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Meet Maro - the first (sure, buddy) bartender of the Nightcap!

It’s not his first rodeo in the customer service field — he’s been trained to handle just about every kind of hospitality work you can imagine. His calm, relaxed demeanor draws in people who need a quiet ear, polite responses, and the occasional rare bit of advice.

He looks like a guy who’s seen it all and can’t be surprised anymore — and for the most part, that’s true. But a big part of it is just a painfully slow emotional response and good ol’ burnout. If he can avoid doing something — he absolutely will. But the way he was trained runs deep. So whatever work he does end up doing is flawless... just tired, distant like a machine.

Maro is a former member of a covert informant organization that went by the name “Family.” A training facility masked as a hospitality academy, designed to produce service workers who could extract information without raising suspicion. He knows every trick to loosen a tongue — he just doesn’t care enough to use them anymore. He might still use the skill to read someone, sure, but since leaving the organization there’s been no real reason to.

Or... there wasn’t.

Not until Hugo noticed him.

Maro also can fight — and he does it well — using only his legs. His master always emphasized the importance of appearance. A proper service worker must remain elegant, even while knocking someone's teeth out. Keep the hands and face clean, that’s the rule. He fights with the same quiet grace he serves people drinks — beautiful, but with a hint of cold professionalism burned into his mind against his will.

So when Hugo came knocking for help Maro knew he couldn’t do it all alone. He’s only trusted by a specific type of people. And honestly? He couldn’t give a flying fuck about charming other people into talking. So to reach the rest he needs someone with obvious warmth. Someone who still cares. (And has attention span to solve riddles)

That’s when he strikes a deal with an old friend — to help him run these cases together 👀

Also he's wearing high heels. It's definitely plot relevant and has a deep meaning but I can't deny I have some... preferences....yeah

That's it for now! I'll try my best to tell more about this fella if you have questions bit I'm still struggling to actually write a proper lore ugh

Thank you for reading!

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Crystal… she has such a complicated, twisted relationship with her mother. The only thing her mother left her before dying was that debt. Her mom hurt her so much, but the blood ties between them make it impossible for her to truly hate her

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I’ve been wanting to draw this expression for so long

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figuring out how to draw side profiles, and what struck me the most is that the back of the head is actually quite long?! Its width is almost the same as the face, and if the character has a lot of hair, it can look even longer. drawing in this way made the face look smaller

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13, 21, 35 from the artist ask~💜

13. Talk about a WIP you like!

Hahaha finally someone asked me this! I actually have more than one I want to talk about. First, there’s this one:

You might not be able to tell what’s happening. It is, Sandra is actually grabbing Peter’s chin with one hand and holding a lit cigarette with the other. Now, you might be wondering, “Why is Peter sticking his tongue out?” It’s because Sandra is pretending she’s going to put the cigarette out on his tongue.

I really like this one because, first, I think there’s a lot of tension in it. Second, I think I did a good job drawing Peter’s face from this angle (which I’m usually not good at, so I was pretty happy I pulled it off?!).

That said, I didn’t know how to draw the body from that angle—it just kept looking weird no matter what I tried, so I kind of gave up. And the more I thought about it, the more I felt like it was a bit out of character for them anyway.

There’s another one—but warning: this contains Baldur’s Gate 3 spoilers, so skip this if you haven’t played!

Actually, I feel a bit embarrassed calling this a WIP because it’s barely even a sketch—it’s just a super rough doodle so I wouldn’t forget the composition.

I like this one for the concept and composition: it’s right after Orin killed Durge. If you’ve played the game, you know Orin is into bloody, artistic displays. So in this drawing, she’s pulling out Durge’s intestines and shaping them into a heart. The bottom of the heart is made from Durge’s tail and Orin’s hair.

If I ever finish this, the caption will be: “love u so.”

21. What do you think your art style would taste like?

Emmm I’m not even sure I have an art style! I think I have at least two—one that leans more realistic and one that’s more anime-inspired. You can usually tell by how I draw noses: if I draw the bridge of the nose, it’s the former. If I leave it out, it’s the latter.

The more realistic one tends to use less saturated colors, so maybe it’d taste like bitter coffee (but sometimes I go brighter too—so maybe it’s just coffee with a lot of milk).

The anime-style one is usually very saturated, so… maybe it tastes like candy? Haha.

