#oh this art style goes HARD

[age-of-moonknight]

Variant cover for Captain America (Vol. 11/2023), #3 by Bjorn Barends.

[abbey-abdominal]

Hi, I’m a sad lesbian obsessed with these two sad women. Have a nice day.

[meepercat]

doied doodles :D

[bloodsbane]

the 2003 tmnt theme song goes crazy

[prismit]

dead cells show looks sooo ugly but aside from that it does look fun to watch ngl.... i feel so conflicted

[em-b-sides]

I think about that tiktok trend where you like paint your partners eye color on your nails or make a bracelet or something with the color a lot actually

[rimouskis]

one of my new coworkers so delicately straddles the line between "pretentious" and "deeply interesting/cool" and I'm very curious if he will STAY on that line and not fall off into one end or the other

[in-study-hell]

I’ve been dying to talk about the composition for this one, even though it’s not that complicated. Just, had I not come up with this composition based on the original dtiys, I would not have wanted to join it. Flowers being destroyed; or rather, the implication of destruction through the use of flowers and weaponry is quite a fun topic that I think is worth reusing in future.

Too bad I over-rendered and the final piece contains a bit too much darkness in the lineart to fully translate the ideas to my ideal. Not to mention the colours, oof.

I am always bleeding out

[andaum]

Who’s that⁉️

Thank you for this dtiys @forgettable-au Congrats on the 6666 followers!! I seriously love the forgettable au and the comics. The art is so cool and so is the concept. You do amazing work, can’t wait to see where the story goes ^^

Ah, my style of sketchy sketch. I wanted to do colors and something closer to the original but in the end it was too hard xD. I ended up with a lot of drafts. Oh well, this was fun!

[eyrieofsynapses]

why Aurora's art is genius

It's break for me, and I've been meaning to sit down and read the Aurora webcomic (https://comicaurora.com/, @comicaurora on Tumblr) for quite a bit. So I did that over the last few days.

And… y'know. I can't actually say "I should've read this earlier," because otherwise I would've been up at 2:30-3am when I had responsibilities in the morning and I couldn't have properly enjoyed it, but. Holy shit guys THIS COMIC.

I intended to just do a generalized "hello this is all the things I love about this story," and I wrote a paragraph or two about art style. …and then another. And another. And I realized I needed to actually reference things so I would stop being too vague. I was reading the comic on my tablet or phone, because I wanted to stay curled up in my chair, but I type at a big monitor and so I saw more details… aaaaaand it turned into its own giant-ass post.

SO. Enjoy a few thousand words of me nerding out about this insanely cool art style and how fucking gorgeous this comic is? (There are screenshots, I promise it isn't just a wall of text.) In my defense, I just spent two semesters in graphic design classes focusing on the Adobe Suite, so… I get to be a nerd about pretty things…???

All positive feedback btw! No downers here. <3

---

I cannot emphasize enough how much I love the beautiful, simple stylistic method of drawing characters and figures. It is absolutely stunning and effortless and utterly graceful—it is so hard to capture the sheer beauty and fluidity of the human form in such a fashion. Even a simple outline of a character feels dynamic! It's gorgeous!

Though I do have a love-hate relationship with this, because my artistic side looks at that lovely simplicity, goes "I CAN DO THAT!" and then I sit down and go to the paper and realize that no, in fact, I cannot do that yet, because that simplicity is born of a hell of a lot of practice and understanding of bodies and actually is really hard to do. It's a very developed style that only looks simple because the artist knows what they're doing. The human body is hard to pull off, and this comic does so beautifully and makes it look effortless.

Also: line weight line weight line weight. It's especially important in simplified shapes and figures like this, and hoo boy is it used excellently. It's especially apparent the newer the pages get—I love watching that improvement over time—but with simpler figures and lines, you get nice light lines to emphasize both smaller details, like in the draping of clothing and the curls of hair—which, hello, yes—and thicker lines to emphasize bigger and more important details and silhouettes. It's the sort of thing that's essential to most illustrations, but I wanted to make a note of it because it's so vital to this art style.

THE USE OF LAYER BLENDING MODES OH MY GODS. (...uhhh, apologies to the people who don't know what that means, it's a digital art program thing? This article explains it for beginners.)

Bear with me, I just finished my second Photoshop course, I spent months and months working on projects with this shit so I see the genius use of Screen and/or its siblings (of which there are many—if I say "Screen" here, assume I mean the entire umbrella of Screen blending modes and possibly Overlay) and go nuts, but seriously it's so clever and also fucking gorgeous:

Firstly: the use of screened-on sound effect words over an action? A "CRACK" written over a branch and then put on Screen in glowy green so that it's subtle enough that it doesn't disrupt the visual flow, but still sticks out enough to make itself heard? Little "scritches" that are transparent where they're laid on without outlines to emphasize the sound without disrupting the underlying image? FUCK YES. I haven't seen this done literally anywhere else—granted, I haven't read a massive amount of comics, but I've read enough—and it is so clever and I adore it. Examples:

Secondly: The beautiful lighting effects. The curling leaves, all the magic, the various glowing eyes, the fog, the way it's all so vividly colored but doesn't burn your eyeballs out—a balance that's way harder to achieve than you'd think—and the soft glows around them, eeeee it's so pretty so pretty SO PRETTY. Not sure if some of these are Outer/Inner Glow/Shadow layer effects or if it's entirely hand-drawn, but major kudos either way; I can see the beautiful use of blending modes and I SALUTE YOUR GENIUS.

I keep looking at some of this stuff and go "is that a layer effect or is it done by hand?" Because you can make some similar things with the Satin layer effect in Photoshop (I don't know if other programs have this? I'm gonna have to find out since I won't have access to PS for much longer ;-;) that resembles some of the swirly inner bits on some of the lit effects, but I'm not sure if it is that or not. Or you could mask over textures? There's... many ways to do it.

If done by hand: oh my gods the patience, how. If done with layer effects: really clever work that knows how to stop said effects from looking wonky, because ugh those things get temperamental. If done with a layer of texture that's been masked over: very, very good masking work. No matter the method, pretty shimmers and swirly bits inside the bigger pretty swirls!

Next: The way color contrast is used! I will never be over the glowy green-on-black Primordial Life vibes when Alinua gets dropped into that… unconscious space?? with Life, for example, and the sharp contrast of vines and crack and branches and leaves against pitch black is just visually stunning. The way the roots sink into the ground and the three-dimensional sensation of it is particularly badass here:

Friggin. How does this imply depth like that. HOW. IT'S SO FREAKING COOL.

A huge point here is also color language and use! Everybody has their own particular shade, generally matching their eyes, magic, and personality, and I adore how this is used to make it clear who's talking or who's doing an action. That was especially apparent to me with Dainix and Falst in the caves—their colors are both fairly warm, but quite distinct, and I love how this clarifies who's doing what in panels with a lot of action from both of them. There is a particular bit that stuck out to me, so I dug up the panels (see this page and the following one https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-30/):

(Gods it looks even prettier now that I put it against a plain background. Also, appreciation to Falst for managing a bridal-carry midair, damn.)

The way that their colors MERGE here! And the immense attention to detail in doing so—Dainix is higher up than Falst is in the first panel, so Dainix's orange fades into Falst's orange at the base. The next panel has gold up top and orange on bottom; we can't really tell in that panel where each of them are, but that's carried over to the next panel—

—where we now see that Falst's position is raised above Dainix's due to the way he's carrying him. (Points for continuity!) And, of course, we see the little "huffs" flowing from orange to yellow over their heads (where Dainix's head is higher than Falst's) to merge the sound of their breathing, which is absurdly clever because it emphasizes to the viewer how we hear two sets of huffing overlaying each other, not one. Absolutely brilliant.

(A few other notes of appreciation to that panel: beautiful glows around them, the sparks, the jagged silhouette of the spider legs, the lovely colors that have no right to make the area around a spider corpse that pretty, the excellent texturing on the cave walls plus perspective, the way Falst's movements imply Dainix's hefty weight, the natural posing of the characters, their on-point expressions that convey exactly how fuckin terrifying everything is right now, the slight glows to their eyes, and also they're just handsome boys <3)

Next up: Rain!!!! So well done! It's subtle enough that it never ever disrupts the impact of the focal point, but evident enough you can tell! And more importantly: THE MIST OFF THE CHARACTERS. Rain does this irl, it has that little vapor that comes off you and makes that little misty effect that plays with lighting, it's so cool-looking and here it's used to such pretty effect!

One of the panel captions says something about it blurring out all the injuries on the characters but like THAT AIN'T TOO BIG OF A PROBLEM when it gets across the environmental vibes, and also that'd be how it would look in real life too so like… outside viewer's angle is the same as the characters', mostly? my point is: that's the environment!!! that's the vibes, that's the feel! It gets it across and it does so in the most pretty way possible!

And another thing re: rain, the use of it to establish perspective, particularly in panels like this—

—where we can tell we're looking down��at Tynan due to the perspective on the rain and where it's pointing. Excellent. (Also, kudos for looking down and emphasizing how Tynan's losing his advantage—lovely use of visual storytelling.)

