#Danny and Jason trapped in the Zone

[bluerosefox]

Todd and Phantom, Mostly Ghostly Shenanigans

That one Danny Phantom episode “Life Lessons” but its Phantom and Jason Todd tied together in the Ghost Zone.

Danny is confused why he’s tied to Jason and trying not to detransform while navigating the Ghost Zone and avoiding some of his enemies (They do stage another jailbreak after getting caught by Walker and steal Johnny 13 bike during the adventure) but Danny debates on making a detour to the Far Frozen to get Jason looked at, he doesn’t know whats making this random dude feel like he bathed in sewer water for a year but whatever it is should get looked at. Oh, and due to some reason his powers are on the fritz as well for a while (maybe due to a misfire from one his parents machines? Maybe the cuffs are shorting his powers out? or maybe Danny’s going through like a ghost growth spurt)

Jason on the other hand is trying not to freak out that he’s in the land of the dead basically and tied to some ghost guy. Last thing he remembers was trying to fight some green flaming Mohawk metal guy saying he is “a rare prize” and will be hunted for sport along side with his other rare quarry (The Most Dangerous Game much dude) before being knocked out and waking up in what is apparently the Ghost Zone. He’s also gotta pretend to be civilian Jason Todd as well. He doesn’t have any of his Red Hood stuff.

Basically they both try to keep their real identities a secret (doesn’t last long tbh) and get into some shenanigans in the Zone while on the run from Skulker and other of Danny’s rouges.     

[snazzydwarf]

Jasons pit madness is actually him going mama bear mode-

I was brushing my teeth when this DC x DP idea just zapped into my brain and I HAD to let it out-

So I'd imagine that in the GZ time works differently, but in the sense where it passes really really slow compared to how it would normally pass. This is to allow newly formed spirits a time to grieve and heal before saying good bye to their loved ones.

So now imagine a newly formed Jason Todd arriving to the Ghost Zone, still donned with the Robin outfit he died in. 

While he floats aimlessly around for a while he eventually encounters another young ghost... like really young, no more then 5 years old.

He watched as this kid, his kid, grow into the powerful ghost he was always meant to be. His favourite moments where when Clockwork allowed them to visit outside the GZ to go stargazing so they could fulfil the kids space obsession. 

This ghost is Danny. (You can choose your own way of him getting there but I would imagine the portal being completed way earlier than cannon but still follows how Danny got his powers, although this time he was trapped on the other side of the portal rather than popping back out into this parents basement.)

Years pass in the GZ and Jason has officially taken Danny under his wing. At first it was difficult, he was only 15 goddammit! He shouldn’t be the soul caretaker of this kid, let alone a dead one! But the thought of leaving Danny alone in this green void made his stomach churn, he couldn’t up and leave and abandon a kid he said he would take care off, he would do anything for Danny. He wasn’t like Bruce

They were fine, happy even, he couldn’t imagine a life without this little tyke who became his whole world in the time he was in the Zone, but then it was all gone. His core felt a sudden pull so tight it felt like it was being ripped out of his body, it hurt, oh god did it hurt but it couldn’t compare to the sound of Danny’s cries as he watched Jason crumple to the ground and begin to fade away.

He stalked through Gotham at night and began setting up his plan for revenge, although Red Hood was born he couldn’t help feel like he lost something. The slightest thing would tip him of, making him go into a blind fury, ripping his enemies apart in an almost frantic desperation. He knew he was searching for something, fucking something, but what is it? 

He was back in the land of the living, and he was furious, but he didn’t know what for. His memories where fuzzy at best and the only thing he remembers is a sharpness in his chest and green in his vision. 

At first he thought it was the desire for revenge, that he was searching for retribution against the man who killed him and the man who didn’t do enough to save him, but it wasn’t until almost a year after he took up the Red Hood mantel did it all click into place and his world suddenly became right again, all it took was one voice and one word.

“DAD!”

[plainclothesdisaster]

Red Knight - Chapter 4

DP x DC | Dead on Main

Jason Todd encounters one Danny Fenton in the streets of Gotham and suddenly he's thrown into a world of ghosts and monsters. Will he embrace this life? Or will it just end up with him dead again?

Read on AO3 | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

--

Jason ended up at Danny’s place for a second time. After picking up his dropped bodega snacks (Takis and a six pack of Dr. Pepper) Danny pulled Jason out of the pavement and ushered him up the block and into the apartment Jason already knew was his.

Jason sat on the worn out sofa, hands folded. Danny appraised him from the kitchen, mouth full of Takis. “So what you’re gonna need most is some gear.”

Danny leaned over to a side wall and stuck his hand through it. He must have triggered a switch of some kind because a moment later an armory panel flipped around, revealing a rack of strange gadgetry haphazardly stacked on top of one another. Most of it looked similar in design to the belt Jason had found on Danny’s desk.

Danny rummaged for a second before he pulled out a canister and tossed it to Jason. Jason caught it and turned it over in his hands. “A thermos?”

“Your most important tool in ghost hunting. You use this to capture ghosts.”

Jason scoffed. “Why would I want to capture them?”

“You have any luck killing them?” Danny gave him a sideways glance.

Jason pursed his lips. Obviously he hadn’t. All his fights had ended in some variation of mutual retreat.

“Thought not. So— thermos. I trap them in there till I release them back in the Ghost Zone.”

“Ghost Zone?”

“The Infinite Realms. Aforementioned realm of the dead, if we’re being reductive. Where they live. Or after-live. Same thing.” Danny cracked a soda and held it out to Jason, offering. Jason shook his head, and Danny continued, “Since you don’t have a portal, you can drop your full thermoses off with me.”

“You do have a portal?”

Danny tilted his head for a moment, considering. “Not exactly. Next up— weapons.”

Not exactly. Another half answer. Jason swallowed any notions of follow up questions, and not just because he could still feel bruises forming on his skin from where Danny’s hits had landed (seriously when was the last time someone had actually left a mark on him?)

“All of this stuff was designed to work against ghosts, even for regular humans using it.” Danny gestured to the makeshift armory. “But the way you shoot ecto blasts out of your regular guns has me wondering— you might be able to enhance some of this stuff too.”

Danny pulled out a pair of clunky metal bracelets. “Take these for example. In theory these were designed to imitate a ghosts power of invisibility. They do a decent job of optic camouflage but it’s hardly the real thing.” He tossed them over and Jason snatched them out of the air. “I bet if you try them it will work all the way.”

Jason clicked the cuffs around his wrists, wary. Nothing happened. “Now what?”

“Do what you do when you use your guns.”

Jason concentrated a moment, clenching his muscles and feeling stupid. He must have been making a weird face because Danny chuckled.

Jason glowered at him. “This is dumb. I don’t have superpowers.”

“You do have ghost powers though. I think you’re trying too hard. Being invisible isn’t like firing something out, it’s like pulling something back, if that makes sense.”

“Not at all,” Jason grumbled.

Danny snorted. “I’m not a poet, cut me some slack. Just try again.”

Jason looked up to give Danny another glare, but he was surprised again at the casual intensity with which Danny looked back at him. Jason hadn’t noticed that he’d been avoiding looking Danny in the eyes and now he remembered why. He felt small under those eyes. Cornered like a feral cat. He wanted to-

“Oh!” Danny exclaimed as his eyes lost their direct focus. Jason looked down at himself and was met with a shifting shimmer of nothingness. Invisible. He felt a soft hum of energy from the cuffs that matched the hum of energy within him. He kept his concentration a moment longer before releasing it like a held breath.

“It works!” Danny smiled triumphantly.

Jason grunted in the affirmative, twisting the cuff on his wrist.

“Did you make all these?” Jason gestured to the cuffs and other gadgets.

“Oh, yeah. Some are based on my parents’ designs, but everything here I built.”

“Why? Why make all this?”

Danny shrugged. “Old habits. I’ll pack you a goodie bag of anything that might be useful. Most of it is pretty self explanatory.”

Old habits. Another dodge but Danny turned and started digging through the closet before Jason could ask more. Who has a habit of building weapons when you clearly don’t need them?

A minute later Danny dropped a duffel bag brimming with all sorts of odds and ends on the coffee table in front of Jason. It must have been hundreds of dollars worth of gear. It felt like some kind of con, or a trick. This kind of assistance didn’t come for free.

“Why are you helping me?” Jason asked it like an accusation.

“I told you. Because I can.”

Jason stared with narrowed eyes, unsatisfied.

Danny paused. Rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “It was coincidence that I sensed you that first night. When you got up closer I realized you were like me. We’re a pretty rare thing, and it’s not an easy life. Half life. Whatever.”

“But why help me. Half ghost or not, what if I was a serial killer? Or a pedo?”

“Or a crime lord?” Danny raised a pointed eyebrow. Jason kept his face at a trained neutral. “I’ve been in Gotham long enough to know the Red Hood’s reputation.”

Jason didn’t know whether or not he felt relieved by that.

Danny sat down on the couch next to Jason. Didn’t look at him. He fiddled with his fingers for a moment before he let them curl into a fist.

“For people like us… I know sometimes you don’t get the luxury of being the good guy. Sometimes you have to be exactly the monster they think you are.”

Jason stared at Danny’s hands. He’d seen a peek of the monster Danny could be. And playing with these so-called powers that Danny was teasing out of him felt like walking a tightrope across the Lazarus pit. But hearing Danny admit that he wasn’t some saint, he could accept that Danny really was trying to help him.

Jason picked up a pair of what looked like gaudy high-tech earrings from the duffel. “So with these I can make the ghosts stop attacking me?”

Danny was about to answer when the room went cold. Jason saw Danny’s breath. His smile fell.

“Shit.” Danny’s eyes snapped to Jason, serious now. “Ready for a crash course? Strap up. They’re here.”

Danny scanned the room like a predator. Jason saw nothing.

“Who’s here?” he said, grabbing miscellany from the bag (was that just a baseball bat painted green?) and clipping whatever would fit in his holsters. Goosebumps rose on Jason’s arms as the chill settled deeper. What’s here may have been a better question.

