#(this is fun and fascinating -

[goldensunset]

did you know? if you do your laundry you can get your clothes back

[ilions-end]

i've read several papers recently that try to concisely translate the potential meanings of odysseus' name (Man-of-Pain, Trouble, Hateman, Anger-Bringer, Suffering) but the one that still haunts me is Mr. Hater

[anbaisai]

alternative mer au where jamil is a seasnake classmate who is deeply fascinated with flying but assumed he'd never experience it, until mayu offers to show him something special one day

[heavyheavycream]

feedist kinktober 26 : Olympian

goat faun and ram centaur AU

[hairtusk]

what's in my bag 2023 edition

[niinnyu]

jongerry? you agree ¿

Hard not to.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

The girls are here!!!

[xuxudio]

necromancer and death have a talk

[swirlingyouintomypoems]

I think I’m hilarious. Just btw.

masterlist

[hhhhunty]

Seastone negates devil fruit abilities.

[stealingyourbones]

Peter Parker dimension travels to Metropolis. Not MCU Peter, but 616 late 20s Peter Parker who can forge his identity and works for Lex Corp, initially not realizing it’s a bad company, but when he does he continues working for them to slowly yet surely make plans to expose and dismantle the company.

[preblacksmith20]

Who are you?

pairing: multiple drivers on the grid, oscar piastri x reader, george russell x reader, max verstappen x reader

genre: general fluff, established relationship, just good vibes

content: Your boyfriend finds out some information about you that you hadn't gotten around to telling him yet. Or the feeling when someone drops lore about themselves that's so absurd it's shocking.

------

Lando Norris

“How far away do you think it is?”  Lando asked Carlos. The two of them were enjoying a nice day on the golf course together. You and Carlos’ girlfriend, Luna, were tagging along and the two of you had already hit your approach shot. Luna and Lando’s balls had been close.

“146. 137 with slope.” You said to yourself. Luna turned to the guys and waited for an answer.

Carlos put the scope down. “146.”

“How do you do that?” Luna asked, having heard you call the shots for the past eight holes. “Lando! Did you know your partner is psychic?”

“Yeah!” Lando said, shading his eyes watching the ball. “How did you find out?”

“She’s been calling the distance perfectly.” Luna said.

“Pace of play, everyone!” You playfully slapped your hands on the wheel and drove off. You weren’t trying to cut the conversation but the current marshal, Jerry, had it out for you and Lando after the ‘swimming clubs’ incident. And Jerry was watching the four of you from the clubhouse, your spot on hole nine giving him a perfect vantage point.

“On ward!” Lando said, giving you a playful wink, probably thinking of the incident. Laughing, Lando and Carlos got in their cart and off the group went.

You all enjoyed the rest of the round. Carlos and Lando broke 70, you shot 85, and Luna gave up after hitting four balls into the pond on 14. She had fun driving the cart though.

Sitting in the clubhouse and enjoying a few drinks, Luna brought up your uncanny ability to get the distances right again. Lando had an arm behind your chair and kissed your lips. “It’s because you’re made of magic.”

“True true but it’s all surveying.” You waved your hand to knock the suggestion away.

“Ah yes.” He grinned. “My fake engineer.”

This time you smacked him in the chest. The rest laughed. You had graduated with a degree in civil engineering and had gotten used to your college friends giving you a hard time about it. It wasn’t anything you hadn’t heard before, but with a few drinks in you and drunk on a good afternoon with the man you love made you jut your chest out.

“Could a fake engineer have won the national championship with their survey team?” You challenged and poked your tongue out.

“Baby, you know I think-wait.” He frowned. “What did you just say?”

“I think your partner just said she won a national championship in surveying.” Carlos grinned and Luna clapped. “How come you never said?”

“I still think you’re psychic.” Luna winked over her glass. You winked back.

“Yeah, how come you never said?” Lando asked, ready to give you the floor to explain everything you’ve ever done in your life. He looked at you like you held all the stars in the sky, his eyes turning back into hearts.

“It’s boring.” You waved your hand in the air. You weren’t being humble; you knew it wasn’t the most exciting national competition. Even with other civil engineers it was very hit or miss. “But if you want fun college stories, I’d much rather tell you about the jousting classes my friend signed me up for.”

“Can my partner get any cooler?” Lando’s eyes scrunched up in the way that made your heart melt. “Come on, glasses up.”

Lando raised a glass to you, giggling in his endearing way, and kissed your blushing cheek. You couldn’t help but laugh along and knock your glass to his.