Additionally, the misting here:

We see it most heavily in the leftmost panel, where it's quite foggy as you would expect in a rainstorm, especially in an environment with a lot of heat, but it's also lightly powdered on in the following two panels and tends to follow light sources, which makes complete sense given how light bounces off particles in the air.

A major point of strength in these too is a thorough understanding of lighting, like rim lighting, the various hues and shades, and an intricate understanding of how light bounces off surfaces even when they're in shadow (we'll see a faint glow in spots where characters are half in shadow, but that's how it would work in real life, because of how light bounces around).

Bringing some of these points together: the fluidity of the lines in magic, and the way simple glowing lines are used to emphasize motion and the magic itself, is deeply clever. I'm basically pulling at random from panels and there's definitely even better examples, but here's one (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-16-33/):

First panel, listed in numbers because these build on each other:

The tension of the lines in Tess's magic here. This works on a couple levels: first, the way she's holding her fists, as if she's pulling a rope taut.

The way there's one primary line, emphasizing the rope feeling, accompanied by smaller ones.

The additional lines starbursting around her hands, to indicate the energy crackling in her hands and how she's doing a good bit more than just holding it. (That combined with the fists suggests some tension to the magic, too.) Also the variations in brightness, a feature you'll find in actual lightning. :D Additional kudos for how the lightning sparks and breaks off the metal of the sword.

A handful of miscellaneous notes on the second panel:

The reflection of the flames in Erin's typically dark blue eyes (which bears a remarkable resemblance to Dainix, incidentally—almost a thematic sort of parallel given Erin's using the same magic Dainix specializes in?)

The flowing of fabric in the wind and associated variation in the lineart

The way Erin's tattoos interact with the fire he's pulling to his hand

The way the rain overlays some of the fainter areas of fire (attention! to! detail! hell yeah!)

I could go on. I won't because this is a lot of writing already.

Third panel gets paragraphs, not bullets:

Erin's giant-ass "FWOOM" of fire there, and the way the outline of the word is puffy-edged and gradated to feel almost three-dimensional, plus once again using Screen or a variation on it so that the stars show up in the background. All this against that stunning plume of fire, which ripples and sparks so gorgeously, and the ending "om" of the onomatopoeia is emphasized incredibly brightly against that, adding to the punch of it and making the plume feel even brighter.

Also, once again, rain helping establish perspective, especially in how it's very angular in the left side of the panel and then slowly becomes more like a point to the right to indicate it's falling directly down on the viewer. Add in the bright, beautiful glow effects, fainter but no less important black lines beneath them to emphasize the sky and smoke and the like, and the stunningly beautiful lighting and gradated glows surrounding Erin plus the lightning jagging up at him from below, and you get one hell of an impactful panel right there. (And there is definitely more in there I could break down, this is just a lot already.)

And in general: The colors in this? Incredible. The blues and purples and oranges and golds compliment so well, and it's all so rich.

Like, seriously, just throughout the whole comic, the use of gradients, blending modes, color balance and hues, all the things, all the things, it makes for the most beautiful effects and glows and such a rich environment. There's a very distinct style to this comic in its simplified backgrounds (which I recognize are done partly because it's way easier and also backgrounds are so time-consuming dear gods but lemme say this) and vivid, smoothly drawn characters; the simplicity lets them come to the front and gives room for those beautiful, richly saturated focal points, letting the stylized designs of the magic and characters shine. The use of distinct silhouettes is insanely good. Honestly, complex backgrounds might run the risk of making everything too visually busy in this case. It's just, augh, so GORGEOUS.

Another bit, take a look at this page (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-15-28/):

It's not quite as evident here as it is in the next page, but this one does some other fun things so I'm grabbing it. Points:

Once again, using different colors to represent different character actions. The "WHAM" of Kendal hitting the ground is caused by Dainix's force, so it's orange (and kudos for doubling the word over to add a shake effect). But we see blue layered underneath, which could be an environmental choice, but might also be because it's Kendal, whose color is blue.

And speaking off, take a look at the right-most panel on top, where Kendal grabs the spear: his motion is, again, illustrated in bright blue, versus the atmospheric screened-on orange lines that point toward him around the whole panel (I'm sure these have a name, I think they might be more of a manga thing though and the only experience I have in manga is reading a bit of Fullmetal Alchemist). Those lines emphasize the weight of the spear being shoved at him, and their color tells us Dainix is responsible for it.

One of my all-time favorite effects in this comic is the way cracks manifest across Dainix's body to represent when he starts to lose control; it is utterly gorgeous and wonderfully thematic. These are more evident in the page before and after this one, but you get a decent idea here. I love the way they glow softly, the way the fire juuuust flickers through at the start and then becomes more evident over time, and the cracks feel so realistic, like his skin is made of pottery. Additional points for how fire begins to creep into his hair.

A small detail that's generally consistent across the comic, but which I want to make note of here because you can see it pretty well: Kendal's eyes glow about the same as the jewel in his sword, mirroring his connection to said sword and calling back to how the jewel became Vash's eye temporarily and thus was once Kendal's eye. You can always see this connection (though there might be some spots where this also changes in a symbolic manner; I went through it quickly on the first time around, so I'll pay more attention when I inevitably reread this), where Kendal's always got that little shine of blue in his eyes the same as the jewel. It's a beautiful visual parallel that encourages the reader to subconsciously link them together, especially since the lines used to illustrate character movements typically mirror their eye color. It's an extension of Kendal.

Did I mention how ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL the colors in this are?

Also, the mythological/legend-type scenes are illustrated in familiar style often used for that type of story, a simple and heavily symbolic two-dimensional cave-painting-like look. They are absolutely beautiful on many levels, employing simple, lovely gradients, slightly rougher and thicker lineart that is nonetheless smoothly beautiful, and working with clear silhouettes (a major strength of this art style, but also a strength in the comic overall). But in particular, I wanted to call attention to a particular thing (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-12-4/):

The flowing symbolic lineart surrounding each character. This is actually quite consistent across characters—see also Life's typical lines and how they curl:

What's particularly interesting here is how these symbols are often similar, but not the same. Vash's lines are always smooth, clean curls, often playing off each other and echoing one another like ripples in a pond. You'd think they'd look too similar to Life's—but they don't. Life's curl like vines, and they remain connected; where one curve might echo another but exist entirely detached from each other in Vash's, Life's lines still remain wound together, because vines are continuous and don't float around. :P

Tahraim's are less continuous, often breaking up with significantly smaller bits and pieces floating around like—of course—sparks, and come to sharper points. These are also constants: we see the vines repeated over and over in Alinua's dreams of Life, and the echoing ripples of Vash are consistent wherever we encounter him. Kendal's dream of the ghost citizens of the city of Vash in the last few chapters is filled with these rippling, echoing patterns, to beautiful effect (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-14/):

They ripple and spiral, often in long, sinuous curves, with smooth elegance. It reminds me a great deal of images of space and sine waves and the like. This establishes a definite feel to these different characters and their magic. And the thing is, that's not something that had to be done—the colors are good at emphasizing who's who. But it was done, and it adds a whole other dimension to the story. Whenever you're in a deity's domain, you know whose it is no matter the color.

Regarding that shape language, I wanted to make another note, too—Vash is sometimes described as chaotic and doing what he likes, which is interesting to me, because smooth, elegant curves and the color blue aren't generally associated with chaos. So while Vash might behave like that on the surface, I'm guessing he's got a lot more going on underneath; he's probably much more intentional in his actions than you'd think at a glance, and he is certainly quite caring with his city. The other thing is that this suits Kendal perfectly. He's a paragon character; he is kind, virtuous, and self-sacrificing, and often we see him aiming to calm others and keep them safe. Blue is such a good color for him. There is… probably more to this, but I'm not deep enough in yet to say.

And here's the thing: I'm only scratching the surface. There is so much more here I'm not covering (color palettes! outfits! character design! environment! the deities! so much more!) and a lot more I can't cover, because I don't have the experience; this is me as a hobbyist artist who happened to take a couple design classes because I wanted to. The art style to this comic is so clever and creative and beautiful, though, I just had to go off about it. <3

...brownie points for getting all the way down here? Have a cookie.

[dreemurr-skelememer]

Hello :D

I have been following you for the last year or so (a few days after I got my Tumblr lmao) and I absolutely love your art!

I have been wanting to study your art style for a while but don't really know where to start,,,

Could you please show me a small portion of your art process, if it isn't too much trouble of course. Thank you and have a nice day!

hello. oh my god. this took forever to find.

im sorry it took 2 WHOLE FUCKING MONTHS for me to respond to this but i wanted to put it off until i felt happy with my art process again, so here it is

my fall 2024 rendering tutorial!

