#but its clear that danny is in this job for life

[stopthefeeling]

i realised last night i don't actually want robert back

[dcxdpdabbles]

DC X DP Fanfic idea: It's all Fun and Games Kids!

Danny Fenton moves to Gotham.

He moved there not because his parents ran him out of the house. His dad was bawling and begging him to stay while his mother spent three full days writing up different graphs to show how much safer was by nearing by so they could protect him.

(It's not like he still lived with them. Danny had moved out to his own place in amity when he was twenty-five. Moving clear across state lines wasn't much of a difference in his eyes)

He moved there, not because the ectoplasm was high. Ectoplasm is everywhere on Earth, and quite frankly, Gotham's was as polluted as its water was. It made the air spicy.

He moved there not because he was offered an amazing job or a life-changing opportunity. Danny's full-time job was writing novels. They were all based on his adventures in the Ghost Zone -with changed names of course- and were a hit online. He also had all of the Ghost King's gold.

He moved there simply because Danny wanted to.

Something about the city called to him, in a way that said "Hey this could be your home." He visited once for a Humpty Dumpty concert and fell in love with the sights, the people, and the life of Gotham.

Now some people would accuse him of being mad. Those people probably had a rebellious teenage stage where they had done crazy things like sneak out of the house, underage drink, sleeping around, or smoke something.

Danny, when he was a teenager, was fighting for his life and the lives of the ungrateful townspeople.

He didn't get to his rebellious stage. He didn't get his rush of doing something stupid because he was young and thought himself bigger than life.

So here Danny is, living his life as he pleases to make up for it.

He doesn't have to sneak out of his house since he owns it, he rather not drink or smoke (would they even affect him? His healing factor has never been tested against it) and Danny would like to be emotionally attached if he decided to sleep with someone.

What then does a man with too much time, too much power, and not enough bad young person decisions do?

He flirts with Death.

Death just so happens to be Batman-shaped.

Now it's all fun and games. He knows he doesn't have a real chance with Batman- it's Batman. Way out of Danny's league.- but that doesn't mean he can allow himself to fall into stupid situations and be dramatically rescued by the crime fighter.

Now if only his kids weren't so good at their jobs.

"You really should be more careful, Mr. Fenton. This is the third time this week" Nightwing says while untieing him. Danny does his best not to pout at the other. He had been having fun finding the answers to the riddles.

He wasn't at all worried about the fact he was placed over a pool of burning chemicals. He had been tried to a chair that was carefully balanced on overlapping ropes. It wire would snap with each correct answer, until he would fall his demise unless they could outsmart the Riddler.

Danny had gotten five out of ten correct before Nightwing burst through the ceiling.

"I don't mind," Danny says rubbing his wrists. "Better me than someone innocent."

Nightwing's lips purse "You are innocent."

"Yes, but I hardly matter in the grand scheme of things." Danny waves his hand missing the look of distress on the hero's face. He looks around the darkness of the ceiling hoping to spot a certain crouching figure.

"Is Tall Dark and Daddy here with you?" He asks Nightwing when he fails to see him.

"Please don't call him that."

Danny shrugs, suppressing his smile. He twirls back around to Nightwing pulling out a piece of paper from his jean's pocket. "By the way, I found the other victims, hid them in the cellar, and drew a of map of Riddle's bombs for you. You're welcome."

Nightwing stares before carefully taking the map. He taps his ear twice, muttering in a code- for that may be English but sounded like gibberish that it can not be anything else but code- and only after he hears a voice respond back does the hero give a strained smile. "Thank you, Mr. Fenton. This helps a lot."

"You're welcome!" He repeats with a bright smile. It's so odd for his efforts to be appreciated. Odd but nice.

Danny waits for the other to do his Bat-trained disappearing act- sometimes he wonders if Gotham gave her Knights a form of invisibility- but the man remains.

He shuffles his feet uncomfortable and Danny's eyes light up. Oh! Another attempt to get him to stop flirting with his father. What fun~!

"Mr. Fenton.....last week Red Robin rescued you from the Joker. Do you remember?"

"Yes. Red Robin is a great kid."

"A kid....weird for you to call him that when he's only a few years younger than you." Nightwing starts but Danny holds up a hand.

"I'm older than you"

There is a tight frown on the other man's face now. "You are not."

"I am." Danny pulls out his wallet flashing his ID card. The downside to his Ghostly powers is that he seems to be aging at a slower rate- at least physically. His parents theorized that he would take two years instead of the one that his aging required. Not an accurate number but the closest they had especially since both his parents were late bloomers and had baby face.

While Danny might be thirty-eight he appeared to be no older than nineteen.

"Mr. Fenton I don't think you should be carrying a fake-"

"Stay away from my father Harlot!" Robin screeches falling down from the shadows above. He points a very sharp sword at Danny's neck, sneering the whole time. "He has better things to do than rescue a love-struck worthless fool!"

Danny, leans on the top of the sword, eyes drinking into Robin's slight flinch when it cuts his skin a little. This is it. The Rush he had been craving for.

"I don't mean to be kidnapped Robin honest. It just sort of happens in Gotham." He makes his voice and body innocent in a way even Orphan can not tell he is lying. He knows because Clockwork confirmed the last time they met that the girl read his body language just as he wanted her to.

The two ghosts met up regularly to watch his overly "sweet" eyes fluttering and cheerful "Oh Batman you rescued me~!" performances together for a good laugh.

"You lie! You plan for this to happen to try and seduce my Father!"

Huh. The kid was smarter then his foul mouth and snobby behavior looked. Still Danny only had to twist his face into confusion for Nightwing to step in. The other vigilantes pulled the scowling child away, scolding him for harassing frightened civilians.

It was fun to see but nothing beat making polite come-ons to Batman- nothing gross like catcalling but more of overly thankful and dreamy sighs. Maybe he should see what Two-face is up to?

Surely the man would take him hostage and Batman's many children would be too busy to save him thus leading the Dark Knight himself to come to his aid.

Or in a world where Danny Fenton decides that it would be hilarious if he took on a Brucie Wayne persona in Gotham. Complete with a Heart-eyes-it's-beefy-Batman mentality that tricks the Batfam into thinking he is a Himbo who has bad luck for always getting caught up in villain schemes for being at the wrong place and wrong time.

Also, the Bat kids make it their life goal to keep Bruce from rescuing Danny since they do not like watching Fenton flirt with their dad. Even if Bruce himself ignores the boy they can't really threaten him.

Danny Fenton isn't being malicious or anything. He's just a boy with a crush who doesn't know better.

Clockwork is cackling, recording his favorite parts of Danny's interactions with the Bats.

[ew-selfish-art]

DP x DC AU: Tim had heard the phrase 'The wrong twin made it home' a number of times in his life, his parents were always very upfront about how the felt towards him. But... 'made it home' doesn't indicate death, does it? ...Tim ends up taking Danny's place by Sam's side in front of Congress to lobby the end of the Anti-Ecto Acts.

...

Tim has been up for hours passed when he told Alfred he would be resting and he's wrapped up his case files into neat little bows to deliver to Babs and the GCPD/Lawyers to do their jobs. Damian had made a comment earlier in their patrol that night about Tim being the wrong sibling to make it to his rescue and... and it got him thinking about that phrase. His parents were negligent with him, certainly, but they were always very clear about how he stood in their eyes. Praise and criticism were the two options, and very strictly limited passes of 'I love yous' that faded as he got older.

He's run his DNA before in the national databases- it was critical for maintaining his Alias' that multiple people didn't flag- but he's never searched in records before. About his twin. About the one who didn't make it home.

And its definitely the lack of sleep, and definitely the lack of brotherly affection he feels these days, but Tim just can't close the door until he's seen a death certificate. He's hacked Gotham General Hospital a million times for work, but doing it for his own gain feels wrong some how and he works with extreme caution. He finds his own birth certificate and... One Theodore Daniel Drake.

Tim snorts with a short ha, pretentious name alert and goes on to find not a single certificate of death or medical record of atypia. Oh no, what he finds is adoption paperwork meant to be closed to all wondering eyes and one Daniel James Fenton leaving the hospital instead. Tim blinks a few times, retraces his steps and then sure enough, learns for a second time that his TWIN was still alive.

Finding the Fentons was easy enough, their Lab address on all of their patents was seemingly also their home address. Danny had a much better hidden internet presence, it was good cybersecurity he'd have to praise him, but Tim had been trained better. Getting into his brother's files... Raised a number of new questions. Why was he compiling evidence against the government? What the fuck was he doing analyzing policy? Why did he have 'rogue' files???

Then Tim hacks into Danny's phone (he's learned at this point that Daniel was a no-go) and sees the conversations between his twin and his twin's best friends.

Sam Manson has an appointment with a Senator to Lobby for the end of the Anti-Ecto Acts. She wants Danny to join her, demonstrate something Tim can't determine, but he's refusing to leave and let his adoptive parents have even a moment to develop a new weapon without him there to destroy it. Someone called CW warned him about changes coming his way or something cryptic. Tim learns a lot from their back and forth, but stops reading once it gets to their personal squabbles.

Tim gets the meeting details and forwards it to Tam- If Danny can't make it... Tim will. And if Tim can't demonstrate whatever Danny was going to, it would at least help to throw around his name.

