#pre-orders will be open for 2-3 weeks!!

[that-irrelevant-ricecakeaddict]

"She's a regular here..."

Drug Dealer!Seonghwa x f!reader

CW: mentions of drug dealing/usage (seonghwa smokes), drug dealers!seonghwa and hongjoong, slight fluff, !!SMUT!! (unprotected sex, pls stay safe!!!), reader n seonghwa are dating, seonghwa fucks reader in his fur coat lol , not really proofread?? Idk I tried

My first time trying to write a proper smut scene 😭😭 I hope its okay omg. Wrote this cuz @/ygswl on instagram (best ateez editor btw) brought up the concept of drug dealer! Seonghwa ARGHHHH. I wanted to write a more intense, concept-heavy smut scene but I js tried my best since I'm not familar with smut writing💔💔

Edit: Part 2 is out!!!

Part 3 is out!!!

"Fuck..." Seonghwa groaned, breathing out a puff of wispy smoke. He leaned his head back against the couch as he clocked in the sight of jumbled notes on his mahogany wood coffee table. Orders from customers. Usually, he would've been able to keep up with them, no problem. But there had recently been a huge surge of calls, requesting for the new, trending drug: ARRIBA. And as part of the most reputable dealers in the area, MATZ, he was well-expected to have the best supply. He irritably grinded his teeth together, pre-installed Grillz provided a light, screeching noise.

Taking another drag from his rolled cigarette, his ears perked up at the sound of the door opening. "Hwa, what are you doing?" Seonghwa's business partner, Kim Hongjoong, walked into the shabby makeshift office. Seonghwa didn't reply, merely staring blankly at the ceiling as he absentmindedly played with the blunt in his fingers. Meanwhile, Hongjoong's eyes lingered on the stack of order forms, and he gave a stern look to his tattooed counterpart. "I asked you a question, Park Seonghwa." "What? I'm fucking exhausted from taking calls and names. I've been at it since 11, give me a break." He jerked his head towards a wall clock behind him. A quarter past 3pm.

It had always been this way with the duo. Ever since they started their underground business as barely legal adults, Hongjoong dealt with supplies, and Seonghwa would deal with the customers and their orders. 2 young men in struggling financial situations, who were desperate to make ends meet, starting a drug-dealing business together, it worked out strangely well. This also, despite their constant bickering, formed a strong bond between the two.

Hongjoong rolled his eyes at the response. "Whatever, sure." He tilted his head, eyes settling on the faux fur coat that rested on a chair beside the couch. "Is that new?" "Yeah... I picked it up after getting the payment for that huge order earlier this week." "Ohh, the order for that college frat party?" Seonghwa nodded silently in response, his eyes beginning to glaze over. "Anyways, Yunho says we can expect restock within the next week. ARRIBA's selling out fast, but we can finish these orders right away once the new shipment arrives." Hongjoong rattled off an imaginary list, giving a reassuring pat on the shoulder to his partner. Seonghwa was unresponsive, clearly stressed out from the recent increase in workload, but Hongjoong knew he was listening. Although, that didn't stop him from doing what he was about to do. "You shouldn't keep using this, by the way. It's reaaaally bad for you." With that, he leaned forward and snatched the smoking blunt from his partner's fingers.

Seonghwa hastily whipped his head around, sighing internally at Hongjoong's classic shit-eating grin. He furrowed his eyebrows at the realisation that he had given the man the satisfaction of getting a reaction. "I'm stressed, man. Gotta relax somehow." "I don't think you'll need your weed when your favourite 'regular' is here, though." Hongjoong tilted his head towards the office door, calling out in a singsong voice. "Y/N, you can come in now~"

The mention of your name caused Seonghwa's eyes to immediately light up. He scrambled to snatch the cigarette back from Hongjoong, and quickly crushed it with his heel.

Just a quiet, veterinary student that he had met in a cafe 3 years ago, Seonghwa had adored you from the very beginning. You were the cashier taking his order, nervous on your first day, and fumbling a little with the cash register's buttons. Seonghwa had found your clumsy nature both alluring and endearing, and he had asked you out on a date right away. The two of you had hit it off, and a beautiful relationship bloomed from then on. Even when you found out Seonghwa's line of work, you understood his situation and never judged him for it. It didn't make you love him any less. He would often spoil you with gifts and spend as much time as possible with you. Your college classes and his odd working hours would clash often, but you still found time to drop by his office to visit him. After all, it was quite easy to locate your drug dealer boyfriend. He mostly stayed in his office, only occasionally going out with Hongjoong when they had a large shipment coming in or a customer that wanted to deal in-person. Thus the nickname that Hongjoong gave to you: Seonghwa's Favourite 'Regular'. Despite your support for his business, Seonghwa still hated doing or dealing drugs around you, especially cigarettes. It was part of his line of work, and he was used to it, but he would always quickly put out a blunt or stash away powdery white packets when you visited.

"Seonghwa~ I'm here to visit you! My class today was cancelled, so my afternoon is free," you hummed as you walked into the room in your red checkered pants and (Seonghwa's) oversized hoodie. You offered a smile to Hongjoong, who was already on his way out to give you two some privacy. He winked at Seonghwa just before he walked out the doorway, shutting the door behind him.

Seonghwa's gaze softened as you crashed onto his form on the couch, snuggling into his exposed collarbone. "I missed you..." "I missed you too, sweetheart... you've been so busy with classes lately, I haven't seen you for a full week. Do you even love me anymore?" He sighed dramatically, earning a muffled laugh from you. "My finals are coming up, Hwa. Been rushing my deadlines and finishing up on revision. I gotta do this to earn my veterinary certification, hm?" "Well, anytime you wanna quit your course and live with me 24/7, I'll take care of you. Nothing would make me happier to, actually. MATZ has been doing so well recently." He puffed up his chest. You found it cute whenever he was protective like this. "Okay, Hwa. I'll keep you posted." The two of you settled into comfortable silence.

The quietness and stillness in the air suddenly made him very aware of your movements. He raised his eyebrows when he realised you were being touchier than usual. Your hands were roaming his shoulders, tracing circles over his neck tattoo and gold chains that sat above his unbuttoned collar. The occasional shift of your hips didn't go unnoticed by the tattooed man, either. Seonghwa experimentally slid a veiny hand under your hoodie, blushing when he felt your bare back, marking the absence of a bra strap.

"Sweetheart, are you-"

"Mhm... needy for you, Hwa."

"Oh-- we're in my office now, though, Hongjoong could hear us..."

"Wouldn't you like that?"

Seonghwa's face heated up at the thought of his partner overhearing the two of you. The possibility someone else, especially his best friend/business partner, hearing the two of you fucking in his office turned him on. A lot.

His shy expression quickly changed to a dominant, cockier one. Quickly pinning you onto the couch, he connected his lips to yours in a passionate kiss. He tasted like smoke and the cherry lip gloss you had bought him a month ago, and you loved it. You wrapped your arms around his neck, effectively hoisting yourself up, before pulling away from his lips to kiss and lick at the tattoo scrawled across his neck. Seonghwa groaned at the feeling, his eyes glazing over and landing on his fluffy, new fur coat that was draped on the nearby chair. A devious idea popped into his head.

"Sweetheart, wait... I wanna do something." You stopped sucking at the 'A' on his neck and tilted your head curiously at him. He tugged at the hem of your hoodie, his eye contact with you searching for consent. You let him, of course. You trusted him. He lifted off your hoodie right away, sucking in a breath at the sight of your bare torso. "My pretty girl," he sighed, making you flush a bright red hue. Seonghwa leaned forward to leave a kiss on your breasts and gestured you to take off your pants, before getting off the couch, seemingly to get something. You sat confused, naked except for your dark blue panties, until you saw him grab the fur coat on the chair beside the couch.

The faux fur brushed against your skin as Seonghwa helped you put it on. It was huge, heavy and fluffy, covering everything yet nothing on your bare figure. He stepped back to take you in, a guttural moan leaving his throat at the sight of you naked form practically drowning underneath the fluffy mass of fabric. You, on the other hand, were aching for his touch. A whole week of being apart from your lover, deprived of his love, his intimacy, deprived of him. He noticed your pouty lips and squirming, and chuckled teasingly.

"Can't wait, sweetheart?"

You were about to nod in response, but was cut off when you felt a long finger being pressed against your moist folds. A whiny gasp slipped out of your mouth, and your hands scrambled to find support on Seonghwa's strong forearms. He smiled as he lightly rubbed circles on your clit through the thin fabric of your panties, your whines sounding like music to his chain-adorned ears. "Hwa...hurry, I want your dick in me already," you panted out. Seonghwa scoffed teasingly at your impatient tone. "Patience, sweetheart, I need to prep you first."

His expert fingers tugged aside the fabric covering your pussy, exposing yourself to him fully. Two fingers were pushed into your aching hole, causing you to arch your back at the feeling. Breathless moans filled the room as he curled and thrusted his fingers into you at a torturously slow pace. He knew you were sensitive, and it was driving you crazy how slow he was going.

"H-Hwa..."

"Shhh, I know."

The building knot in your tummy snapped, and you came undone on your lover's long fingers. But just as you began to catch your breath, Seonghwa leaned down to lick up your juices. The cold metal of his grillz shot through your core, drawing out a high-pitched cry from you.

Blinking back tears from the overstimulation, you glanced down at your boyfriend. He was sitting comfortably between your legs, lips and grillz teeth shiny with your arousal, mouth spread in a loving grin as if he didn't just finger-fuck you to an orgasm.

He got up and kissed a tear rolling down your cheek. "I'm sorry, baby, I just had to tease you a little. I'll give you what you want now." Seonghwa picked you up and shifted you to a more comfortable spot on the couch, the heavy coat's fur swishing quietly as he did so. You shivered as the fur brushed against your nipples, perky from being exposed to the surrounding air.

There was a light clunk of a belt buckle, followed by a zipping noise, before Seonghwa finally pressed his pretty cock against your bare stomach, earning a sigh of relief from you. You licked your lips at the sight of his flushed, hard member. "Did you miss me or did you miss my dick?" Seonghwa raised an eyebrow when you stared for a little too long. You whined back, and he sighed in defeat before pressing his cock into your entrance, already wet and lubricated from him fingering you open earlier.

"F-fuck! So warm..." Seonghwa hissed as his cock sank into you. You cried out, reaching out to bury your face into his neck when he started to thrust in and out of you. Sloppy slaps of skin, whiny moans, curses and the occasional swish of faux fur against leather filled the room as Seonghwa fucked you into the couch. The air reeked of hot sex and cigarette smoke, but neither of you minded. He gazed lovingly at you through his lashes, admiring how you looked in his fur coat, with his dick in you. The possessiveness that you two had for each other always made him hard whenever it showed.

He winced when you clenched on him particularly hard. "Oh s-shit- you like my cock? You like your drug dealer boyfriend's cock?" You nodded hastily, drool beginning to form on the side of your lips. Seonghwa smirked, but was barely keeping his composure at the sight of you so cock-drunk. He pulled you in with his free hand for a kiss, heavy metal rings on his fingers squishing your face and making your breath hitch involuntarily. The lingering taste of tobacco on his lips made you moan, eyes glazing over from pleasure as his tongue pushed past your lips to invade your mouth.