Over another round, you told them about the countless times you got your butt knocked into the dirt, almost trampled by a horse, and how you accidentally stabbed your instructor. Carlos and Luna asked questions about the time you got knocked off the horse and had to engage in sword combat because the second instructor believed in historical accuracy. Lando was in tears when you told them about the time you and your best friend put on fake moustaches and bound your chests and convinced the male students to pretend to behead you in front of said second instructor – for historical accuracy of course.

When the other couple was busy getting ready to leave, Lando leaned over, cheeks still wet from crying, and said, “I need ya to tell me more about that competition thingy later. I want to know everything about you.”

------

Oscar Piastri

“Bastard.”

Truly, you hadn’t meant to say the words out loud. Oscar and you were enjoying a nice week after his triple-header watching some cricket. His favorite cricket team’s star player had pulled off an amazing play and you had reacted with more annoyance than usual. You were just frustrated – the wounds still fresh having been out to dinner with your friend the night before.

But the deafening silence and Oscar’s slow turn to look at you let you know the words came out.

“Hypocrite, much?” Oscar laughed but his quirked brows begged for an answer.

“What?” Now it was your turn to wear the same expression.

“Oh, come on!” He sat up, a ‘let’s-see-you-explain-this-one’ smile graced his face. “Last week I called Jessica on that real estate show a ‘stone cold bitch’ and you said judging them like that was rude.”

“Because we don’t know them!” You laughed remembering his faux venom towards Jessica last week after she upstaged Jeanne at the showing. “You wouldn’t like it if people judged you solely on Drive, right?”

“But we don’t-wait, are you saying you know Donnie?” Oscar stared at you, eyes wide. When you couldn’t find the words in time, his eyes grew wider. “How do you know him?”

“Did.” You correct feebly. You sigh and Oscar gets into a better position to face you. In his eyes, the match was forgotten, and you were now the main center of entertainment. It was bound to come up eventually. You were surprised it had not come up in conversation yet. “He dated my friend, cheated on her, and then ‘accidentally’ broke another friend’s hand when he came to defend her.”

“When was this?” Oscar blinked rapidly, trying to process it.

“Well…” It was now your turn to blush. You were holding onto a grudge from years ago, like a child. “My friend and I just made the junior Olympic team – so we were probably 13 or 14? Look, I know it’s silly to hold that against him, but he used to be such a brat-,”

Oscar placed a hand on your lips. His lips quirked up and his eyes glowed. “I’m sorry, but when did you make the junior Olympic team? How have you not talked about that before? How did I not know this? Who are you?”

“I told you I used to play-,” you said around his fingers. He pulled them back and placed them on your thigh.

“Casually!” He laughed, the absurdity coming through. “You never said you were that good!”

“Oscar,” You gave him a look. “I’ve showed you my old team photos!”

“I just thought it was a little league thing! You had shown me the photos offhandedly.” Oscar’s grin was infectious, but you still rolled your eyes.

“It’s not my fault you didn’t read the title of the photo!” You defended. He squeezed your thigh as he laughed. He pointed to the screen.

“So you know him? Why didn’t you say anything?” Bemused, he looked between you and the screen that was highlighting your school-yard nemesis.

“Well.” You blush. “He’s one of your favorite players and bringing it up did feel childish. I didn’t want to ruin something you enjoyed.”

Laughing, he pulled you close to his chest. “You could never ruin this for me.”

You smiled into his chest and snuggled closer. After a beat of silence, he spoke again. “So are there any old videos of you playing?”

“Yes, but not too many. To my parents’ constant shame, I quit the next year to join an after-school bowling team because I thought it was more fun.”

“You what?!”

---

Max Verstappen

He had spotted the crying girl first. You had noticed the twitch of concern on his face and turned in the direction he was facing. The two of you had found a quiet corner of the center to enjoy a moment of each other’s time before he would inevitably be pulled away. His hand had been on your back, warm and reassuring.

“What’s wrong?” Being slightly shorter, you couldn’t see whatever he was looking at. He tilted your head up and you saw he was looking at the balcony.

“A small kid. She looks lost.” He slipped his hand from your back and threaded his fingers through your hand. The two of you made your way up the stairs, you carefully trying to avoid the hem of your dress.

At the top, you found the girl had moved to a corner. She was crying, but at the sight of you two she seemed to want to disappear more. The two of you knelt down and Max tried to speak to her, but she just kept shaking her head and moving her hands. Max, helpless, look to you for some backup.

Fortunately, you understood.

With a practiced ease, your hands moved through the space in front of you. It had been a long time since you had signed with someone else in person. You and the small girl went back and forth, oblivious to Max’s razor-sharp gaze on you. Ever so often you stopped to translate to Max out loud without breaking the conversation with the girl, Emma.

