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magmahearts · 4 months

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TIMING: current (immediately after the eruption of mount vesuvius) LOCATION: the magmacave SUMMARY: after her ordeal with ariadne and the hunter, cass seeks comfort and reassurance from her father. CONTENT: implications of emotional manipulation

She came home trembling. She wasn’t sure what it was, exactly — adrenaline, fear, excitement — but it shook her like an earthquake, building up in her chest and unable to stop shaking things up within her. Makaio noticed right away; of course he did. He was attentive, the way fathers ought to be. He came to meet her the moment the sound of her knees knocking together echoed through the space to meet him, put a careful hand on her shoulder.

“Darling,” he said lowly. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

“There —” She gasped a little, and her chest ached. “There was a hunter. He — He attacked us. We were just walking. We just — We were going to get smoothies! We weren’t hurting anyone, we weren’t doing anything. But he attacked us, he was… He wanted to… He was going to…”

A hand came up, gripping the back of her head, tilting her face up so that she was looking up at him. It shifted her neck into an uncomfortable position, jolted her into silence. She was grateful for it, she told herself; it was a good distraction. She’d rather focus on the discomfort in her neck than the stuttering of her desperate, nervous heartbeat in her chest.

“Are you hurt?” It was a quiet demand. “Did he hurt you?”

“Just — He cut my arm a little. He wasn’t — He wasn’t after me. It’s — My friend, she… She’s a mare, and he wanted — He hurt her. He was going to kill her! I had — I had to stop him. I had to, you don’t — He was going to kill her. Dad, he was going to kill her.”

“And you killed him,” his voice was low, but not unhappy. “That’s okay. That’s all right, Cassidy. You did the right thing. Like we talked about, yes? There’s no shame in —”

“I didn’t.” It was a quiet confession. It felt wrong, somehow, felt like something she should have been ashamed of. “I didn’t kill him.” She saw the disappointment flash in his eyes, and she quickly jumped back in, dove headfirst. “I was going to! I was — I had him, and I was going to, I was. But he — Ariadne, my friend, she… She wanted me to stop.” It felt like tattling, like throwing her friend under the bus, like pointing fingers. But her father’s face seemed to smooth a little, and all doubt exited swiftly. She needed him to stay. Everything else was unimportant in this moment.

He pulled her into a hug that was a little too tight, but she said nothing as she relaxed into it. This was fine, she thought, this was good. And he murmured reassurances as the time passed. He said that’s okay, he said I’m proud of you. He didn’t say this doesn’t seem like you or are you okay because he didn’t need to, because he understood. And wasn’t that all she’d ever wanted? Wasn’t she living a dream now? Her father was here, and he was proud of her. He loved her. What more could she ask for?

She didn’t know how much time passed. Maybe it was hours, or maybe she spent days standing in an uncomfortable position in a too-tight hug. Eventually, he pulled back, and she told herself there was no relief in it even if there was a little. He was still getting used to physical affection; he wasn’t very good at it yet. That wasn’t his fault.

“Would it make you feel better if we talked?” He asked, and Cass felt warm at the question.

“Maybe,” she replied quietly. “I think so.”

“Okay.” He smiled, and she thought her hands might be shaking a little less now. “Let’s talk, then. I want to get to know you more. I want to get to know… the things that have made you who you are. The… experience you had…” He trailed off, and she swallowed. “You were helping a friend, yes?”

“Yes,” she confirmed.

“Tell me about her.”

And that? That was easy.

She told him everything. From the first time she and Ariadne hung out and the way it felt natural to all the times since, when she could say whatever she needed to say without fear of abandonment. Her father listened, a faint smile on his face as he nodded along. And then, after a while…

“Was that the first time a hunter came for her?”

Cass stilled, shifting where she sat just a little. “No. There was… Someone came after her before. The same one who hurt me. He took her, and… She was gone for a few days. It was — I was scared. And — And last month, there…” How many times had hunters come to hurt Ariadne now? Cass thought of the way her friend spoke after, of how she always seemed to think it was her fault, somehow. It wasn’t right, was it?

