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pyrepostings · 2 months

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Whumperless Whump Event: The whump morning after

Tending to injuries / Domestic hurt comfort / “Let's check the bandages, okay?”

Free Birds and Fiddlers

cw: morally grey whumpee, improvised medical care, noncon reference, disabled whumpee, consensual drug use, usamerican writing UK setting with not enough time to check every regional difference, referenced past disordered eating

~~~

Kevin woke to the hiss of an oxygen mask, and pain. If he woke up at all, he expected it to be a hospital, wrists back in cuffs, and the air certainly tasted like it. But when he opened his eyes, a hospital room was not what he saw.

He found himself in a small cluttered bedroom. His arms were free, save for the IV hanging from a clothes hanger off of a curtain rod, the curtain itself covering the entire window. The warm orange lamp on the bedside table provided the light the window couldn't, and he really hoped it was the actual bulb flickering like a candle and not his brain.

He pawed at the plastic on his face, ignoring the way his abdomen flared. He just needed his lungs back under his own control.

Once his face was free and he could breathe in the musty, non sterile air of the room, he allowed himself a wince, and held his side. There were bandages over the wound, and touching them only made it hurt worse. He supposed that if he was still alive they were done well enough.

His entire body ached and flared as he tried to get up. He wasn't planning on going far, he just wanted to sit up, and not feel as helpless as he likely was.

As he was rolling to his side, trying to stretch aching joints, the door opened. A man he had never seen before entered, a cup of tea in hand. And behind him- a man Kevin recognized. Alex.

He felt his heartbeat quicken.

"Ah, none of that. Lay still, you'll pop your stitches."

"Listen to the doc, baby. He's pulled out more bullets than you've probably fired."

"Considering I fight with blades, that's only so impressive."

"Yeah, and how did that go for you?"

"Well, last I saw it, the building was no longer standing."

"Oh hush, you two. I said lay back down." The doc set the mug down on the bedside table, and the doctor's hand was pushing his raised shoulder gently back into the mattress. "I'll help prop you up with pillows but I need you to relax."

"How can I relax with a rapist standing over me? Where's my gear?"

"Hey! I saved your sorry ass. I found you bleeding out and brought you here."

"Well I'd take a prison med-bay or bleeding out in that alley over owing you anything, so don't expect thanks." He tried to stand, with great effort, but quickly remembered why he hadn't planned on it.

"Wheres my staff?" He demanded.

"The doc said to lay back down, you don't need it."

"And I'm telling you that if you don't give back every atom of gear I had, we're going to have problems, and I am so fucking done putting up with you."

As sharp as his glare was, Kevin really wished he had his knives to back up the threat.

The doctor spoke. "Hey, Kevin, right? I'll get you your stuff, it's just in the other room. But you can't leave this flat, alright? There's a warrant out for your arrest. People are looking for you and for anyone who escaped. You're injured-"

"I've been injured before, I'll walk it off. Give me my staff."

"You don't understand, you're safe here-"

"Great, then give. Me. My. Staff. Back."

The doctor considered him for a moment. "Fine, but you need to rest. Even walking across the room could pop your stitches now, you don't want that."

"Fine then. I suppose as long as all my property is returned and Alex stays very away from me, I'll stay here and rest." Not that I like it.

To Alex the doctor said, "Give us a minute, ok?"

And thankfully Alex did leave with a huff.

"I'll help you sit, here." The doctor propped the pillows and held put a hand to help Kevin settle back.

Now that the adrenaline was fading, he was back to feeling every flare of pain that came with every movement. He tried to suppress it, but that only worked so well. It's not like he was expecting to get painkillers.

"So, doc, why am I not in a real hospital? You even a real doctor?"

"I am. I just also have a deal with the local crime boss to heal his goons on the down low, and so Alex brought you to me. If you really want to be brought there I understand, but I recommend you stay here."

"Hm." The silence stretched as Kevin was handed the mug of tea and sipped.

"My name's Martin, by the way."

"Ah, are you Doc Martin, then?"

He rolled his eyes as if he's heard the joke before. "Yeah I guess you could say that."

"Can I have my things now, please?"

"Yes, of course."

Doc Martin returned quickly with a bundle of familiar objects and set them beside Kevin on the bed. His short wooden staff, more of a cane really but that was because his actual staff would be too clunky on his back during flight, he propped against the nightstand. He took inventory of the rest.

Two plain knives, about 4 inches of steel. Cleaned, by someone other than himself, but needs sharpening. Two much longer blades, similar story. Attached to these is the homemade flight gear he forged in secret. Mostly intact, save for the right punctured gas tank, likely the same bullet that he could now thank for temporarily confining him to the bed.

Leather harness, intact. One unused smoke bomb. No unused explosives. One detonator remote, intact. A combat mask, painted black with a green clover outlined around the left eye, intact though lenses smeared with soot. A black woolen cloak, emblazoned with no emblem, ripped but usable, no blood visible or otherwise apparent to the touch, likely cleaned. Knee high combat boots, intact. Trousers, socks, pants, freshly washed. The loose clothing he wore was not his own.

"Where's my shirt?"

"Still hanging to dry by the washer. I had to soak it for awhile to get the bloodstain out. It's still there if you squint, but I got most of it. Do you want it back now?"

"No, but I do when it's dry."

Emergency med kit, mostly untouched. He took note of the bracelet he put on himself preceding the attack still on his wrist. Big red cross symbol, and the drugs he put in his system, the dosage and time and his weight. Blood type. Just because he wasn't scared of death didn't mean he wanted to die because some well meaning doctor didn't know he had numbing agents in his system already.

Small box containing quick hair dye, and concealer meant to go over the tattoo on his temple, could still be useful.

"Hey, Martin. You said there's a warrant out for me. Do they know it's me who took down the building, or they grasping at straws, do you think?"

