#but watching people over analyzing them is the next best thing

[le-beda]

that one 4-hour long video essay about a 30-min long episode made me do it 😈

[ddarker-dreams]

BRILLIANT fucking idea: SR reader insinuating/offhandedly admitting… she has never been intimate. everyone hearing it like 🧍🏾‍♀️ how do you mean. idk j the flustered bashfulness of suddenly being like “wajt wait if im her bf ,,, im her first love”

SCREAMINGGGGG

[Scarlet Ribbons index]

Giorno

Giorno is a bit strange because he almost wishes he had a predecessor to analyze (and completely outshine). He isn’t disappointed per se, he’s not that weird, but having more study material never hurts. Positive relationships are foreign to him, since he’s been distant from others most of his life. He got along with people well enough — he just preferred his own company. Now that he’s had a taste of your company, he’s keen on making it a lifelong occurrence. Overhearing this admission has him wondering if traditional courting methods don’t do much for you. Or, more realistically, that they go over your pretty head. He's witnessed you interpreting the gang's flirtations as platonic. Consequently, he gives considerable thought to ensuring this isn't a fate that befalls him. Corny as it sounds, his new dream is to stand beside you as your husband. He's chasing this goal without abandon.

Bruno

Bruno feels immensely guilty for eavesdropping on a conversation involving something so personal, but he couldn't help himself. An immense weight feels like it's been lifted from his shoulders upon learning you haven't gotten romantically involved with anyone before. This relief is followed up with sharp self-condemnation — as your leader, he shouldn't get involved with your personal affairs. Maintaining any professional distance is difficult though, especially when you're so likable. People are naturally drawn to you and he's no different. That's why this revelation comes as a surprise, albeit a good one. He tells himself he'd be happy for you if you loved someone else... however, deep down, he knows the regret would eat him alive. He struggles to concentrate the rest of the day. His mind keeps wandering back to thoughts of you, specifically, finding solace in one another’s warmth. The most innocent thoughts make his heart flutter, the man is smitten.

Fugo

Fugo almost renounces his atheism — perhaps there is a God after all. Then he's reminded that you're completely out of his league, submersing him back into the Nietzsche headspace. His self-esteem isn't the best, so the way he looks at it is if no one else was good enough to catch your attention, what chance did he have? It's a miracle you even put him with him. He's blunt, stubborn, and easy to agitate, yet you're one of the few people alive who don't treat him like a ticking time bomb. When his initial pessimism dies down, he fantasizes about you getting flustered by things like a first kiss. It's a cute mental image. Would you fidget? Accidentally bump heads and apologize? Get sweaty palms? Before he knows it, he's invented an entire storyline in his head. It's mushy enough that he struggles to look you in the eye the next time he sees you.

Mista

Mista pretends he knew it all along, as if the Pistols hadn't kept him awake multiple nights, speculating over your relationship status. The little fellas held full-blown debates. Since he's a chill, go-with-the-flow type of guy, he wouldn't have turned green with envy had he learned you former lovers. If they brought you happiness, who is he to hold it against them? Regardless, he can't deny his budding excitement. Should you reciprocate his feelings, you'll experience all your firsts with him. Those initial milestones are the moments that stick with people throughout their life. It's your first kiss in particular that he'd like to have for himself. He intends to sweep you off your feet — literally. It's got to be like those old Hollywood flicks he grew up watching, or what's the point?

Narancia

Narancia has to stop himself from audibly cheering. The multiple abandonments he underwent in the past has him latching onto the few people remaining in his life. This includes you, naturally. You've brought him so much joy, the risk of losing that, losing you, it's a fear that eats away at him. He worries that if you had exes, you might compare him to them and determine he's subpar. Then he'd be cast aside like trash as he had been multiple times before. These insecurities nourish his possessive tendencies. Learning that he has no exes to fend off is a great relief because he would've defended you viciously. It isn't until later that he daydreams over the more innocent implications, like being your first (and only!) boyfriend. He gets so preoccupied by the thought that he walks into a few walls.

Abbacchio

He's actually surprised to learn about this. He considers using Moody Blues so he can hear the entire conversation, but decides against it, believing it to be an intrusion of your privacy. Abbacchio's of the opinion that to maximize your happiness, you should find love outside of Passione. He wants that for you, and yet... his heart physically aches whenever the possibility crosses his mind. What's the alternative, then? Would he make for a suitable partner? He finds the mere possibility laughable. Your brightness would be engulfed by the gaping maw that is his existence. He considers this an empirical truth, not some 'woe is me' sentiment. Ultimately, anytime your love life (or lack of one) is brought up, he distracts himself, so as not to fixate on his shortcomings.

[ice-man-goes-bwoah]

Carlos sains in a relationship with driver!male reader who's one of those people you just can't get mad at, like he's smart but has the emotional comprehension of a over excited puppy, point is that after a really bad race for reader, like 2 laps away from winning only for your hydraulics to snap (or something of the like i have no idea whats viable on those car's) and he's still all happy go luck because he's really only in raceing for the fun of it, considers it more of a hobbie, the drivers on the other hand in their interviews mention that reader has their condolences for that race cause if it were them theu probably would have raged hard, but the only thing reader did was ask if the other drivers were okay and that none of the parts that might have fallen from his car hindered anyone and carlos is like so proud reader handled things comes to him for cuddles cause it was still a shit race even if reader didn't care for the results.

Unshakable sunshine|| Carlos sainz x Male!Reader

Word count 627

The paddock was abuzz with post-race chaos. Journalists scrambled for interviews, cameras zoomed in on exhausted drivers, and teams analyzed every second of the race. Among all the noise, one story stood out: your near-victory-turned-DNF. With only two laps to go, your hydraulics failed, forcing you to limp off the track.

For most drivers, it would’ve been a career-shattering moment. The adrenaline, the effort, the sheer heartbreak of coming so close, only for it all to fall apart. But you? You were smiling.

After climbing out of the car, you walked straight to your team, offering reassuring pats on backs and a thumbs-up to the engineers. By the time you reached the media pen, you looked like you’d just finished a leisurely Sunday drive.

“It happens, right?” you told reporters with a grin. “Racing’s unpredictable. I just hope none of the parts from my car got in anyone’s way. Last thing I’d want is to mess up someone else’s race!”

Your unshakable positivity left everyone stunned. Max Verstappen, in his post-race interview, shook his head in disbelief. “If that happened to me, I’d probably throw my helmet across the garage. But him? He’s just smiling. I don’t get it, but honestly, I respect it.”

Charles Leclerc chimed in during his segment, laughing softly. “He’s like… the golden retriever of Formula 1. I’d be fuming, and he’s out here checking if everyone else is okay. I think we all need some of whatever he’s got.”

But Carlos knew you better than anyone. He could see the subtle signs—the extra-long hug you gave your engineer, the way your shoulders sagged slightly when you thought no one was watching. You never liked showing frustration, and you’d perfected the art of brushing off disappointment. But Carlos wasn’t fooled.

He waited in your motorhome, pacing slightly as he thought about how to approach you. When you finally walked in, the mask was still up.

“Hey, Carlos!” you greeted cheerfully, dropping your bag by the door. “Did you see that race? Wild, right? Shame about the hydraulics, but hey, at least I got to watch the last two laps from the best seat in the house!”

Carlos didn’t say anything right away, watching as you flopped onto the couch and kicked off your shoes. You were smiling, but it didn’t quite reach your eyes.

“Cariño,” he said softly, sitting beside you. “How are you really feeling?”

You blinked, caught off guard by his gentle tone. “I’m fine. Really! It’s just a race. There’s always next time.”

He gave you a look—a mix of disbelief and affection. “You don’t have to pretend with me, you know.”

Your smile wavered for a moment before you sighed, leaning back into the couch. “Okay, maybe it sucks a little. But not for the reason you think! I’m more annoyed that I couldn’t finish because I was really having fun out there. That’s what matters, right? Having fun?”

Carlos chuckled softly, reaching out to pull you into his arms. “You amaze me, you know that? Anyone else would’ve been furious, but you… you’re just happy to be here. It’s one of the reasons I love you.”

You relaxed against him, letting out a soft laugh. “Thanks, Carlos. I mean it. I guess… yeah, it does sting a bit, but I don’t race to win. I race because it’s fun. That’s why I’m here.”

His arms tightened around you, his voice low and tender. “And that’s why I’m so proud of you. But just because you don’t let it show doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. So tonight, it’s all about cuddles. No arguments.”

You tilted your head up to look at him, grinning again. “Cuddles do sound nice.”

“They fix everything,” he teased, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

[iouinotes]

Show-off | Mike Ross

pairing: Mike Ross x female!reader

show: Suits

genre: smut word count: 2,9k

summary: you and your co-worker Mike dont get along very well. But when you have something that he needs, suddenly everything is different.

a/n: Just watched the first two episodes of "Suits" and something about Mike is really attractive-

Working in a well-known office as a lawyer has it's advantages. Such as being respected by business people or being able to afford a lot of things, you spend all your evenings analyzing documents rather than meeting actual people.

Nevertheless, sometimes there are also negative factors. For example, my co-worker Mike, who really believes, that he is with his ridiculously skinny tie and sarcastic humor better than the others. Or right now, better than me.

"God, I cant believe you. Can you behave for once?" I use my fingers to push my hair back in frustration, noticing how my head starts to hurt. Its 10 pm and I'm currently trying to stay calm, though because of one man in particular, my nerves seem to be getting thinner within seconds. Valuable time is wasted that I could spend somewhere else instead of with him.

"Now it's my fault, that you don't have the documents with you? Sorry, I can't help you being organized in your own workplace." His voice irritates me. Everything about him is so frustrating.

"I told you, I didnt get the message! How am I supposed to know, that you need something, when you don't tell me anything about it? Maybe you should stop being so childish and ask me in the first place, instead of running to Rachel!" If our job had nothing to do with justice and we werent literally standing in a law company right now, I would kill him. And then I wouldn't hesitate to go to court and say it was self-defense, because I didnt want to hear any of his miserable excuses anymore.

"So what do you think, I should do? I need these documents for tomorrow. Please, I know you don't like me, but it is really urgent." Why does he has such blue eyes? The look he is going me is even more irritating than his voice.

I sign, exhibit my laptop and try to put the pens back, that are laying all over my desk.

"Okay, fine. As I said, the documents are at home, so-" I don´t even get to finish my sentence.

"Great, so I'll meet you there. And I wont even tell anyone, if your place is a mess." His eyes wander over my messy desk, and even If I don´t like to admit it, it's a bad habit of mine. But, he shouldn't make any assumptions about the neatness in my apartment.

"I hope you loose the documents on your way home." At my words, he grins smugly.

"Well, then I could lie and say you didnt found them anymore and I hadnt had the chance to go through them." He leans towards me.

"I'll run you over with my car." He raises his eyebrows at my threat.

"You sure should do something that makes you smile more often. Is that even something you know how to do?" I show him my middle finger and turn to left my office. When I close the door, I hear the laughter in his voice.

"The next storm should be named after you as quickly as you left the room." He follows after me.

"Can you shut up for once? Oh, I forgot. You don´t last one second being silent. Thats a shame, the world could finally heal." His hand rests on his heart, his features fake a hurt expression.

"Ouch. You really don´t like me that much, huh?" His eyes try to search mine.

"You get on my nerves on purpose every fucking day. Should I thank you for that?" I turn my head to look at him.

"Yes, you should. Your life would be so boring without me." He grins at me again from the side, that typical grimace that is always adorn on his face.

"You wish." When I tell him my address, he raises his eyebrows, but before he can make an unfavorable comment, I get into my car.

