#hope op is cool with me using their idea if not i will take this down

[viceroywrites]

deja vu - part 1

i decided to make a full-fledged multi-chapter fic out of this idea that i posted a few days ago with a cyoa ending potentially

thanks so much to everyone who showed so much love for it and hope you enjoy this series!

this is my first time writing for gravity falls so i hope to do it justice!

planning out your road trip through the pacific northwest, you find yourself inexplicably drawn to the town of gravity falls.

little did you know that this town held more memories than you could have possibly imagined.

too bad you didn't remember any of them.

stan x fem!reader/ford x fem!reader

original fic idea | part two

tag list: @awitchersbard / @theilluminatidragonqueen / @jazzypop-op/ @maryclanders/ @chaimshelii /

@starship606/ @swimmingrascalbatdragon / @stanfordsbaby

He wasn’t in bed.

You woke up in the middle of the night to find the space beside you empty, the blankets cool to touch, indicating that a warm body had not even slipped into the sheets. Begrudgingly, you slip out of the warm comfort of your bed to search for your lover.

Your bare feet pad against the wood floorboards, creaking with each step you take. Your fingers balancing a candle that you used to illuminate the way, too lazy to try and turn on the lights. 

You descend down to the basement, pushing open the metal door that reveals an intricate lab full of oddities and gadgets with a triangle shaped portal looming just behind the glass window. You let out a yawn, approaching the figure that had his back turned towards you. His six-fingers spin the pen in his hand effortlessly as he rests his chin in the palm of his hand.

Your soft yet groggy voice calls out as you place your hand on his shoulder, “Ford, come to bed. Your research will be here in the morning.”

Stanford jumps at your sudden touch before relaxing when he hears the sound of your voice. He puts his pen down, placing his hand over yours with his thumb running soothingly over the back of your hand, “I’ll be there soon, just head back upstairs. I just need to finish this last equation that's been driving me mad the whole day.”

“Stanford…” You say with an edge to your voice, knowing that he could easily stay up the rest of the night working tirelessly on this portal that he had been working on for the past few months.

“Alright… I concede. You win this round, my dear.” Ford sighs, turning to face you finally with a tired smile. He gets up from his seat, pressing a soft kiss against the top of your head before following you up the stairs but not before looking back at the portal.

-

You had the dream again.

It always starts the same. Walking down a staircase, the floorboards creaked with each step you took. Your eyelids feel heavy almost as if you’re resisting the urge to fall asleep. Your feet carrying you down to a basement. The warm flames of the candle you hold illuminating the way.

Your fingertips push the cool metal frame of the door to reveal a figure sitting in front of a desk, facing away from you. Your hand reaches out to touch their shoulder and as they turn around to reveal their face to you, you awaken.

Your eyes open abruptly, staring at the dark ceiling as your alarm echoes through the empty room. Slowly sitting up in bed, you instinctively reach across to turn off your alarm and turn on your lamp before your hand reaches to open the drawer of your bedside table, feeling around for something. Your fingertips brush against leather and wrap around the item, pulling it out to reveal a journal.

These dreams happened almost every night over the years. It had gotten to a point where you started logging them, just trying to find any pattern or meaning behind them.

You turn to the page labeled ‘The Basement’ - adding another tally mark in the margins that you used to keep track of the frequency of each dream. You close your eyes, trying to conjure up any distinguishable features from this mystery person but nothing new arises. 

Sighing, you shut the leather-bound journal, putting it to the side.

Now was not the time to be worrying about your cryptic dreams, you were supposed to be getting ready for the trip you had been planning for the past few months. 

A road trip through the Pacific Northwest, starting in Northern California and making your way up to Seattle.

You hop out of bed to start getting ready for your journey ahead. After completing your morning routine and slipping on some comfortable clothing for the long drive, you make your way to the kitchen, grabbing the map that was stuck to the fridge with a magnet from your alma mater, Backupsmore. 

Having already packed your bags into the car the night before, your feet make a beeline out the door, wanting to hit the road before sunrise to give you enough time to hit the places you wanted to visit on the way up to your final destination for the day, Portland. 

Unraveling the map in your lap, your eyes scan over it, reviewing over the route you had planned out today. Your gaze lingered on one particular spot you had circled closer to Portland that was unlike any of the stops you had chosen.

Gravity Falls.

You couldn’t explain what drew you in to choose this town to stop in out of all the surrounding towns near Portland. You knew that you had an old friend, Fiddleford, who had moved out to this area to do research. You had even visited him once during his time out there. However, you hadn’t heard from Fiddleford in years, correspondence seemingly dropping off as he stopped answering your calls and your letters always ended up returning to you.

Trying to push aside thoughts of your lost connection, you put your car in reverse, pulling out of your parking spot and heading out onto the open road. The winding roads take you through the lush forests that enveloped the region. As each hour passed, you could see the sun slowly starting to make its way up the horizon and decided to stop to watch the sunrise at Redwood National Park. 

After the brief stop that you used to stretch your legs and grab a cup of coffee, you make your way back on the road. Your original plan was to stop at almost every National Park on the way up to Oregon but after hitting a pocket of traffic that put you behind a whole hour, you decide to skip a few stops and make your way directly to the town of Gravity Falls, figuring it would be your last stop with the remaining amount of daylight you had left.

Unfortunately, you had hit another bump in the road, pretty much derailing the first day of your methodically planned out trip.

Your car had suddenly stopped in the middle of the forest about five miles out from the town.

Cursing under your breath, you step out to assess the cause of your delay. Your hands pop open the hood of your car, breathing a slight sigh of relief when you don’t see any steam or smoke. Figuring that the most likely cause is the battery dying on you, you pull out your phone, trying to look up the nearest towing company to hopefully bring you into town to get it looked at.

As you’re waiting for the screen to load due to the poor signal out in this forested area, a gruff voice calls out, asking if you need a hand.

You look up to see a red convertible with the phrase ‘El Diablo’ etched on the side on the other side of the road. Its owner, a man with gray hair, glasses and a stubbled yet chiseled jawline, wearing a black tank, a shiny medallion that sat on his exposed graying chest hairs, and a brown leather jacket, stares back at you, one hand on the steering wheel while his arm dangles lazily outside of the rolled down window.

You pause, taken aback as something about his features seems… familiar. You quickly snap out of your stupor, realizing you’ve just been standing there in silence.

"Uhm… yeah if you have jumper cables, I just need to get my car running to get to the next town and hopefully get a replacement battery,” You reply, figuring this option would be way cheaper than hiring a whole tow truck.

"Of course, I have jumper cables, toots - look at my car, you think I haven't been stranded out here myself." The stranger chuckles, making an effortless U-Turn with one hand before pulling his car close to yours. Your cheeks warm at the nickname given to you by this man you met literally seconds ago, This guy’s a total silver fox.

You step to the side to give him access to hook up the jumper cables after he fishes them out of his own trunk. You both stand in silence while he attaches the cables to your car before his deep voice cuts through, "So uh, what brings you out here? You just driving through?"

You almost chuckle at his awkward attempt to make small talk, "Sort of. I'm doing a whole road trip through the Pacific Northwest. I was gonna check out this town ahead, Gravity Falls, before I make my way up to Portland."

The older man blinks, expecting you to just be passing through the town at this time of a day. Normally, tourists only stop into town in the early hours of the day on their own journeys up north. His lips spread into a grin, pulling out a business card from his leather jacket. "Well, if you're stopping by, you gotta check out the Mystery Shack! One stop shop for mysterious oddities!"

You take the business card with a giant question mark on the front. He retreats back to his car, turning on his engine before nodding over at you as a signal for you to start up your own engine. You slip back into the car, slipping the card into your pocket before turning on the ignition. You breathe a sigh of relief as your car stutters back to life. Glancing up, you see him grinning back at you before the two of you step out of your respective vehicles.

“Thanks again for your help… sorry, I didn’t catch your name. I’m Y/N.” You say, extending your hand out in gratitude. The silver fox’s large hand envelops yours, shaking your hand firmly, “Stan Pines, nice to meet ya. It’s no problem, wouldn’t want to leave a lady like yourself stranded in the middle of the woods.”

“Do you say that to all the ladies that end up stranded in the woods?” You can’t help but tease, earning a hearty chuckle from Stan. “Well, let’s just say that’s not a common occurrence out here. So you thinkin’ about stopping by the Mystery Shack?”

You pause, stuffing your hands into your pockets as you thumb the edge of the business card Stan had given you. On one hand, you should probably be heading back on the road to make it to Portland and this Mystery Shack sounded like a tourist trap. On the other hand, the sun was starting to set and you weren’t keen on driving through the forest in the dark. Maybe it would be best if you stayed the night in this quaint town and start again the next morning. As you look up at Stan, you make your decision, deciding to appease the man who helped you so graciously.

You also had to admit you found him quite charming and curiosity got the better of you.

“Sure, lead the way.” You say with a casual shrug. Stan grins, “I’ll make sure you get a personal tour of the Mystery Shack. No need to worry about other tourists.” Your eyebrow raises in amusement before slipping into your car, “What, you know the owner?” You blink at the smirk that spreads across Stan’s lips, “Sweetheart, you’re looking at the former owner, Mr. Mystery himself.”

You bite back a giggle, “No wonder you were laying it on thick, just trying to get more tourists to visit, huh?” Stan rolls his eyes mirthfully “Hey, I was trying to lend a helping hand… though I have a good sales pitch, don’t I?” He grins, shooting finger guns towards you with a wink.

This’ll be interesting. You think to yourself as you follow behind Stan in your car, pulling into the empty lot of the Mystery Shack. You snort, seeing how the S dangles off the side spelling out Mystery Hack, before pointing it out to Stan as he exits his car. His features grimace as he grumbles out, “I noticed” before beckoning you to follow him, twirling his keys on his index finger.

Stan proceeded to give you a detailed tour of the Mystery Shack, spinning elaborate tales surrounding the variety of taxidermy animals that he had mismatched together. Despite the absurdity of it all, you can’t help but get sucked into his tales, seeing the clear passion and excitement he had for this place. You burst out into laughter at the sight of the Sascrotch to which Stan beamed at, “Good one, right? Probably one of the highlights of the Mystery Shack.”

You weaved your way through the shack, though there were certain sections of it that looked oddly familiar. Almost like you had walked down these hallways before. A wave of deja vu hit you as you walked through the doorway into the gift shop. “Usually this is the part where I try to sell people on an overpriced souvenir but I have a feeling that the whole schtick isn’t gonna work on you, is it?” Stan admits.

“Probably not but I’ll take a look around and see if there’s anything that catches my eye.” You chuckle, making your way around the space as your eyes scan the various trinkets. Your fingertips run across the mugs with question marks painted on them. You decide to use this opportunity to make small talk as you mill around the gift shop while Stan leans back against the counter, “So, you said you’re the former owner? Who owns it now?”

“One of my former employees, Soos. Kid’s been working for me since he was… well a kid. Only person with as much passion as me about this place.” Stan says, glancing over at the Employee of the Month picture that still hung behind the counter that showed a younger Soos. “What made you step down as owner?” You hum, thumbing through the t-shirt rack. 

Stan smiles fondly, “Me and my twin brother actually just got back from traveling, we’re only in town for the summer. It was always our dream to travel the world together by boat, and we finally got to make that happen.” You look up, smiling at how warmly he spoke of his brother. Stan catches you staring and crosses his arms defensively, “What?”

“Nothing,” You say, shaking your head before thumbing through the assortment of keychains and stickers that were displayed. “So twin brother, huh? What’s he like?”

“You’re sure asking a lot of questions… not sure if I should be flattered but it feels like I’m being interrogated by a government official.” Stan comments with a grin. You pause with dramatic effect before looking up and admitting, “Well technically, I do work for the government.”

Stan freezes, his stance becoming defensive as he looks you up and down, “Oh shit, really? Man, these cover-ups are getting better and better but I swear I haven’t broken any laws… recently at least.” Your warm laughter fills the room, finding the look on his face priceless, “Relax, I work for the National Parks.” Stan’s posture relaxes at the realization and he rolls his eyes, “Alright, you got me good. So what do you do? Are you like a park ranger or something?”

“No, I’m a geoscientist. I pretty much study rocks and fossils. Kinda boring day to day but sometimes I’ll come across a precious gemstone and keep it for myself… even though we’re not supposed to take anything off a dig site.” You admit sheepishly, rubbing the back of your neck. “Using the government’s resources to your own advantage? I like the way you think.” Stan chuckles.

You pick out a magnet to add to your fridge when you return as a reminder of your side quest at the Mystery Shack. Stan rings you up though you notice a significant markdown in the original price after he insists on giving you the employee discount. As you walk out of the gift shop outside, you round the corner back to your car. 

Little did you know that you would run into the man that you once loved as someone with a long tan trench coat was outside fiddling with a device with his back turned to you. Stan elbows you in the arm to catch your attention, "That's my poindexter brother that I mentioned, Ford. He's always working on some geeky invention."

"You know I can hear you, Stanley?" Ford sighs, turning around to face you two.

Time slows down as he meets your eyes, memories flooding back to him before landing on the last memory he had of you - your back turning away from him, your hand slipping through his fingers after he chose to continue with his research despite your pleas.

He freezes, seeing the woman that left him all those years ago, "Y/N?" He calls out to you.

You blink, staring back at this man that you had never met before calling out your name.

Stan is just as confused as you are, looking between the two of you. 

You tilt your head in confusion, “Uhm… sorry, have we met before? How do you know my name?”

[as-is-above-so-below]

The Captain - Simon Riley x Sniper!Reader, Wife!Reader

summary: Ghost’s sniper wife (reader) joins Task Force 141 on an op, against his wishes call sign: Freyja warning: mentions of violence and death (ofc), blood Next >>

John Price stood at a round table, leading the mission brief for the team’s upcoming operation. Ghost, Soap, and Gaz sat around the table in various positions. Soap with his boots kicked up onto the table, chair tilted back; Gaz leaned forward onto the table, his forearms on the surface; Ghost leaned back against his chair, arms crossed over his chest. Soap and Gaz wore their regulation tan t-shirts and camo pants, while Ghost was clad in a black long-sleeve and his standard skull balaclava.

“So if we’re stormin’ the building, we’re all accounted for,” Soap pointed out, clicking the pen between his fingers. “We need a sniper.”

“Called in a favor with a good friend, who should have been here–”

“Ten minutes ago,” a strong but mellow voice cut in as a figure turned through the doorway. “I know, sorry John. Got a bit caught up with my room assignment. Tried to put me on the other side of base.”

A woman came into view, offering her hand out to John. They firmly grasped each other’s forearms in a quick shake. Soap and Gaz both had only slightly surprised expressions. Not at the fact that their sniper was female; they’d worked with plenty of fierce women during their time in Task Force 141.

The fact that she did not look the part.

She wore a massively oversized black sweatshirt that brushed her thighs and dark blue skinny jeans, her hair loose down her back. Must’ve just got off a plane, Soap thought to himself, looking her up and down. Her stance showed her confidence, feet shoulder-width apart as she faced the team with a bright smile (one not often found in their field of work) and glowing skin. She wasn’t necessarily small, more average height, but her attire dwarfed her frame. 

“Thank you for joining us, Captain,” Price nodded at her. “This is Freyja. American Special Forces, sniper, undercover ops. She’s been briefed and will be joining us temporarily for the op. She comes highly recommended and outranks all of you, so I’d suggest you be on your best behavior.”

The woman jabbed Price with her elbow, rolling her eyes, much to Soap’s surprise. He barely suppressed the laugh that bubbled in his chest, unable to help the small choking laugh that escaped. Ghost glared at him and he quickly piped down.

