#and Danny just lights up in the jellyfish room

[castrian-amore]

Oh look more of my Danny Phantom cosplay!

I do not have the mental energy for formatting any of my fanfic chapters for Tumblr I apologize.

[bongo-clash]

Peacock Au Part 1

Okay so Big Huge credit to @stealingyourbones for letting me do my own take on their amazing eldritch Danny idea!!!! This started out as me just doing a drawing but then I ended up with a whole DPxDC fic that I'll be posting the part two for at some point!!! Anyway, here's the vague designs:

And here's the part one of the fic under the cut!!! :D (Edit: Part 2 is Here!!)

There’s a Lazarus Pit forming underneath Gotham. Normally, this would not concern John Constantine at all, because it’s Gotham, therefore Bat territory therefore not his problem, and honestly he has his own things to worry about. Unfortunately for him, however, the infamous Dark Knight has somehow gotten it into his head that he can do something about it and, Hell, he’d said it would be a ‘big favour’, which meant the man really must be desperate; had to have been in the first place, he supposed, to have even bothered with John in the first place. 

Still, he’d almost kind of forgotten what a huge mess any kind of favour for Batman could be, and thus, he now holds possession of a book that is probably going to get him killed. 

Whether the actual book itself wants to kill him is up for debate, but Constantine has read the contents of this particular Book of Summonings and nothing in here seems remotely safe. He’s absolutely going to be hiding this away somewhere deep in the archives of the archives of the Justice League watchtower with an incredibly pointed ‘DO NOT TOUCH’ on it once he’s done with this, but for now, it’s the only thing he’s got in the way of sorting out this Pit problem. 

There’s an entity that exists, this book claims, that keeps the balance between realms. ‘Closes doors’, apparently, and the doors the pages depict certainly look like a Lazarus Pit. This is brilliant news, obviously, but the book doesn’t describe the entity itself at all beyond that; barely any of the other entries are as vague as this, and that plus some of the frankly bizarre sigils he’s having to draw to summon the damn thing are giving him no comfort. The only remotely comforting thing about it is that the ritual doesn’t require any blood- which either means the entity is benign, or it wants something more valuable than blood. 

…Okay, maybe not that comforting, actually. 

But, before he can consider that maybe this wasn’t his best idea and backing out would be for the best, the sigils flare with light, and Constantine squints to keep track of the way they activate, desperate for any indication of what he’s managed to summon with that stupid book. 

His feet feel feathery against the ground, like they’re barely tethered by gravity and just waiting to float away, and perhaps the seeming lack of atmosphere is fitting with how dust like stars lift from the summoning circle, bringing with them intercepting layers of purple-blue-pink-white, galaxies and nebulae being peeled off the floor. It comes with a sound- something whistling, almost. Seeming hollow, between a shriek and a bell ringing, or maybe more musical than that. It seems to change every moment he tries to focus on it, as if it’s something his ears can’t really hear but his brain is desperate to process, painful to try. 

And then, the entity begins to form. 

Unnoticeably at first, a white glow drifts forming in the centre. It congeals as Constantine’s gaze finally fixates on it, layers forming like jellyfish trails, or flowers, or peacock feathers with runic circles at the tips, fading smaller and smaller as they reach the centre, and a thing akin to a body unfolds into view at the front, a centrepiece. A child’s image of a shadow in opalescence, a strange curving feature where a neck might be, and searing-green spots of varying sizes scattered along the space where cheeks and eyes could’ve been, fading up and down across the lower-half of the ‘face’ and into the ‘hair’. He barely understands what he’s looking at, but maybe that’s the point. 

The sound of a thunderstorm rings across the room, and the curve of the neck unfolds, and it’s an eye, and the tips of a thousand twisted, cosmic peacock feathers become eyes as well, if they weren’t always. They move, wavering, either lashing or flickering from visibility. 

“And what is this?” The voice is a kaleidoscope, echoing off and from every corner of the room, and when they speak, infinite eyes become infinite mouths, too many teeth barely contained by the edges of what seem vaguely like frostbitten lips. To have something even remotely human suddenly etch itself onto the entity is somehow worse than the parts he can’t comprehend. “Who are you, to have summoned me, and seem so afraid?”

Constantine wishes, maybe for the first time, that it hadn’t been an obligation to do this alone; he’s never wanted Batman or one of the Light members with him more than now. It’s a difficult thing, almost impossible, to shake off the speechlessness. It’s a wonder that it’s possible at all, with how the room seems to have been twisted into a vacuum. “I was told you could- you could help with the pits?”

“The pits. There are many pits.”

God, this is creepy. “The Lazarus pits to, uh, to be specific. There’s a huge one cropping up under Gotham that’s not supposed to be there, and the local- I mean, the locals are getting antsy about it. …I heard you can take care of them.”

“I can smell its blood between the gaps of atmosphere, encircling. You, whose soul is bound in so many directions, who may be pulled apart like meat in time- can you sense it? Does it draw you?” John doesn’t know how this- this thing knows that, but he’s scared asking will invoke some kind of consequence, and more and more he’s wondering why the Hell he decided to do Batman this favour. He feels exposed. 

“Uh… no, I don’t think so. But can you fix it?”

“Yes.”

“…Will you fix it?”

The chill is getting to him. Goosebumps are running across his arms like a livewire, and he’s never doing anyone a favour ever again. The entity makes an approximation of a hum, his ears shriek with whale song and stars, and after a pause, everything switching up and down on itself, the peacock eyes form into huge, reaching hands. For a second, Constantine’s whole body freezes with terror, because he’s petrified the thing’s going to grab him, but then the arms tumble phasing into the ground, and the green spots on their ‘face’ flare with a supernova glow and they make another piercing noise, chiming or trilling. 

A long moment later, the hands slowly return to the entity’s back, and fade into the peacock feathers or jellyfish bells or whatever they were before, blinking at him. “It is gone.”

“Uh… cheers?”

“It will not return, but this place shall see its dead for some time. Try not to look.”

This is maybe the worst day of Constantine’s life. “Can I- uh, yeah, great advice. ‘Appreciate it. But, can I ask just, y’know, what you are? Or not.”

“That is up to you.” They say, and though the eyes that appear briefly between sentences bely or reveal no expression, it feels scrutinising. “What is it that closes doors? Is it alive?”

He hates riddles. He hates riddles and he hates cosmic horrors and he hates eldritch entities and he hates Batman for getting him to agree to this horrible favour. He wants to go back to the House of Mystery and pass out for long enough that this whole thing becomes a dream. “Fair enough! Forget I asked- cheers for sorting out that pit, though. Uh, don’t suppose you’ll just let me go on my way or anything now.”

“I know of your Bat.” 

Oh dear. Constantine’s stomach sinks like a shipwreck into the Mariana Trench, but the entity moves on like they’d never even said it. “I will recede, and find you in time, perhaps both. You will know when I am coming, and I will find my recompense.”

And just like that, their whole form shimmers into clouds and pearls and smoke and mirrors, and they fade back into the runes that summoned them like tap water down the drain. The galaxies they’d formulated within the confines of the room fold back in on themselves and turn to whispers and then nothing, but the feeling persists on his skin long after weight has settled back onto his bones. He hadn’t known a thing like that existed until now. He doesn’t know what it can do, doesn’t know how all-encompassing it truly is. 

And he owes it a favour. 

Crap. 

[bwabbitv3s]

Good Godfather Vlad AU - Part 6

Lingering Memories and Future Plans 

Link to Index Post, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Vlad is not sure what is worse, the look of hope on the boy's face knowing he is not alone, or the horror it turns into at the revelation of what Vlad implied by it being drawn out. He is not able to ponder for long as in typical timing Jack interrupts them. Dragging Danny away to meet another old acquaintance. Voice booming out another ridiculous nickname suited more for a teen than a grown adult as they disappear into the crowd. There is an almost hollow feeling to standing there after his most tightly kept secret was finally told to someone. 

It is hard the rest of the night trying to socialize for long enough for it to be acceptable to slip out early. Only getting glimpses of the Fenton family in the now crowded room. Drifting away from them to mingle and get his thoughts and emotions under control with frivolous small talk. The last hour has been a whirlwind and he has a lot to unpack in private and some very creative allegories to work out for his therapist. He is not quite ready to face any of the Fentons anymore tonight. 

It won’t leave him alone as he tries to talk about useless things like the frogeye salad at the buffet, how the gym still has the old mascot mural, and listens to people talk about their children when he can’t even remember if they were in his classes. The thoughts on his mind keep sliding back to what his old friends would do to him being part ghost. What they could do to their own son trying to understand.

What ghosts had they interacted with to colour their impressions of ghosts? Had they faced only the emotional blobs of animated ectoplasm that were the jellyfish of the ghost world? Leaving them thinking ghosts are just thoughtless creatures barely intelligent and driven by instincts. Maybe the half formed ghost animals that were next most common. He knows his first few encounters had left him with a poor insight to them. While the most populous of the ghosts he had encountered were not a true representation of what ghosts are in general. It would be like judging all the animals of a forest by just garden snails and slugs you find under one rock. 

Memories drift to his first few encounters with sapient ghosts. Ones that seem to line up more with the ominous phrasing of having to deal with the ghost from Danny. Had they faced any of the aggressive ghosts that were never human or living creatures before? The ones that don’t understand the fragility of life or danger they could inflict. Or almost worse the ones that were stuck in an endless loop of their death unable to understand what had happened and doomed to linger until they run out of energy and end. It was almost enough to make him actually drink tonight. He downed his fizzy mocktail almost wishing he could let himself have an actual cocktail, but no drinking never made things better for him. 

 Maybe he could try and introduce them to some of the more friendly and harmless ghosts he knew? Slowly get them to see the ghost animals when not aggravated and just acting the same in death as life. If he got it just right he could easily convince them to come visit as a favour for advice on their expertise in ghosts. Sighting that he is a bit out of practice after switching to business. After all his home is haunted by the Dairy King he could probably work out a deal with him to help slowly change their minds over the course of a few days. Then once they are in research and observation mode over hunting help ease them into it. 

The start of the plan begins to form from there as he watches the lights get switched from mingling with buffet food to the evening dance as the live band takes over. Miraculously the evening continues without any emergencies and he is able to leave without it looking odd. The last thing he sees before slipping out of the gym is a set of glowing green eyes and a timid wave. Vlad offers a very small wave of his own as his eyes glow red briefly. In the cool evening air he lets out a sigh. It is going to be a long night and he needs some time to unpack things with his therapist before he should make any actual plans. 

~ ~

Whoo, that was hard to get ironed out. I had to keep wrangling it back into place as I got Vlad's train of thought right. Next chapter or one soon will likely dip into Danny's or Jazz's POV. As always the Tags have my thought and stuff that would not fit into the post.

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I'll be honest with you sometimes I hate this fic bc it makes me sad and I can't skip reading it bc I'm the one writing it -Danny Words: 2,129 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Kid Kingdoms (Acoustic)' -by Surfaces

XII: Weird Flex but Okay

They walk into a gift shop where Frank gets a stash of new shirts—he had to leave New Rome in a hurry, after all—and Percy calls Ara to a corner of the shop.

"Look at this." There is a rack of kids' backpacks just like her T-Rex, except these are all sea creatures.

"That's you," Ara points at a jellyfish at the top, its eyes are mismatched and half of its head is pushed in.

As they make their way out, Ara spots a shark-shaped hat and grabs it. When Percy catches up with her and sees what she's holding, he raises a brow. She puts the hat on. "Leo collects hats."

"Hats?"

"Weird hats," she clarifies.

Percy stares at it. "Weird hats for a weird guy. Makes sense."

Kate holds a light conversation with them, casually mentioning she's Phorcys's sister, so apparently, the nerd-looking girl is an ancient goddess, and Ara, the daughter of Olympus, is wearing a shark-shaped hat in her presence.

