#they probably came with the plants like the snails did

[emuwarum]

Got some snails. I have no clue what species they are

They seem way too big to be bladder snails, found them in the aquatic plant tank at the pet store (free snails since they don’t sell them and don’t really want them)

I haven’t seen their faces yet, but they seem to have long eyestalks and they are much stronger clinging to the wall than my bladder snails are, they are going to go into my big bladder snail tank either way but I would like to know what they are so I know how many eggs to expect

[itsseohannbin]

〉 Romance On The Rocks 〈

Changbin Drabble

© itshannjisung, 2024

♡ itsseohannbins masterlist ♡

Genre: Smut. Fluff.

Summary: if there's anything Changbin loves more than fucking you senseless, it's making love ♡

Pairing: Idol! Seo Changbin x Female Reader

Warnings: Smut. All porn, not plot. Fingering. Soft Dom Binnie. Big Dick Binnie. Multiple Orgasms. Love-making. Slight breeding kink. Slight praise kink. Mentions of choking. Super fluffy.

Word Count: 1.9k

Enjoy!

"Bin-B-Binnie." a long, desperate whine left your mouth in the form of your boyfriend's name, causing a smirk to spread across his handsome face. Your fingernails dug impossibly deeper into the muscles of his large biceps, hard enough to leave half-moon indents across his flawless skin. "Binnie, p-p-please."

Changbin currently had two fingers knuckle deep inside of you, moving them at a snail's pace as he watched your face twist and contort from pleasure to pure bliss. His gaze was locked onto yours, those dark iris' even darker from the lust that was shooting through his veins while he watched you. He was mocking the pout you currently had resting on your lips.

"What's wrong, Darling?" he drawled out in a teasing tone, his fingers continuing to slowly inch in and out of your tight, wet pussy.

Another desperate cry slipped past your lips, leaving his cock hard and swollen. He loved seeing you all hot and desperate for him.

"Binnie, please." you moaned as Changbin then slowly curled his fingers upwards, the pads of his fingers pushing against your cervix delicately. "I ne-need you." Your hips jolted upwards, aching for more.

Changbin smirked down at you before leaning in and planting a soft kiss against the corner of your mouth.

"I know, Darling. I know. I want you too, believe me. But I gotta' prep you first or I'm not going to fit, okay? I don't want to hurt you, baby."

Another cry left your mouth at his words. He'd been teasing you for what felt like an eternity now, but you knew he was right. If he could barely keep you open enough to take his two fingers, there was no way you were going to be able to take his cock.

Contrary to popular belief, Changbin was big. Mostly in girth, but he had some length to him too, enough to allow the tip of his pretty dick to always brush your cervix in the sweetest of ways.

Changbin dropped his head into your neck and began sucking softly on the skin below your ear, causing another moan to erupt from your chest.

God, you needed him so badly. You couldn't remember the last time you were this fucking horny.

"Binnie," you whimpered as he paused his fingers movements momentarily to drag his thumb across your sensitive clit. "Binnie, please."

He removed his head from the crevice of your neck and peppered small kisses down your chest until he was level with your breasts. He left a delicate kiss on your hardening nipple before swirling his tongue around it once, causing you to buck your hips up into his touch.

"Soon, Darling. Just a couple more minutes, I promise." he cooed before his tongue shot out and ran along your bud a second time. "You can take it. I know you can."

You squeezed your eyes shut a moment later when Changbin then added another finger into your tight, wet cunt, a scream threatening to release itself from your chest. You knew Bangchan was home, probably working tirelessly at the kitchen table, but you didn't want to risk him hearing the two of you, so you tried to keep your noises low.

Although, with the way Changbin was stretching you open with his fingers, it was damn near impossible to keep the sounds inside. Changbin wished you wouldn't hold back, wished you let them all out as they came. He loved hearing you scream for him, but he also didn't want to traumatize Bangchan for the second time this week.

Changbin lowered his head again and took your nipple into his mouth a second time, his tongue swirling around the bud twice more before flicking it slowly. Everything he did was slow and sensual, and it was beginning to drive you insane.

You just wanted him inside you. You wanted him to absolutely destroy your insides the way he had done a mere few days ago while you watched him in the mirror he fucked you against, but he insisted he wanted to go slow tonight.

He didn't want you hurting any more than you already were throughout the week after the last round you guys had.

He wanted to take his time.

He wanted to make love to you.

"Binnie, oh my god." you gasped out as he pushed his fingers deeper inside of you, his thumb resuming attention on your clit. The overstimulation of his fingers, his thumb, and his tongue on your breast had you clenching around him, your climax growing closer and closer with each pump of his digits.

A blissful smile then made its way onto your face, your eyes closing in pleasure as the familiar sensation in your tummy spilled over the edge, and suddenly, your body tensed up as the white-hot wave came crashing into you. But then, all of a sudden, there was nothing.

Binnie pulled his fingers out at the last second, stopping your orgasm dead in its tracks. An involuntary whimper left your mouth at the sudden loss of contact and tears escaped your eyes unexpectedly as your orgasm was ripped away from you.

Before you could even open your eyes and beg your boyfriend to put his fingers back in, his cock was breaching your entrance. You didn't even realize he had taken his sweats off.

Despite the prep he'd been giving you for the last twenty minutes or so, his cock still stretched you so much you felt like you were being ripped in half. Slow and sturdy he pushed inside of you, his finger tilting your chin up so he could look into your eyes lovingly as he did so.

"There you go. Atta' girl." he whispered softly as he worked his way to bottoming out inside you. "Biiiiiig stretch, hmm?"

Your eyes widened at his unsuspecting words, and before you could even process what the fuck was happening, you were clenching around his cock, cumming hard. Never before had you been hit with such intensity by his words alone. It was overwhelming, and you felt like you couldn't breathe as the blinding, white-hot pleasure took over, causing you to coat him in your juices.

Changbin's eyes widened in surprise, a proud look on his face.

"Oh my gosh, Darling. Did you cum all over my cock already?" he doted as he began to move, his hips immediately falling into an agonizingly slow pace. The action only overstimulated you, the pleasure of your high was building up again quickly.

You only nodded in response, tears falling down your cheeks as you tried to catch your breath. Changbin lowered himself so the two of you were now chest to chest, his hands coming up to wipe the tears off your cheeks before he kissed you on the nose.

"You wanted it that bad, huh? Binnie's baby loves Binnie's cock, don't you?" he asked as he wiped strands of hair away from your sweaty forehead. You nodded again, wrapping your arms around his biceps and holding onto him.

"Yes." The word was barely audible, but Changbin heard it loud and clear. He leaned down and kissed you softly on the lips as his fingers intertwined with yours, resting them on either side of your head.

"Of course you do. That's why you're so good for me - Ah fuck, your pussy is so good. Feels fucking incredible baby."

His hips then picked up their pace as you stretched out for him, allowing him to snap into you the way he knew you always liked. But this time, he didn't wrap his large hands around your throat like you normally begged him to do.

Instead, he folded both of your wrists into one of his large hands and held them above your head as his lips latched onto yours. His tongue immediately pushed into your mouth, battling against yours. A string of moans and curse words fell from Changbins mouth into yours as his dick slid in and out of you. You felt so goddamn good he could cry.

His free hand then traversed the expanse of your body, his fingertips tracing your curves softly before he curled his palm underneath your knee and hooked your leg around his waist, allowing him to press himself even deeper.

With all sense of control out the window, you let out a loud moan into Changbin's mouth, instinctively wrapping your other leg around him until you were clinging to him for dear life.

The tip of his dick was now just barely brushing your cervix, making you shiver in delight as another orgasm began to build inside of you. Your hands were still trapped in his grip above your head, and Changbin's free hand was now grabbing and squeezing your ass desperately as he chased his own high.

"God, I love you so much, y/n." he whispered as he pulled himself away from your lips and nuzzled his face back into your neck. He planted a soft kiss beneath your jaw before he took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of you. "Gonna' marry you one day, I swear."

At his own words, his hips picked up speed and he began slamming into you so hard you felt yourself moving up the bed. Changbin was quick to release your hands and curled his arms underneath your figure. His hands slid up your back until they gripped onto your shoulders, where he held you still so he could fuck you harder.

"Holy fuck, Binnie. I'm gonna' cum again." you cried as you wrapped your now free arms around his neck and pulled his face back down to yours. You sucked his bottom lip into your mouth and rocked your hips upwards to meet his, causing a groan to leave him. The sound was borderline pornographic, and before you knew it, another orgasm washed over you just as hard as the first one had.

"Holy shit, Binnie. I'm cumming, I'm cumming, I'm cumming." you cried out, no longer caring if Bangchan heard you guys or not.

"That's a good girl," Binnie praised. "I'm right behind you sweetheart."

Changbin squeezed his eyes shut, and less than a moment later, hot strings of cum were spilling inside of you, painting your walls white and filling you up. A long, loud whine slipped past his lips as he continued to rock his hips forward, overstimulating himself to the point where he felt like he was going to pass out.

“Holy shit, Darling,” he whispered as his hips eventually slowed to a stop. “Fuck, that was incredible.”

He lifted his head from where it was shoved into your neck and took you in.

And Hell, you were a sight.

Your fucked out expression, your hair sprawled out across the pillow beneath you, sweat sticking to your forehead and cheeks. He swore, you never looked more beautiful than in that moment.

“I’m gonna’ fucking marry you one day, Darling.” he blurted as he curled a loose strand of hair behind your ear. You let out a giggle, trying to ignore the way your cheeks began to heat up at his words.

“Yeah?” you grinned.

The smile you sent back up to him instantly made him hard again.

“Absolutely,” he responded before curling his arms around your waist and flipping the two of you over so you were straddling him. He pulled you down to his chest, his cock still stuffed inside of you, and planted a kiss on your temple.

“I’m gonna’ marry you and stuff this pussy so full every goddamn day that it’ll be impossible to not have my babies,” he spoke. You could feel him growing hard again inside you despite the loads of cum that was spilling out of your hole, pooling in the curls of hair that sat around his cock.

“Oh, you think so, hey?” you teased as you rested your chin on his hard chest and smiled up at him. Changbin quirked his brow, his hands running aimlessly up and down your back.

"Oh, I know so sweetheart." he chided back before stretching his neck up to kiss you on the forehead. "This sweet little cunt is the only one for me."

Hannjis Pookie Wookie Bears 🐻: @moonlightndaydreams @noellllslut @bethanysnow @channieandhisgoonsquad @queenmea604 @newhope8

[homestuckreplay]

when your friends don't invite you to the matching username party :(

Now that we've seen all of John's friends talk at least a little bit, I wanted to deep dive into their usernames, and see what they might be able to tell us about the characters we don't know yet. For sure I've seen some weird usernames in my time on sites like MSN Messenger, but these seem especially weird, and not like words most kids would use.

There's also a weird pattern - all three of John's friends only use words beginning with T and G in their screen names. We have TT, TG and GG, so if they were doing a bit together we'd expect John to be GT, but instead he's EB - not even close. Could this be a sign that he feels disconnected from the friend group, not fully part of things, doubting that they want him around? Is it possible that the other three are all each other's 'real life' friends while John only talks to them online? Did John not want to be GT, or did nobody ever tell him there was a theme? Was he GT before, but then got mad at his friends one day and change it to spite them? Or is there another GT we have yet to meet?

Discussion of all four known chumhandles under the cut - only ~1k words :)

ectoBiologist - As discussed in my in depth John thoughts, the strict definition of this is 'someone who studies outside/external biology', which could relate to a huge variety of very niche fields - but, knowing John, almost certainly refers to the biology of ectoplasm, slime, and ghosts, a field which doesn't exist in reality but which John might consider himself a pioneer of.

As a sidenote, if John was GT, he might go in a different direction with his username. We know from TT that John regularly wears disguises while talking to her / interacting with his dad / just in daily life, and that he's into comedy and pranks (NOT clowns). Reflecting those, I came up with guisecladTrouper as a chumhandle that would fit the modifierTypeofguy pattern, as well as the letters. If anyone has any other GT ideas for John, I'd love to hear them!

turntechGodhead - TurnTech is a Chinese company founded in 2001 that makes scientific and educational software. This probably isn't the reference, but you never know; this kid could be really into science, happen to own a piece of software from this company, and have liked the word. I also think it could be short for 'turntable technology', which can be a few different hobbies - records/DJing, railroads, or sculpture/ceramics/metalwork. DJing fits his vibe but I think it'd be so cool if he was a train guy. 'Turn' relates to shaping or forming as well as changing direction, so he could be someone who develops his own technology.

This also fits really well with 'godhead', which is the true or essential nature of God in several major world religions. So this could be a suggestion of a guy with delusions of grandeur and a massively inflated ego, or, it could be someone who takes on the role of a god himself - some kind of creator. I really think this kid is going to be into invention, metalworking, and engineering. Built his own computer from scratch type of guy. I bet he owns a soldering iron and uses it for fun.

tentacleTherapist - Lots of living things have tentacles, including snails, squid, jellyfish, coral, moss animals, caecilians, the star-nosed mole, some carnivorous plants, Squidward, and mind flayers. Tentacles are generally associated with sea creatures, horror media, or both. Therapist, meanwhile, is a person who helps to heal someone's physical or psychological problems. The words sound really good when said together, but don't have an obvious link.

One idea is that she's someone who either lives near water or owns weird pets - a tank of snails or jellyfish seems reasonable - perhaps caring for or rehabilitating them from the wild. But the idea of her being into cosmic horror creates a fascinating parallel between her username and John's. John is a biologist; he studies, analyzes and understands academically, while TT is a therapist; she rehabilitates and understands emotionally. John works with ghosts and slime, while TT works with aliens and deep sea horror. It's delightful to me that they might have bonded by nerding out over paranormal lore, an interest probably neither of them shares with many people around them.

gardenGnostic - I keep reading this as a shortening of 'common or garden gnostic' as in 'your average, everyday gnostic' which, out of all the four usernames, might be the wildest one for a 13 year old to be. Much like 'godhead', 'gnostic' carries a very strong religious theme, especially with the capital letter - I know it's the syntax, but the words could be this way round for a reason. I'm definitely going to do some background reading on Gnosticism as we get to know this character to see how well it fits.

The first word could also be referencing the Garden of Eden, the original sin and the tree of knowledge; the combination indicating a character with a drive for spiritual knowledge and self-understanding above all else. In a more literal sense, I'm imagining someone who spends a lot of time outdoors and who would think nothing of a few injuries from the Slimer pogo ride in the yard. This chumhandle is also only a few letters away from 'garden gnome', which makes me think of someone who enjoys the ornamental, decorative, and whimsical.

Just as John and TT's usernames are a pair with similar themes, TG and GG's handles also match up. (Sidenote: does this mean these are the pairs of 'best friends'? Feels weird considering TT is the only one of the three who didn't wish John a happy birthday). Both TG and GG have chumhandles strongly related to religion, creation, and origins, with TG representing the mechanical and technical side of things, and GG representing the natural and environmental side.

So, that's our four chums! The most interesting thing to me is how well these pairs of usernames work together, despite John being outside of the letter pattern. Both these things feel very intentional and not like I'm reaching; they definitely mean Something in the themes, but it's too soon to say what. I'm so impatient to see more of these characters and learn anything concrete about them at all.

If you've made it this far, here's a quick poll!

[shyspider]

Sorry I didn’t think about the ask being lost when I re-deleted my account but I got my collage work done early so this is what the ask/submission was if you didn’t get a chance to see it earlier. I also apologize in advance for the looong ramble. 😅

But I was saying that really cool that you had koi! I love them they are really friendly and interactive fish if you earn their trust! And I’m glad a friend of yours was able to take them so you can visit them. Depending on how often they probably will still remember you. They did a study and fish in the carp family like koi and goldfish can remember stuff up to 10 and a half-11 months. I have 600 gallons connected to an aquaponic greenhouse so the fish waste in the water feeds the plants and the plants act as an additional filter and clean the water to be cycled back to the fish.

I had two koi Sunny (sunburst who ended up being male) and Jackie (jack-o’-lantern who turned out to be a girl). Unfortunately a raccoon got in and killed Sunny. After that Jackie (unlike 4 of 5 the goldfish that recovered in two days Tangerine died from injuries the day after the attack) would not come up for food for 5 days and just laid at the bottom of the pond in the back corner until we got two new baby Koi: Polka and Shade. The first time she came up was when I was floating their bag in the pond. Shade immediately took to Jackie but Polka is still scared of the other bigger fish and will only come out of hiding if shade is there. When Polka does she/he is like glued to Shade and swims nose to tail with Shade

Plus a common pleco named snowflake I got back in middle school 10 years ago who has grown to 18 inches. Fun fact pet stores lie common pleco dare in the armored catfish family and only eat algae the first year until they reach maturity and turn into scavengers that need meat supplemented into their diet or they get aggressive towards all other fish because they become vitamin deficient. If you have an aquarium try getting Nerite snails, they are awesome algae eaters and never grow out of it, they are messy but clear algae insanely fast and they can live in freshwater but I add a small amount of fresh water safe aquarium salt (and they need calcium supplements for their shell) but they only reproduce in brackish water plus unlike some snails that self reproduce, they need a male and female as well so they won’t take over.

And with the koi and pleco I have a blue Japanese Shubunkin goldfish (sky) and I had gotten 5 of the feeder goldfish for sale. (One of the common ones ended up turning white and being a comet goldfish.) Unfortunately my biggest common goldfish Tangerine who was 5 inches died from injuries the day after the raccoon attack. Because of that we got a pond cover that completely covers the pond and we tie it down at night. When I’m outside to watch them I’ll leave it uncovered.

I'm sorry, you said you had an aquaponic greenhouse...?

That is impressive. I love most of the self-sufficiency, self-reliance, permaculture, homesteading aspect of taking care of one's self and community. I've heard of that aquaponic system before, but never met anyone who utilized it. That's so cool.

Ayooo! I knew that part about plecos, where they get older and stop cleaning the tank, but I didn't know they're meat eaters!

Omg those fish are massive and pretty. Thank you so much for sharing.

[lavenderlattefox]

A Short Guide on Playing Gourmand

Hello everyone! I just wanted to make a short guide consisting of tips that helped me the most in my Gourmand run! Gourmand is currently my favorite of all the DLC characters to play due to his wide range of tools and his campaign being nicely balanced. This tip will include minor spoilers on AREAS and CHARACTER MECHANICS as well as a certain character-specific quest so if you want to experience those for yourselves, this is your warning. -Why should you read this guide? I've heard a few people share their experiences playing Gourmand, and while I don't want to invalidate their responses I want to say that these tips have helped me to avoid some of the significant complaints and troubles people have had while playing Gourmand! So let's dive into it :))

1. CRAFTING MECHANIC This is one of the greatest additions to Rainworld remixes in my opinion. It changes how you evaluate items and what resources to look out for, while being balanced and fun. Gourmand has tons of recipes at their disposal which you can find the entire crafting table on the Rainworld wiki, but here are my personal favorites: Quality of Life Recipes: rock + firecracker plant = grenade Probably the most basic recipe that everyone and their grandmothers has figured out. Still very useful. slime mold + mushroom = baby nootfly baby nootfly + slime mold OR baby nootfly + blue fruit OR baby nootfly + (any edible item) = 4 food pips This is one is one of my favorites because Gourmand has a staggering food requirement of 7 food pips to hibernate, which can be frustrating for players. However, this recipe can turn 2 food pips into 4 food pips provided a mushroom is near, which saves you a lot of time looking for food in places like Underhang. Do note that avoid using this recipe when an Adult Nootfly is near, since it will still upset the Adult Nootfly despite not originating from it. rock + mushroom = sporepuff Sporepuffs are always useful, from being an insecticide to a Raindeer toll fee. I'll mention this one later for a different reason rock + firecracker = grenade grenade + rock OR grenade + unpopped bubblefruit = pearl From when I am writing this guide, it's actually been a couple of weeks since I last finished my Gourmand run, but even though the wiki says grenade + unpopped bubblefruit = snail, I remember it resulting in a pearl. If I'm misremembering please correct me in the comments. Anyways, grenade + rock is probably the better option anyways because you don't miss out on free food. That said, pearls are useful in passing scavenger tolls, befriending scavengers, and getting a free passage through an easy chieftain achievement. I've always found in all my runs that befriending scavengers is way more useful than ignoring them. I know people have had problems with the occasional grumpy scavenger nailing them with a spear just for kicks, but personally that's only happened to me once. On the other hand, the free bodyguard services came in clutch several times. Plus, not having to worry as much about scavengers randomly throwing spears at you is very nice. I will say that if you want a very nice ending in the Gourmand run, you will have to pass a toll with no pearls in sight (at least in my run). Chieftain status helped me a lot as I could just pass through with a minor offering of a spear. sporepuff + rock = "paincones" AKA Beehives I actually did not know the names for these prior to researching on the wiki. This is a niche recipe as sometimes the bugs that spew out of the thrown paincone will sometimes attach to you as well as the target, but they make decent bartering tools with the scavengers. Also this item helped me get a Centiwing for *the quest* that I will mention more on later. grenade + karma flower = firebug egg firebug egg + grenade = singularity bomb Ah yes, the singularity bomb. This portable black hole that Gourmand is famous for is pretty much known by everyone at this point, but I wanted to include it here anyways because for my first singularity bomb I thought it required two karma flowers. So I wasted my time and resources to make one singularity bomb when I could've made two. Vulture Grub + Karma Flower = Vulture Mask Ever wanted a Vulture Mask without having to kill a vulture or have it chase you around through several cycles? Well now you can just make one! Food Quest Recipes Pretty much everyone knows about the food quest, but I'll just summarize it here just in case: If you want to unlock slugpups in Gourmand, Survivor, and Hunter runs, you'll have to finish Gourmand's food quest of eating at least one item on a list of edible items, the entire list being on the Rainworld wiki. You can eat the items in any order, though I recommend eating them in the order found on the wiki. Some items can be crafted, which is why I'm including them in the crafting section. Jellyfish + Rock = Lilypuck Lilypuck + Rock = Lamp Lamp + Jellyfish = Glowweed I'll be honest with you, I don't know where to find Glowweeds. They're somewhere in Shoreline, but I've never encountered a single one in my semi-blind playthroughs, either through not running into one or just not seeing one. However with the multitude of jellyfish in Shoreline, it's easy to just craft one. Also, Lilypucks are an item on the food quest list, so if you didn't grab one in Shaded Citadel you can easier grab one in Shorelines.