(this will be very very long)

FLATS AND WHATEVER YOU WANNA DO WITH LINES GIRL. then make sure to recolor the lineart to better match your base. trust me it helps, bold dark lines are Not your best friend when rendering. wait for that post-rendering

i start off with a doodle or a sketch, and then filling it in with flats and other details such as blush

FIGURE OUT YOUR LIGHT SOURCE. FIGURE IT OUT GIRL YOU CAN DO IT you can make it as simple as possible, make it as big as possible, dont even THINK about the details.........just make it really fucking big so you at least know where the shadows and the light goes THEN add smaller shading details LISTEN TO ME. LISTEN TO ME OKAY!!!!!!!!

my key point with this is for you to learn lighting fundamentals.

it's SOOO ANNOYING but alas......they are all correct. it helps a lot.

one thing i also really want to point out is that i like creating a big shadow shape first before fixing up the little details (such as folds and whatever) because it helps me focus on the way the lighting actually works instead of tunnel vision-ing into making the shading make sense on the clothing.

contact shadows (i dont remember if thats what theyre called okay) theyre fucking ugly because im not actually thinking sorry 💔

okay so basically:

contact shadows (if that's what they're called) are the spots in shading and lighting where light will NEVER hit.

shadows are still influenced by the colors and lights around it (it's why a blue shadow and a yellow shadow feel completely different, despite both being shadows) so it's not always COMPLETELY dark.

BUT! there are small points in shadows where light never hits, and they're almost always super dark or pitch black.

it's hard to explain shadow and light so briefly for a tutorial, but you'll notice it when watching fundamental studies and when trying it out for yourself

YES i unclipped the multiply layer YES its ugly and terrifying but it makes coloring the multiply layer easier okay the colors merged w multiply so now it looks cool and has depth overlaying colors that actually make sense

so basically what i did was color the multiply layer that i used to shade the overall drawing

adding a band of red/orange/yellow around where the light hits, and blue where the shadows get big and wide, gives it a fake ambient occlusion effect in the way that a person would get if they stood under the sun with a clear blue sky

the colors don't have to make sense, especially because i never draw backgrounds, but coloring the shadows really help it give a sense of depth and extra subtle detail and effect that just helps make the painting look nicer

around the end, i also put in colors (in an overlay layer with a low opacity brush) that actually make sense in context of the drawing, which is the lit cigarette and the yellow eyelights

mostly because none of the colors were making sense and i needed to actually make use of the lighting that DOES exist in the drawing lol

adding a muddy golden yellow pin light layer (opacity turned down to like 40-50%) to make the light colors less ugly lol

i SWEAR by the fucking pin light layer style. it's so useful and so so underrated.

i used an almost brown-ish gold color on stop of all the layers, and with the pin light layer, it helped make the bright (almost blue-ish) white colors more warm and more yellow. it just helps make things more warm (something i prefer)

i could probably show what it looks like without adjusting the layer opacity to truly show off what i mean (like in the coming section) but i sadly forgot to do that lol

make a layer on top of your drawing with this color in these ranges YES the drawing is fully merged NO don't be afraid, the base was fucking ugly anyway 💔 make this layer into an exclude/exclusion layer style TRUST turn down your exclusion layer opacity from a range of 10% to 40% literally until you're happy with the contrast and the way the color over the drawing. use your eyeballs. i know you can do it im so proud of you

this is pretty self-explanatory instruction-wise, so i'll go into why i do this instead

i really like art that seems like it has low contrast, with almost mid-gray shading and lines. i don't personally use dark and bold lines and shading, unless i find it necessary for the tone of the piece, so using this method helps lower the contrast of the art and make it look "pleasantly muddy" in the way that it's easier and softer on the eyes.

the inverted blue color also helps makes things warmer!

the exclusion layer style is still a bit of a mystery to me but i really like the effect it gives, even if i don't completely get how it works lol

if you want an alternative method to this, and if you have access to it (because i primarily use sai and sai only),

i absolutely encourage you to play around and experiment with gradient maps.

there are so many out there you can make yourself or even get from others that just give the painting an extra amount of depth and color variation. they're SO fun.

personally, if sai2 gets a gradient map update, it's over for y'all it will literally be so over no one will be able to stop me

then i merged everything and actually adjusted the contrast back up because it was looking too muddy for me 💔 but the color adjustments are still there so all hope is not lost here's a comparison of the adjusted contrast in black and white (adjusted on the left) (newly merged layer without adjusting the contrast on the right)

as you can see, i actually turned the contrast back up (despite talking all about how i liked things with less contrast lol)

i wanted to demonstrate that doing adjustments should be done in moderation, and is why i adjust layer opacity often when making color effects

you are free to play around with colors to help your style, but don't lose your initial idea and colors along the way.

you still need to trust your own colors and intuition!

along with that, i just want to say that it's completely okay to change your mind mid-painting, and it's okay to make somewhat drastic changes.

don't be afraid to change things you don't like or change your mind about certain aspects way later on

that's basically the whole thing of this!!! don't be scared!!!

now im gonna hold your hand when i say this..........but you need to learn how to render by yourself. it seems like i can teach you but i literally can't, because rendering is different on every piece and depending on how clean your base is. i have to render A LOT because of how fucking ugly my sketches are LMAO to simplify it, think of it as obsessively cleaning up every detail you can see, but with a color picker and a clean, hard edged brush. if you have shit lineart, you don't have to redraw it cleanly over and over, just paint over it. that's basically what rendering is

THIS especially is where you need to be brave and stop being scared.

like i said, i can't teach you how to render, and it's something you have to discover yourself because rendering is something that will always be personal to every single piece you make. the way you render on every piece is different.

on one piece, you will barely need to render, and on another, rendering is more than half of your ENTIRE process.

don't be afraid to paint over your old art.

rendering is a process that's both very perfectionist yet also very careless.

find your balance and just go for it.

and then that's it……..u did it………..now yuo know how to paint and render. it's literally just layering shading and lighting knowledge until you think it makes sense and looks okay lol additional note: since i render in only one layer (you don't HAVE to do this, but it'll be harder for you…), i also made slight adjustments with the transform (and liquify, if you have it) tool to make things more proportionate. (i drew the head too big lol)

if you compare the finished piece to the final unrendered base, you can see that a LOT changed, including a bit of subtle proportion adjustment.

particularly, the sleeves changed A LOT (because i really didn't like them)

but it's also over all cleaner and more coherent, instead of having haphazard colors and shading just thrown about.

rendering is when you finally use all 100% of your brain to finalize and figure out where the shading should go, where to clean up your lines, where to ERASE or ADD BACK in lines, and make sure all your colors look coherent.

it's not as intimidating as it seems, i only use a hard edged brush with a little bit of color mixing and my color picker.

it's like dragging and dropping colors to cover up mistakes, it's really quite fun when you get used to it

i wish i could explain it clearer but it's hard to describe without visuals!

i hope this helped, and i hope all my yapping isn't annoying (art as a special interest beloved)

have fun studying and trying to render in my art style!

[joelalorian]

beneath the silent boughs, whispers of danger flow

Frankie Morales x f!reader | WC: 5.8k | 18+ mdni | masterlist

Summary: An adventure planned to impress you goes sideways, leaving Frankie scrambling to get you both out alive.

Warnings: Cursing, danger, drugs, guns, injuries, and some good ol' outdoor sexy times (blow job and p eating). Established relationship. Set in Florida panhandle (so no mountains, unfortunately). Reader is a blank slate except for hair in a ponytail. No use of y/n.

A/N: Written for the Summer Lovin 2024 writing challenge created by @pedgito, @chaotic-mystery, and @amanitacowboy (thank you, lovelies!). I was given the above moodboard and the following prompts: Hiking, Frankie, and 'you always carry an extra pair?' I had a lot of fun with this, so thank you ladies (gn)! Also, thank you to @saradika-graphics for the dividers!

“I want to take you hiking.”

You stilled, head swiveling to stare at Frankie incredulously. “Hiking? Frankie, this is Florida. There’s no hiking here.”

Undeterred, he smiled until that enticing little dimple in his cheek came out to say hi. “Not Colorado level hiking like you’re used to, no. But we do have some hills and caves in the Panhandle that I want to show you. Have you ever been caving?”

“No, I’ve never been caving. I make it a rule to avoid bats, so caving is a hard pass,” you replied, scrunching your nose up in distaste, an expression Frankie found endearing.

Frankie stared up at you from his prone position on the bed while you fixed your hair. He could watch you for hours. “Oh, come on! You’ve hiked the Rockies with grizzlies and shit, but you’re telling me bats cross the line?”

A few short steps closed the distance between the vanity and the bed, and your fingers reached out to run through Frankie’s mop of messy curls. “We all have our limits, chulo. Besides, why are you so insistent on this?”

Shrugging, he sat up, one large hand grasping your wrist. Frankie placed a series of kisses along the soft, supple skin along the underside of your forearm. “I dunno. I just want to impress you, you know? Take you hiking somewhere you’ve never been before.” His free hand scrubbed at the back of his neck in that nervous tick of his. “I can’t afford to take you on fancy trips, so…”

Still in the early days of your relationship, Frankie labored under the impression that you needed to be wooed. Little did he know you fell for him the moment you laid eyes on him, the night your best friend introduced you to her boyfriend’s best friends. Classic friends to lovers trope, it took you both a while to fess up to the depth of your true feelings, but when you finally did…

Things were good, really good.

“Babe, you don’t need to take me on fancy trips. I don’t want you to take me on fancy trips, not unless it’s somewhere you really want to go,” you emphasized, your hands cradling his face. Placing a soft kiss on his pouty lips, the scruff of his beard tickling your chin, you continued, “I want us to do things together, share the burden together. If we want to travel, we’ll plan something together. Fancy’s not really my style anyway.”