"Mmh, hard to say for sure. But they do know you ditched your parole officer last year, were held in that prison before that. They know about the face tattoo of yours matches the one on the mask, though not the placement. They showed your mugshot on the telly as a suspect, but it looks like they didn't get your face from the attack. They also know you're capable of murder, and telling civilians not to engage with you but rather phone in tips."

"Technically, it was self defense."

"Technically, they have you on record insisting you killed a close friend in cold blood."

Kevin closed his eyes and leaned back into the cushions. "Ah, right then. So now they believe me."

The silence stretched between them.

"So, are you hungry?"

Kevin couldn't help but laugh at that. "Ah, that is the question, isn't it?"

"What?"

"It- it's not important. I'll eat your food, if you insist."

"Alright. And then after I want to change your bandage."

Masterlist

@whumperless-whump-event

#whumperless whump event #whumperless whump event day 19 #Yay I got it done with a little more than an hour to spare #If any regional differences make any UK readers cringe please tell me I want to fix them #Kevin my dear oc #Free birds and fiddlers #Disabled whumpee #Noncon tw #Disordered eating tw #(<-kinda)

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minniedoozer · 2 years

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My AFTG Playlists!

neil

andrew

kevin (the loml)

nicky

dan

they aren’t concrete, i’ll still add and take away songs especially since i’m not finished the series BUT! i’m proud of em <3

#aftg #all for the game #the foxhole court #don’t tell me i’m wrong i’ll cry #genuinely haven’t thought about anything else #i’ll add more later #andrew minyard #neil josten #kevin day #dan wilds #nicky hemmick #ask me why i picked songs please please

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literalgrill · 9 months

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Do NOT Support Hard Drive On Patreon

You might see friends today suggesting you support Hard Drive on Patreon today. You know, the funny video games version of The Onion? As a journalist, I will firmly tell you DO NOT GIVE THEM A DIME.

The CEO has pushed out all former staff that have built the site up to its current greatness and has been pushing the use of AI. The staff begged to have a Patreon before basically all being pushed out, but the idea was refused until now, when it will only line the pockets of a single person instead of hard working writers.

I know they might have provided laughs before, but Hard Drive is a shell of what it was once. Let it die and support the people who actually made those moments of joy possible. Don't believe me? Check out what former employees are saying below:

Kevin Podas: Okay you know what, I would feel bad saying nothing about this, so here goes:🚨SAVE YOUR MONEY🚨

We passionately advocated for a Patreon at Hard Drive & were aggressively shot down. The talent & people who built the site were pushed out. To see this now is beyond upsetting. For the past few years or so I put a lot of myself into this website. I pitched a ton of jokes, got over 120 articles published, & met a lot of great people. I'm sure if you've been following me for some time you could easily see this.

However, there is a lot of misinformation. I was eventually promoted to Managing Editor of the site & was ecstatic. Grateful for the opportunity. Felt like all of my hard work in the comedy mines was finally paying off. But things took a turn for the worst, & each day there were new surprises that affected our livelihoods. These were all very avoidable surprises, mind you.

A patreon was going to be our hail mary, but alas, for some reason, the power that be did not want it. Causing us to leave a dream job behind. "At least we did all we could," we consoled ourselves afterwards. I put a lot of myself into this project. I pitched all sorts of ideas that could have helped-- we all did. Merch collaborations, Patreon-integrated YouTube content, so much more. And most of them were shot down out of sheer stubbornness and nothing more. To see lie after lie spread, and multiple big publications and YouTubers that I am a fan of promote this Patreon under these pretenses is incredibly upsetting. There are so many receipts.

Please share this and consider pulling out if you've already put money into this. On Hard Drive using AI, also from Kevin Podas: I can't personally confirm that part aside from some of the recent header images for articles on both Hard Drive and Hard Times are being made with AI. As far as writing, it's been mentioned in the past, but I personally do not know. Maybe others do, maybe not. MORE From Kevin Podas suggesting the owner denying a Patreon being set up earlier cost an artist a job that was replaced by AI: We had a social media person who was awesome! He made the images until this AI implementation. He had to leave because ad revenue was low and a Patreon was aggressively refused.

Luca Fisher: at the risk of burning some bridges, i have to back up kevin here. i've only been part-time, in-and-out of hard drive since i got in last year, but i can corroborate that management doubled and tripled down about not hosting a patreon/crowdfunding and that many other suggestions and ideas, including mine (and ones much smarter than mine!), were shot down in really long, apocalyptic threads of everyone left on deck desperately trying to come up with ways to keep the lights on. managerially it has been messy and sad

i've written for multiple publications that have long since died, ones that were in the process of dying, and ones that, in this case, are soon to be put in the ground. it is sad and sucks every time. i don't know what could have been done differently, but i do know that a lot of great writers and content creators were left shorthanded and unhappy by the way things have gone. and it is sort of puzzling to see the sudden championing of patreon after we were all told plenty of times that it couldn't work and we should move on also, just to add my own personal two cents here, i was really disappointed by the shuttering of many different article sections on the site over the past 6-8 months. i understand cutting corners in a deficit, and i know it had to be done. that said…

all in all, i'm really sad to see this all happen. i don't fault anyone, if only because i don't really know enough about how this all can happen to make sense of it. games journalism is in a sad, sorry state, and will likely no longer be a thing in the next decade

VideoSealMan: I'm gonna say this because I think I deserve to. For months, MONTHS on end I was bugging Hard Drive management about a Patreon. Often I got ignored for a week+, but when I actually got a response I was encouraged to - of all things, write up a Google Doc pitching the concept I did it regardless. I wasn't the only one trying to sway management on a Patreon, but so fiercely was I fighting for it that last night, I was accused of making this comment directly by the CEO! With no evidence whatsoever! After I'd been gone for over a month.

I vouched so hard for Patreon because I wanted all the writers and creatives working with Hard Drive including myself to get paid better. When I actually got a response, the idea was often shut down. Eventually due to the state of my company, my pay was cut for a second time I confronted management alongside a couple other important figureheads at the org and told them that if we couldn't do a Patreon - I could no longer financially justify staying there. The answer was still no, so I left. Baffled at the decision, but whatever.