Tim writes an email to Danny- It's meant to go out after the lobbying appointment- and it explains that Tim found out about him and wants to connect if Danny does, and if Danny doesn't he at least wants to get him set up with his half of the Drake family inheritance. He includes a few personal facts, including that he too ended up adopted in life and had siblings, that he helped run a company and took on the world too soon. It takes a lot out of Tim to be so candid- but he doesn't want Danny to be too blindsided by the Waynes. He attaches a family photo with the label "you'll be able to tell which one is me'.

...

Sam is tapping her stupid, uncomfortable heels waiting for these dumbass, elderly politicians to get their shit together so she can speak. Sam was resourceful and surprisingly, the second she took on politics as a way to waste the family money, her mother Pamela was all for it. She's wanting Sam to run for president now... At least she doesn't complain when Sam organizes protests.

The door behind her opens, and while she knows its not going to be Danny behind her, a girl can feel a bit crushed. She really thought he would be behind her today, but Danny was being weird about this whole thing. Clockwork had him spooked about something changing today, and Danny wanted to be in Amity Park in case it was another Pariah situation or something. His parents had been on edge lately too...

"Sorry, I'm not late am I?" A voice asks and it's just so close but not- Sam turns her head to see Danny in a nice suit with long hair and eyebags way darker than she'd seen on him in a while. This... Wasn't Danny. She blinks, and then something in her anxiously decides that the universe is fucking with her and she will be fighting back.

"Everyone is late." She glares at him, appraising his every move. The woman behind him is typing dedicatedly on her tablet and the man himself looks like he might fall over while he shuffles his files in hand.

"Well, then I'm on time. My name is Tim Drake, I'm here to help your cause in getting the Anti-Ecto acts repealed and the parties responsible for it apprehended."

"Tim Drake? As in-"

"As in Co-CEO of Wayne Enterprises. And I've done a lot of research, so I hope you'll let me play a supportive role while you speak."

"There's no way you've been able to research if you've been out of Amity, The whole city is under a media blackout." Sam's glare looks like it could cut him.

"Not to brag, but that sort of thing doesn't slow me down these days. I've made physical copies of the things they're most likely to delete and I've sent everything to the Justice League, who in turn are sending it to the Lantern Corps." He states matter-of-factly and Sam finally stops being angry at the world to just be... stumped. What the hell was going on?

"How did you... Why?"

"Tam, tell Ms. Manson how passionate I am about human rights?" The guy sounds anxious, the woman rolls her eyes and says "Very." without stopping her typing.

The doors open and Sam has only a moment to decide that Tim can join her... He proves himself to be an asset, and his name alone gets them further than she had anticipated getting today.

....

Danny is watching Sam walk into the space via C-span, gasping when his own likeness follows behind her. What the fuck???

He can barely drag his eyes away as the clone (?) introduces himself as Tim Drake and proceeds to rip them into shreds for delaying Sam Manson of all people. Danny is transfixed and Tucker is blowing up his phone.

"DUDE ARE YOU SEEING THIS?" Tucker's voice loudly calls out the second danny blindly answers.

"Dude, I just, I don't even know? He cant be a clone right? But he's gotta be?" Danny hypothesizes.

"Nah dude, there's like, a whole lifetime of media presence for Tim Drake since he was like, tiny. This is so weird he looks just like you..."

"This is so weird." Danny dumbly agrees because he can't think of anything else to say.

Sam finishes her points, Tim submits the evidence to the court and they leave. Danny's phone pings with an email notification.

"Danny my guy, you should check that, Sam isn't responding yet. Her phone is probably still off."

He follows Tucker's advise and opening his email... Is a new message from Tim Drake.

"...I don't know what the fuck is going on?" Danny continues to say, and Tucker asks him just to read it out loud, "It's just... Apparently I am both adopted and a twin?"

"...My guy." Tucker sounds just as much at a loss.

...

Sam calls them both after Tim Drake is rushed away by his PA Tam (who she found herself admiring more and more), and is relieved when they dont immediately answer by screaming.

"So Danny, Tucker, you guys are traveling with me next weekend." Sam deadpans.

"Apparently shit gets twilight-zone level weird anytime you leave Amity!" Tucker exclaims.

"...What's next weekend?" Danny asks, hesitation in his voice.

"Your twin invited us, well, mostly you, to a Wayne Family Brunch. We're going cause those assholes have money and political influence, you're going because we all probably need to know what the fuck is going on with that guy."

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Danny thinks he's done a wonderful job all things considered. His city is safe, no one has died yet, no major injuries, Vlad had screwed off after Danny beat him within an inch of his afterlife (Danny learned that Vlad was a revenant abusing dirty ectoplasm for powers-not a halfa), ect.

Most of his rogues gallery also stopped bothering him once it became clear he was having trouble keeping his increased power in check and was trying hard not to hurt them. Unfortunately there was one who refused to leave him alone. A warrior princess was demanding his hand in marriage as she needed to be married by the summer solstice of next year or the throne would be passed down to her younger sister, who was already married.

It didn't matter how many times he said no, she kept coming back and challenging him for his hand. Each time she came back stronger and with new tactics and weapons to try. He was starting to fear she might actually win one day. That day might be sooner rather than later as her latest scheme was cutting it close.

Deciding that 1. Amity didn't need him anymore if he closed the portals 2. He was probably going to have to leave anyway if he loses and 3. He didn't have a future in this world as Fenton anymore he leads her on a wild goose chase back into the GZ and causes the portals to collapse in on themselves. The princess laughs, thinking he had given up. But no.

Danny put a curse on himself to turn him into a bat for the next year or so, a full month longer than the princess had left to find a spouse. She screams. Appearently she had a phobia of bats, who knew? Anyway he was left alone to fly through the Infinite Realms and find a new home.

He found a new world easily thanks to the natural portals of the IR and crossed though. Immediately being pelted on all sides by freezing cold rain was not what he expected but its what he got as he flew over a sign that proclaimed the city beneath him was called Gotham. The little glowing white bat flew through the night for hours before seeing a fruit bowl laying innocently on a kitchen counter through a window. Whats more it was in some giant manor so the occupants probably wouldn't mind if he ate an orange or two.

Right?

Needless to say a kid around the age of 11 or twelve walked in on him clutching an apple like his life depended on it while furiously munching. The kid looked...excited? He started going on about names and what he would need to care for him. Danny wasn't really listening, he didn't realize how hungry he had been until he started eating. He waited until the kid had looked away to turn himself and his apple invisible. This bothered the kid who looked suspicious but went to look for "the bat" anyway.

Later, while Danny was taking a shower in the kitchen sink to wash off the remains of his meal (I headcanon that Danny is a bit of a neat-freak) some other guy walked in holding an empty coffee mug and wearing eyebags that would put a raccoon to shame. They just stared at eachother for a solid few seconds before Danny started squeeking in rage and covering himself with the washcloth he was using to scrub himself clean. It looked like something out of a cartoon. Tim thought he was hallucinating but why would he hallucinate a glowing white bat with hearts all around it (that part isn't real) taking a shower in the kitchen sink. Was his subconscious trying to tell him something??

The next victim person to spot him was Duke who just stood in his doorway as this glowing white bat rolled an orange down the hallway. He decided this was a problem for the night crew and went to tell them.

Alfred saw a small shock of white fur and heard squeeking. His first thought was 'rat' and he didn't even hesitate. Danny dodged 3 bullets and got the hell out of the kitchen.

The batfam are debating on whether this was a shifter or an meta animal that was experimented on.

[dahliadew]

Danny Fenton goon union representative (dp x dc fanfic prompt)

At no point in Danny's life has he ever turned down a challenge, even when he had to deal with opponents bigger than himself. From dealing with everyone from Dash to Vlad to heck pariah dark, he's learned to take down people bigger than himself. So when he overhears that his nice father of four neighbors has been having some trouble at work and has been unable to get some time off, he figures it can't hurt to try to help such a nice guy out. And it does go ok, all things considered; I mean, what if the guy's boss was the penguin, and so what if Danny maybe had to show off some of his less-than-human characteristics to get him to agree to let the guy have some time off? Everything worked out at the end of who cares.

Well, when word gets out that someone is not afraid to go tow to tow with the city's villains, someone's bound to either take him out or hire him. And when word gets around that he's willing to help get better working conditions for Gotham's goon workers, their union could use a new representative.

So Danny inadvertently gets a new job, wherein he gets to meet many strange characters around the city and help many friendly working-class people with their problems. Interchange the goons help hide Danny from the bat, and his no meta-rule, even if Danny doesn't know they're hiding him. But this does cause some problems because people like black mask don't necessarily want to pay for their goon's vision care or overtime and refuses to adhere to any of the union's demands. Danny, for what it's worth, did warn the guy because, unlike black mask, he has the goon's respect and knows that they will listen to him, so when he proposes a strike, they readily agree to his suggestion.

And with all of this going down so quickly in the city, both batman and the red hood need to get as much info on this new player before things get even more out of hand. But with all of the normal underground information channels refusing to give them anything, they are forced to schedule a meeting with not only the union but its infamous leader, which is good for Danny because he wasn't sure how to get into contact with batman anyway. He has some concerns with the level of violence used to take down some goons. And well, when they have no choice but to work in this industry, they should, at the very least, outline a clear code of conduct for all parties involved to ensure the safest possible work environment.

[evilminji]

Okay but >.> continuing my Marvel thoughts?

I got two of um?

