#then I did literally a second of research to see that it was art

[plethorawrites]

(A/N— because the secret relationship trope is one of my all time favorites—)

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Dick and Tim weren't expecting much when they visited—broke into— Jason's apartment. Honestly, despite never being there (because frankly they thought he'd open fire for their trespassing) they had very low expectations for his living style.

After all, Jason was used to the bare minimum. Pretty much all of his past safe houses were almost empty, sans a place to sleep, research, and hide things.

When they got there, picking the window lock on the 5th floor of a nearly empty apartment building in a much shadier area of town, they were expecting the same thing they had always seen—take out containers, traps, a messy bed laying on the floor without a frame. Probably some rat traps and maybe a few threatening signs, telling them to get out.

Instead, they found a fully furnished apartment that smelled of... cinnamon? Vanilla? What was that smell? They weren't sure, but it was sweet.

The couch had matching cushions, the tv was on a stand instead of sitting on the ground, the kitchen actually had a basket of fruit on the counter instead of a trashcan filled with old Chinese food.

"This is ...weird," Tim muttered, swiping his hand over the countertop, expecting dust but finding it clean and smelling of lemon cleaning product. "Are you sure this is the right place?"

Dick nodded. "According to the most recent address we have," he replied, glancing around at the art on the wall and the blankets strewn over the couch. "I sure as hell hope it is. Otherwise we just broke into someone's apartment."

That would definitely be bad. Especially if Bruce found out.

Thankfully it was only a few seconds later that Jason walked out of the bedroom, rubbing his eyes as he yawned. Which, to their relief proved that they had the correct address.

He stopped dead in his tracks, his hair still messy from sleep, his voice still gravely as he asked, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Uh...we needed your help," Tim answered, his eyes narrowing in confusion. "Did you just wake up?"

It certainly looked like it. After all, he was still in his sweatpants, no shirt in sight. It was after eleven am, though. They had assumed he would be up by now.

Jason heaved a sigh, crossing their path to start a pot of coffee. "And it couldn't have been a text message? Or a phone call?"

"Not really," Dick replied, watching his brother look through a drawer of coffee pods.

Since when did Jason drink anything other than straight black instant coffee that was probably three days old and freezing cold?

Tim, despite the mild befuddled expression, went on to elaborate about their visit. "Look we know you have the day off, but there's new information on the case with Penguin and Bruce said—"

"Jay?"

Tim stopped as he was interrupted, his eyebrows cinching as he turned his head to the voice of the sound.

You.

Your eyes were as wide, if not wider than theirs when you walked in, wearing far less than acceptable clothing in the form of a bra and shorts that were a smidge too tight.

"Who the hell..." Dick was already muttering, like a deer in headlights.

It took Jason all of two seconds to grab his favorite jacket, putting it over your shoulders to keep them from seeing any more of your skin than he found acceptable.

Even as you pulled it tightly to cover your attire, the jacket, which swallowed most of you, still hit your thighs. Their eyes cast down at your bare legs as you tugged his jacket lower awkwardly.

"Hey!" Jason snapped both figuratively and literally, his voice loud and his fingers waving in their faces. "Eyes up here."

"huh? Wh- sorry," Dick murmured, still confused as he motioned to you. "We weren't expecting uh... anyone else to be here..."

"Yeah, that makes four of us, I'm sure," you mumbled quietly, glancing over your shoulder at Jason who towered over you. "I'm just gonna...go get dressed."

He nodded, his hands still on your shoulders as he stood behind you. "Good idea."

Slowly backing away as his hands left your shoulders you waved weakly. "It was...nice meeting you," you remarked with an awkward nose scrunch, pointing over your shoulder. "I'll uh... I'll be in the bedroom."

As you left, the door shutting quickly and loudly, Dick and Tim could both see the look in their brother's eyes which simultaneously told them not to ask and to never ever say a word about you walking out in your pajamas like that.

"I guess we know where the throw pillows came from," Tim noted.

[changbinniescurlyhair]

Stray Kids when their s/o finds out about their secret stan account

Pairing: SKZ x gn!reader

Warnings: Slight cursing.

A/N: Thanks for 200+ followers!! I really appreciate you all <3

Requests Masterlist

Chan <3

You find out when you're using his laptop and see a bookmarked tab labeled "chittychittychrisbangbang.tumblr.com."

At first, you're confused—did a fan send him something? Is he monitoring his tags?

Nope. It’s his.

And it's thriving.

He’s reblogging gifsets of himself, fanart, compilations titled “Bang Chan being a hot, caring leader for 7 minutes straight."

You even spot a post he made ranking his own stage outfits.

When you confront him, he doesn’t even pretend to deny it. Just shrugs and gives you that cheeky grin. “I mean, someone’s gotta appreciate me properly.”

He insists it's purely for “research” and “keeping up with what the fans like,” but then you see his comments like “he’s literally perfect 😭” under his own selfies.

You’re equal parts flabbergasted and impressed. Your account never did that well.

You tease him endlessly, but later that night, he catches you scrolling through the account, laughing.

“You like it?” he asks. “I’m your biggest fan, but apparently you’re your own second biggest.” “Damn right I am.”

Minho<3

You didn’t mean to snoop, but one day, you notice him being suspiciously quick to close an app on his phone when you walk in.

Later, while cuddling, you peek over his shoulder and catch him replying to a post: “Minho deserves more solo lines 😤”

Turns out, he runs a stan Twitter account dedicated to… himself.

Under a username that absolutely screams chaos: @minhothemenace.

You’re absolutely howling. “Are you seriously defending yourself in stan wars?” “No. I’m educating them.”

He posts fancams of himself, retweets fan art, and randomly tweets things like “Minho supremacy always” at 3 a.m. When you ask him why, he just shrugs.

“No one hypes me up like I do.”

You start helping him pick which clips to post, and once, you comment under his tweet with “marry me.”

He responds, “Already taken, loser. Try again.”

You love him. Deeply.

Changbin <3

You find out when you're helping him clean up and stumble upon a notebook titled: “Content ideas for @dwaekki_boi.”

When you open it, your jaw drops.

There are doodles, hashtags, captions—this man is running a full-blown fan account dedicated to himself like it’s a business. He posts thirst traps, mirror selfies, and gym clips with captions like “LOOK AT HIM 🔥🔥🔥”

And he always speaks in third person.

“Changbin is the blueprint.”

“Who gave him the right to look this good??”

You confront him, and he turns red instantly. “It’s for self-love purposes!!” He is a horrible liar

You don’t stop laughing for hours, but honestly, it’s kind of adorable how much he hypes himself up.

Later, he lets you make a guest post and you write, “He’s even better in person. I should know 😏”

He reposts it with “y’all jealous?”

This man is your biggest fan, and he’s also his own hype squad.

Hyunjin <3

You catch him mid-post one day, adjusting filters on a picture of his side profile.

The account? @Hyuneverlookedbetter.

You blink. He flinches.“You weren’t supposed to see that.”

You’re shocked, but then you see the page, and it’s... aesthetic perfection.

Pastels, moody lighting, captions like poetry: “a boy carved from marble and dipped in honey”He’s documenting his own beauty like he’s his own art piece.

Which honestly, he is. You ask if he runs it alone and he gives you a sheepish look. “Sometimes my mom helps.”

Of course she does.He’ll even do “fan interactions” and answer fake questions like: Q: how do you get your skin to glow like that? A: cry, sleep, moisturize.

You follow the account secretly and start leaving comments like “idk who this guy is but I’m in love.”

He pretends not to know it’s you, but likes every comment anyway.

Jisung <3

Oh, this man absolutely has a stan account and absolutely thought he was being slick news flash, he wasn't slick

It’s on TikTok, username something ridiculous like @quokka4lifeeeeeeeee, and it’s filled with chaotic edits of himself with random meme audio.

You find out when he accidentally airdrops you a video while editing it. You open it and it’s him slow-mo walking to “Careless Whisper” with a crown filter.

You stare at him.

He stares at you. "...You weren’t supposed to open that."

You laugh so hard you nearly cry. “Is this what you do instead of sleeping?” “Self-love, babe. Self. Love.”

You scroll through his content later and realize he’s genuinely good at editing. Transitions, voiceovers, captions—it’s a production.

He even does “duets” reacting to his own clips like a fanboy.

“I’d let him ruin my life,” he says about himself in one.

You're horrified and impressed.

But hey—you didn’t fall for an ordinary guy. You fell for a self-made fan of himself with mad TikTok skills.

Felix <3

You find out by accident when he’s showing you a recipe and a Reddit notification pops up.

You glance and catch the name “bakedwithfelix”—a username you swear you’ve seen in K-pop forums before.

Turns out, this sweet boy runs a hybrid fan/cooking account where he posts behind-the-scenes Felix content AND recipes inspired by Stray Kids eras.

Like “Red Velvet cupcakes for Red Lights era 😏”

You scroll through his posts.

One entry: “Felix’s freckles should be a UNESCO World Heritage Site.”

Another: “My sunshine boy deserves 10 more verses per song. I don’t make the rules.”

You look at him and he’s just smiling sheepishly. “I wanted to make people happy… and also remind them I’m cute.”

Presenting Felix, your adorable gremlin.

You help him film a cooking tutorial titled “How to make cookies that look like Felix” and it gets like 10k upvotes.

He’s beaming.

You’re dating an internet sweetheart and his fans don’t even know it’s you behind the camera.

Seungmin <3

You knew something was up when he kept smirking at random memes on his phone.

Turns out Seungmin runs a STAN ACCOUNT THAT ROASTS HIMSELF.

He posts unflattering screenshots from videos with captions like: “This is my bias but also he looks like a potato here.”

Or: “Seungmin’s vocals? Heavenly. Seungmin’s sneeze face? Cursed.”

You’re stunned. “Are you seriously cyberbullying yourself??” “It’s called balance.”

He’ll roast himself one minute, then turn around and drop a heart-fluttering appreciation post the next.

It’s so unhinged, but also weirdly charming.

He refuses to admit it's him though.

“Must be some fan with great taste,” he says coolly, while you literally watch him type a caption.

Later, you make a second account and post: “Seungmin is boyfriend material fr.”

He replies: “Whoever you are, you’re wrong.”

You fight him on main, giggling the whole time.

Jeongin <3

You found out purely by accident. He left his iPad open and you saw a tab titled “InnieUpdates 🐣”

You click it, expecting some fan blog—but it’s his.

Run by him.

And it’s so soft.

Posts like: “Jeongin’s laugh is my favorite sound in the world 🥺”

Or: “He gets more handsome every comeback… how??”

You sit there with your hand over your heart. This boy is his own #1 fan and it’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.

He walks in and freezes when he sees what you’re looking at. “I—it’s for fun!! It’s a joke!!”

It’s not. He even made an edit of himself with sparkles and soft music.

You tease him, but truthfully, your heart is melting.

Later, he shows you the drafts he never posted—ones with little rants about how hard he’s working and how he wants to make his fans proud.

You kiss his cheek and whisper, “You already do.”

He makes a post that night: “My s/o found my secret account… and they said I’m doing great. That’s enough for me.”

Tags: @jehhskz @true-queen-of-mischief

Taglist is open.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ © @changbinniescurlyhair

[etanow]

MASTER POST

The Experimental Monster Laboratory, or Monster Labs, is a TADC AU where the cast is in the physical world! Sorta..

C&A Research Facilities is one of the cornerstones of the science and medical worlds! They do everything; funding research, manufacturing equipment, and research into the known and unknown in an effort to understand everything. To the public, that is.

They experiment heavily in everything, from hiring literal Gods on earth to manage the more ..sensitive divisions; mixing machine and magic, technology and the supernatural, genetic experimentation, you name it, they’ve probably done it! The world outside may not know anything of the advancements they’re researching but there is little C&A Labs won’t allow in the name of progress in understanding and cataloging everything in their universe. Our story takes place in one of the more private residencies deep in C&A, belonging to Caine; a minor God with mysterious origins, unknown limitations, and boundless enthusiasm for learning everything he can about his little science friends.

╰┈➤ Content

╚═ Unnamed fic (Coming soon...) ╚═ Bubble can cook?? .

╰┈➤ Asks

╚═ Does Pomni act like a zombie? ╚═ Is Zooble's Demon Snake Leg happy? ╚═ Gangle is in a Situation.png ╚═ Gangle's temperament ╚═ Has Ragatha ever shocked anyone? ╚═ Gangle love RAAAH ╚═ Do Caine and Ragatha fight over Pomni? ╚═ Why did Gangle summon a demon? ╚═ Why does Pomni wear a bell collar? ╚═ Kinger's eye ╚═ What if there was a baby crying? ╚═ Death trauma [Gangle and Pomni] ╚═ Kinger has ONE hobby outside of Bugs ╚═ Is Zooble protective of Gangle? ╚═ What happens when you touch Pomni's brain? ╚═ JAX DATED SOMEONE?? ╚═ What does Jax do? .

╰┈➤ References

╚═ Intro Cards ╚═ Height Chart Lineup ╚═ Zooble Demon Snake Leg Intro Card /j ╚═ Queenie ╚═ Gummigoo ╚═ The Sun Room ╚═ Logo .

╰┈➤ Arts

╚═ First ML AU Post ╚═ Second, exploring outfits ╚═ Design sketches part 2 ╚═ Pomni + flower language ╚═ Showtime + Ragapom doodles ╚═ Jax not practicing lab safety ╚═ Abstragedy cuddles ╚═ Raga doodle ╚═ Ragapom doodle ╚═ Jax and Meadowsweet ╚═ Pomni staring out a fake window.png ╚═ [Gives pomni flowers] ╚═ more doodles ig

.

╰┈➤ Misc.

╚═ Caine Lemon Rant [Animatic] ╚═ Zodiac signs?? ╚═ Caine gets called a Tumblr Sexyman and cries ╚═ Bubble Looksmaxxing ╚═ Jax wants to take ketamine with you (Romantically) ╚═ Caine eats a lemon [Animatic] ╚═ BUNNYSUITSSS ╚═ Magma doodles ╚═ Magma doodles part 2

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╰┈➤ Pomniverse

╚═ Wonderland and Zombni are friends :D

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╰┈➤ Boundaries / Q&A

╚═ Any story plans? I'm not sure yet, currently writing a fic and several comics on the way.

╚═ Any boundaries? None, so go crazy! I am OK with gore, NSFW, angst, violence, etc, just be sure it is tagged/TW'd appropriately as not everyone is OK with that content. I'd also like to see please LOL

╚═ Can we create fanart/fics/content? Can we dub or fancam? Yes of course!! Please tag me, I'd love to see all of it! I'm tracking the tag #TADC Monster Labs AU for other's content

╚═ Is NSFW allowed? Yes, both art and fic, so long as it's marked appropriately I'd very much love to see!

╚═ Can I ship the characters, self-ships, or OC x Canon? Yes, ship away! Just be aware the only au-canon ships are Caine/Pomni, Ragatha/Pomni, Gangle/Zooble, and PAST Ragatha/Jax.

╚═ Can we make OCs? Go on ahead! Here is a PSD file for the blank template and the PNG can be found here.

╚═ Who are you?

✦✧ Hi I'm Audi! 26, she/they. Full-time office worker, I do art in my free time. ✦ My current interests are TADC, RWBY, Looney Tunes, and Trolls. ✧ I draw using a custom PC, a Huion Kamvas 16 (2.5K), and Adobe Photoshop. Currently learning to use Procreate. ✦ I do not RP and this isn't an ask blog, asks interacting directly with characters will probably not be answered. ✧ Asks are not guaranteed to be answered, sorry if yours isn't but please don't spam/send multiple times! ✦ Commissions and requests are not open at this time, thank you. ✧ My main tumblr is Audi-art. My Twitter is Hammerspaced.

[estellan0vella]

More Than Enough Time: L. Mh Lee Minho x fem!reader (College AU)

WC: 11.6K

CW: Anxiety, Menace Jisung, Secret Simp Minho

General Masterlist SKZ Masterlist Part II

The room is alive with the sound of clinking glasses, murmured conversations, and the occasional burst of laughter that slices through the warm air of the grand banquet hall. The dim, golden glow of chandeliers drips overhead, casting a soft light across the elegantly dressed guests.

