#I had a lot of fun working with a lot of bright contrasting colors on black teehee

[viyojo]

Queuing up for a killer match with this ominous octo… ❌⛈️🐰 [Commission for my friend, Daydreamer (@/moonshineinkwell) !! Thank you so much!! ]

[sirfrogsworth]

Hard & Soft: An Explanation of Light

I was watching a video from one of my favorite tech YouTubers, Mr. Whose the Boss. He was showing off some of his favorite tech and pulled out this tiny LED light.

And then he placed a diffuser on the front and said this...

"You can equip a softbox on the front which *massively* softens the light on your face."

Sorry, Arun.

No it doesn't.

I sometimes wish I could get a job as a YouTube lighting advisor. So many creators have to set up and use professional lighting but very few actually have an understanding of how their lighting works. And with just a little knowledge they could up their lighting game big time.

If nothing else, I could stop the plague of ring lights.

Ring lights are my nemesis.

*shakes fist at ring lights*

Arun repeated a classic myth. Diffusing a light does *not* make it softer. And despite the name, a softbox is fully capable of producing hard light. Especially if it is only the size of your granddad's wallet.

I'm afraid softboxes are a bit misnamed—much like how the tremolo system on a guitar is technically a vibrato mechanism. Tremolo is a fluctuation of volume, not pitch. Personally, I just stick to calling it a whammy bar because that is more fun anyway. And, like, what does "whammy" even mean in the context of a guitar? I'd rather call something by a nonsensical name than an inaccurate one, ya know?

What the hell was I saying?

SOFTBOXES!

They should probably be called "light homogenizers." Which is a mouthful, but more accurate.

Or, hear me out... WHAMMY BOXES.

Froggie Note: I am trying a color coding technique to help make the most important information stand out. Red means PAY ATTENTION and blue means "do your best to remember this." Let me know if this is helpful or annoying or if a different color combo is preferred.

Hard Light vs. Soft Light

Hard light is a less flattering light source that creates high contrast, sharp shadows, and accentuates texture.

Soft light is a more flattering light source that creates soft shadows and reduces texture like pores, blemishes, and wrinkles.

You can *only* get hard or soft light by changing the apparent size of a light source from the subject's point of view.

If you remember only three things about light, they should be...

Bright light = sharp photos, less noise Hard light = small light source Soft light = large light source

Now, it's important to remember that hard light is not *bad* and soft light is not *good*. In photography, the oft-used parlance "flattering" just refers to the rendering of facial features and blemishes. So you might use a more flattering lens to make sure faces do not distort or a more flattering light modifier to reduce wrinkles.

But there are situations where soft light can be very boring and hard light can be much more dynamic and interesting. But if you have someone who is insecure about their skin or has a lot of blemishes, you can mitigate that by making the light softer. But if you have someone with great skin and a lot of angular facial features, you might use a hard light to show that off.

Which of these do you prefer?

The one on the left was taken with a 7 foot diameter light source and is *very* soft. But the other had a 1 foot diameter and I think it is more dynamic and interesting.

You can also mix hard and soft light. And with something like a parabolic reflector or a beauty dish, you can even modify a light source to be hard and soft at the same time.

This technological terror of a light modifier is sort of like having 24 individual small lights around the edges but the entire surface of the reflector also acts as a single large light source.

And when it isn't atomizing Alderaan, it is taking photos like this...

This creates a falloff of light around the edges of her face, nose, and arms while also reducing the intensity of the shadows. Lenses with longer focal lengths prevent distortion of facial features but also flatten our faces. So a modifier like this can bring back dimensionality.

Neat!

Now I just need $8,000 to buy the Death Star light.

There are a ton of possibilities when it comes to modifying light sources, but most people typically want the main light on the subject to be in the realm of soft and use hard light sources as edge lights.

Also, everything is a spectrum and light is no different. There is a giant space in between hard and soft to play with. In fact, the hardest light possible would be cast on a subject floating in space.

And the softest light possible would be on a planet that has 100% cloud coverage that still allows sunlight to scatter through.

So, I have determined the surface of Venus to be the most flattering light in the universe.

Look at how dark and sharp that astronaut shadow is! And I'm sure Venusian photography would be quite popular if you wouldn't burst into flames.

On planet Earth, noon on a clear day would be the hardest light and a very overcast day would be the softest light.

How can the sun be both hard and soft light?

Well, the sun is quite large, but it is very small in the sky and very far away. It is the only thing humans can observe that is close to a "point" light source—the smallest light source possible that shines light equally in all directions.

But on an overcast day, sunlight scatters through all of the clouds and becomes a HUGE homogenous light source. The clouds become a singular giant light above us. And as you can see, the light is so soft the woman does not have a hint of shadow on her face. And shadows can draw attention to pores, wrinkles, blemishes, and other textures.

But wouldn't the smallest light source be a laser or something?

When photographers refer to a small light source we mean from the perspective of the subject being lit. This is referred to as apparent or angular size.

But you also have to account for the size of the area the light source can illuminate.

This is the area a laser can light up.

And this is the area the sun is able to cats cast light upon.

It doesn't matter if a laser is close or far away, it focuses light onto a very small area. But the sun lights up half the planet. So look at imagine the apparent size of the sun in the sky and compare its size to half of the Earth. In that relative circumstance, the sun is a super tiny light source.

And the sun becomes an even tinier light source on the moon because there is no atmosphere or clouds to scatter and enlarge it.

You can change the apparent size of a light source in two ways...

The physical dimensions of the light and the distance from the subject.

A light with small dimensions can be a large light source if it is close enough and if the subject is small enough. So a flashlight could be a large light source for an ant if that flashlight is directly next to said ant. But a flashlight could never be a large light source to a human.

However, we can enlarge small light sources with modifiers.

A modifier can be a softbox. It can be a piece of paper. A large poster board. A wall or a ceiling. Anything that changes the nature of a light source can be a modifier. But not all modifiers increase the size of a light source.

So, you can take that flashlight, shine it on a wall, and reflect the light to make a giant light source capable of producing softer light.

But what you cannot do is put diffusion material directly in front of a flashlight and make the light it produces softer.

When Arun put that diffuser on the front of that tiny light, he was not making the light any bigger. He was only making the light more diffused.

What does diffusion *actually* do?

Diffusion scatters light. It makes light bounce in all directions and keeps it from being focused. And while this is an important aspect to making a light source larger, it does not change the apparent size of a light source on its own.

Diffused light is homogenous.

A homogenous light source has the same intensity across its entire surface area. And that homogenization is the key to creating a better soft light source. It can *assist* in making a light source larger, but only if you know how to wield that diffusion properly.

When you shine a flashlight toward a wall, you increase the apparent size of the light source.

Fantastic! You now have a softer light. Mission accomplished.

But if you do not diffuse it, you will create a hotspot.

That bright hotspot will reflect more light than all of the other light reflecting off the wall. That reflected light has different intensities across its surface area and you end up creating TWO distinct light sources—one hard and one soft.

This can sometimes be desired if you want to create graduated light that falls off like I showed earlier. But if it is not controlled well with a specialized modifier a hotspot can cause more problems than benefits.

This can reveal unwanted texture, double shadows, cause harsh glare, and it may not achieve the desired amount of soft, flattering light you were hoping for.

However, if you diffuse the light from the flashlight before it hits the wall, the light will scatter and reflect off the wall more evenly. You will create a more *homogenous* light source that acts as a single entity of light.

Diffusion does reduce the overall intensity of the light, but that is usually a worthy trade off for the increased homogeny.

These pesky hotspots are actually a big problem with those cheap softboxes you can buy off Amazon.

Many of them do not have enough diffusion to create a single homogenous light source. So they end up with a hotspot that gives you that double light source effect.

I was able to fix this with my friend Katrina's softbox by adding a layer of tracing paper in front.

You can see the chip clip holding the tracing paper in place on the right side.

Photography is just problem solving all the way down.

A higher quality softbox will have a second layer of diffusion already built in to prevent this, so make sure the softbox has this feature before buying.

Or invest in a roll of tracing paper and some chip clips.

Softboxes are an ingenious light modifier when built properly. They take a small light, diffuse it, enlarge it, and then focus it toward your subject. It's essentially a paradox of scattered & focused light. And since all of the scattering only happens *inside* the softbox, it gives you great control over how that light hits your subject. And you can focus it even more by putting a grid on the front.

This keeps light from "spilling" off to the sides though it can reduce intensity a bit and create unusual looking catchlights in the eyes.

Whereas a cheap shoot-through umbrella kinda "shoots" scattered light all over the place and causes a ton of extra reflections off the walls and ceilings. That may end up giving you unwanted second, third, and fourth light sources contributing to your exposure.

You can see light hitting the left and right walls and the ceiling—those pesky photons are going everywhere! And while it is giving a soft, flattering result due to that umbrella being so freaking big, you have almost no control over the light and how it affects your background.

So, yes, a softbox can make a small light source bigger, but that doesn't always mean you will get "soft" light.

This softbox takes a 10 inch LED panel and creates a 12 inch light source. This is mostly a scam product.

The marketing says it makes the light softer.

And while that is *technically* true, I'm afraid people are going to be disappointed if they think this thing is going to dramatically soften their light. A small increase in surface area like that would only be dramatically different if you were lighting a little toy car or the hypothetical ant friend I mentioned earlier. Something the size of a person is not going to see a difference in softness. Not to mention you are going to decrease the power of your light by adding diffusion and have no softening benefits.

Photography gear companies love taking advantage of new photographers because the desire to buy more gear to improve the quality of photos is quite strong. This is jokingly referred to as G.A.S. or "Gear Acquisition Syndrome." And while there is absolutely gear you can buy to improve your photos (lights, lenses, tripods), knowledge trumps any piece of gear at any time.

So, no, this scam softbox will not make the light appreciably softer. The only way to make this light softer is to find a softbox that enlarges it more than 2 friggin' inches, bounce it off something larger, or bring it closer to the subject. Move your light as close as possible and you will enlarge its apparent size.

Or, conversely, you can move your light farther away to make it hard.

Meaning you can technically make a softbox a hardbox.

Seriously, can we just do the whammy box thing?

So, what have we learned?

Soft light is more flattering to skin and reduces texture and harsh shadows.

Hard light increases contrast, sharpens shadows, and highlights texture.

Neither is good or bad. Soft light can be boring. Hard light can be interesting. A mixture of the two often produces the best result.

The only way to make light softer is to enlarge the light source.

You can enlarge a light source by...

Increasing the physical dimensions with a modifier.

Moving the light closer.

Reflecting the light off a larger surface.

Diffusion alone does not make a light softer.

Diffusion makes a light source more homogenous by mitigating hotspots.

Softboxes create homogenous light that you can direct and focus.

A softbox can still produce hard light if it is really small or really far away.

We should call it a whammy box.

How can you use this knowledge?

Well, the first thing you can do is...

DON'T BUY A RING LIGHT.

YES, I AM RANTING ABOUT RING LIGHTS AGAIN!

That giant hole in the middle of your light is a great spot for extra light.

And as we just learned, a larger light source is softer. So unless you specifically need a ring light and know how to use it (facial close-ups, camera goes in the hole), you are better off getting the biggest light you can fit in your space.

Look at how much bigger this light is than if it were a ring light.

It's like all of these influencers are throwing perfectly good light into the garbage.

Sorry, let's try this again.

Once you avoid ring lights, how can you use this knowledge?

I know a lot of you reading this are not influencers or YouTubers or photographers. And you may be thinking all of this knowledge I just shoved in your dome is useless.

But here's the thing...

We all take photos.

And I think we all want our photos to look their best.

If you start thinking more about light when you take photos, I promise you will be able to improve their quality.

If you are taking a selfie, think about where you can go that has a larger light source. Perhaps you have a large window. Or you have a big overhead light or floor lamp that shines up into the ceiling.

I actually had this idea to create a mega light that could blend in with a house's decor, but secretly be a photography light for taking pictures of people and pets indoors at night.

Secret Photography Light Ingredients Cheap Floorlamp Dual Light Socket Adapter 9000 Lumen LED Bulbs

(Seriously, if you put that together, stick it in a corner, and turn it on when your kids or pets are playing, you will never have another blurry photo from inside your house unless they are going full zoomies.)

If you are outside on a sunny day, don't stand in direct sunlight.

Remember, THE SUN IS ACTUALLY SMALL, angularly speaking. Find a shady spot under a tree. Or put the sun behind you and face a big white wall so the reflected light smacks you in the face.

Walls are light sources!

The ground is a light source!

Remember that moon photo?

You were looking at the sharp shadow earlier because I drew your attention to the sun being a small light source.

But the surface of the moon... HUGE LIGHT SOURCE.

How do you think the front of that space suit is lit when the sun is behind him? Either Stanley Kubrick has a big reflector offscreen or the ground is a soft second light source.

If you can't make it to the moon, just wait to take that selfie on a cloudy day. I think overcast light is a little boring, but your skin will look buttery smooth without using those stupid Facetune apps.

You can also wait for good light. Sometimes sunset has some nice, soft directional light because it has more atmosphere to scatter, diffuse, and enlarge it.

If you are indoors, don't use direct flash on your phone. Never ever use direct flash if you can avoid it. But perhaps you are with friends and they all have phones too. Use one or more phones to bounce the flashlight off a nearby wall. Or open up a paper napkin and hold it just out of frame and shine light through it and diffuse it.

A piece of paper can even work!

Flashlight 3 feet away shining directly onto my face...

Flashlight shining through a piece of paper a few inches in front of it...

Flashlight shining through a piece of paper 2 feet away that is just out of frame...

I started with a small light source.

I then made the light source a little bigger with the paper, but the diffusion was too close and it created the dreaded hotspot of doom.

And then I made the light source as big as I could by moving the paper as close to my face as possible without being in the shot. This also gave the light more room to scatter and diffuse making it homogenous.

Froggie Tip: I was using a pretty powerful flashlight, so with a phone you might get better results *bouncing* the light off the paper rather than shining the light through the paper.

So, before you take a photo, just think about how you can make your light source bigger, brighter, and more homogenous and you might be surprised how much better you look.

ANYONE CAN DO THIS!

[p0rk-guts]

He's finally done I think. WOAW! Radio demon time!!!

Okay time for comparison + breakdown rant ^ - ^ another SUPER long one I had a lot to say about this silly guy

ALRIGHT. So. Atp all that can be said has been said about Alastor but I'll gloss over it anyhow. Grossly historically inaccurate hair and clothing. Invisible deer theming. One of the main reasons he's got one of the most clowned on designs in the show is bc he's a pretty good representation of the worst it has to offer. He's absurdly red and has the waspiest waist in town. Also gotta zero in on the coat for a second bc I find it incredibly stupid that he went to that tailor bc of his coat being ripped and then left the shop with the exact same torn coat on oh goddd that felt like a complete joke who wrote this

Also his "redesign" was pointless. He stayed pretty much entirely the same except his colors got pinker and grosser and now he has this?? White trim on his lapels??? Even less 1930's accurate and it only serves to hurt the pallate in my eyes. It's the only spot of white on his entire design, it doesn't appear anywhere else so it throws it all off. And it's so bright. Is it supposed to be a focal point?? His tits????

