#Rath writing

[navigatorsghost]

Okay so we were all weirded out by that scene in Naruto where Kisame meets Itachi, but it left me wondering - does our dude introduce himself to everyone he meets with Creepy Shark Facts?

And then this happened, because scorpions have interesting childcare habits and why should Kisame get to be the only one with baby-critter trivia to share. Ficsnippet below the cut, set directly following Deidara's Akatsuki recruitment (like, same night two hours later, sort of thing).

(Edited to add: this ficlet has a sequel now btw, check the reblogs!)

~~~

"Did you know," Kisame said, "that sand tiger sharks start out as eggs, but incubate and hatch before birth? But the number of pups is always less than the number of eggs that were fertilized. Can you imagine why that is?"

Deidara chose not to prompt him with a reply, but the older shinobi continued anyway. "Cannibalism. The pups start eating each other within the mother's womb when they hatch. They begin killing their siblings the moment they enter the world, viewing everything they see as nothing more than prey." He smiled, showing off his snaggle teeth.

"Fascinating," Sasori said, in tones that suggested anything but. His beady eyes fixed Kisame with a look so unimpressed it verged on outright disdain. "Did you know that baby scorpions hatch before birth, too? But they're born soft and vulnerable, so until they develop hardened exoskeletons to protect them, the mother collects them up and carries them on her back to keep them safe." His gravelly voice softened a little as he finished speaking.

Deidara looked up at Sasori's crouching bulk beside him where he sat, and shifted a little further away from Kisame and closer to the puppeteer. "I think I like your natural history facts better, Sasori no danna, un."

Kisame only laughed. "Hmph," Sasori commented, but he unobtrusively shuffled closer to Deidara in turn, his long steel tail curling around behind Deidara's back.

Deidara didn't flinch away, despite guessing that Sasori's sting was every bit as lethal as a scorpion's should be. He might not consider himself a baby anything - he was a jōnin, his age notwithstanding - but between a not-so-subtle warning and a quiet counter-offer of backup, he wasn't stupid enough to pick the wrong side.

There was an odd vulnerability hidden in what Sasori had said, though. Kisame's threat felt typical enough for a hardened killer, if weirder than Deidara would've expected to hear in Iwa; but aligning yourself with a creature that needed protection in its weakness and in turn extended protection of its own was a strange look on a missing-nin. Deidara wondered what that said about the man to whom he'd been so arbitrarily handed.

Well, he thought ruefully, it seemed he'd have plenty of time to find out.

[creativesplat]

I would also like to see some miphlink, if that's okay!

I was really struggling with what to draw, and then I remembered your ask from ages ago (dang ADHD brain...) anyway, sorry its such a late answer, but Miphlink inspired by Dicksee's La Belle Dame

[starry-bi-sky]

more cfau miscellaneous things because Childhood Friends Danny and Jason have my head and heart always and I need to finish rewriting chapter two dammit (and redo the half-finished chapter 4 because its just Not The Vibes). i'm almost through I need to get through the graveyard scene. (i just stubbornly refuse to have it be shorter than the original chapter and thats the little death. that is the mind killer.)

Danny and jason’s ghost forms both smell faintly like burnt flesh and cigarettes. However, Jason has a more smokey smell while Danny’s smells almost,,, electrical? In a sense? Like he just straight up smells like burnt flesh and sulphur while Jason smells like someone put him in a smoker first.

It’s very much an unpleasant smell but Danny finds an odd comfort in it just as much as he finds a comfort in the smell of nicotine.

(Jason post-revival smells burnt flesh once and is immediately offput by the fact that it brings him an instinctive comfort. He doesn’t realize its because it reminds him of Danny, and is uncomfortable by it.)

-

In an au of an au, Danny’s altercation with Rath ends with Rath regaining enough of his sanity to snap out of the grieving state and ends with him breaking down. Instead of being souped and imprisoned, Rath, who is permanently 14, decides to Move On into the unknown. He’s exhausted, heartbroken, and tired.

(Is this influenced heavily by the ParaNorman scene where he talks to Agatha and helps her move on? Yes. But it doesn’t fit with the Original Storyline so im shoving it into an Au of an Au.)