Percy keeps glancing at the exhibitions as if waiting for something to jump out of them. Ara's never seen him this worried while surrounded by water. When they reach the back of the Aquarium, they notice is packed with mythical creatures.

"This isn't right," Percy speaks under his breath.

The animals look malnourished and groggy like they're sedated. There are two Nereids in one of the tanks, and they don't even look up from their game when Percy walks by, which is alarming, cause all the Nereids love Percy.

"How can you keep them here?" Her brother asks Kate with anger.

"I know." She sighs with disappointment. "They aren't very interesting. We tried to teach them some tricks, but with no luck, I'm afraid. I think you'll like this tank over here much better."

"Holy mother of goats!" Hedge exclaims. "Look at these beauties!"

Ara turns the corner and stops. Her feet backtrack until she crashes against her brother and she points at the tank with a shaky hand. "Percy..."

"Are those—?"

"Telkhines?" Kate beams. "Yes! The only ones in captivity."

"But they fought for Kronos in the last war! They're dangerous!" Percy pulls Ara behind him.

"Well, we couldn't call it 'Death in the Deep Seas' if these exhibits weren't dangerous. Don't worry. We keep them well sedated."

"Sedated? Is that legal?" Frank asks.

"I don't think anything about this place is legal," Ara mumbles.

Percy keeps a hand on her shoulder for the rest of their walk to make sure she stays close, and just this once, Ara lets him. This place is freaking her out, it's quiet and dark and full of monsters.

"Hello!" A man appears out of a dark corner. Ara yelps and Percy yanks her back. To put it in the vaguest, most generous description she can think of, the guy looks like a humanoid crab. "Visitors!" Each word is blasted out of the speakers around them. "Welcome to Phorcys's Follies!"

"Do you think it gets old with time?" I ask Percy. 

We've been doing our homework in the living room, and I'm getting pretty bored.

"What thing?"

"Fighting monsters," I explain, rolling my eraser across the table. "Do you think it stops being thrilling as you get older?"

"It's getting pretty old already," he huffs, eyeing his pen with a scowl.

Percy's had to do most of the fighting so far. I get why he says that, but I roll my eyes anyway. "Well, I hope never to get bored of it like with school."

He snorts. "Why do you like going on quests? We're always getting hurt, you're always almost dying."

I laugh. "I can't snub on the cool stuff that happens to me, but I am sorry that most happen at your expense. If I could, I would change things to be the one protecting you, because I like fighting."

Percy nudges my side. "Now that you're learning to fight, we'll do it together. We'll protect each other, right?"

I smile. "Yeah."

"—THE MAP IN CHARLESTON," Frank startles her.

"But enough boring educational stuff! You've paid for the VIP treatment. Won't you please let me finish the tour? The three denarii entrance fee is nonrefundable, you know."

"Afterward, can we ask questions?" Percy inquires.

"Of course! I'll tell you everything you need to know." Phorcys claps and a new tunnel opens ahead of them. "Walk this way!" 

Frank leans closer and whispers as he mimics the god's posture. "Do we have to—?" 

"It's just a figure of speech, man," Percy replies. "Come on." 

"Hang on," Ara looks around. "Where's Hedge?"

Frank and Percy look at her. Her brother answers to her question. "He left with Keto, about two minutes ago." She stares at him blankly. Percy rolls his eyes. "You spaced out, didn't you?"

Ara shrugs and resumes her walk. "Gods talk too much, I can't help it..."

"The Greatest hero of our generation, everyone," her brother taunts her.

They walk until they reach a new empty tank. Phorcys stands in front of it proudly. "Beautiful exhibit, isn't it?"

"What do you keep in here?" Frank asks. "Giant killer goldfish?"

"Oh, that would be good! But, no, Frank Zhang, descendant of Poseidon. This tank is not for goldfish."

Frank backtracks when the god addresses him directly. Percy moves forward. "How do you know Frank's last name? How do you know he's descended from Poseidon?" 

"Well... It was probably in the descriptions Gaea provided. You know, for the bounty, Percy Jackson."

Percy draws out his sword and points it at the small god. "Don't double-cross me, Phorcys. You promised me answers."

"After the VIP treatment, yes," the god agreed. "I promised to tell you everything you need to know. The thing is, however, you don't really need to know anything. You see, even if you made it to Rome, which is quite unlikely, you'd never defeat my giant brothers without a god fighting at your side. And what god would help you? So I have a better plan. You're not leaving. You're VIPs—Very Important Prisoners!"

The god vanishes faster than they can attack him, his voice echoes from the speakers surrounding them. 

"You see, Mother never trusted me with big assignments, but she did agree that I could keep anything I caught. You two will make an excellent exhibit—the only demigod spawn of Poseidon in captivity—and the daughter of Olympus to fight them every day! 'Demigod Terrors'—yes, I like that! We already have sponsorship lined up with Bargain Mart. You can fight each other every day at eleven AM and one PM, with an evening show at seven PM."

"You're crazy!" Frank screams.

"Don't sell yourself short!" Phorcys replies happily. "You'll be our biggest draw!"

Ara hears a loud thud and turns to see Frank crashing against an invisible wall sealing the exit. Percy's hand is against the tank's glass and she can see the outline sinking into it, which means soon they'll be swimming. 

"We won't cooperate, Phorcys!" He shouts.

"Oh, I'm optimistic! If you won't fight each other at first, no problem! I can send in fresh sea monsters every day. After you get used to the food here, you'll be properly sedated and will follow directions. Believe me, you'll come to love your new home."

The crystal begins to crack. Percy can help Ara breathe but it would take some of his power away and eventually drain him, meaning she'd die. She spots a treasure chest from which bubbles are constantly coming out and feels slightly relieved, that's a good source of oxygen.

"I'm the son of Poseidon!" Percy claims. "You can't imprison me in water. This is where I'm strongest."

"What a coincidence! It's also where I'm strongest," the god chortles. "This tank is specially designed to contain demigods. Now, have fun, you three. I'll see you at feeding time!"

"Percy!" 

Her brother grabs her just in time before the glass shatters. The first thing she notices is that Percy's holding his breath, he holds her unmoving, and Ara slaps his cheek lightly to help him react.

"Hey!" It sounds like she's talking inside a box, but the boy snaps his eyes open and takes a sudden breath. Ara stares at him worryingly. "You okay?"

"Frank," he replies, holding Ara to keep her breathing and then turning around to look for the boy.

Ara pokes his shoulder and points up. "There."

Percy scowls at the giant Koi fish above them. Judging by his microexpressions, he's talking fish with Frank. Just another Tuesday for them. 

Percy shakes his head. "Frank's stuck as a Koi fish. Any ideas?"

Ara looks around the tank. She swims up—taking Percy with her—and touches the celestial bronze at the top. She closes her eyes and concentrates, starting to glow orange.

"The glass can stand low and medium force impacts, which is what we can generate underwater—at least Frank and I. But Phorcys thought of you as well, installed propulsors inside the tank that force the water to flow in separate directions at all times. Must be reinforced with magic so you can't rig it..."

She swims back down, pressing one hand against the glass, then seizes her T-Rex and opens it, fishing out a water bomb.

"We need something to optimize our strength, or get someone to hit it from outside at the same time we do. The glass wouldn't flex correctly and it'd crack, we could target the weak spots with Riptide and Almighty afterward."

Percy stares at her for a moment before replying. "So... in short?"

Ara places the bomb in his free hand. "Well, do you see anyone outsi..." 

Her question is left unfinished when Hedge and Keto enter the amphitheater facing them. Ara and Percy share a look and realize they're thinking the same thing. 

"Get his attention." She orders.

The girl drops Percy's hand, immediately feeling the pressure and coldness of the water around her. She holds her breath and swims towards the treasure chest. In the meantime, Percy grabs one of the giant marbles that they've got lying at the bottom of the tank. 

Ara dismantles the treasure chest so she can reach the plastic tube, she tugs it out and then takes a deep breath from it. Now she has an unlimited source of oxygen. She turns to see Hedge holding a conversation with Percy via wild gesturing.

Ara swims taking the tube with her, the currents making it harder to move since her cloak keeps dragging her around... Her cloak! She can clock in on another blessing, this feels like the right time to pray. 

Percy points at the glass and then lifts three fingers. Ara takes another breath from the plastic tube and then takes the water bomb from Percy and presses it onto the tube's end. She prays as she lifts it above her head with both hands.

Her body lights up a teal color. Ara's stomach sinks weirdly, she activates the bomb and lets go of it so the air from the tube throws it further away, the water swirls around them all in the same direction.

Percy smashes a marble against the glass and Frank—now human—pushes his whole body against it at the same time that Hedge kicks the crystal.

Several cracks spread across the surface and Ara locks eyes with her brother, knowing exactly what's next. She can feel the pressure building and pushing them against the glass, and so they press their hands against the cracks and force the water to escape through them at such speed that the wall explodes at once.

All the cuts she gets heal by the time she's back on her feet. She picks up her T-Rex, soaking wet and with the stuffing coming out. She spots the shark hat a few feet away and picks it up, coughing and trembling.

"Pan's pipes, Jacksons!" Hedge coughs. "What were you doing in there?"

Percy grabs him by the neck and starts running. "Phorcys! Trap! Run!"

Alarms blast around them. Percy glances at the trapped creatures with concern but Ara urges him forward. "Later, Percy! Don't stop!"

Phorcys voice booms out of every speaker. "Jackson!"

They don't know to which Jackson he's yelling, but it doesn't matter much. Phorcys must be desperate to activate some other trap because all kinds of special effects are happening around them. Ara catches her reflection in one of the tanks, the shark-shaped hat neatly placed on her head.

"Ha!" A sudden surge of adrenaline runs through her, Poseidon's blessing doing its job.

Percy looks at her, he gives her a hesitant smile at first that turns into peels of laughter as they keep running. For just one moment, it feels like they're kids again, exactly like the old times.

Ara spots a fire alarm and triggers it, causing panic among the visitors. She yells out confusing instructions so they run in every direction, distracting the staff so they don't go looking for them. She's not sure all the workers are monsters, but she won't leave it up to fate, they love messing with her and her brother.

They leave the Aquarium in one piece, but they continue to run, Percy and Ara laughing all the way to the Argo II.

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicks

[flowerfan2]

Mile-High Butterflies

McDanno, future!fic, 1k, A03

“You’re incredible.  I think you’ve reached the height of your obliviousness, and then there you go, exceeding my every expectation.”  Danny tilts his head at Steve, his eyes shining with amusement.  “You do realize Junior and Tani know, right?”

--A conversation on an airplane, on the way to Grace’s college graduation.

*****************

“Remember the first time we were on an airplane together?”  

Danny squints at him, annoyed that Steve is interrupting his perusal of the in-flight magazine.  “No.”

Steve snorts and shoves his shoulder against Danny’s.  This plane has only two seats on each side of the aisle, so neither of them has to take the middle seat, and Steve gets to spend the whole trip pressed up next to Danny.

“It was on our flight to Maui, for that couples retreat.”

A fond look passes across Danny’s face, replaced quickly by his trademark fine that may have been cute but I’m still annoyed with you expression.  “Right, when you were so unnecessarily rude to that poor woman sitting in between us.  And I’m not sure that was the first time.”

“Well, maybe not.  But I was not rude, I was very polite.  You, on the other hand, you were rude.”

Danny sighs and tucks his magazine back in the seat pocket in front of him, then turns, mock-patiently, to Steve.  “Are you purposefully trying to pick a fight with me, or is there some reason that you’re acting like a toddler who needs attention?”

Steve grins.  “I’m not trying to pick a fight.”

“You are, you absolutely are, and now you’re fighting about whether you’re picking a fight.  Unbelievable.”

 Steve can’t deny it, riling Danny up never gets old.  “I just thought you might want to, you know, talk a little before we get there.”

 “We talk all the time. Today, for example, take today, we’ve been talking since we woke up and drove to the airport at four a.m.  What, exactly, do you want to talk about?  Did you forget to pack your favorite knife? Was there a piece of ammunition you meant to smuggle into your luggage?”