  That pretty much summarizes my crafting tips for Gourmand, although there are also more fun recipes you can experiment with on your own. But crafting is not the only thing that's great about the Gourmand!

2. GOURMAND PLAYSTYLE/COMBAT At first glance, the portrait art of Gourmand and Artificer suggest that the Gourmand is a happy goofy fellow while the Artificer is an unstoppable force of destruction. I'd argue gameplay-wise the Gourmand is just as a natural force of destruction as the Artificer is, if not more. This chonky fellow boasts so many tools to take down enemies: Gourmand does a huge amount of damage per spear, doing around 3 damage on hit. The downside? He gets instantly tired upon throwing a spear. This means throwing a spear around multiple enemies risks being caught after throwing by anything that wasn't hit. To circumvent this, try to lure enemies to a pipe. If they already have their back to the pipe, just throw a spear and then go through the pipe to rest, then go back if you still need to finish them off. If they are chasing you, go through a pipe, and just as they are following you, go back through the pipe. Now they are on the other side with their back facing the pipe entrance. Now you can escape, or go back through the pipe to get a free hit on the enemy. Keep going back and forth through the pipe until the Gourmand is ready to go again. I call this pipe camping, and it is highly useful even on normal Survivor/Monk runs as slugcat is basically invulnerable as long as they stay in the pipe. However, it is even more useful on Gourmand as you can dish out a massive amount of damage while avoiding being cornered while exhausted.

  The bodyslam. Everybody knows the good ol' bodyslam, you fall onto an enemy from high enough and the Gourmand's splendid girth will stun the enemy and do a big chunk of damage. However, if you're feeling confident in your sliding skills, sliding into an enemy will also stun and do some damage, though not quite as much as damage. Still useful in a pinch.

  More on Exhaustion. Have you ever just been running around as Gourmand when suddenly you're exhausted just as a lizard pops out behind you? You still have a chance! Even when exhausted, spam hopping can be just enough to get you to the nearest pipe entrance. Gourmand can still cover a significant amount of terrain by spam hopping even when they're exhausted. If you need to climb a ladder, sometimes jumping off and rolling can be just enough to get you to a different pipe entrance while misleading predators. Once you've made it to the pipe entrance you're safe, as you can catch your breath exactly as detailed in the combat section. 

On swimming. I know this seems obvious, but just a reminder: always take a second to breathe before swimming as Gourmand. When Gourmand is exhausted they drown very quickly, so better safe than sorry. Also if you're going straight from Survivor to Gourmand, in Shoreline there are eel lizards. These things are extremely fast in water and you cannot outswim them, so pack a flashbang (blue fruit + rock), as flashbangs can temporarily confuse them.

On storing items. At first it may seem that Gourmand cannot store items in their belly, as holding the pickup button makes them regurgitate a random item at the cost of one food pip. However, if you press E while holding an item after regurgitating a random item, the Gourmand will store the item in their right paw. Do note that when storing an item, the Gourmand will need to cough the current stored item before they can generate another random item. One last note: the big centipede part of the Gourmand food quest. I've noticed that many players have recommended going for an Aquapede rather than a Red Centipede, and honestly that totally makes sense. Do what is most easiest for you, however if you're like me and you hate dealing with anything in water, I'll share an easy way to get a red centipede. In the Garbage Wastes there is now at least one Red Centipede. Around here:

(map image courtesy of https://rainworld.miraheze.org/wiki/Rain_World_Wiki)

there are approximately three to two mushrooms. Craft two sporepuffs, store one just in case and throw them at as many segments of the red centipede's body. Note: sporepuffs DO NOT immediately kill a big centipede. Make sure to kite it for a few seconds before it dies. After about two to three seconds it should go limp and then you can approach it. Aaaand that's all the tips I have on Gourmand! In my opinion, Gourmand is one of the best DLC characters. They perfectly capture what a remix should be: adding new creative mechanics that the player can experiment with as well as new drawbacks while remaining fun and balanced. This campaign has totally changed my outlook on items such as rocks and mushrooms, especially mushrooms, an item I previously saw as mostly useless. The variety of tools in the Gourmand's arsenal are both powerful and many, I hope more Rainworld players appreciate Gourmand for both his adorableness and his gameplay design.

[glapplebloom]

Did Going to Seed answer the question?

So after seeing Going to Seed once more, I came to a realization: it's been a hundred moons since the last Confluence. This is based on two statements: Applejack saying it is a hundred moons in the making and Granny Smith saying the last Confluence was when Applejack trapped herself when hunting for the Great Seedlin’. That means it's been a hundred moons since Apple Bloom was a baby to being as old as she is now.

Now since Apple Bloom was a baby during the first one, that means she was likely at least a year old taking into account Flurry Heart and the Cake Twins moving as well as they were in that episode. Now how old is Apple Bloom now? We don’t know. But let’s assume she’s as old as her Equestria Girls self. And since she is in High School she’s most likely a Freshman. So possibly 14 to 15 years old.

Using even numbers, one hundred moons means 14 years has passed since Apple Bloom was 1 in the first Confluence to 15 in the current. But how long is a moon? If you divide 14 years by 100 moons, that means every moon is 0.14 years. That’s 51.1 days, almost double a normal Lunar Cycle of 29 or 30 days. Of course, if Pony Apple Bloom was 9 that would be an 8 year difference, which makes it 0.08 years per moon or 29.2 days, which is closer to a Lunar Cycle.

Of course, there’s a big issue with this. You know what is also a hundred moons in the making? The Apple Family Reunion. They have had two of them since the series happened and it's not like everyone grew 8 or 14 years since then. So let’s assume Applejack was being hypothetical about it being specifically a hundred moons for the Confluence. Using the Apple Family Reunion and assuming it happens every year, that’s 3.65 days per moon. So let’s take a look at other specific mentions of Moons. 

Discord planted his seed thousands of moons ago, and that was before a thousand years passed between Nightmare Moon’s imprisonment and release. And according to Megan, it's been 6 moons since the first EQ movie and Meghan McCarthy. It has been a millennia since the Pillars left, which would be a thousand years, but this is egotistical Starswirl who probably didn’t know the exact time between imprisonment and now. And according to Granny Smith, a Ponyville snail can hibernate for up to forty-eight moons. 

So there are three theories: a Moon is 3.65 days (assuming a reunion happens every year), 22.81 days (assuming the Equestrian Snail hibernates as long as some real life snails) or 29-30 days (using the Real Lunar Cycle)

Moon = 1 Moon | 3.65 Days | 22.81 Days | 29 Days | 30 Days

Reunion = 100  Moons | 1 Year | 6.25 Years | 7.95 Years | 8.22 Years

Rainbow Rocks = 6 Moons | 21.9 Days | 4.5 Months | 5.72 Months | 5.91 Months

Snail = 48 Moons | 5.76 Months | 3 Years | 3.81 Years | 3.95 Years

If you consider Applejack saying 100 Moons in the making as if they were preparing for the Confluence, I think a moon being 3.65 days is the best option. A month between Equestria Girls and Rainbow Rocks. About 6 months for a Ponyville Snail is around the average that a snail would normally hibernate (4 to 7 months according to a Quora answer). A year between reunions. Hopefully this is the best way to think of it. I hate to find out they start measuring ages by moons...

[anipgarden]

Yknow this post from April has been getting a lot of notes recently (no idea why) so I should give an update and explain why I haven't done other things people are suggesting.

The bins... didn't work. But I think that might be moreso on me. I think ants made a bed in one of the bins, snails kept popping up, and just in general the zucchini seedlings were sad and didn't really grow much. I did also try planting zucchini seeds when I started giving up hope on the transplanted ones but I think it was a bit too late at that point. All the leaves on the nasturtiums got eaten and the borage never even really came up. By the time we reached the 'its too hot to even think about stepping outside when I'm conscious' time of the summer, it was already a mess, so things getting weedy probably didn't help.

"Why not just use Sluggo, its not that expensive"

I tried using slug pellets once and not only did it not really work well, but also my dog would go into the garden and eat them. Trying to find information on whether or not its dangerous for dogs was giving me mixed results from 'its not that bad' to 'get thee to a vet immediately' so at the end of the day I don't wanna risk it.

"Put copper tape around the rims"

Honestly haven't tried that one, could consider it. I was too lazy at the time to find and buy and set up the copper tape, and I'd been hearing it was ineffective, but if I try the bin method again next year (I likely will) I'll give it a shot!

"Try putting beer in a bowl/cup/jar lid and the snails will get drunk and die."

I tried this once with a bowl half-dug into the ground and idk if the bowl wasn't shallow enough or if the beer we got was too cheap or what but after a week of trying I found no dead snails and still more damage on my plants. Also my dog tried to drink the beer a few times.

No one's brought it up this time (likely because I already mentioned it) but diatomaceous earth has been entirely ineffective for me because of how rainy it is here during the summer. When the zucchinis/squash are growing, it'll rain so spontaneously that the weather app won't even predict the rain sometimes and then its just raining. And by the time we get the long stretches of no rain, the zucchinis are already basically dead.

If any Floridians wanna share what they do that works I would deeply appreciate it but uhhhh I'm starting to think I'm simply not meant to grow zucchini/squash. At least not at this house. Or in Florida.

Behold, my Zucchini Bins

Every year so far I’ve struggled to grow zucchini. I keep losing them to snails and slugs, and its so rainy in Florida during the growing season that diatomaceous earth is ineffective. One of my friends recommended growing them in bins, so I can control the snail population easier, so fingers crossed! I’ve got drainage holes in the bin and they’re lifted off the ground and all that jazz.

In order to spice things up, I’ve planted some nasturtium and borage seeds in each bin. I’m hoping to get a nice little community of flowers alongside the zucchinis to both encourage pollination and also make it look pretty. And if the zucchinis fail then hopefully I’ll at least have flowers.

[zookazooks]

oh, you wanted an autistic girl who doesn't know she's a lesbian yet?? lemme see what i can do

Wednesdays were her Mondays, the gate lock creaking when she turned the key, the hinges complaining as she shuttled it aside and away from the front door of the shop. The city had been awake for hours, the road well-traveled all morning, but when one owns a business with dedicated and nigh-on guaranteed clientele one can choose one's hours, and Kim Ami liked the hours when people could come in the most easily best.

That meant lunch time on weekdays, 5 to 9 in the evening, all day all weekend, and, of course, open by appointment. Very little of her stock was likely to be urgently required, and so she made simple stable business within the confines of the little shop.

The warm humid air hit her as she stepped over the threshold from the sidewalk into the shop, leaving the cold outside to nip at someone else's ears, and she took her coat off as she walked through the dark front room, pausing just a moment at the wall to hit the lights.

The little fish shop lit up in pockets of glow, planted tanks humming and green, oxygen pearling from each blade of vallisneria, each round leaf of bacopa caroliniana. The indoor cichlid pond roiled with blue and gold— ("Okay, okay, let me set down my bag, I get it, you're hungy babies...") —the goldfish swarmed, each tank of little jeweled guppies wiggled a late morning greeting of permanently hungry optimism.

The auto-feeders went off as she walked past, pellets dropping into the water of a few dozen high-turnover aquariums taking care of the lion’s share of the work, but there was still easily another half an hour of painstaking feeding - the portioning of brine shrimp, the snails into the puffer tank, stick-on tablets and algae wafers and making sure the betta on the bottom of the sorority hierarchy got her breakfast, delivered sneakily behind the dwarf lily with a turkey baster and the power of distraction.

She was in the middle of topping off the co2 in the black moscow tank (packed to the gills with pogostemon stellatus as it was) when the bell over the door tinkled merrily, and if she hadn’t known exactly who it would be she might have looked up. “I’m sorry to say this,” she said, “but I’m unable to sate your strange desires today.”

“My what?”

What Ami had expected was a man named Seokjin, a person as friendly as he was beautiful and who had Opinions about koi husbandry which she may or may not have shared, (she didn’t, but mostly because she didn’t care about koi that much; her ideal koi came in the form of a plakat betta, thank you, and if a carp really wanted to get fancy then the least it could do was be an oranda about it), but the bell had not tinkled to announce the presence of an old friend - it had tinkled to announce the presence of someone significantly… newer.

Newer, yes, and shorter too. Narrow shoulders, hips at a slant, legs that could have just walked straight out of a girl group, sleepy eyes and a mouth that looked like mostly what it did was pout and sigh and (probably) drink too much coffee.

“You’re not Jin,” Ami said, a paragon of awareness and subtlety.

“I’m not, no,” said the girl in her shop. She looked at Ami. She looked at the fish tank. “Is it s’posed to be bubbling that much?”

“Not really,” Ami replied nonchalantly, extremely calmly scrambling to shut off the co2 and unhook the pipe from the bottle without upending the entire aquarium right there on the floor. (Which would be a tragedy of the highest order. Some of the bacteria in that substrate was older than she was.) “Um, that’s— sorry, hold on—“

“Holding,” said the girl in her shop. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Do you, uh… need any help?”

“Usually! Ha ha!” Oh god, she wasn’t a funny person and that hadn’t sounded like a joke. “It— it’s fine, just gimme a second…“

In the end she required more than a second, and instead took almost four full minutes to dramatically fight the co2 canister, airline, and hook back into the closet where the entire kit belonged, and so it was that by the time she turned finally to pay attention to the new person in her little fish shop she was sweaty and stupid and, unfortunately, very very useless.

“Hello,” said Ami, the dumbest person on the planet. “Hi. I’m… hello.” (Oh god.) “Can I help you? With anything?” (Oh, god.) “That you might need?”

“M’not really in need of anything,” the girl said, shrugging. “Just came over to say hi. I’m—“ She laughed, shook her head. “Sorry, I’m Yoonji. Min Yoonji. I just signed the lease on the space next door.”

The space next door.

Somewhere on Ami’s kitchen counter lay an envelope from her building manager that she’d been meaning to open for… a little while, sure, but not too long, right? No more than a week. Two weeks? Regardless of the timing, Ami at this point felt reasonably confident that whatever information she might find inside that envelope would likely be primarily in regard to the space next door, its lease, and subsequent signing of same by the girl standing in front of her.

“Right!” said Ami, like she knew to expect this. (Incredible theatrical skill. Breathtaking.) “Of course. That’s great, it felt weird to have it empty.” She shrugged. “I dunno, like it was unlucky somehow. I’m Ami, by the way.”

“Ami, huh?” Yoonji stared at her for a few blank and empty seconds, then laughed— glancing away like she didn’t want to make eye contact. “I dunno if me showing up here will bring a whole lotta luck,” she said, and turned, looking around the shop. “I thought this was like a house plant store or something, but…” She reached up, almost but not quite brushing her fingertips over the glass of a tank populated with dozens of cherry neocaridina flickering among thick drifts of java moss. “Are these… fish?”

There was a part of Ami that had a filter. (But what kind? HOB? UGF? Sponge? Canister? Sump? Matten? What about the biomedia? And please don’t tell me you’re putting activated charcoal into the filter for a planted tank…) That part of her could do things like go to the grocery store, talk to tellers at the bank, stuff like that, but that filter ended where aquariums began, and so it was that Yoonji’s unfortunate question mark clipped short Ami’s ability to shut, as it were, the fuck up.

Time passed, during which Ami explained to Yoonji everything about the care, feeding, ecological role, ethical breeding practices (“I just can’t get behind the orange-eyed tigers,” she said. “Hindering a living being’s natural functions for the sake of human aesthetics? Feels icky.“), and historical significance of neocaridina versus caridina freshwater shrimp in the aquarist hobby, and it wasn’t until she had moved on to how the mineral and pH requirements of neocaridina make them good tankmates for a small livebearer breeding colony (“Endlers are very hardy, and there are new hybrid color morphs coming out practically every day!”) that she looked up at Yoonji again and saw the dazed expression on this near stranger’s face and realized, horribly and suddenly like an ice bath in the morning, how fucking dumb she was. This poor stranger didn’t need a crash course on water parameters. This poor stranger just came in to say hi.

“… Sorry,” she said, stuttering to a halt. “Um. I get… excited.”

“It’s exciting stuff,” Yoonji replied, looking heavy-lidded and sarcastic but sounding unexpectedly sincere. “That’s cool about the… you know, the shrimp. I didn’t know that there were freshwater shrimp.” She hadn’t looked away from the tank, eyes tracking the flitting movements of miniscule invertebrates exploring a dense and soggy jungle, and the light cast green and blue over her face. “The red looks pretty on the green.”

Ami took in a breath to say something - probably something stupid, like you look pretty on the green - but was saved from herself by the sound of the bell over the door.

“Darling,” boomed Seokjin, standing in the door like the demigod he was. “Please tell me you have what I desire.” He took a step inside. “Who’s this? Are you cheating on me?”

“Oppa!”

“Woops,” Yoonji muttered under her breath, recoiling from Ami like they had suddenly become two magnets of identical polarity. “Um, I’ll— I’ll see you around? Prob’ly. I mean I’m next door, so—“ On her escape out the door she came extremely briefly face to face with Seokjin, to which she reacted by going pale and almost tripping over her own feet. “Cool, bye!”

Ami and Seokjin stood in the shop in silence for a few moments, the quiet broken only by the noise of cars on the street and the door to the space next door opening quickly and then slamming shut. “She seems nice,” Seokjin said brightly.

“Your book hasn’t come in yet,” Ami said, “but I got in some new betta boys that I need to jar if you want to hang out and talk shit about blood parrot breeders until you have to go back to work.”

Seokjin placed one hand over his heart. “Ami,” he said, “that’s the sexiest thing a woman has ever said to me.”

[silver-weasel]

Diving (Deku x Reader)

Pairing : Deku x fem!reader (aged-up characters)

Rating : E, 18+

Tags : smut • fem!reader (she/her) • best friends to lovers / childhood friends to lovers • quirkless AU • p*rn with feelings (like. a lot of them) • public sex (more or less) • switching • hair pulling? • pining • Deku being flustered and an absolute angel what’s new • Reader being a teasing brat • It’s all soft and fluffy, I’m as vanilla as you can get 🤷‍♀️ • Happy birthday to the bestest boyyy I love him so much it hurts

Word count : 10 600 (Holy sh—)

A/N : Thank you @hoe-doroki my beloved and savior for beta-ing <3

Written for @rat-zuki​’s collab in honor of our favorite birthday boy, The Deku Agenda Escapes no One. Thank you so much for letting me join! (go check out the other amazing writers and artists!)

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

The ground grinds repeatedly under your hiking shoes, some pebbles being kicked forward on your way. You’re way too deep in the forest to hear any cars passing by and during the two hours you’ve been here you haven’t run into anyone. The place seems empty, the only souls breathing the forest’s thick air being you, Izuku and the birds chirping all around you.