Rath tells Danny that Jason lied to them (which he genuinely believes), and that he’s tired of waiting/looking for him/grieving. Jason is gone. He isn’t coming back, he abandoned them. And he wants his mom and dad, and his sister, and his friends. And he’s ready to join them.

He leads Danny out to Gotham, which other than Amity Park might’ve been the only city left untouched due to Rath’s own mental block on the place. They go out to the park he and Jason used to frequent or up to one of crime alley’s rooftops, and there Rath lies down and goes to sleep. Only to never wake up again, materializing into nothing as his soul moves on.

Before Rath leaves, he forces Danny to promise him that he’ll only wait for Jason for ten years. After that if he doesn’t find him, or if Jason doesn’t show, then Danny has to move on. Whether that be like how Rath does, or if its inly mentally/emotionally, doesn’t matter. He has to move on. Don’t wait for him. Don’t waste his time any more.

(“Oh, and if you find him, kick his ass for me.”)

Danny reluctantly agrees, and Rath lies down. Danny sings to him as he falls asleep.

(Angsty points if the vigilantes including Red Hood caught wind of their presence and were silently watching from the shadows. Rath might know they’re there, but Danny’s too focused on Rath to notice.)

(If only so that Red Hood realizes that this is what happened to Danny, and that Danny is gone before he can make things right. The tragedy, folks. The angst. The initial realization that Danny was Rath, and then also that Danny was dead and has been dead for years, and that before he moved on, he moved on believing that Jason abandoned him.)

(like i said it doesn't fit in the original timeline/storyline hence why its an au of an au and isn't nearly a fleshed out, but i was largely just focusing on the tragedy of Rath moving on and Jason being alive to see it and realize just who Rath is.)

-

Just like how the Lazarus pits shot Jason's twiggy 4'6-5'4 (depending on what you find) feet tall and 86lb ass up like a tree an essentially fixed his malnutrition, the portal did the same thing for Danny.

(granted i forgot about malnutrition and danny's likely stunted growth at first -- his family lived in crime alley and despite both his parents working, I don't think they had enough food all the time. He probably wasn't as badly malnourished as Jason was, but he wasn't healthy either.)

Granted his ghost in its "natural" state (14) is short, and his growth spurts were slow at first, it did result in him reaching his dad's height. There were points where it just happened overnight, like a baby. He went to bed one night 5’6 and woke up the next day 5’10.

Jazz is shorter than him. Although I have't decided if she's even liminal at all (and if she is, it didn't cure everything because she would have also suffered childhood malnutrition, and since in au canon their parents didn't get their hands on physical ectoplasm until after they got to Amity Park. So the exposure is less.)

-

Danny's voice absolutely sounds like canon Dan's. It kinda just dropped one day when he was 16-17 and never went back up. Sam and Tucker sometimes ask him to just talk about anything because they find his voice soothing.

I'm not sure yet how Danny would feel about it at first considering Rath, but I imagine that Rath, when he did speak, would have had a quieter and scratchier/weaker voice considering he's spent the last decade shrieking and crying.

(and i suppose technically that shouldn't have any effect on his throat considering he's a ghost and idk if that would actually affect him, but i like the idea so im keeping it)

In the beginning you could hear him from a mile away by the sound of his loud, echoing wails, but ten years later you can only really hear him by the soft, shuddering sobs he makes. Like he's gasping for air that isn't there. The future is full of very quiet survivors.

And it's much easier to speak when you pitch your voice upwards (especially when whispering/speaking quietly) so he might've spoken in a higher, airy pitch in order to be heard. So Danny might actually find a comfort in having a lower voice.

[polychromaic]

I wrote a game!

WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU is a handwritten solo simulator for the average animal to educate themselves on the perils of the modern job-hunt! With fully articulated folding-zine technology, a fully customizable paper-doll character creator, and a rich & intricate system meant to realistically simulate the application process many employers require! There's even an experimental achievement system, so players can unlock new color palettes, art, and even sim mechanics through play!

It's only $10! What're you waiting for? The time will pass regardless <3

[ link & additional info below cut ]

[ WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU itch.io page ]

i got a lot of follows recently cuz of my winny art, but primarily ive made my money as an artist in the indie ttrpg community, as an illustrator and game designer. Money's been real tight all summer long, and struggling with (obvious) unemployment hasn't been easy. If you've enjoyed my art and wanna see me make more, buying this game would go a really long way.