Anyways onto my guy who I love so very deeply. I'm pretty sure sepia film was outdated by the 1930s but I gave him a palette inspired by it to emphasize how dated and stuck in old ways he is. Added blood red accents bc. Well. Cannibal murderer. Also bc I redid the sin colors so red is wrath and it seems like a fitting sin to pair him with.

After looking into 1930's men's fashion a tiny bit (thanks anon, this video was helpful!) and gave him a double breasted coat but wider and pointier so he looks a little less like just some normal guy and really emphasize how prideful and egotistical he is. "Ooo look at me I'm super big and imposing and powerfulll". I think it's a fun character trait of his. Definitely keeping it.

I liked him wearing gloves bc I feel like he wouldn't like getting his hands directly dirty and would always be covered when committing his murders. Maybe he's a germaphobe even. "I can excuse murder but I draw the line at dried blood on my skin". Also the gloves being white would contrast really well with blood so. Love that

I gave him a long tie to free him from the Vivziepop bow tie uniform and a fedora to add to the 1930's vibe and serve as something that can occasionally obscure his face in shadow. His glasses are also opaque and I imagine his eyes would rarely be shown if ever to make him seem more inhuman and off-putting, disconnecting him from personhood a bit. Wanted to add to that with his smiling mouth never opening and just being a static grin that can only occasionally widen or lessen, his voice cracking out of his "speaker" with fuzzy radio static. Seen multiple ppl use that idea and it always eats

I love Alastor's silly theatric nature (primarily in the pilot) and I'd probably keep it, but I'd add a layer of uncanny-ness to him where when he's not putting on his silly jovial facade, he gives off an unnerving vibe. Trying to appear approachable and charming and pleasant to lure people in before he's revealed to be less than human. Loveee thattt

I love Alastor being a deer. Predator becoming prey (animal) + "prey animal" lulling people into a false sense of security before striking. Love it. We should be CAPITALIZING ON IT❗So I gave him deer like legs, visible deer hooves, and more readable deer ears + the ham radio tower antenna antlers (sorry 4 calling them horns 💀)

Tried to make it a little more obvious that he's a mixed man of color by giving him dark wavy hair and the faintest hint of lip definition Viv uses in her style. I think it works. He's still not dark skinned tho

LASTLY the mic. Also not an original idea as I've seen tons of others turn it into a carbon mic but turned into a pentagram shape and I love the idea a lotttt so I joined the crew.

AND THAT DOES IT!!!! hope u like him as much as I do hehe. Just 1 supplemental doodle this time sorry :/ showing off how his face is probably obscured most of the time. He's. So hard to draw. I'm just bad at men but I'm tryinggggg guys

Alsoooo I've already finished the drawings for Niffty, Angel, and Husk! Once I've finished their breakdowns I'll add em right to the queue, and then I'll make a post with all of the main 6 together :3

[stvolanis]

Don’t Wanna Grow Up.

( one shot )

PAIRINGS: Rockstar! OC X Mean! Jim Hopper

WARNINGS: guys Hopper is really mean in this, small plot, OC is in a band (corroded coffin), she’s Eddie’s best friend/step-sister, age gap (OC is 19 and hops in his 40s), dubcon, drinking, usual rockstar things, OC is also kinda an asshole,nice jim at the end, hop being a cop (that rhymed lol)

NSFW INCLUDES: anal play, degradation (slut, brat, bitch), spitting, (hard) slapping, hair pulling, breeding kink, breath play, power play, size kink, manhandling, choking, oral (m receiving), praising (if you squint), heavy sir kink, humiliation, public sex (parking lot), p in v sex, overstimulation, cum eating, SORRY IF I MISSED ANYTHING<3

Istg I got horny while writing this so I hope y’all enjoy !!<3

please lmk if you guys are interested in a part 2!!

˚ ꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ˚

the night was lively and booming in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. It was a big contrast to the usual boring nights that the locals were used to, and it was surely a huge difference for on-duty chief of police, Jim Hopper.

Rowdy teens were one thing, but full grown adults plus teenagers being loud and obnoxious was not how hopper wanted to spend his night. Of course the big commotion would only mean one thing, lots of paperwork and phone calls.

It was a Tuesday night. A school night. A work night, even. What could have possibly caused all this up roar in the town? This much disruption and constant noise complaint phone calls from a small, quiet and local bar were unusual. But, nonetheless, the chief loaded up in his cruiser and made quick work of heading to the busy bar.

Jim could hear the faint blaring music from down the road, much to his dismay. As he pulled in and got out of his car, slamming the door shut, he quickly took notice of the locals stumbling out of the bar drunkenly, hollering only god knows what as he watched one fall into a bush. It was gonna be a long night.

Hopper walked into the noisy bar and was instantly met with the smell of strong alcohol and must coming from the sweaty bodies dancing around in the crowd. Unfortunately, he could also smell the lingering remanence of throw up, cause his face to crinkle up in disgust. Suddenly, the bright stage that was flashing every color under the sun caught his attention.

Of course she would be what was causing all of this nonsense.

Blood red hair sticking up in all kinds of directions bounced up and down while singing wildly. One of her dainty, fishnet covered hands in the air as her other held a microphone. The deep red lipstick she was wearing was slightly smeared, as was her eyeliner and mascara. Her honey brown eyes peering over the crowd with a wicked smile dancing on her lips at the mess she’s stirred. The lead singer of Corroded Coffin, Cherrie.

A Highschool drop-out who was on the upcoming charts with her band, soon to be leaving the small town to start touring across America for a hefty price. A delinquent since she became friends with the Munson boy, who she’d met in the 5th grade after she stabbed him in the thigh with her pink pencil.

Cherrie was a force to be reckoned with, and Hop can’t even count on his fingers anymore how many times she’d spent the night in the county jail either high out of her mind or drunk on gin. She’d spent her whole life in and out of the system, till Eddie Munsons uncle, Wayne, decided he’d take her in. Her love for music started when she’d stumbled across Eddie’s massive music collection. Once Eddie got his guitar and she had a microphone in her hand, the rest was history.

The band started off as something they did for fun with their friends, but then it turned into something they couldn’t even imagine. Once their producer released their first album, it went flying off the shelves after about a lingering week of nothing. Before they knew it, they were ushered to go on tour in 2 weeks times. Cherrie always felt she was destined for more than the small town had to offer, but she could never quite place it till now. She had wanted an escape for as long as she can remember, and now that she finally had one, she wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon.

The small town she lived in seen the worst in her, even the ones who were much worse than her. The difference between them was that she wasn’t afraid to show it. She didn’t need to put up a facade for people, because they’d always just see her as the burnt out Highschool drop out. But when she was on stage, it was like she was on top of the world. For once, the people who’d whisper terrible things about her and spread ugly rumors were looking up at her and cheering their hearts out. It was a nice change. It was a euphoric feeling.

Cherrie was no stranger when it came to the male gaze, as she’d dealt with it since she was only about 14. It’s always made her uncomfortable, for sure, but after a while she’d learned how to use it to her advantage. So it was no surprise when she’d tried attempt to seduce Jim Hopper a few months prior when he’d threaten to lock her up for good. She’d ended up spending the night in a jail cell. Ever since then, Jim’s felt uneasy around the ball of fire. Almost afraid she’d pounce at any moment on him.

But right now, it was almost as if he was in a trance as he watched her body move enchantingly. The lighting made her deep olive skin appear more vibrant, and hopper could see the sweat dripping down her chest and into her open cleavage. She wore a tight strapless corset that was laced and a small mini skirt that was so short, he was sure if she turned around he’d be able to see her ass. The fishnets that adorned her arms and legs had skulls embroidered onto them, but hopper could still see her colorful Paul Stanley star-man tattoo on the side of her thigh.

The choker she wore had protruding spikes on it and the chains she wore along with it complimented her slim neck. Hopper instinctively locked his dry lips as he stared at her for a moment longer before their eyes connected, and he felt the hairs on his arm stand up and his back straighten.

Cherrie watched Hopper walked to the side of the stage with furrowed eyebrows as he unplugged Eddie’s amp and the strobe lights, effectively making everyone let out noises of confusion and annoyance. Cherrie rolled her eyes and groaned as she dropped the mic onto the ground angrily before hopping off of the stage, pushing her way through the crowd to get to Jim. Eddie was hot on her tail, trying to calm down the fire he could’ve swore he saw in her eyes begin to spark, but he was soon lost in the crowd as he called out to her.

“What the fuck are you doing, shithead?!” Cherrie yelled out as she stood in front of Jim. “Doin’ my job, Cherrie. But you always gotta make it harder f’me, huh?” He huffed out with annoyance as he pushed past her towards the crowd of rowdy people.

“Everyone out! Right now, unless you’d like to spend the night with me at the station.” He yelled to the crowd, who quickly dispersed. Many sending Hopper ugly glances, but he was too over everything to care. “No, this is my scene, why’d you have to come fuck it up?!” She said with a groan as she stood chest to chest with him, though she was much smaller than him.

“Noise complaints, from multiple people.” He replied dryly. “Why can’t you just stay out of trouble for 2 fuckin’ minutes, is it that hard?” He added with a scoff. Cherrie didn’t process what happened as she felt her fist connect with his cheek, wincing as she rubbed her knuckles before slowly looking back up at an angry chief.

“Shit—Wait—” she muttered as she tried backing away from him, but Hop wasn’t having it. He harshly gripped her upper arm before slamming her front into the wall. “Cmon, yknow I didn’t mean to.” She said as she tried to wiggle free from his tight hold. “Shut up, brat.” He replied through clenched teeth as he snapped his cuffs onto her wrists.

“Ow!” She shouted as the cuffs tightened around her wrists painfully. Hop ignored her please as he dragged her out of the now almost empty bar. Eddie was by his van as he watched Cherrie get taken out in handcuffs with a shake of his head and a frown. “M’ sorry, Eds!” She shouted to him across the parking lot with a shrug of her shoulders. Eddie sighed as their band loaded up their belongings into his car.

Hopper pushed her forward towards the car. “We ain’t stoppin’ for chit-chat.” He grumbled under his breath. Cherrie merely rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Asshole.” She muttered under her breath. Hopper gripped her wrists in the cuffs tighter and he watched as she winced in pain. “What was that? Hm?” He muttered lowly in her ear.

She could feel his warm breath against the shell of her ear, and that’s all it took for her body to feel like it’s on fire. His grip on her wrists and the way she could feel his crotch area brush against her ass as they walked to the car from how close they are had her body on edge. She bit her lip as he opened the backseat door for her before roughly shoving her in and slamming the door shut.

Hopper got in his seat and fumbled with his keys with a huff before starting his cruiser. “Yknow you’re kinda hot when you’re mad to me, chief.” Cherrie giggled as she batted her lashes. Hopper eyed her through the rearview mirror, his eyes briefly trailing down to her open cleavage that was now free of sweat before rolling his eyes and adjusting the mirror to see better behind him, but really it’s just so his boner wouldn’t further harden from the sight of her in cuffs in his back seat.

Cherrie giggled lightly as she made herself comfortable in the backseat as Jim began driving to the police station. And then an idea hit her. “Yknow, I always thought you were a pretty shitty cop.” She said aloud as she looked out the window with a smirk. “Excuse me?” Hopper said, taken slightly aback.

“You heard me. I don’t even know you you became chief—I mean, aren’t you always drinking on the job? Yet you wanna make me seem like I’m the worst person ever.” She scoffed out with an eye roll. Hopper slammed on the breaks, making Cherrie hurl forward, hitting the head rest with a loud ‘thud’.

“Shit—what the fuck, Hop?!” She yelled out with furrowed brows. Jim’s breathing was erratic and hit fists were white from gripping the steering wheel so hard. “Yeah? You think I’m a shitty cop? Alright, y’little bitch.” He muttered with a dark chuckle as he drove into an empty parking lot that was some what hidden behind trees.

“What’re you doin? you aren’t gonna kill me are you?” Cherrie giggled, feigning fear. Hopper didn’t respond as he parked the car and swung his door open, quickly opening Cherries too. “Hey—” she started, but was cut off when hopper gripped her upper arm tightly, yanking her out of her seat and onto the ground. Cherrie sat on her knees in front of the cop, looking up at him through her thick lashes.

“Y’gonna hurt me, Hop?” She challenged with raised brows and a taunting smirk. Hoppers hand harshly made contact with the side of her cheek, roughly slapping her, making her head spin to the side as a stinging pain overtook her cheek. Cherrie whimpered lightly, making Hopper chuckle. “Thought this was what you wanted, brat.” He said tauntingly as he gripped her hair, making her look up at him.

“Now here’s what’s gonna happen—” he started . “Y’gonna suck my cock like a good girl n then I’m gonna fuck that tight little cunt until I’m through with you, n maybe your ass if I feel like it. You’ve been a little bitch all night so don’t expect to fucking cum, y’hear me?” He stated as he peered down at her. Cherrie felt her pussy begin to ache with need, but this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. She wasn’t supposed to actually want him the way she does now.

Cherrie nodded and Hopper slapped her once again, but on her other cheek. “Words, slut.” He spit out. Cherrie moaned at the slap, making hopper chuckle. “Yes, sir.” She muttered as she bit down on her lip. Jim groaned at the name. “Good girl.” He praised as he began to unzip his pants, letting them fall to his knees.

Cherrie could see his large bulge and a small wet patch where his tip is that’s seeping through. “M’gonna teach you how to suck cock properly, little girl.” He said as he let his hard cock spring free, long and so thick. A vein ran along the underside of it and Cherries mouth watered at the sight, but she wasn’t gonna let up so easily. “S’ not gonna fit in my mouth. Don’t want it to.” She said.

“I don’t give a fuck, you act like a brat n’ you get treated like one.” He said as he slapped his cock against the side of her cheek with a smirk. He soon forced Cherries mouth open with his thumb and shoved his throbbing member down her throat without warning, making her gag aloud. Cherrie could feel her eyes watering as his cock hit the back of her throat with no mercy. It was getting hard to breathe, and it didn’t help when the mean man above her pinched her nose shut as he held his cock in the back of her throat with a loud groan.

After a few seconds he let her nose go and she released his throbbing dick, gasping for air, hee chest heaving. “Please—” she begged through breaths of air. Jim quickly shoved his cock back down her throat that was now becoming unbearably sore, along with her jaw. She moaned around his cock as she began to grind her sopping cunt against the chiefs freshly polished boots.

Hopper felt his end coming near at the sight it. “Look at you— h-humping my boot l-l-like a bitch in heat.” He moaned at through clenched teeth as he watched her mascara and eyeliner run down her cheeks from her tears that he caused. The way she feverishly humped against his boot harder after his comment made him cum down her throat with a groan and a string of ‘fuckkk, just like that’ and ‘so fuckin good’.

Cherries senses were overwhelmed as she tasted him down her throat and on her tongue. Salty, but not bitter. Hopper slightly pulled out and released the rest of his cum on her tongue that was hanging outside of her mouth with a satisfied moan. Cherrie made quick work of swallowing his generous load. “Whaddya say, baby?” He mocked.