The afternoon is coming to an end, the sun sinking down on its way to hide behind the mountains. The remains of its soft light are filtering through the dense leaves all around and above you. You’re surrounded by green, lush and immeasurable greenery, every plant merging into another.

You’ve left the marked paths, now wandering deep in the richest, boundless part of a forest you both know like the back of your hand after roaming it all over innumerable times. All over, except for this part, in which you’re setting foot for the first time today. Your many previous hiking sessions were shortened by your questionable sense of organization, always arriving too late to explore further into the unknown.

Leaves brush against your knees with every single step you take as you follow Izuku on his heels. He’s moving at a steady pace, his hands holding tight the straps of his yellow backpack that he’s had for as long as you can remember. He’s always so organized, has everything you two could eventually need and generally never do. Two huge flasks of water, an entire meal he calls ‘little snacks’, with sandwiches, fruits, protein bars, even hard-boiled eggs. A first-aid kit with disinfectant, bandages, scissors and painkillers. Hell, you’re even wondering if he has any pads for you in there, in case of an unexpected period. You wouldn’t be surprised if he did.

You giggle lightly when you see him stumble for the sixth time since you got here; he can’t seem to keep his curious eyes from drifting up and around, looking in every direction, probably retaining every detail and logging it in some impressive mental database of his. And he’s commenting on every little thing he sees too; he makes you notice things you never would have if it weren’t for his candid interest in everything.

“Oh! Look at that bird!” he exclaims, pointing at a branch over your heads. “Do you see it, right there, with the red mark!”

You turn your gaze to where he’s pointing and see a little bird, very cute, but so tiny you’re wondering how one could spot it without specifically looking for it. That’s probably what you like most about Izuku: his attention to detail. That’s the thing—nothing is too small for him, everything is worthy of interest. His eyes always light up with such curiosity, this child-like wonder and it was always one of your favorite things to witness growing up.

When he came over to your house at age six, he was always running around with some bug on his forearm, calling your name, yelling, “Look at this!”

Most of the time, it was a snail or a ladybug, and that always managed to catch your interest. Sometimes, it was a spider or a beetle, and he had you screaming in horror more than once, running to your mother’s legs with weeping eyes. Those times, he always watched you go with wide, sad eyes and a wobbly lip, because, “I would never hurt her, Mom! I swear I didn’t want to scare her!”

“Oh, yeah, I see it! It’s so cute!”

And it is cute, the way his huge green eyes go even rounder in amazement. You treasure these hikes for providing occasions to witness this. But as much as you wish this moment could last forever, the sun is beginning to set, you probably shouldn’t go deeper in the forest at sundown.

“We should probably head back to the car, Izuku. It’s gonna be dark soon.”

“Come on, it’s still so light—there’s no rush!” His lips crook a bit into an impish smile. “Scared that a bear is coming to get you?”

“There aren’t any bears here—we’ve been coming for five years.”

“Because if it’s the bears you’re afraid of,” he begins, ignoring you on purpose, “you know I’ll protect you, right?” he says, sticking out his chest like he’s some superhero.

“Against a bear? Right.”

“You’re underestimating me? That’s just mean.”

You chuckle at his antics, shooting him a look of yours that says, ‘Come on, please?’.

His eyes soften a bit, but he’s used to that look; it’s been years since it worked on him as well as you’d like it to.

“We can just keep going this way, then we’ll make a loop and head back to the car directly! It’ll be even shorter this way.”

“Alright, let’s do that,” you agree, and the smile it elicits from him makes something tingle deep in your stomach.

You move forward again, sinking deeper within the forest. It’s becoming harder and harder to walk, brambly branches and huge leaves blocking your way more and more with every step.

You’re a bit ahead of him when you catch sight of a sparkle behind the bushes. Just a glimpse of light, but you’re positive you saw it. Is there water here? You never really looked at a map of the place before—you just always went wherever you felt like and used the same tracks on the way back. You hurry up a bit, curious eyes fixed on that glimmer of light.

Soon enough the dense greenery comes to an end, and you’re finally out of the bushes, finding your way into a little clearing. You’re standing, speechless, in front of a pond: it’s about forty feet wide, catching the last rays of sunshine in a dazzling reflection. The water is surrounded by gigantic trees big enough to be home to an entire niche of biodiversity, and a half-sandy, half-stony shore with reeds rising from the water on both sides.

It’s all calm and quiet and massive trees, branches pouring, cascading above still water. The air feels cool, filled with a pure smell of dew and spring even though it’s the end of a hot day of July.

Izuku is close behind you and lets out a very cute, “Whoa,” ditching his backpack on the ground next to you in the middle of the cove. The both of you just stand there for a moment in complete silence, aside from the birds chirping. Izuku breaks it first:

“How come we’ve never seen this before? This place is amazing.” He sounds distant as he speaks, soaking up his surroundings like he always does.

“I guess you never know everything about anything,” you say mindlessly, without detaching your gaze of the wonderful view ahead.

He’s standing close to you, very close. You’re only noticing now that you’re coming down from the high of your discovery. Your arms are brushing, you can feel his body heat from how close you two are. It wouldn’t be the first time; you’re no stranger to being physically close to Izuku. You’ve been playing together since you were able to put one foot in front of the other. And you wish you could say it feels any different right now, but that would be a lie. Being close to him always felt the same. Always felt like the only easy thing in your life. The only constant.

Yet it’s not enough. No matter how close, it’s never enough, it never was. You hate yourself for feeling that way; you’ve never been the greedy, unsatisfied type. You have everything with Izuku. Well, almost everything.

But right now this place—this very quiet, beautiful place with no one in sight is doing things to your fertile imagination. Despite the sun just beginning to set, the summer air still remains thick with heat. You find yourself staring in the abyss of that water, admiring the masterpiece of a reflection on the surface, a painting of leaves and clouds and blue sky. It calls you, sings an irresistible song of fresh water on sweaty skin and strong, freckled arms wrapped around you.

You don’t know if the slight, insignificant detail that you would have to undress in order to dive into that water—since you didn’t bring a swimsuit—is a better reason to do it or to refrain from doing so.

You’ve lost count of how many moments you’ve shared with him just like this one. So many chances for you to take. You never have.

Back to the original issue: can you see yourself walk out of that clearing the way you always do? Can you see yourself going home, adding this missed chance to your growing collection of lost memories, of hands within your reach that you chose not to take?

The answer pops in your mind, crystal clear for the first time since you met him.

You drop your bag on the ground, turning to Izuku with a delighted expression stretching your features. The look on your face reminds him of one he’d seen on you as a kid, bouncing on the balls of your feet in front of the ice cream truck. At this moment he just knows you’ve got some stupid shenanigan in mind, like you always do. Once again, he isn’t wrong.

“Wanna take a dip?” You’re squinting at him from his side, a mischievous smile lighting up your face.

“I-I didn’t bring a swimsuit,” he stutters.

It’s been a long time since he last stuttered in front of you. He got rid of it years ago, but it still resurfaces sometimes in front of intimidating strangers or in a socially uncomfortable situation. Never in front of you, though.

“Me neither,” you answer plainly with that same impish smile, and his eyes go round at your implications.

“Wait, you can’t be—Oh my God—”

His heart does a great flip in his chest when he catches you taking the hem of your shirt up over your head. In less than five seconds, you’ve got him scorching hot, feverish and suddenly he can’t tell right from left.

His reflex is to bury his face in his hands. He respects you too much to take a peek, but you’re making things very difficult for him. He can hear you move towards the water, can hear the thump of your forgotten shoes hitting the ground one after the other, can hear the soft pad of your naked feet on the rocks.

“For the love of God, please, put it back on…” 

“What? Look at this view, it would be a shame not to make the most of it!”

He’s not looking at the view right now, he can’t let himself. He knows very well he won’t be able to focus on the trees when you’re standing pretty much naked—although he’s not sure to what extent—in front of him. You could be entirely naked right now and he wouldn’t be able to tell, his burning face still hidden in his shaking hands. His voice comes out muffled when he stammers, “I-It’s starting to get late, we really should get back to the car…”

“What, you’re scared of the bears?”

He can’t see you, but he knows you’re sporting that smug grin of yours, the one he first saw when you showed him your impressive collection of Pokémon cards on your preschool’s playground. You’ll have to take a lingering silence for an answer.

“Izuku, come on. I don’t bite.”

He’s not entirely sure the sight of you won’t gnaw him to the bone, won’t melt his entire body down and leave him a hot mess. He won’t be a man anymore, just a walking flame fueled by the heavenly sight of you. No, he can’t let himself fall into that. Obviously you don’t know what you’re doing to him.

Nevertheless, you’re probably the most stubborn person he knows. And he’s friends with Katsuki Bakugou, for God’s sake. He won’t be able to get out of this as easily as he wants, especially as he hears the delicate noise of water splitting at your feet as you enter the little pond.

He slowly moves his hands off of his face. You must have your back turned to him, so maybe he can drift his eyes off somewhere—

You are in front of him, thigh deep in the water now. In nothing but your panties. Your white, flower-patterned lace panties that are doing a very bad job at covering your backside. He lets out a long, pained whine, standing in the middle of the little shore with his arms dangling down his sides, not sure what to do with them.

“Why didn’t you at least keep your bra on?” His voice comes out way more wobbly than he intended to.

You turn a little so you can look at him, and it takes every little bit of strength he’s got left to look you in the eye. But as you’re turning around, the smooth curve of your breast starts showing, and God, is that your nipple?

He wants a giant hole to swallow him right now. He wants some forest creature to come for him right this instant, anything to keep him away from you, keep him from doing things he might regret. To punish him for having such thoughts about you, because you trust him, you’re so oblivious, so innocent, and he’s so weak against this inner monster that’s eating him away.

With a little frown, you deliver the answer like it’s self-evident as you kneel into the water, the surface just above your chest:

“I didn’t want it to get wet.”

“But you’re okay with your panties getting wet?”

The realization of what he just said is slow but surely comes. And when it does, he wishes even harder to get erased from the surface of this planet he’s already lucky enough to share with you. There is a long silence, and all he can hear for a few seconds are the birds chirping and the violent pounding of his heart against his ribcage, straining to get out.

You turn back around to look at him, dumbstruck. 

“I’m more than okay with that—”

“Please forget I just said that,” he cuts you off. He’s not sure he can bear to hear more of this.

“I’m never forgetting you said that. It’s pure gold,” you scoff.

He can only answer with a drawn-out whine. He doesn’t have any choice in this, does he?

When you dive in the water, he takes both his shaking hands to the hem of his shirt and starts undressing.

What the fuck am I doing?

The water is so pure you can see underwater as clear as day: the few rocks at the bottom, the little silvery fish all around you, and the last rays of sunlight permeating through the calm surface above your head. The water feels a bit cold on your naked skin since the sunlight and summer heat must only hit the clearing at certain hours of the day. Still, the cold water isn’t enough to clear your foggy mind.

What was I thinking?

You’ve always been a bashful person, why is it changing all of a sudden? Maybe it’s the devastating effect Izuku has on you.

You try to calm down a bit, taking a deep breath. So, you’re pretty much naked in front of him. Well, it definitely wouldn’t be the first time, and it (probably) won’t be the last. Now you just have to go through with your stupid idea. It’s no big deal, it’s only Izuku. Only Izuku.

Only Izuku.

Fuck.

You finally surface, not only because you can’t hide underwater forever, but also because, surprisingly, you’re not a fish, you have to actually breathe.

You push your dripping hair to the back of your head, still careful to keep your breasts under the water. Izuku’s already in to his hips when you turn around to look at him, your vision still blurry from the water trickling all over your face. He’s merciless, standing like that, only the elastic of his boxers peeking out of the water. You’re a bit surprised by the plain, black color. You were expecting something along the lines of blue, yellow and red. Izuku is full of surprises.

But nevermind the color of his underwear—what you find just above is mesmerizing. Your indiscreet, incorrigible gaze can’t help following the thin trail of hair tracing up to his navel, then the stunning lines of his abs, partly hidden behind his freckled forearms shyly crossed over them. The freckles spread up his powerful arms, gently sunkissed, scattering all over his broad shoulders.

Is he actually hiding, though? Doesn’t he know he looks like he was carved by the gods themselves?

“Have you done this before?”

The sound of his voice startles you a bit. Ah, right. You were shamelessly staring. It takes you a couple of seconds to force your distracted mind back into focus. “Done what?”

“Skinny dipping?”

“No, it’s my first time. It looks like it’s yours too.” His big, bright eyes drift around like they don’t know where to look. It’s really cute.

“It is,” he admits, now kneeling into the water as well. “I would’ve thought you were used to this.” You arch a single eyebrow in an amused frown.

“What, do I look like I have a professional degree in skinny dipping?”

“No, it’s just…You look confident, it just seemed like it.”

Confident? You’re nowhere near confident—you’re terrified. You try to keep your cool, but it’s probably the first time you’re putting on an act in front of Izuku.

“Well, you’re not so bad at it yourself.” You don’t miss the little blush coating his cheeks at that. “Also, I’m not exactly naked.”

“You’re not exactly dressed either, that’s a...v-very small piece of clothing.” He’s blushing a bit harder, looking away.

“Oh, seems like you paid some attention to my piece of clothing then, good to know.”

Now he’s quite simply scarlet. A very cute, very hot, freckled tomato. He’s so easily flustered, it only makes you want to tease him some more.

“Were your legendary All Might boxers in the dirty hamper? That’s a shame. I’m a bit disappointed,” you say in a mockingly innocent voice.

He doesn’t retort, simply stands there on his knees, shooting you an unreadable look and a little pout. After a few seconds, you open your mouth to continue, only to be startled by a strong splash hitting you in the face.

When you snap out of your shock, hair and face dripping all over your shoulders, you look up at him with what must be the scariest look of betrayal. Or the most ridiculous, apparently, since he starts laughing, louder and louder, and can’t seem to stop.

“Oh, you’re pretty pleased with yourself right now, aren’t you?” You can’t help but chuckle while talking, his laugh is so contagious.

“I am, yeah!” he manages to articulate, only starting to calm down.

As the calm of the forest returns, you watch his eyes go back to their usual round shape bit by bit, his face relaxing again. His smile causes butterflies to fly up and around in a whirlwind deep into your belly. You chuckle a bit at the feeling, almost embarrassed by how he’s making you feel like you’re in some dumb, cliche rom-com movie. On the outside, you must look a bit like a maniac, but he’s a nice guy, so he simply asks, “What is it?”

And before you can overthink yourself out of it, you’re hurling yourself at him. He barely has the chance to stutter a weak, “Wait!” before you’re putting all your weight on him, sinking his head deep in the water. Izuku may well be a nice guy, but you know he isn’t going to let you get away with this, so you’re not surprised when you’re dragged underwater by your legs. He lets go immediately, a bit abruptly, even, like it burnt his hands to touch you.

You both emerge from the water soon, and it takes you a second to get rid of the water blurring your vision, but then it hits you. How tantalizingly close you are to each other now, your bodies an inch away from touching. You’re both on your knees, enveloped in the coolness of crystal clear water and the reflections of the canopy of leaves above your heads. A spark of electricity makes you freeze on the spot; you’re so close to him your breasts slightly brush against his chest.

After a little eternity, you find the courage to look up at his face. He looks mindblowing, really. Despite the two decades you spent together, you’re not sure you’ve ever seen the pure, astonishing details of his freckles from this close. You would remember it, you definitely would. It’s a spectacular view, one of those visual memories that comes back to hit you in flashes. His nose and cheekbones are covered in them, drawing a mesmerizing pattern, more complex than the Milky Way itself. They’re an uncrackable equation, like a weird quirk of nature that you’ll never understand but don’t question anyway. They spread a little more scattered, but still very present, up to his forehead and down to his delicate jaw.

And his eyes—you could just drown in them. There’s this bright, blinding light there that feels like laying in the grass and looking up at the sunlight coating the leaves of this tree, the one you grew up near and always played under.

You swear you didn’t move, neither did he, and still you manage to get even closer to him. Now it’s you against the inexorable attraction that pulls you towards him like a fierce magnet. And it’s a losing battle, you think, as you’re both entering each other’s personal space like you share just one.

There’s nothing friendly about the way he can’t look you in the eye, seemingly too obsessed with your lips. You drop your gaze to his and find them calling for you. It’s been so long, now the thought of kissing Izuku seems unfamiliar despite being ever-present in your imagination for so many years. Like repeating a word so much it ends up becoming a series of meaningless sounds to your confused mind.

He’s the one who finally closes the distance, his lips landing on yours so softly you can barely feel them. He doesn’t move, simply content with the contact. You’re both eight years old again for a minute. The kiss feels like the little peck a kid would finally give to his crush in the middle of their school’s playground before running away to his friends.

Time seems to stop for God knows how long, and after what feels like no time and forever all at once, his lips move hesitantly against yours, bringing you back to reality. Right then, it all crashes on you like a tremendous wave. The distant echo of your mothers’ voices from the kitchen and the stupid cartoons they made you watch so they could talk for ten more minutes. The games alone together because no one wanted to play with you two weirdos. The piggyback rides, the dumb jokes, the video games (you always won). The neverending texting sessions at night because one of you couldn’t sleep. The fights that never lasted long enough to see the next sunrise because you both are way too weak for each other. All those stupid places that wouldn’t have looked half as breathtaking if it weren’t for him.

His lips are soft but roughly bitten. Hot and wet from the water and maybe from something else. He doesn’t taste like anything other than home, and that’s more than enough for you. His hands went up to cup your face at some point, but you’re too drowned in all the feelings coming up to the surface to pay attention to anything other than his soft mouth pressing on yours, more and more, opening up—

And it’s already over. You only notice that you’ve closed your eyes when you open them again when you don’t feel anything against your mouth other than the summer air. When your mind manages to regain any sense of function, the blurry focus of your gaze settles on his eyes. Wide open. Pupils eating up the dazzling viridian that puts the forest to shame. And a terrified expression in them.

He’s looking at you like he hurt you. His lips should still be on yours, kissing and sucking, not frozen like they are right now, obviously trying to express something painful as a few weak sounds pass their barrier before he finally manages to speak:

“Oh—Oh my God, I-I’m s—”

You don’t let him finish his stupid sentence. You don’t think twice before you take his face in your hands and lean in to kiss him again, with shameless intent this time. No more pretending—you’ve been waiting long enough for this and apparently, so has he.

It’s nothing gentle this time when your mouths crash against each other, teeth clashing and lips bruising under the weight of twenty years. You hold to his face like a lifeline, fingers sinking just a bit into his cheekbones, the tip of your nails getting caught in the knots of his dripping hair just above his ears. It’s messy, your noses rubbing before he angles his face better. One of his hands loops around your waist in a tight grip, forcing your chest to crush against his, the other burying in your hair at the base of your skull.

The feeling is electrifying, indescribable. It’s nothing like the pale, miserable depiction of your imagination. It’s discovering life in color when all you’ve always known was black and white.

The water is cool, but his body scorches against yours, burns your skin in the most exquisite way. The kiss is desperate on both parts, but neither of you is confident. His lips suck on yours with tentative motions, and you respond in kind the best you can. They are hungry, starving for flesh but don’t know how to hunt.

Your hands are gripping more and more of his hair, pulling harder, sending waves of heat all the way down his groin, and he’s not sure he can hide the bulge growing there for much longer.

He has to be sure, he has to be absolutely certain you want this as much as he does, because once he starts, he may not be able to stop. But you feel so good, all pressed against him. Your skin feels so soft under his hand at the small of your back he has to dig his nails in the skin of your waist so he doesn’t cross a line. But the curve just above your ass is begging for him to grip at the tender flesh and squeeze, fill his hands with it. He’s been dreaming about this for so long.

No, he can’t just hurl himself at you like a hunting wolf the first chance he gets—what kind of friend does that?

It takes him every bit of focus he has left to break the kiss, to part away from you. You have to discuss this, he can’t just throw away twenty years of friendship! Now you’re looking up at him with puppy eyes saying, ‘Why won’t you play with me?’ He breathes out a shaky sigh, and begins:

“Um, look. Believe me when I say I’ve wanted this for a very, very long time, and I love you so, so much. As a friend, I mean.” He sees you frown at this, catches a glint of something he doesn’t like in your eyes, then panics. “No, no, no, I mean, a-as a friend, but also more than that, o-obviously. But I don’t know what you want, you might be...d-disappointed, or...um—” His face starts heating up like it hasn’t in ages. He takes another breath, tries to clear up the muddled mess happening in his head. “Look, I just want the best for you, but you look...good, very good, and you’re making things very difficult for me, doing...this—”

“Izuku.” The deafening hubbub filling his mind falls suddenly silent, your voice a comforting, steady rock for him to cling to when his mind is storming out of control.