And if you need more incentive, fellow game designer and world's hottest boyfriend rath but together a mutual aid bundle for me n our girlfriend! It's just $20 and you get like 30 games from some really incredible designers, and you also get my new game

[ Sasha and Poly Mutual Aid Bundle - itch.io page ]

[miroana]

The Lancers of Augustus

[rathayibacter]

Illusion Magics: A Guide

Lotus Eyes Completely override your victim's senses, allowing you to feed them whatever sensory information you want. However, the further your constructed reality differs from what's actually happening, the more fuzzy and insubstantial the entire illusion becomes. Useful for subtle but pervasive tricks. Echo of Aether Creates a persistent, stable illusion of the caster performing some action over and over again. The illusion becomes more stable and robust whenever the caster performs the action, so over time these echoes can become incredibly hard to notice or dispel. Sunlight Glamer Weave a visual construct out of sunlight, which catches and draws attention to itself. The glamer lasts indefinitely in sunlight, but slowly dissolves in darkness or when exposed to mist, silver, or tears. Moonlight Glamer Weave a visual construct out of moonlight, which diverts attention away from itself. The glamer lasts indefinitely in moonlight, but slowly dissolves in other light sources or when exposed to plant matter, gold, or blood. Backwards Tongue A curse which causes its victim to believe they are speaking eloquently, when actually all they can do is make incoherent noises. Unlike other illusions, recognizing that something's wrong strengthens the spell instead of breaking it, as it feeds on frustration. Null Glyph Create a glowing point on your finger that lets you draw lines of light on the air. Originally known as Death Glyph when it was used to draw killing curses, now mostly cast by academics to draw complex diagrams or to leave reminders to themselves around the house.

[owl-with-a-pen]

I just recently went to a meet and greet where I met both Nicole and Jesse! At the Q&A, they revealed a lot of stuff I think you'd love to hear!

The Bottle Episode with all the different Brainys was actually Jesse Rath's idea. He planned out all the different personalities of the characters. It was also his idea for Brainy's personality inhibitors to come off and him turn back to green.

Someone asked Jesse and Nicole what they thought Brainy would be like as a dad, and Jesse and Nicole both agreed that he would be the type to encourage his kid to do all extra curriculars possible. Jesse also said, "Or he'd just be boarder line abusive. The type of dad to just throw the kid in the pool and say 'You have to learn to swim sometime. Why not now?'"

They were honestly both the coolest people I have ever met. Jesse is 100% the nicest celeb I have ever met and he did SO MUCH for Brainy's character, it's insane.

[CONT]

OH! Another thing that happened at the Q&A with Jesse and Nicole:

Jesse and Nicole talked about how Jesse once had this idea for a season cliffhanger where it turns out, evil Brainy was pretending to be Brainy-Prime and that the real Brainy-Prime had ended up trapped in the bottle. Jesse said the reveal would be "Brainy" and Nia embracing after beating a bad guy in an ally only for "Brainy" to stab Nia and then... well... yeah.

The crowd was super shocked but turns out it's a plot line in one of the comics that Dream-Girl dies, and Brainiac 5 is the only one who could see or talk to her, and I guess Jesse kind of wanted that plot. Nicole even thought it was a really cool idea.

Oh my god you were at the Superman Celebration!? I am jealous! I'm so happy for you too, of course, and that you got to meet them both!! Sounds like you had an excellent time!

I found out about the Q&A the other day and watched the whole thing on YouTube so I know exactly what you're talking about! All that info was so cool to hear; I knew Jesse had some input in what he'd managed to bring to the story and had my suspicions he'd fought for certain things (especially going green) but to hear just how much he'd been able to suggest and fight for and get into the show in some form or another was just mind blowing. I love when actors are so passionate about their characters and want to see them done justice on the screen.