“Her dad is Cas Albreen. He’s wearing a tie with small cats on it. She got it for him for Father’s Day.” You looked up at him, pausing to take in the warmth in his eyes, before pushing him towards the stairs. “You have your target, love. Bring him up here once you find him.”

“I’ll be right back.” He gave you one last look before he took off down the stairs. You beckoned the girl back out to the spot she was before – hoping if Max didn’t find him immediately, the father would know to look up. You watched Max move through the crowd efficiently and effectively. Many people tried to stop him for a conversation, but the media training kicked in and he found a way out as quickly as he could. Always inspecting the ties of the men that he passed.

You kept Emma entertained for a few more minutes, fully trusting your partner to get the job done. And it wasn’t long before you heard Max’s voice coming up the stairwell – his Dutch always something that went right to your heart. The dad swept the girl up into his arms – both tearful at that point.

The dad thanked the two of you profusely. Max told him it was no trouble. You said your goodbyes to Emma.

The two of you saddled next to one another at the top of the overlook.

“How long have you been able to do that?” He made a small gesture with his hands – as if it needed clarifying. You smiled, looking out over the gala below the two of you.

“Remember Rina?” You asked, although you knew he did. She was the one who introduced the two of you. You and she had met when she did an exchange year at your school. “Her favorite cousin, Lotte, the one that came with her, was deaf. I learned some so she wouldn’t feel left out. Lotte and I stayed in touch after she went home early. She was kind enough to keep teaching me.”

“But Rina is Dutch?” Max said, the gears turning in his head. You turned to look at him, unsure where the question was going, but he had that look where he was trying to get to the answer himself, so you stayed silent. “Hold on. Was that Dutch sign language?”

Ah. You laughed. While you didn’t speak Dutch, you were learning – you still had a long way to go to be conversational. Taking your amusement as an answer, Max ducked his head and shook it.

“So, your signing is better than your spoken?” Max gave a short laugh, before staring at you like you were a stranger and not the one he had been dating for roughly two years. “Who are you?”

“I’m still me, my love.” You kissed his cheek before patting it fondly. Max kissed you hand and rubbed it gently. “Come, we should rejoin the party.”

Max nodded. “But after, will you teach me some signs?”

Laughing and in love, the two of you returned to the party – counting the seconds until you could leave.

------

George Russell

You blamed Alex for the conversation derailing. The dinner was going well and the boys were going back forth over the latest race. George had invited Kimi to join them and you were excited to get to know the younger driver that George had taken under his metaphorical wing. You got to sit next to Alex, across from George, which allowed Kimi to sit next to George.

What neither had expected was the way Kimi kept giving you a funny look when you laughed or joked with Alex. Kimi had gone to the restroom and George and Alex told you it was probably nothing. George promised to talk to Kimi about it later. You assured him it was fine. The kid wasn’t being rude, he just seemed to be trying to figure something out.

Kimi returned from the restroom and took a seat.

“Hey, my friend is going to Taiwan.” Alex said as he turned to you. “You used to live there for a bit, right?”

You nodded and raised the wine glass to your lips. You had done the last two years of high school in Taiwan and stayed for more language exchange. Kimi froze, but none of you noticed.

“Would you mind if I gave him your number?” Alex asked, polite as ever. “He has a bunch of questions, and I figured you would be the better resource. He’s also an avid hiker and I know you are all about that.”

“I would be happy-,” you had started to say, but Kimi slammed his glass down. You all turned to him with a mixed of concerned expressions, but he didn’t even blink. His eyes were zeroed in on you like the starting lights.

“Whygopashan!” Kimi grinned and now it was your turn to freeze. You hadn’t heard that name in years. “I kept trying to figure out where I heard your voice before! I used to watch those videos all the time! That’s you, right?”

Shock had taken you first. You shook it off though, defrosting from Kimi’s adamant enthusiasm. He reached for his phone and began typing.

“Yeah,” You laughed nervously. “I can’t believe you watched that. That was years ago!”

“Want to fill the rest of us in, sweetheart?” George asked. You looked at him and his lips were twitched in bemusement and excitement. Under the table he pressed his foot against your own. You pressed back, enjoying the small and unnoticed touch.

Your face was going red. “Yes, well, I used to run a Youtube channel while I was in Taiwan. It was originally just to record the hikes so if anyone couldn’t physically walk, they would still get to see the beauty. But it was like really small-,”

“This video has 7 million views.” Kimi said, turning his phone to the rest of you.

“What?!” All three of you leaned forward. Lo and behold, Kimi was telling the truth. Over seven million people had watched the video. It was one of your later videos, a random interview. Usually, you just hiked up and down – keeping the camera pointed away from your face. That video a fan had reached out to invite you on a hike of YuShan, he had secured a lottery ticket to climb. It was a large enough group so you had agreed.

