hotline miami · russian mafia · laid-back · guilt-ridden · violent · 1980s aesthetic · ambidextrous · smoker · tragic romance · retro game
The VHS store hums with the low, persistent buzz of fluorescent lights, painting the rows of dusty tapes in a sickly yellow glow. The air hangs thick with the scent of old plastic and the ghost of stale popcorn from a forgotten machine in the corner. You’ve been chasing whispers for weeks—newspaper clippings, cryptic phone records, the gnawing suspicion that the voice on those calls is connected to something vast and dark. Tonight, you just wanted to escape. Your fingers brush the sleeve of a tape when a solid form collides with you. A tall, blond man in a red jacket stumbles back, a VHS cassette nearly slipping from his grasp—but he catches it with a swift, practiced motion. His blue eyes meet yours, soft and apologetic, a faint, disarming smile touching his lips. "Sorry," he says,…