35. If you had one piece of advice to give your younger artist self, what would it be?

“You can paint over the lineart layer.”

“Use layer modes more.”

Back then, I was totally trapped by my lineart. I’d make it super clean and precise, erasing every single stray mark—and then when it came time to color, I’d feel completely restricted because I didn’t want to mess up the linework.

Then one day I just merged the base colors with the lineart and started painting directly on top of it. That’s when I discovered a whole new world.

…But that also made me lean really hard into messy painting styles. Now whenever I get a bit of visual effect I like, I just stop working on it. I’m really too lazy to clean up details, lol.

Thanks for the ask!🩵🩵🩵

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Pretending to engage in BDSM but actually beating you to death

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19, 14 and 15 for the artist asks!

19. Where do you find inspiration?

Most of my drawings are fanart, so I usually get inspiration from the original work itself—either from specific scenes or the text. I like expanding on what’s already there, imagining what happens outside the frame. For example, in this Tumblr post, images 4, 7, and 8 are all based on scenes from the original story, reimagined through my own interpretation. After finishing a story, I often have lots of thoughts about the parts that were left unexplored.

Aside from that, I do more common fanwork things too—like imagining a happier alternate ending if the original was tragic, giving male characters a genderbend twist, or placing characters into AUs.

Most of my ideas come from my imagination, especially when it comes to content. Sometimes, I just want to draw two characters standing there looking pretty or dressed in cool outfits. In those cases, I’ll look for pose or fashion references on Pinterest.

Every now and then, a specific lyric from a song or a sentence from a novel will hit me hard emotionally, and that can also inspire me. But that’s pretty rare—mainly because I don’t think my taste in music or literature is that great. :P

14. What’s your favorite thing about drawing?

My favorite thing is being able to draw the characters I love. That’s honestly the most important part for me—it’s kind of the whole reason I draw in the first place. I want to make them do whatever I imagine… though I’m not quite skilled enough to do that perfectly yet. :(

Also, being part of a fan community through fanart feels really rewarding. You find people who love the same things you do, and you create something out of that shared passion. That kind of connection is super valuable to me.

As for the process of drawing itself—it kind of feels like playing a Soulslike game. There’s no real end, just endless bosses and new mechanics. It’s full of uncertainty and despair, but pushing forward is somehow always joyful. Even if it’s tough in the moment, watching your character level up is super satisfying.

15. What’s your least favorite thing about drawing?

I’ve been drawing since I was really young—doodling princesses on scrap paper. Then my mom signed me up for a charcoal sketching class when I was 8. I hated it. Just the thought of going there on weekends gave me a headache. I just wanted to draw what I liked, but every class we had to draw shapes, then vegetables, and other boring stuff.

Looking back, I think maybe I never really liked “drawing” itself—I just wanted to depict the things I loved. That’s probably why I basically only draw people, and mostly just their faces (because I love faces?). I struggle a lot with backgrounds, animals, and random objects—my skill level with those is probably no better than a baby.

If drawing is like playing a Souls game, then it’s kind of like that infamous stretch before the Bed of Chaos boss in Dark Souls II—a long path filled with annoying mobs you have to get through just to reach the boss.If the ultimate goal of drawing is defeating the boss—finishing the piece or capturing your vision—then that tedious, enemy-filled path becomes something you have to endure. It’s often dull and repetitive, but it’s part of the process whether you like it or not.

Also, I never take commissions because I don’t want to draw things I’m not into—and deadlines give me major anxiety.

Thanks for the ask!🖤🖤🖤

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my profile is so cute…

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for the artist asks--9, 17, 24!

9. What’s something you always come back to when drawing?

Honestly… women. I’m way more comfortable drawing women—or pretty boys that kinda look like women. One of my fav guilty pleasures is genderbending male characters into girls (I’ve done Peter and Hugo LOL).

Sometimes I’m not even that into a male character until I imagine the fem version… then suddenly I’m obsessed.

Also: pained, twisted expressions. I always imagine my fav characters suffering just a little bit. But I end up toning it down because I want the drawing to still look pretty…Maybe someday I’ll let myself go all out with it.