“Yeah?”

You get even closer to him, since he gradually set some distance while mumbling his anxious thoughts out again. You cup his face in your hands, a gentle, featherlight touch, and look up at him with determination in your eyes. You pull his head down a bit to settle on yours, your foreheads and noses connected, never breaking eye contact. Your lips graze over his, both your breaths mixing there, your voice a quiet whisper as you speak again. “Do you want me?”

Out of the jittery mess of his mind, the answer comes out like evidence, plain and simple: “Yes.”

“Then shut up and kiss me.”

You take action immediately, kissing him once again and this time he doesn’t hesitate to put his—still rather shaky—hands on you. The feeling of you is addicting, pushing his insecurities further in the back of his mind. He starts at your waist, running his thumbs there, feeling the goosebumps rising on your skin. They wander up your spine, counting every single bump of your bones, all the way to your nape. Then dragging them back down to settle on your hips, his fingers digging in the soft flesh. The little sigh you breathe on his lips causes an impressive amount of blood to run straight to his dick. 

Your mouth is distracting, dizzying, sucking on his bottom lip, nipping playfully. His tongue slides over your lips, then against your own when you open up immediately for him. You’re pressing against him even more, your breasts rubbing against his naked chest and he swears you’re going to be the death of him. You’re hanging from his shoulders by now, your arms circling his neck, still gripping a handful of green hair, pulling. You have to stop doing this—he might cum right away. He doesn’t say it aloud, only lets a moan escape him into your mouth.

He wanted this, wanted this for so long, and now that it’s real, it’s beyond everything he could have imagined. The heat of your skin, the weight on his shoulders as you cling to him, your breath in his mouth, your little sighs.

He’s only now noticing that his hands have gone to reach their destination with a mind of their own. They’re on your ass underwater, feeling the white, wet lace, the sole cloth on your entire body—that thing is just there to tempt him. He’s unsure if you like what he’s doing until you release a whimper, louder this time, enough to send a vibration against his mouth (and straight to his cock at the same time).

Suddenly, he wants to taste a lot more of you. You’re all open up to him for the first time—he has to. He trails a series of open-mouthed kisses from the corner of your mouth to your jaw, savoring every little sigh escaping your lips, then to your neck, dragging his tongue up the column of your throat.

The water is fresh all over you, and he doesn’t miss the shivers running up and down your skin at the contact of the twilight breeze. He needs to warm you up, needs to make you feel good, needs everything to be perfect for you. With his hands still on your ass, he trails lower down to your collarbone, allowing some occasional nips on the way that have you shaking. He freezes, looking up at you from there.

“Is this okay?”

The answer comes out breathy, a little desperate: “Yes, yes, please!” It sends a wave of heat all over him, the way you like what he’s doing to you, the way he’s making you feel good.

He’s not experienced or anything, only had a few hookups a couple of times, so he’s not very confident in his capacities, aside from running his hands all over you because that’s how his instincts are manifesting. You know him better than anyone—of course you would know how lost he could be in this kind of situation. But he also knows you’re not much more experienced than him, and that thought is comforting.

He’s experienced in one thing, though. He feels like the worst, filthiest person on the planet for this, but it’s astonishing the number of times he jerked off to the thought of what’s happening right now. How many times did he fuck his hand in the shower thinking about the water trickling down your skin, about licking it off your breasts all the way up to your neck.

So he does what he’s been dying to do for years. your breasts are just above the surface, so he sits on his heels and licks down your chest. When his tongue finally reaches your nipple, giving it a tentative lick, you let out a gasp, encouraging him to get bolder. And he does, closing his mouth on it like it’s the sweetest lollipop; it’s all cold and hard and raised from the water, but it warms up really quickly against the furnace of his mouth. His right hand leaves your ass to cup the neglected other, running his thumb against the bud, squeezing the flesh. That’s when you reach out to bury a hand in his hair, and pull again. God, you can pull on his hair all day and night like this; he’ll never get enough.

His left hand, still on your ass, rises up to the small of your back, feeling you arching more and more, pushing against his mouth. A harder nip has you gasping and he lets his hands run all over you, wandering without direction. It’s messy and urgent; he can’t help it—you feel so good, so soft under his hands. He’s like a kid getting to open his Christmas gifts in the morning after an endless, sleepless night waiting for Santa.

You trail your hand down his chest and his abdomen, a gentle reminder that the power he holds right now could slip through his fingers any moment. He’s willing to give it to you, especially since he doesn’t really know what to do next.

Like you just read his mind, you take his hands in yours, stopping their chaotic race. He’s feeling himself flush a bit—was he going too fast for you? Did he scare you? Or did he just let himself become overwhelmed by his feelings and it didn’t feel good for you? His eyes are looking down directly at your naked chest, he realizes he never took a proper look at them, too busy throwing himself to taste them. They look just as good as they taste, as beautiful as the rest of you.

Tentatively, he raises his eyes to find your reassuring gaze and fond smile. You lead his hands down slowly, setting them on your hips, over the criminal lace fabric preserving your modesty. Your foreheads connect again, but you never break eye contact. Lacing your fingers together, you guide his thumbs into the elastic on both sides, and now that he gets what you’re trying to do, his mind just stops.

Your voice is barely a whisper, a mesmerizing caress on his lips when you speak again. “I think I’ve waited long enough, Zuku.”

Your tone is fond, but you sound so desperate, it’s unbearably cute. His mind fogs up, the smoke of your words filling his skull and he wants to drive you as mad as you drive him. Sure, you’ve waited a lot, but so has he. He isn’t going to rush this, not if he has any say in it.

He slides your panties down your thighs underwater inch by inch. It’s even too slow for him; right now he just wants to rip the stupid piece of lace off of you and fuck you and him both stupid in the water, hard and fast. But even more than that, he wants to take his time with you, wants to take you apart piece by piece. And the testy whine it elicits from you makes it all so worth it.

You shift a bit so he can take your underwear completely off and, in a second, it lays abandoned on the sandy ground of the shore. Just knowing you’re now completely naked in front of him, it sends boiling desire flowing through every single vein in his body. He can’t see that part of you yet, the water darkening along with the sky clouding his view beneath the surface, but nightfall can’t do anything about Izuku’s wild imagination. He’s dizzy, feeling himself slowly falling into a half-conscious daze, but you anchor him right where you are, bringing him back to the reality of your arms hooked around his neck.

He rests his hands on your hips, dragging his fingertips down the soft flesh of them. The idea of touching you down there is making his head spin, he can’t wait any longer.

“Can I—”

“Yes, I want your fingers inside me,” you say before driving your lips back against his.

Without further ado, one of them goes straight to your core, making you jump a bit, breaking the kiss just for a second. He runs his index between your folds, feeling hot slick already coming out of you despite the fresh water around. His touch is light, slow, hesitant as it glides up and down, testing the waters. He’s getting a bit further, putting a bit more pressure with every stroke and earning a few pleased sighs from your heavenly mouth.

He expected a sudden reaction as soon as he found your clit, but that doesn’t mean he was prepared for the drawn-out moan coming out of your gorgeous lips, wet from his mouth and from your dip earlier. He wants to hear that again, every day for the rest of his life. He drags his thumb over it, again and again, slow at first, but then quicker and quicker, and your voice grows louder with every speed-up of his finger.

Your hands go frantic over him, running up his chest and down his abs in repeated motions that feel a lot like it’s lust driving your limbs much more than your mind. You stopped kissing him at some point, your mouth too busy expressing every ounce of pleasure you felt to focus on such basic motions. Your face is buried in his neck, your hot breath crushing against his skin.

He presses his index inside, but he’s so focused on what he’s doing, trying not to hurt you, that he doesn’t notice the shift of your own hand leaning down until he feels it cupping the painful bulge in his boxers. His eyes go wide with a gasp, and when he looks at you, you already have a playful, but intense, gaze piercing right through him.

“Did you think I was gonna let you play all on your own, Zuku?” Your fingers graze over the soaked fabric, down his entire length and to his balls, throwing gasoline on the fire that’s been consuming him for ages. “Don’t be selfish,” you whisper directly in his ear as your hands slip his underwear down his thighs.

As soon as the piece of cloth gets to join your forgotten panties on the shore, you wrap your pretty hand around him. And when you start stroking, his eyes roll so hard he swears he can see the inside of his skull. It feels better than he ever could have imagined; it’s blistering, astonishing. The only idea his brain can manage to work out right now is that he wants you to feel just as good.

He only notices now that his fingers stopped moving, and they go right back to a steady pace, but it’s a matter of seconds before he drives another finger into you. Soon, you’re both fucking the life out of each other with your hands. You’re sucking and nipping at his ear, and every single moan he draws out of you ends up turning against him, breaking into the defenses he built year after year by your side. He’s simply fucking into your hand now. He can’t help it, you feel so good. He doesn’t even want to think about what it’s going to feel like to fuck into your tight little cunt, he might cum hard just from the thought of it.

The spongy spot he finds inside you feels like he just struck gold. It’s glorious, the sounds you make right now, higher, louder. You’re tightening around his fingers, but it’s okay—you can crush them for all he cares. He wants you to moan higher for him, wants you to keep riding his fingers like your life depends on it.

“Izuku, ah—I’m close, I’m so close, please…”

“I got you, baby. I got you, shit—”

He quickens the pace again, feels like his fingers are gonna fall off his hand the moment he gets them out of you, but fuck, what his princess wants, his princess is gonna get. Your orgasms shatter the both of you to pieces, and in the bliss of his high, he can hear some birds flying away, scared by the harmonious, but probably very loud, song of your combined moans.

While his cum strikes out by ropes into the water, his clouded mind can only think about one thing.

He needs more of you.

You can barely stand on your knees, worn out from cumming the hardest you have in your entire life. You actually have to lean on Izuku so you don’t fall into the water head first like some boneless ragdoll. You just let your forehead rest on his shoulder and count the freckles there, splattered in a fascinating work of abstraction.

But apparently, he has other plans. You’re swiftly lifted up and out of the water, huge scarred hands firmly holding the back of your thighs that immediately come to circle his waist.

“Oh, nice. I don’t mind getting carried around like a baby. Where are we going?”

“Not far,” he says with a little grin, walking out of the water. “Do you think you’ll be able to walk?” His voice holds a sarcastic tone, one you’re not used to hearing out of Izuku’s angel mouth.

“I think I can manage, yeah.”

He drops you to stand on your legs, and immediately goes for his backpack. The sun has just set, its last rays of light filling the pink sky over your heads. You can still easily make out everything around you, and Izuku’s body is no exception.

You’re watching him with a raised eyebrow, letting your shameless gaze follow every curve you couldn’t see underwater. The day he started exercising in high school was the day you knew it was over for you. It was the day you couldn’t deny what you felt anymore, you couldn’t deny your best friend was everything you needed, and everything you wished for. The physical factor was only a—very pleasant— addition to the list of things that made you fall hard for Izuku Midoriya.

Your eyes linger over his impressive figure, staring at the dimples at the small of his back. You always knew they were here, but you never allowed yourself to look at them, to imagine how they would grow repeatedly hollow with every thrust of his hips into you.

He finally digs out what he was looking for: a plaid picnic blanket, because of course he would have one in there. He’s wearing a little victorious smile when he stands and turns around to spread it on a grassy spot that looks a lot more comfortable than the hard ground. He turns back to you but averts his gaze to the side, hardly looking directly at you for more than a second at a time. The heat of his gaze tracing your curves through quick glances pools deep in your core. 

“You know you can look, right?” You sure aren’t refraining from doing so after all.

His face reaches its usual redness—hasn’t he learned anything from making you cum like crazy with just his fingers? It’s cute nonetheless; Izuku will never change.

He doesn’t answer your rhetorical question, only gives you a shy command in that tentative, very cute voice of his.

“Could you lay down on this for me?”

You saw this coming, but still, you’re a bit surprised he’s asking you that out loud. You gladly oblige with your legs pressed together, slightly bent. It’s another golden opportunity to tease him a bit:. “This isn’t exactly the right use for this blanket. Aren’t we supposed to eat on this?”

He smiles at the ground while kneeling at your feet.

“Maybe that’s exactly what I’m planning to do.”

Your sly smile fades away. His tone is a contradictory mix of shyness and determination, so it’s a bit confusing but also unbearably hot—you swear an astounding wave of heat is crashing through your deepest parts, untouched, just from some words and a funny tone. You rub your thighs together before he grabs and parts them to slip himself between them.

He crawls over you and leans down to kiss you, a bit more confident than earlier. His hips are pressing between your legs, where you can feel his hardness best.

He’s rutting more and more against you as the kiss intensifies. You could think it’d be a lot less exciting now that you know he’s going to eat you out, there’d be no suspense. Wrong. The little shit apparently likes to tease you to death, because he left your lips to kiss your face, nip at your neck, suck at your ears. Dragging his devilish hands everywhere, pressing harder each time you get louder. An especially heavy whine makes him buck hard, his mouth back against yours.

“The more impatient you get, the slower it’s gonna be,” he murmurs against your lips, and starts to make his way down to where you want him, kissing every inch of you, clouding your mind with desire. It’s way too much and still not enough; it’s maddening. When he finally reaches down, you’re on the verge of a second orgasm like you hadn’t just come down a few minutes ago.

He’s holding your thighs apart in a firm grip. Just the touch of his fingers burns your skin deliciously, and the look he’s giving you from between your legs...his eyes are clouded, half-lidded, looking at the part of you he’s never gotten to see before. It feels like he’s been looking forever and just a second at the same time.

He finally dips into you, leaving butterfly kisses all over your inner thighs, punctuated by little nips, nuzzling the soft skin. He’s not looking you in the eye anymore, his gaze lingering all over your body—all over except for your face. You can make out a slight blush on his cheeks despite the dimness all around. You know him better than anyone, so you immediately recognize what’s going on in his mind just from the slightest hint in his eyes. He looks like he’s fighting a battle against himself, his shyness against his hunger. And you know who you’re both rooting for.

He finally gives in, and it takes your breath away. A single, slight lick on your clit and you’re gone. And the next ones, more and more intense, more and more hungry, push you further to tumble over your edge. He grunts into your heat, multiple times. Moans like he’s the one squirming under your mouth.

His hands hold a firm grip on your hips, squeezing the flesh and keeping you in place—he doesn’t even give you an inch to move. You can only take and take and take. But you still have the luxury of your free hands, and they rush to bury in the knots of his messy wet curls, your nails dragging, scratching his scalp.

His lips close on your clit and suck just a bit, and before you can refrain, you pull on his hair, hard. He gasps, and the moment you think you hurt him, he breathes his loudest moan, right into you. You’re filled with the vibrations—they spread all over your body, have you throwing your head back, trembling from head to toe.

The louder you are, the hungrier he gets, filling you with his insatiable tongue. You have to look at him right now. And you expected quite a show, but you certainly weren't prepared to see this—him rutting against the ground like an animal. You realize he’s getting off just from your taste, just from eating you out. His hips roll repeatedly, making you salivate just to the thought of those same hips bucking into yours, fucking you into oblivion. And the more he ruts, the louder he gets.

Now if he wants to moan, you’re going to give him a good reason to. 

You hint for him to face you with a light tug on his hair. As soon as he’s back up, he dives in to kiss you. You don’t let him. In a second he’s on his back with you seated on his hips.

“What did I say about letting you play on your own, hm?”

The ‘deer caught in headlights’ look is so cute on him. And the rest is a marvel to look at. You’re straddling him and he has no other choice than to let you devour him with your eyes—not that he couldn’t bounce you off of him with just a thrust of his hips, but he already would have if he wanted to. You let your gaze wander mindlessly over him—it’s surreal. There’s no way he’s actually under you, waiting for you to please him back with his mouth and jaw still shining with your juices. It has to be a dream—it’s always been after all.

You shift so you’re straddling his parted thighs. You can finally take a look at him. The whole thing, that is. His cock is resting against his lower stomach, hard and swollen and thick. It’s a pretty, bright pink, shining with pre-cum at the tip. Your mouth waters just at the sight of it.

He’s looking down at you, his face as flushed as his dick, that usual blush still exquisitely coating his freckles. You take him in your hand, dive in to give a lick to the tip and his head falls back down with a whimper. You let your tongue drag over the whole length on the underside, and your lips close around the tip in a wet smooch. His hips jerk up a bit, startling you.

You finally take him whole in your mouth, and you can feel his whole body tensing under you. You start bobbing up and down, going a bit further each time, earning a series of shameless moans because this boy is loud. You expected him to express himself during sex since he’s such a mumbler—and frankly, it was always one of your biggest fantasies, hearing him come undone because of you, lose any sense of shame and self-restriction when he’s such a anxious person otherwise.

But you could’ve thought about it every night and day and still never be ready for this. It’s sinful. His hand goes to grab your hair just like you did to him, and now you get why he liked it so much. The feel of his nails scratching your scalp is electrifying, soothing and destructive at the same time.

Your tongue hits a precise spot just under the tip and he jerks up again, nearly screams, “Fuck—yes, right there, please—d-do that again!”

And you do, you can only oblige—he asked so nicely. Your lips go up and down, over and over, your tongue grazing this spot with a bit more pressure every single time. You squint over him, and what you find there is a mess. Trying so hard not to buck into your mouth but failing miserably. Sounding like he’s at Heaven’s gate.

“Easy, Zuku. You’re gonna scare the birds away,” you chuckle against him, your lips brushing the tip, dripping with your saliva and pre-cum.

“Do I need to remind you…how loud you were for me earlier?” He’s looking back down at you as he speaks, a tremble in his voice telltale of his approaching climax. “You sounded...so good, baby, I swear...wanna hear you again, wanna make you scream, just for me, fuck—”

You can feel yourself soaking the blanket, can feel the slick trickle down your folds and stain the plaid cotton. Is he aware of what he’s doing? Or is he just saying whatever is going through his chaotic mind? In any case it has you starving. So you let go of his cock and, before he can protest, crawl back to his face and kiss him desperately. Tasting both of your fluids in a mindblowing mix.

You pull back just enough to be able to speak, because you need him to understand you loud and clear when you say:  “Please, Izuku, I need you inside me, I’ve waited so long. Please.”

“Okay, okay, fuck—” He cuts himself off, his eyes slightly drooping like a sad puppy. “I-I don’t have any condoms.”

“You mean you probably have pads in there for me but no condoms?” you say with your eyebrows raised, your mocking tone hinting at a teasing remark, far from criticism.

He frowns in confusion. “How do you know I have pads in there?”

“So the legend turns out to be true. After all these years—”

“Shut up, you’re impossible,” he chuckles heatlessly, resting his hands on your back.

“It’s okay. I’m on the pill,” you assure him with a soft tone.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m pretty sure I’m on the pill, yeah.”

He rolls his eyes, then clarifies, a hint of hesitation clear in his voice.

“No I mean...you’re sure you wanna do this?” He marks a brief pause, takes a short breath. “With me?”

You don’t even think before answering, it slips your mouth like it’s not even your own words: “I don’t want it with anyone else.”

There’s a silence.

“Fuck, that sounds cheesy,” you scoff, looking away.

“It does, but we’re both cheesy idiots, apparently.”

You look back at him. His smile is so fond, so loving; it melts your heart in the best way.

“I wanna be your cheesy idiot,” you say against his mouth, looking right into his eyes, willing to fall in them.

“You always have been,” he nearly whispers. It fills your stomach with familiar warmth, intense and overwhelming, comforting.

There’s a bittersweet taste in your mouth, one of regret and lost time and God, we’re idiots.

Now it’s about time you make up for it all.

You look down at him, rolling your hips against him, dripping all over his cock, coating him in your juices.

“I think I asked you something, didn’t I?”

A whimper escapes him at the feeling. His hips buck up slightly, hands gripping at your back. When you do it again, you don’t get the chance to see his reaction; you’re on your back again, him towering over you, his thigh between your legs.

He’s looking at you with something in his eyes you don’t recognize, but the tone he speaks with has your entire body quaking.

“And you’re gonna get it, sweetheart.”

He holds himself over his left forearm, his hand thumbing at your cheek while the other strokes the whole length of your thigh. Your noses are brushing, your breaths crashing together. Your hands hold tight to his nape, playing with the short hair mindlessly as you’re waiting to be filled, finally.

