#og starlight

[starlightvld]

Up in Smoke

(Also on AO3)

The first time Ghost rips the cigarette from Soap's mouth, drops it on the ground, and stomps on it as he passes by, Soap is too stunned to say anything for a full ten seconds. They've only been working together consistently for a couple of missions, and even as his superior officer, the audacity of the action floors him.

By the time his brain restarts, Ghost is long gone.

--

The second time Ghost steals Soap's cigarette, he bursts out in a string of Scottish curses and tackles Ghost from behind before the wanker can drop it on the ground. An impromptu sparring match ensues, fists and curses flying. 

Afterward, he doesn't feel much like a cigarette anymore — not with the split lip, anyway. Besides, the buzzing under his skin that usually drives him to smoke is just... gone.

Price catches wind of the incident, of course, and calls them into his office a few hours later. By that time Soap has calmed down enough to be... maybe not okay with it, but at least able to see the humor. 

"What's this about you muppets scuffling by the smoking area?"

"Just a little sparring to blow off steam," Soap says.

"Ghost?"

"Nothin' to worry about, Captain."

"No? I've got one soldier who looks like he just got back from a bar fight, and the other..." He squints at Ghost. "He get a hit in on you, too?"

"Yeah," Ghost replies in that deadpan tone of his. "Coupla black eyes."

It's a joke. 

Ghost is telling a joke. And it's objectively not funny. It's not. But Soap bursts into hysterical laughter all the same. 

The corners of Ghost's blacked-out eyes crinkle. 

Price rubs his temples before dropping his hand on his desk. Soap presses his lips together to contain his laughter.

"Sparring happens in the gym. I'm sure you know the place. It's where we have things like mats and gloves. I catch you two bare-knuckle fighting again, and you will regret it."

And it's enough to sober Soap up. He avoids Ghost as he ducks away to catch dinner.

--

The third time... well, no. He supposes that's really the fourth time. 

Because the actual third time, Soap had come back from a shit mission where everything went wrong. Intel was faulty, exfil was delayed, and people under his command died. It didn't happen as often in SAS as it had in the regulars — the soldiers here were well-trained and hard to kill — but that made it all the worse. 

When Ghost tried to pluck the cigarette from his mouth, Soap growled. 

"Back the fuck up, Lt. Or Price is gonna be disappointed in both of us."

Ghost paused, and their eyes met. Slowly, Ghost lowered his hand. 

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Fuck no."

"Thank God."

Soap didn't have it in him to even huff a laugh. He took a long drag and blew the smoke away from Ghost as a peace offering.

To his surprise, Ghost didn't leave. He spun around and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. They stood there together, utterly silent, as Soap let the heat and sting in his lungs soothe the beast inside that wanted to rip the world apart.

When he was done, though, he was surprised to find he didn't want another. Usually after shit missions, he'd stand there and smoke half a pack before his hands would stop shaking.

He finally met Ghost's eyes. The man quirked a barely visible brow.

"S'pose we should take it to the mats this time?"

Ghost pushed off the building and started walking. Soap followed like a lost child looking for a way home. 

--

The fourth time is in Chicago. His hands are shaking not from losing soldiers but from almost losing his own life. The cigarette trembles in his grip as he stands outside the bar, the biting wind turning his fingers and probably his lips blue. He lifts it to his mouth, inhaling deep—

And then it's gone.

The whine that bubbles up from his gut and bursts from his throat is nothing short of humiliating. But God. God. He needs it.

"Not now. Please, Ghost."

"Why?"

Ghost hasn't thrown the cigarette down. Yet. He cocks his head to the side and gives Soap a long look. Soap can only tremble from the cold and a need that goes deeper than a simple hit of nicotine.

"I just... I need it."

The cigarette drops to the ground, but Soap doesn't have time to lament the loss before that same hand is curling around Soap's neck and pulling him into a fucking massive chest. The other arm comes around Soap's shoulders and...

Ghost just stands there, holding him. And Soap can't help melting into the warmth and solidity of the man who saved his life just hours ago. He dares to curl in deeper. To raise his hands and clutch at Ghost's jacket. To let a few, silent tears escape his tight control.

Finally, his muscles relax. Ghost must feel it, because he turns and leads Soap back toward the bar.