When you pulled back, Frankie followed, his lips seeking yours once again. The kiss deepened as you sat on the bed, his tongue licking into your mouth and caressing yours with such finesse it set your soul on fire. You didn’t have time to follow through on the promise of that kiss, though.

“We have to get going or we’ll be late,” you reprimanded, easing back to your feet.

“I’m sure Benny would understand if we were late to his match,” Frankie pouted, his large hands trying so hard to grasp your hips and pull you back in. You dodged him with artful precision, using the defensive moves he taught you.

“Nuh uh, come on. I’ll let you take me hiking this weekend if you get your ass moving right now.”

After a five-hour road trip followed by a restful sleep in the cabin Frankie booked, you found yourself clinging to Frankie’s broad frame for warmth on a guided cave tour in the Florida Caverns State Park on Saturday morning. The temperature difference between the surface and the cave more than you bargained for, you’d freeze without your boyfriend’s arm around you or the long-sleeved shirt he pulled from his backpack.

The whole ride up from Tampa, you thought Frankie wanted to do the full-on spelunking experience, repelling down cave walls with helmets and belay lines, exploring crevices and shit. It turned out he just wanted to go on a guided walking tour of the caves – nothing crazy or dangerous. Thank goodness! You were adventurous, but not quite that much!

The stalagmites and stalactites were actually pretty cool, especially backlit as they were with thoughtfully placed lighting features chosen by the park staff, but you preferred to explore nature’s offerings aboveground. At least there were zero bat sightings!

“That wasn’t so bad, right?” Frankie asked once the tour concluded, and you were left to explore the surface of the park on your own or head back to the car. His arm still around your shoulders, the last of the lingering chill fading away, you smiled up at him.

“Nah, it was pretty cool, actually,” you admitted. Stripping off the extra layer, you handed it back to Frankie. “Thanks for this, babe.”

He beamed at that, tossing a fist in the air. “One point for me then!”

“Easy there, flyboy.” Patting his chest with a hearty laugh, you asked, “Where do we want to explore next?”

Glancing at his watch, Frankie hummed. “Let’s go check out Apalachicola National Forest - we saw it on the drive over. It’s huge and there are lots of less traveled trails to check out.”

“’Less traveled trails’ huh? You plan on murdering me and disposing my body off one of those trails?” You bumped your shoulder against his as you teased.

“Pssshhh, never,” he replied with a laugh, kissing your forehead as you climbed into his car. Once he settled in the driver’s seat, Frankie turned to you with a devilish grin. “I had other things in mind when considering which trails to explore.”

“Oh, really? Do tell.” He merely smirked at you.

The drive between the two areas went by quick, Frankie trying his best to one up you on hiking knowledge and bragging about rucking miles with a 50-pound rucksack in the military.

“Your skills are clearly legendary, chulo. My leisurely day hikes along the easiest trails in the Rockies have nothing on you.” Flashing him a teasing wink, you double knotted your hiking boots and grabbed your backpack, which likely weighed a tenth of what Frankie used to carry. Eyeing the pack he tossed over his shoulders, you asked, “How much does that one weigh, tough guy?”

“You tease now, la bronquinosa, but you never know if you’re gonna need something from this pack.” He shot a quick text off to Santi, letting him know where you two were headed just in case. Cell reception could be spotty in the area, he warned you on the ride up.

You followed Frankie toward the main trail marker, enjoying the view of his backside as you did. “That’s my Frankie, always the voice of reason.”

Despite the sun being near the midpoint of the sky, the forest canopy blocked most of the heat. Still, it was Florida, so you hiked in shorts and tee shirts to avoid overheating, skin slathered in sunblock and bug spray. You strolled in peaceful silence for a while, letting the sounds of nature wash over you as Frankie led the way with his innate sense of direction to the trail he wanted to check out.

You passed a few folks on the main trail, mostly couples or small families out exploring the shorter loop. As you progressed farther into the forest and off the main trail, it felt like you were the only two people amongst a sea of flora. Hiking and chatting about whatever came to mind turned out to be a great way to spend a Saturday with your handsome, rugged boyfriend.

After a while, he pulled you off the trail into a copse of trees along a small creek. A flat rock outcrop right next to the river marked the perfect place to take a break. Frankie dug the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches he made the day before out of his pack, handing one to you. The two of you sat on the rock and devoured the sandwiches and a bottle of water each as you enjoyed the serenity of the water babbling in the creek.

Once your stomachs were sated, Frankie leant over and kissed your neck in that spot that always set your senses on fire. Glancing around, you confirmed that no one traveling along the trail would see you before giving into the sensations.

“You’re giving me goosebumps, chulo,” you crooned, fingers knocking the cap from his head to run through his thick, curly locks.

Frankie continued his ministrations, nipping and sucking little love bites on your sensitive skin as he worked his way down your body. Before long, he was on his knees, working your shorts open and down your thighs with nimble fingers until they slipped to the ground. “Time for dessert, I think,” he said before pulling the gusset of you’re already soaked panties aside. His dark eyes soaked in the view of your glistening pussy for several long moments before diving into lap at your juices.

Back arching in pleasure, your hips slid forward on the rock, legs spread wide for Frankie. Mewls and moans left your lips, echoing off the trees as he worked your clit with his tongue, one thick finger dipping inside you.

“Fuck, Frankie,” you gasped when he hit that spongy bundle of nerves with the curl of his finger. Master at eating pussy that he was, Frankie had you coming, hard, in minutes, and he drank up every drop that leaked from you.

He sat back on his haunches after working you through it, mustache and chin scruff glistening with the evidence of a job well done as he grinned. “Mmm, that’s the best dessert a man could ask for.”

You grinned back at him, slinking from atop the rock to join him on the ground, hands already grabbing for the button of his shorts. “My turn.”

Without further ado, Frankie fell back on the ground, legs straightening as you eased his shorts down his slim hips. Mindful of the wilderness, you left his boxer briefs in place, one hand delicately extracting his hardened length from the hidden opening. Frankie had the most beautiful cock you’d ever seen – long and girthy, perfect upward curve and a prominent vein on the underside that just begged for you to lick it.

He watched you with those dark chocolate, baby cow eyes, pouty lips dropped open as you swiped the flat of your tongue along his entire length. Those beautiful eyes about rolled back in his head when your lips wrapped around the head of his cock, tongue tracing along the little slit in search of precum.

Sucking his cock into your mouth eagerly, you drew lewd moans and whimpers from Frankie. “Fuck, carino. You’re so good at this. You were made to suck my cock.” One large hand grasped your ponytail, wrapping the hair around his palm to direct your movements. His other hand clawed at the ground, fingernails scraping into the dirt.

On edge, Frankie pulled you back by the hair, giving you both a chance to catch your breath before the pressure of his hand forced your mouth back down onto his cock. You took him deep, the broad head hitting the back of your throat with each bob of your head. You loved the feel of nearly choking on him, knowing how much he fucking loved it.

At the gentle scrape of your teeth along his mushroom head, Frankie lost it. Thick ropes of cum hit your tongue as your mouth continued working him until he was a whimpering mess from the overstimulation.

It took a few minutes to recover, Frankie’s chest heaving as he caught his breath from the coming so mind-blowingly hard. You stood to find your shorts on to note the uncomfortable dampness of your panties. Frankie looked up from buttoning his own shorts at your groan.

“What’s wrong, carino?”

Your hips shifted awkwardly, trying to adjust to the feeling as you pulled your shirts up your legs. “My panties are uncomfortably wet,” you whined, shoulders slumped.

Head shaking, Frankie chuckled. “Don’t worry, I got you covered, hermosa.” Digging around in his pack, he pulled out a fresh pair of your panties.

Mouth dropping open, you just stared at him for a moment. “You always carry an extra pair of my underwear around with you?”

Frankie laughed as you snatched them from his hand. “I’ve learned the hard way to always be prepared, hermosa. I carry an extra pair of everything.”

“Fucking boy scout,” you muttered under your breath, yanking on the fresh panties followed by your shorts.

“No, hermosa, fucking Delta Force,” he replied with a cheeky wink.

Once you were both sufficiently put together again, he kissed you, teeth nipping at your bottom lip like it was a gummy worm. “Alright, hermosa, ready to keep going?” Frankie asked, scooping his hat from where you tossed it and placing it on his head.

You nodded, grasping his hand to lead the way back to the trail. A thin sheen of sweat from the recent activities covered your bodies as you walked. After a while, Frankie steered you off onto a trail that looked like it had barely ever been used. Vegetation grew in an arch over the limited path, leaving you feeling like an explorer traversing undiscovered land. You watched the ground carefully, trying to avoid tripping over exposed roots. So focused were you on the ground that you didn’t see the low hanging limb that Frankie ducked under in time.

“Ow! Fuck, that hurt!” you exclaimed when your forehead smacked into the unforgiving hardwood, nearly knocking you off your feet.

Startled at your exclamation, Frankie turned to find you ducking under the tree, hand hovering over a gash in your forehead. “Oh shit! Hermosa, let me see.” He eased your hand away, thick fingertips assessing the damage with tender touches.

“Does it look as bad as it feels?” you asked, voice pitched higher due to the pain.