You feel the stretch instantly. You try to focus on those mesmerizing emerald gems he calls eyes. They look right through your soul, eating you up and you barely feel the pain. He’s taking it slow, inch by inch, giving you all the time you need, caressing your cheek with a tender stroke of his thumb.

“Relax for me, baby.”

Izuku’s voice is a soothing sound over the incessant chirping of the grasshoppers. It was always one of your favorite things to hear, its every tone another blessing to your ears. It’s loving when he asks if you’re okay, comforting when he whispers sweet nothings to you as you cry on his shoulder, heartening when he’s going on about anything he’s passionate about.

He’s kissing every part of skin he has access to, over your face, your jaw, your neck. You feel yourself relaxing around him, and roll your hips up to give him the hint.

When he starts moving it’s still slow and careful. He doesn’t break eye contact, so you can see his every reaction, and he can see all yours. His hand is still playing with your hair, even as his pace speeds up with every second. The weight of him over you feels amazing, it holds him close against you, countless parts of you both rubbing together: your chests, your stomachs, your thighs. He doesn’t even have a lot of space to move. But getting to touch and get touched by him like this, it's incredible. You always had him so close to you, always right there and still so out of reach.

You still need more; you’re insatiable. You need to see him come undone under you, because of you. You push him to roll on his back, and you end up straddling him, setting the pace yourself. You start bouncing up and down on his cock, taking balance on the hard planes of his abs. He immediately reaches up to grab your hips, guiding you along.

His face tenses up, frowning, his nose wrinkling, his lips parted just to let out a series of breathy sighs. He looks wrecked and dizzy and stunning. He’s keeping his eyes open, fixed up on you, specifically on your breasts, bouncing with your every motion. And you can feel his gaze on your skin just as much as you feel his hands gripping harder at the flesh below your hips.

“Eyes up here, Zuku,” you coo with two fingers pointed at your eyes.

He doesn’t answer, only sits up easily and wraps his arms around your waist.

“You look so amazing, you have no idea what you do to me,” he says with a trembling voice, filled with bliss.

Your heart misses a beat at his words, they fill you with warmth and comfort because he definitely doesn’t have any idea what he’s doing to you. He delves his face into your neck, kissing and nuzzling, his breath coming shorter and shorter, crashing against your skin and his hands running all over you. The sound of his hoarse voice resonates through the forest and through your soul, echoing an enchanting song.

With little effort, he puts you back under him so he can pound into you with full force, and your legs immediately come up to wrap around his waist, pulling him deeper. Your hands grab his hair, tugging to see if you get the same reaction as earlier, and it doesn’t miss: he lets out a groan right into your ear, speeding up his pace again.

The sky is dark now, and all you can hear are his moans and yours and the slap of your hips coming together repeatedly. Your head is thrown back when he grabs you by the hair, forcing you to turn your head and face him.

“Look at me. I wanna see you.”

“Izuku, I’m gonna—”

“I know, baby. Let go for me, come on.”

Just the feel of his hand trailing down your stomach awakens something in you, this familiar pressure growing tight in your belly. And when his fingers reach your clit, a couple of strokes are enough to have you screaming his name, tightening around him, and pulling him towards his climax with you. His thrusts come franticly as you milk him dry, clawing desperately at his back, panting in his mouth as he leaned down to kiss you through both your climaxes.

As soon as he comes down, he rolls over on his side, still laying close to you, an arm thrown over you. You both take a minute to catch your breaths and, weirdly enough, you don’t hear anything aside from your panting. You really must have scared the birds away. Izuku breaks the silence first.

“Do you wanna...sleep at my place?”

He’s looking over at you and, despite the sky getting dark, you can easily imagine the blush coating his cheeks right now, like he didn’t make you scream his name, drunk on his cock two minutes ago.

You can’t repress your fond smile at his proposition.

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

You take a minute to gather your clothes from all over the place and get dressed, then grab your bag to tug it over your shoulder.

“You got everything?”

Izuku is waiting for you just outside the trees. You take a quick look around, making sure you haven’t forgotten anything, and turn around without a second look at the place.

Because although it was your first time setting foot here, it definitely won’t be the last; you will come back here with Izuku every chance you get, making it your shared secret, your own little wonderland.

You gladly take the hand he’s offering, making him blush a little harder, and you head straight back into the forest together.

You walk side by side as a comfortable silence settles, only disturbed by the grasshoppers’ incessant, boisterous chirping. The sky is utterly dark now, you can make out a few stars shining above the dense trees. You walk at a steady pace, but Izuku is going a bit faster with every step. Soon enough, he’s walking a bit ahead of you, still holding your hand. Another golden occasion to tease his eagerness.

“Are we in a hurry, Zuku?”

In the dark of the night, you struggle to make out the look on his face as he turns around to look at you. A second later, he’s running, and with your hand firmly held in his, you can’t do much but try to follow along. You giggle as you run, and it quickly grows into a belly-deep laughter. He’s fast, doesn’t get tired, but you follow him anyway, probably as eager as he is. You have to zig-zag so you don’t run straight into the massive trees standing in your way.

You get to the car in no time, but you’re both out of breath when you finally get in your respective seats, ready to go home.

Izuku doesn’t even wait to catch his breath before he starts the car, the engine roaring loudly in the silence of the night, probably scaring the birds away for the upteenth time that night. You catch his happy grin in the headlights glow before he heads back into the road.

You have a feeling the night is not over; you’ve only got twenty years to make up for after all.

[3laxx]

Maternal Feelings

There she was.

Her tiny granddaughter.

She had a bit lighter skin than Luz and just about Amity’s hair color. And she was so damn tiny.

Eda found herself getting scared, suddenly. This was a really small kid. This was like, a stupidly small child. She would not hold that baby for any number of snails.

---

Eda meets her newborn grandddaughter for the first time.

I don't know man I'm just chucking out words rn like I'm running from something.

But I had this thought of Eda meeting a very small child and my stupid brain was like "We can do that instead of sleeping" xD

So yeah, have this incredibly fluffy oneshot about Eda coming to terms with her Momma feelings and adjusting to being a grandma.

I just really wanted Eda to get emotional over a baby

Don't even ask Idk

Have fun reading! <3

Ao3 / FF.net

---

Eda had never been the most maternal.

Not in her youth, not when she had found King, and not when she had sort of adopted and sheltered Luz until she had graduated and been able to stand on her own two feet.

Not when King had taken her name and not when Amity had asked her for Luz’s hand, which had in truth just been a mockery of her parents’ traditions and had given Eda nothing more than an excuse to drink some apple blood with her future daughter-in-law.

Of course, she had seen Luz as a daughter at some point, had called herself her mother, had cared for her.

She had made their meals, had helped Luz with the homework – even if that had disgusted her – she had taught Luz and King everything she knew, she had tucked King in, cared for Luz when she had gotten sick or sad. She had of course done everything in her power to make sure her kids were content and happy.

That didn’t mean she had felt as though she was a mother. She had liked pretending to be the sort of crazy aunt, in charge of all the bad decisions.

But she had never seen herself as maternal.

Well, she supposed that came from not really setting any rules. When she had been younger, she had always been under the impression that mothers had to set rules, educate their children, and raise them. She had never really raised King or Luz.

She had just sort of made them laugh, given them food, and then they hadn’t left anymore. Like the free-loaders they were. Kind of like pests, actually.

It had always made them laugh if she had called them that. It had made her laugh.

Because she loved them, of course. She didn’t know love alone could turn her, the irresponsible, free-spirited wild witch a mother.

She supposed she had been a mother for King and Luz. Without setting rules, without all the raising stuff. She supposed her kids had turned her the littlest bit maternal.

Was it normal for friends to stay up at night and change the cold applications on Luz’s forehead in the hopes of bringing her fever down? Was it called caring and loving when she went out of her way to get King’s favorite toy, to get Luz the food she could actually digest, to make sure King was free of fleas and bathed and tucked in at night?

Did it make her a mother if she risked her own life to ensure they could lead a happy life?

Eda never knew the line between loving, as friends, and maternal.

Raine had started calling her out on her maternal feelings once she got the littlest bit protective of Luz.

Well, it wasn’t her fault that everything made her jump after Belos had almost – had, in fact – killed Luz on the day of unity. It wasn’t her fault that she woke up at night in a cold sweat, rushing to check on her daughter in the room next to hers sleeping peacefully, only to return to a sleepy Raine dazedly grinning at her with a smug, shit-eating expression of “Told you so”.

Every time, they would roll over their mattress in her nest and wrap an arm around her waist and tell her she was such a sweet mother.

Well, she was. She was the Momma of the Owl House.

But maternal?

Eda supposed she was.

After all, even if friends would do the same as her, a mother would make sure everything stayed safe and protected in her house. Making sure there was food on the table that Luz could eat. Making sure King was feeling loved, despite having discovered his past.

Making sure Luz had all her school materials, spending money on icky, stupid books. Giving her an allowance. Keeping her and King safe.

Well, Eda had never really tried finding a definition for maternal. All the love she had gained for King and Luz had just been that to her – love. And it had been enough.

She had loved calling herself Momma and had loved treating Luz like her daughter and King like her son, and she had loved calling them her kids. She just supposed the word itself – maternal – didn’t exactly describe what she was. She, herself, as Eda the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles, an agent of chaos and the most daring criminal history had ever seen.

She had just assumed a mother wouldn’t call herself these titles.

Seemed like her view of a mother had been wrong.

Any person could be a mother, a parent, a father, or anything remotely close to this. And she supposed, caring for Luz and King, taking them in, giving them food, kind of did make her a maternal person, while never losing her pride as a criminal and generally irresponsible person.

A mother.

Well, whatever a mother was, or whatever maternal feelings were, or whatever she defined herself at and whatever she did for Luz and King.

Here she found herself, fidgeting next to her spouse, her excited teenage son in tow who was already towering over her height, in front of the healer’s coven building.

Whatever a mother was, she would probably feel that way. Well, Camila – Luz’s other mother – next to her other side was buzzing in excitement just as much as she was. The two women exchanged a glance before Camila gave her a small smile and she felt Raine taking her hand.

King gave a groan when he finally placed his claws on Eda’s and Camila’s shoulders and pushed them up the three steps into the main entrance, rolling his eyes.

After Belos had been taken down – after he had actually very much killed Luz, Eda had just brought her back to life – Luz and her friends had taken on graduation while the Boiling Isles had experienced a change in the government. Covens were no longer used to steal or limit magic. Instead, they had been used as a way to form a working parliament, with an elected group of government heads. After the gang had graduated, Luz had worked towards getting a way back home while helping establish a stable government form from the makeshift temporary one they had managed to create after Belos’ defeat. Luz had actually helped them quite a bit by telling of experiences made in the human realm, where politics were apparently a lot more twisted than here on the Isles.

Eda and Lilith had been elected as part of the group forming the government, even if Eda had dropped out after one or two periods, while her sister had taken charge like it had been the most natural thing for her.

Discovering that politics hadn’t really been up to her alley – she was way more interested in rebellions than anything else – she had begun building a legal business since she didn’t have to fear being captured anymore. It had gone pretty well.

Raine had started working in the government as well as Amity, while Luz had started working to mastering all forms of glyphs she could find, admitting her studies to the academics, and shortly after, had been offered to become a teacher at Hexside by Bump to teach magicless witches and demons glyph magic.

After traveling the Isles and working on her studies, Luz had accepted and finally settled down with Amity. It really hadn’t been a surprise to Eda when Amity had come to her and Raine with a ring and asked them to marry Eda’s daughter.

After already asking Camila that is.

Eda faintly felt King pushing her into the cool building that smelled like disinfectant – a nifty cleaning drug from the human realm that Luz had introduced them to – before hearing herself asking the receptionist where the room of the Noceda-Blights was.

A kind of bored-looking demon sighed and looked the room number up in the list, before pointing them in the direction. Again, Eda’s feet felt like they had been planted into the tiles below her.

Only after Raine gave her a light push, she moved again.

So, the world now had some sort of order. Nobody was forced into covens anymore, and the coven seals had been removed, setting the magic free again.

Raine and she had married shortly after her daughter had accepted Amity’s proposal, and now, ten years after Luz had first set foot on the Boiling Isles chasing after her book, Eda found herself feeling more maternal than ever. Whatever that meant.

Her hands were fidgety, and not even Raine’s steadying grip could calm her. Camila tried not to look around too much, even after so many years of knowing the Boiling Isles and having visited her daughter regularly, she still wasn’t used to all of it.

Stopping in front of their room, Eda tried breathing through. King sighed again, but Raine shot him a glare and he shut up. At least her spouse understood that this was a big step for her. Looking to her side, Camila tried another smile and Eda nodded at her.

“If you want to, you and King can go ahead. I’ll-… I still need a minute.”

More than willing, Camila accepted. She knocked, and upon hearing Luz’s call, she stepped in. Eda shuffled to the side to let King through, so he could duck through the doorframe and maneuver his broad shoulders in without hitting anything. The door closed and Eda breathed through once more, feeling Raine’s grip tightening.

“How do you feel?”

Shooting them a grin, Eda turned, shrugging and trying to play it cool, “Old, honestly.”

Laughing, Raine pulled her aside to the row of chairs and made her sit down.

“No, I mean, how do you feel about Luz and Amity?”, they tried again and Eda sighed, staring at the blank wooden door with the small eighteen next to it.

“… Proud. I’m proud of them for making this commitment.”, looking back to Raine, she added, “And kind of scared. I haven’t really been the most-… Well, involved.”

Unimpressed, Raine lifted an eyebrow.

“… You’re kidding, right?”

Groaning, Eda shrugged again and leaned back, before closing her eyes, resting her head against the wall.

“I-… I never made the commitment they made. King has his father and Luz has her mother. I was more a friend to them than a mom. Sure, I liked seeing myself that way, and they liked seeing themselves as my kids, but-… It was fun having them. King had always been mostly independent and Luz was already a teenager when I met her. I’ve never-… Well, been around-…”

Raine softly placed their hand on Eda’s hands that she had folded in her lap and when she opened her eyes again, the gaze of her spouse was humored.

“Come on, Eda. How hard can it be to be a not-grandmother?”, at the joke, Eda groaned, “It’s not much different to being a not-mom to your kids.”

Grumbling, she got up again before straightening her back and nodding.

“You know what, you’re right. That kid is family now and whoever the hell cares what a mother or a grandmother is.”

A little confused, Raine got up after her and pumped a fist, albeit half-heartedly.

“That’s the spirit?”, they laughed and Eda huffed, before knocking and getting her own call to be let in.

The room was warm and humid. Eda let in Raine and quickly closed the door after them, not to let too much of the warmth escape, before turning back to her daughter.

Luz looked tired when she approached them.

Well, that wasn’t a surprise, given that she and Amity had arrived in the hospital two days ago before their little daughter had been born just this morning in the earliest hours. She had probably been awake all this time to be there for Amity.

Giving Eda a big hug, she nuzzled her face into the crook of her mother’s neck, before deeply breathing out. Eda could tell that Luz had just overcome a big step for herself.

“… I’m glad you’re here…”, she breathed and Eda wrapped her arms around the now-grown woman, tilting her own head into the embrace. The younger witch snuggled close while Raine squeezed past them to join Camila and King around the crib next to Amity’s bed.

Eda tried so hard not to cry.

This was a happy occasion and she would sure as hell not shed a tear about this. Just when she pressed a little kiss to Luz’s head, a tear rolled into her dark curls as well. Well, there went this promise.

“I’m proud of you, kid.”, she whispered and Luz held her tighter, smiling against her neck, “I’m so, so proud of you. If you ever need some help, I’ll do my damn best to provide.”

Sniffling, Luz nodded, before parting from her.

The exhaustion was evident on her face. She wiped her cheek before Eda placed a hand on her shoulder and caught her gaze. They exchanged a silent smile, then she looked up and around her daughter to her future daughter-in-law on the bed, obviously exhausted as well.

Amity gave a small wave, but it was obvious to see she was under the influence of some strong sedatives. That was the logical thing to do, Eda supposed, to keep her from acting protective over her child while all her family and friends wanted to meet the newest family member.

Witches only carried six months until giving birth, before incubating their pup for another three months. Which was why this room was so damn hot.

But upon giving birth, new mothers would also become a lot more protective of their pups than humans would. Luz had been new to all of this and Eda had had to educate her on the reproduction of witches, because Amity had been too busy laughing. Well, Eda had laughed as well, but not as hard as Luz’s fiancé.

Looking back to her daughter, she finally noticed the bandage she was wearing around one hand. Smirking, she gestured to that.

“Don’t tell me your weak nerd arms gave in.”, she joked and Luz huffed, rubbing the bandage with the healing sticker.

“Amity just had to transform her hand into a damn abomination while in labor. Seriously, who even does that? She sliced my hand right in half.”, grumbling, she looked back to her fiancé and gave her a small smile before looking back to Eda, “I almost missed the birth because the healers had to patch me up first. But there won’t even be a scar because they had my hand reattached just a second after it happened.”

Still grinning, Eda punched her shoulder, then Luz leaned closer to her, lowering her voice.

“Just don’t tell Mami. She’d lose her cool.”

Shaking her head and laughing, Eda walked past her.

“I won’t, don’t worry.”, after making her way around the bed, she sat down on the edge and caught Amity’s dazed gaze, taking her hand after permission, “Hey Minty. How’re you feeling?”

“… ’M good.”, the young witch slurred, trying a small smile, before breathing through and looking to the side where she kept her pup in view, “… Tired.”

Eda nodded, cupping her hand with both of hers, before softly patting the back of her hand.

“Lily will be here this afternoon to look after you two. Your siblings are still in Latissa on Government business, they asked me to tell you because they couldn’t get a hold of you. But they’ll be back tomorrow.”

She could tell that was a lot of information for Amity to process so she made a note to tell Luz as well. Leaving the witch to try and observe the room again – probably to make sure it stayed safe for her pup – she turned to the crib now finally.

There she was.

Her tiny granddaughter.

She had a bit lighter skin than Luz and just about Amity’s hair color. And she was so damn tiny.

Eda found herself getting scared, suddenly. This was a really small kid. This was like, a stupidly small child. She would not hold that baby for any number of snails.

Camila seemed a lot more comfortable around the baby, though. She had respected Luz’s wish to leave her in her crib for the time being, so Amity could get used to so many people around her pup so suddenly, but she was already reaching in and brushing the tiny thing over her cheek.

Well, okay, that seemed easy enough. Eda could do that, someday, when the kid was like twelve or something.

King and Luz were talking about something while Raine looked just about as amazed by the small creature as Camila was.

Sensing their amazement and figuring that Raine didn’t exactly have that much experience with children, either, Camila took the hand of Eda’s spouse and guided them down into the crib, brushing their knuckles against the incredibly soft skin of the baby’s cheek.

Amity didn’t even flinch at that. Either the sedatives were really strong or she felt incredibly comfortable with the people in the room. Looking back to the young witch, Eda confirmed the latter. Through half-lidded eyes, Amity was leaning back against the pillow, her other hand that was not held by Eda draped across her belly, while she was calmly watching Camila guiding Raine’s hand against the infant’s cheek.

She wondered how much Amity had actually adopted Luz’s family as her own once her parents had been imprisoned for their crimes against the public.

Judging by her calm reaction, she didn’t mind them being around her and her loved ones in the slightest, even in the now starting incubation period. Finally, Luz leaned around King and reached into the crib to lift her little daughter up and cradling her close to her chest. The baby didn’t even wake up, which made Eda chuckle.

“She’s got your sleeping habits, kid.”

Amity’s hand in hers shook when she started laughing alongside the older witch and Luz flushed in deep red when her mother confirmed.

“Sometimes, not even me shaking her would wake her up to school.”, Camila added and Luz huffed, bopping the infant in her arms.

“You guys are being mean to me in front of my daughter.”, she tried pouting, but King deadpanned.

“In front of your sleeping daughter. She won’t hear any of this.”

They started laughing again while Luz couldn’t suppress a little smile herself while looking down at the infant. When they had all quieted down a little, Luz pressed a soft kiss to her daughter’s forehead, before approaching Camila. Shooting a gaze towards Amity first to ask her permission, she then placed the baby in her mother’s arms and kept her hand cupped on the baby’s head, smiling.

“That’s your abuelita, mija.”, Luz mumbled softly and Eda almost felt her own heart breaking with the light sniffle Camila gave. After all these years of calling Luz her mija, Luz starting to use that label for her own daughter now made the human tear up.