The Brainy as a dad commentary had me cracking up too, I loved Nicole and Jesse joking about Brainy throwing their kid into the deep end and referring to them as acting like a "fourth level" intellect. 😂

And I died when Jesse started talking about how he'd not only pitched Nia's "death" but also his own "death". Like absolutely legendary behaviour. I would've loved to see them both play out honestly and I love that Nicole was just as enthusiastic about doing a death scene for her character as Jesse. They really do make a great team. 😂

That scene Jesse pitched of Brainy kissing Nia only to stab her and thereby reveal he's the evil!Brainy who's swapped places with her Brainy... *chef's kiss* levels of angst. Right up my alley. I'm half tempted to write the scene for myself. 😉

Thank you so much for sharing your experience!! It sounded absolutely awesome!

(Psst, if you're reading this and haven't seen the Q&A, you can watch it here) 👀

[jackie-sugarskull]

Finally, after conquering the beast that is Writer’s Block, Chapter 3 of my @omniglitch-au fic is HERE!

It only took me nearly… *checks last update* 10 MONTHS?!

Oh man, I am SO sorry you guys had to wait this long!

But I really hope you all enjoy it! We’re at the final stretch now! Here’s hoping it doesn’t take another 10 months 😅

[set-phasers-to-whump]

glass

prompt: glass shard

whumpee: gereon rath

fandom: babylon berlin

hello here's a little fic for today :) it's gereon/charlotte, perhaps sometime during or very soon after s4. hope you like!

Gereon holds his own in the fight for several minutes, out of sheer determination if nothing else. But he can’t last forever, not against a man much larger and much more trained in fighting than himself. 

As he starts to tire out, his opponent only seems to grow more powerful. His punches hit with more force and Gereon is finding it harder and harder to hit back. 

They’re getting steadily closer to a wall, and Gereon thinks maybe he can use this to his advantage. Push the other man into the bricks, stun him. 

Instead, he’s suddenly grabbed by the collar and pulled forwards, and then his head is being forced through a closed window. 

The heavy impact of his skull with glass and wood, the sound of shattering, the immediate throbbing pain, the blood trickling down his face, the feeling of glass shards embedded into his skin - all of this combines into one sensation, oppressive and deadening. 

He’s pulled backwards, chin scraping on jagged edges, and then he hits the floor with force. He can only lie there and watch as his attacker walks away. 

He lies flat on his back on the cold ground for quite some time, breathing heavily. His head hurts. His face and neck are sticky with blood and his skin is stinging from the cuts. 

He needs to get out of here. 

He staggers to his feet, horribly lightheaded and for a second on the edge of unconsciousness. He waits, standing stock-still, until the feeling fades. 

His journey home is slow and painful. He’s exhausted and achy from the fight, in addition to the pain in his head and on his face. He wants nothing more than to sleep. 

Of course, he cannot exactly sleep with a face full of glass. He opens the door to his apartment and resigns himself to an eternity spent pulling shards from his skin. 

His apartment is not empty. For the most brief of moments, he freezes by the door, afraid of an intruder, but then he hears Charlotte’s voice and relaxes. 

“Hi, Gereon!”

She emerges from the bedroom smiling, but her face quickly falls and she hurries to his side. 

“What happened?”

Gereon shrugs. “There was a fight. I lost.”

“With what? A window?”

“More or less.”

“Come here.”

He follows her into the bedroom and sits on the bed when she tells him to. She produces a pair of tweezers from somewhere - he’s pretty sure they aren’t his - and then sits beside him, gently touching his chin so that he turns to face her. 

She pulls the glass shards away one by one, placing them into a bowl. They’re tiny, but each one stings terribly when she pulls it free from his skin. 

When the job is finally finished, Charlotte wipes the blood off of his face and then tugs a comb through his hair, dislodging still more pieces of glass. Some of them fall onto the bed, and afterwards they both spend quite a long time making sure they gather up all the loose bits. 

This done, Gereon strips off his torn and dirty suit and discards it into the corner, to be dealt with in the morning. He scarcely even looks down at himself, already painfully aware of the bruises that must be forming. 

Charlotte does look, though. He feels her gaze on him, almost overwhelming in its intensity. 

“Does it hurt very much?” she asks, as they both slip beneath the covers. 

“It’s not so bad,” he replies. Yes, the cuts still sting and his whole body is sore and his head is throbbing insistently, but it could have been worse. He could have bled a lot more. 