Darkness surrounds me and when I see him going away, I lower my head to the steering wheel. He really is the best at confusing my emotions.

~~~~~

I turn off the lights of my car and get out of it, so I can finally make my way to my flat. Its not something special, I mean I have a living room, which is quite big and connected to the kitchen, a bedroom and a bath. But I am very lucky, because I have a small balcony, from which I can watch the stars at night. But I usually only do that when I can't sleep.

So, when I enter my apartment, I let my eyes wander over the manageable mess, I put some clothes back in the closet and the dishes in the washing machine. The place almost looks decent, when I hear the doorbell.

As I open the door, I'm nervous for some reason. I let him in and turn to my office drawers, looking for the document.

"Nice place. You live here alone?" His fingers trace my bookshelf, I see him reading the titles.

"No, my wife is still at work." When I look at him dead serious, I see him laugh in surprise.

"So, you do have humor. I thought, you were one of those exceptions that wouldn't be able to do that." He means it as a joke, but something in my chest hurts.

When I reply with a monotonous voice, I see his eyebrows pull together. "I live here alone. That's what you wanted to hear?" I'm getting more frustrated again with every second he's around me.

"No- I didnt mean it that way. I'm sorry. My intentions were good, I promise." When I look at him for a moment, I see his honest expression.

It would be so easier for me to hate him, if I didnt know, he was a good human. Well, most of the time.

We are silent for a moment, but when I hear his footsteps, I tense up.

"What are you doing?" He's now standing right next to me.

"Helping you. You seem a little, tense?" I glare at him for a moment and he raises his hands in defense.

"Just pointed out the obvious. But dont worry. You still look lovely." I stop in my movements at his words.

"Thats such shock for you?" His voice shows surprise and a certain curiosity.

"Only that you say it." I look into his eyes.

"Well, you may think I'm dumb, but I'm not blind."

He just called me beautiful, sort of. It´s confusing me.

When I finally find the documents, I hold my hand out to him.

"I don´t think you are dumb. I think you're annoying. And a show-off. I don´t like that." His eyes follow me.

"What do you like then?" His question surprises me. He slowly takes the documents out of my hand, his finger gently brushing mine.

"I don´t think that is any of your business." I try to clear my voice. His touch makes me shiver.

"Come on, tell me. Would that be so bad?" His whole presence is making me nervous and I feel my hands start to shake.

At work, I can always hide behind a mask, pretend that nothing he does affects me. I can act like I truly hate him, even though I catch myself looking at him, from time to time. Especially when he shows off his intelligence without realizing it, impresses his clients and -I would never admit it- me too. It's a certain charm about him, the way he always knows how to answer, while being mischievous and clever about it.

But now, that he's in my apartment and so close to me, it's suddenly different. And I don't know how to react to him being nice.

"I look for someone who isnt afraid of commitment. Someone who is honest and kind, but who also challenges me. I want to feel safe, so I can put my trust not only in myself."

He nods and is quiet for a moment, I begin to feel stupid for telling him all of that, when he responds.

"I get that. Someone whose shoulder you can lean on when things get too much. Someone who meets your needs, who wants to be in your life. For longer than a one-night stand." He smiles at me and I see for the first time, why I possibly could like him.

"Also, statistics show higher rates of being robbed or kidnapped, when you have one-night stands." This remark almost makes me laugh, even though it's frightening.

"Well, who would even notice, if I would disappear? Probably only my clients, because they need me." I lower my head, being completely honest with him for the first time.

"I would notice."

When I look at him, he takes a step towards me. His fingers gently slide over my shoulder and brush my hair aside, the touch makes a warm feeling bloom in my chest.

"I couldn't annoy you anymore. My life would be pretty boring without you. And it's not so bad to be able to look at such a pretty face every day, even if it always looks at me annoyed, like all the time." I quietly laugh at that, feeling surprisingly good because of his compliment.

We look at each other, now being really close. My eyes travel to his lips and I don´t even know how it happens, but suddenly he is all over me. His lips on mine, his hands on my waist, lifting me up to sit me on the desk. I moan softly when his hands tangle in my hair and he pushes himself closer to me, so that he's standing between my legs. One of his hands gently wraps around my neck and I feel my loud pulse.

My hands move too, stroking his back and holding him closer to me by his tie. As he pulls his lips away from me, he lifts my chin with his finger. Now, looking down at me with widen pupils. I hold his eye contact, forgetting all about my issues with him, when he speaks to me with a deep voice (which I suddenly don´t think sounds irritating anymore).

"Be angry at me tomorrow and mine for tonight. I bet, all your frustration from work and your thin nerves can catch a break, what do you say?"

Not much. Because I pull him towards me by his tie and kiss him again. I don't want to stop at all anymore. He returns the kiss with the same enthusiasm and his hands find their way to my waist again to lift me up again. When he crosses the living room with quick steps and lays me down on the sofa, I already feel out of breath and clearly turned on.

His kisses become more intense, his lips move from my mouth to my neck, leaving marks there. But it feels too good to make him stop.

"I will gladly hear your excuses, when someone asks you about your hickeys tomorrow. Because you will be all flustered, when you think again about this moment. Where you are ready to be fucked by your colleague, who you despise so much." I whimper as he pushes up my dress and his hands pull my tights down to my knees. The cold air hits my skin, but I don't really notice it, because his lips are on my neck again and his fingers connect first with my stomach and then further down. I hold my breath as his lips touch my ear and his fingers stroke my folds.

"So wet for me. Didnt think, I would turn you on this much." I kiss him to shut him up.

"You are-" I moan, when he finally puts a finger in me. "-so annoying." He laughs at me.

"Am I? But you seem to like it." I feel myself getting wetter, his fingers feel so good as they move gently but firmly inside me. One of his hands moves to push my dress further up and somehow, he manages to pull it over my head. Now, I'm lying in front of him in just a bra, his hands slowly find their way over my body and to my back, which I lift slightly so that he can open the clasp.

When I lie naked in front of him and he massages my breasts, his lips touch mine and his fingers stimulate me, I feel like I'm in heaven.

He breaks apart, so he can look at me and I draw my eyebrows together, when his fingers increase in speed. My mouth opens and the sounds that escape me echo in the apartment.

"I'm- god, I think I am going to come-" at that he starts to tease me, going slower but a lot deeper. My eyes almost roll back as he hits a certain spot inside me.

"That feels good? What do you say, when you want something?" You stupid idiot.

"You stupid-" I begin to say as his lips graze my nipple and his finger scissor and stretch me out further.

"One word, darling. Say it." And because I feel this knot inside me (and maybe this side of him turns me on, like a lot), I finally open my mouth to please him.

"Please, Mike. I-I need to-" My sentence is cut off as his fingers speed up and I moan loudly.

"Thats a good girl, you can be so good to me, if I make you." His lips search mine as I finally come. My breathing is heavy and when I come down from my high and look at his face, I see the satisfied expression.

"You are done-" I can't maintain my strict facial expression and suddenly have to start smiling. His eyes widen in surprise and I raise my eyebrows, still smiling softly.

"What?" I quietly laugh at his expression.

"Nothing, its just- I have never seen you smiling so happy." I roll my eyes gently. As I look at him closer now, I see the bulge in his pants and the loosened tie. As I lean forward, his eyes shift to my body.

"You still are fully clothed. A bit unfair, don't you think?" I watch him swallow and my hands move to his chest to slowly unbutton his shirt. As I also remove the tie and slip the shirt from his shoulders, I sit myself on his lap. Rocking my hips forward and seeing his eyes close. His hands move to my hips and begin to control the movements, my eyes close too and my head leans into the crook of his neck as the movements become faster.

Sighs and heavy breaths leave his lips and once again, one of his hands moves to grab my breasts, lightly grazing the nipples.

I look at him, noticing his swollen lips and his flushed cheeks. His hair is a mess and his forehead is furrowed, but he tries his best to pull himself together.

I groan as I look at him and suddenly think back to todays afternoon, when he was on a phone call and I heard how he listed one reciting fact after another, without any difficulty.

"What are you thinking about?" His voice pulls me out of my thoughts.

"N-nothing" I'm definitely too embarrassed to admit how much his intelligence and the way he seems to know everything, turns me on.

One of his hands moves to my entrance and teases me by just circling around it. When I try to push myself down, he pulls his fingers away.

"You tell me, whats going on in that pretty head of yours and you'll get me." My body feels so hot, I can't think properly anymore.

"You where on a phone call today and you just- you listed without any effort every single point that will help you win the case. You just said it like- it's nothing."

When his fingers dig into me again, I bite my lips. I try to control my moans and not pay attention to the fact, that I just gave him every opportunity to make him be more complacent than his usual self.

His fingers pump into me and I feel slightly overstimulated. But I wouldnt want to stop now.

"You get off by the thought of me, saying memorized facts? Who would have thought that my intelligence would turn you on so much." God, his ego probably doesn't fit in this apartment anymore.

"Don't think too highly of yourself, you still annoy me." Now I'm really just trying to get myself out of the situation. I lean towards him, so he can't say anything anymore and pull on his blonde hair to distract him.

Moans escape my lips and when I notice that his noises are also getting louder, I pull away from him. He looks at me confused.

"I want you inside me." Thats all I say, but he quickly complies with my request. I slide off his lap and wait for him to take off his pants and boxers until he's finally on top of me again. His fingers find my bottom lip and while maintaining eye contact, I open my mouth so he can insert a finger. My tongue brushes against his and after a few moments of him pressing on my tongue, he lets his fingers move back to the spot that needs him the most.

He stretches me for a few minutes until he finally guides his cock to my hole and slowly penetrates me. My eyes close and I hear his breath in my ear as he pushes further.

"You are so tight- good thing finally someone fucks you." I nod without thinking and hear his laughter in my ear.

"You think so too, huh. Would you let anyone fuck you then?" My stomach tenses, I feel the pleasure growing again and every movement of him. This feels so good-

I try to shake my head, but I'm too lost in the sensations to pay much attention to his words.

"No? But I thought, you hate me. Why would you let me fuck you, if you don´t even like me?" His thrusts become faster and more uncontrolled, I feel him getting closer to his own high.

"I-" I try to stutter "d-don´t hate you." I feel myself getting closer and reach into his hair, pulling at the roots and feeling his lips on my shoulder. His thrusts become more powerful and as he moves his hand and massages my clitoris, suddenly everything goes white in front of my eyes and I come.

I feel every inch inside of me, feel his fingers brush over the visible bulge in my stomach and think to myself: god I feel so full

When he comes too, I moan so loudly that it's impossible that my neighbors didn't hear me. His hand finds its way around my chin, he slides a finger into my mouth and I feel my vagina tighten because of it.

He hisses and his thrusts slow down until he finally pulls out of me, trying not to fall on top of me. As I give him some space next to me, he falls halfway on me, but pulls me on top of him in the next second and I can hear his strong heartbeat. With his outstretched hand he pulls the blanket over me, that had fallen to the floor.

We both try to catch our breath and as the minutes pass, only the wind outside is heard. He is the first to break the silence.

"So, you don't hate me?" I lift my head from his naked chest to look at him.

"Only sometimes." He shakes his head and smiles, gently stroking my back.

The evening went by quickly, we ordered a pizza and ate it (clothed) on the terrace. We were going over his documents for tomorrow, I blushed at the thought that this was the real reason he came here, but he just hugged me from behind after we finished and continued watching the stars.

It's not really clear what this evening means for us, but I don´t want to get into that, not yet. Because I'm not sure what it means anyway.

Because now, I have to get used to the fact that his voice no longer irritates me, that his jokes no longer annoy me and that he as a person, is actually not as bad as I imagined.

"Who thought, I was the one to get you relax."

But he is still a show-off.

[ohno-the-sun]

Oh uh forgot to ask in the previous ask (the one with the digital piece of candy and scurrying and stuff)

How do you draw art so good

Like

Is there a method you use or is that just the style you've gotten over time?

you've activated my trap card

I'm just gonna preface that this tutorial is from someone who was not professionally trained and didn't have a lot of free time for art, so a lot of the tips I have is short cuts I use to get the best results quickly

If you genuinely want to get better at art then please look at references and practice that is always the best

However if you are like me and only really do art for fun but want to go faster then these are for you pfppt

Overall I'd say my style is influenced by speedpaints I would watch when I was younger, I like analyzing how people do things and what makes something look "good" to me

I always recommend watching them because they will often have techniques you've never seen before or do things a certain way that you can try out yourself

I consume good art, it feeds me

but seriously it can be super helpful when developing your own methodology, or just generally trying something new

Usually it starts with me pulling some references from artists I really admire and sort of sketching out how they do the things I like

For example 8um8le has like super good anatomy and poses so I focused on trying to replicate how they do that

venemous-qwille is super good at color and pulling focus so that's what I focused on in my study of them

In general I'd say my process is sketch -> silhouette -> color -> shading -> render

I really don't like doing lineart lol

I'd say for the sketch the most important part is using references and just kind of fudging it until it looks correct anatomically/physically

General rule of thumb is spend time on areas of interest, and keep non important areas light (like the stitching on his pants)

