increasing oil prices have severely impacted public transport drivers in the philippines, who now earn as little as 56 pesos (<1 USD) after 18 hours of driving.
by donating as little as $1 USD / 50 PHP, you can commission artwork from any of our artists! i'm helping out with Artists Drive 4 Drivers, a fundraiser working with PISTON Land Transport Coalition to raise funds and help our drivers! through our funds, PISTON can provide hot meals and relief packs to drivers and their families.
last week we raised over 11,000 PHP (183+ USD) and are about to finish our second week of the fundraiser! we accept both philippine payments and international payments (through paypal and ko-fi).
donate and commission here: https://forms.gle/hLeGWD5d5LHkApMB8
increasing oil prices have severely impacted public transport drivers in the philippines, who now earn as little as 56 pesos (<1 USD) after 18 hours of driving.
by donating as little as $1 USD / 50 PHP, you can commission artwork from any of our artists! i'm helping out with Artists Drive 4 Drivers, a fundraiser working with PISTON Land Transport Coalition to raise funds and help our drivers! through our funds, PISTON can provide hot meals and relief packs to drivers and their families.
last week we raised over 11,000 PHP (183+ USD) and are about to finish our second week of the fundraiser! we accept both philippine payments and international payments (through paypal and ko-fi).
donate and commission here: https://forms.gle/hLeGWD5d5LHkApMB8
A Werewolf showed up. Nothing too unusual about that.
The hyper speed intensity with which he was wagging his tail was, though. Confidently putting his cash on the table, he asked. "Soooooo? Who is it gonna be first?"
"I can do it." Paracelsus offered, discreetly looking the customer up and down, taking notes of the very particular jacket tied around waist, alongside the pants similarly pointed him to the type of riding gear he saw Hilda and Astera wear, as well as racing videos Ben watched.
Admittedly most interesting, was the level of definition the muscles on that tank top had. Cel couldn't lie, the way they felt alive and strong was very enticing. He kinda wanted to sketch, study and figure out how they worked out. Hum, yeah, that suddenly felt very interesting.
Anyway. Focus.
He began leaning down, only to be surprised by how eagerly the man rocketed against him, with a rough but not unpleasant strength, lips mashing together but not striking against each other, pointedly wrapping his arms around the alchemist's neck to keep him from leaving. It did, in fact, feel good, even if he was more befuddled than at the start.
"Sweet! Okay, your turn now!" The werewolf said, letting go of the brunette and immediately setting to get his shot of Damian.
Paracelsus just looked at the two, seeing the man put just as much energy on his second shot. Something stuck out, though. Was that tail… wagging faster when kissing Damian?
They looked decently similar in build, he thought, but Damian was a bit smaller. In fact, he was sure this customer was just smaller than Marilyn. Why was he focusing on that?
The werewolf let go of his target, chuckling delightedly. "Hehehe. Alright then! See ya! I'll come back later!"
---
"There we go." Cel purred, voice purposefully velvety clear as he let go of the other man. "Was that good?"
The blue-haired man nodded, the small roots surrounding his Cait ears poking into view adding to his nervous but interested demeanor. "Y-yeah. It was very good, honestly. U-um. Thank you."
"Huhuhu. Of course, Raymond. I'm here for you, after all." Cel half-whispered. "Stop by again later, if you want."
The man awkwardly nodded and said one last thanks as, tail swishing with some excitement, he excused himself back to his friend group, at least one of which had stopped by on the booth earlier that day, who received him with wide cheering.
"Hello, you two! Anyone wants a water bottle refill? I see you're doing pretty well." Marilyn asked, walking in with perfect timing while adorning the same set of pins that Paracelsus carried.
"Marieeeeee~! Yay! Thanks, my love." Damian said, taking the refresher and immediately downing a huge gulp of it. "Aaah, perfect! Well, Cel has to flex his charm every once in a while, right?"
"If it helps make people comfortable, then sure. Thanks, Marilyn. I appreciate it." The brunette followed, taking a more reserved swig. "How are things on the back?"
"Pretty good. Shouldn't be much longer before this shift of sorts ends, according to Voigt." She reminded. "Are you all okay? He did ask me to remind you that you can leave at any moment."
"Heck yeah! Look at this!" Damian said, showcasing his filling up donation box with a smile.
"We're pretty fine, yeah. How about Ben, though? Is he okay?" He asked.