“I’m glad you’re alright,” Charlotte whispers against his shoulder. She’s curled herself around him quite protectively, her hands cool against the ache in his chest. “Even if it wasn’t so bad.”

“Thank you,” Gereon whispers in return. “For being here.”

He can feel her smile as she presses a kiss to the back of his neck. 

“You’re welcome.” 

thanks for reading!! hope you have a good evening or whenever <3

[kiri-tired]

Ngl, that part of the library episode where Eugeo sneezed and was suggested to take a warm bath---I was screaming WHY COULDN'T KIRITO JOIN HIM?!? 😭🔥

They should've bathed together man. im just saying. 😤

[navigatorsghost]

Small giftfic for @lordkuronekosama! Jashin/Hidan, metal band AU in which Jashin (currently in a mortal incarnation) is the singer of the band, and Hidan is his most devoted fan. Rated T for a bit of blood and consensual kissing (it would've been more, but they got cockblocked by the stage schedule... maybe I'll write a sequel later.)

(Edit: second chapter now up, rating now E...)

[mossflower-trails]

The Best Lessons Are Taught With Blood

An unfinished Taggerung piece exploring the time Tagg spent with the Juska Clan and his relationships with them. In this scene, Tagg and Sawney discuss an opportunity for him to prove his mettle.

Rating: T

Words: 1186

Fourteen seasons on, and the Taggerung had yet to take a life.

Of course he had killed before, if all the clams and fish hauled back to their shoreline camp was proof of such proficiency. But it wasn't - not in the eyes of a Juska, at least. Though it proved one's self reliance, it did nothing to prove one's power. Hunting food would never be enough to prevent his adoptive father's growing pressure.

It appeared more frequently between them in the past few weeks. It would linger on the edges of silent lulls in the evening, those times when he and Sawney were sat around their own small fire apart from the rest of the clan, when Grissoul had nodded off still upright with her chin tucked into her scarves, leaving them alone. It would settle in thick discomfort, when the laughter and chatter between father and son trickled away, and when its wake had left prickly self-consciousness skittering across Tagg's neck. Sawney would stretch and sigh and pick food from his fangs, then, as though starting a casual new conversation, the topic would rear its ugly head. It always started with the same signs, and usually, Tagg could dodge out of its way. He would parry a distraction into his father's mind, then the cursed thing would fall to the wayside as some other priority took its place.

On this night, however, while the moon hung low and half-lidded in the night sky, Sawney again stretched and sighed and picked food from his fangs.

"Vallug's seen two Juska'tar fishers in the northern tidepools again today, did I tell y'already?" the stoat said.

"Oh? Don't believe y'have," Tagg replied. He too took the opportunity to stretch and sigh, only to lay back and stare at the moon instead of his father's gaze.

"Aye, awful impolite of 'em, I'd say! Sure got me thinking, should teach 'em some manners about being neighborly, don'tcha think?"

"Juska'tar aren't anything to fret over. We show up with somethin' sharp, pull a scary face, and they'll tuck their tail between their legs. Worked wonders last time."

"Gaw, sure did! Barely had to lift a paw! That's the problem, though. Since we only done that, the sneaky bastards are back at it again. It's 'cos they think we'll keep lettin' 'em off easy. See, they're testin' what they can get away with." Sawney leaned forward from where he sat on a driftwood log and roused the fire's embers with a stick. "Can't let beasts think we're all bark an' no bite, else they start gettin' uppity. D'ye get my meaning, Tagg?"

Tagg wrinkled his snout up towards the moon. His knife found itself twirling mindlessly between fidgety claws. Grissoul remained sound asleep a short distance away, though Tagg sometimes wondered if she was silently eavesdropping.

"Yea, yea, I get what you're saying, da. So we'll send 'em back bloodied and bruised for it this time. We can nick their nets too, they owe us payment for whatever fish they snatched, huh?" The otter feigned amusement. When he turned to look at Sawney though, his father's crinkled eyes peered discerningly through him.

"Heh, a fine idea for certain…but I think we should teach them a lesson that'll really stick," the stoat goaded. "An' don't I always say, the best lessons are taught with blood?"

