#Increasing email opens

[marketingprofitmedia]

10 Effective Email Subject Lines That Get Your Emails Opened: Unlock Secrets

Effective email subject lines grab attention and compel recipients to open your emails. Here are 10 subject lines that do just that.

Crafting the perfect email subject line is crucial for achieving high open rates. With inboxes overflowing, a catchy and relevant subject line can make your email stand out. It’s essential to understand your audience and what motivates them to open an email.

Whether you’re promoting a sale, sharing news, or providing valuable content, your subject line should be clear and enticing. Personalization and urgency often work wonders, but creativity and relevance are key. Explore these proven strategies to boost your email open rates and engage your audience more effectively. Mastering this skill can significantly impact your email marketing success

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The Art Of Crafting Email Subject Lines

Crafting the perfect email subject line is both a science and an art. It’s the first impression your email makes. A compelling subject line can significantly increase your open rates. Let’s dive into the intricacies of creating effective email subject lines.

Why Subject Lines Matter

Subject lines are crucial. They determine if your email gets opened or ignored. An effective subject line can grab attention instantly. A well-crafted subject line can boost your open rates by up to 50%. It’s the gateway to your email content. Without an engaging subject line, your email may never get seen.

Key Elements Of A Winning Subject Line

Several elements make a subject line effective. Here are the key components:

Clarity: Ensure your subject line is clear and to the point.

Urgency: Create a sense of urgency to prompt immediate action.

Personalization: Use the recipient’s name or personal details.

Relevance: Make sure the subject line relates to the email content.

Curiosity: Pique interest without giving away too much.

Length: Keep it short and sweet, ideally under 50 characters.

Below is a table summarizing these key elements:

ElementDescriptionClarityClear and concise subject linesUrgencyEncourage immediate actionPersonalizationInclude personal detailsRelevanceRelated to the email contentCuriosityEngage interest without revealing too muchLengthShort, ideally under 50 characters

Remember these key elements. They are the building blocks of effective email subject lines.

Leveraging Curiosity For Higher Open Rates

Emails can get lost in crowded inboxes. A catchy subject line can make a difference. Using curiosity can boost your email open rates. Let’s explore how leveraging curiosity can make your emails irresistible.

The Psychology Behind Curiosity

Curiosity is a powerful emotion. It drives people to seek information. When something piques our curiosity, our brains release dopamine. This makes us feel good and want to learn more.

Curiosity works because it creates a gap in our knowledge. We feel the need to fill this gap. Email subject lines that use curiosity can trigger this response. They make readers want to open the email to find out more.

Examples Of Curiosity-inducing Subject Lines

Using curiosity in subject lines can be simple. Here are some examples that can help:

“You Won’t Believe What Happened Next”

“The Secret to [Benefit]”

“What We Found Out About [Topic] Will Surprise You”

“Are You Making These Common Mistakes?”

“This Simple Trick Can Change Your [Outcome]”

“Unlock the Mystery of [Subject]”

“The Truth About [Topic] Revealed”

“Find Out How [Company] Achieved [Result]”

“The One Thing You’re Missing in [Area]”

“Discover the Hidden Benefits of [Product]”

These examples show how to create curiosity. They make the reader want to know more. Use these ideas to craft your own subject lines.

Subject LineReason It Works“You Won’t Believe What Happened Next”Creates intrigue and suspense“The Secret to [Benefit]”Promises valuable information“Are You Making These Common Mistakes?”Plays on fear of missing out“This Simple Trick Can Change Your [Outcome]”Suggests an easy solution

Using curiosity in your email subject lines can make a big impact. Try these examples and see the difference in your open rates.

Personalization Tricks To Stand Out In The Inbox

Email subject lines play a crucial role in whether your email gets opened or ignored. Personalization can make your emails more engaging and relevant. Let’s explore some tricks to personalize subject lines and make them stand out.

The Power Of Personal Touch

Adding a personal touch to your email subject lines can significantly increase open rates. People love seeing their names in the subject line. It makes them feel special and valued.

Here’s how personalization works wonders:

Builds trust with your audience

Grabs attention instantly

Increases email open rates significantly

Incorporating Personalization In Subject Lines

To make your subject lines personal, use the recipient’s first name. Mention something specific to them. These small changes can make a big difference.

Here are some effective ways to incorporate personalization:

Personalization TechniqueExampleUse First Name“Hey [First Name], check this out!”Mention Location“Exciting news for our friends in [City]!”Reference Past Interaction“Loved your feedback on [Product], [First Name]!”

Remember, the goal is to make the recipient feel like the email was crafted just for them. This approach not only grabs their attention but also fosters engagement and loyalty.

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Creating Urgency Without Being Spammy

Crafting email subject lines that evoke a sense of urgency can significantly increase your open rates. But, it’s essential to strike the right balance. You want to encourage your readers to act quickly, yet avoid coming off as spammy. This section explores how to achieve that delicate balance.

Balancing Urgency And Authenticity

Balancing urgency and authenticity is key to successful email marketing. You want your readers to feel a need to act but also trust your message. Here are some tips to help you achieve this balance:

Use actionable language but avoid exaggeration.

Incorporate real deadlines to create genuine urgency.

Avoid excessive punctuation like multiple exclamation marks.

Be clear and concise about what’s at stake.

How To Convey Urgency In Subject Lines

To convey urgency in your subject lines, you need to be strategic. Here are some proven techniques:

Use time-sensitive words like “today,” “now,” or “limited time.”

Highlight scarcity by mentioning limited quantities or availability.

Incorporate deadlines such as “Ends tonight” or “Last chance.”

Ask urgent questions like “Did you miss this?” or “Are you ready?”

TechniqueExample Subject LineTime-sensitive words“Get 50% off today only!”Highlight scarcity“Only 5 left in stock!”Incorporate deadlines“Offer ends at midnight!”Ask urgent questions“Are you prepared for the sale?”

Remember, your goal is to create a sense of urgency without misleading your audience. This builds trust and encourages quick action, boosting your email open rates.

Using Numbers And Lists For Clarity

Using Numbers and Lists for Clarity can greatly enhance the effectiveness of your email subject lines. Numbers and lists help convey a clear and concise message, making it easier for readers to grasp the content at a glance. Let’s explore how you can use these tools to improve your email open rates.

The Impact Of Numbers On Reader’s Attention

Numbers naturally draw the eye and grab attention. They provide a clear expectation of what the reader will find inside the email. For example:

“7 Tips for Better Sleep Tonight”

“5 Reasons to Start Your Day with Meditation”

Numbers in subject lines create a sense of order and promise a specific outcome. This makes them more appealing to the reader. A numbered list feels manageable and actionable, encouraging the reader to click and read more.

Crafting Clear List-based Subject Lines

List-based subject lines are effective because they set clear expectations. To craft a compelling list-based subject line, follow these guidelines:

Be specific and concise: Use clear and direct language.

Highlight the benefit: Make sure the reader knows what they will gain.

Use odd numbers: Odd numbers tend to perform better in subject lines.

Consider these examples:

Subject LineWhy It Works“10 Easy Recipes for Busy Weeknights”It promises a solution to a common problem.“3 Secrets to Boost Your Productivity”It offers valuable information in a digestible format.

Using numbers and lists in your email subject lines provides clarity and encourages engagement. This can significantly improve your email open rates.

Credit: selzy.com

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Questions In Subject Lines: Engage Your Reader

Email subject lines play a crucial role in catching the reader’s attention. Questions in subject lines engage your reader by sparking curiosity. This technique prompts them to open the email to find the answer. The right question can drive higher open rates and better engagement.

Asking The Right Questions

Asking the right questions in subject lines is key to grabbing attention. The question should be relevant to the recipient’s interests. It should also be intriguing enough to make them want to know more. Here are some tips for crafting the right questions:

Understand your audience: Know what they care about and what problems they face.

Be specific: Vague questions can confuse the reader. Clear, specific questions work best.

Use simple language: Complicated questions can deter readers. Keep it simple and straightforward.

Strategies For Effective Question-based Subject Lines

Using questions in subject lines requires strategic thinking. Here are some strategies to ensure your question-based subject lines are effective:

StrategyDescriptionPersonalizationInclude the recipient’s name or specific details about them.UrgencyCreate a sense of urgency or exclusivity to prompt immediate action.RelevanceEnsure the question is relevant to the recipient’s interests or needs.

Examples of effective question-based subject lines include:

“Are you ready to boost your productivity?”

“What if you could save 20% on your next purchase?”

“Do you know the latest trends in your industry?”

By asking engaging and relevant questions, you can create curiosity and drive your email open rates. Remember, the goal is to make the reader want to know the answer.

Testing And Optimizing Your Subject Lines

Testing and optimizing your email subject lines is crucial. It helps increase open rates and engagement. By refining your approach, you can discover what resonates most with your audience.

The Importance Of A/b Testing

A/B testing allows you to compare two subject lines. You can send them to different segments of your audience. This helps identify which performs better. Use this method to make data-driven decisions.

When conducting A/B tests, start small. Test one variable at a time. This could be the length, tone, or use of emojis. Use these steps to perform effective A/B testing:

Formulate two variations of your subject line.

Divide your email list into two equal segments.

Send each version to a different segment.

Analyze the results to see which subject line had a higher open rate.

Here’s an example:

Subject LineOpen RateGet 50% Off Today!25%Don’t Miss Our Special Offer!30%

Analyzing And Learning From Email Metrics

To optimize your subject lines, analyze email metrics. Focus on open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. These metrics provide insights into what works best.

Open Rate: Indicates how many people opened your email.

Click-Through Rate: Shows how many clicked on links within the email.

Conversion Rate: Measures how many completed the desired action, such as making a purchase.

Use these metrics to identify patterns. For example, if shorter subject lines have higher open rates, consider using more concise language. Over time, you will develop a better understanding of your audience’s preferences.

Here are some tips for analyzing metrics effectively:

Regularly review your email performance data.

Look for trends in open and click-through rates.

Experiment with different strategies based on your findings.

Credit: www.mailerlite.com

Frequently Asked Questions

What Email Subject Lines Get The Most Opens?

Subject lines with personalization, urgency, and curiosity get the most opens. Use the recipient’s name, create a sense of urgency, or ask intriguing questions. Keep them concise and clear.

What Are Catchy Subject Lines For Emails?

Catchy subject lines for emails include: “Don’t Miss Out! “, “Limited Time Offer! “, “Exclusive Deal Inside! “, “Your Free Gift Awaits! “, “Unlock Your Special Discount! “, “Just For You! “, “Act Fast — Only a Few Left! “, “New Arrivals You’ll Love! “.

How To Get Attention In An Email Subject Line?

Use a clear, compelling subject line. Personalize it with the recipient’s name. Include action words. Keep it short and relevant. Create urgency or curiosity.

How To Write Subject Lines That Get Opened?

Craft compelling subject lines by being clear, concise, and relevant. Use action words and personalize when possible. Create a sense of urgency or curiosity. Test different approaches to see what works best for your audience.

What Makes An Email Subject Line Effective?

An effective subject line is clear, concise, and sparks curiosity. It should also convey the email’s value.

Conclusion

Mastering email subject lines is key to boosting open rates. Use these tips to craft compelling and engaging emails. Experiment with different approaches to find what works best. Keep your audience in mind and stay creative. This will ensure your emails stand out in crowded inboxes. Happy emailing!

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Thanks for reading my article on “10 Effective Email Subject Lines That Get Your Emails Opened: Unlock Secrets”, hope it will help!

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Source : 10 Effective Email Subject Lines That Get Your Emails Opened: Unlock Secrets

[whentherewerebicycles]

.

[poorlittlegreenie13]

People who binge read fics & leave thoughtful comments on each chapter, you are genuinely heaven sent.

