#anyway im still on a phantom high after seeing it

[sharkneto]

It really is bold of Raoul to go "Christine, there is no Phantom of the Opera!" when 1) Christine disappeared for a whole fucking night with her "Angel of Music" and had a very mixed review on that experience, 2) everyone regularly receives notes from the Opera Ghost and they pay him a goddamn salary, and 3) the Phantom literally just murdered a man in front of a packed theater not two minutes prior.

[authoricdemon]

Thinking about ghost narratives again. Specifically about ones that are about someone who is the only one who can see the ghost(s). Whether played for laughs or drama, they always have something about what they left unfinished. Whether they never got to complete their life’s mission or never got to make up with someone important. Because death steals away our endings. But then someone who is living can see them and interact with them. And they can help give the ghost(s) and their loved ones some sense of closure.

And I think that’s an important emotional story to tell.

[berriblossom]

Sorry I can't find your rules for ask I looked at the pinned post but all it said was that asks are open and that kids should not interact (im 22 btw) anyway if you're cool with it can I request a yandere sagau where yandere furina is saved by reader (who hides their creator status from the world) and when she's near the reader she feels all of her pain wash away (like reader has a calming aura which makes people feel safe) anyway when reader leaves all of the pain returns which causes furina to grow a yandere obsession with the reader and gets the raeder accused of some crime so that she can keep the reader with her so only she will have the reader (also you can make the reader any gender you want also if you're comfortable with it do you think the reader might develop a short of Stockholm syndrome?)

Before the prophecy was declared "false" Furina placed her hopes deep into the great divine, so much so it was rumored that she'd end every Opera performance with a small prayer to such of a diety, however near the end of a perfomance, more specifically Lyneys murder trial, Furina spiraled.

For such a perfectionist in her art form, Furina could feel the grip she had on her mind slip to a point she couldn't even try to make right of the trial.

"Was she wrong? What does the public think? How would Neuvillette make right of this? How could a goddess of justice be wrong in her prosecution? What else could I do wrong, what else can I keep onto? What am I doing wrong, am i-"

Furina sat alone on a bench in the quiet streets of Fontaine, her eyes hollow of life as she stared at the famous fountain outside the elevator and Aquabus station entrance. All memories of every embarrassment and failure conjure in her mind. As the street lights flickered awake, a figure sat next to her.

The waves of depression swallowing over her form calm, the sounds and voices come to a whisper and suddenly stop, and the dark and cold water stays still. Furina's eyes come back into focus as she looks at who sat beside her, where this mere force of calm comes from.

Furina's eyes narrow at the person, who has a strange yet familiar appearance. A warm smile appears on their lips as they offer her a small golden candy from their palm. Nothing is said at all. Furina takes the candy and sits in silence. By the rise of the moon, she feels at peace.

These occurrences don't happen as suddenly as they should. Many times, Furina wished they did, but you only appear suddenly, whether at a cafe, on a bench outside the Palais ammonia, or outside the balcony of her apartment. Sometimes, she wishes you'd speak to her or even try to make known your intentions. However, she feels she knows better than to ask.

Days after the meeting with the Knave, who Furina shivered at the image of, she had to be escorted everywhere by a guard, whether Clorinde or a member of the Marecheuse Phantom, random attacks against Furina's image increased, and even Neuvillette was worried for her well-being.

Entering the public is a now daunting task to remain in good light of the people in politics, to make the other members of the court, high and low to see how "responsible" their dear archon is. To see if she could handle the crisis Fontaine was in. News spread after the outbreak of primordial sea water inside the Fortress of Meropide.

Furina walked outside the Palais Mermonia. She looked out at the grey sky and took a deep sigh. Her mind scanning the busy streets, she took calm but vaguely confident steps onto the pavement, her heels clicking against the ground as she walked out for the stores., as she walked past fruit stalls, selling fruits, vegetables, and new fresh flowers, despite the rainy day as she takes small interest in anything, even the small droplets of rain falling against the umbrella of the stan. She could feel dozens of eyes on her, not an unusual occasion. When your fontaines biggest star, you're used to many watching your every move. Even a glance to learn about her would suffice.

However, a particular man, specifically one who looked a little too closenfor comfort, was watching her. He stood under a post with an umbrella and newspaper with the wrong date. She didn't panic well physically, but mentally, she was reeling. She shook her head at the stock of rainbow roses and walked away briskly. Rain followed as she fumbled with her umbrella to get it open.

As she walked, the streets were busy despite the rain. She waved to some locals, actors, and journalists while winding down the path to escape her pursuer. Who followed not to be closely behind, occasionally standing to look at stalls or pretend to watch the crowd. Furina walks past the ramp towards Chioria boutique.

As she walked, she heard the hurried footsteps behind her, and she walked quicker.

He followed, almost stomping as he jogged behind.

Her heels clicked faster, and she was sprinting, running past unfamiliar faces.

The man chased, Furina bolts down the rampway, as she is casuing a scene, gordes, mekas, and people crowd around to see what is going on?

Is that lady Furina? Why is she running? Is it a show? Is she acting? Oh! Is this a new sequeal to her play last year?!

Furina panicked at the voices, all coming back, he feet carrying her somehwere she didn't know yet.

Ironic, a common theme of her life thus far.

She ran before running past an alley and felt a knowing feeling, warmth.

Furina scurried towards the alleyway and saw the familar face she had seen for ages at a time, but jow she sees it fully.

A divine presence.

You were petting a small kitten and looked up, pushing a finger to your small, smiled lips, nodding. The man following Furina stops outside the alleway but huffs when seeing nothing. He turns away. You nodded and continued petting the kitten.

Furina for never doubtful decided.

This feeling is something she can never get bored of. Never be tired of, never wanting to be rid of. She needed it in her presence and life.

As she is watching you hum and pet the kitten, a golden glow emitting off your features, almost like a halo effect, Furina whispered into her mind.

More.....I want more...

That moment, the alleyway-enlightenment as she would proudly proclaim was when she knew. She needed you to herself. For days after this experience, nights, she stayed awake. She rationalized.

No one can hear of this. It could bring harm to you, to the functions of the world, your nature, your power that she had no idea existed or even worked. She couldn't tell Neuvillette if he knew you'd be put away for safety and probably tested by the institution. Not to mention, she found you, and you made your presence known to her...willingly.

It had to be a sign then. For this was for your safety. She knew that having your around 24/7 could help her image, a divine deity with a warming embrace...perfect for the hydro archon... a beacon of life and a god of justice.

So she put the plan into motion. A month after her enlightening, she went into a frenzy, reading logs, articles, journalist papers, and reports on cases for this.

By the end of the month, she had all she needed.

Furina was quick with her proclaim, the audience sat in shock.

Who dare attack the hydro archon? Stalk her? Even try to force her into the rumors of her divinity.? How dare they!

Oh, so beloved by her nation, the skeptics, dramatics, and lovers of a good Opera visit. Sat in shock, this random person, with no record of existence in Fontaine, dares such?

You sat in silence, the bench was cold, the prosecution being Furina herself, you stared at her, compassion and empathy brimming at your eyes as she went on with the case. Arguing to your silence.

Neuvillette watched and multiple times stepped in to offer you an argument, only for you to plead guilty before the end of the trial. The Oratrice Mechanique D'Nalise Cardinal answered in truth.

You were guilty.

Even if no crime was committed, you wallowed in guilt. You felt pity and guilt for her. Maybe she was desperate for a drop of divinity, true divinity. Maybe she feared you or was thinking for her nation. However, it was plain to see.

The Oratrice read guilt somewhere.

You were moved to a "special" cell in the countryside of Fontaine, authorized by the Fortress and Furina with the Opera house. It was like a mock kitchen from a play in the Opera. Old books and playwrites sat everywhere as entertainment. The kitten from before slept on the windowsill but could never go out, nor could you.

Days you'd sit alone and sit in meditation. Some days, Furina would sit with you, never speaking. Others, you'd be alone again.

Some days, you can feel her shame, her compulsive actions speaking, others its delusion and denial.

Finally you figured it out.

This poor cursed human was coping with your existence, her cries at night when she rested with you, even while you lay awake, the nightmares shed have. It was truly pitiful. Your heart beated 2x mkre for your dear creations, so seeing one so special, suffer in so many ways, it hurt your heart.

So when she asked for a melody to hum, you hum. When she returns back from a day of performances, you clap and cheer for her when she talks about her dreams and nightmares. You no longer sit still but now comfort her.

In this reality, she gets the drop of divinity, not godhood, but rather your love and care. Something truly beyond anything Furina could dream of.

Whether you felt like it or not.

-> EDIT: took so long and lost steam halfway, not the worse. But thanks again for the request. I'm sorry for the wait, everyone!

[themotherofhorses]

paloma: first meeting

— simon "ghost" riley x oc!silentdove reyes.

summary: he's not annoyed, per se, but ghost is just not really in the mood to chit-chat with the american airman scurrying around the base. at best, he tolerates them.

(or the first exchange between ghost and his montanan woman.)

warnings: none, aside from explicit language.

note: okay, so despite this being an obvious OC-insert series, i invite anyone and everyone to read it :D this is actually my first time tackling an OC-insert fanfic (as well as writing ghost) so im still trying to get the rhythm of things.

dividers by: @saradika

paloma (masterlist) | main masterlist

[2021] 

Simon Riley won’t ever admit it — never aloud, anyway — but every time he steps foot on American soil, he feels more akin to a wolf draped in sheep’s clothing. 

In his mind, he sticks out like a sore thumb. He is not a hero, really; unlike the lot teetering around the military base he is currently stationed at for the next five or so weeks, he is less flesh and blood, and more a phantom. Or something along those lines. Actually, that could explain why there is such little traffic aimed his way. But he doesn’t particularly care. His schedule lacks the room to voice any complaints. 

Right now, his main concern is doing his job, and doing it right. 

Two weeks back, Price had him fishing out his passport tucked away inside his bedside table. “Fancy a two month getaway to the States?” Great Falls, Montana, to be exact. High west, nearing the border of Canada, and surrounded by land he’s only ever seen in those silly ass spaghetti western movies. 

The view is nice, he’ll admit. Beautiful, even. Exhilarating. He now understands why they refer to Montana as “Big Sky Country.” 

Malmstrom is much smaller than he imagined, and homier too. The Air Force base is nestled within the city’s east side, offering its own museum and park. He’s quite grateful for the latter; the trails allow for his nighttime walks when the nightmares prove too shitty to sleep. 

Great Falls is pretty as well. Price would like it, maybe Garrick too. He knows the two are big on history, and almost every inch of the city is drenched with some memory belonging to the old frontier days. 

Upon arriving, the yanks provided him with his own private office, housed in the back of the 341st logistics readiness squadron. It’s nothin’ fancy, really, just a wee room furnished with a dark mahogany desk, two windows, a steel cabinet, the Montana flag to his left, and the American to his right. 

Again, he’s not one to complain. Something’s something. 

Earlier, one of the higher-up airmen, a Staff Sergeant Benson (he believes is the name), had handed him a folder jam-packed with a shit ton of mission statements — logistics, strategic planning, reports of previous global concerns, and reviews of the base’s Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. All the documents are dated in a time range varying between two months ago to 0800 this morning. 

In the back of his mind, he can already hear Price chuckling.

“Have fun, Simon.”

Bloody bastard. 

So now, Ghost sits hunched over the desk, feeling a little too damn big for it. All the paperwork is strewn about messily around him, with sticky notes, a pen, and some other random shit of his. No one has yet to visit him; until that happens, he feels little need to remain organized. 

His boot taps against the floor. “—Initial efforts to clean polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from launch facilities at Malmstrom AFB are ongoing but seeing success…” Ghost reads under his breath. PCBs? That’s nice to hear.

“...after PCBs were detected on surfaces in launch facilities at all three of the command’s missile wings.” 

PCBs. Polychlorinated biphenyls — man-made and highly toxic, consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and chlorine atoms. He clicks his tongue, shaking his head as he flips onto the next page.

“We know they’re present on what appears to be otherwise pristine surfaces, due to the survey—” 

—a sudden knock interrupts his reading. 

With a curse on his tongue, Ghost sets down the report. He quicks a sneaking glance at his watch. 1342 hours. He’s due in a meeting at 1700. 

“Come in.” His voice sounds low and raspy, the two words sounding more like a growl than a greeting. He’s not annoyed, per se, but Ghost is just not really in the mood to chit-chat with the American airmen scurrying around the base. At best, he tolerates them.

