#it's lore time babeyyyy

[lycanus]

"i won't let anyone lay a hand on you." ... @interxstitial

he hates that this is how this has happened. he hates that julien is here to see him break down like this. he doesn't want to explain to him who cadwalader is or why they appeared so suddenly, or why cheolsu followed them immediately when they spoke of hunters nearby. they don't want to talk about their family. but julien, for some reason, has been left behind to protect him, and he has to say something. "they'll try to kill you too, you know," is what dohwan manages to force out. "for...... for not killing hyung and i. for letting yourself be....... touched by us. corrupted by us."

[limeinaltime]

Made an updated ref sheet for Aster since I hated her old one and her lore's changed a lot since then.

Some notes on her under the cut

Her eyes would've stayed a dark brown until she was 20 if she hadn't experienced her first "death" at 19.

The lore about her parents hasn't changed, they still suck and treated her horribly and were in on Urbanshade's plans for her.

The community she grew up in only treated her well when they wanted her blood, but their abuse and ostracizing led to her ability kicking and and causing people to die. She stopped giving blood altogether after a very traumatic experience.

Aster was one of the nine casualties that Sebastian was blamed for, and she was also the one who turned in the evidence proving his innocence.

SebAster college romance still canon babeyyyy. He vaguely knew she was not entirely human but both didn't care and didn't think about it too much since Aster's just weird anyway lol.

Had anomalous traits long before Urbanshade, they became more prominent once she turned 20. Her tail came in during her time in the Blacksite.

Aster's anomaly was initially intended to be solely passive and for healing (none of the previous Z-777 instances were fighters aside from Z-777-1), but Aster was given a natural ability to fight. She came out of the womb knowing how to kill, but her kind natures combats that... sort of.

Her organs and blood do still kill people if taken from her through force or violence.

Every time she dies, a crystal comes out of her body, usually her stomach or chest. Its properties are unknown, although Mr. Shade claims the crystals can be used to bring back the dead if Aster becomes powerful enough, hence why the experiments are so brutal. Every death makes her stronger, after all.

Basically if V1 was a woman and a human and could heal with her blood as well.

She can still kill people if they took her biomass through force or cruelty. The effects vary but are always lethal. Woe, instant appendicitis be upon ye.

She gives off warmth and comfort when she touches people she trusts thanks to the nature of her anomaly. Best way to describe it is like comforting nostalgia for something in your past that made you feel safe.

Not much of a brawler, but she is very fast and agile and her kicks and bite pack a punch. Quiet a few employees are missing fingers or even whole hands because of her.

The tentacles on her back basically function like the Tokyo Ghoul kagunes and retract into her back when not in use. The thickness and length depend on what she's using them for and are very flexible and strong.

Absolutely shines with firearms due to her own upbringing. She can use the ferryman tokens to ricochet bullets off them since she doesn't really need them to come back from the dead.

Aster can't give people immortality no matter how powerful her anomalous properties get. She could bring someone back from the razor's edge of death, but once someone is dead, it's beyond her power to save them.

"The Huntress" is her true title, "The Cure" would've been her official title if she wasn't a weapon of the divine.

"Laika" is basically a deadname, don't call her that.

[madamemiz]

i had a lore thought about kerfur the other day and i'm curious what you think as a primary source of kelfur (is that a name?) the kidnapping event, where kerfur disappears in a pool of blood i learned (on the wiki) it cannot happen while Dr. Kel is looking at Kerfur and it's giving me yaoiful thoughts because like, the yellow/orange kerfur that's possessed and tries to kill you kerfur omega, a true AI, CANNOT be possessed by that ?same? entity, only relocated but every single time, kerfur comes back untouched, right next to home and whatever flesh entity is trying to possess and inhabit robotics cannot even ATTEMPT this on kerf if Kel is looking, much less succeed when he isn't and that idea that the connection Kerfur has to Dr. Kel and the base gives them a "soul", or something "more" that makes them incorruptible, the one "pure"/good thing to come out of everything that might've happened in that damn bunker which also has me very, very curious about Skerfuro, seemingly the antithesis to this idea hmmmmm................

(the details are probably gameplay concessions but....................)

ok first of all reading the phrase "yaoiful thoughts" in the year 2k24 is sending me, thank you

second of all OUGHHH yes yes i love interpreting things that are probably meant to be gameplay mechanics or bugs as lore implications. are they supposed to be? no! do i care? also no! kerf cant be taken while kel is watching? power of love babeyyyy. kerf's pathing gets stuck on the hill while going to tango? nah, they're just enjoying the view

fr though, it's very interesting that (so far) it seems that whatever is possessing skerfuro and kerfu can't do the same to kerfur, at least not to the same degree. what's the difference? seems implied that kel's kerfur is an updated model, so it could be as simple as that. maybe stolas outfitted the current model to have wards against posession. wouldn't it be fun if it was something more, though?

maybe kel is kind to his kerfur. there's no real canon indication of it, but i'd like to imagine that's the case. base kerfur doesn't seem to have any thoughts going on in their sweet, empty little head, but perhaps there's something there. a spark, a potential; something to be nurtured by said kindness. once they're upgraded with an ai chip and more mobility, the seeds of that potential grows into something more. idk if kerfur will ever be implied to have true sentience, but i love to think of kerfur omega having an emerging sentience that's spurred on by kel treating them like a person; thanking them for doing their job, giving them praise or pats, affection. just talking to them in general, acknowledging them

skerfuro is fascinating to me, and kinda makes me sad in the way that kerfu does. they're clearly possessed, but how? what happened to them? could have been bad luck, but... maybe their human was not nearly so kind to them. maybe their fledgling ai had nothing to grasp onto, nobody worth surviving for. why fight it?

now, fueled by whatever's possessing them, all they feel is rage and jealousy toward a version of them that has what they never got

[sherbertquake56]

okay but I need to rant about all of my lore music for a second—

I wish you guys could see how much time I spend before every stream setting up songs. I have to set up the order of all the songs before stream and it’s honestly one of the best ways I get my thoughts in order going into a stream. I gotta think about all the changes of vibes and all the specific conversations I know I want to hit.

I have specific songs for specific people too- either for when I do lore with them or even just talk about them with someone else- the best example of this is Rae and “Infinite Amethyst” I exclusively use that song for Rae or talking about Rae (it’s simply the brothers vibes what can I say) but you won’t hear me playing that song without Rae being a part of it.

And then the other side of it is songs matching vibes. There’s specific songs for /pos or /neg conversations, and songs for panic times or solving science things times. And there’s a lot of songs for Icarus introspection times. I love associating songs with moments- like with Whisper Duo bad times + the little nightmares soundtrack- or Quixis and the wack + the Stanley parable soundtrack-

And the COOLEST THING is when I can use music to set the undertones. (Pavlov style babeyyyy)One of my favorite moments is in the first episode of season 2, when Sherbert “meets” Centross again. The conversation itself is completely harmless, happy, and fun but the music playing in the background? Ominous Bane. In literally 3 notes any of the audience who had watched season 1 recognizes that music as bad vibes and it’s MY FAVORITE THING.

Being able to tell a story and show relationships without even having to say any words is one of the coolest things I’ve been able to do with my audience in my opinion.

….and that’s why I’m a film major lmao

[chimerahyperfix]

RECIPE OF THE DAY

[OR: This was the most upsetting alternate looper option]

Long post because i have been cooking this in my brain for like, two months, and it's all-consuming. Also I'm not in the Discord yet because Anxiety so my ramblings had to go somewhere, and what better than one big fucking post yknow. I cast spell of fuck you mind blast on the tag/lh /j

TLDR for below: Siffrin words his wish differently, Bonnie gets trapped in a time-loop, and despite saying they're in a timeloop repeatedly nothing works and no one can help them. The normal ISAT absolute horrors ensue.

CONTENT WARNINGS: the normal ISAT tags [death, violence and trauma, suicide, self harm and unreality], Notable Pin on child endangerment and death, poisoning.

most of these get discussed ^ even if shortly

SO. THIS AU.

This is it this is my big one. Ignore me pushing the literal 12 other isat aus I have into a pile pls this is THE big one. I’m looking at the note I’ve stored all this lore in on my notes app,and it’s like. 35 fucking pages?

I've looked at a ton of alternate looper aus [that's part of the hyperfixation babeyyyy I need to consume ALL content forever and ever and ever] and I was like “oohhhh I wanna do that!!” So I literally just listened to music until I caught an idea and yikes. Looking at the AUs playlist now [it’s about 100 songs! Oops!] and I’m like [cartoony image of me laying face first on the floor]

This is a bit scattered because I wrote it over 3 days instead of working on the fic I’m supposed to be writing ooopsieeeee. Ramblings belowvvvvvvvvvv

It begins as simply as the game does. No one knows how to wish properly; so Siffrin wishes, because they know how to. The same folded leaf, repeated three times wish. Close to what is said in canon; different enough for the Universe to read it differently. No longer does Siffrin loop, because the wish isn’t about him, it’s about Bonnie and their sister. Siffrin’s wish is construed as “I wish Bonnie’s wish would come true,” and even if the Universe can’t hold onto Bonnie’s wish as they did it wrong, it CAN hold onto Siffrin’s.