“Thank you for your cum, sir.” Cherrie said as she gripped at his leg, her panty covered pussy still dripping on his boot. “Needy little girl, aren’t you, Cherrie?” He asked as he clicked his tongue. She nodded and muttered a small ‘yes, sir’ as he surprisingly, gently pulled her up from the ground. Hopper gripped Cherries throat and pulled her face close to his, just enough to where their lips were brushing against each other.

“‘M gonna fuck you so good.” He muttered, and Cherrie groaned as he lips finally crashed with his. The kiss was messy and heated, and their teeth clashed together as did their tongues. They fought for dominance, but Jim over powered her as his tongue danced with hers. “Fuckkk, y’taste so good.” He groaned against her as his grip on her slim throat tighten just above her spiked choker that he adored so much on her.

He opened her mouth before spitting into it, his boner growing larger as he watched her swallow it obediently. It was just something about making her go from a bratty, loud, rude and arrogant little girl to a submissive, hot mess with not much to say now that made Jim Hopper go absolutely fucking feral. The need to be inside of her hurled into his senses as he dragged her to the front of his cruiser, bending her over the hood.

Jim got down onto his knees, now eye level with her wet, fishnet covered baby pink panties with lace on the trim of it. “So cute, baby.” He muttered as he kissed the flesh of her ass before gripping both cheeks in his large hands. He pressed his nose into her panties and inhaled her scent deeply, his dick throbbing at the smell of her arousal. Cherrie whimpered as his nose brushed against her aching clit as she tried to wiggle her pussy even closer to his face.

Hopper chuckled at his needy girl and licked a long stripe over her panties. Cherrie let out a pornographic moan as he sucked her panty covered clit into his mouth. “Please, sir, ‘m sorry for bein’ a bad girl, need you so bad. promise I’ll be good.” She whined out as her eyes began to water again.

“Since you asked so nicely f’me, whore.” He said as though he were pondering it. He stood up and easily towered over the small girl bent over the hood of his car as he ripped her fishnets big enough to wear he could push her panties to the side. He groaned as he watched her slick drip out of her pussy and down her thighs. “Hop, my fishnets..” she muttered breathlessly.

“I’ll buy you new fishnets, baby, whatever you want.” He muttered as leaned over and kissed her shoulder. He slapped her ass, once, twice, just to watch it jiggle against the impact before spreading her ass once again to get a better view of her pussy. “So wet..” he murmured to himself as he slapped her gently slapped her cunt, making her let out a soft groan.

Hopper aligned his massive cock to her entrance and pushed in forcefully before pausing for a moment to get the smaller girl used to his size. Her cunt squeezed around him in a vice grip, almost painfully as he hissed. Cherrie moaned as she felt him fill her small cunt to the brim, kissing her cervix. She could feel him throbbing inside of her, begging to move.

“Please, sir—” she started, and Jim wasted no time in pulling out just to slam back into her again, causing Cherrie to let out a gasp. Hopper began pounding into the red haired girl, one of his hands gripping her wrists that were still in handcuffs while the other harshly smacked her ass hard enough to leave a deep red hand print, making Cherries eyes water.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she moaned out loud ‘uhs’ each time he slammed back into her. As his pace began to gradually increase, the sweaty sound of skin slapping together could be heard throughout the parking lot and Jim felt like he was on cloud 9. Her cunt was so warm and tight. Almost as if she were a virgin.

Hop imagined her stomach swollen and her breasts enlarged and swollen with milk. How she’d become domesticated and obedient, much to his pleasure. He imagined her whimpers and moans as he’d fondle her nipples and squeezed the bundle of nerves just to watch the milk come out of them.

His hips slammed into hers harder and faster, taking Cherries breath away as her moans were uncontrollable and throat sore. Her mind was blank and all she could think about was the way he was filling her up. “Like the way I fuck you, hm? Stuffin’ this little pussy just the way you like.” The older man said as he threw his head back with a loud moan.

God, she loved how vocal he was. It made her pussy clench around him as she felt her orgasm approaching. “Sir—‘m gonna cum, gonna cum, oh my god—” she moaned out, her voice a higher pitch as she whined at the stimulation. Hopper sounded almost animalistic as he let out a what sounded close to a growl. “I told you you’re not gonna fuckin’ cum, you hear me?” He said through pants. Cherrie could tell he was being serious, but she just couldn’t hold it.

“please, ‘m sorry, sorry, I c—ca—can’t hold it.” She gasped out as her mouth formed into an ‘O’ shape as her orgasm slammed into her. Cherrie squirted all over Jim’s lower body, making him let out a groan. “Fuckkk..” he groaned out again. Cherrie thought Hopper would let up since she’d already came, but it seemed like the man had other plans.

Her pussy was so sensitive as he continued his brutal thrusts in and out with no remorse to her aching cunt. “please—stop, I can’t—“ she begged loudly as she tried to push her cuffed hands against his lower stomach, weakly trying to push him away from her but failing miserably. “No, you wanted to cum so you’re gonna fuckin cum for me as many times as I tell you to.” He said as he watched her ass jiggle each time his hips hit hers.

Hopper moved his hand that was around her wrist to her ass cheek, spreading it before spitting down into her puckered hole. He used his thumb to smear around his saliva before he slowly pushed it in, making Cherrie hiss out in pain. “This is what little girls who don’t listen get. They get their assholes used and violated.” He said with a chuckle as he began to fuck her tight ass with his thumb.

Broken moans left her throat as she felt herself go cross eyed, body shaking at the stimulation of her clit dragging against the hood of the car with each violent thrust delivered to her over-used cunt, paired with his thumb fucking into her ass made her orgasm quickly approach again.

“Sir, ‘m gonna cum, please let me cum, please, please, please!” She yelled out like it was a chant. Hopper bit down harshly on his lip, drawing blood before speaking. “Hold on, ‘m almost there, slut.” He huffed out as his thrusts became erratic and sloppy. “Y’want me to cum in this pussy? Make you nice n’ full? Make you all nice n swollen with my fuckin’ babies?” He moaned out.

“Yes, yes, yes, oh my god, need your cum, please cum in me. Need it so bad.” She moaned out, drunk on his cock that was drilling into her now more sloppy. “Yeah? Fuck , yes. Cum f’me right now, Cherrie. Cum f’me.” He repeated over and over till she squirted all over his cock for a second time, her body shaking and spasming with each dragging thrust he blew.

His hips stilled as his cock stuffed her full, and she could feel him getting soft inside of her before lazily pulling out. Hopper dropped down to his knees again and began licking up both of their release from her hole, savoring the taste of her juices that were now dripping down the starved man’s chin, making his beard sticky. “Oh my god.” Cherrie moaned as her legs shook violently at the harsh overstimulation of him fucking his cum back into her pussy with three of his large fingers.

Jim let up and slapped her cunt a few times for safe measures before he grabbed the keys to her handcuffs and took them off. Hopper put her panties back in place to make sure none of his valued cum can get out of her used cunt. He let her body fall limp against him as he picked her up bridal style as he opened the passenger door, gently putting her in.

“‘M takin’ you to my house, baby. Gon’ take good care of you, Cherrie.” He murmured gently as he kissed her temple. Cherrie nodded and blushed madly at his gentle, loving tone. A tone no one besides Wayne or Eddie used for her.

Maybe Jim Hopper wasn’t so bad after all.

˚ ꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ˚

[sparrowrye]

Alastor x Fem! Reader {soulmates} Part 7

Synopsis: soulmate AU where you have the same mark on your body as your soulmate, and if your soulmate dies, you die too. Alastor needs to make sure that his soulmate is safe so he can continue his reign - whatever that takes. Though it looks like we have a couple secrets of our own.

Part 7: pushing boundaries

Previous Part

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I reached down to touch the cold, soft cloud. I swayed side to side and looked under me to see my trail along the cloud's surface. I was giggly with the rush of cold air in my lungs. I loved flying.

I flapped up once then dove into the cloud. My heart lurched at the momentary blindness but I came out underneath it to see the ocean beneath me. I looked up to see Husker's bright red wings cutting through the cloud after me. Both our wings were a stark contrast of the beautiful white and blue sky.

Husker was always willing to go on a fly with me. We made it a morning routine. It gave me a lot of exercise since I had to hold up my entire body with my core. It left everything sore but in a good way.

Landing was still rough, though. I glided down and tripped over my own feet while Husker slowed enough to perch exactly where he wanted. He smiled at me, his canine tooth sticking out of his smile.

I lunged at him. He rolled on his back and threw me over with his feet. Roughhousing with him was fun, usually leading into a magic showdown. The goal was to get them the opponent on the ground for five seconds.

I never won. But I did make Husker work for it.

I landed hard on my back and let out a gasp. A few seconds later Husker came into view with a side smile. "You know you'd probably do a lot better if you actually tried to hurt me like before."

"I didn't like you before." I groaned as I pulled myself to a sitting position.

"How kind." He held his hand out and helped me to my feet. I shook my body free of dirt and looked forward to a warm shower.

As we headed back to the house, I noticed Alastor stalking from the porch again. My eyes narrowed and I kept my attention on the door. I ignored him and went upstairs to my bedroom. Ever since he corrected me in the library, I've been ignoring him entirely.

Showering was a new venture with my demon form. I had cut myself a few times with my own claws when washing my hair. It also seemed to constantly tangle around my horns if I didn't have it pulled back. Not to mention the shower was small and I had large wings. They seemed to grow with every day.

I would be meeting Rosie again tonight. I had a journal full of things to tell her. I was slowly seeing more and more memories through my dreams. They were simple scenarios, often abusive, but surely they had something hidden in them.

I followed Alastor behind the house later that evening. I hated when he grabbed me by the waist instead of the shoulders like he used to do. It infuriated me when he would snatch it back before I could shove it off myself. He usually left me at Rosie's then disappeared into the shadows.

Rosie listened to my synopsis of my dreams with amazing patience. Once I had finished, she placed her cup down and asked, "When you dream of your mother, is there a color you often see?"

I was quiet for a moment as I thought about it. "Well...I mean there's lots of red...the walls are always red or brown. But...I don't know...I think...maybe there's some deep blues?”

"Hm...interesting."

"Why?"

"Conjure up that fork in your hand for me, dearie." I focused in on the fork, unsure of how to use teleporting yet. So I did the next best thing and sent it flying into my hand. "Did you notice there was a glow on it?"

"What? A glow?"

Rosie nodded. "Try again. Watch carefully."

This time I tried moving it more slowly. I could see a faint, blue glow surrounding it as it drew near. I watched it for a long moment for looking up at Rosie for an explanation.

"I have a strong feeling that...maybe...perhaps...your mother casted the curse on you."

"What?" I looked between Rosie and the fork. "No she didn't. She was trapped in those fights just like me! She wouldn't handicap my powers like that if it was the difference between living and dying."

"Maybe she did it to protect you. In your memories, you constantly talk about looking over her shoulder. She may have hiding you."

I looked down at my black claws. "Do you think...if the curse is active, does that mean she's alive?"

"I’m afraid not, sweetheart. A curse can stay on someone until they die." She stood to put a hand on my shoulder. "What about your father? Do you have any memories of him?"

I shook my head. "I don't know what he looks like. I don't...I wouldn't know how to pick him out in my dreams. He probably died in a ring fight."

"Or perhaps he escaped. There's still hope, dearie. Let's try looking again."

Our memory search yielded nothing. Though Rosie says I've unraveled more of the curse with the practicing of magic. She reassured me that I was doing everything possible to help my case.

"How's living with Alastor?" she asked abruptly. I coughed on the tea and covered my mouth with a napkin. "Ooh, that doesn’t sound too pretty."

"It's..." I tapped my claws on the glass. "It's uh...it's something."

Rosie laughed. "Oh you sweet thing. You're being so polite. Come, tell Auntie Rosie what it's really like living with him. I know how he can be."

I held my suspicions. "He's uh...Husker and I fixed up the house together. It was practically falling apart."

"Needed a ladies touch, hm?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"How's he treating you? I'll straighten that man out if he's not treating you like the proper lady you are." My mind jumped to the library and my first escape attempt.

"He's been...alright. He seems to be impatient with me a lot."

"Goodness that man," she huffed. I noticed a shadow appear along the wall behind her. It was Alastor's shadow. "Don't worry dear, I'll tell that old man to mind his manners with you."

"Come now, I'm not that old." Alastor stepped out from behind her chair. She laughed and crossed her arms as she faced him.

"Be patient with your soulmate, Alastor. She's still learning a lot."

"Not to worry, Rosie, I've been very patient with her. Like you said, she has a lot to learn and who better to teach her than me." He casted a glare in my direction. I rubbed my sweaty palms together.

"You betta. Us girls have our own language and I'll know if you weren't being kind to such a sweet thing like her." She hugged me tightly.

"Of course, my lady," Alastor bowed his head to her. "Well, we must be heading home now." He held out his hand for me. The two taller adults watched me, waiting. I clenched my teeth and took his dark red hand. "Good day, Rosie."

"Good day, Alastor." She held the door open for us. I kept my eyes on the ground as we walked over to the scorched symbol. Rosie waved goodbye as we turned to face her. Alastor lifted my hand up and grabbed it with his other one. He placed his hand on my hip and pulled me close. My lips nearly pulled back into a snarl as he smiled down at my discomfort.

The smell of the ocean reached my nose first. My feet touched earth and I immediately shoved him away. He grabbed both my wrists and held them at his shoulder height. "Now is that anyway to treat your soulmate?"

"You surely don't know how to treat one," I snarled, letting my sharp teeth show.

"You make it difficult to with this defiance of yours." He let go of one arm to twiddle his claws in my face.

"Oh right," I scoffed, "I completely forgot. I'm not being held here against my will."

"Not anymore, you're not." He let go. "You came back willingly the night you reunited with your old master."

My tail whipped back and forth. "You're not a savior! You're anything but one. I'm perfectly capable of living on my own. Especially with my new magic."

"Magic you don't yet have control over. And a form you have yet to master for long periods of time. You wouldn't last one week as a young, naive Demon in this world."

"I'm not naive." My claws elongated and my wings grew bigger. My hands emitted a purple glow that rang along my entire body. "I learned just fine how to survive for five years on my own. I know how to handle myself!"

"Do not raise your voice at me." Red stitches appeared on the corners of his mouth and his antlers grew to the size of an elk. His body portions grew inhumanly and he towered above me in seconds. My ears flattened against my head and I bent low to the ground.

He can't kill you. He can't kill you. He can't kill you.

"I'm a human with my own free will." My voice quivered. I had yet to see him distort like this.

"You're a Demon." His arms grew even longer and his huge claws slammed down on either side of me. "A Demon without proper training on her magic. You are a danger to others and yourself." His face slowly came closer to mine. His mouth stopped moving as he spoke, instead his yellow teeth pulsing when he did.

I sprouted my wings and shot myself out from under him. He reached for me but I was too fast with my wings and wind magic. I dove backwards over the cliff and nearly fell into the sharp rocks at the bottom. I pushed myself over with wind and caught myself at the last second. Pain shot through my back at the force of the stop.

