that it’ll only upset her further -- how could it not? She’s so different than him, someone who isn’t satisfied just letting things happen around her. It’ll confuse her, the way he sees his own life, and he figures it won’t help to say what’s on his mind without explaining everything. Because she won’t understand unless he says everything.

But he doesn’t want to -- he doesn’t want to ruin the day they’re having, and if there’s something he’s come to know about Y/n Y/l/n in the time he’s known her, it’s that she cares. She cares about everything -- her friends, her feelings, and most recently, him. And he just doesn’t want to worry her, not today. So he smiles at her furrowed brow, setting a fingertip in between her eyebrows so that she’ll release them from their torture.

“Tell me about Yoongi.” Y/n blinks, taken aback by the sudden change of topic. He grins widely, eyes turning into little half moons as he laughs at her expression. She shakes her head, not sure where he’s taking this.

“What about Yoongi?” Hoseok leans over, plucking her admittedly bad flower crown from her hand and setting it on his head -- it’s somehow gotten smaller in the time she’d been working on it, pinching and squeezing at the twine. It sits on his hair like a little flowery top hat, but it makes her smile, so he leaves it there. Then he picks up a yellow flower and spins it in his fingers slowly, plucking all the petals off as he goes before offering them absentmindedly to the bowtruckles while he explains.

“Well -- you’re confused how I ended up here, a 7th year with only one good friend that didn’t show up in my life until 7th year--” Y/n smiles shyly, realizing he’s talking about her when he gives her a knowing look. “-- but what I’m confused about is you. We already established last night that you're his metaphorical safety blanket, and I wanna know how that happened. And how you ended up here, a 7th year Gryffindor whose best friend is a Slytherin… so tell me, Miss Y/l/n. How does a lion like you end up with a perpetually horny, unapologetically heinous snake of a best friend like Min Yoongi?”

Y/n smiles at Hoseok’s unflattering description -- painfully accurate, to be fair -- and thinks about Yoongi. She thinks about everything he’d said to her only hours prior, still drunk but feeling surprisingly emotional. He’d always been honest with her about everything that passes through his mind -- he does lack a filter, after all -- but he’d never brought up their friendship until then. None of it needed saying, really -- she’d always known what they are to each other, but it’s different knowing where his mind goes when he’s unsure of himself. It made her feel protective of him in a way that she can only guess he feels about her most of the time. So she doesn't feel right telling Hoseok what she means to Yoongi -- but she can say what he means to her.

“Min Yoongi… is everything to me.” Her lips are moving before her brain can catch up, but now that it’s there in the air between her and Hoseok, she knows she means it. “I think maybe that’s why I’m having such a hard time understanding that you’re happy being okay… that you’ve been perfectly happy not having someone the way I have Yoongi. I don’t get it because I wouldn’t be who I am if he hadn’t come around.” Hoseok tilts his head, somehow fascinated by her -- the way she says it, it’s obvious she’s been overcome with emotion. He figures these thoughts must be fresh -- that maybe she and Yoongi had had some moment of vulnerability that morning and he’d asked the wrong thing at the wrong time.

He'd only wanted to hear more about her life, something real, and it was clear she didn't want to discuss her ex-boyfriend. So he'd thought her best friend might be a safer topic, something he's not so sure about anymore. But she’s only smiling, almost laughing as a thought crosses her mind, and he thinks maybe he hasn’t just opened a fresh wound with his curiosity.

“The thing about Yoongi is… he’s an only child in a rich pureblood Slytherin family. He’s got the perfect life by all standards -- he gets everything he wants when he wants it, and he says what he’s thinking without caring how it’ll affect anyone because it doesn’t really matter to him. He’s spoiled beyond belief -- he’s arrogant, rude, cold. Some people hate his guts -- apparently, even our friends need a break from him sometimes… and I guess I get it. He can be really terrible sometimes…” Hoseok frowns, not seeing how this can be headed anywhere good -- she’d just spent a full minute insulting the guy. But she’s smiling again, peering down into her now-empty thermos with eyes full of affection.