[beemovieerotica]

idk if i told the full story on here but i signed up for a research study where they were testing a new opioid, and it was supposed to be up to 5 injections increasing the dose to see what people could tolerate

i got the first dose and almost immediately fainted. they had to call in a whole medical team and it was a huge fucking deal

i was kicked out of the study and got a phone call later where they were supposed to tell me what the drug was, so i could avoid it in the future. they told me it was saline water. a placebo. i fainted from the placebo effect.

anyway, it's been a few months and i just got an email from the same department asking me to be a research participant in a new study: testing the effects of open-label placebo.

open label placebo is when the subjects and the researchers all know it's a placebo. they're testing the power of my mind. my power to imagine anything.

i like to think that they chose me for this specifically based on their past experience with me. "get the guy who fainted like a little bitch boy from saline water." anyway i just submitted all my info and i'm looking forward to getting started.

[dcxdpdabbles]

Tim: Who and what are we interviewing today?

Tam: The What is a social media manager candidate who will be in charge of the new branch for the PR department. The Who is Daniel Fenton. He has a Master's in Communications, a bachelor's in marketing and is working on a associate in public relations.

Tim: I thought W.E. already had media accounts?

Tam: Unofficial ones, but they have generated enough positive feedback that impacted our sales greatly in a good way. The board is going to put everyone behind the different unofficial accounts into one big team, and the manager will oversee them. This will hopefully increase our presence in the younger generation.

Tim: Okay. Why wasn't I at that meeting?

Tam: From my understanding it was when you were quarantined due to that nasty head cold that almost killed you.

Tim: Oh yeah the one from Mars.

Tam: I hate that your missing spleen means you're more likely to say, "I got a cold from Mars, and it almost killed me"

Tim: You learn to live with it. What should I know about this Fenton, before I see him?

Tam: Well, Bruce made it clear he in no way wants you to hire Fenton. Apparently, the boy's parents and he were rivals in college, as the very few interested in the paranormal from a academic point of view. Bruce was a one-man team for Gotham U's paranormal club attempting to debunk thier research on the grounds that it was inhumane towards ghosts.

Tim: Okay. Throw the interview. Got it

Tam: Bruce also wanted me to pass along the message "Don't you dare attempt to kiss the enemy's spawn"

Tim: *sighs* How easy does that man think I am? Honestly.

Two hours later:

Danny: Hello, Im Danny Fenton. I'm here for the interview-

Tim: First question: Are you single?

Danny: Um...yes?

Tim: *Typing into his laptop* good, good. How would your leadership better Wayne Enterprise's image online?

Danny: Im glad you asked, I-

Tam opening the door: I got the email to begin the hiring process. Tim. Why are you're trying to prove Bruce, right?

Tim: Im a weak man. A simple weak man. The Romero in this cruel Shakespearian world.

Danny:.....How much was the pay again?

Tim: Fifty dollars a hour, eighty hours every payroll, plus overtime, all benefits included.

Danny: I'll gladly be the Juliet for conditions like that. My parents will just have to deal with it.

Tam rolling her eyes: Great. There is two of them now. I need a raise.

[plethorawrites]

can I request Damian x reader but reader is like the opposite she’s clumsy and messy (NOT DIRTY SHES JUST NOT REALLY ORGANIZED) and at first Damian is like no way I could ever like someone like that but then he’s like oh shit I think I like her you don’t have to do it but it was just an idea

(A/N- This has been sitting in my drafts for a bit because people are STILL calling me racist, so I've seriously considered wiping Damian from my page completely. But I love him as a character way too much to do that, so here we are!) (Requests are open again, btw!)

---

Despite being rather pretentious because of his upbringing, I think anytime Damian Wayne is assigned to do a group project, he'd want to go to someone else's house. They usually live in squalor (Middle class) but he deals with it for a few hours because it beats having his classmates fawning over his older brother's or asking his dad if he really used to date Harvey Dent or if that's just a rumor.

Usually, despite the condition of the house (Aka having a dish rack on the counter.) the room they'd work in was pretty clean. But you? Oh, no, no, no. He almost had a heart attack when he saw the state of catastrophe your study room was in.

Books on the ground instead of on the shelves, chair pulled out from the desk instead of tucked in, tons of sticky notes scattered on the walls and reminders pinned up. No one could have that short of a memory, could they? You seemed to.

The number of loose papers on the desk, the open notebooks with illegible writing, fidget toys to relieve stress or increase your focus, cups from when you needed coffee for a late-night study session that hadn't made it all the way to the dishwasher yet. (But it was on the sticky note! Right under the reminder to check your email.

Was that a thing people needed to remember to do?

He was utterly perplexed by the chaos you seemed so comfortable in. What he found most odd though, was how you never made any effort to fix it. He had been to your house three times thus far, trying to make a dent in the project that would take at least another week and each time, your room was the same. He even offered to help you organize (For his own sanity) but you turned him down, claiming you liked it how it was.

"How could anyone possibly like studying like this?" he questioned.

You shrugged. "I find having a pristine desk makes me uncomfortable, like I'm not actually doing work in a space I can relax in," you explained. "Plus, research shows environments like this increase brain productivity."

Damian wasn't sure if he believed that for a single second. But you clearly seemed to.

"But it's so messy," he muttered, motioning to your desk, so covered in God knows what that he couldn't even see what color the wood was.

"It's disorganized, not messy," you retorted. "And I know where everything is. Pencil sharper is by the white out because I use both rarely, erasers are where all the pencils are because I stab the led into them when I'm bored, highlighters are the ruler, which is.... under the syllabus I printed at the start of the year."

You pointed at everything as you said it and he slowly came to the realization that you weren't lying when you said you weren't messy. You kind of, in some weird way, had a system that worked.

Still, it felt uncomfortable for him. For a while. He'd watch you chew on your pencil and reach for tape that came from he didn't even know where, seemingly materializing things out of thin air. You barely even sat in the chair, he realized. He was always the one sitting in it, watching you sit or lay on the floor.

The only time Damian was ever on the floor was when Titus knocked him down or he got beat by his brothers during sparring. (Not that it ever happened..psh, no, don't be absurd.)

He slowly got a bit more accustomed to your room, even starting to find a bit of comfort whenever he stepped into it. It was welcoming, in a way, he'd come to think. When had that happened?

"Aren't you supposed to leave by eight?" you asked him, stretching your arms over your head as you sat on the floor across from him.

Damian frowned, looking at the time. He realized it was already 7:55. Had it already been four hours? It seemed like he just sat down on your rug, which, was surprisingly comfortable.

He hated to admit how much more productive he felt sitting on the floor than at a desk. "Uh, yes, right," he nodded, standing up and stretching as well. "I think we can probably get this finished by Tuesday," he added, feeling a weird pang of disappointment by the thought.

You nodded. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow at four, then," you told him, watching as he packed up his books neatly, the pages fitting back in the nice folder perfectly. "Unless you wanna stay," you suddenly found yourself offering. "For dinner, I mean. If...if you want to. No pressure."

Damian paused, caught off guard by invitation. He stared at you for a few minutes, lips parting but words not leaving his mouth. Dinner? That was probably going to last at least an hour or two. Longer if your parents were the kind to serve dessert or chat a lot. He might not get home until ten or later.

"Sure," he agreed abruptly, though logically he knew he should refuse. He was supposed to be asleep by nine so he could get some rest before patrol. "I'd love to stay for dinner," he remarked, setting his bag back down for what wasn't one or two hours like planned, but four and a half.

How he would explain getting home past midnight to his father, he wasn't sure yet. But he'd find a reasonable excuse. After all, his dad was the one who told him to find normal friends and he was just doing what he asked.

...You were just his friend, right?

[ms-demeanor]

Hello,Do you have any tips for recovering from internet brain rot? It's like my patience has dried up and if there's a huge amount of text (even about topics I'm very interested in) that I have to read, I get annoyed and just don't interact with the material at all.

I have multiple tips!

TL;DR (Because of course I generated a wall of text): Take a break from the internet, create a schedule for getting yourself used to reading longer texts, take breaks while reading, and perhaps reconsider how you interact with The Internet and the world in general.

Here are the basic "to reduce the brain rot just don't interact" tips:

Take a break. Give yourself time off from The Internet (for these purposes The Internet is the social media industrial complex; clickbait news, recommended videos, social media sites, etc. You don't have to totally check out of email or your local news site, just get away from the huge time sucks). I'd say to take at least one day a week where you're online for less than an hour a day, and to maybe work up to doing a week-long break from whatever the main agents of rot are.

Once you've identified the main agents of rot, give yourself a time limit or set up rules for yourself. I don't let myself look at social media in bed, for instance; no staying up late on my phone, no scrolling before I get up and start my day. I don't give myself a strict time limit anymore, but for a while there I was very firm about "you only get to go online 4 hours a day" with myself.

Don't comment (or at least only share the things you really want to share). If you feel the need to argue, or if you feel pressured into sharing something, don't. Step back, maybe even open the post in a new tab or send it to yourself, and come back later. If you've been thinking about it and have decided it IS something you care enough to talk about, share it. If you look at the tab and feel stressed out or still feel reactive, close the tab and walk away.

Go out and interact with the real world in a non-work capacity for a few hours a week; take walks or go shopping or go out and take pictures of insects. Touch grass so that The Internet is not the only thing you're doing with your downtime.

Here are the "work on reading longer texts specifically" tips:

Set a reading goal for yourself. Maybe you want to read one New Yorker article a week, maybe you want to read all the way through news articles, maybe you want to read novels like you used to in high school. Figure out what your actual goal is and articulate that goal to yourself.

Set up a practice schedule and gradually increase the amount of time you're reading. Don't go from short tumblr posts to a novella, go from short tumblr posts to slightly longer news articles, then to slightly longer essays, then to a novella. You can do this in literal paragraphs if you want to - maybe your goal for your first day is to read five paragraphs in a row, and the second day is seven, and the third day is ten, etc, until you are comfortably reading for longer amounts of time without counting paragraphs. (Try this with books from gutenberg.org; read a classic you haven't read a few paragraphs at a time and if you find yourself going over your paragraph count, let yourself run with it. If you finish a book, good for you, find another one and start again.)

Set up a maintenance schedule. If your goal is to read longer news pieces, try to read a longer piece every week and try to read to the end of every news article you open. If your goal is to read novels or longer nonfiction, try to read a book a month (maybe setting aside dedicated time each week to read, maybe Thursday evenings are book time now). If you find yourself falling back into old habits, take a break from The Internet and do some more rigorous practice for a while.

If you find yourself getting frustrated while you are reading you can also take a break! Read until you get frustrated and then *instead of switching to a different page or closing the article* close your eyes or look out the window or away from the screen for thirty seconds (count 'em! count out the time in your head) and then continue reading. You can also take a longer pause and sit and think about why you're getting frustrated. Is it the subject matter? Is it just looking at this text for longer than a couple minutes (if you are experiencing FOMO because you're reading for another few minutes instead of scrolling, the harder tips at the bottom are going to be important to you)? Are you comfortable? Are you reading this text to procrastinate from something and the procrastination is making you nervous? Are you trying to read to the bottom of your dash and reading a long post is taking up more time than you want while scrolling? Are you bored? Genuinely and very seriously: are your eyes straining and does your head hurt (if this is the case when is the last time you had your eyes checked or your glasses prescription updated)?

Here are the much harder "examine yourself and reassess your reactions to things" tips:

Work on re-training your attention span.

Identify something that you enjoy and find deeply engaging, and schedule some dedicated time for that thing. Set a literal timer (it can be a short amount of time at first) and sit down and do the thing without switching to a different website or opening up an app on your phone. This can be re-reading or watching a couple episodes of a show you like or listening to your favorite album while you sit down and draw. What's important is to spend a longer time focusing on doing something you DO like before attempting to spend a longer time focusing on something you DON'T like.

When you're starting on things you DON'T like, start with things you mildly don't like, or that feel tedious but aren't actually unpleasant. One way I do this is by transcribing poetry; I look up poems that I connect to and I transcribe them into a notebook that I have for that purpose. I enjoy having the finished product, but I don't enjoy the process, so it takes some effort to stick with it. Maybe there is a boring book you have been trying to get through, maybe you need to detail your car, maybe you've been trying to take up embroidery - these are good things to make yourself pay attention to (having music or a podcast on can help, but avoid watching videos or opening social apps)

When you're okay at that kind of thing (doing something not actively unpleasant) work on your attention span for things you ACTIVELY don't like. I don't think you should be a masochist about this, but you should work on being okay with doing unpleasant things for a sustained period of time. All of us have to do unpleasant stuff sometimes, and it's better to be able to pay attention to it for an hour at a time than it is to put it off forever.