You sit at the round table, nervously smoothing your hands over the silk of your champagne-coloured gown. Every so often, your fingers toy with the sapphire-encrusted hairpin holding your hair in place, a gift from your grandmother. It's more than a piece of jewellery; it's a talisman tonight, something to cling to.

Beside you, Jisung, your best friend, fidgets in his seat, drumming his fingers on the table. He's dressed in a sleek black suit that contrasts nicely with his hair, but despite the confident exterior, you know he's just as anxious as you are. But for once, it feels like your nerves are trying to outdo his.

"Fuck, why did I agree to this?" Jisung mutters under his breath, glancing at you with wide eyes. "I swear to God, Y/N, if I have to stand up there and give a speech, I might just throw up all over the stage."

You force a chuckle, though it feels weak in your throat. "Join the club. I feel like my stomach's doing backflips. What if I trip in these shoes? What if I can't say anything at all and I just stand there like a fucking idiot?"

Jisung snorts, giving you a sympathetic look. "We're both fucked."

Across from you, Bang Chan, the Alpha Phi fraternity president, leans back in his chair, sipping on a glass of whiskey. His black hair is slicked back, giving him a polished, suave look that almost distracts from the fact that he's one of the rowdiest guys you know. He gives you both a grin that's way too confident for your liking.

"Relax," Chan says. "You guys are gonna crush it. You wrote that article like badasses, now just get up there and take the damn award."

Jisung glares at him. "Easy for you to say, Mr. Football Star. You literally thrive on people staring at you."

"Exactly," Chan grins wider. "Which is why you should listen to me."

You shift in your seat, glancing around the table. You're surrounded by Alpha Phi members tonight, all of whom seem a lot more comfortable in their skin than you feel in yours.

Hyunjin sits next to Chan, looking ridiculously perfect as always. His long black hair falls just past his shoulders, and he's tapping his fingers rhythmically on the table while staring off into the distance. He's receiving an award tonight too, for something in the arts, and though he looks calm, you can see his jaw clenching every few seconds.

"Stop staring at the program," Hyunjin mutters to you without even glancing your way. "It's not gonna change."

You blink, realizing that you've been staring at the folded piece of paper in front of you, the one listing all the awards for the night. Yours and Jisung's, The Innovative Journalism Award, is still about fifteen minutes away, and the waiting is fucking killing you.

"Fuck," you whisper under your breath, more to yourself than anyone else.

Felix, sitting on the other side of Jisung, notices your stress. He gives you a soft, warm smile, his freckles standing out against his fair skin. "You'll do fine, Y/N. We all believe in you."

"Yeah," Jeongin chimes in from the end of the table. His hair falls slightly into his eyes as he leans forward, resting his chin in his hand. He's getting an award too, something for fashion design. "We all know you're the smartest one here, so just relax, okay?"

You nod, but the knot in your stomach refuses to untangle. It's not just about the award. Sure, winning an award for the article you and Jisung wrote, a deep dive into the theory that Jack the Ripper might have been a woman, is huge.

It's the culmination of months of research, late nights, and too many cups of coffee. But the idea of standing in front of a room full of people, having all eyes on you, waiting for you to say something intelligent... it's suffocating.

Minho, who's been quiet up until now, finally speaks. He's seated directly across from you, his deep cherry red hair gleaming under the soft light of the chandeliers. "You'll be fine," he says simply, his voice calm and steady. "Just breathe."

You meet his gaze for a second longer than you intend to, feeling the weight of his words. Minho is always like this. Quietly confident, never too loud or overbearing. He's the type who can make you feel like everything's going to be okay, even when you're pretty fucking sure it's not.

"You make it sound so easy," you mutter, breaking the eye contact and taking a quick sip of your drink, trying to focus on something else. Anything else.

Hyunjin shifts beside you, his gaze flickering to the stage. "It's easy for Minho because he's never nervous. Must be nice to be so fucking chill all the time."

Minho shrugs, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly in a half-smile. "Just a talent, I guess."

Jisung rolls his eyes. "Well, share some of that talent with us because I feel like I'm about to shit myself."

There's a round of laughter at the table, but you can't join in. The knot in your stomach tightens as the minutes tick by. Your hands, now resting on the table, feel clammy. The silk of your gown is suddenly too heavy, clinging to your skin in a way that makes you feel trapped. You know no one else can hear your heart pounding, but it feels deafening in your own ears.

You glance at the stage again, watching as the current award is being presented to some group for their contributions to environmental science. You're not even paying attention to the speech, just counting down the minutes, waiting for your turn. You can feel it creeping up on you. The anxiety. The tightness in your chest, the shallow breaths, the overwhelming need to get the fuck out of this room.

Suddenly, it's too much. The noise, the lights, the heat. You need air. Now.

"I—uh—I need to use the restroom," you stammer, pushing your chair back.

Jisung glances at you, concern flashing in his eyes, but he nods. "You good?"

You nod quickly, too quickly. "Yeah. Just nerves."

Before anyone can stop you, you're on your feet, weaving through the tables and out of the banquet hall. The moment you step into the hallway, the cool air hits your skin, and it's a relief, but only for a second. Your heels click against the marble floor as you make your way down the corridor, your breath coming in shallow gasps now.

You find a small side room and slip inside, closing the door behind you. The silence is almost jarring after the noise of the banquet hall, but you're grateful for it. You lean against the door, pressing one hand to your stomach and the other to your forehead. The room feels like it's spinning, and you squeeze your eyes shut, trying to focus, trying to breathe.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," you whisper to yourself, feeling the panic rising in your chest.

You yank the sapphire hairpin out of your hair, letting your carefully pinned-up style fall apart, the soft strands brushing against your bare shoulders. The pin feels cold in your hand, a grounding sensation, but it's not enough to stop the wave of anxiety crashing over you.

Your stomach twists painfully, and you press harder against it, as if that will somehow make it stop. But it's not working. Nothing's working.

You lean over slightly, bracing yourself on your knees, trying to remember what the hell you're supposed to do in moments like this. Breathe. You're supposed to breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Simple. Easy. Except it's not.

Back in the hall, the crowd shifts with anticipation as the MC steps up to the podium, smiling widely at the gathered guests.

"And now, the recipients of this year's Innovative Journalism Award. For their brilliant work on the investigative article delving into the theory that Jack the Ripper may have been a woman, please welcome Han Jisung and Y/N L/N!"

There's a pause. Jisung's heart nearly jumps out of his chest as he hears your name. He looks over to the seat you left empty minutes ago, feeling the weight of everyone's eyes turning to him.

"Fuck," Jisung mutters under his breath, pushing his chair back and standing up.

The nerves that were already gnawing at him double in intensity. His best friend isn't there to share the load, and now, he's completely on the spot. He glances over at Minho, who's been silently watching him.

Minho, though still seated, leans over slightly. "Where the hell is Y/N?"

Jisung runs a hand through his hair, his heart racing. "She, uh... she went to the restroom or something. She's been freaking out all night. I think she might be having one of her moments, man."

Minho's expression darkens slightly with concern, and he pushes his chair back. "I'll go find her."

"Wait, wait," Jisung hisses, grabbing Minho's wrist as he's about to stand. "What the fuck do I say to them up there?"

Minho glances toward the stage where the MC is starting to look a little confused, waiting for someone to approach. "Make up some bullshit. Tell them she had to take a phone call or something, just so they don't start asking too many fucking questions."

Jisung frowns, his anxiety doubling. "Dude, I can't do this shit on my own."

Minho's eyes soften for a second, something almost rare to see from him. "I know. But you've got this. Just give her the credit she deserves, take the award, and make sure someone films it so she can see it later. Chan will do that. I'll make sure she's okay."

Jisung clenches his fists for a moment, feeling the pressure crushing him. The thought of going up there alone, without you, makes him feel like he's about to pass out. But when he looks into Minho's eyes, he knows he's right. You're the priority right now.

"Alright," Jisung says finally, his voice tight with nerves. "Just... just make sure Y/N's okay, alright? You know how she gets with this kind of shit."

"I'll handle it," Minho nods, his voice low but firm. He claps Jisung on the shoulder. "Now go get the fucking award."

Jisung exhales sharply, watching as Minho slips away from the table, moving swiftly through the hall. He takes a deep breath, feeling the weight of what he has to do next.

"Chan," Jisung mutters to his friend, who is still seated at the table, looking between him and the stage.

"Yeah?"

"Film this for Y/N, alright? Minho's going to find her."

Chan raises an eyebrow but nods, pulling out his phone without a word. Jisung swallows down the rising panic and heads toward the stage, his steps feeling heavy as the crowd watches him.

Minho doesn't waste time as he leaves the banquet hall, moving swiftly down the corridor. His steps echo softly in the quiet hallway, the muffled sounds of the award ceremony still filtering through the door behind him.

He's seen you spiral like this before, and his heart tightens in his chest. You're tough as hell most of the time, but when the anxiety hits, it hits hard. Minho knows that look in your eyes all too well. The panic, the overwhelming urge to escape. He's watched you, time and again, try to fight it, to shove it down, but sometimes, it's just too much.

You're not the type to cry during these moments; that's not how your panic works. Instead, you go silent, withdraw, pull yourself in so tight that it's like you're trying to disappear. Minho's learned to recognize the signs, the little tells. Like how you start fidgeting with your hair or that sapphire hairpin you always wear when you're stressed. The one that belonged to your grandmother. It's your good luck charm, though tonight it seems like it's doing little to stave off the rising storm inside you.

As Minho searches for you, he opens door after door, moving quickly but not frantically. His mind stays focused, methodical. He doesn't need to be panicked; that won't help you. He knows you well enough to know where you'd go in moments like this. Somewhere quiet, somewhere empty.

Finally, he reaches a small room at the end of the hallway, and when he pushes the door open, he sees you.

You're pacing back and forth, your gown swishing gently as you move. One hand is pressed to your forehead, the other to your stomach, like you're trying to physically hold yourself together. Your breathing is shallow, quick, and your eyes are wide with that familiar look of dread.

Minho's heart breaks a little as he watches you. You look so vulnerable, so unlike the confident woman you usually are. Yet, at the same time, there's something undeniably beautiful about you, even now. Even in the middle of your anxiety, you manage to carry a grace that makes his chest tighten for entirely different reasons. But now's not the time for that.

He steps into the doorway and knocks gently on the frame. "Hey, sweetheart," he says softly, using the nickname he's reserved just for you.

You look up, startled at first, but then you see it's Minho. A small, shaky breath leaves your lips. "Hey, Minho," you murmur, your voice quieter than usual.

Minho takes a few steps into the room, closing the door behind him, sealing off the rest of the world. "You doing alright?" he asks, though he already knows the answer.

"Yeah... I'm fine," you lie, but the strain in your voice gives you away. "I just... I don't want to go up there."

He nods, stepping closer to you, not crowding your space but just enough to make sure you know he's there. "I know," he says quietly.

He reaches out, gently placing his hand on the back of your neck, his fingers lightly brushing the soft skin there. His thumb traces over your pulse point, and he can feel how fast your heart is racing.

"It's okay. Jisung's up there right now, telling them you had to step out for an important phone call. No one's gonna make a big deal about it."

You blink at him, processing his words. "He did?"

"Yeah," Minho confirms, his voice soothing. "Chan's filming it too, so you'll still get to see the moment you're credited for the work. Don't worry about it. You don't need to put yourself through that shit."

You let out a small breath, your shoulders sagging with relief. The pressure in your chest eases slightly, though the tightness in your stomach remains. Minho's thumb continues its gentle rhythm on your neck, grounding you, pulling you back to the present.

Suddenly, Minho pulls you into a hug. His arms wrap around you, firm but gentle, and he presses his cheek against yours. The warmth of his body, the solidness of his embrace, catches you off guard for a second, but then you relax into him. He smells like something warm and comforting, and you breathe it in, your arms coming up to grip his shoulders as you rest your head against his.

He holds you tightly, his cheek still pressed against yours, and rocks you slightly, back and forth. It's the same thing he does for Jisung when he's panicking, the pressure of the hug helping to suppress the nervous system, calming everything down.

Minho doesn't say anything for a while, just keeps holding you, his cheek brushing yours, his thumb still moving gently on the back of your neck. His breathing is calm, steady, and before long, you find your own breathing starting to match his.

The scent of your mango and passionfruit body spray lingers in the air, and Minho can't help but smile a little to himself. He's always adored that scent on you. It's light and sweet, just like you, and being this close to you, holding you like this, it makes his heart pound in his chest. But he pushes those feelings aside. Right now, it's about you, not him.

"You're crashing with Jisung at the frat tonight, right?" Minho asks after a moment, his voice low and calm.

You nod against him. "Yeah, that was the plan."

Minho pulls back just enough to look at you, his hands still resting on your shoulders. "Let's get you back then. Fuck these fancy assholes. You earned your award, you don't need to torture yourself by staying here. Take those torture devices off your feet, too. They're not doing you any favours."

You glance down at your stilettos, your brows furrowing. "I should've worn wedges. I hate these fucking shoes."

Minho chuckles softly, shaking his head. He crouches down in front of you, his fingers already working on the small buckles of your stilettos. "Next time, wear the wedges. I know you prefer them."

You watch as he carefully unbuckles your shoes, slipping them off your feet one at a time. His movements are gentle, and something about the simple act of him helping you out of your heels brings another wave of calm. He stands back up, holding your shoes in one hand, giving you a small smirk. "Better?"

"Yeah," you murmur, wiggling your toes against the cool floor. "Better."

Minho slips his suit jacket off and hands it to you. "Here, put this on. It'll help with the cold when we head back."

You take the jacket, pulling it over your shoulders. It's too big, but the weight of it is comforting, and the scent of his cologne clings to the fabric, making you feel a little more secure.

Before you can say anything else, Minho pulls out his phone and quickly dials a number. He holds the phone up to his ear, waiting for the other line to pick up.

"Yo, Felix," he says when the call connects. "I'm taking Y/N back to the frat. She's okay, but she needs to get out of here. You guys good?"

There's a muffled response on the other end of the line, and Minho nods. "Cool. Tell Jisung I found her, and we'll meet you all back at the house later." Another pause and Minho chuckles softly. "Yeah, I know you were planning on ditching after Hyunjin and Jeongin get their awards. We'll see you guys then."

He hangs up the phone and tucks it back into his pocket, turning his attention back to you. "Alright, let's get the hell out of here."

Without waiting for you to argue, Minho crouches down, turning his back toward you. "Get on."

You blink in surprise. "What?"

"Get on," he repeats, glancing over his shoulder at you. "I'm giving you a piggyback. Your feet are gonna hurt like hell if you walk back barefoot."

You hesitate for a second, feeling a little self-conscious, but the look in Minho's eyes is so earnest, so full of quiet understanding, that you don't argue. You slip your arms around his neck, and he hooks his hands under your thighs, lifting you up with ease. The weight of the world seems to fall away as you rest your chin on his shoulder, your arms wrapped loosely around him.

As he starts walking, you close your eyes for a moment, letting the cool night air hit your face as you exit the building. The campus is quiet at this time of night, only the sound of Minho's footsteps echoing softly on the pavement.

"Feel better?" he asks after a few moments, his voice soft.

"Yeah," you whisper, resting your head against his shoulder. "Thank you, Minho. I just... I couldn't handle it in there."

"I know," he replies gently. "And that's fine. There's no point in torturing yourself for an award you already earned. You don't need to prove anything to anyone."

You nod against him, feeling a little lighter with every step. The anxiety that had been clawing at your chest earlier is slowly dissipating, and you can focus on the steady rhythm of Minho's breathing, the warmth of his back against your chest. He carries you across campus with ease, his hands never faltering as he supports you.

"You know," Minho says after a while, his voice cutting through the quiet, "next time you feel like this, don't wait until it gets so bad, alright? Just grab me, or Jisung, or any of us. We've got you."

You smile slightly, your fingers curling a little tighter around his shoulders. "I'll try."