 Steve waits a beat, letting Danny finish his rant, and then smirks.  “Us.”  He sits back in his seat, proudly holding eye contact with Danny.  He’s sure to be shocked at Steve’s willingness to talk about his feelings.  Steve’s been looking forward to this moment for days.  He’s got it all planned out.

 “Us?”

 “Yes, us.”

 “You want us to talk about ‘us,’ before we get to New Jersey for Gracie’s college graduation?”

 Steve practically wiggles in his seat.  “Yes.”

 “And what, exactly, do you think we need to say, before this momentous occasion?”

 Steve bites his lip, choosing his words carefully despite his excitement.  “Well, I know your family is going to be there, your mom and dad, and your siblings, and their kids, so I guess we should be clear on what we’re going to, you know, tell them.”

 “About us,” Danny clarifies.

 “Yes.”

 “No need.”  Danny reaches for the magazine again, his face a blank.  Without thinking, Steve reaches out and grabs Danny’s wrist.

 “What do you mean, no need?” There’s a sinking feeling in Steve’s stomach, and it has nothing to do with the altitude of the plane.

 Danny glares down at Steve’s grip on his wrist, and then up at Steve.  “Possessive much?”

 “Danny…”  Steve takes a deep breath.  “What do you mean, no need?”  Does Danny not want his family to know about them?  They’ve been together for almost three months now, and have been talking about Danny selling his house and moving in together.  Is Danny that afraid of what people will say?  Is he afraid to make a scene at Gracie’s graduation? Because they could wait until after the party, if-

 “Do you not want to tell them?  Do you not want them to know?”  There’s a wave of hurt washing over him, more than he could have imagined.  This is not how Steve pictured this conversation at all, and now he’ll have to rethink everything.  But he can do it, he can rein himself in, for Danny, if that’s what he needs, even if it stings.

 “Steve, babe, relax.” Danny sets his free hand on top of Steve’s and squeezes.  “It’s okay, come on, relax.  That is not what I meant at all.  Not at all. I was just joking around, calm down. There’s no need to say anything because they already know.”

 “They already know? But-”

 “You do realize that Charlie sees us hanging out next to each other on the couch when he goes to bed, and then sees us making breakfast together the next morning?  And, you know, he sees you sprawled out like a jellyfish on top of me whenever he comes into our room in the middle of the night?”

 “We always put boxers on when he’s home.”

 Danny laughs, shifting his hand so that their fingers twine together.  “I don’t think the boxers really create a meaningful distinction in his mind.”

 Steve is trying to process this, trying to focus on the fact that Danny doesn’t actually seem upset, but he’s confused.  “I’m sorry, Danny, I didn’t realize we were being so obvious.  I know you don’t like your kids to meet people you’re seeing so soon.”

 “Meet?  So soon?  Did you hit your head recently?  You’ve known Charlie as long as I have.”  

 Steve doesn’t miss the barely there bitterness in Danny’s voice, and files it away for further examination – he knows what Rachel did left a lasting mark on Danny, and it makes him furious if he thinks about it.  

 “You’re okay with it, then?” Steve asks.

 “Yes, dummy, more than okay. Please, for crying out loud.  Didn’t you catch on when Grace sent us those ‘his and his’ hand towels for the bathroom?”

 “I just thought she was being considerate.  My towels are kind of worn.”

 “You’re incredible.  I think you’ve reached the height of your obliviousness, and then there you go, exceeding my every expectation.”  Danny tilts his head at Steve, his eyes shining with amusement.  “You do realize Junior and Tani know, right?”

 Steve laughs, willing his heartbeat to return to normal.  “Yeah.  I think Tani knew before I did.”

 “No question.  That woman’s the best detective on the team.”

 “No way, Danno, that’s you.”

 “Sap.”  Danny puts a hand to the back of Steve’s neck and pulls him in for a kiss.  He keeps it light, presumably so as not to scandalize the other passengers, but it sends a thrill through Steve’s body nonetheless.

 “So…” Steve tries to get his head around what he’s just learned.  He thinks it’s a good thing, that Danny’s family are prepared to see them together, not just as best friends and work partners, but as something more.   But he’d still like to know what he’s walking into.   “What, exactly does your family know?”

 Danny finds Steve’s eyes, and lets a smile dance across his face.  “They know I’m in love with you.”

 The butterflies are back in Steve’s stomach in full force, doing a happy dance like there’s no tomorrow. “Yeah?  Do they know I’m in love with you too?”

 Danny beams.  “Not yet.  But I’ll fill Charlie in when we land, he’ll be sure to tell them.”

[johnny-writes]

List of all muses I have mused - tl;dr

Frequent muses

Marcos Grzbowski - OC, thinks he’s smart, Duning-Krüger hasn't been nice to him, emotional guy disguised as a rational one, the “meta-guy” Rebecca Z. Mishko - OC, awkward girl, stutters, loyal like heck, rational girl disguised as an emotional one, could be a queen bee in an alternate timeline Marya - OC, sassy fairy, travels a lot, dying is no big deal, a sun that never sets, secretively the worst tsundere ever Lumi - Vocaloid, jellyfish goddess or android with a peculiar design, either way she's clumsy, believes too much her stories Mayu - Vocaloid, is processing 108 ways to kill you per second, actually cares for her family, yandere for fun, that rabbit is a cyborg Yohioloid - Vocaloid, depressed genius, sabotages himself frequently, needs a slap from himself Cubi - Vocaloid, infernal creature, what was Hio thinking, tries to light him up Padparadscha - Houseki no Kuni, manliest rock ever, nice hair, will be your big brother, can destroy others if requested, wants to die Kamina - Gurren Lagann, manliest man ever, will be your unorthodox big brother, will punch you, can't survive without his little brother

Less used muses Talyna - OC, not an actual vampire, an alien that looks like a vampire, wants to go home Maika - Vocaloid, preciosa, can't get sad, that can be a problem Yan He - Vocaloid, was a mistake, doesn't care (cares a lot), please hug her Anon - Vocaloid, shy, stays at home, Smash champion Kanon - Vocaloid, extroverted, has a job, fears she's stunting her sister Alexandrite - Houseki no Kuni, nerd (nerd), overbearing teacher, goes berserk, champion of self-control Rutile - Houseki no Kuni, a doctor better than the one below, hopelessly in love with Padpa (again, who doesn't?), might be a yandere Dr. Danny - Angels of Death, thinks he has a good disguise, doctorate in tongue twisters, hateshateshateshateshateshateshates Rebecca

Was in a thread The Vinemaster - OC, assassin, can control vines, keeps things professional, I have to give him a name yet Baba Yaga - OC, witch, troll (not literally), politically incorrect, wants to take over the world (for what purpose again?) Bronislava - OC, Polish Reimu, nun, saw everything IA - Vocaloid, cinnamon roll, can befriend Mayu Gumi - Vocaloid, romantic, can't understand her feelings Yukari Yuzuki - Vocaloid, edgy to the circuits, cares only for IA Lily - Vocaloid, issues orders, actually a good boss, just wants a break, needs to smile Tone Rion - Vocaloid, nurse, overworked, secretly has a talent for being an idol, hates it Lapis Aoki - Vocaloid, cinnamon roll, forgetful Merli - Vocaloid, aloof, there's a reason for that Gahata Meiji - UTAU, witch, geography teacher, has no idea why, just needs money, can't get her research together Sundowner - Metal Gear Rising, sadistic cyborg, really bad boss Cirno - Touhou, too dumb to die, cares for her friends Suwako Moriya - Touhou, was tossed away, speak in enigmas, gets anime for Sanae Lord Death - Soul Eater, boss, boss, boss, knows more than they think Simon - Gurren Lagann, needs his big bro, serious, Kamina's character makes no sense without him

I attempted to write Yellow Diamond - Houseki no Kuni, smiling, depressed, survivor's guilt, old Momoko - Ghost Stories, can't fear anything, God is with her, 10 years of theological education to write this Ruby Rose - RWBY, loves her gun, tries to discover the meaning of fun

On Demand Star Butterfly - Star vs the Forces of Evil, princess from another dimension, brighten up your day, may or may not be in love with Crona Marco Díaz - Star vs the Forces of Evil, just wanted to help, almost unleashed a monster and went RULES OF NATURE Janna Ordonia - Star vs the Forces of Evil, smug, wants to star a hentai with Marco Dokis - Doki Doki Literature Club, treated as one, the same as canon but with ultra-smug Yuri

Johnny Johnny - The Room, a line for every occasion

[stoopsbookstore]

Greaser!Wonwoo Part 1

(A/N) SO... I decided to do this. I finally got the courage to do this. I was debating if I should do this for Wonwoo or Jaehyun, like I was writing this for Jaehyun, but I have a different idea for him now. I have a massive AU that I've had in my head for a good year now and there's most likely gonna be little hints to it in all of these 😐 Please keep in mind that I'm on mobile 99% of the time so some formatting may be weird. Another thing... I might have Sims based on these scenarios that I might make another blog for 🤔

Reader - Female

Greaser!Wonwoo... no one knows who he was until he started to hang out with the Diamond Gang, Pledis Prep's local criminals

He just kinda appeared out of nowhere with Mingyu

Rumors has it he's a narc, but that doesn't make sense... he's.... in the gang... like Seungcheol has straight up said that if Wonwoo was a narc, ain't no one would know he even existed

What had happened was Minghao and Mingyu were partners with Wonwoo for an assignment

Wonwoo has dragged to a race one day and was just kinda thrown in the car after Mingyu get his head smacked

You know that scene in Grease where Kenickie gets hit in the head before Thunder Road?

Yea, that's Mingyu and Wonwoo right now

Seungcheol told Wonwoo if he wins, he doesn't have to join the Diamond Gang, he can just leave with no consequences and live his life. If he loses, he's now the group's running bitch

Take a guess at what happens?

He actually wins, but Jeonghan convinced him to stay with promises of getting to know how to break into the local library after hours

You wanna know how Jeonghan knows this? He's not only lazy, he's also the librarian's son, he has a key duh

Y/N was the stereotypical good girl

Follows rules? Check. Straight A's? Check. Always home at curfew? Check.

Wonwoo hates being called a Greaser and he finds the Socs name stupid

Wonwoo thinks the labels are just pretentious bullshit

Seungcheol has told Wonwoo horror stories about the Socs

How they treats their girls, how they have the cops wrapped around their fingers, how Jeonghan was put out of comission for 3 months just for walking on Soc territory

Wonwoo tries not to believe the b.s., but it's really hard when it seems like all there is, is just a bunch of hatred between the groups

So, he walks around the town, Masonridge, to just clear his mind, when he sees the Soc gang, Neo, at the baseball park, beating up someone who looks to be protecting someone else?

Wonwoo looks around for something to wave in the air to make himself look scary, seeing as he doesn't have the Diamond Gang leather jacket yet.

Right now he's in his glasses, a light yellow sweater with the cutest little sweater paws

He sees a bat left behind by the Pledis baseball team and he goes up to Neo and confronts them

He sees Johnny, Taeil and Yuta turn around and he gets a closer view of the situation

It's Dino... protecting Y/N... after she said she wouldn't sleep with Johnny

At this point, Wonwoo sees red and he starts swinging

The 3 memebrs of Neo seeing this haul ass back to S.M. Academy, but not before Yuta warns Wonwoo that Y/N is just a troubled slut in a poodle skirt

Dino helps calm down Wonwoo and they both help Y/N

Y/N is kind enough to let both of them come to her house, seeing as her parents aren't home, for some tea and so she can wrap up Dino's wounds

Wonwoo texts Seungcheol to let him know what just went down and Seungcheol texts him to stay at Y/N's, let Dino rest and don't let Y/N out of his sight

Tbh this takes place in one of those future of the pasts, like it's 1950s styled... but it takes place in the present

Anywho, all three finally get home and Wonwoo and Y/N patch Dino up and after a little bit, he decides to take a nap because as we all know, getting the shit beaten out of you hurts a lot and may or may not take a lot of energy out of you.