Tagg's chuckle faded awkwardly as Sawney's brown eyes glinted in the firelight. Taking up the stick again, he fussed with the embers once more.

"Now, c'mere to me, I've an idea that'll lift yer spirits," he snickered. "Tomorrow, hide and wait for our trespassers at the pools afore sun-up…then, when they go out onto the rocks, nab one an' take 'em for a dip in the sea! Juska'tar rats can't swim worth shite, they'll drown fast an' easy. And all the while, their buddy gets to watch helplessly from the shore!" At this, Sawney barked out a rough laugh. "That'll teach 'em, guaranteed! Heheh! Oh, oh, bring the corpse back to me afterwards, I'll show y'how to chop the head and stick it on a pike. Real nice decor to spruce the place up, eh? Call it future poaching deterrent!"

Those keen eyes searched Tagg for a reaction. The otter gave his very best dark sneer.

"Heheh…aye, sounds like a good plan, that'll show 'em!" Even vague agreement felt strange and stilted as it left Tagg's tongue. Sawney on the other hand sighed with audible relief.

"G'wan, g'wan, that's the spirit! I'm glad to hear yer onboard!" His grin was wide and his eyes bright. "So, then it's settled, that's what we'll do."

Tagg didn't respond. He only listened to the distant crash of waves with knots in his guts over what he had just agreed to. The two fell silent again, each mulling their respective thoughts. Their small fire finally smoldered and snuffed itself without Sawney's insistent prodding. It was getting late after all. Even Juska still up chatting or cleaning blades around the main fire had started to tuck in for the night.

After a while, Sawney stood, grumbling a curse at his popping joints. He tugged his cloak tighter around his shoulders and ambled towards his tent.

"I know I been a nag lately, Tagg, but ye'll see," the stoat said quietly as he passed. "Once ye make yer first real kill tomorrow, nobeast will dare think low of ye. Trust me! No need to look so glum." He leaned to tweak his son's ears affectionately, and Tagg swatted him away in mock annoyance.

"Buzzy old fly," the otter laughed. This time the sound came effortlessly.

"Pah! Old, he says. This old fly can still bite ye to hell, watch it," Sawney huffed lazily. "Get some rest so ye can get the jump on them poachers bright 'n early."

"Yea, yea."

"G'night, Tagg."

"G'night, da."

Sawney disappeared into his tent, leaving Tagg alone with the moon and his thoughts.

Bristling anxiety began to find its home inside the otter's chest. He could understand that behind Sawney's recent pressure, there was surely only a father trying to encourage his son. The stoat wanted to see Tagg fit in, and of course Tagg wanted that too. Wandering Juskan eyes and hidden sneers were always stray reminders that he didn't.

Above that, he wanted to make his father proud. The stoat was the only family he knew, one who had done so much for him. Tagg couldn't remember his early days as a pup, but Grissoul had once told him the story of how his father took him in. He had quickly gathered that it was scandalous for the Juska chief. That inspired gratitude within him, but just beneath laid a growing layer of guilt for the debt. To pay it, surely one murderous task shouldn't be too heavy a burden. And maybe once Tagg crested that hill, he would look back and realize it wasn't so scary.

Those reassurances did little to dash away his worries, though. Throughout the night, they instead swelled with the sound of waves crashing over his dreams.

[starry-bi-sky]

Clone Danny: Dan interlude 7.5

i'm writing this because im struggling to come up with the next part to the clone danny au. however I have had many thoughts about our resident evil man. So if anyone remembers part two of this au, I mentioned that I wanted to make Dan's circumstances a little different than canon, considering Danny's circumstances were different. I'm not sure where I got the idea that Dan wouldn't be inclined to destroy the world after his creation, but i'm sticking with it because I love to explore new things in aus. So 👏 DAN and i swear i might end up calling him a different name because ong i cant stand the name Dan

so. Dan. Dante? I like Dante. but i'll call him Dan for the time being. So: clone danny is not a halfa, right? not really at least. he has a core and he has the ghost sense but nothing else. big difference in canon already since there's no 'ghost half' for vlad to rip out like in canon.