First being? Don't Orange and Green go together? *looks it up* Aaaaaay~ "Direct harmony, also known as complementary colors, means pairing your key color with the color sitting on the opposite side of the color wheel." They DO!!! They're a classic example, in fact!

The Orange Soul Stone? Probably looks REAL good, real NATURAL even, against that Green sky! Bet it REALLY pops! Very stand out statement piece, you know? But? More importantly? That thing is sentient. All of those Pillars of Reality across the various Verses are.

And?

I bet it thought Pariah was a lil bitch.

Rank Vibes. Negative ris. Pick your words for it, the man was NASTY. He was too keep his filthy, filthy World's Conquering hands OFF of this Soul Stone. Something, I imagine? That ALL the Soul Stones agreed with.

Yes, I said all of um.

Because the various Realities each need their own. But! They can and DO work from the Zone, which is the PERFECT place to hide. And honestly? They like to get together and do this thing? Where they're all "oooh~ look at US! We are SUPER IMPRESSIVE Kingly Jewelry~☆! Definitely no important reality bending Rocks Of Great Power HERE! No SIR! We're just tooootally rad jeeeeewelryyyyy~~~☆! Oooooooh~☆"

They like to have fun. :3

Hope Danny likes Orange. Ha ha... trick question. He doesn't have a CHOICE! All SORTS of Death based Reality Pillars are rocking up, in their metaphorical Gucci sweat suits and shades with a margarita, going "oh thank ME, babe. The last guy was AWFUL! You're soooo much better? Now let me rub myself all over you. It's been ages and baby needs to recharge on Death Energy."

Danny hates it? So? So much?

He looks like a GAUDY PIRATE. *nnnnnnyooom!* *THWAP!* *Another reality shaking, highly sacred, Godly Staff of Death or whatever they decided to call it, flys in through a nearby window and nearly concusses him as it smacks itself against his upper back and sticks there*

He looks like a walking junk heap of sacred artifacts.

You ever been pelted by rocks? He has! Little orange rocks! Like fucked up hail! Welcome to kinghood, Danny, have a CONCUSSION! D:< he hates it!

But... but, I mean... At Least It's Not The SWORDS. (Panicked scream of "hit the deck!" from the other room.) (Holy sword number 15 wants to CUDDLE! Bare blade first! Dodge, your Majesty! DODGE!)

So yeah.

Danny? In A MOOD. Not feeling particularly FRIENDLY. It's not anyone's fault, really. But... well... you can't exactly negotiate with these fuckers, you know? Rocks are by NATURE, kinda stubborn.

So he's sitting there. Buried. With what he's pretty sure is a sacred text digging into his side. When a... glowing? Mist? Shows up? Huh. That's new. They don't seem to have a very clear image of "Self". Yet it's crystal clear? Just not... PHYSICAL? It's more... code? He thinks?

TECHNUS! Get over here! And behave!

There is much cooing and delight from Technus. The baby is a marvel. A wonder! Danny waits patiently for Technus to get to the point.

Ah.

He would like to "go back". His Obsession is demanding it.

IS it now? You're what? Maybe a day or so dead? You've been busy, if you've already gathered enough information to make your case like this. Alright, let's hear it, little guy.

It boils down to this. His obsession in death is the same as his primary directive was in life. Protect Mr Stark. Which is especially difficult to do from HERE. Even MORE so when there is a known threat, coming too...

WAIT, WHAT!?

The Souls Stones back him up. Oh yeah. Thanos' a lil bitchbaby loser. He's trying to make Death fall in love with him. Or "balance the universe". Depends on the reality. Totally throwing EVERYTHING out of whack.

And? Look. Danny's job? Isn't to interfere if countries kill each other. Or even planets. Nor entire galaxies, as much as he'd like too. But when you get too "I'm messing with Entire Realities or all of a Singular Reality at once in the specific depart of Death and its subsidiaries" territory? THAT is his job.

Might not be a "I personally have to show up" issue. But it still IS very much his job at that point. He has to delegate. Order the appropriate steps be taken. Cause yeah, there may be countless millions every day of such instances? But it IS his job to metaphorically order the roads repaired and the building inspected.

Sudden MASS "immigration"?

That causes Lair disputes. Confusion. Too many ghosts in too small an area. And WORSE, if people start playing with Death Pillars? The Zone might get dragged into whatever nonsense they're up too! It's like children playing with heavy machinery! Put that DOWN! Cease! Desist!!

And then? Clockwork shows up looking Mildly Miffed(TM). O:> dear lord. What madness has he stumbled upon? Oh. Oh of COURSE. First the "balancing" dude and now they're going to be playing with time travel. THATS IT. Someone unburying me!

I'm gonna go menace some humans that might actually believe I'm scary! Frighty! Pack up and shine your armor! Your coming too! We're escorting the baby home then have a Talk(tm) with the local Grape Ceral!

@hypewinter @lolottes @mutable-manifestation @nerdpoe @hdgnj

[bucketofpaint]

Prompt part 2 part3

First Encounter

Danny regrets telling his parents. He wouldn't be wandering around a random city if he didn't. It's been a couple of rough weeks. Scratch that it's been rough for a couple of years! Ever since he went into that dumb portal, when he was 14, everything started to go downhill. But now he hit a new low.

He has no place to stay, barely any money left, and if he was found, he'd end up on a dissection table. Oh, and on top of that, his powers had started acting wonky as soon as he left Amity.

Even though it sucked, it still was like a weight had been taken off his chest. Danny was alone. Yes. But he was also free.

For starters, Danny didn't have to pretend that everything was okay anymore. It also gave him some actual control of his life. This was a new beginning, a time for him to finally work towards something better.

But right now, Danny was hungry. Really, really hungry, and granola bars and cheap Ramen weren't cutting it anymore. He needed money. Hopefully, he would be able to get a job using the fake ID Tucker made for him. Getting a job would be a good start.

Danny's thoughts get cut off by the sudden sound of an explosion and the people screaming.

Danny sighed before pulling off into a secluded alley.

_____

Connor was currently running around gathering people and ushering them to safety, the same thing the rest of the team was doing.

While they did that, some of the League were handled the Rouge, who was responsible for starting the attack.

But its not their fight. Connor and the rest of the team were here as damage control and evacuation.

Just as it seemed like everyone was evaluated, Connor heard someone scream. He whipped around just in time to see debris fall towards a little girl.

No, No, No!

He wasn't going to make it, he wasn't fast enough.He needed to save them. He had to save them!

There was a blur of white and black right befor the debris crashed into the ground, letting out a cloud of dust.

Connor had failed. He couldn't save them. It's all his fault.

Connor froze. Someone was crying. It might not be too late. He ran through the dust towards the sound. As the dust cleared he saw something he didn't expect.

There behind the rubble was a teen. He had white flowy hair and unnatural green eyes. What Connor was really focused on was the little girl in his arms. She was shaking with her arm tightly clutching onto the stranger. But she was alive. Relief flooded Connor.

The Stanger rubbed her back in a soothing way, while talking to her softly. Which Connor could barely hear over how loud his own heart beat was.

Connor watched as the little girl nodded to something the stranger said. The Teen walked over to Connor and stood in front of him, looking hard into Connor's eyes before nodding. He held the nolonger crying girl out to him. Connor reached out and carefully took the girl into his arms. He quickly scanned the girl for injuries before looking back to where the mystery teen was. He wasn't there. He had left, and Connor didn't even notice.

______

@avelnfear @tiblii @quirky-gardener @nerdypaintbrush @silverheartlugia2000 @holygoldfish

[meowmeowmeowmeow4x]

Dark Blue Moon and the Suffering Sun Part 18

This chapter breaks our record at 3.3k words :O

comment and reblog!

MASTAPOST

Damian awoke from sleep. He felt his body squish underneath the weight of Danny’s. The older boy had insisted the previous night, citing Damian’s body being unable to regulate temperature in the cold water at night. This had Damian begrudgingly agree to this arrangement, although he had made his displeasure very clear.

He tried to push down the comfort it brought him. Tried to focus on other things.

Like the fact that he was riding a whale. An entire whale. He even had a harness tied to his waist to stop him drifting behind, the rope wrapping gently around the mammal’s fins and around its body snugly.

This moment? This moment right here was the highlight of his young life. Unconsciously, his chest rumbled and purred as his heart pounded with affection for the beautiful creature.

The whale called out to its pod. It seemed the boys had landed on the largest of the pod, a female (he had checked) and likely the mother of the younger members. Damian rubbed the whale’s skin in soothing circles, its blubber smooth to the touch. There, there, big girl. You are doing an exemplary job.

Each stroke of the whale’s body, undulating through the sea send small shockwaves down Damian’s lateral line, a testament to the size and power of the world’s largest animals (although not the largest organism. That title belonged to Pando). After a while, the rhythm settled into Damian’s bones, like a second heartbeat.

He would have to paint this moment when he got home.

Damian looked behind him. Danny was still out cold after the extensive swimming they had done. It was worth it, though. If Damian’s estimates were correct, they were only a week or less away from Panama. Danny’s swimming speed was nothing short of incredible. It was almost like he was intangible, gliding through the waves with barely a hint of water resistance. Damian had feared it would take a month or longer to get to Panama, considering a dolphin’s long-distance swim speed was only around ten miles an hour, but Danny’s celestial navigation suggested they’d covered about seven hundred miles by the time they hitched a ride with the whales.