And that’s the base point: EVERY LOOP, Siffrin wishes, because he wishes after he talks to them and that's where they loop back to, and its wish craft goes to Bonnie. A recipe for disaster with how much time they have!

They loop back when Siffrin gets crushed by the rock, because they can’t win while being down a party member. When they touch a tear, or when the sadnesses get the jump on the party and they all go down, or when they use the dagger equivalent [a poisoned snack], or when they get to the King. They Never Beat The King. Think SASASAaP but ISAT.

Bonnie doesn’t fight with craft, but rather craft-infused weapons. The wok and their pan for rock, a pair of kitchen shears for scissors and a cookbook for paper. Snacks for healing and buffs. And they have a cool friend that lives in the favor tree! [they get in fistfights like every five loops. Maybe it would be funny, someone just as willing to spar with them instead of trying to find the right words they can’t find because they’re a kid, if their friend wasn’t ALSO another version of themself, which bonnie clocks pretty late.] They pick up little quirks from their friends, like biting their nails like Belle, and puffing up to look bigger like Isa and stealing Dile's curses and closing an eye to match Frin's in focus. And maybe they start forgetting a little bit, just a little! The same thing over and over will get to you.

So everything essentially boils down to this. Bonnie specifically needs to be strong enough to beat the King, as the rest of the party doesn’t keep experience through loops. For a good chunk of the loops, they take advantage of Siffrin asking them if they need help and drag him into a training lesson that slowly goes from a whole emotional conversation to them quietly listening to Siffrin’s every word. [Siffrin fills this silence with random star facts that pop into their mind. This Is Important It WILL Be On The Test] Eventually the training becomes too tedious, so they start sneaking off to go fight sadnesses— and eventually just punch trees, which busts their knuckles— to get stronger faster! Everything goes downhill from there, with them forgetting to make food to them sneaking out at night to fight more to them getting reckless and uncaring; it snowballs down into “oh this could be considered suicidal confidence”.

Every loop, you say "hey, I'm trapped in a time loop", and EVERY time it is a big emotional thing that exhausts you to the point of going to bed immediately after, and everyone gets antsy and worried, and in the end the anxiety and trouble NEVER ends up mattering because the King still flattens the party every time. [And (shuffling through the sea of my notes for the au), imagine this from their situation for a second; Today, you tell your friends you are trapped in a time loop. They drag you into a long, uncomfortable conversation that makes you cry, and you go to bed with a full stomach and the knowledge they will protect you, and you will protect them. You make sure he doesn't get squashed by a boulder, you make sure they find the key, you make sure they don't die. Tomorrow, you will tell your friends you are trapped in a time loop. They will drag you into a long, uncomfortable conversation that will make you cry, and you will go to bed with a full stomach and the knowledge they've failed to protect you, but they're trying this loop, and you'll still protect them anyway.]

And then the King fight. He grabs them and he kills them and it fucks them up. [it fucks them up, until it too happens again and again, and eventually it simply is just another obstacle you must pass, because the second his stupid hand wraps around you like a ragdoll it’s over, so you just spit in his face to make him press the trigger immediately and not drag it out for forever- imagine the most traumatic event in your entire life, repeated over and over, until it looses all meaning. It’s still traumatic, it’s sewn into your brain forever you will never forget this.]

They tell the party ‘hey, I just got murdered’, and if this au was ISAT, it would go from having a memory that gave everyone a defense buff to a memory that literally stops you from winning, randomly attaching to a party member. You couldn’t get rid of it. They’d take every hit for you, and you’d have to loop back, because you couldn’t win with an unremovable memory like that. and that’s why they stop saying things, because if the people you loved would die to protect you, something you don’t want and have the ability to stop, would you stop them?

And so everything collapses, and from that point [the start of act 4] it collapses fast.

WHICH LEADS US TO ENDLESS MY FAVORITE LITTLE THANG

if this is transparent or not I don’t fucking know and honestly. After 2 hours of fighting ibisPaint X to make it transparent I stopped caring. o7

Slight design notes tangent: the fucking. Wispy things around their limbs just kinda move around them- yknow because black holes pull things in and they are one. Their like,,,, face spike design??? Question mark on what 2 call it? It’s designed to look like their hair lol. The little star-dot things on their knuckles are important smile. Eventually I’ll post a full thing 4 them (I have like 2 pages of random doodles of them it’s craaazy)

Endless (or Ness, later on) is Bonnie’s loop-alike. They’re a little angry hater and I based them on the song Black Hole Sun [therefore they double-dip in the space theming, the little scoundrel! Imagine being both a black hole and a partial eclipse!! Damn why you taking all the space theming for!!] which was the song the whole AU was based on! Woah! Damn you carrying ALL the out of AU lore in you! They’re anger over fear while Bonnie is fear over anger.

They make me SO fucking upset. Like. I’m not being funny anymore. This is THE most upsetting character I’ve ever written. They make me cry. My entire schtik is making horror and this little creature is the most upset I've ever been at a creation of mine.

Endless is a Bonnie who, without exaggerating, literally imploded from having too much wish craft in them— hence the black hole theme. They went through an unreasonable amount of loops [i think I noted down 400??? Probably not that many, but hey, leveling is slow when half the time you rely on a scripted event that has like 3 enemies. Never really pinned anything down, but it’s a CRAZY upsetting amount.] and just couldn’t win,, and they eventually broke, and begged for it to stop— and, well, with so much wish craft in them, even without the proper rituals the Universe just couldn’t ignore ALL this wish craft, overflowing, in one spot. They asked for help and it killed them.

And then they were at the tree! And they’re helping a DIFFERENT Bonnie, who they’re upset at because what. What why is this happening? They asked for it to stop, not for a whole NEW Bonnie to exist and to do it all over again, what is this what, stop stop it. And they have to keep watching Siffrin wish, and doom them to their endless loop, and they have to tell Bonnie no, the party can’t help them like they want the party to do because the party never could help them, and it’s just going to bring them distress and heartache. Bonnie does it anyways, until the very beginning of act 4: it goes downhill from there, until they’re worried This Bonnie will end up like THEM.

They’re not the most self-confident type. They give themself the most un-nicknameable name [Bonnie still finds one that fits— Ness. They reluctantly accept it.] [Endless vc: Ness? Like? From Earthbound???] they can think of because nicknames are a love language and they speak it, and they don't think they deserve it anymore because they've Changed, and trade out the nicknames they have for the party for things they learned from Siffrin in their own many many training loops: The Sun, The Moon, The Star, The Sky, and Bonnie is Supernova, because its cool as hell and Siffrin told them that’s what happens when a star dies, and they died. Open foreshadowing. They take to closing the same eye they made Siffrin the Star loose, because if he doesn’t get to see anymore neither should they— even if that eventually becomes a natural thing, something they do now to focus. They talk about a sister they have— had, because their world is gone and she never got unfrozen, they never learned if she was alive under all that icy craft or not, and they’re not Bonnie anymore. Ness is Bonnie, but Bonnie is not Ness.

And so, when act 5 hits, they’re desperate. They can’t see it happen again, because it erased them as a person and it was terrifying enough why would you want to see it happen again? they prepare to storm the house, bevause theyre strong enough to tear it apart themself, get stopped by the party, and essentially they’ve replaced Bonnie for a loop; which would be okay, if failing didn’t mean there would probably be Two Endlesses and No Bonnie’s. By the end of the au, Bonnie, lvl 99, is like bringing a brick to a stare down. Endless, in comparison, is like bringing a bazooka to a fistfight. They can’t face the King, they can’t, it would probably mess something up [the party has them pinned as being a kid by this point— wether they realise Ness acts a lot like Bonnie or not, who knows] so they panic and wave the party off into the King’s room and fights off the remaining sadnesses to calm down.

And the Party brings Bonnie down, and they fight a fake version of their sister [who they win against, even if barely, because Nille is their sister and damnit, Nille would never hurt them, not after giving up her life for them] and they have a breakdown, and then there's two of them. There's Bonnie and there's Ness. Bonnie confronts them and they get in ANOTHER fistfight, bveause how else would two angry ultra-powerful preteens settle things, and Bonnie convinces them to come along, because their identity has been found out and damnit Nille really won't care, Ness is her sibling too.