“Thanks, John, but I think I’ll be fine. Glad to be of use.”

“Happy to have you. Let me know if you need anything while you’re here. I’ll leave you to it, get acquainted. We leave at 0400 hours. We’ll be infiltrating in daylight; prepare accordingly.”

“Aye, Captain,” Soap nodded once and saluted him, setting his chair back down as he rose. He watched John pat her shoulder on his way out, sharing what seemed like a knowing look, before finally departing to his quarters. Interesting.

Soap was the first to cross the room, taking her hand in a firm grip. “Pleasure to meet you, Captain. Sergeant John Mactavish,” he introduced, shaking her hand. He noted her equally firm grip and the cool metal of a wedding band pressing into his palm. Her skin was calloused yet soft, not as rough as his own. 

“Soap, right? Heard a lot about you.”

“Aye. Good things I hope?"

“Mostly.”

A boisterous laugh left him, so loud you’d think the room shook. Soap heard Gaz gag on his water before breaking into a choked wheeze. The other man approached, shaking her hand as well. “Kyle Garrick, call me Gaz.”

Her hands found their way into the pockets of her sweatshirt.

“So, Freyja… like the–?”

A gentle, airy giggle floated into his ears. What a lovely sound. “Yes, like the goddess. I know, my husband’s idea.”

Soap groaned, his head lolling back in faux agony as he pressed a hand to his chest. “You’re breakin’ my heart, lass. Was hopin’ ya didn’t have one’a those. He in the service?”

“He is, but you wouldn’t know him. Keeps a pretty low profile,” she shrugged, keeping her eyes on the two men in front of her.

”D’ya think I could take him?”

”Probably not.”

Neither Soap nor Gaz noticed the way Ghost’s mask twitched slightly, evidence of the smirk that pulled at his lips. But she knew his microexpressions like the back of her hand, even out of the corner of her eye. The Scot remembered Ghost’s presence suddenly and waved his hand in his direction. He hadn’t made any move to greet the newcomer and hadn’t spoken during the entire brief.

“Steamin’ Jesus, Ghost, you heard the man. Be nice to the lady!”

Ghost grunted, keeping his arms folded on his chest. “Captain.”

“Lieutenant.”

The two stared at each other, her brow quirked. As the seconds passed, the interaction became increasingly awkward for everyone else in the room. Even the thickest person on the planet could have sensed the tension. Unable to take the silence any longer, Gaz stepped in to attempt to relieve some tension. “You two worked together before?”

“You could say that,” Ghost stated as he rose from his chair. “A word, Freyja?”

Her tongue poked at the inside of her cheek and she squinted at him. It was almost comical, the height difference between the two. Typically, Soap would have made a snarky quip, if not for the vicious look in her eyes. He wouldn’t say it out loud to him, but the scowl rivaled his lieutenant‘s. Finally, she spoke, “Excuse us, gentlemen. I’ll see you in the morning. You know where to find me in the meantime.”

“G’night, Cap,” Soap nodded and moved to the side, allowing her to pass to the door. Ghost didn’t spare them another glance as he followed behind her. The two men stood silently until they heard a door slam shut up the hall. Soap snapped his gaze to Gaz and found him already looking with wide eyes.

“What was that about?”

Soap shrugged noncommittally. “Not a clue. Bad history? Ghost’s no’ exactly skilled in manners.” He went to head to his room when he noticed a military-issue duffel where Freyja had been standing, an American flag patch on the side. He bent down and slung it over his shoulder. “Left her stuff. I’m gonna drop it by ‘for hittin’ the hay. See ya in the mornin’.”

They went their separate ways, Gaz disappearing to the armory to stock up for the mission. Soap approached the only spare room in their wing and rapped his knuckles against the door. He waited for a few beats to no response and repeated the motion.

Nothing.

Soap’s brows furrowed when he heard what sounded like a muffled argument from the next door up, labeled “Lt. Riley”. Soap should have just left her duffel in front of her door and continued on his way to his bedroom, and gone to bed.

But no, he just had to snoop.

He crept toward the door, still holding the bag as he pressed his ear to the hollow wood. They clearly knew each other, but Ghost hadn’t seemed happy to see her. He felt a bit guilty spying on his lieutenant, but his curiosity was getting the better of him. He heard Ghost’s deep voice first.

“We had a deal. You’re supposed to be on leave, and Price knows that. I have half a mind to wring his fucking neck–”

“John didn’t ask me to be here, I volunteered–”

“Cut the shit, Y/N. I’m not daft. He has no place calling you in without asking me first.”

“I don’t take orders from you, Simon!”

Simon? Just how familiar were they with each other?

“Oh, I’m well aware. I just figured that when your husband asks you to stay home, you'd listen! How silly of me!”

So he knows her husband. Interesting. 

“That’s not fair, and you know it.”

“You want to talk about fair? You went around my back to my Captain. I’d say anything’s fair play at this point.” Heavy boots crossed the floor. “This isn’t just about you anymore. You’re not my superior, you’re–”

Soap shuffled his feet, he realized too late how loud the noise was in the empty hallway, and the voices suddenly stopped. He knocked in an attempt to recover, quickly stepping back from the door before it opened. The woman appeared, now in a too-big band tee, her dog tags resting on her chest. “Hi, Johnny,” she greeted, her tone significantly warmer than it had been a moment ago. 

He didn’t remember mentioning his preference for the name, but he couldn’t find a reason to comment on it then. “You, uh, left ya bag. Wanted to drop it off, figured you’d be here.”

“Oh, my bad. Thanks, I appreciate it.” He transferred her possessions to her. The bag that appeared standard when he carried it looked huge compared to her frame. The added weight did not phase her. “We have an early morning. I’m heading to bed.”

Ghost moved from his spot near the bed on the other side of the room. “Frey–”

She held a hand up, sending another chilling glare in his direction. Soap was impressed when Ghost didn’t even blink at the look. “Enough, Lieutenant. That’s an order.” He didn’t miss the eyes behind the skeleton glowering or how the fabric near his mouth shifted. 

“Yes, ma’am,” he growled through clenched teeth. 

She brushed by Soap, readjusting the bag on her shoulder as she stormed to her room, somehow gracefully maintaining her posture. Before he could turn back to question Ghost, the door swung shut in his face.

Real polite.

~*~

“Alpha-One, in position.”

“Copy that, one. Alpha-Two, in position.”

“Bravo?” Soap’s partner looked over his shoulder at the white light flashing at them in the distance. There was a muffled choking sound and a swallow, followed by a sniffle. “Freyja?”

“Sorry. Multiple armed guards. Two snipers at the east and west sides of the targets.” Her voice, while calm, sounded tired and a bit drained. As if she could sense the unspoken question, she came through their headsets again. “Little sick this morning. I’m fine.”

Ghost's jaw set and he rolled his shoulders, blinking a few times to focus. Soap noticed the motion and covered the mic on his headset. “You a’right, Lt.?” he asked, his voice concerned with his brows furrowed. 

Ghost ignored him. “Can you get a visual inside?”

“Negative. Windows are blocked in both buildings. You’re going blind.”

“What’s the call, ma’am?” Gaz’s voice.

“This is Price’s op. I’m just here for support.”

“Ghost?” Price this time. 

Ghost audibly sighed, his irritation at the situation clear. Soap wondered how bad their last encounter could have been for the usually collected man in front of him to be so disheveled. Soap looked over at the lieutenant, who had turned his attention back to the opening in the wall between them. “Bravo, hold your position. Understood?”

“Affirmative.”

“Alpha-One, move in on your target on my command.” Ghost clicked off his mic and slid the chamber back on his pistol, doing one final check.

Soap took the opportunity to follow up on his unanswered concern. “Ghost, you good? Seem tense. Something going on with the lass?”

“Shut up, Sergeant.” He reached up to click his headset back on. “Freyja cleared hot to engage.”

“Standby.” A beat passed, then another, until the suppressed shot of a sniper rifle rang through their headsets, followed by the bolt being pulled back and pushed forward. Another shot. “Clean hit. Snipers down.”

“Copy. Alpha-One, move in. Keep it quiet,” Ghost commanded, signaling Soap forward with a tilt of his head.

She watched Ghost and Soap move swiftly around structures and cars forward to their target. Her gaze periodically adjusted between them and Alpha-One, Gaz and Price. Soap’s accent was low in her ear. “Approaching target. Engaging two hostiles.”

The pair dispatched the guards with ease, the same as the other team up the road.

“Be advised, I have no eyes inside,” she reminded the group, surveying the surrounding area as both teams entered the building.

“Roger. Breaching.”

On their frequency, angry shouts and gunfire had her writing uncomfortably in her spot. She didn’t like not having a solid visual of her team; it made her feel helpless. The audio of the scene inside wasn’t helping her nerves (or nausea) much, either. The sniper was almost lost in her thoughts when she caught movement at the edge of her scope up the street.

Reinforcements.

“Ghost, engaging incoming hostiles. You might want to bug out,” she suggested, taking several shots at the armed men back-to-back. “Alpha-One, sound off.”

“Heard. Intel acquired,” Price acknowledged. “Clearing out.”

“Alpha-Two, how copy?”

The radio crackled once before Soap came through. “Copy, I’ve lost visual on Ghost. Got separated in the firefight,” he grunted, still firing shots inside the building. “‘M gonna have to squirt.”

Something wasn’t right. “Ghost, how copy?”

Silence.

“Lieutenant, what’s your status?”

Her skin crawled at the repeated silence. “Fuck.” She took a deep breath and pulled her knees underneath her body, her stomach suddenly stilling, nausea disappearing. “Abandoning post.” Her voice pierced through their radios with urgency. She abandoned her rifle and made her way down from her perch.

“Absolutely not. We’re converging at the meeting point now.” Price cursed under his breath as she brandished her sidearm and sprinted towards Ghost’s last location. “Stand down, Bravo, that’s an order!” The captain commanded, rough and authoritative.

“All due respect, Price, get bent.”

Price and Gaz watched helplessly as she disappeared into the structure, Soap approaching them from their flank. “The absolute balls on that one, aye?” he snickered, eyeballing Price. He didn’t even flinch, expression hard as steel as he rubbed his face. He hadn’t seen his captain that stressed in quite a while. Maybe not the time for jokes…

The blood-curdling screams Soap heard would scare any man straight. It sounded like a horror movie slaughterhouse over their comms, whether it was caused by Ghost or Freyja he didn’t know. He did know it was her voice that said Ghost’s name and assumed the distant, heated mumbling was Ghost. He must have lost his headset if they couldn’t hear him clearly, and what they were hearing was whatever her comms picked up. “Shut the fuck up and move. If you were fine, I wouldn’t be here, Lieutenant. You can thank me later,” she snapped, sounding eerily similar to a stereotypical angry wife. There’s no way she cleared out that entire convoy on her own…

Right?

Moments later, without any other gunfire, the pair emerged. Ghost was indeed missing his headset, while Freyja trudged in front of him, taking long steps to cross the street. Her helmet was gone, and her hair had come loose. Gun in one hand, a familiar black combat knife in the other, dripping blood. Strands of hair clung to her face, coated in dark red, along with her hands, bare arms, and vest. Soap’s eyes blew wide. “Steamin’ bloody Jesus, did she–?”

Price hummed and nodded beside him. In the same breath, she stumbled over to a car and gripped the door handle, dumping her stomach on the dusty road. Soap and Gaz moved to help, but Price stopped them with a single grunt. Ghost was immediately on her, expertly sweeping her hair into one hand as he pulled her earpiece out, cutting off their audio. One of her hands grabbed his vest for support while his other hand rested on her back.

“Well, that’s unusual,” Soap chimed, his head cocked to the side as he watched the display.

“Quit starin’ and load up. I doubt that’s the last of those reinforcements.” Price waved at them, catching Ghost’s attention and pointing to an approaching Heli, waving his hand in a “roll out” motion.

~*~

The ride back to base in the heli was one of the most awkward experiences of Soap’s life; not a word was spoken during the short trip. Ghost pulled a rag out of his vest and silently handed it to Freyja to wipe some blood from her face; she passed him the blade she had carried, and he finally placed its familiarity when Ghost tucked it into the empty holster at his hip. She looked utterly drained now that they were in close quarters. In another shocking moment, she rested her head on Ghost’s shoulder, and he didn’t move to shove her off.

What the fuck?

At the base, Ghost dropped her off at the medical bay before storming into the meeting room where the team had gathered to debrief. “You’re a dead man, Price,” he barked, finger jabbed at him as his skull plate skittered across the table when he threw it. “You fuckin’ knew–”

“Simon, I’m sorry–”

“Don’t “Simon” me. Sorry’s not gonna cut it, Captain! If she’s hurt–”

“I didn’t think she would compromise herself that easily.”

Ghost barked a dry, humorless laugh as he pointed in the general direction of the infirmary. “Of course, she’s bloody compromised! She’s my fuckin’ wife, you git!” he snarled, teeth viciously bared as he ripped off his mask.

“Hell’s fuckin’ bells…”

“Bloody hell…”

He was too angry (and, frankly, scared for his wife’s health) to acknowledge their audience. “This is exactly why I told you not to call her. I can’t focus if I’m worried about her safety right now. She’s supposed to be safe at home, resting, not running into a bloody warzone, for God’s sake!” 

“She was told not to leave her post–”

“When has she ever obeyed a direct order?”

Silence fell over the group, Price effectively losing the argument. Neither Sergeant wanted to find themselves on the other end of Ghost’s rage. They had no envy for Price and dared not get between them. No envy at all. On the other hand, Soap had so many questions. Since where was Ghost married? When did he have the time for a wife? And an American at that? How long had he been keeping her a secret?

“Simon.”

Four heads whipped to the soft voice across the room, finding the woman of the hour standing in the doorway. A superficial cut on her forehead had been taped up, her face clear of blood. Soap and Gaz stared at her in disbelief, jaws dropped as they looked from her to Ghost and back again. She chuckled at their expressions but didn’t move to approach them. “Captain Riley. Lovely to meet you both, officially,” she reintroduced herself, a slight smirk on her lips. She finally met her husband’s gaze, her expression softened at his bare face, save for the black paint.

He curled two fingers at her, one arm crossed over his chest. “C’mere. Now,” he ordered her, though his tone had little bite to it.

Even only knowing the sniper for such little time, Soap was outright shocked at the display. Flabbergasted by her obedience when she immediately strode to the spot next to him, barely leaving any space between their chests. It didn’t seem like her. He was obviously wrong, considering what he’d just witnessed. 

Ghost took a deep breath as he peered down at her, examining her visible skin for injuries. “I’m right pissed at you, love,” he muttered, allowing her to loop a finger in his belt loop.

She smiled up at him, her admiration clear now that the sergeants had been let in on the secret. “I know.”

“Don’t give me that look.” The man sighed exasperatedly and rolled his eyes. He knew he couldn’t hold his ground with that smile of hers. He dropped a gloved hand to rest on her lower belly, rubbing the spot with his thumb. “You alright?”

She placed her hand on top of his and bobbed her head. Her familiar glow from the night before had returned.

“I’d like an apology.”

“And I’d like a parade in my honor. Oh, and a good ol’ fashioned fu–”

“Oi, better watch that fuckin’ mouth of yours.”

“You love my mouth.”

“Tha’ I do. Just not right now, sweetheart.”

Soap couldn’t take it anymore. “Steamin’ blood Jesus L.t., are you…flirting?”

“Shamelessly,” she giggled, never once tearing her eyes away from the man towering over her.

Ghost rolled his eyes again, his other hand slipping into its home on the side of her neck. “You’re done. I mean it. And if you call her again, I walk,” he threatened, turning his head to address Price directly. “Don’t think I won’t.”