While Camila greeted the little pup, Eda turned back to Amity whose head was softly nicking every time her eyelids fell. She had to be exhausted.

Tugging on her hand, Eda got her attention, then she lightly pushed the crib away to get up and adjust Amity’s pillow for her.

“C’mon, let’s get you lying down. We’ll take care of your pup.”

A sleepy gaze crossed with Eda’s but before Amity could object, the older witch was already adjusting the settings of the mattress to be flat again, before helping Amity lie down on her side.

“You can stay awake for as long as you want, but you should be comfortable with it at least.”, shooting her a grateful gaze, the younger witch yawned, then she adjusted the blanket around her future daughter-in-law and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “Don’t worry about your pup, okay? Luz is taking care of her.”

That seemed to soothe Amity. She mumbled a soft “thank you” towards Eda and curled up a little, before continuing to watch the scene before her, the blinking of her eyelids already getting slower.

When Eda turned back to Camila, she discovered that Luz had taken her daughter back already and was safely cradling her before going around the crib and catching Eda’s gaze.

She knew that Luz wanted her to say hi, too.

“Luz, I’m not so sure about holding-”

Chuckling, her daughter adjusted the baby, before taking Eda’s hand.

“You can greet them like this first if you don’t wanna hold her. Or you can sit down if you like.”

Huffing, Eda fidgeted shortly, before rubbing her hands together and breathing through.

“Just, uh-… Sitting would be nice. I’m-… Holding the bat kids was an entirely different thing, you know? They could fly. Your kid can’t fly.”

Luz had to laugh at Eda’s rambling, pulling on her hand, she ushered King out of the chair by the window, before letting her adoptive mother sit down in it. Camila helped out by placing a pillow on Eda’s lap, then she was all set. Luz studied her face again.

“If you’re too nervous, you don’t have to hold her. I can hold her over your lap if you want to.”

Trying to wave her off, Eda forced a laugh.

“Pfft, you can just say you don’t trust me holding a baby, kid.”, she tried to joke around, but Luz just gave her a smile.

“If you feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to. That’s all I’m saying.”

But Eda wanted to. She definitely did kind of want to hold the tiny fragile baby that Luz had made together with her fiancé. Even if she was nervous and a little bit scared and so amazed by how small such a tiny thing could actually be, she did kind of want to hold that baby. Patting the pillow, she finally breathed through, then she opened her arms.

“Okay, I’m ready. Bring it, kid.”

Smirking at her antics, Luz leaned in and kneeled, then she slowly placed the baby in Eda’s arms. It was so tiny. It was so stupidly tiny, it wasn’t even as long as Eda’s forearm. Hiccupping, the older witch instinctively cradled the tiny, tiny infant in her arms and a warm feeling overcame her.

A really warm feeling.

If that was maternal feelings, then Eda swore she was going to be the best dang grandmother she could be for that child.

She brushed over her temple and the baby squirmed slightly. Apparently, she had woken up sometime during Camila holding her and was now kind of fighting against the snug swaddle blanket she was trapped in. Eda didn’t even notice she had tears in her eyes when she already felt the first tear rolling down her cheek.

“Wow… You’re my granddaughter now, hm?”, she asked and that tiny thing yawned, her arms struggling in the swaddle, before softly smacking her incredibly small lips. Eda found herself smiling immediately, “Titan, that’s new.”

Luz’s hands undid the blanket that was wrapped around the baby, then Eda laughed tearily when the infant stretched, her absolutely tiny fists stretching up to her face and rubbing her cheeks. She was apparently waking up and while she knew that incubating infants didn’t open their eyes yet, she found herself wondering what eye color the child would have. Adjusting the baby, she cradled them closer, then she smuggled a finger into the fist and giggled in delight when the baby grabbed it, despite not wanting to open the fist at first.

Looking up to Luz, who was still kneeling in front of her, she managed a smile, her teary expression probably matching the one on her daughter’s face.

“She’s perfect, Luz. But, let’s be honest, you two made a stupidly small baby.”

Laughing under tears, Luz nodded then she brushed over her daughter’s head and pressed a small kiss to her forehead to which the baby responded with a huff.

“Yeah, when I first held her, I was so scared she’d just slip right through my arms. But I think Amity would have killed me if I had so much as stumbled so I concentrated really hard not to let that happen.”

Eda’s gaze shot up from her granddaughter to her future daughter-in-law who was calling from the bed, her words slurred from the sedatives and sleepiness, but still very much poised if needed.

“… You better not drop our child, Luz.”

Raine had to laugh at that and went to soothe the new mother, while Eda turned back to the baby in her arms with a smile.

“Titan she’s small…”

The following few minutes were pretty much filled with tearful giggles and a very excited King who almost knocked the crib over when Luz called him to say hi as well. When Eda and King had calmed down a little, Camila had taken Luz outside for a little mother-daughter walk in the nearby park and King had gone with them for snacks. The older witch got up and carried the baby back to the crib, smiling when she lifted them up to her face. Resting her forehead against theirs, she kept like this for a moment, before stopping in front of the crib.

Amity had fallen asleep by now, even if she was flinching with every littlest sound her daughter made, so Eda looked over to Raine.

“Wanna hold the baby, too?”, she asked and Raine blushed.

“I’d-… I’d rather wait until she’s a little bit older.”, she admitted and Eda nodded before still gesturing her spouse over. Raine got up from the edge of Amity’s bed and joined Eda, putting an arm around her waist while Eda still cradled the baby close, taking care not to jostle her too much.

She yawned again and from the corner of her eyes, Eda saw Amity’s eyes opening, unfocused and probably very much still asleep but still attentive to her daughter. Chuckling, she turned back to Raine.

“Boy, I’m sure glad I only had two adoptive children.”

Shrugging, Raine caught the baby’s fist with their free hand and tickled their tiny fingers, but she wouldn’t open her hand this time.

“I’m sure you would’ve made a great biological mother as well. As you’re already a great adoptive mother, too.”

Shrugging, Eda brushed over her temple again, leaning into Raine.

“Nah, I’m glad I never had a baby. I don’t think I would’ve wanted to go through that.”

“Fair enough.”, Raine whispered, but their tone indicated that they had stopped listening to Eda, engrossed by the child in her arms. She softly kicked, which caused them to chuckle, before she settled back against Eda’s chest, curling in slightly and breathing through, apparently getting ready for her next nap. Raine sighed softly.

“Honestly, I’m glad I never had a baby, too. But having a grandchild is amazing.”

Grinning, Eda kissed their forehead, before carefully maneuvering the baby back into the crib and swaddling them the best she could, watching her breaths deepening and calming as she fell asleep again. Then, Eda pushed the crib next to Amity’s bed, to which the young witch immediately responded by reaching into the crib from the side and resting her hand on her daughter’s belly. Smiling, Eda took Raine into her arms and watched as both her future daughter-in-law and her granddaughter slept peacefully, leaning her head against Raine’s.

“… You’re right this is amazing.”

She already knew that this child would have the two best mothers she could ask for. And she knew that her entire family, including her furry uncle, three grandmothers, and one grandparent, and their twin uncle and aunt would do their damn best to make sure this child had everything she needed.

Smiling, Eda reached down to brush over the baby’s cheek and pulled Raine closer.

Maternal feelings or not, this was amazing.

---

Let me know if you liked it!

[thenativetank]

VA Native Fish Hunting - 16

I did some searching for places to fish the past few days and found myself new access to the Potomac in an area I wasn’t previously aware existed - which is always exciting. After finding out it was free for the public to explore (and free to park!) I packed my things and went for a little trek. Lots of snakes and turtles and toads on the path, but in the interest of space I’m sticking with the aquatic life :)

The most populous aquatic plant at this location was Hydrilla, by far. By an absolute landslide. Mats of it covered basically every inch of the area I explored, minus some locations under trees where it was obviously not very happy. These plants do love sunlight after all. Kind of a bummer to see this non-native species so widespread, but it’s not exactly a surprise.

At a distant second place for aquatic plant specimens were Hornwort. I’m kind of surprised that it was able to eek out an existence for itself here - while not super uncommon, I only found a few strands here or there. In other areas I’ve fished, they tend to grow in great big bushes. Well. I guess any little bit to stem the Hydrilla tide is welcome.

Speaking of non-native invaders, there were a lot of Chinese Mystery Snails (Cipangopaludina chinensis) around here. I only found 2 or 3 alive, but a few dozen of the shells had washed up in this one little location. I do like the shells - very pleasant shapes and pretty hefty too - but again wish they weren’t so common.

Found a few other snail species here and there, but not really sure what these are. The ones with the longer shells are possibly Pleurocera virginica, which is one of our natives, but I get the feeling the smaller one there was just a young Chinese Mystery Snail. I wish I knew snails better!

While I did see a few species of fish - some Mummichogs, I think a few Banded Killifish, and some miscellaneous species of Minnows, I didn’t have a lot of luck catching them. My minnow trap came up empty after about an hour and a half. I did have a lot more luck with my dip net though. I caught maybe 30 or 40 Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) during my time there, much of them were big females. Pretty cool, if a common fish. Also note that every net swipe caught Hydrilla too.

Just another view of the Mosquitofish. I honestly think G. holbrooki gets kind of a bad rap in the native fishkeeping circles - I haven’t found them nearly as skittish as some say. I’ve also never really seen them get as used to people as, say, Mollies and Guppies do.

The cool find of the trip were two Tesselated Darters (Etheostoma olmstedi)! I haven’t seen any since a trip back in early July of last year. Not an uncommon species in the grand scheme of things (they are the most populous darters in this area and are overall of Least Concern by the IUCN) they just are harder to find given that they are tiny dudes that hang out on the substrate.

This little guy is probably a shade under 2 inches long. I was pumped to catch him! I did see a darter that was closer to their maximum of 4 inches, but I had no luck catching him. Aw well, just how it is sometimes!

[presidentbungus]

day 4 - Revenge/Payback

spyper. probably really pretentious but I don’t really care. read also on ao3

The knife finds its way to Sniper, always

almost on its own.

Spy only guides it between his shoulder blades.

—

Spy forgets the second floorboard creaks

This mistake is fatal.

—

Sniper is becoming more aware of his surroundings

What a surprise.

He notices Spy decloak

(good on him)

unfortunately, the Ambassador has something else to say.

—

Hunting game ain’t easy.

You gotta have a mind about it

and think like your prey.

Sniper steps into the mind of Spy.

Spy is very,

very,

very worried about the cleanliness of his suit.

Ergo, the tripwire piss trap at the door

catches him so off guard that

he hardly notices the kukri burying itself in his gut.

—

He should have guessed

that Sniper of all people

would default to tripwires and snares of all things.

A barbarian, as he continues to prove.

Spy learns to be careful.

If you are faced with hardship,

be better.

Spy’s knife hits the hard shell on his back

(so it’s not just decoration)

and it cleaves down the middle, and Sniper spins

and completely misses the attack he attempts.

English was not Spy’s first language, though he considers his grasp of it

to be better than most.

Here is a word: Defenestration.

It means: To push someone out of a window.

Sniper should have known better than to put his back

to a thirty-foot drop.

Maybe he’ll learn.

Or maybe he won’t.

Australians are odd like that.

—

Something in his back breaks.

It might be two hours laying on the ground twitching

until their Scout takes care of him the rest of the way.

(It’s closer to three minutes but he wasn’t in the best state of mind.)

Sniper spends a little boarding up the window after that

(at least enough so he can’t fall through)

and he gets back to work.

He ain’t getting paid so sit around and wait

for stupid French snail eaters

that smell like flowers and blood

and have really fuckin’ blue eyes that shine like water when the sun hits ‘em just right.

Anyway.

Spy forgets about the floorboard again.

Hunched on the ground in front of him where he sits leaning against the wall choking on blood,

Sniper aims the kukri right at his heart.

And he turns his face up

(eyes fuzzy, that’s almost a travesty)

and he says: “Et tu, Brute?”

And Sniper stabs him and keeps stabbing him

until the little smirk eventually vanishes off his face.

Smug arsehole.

Thinks he’s so smart.

Sniper ignores the fact that his hands are shaking as he gets back to work.

—

Hand on his head

knife pressed against his throat.

There’s a thunk

as his gun hits the wood.

Blood soaks into Spy’s gloves

too

too

too

too warm.

Brutal. Not clean.

Not simple.

Certainly not fast.

Sniper chokes on his own blood

clutching his throat

with his head on Spy’s chest.

Eventually,

The tension releases.

The blood stops coming.

Sniper dies with his eyes wide open

staring at nothing.

After he is dead,

and only after,

Spy tilts his hat.

Grazes lips across his ear.

“Parting is such sweet sorrow,” he whispers.

Even Sniper might know that one.

—

Spy is still hunched up against the wall when Sniper comes back

cradling a body that isn’t there.

He bites his lip,

like he’s thinking of another stupid quote or something.

He says nothing.

The bullet plants between his eyes without complaint.

—

Spy should have expected Sniper

would be waiting for him when he came back.

Spy did not bother to cloak at all, given.

He doesn’t stop when the kukri slides into his stomach like warm butter

not even for a second.

Spy draws his knife

red ticking at the edges of his vision,

and pulls Sniper down by the collar anyway. “Speak low if—“

“Shut the fuck up,” Sniper says

and he grips Spy’s hand

and impales his own throat on the outstretched knife.

There is a moment,

as Sniper wheezes

and Spy wheezes

and they collapse together, intertwined

faces almost touching.

There is not much time.

Spy crosses the rest of the distance

opens his mouth and gasps for air,

blood spilling onto Sniper’s vest

as, despite everything,

a grin spreads across Sniper’s face.

“Thus with a kiss I die,” Spy says.

And they kiss until they aren’t sure whose blood is whose anymore.

[countessofbiscuit]

dirty two club

Fox loves Riyo with every beat of his propane heart | ao3 

Commander Fox Week - Day 4: Bonding | Laughter  No Warnings Apply Teen, 1000 words @loving-fox-hours . . .

It was one of the most protean statutes on Coruscant’s books: vehicles with certain uplift-to-thrust ratios (mup-per-ktu) were prohibited for public use.

Given the altitude of most skylanes, and the near-universal zoning restrictions regarding pedestrian-level traffic in built-up areas, owning a speeder bike in Galactic City meant paying more for storage than fuel.

The real target of this rule?

Swoop bikes and their dangerously elastic flight ceilings.

More specifically, the reckless racing of these overpowered engines with seats through the city maze.

A discreet citizen could get away with operating a speeder or swoop in the lower levels, provided it wasn’t modded to the Maw and back with rally lights, exhaust tips, and showy gas purges. Cops couldn’t be everywhere; the knowing knew CSF droids were only tripped by irregular speed. It was flying in an anti-social manner that got one into trouble.

Commander Fox, legal operator of an otherwise illegally modded Aratech 74-z speeder bike, never did that. Nor did he ever attend those unlawful fixtures.

But a tall, dark, and disguised being who called himself Kett did.

Tonight he was joined by a little lady who called herself Twirrl. Her pretty face was heavily caked up. She was made only mostly modest by velvet swatches and lace doilies that had been dubiously stitched together. Like a Corellian folktale had crashed into a brothel. Or a senator had dug through her closet for the hottest fashion circa the Apprentice Session of ‘71.

“You’ll blow our cover, Commander Hoverhands,” Riyo Chuchi teased, before using a trashcan to climb onto Fox’s shoulders.

She didn’t want to miss anything. She might have seen a topside race or two, where the fines were covered by the price of admission to designated penthouses. Everything was legal for the rich. The underworld flavor of speed would be altogether a new experience.

This race had been advertised on a forum that hadn’t made it onto CSF’s Traffic Division watchlist. Privately, Fox hoped it stayed that way. The experience was different for him, too. Better. Riyo’s gasp of delight when each pack cornered into view sounded almost vulgar. Her bare legs clenched against his neck every time an engine popped like a slugthrower, running rich.

Fox’s palms grew sweaty on her thighs. She’d demanded he put them there, instead of holding her primly by the ankles of her knee-high boots.

“I think my racer has yours pipped!” she squealed during the fifth heat.

“Is that so?” Fox replied, amused. She’d insisted on fronting all his bets.

Riyo leaned down and kissed his shrouded temple. “Don’t worry, I won’t make you pay up … unless you want to dip your big fingers into my pink purse later.”

Her hoarsening voice dripped into his ear. Bikes swept past in a rolling roar. His heart thumped wildly under the crush of everything he loved.

Dizzied, Fox squeezed her in agreement, beaming but burning under his shemagh. It wasn’t the racing scarf she’d gifted him. He kept that tissued in its box; the silk felt finer than sea-spray, and Pantoran plum dye—Pantoran-snails guts wasn’t flattering, if more accurate—carried a whiff of something ripe. Imperceptible to Pantorans, or so they claimed, noses in the air.

The delicious aroma of fumes was dulled enough. Fox laughed stupidly anyway, when their neighbor’s live holo confirmed Riyo’s racer the winner. She nearly strangled him with drunken rejoicing. And then she was falling backwards, shit—

Worse: she was planting a kiss on the polite devaronian who’d let them in front. Loudly complimented him on his handlebars. It had Fox ready to jump the painted cordon, commandeer a swoop, and remind Riyo of the real meaning of fast. Hold on, sweetheart.

They’d monkeyed down here, level by level, without his bike. It flashed Guard racing stripes and had probably flashed up in the rearview of more than one criminal here. CSF had a no-chase policy. Fox didn’t.

Fox relaxed his shoulders (but not his grip) and remembered why he was here.

“What would you do, if the war ended tomorrow and you could make your own life?” Riyo Chuchi had asked, over a closeted cup of caf in his office. Verbal references were often required for extending diplomatic protection. Totally professional.

Fox had been blindsided by the question. Marry you was his instinctive answer. But she probably already knew that. He blurted out the only other thing that came to mind, because his mouth had been spoiled by her generosity. Emboldened.

“Race swoops.”

“Really?” Her expression had been colorful. Not a shade of doubt. On a scale of one to ten, Fox’s bike was juiced up to eleven with the dial broken off. Its high-output repulsor coils didn’t belong in any government-issued speeder.

“Yes. But not arena racing. Too samey—and corporate. Off-world courses. Street, if you’d let me.”

“I would if I knew what that meant.”

Fox hemmed. “Erm ... the illegal ones. Downbelow.” Recreational strips and arenas had all succumbed to Corrie property tax and prices; it left the average Joph nowhere to blow his brakes off. Even if Fox would order them shot down if they ever entered federal or military airspace, he sympathized.

“Interesting,” Riyo had said, grinning behind her mug. NO FOX GIVEN was the least offensive one in his cupboard. “Well, what a senator doesn’t see can’t compromise her position.”

“You wouldn’t want to see. It’s dicey stuff. And not the most proper.” Nitrous blasts up skirts and the like.

“What makes you think so?” Riyo pressed. “And why do I sense you know a lot more about this than you’re letting on?”

“... Because I’m in law enforcement?”

Her had eyes glowed with the dawn of excitement. “Not that kind.”

Fox had once promised to take Riyo anywhere she wanted to go. She’d been bed-bound at the time. Hospitalized. Sad and injured and heartbreakingly fragile and—

And he had meant it. Fox just made a mental note that Riyo’s memory was stronger than symoxin.

And he took her to the races.

. . . . . 

with love to @tiend​ for pointing out the uncanny similarity between Tyrian purple and Pantoran plum. and just with love in general ♥  (ao3)

[sunlit-squid]

I don't care about everyone else! i care about you, SQUIDWARD! (simping softness asks)

For those who don’t know, my ask box is open. Send me a simping softness prompt, and I’ll write a short sbsp ficlet for you. ✰

so, uh -- i might have gotten a bit carried away with this prompt. it’s definitely longer than a ficlet, but oh well. either way, it was a lot of fun to write! selfish spongebob is so rarely explored.

fic under the cut. also, just in case, cw: drinking, drunkenness, etc.

Spongebob rose bright and early, long before his foghorn alarm went off at 7:00 a.m. With a cheerful shout, the poriferan jumped out of bed, earning a disgruntled “mrow” from Gary, who was still asleep nearby. Stretching vigorously, the sponge leaned down, planting a soft kiss atop the snail’s shell.

“Gary,” he whispered, practically vibrating with excitement. “Today’s the day!”

Turning away, Gary simply replied “mrow”, in a disdainful way that most certainly meant “whatever.”

Undeterred, Spongebob ran to his calendar. Sure enough, the day’s date -- July 14th -- was circled in bright-red, permanent marker, with the words “My birthday!” written neatly across it. And just below those words, was a tiny drawing of Squidward’s face, with dozens of little red hearts surrounding it.