I don't do lineart because I think its unnecessary for most paintings I do

I naturally tend to put more time and focus on areas of interest (like hands and feet) and if you use a brush with opacity for the sketch, those areas are naturally going to be darker in the final sketch

Of course this is gonna be different for everyone but it's what works for me

Sometimes I do a really really sketchy layer underneath my sketch/lineart, just so I know where everything is going

Use thumbnails! They are great to help figure out the general layout of things and what pose I wanna do

Next is what I call the "silhouette" layer

This is super important for me cause it helps me refine the figure and make sure the pose/anatomy looks correct, also depending on what color I choose for the silhouette helps guide what colors I'm going to use on top

This piece is a good example of how it works. The silhouette shows me how the figure interacts with the background, how the pose looks and if its any good

The silhouette layer doesn't have to be super clean, as long as it follows the sketch decently well and shows where the figure is then its fine

I also sometimes make the silhouette layer multiple colors to help guide shading and vibe

Next is the coloring layer. I usually make this a clipping layer on top of the silhouette layer, or I change the silhouette layer to alpha lock, either way it saves me time on coloring everything in

Sometimes I am super rough with the coloring too, using like an airbrush or my fav watercolor brush just to generically block in color where I want it

Works out cause most objects have like a bounce light to them from surrounding objects, so this is sort of a cheat I use to get that effect without all the work lol

Also don't be afraid to have the lower silhouette layer shining through, having multiple colors sort of subtly shining through the piece helps lots

Next is the shading layer, this is usually another clipping layer, usually set to "multiply"

The colors I pick here is usually within this range, any color works, just depends on the piece and vibes.

Since this piece is set in a sunset forest I choose a more desaturated orange for the shading layer

I know there's a whole thing about multiply layer being a crutch (and it kind of it) but it is a useful tool when you just want some darker values across the piece but don't want to go through the process of color picking every single darker shade

Also in my opinion it looks better than picking a darker color and setting it to a lower opacity, idk I just think the color has more "depth"

Next is the hardest to explain, sort of the vibes layer

Usually its just a layer of more concentrated color on top of the normal color and I fudge with the settings and values until I get a result I like

Next is the longest step, is the "extra" or the render stage.

Usually I add a background before this step so that if I need to merge the figure better with the background I can

If I render with a white background but he's supposed to be in a dark forest, its going to mess with the lighting severely

Also this is when I add more "vibe" layers on top to get the figure to match the background better

Backgrounds in general I recommend checking out @/derekdomnicdsouza on instagram he's got lots of great tutorials for breaking down backgrounds simply

I'd say general rule for the rendering layer is to focus on the areas of interest and spend less time on areas you don't care about

I even blur stuff out on the edges I don't want people to see, partially to save time on fixing mistakes in areas I dont care about (oop), but mainly to help draw the eye to the areas I do want people to focus on

Theoretically parts of the background should like mesh with the characters, parrallel lines are a no no unless they are directing a viewer to look somewhere, things that are perpendicular help bring things together

tbh I'm still not the best at layout and probably need more practice, but overall this is what I like doing

Overall this is what my layer set up ends up being

Sort of a sandwich with the lineart/sketch as the "meat" lol

Color and basic shading below the sketch, clean-up and rendering on top

I like this method cause it's super flexible if I ever want to try something different or try to replicate someone's style

I can make each step less or more messy depending on the end result and can add a lineart layer if need be. Also if there's a part that is straight up not working or needs to be removed its super easy to do cause I can just paint over it on the "extras" layer, color picking from the surrounding area to get the same vibe

Generally rule of thumb for my style is: get the initial layout of colors, form and shading to look good, then the rendering should be smooth sailing

Really the best advice I can give to get better at art is to enjoy what you're doing and become very very obsessed with drawing a silly little guy

You'll eventually get very good at drawing them pfptpf

[sorrowsofsilence]

Cymbal-ism • Folio

Pairing: Nick Folio x Fem!Reader

Words: 2.2k

Warnings: smut 18+ (unprotected pnv, pls wrap it b4 u tap it; male!recieving, slight degrading, rough!folio) enemies to lovers, arguing/bickering

Prompt: You're the new bad omens drum tech, and Nick Folio sure does get on your nerves. Is he a pain in the ass? Or is it the fact you two have some un-discussed sexual tension? Sent via anon

Author note: its hella late, ive had three margaritas, and this is not proofread lol

THIS IS A FANFIC USING REAL PEOPLE IN A FICTIONAL SITUATION! I AM NOT IMPLYING THAT THIS PERSON WOULD DO THIS IRL OR ACT LIKE THIS! ITS FICTION!

“You’re fucking insufferable,” you muttered under your breath as you brushed passed the short-haired brunette, shoulders knocking against him.

He scoffed, his dark brows narrowing as he hollered after you down the hallway, “Huh? What did you say?”

You glanced his way, flashing him the middle finger with a sarcastic smile while you opened the studio door, before slamming it loudly behind you in frustration.

Nick fucking Folio.

You two got off on the wrong foot the first day you met him two weeks ago. You had bought coffee for the team as a kind gesture, hoping to make a great first impression since you would be with them around Europe for two months.

However, shit hit the fan when you and Folio collided in the hallway as you got off the elevator, spilling the drinks all over him, and immediately giving him a childish vendetta.

To him, if his new drum tech was that clumsy, this tour would be the longest two months of his life. But to you, he was the one who entered the elevator looking down at his phone, not paying attention.

And even though you two barely knew each other, he already made your blood boil.

Perhaps it was the fact he was always trying to nit-pick every little thing you did or the way his attitude was always witty, having a sarcastic retort for everything you said.

It’s also possible it was the way Jolly, your childhood best friend and how you landed the job in the first place, was constantly teasing you about the sexual tension budding between you and Folio.

Or deep down, you thought that maybe it was the way Nick’s annoyingly perfect hair slicked back so effortlessly, or how flawless his ochre eyes were when he glared at you, the deep abyss titillating every time his brows furrowed in your direction.

Everything about him, and to do with him, pissed you off.

But it made you even more mad that you found him extremely attractive, his presence making your heart pound with anger and infatuation.

Nick stormed into the room, kicking the door closed with his foot, “If you’re going to insult me just do it to my face, you coward.”

“Wouldn’t want to hurt your feelings,” you said, kneeling next to the drum kit, loosening bolts on the boom stand.

Folio hovered over you, analyzing your movements as you adjusted the cymbals, taking them down one by one to place them in their cases. There was less than an hour until sound check, and none of the drum gear was moved from the studio room to the stage- thanks to somebody.

Groaning, you stopped to look up at him in annoyance, “I’m glad you think I’m pretty Folio, but maybe you can take your eyes off me and help? Instead of ogling?”

He scoffed, shaking his head as he started sliding the copper off of the loosened bars, “I’m just making sure you’re not fucking up my set.”

“Sure buddy,” you said, standing up and starting to unscrew the kick drum.

The two of you worked in tense silence, the air thick as miffed glances were shared taking apart the kit.

You tried not to watch the way his arms would flex as he twisted the rack tom, tattoos glistening slightly as the room heated.

You averted your eyes for a final time when they met his once again, stacking the cases onto the trolly to wheel it out to the stage.

Folio pushed passed you to grab the handles, ready to cart it down the hall even though it was your job.

“Do you even know where you’re going?” You asked as you trailed way too closely behind him, just to push his buttons. The smell of his faint cologne and slight musk of weed on his tanktop left your heart picking up pace.

“Of course I do,” He mumbled, about to walk past the stage entrance.

“To the left- the left-” you shook your head, staring at him with disdain, as he completely ignored you and continued walking, “Oh my god- Folio! it was left!”

You heard a chuckle behind you as Jolly and Ruffilo walked down the hall, stopping at the backstage door as they watched you humorously.

Rolling your head back you gave them an exasperated look, sighing audibly.

“You two ok?” Jolly smiled, folding his arms.

Shaking your head in frustration you bitterly laughed, “He is the biggest pain in my ass. I’m seriously debating quitting the industry as a whole.”

Ruffilo snickered, glancing at Jolly and then Folio, “He only does that because he thinks you’re cute.”

“Excuse me-” Nick interjected, shaking his head in disagreement, “I’d rather kiss a wall for five hours. At least it would be quiet.”

Shooting them a pointed look you walked passed the boys as they chuckled, letting Folio follow you onto the stage.

It only took about ten minutes to set the kit back up before you sat on the stool, practicing a few solos to test the position.

Nick watched in irritation from the side, but what you didn’t know was under all that show, was an immense amount of admiration. The brunette loved watching you play. He was always impressed with your coordination and keen ear, the ability for you to instantly stop playing and slightly adjust a drum before falling right back into a quick rhythm, breathtaking.

He’d never want to admit how good you are; but he would always be biting back a smile as he watched you test out his kit for him, making sure it was set and tuned to perfection.

You sighed once you finished your adjustments, before tossing Nick the sticks.

“All yours pretty boy.”

“Don’t call me that,” He huffed, before looking at the kit, “Also, your dumb ass forgot the hi-hat.”

Not believing him at first you glanced at the drums before swiftly swearing to yourself.

He was right.

Getting up you pushed past Nick, but he followed you back down to the studio, an annoyed murmuring coming from your mouth. As you entered through the door Folio closed it behind you, locking it.

“Nick seriously what-” You began, but were cut off by the brunette.

“God, do you ever shut that annoying fucking mouth of yours?” He said, standing close to you as he leaned forward, eyes narrowed.

“If it’s so annoying to you, make me,” You scoffed, tilting your head to the side.

The proximity of Nick subconsciously began to make your face warm as you backed up from him, but he was right on your trail.

You hit the soft padded wall of the studio, Folio’s body millimetres from pinning yours against the surface.

The tension grew as you both stared at each other with hatred.

“Fuck, you.” Nick spat, false venom dripping off his words.

Without hesitating you sneered, “You wouldn’t, pussy.”

It took all of two seconds before his auburn eyes flicked to your lips, a greedy hand reaching up and gripping your jaw as his mouth attached to yours.

It didn’t take long before you melted into Nick’s touch, angry at how good his tongue felt swiping against yours, the grip on your face tightening as his other hand reached to grip a fist full of your hair at the back of your head.

Fury, hatred, and lust fueled the fire between you two as your fingers gripped his belt loops, tugging his hips toward you as you began rutting against him.

You wanted nothing more than to claw down his skin, begging to dig your nails across the ivory and ink, embedding your mark. You wanted him to wince in a mix of pain and pleasure as your imprint but decided that grazing your teeth along his lips would have to do.

Nick moaned into you, quite literally ready to tear your shirt off, tempted to rip the cloth from its seam and destroy the fabric; but he withheld himself, aware that the two of you were hallways away from the exit to the tour bus.

The two of you pulled away panting, catching your breath.

“What the hell are we-”

Nick stared into your eyes, attempting to shift his desire into a glare as he leaned down to bite against your neck, nipping and kissing down the skin, “Just shut up, for five minutes. Please.”

A small whimper escaped you as his tongue grazed your collarbone, Folio’s fingers fiddling with the button on your jeans. You shimmed the fabric down your legs, kicking it off as you tugged at his tanktop, pulling it over his head.

His fingers gripped your hips, pulling them toward his own as he rubbed against your underwear, the bulge and stiffened desire evidence of how badly he wanted this. Reaching for the bottom of your shirt you tore it off your torso, exposing your chest.

Folio pushed your hips into the wall as his fingers danced along the hem of the thong you wore, threatening to dip lower to where you wanted him most.

“Please,” You whispered, desperation falling from your tone.

Folio shook his head, almost throwing his head back in humour, “We need to do something about your mouth.”

He pushed your shoulders, beckoning you to the ground before pulling his belt from the clasp. Freeing himself from his jeans, you watched hungrily as he gripped the back of your head, lining up his hardened desire to your lips.

“Open. Now.”

You obeyed, too turned on to fight back his commands. Wrapping around him you began to suck along the skin, closing your eyes as you relished in the feeling of how hard he was, all for this.

You reached up to stroke the base but he gripped your wrist, holding you in place as his hips thrust forward. He took complete control of how fast and how deep he went, using you to his desire.

“Your whore mouth exists for me to fuck,” Nick swore, his other hand holding the base of your neck as if feeling for himself through your skin, “All that backtalk can be shoved right down your pretty throat.”

Moaning at his words you closed your eyes, gagging on Nick’s thrusts as you took your free hand between your thighs, allowing yourself to slide past your panties to trace small circles against the skin.

Your arousal coated your fingers as your hips rutted against your hand, Nick’s fingers leaving your wrist to grip the back of your head. He pushed you down further on him, your eyes watering as he forced you to gag along his cock.

Air dissipated from your lungs, your body shuddering from the lack of oxygen momentarily before Nick pulled you away, causing you to cough.

“Fuck,” he groaned, almost chuckling.

You licked and sucked against him for a moment longer, before he pulled you up, gripping your hips. He kissed you desperately again for a few more minutes as his cock pressed against your thigh, before you pulled away, a hand against his chest.

“Are you going to just kiss me, or fuck me like you said you would?” You pushed, your hand gripping his erection, fingers dancing across his skin.