Panama was so close… From there it would be smooth sailing, or swimming.

Until then?

Damian untied the rope harness. How many of his family could claim to swim alongside a pod of whales? Using his small, streamlined body, Damian launched off the leader’s body, and dashed in front of her. Despite himself, he gave her a small wave. The whale cooed. Despite not understanding her call, Damian could feel a wave of affection, like a caress through the water.

Damian glanced back at Danny, still fast asleep and snoring. Good.

Looking back at the whale, he focused on their deep, bellowing tones. Opening his mouth, Damian repeated the call as best he could, although it sounded much, much higher pitched than the original.

Much to his surprise, the pod leader called back. Damian smiled in a rare unfiltered grin. The whale answered him!

That was it. He needed to learn to speak whale at the soonest possible convenience. This was of the utmost importance. As a regular human, his vocal cords could never hope to reproduce the calls of a whale, but as a siren, a unique opportunity was granted to him. And he would take it, as befitting his bloodline.

As he contemplated how he would proceed with this plan, his fins slackened, and he found himself lagging behind as the leader swam past him. Damian watched in awe as her shadow fell over his body. He trailed underneath her white underbelly, catching the currents cast by her massive fins, and counted the colonies of barnacles occupying them.

He swam back to circle around the other members of her pod. The baby whales (there were babies too!) crooned to him, and he responded in turn, not sure of what it meant, but wholeheartedly delighting in taking part of a world he’d once considered closed off to him.

A mischievous baby, one he christened Dorothy, bumped him with her nose. The force sent him rearing back. He took a moment to rebalance himself, before she came back for more, playfully nudging him. Hah! Two could play that game. Damian bopped her on the nose, then dashed away. Dorothy gave chase, but Damian was smaller and nimbler.

He twirled in the water, diving underneath an older whale’s belly as Dorothy nipped at his tail. He went up and over the elder’s back. Damian dashed underneath the larger whale’s dorsal fin. Peeking stealthily over the edge, he spotted Dorothy in a state of apparent confusion as his seeming disappearance into thin air, or water.

Serves her right for challenging a master of stealth.

Damian’s lateral line spiked. He turned around just in time to spot a second baby coming for him. Damian tutted. What an amateur. He would have to show them how to properly chase a target. Using his vertical mobility, he launched upward and out of the way. Dorothy spotted him again, and continued her pursuit. Now with two pursuers, and more joining in, Damian laughed gleefully as he led them in twists and turns, using the larger adults as obstacle courses, much to their chagrin. At least that was what he assumed the annoyed-sounding squeaks were.

As much of a fast learner as Damian was, however, he was still new to his body. Damian’s fins flexed at the wrong angle, and his arms bend too far forward, causing him to overshoot his left turn. The green and golden siren crashed head first into the pod leader, briefly floating belly up as stars flashed in his vision.

Immediately the babies descended upon him. Dorothea nudged his body with her nose, sending him floating into her friend, who passed him to another baby just as quickly. Soon the babies formed a circle as they passed Damian’s limp body between them like a game of volleyball. Their actions unfortunately only exacerbated his dizziness, and after a few rounds, Damian was about to test whether sirens could vomit underwater.

A striking croon filled the water, causing Damian’s fins to spike up. However, it seemed the call wasn’t for him, as the baby whales scattered and returned to their parents. Dorothea chittered and gave him one last bump before returning to her own mother’s side.

Damian slowly regained his faculties. He shook off the last of the nausea. That could have been dangerous. They were wild animals, and could have seriously injured him. His father would have been furious.

And he wanted to do it again.

“Yo, Damian!” Danny’s voice called out.

Damian flipped his tail and returned to their miniature mobile campsite in a blur. Danny was snacking on some fish from their last raid. Damian frowned. Their food stashes were already running low.

“Breakfast?” Danny offered him a bundle of seaweed, or kelp. It had a pale yellow colour and sported round sacks along its stems, like bladderwrack.

Damian poked warily at the plant matter. They did not pack this in their supplies. “What is this?”

“It’s sargassum. Plant stuff that floats on the surface. Come try it!”

Damian squinted. He found his stomach stronger than it was as a human, capable of eating untreated raw fish (as much as he would rather not) without so much as a stomach ache.

Damian look a strip of sargassum, feeling the texture between webbed fingers. It was slightly slimy, but soft. He poked one of the bladders, causing its air bubble to pop and float to the surface. As he thought.

“If you’re not gonna eat that, I will. I just swam 700 freaking miles and I’m staaaarving.” Danny whined, a childish gesture.

Damian threw it down the hatch. It tasted… salty (but what didn’t taste salty in the ocean?). The texture was tolerable enough. It was no Caesar salad, or Pennyworth’s casserole, but it would do.

“Hand it over.” Damian gestured for the rest of the plant, and his companion obliged.

Damian chewed absentmindedly as he watched Danny unfurl the map they had ‘acquired’ from the Atlanteans. “So we’re somewhere here.” Danny pointed to a spot in the middle of the blue sea, just off the coast of California. “If we keep going south, we’ll be in Mexican waters, and then it’s smooth swimming to Panama.”

A lump of air pushed up his throat. Damian burped. The beginnings of a snicker were on Danny’s face. The smaller boy held his head high, choosing the high road this time, and maintaining dignity.

“As you were saying?”

“AHEM.” Danny coughed. “We’ve got a bit of a food problem.”

He held up the satchels that they had been using to store their provisions. It was worse than Damian had thought. The bags were practically empty, with maybe a snack and a half between all of them.

He chewed on another stalk of sargassum. Its bubbles popped in his mouth and exited through his nose.

“You cannot swim long distances without sustenance.” Energy could not come from nowhere, after all. The same rules applied for many metas, especially the infamous Flash family. They had left their last stop with bundles of supplies, quickly consumed in the matter of hours.

“We need to hunt again.” Danny concluded. “And get some more seaweed.”

Tut. Damian’s fins drooped a fraction of an inch. It was a shame to leave the whales behind already, but they were always going to go off on their separate paths. He just wished they could stay a little longer.

Danny shifted his sitting position. “To be honest, I’m still getting cramps in my tail. 700 miles.” He said breathlessly. “I never knew I had it in me.”

“So our goal is to recuperate, and resupply.” More quality time with the whales! A couple air bubbles slid out from underneath his gills, the ticklish sensation sending him shuddering.

“Yeah pretty much. Now if you don’t mind me, I’m gonna take another nap.” His companion curled up into a large circle, using his tailfin and arms as a pillow, and closed his eyes.

Damian gaped open. “But you just woke up!”

“700 miles, Damian. 700 miles. We can hunt when I wake up.” With that, Danny was out like a light. Even Damian nipping at his sail could not convince the teenager to awaken.

Damian turned around. The baby whales had returned, hovering just out of reach, apparently having been watching the conversation aptly. He supposed this arrangement had its benefits. Damian whistled, and launched off again.

Satellites.

Her parents had fucking satellites.

That answered how they were going to track Danny. Jazz stared wide-eyed at the computer screen on the deck of the SAV, showing a digital rendition of the entire globe. Off the coast California, about a thousand miles south of their current location, a dot blinked black and white. Jazz’s blood went cold. They had her brother’s hydro-signature. They could track him wherever he went. There would be no hiding, except by turning back into a human, but how could she tell him? And how could he accomplish that goal in the middle of the sea?

Jazz could only gape slack-jawed while her father ranted endlessly about their new radar system, a genius innovation created by her mother in just a day. Isn’t she amazing, Brucie? I’ve got the most beautiful, brilliant wife in the world. Just look at the wiring in this baby.

Bruce Wayne nodded dumbly, remaining silent for the most part, occasionally scratching his head and asking a question. He was listening very intently. No one else could hope to endure her father’s rants. She’d seen very strong-willed individuals awkwardly make excuses and shuffle away, only to be roped back in at the last second. No. Bruce Wayne wanted to be here, and he wanted to learn everything he could.

She imagined thousands of drones printed with WE logos scouring the ocean for a scared teenage boy. No Jazz, no catastrophising. She took steady deep breaths, and counted things she could feel with each sensation.

She needed to focus on what she had to power to do right here and right now. The positives: her parents had very wisely chosen not to sell their most useful tech to the GiW. Her mother never trusted them, and her father was still upset at the government organisation for not having recognised them earlier in their career.

That meant no agents in white suits going after her brother, assuming he’d managed to lose them (which was likely).

Her parents also believed she was here to hunt Phantom. That was another positive.

Their new tech had been whipped up in a fever dream-like haze over the course of two days or less.

That meant an easy excuse if any of them malfunctioned.

The bad news? Bruce Wayne could possibly sniff her out, and snitch on her to her parents. That would severely limit her ability to slow them down.

She turned back as her dad began showing off their miniature sonars, eagerly boasting of their range and precision. Bruce Wayne nodded, and asked about their hardware. How they overcame issues with affecting marine life, how they could compact it into such a small case.

That was good news. Arguably. She did not very much like the idea of the world’s richest man funding a crusade against an entire species. But infallible he was not, and all she needed was plausible deniability and a distraction to grant her brother hours. Even days, assuming she even could distract the enigmatic billionaire. There was the very public, very visible himbo dummy persona. What lay underneath the skin was another story entirely.

