#it's just not who you'd expect!

[duskyashe]

NaNoWriMo Day #8

[masterlist] [part two]

Prompt found here

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It was summer break, and Danny was lost in the Infinite Realms. He wasn't too worried, now that he'd officially been crowned the High King, his subjects had mostly stopped attacking Amity Park, and he was eager to finally get some exploring done now that he could take a break. Jazz, Sam, and Tucker knew Danny was, his parents thought he was spending the week at Tucker's, and he had Clockwork's promise that Danny would make it home by the end of the week no matter how long he was stuck in the Realms, so he was golden. The only thing he'd forgotten was the map of the Infinite Realms that would tell him where he was and how to get back home, but he'd been working with Wulf on making his own portals, so if he really needed to, he had a way out.

But that was just in case, for now, he was just having fun being lost. There were so many things to see and places to explore! Like where he was exploring currently, it was this old gothic theatre with surrounding alleys, there were hidey-holes and hidden storage rooms, and there was an old fashioned elevator floor, this place had everything!

"Martha, there seems to be someone here," a man's voice came from around the corner ahead of him. Danny froze, not sure what to do. W-was this someone's haunt?! It didn't look occupied when he first found it!

"Oh, the poor dear! I thought Bruce had put an end to theatre shootings, though?" A woman, likely Martha, responded. She sounded genuinely worried and confused as to why he was there, and that... That gave Danny pause. Because that wasn't the normal reaction of a ghost whose haunt had been intruded upon.

The man sighed. "Martha, dear, you know he prefers to go by Batman when wearing the cowl. I've told you before, we should respect our son's wishes."

Their son is Batman?! Does that mean Batman's a ghost?

"I know, I know, but Thomas, that's not the important part! There's someone in the theatre when there shouldn't be! What if they're hurt, or lost, or confused? We need to help them!" Martha exclaimed.

Danny took an unneeded breath and floated forward, a sheepish grin on his face. "Uh, hi there," he said, giving a small wave. In front of him were two gothically dressed ghosts, one male and the other female. The woman, Martha, was wearing a dark green and black striped ball gown, a line of golden buttons decorating the front of the bodice. Thomas, her partner, was wearing a matching green overcoat with black trim, and a matching pair of black dress pants and dress shirt, with a classy top hat, golden buttons, and cufflinks to finish the look. They both had black hair and glowing blue eyes, and both had a small golden bat pinned to their chest above their hearts. They both seemed surprised to see him, maybe they expected him to be hiding somewhere deeper in the theatre?

Martha seemed to come to her senses before Thomas, and was soon hovering right in front of him, pale fingers ghosting over his face and arms with a concerned look on her face. "Oh, you're just a child! You poor dear, you must be so confused! Where are you from, if you don't mind me asking? You certainly don't feel like one of ours, were you visiting Gotham when you died?"

Danny leaned back slightly, flustered and unsure what she was talking about. "I, uh, I've never been to Gotham? I was born and raised in Amity Park? I-I technically died there, too, but that's a bit of a story. Um, what exactly do you mean, I don't feel like one of yours?"

Turned out, if someone highly influential to a city or town died in either a highly traumatic or a sufficiently influential way, they became the spirit of that city or town. Thomas and Martha Wayne were highly respected and looked up to by all of Gotham before they were murdered, and while their deaths weren't exactly traumatic enough at the time for them to have become the spirits of Gotham, they did inspire their son, well known billionaire Bruce Wayne, to become the vigilante and Justice League founder Batman. Once Batman became well known across Gotham, the couple were elevated in status and the previous spirit of Gotham was relieved of their duties. A brief tangent revealed that the spirit of a city or a town had different duties depending on what their city or town needed. For Gotham, and more specifically Thomas and Martha, it was being a beacon of hope and change as well as helping their family's fight to better the city and minimize crime.

"So," Danny said slowly. "Because I'm the protector of Amity Park, does that make me Amity's spirit?"

Thomas shook his head. "It doesn't quite work like that, son. Not every town or every city has a spirit, and a city or town spirit can't be less than fully dead, unlike other powerful positions, such as the High King."

