I'm pretty sure you're taking asks if not then that alright :] be free to ignore!!!
Honestly I've just tough of how funny it would be in your self aware madcom au if the player was married to someone from their world (with the ring to show for it of ;P)
(This idea came to me after my girlfriend proposed to me last week (≡^∇^≡)!!!! Also while I was rereading everything of the 20th time hehehe ★~(◠ω◕✿)
Anyways sending you lots of love ♡♡♡♡!!!
Bye bye ˙˚ʚ(´◡`)ɞ˚˙
Hi Anon, congrats on your engagement. :) <3 Also, this ask is from October, neat.
Anyway, to answer your question, the specifics depend on which grunts we're discussing. But to paint a broad picture, they fall on a spectrum from either genuinely distraught, or understanding in a sort of resigned fashion.
I believe this would depend more so on when the grunts became aware of you having a spouse. If it's made clear from the beginning, say per-discovery of the Employer's fascination with you, I can see the relationship having a far easier time being accepted. After all, you and your spouse are a packaged deal; the Player has a significant other as clearly established, and with how often you'd be with your SO, the grunts would likely be acclimatized to that before you even arrive in Nevada.
Now, would they be happy? Probably not. I can see some of the more possessive grunts (Hank, Phobos, Jeb, for example) outright disliking your spouse, both because they don't think they're good enough for you and also because they believe they deserve more of your attention. Especially of the affectionate variety. They're your vessels, it makes sense to them. (Even if it's irrational.)
The fact that you're married makes it even worse though; that's a big commitment, and it shows how deeply you care for them. The envy near chokes them; to think you'd be open for something like that, and they'd never even had a chance? For all Nevada's cruelty, this was the worst they'd dealt. (Drama queens, all of them.)
Sanford and Deimos, 2BDamned, however, would fall into the category of grunts who'd try to make themselves get over the heartbreak and disappointment they might feel at having a coveted place already taken, in their eyes. They have the self-awareness to know their own place in this equation and accept it, even if it means having to accept you being happy with someone else. They're supportive, even if they have to grit their teeth and bear it sometimes when they hear you being lovey with the object of your affection. (But will they ever get over you? Hmm.)
On another note, I do think there's a likelihood that your spouse might play the game with you using Co-op, which opens up another door entirely on how the grunts would react. Their control would feel different from yours, of course, but I think it would lessen the grunt's initial hostility towards the idea of you being married by virtue of them knowing your partner. It's begrudging, and they really don't like them as much as you (certainly not at first), and they still consider themselves the favorite if you choose them to puppet, but it's something. And hey, getting chosen by your chosen isn't...the worst.
They can put up with it. Or they'll learn to. It just takes time.
A little something based on @dreamer-in-a-far-away-land 's post about a self-aware miraculous au! :) I think it'd only be natural that, if they figured this out, our lovely duo would try and find a way around it....
The knowledge that Marinette was Ladybug was something that, by design... Adrien had no reaction to. He hadn't been given a reaction yet, so he thought. The event hadn't yet been written. ...The Epicurean paradox states that, given the presence of evil, either God is not all-powerful or all-good: Though he now believes whatever pulls the strings must be neither, the fact that him and Marinette have kept such a profane secret for this long is testament enough that God's watch is finite.
He looks around, the streetlamps glowing with an orange light that reveals no shadows. This far out into the city, there are no doors and there are no windows. Streets end (or begin?) in perfectly straight lines, and he's stood in places where his feet can reach the sky below them. To step off the ledge is to fall for longer than he has ever lived. It's a boring suicide, and so he quit the habit.
"You have the ring?" Marinette asks him. To ease her anxious mind, she never wears her pigtails at night ("What do you think would look more like... 'me'?" she's asked him, as Ladybug, many nights before. He never knew the answer.). She hopes it's harder to recognize her that way.
Adrien nods, taking the hexagonal box out of his back pocket. The engraved lid of the wooden box is merely a trick of the light, as when Adrien passes his hands over its surface it is the same uncanny smooth as everything he's ever felt.
He licks his bottom lip, feeling a cold against his face that isn't there. "You have the earrings?"