I boosted myself further away from the cliff and looked over my shoulder. My face paled at the sight of Alastor growing bigger than the house. I suddenly regretted my choice to run.

I clenched my teeth and flew higher up. I was in it now. I was a Full mage. If my magic was as untamed as he claimed, that meant I was unpredictable.

Black tentacles sprouted from his back and flew at me. I barely missed the first and the second slammed painfully into my foot. I dove down then pushed myself up into the gray clouds. The night sky would help provide cover.

At least, that's what I thought before his red eyes lifted above the clouds, sending a red light across their surfaces. His pupils were a radio dial but I knew that didn't lessen his sight. His sharp teeth appeared next.

I stopped flapping and fell back through the clouds. The tentacles were still there and came at me at inhuman speed. I couldn't evade them as they slammed into my face and chest. Fire did little and they wrapped around my legs and waist within seconds. I flapped furiously and dug my claws into their squishy skin.

The tentacles pulled me back towards the house. Alastor's terrifying figure shrunk the closer the tentacles drew me in. My flailing lessened as he returned to the state I recognized.

The tentacles pulled me in faster and he stuck out his clawed hand, enclosing around my throat. The black things unwrapped from me and pulled on my wings. My feet barely touched the ground as he held me way too close to the edge. His hand was securely under my jaw and digging into my skin so I started to bleed.

"You need to accept the fact that you will never leave this place for the rest of your life," he said with radio static behind his voice. He let me down so my feet were flat on the ground but so he could tower over me. I put one hand on his wrist and the other arm across his chest to keep him away.

"I'm growing tired of your antics. These little outbursts of yours will stop today." It was more terrifying that he was smiling through his anger. I leaned away despite the sheer drop beneath me, and he only followed never more than an inch away. "If you don't want me to treat you like a caged pet, I suggest you apologize and quit it with this delusion of yours."

His smile was wide and his breath smelled like roadkill. He dug his claws further into the wound he created, making me wince. "I'm-I'm sorry." He held me over the edge for several heartbeats. Eventually he pulled me away but didn't let get off my neck.

"I never want to hear you mention anything about leaving here, again. To me or to Husker. Do you understand?"

I wanted to cough from the way he was holding me but I held it in. The tentacles were still pulling onto my wings and pulling them painfully down. My resignation made my shoulders fall. "Perfectly."

He let go. I turned to the side to cough, clutching at my bleeding neck. I felt the wounds closing but the blood was still plastered to my skin.

"Good talk." His cane appeared in one hand and he put the other behind his back. His voice sounded chipper again. "Come, dear, let's clean you up." He held his hand out towards the house, looking at me sideways. I took a deep breath and walked past. He walked close behind me.

[crysta1ized]

a theory on ep11’s preview

firstly, if you’ve guessed/ theorized that non was still alive, you get 10 points!

if you also guessed that perth would help him (in that case, thanks to tee) you also get 10 points!

knowing that tee helped non escape, was definitely a plot twist. he basically lives at his uncle’s mercy, is forced to work for him and has to follow every single one of his orders so his father doesn’t die. which is a pretty shitty situation!

we saw previously that he showed guilt after non got busted for the fake accounts instead of him, but to help him escape from that very uncle? you’ll never fail to surprise me, tee!

after that, tee gives an envelope to non and tells him he’ll get him out of there.

now, what is in this envelope? my first thought was obviously money. but i also thought, what if it was a plane ticket? it’d be safer for non to get the hell out of bangkok (or even thailand) to be sure the uncle and his men could never get him. a one way flight, non leaving without looking back.

i think that with the help of perth, tee could’ve gathered enough money to pay a ticket. i mean, that would’ve benefited tee a whole lot too. non forever out of his hair, not causing any more problems. disappearing without a trace. his uncle thinking he got rid of the troublemaker.

but what happened to mr keng then?

firstly we have no idea of the extent of his injuries. we guessed that non’s were only bad enough to knock him out on the roof, but the uncle might as well have killed keng for good.

i mean, he was hit with a car, which is way worse than a few punches. in the best case scenario (for him, cause i want that bastard dead), he only got a few bruises, but the most logical one would be that his legs are broken, as well as a few ribs maybe (depending on how hard the car hit him).

if we assume he’s alive, like non (which i seriously doubt), i don’t think tee would’ve helped him at all. he’s already risking everything to save non, he wouldn’t try saving both, especially because keng doesn’t mean anything to him. he probably never even had a conversation with him.

so in my opinion, we won’t see the teacher ever again, unless he found another way to escape, such as being rescued by the police as his disappearance could’ve been noticed after some time.

now onto the fun part!

white is seen entering the arcade place, where we’ve already seen non & phee meeting up and making out at.

which means we’ll finally get teewhite whole’s backstory!

my depressing theory is that we’ll get a cute little montage of their love story, and they’ll show us how cute they are, with their little puppy love, opposites attract shit just to snatch it from us right after.

mark my words, they’ll make us love teewhite and after those little flashbacks with bright colors that distracted us for a moment, we’ll get back to our depressing and dark present.

4 possibilities after that:

best case scenario: while we get a contrast between the past and how in love they were and acted, nothing terrible happens. tee explains to the group what was revealed to the viewer in the flashbacks, that he ended up helping non and that he’s still alive. he righted his wrongs and while white is shaken up, he’s glad tee isn’t just a bully who guilt tripped a kid into money laundering, he did feel guilt and saved him from his uncle.

same as above, tee reveals everything to the group but white doesn’t forgive him. he feels betrayed and mad that tee hid that from him for so long. in white’s eyes, tee is no longer someone he can trust, or hide behind.

tee dies

white dies

while i believe those 2 last options can happen, i don’t think they’d happen at that moment. tee’s reveal scene will probably be at the beginning of the episode while the following one with phee & new may happen soon after, which is why those 2 options seem less likely to happen then.

new is clearly urging phee on to shoot.

but how? in the last scene of ep10, fluke is the one who has it and he clearly doesn’t want to let it go. he let white out of his grasp and is now pointing it at tee.

but fluke is clearly out of it, and is the one suffering the most from hallucinations, which made him shoot top even though his only principle was clearly to never act, to keep his hands clean of anything that could prevent him of becoming a doctor. too late now!

someone could take advantage of his delirious state and while he’s distracted, take the gun from him, like white, who’s on the ground, kinda behind fluke and now out of his sight. which is when phee could take the gun, as he’s the unofficial new leader and appears trustworthy as he just exposed new.

but who is phee pointing the gun at?

i think it’s most likely fluke. he’s clearly losing his mind and the hallucinations are making him aggressive, like top. which is why they may have to kill him before he kills someone else.

phee clearly wants to make the right decision, surely wants to kill him or just hurt him because fluke is an active threat. but tan just wants to see them all gone! he clearly has nothing to lose left, now that phee exposed him, this is his last chance to avenge his brother.

alternative theory:

phee might be pointing the gun at someone else.

according to how tee’s revelation ends, especially how non’s story ends, something might happen after that.

phee wouldn’t be pointing the gun at someone who didn’t deserve it, who wasn’t a threat to the group.

so why would it be tee? in my opinion, non escaped the country, end of story. but maybe something happened to him just before he could get out. then new would get mad at tee, blaming him. tee fights him. then he would represent a threat. or maybe the hallucinations come back and he gets violent.

then of course new would be happy to see phee shoot tee, who was the whole reason non even got involved with dangerous mafia shit in the first place.

the last scene is new, lighting a cigarette.

why would he be smoking in the middle of all this? like he has time to do that?

maybe it’s just a meaningless scene they’re throwing in the preview so they don’t have to spoil too much stuff.

but, still, new is the only one who's going through with his plan, and he wouldn’t waste time on lighting a cigarette! unless it’s truly chaos, and like we know, he smokes to de-stress.

creepily, when i saw the scene the first time, i thought ‘this is his last cigarette. they’re holding him at gunpoint and they allow him to smoke one last time before they pull the trigger’ because he’s clearly shivering. but that may be way too far as i don’t think any of them would shoot anyone in cold blood if they weren’t actively threatened.

but a more plausible theory would be that they’re forcing him to smoke. in the scene where new is urging phee on to shoot, phee looks at him ‘like, what the fuck?’ like he’s not liking new telling him what to do at all.

maybe then, phee doesn’t shoot anyone, not fluke, not tee, but instead turns on new and points the gun at him. maybe phee really doesn’t want any kind of revenge for non anymore as his brother became too violent for his liking. but phee wouldn’t shoot new.

he could however hold him at gunpoint, and force him to smoke one of the drugged cigarettes, one with an X. maybe so he isn’t an active threat to them anymore, urging them to kill each other and to cause more chaos. they’d be on equal ground as he’d start hallucinating too.

what do you think?

[jcxbliss]

  Song Of The Deep

Pairing - Lee Seokmin (Siren) x Female Reader (Researcher)

Genre - Fantasy, Angst, 18+ Themes

Word Count - 8.7k

Warnings- Alcohol use, mentions of sexual encounters, sexual themes, no explicit consent

Author's Note -I appreciate it. Please Enjoy<3

(ANYONE CAN JOIN THE TAGLIST)

Tags: @hipsdofangirl

Rum Lips

Readers Point Of View 

The morning sun streamed through the curtains, casting a warm, golden hue across the room. You awoke from a night of restless sleep, the remnants of your dream still fresh in your mind. Shaking off the lingering unease, you slipped out of bed and made your way to the mirror.

You were dressed in a blue, white, and pink floral summer dress that flared gently at the waist. The vibrant colors and delicate pattern brightened your mood. You adjusted a white headband, adorned with a small bow, and smiled at your reflection. The headband perfectly complemented your dress, adding a playful touch to your outfit. 

Today was collectively decided to be a day off for the group, everyone made plans around the area to explore and would collectively all come together in the evening for dinner. While talking over the plans the night before at dinner Lucy and you decided to go pamper yourself and feel like locals in the area. 

Just as you were finishing up, a sharp knock on the door startled you. A cheerful voice followed soon after.

“Hey, it’s Lucy!” came the call. “The car’s ready to go. Are you all set for our girls’ day out?”

You opened the door to find Lucy standing there with her usual infectious grin. She was dressed casually dawning a flowy pastel yellow teeshirt with a pair of light washed mom jeans and a white golfing cap to match. Her gray pulled back into a poney tail and her face was covered in a soft glam make up look. It seemed that she just had a bit of blush against the apple of her cheeks and some mascara. Lucy was truly a beautiful older women, she definitely was a stunner when she was in her twenties. 

“Good morning!” Lucy said brightly. “I just wanted to make sure you’re ready. We’re heading to the farmers’ market, and I hear it’s going to be a blast.”

You smiled, feeling your spirits lift with her enthusiasm you where buzzing with excitement of your day off from work. “Morning, Lucy! I’m just about ready. Let me grab my bag and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Lucy gave you a thumbs-up and turned to head back to the front door. You quickly gathered your essentials, taking one last glance at your outfit in the mirror. The floral dress and white headband felt like the perfect choice for a day of exploring and indulging in fresh produce.

After a quick breakfast, the two of you set off out the door, the morning air cool and invigorating. The car parked outside was sleek and polished, a sharp contrast to the cozy, rustic feel of a farmers’ market. Lucy was chatting with the driver in Italian which was something you didn’t know she could speak. 

You slid into the back seat, feeling the plush leather beneath you. The car began to move, and you looked out the window at the city waking up. Lucy’s animated chatter filled the car, her enthusiasm about the farmers’ market contagious.

As the car approached the farmers market, she turned around with a bright smile. “We’re going to have so much fun today. I can’t wait to check out all the fresh fruits, veggies, and maybe even some homemade goodies.”

“It’s going to be great,” Lucy continued, her eyes sparkling. “I’ve heard they have a lot of unique stalls and some really interesting local vendors. Plus, we can grab lunch from one of the food trucks. What do you think?”

You nodded, your own excitement growing. “That sounds perfect. I’ve been wanting to explore more local markets. I’m excited to see what we find.”

The car drove through the city streets, heading toward the farmers’ market. The day promised to be a delightful escape from the previous night’s concerns, and you couldn’t help but feel eager for the adventures and discoveries awaiting you.

As the car pulled up to the market, you could already see the bustle of activity and vibrant colors. The promise of fresh produce and artisanal treats added a layer of excitement to the day. Stepping out of the car, you joined Lucy with a shared sense of anticipation, ready to embrace the simple joys of the market and enjoy a fun-filled day together.

The car came to a gentle stop, and you and Lucy stepped out, greeted by the lively hum of the farmers’ market. The vibrant array of tents and stalls created a kaleidoscope of colors, with booths draped in cheerful fabrics and bustling with activity. The rich, earthy scent of fresh produce mingled with the aroma of baked goods and freshly brewed coffee, filling the air with an inviting warmth.

Lucy’s eyes grew big as she took in the scene taking ahold of your left arm and tugging on it like an excited kid in a candy store. “Look at this! It’s even better than I imagined. Where should we start?”

You looked around, taking in the sensory overload of sights and smells. “How about we start with the produce section? I’d love to see what kind of fresh fruits and vegetables they have.”

Lucy nodded enthusiastically, and the two of you made your way towards a stall brimming with colorful fruits and vegetables. Ripe tomatoes, plump peaches, and vibrant bell peppers created a feast for the eyes. The vendor, a cheerful woman with a broad smile, greeted you both warmly.

“Good morning! Feel free to sample anything you like,” the women said with the best English she could muster but you could understand most of it even through her thick accent. The vendor grabs something and begins to offer it to the two of you .“These are just picked this morning.” Looking closer at the basket you exam small red berries still connected with the green stems, unmistakenly strawberries.

You took a strawberry and plopped it between your lips, savoring its sweetness. The flavor was bright and fresh, a perfect start to your market adventure. Lucy sampled a few items as well, chatting with the vendor in the native language about her favorite recipes with the produce that they sell.

You took this moment to take a good look around, a sense of familiarity overwhelmed you and brought you back to your childhood. When you where younger your mother and you would go to the farmers market to explore what others in the neighborhood had grown. You were shy as a child, never wanting to stray to far from your mother side. You would never fail to take in how friendly everyone was though. In that place everyone knew everything about everyone. From who had a child recently to small minuscule things like your families famous dish.

As you wandered through the market, you encountered a variety of stalls—each offering something unique. Homemade jams, artisanal cheeses, and handcrafted soaps were just a few of the treasures you explored. You and Lucy made a game of finding the most interesting or unusual items, laughing and exchanging ideas for future meals.

“This cheese is incredible,” Lucy said, holding up a small wedge of creamy goat cheese. “We have to get some for the picnic.”

You nodded in agreement completely forgetting that the group planned to do a picnic for dinner instead of being stuck indoors for another night. “Definitely. And let’s grab a loaf of that freshly baked sourdough. It’ll go perfectly with the cheese.” Pointing to a stall about two away from where the two of you were standing.

After selecting a few goodies, you meandered over to a food truck offering an array of mouthwatering options. The smell of sizzling meat and savory spices wafted through the air, making your stomach growl in anticipation.