“Ghost, she held her own just fine,” Soap interjected from his chair. “Hen took out an entire squad practically single-handedly, plus the convoy before she went in after ya. I don’t see the problem.”

Realization dawned on Gaz suddenly, forcing him to his feet again. “You’re pregnant,” he exclaimed, both in shock and awe. “That’s why you were feeling sick. And the big clothes. You’re on maternity leave."

The lack of response from John and Freyja and how Ghost studied Gaz said everything they needed to know.

“No wonder you’ve been downright crabbit with her! Can’t say I blame ye, ‘s too dangerous out there to be mucking about with a little one in there.” Soap rose to his feet too, smiling like a cheeseball, ready to ruthlessly tease him. “How’d you manage that, Ghost? A bangin’ wife and a baby?”

“I know it’s been a while for you, Sarge–”

“Aw, away n’ bile yer heid!” the Scot barked, dismissing his lieutenant with a wave.

“English, MacTavish.”

“Sorry, sir, let me translate…Go fuck yourself.”

“Much better.”

He moved on from Ghost, addressing Freyja now. “I’ve so many questions! How long ‘ave you been together?” Soap leaned against the round table in front of them, his hands dragging across the shaved portion of his head.

“How old am I?” Ghost asked in a low, teasing timber.

Her upper lip tugged upwards as her hand wavered, indicating an estimate. “Five years, give or take.”

“Five years?! Son of the god-damn-devil, Lt! You’ve had a secret wife for five years–” He cut himself off with a gasp, his volume dropping to a brash whisper. “Does he take the mask off when you—”

“Tha’ll do, Johnny.”

Her bubbly laugh filled the room, and she swatted his tactical vest with her palm. “Si, don’t be an ass,” she warned, raising a brow at him. “Oh, John! I have pictures for you!” The woman let go of her husband and dug out folded ultrasound photos from her zipped pocket. She, Price, and Gaz moved to another corner of the room, gushing over the snapshots of her latest appointment before flying out, leaving Soap and Ghost alone by the meeting table.

A mischievous grin overtook Soap’s face. “An American, eh, Lt.? And she outranks you?”

“Not another word, Sergeant.”

A long pause stretched between them, although not long enough for Ghost’s liking.

“So… Goddess of love, beauty, and war,” he inquired, raising an eyebrow at the Brit, who threw him a questioning side-eye. Soap hummed. “Fitting.”

Soap almost gawked at the smirk (borderline smile) that Ghost bore as he watched his wife animatedly pour over her photos. “I’m well aware.” Another moment passed between them before Ghost fully turned to the other man. “Johnny?”

“Yeah, Ghost?"

“Flirt with my wife again, I’ll knock your teeth in."

"Noted, sir."

Copyright © 2023 as-is-above-so-below. All rights reserved.

[darqx]

Snakes on a post

Another particularly long answer dump since i, once again, have a backlog of things to potentially answer |D

❗️For commonly asked qs please see my BTD FAQ

Got jumpscared with my own old art for a hot minute there LAUGHS.

(For those wondering, the naga doodle from here was attached to the ask)

That is every other Royal that exists in the Nether and also at least some of the demons that challenged him for his Royal title lol.

Believe me, no one was or is more surprised then me XD;

So, the thing about where Rire's ichor manifests is that it kinda exists and doesn't exist at the same time. Meaning that his upper back is where the manifestation point is anchored, BUT it can still manifest with a bit of space in between it and his back hence why it will manifest over his clothes and not through them.

So if you touch where the manifestation point is sans the ichor, than you are just straight up touching his back. With the ichor, he still gets sensory input from the tentacles to his back but it's a lot more soft and muted esp the further away it gets from him. As you've seen implied though, he would feel a very sharp pain if a great deal of damage was done to the ichor where it clusters at the manifestation point, since he'd DEF be feeling that straight in his back lol.

He is definitely a top and the only way he would bottom for anybody is if they somehow forced him to.

Ah i knew i'd answered this a long time ago [finally found it]! Holy crosses (those that have been blessed) can also burn him but they would need to be in contact with him the entire time. Being a Royal he also has more of a tolerance to these than normal demons.

Well, unless said person actually has the undeniable ability to make good on their words, Rire would just stand there rather genially with that little smile he sometimes has and let them finish.

And then he might use them as reverse suggestions for dealing with said person (why would you give him any ideas!!?)

both

In BTD canon it is quite possible that they actually haven't in person. But we are using creative license here haha.

Rire heals a lot faster than a human. Cain is not my character so I don't know how his stacks up.

I've grouped these asks cos they kind of have similar answers - 360° (jk sorry sorry to the second q that is just a very common spelling mistake and I couldn't resist XD; )

Now, even though we mashed all the characs together in BTD, they all actually come from different storylines and so their canons outside the "BTD canon" may differ. This tends to bleed in. With this in mind:

The rules of Rire's canon (eg the concept of Battle Royales and how to become a Royal) don't apply to Cain. Anyway, they don't live in the same place either.

Cain is canonically the oldest and most OP character in BTD lol so yes he is stronger than Rire - you might've noticed, but Rire is never in the same drawing as Cain voluntarily. I play with this along with the "natural weakness" aspect - which I've also referred to as scissors-paper-rock rules XD Basically; demons beat humans, angels beat demons (purely because demons have weakness against holiness).

It would (be insane) but I hope you are not looking at me to fulfil this :d

Not really

His coronation day is a public holiday in his sector so yes XD

Aww thank you very much for your interest! ≧(´▽｀)≦ It's really cool that some of you guys want to actually fund such a thing - I'd have thought you'd have enough of him killing you in BTD1 XD Unfortunately, I have no plans for a Rire game at the moment as I'm working on a webcomic which looks like it will take up all my free time (that being said, he will be in the webcomic at some point).

Nope! Although i can kinda see why you might think that lol.

Whatever that one is where he doesn't particularly care what someone else identifies as. It really makes no difference to him or how he will act.

There are viruses in the Nether that if contracted could potentially kill you, yes. Part of being a Royal is becoming a lot more robust than normal Demons though. As for if/when Rire dies, I dunno maybe either in a Battle Royale somewhere thousands of years down the line or by old age (which is rare for a Royal but not impossible if you play your cards right).

If you are asking if he has a heat/rut of some sort, he does not |D

[tealvenetianmask]

can you picture western energy striker defiantly hissing "vermin" in the face of sure death? can you imagine the harvest moon one getting offended at the dick statue he himself built being made fun of? or letting sex jokes get under his skin after he p much spent the pain games seducing blitz?

Sweet anon, you responded seriously to a shitpost.

*Ahem*

Honey, you can take a joke about as well as Striker can.

*cough cough hacking fit*

Gumdrop-----

*sigh*

Okay, none of that is fair. I'd better respond to your actual argument. In most shitposts, there's a grain of OP's actual opinion. This one is no different. My opinion is this: I think Striker's character development in Season 2 is good actually. I'll explain why, and I hope I'll get around to all of your ideas along the way.

Point 1: I concede- Striker did come across as COOLER in The Harvest Moon Festival, but I think that "cool" was skin deep. He had a confident attitude and cool weapons. He could fight and kill a wild hellbeast and tied with Blitz in the tough guy contest. He had the voice of Norman Reedus for fuck's sake. The screenshot I used in the shitpost was a smear, which is a technique for animating fast motion, and Striker doesn't look dorky unless you pause it at exactly the right split second- it was a joke. Now, did that present potential for him to be a villain who was super slick and formidable all the time? Sure.

But was it representative of anything more about his character than the attitude he projected and his fighting skills? No, I don't think so-- we knew next to nothing about him. And cracks in his exterior were already visible in some core contradictions, which brings me to . . .

Point 2: He was overtly presented as a racist, self-hating hypocrite who was not as tough as he pretended to be ALREADY in The Harvest Moon Festival. I'm not exaggerating. I went into way more depth about this here, but here's the gist. He presented himself as sort of an imp rights activist (royals treat them like playthings, etc.) but also said that he and Blitz are superior to other imps and yes, like you mentioned in your ask, called Moxxie, a smaller imp with more typical imp traits "vermin" and demeaned him throughout the episode. He also genuinely had his ass handed to him by Blitz when they actually directly fought hand to hand, so there's that . . . AND he calls what Blitz does beneath him but literally works for royals himself. The fantasy he tried to sell to Blitz IS a fantasy that Striker IS NOT LIVING.

Point 3: The character development he gets in Season 2 is consistent with what we see in Season 1. Why wouldn't a character who represents toxic masculinity in Moxxie's character arc have a giant statue of himself with a pointy dong? A character who's delusional enough to see himself as a free agent "slaying overlords" when he's really working as a paid assassin? Who describes himself as "superior to most of his kind?" Why would you expect that character to react well to losing? Because he acted angry and called Moxxie vermin rather than begging for mercy (which he never does later)? Please. He continues to act angry when he's losing in Season 2- he just gets more unhinged about it as he loses more and more. And then he runs the fuck away. At the end of every single episode in which he appears. Because his bravery has a fucking limit.

Point 4: And that development is actually more interesting (and potentially scary in the future) than a villain who's just cool and unshakeable. We learn more about his fixations and insecurities. That when other characters flirt to disarm him (different from when he's the one seducing/manipulating), he gets flustered and messes up. We learn that he's insecure enough to need the validation of success, and when his losses pile up, he starts to break.

For him, breaking shows up as murderous rage rather than sadness because he can't stand to be weak. He's willing to kill Fizz and incur the wrath of Asmodeus just to satisfy that rage, just to sate his murderous hatred for someone who committed the crime of being an imp in a relationship above his station. This suggests that going forward, he'll be capable of unspeakable cruelty, motivated by hate, free from the constraints of morality and common sense. He will become increasingly dangerous and increasingly tragic. The audience wants to know his backstory (because how could someone get like this without profound pain?) and wants to see what he'll do next.

In short, Striker is an awesome character, but not in the ways that his defenders think he "should have been" based on his first appearance.

[ronearoundblindly]

17 with Jake

or

25 with ransom

-👜

Jake Jensen x ops!reader: a kiss to distract. (Ransom will be posted separately.)

No warnings except Jake is a dumbass... Cute divider by @cafekitsune and I hope you enjoy! This is one of my Valentine's Fics for 2024. (Ransom will be in a separate post, btw.) WC 738

"Under no circumstances are you to zipline that damn thing, Jensen. You hear me?” Clay bellows over your comms. The whole squad can hear their friend’s stupid thoughts from hundreds of yards away.

Jake simply bounces his shoulders next to you on the skyscraper roof, an awkward grimace stretched across his face instead of a smile.

The cool, intense winds this high up swirl around while you watch your targets become smaller and smaller, taking the only hardware down the wire with them.

You and Jake burst through the access door, raced over to grasp at the jumpers, and missed by mere inches.

So your partner thinks on his feet. It’s very dangerous.

"Yeah, well, I don't see you guys having a better idea."

Your disbelief is palpable, as you loudly mutter, "permission to shoot him, boss?"

Then there's an explosion of noise in your ear.

"GODDAMNIT, JUST DON’T—“ "You idiot!" "Ten bucks says he goes splat.”

"No one bets on Pancake Jensen, okay?" You flash the bird toward the other rooftop where Cougar watches through binoculars.

Pooch scoffs. "Noob's no fun."

Jake is already ripping his belt from his jeans to use as a trolley.

Roque sighs. It’s so characteristic, he doesn’t even have to speak.

“Maybe no bets," Cougar chuckles, "but he's already playing strip poker."

"Jake, stop." You have to grip his hands to get his attention.

He's squinting at you in disbelief. "But they're getting away..."

"Yeah, and once they reach the bottom, that line'll get cut while you're still on it." He shifts so you have to step in front of him again and push at his t-shirt clad chest. "You cannot stick that landing."

"No hero landing?" Jake frowns.

You shake your head.

The group starts to throw out other options over the channel, and while you pay attention to that, your gaze wanders back to Cougar’s perch.

Jake sneaks past your grasp.

It’s only when the lookout starts shouting “woah, woah, woah,” that you realize Jensen’s about to toss the doubled-up leather of his belt over the wire, and you just…run.

You use your whole bodyweight to spin him. You push off the balls of your feet to reach level. Remarkably, you make it, your lips landing dead-center on his mouth parted in shock.

You did not, however, have time to calculate the ledge right behind Jake’s thighs.

He panics when he hits concrete and lurches forward, arms wrapping around you with an instinct to not die. Where was that consideration thirty seconds ago?

He holds on while stumbling, though, and by a few seconds in, you know he absolutely could have pulled away, if he wanted to, by now.

“Uh…”

Jake slides his big hands up to cup your face, lean further in, moving his head to the other side and licking the seam of your lips.

You weren’t expecting that.

Jensen always gripes about his awkwardness and lack of experience, but this is not amateur tongue action and definitely not detached. You can sense some real emotion in the dig of his fingers behind your ears, muffling your comms for who knows how long until one shift has your forehead smearing across his glasses.

“Sorry,” you blurt, breaking the kiss.

He lets go of your face just in time for you to see the thick wire snapping back toward the rooftop.

You grab Jake’s t-shirt in both fists and fling the pair of you to the ground.

“If you doofuses are alive,” Clay grumbles. “you better be halfway to the lobby.”

There’s a long, anguished sigh before Cougar adds, “and I just lost fifty bucks.”

Pooch whoops joyously.

“Hell yeah, I won the pot, didn’t I? Get it, Jensen. You’re my boy. I knew you could do it.”

Jake waits for the snaking wire to stop moving and nervously licks his bottom lip. “Right. No hero landing.” He squints at you again before popping up from the gravel, cleaning his lenses and inching toward the stairwell with wildly incoherent, stunted hand gestures. “We should…if you’re good…render-vous.”

On your elbows, you realize a talk with Jensen about this is not going to be pleasant. He’ll probably make you do all the talking and deny there was anything there between you. Maybe he is too awkward for his own good?

You reach past your feet toward the ledge, waving your find in the air.

“Don’t forget your belt.”

Bucky Barnes and a kiss, casually ⬅️ ➡️ Johnny Storm and a kiss in relief

[Main Masterlist; Light Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

@supraveng @1950schick @patzammit @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @yiiiikesmish @ashesofblackroses @spectre-posts @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory @brandycranby @buckysprettybaby @peyton--warren

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

Halloween prompt no. 24

Danny was...well, he wasn't okay. He had just lost his family in a impromptu ghost weapon beta test gone wrong. (he also lost Vlad but he wasn't really sad about that one). With his friends help he went ahead and destroyed everything his parents ever made, thier lifes work gone in only a few hours. Anything useful was shoved into the Emergency Op Center along with all of Dannys stuff.

After some tearful goodbyes Danny left the dimension for the last time. With the stable portals gone the natural portals should gradually stop appearing within a year or two and then it will be like this whole event never happened. Danny should be glad. Proud even, for defending the city for so long. He saved the world a few times! That was awesome! So why did he feel so guilty? Logically there was nothing he could have done to save them. He didn't even know...

Arriving in a new dimension was easy. He flew the ops center- in its jet form - low to the ground, making sure to keep it invisible and intangible. He eventually and accidentally flew underground into a cave with no entrance or exit.

In his defense, he was a bit busy staring at this absolutely ginormous manor and couldn't look away from it. As it turns out the cave was rather large and Danny got to work moving his stuff out of the jet and into the cave. It was a pretty nice set up for a fourteen year old living alone. The headboard of his bed was pressed up against one wall of the cave after he smothed it out with his plasma blasts, giving it this cool melted rock look. He also makes sure to set up a lab to himself with electric generators to power everything.