(In his mind, they’re all little Graves, ready to stir up a headache.) 

The door slowly cracks open.

“Lieutenant Riley?” A female voice calls out — soft and cautious; Ghost’s chin drops against his knuckles. “Apologies for the disruption, sir, but I have some additional paperwork I need to drop off with you, at the request of my superior.” He grunts, and the airman then steps into his office, quickly shutting the door behind her before meeting his eyes. 

It is entirely unlike him, Ghost knows, but his brain almost short-circuits right then and there. Two dark brown eyes, framed by thick lashes, peering up at him. Shit. He’d always thought brown was such a pretty eye color on a woman, but hers stretched further across common compliments. 

Both of  ‘em — they held no animosity, no uneasiness or fear, nothing. 

That, itself, is quite fucking bizarre. He’s not used to that.

Ghost is .... well, Ghost. He knows the mask he is always donning on his face isn't exactly a sign of welcomeness. Just his mere presence is enough to startle the living shit out of rookies, baby recruits, wide-eyed sergeants, and the like. There is something inherently unnerving when you are unable to get a good reading of the person you're standing across from.

She’s brave, he thinks. Or merely oblivious to who he is. 

“Here you go, sir,” the airman says while placing the packet of new documents down on his desk. Her lips are shaped prettily, plump and shining with a fresh layer of gloss, and across her nose is a splatter of faint freckles. Under a different circumstance, maybe he would’ve taken the time to try and count them all.

Ghost swallows hard, incapable (for what feels like the first time in his life) of mustering up an appropriate reply. “Ah, thank you, ma’am.” 

The airman's brow lifts.

“Reyes,” she then corrects him with a kind smile, gesturing to the name badge sitting above her right chest pocket. Sure enough, in bold military lettering, reads Reyes. “My name is Senior Airman SilentDove Reyes. I am actually a cryptologic linguist analyst here on base; but sometimes I run errands for others, when not needed for a translation, of course.”

There is a slight chirp in her voice that Ghost picks up, along with the way she casually rocks back and forth on her feet. She seems awfully young, no older than 22, possibly 23, but even that's cutting it; a kid, compared to him. Maybe 5'7, with dark hair pulled back into two tight braids that fall at her belted waistline.

A stark contrast compared to him.

He's oddly curious now — about her age and first name and those long braids and why she stands before him, calm, collected, and sure — but he knows damn well this is not the time nor place for any questions. Both of them are on the clock, and it is likely she’ll need to report back to her supervisor soon. 

He offers her a curt nod. “Well, thank you again, Reyes,” he states, keeping his voice flat. 

“You are welcome, sir.” She turns to leave, but when her hand latches onto the doorknob, Reyes glances over her shoulder at him, “—oh, and Lieutenant? If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” 

–

The successful cleaning came after a bioenvironmental team at Malmstrom AFB …. Malmstrom AFB .. consulted with engineers and ….. and medical experts on the cleaning …. cleaning processes and– 

–and agents most likely to effectively remove the chemicals…. 

He knows his mind is wandering off, in desperate search of that pretty senior airman from fifteen minutes ago. “Bloody fucking hell,” Ghost grumbles, leaning back in his chair. His head lolls back as he blinks upward, studying the ceiling overhead. The texture is popcorn, a creamy color, with a simple fan jutting down. One light bulb, probably a recent replacement. 

Fuck. He doesn’t need this shit. Not one bit. 

Five more weeks and he’ll be gone from here. 

Ghost rechecks his watch, feeling a bit peeved at the time. 1411. He has several more hours until he can leave all this work shit behind for the evening, and maybe catch a short walk before hunkering down for the night. He doesn’t like sitting down for too long; it causes him to become restless. Agitated. Overthinking.

He doesn’t want distractions. He doesn’t need ‘em. Distractions ruin work ethic; clouding up the mind while fucking up all sense of responsibility. Price will have his ass if he – somehow – becomes compromised. And he'll never hear the end of it from Johnny. 

Settling back into the paperwork, he decides that he won’t allow himself another second thinking about all that – the American airman and her pretty brown eyes and high cheekbones and first name. 

Something tells him that’s easier said than done. 

[triglycercule]

What do you think the types of drunk would the murder trio be? Im pretty sure ask dusttale already answered this question about dust but i have to ask the mtt expert

see now askdusttale DID answer the question. but they didn't ANSWER the question when asked what dust is like drunk. they just said that dust is the type to drink himself blackout drunk. so that mean i have total freedom on deciding what the mtt are like drunk hehehe (rubs hands together in a villanous way that you would imagine nightmare doing or something idk)

i already have an absolutely hilarious idea for horror and it might just because i'm on the guilt section of his character analysis but i could TOTALLY imagine him being an emotional drunk. like he CRIES. horror sans man known for being incredibly guarded and private with what he feels bawling his eye out. he gets mad he gets sad he does not get happy because horror doesn't have the right to be happy. he is too upset over the fact that he fucking DOOMED all of horrortale because of his selfishness and nothing can stop him from being incredibly vocal about that fact so much so that killer had to tape his mouth shut because he wouldn't stop crying so loud. and then he just silently cries until he passes out from exhaustion. the alcohol has an incredibly strong effect on him because i dont think he would drink regularly plus he definitely hasnt drinken anything in those 7 years of starvation. it hits like a fucking plane crashing into him. or like getting his eye taken out again. either one!

another funny idea i had for killer would be like the alcohol affecting him but he SWEARS that he's still sober. he is very confused when he starts stumbling because wtf he doesnt FEEL drunk??? why is he bumping into walls and tables HELP WHY DOES HE SOUND FUCKING STUPID???? the alcohol is definitely effecting him but he swears he swears he doesn't feel drunk. hes not drunk its just the damn body doing this stupid bullshit!!!! he's still very aware of what's going on and is basically the same as sober but just like. he's wiggly he's wobbly and oh shit he just fell head face first into a tv whoops. he'd also have a high tolerance because just because. he can drink without feeling like shit until he just blacks out mid conversation with someone because his body couldn't take the toll of all the beer or whatever. hilarious idea triglycercule thank you triglycercule i know

dust in the context that we already know that he drinks AND he can fight against the human while like partially drunk.... i feel it would be kinda like a giggly drunk situation. except dust doesn't laugh at anything that's funny he only laughs when someone gets hurt or something. SADISTIC giggly drunk. because i can already imagine a half drunk dust laughing his ass off after killing the human and its a beautiful sight to me.

anyways imagine how it goes when you pair this sadistic giggly drunk with another that wont stop going through the 5 stages of grief and another that keeps on fucking falling over for no reason in his eyes. dream blunt rotation but the blunt is a bottle of vodka. i can already imagine it in my head and its fucking HILARIOUS. horror going on about how he caused the deaths of others and manipulated and tricked papyrus while killer is just trying his best to keep his eyes open because for some reason they won't stop trying to close. he is surprisingly getting frustated. dust has long since lost his voice laughing at this and he's just silent wheezing at everything. also phantom papyrus is only making the laughter worse because he keeps on making rude comments towards horror and killer and only he can hear him and its guffaw inducing. mtt amazing friend group you dont get shit like this anywhere else

[train-fans-anonymous]

Im back with answers and more random thoughts, first I'll answer the questions you had from the last ask. Questions will be in blue and answers will be in white/black (depending on your settings)

"Do you think it is because they wouldn’t want to lose their luxuries? are they afraid of living knowing that if they speak up they can be silenced? or do they simply not care about what’s lower than them?"

it's mostly the last reason, it simply doesn't effect them and they don't care all that much unless it effects them in some sort of way. Some do have the other reasons, but it's mostly the last

"Even if they were somehow to find someone willing to undergo a large surgery do you think it’d be safe? would there be people who take advantage of this and charge low with high interest rates to trap someone into servitude?"

It would most likely not be all that safe, with heavy risks of malpractice or outright lying about what they end up doing. I do think it would be safer to go to a Doc who us less well known or has less to gain from lying to them. I actually hadn't thought of that other idea, but now that you mention it I can totally see it happening. I think it would most likely only happen to hyper specific cast mechs, something that is harder to get by normal means.

"Are they shunned by their former friends and followers and do they continue to have the opportunity of luxury AFTER empurata?"

It really depends, it's possible to maintain a mechs status after empurata but it's very hard. If they are well known enough and their appearance is not as important to that they should be OK. (Kind of like how celebrities who do bad things can still remain in good standing)

"Do you think any (probably viewed as insane) noblemechs would display their empurata as like a “message”? or propaganda, trying to express their views."

Yes, if their personality seems to fit and that they hadn't had their personality or anything changed. There is one AU I've seen where they had starscream under go empurata, and he would definitely be the type to show it off as a statement.

"Do you think he experiences phantom pains from his hands like cramping? Or maybe sometimes he’s reach over and knocks something down because he still sometimes “feels” his hand? Is this a point of distress for him?"

Most definitely. I think any mech that gets a replacement connected to their systems or processor they tend to get phantom pains, in the case of Shockwave I think he would just permanently offline the segment of his processor related to the parts of the body he had gotten removed. Along with that I believe Shockwave could manually switch the commands used for his dominate hand to his only remaining hand. It's risky and not anything that a normal mech would consider but Shockwave isn't really a normal mech...

now I have another idea, it's related to the cycle of life for sparks and Somethings related to that.

So, new sparks are more connected to the planet and they lose connection as they grow up. They learn to walk, talk, transform, and the basic things required to live from that early connection, and they can learn and give things they learn to the planet (I think more specifically the well of the all sparks) in their early years. There is exceptions, in partial outliers. They maintain a connection and that is where they get their powers from, most don't know that but its the way they get their powers.

Anyway have fun with that one :]

Sidenote: I have finally found someone who knows what I mean when I say I wanna bite people in a good way

YOOO WERE BACK!!! my favorite time reading time 😎👍 glad to see my biting was well received, be sure to smash that subscribe button and hit the bell if you’d like to see more mutual biting xddd

Aaa it’s sad to hear Shockwave just cuts off the feedback from his hand :((( and also crazy how he pushes his physical body to the limits “It's risky and not anything that a normal mech would consider but Shockwave isn't really a normal mech...” Also bro????!?!! that end bit. Hang on just the thought that he goes out of his way to do things that nobody else would consider for the cause is [mindblown] he’s literally changing himself physically and mentally for what he thinks is best ahanbsebevsbbnnjjjjj

Interesting to hear that Starscream would show off his empurata… Honestly he is the victim of a lot already but I could see him owning it, because despite his struggles he still pushes forward towards his plans.

In addition to your thoughts of the possibility that mechs could maintain their status as empuratees, do you think they might even gain some followers FROM their empurata? Comparison between celebrities is interesting but makes a lot of sense, despite supporting or doing bad things - you can still keep power through any means necessary.

Your comment about “specific class” mechs intrigues me. Is this for mechs with a specific function or hard to come by software? Do you think there’s be essentially a body/hardware trade (like how Lockdown from Animated collects parts and mods from his bounties) in that you could trade some important part of your body or maybe even your function to regain your life? (Maybe similar to Nautica in IDW trying to sell her emotions in exchange for Skids)

This is the part I’m really excited in because I always love seeing how people write Transformers being created: their connection to the planet reminds me a lot of things like going immersant from IDW2 where bots who feel accomplished in life give their body and mind back to Cybertron. Interesting how they gather data, knowledge, and power from the planet. Do you think if a bot were to be born nearer to like the helex they’d develop differently or have different knowledge than someone from protohex? what about Cybertron’s moons? Do certain areas of Cybertron have a higher yield for outlier sparks?

Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions and to write more, this is really fun to keep up with. And yet again sorry for not receiving the notification 🫡 we stan tumblr mobile web version in this household (lying)

[littleeyesofpallas]

Okay im just gonna roll thru these issues, I guess like a liveblog, and ramble about this shit aa it comes, as i have given up trying to wrangle my adhd ass brain into actually forming cohesive thoughts...

For starters, cover art is fucking rad. Evan Cagle has just been consistently knocking these things out of the park every issue. Really sets the mood, maybe even sets expectations a little too high. On the inside though Rafael Albuquerque is no slouch. Really the aesthetics for this run has just been stellar all around. Even love the new title logo.

Anyway scene opens on an opera house, inside is a very on the nose production in which a grieving masked figure bent over the body of a collapsed woman is haunted by a bat-like demon. The dark haired boy(man?) demands to know where this unseen demon is as we got a shot of an empty seat, reserved for one Bruce Wayne. Theres a line about pearls around a neck, just in case we somehow werent picking up on the parallels.