Danny didn’t look back at him, still scanning corners. “Okay short version: Gotham is super cursed right? A curse like this only happens to places when ghosts stick around too long. The ghost and the place become part of each other, kinda. They’re a different flavor than ghosts like those rats who come and go. As you can imagine the curse ghosts here have dug their heels in pretty deep. And I uh… asked them to leave.”

The lights flickered and went dark. Jason didn’t dare breathe. “And how did that go?” he whispered.

“Not great.”

Then an abomination unlike any of the ghosts Jason had faced yet phased through the living room wall. It had way too many legs and a mouth that opened too wide and a hulking animalistic form that seemed to ooze inky darkness.

“Super rude of you to crash my place when I have company over,” Danny quipped toward the beast.

Then a beam of green light pelted the thing in its side. An instant later Danny had vaulted the couch and jumped at it fists blazing.

Guess they were doing this.

Danny’s fighting style shifted completely from before. When he’d fought Jason it had been full of flourish, more dodging than attack, a cat playing with its prey. Now he was like a wolf, vicious and decisive, aiming directly for weak spots.

A blast of green energy from Danny’s palm to what Jason assumed was the creature’s head sent a glob of goop splatting to the wall behind it.

“Aw man that’s definitely going to leave a stain,” Danny huffed as the creature lashed back with a slippery-sharp leg-appendage.

The creature swung in a wide arc. Jason ducked and rolled, ending up behind it. He reached into the duffel if ghost gear for something that would work against it and pulled out… some kind of metallic medieval looking whip? What the shit was he supposed to do with this?

The curse ghost let out a gurgling roar as Danny punched what must have been its jaw. Heck. Jason might as well try. He flailed the flail at one of the thing’s rear legs. The ends of the whip immediately got stuck in the thick goop of it. The ghost didn’t even seem to notice as it tossed Danny to the ceiling.

Screw that. He abandoned the whip and pulled a pistol out, focusing his energy and letting a blast rip. It stung a hole in the curse ghost’s side. It spun around, attention shifted. Maybe that wasn’t a good thing.

Quicker than a pile of angry goo had any right to be it whipped its tail around and this time Jason didn’t duck fast enough. It caught him in the side and sent him crashing through the coffee table. Worse, his pistol went flying.

“Quit wrecking my house!” Danny shouted as he launched off the ceiling, elbow down on the ghost like a pro wrestler. They tumbled into the desk with a squelch. It gave Jason enough of a breath to notice the sword under the couch. Sure, why not.

He grabbed it by the hilt and reflexively focused his energy through it. The sword responded as he pulled it out from under the couch, glowing with energy that flickered like wicked green flames. He cracked a smile. Okay now they were getting somewhere.

He scrambled to his feet. Danny wrestled with the beast on the other side of the couch.

“Hey black licorice how do you like this?” He swung the sword two handed through the same leg that had eaten the whip. It cut clean through with a satisfying schlick. That chunk of goo slopped to the floor.

“Nice!” Danny beamed as he kicked the thing off of him with both feet. Jason swelled with golden pride.

He fell into muscle memory, relying on his old training. He didn’t let himself think too hard about the origins of the techniques and instead just relishing the feeling of the blade cutting through the ghost monster, slowly backing it into a corner with the aid of Danny’s blasts.

As if the beast sensed the jaws of the snare closing it lashed out one final time. It swatted Danny from the air and pinned him under a massive paw, nearly swallowing him whole. Jason froze, a shot of ice cold panic in his veins. The sword was cool and all but If Danny went down for real he was royally fucked.

“Thermos!” Danny croaked out from beneath the mound of goo.

Jason fumbled for the canister. He wasted precious moments fiddling with the cap and looking for an on switch.

“How the hell do I work this?” He barked back at Danny.

“Just hit the button!!”

His thumb found the switch then he barely managed to keep his grip as a beam of light shot out of the canister, hit the beast and sucked it up like a vacuum in the span of three seconds flat.

The lights flickered back on. Danny got up, brushed the lingering goo off his shirt, and flopped down on the torn up couch.

“Good job.”

What the hell.

Jason sat down on the couch next to Danny. “These things-“ he started, taking a moment to flick the black goo off his sword and calm the tremor in his hand, “They’re just running around Gotham attacking people?”

“Not directly. The curse ghosts aren’t like regular ghosts. They don’t attack humans. They don’t need to. These guys cause malice and chaos just with their rancid vibes alone, and then they feed off of the misery they cause. They’ve been in crime alley since before it was crime alley. In a way they are crime alley.”

“But they attack you,” Jason pressed him with a look.

“I shot first,” Danny sighed, “But I couldn’t just let them be.”

“Why not?” Jason pressed further. Danny wasn’t from here. He had no connection to Gotham, no reason to risk himself to protect it.

Danny hesitated. “It’s what I do. Ever since the accident. I protect people from ghosts.”

Jason supposed that reasoning made just about the same amount of sense as any of the justifications he’d heard from the other spandex-wearing dumbasses he knew. Himself included. Which now posed him with a dilemma.

It seemed so obvious that Gotham was cursed. Jason could swallow the supernatural explanation with ease. But that meant he had been fighting a losing battle this whole time. And not just him— Bruce and the rest too. Even if he ignored the curse ghosts and went back to fighting his own battles, he’d do it with the knowledge that he’d be treating a symptom, not the cause.

Dealing with ghosts night after night had been a nuisance but they hadn’t caused real damage. Not like what Danny described these curse ghosts doing, and not like what he’d just seen. He though of the dark shadows he’d seen in his peripherals ever since he’d started noticing the ghosts. They felt the same as the beast they’d just fought. He couldn’t ignore them now, the same way he couldn’t ignore the regular ghosts. Dammit.

“I want in.”

“What?” Danny asked, a note of surprise in his voice, and also a hint of delight. Jason ground his teeth together. He hoped he wouldn’t regret this.

“This is my home. These guys are fucking with it. I’m not about to just let them carry on.”

“So you’re not going to go after them alone?”

Jason shook his head no. Danny smiled.

“And you’ll let me give you the tools you’ll need?”

Jason nodded. Danny smiled wider.

“And you’ll actually call me if you run into trouble?”

Jason wasn’t stupid. The half-destroyed apartment was enough proof that he’d be toast if he tried to take down even one of those curse ghosts alone. Plus now he could begrudgingly and with absolute certainty admit that fighting with Danny was much better than fighting against him.

Jason sighed, loudly. “Yes, dammit.”

Danny beamed. “You’re hired.”

[batty-pham]

Daily DPxDC Fic Rec

Day 48 - Nov 17

Grave Promises

By Blueseabird2

Tags: Batfamily, Protective Dick Grayson, Protective Jason Todd, BAMF Danny Fenton, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson Trained Danny Fenton, Danny Fenton Needs A Hug, Bad Parents Jack and Maddie Fenton, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Comic Book Science, Past Rape/Non-con, Protective Batfamily

Wordcount: 39,064

Summary: Danny Fenton has nowhere to go and no one he can turn to without putting them in danger. Except, perhaps, the hero who'd cared for, respected, and trained Danny for all too short a time. Dick Grayson had never told anyone he'd once been trapped in the Ghost Zone. He'd also never forgotten the promise he'd made sure to get from Danny Phantom. Jason doesn't know what is going on but he's really very pissed that there's another kid with a y-shaped scar on their chest and eyes that feel like frozen reflections of home. Thankfully, there are suddenly several new targets for his rage and Dick seems rather more inclined to join Jason than stop him.

Complete: no

[stealingyourbones]

DPXDC Prompt Masterlist #651-700

651. Danny is a School Nurse 652. Bruce meets College Buddies Jack & Maddie 653. Not Enough Ectoplasm in Gotham 654. Tim Finds Inhuman Danny (Fav Prompts) 655. Respect Your King 656. GL hears of AEA 657. GIW finds Red Hood 658. Gotham and Metropolis on Ghost Council 659. Ghostly Amazo 660. Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell 661. Self Defense Danny 662. Slushie Ectoplasm 663. Kwan: Super Lawyer (Fav Prompts) 664. Killer Croc and Wulf >:D 665. Sam Manson Summoning (Fav Prompts) 666. Tim Summons GK to Find Batman (Fav Prompts) 667. GK is Summoned: Barry Edition 668. Jimmy Olsen: Damsel In Distress 669. Jimmy Olsen is a Ghost (Fav Prompts) 670. Danny Races YJ 671. Red Huntress meets Red Robin (Fav Prompts) 672. Wes Weston and Jimmy Olsen >:) 673. Jim Gordon adopts Danny (Fav Prompts) 674. Tim is Trapped in the Bat Computer 675. Immortal Halfa Tim AU 676. Mute Ghost Speak Jason Todd (Fav Prompts) 677. Jason Todd has Johnny 13's Bike (Fav Prompts) 678. Danny Meets an Imp 679. Harley Quinn finds Cujo 680. Non Linear Nasty Burger (Fav Prompts) 681. Blue Beetle Scarab Ghost Speak Translator 682. Tucker Gets a WaynePhone 683. Wonder Woman and Danny work at Taco Whiz 684. Wes Weston Nightwing Identity Reveal 685. Jimmy Olsen & Danny Identity Reveal (Fav Prompts) 686. Ember meets Firefly 687. Tim Accidentally Takes Ectoplasm (Fav Prompts) 688. Kryptonite is Infinite Realms Currency 689. Kara meets Dani (Fav Prompts) 690. Alfred Meets Danny in Underground Caves 691. Danny is one of Billys Patrons (Fav Prompts) 692. All Liminals Proceed to the Route 693. Billy is hunted by the GIW 694. Golden Glider meets Dani 695. Killer Frost meets Danny 696. Lois Lane interviews Jazz at Arkham (Fav Prompts) 697. The Question goes to Amity 698. Danny Finds the Fortress of Solitude 699. Phantom Girl Finds the Ghost Zone 700. Tim finds Connor. Connor is a Halfa. (Fav Prompts)

[tourettesdog]

DPxDC Dog Prompts

Here’s my collection of DPxDC prompts I’ve made, collected together! 