"You better," he says, a teasing note in his voice, though there's still that underlying sincerity that makes your heart warm. "Because if I have to chase you down in the middle of every fancy event, I'm gonna start charging you for these piggyback rides."

You laugh softly, the sound feeling good in your chest. "Deal. I'll make sure to pay you in pizza."

"Now we're talking."

The rest of the walk is quiet, comfortable. You can feel the weight of the night lifting off your shoulders as you approach the Alpha Phi house. By the time you reach the front door, you feel almost like yourself again, thanks to Minho and his steady presence.

When he finally sets you down in front of the house, he gives you a small smile. "See? Not so bad, right?"

You nod, smiling back at him, feeling more grateful than you can express. "Not so bad at all."

Minho grins at you as he unlocks the door to the Alpha Phi house, holding it open for you to step inside. The familiar warmth of the frat house surrounds you, a stark contrast to the cold, fancy banquet hall you'd just escaped from. The moment you cross the threshold, some of the leftover tension in your body melts away.

"Come on," Minho says, his voice low and relaxed, the same voice that had been grounding you since he found you spiralling. "Let's get you something to drink."

You follow him down the hall toward the kitchen, the soft glow of the house's lights making the space feel cosy, almost like home. The tension from the evening still clings to you a little, but Minho's presence beside you is like a steady anchor, keeping you from drifting back into panic.

When you enter the kitchen, Minho heads straight for the fridge, glancing over his shoulder at you. "What's your poison tonight? You look like you could use something strong."

You laugh softly, settling onto one of the barstools at the island, adjusting your floor-length gown so it drapes neatly around you. "Surprise me."

Minho pulls out a bottle of pineapple juice and a bottle of vodka from the fridge, giving you a wink before he grabs a couple of glasses from the cupboard. He makes quick work of mixing your drink, pouring a generous amount of vodka into the glass before topping it off with juice.

He slides your drink across the counter, the clink of the glass against the marble catching your attention. "Vodka pineapple for the lady," he says, raising his own glass. "And a double JD for me because, fuck, we've earned it."

You chuckle, taking the glass and sipping it. The sweetness of the pineapple juice mixed with the vodka goes down smoothly, and you feel some of the remaining tension in your chest loosen. Minho takes a sip of his own drink, watching you with a soft smile.

"You know," he says after a moment, leaning against the counter, "if it helps at all, you were definitely the most beautiful girl in attendance tonight."

You feel heat rise to your cheeks at his words, and you can't help but smile. "You're full of shit, Minho."

"I'm serious," he insists, his eyes twinkling with amusement but also sincerity. "The moment you walked into the hall in that dress, I'm pretty sure every guy there forgot why the fuck they were even attending. It was all eyes on you."

You shake your head, sipping your drink again to hide the fact that his words make you feel more flustered than you care to admit. "Well, I'm not so sure about that, but thanks."

Minho smirks, taking another sip of his drink before his gaze softens again. "It was also pretty fucking sweet how Jisung's pocket square and tie matched your dress."

You grin, finally letting out a genuine laugh at that. "Yeah, he insisted. Said best friends and co-journalists have to match, so everyone knows we're the shit."

Minho chuckles, shaking his head in that fond, almost exasperated way he always does when he talks about Jisung. "Of course he did."

You're about to take another sip of your drink when you suddenly remember something, and your smile falters. "Shit... I forgot my hairpin in the room."

Minho doesn't hesitate. "Don't worry about it. I'll text Chan, and he'll grab it for you before they leave."

You nod, a little relieved. "Thanks. I'd hate to lose it. It was my grandmother's."

Minho pulls out his phone, already typing a message to Chan. As he sends it, he leans against the counter again, taking another long sip of his drink. "So," he says, his voice casual, "to be completely honest, I was supposed to read your article, but I never got around to it. You know, being a veterinary science major kind of takes up all my fucking time."

He's lying, and you have no idea. Minho read that article the moment it was published, studied every word like it was the most important thing he'd ever laid eyes on.

He remembers the excitement in your voice when you first started talking about the project with Jisung, and he couldn't help but get curious. So, yeah, he read it, but he doesn't want to give that away. He wants you to light up and tell him about it yourself, to see the passion in your eyes as you explain your work.

Your face brightens at his interest, and you lean forward slightly, resting your elbow on the counter as you take another sip of your drink.

"Oh my God, you're missing out," you say, your voice already more animated. "Jisung and I have this theory that Jack the Ripper was actually a woman. A midwife, to be specific."

Minho raises an eyebrow, feigning curiosity. "A midwife? That's a hell of a theory. Go on."

You nod, excited now, the exhaustion from the evening momentarily forgotten. "Right? Think about it. A midwife would have had access to all the knowledge needed to perform those surgical cuts on the victims. And during that time, no one would've questioned a woman walking around in blood-covered clothes. She could've been out at all hours, and people would've just assumed she was delivering a baby or something."

Minho swirls the drink in his glass, watching you intently as you explain. "That actually makes a lot of fucking sense. Victorian sexism would've worked in her favour."

"Exactly!" you exclaim, your eyes lighting up. "Back then, no one would've suspected a woman. They were too focused on looking for some deranged man, and the police reports were all written from a male perspective. They overlooked so many possibilities simply because they didn't think a woman could be capable of something so gruesome."

Minho takes another sip of his drink, his gaze fixed on you. "That's pretty fucking brilliant. What about the eyewitness reports, though? There was at least one person who claimed to see a man near one of the crime scenes, right?"

You nod, already ready to dive into that part of the discussion. "Yeah, but Jisung and I argued that just because someone was in the area doesn't mean they were guilty. There are always people wandering around in cities, especially in a place like Whitechapel during that time. Plus, eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable, especially in the dark, in a chaotic place like that."

Minho's lips curl into a small smile as he watches you. You're practically glowing now, completely immersed in the subject matter. This is exactly why he brought it up.

Seeing you like this, seeing you so passionate, it's what he loves most about you. Though he'd never admit that out loud. He sets his glass down and leans in a little closer.

"So, basically," he says, keeping his tone light and teasing, "you're saying Jack the Ripper might've just been an extremely intelligent, sadistic woman who knew how to avoid suspicion by playing into society's sexist expectations."

"Exactly!" you say again, nodding enthusiastically. "It's just a theory, of course, but it fits so many of the facts. And honestly, it makes a lot more sense than half the other theories out there."

Minho chuckles, shaking his head. "I'm impressed. That's some seriously clever shit. I'm pissed I didn't read the article now."

You smirk, taking another sip of your drink. "Well, you can still read it. It's not going anywhere."

"I will," Minho says, though he already knows it word for word. "You and Jisung killed it."

Your smile softens at the compliment, and you feel that warmth in your chest again. The same one that always seems to appear when Minho says things like this. He has a way of making you feel proud of your work, of reminding you that you're capable, even when you don't always believe it yourself.

You glance down at your glass, twirling it in your hands. "Thanks, Minho. It means a lot, really. It was... it was a tough project, but we're both really proud of how it turned out."

"As you should be," he says, his voice soft but firm. "You've always been fucking brilliant. That's why it pisses me off when you get in your head about shit."

You laugh softly, though there's a note of vulnerability in your voice. "Yeah, well, getting in my head is kind of my speciality."

Minho's expression softens, and for a moment, the teasing drops. He steps around the island, standing in front of you as he leans on the counter, his hands resting on the marble surface.

"Listen," he says, his voice lower now, more serious. "I know tonight was rough, but don't let it get to you. You've already proven yourself, not just with the award, but with everything you've done. And you've got people who have your back, alright?"

You blink, a little surprised by the sudden shift in his tone. Minho's always been good at saying the right thing, but this feels different. You meet his gaze, and there's something there, something you can't quite place. It's intense but not overwhelming, grounding in a way that makes your chest feel warm.

"I... yeah," you murmur, your voice softer. "Thanks, Minho. Really."

He doesn't say anything for a moment, just holds your gaze, and then he breaks the moment with a small grin. "Now, how about we ditch this heavy shit and enjoy the rest of the night? We've got the whole house to ourselves for a bit."

You laugh, nodding. "Yeah, sounds like a plan."

Minho taps the counter. "I'll top up your drink."

The door to the Alpha Phi house swings open, and the sound of footsteps fills the hallway as the rest of the guys file in after the awards ceremony. You hear Jisung before you see him, his voice cutting through the noise with its usual mixture of excitement and concern.

"Y/N!"

The moment he spots you sitting calmly at the counter, his eyes soften with relief, but his feet don't slow down. He rushes over, crossing the room in a few long strides, and immediately starts fussing over you like a mother hen.

"Shit, are you okay? You should've texted me or something. I would've ditched and come with you."

You can't help but smile at the sight of him. Jisung's still wearing the matching pocket square and tie that he insisted on wearing to match your champagne-coloured gown, though his suit jacket is a little rumpled now from the event. His hair sticks up in odd directions, no doubt from running his fingers through it a thousand times since you left the hall. He looks stressed, but the sight is comforting in its familiarity. You let him fuss, knowing that this is just what he does. What you do for each other.

"I'm fine, Ji," you assure him, though your voice is soft. "Promise."

Jisung's eyes narrow slightly, his hands gently squeezing your shoulders as he bends down to wrap his arms around you from behind, resting his chin on top of your head. "No, you're not," he mumbles, his voice quieter now, almost like he's talking to himself. "It felt wrong up there without you. I fucking hated it."

You reach up and pat his arms, which are still wrapped around you, a small smile playing on your lips. "I'm sorry."

Jisung shakes his head, pressing his cheek to your hair. "No, I should've ditched with you. You know I hate leaving you alone when you're feeling like that. I shouldn't have left you with Minho, that stinky prick."

"Oi!" Minho's voice cuts in from across the kitchen, where he's leaning casually against the counter, drink in hand. He looks amused rather than offended, a teasing grin on his face. "Who do you think you're talking about, you cheeky fucker?"

You giggle at the exchange, and Jisung, ever the dramatic one, tightens his hold on you as if Minho's words have personally wounded him. "I'm talking about you, you smelly asshole," he says, sticking his tongue out at Minho while burying his face further into your hair, clearly unbothered by his friend's retort.

Minho rolls his eyes but says nothing else, instead taking another sip of his drink and shaking his head in mock disbelief. He watches the two of you with a small smile on his lips, though there's something else lingering in his eyes. Something softer, more careful. He doesn't push the banter further, choosing to stay quiet for now.

The door opens again, and Chan enters the kitchen, looking as polished as ever despite the long night. He's still got his suit jacket on, though it's clear he's ready to relax as he pulls out his phone, glancing around at the group.

"Oi, Y/N," he says, catching your attention. "You left something behind."

Chan reaches into his blazer pocket and pulls out your grandmother's sapphire-encrusted hairpin. Relief floods through you as you realize you'd completely forgotten about it being in a bubble of comfort with Minho. You reach out to take it, but before you can, Minho steps forward and gently takes it from Chan's hand.

"Here," Minho says softly, his voice lacking the usual teasing tone as he approaches you. "Let me."

Jisung watches the exchange with narrowed eyes, his arms still wrapped around you. He doesn't say anything, but you can feel the tension in the way his body stiffens slightly as Minho steps in closer.

Minho's touch is gentle as he slides the hairpin back into your hair, taking care to make sure it's secure. His fingers brush against your scalp, sending a soft shiver down your spine, but you ignore the feeling. When he's done, he gives you a small smile, his eyes lingering on yours for just a moment longer than usual.

"Perfect," Minho says softly, stepping back.

Before you can thank him, Jisung immediately shoos him away, his hands fluttering in the air as if to physically push Minho aside. "Alright, alright, back off, Romeo. I've got it from here."

Minho rolls his eyes again, but there's an amused smirk on his face as he steps back toward the counter, grabbing his drink. "You're so fucking possessive, Ji."

Jisung doesn't bother responding to that, instead wrapping his arms more securely around your shoulders as he glares at Minho's back. You don't miss the way Jisung's grip tightens slightly, though he's still careful not to make you uncomfortable. He's always been overprotective when it comes to you, but lately, it's been more intense. Especially when it comes to Minho.

"Chan, have we got anything to drink?" Hyunjin's voice cuts through the tension as he and Jeongin finally make their way into the kitchen, both of them looking ready to relax after the long night.

Chan nods, already pulling out glasses from the cupboard. "Yeah, yeah. What do you want? We've got plenty left from the last party."

As the group starts grabbing drinks and chatting amongst themselves, Minho silently pours you another drink, setting it in front of you with a small smile. You notice that he doesn't say anything, just gives you a look that says he's checking in without being too obvious about it.

Jisung, meanwhile, is still fussing over you, his arms around your shoulders like a security blanket. He doesn't let go, not even when you shift slightly in your seat to take a sip of your drink. He stays close, watching you with worried eyes as if he's waiting for you to show any sign of distress.

"Ji, I'm okay," you assure him again, though your voice is soft. "Really."

He huffs, not fully convinced. "Yeah, well, I'll be the judge of that."

Chan finishes pouring drinks for everyone and turns to the group with a grin, raising his glass. "Alright, before we get too fucked up, let's do a toast. To Jeongin and Hyunjin for their awards, and of course, to Y/N and Jisung for killing it with that award-winning article."

The group raises their glasses in agreement, and Minho tilts his glass toward you, a grin tugging at his lips. "Cheers to Y/N," he says softly, his eyes meeting yours.

You smile back at him, feeling the warmth of his gaze settle over you like a comforting blanket. It's moments like this, when he's not teasing or throwing sarcastic comments, that you feel a strange connection to him, something that you can't quite put your finger on. But before you can dwell on it, Jisung pulls you closer, pressing a quick kiss to the top of your head.

"To us," Jisung mutters, his voice soft in your ear. "But mostly to you."

You chuckle, clinking your glass against his. "To us."

The rest of the night passes in a blur of laughter, drinks, and the comfortable warmth of being around friends.

Eventually, Jisung drags you up the stairs, leading you through the dimly lit hallway toward his room. After the long, chaotic night of the awards ceremony, and the endless rounds of small talk and congratulations, this is the sanctuary you need. Being around Jisung, your best friend, feels like hitting reset on a night that left your emotions tangled.

"Come on, let's chill," he says as he pushes open his door. His room is just as messy as always. Clothes scattered on the floor, textbooks stacked haphazardly on his desk, and the faint glow of those stars you stuck to his ceiling two months ago.

You flop onto his bed beside him, both of you lying side by side, staring up at the ceiling. The stars glow faintly in the dark, their soft light casting a surreal calm over the room.

"Remember when you made me put these fucking stars up?" Jisung says, his voice half-teasing, half-nostalgic. "I thought they were gonna look stupid, but..."

"They're kind of nice, right?" you finish for him, smirking. "See? You should listen to me more often."

Jisung snorts. "Yeah, well, don't get used to it. This is like, a one-time thing."

The comfortable silence that follows is filled with the distant hum of voices from downstairs, but up here, it's just the two of you. It's moments like this, with Jisung, that you appreciate the ease of your friendship. There's no need to fill every second with conversation. Just being here, next to each other, is enough.

You close your eyes for a second, letting the tension from the night melt away. But then, Jisung, ever the one to break a peaceful moment with something unexpected, speaks up again.

"You know," he starts, and you immediately know there's something coming. His tone is a little too casual. "I was thinking... maybe I should set you up with Felix or Chan."

Your eyes snap open, turning your head toward him, caught completely off guard. "What?"

He's lying there next to you, staring up at the ceiling like he didn't just drop a bombshell on you.

"I'm serious," he continues, his voice still annoyingly nonchalant. "They both think you're amazing and beautiful. Felix especially, he's been crushing on you for ages."

You blink at him, unsure whether to laugh or be genuinely surprised. "Uh... I don't know, Ji. I mean, maybe, but I'd have to think about it."

Jisung shrugs, still staring at the ceiling like this is no big deal. "No pressure. I just think you and Felix could be really good together. He's sweet, thoughtful. Plus, he thinks you're like, Aphrodite-level beautiful."

You snort. "Aphrodite? Really?"

"I'm dead fucking serious," Jisung says, turning his head to look at you. "I've heard him talk about you. The dude practically melts when you're around."