Nick moaned into your lips again before taking his hand between your thighs, slipping his fingers between your folds as he prepared your body for his, “Don’t make it a challenge, or you won’t be able to walk after.”

The brunette lifted your leg, gripping underneath your thigh as he hoisted it up to his hip, positioning himself against your arousal. It was a matter of seconds before he slid between you, your body taking him eagerly as your head fell back, mouth agape at the sensation.

He filled you fully, satiating the hunger you always had for the drummer as he began to thrust into your core, pounding senselessly. The angle gave him access to where you wanted him most, soft cries heaving from your chest as your brows furrowed.

Frustration dissipated into pleasure as Nick gave you everything, fucking you with complete adoration and need. Your nails gripped his shoulders, digging into the skin with haste as you rested your forehead against his neck.

“I hate how gorgeous I think you are,” Nick mumbled into your ear, soft groans escaping him.

Your laugh turned into a moan as his fingers trailed to stimulate you while he thrust, your body convulsing from the bliss, “I hate your perfect laugh, and how you have a lopsided smile.”

“I hate how talented you are.”

“I hate the way your eyes light up when you’re happy.”

“I hate how you walk with a skip when you’re excited.”

Your eyes lidded as Nick gripped the back of your head, forcing you to watch him as he spit on himself, lubricating your combined story as you pushed into him to meet his hips.

His thrusts began to waver as you clenched around him, the stimulation from his cock and fingers causing your legs to shake. Nick was close himself, trying to push you to the edge first before allowing himself release.

“I h-hate how-” You tried to get out your words as complete bliss took over, but Folio’s lips attached to yours once again, his pace never ceasing through your orgasm. Your walls engulfed him as Nick succumbed to you, his breathing staggered and haste as his chest vibrated in contentment.

His hips jerked into you as he allowed himself relief, taking over your body.

You watched him for a moment before his eyes met yours, lips agape in a pant.

The brunette shook his head as his fingers squeezed the skin along your torso, “We have two minutes till sound check.”

“Of course, you’re making us late,” you frowned.

“Oh shut the fuck up.”

Tags: @sammyjoeee @spicywhenspeaking @cookiesupplier @th4t-em0-k1d @dsireland86 @whenthesummerdies @foliosgirl @thatchickwiththecamera @blackveilomens @xserenax-13

[goodbyeyellowbrickcloset]

"Taylor Doesn’t Easter Egg That Deeply"—Are You Sure About That?

Today, I got the question:

"Can I ask—have you ever considered that you’re making all this up and Taylor doesn’t Easter egg this deeply? Like what if you’re just wrong and she doesn’t give a fig about The Wizard of Oz and wore this dress because she liked it? What if it’s not a performance? What if she’s straight and isn’t leaving clues about her sexuality in her clothes and jewelry? Please answer because I genuinely want to know if it’s ever crossed your mind."

I appreciate the curiosity, and yes—I have considered that possibility. But here's the thing: Taylor Swift has spent years openly admitting that she obsessively layers hidden messages into her work. Not just lyrics. Clothing, jewelry, set design, interviews, social media posts—even her fingernail color.

So rather than answering this with my own opinion, let’s let Taylor herself explain how deep she goes with Easter eggs.

Taylor Swift on Easter Eggs (Straight From Her Mouth)

📺Watch Here: Taylor Swift Reveals Her Easter Eggs About TS7

💬 Taylor’s Own Words:

"Hey, guys, it's Taylor Swift, and today I'm going to talk to you about Easter eggs… No, not the bunny pastel Easter eggs, although I really do love that aesthetic right now. I'm loving pastels. But the Easter eggs I'm gonna talk to you right now about are the kind of cryptic, message-sending Easter eggs. When you're watching a movie or music video and you notice something in the background, and that something leads to, sort of, behind-the-scenes information, that's an Easter egg. So I love to communicate via Easter eggs. I think the best messages are cryptic ones, so I'm going to lead you through my favorite kinds of Easter eggs to lay."

Easter Eggs Can Be Worn—Clothing & Jewelry

"Easter eggs can be left on clothing or jewelry. This is one of my favorite ways to do this, because you wear something that foreshadows something else, and people don't usually find out this one immediately, but they know you are probably sending a message. They'll figure it out in time. Lots of examples of this exist over the history of my career, which I hope they have put near my face."

→ So when I make a post analyzing the symbolism of her wearing a ruby-red dress after a decade of Oz references, I’m following Taylor’s own rules of engagement. If jewelry and fashion are deliberate in her world, why would we assume it stops at queerness?

Even Her Fingernails Are Easter Eggs

"A specific way you can leave Easter eggs is on nails. I'm not doing it right now... I just like glitter, but, there was a specific occasion where I did a Spotify vertical video for Delicate and I painted my nails the exact color tones that I wanted the next album to be. Some people picked up on it immediately, others picked up on it a few months down the line, but it made me feel nice to know that, ya know, when you plan something that far in advance... you're actually kind of just flexing on planning.... you're really just like, 'I planned this two years in advance.'"

→ If she can use her nail polish to foreshadow an album two years in advance, what makes you think a dress—on the music industry’s biggest night, after years of known Easter eggs—wasn’t a deliberate choice? Beyond the obvious, her boyfriend's football team's color??

She Uses Set Design & Symbolism to Hide Messages

"Another way that I really like to use Easter eggs is that I like to plant them in set design for photoshoots or music videos. I like to, uhm, I like to put coded messaging, sort of, uhm, you can see like a sign on a building or something on a wall, graffiti, a code that has me opening a door could be something significant..." "Another way that an Easter egg can express your message is through symbolism. So, a lot of the time I'll pick something that I think symbolizes something else. Like, I'll pick a snake as sort of the mascot for uhm ya know, feeling misunderstood, or ya know, being somebody that is not going to strike unless they're stepped on. Or, a butterfly, which is like kind of just breaking free of that kind of uhm, that darkness, and ya know, fluttering into the light. Or, a palm tree, I did a post on my Instagram and I posted 7 palm trees and I posted it on the day I finished my 7th album. A palm tree symbolizes rebirth, new beginnings, positive energy, so..."

→ So if she explicitly picks visual metaphors to represent deeper messages—why would we assume that her history of referencing Oz, queer-coded literature, and decades of hidden storytelling suddenly doesn’t matter?

Her Love for Easter Eggs Is a Decades-Long Tradition

"I really started doing this in music videos much more during the Reputation album because I wasn't doing interviews and I still wanted to be able to communicate messages to the fans and so the Easter eggs really went into overdrive. I think the most Easter egg-y video of my entire career thus far is Look What You Made Me Do ... LITERALLY THE WHOLE VIDEO IS JUST EASTER EGGS. THERE'S LIKE THOUSANDS OF EASTER EGGS. THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE STILL HAVEN'T FOUND. IT WILL BE DECADES BEFORE PEOPLE FIND THEM ALL!"

→ You heard her. Decades. If we’re still uncovering hidden meanings in her work from 2017, why would we assume there isn’t meaning in what she does now?

And Then… This Little Slip-Up

"Another way you can drop hints and leave an Easter egg is hints in print. I'll do an interview that's supposed to come out way before something else that is supposed to come out and I'll foreshadow this thing that's supposed to come out in this interview that I do that comes out way before this thing comes out."

👀 Say “come out” one more time, I dare you.

→ It’s almost poetic. She could have phrased this any other way, but she didn’t. Why?

Capitalizing Random Letters in Lyrics for Hidden Messages

"I thought, why not capitalize random letters and see if the fans figure out that if you take all the random letters and you put 'em together, it spells out little codes, secret messages. It could be one secret message per song, but then in other albums I had it, I had a secret message, like a story that would go throughout all the lyrics. I like this because to me it makes people read the lyrics, it makes an album more of an event. Easter eggs are a way to really sort of expand the experience of seeing something or hearing music."

→ So when we talk about Easter eggs being embedded in the very structure of her albums, we're literally playing the game she created. And yet, somehow, people still act like this level of depth is a reach.

The Classic Taylor Easter Eggs—13s & Cats

"The last thing I will mention is my go-to Easter eggs: These are things that may not lead to something in the future but they're just a tribute to my love for them. Those things are 13's and cats. If you see a cat in symbolism in my Easter egg situation, that's just cause I love cats. It's really that simple. Sometimes it means nothing other than just, like, reminding you how much I love cats. Also the number 13... really close to my heart. I will pick dates, I'll pick really important dates just because the numbers of that date add up to 13. It rules my life, so, uhm, ya know, any Easter egg fiend has their go-to's... those are mine."

→Of course, there are some Easter eggs that don’t lead to deeper meanings—Taylor even says so herself. But the key phrase here is “go-to” Easter eggs. These are her defaults, her personal symbols, the things she sprinkles in just because she loves them. That’s the whole point—she differentiates between casual tributes and intentional clues.

So when hetlors inevitably try to use this quote to say, “See? Not everything is that deep!”—they’re missing the bigger picture.

If some things are just for fun, that also means other things are deliberate. She literally told us how to tell the difference. Taylor’s Easter eggs aren’t random—they follow patterns, themes, and storytelling structures. If cats and the number 13 are her signature stamps, that doesn’t erase the documented history of her planting meaningful, layered symbols in her lyrics, visuals, and public appearances.

So no, every cat she posts isn’t a clue. But a decade of recurring visual and lyrical motifs tied to queerness, hidden love, and coded references to historically queer works? That’s not the same as “I love cats.”

This isn’t an all-or-nothing game. Some things are just aesthetic. Some things are artful misdirection. But some things are very, very real.

Her Conclusion

"So thank you so much for sitting down with me to talk about easter eggs, which I'm sure I enjoyed much more than you did. My cover of Entertainment Weekly is out. So if you wanna check that out, who knows, there could be easter eggs all throughout that thing, you just ya know, ya never know with me. See ya!"

So, Back to the Original Question:

Does Taylor Swift “Easter egg that deeply” about The Wizard of Oz?

If we take her at her own words—yes, she Easter eggs that deeply about everything.

She leaves clues for the people who want to see them. And many of us do.

Now, I’ll leave you with a question of my own:

👉 What’s your favorite queer-coded Easter egg in Taylor’s work? Drop it in the comments! 👈

[masterjedilenawrites]

Ready Or Not

Howzer x fem!S/O | 1.9k words

Content: blind dates, bad first impressions, Howzer has some thoughts and feels to work through, maybe some demi vibes?, no real fluff but I think it's sweet in its own way

Prompt: I came across this concept of a "Meet Ugly" and thought it'd be interesting to explore. Used this scenario: Getting set up on a blind date and not having the best reaction when they first see each other.

Part of Operation #MoreHowzerFics

He did not have time for this.

Maybe the rest of the galaxy had been duped into thinking the war was over, but Howzer knew better. There was still a fight to be had, and a more dire one at that. A fight for his brothers. Their fates were hanging in the balance... and here he was, sitting at some cafe on Pabu waiting for a date.

He wasn't even sure how it had happened. Rex had insisted there was a reason soldiers took R&R, and even though they technically weren't soldiers anymore they should still try to relax every once in a while. Fireball had taken to saying "you need to get laid" every time Howzer was in an even slightly bad mood. Greer was always going on about how they needed to think of the future, find a dream worth fighting for, like a home or a family. And Gregor was weirdly interested in figuring out what everyone's "type" was; everywhere they went he'd point someone out and gauge their reactions.

All of that somehow had culminated in setting Howzer up on a blind date the second they touched down on Pabu. As if he had time for such things. As if he cared about such things.

And yet... here he was. Wearing his armor and a frown, but he'd still shown up. If he wasn't so busy cursing his brothers in his mind, he could have analyzed why he was here. Or whether he maybe secretly did care about such things.

His leg bounced and his narrowed eyes stared unfeeling out at the planet's glistening waters. He glanced down at his watch every few minutes, growing more upset at how the time passed without this supposedly "cute" date of his showing up. A memory of Echo whispered in the back of his mind, saying something about "Pabu time", how people here didn't need to move with the same urgency he was used to, but he didn't listen to it.

A few people passed by and gave him pleasant smiles. Some entered the patio and gave warm hugs to neighbors they recognized. An elderly couple went up to the counter, leisurely reading the menu as if they had never dined here before. One girl confidently strolled in, at first acting like she knew where she was going, and then halting in the middle of the tables and looking about in confusion. She then tried to cover and got in line to order, as if that had been her plan, even though Howzer had seen the whole thing and knew she had probably absentmindedly gone to the wrong place.

He fought back the urge to roll his eyes at these people. He wasn't really annoyed at them. If anything, he envied their peace. They didn't have family enslaved by the Empire. They didn't have uncertain futures. They were allowed to wander and smile and act a little silly. It's what he would want for his brothers once they were freed. No, he was annoyed because they weren't free. This peace was not theirs. But here he was, sitting in a cafe overlooking a beautiful view and waiting for a date as if he had earned it. How in the galaxy had he let Rex and the others convince him to do this?

Just when he started to entertain the idea of bailing, the girl from earlier caught his eye. She had made it up to the counter now and the worker was pointing over in his direction. Howzer subconsciously shifted, his back straightening and his hand settling on his thigh next to his blaster holster. Usually he'd pretend not to have noticed, let any potential threats think they were catching him unawares while all along he had the upper hand. But here, he decided to send a different message. I am aware, I see you staring, try to mess with me.

The girl followed the path that the worker had pointed her in, right to Howzer. She didn't look like a spy or some other kind of threat, but these days, who really knew. Especially when she seemed determined to appear pleasant and confident, despite the nervous gulp Howzer clocked from across the patio, not to mention the little display of carelessness he had seen from her earlier.