Most of them lean towards Gotham/Batpham content, since that is where my own interests with the crossover are most prominent.

A lot of these prompts have had continuations and fics added in the notes! If you like one, I’d recommend checking to see if anyone’s done more with it.

I might reorganize these some other time, perhaps by length/type of prompt, etc, but for now it’s just roughly in order of when they were posted.

If any links are broken, tell me and I’ll see about finding the link!

Adopting a ghost (just a ghost, right?)

Oops yeah Vlad’s sus

We forgot the clone detail

Let’s try that summon again

Please let me help you’re gross

An electric core

You summoned me so I’m your problem

Halfa (not that he noticed)

Dani and Haly’s Circus

Batman’s a ghost, right?

An anchor to the Zone

Accidentally raising Batman’s son

Stuck in Gotham, losing even more

John Constantine’s accidental trip

A sick trail

Too spooky no thanks

Blood Blossoms across Gotham

Trying to sneeze a way home

Accidental twin(?) acquisition

My dog now

 Old friends, unfortunate connections

Dinner interrupted

That dog’s green for another reason

Summoning a guardian instead

Danny isn’t what he expected

An uncomfortable heir

Apex predator Gotham

A girlfriend with a haunting past

Cleansing music

The forgotten queen

At the center of it all

Plans sidelined for a few ghosts

Amity stuck in the past

A dynasty built on ghosts

A haunting joke

A little to the left

Walker hates jokes

Vampiric wards?

Jack and Janet Drake go for a dig

Swapping ghosts for folks

Trapped for too long

Jason Todd: a bad anniversary

Taking care of a severed soulmate

Tim Drake has a portal accident

Disabled Dani

Technus hacks for a good cause

Freakshow picks up a stray Jay

Trying to save yourself without knowing it

Beast Boy’s a little bit spooky

The Fenton and Drake feud

A ghostly Batman

Johnny and Kitty from Gotham

Wtf just happened to the Earth?

Hood and the Holiday Truce

A Little Baby Man infestation

Jason, silent since the grave

A tomb like a cocoon

Deaged: there the whole time

Red Hood, ghostly beneath the helmet

When vigilantes ruin your disappearing act

Ghostly soul marks

Summonings and sharing exes

The call of a ghostly stone

An ill-advised cat burglary

Clockwork might not have been the best choice

Val moves to Gotham

Summoned in his stead

Damian gets to pick for once

A concerning return to AO3

The side effects of cleansing a core

Killed and saved by a joke

Red Hood gets souped

Gotham wants Jason back in his grave

A friendly ghost Robin goes missing

Wes needs to learn to shutup

Corrupted vs pure ectoplasm: FIGHT

Demon twins: an unfortunate “corpse” discovery

Demon twins: menace of Gotham

Ivy and Harley in Amity

Occult shop in Gotham

John gets pawned

Demon twins: Sam in the know (derogatory)

Crown too big for he gotdamn head

Little Baby Man after king fight

[uniasus]

fic rec! 54K DPxDC fic, featuring Dick and Danny tramua bonding.

Summary: Danny Fenton had nowhere to go and no one he could turn to without putting them in danger. Except, perhaps, the hero who'd cared for, respected, and trained Danny for all too short a time.

Dick Grayson had never told anyone he'd once been trapped in the Ghost Zone. He'd also never forgotten the promise he'd made sure to get from Danny Phantom.

Comments: I really like Dick and Jason's relationship in this fic. Jason toys the line of both big brother and little brother, and it gives him access to Dick in a way the other Bats don't have. Dick's absolute thrill at meeting Jazz - a responsible big sib with paternal instincts - is also amazing.

But there's great Dick and Danny moments too, but they're subtle. This fic takes place after they've probably spent years together (thank you Clockwork) but the details about that time are never truly shared. You pick them up like the Bats do, sliding together pieces and realizing just how much they've helped each other.

[mutable-manifestation]

The Ghost King (of Miscommunication)

Parts 1-12: https://www.tumblr.com/mutable-manifestation/701038878865375232/part-12-guys-guys-guys-jason-todd-was-46-when

Part 13: https://mutable-manifestation.tumblr.com/post/701324260415799296/the-ghost-king-of-miscommunication

Part 14! (this post)

Important Context:

J’onn can’t sense Wulf & Superman can’t hear him despite him being right there because ghost invisibility and intangibility both work by the ghost in question kinda shoving themselves out-of-dimension except their consciousness to interact with things (think Kamui re: Obito). They can still be heard if they talk on purpose for the same reason Danny can have feet or a tail - ecto-entities exist in a subjective state of self. So yeah, they haven’t noticed him and are about to be very surprised.

Martian Manhunter’s invisibility and intangibility work through a form of living magic/advanced spacio-biological processes separate from ghost invis/intangibility that leave them out of step with each other and unable to interact (intangible ghost + intangible ghost = still a fist fight, intangible ghost + intangible MM = no touchy).

Also, Martian Manhunter can’t interact with the minds of the dead (the psychic imprints of his bro/fam are actual imprints, not ghosts. If it’s canon that he can interact with ghosts mentally: He can’t now. It’s just nothing. He almost had a martian-equivalent heart attack when Jason walked in the room just the pure embodiment of “Head empty, no thoughts”).

***

The second time Jason tells his story is faster - now that he’s already put it into words it’s easier to narrow down to just the essentials. And the emotional interruptions are manageable enough to not actually interrupt this time around.

He has just under an hour left.

He’s at an orbital space station tens of thousands of miles away from the Earth where Wulf left him.

Bruce managed to get the strongest, fastest, and psychic-est heroes in the JL present, with more on the way.

Worst case scenario, their distance from the drop point should buy enough time for Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Green Lantern to arrive - and Shazam, with any luck - so they could try and figure out What The Actual Hell Wulf and Danny and the Yetis even are.

Jason is still leaning towards fae, personally.

Even if Wulf managed to find him when time was up, surely they could handle one Wulf guy. Jason wasn’t weaponless anymore - having snagged some batarangs and a grappling hook on the way through the batcave - and it was doing quite a lot for his feelings of helplessness.

The tiny body was still decidedly Not Great, but having a bladed weapon and kind-of-a-gun-if-you-aim-it-at-people made him feel much better about his odds, even without the JL members present.

And maybe it was overkill; the guy was a large werewolf dude that could fly and make portals. Maybe that was it.

Jason wasn’t trapped and weaponless in some weird pocket-dimension anymore, he might even be able to take the guy himself with enough information and planning.

Maybe he wouldn’t be able to find Jason in the first place.

Maybe he would, but maybe he’d go down as easily as Killer Croc would when faced with a team like Superman, Batman, Martian Manhunter, and the Flash.

He tried to let that settle his nerves as Bruce began grilling him on his observations since he was taken.

------------------------

Luckily for Wulf, bodyguarding the Ghost Zone’s newest prince proves to be less boring than Danny estimated.

Instead of spending 99% of the time on standby and 1% of the time “fighting idiots,” he’s spent most of it so far briefly observing a new city and exploring a space station.

Despite Jason being with apparent family and allies, Wulf refuses to stray far. He keeps the group in earshot at the very least - close enough to notice any stressed tones or raised voices. There’s still plenty to see - even the conference room itself has plenty of unfamiliar technology; he can’t speak to whether it’s advanced or simply different - Wulf is no Technus.

The fifth time he loops back to the conference room they’ve brought up a digital display of the time.

There’s only one more minute until it was two hours later than the time he’d seen displayed on a clocktower when Jason had first requested privacy.

He thought it had been clear enough that he wouldn’t actually be separating from him. Was Jason worried that he had and that he wouldn’t be able to make it back to the proposed rendezvous point in time?

‘Better to save him the stress and just appear now,’ he thinks, allowing himself to drop to the floor at the end of the table before fading back into visibility.

“No need to-”

He doesn’t get to finish his sentence, Superman blurring sideways to tackle him. He sinks intangibly into him at the first brush of impact, unwilling to test his durability against a man renowned for his strength - even ghosts could feel pain.

Wulf arrests their motion the moment he’s overshadowing the man, leaving them hovering awkwardly over the floor where he had been standing.

He rights the body, and turns back to Jason.

“It is only Wulf,” he soothes, smiles. “I never left you; no need to worry about missing the meetup.”

The red-gold probably-a-hero disappears from the room and he decides to ignore the living for the time being. Wulf had thought humans weren’t fond of friend-combat, but Jason would have already explained what was going on so perhaps heroes were the exception?

“Danny needs at least a more accurate guestimate on the number of human guests to expect than I could give from my observations alone - I assume by the chairs there should be more, yes? How many do you want to bring back with you?”

------------------------

Jason barely has time to register Wulf’s reappearance before Superman tackles him.

Wulf disappears, and for a moment, Jason can almost convince himself that Supes scared him away.

Then Superman stands up and looks at him with Lazarus green eyes.

“It is only Wulf,” it smiles with Superman’s mouth. “I never left you; no need to worry about missing the meetup.”

Jason was never safe.

It had been here the whole time.

Superman hadn’t heard it.

Martian Manhunter hadn’t sensed it.

It had been with them for over an hour and none of them had known.

“Danny needs at least a more accurate guestimate on the number of humans to expect than I could give from my observations alone - I assume by the chairs there should be more, yes? How many do you want to bring back with you?”

Jason barely processes the words, distantly noting Flash’s disappearance - likely for Kryptonite (did it even matter? What was stopping Wulf from hopping to another body? He could hop into Flash and disappear with Jason before anyone could react? [Would he even need to?]).

“Bring…back?” He parrots.

Wulf nods and tilts Superman’s head inquisitively.

“Danny is happy to host as many as you like,” he smiles again.

“Jason,” Bruce’s voice cuts in before he can open his mouth to respond, “What is it saying?”

“Wha-words. What, did you mute yourselves?” He whispers harshly back, anxiety ratcheting up as the clock ticks further and further past the two hours mark.

“The rest of us never learned to speak broken-glass piano, Little Wing,” comes Dick’s bewildering reply.

“What?”

“Whatever language that was was composed of distinctly non-human noises,” Damian interjects.