You can't help but smile a little at the thought. Felix has always been a close friend, but you never really thought about him in that way. He's easy to talk to, kind, and funny in that understated way of his.

"I don't know," you say, rolling onto your back again, staring at the stars. "Felix is really sweet, but has he ever actually said anything? Like, to me?"

Jisung shakes his head, waving the question away like it's a minor detail. "No, but come on, he's shy. Attraction is the start, right? You two have good chemistry, and he's definitely into you."

You bite your lip, unsure of how to respond. You've always been close with Felix, and while the idea of a date with him doesn't sound bad, it feels unexpected. Like something you hadn't even considered before tonight.

"And Chan?" you ask, more to fill the silence than because you're seriously considering it.

Jisung shrugs again. "Chan's great too, but he's more focused on school and music right now. I think Felix is the better choice if you're looking for something real, you know?"

You can't help but laugh at how serious Jisung sounds. "Since when are you the expert on my love life?"

"Hey," he protests, sitting up on the bed and crossing his arms. "I'm your best friend. I know you better than anyone, and I know what's good for you."

You roll your eyes. "Right. Of course, you do."

"I'm just saying," Jisung continues, grinning now, "one date with Felix won't hurt. See where things go. If it works out, great. If not, no big deal."

You sigh, leaning back on your elbows. He's persistent, you'll give him that. But there's something about the way he's pushing this that makes you wonder if there's more to it than just wanting to set you up with Felix.

"Okay," you say finally, letting out a deep breath. "Fine. One date won't hurt."

Jisung beams at you, clearly pleased with himself. "Fuck yeah. I'll talk to him tomorrow and make sure everything's set for tomorrow night."

You raise an eyebrow, sitting up fully now. "Wait, tomorrow night? You're already planning this?"

"Yup," Jisung says, completely unbothered by your incredulity. "I'll talk to Felix in the morning. He's probably just waiting for an excuse to ask you out anyway."

"You're ridiculous, you know that?"

Jisung just grins, leaning back on his hands. "You love me."

You roll your eyes but smile despite yourself. "Yeah, yeah."

The room falls into another comfortable silence, the distant sounds of the guys downstairs still faintly audible. You stare up at the stars again, wondering what tomorrow will bring. Felix is sweet, and he's always been a good friend. Maybe this date could be something more.

But before you can think too much about it, Jisung speaks up again.

"Felix is seriously into you, you know," he says, his voice softer now. "He hasn't said it outright, but I can tell. You're the kind of person he'd fall hard for."

You glance over at Jisung, wondering where this sudden emotional shift is coming from. "You're really sure about this, huh?"

Jisung nods, his expression more serious now. "Yeah. I just want you to be with someone who sees how fucking amazing you are. And Felix is one of the few guys I know who would treat you the way you deserve."

There's something about the way he says it that makes your chest tighten. Jisung has always been protective of you, sometimes to the point of being overbearing, but it comes from a place of genuine care. You know he just wants the best for you.

"Okay," you say quietly, more to reassure him than anything else. "If you're that sure, I'll give it a shot."

Jisung breaks into a grin again, clearly relieved. "Good. Trust me, you won't regret it."

What neither of you knows is that Minho is standing just outside the door, his jaw clenched, fists curled at his sides. He's heard every word of the conversation, and it's taking everything in him to not burst into the room right now.

Minho knows exactly what Jisung is doing. He's pushing Felix toward you because he doesn't trust Minho. And it pisses him off more than he can even articulate. Jisung thinks Minho is going to break your heart, that he's just some player who doesn't care. But Jisung has no idea how hard Minho's fallen for you, how much he's been holding back because he's been waiting for the right moment to tell you.

And now, hearing Jisung practically set you up with Felix? It's infuriating.

Minho grits his teeth, leaning against the wall as he listens to your conversation. He could go in there, stop this whole thing, and tell you how he really feels. But he knows Jisung won't make that easy. Jisung will fight him every step of the way because he doesn't think Minho is good enough for you.

But Jisung is wrong. Minho knows he is.

He'll prove it. One way or another.

The restaurant is buzzing with the soft hum of conversations and the clinking of cutlery. You and Felix walk through the dimly lit space, a hostess guiding you to a table near the window. The atmosphere is intimate, maybe a little too intimate. The soft glow of the candles on the table reflects off the wine glasses, making the whole thing feel like the date Jisung had envisioned.

Except, it's not.

You tug at the edge of your black mid-thigh blazer dress, adjusting it slightly as you sit down, your thigh-high stiletto boots brushing against the leg of the chair. The sapphire-encrusted hairpin in your hair catches the light, just like the sapphire necklace resting against your collarbone.

Your grandmother's heirlooms feel like a protective layer tonight, a way to steady your nerves even though Felix has never been the type to make you feel anxious.

Felix slides into the seat across from you, and for a second, you take in his outfit: black slacks and a half-buttoned white shirt, his hands adorned with chunky silver rings. He looks good. And that, combined with the fact that you're both dressed like you're on the cover of a fashion magazine, only adds to the absurdity of the situation.

"Okay," Felix starts, his eyebrows raising as he takes a long look around the room. "This is fucking weird, right?"

You breathe out a laugh, feeling the tension melt slightly. "So fucking weird. What the fuck was Jisung thinking?"

Felix leans back, shaking his head. "I honestly don't know. He cornered me, said something about how I think you're beautiful, and then put two and two together and somehow got ten."

"He's been pushing this since last night. Something about how we'd be 'perfect' together. I guess he thought your opinion on my looks was enough for a love story."

Felix laughs, and the sound is warm and genuine. "Well, to be fair, I do think you're beautiful. I have eyes, don't I? But that doesn't mean I've been harbouring some secret crush on you."

"Thank God," you sigh, leaning back in your chair with relief. "So we can just treat this like a regular friends' dinner?"

Felix raises his glass of wine, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "To a friends' dinner."

You clink glasses, the soft ting sounding like an agreement between the two of you. Already, the night feels lighter. The weirdness of it all slowly dissipates as you both sip your wine and settle into familiar conversation.

"So," you say, gesturing around the restaurant, "if this is supposed to be a 'friends' dinner,' let's make the most of it. What's new with you? Still managing to ace all your classes while simultaneously being everyone's favourite stress baker?"

Felix grins, his eyes sparkling as he leans forward. "Of course. My cookies are keeping half the campus sane, honestly. The other half's still in denial."

You laugh, knowing all too well how Felix's baked goods have gained a sort of cult following around school. He's practically famous for them.

"Speaking of which," he continues, "I made those macadamia nut ones you like the other day. Jisung stole half of them before I could bring them over."

"Typical," you say, shaking your head. "I'll have to fight him for the rest. You know how much I love those."

The conversation flows naturally as you both dive into your usual back-and-forth. The wine loosens you up a bit, and soon enough, you're laughing loudly with Felix, completely relaxed. It feels like any other hangout, the weird pretence of a date"falling away.

The waiter comes by to check on you, refilling your wine glasses as you both finish the first bottle. Felix eyes the bottle in the waiter's hands, then glances at you, a mischievous smile spreading across his face.

"You know," he says, his voice lowering as if he's letting you in on some grand secret. "We could get a free bottle of wine right now."

You raise an eyebrow, intrigued. "Go on."

Felix grins like he's thought of the most brilliant plan. He slides one of the many rings off his fingers, stands up, and before you can even process what's happening, he gets down on one knee in front of you.

The people at nearby tables glance over, curious, but Felix ignores them, focusing entirely on you.

"Y/N," he says in an exaggeratedly serious voice, holding up the ring like it's some priceless artefact. "Will you make me the happiest guy in this restaurant and marry me?"

The wine has quelled any anxiety you might've felt earlier, so instead of feeling awkward, you decide to play along.

"Yes!" you exclaim dramatically, sticking out your hand for him to slide the ring onto your finger. "Of course, I'll marry you!"

The tables around you erupt into applause, people clapping and cheering as if they just witnessed the most romantic proposal of the century. Felix stands up, a smirk on his face, and the waiter, looking entirely caught up in the moment, hurries over to offer congratulations.

"Congrats!" the waiter says, looking genuinely excited. "Let me get you two a complimentary bottle of our finest wine to celebrate."

You barely hold back your laughter as the waiter rushes off. Felix slides back into his chair, grinning from ear to ear.

"I can't believe that worked," you say, shaking your head in disbelief.

Felix raises his glass again, this time with a proud look in his eyes. "To my fake fiancée and free wine."

You clink glasses again, still giggling as you drink to your ridiculous plan. Just when you think it couldn't get better, a couple from a nearby table leans over and says, "We've got your bill tonight. Congrats again!"

You and Felix exchange wide-eyed looks, barely managing to hold back more laughter. "Holy shit," Felix mutters under his breath. "We just hit the jackpot."

As you drink your newly acquired bottle of wine, the night only becomes more fun. The awkwardness that had hung over the evening at the start is long gone, replaced by pure enjoyment. You and Felix settle back into conversation as the restaurant continues to buzz around you.

"So," Felix says after a sip of wine, his gaze drifting toward the sapphire and diamond necklace around your neck. "Tell me about the heirlooms. That necklace and the pin. They've gotta be worth something, right?"

You nod, tracing the edge of your necklace absentmindedly. "Yeah, they are. My grandmother left them to me. She had a lot of money."

Felix leans forward, intrigued. "I had no idea. So, like, how much are we talking?"

You smile, not bothered by his curiosity. Felix has always been straightforward, and you appreciate that about him. "Well, she was a CEO. She raised me after my parents died, so I inherited pretty much everything. I've got shares in her company and in the other businesses she invested in."

Felix's eyes widen slightly. "So you're rich."

You shrug, sipping your wine. "I guess I am."

"Damn," Felix says, leaning back in his chair with a grin. "Jisung never mentioned that part."

You laugh softly. "Yeah, I don't go around announcing it. I'm not really the 'rich heiress' type, you know?"

Felix nods, understanding. "Makes sense. Still, that's kind of badass. You've got all this wealth and power, and you're still just you."

You smile, feeling the sincerity behind his words. "Thanks, Lix."

The conversation drifts after that, touching on light topics as you both finish the second bottle of wine. The restaurant is still bustling, but it feels like you and Felix are in your own little world, enjoying the absurdity of the evening.

After a while, Felix leans back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head. "You know why Jisung set us up, right?"

You raise an eyebrow, your mind still pleasantly buzzed from the wine. "Because he's an idiot who can't read people at all?"

Felix snorts, shaking his head. "Besides that."

You tilt your head, genuinely curious. "No, enlighten me."

Felix grins, but there's something knowing in his eyes. "Well, I'll let you figure that out for yourself. I won't ruin the fun."

You roll your eyes, playfully smacking his arm. "You're such a dick."

Felix just laughs, finishing the last of his wine before setting the glass down with a satisfied sigh. "Hey, I'm just saying, Jisung had his reasons. You'll figure it out eventually."

You shake your head, still smiling as you lean back in your chair. The night has been a whirlwind of laughter, fake proposals, and more wine than you expected. Whatever Jisung's reasons were, you're just glad the evening turned into something fun instead of the awkward mess it could have been.

Felix pulls the car up to your apartment complex, the quiet hum of the engine filling the comfortable silence between the two of you. . It had turned into a night you didn't expect, but somehow, it felt exactly right.

Felix glances at you as you unbuckle your seatbelt. "Well, that was fun."

You chuckle, shaking your head as you gather your bag and open the door. "So much fun. I don't know how we pulled that off."

Felix's grin is playful, his silver rings catching the dim light. "What can I say? We make a pretty good fake couple."

You laugh again, stepping out of the car and leaning back in through the open window. "Goodnight, Felix. Thanks for the... whatever that was."

Felix smirks. "It was an unforgettable friends' dinner. You know, one for the history books."

"Goodnight, Lix," you repeat, still grinning as you wave.

"Goodnight, Y/N," he replies, watching you head toward the building.

As you walk to your apartment, you feel lighter than you have in days. Felix always has that effect on you. He makes everything seem easier, less complicated. The night could've been weird and awkward, but it turned out to be exactly what you needed: fun, simple, and completely free of stress. Jisung's matchmaking might've been misguided, but at least it had resulted in a memorable night with one of your closest friends.

You unlock your door and step inside, immediately kicking off your boots with a sigh of relief. Your apartment is quiet, a stark contrast to the lively restaurant you just left. It feels good to be home, and you head straight to the kitchen, still feeling the buzz of the wine as you pour yourself another glass. The cool liquid slides down your throat, grounding you after such a surreal evening.

As you set the glass down on the counter, you reach up to take off your sapphire necklace, your fingers brushing against the cool metal. You remove the matching hairpin, carefully setting it down next to the necklace before turning your attention to the silver rings on your fingers. You begin slipping them off one by one, the rhythmic movement soothing after such an eventful night.

But then, there's a knock at your door.

You pause, glancing toward the front door with a furrowed brow. It's late, and you're not expecting anyone. Curiosity piqued, you set down the last of your rings and walk toward the door, glass of wine still in hand.

When you open it, you're greeted by a sight you weren't expecting: Minho, standing in the hallway, his expression unreadable, but there's something intense in his eyes.

"Minho?" you say, your voice a little surprised. "What are you doing here?"

He looks at you, his eyes scanning your face, then down to your lips. "Did you kiss him?"

You blink, confused. "What?"

Minho takes a step closer, his voice more insistent. "Did you kiss Felix?"

The question catches you off guard. You feel your heart skip a beat, and suddenly, you're not sure what to say. "No," you answer honestly, "I didn't kiss Felix."

Minho exhales sharply, like he's been holding his breath. "Okay... okay, good."

You raise an eyebrow, still confused by his sudden appearance and his line of questioning. "Minho, what the hell is this about? Why are you asking me about Felix?"

Minho meets your eyes, his gaze unwavering. "Because I still have a chance."

"A chance?" you repeat, feeling even more lost in this conversation. "What are you talking about?"

Minho runs a hand through his hair, clearly agitated, but not at you—more like at the situation. His voice softens when he speaks again, though there's still that intensity behind it. "I lied."

You tilt your head, frowning slightly. "What do you mean, you lied?"

Minho lets out a frustrated breath, looking almost embarrassed for a moment. "About your article. I said I didn't read it, remember? When we were in the kitchen last night, after the awards thing? I told you I didn't get around to reading it."

You nod slowly, still not sure where this is going. "Yeah...?"

"I lied," Minho says, meeting your gaze again. "I read it the second it was published. I've read it more than once, actually. Like an embarrassing amount of times. I said I hadn't read it because I saw how stressed you were about everything, and we were alone, and I knew if I asked you about it, you'd light up. And I wanted to be the one responsible for that."

You stare at him, the weight of his confession sinking in slowly. Minho, always so cocky and teasing, is suddenly standing in front of you, admitting that he'd lied just to see you happy. The realization hits you harder than you expected.

For a moment, you're at a loss for words. "Minho..."

He takes a step forward, closing the space between you, and his voice is quieter now. "Can I come in?"

You nod, stepping aside to let him in. Minho walks into your apartment, the atmosphere between you shifting. He turns to face you, his expression serious, more vulnerable than you've ever seen him.

"I like you," he says, his voice steady. "Like, I really like you. And Jisung knows that. He hates it because he thinks I'm going to break your heart, but I'm not. I swear, I wouldn't do that."

You feel your pulse quicken at his words, your mind racing to catch up. "Minho, I..."

He holds up a hand, cutting you off gently. "You look so fucking beautiful right now, and it's really distracting me. So I'm going to kiss you, if that's okay."

Your breath catches in your throat, but the answer comes easily. "Yeah, that's okay."

Minho doesn't waste any more time. He steps forward, closing the distance between you, his hands gently cupping your face. His lips meet yours in a kiss that's soft at first, tentative, as if he's waiting for some kind of permission. But then you kiss him back, your arms wrapping around his neck, and the kiss deepens.

Minho's hands slide down to your waist, pulling you closer until there's no space left between your bodies. The kiss is slow but intense, each movement deliberate, like he's savouring the moment. You can feel the heat radiating off him, his grip tightening slightly as his hands roam over your back.