"Hi there," she said when she came within a few feet of his table.

She gave out a breathy laugh and Howzer frowned, waiting to see what she wanted from him.

"Um," she gulped again, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Another nervous tell. What was she hiding? "I uh... Phee told me to meet someone here. For a... a date?"

Howzer's eyes widened in realization. Kriff.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to walk right past you," the girl continued to fill in the silence. "I guess I wasn't expecting, um..."

She trialed off as she realized how the thought was sounding out loud, and then quickly tried to save face by hurrying over to the seat opposite him and pulling it out. But Howzer wasn't going to let her off the hook that easy.

"Weren't expecting... what?" he asked once she sat down. He eased his hand away from his blaster but kept his posture upright. She may not be a threat but he wasn't exactly comfortable.

She exhaled quickly with a sheepish smile. "Well, a clone."

Howzer's eyes returned to their narrowed state, sizing up this girl he found himself sitting across from. She interpreted the silence as offense and immediately started babbling.

"I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that. It's... it's just... You know, you've all just recently started coming here... I mean, I guess I shouldn't be surprised... Of course Phee would set me up with someone I don't know, I know practically every other guy here, and there's a reason I'm not with any of them... And she's been working with clones more recently... But like, I know only a few of you are sticking around for good, so I guess that's why it didn't occur to me that..."

Howzer wasn't sure when he had started zoning out. He felt bad, but also couldn't help it. He didn't have much time for this date to begin with, and certainly no time to listen to a stranger ramble without getting to any sort of point. He was a soldier; he valued conciseness. Whatever suppressed little hope he had that maybe this date wouldn't be so bad after all, maybe he finally would find a romantic connection with someone, dissipated into the saltwater breeze. 

He sat forward and the girl stopped spewing her thoughts, eagerly awaiting him to interject and contribute.

"Look, you seem like a nice girl," he lied. He honestly didn't really have an opinion about her one way or the other. He'd been hit on plenty of times back on Ryloth but had never felt anything by it, other than occasional annoyance when it interrupted his duties. "But it seems like we both have some disappoints over this arrangement. Why don't we cut our losses now, get some time back in our days, and part on good terms?"

Now it was her turn to frown.

"You... you're disappointed?"

Howzer was already scooting his chair back to stand. "It's nothing personal against you," he tried to reassure, though even he could hear how impolite it sounded. He hated that he was in such a situation. He should have never come in the first place.

He gave her a formal nod, almost like a salute, and then strode through the patio gate and down quiet, cobbled streets back toward the town square. Each step felt heavier and heavier and he did whatever he could to ignore the guilt twisting in his chest, even trying to look at his surroundings and focus on taking in the architecture and flora and beauty. It was a hollow focus, but he was determined to keep walking, believing he'd soon forget about this awkward encounter and the rude behavior he'd displayed, and things would go back to normal... as normal as they could be in a war.

But then a voice started to cut through to him from behind.

"Sir? Sir!"

He turned in confusion to see the girl jogging toward him. She pulled up a few feet from him, only slightly out of breath.

"Sorry. Um, I don't know your name. Or your rank."

"My rank doesn't matter anymore," he said, immediately regretting how defensive it sounded. He really was a mess today, wasn't he.

"Sure it does," she said with a small smile. "It was an accomplishment, something you should always be proud of."

Without realizing, the tenseness in his shoulders started to loosen. He took in a deep breath and said the first normal thing all day. "My name's Howzer. Captain Howzer."

Her smile grew just a bit more. "It's nice to meet you, Captain Howzer. And... I'm sorry if I came across rude or annoying before. I understand if you don't find me attractive, but I really don't want that to be your impression of me. I really wasn't disappointed to find out you were my date. In fact, I'm disappointed I didn't actually get to have you as a date. But, like I said... it's okay if you're not interested."

Howzer's heart was twisting again. She was a nice girl. Sweet, thoughtful. Still used too many words, but he supposed he didn't use enough sometimes. As far as attraction, he wasn't entirely sure he knew what that felt like, but those bright eyes and soft smile weren't so bad to look at.

"It's not that I'm not interested," he started to say slowly, but then realized he wasn't sure how to finish the thought.

The girl stepped closer. "You're just not ready?"

"Honestly, I don't know if I ever will be ready." He gave a sheepish shrug, though he was starting to feel better. He appreciated that she was helping him sort through these confusing feelings. Her eyes were closer, swimming with the reflection of the sky and what he believed to be genuine care. Before he knew it, he was elaborating. "I mean, do I like the idea of sitting down for coffee with someone and getting to know them? Of course. But to what end? I don't know what the future holds. I don't know if I can be a good friend, let alone... something else."

She nodded in understanding but still offered a different perspective. "To be fair, no one really knows what the future holds. And relationships come in all different forms. There's no one way to be a good friend. Or a good something else."

Howzer's eyes slipped away from hers, pulled toward the glistening sea in the backdrop behind her. He mulled over her words as he watched the waves, nothing but tiny little ripples from this distance. It reminded him of some of the paintings he saw back on Ryloth. He'd always been impressed with artists who could make small details seem real. They were only small strokes on a canvass but they captured a whole entire feeling.

He shook himself, not sure why he was thinking about such a thing right now. The girl was still watching him with a small but knowing smile. She stepped back and returned the nod he'd given her back at the cafe.

"I'm really glad to have met you, Captain. I wish you all the best."

She turned and started walking back the way she'd came. Howzer let her get a few steps before finally calling out.

"Wait. I didn't get your name."

She paused and smiled at him over her shoulder.

"Hope."

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[soxcietyy]

Temptation

Your dad is tired of you bringing home these unworthy men. None of them being fit to take care of you or to be given the family business since you are the only daughter. He decides to find you someone fit to be your husband and receive help from the father of the church. That’s when you meet Yuta, though just because he goes to church doesn’t mean he’s much of a saint

Mafia, murder, violence, mentions of religion, (will contain other things in the next chapters)

Chapter 9

You offered the maid your help to clean up the mess the next day. Yuta on the other hand told them to not let you lift up a finger but how could you let them do all the work? This was basically your fault to begin with. If you handing ran away then he wouldn’t of done this.

Sitting a the dinner table you watch as servants come and bring you breakfast. Yuta had told you that he wouldn’t be able to join you because of work. So now you sat here alone eating. Leaving you to think and have your thoughts consume you.

You couldn’t stop thinking about that meeting. They were talking about territory’s, money, and the law. Could they be doing something illegal? There’s no way right? They’re powerful buisness owner that had all the money they could want. If people found out they were doing illegal things then that would tear their reputation.

Yuta couldn’t possible be involved in such things right? He was a good boy… one that went to church and was praised by many. Then the memory of him shooting your best friend on your wedding flashed in your mind.

You stood up abruptly and stalked out of the dinning room towards his office. You couldn’t just sit here and contemplate such thing. You need to know the answer to what he really does before you went crazy.

Opening the doors to his office you see him sitting there with a man. You freeze thinking this was bad timing. Maybe you should come back later, or maybe ask him at dinner.

Before you could take a step back Yuta dismissed the individual quickly. The man looked a bit taken aback but did as told. You swallow hard as you watched Yuta make his way towards you. He analyzed your face with every step he took. Trying to read you so he could be prepared for anything.

"Yes angel?" He hums.

You stand up right quick and look at him in the eyes. He couldn’t see you as a frighten little girl. You had to put your foot down.

"I want to t-alk"

Welp so much for going in this with confidence.

"Right, come on in." He says leading you to his desk for you to take a seat in the chair where the other gentleman was sitting in not too long ago. Taking the seat you watch as he sits down in his own.

It was almost as if he had a scary shadow hovering over him making the atmosphere feel suddenly heavy. No wonder everyone that met him looked frightened.

"At the meeting… you guys weren’t talking about stock."

He raises his right brow as he rest his chin onto his hand. He sat there in silence recapping the conversation that was made at the meeting.

"Job…You want a job right? How about I give you one for the next 18 years? Maybe more depending how many we ha-"

"Yuta" you interrupt him.

He was trying to brush off the topic again. This wasn’t the first time he’d done this.

"I don’t think that’s something you should worry about Angel. Look how about I order some plants for you to put around the house. Maybe new dresses? Or how about some makeup?" Yuta says as he takes out his check book from a drawer.

"You’re doing illegal business, you’re a criminal!" You finally shout.

He froze as those words fell out of your mouth. He slowly placed the pen down and looked at you with those stoic eyes.

"And?"

Your eyes widen seeing as he actually admitted to it. Was this what you wanted? What now? Technically you still had no idea what he was doing but it was something at least.

"So stop..." You say quietly almost sounding like a whisper.

He lets out a laugh before he looks at you with loving eyes.

"You’re so adorable y/n. Let’s go get you a cute night gown and maybe a new purse too." He says standing up.

He walked passed you as he made his way to the door but you had other plans. As his back was turned at you, you decide to sit on his desk. All over his paper work. You grab a bottle of wine that sat one the corner of his desk. He turned to look at you with a smile.

He probably thought that you wouldn’t do it. That you didn’t have the guts to face him.

Then you did it. You poured it all over his desk. All over your clothes causing it to stain. All of his paper work ruined.

"Come here right now."

You look at him and swore you saw one of his eyes twitched.

"Make me."

It took him no time to reach you and grab you to pull you off the desk. He had a tight grip on your arm as he pushed you onto his chair.

"I’ll make you come alright."

He leaned in to kiss you to shut you up before you could say anything to him.

He was aggressive, like a starving animal devouring your lips. Shoving his tongue in your mouth forcing you to follow his flow. He held you down making sure you weren’t going to run away this time. It was a long make out session before he pulled away causing you to gasp for air.

As you cought your breath he grabbed the phone that was on his desk and dialed a number as he unbuttoned his shirt. He slithered right out of his his button up quickly as he got on his knees and pulled your skirt up.

He smiled as he caught a sight of what he’s been wanting for so long. His long fingers slipped inside of you as the other ones unbuttoned the buttons on your white blouse.

wine all over them.

"Yes sir?" Someone finally spoke.

His hot mouth left your breast alone so he could respond to the person on the other side of phone.

"Everyone outside and guard the door. Nobody is to enter the house until I say so." He says before hanging up and throwing the phone to the side.

The cord recoiled making it hang off of the desk as he continued to give attention to your breast. Licking and sucking until they felt sore and sensitive.

Before he could dare go any further there was a loud knock at the door. He simplify ignore it and swore under his breath as he continued to suck.

Going from polite knocking to loud banging non stop.

Yuta continued to ignore but at last gave in. He ran his hand through his hair as he let out loud sigh. Grabbing you he lifted you out of your chair and pulled your skirt down for you and buttoned your blouse before fixing himself up.

He made his way to the door and swung it open to reveal one oh his men panting at the door. He looked up at Yuta with wide yes and shaking. Your husband seemed to have a surprises look on him. You peer to the side trying to take a good look and when you do you see the man holding something. Red liquid dripped onto the floor slowly making a mess for the maids to clean later.

He slammed the door shut. He looked at you as he averts his eyes from the window to you.

"Angel can you stay on here until I come and get you? Kind of having an emergency and I would appreciate if you stayed put." Yuta says as he begins to walk out and shut the door behind him.

You may of not gotten everything you wanted to right now but you had another way to get it.

_______________

Yuta didn’t know if he should be angry at his men for interrupting him moment with you or not. Then again having one of them show up with a decapitated head at your door was also not good.

It took him a second too long to remember that you where here too.

He wouldn’t have known what to say or do if you saw something so traumatizing.

Walking outside with everyone else he was lead to where the rest of the corpse was. It didn’t take long for the smell to hit him. That sweet horrible smell of death that he had encountered too many times.

How could things like this keep happening at his home? Obviously he already knew who it was. Angelo was probably furious about things not going his way. That didn’t mean he had to go to such lengths.

If he really wanted to he could call out a full on war on that man but I was best to stay peaceful. If Yuta were to show that this really did affect them then he would continue on with the tactic. It was best to pretend like it was nothing serious for now.

From the looks of how everything has been happening it seems like there’s going to be more security. Especially when you’re home alone. He’s also going to have to replace these iron bar fence with bricks. May not look so great but it’s for the best.

"Bury him and double the people on each post tonight." Yuta says as he walks back inside with a cigar in his hand.

He lights it up before stepping inside to see that the mess was all cleaned up. These girls worked quiet and quick without a complaint. Maybe he should give them a bonus for them to stay a bit longer.

Going back to his office he sees you with a book in your hand. Seemed to be one about business.

"alright let's go Angel, ill treat you to anything today." Yuta says as he grabs your hand and strings you along.

"What about you treating me with your attention?"

He stops and looks at you confused for a moment. This had to be an interesting request.

"Alright, what does my Angel want? I can give you all the attention in the world."