It is unendingly frustrating to know that myself and many other people who put their soul into Hard Drive LEFT because of management's absolute refusal to compromise on a Patreon, to then see them launch one anyway a month later and get over 1000 people pledging money. I'm seeing a lot of things float around about greed and people being fired. No one was fired. Everyone who left, left because they were sick of management's decision-making. And honestly, management is a lot of things but I would not call them greedy. (From my experience.) They did genuinely make an effort to pay people as much as possible. I found the pay very fair for a while. I am not disputing that I was paid what I was owed - yet management frequently feels the need to remind critics of that. Lmao, yes. I was paid what I was owed. No one is disputing payment. You did the bare minimum a business owner should do and paid everyone their due, very well done. I make no allegations of greed, cheating or foul play. I make allegations of poor management and incompetence that has fucked over other people.

Basically the only people left at Hard Drive have been there for about 2 months. They will reap the rewards of this successful Patreon I and so many others passionately fought for for so long. We will not see a dime.

I do not know the new people at Hard Drive, But I feel bad for them. They were haphazardly thrust into Hard Drive's workplace with little to no explanation on how anything works, or given any context on the state of the place. Even now managements feeds them half-truths and misinformation about other people's grievances. I am broke and have been for a while. I had to move out of my flat in Reading and back with my family because of how little money I was making. This has basically doomed my flatmate to moving back in with abusive parents, which is something I feel guilty about every day. If we had gone with the Patreon I worked myself hoarse over back then, this could have been avoided. Some of my other good pals could also not have been fucked over.

It was a bad judgment call, but it's not a crime. It's just management getting it wrong.

So should you give to the Hard Drive Patreon? I don't know! I don't think any of the new people working there to patch up the holes left by the recent mass exodus have any bad intentions. Maybe they deserve it! But it is not the same site you knew a year ago, or even a month ago. Myself and many people who were there far longer than me and did far more for it than I did are all gone now because we could not deal with management's terrible decision-making and dogass communication any longer. That's what you should know, imo

I had an agreement in place with management that I would receive the next 8 months of revenue from the Hard Drive YT channel from my leaving in November. This was a deal I appreciated, and thought was very fair on management's behalf. So far, the deal has been honoured for 2 months. However as of last night I was removed from the Hard Drive Slack without warning, and as an editor for the YouTube channel. This means I no longer have any way of verifying how much I am owed, I just have to take their word for it. I'm sure management will make their own statements full of half-truths and weird language on the many cases being brought against them - I'd take everything they say with a pinch of salt if some of the screenshots I've seen of them talking about me are any indication lol

To management; I do not want to talk to you. I want you to DM me a screenshot of how much I'm owed every month and then send me the money per our agreement until June, then we can go our separate ways. Do that and admit to your mistakes, and maybe you can recover your reputation! That's it from me, lol. If they pull out of the deal and fuck me over I'll have more to say, but most of what I know is other people's stories of incompetence and poor decision-making, lol. I genuinely get no pleasure out of doing this; I do not think management is evil - I just think they're really bad at what they do and it's cost other, more talented people, lol. You should believe the writers imo

One last thing I wanna say btw, management did often stress that no one should try to make Hard Drive a full time thing. They were transparent about that, and that is fair. I was working on it because at a few points, I was lead to believe we actually were doing a Patreon. Many other ppl have similar stories of being strung along by management changing their minds and stop-starting shit every 2 weeks. We all made the fatal mistake of overestimating our manager - who would tell you one thing one day and something totally opposite the next week lol

Hunter R. Thompson:

I'm not your dad, but speaking as a Hard Drive writer, I don't know that funding Hard Drive on Patreon is worth it

The driving talent on the back end—behind the kickass site I joined in 2019—have peaced out over the years as the site's been (in our view) increasingly mismanaged. Mismanagement like, not setting up crowdfunding before the ship sank and all its best crew failed; or publishing a screenshot of Andy Ngo pedojacketing a trans writer, complete with her deadname; or a disgruntled ex-writer getting falsely accused of shit-talk, by actual staff. I'm grateful for the writing I've gotten to produce for HD (and will forever be kicking myself for not writing even more, in the four years I've had to do it!! i'm a dumbass!!!) but it is very much no longer the site I signed up for.

I don't want to resign as a contributor altogether, because I'm open to the idea of the site recovering and bad practices being retired as finances level out-- it would just be dishonest for potential backers to not be Aware Of The Circumstances, I think.

Jeremy Kaplowitz: i truly don't want to start shit, but feel compelled to say: i want to see Hard Drive succeed w/o resorting to throwing former writers & editors, myself included, under the bus. surely there's a way to save the site without building it over the corpses of those who left. my $0.02 i don't blame anyone who wants to sign up for the HD patreon and i support the website, but that includes those who worked on it for years, have complaints, and don't deserve to be treated like bitter assholes like this kind of stuff is just objectively true, meanwhile there's these new writers who joined the site after i left (meaning, in the last ~3 months) claiming people are liars. decide for yourself if you care, but this is what happened! [Quotes this Tweet]

Seth Finkelstein: Writing for Hard Drive has been a privilege the past few years, and it makes me so angry to see people I looked up to get jerked around behind the scenes. The amount of grenades the editors jumped on our behalf is immense, and I don't think the way they're being treated is right.