"He is… okay? But, I guess this is about the time we should get him back home, right? Wanna see if I can find anyone available for that? Maybe Niamh too, while we're at it."
"Would be good, yeah. Thanks, Ma-"
"HEY BOOOOOOYS!" All three people gasped as they remembered, right, they were currently busy with customer service, the person who reminded them of that having done so by Loudly slamming her hands down. Looking back at the opposite side of the table, they saw a tomato-core Cait Sith girl prepping her elbows on the table, mischievously looking at them with her dual toned hair, sleeveless white shirt and black skirt ensemble. "How much for you two to kiss each other?"
Damian 'buh?'-ed. Marilyn went red. Cel attempted to locate something that could be a reasonable response to that. If they were busy with each other, that meant they would be locking themselves out other clients, so- "Pay double for each of us. Eight bucks total."
The Cait Sith immediately slammed two twenty dollar bills on the table.
Marilyn discreetly (clumsily) reached for her phone. Just in case.
That left them looking at each other. "… You're okay with this?"
"U-uh, yeah. I mean, I've already been kissing other people for a while now. You are… easier. I think. And you? Don't, uh, wanna ruin your reputation again or anything." Damian replied.
Cel chuckled. "You're worried about the chance you'll do that? After I spent the day kissing everyone who talked to me? Come on."
But he wouldn't say that the idea was tingling him a bit. Right here, as he looked at Damian… Man, it was so rare to see him outside without being fully covered up. His boyfriend was close enough for Cel to see the way sweat covered specific parts of his body, building up under the summer sun even if little physical activity had been exerted throughout the day.
Each and every inch of muscle that the blond had strongly developed over the years was in display. That collection of scars adorning his entire body, little details the brunette loved to trace and feel, with hand, pen and camera alike. The way his hair had grown messy and unkempt with the day, even if there was an earnest attempt to keep it tied back.
Gosh. He loved this man so much.
"May I?" He asked, attempting to control himself. And the answer was yes.
Cel took his hand to Damian's cheek, holding it gently as he closed the distance between them, letting his lips meet that of the strong, sturdy man that had saved him so many times before. He could still feel, in taste and texture, a bit of the lip balm they had shared, those lovely lips with a permanent scar resting just a bit below it.
One.
Cel put his other hand on Damian's face, holding him steady.
Two.
Damian suddenly put his arms around Cel's shoulders, locking them behind him. Fuck.
Three.
Okay. Calm down. Calm down. Steady. You're in public. Don't- don't go all in, okay? Just a bit longer-
Four.
"FIORE!!! Grrrr, I was gonna get myself another round first! Fine! HEY YOU TWO! I'm putting another kiss for y'all here!"
"WOOOOOO! Go Celly! Get 'im, boy! Go go go GO!"
"Now this sure is an interesting performance. Alright. I'm fine with going home on my own if this show going on for a bit longer. Come on, you two. Put forward your best act."
… Fuck it. This was what everybody wanted, wasn't it?
Cel got as close to his boyfriend as he possibly could, letting his hands run through that golden silk hair, that back, those arms, full blown making out with only basic decency in mind as a stopgap. He wanted- no, wait, no, he absolutely could not entertain sitting on his lap right now. Some limit had to be kept, some- Fuck. Damian. Damian-
Some distance away, Marilyn kept on recording, just in case, unsure of what necessity, exactly, would require this but 100% sure it would show up. And, eventually, a very soft voice emerged next to her. "They're having fun, aren't they?"
The girl blinked, looking next to her only to jump with a startle as she processed stuff. "I-IDUNN!?" Stopping her recording and putting her phone away so she could properly communicate, she let her hands hover in the air, unsure of what to say, before she began signing with what was likely the most immediate question. "What are you doing here?"
Idunn chuckled. "I'm on break, is all. And Albert was very kind to tell me that Cel was volunteering for kissing duty, so of course I had to stop by and see how that was going on. Very good, apparently."
"I would say so. We are doing pretty good on the fund goals!"
The forest ranger gave her a look that Marilyn did her best to withstand, even though she could feel her very soul being analyzed. Nonetheless, Idunn moved on. "I also figured there was a chance you all could use someone to drive Ben home, since this was meant to be your and Cel's date day. Am I correct?"