“That tree branch gotcha pretty good,” Frankie admitted, slipping the pack from his shoulders. He kept talking as he dug through the pack for his trusty first aid kit. “It’s bleeding a lot, like head wounds do, but I don’t think you need stitches or anything.”

“Well thank fuck for that. It better not scar,” you grumbled, letting your boyfriend tend to your wound. His nose scrunched up, tongue poking out between his lips as he concentrated on tenderly cleaning the wound.

“There you go, almost good as new,” he said after placing a gentle kiss over the bandage he’d just secured over the gash.

“My hero,” you teased, fluttering your eyelashes at him.

Waving you off with a chuckle, Frankie hefted the pack over his shoulders and took your hand. “Want to call it a day or keep going? I’m good with whatever you want to do.”

You pretended to mull it over for a moment. “Let’s keep going. We didn’t come all this way just to hike for an hour.”

If only you knew how much you’d regret those words.

Deeper into the forest, you spotted a great horned owl perched in a live oak, eyes closed and blending in so well you almost missed it. The bird of prey only cracked an eye open when you stepped on particularly crunchy detritus trying to get closer. Frankie snapped a few pictures of the owl, along with a couple of snakes, ospreys, and even a bald eagle that you spotted on the hike.

At a small clearing, you stopped for a water break. Something off in the brush caught your eye when you bent to retie your shoe. Squinting, you needed confirmation from Frankie on what you were seeing.

“Babe, take a look at this,” you called him over to where you hunched down. “Look over there, just past the thick brush, in that patch of sunlight. Is that what I think it is?”

Frankie followed your line of sight, eyebrows raised. “If you’re thinking those are a couple of pot plants, then yes.”

Shooting him a mischievous look, you stepped closer to the hidden plants. “What in the world are they doing out here? There’s only a few. Maybe we should take a bit to enjoy back at the camp.”

Frankie stepped up behind you, shocked at your audacity. “Hermosa, I don’t think that’s a good idea. We don’t know who that belongs to. I can tell you right now, whoever it is, they are definitely the type of people we do not want to steal from.”

“Oh, please,” you waved him off, stepping through the underbrush until you closed in on the pot plants. “I’ll only grab a bit; they’ll hardly notice a few buds missing.”

“Fuck,” Frankie hissed, following when you didn’t stop at the first plant you reached. You snapped off a flower from a few plants, trying to be discreet and not just shred an entire plant. You noticed a few more plants and followed the narrow clearing between trees to reach them.

The pattern continued as curiosity took over, following the small patches until you stepped out of the protection of the trees into a larger clearing with far more plants and evidence of some kind of clandestine drug operation surrounding you. A rundown cabin sat to one side, windows covered from the inside and caked with dirt on the outside. A growing pile of trash peaked from behind it. The arid smell of ammonia hung in the air stinging Frankie’s lungs.

The sound of dogs barking sounded nearby, yet his scan of your surroundings didn’t locate them. He did, however, count two pickup trucks and a few all-terrain vehicles. This was very much not good. It only became worse when a couple of men exited the cabin, standing on the beaten down porch for an apparent cigarette break.

“Hermosa, we need to get the fuck out of here.” He tugged you down out of sight, slipping a hand over your mouth as you yelped. He didn’t smother the sound in time, and it drew the attention of the men. Frankie hurriedly dragged you by the hand back to the thick forest, shouts from the men echoing behind you.

Somehow, you both lost sight of the unmarked trail you came from. Hugging the tree line until Frankie found a spot to slip through the thicket, you looked over your shoulder. Your eyes widened as one of the men reached behind him, pulling a pistol out of the back of his pants.

“Oh no, that can’t be good,” you groaned, drawing Frankie’s attention as you turned around to hurry into the woods. He immediately clocked the guy with the gun, running across the clearing, as the other men started up the ATVs, engines roaring to life.

“We need to move!” Frankie’s voice pitched deeper than usual, urgency taking over as gunshots rang in the air, pulling you deeper into the thicket. One hand dug in his pack, removing a Glock 9mm from a hidden pocket. He let go of your hand for a moment to check the clip and pull back the slide, humming in satisfaction once it was locked and loaded.

You just followed numbly, doe-eyed and head aching from the gash, panic already setting in. “Are those guys gonna come after us?” you squeaked.

“Most likely,” Frankie replied, mind whirling. He didn’t want to scare you, but you needed to know the truth. “We weren’t meant to find that place. It smelled like a meth lab; did you notice that? We need to hoof it, find somewhere to lay low while I come up with a plan.”

The two of you raced through the woods, relying on Frankie’s innate sense of direction and his memory of geological features you passed during your hike. You breathed a sigh of temporary relief that the barely-there path you followed was in no way wide enough for the ATVs, the engine sounds growing distant.

“Come on, hermosa. We need to keep moving, but I also need to check the phone for a signal. Can you dig it out of the front pocket of my bag without stopping?” Frankie’s demeaner remained calm, collected as you practically fell apart.

“S-sure,” you replied, voice as shaky as your trembling hands. With awkward, jerky movements, you managed to unzip and remove Frankie’s cell phone from the pack while keeping up with his rushed movement through the forest. Powering the phone on, you waited as it searched for a signal.

Two bars… that had to be enough, right?

“Here, there’s not much signal.” You handed the phone to Frankie and watched as he quickly pulled up Santi’s contact.

Your fingers crossed until the call went through. Frankie spoke frantically into the phone once Santi answered, but you couldn’t decipher what he said. The sound of your own breathing and pounding heart echoed in your ears, drowning out everything else. You don’t know how long they talked – it could have been minutes or hours – but you watched the tension in Frankie’s shoulders ease ever so slightly when he ended the call.

“The boys aren’t far. They were headed up here already, jealous of the adventure we’re on or some shit,” Frankie explained, still maintaining a hurried pace back toward the main trail. “Santi’s gonna call the cops, tell ‘em what we saw. I gotta send him coordinates.”

At last, Frankie slowed to a stop, eyes searching the sea of trees in every direction, trying to figure out where to go as his fingers worked his phone, sending a text to Santi with approximate coordinates based on your current location.

“What are we gonna do?” you asked, a chill washing over you despite the searing heat of the day. Your arms wrapped around yourself, seeking comfort any way you could find it.

Glancing up once the text went through, Frankie took in your obvious panic. “Hermosa, baby, it’s ok. We’re gonna be ok. I just have to find us somewhere to lay low for a bit until the boys or the authorities get here.”

He’d kill for a topographical map right then.

“Let’s head back for that creek where we… you know. We’ll need to get creative to stay out of sight in case any of those guys are tracking us. Okay, hermosa?”

You nodded; bottom lip squished between your teeth to keep it from wobbling. “I’ll do whatever you tell me, babe.”

“That’s my good girl,” Frankie smiled then, lightening the mood for a moment. Grasping your hand, he set off again, paced hurried but still manageable on the uneven path. The last thing he needed was for you to roll an ankle tripping over an exposed root as you ran through the forest.

The ATV engines rumbled in the background, reminding you both that the bad men were still out there, searching for you. Time became this weird, liminal thing as Frankie led you through the forest, never stopping until he spotted rocky outcrops, the stream from earlier visible beyond.

“Time to get creative. You ready?” His hands came up to frame your face, dark eyes searching your own. At your nod, Frankie leant in, pressing his lips to yours in a tender kiss, thumbs stroking your cheeks. Pulling back, his eyes never left yours. “I love you; did you know that? I think I loved you from the moment we met.”

Flummoxed, you giggled, brows raised in shock. “And this is the moment you choose to tell me?”

“Well, yeah,” he mumbled, chagrined. One hand dropped from your face to swipe at the back of his neck. “I…”

“I love you, too, Frankie. Always have, always will. Just, please, get me out of here alive.” You pressed your lips to his, tongue slipping into his mouth to tangle with his for a moment. It might have been a weird time to exchange the L-word, but it served to lessen your panic. You could so easily lose yourself in the moment, if not for the sound of the ATVs. Were they getting closer?

“I won’t let anything happen to you, hermosa. Not now, not ever.”

You followed Frankie down to the stream and watched as he dipped his hands into the water, scooping up some of the sediment with his fingers. He beckoned you to crouch next to him. Once you did, he swiped his fingers across your cheeks, leaving dark swatches of clay-like sediment to dry on your skin. Continuing the movements, he covers portions of your exposed skin and even swipes some over your clothing. Satisfied, he turned to do the same to his own skin and clothes until you both looked ready for war.

“Camouflage?” you inquired, finally understanding.

Frankie nodded. “Exactly. We’re gonna hunker down over there,” he pointed to a particular outcrop with a large indent in the soil on one side of it. “This will just help us blend in.” Before leading you over to the boulder, he swiped some more mud over both of your clothes for good measure, trying to dull the brightness of the fabric.

Clearing out some additional space beneath the boulder, Frankie guided you into the spot, sliding in next to you. Once in place, he covered you both with any foliage he could reach. “We need to stay quiet now, ok? Just hang out until we hear from the guys, or the other dudes get close.”

You nodded, tucking your head into the crook of Frankie’s neck. Breathing in the musky scent of him calmed your anxiety, anchoring you down from the overwhelming fear threatening to cloud your senses.