Her father smiled sympathetically. “Some people,” he said, apologetic, “don’t get to live forever.”

Her chest ached with the implication. Cass, Makaio had told her before, was built to live for centuries. She was designed for it, born to it. The undead were different. What’s dead will always want to die, he’d told her a few days ago. It’s sad, but it’s the nature of things. People would keep coming after Ariadne, just as Rhett or the other hunters had. Just as that hunter outside the smoothie shop had. And Ariadne — Ariadne was good. She was sweet and she was kind and she was going to die. Deep down, Cass had known that for a while now. The way she’d stopped Cass from killing that hunter, the way she blamed herself each time someone tried to hurt her… It was proof of it, wasn’t it?

She looked down at her hands, and they were trembling again. Her throat felt tight, and for a moment, she felt alone. Then, her father’s hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up, and he smiled. “It’s okay,” he said gently. “Tell me about someone else. The girl with the red hair, the one I’ve seen in photos. Tell me about her.”

He was trying to help. Cass knew he was trying to help, but the weight on her chest only felt heavier. “Alex,” she whispered the name, and it felt wrong in her mouth now. “We were… She left me. A few months ago. We were, um… I loved her. Love her. But she — she left.”

Makaio winced, nodding his head. “Okay. Someone else, then.”

“There’s — There’s Metzli.” Her smile returned just a little at the thought of them, some of the pressure releasing from her chest. “They’re my friend. They take me to the zoo, sometimes. We went together when the baby giraffe was born last year, you know, to watch. And — And they buy me things when I ask. And they let me hang out in their gallery.”

“Ah, there we go.” Her father smiled, and Cass didn’t see the calculating look lurking behind his eyes, though that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. “And Metzli would never leave you, would they?”

The pressure was back. She tried not to think about that terrifying period the previous summer, the way she’d begged and begged and begged for Metzli to stay, even as their mind was made up to leave. All I needed from you, all I asked from you was to not leave. That is what I deserve. And they’d left anyway, hadn’t they? They’d come back, in the end, but it hadn’t had anything to do with Cass. It never did. Even now, they were off in Ireland, risking their life the same way they always would, not caring that Cass needed them here. (That wasn’t fair. Deep down, she knew that wasn’t fair. Metzli cared. Metzli cared too much, all the time. But… They were gone. They kept being gone.)

Makaio must have recognized it, the anguish in her features. He squeezed her shoulder, the tightness of his grasp grounding her. “Someone else, then. You have lots of friends, don’t you?”

“There’s — Wynne. And Luci, and Milo. But they… They’re all human. They won’t be…” She trailed off again, swallowing. “I have Nora, too.” Nora, who had left her so many times already. “And Van, and Thea.” But would any of them be her friends if she hadn’t bound them in that grocery store? Would any of them love her if that promise had never been put into play? She thought of Kuma, who’d chosen to die rather than keep her promise not to leave. How long before Nora and Van and Thea gave in to that temptation, too? There was Mack, but hadn’t Mack already lost interest? Hadn’t Sam looked at her with wide, terrified eyes?

Kaden, Anita, Leila, Burrow. Each name that came to mind came with an immediate thought on how that person would chose to leave her. Kaden would want to go be with his cousins eventually, Anita probably only tolerated Cass for Metzli’s sake, Leila would leave with Metzli, Burrow would put her parasites first. Every person she loved was little more than a prelude to leaving, a heartbreak in the making. Wouldn’t most of them go once word got out about the hunter, anyway? Didn’t they all want her to be a thing she wasn’t sure she could be anymore?

Her hands were trembling again, clattering against her knees no matter how tightly she gripped her fist. But a hand found her cheek, and it was steady. It didn’t shake, it didn’t tremble. Her father turned her head so she was facing him, raised it again so that he could meet her eyes.

“Hey, hey.” His tone was soft and soothing. “I’m sorry, keiki. I’m sorry to have brought all this up. You’ve been through so much. Some of it is my fault, I know. I should have been here for you.”

“You didn’t know,” Cass whispered. “You didn’t know about me.”