A beat.

Wulf clears Superman’s throat - Flash still isn’t back and Jason would curse Bruce for putting all of the confiscated Kryptonite under so many layers of security if he didn’t know why (and if he actually thought it would help) - and all eyes whip back to him.

“Mi povas paroli Esperanton se vi preferas, amikoj.”

A beat.

“What?” Jason ventures.

“Ah. I take it that none of your friends speak Esperanto?”

They do not.

“…No.”

“And your guests?”

A part of Jason aches to say ‘all of them,’ to drag his team - his family - back to that strange, beautiful, terrifying prison of a castle and keep them close.

But he can’t.

He won’t subject them to unknown liquids and glowing food and their bodies changing in ways they don’t understand just because his misery wants some company.

That they don’t understand what Wulf is saying means they’ll have less of a chance to endanger themselves trying to stop him before he’s gone.

“None,” he answers, heart heavy and gazes cast to the floor. “I don’t want any guests.”

If he can’t save himself, at least he can protect his family and team from whatever is happening.

------------------------

Jason looks sad when he says he doesn’t want any guests.

Wulf doesn’t quite understand it; they’d seemed so happy to be reunited. Perhaps they got into an argument sometime while he was gone?

‘No matter,’ Wulf thinks, ‘He can always change his mind later.”

Aloud, he asks, “Are you ready to return home?”

Jason looks at him and nods.

His expression is grim - the argument explanation seems more likely by the minute.

He moves to phase out of Superman just as the red-and-gold one returns with a glowing green rock.

Superman drops to the floor as Wulf steps sideways out of him, claws tearing a hole in reality as he goes.

Jason grits his teeth and lunges through the portal while his friends and family stare, seemingly frozen.

Wulf moves to follow.

So do most of Jason’s humans, the collective crying his name.

The large black one and the slightly less-large one with the blue on him are closest, attempting to lunge through the portal.

Wulf gently tosses them into the ones behind them - family or not, the prince explicitly stated he doesn’t want guests - and quickly crosses into the Zone, shutting the portal behind him.

————————

@kyrianclawraith

[radiance1]

I GOT ANOTHER ONE FOR YOU!!! It’s definitely either a h/c recovery idea or a very harsh angst idea we shall see >:)

Jazz is a Talon for the Court of Owls. She has fleeting memories of her life but they are few and far between. The only concrete thing is the name of her little brother and the mental image of his face.

Jazz is instructed to slay Jason Todd for the Court. Before she goes for the kill she knocks off the Red Hood’s helmet… and looking back at her is a scared man who looks so so similar to her brother.

*AHEM*

So, from what I know from the wiki. The Court of Owls are just some rich owl furries who train assassins because they want complete control correct?

Now I wonder how ever would Jazz Fenton end up working for them.

Jack and Maddie Fenton are genius inventors and the same extends to their children. Now, Jack and Maddie has uncovered a new energy source that is far safer for both yourself and the planet than nuclear radiation and is fairly more powerful.

And when the Court of Owls heard of this. They want it so they could better control their city from the shadows, and what's the one thing that would cause Jack and Maddie to move from Amity Park for a set time?

Well, actually a couple of things, but we're gonna focus on two for now.

A ghost convention.

And

Investors.

Even with their life's greatest work complete, they still need the money to move onto slightly less expensive projects.

And it can double as a fun family trip too.

So, they get there and show of their inventions to Gotham's richest clients. Not knowing that these are really fucking shady people.

Jack and Maddie get asked to work for them for a set time for a lot of money.

Enough to fund multiple high-end projects that can almost compete with the Fenton portal and still have enough money left over to actually spend time with their kids and go on multiple vacations around the world.

So, they agree.

Not knowing that this is part of the Court of Owls plot to get them to work for them indefinitely.

So then comes the time for their contract to be over, only for them to be threatened by the Court of Owls to continue working for them or die, of course, Jack and Maddie don't agree.

But then they go after their children.

Which has Jack and Maddie buckling straight away, because, even though they might not be the best of parent's, they don't want their children to get hurt.

So, to get Danny out of the way, the Fenton portal was completed earlier than in cannon.

So, Danny is 10 and Jazz is 12.

So, Danny still becomes phantom, but he is instead trapped in the ghost zone with his parents and sister not knowing where he is.

Jack and Maddie came in when Danny opened the portal, so they saw what happened and blamed themself's over Danny's 'death'.

Which is another reason why they buckled right away.

They already lost their youngest, they don't want to lose their oldest too.

And that, is how Jazz came to be working for the Cour of Owls.

The Court of Owls can't let Jack and Maddie's genius fall into other people's hands, and their daughter, while less important that the parents. Is the only thing that can keep them here without a fight, and well....

They always have room for more assassins after all.

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Dynasty

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/ahGO0Q1

by NikkiPond

When the Batfamily, Ra’s al Ghul, and Talia all ended up trapped in the Ghost Zone, they are forced to work together to find their way out—by seeking aid from the Ghost King.

What happens when Damian recognized the Ghost King was his long-dead twin, Danyal, the brother he had killed long ago?

[Another "Damian and Danny are Twins" fic. Now with the Batfamily lost in the Ghost Zone] ...

Day 6 of DPxDCShipWeek2023: Fight/Heal | Enemies to Lovers

Words: 1509, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Series: Part 6 of DPxDCShipWeek2023

Fandoms: Danny Phantom, Batman - All Media Types

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: Gen

Characters: Damian Wayne, Danny Fenton, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul

Relationships: Danny Fenton & Damian Wayne, Batfamily Members & Danny Fenton

Additional Tags: Tumblr Prompt, Danny Fenton and Damian Wayne are Twins, Canon-Typical Violence, BAMF Danny Fenton, Ghost King Danny Fenton, Ghost Zone (Danny Phantom), is it really character death if canon?, Lost in the Ghost Zone, Batfamily Dynamics (DCU), Good Parents Jack and Maddie Fenton, Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Injury, No beta read we die like Danny Fenton

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/ahGO0Q1

[theartisticintrovert]

Case #0130403

Statement of Jason Gale, regarding the strange occurrences surrounding Daniel Fenton. Original statement given 3rd April, 2013. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London. Statement begins.

--

I wanna start this by saying that I barely knew Danny. I don’t know how he became what he is, but what I did see, well...I still have nightmares. I guess I should start at the beginning, though I’m not really sure how much of a beginning there is.

I never had the greatest home life. Pretty textbook, really. Shitty dad, dead mom, bad friends, the works. I ran away when I was fourteen, fell in with a real bad crowd. I’d been in and out of juvie every few months, but I didn’t meet Danny until I was sixteen. I’d been picked up at the scene of a robbery, don’t even remember where, and sent off to Amity Youth Detention Center. I’d been there for about three months when my old cellmate got released, so I was on my own for a bit. I didn’t mind, D Block wasn’t exactly the worst it could get.

Danny transferred in a few weeks later. At first, I didn’t think much of him. He was tiny, barely 5’4 I think, and he looked like a twig. His eyes, though.....his eyes were what scared me the most. They looked dead, like someone sucked all the life outta him, just leaving his corpse walkin’ around like some kinda zombie. They sent him in and he just.....stared, watching Officer McCarthy leave like he was already planning the poor bastard’s funeral. I freaked out a little. I’m not ashamed, kid was fuckin’ scary.

That’s when it happened. It’s like something snapped in him. The room got all cold, and the lights started flickering. He shoved me up against the wall and I dunno how but it felt like this.....predator staring at me. I don’t even remember what he said, but I just agreed to whatever it was so he’d stop staring at me. I swear his eyes were green, but it had to just be a trick of the light. It had to be, because I remember they were blue. I remember, because I remember thinking how weird it was for an Asian kid to have blue eyes.

Still, when he got mad......I swear to you, they were green.

Sorry, I got a little.....off track there. There were a few more weird things about him, but just little things. He never ate, and I know it wasn’t that he was eating when I couldn’t see him. AYDC has scheduled meal times for every block, and every single time it was D’s turn he just....stayed in bed. There’s no getting in or out once the door’s locked, so he wasn’t sneaking around. And yet, even after about a week and a half of this, he was fine. No complaining, no hunger pains, not even a little bit of nausea. Like.....like he didn’t need food. I asked him about it, but the answer, well.....I think he was a bit nutty. Everyone was in there. 

I managed to get him into the cafeteria one time, though not for very long. I think Emily, that is, Emily Grey, scared him off, but I can’t be sure. I do remember though, that the others felt it too. Danny was.....he had this like, aura of despair. Like you get near him, and nothing you do will make you feel again. Owen Coulter said he “felt like depression, if depression was a person”. I only remember that because it was so strange to hear a twelve year old say that with the knowledge that only an old man has, but there it was anyway.

He got transferred a few days later, or....I assume he was transferred, anyway. I heard he’d finally gotten his trial, but he didn’t come back after. I can only assume they sent him to F, because I didn’t see him for several months after that. I’d honestly just been starting to feel okay again when he came back to D. I only really noticed him because we were in the yard at the same time, and something in me wanted to turn around and bolt the second I spotted him. Still, he seemed.....different. Less angry, less......snappish. I noticed a few new scars on him too, which was strange just because the inmates at AYDC aren’t allowed any electronics, so how the hell did he get electrocution scars?

The next big one happened after he was released. He’d been out for about a week when I got a visitor. This was news to me, since my old man doesn’t give a rat’s ass about me and my friends wouldn’t be caught dead in a juvie visitation room. Only visitors I really got were my lawyer and sometimes my stepmom, but she didn’t come often. She doesn’t like me much, but that’s beside the point. When I saw Danny on the other side of that glass window, I about turned around right there. Unfortunately for me, the door was already shut and I couldn’t get anyone to open it, not from my side. Fuckin’ bastards probably stepped out for a donut break, who knows. The point is, Danny was....different. 

His scars curled up both of his cheeks now, pale and prominent against his sickly brown skin. His eyes seemed a little sharper now, a little more aware. I wasn’t entirely sure this was a good thing. We argued a bit, but....I think he was genuinely trying to help. I didn’t trust him a damn bit, but at least he was trying.