Wonwoo starts to douse off and he doesn't even notice that Y/N left the room until his phone buzzed and he got a text from an unknown number saying Y/N looks really good standing on her balcony right now, with a photo attachment of Y/N looking like a goddess out to the fading skyline

Wonwoo immediately shoots up from the couch, calling for Y/N

He sees her chilling on the balcony, swaying with her cat, Mochi, to some Michael Buble

He's just hypnotized... like he's not one to fall in love at first sight, so he'll call this love in the first 4 hours of knowing you

He finally speaks up, making sure you're okay after what happened

Putting Mochi down, you say you're fine, just a little shaken up

Wonwoo and you are quiet for a little bit, until he finally asks why Yuta called you what he did

You tell him about him the story of your father and mother. Your mom was a Greaser and your dad was a Soc

Within the first year of your life, your mom left with your dad's best friend, who was also a Greaser

Using the excuse she needed more freedom and adventure and that's exactly your dad's friend could provide

When you turned 16, your dad was super protective of you, but you decided to act out like your mother

You got wrapped up in the wrong group, you hung out with Neo and your first love was Yuta, as you were his. You gave your virginity to him, he gave his to you

After that happened, he started to act distant and become more of the Danny Zuko type of Greaser, flirted with everyone, tried to get into everyone's pants, he literally didn't give a fuck anymore

Turns out, while he originally did love you, he just kinda stopped, but he still cared about you... so instead of just ending it, he just led you on and continued to let you believe that he was in love with you1a

After that night when you both lose your virginities, he started to ghost you and you saw him less and less and even thought it was never offical, it was unofficially offical.

So to cope with your heartbreak, you ended up throwing yourself into studying and this is when you met Dino

Yuta didn't like that you were talking with another guy even if it's someone like Dino who you saw as a brother.

Yuta was pissed so he started to spread a rumor about the reason y'all broke up was because you were sleeping with everyone at all of the schools around Masonridge

Yugyeom from JYP Prep, Hyuk from Jellyfish School of Music, and 4 of the other members of Neo were just a fraction of the names that were thrown around. All of them denied it except the Neo members of course

Your father was pissed and while you apologized about treating him the way you did, he didn't fault you because you realize what you were doing

Wonwoo, sensing your tears and against his better judgement, immediately hugged you and held you while you cried

While this was happening, your father came down and saw Dino on the couch, curled up like a cat, using his Diamond Gang jacket as a pillow and Mochi's favorite blanket to cover himself

Knowing Dino, he didn't question this , but still your father goes looking for you and finds you asleep on the bench, while Wonwoo is pacing, trying to stop himself from destroying Yuta

Your dad speaks up asking who he is

Wonwoo introduces himself as one of Dino's friends

Turns out your dad knows exactly who he is because you talked about the tall cute brooding guy who sits in the corner of the library and you're too scared to ask him to move so you could get a book you needed for class

Wonwoo blushes at the fact that you told your father you think he's cute

Your dad shakes you awake because he doesn't want you to fall asleep on the bench when it looks like a storm is coming oh if he only knew

Dino and Wonwoo are offered to stay for dinner and they won't turn down free food like ever

While your dad and Dino are setting up the table, you and Wonwoo are cutting the vegetables and doing the prep

Wonwoo keeps taking peeks at you wondering if you still thinks he's cute or if you don't even like guys anymore or has your shirt always been unbuttoned to the 3rd button and are you getting hot because he is and are yo-

In the middle of thinking, he slices his finger and Nurse Y/N is needed one again hmm... nurse Y/N with Patient!Member? 😏 but what kind of patient is the question

You bring him to the guest room because your dad is very queasy when it comes to blood it makes that time of the month SO MUCH FUN

Wonwoo is sitting on the guest bed while you're cleaning the wound and wrapping his index and middle finger together and Wonwoo just can't stop thinking about how cute you look so focused

You put the final touches on and before you get up to the first aid kit away, Wonwoo sees his chance and kisses you

At first you were confused but then you melted into it

He tasted like coffee and mint and your lips had a light tinge of strawberries

He didn't want to scare you or your dad or Dino. So, he just kept his hands down by his side

Much to his shock, you decided to straddle him and kiss him a bit harder

Wonwoo was in a state of pure bliss until Dino knocked on the door causing you to stand straight up and Wonwoo to fall back in disbelief

Dino, totally oblivious to what was happening beforehand, cheerfully told yall it was time for dinner

Cue the most awkward dinner for Wonwoo, sitting there thinking about the kiss and all of his feelings because he's been thrown for a tailspin in the past month between becoming a member of the Diamond Gang and falling in love after 4 hours with a Soc

Seungcheol finally comes to pick the two after dinner and he thanks you for helping, even shaking your father's hand

You asked your father why he was so chill with the Greasers in his house. Not only Greasers, the notorious Diamond Gang

He said that in his years of being a cop, he noticed that the Diamond Gang hasn't done anything wrong except for drag racing

Other than that, they're just a group of guys who found the real home in each other and anyone who hangs out with Dino is a good kid

And he already likes Wonwoo miles ahead of Yuta

The next day, Yuta confronts you about being with Wonwoo, saying what does Wonwoo have that he doesn't?

You started to list everything about Wonwoo, even the little things about him, that made Yuta furious because you never talked about him like that

Yuta challenged Wonwoo through you, you could say

Yuta tried to pull that whole if he's so good why won't he race me bullcrap and before he could say the last word, Wonwoo accepted

Yuta marched away and you looked at Wonwoo like what the hell

Wonwoo gets up all this courage and says that he knows that he can and will win if you're there with him, cheering alongside the Diamond Gang

You told Wonwoo that Yuta plays very dirty and he's not one to be taken lightly

You smack his arm but also tell him that you'll be there with Nayoung and Roa

The day comes and you couldn't be anymore nervous, you kept thinking what if Yuta does something drastic to hurt Wonwoo and holy shit you've felt this way about one other guy and that was Yuta and you don't like this feeling but you like Wonwoo and has Wonwoo always had that nice of a chest in a white t-shirt?

Nayoung shook you off of your thoughts as the guys got in their cars, Yuta shooting you a wink and Wonwoo blowing you a kiss you know that snarky kiss Xiumin did? with the two fingers? Yea it's like that just with more love instead of snark

Xiyeon stated the rules... there was no rules... and started the countdown

3.... Wonwoo looks at you, 2..... he mouths I love you, 1..... he hits the gas pedal

Both taking off like a rocket, Wonwoo was behind for a good chunk of the race

The turn was coming up and Yuta has going well over 70 while Wonwoo was going to drift

Yuta takes the corner....

But he takes it too wide and crashes

Wonwoo stops, just lead foot on the brake and he unbuckles and runs to Yuta's car

He's shouting and trying to get a response from Yuta, anything, a groan, shout of pain, something

[gear-project]

GG Stages (and trivia) thus Far

Just in deference to @d-author's post about his favorite GG stages, I thought I'd talk about the different stages that HAVE appeared in the GG series!:

Sol Badguy/Neo New York ---GG1's version is New York in Ruins, you can see Lady Liberty's head up close in one version. ---Neo New York Sign version is set at "High Noon" like you'd see Gunslinger fights, and it marks the return of Sol having his own stage instead of being a nomad.  The "Infinite Burgers" Sheriff is voiced by Pachi (Sekine Kazutoshi), the battle director. ---Neo New York Revelator version is set at sunset and has a relaxed view.

Ky Kiske/Paris/Royal Court/5th Skywalk/Illyria Castle War Room ---GG1's Paris Cathedral is pretty infamous throughout the series as the area where Sol and Ky often settle their differences. ---GGX version featured glowing lamps and Yin-Yang floor design along with closed doors.  It also had a massive organ in the balcony (no small wonder why Holy Orders used a Pipe Organ sound). ---GGXX version burst open the doors and windows in the middle of a thunderstorm (the ACPlusR version of this stage has rain and lightning INSIDE the Cathedral, suggesting a hole in the roof!) ---GGXXSlash version is the "Morning after" featuring the dawn of a sunrise in the doorway, with half the stage crumbled away in ruins (meaning that the old Cathedral was destroyed). ---As of Accent Core, the "New" Paris Stage features a Goddess fountain, several Knight statue pillars, and a really neat Fire+Lightning globe. ---Paris in GGIsuka was actually Millia+Venom's stage and featured an Opera House (which was later reintroduced in GGXrd as "Opera House" based in Rome Italy instead of Paris, France). ---Royal Court (Ky's Xrd stage) takes place in the daytime as swordsman guards (voiced by Daisuke and other staff members) patrol the area.  As the fight gets more intense more guards show up, rooting Ky on. ---Royal Court Nighttime (Revelator) evokes Ky's GG1 stage roots as the original Cathedral was showcased at night as well, it shows a guard on his daily rounds suddenly LOCK the stage so the intruders can't enter the inner sanctum, while a Convict Hammer is summoned to observe the duel.  A certain candle stand can be snuffed if you swing your sword near it! ---5th Skywalk references Millia's old fountain stage in Russia, and it has lots of references to the old Paris Cathedral stage in the background.  It has three versions: Sign (Sin Daytime stage), (Leo Rain stage, a reference to GG2 Illyria), and Revelator (Sin at Fireworks during the Feast of Victory). ---Illyria Castle War Room is Leo's stage in Revelator, but it's also a reference to the Paris Cathedral as well... mostly the sword pillars and other things. Dr. Paradigm can be seen talking in the background!  An Alien creature shows up in the video footage in the stage as well.

May+Johnny/Mayship/Mayship II/May Beach ---The original Mayship was pretty classic and had its own front perspective of the ship with various Jellyfish crew who appeared (though nobody knew their names at the time). ---As of GGX, the Mayship went through a few changes of the crew, though they changed with each iteration, the original stage took place among the clouds. ---GGXX Mayship started putting crewmembers in various poses referencing other anime.  It wasn't until Slash/Accent Core that these references were notable though.  GGXX version was set in the sea near the water as opposed to in the air, making the Mayship an amphibious vessel! ---GGXXAC Mayship is more commonly known for it's reference to the show The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, but it also featured a girl holding a sign as the fights progressed, Cheering May on to "Make a Miracle!". ---Mayship II as of GGXrd was especially bright and colorful, and it even transitioned from sky to sea as the background showed.  It even featured a fish tank, explaining where May's Dolphins come from!  This time the TRUE Jellyfish crew can be spotted, and they change places from one round to the next, cheering May on as she fights. ---Mayship II as of Revelator is set at sunset once again, but takes a nice gentle ride over the continents and cities and valleys while the crew prepares for supper!  Truly this stage was built for a family man like Johnny! ---May Beach (Isuka) is just a temporary site for camping out on an island... perfect for barbeque and volleyball in the Summertime!

Axl Low/London/Edinburgh Magicapolis ---Axl's original GG1 stage references the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters series in the background as characters from those games can be seen in the back. ---The GGX version of London takes place in a rainy town at night as everyone rushes home not to get soaked in the rain (London is a city of fog and rain after all).  Only the local dog doesn't seem to be bothered. (Bit of trivia, the Downtown stage in Revelator is a reference to Axl's stage as well). ---The Slash version is a snow stage, and even puts a sweater on the dog as a couple plays with a Snowman, how cute! ---London England in GGIsuka shows a bit of a town of Witches (London was actually destroyed during the Crusades FYI, so these Witch Towns like Tioria were prominent in the region and all that remained of Axl's home town). ---Accent Core had a different take of London rebuilt like clockwork, featuring a Painter who would sometimes pain a certain Alien!  This stage was shared between Axl and Millia Rage. ---In Xrd we travel to the outskirts on a train ride to Edinburgh, a city of even more witches!  It really does evoke Halloween, though it hints at England's supernatural roots in Fairy Lore! Lots of road advertisements for Danny Missiles and Perfumes as well as RIOT clothing! ---Revelator turns the temperature down a bit and shows what it's like to Celebrate Halloween at Christmas!  While certainly chilly (why isn't Axl wearing his pants?), at least the witches flying about are wearing more appropriate attire.