The textography implies this is sung, and again pointing to this being an opera rather than just a spoke word stage play. The aesthetic is all very deliberately reminiscent of Phantom of the Opera. Also of passing note: the production is titled "L'Auriga" as in Italian for The Auriga, as in the constellation Auriga, "The Charioteer." He is depicted most often with a goat or kids in his arms, which given the cliche associations with satanism seem poignant here.

Elsewhere Batman beats up some gangsters doing generic crime at the docks, one of the Maroni capos is there and a sound over a loud speaker causes him to hulk out in grody dark magic fashion. Batman is a little off his game, Talia show up to finish the thing off, and she says Bruce isnt ready for the shit about to hit the fan, its older than either of them, its not human, and he's off his game... She elaborates no further and scoots off into the night.

Bruce tries to figure out why he's old and Dick pokes fun at him. He needs to see a man about a cube. (Oh the cube was being smuggled by the Maroni crew, which is where he got it and why its tied to the monster, I hadn't really made that clear... I'm not doing a very good job summarizing...)

Cool transition tho, we see the cubes source, the Orgham palace in "Svatrstal" which is as far as i can tell a meaningless assemblage of generic slavic sounds. The castle itself however is called "Coronis" after the mythic greek princess and lover of Apollo. (The more direct associations with the sun will come into play later. By proxy it might be that The Charioteer allusion could also be a reference to Apollo, via his chariot that drives the sun across the sky, making the subject of the play, Erichtonius, king of Athens.)

(Incidentally Coronis is also the name of a Spanish zarzuela by Sebastian Duron. It is about the nymph Coronas, Triton, Neptune, and Apollo, so there's that....)

But in any case we meet Arzen Orgham and his mother, in thematically appropriate sun-like headdress. She tasks her son with going to Gotham with a confusingly styled land deed(its a scroll, like with full on umbilicus, but it's apparently a legally viable document written in english?) We also get name drops of what will be his main goons, Shavhod, Neang, and Gael.

In spite of a lot of Greek mythology being flung around(Coronis, Auriga, the labyrinth) and implicit Italian to the opera themes, the core influence seems to be more Eastern European, and given the Dracula derived aesthetics it's not unexpected, but it all feels very weirdly. Also that this is apparently fully active nobility??? Like they're still rich and have modernized finances and resources (as opposed to like, an ancient dragons hoard of nonliquid but clearly "valuable" riches) so like do they govern this country????? This weird gap in information will become more of an issue with later developments...

Anyway... Gael has been the Orgham's vangaurd in Gotham, so while the young heir and his entourage are enroute, Gael slaughters the rest of the Maroni contacts he'd arranges the botched hand off of the magic cube with. He is noticeably more, uh, "ethnic"(?) looking than the other goons. Given the overall gist of the Orghams, that would seem to suggest something vaguely Mongolian adjacent? I mean, I guess it might be more obvious to assume he's meant to look Romani, but given the rest of the themes at play shouldn't they all be Romani anyway?

Anyway then Bruce has a cool nightmare about Barbatos and then wakes up to the sound of the mystery cube, which as it turns out is a music box, and the issue ends. Other than a few little oddities, I loved this issue and thought it was a great start to the story. Love the gothic horror vibe, the Dracula and Phantom of the Opera notes, the use of Barbatos, the idea of the Arkham lineage being traced back to the old country, the idea of addressing the future of Arkham Asylum(even though I could have sworn we'd already been given a different hook for that at some point...), the idea of Bruce dealing with his age it all makes for a really solid pitch. It'll get.... I don't want to say "worse" honestly, but some of those set ups will get shakier as this goes on....

[sidesteppostinghours]

i am being ENABLED. @idlenight this is on YOU 🫵

#anyways guys youre never going to guess what au ive been thinking of lately .#i know the correct way to go about this is make sidestep the main character but you see#i will not be doing that. and actually in fact i will not be following the storyline of persona 5 in the slightest. because lol#but morgana exists in this au purely because i dont think the others would survive without him explaining what the metaverse is 💀#the rangers are a team of detective for the public sector in this au#and dr mortum is an unassuming everyday scientist that should not peak the rangers interest in any way. at all#in the video game that exists in my head the player can pick between playing julia or ricardo#it doesnt change the storyline that much but it does make the character relationships funky so#in my head chen is best friends with julia and argent is best friends with ricardo#chen and ortega stumble into the metaverse together so if you pick julia its two best friends in a life or death situation#but if you pick ricardo its your sisters best friend+kinda your boss in a life or death situation which personally i find extremely funny#regardless of which ortega you play with the other one doesnt know about the metaverse until id say like. the end of the first palace? beca-#use thats when they start getting suspicious#and because this is ortega they follow them and find out about the metaverse that way#i dont think they become a phantom thief but i think they do end up covering the others asses irl#dr mortum still isnt actually a doctor but i think theyre the one providing medicine to them at the start of the game#theyre extremely wary of the rangers at the start and ortega can barely convince them to sell them things which they still charge-#-extremely high over. i think the turning point comes when they discover the metaverse because holy fuck they are So excited about it#both because of the implications and what the metaverse could be used For#chen is not thrilled about letting them know this but theyre kind of their supplier so its not like he can argue#i think mortum joins the phantom thieves eventually but as a navi#obviously its in their best interest to provide everything for free now that theyre part of the team but they still have to order supplies-#-so i think the way it works out in game is that theres certain days supplies can be ordered and you have to pay for it but the items can be#-picked up at any day of the week#but also i have no idea how that would work practically (its all in my head anyway so it doesnt actually matter but yk)#theres still more thoughts about this but im ✨running out of tags✨ and also i cannot organize my thoughts enough to explain it

my tags from the last reblog because most of the context is there (and also because i got yelled at to put it on post 😔). i ended up changing a few things but theyre gennnerally the same. n e way:

i dont know how to draw cats 👍

the twins!! plus morgana. i forgot to mention in the tags that ortega and chen stumble into the first palace like in p5 canon lmfao. morgana got roped into staying with them after he leaves the metaverse because 1. a detective would be a Massive help with finding his memories and 2. npc!ortega caught him talking with pc!ortega and chen and was charmed enough to adopt him. he couldnt stay with chen because quote, "i already have a pet. i cant deal with another one." morgana was Very offended at the implication he was a pet. like the outcome was Good, it was what he wanted, but come on man >:(

npc!ortega was v happy to have morgana over, i think other than their twin, he ends up being the person they basically rubberduck all their theories to. i kind of wanna make them basically the sojiro of this au, but also. the idea of npc!ortega getting into the metaverse and losing their beloved pet because thats A Person and not actually a cat is so good to me. i think if they do end up in the metaverse though, pc!ortega and chen would have to convince them not to join. gotta protect your sib and all that, but i think chens argument of "we need somebody to be our alibi while were in the metaverse" would actually win them over. theyre a good liar so i think they could keep them hidden for a While.

OH YEAH, speaking of chen, i think after escaping the first time, he Really didnt like the idea of going back to the metaverse. ortega had to be the one to convince him to go back and that was after hitting a roadblock with their own practical investigations.

smth i cant really figure out is if npc!ortega finds out at the end of the first palace, or around the middle, because i have this really clear image of them helping pc!ortega find supplies. theyve built up a pretty shady web of contacts– the result of years of trying to find leads for the twins private investigations– particularly, theres a little known scientist theyve heard about named dr mortum that might be able to lend their services.

concerning dr mortum, i dont think they join the phantom thieves until at Least the second palace, or midway through it. theyd be Fascinated by the metaverse, but id say theyd probably enjoy it better as an observer than being thrown into the thick of it. also, i think theyd find the vigilante work of the phantom thieves as risky and pointless, most likely the first person that really calls into question the morality of what theyre doing (not because they care about that sort of stuff, but as a way to neutrally point out their hypocrisy). ALSO. I JUST REALIZED THE SYSTEM I MENTIONED IN THE TAGS WAS NOT NECESSARY IN THE SLIGHTEST BECAUSE THERE IS SOMEBODY IN GAME THAT COULD ALREADY PROVIDE MEDICINE

the detectives probably have their own medical team they can go to right? but ortega and chen couldnt really go up and ask them for supplies without looking suspicious. but when dr mortum joins the team– well, im ngl to you, i dont think dr mortum would keep quiet about that to one of their closest friends. i have this scene where ortega and chen are getting questioned and about to have their cover blown when dr halabi comes in and saves their ass out of nowhere, after which the three of them have a Very illuminating conversation (wherein ortega gets extremely pissed that mortum kept this from them)

as for the rest of the rangers, i dont really have as much about them :') i havent thought about them as much. this is angie though!

she Knows something is up with chen and the ortegas, she just can Not for the life of her figure out what. oh, and i think daniel is the first one to find out about morgana being snuck into the workplace lmfaooo. he doesnt say anything about it but he Knows. hes the only one i have a persona in mind for– i think his would be hermes!

anyway, thats p much everything i have figured out so far. thank you for reading this far if you have!

...

oh, you wanna know about sidestep and anathema? nothing much to say. anathema was just one of the string of mysterious deaths out of nowhere. sidestep was a private detective the ortegas were fond of that disappeared around the same time it happened. presumed dead, but theres no body, so of course the ortegas are still trying to find them, the paranoid, hopeful fools. something about hollowground? whatever, its not important.

pulps law is that whenever i get insane enough about something, i will inevitably attempt to make a persona 5 au, regardless of whether or not i am successful at it.

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Someone mentioned an au where Catwoman adopts Phantom after he stopped a robbery and he was mesmerized by a space themed jewel and I'm high key obsessed over it

----

Anyway, catwoman offers to make a deal with him and Danny agrees, niether realizing making a pact between a human and a ghost and shaking on it was the equivalent of signing a devils contract. They're kinda bound to thier words now.

As a side effect of the pact, Danny is now much more cat-like with spectral cat ears and tail (im leaning towards snow leopard) and by extention more animalistic

Robin is obsessed with Touching-the-fluffing TM and will not give up trying to adopting Catboy which is weird cause Danny is two years older than him.

Catwoman is slightly more ghostly and can summon Danny and use a weakened version of some of his powers (not that she will. She has her pride after all) and she loves showing off her new kitten, even going so far to introduce him to Batmans flock.

Danny practically imprints on Red Robin and forces himself into the other boys life with the subtly of a runaway train, playfully flirting with him everytime he sees him. (Catwoman appoves)

Danny likes Nightwing but told him upon thier first meeting that if he ever used electricity on him then this kitten would steal his bones, before promptly phasing a steel pipe out of the wall of an abandoned building as example

Nightwing: D:> OK, jeez. I'm still gonna have to hit you with other stuff though. Its kinda my job.

Kitten: Oh yeah, totally. That's fine.

Robin is jealous of how much Kitten likes Red Robin but won't admit it and Red Robin is just happy to have another friend who also sneaks/brings him food and coffee on patrol

Danny might actually have a crush on Red, who knows.

[minnesota-fats]

Thank you for answering my ask!

I can see Bruce and Maddie meeting because of Science and interestingly enough, Maddie and Jack have an open relationship. I don't know why but I do ( on the flip side Vlad will self-destruct on that revelation )

How do Ra's, Talia, and Bruce himself think about Danny, his powers, and being the Ghost King? And Jack and Maddie who raised him?

Also, I find the thought hilarious if Bruce did have a 4th blood child( I'm counting Dani/Ellie ), it's freaking Marinette from Miraculous Ladybug, and JL, DP, and MLB are all on the same Earth.

Ironically Marinette was conceived the same way, drunken nightstand while in a high brow Gala in Paris with Sabine being a server, and shortly after that she met Tom, fell in live, and he raised her as his daughter.

At least Danny and Marinette can bond over them fighting fruit loops who should get a pet cat.

And the JL wasn't really on the up and up about what's going on in Paris because A) Everything gets fixed in the end and B) Kwami hijinks did a notice me not kind of Harry Potter spell until Constantine or Bruce starts poking around there. And C) Clockwerk may had helped keeping the secret because he owned the Kwami a favor.

Poor Damian once he finds out about that on top of still believing with his entire chest that Bruce + Selina = Dani will forever think that his Father, The Batman, is a Hoe 🤣

OH MY GODS THE CHAOS!!!!