This leads into the next Big Tip which is:

Work on being less reactive

Find something that you dislike; I'm going to use conservative talk radio as my example.

Expose yourself to the disliked thing for short periods of time (under ten minutes, maybe under five minutes).

Work on moderating your emotions during the time spent exposed to the disliked thing. If it makes you angry, work on intellectualizing the anger without becoming agitated by it. If it makes you sad, work on accepting that sadness without letting it drag down your mood. This isn't precisely about becoming numb to stimuli, but it is about being more in control of how your emotional reactions impact you.

Analyze the disliked thing. Why does it make you angry? Is that on purpose by the creator of the thing? Would it make someone else angry in the same way? How would you explain the anger to a neutral third party?

Consider responding instead of reacting. Let's say you're seeing a lot of very sad and upsetting things online and it's making you sad and upsetting you. You re-share these things because you don't feel like there's anything else you can do or you get angry when you see people sharing incorrect information, perhaps you argue with people about this. Now try looking at the upsetting things through the lens of point number four. This has upset you; how has it upset you? And once you've thought about how it upset you and have articulated that to yourself, find out what you can DO. I cannot make conservative talk radio go off the air, but I can support the groups harmed by conservative talk radio; thus there is no point in me getting upset and angry about conservative talk radio when I could be helping the people they target instead.

And that gets us to the last big tip which is:

Ask yourself if you are spending your time in a way that is enjoyable and edifying.

We all have limited time in our days and limited time in our lives. If you are finding yourself frequently frustrated online, it's a good time to consider whether you want to be spending so much time online.

If you feel like The Internet has become a rat race in which you can't read more than a few paragraphs without getting frustrated, there's a good chance that not only are you spending too much time on The Internet, but you're also spending it on doing things that you don't particularly like.

A realization like yours, Anon, that you are getting frustrated with any longer texts, can actually be really helpful because it provides a good opportunity to look at what you're engaging with and consider the questions:

Is this something I enjoy?

Do I feel good when I do this thing?

And that's a great way to figure out how to get rid of things that are leading to your background frustration. Maybe that looks like paring down the list of blogs you follow, maybe that looks like unsubscribing from some youtubers and podcasts, maybe that looks like uninstalling apps, maybe that looks like blocking a whole bunch of people and terms on your socials.

I don't think that everything we do has to help us grow as a person or expand our consciousness or anything like that, but I do think it's important to prioritize doing things that you like and doing things that you feel good about.

Like, I'm not doing something *wrong* if I spend an afternoon on Youtube watching drama channels every once in a while, but if I come out of a few afternoons of watching youtube drama channels feeling restless and anxious and like I wasted my time - even if I enjoyed myself while I was watching - it's probably a good idea for me to take a break from drama channels and see if there's something I can do instead that will make me feel better.

ALSO, A NOTE:

You are an animal that requires significant enrichment in your enclosure.

Think about tigers. Tigers in captivity are going to be excited to get high-value treats for any reason. They will eat and enjoy the treats. But if a tiger in captivity is only given the treats and never given any other form of activity to engage with, it is not going to be a happy tiger. If you start putting their treats in a pumpkin or a puzzle feeder or giving them toys to play with, that is going to be a much happier tiger.

Please give your brain things to play with that are more than just treats (though it does need some treats!). Make yourself a happy tiger. Your brain need a puzzle feeder, not a treat button.

[0o-junebug-o0]

First Meeting

summary: You're having difficulty with some code so you stop by Penelope's house for help, unaware that she has a guest. Spencer takes one look at you and is immediately head over heels.

genre: fluff

cw: meet cute (is it a meet cute?) completely gn!reader (reader is not described at all), no use of y/n, autistic!spencer (because every spencer is autistic!spencer), season 1 spencer, university/college student reader, talk about research and coding, pov switch from reader to spencer

wordcount: 1.5k

a/n: this is an actual error I had this summer when writing my spectra analysis code

You lean back in your chair with a sigh, scowling at the code you’re trying to write. You’re still relatively new to coding, the first time you ever took a class on it was just under two years ago, so this code has taken you significantly more time to write than it would have taken Penelope. But you’ve written it. You read through the code again and rerun it. Everything runs fine, the code should work, but it doesn’t. 

You rub your eyes and groan with frustration. You should be able to get a wavelength solution out of this. The professor you’re doing research with told you what you need to do to get the wavelength solution and then how to use it to find the redshift of the lensed galaxy and the foreground lensing galaxy, but nothing is lining up!

You’ve opened the data, plotted the variation in flux for each line in the image, fit a Gaussian to it to get the brightest point, and converted the pixel value of that point to vacuum wavelength, but none of the wavelengths you’re finding match up with what lines should be present in the spectra for this lamp type!

You briefly consider emailing your professor but decide against it. Even though he told you that asking him things wouldn’t bother him and that it’s his job, you don’t want to take up more of his time than you already have. 

You look around your apartment for anything that might help. Your eyes land on your keychain and the spare key Penelope gave you because she enjoys it when you stop by. You quickly shut your laptop, tucking it under your arm, grab your keys, slip on a pair of shoes, and make your way down the hall to Penelope’s apartment, not bothering to lock the door behind you. 

_____

Spencer sits awkwardly on one of Garcia’s kitchen stools, tapping his fingers on the Tardis mug she had filled with tea and given him. He’s not exactly sure why Garcia invited him over. She said she wanted to bond, but they’ve known each other for almost two years now, and Spencer considers her a good friend, so he doesn’t really know what bonding entails. So far, Garcia has just been bustling around her kitchen preparing snacks and drinks for their Doctor Who marathon.

The lock clicks and Spencer’s head whips toward the door just in time for it to burst open. Spencer freezes and stares at you in awe and confusion. 

“Penny!” you cry, your voice a mixture of a shout and a whine. 

Garcia calls your name with a surprised look. “What happened? Are you alright?”

“What?” you ask. Then you wave your hand flippantly. “Yeah I’m fine, I just need help with some code.” Your eyes land on Spencer and he can feel his heart rate increase. He really hopes his face isn’t as red as it feels. 

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you had someone over,” you say. “I can, um, I can come back later.”

Spencer watches as your posture stiffens slightly and you start to fiddle with your keychain. 

Spencer opens his mouth to reassure you but Garcia beats him to it. “No, no, it’s fine,” she says. “I’ve been wanting you two to meet anyway.” You shoot Spencer a small, awkward smile and wave from across the room when Garcia shares your name. When she introduces him, your eyes widen and you look toward Garcia with an expression Spencer can’t decipher and mouth something to her that makes her laugh loudly. 

Spencer can feel himself flushing at your reaction and takes a sip of his tea to hide his face.

“Anyway!” Garcia says cheerfully. “Do you mind if I help them real quick?”

“Go ahead,” Spencer responds, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. It’s difficult with you there, though, all his thoughts suddenly seem much harder to grasp. Like your presence is forcing them aside. 

Your eyes seem to linger on him for a moment before you head over to the counter and set your laptop down. “Right,” you mutter, opening it and entering the password. Spencer listens intently as you describe to Garcia what your code should be doing and he can’t help but smile at the clear passion in your voice. It sends butterflies to his stomach. 

“What do you study?” Spencer blurts out. 

You close your mouth and cock your head at him for a moment. “I’m, uh, I’m studying astrophysics. Specifically strong gravitational lensing. I’ve already made preliminary models of the system and I’m just working on analyzing the spectra now.”

Spencer nods and leans over to look at your code. 

“Do you want to help Penny find the issue?” you ask. You sound a bit nervous and Spencer looks up and smiles what he hopes is a soothing smile.

“I would if I could. I really don’t know how to code, though.”

“Seriously?” you ask. Spencer cocks his head at the tone of surprise in your voice. “Sorry, it’s just that Penny has told me a lot about you and about how you’re a genius and have three PhDs, which is insanely impressive by the way, so I guess I’m just surprised you don’t know something.”

“There’s a lot I don’t know,” Spencer admits. “Coding and other technological things are some of it. I don’t know too much about astrophysics either.” That’s not exactly true but it isn’t a lie either. He’s read papers on several astrophysical topics but he’s never come across one on strong lensing before. But the truth of the statement is irrelevant, the only reason he said it was to find an excuse to spend more time with you.

You smile and Spencer’s stomach feels like it does a backflip. “I won’t be much help teaching you how to code, Penny would be better for that, but I can tell you about some astro stuff at some point.”

“Alright, lovebirds,” Garcia teases and Spencer’s face burns. “Let’s focus.” You nod, clearly also a bit embarrassed, and turn back to your laptop.

“How about I go line by line and tell you what it should do and you let me know if something doesn’t do what I think it does,” you say. Garcia nods and both she and Spencer follow along as you point to and describe each line of code. You get to a printed image of the data file you’re analyzing before Garcia stops you.

“Can you open the file on your computer?” she asks.

You nod and open the file in a new application and move it so it’s side by side with the image in your code. “Wait,” you mutter, glancing back and forth between the two images. “Is that seriously the issue?” Spencer leans forward to get a closer look, the x-axes of the images are flipped. 

You throw your head back with a groan and change the rotation of the file in your code. “I swear, if this works,” you growl. The clear exasperation in your tone makes Spencer chuckle slightly. 

You rerun the code and compare several of the outputs to a list of wavelengths before groaning again and letting your head fall onto the counter. “I hate Python,” you grumble. “Why does it have to switch the axes!” 

Garcia laughs and pats you on the back. You raise your head off the counter and tap your forehead against her shoulder in a gesture Spencer assumes expresses gratitude. “Thanks, Penny,” you sigh. “You’re the best.”

“Of course I am!”

“Oh, and Spencer,” you say, turning to look at him. “We should get lunch sometime. I can tell you about astrophysics and you can tell me about all the crazy things you know.”

“I-I would love that,” Spencer stutters, unable to speak clearly with you looking into his eyes. He's hardly able to wrap his head around the fact that someone as beautiful as you would want to spend more time with him. Spencer's not sure whether you’re asking him on a date or just to go out as friends, but he doesn’t care either way as long as he gets to spend more time with you.

“Great!” you say happily. You stand and cross the room to quickly grab one of Garcia’s pens before returning. You hold the fluffy pink pen with a smile on your face and hold out your hand for his. “May I?” you ask. 

Spencer’s eyes widen and he nods, setting his hand in yours despite his usual aversion to touch. The contact makes his heart feel like it’s about to burst from his chest. You scrawl your number across the back of his hand before handing Spencer the pen and holding out your hand for him to do the same. He writes his number on your hand and watches in a sort of daze as you gather your computer and keys and wave goodbye before leaving.

Spencer jumps slightly as Garcia ruffles his hair. He looks over at her to see a knowing smile on her face. Spencer blushes and hides his face in his hands. “Shut up,” he grumbles, embarrassed.

“No way,” she laughs. “Derek’s going to have a field day with this. Boy genius has a crush!”

_____

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[giannaln4]

GIANNA'S KINKTOBER '24 SEASON

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Kinktober day five.

Thigh riding (1k words)

summary: Lando is too busy to help you relieve what you are feeling, but he lets you take care of yourself on his thigh.

warnings: NSFW, +18, smut, MDNI, needy!reader, bit of mean!lando

It was a quiet day in your shared home, but not the type you enjoyed. You were both home, and today was supposed to be your designated lazy day, given that Lando didn’t have a race coming up this week and you were taking a few vacation days to be with him. 

However, something related to work always dragged Lando into his office; you were just hoping that wouldn’t happen this time. But it did. 

You were in your room, bored out of your mind, trying to find something to entertain yourself with — anything, but nothing would work quite as well as your boyfriend did. After realising you wouldn’t find something on your own, you decided to join him in his office.