"Not to mention," Martha spoke up, "that as the High King, you can't hold any other ghostly position of power, or else the balance would destabilize, sending all of reality into chaos. As such, the oaths of the High King include the renouncing of any and all former ghostly appointments that might interfere with the balance. It's part of why the Observants never tried taking the throne from Pariah Dark, to be honest."

Danny sat there, thinking over everything he'd just learned. Honestly, he'd learned more about his kingdom, subjects, and the culture that goes with it in one conversation than he had in the entire time he'd been a halfa. "There's so much I don't know, isn't there?" Danny asked after a moment.

Thomas and Martha smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry," Thomas said as he put an arm around Danny's shoulder. "You have time to learn it all, though some of this you really should have learned before making your oaths. I'd like to have words with your guardian, they appear to have been slacking in their duties."

Danny's mind blanked. Guardian? Surely, not his parents. Though. This seemed to be another ghostly thing, so probably—"Clockwork? Or... Maybe Pandora, or Frostbite? I'm... Not actually sure who my guardian is, are they supposed to let me know they're my guardian? Also, how does that work, how does someone become the guardian of a younger ghost?"

"You don't know your own guardian?" Martha cried in disbelief.

"Danny, may I take a look at your core? I feel we'll get more answers that way, but I wouldn't want to impose," Thomas asked gently.

"Why would that be an imposition?" Danny asked.

Martha gently took his hand in hers. "A ghost's core makes up everything that is them, their likes, their dislikes, their personality, their obsession, even their bonds. To let someone look at your core is to trust them with your very soul. Never let someone look at your core unless you trust them with everything you hold dear, alright?"

Shocked, Danny nodded. There was a lot he didn't know. "O-okay, um, yeah, you can look at it, Thomas," he breathed shakily. "I trust you."

Danny did not have a guardian. He had fright-mates in the form of his liminal sister and friends, but he didn't have a guardian or really any other bonds. Thomas raged and Martha cried and the both of them begged him to choose someone to be his guardian. He was a baby ghost, halfa or not, and his core needed the support of a guardian in order to not overwork itself trying to protect him, and end up hurting him instead, potentially permanently. They cautioned him that, with how powerful he already was, his guardian would have to be quite powerful, themselves, like an ancient or a tribe leader. When Danny asked if a city spirit or two would work, they both hugged him so tightly and so warmly that he melted into the embrace, frozen tears falling from his eyes.

"So, does this make me Batman's little brother?" Danny asked with a sniffle sometime later, after the couple agreed to be Danny's guardians.

Martha gasped and put a hand to her mouth, looking to Thomas with mirth in her eyes. "Bruce always wanted a sibling, growing up," she agreed with a laugh.

Thomas smiled at both of them. "Danny even looks the part when he's human!"

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Two weeks after Danny's ghostly adoption saw Danny giggling to himself as he walked up the front steps of Wayne Manor with his backpack hanging from his shoulder. He knocked politely and waited for Alfred, the butler and his brother's father figure, to answer. When he did, he took one look at Danny and smirked. "They're in the family media room, master Danny. Would you like some tea?"

Danny grinned and nodded. "You're the man, Alfred. They suspect anything?"

"Not a thing, master Danny. I shall be recording everything via the security cameras, just as the master and madam requested. Nothing will be missed. I'll bring the tea in when things have calmed down," Alfred said as he started walking back to the kitchen.

He suppressed a maniacal laugh. This was going to be awesome.

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MWAHAHA!!! I SUCCESSFULLY MANAGED TO WORK IN A WAY OF ADDING ONTO THIS FICLET WITH AN ALREADY EXISTING PROMPT!ヽ⁠(⁠`⁠Д⁠´⁠)⁠ﾉ Now. If someone could find me the post about the spirits of cities, specifically Gotham, that'd be great. I know there IS one, cuz that's what spawned the fic "A Change in Management" over on AO3 (I'll provide a link and proper citing later), I just can't find it (⁠^⁠～⁠^⁠;⁠)⁠ゞ

I'm really happy I managed to finish this, because holy heck, my day was just... Really crazy (⁠；⁠^⁠ω⁠^⁠）but it was worth it for y'all (⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)⁠—⁠☆

Have a good morning/day/night!