"Why do ye even care?" Soap mumbles from his spot tucked into Ghost's side.

"Because those things'll kill ya."

Soap supposes the "I like you alive" is implied at this point.

--

Soap loses count after Chicago. He gets stretches of days when Ghost is on a solo op or out with one of the other operators when he can smoke in peace. So he does.

At first.

He's been hooked since he was a rebellious teen trying to make his mark on the world. He's tried to quit multiple times, but it never seems to stick. The first bad mission or adrenaline-filled near miss and he's back at whatever smoking spot he can find, puffing away.

He finds himself trying to cut back, though, even when Ghost is away.

Any time Ghost is on base, all bets are off. In addition to darting by and making a grab for it or sneaking up behind him and flicking it out of his hands, Ghost has gotten more creative. Sometimes Soap will pull out a cigarette only to find he's "lost" his lighter. Sometimes the cigarettes themselves go missing — he clutches his chest and mourns all that wasted money whenever a whole pack disappears. 

He supposes it's all just going up in smoke anyway, though.

He should be angry. But in truth, it's almost a relief to hand over the reins to Ghost. To let the man help him by annoying the shit out of him until he wants to give up on it entirely.

Which is definitely the point. Ghost has made that perfectly clear.

So, whenever he gets the urge to calm his racing thoughts or overactive mind with a cigarette, he finds Ghost and annoys him instead. They talk, or spar, or simply sit in silence together, doing their own thing. Ghost doesn't often touch him — their moment in Chicago is still the closest Soap's ever gotten to the elusive Ghost — but he also doesn't push Soap away when he slumps into Ghost's side after a hard day or leans over his back when he's sitting at the table in the 141's common area on base.

The urge doesn't go away, of course. And sometimes, when things get really bad, Ghost will just sit or stand with him like he did the third time. Still, he finds himself smoking less and hanging out with Ghost more.

--

The last time Ghost steals a cigarette from Soap, he simply stands beside Soap and holds out his hand. Soap immediately knows something has gone terribly wrong. Still, he's too invested in the game now to not hand the cigarette over.

He nearly keels over when Ghost pulls up his mask and takes a long, hard drag. Soap watches in fascination as his cheeks hollow, his neck muscles strain, his lips curve around the paper. It's erotic in a way he really shouldn't be thinking about in regards to his emotionally unavailable superior officer, but the knowledge hasn't stopped him yet. Since that day in Chicago — probably before if he's honest — he's only ever wanted to be closer.

Ghost coughs a little and hands the cigarette back.

"Fuck. Just as disgusting as I remember."

"Ye used to smoke, then?"

"Before I joined up, yeah. Hated it, though."

"The smell? Or—"

"Everything. The taste, the smell, the heat..." Ghost trails off, his hand rubbing over his bicep in a strangely specific way. He shakes his head and looks back at Soap. "Not your problem, Johnny. Forget about it."

Soap's hand is darting out, fingers curling into Ghost's jacket, before he's properly thought through the action. Ghost pauses before turning back. They stare in silence for a moment until—

Soap stubs out the half-burned cigarette and drops the butt in the trash. He licks his lips. Glances up at Ghost. The mask is still sitting on his nose, and Soap stares at his lips for longer than he should before pulling the pack out of his pocket and throwing it in the trash, too.

"Cannae have ye thinking I stink, can I?"

"Too late."

But Ghost's throat bobs with a hard swallow. Soap wets his lips, takes a step closer, and uncurls his fingers to slide his hand up Ghost's chest until his fingertips are resting on Ghost's shirt collar.

"I dinnae think it is."

Ghost turns and walks away. Soap closes his eyes and drops his hand, internally cursing his impulsive behavior. The scuffing of boots walking away from him is like nails on a chalk board.

Until they stop, and a gruff voice calls out, "You comin'?"

A slow smile slides across Soap's mouth. "No' yet."

A huff — exasperation? laughter? a bit of both? — before, "Better get movin' then."

And Soap has never been more glad to follow an order.

[kibagib]

Drawing I never finished for BB&SH chapter 10 😅🤭

@starlightvld 💕😉

[chipontherailroad]

Biro sketching is the BEST!!! 💥 I love this train man and his stupid sunglasses…

[starlight-express-world]

An updated photo of my starlight program collection!