Faust+Baldhead+Zappa/Tower of Lions/Phantom City/Colony/Kingdom Cemetery/Downtown ---The original Tower of Lions was a kind of Chinese-style proving ground for martial artists (not unlike Chipp's GG1 stage which featured a statue of a Buddha deity).  Most commonly known for it's "See no Evil/Speak no Evil/Hear no Evil" mantra. ---In GGX, Faust actually shared Potemkin's junkyard stage (and this was even reflected in Faust's items). ---Faust finally got something of a stage of his own in Phantom City in GGXX, though it was shared with Zappa.  The original Phantom City had red crystals and a floating house as well as ominous ravens perched about. ---The AC/Slash version of Phantom City turned the crystals to icy blue and made things a little more subdued and spooky. ---Kingdom Cemetery in GGIsuka was Faust's alternate stage along with Zappa... like a roller coaster carnival attraction. ---Korean #Reload had an original stage called "Colony" that Faust and Zappa sometimes used... I'm guessing it was a a dimensional Colony in Korea! ---Downtown in Xrd takes place in the daytime and has a fair share of secrets. Besides taking place in front of the Four Strings Hotel, as the crowd gathers and more guards appear, if Ky wins, the guards will cheer as he arrests the person responsible for the ruckus.  The daytime version of this stage also references the "Other London" stage from Accent Core which served as Millia's alternate stage! ---Downtown in Revelator takes place at night in the rain (referencing Axl Low's GGX London stage), in both versions of the stage, sometimes an airship can be seen passing overhead!

Kliff Undersn/Grave/Wilderness Gravemarker/Antarctica ---The original version of this stage takes place at sunset, and looks nice in that classic lighting. ---The GGXPlus version remains unchanged interestingly, but adds more animation to the cute little dragons (one of which may or may not be Dr. Paradigm). ---The GGXX version of the stage takes place at night with a blue sky and full moon, notable fireplace where young gears sleep. ---The Accent Core version is kinda weird because it caused a lot of glitches in later HD versions of the game.  The original AC version had a crimson sky with a full moon and the stage was well-lit, but the later versions for Steam/PS3/Vita changed the sky back to the blue GGXX version due to glitches. ---Wilderness Gravemarker was done in the same spirit as the Grave stage, but features really tall Gears walking on a long migration.  It was shared by Sol, Ky, and I-No. ---Antarctica is Leopaldon's stomping grounds... cold and forbidding.  But still the sky with it's Aurora Borealis is very pretty.

Millia Rage/Russia/Dragonica Falls ---The original stage took place in front of a huge mansion (which we are led to assume was owned by nobles like Slayer in his Villa Vampir).  Sometimes a young maid would appear in the background and tend to the garden. It also sometimes had a mysterious Alien appear in the trees. (This GG1 stage is referenced by Valkyrie Garden in Revelator). ---The GGX version took place during the day and looked really nice with the fountain (this stage is referenced by 5th Skywalk in GGXrd). ---The Night version featured little sparkly fairies (which returned in Area 42) and also had a random UFO appear sometimes. ---Dragonica Falls in Xrd Sign is a dual nod to Hell's Forest (GGIsuka), Verdant (GGXX), and the Grave stage Kliff had. ---Dragonica Falls in Revelator is at night and more spooky-looking (fun to play as Jack-O' or Raven in this version of the stage).  If you look carefully on the map, Dragonica Falls is just a ways north of South Africa where Daisuke used to live as a kid.

Chipp Zanuff+Baiken+Anji Mito/Moonlight Temple/Japanese Colony/Verdant ---Chipp's original stage featured guards protecting a statue of a four armed mechanical statue that resembles either Buddha or Shiva depending on your beliefs. (This stage is partly referenced in the designs of the boat statues you ride with in Ogre Valley in Baiken's Rev2 stage). ---Baiken's GG1 stage isn't much to speak of, but is referenced by the tents shown in the Miyabi colony during Revelator's story mode. ---Chipp later shared the Japanese Colony with Anji Mito and Baiken: ---GGX Colony was during sunset featuring a few samurai miko guarding the bridge and sweeping the steps of leaves in the fall (this is referenced by the Leaves in the Revelator version of Colony). ---GGXX Colony is done at night where a procession of ghosts comes out (also referenced by Revelator Colony). ---Isuka Colony takes place during a summer festival, while the Accent Core version takes place during spring during Cherry Blossom festival (GGXrd Sign references the Cherry blossoms in the Colony stage). ---Verdant (Bridget/Chipp stage) has two versions: GGXX version (which features Gnomes and shadow creatures), and the Accent Core version which is turned in to a training ground for Bounty Hunters (referencing Chipp's GGX ninja training ending). Verdant is referenced by Dragonica Falls (GGXrd) and Area 42 (Rev2).

Venom+Zato+Testament/Hell/Nirvana/Opera House ---Zato's GG1 stage is the prototype of Nirvana which was a Gear summoning ritual. ---Nirvana in GGX featured a Gear in the process of being sealed after it was summoned (lit by red lights, red sky, and crimson full moon, a night of blood!) ---Nirvana in GGXX bound the Gear in wraps (an Eva reference) and has green lighting to show a shift in the situation. ---While Testament's stage GG1 is technically "Hell", it's also referenced by the stage Purgatory which belongs to Nine=the=Phantom in BlazBlue! ---Hell in GGX had skull rock formation islands and zombies coming out of the ground!  Notable for it's Purple Vortex landscape (a small reference to Mortal Kombat portals, perhaps?) ---Hell freezes over in GGXX, making it look very icy with a grey vortex! ---Eddie hijacks Testament's stage in #Reload onwards and turns the stage in to Purple Poison! ---Hell in Accent Core reveals that some ancient cities fell down there, as you can see an ocean of blood and giant building ruins in the background (this is where everything went after being swallowed by the portal).  This version of Hell is referenced in Bedman's Nightmare Theater in Xrd! ---Opera House in GGXrd references Hell's grim reaper, the Rider of Death!, though they call the being the King of Demons, he decides where all the men and women victims go when they "disappear" (dumping the victims box masks and chairs in a huge pair of piles). ---The Opera House has begun to fall apart in Revelator, and is haunted by the 3 members of the Conclave!

Justice+Jack-O'+Valentines/Heaven/Heaven's Edge/Celestial Altar/The Backyard ---First, Heaven itself... more of a sealing ground than an actual "Heaven", but called such because of the cloudy view and the Romanesque statues (which are referenced in Babylon stage in Xrd and Revelator by the way). ---GGXX crumbles Heaven in to ruins and is touched up by a thunderstorm. Rain stages are the best in my opinion! (The rain stops in ACPlusR due to stage glitches though). ---Heaven's Edge not only cites the Sephirot... but it's an endless horizon of blue... and strangely enough it looks similar to the Backyard "ocean" stage you fought Valentine in during GG2's final boss events.  Jack-O' calls it a Tomb to Possibility for some reason, and it might be related to the Scales of Juno! ---Celestial Altar isn't actually a "stage" though it was the place that Sol, Ky, and Sin fought Ariels in Revelator... it would've made a nice battleground! ---The Backyard... I'm surprised we don't have a stage for this place yet... but I'm sure we will eventually!

Jam+Kum/China/Jeon Ryeok Residence/Underwood Hill ---Jam's old Chinese restaurant was steaming with restaurant smells, and she cooked OUT OF A DRAGON! Yum.  Too bad Robo-Ky, Dizzy, Millia, and Venom, destroyed it.  3 times. In a row. ---GGXX China has a slightly different time of day, but still the hustle and bustle of the shop with waitresses handling the deliveries (and some punks hanging out in the back, NO LOITERING). ---China in GGIsuka takes the view to the rooftops and shows what kind of layered place Jam lives in.  Quite the view.  It also references Jam's restaurant rivals Hyuuma and Hanagata. ---Accent Core essentially recycles Jam's Isuka stage, just adds a few minor things, nothing notable though. ---I'm putting Kum Haehyun's stage here because Korea ain't that far from China.  It has a lot of Zeal balloons, and the maids are certainly throwing some kind of party here! (Fun fact: Elphelt's VA voices Kum's head maid in Kum's episode story in Rev2).  Also note the Tuning tower where I guess Kum trains her ears and other senses. ---Underwood Hill is Izuna's GG2 stage, and is located...uh... somewhere not on earth. The edge of the Backyard I guess... but it's very Japanese in style.

Dizzy+Testament/The Grove/Area 42 ---Sometimes known as the Demon's Forest or Hell's Forest, the Grove is where everybody found Dizzy! The daytime version evokes a very angelic church-like ruin feel (the tree with a face in the back is a reference to Vampire Hunter D's film Bloodlust).  Also notable: the cute Squirrel and Chipmunk Gears sleeping nearby (there's also a warning sign by the river suggesting a hidden Gear plant existed nearby). ---Grove in GGXX takes place at nighttime and everybody gathers up by the fire as the sky glows with night fireflies!  How pretty. ---Grove in Accent Core onwards is flooded... lots of lilly-pads and water to splash around in!  Only Testament lives here now... ---Area 42 (GGXrdRev2), though Dizzy lives in a house with her family, she still likes to visit and be close to nature, and this place can't be any closer!  Its faeries reference Millia's Russia stage, but also the gears floating in the sky in the back suggest the Backyard somehow... maybe we'll find out how the world works later on!  By the way, Area 42 is significant in name because "42" references the meaning of the universe as told by the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!  It also references Area 51, a site for Aliens. ---Dizzy's code name in GG2 was "Maiden of the Grove", FYI (though her name was never given directly, Ky refers to her as Sin's Mother).

Slayer/Castle/Pirate Fort/Villa Vampir ---Castle (GGXX) doesn't actually "belong" to Slayer, he just fights there!  Whoever it belongs to must have been huge though! ---Pirate Fort was a hidden treasure island in Isuka... Potemkin and Slayer's stage, ironic that the song was called "Riches in Me".  Who needs money when you have power in your fists? ---Villa Vampir (GGXrd), Welcome to Slayer's Dinner Table!  He'll regale you with stories from his youth till the sun comes up if you let him!  He has a taste for the finer things in life! ---Villa Vampir (Revelator), Yikes, seems like Bedman trashed the place... but it will serve as a decent training ground at least... for REVENGE.

I-No/Babylon 2181/Babylon 2192/Babylon 2187/AD 2172/Central Organ Tower ---The original Babylon 2181 (GGXX) shown both the SUN and MOON in the sky in the middle of the day, and it had a blue aqueduct flowing through it with birds flying about.  Notable is the giant cherub statue head to the side (which is referenced in Central Organ Tower in Xrd Sign).  You can see dolphins swimming in the water below too. ---Babylon 2181 (GGXXAC) takes place in the afternoon, though its not as active as the original. ---Babylon 2192 in GGXrd becomes a city of ash, with the only forms of life being stray wolves.  There's also a strange giant figure in the background, but we don't know if that's Justice or not. ---Babylon in Revelator 2187 shows the same ashen city, but Knights are investigating it for more information about what happened to the people. ---AD 2172 is Order Sol's stage in GGXX Slash... the sky is blue, the ground is burning, the Gears nearby are dying or dead... Sol's been busy.  Just another bad day for the Badguy. ---AD 2172 (ACPlusR) takes place in the rain a few moments later... something to put the fires out at least... but every fire and every war has a little flame that smolders... ---Central Organ Tower (Elphelt/GGXrd Sign): this stage is a misnomer because the tower actually can't be seen anywhere!  It's just ruins!  Originally this place was near the area where Justice appeared to syphon St. Elmo's Fire from the tower's lightning rod system... but she got overloaded and fell down, knocking a few buildings to pieces.  Elphelt lost control soon after and fought Sol (man I wish that was a boss fight). ---Central Organ Tower in Revelator is mid-cleanup, and for good measure they planted Illyria's flag in the ruins (kindof a 9/11 symbolism there...), thankfully nobody was hurt, but the ruins certainly are fun to fight in!