—

Vlad would be so mad! And he would bitterly be sitting in the corner at a gala in Gotham and Danny would SO rub it into his face like: “oh look at how cool my second DAD is, dont you think so Vlad???” With the smuggest smirk anyone has ever seen on the boy. All the bats would be confused but Jazz (who is also there) is like: “don’t worry about it, Vlad deserves this.” Leaving the Batfam confused because this was Jazz—the voice of reason—Fenton. Then Elle would join in and just be fuckin brutal, “haha, bitch! bet you wish you were him huh?” And vlad storms off to sulk in peace. (Or try to anyway, there is no peace when there are ghost kids about!)

—

Ra’s would be bitter that the ghost king wasn’t his heir but would ultimately try to obtain Danny as a resource. Talia would be ok with Danny being the ghost king because what better way to have her son be protected than have his half brother be the king of the dead as well as having an obsession dedicated to protecting the people he cares about. Bruce would be devastated that his eldest bio son died before he was able to meet him but would quickly move on when he realizes that it doesn’t change the fact that Danny is his bio son. Ra’s Talia and Bruce all agree that the Fenton’s are very interesting people to say the least.

—

Tbh, Im not completely into the whole Miraculous x DC x Danny Phantom crossover. But I do vibe with the whole, Danny and Marinette bonding over having to fight crazy adults that need therapy. Also its Wayzz that Clockwork owes a favor to and he just puts Paris in its own little time bubble where time flows normally but the outside world is just getting signals from alternate reality Paris where nothing wins wrong.

—

Dani/Elle: “HA- your bio-dads a whore!”

Dami: “shut up!”

Danny: “your my clone so he is technically your bio-dad too.”

Danny/Elle: “HA- our bio-dad’s a whore!”

Marinette: “I don’t know how I got into this situation, I just want to draw in PEACE???”

And as said before, there is no peace when there are ghost children about. (Also batkids)

[quirkless-accident]

The story of how the "ghost king:Phantom" became his hero title.

Because im sure as hell he didnt do that on pupose. Most likely spread via public until it just stuck.

(Makes you wonder what the original title was)

Nobody's really sure who coined the term, but it caught on like wildfire.

The Ghost King: Phantom.

It was far more dark and menacing than the hero himself, which was a double edged sword. Good against villains, but it made other heroes wary of working with him.

But Shouta was there when he went from Danny to Phantom to the Ghost King.

It happened shortly after Danny made his debut as Phantom, when they were eighteen and barely graduated. Because with his increased training came an increase of power, which was only boosted by his official crowning in the Ghost Zone, it only made the supernatural flock to him like a homing beacon.

Shades became visible to the human eye, and grotesque beings with veins full of rotted ectoplasm became frequent, and each and every time any breed of ghost came out of their little hidey hole, it was Phantom who took care of it.

Danny might have been confused, but Shouta remembers how he looked, materializing out of nowhere, and floating down like an angel of death with his long cloak of stars and blazing green eyes to send the spirit back to wherever they belonged.

Shouta had seen it half a dozen times before a reporter finally witnessed it. They had described it as Terrifyingly safe, and Raw power that can't be contained even by him, or regal to no end, even when he's covered dust and blood.

Because, well, he was.

With his debut, and with his crown, came a certain level of authority he had never had before. His shoulders were back and his head held high, and he looked down his nose at those who were willing to oppose him. His aura was calming for those who were seeking safety, and the most unsettling thing to those who were wreaking havoc. Calling him ethereal, unworldly, was really just scratching the surface. Because to Shouta, there were no words to describe the power that came from Danny. Especially when he was honing in on his obsession.

So, no, Shouta had expected this. Danny had been confused, because to him, even as the King of the Infinite Realms, he's still just plain old loser Danny who was mercilessly beat up until his first year at U.A. And while Shouta saw that too, he was also able to recognize the absoluteness of Danny's power. He knew that they were all lucky Danny was on their side, because if he wasn't, they would have been bowing down before him a long time ago.

Shouta looked over to the side, watching as Hizashi balanced another mug on top of Danny's sleeping form. They had class in twenty minutes, so he wasn't surprised that Danny was taking the time to catch a few extra minutes of sleep. He looked just like the rest of them when he did. Peaceful (as much as a ghost king can be, anyway) and softly snoring. Breathing steadily, with no weird glow or echoing voice. Just...Danny. Seeing him like this made it hard to imagine the power thrumming just beneath the surface, but even with the knowledge that he could decimate entire countries with a flick of his wrist, he could still only ever see him as plain old Danny, who offered him a helping hand when nobody else would.

Power isn't the only thing that makes a king, after all. Sometimes all you need to be a good king is compassion.

Lucky for them, Danny oozes that, too.

[dreamrecorder]

Ok so- idk if you’ve seen demon slayer;; but there’s this episode (it was during the spider fambam arc) aNywaYs- so like. Rui yeets ties* (i guess-) Nezuko like. Up in the air. With his weird spider thread jazz— and like. It’s sHarP weird spider thread jazz— so she’s like. Yknow. Being sliced and diced with string— but it kindaaa reminds me of like. Xiao. And his like.... weird... sad.... uh. Karma. Thing. Like y’know where he’s like hanging from his arms- red stuff. Yeah. So like. Now for the actual request

Xiao’s s/o (female if you don’t mind;;) gets kidnapped by like— the fatui or smth. And they tie her up like Nezuko :D to be like “lol haha Xiao be all like-” and she’s just. Like. Dying. Slowly. Dripping b l o o d and yknow. All the tea. And Xiao comes to rescue her— and he’s like 0-0 “wait...” and he realizes that’s like- exactly what happens to him- and so. He beats the fatui’s butts saves his s/o, anddddd she like.

Idk. This is where I need your angst expertise ❤️ like- she could d i e. In his arms. And poor Xiao would be so scarred omg poor thing- BUT THE ANGST- but at the same time;;;; the f l u f f of him being able to save her just in time and she was like fighting for him the whole time or whatever and ended up needing him to save her anyways- and then Xiao feeding her almond tofu until she gets better ❤️❤️❤️

IM SORRY THAT WAS SO LONG- im probably going crazy from lack of sleep from reading fics for too long sndndnsnsj

But if you do this,,, BLESS YOUR SOUL I HOPE TO EITHER BALL MY EYES OUT OR SQUEAL FROM THE WHOLESOMENESS-

Anyways.... thank you! Have a stellar day~ ✨❤️

The heart yearns and the wind heard

lmao this ask is so adorable i hope you’d enjoy this ksks

anyway, full Angst train up ahead but there are moments of Fluff too. There are mentions of blood and violence if those are not your thing- dont worry guys, this goes with a happy ending cos you and Xiao deserve one~ on a final note- non canon compliant and suuuuuuper long- like- legit this is very long

The Yaksha sighs.

He’s here again. His mind and heart has returned his being into this crimson world his demons have created within him.

He feels it. He feels the corruption binding him tighter again for every death he brings by his tainted hands.

He looks at his bindings. And ever so slowly, the red and black coiling around his person will eventually reach his heart.

One day, he thinks, all this crimson and black in this world will swallow him whole and he will see the light no more.

Xiao sighs again.

This is his karmic debt.

~

The moment you stepped foot within Wangshu Inn, you knew he was in his prison again. After giving a quick greeting to the inn keeper, you hastily went to Xiao’s room. The closer you got, the heavier the atmosphere became.

You reached his door and knocked softly. As expected, no reply as he continues to struggle to take back his control over himself. Without hesitation, you stepped in. To anyone else, they would have instantly met his spear at their throats, but with you, this doesn’t happen. Instead, you see him crouched on the wooden floor with a hand on his chest. His knuckles were white and his breathing was ragged. His amber eyes- lost. Observing his form, yes… his moments of corruption are becoming progressively worse.

With swift steps of familiarity to this routine, you went to him and grasped his shoulders.

“Xiao, it’s me…” You whispered with clarity. And oh- how your voice brought a wave of comfort to his soul.

“N-name…” His voice cracked, but him calling to you is always a good sign.

You gave him a small smile and proceeded to grasp his hands together with yours. After which, you then leaned your forehead to his to chant your prayers. As your prayers progressed, slowly but surely, the corruption begins to fade along with the black mist that covered him. However, you took note how this ritual took longer than the last.

Once everything is done, Xiao just slumped onto your shoulders, still breathing deeply. “How are you feeling?” It was a useless question you asked every time this happens, but you always, always, have to make sure.

Usually, he would mutter a small ‘fine,’ but now- words seemed to have left his mind and all he could muster was an almost-unnoticeable shrug.

Truth be told- his response disheartened you, but you did not show it. Instead, you opted to simply encase him in your arms and caress his hair. After all, these are just one of the few, rare moments Xiao would leave himself into your care. Xiao is aware, himself, that his state has been becoming worse and worse. And you both know, that a day would come when he would just attack anyone- friend or foe- without a trace of hesitation. So, just this time- he speaks his feelings.

“Name?”

You answered immediately with a questioning hum.

“What would you do… when I finally lose control over myself?”

It was very subtle, but he felt how your hand stopped caressing his hair for a second, then proceeded to the previous task at hand again. In all honestly, you can never find yourself having an answer to that question. “And why would I ever let that happen to you?” You questioned back, fully aware that you were dodging his question.

Silence surrounded the two of you, unsure on what to do with the sudden heavier atmosphere.

Not wanting to face the cruelty of the world yet, Xiao simply buried himself on the crook of your neck even more. And despite the ghostly sensation of his lips on your skin, you could feel him mouth the words ‘I love you.’

“As long as I’m here,” you whispered, “nothing can hurt you.” And that was the most beautiful lie that the Yaksha has heard, but he was willing to believe all the same.

~

When word about Fatui diplomats starting a bank reached you, there was a nagging feeling in your head that trouble would bring itself present anytime soon. It was like an itch that wouldn’t get away. And the only way to have that itch gone is to scratch it.

“You are absolutely a fool.” Xiao stated darkly with crossed arms, for once disagreeing with the plans of his master.

“We can never know what their intentions are unless we let them start their bank, no?” Zhongli said as he gazed at the marsh spread beneath him.

The Yaksha only scoffed but said no more.

Building up your courage, you deemed it was your turn to voice out your thoughts, “Um… Rex Lapis, I see your point, but wouldn’t it be best to resolve the problem before it persists into something larger? We all know- All of Teyvat knows, that the Fatui are not to be trusted.”

Your archon offered you a kind smile, “I understand your worries, Name. However, as of the moment, they have not presented themselves as such. If they truly are our enemies, then it would be beneficial for us to know their intentions.”

You frowned deeply at his statement. Seeing you do so, somehow, your archon immediately identified your main concern.

“Is this about the Tianquan assigning you to be her representative for the Fatui?”

The moment those words left his mouth, a growl tore from Xiao’s throat, but he held his tongue.

“Did Ganyu tell you?”

The Archon nodded and you sighed.

“I volunteered, actually.”

And at that point, Xiao vanished into thin hair, but you could still his sense his presence around.

“May I know why?” Zhongli questioned gently.

For a moment, you struggled for words. You didn’t know how to describe this ‘itch’ to him. “At first, it was supposed to be Ganyu, since in the Tianquan’s eyes- Ganyu is an adeptus and she does not know that I am, too. Perhaps she didn’t want to put me in harm’s way, a ‘visionless human’ at the side of a harbinger. After some convincing to Ningguang for my volunteering, I spoke to Ganyu next.

“The adepti are divine beings that walk here in Liyue. I had this feeling that putting a divine next to a power-hungry harbinger would become an issue. I told Ganyu that, since I looked ‘harmless’ and ‘ordinary,’ the harbinger’s interest about the divine would never surface.”

A stretch of silence wrapped around them as Zhongli pondered over your words. “Perhaps, are you also planning to dig out the truth of their arrival?”

You nodded, “I knew you would allow them to stay, so I just took it upon myself to unfurl their secrets.”

“Hmmm… I grant you permission on doing this. However, should trouble arise, do not hesitate to tell us.”

~

The glare pointed at you was strong. Even without him saying a single word, you could hear his phantom voice in your head speak with such coldness, What are you thinking?

You simply gave him a reassuring smile, “I’ll be fine, Xiao. I may be a human in mortal eyes, but please do remember that I am also an adeptus, no matter how weak I am.”

Xiao releases a huff, but still sits by your side at the floor of the balcony, letting the moon kiss his skin. “You’re not weak.” He mumbled as he snaked his hand to yours.

