#Though I Could Not Stop For Death

[rainycat2]

Though I Could Not Stop For Death / Death Kindly Stopped For Me

A Danny Phantom x DC Comics Crossover fic!

Chapter One: Beginnings

Perfection, for most people, was an unattainable dream. “Practice makes perfect”, they would say, knowing that perfection was something that would always slip out of their grasp, a wisp of smoke on a cool Autumn evening. An ideal to live up to, to work towards. Similar to how the world viewed Superman-- the “Big Blue Boy Scout” indeed. He was a paragon of humanity, a person to look up to, to strive to be like. Compassionate, strong, better than man.

Perhaps it was strange that from birth, he knew he would have to be perfect. Grandfather and Mother would accept nothing less from the elder son, after all. Twins had been unexpected, but a delight nonetheless-- an age old saying of “the heir and the spare” had worked in their favor. On the off chance the elder twin of the two boys was not up to par, the “spare” would be trained to take over for him. He would have his own role, otherwise, when they grew up to be adults.

One, the Demon Head. The ruler of the League of Assassins. The other, the Batman of Gotham City. Both ruthless and merciless in their own ways, inheriting their birthrights.

Life, or perhaps Death, had other plans.

----

Silent as a ghost, he had been called. Trained since he could walk to not make a sound, to keep your breath quiet so as to not be discovered. Stealth and secrecy ran in his blood, and he would be damned if he were to fail the mission. At home, for now, watching his brother train, snow fluttering across the sky in drifts. It was cold, but not so much as to be irritating; besides, he had trained in colder conditions than this. His eyes tracked his brother’s movements, his steadiness with his katana. The slight hesitation in his movements that ultimately led to his feet swept out from underneath him, a foot planted on his chest and a blade at his throat. From here, he could see the blood well up on his brother’s jaw. An unfortunate cut, but a shallow one. It shouldn’t scar.

Though that could hardly be said the same for himself. On his last mission, the target had gotten feisty. A graze of a knife to his cheek, leaving a faint raised line on his jaw. Well, another way to tell them apart, he supposed.

Warmth on his shoulder, a faint pressure. “Watching Damian again, habibi?” Amusement in her tone, a relaxing of his shoulders. “You have your own training to watch.”

“He still hesitates,” Danyal murmurs, blue eyes fixed on his brother as he went through his stances. Tracing his movements, cataloging the weak points. “Favors his left.”

“I know, my son, but he will learn, whether of his own determination or through his tutors,” she hummed, squeezing his shoulder slightly. “How was your last mission?”

“Successful. I will admit to a slight miscalculation, but the target was neutralized with none the wiser. I retrieved our information and have given it to Grandfather as of this morning,” he reports, shifting his weight slightly.

“Good.”

They fell silent, watching the younger of the twins silently before Danyal turned, a murmured apology as he left for his own training session. His blade, an extension of his own body, singing through the air in time with his soul. Hesitation brutally snuffed out, nothing but the rigorous, merciless clash of metal as he fought. A kick to the side, breath wheezing out in the frozen morning air.

Danyal stood tall over his opponent, sword at their chest until they yielded. Only then did he sheath his blade at his hip, then offer a hand up.

Clapping. He turned, bowing when Grandfather came into view. “You have done us proud yet again, Danyal.”

Pride raced through his veins, straightening his spine. “Thank you, sir.”

“Walk with me.” A quick jog to catch up to his Grandfather’s side, straightening and standing tall in the man’s all-knowing gaze. “What do you think of Damian’s progression?”

Confusion, eyes blinking at the question. Caught off guard, can’t let it happen again. He’s better than that. “I’m… sorry, sir?”

“Don’t apologize,” the Demon Head instructed. “You observe your brother’s training when you can, especially after returning home to us from a mission. You are both still at an age where imperfections can be smoothed out. I would like to know your opinion on how Damian’s training is progressing.”

“Of course.” Danyal took a moment to think, recalling trends and patterns he had witnessed over the years. “Damian… is still too compassionate. He hesitates, unable to commit to the possible action of injuring his tutors, of causing their deaths. In his role, it will serve him well, I suppose, but as an assassin… it could very well mean his own demise,” he mused. “His hesitation will get him killed.”

Ra’s was silent for a few moments. “Thank you, Danyal. You are dismissed.”

“Yes, sir.”

----

Snow crunched under their boots, blades crashing and ringing in the evening light, the courtyard illuminated by torches. Bystanders observing, watching intently to see who would give first.

A test, Grandfather had called it. Of Damian’s willingness to wound, of how deep his hesitation went.

But it was Danyal’s hesitation that caused it all.

He would not hurt his twin, he realized as their blades locked again, looking into Damian’s eyes. Seeing the fear, the desperation to please reflected back.

A moment’s pause, not moving when he should have, when he knew he could--

A gasp. The courtyard fell silent.