Other Bits On AI: We do know for sure however that AI art has been used by the site. Its fucking owner confirms it here:https://twitter.com/MattSaincome/status/1743040541603123622. Seems the owner pushed AI written articles as well! TayFabe: My vaguetweet is making the rounds & these made me apoplectic. - owner regularly lobbied using ai. Once he tested it & said ai was writing better satire than 25% of the HT/HD writers. - ai images were used on the site & socials w/o consulting the team or disclosing it publicly I found the ai bit relevant to include bc 1) it illuminates a stark change in HD's current direction & leadership, 2) ai images have previously been used on the site and (since deleted) ig posts, 3) ai content fucking sucks, and repeatedly pushing to use it is a telling quality The "handful of writers who chose to leave" includes 2 editors-in-chief (both cofounders who wrote a combined total of >1,000 articles & defined the voice of HD), & at least 3 other editors. These guys put in WORK since 2017, so cool to be corrected by ppl who joined in Nov 2023 [Link to mentioned vague tweet from post.] More from TayFabe: owner continuously lobbied for using ai in every possible way. No one else wanted to do it, but he kept on, saying ai was writing better satire than 25% of the HT/HD writers. Also, ai images were used on the site & socials without public disclosure or consulting the team.

The owner has responded now multiple times in a private discord... Thank you for people sharing screenshots! First Screenshot:

Kevin's Response: He banned me from the server for speaking out, so no, I didn't see it. And he gave no indication of a timeline, it was just "we'll do one when *I* say so" and gave every inclination he was totally against it. It bred an environment that pushed our hands to have to leave. Screenshot Round Two:

Kevin's Response: "Starting one in 3 months" is an absolute lie. He denied it, I have screenshots and others who can confirm. No timeline was given. Just "this is what it is now" and like, I couldn't live off of that. I wanted to do more but he was allergic to good ideas from others around him.

Matt, owner of Hard Drive, responds publicly on Twitter.

Matt: Kevin, the patreon launch was delayed because I didn't think it would work. Everyone is happy that it did work. Everyone who left the site because we didn't have money to pay for creative content which didn't revenue is welcome to return home. But unclear why the hostility.

Hard Drive paid out literally every dollar it had, then a bunch more, to creative people who worked on the site. When we ran out of money, we couldn't pay anymore. We did our best.

Kevin: Right, and my point of this thread was that it was completely and totally avoidable. This is reasonable to be upset about. How could I have been any more clear?

Matt: If we knew with 100% certainly that the community would have supported us via patreon, we would have done that. We didn't know. We had tried 4 years ago and got no support. We were wrong this time. We did our best to figure it out. We paid all the money we could.

Kevin: So you knew with 100% certainty this time? Or you took a leap of faith?

Matt: It was a last gasp panic effort after ad rates got cut in half on january 1st due to seasonal spending changes. We didn't know it would work. We were embarrassed to ask for support. We wanted to figure it out.

Kevin: Every site has a Patreon. Every YouTuber, comedy group, etc. But you insisted that nobody cared about Hard Drive. Which is wildly untrue. I know you see that now, but again, I think you can see why I and many others are pretty upset. A last ditch panic effort was long overdue. A couple more things from Matt:

It was about the size of the hole we needed plugged budget wise, the time I had left of personal resources, and the past data I had about us trying a patreon (which turned out to be a bad indicator). I didn't think the Patreon would help us fast enough. I made a bad estimation

aka "if we make $1000 more dollars a month via patreon, which would be 10x what we got last time, we will not solve any of our problems. If instead we try to plow down path B, we might make it out in time." That was the thinking. I chose the wrong path, but didn't mean to Kevin also retweeted this comment from the user Matt was responding to: So you're saying that you're bad at running the business, didn't listen to any of your employees until after they were forced to leave their jobs, and now you're going to get more of the money from the Patreon that was their idea in the first place? Matt's Response: Respectfully, I made a mistake delaying the patreon decision. But keeping a comedy site alive for 9 years is not easy, there are lots of potential ideas, and think overall we've done a good and honorable job. Will leave this thread in peace now to allow people their space.

Sorry for linking to Elon's hellsite (derogatory), but sources need links so...

#video games #patreon #hard drive #ai critical

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catboygretzky · 6 months

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Exyblr Dashboard Simulator based on what I personally see on sportsblr:

1/?

👑 girlbossriko follow

how many bro jobs do you think it took before riko moriyama and kevin day realized that uh.....maybe this wasn't just a bro thing

👢exyinaphonebooth follow

how many times do they have to come out and say they're like brothers before you freakos stop shipping them

👑 girlbossriko follow

????? do i know u

#it's a tumblr post about two exy players that you'lll never meet in your life it really isn't that deep

558 notes

💃fox-me-up follow

ngl that newest fox is kinda 👀

#psu lb #exy lb

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👨🏻‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏻 talk-exy-to-me

The NARRATIVE that kevin day and neil josten have........son of exy! scouting the rookie-est of rookies from fuck knows arizona........no listen you dont GET IT winning is EVERYTHING TO KEVIN and he would risk it on the foxes? And NEIL? who has only played exy for a year! NEIL Gets his attention!!!!! And hes good and he's getting better every game and he keeps bitching about kevin's ex on live tv BUT WAIT!???? NOT QUITE WHAT YOU EXPECT! Bc then neil shows up with a number on his cheek BECAUSE WELL it turns out they've known each other since they were KIDS! how is everyone not insane w me THEY'RE LITERALLY PERFECT

#where r my fellow njkd truthers #how r u all not here with me this isnt even the start #kevneil #210 #psu #njkd

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☀️ usctrojanny

every smiley blonde striker (jeremy knox) needs a brunette wet cat emotional support backliner (jean moreau)

#jerejean #usc trojans #i'm just saying 🤷‍♀️

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👸🏻 kevindazed follow

did he just......

👸🏻 kevindazed follow

guys please tell me i'm not insane

👸🏻 kevindazed follow

HE'S NEVER BEEN????? SKIIING???? KEVIN WHAT DOES THAT MEAN ?????? KEVIN PLEASE

#i i'm going insane i will literally die if someone doesn't explain this to me HE'S NEVER BEEN SKIING?!!!!

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🧚 goalie-stan

oh....i'm feeling so weak......it'd sure be nice to have a big strong goalie (renee walker) hold me up (renee if you're free on tuesday i am also free on tuesday.........on tuesday this tuesday, any tuesday?)