A.B.A./Frasco/Frasco II???/Undersea Factory/Fossil Hamlet ---The original Isuka Frasco (Flask, as in the Homunculus in the Flask), was a ghostly bedroom haunted by a young lady of the past... very creepy. ---Frasco of GGXXSlash takes place in a laboratory with all manner of creatures and barred doors that monsters tried to break out of.  This place also had some kind of magnetic alchemy stones floating around. I particularly like the stained glass window though. ---Frasco of Accent Core is more of an armory area with lots of ritualistic candles... like someone was trying to summon some dark demon or something. ---Frasco II is the "alternate site" that Paracelsus claims to be working at after Xrd's events (GG World Library hint), maybe we'll see him again someday soon. ---The Hidden Robo-Ky factory is one part restaurant bar and one part Evangelion-style robot laboratory!  Will Robo Ky ever get rebuilt again!? ---Hell's Forest/Hell's Prison seem to be connected to Flament Nagel's past history, FYI.  Guess we'll find out more later! ---Fossil Hamlet is just what you'd expect an old European farm village to be! So many cows!

Potemkin/Zepp Center Arsenal/Zepp Factory/Zepp Junkyard/Zepp Elevator ---Potemkin's first stage in GG1 is actually how Zepp Center Arsenal ORIGINALLY looked! It's quite the sight even in Xrd Sign!  Guards salute if Potemkin wins. ---In Revelator we get to take a peek inside Zepp's garage at what robot suits they're welding together. ---Zepp Junkyard (GGX) really fit with Potemkin's "muscle+jeans" look way back when... we're hoping they'll give us his old outfit back someday. This stage had two versions, morning and afternoon (GGXX). ---Zepp Factory (GGXXAC) is just a view of more riveted architecture... ---Zepp in GGIsuka's Boost Mode gave us a view of Zepp in a huge elevator! Neat.

Ramlethal+I-No+Bedman/Japan/Unknown/Nightmare Theater ---Japan is first introduced in Xrd Sign, but it's a hole in the Earth! The sky is red, and giant hands like a God reach out... like a sign from Revelation! ---Japan in Revelator is more peaceful, but still a huge waterfall hole... too bad Japan is gone, it would have made a nice view. ---Unknown is I-No's boss stage... it's actually a Rift in Space-time that she made to Time Travel.  The original version (GGXX) used an ocean ripple effect on the floor along with a few lightning bolts for effect... the AC version of the stage looks a lot better! ---Nightmare Theater is Bedman's stage, and what a stage it is... there are no words except "scary". This stage is also a subtle reference to films like the Ring trilogy, as well as the Persona games with their pillars of CRT TVs! ---Nightmare Theater in Revelator reveals that everything is Dream Sand... the Sandman cometh!

And I think that's every stage (and reference) outside of GG Judgement stages, which are too big to describe.

[anarchetypalarchive]

we must be miles up

aka that ninja ship party (brian/danny) post-concert whippets fic for the wonderful @egocentrifuge‘s birthday rating: m for non-specific dick grabbing  content warning for recreational drug use (nitrous), unironic use of the word ‘tubular,’ and excessive pining on ao3 excerpt:

“Hi,” Danny says, like he doesn’t have his arms full of bright, neon-colored balloons. “How was your shower?”

“Did you rob a clown,” Brian says flatly.

“I have drugs!” Danny singsongs in reply, stepping into the room and letting the balloons tumble out of his arms and go rolling in random directions.

“Are those drugs LSD, and did you take them ten minutes ago?”

Danny laughs at him and scoops up one of the balloons, pops it into the air in Brian’s direction. “No— The concert, remember? You were asking about whippets. And here they are. I made whippets appear. I’m the goddamn whippet king.”

“Ah,” Brian says, letting the door swing shut and catching the balloon before it hits the floor. “I remember. And then I said, ‘after the concert, why don’t you go out in your boxers and buy drugs?’ That was my favorite part of the conversation.”

“These are indeed my drug-buying boxers,” Danny says, agreeably and without hesitation.

Look, Brian is—Brian is hip with the kids, okay?

Really. He spends most of his days playing video games and writing songs about dicks. He regularly performs for crowds of twenty-somethings. He has an instagram.

But sometimes—very occasionally, once in a blue moon—he has to outsource information about hip things to somebody more knowledgeable.

Unfortunately, that somebody is usually Danny.

Danny is, somehow, the youngest old person Brian knows—which is some hell of a feat, honestly, because he includes himself in that list of young-old people.

Meaning Danny regularly squeals with unbridled joy over Skittles, and Danny is incapable of encountering a chair or couch without sitting on it sideways or backwards or upside down, and one time Danny pushed aside a room of eight year olds to get a turn at hitting a Dora the Explorer piñata, and then again to grab several handfuls of cheap dollar store candy.

But Danny is...worldly, or whatever, and perhaps more intune with all things “cool,” not that Brian would admit it. Brian is cool. Brian is hip! He has a phD, okay, he knows things.

What he doesn’t know is why the hell a few handfuls of people in the crowd at their concert are holding inflated balloons.

They stand out like a sea of multicolored jellyfish, or like Bozo the Clown got drunk and wandered into a concert and forgot how to make balloon animals. Brian stares at them from backstage where he and Danny are waiting for the opening band to finish their set, and he wonders if this is the new version of holding up lighters or the lit screens of cell phones.

He says as much, wondering aloud, and glances over in time to see Danny blink at him in surprise before he breaks out into giggling, snorting laughter.

Brian tries to be insulted. Which is—not easy, to be honest, because mostly he’s just appreciating Danny’s face and the way he squeaks when he laughs too hard.

As it is, Danny doubles over and ends up with his ass on the stage floor, legs bent, head between his knees as he, in Brian’s frank opinion, overreacts completely to a totally reasonable question.

“You know, you’re really harshing my quest-for-knowledge mellow right now,” Brian says dryly.

Danny visibly struggles to quelch his giggles. “Sorry,” he says, not looking particularly sorry at all. “They’re, uh, balloons filled with noz, dude.”

Brian gives him a look he’s hoping isn’t as blank at it feels. “Okay.”

“Nitrous,” Danny clarifies, and then, “They’re whippets, man.”

Ah. That one hits. He wasn’t aware that shit was still popular since, hell, the early nineties. “They look like they got lost on the way to a bar mitzvah.”

“My bar mitzvah would’ve been a hell of a lot cooler if these guys showed up.” Danny pauses. “And creepier, seeing as though it was filled with a bunch of dorky twelve year-old Jews.”

“You do it before?” Brian asks, curious despite himself.

“It’s been a while. Used to at concerts and shit. It was…really fucking good, actually.” Danny’s eyes drift like he’s remembering something sublime. “Why,” he asks, reaching up and making grabby hands at the air until Brian rolls his eyes and takes his hands to haul him to his feet, “you interested?”

And that—that’s actually an interesting question. Brian’s instinct is to say no, just on the basis that huffing gas out of a gross balloon in a city he’s never been to before just feels like a less than exciting endeavor.

But the way Danny had looked in his reminiscence—that’s something to consider. And, anyway, Brian is hip, remember, he’s cool, he’s willing to entertain the idea of huffing gas out of a gross balloon in a city he’s never been to before.

“Sure,” he says, shrugging. It’s not like it’s going to happen any time soon; they’ve got a full schedule for a majority of the night. It’s not like they have time to go looking for a balloon dealer in the middle of a crowded concert.

Danny opens his mouth to respond, and then Brian registers the fading applause and the squeak of microphone feedback as their band is introduced. Danny lights up, bouncing on his feet a little. Brian smiles at the fact that Danny’s excitement over an imminent performance hasn’t lessened since their early days. If anything, it’s gotten even greater.

Then Danny’s throwing an arm around Brian’s shoulders, and they’re walking out on stage as they jostle each other in little hyping-up actions, and Brian’s half-blinded by the lights as applause fires up again, and he forgets about much of anything other than the crowd and the stage and Danny.

——

There’s an energy that remains long after the end of a successful show; it usually means Brian and Danny spend far too long meeting with fans, signing scraps of paper and fanart and random objects (a dildo, once, that was memorable) until their well-meaning manager ushers them back to their hotel. By then, they’re near-dead on their feet.

Danny’s got his arm around Brian’s shoulders again as they walk unsteadily down the hallway towards their hotel room. This time, he holds up his phone. Brian smiles tiredly until Danny explodes into an improvised thank you commentary to their fans with enough glee that he’s clearly amused at Brian’s confusion.

Brian gives Danny a small shove and steals his phone from him to add to the video, grinning as Danny swears and stumbles against the wall. They scuffle a little for the phone good-naturedly, shouting over each other at the camera (“Thank you all—” “Well, I thank you all more—” “I thank you all the most—” “Times infinity—”) until a disgruntled hotel guest throws open his door and snaps at them to shut the hell up, people are sleeping here.

The video ends with Danny giggling out an apology over his shoulder as they finally reach their room at the end of the hall.

Brian fumbles with the room key, having to slide it a few times with increasing impatience until the light turns green and he can push the door open.

And then Danny’s crashing into him from behind, shouldering past him into the room. “I call first shower!” he sings out, voice hoarse from the toils of the concert but no less delighted for it as he tosses his bag down haphazardly in the entryway, charges into the bathroom like a conquering general, and pulls the door shut behind him.

“If you think that’s going to stop me from coming in there with you,” Brian starts, struggling to keep the laughter from his voice in favor of a faux-menacing tone, and then he gives up and grins when he hears the unmistakable click of the lock of the bathroom door sliding into place. “A celebratory bro shower,” he calls out over the sound of the water turning on. “Like football players do after the big game? Probably? Dan?”

He’s mostly talking to himself at this point, moving further into the room to claim a bed. The only benefit to Dan commandeering the bathroom is that Brian can now be a supreme asshole and take the bed Dan’s going to want—the one closest to the door, farthest from the AC, because Danny always ends up freezing his skinny ass off in hotels.

That might have something to do with the fact that Brian turns the air down to ‘Hypothermia for Dan’ levels on the totally legitimate pretense of it being scientifically better for the health of specifically and only your balls if you sleep in the cold.

(“You can’t use your PhD in fucking theoretical physics as an excuse to pretend to be an expert in everything,” Danny complained once.

Brian had taken that as a personal challenge and then, well, here they were.)

So Brian takes the bed closest to the door, farthest from the AC, and tosses his duffel bag down before he collapses onto the plush sheets. He’s still buzzing with post-concert adrenaline, with the two encore performances that had left Danny with a hoarse voice but grinning wide, the both of them squinting against the stage lights out into the crowd as the final strains of “Wish You Were Here” drifted out and bled into applause that rumbles and hums in the center of his chest even now.

This is Brian’s life.

Yellow light from the parking lot filters in through the thin curtains, and maybe it’d feel tepid, lonely, if not for the muted white noise of the shower running and steam rolling under the crack of the bathroom door and Danny’s gentle humming, changing keys on a whim with little hoarse post-show voice cracks that shouldn’t be so endearing.

This is Brian’s life and it’s surreal, sometimes more so in the gentle aftermath of a concert than in the heat of one.

Not that the shows don’t have their moments. Danny gets so caught up in the energy sometimes that it’s like his emotions can’t stay within him. More often than not, that manifests as Danny sprinting across stage to wrap Brian in a bear hug after their final song and kissing him so hard on the cheek Brian thinks—hopes, sometimes—it’ll bruise.

But Brian remembers the first time, early this year, that Danny’s traditional end-of-show kiss landed directly on his mouth.