By the time he was done he had a tiny section of the cave tooking like an actual home. In all fairness this place was massive and it would probably take some time to fill it out, even with his ice powers making multiple floors and whatnot.

His only real problem was there was no place to take showers or do laundry. Or charge his phone. Okay, maybe he had more than a few problems left to solve. Baby steps.

He thought back to the massive mansion who was now his neighbor and had an idea. "Hope they don't mind me sneaking in too much. Meh. I doubt they'll even notice."

Oh how wrong he was.

[nekohime19]

AITA for punching my girlfriend in the face?

(Part two of the previous post!! Let's go! Love writing funny looney toons style things like that. It's still Wukong POV.)

I didn't expect to get that much answers 😅. Anyway, thanks for the wisdom.

For those who didn’t see my last post (AITA for sleeping with the guy my girlfriend is cheating on me with) : I have a girlfriend (Venom) who cheated on me with another guy (Six). So out of pettiness I went to see Six. I learned he wasn't aware of my existence and was getting played too. We bonded, got wasted and kinda slept together.

Here are my answers to all your comments :

LaZen :

NTA, thought you definitely need to break up with her like yesterday, cheating is not cool and poor six who was the side dish :c its going to be awkward but six and you need to talk with a nice breakfast about what you two want to do now, revenge? Just a one night thing? Or get to know each other, wich i think is going to be the latter since both of you were getting along, the guy just got to town, maybe show him around as friends?

OP response :

Yeah, I think it's due time I confront Venom, even if I really don't want to. Idk, guess she's been with me for a long time so it's somehow scary to move on. I honestly don't know what I want with Six. I've never been interested in guys before? And maybe he only got pulled by the mood? Anyway, you're right, we do need to talk. Idk if I can make breakfast but, hey, burned egg aren't THAT bad.

Lagt :

Anyway not the asshole, maybe a stupid move but at that point why even bother coming back together if you two were already broke up? Like it feels like she couldn't decide

NTA

OP response :

😬 You're really calling me out with that one. Venom and I do have a pretty weird way to settle things. Guess I just got used to the constant breaking up and getting back together.

Sakurabloom_26 :

NTA, OP it doesn’t matter the reason, she cheated on you and played Six for a fool by making him her AP.

It wasn’t ok that you slept with her AP before breaking up with her (especially since the two of you were drunk), but considering you both were played for fools, I can’t blame you for shooting your shot.

As for what to do, wait for Six to wake up and decide on how the two of you are going to catch Venom in the act and then dump her.

Regarding Six, I’d take it slow, offer to be his friend and if you think there’s a genuine connection there, ask him out on a date (something simple like a coffee date, or a picnic), but be sure to assure him that if he doesn’t feel the same way that you still want to be friends (you both sound like you just need someone to genuinely be there for each other, so awkward emotions shouldn’t mean that your friendship has to end 😌)

Best of luck to you OP, I’m rooting for you 😊

OP response :

Yeaaah, wine really got into our heads and maybe we shouldn't have slept together. Honestly, being friends with Six doesn't sound bad. I’ve never been interested in guys before so it's pretty new. The thing is I don't know if I felt like that because of the mood or because of genuine feelings? Taking it slow might be better, especially since we're both kinda still with Venom at the moment?? Thanks!

Mystsong :

NTA, you were cheated on by Venom and Six had no clue what is or was going on. Not sure it was a good idea for you and Six to sleep together but you were also both impaired by alcohol so you both weren't thinking at the time. I'd definitely stay away from Venom and take things slow and steady with Six and see if there's something there. Also please be careful with Venom I've heard of some ex boyfriends/ex girlfriends doing some crazy things when they get mad at their exes or to keep control of their exes...and she sounds dangerous to do that. Also getting advice from some friends and family like your successor, Bud, might also be a good idea especially if you want to get proof of what Venom is up to and has been doing. Hope this helps you out. (Hugs sent)

OP response :

The things alcohol makes you do. Talking it out with Six might be for the best, idk if he'll want to see me again though? Guess I'll just have to ask. Maybe we can just be friends for now until we figure it out. Venom can be intense, yeah. I wouldn't put it past her to pull some shit like that. I don't want to involve Bud in this mess though, he's not really aware of me and Venom and he has enough problems because of me. (Hugs received)

Sag3mint :

Honestly wondering what Venom's reaction will be. Anger probably. 🤔

But once she realises that the reason why you and Six met is because of her, oh boy...... 🤭 That's gonna be massive blow to her ego.

OP response :

Oh boy, she's not gonna be happy that her bf and her side bf are getting it on together. This is gonna be a nuke field to travel through.

Halfdeadhalfpaniced :

Oh she’s definitely not going to take it well but technically none of this would have happened and you two would never have met if she didn’t cheat first. Honestly OP? He’s probably not the only one she’s ever cheated on you with and might not even be the only other person she’s currently seeing.

OP response :

It hurts to think about that, I hope she didn't… But I can't be certain.

Littleguy-dot-io :

nta.. you seemed to be doing yall a favor. venom. seems kinda like a bitch??? like bro.... pick a struggle. anyways sorry she did that to yall both but break with her

OP response :

At this point, Yeaaah, both Six and I really need to break up with her.

Furornocturna :

Okay, a LOT to unpack here, but I’ll try my best to give you some advice you desperately need.

Overall consensus? ESH.

Let me elaborate before you dismiss me outright.

Venom clearly sucks the worst here for cheating and stringing you and Six along.

You weren’t wrong for wanting revenge (I would too) and you weren’t wrong to tell Six about the situation (probably should have done it sober tho), but the two of you cheating on her back with each other… while admittedly a little hilarious as an outsider hearing this story secondhand, that doesn’t do either of you favors here. Not only did you sink to her level, but now the situation is messier than before that you now have to deal with when she finds out (which she will). You are going to have to confront Venom to end things with her, OP. Because that’s what you need to do.

From the looks of it, she checked out of the relationship three months ago, and the love there on your end was gone after you found out she was cheating, plus was likely already heading in that direction with the other background you gave on how things have been. And Six doesn’t deserve to be the side piece to her either.

First and foremost, you and Six both need to break things off with Venom (and deal with the fallout that comes with, as I have little doubt she’ll take the news well) before you proceed with anything else with whatever it is you want to do with each other. Which, despite the rather unorthodox circumstances, it appears that you two really hit it off.

But if this is something you want to pursue, platonically, romantically, or whatever else, you need to sort out yourself. You mentioned questioning your sexuality at the end of your post, so you’ll want to figure things out there before jumping headlong into another relationship. More than that, if you really like Six in any form, the last thing you want to do here is make him think he’s just a rebound. He was also hurt by Venom too. And make sure Six isn’t just rebounding on you either. You both really need to communicate on your wants, needs, feelings, etc, and how you want to proceed.

I hope things work out for you and Six. It really sucked that this happened (Venom cheating on you two, not you two finding each other), and I hope you both can recover from this and come out happier.

ALSO

Since you mentioned Venom causing city-wide damage in the past and how she’s caused issues with your successor, I worry both Bud and the city might also become casualties if Venom decides to retaliate against you and Six for breaking up with her/finding out her cheating. Don’t let them get caught up in the crossfire of this.

Make your next moves carefully, and you’ll get through this with the least amount of hassle.

Hope this helps!

OP response :

Honestly, I do feel kinda bad for sleeping with Six because of Venom. Even if I'm really angry and some petty part of me thinks she deserves it, I didn't intend for things to turn out like that. Things with Six just… spiraled, the alcohol didn't make it better. Not the first time wine makes me do stupid things. But, somehow, I don't regret it?? I definitely need to confront Venom and I sure as hell don't intend to keep dating her after this. Things will be messy and, you're right, I do need to watch out for her reaction and make sure things don't get out of control. I don't know how things will go with Six. Tbh, I don't know what I'm feeling for sure either, everything is kind of a mess right now? But right, talk, we need to talk.

Sorry if I made a mistake on you guys names, 😅.

And sooo, I have an update 👀

AITA for punching my girlfriend in the face?

After that night with Six I got up and tried to make breakfast. You know, something nice to set a nice mood. Problem is idk how to cook (I usually eat hair, it's a mystic monkey thing) sooo my attempt failed miserably and I ended up with a black goo that was supposed to be eggs.

I just settled for fruits. Like Six should like fruits, no ?? He's a monkey. So I prepared a nice basket and waited.

I was kinda nervous.

Which was very unlike me. I'm not a nervous guy. But I never did hook-ups before, not with a guy, and not with my girlfriend's secret side boyfriend much less. It was a messed up situation tbh and I felt guilty for what I did (somehow it kinda felt I cheated on Venom??), angry at Venom and also excited to see Six again.

Six woke up after a few minutes, he looked ruffled and very much like he spent the night having fun in the sheet (I'm proud of that tbh). He froze when he saw me. Dear in the headlight froze and we stared at each other for a long minute before I managed to awkwardly gesture towards the basket.

Six sat down and nibbled on some mangoes. Our conversation kinda went like this :

Me : “so, last night was… ?”

Six : “... A lot.”

Me : “Yeah… Huh, what do you wanna do?”

Six : “Don't know… Guess I'm just gonna keep my distance a bit.”

Me : “From Venom?”

Six : “Yeah…”

Me : “How about we confront her together?”

Honestly I said that because I didn't really want to confront Venom alone. She could be intense at times and, well, it was perhaps better to do it with everyone directly involved present.

But before Six could reply, Bud barged in.

Now, I'm not the best at keeping track of time but I usually know when Bud is coming. But with the whole situation it just slipped by me. The three of us froze and Bud's mouth fell open… For context, the marks of what we did last night were still very visible so it wasn't hard for Bud to connect the dots.

Now, Bud knows I'm with someone but I never told him of Venom. The main reason is because Venom is more on the “bad guy team” and doesn't think that kindly of Bud. Moreover, Bud has been the cause of a lot of arguments between Venom and I and I didn't want him to be involved with an angry Venom. I just didn't want things to get complicated and thought it was simpler to separate my love life from my mentor life. Maybe I was also a bit scared of how Bud was gonna react to me dating a “bad guy”.

Maybe that's why Bud's first reaction was to be excited and rush to Six, rambling about how he's finally able to meet my partner. I'm not blaming Bud for thinking this but Gods above it was so awkward.

If I said that Six wasn't my boyfriend, then Bud was going to think I'm cheating on my true partner (Venom)... Which is kinda the truth?? Somehow???

I honestly didn't know what to do and, at this point, I was feeling a lot of different emotions. I didn't want Bud's image of me to be tarnished but I didn't want to lie to him either about the situation. Six, who looked quite overwhelmed as well, didn't outrightly reject Bud's claim but clearly didn't agree with it either. He just… excused himself and took the opportunity to leave. Which I can understand. Dealing with Bud isn't his responsibility and he just learned he was a side piece yesterday, he probably needed some time to cool off and think clearly about what happened.

He smiled at me before leaving so I assumed that he's not that upset with me.

Gods that smile.

I avoided Bud's questions after this and put the subject to rest. Neither confirming or denying anything. I just told him we'd talk about it later. It's not like I didn’t want to confide in Bud, but I didn't want to drag him into this mess, he has enough already on his plate.

So now, fast-forward to three days after that incident. I took a lot of tests on the internet to know if I'm actually bi ?? I questioned a lot about myself, my own sexuality, and what I wanted to do with Six and Venom.

Six and I decided to meet again and clarify things. Mainly about what we wanted to do with Venom and how we should confront her. He came to my mountain and we sat down around some fruits, trying to figure out this whole mess and how we should go about it now. Honestly, both of us agreed we should break up for good with Venom. But we weren't sure if we should tell her about our lil “fun in the sheet”. Venom can have an explosive temper at times (she did destroy half of the city) so we didn't want to anger her more than necessary. I know I may be TA for wanting to keep my “kinda cheating” with Six a secret but at this point I just wanted to be done with Venom and not give her any more reasons to put the city or Bud in danger. It was a moment where both of us were emotionally vulnerable, and waisted. It wasn't wise, especially given the context, but I did insist that I didn't regret it. I really felt like we had a connection that night. However, before Six could reply, I saw Venom stomping down this way with an enraged look.

We both panicked. The marks of our night together were still somewhat visible and both of us didn't want to aggravate Venom more than she already was. In hindsight, maybe it was kind of a stupid move and would seem even more suspicious to Venom, but I pushed Six in the nearest cabinet. He looked livid so I just told him it wasn't the right moment yet and that I'd deal with her for now. I quickly applied some glamors to hide any marks and waited for Venom to arrive (for context, glamors is kind of like magic make-up).

She was furious. She paced and accused me of cheating on her. I pried a little for information and it turns out she overheard Bud talk about my male partner and, yeah, things spiraled down from there.

So my soon-to-be ex was ransacking the house in search of my supposed side piece and I was just nervously standing in front of the cabinet with Six inside. She approached the cabinet and was ready to throw hands. In a moment of sheer panic and instinctual reaction to years of fighting demons, I punched her in the face, not enough to truly do some damage (I can pack a mean punch) but enough to knock her out.

So now Venom is passed out on the floor and I'm feeling very guilty and Six is still inside the cabinet, I'm typing this with the speed of light.

Should I just tie her up???

So AITA??

AND WHAT DO I DO????

[admiringtheskies]

okay, so The Hyperfixation Is Hyperfixating, clearly, and honestly im just gonna continue going with it bc THEM— *screams* ANYWAYS @frownyalfred uhhhhhh hope you enjoy this as well! without further ado, another idea inspired by the incomparable ✨borderline✨ that just would NOT leave me alone until i got it all down into actual real words:

at some point further in the timeline of borderline'verse, when they've finally got the whole situation mostly under control, the batfam (whenever they accompany bruce, or multiple kids go together by themselves so they're in batclan mode, to do jl/other crossover shit) sort of ends up just doing the whole Bat-Danger-Aura thing, like, Constantly; somewhat unintentionally, but also with not much effort really made to rein it in, bc they do think the reactions are hilarious lol. and like, the thing is, they were ALREADY doing it pre-bond, pretty much right from whenever dick, jason, or both made their first appearance w bruce outside of gotham and first established the existence of mini-bats for the outside world — i mean, that sense of leashed power, as well as the eerie synchronicity and ability to communicate in the tiniest of gestures, was really just a natural consequence of the crime-fighting codependency and the training bruce put them through, originally. (as you may be able to tell, i have an Extremely Normal Amount of Feelings about the concept of cryptid batfam <3). but WITH the bond?? i mean, the kids are all connected to each other, yes, but their primary connections are all to BRUCE, and once they've had time to adjust, and set + actually semi-consistently enforce some basic boundaries, they absolutely take pride in using that to it's fullest advantage (that they're capable of while not intentionally compromising anybody's autonomy, anyways).

and like… OP's already touched on this in earlier chapters briefly a few times, but i NEED a thorough exploration of the idea of bruce seeing this change in them, seeing them subconsciously incorporate even just these little subtle mannerisms, and feeling so fucking guilty about it and spiraling bc he's terrified that all of his self-destructive qualities [that he's painfully aware of in himself] will transfer over to the children, who somehow never seem to realize that how proud and grateful they make him when they demonstrate their DIFFERENCES from him in those regards. and he's just so scared that he'll somehow ruin the few parts of them he thinks he's miraculously managed to avoid 'tainting' with his mentorship/fatherhood until now… …and meanwhile the kids are about to start crying because dad no what the fuck,,, but also facepalming a little bit bc jesus CHRIST, B, did you never even stop to consider the fact that you're just… really fuckin smart and skilled and know how to do a frankly ungodly amount of Cool Shit that we all share an interest in, and we were excited to have the chance to copy more of that shit too?! just, even beyond the great mental image of the Danger Walk, what really got me about that scene was just... his two oldest boys, who are already so much like him, not hesitating for a SECOND to gleefully take the chance to match his behavior even MORE perfectly, and wanting to know where he learned something as (relatively, by their standards) simple as the Serious Business Walk, and wanting to share that memory because it's just fuckin cool, y'all! like, to be clear, i absolutely respect the fact that, at least by the time that they're entering adulthood/in the prime of their mental and physical youth, any of the batkids are pretty much on, or definitely rapidly approaching, the same level as bruce in general badassery — and they probably each have 1 or 2 specific skillsets in which they can and do surpass him. but at the same time, you CANNOT convince me that, at any given point in the established DC timeline, there exists a non-bruce batfam character who can really look at bruce (like his personality, his aforementioned ridiculous skillset, i mean everything about him) and not see at least ONE quality in him that they aspire to. maybe it's something they already have and just can't see in themselves, maybe it's more a projection of something one of their other siblings has and shares with bruce, maybe it's just some skill, some random combat move, that he doesn't need very often, and so when he does use it, it briefly reminds them that "holy shit, he's The Fucking Batman" — but there's always SOMETHING there, some reason that even when they're having trouble communicating or arguing or emotions are running high, they'll never truly lose that respect for him that compels these ridiculously independent, self-sufficient people to willingly follow him: to listen to him, to trust him, and to keep themselves ready to unite under his lead. because nobody can argue that they are a clan, whose purpose comes from being first united under the guidance and protection and love of the bat.