#literally passing out just thinking about her holding me don't call don't text i'm busy

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🌄 softkevinday follow

do u think if u offered kevin day essential oils to heal his hand he'd beat you to death

#it'd be hard for him bc he only has one hand but he could probably do it #legally this is a joke don't do this

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🗣️ jeremyknoxes follow

feeling normal

215 notes

📜 realexyblog

actually exy rpf is fine, i asked kayleigh day herself and she told me it was fine

112 notes

🐋 sexyexy

'exy is a stupid name for a sport' have you considered that a) i don't care and b) it's named that solely so i can make sex jokes about it

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🏳️‍🌈 gay4stickball follow

is he, ya know *mimes jerking off* an ncaa exy player

#i don't believe that straight exy players exist

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🙈 ittybittyminny follow

Andrew Minyard!!!!!!! 🥰🥰 short king!!!!🤏🤏😋😋 Awwwwwwww the scrunkly!!!!! 🤗🤗🤗 My boinky boy!!!!!🥺🥺 Crinkly doo,,,,shronkle scrimblo......🥺🥺🥺 rb if you'd scrunkle!!!!!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

📖 sapphic-exy follow

he literally killed someone

🙈 ittybittyminny follow

And? God forbid women do anything

#also no proof he did that #yeah there's proof his twin bro killed someone but that's not the same bc theyre different people #almost killing someone doesnt count

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🐦‍⬛ edgarallenexy

got told i'm problematic for liking the ravens? THAT'S LITERALLY MY SCHOOL OH MY GOD

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🌸 softexy

Kevin Day - A Study

#kevin day #psu foxes #palmetto foxes #exy #web weave #poetry #psu foxes #palmetto #edgar allen

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#i'm not taking criticism bc i am on sportsblr and this is literally what it's like #all for the game #neil josten #kevin day #andrew minyard #renee walker #jeremy knox #jean moreau #aftg #the foxhole court #jerejean #kevneil #the web weave is the most accurate part of this post #exyblr #riko moriyama

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roosterforme · 4 months

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Covering the Classics Part 14 | Bob Floyd x OC

Summary: Once again, Anna can't seem to get what she wants from Kevin. Bob realizes she needs a break, and the last thing he wants to do is leave her alone. He convinces her to go somewhere he knows she will be safe.

Warnings: Angst, Kevin is a dick, bruises on Anna's arm, adult language, 18+

Length: 4900 words

Pairing: Robert "Bob" Floyd x Female OC (this story is part of the Beer Boy/Sugar and Jake/Jessica universe)

Covering the Classics masterlist. Check my masterlist for more!

Of course this would happen. On the day when Anna was supposed to meet Bob, one of her colleagues from the English department actually wanted to chat in the lounge. Dr. Lukas was usually quiet, but today he wanted to have an in depth conversation about Anna's Classics lecture and whether or not she would mind if he sat in.

"Please, stop by any time. I would love to get some feedback from you." If she was going to stay in San Diego and try for tenure, she may as well get friendly with someone who'd been at the university for longer than she'd been alive. When she finally excused herself to drop the stack of quizzes she printed in her office before heading to Chippy's, she felt a little sadder.

Would she be able to stay here indefinitely? Could she give up on her manuscript and get something just as fulfilling out of her job teaching here? She wanted to have both. Something about being with Bob and knowing he was falling for her made her feel like she could have both. Her manuscript and her job. The best thing about her old life and one of the best things about her new life in California.

Lost in thought as she took the elevator back up, she turned down the hallway to her office and almost screamed when her door came into view. She froze up, somehow unable to decide if fight or flight was her best option. But it didn't matter. He saw her. He was already walking her way. Once again, he had the upper hand in this scenario. Even when she tried to catch him off guard, he managed to surprise her just as much.

And now a truly devastating thought occurred to her. Kevin knew where she worked. He had taken it upon himself to figure that much out. But what if he knew more than that?

"Anna," he said with a smile as if he was greeting an old friend and not his estranged wife he spent years taking advantage of. "I've been waiting for you."

A chill ran down her spine as she tried to push her shoulders back to her tallest height, and she knew he could tell she was nervous. "Waiting for what, Kevin?"

"Well," he started blandly, "you thought it was okay to interrupt my work event, so I decided I would do the same."

Her stomach felt like it sank to her feet. She needed to find a way to send him packing before she could attempt to leave the building. "I actually have plans tonight, so..."

He laughed in response. "You mean the nerdy guy with glasses? Yeah, I already sent him packing. Your plans are with me now."

"What do you mean you sent him packing?" Did Bob try to stop by her office rather than waiting for her at Chippy's? When she took her phone from her pocket to text him, Kevin snatched it from her fingertips.

Anna was completely alone with him right now, and he was scowling down at her. "I said your plans are with me. I'll hold onto this if it's going to be a distraction for you."

When she crossed her arms over her chest, she could feel the tender bruises on her arm where he grabbed her at his conference. She shouldn't have gone there, and now she didn't know what to do. When Kevin pocketed her phone, she asked, "Would you like to sit in my office and talk?"

"No," he replied calmly. "I think we should go back to your apartment on Monroe Avenue to chat."

There was no use in denying the fact that he just named her street, so she didn't even try. "I think I'd rather chat here."

"And I think I'd rather chat about your manuscript somewhere more private," he snapped even though nobody was around. Then he pulled a USB drive from his pocket, and Anna wanted to lunge for it on his open palm. "We can discuss how you're going to split any profits with me."

Before she could even make a decision about reaching for it, Kevin's fingers closed around it again. He already knew where she lived, and if he actually had her writing with him, she needed to try to play by his rules. "Fine," she told him, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "But only if you give me back my phone."

He nodded once. "As soon as we get to my rental car which is parked a block and a half away."

She could make it that far. She kept her eyes on him as she unlocked her office door, dropped off her quizzes for the following day and locked up again behind her. Then she followed a few steps behind Kevin as he walked down the stairs, out of the building and along the sidewalk, not stopping until he got to a silver Lexus.