Marinette takes out the same exact box from her jacket pocket, thumbs brushing up against the box's sides. She's so clever, infinitely clever, and yet it's always on the brink of trying something that she gets a chilling anxiety that transforms her into another person entirely. Adrien couldn't say whether this is or is not the 'real her', because that would mean deciding a 'real him'. He wants to believe that the girl he fell in love with, through act of God or otherwise, will keep that bravery and cleverness.
They swap boxes silently, exchanging wishes of good luck through their gazes. Adrien turns away to get home before sunrise, confident in the plan, before Marinette's hand pulls him back.
"Wait!" she whispers. "...I still have the earrings."
Adrien flips upon the box he knows for a fact Marinette just traded him, and sees his own miraculous inside.
They stop for a moment, and the silence around the outskirts of the city that once gave them comfort has now become haunting.
Marinette's brows are furrowed, but she insists they try again. The boxes are traded once more, then opened: Marinette has the earrings. Adrien has the ring.
"We can't... We can't give them up... I thought that wasn't written, it's... No, we've traded them before, there's no way..."
Marinette drops her box, fingers raking through her hair as she hyperventilates. Not bringing the Ladybug to a fight—Impossible. Permanently handing over the miracle box to Alya—Impossible. Luka is gone because of things she told him, Chloe is gone because of things she told her, and the more times she tries and tries and tries leads to people "moving" or "catching flights" or just not telling her why they leave entirely. Marinette can't even reach Socqueline anymore, and the number she spent her first year in middle school memorizing now only leads to static on the other end of the phone. There's nothing to do about it, nothing at all!
"Marinette, it's okay," Adrien spoke calmly, bending down to pick up the earrings-box. "We just need to keep trying. I believe in you."
For a moment, two rings of the Black Cat Miraculous are in Adrien's hands.
...Adrien neglects to tell her this, fearing it would only worry her further. Juggling both boxes in one palm, Adrien takes Marinette's hand in his, interlocking their fingers.
"I know y... I know we're going to find a way out of this, Ladybug. We have to."
"We don't even know what we're fighting, Adrien!"
"Tomorrow, don't use your lucky charm. Don't do anything that your gut tells you to," he says. "If anyone has a chance at surviving that, it's you."
"...And what are you going to do?"
Adrien smiles, handing her one of the boxes. "Tomorrow, I'm just going to follow you, like I always have," he assures her. "We'll figure it out from there."
An AU where the reader is the subject of a secretive experiment that leaves them the perfect Player... among other things.
Possible triggering themes for this AU/story include medical trauma, descriptions of chronic illness, ableism, depression, and death. If I've handled anything insensitively, please let me know.
A more 'formal' introduction, along with rambling about my thought process, under the cut.
Self Aware MadCom belongs to @saltymongoose. The concept is really interesting to me, even aside from the xreader stuff (although it's definitely also that lmao). So I thought I might explore that a bit with a concept that's already been floating around my head for a bit. The world that the reader is from is deliberately left a bit vague, but it's sort of magical realism. Most relevant to this AU: there are things like doctors and computers existing alongside curses and other magical ailments.
Also, this doesn't really include much MadCom or SAMAU... Well, no interactions with the characters, anyways. It's mostly just an introduction to my ideas for this AU, so it describes more of what your life was like beforehand and how you found the series. Do also note that I've never played either M:PN game, so there might be some inaccuracies.
All that being said... enjoy!
~~~
You, along with several others, were the subject of an experiment when you were a teenager. It was so secretive, you were never even given the details of why it had been conducted. That, or you had forgotten, given that one of the major side effects of the experiment was memory loss.
The experiment itself was something about deliberately letting specific kinds of contagions into the subject's body. You knew a few of them were fungal, and many were magical in some way, although they were different for every experiment.
Apparently if they chose the right infections for the right subject and 'balanced' them properly with the individual's immune system... they would stabilize. This led to the subject gaining supernatural abilities based on whatever magical infections they had.
Of course, most of the subjects weren't so lucky. The various infections would usually just take their courses; often the combinations would very quickly kill the subject. Those that survived were left with permanent problems ranging from aphasia to compromised immune systems to seizures.