It wasn't long before both of you came undone. You sighed breathily as your second orgasm formed a ring of white liquid around Seonghwa's dick, and he quickly pulled out to cum onto your bare stomach. Still panting from his orgasm, he gathered some of his fluids onto his fingers, and stuffed your mouth with them. You hummed appreciatively in response, suckling his fingers clean as he admired your flushed, fucked-out expression.

♡♡♡

"Yah, I was only out for awhile! What did you guys do??" Hongjoong snickered an hour later as he waltzed into the room and over to the couch. He quickly clamped a hand over his mouth when Seonghwa shot a stern look at him, index finger pressed to his lips as if to say "shut the fuck up you big-mouthed minion". His other hand was wrapped around your sleeping figure, still naked but bundled up in his fur coat and shielded from Hongjoong's eyes.

Hongjoong raised his hands, exaggeratingly mouthing a "sorry!" that his best friend scoffed quietly at. Seonghwa rolled his eyes and returned his gaze back to you. His heart warmed at the peaceful look you had in your sleep, but his dick stirred at the sight of you covered by nothing but his oversized fur coat. Needless to say, he was definitely giving you a round 2 once you woke up.

If you've managed to read this far, thank you so much for reading my fanfic! 🙏 I hope you enjoyed it 😭

[dianeramic]

Easily trick any schmuck into thinking you're just a run-of-the-mill normie scientist who does morally right science with this informative shirt!

Taking preorders for this cotton/poly shirt until June 1st! Shirts will ship 2-3 weeks after the preorders are complete.

[onelittlespiral]

Hey, it's been pretty hard to motivate myself to write lately with my new job, so I want to reward someone who's doing a great job getting his work done lately. I want to give idesofrevolution a nice musky dudebro transformation he'll really love, and hopefully the mystery transformation gives me some more free time to be horny and creative.

Subject: Order #100690

Dear Fred,

Thank you for your recent purchase from The Spiral, home for all your transformation needs! Your order #100690 has been received and is on its way as we speak. Your order includes:

(1) Bro(Musk)_From_Friend(Online; Blog)

(1) Mystery(Self)

Please note that due to the subject’s history with transformations, delivery methods may be delayed or gradual. Expect fulfillment in 2-3 weeks.

Sincerely,

The Spiral

We knew you’d come around and round and round and round…

You couldn’t wait to hear back from The Spiral, checking your inbox every couple of hours for any updates on delivery. Training was slow and boring at the new office, so there wasn’t much to do besides sit through the standard HR videos on one monitor and scroll social media on the other. That was when you received an email notification. You opened it up, and excitement turns to disappointment. Just another boring diversity video. You pop it up on the side, plug in your headphones, and wait for the stock music and graphics to start. Except, this one is different. You are watching from a first person perspective as a man walks into a room and lies down on a couch. The camera captures his enormous pecs, hiding the rest of his torso, as they flex a little. You glance around the office, nervous about who may be watching. Something must be wrong, this can’t be your afternoon assignment. But your eyes are drawn back to the screen when the door opens again and another beautiful man graces the screen. Your eyes fix on his, as he leans into the camera for a kiss. You can almost feel his heat through the screen, and you’re soon relaxed in your chair, watching the show.

As he slowly grinds against you, you subconsciously begin to rub at your own crotch, simulating his movements. You begin to feel a horny fog fill your mind as you begin to buy into the fantasy, beginning to ignore your surroundings and forget about your coworkers. It isn’t long before your dick is fully out, imaging how good it feels to have his soft hands rubbing your hardening member. You don’t even notice how much you are beginning to leak pre-cum, synchronized with when he places his delicate lips on your cock and takes the whole member in one motion. You lean back in your chair and let the waves of pleasure relax your muscles. You begin to feel so heavy, as your arms grow tired of stroking. You place them behind your head, letting this experience overtake you as you continue to have your cock expertly worked by a pro. You begin to match his tempo, thrusting in time. Your grunts are getting deeper as you begin to get close. Your partner feels it coming, and steadies his tempo. He doesn’t want you to come too soon. But the fog in your brain is only intensify, leaving you more aroused by the moment. You aren’t able to hold it in much longer.

“Fuck, I’m gonna cum in you, and you better not miss a drop,” you say, and his eyes show understanding. You reach out and tug at his hair, taking control of the tempo as his eyes begin to water. But he doesn’t have to worry for too long. You are soon dumping your load in his stomach, and he cums hands free in turn, as the director gets the money shot.

“CUT! That’s a wrap.”

Your partner gets up and wipes himself down. You just grab your shorts and sit back down on the couch.

It’s going to be a long day of shooting, but you love it. At least here you get to be horny and own it. And, more importantly, get paid. Could be worse. You could be stuck at some stuffy office job. Just then your phone buzzes with a notification. One of your friends just posted, let’s see… oh, @idesofrevolution. Good thing too, you had been worried about Frost. Annnnd a second notification from your management company, The Spiral. They were sending you some confirmation info… something about the Doctor himself coincidentally enough. Seemed to be some details about a movie scene or something meant for him, so probably some mix up. Let’s see what it says…

Dr. Frost was has some background knowledge on our methods from years of research into his own transformation methods. Consequently we took a more gradual approach. Slowly, we began introducing neural waves throughout his day to prime him. In his home, in his car, on his blog, we implemented subtle messages about growth. About muscle. About musk. After all, who needs to waste so much time showering every day? When his deodorant sticks keep going missing, what was the point in buying more? After all, he no longer had much time to go to the store, as he logged off from work and drove straight to the gym every day. At first he wondered why he was suddenly so worried about his health. But as we continued to amplify our waves, he soon stopped worrying. It was natural to want to be strong. It was natural to reek. It was natural to feel good, bro. I’m in control.

As his musk intensifies, he is only conditioning himself to become more and more self indulgent. We began alternating frequencies, sending his testosterone through the roof, driving a new crop of hair growth and keeping his balls plenty full. Between his pit stench and constant gym pump, he is keeping himself at a near constant leak of pre-cum, and quickly soiling any attempt at covering himself up. Not that he cares. He hasn’t showered in a few weeks, only allowing himself tongue baths from whatever gym bro he catches staring and manages to get into his truck for a make out sesh. His memories are evaporated, nothing more than a sweat stain on his favorite cap. His brain is so high on his own supply, our neural waves had to be amplified to get through his brain fog. Hell, he can hardly form a proper sentence, bro. We have taken the liberty of updating his blog to more accurately reflect his new interests. His stories have been replaced with his thirst traps and progress photos. We are satisfied with his progress and have left him to continue his journey of his own, new and improved, free will.

You should really reach out to him sometime. See if he wants to take his modeling career in a new, more exciting direction. Could be fun to suck that musky cock…

Subject: Order #100690 Fulfilled

Dear Fred,

Your order has been fulfilled. We know you have many options, but thank you for supporting The Spiral.

Sincerely,

The Spiral

[splatoongamefiles]

Grizzco CEO secretly missing, presumed dead for nearly 2 years

By Audrey Ranid - Splatsville Today 2024-03-29

The wooden sculpture radio formerly in the Grizzco lobby. (6-Frisk/Inkimedia Commons)

Internal documents and messages released in the Occupational Regulatory Commission for Accidents v. Grizzco Industries lawsuit states the anonymous founder and CEO of the company, known as Mr. Grizz, hasn't been heard from since September 9, 2022, and the company has been hiding his disappearance since.

The date of his disappearance coincides with the day the bear sculpture in the lobby was stolen, though it's unclear if the two events are linked.

Grizzco's bear statue stolen, and the internet is heartbroken

Grizzco's beloved bear statue found, though it won't be coming back

The documents also confirm that even before Grizz's disappearance, the company used pre-recorded instructions to guide and train employees, and attempt to pass it off as a live radio feed.

Grizz was known to disappear for a days at a time, and while initially believed to be a regular absence, concerns were raised a week later as "there was no sign of him at all", the documents said.

A month later, a search was conducted in order to locate him. Details of this search were heavily redacted, but at the end of the month long search he was presumed dead.

After two months of internal arguments, higher-ups voted to continue running the company using the image of Grizz as a Mascot, with a new CEO in his place.

3 Grizzco Industries higher-ups step down in a single day

Grizzco, when asked about the new CEO, declined to comment.

The ORCA v. Grizzco lawsuit stemmed from a sudden increase in accidents and complaints of unsafe working conditions from numerous employees from the opening of a new worksite.

Many employees have described working on the site as akin to "blood sports," and the site has been given the nickname "Bonerattle Arena" by employees, due to the large number of salmonids "watching and cheering."

Everything you need to know about ORCA v. Grizzco

[tf-bigbang]

Sign-ups for the event open in less than a week! Curious about what a Reverse Bang entails? The Decepticon Disinformation Division has put together an infographic just for you. Feel free to check out our Big Bang infographic from last year as well if you want to learn more.

Full text under the cut:

Page 1

Reverse Bangs and You: An Infographic, featuring: Josh Boyfriend, corporate shill’. Brought to you by the mods of the TF Big Bang.

What is a Big Bang?

Big Bangs are fandom events where writers and artists are paried up to create a fic and art collaboration. They’re meant to generate an ‘explosion’ of new fanworks, hence the name. In traditional Bangs, the writer comes up with a fic concept, and the artist illustrates the resulting fic.

So… What’s a Reverse Bang?

In a Reverse Bang, the format is flipped. The artist comes up with a concept for their piece, and the fic writer uses that art as their prompt. This is what we’re doing this year!

Why a Reverse Bang?

1) A different dynamic. This year, artists get the chance to come up with their own prompts, and collaborate with a writer on a short fic. It’s an opportunity to approach your ideas a little differently!

2) Meet the community. Embrace the opportunity to become involved with the wider Transformers creative fandom!

3) Collaborate. Make something fun and exciting together with new friends! This is a chance to broaden your creative horizons.

How Does this Work?

Sign-ups: Artists have until March 24th to join. Writers have until April 7th to join. You must join the discord to participate. Remember- if you sign up, you’re in!

Artists' sketch submission: Artists submit their initial sketch to the Big Bang mods on April 28th. Sketches are shared with writers, who’ll then rank their selections for match-ups.

Pairings!: The mods will use our special algorithm™ to assign each writer one (1) artist from their top choices.

Creation period! Artists and writers will be set loose into their team channels. You’ll have from May 6th - June 30th to finish your fic and artwork. At the end of it all, it’s time to post your work and say “Whoa, I did that!”

Page 2

2024 Logistics:

Want to work with someone new?

Meet new friends! Work with a prompt you might not have thought up on your own! Random pairs aren’t exactly random. Writers will rank a set number of artworks they would be interested in using as a prompt for their fic, and the mods will algorithmically assign teams based on this.

Already have a collaborator?

Pre-paired groups come into the event knowing they want to work with each other. When applying to the event, there will be a line where you can request a partner. In order to be accepted as pre-paired, both the artist and writer must request each other. The second section is about the size of the event.

This year we go mini!

Smaller commitment: Lower requirements, lower stress. We’re requiring one (1) full illustration from our artists and 5,000 words from our authors.

Faster timeline: This year, our turnaround from sign-ups to posting is only four months. It’s a smaller commitment!

Bitesized fun: Get a little taste of collaborating with a new friend in the fandom!

[commander-wame]

PRE-ORDERS OPEN!