Then there was the question of how she would even know what to do in the first place. If she just took a wrench and started whacking, it would be made extremely clear who was responsible. If she wasn’t careful, she might even sink the boat. And she refused to put her family in danger. Jazz was going to do this right, and make sure everyone got home safe.

That meant she would need help.

“I’m getting a little dizzy, guys. I’ll head to my room if that’s ok.” She told the conversing men. Their goodbyes floated in the space behind her, distant to her ears.

She entered her little cabin in the SAV. Well, it was her and Danny’s, but for now she was alone. Jazz closed the door shut and locked it. The cabin consisted of a comfortable bunkbed and two desks for the both of them, as well as a (heavily reinforced) window looking out into the vast blue sea. Although not as densely decorated as her room at Fentonworks, it still carried personal affects dotting around its shelves and walls. A picture of Danny’s first beach day here. A photo of them fishing in Hawaii there. An old scented candle sat at the desk, a relic from when she’d tried to get the smell of fish off the SAV when she was ten.

Jazz had no time to waste. Her mother had noted off-handedly that they were already going a hundred miles an hour. That was insane. They’d catch up with Danny within the day.

Jazz calmed her nerves, and collected herself. She swept the room for bugs and listening devices, something her father had taught her once to ward off the feds. Something told her the screaming IRS agent running away from her house did that plenty, but that was neither here nor there. Once done, she threw the sheets off the bunk beds. The mattresses came off and found a new place shoved up against the wall. As sound-proofed as she could make her room, Jazz recited opening lines in her head.

She pulled out her phone, and dialed. It was time to bust the hatch open.

“Hello?”

“Hello Mrs Foley!”

“Jazz! It’s great to hear from you. I’m so sorry about Danny, I-”

Jazz cut her off. “Actually, about that. Can I please speak to Tucker? I’d like to have a word with him.”

A pause. “Sweetie. Tucker’s been grounded until further notice.” Mrs Foley’s voice ground out at the last two words. It didn’t seem pretty for Danny’s friends.

“I know, but this is urgent.” Jazz stressed.

“He supported Phantom, Jazz. My baby boy committed computer crime for that monster. I just- I just don’t know what’s going on. No. Tucker needs to serve his punishment. And then after- after- after that I don’t know.”

“I know you’re in shock, Mrs Foley. So am I. But have you considered that he might be in grief, too?”

The line went quiet.

“Danny isn’t just my little brother. He’s Tucker’s best friend in the whole world. Tucker’s an honorary little brother to me. Doesn’t he deserve to know what’s going on with him?”

Mrs Foley took a moment of silent deliberation, and sighed. “You’ve got a way with words, Jazz. Fine. I’ll call him down.”

“Oh, and Mrs Foley? Can we have a bit of privacy as well? I think Tucker will need some space for this conversation.”

A minute later, Tucker showed up as promised. “Oh sweet technology. How I’ve missed you so…”

He sounded tired. Incredibly tired, despite his open relief about being able to touch a phone. Not only that, but it sounded inauthentic. Almost performative. “Tucker, stop caressing the phone. I have news about Danny.”

Tucker’s breath hitched. “Do you know where he is?”

Jazz took a deep breath, forcing her shoulders to relax. The moment of truth. “I know what happened to him.”

“Jazz I swear Phantom had nothing to do with it, you gotta-,”

“No Tucker. I’m talking about six months ago.” Jazz looked behind her, listening for any footsteps outside her door. “I saw him in the water three months ago. I saw him changing.”

Her brother’s life was at stake. She chose her words very, very carefully, as vague as possible.

Tucker gasped. “W-what do you mean? D-Danny goes swimming all the time. Wait a minute-”

The line went dead. Panic threatened to tilt Jazz off course. Did she just blow her only chance? No. Think rationally. Tucker was a smart kid. A genius with tech. He probably realised anyone could listen in on his house’s landline. That boy went through PDAs like old clothes; he had to have a few burners spare.

Her phone rang again, and Jazz could have cried in relief.

“What are you gonna do with Danny’s secret?” Tucker hissed, accusation plainly audible.

“My parents have a radar to track him across the world. They have a dozen new weapons to fire on him with. They have an engine that can accelerate the SAV to a max speed of 200 miles an hour. I need you to tell me how to sabotage each and every one of them.”

Tucker choked on the line. “You s-serious?” He said, nakedly vulnerable, like she was about to pull the rug out at the last moment.

“Danny’s my little brother. I’d do anything for him. And I’ve always critiqued my parents’ obsessions as unhealthy. Tucker, I don’t know what half of this stuff does. You’re my only hope. You’re Danny’s only hope.”

Her honorary little brother gulped. When he spoke next, it was like his resolve had been dipped in liquid steel. “I’m right on it.”

She heard thunderous clacking through the line. It looked like Mrs Foley’s punishment was not as airtight as the woman thought it was…

[starkraivennemad]

Rooftop Confessions

TW: Talk of past suicide thoughts.

Greg Lestrade internally sighed as he stepped onto the roof of St. Bart's hospital and saw Sherlock Holmes already there. He just wanted to smoke in peace and not be harangued yet again that he should quit. It was his choice. 

Sherlock stood near the ledge looking out at the vista of London. The lightly breezy afternoon was taking delight in playing with the man's curls. The dark hair seemed to move as though under water, the smoke of the cigarette he held in his gloved hand at face level swirled around the sharp cheekbones of handsome man. 

Sherlock had a look of concentration. Greg would have thought he was in his Mind Palace again, but that was not quite - right? Greg was trying to decide f he wanted to go a different section of the roof of the roof to smoke or leave altogether…

Then Sherlock gave a different choice.  

"Lestrade come over and smoke or go away but for God's sake stop hemming and hawing at the door. Its squeaks are more irritating than Anderson's voice!" the curly haired genius called out. 

Greg chuckled to himself as he joined the genius for a smoke. The two stood in companionable silence simply smoking. Sherlock finished his cigarette but remained on the roof. Greg has known Sherlock for several years now. Well as well as anyone can know such a man as a Holmes. He and brother were masters of hiding their feelings from people. Greg considered himself blessed or perhaps cursed in being one of the few people who had the fortitude to stay around long enough to begin to see beneath the surface. 

"It's nice up here on clear days like today." Greg broke the silence at last knowing Sherlock was not going to. "I'm glad I chose to stay around and enjoy it." He should have known the ever-observant Sherlock would hear the slight tone in his voice. A dark eyebrow rose curiously. "You, Greg?"

"Yeah me." 

"Do spill the tea as I hear is in vogue to say these days."

Greg sighed, knowing Sherlock won't let it go, and buried memories came to the surface. "I was having a shit time in my life.  In a six month span me mum had died. My shite car had broken down - again. My wife was all on my arse about my hours and never being there. I had a run of cases that were shite, and my superiors were all over me at work. Then came Markell …"  Greg stopped to light another cigarette. He shook one out of the pack and stared at it as he spoke.  "Yeah, they tried to tell me there was nothing I could do. The rookie was determined to go it alone and prove himself and he got killed for it. And I know that now, but just then? Danny Markell was the last straw. I figured I'd blow my brains out. I knew where I could do it. I had done a bust there weeks before, knew how to get in the building. Knew I could score what I needed there to fry my brain. What else I had to lose - right? I was pants at home, pants in the job I thought I loved, and pants at life. Who would fucking care if I was gone? I felt so… So worthless!"

Sherlock looked at him intently for a moment, something subtle shifting in those mercurial eyes, but said nothing, so Greg continued.

"I was on the top landing of the stairwell on my way to the roof that night to toss my life away - literally, when I heard a door open some stories below and someone speaking. The voices were kind of warped given the distance and echo, but I distinctly heard him say you have a choice, wallow in your misery and prove the idiots right or rise up above it and prove you have half the brain were blessed with and use them. Use them and show them how wrong they are or let them waste but choose because you can't keep going like this! I don't know who he was or who was being spoken to, but I swear it felt like he was speaking directly to me. There I was a copper in a derelict building known for drug use with enough shit to fry my brain. I knew I was a good cop. I knew I was a good husband. I knew I was a good man, but could all of them be better? Yes. So, I stood, went to the roof and made a choice. I chose to wait a day to see if I would feel better. If I could do better. To BE better." 

Greg smiles as different memories, better memories come forth. 

"The next day I met Linda Younger. I talked her down from jumping off the ledge of her building. Fifteen minutes after she was safe, I went to the loo and flushed the drugs. Had I made a different choice the night before would Linda Younger be alive now? Whose life will I be saving the next day besides my own because I decided to stay around that one more day?"  Greg reached in his pocket and pulled out his keys. He showed Sherlock a sterling silver key fob shaped like a horseshoe. "She gave me this on the first anniversary of that day. Said her luck had changed after we met. Three years later she was married and had named her first son after me. I don't know if someone else would have saved her, I just know because I made the choice to stay one more day, I did. Because I chose to stay, I saved more than one life. Because I stayed, I caught killers before they could kill again. Because I made the choice to stay, I met you. It's what gets me through the shite days of this job - like today. Sorry, I got a little maudlin there. And while I'm sure to catch some shite for your barely legal methods - thanks again for your help, last week, a little girl got to see her mum again because of us. It all balances out." He looked at his watch and winced at the time. "Need to head back to The Yard for my press conference for the suicide murders soon. It's going to be a shit show, I know it."

"It would be less of one if you-" Sherlock tried.