You were their star subject, the one better off than all the rest. The staff made sure to remind you of that every time you complained about anything. "Be grateful," they told you. "At least you can still speak. At least you're still recovering. At least you're still alive." They never said it out loud, but you heard the implication. All of this is only happening because of us.
Bullshit. You were only 'better off' because of sheer dumb luck. Had they succeeded? Maybe. But their idea of success didn't even take you into account.
And their idea of success still left you with problems. Yes, you have sharper senses now, and you can draw energy from more than just food. But you're face-blind, and your hands and feet are numb, and you sometimes hurt so badly that you can't walk.
Not to mention how unethical the experiment itself was. They didn't even study people who already had these conditions; they deliberately induced them. Hell, one of your roommates was six years old! Why they let her participate still bothered you today.
...But it wasn't all bad. You cherished the friends you'd made there, even if you'd lost contact with most of them.
Not just your fellow patients, either. Most of the staff were... annoying at the very least. But a few seemed to actually have your best interests in mind. For example, your favorite nurse, Max, recommended an animated series that might help take your mind off of things when you were in the depths of depression.
You very quickly fell in love with Madness Combat. The simple graphics, where characters were denoted by outfit and style rather than facial features, seemed perfect for you. You grew to adore Hank, Deimos, Sanford, Tricky, and every other character, getting invested in their fights even when nothing else made you happy.
And the episodes were just plain fun to watch. Even when you had issues with your memory, the fight scenes interested you more than enough to make up for it. The community, too, seemed to welcome you, and you came to cherish the friends you made there.
Not only that, but you found a little game on Newgrounds. Although your numb hands made it hard to play, it really did capture the things that made you adore Madcom to begin with. Your favorite nurse approved too; after all, it was an exercise in hand-eye coordination!
Naturally, you were beyond thrilled when Project Nexus came out. By that point, you'd already left the facility. And your memory had recovered enough to get well and truly obsessed with the lore.
You smiled, picking the Tourist difficulty and sitting back to watch the intro cinematic. This was going to be fun.
(Unbeknownst to you, it would also be much, much more than you bargained for.)
Updated ref sheets for Newbie and Rogue. Most of the updating went to Newbie, because I haven't posted their ref sheet yet oop. They're from my Rogue!Player AU which is an AU for Salty's SAMAU.
Anyhow here's the Rogue AU headcanons where I go into more detail about the AU and the players' interactions with the main four plus Christoff. Annnd here's the Rogue AU itself, the story I'm writing.
Summary: AC has had it with their 'squad mates' constantly crowding around them, trying to feel their Player's presence. A presence that they shouldn't have been able to feel in the fucking first place. So, late one night they manage to sneak out and meet someone unexpected.
Note 1: I had a funky little brainrot and decided to write something for the alternate route for @saltymongoose 's SAMAU!
Note 2: AC in this route deserves a break, having to deal with everyone constantly wanting to be around them. 😭 Let my child rest.
Note 3: Unarmed Character is referred to as AC! Subject 1v02P_6 will just refer to themselves as Subject 1v. They/them pronouns for both of them. :)
Done. Done. Done. They were throughly done with those four. AC was sure, sure that if they spent another moment around those four morons they'd pop a blood vessel.
.. like Doc would even let that happen, they thought bitterly, sitting on their loft. They need me alive so they can feel Player.
Was that all they were to everyone? A source of the Player's warmth, the Player's presence? Not an individual, not someone who had fought countless enemies and made a name for themself? Were they just the Player's vessel?
It certainly seemed like it.
AC grumbled under their breath as they wandered through the desolate land of Nevada. They couldn't take being in that damned building one moment longer, with one of their 'teammates' checking on them every hour until they were finally satisfied.
Getting to what seemed to be a cliff that overlooked the city, the grunt found themselves sitting down right on the edge. With a small sigh, they glance over.
That's a good fifty to sixty foot drop, they thought as their visual cross scrunched up. If I fell right now, I would die.
They paused.