[Nille approaches the situation carefully, but Bonnie is right: Nille sees the two of them and immediately decides she has two siblings and she wants to protect them. Both of them went through so, so much, and they saved the country and damnit it would be monstrous to throw Ness out to the wolves because they Changed. Aka I was physically incapable of letting Ness dissapear or have a bad ending they deserve the world too.]

I just I jsutt. Auguhghghghhh. au too big in my brain spill it out on the floor it goes everywhere. When you hyperfix on your own au

[mxnster-soul]

TMC OC DUMP TIME BABEYYYY

This is technically just them post-reincarnation (reawakening). They have memory loss lol. (They're originally from a TMC AU thing but can be seen as a standalone)

Nicknames: Don/Dawn

[MORE INFO/A LOT OF RAMBLING UNDER CUT. ALSO TW: one ref hardly has clothes on but it's just because there's scars. Sorta 17+ zone]

Heavily inspired off of Stanzi's 'heaven and hell' comedy series (also the case of sona turned to just an OC)

Abaddon (or in this case, reinarnated Abaddon) is an absolute goofball. A bit snarky at times,

Lore stuff:

Pre-'reincarnation', They worked part-time shifts.

Part-time as a guard at heaven's gates, part-time in hell as clean up (usually just purging whenever it's starting to get overcrowded) not meant to be a hazbin reference

While at the gates, Gabriel also worked the same shift as Abaddon.

(TMC AU related. Abaddon had no clue that Gabe was plotting)

The two are just work friends, dynamic being 'The strong silent type that's usually hard for others to read, and the one that's good at talking and somehow just knows what the silent one is saying'./'Don's a gentle giant when it comes to co-workers' (also can't understand jokes/comedy)

Don uses to ALWAYS wear full armour, to the point noone could recall what they look like.

The two were actually friends, buuut as the plans for overruling were finished. Don was seen as 'in the way'.

So when they least suspected it, they were slain with one of their own swords. (Backstabbed through the heart, in a literal sense) I HC that higher rank angels can be killed only with their own weapons

They died confused since they had no time to see who betrayed them.

REINCARNATION (sorta. They kinda just come back from the dead since seraphim probably don't stay dead for eternity)

Don woke up sore as heck in some lake on the mortal realm, still in armor but stuck like they one of those underwater statues which are actually just metal things that rusted/the covered by plants over time.

Their wings decayed a bit cuz it's been thousands of years of being dormant. (And they were able to get the sword out cuz the angelic power that was in it down).

They're a bit more physical (so certain mortal things can now harm them)

Their memory is gone, so they ends up just observing the humans around them and adapting as the years pass by.

Ends up being a very chatty/rowdy dork that likes social media and thinks punk/alt fashion/etc is cool.

TLDR: very serious worker got betrayed, died, and can't remember it when they came back to life so they embrace modernity and probably go to spencers and hottopic/thrifting for clothes.

Also their new fave weapon is a street stopsign

More info:

-7 to 8ft tall (either works)

-Agender/Enby (They/He/She/it) <they really don't care

-Loves overdressing

-Has no clue wtf alternates are but probably annoys them if they happen to meet.

-'ooh, those are alternates? Damn, they look like they've been hit by a truck'

-listens to hyperpop/phonk/loud stuff

-usually guised as a human (bascially just wingless/halo-less cuz it makes it hard to use doors)

-Has no clue that Gabriel is alive

-deadass would not remember a thing, even if reminded.

Current outfit ^^^^

Alt wing color^^^^

OLD/V1 outfit (can be used)

FACE CLOSEUP^^^

Might redo the ref at some point cuz i'm not happy with the post

V1 ref^^^^

HEY, WARNING BELOW INCOMING

[TW: LACK OF CLOTHING REF]

(my anatomy sucks but i tried)

[scarabbai]

REAL NOT CLICKBAIT i am now medicated (WOOO ANTIDEPRESSANTS) and not only has that brought back some of my general interests (yayyy i can have hobbies and fandoms again) but also my ability to write (sorta) so I've been looking through some of my old wips and lo and behold found the og doc i made for the lore of this au so guess what may be coming back babeyyyy

also unfortunately i dont play twst the game itself anymore (lack of time and storage space rip) so my knowledge is a bit rusty BUT at the very least i do remember stuff from rr au and might FINALLY have the energy to address stuff thats been sitting in my inbox since forever

[analogboii]

ayeo tagged by @rowdyknives

list 5 topics you can talk about for an hour without prepping any material

bishops castle and jim bishop himself. oh my god that man and his castle are batshit insane and i never get tired of it. i love visiting that safety hazard and insane old man

literally any cult ever. my god they are all so fascinating and wild and horrific.

my favorite band ever, asking alexandria. i can give you a dissertation about each album and what the fuck was going on during that time and what the songs mean (except dennis' album. sorry, nothing against you, I just fell outta the loop around that time just like danny 💀) ive been a fan since their first official album and even have a copy of their first unofficial (15 years n counting babeyyyy)

sims lore. oh my god there's so much. have you heard about our Lord and savior bella goth???? or how the sims 4 is an alternate timeline thanks to her son alexander?????

mythology and religion. oh my god i will not shut the fuck up. greek, roman, christian mythology, you name it - i know it. i know the different ways they connect and the similarities they draw and how they impacted society, etc. (tho Christianity could probably also tie in with cult)

I had to stop myself from going on tangents ope. now you have my top 5 hyperfixations lmfao

tagging: @momonica05 @snakedogge @memecatwings @mamaalpha @skipar00

[cherryspotart]

Patience Propaganda: The Virtue

IT'S FINALS TIME BABEYYYY so I have an amusing plot point that happens as a last-ditch effort of Patience when she wants to unite the Virtues to become a more potent force than the Hedons; by using the understudied practice of Divine Fusion discovered by her little sister. (Tagging @homemadegirlbossbattle)

Remember to vote for Patience HERE!

Warning for body horror, fantasy wars, and sibling abuse below the cut, tread carefully! (Along with a LOT of lore)

Things began with her little sister, Thena, conducting groundbreaking research on gods' composition during and after the Empyrean War (War of Heaven vs Hell). Some research was... a bit brutal, using one of Patience's lost wings as study material, but she overall found some incredible things that many others had never bothered to look into; one of these was the fusion between two or more gods.

Patience found all of this ridiculous, though, especially with Thena not making much progress on figuring out how to make fusion a stable thing. She would berate and ignore her findings on a majority of her research, insisting that she's not being of much help.

This is what pushed Thena to leave Heaven after decades of dealing with not feeling good enough to earn her sister's approval, going down to Hell to take matters into her own hands. She was deemed having gone missing, Patience calling off the search once she discovered she had travelled to another realm and found a demonic lover.

With Patience looking through her old documents and Thena eventually finding her way back to heaven, it was revealed she had used fusion to produce a destructive beast by the name of Osor, the little snow leopard having fused with the god Bael to produce her. This intrigued Patience, seeing there was a way to create something more powerful than the other gods; especially the Hedons.

With this new information and realizing fusion can be weaponized, Patience has a new mission to use this research to her advantage. Despite wanting to leave that past of a corrupted fusion behind, Thena is pressured to share her research and aid in further experimentation.

Utilizing her little sister's desperation to please her, Patience eventually convinces Thena to show her how it's done; and uses this new knowledge to forcefully fuse with Humilitas, Humanitas, and Temperance to create The Virtue.

[starlight-starwrites]

this chapter. we going boys its happening i can feel it.

When you reached the front, a beautiful woman, dressed in a designer suit, gently brushed the clerk away from the desk and arched a brow as Price approached. “Hello John.” Oh. Oh…there was history there.

i am loookinggggg we KNOWING we got more lore behind this ofc we do. your boy price with the chops, you could not resist. hotel manager lfg, you get it girl.

You still looked through the peephole to make sure—which you immediately winced at because you’ve seen too many movies and television shows where someone gets shot right through those—

okay valid valid valid not me thinking this too i HATE when that happens in movies

Still, you watched his gloved hand slide across the paneled wall and then press down. There was a soft click and the wall slid open. “A secret passageway? That’s so fucking cool.” The words tumbled out of your mouth before you could think of something less childish to say. “This is my room,” Simon said, turning to you. “If anything happens, you come to me. Yeah?”

first off, secret passage is super cool my reaction was 100% readers reaction, second off, the fact it goes to simon's room i am 0.0 staring intently at all the possibilities, third off, him saying you come to meeee slkdjflskjlkfjsl ahhhhhhkay im fine. they're developing relationship is such a pleasure to watch, im such a hoe for a slow burn and this is slowburning so well babeyyyy a man like this,, hoo boy yes pls and thank you

“You know I’ll come for you.”

i. want him. the softness but also the way he is fully prepared to go all in for her and they have like,,, not even gotten a real hand holding session i am shaking biting chomping teeth gonna sink into his biceps

Kyle stepped out of her bathroom, a bag of her toiletries in his hand. “Find everything?” Kyle nodded. “It was color coded.”

she is, an icon. i love getting to see more about reader character and it makes me sad but so intrigued and i want to know everything. and the "at least it wasn’t Simon" thought she has about getting her apt stuff, ohhhhhhh girlllll plsssss you got another storm coming.