Makaio only smiled, rubbing a thumb down her jaw. “I won’t leave you,” he said quietly. “Everyone else may have, but I won’t. You and I, Cassidy, we’re a family. Nothing gets between us now. Okay? I won’t leave you, and you won’t leave me. It’s in our blood. Everyone else may walk away, but not those bound by blood. Right?”

“Right,” she agreed. “I won’t leave you. I promise, I won’t.”

His smile widened, and he nodded. “So it’s you and me,” he said fondly. “Just the two of us. But…”

Her heart skipped a beat. “But?” It was a whisper, a plea. But only ever came before something she didn’t want to hear.

But not this time.

“But I still want to get to know you more,” he said. “It’s hard for you to talk about. I understand that. So maybe I can find out another way?” He nodded to her phone, sitting beside her on the cave floor. “Only if it’s okay with you, but I think it would be good. I could read through it, get to know your friends that way. It would be nice, wouldn’t it? For me to understand them. They won’t be around forever, of course, but it won’t be as hard to remember them when they’re gone if you have someone to remember them with.”

“Yeah…” It made sense, didn’t it? Talking about her friends hurt right now, but that didn’t mean her father shouldn’t get to know them. She wanted him to. And this was a good solution. “Yeah, okay.” She unlocked the phone, handing it to him with a small smile. “It, um… The code is 0718.”

Makaio’s smile widened a little more. “Your birthday.”

She felt warm all over, less tense than she had been before, and she nodded. “Yeah,” she confirmed.

Taking the phone and unlocking it with a strangely practiced ease, Makaio gave her shoulder another squeeze. “I look forward to getting to know them,” he said, “while they’re here. And I meant what I said, Cassidy. Everyone else might go, but not me. I’m the only one who will never leave you. You know that, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know.” And she did. It felt good, she told herself. It felt good to know. Everyone else would leave, but he would stay.

At least it meant someone would.

#lava flows #self para #wickedswriting

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starry-bi-sky · 2 months

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Stillborn? No, still born au - Danny’s ghost form

Nothing too fancy here. Just me detailing Danny’s ghost form in the stillborn au :]. My first rule of thumb for every dp au i make is that danny’s gotta have a different design for each ghost form. It doesn’t have to be super drastic depending on the au (like for my dp godling au his suit remains relatively unchanged).

This is mostly so I can mess with character design and also so each Danny can have his own unique ghost form for identification reasons. And because I just want to, which is the most important part :].

Stillborn Danyal, unlike Things in Threes and Yaelokre Danyal, is the first to not have an assassin-based ghost form due to obvious reasons. He was raised in foster care all his life, the League has had no impact on his life beyond being the place where his mother is. But it’s not like he knows that.

As a result he gave me some trouble, and it took me a few days and a ton of frustration to figure out how I want him to look as a ghost. I could just keep him in the hazmat suit and mess around with the detailing, but i’ll be frank, I hate doing that.

Stillborn Danyal, unlike all his other au counterparts, is a fire core ghost like Vlad is. As a result, in his ghost form he can reach extreme temperatures with just a flick of his hand or a switch in his mood. His emotional regulation is shit, and as a result it’s not uncommon for him to let off heatwaves in either form. They’re just more intense as a ghost.

His hair is made of molten lava, and unlike the other Dannys, is not white as a result. It’s an ever constant flow as well, meaning it doesn’t stop flowing where his human hair ends. It just keeps “growing”. Danny routinely keeps his hair braided back because it slows the lava flow and keeps it off his face and arms. When it reaches his past feet, that’s when Danny superheats his hands and “cuts” his hair by yanking it off. It’s completely painless if he gets the right heat to do it. Afterwards, Danny either uses it as a weapon — braided whip, anyone? — or disposes of the excess lava somewhere it can’t hurt someone.

Molten lava ranges around 1,300 to 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit and can either be very fluid or very viscous and stiff. The heat of his hair, naturally, means that the living cannot physically get near him without proper covering. So Danny tends to keep a distance as much as possible during fights so he doesn’t burn anyone.