- Pre-orders for gw2 mount keychains, Peitha keychains, and Peitha standees are officially open! Find them HERE :> ( https://eclifse.etsy.com/ ) -

NOTE: - These are PRE-ORDERS; they are open until 23/4/2024, after which they'll close. It'll take 2/3 weeks before I'll be able to ship them! - After the pre-order batch I'll have regular stock ready to go :) - I currently can't ship to Germany; I'm working on setting up a license that allows me to ship there. - PLEASE feel free to contact me with any questions or issues! - Use 66IFS for 10% off as a pre-order bonus!! :>

[nieded]

#RAINBOWROAD for Rainbow Railroad Charity Drive Redux Pre-Orders are open!

I am so excited to announce that I am taking preorders for copies of the entire #RAINBOWROAD trilogy starting today! Preorders will be open starting today, February 14th (happy Valentine's!) to March 13th. It will close at 11:59 MST.

Please reblog so we can spread the news!!!!

>>PRE-ORDER HERE<<

This past summer, I did a print run of the first part of the series, Sit Tight, Take Hold and printed 94 copies for charity. Many readers asked for books 2 & 3, and I had many others express interest in a 3-part bundle who missed the first run. I've spent November, December, and January prepping the next parts for print, and I'm so excited to share them with you.

So, what is included?

Option for a 3-book bundle including:

Book 1: Sit Tight Take Hold 424 pages on matte 80lb text paper, color printing throughout. Cover has matte lamination in color. Dimensions of the book are 6x9x.93. Weight ~2 lbs Art by Blairamok (See cover art above)

Book 2: How do you solve a problem like Ezira?, Accept a Little Spin, and Oh, there's a long way to go 408 pages on matte 80lb text paper, color printing throughout. Cover has matte lamination in color. Dimensions of the book are 6x9x.93. Weight ~2 lbs Art by DustandHalos (cover art below)

Book 3: Fools Rush In and bonus content, 0-60 in 3.5 468 pages on matte 80lb text paper, color printing throughout. Cover has matte lamination in color. Dimensions of the book are 6x9x1.06. Weight ~2lbs Art by Pyracantha (cover art below)

PDF copies of all three parts

Option for a 2-book bundle including only Parts 2 & 3 + PDF copies. This is an option for people who already own the first book.

Limited option for Part 1 discounted damaged books (15 available). This does not include PDFs. These books have cosmetic damage to the covers from shipping. Damage does no affect the print quality of the text.

Limited postcards that were extras from the first run (only 8 available)

Remaining Corvette Crowley posters, including A/B grade options, 12x18".

$20 PDFs of all stories that will include all the formatting of the print run and cover art! (Screenshots from the PDF proofs below)

Where are the proceeds going?

Rainbow Railroad is a North American-based organization that works globally to ensure safety and asylum to LGBTQIA+ individuals. This is the same charity we donated to last time, and it was a resounding success. Last time, we were able to fundraise $1,600!

Continued FAQ below:

How much does shipping cost?

For US residents, bundles will cost a flat fee of $10. They will ship via media mail through USPS.

For anyone outside of the US, shipping has been estimated through the cheapest carrier, either USPS or UPS minus $10. Unfortunately, I cannot control the cost of shipping, and I know that it is extraordinarily high. The bundles will weigh anywhere between 4-6+ lbs, which is expensive to ship.

Wait, I'm from the US. Why am I paying more for Media Mail?

While Media Mail typically would cost $4-6, the increased price is to offset international orders, whose shipping will cost anywhere from $20-60 with the discount. I hope you understand. I want to make this as accessible as I can without personally eating any costs. I am not making any profit off of this project.

When do orders ship?

Once pre-orders close on 3/13, I will order the books. There is typically a 2-4 week turn around for them to be printed and delivered to me. I then have to package and ship everything from my house. I hope to have everything shipped 1 month after pre-orders close, but I am only human.

US mail should take 2-8 days. International orders can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks, so please be patient.

If you are only ordering a damaged copy or postcards, both of which have already been printed, I will ship those out sooner.

When do I get my PDFs?

The PDFs and book proofs are the same, and they are 90% done. PDFs will be delivered via email by me once pre-orders close. I am still doing small changes and edits to make sure they are perfect!

If I order a bundle, do I also need to order PDFs if I want digital copies?

NO! PDFs are included with the bundles and only the bundles. You will not have access to them immediately, only once pre-orders close and I email them to you! Like I said, they are 90% finished, and I am stilling making small adjustments. (Kerning, I loathe you!)

What percent of proceeds are going to Rainbow Railroad?

100%! This excludes the cost of printing and shipping. For reference, the first print run cost $1,254 for the books alone, not including shipping and packaging supplies. Anything remaining goes directly to charity. I am not keeping any costs for labor or making any profit on this.

Wait, there's bonus content?

Remember when I said I was done after the trilogy? Well, @tut557 popped into the Discord server and said, 'Hey, what if they played Mario Kart...' This spiraled into a long conversation about all the different media promos they might do, and then I spent this past November writing another 50k of the #RAINBOWROAD universe for NaNoWriMo. This is also available on AO3, and I will be posting weekly while preorders are open. You can find it here.

[justsomerandomfanfic]

Falling, Falling All Over Again - Steve Harrington X Female Reader

Title: Falling, Falling All Over Again

Steve Harrington X Female Reader

Additional Characters: Robin, Nancy (Mentioned), the Wheeler family (Mentioned), Steve's parents (Mentioned), and the Reader's parents (Mentioned)

| Read Part 1 |

Requested by: Anon!

WC: 3,985

Warnings: Pre-Season 3, very brief mention of what happened in Season 2, banter, teasing, flirting, cursing, friends to lovers, reunion, and a lot of fluff

Today has been a slow day. Which was a bit odd for a weekend during the summer. The school - both of them - had been out for a couple of weeks at this point, and since then, Scoops Ahoy had been practically overflowing with teens excited about summer or little kids begging their mothers for ice cream at the new shop in the new mall. So, it being a weekend, during the summer, Steve thought that it would be another shift of chaos, but it was the total opposite. Around three hours into his shift, only thirteen customers had ordered their sweet-coned desserts from him. And that included Robin serving.

It was boring, and Steve knew that it was going to be when he applied for the job. The only times that it wasn't boring was when cute women were ordering from him or it was so busy that Steve's brain couldn't think about anything else but serving and scooping ice cream. By then, the word 'boring' was kicked out of the window and the wonderful word 'chaos' walked right on in. 

But today, as said before, Steve was bored out of his mind as he stood behind the counter, he leaned on his open palm, his elbow resting on the said counter; bent at the waist, staring off at nothing. His eyelids were drooped, mind elsewhere, away from his boring job, in his usually boring life, that he was thankful for, but he was so bored. It was practically killing him.

Robin slammed open the small window that separated herself in the breakroom from Steve, the sudden loud noise making Steve jump out of his skin a bit. Rapidly blinking, he pushed himself up to a slight slouch, turning his narrowed gaze towards her.

"Bored?" Robin asked, a grin on her face as her tone sounded more teasing than she actually meant to.

"Bored stiff," Steve replied. "I hope you're enjoying your break." He continued, but his own tone held no actual interest, more or so just annoyance towards the young woman; which was usual in their friendship.

Robin just continued to grin, raising her hand to show off the book in her hand; open, a couple of her fingers marking the page that she had been on. "I brought a book. So, yes, I am enjoying my break." Though, halfway through her sentence, her blue eyes strayed from his brown ones to look around the small soft-serve ice cream shop. "Got any more customers?" She asked with a small frown, only to continue, "Or have you been scaring them away?"

Steve huffed, rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms, "I'm not scaring them away," He defended himself, "No one's come in for the past hour." He exclaimed. At this point, the irritation that he had previously been feeling turned into mild irritation, and the frown grew deeper into a scowl as he spoke.

Robin snorted. Her lips quirked upwards into a tiny smirk. "I would think that this would be great news, for you, that is. You know, no customers for you means that you can just let time pass you by before going home."

"No customers means that we won't get paid well this week," Steve muttered, though he didn't care that much about the paycheck he'd be getting, he was, though, a bit upset that there weren't any pretty ladies coming in there for a sundae. 

Robin hummed shortly, pressing her hands against the windowsill, a thoughtful look on her face before her slight pout turned back into a grin, "Well, my board's gonna get all dusty if this keeps up."

Steve groaned, that board. That board, a small whiteboard that Robin kept in the break room that nobody used, was his doom. His rack and ruin. Just thinking about that board, Steve felt as if the sun was beating down on him. As if the heat radiating from his skin could melt him, searing the words 'you suck' onto his back until they were burnt and melted completely into his flesh. Because if he had to deal with that stupid board one more time, he might go insane. Okay... Maybe he was overreacting, but it did get him down sometimes. He wanted to show Robin that he could win himself a girl, with his charm and good looks. 

"I don't know why you insist on using that dumbass whiteboard." Steve spoke up, leaning back against the counter, his arms still crossed, as Robin just shrugged her shoulders.

"It's fun to mark down your progress." She answered, "Well, not your progress, since, you know, you haven't gotten a date yet."

"Just because the five or so-"

"Six." Robin interrupted, but Steve waved her off.

"Whatever. Just because I couldn't get a date in those six or something situations, doesn't mean that the next girl that walks in here won't fall for my foolishly good looks." Steve argued, running a hand through his hair as Robin let out a mixture of scoff and laugh. "I've told you before, I've had tons of girlfriends, and a hell of a lot of girls after me back in high school."

"Mhmm, but you're not in high school anymore," Robin answered, and she did have a point. Back in high school, Steve was very popular, everyone wanted to be him, date him, whatever. King Steve. But, after everything that happened, that all changed. Steve changed. For the better. "And I hate to burst your bubble, but I've seen the way you act around girls... You're hopeless. I don't know how you survived so long in your last relationship." As she finished her words, Robin winced, obviously upset with herself at how harsh she suddenly sounded. "Sorry, that was a bit rude."

Steve shook his head, waving her off once again "Nah... It's fine. I get it." Looking down at his shoes, Steve shrugged, "I don't know how we had last that long either." He muttered.

"This is going to sound all... Mushy... But," Robin began, "Were you in love with her... Nancy?" 

Robin's sudden question made Steve think for a moment before he spoke, "I think I was in love with the idea of her. She was fun and liked taking risks... Like me..." Steve sighed, "But yeah, I think I was in love with the idea of her... And yeah I was still upset when we broke up, and I'll always care about her, but I think that ship has sailed." At that last part, Robin snickered, making Steve look up at her, his eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"You said 'ship has sailed.'" She spoke, placing her free hand to cover her mouth slightly as she laughed lightly, "With you in that outfit, I just can't..."

Steve let out a dramatic huff, though, he was unable to stop the small smile from growing on his lips. "Anyway, if we're continuing with this mushy shit... I believe that I have been in love. Once. A long time ago."

This seemed to pique Robin's interest, leaning against the windowsill slightly as she tilted her head. "Oh, mysterious... Do tell me more."

Steve scoffed, shaking his head slightly, "Don't you have to get back to that book?"

"Nah," Robin answered quickly, pushing her book to the side, giving him her full attention, "This sounds so much more in-depth than any other romance novel that I've read, I'm dying to know about this girl that stole your heart back in Kindergarten."

For a moment, Steve stared at her with wide eyes, a small shocked expression forming on his face. Then, slowly his mouth formed an amused smirk. "It was in third grade. If you must know. She was new." As the sudden memories of you began to rush up to the forefront of his mind, Steve took a deep breath. He hadn't thought about you in a long time, maybe years. He wasn't sure. Swallowing thickly, Steve pulled at the collar of his sailor outfit before speaking, "Uh, well, the first memory I had of her was when she was introduced to the class. I remembered that she was super shy..." A small smile slowly tickled the corner of his lips, "She had been wearing two pink bows in her hair."