“What are you in the mood for?” Lucy asked, peering at the menu.

You glanced at the offerings, your eyes lighting up at the sight of a hearty, loaded veggie wrap. “I think I’m going to try the veggie wrap. It looks amazing.”

Lucy ordered a spicy chicken taco, and soon you were both sitting on a nearby bench, enjoying your lunch and soaking up the vibrant atmosphere of the market. The food was as delicious as it smelled, and you found yourself savoring each bite.

“This has been such a great day,” Lucy said, taking a satisfied bite of her taco. “I’m so glad we decided to do this.”

You agreed wholeheartedly, feeling a sense of contentment and relaxation. The farmers’ market had provided a welcome distraction and a chance to enjoy the simple pleasures of fresh food and good company.

As you finished your lunch, you decided to take one last stroll through the market. The time coming up to around three pm which is the same time the car should be coming back to pick you up and the boys should have gotten back to the homebase by now.

Just before you left, Lucy pulled you over to a small artisan stand selling handmade candles. The soft glow of the candles and their soothing scents were a perfect ending to the day.

“Look at these!” Lucy exclaimed, picking up a lavender-scented candle. “I think this one’s my favorite. You have to smell it!”

Lucy held out the candle with an eager smile, but as you brought it closer to your nose, a familiar, unwelcome sensation started to make itself known. Lavender had always been a trigger for your allergies, causing sneezing and discomfort.

“Oh, I’d love to, but I’m actually allergic to lavender,” you said, gently pushing the candle away. “It tends to make me sneeze and feel unwell.”

Lucy’s face fell slightly, but she quickly recovered. “Oh no, I didn’t realize! Let’s find something else then.”

She put the lavender candle back and picked up another one—a warm, vanilla scent that seemed to fill the air with a gentle, soothing aroma. “How about this one? It’s vanilla bean, and I think it’s wonderful.”

You took a tentative sniff and smiled in relief. The vanilla scent was pleasant and non-irritating. “This one is perfect. I’ll take it.”

Lucy added the vanilla candle to your small collection of market finds. As you made your final purchases and prepared to leave, you felt grateful for the thoughtful gesture and the enjoyable day you’d had. The market had been a refreshing change and a chance to relax and indulge in some much-needed retail therapy.

As you and Lucy headed back to the car, the vibrant energy of the market seemed to linger, providing a sense of fulfillment and contentment. The sun set behind you, casting a warm, orange glow across the horizon. You couldn’t help but smile, ready to end the day on a peaceful note and looking forward to relaxing at home.

The car ride home was filled with the pleasant hum of the engine and the soft glow of the late afternoon sun filtering through the windows. You were staring off into the distance watching as the beautiful landscape of Italy passes you by in a flash. 

Lucy, turned to you with a friendly smile. “You know, I’ve been meaning to ask since I don’t know much about you—how did you get into entomology? It seems like such a unique field.”

You smiled, feeling a sense of pride as you thought about your journey. “That’s a great question. It all started back on the farm, actually. I was always fascinated by the insects we encountered while working outside.”

Lucy leaned in, clearly interested. “Wait pause a farm, you do not seem like a farm person?”

You chuckled softly, recalling the early days. “Well, I lived in Idaho for majority of my life where my family owned a farm that was passed down from my grandparents on my dads side. So I was always surrounded by nature. I’d spend hours exploring the fields and the garden, observing the different bugs and critters. My older brother and I would often have little competitions to see who could find the most interesting insect.”

Lucy’s eyes widened with interest. “That sounds like a lot of fun. Did you have a favorite insect or one that particularly captured your interest?”

You nodded, thinking back to those formative experiences. “I’ve always had a soft spot for butterflies. There was something magical about their transformation from caterpillar to chrysalis and then to a butterfly. It was like witnessing a living miracle. It was a nice break from my older brother always bringing spiders and putting them on my bed.” You shudder at the thought of spiders.

“So, I am taking a shot in the dark here but I assume that is what lead you into entomology?” She said with a bit of sarcasm lacing her tone.

You smiled. “Exactly. I pursued a degree in entomology because I wanted to dive deeper into the science behind these creatures that had always fascinated me. I was drawn to the idea of understanding their roles in ecosystems and the incredible diversity of insects. It felt like a natural extension of the curiosity I’d had as a kid.”

Lucy leaned back, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Enough about work for now! I’d love to know more about you outside of the lab. What do you like to do for fun when you’re not working?”

You laughed softly, “Oh, there’s a lot to share! I love spending time outdoors, obviously—hiking, camping, and just enjoying nature whenever I can. I also have a bit of a knack for cooking, especially trying out new recipes with fresh ingredients.”

Lucy’s eyes lit up. “Cooking? That’s awesome! Do you have a favorite dish or type of cuisine you enjoy making?”

You nodded enthusiastically. “I really enjoy baking bread. There’s something almost meditative about the process. My mother taught me when I was younger how to make all different kinds of breads, my favorite was blueberry zucchini bread. I always wanted to help but hated shredding the zucchini because I would slice open my knuckle but the actual bread.” You kiss your fingertips, “Chiefs kiss.”

“That sounds delicious. I’d love to try some of your cooking sometime!” Lucy comments.

“Maybe one day you can try some, but I can’t promise it is going to be a five star meal.” You glance down at your hands having a habit of rubbing your thumbs together in a self soothing manor. 

You never liked to talk about yourself. Sometimes it feels like you are oversharing, or your life isn’t interesting enough. Which in a way was true, you grew up on a farm with a happy family that all are doing great for themselves. You went to a little college left with a degree had a few relationships that ended in a mutual split. Then you went on with your life now you work at an university studying bugs, (which isn’t a bad thing). You have lived a simple but boring life. 

Feeling a slight vibration coming from your bag that is sitting on your lap you open it and begin digging through it after a moment you find your phone and pull it out. Unlocking your phone you click open the notification to see that it is from your childhood friend Isebella.

Isebella: Hey, I just found out from your mom that you’re in Italy? Really? Why am I the last to know?

---

You: Hey Ise! I’m so sorry! Things have been a bit crazy with the research, and I didn’t mean to leave you out. I should have updated you sooner.

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Isebella:Oh, no worries! I’m just pretending to be mad. I mean, Italy sounds amazing. How’s it going?

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You: Haha, you got me there. It’s actually been incredible. The research is intense, but the country is beautiful. I’ve got so many stories to share.

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Isebella: I’m sure you do! I want all the details. What’s the best part of Italy so far?

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You: Honestly, the food is out of this world. And the scenery is just breathtaking. I’ve been trying to make the most of my free time exploring.

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Isebella: Sounds like you’re having a blast. I’m only pretending to be upset because I miss our chats. But I’m really happy for you!

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You: I miss our chats too! Let’s set up a time to catch up properly. How about a video call sometime this week?

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Isebella: Definitely! Thursday evening work for you? I want to hear all about your adventures.

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You: Perfect! Thursday it is. Can’t wait to fill you in on everything.

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Isebella: Awesome. And just so you know, next time, give me a heads-up before you jet off to another country, okay?

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You: Absolutely. Thanks for being understanding. I’ll make sure to keep in touch better.

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Isebella: No problem. Talk soon and enjoy every moment in Italy!

---

You: Will do! Talk to you soon, Isa.

During your messaging between Isebella and you tried your best to listen to Lucy go through her hobbies. As she had took it upon herself to tell you her life story.

Lucy smiled, her eyes twinkling with enthusiasm. “Well, when I’m not buried in research or out in the field, I have a few passions of my own. I’ve recently taken up gardening. It’s been a bit of a haven for me—tending to plants, especially those that attract butterflies and bees, feels like a natural extension of my work. Plus, it’s incredibly relaxing to watch a garden flourish.”

She chuckled, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face. “And I have a soft spot for old films. There’s something about the classic black-and-white movies that I find both comforting and inspiring. It’s a nice way to unwind and escape into a different era.”

Lucy’s gaze softened as she continued, “So, between gardening and movies, I guess I manage to balance out the intense days spent studying insects. It’s all about finding those little pockets of joy, right?”

As you approached the final stretch leading to the seaside retreat, the view of the sparkling ocean greeted you, signaling that you were almost home.

Upon arriving, you and Lucy quickly gathered your bags and headed inside the charming bed and breakfast. The interior, with its cozy nautical décor and inviting atmosphere, felt like a warm embrace after a day out. You set your bags down by the front desk, where a welcoming note from the owners awaited you.

Just then, two figures emerged from the sitting area. Azail, just offered a polite nod as you entered making his way towards you and grabbing two of the bags from your left hand.

“Welcome back,” Azail said softly, his voice gentle and measured.

Beside him stood Seokmin, who made his way over to lucy and grabbing some other bags from her. “Hey there! It’s great to see you both again! How was the market? Did you find anything exciting?”

You couldn’t help but return Seokmin’s enthusiasm with a smile of your own. “We did! We picked up some amazing fresh produce and cheeses..”

Lucy turned to Azail and Seokmin with a warm smile. “It’s great to see you both. We’re planning a relaxing evening with the market goodies and would love for you guys to join us if you’re free.”

Seokmin’s face brightened even more. “Absolutely, I’d love to! Azail might take a little more convincing, but I’m sure he’ll enjoy it too.” 

Seokmin’s eyes lit up. “That sounds fantastic! I’d love to help out with anything if you need it. Just let me know!”

Azail gave a small nod of approval in Seokmin’s direction, his expression remaining more reserved but genuinely interested. “Thank you for the invitation. I’d be happy to join.”

After chatting a bit and unloading the items from the market from the bag Lucy decides to delegate task in the group. 

“Seokmin you stay in here with Y/N and help make everything pretty, make sure you do everything she says.” Lucy said while pointing at him while he stands at attention and salutes her.

“Yes captain,” Seokmin says and slides over to your side before leaning down to your height, “She is kind of scary when she gets like this.” Seokmin whispers into your ear causing you to cough out a laugh before pushing against him to get him to stand straight. 

“Azail you can help me set up outside to make it look as pretty as possible.” Lucy grabs onto Azail’s arm before he can respond and begins to drag him out of the kitchen to look for everything they may need for the outdoor. 

As they leave you and Seokmin begin to work on different task, you instructed him to find a board and begin cutting some tomatoes while you work on something else. 

You begin to hone into the task at hand which was slicing cucumbers when you suddenly feel a sharp pain. Looking down, you see a small cut on your finger, blood beginning to trickle.

“Ow!” you exclaim, dropping the knife onto the cutting board.

Seokmin immediately looks up from chopping tomatoes. “What happened?”

“I cut myself,” you say, holding your finger up with a wince.

“Let me see.” Seokmin moves over quickly, his expression turning serious as he inspects the cut. “It’s not too deep, but we should get it cleaned up.”

You try to laugh it off. “Guess I shouldn’t be trusted with sharp objects.”

“First it is walking and now it is cutting is there any task you can do safely,” Seokmin grins, a playful glint in his eye. “Do you know if there is a first aid kit here, I haven’t order the one just for you yet since I didn’t think we would need it this soon.”

You nod towards the cupboard. “It’s somewhere in there, but it might take a while to find.”

“Don’t worry,” Seokmin says, starting to search through the cabinet. “I’ll find it in no time. It’s like a treasure hunt now.”

As he rummages, he adds, “So, while I dig up our legendary kit, why don’t you tell me how you managed to cut your finger in the most dramatic way possible?”

You chuckle, despite the sting. “I was concentrating so hard on making perfect slices that I forgot to watch where my fingers were. Lesson learned.”

Seokmin emerges triumphantly with a small first aid kit. “Behold, the mythical first aid kit!” he announces with a flourish. He makes his way back to you, setting the first aid kit down he outstretches his hand to you for you to take. Hesitantly you place your hand into his the size difference not going unnoticed by you. Seokmin gently takes it and opens the first aid kit and begins to carefully cleans your cut and applies a bandage with practiced ease.

“There, all better,” he says, giving you a reassuring smile. “See? It was worth the hype.”

You grin, feeling both relieved and grateful. “Thanks, Seokmin. You’re a lifesaver.”

“Anytime,” he replies, closing the kit and setting it aside. “Now, let’s finish up and join Lucy and Azail outside before they think we’ve abandoned them.”

You and Seokmin wrap up the final preparations in the kitchen, putting the last few items into the picnic basket. 

“Alright, I think we’re almost ready,” Seokmin says, carefully stacking the last few containers. “How about we set up the picnic board and then head out?”

“Sounds good,” you reply, arranging a few more utensils on the board.

With everything packed and the board neatly arranged, you both head outside. As you walk toward the beach, the gentle sea breeze cools the air, carrying with it the distant sound of waves and seagulls. The sight that greets you is more than you anticipated.

Lucy and Azail have turned a simple beach setup into something magical. The blanket is spread out perfectly on the sand, decorated with soft pillows and blankets that make it look like a cozy nest. Lanterns are hung from a nearby tree, casting a soft, golden light that contrasts beautifully with the fading daylight. A low wooden table holds an assortment of delicious foods, and a few candles flicker gently, adding to the ambiance.

“This looks incredible,” you say, taking in the scene with a smile. “You guys really went all out.”

Lucy waves at you, her face lit up with pride. “We couldn’t let you two have all the fun making the board. Besides, it’s the perfect way to end a day of amazing adventures.”

Azail stands up, brushing sand off his hands. “Glad you’re here! We were starting to wonder if you’d gotten lost in the kitchen.” He chimes in and grabs the board from your hands so you could sit down on the blanket

Seokmin laughs. “No chance of that! We had a little kitchen mishap, but all sorted now. Thanks to my heroic first aid skills.”

Lucy raises an eyebrow playfully. “Heroic, huh? Did you save the day?”

“Absolutely,” Seokmin replies with a grin. “And I made sure the legendary first aid kit lived up to its reputation.”

Azail and Lucy pass glances back and forth about Seokmin’s comment before just brushing it off and everyone settles down into their spots. 

The sky starts to paint itself with hues of orange and pink, the sun setting over the horizon and reflecting its warm colors across the water.

“Perfect timing,” you comment, looking around at the beautiful setup and the sunset. “This is exactly what I needed.” You say as you stretch your legs out and let out a sigh.

Azail nods in agreement while he looks around at the sky laying back into blanket on a pillow behind him.. “It’s moments like these that make everything worthwhile.” 

Lucy uncorks a bottle of red wine that she had picked out at the market and hands out glasses that Seokmin had brought out in case you were to have a third mishap. “Who’s ready for a toast?” she asks pouring generous amounts of red liquid into the cups and delegating them to the group.

“Absolutely!” Seokmin grabs the second glass from Lucy, raising his glass. “Here’s to perfect evenings and even better company.”

Everyone clinks glasses after everyone gets theirs glass, and the sparkling cider is poured generously. You take a sip, savoring the crisp, refreshing taste that immediately begins to lift your spirits. The burn slipping down your throat giving you a sense of sitting by a fire with your eyes closed savoring the taste Seokmin leans closer, his voice playful.