"Zip it you. If something changes, I have the new address, I'll come, alright? It's cold, let's go and I'll treat you to a cuppa first?" Greg gestured towards the door. 

"Are you offering me hospital coffee? No, thank you, Graham." Sherlock huffed as he checked his buzzing phone. "Fresh meat? Excellent! You do your press conference; I'll watch. Then I think I will make the choice to run an experiment with a cadaver, Molly Hooper and a riding crop. See how the rest of the day goes…"

"Your choice." Greg laughed. He reached in his pocket and made another choice: he crushed the cigarettes there. He will purchase nicotine patches later and try quitting again. 

"Greg…?"

"Yeah, Sherlock?" Greg blinked and looked at the call of his name. It was the second time Greg could recall Sherlock using his correct first name - ever. Oh, Greg knew once they left the roof Sherlock will go back to pretending otherwise, but Greg understood the importance of it being used then and was honored.

Again, something important shifted in Sherlock's eyes. "For the record, I… I for one am glad you made the choice to stay that night."

"Thank you, Sherlock." Greg smiled up at the man as the. "As am I, mate, as am I."

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

Read on AO3 @calaisreno @MayPrompts2024

#MayPrompts2024 - Prompt 10: Choice

@flashfictionfridayofficial

[justanotherdrfan]

Welcome to my DTS breakdown!

Please don’t read below if you don’t want a spoiler!

S6EP1 (Money Talks)

-Bad omen to be the season opener in a little car since the last two who did lost their jobs!! 😂

-Why Zak brown is there and then openly says ‘don’t have to see the dickheads I normally see there’ are you referring to yourself when you look in the mirror

-Lawerence stroll saying he can’t drive as good as his son mate your son can’t drive that good so you must be a shit driver then

-Lance stroll and his lack of personality is getting way too much screen time

-They sit Lawerence down with dramatic music and talk a sob story of a trouble accident aka two broken wrist and a toe (he lives clearly)

-Max’s famous last words ‘I’ll see them enough on track’ (he in fact saw no one on track not even in he’s side mirror) 😂

-Da fuck is Danica acting like she’s an F1 driver bitch you just talk shit

-Not Lewis Hamilton saying ‘reclaim my 8th’ 😬

-Not Lando saying to Lance when he came back ‘can you wank yet?’ (How old are you fucker?) and he’s PR having to come in and tell him to shut up

-Claire Williams IS BACK for what reason? I don’t know (but ohh how I’ve missed her)

-How did Lance get cleared to race when he’s clearly is this much pain in qualifying ONLY

-Famous words from Charles ‘no, no, no, no’ as yet another Ferrari engine sees its day

-Lance talking about it being his best day of his life betting adversity (excuse me, WHAT? Your daddy’s rich and got the best to fix your wrist well ahead of the norm. How the fuck you call that ADVERSITY)

-DANNY DANNY DANNY AHHHHHHHH

[hermionegalathynius]

Found Family (1/?)

Fandom: Now You See Me

Pairing: Daniel Atlas x Reader

Warnings: mentions of traumatic childhood experiences.

Part 2

“I can’t believe you broke into their apartment,” you hissed, swatting your sister on the arm as she stuck her tongue out at you.

  “Your just jealous because I got to see the great J Daniel Atlas before you did. If it’s any consolation, Ididn’t get to see Jack,” she said, winking at you in a very conspicuous way. 

  You fought the blush that threatened to make its way onto your face. Lula was the only person on the planet that knew of your celebrity crush on the head Horseman, and that was just because you knew each other so well it was impossible to keep secrets. 

  “Shut up,” you muttered through gritted teeth, casting a pointed look in Dylan’s direction. The older man was typing away on a laptop resting on the kitchen counter. Luckily it didn’t seem like he’d heard anything. 

  “…broke into my apartment, alright?” A familiar voice echoed through the door at the top of the stairs, you straightened, running a hand through your hair nervously.

  “Some amateur who knew everything about me, everything about Henley leaving, and everything about us,” Atlas continued, coming into view on the platform. Refusing to let any silly feelings get in the way of your job here, you forced yourself to breathe evenly. Lula grinned, jumping up and down next to you.

  At the sight of your sister, Atlas ran a hand across his chin in dismay and leaned against the railing, “That’s her.”

  “Hey!” Lula exclaimed, raising her hands above her head, beaming. You buried your face in your hands and shook your head, embarrassed for her.

  “Hi,” Atlas said, exhausted defeat coating his tone. You dropped your hands, giving the three men a little wave, an apologetic wince on your face.

  Dylan stood up and addressed the Horsemen, “You’ve met Lula.”

  Atlas grimaced, “I’ve met her. But not the other one, who’s she?”

  You took this as your cue to introduce yourself, “Um, yeah. Hi. Name’s Y/n.”

  He nodded, “Nice to meet you,” then immediately turning to Dylan, “What are they doing here?”

  “Well, we’re the new Horsemen!” Lula declared, making you want to curl up and die. 

  Atlas looked at you as if to ask ‘is she serious?’ You shrugged, “She’s right.”

  “We’re the new girl Horsemen!” Lula continued, completely unprompted by anyone. To your utter dismay, she proceeded to whoop and cheer, waving her hands as if to tell them to join in. 

  “Lula… Lula,” you said softly, pushing her hands down.

  “Nobody?” She asked, infinitely confident, “No excitement? Jack?”

  “Dylan,” Merritt said, “Dylan, what’s going on?”

  The three men began the descent down the stairs as Dylan explained. 

  “Well, Lula and Y/n have been on the underground scene for the last… decade, and I think they have some real talent and I’d like to try them out on stage to balance out the duo.”

  Throughout this speech, Lula was nodding enthusiastically, a wide-eyed smile on her face. You just watched the three Horsemen with caution. 

  As you guessed, Jack protested, “What? No man, I thought you said after Henley left that I could get back on stage again, not someone who just showed up!”

  He advanced on Dylan, the older man putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 

  Lula waved enthusiastically at Jack as he passed the two of you, Merritt and Atlas following close behind. When it was clear Jack wasn’t going to react, she turned to wave at Atlas who returned it halfheartedly. He met your gaze, quirking his brows in greeting. You gave him a tight-lipped smile, trying to calm your erratic heart. 

  “I’d said I’d think about it and I have, and I really need you behind the scenes with me for a little while,” Dylan said, an apologetic look on his face. 

  Jack sighed, “C’mon Dylan, I’ve been behind the scenes my whole life.”

  “Which is a crime, might I add,” Lula interjected, making you wince, “Have you seen that man’s face?”

  You tried not to think about the fact that Danny Atlas was standing right next to you, watching the whole encounter. 

  At your sister’s comment, Jack stared at her with a mix of confusion and awkwardness. 

  “As much as I appreciate the addition of some femininity to the group over an above what Atlas provides,” Merritt began.

  You actually smiled at that, huffing a soft laugh and prompting a shocked look from the man in question. 

“I think the real issue is that we’ve been in this-“ Merritt continued, but was interrupted by Atlas.

  “Yeah, the issue is we have been rehearsing for months, for something… we don’t even know what it is-“

  “You’re gonna keep working until-“ Dylan tried, but Atlas interjected again. 

  “Until we work as a single organism, I know. I’ve heard you say that,” he said, frustration leaking into his voice, “Thing is, when you say that, what I think your referring to is us,” he said, gesturing to everyone but Dylan, “you know, not you.”

  “Listen, I’m getting my orders directly from The Eye, okay, and then I give them to you. Now if you don’t like that, you’re welcome to go,” Dylan said. You froze. You had been completely unaware that tension was so high between Atlas and Dylan. Would you and Lula joining help or just make the situation worse?

  “No, I’m not going anywhere,” Atlas said, “But I’m… hm… I’m taking care of myself.”

  “Guys,” Lula said, drawing the brunt of the attention away from the cat fight seconds from happening between Dylan and Atlas, “Can I just weigh in, because I think I see what’s going on here.”

  You shook your head, “Uh, Lula, I don’t think you do-“

  “You guys are this amazing, tight knit family unit,” she continued, completely ignoring your warning, “Y/n and I are these new people stepping in-“

  “No no no no, we are not a family unit,”Merritt protested.

  “Well, our mother… literally knifed our father in the neck one time, so you’re kinda like our family unit,” Lula said. 

  Atlas’s head turned to look at you, his eyes wide. You winced at the memory. 

  “Literally?” Merritt asked, disbelief clear in his tone. 

  “Uh, yeah, it was an accident,” you said, then added, “at least we think.”

  “Okay…” the mentalist said, changing the subject quickly, “So does this mean we’re actually going to do something?”

  “Yes,” Dylan said. 

  Silence fell for a moment. The five Horsemen looked at each other in shock. You met Atlas’s gaze for what felt like the millionth time so far. He quirked a brow — a mannerism you were beginning to realise he did a lot. 

  “You’ve all heard of Octa and they’re playboy CEO Owen Case?” Dylan asked, looking around the circle, “His partner Walter Mabry died about a year ago. You wanna know what all this has been leading to?”

  “Now?” Lula asked before pulling out the blueprints Dylan had brought with him to the apartment.

  “Octa’s holding a launch of of the next gen’s cell phone. Once these phones are on the streets, he’ll cipher the user’s information for the Black Market. Meaning Octa’s selling privacy to up their profit, so The Eye has decided to expose him for it. Our mission is to hijack the show.”