Robin mimicked the smile, resting one of her hands on her cheek, leaning onto it, "What was her name?" 

Steve paused for a moment. Not because he forgot your name. No... He could never forget your name. Or you in general. Your name just reminded him of the past too much. Of the things that you were to him. "Her name was Y/N." Steve breathed out, swallowing, "We became pretty fast friends. We played together, she'd come to my house during the summer, we spent a lot of time together." Ducking his head, he looked to the side, his eyes glazing over as he remembered you, "Once we got to seventh grade, that's when I knew I wanted to marry her. We used to joke about it all the time. I have no idea if she felt the same or if it was all to play around, but she used to call herself 'Mrs. Harrington'. We'd play house..."

"I bet that was a great ego boost."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Shut up, I'm pouring my heart out here." A little laughter escaped from Robin's lips, but Steve continued, "Anyway, we were really close. She was my best friend. She was... Everything..." Letting out a small cough, Steve pressed his fist to his mouth for a moment before awkwardly looking up with a grin that didn't really reach his eyes. "Uh, yeah... She was great."

He was trying to play it all off, not really used to spilling his feelings out. Not like this anyway. It was a bit embarrassing for some reason unknown to him. But it was nice to get to talk about you. He really missed you. A lot. You have helped him in so many ways. Being there for him when he was lonely and his parents weren't paying him any mind or were off on another business trip. You were always so bright, always smiling, seeing the beauty in everything and anything. It didn't seem like anything could bring you down. And even in your young teens, you had this power to bring Steve out of whatever darkness was holding him down. He missed your bright smiles, he missed your warm hugs, he missed your touch. It made his heart ache strangely like it was being tossed in a tornado, and it hurt, badly. 

Robin hummed, narrowing her eyes slightly, "Hmm, she seemed to mean a lot to you. Whatever happened to the both of you? Fight or something?"

"No, uh, she moved away before we got into high school. I have no idea where she is now or what she's doing." Steve frowned slightly. "Probably living in New York somewhere. She loved the idea of New York." A sigh left his lips, as he shook his head, "It's been a while since we last saw each other... If she remembers me at all."

Robin gave a sympathetic smile, "New York huh? Better than here. Bustling cities, tall buildings, noisy taxis, and people everywhere." She hummed thoughtfully.

"Yeah..." Steve agreed softly.

Robin smiled faintly, before she cleared her throat, snapping Steve from his thoughts once more as she shifted slightly, her eyes glancing to the side and back to the older teen. "We finally have a customer. I'll let you handle it. Good luck." She gave him a quick grin before shutting the small window.

Sighing, Steve let out a breath from his nose, shutting his eyes and squaring his shoulders. Running a hand through his hair, he turned, "Ahoy thereeee..." Steve's voice trailed off, his eyes now open and wide as he stared right at you. 

You looked a bit different. Your hair was different, sense of style... But the way you smiled and that shine was in your eyes, they were still the same. Still you. The feeling that Steve had from earlier returned with a vengeance, along with something else, and you couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, absolutely loving his reaction. "Hey there, handsome. Long time no see."

"Y/N?" Steve replied, still shocked - that you were there, in front of him, and that you remembered him - his brown eyes flickering rapidly over your figure before settling back to your eyes. He's got to be dreaming.

"Yeah, it's me. In the flesh." You tilted your head. "And look at you, Steven, all grown up." You then gestured with a hand, "You're even taller than me. And I thought I'd stay the tall one."

Steve was still in shock, mouth hung agape as he stared right at you. The words that were running in his head seemed to dry up upon reaching his tongue. God, your voice... You were breathtaking. You always had been, but now even more so. His heart was beating loudly in his chest as he stared at you, threatening to burst past his ribcage and out into the open. He felt his knees become weak, his hands feeling heavy, and his vision blurring slightly. It was like he had forgotten how to breathe. Like time itself had stopped, and he was suddenly transported back to before high school - a time when you were practically with him twenty-four-seven. But you were here. Staring right back at him. "Y/N... What..."

Pressing one of your palms against the counter, you leaned forward. Reaching out, you pressed the pads of your pointer and middle finger under his chin, gently closing his mouth, "I hope I didn't break you. You've hardly gotten a word out." You leaned back, feeling a bit awkward now. "I was hoping you'd be happy to see me..." Your words trailed off as you fiddled with the hem of your shirt, taking a couple of steps backward - only now a couple of feet from the counter.

Snapping out of it, Steve shook his head, springing himself over the counter; not even bothering to walk around the damn thing. He just needed to be close to you, the fastest way possible. Before he could say anything, he wrapped his arms tightly around your waist, pulling you as close as he possibly could. Your body tensed up immediately at the sudden contact, letting out a small squeak of surprise, but your body relaxed and your eyes fluttered closed almost instantly.

Steve buried his face into the crook of your neck, inhaling your scent deeply, "God, I missed you."

You swallowed hard. The only reply that came out was a quiet "I missed you too," which was enough for him to hear, your hands quickly wrapping around his waist, holding onto him just as tight.

Robin, hearing the small commotion that sounded from Steve's sudden bounding over the counter, couldn't help but be curious and walk out of the breakroom. Upon seeing Steve, holding onto some stranger, Robin paused before rushing over. "I'm sorry, but is he bothering you?" She asked you, making you lift your head from Steve's chest. Instead of the fear in your eyes that Robin was prepared for, she was met with your bright eyes and equally bright smile.

"He's fine. I was expecting something like this..." You wiggled slightly in Steve's hold, offering your hand out to the dirty blonde. "I'm Y/N. Steven's best friend."

Robin's eyes widened, her shock quickly being covered with her excitement. "Y/N? Really? We were just talking about you!" She exclaimed, making you raise an eyebrow. "I finally got this one to break and tell me a bit more about his past. I'm Robin by the way. I love your shoes!" She continued, taking back her hand after the handshake before gesturing to your red Converse.

"Thanks, I like yours too." You returned your hand around Steve's side, "I've never dared to doodle on mine. I worry I'll mess up or something." You chuckled lightly, making Steve's heart soar. He loved your laugh.

Steve glanced up at you, unable to take his eyes away from you. There were so many things that he wanted to say, ask you. But instead, he remained silent. He had missed you more than he thought possible. As you continued to talk to Robin, head resting on his chest, Steve slowly raked his fingers through your hair, marveling over how soft it felt beneath his fingers. His heart began beating faster again as he ran his fingers through your hair, his gaze lingering on the strands that fell back into place perfectly. Steve could feel the faint blush creeping across his cheeks as he sighed contently. You were here.

"Stevie, you're gonna put me to sleep if you keep doing that." Your melodic voice spoke to him, making him freeze, his hand then landing on your waist. His eyes finally met yours, softening as he took in the look on your face, the happiness that was shining in those gorgeous eyes of yours. "Is everything okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah, everything's good. Everything's perfect." He responded, giving you a small smile, "Just really glad to see you."

Robin looked between the both of you, really taking notice of the way Steve was looking at you, making her smile. Steve's brown eyes were soft, and slightly lidded as he smiled warmly at you. The way he held you, close to his chest, the way he looked at you... Yeah, he did love you. Robin saw it. It was obvious. And never had she seen him act so... So... Soft. Not to mention the fact that the two of you looked at each other as if you were the only two people in the world. The love that was radiating off of them, it made her heart swell.

Silently, Robin headed back to the breakroom. Pushing the window open, she glanced back over at you and Steve as she opened the cap of the whiteboard marker, and without a second thought, she drew one line under 'you rule.'

"I missed you so much, Y/N/N," Steve muttered, his hand coming back up to cup your warm cheek, "I never thought I'd see you again."

"Me neither," You admitted quietly, leaning against his touch. "My father got a job back here in Indiana. We live a town away. But I had to come see you. I didn't know if you'd still be in Hawkins. I checked everywhere. And I found you."

A fond smile crossed Steve's lips as he watched you lean against him. His gaze lingered on you for another moment before he sighed softly, tightening his grip on you as he nodded slowly. "You found me..." Steve murmured, his thumb brushing your bottom lip. "I knew you would someday."

"I'm glad I did today..." You answered, looking up at him from beneath your thick lashes, almost nervously giving him a small smile.

"Why's that, sweetheart?" Steve asked, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

"Well," You paused for a second, flushing at his sudden sweet touch, "I'm glad I found you today because..." A mischievous sparkle appeared in your eye as you looked up at Steve, a look that Steve knew well. "I get to see you in this cute little sailor getup you got going on." You winked, causing a deep red flush to spread over Steve's cheeks.

"Sailor getup?" He raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit embarrassed since he hated the outfit with every fiber of his being.

"Mmmhmm," You nodded. "It brings out your eyes."

"Oh, does it?" Steve teased, glancing down at himself briefly, "You really like it?"

Biting your lip, you briefly glanced down at him, letting your eyes rake over his body before meeting his eyes one more, "Absolutely, Steven." You muttered, reaching up with one hand to grab the red ties of his flap collar. "I love my men in uniform." Your words caused Steve's breath to catch in his throat as your fingertips then slid along his jawline; his own eyes locking onto your lips. But before he could even fathom coming up with anything to say in response, you reached up with that same finger and booped him right on the nose. "Boop!" You exclaimed happily, giggling a little at the surprised expression that flashed across his face.

"Hey! Stop that!" He complained, his heart beating rapidly as his stomach filled with ten thousand more butterflies - joining the million that were already in there. 

But you just laughed even harder, burying your face into the crook of his neck as tears filled your eyes. "That wasn't very nice of me, was it?" You cooed, chuckling.

Steve gave a slight shake of his head before letting out a sigh, "So mean to me..."

"Oh, you love me." You added with a grin, lifting your head back up to look at him.

Shaking his head, Steve chuckled. "Don't put words in my mouth." But he knew it was true. He knew he had no choice but to fall in love with you. Let himself fall back in love with you. And Steve didn't hesitate, nor did he take a moment to think about it. Even though his heart ached a little, knowing that you were right in front of him, he would gladly lay down his life for you. Because even after all these years, and especially now, you were the most important person in his life. "How long will you be staying for?" He questioned after a few moments of silence.

You shrugged your shoulders. "Not sure yet. I'm not ready to go back home just yet." You replied honestly, "I'm staying at the Wheelers for the time being." You continued, Steve inwardly cringing at your words.

Why? Why, world, why?

You notice the slight hint of discomfort that washed over Steve's features, making you raise an eyebrow but you don't question him. Fidgeting with the red tails of his collar, you pouted lightly, looking up at him. Even after all these years, after five years, Steve still looked breathtaking. His eyes were still the beautiful chocolate brown that you adored, the strong jaw, the broad shoulders, the amazing brown hair. You couldn't get enough of him. He was simply too perfect. 

And it was plain to see that over the years, Steve had changed, and so did you. It was inevitable. Over the years, you were able to hide most of your feelings, and you felt as if it was the same for Steve. But for you, for both of you, it was so easy to just let your walls down. It always has been. Ever since the day when you first met. 

"Well," You sighed out, looking up at him with a small smile, "I'll let you get back to work. I still have to unpack." You finished, as Steve stuck his bottom lip out in a pout.

"Don't leave me." He muttered, his hands tightening on your waist, "I just got you back."