When you opened the door and came in, you made sure to be as quiet as possible to not disturb whatever was so important it couldn't wait another day. He was supposedly going over some important emails regarding a new helmet design for one of the upcoming races.

He looks so good when he is focused, you thought, and the fact that he was only wearing a black tanktop and matching shorts didn’t help your growing needy state. 

You knew that what he was doing was important and that some of these things had to be done by midnight so the design could be approved by the sponsors in time, so there is no way he was stopping. You were very aware of that, but you also needed him. 

Lando started feeling a little too cocky as he realised how needy his girlfriend was feeling, so maybe there was something he could do. Maybe not helping you as you were hoping, but a little teasing could be fun. For him, at least.

“Are you okay in there?” He asked after you shuffled on the couch for the millionth time since you got there. 

“Are you almost done?”

“No, baby.”

“But I need you.” You blurted out, not caring how pathetic that sounded. 

“Not now, Y/N. Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“Please, I’ll be quick.” You begged. 

He didn’t even look at you, and he was trying hard to suppress that smirk that was threatening to appear on his face. Lando maintained his composure and acted like he was considering it, even though that was his plan all along.

“Fine, but you will take care of it.”

“What? I don’t wanna play with myself-”

"You can ride my thigh," he said, interrupting your failed attempt to seduce him. Your heart completely stopped when you heard those words come out of his mouth. 

“What?” You asked, and Lando simply repeated himself.

“I said you can ride my thigh. This is the best you will get, so make up your mind. And no touching, sweetheart.”

You made your way to where Lando was sitting, admiring the way his exposed thighs looked in those shorts. You would have said no and tried to beg for more, for him, but like Lando said, that was the best you were gonna get with how busy he apparently was, so you decided against it.

You slowly sat on his lap, placing your centre on his right thigh. Lando didn't even look at you; he just raised his eyes over your shoulder to keep working on his computer, making it clear to you that he meant it when he said you would take care of it.

Shyly, you started rolling your hips, eyes closed as your mouth let out soft moans every so often, but as the pleasure began increasing, so did your pace. 

Damn, he couldn’t deny how absolutely beautiful you looked riding his thigh, and as much as he tried to block out how needy he was starting to feel, he failed miserably. 

You hands gripped his shoulders for stability, but eventually they slowly travelled down his torso, finding the hem of his shorts. The plan was to slide one of them into his boxers and help him with his hardening cock, but he immediately stopped you, slapping your hands away and placing them back on his shoulders. 

“Stop. No touching, remember? Just take care of yourself.” You nodded and went back to work.

As you continued grinding him, he could feel his thigh covered in your arousal, filthy wet, and slick noises echoing through the small office. You left wet kisses on his neck and shoulders, your lips letting out more and more whimpers when he didn’t stop you as soon as you started devouring his thick neck, moaning even louder when you noticed him swallow hard. 

Lando tried his best to focus on the words in front of him, but having you being a complete mess literally on top of him made it hard, and it made him hard. It took his full strength and self-control to ignore his painful length and not ask you to take care of it like you tried a few minutes ago, but that somehow made it hotter for him.

You were getting close, and the sounds that left your mouth were making less sense, his name slipping out a few times, and just as he knew you were reaching your high, he couldn’t help it anymore, so he dropped everything and gripped your hips, guiding your movements.

“That’s it.” His forehead was damp with sweat, and there were a few strands of hair sticking to it, a single drop of sweat rolling down the side of his face. Lando’s touch made you feel more electric as he helped you quicken your pace, desperate for a release. “Come on, baby,” He whispered, making you give in.

Your entire body was shaking as your nails dug into the soft skin of his shoulders, gradually stopping as you tried to steady your breath.

“Good job. You can go now,” he said in a serious tone. You struggled to get back on your feet, but as soon as you did, your eyes went straight to Lando’s thigh, glistening in your arousal.

↺ back to navigation — Kinktober masterlist

[spacequokka]

In My Bed

Pairing: bf!Jackson x Reader Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Suggestive Rating: M Summary: Jackson fell asleep when he planned to surprise you. Word Count: 0.7k, Request Warnings: dry-humping

After a grueling day at work, all you wanted to do once you got home was shower and get in bed. The never-ending stream of conference calls and meetings punctuated with answering emails left you drained mentally and physically. However, when you opened the front door and spotted a familiar pair of sneakers sitting on the shoe rack, you were immediately invigorated.

Jackson was home!

You all but dropped your stuff on the bench as you kicked off your shoes. It was quiet save for the hum of the ice maker in the freezer. Maybe he was asleep? You tiptoed down the hallway and sure enough, the light of your life was laid out across the bed on his stomach using his arms as a pillow. His expression was a picture of serenity as he snuggled your favorite hoodie. Your heart swelled with affection. How does he continue to surprise you with his cute little habits?

There was no telling how long he’d been home, but you needed your hugs and kisses. You crawled over to his side and laid beside him, gently prying his hands away from his head then forcing your way against his chest. In the midst of your shuffling, he woke up groggy and sluggish as he registered what was going on.

“You’re home?” He blinked slowly, then looked at the window. “What time is it?”

“It’s almost five.” Seeing as he was awake, there was no point in being gentle. You rolled him over onto his side and pulled his arms around you. His scent filled your nose, and you sagged with relief, savoring his warmth. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d be home today? I would’ve met you at the airport.”

He chuckled at your whiny tone as he drew you close and planted a kiss on your forehead. “I wanted to surprise you. Actually,” he drew back and kissed your lips, “I wanted to show up at your job and take you out for lunch. I guess I underestimated how tired I was and how much I missed our bed.”

You forced a pout, just barely keeping yourself from smiling. “The bed? What about me?”

“Oh, hush. You know I hate being away from you this long.” He hid his face in your neck. “Why do you insist on being all strong and independent? You could come with me! See the world and join the mile high club and stuff.”

You laughed. “Why do I get the feeling the sex is the motivating factor?”

“No, no. It’s a perk. A bonus, if you will.” He kissed your neck, letting his lips linger. “The motivation is having my beautiful girlfriend with me. It’d be so much better if I could wake up with you in my arms.”

You squirmed against him when his teeth skimmed over your sensitive skin. “I’d ruin your image and hurt your sales.” You bit your lip when his fingers pressed into your skin, holding you still as he put his thigh between yours. “Ah, shit. Wait, Jackie. I need a shower.”

His chuckle made it clear that wouldn’t be happening. “Performing isn’t my only source of income, baby. I can stand to lose a few, especially if it means I get access to you when I get off the stage.” He groaned and pressed his hips against you, drawing your attention to his growing excitement. “It’s been too long since I last had you.”

“But I wanna be squeaky clean for you.” Your squirming only served to increase the friction between your bodies, coaxing him to return the favor by rolling his hips and grinding his erection into your stomach. “Jack, please.”

“Ugh, I hear you.” He loosened his hold. “But if you need one, then so do I.”

With the haze of desire messing with your mind, it took you a minute to process his words. “If we slip and fall in the shower, it’s your fault.”

He smiled wide with glee as he hauled himself to his feet. He held his hand out to you, ignoring the tent that had formed. “I’ll make sure to take the worst of it. Now come on, I need you now before I bust in my pants.”

[shahs1221]

Commissions are open! Full view of these NSFT pieces used as examples can be seen here!

Some rules: - once 10 slots are filled, you'll be put into a queue list which will take longer to get to but you will be on a list! - I use Stripe for payment (you can use whatever bank to send online payment as I'll send you an invoice to request payment). - nothing gratuitous like gore (some blood and scars and a little spicyness is fine but please nothing else). - when providing me info/detail, do them in bullet point form or something easier to digest. Please do not send me essays/stories about your character(s) that is not relevant to your piece - Price might increase depending on additional complexity (more complex outfits/added accessories/etc)

Please message me through my email: astairewashere@gmail.com

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[babydoll372]

Subby Nerd Natasha and professor R !!!!Where Nat is a HUGE teachers pet and she wants R's approval so badly she'll do anything to get praise out of R. She also get really shy whenever her professor is around but R notices it so R just might corrupt her >:) like having Nat eating her professor out underneath the desk or have Nat strapwarm while she tries to memorize her flashcards but fails so she gets edged.

Teacher’s Pet

Pairings: Natasha Romanoff x Professor!Reader

Word count: 1141

Warnings: age gap (Natasha is 20-21 and reader is in her late 30’s-40’s), smut, oral (R receiving), public sex (kinda), caught in the act, jealousy, very short smut tbh, apologies I feel like this one’s bad I’ll repay it soon

“I’m sorry Wanda, I just don’t think me and you meeting outside of class to discuss your grades is quite appropriate. I’m really sorry, honey, why don’t we talk about it over email?” The brunette’s eyes saddened as she nodded, apologizing for even suggesting the idea while you shook it off. Truthfully, she was cute. Her dark mascara and eyeliner framed her emerald eyes, and she was just around your height when you had high heels on. She had a beautiful body too, one that anyone would be more than willing to entertain. Her only flaw? She wasn’t Natasha Romanoff, your most dedicated student.

Natasha lingered behind Wanda with a scowl, glaring at her as she walked out with a glooming attitude before returning her attention to you. You waited for the door to close before sighing and meeting Natasha’s gaze, bringing her hands up to your lips to kiss.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. You know I wouldn’t entertain that.” She rested her head on your chest, her arms wrapping around your waist with a deep breath.

“I don’t want her near you, Professor. She’s been copying off of my work too, did you know that? And she’s been talking to one of the boys about skipping with him.” She reported instantly, her desire to get the woman in a great deal of consequences too large for her to hold back. You hummed, raising an eyebrow as your hand gently ran through her soft locks.

“Oh really? I didn’t realize she was such a bad girl, maybe I’ll have to have a talk with her.” Natasha nodded and pulled back for a moment to look up at you. You cupped her cheek, stroking the soft skin and offering a kind smile.

“My sweet pet, you’re always such a good girl for me.” You watched her skin redden as she shrugged, playing off the compliment as if she didn’t mind. In reality, she cared a lot more than she tried to show, and she was aching for your affection and approval.

“Thank you, Professor.” She shyly whispered, and you chuckled as you kissed her forehead. 

“Wanda Maximoff could never come in comparison to you, baby girl.” 

—

Natasha giggled to herself as her finger toyed with your clit, her lip being bit instinctively. She glanced up at you as your fingers weaved softly through her hair. She teasingly ran her tongue along the sensitive bud, making you suppress a moan as your head lolled back. Your thighs naturally spread wider to allow her more freedom, and took it gracefully. 

“Mm, you like that? You like being a good little pet for me?” She nodded against you, her eyes fluttering shut while her hands squeezed your plush, supple skin. Suddenly you heard a knock on the door and your gaze quickly shifted upward, a shaky sigh quietly escaping your lips as one of your students slowly opened the door and inched her head in. 

“Yes, Ms. Maximoff?” You bit your finger subtly, giving Wanda a small smile despite her classmate increasing her pace at the sound.

“How are you today, Professor? I hope well!” She started while placing a paper bag on your desk, and you could see the outlining of a muffin through the confinements. 

“Wanda, I-“ You were cut off when you felt Natasha’s tongue protruding your hole as she gently circled your clit. “I don’t really believe it’s appropriate for you to bring me these things.” Your words were rushed out, and you could almost hear the sound of your hole clenching dramatically under the woman’s touch. 

“It’s just a muffin, Professor. Maybe we can talk about my grades while you eat?” She took the seat opposite of your desk as you subtly rolled your eyes. She was sweet, she really was, but you couldn’t even stand to look at her when you had Natasha greedily eating you out without her knowledge. 

“Look, I’m quite busy-“

“Please, Professor…I just want to talk to you. Is that not allowed?” Your fingers clenched the edge of the desk tighter, your legs closing in around the redhead's face yet still allowing her to breathe. She looked up at you with a deep, mischievous grin, and you had to bite back a remark as you quickly began typing your log in to the computer before Wanda’s grades suddenly appeared.