“You don’t have to stay.” And Simon stood again. “But you can if you want!” You hurriedly added.

you are making her too relatable PLS i love her. im on the floor over the moment they have together. so quiet yet so loud. when things are said without words its just T.T that much more real. him reaching out first. her holding his hand there like its a tether to whats real for her and not just her playing everything off as "fine". AND THEN RESTING HER FACE ON THEIR HANDS. AND HIM REACHING OUT TO TOUCH HER AGAIN. AND THEM GETTING AFFECTION BLOCKED BY (DEAR SWEET) KIRBY HAVING THE BABY I WAS LIKE BRUHHHHHHHH this moment was everything. much needed tenderness and vulnerability and they both are strugglingggg and so now IM strugglingggggggg fics PLEASEEEEE

and then kirby's moment!!! we meet her we see her she's real and okay and she has a babyyyyyy!!! and we are there for it!!! and simon is also there and pining!!!!!! girl WHAAAAAAATTTTT ARE YOU DOINGGGGGGG TO MEEEEEE i am not ready for chapter 6. (but actually i very much am, please i will accept it at any time bec i need to know everything and i want them all to be okay please have mercy. thankyouverymuch.)

Shelter - 5

Summary: You saved Soap's life. And Chicago has its own surprises in store for you.

Pairing: Simon "Ghost" Riley/F!Reader Warnings For This Chapter: Continued military and safehouse inaccuracies, slow burn romance, Soft!Simon, mentions of and very light description of childbirth, MDNI

A/N: Thank you all SO MUCH for the love on the last chapter. I don't think I've ever posted so consistently on a fic before. You have all really kept me motivated. Means the world to me. Oh! also, just as an aside, the title of this fic comes from a lyric from the song "Little Words" by The Happy Fits. My brain chemistry was altered by spiltspits beautiful artwork and this is how I now imagine Simon. Please let me know what you think! xx

Previous Chapter

Okay maybe it wasn’t home. But it was still Chicago. After handing over your passport to a woman who definitely didn’t check it, you were shuffled into yet another SUV and you might have pressed your face to the window as you saw the familiar skyline inch closer and closer. You couldn’t go home to your shoebox of an apartment, but Soap did say the hotel where you were staying was nice. Price’s grunted approval did seem to give a little credence to that.

Nice…was not the word you would have used as you looked up at the immaculate stone and glass building in front of you, your vision only a little obscured by the ballcap Soap pushed over your head before getting out of the car. This was opulent. Expensive. A different tax bracket.

Simon nudged you toward the entrance when you stared a little too long. The building was old, probably from the 1800s, but impeccably kept and renovated to modern standards. Everything was a sleek white and gray with modern art on the walls.

“What kind of safehouse is this?” You muttered to yourself as your group joined the small line to check in.

“It’s off the books,” Gaz whispered in return. “Think of it more like a CIA funded vacation.”

“But we are safe, right?”

He reached out and squeezed your arm before his eyes flickered over your shoulder to Ghost…Simon. “We’re going to be fine.”

When you reached the front, a beautiful woman, dressed in a designer suit, gently brushed the clerk away from the desk and arched a brow as Price approached. “Hello John.”

Oh. Oh…there was history there.

(And apparently Price’s first name was John.)

“Laswell called you?”

The woman nodded, letting Price’s lack of greeting roll right off her back. “I have you all up on the twelfth floor. All of the hotel’s amenities are at your disposal.”

Price nodded and wordlessly took the key cards she handed over and then started to herd you toward the shining elevators on the other side of the lobby. You quickly told her ‘thank you,’ earning a laugh, and then were almost immediately pressed into the corner of the elevator. Both Simon and Soap stood in front of you, massive forms basically shielding you from anyone in the lobby seeing you. But you did manage to see Price press a key into a hole beside the button for the twelfth floor and turn it before the elevator started to rise.

The ride up was smooth and silent, even as Price handed out key cards. Plush carpet quieted your footsteps as you stepped out into the windowless hallway and five doors spaced apart evenly. If you were a betting woman, which you definitely were not, you would guess that all the other floors had more than five rooms.

Price stopped at the first door, 121, and then turned to you, handing you the last key card. “Figured you’d want your own space. I’ll have to explain the rules in a bit. But I’ll let you get settled.”

Rules. Of course there were rules. You’d probably not be allowed to leave your room without an escort or leave the hotel at all. And you could live with that. You could. Kirby was waiting for you. You’d keep your promise. “Got it. Thank you.”

The door beeped softly after you tapped the card against the lock. Like the rest of the hotel, the room was beautiful, leather couch, huge bed, a small kitchenette. The bathroom was a work of art in white and silver granite with sleek knobs and spouts. You didn’t even bother looking in the closet tucked beside the bed, too nervous to see if it was as big as your entire apartment across town. And it wasn’t as if you had clothes to put away anyway. That was probably something you would have to talk to Price about when he came in. The cityscape glittered on the other side of the giant window and you knocked your knuckle against it, welcoming yourself home. It sounded a little strange, like the window was extra thick. Whatever.

Your throat still hurt and you wandered back to the bathroom and pulled the arnica lotion from your pocket and wiped a bit across your skin. It was still discolored and tender—and you knew it would be for a while. Your eyes were still red. The bags under your eyes were prominent and tender, too. All and all, you looked rough. Kirby would ask questions but she’d probably be appeased with a simple “I was mugged, yeah they know who did it” explanation. It would be another lie, but it would be for the best.

You nearly jumped out of your skin when a knock came at the door. You hustled over to it and then froze. They did say you were safe but… The knock came again, followed by, “‘s me.”

Simon.

You still looked through the peephole to make sure—which you immediately winced at because you’ve seen too many movies and television shows where someone gets shot right through those—and saw Simon’s hulking figure on the other side. He’d swapped his usual skull balaclava for a simple black surgical mask somewhere between the plane and lobby. The door opened and he stepped in, bringing the scent of gunsmoke and something woody and expensive. He hadn’t been wearing cologne on the plane but you weren’t about to complain. After telling you where you were headed and giving you your passport, you had fallen into a quiet conversation with him. He was funny. Charming, in a dry, dark humored sort of way. The way your heart squeezed in your chest whenever you looked at him was just a coincidence. Really!

“I want to show you something,” he said instead of a greeting. You were almost used to it now. And you trotted after him as he neared the bed and you definitely ignored how your eyes darted between the surely-high thread count sheets and the behemoth in front of you. After all of this was done, you needed to download an app or something. Let Kirby make the profile for you like she’s been dying to do for years so you could focus on that and not how you could see the hints of another scar slipping out from the edge of the mask near his mouth and curling up toward his ear or how blond hair poked out from under the shadow of his hood. You curled your hand into a fist to avoid touching it. You never thought he’d be blond.

Still, you watched his gloved hand slide across the paneled wall and then press down. There was a soft click and the wall slid open.

“A secret passageway? That’s so fucking cool.” The words tumbled out of your mouth before you could think of something less childish to say.

“This is my room,” Simon said, turning to you. “If anything happens, you come to me. Yeah?”

“I thought this was supposed to be safe?”

He shrugged, which wasn’t exactly comforting. “So was the safehouse. But this is me trying to keep you safe.” He paused and you couldn’t find it in yourself to say anything. “You know I’ll come for you.” His heavy gaze didn’t move away from your face and you might have squirmed if it was anyone else but you felt yourself sagging.

He had come for you back at the other safehouse. He had kept you safe. And now he was right next door. Something warmed behind your ribs but you weren’t quite sure you wanted to try to name it. “I know.”

You couldn’t look away. Not yet. Not when the dark of his eyes was so inviting. So strangely comforting when everything else seemed to be slipping through your fingers.

“I promise not to make too much noise. I won’t keep you up by, like, blaring music or anything.”

A small smile pushed at her mouth and Simon once again couldn’t look away from the curve of her bottom lip. He wanted to trace it with the edge of his thumb. Wanted to know if it was as soft as it looked. A selfish, mean urge. He knew it. He was a selfish bastard.

A knock at the door saved him from acting on that urge and he watched her smile twitch, nervous, before she answered the door. Pride rumbled in his chest when she warily checked the peephole first. But it was only Price on the other side, right on schedule.