You break the kiss for just a second, gasping for air, but Minho doesn't let you go far. His forehead rests against yours, his breath warm against your lips as he speaks.

Minho's forehead rests gently against yours, and the air between you is thick with tension. Your heart is racing, every nerve on edge, and just when you think the silence will swallow the moment, you feel a giggle bubbling up from your chest.

It's ridiculous, the whole situation. The intensity of the kiss, the way Minho's hands feel so warm and grounding on your waist. You pull back just slightly, enough to catch your breath and give him a mischievous look.

"Oh, by the way," you say, trying to keep a straight face, "Felix and I got engaged."

Minho blinks, clearly caught off guard. "Huh?" He stares at you, confusion clear in his eyes, as if trying to piece together whether you're serious or not.

You can't help the laugh that escapes. "Yep," you nod, keeping up the act. "I'm set to marry Felix. So, congratulations, we're now having an affair."

Minho's brow furrows for a second, and then realization dawns on his face. A grin spreads across his lips. "Oh, so that's how it is, huh? I'm the dirty little secret now?"

You smirk, feeling a little more daring. "Exactly. I'm cheating on my fiancé with you. How scandalous."

He hums, his thumb tracing slow circles on your hip. "I don't mind being the side guy. Adds some spice, don't you think?" He leans in again, his breath ghosting over your lips. "Just keep this between us, yeah? Don't want Felix to find out."

The playfulness between you two eases the tension, and you laugh softly, completely forgetting about everything else for a moment. You're about to respond when, out of nowhere, the door to your apartment swings open with a loud bang, making you both freeze.

"No! This is exactly what I was trying to prevent!"

You and Minho quickly step apart, your heart racing for a different reason now. Jisung looks at the two of you with wide, panicked eyes, like he's just walked into his worst nightmare. His hands fly up in the air as he groans dramatically, pacing a few steps.

"This is exactly why I set you up with Felix!" Jisung exclaims, pointing an accusing finger at Minho. "I knew this would happen! And now he's got his STD-riddled claws into you!"

Minho's jaw drops in disbelief. "Okay, hold the fuck up," he says, hands raised in defence. "I have no STDs, and I'd really like to clear that up before we go any further with this conversation."

You take a slow, deep breath, pressing your lips together to hold back a laugh. Jisung, however, is far from amused. He looks like he's about to have a full-on breakdown as he turns to you, his face full of concern.

"Listen to me," he says, his voice urgent. "He's going to break your heart! Minho doesn't do relationships—he just flirts and messes around. He's like a... a... heartbreaker! A professional one!"

Minho rolls his eyes, stepping closer to Jisung, clearly fed up. "Oh, for fuck's sake, Jisung, I've liked her this entire time, and you know that!" His voice is sharp, filled with frustration. "You're the one who set her up with Felix, knowing damn well how I feel!"

Jisung glares right back, crossing his arms over his chest like a protective barrier. "I did it because I know you, Minho. You're all charming and smooth when you want something, but then you bail as soon as it gets serious. I'm not letting that happen to Y/N."

You shake your head, walking over to grab your glass of wine from the counter. The tension between Minho and Jisung has been building, and now it's finally spilling over. You sip your wine, deciding that the best course of action is to stay out of it and let them bicker it out.

Minho takes a deep breath, his frustration visible. "You think I'm going to hurt her? Jisung, you've got no idea how hard it's been trying to be patient with this shit. You set her up with Felix like some overprotective dad, and now you walk in here acting like you're the fucking saviour of the day."

Jisung's face turns redder, and he steps forward, eyes blazing. "You're my best friend, and so is Y/N! I've seen what you do to girls, and I'm not letting you do that to her."

Minho doesn't back down, stepping forward as well, the space between them shrinking fast. "You think I'm like that with her? Do you even know how long I've been waiting to make a move, only for you to play matchmaker with Felix?"

Jisung's mouth opens and closes like a fish, clearly lost for words.

You, on the other hand, take another slow sip of your wine. The back-and-forth between them is almost entertaining. They're like two kids fighting over a toy, except this time, you're the toy, which is both ridiculous and hilarious.

"Look," Minho says, his voice a little calmer now but still firm, "I'm not playing around with her. I've been serious about this, and the fact that you think I'm just going to fuck her over pisses me off."

Jisung throws his hands in the air again, clearly exasperated. "Of course I think that! You're Minho! You don't do relationships!"

Minho rubs a hand over his face, clearly trying to stay calm. "God, you're an idiot sometimes. This isn't just some hookup, okay?"

Jisung doesn't seem convinced. "You expect me to believe that? After everything?"

At this point, you've had enough. You walk over to Jisung, wine glass still in hand, and without a word, you pour the rest of the wine into his mouth. He tries to protest, but you give him no choice. He swallows the wine, sputtering slightly as he looks at you in surprise.

"Go sit in the living room," you say, pushing him toward the door with more force than you probably should. "We'll deal with you later."

Jisung stumbles into the living room, still flustered and clearly not done with the argument. But before he can say anything else, you shut the door and lock it, effectively trapping him inside.

Minho watches the whole thing unfold with an amused smile. "You know it's going to take him about an hour to realize he can unlock that from the inside, right?"

You shrug, turning back to face him with a grin. "That gives us about an hour of peace."

Minho's smirk widens as he steps forward, his hands sliding around your waist again. He pulls you close, and the heat between you reignites instantly. "There's a lot I can do in an hour," he murmurs against your lips, his breath hot and teasing.

Your heart skips a beat as you wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him even closer. "Oh yeah?" you whisper, your voice daring.

He kisses you again, this time with more urgency, and you melt into it, your body pressing against his. His hands slide down to your thighs, and in one swift motion, he lifts you off the ground. You instinctively wrap your legs around his waist, holding onto him as he carries you through the apartment.

"Bedroom?" he asks between kisses, his voice low and filled with need.

"Second door," you manage to say, your voice breathless.

Minho kicks open the door to your bedroom, not bothering to turn on the lights as he carries you inside. The door swings shut behind you with a satisfying thud, and with that, the world outside ceases to exist.

All that matters now is the heat between you, the feel of his hands on your skin, and the promise of what's to come in the next hour.

Minho kicks the bedroom door shut behind him, and in that moment, you know that an hour is more than enough time.

[paracosmicka]

i've contemplated sending u an ask here for like 2 days regarding ur sonadow art and oufhgh i have to say it is so,, so gentle like the intimacy and softness of it all/pos i hardly see artists that explore the intimate cuddly drawings without the sexual coding so finding your art is so nice?? like refreshing nice as an aroace person bc in my perfect world, many little guys are just cat coded and it's so so cool to me to have found ur art out in the wild also for the mpreg stuff youre literally one of the most normal ppl i've seen draw/bring it up lol, i'm aware so many ppl like to meme on it or make it a fetish which tbh is pretty transphobic, so i'm just really glad you steered it away from that direction and displayed it as something normal and gentle given the context of the au/lh

first off thank you this is such a nice message and i love that people also feel the vibes of soft and intimate from my sonadow art that’s my only ever goal whenever i drew them 😭😭

second off FELLOW AROACE PERSON ACQUIRED 🫵‼️like omg you get it i love thinking about ships in a cat coding way if that makes sense but especially sonadow bc they’re animals so i just love thinking about them as little guys i can put in my pocket just like my cat

like idk if this is an aroace thing bc i don’t hear it described in a way that i relate to exactly so this might just be me but basically: i’ve always loved romance and ships in fiction but as i got older i slowly realized that i don’t think i can feel it for myself. which kinda made me sad at first because the idea of having a partner always seemed so nice, that was the main reason i didn’t think i was aroace at first because i thought i had always wanted to be in a relationship. i did some research and looked into different identities on the aroace spectrum, and thought that cupioromantic was probably the most accurate to what i was feeling, but later didn’t feel like it applied to me because i think the “enjoys the idea of being in a relationship” doesn’t fit right? ig?? idk how to describe it other than i like the idea of relationships, but it took me awhile to realize that i didn’t really want to apply myself in one if that makes sense.

most likely there’s a thing or word out there that already exists to describe that and i just haven’t been looking up the right terms, but basically this is just a very very long way of saying that i feel like whenever i get into a ship it sorta..…attaches?? to my very identity or something?? like i know people can be like “this is my OTP i love them forever and think about them literally all the time” and it’s like YES that’s me but also feels like an understatement, like all of my past hyperfixations on ships are literally ingrained into my soul even i’m not that into them anymore. and i know people compare hyperfixations to relationships and tbh that’s probably the most accurate description but again, that feels like an understatement.

okay honestly idk where i’m going with this i think what i’m TRYING to say is that i feel like because i can’t feel romance for myself my appreciation for ships feels so much more…emphasized, and sonadow is like the longest consistent hyperfixation i’ve ever had on a ship and at that point usually when something has been a “hyperfixation” for 2+ plus years i put it on the special interest display case in my brain except that display case has only ever had like hobbies and fandoms themselves, never an actual fictional relationship that i’m obsessed with but here we are. it might be the development of brain has synched up with this specific hyperfixation but sonadow is the first ship that makes me feel genuinely happy to this degree. it doesn’t make me sad to think about them and also go “aw i’m sad because i’ve never felt that way about another person and probably won’t experience that ever” in the exact same way you would go “aw i’m going to be dead someday” when you think about the fact that you’re alive right now and conscious and exist and have a mini existential crisis of the week. like sonadow doesn’t do that to me, i really just love those stupid fucking gay hedgehogs so much they’ve actually changed the entire layout of my brain and all the neurons and shit they’re everything to me.

ANYWAY JESUS CHRIST sorry for the ramble uhhhh lemme know if you or any other aroace people know what the fuck i was trying to say there hope you’re doing well and also happy new year!!!

[shaiyasstuff]

hiii, I love your writings so so much and every time I open the app I hope to see a new post of yours <3 usually I don't ask for stuff because I know writing is difficult and demanding, I write for myself sometimes just for fun and it takes a lot of brain working that I do not have lmao but if you do something similar to what I'm craving for I would be really really happy!

Basically I'm just a big nerd woman, I love anime and video games the most, it's the joy of my life besides doing art, and recently I've been thinking of my past bcs my birthday is in 8 days and reminding how bullying was a thing for girls like me (I'm over it now I'm almost 26 lol but some scars are permanent) and I would love to know how you vision the lads man enjoying/inserting themselves in their partner world of likings, maybe thrilled with how much knowledge you have about it all? bcs again, I'm reeeally into it and I love knowing/reading everything lol lore obsessed for sure (if possible something with valorant/league of legends/star rail if you know some of them but it can be anything seriously, and please nanami from jujutsu kaisen especially for zayne because they are my husbands 4 life and I love them the most ><) also I love your pfp, frieren is AMAZING!!!

Anyways, thank you very much for sharing your hardwork and beautiful mind, you're amazing and I hope you never stop writing what is in your heart <3 love you

SKSKSK ANOTHER FRIEREN FAN!! Hot take: Frieren deserves AOTY i dont care what others say XD Thank you so much for requesting this!! This was so much fun to write and honestly so so so so cute! I giggled a little too much imagining our boys just being with us (not mc, US, the real us)

So here is your request written below!! Do tell me if it’s not satisfactory >.< (I don’t play Star Rail so I did some research, if it isn’t accurate pls dont kill me) @goddamn-it-girl

Sylus

Sylus never really got video games.

“Why waste time in virtual battlefields when the real world demands strategy?” he’d say with a dismissive wave of his hand, like he was too good for flashy pixels and keyboard tapping.

But then one night, you’re in your usual spot, headset on, deep in a League match. You mutter under your breath, almost without thinking—

“God, I wish Sylus was more like Kayn’s Shadow Assassin form.”

And just like that, he’s behind you.

No warning. No hello.

Just standing there, arms crossed, eyes glued to your screen.

He doesn’t say much at first. Just watches.

“Hm,” he hums thoughtfully as your fingers fly across the keyboard—Q, Q, D—blink forward, another kill.

“It doesn’t seem that hard.”

Next week, you walk into the room after a long day—bag dropped, shoes kicked off—only to find him hunched at your desk.

Your computer’s on. He’s wearing your headset.

You watch, amused, as he furiously taps keys with a strange kind of intensity. His brows are furrowed.

And then you catch his champion.

You cross your arms, smirking.

“I cannot believe you got jealous over a video game character.”

Sylus scoffs, not even turning away from the screen.

“I wasn’t jealous. I’m learning to jungle. That way I can protect your lane.”

You laugh, falling into your spot beside him like it’s second nature now.

Because you know that’s not really why.

He just likes the way your eyes light up when you win.

Rafayel

Rafayel shares your love for video games.

He gets your obsession with Star Rail.

He’s the type to sit right next to you as you ramble about lore for the hundredth time, nodding along like it’s the most important story he’s ever heard.

“I’m telling you, Natasha is literally the coolest—like, hands down.”

“Hm. No,” he says, already smiling. “Himeko’s the coolest.”

Cue the dramatic banter.

You clutch your chest like you’ve been wounded. “How dare you.”

“Hey, I don’t make the rules.”

So you fake a cry, full-on pout and teary eyes.

He sighs dramatically, hands in the air. “Okay! Okay! Natasha’s the coolest! The best! The queen!”

You flash him a smug smile. Victory.

Then, one afternoon, you finish cooking lunch���something warm, something he usually comes running for the second it hits the air.

But today? Nothing.

Frowning, you head to the bedroom.

The door creaks open and—

There he is, slouched over the study table, completely zoned in. His brows are drawn together, pencil in hand, the quiet scratch of graphite filling the room.

“What are you doing?” you ask, curious.

He jumps like he’s been caught red-handed and slams the sketchbook shut, hugging it to his chest.

“Nothing!” he says way too fast, flashing you that boyish grin. “Is lunch ready?”

You laugh, shaking your head, and motion him to follow.

But back in the room, the sketchbook still sits on the table, forgotten in his rush.

One page left open—just enough for you to see it.

A carefully drawn sketch of you, soft and radiant, dressed as Natasha.

Of course he thinks she’s the coolest.

She looks a lot like the person he loves.

Xavier

Xavier would be insanely good at Valorant.

He saw you play once. Literally once.

And the next weekend?

There’s suddenly a whole PC setup right next to yours—dual monitors, custom keycaps, matching chairs.

He’s ready.

You blink at the setup, suspicious.

“What is this?”

“I figured we could grind to Immortal together,” he says like it’s the most casual thing in the world.

And he means it.

The first time you watch him play, you’re slack-jawed.

“How are you so good at this?”

He just shrugs, smug. “I’ve got good hand-eye coordination.”

Cheeky bastard.

But he’s not just good at the game—he’s good at being with you.

He’ll pull you into his lap on the couch after a long match, your legs draped over his, your hands gesturing wildly as you talk about Omega Earth lore like it’s gospel.

And he’s right there, nodding along with genuine interest.

He treats your passions like art.

When you draw your Reyna and Gekko ship, he’ll lean in over your shoulder, voice soft.

“You know what would be cool? What if Agent 7 wasn’t Reyna’s little sister, but actually the real founder of Valorant?”

You pause.

“You can’t just—drop lore like that—”

“Oh, and did you know if you wallbang that corner on Lotus with a Sheriff—”

“That makes so much sense!” you gasp, and then immediately groan. “No wonder I’m hard stuck Gold.”

He just grins. Because he doesn’t just drop into your world for the weekend—

He builds a home in it. Right beside you.

Zayne

Zayne wouldn’t just support your love for anime—he’d understand it.

He’d see the depth in it the same way you do.

You’d spend nights curled up on the couch, Jujutsu Kaisen playing on loop, your eyes wide and shining with every fight scene, every emotional beat.

He’s right beside you, always—arm slung around your shoulder, fingers tracing lazy circles on your arm as he watches with quiet attention.

He’d chuckle softly whenever you’d throw yourself back dramatically, clutching your chest and declaring, “I can’t do this,” after every tragic death.

He’d never mock it—he’d just pull you closer.

Then one night, he wakes up to an empty bed.

It takes him seconds to notice your absence—your warmth, the subtle weight of your presence.

He pads into the living room quietly, finding you exactly where he expected.