“You have a seventy-eight in my class, I can assure you, t-that’s fine.” Your chest rose quicker and quicker, your face heating a deep shade. Wanda giggled at the scene, naively believing it was because of her own doing and not realizing the girl she mocked on a regular basis was quietly whimpering at the taste of your juices and the smearing along her chin. Your clit was swollen, practically the same shade as your cheeks, and Natasha was pressing tiny peppers to the hard bud, watching it thrust towards her mindlessly. 

Wanda arose from her seat, pushing in her chair slowly and taking sultry steps towards your side of the desk. Your eyes shot wide as your posture straightened.

“Wanda, I- I think you’re quite alright over there-“

“Oh, don’t be so lame. C’mon, you know what I want, and I can tell from that blush that you want it too.” She now stood next to you, tilting your chin to the side and smirking at your open lips, yet her brows furrowed when she watched your eyes drop and a deep moan elicited from your chest. You mumbled curses under your breath, lowering your head in shame. You couldn’t face the student after this, the embarrassment already felt too heavy, even in your deep state of arousal as Natasha hollowed her lips around your clit and eagerly licked you clean, glancing up at Wanda and watching as her eyes fell to meet hers. She giggled around you as she watched the realization dawn upon her, and the vibrations only caused another whine to quietly escape your lips.

“I’m sorry, Wanda, I don’t think Professor Y/L/N isn’t really all that interested!” She said after letting go of you with a loud pop, her face now poking out of the wooden desk you had tried hiding yourself under. The college student glanced between you and Natasha before bolting out of the room, her head hung low similarly to yours. 

“Baby, you are fucking crazy, you know that?” It came out low and raspy as you helped her stand up, yet pulling her face down to kiss her and moaning softly at the taste of your juices upon her sweet lips.

“You’re mine, okay? I really hope that taught her a lesson.” She said with a tiny grin, almost too shy to reveal her victory.

“What? That you’re a teacher's pet?”

“That I’m your only teacher’s pet, and she’ll never get a piece of you, Professor.” 

[mayakern]

Just Another Tariff Post

Hi all! As many of you already know, further tariff changes were announced today, including an increase on tariffs on goods from Turkey — where we make all our apparel.

Thankfully the difference isn't huge — 10% on top of what we were already paying on imports from Turkey (which ranged from 11%-36%, depending on the garment).

We don't anticipate our prices increasing by a lot. To be completely transparent, we were already considering raising prices on our garments by $5-10 per item due to increasing manufacturing costs, and this change may be the final push that makes that necessary.

For now we're going to sit tight and see if these changes get challenged. If you're in the US and your elected representatives support these changes, we recommend sending an email, a letter, or calling their office to let them know what you think about their position. If you've never done it before, please rest assured that the people receiving your feedback are overwhelmingly kind, and it's their job to be annoyed. We here at Maya Kern believe it's your right to annoy your representatives.

If you're outside the US, please know that we're opening a fulfillment center in the UK in May or June, with another fulfillment center in the EU following if necessary. Additionally, our Canadian fulfillment center will resume receiving merchandise in June. We were already considering shipping all international orders from the UK or EU fulfillment centers to help lower shipping costs, and if we decide to move forward with that we will send out a notice via this newsletter.

And finally, a few reminders:

All is not lost, do not comply in advance

Celebrate the little wins

Your representatives are paid by your taxes

Take breaks so that when you need to be at full strength, you are

All the best, Maya and Co.

[baisemains]

Elements of Desire

Chapter 7: Revelations

single mom!sevika x fem!reader

word count: 7.8k

contains: bit of angst, fluff, alcohol, smoking, language, mention of past relationship trauma and cheating, tension..., also idk anything about poker but i tried my best 🙏

description: the truth about your past is finally revealed and you and sevika begin to move forward.

ao3 link | spotify playlist

previous | next // sevika masterlist

Sevika’s hand drops from her face, revealing eyes that now roam over your figure with a wary gaze.

“Everything ok?”

She looks at you expectantly and while you thought you were prepared for this conversation, there’s no way to predict how it will actually go.

You take a deep breath and decide to rip the band-aid off.

“I need to…tell you something. About what Vi said at dinner that day.”

Sevika’s expression immediately shifts to one of scrutiny as she raises an eyebrow at your bluntness.

“Okay.”

The two of you are only a few feet apart, but it suddenly feels like there are miles of space separating you as Sevika waits for you to continue, arms crossed over her chest. Her curt answer does nothing to quell your nerves but you push on, determined to see this through.

“Part of what she said was true. I was engaged, and it did end very messily, but because my fianceé cheated on me, not the other way around. I’m sure that’s what she told people to keep her reputation intact, but that’s not what happened.”

You watch the woman as you speak, her eyes slightly narrowing while she absorbs the information. Her stoic façade remains intact though, making it impossible to know how she’s taking it. As you’re talking, she continues to stare at you, your stomach twisting in knots as her gaze bores into you, searching for some sign of deception. The truth begins tumbling out and you couldn’t stop yourself even if you wanted to.

“One day a couple weeks before the wedding, I got an email from the planner pretty late, and I thought it was kind of weird, so I opened it.”

“It was,” you clear your throat to keep it from cracking, “a really long letter telling me that her and Gert were in love, and how she had been telling her for months that she was going to break off the engagement with me but she was waiting for the right time. The planner finally had enough and told me everything.”

Scoffing at how brazen the woman was, you continue.

“I emailed her back immediately saying she was lying and just trying to break up a happy home, and then she sent me screenshots and screen recordings of their conversations.”

At this point, your eyes are starting to water and Sevika looks concerned but doesn’t interrupt.

“Like that wasn’t bad enough, she sent me…pictures, of them together, over a year’s worth.”

The anger in your voice is apparent, your volume increasing as emotion starts to get the better of you. You don’t even notice how tight your fists have clenched until you try to take a breath to steady yourself. Sevika does notice though, her eyes drifting down to your shaking hands, before returning to your face.

“Turns out, she was having an affair with that bitch the entire time. They were already sleeping together before we even got engaged, but Gert had the balls to tell me they were old friends and hire her for our wedding.”

You’re suddenly overly aware of Sevika’s eyes on you, knowing that she’s analyzing every word and movement. She’s yet to say anything, the silence feeling like even longer than it actually is. You press on, knowing it’s too late to turn back now.

“I was a mess after that, I couldn’t even think straight, I locked myself in the guest bedroom and didn’t come out for hours. My friends kept calling, asking me if everything was okay, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell them.”

Wiping a tear away, you look down at your feet, willing yourself not to cry.

“I confronted her with the evidence, and she didn’t even deny it. She told me it was a mistake and that she regretted it, but that was obviously a lie.”

Pulling out your phone, your hands are trembling as you unlock it and log into the email account you haven’t accessed in years.

“I kept all of the emails to this day, I’m not even sure why. No one besides me has ever seen them but I feel like this is important enough to show you.”

Handing the phone to Sevika, she grabs it gingerly as she begins to scroll, absorbing every word on the screen. As she reads over the long-winded exchanges, her face betrays nothing, hard lines and slight wrinkles unmoving. Her eyes burn into the screen, taking in the words as your entire body tenses up. You’ve never felt this vulnerable around anyone, and the thought of her not believing you causes your chest to ache. Luckily, the photos were in a separate thread but this one had all the initial exchanges, including the texts.

Finally, Sevika raises her gaze to you, the eye contact making your heart pound furiously in your chest. She sets your phone on the desk next to her slowly, the metallic sound reverberating through the silent room. Anxiety gets the better of you and you continue spilling all of your thoughts.

“I wanted to explain why I left to her daughter at least, but Gert obviously wouldn’t let me, and what hurt me the most was to have to leave a girl I basically helped raise. She was a little older than Isha when I came into the picture, and we were glued at the hip from the first time we met. Walking away from her was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

Her eyes flick between yours, the exact grey of a cloud on the precipice of a storm. You feel as if she’s reading your very soul, everything she needs to know displayed in your desperate face. Taking a deep breath, you look directly at Sevika and let a final sentence fall from your lips.

“I hope you understand that even though my past is complicated, I’m not someone that you or your girls have to keep your distance from.”

Letting out a long sigh, Sevika’s gaze remains firmly planted on you. She knows the look of a heartbroken person well, and she can see the emotion clearly in your eyes. Coupled with the date stamps on those emails, she knows you’re telling the truth. She begins walking over and your anxiety builds until you feel something press into your palm. Looking down, you see that she’s given your phone back but your stomach squirms when she makes no move to distance herself.

You don’t know how to describe the look in Sevika’s eyes but whatever it is causes your stomach to flutter and your spine to tingle. Her hand remains on yours as she speaks, the touch electrifying, causing currents of energy to run through your body.

“You didn’t deserve any of that. If your ex couldn’t see what she had right in front of her, then that’s her loss.”

You open your mouth to speak but words fail you, a shaky breath leaving your chest as you take in what she said. You’ve heard similar statements before, from friends and family, but it felt different coming from Sevika. Everything did.

She continues staring at you intensely, and for a moment, you’re stunned by her focus. She notices your expression and her lips quirk slightly, the most she’s smiled this entire time, causing your heartbeat to quicken.

A heavy thud in the hallway causes both of your heads to snap in the direction of the noise, Sevika taking a step back from you and the bubble of tension now broken.

Powder and Vi walk into view shortly after, sporting matching blushes and nervous smiles.

“Hey guys…”, they say simultaneously.

Sevika shifts to look at the two girls and arches an eyebrow at them, knowing her daughters well.

“How much of that did you two hear?”

Both of them remain silent, shuffling awkwardly and refusing to look at Sevika, or you. The woman next to you sighs and shakes her head, crossing her arms across her chest as she waits for an answer, the two girls giving up once Sevika clears her throat. Powder speaks up first, shifting her weight and turning to look at the ground.

“A lot…”

Sevika is scowling now, irritated that they were both eavesdropping on her conversation and ruined the moment you two were having. Anger laced in her voice, she starts scolding them.

“What have I told you about listening in on my private conversations? We’ve talked about boundaries plenty of times before!”

Vi is now looking up at Sevika nervously and responds with a pleading tone.

“I promise it wasn’t on purpose! We were coming back and heard you guys talking and I was gonna walk in like normal but then Powder put her hand over my mouth and pulled me toward the wall cause she wanted to hear what you guys were saying, and then—”

“That’s not true! I grabbed you because I wanted them to keep talking, and good thing I did because I was right, Teach isn’t a cheater!”

Powder rolls her eyes at her sister while you’re standing there dumbfounded and Sevika is fuming. She looks like she’s about to explode, clearly not in the mood for excuses when your voice cuts through the tension, saving the two girls from receiving her wrath.

“It’s alright!” You rush out, holding your hands out as a sign of peace. Sevika’s gaze flicks over to you briefly, a look of confusion flashing on her face, before staring at her daughters again, clearly upset.

“I was hoping to also tell you girls eventually,” with a lot less details, you think, “but you know now, so…it is what it is, I guess.”

A nervous smile spreads across your face as you look between the three of them, hoping this would calm things down between Sevika and the girls.

Sevika’s eyes sharpen at your words but she takes a deep breath, reigning in her temper. It looks like she’s going to say something but decides to remain silent instead, her attention now focused solely on you. Powder and Vi look properly reprimanded, not wanting to cause any more trouble. They exchange a look between each other before Vi speaks up again, her guilt getting the best of her.

“So…Gert was the one that cheated on you.”

Your mouth twists at that, thinking of how to respond. You had planned a very watered down version of the story in case you ever told the girls, exactly because of this. Vi being friends with Gert’s daughter complicated things tenfold, and even though you hated the woman, you would never speak about her to Vi the way you did to Sevika. With the cat now out of the bag, you have no other option but to tell the truth.

“Yeah. I didn’t talk to her friends or family after everything happened, so she must’ve told them a version that didn’t paint her as the bad guy.”

Vi’s head drops to look at her shoes, a shaky exhale leaving her body. She takes a moment to collect herself before looking back up at you, eyes faintly glistening with unshed tears.