“But he’s the best friend I’ve ever had. I’d do anything for that asshole, no questions asked.” Hoseok breathes out a laugh, unable to believe how quickly her tone had changed. “We had a class together first year -- it was Potions. And I remember feeling so awkward because I hadn’t gotten to know anyone in my house except Jungkook and Taehyung by that point, and their schedules didn’t match up with mine. So I was just sitting there alone in a room full of Slytherins and Gryffindors that had already paired up, and there were some snakes trying to gang up on me because I looked sad and lonely in the corner waiting for class to start.” Hoseok nods, but he simply can’t imagine a version of Y/n that would be anything but headstrong and sure of herself.

“Imagine my surprise when this… obnoxious, bratty Slytherin stands up from his seat with his stuff and just leaves his housemate to come sit next to me.” Y/n laughs under her breath, lifting a finger to one of the bowtruckles and smiling when it latches on, climbing into her palm peacefully while she thinks back to that day.

“He was so annoying, Hobi -- I wanted to smash his head in. He just kept bragging about his family and how cool he was and how much money he had. It seemed like he already had all of Slytherin hanging onto his every word, like they all wanted to be his friend. And then he just grabs me and goes ‘anyway, this is my new friend, so if you mess with her, you mess with me!’, and I just remember thinking… ‘Who is this dude and why do I want to punch him in the face?’

“And then he just kept showing up… he was everywhere, and I couldn’t seem to get rid of him. But it was weird… after a while, I didn’t want to get rid of him. He was just always there. And it started to get to the point where I didn’t feel right if he wasn’t. Because I’d stopped being shy and lonely when he was around, and I liked that feeling. I needed him. He was rude and annoying, and as we got older, he was horny and gross and always off hooking up with someone and then telling me about it in an unnecessary amount of detail.” She cringes, thinking back to the literal full-body nude photo she’d gotten last year, completely unsolicited. But rather than enrage her the way it had then, she’s only amused now -- because of course Min Yoongi would send her a nude without realizing how messed up that is. It’s just who he is.

“He’s probably the most ridiculous person I’ve ever met. But… I wasn’t myself if he wasn’t around, so never once did I think about what my life could be without him. I could never have become the Gryffindor that I am without the Slytherin that he is. So, yes -- everyone sees him as this gross, loud asshole with more confidence than anyone can handle because that’s exactly who he is. But… that’s not what I see at all. All I see is the person that made me who I am.” She trails off then, suddenly shy and very aware of Hoseok’s eyes on the side of her face.

“That was… a lot, wasn’t it?” Hoseok smiles, shaking his head.

“No… never. I loved hearing you talk about him. It makes me happy that you have someone like that in your life -- and it makes me feel grateful for him, oddly enough. I wouldn’t have met this version of you if it hadn’t been for him. And I quite like this version of you.” The ends of his ears are painted pink when he says it, but it’s nothing in comparison to the blush on Y/n’s face. She’s never met anyone quite like Jung Hoseok -- never been around anyone so unconditionally good -- but she can tell even now that he’s probably going to change everything. It certainly doesn’t help that, as she looks at him, the only thing that comes to mind is what Yoongi had said to her while they’d watched the sun rise not even 4 hours prior.

“I know this started as me being upset because you’ve been slacking on our best friend time, but… that Hoseok guy’s gonna be good for you -- I can tell.”

[teacups-and-dresses]

My spider plant had a baby!

Story time: this plant came from a propagation of my grandmother's plant, who is no longer with us. She gave my mother a bunch of saplings before she passed, and they've been propagating like crazy! About a year ago, I got this from my mother and I've been trying really hard to not kill it, because I'm not really good with plants, and I couldn't bear the thought of this plant that's been through several generations dying. So I stepped up my game and with the help from my husband started caring for it, googling and learning from YouTube. A few weeks ago I noticed this new stalk that wasn't a leaf, and I've been so excited to watch it grow more and more each day(these grow really fast!). The other day, the baby plant even bloomed with a single white flower! It only lasted a day and my mother said she had never seen her plants do that(I'm sure they've bloomed as well but the flower stopped blooming within hours so I bet it's easy to miss).

Now, the baby has grown so big I've had to prop it up with a tiny branch and I put a tiny baby pot under it to encourage it to develop roots. I plan to plant it and get as many out of these as possible.