To him, you will never be weak. In fact, you were the strongest being he has ever laid his eyes on. Not physically, no. It was you mental and emotional fortitude. Back during the Archon War, he always admired how you kept your head held up high no matter the suffering you have experienced. No matter how much death surrounded you, you still fought. And that strength made you a survivor. During the war, you never failed to help the wounded. Even when someone dies under your care, you held strong for the departed and for those who are left behind. You were a pillar of hope.

He brings your hand to his lips and kisses every knuckle “… Just be careful. If ever you are in trouble do not-“

“Hesitate to call your name.” You finished, beaming at his words.

~

As someone who used to be a healer and a doctor, you were quite familiar with several mild skin diseases that mortals can suffer from.

If there is an itch, you do not scratch it- for you will only aggravate the area even more.

Now that you’re working alongside the Fatui as the Tianquan’s representative, the itch you kept feeling was only irritated more. Especially whenever you spoke with the Harbinger who goes by the name Childe. And since your work requires you to cooperate with him, you also don’t miss the chance to discover what he hides, should the opportunity presents itself.

Childe… his azure eyes certainly have their… charm to those unaware. However, you knew better. You know he’s capable of drowning you just by his eyes. While he may be a cheerful man, his eyes lack the lustre of joy. The eyes are the windows of the soul, yes? If so, all you see is an unending ocean that you do not want to swim in. The surface may be calm, but the deep is relentless. However, duty bound you are- deep within the ocean, you shall find the secrets the Fatui hides.

Again, another scratch to the itch, but it only irritates you more.

~ 

The news of Rex Lapis’s death became the catalyst of you confronting the Harbinger. From Yujeng Terrace all the way to Northland Bank, you ran (with Ningguang’s permission of course). Before you can even open the door to his office, something caught your eye.

It’s faint, but you’re an adeptus. You sensed elemental traces, just smack bang at the middle of the door. You carefully scrutinized the tracings, and fortunately you knew Snezhnayan script. And what you read only made your heart sink.

It’s ready.

With the adeptal arts, you managed to uncover the origins of these elemental tracings.

Scratch.

Without hesitation, you followed these tracings until it led you into some ruins.

Scratch.

Following the tracings further, you find yourself in a dimly lit room. Wary, you summoned your weapon imbued with your element.

Scratch.

Searching the room, you came across several antique boxes. You opened them.

Scratch.

What you saw were familiar. Too familiar. Dimming the room more with your element, you find more Sigils of Permission hanging on the walls and on the ceilings. The energy within them were faint, but with enough numbers, it’s enough to kill a-

“Well, well well, I thought you’d be there mourning for your Archon. But here you are, snooping around someone else’s research material.”

The sound of his voice made you sharply turn your head to him, your stance now more offensive. “What are you planning?” You bit coldly.

The Harbinger hummed a small tune, “Nothing much… But! If you’re really curious, I guess I could tell you.” He hummed some more but you knew he’s not finished. Once he finished his tune, he grinned to you menacingly and the depths in his eyes became even deeper and darker, “After all, I won’t let you leave this place with you knowing my secret~”

~

There was this one time, Xiao struggled against himself so much, he scratched himself red so that he could anchor himself back to the real world. You remembered how much you cried as he slept in your arms. You never wanted to see him do that again. Seeing him hurt himself also hurt you, too. It was like a stab in the heart, then a twist, and twist some more. A slap in the reality that you might lose him one day.

As he slept, you solemnly observed the wounds he sustained himself to. They were angry red, just like blood.

Now, you, yourself scratched that itch in your head too much into a wound for blood to seep through. You scratched too much and now you have to bleed from it.

~

You were slipping in and out of consciousness. Sleep was tempting you more and more but you know you have to wake up. You were aware that this is going on for days.

Everything hurts. You remembered how his blades, imbued with the Sigils, weakened you thoroughly. Every slash he brought to your body just drained the energy away from you. But still you had to do something.

He wanted an adeptus- he wanted an adeptus in order for the Sigils to grow stronger both in number and in power.

Now here you are, bound by chains and suspended at the middle of this empty room. These chains were adorned by talismans that drained away your energy. You were bleeding from your wounds of your previous battle.

Drip. Drip. Drip goes the blood and pools on the ground underneath you. The ground, you barely noticed, was lined by Liyuean script which enacts the ritual of the Sigils draining your divine power from your blood.

To the eyes of a sadist- you were a picture perfect in a canvas. A dark room lined by the damned Sigils, glowing an eerie gold. Then there's you with your bloodied clothes and chains. The red pool underneath was casting a red glow on your way, giving you a red shade to your pale skin.

Everything hurts-

And everything was driving you mad.

You can also feel the Overlord of the Vortex feed from your energy through the Sigils. You sensed his lust for power and revenge. You felt his anger and the corruption within him. You felt his hatred and his want to bring death. For days that felt like years, you’ve been battling against that very same god in your head. This battle was not something you shall not lose to and failure is not an option. If you fail here, then Liyue will fall. 

This god- he was driving you mad slowly.

If ever you are in trouble, do not hesitate to call my-

You shut the thought from your head. You are not going to call him. You will not speak of him. You will not think of him. You will not call him. Not to this place where his corruption will grow. No. You Will Not Call Him.

If it means that me not calling you will keep you safe from the corrupted remnant of a god- so be it. 

Please

However, no matter how much you denied yourself to call his name, no matter how much your heart yearns to be with him- the wind does not ignore the pained sob that left your lips.

~

Ever since the news of Rex Lapis's death and the visit of the Traveler with a Sigil in his hand- the corruption within him just bloomed into something feral.

The Sigil- there was something wrong about it but Xiao doesn't know what is it that is wrong. Then there's you- where are you? Surely with the news of their Archon's death- it would send you to bring forth a meeting for the adepti to talk this over. But now- for days- you remain not by his side.

With you missing- the demons inside him are slowly taking control over him, taking advantage of his vulnerability for you. For each passing day, it was slow torture for him- The worry bubbling in him was consuming him. He glared at the Sigil between his fingers and not failing to notice how his dark aura covers him once more. 

“Traveler,” Xiao called sharply, “What is it you intend to do next?” 

To any mere mortal, the look his eyes held were enough to strike fear, but the Traveler stealed themselves- meeting the adeptus’s gaze with an equally serious calm. “I have my suspicions on a certain harbinger and I-”

“Where?” The Yaksha growled.

“In the Golden House.”

Without a word nor warning, Xiao placed a hand on the Traveler’s shoulder and teleported them to the place where the Exuvia is hidden.

To the Traveler, everything happened so quickly as one event led to another. One moment, they were standing among unconscious bodies of the Millelith then the next thing they knew a corrupted and demonic gust of wind flew them away to the side. Regaining back their vision, they could see Alatus’s spear now at Tartaglia’s barrier made of Sigils. 

Alatus narrowed his eyes at the floating talismans and began to calculate the flow of this incoming battle with precision and accuracy despite his losing control over himself. 

It was a tense minute of sizing each other up, but eventually, Tartaglia has broken the silence with his annoying innocent voice. 

“Who would have thought that I’d have the honor of fighting another adeptus of Liyue?” 

The question immediately fed the corruption within him, the dark aura exploding at it. He knew that he should not believe in the Harbinger’s words so easily, but the glint in the latter’s eyes held truth. You could be out there, hurting, scared, alone. You could be out there, bleeding out. You could be out there dyi-

His aura exploded once more at the thoughts spreading in his being. With a burst of unspeakable power, Alatus lifted his weapon and pierced the barrier once more, this time breaking it without failure. At the threat, Tartaglia backed away as he donned his mask.

In a similar fashion, Alatus, too donned his mask. “I will ask you once,” the Conqueror of Demons spoke with a deathly calm, “Where is she?”

~

He should have killed him then and there. But the call of the Overlord of the Vortex must not be ignored as it threatens Liyue. 

In the small opportunity of escape, Childe took it. But he was weak and injured as Alatus swiftly threw his spear to block his way and teleported right in front of him. In a show of power, the Conqueror of Demons lifted the mortal by the neck.

“I will ask you again, where is she?”

In fear, Childe told him everything and at his every word, Xiao listened carefully- never speaking once. But the anger within his heart, it boils- it rages. His amber eyes bored into Childe’s soul- thinking what he should do to this mortal. Oh how killing him would be so nice. However, when the Yaksha’s gaze landed on the regal form of the Exuvia, he merely threw the mortal in its way.

“Killing you would have been easier. However, the crimes you have presented against Liyue are not mine for me to judge.

I leave the Harbinger to you... Rex Lapis.”

Once out of the Golden House, the Overlord roared once more, shaking the lands of the nation. However, along with it, he heard the faintest of voices. I’m so sorry... I couldn’t hold him back anymore. 

Only then did the demons in his heart freely took control of him. Just like the stories of old, where the Yaksha walks, death follows. But they were no stories. In his way towards the ruins where you were held captive, every step he took brought carnage and even more death and blood to taint his hands. No Fatui will leave this place alive. The very being of destruction ended many lives. Each death, the demons were growing stronger.

All he wanted now was to kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill killkillkill killkill kill killkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkill

Then seeing you suspended in the ceiling and bound by chains. Blood was painted on your lifeless skin. Wounds were littered and bruises were blooming on your form. But most of all, your eyes. What were once full of life and hope- now empty and blank. His demons quieted down.

Broken. You were like a broken porcelain doll.

“N-name...” His voice cracked, not believing it all.

With haste, he quickly broke your binds and caught you in his arms. he was fast to check for your pulse and your breathing. And thank the Archons, you were breathing but barely. You were now walking the line between life and death. With all his might yet a gentle caress, he hugged you for dear life. “Name... It’s me...”

But still, your eyes still held no recognition and it shattered his heart to pieces. With further inspection, he sensed the presence within you. A corruption. A certain evil. 

“Name, stay with me please,” Xiao begged with desperation as he fought back tears. “It’s me who supposed to be the corrupted one between us, not you... I’m not allowing you to leave me, you hear me-”

With a ritual of the adeptal arts, he started purging and purifying the evil left by the god who fed from you. He is not letting you stay alone in your prison, not for a second longer. 

Xiao prays and he never prayed before. Even to his master. But just this once, He prays with desperation. You are the light in his darkness. You are the moon in his night. 

The ritual was a delicate process. For every word he spoke, he was rewarded by your screams of pain and the writhing of your fragile body. He wanted to stop, but he can’t. He had to physically restrain you from trying to escape from his embrace and from hurting yourself. And for every cry you released, Xiao merely shuts his eyes clos just for him not to see your pained eyes. Every now and then, Xiao speaks gentle apologies and words of encouragement for you. You were coming back. But still, the evil persists.

You writhed and scratched against him, until you were creating more wounds for blood to seep through. When it came to a point, you began pleading and begging for him to stop, that was when Xiao had shed a tear. So he continues the ritual, his prayers, and his apologies. They were arriving to a point where the ritual is reaching its conclusion but your screams only grew louder.

Please, just a little more...

Please, just stop...

Please...

The corruption disintegrated away from you in a forceful release of dark energy. He was breathing deeply, attempting to calm his loud heart. When he placed his gaze on you, you were breathing rapidly and your eyes were searching blindly and your hands were desperately holding onto him.

“X-Xiao...” You whispered, “Where am I? Where are you?”

With a sigh of relief, the Yaksha hugged you again closer and his forehead to yours, fearing you would go away again. The action made you lift your hands to his face, still searching blindly.

“I’m here, Name... I’m here.” At his voice, the dam in your eyes broke as you cried silently. Xiao was not adept in emotions, but for you, he will face them gladly. He lets you cry as he gives you soft whispers of assurance, safety, love, and promises. However, you were not crying because of what had happened to you. You were crying for him. After experiencing such corruption-

You sobbed some more- you were this close to him losing you and you could not bring yourself to imagine if your roles were reversed.

“P-please,” you said with a broken voice, “please don’t go to the place where I can’t follow...’

The words, at first puzzled him, but after a few moments, he realized and once more it broke his heart. Bringing you closer, Xiao let loose the tears he was holding back. With a gentleness unexpected of the Conqueror, he simply littered your face with kisses. “I promise if only you would do the same.”

With your smile that he loved dearly for so long you too spoke your promise, “I do.” They were simply two words, but the comfort they bring into the Yaksha’s heart was in volumes.

After that, you shared a few tender moments in each other’s arms. Simply relishing the feeling of their familiar warmth. A little later, Xiao spoke, “Would you like to eat some Almond Tofu once we get home?”