“I’m…so sorry. Powder was telling me since the beginning that I had it wrong but I didn’t wanna believe that. I accused you of something you didn’t do and almost ruined your relationship with Sev, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

At the mention of the word relationship, you look around embarrassingly, fidgeting with your clothes while Sevika begins to cough, turning away as she gets it under control. You walk up to Vi and awkwardly place your hand on her shoulder, forcing a smile as you pat it.

“I get it, you were just protecting your family, I would’ve done the exact same thing if I were in your shoes. No hard feelings, I promise.”

The girl nods and shoots you an appreciative half smile before you step away and slide your hands into your back pockets. Powder speaks up a moment later, feeling out the now calm vibe of the room.

“So…does this mean you’re allowed to start coming over for dinner again?”

Glancing at Sevika in your peripheral, your mouth opens before your brain can catch up, heat creeping towards your face.

“I mean, um, that would be more your mom’s decision, so—“

“That’s fine with me.”

Three pairs of eyes dart over to the woman next to you, one with surprise that she answered so quickly, and two with a knowing look at why she did. Sevika’s gaze bounces between all of you, clearing her throat before trying to explain.

“The girls really missed you and they’ve been saving movies to watch in case you came over, so, it only makes sense.”

A bashful smile now adorns your face as you slowly nod, a warmth spreading throughout your chest. You had missed Sevika, of course, but you longed for the days when you felt like another member of her tight knit family. Looking at the woman with a sparkle in your eye, you respond happily.

“Great, that sounds…great.”

Now that the conversation has died down, a bit of an awkward air settles among the room as all of you think about how to segway to another topic. Sevika breaks the silence first, deciding she needs to have a moment to herself after such a heavy conversation.

“So, we should probably head home, Isha’s definitely tried giving Caitlyn another makeover by now and it’s only a matter of time before she wears her down.”

You chuckle at that, imagining the scenario and remembering when Isha did something similar to you.

“Yeah, of course. See you guys tomorrow then?”

Sevika weakly nods as Powder walks over and hugs you tightly, glad that everyone now knows what she felt all along.

“Come over soon, okay?”

Pulling back from the hug, you look at Powder and smile.

“You got it, kid.”

The teenager squeals as she moves towards the door where Sevika and Vi are now standing. You look at both of them before landing on Sevika who has a ghost of a smile on her face as she tells you “Have a good night, miss.”

Smiling, you return the gesture before she walks out, Powder and Vi following, the older of the two smiling at you and sheepishly waving before disappearing.

Now alone, you let out a deep sigh, your body suddenly feeling tired. The conversation went better than you expected, minus the girls overhearing, but all of the anxiety surrounding the situation left you exhausted. You slowly gather your things, thinking about where things are headed from here. Sevika was okay with you coming around them again, and as much as you wished you could be satisfied with that, you wanted…more.

Groaning, you start rubbing your temples, feeling a headache come on. Telling yourself you only wanted to be friends worked when you were unsure if she would believe you about the Gert situation, but now that she had, it was only going to get harder and harder to fool yourself. You decide to head home and see if your roommates are there for you to bounce your thoughts off of, needing to know if you are as crazy as you feel.

Your drive home is short and blissfully quiet, with your thoughts beginning to run amok. You think about what Sevika told you, about your ex not deserving you, and your mind desperately tries to not get ahead of itself. You can’t go a second without thinking about the soft expression on her face, your feelings threatening to overwhelm you.

Unfortunately, the house seems to be empty when you arrive. Tossing your keys into the bowl, you kick off your shoes and walk into the living room, collapsing face first into a couch cushion. You roll onto your back, clutching a pillow as you replay the entire afternoon in your head. Would something have happened if the girls hadn’t walked in? Sevika was never one to do something accidental, she was a very deliberate woman, and the way she was touching your hand…

Your thoughts are interrupted by soft footsteps approaching the living room. You sit up slightly to see your roommate walking in with headphones on and looking down at her phone. After yelling her name a couple of times, that fails to get her attention so you decide to throw a pillow at her.

“Holy shit!”

She screams as she yanks her headphones off and clutches her chest, breathing heavily.

“I didn’t see you under all that, what the fuck!”

You’re laughing now, hands up to show her you meant no harm.

“I’m sorry! I was calling you but I guess you couldn’t hear me.”

She playfully rolls her eyes as she plops down next to you, leaning her head back on the couch and clutching her forehead.

“You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“My bad.”

Leaning your head on her shoulder, you squeeze her thigh apologetically. After a minute, you sit back up and turn your body towards her.

“So…I did what you said and showed Sevika the texts.”

Her eyes widen as she puts her phone down, giving you her undivided attention.

“Oh shit, how did that go?”

“Really well, actually. She didn’t say anything when I was explaining, even when I showed her the emails, but at the end, she told me that I didn’t deserve what happened and that if Gert couldn’t see what she had, then it was her loss.”

Your friend gasps as she clutches your hand.

“Wait, that’s really good!”

You look down at your lap bashfully, absorbing her excitement.

“And then she kind of held my hand when she gave my phone back.”

That gets a very excited scream from your friend.

“Girl, this is great news, she wants you!”

Scratching at your neck, you continue explaining what happened after that.

“The only thing is, her daughters overheard our conversation.”

That instantly calms her down and she’s now looking at you with a confused expression.

“What?! How?”

“They had left to go look at something and when they got back, Powder kept Vi in the hallway so we could keep talking, then something must’ve fallen cause there was a loud noise and they walked in all embarrassed.”

At this point your friend’s eyes are wide with surprise, not expecting your conversation to end like that. She sits in silence for a second, mulling over everything you said before raising a questioning brow at you.

“So, they know everything?”

“Most of it,” You shrug, now biting your lip.

“More than I would’ve liked them to find out, for sure.”

“Well, maybe it's a good thing, right? They’re old enough to understand things like that.”

Your friend tries her best to reassure you and you’re grateful for it, knowing how you can sometimes spiral.

“Yeah, I guess.”

The two of you continue talking for well over an hour, your friend eventually grabbing two glasses of wine to relax among all the news. You vent about how nervous you were showing Sevika the emails and both of you rehash old relationship worries. By the end of the conversation, you feel a bit more confident about the situation.

“So you’re definitely in the clear to get in with her now.”

Blowing out a puff of air, a smile cracks through your attempt at nonchalance and you attempt to hide it by covering your face.

“Ugh, it’s been so long since I’ve had a crush, I feel like a teenager again.”

“Isn’t it kind of fun though? Especially with someone that looks like her.”

You push her shoulder at that, both of you laughing.

“I tried for a while to tell myself friendship was enough, but…I like her.”

“Aww, of course you do!”

She wraps you in her arms, rubbing your back.

“I’m so happy for you, I know this weighed on you a lot. You deserve to be happy and I’m glad it’s finally starting to happen.”

Tucking your face into her shoulder, your eyes begin to get misty. As much as you’ve tried telling yourself that over the last few years, it feels like it’s starting to become reality.

“I really hope so.”

At her house, Sevika is having a similar conversation on the phone with Vander. Standing in the garage, she’s smoking a cigaratte and blowing the smoke towards the cracked garage door as her best friend is giving her his thoughts on the situation.

“It sounds bad to say, but I’m glad Vi was wrong. I really like that girl for you, Sev, I got a good feeling about her.”

Chuckling, she shakes her head as she brushes her hair out of her face. She didn’t tell Vander any details out of respect for you, only that the situation’s been cleared up and you’re back in her good graces.

“God, I thought I was out of the game for good. I’m too grown for shit like this.”

Vander belly laughs at that.

“These things happen when you least expect it, Sev. Take it in stride.”

Putting out her cigarette, she mumbles an agreement and ends the call a few minutes later, deciding she wants some reading time before bed, thoughts of you plaguing her mind the entire way.

That week ends up being extremely busy for you and Sevika, so much so that you haven’t been able to have dinner at her house. That changes Friday afternoon when you get a voice note from her asking if you’d like to come over later for dinner. It takes everything in you not to answer too eagerly, replying with a calm That sounds good :).

Now with that to look forward to, the rest of the day breezes by and eventually it’s time for Powder to get picked up after working on her project. Right on cue, Sevika walks in, and you have to fight to keep your eyes in your head.

Her trusty leather jacket makes a reappearance, over a fitted white henley you’ve never seen, buttons undone just enough to tease a perfectly sculpted clavicle. Paired with a loose fit pair of jeans and black combat boots, she looks the very picture of heartthrob.

Powder drops something on the floor and it’s then that you realize you’ve been staring unabashedly. Clearing your throat, Sevika walks over to you unexpectedly, carrying something in her hand. When you see that it’s a helmet, you swear you almost faint. Of course she has a goddamn motorcycle.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

Sevika is wearing a mostly neutral expression, only a hint of a smile playing at her lips, and you’re trying your hardest to match it.

“I know I invited you for dinner tonight, and that’s still on, but me, Vander and Silco were gonna have our poker night afterwards. If you’re interested.”

The moment hangs in the air as she waits for your answer. You’ve never mentioned being into cards or anything like that, but she hopes you’ll accept the offer anyway.

“I’d love to.”

A smile lights up your face, your hands clasped in front of you as you continue. So much for keeping it cool.

“I’m not very good at poker, but that sounds like fun.”

Sevika lets out an internal sigh of relief, even though you hadn’t yet turned down an activity she mentioned, she was still nervous, especially because other people were involved.

“Great. We’re gonna head to the house from here, but you come over whenever you’re ready. And you don’t have to bring anything this time, really.”

You cluck your tongue, looking at her with a mischievous expression.

“I’ll see about that.”

Sevika bites her lip, looking away from you but the action captures all of your attention. When she turns back to you, your staring contest with her mouth ends and you suddenly become interested in something on the wall.

Powder walks over at that very moment, a knowing glint in her eye that you and Sevika both pretend not to notice.

“I’m ready, mom.”

Nodding at her daughter, Sevika moves to step towards you before correcting herself and pretending she was just shuffling her feet.

“Right. So, we will see you in a bit?”

“Yup! I’ll walk with you guys, I’m ready to head out too.”

Truthfully, you could’ve stayed a few more minutes to organize your desk before Monday but the chance to see Sevika drive off on her motorcycle was too enticing to pass up.

You walk towards the door with your bags, shutting off all of the lights and holding it open for Powder and Sevika to walk out, locking it behind you. When the three of you reach the exit to the parking lot, Sevika pushes it open and stands off to the side.

“After you.”

Powder can only shake her head, heading out first before you brush past Sevika, eyes almost fluttering shut at her aroma. Once in the lot, you see that she parked directly next to you and walk up to her bike, admiring the way it shines.

“It’s beautiful.”

You look back at Sevika, who looks very proud.

“Thank you. Finished fixing her up a month ago, but it’s been raining too much to ride until this week.”

She walks over to the back of the motorcycle and pops the seat, grabbing another helmet and placing it on Powder’s head. As she does, her jacket lifts and a sliver of her toned lower stomach is exposed where her shirt folded under itself.

After situating her own helmet, Sevika turns to you to say goodbye when she sees the dazed look on your face. Still staring, you’re playing with the car keys in your hand, the most distracted you’ve ever been.

“You okay?”

That instantly snaps you out of your daze, flames licking at your face.

“Yeah! Just thinking about something I have to do before going over.”

You smile at the woman, hopefully distracting her from the fact that you were just openly ogling her. Again. Behind her, you see Powder covering her mouth, most likely hiding a laugh, and groan to yourself.

“Okay then, drive safe.”

She swings her leg over the seat, Powder getting on behind her as Sevika turns the bike on and revs the engine. Nodding at you once, she pulls the visor of her helmet down and drives off, leaving you behind to collect yourself.

“Shit.”

When you arrive at her house a short while later, you make quick work of getting to the porch, eager to get out of the cold. Ringing the doorbell once, only a few seconds pass before the door opens and Vi is standing before you.

“Oh, hi Vi.”