I’ve been dancing around the point long enough, I think. Sure, the kid’s weird, you’re thinking. He’s got scars, so what? He makes you miserable just being around him? Probably some emo bastard. The whole predator gaze? Well, he was in for assault. No, the thing I’ve been avoiding, the thing that I’ll never forget....it was his ghost.

Way back when we were still bunkmates, he’d told me about how he died. How his parents were some kind of Ghostbuster freaks, and they built a portal to Hell in his basement. Okay, well, he called it the “Ghost Zone”, but who gives a fuck, honestly. Then he told me he was stupid enough to go in the damn thing, and got zapped six ways to Sunday. He said he’d died in that portal, and I didn’t want to believe him. I couldn’t. When you die, you die. That’s it. Game over. Do not pass Go, do not collect two hundred dollars. The idea that he could be some sort of.....half-alive, half-dead.....thing, well....I didn’t want to think about it. I’d already come to terms with my own mortality, and I did not need it shoved back in my face by some freaky-ass kid.

But then he showed me. God, it was horrible. I was expecting him to fail, just the delusions of his poor fucked up scrambled brains, some side effect of getting zapped to hell and back. Maybe, if it were true, to just go a bit translucent. I didn’t expect the monster.

It came in a flash of light. Two sparking rings of bright white electricity, so bright they burned to look at. When I managed to blink the spots outta my eyes, I almost thought I’d hit my head. Where Danny had been standing, a floating, glowing thing stood in his place. It was pale, washed out, with only its acid green eyes and tongue giving it any color at all. It wore a jumpsuit of some sort, with thick gloves and attached boots, like the biohazard guys on TV. It still had the scars though, even if they were glowing an ominous neon green. It hissed at me, like it was trying to speak, but I didn’t understand a word it said. When it turned that empty, hungry gaze on me, I panicked. I shoved it back against the wall, where it connected with a sickening splat. Blood oozed on the concrete, or at least, I assume it was blood. It was red and green and sizzled, like it was eating away at the stone. I think there’s still marks there, where the acid ate away at the concrete.

The thing wanted to eat me, I’m sure of it, but it seemed too dizzy. I think shoving it only made it more angry, but at that point the light came back. I looked away just in time, and when the light died down Danny was back. Still scrawny, still fleshy, still alive. Only now, I wasn’t so sure.

I haven’t seen another ghost since, and I think it’s for the best. I’ve done my research, I’ve heard about these....mediums. I know I can’t see them, not on this plane. Honestly, I’m better off for it I think. I don’t want to see them, or hear them, or even think about them again. 

I didn’t give you this statement to have you do something about it. I don’t even know if you have the ability to do anything, since all this happened in Illinois. I didn’t come all the way to some dingy spooky library in fucking London for a solution. I’ve made my peace. I just.....I needed to tell somebody. Not the cops, I don’t trust them as far as I could throw them. And not anyone else either, they’d think I’m a schizo freak, like that Weston kid. No, I’m perfectly happy laying low, and never thinking about Daniel Fenton again. And now that I have this off my chest and stored away in your freaky little library, I finally can.

--

Statement ends. Although he said he didn’t want us to do anything about his experience, we did reach out to Mr. Gale. He replied in no uncertain terms for us to leave him alone, and that he absolutely would not be giving a follow-up statement. I....can’t say I blame him, but really, half-dead? A teenager that could turn into some paranormal entity? It all seems rather....far fetched. 

Still, we did do some basic follow-up research on what we could. The Fentons do exist, as well as the town of Amity Park. I’d like to take everything about said town with a hefty dose of salt however, as it claims to be “The Most Haunted Place in America”. Tourist trap nonsense, if you ask me. Daniel Fenton was arrested in late summer of 2010, though those records are obviously sealed. Emily Grey declined to give a follow-up statement as well, and Owen Coulter seems to have unfortunately passed away in the intervening years. 

Still, I can’t help but think that Mr. Gale’s statement is....unusually detailed, especially as it concerns a boy he himself claims to have no close connection to.

End recording.

[threewaysdivided]

Hey, I know this is like a billion years from where you are in YJ:DW, but I had this thought strike me: what if Danny could see and talk to Jason Todd's ghost? (assuming Red Hood isn't YJ canon) There's so much potential for angst there, especially if Danny is the only one who can see him, and decides to try and get Jason to cross over. Or heck, what if Danny had a hand in Jason's revival?

That’s a neat idea that definitely has some good angst potential.  Have to admit though, I’m not entirely sure how it would work within the ghost-lore headcanons I’m using for YJ:DW specifically.  

I can write a longer post on this if anyone wants but Basically ghosts in the Deathly Weapons-verse break into 2 unrelated categories that get lumped together for looking sort-of-similar on the surface:  Ectoplasmic (the ones we see in DP) and what we’ll call Shades (DC ghosts like Secret, Deadman etc).  Ectoplasmic “ghosts” are their own inter-dimensional entities so they can’t really “revive” in the traditional sense, and “passing on” is pretty much limited to accepting what they are and chilling in the Ghost Zone forever or straight-up discorporealising/ re-dying.  Shade ghosts are the more traditional original-soul-bound-to-the-physical-world; either because external force is trapping them there, or because they were willful/ powerful/ knowledgeable enough to bind themselves.  These ones can potentially be “revived” more easily, and can “pass on” if they’re released from whatever is holding them to this world.

If Jason came back as a Ectoplasmic ghost he’d work the same way DP ghosts do; most likely everyone would be able to see him unless he had some kind of Young Blood-esque visibility condition (in which case anyone who fit the criteria would also see him), and outside of extreme edge-cases revival would be off the table.  (Throw a ‘plasmic ghost into a Lazarus Pit and they’ll just climb back out,  except now wet and mad at you for giving them a skin condition.)

More likely that Jason would come back as a Shade-ghost (especially since he seems intended to revive in some capacity in YJ canon), in which case he might only be visible to certain people.  In such a case though, I’m not sure it would be Danny who sees him. 

I feel like Danny would be the least emotionally and symbolically connected to Robin!Jason of the Wayne-household residents who’ve appeared in YJ:DW.  As mentioned in this post Danny kind of falls in this weird spot of being Dick’s Brother first and foremost where all the other Bat-Kids are Bruce’s Son/Daughter, and he has some personal qualms about Dick handing off the Robin mantle (and how close he feels he can/ “should” be to Jason) to work through because of that.  Outside of the both-technically-death thing, I’m not sure there’d be much reason for Jason’s shade to attach himself to Danny as an anchor compared to Bruce, Dick, Alfred or even possibly Tim or some location of personal significance (unless Danny seeing him is due to the ectoplasm, in which case other ecto-ghosts should see him too).

Although, in this very specific hypothetical, Danny is probably one of the better people Jason’s ghost could attach too.  We’re about a billion years from the end of YJ:DW right now but Grief and Healing is going to be a major theme of the core emotional arc, so by the time Jason comes along Danny’s going to be much better equipped to deal with even his canon death.  Add to that that Danny’s had to work with ecto-ghosts and therefore tangentially-death-related problems since he was 14 and he’d be less thrown by Jason’s “reappearance” and more likely to think “this could be a ghost problem” early on compared to Bruce and Dick whose first thoughts would likely be “this is an illusion caused by losing my mind from guilt/grief”, especially if Danny can’t also see him.  Plus, by that point Dick and Bruce do trust Danny pretty implicitly and let him take point where ghosts are concerned.

If Jason did appear as a Shade ghost, Danny’s process would probably look a little something like this:

Confirm that Jason is, in fact, a ghost and not a product of him going nuts

Work together to find a way to prove this to the others (while also working through any personal feelings and unresolved communication/ conflict issues)

Call in Bruce, Dick and Alfred and let them know

Family drama/ angst ensues

Collectively find Dr Fate/ John Constantine/ any other amenable magic-spiritualist hero who exists on Earth-16 to figure out how best to Deal With This.

As for Danny helping Jason (or other ghosts) to “pass on”, I kind of feel like that’s…. not really his ballpark.  I don’t see Danny as someone who’d compulsively seek out other ghosts and feel obliged to “move them along” unless they were actively in distress or causing damage/ distress/ fear/ pain to others.  Like, Johnny 13 wants to ride his motorcycle at full tilt through the streets of a town, terrifying the citizens?  Get in the thermos or get out.  Johnny 13 wants to ride his motorcycle at full tilt down a long, deserted county road?  Fine, just don’t go into towns or bother other drivers.  He’ll leave them alone so long as they leave other people alone.

In that regard I see Danny as sort of the fixer compared to Jazz’s counsellor - if a ghost is acting up because of some problem (or comes to him for help) then he’ll deal with it so that they can leave, or at least chill out.  And if he can’t fix it (because the solution is harmful, the ghost’s nature/powers are too inherently dangerous or they’re just there being dicks by choice) he’ll capture and send them back to the Ghost Zone (or find someone who can exorcise a Shade) to remove the problem that way.  He might gently float the suggestion, but if Jason wanted to pass on then that would be Jason’s choice to explore unless he specifically asked for help or became distressed/ disruptive enough to force Danny’s hand.

Similarly, I think revivals wouldn’t really be Danny’s ballpark either; it’s not a solution he’d like and he has neither the knowledge, interest, skills or equipment to actually facilitate any of the rare reliable edge-cases methods of resurrection.  Danny prefers to keep to the ‘best left alone’ side of ‘Meddling with dark forces best left alone’ as much as is possible.

Personally I kind of prefer the revival stories where Jason isn’t around until his actual return.  I think there’s more easy gut-punch mileage in most of those versions.  That structure forces the other characters to accept that he’s “not coming back” and try to process all the conflict and pain that it brings, only to then sledgehammer the new status-quo by having him reappear, now changed, at point where his death has significantly altered their dynamics with him, his memory and the other characters.  By comparison, having him come back as a ghost and then revive kind of smooths and flattens that trajectory to one where anyone who can interact with him (even indirectly) gets their emotional healing accelerated, and the status quo eventually slips back closer to how it was (with them mostly just having to adjust to physical limitations of the new form he takes), only to reform fully when he “comes back” for real.