"I want you to agree on doing anything for me. You can’t take it back or say no when I request it." You cross your arms.

What a silly little thing to ask for. What could it possibly be?

"What is it?" He asks.

"Yu! You’re not supposed to know until that moment." You roll your eyes.

There you go again with that little nickname again. Everytime you said his name like that he felt weird. As if you casted a spell on him that forced him to agree to anything you said. You didn’t need to make such an agreement like this, all you had to do was say his name like that with a pleading look.

Obviously he wasn’t going to tell you that.

"Yes yes I agree to your little terms and conditions. You have my word." Yuta says knowing it wouldn’t be anything terrible.

You’re a good girl, you would do no harm to an animal.

You latch your hand onto his in a happy mood and look up at him.

"I think I feel like one of the happiest girls alive right now." You smile.

You smiled….when was the last time he saw you like that? With no anger or resentment? Because it felt like eternity. He wasn’t going to let this moment pass.

"Did you ever try out the makeup I got you on our wedding day?"

That was a horrible thing to say.

You had him sitting in the chair as you tested out the new products. Swatching them on his skin and putting glitter on his eye lids. He could tolerate this. Nothing wrong with a little color to make you happy. Unless it was lip stick. He refused to put such a thing on.

What would his guys think if they saw him in such a position? Stooping so low for his wife’s happiness.

"I really love how this powder is looking on you Yu, how about we try a gloss? It has no color in it."

Yuta lets out a quiet sigh as he looks at the door hoping nobody would barge in anytime soon. He complied to your little antics. He was just happy you weren’t fighting with him or running away anymore.

If it were up to him you would be chained to the floor and locked up in here all day. It’s the only place he deemed safe enough to keep you. Unfortunately you would not be happy with the idea so he could not go on with it.

"My father told me that he’s going to be coming over today. Since you know he hasn’t been here at all. He wants to visit us." You say as you push his hair back.

Visitors… such a nuisance to have. All they do is eat, yap, and criticize others. Especially if it’s the mother in law.

Yuta didn’t even know you still kept in touch with him. He was pretty sure the agreement they made included for him to keep out of your way. He must be an idiot if he was still lurking around you. Then again it was so easy to convince him to let you be his wife.

All Yuta had to do was pay 100k plus buy a few stocks from that shitty wine company. Old man was jumping with joy when Yuta offered him that. Truly an embarrassment to man kind.

"Alright." Yuta replied as you wiped off the makeup with a wet rag that sat in a bowl.

If someone where to offer Yuta that for his daughter’s hand in marriage he would of blow the man’s head of with a rifle.

….

There was no way he just thought about the future. Obviously you are his wife that’s supposed to bare his kids but he’s never thought of it like that. He’s never cared about that… he’s always lived in the moment and didn’t think of having a family. But just now he became overprotective over someone who doesn’t even exist yet.

His stomach twisted the more he thought about it.

"You okay? You look sick Yu. Could you be coming down with a fever?" You ask him.

"Yes I’m fine, when is your dad coming over?"

"In the morning he said he was going to drop by in the afternoon."

Great. Yuta mumbled under his breath.

It didn’t take long for him to come over. He knocked at the door repeatedly until Yuta opened it. He had an angry look on his face and was breathing heavily. Surprisingly his wife was nowhere to be seen. He must of came straight from work.

"You! Your men almost killed me!"

Yuta puts his hand on his chin and then remember that he had forgotten to tell them about his father in law coming over. They probably thought he was a trespasser and tried to take him out. So unfortunate that it didn’t happen.

"Shouldn’t of came." Yuta says as he looked at the man’s ruffled shirt.

"Your a bastard, just like that stupid clan your from. All of you are the same!" He says as he looks inside the house, eyes darting all over. "Where’s y/n? Don’t tell me you have her locked up somewhere. That poor girl forces to marry you."

He was all nice and polite when you guys wernt married yet but all of a sudden the act was gone.

"All because her stupid broke father sold her off to some horrible bastard. What’s even worst is that her father was on his knees once he heard a small offer of money."

The man gritted his teeth and pushes Yuta so he could get through.

He called out to you loudly.

You appeared on the stairs in no time. Wearing a beautiful gown. This seemed to have calmed your fathers nerves down because his shoulders became slack.

Yuta eyes him up and down as he approached to embrace you. Holding you so tightly that your skin tone was becoming discolored.

"Show me a tour of the house! I have to know if you’re living comfortably and in good conditions." He tells you.

Of course the old man would think that he had you living in a horrible state.

Yuta followed along but a few feet away from you guys. You ended up showing off the kitchen, bathrooms, dinning room, library and more. Yuta wanted to obviously give you guys space but he had a feeling that the old man would not keep his hands to himself. He would probably snatch anything small enough to fit in his pockets to sell off later. Especially now that you where taking him into the bedroom.

His mouth fell wide open when he stepped in. It was probably ten times as big as his master bedroom.

"What do you do with so much room?" He asks

"I do so many things in this room with your daughter. Sometimes it isn’t enough and we have to take it down stairs." Yuta smirks as he looks at you.

Your face became a bright pink shade.

"You disgusting monster, do you have no class?!" Your father yells. He took a deep breath before proceeded to talk about the house.

He mostly asked questions about her. Where do you eat? Study? Sleep? What side of the bed is yours? What time do you do this? What time do you do that? It was really boring and unnecessary questions. Sounded more like an interrogation.

Eventually Yuta grew so tired of his presence that he mentioned it was lunch time and that he should go home and eat with his wife but he ignored Yuta. Instead he took a seat at the table and said that he would prefer to stay and eat with you. 

It didn’t matter if they brought his food cold or his drink too hot the stubborn man still sat here eating his meal as if it was the best thing ever. He should have slipped something in his drink. He should have done SOMETHING but you would know exactly where to look if something happened to your father.

"So are you always here? Do you ever leave the house or allow my daughter to go out?" He asks.

Yuta stops chewing his food and looked up to see that he was actually being asked something.

"We’re always together no matter what." Yuta says bluntly.

"Ever think of letting her be her own person?"

"Every think of minding your own business? "

You let out a laugh caught to stop them from arguing.

"Father it’s been so nice having you over but me and Yuta have an appointment in an hour and have to prepare to leave." You say.

Yuta looks at you surprised to hear a lie come out of your mouth. Could it be that you could feel the tension? Were you trying to help him out or your father?

"Oh y/n you guys can go and I’ll just stay here until you get bac-"

"Absolutely not." Yuta cuts in.

You let out a nervous laugh as you put your hand on ver your fathers.

"Father you can come another time with mother! It’s so sad that you didn’t bother to bring her."

Something didn’t feel right. Something was off and Yuta couldn’t quite figure it out.

AN: Iv come to terms with the fact that I literally can’t catch my own grammar mistakes. I once turned in a paper report to my professor that had "ass" instead is "as".

[skzdust]

Contingency

Part 1

Welcome to a new series! This is my first mafia au, so I hope you all like it! It starts off a bit slow but next chapter things will really pick up ;)

Summary: You accept a job from your best friend Seonghwa getting information on Ateez's rival group, SKZ. You decide to get to the organization through one of their members: Lee Minho. You find yourself falling for him, and things get even more complicated when SKZ's resident hacker seems to have his sights set on you as well.

Pairing: Lee Know x I.N x Reader

Includes: Seonghwa being a good friend, coffee shop meetings, Lee Minho being hot

Word count: 1.5k

Taglist (Comment on a post/send an ask if you'd like to be added): @weirdowithaphone, @caught-in-the-afterglow, @palindrome969, @skzstan12345, @katsukis1wife, @tsunderelino

Reblogs, likes, comments all appreciated!!!

Part 2 | Part 3

Masterlist

-----

“You’re looking for a job right now, yes?” Seonghwa raised his eyebrows, leaning forward on his elbows.

You blinked. “Blunt, but yes.”

“Perfect.” A smile lit up his eyes.

It often did. Seonghwa may have been a member of ruthless criminal organization Ateez, but he was warm and sentimental and kind. Although you supposed you hadn’t seen him at his usual work of interrogations—you doubted his victims got that same side of him.

“What is it?”

“Well… it’s something for us, actually.”

You were confused. “Doesn’t Hongjoong usually keep things internal?”

“That’s…” Seonghwa cleared his throat. “That’s the issue. We can’t send one of our own. I can’t tell you too much, but Hongjoong… he’s planning something, and he wants to know how much information a certain other organization has on us. We can’t risk one of ours getting captured by them.”

“Another organization?” Your eyes widened as you realized who he must mean. “You’ve gotta be kidding. Their screening process is infamously insane. I’ll never get far enough in to get the information you need in time.”

Seonghwa shrugged. “We’re putting the offer out to a few people. You’re not the only bounty hunter we know.”

You held one hand to your chest. “Wow, and here I thought we were best friends.”

“We are!” Seonghwa took your other hand. “Ateez knows other bounty hunters, but you’re Park Seonghwa’s favorite.”

“How sweet.”

He let go of your hand to make a heart between both of his. “Anytime.”

“So… I need to find SKZ’s file on Ateez and deliver it to you? For how much?”

Seonghwa jerked his head, indicating he wanted to say something in your ear, and you leaned in. He whispered the amount, and your eyes went wide.

“Deadass?”

“Deadass.” His eyes twinkled.

“For that money, you can consider them infiltrated already.”

“There you go! That’s the spirit!”

—

You went over your plan in your head for the thousandth time as you waited in the coffee shop. You had no way of knowing exactly when he would show up, so you couldn’t be distracted.

You spotted him as soon as he walked in. Nothing about him explicitly screamed “criminal underworld”, but the way he carried himself, the subtle quality of the leather jacket he wore, the shifting of his eyes across the space as he analyzed for potential threats all told you this man was just like you—dangerous.

You knew Ateez’s papers on your target—at least the ones you’d been granted access to—could only tell you so much, but you reviewed a few pieces of information you’d gleaned from the file as you watched him get in line.

Lee Minho loved coffee; his usual order was an iced americano. He had a fondness for cats. He’d had two girlfriends in the past three years.

Lee Minho had good aim; he could shoot a man in a snowstorm at night with one bullet. He had shot a man in a snowstorm at night with one bullet.

Lee Minho had the highest kill count in SKZ.

You added one to your mental list: Lee Minho was hot.

It was self-indulgent, but it would definitely make your plan easier for you.

You looked back down at your notebook, trying to look busy as he did another glance around the room. You tapped at the binding with the eraser of your pencil, biting the inside of your lip as you pretended to focus intently on something.

As the barista called out, “Minho!”, setting down a cup on the counter, you began to pack up your things. By the time the drink was in his hand, you were standing up, and by the time Minho had made it to the door, you were walking at a brisk pace, staring at your phone intently. So intently, in fact, that you walked right into him.

He reacted in moments, his hand moving to your arm, holding it tightly so you didn’t lose your balance. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m—I’m good, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t—”

“No worries.” He cut you off smoothly. “No harm done.”

“You sure you’re okay?” You looked at his coffee, which he’d held away from his body. “Nothing spilled?”

“Nope. Are you okay? All… good?” His eyes darted up and down your body, and his gaze lingered on your bag for a moment too long. You knew he was likely scanning for weapons, but a piece of you hoped he was checking you out.

“Yes.” You adjusted the bag on your shoulder, and his eyes snapped back to your face. His smile was reserved, but genuine. “I’m sure I’ll see you around if you’re here often, but have a nice day.”

“Yeah, I’m here a lot. Have a good day!” You tried to be peppy. That was your persona right now: y/n l/n. A kind, good person.

He nodded his head in a goodbye, then walked out the door. You followed him out and went off in the opposite direction, satisfied with the interaction.

—

You didn’t want to take the plan slow, but you knew that you’d have to if you wanted to get all the information Ateez had requested. Minho would suspect something if you were overly clingy or moved too fast. So, the next day, you resolved not to talk to him as you set up your laptop and notebook. You’d look up when he passed your table—one you’d selected right next to the part of the bar where customers picked up their drinks—and smile sweetly, and that would be it.

You weren’t counting on Minho looking around as he waited for his americano, seeing you, giving a small smile, and walking over. You hurried to close the more suspicious tabs on your computer, despite the fact that he approached from the opposite direction.

“Hello.” He tilted his head, as if analyzing you. “You’re here again.”

“I am.” You closed the last one and turned your full attention to him. “So are you.”

“I like the coffee here, it’s better than a lot of other places, and I usually need a lot of caffeine.”

You took a sip of your own drink. “It is good. What do you need caffeine for?” It was an obvious question, and you knew the answer, but it was something an uninformed civilian would ask.

He gave a brief laugh before saying, “It’s complicated, but I do business stuff with a bank. I work a lot of late nights. What do you do?”

You fought to keep a laugh of your own off your face. He clearly wasn’t used to giving that lie, and while it would’ve fooled a random person, you knew the truth, which let you monitor his tells.

(Which were shifting his weight between his feet, speaking a little too loudly, and the immediate subject change.)

“Mm.” You said instead, nodding. “That sounds important. I’m in tech stuff. Coding.” You raised your eyebrows. “It’s complicated.”

“Is it?”

“It is.”

You smiled at each other for a moment before the barista called out, “Minho!”, and he went to get his drink. He stopped by your table again.

“My name’s Minho.” He held up his coffee. “If you couldn’t tell from that.”

“I’m y/n.” You tilted your laptop screen down. “Am I gonna see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” He smiled, just a bit bigger. “Maybe we can sit together.”

Something bubbled in your chest—something real. Your plan had been to start dating Minho as a ruse to get close to SKZ, breaking up with him as soon as you had the information you needed. So you told yourself the feeling was just excitement that your plan was working. It had nothing to do with Minho specifically. You’d feel this way over any plan working.