"I know, Stevie-pie," Oh, how he missed that nickname. "But, I think I'll need someone to be my tour guide for when I go around and see all the new things that this crappy town has to offer." You returned his pout with your own, "Think you'll have enough time out of your very busy day tomorrow for little ol' me?"

Steve shook his head with a smirk, his lips curving up into a genuine grin, "Always got time for you, Y/N."

"You're too good to me." You sighed, reaching your hand up, taking off his little sailor hat to run your fingers through his hair once, and the one movement made Steve shiver from head to toe.

"What can I say?" Steve leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to your forehead. "You bring out the best in me."

---

Main Masterlist | Stranger Things Masterlist

---

Should I make a part 2? Let me know! <3 Thanks for reading!

[rhayafell]

Shares are appreciated :3

helolo...... Im back to say that i've opened my pre-orders for my south park keychains!!!! Pre-order period will last for 2 weeks (Aug. 26 - Sep. 9)

PO form :

[bunchabears]

VEILGUARD COMPANIONS (set 2 of 3)

more itty bitties!

I have these available as charm pre-orders on my store, which is now open! Pre-orders will be running for a week (until September 3rd). I'll also be revealing the last designs tomorrow!

[mcytblrsource]

MONTHLY MCYTBLR RECAP: JULY 2024

CHECK PERIODICALLY FOR UPDATES!

REBLOGS ARE ENCOURAGED!

EVENTS:

May 12-Jul 7: Hermitcraft Guess The Author @/hermitcraftguesstheauthorevent

Jun 30-Jul 6: MCYT Subversion Week hosted by @/mcytsubversionweek

Jul 1-7: Gem Pearl Week hosted by @/gem-pearl-week

Jul 1-31: MCYT Musical Bingo hosted by @/mcytmusicalbingo [Check blog for more details]

Jul 12-18: MCYT Aspec Week hosted by @/mcyt-aspec-week

Jul 15-24: RedScape Week hosted by @/redscapeweek

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Jul 15-21: fWhimmy Week hosted by @/fwhimmy-week

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ZINES & MAPS:

Jul 24: Petals of a Rose: Hideduo Zine @hideduofanzine

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR AUGUST:

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CLOSED APPLICATIONS:

MCYT Non-POV: @mcyt-nonpovs Prompt submission closes Aug 3

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The Great MCYT WIP Purge: @multidimensionbb Aug 22-Sep 3

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MCYT Playwriting Fest: @mcytplaywritingfest closes Aug 26 [Check blog for more information]

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Technoblade Cookbook- MODERATORS: @technobladecookbook Sep 1-10

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Aug 5-Sep 2: @qsmpzine released for pre-order

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[into-deepspace]

out of the black {part 1/3}

sylus/mc • gender neutral mc • 1k • ao3 link • part 2 • requests open reblogs appreciated!!

pre-relationship || the real OTP here is MC/sylus's money :) || annoyances to lovers Summary: Sylus gifts MC his card for their troubles, and finds that their taste is very different than what he's used to. Some encouragement is in order, don't you think?

“That’ll be six fifty-nine,” the tea shop worker says cheerily. MC nods, glancing down briefly to pull their wallet from their pocket. It’s been a long day, and on their way out of the office they’d decided that if it was a pick-me-up they wanted, then it was a pick-me-up that they’d have.

So, they’d gone slightly out of their way, parking their bike outside the tea shop they’ve frequented. They take off their helmet and fix their hair as best at they can without a mirror as they walk in. From there, it’s a simple task of waiting and deciding just what they want before they order.

Now, here they are, the last little obstacle between them and their beloved boba tea the tablet in front of them. They pull their card from their wallet…

And pause.

Right. They’d forgotten about the new card nestled behind their usual debit.

As they’d started getting closer with Sylus (maybe a bit closer than they should be getting), he’d gifted them a copy of his card. His stupid fucking black card, that he’d held almost carelessly between two fingers as he’d reached it out to them about a week or so ago.

“A treat for your troubles,” he’d smirked, and then pulled one of those little vinyl card stickers in a dark, metallic green from his pocket. “In case you don’t want the world knowing just what kind of card you’ve got in that little wallet of yours.” MC had scowled at him; how the hell he knew these stupid little details about them, they have no clue.

Not wanting to quarrel with Sylus (and knowing they’d lose), they just took the card, sitting down in a fancy nearby chair to apply the sticker because they really did not want someone catching a glimpse of this card in their pocket.

They hadn’t really planned on using it, thus why it was behind their own card. But, here they are, contemplating. They thumb at the card for a brief moment.

It’s a few dollars less from their own account. They’re not tight on money, but they definitely keep to a budget, and a few extra dollars here could mean another night of hot pot or a few more stuffed animals later. And, well, Sylus had invited them to spend freely.

They pull out the card, select the 25% tip option, and tap it to the scanner. The total comes to eight dollars and twenty-four cents, and they bite at their lip. It’s a bit much to spend on a single cup of boba tea, but Sylus shouldn’t miss it too bad, right?

A few minutes of waiting later, and they’re walking out with a cup of mango tea and a yellow straw, tucking both into their bag for the drive home. As they swing one leg over their bike, their phone buzzes. Curiously, they pause to unlock it and view the text.

New Message from Rich Asshole 6:27 PM

Do you think so lowly of me, sweetheart?

Attached is an image, a screenshot to be precise, of Sylus’s bank transactions. The contrast that MC immediately catches is almost funny.

Most of the screen consists of several large purchases, anywhere from a couple hundred to several tens of thousands of dollars. Then, at the very top and circled in red, is the eight dollar purchase MC had just made. They sigh, putting their phone back in their pocket.

Just as they merge back into the bustling Linkon traffic, their phone rings, the sound coming through their helmet. With an exasperated “Oh, my god,” they tap the side of their helmet to pick up the call.

“Hello, sweetie,” Sylus says, in that infuriatingly nice voice of his. MC glares at the traffic light they’ve just stopped at.

“What do you want.”

“Eight whole dollars,” Sylus begins, and MC can hear the stupid smirk through the phone. “And twenty-three cents. Have I failed to imbue you with a taste for the finer things in life?” The light turns green. 

“Twenty-four cents,” they say, correcting him.

“It’s worse than I thought.”

MC sighs, turning on their right blinker and merging into the corresponding lane, making a turn just a moment later.

“Did you just call to talk about my apparently lacking spending habits?” they ask. Sylus really does seem like the kind of guy to get pissy that the latest object of his interest isn’t using his assets as frivolously as they could be.

“What did you buy?” Sylus asks, completely ignoring the question. MC knows better than to try and steer the conversation back.

“Mango tea,” they reply.

“What grade?”

“Uh. Commercial?” At this, Sylus laughs, a deep and smooth thing that MC can practically hear dollar signs in. MC groans. “God, Sylus, can’t I just enjoy my eight dollar tea? That’s overpriced for us peasants, you know.” Sylus hums again, infuriating as usual.

“You don’t need to be shy, you know,” he says. “I have more than enough to provide for you ten times over.”

“What are you, my sugar daddy?” MC scoffs, turning onto the street where the Hunters’ apartments are. “You’re like those stereotypical rich boyfriends on social media, ‘Ohhh look at what I bought my girlfriend, isn’t it so expensive? Aren’t I so rich? Look how I gift her my black card so she can spend thousands of dollars a day.’”

“I wouldn’t mind if you spent a few thousand a day,” Sylus says, voice casually earnest, missing the entire point. “Do you have such purchases in mind?”

“I can’t stand you,” MC says in lieu of an answer. “I’m hanging up on you now.” And, before he can answer, they do. They cut the call with another tap to their helmet as they park their bike on the street, taking a heavy breath as they take off their helmet once more.

They think about Sylus’s words as they walk up the few flights of stairs to their apartment, and as they unlock their door, a resolve settles in their mind. It’s a bit petty, maybe, but they find that they don’t care, fuelled by annoyance.

Sylus wants them to spend his money, huh? Well, then that’s exactly what they’ll do.

[crescencestudio]

๋࣭⭑ Devlog #40 | 5.1.24 ๋࣭⭑

Happy April (pretend I'm not late on this devlog)!!

April flew by in the blink of an eye. It's been a really busy month for me personally--I'm not sure about you all!

This devlog is going to be structured differently from the past devlogs for two reasons: 1) my concussion is lowkey kicking my ass and 2) I had a release going on almost every week this month because I am a Crazy Person HA!!!!

This month was filled with some kind of release every weekend, which is equal parts exciting and exhausting. Because releases always take a lot out of me, I basically spent every day this month cycling between phases of post-release euphoria, post-release depression, pre-release excitement, recovery burnout, burnout guilt, and just about every emotion in between.

THEN!! I got into an accident about a week ago and have been throwing hands with the resulting concussion since. So it's basically been a crazy month in the Crescence world.

That being said, let's run through the month in chronological order, and every weekend release :crazy eyes & hysterical laughter:

Kayn's Beta Route Out Now!

Kayn's Beta Route has been Finished!

In Extremely Exciting news, Kayn's beta route was finished during the first weekend of this month! I had put off publicly announcing it because I didn't want to clash with the demo release. But it was released quietly to patrons and beta-testers. Feedback so far has been very kind, and if you'd like to get access to Kayn's beta route, you can play it with the Hydra ($10) tier on my Patreon ^^

I will publicly announce the route sometime later. But for now, for those who bother reading my devlogs, here is a treat!

Enhanced Demo Release

Bro we fucking did it

Second weekend of April, we released the ENHANCED DEMO OFFICIALLY!!!! It was so exciting (and nerve-wracking) to be able to finally get this out to the public. Reception has been so nice, and it's been rewarding to see people finally be able to play the enhanced demo and see what I've been working so very hard on these past couple of months. I'm really glad you all liked it and appreciated all the details that I've painstakingly polished <3

I mentioned it before but I was really nervous for the release---I had no idea how it would go. But as always, I could not be more appreciative of the support you all give to little old me. Thank you, and I hope you all like the taste of what is to come in the Alaris world!

If you haven't gotten a chance to play the demo yet, please check it out here!

ALSO..... if five people want to rate the demo and haven't rated it yet...... it would make me very happy....... we are so close to 300 ratings.....

Velox Formida

Yes, I did help make a game in 36 hours.

Adding to the madness, I got sucked into this game jam by beloved and crazy @shewassaying. You have to make a game in 36 hours. It was a crazy whirlwind of an experience, but with people I always love being with. We finished a beautiful fantasy game if anyone would like to check it out!

Are you tired yet? I sure am.

A Faerie's Tale

We aren't done yet gamers

Finally, to round out the marathon, I created the GUI for this beautiful little game that was submitted to Amare Fest (which you should check out, since a lot of other cool games were submitted!). I had the opportunity to work with some extremely talented devs (@steamberrystudio, @jeneara, @windchimesgames, @tuffmallowinteractive, and feniks of OL fame), some of which are like titans in the VN community to me ;_;

The game is an enchanting, short little story (and FREE!) about a Fae. Something I know many of us are suckers for nyeheh. Please feel free to check it out here

That's it... Kinda.

And that's about it for this month! As you can see..... it was very much a back-to-back month. Because of that, I'm trying to use right now as a break (everyone thank my concussion for forcing me to take a break, yippee!).