Making his way over to the window, Spongebob gazed out at Squidward’s moai in the distance. He sighed, dreamily. What was Squidward doing right now? Probably sleeping, in that adorable dress of his.

The sponge lingered there, staring dazedly out at the moai, for perhaps a moment too long. Then, remembering himself, he sprinted to the bathroom. Once inside, Spongebob pointed a finger at his own reflection in the mirror.

“Enough beating around the bush, Mr. Squarepants!” he yelled -- much to Gary’s annoyance. The sponge lowered his voice down to a soft whisper. “Today, you tell him how you feel.”

His reflection simply shrugged. “I mean, okay,” it said. “But this is like, the 57th time you’ve said this.”

“Oh, shush.”

-0-

The party was supposed to start at 6:30, but Spongebob, in a manic cleaning fit, had the entire house ready by noon. This year, the party was themed around As The Tide Turns, a very polarizing-but-popular soap opera, especially in Bikini Bottom. If you were a Bikini Bottomite, you either watched the show genuinely, or ironically -- there was absolutely no in-between.

Spongebob and Squidward both genuinely enjoyed the show. It was one of the first things they bonded over, back when Spongebob started working at the Krusty Krab. Through the window to the galley, the two coworkers would talk for hours about the show, and whatever drama was center-stage for that season.

It got to a point where Mr. Krabs -- who only watched ATTT ironically -- got on them both, for shirking their duties.

“If yer gonna flirt,” he’d said, “do it on yer own time.”

So, Spongebob started coming over to Squidward’s house on Friday nights, when the new episodes would air. In fact, even when the show was between seasons, Spongebob still came over, just to watch reruns. It was one of the few times Squidward would (begrudgingly) let Spongebob inside, with no complaints.

Spongebob hummed softly to himself, his eyes scanning the small clipboard in front of him. Food, decorations, party games … Check, check, and check. Everything was present and accounted for -- and he had to admit, the house looked spectacular.

Every room was themed around a different, iconic arc in the ATTT series. His living room, filled with chalk drawings, crime scene tape, and red-string boards, was inspired by the murder mystery arc. His kitchen, decorated with leftover Halloween gear, was inspired by the vampire arc … and so on and so forth. Each and every room had its own particular, careful design -- and in all, it was probably Spongebob’s most intricate and detailed party to date.

That was because it had to be. Spongebob had a plan, a carefully detailed plan -- one that was sure to sweep Squidward Tentacles right off his … er, tentacles. And it went like this:

Squidward and Spongebob’s favorite arc, in all 42 seasons of As The Tide Turns, was the murder mystery. In the arc, the dashing Detective Heartthrob, accompanied by his sidekick-slash-lover Joey, must bring a heinous mass murderer to justice. At the climax, it is revealed that Detective Heartthrob is the true killer -- having been hypnotized by a witch, who was also his evil twin sister, for some reason. In the end, Joey must kill Detective Heartthrob, in a tragic display of love and sacrifice.

The season was thrilling, silly, and emotionally traumatizing, to boot. For months after the finale, Squidward and Spongebob would not shut up about it -- much to the annoyance of Mr. Krabs.

Either way, Spongebob had set up an elaborate, original mystery game, inspired by the events of the show. Each attendee would get a “random” card, assigning them a different role in the story. Squidward would be Detective Heartthrob, and Spongebob would be Joey.

Together, they would embark on an original mystery, one that Spongebob had devised all by himself. After he and Squidward solved the mystery together, and the party was over … Spongebob would finally, finally confess his feelings.

Of course, Spongebob had, more or less, rigged the game to ensure this would happen. Which was cheating, sure, but this was for love! So it couldn't possibly go wrong.

-0-

It went wrong. Almost immediately, in fact.

For one, the party started at 6:30 -- and, nearly two hours later, Squidward had yet to show up. Spongebob spent those first two hours lingering by the door, staring out the window towards the moai, and forgetting to refill the punch bowl. Sandy, ever the observant one, noticed immediately.

Pulling Spongebob aside, she asked, in a hushed voice, “Hey, partner. You good?”

“Oh, I’m -- I’m great!” chirped Spongebob, putting on his worst, most unconvincing smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Uh-huh,” said Sandy, flatly. “This about Squidward?”

Spongebob blushed, immediately. The squirrel sighed.

“I thought so,” she mumbled, folding her arms across her chest. “Did he say he was gonna come?”

The sponge nodded. “He said, ‘I’ll see if I can make it work’, which in Squidward-speak, is practically a yes!” groaned Spongebob, staring up at Sandy with his huge baby blue eyes. “He’ll come, right, Sandy?”

Sandy hesitated. She didn’t really know Squidward that well … but he did seem to have a soft spot for Spongebob. Awkwardly, she replied, “I mean … I can’t say for sure, but he did say he would try. Let’s be patient, okay, Spongebob? Maybe he just got caught up with something.”

Spongebob sighed, then repositioned his face into its usual chipper smile. “Alrighty. You do usually know what’s best, Sandy.”

“I sure do,” she giggled. “Oh, and Spongebob?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t cut his cable this time,” she said, before walking off to get more punch.

-0-

By 9:30, the party started to go a bit haywire. At this point, practically all of Bikini Bottom was at Spongebob’s house, except for Squidward -- and Larry thought it would be a great idea to play Truth Or Dare: Extreme Edition. The rules were pretty much the same as Truth Or Dare: Standard Edition, but with one exception: each subsequent truth or dare had to be more extreme than the last.

It started off alright. A few people were dared to take off their pants, or do a somersault down Conch Street while blindfolded. However, as the game progressed, the stakes grew astronomically. At one point, Patrick was dared to eat half of Spongebob’s pineapple. Later, Sandy was dared to juggle three of Plankton’s bombs, while riding a unicycle. Even later, Larry and Mr. Krabs were dared to switch shells and wrestle -- which wasn’t really destructive. Just disturbing.

The dares were stupid, but if there was one thing Bikini Bottomites had, it was a complete lack of common sense. Or any sense, really.

It certainly didn’t help that as the night progressed, the partygoers grew more and more … inebriated. The punch itself was non-alcoholic, but apparently, Karen and Plankton had taken it upon themselves to bring their own alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol.

By 10:30, Squidward still hadn’t shown up yet. Several people had either passed out or thrown up. And the pineapple was a complete disaster.

Spongebob sighed. He was seated on his living room sofa now, watching as the partygoers reveled inside (and outside) his home. Of course, the sponge was happy they were enjoying themselves -- but this day was supposed to be about him, and … well, nothing had gone as planned. His entire house was destroyed, it would take days to clean up the mess -- and Squidward hadn’t even bothered to show up! The nerve.

“Hey Patrick,” muttered Spongebob, waving a tired yellow hand at his drunken best friend.

Immediately, the starfish stumbled over to him, drink in hand. “Wha… haha … whasss’ up, Spunchblarb?” he slurred.

Spongebob pointed to the drink in Patrick’s hand. “Could I have that?”

Patrick grinned widely. “Yeeeeeahh! Now -- now, yer talkin’, buddy!” And with that, the starfish handed Spongebob his first drink of the night.

-0-

About three drinks in, Spongebob Squarepants was well and truly intoxicated. Which was nice, in a way. Now, the world was a weird, misty haze, and he didn’t have to worry about his pineapple being destroyed, or his party being ruined, or Squidward, or whatever. Now, he could just be peacefully drunk and stupid, just like everybody else in his house. Blissfully unaware of the world around them.

As the night went on, Spongebob began losing track of time. What time was it? Midnight? 3:00 a.m.? Did it even matter?

Over the course of one very stupid evening, Spongebob made more than a few bad decisions. For one, he bought like, ten mops online. Which was both counterproductive (he was a sponge) and financially irresponsible (he was also a frycook). Later, the sponge swam to the surface of the ocean to see how long he could breathe without water. He fainted within the first ten seconds, and had to be retrieved by Larry. After that, the night became a dizzying blur. Spongebob was certain he had been driving, at one point, and also dancing, and maybe singing?

Either way, several hours later, Spongebob was still dancing in his living room, a lampshade stuck on his head, when he felt something on his shoulder. Turning woozily, the sponge tried to get into “kara-tay” position, and ultimately failed.

“Who -- what -- stay back! I’m warning you!” shouted the sponge. “I know … er, kar .. karat … carrots?”

There was a familiar sigh, then a soft chuckle. “Oh, you moron,” came a voice, a voice that Spongebob loved so dearly, even in this drunken state. “You’re drunk, aren’t you?”

“Squ … squib … ?”

“Yeah,” said Squidward, wrenching the lampshade off of Spongebob’s head. “It’s me. Sorry I’m late.”

Spongebob looked up at Squidward -- and in his inebriated, hazy stupor, he couldn’t take it. He loved him so much, and for so long. It hurt. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes. “Squi -- Squidward, you -- you came,” the sponge stammered, his bottom lip quivering. “I -- I didn’t think …”

“Hush,” said Squidward, looking around the room. “This is, uh … wow, you really had a rager, huh? I didn’t think you had it in you, Spongebob.”

Stepping away, Squidward began picking up random items off the floor -- the punch bowl, some photographs, and a spilled carton of milk. The octopus had to step over and around several bodies, which were lying passed out on Spongebob’s floor.

“Listen, I’m gonna try and find a way to get everyone home,” said Squidward, sifting his way through the pile of garbage and bodies. “Everyone else is knocked out -- ”

Spongebob had had it. He’d had enough. He’d planned out this whole day perfectly, just for Squidward to not show up, for his whole house to be demolished in the chaos. Sure, he was glad everyone had a good time, but deep down, Spongebob was a little selfish, and deep down --

“I don’t care about everyone else!” shouted Spongebob, clenching his fists at his sides. “I care about you, Squidward!”

Squidward, startled, nearly dropped everything he was holding -- and before he could properly respond, Spongebob fell over, unconscious.

-0-

For once, Spongebob didn’t wake up to the sound of his foghorn. Instead, he woke up to the sound of the television nearby. Very soft dialogue wafted its way over to the sponge, bathing him in its pleasant familiarity.

“Why, Joey, I think you’re right -- the killer is closer than we seem to think!”

“Then we best get cracking, Detective Heartthrob!”

Groaning, Spongebob sat up -- a dull, throbbing pain coursing through his skull. Dear Neptune. What happened last night? There was the party, the drinking, and … Squidward, maybe? Spongebob felt his heart drop at the thought of his neighbor, and sighed. He hadn’t gotten to tell Squidward how he felt. Attempt 57 had failed. Miserably.

Blinking slowly, the sponge looked around, and with surprise noted that his bedroom was not a mess, like it had been during the party. In fact, it was squeaky clean. The only thing out of place was the living room television, which had been moved to the end of Spongebob’s bed. The TV was playing an old rerun of As The Tide Turns, from the murder mystery arc. A smile tugged at Spongebob’s lips. How ironic.

Wait a minute. Who moved the TV?

Just then, there were footsteps on the stairs -- the tell-tale pat-pat-pat-pat of someone with four legs. Squidward. He was still here! Steeling himself, Spongebob sat at attention, gripping the blankets tightly.

When Squidward entered, he was holding a tray of food and wearing a long pink apron. When he saw that Spongebob was now conscious, the octopus jumped, nearly dropped the food, then steadied himself just in time.

“Squidward!” said Spongebob, cheerily. “You’re here!”

“Of course I’m here, you nitwit,” muttered Squidward. “Who else was gonna clean up that messy party of yours?”

Squidward crossed the room to place the food tray on Spongebob’s nightstand. Once there, the octopus shoved a glass of water and two pills into the poriferan’s hands, with one simple command: “Drink.”

Spongebob did so, gratefully. Then, he asked, “The party … what all happened?”

“I don’t know, but it was a mess,” sighed Squidward. “I’m pretty sure half the town was completely passed out by the time I got here. I’m surprised the cops didn’t get involved.”

“Oh,” said Spongebob, feeling very guilty all of a sudden. “Did -- did everyone get home okay?”

“Yeah,” said Squidward. “Listen, don’t -- don’t worry about it, okay? I took care of everything. Your house is clean, Gary is fed, everyone got home. That’s all.” Squidward’s cheeks were stained red.

Spongebob smiled, his heart jumping happily in his chest. “Thank you, Squidward.”

After a moment of silence, Squidward brought the food tray up to Spongebob’s lap. “You should … you should eat that,” he muttered, then took a deep breath. “Look, I … I’m sorry I was so late, alright? The truth is, I … I got caught up.”

With a mouthful of food, Spongebob asked, “Wif whaf?”

Squidward grimaced. “You’re disgusting,” he snapped, then looked away, blushing brightly. “Anyway, I … was trying to get ahold of your birthday present. It was supposed to be delivered here, to Conch Street, yesterday -- but I guess there was a mix-up, and it was instead delivered to Conch Road, which is … in an entirely different town. Several hours away.”

Spongebob blinked. “You drove all the way to get it?”

Squidward scowled. “Whatever,” he snapped, pulling a small red present box from beneath Spongebob’s bed. “Either way, it’s here. So, I guess … open it, maybe.”

Shoveling down the rest of his food (much to Squidward’s disgust), the sponge quickly shredded the pristine red wrapping paper to reveal -- a boxed set of the entire As The Tide Turns series. The extended edition, with all the bonus scenes and commentary tracks. And to top it all off -- the box was signed by the stars of the show.

Spongebob looked up at Squidward, eyes shimmering with shock and awe. “Squidward, this is -- this is amazing, I thought they didn’t sell these anymore!”

“Oh, trust me,” said Squidward, shuddering. “You have no idea what I had to do to get my hands on that.”

“Let me guess,” said Spongebob, holding up two yellow hands to form finger-guns. In his best Joey impression, the sponge said, “You had to kill a lotta folks, didn’t ya, Detective Heartthrob?”

Squidward chuckled immediately. In one suave motion, he leaned against Spongebob’s bed, and pointed a finger-gun of his own. In his best Detective Heartthrob impression, the octopus replied, “I did, and I don’t regret it at all, Joey!”

The two laughed for a good long while. Then, suddenly embarrassed once more, Squidward looked away. Taking a deep breath, the octopus said, “Look, Sponge, I -- last night, you said something kinda weird, and I wanted to know if -- if maybe --”

“Huh?”

“You said -- you only cared about me, not anyone else, and I -- I wanted to ask,” stammered Squidward, “... what exactly … you meant by that.”

Spongebob’s eyes widened. Oh, barnacles. Did he really say that? Well … there was no hiding it now. Gripping his sheets tight, Spongebob steeled himself for what was to come. “It means I … I wanna keep hanging out with you, Squidward,” said the sponge, staring down at his yellow knuckles. “I wanna hang out with you more than anyone else.”

Squidward swallowed, hard. “Sponge, what are you saying?”

Spongebob looked up. Their eyes met. “I like you,” said the sponge, smiling nervously. “A … a lot.”

A long moment of silence passed. Spongebob’s heart hammered furiously at his chest. Then, Squidward sighed, and picked up the ATTT boxed set. Walking over to Spongebob’s TV, the octopus inserted the first disc, grabbed the remote, and returned to Spongebob’s side.

Lifting the blankets, the octopus said, “Scooch over.”

Spongebob blinked, then did as instructed. “Why?” he asked.

“You really are an idiot,” muttered Squidward, climbing into bed with him. “It’s a Sunday, the Krusty Krab is closed, and we have a whole boxed set to watch together. Might as well start now.”

Spongebob smiled, happily. “So -- so you -- ”

Squidward rolled his eyes. “If you must know, yes, I … I like you,” he snapped. “I’m not gonna drive halfway across the ocean floor for just anybody, you know.”

Spongebob grinned stupidly. “I guess not.”

With that, the show began, its melodramatic theme tune echoing pleasantly across Spongebob’s pineapple home. And just below the bed, Gary let out a soft, contended meow -- which almost certainly meant “finally.”

-0-

References:

The line about cutting Squidward’s cable is a reference to the episode “Party Pooper Pants”, in which Spongebob cuts Squidward’s cable to get him to come over for a party.

[xiaomoxu]

LUCIEN - Taste Date

SPOILER ALERT!!

A date from CN server which hasn’t been released on EN server yet. Might contains some spoiler.

The projector in the living room flickered, and the music at the end of the movie was intertwined with the warm sunshine. In this space that belongs to me and Xu Mo, there is a warmth day after day.

I looked at the scrolling subtitles on the screen and yawned.

Xu Mo: Do you think the movie is boring?

Xu Mo turned his head and looked at me with a faint voice as always, but the smile in his eyes was a little bit more than usual.

MC: Nope. The movie is very interesting. I especially like narration, music and mirroring.

MC: It's the movie you picked.

As I said, I leaned against Xu Mo again, leaning my head on his shoulder.

MC: I just relax suddenly and feel like I'm lazy

MC: Obviously I did all kinds of imagination before the holiday, but when I could really rest, my brain went on strike, and I didn't even bother to think about the plan.

Xu Mo: However, if you don't plan well, this rest day will also slip away unknowingly.

MC: There is nothing wrong with this principle

MC: Then we will discuss how to spend a full and rich rest day tomorrow.

MC: But right now... just rest with nothing to do for one day, okay?

When I looked up at him, I was amused and blinked earnestly. Xu Mo seemed to squeeze my face helplessly.

Xu Mo: You...

Xu Mo: Do you want to watch another movie?

Before I had time to agree, Xu Mo's phone on the table rang untimely.

The caller is Aming.

Xu Mo pressed the hands-free button after answering the phone, got up and walked to the cabinet where the discs were stored.

Aming: Professor Xu, sorry to disturb you.

Xu Mo: what's happening?

Aming: Do you have any arrangements for today? The previous experiment has made some progress, I would like to trouble you to follow up.

Xu Mo paused when he picked the DVD.

Xu Mo: is it urgent?

Aming: It's not actually too late after the holidays.

Aming: However, there will be a few academic conferences and postgraduate papers that you need to check. Time will be a little tight.

Xu Mo: I know. Leave it until after the holidays.

Aming: Alright professor, take a good rest.

As the phone hung up, Xu Mo also chose the DVD. And I, who was listening silently beside him, suddenly had a thought.

MC: Xu Mo, I have a plan!

Xu Mo: Yes?

MC: Since it's a holiday now, there shouldn't be many people in the research right?

Xu Mo: Well, that's right.

MC: Then I will go to work with you!

As if shocked by my sudden suggestion, Xu Mo raised his eyebrows and said again to confirm.

Xu Mo: Go to work with me?

MC: Yes! This way you can spend the rest day with you without delaying your work.

MC: And it satisfies the condition of "fullness and richness" very well. Isn't it a great idea?

Xu Mo: I do not deny that this is a feasible method....

Xu Mo: But my work is probably not as interesting as you think

I shook my head vigorously.

MC: It is not an opportunity every day to see Professor Xu's work side up close.

MC: This holiday plan will definitely be the one I wanted to start a long time ago.

MC: "Professor Xu Mo's Ecological Observation" project adds an important record!

Although I have “sneaked in” here many times because I gave Xu Mo a lunch box or helped him take care of the plants in the office...

But walking into the office with him in this way and watching him sitting behind his desk up close is still a new experience.

MC: Xu Mo, you just treat me as if I'm not here, just do your usual work normally!

Seeing that I had quite taken out a notebook to record his daily momentum of work, Xu Mo gently tapped on my head.

Xu Mo: Well, now that producer MC is fully prepared, then I will cooperate well.

Xu Mo: But say it in advance, even if you feel boring, you can't run away.

MC: Pftー don't worry, I won't!

I hope our "cooperation" today will be turned well.

I held back a smile, sat pretentiously on the sofa in the corner of his office, and waved to him.

The so-called "Professor Xu Mo's Ecological Observation" project, only "observing Xu Mo" is my real purpose.

The person in front of me always seemed to be able to cooperate with my careful thoughts, and would not pierce easily.

For me, seeing Xu Mo's work in a rare way is already the most interesting thing for me.

Xu Mo sat behind his desk, his narrow eyes could not see emotions, only the light spots on his face swayed playfully with his breathing rate.

We didn't speak for a while, and typing sounds regularly echoed in the office where only the two of us were alone.

Xu Mo: Is it connected to the intranet?

Xu Mo didn't stop his hand movements and spoke naturally

MC: Yep, it's already connected.

MC: However, the network speed of the highest biotechnology institute is really fast

??: After all, we have a lot of data to process, and it will be troublesome if the network cannot keep up.

With a soft knock on the door, a familiar voice heard outside the door.