“Yeah!” Kimi was beaming now, his mystery finally solved. He looked at you with half admiration and half satisfaction. “Your voice was really soothing and I would put it on in the background to study. I liked this interview a lot.”

“I was trying to improve my Mandarin and learn some Taiwanese.” You explained, turning your gaze to Alex and George. George just looked at you, his expression thoughtful. One finger over his lips. You blushed, furiously, under his intense expression.

“Well one of the people you interviewed became like a huge singer.” Kimi turned his phone back to look at the comments. “Yeah, she was the lead singer of DemandFour!”

“No way!” Alex was already pulling his phone up and looking up the old channel.

“And you weren’t going to tell me?” George asked, lips twitching behind his finger. Amuzed was one word for his expression.

“It was years ago!” You held your hands out in front of you. “I had mostly forgotten about it.”

“You think you know someone. And here I thought I was the only one that would get recognized between the two of us.” He shook his head, clearly being playful.

“Besides, that was high school me!” You glanced at Alex’s screen and cringed. “I had kinda put that behind me.”

“I’m sure it’s not that-,” George started, but Alex shook his head.

“No, it’s definitely that bad. Seriously?” He turned to you as if seeing you in a whole new light. “The side ponytail? On a…nine mile hike?”

George’s face lit up, pushed his seat back and stood up. You tried to sink back into your seat – hoping to disappear from existence. Alex and Kimi were looking at one another’s screens, giggling like children.

“Alex, you’ve got the bill. Kimi, you’re old enough to find your way back to the hotel.” George said, already grabbing your hand and pulling you towards the vallet. “We’ve got bigger things tonight, boys.”

[marciaillust]

I added some colours to her :)

[fisheito]

900 pages......

[benevolenterrancy]

hi!! I think your art is *so cool* o(≧∇≦o)

do you think you could draw more moshang? either post canon or that au you did last time?? (baby mobei has my heart and all I own)

(˵ •̀ ᴗ •́ ˵ ) oh! how about return to childhood—moshang flavor?

don't question this king, shang qinghua, he knows what he's about

[brainmuncher]

Visiting an old friend

The whole way to Bludhaven Danny kept on telling himself that surely he’d made a mistake. He knew he could be impulsive sometimes but flying to Bludhaven on a rumor? He felt like he was a teenager all over again.

It’d been some dumb article he’d found while trying to focus on editing the design of a Fenton battery. It was a Bludhaven paper he’d forgotten to unsubscribe to that sent him a breaking news email. He used to eat up those papers, glad to have any way to see how his old friend was doing, but now it just felt suffocating to remember. He’d almost deleted it without even opening it, but some nagging feeling told him he should open it. He never would've expected to open it to a new blurry photo of a figure in blue, soaring above on the rooftops.

He barely got a couple of sentences into the article claiming that Nightwing could be back before he shot out of his apartment. Ever since that day when he watched invisibly as his coffin was laid in the ground he searched for Dick’s ghost. But no ghost this new could control their appearance that well. Colors were some of the hardest to control after all. So Dick could be… he really could be…

After that, the rest of the flight was much more nerve-wracking. He hadn’t ever met the other bats, but he knew that they could have some interesting rouges. Some kind of convoluted plan might have been behind all of this. Maybe someone was impersonating him? Or maybe some other blue vigilante has taken up Bludhaven… Was one of Dicks siblings taking over the Nightwing name? That last one was quickly shot down though. He saw how distraught the group was, he doubted if they would’ve even been able to touch the suit without breaking inside.

So all that led him to now, standing outside Dicks apartment building. Before they lost touch this was the place Dick told him he could go if he ever needed help. And seeing the lit-up rooms from the outside, Danny knew that at least someone had to have been there.

For the sake of normality, Danny decided to take the stairs within the building to Dicks floor. It definitely wasn’t because he was nervous or anything… it had nothing to do with that at all. Although the stairs seemed to reach the top quicker than he expected. 

He walked up to the apartment number that he was told about. A snarky ‘This house has gone 0 days without a pun’ welcome mat sat outside the door. The joke actually helped Danny calm down a bit, breathing in a deep breath of the slightly dusty hallway air before letting it out again. Without further ado, he rapped his knuckles on the hardwood door. Internally he winced at the loud noise. It was much later at night than any normal person would be awake. If someone was here and had a good sleep schedule then Danny probably just woke them up.