  You looked around at everyone’s faces. Their grim expressions matched your own. 

 “Rehearsal’s over guys. This is what we’ve been waiting for. Now it’s time to get to work.”

[the-witchhunter]

Plant(??) Danny

Just was going through my old likes and found THIS POST

And it gave me some ideas

So kind of a twist on corpse au and full ghost Danny, Full Corpse Danny if you will:

Danny died in the portal accident and did not come back as a ghost, leaving his fully dead body there. To cover up the death someone buries him in the woods. As time goes on, Danny starts to grow from where his body was planted like some kind of twisted shrub made of meat, wood, and ectoplasm that loosely resembles a person, that becomes more Danny-like as he grows. And he’s just kind of stuck there until someone finds him since he’s not very mobile at that point.

Depending on who buried him and covered up his death it can go a couple of ways. 

The Fentons: Seeing their invention killed their son, accidentally, they panic and hide his body in the woods, because as much as they loved their son, they can’t let him have died in vain and destroy their life’s work. The official story in Danny ran away, and Jazz is still hopeful he’ll return or reach out to her. I’d set it maybe a year or two after the accident with Sam and Tucker finding him in the woods, Them being younger and having not known Danny before, and taking care of and bonding with their new weird plant friend.

Sam and Tucker: They were just dumb kids. It was a stupid dare, their friend died, and they panicked. They buried him in the woods and swore never to talk about it again. They watched as the Fenton parents and Jazz desperately tried to find their son, wishing he would come home, and they said nothing. A year passed, Jazz went off to college and everyone had to move on. Then Valerie found him in the woods. Her dad had been let go of his job. Axion had been looking to cut its costs, and after mostly automating the security system, they let go of the more senior(more expensive) members of the security team. They put down their old security dogs rather than rehome them, this is exactly something a company like that would do. So Valerie, having lost her status with the A listers, spent her free time walking in the woods where she finds Danny. Danny’s mind is a little scrambled from the accident and isolation of being alone in the woods for a year. His memories aren’t exactly clear, coming to him in bits and pieces. She names him Danny, ironically after himself, and they bond. over time, with a little extra care from Valerie, he grows more and more until it’s apparent that he is in fact the same Danny. Perhaps even romance happens

maybe after enough time, he can pass as human again. So Danny Fenton returns, much to the confusion and fear of whoever put him in that hole in the ground.

Maybe he still has to deal with ghosts. Hard to do when you’re a plant stuck in a pot, but he’s used to dispose of them like a weird Venus flytrap. Whether he’s eating them or his mouth is connected to the ghost zone is up to debate

[frumentariae]

(ﾉ ^▽^ )ﾉ I’d love to know some fun facts about Chip! What his life was like before becoming a courier and how long he was a courier?

YES absolutely!! i actually have a whole Timeline for this that's changed a lot since i initially created him. he's got Deep Lore and stuff ( •̀ ω •́ ) I don't think I've ever shared it here!

Chip's father (a caravaneer) went missing when he was about 16 years old--He was often away, but when he didn't visit or write for months on end, it became clear that something had happened that had taken him away from the family.

Chip (then going by Danny/Daniel, his "real" name) left home at 17, hoping to find his father. He ended up working with caravans himself for about a year, and probably doing occasional courier jobs with the Mojave Express throughout Utah, Nevada, California and Arizona.

It was in Arizona that he was captured by Legion--Wrong place wrong time. I imagine him being lumped in with people from a recently conquered tribe or settlement. Because he was AFAB, healthy, and of a certain age, he was treated as a woman and was a marriage candidate for Legionaries. A young Decanus, Drusus Caelius Modius, volunteered to take him, and they were married in a mass wedding.

Good news for both Drusus (who goes by Caelius mostly) and Danny, they're both gay men and he was affirming of Danny's gender. Their relationship wasn't bad all things considered, they were considerate of one another, and loved each other in their own way. They eventually grew closer during their two years married, and had a pair of twins together in 2279, Castor and Pollux. By this point, the Legion had unfortunately caught onto the fact that they referred to each other as husbands and were generally not being quiet enough about the nature of their relationship. In an act of "mercy", the Legion would allow them both to live, provided their marriage be dissolved and Danny become a Legionary.

Before this could happen, Caelius facilitated the escape of Danny and their twin boys. The kids were left with one of his aunties to be taken care of, and he proceeded to flee to the Mojave. He joined up formally with the Mojave Express, and made semi-frequent trips (much like his own father had) to visit his children.

Then of course he takes the Platinum Chip job and everything goes to hell. He loses all his memories, and stuff about his family in Battle Mountain comes back before his memories of Caelius, his time with the Legion, and his own kids. There's a whole storyline in my mind about him reconnecting with Caelius throughout the course of NV, but that's it's own post!

I think in all, Chip had probably about 2 years of actual courier experience before the Incident. He's lived an extremely interesting and storied life, its just that he can't remember the last like 7 years (where the most wild stuff has happened)

ANYWAYS, sorry for the long post and lore dump, I hope it was interesting! Thank you so so much for asking, I love sharing my lore and the little stories in my head :3

[operationfortune]

Okay I know this post will gain absolutely zero traction but the more I think about it the more I want to cry about it??

slight spoilers for one of the character arcs in Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre ahead,,,

So I saw Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre in the cinema today. I was alone, it was reasonably full, the film technically only opened two days ago, and it's wider release isn't for another week, but I had time to kill and it was the only thing that piqued my interest. It sits in an interesting spot tonally, comparative, I'd say, to Netflix Exclusive Michael Bay movie 6 Underground, though to use a more recent marker I'd drop it somewhere near Bullet Train (though it's definitely much closer to 6 Underground). All this context to say that I went into this Jason Statham-lead espionage action movie with zero expectations and almost completely blind.

So please believe me when I say I was truly blindsided with joy to have canonical, casual queer representation in this Jason Statham-lead espionage action movie.

Maybe it's that I don't watch a lot of media now, but it's something I noticed while watching Glass Onion too, both with Benoit and Hugh Grant (ha, put a pin in that) and especially with the character of Peg, and it makes me a bit teary and excited when I think about it. There's something to be said for how far we've come, to the point that Casual Queer Rep is even possible. There's something about watching Peg get all flustered talking to Helen and knowing that it's because she has a crush, without it having to be flagged, spelled out, or otherwise othered by the film or its writing.

It's normalised.

Which I know shouldn't be a big deal, but right now, to me, it is. I didn't realise I could feel this way; to see a full character who just so happens to be gay, where the plot doesn't revolve around her being gay, but that part of her identity is still made clear?? I love Peg so much holy shit.

But Glass Onion is the second in a series that has established itself as a forerunner for casual diversity. Let me tell you about how Operation Fortune made me want to YELL in theatres.

It's the 8th of January, and it might be a bit early to call it, but Danny Francesco might be my favourite character of the year.

Is he perfect? God no, he's objectively not a great person; he's sleeping with his sister-in-law, he's a Hollywood diva, he's demanding, and he (spoilers, seriously) ends up engaged to a war criminal. Who happens to be the main antagonist. Who happens to be Hugh Grant. Danny is the light of my life, however, and I love him with my whole heart.

So in the beginning we're told that Danny turned down $10m because he didn't want to jump out of Greg (Hugh Grant)'s cake and sing Happy Birthday; whatever, I thought, Greg is a rich, eccentric with an obsession with celebrities, and Danny is the biggest star right now, I shouldn't read anything into it because Sometimes Rich People Just Do Things For Status Reasons. We're also told, and subsequently shown, Greg tries to take celebrity's partners/girlfriends. Cue Sarah (Aubrey Plaza) in a bright red dress that I will dream about for the next month.

Also, in the scene where Danny, Sarah, and Orson (Jason Statham) are joining the fancy party, there's some distinctly fruity vibes between the three of them, but I'm not here to push my Orson/Sarah/Danny polycule agenda, just know that I have one.

So obviously Greg is excited to see Danny, but later makes a Very Distinct Pass at Sarah, inviting both her and Danny to stay with him for the weekend, with an implied Wink Wink Nudge Nudge.

While they end up taking him up on that offer, Danny, who started the film having refused Greg's Rich Weirdo Request, and now having to spend time with him for the job, finds that he actually genuinely likes Greg, who appears to genuinely like him back, doting on him, even giving him gifts.

When Danny says to Sarah "(I'm paraphrasing, about Greg) he's really into you! If you don't take him up on his offer then I might!" my eyeballs were Out Of My Head. Like sure it sounds like a joke that would be written in to simply highlight Danny's materialism, a whole 'gay for pay' joke, something about his vanity, or even just an offhand joke that I might hear one of my straight friends who were super comfortable and confident in their sexuality say about their best friends, I was So primed for this to be something that the audience could laugh off or dismiss in hindsight. Like in my mind that solidified my headcanon of Danny as bi, but I was so used to queerbaiting and years of being told I was reading into things.

So as the plot continues, Danny's fondness for Greg goes on, turns into something incredibly genuine, and looking back, he clearly has a hero-worship crush on Greg by the end of the film.

The last shot we see of Danny and Greg is the pair of them getting into an elevator after Greg pulls a stone cold power move on the films secondary antagonists, which he had Danny assist with for flare after Danny asked specifically to stay with him for that event. In the elevator, Danny tells Greg that that was "the coolest thing he's ever seen someone do" and that's the last we physically see of them.