Researcher: Amin told me that the professor was not coming today, and he was probably going to accompany MC. I saw that the office light was on, and it was strange.

Researcher: Unexpectedly, you came together.

The other party was one of the researchers who followed Xu Mo as a researcher, and I had met Xu Mo several times before.

Xu Mo nodded lightly in response, and I also smiled politely at him.

MC: Do you have a job to talk about? Then I first

Researcher: No, no, I will go back to the lab now. Professor, you are busy, I won't bother you.

The researcher winked at us jokingly and waved away.

Xu Mo raised his eyes and looked at the direction the person was leaving, then smiled and said to me.

Xu Mo: It seems that when I didn't know, the researchers around me had a better relationship with you.

MC: Because everyone is very kind.

Xu Mo: A lot of things have been added to the office unknowingly.

Xu Mo smiled and pointed to the blanket on the sofa.

MC: Of course. My goal is to make it comfortable and easy to work with!

Xu Mo: Then I will wait and see.

In the next few hours, Xu Mo's typing sound never stopped.

Occasionally, a few researchers came in to submit materials, and because they were all familiar people, they directly handed me the documents that needed to be sorted out.

In this way, I also feel a little happy to be around Xu Mo and do something for him.

But....

Xu Mo: Ugh...

Hearing Xu Mo's sigh for many times today, I walked behind him and massaged his shoulders and neck.

You keep sighing, is your work today not going well?

Xu Mo: Is not. It's just that the efficiency is not as high as usual.

MC: Is it too tired?

MC: Xu Mo smiled and took my hand, leaned a little later, half leaning on me.

He took off his glasses and put them on the table. The eyes that looked at me were full of clarity, and there was no fatigue.

Xu Mo: If you are here, I will be distracted.

Xu Mo: Are you hungry, do you want to eat first?

The noon daylight gradually slanted, and the crisp keyboard tapping in my ears stopped.

Xu Mo stood up and moved his shoulder and neck slightly.

The work is more cumbersome than I thought, and it may take more time.

Xu Mo: Why not we have lunch together?

MC: It would be nice if Professor Xu Mo could eat as well as he did today in his usual work.

Xu Mo: With your strict supervision, I am getting healthier day by day.

Xu Mo got up and put on his coat, and naturally brought me a coat and hat.

Xu Mo: For the restaurants nearby.

Seeing Xu Mo's thinking, I interrupted him first.

MC: Today I am here to do "Professor Xu Mo's Ecological Observation", so just go to the place where you usually eat.

Xu Mo: But I usually.....

I can probably guess what he said subconsciously. I squinted at Xu Mo.

MC: Did you really eat well under my supervision?

Xu Mo: ....

Xu Mo: Compared to before, my life is indeed much healthier. Especially the love bento you sent, I ate them on time.

MC: Huh?

MC: What about when I didn't send it? Is it not on time?

I did not let Xu Mo go, but further "questioned" him.

Xu Mo: Overall.... it is on time.

Xu Mo turned his gaze away with a rare guilty conscience, and gave an ambiguous answer.

MC: Then take me to the place where you usually eat now.

MC: I have to supervise the cunning big fox Professor Xu!

Although I am always amused by him accidentally, I will never compromise in this kind of place.

Xu Mo: Alright, I get it.

Xu Mo: In the future, I will follow MC's requirements more strictly and try to ensure that I work and rest regularly.

Seeing that I couldn't help but Xu Mo could only sigh and surrender.

Xu Mo took me to a small restaurant near the research center.

Most of the diners who come and go in the store wear badges from the research center.

MC: It seems that this is still a popular meal of the research center.

Xu Mo and I stood at the end of the ordering queue, looking up at the short menu. The dishes were almost occupied by sandwiches, burgers and pizza.

MC: But the food does not seem to be too rich...

Xu Mo: Yes. After all, people usually think more about how to make eating time the most efficient than enjoying food.

Xu Mo: If you have not forgotten to eat, you will choose food that is portable and can be eaten as quickly as possible.

Xu Mo: So you can finish a meal while walking or working.

Xu Mo didn't look at the menu and ordered a sandwich when it was our turn.

It seems that he does come here often.

The clerk clearly placed the order and settled the bill. The smooth and streamlined movements are in line with efficiency aesthetics.

MC : I'm going the other way with you, and I will never give up any chance to enjoy food

MC: Occasionally, I ran for a cup of coffee during my lunch break.

MC: After all, eating is a very happy thing.

Xu Mo: Yes. Indeed it is.

MC: Xu Mo looked at me as if he missed and said with joy.

Xu Mo: I didn't think three meals a day were important or pleasant.

Xu Mo: But I found it now.

Xu Mo: This feeling is especially strong when you eat the rice cooked by this "Snail Girl".

Almost as soon as I was seated, the clerk had already delivered some nice sandwiches.

MC: Huh? Is this restaurant serving food so fast?

The sandwiches on the tray are very rich in content, some vegetables and meat, and it seems that there is an egg in it.

MC: Is this your usual lunch?

Xu Mo nodded and unpacked.

Xu Mo: The sandwiches in this shop are very popular in the research center.

MC: Is it because the nutrition is balanced and delicious?

Xu Mo: Would you like to taste it?

Xu Mo smiled and split off a corner of the sandwich and handed it to me.

While talking, other meals were also delivered over.

In such a comparison, I always feel that the sandwich in front of me looks very simple.

But as the saying goes, the food is not good.

MC: Well.... the nutrition seems to be very balanced.

I returned Xu Mo with a bright smile.

Xu Mo: Doesn't it taste good? It's better to say that it was just enough to swallow it just now.

MC: ....

MC: It must be that the ingredients used in the store are more particular, right? It can add rich nutrition.

Xu Mo: It's just ordinary ingredients.

Xu Mo: From a nutritional point of view, meat is somewhat insufficient, and the intake of carbohydrates and protein is definitely not enough.

I tried to maintain the smile on my face, somewhat worried whether the store would hear this straightforward conversation and swept us out.

Xu Mo: However, it has a unique advantage that it can become the favorite food in the hearts of researchers at the research center.

I opened my eyes slightly and listened carefully.

Xu Mo: High speed.

MC: What?

Xu Mo: The serving speed is very fast, if it is taken away, the speed is even faster.

MC: So that's all...

Xu Mo: Someone once did statistics...

Xu Mo: If you order this sandwich in this restaurant, you can save at least 13 minutes and 22 seconds even during peak dining periods.

As I listened to this so precise and unnecessary data, my brain gradually emptied.

Does the research scope of the research center cover this kind of place?!

Xu Mo: This statistical report covers all shops within a walking distance of 20 minutes, and the credibility is very high.

MC: That's it, everyone at the research center are so strictㅡ

Xu Mo was amused by my lack of emotional ups and downs, and he pushed my burger toward me.

Xu Mo: But the taste of other dishes should be normal and worth eating.

Sure enough, the beef Hamburg, which looked very tender and juicy, basically reached the standard of "delicious".

Compared with the tasteless sandwich just eaten, it can be called "delicious."

MC: So, do you usually eat this kind of food for lunch?

Xu Mo: Yes. This is considered to be one of the most optimal in all aspects

Xu Mo bit the sandwich in his hand and explained the facts calmly.

MC: Although time is important and this sentence is also very long-winded, I still think three meals a day are very important

MC: After serious work, it is worth rewarding yourself with delicious, nutritious and balanced food.

MC: Eating enough and sleeping well is not only a guarantee of life, but also a statement to myself: Today I am also living seriously.

Facing my serious "preaching" Xu Mo stretched out his fingers to smooth my frowning brows, and smiled a little happier than before.

Xu Mo: It is as expected.

Seeing me looking at him a little puzzled, Xu Mo smiled and fed me a piece of French fries, and continued to speak.

Xu Mo: Several times, when I ate sandwiches from this restaurant, I wondered how you would react if you came here and ate the same food as me.

Xu Mo: When you taste the taste, you will definitely hesitate to say it bluntly.

Xu Mo: You will definitely tell me after listening to my reasons for choosing it, to eat well and take care of yourself.

Xu Mo: My guess was not wrong.

MC: Hm....

MC: Why do you think of me at this time?

Xu Mo: When you encounter all kinds of things, you will always share with me

Xu Mo: Every time I receive a message from you and learn about every bit of your life, I am very happy.

Xu Mo: Of course I would want to do the same thing.

Xu Mo: Rather, it is the most normal thing to unconsciously think of the people you care about in every bit of your life.

Xu Mo's tone was light.

This is indeed an ordinary thing.

But this kind of thing, being said so bluntly and seriously by him, still makes my cheeks hot.

MC: You, why don't you hurry up and try other foods?

MC: This pizza looks delicious. Would you like to try it?

As if to conceal my feeling of making a fuss about "normal things", my body has already taken a step before my reaction.

(karma CG included)

I picked up the pizza just baked and handed it to Xu Mo.

MC: Is it a sweet pizza that you haven't tried before, try it?

Xu Mo didn't take the pizza I handed over, but just bent down and bit the tip of the pizza.

His snort rubbed my fingers, it was warm and a touch of humidity.

The reduced distance is like a switch that flashes a similar scene in my mind.

Xu Mo: is good?

Xu Mo who bit the pizza opened his eyes slightly.

MC: Is the pizza with cheese, blueberry and honey taste too weird?

I looked at Xu Mo's face and tried to find the answer in his expression.

Xu Mo moved closer to my side and bit off the cheese.

Probably the pizza that was just out of the oven was still a little hot, Xu Mo didn't speak immediately, but motioned for me to try it too.

MC: It is good!

On the first bite of the pizza, I also opened my eyes wide and nodded to Xu Mo frequently.

MC: it's nice!

MC: Unexpectedly, there is such a delicious thing hidden in a place so close to the research center!

The little beauty and surprise that I suddenly found, the joy that I shared with my favorite person the first time...

The scent of blueberries and the sweet taste of honey are intertwined, and the heart is full of satisfaction.

Xu Mo: It seems that I am too underestimated and I am too used to this restaurant.

MC: Coming with you today is really rewarding!

Xu Mo: Indeed it is.

As Xu Mo said, he picked up another slice of pizza and handed it to me, his eyes were softer than the lemon-colored sunlight outside the window.

Xu Mo: Even if I'm very familiar with the things I am used to, when I'm with you, it will always be different.

Xu Mo: It seems that as long as I look at you, I won't miss all the beautiful things.

Xu Mo's voice is still so faint, with some warmth and softness in the heart.

MC: In the future, I will continue to work hard to discover the little beauty in life.

MC: So Professor Xu will continue to rest assured with me.

He did not speak any more, just smile and stretch out his finger and wiped the corners of my mouth.

There have been many times when he used the same tone and tone to explain a certain theory and a certain truth for me.

Just now, he told me more facts about himself.

Small, ordinary facts have not been verified by large sections of papers, nor are they new discoveries that shock the world.

But it is absolutely correct and constant like any other law that constructs this world.

It was enough to make my heart beat faster than usual.

--- END ---

I’m sorry if there’s some mistranslation. Kindly tell me if you found some :) thank you for read it~ ^^

[plainbrunettelbl]

ABO Rich (A) Katsuki Bakugo x Poor (O) Reader Money Can’t Buy You Everything Alpha (Chapter Two)

Word count: 1896

Warnings: None. 

Title: ABO Rich (A) Katsuki Bakugo x Poor (O) Reader Money Can’t Buy You Everything Alpha (Chapter Two)

Summary: Bakugo actually does something nice but his execution is a little off. 

(Gif not mine) 

Bakugo: 

💥-“Plant girl! Stop calling me that!” You huffed.

💥-“So you are Plant girl! I knew there was something about you!” His glare was piercing.

💥-“So what?” You crossed your arms.

💥-“So what?! Why didn’t you say anything?” He demanded.

💥-“What was I gonna say? Hey, do you remember that time you were kidnapped?” You argued.

💥-“Well maybe not like that but sure! You were just gonna let me walk out?” He fumed.  

💥-“Well, I certainly wasn’t gonna ask you to stay!” You scoffed. “And why would I want you to stay anyways.”

💥-“I don’t know maybe to catch up or something? Build a friendship?” He countered.

💥-“Why would I want a friendship with a rude Alpha like you?” You complained leaning against the counter with both your hands laid flat on it.

💥-“I haven’t been rude!” He shot back clearly upset that you thought so.

💥-“Says Mr. Grumpy Face.” You accused.

💥-He scoffs at that. Before he could retort you looked like you were swaying on your feet. His Alpha instincts kicked in as he nearly hopped over the counter to keep you steady.

💥-“What’s wrong? Are you feeling okay?” He asked.

💥-“I’m just feeling a little dizzy.” You muttered. Must be the lack of sleep and the breakfast bar you had for breakfast.

💥-You tried not to flush at feeling his warm hands on your shoulders. Get a grip Y/N this guy has been nothing short of rude. You can’t be attracted to him. 

💥-“I’m sorry if I stressed you out Omega.” His tone was soft.

💥-“I’m not Omega or Plant girl. My name is Y/N.” Your glare didn’t hold as much bite as you would have liked. You had softened at his tone. You were blaming it on Omega instincts. 

💥-No falling in love with the guy just because he touched you.

💥-“Wanna get some food? We can catch up and stuff.” You tried to ignore the redness flooding his cheeks.

💥-“I work till five and have to be at my other job at eight. I don’t think getting something to eat with you is in my plans. I have a few errands I need to run and clean up my apartment a little.” You listed, pulling away from him.

💥-“I can pick up some food and bring it back here if you want?” He offered.

💥-“Why would you do that?” You asked, genuinely confused.

💥-“Well, I have to do something to repay you for helping me escape.” He rubbed the back of his head.

💥-“Oh.” Your Omega pouted at that but you don’t understand why. “You don’t have to. My lunch break is in a little bit so I should be fine.”

💥-“How about I take you out then?” He asked.

💥-“I only have a thirty-minute lunch break. Can’t exactly sit down and enjoy the food.” You sighed.

💥-“I can pick something up and bring it back if you want.” He offered again.

💥-You smiled a little. Even if he was doing this just to pay you back it was still sweet of him to offer. “I don’t know if having lunch with you would be a good idea. Who wants to eat with a grumpy face like you?” You jested.

💥-“I’ll pay?” His voice tilted on a higher tone. Clearly offended but not willing to anger you anymore. Not wanting to admit that he was set on spending time with you.

💥-“On second thought, I can handle a few rude remarks.” You tilted your head with a thoughtful look.

💥-“Whatever. I have been nothing short of polite.” He mumbled. “It’s a deal. I’ll come back with the food in thirty minutes.”

💥-He began walking out of the shop.

💥-“What about your flowers?” You called out.

💥-“I don’t need them.” He shot over his shoulder.

💥-Outside he called his personal driver to come to pick him up and waited by the curb. Once he got off the phone with his driver he quickly dialed another number.

💥-“Mom, I am not going to make it to the courting date you set up. Something important came up. Let her know I won’t be going okay?” He said to her voicemail. He was glad she didn’t pick up since he knew he was gonna get an earful out of her once she knew he didn’t show up.

***

💥-You had continued to stand behind the counter waiting for someone to walk in. Your Omega was impatient for the Alpha to come back. Something about him drew her to him.

💥-To his word, he did come back thirty minutes later. He carried in boxes that looked like they could have been gifts instead of takeout boxes since they were wrapped so elegantly. White boxes with black bows.

💥-“What did you get?” You lifted a brow.

💥-“Just something from a restaurant I frequent.” He nonchalantly placed it on the counter. “Where are we gonna eat?” He looked around for a table to magically appear.

💥-“I usually eat in the back. It’s kinda dirty though.” You trailed off. Your face burned in embarrassment.

💥-He saw your mood shift. He placed his hands on the counter before vaulting over. Swiftly grabbing the boxes and sliding against the counter to the floor. Ignoring the fact that his white dress shirt was probably gonna get wrinkled and dirty.

💥-He set the food down in his lap and looked up at her.

💥-“You gonna sit down?” He asked.

💥-You hastily sat down, he began unraveling the ribbons. You were hit with a pungent smell. You tried to keep your face straight so you didn’t offend him. He was doing something nice so you didn’t want to seem ungrateful.

💥-He handed you a box and grabbed one for himself. You lifted the top to find something you definitely weren't expecting. Snails. A dozen of them stared back at you.

💥-They were sitting in a pool of yellow liquid that smelled like truffle butter. A few mushrooms scattered around the meal delicately. A piece of toasted bread lays on the side.

💥-“It looks... good. Thank you.” You offered him a fake smile.

💥-He returned the gesture with a small smile himself. Clearly proud of himself. He passed you the utensils before digging in. You decided to start off with something you knew you could eat. The bread.

💥-Once you had nibbled that away you began plucking up all of the mushrooms. Them being soaked in truffle butter was something you weren’t used to but you could stomach it.

💥-All that was left were the snails and you didn’t know where to start. You tried to see if he had the same thing you did. He had a lobster. You were tempted to ask him to switch with you but swallowed the urge and took a fork to the hard shell.

💥-You got the meat out without too much struggle which was good. Now it was time to actually put it in your mouth. As soon as it touched your tongue you knew it was a mistake.

💥-The slimy texture was the first thing to put you off. You got a few chews in before giving up and spitting it back into the plate. Bakugo snapped his head at you. You had literally spat out your food. He eyed you like you were suddenly an alien or something.

💥-“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t take it. It was gross and slimy.” You couldn’t get redder.

💥-“I don’t even know how to freaking react right now.” He was shocked, never before had he seen an Omega act so informal. He was used to dinner parties with delicate Omegas who wiped their mouth after every bite.

💥-“I really am sorry. I tried but couldn’t handle the texture.” You set your food on the floor and stood up.

💥-“I think I still have enough time to go grab a hot dog or something. I’ll be right back. Can you watch the shop real quick?” You asked. You felt bad but really needed something sustainable in your stomach.

💥-“Sure.” He answered, still taken off guard.

💥-You nodded in thanks before rushing out of the store.

💥-This Omega kept surprising him at every turn. If she was like every other Omega in his life they would have jumped at the opportunity to be in debt to him. You were gonna it slip through your fingers without a second thought.

💥-He didn’t have time to think if you were genuinely one of a kind or soft in the head before you came back in. Two foil-wrapped packets in your hand. You came back over to him, taking a seat on the floor once again.

💥-“I got you one too. A lobster and salad don’t seem very filling to me.” You smiled, handing him the foil packet.

💥-It was true it wasn’t necessarily filling but the food wasn’t for him, it was for you. And he will grudgingly admit that he didn’t take your tastes into consideration. He was used to this type of food and didn’t think that you would find any fault in it.

💥-So he would stomach the hot dog since you tried to do the same for his choice of food. He wrapped it and eyed the red sausage.

💥-“This isn’t gonna kill me is it?” He said he was gonna stomach it but didn’t say he wasn’t gonna complain about it.

💥-“No.” You rolled your eyes, your mouth already full. Cheeks puffed out and yellow mustard lining the corner of your mouth. He wouldn’t admit it but he found it adorable.

💥-“Uh-huh. Did the person that gave it to you look like he showered today at least?” He said lifting it to his mouth.

💥-“Frank has a good reputation for keeping his cart clean and sanitary. Even has the A to prove it.” You grumbled.

💥-“I’ll take your word for it.” Taking a bit, after a few chews he swallowed. “It’s palatable.” He offered.

💥-“Glad it meets your approval, your Majesty.” You laughed, seeing the humor in his polite yet rude attitude.

💥-“Whatever.” He muttered, still eating the hot dog.

💥-“I think this is a good start.” You chimed.

💥-“Start?” He questioned.

💥-“Of our friendship. You said you wanted one right?” You asked.

💥-“I did. I thought you didn’t want one. I recall you saying I was a rude Alpha” He implied.

💥-“That was before I realized you did have a nice bone in your body.” You grinned at him.

💥-“I have been nice the whole time!” He insisted.

💥-“Oh, I think I am feeling dizzy again.” You murmured acting like you were gonna slump over.

💥-“Really?” He reached out to grab you.

💥-You popped back up with a giggle. “Nope. It seemed to calm you down last time though. You are gonna have to get used to me teasing you if you want a part in this friendship.” You teased.

💥-He didn’t say it out loud but the thought of him being around you long enough for him to get used to your odd behavior made him feel warm inside.

Okay second chapter out. Thoughts? What did you think of him ditching his courting date?  What do you think of Bakugos idea of a meal? How do you think this unlikely friendship is gonna pan out?  Hope you enjoyed it! 💕