You knew you were lying to yourself, but you shushed that portion of your brain. You could not catch feelings for Lee Minho.

“I’ll save a seat for you… wait, here.” You ripped a piece of paper off one of your notebook pages and scribbled your name and number.

You knew it was unnecessarily risky to use your real name verbally, let alone write it down with your number, even if it was a burner phone. But no one you worked with or around knew it, and you’d grown to miss hearing it.

You knew it was worth it when Minho mumbled it as he read the paper. “Y/n.”

You smiled. “Yeah, in… in case you want to call me or something.”

He put it in his pocket, his eyes glinting. “Y’know, it’s pretty risky to hand out your name and number to strangers.”

You shrugged. “I don’t hand out my name and number to most strangers.”

He leaned in a few inches. “And what if I’m the dangerous kind?”

You smirked. “Then at least you’re hot.”

He gave a real laugh as he leaned away. “You’re funny, y/n. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

You watched him walk out of the coffee shop, hands in his pockets.

You were glad the plan was working. That was all.

[translatemunson]

file 003 — things never go as planned

chapter three of death defying acts

previous chapter | masterlist | next chapter

cw: fem!reader, afab!reader, no descriptions of reader (i'm really trying to keep my descriptions of her and her background to a minimum so i can be inclusive to all people, but let me know if i can improve), no use of y/n, reader has a call sign (i had to pick one, it makes sense for the story), innacuracies about the navy, topgun and army (i did my best guys), this takes places after the events of the movie, lmk if i missed anything.

You’re sitting in the lecture room — which is basically one of the empty rooms in the Hangar One, but with chairs, a screen and a white board — after the first mission simulation. According to the schedule, you’ll have one every two weeks, and this weeks’ you were assessing a few pieces of information, passing them over the radio, giving your notes and plans to the mission chief.

You really hoped you could take the lead first thing after arriving in San Diego, however maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Because that simulation was shitty. The worst in your life. Of course you had a few highlights, such as the speed you were dealing with the readings and breaches you’re seeing while watching the pilots, but it was a shit show.

Maverick was making everyone go through their data, pointing out what can be improved. You exhaled each time you noticed something that flew under your radar during the first week. This was nothing like previous simulations you were part off.

“Officer Hyde, anything you wanna point out on this run?” For the first time, Maverick asked for your contribution to that lecture.

You looked at the screen, then at your tablet and notes. Bradley Bradshaw’s mission run. Aside from the briefing, the aviators weren’t given much information about what was working or not during training, just direct orders of what to do. On the other side of the comms, you knew what worked and what was doomed to fail.

You remember telling Officer Stewart about Bradshaw’s time being over the mark, which was a crucial factor into this simulation. You looked over his stats again, “Lieutenant Bradshaw opted for not using all of the power of his jet, which led to failure to reach the target in the estimated time. Even though he was one of the few that went undetected by the defense system, he failed to follow the briefing and mission chief’s orders.”

“What could he have done to improve his time?”

“First of all, he should’ve taken advantage of his jet speed.” You felt like stepping on eggshells, but it was true. “With max speed, he would be reaching the target even faster, since his lines are sharper than most.”

“There’s many ways to fly a mission, Officer.” Since you were sitting on the last row of chairs, you couldn’t see much of his face as he spoke.

“Oh, not this again, Rooster,” Hangman interjected. “We’ve been here before, just suck it up and admit you’re wrong.”

“I know, Lieutenant, but your way wasn’t fast enough, which was the main goal of this simulation,” you replied in a low and controlled voice. “I wouldn’t point out your lack of speed if there wasn’t a problem.”

Maverick didn’t give him much room to reply back, moving to Phoenix and Bob’s simulation. You went back to taking notes, ignoring all the irrelevant information that was shared — i.e., their clapbacks at each other.

Intelligence work was mostly about collecting data, analyzing it really quickly, and filling out reports or action plans for someone else to use. If what your mom dug up was right, the Intelligence team acting in Europe was looking for a new Officer, and they were testing a few candidates in all aspects, sending them out to missions and teams that are hard to work with.

The lecture took an eternity to wrap up. 

“Hyde, can you stay back for a moment?” Maverick asked.

You piled up your tablet and notes, and waited for everyone to leave. Bob and Nat mouthed You’re screwed jokingly, and you held back your laughter.

“Officer Stewart sent me your reports this morning,” he pulled a folder from the simulation notes. “I’m impressed.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I do remember seeing you in your mother’s arms a few times when Warbird was still being deployed,” he added. “I always thought you would end up in the sky.”

“They’re happy that I decided on a desk in front of the screens rather than inside of a cockpit.” You pressed your stuff closer to your chest. “Is there anything you wanna discuss about the simulation reports, sir?”

“No, everything’s good. Hope to have you around more.” Two compliments from Maverick? Well, that is something to text your parents about right away. “And if you ever decide to go back on a jet, let me know.”

“Thank you, sir.”

You left the room, Maverick’s offer feeling like a curve ball thrown in your direction. Your dad’s reputation definitely gave people that idea you would follow his steps. For some time, you wanted to be just like him. Now you were more of doing your own thing, but not too far away from his legacy.

You checked your watch: your obligations with Intelligence were done for the day, lecture was over, maybe you could hit the base gym for an hour or two. You grabbed your gym bag from your car, changed into your gym uniform, turned on your headphones and hitted the treadmill to take your mind away from the last few days.

Against the odds, San Diego was slowly turning into a home to you. You missed sharing a place with Lisa, but having your own was great. Even though you were following the same 8 to 5 schedule on weekdays, San Diego had a lot much to offer on weekends. Or even after work, when you would park your car in Coronado Beach and appreciate a few minutes by the water.

But once your alarm clock hitted 6 am on Monday, you were on the clock and already thinking about work.

So before you went to bed, you were always looking for ways to sweat it out of you. Most of the time, you were using your building’s gym, but it was about time to use all the resources of the base.

The first 5 miles flew by with your playlist of choice and an almost empty gym. You got a minute to talk to your mom — asking again about if any Navy guys got your attention — and then text your dad about Maverick. As per usual, he told you to be careful, because Maverick wasn’t the one with the best record, but had a few higher ups connections here and there. And in a blink of an eye, you were done with cardio and ready to move to some strength training.

As you were moving to the weights, the gym got crowded as the rush hour traffic in the city. You tried to get to the less packed corner of the place, but unfortunately it was almost impossible. Luckily, the Dagger Squad — Rooster, Hangman, Coyote, Fanboy, and Phoenix — went their ways, leaving you alone.

You were rotating equipment with two other people for the most of the time, and by the end of your last set, you were alone on the bench press. You took a big sip of your water bottle and lay down to start your exercise.

One, two, three reps. One of your favorite songs was blasting through your headphones. It was just a matter of getting this done, changing clothes and going home. Nothing could ruin a good gym session — nor anyone. 

Seven, eight, nine. Maybe you were too optimistic with your weights this afternoon, because you were starting to struggle with it. You held the bar too close to your chest, and you had to recover every inch of your strength to not hurt yourself. 

You were almost there when a pair of hands did the hard part for you, leaving the bar on the holder. 

“Looked like you needed a spotter,” Bradshaw said once your eyes met his. 

“I can do it myself, Lieutenant. Thank you very much,” you spilled, holding the bar stronger.

“Whatever sails your boat, Officer.”

You watched him walk back to his friends, trying to understand where his intentions lay. Nat gave you a nod, you smiled back. You read Hangman’s lips when he said “Nice ass, Hyde.” and almost flipped the bird on him. The other guys didn’t even baited an eye on you. But then when Rooster looked over back to you, you decided it was time to go home.

+++

You were finally able to have people over. Bob stopped by after a week of intense training and working. Back when you joined the Navy, you had this tradition of getting together over some pizza and beers to talk shit about your instructors and captains, just for the fun of it. Now that you were in San Diego, not in Pensacola, you also had Nat on your couch, sharing a few good stories about your years in the Navy.

“So I walk out of the jet, I look dead in the eyes of the Admiral and I say: ‘If you put me to work with a manchild again, I’m opening friendly fire on them.’ And he looked at me like I was the most insane person on that carrier,” Nat moved her hands, making an effort to punctuate her words. “Sometimes those idiots piss me off so much.”

“Do you think Maverick is leading this mission?” You asked them.

“No, definitely no.” Bob hijacked the popcorn bucket. “Which will be a nightmare. Rooster and Hangman are back at each other's throats for the leading position, and both have potential to lead us to early graves.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, those two have been rivals for more than a decade now. Everyone thought it would get better after the stunt they pulled at the end of the uranium mission, but it only got worse,” he explained.

“Feeling like my transfer was more of a trap than a way to promotion,” you whispered under your breath.

“We all gonna survive this,” Nat was the more realistic of the trio.

“Or maybe not.” You passed her another beer.

“C’mon Hyde, you’re killing the fun,” Bob gave your feet a light kick. “You can put some sense into those admirals and captains' minds for us.”

“I can try, not guaranteed,” you reinforced.

“Which role do you think you’ll be taking on the next mission?” Nat asked.

“Best case scenario, I’ll be Chief of Intelligence for the mission, probably briefing the superiors before, so they can run some decisions, I’ll take those and pass them down to you, maybe calling a few shots if necessary. Worst case scenario, I’ll be doing what I always do: sit there, watch radars and data, write them down and pass them to my supervisor.”

“I don’t get it why you’re still based in the US when they could use you anywhere,” Bob was wondering the same thing that has been going through your mind for the last three years.

Besides a few deployments on some carriers here and there, you were pretty much just wandering around bases in the American soil. Which was lowkey annoying and awfully looking for your records.

“Me neither. My parents tried to find out why I’m still like here,” you pointed to the apartment, “and not overseas since I have a degree, a Masters, I speak like four languages. Why am I still assessing trainings all the time?”

“Have you ever stepped on someone’s toes?” When you and Bob stared at Nat, she threw her hands back. “What? It happens sometimes.”

“I always circle back to believing, I don’t know, after my accident, everyone expects me to quietly quit the Navy and go back to get a PhD,” you confessed.

“Is that what you want?”

“Definitely no.”

“So it’s settled. You get your promotion, we get out of the next mission alive, everyone is happy.”

Happiness was a very broad concept. Every day, you just wanted to get things done, hoping this would get you closer to your goals. Right now, happiness was getting back to your place, having a nice time with your new friends, and letting the work stay inside base. Outside it, you were a free woman.

a/n: happy 2025 guys! sorry for taking a little longer to update the series: i was moving, but now i'm settled and ready for this new year! as per usual, don't forget to like, comment and reblog, all support is valid! see ya soon (and if you missed, i published this cute drabble with rooster last month). love ya!

[trigunbookclub]

TrigunBookclub Afterparty!

Hello there! As bookclub winds down to a close, there a few things to announce:

Bookclub Afterparty!

Bookclub may officially be over, but the Trimax brainrot continues! There are some bonus comics, the Multiple Bullets anthology (with all its great and terrible stories), and some folks have fallen behind, have essays left to write, or have things they wanted to create or share and haven't had a chance. I myself fell behind since life has been a bit hellish on my end, I'm two volumes behind--and I don't seem to bethe only one in that position!

So, I want to invite people to keep using and watching the tag until the end of October! Discuss, share theories, thoughts, art, shout-out posts and ideas that you love, just have fun! You can discuss the entire series and all related materials--hell, you can even do a read/reread it if you want to. Whatever goes, so long as it follows the guidelines.

Bookclub 2.0!

I've been talking with the @trigun-manga-overhaul team, who we all know has the best Trigun manga translation out there--but it's about to get better with Overhaul 2.0! When it drops probably next year, it will be at the pace of a chapter a week, and I plan to run the bookclub during that time to celebrate! This gives much more time for discussion, comparing, analyzing, and keeping up with posts. Since it will be a longer reading time and it's round two, spoilers will be allowed, though I will ask that they be tagged.

I also highly encourage everyone to feel free to use the tag when the hardcovers from Dark Horse are released to celebrate and discuss!

Bookclub Archive!

Since social media has a tendency to be ephemeral at best, the lovely @versaphile has taken it upon themselves to archive the bookclub posts of everyone who gives permission for them to do so! This way you can binge meta and posts and find everything much more easily. You can find the archive here, and see an example of archived posts here. If you're interested in or okay with being included in the project, please contact @trigunreferencelibrary!

Bookclub Stickers!

Multiple people have talked about wanting a badge of honor for participating in/keeping up with bookclub, and I think that might be a bit tricky... but how about some stickers? I figure that this way, the shipping is affordable even for international folks since I've seen a good amount of people around the world participating and lurking! I'm going to try and find printing for as affordably as I can (if anyone out there knows any good distributors for smaller batch sticker orders, please shoot me a DM!), and it won't be something to profit off of--just in memory of a great time! The only thing is I have two options, and I don't know if either of them are even what folks want. So...