Curled up on the couch, legs drawn to your chest, your face softly lit by the glow of your phone screen.

You’re scrolling through endless fanart of Nanami—

Nanami glowing with cursed energy.

Nanami, suit wrinkled, tie loose.

Nanami, unwavering, standing tall even as the world tries to break him.

Zayne doesn’t say a word.

Just walks over and gently lifts you into his arms, settling you onto his lap like you belong there.

Let’s be honest, you do.

You hesitate, then murmur, almost shyly, “He reminds me of you.”

Your fingers toy with the hem of his shirt.

“Not just the suit thing. It’s the way you carry yourself. How you protect the people you love. Even when it costs you.”

He’s quiet for a beat, then nods.

“I see myself in him too.”

You giggle, already scrolling to show him more—

“Wait, look at this one. And this one. And oh my god this—”

He just smiles. Soft. Reverent.

Because he doesn’t just tolerate your love for anime—

He sees the soul of it reflected in you.

And maybe, just maybe, in him too.

[haverdoodles]

i can see that you literally traced directly over the screenshots in your varric/hawke/solas painting. i found the exact timestamp and took screenshots, you drew directly over them leaving varrics armor and the background as if you drew that shit yourself. didn’t even admit it when someone complimented your rendering, that’s a shame.

LMAOOO??

i never claimed to paint the whole thing from scratch? i painted solas and varric's faces & added some additional brush strokes to the armour to make it blend in better, as well created the entire hawke panel. i then manipulated the colours and effects of the backgrounds to make it all cohesive. your ask is not a 'gotcha', the workflow method i used is a technique called photobashing 😭 which artists do all the time...

and i DID render solas and varric's faces. that is my art style you are staring at. i spent hours painting varric in fact. also, if you spent even a second scrolling through my profile, you would know that i am capable of making my own illustrations completely from scratch 100% painted, i just chose not to this time for simplicity. in your attempt to make me feel badly over my own artwork, i believe you forgot to pause and consider this.

in the future please consider researching artistic techniques before going in on someone guns blazing. thank you!

here are the original screenshots i referenced and painted over for anyone who would like to see.

[kidicaruslover911]

blue eye samurai actors AU headcanons ft reader

tw: none except for the mention of M*k*o, not proofread, pitiful attempt at being humorous at 1 in the morning

a/n: i snuck a few references in here onto the bes cast, see if you can find them!! let’s just pretend you got akemi’s role. plus i did this on a whim please do not crucify me if i got certain details things wrong about the acting domain😔🙏 I MISS MY WIFE OH MY GAWWWD anyway, ENJOY!

Interviewer: Who are you?

Taigen: “Man, I be that pretty motherfucker man…”

Interviewer: “Taigen?”

Taigen *smug ass smile while nodding in agreement*: “Yessir”

Interviewer: “Tokunobu?”

Taigen*nods again*: “Yessir”

Madame Kaji *was probably told some bizarre joke by Fowler a second ago and let’s out the loudest laugh ever while covering her mouth*: “OH GOD- *keeps on laughing* I am uhm.. I’m Madame Kaji!”

Ringo: “Who are you-” *cackles like a witch*

Interviewer: “You’re Ringo?”

Ringo *stops abruptly*: “yeah, I’m Ringo yeah”

Interviewer: Who are you?

You: “My name is Beyoncé- Nah I’m just playing. It’s Y/N, I act and I sing and I Love reading fanfiction and I do stuff and stuff!”

Interviewer: And who are you?

Mizu: “I’m…Mizu…*awkward silence* the vengeful and badass samurai, yeah that’s me.”

Interviewer turns the mic towards a certain redhead.

Fowler: “Uhm Ed…I’m Ed today.”

- Originally you had simply accompanied a friend who absolutely wanted the role of ‘Akemi’ to an audition

- You had a vague idea of what the plot of the series was and either way it wasn’t like you were that much interested in acting

- But from your looks, mannerisms and personality as soon as you had walked in the directors almost immediately insisted on having you play the script (with no experience might i add) out to them and decided you'd make a perfect princess

- Yeah very odd but just like that you ended up getting casted for an upcoming Netflix series‼️

- You didn't waste a second to tell your girlfriend about this series and how they were still looking for the mc

- They were looking for an androgynous wasian female, at least least 5’7ft (170cm) tall, a good voice range, somewhat athletic and some sort of basic knowledge in martial arts.

- No prior acting skills needed, which was quite a gamble tbh

- Because of the amount of people that wanted the role, a face to face audition was not possible

- And what do you know?

-You absolutely suggested her as the mc, it was literally her

-Same name too I mean seriously-

- Girly did NOT want to send in that audition tape, you practically had to beg her to do it, because you just knew she’d rock

-She was happy for you but the whole revenge thing simply didn't ring anything within her

- Kind of felt as if you were putting way too much faith in her

- Took you weeks of convincing and even when she did send in the audition video it was on the last day like 30 minutes before the deadline😭

- Did the audition with zero intentions of getting casted, literally just read the script with her attitude and ran with it

- Expected everything but a positive feedback and it was only when she found out that the directors loved it that she sort of decided to take this acting stuff seriously.

- And since you were going to be there as well, she guessed that it wouldn't be all that much of a drag

- The two of you started journaling but from the pov of your character, researching about Edo Japan and you’d read each others thoughts from time to time and try to explain your understanding of your characters feelings to one another

- Both of you had too loose some weight and locked into the gym like never before

- It’s not like any of you were professional actors either way so,

- Mizu was very open to criticism and eager to learn

-and she learned fast too

-also pretty easy to be around.

- Kept looking for ways to better her acting and Fowler sort of became her mentor in that domain

-She quickly surpassed his expectations ngl

- That was genuine fear btw he later joked about how he almost pissed his pants at her performance

- Says he can’t wait to see her in more shows and different genres!

-Although Mizu wanted to take a well deserved break after BES

- At some point your girlfriend decided to rent a one room apartment and go into solitary confinement to fully concentrate on her role as Mizu, the self loathing samurai

- Method acting!

- Swordfather and Fowler were long friends before the BES

- You and Ringo literally became cousins the second you met on set, the two of you had a signature greeting and everything 🤎

- The directors were NOT playing when it came to the minuscule details such as the accuracy of either your walk or how you bowed, how you held your head, how you ate-

- Months and months of training, especially for both you and Mizu, five days a week, 3-4 hours fighting choreography hammered into her skull and it showed

- Which resulted in her being able to do a good 70% of her stunts

- Dislocated her left shoulder and almost broke her rib in this scene

- It freaked the shit out of you and they had to stop filming for a few days. Mizu had to spend a full week reassuring you that she was still alive and breathing and doing well

-The stunt in question didn't make it any easier to believe

- Claimed it was ‘just a funny bone’💀

- Months and months of training and practicing japanese edo period courtesy for you, five days a week, 3-5 hours of walking like a princess, dancing, talking, studying renga, Ikebana and many more Japanese arts from that period of time, getting used to them heavy robes on you, THE HAIR AND PINS

- You could NOT lay down with these traditional hairstyles, you’d have professionals do it once a week and they’d expect you to keep it for that full week

- Your head felt heavy af

- You had to sleep on a takamakura (small elevated wooden pillow) to not mess up your hair which helped immerse yourself even more into your role

- They had literal specialists of the period to show you how it goes, kimono’s that hadn’t seen the light of day in centuries where whipped out to be replicated for your measurements specifically

- It was a lot

- But it all paid off in the end!

- Your girlfriend would forget to tune back her voice even after filming, you never bothered to mention it though

-Her low voice stayed even weeks after the shooting of the series but you didn’t mind it at all🙏

-It was like hearing her morning voice 24/7 lmaooo

- In this scene Mizu accidentaly struck the training sword way to high up in between that man’s legs and crushed his nuts real bad.

- Spent the entire week apologizing and looking after the guy for the rest of the filming

- Ringo sort of got adopted by you and Mizu on set and kept having mini panic attacks whenever Mizu executed her stunts 😭

- She had the two of you in a chokehold.

- The scene where Ringo unintentionally asks Mizu how two girls in a brothel could work was genuine and not scripted and both you and Mizu had fight for your lives to stay in character

-After filming the scene where Mizu lets the guards take you away the whole set jokingly kept calling it your character's 'breakup scene'

- Swordfather is Ringo’s real life dad!!

- Mizu’s a natural at improvising comebacks, mainly because she couldn't get a hang of quite a few lines but that didn't stop people from being baffled by her quickness.

- Like, she just makes stuff up and it works

- "…it's trash", “Should I’ve been counting?” and "I like your hair" were one of the many lines that were not scripted but they still kept it in.

- Mizu's reaction in the scene where she sees you in that carriage for the very first time in the series was very much real

- like she was NOT prepared.

- jaws on the floor and everything, that afternoon the directors had made sure she hadn't caught as much as a glimpse of you in the robes and makeup on set to get the most authentic reaction possible and it WORKED.

- The script only said "stares curiously" but her longing ass made it 100 times better HAHHAHAA

- no but really she was admiring the view and Fowler claimed that it almost looked like she was about to chase that carriage

-genuinely could not take her eyes off of you in general but with you role as the princess it became 50 times worse

-could not stop complimenting you and if it weren't for her character she would've gotten all the more touchier

- Even if Taigen was supposed to be your lover you couldn’t even remotely stand him as a character but formed a good friendship with him on set

-He was actually getting engaged irl!!

- You could NOT keep a straight face after saying the fish line “I’d marry you even if you were the son of a poor fish” with Taigen and kept on bursting out laughing, you didn’t know why you found it so funny

- The sex scene with him was…something 💀🙏🙏

- He kept asking you and Mizu if he had both yalls approval

-Very mindful

- The directors couldn't really bring in a double for this...

- It’s not like y’all were fucking for real and there wasn’t much passion between you and him either way

- And you weren’t truly naked either to so it was just very bland and you didn’t really know what to think of it

- The scene that followed had to be shot a good 15 times because of how awkward the whole situation was…you could NOT keep a straight face, they ended up making the scene shorter than it was supposed to be

-The fact that you had to act as a seductress of men the more the story went on was super strange to you at first but you sort of got over it (you never really liked it tbh)

- Mizu accidentally kept hitting Taigen too hard during the chopstick fight😭

- Which was also his fault because in the beginning she actually tried to avoid hurting him seriously but Taigen really just screamed

- "COME AT ME FOR FUCKS SAKE. I want to kill you, BE ANGRY, BE COCKY. Show me what you can do, show me that you’re better than me!!”

- It made her act more intensely

- Accidentally knocked Taigen out for real with the broken blade

- Taigen jokingly kept apologizing to you when they shot that scene where he beats the crap out of Mizu after the chopstick fight because he knows how little you like the character he plays

- Fowler kept making gay bed chem jokes with Heiji and bro was a victim💀🙏

Ringo is probably taking a video of the scenery's set from the Edo castle until the camera falls onto a casually eating and conversating Heiji and Fowler

They're just standing there with coffee and a bagel. It's break time.

But the moment the smartphone's lens captures the duo, this huge redhead smirks and grasps yet another chance to embarrass his poor colleague.

Fowler with an arm swung around Heiji: "Me and Heiji cuddle and watch Smack DVD" :333

You can hear Ringo holding back a snort behind the phone before almost immediately wheezing at the thought. The camera shakes slightly from it.

Heiji (this was probably this man's last straw) *deadpans and stares into the cameraman's soul*: "| don't cuddle-*

You *peeking in from the corner of the screen*: "He be licking this guy's hair like 'UGHHH😝’

You lean into Heiji's personal space with the demonstration while humoring Fowler and simultaneously having him crack the loudest cackle ever.

Heiji shaking his head at you *he's about to end it all*: "I don't- I don't do that. That's not true-"

You stop him midway of his excuses in a 'and i'm going to hold your hand when I say this' type of way:

"I know you don't do that-"

Fowler plops up between the two of you with a grinch smile, a hand on both of your shoulders and he really looks like he's trying to rizz up the camera man😭:

“I do that.”

Ringo, Fowler’s and your own laugh could be heard throughout the entire set and Heiji could only pinch his brows in visible defeat, the video ends there.

- Fowler was probably one of the the nicest men you’d ever met, very supportive and kind and even if you had zero scenes with him, you still hung around him a lot

- great life coach!

- Biggest fan of older Disney movies and Tom and Jerry, and I mean like the 1940s - 1980s cartoons

- Made you feel super safe at first but when you saw him in his element he did scare the shit out of you sometimes

- A proud you x mizu shipper too

- Has tons of pictures of the two of you sleeping in on each others shoulders on set, goofing around, videos of you reciting your lines to each other...

- His favorite is by far the one after the thousand claw army scene was shot, where you have an arm around her shoulder, leaning into her face while staring at the camera and flashing a peace sign next to her cheek. You were also pressing a kiss on it. There is a trail of fake blood trailing across your face and Mizu’s clothing seems ruined with filth

- Your girlfriend has her own arm snuck around your waist, her other hand is holding her naginata/sword, face painted in fake blood as well while rolling her eyes with a soft smile.

- Y’all managed to look silly while barely surviving a hundred men’s attack😭🙏

- He printed it out and signed it ‘disaster lesbians <3”

- Fowler affectionately calls the two of you ‘Boney and Clyde’ 💀🤎

-Mizu wearing Taigen's scarf lowkey made you jealous even if you had to admit that it suited her so well

- You were highkey fangirling when you first got to meet Madame Kaji's actress face to face like...Mulan's VA fr??? The legend?

- Also just look at the woman, absolutely stunning.

- She thought that you were the cutest and you two couldn't wait to get your scenes together

- This lady helped you boost your confidence in your acting

- Madame Kaji was quite literally everyone's mom/idol on set

- literally such a diva but still very humble

- Chainsmoker but surprisingly doesn't smell, or at least not in an unpleasant way

- She makes the best tiramisu

- Kept soft parenting everyone

-Ringo and Kaji had already known each other irl and they were ALWAYS on smoking breaks together although he doesn't smoke

- Both him and Fowler deeply respect her and her work

- These two (Kaji and Fowler) were gossip and wine aunts trust.

-Ringo once ate Oreos on set but in the way where you separate the two biscuits and nibble on the filling first and then you eat the rest.

-That's when you realized he really was your brother from another mother

-Heiji kept saying that this is sacrilege‼️

- The scene where you drugged Mizu's cup and she's playing stupid while trashtalking Taigen was a challenge for you, they had to redo 7 takes because you kept forgetting that you were supposed to hate her and she was your target to kill it was ridiculous 😭

*Mizu almost drinks the sake*

“Hot”

“Where I’m from that’s how the men prefer it.” *you clear your throat*

*Long awkward silence where Mizu has to hold back a smile*

“And I’d also prefer not to be so nuts to that damn line I cannot remember it- And stop looking at me like that” 💀

Your line was “Kyoto”🙏🙏

CUT!!!

-You absolutely wanted to lunge at her but for all the wrong reasons..

- And Mizu's smug ass was not helping, she genuinely couldn't stop laughing and teasing you after the final take.

- You also had no idea Mizu was supposed to straddle you-

- Another thing that wasn’t scripted.

- On your script it only said that she'd pin you to the ground which was already a lot to handle in the first place,

- but you were really good at staying in character and since you were genuinely struggling and putting up such a fight against her, Mizu just decided to full on straddle you, yup

- And when she leaned down,

QUIET ON SET!

ROLL SOUND!

ROLL CAMERA!

bes scene #254 take 1

ACTION!!

*you almost die when you feel her hips press down on you*

- "You think I don't remember you? Princess Akemi of the Tokunobu clan. You drugged my cup"

-"I wish it was poison"

- That's when Fowler whisper screams "ok now KISS!!!" off camera and the entire set had to hold it in, like there was so much tension between the two of you even the directors had to let out a little laugh.

-They had to cut it out

"A fucking brat." 'Mizu your line was 'I see why he likes you. You're just like Taigen when we were children. Pathetic'

- They still kept her own version.

- It definitely made you feel some type of way.