[macksartblock]

beware of burnout it's so real i'm afraid

also bc ended up making my writing into a font to avoid killing my hand as much and bc I saw Caden do this, I thought it would be fun to see who y'all think it suits lol

[tears-of-xion]

Jagged Stone's reaction to his kids finding out about him will always be funny to me.

He really just goes 'Aw, you caught me! :( Oh, well, guess I better be a Dad now! :D' and it's just...so funny.

[ritahayworrth]

It has a happy ending. It always has. They fall in love, they get married. This one ends when they fall in love. Yeah? That's what it says. Read it. Alright. DESERT FURY (1947) dir. Lewis Allen

[lululeighsworld]

THEY DEVASTATINGLY WALLOPED ME FOR THESE BRIEF FEW SECONDS

[ontosgold]

I adore sun/moon ryomina dynamic... but specifically how ryoji is the moon to makoto's sun. in the way that the moon is a reflection of the sun's light. without the sun there is so moon, but also the moon brings meaning to the sun's existence...

[magnusbae]

You have become a far greater Jedi than I could ever hope to be.

[drinkingdeadpeopletea]

and shout-out to weepe's guards! competent enough to move quicker than kozma's people, strong enough to overpower them despite being outnumbered, and seemingly didn't even blink at not just killing other people but at doing it with horrific weaponized tearror-blood. weepe found these guys in the fucking TRUST?

[allyricas]

Steve making the most pining, sad boy mixtape that he listens to on repeat. It's about his friend Eddie.

Eddie who is clueless about Steve's pining. Eddie who is the most tactile person he's ever met. So he's always slinging an arm around Steve or leaning on his shoulder during movie night. He'll run and jump on Steve's back for a piggyback ride or tackle him into the pool. It's slowly killing Steve because Eddie has no idea that Steve's in love with him.

In fact, for all the flirting Eddie does with Steve, the man has no idea he's even queer. 100 percent oblivious. Eddie has convinced himself that it's totally normal to flirt with everyone (he only flirts with Steve) and that it doesn't mean anything to cuddle your male friend on a regular basis (it means something) and poor Stevie is just suffering.

Maybe Eddie needs a ride one day because his van craps out, so he asks Steve to drive him to Indy and of course, the tape starts. after the first few songs Eddie's is having some thoughts. One, who the fuck is this tape about? Whoever it is, Steve clearly has BIG feelings for this girl. It makes Eddie feel like shit.

So he just keeps listening until he finally snaps and asks Steve who the chick is. Steve's confused, but Eddie presses further. He asks who the tape is about.

"What's her name? The girl you made this mix for?"

"There's no girl." Steve replies. His voice is tight like he's upset. Eddie would be so, so confused.

"Um, this is like some unrequited love pop music shit. Obviously you're in love with someone, so what's her name?" Eddie has to push.

Steve just tells Eddie to fuck off. They're both sorta pissed now. Eddie thought they were good enough friends that Steve would tell him. Steve can't have this conversation considering he's in love with his friend.

"Why won't you tell me her name...c'mon Stevie, I won't make fun of you. Is it Nancy again? Shitty considering she's dating Robbie. Tell me. Please. I'm dying to know who could have possibly inspired this mixtape." Eddie knows he's being an ass. He will get Steve to tell him.

Steve says nothing. Literally says nothing the rest of the way to Indy and back. It's not until they're pulling back into Hawkins that Eddie starts pestering again.

"Come on, dude. Who is this mystery girl you're so head over heels for? I mean literally, you put that song on there. Tears for Fears man, tell me, tell me, tell me-"

"It's not about a a girl. Shut the fuck up, man." Steve finally snaps. Eddie is just repeating over and over for Steve to tell him and it's annoying that he's so sure it's some girl.

"Then who?"

"I made the tape about you, asshole."

"What?"

"It's not some girl I'm in love with, it's you Eddie." Steve finally admits and he watches Eddie's face drop in horror. As Steve pulls up to Eddie's trailer, neither of them say a word. Steve is contemplating driving his car into a tree and Eddie is in shock. Because this cannot be happening, Eddie is straight and um, he definitely does not like Steve Harrington. Definitely isn't having a full fledged crisis right now.