Left is the London 2024 program, top is some promotional postcards from the original production, middle right is the 1984 souvenir brochure, and the bottom is the og cast brochure

I do also have a phantom of the opera program from 1989 which is so amazing compared to the 2021 version I have lol

[boowiij]

"My baby here on earth showed me what my heart was worth"

Gavin, Avior, Sam, & Vincent(pre-inversion)

"So when it comes to be my turn. Can you shine it down here for him?"

Freelancer, Starlight, Darlin', & Lovely(pre-inversion)

[prxckedradiolove]

My show just closed so since i’m not busy that means more dinahboose art ‼️👊

please help i am obsessed with them 🤠💥🫨😭💓💞

[jawlipops]

the pandora hearts au as promised LOLL

im gonna guess this au makes 0 fucking sense unless u’ve read ph but u can read my 4am summary under goodluck

its the glen and child of ill omen situation between mykr, with kuros red eyes it was honestly kind of perfect. they were all part of this fancy victorian academy, and are known as the class that mysteriously disappeared some hundred years ago, and its bc of nana. maya does the succession thing and tosses clau into the abyss and everything falls apart. nana is devastated and pulls a xerxes to get an audience with the will of the abyss. she creates for her a chain, the Prince, that lets her rewind back to the day of the succession, and drag all of her classmates into a dimension where time rewinds from the start of the yr to the succession. naturally at somepoint hikaris like “where is my childhood bestie karen :(” and she goes looking for her. and before long she’s able to infriltrate into nana’s dimension. shit goes down from there

im thinking like they eventually do all get out of the dimension, but at the cost of maya staying behind. mykr have this ouughgg super dramatic like “I find you again, promise you’ll wait for me” parting while claudine is getting dragged towards the light and everythings crumbling around them and maya just looks up at her super emo and promises. they land back in the normal world a few hundred years into the future, and then its claudines Get her gf back quest

[princeelectra]

The new thing made me so sad that I woke up in the middle of the morning to read dune because I literally cannot think about this production anymore---

I want it to explode and vanish * excessively dramatical tone*

but heeeey, the thing I wanted to talk is: Someone once said ( and with someone, I meant Karnak) that wanted to know a lil bit about my memories and my story... As well, the CC40108 train - the Electric Prince! Would you guys like if I periodically write about something that once happened in my life and I suddenly remembered about?

[nauticaltrainofthe80s]

drawing the London 2024 version of the show…..it calls to me

[tabooiart]

i dont know if yall knew this but i love starlight express

[starlightvld]

Faking It

Ghost is a master of stealth. He uses this to his advantage both on and off the field, the latter of which is mostly for his own personal amusement. And though he typically targets cocky recruits or pompous officers, the core 141 members are not exempt from his games.

Price can usually sense him coming, but even after so many years of working together, he's still the one most likely to be surprised. Sadly for Ghost, Price is also a consummate professional at holding back his emotions, so although Ghost succeeds in surprising him, Price doesn't show it. Which... is no fun (exactly as Price intends).

Gaz is the perfect soldier, and that extends to his situational awareness. Ghost has managed to actually scare him a sum total of three times, and all of them were while he was drunk off his arse. Ghost has made it a personal goal to scare Gaz while he's not pissed and is so far zero to... far too many attempts to count.

The first time Ghost sneaks up behind Soap, though, he's rewarded with a shriek worthy of a banshee. Soap instantly tackles him and starts an impromptu spar in the rec room, breaking one table and three chairs.

Price reprimands them both.

Ghost is utterly delighted.

Soap becomes his new target more often than not, and every time, he gets some form of shrieking or squeaking or Scottish swearing. Soap returns the favor by pranking the shit out of Ghost: putting hair dye in Ghost's shampoo, offering to make him tea and using salt instead of sugar, and worst of all, stealing all his balaclavas and writing "Property of TF 141, if found return to Soap" across the backs.

Ghost has never been so entertained in all his life.

Soap is also delighted, but for different reasons.