Red. Red on his hands, on the blade, seeping out of his clothes-- good thing they were black, it would wash out-- red staining the snow.

Panic above him, Damian frantically trying to keep his attention, eyes welling up with tears.

Danyal smiled.

----

“Not quite yet.”

Hands, cold cold hands, yet somehow warm, welcoming. Comforting. He could see green in his fading vision, swirling, neon otherworldly green. It reached out to him, curled him close.

Welcomed him home.

“Time out.”

---

The silence of the early morning, children awake, yet not leaving for school. Birds twittering in the trees, singing their songs to those who would listen. The haze of dawn slowly lifting, the cold of concrete and brick at his back. The creak of a door, something heavy hitting the ground in shock.

“....Mom! Dad! There’s-- come quick!!”

Taglist: @mynameisnotlaura, @fisticuffsatapplebees (love that), @screamingtofillthevoid (in a sense i'm workin on the "dude you got fuckin rabies" bit)

NEXT CHAPTER: ==>

[o-wild-west-wind]

GOD there’s something so tragic about how all the horrors Ed fleetingly alluded to in s1 were so, so real. They were passive references, even sometimes jokes, when everything was bright and silly and hopeful. But when the lens is shifted everything takes on a new weight.

I mentioned it before but I can’t stop thinking about this line: “these past few weeks have been the most fun I’ve had in ages…years…maybe ever.” Ed meant that with his whole heart!!! His fall is all the harder because he was the highest up he’d literally ever been.

It’s just wild to think of the framing of this show because typically comedy implies that these characters live in a consistently comedic universe but it really is just that one blip in time up until this point. Ed and Stede’s solo stories are inherently tragic and yet when they come together they create a shared comedy universe. The meta use of genre in this show makes me CRAZY

[cerise-on-top]

hi<3 if you can, can you do valeria and laswell with a gothic s/o? like someone who likes darker/morbid things and things like that! love your blog by the way! it’s definitely my favorite blog to come look at after a long ass day <333

Hey there! Sorry, but I couldn't really find too much on what counts as dark and morbid in the goth scene, so I wrote more general HCs, I hope that's alright still ^^;

Valeria and Laswell with a Gothic!S/O

Valeria: She’d most definitely be intrigued, but not too much. In all honesty, she doesn’t know too much about the subculture, she’s never really met a goth who was clearly one. However, if it makes you happy, that’s all that matters to her. While she won’t really know too many bands, or any at all, she’d be more than happy to listen to a few if you want her to. Yes, she won’t always have the time, but when she isn’t too busy she could put on some songs by Joy Division or The Cure, she really doesn’t mind. She can vibe to that sort of music, even if it isn’t her favorite. You’re more than welcome to discuss the literature with her, though. She’s probably never read a single gothic literature book, but she can buy you some. Anything from poetry to a regular novel, it’s quite alright. While she won’t be the best person to go to when it comes to discussing those, she’ll support you either way. However, something she could definitely enjoy would be going clothes shopping with you. The fashion is kind of nice, she has to admit, so she’d be more than happy to buy you whatever garments you desire. Will go out of her way to find something you might like as well. I can’t see her being too much into the history of goth culture, though. It’s nice that you are a goth, if you want to tell her about it, then you can and she’ll listen to you, but she likely doesn’t have the time to research everything by herself. Tell her about its roots and she can definitely appreciate you going against what’s mainstream and how it all came to be. She’s a very defiant and rebellious woman herself, so she definitely gets it.

Laswell: She knows so many people, I wouldn’t be surprised if she has worked with goths before. And even if she hasn’t directly, she’s likely seen quite a few walking around the city. She usually grows worried for them in summer since their attire is black, which makes it quite hot. However, she’d be very intrigued by you and your subculture. It’s something very near and dear to you, so she would put in the effort to learn about your history. Will give some classic bands a listen as well. She just really wants to have something to talk about with you. Besides, she gets to learn more about you. While she may not be the biggest fan of your interest in death, considering she’s surrounded by it more often than not, she’d be more than happy to indulge anything else it has to offer. Laswell spent a good chunk of life left alone with her thoughts, so she definitely knows a thing or two about melancholy, the state of the world and introspection. Maybe not in the same way you do, but she can definitely keep up in a conversation. She’s likely also unintentionally read some of the more popular gothic novels out there and liked them, so she’d make for a good discussion partner as well. While she doesn’t particularly understand the need to make your face completely white, she doesn’t mind. In fact, she thinks it looks quite cool, even if it’s not for her. However, the fashion in and of itself looks really good to her. Again, she wouldn’t want to wear it, but something about Victorian and Edwardian fashion has a certain something to it that she can’t quite place. Like Valeria, she’ll definitely buy you things she thinks you might like. Anything from a suit or a corset to a book about poetry. Beware, though, she will read the books before you can.