"Man, I'm not... I'm not gay. I don't like you that way." Eddie finally tells him, refusing to meet Steve's eyes. Why does every word he just said feel like it's breaking Eddie apart too. He isn't sure he's being honest with Steve right now, but he cannot deal with this. He can't deal with the heartbreak all over Steve's face.

So Eddie gets out of the car and walks into his trailer. He doesn't look back or slow down. Steve is a second away from losing it. What was just pining is a rejection now. Worse than that, it feels like the whole world just fell down around Steve.

Despite how scared Steve was to tell Eddie, blatant rejection wasn't something he was worried about. Eddie flirted with him all the time. Always touching, always leaning into Steve's space. Calling him big boy or sweetheart. How could Steve have been so wrong? Eddie wasn't even into guys, let alone Steve. Eddie specifically said that he didn't like Steve that way. Eddie doesn't want him.

So, Steve listens to his sad mixtape and swears he'll move on even if that feels impossible.

Psst: read the follow up Moving On Pt. 1

[black-and-yellow]

in love

[waitineedaname]

reading the novel, i love how blatantly indulgent of the juniors lan wangji is. when he was their age, he was duelling wei wuxian over broken rules and lived his life by behaving as precisely as what was expected of him, and now as an adult, he's basically letting the juniors do whatever they want as long as it isn't unsafe and generally letting the kids act like kids

which leaves wei wuxian to have to be the one playing bad cop. wei "has never followed anyone else's rules in his life" "bane of lan qiren's existence" "public enemy number one" wuxian has to be the one being like "oh my god don't burn money on someone else's doorstep, don't you know that's rude. you kids need to focus on your studies more, why isn't anyone teaching you anything useful, do i have to do everything myself around here"

[lieutenant-columbro]

never forget that in this scene columbo sprayed the silly string on HIMSELF. he rly saw a random aerosol can, didn't know what was in it, and was like hm. today i will point this directly at my face 😊

[horizon-penblade]

either BigB is going all in on the "secretkeepers are the watchers are the viewers" lore or I am reading WAY too much into the phrasing of his intro

[finclgicls]

𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄 : margaret 'maggie' roberts , paranormal investigator , mid twenties .  𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐓 : slightly based off of as above so below — after maggie's dad disappeared , she slowly , but surely , started to grow obsessed with his quest to explore the paris' catacombs & just about every other dangerous place , and finding out it's secrets ( not to mention actually finding her father ) . this time though , things kind of went a little bit too far and she got injured in the process . your muse is the voice of reason for mags , they are her better half who is honestly almost giving up on inserting some sense into her . 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 : everyone ( romantic or not & we can also make it a mumu ) . 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 : horror with paranormal elements . 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎 : all , written using beta , but can make it legacy upon request ! let me know if you’d rather continue this thread on discord that i’ll add you.

𝗦𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗𝗡'𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗟𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗬, it was too much for her. maggie looked anywhere but towards them. it wasn't supposed to have gone like that, she had taken it too far, and she had gone alone. she promised before she would never go alone. "i'm sorry," she spoke silently, "— but i'm fine, okay? just a few cuts and bruises, nothing that hadn't happened before, please don't make a big deal out of it."

[sannyo-appreciation-posts]

I'm so so happy about the latest Lotus Eaters! Chapter 51

Its taking a surprising amount of self control not to spoil Lotus Eaters 51, or dump out all available pictures of Sannyo's cute new faces.

Getting to see a different side of Sannyo is very cute

[ratsalad]

it's so fitting and clever that one of house's specialties is infectious disease (the other is nephrology, both fall under internal medicine - which, unrelated, is also thirteen's specialty). it's such a small detail, but it seems to me the writers did that deliberately because house's diagnostic style is so clearly inspired and shaped by ID, even when he isn't diagnosing a patient with an infection - his constant insistence on thorough and accurate histories (and getting annoyed when his fellows fail to get them), using clues outside the patient's symptoms alone, digging into patients' lives to find more information, etc

i read about ID docs diagonising someone who wasn't getting better with treatment with lyme disease in 5 minutes out of clinic which saved them from unnecessary surgery, and figuring out someone has psittacosis because of the bird magazine they brought to the hospital. if that's not some the most house-sounding shit ever i don't know what is