“I’ll keep you safe, hermosa. I swear. Te amo,” Frankie whispered against your hair, one muscular arm flung over you, drawing you in tighter to his body.

Time crawled, just like your skin at the thought of bugs crawling over you. You fought the urge to fidget, to scratch at the skin of your legs. The sun dipped in the skin, the light of day fading. At long last, the phone buzzed in Frankie’s pocket and he carefully, quietly extracted it. A text from Santi letting you know the guys arrived and were spreading out to search the forest for you. Frankie sent updated coordinates for your current location, and you silently prayed that they’d find you before the bad guys.

You counted to sixty in your head ten times before the first sound of nearby movement startled you. “Shhh,” Frankie purred in your ear, his right hand slowly, subtly moving toward his waistline to grasp the Glock. His left hand typed a quick, cryptic message to Santi, an answering buzz coming almost immediately.

“Fuck,” he hissed at the message as the sound of crunching leaves and cracking twigs grew closer, louder. It wasn’t Santi, Ben, or Will making the noise. He could only hope it was a large animal, but Frankie knew deep down that it wasn’t. “Hermosa, we’re gonna have to move.”

“Why?” you breathed, panic rising once again.

“That’s not our guys, making that racket,” Frankie whispered. “When I say go, you need to run. Go through the creek, get to the other side and follow the water as long as you can. I’ll catch up to you.”

“What? No! I’m not leaving you!” you whispered harshly, head shaking imperceptibly.

“Sshhh, you have to. Trust me, please? I love you. This is me making sure nothing happens to you.”

You wanted to argue, the words right there on the tip of your tongue, but Frankie’s beautiful, dark umber eyes pleaded with you to listen, to do what he said. There was an unexpected hint of fear in his eyes, something you never thought you’d see. It went against every fiber in your being, but you nodded. You would do what he said, run until you couldn’t anymore and just hope that he stayed right behind you.

Pressing a kiss to the top of your head, Frankie eased up, peeking over the outcrop in the direction the noises were coming from. Two men – ones he saw back at that cabin – scanned the woods, searching for the two of you. He ducked back down, helping you to a squat position.

“It’s now or never, hermosa. Remember what I said, through the creek to the other side and follow the water. Just be careful – it’s getting darker as the sun sets. I’ll be right behind you.”

“I love you, Frankie. Please don’t do anything stupid.” Part of you ached to stay with him, to face the danger head on together. But you knew you couldn’t.

“I love you. Go. Now!” He shot to his feet; pistol raised to cover you.

Heart pounding in your chest, so hard you felt it in your throat, you stumbled to your feet and ran. Your hiking boots splashed through the calf-deep water of the creek before you scrambled up the other bank. Gun shots pierced the air, and you swore a bullet whizzed past your head.

“Fuck!” you screamed, running full tilt through the trees, staying close to the stream but using the forest for cover. Deep voiced shouts echoed behind you, more gunfire. A stitch ached in your side, still you ran. You tripped over roots, falling to the ground as the sky grew darker. Still, you ran. Even your head bouncing off a rock following one particularly hard fall didn’t stop you from scrambling back to your feet. You ran and ran and ran.

Feet carried you as far as your lungs allowed before you fell again, gasping for breath, body tucked behind a large live oak, hoping against hope that the trunk hid you from view. Entire body trembling from the adrenaline, an eardrum piercing scream burst from your lips when a hand reached out from around the tree, grabbing your shoulder.

Fighting with the little strength left in your body, you kicked and clawed at the owner of the hand, struggling as hard as you could to get away. In the heat of the moment, you forgot every tactic Frankie taught you.

“Sshhhh, it’s okay, hermanita. It’s just me.” A voice you recognized broke through the panic and all the fight left your body at once. You sank against Santi’s strong body, forcing him to hold you upright. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”

“Santi,” you cried, tears flowing down your cheeks in relief. “Frankie… he needs—”

“The boys are backing him up, he’s okay. Come on, I gotta get you to safety or your boyfriend will shoot me himself.” Santiago guided you around and over some obstacles, leading you back to Frankie’s car.

By the time you got there, a park ranger and county sheriff’s deputy were waiting, along with an ambulance. You frantically searched the parking area for signs of Frankie or the Miller brothers, but there were none. You met Santi’s gaze with pleading eyes, begging him to find Frankie.

“Let the medics check you out, hermanita. I’ll figure out where the others are.” He handed you off to the medics, instructing them to treat you with care or face the consequences before he turned to speak with law enforcement.

The cut on your forehead reopened when you fell while running, the pain just hitting you now that you were truly safe, and the adrenaline drained away. The rest was a blur, getting treated by the medics, speaking with the park ranger and deputy. All of it a haze, until Frankie appeared from the trail, supported by Benny and Will.

“Why are you covered in blood?” you blurted once they brought Frankie close enough. Still covered in the natural camouflage from the stream, he looked a wreck. Frankie’s beloved ballcap gone, hair awry and threaded with leaves, abrasions marring his handsome face, blood soaking through the right side of his shirt. “Were you shot?”

Feeling like a marionette, you allowed Santi to guide you out of the way as the medics tended to Frankie. Your eyes never left his while the medics triaged his injuries before loading him into the back of the ambulance.

“Go with him, we’ll meet you there,” Santi urged, gently pushing you forward. He helped you climb up to sit next to Frankie’s stretcher, smiling encouragingly as he closed the doors.

Thirty-six hours later, you and the boys were on your way home. You spent much of that time at Frankie’s bedside, refusing to leave. DEA agents resorted to interviewing you and Frankie in his hospital room as you adamantly refused to meet them anywhere else.

Apparently, you and Frankie happened upon a well-established meth operation. The pot plants that drew you in were the least of what the agents found upon raiding the camp. Frankie and the boys subdued two of the drug traffickers before Frankie suffered a hit from a third man who snuck up on their six. The agents and sheriff’s department took care of the rest. With all that the authorities found, they doubted they’d need either of you to testify, but the agents told you they’d be in touch if necessary.

You doted on Frankie, holding him close in the backseat of his truck while Santi drove. Benny and Will following behind you in Will’s car. Fingers threaded through his hair in soothing strokes as he laid across the seat with his head in your lap. The wound still fresh, it hurt him too much to sit up for the five-hour drive home.

“You know what, chulo?” you asked quietly, bending forward to tilt your head over Frankie’s.

“Hmmm?” he gazed up at you, nearly purring in contentment as you scratched your nails against his scalp in slow, tender motions.

“I still have all those buds I nicked,” you grinned mischievously. “We’ll make edibles next weekend. How does that sound?”

Frankie stared up at you with those big cow eyes, a soft smile curling his lips. “I’m gonna marry you. Whenever you’re ready, Imma ask you to marry me. You’re the bravest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever known. I gotta make you my wife before someone else steals you away.”

Words a bit slurred from the pain medication flowing through his veins, you gazed at him with such love in your soul. “I love you so much, you stupid, brave man, but I think you’re letting the pain meds do the talking for you.”

“Hey now! I’m injured. I got shot making sure you got to safety, you can’t call me stupid.” He pouted like a child, looking impossibly adorable with his wild curls like a halo around his head. “And it’s not the pain meds talkin’. I’ve always wanted to marry you, right from the moment you smiled at me.”

Rolling your eyes affectionately, you shushed him. Your gaze met Santi’s in the rearview mirror, his face lit up with amusement at the two of you. Shifting your gaze back to Frankie’s, you flashed him that smile that first charmed him. “Ok, chulo. I want to marry you, too. Whenever you’re ready.”

“Hey, Pope! Mind stoppin’ by a jewelry store on the way home?” Frankie asked sleepily, eyes already slipping closed. “I gotta get my girl a ring.”

fin

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Day 61 COMPLETE. At 2 ft tall, this is the largest embroidery panel I’ve ever done, clocking in at over 250 hours. Every stitch was a delight. There’s nothing quite like drawing something into reality stitch by stitch over months, spending hours on every line; it feels like a kind of magic. I’m gonna miss having this at my hands every day. I’ll have to settle for merely having it up on the wall.

As always credit goes to @barbatusart for the original art & thank you SO MUCH for letting me do something just slightly insane with your work. This panel is from barbatus’ De Rerum Natura found here, go check this cool shit out at the source if you like what you see here.

Final project notes and random musings below the cut

The biggest challenge with a piece of this size is maintaining consistent tension. I failed at this HARD. Only time will tell how much it shows once it’s stretched and framed.

Tension is most consistent towards the center of the frame - my mistake was getting a frame just exactly the same dimensions as my work. Pretty sure this is solvable with a larger frame. Unfortunately I might have to actually build it myself to go any bigger than the one I already have. Oh well, off to the wood shop!

This art style was sooooooooooooooo good for embroidery and varying from 1-6 strands of floss absolutely paid off with the subtle variations in line weight I was able to achieve

And one less technical note: Every project I do, I walk away learning some new skill. Staring at the same piece of art for 3 months straight will really get you thinking hard about what one specific line communicates or how a few little dots make the whole thing jump into motion. All that is to say that I got a lot out of this one.