"Oh! Yes! Come, I'll take you to where Ben and Voigt are. Niamh may also be- RHIONN! I forgot to tell Rhionn we are still here! I gotta pick up my phone so hold on-"
"Hey there, girlie~ Are you really gonna let those two get all the fun?" Miss Tomato Sith asked Marilyn, suddenly barging into the conversation.
"U-u-u-u-uh!? I-I'm not in the booth, you know?"
"Yeah? Great! That means I get to smooch you for free! Soooooo, come on! I get a feeling you're just my type~!"
"W-w-wait! I-I mean, I don't want to look rude or anything, you are rather pretty, b-but I gotta- wait! Waaaaait!"
Evaluating the situation she didn't hear a single word of and deciding she could wait a minute or two before rescuing her friend, Idunn quietly picked up Marilyn's phone off of her hand as the woman dragged her off, letting the forest ranger casually resume recording duty for future teasing purposes.
---
Stubbornly attempting to clean off this one last smudge of lipstick that refused to leave her cheek, Niamh casually offering her a baby wipe to help her with it, Marilyn announced. "Okay, we're done! Mister Voigt, we have stored everything away!"
"Thank you, Marilyn! I really appreciate it!" He replied, Albert and Idunn helping him keep the financial records in check, then turned to the two men. "You too. You were a lot of help today."
Damian chuckled half-awkwardly as he tried to untangle something in his hair. "Haha. Well, I'm glad to have been of help!"
Paracelsus adjusted his jacket, making sure to cover his neck while grateful the late afternoon air made it so this attempt at modesty didn't boil him alive, a Ben that insisted on staying at the scene even if he was just boredly standing around looking at him in confusion. "Of course. Mister Voigt, did you all get enough?"
The man finished checking up the financial results that had been handed to him and responded warmly. "We have! With all the money we raised, we'll be able to keep the association's services and other works going for quite a while longer, no downsizing required. Everyone, truly… thank you! Thank you lots for helping us!"
Cel smiled, as genuine as he could ever be, in spite of how tired he was. "Mister Voigt. You're the reason I met my best friend. After all you, Idunn and the others have done for me and Ben, this is the least I could have done. And I'm glad I could assist with making sure that others will receive the help I once had."
"Yeah! We are more than happy to have been of assistance!" Damian added.
"And if you need it again, please tell us. I mean it when I say I wouldn't mind try putting on a show to raise funds." Marilyn suggested.
"Voigt… You, Idunn, the others, you helped me get a whole new way to communicate. Thank you for it. And for letting me try to pay back." Niamh said.
Idunn and Albert looked at their old teacher with a 'told you so' on their face.
"Teacher, you have to be better at accepting help. Having to beat that into Cel's head was annoying enough." Idunn poked, the boy in question scoffing and accepting fair was fair.
"Hehehe. The other leaders of the association are gonna really get you for that if they find out, Mister~! But then again, they're a prideful bunch. Maybe they'd turn them down too. You don't have their excuse, do you?" Albert added, softly adding his own, binky-step teases.
Voigt sheepishly took in the offers, the thankful messages directed to him alongside everyone else in the association. Gathering himself, he replied. "Thank you! Thank you all, truly! To see you all these respectable, grown adults in front of me… As a teacher, nothing could make me happier. Hehehe. Maybe it is about time I step down from the leading position, huh?"
"I don't think it is. But Cathryn would be very happy." Idunn mused.
"Hum hum~. Happy indeed." Albert confirmed.
"Haha. I'll offer that to her, then. Alright, everyone! We got leftovers from the event's food stands! Who is ready for some snacking!?"
"YEAH-!"
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT!!!"
Suddenly, everyone's attentions turned to a particular, very exhausted, very panicky, very disastrous Cait Sith finished sprinting into the conversation, a particular jeweled red panda on top of his shoulder as he did so.
"Rhionn?"
"Brother?"
"Oh, I forgot to call him again." Marilyn head-palmed as realization hit her.
"Fufufufu. Thank you for that. I haven't seen him this flustered in ages. The entertainment was riveting!" Komainu said, jumping off from his spot in Rhionn's shoulder and calmly trotting over to and laying down at Niamh's feet as his teasing target tried to catch his breath.
"Rhionn. What are you doing here? Our side of the date is only like two hours from now?"