Simon listened to Price tell her the rules of the hotel. Don’t go anywhere without one of them. Do not leave the hotel grounds under any circumstance. Order room service if needed—it was on the CIA’s tab so cost was no object. She laughed at that.

But then she asked if she could order clothes and toiletries through room service, too. “I only have this,” she waved a hand at the clothes Simon had given her on the plane. “And while these are comfortable-”

“Your flat’s across town? Make me a list of what you need.”

And that was how Simon found himself and Kyle across the city and in the midrise building after following her instructions to buzz Missus Pirowski, an octogenarian resident on the ground floor who would let anyone in if they asked politely, to get in and then procuring the spare key she hid, taped to the upper edge of the door.

The apartment was nice. Probably expensive for this part of the city. And everything smelt like an expensive candle and something soft. The couch was worn but well taken care of and a half dozen blankets were tucked into a basket beneath the window. Everything was clean if not sparse.

And the more he looked, the more he realized it looked more like a staged house than a home. There was neutral, mass produced art on the walls. Everything was in shades of grey, white, black. The kitchen was organized neatly in glass containers, each filled three quarters of the way up. It wasn’t until he stepped into her bedroom that he saw any sort of life. There was a map pinned over a cork board with color coded pins all over the place. Green pins for places she’s been. Gold for places she wanted to go. Gold vastly outnumbered green and it made Simon sad in a strange way. And there were two and only two pictures on her bedside table, tucked behind a stack of books with bookmarks in each of them.

The first picture was small in Simon’s grasp. The gold frame was fragile, old. The picture behind the thin glass was aged, too, and looked like it had been folded in half several dozen times before being stuck in the frame. It was obviously her, somewhere around 8 and holding an infant in a careful hold on a couch.

The next was her, again, aged 16 or so. Her arm was thrown over the shoulders of a girl who was probably 8. Her smile was smaller but it still lit up her eyes. The smaller girl was beaming at the camera, ice cream in her hand dripping over her fingers. That must be Kirby. Behind them stood an older man, hands on each of the girls’ shoulders and a proud smile on his aging face. There was no resemblance between her and the man, but he and Kirby had a few similar features. Who was he?

The frame clacked as he set it down while Kyle stepped out of her bathroom, a bag of her toiletries in his hand. “Find everything?”

Kyle nodded. “It was color coded.”

Of course it was. Everything of hers in the apartment, anything she might consider valuable, was probably easily moved. Like she was ready to leave at a moment’s notice, which was odd because the lease agreement for her apartment had been renewed eight times according to Simon’s research. But Simon knew the same could be said of him and his flat in Manchester. Easily moved. Easily forgotten.

They turned to the closet and drawers next, referencing their list as they went. Her clothing was color coded, too. But most of it was black, white, or grey. Kyle took what she requested from her closet without much fanfare but Simon did pause, only a little, when her knickers were on his share of the list. (And he knew Gaz did it on purpose, even if the easy smile the other man gave him betrayed nothing. Cheeky.) They were neatly folded in the top drawer; bits of silk, lace, cotton that had his mouth going dry. Like he was a kid again. His thumb brushed against one of the tiny bows as his mind wandered. Did they cut into the side of her hip? Did she have a favorite pair? Did the lace feel good against her skin? He didn’t know the answers but they were all soft in the palm of his hand as he grabbed a handful and shoved them into one of the bags Kyle brought him from the closet.

He followed the rest of the list she’d given them diligently and then spotted a perfume bottle. She’d had a travel sized one of the same brand and scent at the safe house, too. This one must be her favorite if it being half empty with another tucked behind it was any indication. It wasn’t on her list, but if it would make her smile-

The thought crumpled before he could finish it. He tucked the sole pair of running shoes into the bag and saw Gaz had grabbed a pair of boots, too. He needed to get out of here. But he still snatched one of the photos off the nightstand before he left.

It was nearly orgasmic to be able to use your own body wash and lotion after a couple of weeks without it. What did this say about you? What would your therapist say about it? What were the confidentiality parameters when it came to this? Surely you couldn’t just tell Kirby and there were ethics guidelines with therapists, right?

Whatever. You knew you weren’t going back to therapy.

You toweled off, trying hard not to look too long at your discolored throat and monster eyes. Kirby was going to freak out. You needed to practice your speech about getting mugged and telling her not to worry. You didn’t lie to your sister. She knew that and it had caused some friction a few years ago. So, maybe she’d just believe you. She needed to because there was no way you could or would explain the shit show that your life had become.

You pulled the second bag Gaz had dropped off in your room before your shower and your heart hiccuped when you spotted the picture of you and Kirby sitting on top. You’d once kept this one in your tiny wallet after you’d graduated from high school, folded it to make sure it wouldn’t slip out. A prized possession. If it came down to it, your apartment was on fire and you could only save two things? You’d save the pictures with your sister.

Any warm and fuzzy thoughts evaporated when you noticed they’d been placed atop a neat stack of your underwear. You knew it was going to be packed—you had asked for them to be. But it still felt a little strange knowing Gaz had packed them so carefully. You needed to make him another breakfast for being so kind to you. Maybe you could use the hotel’s kitchen if you asked nicely. The manager—the woman who’d checked everyone in, you learned—had been nice when she’d given you a razor when you’d forgotten to ask Gaz to bring you one from your apartment. You definitely owed him after you spotted your favorite perfume carefully packed in between your clothes, too. You hadn’t asked for it, not wanting to be too demanding.

At least it wasn’t Simon. And you knew it was childish for you to think about a man touching your underwear when he was just doing his job. And it didn’t matter anyway because Gaz did it!

Really. What was wrong with you?

All of this would be over, hopefully soon, and you would probably never see any of these people again. So, you grabbed your favorite pair, the ones with the soft cotton lace and tiny bow, and tried to press the thought of Simon and his dark eyes (and your underwear) out of your mind.

The tiny cellphone you’d been given was sitting on the bedside table. It only had Kirby’s number and Price said it was a secure line, whatever that meant, and you shouldn’t even attempt to call anyone aside from your sister. Not a problem. You didn’t really have anyone to call. And it was…perfect, to be able to just call your sister. She was spending the last few days of her pregnancy out of town at a spa retreat; something about seaweed wraps, Swedish massages, and clay face masks being part of her birthing plan. Everything seemed to be running on her schedule, no matter how loose it was.

She’d giggled throughout your short conversation. “I hadn’t heard from you in a while! Thought you weren’t going to make it—I shouldn’t’ve doubted you.”

It was like a shot of pure sunlight right to your veins.

You were going to make it. You’d keep your promise.

That happy thought carried you through the rest of the day, even as Gaz easily beat you at every single card game he tried to teach you and then stole half your fries from your dinner with another megawatt smile. Soap called dibs on trying to teach you a traditional Scottish dance tomorrow with a grin you knew meant trouble.

Price was off somewhere else and, while you didn’t know him very well, you had a feeling it had something to do with the pretty hotel manager downstairs.

Simon had been in his room and Gaz and Soap had both said he was following up on a lead from Laswell. And you promptly ignored the whispered thought that he was avoiding you. He hadn’t seemed the type to be easily annoyed but maybe your long-winded conversation on the plane had worn down his social battery and he just needed a break. Yeah. Sure.

After another layer of cream on your neck, you settled into the ridiculously soft bed and fell asleep, hoping to truly feel rested by the time you woke up in the morning.

The tunnel was dark. Strip lights across the tracks cast darker shadows across the bombs that littered the ground. There were so many of them. Everywhere you looked, there was another, each with curled wires and red numbers that counted down the seconds left in your pitiful existence.

But this was okay. You were alone. No one else would be hurt.

Movement to the right caught your eye and a scream stalled in your throat as your sister leapt onto one of the bombs, landing on the wires without a sound.

“Kirby!” but the scream you could feel building in your throat came out as a whisper. She couldn’t hear you.

Kirby laughed and waved, jumping from one bomb to another with her usual grace and poise. She even spun on one, that same smile on her face.

You went left, she went right.

There were too many barrels between you now. Too many bombs. You’d never catch up to her. You could hear her laughing but when she opened her mouth again to say something to you, the first lines of a Russian lullaby spilled out instead, not matching at all with how her lips were moving.

Bayu Bayushki Bayu…

One by one, the bombs started to go off in slow motion. Fire and scraps of metal inched their way into the air as Kirby continued to dance away, still singing the Russian lullaby. She turned away from you and spun, dress fluttering.

And then she jumped right onto the next bomb just as it exploded.

“NO!” The scream tore its way out of your already mangled throat as you snapped to sitting up in your sweat-soaked sheets. Your pillows flopped uselessly to the ground behind you. A shaking hand pressed to your forehead. “Just a dream,” you muttered. “It’s just a dream.” But the image of Kirby dancing into the explosion had been seared into the backs of your eyes.