"Phone," Anna said, realizing that Bob was going to think she stood him up at this point. That idea made her more upset at the moment than anything Kevin could do to her. She held out her hand and Kevin placed it on her palm. She saw some missed calls from Bob, but she didn't want to piss Kevin off any further at the moment, so she dropped it into her bag.

When they were both inside the rental car on the very short drive to her place, Kevin said, "So, Anna, how do you like living in California?"

"It's better than New Jersey," she retorted immediately.

Kevin snorted. "What's the saying? A New Jersey eight is a California three? I'm surprised you got that poor guy to sleep with you. And I'm surprised you can go out in the sun here without getting a blistering sunburn all over your freckles."

Anna sat there quietly, counting her blessings. She really only had three of them. Friends, a job, and her own apartment. "Are you going to give me that USB drive?" she asked when they were close to her place.

"If you sign some paperwork for me. You seemed keen on waving some bullshit from your lawyer in my face yesterday, so I'm sure I can get you to take a look at what I brought with me."

She hated him and his tone of voice, but mostly she hated the idea of him inside her apartment with her. She took a deep breath as she eventually unlocked her door and let him follow her into her tiny studio.

"Nice place," he said, clearly mocking everything he saw.

"Is it any shock to you that this is all I can afford, Kevin?" she snapped.

"I guess my medical degree is worth more than your arts PhD, huh? God bless medical school."

"You paid for it with my dime," she hissed, barely in control of her emotions now. She could see a smile spreading across Kevin's lips, and she knew she desperately needed to get a grip.

"You were a pretty good wife in some respects," he said, laughing at the look on her face. "But now you've become a pain in my ass. And the little stunt you pulled yesterday at my conference was enough to make me want to find you and let you know how it's going to be from here on out. Okay, Anna?"

When she didn't respond, he pulled that little USB drive from his jacket pocket along with a single folded up piece of paper. He smoothed it out before handing it to her.

"Go ahead and sign that for me, and you can have what you want." That little bit of plastic was back on his palm, and she was almost afraid to take her eyes off of it to read the document. But when she did, she found it was drafted up by his lawyer. He wanted half of any money she made through her writing. The idea of it made her want to throw up.

"And what if I don't agree to this?" she whispered.

"Then I keep it. I don't personally need it as badly as you seem to, so I'd think about how generous I'm being if I were you."

"Why are you like this?" Anna nearly shouted. "Why?"

And that's when Kevin snapped. "You tried to intimidate me!" he hollered. "At my own conference! After my keynote introduction! Do you really think I'm going to let that fucking slide?" Her lips were quivering as she pressed them together, but he just continued. "You're such a bitch, Anna. And apparently someone called Alyssa after they saw you there! She thinks we're already in the process of getting divorced!"

"We could have been by now! But you won't let me go with what's mine!"

But Kevin just yelled over her, and Anna briefly wondered if her neighbors could hear them. "You like your new job? Teaching reading comprehension to adults? I hope you still like it when I do everything in my power to get you fired!"

Tears filled her eyes, and her ears were ringing from his voice. When her apartment door flew open and hit the wall, she thought she had imagined it. But even her imagination couldn't perfectly conjure up Bob Floyd in his Dungeons & Dragons shirt and jeans, cheeks red with anger while his blue eyes flashed behind his glasses.

He was on Kevin immediately, taking him by surprise. Anna fleetingly took note of Kevin's shocked expression before Bob slammed him into the wall next to her bed. She gasped as Bob's forearm met Kevin's neck. "Don't yell at her," he said in that voice she loved so much. But he was gruff and angry right now, and Anna's heart pounded erratically as he added, "You don't get to yell at her like that."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Kevin grunted, but Bob had him pinned firmly in place. "You're just some guy she's fucking."

Anna wanted to vanish into thin air. The way Kevin tried to make her sound disgusting in front of Bob made her skin crawl with shame. But all Bob did was glance back at her and calmly ask, "Are you okay?"

When she nodded, he turned back to Kevin and pushed him a little harder against the wall, and that's when Anna jumped to action. "Don't hurt him, Bob. Please, just let him go." She was shaking, terrified that after months and months, Bob would get himself in trouble over her. "He's not worth it."

When Bob loosened his hold, he stood firmly in place just inches in front of Kevin with his back to Anna. She had never felt protected like this in her life. Kevin pointed at her over Bob's shoulder and barked, "The deal is off the table."

"Just leave!" she begged, hands shaking relentlessly now. She needed him to go. She really needed both of them to go so she could have a panic attack in peace.

Kevin shoved past Bob and headed for the door, and Bob locked it behind him. Then he turned to look at her, and she had nowhere to go as she sank down onto the floor next to her mattress and started to cry. Bob was there in an instant, and Anna was too tired to fight it when he collected her into his arms. She crawled into his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck and just cried until she was done. His hands were firm and solid against her back, and then he whispered, "Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded against his neck, inhaling his clean scent. "It's my fault he knows where I work. It's my fault he knows where I live," she hiccupped. "I shouldn't have tested him like I did."

He just hummed and rubbed her back, his fingers tangling in her long hair. "Nothing Kevin decides to do is anyone's fault but his own. Now let's get you out of here."

Anna pulled away from him and swiped at the tears on her cheeks as she asked, "What do you mean? Where am I supposed to go?" She gestured around her tiny living space, but Bob's eyes remained on her face. "This is where I live."

"I'm not leaving you here," he whispered softly. "If he knows where you live and where you work, I don't think you should be here or on campus alone."

"He's mostly harmless," she insisted softly.

Bob just looked sad as he sighed and started to stand. "He was screaming at you, Anna. And I don't like that. Will you please come with me?"

He was holding out his hand as she looked up at him. "Where?"

"My house. You can stay with me."

------------------------------------

Bob watched as Anna collected some of her things. She looked so flustered, shoving clothing, toiletries and her computer into a backpack and a tote bag. She handed them to him and walked around her little apartment in a bit of a daze.