[theamityelf]

I’ve been thinking of talent swap AUs and I was wondering if there were any talents you would like to see Makoto have? And like if that varies from ship to ship? Like way back you have that post of different Makoto soulmate AUs with different ships, so that but with talent swaps.

On the top of my head, an Ultimate Neuroscientist Makoto would be interested with Hineagi or Kamuegi. Like Makoto is a minute replacement on the Kamukura project and either encounters pre-op Hajime (and maybe tries to save Hajime’s memories along with giving him talents I don’t know) OR meets Kamukura (and it’s the classic treats Izuru as a human rather than an experiment tropes but Makoto is a scientist here)

Oooh, first of all, there's one relevant post I made a little bit ago where I said that Ultimate Rule-Breaker would be a cool fit for him, since we know he will defy the establishment to protect other people.

But your specific idea of matching it to specific ships like in my soulmate AU's post is really cool, so let's give it a try, lol! I don't want to threaten his just-a-guy-ness, but it could be cool to try to use the alternate ultimate to lean into certain particular dynamics of each ship. It really seems to come down to "Is it more fun to do opposites or to coordinate?"

Kamuegi:

Here, I really want to retain the sense of "He isn't super skilled; he's just a really decent guy." A part of me wants to go "Ultimate Therapist" or somewhere in that ballpark, specifically because it justifies Hope's Peak's scientists having arranged for them to be around each other, but I think it's a little important to me that he's not a therapist. It feels like it takes away from his Power of Friendship thing if he's a therapist. Not knocking therapy! It's just maybe not best for the ship. I think the best thing he can offer Izuru is an appreciation for the world around him, so something like "Ultimate Bird-Watcher", like in that other post, or "Ultimate Stargazer," or just something in the ballpark of "person whose skill comes from enjoying things and dedicating himself to that enjoyment". Canon Makoto seems to more have that with people, but for this AU, I think the highly social aspect of Makoto's personality can receive less emphasis. I think for now I'm going to go with "Ultimate Storm-Chaser", because that combines a few cool things. It's an enjoyment of the natural world, it's a kind of wild side that we don't usually get to see a lot from Makoto, it characterizes the whole Naegi family in a pretty fun way (like, I'm just picturing them in a station wagon or van, following storms since Makoto and Komaru were little kids), and it's a thing where Makoto's clumsiness and Izuru's protection can put them in cool situations. And Makoto can still get some heroics in, saving people who are in the path of natural disasters. (I'm picturing the standard screaming child in a disaster movie.)

Naegami:

Oh boy, where to start for this one? I'm not going to act like Ultimate Secretary didn't cross my mind first, but I think the appeal of AU's where he actually becomes Byakuya's secretary isn't usually the idea that he'll be superhumanly good at it. Next, the idea of them being placed at odds by their titles comes to mind. Like, maybe the Togami Corporation is up to some harmful practices and Makoto is the Ultimate Environmentalist, or the Ultimate Activist, and he tries to appeal to Byakuya's better nature, and also it's really funny to think "The Ultimate Environmentalist saves the planet by accidentally romancing the most influential CEO." Boy, I started this point planning to say "but instead", but now I've kind of talked myself into this one. I think I like this dynamic?? Makoto just trying to reason with him, Byakuya reading him as some wide-eyed idealist at first, but Makoto is able to parry everything he says, and they have a Vibe, and then they're dating, and Byakuya really likes him, but if he actually makes the changes that Makoto is passionate about, he's worried Makoto will leave him because a part of him has thought that Makoto was just using him the whole time.

(Also, hey, it's me from after I finished the rest of this post. Yeah, the answer I give for Naezono also applies here.)

Naegiri:

I am pretty charmed by the idea of him being something that stands at odds with Ultimate Detective, like Ultimate Accomplice (and there are a lot of ways he could be someone who deliberately or accidentally keeps people from getting in trouble while she's trying to find out the truth no matter what), but it seems more aligned with the spirit of the ship if he gets something that pairs well with detective, like "Ultimate Lip-Reader". That one would probably involve a lot of him tagging along on the field with her, offering his thoughts and insights and telling her what people are saying in silent security footage. Alternatively, any Ultimate where she's doing the field work as a detective and he's doing the office and/or people-facing side is cool, so "Ultimate Secretary" would actually be pretty great for this ship. (That one fic, Smile at the Mouth of Despair, had him doing file work and stuff, and I kind of love that; it's what I'm visualizing for this point. I like him sorting files and taking calls.)

Komaegi:

Is "Ultimate Friend" cheating? Yeah, that's cheating. I kind of like Ultimate Survivalist, maybe, where people expect him to be really strong and cool, but he's just a somewhat clumsy little guy who just happens to regularly dodge heavy projectiles and happen to have the exact thing he needs in his backpack. (This could include him knowing aikido, since we all love Aikido Makoto, lol.) The way this would intersect with Nagito is, in any given plane crash or house fire or explosion, Makoto theoretically should be safe and able to help Nagito out. I say theoretically because there is a part of me that thinks Nagito's luck would have to kill the Ultimate Survivalist. I don't always subscribe to the theory that his luck does the least likely thing (whether it's good or bad), but I do think that an Ultimate Survivalist, even if the talent works exactly like Makoto's normal luck, would be tempting fate just by being called that.

Honestly, while I said that the highly social aspect of Makoto's character didn't need to be emphasized for Izuru, I feel it definitely does for Nagito, hence the "Ultimate Friend" idea. But I'm thinking maybe a service role that Makoto can have a decidedly healthy approach to, like Ultimate Barista? Is there a word for someone who picks up litter? Because I love the idea of Makoto's Ultimate being focused on cleaning up after people, but him having an overall more generous and friendly outlook on them than Nagito. Maybe Makoto is the Ultimate Custodian, and a lot of people expect him to resent people who drop trash, but he's more, "I'm glad I can help out. Sometimes people are busy or make mistakes, and I'm glad I can keep our shared spaces clean. I meet a lot of interesting people! For example..."

A talent that positions him to know when something's off with Nagito even if he doesn't say anything, like "Ultimate Body Language Expert", would theoretically be cool, because it would allow for Makoto to comfort him when he really needs it, but that also feels a little bit like cheating, lol.

(Him being the Lucky Student, Ultimate Hope, or talentless honestly work best for Nagito, in my opinion, but these are still fun dynamics to explore.)

Naenami:

Oooh, maybe Ultimate Game-Breaker? This is kind of a fusion of bad luck and gamer, where he will reliably find the bug in any game always. Maybe too similar. I think what I'm picturing for them right now is Makoto having a YouTube channel or Twitch channel where he talks about stuff he likes. Like, maybe a CinemaWins kind of thing, but unscripted, where he's actually rambling to the camera. That way, we get a dynamic where Chiaki makes Let's Plays and Makoto makes just general positive vlog content. They try out a new game together, and Makoto is raving about how cool it is and Chiaki's like, "It's fun. The crafting mechanic is a little buggy, and they didn't really integrate it into any storyline. Yeah, it's a pretty good new release." I'm going to say he mostly vlogs, so I can call him Ultimate Positivity Vlogger instead of having to find a way word all of that in one Ultimate title, lol.

Naezono:

Ultimate Stage Hand or Light Technician could be fun. Maybe Ultimate Celebrity Interviewer, and they have one conversation that is just so incredible that she never stops thinking about it. He has a way of really making the people he interviews feel seen and cared about, and that's just so unusual in the entertainment industry that Sayaka falls head over heels. (He doesn't know he has this effect.)

Naekusaba:

Ooh, I'm feeling something in the ballpark of Ultimate Bookkeeper, or just any collection-type Ultimate. Something unassuming in the eyes of pretty much everyone. Here's why: Making him a passionate collector of [something] means we can have Mukuro often shyly gifting him one of [that thing] that she found while she was out doing soldier stuff. He gets to nervously ask, "You didn't kill someone for that, did you?" and she gets to lie, "No, I bought it," or "No, I found it." Also, it means maybe one day Mukuro knocks on his door bleeding, injured, with nowhere else to go, being followed by enemies, and Makoto hides her in his home which is full of collected things and enemy soldiers show up at his house like "Have you seen [description of Mukuro]?" and he's like, "No, I'm here alone. No one's been here." And the enemy soldiers barge in anyway to search the place, but in all his collected things, they can't find Mukuro, so they leave and he brings her some food and water and does his best to bandage her up (or she just stitches up her own wound), and she notices that he has a little bruise or scratch from when the enemy soldiers pushed him aside to search the place, and she's so sorry she brought danger to his door.

Naejunko:

I think Ultimate Hope is already perfect for that one. Alternatively, though, something like "Ultimate World Ender" or some similar thing positioning him as potentially usable to her. It would follow the same rules as "Ultimate Rule-Breaker", though, where the whole point is that he prioritizes others' wellbeing over any establishment, so it would be a situation where Junko tries to make use of his talent for destroying organizations from within (because that's the essence of his talent, here; he's really good at dismantling organizations), but it doesn't work because he's not just out there destroying things; his priority is to help people, and he was titled the way he was because those running the establishments that do harm were seeing him from their own perspectives. Junko can't get the Ultimate World Ender (or whatever else his title is) to end the world, and he's actually a pretty big inconvenience for her.

Or "Ultimate Barista" again. She's talking about her despair plans with Mukuro in some cafe, and Makoto brings them their coffee or tea, like, "Are you guys writing a book?" and casually weighs in on "plot elements" that interest or confuse him, accidentally helping Junko make her plan better. She keeps inviting him to their table for more artistic feedback, and he's having a great time talking with them. They become regulars, and he memorizes Mukuro's order and, even though Junko always orders something different, he seems to somehow intuit the kinds of flavors she enjoys and makes great recommendations. She's in love.

[yanchive]

I got permission to expand on this idea, so I'm gunna share my thoughts and what I came up with regarding this cool idea. I got the concept of this from the OP of the previous post, @coveredinsoot , so credits goes to them. I used he/him for the Yan, and they/them for the Darling so all readers can enjoy. I haven't written something like this in ages. Forgive me.

TW: Yandere themes(obv), mentions of drug use(non consentual), minor mentions of sexual themes, not proofread very well I wrote this first thing in the morning. I hadn't even gotten out of bed lmao

-A recap of my tags in the previous post, my idea followed the premise of a yan whose darling is an employee working under the record label/idol agency(whichever one you prefer) he is signed onto. They could have a position working somewhat in the same sphere as their Yan. My first thought was maybe a touring staff, but I felt specifically that they could be a photographer who was hired solely to work under Yans label.

-They do the shooting for promos, they participate in the creation of music videos, go on tours to get photos at concerts, etc. They work alongside Yan, but rarely interact outside of the professional setting. Darling has a job they have to do, and getting personal with the artist they're assigned to work under is a risky thing, so they choose to keep their casual interactions to a minimal to avoid scandals.

-While Darling is putting their attention all into their career, Yan is forced to get his unrequited feelings out via music. Filling notebooks after notebooks with sickingly sweet words, turning them into lyrics that get pumped out to fans, who all imagine themselves as the reciever of such romantic tales of woe.

-Yan constantly sneaks details about his Darling into his music, from mentioning small physical traits on their body like the color of their hair and eyes, to maybe even scars and birthmarks no one would or should know unless they've seen them partially or fully naked. They would constantly bring up traits revolving around the Darlings personality most of the time, but no matter how many details they place in their songs, it just seems to go over Darlings head

-Yan constantly asks Darling what their thoughts are on his new music, hoping to one day see their eyes light up and realize they were the center of all his music and finally return his feelings, but Darling only ever gives vague compliments to him, telling him his music is great but really never delves to deep into the lyrics or sound.

-Yan finally comes to terms, after watching over his Darling for months, maybe even years, the Darling just never gives his music an actual proper chance, and that's why they never pick up on all the lyrics that would eerily describe them to a T. Yan decides to be a bit more risky, and take his lovey dovey songs into more darker territory.

-Its an obvious switch. Going from themed albums that would have him in more colorful attire and poppy beats, to more darker fashion and seductive tones. Clearly the Cloud 9, cutesy romance didn't do the trick, so maybe he could lure his Darling in with a more mature persona.

-Lyrics become much more sexual in nature, singing of long nights underneath the covers, decorating each others skin in marks, all the things that gets the crowds riled up. He isn't afraid to drop hints/details about kinks he picked up that his Darling seemed to be interested in(well at least that's what Darlings search history says).

-His fame skyrockets after the new change, and he sees his Darling has started to pick up a bit of an interest in his music(fucking finally). They notice a little bit of how Yan seems to keep a certain image of someone within his lyrics. Mentions of the same hair color(and if Darlings one to dye their hair, will even mention the change in hair color in the song(s), same eye color, same attributes both physically and personality wise. But despite that, Darling still hadn't gotten deep enough into the music to put the puzzle pieces together. Though they did make a joke about how much they related to this mystery person from the small amount of details they picked up.

-Yan definitely had to bite his tongue and hold his hands behind his back to keep from exploding after hearing that. So damn close, his Darling is right fucking there, the density this Darling had was driving Yan up the wall, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't find a little excitement in it. At this point he done already turned it into a game.

-The music just gets darker from there, and while the crowds of unwavering loyal fans eat up each word like its their last meal, Darling is finally becoming suspicious. Not just from the odd lyrics Yan has been singing, but also behaviors being exhibited behind the curtains. Around the first change in sound, when Yan took his music down a darker route, Yan had begun being more pushy with spending more time with his Darling. Following them around like a lost puppy between photoshoots. Trying his damnest to get Darling to hang out with him outside of work. Throwing parties just in an attempt to get Darling out of their professional persona around him. Constantly buying them things, showing up out of no where to chat with them, it was overwhelming.

-It was only getting worse, especially since Yan was beginning to slip up and say things about Darling that he shouldn't know. Afterall, Darling never told him such things. Coupled that with the fact that his lyrics in his new album sing of kidnapping and basements and a whole bunch of stuff that aren't at all romantic anymore, Darling is getting wary. They can't seem to go anywhere without this nagging feeling they weren't alone and something was wrong. They even begin looking into changing to a different label or becoming an independent photographer just to get away from overwhelming nature of their Yan.