“Looks like you’re enjoying the wine,” he says with a smirk. “I’d say it suits you.”

You laugh, feeling the warmth of the alcohol mix with your own blush. “Oh, really?” Your lips reconnect with the glass as you take another swig of it. “I heard a rumor once going around the entomology building about a wild night you had with a group involving a little bit of whiskey.” You lean closer to him, “Something about you being a light weight and running around a camp without a shirt.” You whisper under your breath with a laugh before looking over at him.

Seokmin’s eyes twinkle as he sips his drink. “Guilty as charged, but what they won’t tell you is that I only ran around because I was dared to. I guess you can say that the liquid gold, or in this case.” He raises his wine glass a bit, “Liquid Ruby, makes me braver, brave enough to tell you that you look stunning.” 

You raise an eyebrow, a flirtatious grin spreading across your face. “Is that so?.”

He shrugs his shoulders in a nonchalant way without his eyes straying from Lucy and Azail he replies, his voice low and smooth. “I have to say, you’re making it hard to focus on anything other than how amazing you look right now.”

“I think it is time to take away your glass,” You comment trying to not let the boldness of his words affect you as much as they clearly do. Your cheeks and ears do all the talking, though it could be written off as the wine kicking in. Fanning your face a bit you try and find some relief in the hot mess you were feeling.

Before he can respond, Lucy leans in with curiosity. “What are you two talking about?”

You quickly interject, trying to downplay the situation. “Oh, nothing important.”

With a sigh of relief, you finish your glass and set it aside. “Could I get a refill of the red wine, please?” you ask.

As your glass is refilled with the red wine, you take a grateful sip turning to Azail. “So, where did your adventure take you today?”

Azail’s smile widens. “I explored a few of the lesser-known ruins outside of town. There’s a beautiful old abbey hidden in the hills that I’ve been wanting to see. The views were breathtaking.”

Lucy’s eyes light up with interest. “That sounds amazing! Did you find anything interesting?”

Azail nods enthusiastically. “Yes, actually. I stumbled upon some ancient frescoes that aren’t in any of the usual guidebooks. It felt like I was discovering a piece of history that’s been forgotten.”

You lean in, intrigued. “That sounds incredible. I wish I’d joined you. How was the rest of your day?”

Azail shrugs with a chuckle. “After the abbey, I wandered through a few local markets and had lunch at a quaint little trattoria. The food was fantastic—authentic and full of flavor.”

Lucy’s eyes widen. “I’ve heard about some great places in town. What did you have?”

“Homemade pasta with a wild mushroom sauce,” Azail says, his expression reflective. “It was one of the best meals I’ve had in a while.” 

Turning to Seokmin, who had been quietly listening, Azail asks, “And what about you, Seokmin? How did you spend your day off?”

Seokmin smiles, clearly content. “I stayed behind and enjoyed the beach. It was incredibly relaxing—just what I needed. I spent most of the day soaking up the sun, reading a bit, and taking in the sea breeze. It was a perfect escape until everyone got home.”

Lucy nods appreciatively. “That sounds like a great way to unwind. Sometimes the simplest pleasures are the best.” Lucy suddenly brightens. “Oh, I almost forgot! I brought something for us to share.” She stands up from the picnic blanket with a grin. “I’ll be right back.” 

Moments later, she returns from the house, carrying a bottle of Enoteca Gambi rum and a few shot glasses. “I thought it would be fun to celebrate our day off with a little game,” she says, setting everything down on the picnic blanket she sits down with a soft thud.

Azail raises an eyebrow, intrigued. “A game? What did you have in mind?”

Lucy’s eyes sparkle with mischief. “How about a round of ‘Never Have I Ever’ with a twist? Every time someone shares something they haven’t done, they take a shot.”

As the bottle of Enoteca Gambi is uncorked and the shot glasses are arranged, you take a deep breath, a hint of hesitation in your voice. “I don’t know, Lucy. I think we might be a bit too old for ‘Never Have I Ever.’ Maybe we should just enjoy the wine and relax.” Pointing over to the half drank bottle of wine that was opened.

Seokmin, catching the enthusiasm in Lucy’s eyes, quickly chimes in with a playful grin. “Come on, it’ll be fun! We could use a little excitement, and it’s not like we have to take it too seriously. Plus, it’s a great way to learn more about each other and make some memorable moments.”

He gestures toward the setup with a laugh. “Let’s give it a shot—literally. It’s all in good fun, and I promise we’ll keep it light and entertaining.”

You glance around at the eager faces of your friends, feeling the infectious energy of the group. With a reluctant smile, you nod. “Alright, you’ve convinced me. Let’s see where this takes us.” You finish off the last sip that is in your wine glass.

Lucy beams as she pours the first round of shots. “Perfect! Here’s to a night of fun and new stories!”

The group raises their glasses, and the game begins. 

Lucy raises her shot glass with a mischievous grin. “Alright, let’s get this party started! Who wants to go first?”

Azail volunteers, a smirk on his face. “I’ll go. Never have I ever been skydiving.”

Everyone laughs, and you watch as everyone else takes a sip of their wine, leaving you as the only one to take a shot. With a resigned sigh, you lift your glass. The Enoteca Gambi is a rich, deep red with hints of cherry and oak, its aroma promising warmth and complexity.

You take the shot, and the liquor’s robust flavor coats your mouth. It’s smooth and velvety with an undercurrent of spice, leaving a warming sensation that spreads from your throat to your chest. The initial bite of the alcohol is sharp, but it quickly mellows into a pleasing aftertaste of dark berries and a touch of chocolate.

Seokmin, clearly enjoying the game, leans in. “Alright, my turn. Never have I ever swum in a natural hot spring.”

Everyone but you takes a sip of their wine again. You grumble good-naturedly as you take another shot, the liquor now making you feel a bit more flushed. The Enoteca Gambi’s flavors are even more pronounced this time, a little sweeter with a richer finish. It’s starting to create a pleasant buzz, warming you from the inside out.

Lucy, watching you closely. “. Never have I ever sung karaoke in public.”

Once again, you’re the only one to take a shot. This time, the liquor’s taste seems to dance on your palate with a more pronounced hint of vanilla, complementing the lingering warmth in your chest. The alcohol is having a more noticeable effect, making your cheeks flush and your laughter come easier. Are you truly the only one who has never lived? Sky diving, hot air balloons, karaoke? If this was played normally you would be fine, having lived a simple life would have been perfect. Instead it felt ridiculous that you are so out of place

Seeing your slight tipsiness, Seokmin can’t help but tease. “Looks like you’re having a bit of a rough night, huh?”

You laugh, feeling the effects of the game. “Seems like it. Maybe I should start targeting everyone else.”

Lucy claps her hands together, clearly delighted.” Good luck seems like you are the only one who is truly a recluse. To be far on our friend here-” Lucy gestures to you, “Let’s just go back to the original way to play, if you have done it take a sip, good with everyone?” She gains a few nods and claps her hands together. “Okay resume.”

“Okay, my turn. Never have I ever participated in a high-stakes game of any kind.” You know it is a lame one but you couldn’t think of anything else.

The group falls silent as everyone looks around, and only Azail reaches for his shot glass, taking a deliberately slow sip. He sets the glass down, a hint of color rising to his cheeks.

Lucy’s eyes light up with curiosity. “What’s the deal with this game?” One thing you have noticed about Lucy is that she is incredibly nosey. Always wanting to know something about someone. 

Azail lets out a small chuckle, clearly preparing to share. “ A few years ago, I was involved in a poker game with some very high-profile players. It wasn’t just about the money—it was more about the stakes and the players.”

You lean in, intrigued. At this point you were feeling warm and fuzzy, your thoughts were still coherent but you seemed more relaxed and willing to talk. “A high-stakes game? What was that like? A bunch of sweaty men in a room circle jerking each other to prove they are the best at getting the luck of the draw?”

Azail leans back, a thoughtful expression on his face. “It was intense and no we did not circle jerk each other. We were playing in a private, invite-only game, with huge sums of money on the line. The atmosphere was electric, and the competition was fierce. I had to stay sharp and keep my cool under pressure.”

Seokmin’s eyes widen with interest. “Did you win or lose big?”

Azail grins, though there’s a hint of modesty in his voice. “I managed to come out ahead, but it was touch and go for a while. There were some moments where it felt like the game could turn in any direction. It was one of those experiences where you’re on the edge of your seat the whole time.”

Lucy leans in, clearly fascinated. “That sounds like an adrenaline rush! Did you learn any interesting strategies or tricks from that experience?”

Azail nods, a smile on his lips. “Definitely. I learned a lot about reading people and staying calm under pressure. It was a great lesson in both strategy and psychology.”

“No wonder why you are always laying back and watching, you are judging us silently. I knew it!” You accused pointing your finger at him in a joking way.

Lucy raises her glass and leans forward. “Never have I ever been caught in a truly embarrassing situation with someone I was interested in.”

The group exchanges curious glances, and Seokmin, looking slightly apprehensive but determined, throws the shot back. He sets the glass down and glances around, a sheepish grin on his face.

Lucy’s eyes widen with interest. “What happened?” 

‘Nosey Nelly’ You think to yourself before looking off to the side playing with your glass in your hand.

Seokmin chuckles, clearly a bit embarrassed but willing to dive in. “ A few years ago, I was dating someone I was really excited about. We had planned a fancy evening out at a high-end restaurant. I wanted to impress them, so I went all out—dressed to the nines and even booked a table with a spectacular view.” Seokmin laughs, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, the evening started off great, but then things took a turn. I ordered a bottle of wine that I thought would be impressive. It turned out to be much older and more expensive than I anticipated. The waiter brought it out, and I was trying to sound knowledgeable when I inadvertently knocked the bottle over, spilling wine all over the table and my date’s elegant dress.”

Lucy gasps, her eyes widening. “Oh no! That’s awful!” Her words are followed by a clasp of her hand over her mouth to be dramatic.

Seokmin nods, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “But it gets better. In my panic to clean up, I slipped and fell right into the waiter who was bringing our dessert. The entire tray of desserts ended up flying through the air and landing right on top of us.It was pretty chaotic, but we both ended up laughing. The restaurant’s staff was incredibly understanding and ended up comping our meal and offering us a private room to finish the evening. It was one of those cringe-worthy moments that turned into a memorable and surprisingly fun story.”

At this point, two realizations struck you as you listened to Seokmin’s story, the liquor”s effects adding a haze to your thoughts. First, you regretted teasing Seokmin about being a lightweight. Here you were, feeling a bit tipsy yourself. Second, seeing him take a shot after that question stung more than expected—almost like jealousy. Just less than an hour ago, he’d been flirting with you, and now he was talking about another woman. The fact that you cared about this was baffling. Seokmin was merely a coworker. Why did it bother you that he seemed interested in someone else? It was ridiculous. He was nobody to you.

Before you could delve deeper into these thoughts, Lucy’s voice interrupted with a yawn. “Well, it’s been a fantastic evening, but I think I am going to call it a night.”

Azail stretched and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I’m feeling the call of the bed myself. You two enjoy the rest of the night.”

“Sounds good,” you said, waving them off. “Thanks for setting up such a lovely picnic.”

Lucy gave you a sleepy smile. “Anytime. We’ll leave you two to enjoy the sunset and whatever the evening brings.”

As Lucy and Azail headed inside, Seokmin turned his full attention back to you. He shifted a little closer, his voice dropping to a softer, more intimate tone.

“So, now that we have the blanket all to ourselves…” he began, his eyes locking onto yours with a playful glint. “How about we make the most of this perfect evening? I promise I’ll be on my best behavior… or at least make an effort.”

You felt a pleasant flutter at his words, the effects of the rum making the moment feel more charged. Screw the thoughts you had before about his story. All that mattered right now is that he is here and he is giving you the attention you didn’t know you were craving. “Oh? And what exactly do you have in mind, Mr. Charm?”

Seokmin’s grin widened as he leaned in slightly. “Well, I was thinking we could continue enjoying the view and maybe share a few more secrets. With the stars out and the waves crashing, it’s the perfect setting for a bit of magic.”

You nudged him playfully. “You’re quite the smooth talker. But I have to admit, it does sound tempting.”

As you both settled into the pillows, the night sky above was covered in a blanket of stars. Seokmin’s presence felt warm and comforting beside you, and the relaxed atmosphere of the evening invited more intimate conversations. 

You decided to break the silence, you decide to sit up, turning slightly to face Seokmin. “Hey, I know it’s a bit off-topic, but I’ve been wondering… was the girl from your story pretty?”

Seokmin glanced at you, and for a moment, a hint of amusement flickered in his eyes before he offered a reassuring smile. “She was, actually. Really charming and attractive. But honestly, she’s long gone from my life and my mind. Just a fleeting chapter, really.”

You felt a wave of relief, though you weren’t sure why you were feeling this way. “It sounds like it was a memorable evening, though.”

Seokmin nodded, his gaze steady and comforting. “It was. It had its moments, but it’s all in the past now. The important thing is that we’re here, in this moment.”

You looked out at the horizon, trying to process his words. “I guess it’s nice to know that some things are just part of our past.”

Seokmin’s eyes softened as he turned to you. “Exactly. Sometimes, we just need to let go of the past and focus on what’s right in front of us.”

His words seemed to have an unspoken subtext, and you appreciated his effort to ease your mind. “You’re right. And I have to admit, I’m enjoying this moment with you.”

Seokmin sat up and turned to face him, his hand brushing against yours as he spoke softly. “You know, it’s moments like these that remind me of what really matters. Being present, sharing stories, and just enjoying the company we’re with.”

You turned to face him fully, your heart fluttering slightly at the closeness. “I couldn’t agree more. This evening has been incredible.”

Seokmin’s gaze held yours, and for a moment, everything else seemed to fade away. The way his eyes sparkled in the moonlight, the warmth of his smile, and the sincerity in his voice made the atmosphere feel electric. The gentle touch of his hand against yours felt like a promise of something more.

He slowly moved a bit closer, the space between you diminishing until you could feel the soft warmth of his breath. His hand gently cupped your face, his thumb brushing lightly across your cheek. The touch was tender and affectionate, sending a shiver down your spine.

Seokmin’s voice was barely above a whisper. “There’s something magical about tonight, don’t you think?”

You nodded, unable to pull your gaze away from his. “Absolutely.”

With a slow, deliberate motion, Seokmin leaned in closer. His lips brushed softly against yours, a gentle, hesitant touch that was both tender and electrifying. The kiss was brief at first, as if he was testing the waters, but the sensation was enough to make your heart race.

He pulled back slightly, his eyes searching yours for a reaction. There was a hint of vulnerability in his gaze, as if he was waiting for your response.

Encouraged by the warmth and sincerity in his eyes, you leaned in, closing the remaining distance between you. This time, the kiss was deeper and more confident. Seokmin’s lips moved against yours with a tenderness that spoke of deep affection. His hands gently framed your face, his touch both comforting and passionate.

The kiss deepened, becoming a dance of shared emotions and unspoken desires. His lips were warm and soft, and the taste of the cider lingered between you, adding to the sweetness of the moment. You could feel the softness of his breath mingling with yours, and his touch seemed to melt away any lingering reservations.