[anxious-anomaly]

[18+ Blog || Minors/Ageless blogs block or get blocked.]

Monster and/or robot partner who keeps unintentionally jumpscaring you because they're deathly silent so you get them a bell collar.

Perhaps its fitting, perhaps its goofy, either way you know when they're around now.

The soft jingle at every minor movement, the consistent chime every time they walk up and embrace you, the rapid rattling as they fuck you or you fuck them.

Extra 01: They keep crushing the bell on accident and it stops making noise so you gotta get more bells.

Extra 02: They adapt to the tiny bell and're back to being deathly silent so now its been upgraded to a wholeass cowbell.

[siriusblackisdead]

What makes no sense about Andrew killing Tilda is the fact the he must have known that after her death, him and Aaron would probably end up in the foster care system, which would go against everything Andrew ever tried to achieve for Aaron. After everything he’s done to protect Aaron from everything that happened to him it would make no sense for him to change an abusive mother (what is bad enough as it is dont get me wrong) for sexually abusive foster families he went though. And while yes, there was a possibility that Luther and Maria would adopt them and take care of them, that option is bullshit too since Andrew knows too much how big of a piece of shit Luther is, so he also wouldnt let a man he didnt trust take care of Aaron too, mostly since he couldnt even know if he would even survive the car crash to be able to protect him. That takes me to a conclusion, that the only way Tilda’s death could work out for them and actually fix things instead of making them even worse was to make sure that Nicky, the only family member that wasn’t a danger in Andrew’s eyes, would take care of Aaron (and possibly Andrew too). So i suppose that before the whole accident happened, he talked to Nicky about the whole “would you take care of my brother” thing in a “what if” way, and that Nicky actually did know about the coming of Tilda’s death before it happened, even if he never realised it.

[jtl-fics]

more importantly how would riko fit into camping setting this man never touched grass

LMAO Shoulda known this would be the follow-up ask from you my dear.

I know we talked about Riko and stars but I'm gonna write a lil bit about it. So more under the cut.

There was a time where the car that is taking Riko from place to place, media event to media event breaks down in the middle of the road. There's no cell service and it's just him and a driver. The driver heads off, swearing to be back with a tow truck or whatever assistance they need.

Riko sits in that backseat arms crossed and PISSED about what's going on. He's going to miss his media engagement, it's going to be a whole damn thing. Who knows how Master will react. He can't do anything because he needs his suit to be perfect for when he shows up fashionably late to the engagement and the interview.

Then an hour passes, maybe two, maybe three, and it's dark. He can no longer entertain himself by counting the stitches in the fine Italian leather seats like he'd been doing when he ran out of Exy strategies to think about and funny excuses to give to people who might not even know he's not there.

He climbs out of the car figuring he can count a few stars, make exy plays out of their formations if nothing else. It'll get boring just like the few times he and Kevin snuck up to the top of the stadium and looked at the muted stars. Staring up at the stars won't ruin his suit.

He looks up and the universe is greeting him.

He gets back in the car suddenly feeling overwhelmed by what he had just seen. Sits and tries to count the stitches (finite, with an end) just by touch but he keeps getting different numbers since his fingers aren't that sensitive anymore.

He takes a breath and climbs out of the car again and looks up. The universe greets him again and it's endless. He can't possibly count what is up there, it's bigger than him. He looks at his suit and knows that he's not going to be going to make it and he can think up a good story about why he's dirty.

He settles on the hood of the car staring up into the sky and he feels small. A car passes him and he doesn't even try to stop it too transfixed by the heavens above him.

A few more hours pass like this and he wonders if his driver just legged it fearing the repercussions of improper maintenance of a Moriyama vehicle. He wonders if he lives here now.

The car is kind of uncomfortable he looks to the side and thinks about laying on the grass and thinks about insects and worms and things beneath him. Small things that can be destroyed by him so easily right under his polished shoes. He's above them, high above them.

He looks up at the stars again and finds himself laying with the bugs in the grass.

It's nice.

[icewindandboringhorror]

Baby boy brother birthday photos from last year that I just realized I never uploaded!

[bonefall]

What will you do if they give Birchkit defining Tigerkin features in cannon?

Already on it! Birchkit and Rowankit were Strikestone's biokits.

I'm still working on details; but my thought is that it was an honor siring situation. He was going to raise his kittens alone and claim Queen's Rights, but then he died in that fight with the impostor. He only told his close family about it.

So after the dust had settled, Heart and Dove contacted the honor dam/surrogate and asked what her plans with the kittens were, now that Strikestone was dead. That's how they ended up with Birch and Rowan.

Whoever they are, I think Strike was buddies with them, so I'm considering that maybe it was a litter of 3 and they kept one. But it's also possible that they established from the get-go that they did not want to raise kits, and so there were only 2 which Heart and Dove now have.