The question made you giggle at his innocence, so you agreed. Despite you needing physical medical attention. But Almond Tofu with him? Yes, you two definitely need some emotional healing.

A/N: fINALLY dONE lmao this was supposed to be short but angst really makes me want to write longer everytime haha~ anyway this request really made me ponder bout genshin stuff with all the corruption this and corruption that but then a question popped up like-

how did childe replicate the sigil of permission? since sigils are imbued with divine energy, i just thought how did this guy accumulate so much sigils to the point of freeing Osial- a god!!! soooo i just played with the idea for a bit then figured out maybe these pieces of paper get the divine energy from a divine source right? and the adepti are divine beings of liyue and another thing- you guys might have noticed the change of names in some scenes- i dont know but i think somehow different names represents different side of a person like- we have childe the cheerful harbinger then tartaglia the power hungry harbinger- there’s Alatus who’s calculating and cold, there’s the Conqueror of Demons who’s ruthless and unforgiving, then Xiao who is calm and humane- lastlyyyyy i might post this in ao3 ksks

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Prompt: Vampire Chris drunk on blood?

CW: Drunkenness, drug addiction, blood drinking, vampirism, creepy abusive comfort, WWI-period-appropriate xenophobia and brief vague possible homophobia reference, dehumanization, war whump

"Now, that'll get you blotto faster'n French liquor," Kirk says, sinking back against the muddy trench wall, careless for the dirt caking itself into the hair at the nape of his neck.

His helmet lay beside him upside down on the ground, and his brown hair was free to explode in its wealth of curls, a kind of halo around his head. He had one arm out, sleeve rolled back. His hands were caked in mud and smeared with drying dirt - above the line of his sleeve, though, the skin was paper-white, almost clammy.

It was this white skin that the vampire's fangs were buried in.

"Shit, Holden, y'gotta have 'im bite you, too." Kirk's grin widens. The shells had gone silent but every man flinches, now and then, hearing a phantom sound or feeling a rumble beneath their feet.

At least it's finally stopped goddamn raining.

The venom rolls through Kirk's veins, soothing his jangled nerves. He can barely feel the trembling in his hands and it feels like his mind, when it's in him. He's a farm kid from western Nebraska, the second son and not needed so much as the first to bring the crops in. So here he is, learning to love the feeling of teeth in his skin.

Maybe when he gets shipped back home he'll stick to the cities. They say the vampires have their dens there, where they can hide. You can buy venom enough to quiet your mind for a day or two, the city boys tell him.

They're in it as deep as he is, now.

Feels like half the American army is itching for venom these days.

"No thank you. I'm not gonna get sent home and start chasing fangs like the rest of you." Holden squints, looking up into the dark sky, the rolling clouds that seem far too close to the ground. "It'll rain again soon."

"When isn't it going to rain again soon? Oh, right, when it's already bloody raining." That's a Brit, they just call him Tommy. No one knows his real name.

He claims to hate them all, but since half his unit was blasted apart two days ago, he's hung with the 'Yanks' close enough. Kirk thinks he's fond of them, even if he won't admit it. Or just scared to be alone. He can understand that. He's terrified of the thought himself. "Shove the little vamp over to me, Kirk, I want some."

The vampire pulls his fangs free, licking over the wounds he's made until they close. He's a skinny little thing, pale as paper with bright red hair they stuff under his helmet when he's running medic checks in No Man's Land, trying to make him less obvious. Sure, he can't die from gas, but he can be blown to bits by a whizz-bang fast as any living soldier can.

"Please," The vampire says, turning big green eyes up to Kirk. "I, I, I'm tired, please, can I sleep?"

He's got heavy dark circles under his eyes. It's kind of cute.

"No," Kirk answers, curt, shoving the vampire away by his head, watching him fall into the mud. His uniform is marked with it, now, a dab of dirt over the 'V' sewn next to his medic's cross. There's a satisfaction, in Kirk, just in seeing the little thing laid low.

He won't die in this war, and Kirk probably will, but before that happens he can at least hurt something he can see. You can't see old Fritz when you fire on him from a distance - but you can see a vampire flinch in the dirt. It's not much.

It's something.

"Must be daytime," Holden speaks up, still staring up at the clouds. "You can't tell, weather like this, but if the fangs're tryin' to sleep, must be day."

"He sleeps when we're done with him, and not a moment before." Kirk's voice is a murmur, eyes half-closed. He's drifting in it, the way the venom dulls and deadens the eternal ache in his back and legs. The Germans could come roaring over the bags right this second and Kirk wouldn't give a damn at all. Let them kill him, at least he can go with venom in his veins, not as a basket case carried off the field. "Not a second before. Go on, bloodsucker. Get over to Tommy and help him get some shut-eye, huh?"

"I've been drinking all night, pulled some rations off someone," Tommy groans, rubbing his fingers at his temples. "It's done no good at all." It's a funny little gesture, so oddly normal and casual. Reminds Kirk of home.

His throat tries to close, homesickness bowling him over. The wish to return to his mother's worn smile, sit down to dinner and have her ask him about his day, when his problems revolved around the harvest and the hard backs of the pews in church-

He takes a breath, forcing it back, and gives the vampire a vicious kick in the ribs, listening to his high-pitched cry and how he curls around himself with a smile of his own.

Oh, he'll die, probably. The others from his town already have. But he can remind himself he's still alive, for now. One way or another. He can cause pain he can't feel himself, for once.

"I said get over to Tommy and smooth out his sharp bits, bloodfuck."

"Yes, um, y-yes, Kirk," The vampire says, pulling himself onto his hands and knees. His fingers are smashed into the mud deep enough to nearly disappear. If they could only get a few days of sunlight to dry out all this dirt, it wouldn't be such hell.

As it is, his socks've been damp for weeks, his boots feel like they're caging his feet in a swamp. He's worried about trenchfoot and trying not to think about it. He stole these boots off a dead German when his own started to fall apart, anyway.

He could've probably gotten new ones, but... it had felt good, taking something from Fritz after Fritz took so much from him.

Kirk tries not to remember that the German soldiers he fights have never caused him a single moment's harm on purpose. They're only fighting for the same reasons he is - because someone higher up who doesn't give a damn about them said to.

Kirk had been all gung-ho for the war until he'd been sent over here to fight it. All those articles in the newspapers, all the speeches given by men standing in town squares... it had all made it seem so patriotic.

They never tell you, Kirk thinks bitterly, that you'll be sent into a slaughterhouse. They don't tell you you'll spend your day breaking a vampire's fingers one by one just to watch them heal back into place and listen to his little cries.

Just to pass the time.

"Trade me your flask while the fangs takes care of you," Kirk says, and Tommy hands it over easy enough.

He watches Tommy grab the vampire by one arm and yank him over, vicious and violent, making the vampire boy cry out again. The sound is starting to grate on Kirk's nerves. It makes him sound too human. He hates being reminded that every vampire used to be a person.

He drinks whatever's in the Brit's flask, and it burns down his throat just the way he needs it to. Wipes out his worries, relaxes shoulders that seem always to be tensed up nearly to his chin.

His mama's a teetotaler, back in Nebraska. He'd been one, too, until the first bombardment. Now he drinks anything he could get his hands on, and the officers mostly looked the other way.

"Bite," Tommy orders. Kirk raises his eyebrows when Tommy doesn't roll up his sleeve but pushes the vampire's face instead towards his neck, turning his head to the side to bare it.

His eyes meet Kirk's, and he smiles, bitterly. "Works faster this way," He explains. Kirk just watches as the vampire's fangs glint in the eternal dim twilight, hesitating before they bury themselves in Tommy's skin.

The little monster's back arches, pressing them chest-to-chest. A low rumble comes from somewhere deep inside, the animal sound the vampire makes during a good feed. He doesn't do it much with the regular unit any longer, they mocked him for it and one day he stopped.

The vampire's throat works as he drinks, and Tommy's arm slides around the monster's thin shoulders, forcing him closer. He's nearly kissing his forehead, this way.

It's an embrace, and altogether more intimate of one than Kirk thought he'd ever see from the cold, standoffish Brit. He feels a blush creeping up his neck and his cheeks as Tommy lets his head fall back, groaning softly in a kind of contentment as the venom hits. The sound isn't quite like a groan at all, it's more like-

"Fucking hell, Tommy, are you an invert?"

"Invert suggests I give a damn what bites me," Tommy replies, without opening his eyes. His slurred speech deepens, goes slow. His hand curves around the vampire's shoulder, holding him tightly. "I'm after oblivion, lads. I don't care what parts the fangs have that give it to me."

"Fang-chaser," Holden says, good-naturedly. Clearly not bothered the way Kirk is. Maybe that's just his farmboy past talking, that he's even unsettled at all. Maybe Tommy's got a point - who cares what's between a vampire's legs if you're only interested in the damn thing's mouth in the first place? "Fucking fang-chaser, that's what you are. End up in a den getting your hips bit like Oscar Wilde."

"Who's Oscar Wilde?"

Holden laughs. "You should try reading a book or three sometime, Kirk."

"Sure, sure, whenever I get the damn time in-between running over this blasted nothing. In any case, Tommy's definitely a fang-chaser."

"Guilty as charged... just like you two." Tommy's hand slides up into the vampire's hair, gripping tight and gently pulling backwards. The vampire's fangs slide free, and it laps at the wounds, rapidly. Tommy groans again. Kirk finds himself unable to look away at the bob of Tommy's throat. How good does it feel, in the neck? He's never thought to try it. He thinks about it now. "Turn me in to face discipline for unnatural relations with the fangs and I'll do the same to you."

"Yeah, yeah, we got it. Fucking Limey bastard." There's no real animosity in Kirk's voice. He's too distracted, drunkenly considering the vampire boy's mouth. Wondering if he knows how to kiss. "You shared your liquor, I shared our bloodsucker, we're both of us in it to our necks."

"Not me," Holden says, innocent and pure as the driven snow. As if he weren't the one to give Kirk the idea to use the venom in the first place.

Kirk throws a clot of mud at him, which he dodges, laughing. They're all laughing, soon enough, except for the fangs.

The vampire lays there, his head pressed to Tommy's chest and forcibly held in place by his arm. His eyes are slightly wide, unfocused, and Kirk leans forward.

"What's this, then? What'd you do to the fangs, Tommy?"

"Hm? Nothing. Oh, I'm pissed as can be, do they feel the liquor in your blood?"

"I'm guessing they sure do. You drunk, fangs?"

The vampire's eyes drift over to Kirk, move too far to one side, come back again. He swallows, thickly. "I... I think I, I, I am," He says, and tries to push back against Tommy's chest, to free himself.

The Brit's arm crushes him back into place, his other hand moving up to run through the vampire boy's dirt red hair, petting him like one of the ambulance dogs. Kirk and Holden laugh at the vampire's weakness. "Stay right where you are," Tommy murmurs. "Or I'll run you through with my bayonet and let you squirm all day."

"Christ," Kirk says, blinking. "That's a bit rough, isn't it?"

"He's not alive, what does it matter?" Tommy lets out a bitter little laugh. "Might as well get a preview of our own ends, shouldn't we?"

"You two, maybe." Holden crawls into the dugout, the little bed-space, a kind of cave dug in underneath the upper layers of the trench. He lays down on his back, closing his eyes, hands behind his head. "I'm going to go back home and never think of you lot ever again."

"I pray every night to make it home," Kirk says, nodding along. "Not sure anyone's listening, but I got to try, don't I?"

"What happens to the fangs, anyway?" The Brit looks up, rocking a little back and forth. As if the bloodsucker were a baby needing soothing. The vampire boy has relaxed against him, the liquor-laced blood he drank lulling him into a complacent bonelessness. Kirk watches the vampire boy's fingers start to tap over the Brit's chest, a strange movement he's seen the boy do before in his few relaxed moments between the scream of the shells. He hums, low in his throat, tuneless.

"Huh?" Kirk blinks. "What d'you mean, what happens to him?"

"After the war's done. What are they gonna do with the bloodsuckers? Can't exactly pin a bloody ribbon for valor on them and send them on their way, now can they?"

"Nope. I don't know what happens. Maybe they'll just stake them all and have done with them."

The vampire shudders, giving a little whimper. Tommy leans down, lips moving against the vampire's hair. "Ssssshhhh. Not to worry, little fangs. War's not over just yet, now is it?"