There’s a photo some fan took that’s made its rounds on social media—it’s the split second after Danny kisses him and pulls away: there’s the blur of Danny bouncing back to center stage, and there’s Brian, wide-eyed, hair mussed, mouth open slightly. During the show, he’d managed to compose himself pretty quickly, but Danny discovered the picture within a few days and was so delighted by it he still sends it to Brian sometimes.

And so now sometimes Danny half-tackles him at the end of shows and ambushes him with a kiss—a real one.

And it’s—it has to be an adrenaline thing, a celebratory thing, a raw energy reactionary thing, because Danny never makes a big deal out of it and it never lasts more than a fraction of a second and he never mentions it after.

And Brian doesn’t ask about it.

And it’s fine.

It’s just a thing they do.

Brian kicks off his shoes and lets them drop from the bed to the floor as he tugs his phone from his pocket, pulls up the Instagram app to watch the comments start pouring in on the video they just uploaded.

One day, maybe he’ll get used to their popularity and the virtually instant feedback it provides, the outpouring of support and love; for now he smiles at the generic i wish i could’ve been there! comments, the i was there and it was fucking incredible, the come to my city next!

He huffs out a laugh at someone’s i’m calling the police. danny’s making me confused about my sexuality and can’t really stop himself from typing out a quick Get in line in response.

A few minutes later, he rolls his eyes at someone’s reply of Danny and Brian sitting in a tree, F-U-C-K-I -N-G. Rolls his eyes harder when he sees the comment came from Ross.

He’s about to reply to that, really gearing up for a stupid, satisfying back-and-forth, when a rush of steam billows out from the bathroom as Danny pushes the door open. He emerges from the cloud of steam, skin wet and flushed from the heat of his shower.

Brian is, somewhere in the back of his mind, aware that he’s staring—and, fuck, he’s never going to learn any better than this, is he; he’s never going to end up anywhere but here, watching Danny like he’s on the outside looking in, like Danny’s not tangible for him, like the way he looks at theorems he can’t touch.

Danny catches Brian staring and grins, striking a dramatic pose that nearly dislodges his towel and almost gives Brian a fucking heart attack. “How do I look, stud?”

“Like a demented Towel Wizard,” Brian deadpans.

“You’re goddamn right I do,” Danny says proudly, pulling a shirt on over his head. He drops his towel to pull on a pair of boxers, and Brian—doesn’t pretend to leer, doesn’t make a joke, just glances away and doesn’t look back until Danny’s towel hits him in the back of the head.

Brian snorts and finally hauls himself out of bed, gently shouldering Dan out of the way and tossing the towel on top of Danny’s damp poof of hair as he goes to take his own shower. “If you used up all the hot water, the police will never find your body.”

“Uh. I gotta— I gotta go, you know what, we need ice, I’m gonna go get ice.” Danny’s laughing as he ducks out of reach of Brian’s annoyed, swatting hands and grabs the ice bucket before darting out of the room barefooted.

The only consolation for the lukewarm shower is that he’s almost positive Danny left without grabbing his copy of the room key, and Brian’s not going to be in a hurry to finish showering to let him back in when he has to do the Knock of Shame.

Surprisingly, Brian gets in and out of the shower with no sign of Danny returning, and it’s only when he emerges from the bathroom with his hair wet and plastered down to his head that he hears—well, not a knock. It sounds more like Dan is kicking the door.

“Property damage,” Brian calls out, and takes his sweet time letting him in, throwing on an undershirt and a pair of sweatpants and fuck you, Ninja Brian likes to go commando sometimes.

He’s not expecting to open the door and see Danny with his arms full of bright, neon-colored balloons.

“Hi,” Danny says, like he doesn’t have his arms full of bright, neon-colored balloons. “How was your shower?”

“Did you rob a clown,” Brian says flatly.

“I have drugs!” Danny singsongs in reply, stepping into the room and letting the balloons tumble out of his arms and go rolling in random directions.

“Are those drugs LSD, and did you take them ten minutes ago?”

Danny laughs at him and scoops up one of the balloons, pops it into the air in Brian’s direction. “No— The concert, remember? You were asking about whippets. And here they are. I made whippets appear. I’m the goddamn whippet king.”

“Ah,” Brian says, letting the door swing shut and catching the balloon before it hits the floor. “I remember. And then I said, ‘after the concert, why don’t you go out in your boxers and buy drugs?’ That was my favorite part of the conversation.”

“These are indeed my drug-buying boxers,” Danny says, agreeably and without hesitation.

And, alright, sure, Brian had asked about the balloons, had expressed interest in trying inhalants—he’d try anything with Dan, the definition of succumbing to peer pressure, the archetype of the teenager doing anything to get a smile from his crush, and it’s not like he’s a goddamn straightedge, hello.

He just imagined getting high with Dan for the first time to look like—fuck if he knows, just something different than a dark, strange hotel room in a dark, strange city, balloons floating in air-conditioning flurries over the carpet.

Danny ducks down and scoops up a bright green balloon, reaches out and bobs Brian gently on the head with it. “So. You ready for this, Daddy-Mack?” he asks, which—that’s not really fair, actually, because aside from the fact that daddy just came out of Danny's mouth, whatever the form, Brian’s still trying to psyche himself up.

You have to give a man the proper psyching up timeslot before encouraging him to inhale copious amounts of nitrous. That’s just polite.

What Brian intends to do is give a deadpanned intonation of “You better believe it, baby.”

He’s pretty sure what he actually ends up doing is giving Danny a deer-in-the-headlights look and blurting, “What.”

This is because Danny blinks at him in surprise, and his tone is concerned when he asks, “You’re not, like, nervous, are you?” which basically makes Brian want to go outside onto the balcony and find out if it’s possible to die from a fall from the fourth floor.

He struggles to save face, to smooth things over with sarcasm. “Nervous? Who’s nervous? Frankly, it sounds like you’re just accusing me of being nervous because you’re nervous. Nice try, Avidan. Of course I’m ready. I’m cool, okay, I’m hip, I do this shit all the time. Let’s go rail a couple lines of coke after this.”

“Brian—”

“But not off of my body.”

“Brian, hey—”

“I know you want to, but this chest is just too hairy and manly, okay, it’s for your own good. We’re just going to have to kick it old school and do it off a questionably-clean bathroom counter.”

“No, hey, c’mon,” Danny says soothingly. “It’s okay that you’re nervous. It’s like you’re actually being honest for once.”

And Danny says it to make him feel better, Brian knows, and he wants to feel better, but for some reason it’s frustrating.

He wants to say, That’s not me—the fear, I’m not that, I’m just standing here behind it wishing I could kiss you.

Instead, he says, “I resent the implication that I’m not always one hundred percent genuine with you at all times.”

Danny snorts. “Yeah, okay, Captain Deflection.”

“Hey, don’t get all psychoanalytical on me. Which one of us has the PhD here?”

“You can’t use that as an excuse to pretend to be an expert on—oh my god, never mind, forget it, can we just do drugs now.”

“Just a minute; I have to update our Twitter. ‘About to suck down mass quantities of nitrous and also dick.’”

“No— No, give me your phone, dude!”

The scuffle for Brian’s phone ends with a balloon clinging to Danny’s hair via static electricity, Brian half buried under pillows and bedding, and the Twitter update reading About to suck mass quantities of dick, so Brian counts it as a win overall.

“You suck,” Danny informs him, reaching up to grab the balloon and pull it from his hair.

“Mass quantities of dick,” Brian reads from his phone agreeably, nodding. “The internet doesn’t lie, Danny.”

“I hate you.”

“Duly noted. Are we going to do drugs now, or do you want to keep putting them in your hair?”

“Don’t say drugs in that stupid voice, holy shit, you make it sound like we’re doing high-quality crystal meth.”

“And yet we’re doing cheap-ass inhalants, which, frankly, I find insulting. I’m not a cheap date, Daniel.”

Danny looks at him fondly. And that—that’s been happening a lot, the ‘Danny responding to flirting with anything other than exasperation or awkwardness’ thing. Brian’s not sure how to handle it. It’s easy to flirt with Danny until Danny stops taking it as a joke.

“Aw,” Danny coos, jumping into bed with Brian and bopping him with the balloon. “I’m sorry. You’re right, baby. Lemme buy you something nice.”

“I want a statue of a dick in my own likeness created with pure crystal meth,” Brian says dully, batting at Danny’s hands before he can get hit on the nose with the balloon again. Jesus, maybe he is Captain Deflection.

“We could probably make a song based on that,” Danny says thoughtfully, his eyes doing that middle-distance thing they do when he’s thinking of possible song titles.

His fingers are working at the knot of the balloon in his hands, and Brian’s gaze is drawn to them the way it always is when Danny’s fiddling with something, unable to keep from watching the pads of his lithe fingers brush against the rubber, his blunt nails tugging at the knot.

God, he wants those fingers in his mouth.

“Ninja Brian’s Crystal Dick!” Danny bursts out suddenly, triumphantly, and Brian startles, torn from his reverie.

He manages to laugh, shaking his head. “I’ll add it to the list.” Along with ‘Ninja Brian Regularly Thinks About Sucking on Danny Sexbang’s Fingers and That’s Not Something He Should Be Thinking About A Coworker, Probably.’

Danny finally manages to work the knot free, and his thumb and forefinger pinch the opening of the balloon closed. “Alright, you watch me first.”

Brian looks at him dubiously. “Right,” he says, “otherwise I might get confused and try to stick the balloon up my ass.”

Danny laughs and bops him with the balloon again. “So stupid,” he mutters. “Just watch, okay?”

Brian puts his hands up in surrender and slides back on the bed until he’s sitting with his back against the headboard. “Teach me, oh great Whippets Guru. Should I take notes? Do you have a PowerPoint?”

Danny’s already bringing the balloon to his mouth, fitting his lips tight over the opening. He flips Brian off with his free hand and then appears to let out the air in his lungs through his nose before he inhales deeply from the balloon. He pauses, then breathes back out into the balloon before inhaling again. He does this a couple more times, each breath getting more shallow, and then he pulls away, pinching the opening closed with shaky fingers as he holds his breath.

His face is flushed, and his eyes flutter closed.

Brian realizes he’s sitting silently, still, attention rapt. He swallows. “Danny?”

A few long seconds pass before Dan lets out the breath in a shuddery exhale. His first breaths of real air come in short, shaky gasps, and when he opens his eyes, they’re glazed over slightly, almost unseeing.

He looks—he looks like he’s waking up from a wet dream, or being tenderly asphyxiated, or coming, and either way Brian’s holding his breath and aware that he’s half-hard in his sweatpants.

Going commando feels, abruptly, like it had been a bad idea.

“Fuck,” Danny says, voice thin and breathy. His gaze lands on Brian as it clears, and he smiles dreamily, contently, the way you’d smile at a lover.

Brian is going to die.

“You okay?” he croaks out.

“God, yeah, I’m... I forgot how good that is.” He twists around a little where he’s sat and then reaches down to snag another balloon off the floor. “Your turn,” he says cheerfully, holding the balloon out to Brian.

“I mean, I—could just watch you again. That was—informative,” Brian says, stilted.

Danny laughs. “C’mon, dude. Time for baby bird to take flight.”

“Why are your metaphors so weird.”

“Just take the stupid balloon,” Danny commands, brandishing it half an inch from Brian’s nose until Brian snorts and takes it.

“Peer pressure turned me into a drug addict,” he intones, grinning when Dan swats at him. He fumbles with the knot of the balloon for a minute until he finally manages to free it up, and some of the gas escapes for a fraction of a second before he manages to pinch the opening shut.

“Don’t overdo it,” Danny says seriously. “You’re gonna get lightheaded, but stop when you feel like you need to. There’s nobody to impress here.” He pauses, smiles impishly. “‘Specially since I’m never impressed by you.”