But actually the biggest thing I think I’ve walked away with is the confidence to sketch/sew my own art. I made a bunch of little test projects in preparation for this piece, really just small-scale doodles to experiment with one aspect or another of the construction plan. Somewhere in there a light went on saying “hey look you too can make art” which, I’m not gonna lie, had truly never occurred to me as a thing that I could do. An obvious revelation, I know, have patience with me y’all. But I made them, and not only that but I liked them, and they made me feel happy to make. So we’re just gonna keep on doing that and see where it goes.

[that-basic-simp]

Girl With The Wave Tattoo

Mizu X Fem!Reader CW: None WC: 1.5k+

"Hottie alert," my friend tapped me on the back of my arm.

My back was facing the customers as they were coming and going. I was doing my work while my friend was looking at the customers. I should be more specific. The attractive customers.

"If it's another athlete with the typical body, I am not turning around."

"No, it's your kind of hottie."

"If this is another prank I swear I am going to--" I immediately shut up as I was face to face with someone who was indeed my kind of hottie.

They were tall, tall for a woman. Or at least they appeared to be a woman. It was kind of hard to tell as they were wearing cargo joggers with high-top Converse and a white tank top. There was a long chain necklace with the sword as a pendant. Finally, to top off their appearance, they had orange tinted glasses covering their eyes and a bun on the top of their head. Running up both of their arms was a sleeve tattoo of what looked to be water in the traditional Japanese art style. Similar to that of the Great Wave.

"W-What can I get for you today?" I asked.

"What kind of tea do you have?" they asked, in a bit of a raspy voice.

"We have all kinds ranging from green, black, oolong. You name it, we probably have it."

"Do you by chance have any hot matcha green tea?"

"W-We do."

"Can I get that in a large?"

"Yes. Name for the order?"

"Mizu."

"Alright. That'll be about 500 yen."

Mizu handed me a small coin and I took it from them.

"It should be out soon."

"Thanks," they walked towards the counter and waited for me to make the drink.

"So, what do you think?" my friend leaned over and asked me, whispering in my ear.

"I don't know about this one."

"What do you mean?"

"Their appearance. I can't tell if they're, you know."

"Nondescript?"

"In a sense. The bun isn't helping, but their eyes," I turned to face them.

They were reading something on their phone. As I looked closely, which is an odd feature to stare at, their fingers were thin and slender to be a man's. I mean, depending on the man, they can be long and slender. But they looked oddly feminine for someone who is trying to be neither gender. Or maybe one more so than the other. It's hard to tell. But it didn't matter. They were attractive.

"Did you at least get their name?"

"Mizu," I whispered, not wanting to confuse them with thinking their order was ready.

"Interesting name."

"I think so. Unique."

I finished making the tea for Mizu and I set it on the counter.

"Mizu?" I called out their name.

Their head picked up and they walked over to me, grabbing the cup.

"Thanks," they said, placing a couple pieces of yen in the tip jar.

"Have a nice day."

They smiled before turning around, walking off towards the door. The chime of the bell rang as the door opened.

"Is this the first time you've seen them?"

"Here?"

"Yeah."

"I've seen them in this area. I think they work at a tattoo parlor just down the road."

"Huh, interesting."

"Thinking about giving them a visit?"

"Maybe not like instantly. I think I'll give it a bit and see if they come around again."

"If you want to know that answer, talk to Ise. She hears and sees everything that goes on here."

"She doesn't come in until three, doesn't she?"

"Yes, but if text her and say you need details on one customer, she'll be here in a flash."

"I kind of don't want to because I'd rather talk to her when she's scheduled to be here."

"Suit yourself. Oh, Mr. Watari is here again. Be careful."

"I'm heading into the pantry then."

"To do what?"

"Hide from him."

After waiting a few hours, Ise came in and that was when my friend dropped the bomb on her and she came rushing over to me, excited and happy as a clam. If she was a dog, her tail would be wagging so fast she could fly off into the clouds.

"I heard you want to know something about someone."

"Mizu. I was told they work at a tattoo parlor."

"Mizu is a woman. When she's out in public or when she's in the tattoo place, she binds her chest."

"Why's that?"

"Bad history with another work place where they would only hire her if she was more masculine."

"That's backwards."

"It was."

"Is there anything else you know about her?"

"Other than she can rock two arm sleeve tattoos and make it look attractive, no. That's really it."

"Alright," I sighed.

"Why? Are you interested in her?"

"I mean, I thought I was."

"Y/N, everyone here knows you prefer women over men."

"I guess I was just ready to open the door to Mizu if she was in fact a guy. I just didn't want to jump to conclusions when I wasn't able to tell."

"You wouldn't be the first. People here had issues with her."

"Why's that?"

"She was a regular here before you started working with us. That was when she was a bit more feminine presenting. But when she started changing into what we see her normally wear, she went into the bathroom one day. It was also before we changed it to be single stalls instead of multiple. She went in to use the restroom and a mother and her young child came out, screaming at us for allowing Mizu into the bathroom. The mother thought Mizu was a man, and when explaining it to her that she is biologically female, the mother did not believe her. You'll never believe what Mizu said to the woman."

"What?"

"'Want to check yourself?'"

I almost dropped over, both Ise and my friend laughing.

"The mother was so disgusted, saying that she was being assaulted now by what Mizu said. The police got involved and after some extensive and some invasive work on Mizu, they deemed she was in fact a woman. The mother still didn't believe it."

"I feel bad for Mizu," I said.

"We all did. So whenever she comes in here, which isn't as often as before, we give her a discount on her entire order. She doesn't know that and the other customers don't know it either."

"It's hard to believe that she doesn't know."

"I'm sure she does. But she hasn't said anything about it. Although, she does tip generously."

"I think she's making it up for the many times you discounted her order."

"We just all felt bad for her and what she had to go through. Oh! I know. You should do something for her."

"What?"

"Yeah. She's going to be coming here in a few days."

"How do you know that?"

"Ise is able to track people's schedules," my friend said.

"No, I just know that Mizu is going to be tattooing a friend of mine. She comes in here whenever she has to tattoo someone."

"So I take it she was tattooing someone today."

"Yes. This is my friend's first session," Ise said. "She'll be going back in a few days to do the second session."

"I see. What should I do for Mizu?"

"Chocolate can't go wrong," my friend said.

"But she does like tea," Ise said. "When my friend goes to get her tattoos done, Mizu is always drinking tea. Mostly hot tea."

I nodded my head, "I see."

A few days had gone by and when the day Mizu was going to be making another return, I was ready. I didn't want to come off as stalkerish, which was why I had to make this perfect. When the bell rang, I picked my head up and found Mizu walking to the counter.

"Same as before?" I asked.

"How do you know?" Mizu looked at me with suspicion.

"Your order stands out."

"Does it?"

"You're the only one who orders the hot matcha green tea," I said.

"Out of all the customers here?" she perked an eyebrow.

I nodded my head, "Most people here enjoy coffee. You're the only tea person."

"Huh. I see."

"And some people here thought it would be nice to give you this," I pulled out a small bag and placed it on the counter for her.

"What's this? Was this Ise's idea?" Mizu asked.

"You know Ise?"

"She came in to accompany her friend one time. I tattoo her friend and she is getting her second session today."

"What is she getting?"

"Something similar to what I have."

Mizu turned around and moved her tank top down slightly. I poked my head over the counter and found there was a large phoenix tattoo on her back.

"It's not exactly a phoenix. Hers is going to be a turtle."

"Oh, I see."

Mizu turned around, "Thank you," she gestured to the bag. "If it was Ise's idea, I assume it will be tea."

"It was actually mine. Ise gave me the idea to give you something."

"Why's that?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, but she told me what happened to you. About the mother and child here that caused you issues."

A small smile crawled on Mizu's lips, "It was a bit of an unfortunate situation, but it just showed me that people will think what they want to think no matter what."

"Even though I don't really know you, I think you're a great person. For persevering through all of that."

"Thank you," she said.

"I-I'll get your tea ready."

"What's your name?"

"Am I not wearing my name tag?" I looked down at my apron, noticing it was gone. "Shit, I'm not."

She chuckled.

"It's Y/N," I said.

"Nice to meet you, Y/N," she said. "I hope to see you around."

[linos-luna]

Hi gorgeous 💞

I hope you're doing well (I was worried af)

If it's not too much to ask but my birthday is on 14th March so can you write a yandere hyunjin x f reader smut where the reader who is already held hostage is given a gift by hyunjin (just surprise me with your writing girl)?

I would seriously appreciate it from my heart ❤️

Wanna see a manipulative, toxic and delusional hyunjin in love with me 😩

Bye 👋

Sorry it’s late! I’ve been so busy! 😭

Happy late birthday 🎊

———————————————————

Work of Art 🔪

Yandere!Hyunjin x Reader

Warnings: Yandere!, 18+, slight Stockholm Syndrome?, Slapping, Hair pulling, Emotional manipulation

—————————————— 💞

It’s been two months. Two months since you lost your freedom. Hyunjin was obsessed. He wants you to keep you in his home forever. If he goes out, he handcuffed you to the bed frame. Although lately he hasn’t done that. Probably because now you don’t move. You seemed to have given up on trying.