"I'll bring the food from my fridge for my lunch and some quarters for the laundromat," she muttered before chewing on her lip. Bob reached out and took her gently by the hand as she tried to walk past him, and she looked up at him with wide brown eyes.

"Anna, I have plenty of food. And a washer and dryer."

She took a few deep breaths and said, "But I can't just use all of your stuff. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can," he replied immediately. "But you need a break. My house is quiet. There are books and groceries. You can do your laundry. Let's go."

This time she nodded and let him lead her toward the door, but Bob accidentally kicked something across the floor and looked down to find a white USB drive hit the wall next to her bed. "Oh my god," she gasped, releasing his hand and lunging for it. She was kneeling and looking up at him as she whispered, "Kevin dropped it."

Bob's brow furrowed. "What's it from?"

She looked so hopeful now as she stood. "I think it might have my manuscript on it."

"Oh," Bob said in surprise. "Let's get out of here and check it." Anna's hand was back in his the whole way down the stairs, and when he held the door open for her, he pulled her a little closer. "What kind of car was he driving?"

"It was a silver Lexus sedan," she told him, and Bob started looking around at all of the parked cars. "I really don't think he would hang around. I'm telling you, he's an asshole, but he's harmless."

Bob wasn't going to risk it, even though Anna seemed excited now. He opened the passenger side door of his truck and helped her climb in before setting her bags at her feet. Then he walked to the end of the block, looking everywhere for something that could be Kevin's car. When he finally climbed into his truck and started the engine, he drove a slightly convoluted route back to his place, watching for any flash of silver paint.

"Thanks for looking out for me," Anna said softly as he pulled up to the curb in front of his house. "Even after everything."

He wanted to tell her that he would take care of everything if she would let him, but he didn't want to let his feelings overwhelm either of them. "You don't have to thank me for anything. Let's get inside and I'll make dinner while you check that USB drive."

Bob was thankful that Suzanne's door was closed, otherwise he would have had to explain to her why Anna was holding his hand and carrying her overnight bags. As soon as they were in his living room, he made sure his door was locked up tight while she scrambled to get her computer out. She sank down onto the couch and inserted the USB drive, glancing up at him with hopeful eyes. Then her face went expressionless when she looked at the screen.

"It's blank." That didn't sound surprising at all to Bob, and he sighed in relief as she said, "I thought this might be the case." She pushed her computer onto the couch cushion and stood saying, "Will you let me make dinner for you?"

He laughed softly and shook his head. "I already told you that you need a break." He plucked a collection of poems by Emily Dickinson from the top of his book shelf and handed it to her. "Read this. I'll tell you when it's ready."

"Thanks," she whispered, accepting the book from him.

Bob left her in the living room, making a mental list of things he needed to take care of as he peeled some carrots and preheated the oven to cook some chicken breasts. It would only take him a minute to make up the futon in the extra bedroom. He would pack two lunches for tomorrow instead of one. He also needed to call Jessica.

He wished he had something fancier to send Anna to work with, but he did have everything he needed to make sandwiches and fruit salads, and he had some packs of salted peanuts and cans of ginger ale. Once the chicken was in the oven, he slipped out the back door onto his patio, glancing at the street behind him for a silver Lexus while he called Jessica.

"I know, I know," she said when she answered. "I was supposed to send you the notes from D&D, but Jake took me out to dinner. We're on the way home now. I'll send it before bed."

"Hey," he replied. "No, I actually need to ask you to do something else."

"Anything," she replied easily, and Bob was so thankful for his friends.

"If you agree to do it, I need you to not ask a lot of questions at the moment."

"Sure," she told him so casually, his heart literally swelled.

"Anna is staying here with me for a while. Can you pick her up in the mornings on your way to work? I can get her after I leave base in the afternoon, but since you're heading into the city anyway-"

"Yeah. No problem. I can get her around 8:30 or 8:40," she told him. If she was surprised by his request, she didn't show it.

"Thank you, Jess," he said. He added, "I haven't given up," before he ended the call. He made an additional mental note that he needed to pull the weeds in Suzanne's vegetable garden, and then he headed back inside.

--------------------------

Somewhere in the romantic throes of Emily Dickinson, Anna passed out on Bob's couch. She woke up with the book tucked under her chin and his kind face in front of hers. His eyes were so sincere as he said, "Dinner is on the table, and I got the extra bedroom ready."

"Okay," she said as she sat up, still in a daze over everything that happened today. She was proud of herself for not getting her hopes up about what was on the USB drive, but it still hurt to know Kevin was such an ass after all this time. Then as soon as she sat down with Bob and took one bite of the magic carrots he cooked, her brain turned to complete mush. "Oh my god." She took two more big bites, practically moaning over the taste of a hot meal, and she hadn't even gotten to the chicken yet.

"It's nothing fancy, but it's getting late, and I can tell you're tired," he said as he cut up his food.

"Bob," she whispered, looking at him in awe. "This tastes like you went to culinary school."

He blushed bright pink, and Anna desperately tried not to think about how rosy his cheeks had been after he made her orgasm twice. "I'm glad you like it," he muttered, taking a bite and then clearing his throat. "I hope you don't mind, but I called Jess and asked if she could pick you up on her way to campus tomorrow. I would take you myself, but it would add at least 45 minutes to my ride to base in rush hour traffic, and I don't want you waiting for a bus alone."

Anna almost dropped her fork. She couldn't remember the last time someone looked out for her wellbeing like this, because it had never happened before. "Thanks," she whispered. She didn't know how many times she could say that word to him, but she meant it each time she did. And once again he was acting like what he was doing was simply part of his normal existence. Like he helped poor, hungry college professors all the time. Before she bit into the chicken, she asked what had been on her mind earlier. "Why did you come to my apartment anyway?"

He was blushing again as he adjusted his glasses and fumbled his fork. "Uh, well I was running early, so I stopped by your office. Kevin was there, jiggling the doorknob, trying to see if you were inside. He told me he was going to take you back to New Jersey so he could keep track of you."