This means that they are considered Heartstar's kittens by all social means, but biologically, they are her grand-nespring.

[cxpperhead]

While Copperhead has been under Nehebkau's influence since the day he committed his first murder, only once has he actually been taken over by the evil spirit. Normally he is content to slumber, slowly regaining his strength through the 'sacrifices' he has his host commit so when that nourishment stops coming, Nehebkau gets angry. To punish Copperhead for denying him substance, Nehekbau waited until his host was alone with the first friend he'd made after the death of his family before taking over, brutally ripping Copperhead's friend to pieces and leaving the dismembered remains for him to find after regaining consciousness. While he never remembered anything of that incident, Copperhead always thought he'd been responsible for his friend's murder and didn't make another friend for years, for fear of hurting yet another person he cared about.

[donnatroyyyy]

Batman has/had some kind of miscommunication going on with every single one of his kids. The bat family is just one big miscommunication trope after the other.

[radioactivespiderblood]

Imagine if Harry Potter did a family portrait but it was just him smiling serenely surrounded by urns. Hilarious.

[bidonica]

Today was A Day so as soon as I was finished with work I plugged myself into the PS5 as if I was on life support. Whee

got to Timefall farm and was so mesmerized by all the beer that I forgot to take the beer order and only brought road building materials with me 🤡

I also finally connected the Elder to the network and he started sending me emails including the one where he talks about the US before the Stranding. That's where you learn the last president before the apocalypse was Trump which makes Bridget a MAGA republican so maybe she's the truly evil half between her and Amelie

I recently had to do fire prevention training at my job and it pleases me to see that Bridges is up to standard

[cowvboyenema]

//Kicking my legs over and over and over again anf screaming. Stop. Being sick.

[animationismycomfort]

I wish twdg explored more on how though human beings can become closer through awful times…..sometimes that’s not always the case

[monty-glasses-roxy]

I find attempted murder plots a lot more fun than actual murder plots unless said murder is the inciting incident for a mystery, honestly. Someone almost getting Murderized and then having to continually evade the person/make sure it doesn’t happen again/generally deal with the consequences of that are always fun

How does one just come back from almost getting murdered by someone who was once your friend? What do you even do at that point when you’re an animatronic who can’t even leave the building?

In the scenario proposed in previous ask, I don’t think Freddy would’ve expected to re-activate, and he’s probably not so dense as to be clueless on Why they tried to kill him.

I can imagine him like giving back the parts and apologizing once everyone’s back to themselves, but he might’ve thought that his friends were permanently Lost by the time he was accepting the parts/put together where the parts were coming from, especially if they’re going so much against their programming to try and hunt down and kill a child.

(Clarity: Not trying to say you’re writing him wrong or anything, just chiming in with how I see him)

(In reference to this ask and since this is might be something you wanna see @jellycreamjammedart)

Doesn't that make it worse? If he thought they were permanently gone, so much so they would try to kill a child, doesn't that make it worse that none of them could kill him? He looked at them and said they're beyond saving, he thought they would kill this kid no matter what in that state, and when given the chance, the shining moment when they could do the things accused of them, they couldn't do it.

The thing is, does he even know they're virus'd? Does he even know they're gonna kill Gregory? I think with some of their actions, it could be guessed they'd probably hurt him but why would he believe they'd kill? Does he trust them so little he'd jump to that conclusion once they start acting weird?

But this assumption that they'd kill Gregory... isn't it worse if he just assumed they're beyond saving? Yet for some reason, they can apparently save Vanessa? For some reason, he's totally fine? For some reason the only solution is to destroy them? Doesn't it make they fact they couldn't do it to him worse because he'd assumed they could? For assuming all of that and not considering they could be saved, surely if he understands his mistake it just makes everything worse?

Because if you think about it, if he was okay with them being destroyed... what makes him better than what he assumed of them? They couldn't kill him, and yet he was fine with the others possibly being killed. He helped them be destroyed, never sought an alternative solution that could have helped them and assumed they were long gone and beyond saving. Yet, even at their lowest points, even after they have more than enough reason and even after they had Freddy's life completely in their hands like he had theirs, they couldn't do it. They backed out. Or someone stopped them.

Isn't that worse? That they made the decisions they needed him to make? Someone stopped them, like he should have stopped Gregory or someone didn't have the heart to let him die, when he had the heart to let them be destroyed. I can't help but feel that's worse.

[catboymitosis]

Part of why Daan is a character that hits on so many levels for me is 3 years ago I was writing edgy mediocre poetry about how rabbits must long to be cats and suddenly a character who has both bunny coding and cat coding exists how could I not get obsessed with him. I deeply regret having deleted them now because if I did have them I'd be injecting that shit directly into Pocketcat dialouge in fics...