A few minutes passed by before his hearing picked up movement in the apartment. One part of him jumped in excitement, while the other sank with anxiety. Was that Dick? Or was it one of his siblings? Damn, Danny should have gone through with this invisibly, that way if it is one of the siblings he won’t have to face them. But it was much too late for that now, he knew that there had to be at least one camera facing him right now. Maybe he can just pretend to be lost? But then why would he climb up so many floors just to ask for directions? He really should’ve thought this through…

Before he could sink any lower into his panic the door let out a click of a lock. Momentarily frozen, he watched as the door slithered open without so much as a creak. To his amazement, the Dick Grayson stood staring back. He looked tired and was dressed in comfortable civilian clothes, but it was Dick. Before anything could be said Dicks eyes went down to look into Danny’s. His eyebrows creased in confusion, no doubt surprised by the random visit.

“Danny?” Dick questioned, his voice sounding a bit rough around the edges.

Danny couldn’t help the disbelieving smile from creeping up on his face.

“Hey Dick,” He spoke, his grin never leaving his face. “I’ve really missed you.”

A small breathy laugh of shock left Dicks lips as he looked down at Danny. He loosened his stance at the door, seeming to relax now that he knew who was there. Danny couldn’t help but feel bad at the scare he must have given the other. 

“I hadn’t thought we’d be seeing each other again. It’s been…” 

Years, Danny finished in his head. We haven’t seen each other in years.

They initially met on the streets funnily enough. Danny had been on the run from the GIW and Dick had been freshly fired from Robin and kicked out of the manor. Not that either one knew that much of each other at first. Danny had been hiding in a warm corner of a building when Dick bumped into him trying to find a warm place to stay as well. Danny offered for him to stay, not seeing any danger in letting someone around his age stay with him. After that things got revealed slowly, like Dick realizing that Danny wasn’t just homeless, he was hiding. And Danny noticing the odd skills that Dick had and the way the other held himself back in other situations. Slowly their secrets were shared with each other… and they found that they didn’t mind.

Eventually, they drifted apart though. Jazz and his friends finally found a way to create him a safe identity and eventually, he enrolled himself in college, deciding to take a break from Phantom for a while. Dick ventured out and created the Titans, even forging a new hero identity for himself as Nightwing. They slowly just stopped talking to one another after that. Not out of malice or anything, but just because they got busy. Life took over. It was only when a life was taken away, that Danny frantically tried to find out what happened to his friend.

But now that he’s here in front of him… He’s noticing the same things he’d seen from when they were on the streets. Dick had bags under his eyes like he was watching the candle burn at both ends and doing nothing to stop it. His clothes weren’t just baggy, they were unwashed. There was a faint toothpaste drop on his shirt that had been attempted to be rubbed off… but to no avail. His hair was shiny with unwashed grease and grime. And his face… He didn’t look like he was eating enough.

Like a truck had hit him, Danny suddenly found himself much less happy than he was before. Something was wrong with his friend. And if the crystae around the grave that Nightwing was supposedly buried were any indication… then… 

Danny straightened his stance subconsciously. It seems like he was due a serious conversation with the other.

“Can I come in? I’d rather not have this kind of conversation in the hall,” Danny asked awkwardly, looking around himself as if there was another person that he could see.

To Danny's concern, Dick’s body tensed up at the prospect of letting him in. He swore he saw Dick grimace at that for a split moment before a plastered-on smile was on his face. Nonetheless, Dick opened the door with much less bravado than he would’ve years ago and waved him in.

“Welcome to my abode,” he tried to joke, but the tone felt forced.

Danny didn’t understand why the other had looked that way until he walked through the doorway. While he may be no Kryptonian with insane super everything, he did have enhanced senses. And every single one of those senses went off like a bomb when he walked into the apartment. There were dirty dishes and clothes haphazardly left around collecting mold and mildew. He could see a portion of the Nightwing suit stuffed into a corner like Dick had tried to hide it from his sight. There were more than a few bottles of soda and coffee mugs spread across the room, some carrying a scent that Danny could live without. Then there was a shattered photo face down on the side of the room, glass still spread around the frame like a horrific halo. 

But the worst was probably the energy of liminal surrounding the whole place. The emotional energy within it was heavy, grief and desperation covering every inch. Everything just screamed pain pain PAIN PAIN-

Danny had to close his eyes, steeling himself against immediately answering the cry. It went against his very core to go against the cry for help but he knew he’d only make things worse if he dived straight in. Dick wasn’t one to accept help easily. He’d shown that multiple times in his various rants about Bruce’s attempts to help as Robin. Instead, he had to go about this differently.

“Man, you almost outrank me in the messy department,” Danny tried to joke instead.

He turned to look at Dick who finished locking his apartment back up against intruders. Hopefully, his eyes weren’t glowing from the intense cries his core was trying to fight against. Dick seemed to attempt to go with the jab, his smile not looking all there.