-And Yan picks up on it. He realizes he isn't winning them over like this anymore, and he's now down to his last resort. He's always been a tad sadistic, even in the beginning he had a bit of joy daydreaming about kidnapping Darling and having them caged in his awfully large mansion, only having Darling ever see and hear from him. He's spent many hours in bed imagining ways to condition and brainwash Darling into relying on him, maybe even getting them so reliant on Yan that he'd be able to have them follow him once again on tours just so they could always be together every waking moment of their lives.

-But to get to that point, he was going to have to start at step 1.

1. Throw a party. At this point they had become common, as this was something he used in the past to get Darling to come out and spend time with him. He'd use the same excuse he's used in the past. He wants his favorite photographer to come and take amazing photos of the party so he can put them on his Instagram for bragging rights.

2. Get them chilled out. Darling never drinks alcohol at these parties. They have an expensive camera they need to protect, and taking decent camera shots require a steady hand. So Yan will make his own concoction for Darling. Darling only said they won't drink alcohol, they never mentioned anything else...

3. Take them out of the crowd and into a more quiet... secluded area of the house. They were never big on parties, its so easy to get overwhelmed, and now they're drowzy and stumbling over themselves and their words. Can't even stand up let alone walk. They clearly need some rest. Luckily Yan has everything they need to keep them comfortable. Now that they've finally made it home they can rest easy on their new bed while Yan finishes up closing down the party for the night.

4. Now a new life can be started. One much more suited to Yans taste. A life his amazing music has sung tales of since the day Yan fell in love...

[mccnstruck]

your wishes marked on my skin (your vision blurred with mine)

characters: kazuha x gn!reader, tomo, mentions of beidou, gorou, raiden shogun, and traveller

tags: angst, hurt/comfort, good ending, headcanons included, major character death, 5k words (ZEE GONE INSANE NOT CLICKBAIT), long fic, curse word, not focused on relationship, reader has a vision and weapon of choice, not proofread, op has gone insane and now is short-circuited to only thinking of kazuha, op has gone bonkers in tags, traveller uses they/them pronouns, unspecified traveler, canon semi-complient

a/n: holy SHIIHDBFJDSFFSFDS. Um. I kinda. Yea this was 5k words what the hell zee DO SOMETHING ELSE YOU HAVE 3 TESTS TOMORROW- anyways i REALLLLY HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS cuz i sure enjoyed writing and imagining this at school. Reblogs and tags are much appreciated yea i hope you have a ASTRONOMICALLY GREAT DAY / NIGHT !!!!! (Zee is hyper because he is going insane) (p.s. i had 168 premium grammarly errors on this piece thats how you know this about to go crazy. crazy i was crazy once they-) (P.S.S. EARLY BIRTHDAY GIFT FOR KAZUHA BECAUSE I AM BUSY ANYWAYS HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAZUHA I LOVE YOU MERA CHAANDA MERA JAAN)

What if there were tattoos in teyvat...but with a twist?

If you are a vision wielder, you can infuse elemental power into your tattoo. Whenever you get into battle, your tattoo glows and it stays glowing until the battle is over.

But, you could also have other vision wielders infuse your tattoo as well.

When you, kazuha, and tomo used to travel together, you proposed of the idea.

"Hey... we should get matching tattoos! You know, the ones with each other visions infused. That would be cool."

Kazuha hummed in response. “Don’t they hurt though?”

Tomo brightened at your suggestion. “Oh yeah! Some methods of inking hurt, but some are less painful and take longer. I think the method they use to infuse elemental power does take longer, considering the person has to wield their vision AND bear the pain.”

Kazuha hummed again but in disagreement. “Why would you make yourself go through all that pain once more?”

The companion to Kazuha’s left let out a huff. “Pssh, in comparison to the result! We can have permanent matching tattoos to remind us of the amazing friendship we have!”

You nodded excitedly. “See Kazuha, even Tomo thinks it’s a great idea! However…”

Tomo and Kazuha both turn to face you with curiosity.

“...I fail to agree with how Tomo views one part of our bond…”

“Hm? [ name ], what do you mean,” Tomo questioned.

You took a deep breath before sending a prayer to any archon who would answer in time. for you were about to make what you believed was the riskiest choice of your life.

You brought Kazuha’s closest hand and let your thumb stroke his rough, calloused skin, before lifting it to your lips. Letting your lips linger on his skin, you ignored both Kazuha’s and Tomo’s widened eyes and whispered your confession. “I would like to turn it into something more. If… If you would allow me.”

When you looked to see him, Kazuha’s face was burning. For once, the calm, collected wanderer was not calm and collected at all. To your side, Tomo let out a whistle which caused Kazuha’s face to become undoubtedly more flustered.

Tomo smirked before saying, “Well, well, well. looks like [ name ] learned from the best,” before patting himself on the back, smug and prideful of himself.

You copied his words mockingly. You let go of Kazuha's hands, instead focusing on making sure Tomo ate dust. Both of these duties were equally important to you, but sometimes you have to fight for dignity, and if anyone could make sure Tomo didn’t leave with your pride, it would be you.

You two bickered for what seemed like ages before Kazuha finally spoke up. “You guys…”

Both you and Tomo immediately shut up and held your breaths at the sudden change of tone.

“Sorry Kazuha…”

“No worries…”

Kazuha looked at you two for what seemed like ages. He realized that, out of all the times and out of all the people he would even dare to get a tattoo, you two were the most reasonable choice. You three have explored, laughed, and eaten together. As wanderers, you’ve slept under the same stars and ran through the same quick-tempered storms. So as much as he didn’t want to deal with more pain for the sake of it, he would want to have both of you engraved into his skin, both of your souls running through his blood. When he is separated from you two (archons forbid), all he would have to do is look at his forearms to remind him of the bond you’ve tightened with one another. It would remind him that “distance makes the heart grow fonder”.

“I would like them. The tattoos.”

Tomo scoffed and shot a disapproving look at you. “See, now that you have Kazuha wrapped around your finger, he’ll agree to anything now!”

“Hey! He’s doing it out of free will. And oh please, you’re just whiny that you’re gonna be third wheeling now!”

“Who said I was gonna be third wheeling?!”

Kazuha smiled, as the bickering sprang back into life. You three reached the city to search for a tattoo, a symbol of the bond you have made with them. Nothing will break it apart.

And you did get the tattoos! For all three of you, each of your forearms was covered in traditional Inazuman artworks, symbolizing each person.

Kazuha chose the maple tree, Tomo chose the koi fish, and you chose the rising sun. Each has its symbolism, having its own way of reminding you of each other.

Kazuha wouldn’t be Kazuha without representing the calm, peaceful maple tree, standing over to make sure all under the shade is rested.

As his perseverance and his courage make him a good traveling companion, Tomo represents the koi fish.

As for you… You found yourself closest to the rising sun. Ever so optimistic, ever so hopeful for the new day. The darkness may have clung to you; trying to slowly hack into your mind to give up, trying to belittle your efforts. But when dawn breaks and the sun rises, the newfound warmth comforts your shivering body. The sun is there to say all will be alright.

…

Except when it isn’t.

For as soon as it seemed like everything would be okay, that hope was crushed by reality as quickly.

The Vision Hunt Degree had been ordered by the Shogun to kill anyone who possessed one.

The day it was enforced to all of Inazuma was the day the two closest people in your life were separated from you. In the heat of the moment, you shouted for them to run; for you would distract the soldiers. Tomo and Kazuha both tried to ignore your order and keep on fighting but were soon met with a sting on their arm. The rising sun drawn on their arms practically shone with the color of your vision, and it was hard to ignore how much of your vision you were using.

“I said, GO!”

They had no time to disagree with you, for another soldier swung the sword at both of them. You saw them running in the corner of your eyes, assumably heading in different directions before focusing on the battle in front of you.

Your anger manifested into your attacks, your arms glowing.

How… How could the Shogun be so cruel..? How could she just determine that Inazuma's hopes and ambitions were useless? How could she take the people closest to you away…?

The soldiers fell to the ground one by one as they tried to get back up. With the last of them wounded temporarily, you ran as quickly as you could. Trying to find Kazuha and Tomo, you lifted your hand to block the light and search far and wide…

Only to find nothing.

Your heart felt as if it stopped and a new sense of fear rushed through. What if they were hurt? What if they were lost, or found by the soldiers? Or worse…What if they were lying dead?

What if what if what if what if what if what if WHAT IF-

You look down and see the maple tree and the koi fish glowing; purple and teal were coloring your arms. The glow didn’t sting, so you knew they weren’t out in battle, but they were out there. They were alive.

You sighed in relief, but it didn’t last long when you heard soldiers yelling to find you. You quickly hid under the trees and took one last look at the view ahead of you. The distance grows the heart fonder, and in this situation, much, much more disquieted.

And for the first time in what seemed like forever, you were alone. And you felt it in your soul.

Before you met Kazuha and Tomo, you were alone. You wandered around, knowing you were to be by yourself. You were just “yourself”.

But now that you know you were separated from them, it was terrifying.

Now, if someone asked “how are you”, the word “you” was Tomo, you, and Kazuha laughing along the trails leading to the city. “You” included the times you watched the stars, pointing to different constellations.

“You” included you, Kazuha, and Tomo.

And now that two-thirds of yourself were lost, you felt as if you would never relieve this pain in your heart.

Every day, you looked at your arms and were met with how dull they looked without the familiar purple and teal glow.

But still, you didn’t stop.

Wandering through a small town, you sat down on the grass to take a rest. There weren’t any soldiers around, and your face was hidden by a hat.

“Did you hear?!”

Your ears perked up at the stranger’s sudden shock.

“What happened? You seem so shocked.”

The stranger closest to you took a deep breath as if what he witnessed was a burden to his soul.

“Someone is challenging Kujou Sara in Tenshukaku, and the loser will face the Shogun's punishment… Last time I saw him, he had an electro vision…”

Your eyes widened. Please don’t be….he couldn’t have…

“Did you see him in person?”

“Yeah, I think he has some tattoos on his arms. I saw a tattoo of a koi fish and a maple tree on his arm-“

“Did you hear that?!”

The two strangers looked towards where you were but found nothing but a straw hat gently falling onto the grass.

Up ahead, your legs ran faster than your mind trying to make sense of it all.

Tomo.

Tomo.

You ran, and you ran, and when you felt like your heart was going to burst, you remembered Tomo, and you ran faster. Your legs felt like they were merely connected to your body, running to a place of its own. But what could you do, when your mind still couldn't find an explanation for all of this?

Tomo… why would he stand before Raiden's Musou no Hitomachi? He knew Kujou Sara was a potent individual, so why…

Thoughts lingered through your mind as you caught sight of Inazuma City. The thunder roared, and you realized it didn't have the spark it used to have.

Your hands shook as the Inazuma City you once knew was not your Inazuma City.

It felt too stiff. Too suffocating. You couldn't feel the cool air breeze through your hair, as the humidity made you want to turn back.

You force yourself to run down to the entrance of the city and Tenshukaku.

You were scared. More than scared. Your shaking hands held your vision close.

Would you see Tomo smiling in victory? Or would you see your vision go white from her strike? Would you regain your vision to see one of your closest friends lying in his blood?

Your pace grew faster and faster.

And faster.

And faster and faster and faster-

But when you stopped in front of the stairs where Tomo was supposed to be, you instead saw Kazuha run to you, panicked. And in his burnt hands, was a gray vision, with the markings of an electro holder.

You were too late.

You almost didn't hear Kazuha's desperate pleas as he grabbed your hand.

"[ Name ], we have to go."

You both ran down the stairs as soldiers ran after; their shouts ringing through your ears.

“You can't resist the Shogun's punishment, criminals!"

Ignoring their threats, you ran past Inazuma City’s entrance and soon past Konda Village. You couldn’t tell if the soldiers were still behind you, but it didn’t matter when all you could hear was their voices running through your head. You and Kazuha ran for what felt like hours. No matter how hard you tried to slow your pacing heart, Kazuha tugged your hand as he ran. You wanted to tell him to slow down, but you didn’t have the heart to.

You didn’t have the heart after you were too slow to save Tomo.

The rain poured as thunder roared in your ears. You and Kazuha ran into a cave and leaned against the wall to catch your breath.

Kazuha, sitting opposite of you, pulled out the gray, lifeless vision. His hands were burned, yet they gripped the vision painfully.

Your breath hitched. Your throat closed in on itself, and your memories of Tomo flashed through your eyes.

Tomo.

Tomo.

Tomo.

Before you could stop yourself, the tears matched the rain out of the cave, and you shakily held Kazuha’s hands. Your tears fell on the vision that once shined with the pride of an electro holder, and your agony couldn’t be held in you anymore.

A gut-wrenching cry of his name left your throat, and you let the cold, gray vision touch your forehead. Kazuha didn’t have the energy to wince; his tears hitting the ground.

The sun never shone that day. And the sun in your soul didn’t either.

After that day, both you and Kazuha stayed by each other’s side, graciously taking the help of the Kamisato clan to board the Crux.

Beidou’s crew were extremely generous to both of you, making sure you got used to life above seas. Yet, they always wondered why you and Kauzha were so quiet. You only talked to each other, and your interactions were short and dry.

As months passed, Kazuha grew to be much more chatty with the crew, even letting you hear his poems underneath the moonlight.

You were genuinely happy for him. Kazuha deserved to let the world guide his spirits without any hesitation. You never wanted the shine in Kazuha’s eyes to stop shining, unlike the fateful day you both witnessed.

But you…you never let it go. You couldn’t let yourself forget.

Too slow.

You were too slow to save him.

Working on the ship, you made sure your hands swiftly moved through your chores; making sure your lack of speed didn’t burden any of the crew. When you had time to yourself, your hands gripped your weapon and your steps were swift and sneaky. Your body ached to rest, but your heart disagreed. You were to make sure that this would never happen again. You were to make sure no one would lose their life because of you.

Kazuha watched your eyes struggle to open daily, your fingers bruised and sore, and the hours spent training without a minute to rest. Captain Beidou seemed to notice as well.

“Kazuha?”

His head turned to the side as his legs dangled over the side of the boat.

“Yes, Captain Beidou?”

She sighed, and she looked to make sure you weren’t near.

“It’s about your partner.”

Kazuha frowned.

“I am aware.”

“Please talk to them. They look like death is at their door. Does this have to do with going back to Inazuma?”

Kazuha nodded and turned his head back to the sea.

“The wind tells me of their concerns. I hear the fears that crawl through their mind. The sun doesn’t shine in their soul like it used to.”

He looked down at his arms as the color of your vision glowed on his arms.

Beidou patted Kazuha’s shoulder in solace.

“I understand. Just…please get a chance to talk to them. I wouldn’t want a part of my crew working themselves to death. As a part of the Crux, you guys have a support system behind you. If you ever need us, you know where.”

Kazuha smiled and whispered a “thank you”, as Beidou returned to help the crew navigate the ship. He looked over at you, who came back from training, and smiled. You gave a tired but soft smile back, before leaving to finish up chores.

The sun was no longer visible as the crew finished their tasks and headed to their cabins. Instead of resting, Kazuha watched over the seas. The moonlight hit his face, and the black ink swiftly glided over his journal.

“I was wondering where you could’ve been. You weren’t in the cabin.”

Kazuha turned to see you walking up to him. Your eyes pleaded to shut, and for a moment you were about to fall asleep standing up. Yet, you still went to make sure Kauzha was okay.

Kazuha cupped your face, and you leaned into his touch.

“Kazu…”

“Do you wish to hear something I wrote?”

You slowly nodded. Kazuha looked at his journal and whispered.