"N-... no. Not, not, not, not yet." The vampire's eyes close, pink-tinged tears creating pale tracks in his dirty face. He's a sad drunk, then, Kirk figures.

Aren't they all, these days.

"Maybe you'll outlive us all, and make fools of us for keeping you." Tommy speaks with a patronizing affection, as mocking as it is tender, petting through the creature's hair still. It's... unsettling to watch. Kirk had figured the Brits and French probably killed all their vamps, since they were all disturbed by the sight of the vampire medics when the doughboys first arrived in Europe.

This, though... this makes it seem like Tommy's known a vampire or two himself, in his life. And he's sure as fuck not unfamiliar to what venom is good for outside of giving relief from agony to the injured.

Kirk frowns, thoughtful.

He's turned into a thoughtful drunk, too, thanks to this goddamn war. Sad and thoughtful. What a fucking waste.

"Sleep," Tommy says, almost gently, to the drunk little vampire. "I've got you. Sleep, little one."

The vampire's eyes slip closed. He doesn't breathe - there's no sense of his chest rising and falling. Kirk has to look away before the sense of wrongness, watching Tommy cuddle a corpse, makes him sick.

He takes a long, long draught from the flask, and relishes the burn that reminds him he's human, and alive.

His own eyes slip shut, and he prays for an hour or two of sleep before the next screaming shell bursts overhead.

-

@mylifeisonthebookshelf @insaneinthepaingame @keeper-of-all-the-random-things @burtlederp @finder-of-rings @astrobly @newandfiguringitout @pretty-face-breaker @endless-whump @gonna-feel-that-tomorrow @doveotions @boxboysandotherwhump @oops-its-whump @cubeswhump @whump-tr0pes @downriver914 @whumptywhumpdump @whumpiary @orchidscript @nonsensical-whump @outofangband @what-a-whump

[julie-thefatones]

Ghost of You || Luke x Reader || Part 4

A/N: Your best friends with Julie, since the stamp was removed from the boys they are able to be seen by lifers at choice and can touch lifers at choice, but are still ghosts. You and Luke grow closer and closer starting to go from friends to more than that and everyone starts to notice, it just takes a little longer for you two to figure it out.

Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3

Side Note: The song that Luke "writes" about Y/N is in fact Moving Along by 5 SOS look it up its a good one

Word Count: 3,088

WARNINGS: 16+ (Sexual References)

It had been weeks since yours and Lukes encounter, in fact you guys have barely talked.... Anytime you guys hung out it was always with the group and only the group and every time he would barely even look at you, you didnt really know what to think of it .... you missed him, yeah you knew that it was gonna be different than before but not this different... You were walking out of 4th period when Carrie came jogging down the hall to catch up with you "Hey Y/N! im gonna walk with you" She said in her normal high pitched Carrie voice, you gave her a shy but inviting smile and then hugged your books to your chest, you hadn't really felt like your self since this whole thing happened, Carrie could see the sadness in your demeanor "Are you okay Y/N? you have been down for like..... weeks" Carried asked with concern, you kind of sighed because thinking about it was hard enough let alone talking about, but you thought your friend deserved an explanation, you glanced in Carries direction "Not really" you said with sadness in your voice "Me and Luke had an... incident so to speak a few weeks ago and it kind of caused a rift in our friendship and now he won't even look at me or talk to me....." you sighed and looked down at the floor "I miss him" you said in a barely audible sad tone, Carrie came closer to you and put a gentle hand on your back showing she cared "Can I ask ... what happened between you and Luke.... you guys were so close, like it was rare to ever see you guys not together" Carrie asked in a soft tone trying not to be pushy, you contemplated on telling her or not *What do I got to loose* you thought to yourself then stopped walking, turning to face Carrie

"Okay.... you just cant tell anyone okay" you said getting close enough to Carrie so that only she could hear what you were saying, her eyes widened with intrigue "Yeah, I promise Y/N" she said urgently to insure you knew that she wouldn't tell a soul "Me and Luke......" you started saying, then stopping to look side to side, to make sure that no one was listening to what you were saying, then looking straight back into Carries eyes "Me and Luke, almost slept together... like it was going to happen but then ... Alex and Reggie Poofed in and then it was a huge mess and then Me and Luke agreed to just be friends and now we are here" You said in a slight urgent whisper, Carries mouth was wide open with shock with her eyes bugged out of her head "Carrie?" you said widening your eyes in concern to why she wasn't answering yet "Carrie!" you exclaimed in hopes she would snap out of it "YOU AND LUKE WHAT!" she yelled in which you immediately slammed your hand over her mouth "Can you not yell maam" you said with tight lips and wide eyes, Carrie shook her head yes under your mouth and relaxed, you released your hand from her mouth in which she started talking instantly "Im sorry! you and Luke what? why am I just now hearing this" Carrie exclaimed in a whispered tone, you sighed and continued walking down the hallway, in which she followed after you "Because I didnt want anyone to know .... I didnt want to make a big deal.... especially since Luke isn't even talking to me ..... I don't know... I just really really miss him" You said in a melancholy tone, Carrie looked at you as if she was gonna say something and then Alex poofed in right in front of you and Carrie, stopping you both in your tracks "Woah! Hey Alex" You said in a high pitched tone, you thought you would be used to them popping in like that by now but you weren't "Luke misses you too! hes driving me crazy" Alex exclaims motioning his hands from his head like he is going out of his mind, You just look at Alex not really knowing what to say, Carrie just looking back and forth from you to Alex waiting for one of you to speak again, Alex continues on with his rant "Y/N! hes so mopey, hes just sitting around all day writing in his stupid freaking song book with his sad Luke face! and anytime I try to ask him to do something or ask him what wrong he just looks at me with that face you know that Luke face that is just like brooding and HIS LUKE

FACE!" Alex says in frustration all while pacing back and forth in front of you guys, messing with his hair in frustration and annoyance, and then he abruptly stops in front of you with wild eyes, grabbing both your shoulders "Y/N! you gotta go make up with him or something! I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Alex exclaims, you had to admit this was slightly entertaining you couldn't help but chuckle, but then you sighed thinking about the *You gotta make up with him* part of what Alex said "Theres nothing to make up, we aren't fighting ..... we just ..... I guess aren't as close as we were" You said back to your sad voice , Alex rolls his eyes throwing his hands up in the air doing a slight twirl to face away from you and then a quick motion back to face you "BULL CRAP! YOU GUYS CANT GO FROM ALMOST BONING EACH OTHER TO NOT TALKING AT ALL THAT FAST!! YOU GUYS NEED TO TALK! NOW" Alex exclaims, now pushing you toward the door, Carrie just laughing and then following after to not miss anything "GET HIM OUT OF MY STUDIO, AND FIX HIM!" Alex continues pushing you out the door, him and Carrie just standing in the hallway looking out the door as you walk down the street in major confusion to what just happened, Alex sighs "I really hope I got through to her but wasn't like mean ya know" he says tilting his head to the side as he watched you walk away through the school doors, Carrie tilting her head in the same direction but snapping it up ward to look at Alex "No I think you did a great job! very well executed" She said with reassurance, Alex snaps his head up to look back at her "Thank you, ya know I just ..... I really want Luke out of the studio" He said bringing his hand to heart.

As you walked down the street you decided you weren't gonna go see Luke, it just felt too weird and you didnt want to impose, you just decided to go home... you just wanted to sleep! not talk to anyone or deal with anyone! just sleep! you thought to yourself....... your feet dragged you up the stairs into your room, you slammed the door and face planted on your bed when you noticed something in the corner of your eye... It was your guitar, Luke had kept it with him since he gifted it to you just to keep it safe, but there it was, with its own stand and everything, then you noticed a note sticking out of the strings, you quickly rolled out of your bed to stumble over and read it, you gently pulled the note out of the strings being careful not to damage the guitar in any way, the front of the note read To: Y/N you could tell it was Luke who left it there because of the awful, but cute hand writing, it smelled like him and you thought that was a weird thing to think but .... you missed that smell, you took a moment thinking about the last time you breathed in his scent.... flashing back to the night you guys almost..... you shook your head bringing your self back to focus and opening the letter

Dear Y/N,

Hey.... long time no talk eh? how are you? I don't know why im asking that this is a letter not a text message..... anyway! here's your guitar, figured it wouldn't be any good to ya if you didnt have it. It didnt have a strap or anything so I took the liberty of picking one out for you, I figured you would like this one it has checkers all over it, It will match your vans... and my vans too! thats pretty cool .... I almost bought one for my self I think still might, look at us matching guitar straps! Reggie is gonna be so jealous! Anyway, I hope your doing good ... Oh! and good luck on you French test! I know you were nervous about that, I know youre gonna rock it! you always do

-Luke

You closed the letter holding it to your chest and smiling, you lightly lifted the guitar strap with your finger to look at it, you chuckled noticing that you were actually wearing your checkered vans today. You removed your finger letting the strap fall gently back to place, you sighed curling your legs up to your chest. You remembered that the band had a show tonight... *Should I go?* you thought to your self... you initially thought you wouldn't go, but it would be nice to support your friends, and maybe you and Luke should talk *Okay Im gonna go!* you thought to your self confidently, but first you needed a nap.

It was 7:00pm, you arrived at the venue of the gig 30 minutes before their performance, the place was packed! you knew you should have gotten their earlier, but it was hard enough to get out of bed to get here... wasn't exactly easy for you.

You danced along with the bands that were on before Julie and the boys, you noticed Flynn and Carrie across the venue, they noticed you back waving their hands in the air in excitement for you to join them, You grow a big smile and excitedly run over to join them... you hug them in a greeting, and just then you heard the announcer say "Please put your hands together for Julie and The Phantoms" the crowd goes wild, Julie and the boys had become quite popular in your town, You, Carrie, and Flynn made it a point to be the loudest ones out of everyone though. Julie entered the stage, alone like she always did, she made her way over to the keyboard and sat down. She pressed one button on the keyboard in order for the boys to poof on stage, Luke immediately starts singing while simultaneously playing the guitar "Thinking bout you lots lately! Have you been eating breakfast alone like me! Thinking bout you lots lately Oh are you moving along!" You had never heard this song before, it must have been new, Luke played and sang effortlessly, you didnt really notice the lyrics until you noticed Carrie and Flynn looking at you with curious wide eyes, Luke sang with such passion in his voice, he always did but this time seemed different. When the bridge came Luke found you in the crowd his eyes getting big but then locking his eyes with yours as he sang, not breaking his stare, singing "Scared of moving on, but you're already gone So if you're moving on, won't you just tell me? Scared of moving on, but you're already gone So if you're moving on, won't you just tell me?" As soon as the bridge ended he broke your gaze, you shook your head in order to get your self to recover, you look over at Carrie and Flynn who were watching you for your reaction, you look back up at the stage, Luke and Reggie were doing their classic move of sharing the mic during the chorus, then Luke broke off, playing the melody on his guitar with such... what seemed like anger, or frustration. You started questioning if you should have even come tonight *Was this a mistake..... he looks mad* you thought to yourself, now biting your thumb due to your new anxiety toward the situation. When the song ended Luke shook his hair which was now damp with sweat, and then he stared at you, you couldn't tell what his emotions were at this moment.... *oh boy, how am I gonna make it through this night* you thought to your self.