As the kiss continued, Seokmin’s hands moved to rest gently on your back, pulling you slightly closer. You could feel the warmth of his body against yours, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat syncing with your own. The world around you seemed to fall away, leaving only the sensation of his kiss and the gentle caress of the evening breeze.

When the kiss finally broke, you both pulled back slightly, your foreheads resting gently against each other. The connection between you felt more profound than before, and the warmth of the moment lingered in the air.

As you gazed into his eyes, the intense connection made you want more. The way his lips had felt against yours, the softness, and the warmth left you craving another taste of that intimacy. You could hardly believe how perfect the moment was and how much you wanted to extend it.

Without breaking eye contact, you leaned in again, closing the space between you with a renewed sense of anticipation. Seokmin’s eyes widened slightly in surprise but quickly softened with understanding.

You pressed your lips to his once more, this time with a deeper, more fervent kiss. The kiss was filled with the desire and affection that had been building between you, a melding of emotions that seemed to make the stars shine even brighter. Seokmin responded with equal passion, his hands sliding back to hold you closer, pulling you into the embrace with a gentle but firm touch.

The kiss was slow and deliberate, a dance of mutual longing and connection. You could feel the heat of his body against yours, the tender pressure of his lips, and the comforting rhythm of his breathing. Each touch, each caress felt like a reaffirmation of the feelings that had been bubbling under the surface all evening.

As you both lost yourselves in the kiss, the world around you seemed to disappear. The gentle waves continued their rhythmic dance, and the cool night air carried the sweet scent of the surrounding flowers, enhancing the intimacy of the moment. The connection between you was electrifying, and every second of the kiss felt like it was stretching time itself.

When was the last time you kissed someone else? 

The last time you can think you kissed someone was a few years ago when you had a drunken one night stand with a man. What was his name? Sonyoung? Soonyoung? Pathetic you can only remember the stupid name he wanted to be called, Hoshi. 

It really has been that long, you can’t even remember the guys name, you don’t remember what he tasted like. I mean how could you when your lips have just met with Seokmin’s? 

You could never forget how he taste, like chocolate mixed with the sting of rum. How his lips felt plump and soft against yours, how when your lips moved together it felt like the world melted away. It was addicting how he felt against you. The two of you fell together like one weird puzzle piece. Somewhere along the liplocking you managed to climb into his lap caging him below you. 

Your fingers entangled into Seokmin’s hair, the sensation was both soothing and intimate. His hair felt remarkably soft and smooth, each strand slipping easily through your fingertips like fine silk. The texture was luxurious, with a slight natural wave that added a gentle bounce and movement to your touch.

The warmth of his hair contrasted pleasantly with the cool night air, and as you brushed your fingers through it, you could feel the gentle warmth of his scalp beneath. The strands were thick and resilient, yet still pliable, responding to your touch with a soft, yielding quality. The sensation of his hair against your skin was comforting, adding a tactile dimension to the intimacy of the moment.

As your fingers explored his hair, you could feel the subtle vibrations of his breathing and the slight tremors of his movements. The soft noises leaving his mouth as you kissed only sent electricity through your body. His hands eventually found solace on your hips, he gripped them tightly as if you would slip away from him if he didn’t hold you down there.

Eventually, you slowly pulled away, your breath caught in your throat. Your left hand lifts to gently press against your lips. Seokmin looked up at you with big bright eyes, you had something he wanted. Something that you didn’t know you could give him. 

His right hand travels up your side before he rests it against your cheek brushing a strand of your hair behind your ear to get a better look at you. In this same action you lowered your hand to rest against his chest feeling the firmness. 

Holy shit…

“Please,” He pleaded in a low voice as he places a thumb against your bottom lip. 

“Please what Seokmin,” You question, you knew what he wanted but you needed him to say it. You needed him to confirm your suspicion. 

He leans closer to your ear and says “Let me ruin you,” His voice dropped four octaves lower as he tugs on your bottom lip that he was playing with before. “Let me show you that no one will be as good as me,’ Seokmin adds in before nipping at your neck causing you to let out a yelp of surprise. 

You know you shouldn’t do this, you know that he is a coworker, a man who has given you the bare minimal attention. A kind soul who would never hurt anyone. Though maybe it is the alcohol finally capturing your self control. Or the filthy words he spoke in such confidence. 

The hand that once rested against his chest trailed its way you all the way to his throat before you wrap your fingers around it.

“I’d like to see you try,” Your voice matches his energy the suggestive tone coming almost naturally to you as you give his throat a gentle squeeze.

[corviisquire]

Creatures have colors!!

Left to Right: @moonchild-in-blue @leonsleftbicep @ghxstly-death

@pear-island

Left to Right: @a-s-levynn @foundationsofdecay @polteergeistt

They have been colored along with making some minor adjustments. If anyone wants anything changed please let me know! These creatures are yours so name them whatever you want, develop lore if ya want, and do whatever you want with them. Possible next batch will probably be made later next week.

Art notes under cut :D

I put some music drops because music inspires me too much.

Moonchild-in-blue: The blues and purples!! Opals and the insides of muscle shells inspired me a lot with the coloring (particularly the stars and moon). There’s another shell that has that shiny blue and green lining on the inside but I can’t remember the name of it. It was a full moon last night but I forgot to take a picture! Thought of you but anyways I loved coloring the lady. It was fun but I first I struggled on deciding if I wanted more blue or purple.

Some songs I listened to a lot while coloring this:

Sweet Disposition - Temper Trap

Moon Child - F16s

The Night Does Not Belong to God - you know who

Leonsleftbicep: Colors go crazy! Idk what your favorite colors are but I chose The Blue. I also incorporated some red (for yummy contrast and complementary colors). I realized this looked very vampire media core. EyAH enjoy the critter!

Some songs I listened to while coloring this:

Blue Monday - Orgy

Military Fashion Show - And One

The Apparition - do I really need to say who?

Ghxstly-death: Per your request, red and black was incorporated! Was inspired by Mohg, Lord of Blood, from Elden ring cause he has cool robes and a trident thingy. I really like how it turned out. Like I’ve been doing with every design is adding the bling and I felt gold would work well.

Was resisting the urge to put the entire One EP right here:

Get The Balance Right! - Depeche Mode

Mascara - Deftones

Jaws - Slep tonka

SEVEN HOUR SHITTER (pearisland/perryisle): You use bright colors in your art all the time so we got the colors goingggg. Little guy reminds me of Pumpkin Patch protagonist or Hollow Knight. Idk. Not much to say except TRIPLE DEATH SLIME BARRAGE!!!

No normal music for you. only Kevin Macleod and Pizza Tower ST.

A-s-levynn: More Dark Sun Gwyndolin inspiration… (you can tell I have my dark souls art books open next to me right now). As requested, tendrils/tentacles were added! I think it improved the design a whole lot because it was originally very symmetrical and the tentacles added just the right amount of asymmetry to balance out the overall look. I’m a huge fromsoft fan (playing Elden Ring, waiting for new DLC, have dark souls 1 remastered but haven’t started it yet, have bloodborne Elden ring and DS1/3 art books) so lots of my art has elements from Fromsoft games (neutron activation).

And just like everyone else, some music for the soul:

Too Late - 311

Scared Together - Silversun Pickups

Dark Signs - eepy coin

Foundationsofdecay: Again, taking more inspiration from your blog, colors and stuff. The design had subconscious influence from the game sky: children of the light. Had lotsa fun coloring it. I don’t know much about you like favorite colors or flowers but I tried my best!

Songs that inspired me:

Let It Happen - Tame Impala

Flux - Bloc Party

Rain - tired currency

Polteergeistt: The oarfish colors… A lot Of these characters have cool blues so I tried to use some teal blues to contrast the red/pink(?). “Nintendo switch core” I’m sobbing. I fixed the feet. Now my Pinterest is filled to the brim with fish images (specifically oarfish, sea jellies, and blue lobsters).

The music!!!!!:

UNDERWATER BOI - Turnstile

The Illness (Teenagers Remix) - GoodBooks

Descending - exhausted dollar

Thank you so much. All of you are such lovely people. 🫂💕🫶

[snek-panini]

Very belated Binderary books, uh...I've lost track actually. I think they are #6 and #7. And it's another two-volume split! This is (Slow) Burn, Baby, Burn by orchidlocked, an extremely long Good Omens fic set in the 1970s. It's about our favorite angel/demon pair navigating the disco scene, and it's not an AU, which is sort of usual in a fic this long and with such a specific premise. There are a fair few real people featured here, some as major characters, and a lot of music history and an excellent playlist alongside all the fun and angsty relationship stuff that so many of us are here for. I learned a lot about disco reading this fic and it was fascinating and also way more queer than I ever realized.

For the cover up there we have a white Allure book cloth on the spine, and white HTV over homemade book cloth for the main cover. The cloth pieces both come from the same sheet but I oriented the stripes this way so they'd be coordinated-but-not-matched and I really love the effect. They're also cotton and really nice to hold. It's funny, I was thinking of binding this fic when I found the fabric while digging through the Joann's remnant bin, and as soon as I saw it this fic not only came to mind but moved up to the top of the to-bind list. It was fate, clearly.

More photos under the cut!

Both spines and a top view. That's orange HTV for the titles. This it the first time I've worked with matte HTV (I usually use metallic or foil) and I was surprised at how much thinner it is, and how easy it was to stick. And I like the color inverse here in counterpoint to the front cover. The top view shows off the handmade endbands and bookmark, and also the rounding job. I'm still working on rounded spines, and the turn-in over the spine didn't come out as smooth as I'd have liked, but I think it's a good result. The ribbon bookmark was supposed to be blue to match the endbands, but every blue ribbon I could find clashed horribly with the cover so it's this nice leafy sage green. Which actually works really well with...

The endpapers! I got these as Joann's too. All four are cut from the same print, but I shifted and rotated them when I trimmed them so the patterns wouldn't all be in the same place. I had desperately wanted this other paper I found on Etsy with little vinyl records all over it, but the pieces weren't the right shape and I'd have had to ship them from overseas ($$), but I like the mood these ones set. And they're thick and nicely textured and look awesome with the cover, so really I think things worked out very well.

Couple of pics of the interior. I kept it fairly simple but I feel like it fits the story.

The scene break line is orange, to match the covers. I usually use gray but wanted something more fun. I recently bought some off-white paper that I used for most of my binderary projects this year because I've heard it's easier on the eyes, and it is, but I used the older bright white for this so the color contrast would be sharper. No complaints; I think it looks amazing. The second image above is the appendix I put together for the volume. Being so centered in the music industry, this fic has a really long playlist that the author put together with their preferred recordings. It's linked in the story and I did include the link text in the book, but I had my mind on preservation and the challenges of digital archiving while I was making this one, so I also took all the title/artist/album info and just listed it here. It was too much to do all by hand, so I learned how to export a Spotify playlist into an Excel doc, then moved that into the Word doc to print. A lot of steps, but not nearly as hard as I'd thought, and way less tedious.

I have to say this book is aesthetically really different than all my previous ones. I ran into so many design hurdles but I honestly couldn't be more pleased with the end result. I'll have to push my comfort zone like this more often, I guess.

[gattnk]

Oh, the mysteries of the Universe! Even with eternity at their disposal, there will always be something new for Cimentus and Putzo to discover and teach.

Here we go! My second-to-last pair of teachers :D I've had way too much fun working on the Golden School staff, I'm almost sad to see them finished.

Cimentus and Putzo are among the many cut characters that didn't make it into the show, which is a shame: other than Arkan and Temptel, I'd argue they're among the best adult characters, their role as comedic relief is impeccable. Here's my usual notes on my work process:

I love working on comedic characters, they give so much room for goofy and eccentric shapes and proportions! I focused on the already exaggerated physical traits present in the source material and brought up as many key features as I could to the forefront.

The comic established both characters' classes as scientific in nature. To represent this, Cimentus and Putzo dress like the archetypical good and evil scientist, respectively: perfect for their new role as Academic Deans of the Cosmic Biophysics faculty. Their eccentric and exaggerated features are meant to combat the misconception that STEM classes are boring: class can't be boring when the teacher looks like that, you know?

The good scientist archetype is easily to distinguish: thick glasses, disorderly hair and, most importantly, a white lab coat. Cimentus already fit the first two criteria, so donning the white lab coat came very naturally to the design. It's also easy to infer his work is associated with a safe class environment: you can tell a lot about a professional's work environment by the type of protective gear they're required to wear in their field. Just needing a cotton lab coat says a lot about angel students as a whole.

The same can be said about Putzo and the evil scientist archetype: rubber boots and the classic Howie lab coat were already present in his original design; my inclusion of rubber gloves and tinted protective glasses simply reinforces the idea that Putzo works with hazardous materials on the regular... probably the devil students themselves. Fun fact: he's the only devil sporting round glasses.

I really loved Cimentus' colors in the comic: blue, white, lavender and cheddar yellow. While I tweaked around the hue and saturation, it remained largely the same. I brought purple to the forefront since it was my darkest color and it contrasted much better against his bright yellow pants. Unspoken rule of funny characters: bright-colored pants are your best friend, make them pop!

Putzo's colors were challenging. I wanted to keep his original palette of reds and greens and tweak it so it would evoke "sickness": finding the right balance between the hues so it conveyed this "air of disease" I was looking for, but also were appealing enough to look at in a cartoon character, was very difficult. He risked looking like a Christmas tree one too many times in the process :V

These two are the only two teachers with a significant age gap between them. Putzo is old enough to have wrinkles and graying hair in addition to his clawed wings and a tail, but it's nothing compared to his counterpart. Cimentus is decidedly the oldest professor in the entire school, which is apparent thanks to his three pairs of wings and his carved halo worn "the old-fashioned way" (the shape was inspired by a protractor).

Small adendum: don't worry about the rat, it's sleeping I swear. I put it there as a joke in my initial sketch and I just had to keep it lol.

I'll Fly With You (rewrite fic) Art masterpost

[alex0fan]

Can I have a Wally x reader request where the reader is a puppeteer in disguise and lives amongst them as a fake puppet and Wally finds out about this truth?

Wally darling x puppet master!