Movement out of the corner of your eye nearly had you screaming again but it stalled in your throat when you realized you recognized the enormous looming shadow. A light from a single lamp behind Simon made him look even larger than he already was, the bulk of his hoodie still wrapped around him and his surgical mask looped over his nose and mouth.

“Is that a gun?” you asked, already knowing the answer. And maybe you should’ve cared more at the moment about him charging in with a weapon but you couldn’t. Not now. Not when the low light caught his dark eyes and the barest hints of his blond hair.

“‘eard you screaming.”

“Sorry.” What else could you say? The embarrassment started to tug at the back of your mind—you’d woken him up in the middle of the night—but the nightmare persisted. It was strangely comforting to know he’d come so quickly anyway. Just like he did at the safehouse.

He walked further into your room, the door still slightly open behind him. “Nothing to be sorry about. Need something?”

You dropped your hands and looked at him, feeling the sweat cool on your skin. “N-no, I’m fine. Sorry I woke you up.”

“Was already awake.” He didn’t move. Not for a stretched moment before he holstered the (giant) handgun.

“Do you ever have nightmares?” The question tumbled out of your mouth before you could stop it. How fucking rude and ridiculous could you be? And so, instead of forcing him to answer, you just kept talking. “I used to get them all the time. My therapist said something about trauma or whatever. But I haven’t had one like this in years. I was doing good. I used to be so good. Almost normal.” Another stuttering breath slithered out of you. You weren’t even sure what you were saying or why you were saying it. “Am I just putting her in danger by going to see her? She’d never forgive me if I didn’t go but what if something happened to her because of me? She’s having a baby. Her baby’s going to need her. Kirby’ll be a good mom. Even if we both had crap examples, she is going to be a good one.” You were definitely rambling now. But the past handful of weeks and everything fucking else that had happened was starting to spill out like a shaken up bottle of pop.

You sucked in a handful more unsteady breaths, your tattered throat still protesting. And the embarrassment started to burn, too.

“Sorry. I guess I broke my promise of being a good neighbor.”

Simon was still an immovable mass in the shadow of the doorway but then he stepped closer and slowly, slowly lowered himself onto the edge of your bed. The warmth of him bled across the rumpled blankets but the sharp claws of your embarrassment continued to tighten around your lungs.

“You don’t have to stay.”

And Simon stood again.

“But you can if you want!” You hurriedly added.

He slowly sat back down and you buried your face in your hands with a groan. This was…this was not how you thought tonight would go. But, God, he was being kind. Kind to you again.

“I’m sorry.” Your lungs ached and it felt like you’d tried to line your esophagus with fine grain sandpaper.

“‘s fine.” He paused for another moment and you were too nervous to look up to see if he was staring at you. “Promise.”

And then, to your horror and surprise, his hand landed on your shoulder. It just stayed there, unmoving, and you froze, scared that if you moved too fast, he’d leave…like a feral cat or something. But you slowly lifted your head to see his heavy-lidded gaze anchored on you. And you weren’t sure what compelled you forward—god knows you hadn’t wanted any sort of physical affection since you were a child—but you moved, pressing your hand over his on your shoulder. Soon, your head lolled to the side, smushing your cheek against your tangled fingers.

Simon’s grip tightened just a fraction. Small, firm circles soon pressed against your shoulder a moment later, pulling a stuttered breath from your aching throat. He was warm. Solid. Kind and quiet. And you should not be having these thoughts. It was easier, smarter, to be in the shadows of this all. Friends had been few and far between for you for most of your life. It was easier to keep people away.

It was what you should do with Simon. You knew that was the smarter choice.

But you didn’t move.

Didn’t move until he shifted and his other hand carefully smoothed over your upturned cheek. Your heart hammered against the cage of your ribs but you couldn’t recall a time when you’d felt calmer. His thumb arced across the ridge of your cheekbone as your eyes shut again.

And maybe you could have said something, or maybe he was going to—but your phone chirped. And then chirped again. And again.

Simon’s hands slipped away and you stood, haphazardly running around the bed to grab your tiny phone from where you’d left it atop the opposite nightstand. You quickly read the texts before turning to Simon, almost unsurpised to see him standing beside you. “Kirby’s having the baby.”

And then you were off, shuffled into the back of the SUV and careening across Chicago. And you pointedly ignored Soap’s gaze when he tried to look at you in the rearview mirror. No, you would not explain why Simon had come out of your room with you. Thankyouverymuch.

The hospital was quiet this time of night, or at least the entrance you used was, far away from the emergency room intake. But that only meant you caught the eye of the nurses behind the desk much easier. Kirby had texted you her room number and you just needed to-

“Excuse me, you can’t just walk in here. You need a visitor’s pass.”

You were absolutely not going to get one of those—with your luck, Kirby would already be crowning by now and if you stopped you’d miss everything—but Price, Gaz, and Soap all beelined toward the desk and effectively blocked you (but not Simon) from the nurse’s stare and Simon stood in front of you as you entered the elevator. It took you a moment to realize he was blocking you from being seen by the tiny camera in the corner. His face was still mostly covered and Gaz had made sure your ball cap was firmly on your head before you even left the hotel. They were protecting you. Again.

The elevator opened with a soft ding and you hurried down the hall, following the arrows leading toward labor and delivery. You pressed the button at the door, saying your name and Kirby’s and it thankfully opened without much fanfare. You counted the rooms until you found Kirby’s and let yourself in, a small bit of tension finally falling from your spine.

Kirby was radiant. She always was, to be honest. Even during the standard awkward tween years, she’d been beautiful. The little hospital-issued gown did little to detract from it—she also had a full face of glamorous makeup on, her hair curled and magazine worthy. Her bright eyes widened as she looked at you.

“You look like you’ve been-”

“I was mugged,” you said quickly, waving a hand. “Guy’ll get caught eventually. I’ll be fine.”

Kirby’s eyes narrowed and you could feel her gaze rove over your neck before meandering up to your discolored eyes. You could see her filing it all away and then, in the next blink, it was settled. “Is that why you have that ridiculously long number now?”

“Yeah,” you said, thankful she’d given you a way to explain away a few things. “My phone’s gone. And this number is just temporary anyway. Everyone thinks I’ll get some of my stuff back soon anyway.”

Kirby nodded and then her eyebrow twitched before her hand pressed over her stomach. “I’m glad you’re here. Means a lot to me.”

You reached out and swept your sister into a hug that she quickly reciprocated as best she could from the hospital bed. It was a tight embrace, the points of her fingers lining your vertebrae before smoothing up to your shoulder blades. She’d always hugged you this way, something she’d come out of the womb doing. You’d always tried to respond in kind, wordlessly telling her that she meant the world to you.

As you pulled back, you swept a hand across her forehead, ignoring the sweat now on your palm. “What do you need from me?”

“I would kill for a double cheeseburger after all this. Right now I’m only allowed to have ice chips, which seems a little cruel.”

“I’ll get you that double cheeseburger,” she said. Of course she did. And Simon had no doubt that she would. But still, he pulled out his phone and texted Johnny, telling him to find a burger place that was open.

It was interesting to see her actually interact with Kirby. She called her a sister, but this seemed more like a fretting, doting parent. Even from his “hiding” spot just outside the door, he felt like he was intruding.

A doctor stared at him as he walked by. Or tried to. Simon crossed his arms and the doctor hurried his steps a little. Security here was a joke. But for now, things were okay and he turned just enough to see into the room again.

“I’m trying really hard to be zen.” Sweat dotted Kirby’s hairline and the slightest wobble of her bottom lip betrayed her struggle. But if it were anyone else, Simon thought she might actually look like she was “zen.”

She reached out toward Kirby and held her hand. “Well, if you want to squeeze my hand as hard as you can instead of screaming, you have my permission to break my fingers.”

Kirby took her sister’s hand and kissed her knuckles before patting the back of her hand. “You look rough enough. I’ll try not to break anything.”

The attempt at zen lasted longer than Simon anticipated. A flurry of nurses had come in and out and yelled about dilation and then the command to “push, push, push” came quickly. Very quickly. A nurse or two had remarked about how fast the labor was going. Kirby groaned and huffed. But no screaming. Simon could respect that.

But above it all, he heard her. “Breathe with me. You got this.”

Kirby let out two short breaths.

“She’s nearly here. Come on, Kirbs. You can do it.”

And then there was a shrill cry. A baby. Something long dormant cracked in the recesses of Simon’s chest. And he looked back. It was quiet in the room for a little as the baby was placed against Kirby’s chest. The baby squirmed a little when Kirby started to cry, zen broken.

“You did so great,” she whispered. “She’s beautiful. Healthy. And she’s got a great set of lungs, just like her mom.”