"Like hell he is!" she snapped. "I'm not going anywhere with him!"

Bob scratched the back of his neck and said, "Yeah, well, as soon as I walked away to see if you were actually already at Chippy's, I just got a weird feeling. When I couldn't find you, I drove to your place. Kevin really rubbed me the wrong way."

The perfect man was sitting across from her, and Anna had to just sit there and eat her delicious chicken while she tried to process things. But then Bob asked, "Why was he there anyway?"

Anna looked up at him like a deer caught in headlights. She knew she needed to be honest with him if she ever had a hope or a prayer, so she said, "I may have figured out he's at a huge conference in Carlsbad until next week. And I may have gone up there and tried to get him to sign over my manuscript."

"Are you serious?" he asked, looking at her like she had two heads. "Anna. You went alone?" She nodded and he said, "I know you think he's harmless, but he looked up your workplace and your address. He tracked you down."

"Yeah," she said softly. "But I tracked him down first."

He sighed deeply. "The difference between you and him is that you wouldn't do anything maliciously but he would. Promise me you won't do something like that again."

The fact that he was worried about her was enough to make her agree, because if Bob Floyd cared about her, then she owed it to him. But also Kevin really got under her skin with his demanding behavior. She knew now that going up to Carlsbad was a bad idea, but she wanted to keep fighting as long as she could. She owed that to herself.

"Let me clean up," she said, standing once she had eaten every speck of food on her plate, but Bob was already shaking his head.

"I'm just going to dump everything in the sink and deal with it tomorrow. Why don't you go up and take a hot shower? You can use anything you find in my bathroom."

Anna wanted to argue with him, but there was such a bone deep ache inside her, and she knew a steamy shower would help alleviate it so she could try to sleep. Once again she thanked him, and once again he told her he didn't mind one bit.

-----------------------------

Bob ended up not only washing all of the dishes and pans but wiping down the entire kitchen, too. Just knowing that Anna was in his shower was making his skin tingle. He thought about being in there with her, but it turned into something more than a sexual need. He just wanted to protect her, kiss the freckles on her shoulders and tell her she could stay here as long as she wanted to. If she simply never left, she could read all of his books and recommend more and more.

With a soft groan, he dragged himself up the stairs once he heard her turn the shower off. He made it to the landing in front of the bathroom door just as she walked out. "You have amazing water pressure," she told him with a little smile. "The shower in my apartment is a tiny stall with terrible water pressure."

Bob wanted to reply, but all he could do was stare at her. She was wearing a tank top and some worn flannel pants, and her damp hair was freshly combed. The sweet smelling steam wafted out, hitting him in the face as he realized that the deep red shade of Anna's wet hair was absolutely, indisputably his favorite color. He never wanted her to go back to her tiny apartment. She didn't even have a real kitchen there. Her bed was on the floor.

Anna cleared her throat and said, "I hope you don't mind, but I made a little spot for some of my stuff on your bathroom counter. You can move it if you want."

"It's fine," he muttered, once again wanting things he shouldn't. But now that he knew exactly how awful Kevin was, it was going to be impossible not to dream that maybe someday Anna would be free. Maybe she'd choose him.

"Okay," she whispered, jerking her thumb toward his extra bedroom. "I'll just get in bed then."

"What?" Bob asked as she took a step away from him. "No, you can sleep in my bed. I'll sleep on the futon." It might kill him to think about her laying on his pillow, tangled up in his sheets, but his bed would be much more comfortable.

"I can't do that," she told him, taking another step. "Not after everything you've done for me."

Before she could make it through the doorway, Bob hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her toward his bedroom. "I insist."

"Bob," she said with a little laugh that melted away into a needier voice as she went along with him. "I'm only going to sleep in your bed if you're there, too."

Fuck. He wanted it so badly, he was automatically nodding in agreement. Anna's lips parted softly, and she sucked in a breath. He steered her toward the bed, and that's when he saw it. He grunted, his steps coming to a halt as he ducked his chin down a little bit so she met his gaze.

"Why is your arm bruised?"

Her lips were pressed in a thin line as she looked up at him wordlessly. Just when he thought she wasn't going to respond, she whispered, "He never did anything like it before, but he grabbed me pretty hard yesterday. I... made him really mad."

"He has no right," Bob growled. "I don't care what you did to him, he should have kept his hands off you."

"But my manuscript is so important to me, and I want it back."

"Anna," he said, cupping her soft cheek in his hand. "Your manuscript isn't worth more than you."

Her eyes fluttered closed, and she nodded. Her long lashes were still resting on her cheeks as she whispered, "I'm ready for bed."

Bob's heart was skipping around in his chest as he kissed her forehead. "Go ahead and climb in. I'll be right there."

He watched as she pulled back the bedding and slipped in between the sheets. After he grabbed some gym shorts and a clean undershirt, he ducked out of the room and into the bathroom. Anna's pink toothbrush and her purple comb were next to the sink. There was some face wash and toothpaste and a bag of makeup. He had to take a minute to pull himself together. He needed to be able to share a bed with her in approximately five minutes.

He brushed his teeth and did all of the necessities before changing into what he was planning on wearing to sleep. He was trying his best to keep his feelings at bay, but it felt like he had I LOVE ANNA written across his forehead when he slipped back into his bedroom. She was clearly emotionally exhausted, but she looked spectacular laying there waiting for him.

When he paused in the doorway, she lifted up the covers on his side of the bed, and Bob carefully folded up his glasses before climbing in next to her. He flicked off the lamp on his nightstand. Neither of them said a word, but when his hand bumped hers beneath the covers, he felt her lace their fingers together. And a few minutes later, Anna was curled up along his side, sound asleep.

----------------------------------

This whole week is a whirlwind for Anna, but at least ending up in Bob's bed when it's time to go to sleep is a high point. Kevin must be destroyed. Thanks @beyondthesefourwalls

PART 15

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