Some other things that I want to highlight this month:

We released an official trailer for Alaris. She's stunning, and if you haven't seen it yet...... well, what are you waiting for....

intertwine is part of a Palestinian Relief Bundle. For only $8, you can get access to over 300 cracked games and support an important cause. If you haven't donated yet, please consider doing so. We are close to almost half a million dollars raised! Bundle ends in 4 days, so please consider buying if you haven't already

Alaris is part of a small little collaboration/cross-promotion of other magical and mystery otome. If you like sexy games by cracked devs, please check them out at the bottom of my itchio page. Some of the other games include Obscura, Lost in Limbo, The Good People, Save the Villainess, Snow White Ashes, and more! I would link them here, but I'm starting to get a headache teehee.

Anyways, that rounds out this month and a bunch of exciting news! I know it can be overwhelming to look at. Per usual, I never expect anyone to play every single game I am involved with. But if any of them catch your eye, I encourage you to check them out since many of the people I work with are very talented and you never know what new devs/games you'll get introduced to as a result!

See you all next month! <3

[slythindor100]

Hello friends! I, along with my co-mod, timothysboxers, are thrilled to announce that 25 Days of Draco and Harry will run again in 2024. We want to thank navi1088 for creating our banner art. His work can be found at AO3 and tumblr under the same name. For those who may not be familiar with this challenge, we have included the rules at the end of this post, and we strongly encourage you to read these. And for the loyal fans of 25 Days of Harry and Draco: In 2024, we will be doing both Early-bird and Traditional prompts as usual. Again, we're running on LJ, DW and tumblr – the rules will be the same as last year. Because it seemed to work out quite well last year, the Early-bird Prompts will once again be available in October, and we will be including the Image Descriptions along with the prompts. Early bird prompts will be available no later than 13 October 2024, allowing creators over 7 weeks and some change to work on their posts. The signup period will open on 6 October 2024. Also, we will have the Discord server specifically for 25 Days of Draco and Harry participants. Like last year, this will be a place where early bird participants can discuss (in a channel just for them) the prompts and how they might use them. Traditional participants may join the Server at any time, and will also have dedicated channels for their prompts and discussions. The 2024 rules at a glance— Common Guidelines and Notes If you are creating individual works, please select "This Work is Part of a Series" to gather your works together. This will make them much easier to find in future!

If you are creating a multi-chaptered work, please use the "This Work has Multiple Chapters" option to ensure your chapters stay together.

An AO3 collection is available, and you are encouraged to post your works to it. Search for "25 Days of Draco and Harry 2024".

If you're not posting to the AO3 collection (but we really hope you are!) be sure to tag @slythindor100 on tumblr so we do not miss your posts!

The Early Bird and Traditional Prompt sets are different. We aim to have five or less prompts that appear in both sets.

More detailed rules and guidelines are further down underneath the cut.

25 Days of Draco and Harry 2024 - Traditional No changes from prior years. An image prompt is posted starting at midnight US-EST on 1 December, and you create a work based on that prompt and post before the next day's prompt goes up. Each of your posts can be part of a larger work or they can stand alone. 25 Days of Draco and Harry 2024 - Early Bird You receive access to all 25 photo prompts at once when Early Bird access opens. This is a similar timeframe as previous years. The idea is to give participants time to prepare and create something before the insanity of December starts. You will post one work per day for each prompt. This can be a stand-alone story or each day can be a part of a bigger story.

We also encourage individuals or a group to create a podfic of a past 25 Days story, subject to the consent of the author(s). ♥ The advantages are this: 1. you can use the picture prompts in any order you chose 2. you can start creating early and have many of your posts ready to go before December 1st. 3. you get the prompts all at once so you can pre-plan your story and how you will use each prompt.

If you have any questions, please email the 25 days mod account at potionsgod@gmail.com or DM one of the mods if you're on the Drarry Discord server, or the 25 Days Challenge server.

@sassy-cissa and @timothysboxers

Detailed Rules The basic rules of 25 Days of Draco and Harry – Traditional Edition: The challenge is to write a drabble, ficlet, story, create an artwork, a comic, etc. for the image posted each day from 1 December to 25 December. Written works for each prompt should be a minimum of 100 words, but there is no maximum. They can be twenty-five one-shots or each one can be a part of a bigger story. Pictures will be posted at midnight EST and you have until the next midnight to complete your work. You may combine this with other communities or tumblr prompts. Your work does not have to be a story of the picture – you can use any part of the picture, or take inspiration from what that picture says to you. Traditional Prompts must be used in their posted order. If you fall behind, you can post more than once a day to get caught up. You're also welcome to post as life allows, meaning you don't have to worry about being on time. You can also combine a few days or prompts into one work, but the true challenge is to post every day for 25 days within the 24-hour time frame. You do not need to sign-up for the Traditional edition, the prompts will be made available beginning 1 December at midnight EST. Early-bird Edition: After signups close you will be given access to the 25 picture prompts no later than Sunday, 13 October.

You may use these prompts in any order you choose – but each prompt may only be used once.

The challenge remains to post a daily work from 1 to 25 December using one of the provided prompts. Each should be posted between 12 midnight (EST) and 11:59 PM (EST) the next night.

For written works, the minimum word count is 100 words per prompt.

[crushribbons]

𝕗𝕒𝕚𝕣 𝕘𝕒𝕞𝕖

summary: Bobby Moch makes for one passive-aggressive roommate. (pt. 1/?)

cw: 5.5k words, modern!au, roommate!bobby, light/medium shorty hunt x reader, light suggestive content (18+ ONLY), drug use, fem reader. this is a work of fiction about the character portrayed in tbitb and not affiliated at all with the actual historical figure (like duh?) requests are open cuties

a/n: i wanna smoke the shit that got those white boys to the olympics xx laney

8-track for the series: 1・2・3・4・5・6・7・8

“Fine. The final offer I will accept is: you get the pizza, I pick the movie, and you roll up.”

“How is that a good deal for me?”

“You get to benefit from my impeccable taste in movies.”

“Oh, please, Bobby–we’re watching Horrible Bosses again, aren’t we?”

Her roommate grinned from ear to ear. “You bet your fuckin’ boot we are.” She groaned in reluctant acceptance and began searching the name of the nearest pizza place that didn’t just microwave drywall and put it in a box. Bobby dictated demands for extra breadsticks and beverages that she ignored.

Once the pizza had been ordered, she slid her phone into her back jeans pocket and told him she’d walk the eight blocks to pick it up “IF,” she pointed a finger at the man clad in his WSU crewneck and narrowed her eyes. “If you roll. It’s the least you can do, golddigger.”

Bobby threw a hand up to his chest in outraged offense. “Golddigger? Darling, I may have married you for the money but to say it out loud…so very gauche.”

“It’s a good thing you’re pre-law. You can talk me into fucking anything,” she grumbled as she pulled on a jacket and pulled the hood up. Thunder had been making threats of a rainstorm all afternoon, and now that the sun had set, fat droplets were beginning to fall against the windows of their ground-floor apartment. She peered out at the darkness and grimly hoped that she could trek there and back without getting too soaked. 

Bobby went into his room while she pulled on shoes and came back waving the plastic baggie of bud he’d scored from one of many suppliers on the pre-law track. It was something of an epidemic among the students, Bobby included, who swore they’d end it all if they had to read one more book about tort reform. “I’ll have them ready by the time you traipse back in here,” he promised, settling down at the small desk they did homework at and pulling a rolling tray and stack of papers toward him.

“Tight this time, Robert.”

“I’m always tight, sweetheart.” 

It was a wonder his roommate’s eyes weren’t permanently stuck rolled back in her skull. Moving in with Bobby in his off-campus apartment had seemed like the perfect option when her junior-year housing had fallen through at the last minute, but she’d neglected to take into account that Bobby would be there. To his credit, he was a fastidiously clean housemate and always did his dishes; he even often cleaned her room for her on the late nights where she was stuck in the library tearing her hair out over yet another batch of assignments. 

But his chatterbox nature, which she had hoped and prayed died down significantly when he was at home, did nothing of the sort. If anything, the captive audience of a girl he’d previously only gotten to squawk at a few times a week egged him on to new heights of talkativeness. She often woke up to him already standing in her doorway and halfway through a conversation: “...but then SHE said that she’d call the police on HIM, so they were both, like, staring each other down, and the whole class is dead silent while this is happening, and–”

“Bobby, what time is it.”

“–and then he–5:45, why?–then HE gets all in her face about how he has a room full of witnesses to this, which, by the way, I was filming the whole thing, and…”

After a few weeks though, the constant drone of his chatter started soothing and comforting her after long days. She could come home, throw her bag down and dive into the nearest pair of sweatpants available, and he would trail behind her the whole time, recounting his entire day starting with the exact minute he woke up and what he had eaten for breakfast. It was reliable, monotonous, and really, kind of nice to just lean against his legs while they watched something dumb on TV and let his voice wash over her.

Another perk of living with Bobby was that he was starting to get pretty good at rolling joints.

She exhaled a long line of smoke and leaned back on the couch, examining the roach pinched between her thumb and forefinger. “Not bad, Moch,” she managed to huff out before a coughing fit overcame her. The smoke settled too heavy in her lungs and made her face turn red as she hacked her breathing back to normal. Bobby was watching her sideways as he took a hit off his own joint, pulled it into his chest, and held it there for a moment with lips pressed tightly together.

“You caught me on a bad day last time,” he eked out, trying to hold the smoke in until it sputtered out from between his lips and he followed it, exhaling strongly and blowing smoke all over the pizza that lay in front of them on the coffee table. Six of the eight pieces were missing, and as the weed wrapped itself like taffeta around her brain, she decided that it would be best if they finished off the remaining two as soon as humanly possible. “My fingers were super tired and I rolled you a sub-par product, that’s just the truth.”

“Well, all is forgiven after these. Oh.” She stretched her arm forward to place her dying joint in the handmade ashtray she had painted during their forced roommate-bonding trip to a paint-your-own pottery studio. It bore the image of a stick-figure her, smiling and the sun shining, next to a stick-figure Bobby who was tied to a chair and whose mouth was covered securely with duct tape. He had dragged her out to the studio on the worst day of her period, and documenting her feelings towards him at that particular time had been very important to her. “I forgot to tell you. Speaking of fingers being tired, guess who asked me out on a daaaaate,” she said, singing the last few words in a way that came out creepier than intended.

Bobby frowned and did likewise with his joint. His eyes were pink and glassy at this point, and it seemed to take him a few extra brain cells to try and remember names right now. “Who?”

“Shorty Hunt.” Bobby’s eyebrows flew up and she tried to laugh but it dissolved quickly into another cough, her lungs still struggling to keep up with his disproportionately strong ones. Yelling for four hours a day, minimum, during crew practice gave him the lung capacity of a whale. Hence also his ability to talk ad nauseam. 

“A date? You?”

“I know, who is she?” she said. It was a joke, but an accurate one, and it rankled. Between her schoolwork and the on-campus job she needed to make her half of the rent, she had forgotten to leave time for romance, and very rarely went out with anyone. She vaguely remembered kissing someone on a night that, to her drunken memory, seemed Halloween-ish. She knew that if she were to look at a calendar right now and add up how long it had been since October, she’d probably go the same way Bobby did when he thought about tort reform. 

Bobby pulled his legs up and tucked them criss-cross as he continued to ponder this development. He looked so cute like this, she thought with a dreamy little smile on her face. Being high always softened the edges of everything, including the many irritants of her roommate. He was wearing her favorite ensemble of his, although he had no idea: a navy blue sweatshirt, plaid boxer pajama shorts, and thick, cozy socks that pooled around his ankles. His frame, which she found adorable, was tucked even smaller than usual on the couch next to her. Weed made him want to shrink away, he always said.