You smile at the girl before she ushers you inside, offering to take your coat. After handing it to her, she sees the bottle in your hand and asks if you want her to grab it from you.

Laughing lightly, you tell her, “No, that’s okay, I don’t want your mom to think I’m giving you something to drink.”

You quickly add on, “We’ll wait until after she goes to bed,” with a wink.

Vi actually chuckles, and you feel proud. You definitely have to build a rapport with her the way you have with her sisters, but you decide to start right away. She leads you into the kitchen where the table is fully set, and a memory of the last time you were here hits you like a train. Clearing your head, you look around for Sevika before seeing her walking in your direction.

Before she can reach you, you extend your hands, presenting her favorite whiskey.

“You didn’t.”

A smile disguising itself as shyness spreads across your face as you reply.

“Of course I did, I never agreed to come empty handed.”

Shaking her head as she takes it from you, Vander and Silco walk over, shaking your hand as you greet each other.

“Good to see you again— Oh!”

Vander reaches for the bottle that Sevika is cradling, grabbing it and inspecting the label.

“Sev, you didn’t say she had such good taste.”

He smirks at her and you pretend not to notice the way she looks down, avoiding your eyes.

“Easy, babe.”

Silco rubs Vander’s shoulder as he directs him towards the table where the girls are starting to sit down. When they notice you, they greet you with hugs, Isha pulling you to sit next to her. Even Caitlyn openly waves to you, no longer worried about Vi’s glare.

Everyone takes their places and starts serving themselves, conversation flowing easily. You spend the first few minutes a bit anxious that something similar to last time will happen, but eventually, that feeling is replaced by a relaxed one.

When dinner ends, the girls head to Powder’s room and you head to the couch, chatting with Vander and Silco as Sevika cleans up the kitchen. A few minutes later, she walks over holding the bottle you brought and a deck of cards.

“Who’s ready to lose?”

Smirking at her two best friends, her eyes land on you and her gaze softens just enough to be noticeable. You stand and lightly stretch your limbs, trying to expel a bit of nervous energy that returned with Sevika’s presence.

“Take it easy on me, okay, public school teachers don’t make much, I promise.”

Vander cackles like that’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard and the two of you follow Sevika and Silco to the garage where the table’s already set up. Taking your seats, the two husbands sit across from each other, already sizing each other up and trying to psych each other out.

Hearing music suddenly playing, you turn around to see Sevika fiddling with a stereo system, holding a CD case. When she’s done, she strolls over and takes her seat across from you, reaching behind herself to set the case back on the shelf.

“Hope you like Coldplay.”

“You a big fan?”

Two groans come from the men on either side of you, confusing you.

“Please don’t get her started. She’s dragged us with her to see them live six different times. I like them, don’t get me wrong, but six is excessive, they only have so many songs!”

Silco’s explanation makes you giggle while it gets an eye roll from Sevika. Looking towards her, your curiosity begins to grow.

“You like them that much?”

The woman splays her hands across her thighs and shrugs.

“Their music’s gotten me through a lot. I haven’t been able to see them the last few times they were here, but I still listen to them all the time.”

Bobbing your head, you think it’s endearing how much she likes them and decide to indulge her.

“That’s really nice, actually. I’ve never been able to see them live, but I’ve heard great things.”

Her gaze flicks up to you, a hopeful look in it.

“You’re a fan?”

Shaking your head side to side, you tell her, “Not as much as you, but I listen to them often enough.”

A shy smile creeps up her face and she looks down at her hands as she begins shuffling the cards.

“That’s cool.”

Vander and Silco are watching the entire interaction with rapt attention, they knew Sevika had a thing for you, but this was more than they expected. Standing up, Vander grabs the whiskey from behind you and raises it to get everyone’s attention.

“Drink, anyone?”

Sevika and Silco both nod and Vander shifts his gaze to you. Deciding it’s a special occasion, you agree and he heads to the bar next to the fridge to retrieve some glasses. When he returns, he sets one down in front of each of you, pouring a generous amount in the others until he reaches you. He gets to less than half of what’s in the other glasses before Sevika cuts him off.

“Not too much, Van, you trying to kill her?”

Looking at your drink, it’s definitely more than you would’ve poured but you know you can handle yourself.

“Sorry! I forget not everyone drinks like a mechanic.”

Smiling apologetically, Vander caps the bottle and puts it away, sitting back down and looking at Sevika.

“Alright, let’s get started then.”

Sevika looks up at you through her bangs as she deals the cards.

“How much you know about poker?”

Glancing around, you clench your hands, trying to not seem nervous.

“Mm, not much, to be honest. There’s 5 cards per player, right? And the goal is to have the best hand possible.”

The three other people at the table internally chuckle at your naivety. They're going to eat you alive.

Sevika agrees to let you have a couple practice rounds so you can get a feel for the game, and only when you insist on playing for real does she stop holding back.

“If you say so.”

She smirks as she deals again, she almost felt bad for how this was going to go, but this was your choice and she was going to give you what you asked for. You end up with a straight, and though it was better than everyone was expecting, it wasn’t good enough to win. Huffing, you sit up in your chair as you take a swig of your whiskey, the burn in your throat only spurring you on.

“I think I got the hang of it now.”

Laughing under her breath, Sevika thinks the determination on your face is adorable, and the alcohol in her system isn’t helping. Going again, you end up with the same hand as before, more and more chips slowly disappearing from your stack.

The drinks are serving their purpose now, jokes and laughs coming out much easier than before. You find out that Vander and Silco have been together almost ten years, their anniversary coming this summer. They tell you the story of how they met at work, and you coo as they relay the details of how it was mainly Sevika’s doing. She makes a couple comments towards you that could be taken as flirtatious, but you pass them off as effects of the alcohol.

When your foot bumps hers, you shoot her a quick apology, and she accepts it with a small smile. When it happens again a couple of minutes later, you apologize again but she only nods, pinning you to your seat with her gaze. You try to focus on the story Silco is telling, something about a vacation, but your breath catches in your throat when you feel two legs slide on either side of yours, trapping your calf between them.

Quickly glancing at Sevika, she’s no longer looking at you but at Silco, fully engaged in his story. You move to pull away from her, sure it was an accident, when her grip tightens and she hooks one foot behind yours, leaving no room for doubt. She’s definitely flirting with you.

Alarm bells start going off in your head, you never considered what you would actually do in the event that Sevika returned the sentiment. The two men are seemingly unaware of what’s going on under the table and you’d like to keep it that way. You turn your leg to the right, pressing it into Sevika to test out her reaction. You’re rewarded with a sharp inhale that you only notice because your eyes are locked onto her full lips.

The moment unravels when you hear Vander call your name, forcing your gaze to the expectant look on his face.

“Sorry, what was that last part?”

“I was asking if you’ve ever ridden a motorcycle before.”

Sevika suddenly notices the lack of music playing and gets up to change CDs, taking the warmth against your lower half with her.

“Oh, yeah, um, no, no I haven’t.”

Giving him a tight smile, Sevika returns with a cigar between her lips, offering the box around the table while Vander keeps talking.

“Ah, it’s amazing. The three of us used to do an annual bike ride through the country, just us and the open road for weeks. Nothing like it.”

After everyone but you takes one, she walks over to the garage door to crack it open, making sure to turn up the space heater before sitting back down. Sevika clips her cigar and lights it, blowing a perfect ring on the first try. The alcohol is definitely affecting you now because as you watch the smoke leave her mouth, you wish you were in its place.

You decide you need to sober up a bit before your inside thoughts make their way out of your mouth. Standing up with the slightest wobble, the entire table stops what they’re doing and looks at you with varying degrees of amusement.

“I need to use the ladies’ room, be right back.��

Walking into the house and heading straight for the bathroom, you shut the door and lock it before turning to the sink and pulling the handle for cold water. Cupping your hands under the faucet, you rub the cool liquid over your face and take a deep breath. You look at yourself in the mirror, seeing the slight glossiness in your eyes and giggle to yourself. Was this really happening?

After a few minutes of breathing exercises, and actually peeing, you feel a bit more yourself, opening the door before immediately running into something.

“Oh shit, sorry, I was just about to knock.”

You step back in a daze before your eyes focus to see a sheepish Sevika standing in the doorway.

“You’ve been gone for a bit so I just wanted to check and make sure you were okay.”

Her hands are stuffed into her pockets and she’s looking at you with worry etched into the slight crease between her brows. You start to feel unsteady again, but it has nothing to do with the alcohol.

“I’m okay, just needed to wake up a little. That whiskey is stronger than it looks.”

A chuckle escapes her parted lips and the piercing underneath them suddenly looks enticing. Stepping forward to place a foot between hers, mirroring her move from earlier, you lean in the slightest bit before watching her eyes drop to your mouth as she replies.

“Yeah, it’s kicked my ass more than once…”

“Mm, I thought you could handle your liquor.”

Both of you continue to lessen the gap, pulled together as if by magnets.

“I can, but sometimes I like to test my limits.”

“Is that so?”

Your chests are almost touching, heavy breaths mixing into the space between you. Right when you’re about to close the distance, a door down the hall creaks open and you hear giggling, footsteps coming closer until they stop right outside the bathroom.

“Oh shit.”

Standing straight up, Sevika is glaring at Vi and Caitlyn as you lean your forehead against the doorframe, sure this is some sort of punishment from a past life.

“Where do you girls think you’re going?”

It’s then that you turn to see the keys dangling from Vi’s hand.

“Uh, we were just gonna go to the store for some snacks. For the movie we’re all watching?”

Both pairs of eyes flicker between you and Sevika, cogs turning as they realize they just walked in on something.

“But we can head back to the room, no worries, we can watch the movie without them.”

They turn back the way they came, mumbling apologies as Sevika hangs her head and groans.

“I just want five minutes without interruptions, that’s it.”

You giggle at her confession, though you wished for the same. Taking it as a sign to head back to the garage, you squeeze past Sevika, fingers brushing hers and you could almost swear you feel them twitch.

Walking back to the table, you feel Sevika’s eyes on your back the entire way and only because you reach Vander and Silco’s line of sight do you not turn around and pull her towards you. She slowly takes her seat in front of you, making a show of it because she knows you’re watching.

“Last round before we call it a night?”

Vander looks around the table to sense the vibe. He and Silco have been waiting for an opening to leave without interrupting whatever was going on with you and Sevika for over half an hour. You smile and nod, thinking it’s probably late for them to still be awake. Sensing that it’s finally time to execute your plan, you calmly call out, “Winner take all?”

You’re met with three confused glances. The girl who’s been losing all night wants to bet everything she has left? It isn’t a lot, they’ll admit but never one to pass up an opportunity to make some money, they all agree.

Sevika deals, a curious gleam in her eye as she watches you. Not seeing any tells, she focuses on her hand and looks around the table, confident with what she has.

“Fuck.”

A groan leaves Vander as he pushes his cards into the middle of the table.

“Fold.”

Crossing his arms and finishing his drink, he sets it onto the table with some force, more annoyed that he lost to his husband than anything. Silco grins, even if he doesn’t win the hand, beating Vander is enough for him. He lays his cards on the table with a flourish, calling out “Full house, baby.”

A huff escapes Sevika as she looks down at her hand.

“Damn. I only have a…” setting down her hand slowly to build suspense, “straight flush.”

Once you suck your teeth and sigh, Sevika grins and starts collecting the chips on the table, pulling the piles towards herself before asking what you have.

“Ugh, I don’t remember what it’s called.”

Setting down the cards one by one, each reveal causes everyone’s jaws to drop a little more as realization settles in.

“A royal flush?”

A wicked smile spreads onto your face as you sit back, absorbing the big reveal. Exhaling dramatically, you lean forward after a moment and start grabbing your winnings, the only noise in the room being the clack of plastic chips and the muted soundtrack of Coldplay.

“I can’t believe you just hustled me.”

Sevika is looking at you with a shocked, yet proud, look on her face and all you do is shrug.

“I can’t believe you just let it happen.”

A low chuckle leaves Vander as he scans his best friend’s face, thinking She may have finally met her match.