Danny's family is DEAD. disintegrated [exaggeration] in a nasty burger explosion. so he's. bruce wayne levels of depressed. real bruce wayne-core

Vlad, instead of offering to tear out his ghost half, instead offers to try and find a way for Danny to be safely reunited with his family in the afterlife

(he's lying. he's gonna try and make danny a halfa)

Ofc, Danny with his ghost-core obsession being family-based, agrees. he's desperate and depressed. ripe for the picking

Vlad gets everything set up. But turning a human into a halfa is risky risky business, a 1-and-100 chance to happen successfully

so. Danny dies in the experiment. painfully. and he comes back immediately as a ghost. essentially murdered

and ye gods is he PISSED. Vlad lied to him. Vlad lied to him. Danny is a family-obsessed ghost and Vlad lied to him about his family and then he killed him

Vlad is a dead man

Danny doesn't just kill Vlad, he destroys him. He never merges with his Vlad's ghost half because he doesn't want power he wants him fucking dead.

SO dead Vlad is.

now where does this leave our precious, freshly ghosted, full-of-rage Daniel Fenton?

not destroying the world thats for certain. and, well. that's not to say that Danny couldn't go on a blind, grief-stricken rage that results in him becoming the walking apocalypse. he could totally still do that

do I want to do that? well, i don't hate the idea however I personally enjoy the idea that I came up with in the alternative

with Dan no longer a one-ghost-apocalypse, how does he become Danny's TUE? My solution: time travel. Danny doesn't go to the future to go see him, Dan comes back to the past to go see Danny.

i am not partial to the idea that ghosts age over time. So for the last ten years Dan has remained as a dead 14 year old kid the entire time. I like to think its more tragic that way.

At some point during those ten years, Dan figures out that time travel is real. And he becomes obsessed with figuring out how to do it so that he can go back in time and take his past self's life and get his family back

Yeah. a real Miguel O'Hara right here folks

Dan succeeds in his time travel, and suddenly the Phantom's nightly patrol is being interrupted by a ghost that is... unsettlingly similar to him.

Dan knows himself better than anyone. When he finds out time travel is real, he spends his time researching it and growing stronger. He needs to be as unpredictable as possible. He knows that his past self will be in his prime as the Phantom and will be used to adapting to unpredictable and seemingly invincible enemies. He needs to be able to beat that

So. Dan and Danny fight the first(1) time

Danny gets his ass handed to him

Dan reveals himself and goes on a villain monologue. Dan's ghost form is different than in canon, since its a close replica to Danny's Phantom gear. The only difference is that Dan's white CJ Mask has black tear streaks down from the eyes that are blotchy and smudged. As if he'd been crying ink. There are a few other subtle differences too, like Dan has a few trinkets that are motifs to his family, but i can't think of what without cluttering up his outfit

Dan can't kill Danny, unfortunately. As its his past self. Killing him would result in Dan ceasing to exist. However he can imprison him or overshadow him. Dan overshadows him, and Danny goes under.

This is chalking up to be more traumatizing for Danny than I thought

Danny is only partially conscious during the overshadowing. It's like one of those weird vertigo dreams. something is wrong but he doesn't know what

And it's actually his friends that help realize that something is wrong. Dan may be Danny, but its been ten years since he last saw his friends. Something has to give. Whether it be the subtle strangeness in his behavior, a dip in his humor and morality, or the way he speaks like he's reminiscing.

This idea is diverging more from canon than i thought, but Danny does eventually kick out Dan and defeat him. But its right before the nasty burger explosion. Danny can't make it in time, but Dan does. A very sudden save that Danny wasn't expecting and is confused about

Danny eventually meets up with Dan later that night to interrogate him, and brings Sam and Tucker with. They find out his whole tragic backstory

And the few days Dan has had with Sam and Tucker and back with his family have kinda reminded him what he was like before his death and before rage and grief took over his afterlife

He's kinda mellowed out slightly -- or at least snapped out of his obsession mostly.