His emotions also affect the heat and fluidity of his hair. Which isn’t that great considering he can be pretty emotionally volatile thanks to all of his ✨trauma✨. The angrier or more emotional he is, the hotter and more fluid his hair is, meaning it burns brighter and flows faster. It’s very much possible for the lava to cool down enough to solidify into volcanic glass or igneous rock, but considering Danny’s mental state? He just isn’t capable of doing that on his own. Vlad’s hair is also molten lava, but he’s perfected how to keep it in an igneous rock state. His hair also glows bright enough that it’s impossible to see his face from a distance, and seeing it up close is equally as impossible considering all the ambient heat he gives off.

That’s not the only part thats made of lava and magma either. Danny’s hands and feet don’t have skin covering them, it’s crumbled and melted away into molten lava too. They’re the second hottest parts of his body only to his hair. Around his elbows is where his skin begins to crack and crumble into magma, and as a result he wears welding gloves in order to interact with the living world (and some ghosts) without melting anything. He can also run so hot that he can melt a blob ghost.

All fire core ghosts lack iris and pupils, it’s all one solid color. It is possible to shift their eyes into looking more “human like”, but there’s really no point to it and takes more practice and effort to achieve than its worth. Danny’s eyes are all green just like Vlad’s are all red.

Now for his clothes! Danny used to wear the hazmat suit, paired with an old hoodie he owned but didn’t wear often. Uppp until he was brainwashed by Circus Gothica. Afterwards, the only thing that transferred over was the color scheme.

Danny’s new Phantom outfit is designed more for looseness and breathability, but also means that as a result he gives off even more heat. His hazmat suit trapped most of it. He’s now wearing a white, sleeveless turtleneck (yall know the type. I am not immune to tropes and I think it looks good) with black harlem pants with an open slit up both sides and green flames running from his ankles to his knees, and spandex shorts underneath. He’s also wearing white stirrup socks. He wears green welding gloves. Due to the lack of proper footwear he tends to float everywhere otherwise he burns the ground thanks to the exposed skin. It’s significantly less “hero-like” or “scientist” and more resembling something a performer might wear.

As a result however, Danny is consistently cold. He struggles with his own thermal regulation and keeps trying to balance it between his own comfort and the comfort of the living around him. If he retains his own heat and keeps himself warm, he’s too hot for anyone to come near and he melts everything he touches, but if he cools down in order to interact with the world without his gloves and come near the living and only be “uncomfortably hot”, he’s freezing. He’s frustrated by the lack of balance. It was easier to interact with the hazmat suit, but he doesn’t want to go back to it and it’s not like he can either. The exposure allows him easier access to his powers.

Warm, sunny days are his favorite. He’ll sit out on the pavement and soak in the heat like a lizard. Catch him sitting on top of cars during 90 degree weather and just utterly content. It’s not as nice as the ghost zone’s Molten Springs but it’s the second best he can get without going into the infinite realms. The first best thing is going somewhere secluded and safe and just heating himself up into something that’s comfortable and letting his hair free. Nothing like cocooning yourself in your own magma flow.

#dpxdc #danny fenton is not the ghost king #dp x dc #dpxdc crossover #dp x dc crossover #danyal al ghul au #dpxdc au #stillborn? no still born au #fire core danny #danyal al ghul #danny could. theoretically go into the far frozen. however its gonna suck for everyone involved #for obvious reasons.#so instead have the molten springs! home to various draconic and fire based creatures and ghosts #home to many dormant and erupting volcanoes and a large flowing ravine filled with molten rock that bleeds out into lava springs #its honestly a very beautiful place in a fire destructive hotzone way #hit springs and geisers exist at the far reaches of the place where its coldest #at the center of the molten springs is a massive active volcano with a huge lava lake inside that bubbles and spurts out often #every so often it creates magma storms. which is basically when the whole thing just explodes upwards in a massive lava geiser #and rains down lava over the whole place. its super fucking cool to see but completely terrifying to anyone who isnt used to it #the closer to the center you go the hotter ir gets until only fire cores can withstand it #stillborn au #stillborn danny

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