- Mizu could not stop crying for like a solid 30 minutes after shooting the scene where she kills Kinuyo, somehow it felt way too personal

- You had to hold her that entire night too

- Almost threw up when she had to make it look like an accident even though she knew that everyone was doing well

- There were also moments where people just couldn’t speak with her beforehand or else she would break character, for example the scene where M*k*o betrays her...she asked to be left alone for a good 30 minutes before filming it, that's how committed she ended up being to her role

-The chest bindings...(!!!)

-Her performance made you so proud- like you knew she would be amazing but it also had you very worried about her mental state

- Definitely sought therapy after shooting the series, her character had forced her to go into deep dark places in order to act out the female rage parts the best she could and it showed

- In this scene your very first reaction was the realest ever

bes scene #401 take 1

ACTION!

“Rabbit liver in a velouté of what now?” 😭😭😭

CUT!!

- You knew about this beforehand of course but still

- One of the interesting things was the period accurate food and how much they tried to stay true to the recipes.

- Like reading about it and then seeing and smelling it irl are two different things

- Instead of horse semen they did end up using egg white

- The rabbit liver was rabbit liver tho

- First bite almost made you choke by instinct but you swallowed it anyway

- Ouhhhh they were trying you which made you even better at forcing you to stay in character, because that’s exactly what the princess is going through. She can't afford to mess up

- The scent was everything but appealing but lucky you they replaced what was supposed to be pig blood with very dark grape juice, not that it really helped but that was one less horrible thing

- You were supposed to take one bite only, a once in a lifetime experience!

you almost died and had to reshoot 4 times because you kept gagging

another blooper-

"Many famous samurai prefer the stamen to the pistil"

-So what happened here was that miss Mizu had once again forgotten her line and instantly replied “I’m not gay.” to Madame Kaji’s advances 💀

- So Madame Kaji just played along

“You’re not?” *visibly confused, like 'huh🤨'??*

“No….I mean not like that-“ *side eyes the camera*

“A lot of lying today-” *she's now smirking*

“I have a partner of my own” *The girl already messed up the scene so it doesn't really matter what she says next*

"Then it appears that the gentleman might simply prefer the petal against... another petal" *Mizu immediately whips her head at the woman with a cocked brow (she's trying to stay in character so bad, but she's also simply speechless) who cannot contain her amusement any further and laughs brightly*

CUT!!

-Another personal headcanon I have is that Lady Itoh and Madame Kaji knew each other irl and had a short affair-

I should sleep!

If you also miss our vengeful, silly and murderous blue eyed queen then you should defintely read my fanfiction on ao3!

The Damsel of Devastation Masterlist

alright seriously now.

I should sleep.

[vulcajes]

also pls talk to me about hope lupin anything everything all of your thoughts hcs opinions !!!

AHHHHHH I LOVE HOPE SO MUCH <333

60s it girl. Literal fashion icon. She is in the cuntiest outfits smoking cigarettes and serving absolute face card

She was 18 when she met lyall and he was 22. She was in uni studying journalism or maybe literature

She's Welsh and I can see her being Catholic or Jewish (I lean towards Jewish)

Lyall was obsessed with her the second he met her (she's just that iconic). He'd follow her around and carry her books

She was kind of a hippie mother to Remus and raised him on free love values and being what he wants when he wants

She was the main decorator of her house with Lyall and made it so 60s cunt. Like colourful wallpaper and carpets and stained glass everywhere. She eats down.

Very chill vibe. She was the queen of nonchalance whilst having a natural curiosity. She was pinpoint accurate in understanding of people and could clock them immediately. She said it how it was and never tried to please anybody

Was intrigued by magic and thought it was pretty cool but never bothered too much by it. Asked questions and did her research but just to know Lyall better

She was the one to suggest a boggart wedding topper on their cake

Grew up in a middle-class family but left it all to be with Lyall (I hc him to be Palestinian and you can never underestimate the racism of white brits in the 60s)

Loved reading and found the new art of cinema SO interesting. Wanted to be a movie star in a little part of her head but set her dreams on journalism

Lived in France for a year and was serving Nouvelle Vague cunt

(I can go into further detail on certain aspects of her if you want btw but this is my brain vomit on my wife <33)

[chirrups]

OH SHIT VERY PRETTY GOG ART IN THE YEAR 2025!! AND ITS X HERMITCRAFT.. HELL YEAH

Love the species picks!!! I saw the second recent post first and I guess didn't properly read the description, but DID see the talon braces on Scar and went "Now hold on...." loe and behold, Hagsfiend Xisuma! I would perhaps suggest a slightly natch'd(? hagsfiend'd?) Hypno to give him the natched'ga (bad spelling; haven't read the books in years, but I mean the yellow-eyed hypnotizing magic that the Hagsfiends used in the Legends series). Also Joe has starsight. To me. Grian too but while Grian ignores it entirely, Joe gets weird about it.

YEAR OF OUR LORD 2025 AND HERMITS OF GAHOOLE IS BACK!

DASJHSJDHA THANK YOU! I just love researching to pick animal species to assign to minecraft youtubers, they should really give me a degree in it.

(au rambling + doodles beneath, you have been warned)

Nachtmagen!Hypno is such a powerful idea. Though honestly, I kind of want to keep magic shenanigans just to Xisuma due to admin + hagsfiend morality lore.

Instead of fryngot (the yellow-eye power), I would bend it a little to give Hypno some kind of fleck-power in a similar vein to Mist/Hortense in the books. Perhaps he was hatched in an area with a high density of flecks and it gave him a similar minor paralysis ability to a hagsfiend’s fryngot. Not enough to yeep another owl but enough to make them very uncomfortable (or he could just be like that, who knows).

But, Hypno being literally divined to have classically dark magic Nyra-style but just kinda being a guy is also hysterically funny to me.

Let’s compromise. Ambiguously-and-suspiciously-nachtmagen!Hypno who might have hagsfiend magic powers but also just might not. He’s awfully dark-feathered and ragged for a Tyto. No one knows. No one is even certain if Hypno knows.

On the Joe Hills point, YES! He does have starsight, how on earth did you read my personal notes for this au??? /lh.

And I’m completely with you, he is definitely soooo weird about it. He gives out prophecies but starsight doesn’t actually have words with the visions so I imagine it’s literally just him writing poems about his dreams and then reporting it to other Hermits like it's real-life fact.

He has something like a 50/50 accuracy rate and doesn’t actually make too much effort to take it seriously to begin with. World’s least reliable prophet except when he’s right which is sometimes.

Grian might actually have firesight to me (instead of starsight to match his colliering job) but I could also read it as him being just super paranoid and liking staring at flames a bit too much.

In this AU, he is very moon-adverse, and if we wanted to be angsty about it, I could imagine him not taking the idea that he has any celestial body-related power well at all (even if starsight is only related to stars in name alone).

In either situation, you’re right. He is ignoring everything, the future cannot reach him if he closes his eyes to it.

(I also just might just leave Grian's maybe precognition powers ambiguous because lore-wise because I don't want to stack his plate as op's special-est little guy too much.)

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 408: Orphaned Cryptid to Billionaire Supervillain

Previously on BnHA: HE WAS BORN AN ARROGANT BABY.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi decides he’s going to cover the rest of the AFO/OFA saga in the span of just seven pages, the majority of which are mostly just filled with lovingly detailed closeups of AFO and Kudou’s eyes. Back in the present day, Kid For One takes a couple of seconds to trample the last of the “Kacchan is OFA II or is related to OFA II” theories into the dust, and is then all “fuck it, I’ll just take him out with one last spectacularly grotesque supermove.” Kacchan is all “lol you fucking dipshit”, and he says it with such confidence that it truly makes me believe he can defeat AFO’s “ALL THE QUIRKS EVER!!” attack with his piddly little exploding bloodsweat quirk. AND IT WILL BE A SIGHT TO SEE.

interesting!

Yoichi’s name btw is written with the kanji 与 which means “bestow” or “give”, and 一 which means “one.” so basically “one who gives”, which is fitting as the creator of OFA, but also fits in with this new context of being the first “possession” bestowed upon AFO

oh yes and also AFO I guess has just torn his brother to shreds or something too. idk. I’m going to be honest with you guys, this panel has such a surreal vibe that I just sat here blinking stupidly at it and wasn’t even shocked or anything. like what. is he dreaming this?? or did he really just make a “STOP! IN THE NAAAAME OF LOVE” gesture and in doing so remove half of his brother’s jaw

ewww

idk what’s wrong with me today guys. AFO just disintegrated Yoichi, and Kudou and and OFA Tres (who apparently still doesn’t have a name???? freaking Kudou got named before you??) are literally RIGHT THERE and presumably horrified, and all I can think about is how fucking gross it is that they’re all hanging out in a fucking sewer

oh shit y’all it’s about to go down

he can’t kill Kudou right off the bat can he? does Kudou even know he has OFA yet? are we going to see him transfer it to OFA III? I’m so fucking excited omg

LOL WHAT

“weirdly matte” omg. so apparently he’s like All Might, where the “he’s just drawn differently” thing is something people actually acknowledge in-story. “yeah he actually has no pupils. that’s a real thing. technically that should mean he can’t see since pupils are what let light into your eyes, but don’t worry about that part. just know that his eyes canonically look weird to the story people as well, and everyone is creeped out by it, not just you”

yeah he’s actually blind

so he literally can’t see outside himself. way to lay those metaphors on thick, Horikoshi

(ETA: this is my “just in case my impeccably dry wit doesn’t translate well across the internet” ETA to assure everyone I know he’s not actually blind lol.)

now we’re cutting to some random city where AFO is broodingly staring at Yoichi’s severed hand because he’s perfected the art of always doing incredibly unsettling things

I cannot believe the fucking hands thing has an actual origin story. of course it does. this man has never done a single hinged thing in his life. it’s all unhinged or bust. am I talking about AFO or Horikoshi? YOU DECIDE

he’s sitting at a table with a bottle of wine holding his dead brother’s embalmed severed limb and thinking about fucking quirk shit

so your transformation from Orphaned Cryptid to Billionaire Supervillain happened almost completely offscreen huh. I’m kinda disappointed, ngl. I could have read a few more chapters about that. maybe a spinoff miniseries

WAIT WHAT

are you serious. we finally get a panel that’s INCREDIBLY RELEVANT to pretty much ALL OF MY BNHA THEORIES, only for that same panel to contradict itself ONE SPEECH BUBBLE LATER?? so what is the truth???

omg omg omg

so many fucking questions, omg. what the hell does “through research” even mean. how did he confirm Yoichi’s quirklessness, and why did he later change his mind? how the fuck can Yoichi have a quirk factor and yet not have an actual quirk. “it was just so weak it didn’t count or something I guess” okay??? how much of this is unreliable narrator vs. the word of god? how is it we’re getting so many answers and yet all I have is more fucking questions you guys

BRUE?CE?CEE??!

bruce

Kudou is so goddamned hot. I hope you washed the hell out of that arm wound after getting it all covered in sewage you stupid sexy man

I can’t get over Three’s name. “idk if anyone noticed, but it’s kind of a subtle homage to another very famous superhero” Horikoshi your nap wasn’t long enough, please go home

also love how Bruce is talking shit about OFA being a puny loser quirk for wimps. how the fuck do they even know what’s going on, anyway? was there a tutorial???

oh you just had a feeling huh??? that it was “something like this”, huh??? how is it that I, who knows all about OFA because I’m from the future and have read 408 chapters of this nonsense, am somehow still less in the know than this handsome clown who doesn’t know shit but just “had a feeling”

(ETA: while editing this post I noted that Bruce is sitting in front of a computer in what seems to be some sort of medical lab, so maybe they ran some tests or something? except that only makes me more confused, because it implies they didn’t actually figure out OFA’s workings via convenient plot instincts. so then how the fuck did they figure out the transfer process?? questions)

meanwhile AFO is sitting in the panel next to him whining about how someone stole Yoichi’s quirk. excuse you. he did not steal it. it was in fact a gift

these flashbacks are all jumbled up and it’s unexpectedly fun to read, but also really chaotic

I guess he’s talking to Kudou on the right and AFO on the left

so many intense closeups of eyes in this chapter oh my goodness

Horikoshi even drew the individual goddamn eyelashes. this looks like the margins of someone’s notebook from when they were really bored in middle school

oh my god the information overload!!!

so much for AFO actually feeling emotions lol. or is he just lying to himself about why he cried. that delicious ambiguity

so we don’t even get a flashback explaining how the transfer actually happened?? to either Kudou OR my beloved Bruce?? goddamn you Horikoshi. omg I would seriously kill for more of this. make a movie about it. I want the OFA origin story prequel movie damn it

I like how AFO just sits there on a throne holding court with a single tiki torch beside him for aesthetic reasons

I can’t quite figure out how he killed Banjou and I’m not sure I really want to know. it looks very violent

friendly reminder that Shinomori is Sir Not Appearing In This Flashback because he’s the only OFA user who died of natural causes! good for you Shinomori. En probably wishes he was more like you

poor En

was Nana just taking a stroll or something one day and stumbled across this epic fight with the evilest man on the planet vs some kid in a trenchcoat, and then the poor kid got bisected and he looked at her and he was all “please eat my hair” and she was just like “ok”?

OH WOW

what a transition omg

LOLLLLLLLL

you know, part of me always wondered how All Might was so certain he’d killed AFO that he apparently never bothered to confirm it. but looking at this panel now, I can understand

fjjfdzjgf

he’s sweating so much. like “okay yeah he punched the top of his face off, this is pretty bad but I’LL DO MY BEST”

BACK TO THE PRESENT DAY AWW SHUCKS

so let’s recap. over on Kacchan’s side we have “GOTTA USE THE PAIN TO WIN!!!” haha ouch. and then over here on KFO’s side we have. whatever the fuck we just experienced over these past two chapters. so basically it’s a battle between the two most deranged characters in the entire series. glorious sweet chaos

DSFJKSLDKGJL he’s now trying to figure out how the fuck they look so much alike and whether they’re actually related

“no, that can’t be it. so then maybe... this kid grows up and then somehow travels back in time...?!” HE’S JUST LIKE US FR

so now he’s saying it’s because Kacchan didn’t have character development yet the last time, but now that he does his eyes are all Full Of Determination just like Kudou’s and so we’ve basically come full circle!

transcended WHAT? :O :D :D omg I’m kidding you guys please don’t hurt me

lol

actually the more we learn about Kudou the less I personally see the resemblance now lol. because Kudou seems so calm and collected, but Kacchan is just... [gestures to literally everything about Kacchan]

so AFO’s trying to strategize, but he can’t warp Kacchan away because the only available targets are too close and he’s still got that SUPERSPEED, BOYO so it wouldn’t make a difference. lol but if you kept doing it repeatedly it might be kind of funny though

and he can’t keep fighting him either because he’s getting his ass whooped and it’s speeding up his de-aging or whatever. well you could just give up then I guess. your call, AFO

oh was that your plan?

spoiler alert for me lol. but it’s not exactly shocking or anything since he’s dying, guess he wants to abandon ship

(ETA: just FYI for anyone reading this who’s not familiar with my dumbassery, I have currently only read chapters 1 through 374 at this point in time, before skipping ahead to 403 because Kacchan came back and I lost all willpower. I am working on catching up with the rest!)

oh so now you did come up with a strategy?

lmao what the FUCK

how much of this is going to be clearer to me once I finish the chapters that I missed, and how much of it is just plain old “nope this is all brand new zero-context BnHA bullshit” lol. this looks like every single quirk AFO ever absorbed combined into one gigantic horrifying blob that forced Horikoshi to take an extra week just to draw it

oh my god!?