It was the time of day when the product that he carefully combed through his hair every morning was starting to lose its hold, and a few stray pieces fell into his eyes as she watched him work through his intoxicated state to form a normal sentence.

“Shorty Hunt…” he mused. His eyes drifted up to the TV, where Jason Bateman and Charlie Day were frantically vacuuming cocaine off the ground. “He’s a good-looking young man. One of our finest.” The rain was still pouring outside, and she slid her feet under his legs to keep them warm.

“Yeah, I guess.” 

“You should do it,” said Bobby, but it didn’t convince her, which surprised her a little. He never had a bad word to say about any of his teammates, although he would sometimes come up with very cruel nicknames targeting their masculinity if he caught them not giving their all in the shell. Her high was making her question a lot of things, one of them being why Bobby’s mouth had settled into such a humorless line. It was cute, seeing him try to be serious.

“Maybe I will,” she replied carefully. “What would be something fun we could do?”

“I’m not your damn day planner.” The words snapped out of Bobby’s mouth and slapped her in the face, leaving her in such shock that she couldn’t form a reply until Bobby colored and added on with a sheepish tone and nervous grin, “I mean, if I plan your dates for you, you’re just going to end up doing a lot more of this.” He swept his arm in front of him, indicating the pizza, movie, and still-smoldering joints. 

She had no idea what was happening. The two of them had discussed men, women, and dating prospects of all sorts over the past two years, and Bobby had never done worse than roll his eyes when she inquired after the shy and silent Don Hume and told her, “Honey, there aren’t enough hammers in the world to break that turtle out of its shell.” She had scolded him for thinking you could smash a turtle out of its own shell and they had laughed and never talked about Hume in that context again. 

Although…Come to think of it, she’d gotten similar brush-offs from the coxswain in the past regarding his friends and teammates. As they settled into comfortable silence on the couch, a stoned stupor heavy in the air, she tried to recall whom else he’d dismissed as romantic options for her. She was unable to snatch one from the depths of her memory before the opportunity presented itself for her to lay her head in Bobby’s lap and she took it, her eyes sliding shut immediately as she inhaled his scent of laundry detergent, cologne, and sweet, skunky smoke. 

Her last thought before the weed closed her eyes gently for her and she drifted off to sleep was that Bobby really was so cute. I gotta stop smoking this strain, the last rational part of her thought to itself, then she was lost to the sensation of his fingers threading into her hair and stroking absent-mindedly.

On Monday, she told Shorty that she would go out to dinner with him, and on Friday, they went to dinner. It was nice; Shorty’s conversation didn’t revolve entirely around rowing, and his winning smile made her blush more than once as he held open doors and pulled out her chair for her. When their dessert plates had been cleared away and the waiter inquired whether they would like some coffee or another glass of wine, their eyes met, and a shared glint that said “And pay these prices for it?” made Shorty suppress a smile and say, “I think we’ll just take the check, please.” 

They walked down the lamp-lit sidewalk that led to her apartment at a snail’s pace, lingering beside each other and chatting happily. When they reached the front door of her building, Shorty turned to face her and said, “Well, thank you for a lovely evening.” His self-assured demeanor slipped as he pressed his lips together and glanced up at her door. The moonlight hitting his dark hair and the two glasses of wine she’d had with dinner were casting him in a very appetizing light.

“Thank you, George. I had a lovely time.” She copied him in glancing at the door, and when she brought her eyes back to his, he was looking at her like she was a delicate thing that he thought might blow away in the blustery wind whipping around them. It made her mouth go dry. Her gaze slid down to his lips while she said, “If you want, I have a bottle of Malbec we could open up.” She had wanted her voice to come out sultry and enticing; strained and whimpery were better descriptors for how it actually sounded. “I know you said that’s your favorite…”

While Shorty stood behind her, patiently waiting for her to fumble her keys in the lock and finally push the door open, she wondered why she had ever put off dating this long. She hoped hard that he would end up staying the night. The image of the lanky Shorty walking into the kitchen for breakfast in one of Bobby’s borrowed sweatshirts, the hemline of which would probably hit him mid-torso, made her giggle, and Shorty followed suit, asking “What is it?”

“I–oh, nothing!” Her key turned at last and she pushed the door open, twisting around to look up at him. She bit her lip when she saw how he was eyeing her up and down. “Don’t forget about Bobby. Try to be quiet if you can; we won’t have a moment of peace if he learns there’s fresh ears to be talked off,” she said, and he grinned.

“I am familiar with Mr. Moch’s work.” Shorty closed his lips and mimed locking them and tossing the key. 

They slipped into the lobby and passed several doors until they reached the door marked “109”. She pulled her keys out once more to unlock it, but before she could, Shorty grabbed her shoulders, turned her around and pressed her back to the door, and kissed her. It wasn’t forceful, but she felt every muscle relax and melt into him as his soft lips melded with hers. She grabbed at the frayed tie he’d worn to dinner and used it to pull his body closer to hers. The key sat, forgotten, in the lock for several minutes while they made out, trying hard to keep their moans and sighs to a minimum since they were still in the middle of the hall, after all.

She broke apart from him and all she could gasp out was, “Come on, my room.” Shorty’s hair was sticking up wildly from the place she’d run her hands through it and he looked like a man possessed as he watched her unlock the door and push her way inside. The lights were off, save for the small lamp her and Bobby always left on if they went to bed before the other. The sight made her exhale quietly in relief. It was well past midnight, and Bobby had probably had his “smoke and two beers”, their favorite shared Friday night delicacy, and fallen asleep long ago.

The tiled kitchen was cool on her bare feet as she kicked off her shoes and jogged over to the wine rack on the counter next to the fridge. The Malbec (the only bottle on the rack that had cost more than $10) and two glasses in hand, she ran to Shorty and tugged him by his belt into her bedroom. He was laughing in delight as she pushed him down on her bed and set the glasses on her nightstand, the only light in the room filtering in from the hallway as she climbed over him and began kissing him and undoing his tie simultaneously. 

When Shorty’s hips bucked, on instinct, into her core, she vowed to never go this long without a date again. She wasn’t sure she saw a life-long future with Shorty, but she did see a short-term future of pretty spectacular sex with the tall, well-built gentleman in her bed right now, and that sounded plenty appealing to her. 

They continued kissing for a while, their tongues in each other’s mouths. She peeked at him and saw that his eyebrows were quirked upwards in an expression of desperate desire. The sight made her panties dampen. The irritating reminder of responsibility that came with casual sex snuck up and tapped her impatiently on the shoulder, and she groaned as she pulled her lips away from his and said, “Lemme make sure I have condoms.” Shorty panted and followed her reach towards her nightstand, but when she stretched across his chest, her tits, about to fall out of the lacy shirt she’d worn on the date, grazed his face and a little moan slipped out of him. He reached up to palm her over her shirt and the action caught her off guard so badly that she yelped and knocked one of the waiting wine glasses off her nightstand. The glass hit the floor and shattered, causing them both to bolt upright as Shorty slurred, “Y’ok?”

“Shit, yes, just a clumsy idiot,” she muttered. Frustrated by the building desire inside her stomach that demanded attention, she swung a leg off the bed, careful to miss the pile of glass shards. “I’ll just clean this up real quick.”

“How ‘bout you just get back here and let me do that later,” Shorty propositioned, a smirk on his kiss-stained mouth that made her tremble. 

Still, the promise of glass stabbing into the bottom of her bare foot after she inevitably forgot it was there was enough to make her reply, “How ‘bout you pour yourself the other glass and wait for me to come back.” She leaned forward and placed one hand over the groin of his pants, a tent already very evident, and smiled against his parted lips. “I’ll make it worth your while, I promise.”

“This night has been well worth the twenty laps I’m gonna have to run tomorrow when I miss a.m. practice.”

“Already planning on missing practice?” “Well, I assume you’ll need someone here to help you walk again.” The line made her roll her eyes and scoff, in spite of herself. “Don’t write a check your ass can’t cash, Hunt.”

“I wasn’t planning on using my ass; I was thinking more along the lines of my c–” He was calling after her as she shut the bedroom door behind her with a swat.

She stumbled blearily to the kitchen, lust addling her mind as she giggled to herself and fantasized about George and what he would do to her when she dove back into bed with him. She was so lost in her thoughts about what those powerful arms and taut core could do that she didn’t notice the kitchen not being empty until its only other occupant cleared his throat and said, “I’d ask how it’s going, but clearly, the answer is ‘pretty ok’.” 

“Bobby!” She jumped and grasped the countertop for support. “You scared the shit out of me. I told you to never wait ominously in the dark for me.”

“The lights were on already. Since I am not seated in an armchair and did not flick on a lamp to dramatic effect, I think I’m in the clear.” He had a beer bottle in front of him at the table, and was wearing a t-shirt and boxer shorts again. She wondered why she was noticing that.

She rummaged around the cabinet under the sink until she found some dirty rags and a small bucket. Taking them in hand, she rose to her feet and turned back to Bobby. “Thanks for telling me to do this.” Her cheeks flushed a little as he continued staring her down, emotion indiscernible on his face. “Didn’t know how bad I needed a date. How was–”

“You like him?” Bobby asked, cutting her off. Her mouth opened and closed in a fish-like mechanical movement a few times. 

“He’s…he’s hot, Bob. I don’t think we’ll be picking out china anytime soon, but, God, he’s hot,” she finally acquiesced with a gush, and she thought she noticed Bobby sit up a little taller, a little more stiffly. “But I am sorry to have missed smoke and two beers night–”

He cut her off again, and she felt the frustration that had been largely sexual in nature start to turn Moch-avellian. “Well, I’m sure you won’t be having time for smoking with little old me anymore when there are tall rowers to deflower.”

She frowned. The strap of her top fell down one shoulder and she pulled it back up without thought. She was sure her hair and makeup were both too mussed for him to take her seriously at the present moment, but she found herself too exasperated to care. 

“You done, drama king? I’m gonna head back in there.” She nodded towards her bedroom and started walking towards it. Bobby jumped to his feet and followed after her. He wasn’t done. 

She’d seen Bobby be mildly possessive before; being the youngest of three boys had given him survival of the fittest instincts that usually only reared their head when she tried to reach for his snacks from the pantry. Sometimes, though, when the wrong mood struck him, he would use his powers of speech for pure evil, and could spit vitriol about anyone who even looked at him the wrong way. Clearly, tonight had brought on one such mood.

“I’m sure I won’t see either of you tomorrow, or the next day, or maybe even the day after that, so have tons of fun making babies and try to remember to send me a save the date when you mail them out. If you can teach that knucklehead to read quickly enough for him to write his own vows,” he practically spat, and she found herself agog at him.

“Robert Moch, what the hell has gotten into you?” she breathed. “You love Shorty.”

Bobby balked. “You didn’t have to start dating him.”

“You told me to, you complete ass.” 

She should have known that logic was powerless in the face of Bobby Moch. He spluttered for a long while, his arms moving up and down in gestures that she was sure were supposed to mean something. Despite his mere five feet and eight inches, he could manage to take up a lot of space when he wanted to. When they stood face to face the way they were and she didn’t have any shoes on, he was a few inches taller than her. 