Reader - reader

-he/him for Wally

-they/them for Frank Frankly

-requested

You open your eyes and blink a few times, blinded by the bright light. You look around and feel a surge of panic. Where the hell are you? This was your bedroom, but the walls are not white, the floor is not carpeted, the ceiling is not plain. This is your house, but clearly different. The furniture is not modern, the TV is not flat, the phone is cordless. This is not your world. The toys are not electronic, the books are not realistic, the posters are gone.... You are in a room that looks like it belongs to a children’s show....the old welcome home show you once worked on.... The air smells like candy and flowers, making you nauseous. The window has curtains that have smiling suns and clouds on them, mocking you. "What kind of sick joke is this?" you mutter to yourself as you get out of the bed, you peeked outside and saw one of the old puppets walking down the street you remember your colleague used to work on creating him...what was going on? You walk over to the mirror on the wall and stare at the mirror that is covered with stickers of stars and hearts. It shows your face, real face you weren't a puppet like the man. You knew you'd look odd if you didn't....maybe it's time for a new makeover.... ----- You look at your new self, your face shows your face, but it doesn't look like yours. Your hair is a different color, a bright red that glows in the light. Your eyes are that sparkling blue. Your skin is a different tone, a lemon yellow that contrasts with everything else. You look like a cartoon character, not a human being. Good.... You notice a display of makeup in a box next to the mirror. They look like products found in the 80's. You feel a surge of curiosity and excitement. Maybe you can use the makeup to help make you look more like a puppet. Then you turn to the closet and cringe at the sight of the clothes. They look like outfits from 80s movies, not clothes from a closet. You see a denim jacket with a graphic tee, a dress with boots, a pair of high-waisted jeans with a sweater. You see a pair of white sneakers and a pair of ankle boots. You see a bunch of headbands, earrings, and necklaces and rings. After that your memories come back to you of this old show, you remember the main character Wally darling and how much fun if was to create him, you remember Frank Frankly and Eddie Dear, and how you always thought what if they were together as a couple and the other puppets Your head started to buzz with questions all wanting to be answered but you knew you had to be smart, and get into character. Once you were you decided to look around and meet your new neighbours.  And the first man you ran into was one and only Wally Darling himself and instantly you started talking, he seemed to be interested in you, but it was hard work staying in character, especially when you met Frank, they seem so grumpy, maybe they were having a bad day, but Wally introduced you to everyone but you could always feel someone watching you....watching you.... So you and Wally become friends and he trusts you a lot, and so do you others except Frank....you worry that they can tell your not a real puppet, but they don't have proof, right? Well, that got answered very quickly....they could tell....and everyone found out. At first Wally thought it was a joke and still stayed as friends but one early morning Wally knocked on your front door, without even realizing what you were doing or anything you opened the door and it wasn't till he looked wide eyes at you, you realized why, you didn't look like a puppet, you didn't have your puppet disguise on and he realized almost immediately that you werent like him... You instantly tried to explain to him, and tell him you didn't mean any harm, you weren't gonna to do anything to him or the others, explaining what happened and why you did this, all Wally could do was stare at you. Then it went all black...

(Sorry it's terrible)

[cowplant-snacks]

Here's another list of sims related content that brings me joy. They're in no particular order and I plan to do yet another one of these in the future (already working on the list).

Legacy and Gameplay Simblrs:

@servegrilledcheese - one word, GOALS! I'm generally inspired by this simmer's aesthetic and gameplay shots. I especially, appreciate the balance of posing and gameplay screenies.

@apricote - cute cartoonish sims that live in a comfy and dreamy world that is muted yet still colorful.

@dreamstatesims - Cute gifs, cool sims, and gameplay that heavily influences me. I love the balance of adult content with wholesome family gameplay. It's perfection to me.

@shoobysims - cartoon style maxis match sims that are so unique and endearing. (Love the contrast of cartoonish sims and periodic adult content!) ;)

@bug-farm - THE COLORS! Distinct sims style that's cartoony and maxis match. I adore the alien sims in particular. <3

@touchmypixels - Love the editing style, the alien sims in particular make my brain happy, and I really enjoy the interior decorating style too.

@bobnewbie - Beautiful sims, fun family gameplay shots, and bright colors. Also, a balance of posing and gameplay shots that I personally really appreciate.

@pixelnrd - the very first simblr story I ever read fully from the beginning. The Langston Legacy has me hooked!

Builder / Interiors Simblrs:

@catsaar - modern builds that are super creative and detailed like this Simchella lot

Mod Creators:

@tianasimstreehouse - regular and occult food mods, I especially love this baked bean recipe and the U.F.O Jam sandwiches.

@hamsterbellbelle - CC creations that BLOW my mind AND bring me such deep joy. Super creative and I'm in awe of how this simmer's mind works.

Townies:

@helloavocadooo - maxis match style sims that are somehow elevated yet fit perfectly in with the EA premades.

@thelastairsimblr - maxis match style townies. I have ALL of them tagged ready to be imported into my game using MCCC.

@simsontherope - the first townies I ever had in my game. I look forward to seeing them pop up in my neighborhoods. Maxis match sims that look like regular everyday people!

CC Creators:

@objuct - maxis match horse CC that is bringing me SO MUCH JOY! Feels like everything is made by someone who loves sims AND horses, perfection!

@warwickroyals - maxis match style meshes that are beautiful and make my history lovin' heart happy!

[adobe-outdesign]

Cherubi/cherrim reviews? 🍒🌸

Cherubi is pretty straightforward, really just a double-stemmed cherry with a face, but it is pretty darn cute with its little legs and multiple faces. I mean, look at it:

Visually, there's not a whole lot going on with it; it's got a simple two-color palette and very minimal details, with only a single stripe down the face to break up the pink a bit. I find myself wishing the leaves were more detailed—even just a line down the center (ala Chikorita) would help a lot.

I also have to mention that the smaller cherry is only there to serve as nutrients for evolution, which I think is genuinely really interesting and some fun speculative biology.

I do find it kind of strange that this line effectively evolves backwards—in fruit-bearing plants, the fruit comes after the flower as a result of pollination. Not that it really matters that much for a fantasy monster, of course, but it's one of those things that always struck me as ironic.

Anyway, Cherrim's overcast form is... alright, definitely the better of the two forms. I really like how its eyes are at the bottom of its body now, and it looks like it's snuggled up under its own petals asleep. You can also see how the body still kind of looks like Cherubi, with the line down the body and the little legs.

However, I think it suffers from the same lack of detailing Cherubi does, only to more of an extent. Its stem is just a swishy shape that improbably connects at a point, the leaves are just a single jagged shape, and the petals are solid color with nothing breaking them up. If the leaves just overlapped each other properly, maybe even curled up a bit to mimic the petals, and the stem was better drawn, it would work a lot better. It's not a huge deal, but lack of detail makes it look kind of plastic-y.

Also, the colors are all about the same brightness, which lowers the contrast. A lighter green and pink would've helped a lot to contrast against the dark purple.

Cherrim also has this sunshine form, which it switches to in strong sunlight. There are some actual plants that open up in sunlight (though ironically I don't think cherries are one of them), so it's a pretty decent gimmick.

However, I'm not huge on this form. It's based off of sakura cherry blossoms, which are very well known in Japan:

But while it fits conceptually, it doesn't really fit visually with the rest of the line. The overcast form has Cherubi's body, albeit partially covered; but this form doesn't really share any similarities with either, save for maybe the face (which is now back to being on top of the body). I kind of feel like they might've had two different cherry designs and combined them into one line later, but that's just speculation.

Regardless, this form looks a bit off. The petals are a weird shape (once again, could use more detail) and positioned in a way that makes the head feel sparse, like it should have more petals than it does. The two head balls (cherries? I guess??) don't help with this. The body has a random green bit for no reason, and is otherwise fairly generic. I like how cheerful and sun-shiny it looks, but I don't find it particularly memorable outside of its gimmick.

Anyway, as a whole, Cherubi is pretty cute and probably the best out of the line. Between Cherrim's two forms, overcast is better designed and fits the line better than the sunshine form. Not the best plant 'mon out there, but still charming in its own right.

[crayonkant]

The space for light

George Saunders, my favorite teacher of writing, believes in our innate intelligence as readers to know when a story is interesting or not. The experience comes in understanding the why behind our reaction, and the craft in tweaking the story just the right way so that at the next reading it is more fun.

I might not have a lot of self-confidence in other areas of my life, but I do trust my intelligence as a reader. Saezuru is without a doubt an interesting story. For all its dark and heavy content, I’d like to argue that it is also a luminous story. It does not feel like the warm light of a sensual sunset, but like the bright cool light of an end of summer morning, concentrated on your desk in the spaces between the leaves’ shadows.

I’ve read other very good stories with a similar thematic that made me want to take a shower while watching cat videos. I’ve never had this reaction with Saezuru. I recognize the limitations of generalizing from an individual experience, but I’ll do it anyways…

I admire Yoneda Kou for the space she holds in the story for ‘the light’: humans’ positive qualities, humor, beauty, change, redemption. We see this light at the level of the plot - the bad guys tend to loose; the characters- they grow, become more beautiful or stronger, and they never loose their dignity even when they are abused and violated; the poetic dialogue; and the precise, elegant art.

I’ve recently become a fan of a mangaka whose work I’ve previously encountered and avoided because I had a visceral rejection of the art style. Because a manga story is composed in a visual medium, there is an instant emotional reaction to the art before we read the first word. The line work in Saezuru is detailed, precise and even. Sharp black/white contrast is used sparingly. Instead, grey tones soften the panels. There is white space on almost every page. I think that the elegance, geometric balance and color nuance of the art makes the heaviness of the story bearable. It lightens and cools.

Do you agree?

[the-sky-queen]

Introducing! Prince Udando of Tharos!

Character Notes:

14 years old.

Crown Prince of Tharos, a planet dominated by rules, traditions, and symbolic meaning. Udando finds all of it suffocating and wants nothing more than to escape.

His mother, Queen Erikonia, is unyielding and cruel. She constantly pushes Udando to be the best and punishes him when falls short. Udando's late father was similarly critical, constantly disappointed in his son and only interested in people that could be of use to him.

Udando is snarky and rebellious, but he knows there's only so far he can push before he puts his life in his mother's uncaring hands. He stays within the most important boundaries even though it makes his skin crawl.

Despite his distaste for Tharos' very nature, it's all Udando knows. When confronted by objects or gestures with no specific special meaning, he has difficulty wrapping his head around the concept.

Tends to be rude and dismissive. He also struggles with social cues since he wasn't raised around normal people. (Boy has a bad habit of invading people's personal space. XD)

More than anything, he just wants to be a normal kid.

He's a bookworm and loves to research whatever catches his interest into oblivion.

Design + Other Notes:

Udando was honestly very difficult to design! I have this brainstorm paper I've been chipping away at for like a year, but I always struggled to get it to feel right. When doing this iteration of Udando's design, I honestly threw out quite a bit of what I'd initially brainstormed. Stuff like his head shape, the fact that he had ears, the shape of his feet, and him having a cape instead of the scarf he has here.

I've always known that Udando was going to have pitch black eyes. I thought it would be a fun contrast because, fun fact! Tharos is absolutely covered in bioluminescent, glowing plants. I also thought the black eyes would be good for making Udando somewhat mysterious since you can't tell where exactly he's looking. But back on the topic of Tharos' plant life, I realized it would make total sense for Udando and the rest of the Tharians to be very bright and neon in coloring, since way back in the past, those with colors matching the environment would have a better chance at surviving in what I'm thinking was a very hostile landscape.

I debated giving Udando those dragonfly wings, but ultimately decided to let him have them. They made a lot of sense because the eyes and antennae were already giving insect vibes. And speaking of the antennae! Udando can use them to detect vibrations and sense changes in the atmosphere.

Tharos is absolutely riddled with objects of symbolic importance, so I made sure to give Udando a few accessories as part of his royal getup. The crown, the wrist gauntlets, and the ankle rings all have special royal importance. I think the scarf was given to Udando by his dad shortly before he died, so even though they weren't on good terms, the thing has meaning to Udando and he refuses to get rid of it. Erikonia probably wouldn't let him throw it out anyway. As for the necklace . . . that's where things get tricky.

You see, Udando originates from this unposted AU of mine called The Black Prince. There, as part of Tharian tradition, Shadow gave Udando that necklace as a symbol of friendship between the Tharians and the Black Arms. (Shadow has a similar necklace in the AU that identifies him as the crown prince of the Black Arms.) Here's where the problem comes in. I kinda REALLY want to put Udando into my Sonic-verse, but that necklace and his relationship with Shadow is kinda VITAL to his character development. And without the context of The Black Prince, I'm not sure how Udando would meet Shadow and get that necklace. I'll keep working at it. I've got a few vague ideas right now, so we'll see how they go.

But for now, yeah! That's Udando! I love him so much and I hope you all do to!

[queerdraws]

HELLOOOO I hope you've had a good day :D I was just wondering how you end up with the colours for ur compositions :O? Are you the type to use a lot of colour adjustment layers (multiply, overlay, etc) to get at a satisfying hue, or do you just eyeball directly from the colour wheel? I remember you saying for one of ur pieces that u eyedropped directly from like,,, a dead corpse of some animal XD but i assume that isnt ur process for everything hahaha. Do you use a lot of references for the specific vibe you wanna convey?

ANYWAYS keep up the amazing work!!!

YOOO!!! I didn't recognize u at first omg (p.s. ty!)

The way I made the zolu playlist drawings isn't my Usual drawing / coloring process but I formed some sort of Strategy for it

Actually I think sharing the literal refs I used for each image would be fun and maybe demystify the art process

Pics below cut! 😊

I mostly eyeballed from the colorwheel. I think I only used color adjustment layers on Chikai and Around the World to get a soft glowy effect in the clouds. BUT!! I'll frequently play around with adjusting the colors through the hue/saturation/luminosity sliders, or I'll go in to Tone Curve and play around with the levels until things are looking how I want. Especially for backgrounds

I also colorpicked from ref photos (like you mentioned w the lion eating a carcass). I GENERALLY tried to avoid overly referencing any one pic, but Simple song and Around the World were the two worst offenders 😓

---Color Choice---

I went by pure gut feeling at first while listening to the song, how the instruments sounded and what color they were

And then after that, I'd try and refine it a little more by Overall Vibes (making it feel more Glowy) (adjusting how colors interact w eachother like toning down a too-saturated color or making skin tones warmer or cooler to contrast w the background)

And then i gathered references n either colorpicked from them or I used them as vibe inspiration as i was painting

---More General Color Stuff...?--- This section is riddled with over-explanation.

-> To make a color stand out as Really Saturated, I surround it w neutral colors, esp contrasting ones (e.g. if I want a red to pop, I put it next to a cool gray)

-> if the overall painting is really warm (like, everything seems cast in a warm light) and i need to have a specific cool-tone color (like green), I take one of the warm colors and drag it a ways Towards the cool color I need (so , colorpick a red, and drag the slider until it's on yellow) and then desaturate it a lot. I then test that color on the piece and see if it Looks green. Same goes in reverse (cool-tone paintings that need a warm color) So, Like...for example: Zoro's hair is some really weird colors.

-> I try to limit eyebuzz (places where two colors meet, where the hue [tone] is different, but the brightness [value] of the color is almost exactly the same. Basically, if you made everything grayscale, you dont want two grays of the same color right next to eachother [or, you want to do it intentionally?]) (called eyebuzz bc at really high saturation, two colors of the same value almost vibrate next to eachother)

(Sidenote: I think "eyebuzz" mustve just been a term my high school art teacher used bc i don't see any relevant results for it on google... there's probably a more professional term for this lol)

Examples:

I esp try to limit eyebuzz between foreground and background objects

I know some artists are intense enough about contrast that they toggle grayscale on n off as they're painting. I just kinda eyeball it.

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This ended up really long again oh my goddd I think those are the main things on my mind when choosing colors...?

Hope this is helpful 😅