But, anyway, that’s part of larger personal nitpick with the use of “ghosts” in stories.  I find that the meaningful thing about death (and that seems to get weirdly missed by a lot of works) isn’t the moment of impact itself so much as the persisting loss and how the survivors cope.  We are haunted by absence more than by presence.  Most cases of bringing the dead character (or at least their mind/personality) back in some capacity tends to soften the weight of that for me, unless the ghost is meant to function as a some kind of metaphor for the healing/ acceptance/ closure process and “move on” when the other characters do.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this long and somewhat tangential ramble.  It probably won’t be happening in YJ:DW or YJ:DW-EU but in a story which took a more hardline all-ghosts-are-dead-people/ horror approach to world-building, I can definitely see the someone-seeing-Jason’s-ghost set-up having a lot of angst and uncanny potential.  (I know there are a couple of fics like that already out there but I can’t remember their titles right now, sorry!)

[bb-roin]

I was doing some crossover challenges with myself when this idea hit me:

Dick & Danny & Peter are so going to be besties if they meet.

(A mess mix of comics & cartoons & movies, but mostly based on MCU & YJ & my own headcanons)

Teenager superheroes around the age of 14

Have secret identity

Love flying through the sky, either by actual flying or swinging

Like making jokes and jabs when fighting

Know science and techs. 

Have a too big heart, shoulder too many responsibilities even if no one asks them to

Can be so smart if they want

Can be so BAMF if they want

Can be so troll if they want

Danny and Dick both have a middle-aged villainous handsome male as off-and-on archenemy who also want them as their apprentice (Deathstroke & Vlad) (Does Norman Osborn count? Then maybe Spidey can join the club too)

Then you realize a big part of their life (especially the superhero part) involves a billionaire senior who acts like a father figure (Tony, Bruce, Vlad). (Vlad at least tried, in his own creepy way)

Sharing similar physical fit, slender build with high flexibility and quick moves instead of brutal strength (spider strength is an extra bonus) Danny and Dick even share blue eyes and black hair (I see a Parent Trap AU coming) I also believe with proper costume & makeup Peter could probably pretend to be Robin/Nightwing (use his inhuman flexibility to imitate Dick's acrobatics) (And Danny can just hack their body)

Then I can't stop making up all kinds of prompts: 

Dick and Danny are actually distant relatives. They look almost identical if you do not pay enough attention. So one time somebody actually mistook Danny for Richard Grayson aka Bruce Wayne's ward and kidnapped him. It's the first time Danny got kidnapped as a Fenton so he actually found it exciting and pretended to be Dick just to mess with the kidnappers. (Dick also found it super hilarious when he had to rescue "himself")

And one time when Dash mistook Dick for Danny (during a field trip or something). He tried to put up his bully routine but had no idea who he was dealing with… Dick just faked to be punched and did some of his impressive acrobatic moves and Dash was like HOLY SHIT I BROKE HIS SPINE. I think Dash was traumatized.

Dick taught the other two how to deal with noisy reporters, either as a masked hero or a public figure. The latter is kind of useless for the two. Until someone claimed Peter was Tony Stark's secret son.

Because all of them are multilingual, they sometimes keep switch the language they are using both for fun and for safety. (Peter at least speaks fluent Spanish in MCU, Danny learnt Esperanto in canon, and not to mention our Boy Wonder) (How the hell you guys just pick up a new language so easily?)

One time Dick and Peter made people believe Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke and Wade Wilson aka Deathpool were actual brothers. Slade was not that impressed but Wade thought it was absolutely brilliant. And got himself killed so many times by Slade because he kept showing up in the most annoying way and called Slade "dear brother of mine".

Bruce and Tony do not really see eyes to eyes, constantly jab at each other if they meet at social galas. But if things involve Lex Luther or Norman Osborn, they definitely stand side by side. Vlad is like a frenemy-more-enemy, he is not a big tech head like the others so they don't encounter that much.

I image Dick would seek advice about how to be a solo hero from the other two once he becomes Nightwing.

The three like messing around the labs together. They are kind of banned from the Bat Cave after few times. Stark's lab is their favorite place since Tony mostly just let them play as long as they don't cause big disasters. They don't go around Fenton's that much though because there are too many strange accidents.

They figured out the others' secret during a shared school camping trip in different ways (sounds too lame). Peter: super hearing. Dick: as the ward & partner of the world's greatest detective he just notices things. Danny: as a ghost, he can sense people and a simple mask cannot hide your natural aura. (this one is totally headcanon)

Danny and Peter have so much to talk about how they have to hide their secret identity from people close to them and suffer major angst because of it (while basically all of Dick's family and friends are in the hero community so he can't really fit in their shoes).

Since Dick and Peter both have experienced the death of their loved ones in front of their own eyes, sometimes they seek each other's company and share the feeling when the grief hits them. When Jason died, Peter helped a lot because he knew firsthand how it felt when you blamed yourself for not doing enough to stop the tragedy.

Lazarus Pit is linked to the Ghost Zone.

So much to brainstorm but I really have to my midterm now.

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1313

Batman: Three Jokers #3 - Geoff Johns (writer) Jason Fabok (art) Brad Anderson (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). And so this story ends with the one true Joker back in custody. Joe Chill was used as bait for a trap that Batman couldn't resist walking into. The love letter to Barbara from Jason was pathetic. Jason should have slid the letter under her door instead of using crappy dollar store tape to stick it on her door. Even if the tape hadn't failed, someone could have taken it off the door before Barbara saw it. The melodrama made me cringe. Then we find out at the very end that Bruce knows Joker's true identity but doesn't say who it is. Bruce going to Alaska to check up on the Joker's ex-wife and son was an eye roll moment. The biggest event of this conclusion is that Joe Chill is finally dead. RIP Joe Chill.

 Superman #26 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Ivan Reis (pencils) Danny Miki (inks) Alex Sinclair (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). In part 2 of "Mythological" Synmar arrives on Earth and attacks Superman. Clark has no clue why but he wants to find out. So here's the thing that bugs me. If Superman can save the Daily Planet building from being destroyed by his battle with Synmar by popping both of them into the Phantom Zone, why can't he just zap all of his super villain opponents there whenever the bad guys show up? Easiest way to save the Earth ever. I predict a major slugfest and then Superman and Synmar will come to a peaceful understanding and the alien will go home happy.

 Batman #102 - James Tynion IV (writer) Carlos D'Anda (art pages 13-16) Carlo Pagulayan (pencils) Danny Miki (inks) David Baron (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). "Ghost Stories" part 1. Batman grapples with the Ghost-Maker when the new vigilante targets Clownhunter for execution. A flashback shows us that Bruce has a long history with whoever Ghost-Maker is, which means that the bad guy knows Bruce is Batman. Every time I see Ghost-Maker's costume, I get stonged by MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This". It's the pants.

 Action Comics #1026 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) John Romita Jr. (pencils) Klaus Janson (inks) Brad Anderson (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). "The House of Kent" part 5. This issue was super annoying. Let's start with the long winded recap by Brainiac 5. Then the page layouts that made you have to rotate the comic to read them. The muddy art made me wince. I groaned when time traveller Brainiac 5 from the 31st Century said he didn't know about this battle between the Superman Family and the Parasite from another dimension that's happening in the 21st century. How convenient that this event isn't in Brainiac 5's history database so he can't help the good guys win. The last panel where Lois Lane gets arrested by the FBI…pure cheese. I'll still read this as long as Doug subscribes to it because it's almost better than not having any comics to read.

 Detective Comics #1029 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Kenneth Rocafort (art) Daniel Brown (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). "Who Are You?" is the title of this issue where a new bad guy is introduced. I got stonged again when the song by The Who invaded my brain. The new villain is called The Mirror and he reminds me of one of the cops from The Watchmen TV series what with the mirror mask and all. He wants to unmask all of Gotham City's heroes and reveal their secret identities. Good luck with that. Is mayoral candidate officer Christopher Nakano The Mirror? He wants to ban Gotham's masked vigilantes. Could be, but I still think Nakano is The Ghost-Maker. The best thing in this issue is the return of Damian the Boy Wonder on the last page. I've missed the little shit-kicker.

[packernet]

New Post has been published on https://www.packernet.com/blog/2019/07/31/packers-training-camp-day-5-notes/

Packers Training Camp Day 5 Notes

Packers Notes

#Packers GM Brian Gutekunst says "we needed depth" at RB, likes how the position looks now with Corey Grant and Darrin Hall additions.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

#Packers GM Brian Gutekunst on joint practices with the #Texans – “It allows your ones to take valuable reps against another team without exposing your QB to injury. That’s really valuable.”

— Jim Owczarski (@JimOwczarski) July 30, 2019

Mmmmm. Donuts…. pic.twitter.com/AgJweiVVxY

— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) July 30, 2019

Tony Brown yelling that someone needs to line up on the back who’s been split wide in red zone. Offense goes quick for an easy score. Pettine is…displeased.

— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) July 30, 2019

#Packers practice ends at 1 hour, 50 minutes.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

Looked like Matt LaFleur pulled the No. 1 offense after one play in the final team period because of a turnover. Jaire Alexander force fumble after Davante Adams caught a slant. Blake Martinez recovered it. We'll see what LaFleur says about that after… https://t.co/1ygyqzHoTp

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) July 30, 2019

“If you wanna be great you gotta have urgency” – MLF at the end of practice huddle

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

Brutal display from the offense in final team period. https://t.co/MksxTjdM8W

— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) July 30, 2019

Head Coach Matt LaFleur reviews Tuesday's #PackersCamp practice 🎥 https://t.co/lti0D6zGjU

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) July 30, 2019

Injuries

Packers DNPs today: S Darnell Savage (teeth), CB Josh Jackson (foot), RB Jamaal Williams (hammy), K Mason Crosby (calf), LB Kendall Donnerson (hammy), OT Jason Spriggs (trap), DL Fadol Brown (calf) and LB Greg Roberts (PUP). New RB Darrin Hall here after missing last practice.

— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) July 30, 2019

And Graham is back on the field https://t.co/ykYEo8qonX

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) July 30, 2019

QB

Aaron Rodgers

First turnover of the day. Ento picks off Wilkins and Rodgers makes the tackles

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

Aaron Rodgers goes deep to…. Kevin King. INT.

— Lily Zhao (@LilySZhao) July 30, 2019

PA rollout and Rodgers leads MVS just a little too far. Had his man beat.

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

Nice play by Robert Tonyan, again repping with the 1s, beating Kevin King on a crossing route over the middle and catching a pass from Aaron Rodgers. Good way to get the QB’s attention.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

AR finds MVS across the middle. Tight coverage from Jaire.

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

DeShone Kizer

Sweet throw from Kizer on an over route to Moore off play action in team work. Coverage was good, just great placement. Nice catch and run from Moore.

— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) July 30, 2019

Kizer drops in a TD to Hall after motioning out. Coverage bust. Then Kizer finds EQ St Brown on the opposite side in the back of the end zone #Packers

— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) July 30, 2019

Tim Boyle

Tim Boyle finds Trevor Davis, who makes a nice catch, even with Kevin King all over him

— Lily Zhao (@LilySZhao) July 30, 2019

Manny Wilkins

Manny Wilkins airmailed a deep comeback to Lazard that ends up being picked off by Kabion Ento. Brutal throw.

— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) July 30, 2019

WR

DavanteAdams

Davante Adams got Jaire Alexander all turned around on that rep. Catch Adams.

— Lily Zhao (@LilySZhao) July 30, 2019

MVS

PA rollout and Rodgers leads MVS just a little too far. Had his man beat.

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

AR finds MVS across the middle. Tight coverage from Jaire.

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

Geronimo

EQ

Kizer drops in a TD to Hall after motioning out. Coverage bust. Then Kizer finds EQ St Brown on the opposite side in the back of the end zone #Packers

— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) July 30, 2019

Trevor Davis

Great contested catch by Trevor Davis.

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

First kickoff coverage: Davis, Brown, Tonyan, Shepherd, Crawford, Burks, Kumerow, Fackrell, Greene, Jones. Ficken at kicker with Crosby out.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

Jake Kumerow

First kickoff coverage: Davis, Brown, Tonyan, Shepherd, Crawford, Burks, Kumerow, Fackrell, Greene, Jones. Ficken at kicker with Crosby out.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

J’Mon Moore

Sweet throw from Kizer on an over route to Moore off play action in team work. Coverage was good, just great placement. Nice catch and run from Moore.

— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) July 30, 2019

Nice job coming back to the ball by J’Mon Moore on a deep dig vs pressure. Rodgers had to trust the WR would read it like he did, and Moore delivered. Solid practice so far from the second year wide out.

— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) July 30, 2019

Teo Redding

Allen Lazard

Kabion Ento

Really good play by #Packers CB Kabion Ento, undercutting WR Allen Lazard to intercept Manny Wilkins. Ento is a big corner, great vertical, and former college WR. Showed some ball skills there.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

Darrius Shepherd

Speedy Darrius Shepherd on one kickoff coverage. Late add at receiver showing up on special teams and in that WR rotation

— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) July 30, 2019

Jawill Davis

Malik Taylor

RB

Aaron Jones

Aaron Jones is spending time catching passes from WR coach Alvis Whitted. Next to him? Marquez Valdes-Scantling & Davante Adams. #Packers

— Lily Zhao (@LilySZhao) July 30, 2019

First kickoff coverage: Davis, Brown, Tonyan, Shepherd, Crawford, Burks, Kumerow, Fackrell, Greene, Jones. Ficken at kicker with Crosby out.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

Jamaal Williams

Jamaal Williams is putting work in on the JUGS machine too, with Mark Murphy watching on.

— Lily Zhao (@LilySZhao) July 30, 2019

Tra Carson

Dexter Williams

Corey Grant

Darrin Hall

Aaron Rodgers pitches the ball to new RB Darrin Hall during individuals #Packers pic.twitter.com/KCYzYVTHm3

— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) July 30, 2019

Kizer drops in a TD to Hall after motioning out. Coverage bust. Then Kizer finds EQ St Brown on the opposite side in the back of the end zone #Packers

— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) July 30, 2019

FB

Danny Vitale

Vitale getting rep as the third down back next to Rodgers

— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) July 30, 2019

TE

Jimmy Graham

Marcedes Lewis

Jace Sternberger

Robert Tonyan

Nice play by Robert Tonyan, again repping with the 1s, beating Kevin King on a crossing route over the middle and catching a pass from Aaron Rodgers. Good way to get the QB’s attention.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

First kickoff coverage: Davis, Brown, Tonyan, Shepherd, Crawford, Burks, Kumerow, Fackrell, Greene, Jones. Ficken at kicker with Crosby out.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

Evan Baylis

Malcolm Johnson

Pharoah McKeveer

OT

David Bakhtiari

Bakhtiari v Za’Darius, I’ll watch this all day. Z wins round 1.

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

David Bakhtiari's explanation on losing his pair of one-on-one reps vs. Za'Darius Smith: "I kind of forgot what it felt like to lose. So I kind of wanted to lose two in a row to see how I respond for the rest of practice.”

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

Bryan Bulaga

Jason Spriggs

Alex Light

Keke took Ws against Pankey, Light and McCray

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

Justin McCray

Keke took Ws against Pankey, Light and McCray

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

Gerhard De Beer

Anthony Coyle

Yosuah Nijman

OG

Lane Taylor

Billy Turner

Elgton Jenkins

Elgton Jenkins at Center with the twos.

— Bill Huber (@PackerReport) July 30, 2019

Elgton Jenkins is all man. Impressive in 1 on 1s.

— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) July 30, 2019

ZaDarius Smith and Rashan Gary looking good again in one on ones. Kyler Fackrell had a pair of wins too. Elgton Jenkins looked good at center. I had him down for three Ws in my super scientific analysis #Packers

— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) July 30, 2019

Cole Madison

Wrote about Madison at center the other day. Just had a horrendous shotgun snap.

— Bill Huber (@PackerReport) July 30, 2019

Adam Pankey

Keke took Ws against Pankey, Light and McCray

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

Lucas Patrick

OC

Corey Linsley

DT

Kenny Clark

Kenny Clark giving Lane Taylor the business in 1 v 1s

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

Dean Lowry

Montravius Adams

How did Montravius Adams feel when DC Mike Pettine, who now calls Adams defense's most improved player, didn't think highly of him when they first met in 2018? "For me, it was great … With him saying that, it was like, ‘I am going to prove to him that I am who I think I am.'"

— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) July 30, 2019

Kenny Clark, the Packers' best D-lineman, agreed with DC Mike Pettine that Montravius Adams is the defense's most improved player: "We already knew he had the ability. His get-off is better than all of ours. He's quick off the ball. He's strong, country strong. It's crazy."

— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) July 30, 2019

James Looney

Tyler Lancaster

Kingsley Keke

Keke took Ws against Pankey, Light and McCray

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

Fadol Brown

Greg Roberts

Deon Simon

Olive Sagapolu

EDGE

Zadarius Smith

Za’Darius Smith and Rashan Gary were working with the defensive linemen but then ran back to OLB drills as soon as I walked over. So you’re just gonna have to take my word for it #Packers pic.twitter.com/qQ0y1JxnjR

— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) July 30, 2019

Oh man, Za’Darius Smith just blew by David Bakhtiari in 1-on-1s with an inside move. Bakhtiari had a false start the snap prior. Smith winning today after Bak won the other day. Packers’ best pass rusher and best O-lineman fairly even to start camp.

— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) July 30, 2019

Bakhtiari didn’t even touch Z Smith on second rep. You do not see that happen to Bakhtiari in one-on-ones ever. https://t.co/TmF0aUr8yP

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

Preston Smith

Rashan Gary

Za’Darius Smith and Rashan Gary were working with the defensive linemen but then ran back to OLB drills as soon as I walked over. So you’re just gonna have to take my word for it #Packers pic.twitter.com/qQ0y1JxnjR

— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) July 30, 2019

ZaDarius Smith and Rashan Gary looking good again in one on ones. Kyler Fackrell had a pair of wins too. Elgton Jenkins looked good at center. I had him down for three Ws in my super scientific analysis #Packers

— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) July 30, 2019

Kyler Fackrell

ZaDarius Smith and Rashan Gary looking good again in one on ones. Kyler Fackrell had a pair of wins too. Elgton Jenkins looked good at center. I had him down for three Ws in my super scientific analysis #Packers

— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) July 30, 2019

First kickoff coverage: Davis, Brown, Tonyan, Shepherd, Crawford, Burks, Kumerow, Fackrell, Greene, Jones. Ficken at kicker with Crosby out.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

Kendall Donnerson

Reggie Gilbert

Brady heldon

Randy Ramsey

LB

Blake Martinez

Oren Burks

Oren Burks blows by a blocking attempt by Jimmy Graham. Would have absolutely wrecked a toss play to Jones.

— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) July 30, 2019

First kickoff coverage: Davis, Brown, Tonyan, Shepherd, Crawford, Burks, Kumerow, Fackrell, Greene, Jones. Ficken at kicker with Crosby out.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

James Crawford

First kickoff coverage: Davis, Brown, Tonyan, Shepherd, Crawford, Burks, Kumerow, Fackrell, Greene, Jones. Ficken at kicker with Crosby out.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

Ty Summers

Rookie ILB Ty Summers just made his best play of camp, blowing up a run with a TFL with fellow rookie Curtis Bolton

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) July 30, 2019

Curtis Bolton

11-on-11 ends with Bolton TFL. A player to watch.

— Bill Huber (@PackerReport) July 30, 2019

CB

Jaire Alexander

Davante Adams got Jaire Alexander all turned around on that rep. Catch Adams.

— Lily Zhao (@LilySZhao) July 30, 2019

AR finds MVS across the middle. Tight coverage from Jaire.