As you all stand from the table, he pulls out his wallet, grabbing your winnings and handing them to you before you raise a hand up, declining.

“No need. Seeing the look on all of your faces was payment enough.”

He claps a hand on your shoulder, peering past you before speaking.

“I really do like this one.”

He finishes his sentence with a pointed look towards the woman, emphasizing his comment from their earlier conversation.

“We’re gonna head out, don’t worry about locking up Sev, I still have my key. You two have a good night, now.”

Shaking his head and laughing to himself, Vander walks inside, closely followed by Silco, the two of them discussing their admiration for your style of play. Once you and Sevika are alone, you swing back to face her, much more confident than you were upon arriving earlier.

“Next time, we’re playing for real money. Now that you know how good I am and all that.”

Grinning at the woman in front of you, the look on her face can only be described as awe.

“I don’t enjoy being tricked, you know that?”

Glancing around the room, you purposely avoid eye contact for a few seconds before looking at Sevika.

“I get that, but I think you like a challenge.”

A sharp exhale is the only response you get before you reach out, hand grazing hers with a purpose. You were just full of surprises today.

The door to the house suddenly opens, revealing a tired Isha who's rubbing her eyes and carrying her stuffed monkey towards you both. Trying to blink away the sleep, she looks toward an exasperated Sevika, no clue what she’s just done. When she signs Can I sleep with you? I had a bad dream, the woman can only sigh. Isha’s nightmares could get pretty intense so she instantly feels bad and scoops the girl into her arms.

Are the others asleep?

After nodding, the girl tucks her face into Sevika’s neck, already starting to doze off.

“That’s definitely my cue to leave.”

You step towards the two and gently lay a hand on Isha’s back, feeling the warmth exuding from her small frame. Looking at Sevika, you give her a small smile before telling her you’ll see her later and moving in the direction of the door. She vigorously shakes her head before stepping into your path.

“Let me walk you out, at least.”

Agreeing to that, you make your way inside to the front, slipping your shoes on, then your coat, before facing Sevika. She’s sporting the slightest pout and you almost reach over Isha to kiss it away.

“See you next week, yeah?”

Nodding with a tired sigh, she looks at you before moving to embrace you as best she can. You take what you can get, wrapping one arm around her neck and the other around Isha, reaching for the woman's shoulder. After reluctantly letting go, you open the door, Sevika holding it as you walk out and angling her body to shield Isha from the cold.

“Text me when you get home, please,” she calls out as you head down the driveway.

Turning around, you give her a thumbs up, too wired to give her a verbal response. Once you’re in the car, Sevika closes the door but continues to watch from the window while you warm up your car, taking off a couple minutes later with a frazzled wave.

The drive home is silent. You couldn’t even bring yourself to play any music, the replay of the night making plenty of noise in your head. Only realizing how late it is when you arrive and see the lack of any lights inside, you tiptoe through the quiet house, reaching your room and closing the door as gently as possible.

Leaning against the door, you let out the breath you’ve been holding since leaving Sevika’s house. We almost kissed. Twice. You cover your face with your hands as you let out a muffled shriek, giddy and excited for what’s to come for the first time in a very long while.

taglist: @daughterofthemoons-stuff @vii-v @runawaybaby3 @ferxanda @sevikas-whore @vikashoneybee @sleepingwasp @savedforlaterr @lia-winther @bebadoobie @nymanas @dyketoast

[novaandmali]

ARTISTS WANTED! 

We’re making a super gay super inclusive TAROT DECK!!! We want every card to be in a fantasy world and featuring at least one LGBT person. We’re looking for up to 78 artists, potentially one artist per card, but we may choose to have some artists do up to 2 cards. 

Applications open October 10th at 1pm Eastern time and will remain open until October 13th at noon eastern OR we reach an application cap of 1000 entries.

Apps will be open for 24 hours minimum.

The application will NOT be available until that date - we will post it here, instagram (nova_mali), bluesky, and tumblr (novaandmali). Please be sure to set an alarm and get your application in ASAP - we will not be able to take any applications through email, dms, or after they close.

A tentative schedule:

Results emailed to EVERYONE on October 15th.

Sketch due Nov 31

Finals due Jan 15

Kickstarter running Jan 1-31

We are looking for up to 78 artists (who MUST be 18+ years old by October 15th) to join us to create a piece of digital art and/or merch. Traditional art is also accepted if scanned or photographed at a professional level.

We're looking specifically to increase the diversity of our artists, both in regards to race and gender - we want to be including all kinds of voices. Same thing with our art - we're looking to increase the variety of cultures, body types, and disabilities represented.

This is a PAID job. We’ve paid in the range of 200-300 for similar projects in the past, based on a set contract amount plus anything left over after production and shipping, split between everyone. Example: $150 in the contract and $100 extra per artist share. The additional amount will depend on how successful the Kickstarter campaign is.

Your app will ask you what you’re thinking about creating. This is not a final answer but we want to know what vibe, what era, etc what you’re thinking about. You’ll get the option to pick 2 suits you’re interested in working in, and 1-2 cards you very much do not want to illustrate.

The application will include things like: a link to your portfolio (instagram and twitter are NOT accepted as a portfolio) and if you are interested in designing any merch as well.

We also ask for a short artist bio: think twitter style - short and sweet. Please don’t talk down about yourself or your skills - talk yourself up! Make me excited to see your art!!

Reminder about our applications: PLEASE do not submit porn or gore in your highlight art. Blood and nudity are ok, porn and gore please no.

Hopefully it goes without saying but we do not accept NFT art or AI generated art.

About us: we’re two non-binary lesbians who really love cats and gay art. We’ve enjoyed our work as a queer publishing house and can’t wait to do more! We’ve completed 9 projects including tarot cards and books! Some of our previous works include classics but make it gay, And They Were Monsters, and Cover Me Queer.

Check out our work at www.novaandmali.com . 

[wwwrottoncxrecom]

Breath with me, baby

Pairings: BangChan x 9th member!Reader

Summary: The second your logged in, notifications fill the side of the screen. All emails from your team, most of them containing guidelines to deal with the stalker. The room falls back into a thick silence

Warnings: heavy references to throwing up and anxiety, reader has a panic attack, descriptions of a panic attack, stalking, cussing (one time), angst, this fic is heavy asf, i think thats it ??

Word count: 1.3k

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Everything felt like it was falling apart at what was, supposed to be, the best time in your life. You finally started the process to debut as a soloist and everything was falling apart. Someone leaked your debut album and you’ve caught the eye of a sasaeng. Said “fan” has made it their life goal to make yours as unsafe and fear inducing as possible while believing everything they were doing was normal. You could throw up. 

You push past the doors of JYP’s building, the taste of bile slowly raising the longer you think about what’s happening. Everything was so normal a mere month ago, how did it all come crashing down this quick? How did you manage to miss so many signs that this was gonna happen? 

You skip on the elevator, not wanting to be in a confined space so quiet right now. As your feet thud up the stairs, your mind races with memories of signs you so blatantly ignored. This fan wasn’t new. But it started innocent enough that you brushed it off. But when the dms went from sweet fan messages to pictures of your house, you started to realize it wasn’t as innocent as it originally came off. 

A headache is beginning to form, and you slowly raise a hand to rub at your forehead. Why you? Why anyone? Why were idols expected to be ok with dealing with this simply because they’re famous? The thought only increases the feeling of your heavily increasing nausea. With weak steps, you manage to reach the studio door. 

The door opens, and you’re immediately hit with Chan’s cologne. It calms you, as do the dims lights. You two lock eyes and your shoulders visible relax. There’s a unspoken conversation between you before he’s standing and pulling you into a tight hug. You swiftly hug back, albeit not with the same amount the strength. 

“It’s ok. Do you wanna talk about it?” You shake your head, and he mumbles a soft ok. One of his hands moves to your hair and he softly threads his fingers through the strands. It relaxes you, and you melt into his embrace. A couple minutes passes before you feel comfortable enough to pull out of the hug. You look up at him and he softly rubs his nose against yours, giving you an eskimo kiss. 

“What do you wanna do?” His voice is barely above a whisper, but you hear it perfectly. The question is simple, but it causes you to think and you don’t really want to do that. So you quickly shake your head and fully pull away from his embrace. You reach for your bag, unzipping it and pulling out your lyric journal. 

“Can we work on my album? My mental state has changed over the past couple months and I’m considering a new concept with everything going on.” There’s a deafening silence after your slip up. You stare at each other for a brief second before he’s opening his mouth to question it.

“What do you mean with everything going on?” The panic starts to raise again, causing your breath to pick up slightly. How did you let that slip? Why did you let that slip? The bile is slowly raising in your throat again and it takes everything inside of you not to throw up. The silence is deafening, and you quickly come up with a lie.

“Schedule wise. With my solo debut and our comeback in Stray Kids, It’s just a lot.” Chan seems to buy the lie as he nods. You let a breath of relief, and allow Chan to see your journal. You trust him enough to not judge you. Trust him enough to see the layers that you have peeled back in that journal. Despite all this trust, you couldn’t tell him about what was really going on. The guilt of worrying him gnawing at your bones like a dog with a bone. It was suffocating, it had a grip on you that you just couldn’t release. 

You trusted him with your life, that’s why you couldn’t tell him the truth. 

The more the lie sits on your mind, the more the panic starts to creep into your throat. As the urge to throw up returns, your hands start to tingle and shake. The rooms shinks and everything started to feel suffocating. It feels like your lungs are tightening, your nose is tingling and air refuses to enter it. Just before you can tip over the edge into full blown panic, Chan softly touches your shoulder. 

“Hey. I’ve been talking to you for the past minute. You’re obviously not in the right mindset to be working, so how about we schedule for another day?” You suck in deep breaths before slowly nodding. You reach for your planner thats tucked away in your bag. Upon opening it, the tingling returns. Most of the dates are filled with fan calls, all for the same person. You quickly slam thee planner shut, throwing it roughly back into your bag. Chan eyes you but doesn’t say anything, simply watching as you instead grab your laptop.

In an attempt to escape the reality that’s becoming increasingly obvious, you decide to use to the calendar on your laptop. It’s a personal one, still having important dates but it allowed for a less stressful approach. Or, that’s what you were hoping for.

“Come here, we can pick a day together.” The second your logged in, notifications fill the side of the screen. All emails from your team, most of them containing guidelines to deal with the stalker. The room falls back into a thick silence. You know Chan is reading the emails, if roles were reversed you would be doing the same. You usually have nothing to hide from each other. Unfortunately for you, you did have something to hide.  

“Wait, I can explain-” The panic is raising, your breathing is back to a rapid pace, your hands starting to shake as the tingling returns. His lips are moving, but your brain isn’t allowing for your ears to process what he’s saying. You look away from him, the look in his eyes only increasing what your feeling.

“..Are you even listening to me? Where are you going that you can’t fucking listen to me?” Silence, then his face quickly reflects both hurt, regret, and realization. The look makes you sick to your stomach. 

“I didn’t mean to yell, i’m sorry. But you should of told me this was going on. You lied to me earlier when I asked what you meant. Why? Do you not trust me?” The tears start to flow at that and you quickly shake your head. 

“I trust you with my life, but I knew you would react like this and I couldn’t handle it. I still can’t handle it. I can’t handle you being worried about me like this, it makes me sick. It drives me insane.” His face relaxes slight at that, but you can still tell he’s still upset. 

“I understand you don’t want me to worry, but how you feel about me worrying is how I feel about you worrying about me. I’m your boyfriend, I’m supposed to be there with you in moments that are hard. That’s why I’m here. I wish you told me so I could of helped.” The tears flow harder, causing your shoulders to start shaking. Chan pulls you into a big hug, softly rubbing your back.

“Breath with me, baby.” He breaths in slowly and you follow after him. As he exhales, you exhale. After doing this for a few minutes, the sobs turn into soft sniffles and the occasional hiccup. Chan whispers sweet nothings until you pull away from him. He leans back down and gives you another eskimo kiss. 

“What do you need from me?”

“I just need you here.”