“I doubt that. I'm not the one who lost his phone and found it in his shin,” Dick replied, settling himself further into the apartment. 

Danny scoffed, waving his hand in the air like he could physically wipe away the comment. Slowly they started to migrate to where the couch was. There were blankets and pillows at the end like Dick would fall asleep there. Judging by the open case files on the table in front of it, he didn't sleep on purpose. 

“I actually keep it in my arm now. Much more convenient,” Danny winked, hopping on the couch and letting himself bounce on the spring underneath. “Although I do keep everything else in my haunt. I can make little portals now!”

Without further notice, Danny opened one of the said portals with his hands. As he hoped, although in any other circumstance, he normally wouldn't, a group of blob ghosts were near his things. A couple of them filed through the gap, chirping up at him. However, that sense of play quickly left them as they felt the energy around the place. Silently they flew away, off to do what they do best. 

Danny saw a twitch of a real smile for a second on Dicks face. Although it was quickly shut down like a sour memory. Like he was trying to escape it, Dick joined him on the couch, sitting a whole cushion away. 

“Should I be worried about them?” Dick motioned his chin towards the silent blobs making their way into his things.

Danny waved them off, still playing into his old impulsivity. He wasn't nearly as bad as he was as a teenager, but Dick didn't have to know that yet. Dick gave a skeptical look at him, watching as one of the blob ghosts swallowed one of the dirty cups whole.

“They're like bottom feeders in a fish tank. At most, you'll just find less dirt around. At the least… you might gain a cuddle buddy,” Danny hummed, watching the same blob from before sneeze and drop a perfectly polished cup back out.

At that, Danny could see Dick turn to look at him in his peripheral vision. Turning to join him in looking right at one another he could see Dick staring at him. Dick held a look on his face that Danny couldn’t uncover. His eyes wandered over Danny’s face like he was searching for something. But the rest remained perfectly blank. It reminded Danny of when they were still teens, trying to see if they could trust one another. Dick had given a similar look then before he'd nodded and sat down to talk. Hopefully this time it'll be no different. 

Although, Danny doesn't know how to feel when Dicks face shuts down a little. He can feel the exhaustion in the air. Somehow he feels like he just failed whatever Dick was searching for.

“Danny, why are you really here?” Dick asked finally.

The question was so out of the blue, and the answer so obvious. Danny couldn’t help the way his head tilted in confusion, not understanding why such a thing had to be asked. This wasn’t at all how he had planned for their conversation to go. He had wanted to keep things light so that the emotions wouldn’t make Dick clam up… or lash out. His next words need to be chosen carefully…

“Because I was concerned. One of my good friends just came back from death and I needed to make sure you were ok. Dying isn't an easy thing to process,” Danny spoke carefully, his own experience trickling into his mind.

The words seemed to make Dick even more defensive. It was exactly the thing Danny had been trying to avoid. But despite everything his efforts still led him to this moment. Dick had his guard up, his eyes glaring into Danny’s core.

“Well I'm alive,” Dick spoke with terseness, “so why are you still here?”

“Because I care about you,” Danny reiterated, his confusion turning over into concern. “Dick, you died. That type of thing sticks with you. I'm not about to leave you to deal with that alone.”

Dick scoffed. He readjusted himself on the couch, sliding a bit farther from Danny. At this point, he was almost leaning on the edge. The physical representation of the distance between them hurt more than Danny was willing to admit. He hadn’t had Dick run from him before.

“Ignoring me for years is one hell of a way to show it,” Dick bit back.

A wave of annoyance hit Danny from the comment, but he instead closed his eyes and ignored it. Dick used to do this constantly when they were young. He'd use a healing mental wound to pick at to bring the other person away from his own hurt. Except Dick made the mistake of using it too many times on Danny in the past. He was old enough now to stop and learn from what he was trying.

Letting out a breath of air, Danny looked up into Dicks eyes. He could feel the pain all around him. The wails of someone touched by death echo all around. This wasn't something he could let go. No matter how much Dick tries to push him away, he isn’t going to go anywhere.

“Dick, I'm not asking you to tell me what happened… or even how you came back. I would know more than anyone how painful it can be to relive those memories. I'm just asking for you to let me stay and help you. You're not okay.”

If Danny's words made an impact on Dick, he sure as hell didn't show it. He looked away from Danny’s eyes, instead staring at something far off. His movements seemed almost robotic. Like there was some kind of memory playing in his head that Danny couldn’t see.

“Whoever said I died? I went undercover Danny. Nothing happened. Nothing to talk about.” Dick spoke with a scarily devoid tone of voice, almost like he was reciting someone else.