The band had a great set, after the new song they played Finally Free, which was one of your favorites, then they did Bright. You were really proud of your best friend and how successful her and the boys were becoming. The whole event was over and the place was now pretty much empty, it was just you, Carrie, and Flynn waiting for Julie and the Boys to come out from the back. You were super nervous to see Luke, you didnt know what to say, was that song about you? you wondered to your self.... in the middle of your internal crisis you saw Julie coming from the back with Alex, Reggie following behind all smiling and then Luke shortly after them, he wasn't smiling though, he was just anxiously messing with the hair behind his head. Carrie and Flynn ran up to Julie to give her a hug to congratulate her on the show, you broke your gaze from Luke in order to do the same, you quickly ran over to give your best friend a hug "Congrats Jules! that was an amazing show!" you exclaimed and then motioned to the boys "All of you!" you said looking at all of them, and then setting your eyes on Luke just a little longer than everyone else, he just shyly smiled in response "Thanks Y/N!" Reggie Exclaimed "Did you like the first song? Luke wrote it about you!" Reggie continued with a big smile and a slight chuckle at the end, Lukes eyes widened with annoyance, Alex just turned slowly to face Reggie, his eye twitching in the process, Reggie just looked confused at both of them "What? was she not supposed to know" Reggie asked like he really didnt know, You just stood there shyly, not really knowing what to say, Carries eyes widened "Well!! Flynn! Julie! Alex! and Reggie! I think there is something over here you guys should see its really cool?" Carrie said breaking the awkward tension, or trying to at least, motioning everyone in to the other side of the venue in order to give you and Luke some privacy "Why whats over here?" Reggie asked confused, in which Alex pulled his arm with annoyance rolling his eyes "Just come on reg!" Alex said with a frustrated tone pulling him in the direction Carrie was leading everyone. Soon enough they all disappeared behind a curtain on the other side of the venue, You turned to look at Luke who had his hands in his front pockets, he looked up to make eye contact with you, a half smile appeared on his face as you guys shared a look, you couldn't help but smile a little too. Luke lifted one leg up and then hoped forward to get closer to you "Soooo....." He said as if he didnt know what to do next, You put your hands in your back pockets, then motioned your shoulders forward a little "Sooooo" You echoed back to him, he chuckled "Did you like the show?" He said motioning toward the stage, you nodded your head yes "Yeah!! you guys rocked it as usual" You said, you felt awkward because you had so many things you wanted to say but you didnt want to overwhelm him or feel like you were over stepping, He made a slight whistle shaking his head yes then looking down at his foot which was resting on its heel motioning side to side, "Was that song really about me?" You blurted out with out even thinking, or realizing what you were doing, Luke froze and then looked up with wide eyes, his lips still pursed from whistling and then he relaxed his position putting his foot down and removing his hands from his pockets "Okay, we're just gonna jump right into it..... yeah! it was" he said with a slightly frustrated tone, you bit your lip not really understanding "Wh- why?" you asked truly wondering why he wrote it, you guys both agreed to be friends and you guys never dated so what was there to move on from, he looked at you scrunching his eyebrows together "Why?" He said back confused to why you were confused, you don't know why but you were getting angry "Yeah!" You said throwing your hands in the air "Why Luke! Why everything! Why have you been avoiding me! why have you been so absent!!!" You exclaimed, starting to tear up "So what we almost slept together! BIG DEAL! THAT DOESNT MEAN YOU HAVE TO CUT ME OFF! THAT DOESNT ME YOU

HAVE TO

TURN AWAY FROM ME!" You didnt realize it but you were yelling, tears were streaming down your face, you wiped your tears with the sleeve of your jacket "I missed you so much..... so much Luke..... so yeah why?" you said softer with a crack in your voice, Luke bit his lip in frustration "You wanna know why?!" he exclaimed moving one step closer to you "Because you mean more to me than I could ever imagine someone meaning to me, youre the most amazing person I have ever met!" He exclaimed, now him growing tears in his eyes "AND WHEN YOU KEPT SAYING WE'RE JUST FRIENDS IT EFFING BROKE ME INSIDE BECAUSE IM SO IN LOVE WITH YOU THAT IT HURTS! OKAY! THAT THE FACT YOU DONT WANT ANYTHING MORE THAN JUST FRIEND SHIP KILLS ME INSIDE! SO YEAH I AVOIDED SEEING YOU BECAUSE EVERYTIME I SAW YOU THE PAIN WAS UNBEARABLE BECAUSE ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS GRAB YOU AND HOLD YOU IN MY ARMS AND CALL YOU MINE!" He yelled, grabbing his hair in frustration "There ya go! thats why!" he exclaimed finishing his statement, You stood there gathering the ends of your jacket sleeve in your fists, looking at Luke with red puffy eyes, and before you could respond Luke picked up his guitar, wiped his eyes and poofed out.

[vexilanimous]

so people are actually interested in my and @caramellody‘s scott the woz phantom thief au?? which like i was hoping for but im still lowkey surprised

i dont rlly have any more Big Art so ill use this post as a Lore Dump under the cut (ill likely make a seperate post for things involving p5 spoilers though. so dw abt that im keeping this one spoiler free, mostly major ones but ill err on the side of caution)

OKAY SO. this au begins with Dr. Anna May, who has mostly backed off but she just Cannot let scott’s refusal to play persona 5 slide. so, she uses her Anime Realm Powers or whatever they are to isekai him into the game. He becomes an additional orignal phantom thief alongside joker, ryuji, and ann, and will be released from the game when he beats it.

to accomplish this, anna has used her dominion over anime to create extra backstory for an additional character. iirc scott has played the p5r intro for footage, but i dont think anything past that? i could be wrong but just for the sake of au. thats where were at.

SO, scott is basically also from jokers hometown, and had also tried to intervene in the event that led to joker getting arrested in the first place, and are now both under sojiros roof bc. idk same case. they have bunk beds :)

that said, scott doesn’t really live that backstory? like he goes to bed in ohio one night, wakes up to mr. purse owner 5 shaking him awake like “hey cmon this is our stop” he sorta has to pick it up from context clues. he also has to go to shujin, and while it makes more sense for this to be Scott But High School Age for the duration of the isekai thing, i find its infinitely funnier if hes just. the same 24yo scott as irl. nobody acknowledges or questions this.

he also cant say hes in a game lest the ps4 hes running on fuckin explode, so anytime he tries what comes out is replaced with. something relevant that doesnt break the 4th wall. yknow the e3 2017 video intro. it looks/sounds like that.

SPEAKING of the ps4, time is moving at the games pace from scotts perspective. like, days can be quick for us as the player, but for scott in this situation a day is a day. 24 hours. outside of the game time is moving as usual however. at one point rex gets into scotts apartment, sees scott on the tv and the ps4 playing itself, and just tells the others “yeah hes fine hes just having one of those wacky gaming adventures again” by the time hes out, assuming abt a 100hr playthough is average (thats what i got anyways) only a few days have passed in ohio

anyways hes really pissy about the situation at first, i like to imagine anna may showed up the first night after it all started in her own velvet room dream sequence to explain everything, but thats just for theming/aesthetic purposes, i feel like joker should still be the only wildcard of the groupbut he gets to where the kamoshida plot is really ramping up and the shiho moment. and idk abt you guys but that moment hit me HARD, so scott basically goes i know this is very real and im so ready to throw down. (bold = 4th wall preserving redaction btw.)

his rebellious spark is him putting his moping about the situation aside to do said throwing down, and to overall make the best out of his situation (i mean, hes in japan, they made wario there, might as well see the sights while ur stuck there)

the actual phantom thief design is, again, by caramellody. i came up with duel as a codename, bc of the dual color scheme and duel bein a fightin word sjklfdsjf. (also if you put duel and scott together the initials are DS. thats video game initials........) outside of a jokey persona like vince young or smth, im stuck on his persona but i like to think of him using both fire and ice on a slightly weaker scale compared to ann and yusuke, sorta like crow with bless and curse. hes a blunt weapon user like ryuji, but theyre all like. light blunt weapons. and hes a lighter hitter and much more agile than ryuji.

this post is getting Way Too Long, so ill close out by saying. this au is supposed to defo supposed be on the goofier side, but me and caramellody have some canon divergence planned that puts the goofy to the side for a second...

ty for coming to my ted scott talk.

[starlight-writes-stuff]

hi again omg! im getting into the feral boys and i was hoping you could do some headcanons for them with a reader that has their period (but could you make it gender neutral if possible?) - ⚙️ anon

⚙️ anon ! hi ! i can absolutely do this , im sorry it took a long time . i genuinely ended up LOVING these , and i hope you do too ! 

AYO LOOK AT THESE : reader who gets a period , mentions of cramps , usage of tylenol / painkillers of that sort , very very very fluffy feral boys content . i luv them .

reblogs are always appreciated ! <3

dream : 

would be incredibly worried :(

and unbelievably empathetic

he’s such a good fkn person in general ugh

“i don't know how it feels but i would imagine its … not good”

he would just want to keep you comfortable

“stay in bed, baby, i’ll bring [whatever] to you”

would go on pad/tampon runs for you

and wouldn’t be a pussy about it

“what size ? how heavy is your flow ?”

would call you while he was in the aisle to double check

and would get more than one box

“i know it fluctuates”

while he was out he would pick up some little gifts for you

just things to keep you comfortable

a blanket because “it looked soft”

some of your favorite chocolate

“did you know that chocolate produces endorphins ? which can help with cramps ?”

a little teddy bear

and would pick up some junk food for you

he’d move his stream to comfort you all night

“can i hold you ? will you still be comfortable ?”

would end up laying your head in his lap and running his hands through your hair

he’d do small , soothing actions until you fell asleep

and would be so still while you napped on him

clay would die if he woke you up

you’re his number one priority , and you need your rest

george :

sweet gogs would be . so concerned .

“... are you alright , my love ?”

would get pouty because you were irritated 

but would understand

he tries his best to help you in anyway possible

brings you water and tylenol

and would make you a snack to go with it

“you have to take it with food so your body can process it , darling .”

purchases a heating pack to keep at his house

and genuinely just tries to keep you as comfortable as possible

picks you up bridal style

to transfer you from couch to bed

and would be SO upset when you whimpered in pain

“did i hurt you , baby ? are you okay ?”

you’d try to explain that it wasn’t him at all

just your body working against you

but would insist on nursing you 

going as far to lift your water cup to your lips for you

“wanna make sure you’re taken care of , sweet thing .”

would bring you desserts and comfort foods

and would eat half

gogy would try to get you to nap

“your body is working so hard ! you need rest !”

and would be elATED when you fell asleep tucked against him

he’d run a hand up and down your back while you slept

trying to comfort you even in unconsciousness

sapnap :

trying his best

bless his little heart

would be incredibly concerned but very scared

not necessarily of you

but of you

wouldn't want to make you mad in any way , shape , or form

is worried that you’ll rip him to shreds

but is also v soft for you

doesn’t like seeing his s/o in pain :(

so he’d be very careful with you

won't give up his cuddles tho

would jump 10 feet into the air when you said “ow!” after he wrapped an arm around your lower tummy

apologizes incessantly

feels bad for the next week

would make you tea and warm drinks to help

and would diy a heat pack out of rice and a sock 😭

nick would NOT want to leave you alone

so he’d try to cook

and would do pretty well !!

would make you mac and cheese from the box

but it was so good

and would feed you oreos

he’d make you both milkshakes, too

karl : 

nurse karl™ is on the case

he would be the BEST at taking care of you

would have an entire period kit at his place

and would carry tampons/pads in a bag in his backpack just in case

karl knows you inside and out 

and has taken notes on what to do while you're on your cycle

stocks up on all your comfort foods the week before

makes sure you have plenty of supplies

he would make a movie lineup for the two of you to watch together

all cheesy rom coms and disney flicks

he’d sing all the songs to you

would make jokes about being your prince charming

karl would try to make you smile in any way he could

he would make you a comfy spot on the couch

with lots of pillows and blankets

“is it okay if i hold you ?”

would be s o gentle

barely touching you

“baby , i'm not made of glass”

“but i don't want to hurt you !”

would end up spooning

and karl would smother you with kisses

“gotta kiss it better >:(“

he’d keep you clothed in his big hoodies and sweatpants

and would make sure that you always had a warm towel when you got out of the shower

karl would run all the errands you usually did

and would bring flowers back from the store

quackity :

loml big q

god he would be so so so tender with u

he would go completley soft

because seeing you in pain just rips his heart to shreds

has the whole phantom pain thing

because yall are so fkn close w each other

wouldn’t leave you alone like ,,, ever

is so worried that you’re going to lose too much blood

you’ve tried to explain that your body regulates it to an extent

but he doesn’t care

he’d call your mom to ask for tips

and would follow all of them to a t , PLUS everything that he’d picked up on already

would make sure to keep you hydrated

gets gatorade “because you need electrolytes !”

he’d run you warm showers

and get you clean , soft clothes

would give you back and neck rubs to help with your muscles

alex would lay in bed with you all day 

he’d love when you napped on his chest

would set timers on his phone for giving you ibuprofen

“every six hours , my love .”

alex would 100% get midol and be so proud that he found it

finally makes a trip to the store on like ,,,,,, day 3/4

would take a picture the pads/tampons you use so he gets the correct ones

and would buy multiple boxes so you’d never run out

is incredibly comforting

does small tasks for you

brushes your hair and tries his best to braid it back

would make you foods that are high in iron

“you need it , baby , it’s for your blood”

but would follow it up with hot chocolates for the both of you

he’d sing softly to you until you fell asleep in his arms

and would press little kisses to your head