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

AR finds Adams who beat Jaire but Jaire forces the fumble.

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

Kevin King

Tim Boyle finds Trevor Davis, who makes a nice catch, even with Kevin King all over him

— Lily Zhao (@LilySZhao) July 30, 2019

Aaron Rodgers goes deep to…. Kevin King. INT.

— Lily Zhao (@LilySZhao) July 30, 2019

Nice play by Robert Tonyan, again repping with the 1s, beating Kevin King on a crossing route over the middle and catching a pass from Aaron Rodgers. Good way to get the QB’s attention.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

He just locked up Geronimo Allison on a deep corner though. Goes both ways. https://t.co/ZSSvUFN25X

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

Funny tidbit. Kevin King just told us he gave the football back to the QB he picked off. King with a smile: “He knows.” I’m sure Aaron Rodgers does.

— Lily Zhao (@LilySZhao) July 30, 2019

Josh Jackson

Tramon Williams

Ka’dar Hollman

Hollman continues to get reps with the first string defense.

— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) July 30, 2019

Tony Brown

Javien Hamilton

Natrell Jamerson

Will Redmond

Nydair Rouse

Chandon Sullivan

S

Adrian Amos

A blitzing Amos chases down Jones in the backfield

— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) July 30, 2019

Darnell Savage

Savage on Saturday: "Everybody recovers differently. I think I’m coming along well. "I can’t dwell on (not being out there) or beat myself up about that. It’s just bad timing, my wisdom teeth acting up at a bad time. But it’s out now, and I’m on the ups and feeling good.” https://t.co/WvirCjojPM

— Zach Heilprin (@ZachHeilprin) July 30, 2019

Raven Green

Haven’t seen this yet in camp: Josh Jones back with Adrian Amos as deep safety, Raven Greene in the box as hybrid LB. Jones and Greene had been flipped.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

First kickoff coverage: Davis, Brown, Tonyan, Shepherd, Crawford, Burks, Kumerow, Fackrell, Greene, Jones. Ficken at kicker with Crosby out.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

Josh Jones

Gutekunst says Josh Jones has had a promising start to camp, likes the #Packers safety's skillset: "I think there are some really positive signs that he can help our football team."

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

#Packers safety Josh Jones got first-team rep as hybrid LB in 3-safety nickel.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

Haven’t seen this yet in camp: Josh Jones back with Adrian Amos as deep safety, Raven Greene in the box as hybrid LB. Jones and Greene had been flipped.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 30, 2019

Mike Tyson

Tray Matthews

Special Teams

Mason Crosby

Sam Ficken

Ficken hits 3-4 and is 11-14 for camp. All three misses went right.

— Bill Huber (@PackerReport) July 30, 2019

JK Scott

[ryanmeft]

My Favorite Films of 2018, part 1

Let’s make the introduction quick: these are my favorite films released in 2018. As always, the rules are simple: I don’t say they are the best or that you must agree, simply that I found them the most memorable. They are in completely random order, with no emphasis on one over another. Films released at festivals but not to the public in 2017 are counted as 2018, as are films that were not available in the United States. I apologize for not having the accents on certain people’s named; I don’t know how to reproduce them.  

 Many excellent films didn’t make the cut this year, and it was already difficult to narrow down my shortlist of 26 to 14. I had to stop there, as I could not bring myself to cut anymore. The list is in two parts this year to accommodate the additional length.

 Let’s get rolling.

Sorry To Bother You

While decent-but-ordinary films got lauded with undeserved reputations for being revolutionary, Boots Riley was quietly (okay…maybe not so quietly) sliding this biting, bizarre, hard-edged satire under the radar. Where most films have simple good guys and bad guys, Riley takes furious aim at everyone in sight. Black people are exploited by a white establishment. The hero only cares about his own advancement until he himself is taken advantage of. His girlfriend rails about purity but sells out almost immediately herself. A labor organizer is mostly doing it to get laid. The film is driven by Lakeith Stanfield, whose performance as a black telemarketer who finds tremendous success by kow-towing to his white bosses is a sterling and hilarious take on the classic everyman. Supporting roles from Danny Glover and Armie Hammer, in particular, contribute greatly. Nobody escapes unscathed, leaving the film with only one viewpoint: everybody in the world is a terrible hypocrite to one degree or another. Riley’s outspokenness didn’t help the film at major awards shows, but it likely would have been shafted anyway. Like other huge, overlooked critical hits, from Inside Llewyn Davis to Lucky, it is just too nihilistic to grab people’s attention.

Paddington 2

Iron Men and super spies are nice, but they can’t approach the sheer joy, creativity, adventure, humor and heart of the Paddington series, which started out great and got better with this sequel. All the cast you loved the first time around are back, but just like the Harry Potter franchise, it’s the new faces and what director Paul King and co-writer Simon Farnaby do with them that makes this one special. Most notable is Hugh Grant, who both honors and spoofs his own career reputation by playing a washed-up former celebrity who tries to frame Paddington to restore his lost lustre. Grant devours every one of his scenes, as he skips comically between costumes and disguises. Brendan Gleeson is one of those actors who is never unwelcome, and here he plays a tough-as-nails prison cook with a heart of gold. The movie gets as sweetly silly as turning an entire prison’s uniforms pink and as genuinely thrilling as a final train chase that is the most exciting action sequence of the year. The key to Paddington is that there’s not a cynical thing about him---his movies just consistently and unerringly deliver pure creative joy.

The Sisters Brothers

In recent years the western genre has moved hard towards social commentary. Jacques Audiard’s adaptation of a Patrick DeWitt novel, co-written with Thomas Bidegain, has such unconventional heroes that it takes aim at the traditional western strongman even when it isn’t trying to. John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix play a pair of mercenary brothers who are, respectively, too sensitive and too useless to have ever been stars in westerns of old. Jake Gyllenhaal is an eloquent bounty hunter and Riz Ahmed is the inventor they are all after. The wild west was definitely not a storied land of opportunity for all. The hired hands are out to kill Ahmed’s character because a powerful businessman feels entitled to his invention, and the film ends in greed, tragedy and brokenness rather than success. That’s not to say it has no trappings of the classics, as it may be the most beautiful western ever made; painstaking detail has gone into towns and saloon halls, while a wilderness stream lit up with a phosphorescent gold-finding chemical has a mesmerizing beauty. All these good looks serve to back up a dark comic story, and it is a highly effective contrast.

Capernaum

Nadine Labaki’s film about a 12-year-old boy in prison for striking back at his desperate poverty was criticized, in some circles, for not being bleaker than it is. Labaki and her team of writers, with a mostly non-professional cast, have painted a picture of life in the world’s slums that mostly foregoes easy drama in favor of being unblinkingly, ceaselessly blunt about the sheer offenses against human life that take place there. The focus of the film is Zain, named after the young actor Zain Al Rafeea, whose parents recklessly pop out kids despite barely being able to care for themselves. They enjoy themselves in a bed right next to the floor housing their seven children; in court, they insist that the existence of their kids is a burden on them. Zain ends up temporarily becoming a sort of custodian for a friend’s infant son, and we see three stops on a sad spectrum: the innocent baby unaware of life’s terrors, the broken boy he may become without help, and the adults that are the result of a life lived without hope. That the film’s bad guy, a human trafficker, is eventually foiled is not the catharsis it would be in a more multiplex-oriented movie, because we know there will just be another after him, and another, and another.

First Man

A bio-pic of a quiet man with no political message was never going to do well in the modern movie landscape, and that’s a shame. Ryan Gosling’s taciturn portrayal of Neil Armstrong is the fuel of a film that is not about the glory of space travel but about the risks and tolls it takes, all of which are recreated with bone-rattling immediacy. Damien Chazelle and Josh Singer ignore the political demands of the moment to portray one of our most important national figures exactly as he was: a reserved man more concerned with math than with press conferences, whose taciturn response to what he’d bring with him to the moon was “More fuel”. Yet what really sells the film is the time we spend in the various cockpits with Armstrong. Where Linus Sandgren could have gone for soaring vistas and patriotic imagery, he instead brings home the terror and uncertainly of space travel in a way that makes the stakes feel real and immediate. Chazelle eschews the need to see the past through the lens of the present, and an excellent movie results.

Annihilation

Some science fiction deals in lasers and spaceships. Some deals in thoughts and ideas. Alex Garland’s trippy sci-fi adventure, based on a novel by Jeff VanderMeer, is certainly the latter. A team of women, led by Natalie Portman and Jennifer Jason Leigh, enter a no-go zone where it seems the local scenery is slowly being eaten by alien vegetation. What they find there is up to the viewer to interpret, but Garland wisely decide to really let us think about it by pulling back on the horror and leaving much unexplained. The world inside the “Shimmer” is quiet and haunting, not packed with activity. When monsters do attack, it comes in small-scale, individualistic encounters, rather than wars between armies of CGi. It’s also notable that whereas a very specific kind of woman is often held up as an example of strong female characters, the women here are the opposite: ordinary people, more egghead than warrior, investigating rather than kicking ass; a movie that relegates Oscar Isaac to about 20 minutes of screen time certainly has the courage of its characters.

Roma

Another example of a film whose greatness is achieved specifically because it bucks the need to have a message or to conform to momentary fits of politics, Roma tells a simple story of a middle-class Mexican family in the 70’s and their working class servant. It commits numerous sins of modern cinema: the middle-class family is not seen as oppressors, the servant is not seen as a victim, nothing in the film is a veiled attack on systems of any kind or shape. Therein lies the beauty, captured perfectly by Yalitza Aparicio. She plays Cleo, the servant, and while the film is seen through her eyes---so that we witness only the snatches of family life she does---Alfonso Cuaron has never been given much to preaching, and that’s still true here, despite it being his most personal film. It’s also mournfully beautiful in black and white, with city houses shown as a tangle of balcony stairs and one-car garages, and an especially beautiful shot of woods on fire. The kind of film you think about for years after seeing it once, it’s also Cuaron’s most intimate accomplishment. Part 2: http://ryanmeft.tumblr.com/post/182988135292/my-favorite-films-of-2018-part-2