"T-THE BOOTH! I heard the booth is going on. Mraaaawww, Niamh told me, but only half an hour ago- ooooh, I missed it, didn't I? Whyyyyyyy?" The man fell on his knees, fully wallowing in misery. "Whoaaaaao… I wanted to kiss you two toooo, you know? Mrrrown…"
Sighing, Paracelsus and Damian looked at each other, then at the Cait Sith in front of them. "Rhionn?"
"Hum?"
Calmly, serenely, the two boys knelt down next to Rhionn and each gave him a mushy, gentle kiss to his cheeks, making sure to do so at the exact same time.
"Come on now. You don't need a kissing booth for that. You know very well-"
"-that if you wanna kiss us, you need only ask!"
After a quiet second of processing, the man began bawling once again, locking his arms around the other two and bringing them close. Cheerfully, whimsically, everyone laughed and rejoiced, as their imperfectly perfect event ended the only way it could ever do.
Yeah. A perfect day, filled with love.
Ethan (Werewolf/Husky Kemonomimi) and Fiore (Tomato-core catgirl) are @astr-hal's (#FioreFebruary)
Raymond is @rickastromega (go to bsky on this one I think)
Niamh and Rhionn are @alexirno's (still love u babe)
("Whew. This was a busy day. But not in a bad way. It was nice to helo everyone, after all. I should go chargr my phone, th- what is this in my pocket?
Medeia dutifully knocked at Lucas’ door. Then, she respectfully waited.
…
Medeia knocked again, ringing the doorbell as well for good measure. Okay, this was ridiculous. What was going on here?
Well, she did tell him she was going to stop by for a bit, they did have each other’s back-up keys and he did say she could make herself at home even if he wasn’t there to welcome her. Time to make good use of that mutual promise.
The lock made way with ease, letting the reporter walk into her colleague’s abode. Perfectly well-maintained as always, it was a place that didn’t do anything too off the hook, but carried that comfortable, lived-in vibe the entire way through. It felt good to be there, Medeia thought.
“Luuuuuuu! I’m here! You home?” She shouted in, once again obtaining no response. Making her way in, decided to help herself to a glass of water in the kitchen and a quick bathroom break before crashing on the couch for a bit. Walking past a couple potted plants, she offhandedly took notice of a couple new books-
…
“Lu?” Medeia peeked into his bedroom, seeing a certain someone completely passed out on his chair, computer neutrally portraying its lock-screen. The knee-length pajama shorts and long-sleeved shirt, nevermind the messy, unkempt hair, showcased a casualness he rarely let out to the world. Alright, she wouldn’t be able to take him to bed, but she also couldn’t possibly stand by watching his perfect spine waste away into a pretzel. “Lu. Lu. Lu!”
Gently shook awake, Lucas jolted into attention, ears and tail spiking up alongside him, tossing a couple sheets of loose paper into the floor. Shaking off that initial surprise, yawning his way into his normal attentiveness, the werewolf processed his surroundings. “Medeia? You’re alread- oh no. What time is it?”
“About ten-thirty in the morning.” She supplied, picking up the paper that fell while he groaned in embarrassment. “Did you pull an all-nighter? That isn’t like you.”
Lucas’s body stiffened in the blink of an eye. “Um… S-some people at the office are on vacation, so I had to do more field duty alongside editing and-” Once he finally got eye contact with Medeia, she saw her casually showcasing a drawing to him.
“Who is the cute boy?”
“The love interest of a new indie VN I just got.” He immediately crumpled.
Medeia giggled upon hearing that. “I see. So, your sleep cycle being completely out of schedule came from you binging it yesterday?”
“Actually, I kinda already finished it… I was replaying… and checking fanart… maybe-”
“Am I gonna find a writer document if I unlock your computer?”
“Please don’t make me answer that.”
Medeia couldn’t help smiling. “So? Want to tell me what he is like until you get tired enough to go back to sleep?”
“D-do you really want to know?” Lucas perked up.
“Yes. You like him lots, after all. I’m always here for you and your interests, you know.” She replied, looking at the image she was holding on to as she did so. “Did you print this? You said it was an indie project, so I’d guess this sketch is concept art of some sort.”
“Um… actually… I-I drew that… yesterday?”
“Oh! Really? I didn’t know you had drawing skills, Lu!”
“I… I don’t.”
---
And he is just so confident about it he is so unashamed and full of joy and honest and he’ll always try his best to make sure I have fun even if the situation is incredibly ridiculous and he
The days passed by, Lucas returning to his usual routine, give or take a couple things here and there.