The days blended together so you didn’t even realize that today was your birthday. You stayed in bed until noon, only waking when some light from the window hit your face. You sat up, only to see Hyunjin standing at the door. Watching.

“Good morning, my love.” He said with a soft smile. “Today is a special day!”

“What….?” You mumbled.

“How could you forget?! It’s your birthday, silly!” He chuckled while going to you and leaning in to kiss you.

You were silent, actually surprised that you forgot your own birthday.

The man stroked your hair as he waited for your kiss although you didn’t budge. This seemed to frustrate him and he pulled your hair so your lips touch his. “Y/n!” He whined.

Reluctantly, you kiss him. He bit your lip and kissed you with lots of passion.

Sure you kissed back but not with as much vigor as him. This only hurts his heart.

“Y/n! I don’t understand…” he whined. “why…? Why won’t you love me like I love you!”

“Hyunjin, you kidnapped me!”

“Because I love you!”

“This isn’t love!!” You interrupted. “This… this is hell!”

“No no no… i-I’m sorry! It shouldn’t be!” Hyunjin frowned and dropped to his knees while holding your hand. “I only wanted to show you love and cherish you. I want to spoil you!”

“Hyunjin—”

“I’m sorry, y/n…” He pouts, giving you sad eyes, “I-i never meant to hurt you…”

“Hyunjin… you—!”

“No no I'm awful!” He interrupted while starting to cry. “I-I just want someone to love… I-I’ve never had someone love and care like you do. You’re so genuine and kind…”

He continued rambling. From his rough upbringing to his desire for love. He’s all alone in this world and it had your heart breaking for him.

“I-I have a gift for you…” he said softly. “Please. I worked so hard on it.”

“O-okay…” you nodded reluctantly.

Joy lit up his face and he quickly left the room. As soon as he left, the tears were gone. It was as if he flipped off the emotion like a light switch. Instead, he smiled to himself.

Hyunjin came back in the bedroom with a canvas. You were a bit confused until he turned it around. It was you. A painted picture of you sleeping. The style made you look angelic.

It was beautiful but also unnerving. When did he paint this? Was he watching you while sleeping? Every minuet detail of your features was there. Every mole and blemish was painted in great detail.

“Wow, Hyunjin… it’s very nice.” You said slowly while studying it. You couldn’t lie, it really was an amazing painting.

“Oh, my love. I’m glad you love it!” He smiled. “I worked so hard to capture your essence! You truly are a work of art!”

You couldn’t help blushing. You’ve never had a compliment like that and it was giving you butterflies in your stomach.

“Thank you, Hyunjin… I-I really do love it…”

“Oh good!” He was excited as he leaned in close. “Please, my love. May I kiss you?”

There was a moment of silence before you nod.

———— 💞

Dinner was a bit awkward. You sat in silence as he fed you.

“Do you like it?” He said suddenly.

“I do but… Hyunjin I can feed myself.”

“No darling. Don’t worry about that.” He said while putting more meat on the fork.

“No really—…” you grab the fork from him, about to raise it to your mouth before he suddenly slapped it away.

“Hyunjin—!”

Before you could finish, there was a swift slap to your face.

“No! Only I can feed you!” Hyunjin yelled suddenly.

You held your cheek in shock, too stunned to speak.

“Oh I’m so sorry!! My love, I'm sorry!!” He suddenly switched up and got to his knees, dropping the bowl of food to the ground, but he didn’t seem to care.

“No! Don’t cry! Don’t be mad!” He begged while grabbing into each side of your hair and pulling you close. “Please forgive me! I love you!”

“A-agh! Hyunjin!” You whimpered as he tugged harder.

“My darling. My sweet girl, please!”

He pulled harder, making you drop from your seat to the floor.

“J-Jinnie! You’re hurting me!!”

“W-what?!” He paused, still holding onto your hair. “No! No im not!!”

“Jinnie stop!”

“No you stop!” He yelled. “I love you! I’m just trying to love you!!” His voice broke as tears formed and it made you stop dead in your tracks.

“Hyunjin…”

“No! You don’t love me!” He sobbed. “I-I thought I finally found my soulmate… one that will love me as much as I love her!” Hyunjin wiped some tears while looking at you. “I-I’ve never had that kind of love. My M-mother left! A-And father would beat me! I-I only wish you give the love I never received!”

Whether this story was true or not -it’s not-, you wouldn’t be able to tell. But his vulnerability and tears tugged at your heartstrings.

“Hyunjin….”

“No! Just go!” He cried. “Just leave me! Leave me all alone! I’m used to it!” He pulled some keys from his pocket and threw them in front of you.

You were frozen in place. You felt awful. Pure guilt. How could you hurt him like this?? All he wanted was love. You felt like a monster.

Without much thinking, you hugged him tight. “I-I’m sorry, Jinnie.”

Hyunjin leaned into your hug, making himself look as small and vulnerable as possible while continuing to weep.

“It’s okay… it’s okay…” you whispered while rubbing his back.

“C-can I… can I give you a bath?” He asked softly. “I-I wanted to spoil you with a little… at home spa…”

You pulled away and looked at him. Here he was crying and expressing his deepest emotions and traumas, and yet he was still thinking of you. He was still wanting to spoil and shower you with love.

You only nodded and Hyunjin smiles before kissing your forehead and leaving to the restroom, getting some of the soaps and candles ready.

It made you feel guilty. Perhaps you have this all wrong. He really does have a good heart. Perhaps you’ve never experienced real love. Maybe… this is what true love is.

Hyunjin had no more tears. This face had cleared up so fast as soon as he entered the restroom. In fact he had a smile. A satisfied one, like a spoiled child that got his way. It was just too easy.

Hyunjin walked to the bedroom, grabbing a robe for you, stopping by the painting. He took a deep breath while running his fingers along your painted nude body.

He turned back to the restroom, mustering up some tears red cheeks before calling out to you.

"Come on, my love! The bath is ready!'

[teddybeartoji]

here are some very random martial arts headcanons for some of the jjk characters bc why the fuck not. btw yes i am aware that most of them practice more than one style of fighting i just think that these are smth that they'd really like as well!!!!

toji likes brazilian jiu jitsu – he got into that a bit later in life, he did more hand-to-hand combat training when he was younger but ever since he discovered brazilian jiu jitsu, he's been obsessed with it. he can use his size and his strength, and his whole entire body and that makes him feel very confident. he's very good at those on the ground throws,, like when he's being pinned down, he always manages to literally toss the opponent off of him and then immediately put him in a hold. it looks incredibly easy when he does it lmao

satoru likes muay thai – HE LOVES DOING SHIN KICKS idk he's so into them. he looks like a maniac when he's fighting btw he's constantly smiling and it's a little scary (it's very hot). since in muay thai there's a lot of elbow and knee hits too you can get very up close to your opponents and i think this is also something he really likes!!!!! mmm during fights he also likes to rile his opponents up lmao

suguru likes wing chun – suguru is the only one i struggled with assigning just ONE style bc i feel like he's veeery very into different types. but wing chun is very fast and it involves punches and slaps and just redirecting the hits coming your way,, wing chun fighters always look so calm while doing it and idk i really think this could be his thing. honorable mention goes to aikido!!!!!!!! he likes it when he doesn't have to hustle around too much, he likes it when he can just put somebody in their place with a mean little grin on his face.

sukuna likes kickboxing – he's all abt that raw power. he loves throwing punches and he's very similar to satoru in the sense that he too, looks like a fucking freak when he's in the ring. they both love the adrenaline so fucking much. in contrary to muay thai, kickboxing has more leg kicks, sooo you can keep your distance a bit more but he's more than fine with that bc that way he can truly show how hard he can hit lmao he has an insane right hook aaand he also really loves doing high leg kicks:333333

megumi likes judo – takes after his dad:3333333 he trained a lot with toji when he was younger but since toji rarely let him win it was mostly just little gumi being a grumpy little sea urchin lmao the fighting styles are both mostly abt grappling and ground work buuut while jiu jitsu is more abt making the other submit by putting them in a hold, judo is more abt throwing ppl around and megumi really likes that. it makes him feel really strong. (he likes to stare down at his opponent after he's just gotten the point i think he can be very mmm cocky sometimes lmao)(he learned that from toji)

yuuji likes wrestling – HE'S THEE BOY EVERRR!!!!! ofc he works out a lot but he's got soo so much raw strength and he loves it when he can put that into use. he's won like SO many competitions lmao i think he's very lighthearted abt the fights though and he has literally no beef with anybody (kind of like hinata yk?)(others definitely have beef with him though bc he's so stupidly strong lmao) he's very concentrated during the match but the second he's won he's got a bashful big grin on his face!!!!!!!!!! he enjoys the sport a lot a lot a lot!!!!

nobara likes taekwondo – IT'S SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! she loves it and she has been practicing it ever since she was little. she loves kicking and punching she's very energized all around!!!! SHE GOES TO COMPETITIONS ALL THE TIME TOO!!!!!!!!! oh and she and yuuji are constantly sparring despite the fact that their styles are so different lmao (yuuji will get his ass beat bc he's kind of.. afraid to throw nobara)(but then gets called a 'pussy' bc nobara says he should fight her with all his might)