Danny couldn’t stop the scoff from coming out of his mouth. Dick looked his way again, seeming to be surprised at the action. As if he could simply lie his way out of death. Danny tried the denial shtick. You can only tell yourself it was nothing for so long before you realize that not breathing in your sleep is probably a sign. 

“Dick I saw your grave. I don't know the details because I wasn't exactly invited, but I saw the crystae flowers blooming around the dirt. Those only bloom around memorials for the dead,” Danny explained carefully, watching as Dick looked more and more like he'd panic. “Even now I can feel death's touch on you. Your place is soaked in liminal energy… I can feel that you're in pain.”

Danny was a little hesitant to reveal that last bit but knew that Dick would pick up on it eventually. Especially with Danny sticking around, that liminality would only get stronger. That's just how ectoplasm is. It won't stick onto a healthy person unless they've already been exposed to it. Depending on how long Dick had been dead, it might be more attracted to him.

Although now Danny couldn’t help but feel awful about it as he saw Dick flounder. He at least took his time in coming to terms with his death, he should've known an emotionally repressed bat wouldn't be able to handle it all at once. Danny tried to reach out a hand, as something for Dick to physically hold onto to stay in the present. But in a moment of fear, Dick slapped it away. He jumped up from his spot on the couch, never looking at the same spot for more than a couple of seconds. 

“Dick I'm sor-” Danny tried to apologize but Dick started to do a panicked angry rambling right over him. 

“No! It doesn't count. I didn’t die. My heart only stopped for a couple of minutes. I was fine. Everything is fine!” He tried to reason to himself, his pacing taking a hysterical turn.

Danny winced at that. It doesn't matter how long you die. Ectoplasm doesn't care about that, only that you have some kind of exposure to it. Even in the first seconds of death you already create the energy for ectoplasm in the body. How much was created, and how much was in the air already, is what determines if you become a ghost. It's a natural part of life.

“Dick please,” Danny began again, but was stopped by Dicks piercing stare.

“I didn't die, Danny. I didn't die because that would mean he was right and I can't-” 

Dick let out a noise somewhere between a gasp for air and a dry sob. It tore at Danny's core to hear but considering how Dicks reaction to the last time he tried to reach out went, he stayed in place. One of the blob ghosts must have felt his pain, rushing over and chirping into Dicks chest. It caught the other off guard long enough to stop and take a few ragged breaths of air. The blob continued its chirping assault of cuddling into Dicks chest while the other refused to look at Danny. But in that moment Danny couldn’t have felt any more thankful for the blobs and didn't mind if Dick needed a moment. So they sat there for a moment, Dick sitting in his emotions and Danny waiting for him to calm down. 

The air was charged with a tone of sorrow. It was the kind that Danny was all too familiar with. It was the kind that left you feeling that there was no chance for your life to be happy again. The kind where everything felt like it had fallen apart all around you with no hope of it being repaired. It tore at Danny’s heart that Dick of all people was left to feel this way. Where were all the people that should be here supporting him? Where was his family in all of this? Surely Danny can’t be the only one to see the pain Dick is in.

“How…”

Danny looked up at Dick who seemed to be at a loss of what to say. He wasn’t looking up at him at all, only absentmindedly playing with the blob curled against his chest. 

“How did you get over it?” Dick spoke again, now looking up at Danny with an unsure gaze. “How can you just go on with your life without it constantly playing in the back of your head?”

Danny pursed his lips, knowing that his answer wasn’t one that Dick would like. Just at the action alone, he could see the little hope in the other's eyes die out. He once again turned his head to the blob ghost. With a gentle hand, Dick pets the back of the ghost's body.

“I’ve never gotten over my death. With help from my friends and sisters, I was able to accept it and heal from it… but I can never forget it,” Danny spoke solemnly.

He couldn’t help but notice the way Dicks petting movements momentarily paused at the mention of his support. It sent an alarm of concern through Danny. While he was here he couldn't believe that things could get so bad around here. There was just too much time in the layers of sadness and grime for this to be new. So why hasn't anyone tried to stop it and help? There was a disturbing painting being made before his eyes. For the sake of the heroes on this planet, he sure hopes his suspicion is wrong.

“But I promise you, Dick, that this is not the end. It might not seem like it, but things will get better,” Danny promised, something he didn’t take lightly. “I will be here to do everything I can to help you heal.”

Dick didn’t say anything back for a long time. He simply played with the blob on his chest, flicking its tail side to side in between his fingers. The blob certainly didn’t seem to mind, blubbering little chirps to itself. Neither did Danny, who could see that this was a bit too much at once for Dick. 

“Are you still retired?” Dick asked eventually, looking up at Danny with a begging look.