Kacchan hovering there bravely facing all this is giving me Gandalf “you shall not pass” vibes and I’m LIVING FOR IT

so either AFO is going to kill Kacchan for the second time right here and now, or he’s going to fail and turn back into a squishy evil baby fdslfjkls

love how All Might is all “DODGE IT YOUNG BAKUGOU!” thanks for the warning, champ. doing his part

more exploding bloodsweat closeups. are these just going to be a mainstay of Kacchan fights from now on

“are you stupid?”, when faced with [gestures to the entirety of the previous page], is possibly the best line ever uttered by anyone in the series. even better than the polite “coming through” uttered only seconds before it

ah man. you love to see it. he literally doesn’t even care. HE ALREADY DIED ONCE TODAY, AND IT CLUED HIM IN TO THE FACT THAT HE’S A MAIN CHARACTER AND ACTUALLY IMMUNE TO DEATH. sorry AFO it’s curtains for you. CURTAINS

[soracities]

People are wild lol rap does actually take a certain level of skill to both perform and understand, it takes five seconds of research to see that theres decent lyricism going on there. Lots of rappers are actually great at english, they dont all know the official terms for the things they practice but rapping is like a form of poetry really.

ofc there are subgenres that i personally do not like such as mumble rap (a conversation for another time i digress) but if you take for example kendrick's latest diss tracks to drake, its something that has to literally be studied and broken down by a bunch of people lol and once you break it down and understand the refrences you see that its not just a bunch of words and a beat. of course white people will think something they dont understand is ghetto trash what else is new lol they're the kings of ostricizing and devaluing what they dont understand. They did it to jazz they did it to metal and alternative music and they do it to rap.

At the end of the day, culture is a thing that will be understood by those who are meant to understand it. You dont have to like rap to acknowledge that its an art, but calling it trash and refusing to see it from any point of view but your own speaks for itself.

And for the record, im not a rap fan lol its a genre i hardly listen to in fact, but what i am is an artist, and i can acknowledge art when i see it.

i'll be honest, i don't think lack of understanding is solely what comes into it, if at all. the genres that get the most aggressive pushback are also ones that threaten a cultural hegdemony in their respective societies (white, male, christian etc) and that's not a coincidence. rap gets the worst of this and ultimately i don't think it has ever boiled down to not knowing what GOAT means and a lot more to do with overt and tacit hostility towards black people making outspoken art on their own terms in a deeply racist society.

but otherwise i completely agree with you! the lyrical complexity, rhyming schemes and dexterity at play in a good rap song is second to none and you could absolutely teach a literature class on it. it is as much a poetic medium as anything else while also encompassing its own deeply layered, complex and distinct sensibilities--just like, literally, every other art form on earth! to pretend otherwise is just ludicrous at this point.

[katiemaycreate]

BIKER GANG AU

When I get access to a really nice pen the urge to draw with it is undeniable and I have to act upon it immediately. It scratches something in my brain and I dunno why XD

Be prepared for more sketches and rants below :)

On another note, what if there was a Motorcycle/ Biker Gang AU with the turtles? Basically it'd kinda be like canon ROTTMNT but before Hamato Yoshi found out he wanted to be an actor he was part of a biker gang that would protect the city?

This wasn't just a phase kind of thing, either. Yoshi's whole life orbited around his gang. They were like a second family to him.

They defended both the Hidden City and New York City. Like stopping robberies, drug smuggling (both normal and mystic), and stopping other biker gang's wrong doings and such. The Hamato gang was well known among other gangs and they made it extremely clear that you did not want to get on their bad side. I'm talking full on #1 Biker Gang in both the Hidden City and New York. They had a serious reputation.

And one day (after the events of the movie) the family was doing some spring cleaning (or something like that) and they stumbled upon Splinter's old riding gear while he was out running errands. Like, full on leather jacket with the Hamato symbol on the back, old newspaper clippings of the Gangs adventures, other helmets, gloves, jackets, and personal photos with the whole gang, the whole reminiscent shabang you'd normally keep.

And of course, after finding out about these hidden treasures and a side of their Father they never knew about, they bombard Splinter with questions when he got back.

"You were in a biker gang? The legendary Lou Jitsu? I don't believe this."

"What was it like? What did you do?"

"You were a vigilante biker?"

"What kind of bike did you ride? What were the specs? I bet they were nothing like the Shell Hogs."

"Who else was part of your gang?"

Needless to say the questions were endless...until...

"There's no way. What happened to your gang? Why don't you ride anymore?"

That's when Splinter freezes.

The guys leave Splinter alone for a bit, obvious that he didn't want to talk about that time in his life. But that doesn't stop the guys from grabbing the old gear and taking the shell hogs out for a ride behind Splinter's back.

And in doing so, they open up a whole new world of hurt and major trouble.

All the gear you wear to ride a motorcycle would also hide the fact that they are turtles too. Even with their shells like someone would see that and think "Must be for protection.* I know I would think that xD

I'm in the works of writing this and figuring out plot points and stuff but I think this is such a cool idea and I haven't seen it anywhere? And my response to that is literally how??? Like I've seen art and stuff of them on the shell hogs and other motorcycles, but nothing about a biker gang?? If I'm wrong let me know.

Anywhizzle, I really like to work on cars and vehicles and I've been wanting to get a motorcycle for SO LONG it's painful at this point but I am a wuss because the risk factor of riding them is so high and the gear is pricey (absolutely mandatory for safety though) and you have to get a specific kind of license and stuff.

But also they are SO EXPENSIVE. LIKE OH MY SOUL WHERE DO I GET THAT KIND OF MONEY?

And for years I have been doing research on them and riding gear so I figured why not splurge and vent about all of my research and interests about motorcycles and biker gang's and stuff through a ROTTMNT AU??

And that led me to where I am today, writing this post. :D And my mind is reeling with ideas!

I've never actually drawn vehicles or anything of the sort either, since I usually just draw characters, so this will be a fun way to challenge myself to the extreme! :)

God bless you all! ✝️🩷 You're amazing!

[pruneunfair]

You wanna know what this reminds me of?

The part about Aria's past fashion taste and Rashta's current

This reminds me of those toxic stereotypes that women who dress herself "differently" are automatically dumb superficial idiots which I believe was effective on Rashta's part, I'm damn sure some idiots call her a stupid slutty bitch cuz she doesn't dress as sophisticated as our queen Navier ugh-

Yeah the whole thing about the weird bad fashion taste is the same as "Being hyperfeminine and like pink" makes you sluts and illiterate fools, which I hate, bcuz I'm a girly pink girl too!! How is liking pink makes me an idiot? Sure I understand that societal norm that it isn't a "mature color" for mature people but COME ON colors don't have age or gender, everyone is allowed to enjoy them regardless

Also the most offensive ironic thing to me is that this is set in a HISTORICAL FANTASY SETTING, like have you seen actual illustrations and images of what people wear back in the historical periods (European art from centuries ago)????

They literally dressed like they were walking human peacocks and walking overgrown flower pots, the actual fashion would make both Aria and Rashta's fashion taste from any timeline PALE in comparison, yeah I totally get that for certain scenarios like school, party and work, you should dress appropriately but in Aria's case, she was a child, I think that's perfectly NORMAL how a child should dress for the period

Also every piece of clothing always started a controversy, I'm sure the modern bra was considered as scandalous when it first came out

So this attitude where just because a Woman wears some extra frills and some extra bows, she's automatically a freak of society is terribly laughable, bcuz I remember that back in the day, Nobility literally competed to see who is better at making and wearing the most ostentatious and outrageous outfits, not to mention, in this day and age, we still have ppl who definitely dress out of the ordinary but eventually everyone is completely fine with them cuz they're having fun with themselves and aren't bothering everyone with it so what's the big deal?

Y'know I've thought of a similar scenario for my Muse OC, where she's put in a situation where she's made fun of for what she wears cuz she likes it that way and I thought "She's already restricted with so many things, now even wearing what she wants is forbidden too?" So yeah I just let her be confident about it, cuz society has worse things to care more about than a Crown Princess wearing a different style compared to others

Plus isn't wearing different things the reason why huge trends started in the first place? Again it's what I said earlier, every piece of clothing all started as scandalous

Oh I'm so glad we have this fashion talk, cuz I'm super into Historical Fantasy Manhwha fashion, I have a lot to say about it but I'll leave it here for now

Nobles in manhwa making fun of a character for wearing excessive dresses is another way on how you know the author did little research.

Most manhwa historical dresses are not accurate at all (They are almost always fantasy stories though so they can get away with it more than a historical documentary perse) and honestly the only way I could see this trope working is if it's meant to be self aware how the nobles will bully poor girls for dressing with extra frills while wearing excessive clothes themselves.

Most historical manhwa fashion and architecture is inspired by a mix of the rococo era and the Victorian era, if you know rococo, you would know how excessive those skirts were. They were known for being huge and covered with all sorts of accessories, big wigs were also popular in that time along with a lot of jewelry.

Like.. look at all these. European nobles are quite known for their love of everything at once.

Honestly if you put Ariande in an actual room with women from the italian Renaissance, she wouldn't last a second

[heaven-s-black-box]

Notes- Star Crossed Lovers; Miyuki & more x gn!Reader

Return to File

Recovery date: October 18th, 2024

Description: Can you do hcs for Miyuki, Furuya, Mei or masumane for dating someone from their rival school

Notes: Recovered in conjunction with an anonymous researcher, we thank them for their contributions. I did Mei and masamune!

Back to directory

Miyuki

Of course you go to Inashiro, and even worse you’re related to Mei/someone in his dream team (keeping it open ended, take your pick)

You literally meet by chance while he’s running errands one weekend

You know, those ace of the diamond calendar arts

Mei jokingly uses it as leverage to try and convince him to transfer

He doesn’t take the rival school thing super seriously, but he likes to be dramatic

Had to read Romeo and Juliet at some point in his first year and now refers to you two as star crossed lovers

Your relationship is built on errand dates and snarky texts

When Ryou found out, and eventually Sawamura, there were jokes about fraternizing with the enemy

He promises to take you on a “real” date once he takes nationals in his third year

Your team tells you not to hold your breath, you respond by dramatically holding your breath

When he becomes captain, the stress puts some strain on your relationship because his short fuse makes his normally jokey comments carry a bit more bite

If you’re a player on Inashiro’s team he jokes that you should transfer and join him at Seidou

Furuya

You two were childhood friends, meeting before he moved to Hokkaido

When he decides to go to Seidou, he doesn’t even realize he’ll be near you again

You run into each other at his first game in the Kanto tournament

He doesn’t really care about rival schools

His teammates certainly make a deal out of it though

It becomes a joke about him fraternizing with the enemy

You end up “dating”, as much as he has time for considering you’re at different schools, after the team gets their ticket to nationals

Which ends up making things really rocky when he starts to channel every waking minute into baseball after they lose

Your relationship is mostly you visiting Seidou with a packed lunch for him and watching any game you can make it too

Your own team complains that you show up to root for your boyfriend and not them

If you’re the manager for your team he’s ecstatic to see you at practice games, always asks coach if he can schedule one

The team joke that he’s whipped

If you’re a player he’s definitely competitive with you, especially if you play against each other

Mei

You are related to Miyuki Kazuya (adopted, step-sibling, twin, whatever, take your pick) and it is one of his favorite things about your relationship

Like, he hounds on that fact until you kick his ass because it feels like he’s just with you to bug your brother

You are one of the few people he will genuinely apologize to

This fucker read Romeo and Juliet by choice and quotes it regularly

Look, if Mei wasn’t into baseball he’d be a theater kid

He has read Shakespeare, fight me

Likes to play up the “secret relationship” bit

It’s not a secret, everyone has seen you at Inashiro and Mei practically jumps you when they go to Seidou for a practice match

When he spares the time for errands, he messages you to meet him and you stop at a cafe

If he’s not practicing he might as well enjoy the time off, he hates errands

If you’re a player, he’s super competitive and it definitely affects your relationship more than his attitude already does

Hopes to play on the same team as you some day, can already see the headlines “star crossed lovers reunite on pro team”

He’s so fucking dramatic

Masamune

I feel like he takes inter-school rivalries seriously

So you must have been friends, at least, before going to rival schools

He was kind of sad when you went to a different school

You “date” start in your second year

But, funny enough, it’s a lot like with Furuya where he’s really busy with baseball

Always happy to see you watching his practices, but in the winter he’s worried about you sitting out in the cold

Literally buys you a new scarf, and pretends he just had it laying around

Also kind of wishes you wouldn’t watch practice so that you only see the perfect pitches that take down your team

Kind of cocky when your team complains you don’t love them

Your relationship basically survives on good morning and goodnight texts

If you’re a player I think, since you were friends before going to rival schools, you have a very friendly rivalry

Whoever loses your practice game or tournament game has to pay for the next date kind of relationship

[iztea]

dy have any tips to make your art look less lifeless? I stare at my rendered digital art and everytime without fail i start to rot from the lack of soul in it

ok first of all, I think you might be judging your art too harshly. The only quite literal soulless art is AI art so as long as you create something, there's soul in it. But I understand what you mean. Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm best suited to answer this since it's something I struggle with myself, but since you asked me, here are my two cents on the matter

A lifeless look in your art may come from two places: a lack of skills or a lack of message/delivery

Skill-wise, there's a looot you can do and improve on : gesture, dynamic poses, more expressive faces, better color language, strategic line expression, shape language, using color theory to better express a certain mood of a piece etc.

i could go into detail for each point but it would take too long so I'll leave it up to you to google and research things on your own ( or you can shoot me another ask if you want me to yap about a certain technical approach and I'll gladly do so)

but honestly, these are just skills and tools that you master in time. A first step is to at least acknowledge their existence. I want to talk more about the second aspect of this issue: intention. The intention behind your art is more valuable than you think. Art can feel soulless if it doesn't send any message, if it's generic, if there's no emotion behind it or if there's nothing to be interpreted. I'm not saying all art should be super deep or profound to hold value of course, but i often feel like this is a rather neglected part when discussing art. We sometimes get so tied up in the technical aspects like rendering or anatomy but the truth is, a general audience (aka the people who will see your art) doesn't give a crap about the technicalities. They judge something at face value and the first thing they look for is the /message/. What is this painting about? Who or what did you draw? The second thing they will look for is connection. When they can relate to the emotion conveyed or the subject matter, the experience becomes more rewarding and engaging. The same applies to the artist. Creating something meaningful and personal often leads to a greater sense of accomplishment. Honestly, skill comes second.

Case in point: why does hyperrealistic art get shit on? It's very impressive technique-wise, yes, you can't deny the artist isn't skilled, but does it express something? Nope, they do the job of a printer which again,. it is impressive but not from an ~artistic pov, just from a skill pov. On the flip side, why do poorly drawn sob stories get so much attention and praise? Because the art triggered a certain emotion (that has overwritten an already untrained eye) and emotions are extremely powerful for humans as we all very well know and it basically makes them ignore or neglect the execution

So, my piece of advice is to draw something that has personal meaning /to you/, that ignites a certain feeling you can't shake ( it doesn't have to be something #deep or sad, laughter and joy are equally valuable so keep that in mind), a certain situation or scenario and I can guarantee your art won't feel as lifeless to you as before. To better express this idea of yours that you now possess, you can now think about the technical side of how you'd express it. For example:

~deliberately messy brushstrokes and textures -> create chaos.

~maybe you're feeling something lovely dovey and soft -> warm colors to express that + brushes with lost edges

~maybe you want to tell a story in a comic format -> focus on calligraphy; shaky lineart gives off the impression of vulnerability; leave whitespaces etc

~something funny? -> goofy facial expressions or lowkey downgrading the quality usually makes something funnier

~Colors ! colors ! colors !!! pretty self-explanatory blues and grays for depression pinks and rainbows for the happy ( or NOT if you're feeling adventurous winkwink)

BONUS TIP: hiding/blocking out/blurring the face of your subject makes the painting feel more immersive. The viewer can relate to the person you're drawing ( "oh he's just like me fr")

There are artists who are insanely skilled but make kinda "boring" art and then there are artists with cool ideas but with maybe an underwhelming execution.

Ultimately, it's a combination of BOTH awesome skills and intentions. Those are my favourite artists. When i find someone who draws something that makes me stare and wonder how tf they drew that while also appreciating how cool the concept is I knoww I hit jackpot. And if they draw fanart of my fave?? bonus points

okkkkkkkkk i yapped for too long sorttyyyyy hope it helped maybe idk

!!!!DISCLAIMER!!!! this is all my personal interpretation and how i view things I'm self taught I've never been to art school or taken any art classes so i might be completely wrong !! take everything with a grain of salt !!