Kirby laughed and pressed a series of short, careful kisses against the baby’s head. The quiet continued, all of them content for a moment. “Want to hold her?” Kirby asked, already holding the baby out to her.

She paused, just for a moment, before carefully taking the small bundle into her arms. Her face crumpled and he watched tears quickly start to slide down her cheeks. “Hi, honey. I’m your aunt. I already love you so much.” She leaned down and pressed a featherlight kiss against the baby’s cheek.

The crack in his chest widened.

He listened to her coo over the baby and her sister, whispered, happy words as the medical team continued to come in and out. He didn’t move. Not when he could see her smile like that.

Simon could feel Johnny staring at him before he even slowed to a stop. The scent of the requested cheeseburger wafted up from a greasy bag in his hand. “How’s our girl doing?”

Simon almost smiled. Our girl. He liked it. His girl.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Your comments really keep me motivated and I love reading all of them. Please let me know what you think! xx

[hizznbyte]

[Yawns really obnoxiously loudly]

Answering OC Lore prompts Part UHH I FORGOT SEVEN SLASH EIGHT

Hell yeah it’s a double feature babeyyyy 25 questions time.

Ft. Trick Ambrose and Trip Sterling and what am I doing here again

[Hopefully next time I can answer questions for the Nevermaster of Neraka, Evermaster of Sorga, and the Nevermore]

76. If they could go back in time to visit someone they lost, what would they say to them?

“Why’d you do it? Who hurt you to make you do it..?

Will you stay this time?”

77. If they were an animal, what would they be and what would they do?

Trip is already an anthropomorphic cat of an unspecified breed…

Trick would like to be cat too… just because it’s chill like that. But in all seriousness maybe a snake. A venomous one. Idk what species but I think they’d like that.

78. How would they respond if someone told them “I love you”?

Really depends who’s asking and how

“My condolences”

“Is that really so? Why would you ever…” [At a loss for words]

79. What alternate universes would they end up in?

Not too sure what this question means but…

Canonically in BM there are billions n trillions nd gazillions of universes out there. Some are only slightly different and others are an entire other story.

There are a couple “official” BM AUs I can think of. Blood Magic: Storm of the Scourge is a swap AU thing where Trick isn’t miserable all the time and joins on the side of the Angelics in Sorga while Trip joins on the side of the Demonics in Neraka. All the deities roles are swapped.

Blood Magic: 25th Hour is a time loop AU. No explanation I just felt like it. BM:THKB is technically an AU in itself.

80. How would they respond if someone told them “I hate you”?

“Me too”

“I guess… if that’s how you feel then it’s…” [Trying hard and losing the IDGAF battle]

81. Do they have a strange addiction?

Uh.

cutting -Carving. Carving sigils for power. Into their skin.

Trip doesn’t have any addictions I don’t think.. she does obsess over trying to “fix” things a lot tho

82. Do they make lots of jokes or puns?

Trick intentionally comes up with the corniest dad-jokes just for hell of it. They know it’s bad they just can’t be bothered to try and find good humor. Unless it’s something morbid. They like to make dark jokes.

Trip makes witty, sarcastic quips here and there but not often does she tell dumb jokes

83. Does your OC care about rules or do they believe they are meant to be broken?

Trick Ambrose aka Total Anarchy. They couldn’t care less about the rules. They don’t even have a moral compass. They’ll break all the rules until they break.

Trip is a nice girl. She respects the rules, she respects authority… for the most part. But there are just some rules that she won’t just break, she’ll demolish. If it’s for the greater good…

84. What do they do when they need to get their feelings out?

Trick probably punches walls and breaks into sobbing fits. Trip bottles up her emotions well but when they explode she’s taking it on the closest thing to her. And then she’ll bad a minute later.

85. How would they react if they found out their favorite snack got discontinued?

DIY it. To the best of their ability. It tastes like crap from a butthole but the attempt was there.

Trip would probably suck it up and buy the off brand shit.

86. What would your OC do if they were invited to a game show?

Trick would definitely agree to participate as long as they stay anonymous to some degree… but they’d use their power to cheat. If they don’t win they kill every other contest and take their prize. Trip wouldn’t participate but she’d encourage and if possible, help her friends if they participate.

87. Do they see themselves as a monster?

Yes

But she’ll fight to make it up. To be the savior.

88. Have they ever been replaced before?

No ❤️

89. How many people have fallen in love with them?

No one fucking likes Trick.

Three people really, REALLY like Trip.

90. If your OC was in Squid Games, would they survive?

…Should I finally make a BM Squid Game AU?

Hypothetically, Trick would be working for the games [Either as a guard or in the BM:SG AU as the Front Man]. Trip would probably survive as a player and be left with the worst survivors guilt ever. Maybe Trick rigged the games to protect her…

91. Have they ever had a near death experience?

Trick literally died like twice. Trip had a near death experience once when she was young but she has no recollection.

92. How much do they enjoy alcohol?

Trip doesn’t drink she’s a good girl

Chug chug chug- ohhh they’ve passed out … Trick drinks on special occasions but they don’t handle it too well when they do.

93. What trope fits their relationship with their partners?

Scratches head

94. Who are they on the run from?

The Restoratives [global secret security organization don’t ask I’ll talk more about that later]

She’s not exactly running but Trip is pretty afraid of the Demonics.

95. What would they do if they were held captive?

Trick would pull a Dazai and sit there and be nice until the time is just right and the kidnappers have let down their guard enough to absolutely destroy them under their grasp. Though it’s likely they’re the one mostly doing the kidnapping to begin with.

Trip would cry and yell and fight until she’s had enough and just breaks free and runs. The Evermaster will deal with the kidnappers afterwards, fret not.

96. Have they ever used someone to get what they wanted?

Yes

…Sorta

97. How much do viruses affect them?

Due to being spellbound, Trick can’t actually get sick but it will take a toll on them physically and mentally. Still, they don’t have the choice to take a break so they must keep treading on.

Trip tries to be careful but she’s also spellbound and is prone to getting sick. It usually isn’t too bad but she forces herself to work through it no matter what.

98. How lonely are they?

Very

Even with others around them [Trip’s friends and Trick’s alliance], it feels like the world has collapsed and they’re the only ones left.

99. What would your oldest OC say to the youngest?

The Higherups who are essentially Gods and have been around since the start of time to baby [arc 3] Trip:

“You cannot save them. In any universe..”

100. What would they do with a million dollars?

Money!!! I love money!!! Someone give me a million dollar right neow!!!!

Trip would move to another country and invest the rest of the money once she’s started a new life on a clean slate.

Trick wouldn’t know what to do with it. Buy a lot of food maybe. Or get a present for their baby. A big present, in hopes that one day she’ll come around and understand.

Maybe… just maybe

[sw1tchb04rd]

the enderdragon is a constantly recycling being of the void, she is an embodiment of the end and not a protector, but a keeper, a being meant to let only the strong pass through and brave the dangers of her domain. she is forever, the death of her form means nothing, and if they wish to defeat her again, she will answer that call.

[slaughterverse]

Cosmo Canyon I love youuuu

[ncassiopeiae]

OOH OKAY

1. Oldies Station, but it used to be Guns for Hands

2. Clancy! Chicago night one, I wish I was closer though I'm so happy to have gone

3. ...Overcompensate, I used to *hate* the bridge but now I'm completely obsessed with that song

4. I'm a Bandito through and through 😔

5. I've wanted to draw Clancy in overcompensate but I never got around to it; not yet!

6. Mulberry street!!!

7. The longer pink SAI era hair, during the livestream 💛

8. "Here's my chance, time to take it / Can't be sure that I'll make it even though / I'm past the point of no return."

9. A friend I had in highschool introduced me to Migraine, and it was all downhill from there 😭

10. Clancy Bishop, but I believe that it's a cycle that loops between blurryface through clancy and subsequently, The Line (after the line ends repeating at HDS), but every time until the Paladin Strait we see has been a failure. I believe Clancy never learned how to do psychokinesis until this last "loop" that we see in the album. Then, by destroying all 7 other bishops and fears (keons already being dead). So I think that Nico knows it can't repeat because of all of the power he's lost, but he needs to see this through and get *something* out of it in order for the fear he garners to persist, so he seizes Clancy once more and thats where we are with the tour lore, now that TB burned Dema down alone because Clancy was smeared.

11. Since 2018!

12. Lovely <3

13. I'm paid to say Trench (but it's secretly SAI)

14. Smithereens, sorry :(

15. I've always struggled with this question, I wanna say Self Titled is not the best representation of TØP as a whole despite how much I love it, and I never fully agreed with the fan consensus of "Holding on to You." I would love to say Guns for Hands, or Vingette

16. ... #1 four years in a row babeyyyy

17. Listo is technically my bishop, but I love how Keons represents death, and how despite our fear of it, death is not cold and apathetic, it is compassionate and caring while at the same time not glorifying death.