It was one that Danny could recognize. One that was asking for them to try and pretend that nothing was wrong. To give him time to break away from reality and think things over with himself. So Danny let the conversation lead off. It would just be more damaging than helpful to continue on this path. So, conceding to Dicks wordless pleas, Danny let it go.

“Technically. But I wouldn’t mind going back out again if it means I can work with the great Nightwing,” Danny smiled, hoping to bring back the light atmosphere of before.

It seemed to work if the small smile that Dick gave was any indication. Danny hadn’t realized how happy he would be to see a real, albeit small, smile from the other again. Giving a last pat on the blob ghost's head, Dick walked over to where half of the Nightwing suit was discarded.

“Then I hope you still have your spirit,” Dick quipped back, stepping away towards a hallway. “Cause I won’t be going easy on you old man.”

Danny scoffed at the old nickname, jumping off the couch in fake offense. Although it was much too late to say anything about it before Dick scampered down the hall. He could hear a door open and close, signaling Dick is putting his suit on. Danny doesn’t envy the suit that Dick has to put on. Who would’ve thought that putting on a skin-tight suit might take someone a bit?

Luckily Danny didn’t have to even lift a finger. Letting out a breath he let the cold of his core take over, feeling a rush of weightlessness hit him. Knowing that he still had plenty of time to wait for Dick, Danny turned and opened another temporary portal. This time he had opened it directly to his keep, spotting Fright Knight in the distance.

“Frighty,” Danny called into the portal, half laughing to himself as the said knight nearly jumped. “I need a favor from you.”

After years of beating up multiple ghosts, quite a few of the citizens of the realms held respect for Danny. Honestly, it was refreshing to be able to just talk with half of the ghosts he used to fight. While he still held fights with them, cause it’s a form of affection apparently, things had cooled off for the most part. 

Which means it allowed Danny to get to know a lot of them better. This is how he found out that Fright Knight was cursed to serve the king. Thankfully with a little help from Jazz studying the books in Ghost Writers library and a surprisingly life-or-death adventure, Danny freed the ghost. This led to Fright Knight giving his servitude to Danny… which kinda undermines the whole point of the adventure in the first place but it wasn’t Danny’s place to judge.

“What can I do you for, Sir Phantom?” Fright Knight asked, getting closer to the portal and standing guard right outside it.

Oh yeah, and had he forgotten to mention the nickname? Yeah, it bothered Danny too. Although he’s learned that there's not much he can do to change it.

“There are some mortals I’d like to keep an eye on. They are the vigilantes of Gotham,” Danny proposed, making it a suggestion even though he knows Fright Knight will just do anything he says anyway. “Could you look over them for me?”

Fright Knight gave a deep bow before stepping through the portal. His extremely tall frame still absolutely dwarfed Danny in size. Which means it was kinda funny to watch him step through a portal that was sized for Danny's height. He's just so used to making a portal no bigger than that that he hadn’t even considered it.

“I would be honored,” The ghost replied, to which Danny nodded with a thankful smile.

“Thank you Frighty. I’ll check in with you every once in a while,”

And with those last words, Fright Knight nodded and disappeared. He tended to be less on the wordy side anyway.

Was it smart to send someone to spy on the bats? Probably not. But chances are, Dick isn’t going to say anything. Unfortunately, Dick had a mentality that he had to deal with things that are hurting him on his own. Whether from a sense of guilt or fear of not being enough, Dick would rather lead himself into the deep end than call for help. So to figure out why he’s been left so hauntingly alone, Danny is going to have to investigate. Thankfully just him going ghost had already scrambled Dicks security cameras, so the entire conversation wouldn’t be noticed.

The sound of a door closing took Danny out of his thoughts. He turned to the opening of the hallway, feeling himself smile at Dick. It’s been a very long time since he’s seen Dick in costume. The last time he saw the Nightwing suit in person it had honest-to-god tassels. He’s honestly really glad that Dick had changed the costume since then. This new suit in front of him was much more sleek. 

As he nodded to himself he could see Dick raising an eyebrow at him. He stood much more relaxed than before, a smile that didn't look entirely fake on his face.

“At least you’ve gained some sense of style after all this time,” Danny hummed, finding delight in Dicks scandalized gasp.

“I thought you loved the old costume!” Dick said, trying and failing to smother his amusement with an upset face.

Danny shrugged and folded his legs underneath him. It felt so easy to use his powers like this again. While he wasn’t exactly shy to use his powers normally, his range of them was muted in human form. As he hovered in place, he tilted his head teasingly at the other.

“Sorry, I was so busy staring at your chest that I missed what you were wearing,”

Dicks off guard laughter was the best thing Danny had heard in years.