“Rising sun hidden,

the world’s horror blinding you,

my sun stays fearful.”

When Kazuha looked back at you, he almost giggled at your sleep-deprived state. Your eyes were closed, and you leaned into his hand like a pillow.

“Mmm…? That’s nice, Kazuha…”

He smiled at your attempt to stay awake. “Let’s get you to bed, sleepy.”

Your head landed on his shoulder as you shuffled your feet. Kazuha sighed in relief that everyone was in their cabins. He wouldn’t be able to take the crew’s teasing if they ever saw the comical sight of you two.

As soon as you caught sight of your bed, you fell into it and brought the soft blankets up to your chin.

You were dead asleep, it seemed.

Kazuha climbed into bed and laid his head next to yours. With his eyes drooping, Kazuha whispered one more thing before falling into slumber.

“My rising sun. Please don’t hide yourself away from everyone. We’re always here for you. I’m here. Always.”

When Kazuha fell asleep soon after, he never noticed the tears on your skin.

You whispered back. “Thank you.”

After that night, Kazuha was thrilled to see you walking around the boat with more energy, even taking the time to sit with Kazuha as he mused over his poems.

Kazuha recently had started to see if he could somehow ignite the purple glow into the vision, while you had no hope for it.

“Kazuha… are you sure?”

“I want to at least try once. After all, it couldn’t hurt, would it?”

“I guess…”

You both meet a blonde traveler with fiery gold eyes. As the Traveler competed throughout the contest hosted by Beidou, you couldn’t help but notice Kazuha’s keen interest in the traveler.

“You’ve been staring at the Traveler for quite a while. What’s up with that?”

Kazuha hummed. “The wind tells me that this humble traveler is going to be more important to our journey than it seems.”

He paused. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing. Just wondering, that's all.”

You both stayed silent as you watched the duels unfold.

“You’re not jealous, are you?”

You gasped and almost choked on your spit. You turn your head to Kazuha who grinned mischievously.

“Huh?! Where did you get that?!”

Kazuha pretended to act bewildered at your reaction. “Your reaction is quite defensive, dear. That says quite a lot, doesn’t it?”

“You…you! I never thought of you being so cunning and devious!”

Kazuha giggled, and you smiled back. “I’m just teasing. Although, I wasn’t necessarily wrong.”

You scoffed with faux anger. “Focus on the duels, Kazu…”

As expected, the Traveler was victorious in the duels, since the last challenger was nowhere to be found.

Suspicious of the no-show, Kazuha checked to see the award to find nothing in the chest. Kazuha’s eyes widened and his tone lost its playfulness.

“Someone stole the vision.”

You quickly stood up to check yourself and were also greeted by a visionless chest.

Beidou’s voice echoed to the crew. “Everyone start searching!”

You soon found the vision to be with a treasure hoarder. The hoarder begging for his life, Kazuha sighed and confiscated the vision. You and Kazuha were quite impressed with the Traveler’s ability to wield elemental power without a vision.

All that the Traveler asked was to be taken to Inazuma. With final warnings and hesitations from you, the Traveler was to board the ship with you to the land of eternity.

When the ship did reach the docks, the Traveler and Paimon immediately hopped off and looked at the beauty of Inazuma.

With hesitation you walk to the wooden dock, the Inazuman breeze flowing past you.

The Traveler looked back and smiled at you and Kazuha. “Thank you so much, you two.”

You smiled back, shaking your head. “No worries. Just make sure to remember what I said. Don’t want you to get hurt, ok?”

Kazuha snickered next to you. “You sound like a parent. But please do heed caution. May you meet us again, Traveler.”

Paimon laughed, “Alright, alright, we’ll see you later!”

Paimon and the Traveler waved before they headed to Ritou.

Beidou suddenly walked past both of you, before saying she wanted to take the Traveler to Thoma. You both nodded, promising to watch over the ship.

As you returned to the ship, Kazuha looked over the horizon into Ritou.

“Worried?”

Kazuha hummed.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Will the Traveler be alright? I understand the incredible ability to have elemental power without a vision, but…”

“But…?”

He looked down at his arms and stared at the koi fish. “Tomo.”

You looked down onto your arms and stared into the grey koi fish. "Tomo…"

You willed yourself not to shed a tear and squeezed Kazuha's shoulder. "We're not going to let anyone else lose their life and their vision. Not even the Traveler. The dreams of Inazuma will not be stuck to rot in eternity. You got it?'"

Kazuha looked back at you and smiled, wiping a tear from his eye. "Yes, we will."

You took his hand and pulled him towards you, wrapping your arms around his back. He buried his head in the crook of your neck and you pressed your lips to the top of his head.

You quickly lowered your voice before continuing. "I think the Traveler has a major role in the freedom of Inazuma. The Traveler has a lot of power with no vision."

Kazuha hummed in agreement.

"Yet… I fear the Shogun will be displeased with the Traveler’s ability to change her view of eternity."

"The shogun wouldn't be pleased with anything, Kazuha. But in retaliation, do years of anger ask whether anyone's feelings would be hurt?"

A moment of silence, before Kazuha whispered, "You're right. Thank you, dear."

You loosened your embrace to kiss him on the forehead. "Let's go eat something. I'm sure I saw the chef cooking the fish well."

Kazuha laughed, and you swore to the Shogun that nothing, not even her, could take Kazuha from you.

You both walked to the kitchen to fulfill your stomach's desire, and you made your heart promise to you that day to never stop fighting for Inazuma. For your heart desired to love Inazuma, and in turn, Inazuma would always welcome you home.

Months of preparation and months of aiding the resistance, you and Kazuha finally step foot in Inazuma, fighting with Kokomi and her resistance to let the Kujou army retreat.

The Traveler and Paimon were very happy to see both of you, telling you of their journey and the fight with the Shogun herself. Kazuha’s and your eyes widened at the tales they told.

“Like… fighting the Shogun?”

“Technically? Thoma and I ran out as soon as possible and I came to the resistance.”

You were awed by the Traveler’s skill and wit to not be killed by the Shogun. You knew that they were extraordinary, and the Traveler did not disappoint, soon finding out about the delusions being handed out.

You couldn't be surprised at the Fatui's inhumane crimes. But the severity of the damage. The lives lost to their carelessness. The dreams which no longer thrived.

Your fingers and arms shook with anger. You tapped your fingers on your leg to resist pulling out your sword and stabbing the wall.

The Traveler gave you a joyless smile, understanding your pain.

The Traveler went off to fight Raiden Shogun, and Kazuha, the resistance, and you stood outside Tenshukaku. You were discussing tactics to negotiate when the Traveler came back out smiling.

You all watched the Traveler and Paimon walk out of Tenshukaku with a triumphant smile. You were about to run to the Traveler to praise them when a flash of electro appeared behind them. Your eyes widened and you swore you almost saw flashbacks running through your head.

The shogun emerged behind the Traveler and raised her sword.

You couldn't do anything. She was going to kill another person.

The adrenaline ran through Kazuha's body, and he ran towards the Shogun with his sword out.

You saw a flash of purple overwhelm your vision, and you already prepared yourself to see the Shogun's purple glow kill Kazuha.

What you didn't expect was to see your arms glowing in purple and teal. Looking up, you saw Kazuha’s vision glowing as his sword clashed with the Shogun's. Close to his vision, Tomo's vision glowed a vivid purple. The vision glowed brighter and brighter, and as your arms glowed an insane purple, Kazuha struck the Shogun back.

Tomo.

Tomo.

The vision.

The vision lit up.

You whispered.

"Holy shit."

Kazuha was knocked back by her sword and fell backward. His sword stabbed itself into the ground, and he kneeled in pain.

You and Gorou rushed to him to make sure he was alright. You looked at the visions on his belt, before looking back at the Shogun.

Anger bubbled in your throat, and adrenaline ran through your veins. Your vision revealed itself and glowed profusely. The tattoos on Kazuha's and your skins glowed. Before you could process your own emotions, you stood and let out a gut-wrenching, demanding yell. But it wasn't painful like that fateful day. It was of rebellion and hope.

"Charge!"

You ran towards the Shogun with your weapon in your hand and your heart laid out in plain sight.

Except it wasn’t for the Shogun to shatter. It was for the Inazuman kids who dreamed of going into the world. It was for the Inazuman shopkeepers who always looked at the ocean longingly. It was for the Inazuman vision holders to freely let their vision guide them through their ambitions. It was for future electro-holders to make a difference in their lives. It was for Inazuma to glow its purple light throughout Tevyat. It was for Inazuma. This was for Inazuma and it’s forever changing people.

Gorou soon ordered to attack, and the resistance fighters ran beside you towards the Teyvat.

So this is what Tomo felt, you thought. You were to be insane for fighting, but you would be damned to give in to the Shogun. Because do years of anger ask whether anyone's feelings are hurt?

The shogun seemed unfazed by the army charging at her and opened the Plane of Euthymia. The Traveler fell inside, and she shut the seeming new realm. You tried to grab the Traveler back, but the Shogun was faster. The Plane closed, and you cursed at the winds. You looked to the skies to see gray clouds fill the skies.

Why were you too late every time?

You stopped to catch your breath and looked at the ground where the Shogun stood.

The electro-marked ground darkened from the rigorous and desperate fighting to be free.

You looked back at Kazuha and looked back at the fighters who were paused in their steps. Their eyes widened at the disappearance, and their eyebrows were furrowed from the anger, which turned into confusion.

Your voice echoed down the staircase, and it felt like you were yelling to all of Inazuma.

“To all who have visions! To all who have lost theirs!”

Eyes of fighters watched you with curiosity. Crimson eyes watched you with admiration.

“Our visions are a symbol of life to all! With the Shogun’s order to take them away, our humanity is stripped away from us to fit us into a mold of unattainable eternity! To all who have visions, don’t hide yourself anymore! Our ambitions, our dreams, our emotions, and our humanity shouldn’t be diminished to a name on a gravestone! Everyone, pull out your visions! Channel the overwhelming emotions in your heart to your vision! Let the Shogun hear your wishes no matter how far she is, for she is omnipresent!”

The fighters yelled and made their presence known. Some of them closed their eyes to let their visions glow, and you soon joined them. Your heart raced, and your arms glowed the color of your vision. You felt electro cackle around you as it stroked your skin.

The statue outside Tenshukaku glowed in different colors: dark blue, crimson red, bright teal, light blue, gold, and electrifying purple.

The fighters kept envisioning their power in their visions for as long as they could. They didn’t leave, standing with their hand on their vision for as long as they needed to.

And with every action comes a reaction.

The Plane of Euthymia reemerged, and the Traveler fell out of its opening. Bruised and tired, but alive the Traveler seemed.

Gorou, Kazuha and you rushed to their aid. The fighter stood close in case another attack were to happen.

“Traveler, what happened? Are you okay?!”

The traveler struggled to catch their breath but spoke small words as they recovered.

“The…the Vision Hunt…Vision Hunt Decree…”

Your eyebrows furrowed in worry. What did the Shogun want now?

You spoke in confusion. “The Vision Hunt Decree? What does she want?”

The Traveler raised their head and closed their eyes in bliss. Sweat dripped from their face, and they smiled.

“The Vision Hunt Decree. It’s over. It’s gone. Your pleas and protests got to her.”

Your mind stopped all thoughts.

…What?

Blue and crimson eyes widened at the Traveler’s statement.

Your voice unusually got quiet. “You’re joking, right?”

The Traveler laughed, more out of euphoria. “I got back from almost dying from her sword, and you’re asking me if I’m joking? Tell the entirety of Inazuma. They deserve to know this; this is for them.”

You stood up in a daze and shouted.

“The Vision Hunt Decree is over! The Vision Hunt is over!”

The resistance fighters roared in joy. Their steps, running down the staircase, echoed to the winds, and the winds blew in freedom.

Your body ran down the stairs with them, and your voice cracked with emotion as you shouted down the steps of Inazuma City. People stood outside to check the commotion and were instead met with a new sense of freedom. Visions hidden in homes began to glow, and the cheers and laughter of Inazuma echoed around you.

Overwhelmed with too many emotions, you stopped in your tracks when you felt your vision getting blurry. Behind you, Kazuha shouted for your name repeatedly. You looked behind and were almost tackled into the ground. Kazuha’s shoulders shook as he wrapped his arms around you. You responded in kind and sunk your knees onto the floor.

You both wept in joy. For the people you have lost, and for the people who are given freedom.

Kazuha’s voice cracked as he spoke,” We did it. It’s over.”

You cried even more in his arms. Kazuha held your hand as his endless tears journeyed down his face.

“Do you… Do you think Tomo is happy with us?”

At the mention of his name, Kazuha gritted his teeth and almost let out a sob. He raised your head with his hand on your jaw, and you finally saw Kazuha’s tear-stained face. He quickly tried to rub them away, but you were faster. You gently put your forehead on his and closed his eyes.

Kazuha closed his own and whispered in the abode of two lovers’ embrace. “He would be so proud. He would be watching us right now and grin at his glowing vision.”

“Maybe he’s probably cursing at both of us for the non-stop crying.”

Kazuha let out a watery laugh. “He would, but you would be arguing back. Non-stop bickering between you guys.”

You almost gave a snarky response when you felt the sunlight caress your skin. You looked up to find the gray clouds giving way to the sun, and you were enamored with the blue skies that grazed over Inazuma. Kazuha looked up as well, and as the city of Inazuma saw the sun in its glory, no one noticed the slight glow of purple koi fish on bruised, yet glowing skin.

mccnstruck. do not repost or plagarize my work.

[mac-lilly]

Mega Con London BTS Recap

Since this is a more personal recap of MegaCon London (and a bit of a comparison with Back to the Musical World con by Dream It), I didn't include it in the JATP info dump from yesterday.

BTTMW backstory

Let's do some backstory first. As you may know, the official JATP cancellation was announced at the first Back to the Musical World con back in 2021. I wasn't there for multiple reasons including Covid but also I just got into the fandom and it felt weird. I'm socially awkward - I cannot look into people's eyes, I stutter - especially when talking English - or ramble and I struggle to just touch strangers which is not helpful for photo ops.

So what I was supposed to do there? These people are actors - strangers I have nothing to do with. They aren't the characters I've fallen in love with. Yeah, not my thing, I thought.

However, when the BTTMW2 got announced, I was like 'You know, let's go to just show the cast how much you loved the show'. It was supposed to give me some closure. So I went.

And while the con was a fucked-up disaster in terms of organization and schedule - on Sunday, Charlie signed autographs until 10 pm, and Owen would have done the same if his mom hadn't cut off his line. (On that note: Never mess with a German mom protecting her kid. You'll lose.) But meeting the cast was an entirely different experience. I'd never interacted with them before, so I was anxious as fuck. However, they were so nice and considerate - and seeing them goof around was just adorable.

(And this pic is still one of my fav pics ever.)

And not just the cast. I met so many amazing people there who are now my friends. Big shoutout to them!

So, despite my hatred for Dream It, I went to BTTMW4 (and thankfully it was less chaotic than BTTMW2). But I was also determined to go to MegaCon bc I knew Jeremy wouldn't come back to Paris. (Unlike the other JATP cast members, he's done plenty of other cons before and knows that you shouldn't be so drained that require alcohol to make it through the day.)

BTTMW vs MegaCon London

So, just in general: MegaCon was clearly the better experience.

Firstly, it was cheaper than DI. Much cheaper.

(Note 1: The * prices are from 2022 since Jeremy wasn't at BTTMW4. In 2023, the photo with Madi, Owen & Charlie was already €180. All four would have been over €200 for sure.

Note 2: The prices for MegaCon were originally in £. The price in € is what I paid according to my credit card.