And that's all that I can think of for now! I'm a bit exhausted and run ragged at the moment, so feel free to ask for any clarification on anything. When I started this project, I honestly didn't think I'd get many if any people following through--I know people lose their focus easily (myself included). But instead it turned into a huge celebration of a beautiful manga that is finally getting the attention it deserves after kind of getting buried by time. I've met some absolutely amazing and brilliant people throughout this event, and I just want to say thank you to every single person who made a post, supported others, and/or just lurked. You guys are fantastic and made this an amazing experience.

[sheigarche]

hello!! since u are one of the very few people i've seen that ships vinh/max, can i ask for any romantic hcs u have?? thanks!!

Hi, friend. Thanks for the ask 🥰

I've been thinking about so many headcanons with them. From the heavy, angsty ones to some more silly/clichés ones. I think I'll choose some fun ones so the post doesn't get too long:

They have movie nights almost every week.

At first, Max was a little hesitant to reveal her taste in movies, because she knew Vinh was a fan of big Oscar-winning dramas, while she preferred low-budget horrors, slashers, and maybe, depending on the mood, a few rom-coms.

Max’s concerns were allayed once she realized that he loves movies in general. As an actor, Vinh loves analyzing others actors' performances, expressions and range, in all types of films, so even if a genre isn't his cup of tea, he still finds ways to genuinely enjoy it. So they can have fun no matter what they're watching.

Their first real date was a disaster.

Their Uber got a flat tire on the way; they arrived late for their restaurant reservation and had to wait in line; there was a noisy table next to theirs, with people so loud they could barely talk without being interrupted; they missed half of the movie session; they barely got a ride back home and had to walked or wait ages in the cold;

Every little thing that could go wrong, did go wrong that night.

But you know what? They loved it.

Max didn't think about trying to use her powers even once, nor did Vinh think about asking her to, because, despite their bad luck, they loved every second they spent together and had fun even struggling to make it work. Their company was always the highlight of their relationship, no matter the occasion.

I don't know who would say "I love you" first, but I do think it would slip out as an accident.

They'd be casually chatting about their day-to-day lives over a drink or two and a "just because I love you" (or something along those lines) would come out naturally and they'd barely notice until they got home and realized, "Oh shit, did he/she really just say that?"

Then they'd start freaking out because they didn't say it back and end up texting all night trying to bring it up.

Max was nervous about their first time.

As far as we know, she has much less experience with men than women, added to how Vinh seems to have a lot of experience over all, she ended up overthinking a little too much about everything.

Of course, that was just her initial thought. When the moment came, Max insecurities were put aside by the way Vinh always knows how to make her feel comfortable - both of them really - and how much they cared and love each other. So the intimacy they shared feels just like a natural step in their relationship.

Max and Vinh have the best pillow talk.

Always being able to talk about absolutely anything late at night: from her cross-country trips to Vinh's family stories; sharing experiences about the storm, lost friends, traumas or unimportant everyday things; and no matter how dark or light-hearted the topic is, in the end they always manage to make each other laugh, or even just feel comfortable with what they shared.

And here it is. I hope you like it 🥰

[cofay]

You know me like no other…

♡ CUPIDS ARROW ⤑

Part1….Part 2…Part 3…

You were Cupid you make people fall in love with one other y’know? Just spreading love all around. Well you didn’t exactly like your job. In fact you dreaded having to do this forever, for the rest of your life. Instead you longed for something else.

Something better.

You yearned for your own happiness with a lucky guy.

But sadly you had responsibilities, and the god’s weren’t going to let you tear it down just to feel something stupid mortals feel.

It was a normal day you were following people and with just a look you could make them fall in love with each other. You were in the elevator with a women standing closely behind her you were dressed from head to toe in black, as you waited a man walked in the elevator and with just one looked you walked out as they kissed behind you.

Grueling…Boring…Uneventful…and yearning that’s all you felt you were jealous. Jealous of the mortals, jealous of their lives every single one of them. As you walked outside you sat at a small table right outside of a coffee shop.

The thing is nobody can see you

Absolutely nobody

That’s the problem after every person you just end up wishing you could be them falling in love, having family’s, getting married…you sigh as a person walks past you, quickly you get up and grab an umbrella and walking behind her

It didn’t take long until the rain started to pour down and as if on queue a random guy showed up and you did what you always did made them fall in love as they turned away walking hand in hand under the umbrella together you turn the opposite way following someone else

They walked into a museum it was crowded as you look up you see the huge magnificent painting.

The creation of Adam.

It was the best painting you’ve ever laid your eyes on. Well until you saw him. Izuku Midoriya, you’ve only seen him a couple times I mean nobody gets to make someone with a name as big as him fall in love and it seemed like he wouldn’t anytime soon with being the number one hero.

You watched as people left one by one. But he stayed and just admired the painting while you on the other hand admired him. He was beautiful, from his fluffy green hair…his freckles….his bright green eyes. He was perfect.

Just the guy you imagined you would

Fall in love with….gosh how you wanted him to hold you.

As he started to walk away and to the elevator you followed him closely behind, you stood behind the curly head watching him intently, a women walked in and usually you would have…well done what you were supposed to do but you couldn’t…even if you tried.

You kept looking at him following him even as he walked out following him into the bus you sat in the seat right next to him leaning in closer as you analyzed his features. But atlas good things come to an end.

You watched him walk out the bus knowing you most likely wouldn’t be able to follow him anymore..you walk out the train watching him walk away almost wanting no wishing for him to see you, to touch you, you listen to you, to be with you.

You looked up catching the eye of the five Erotes or your helpers, you’ve never seen them work before but you know if they caught wind of what you were thinking of doing they would snitch right to the gods.

And most likely you didn’t want that to happen you can’t let that happen so you followed a random person and did what you always do.

Give them what you wanted.

‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿

It was a late night and you couldn’t stop yourself anymore you snuck into Izuku’s penthouse coming in through the window stepping softly on the floor…you tip toed through the halls softly finding his room rather quickly.

You cracked opened the door and then you saw his sleeping body you went next to him brushing a small curl out his face taking in all you can, you climb onto the bed over top of him hovering over his face.

You didn’t stop yourself you knew it was wrong but you still just wanted to see..just this once, you lifted your hand softly grazing his cheek it felt so soft you soon lifting your hands up into his hair running your fingers through his kinky curls and watching them bounce back to normal.

Everything felt so real like..in a certain way well until you turned your head to the mirror..as you looked into the mirror your reflection was nowhere to be seen.

Making your face turn sour you turned your head to the window seeing the erotes once more you frowned getting off of him and leaving his house all together.

You walked the empty streets looking around watching the trees blow slowly in the cold wind looking up into the starlight sky and the flickering street lights shining towards the wet damp ground.

Oh how you just wanted to change everything.

You wanted things to be different

So bad.

‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿

[femboymilkovich]

me, doing a weekly tag wednesday, on a wednesday? wild

I was tagged by the cutie @spookygingerr to do this lil tag game ily ice thank youuuuuu

favourite nickname someone gave you: lmao Uncle Sasha by a friend in highschool

favourite thing in your room/house: my bed tbh, love a lie in, watching tv or reading in bed.

your favourite thing about a friend/partner/family member: oh jeez, my spouse, he's so accepting and funny! his brand of funny can sometimes go over peoples head, but im so used to it atp lol

what’s your favourite thing about this fandom?: oh my god how incredibly lovely everyone is. everyone is like a warm hug, just welcoming you in, this is the best fandom i think i have ever imbedded myself in. it has brought me immense joy being here

if one song could describe your day today, what would it be?: being funny? 7x10 got me like

being serious?

finally let’s spread some love

pick one of your pocket pals and tell them something you admire about them: just one? how rude. you cant make me pick just one, so instead im gonna use this as a way to tag some moots ehehehehe.

@mickittotheman mechy my beloved, i love how alike we are! i love that you :chompymickey: me every morning and make sure I take my meds thank you for always making my day brighter!

@thepupperino KEELY, i love our gif/scene analyzing conversations, i love how incredibly sweet you are, i love that you tag me for every new chapter of Sinner you are such a light. Love you mean it!

@heymacy macy you sweet lil bean, i love your commentary on literally everything your brain is just, impeccable. so excited for your Astrology 101 class, and meeting you next month!!!

@gallapiech pie you beautiful bastard ive said it a million times but your art kills me every time it graces my eyeballs. i mean you got your own art tag because i love it so much who said that i will never recover from the way you draw mickey ahhhhhhhhhhh. i love you even though we cant trust a word that comes out of your mouth lmaoooo but its incredibly endearing anyway. excitedly awaiting my lil mickey charm to put on my keys so i can take him everywhere with me<3333333

okay okay more tags under the cut if you want to play along, if you havent already done this lol!

@iansw0rld @jademickian @callivich @catgrassplantdad @mybrainismelted

@vintagelacerosette @blue-disco-lights @heymrspatel @solitarycreaturesthey @jrooc

@crossmydna @deathclassic @transmickey @rayrayor @atthedugouts

@deedala @michellemisfit @transmurderbug @bawlbrayker @lee-ow

@stocious @transsexual-dandelions @ms-moonlight-inn @roryonic @pookiebearmick

[augustinetwo]

𝑹𝒐𝒕 𝑰𝒏 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒆 ☆ 🌊🪸🐚🥥

•───────• ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ •───────•

Just played Rot In Paradise !! For a game jam, I feel like it's really good, and I'm honestly impressed studio investigrave finished an entire game of such great quality in such a short amount of time. But, this is a sort of review/analyzing the game ?? (^o^)

So I'm going to list off things I liked, interpretations and stuff !! (And yeah, I know next month racheldraws is going to put out a statement on what the ending was, and everything, etc. after the gamejam time limit, and everything is over)

⚠️ Also, spoiler warning !! ⚠️ I'm basically talking about the whole game, including endings, so if you haven't played it/watched a playthrough yet, I heavily encourage you to !!

•───────• ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ •───────•

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝑰 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒅 ☆

The characters were amazing as usual !! All of their dynamics were so cute, and it made what happened to them really effective. (*´Д`) Honestly, I can't even pick a favorite character because I love all of them so much !! (σ≧▽≦)σ For such a short amount of time, the characters were fleshed out pretty well !! ^u^ It really does feel like they're a close group of friends that's known each other for a long time, and it was really sad to see them be affected throughout the game. ( ´_ゝ`)

The art style is really charming, and the music does a good job at capturing the vacation beach vibes. The tension and buildup to the subtle horror and open-ended endings are also really good, and I think the way they foreshadowed things did a good job of making the whole trip feel ominous.

As for the endings, I like their vague vibe and the way you can interpret them how you'd like. It makes the game more personal when it's such an easy metaphor, if that makes sense? As in, it's easy to compare it to many things and can help a lot of people feel seen.

The designs for the "zombies" (whatever you'd call them) were really cool, too !! (^∇^)

I would love to have more interactions with the characters and be able to hang out with them more !! While the characters were solid and good in the time they had, I kind of just wish we had more of them, but again, I still love the game a lot !! It's just kind of me loving the game and wanting more !! (*≧з≦)

•───────• ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ •───────•

𝑹𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈

I agree with the people saying this game is likely a metaphor for substance abuse/alcoholism and toxic friends. It's honestly a pretty heavy-handed metaphor, but I'd like to try and take a different perspective because I don't want to just repeat what's already been said.

Instead, I'm going to be taking a look into the more supernatural aspects !! (^^)d (There's not much to work with, so I'll try my best !!)

First of all, I'd like to over the information we were given in game about this rot. All the affected characters have an unquenchable ghirst/appetite, specifically for things that are associated with the ocean. It's almost like some kind of effect or curse overcoming them - scrambling their personality, tastes, etc. Even changing their appearance.

The main cause of the rot is presumanly "She." We don't exactly have much information on this "She," not even a name. But, based on previous information, I'm going to assume it's some kind of ocean goddess.

I think the reason June was able to escape the curse/virus was the option to save the old man. When she rescues him, he says, "When She takes back what's rightfully hers, you'll be lucky not to be left behind." Whoever this "She" is was probably angered by June saving that old man, and therefore did not want to being her to her ocean.

Along with the effects of the virus/curse I think they bring out the worst traits in people and maximize them. Not saying I know these characters well, by the way, it's just me guessing. Feel free to disagree and eplain why !! Carmen is carefree and bubbly, but she has a tendency to put her feelings above others'. Von has a sharp tongue and is easily irritable. In the game, it says she likes to hate on things. McCoy, I'm honestly not solid on this one, but maybe he is easily dismissive of problems and lets them slide. Ryan we don't get to see much of when he's affected, but I'd say he's a bit of a downer and too nonchalant (/j)

Also, I have a suspicion that they're like turning into into fish people of some kind, and might be growing gills, idk !! I just want to talk abt this gameee ghhh