Covering a new book release here, performing an interview there… they really had a lot of people cash in their vacation days all at once. Ah, well. Nothing he could do about it.
Traversing through a local mall as he enjoyed his day off, Lucas eventually found himself looking at an old music store. He remembered hearing about it before, one of those local collector havens that truly withstood the test of time. Live performances and classes sometimes popped up here, but, right now, it was but a regular shop.
Might as well take a look inside, right?
Lucas walked past his familiar Bossa Nova and pagode sections, then decided to go and take a gaze at genres he wasn’t as used to in order to see if something stood out to him. An offhand look at the Pop Rock session had him notice some of the songs Marilyn had just covered, and, as he kept going into the Rock section of the store, his previous knowledge further escaped him.
Maybe he should write down a couple names to listen to at home later. That sounded like a fun little experiment to do. Lets see, ‘Prog’. What do we have here-
And then, his hand reached the first CD case at the exact same moment someone else did the same.
“Oh. Sorry, go ahead.” The person offered.
“No, no, I’m the one who should apologize! I’m really not doing any-” Lucas stopped his sentence halfway through, then proceeded to stare intently at the other person.
The man in question, asymmetric floppy dog ear in tow, just lightly tilted his head in confusion.
Finally, Lucas organized what he wanted to say.
“YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!”
---
“Huh. So, I’m a visual novel love interest?” The man, Ethan was the name, asked, adjusting his glasses as he checked Lucas’ phone. The racing jacket and clothes he wore were a damming good match to his in-game portrayal, too.
“Y-yes. The, uh. The main one.” Lucas confirmed. “You really didn’t know about it?”
“Nope! Wait, what is the name of the studio and stuff again- hum, is this the one that college classmate started working at? Maybe…” He pondered, then immediately went for a much smugger intonation. “Guess that means someone out there thought I was hot enough to be love interest material! I knew all the working out was paying off! I look pretty darn good, don’t I?”
So flippant about this entire thing… I guess he was a bit like this in-game too, but not this way…
Lucas thought.
“So, that means you played the game, right? Did you like doing my romance route?” Ethan asked.
Ah. Fuck.
“W-well… I mean…”
“Sooooooo?” Ethan asked, tail swishing lightly.
“I-I… I really liked it. A whole lot.”
“Hahaha! Yeah! I knew it!” The man exclaimed, tail wagging at full speed. “Do you like tofu?”
“U-uh?” The latter werewolf blinked, blindsided by the sudden topic change. “I haven’t eaten it much, but I don’t think I have anything against it, per se.”
“Alright! In that case, wanna go out for lunch with your visual novel love interest? I have this place with a tofu to die for!”
“Y-you’re asking me out!?”
“Yeah! Why not?” He said, extending his gloved hand in a blissfully cheerful way. “Unless you think I don’t match up to him. I mean, I disagree, but I’d get it if that is the case.”
Gathering himself as he blushed up a storm, Lucas replied by taking the hand that was extended to him, subconsciously interlinking their fingers as he did so. “No, that is not it. I’m sure you’re different from him, but there is no way you’d be lesser. You’re real, after all. So, if you’d have someone who met you in such an embarrassing way, well… I-I’d love to know you more, Ethan.”
The black-haired man listened and, after a second and some of processing that, instantly went from nonchalant to similarly full crimson.
“Ethan?”
“H-hey! How else do you expect me to react after you pull off that?” He replied, avoiding eye contact. “B-but uh, in that case… I’d have to give you a ride to the place. Is that okay?”
“Yeah. I left my car at home.” Lucas said, withholding the part of him that thought of that reaction as incredibly adorable. “Oh, I’ll let go of your hand.”
“N-no! It’s okay! I mean, you can keep doing that.” He replied, clearly not having evaluated this action all the way through. “Alright! Let’s go!”
Lucas couldn’t help but giggle, seeing the fellow werewolf lead the way with tail wagging at full speed. Alright, yeah. There was one thing he didn’t quite expect from meeting Ethan in person.
He was so cute.
---
“So… is it okay if I hold your hand again?” Lucas asked.
“Yeah! I mean, if you want to, that is cool.” Ethan replied.
And so, he did. It was nice, Lucas thought as his own tail swooshed back and forth.
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