they talk. Dan talks about what happened in his timeline. probably breaks down and cries, allowing him to properly process the grief he's been avoiding for the last decade

there's no forgiveness yet. Dan overshadowed Danny (terrifying him in the process and realizing that despite everything, there are still things that ghosts can do that Danny's not prepared for. he needs to prepare), tried to take over his life, and was all around violent and cruel to him out of jealousy and desperation. However, there is a chance of redemption

Dan doesnt want to go back to his time. his family isn't there. he's alone. he doesnt want to be alone. he's fourteen years old and dead

but... but he knows he doesn't belong here. his time with the fentons has passed, and he has an afterlife to look into. he can't... cling to the past. and its a voice that sounds like jazz saying this in his head

"you can visit" danny says after a moment, seeing the fear on dan's face. he's a bleeding heart through and through, even if he resents Dan just a little bit for what he did "you know how to time travel, right? I don't think there's any harm coming to visit"

"or," tucker says, "we can visit you! you can show us your time! i want to see what technology is like in ten years"

Dan... looks hopeful. and they mean it too. yes. visiting... that makes him feel better. "if Vlad gives you trouble don't be afraid to tell me" he offers in turn, and smiles wide and toothily. much too wide for a human. "i'll be happy to handle him again"

Danny makes a mental note to never let the two meet. "i will"

and Dan disappears

----------

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 4.5 (Dani interlude) Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 7.5 (Dan Interlude) Part 8

Masterpost

Taglist: @the-navistar-carol @thought-u-said-dragon-queen @gin2212 @youracearocroatneighbour @luckybyrdrobyn @deeplyconfusedbear @epilepticnerd @beautifulmomenttodrawblank @sara0055 @blusunkhild @letmesayfuxk (?) @latheevening226 @tkiesai @rosedasy @meira-3919 @igotafewbadideas @princessbelix @cyber-geist

[redhandedsuggestions]

i will kill the god that made you and from its corpse rebuild this world

teeth were not meant to be pulled but blood was always meant to be spilled

[unluckyxse7en]

So I've been rereading Dragon Knights recently. I love it, it's a terrible manga and idk that I'd necessarily recommend it even for how much I adore it, BUT. I HAVE to direct everyone's attention to this page because there's a sequence of actions happening that literally No One is talking about in or out of context of the story and it's cracking me up.

Ok so ignoring the dialogue and what's Actually happening, we're following the guy with black hair (Rath) and his proximity to the guy with the scars (Thatz). Reading left to right, top to bottom:

panel 1: Rath is leaning over Thatz's shoulders, presumably by this point it was to get a better look at what they've been scrutinizing. Excusable levels of contact.

Panel 2: Thatz has pulled away to get the stick from the kid Zoma. Rath is Nowhere to be seen in this panel.

Panel 3: Rath is once more perched against Thatz's shoulders, implied like in panel 1. However, since this has NOT been continuous contact, this suggests that either Thatz repositioned himself back in front of Rath (possible, not unlikely but awkward); or Rath followed after and closed the gap himself (possible, likely, and not as awkward a position for him to recreate); or perhaps even a mix of both actions. Either scenario means the physical closeness has been Intentionally recreated Exactly.

Panel 4: Thatz has once more pulled away, naturally, to fling the stick with all his bodily might. This was probably unnecessary given they're trying to observe it but either way Rath is once more Not Visible anywhere in the panel.

Panel 5: the stick in the abyss.

Panel 6: now Everyone is stacked on top of Thatz to get a closer look at the stick, Rath included. Obviously this is done for the sake of the gag, but this means that Once More someone intentionally closed the gap, most likely Rath, who is now Also hugging Thatz loosely in the process.

Bonus note, the following page: now, despite there being no more stick to watch, what little you can see of the adjacent page shows them Still in the same position based on the angle and placement of their faces of the visible panel.

And like. You can obviously argue that the author just wasn't paying attention to staging, I don't think that'd be entirely a first. However, both characters by this point have repeatedly demonstrated either a lack of personal space boundaries (Thatz) or a tendency to be very physically affectionate and almost clingy (Rath), on top of being close with each other in general, so you can also easily argue that this sequence of events happened Exactly As Implied and have it be just as if not more likely canon than any more sensible alternative renditions of this scene.

And that just cracks me up to consider, especially when this paints the mental image of zooming the camera out a little to see Rath toddling after Thatz like a baby chick for the entire scene.

[rathayibacter]

well i guess it was kinda inevitable that id draw the attention of an evil wizard