He's spent years learning from the best of the best, so after those first few scares, he trains himself to keep an ear out for cues that Ghost is coming - the faint rustle of tactical pants, a rare squeak of boots, or the way people around will go silent if they see him before Soap senses him. Soon, he's anticipating Ghost's presence nine times out of ten. And he's rehearsed a hundred ways of responding just to entertain Ghost.

It's not until Ghost stalks up to where he's sitting alone at a table in the midst of a very busy SAS rec room that Soap thinks he might have made a mistake.

"Have you been fakin' it all this time?"

Ghost growls the question like he's legitimately offended. He's not paying attention to the several other tables of soldiers sitting around them, but Soap is. The sudden silence is deafening. Then whispers start up, and Soap barely holds back a face palm. Instead he looks Ghost in the eyes and responds in a loud and clear voice.

"Aye, I figured out how to tell yer sneaking up behind me a while ago, but ye seemed so amused by my squawkin' that I kept it up."

The whispers die down. Soap breathes out a little sigh of relief even as he regrets the sudden slump in Ghost's shoulders. Ghost looks off to the side, shakes his head, and stomps away with a muttered "fuckin' hell."

Soap doesn't react, and soon the other soldiers are coming up to him, begging him to teach them how to sense Ghost sneaking up on them, too. Soap laughs and smiles and tells them they'll have to figure it out on their own.

It's not until later that night that he slips into Ghost's room to talk it out. Ghost is sitting maskless on his bed, nothing but a thin pair of gray jogging bottoms covering his toned body, and Soap has to use all his willpower to keep his eyes on Ghost's face as he approaches the bed.

"Are ye truly upset with me?"

Ghost sighs. "No. Just disappointed."

Soap huffs a little laugh. "Ye do know that everyone's minds went straight to the gutter with that first comment, though, right?"

"What comment?"

"The one where ye asked me if I'm fakin' it. Had to tell the truth to make sure everyone knew what you were actually talking about."

That brings a smile to Ghost's face. "Oh. Didn't think about it like that."

"No?"

"No. I fuck you too well for you to be fakin' it in bed."

Soap smirks and props a knee on the mattress. "Might need ye to prove it."

Ghost grabs him by the belt loops and pulls until he tumbles into bed. And Soap is happy to confirm that, in this, he's not faking it at all.

[wetcatschwartzy]

i posted this on tiktok but it got muted aughghh <//3

[op3ra]

watch me literally never follow it but here’s my rusty ref <33

alternate versions (incl pre-rust and starlight) under the cut!

[hyperfixationtrainstation]

I love drawing this bitch fr fr

[unicyclehippo]

i don’t want to make a magic system i just want magic to be like. this chick is into magical plants she’s pretty normal haha a normal botany major!! DONT go in greenhouse 4 tho. & she has a literal green thumb she can do the lighter trick yknow where u make it look like there’s a flame coming up out of ur thumb except it’s a flower or a thorn or whatever. this guy is rly into beetles yeah he has pincers now & also he was experimenting, as one does, & now he has lil wings on the side of his head that change colour when he gets stressed or embarrassed also he trains the hordes of excavation beetles we use on construction sites.

but then i ALSO want a rigorous system of magic in which spells are designed & constructed to the most pedantic specifications & it’s just it’s these differences btwn how people use & access magic & it’s so INTERESTING bc it’s like well in the first case those people just use n access magic differently n it’s so cool bc it’s like here’s how the thing i love changes me but it could also be a horror story bc it’s like what if u don’t love the thing ur good at, right? like what if it’s smth intensely scary what if ur naturally gifted w fire what if ur naturally gifted with ghosts the visions the constant groaning of people wanting justice or vengeance or just staring at u bc ur the only one who can see them, all these things i know have been explored before they’re just so fun to gnaw on. n then the spellcraft im just obsessed w maybe it’s bc i work w researchers all the time (but not close enough to be disillusioned) i love the dedication the seven thousand articles on the exact same topic with one thing changed, the way u can open up twelve articles & see that for eleven articles researchers Bonney & Tran have worked together & now Bonney isn’t there? what happened? did they get swiped by their rivals? did they take a break from research?

& then there’s the magic that’s like. in a sense, in my story, witches & divine spellcasters are the same. go into this more? no. im just THINKINH abojt MAGIC this morning

[prxckedradiolove]

Electraaaaaaaa