17. What is something you’re confident about in your art?

My anatomy is bad, and I struggle with hands and clothing folds too. The only thing I’m truly confident about is the faces I draw. I can guarantee they’ll be pretty (at least to my own taste haha). I love drawing that beautiful, delicate face type with super long crow-feather lashes and huge black, highlight-less eyes. (Like how I draw Sandra. bless her for having black eyes. Peter too… though I can’t give him lashes THAT long.)

24. What’s a compliment about your art that has always stuck with you?

Maybe the ones saying my art feels like it tells a story. It makes me feel like what I’m trying to express through my drawings is actually getting through. Someone once told me one of my pieces felt like a Wong Kar-Wai film, which made me really happy (I love his cinematic style). And once someone said they went to check out the original story because they saw my art—that’s like… the best thing anyone could say to me.

Thanks for the ask!!🤍🤍🤍

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💭if we’re going any road

2: What scene did you first put down?

For better or worse, I usually write chronologically, so the first scene I put down in its entirety was in fact the first scene, where Sandra finds Peter in the middle of the night and asks to stay. However, the first scene that I came up with was probably the second one, where she wakes up delirious and Peter has to deal with it. This is half because this kind of thing is exactly my jam and ALSO half because I read your version of a Peter & Sandra sickfic and went absolutely insane (very fun fic, by the way!) I think the fic even originally started with that second scene, before I got stuck within a couple lines and realized I needed a little more setup.

Thank you so much for the ask!!

fic ask game

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with how much this site loves its writer ask games, im astounded ive never seen one for artists, soooo

ARTIST ASK GAME!

1. what medium do you use most (if applicable, what software)?

2. most popular piece?

3. your favorite piece(s)?

4. piece you wish got more love?

5. how would you describe your art style?

6. favorite thing to draw?

7. easiest thing for you to draw?

8. thing you struggle to draw?

9. whats something you always come back to when drawing?

10. how do you deal with artblock?

11. do you listen to anything while drawing?

12. describe your process while drawing

13. talk about a wip you like!

14. whats your favorite thing about drawing?

15. least favorite thing about drawing?

16. how do you motivate yourself to draw?

17. what is something youre confident about in your art?

18. something you feel like you need to work on?

19. where do you find inspiration?

20. is your workspace, digital or not, organized (not neat, organized)?

21. what do you think your artstyle would taste like?

22. do you have a favorite color palette to work with?

23. how many artstyles can you work in confidently?

24. whats a compliment about your art that has always stuck with you?

25. what size canvas/paper do you use?

26. what do you physically draw with (pencil and paper, tablet, etc)?

27. do you ever have multiple wips going at once?

28. whats a piece you would like to redraw at some point?

29. do you use a lot of references while drawing?

30. whats something youre proud of about your artstyle?

31. which fandom have you drawn the most for?

32. have you done a lot of collabs?

33. have you taken a lot of classes for art?

34. whats something you still like from your old art?

35. if you had one piece of advice to give your younger artist self, what would it be?

(remember to give the person you reblog from an ask!!)

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why this cat looks so long

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question: would people be interested in a best served cold gift exchange?

and, if so, would people want it to be a fall exchange or a winter exchange? i think it'd be fun if there's interest, but i don't know when most people are free.

(hey star, what's a gift exchange? glad you asked! answers are under the cut)

what's a gift exchange? an event where people make fanworks for each other! this can be fic, art, or anything else people in the fandom make.

how does it work? first, people sign up for the event by making a list of characters, relationships, or prompts they'd like to receive in a gift. they also make a list of what they'd be willing to create for the event. after signups, every person is matched with another participant, who they'll make a gift for. there's a creation period, usually about two months, which gives people time to make their gifts. then, on a specific day or week, everyone posts what they've made, and you can see what someone made for you!

is this a signup? no, this is just a way to check if people are interested. actual signups will probably be through a google form.

why do this? because it's fun! (and because the fandom is small enough that i think i could pair people manually and run the event through tumblr. if there were more of us that might not be the case, haha.) i've done a couple and they're always really enjoyable, so i figured, why not?

tldr: if you'd be interested in making fanart, fanfic, or other fanworks for people in the best served cold fandom, answer the poll and let me know!

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ksisyvajakba

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I’ll choose 1 cause I don’t think John would talk to me, and that means I can get eight hours of sleep. Also, 5 is way too scary?!

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okay the full body now!! my little monster

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okay the full body now!! my little monster