Would that be such a bad thing? Now that they truly, truly thought of it; dying right now wouldn't be so bad. There was no way for them to be revived (at least not any way they knew of) so if they jumped right now, they would be free of 2BDamned, of Deimos, of Sanford, and especially be free of Hank.
AC stood up as they continued to peer over the edge of the cliff. They clenched their paws as they thought. They could jump. They could jump and they would be free. Jumping right now would mean no more Project Nexus, no more AAHW, no more being crowded and demanded of and pestered and ignored and babied and pushed to the sideline and-
Their breath caught in their throat as they realized they had one foot already lifted and over the edge. AC let out a noise of fear as they stumbled away from the edge. A realization had hit them.
If they died and you, their adoring Player, found another grunt of help, then that poor soul would have to deal with the insanity.
AC placed a hand on their chest. But at the same time, they didn't want this anymore. But they also didn't want to have another suffer what they couldn't handle.
And furthermore, they thought, beginning to sweat. What if that grunt can't handle it? And then they leave it all behind? Then it would go the another grunt, and then the same thing would happen over and over again!
Their chest began to feel too tight. They grasped at it as they struggled to get in air.
But they didn't want this anymore! They didn't want to be coddled 24/7, not be taken on dangerous missions and whatnot. They wanted to do what they were trained to do! To fight, to kill, to help!
At the same time, though, they didn't want another to suffer because of their selfish choice! They didn't want someone to go through the same things they have!
AC began to cough and hack once the lack of air began to get to them. They fell to their knees as they placed a paw on their chest and hit it against it. Panic began to cloud their mind.
Damnit, was this how they go? By suffocating themself?
The grunt flinched when they felt a paw on their shoulder, followed by a gruff but comforting voice. "Hey. Hold your breath."
AC flinched but did as told. They didn't want to die.
"Now let it out. Slowly," the voice instructed. They let out a content hum as AC did just that. "Now suck in a small breath, hold it, then let it out slowly."
The paw of whoever was behind them moved to rubbing their back as AC did what they were instructed. Soon enough, they were no longer coughing; their heart was still beating quickly but at least they weren't going to die.
Whoever it was beside them moved so they were now sitting. With a surprising amount of ease, they made AC sit down as well.
After gathering themselves, they looked up at who had help them.
AC stared, ghast as they looked at Subject 1v02P_6.
AC's visual cross twitched as they stared at the first being who had ever felt the Player's warmth. They had heard tales about them, how they effortlessly defeated waves upon waves of enemies with near no injuries.
.. were they the reason AC was forced into this situation?
"I know that body language," Subject 1v02P_6 sighed. "you pretty angry with me, huh?"
"Angry?!" AC snapped. All their anger, frustration, and hate had finally boiled over. "I'm more than angry, damnit! I'm pissed! I'm livid! I'm loathing!"
"Not a word," the taller grunt but in.
"SHUT UP!" AC shouted as they hit the fellow grunt on the chest.
They stood up and clenched their paws. Subject 1v02P_6 must've been tall, because even while standing, AC was near visual cross level with them. The vessel watched as the former stood up and looked down at them.
It was silent before AC seethed, "I don't think you understand how angry I really am! I've had to put up with their bullshit all because of you! Why couldn't you have stayed the Player's vessel, huh?!"
Subject 1v02P_6 cocked their head to the side. "Do you not like being their vessel?"
AC paused. This fucker wasn't even going to question how they knew that Subject 1v02P_6 was the former vessel of the Player? Arrogant prick!!
"What kind of question is that?!" AC huffed. "Of course I do!"
"Doesn't seem like it." Subject 1v02P_6 shrugged.
"I! You!" AC pulled back their paw, ready to punch, before again, reality it them.
Their paw fell to their side as the taller of the two grunts looked at them sympathically. "Are you done?"
AC only nodded as they sat back down. Subject 1v02P_6 followed suit, sitting right beside them.
"I'm Subject 1v02P_6," they introduced themself. "But you can call me Subject 1v. Its what Player used to call me."
"Player.. calls me AC," the vessel introduced themself.
"You don't know your real name, do you?" Subject 1v questioned as they looked down at AC. They sighed at the lack of response they got.