18. Sleep Token, Boywithuke, and gnash

19. I want to get a tattoo of mountains with a field of yellow flowers in front of it, with the sun rising in the background. Kind of a mix of vessel and trench because those are the two albums that have been the most empowering for me

20. I don't know enough by name, unfortunately :(

21. Knowing me, it would be hard to break the cycle for a very long time, so a citizen for a while, but I think eventually I would join the Banditos

22. I own vinyls of every album (including some shitty knockoffs of self titled and rab), the vessel 10th anniversary box vinyl, and a cd of clancy for my car so i dont destroy my Spotify wrapped

23. Josh's Clancy hairstyle has me (platonically) obsessed-

24. Prove me Wrong my beloved </3

25. ....Mhm. most notably a yellow trench flag that hangs in my window that used to be on my ceiling, but a few shirts and hoodies, and the Clancy christmas tree ornament-

26. The first TØP song I ever learned on bass was Next Semester! But I taught myself Navigating, Ode to Sleep, Car Radio, My Blood, Pet Cheetah, The Outside, Shy Away, Jumpsuit, Morph, and Hometown all on Bass. Out of all of these, Navigating is by far the most fun to play and sing at the same time.

27. Message man while on a run, over someones bt speaker

28. Paladin Strait, especially the beginning few measures and the end.

29. Backslide, Car Radio, and "Friend, Please" get me crying sometimes, but almost every single time I've listened to Oldies Station I can't sing "You don't quite mind...." without getting a shaky voice.

30. I'm not personally into shipping anyone relating to TØP, but more power to you if you do!

This was so fun, and I loved getting to spill all of this out, thank you!!

Twenty One Pilots ask game

1. What’s your favorite song currently?

2. Have you been to any concerts? If so which one(s)?

3. Is there a song you didn’t like the first time you heard it?

4. What’s your favorite album?

5. Have you ever made clique art?

6. What’s your comfort song?

7. What’s your favorite hairstyle Tyler’s had?

8. What’s your favorite song lyric?

9. How did you discover tøp’s music?

10. What’s your craziest lore theory?

11. How long have you been a fan of twenty one pilots?

12. What’s your favorite song from Regional at Best?

13. Which album’s color scheme do you like the most?

14. Is there a song you skip regularly?

15. What song do you recommend to people who haven’t heard tøp yet?

16. Was twenty one pilots one of your top artists last year?

17. Which bishop is your favorite?

18. What other bands do you recommend to twenty one pilots fans?

19. Do you have/would you get any twenty one pilots themed tattoos?

20. Who’s one your favorite clique artists?

21. Would you be a bandito or a citizen of Dema?

22. Do you own any of the CDs or vinyls?

23. What’s your favorite hairstyle Josh has had?

24. What’s your favorite song from No Phun Intended?

25. Do you have any tøp merch? (Including diy)

26. If you could learn any twenty one pilots song on any instrument, which song and instrument would you pick first?

27. What’s the most surprising tøp song you’ve heard in public?

28. What song is your favorite just based off the instrumentals?

29. Is there a song that regularly makes you cry?

30. (Ofc I had to include a ship question for my moots) what’s your favorite tøp ship?

All of the questions about clique art also include tøp fanfic btw. Also please note these are all for funsies and are in no way meant to judge you for your “level of commitment to the band” or anything like that

[woodfrogs]

literally anxiety is shit. i was freaking out all day over a needle and i barely felt it. i didnt even see it. why

[multi-lefaiye]

EXPLAIN LORE TO ME I LIKE ANY TYPES OF LORE

LORE LORE LORE LORE LORE - Runic

ALRIGHT HI IT'S TIME FOR ME TO EXPLAIN TO YOU, MY DEAR FRIEND, THE FLIGHT RISING GODS

@astral-runic i hope you're ready for this <3

i'm not gonna explain the lore in-depth because i am BEHIND on it, but i'll explain who the gods are! and also the fun fact that the gods on flight rising have their own accounts and used to interact with players sometimes!!!! that was fun :> (i say as if i was active on the site at that point). also it's like a thing where people jokingly refer to the gods as their parents- yeah <3

for context, each dragon god on flight rising is affiliated with a specific element, or flight, and every dragon clan is associated with one of the gods. my account has been a shadow clan since day one babeyyyy so i will have a lot to say about the shadow goddess.

okay under the cut! content warnings: the plague goddess looks a bit gross at first glance and i can't spoiler tag her image, so tread lightly. if zombies make you uncomfortable, pls be careful!

first up; the earth god, the earthshaker!

from what i understand, the earthshaker is kind of a sad old man. he's the oldest of the gods and one of the gods that helped create the world of sornieth! he wishes the other gods would still be friends and not just kick the shit out of each other all the time.

a cursory glance at his profile tells me that his followers call him variations of rockdad. fair!

next up: the fire goddess, miss flamecaller!

the flamecaller is the fire goddess! she's one of the oldest gods and also helped create the world! we love a girlboss!!! she seems very cool, idk my clan isn't fire affiliated. i'm sure she's done some atrocities though because like all the gods have.

idk what her followers call her but i think. well. firemom is good.

next up: the wind god, the windsinger!

hello noodledad. anyway the windsinger is pretty dope! he's all about adventure and learning new things and exploring and making the most out of life! he's also another one of the oldest gods who helped create the world. from what i gather he's not that interested in the petty disagreements between the other gods and just wants to have fun.

next up; the water god, mr tidelord!

so this is the only part of the lore i'm up to date on lmao and that is that the tidelord's fucking missing??? or dead???? what the fuck. anyway he's cool. he lives in the ocean and he has visions all the time and goes "yikes" and i love him. unfortunately i think someone killed him. sorry, water dad.

next up: MY MOM MY MOM MY MOM- the shadow goddess, the shadowbinder!

so i originally picked shadowmom because i liked her design the most, and that still stands. i love her. she is so goopy. those are liquid shadows dripping out of her body and i love her so much. shadowmom's philosophy is that sometimes secrets should stay secret and knowledge can hurt. which uhhh y'know isn't actually something i really agree with but it's okay she's fine-

shadow mom is a younger goddess, but she's still comparatively old as fuck compared to the newest ones.

also she calls her followers her children and i'm 🥺🥺 ily shadowmomma

next up: a bitch! the ice god, the icewarden!

he's a cop! or something! that's kind of a reduction but this bitch made all the prisons in this world and is all "ohhhh i am holding so many horrors away from killing the world" and then in the same breath makes fun of my favorite dragon breeds. i hope he chokes /lh

i do love his design, i just think he's a little hater and deserves to be bullied mercilessly.

i will not call this beast father.

aaand next up: the capitalist, the lightning god, the stormcatcher!

so the stormcatcher is the only god that players don't refer to as dad! i think that's neat. no, he's The Boss. he treats his followers like his employees, for better or for worse. he is all about PRODUCTIVITY and INDUSTRIALISM and i wanna push him into a locker- i'm kidding.

he's cool, i like his design a lot.

aaand next up, the worst of the bunch (/lh), the light goddess, the lightweaver!

so as a loyal son of shadowmom, i have to bully this motherfucker. lightweaver is a punk-ass glittery hoe who creates fucked up zombies and then goes "ahaha not my problem lol." fuck you.

(this is a joke, i actually think she's super cool and has a fun design and interesting lore, but i'm a good son to shadowmom ok-)

i call her glitterbitch <3

next up: the nature goddess, the gladekeeper!

the gladekeeper is one of the youngest deities, and i think she's super fucking cool. she's all about survival and perseverance, and she's spent millennia warring with her sister, the plague goddess. she was created in the wake of an apocalypse and has been focusing on repairing the world. i love u beardmom even if ur not my mom.

and next up: her sister, the plague goddess, the zombie plaguebringer!

so, looking at plaguebringer, you may think she's evil. but she's really not. her whole deal is that she also wants to repair the world, but she has a very different philosophy on how to do that. the plaguebringer believes only the strongest can survive, and that strength and resilience must be cultivated for the world not to fall again.

she is so fucking cool and i love her <33333 also her followers make the funniest memes, don't @ me.

and finally, my actual favorite aside from shadowmom: the arcanist! the arcane god!

so the arcanist is the youngest god and also the smallest, but he's bigger than every single mortal dragon breed lmao. he's caused he apocalypse three separate times and i'm fucking obsessed with him. spacedad <33333

he was born in a nuclear reactor (long story) and i highkey headcanon that his magic is just pure radiation.

he's my favorite and i have an oc i ship with him because i'm attached to him a completely normal amount (lying)