Note 3: Even though not 100% accurate: € = $)

Obviously, Charlie canceled later. But I automatically got a refund. So bonus for MegaCon.

Unlike with Dream It, you were allowed to film and take pictures everywhere, which was cool. And since the panels were exclusively in English, you actually got way more content. The panels were also much longer, and it seemed like the cast was more at ease. For example, Owen started to play body drums on stage, and he initiated the boomshakalaka without being drunk. This is such an incredibly sad thing to say, but I've never seen him that relaxed during a panel.

Also, shoutout to the many fans that were at the Saturday panel. According to the hist, it was the largest crowd they had on Saturday. (If MegaCon had been smarter and had announced the Sunday panel before the people got their passes, it would have had a huge audience, too.)

The autographs ran smoothly, and there was always a queue, which was good bc Own confirmed that it was Jeremy who convinced MegaCon to invite him and Charlie. (Madi got invited later - I assume after people haunted them on IG about her.) MegaCon was wary about it bc they had no idea if the cast was worth the money. I hope the audience on Saturday, the lines for the autographs, and the massive delays at the photo studio caused by the JATP fans (and technical issues) convinced them.

Side note: After Charlie canceled, I got an email from MegaCon. And obviously, I know they just used some phrases to placate us. But I still hope they meant it when they wrote,

MegaCon, you won't read this. But if you get them again, I'll be there!

(And again shoutout to the amazing people I met in London. To my fellow German tumblr friends: I loved meeting you guys and hanging out with you!)

So the only thing that wasn't great were the photo ops. Yeah, most of the Saturday photos are terrible bc of the fucked-up lighting, and due to technical issues, there were so many delays. (Though to be fair, BTTMW also had issues with photo ops.)

So overall, I genuinely enjoyed MegaCon, and I'm very excited to head off to Dublin on Saturday to give Jeremy the birthday card. To all the people who signed it: THANK YOU!

Some other random things that don't fit anywhere

Not Owen assuming that Deutsche Bahn must always be on time bc Germans are always on time. Bro, I know it's been a while since you visited Germany ... but please, that was mean.

When I gave him ghostie!Willie, Owen told me how much his family loves the little ghosties 🥹🥹🥹 (which explains why his dad was in my IG stories after he posted the pic of the ghosties.)

It's random, but this con was so much more balanced in terms of fans. I remember fans being kinda uninterested in Jeremy at the BTTMW - some fans even got angry at him bc he refused certain poses. At MegaCon, the interest was equally split between those three, and it made me happy.

Here's the lovely ghost merch I bought at MegaCon. Obviously, the pride ghost and the skateboard ghost are Willex, the couple is Juke, and the ghosts with the kitty and the one with the pumpkin are both Reggie! (I talked to the guys running the stalls, and they were so baffled about all the JATP fans - a few Fantoms came over from the US and Canada just for this con.)

[transingthoseformers]

Something wholesome to wake up too :D. I remember stumbling upon your post about both Megatronus and Orion being clerks/librarians/archivist thanks to the TF One movie making them both miners sooo have like my spin on it/headcanons based on the idea? -Megatronus and Orion met when Megs was still D-16 aka a miner. When Terminus managed to get a break from the mines, which was so rare, he would sneak Megs with him so the young miner could experience more. He took him to the Iacon Hall of Records since D-16 mentioned being curious about the history of Cybertron, there he met a young Orion.

-Orion and him would bond over data pads Orion managed to smuggle to the mine site, lots of them being old poetry and history that excited D-16. It is also how D-16 gets his name of Megatronus

-At some point, Alpha Trion catches on, and instead of being anger, decides "Eh fuck it, Orion needs someone around his age to talk to" //proceeds to yoink the young miner and giving him a better life

-Now a proper clerk for the Hall of Records with Orion, it is kind of chaos. It's basically "An introvert and ambivert become friends and they have to play rock, paper, scissors on who deals with people". Megs always loses, he hates it.

-Orion has def snuck Meg's poetry and writings into the records because he is so proud of Meg's work. Megs gets flustered.

-I lowkey just picture this AU being more chill. Yeah, Megs still wants the caste system gone, but is less violent about it, trying to use his words and peaceful protests first before being forced to go to more extremes. Orion maybe backing it up too because maybe the council just straight up ignored Megs because they see him as low-caste still and he's just "Ayo wtf".

-When maybe Orion becomes Optimus, Megs backs him up, helping archive everything while helping him connect with the low-castes who are wary of OP. Also def acts as OP's scary dog without realizing it lol

-Honestly i cant see clerk!Megs becoming the con tyrant warlord we know him as, I feel like he would be more calm and chill, preferring to spread his message while also like keeping OP in check so he doesn't become a tyrannt

-Would still call OP "Orion", and no one can stop him. Not even OP. As revenge OP scatters Megs poetry. In summary: Megs helps break the "serious and cold" prime act alot and helps a lot of the team connect with Optimus on a personal level

Sorry that this is long, but these ideas plagued me i hope that is okay!

YES

Ooo on Terminus and Megatron sneaking to the surface, and that being how Orion met him

Yes on the smuggling of datapads to D-16, and makes sense he'd get his new name from them

Alpha Trion just... Taking Megatronus has to have consequences, significant consequences

Sfsgd yes, "you do it" "no you do it" "you lost, you do it" "🤬🤬🤬"

Yes on Orion and Megs sneaking the poetry into the records, preserve it yes

100% this is a more chill au idea, always was meant to be a more chill au idea

Interesting way it changes Megatronus

We really "the power of friendship"-ed this up, it's v cool. Megatronus has grown into himself in a different direction, and I bet their friendship being earlier and arguably closer effects Orion in an interesting way

I am a SUCKER for characters calling Optimus "Orion" as a sign of closeness, oh it's gotta have fun moments

OO on the team part? Does the war still happen and Op and Megs are on the same side, or does the team unite in a different different way?

[rowiewritesstuff]

Hello! I saw you were taking requests and I was wondering if you could write a fic or a small prompt in T.F.P. where the human!reader is new to the team and is very outgoing and flirty but shy around her curhses and she becomes friends with her teammates as an agent herself? Maybe O.P. becomes smitten after a while with her? Hmmm? And everyone just notices and teases them about being a couple when they aren't, but they're both in denial and drunk shenanigans ensue with the reader being drunk and flirty towards him and teasing him? ^^ You can always add anything new of course! I got this idea when reading fluff and the song "Moves Like Jagger" kind of reminded me of the potential dynamic? Especially, the- "Take me by the tongue And I'll know you Kiss til you're drunk And I'll show you"

TFP Optimus Prime X Flirty! Reader

Mentions of Drinking Alcohol! 

Hope this is okay lol

Fowler had brought you into the fold simply out of desperation- the poor man just wanted to take a vacation and all of the paperwork prevented him from doing so. He knew that while you weren’t always professional, you were the best damn agent they had.

When you were introduced to the bots, the first thing you said to Optimus was “What’s cookin’ good lookin’?” while winking.

Agent Fowler immediately face palmed. 

You became quick friends with pretty much all of the bots. Arcee because of your war stories, Bulkhead because you always had time for his ‘stupid’ questions, Ratchet because of your aptitude for Cybertronian medicine, and Bumblebee because you were just generally friendly. Optimus was hard to make friends with at first because of his reserved personality, but you both discovered your shared love for reading.  

You and Optimus often read books at the same time and talked about them- like a book club, but just for the two of you. For someone who takes almost nothing seriously, you are very intelligent. He sees why you are one of the best agents.

While they all became friends quickly, that didn’t mean they supported your flirting. You would often flirt to ease an awkward silence, or lighten the dark mood that so often sets on the base. 

There was a great victory against the Decepticons- a mine was taken right from under their noses which led to a lot being added to their reserves. Some of the energon was of a higher concentration- to which you learned was called high grade. 

Optimus noticed that the morale in the base was low, despite getting a great win against their foes. This led you to suggest a party. So a party he had. All of the kids were sent home early, and you drove with Bumblebee to pick up vodka and some mini-shot bottle shots. 

Once you got back to the base, you all began the party. Somehow, you managed to get the normally serious Prime to have a drinking challenge with you. So there you were: chugging down straight vodka while Optimus chugged an energon cube. The other bots (with Ratchet being the loudest somehow) began cheering. You beat Optimus much to everyone’s surprise. They didn’t think a small thing like you could beat them in any drinking game.

Once the excitement of the drinking game calmed down, everyone but you and Optimus went to bed. 

You both sat across from each other talking about your pasts. What you did before you came to be at the base and all that.

“You used to be an archivist? Like a librarian?” A grin pulled onto your face. "Can I get a reference number?” Optimus blinked a confused look. “So I can, y’know, check you out?” You slurred.

A loud bark of a laugh came from the Prime. “Damn, if being sexy was a crime, you’d never be a free person.”

You nearly spit up your vodka with laughter. “Didn’t know you could flirt, Op!"

An uncharacteristic smirk came across his face as he made his way over to you. He leaned down near your ear, and whispered “There’s a lot I can do.” 

You couldn't help the huge blush that covered your face as you suddenly got shy. "Better cool it before I have to kiss you!" You tried to maintain your cool persona, but when he leaned in and grabbed your chin you just melted into a flustered mess.

In the morning, Ratchet had the worst hangover. He grumbled as he made his way into the medbay, only to freeze. There you and Optimus were. Optimus was laying up against the wall at an angle while you laid on his chest snoring away. 

Ratchet couldn’t help the small smile that wormed onto his face as he left the room, shutting the lights off behind him.

[cocomere]

Hello there! Are you a DSMP fan? Do you like co-op minecraft servers? Are you looking to join one with cool people who engage in shenanigans of the lighthearted variety? Do you inexplicably follow only me and literally nobody else within the Dreblr subgroup?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, then boy howdy do I have the server for you!!

Come join us over on the Dreblr server! (Link to our admin's post for season 2; we're entering season 3 on July 19th 2024, 9pm EST). You have to share a social media that shows signs of life within the fandom, but reblogging absolutely counts. Also this won't really be for you if you're gonna, like, be a dick about c!Dream or cc!Dream.

As long as you meet those requirements, you're entirely free to join the discord server! The minecraft server only adds the additional requirement of needing to be able to run java edition. No mods are needed; Sif's firm goal is that anyone who doesn't want to touch any of that doesn't need to do so. As someone who joined the server not too long after the End opened up in season 1, I can attest that the folks in both the discord and minecraft servers are absolutely lovely. We're all very friendly, I prommy, and our admins (Sif and Vault) strike a good balance between being kind and understanding yet also willing to pull out the newspaper to bop people if we're getting a bit rowdy.

For that aforementioned inexplicable person not yet inducted into Dreblr unaware of what kind of things go on around there, we have: -Giant beet fields of increasing size (season 3 will feature a ring of them around spawn, god help us) -Warden Wranglers, aka the clowns -clown quests -scavenger hunts -server tradition of jumping off the clown tent -Our original clown, @sunshine-in-a-bottle, begging us not to jump off of the clown tent -nobody listening and us all jumping off of the clown tent anyway, to the point where it's SUCH a staple that both prior seasons ended with us all jumping off of it as the server closes -there are many clowns and the circus will likely expand more this season :o) -we've apparently had multiple cults -mysterious structures of unknown origin or importance -people with no life (me) setting up shops/lugging unholy amounts of things back to yeet at anyone who needs them -(please take things from me I want to help people so badly, s1 a lot of people had no idea I was hoarding to give away so I opened up a shop in s2 and it helped SOME but NOT ENOUGH) -the Porb (prison orb), a giant floating orb of obsidian which housed a warden -I have no idea where it was made in s2, but in s1 it was in spawn. you could not see it at night. it was VERY FUNNY. -(other people have disagreed on this, hence it not being in spawn for s2.) -many farms and qol perks, ranging from elevators to a huge villager trading hall to death chests -yes, the first and last can exist without you needing to download mods! Server-side mods are amazing. So are datapacks. -this season we're gonna be doing nearly all of the public structures from scratch again, and we've already been talking about what to do. -personally, I'm gonna try and set up the player shopping district fairly early on. I feel like I waited too long last season. Also I just want to scout a good area out before prime locations get yoinked and I can set it up near my house again. I could literally spend hours here trying to come up with a list of fun things we've done/plan to do, but I kind of need to do some eepy before the appointed hour arrives. I hope this has made you, baffling and probably nonexistent person who isn't already aware of this existing, consider joining the fun. We'd love to have you!

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Transmission Transition

Yeah buddy, I'd want some time alone too after that full-blown verbal holy war Kendrick Lamar dragged your ass with. Kinda shit that makes you need to stop and reflect on your life choices. Drake is back and he is straight-up pulling a Crane Wife hot on the heels of Stussy putting words to some interesting concepts we've seen.

It's been a while, so for a refresher I care a lot about X Drake coming back around because we dangled his report on Wano as a Chekov's Gun way back at the start of Egghead. If he's the one to open up a reinterpretation of Wano...Drake's scenes overlap with Kiku/Izo's a fair amount. So once again, hot on the heels of Stussy speaking that potential baggage aloud here's Drake playing very nice as a followup. Drake, Stussy, Marco. That was the trio I was looking for in this pseudo-anthology's third side story. Speaking of...

It's been a while. Always had nascent ideas about the idea Zoro busts out an attack called Rashomon with Kuma way back when. Of course I've made plenty of mentions of the film reference. Even if you haven't seen it you've seen the story structure. Three POVs on the same event, the real magic is in stitching the truth together out of three unreliable narrators. Marco's perfect to spell it all out as the sorta "framing device" between Wano & Egghead.

It's hard to tell week-to-week what we'll do with this one, but I think we can see what our trio is for Egghead:

First we step away to see a collection of side stories, end on filing in the truth of Sabo/Vivi in Reverie. This though obscured what happened in the lab.

Next we give Bonney a whirl through her backstory with Kuma, where he'll both be a bit of an unreliable narrator and also rewrite some events we've seen prior through giving his POV. When we return we reiterate last night was a gap and add the mystery pile of food for Luffy.

Vegapunk's Broadcast, duh. It was more of a distraction while we saw some relation to the main plot but it still fits the bill. We've done Stussy, we're getting Drake, if you do loop Marco in than it's a way to complete the ASL theme with an Ace connection too. And don't sleep on the York focus here either.

Of course, we'll need to see the next few chapters to really evaluate that. Each one have had their content that raises questions, unreliable narrators and oddball tropes like that. But let's get back to this chapter, there was a cool running line in there I liked:

I could riff on Koby, Grus, & Kujaku getting a bit meta here but I'll save that until I know the next few steps. Kujaku gets to shine a lil more in this SWORD segment as the one checking on Drake but her line here gets a lot more interesting when Bluegrass & Doll have a similar mindset attacking the giants. Bluegrass especially encouraging the young ones to step up and become a star. Makes me think a lot about our OP for the anime adaptation The end of the dream, the end of the sea...but first we have to make a shining legend of ourselves.

It's just funny to me one could interpret the lyrics to "Us" as a threat this arc maybe will break the direction I've long hoped it would is all I'm saying. Let's bring this all home with the main highlight of the chapter though.

It's not just the stinger, the Gorosei seemed a little shocked their first hits on Robonosuke stopped everything. York is relieved but recall last time we talked about her theory that's where the antenna snail was hiding was just that, a theory.

Type of thing that could go either way and either option could have a lot of ways of unfolding. That said...this is a perfect ending if some unknown force is about to take advantage of these gaps to justify being in prime position to hijack the broadcast. Kinda feels like it'd be a cop out to have Robonosuke hanging around this whole time just to get smacked around a little. Still very, very excited for this next stint.