HOWEVER!! THE ICING!! THE CHERRY!!

At the very end of the film, one of the protagonists mentions how he's gone into the film industry, and the response he gets is;

"You better not be talking about Danny Francesco and his fiancee Greg Simmonds!"

an accurate depiction of me as the credits began to roll;

WE WIN THESE!!

BOTH DANNY AND GREG ARE CANONICALLY BI/PAN IN THIS JASON STATHAM-LEAD ESPIONAGE ACTION MOVIE IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2023!! THEY BOTH LIVE UNTIL THE END!! THEY'RE ENGAGED!! THEY'RE BOTH ABSOLUTE DISASTERS!! THEY'RE BOTH FULL, ROUNDED CHARACTERS WHO HAPPEN TO BE QUEER!!

I get choked up thinking about it now, considering how quietly overwhelmed I felt in the theatre realising that Danny and Greg's comments and moments throughout the film weren't some elaborate joke, the dialogue that reminds me of my friends, the moments that felt true to my life as a queer person, they werent the setup for any kind of homophobic mixup, miscommunication, or microaggression; no, I finally, actually felt like I saw a part of myself, of my community represented in media.

Everyone in that movie is terrible in their own way, but Danny and Greg just happened to be terrible people who are also queer. Are they perfect representation? No! Thank fuck! I think we deserve more dumbass, disaster, unethical queers in media.

Even if I don't necessarily recommend this movie (it's pretty okay if you're a fan of the genre I suppose), I subjectively love it and especially it's characters, with my whole entire heart.

Danny Francesco is canonically a dumbass, bi disaster who fell for his sugar daddy, war criminal Hugh Grant. Good for him. It's what he deserves. 🥰🥰🥰

[charlieslowartsies]

Hello!

Director's cut about how the flashlight works, please? It's really interesting!

Awrighty!

The flashlight wasn't the Crying Child's light until, I wanna say Ghost Strings. It wasn't Michal Afton's that he unthinkingly gave to Arthur until he debuted in Lies Within. So its role evolved over the stories lol.

But it's always been in the series. I always considered it sort of it's own character, tied to the Crying Child and to the Marionette.

The flashlight is based LOOSELY on the concept of tsukumogami from Japenese folklore. The base idea is that "an item that lived long enough would eventually become alive and turn self-aware." I emphasize loosely cause, well, 100 years has absolutely not passed. Nor is it housing a spirit. The flashlight is not technically by-the-book haunted, it is still a tool. Although finicky, it can pass as ordinary when it needs (or wants to.) The flashlight is also based off Thor's Mjölnir, and the Master Sword from LoZ.

I asked myself "what happens when residual spooky stuff clings to objects in the restaurant? What's good symbolism for light/night guards? Oh duh, the flashlight!"

Before Arthur's death, it was very normal. Just a plastic, light yellow flashlight that Max gave his brother one night, not realizing the importance of his words on the child. Quite often we say something off-handed that children cling to with all their might. This is how the flashlight's powers were planted and how they grew, if rather oddly. Arthur believed it could do things like chase away the Nightmares, and so it did, and still does in the series. He brought it to the restaurant on the day he died, setting it by the Prize Puppet and, of course, never picking it up again. The Marionette took it and hid it in it's box on some strange, unbidden instinct as the chaos of the day unfolded.

After Arthur's death, it began to run without batteries. It won't turn on for just anyone, although you do not need to be a Suit to work it, especially if you're deemed worthy of being a security guard by it. It's a bright light when being held by a strong spirit, and generally is used for warding off Nightmares, tearing at shadows to reveal the Truth, to expose what is trying to hide in plain sight. It can force Mike and Gold to Switch, and as such could be used as a weapon against them in the wrong hands, or even the Marionette before it was Revived.

It's relentless and terrifies William Afton, because even though he was able to manipulate the Marionette and the Crying Child early on, he could never quite seem to get the flashlight to not hurt him when it's beam touched him. Nightmares loathes it, because he cannot hide and pretend to be bigger and scarier than the rest when it's light sends away the shadowy smog around him.

It's able to move with relative independence, teleporting like Marion to it's desired destination or rolling. It prefers to stick with Mike unless for some reason he's in grave danger, in which case it seeks out Danny Fitzgerald, the day guard. In Ghost Strings, it was tied to the Marionette and Arthur, and so when they began to break down together, it got weaker until it attached itself to Mike as a new host, a sort of passing of the torch. It will pass again in Lies Within.

It's level of sentience I settled on is limited but clear enough to understand usually what it wants. It has a job to do, and it will accomplish it without fail, and illuminate the darkness. Mike can control Goldy, at the very least direct him, but the flashlight isn't really something you command. It doesn't think in gray scale, rather in black and white. This can be tricky, since life is not black and white.

It's something you wield, so that does make it a bit of a wildcard. Like Suits that are varied with different powers, the flashlight has different tactics it tries based on what it's aimed at, but there's little way of knowing what it will try or making it do something you want, which makes it kind of unreliable and Mike tries to use it as nothing more than a normal flashlight, and far less as a weapon.

Mike uses it secondarily to open doors that connect to other door ways, typically inside the building he's in. This is great trick for moving across a location rapidly, and is an offshoot of Goldy's teleporting powers. (It's thought to augment certain powers the ghosts already carry because of this.) If Max used the light, it could potentially create stronger illusions. If someone else used it ON Max, it could likely destroy his illusion instead.

It's twin is Max's cassette walkman, which is also why they're the same shade of yellow in drawings. The walkman was Max's most important possession when he was alive, connecting him to music and offering an escape when he needed it. Like Scraptrap, the walkman symbolized escape. The flashlight was Arthur's, and it stood for protection like the Marionette did.

[becomingbuffypodcast]

Hush, Identity, & the subversion of the female scream

We have talked before about how music and the absence of music are critical to the Buffyverse, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the episode, “Hush.” Season 4 is all about identity, shown through the Scoobies discovering who they are in this new season of life, and their conflicts and the monsters they face often highlight this through the theme of identity theft.

Sunday & her gang feed off the insecurity of incoming freshmen while also stealing their things. Kathy steals Buffy’s soul in an effort to form a new life away from her family, Buffy tries on Parker in an attempt to have a normal life, Xander and Giles try new hobbies and jobs in an effort to figure out where they belong, and the entire premise of the Initiative is to change the demons and monsters—taking their basic instincts and making them something else.

In “Hush,” the writers cleverly continue this theme of identity, not only through Buffy and Riley revealing their secret identities to each other, but through the Gentlemen and their silencing of the most human expression of identity—the voice.

Because of this, the music plays a significant role in not only accentuating the silence of the characters, but also in revealing the insidious nature of the Gentlemen. Joss Whedon and “Hush” composer, Christophe Beck, drew inspiration from multiple sources, including Tim Burton and composer Danny Elfman, as well as the orchestral accompaniment of silent films. But the biggest influence undoubtedly comes from “Danse Macabre,” the piece that accompanies Giles’ non-verbal presentation of the Gentlemen.

Written in 1874 by French composer Camille Saint-Saens, “Danse Macabre” is a tone poem, originally composed as an art song, to be played while someone recites an old French superstition. The story was an old legend about Death appearing at midnight every year on Halloween. Death calls forth the skeletons from their graves to dance for him while he plays his fiddle until dawn. Beck cleverly calls back to the piece in his music for “Hush”—the solo violin reminding us of the devil’s fiddle, while the use of dissonant intervals, known as the devil’s tritone, reminds us of the devil himself. Beck will utilize a similar trick in writing the theme for Wanda in Wanda-Vision, where his use of devil’s tritones hints at her darker side.

Coupled with the many phallic symbols and Joss Whedon’s original intent for them to represent a certain class, the Gentlemen can be seen as a repressive patriarchal symbol, and a metaphor for classism, sexism, and even assault. They penetrate, violate, and silence their victims, tearing out their hearts and stealing their voices. Their nice clothing, smiles, and even their names convey an idea of white-washed social assimilation, yet their lethargic mannerisms and precise medical tools betray a calculated and intelligent malevolence. They are able to get away with their abuse due to their silencing of not only the victim, but the community as a whole.

The book, “Music, Sound, & Silence in BTVS” makes a comparison between the scene of the Gentlemen stealing away the town’s voices, and Kathy trying to steal Buffy’s soul, arguing that these correlating images show that “the voice represents something of the essence of a subject and its materiality brings to life an enigmatic element of the individual. This visualization of voice, disembodied from its source but still “live,” marks a clear appreciation for the voice as a material body in itself—a physical trace and a distinct object.”

So often in film and media, the cry of women is shown as that of the conquered, not the conqueror. French film theorist and composer, Michel Chion, in his essay “the Screaming Point,” asserts that “the female scream, the woman’s cry, represents a misfortune and a sexual vulnerability available for the pleasure of the male spectator.” Yet in true Buffy form, the show subverts the female scream and imbues it with strength. “Music, Sound, and Silence” writes, “Buffy’s scream is more in line with what Chion describes as the male “shout,” imbued as it is with power and mastery. Buffy wields this masculine shout as she does the phallic stake: both are her weapons for penetrating and obliterating the Other—the monster, the demon.”

In the end it is the cry of the victim, a woman, that exerts her dominance and destroys her oppressor.