“Yeah, well, I didn’t know how gross it would be to hear you two slopping and giggling all over each other.” He adopted an exaggerated face of disgust like a toddler that had been offered stewed carrots, then began simpering in a poor imitation of Shorty’s voice: “Oh, baby, you feel so good. I hope I can find my way out of your pussy later.”

“Shut UP!” she hissed, glancing over at her closed bedroom door and hoping Bobby’s rude mockery hadn’t carried far enough for Shorty to hear. “That is so mean. You are being mean, Bobby, why are you being so mean to him?” Bobby had never taken shots at any of his teammates’ intelligence before, other than passing jockish insults disguising genuine affection for the boys. Besides, even if he did, they’d probably let him have it just as hard, once they managed to catch their breath from dragging his ass over the finish line. “What are you–” she scoffed before she could stop herself, “–jealous?”

Bobby’s jaw ground as he clenched his teeth together and backed a few steps away from her. She hadn’t even noticed that they were nearly nose-to-nose. His bright blue eyes were electrified.

“No,” he said, voice dangerously low. It was the shortest sentence he’d ever spoken in his life and it freaked her out when he didn’t continue.

“Well, we’ll go back to his place then so you don’t have to hear all the slopping.” She knew she was being petty. But he had always been terrible at articulating what was actually bothering him; another side effect of his upbringing was the passive aggressive manner of arguing that his mother had ingrained in him.

He swatted a hand at her and she saw a little bit of the fight in his shoulders dissipate. “No, no. Don’t bother. I’m just…just tired. I’m gonna head to bed.” She watched as he passed her, the beer bottle hanging loose in his fingertips and his jaw still set, and entered his room across the hall from hers. He didn’t exactly slam the door, but her stomach was still in confused knots when it shut and she was left standing alone, staring after him and wondering what was actually plaguing him to make him lash out at her and George.

George. “Oh, shit!” she hissed and trotted into her own room, where Shorty was still laying on the bed. The almost-fight with Bobby leaked out of her head with worrying rapidity when she took in his bare chest and legs, stretched out and waiting for her, and the devilish grin he was wearing while he said, “Thought maybe you’d forgotten about me.”

The broken glass was not cleaned up until the next morning.

When she had disposed of the shards and the bucket holding them, she crawled back into her bed next to Shorty, who was still groaning himself awake and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The sex had, as predicted, been amazing, but the nagging thought that she should make her intentions with him clear was eating at her. Shorty was too sweet to blindside.

“Hey,” she began in a whisper, trailing a finger up his neck and chin to tap on his lips. He squeezed his eyes shut but cracked one open to peek at her. 

“Mm…good morning, sweetheart.”

Something inside her bristled. Before she had time to examine why, she decided to just plow forward. “Last night was so wonderful.” Shorty smiled and she felt her resolve weakening when she saw how the corners of his eyes crinkled. Maybe she could see a world where they went out. She tried to imagine sitting on the couch and watching shitty movies with him, or going on a pottery-painting date, or going clothes shopping and waiting for him to decide between two identical light green shirts (“This one is mint and this one is sage. You seriously can’t tell the difference?”). For some reason, her brain refused to conjure the image of Shorty in those settings. But he was still looking up at her expectantly, all doe eyes and mussed-up hair. 

“I was wondering if you would just want…kind of….uh…” She gestured to him and then to her, only three articles of clothing present between the two of them. “Keep this nice and casual.”

Nerves ate her alive as Shorty’s eyebrows raised and he let out a small “huh.” She gritted her teeth and started to apologize but he cut her off gently. “That is a-ok with me, baby. You’re a fuckin’ firecracker and if that’s what you want?” He pulled his hands out from under the duvet and offered his upturned wrists to her. “I am just a man.”

“Fuck, thanks, Shorty,” she smiled, relief washing over her. 

“Wanna keep things casual right now?” he asked with a wink. Heat flooded through her body and she wanted very much to say yes, yes I would, but her eyes fell to the digital alarm clock on her bedside table, and she shot upright.

“Dude, it’s 8:15! You can still make it to practice if you go now!” Shorty swore and sprang out of bed, pulling on clothes in whatever order he could reach them, catching the shoe she threw with expert reflexes and putting it on before his slacks. “I’ll text Joe and tell him to bring you extra clothes!” “Got some in back of my car,” he replied, but his words were muffled by the spare toothbrush that she pulled out of her dresser drawer, ripped free from its cardboard packaging, and shoved into his mouth. He hopped out of the room, only one leg in his pants, and down to the bathroom. She shouted directions for where to find toothpaste and soap and he grunted in affirmation as she heard the faucet turn on.

When she bent down to peer in the fridge and find something quick for him to eat on his way to the docks, she noticed a yellow post-it note stuck to the freezer door with a WSU magnet. 

Dead dove (waffles) do not eat (you may eat).

A sigh of gratitude and laugh of delight huffed out of her at the same time as she opened the freezer and pulled three frozen waffles out of the new box Bobby had purchased. Their spat from last night had been all but forgotten, and shame swirled inside her as she popped two of the waffles into the toaster and thought about how defeated her friend had been when he’d gone to bed. Clearly, he had awoken at the appropriate time and gone to the docks for practice already, but the note he’d left behind for her made an annoying little tear form in one eye. An annoying little tear for an annoying little guy.

Luckily, Shorty barreled into the kitchen before any more tears formed. At that exact moment, the waffles jumped from the toaster and startled her, but he just yanked them out of the grate, held one in his mouth while balancing the other in the hand that was also trying to button the dress shirt he’d worn last night. He pecked her cheek and mumbled through his mouthful of food, “Gimme a call, ya know, whenever!” 

Then he was gone, the slight rattle of the front door as it flew shut behind him the only evidence that she hadn’t just been standing in the kitchen, defrosted frozen waffle in hand, the entire morning. While she sat and ate her meager breakfast (her stomach didn’t seem able to handle much more than the waffle and a glass of water), she held the post-it between her fingers and considered it. Bobby was thoughtful, so thoughtful. Thoughtful and sweet. Cute, kind, sweet.

And jealous of the boys she dated. 

Which, she argued with herself, could be easily attributed to his possessive nature. She was his roommate and built-in best friend, and the prospect of her spending a lot more time with Shorty must have irked him because it would be taking time away from their hangouts. Right? 

The rebuttal to her argument was a completely unbidden remembrance of the time she had fallen asleep on the couch the night before an exam with two textbooks open on her legs and highlighters scattered all around her. She had blearily awoken to the sight of Bobby taking the books off of her and organizing her mess of supplies on the coffee table. She had kept pretending to be asleep as he laid the wool blanket that lived on the back of the couch over her and tucked it securely around her. A small smile had fought its way to her lips but vanished quickly when he leaned forward, smoothed the hair off her forehead, and whispered, “‘Night, sweetheart.”

That same thing inside her that had bristled when Shorty used the nickname stretched out and purred. Morning sunlight was starting to stream into the kitchen as she continued staring at the post-it in her hand, and the light catching it made her realize that there was writing on the back, as well. She turned it over and tried to decipher Bobby’s chicken scratch. 

I’m sorry about last night.

Next to this, he had clearly written a few letters then scratched them out. She couldn’t make out anything other than an “L”, but he had dashed an “X” and an “O” after the scribble. God, it was so very Bobby of him to apologize via post-it. It should have frustrated her more than it did. His casual acquaintances never guessed at his passive-aggression because he was always yelling about one thing or another, but she was one of the few that knew that the yelling usually concealed something deeper. 

Grabbing her phone from where it was charging on her desk, she checked the time to see that there were still a few minutes before 8:30. Practice hadn’t officially started yet. Shorty had shared his location with her last night when they were meeting up for dinner, and she quickly checked it, seeing with a chuckle that he had made it to the docks already. Breaking several traffic laws in the process, no doubt. 

She pulled up her and Bobby’s conversation. It was the only one pinned to the top of her inbox. The last sent message, from Bobby and the final in a series of twelve he had sent with no break, read “Also it’s probably going to rain today so bring an umbrella.” She pressed her lips together, fingers hovering over the keyboard.

thanks for the dead dove!! also i’m sorry too about last night :( dinner tonight with your fav roommate?

The reply came back in a matter of seconds.

You can read my mind, or somethin’ <3

or somethin’

masterlist

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for telling my mom I don't want my older brother moving back in?

People involved: Me (F25), my mom (F55), my older half brother ("Joe", M39), Joe's wife ("Nina", F28)

This situation is way too long and messy to give a full account of, so I'm gonna give the super condensed version. My mom has a lot of health problems and medical debt, and I live with her to help her. We both work 2 jobs to make ends meet and the house is falling apart in some places, but we're barely getting by.

Joe has been living with our grandmother for the last few years, but she's selling her house and moving into an assisted living facility. Joe has known about this for 2 months, and called my mom in tears 2 days before they close on the house asking her for help. Him and Nina have nowhere to put their dog (a rottweiler). Him and Nina have nowhere to put their boat (that they never use and I have no idea why he still has). Him and Nina have nowhere to stay (he had 2 months to find somewhere???)

One of my hard rules when I moved in with my mom is that Joe and Nina not be allowed back in the house for many, many reasons. To name just a few:

Nina is the reason Joe lost his 4 children 6 years ago, and the reason he hasn't done anything to get them back. She failed a drug test while she was pregnant with another man's baby (yes, she cheated on Joe). The baby was taken away as soon as it was born, and she was court ordered to not be around Joe's children until she passed a hair follicle test. Joe brought her around his children. Their bio mom found out and took him to court. Joe lost them. Now he can't even begin the process of getting them back until he and Nina can pass a drug test. Our family has offered to pay for said drug tests, but Nina refuses. She says she doesn't do drugs anymore and could pass it, but she just doesn't want to deal with the kids. Joe is apparently fine with this.

Joe and Nina both have stolen from nearly everyone in our family. They were regularly stealing from my grandmother while they lived with her, all of our aunts and uncles and most of our cousins have cut contact with them because they steal from them at holidays and birthdays.

Nina is lazy as fuck and can't do anything for herself. She lays in bed all day while Joe works 2, sometimes 3 jobs to support their drug habit. She won't cook. She won't clean. If she wants something she SCREAMS for Joe to get it for her.

And probably most importantly: Joe and Nina have stayed here dozens of times before, and it has never ended well. They always say they're only gonna be here a week or 2, but it always turns into months. They always trash the house. They always steal from me and my mom. They always drink and do drugs in our house. Several times I've gotten into physical altercations with Nina when I find her snooping through my room. The last time they were here we found out Joe was prostituting Nina for drugs from our house. We found this out because the cops came looking for them, and told us our house was "a known drug house". When they left, they told the family they left because I was a drug addict who was stealing from THEM.

Now I'll admit: all of this happened years ago, pre 2020. Joe SAYS he and Nina are clean, but I've heard that before. Joe SAYS they just need a month or 2 to find a place to stay, but I've heard that before. Joe SAYS he and Nina are sorry for how they treated us in the past, but I've heard that before.

My mom is a bleeding heart softie and is ready to let Joe come back with open arms, but I put my foot down and told her if he moves in I move out, and she KNOWS he won't help like I do. She tearfully told my brother he can't stay here, and has since been moping about how he's still her son, how she can't believe I'd put her in this position, how no one will give Joe a chance to prove he's changed, etc etc. But I just feel like I HAVE given Joe dozens of chances, and it's not my fault he kept throwing them back in my face. AITA?

What are these acronyms?