Brian cheerfully gives him the bird and only hesitates for a second before he bows his head to take the opening into his mouth. He keeps his lips tight, not letting any of the gas escape until he’s ready, and then he follows Danny’s example as well as he can remember.

He lets his breath out through his nose slowly, like he’s doing the opposite of pre-show breathing exercises, and then he inhales.

The gas comes in quicker than he expects, and it takes a moment to figure out the right amount of tension to keep so he’s not overwhelmed.

It’s a bit anti-climactic, not that he really knows exactly what to expect—just like taking in air that doesn’t manage to satisfy the beginnings of a burn in his lungs, the ache for oxygen.

He looks at Danny, who gestures encouragingly.

The burn increases when he breathes in again, and then it happens abruptly, where he suddenly wants to gasp for breath, his brain sending signals that something’s not right, that he’s breathing but it’s not giving him any air.

A fuzzy sort of hum seems to shoot up from his chest into his head, the breathlessness blossoming into an intense head rush, all the small sounds of the hotel room going loud and reverberating, like he’s standing too close to a concert speaker taller than he is.

It turns into something all-encompassing, something more like a rushing tremble that goes straight back into his chest, into his heart.

Brian pulls away from the balloon to gasp desperately and shuts his eyes. Warmth buzzes into his fingertips, and he’s vaguely aware of his hands twitching minutely, and fractal patterns spread outward in a variety of mixing, spilling colors behind his eyes.

It’s almost overwhelming.

He realizes, belatedly, that he’s shaking, that it’s hard to catch his breath, that he’s opening his eyes and seeing without seeing, that when he finally focuses in on Danny that Danny is watching him with faint concern and fondness and—

“Brian,” Danny says. “Hey, Bri, look at me, you’re fine.”

And Brian does look at him, and it’s practically second nature to match the rhythm of Danny’s carefully controlled breathing.

And then—then Brian’s not entirely sure he’s not dreaming, because Danny leans in and cups a hand around the back of Brian’s neck and draws him in to kiss him slowly and deeply.

(Later, Brian will realize that Danny is probably working to coax Brian to match his breathing, to get him to stop hyperventilating and to enjoy the high, but for now—)

As Brian gasps for breath against Danny’s mouth, he’s relieved, somehow, that Danny has kissed him for the first time (truly kissed him, teeth and tongue and no applauding crowd to distract him from it) just after they’ve both inhaled nitrous—it gives him the excuse to be breathless, to be wide-eyed and slack-mouthed and staring at Danny like he's born technicolor in a grayscale universe.

Brian doesn’t want it to end, but eventually Danny breaks away, leaving Brian’s lips buzzing, the rush gradually cooling down. “So?” he asks, smiling at him fondly from where they’re touching foreheads and breathing hard. “What’s your consensus, cool guy?”

“Tubular,” Brian breathes out, dazed and grasping for Danny with weak hands.

Danny blinks once and then bursts into soft laughter, nose scrunching, eyes creasing up. Brian can’t really force himself to be insulted, not when Danny looks as incredible and addicting as he does. “Yeah,” Danny giggles, taking Brian’s hands in his own, pads of his thumbs rubbing at the backs of Brian’s hands like a worry stone, like a security blanket. “Yeah, it is.”

Brian’s pretty sure he’s in love.

“You kissed me,” he says stupidly.

Danny blinks at him. “Yeah,” he says, a small smile tugging at his mouth, like he’s amused. “Further bulletins as events warrant, Reporter Brian?”

Brian gestures vaguely in a way he hopes conveys what the fuck but probably just comes across like I have no fine motor control! “You kissed me,” is what his brain offers up, like a broken record.

Danny’s starting to look somewhat concerned. “Yeah,” he says again, slower. “I kissed you earlier tonight. And, like, last month.”

“Those don’t count,” Brian tells him, and he’s starting to get frustrated, because Danny knows this, of course he knows this, he has to know this.

Dan smiles again, but this time it’s confused. “What do you mean, those don’t count?”

“I mean—” Brian breaks off with an annoyed sound. “I mean they don’t count, Danny, what the hell— Those are just, they’re, you’re just...celebrating,” he says.

Danny’s frowning now. “Says who?”

“Says—” Brian breaks off again, brow knitting. He stares at Danny, trying to understand.It’s like a physics problem he’s stuck on—all the evidence is there, but he just can’t see the answer. “Says… I don’t know. You never make a big deal out of it. I just figured...”

“What was there to make a big deal out of?” Danny asks, looking bewildered. “I like you. I wanted to kiss you. You never make a big deal out of it, either. Figured you were cool with it.”

“I am cool with it,” Brian says hastily, mind working feverishly to catch up. “I am— I’m the coolest with it, I am ice cold with it, trust me, I have no complaints.” He pauses when he realizes Dan’s starting to laugh. “Alright, well, that’s not necessary, it was an easy mistake to make—”

“Shhh.”

Brian blinks. “Did you just shush me?” he demands, incredulous. “Did you just—”

“Shhh,” Danny hushes again, eyes still creased with amusement as he leans in.

He’s not expecting the warm press of Danny’s mouth against his own again.

A faint noise rises unbidden in him, and he hesitates, caught up in the fact that Danny is kissing him for the second time, hesitates because he’s not supposed to be so lucky, hesitates because he’s expecting to wake up.

He feels the wet heat of Danny’s tongue tease at his lower lip, and instinct kicks in: his mouth opens, and he tips his head to make the angle better, allow them both to press in closer. He’s breathless again soon in the best way, like he’s high again but better, because Danny’s nudging his legs apart and shifting into his lap and letting his hand slide from his jaw down to his neck, his collarbone, his chest.

He hears an embarrassing, protesting sound and staunchly refuses to believe it comes from his own mouth, except he’s definitely trying to pull Danny in again as he breaks away, and Danny’s definitely laughing at him again.

“I don’t want to take advantage of you,” Danny says solemnly.

Brian stares. “What.”

“You know,” Danny stage-whispers, wide-eyed. “In your state. You’ve been doing drugs, Brian.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up,” Brian says, and their next kiss is punctuated with Dan’s laughter.

He’s content to do this for hours, making out with (mostly) innocent roaming hands like necking teenagers; he’s so overwhelmed by just this, by his luck, that he’s not expecting more.

He nearly chokes when Danny slides a hand under the waistband of his sweatpants.

“Why am I surprised you’re not wearing any underwear,” Danny hums in between open-mouthed kisses along Brian’s jawline.

“That’s purely coincidence. Also, not that I’m complaining, but why is your hand—on my dick,” he strangles out suddenly when Danny’s hand shifts.

Danny pulls away to look at him. “Well, Brian,” he says, “sometimes, when two assholes love each other very much—”

“Shut up.”

“I mean, do you want me to draw you a diagram, or.”

“Shut up, I meant— I didn’t know you wanted more than…” He gestures.

Danny looks fondly amused. “Can we just set a blanket statement that I want to do conceivably everything with you?”

Brian has to admit that feels fucking incredible to hear.

Still: “Conceivably anything?”

Danny’s expression is wary. “Yes?”

“Raising alpacas in South America?”

“What.”

“Melting down twenty-thousand dollars worth of quarters to make life-sized metal busts of ourselves?”

“What is happening here.”

“Stealing those gay penguins from that zoo and smuggling them back to Antarctica.”

Danny kisses him again, presumably to shut him up, but it’s a kiss with fondness and intent and wandering hands with a destination—

And Brian can’t really find it in himself to complain.

[johnny-writes]

List of all muses I’ve mused

This is a cheat sheet of all the muses available on this blog, and it’s also a summary if you want to interact. Rules for mobile also available here.

Frequent muses - these are my main muses, they tend to be used frequently in threads

Marcos Grzbowski - OC, thinks he’s smart, Duning-Krüger hasn’t been nice to him, emotional guy disguised as a rational one, the “meta-guy” Rebecca Z. Mishko - OC, awkward girl, stutters, loyal like heck, rational girl disguised as an emotional one, could be a queen bee in an alternate timeline Marya - OC, sassy fairy, travels a lot, dying is no big deal, a sun that never sets, secretively the worst tsundere ever Lumi - Vocaloid, jellyfish goddess or android with a peculiar design, either way she’s clumsy, believes too much her stories Mayu - Vocaloid, is processing 108 ways to kill you per second, actually cares for her family, yandere for fun, that rabbit is a cyborg Yohioloid - Vocaloid, depressed genius, sabotages himself frequently, needs a slap from himself Yan He - Vocaloid, was a mistake, doesn’t care (cares a lot), please hug her Padparadscha - Houseki no Kuni, manliest rock ever, nice hair, will be your big brother, can destroy others if requested, wants to die Kamina - Gurren Lagann, manliest man ever, will be your unorthodox big brother, will punch you, can’t survive without his little brother Dr. Danny - Angels of Death, thinks he has a good disguise, doctorate in tongue twisters, hateshateshateshateshateshateshates Rebecca

Less used muses - muses that need more threads, I'd love if you want to make a thread with them

Talyna - OC, not an actual vampire, an alien that looks like a vampire, wants to go home Cubi - Vocaloid, infernal creature, what was Hio thinking, tries to light him up Maika - Vocaloid, preciosa, can’t get sad, that can be a problem Anon - Vocaloid, shy, stays at home, Smash champion Kanon - Vocaloid, extroverted, has a job, fears she’s stunting her sister Alexandrite - Houseki no Kuni, nerd (nerd), overbearing teacher, goes berserk, champion of self-control Yellow Diamond - Houseki no Kuni, smiling, depressed, survivor’s guilt, old Rutile - Houseki no Kuni, a doctor better than the one below, hopelessly in love with Padpa (again, who doesn’t?), might be a yandere

Was in a thread - characters that I played as supporting cast, some might climb the ladder

The Vinemaster - OC, assassin, can control vines, keeps things professional, I have to give him a name yet Baba Yaga - OC, witch, troll (not literally), politically incorrect, wants to take over the world (for what purpose again?) Bronislava - OC, Polish Reimu, nun, saw everything Caulpil - OC, nervous, nice guy (might be not the nicest type of nice guy) IA - Vocaloid, cinnamon roll, can befriend Mayu Gumi - Vocaloid, romantic, can’t understand her feelings Yukari Yuzuki - Vocaloid, edgy to the circuits, cares only for IA Lily - Vocaloid, issues orders, actually a good boss, just wants a break, needs to smile Tone Rion - Vocaloid, nurse, overworked, secretly has a talent for being an idol, hates it Lapis Aoki - Vocaloid, cinnamon roll, forgetful Merli - Vocaloid, aloof, there’s a reason for that Matcha and Azuki - Vocaloid, they are like a comedic duo Tohoku Zunko - Vocaloid, big sister, tired of Lumi's crap Gahata Meiji - UTAU, witch, geography teacher, has no idea why, just needs money, can’t get her research together Sundowner - Metal Gear Rising, sadistic cyborg, really bad boss Cirno - Touhou, too dumb to die, cares for her friends Suwako Moriya - Touhou, was tossed away, speak in enigmas, gets anime for Sanae Lord Death - Soul Eater, boss, boss, boss, knows more than they think Simon - Gurren Lagann, needs his big bro, serious, Kamina’s character makes no sense without him

I attempted to write - muses that I once wrote as part of an ask to try writing them

Momoko - Ghost Stories, can’t fear anything, God is with her, 10 years of theological education to write this Ruby Rose - RWBY, loves her gun, tries to discover the meaning of fun

On Demand - muses that I only played upon demand from friends, not adding to main roster soon

Star Butterfly - Star vs the Forces of Evil, princess from another dimension, brighten up your day, may or may not be in love with Crona Marco Díaz - Star vs the Forces of Evil, just wanted to help, almost unleashed a monster and went RULES OF NATURE Janna Ordonia - Star vs the Forces of Evil, smug, wants to star a hentai with Marco Dokis - Doki Doki Literature Club, treated as one, the same as canon but with ultra-smug Yuri

Johnny

Johnny - The Room, a line for every occasion