The taller grunt took off the bag they had and opened it. They reached in before pulling out two water bottles. They turned and offered one to the smaller grunt, who hesitated before taking it.
"So.." Subject 1v02P_6 began, looking up at the red sky of Nevada. "You out here to get away from everything?"
"Was it that easy to notice?" the Unarmed Character chuckled wryly.
"Unfortunately," the test subject nodded. "I'm guessing there are grunts hounding you to feel that warmth? So you've gotten sick of it and you just want time to yourself?"
AC stared at Subject 1v, impressed. Were they that easy to read?
Subject 1v hummed as they opened their water bottle. "You're not easy to read, if that's what you're thinking. I feel a bit of a.. connection to you, if you get what I'm sayin'. I feel like since we're both, well, ordinary grunts who were able to be blessed by the Player, I feel sorta closer to you."
The original vessel paused before speaking once more. "To be honest, the whole reason I'm out here is 'cause I felt a tug. I felt a tug and a bit of panic." They hummed. "You know, we might be connected in a way."
AC paused while drinking from the water bottle. Were they?
Subject 1v continued, "that and I wanted to see more of Nevada. I was tired of just being confined or always on the move. I wanted to see what I would be up against."
"Hell." AC muttered as they set down the water bottle. "You'll be up against hell."
"I figured," Subject 1v hummed.
The two grunts sat there, looking up at the red sky. The silence, while strange, was comforting to both.
"Do you want to talk about it?" the original vessel asked the current. Their voice was soft.
"Please?" the current vessel muttered just as softly, pulling their knees up to their chest.
"Then let's talk."
Subject 1v02P_6 groaned under their breath as they walked. Last night had been interesting. They found the current vessel of their Player, they listened to them rant on and on about of terrible their 'teammates' were (and the subject would admit, they sounded pretty horrible), and they gained a friend. They just wished AC hadn't fallen asleep before Subject 1v could ask where AC currently resided.
So now, here they were, roaming around aimlessly with a sleeping grunt in their arms. They were sure they looked suspicious, but considering their height, they doubted any would come and question them.
Subject 1v was tempted to wake AC up, but was stopped as a faint warmth spread over their body. They stopped walking and looked around. They knew that this level of warmth meant the Player was only watching, but there was nothing interesting going on at the moment. So why in the world did they feel your warmth?
(You had logged in for the day after setting up your stream. You were elated when you had seen a new story ready to play, oblivious to the confusion your chat was showing. Only for you to become confused when you were met with a cutscene of Hank, Deimos, Sanford, and 2BDamned looking around for your character. Well this was an interesting start.)
A small tug in their chest made Subject 1v02P_6 shake their head. Follow the tug, they thought as they resumed walking. It's always been right.
Only a few minutes passed by before the tall grunt stopped outside a seemingly innocuous building. However, the tug had grown stronger and with how the warmth had grown in strength, they knew this was the right place.
Subject 1v tilted their head. Should they knock? It would be the right thing to to and it wouldn't place any suspicion onto them.
"Fuck it," they muttered before lifting their foot and kicking the door open.
Subject 1v02P_6 walked in before stopping dead in their tracks. They began to sweat, just a bit, upon realizing that they were being stared at by the team members AC had said that'll protect them at all costs just so the Player won't be upset if they're injured.
After several moments of tense silence, Subject 1v spoke, "I understand this looks bad, but, your.. friend isn't dead."
"LETS GO!" you cheered before looking at ykur webcam. "It's Subject 1v02P_6, guys! I never expected them to show up! It's not like I mind, but holy shit! This is gonna be awesome! I wonder if you can transfer over stats.."
Fairdairy: You probably can, I'd imagine you'd be able to!
Bofabooba469: do u get early access or smth 😫 because iunno if anyone else has got this
playerstan: @bofabooba469 is right tho. I haven't seen anyone talking about it either..
You shrugged. "I'm not too sure myself. But.. hey, new content!"
As you continued to watch the cutscene play out, you couldn't help but wonder;
Why did Subject 1v02P_6 hesitate calling your character the Main 4's friend?
